• Net Neutrality is dead.  Again.  (Reuters)  (archive site)
  
  The FCC's long-running smash-and-grab attempt to enforce Net Neutrality rules by classifying ISPs as Title II common services looks to have been killed off for good by the Sixth Circuit ruling that ISPs are Title I information services, and that given the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision nullifying Chevron deference, the FCC can fold its regulations until they are all sharp corners and shove them where the sun don't shine.
  
  Given that the Republicans are going to be taking over the FCC in a couple of weeks, there is unlikely to be an appeal; even the commies running the show right now have given up.
  
  Not that Net Neutrality is inherently bad, rather that categorising ISPs as Title II carriers hands all the power to a different bunch of crooks without actually fixing anything.

• The Onyx Boox Note Max is a laptop from another dimension.  (Liliputing)
  
  Extremely thin at just 4.6mm, it has a 3200x2400 e-ink display.  Black and white only on this model; it's aimed at reading and note-taking, though it does run a full version of Android and can run other applications.  Badly.
  
  Interesting though.
  
  
  
• Samsung is hedging its bets at CES with a 27" 240Hz 4k OLED gaming monitor and also a 27" 3D 4k monitor.  (Tom's Hardware and Ars Technica)
  
  Very little detail on the 3D model as yet except that it doesn't require glasses, having the lenses built into the display panel.  How well this will work is uncertain.
  
  (Poorly.  It will work poorly.)
  
  
  
• What else can we expect at CES next week?  Mostly AI slop.  (Tech Crunch)
  
  Hooray.
  
  
  
• Speaking of AI slop, Facebook is committed to it.  (New York Magazine)
  
  Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp will all be working to replace human users with bots, which will...  Entirely defeat the purpose of the entire enterprise.
  
  Don't look at me.
  
  
  
• Usage of Windows 10 grew at the expense of Windows 11 in December, despite the fact that free support of Windows 10 ends this year.  (The Register)
  
  Retail customers will be able to pay $30 for one year of extended support when free support ends in October.  After that you're on your own.
  
  Which is pretty much true regardless.
  
  
  
• Passkeys are here and they suck.  (Ars Technica)
  
  The most obvious problem is that ever time a site offers to let you log in with a passkey, a different provider hijacks the login and offers to take care of things for you.  And sometimes you can't even tell which provider has hijacked things for you.
  
  The biggest problem is that even when you have a passkey you need to set up a password first.  And you have to have a recovery mechanism because you're going to forget your password.  So adding a passkey, right now, makes you less secure, not more.
  
  
  
• My stackable Phase Connect plushies arrived, after spending 17 months in Production Hell and another month stuck in the Canada Post parking lot.
  
  Most of them.  I think there's one set yet to ship.
  
  
  
• I'm rich and have no idea what to do with my life.  (Vinay)
  
  This man is insufferable.
  
  

Musical Interlude of the Day

Posted by: PatBuckman at Friday, January 03 2025 11:09 PM (rcPLc)

Posted by: Rick C at Friday, January 03 2025 11:14 PM (NEIix)

Posted by: Rick C at Friday, January 03 2025 11:18 PM (NEIix)

Posted by: Rick C at Friday, January 03 2025 11:26 PM (NEIix)

Posted by: cxt217 at Saturday, January 04 2025 11:41 AM (ZLF73)

Posted by: Pixy Misa at Saturday, January 04 2025 05:25 PM (PiXy!)

Posted by: cxt217 at Sunday, January 05 2025 06:54 AM (ZLF73)

Hide Comments | Add Comment