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FCC admits mobile internet is a poor broadband replacement
As dictated by Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the FCC released its annual draft 2018 Broadband Deployment Report on Wednesday. In it, the commission made a surprising concession: that no, mobile data and wired broadband are not in fact suitable replacements for one another. This admission comes only a few months after FCC chair, Ajit Pai, filed a "Notice of Inquiry" ahead of proposing that mobile be counted as a form of broadband. Doing so, opponents warned at the time, would disproportionately harm poor and rural communities.
Mio's new tracker and health metric may help you live longer
Mio introduced a new fitness tracker called the Mio SLICE at CES Monday and, with it, a new kind of health index called the Personal Activity Intelligence index that supposedly helps practitioners live up to a decade longer. The PAI index is based on the HUNT study, a large scale trial that followed 60,000 people over two decades. By keeping their PAI score above 100 "will increase your lifespan by up to 10 years and provide maximum protection from lifestyle diseases," a Mio statement touts. What's more, it is supposedly personalizable to each individual, rather than more generalized metrics like the Body Mass Index.
Apple and Microsoft help form lobby group opposing attempts to kill software patents (update: not lobbying)
Few would object to legislative attempts to stop patent trolls in their tracks. However, several companies are worried these efforts might go too far -- enough so that they've formed their own US political lobby organization, the Partnership for American Innovation. The group, which includes tech giants Apple, GE, IBM and Microsoft, wants a "balanced" approach that reduces the volume of junk patents (and the resulting abuse) while letting companies file for software and biotech patents. The policy isn't surprising when these firms are trying to protect their cash cows. However, it also pits the Partnership's members squarely against firms like Netflix and Twitter, which argue that patents only get in the way. No matter what lawmakers do, it's now clear that they're going to get an earful from both sides. Update: Despite what it looks like at first glance, the Partnership is strictly a public advocacy group, not a lobby.
