Prominent file-sharing cyberlocker Hotfile has agreed to shut down and pay $80 million in a settlement with the Motion Picture Association of America. The move follows an August decision by a federal judge in Florida who agreed with the MPAA that Hotfile did not qualify for safe harbor protection under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The settlement was initiated in order to avoid a jury trial that was scheduled to begin this week. Continue reading Settlement: Hotfile to Pay $80 Million and Cease Operations

The FCC’s new chairman, Tom Wheeler, spoke on Monday about usage-based pricing for Internet bandwidth, which has been strongly debated among public interest groups. Wheeler expressed his support for remaining steady with current Net neutrality rules. During a Q&A session at Ohio State University, he also suggested the marketplace should be allowed to “evolve” before coming to an ultimatum about whether providers should charge consumers based on bandwidth usage. Continue reading FCC Chair: “When Competition is High, Regulation Can Be Low”

Intel is reportedly asking about $500 million for its OnCue service, which the chipmaker developed before making the decision to no longer pursue its online pay TV ambitions. The company is looking to secure a sale by the end of the year, according to inside sources. Verizon, which has been talking with broadcast and cable channels regarding terms for a streaming TV service, is believed to be one potential suitor. Intel has also met with Samsung and Liberty Global. Continue reading Intel Looking to Sell Online Pay TV Service for $500 Million

Media consumers are spending more time on mobile devices and less time watching television, and ratings from the past couple of years suggest that cable TV is on the decline. Since 2010, about 5 million people have ended their cable and broadband subscriptions. And for the first time ever, less than half of major broadband companies’ subscribers pay for cable TV. Broadcast and cable TV ratings have been heading downward since the end of 2011. Continue reading TV Ratings Consistently Declining as Consumers Go Mobile

According to Eric Schmidt, executive chairman and former CEO of Google, we may be close to a new “network age” in which Internet traffic will be protected with code, allowing users to communicate and organize socially without the fear of government censorship. Schmidt believes that Internet users will communicate via private channels that are shielded by encryption, scrambling data that can be decoded with a special digital key. Continue reading Schmidt: Solution to Government Surveillance is Encryption

The “mind-reading” keyboard app SwiftKey is what some tech writers say is part of a growing movement of devices and apps that will predict users’ needs and deliver them without having to be asked. Between the decline of computing costs and the ease of collecting data through apps, calendar appointments and more, companies like Google and Apple are rushing to deliver the best technology to anticipate what information or reminders users need. Continue reading New Internet Era: Devices Emerging That Predict User Needs

The world’s most powerful smartwatch will soon be released, and it wasn’t created by Apple or Google, but a 19-year-old college dropout. The Kickstarter-funded product, named Neptune Pine, will be able to ship as soon as it has FCC approval and the Kickstarter funds are delivered for mass production. The project’s video depicts a working prototype with a 2.6-inch frame, front- and rear-facing cameras, and Web browsing, among countless other features. Continue reading Neptune Pine Smartwatch is Just as Capable as a Smartphone

Vint Cerf, chief Internet evangelist for Google and co-creator of the Internet’s key networking technology, delivered the keynote address at the Federal Trade Commission’s Internet of Things workshop this week in Washington, DC. Cerf suggested that privacy is a relatively new development that may not be sustainable. “Privacy may actually be an anomaly,” he said while taking questions, noting that privacy was not even guaranteed just a few decades ago. Continue reading Vint Cerf at FTC Event: “Privacy May Actually Be an Anomaly”

The National Football League and Major League Baseball are trying to convince the Supreme Court to grant broadcasters’ petition to challenge Aereo, a startup that enables unauthorized streaming of local broadcast signals. The NFL and MLB filed an amicus brief that suggests that if Aereo is not challenged, sports programming will likely switch over to cable. Broadcasters assert that Aereo undermines their ability to collect retransmission fees. Continue reading NFL and MLB: If Aereo Not Challenged, Sports May Go to Cable

The engineers behind the Internet Engineering Task Force are responding to public outcry over Internet surveillance by encrypting Web traffic with plans for a revamped system by the end of next year. In light of National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s exposure of the agency’s mass Internet surveillance, the effort will introduce the default of encryption in Internet browsing, intended to reduce the ease of snooping. Continue reading Engineers Defaulting to Encrypted Browsing for the Internet

Nuvyyo is developing an affordable alternative to Simple.TV’s streaming DVR with its own Tablo DVR, a set-top box that streams both live and locally recorded broadcasts to Android and iOS-powered devices, as well as Roku players and Web browsers. Unlike other DVRs that often rely on cloud services or are linked to television, Tablo is an attractive option for consumers looking to cut cords altogether, and reduce long-term costs. Continue reading Cord-Cutting: New Tablo HDTV DVR is Driven by Tablet App

When Snapchat turned down Facebook’s acquisition offer of nearly $3 billion last week, it spoke to the changing social media landscape in which Facebook’s role seems to be different than what it once was. Although it is still the biggest social media service on the Web, and continues to attract a number of startups, “Facebook fatigue” has become more widespread among its users in recent years, and it is likely affecting the corporation’s image. Continue reading Is Facebook Losing Its Edge in Evolving Social Media Market?

Google is in the early stages of developing its own alternative to cookies, which have a few limitations when it comes to tracking users. The company is working on universal IDs, which will track users from device to device. Whereas cookies can be erased and sometimes lead to ineffective ad targeting, universal IDs would provide more accurate user data. But it could also create a Google-owned monopoly of data. However, Google isn’t the only company working on cookie alternatives.  Continue reading Google Envisions a Web Beyond Cookie-Based Data Tracking

Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) introduced the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act yesterday — legislation that intends to safeguard competition in the online video market, by preventing cable and satellite companies from stifling growth of services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. The proposal could be good news for consumers who complain about subscriptions that include channels they don’t watch, although industry pushback is likely. Continue reading Senate Commerce Chair Announces Bill to Bolster Online Video

Netflix and YouTube continue to dominate as the most-used video services in North America, according to new data published in Sandvine’s Global Internet Phenomena Report. The two services combined were responsible for more than half of all peak residential North American downstream traffic during September. Together, Hulu and Amazon accounted for a mere three percent of peak downstream traffic. Netflix alone accounted for nearly 32 percent of downstream traffic. Continue reading Netflix is Biggest Source of Internet Traffic in North America