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Verizon to FCC: Free speech trumps Net neutrality rules

Bring out the constitutional scholars: Verizon says the Federal Communications Commission's Net neutrality rules violate the right to free speech.

In a nutshell, Verizon argues that the FCC has overstepped its authority with its Net neutrality rules, going so far as to argue that the rules are unconstitutional -- Verizon sees the transmission of data across its network as "speech." As if that's not enough, the carrier argues that the rules are "arbitrary and capricious." In other words, Verizon doesn't believe the rules are necessary given that there hasn't been a big … Read more

Send an iPhone picture through flashing lights

Take a peek at this iPhone app by Casio called PicapiCamera, which works as 21st century version of a signal lamp. Users of the app can receive data in a specific pattern of flashing red, green, or blue (RGB) lights found on digital signage or other PicapiCamera users' devices simply by pointing their iPhone in the right direction.

Currently, you can download PicapiCamera free from the Apple App Store. The app enables you to take a photo and send it other users of the app through the aforementioned visible light communication technology. … Read more

The 404 1,082: Where it's rude to point (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Scumbag Facebook changes your e-mail address on the sly.

- HBO teases Sorkin's 'Newsroom' pilot for free on YouTube.

- Winamp history lesson of the day: how the greatest MP3 player undid itself.

- Orbitz capitalizes on Mac users to boost online business.

- A first look at the new Star Trek Communicator app!… Read more

iPhone 5 prototypes reportedly reveal NFC support

The next iPhone could let users buy products and share files through near field communication.

Code pulled from Pre-EVT (Engineering Verification Testing) iPhone 5,1 and iPhone 5,2 prototypes by 9to5Mac leads the Apple enthusiast site to believe that NFC chips and an antenna will be built into this year's iPhone.

If true, it means Apple would finally jump onto the mobile payments bandwagon, allowing its users to purchase goods and services directly through their smartphones. This latest rumor also comes on top of the company's launch of Passbook, a feature slated for iOS 6 that would … Read more

AT&T and Sirius work to make spectrum available

AT&T is looking to put some of its unused spectrum to work in a move that could reshuffle the wireless spectrum deck.

On Friday, the carrier filed a joint proposal to the Federal Communications Commission with satellite radio provider Sirius. In the filing, the two companies proposed a solution to some longstanding interference concerns between AT&T's unused WCS spectrum, which is in the 2.3 GHz band and Sirius's satellite radio service. As part of this new proposal, AT&T agreed to give up about 10MHz of this Wireless Communication Services or WCS … Read more

FCC to re-examine cell phone radiation standards

The Federal Communications Commission is planning to take a closer look at its standards for cell phone safety to see if the agency needs to revise the 15-year-old guidelines.

Later today, Chairman Julius Genachowski will circulate a notice of inquiry that will look at a series of questions surrounding whether the current standards need to be updated or whether the agency's testing practices should be altered, a source at the commission said. And the agency will also examine whether it needs to make improvements in how it communicates safety information to consumers.

The FCC hopes to get comments from … Read more

Is NFC killing Google Wallet?

Google Wallet is turning one, but the application that was supposed to transform the smartphone into a wallet and revolutionize how consumers pay for things has barely gotten off the ground.

Why? The reason may be that Google has bet on the wrong technology: NFC.

A year ago, Google execs, along with its partners MasterCard, Citibank, and Sprint, took the stage in New York City to show off the future of payments. No longer would people have to overload their wallets with cards and receipts. Google's plan was to virtualize it all.

Through an application for its Android smartphones, … Read more

Verizon likely to divest wireless spectrum to get cable deal OK

Verizon Wireless' $3.6 billion bid to buy unused wireless spectrum from cable companies is likely to get regulatory approval. But Verizon may have to give up some of its wireless spectrum to satisfy regulators, say analysts and insiders close to the deal.

Analysts covering the market say it's almost a near certainty that the Federal Communications Commission will approve the deal, which Verizon and a coalition of cable companies owning wireless spectrum proposed late last year. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks, which are all part of Spectrum Co. plus Cox Communications, want to sell nearly … Read more

FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit

The FBI has recently formed a secretive surveillance unit with an ambitious goal: to invent technology that will let police more readily eavesdrop on Internet and wireless communications.

The establishment of the Quantico, Va.-based unit, which is also staffed by agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Drug Enforcement Agency, is a response to technological developments that FBI officials believe outpace law enforcement's ability to listen in on private communications.

While the FBI has been tight-lipped about the creation of its Domestic Communications Assistance Center, or DCAC -- it declined to respond to requests made two … Read more

100 Apple iPads save Greece $140 billion

The daunting task of restructuring Greece's debt fell to Bob Apfel and his company, Bondholder Communications Group, according to Fortune.

To help complete a complicated series of transactions in which the country's Finance Ministry agreed to settle for far less than the $270 billion owed, Apfel and his team used a network of iPads.

The task involved capturing approval from nearly 100,000 debt holders scattered around the world in a very short amount of time.

Armed with a custom-built debt-restructuring app, the effort's leadership, including representatives from the Finance Ministry, the Hellenic Exchange, the Bank of … Read more