Another week is nearly over and … is my calendar wrong, or is it almost May already?
Soon, we’ll be all beaches and barbecues.
But for now, it’s still work as usual. And on that note, it is time again to look back at some of the news of the week that you may have missed.
Let’s begin!
Yet Another Blow to Net Neutrality
Before we dig into this news item, let's get some terminology out of the way: The term "net neutrality" was coined in 2003. The idea is that Internet service providers should grant fair access to all online content regardless of the source.
That is, telecommunications companies should provide equal access to its users to all sites. The principle is against blocking access to some sites and content, as well as giving faster broadband service to certain sites and applications.
But following several regulatory setbacks in the past few years, net neutrality has been dealt another blow, as this week the FCC said it is proposing new "regulations that would allow online content providers to negotiate for preferential treatment from Internet service providers," according to Mashable.com.
While there's some debate over what the actual effects of the new proposed regulations would be—FCC chairman Tom Wheeler said consumers and competition won't be damaged—many onlookers are seeing this as a fatal blow to net neutrality. As the New York Times reported, "The principle that all Internet content should be treated equally as it flows through cables and pipes to consumers looks all but dead."
#MyNYPD an Unabashed Social #Fail
One story pretty much dominated the Twittersphere at the end of the week; maybe you heard about a little social media problem the NYPD was having? At 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday, @NYPDnews tweeted a request to the public: "Do you have a photo w/ a member of the NYPD? Tweet us & tag it #myNYPD. It may be featured on our Facebook."
What happened next might have been predicted by anyone who has paid attention to public sentiment about the NYPD over the last few decades or so. The hashtag was flooded with negativity: Photos of police officers beating protesters with batons and making violent arrests, or photos of a well-publicized 84-year-old jaywalker whose altercation with the NYPD left him bloodied.
Interestingly, commissioner Bill Bratton doesn't seem upset about the flood of posts depicting alleged police brutality. "I kind of welcome the attention," he said Wednesday. "We really broke the numbers yesterday." Well, yes, that is true in one sense …
Apple CEO Speaks Up About Microsoft Office for iPad
After Microsoft introduced Office apps for the iPad at the end of March, it only took nine days for consumers to rack up 12 million downloads. And this week, Apple's CEO Tim Cook weighed in on the addition, saying "If it had been done earlier, it would have been better for Microsoft."
But, in a rare move, he went on to laud the Microsoft products, adding, "I do see that Office is a very key franchise in the enterprise. I wholeheartedly welcome Microsoft to the App store." Is this a sign of things to come? Perhaps an indication that Apple and Microsoft will be more apt to play nice in the future? Only time will tell.
That's my roundup for the week. Hope you enjoy your weekend!
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