Volume 18, Issue 43        Atari Online News, Etc.       November 11, 2016   
                                                                           
                                                                              
                  Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2016
                            All Rights Reserved

                          Atari Online News, Etc.
                           A-ONE Online Magazine
                Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
                      Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
                       Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor


                       Atari Online News, Etc. Staff

                        Dana P. Jacobson  --  Editor
                   Joe Mirando  --  "People Are Talking"
                Michael Burkley  --  "Unabashed Atariophile"
                   Albert Dayes  --  "CC: Classic Chips"
                         Rob Mahlert  --  Web site
                Thomas J. Andrews  --  "Keeper of the Flame"


                           With Contributions by:

                                Fred Horvat



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                                  =~=~=~=



A-ONE #1843                                                 11/11/16

   ~ Tim Cook Urges Empathy ~ People Are Talking!    ~ Atari Search Engine!
   ~ NES Classic on Shelves ~ Sega Genesis Is Back!  ~ PS4 Pro To Launch! 

                  -* Google Punishes Backsliders! *-
               -* Future of Net Neutrality and Trump? *-
           -*  Fake News on Facebook Affected Election?  *-



                                  =~=~=~=



->From the Editor's Keyboard              "Saying it like it is!"
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""



Happy Veteran's Day!  To all of you who are veterans, thank you
for your service.  Your sacrifice is appreciated!

More history in the making.  First, the Chicago Cubs win the
World Series after a 108-year-long drought; and now, Donald Trump
wins the presidential election!

Other than those who voted for Trump, was there anyone who seriously
thought that he could beat Hillary?  The media had it wrong.
The polls had it wrong.  The analysts had it wrong.  Washington
had it wrong.

Were voters reluctant to publicly state that they were voting for
Trump?  Did Bernie Sanders supporters, so disenchanted over his
loss in the primaries, refuse to support Hillary?

In the end, as one analyst stated shortly before the Clinton
concession, Trump remained true to himself and pulled off an
incredible upset victory despite his flaws.

I wasn't 100 per cent supportive of Trump, but I voted for him.
I was totally against Hillary; there was nothing about her that I
liked.  I voted for change - real change.  I didn't want another
four years of Obama, but worse under Clinton.  I didn't trust
Clinton at all.

I live in a historically traditional blue state - Massachusetts.
However, I was happy to learn that the town that I reside voted
red along with a few other towns in eastern Massachusetts.  And,
most of the western part of the state also voted red.  There
was no surprise that Hillary carried our state, but it wasn't as
blue as she might have liked!

So now we wait to see what President-elect Trump does.  It's not
going to be an easy task; there's a lot of work to be done in 
order to mend a lot of division in the country.  As many have
alrady stated, now is the time for the country to come together
and work together to help the country "heal" and move forward in
a positive direction.  There will be bumps in the road along the
way, no doubt, but it's time to work in a unified fashion.  I'm
looking forward to seeing how we progress!

On a lighter note, I've been doing some serious thinking about the
future of A-ONE.  As is reflected by the size of this week's issue,
the content of our weekly magazine continues to be on the low side,
albeit occasionally jam-packed with interesting articles.  It's
been very disappointing for me personally to put out issues that
just don't have the volume of news that I'd like to see offered
to you all.  And, it's not getting any easier.

Another factor that I need to take into consideration is the fact
that my wife and I just closed on a major construction loan.  We
will shortly be starting a project in which we'll be demolishing
our current house and re-building.  There is a LOT of work that
will need to be done preparing for this, being done during this,
and after it's been completed.  What "spare" time I've had to this
point will likely have to be used doing what I can to get prepared
for the new transition throughout the project.

So, I'm guessing that over the next month or so, A-ONE will likely
fade away in favor of more important things in my life.  A few
readers, over the past number of months, have suggested that I
go out "while on top" and under my own terms.  And, it seems that
that suggestion should be considered.  As my house plans become
more specific, I'll keep you all posted.  However, I don't believe
that we'll make it past the end of the year, if that late.

Until next time...



                                  =~=~=~=



                       Atari Search Engine


By Francois Le Coat 


The ATARI bookmarks page <http://eureka.atari.org/atari.html>
was updated. The goal consists in valid links, even if it
corresponds to sometimes dated information. Part of these
bookmarks persist since the creation of the WEB site, back to the
year 1996.

The interest with those numerous bookmarks, there's about 600,
is to constitute an ATARI uptodate and dedicated search engine
of the on-line scene. It is a service provided by Google Co-op.
The base of this engine is a collection composed from time to
time. It's now quite consistent.

This is a WEB 2.0 experience, because even if I'm responsible
for its creation, the *ATARI Search Engine* can possibly be
integrated by ATARI web-masters adding its HTML code.
____________________________

<script>
   (function() {
     var cx = '014753128619202207476:tzogojpdahi';
     var gcse = document.createElement('script');
     gcse.type = 'text/javascript';
     gcse.async = true;
     gcse.src = (document.location.protocol == 'https:' ? 'https:' :
'http:') +
         '//cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx;
     var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
     s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s);
   })();
</script>
<gcse:search></gcse:search>
____________________________

Have a good ATARI WEB Surfing =)

-- 
Franois LE COAT
Author of Eureka 2.12 (2D Graph Describer, 3D Modeller)
http://eureka.atari.org/
http://is.gd/atarian



                                  =~=~=~=



->In This Week's Gaming Section  - Sony PlayStation 4 Pro To Launch!
  """""""""""""""""""""""""""""    The Release Of The NES Classic!
                                   Sega Genesis Officially Back From The Dead!
                                   


        
                                  =~=~=~=



->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News   -  The Latest Gaming News!
  """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""



              Sony PlayStation 4 Pro Set To Launch


Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro is set to launch later this week on
November 10, but how does this new PS4 model compare to the
original model in terms of visuals and physical makeup? Below we
detail everything you need to know about PS4 Pro, with our
in-depth review, our latest news and features, and a Q&A that
answers all the important questions you might have about the
console.

"The PlayStation 4 Pro represents a new move for Sony. While the
company has refreshed many of its consoles before, the PS4 Pro
marks the first time a mid-generational design has received a
significant boost in processing power. Sony says that the Pro was
primarily designed to take advantage of burgeoning 4K TVs, but is
it powerful enough? More importantly, is it worth it?"

What is the PS4 Pro? The PlayStation 4 Pro is a more powerful
version of the PS4. According to Sony, it doesnt represent a new
console generation but is a mid-generational upgrade.

What are the PS4 Pros specs?

    CPU: x86-64 AMD "Jaguar," 8 cores clocked at 2.1GHz
    GPU: 4.2 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon-based graphics clocked at 911MHz
    with 36 compute units
    Memory: GDDR5 8GB + 1GB DRAM
    Storage size: 1TB (most likely 5,400rpm)
    External dimensions: Approx. 295x55x327 mm/11.6x2.1x12.8 in
    (width x height x length) (excludes largest projection)
    Mass: Approx. 3.3 kg/2.2 pounds
    Blu-ray/DVD Drive: Blu-ray  6 CAV, DVD  8 CAV
    Input/Output: Super-Speed USB (USB 3.1 Gen.1) port  3, AUX
    port  1
    Networking: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)1,
    IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE)
    Power: AC 100V, 50/60Hz
    Power consumption: Max. 310W
    Operating temp: 5C  35C/41F  95F
    AV Output: HDMI out port (supports 4K/HDR) DIGITAL OUT
    (OPTICAL) port

How do the PS4 Pros specs compare to Microsofts upcoming Project
Scorpio console? Theres still a lot we dont know about Project
Scorpio, but Microsofts upcoming console is shaping up to be more
powerful on paper with its 6-teraflop GPU. Its also releasing
much later - its expected to launch Q4 2017.

Will the PS4 Pro work with PS4 games? Yes. The system will be
completely backward compatible with the existing PS4 library.

Will there be PS4 Pro exclusive games that wont work on the
original PS4? No. Sony asserts that games made for the PS4 Pro
will be backward compatible with the original PS4 - and vice
versa.

Will original PS4 games receive a graphical boost on the PS4
Pro? Only if game developers go back and patch their games.

Why is Sony making the PS4 Pro? Sony tells us its making the PS4
Pro to capitalize on emerging display technologies like 4K and
HDR-capable TVs.

What exactly is 4K? In the consumer realm, its generally
considered a resolution that offers 3,840 horizontal pixels and
2,160 vertical pixels.

Does PS4 Pro support 4K? The PS4 Pro supports 4K video playback,
and some games will support native 4K rendering (3840x2160p),
but Sony tells us that most 2160p titles will use an upscaling
technique called checkerboard rendering.

What is checkerboard rendering? Its a rendering technique that
takes up the same spatial resolution as a native 3840x2160p image
but has half the number of pixel shader invocations, which are
laid out in a checkerboard pattern. Essentially, its a 4K-like
rendering shortcut that isnt quite as sharp or rich as a native
3840x2160p render, but it can look very close. Sony claims that
checkerboard rendering looks better than games natively rendered
at 1530p.

Will the PS4 Pro come with a 4K Blu-ray player? No. PlayStation
president Andrew House commented: "Our feeling is that while
physical media continues to be a big part of the games business,
we see a trend on video towards streaming. Certainly with our
user base, it's the second biggest use case for people's time on
the system so we place more emphasis on that area."

Why wont the PS4 Pro come with a 4K Blu-ray player? In addition
to serving as a cost-saving measure, Sony tells us that its data
shows most PS4 users stream video content and dont use the
optical disc drive.

Will the PS4 Pro support HDR? Yes
The black triangle represents HDR, and encompasses roughly
75 percent of colors that the human eye can see. The Yellow
triangle represents the color gamut of more traditional sRGB
screens.

What is HDR, exactly? HDR stands for high dynamic range. You can
learn more about it here. In short, HDR displays provide a much
wider color gamut and contrast ratio compared to standard RGB
panels. Colors look richer, blacks look darker, and whites look
brighter.

Will all games and movies support HDR? No. Games and movies must
be specifically designed to support HDR.

Do I need a 4K TV or HDR TV to use the PS4 Pro? No, but if you
want to fully reap the systems benefits, youll want one.

Is there any benefit to using a PS4 Pro on a 1080p TV? Certain
games, such as Paragon, will use the extra performance headroom
to deliver higher quality graphics, as opposed to delivering a
sharper resolution. Some titles will also use a technique called
supersampling that will render an image at a higher-than-1080p
resolution and then downsample - or shrink - the image to fit a
1080p display. The end result is an image that looks sharper
than one rendered at a native 1080p.

Will the PS4 Pro use the SATA II or SATA III interface? The PS4
Pro will use the SATA III interface, which will allow
solid-state drives that users can manually swap in to replace
the PS4s hard drive, to scale up to 6Gb/s. This is double the
speed of the original PS4s SATA II interface, which scales up
to 3Gb/s.

PS4 Pro sports a laundry list of games that support its upgraded
graphical power. With so many games to keep track of, we've
compiled them all in the feature links below.

    All the PS4 Pro Games Optimized for Launch
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-pro-all-the-games-optimized-for-launch-day/1100-6445071/
    Every PS4 Pro Game That Is and Isn't Getting an Upgrade Patch
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/every-ps4-pro-game-that-is-and-isnt-getting-an-upg/1100-6443385/

Below you can find in-depth features that compare various aspects
of PS4 Pro against Sony's other PS4 models and Microsoft's Xbox
One models.

    Console Specs of PS4 Pro Compared to PS4 and Xbox One Consoles
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/console-specs-compared-ps4-pro-ps4-slim-xbox-one-s/1100-6443665/
    Physical Differences of PS4 Pro Compared to PS4 and Xbox One Consoles
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/console-specs-compared-ps4-pro-ps4-slim-xbox-one-s/1100-6443665/



    Nintendo Is Celebrating The Release Of The NES Classic
        By Bringing Back Their Power Line For A Weekend


The NES Classic hits store shelves on November 11th and Nintendo
is planning to celebrate the occasion by traveling to the past
and reopening their classic hotline for the opening weekend.
Excitement was already high from fans dying to get their hands on
the mini-console, already poised to be a hit and cause a
mini-console war with Segas own version coming soon.

The weekend of the release will hold a social media party with
prizes and a launch party at Nintendos NY headquarters the night
before the release. But the Power Line seems to be the real extra
treat for fans, especially those who cant use the internet to
find out how to beat games on their own.

But the Power Line wont also feature tips to besting these
classic games according to Kotaku. Theres a few tricks and
behind-the-scenes treats for those who call in:

While playing one of the 30 great NES games included on the NES
Classic Edition during the weekend following the Friday launch,
you might find yourself puzzled by some of the more challenging
games. (How do I find the first Warp Whistle in Super Mario Bros.
3? you might ask yourself.) If your memories of the original
games fail you, no need to fret. You can just call the Power
Line, which will return and run from Nov. 11 to Nov. 13, between
the hours of 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT each day. The original Power
Line was a beloved service in the 80s that connected fans to
Nintendo Game Play Counselors who offered helpful tips and
tricks. In this fully automated version, you can use your
real-life phone (bonus points if it has a cord!) to dial
(425) 885-7529 to hear recorded tips for several games, plus
behind-the-scenes stories from original Nintendo Game Play
Counselors. You never know what you might learn!

The NES Classic has also fueled rumors that a SNES Classic mini
console is inevitable. And with all the buzz surrounding this
new addition to the Nintendo family, it would make a lot of
sense. What games would you want to see on any possible mini
version of the SNES? For me, it is hard to choose, but I know
Id want to see Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy on there
alongside A Link To The Past.



                                  =~=~=~=



->A-ONE Gaming Online       -       Online Users Growl & Purr!
  """""""""""""""""""
 


     The Sega Genesis Is Officially Back From The Dead


The iconic 16-bit gaming console that spun Sonic the Hedgehog
into pop culture legend is about to get a new lease on life
thanks to a Brazilian hardware manufacturer.

Whether it was badged as the Genesis in the US or the Sega Mega
Drive everywhere else around the world, the console was one of
the most loved of the 1990s when graphics were secondary to
playability and when dedicated gamers only had a choice of two
consoles - Nintendo or Sega.

Despite disappearing into digital history alongside the likes of
the Neo Geo, the Atari Lynx and the Commodore Amiga, the Sega
console still has a huge number of die-hard fans, particularly
in South America where Genesis clones can still be bought off
the shelf.

So much so that with Sega's official blessing, one manufacturer,
TecToy, is about to put the console back into production as a
limited edition. The new version will be compatible with all of
the original cartridge games but will also come with 20 of the
console's best titles pre-installed on a memory card.

Set to go on sale in June 2017, the console is already up for
online reservation for just $138.



                                  =~=~=~=



                           A-ONE's Headline News
                   The Latest in Computer Technology News
                       Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson



Zuckerberg: Fake News on Facebook Affected Election? That's 'Crazy'


After Donald Trump won the US presidential election on Tuesday,
some commentators argued that fake news circulating on Facebook
helped the real estate mogul turned reality TV personality win.

There was, for example, this story from the nonexistent Denver
Guardian about an FBI agent associated with Hillary Clinton's
email leaks being found dead in a murder suicide. Or this one
about the Pope endorsing Trump.

Even President Barack Obama called out Facebook by name the day
before Tuesday's election. "As long as it's on Facebook, and
people can see it, as long as it's on social media, people start
believing it," Obama said at a Michigan rally. "And it creates
this dust cloud of nonsense."

Mark Zuckerberg doesn't buy that fake stories played a role in
the election outcome.

"Personally, I think the idea that fake news on Facebook - it's
a very small amount of the content - to think it influenced the
election in any way is a pretty crazy idea," Facebook's CEO said
Thursday at the Techonomy conference in Half Moon Bay,
California.

Instead, he thinks some people are shocked and still trying to
understand the results of the election. "It takes a profound lack
of empathy to think that someone voted some way because of a fake
news story," Zuckerberg said.

The discussion comes days after the US presidential election.
Trump won the office in an upset victory, which blindsided many
people - including pollsters and pundits - who believed Clinton,
the Democratic nominee, would become the next president.

To add to that weird sense of quagmire, Facebook suffered what
looks to be an oddly timed glitch on Friday, in which the site
thought many of its users were dead. Lots of those
very-much-alive users posted screenshots of memorial banners
over their Facebook pages.

"For a brief period today, a message meant for memorialized
profiles was mistakenly posted to other accounts. This was a
terrible error that we have now fixed," said Facebook in a
statement. "We are very sorry that this happened and we worked
as quickly as possible to fix it."
Facebook, the news source

Facebook, with its 1.79 billion users, is playing a major role
in society as more people look to the social network to get
their news. Over 40 percent of American adults get their news
from Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center and Knight
Foundation.

Earlier on Thursday, Adam Mosseri, vice president of product
management at Facebook, said in a statement that "there's so
much more we need to do," to fight the spread of misinformation
on the social network.

In the aftermath of the election, critics of the service have
also blamed Facebook for the unexpected election result, arguing
that the social network promotes tunnel vision because people
are supposedly only exposed to viewpoints aligned with their
own. Your Facebook feed is made up of posts from only the people
you choose to populate it. So, the argument goes, there's a
Facebook that liberals see and one that conservatives see,
depending on the political views of your friends on the site.

Plus, Facebook relies on an algorithm that decides exactly what
you see on your News Feed. Generally, it learns from what you've
clicked on or Liked in the past and shows you more of what fits
your interests. That is, it shows you what it thinks you want to
see.

Even though the algorithm learns from your cues, Facebook still
has an awesome amount of control over potentially shaping
someone's worldview. Zuckerberg denied that Facebook is an echo
chamber, arguing that Facebook actually exposes you to more
viewpoints because everyone has at least a small number of
friends who hold opposing opinions.

Zuckerberg emphasized that Facebook does show people stories they
may not agree with, but that sometimes people just tune them out.
"It's not that the diverse information isn't there," he said. "We
haven't gotten people to engage with it in higher proportions."

This isn't the first time Facebook has been scrutinized for what
it does or doesn't show us. It drew ire earlier this year after
reports claimed Facebook encouraged its editorial contractors to
suppress conservative news in its "trending stories" feature.
Soon after that, the feature was redesigned to be more robotic,
without human-written descriptions or curation.

Zuckerberg was also asked about his thoughts on the election
results in general. In the past, he's been critical of Trump. In
April, he took a thinly-veiled shot at then-candidate Trump
onstage at F8, Facebook's most important conference of the year.
Without referring to Trump by name, he talked about the dangers
of "building walls," a nod to Trump's promise to build a wall
along the Mexican-American border.

Trump has previously attacked Zuckerberg, too, calling the tech
CEO's push for more immigration through his public interest group
Fwd.us a bad move for American workers.

On Thursday, Zuckerberg was more diplomatic. "Well we have a lot
of work to do," he said. "But that would have been true either
way." 



                       Tim Cook Urges Empathy


It was foolish for anyone to have imagined that the venomous
partisanship of this election would dry up as soon as the votes
were counted, and of course it hasnt. Thousands of people
protesting the result marched in cities across America yesterday,
burning Trump effigies and surrounding Trump-branded buildings.
The formerly angry faction, Trump supporters, are now
optimistic, and the former sunny optimists, Clinton supporters,
are now angry, but net contentiousness seems about the same.
Thats a problem for business leaders because for employees the
stress of this environment is exhausting, and deep political
tension at work can warp the culture, freeze collaboration, and
wreck productivity.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has again proved himself a leader with the
message he emailed to all U.S. employees Wednesday. A note urging
employees to put partisan feeling aside and move forward
together could have been standard corporate blather, but Cook
astutely made it do double or triple duty, and its an instructive
example for all leaders. Specifically:

-He framed employees differing views of the candidates as an
example of Apples diversity and inclusiveness: We have a very
diverse team of employees, including supporters of each of the
candidates. That framing was effective because it was authentic.
Cook has built a record of defending inclusiveness, for example
publicly criticizing proposed laws in Arkansas and Indiana last
year that some believe would have legalized discrimination against
LGBT citizens. Apple is open for everyone, he has said. We
welcome everyone.

-He reminded employees that they all work together for a noble
purpose: Our products connect people everywhere, and they
provide the tools for our customers to do great things to improve
their lives and the world at large. Too many business leaders
miss this opportunity  explaining how the company makes the
world a better place. The best leaders do it relentlessly. Cook
tied this point to the issue of political divisiveness by
observing how Apple achieves its noble purpose: Regardless of
which candidate each of us supported as individuals, the only way
to move forward is to move forward together. That is, by putting
their differences aside, Apple employees can accomplish something
valuable that they could never do alone.

-In the trauma and stress of the election, he identified an
opportunity for employees to help one another. This was brilliant,
a single sentence near the end of the note: Ive always looked at
Apple as one big family and I encourage you to reach out to your
co-workers if they are feeling anxious. Hes turning powerfully
felt political opinions from fuel for anger into an opportunity
for empathy and human connection. Hes suggesting that employees
focus on each others emotional state rather than on each others
partisan stance; to the extent they actually do that, the
atmosphere is transformed from blistering heat to comforting
warmth.

Sending an email wont make tense disagreements evaporate. But
done right, it can make everyone in the organization more
self-aware and can start the job of detoxing the workplace.



                 Trump and Net Neutrality:
         How Republicans Can Make The Rules Go Away


The net neutrality rules implemented during Barack Obamas
presidency dont seem likely to survive Donald Trumps
administration.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler crafted
the rules to survive lawsuits filed by Internet service
providers, and the strategy worked when a federal appeals court
upheld the rules in June of this year. But that doesn't mean a
new presidential administration can't overturn them.

The FCC rules say ISPs may not block or throttle lawful Internet
traffic or speed up Web services in exchange for payments from
online service providers. A similar set of net neutrality rules
was previously struck down in court, leading to Wheelers
decision to reclassify broadband providers as common carriers
under Title II of the Communications Act. The commissions
Title II authority was enough to put the rules on solid legal
ground.

But once the FCC is in Republican hands, the agency will have
multiple options for taking the rules off the books. One is
forbearance. Wheeler used the legal tool of forbearance to
avoid applying the strictest types of Title II regulation (such
as rate regulation and tariff requirements) to consumer Internet
service providers.

Basically, forbearance is a way for the FCC to enforce some parts
of a statute but not others. Republicans could decide to forbear
from the parts of Title II that were used to impose net
neutrality rules, eliminating them without reversing the Title II
reclassification. A Republican-led FCC could also reclassify ISPs
again, removing Title II from the residential and mobile
broadband markets entirely.

FCC actions require public notice and comment periods, so the
process would take a few months, and net neutrality proponents
would rally huge support for maintaining the rules. But
ultimately, the decision comes down to the commissioners, and
Republicans will have a 3-2 majority. Net neutrality advocates
could sue the commission, but the court ruling that preserved
Wheelers net neutrality rules demonstrated that the FCC has
discretion over what entities are treated as common carriers.

Even if the existing rules remain in place, a Republican-led FCC
might just decline to enforce them vigorously. This week, the
FCC told AT&T that it may be violating net neutrality rules by
exempting its own DirecTV video from mobile data caps while
charging other companies for data cap exemptions.

The net neutrality rules dont ban these data cap exemptions, but
the FCC has the ability to review them on a case-by-case basis to
determine whether they harm competitors or consumers. Once the
FCC is led by Republicans, AT&T may have nothing to worry about
because the new leadership could decide to do nothing about these
edge cases.

The FCC isnt the only venue in which Republicans can attack net
neutrality rules. Under Trump, the Republican-controlled Congress
would likely be able to wipe out net neutrality rules without
fearing a veto. Trump hasnt spoken often about net neutrality,
but in 2014 he called it Obamas attack on the Internet and a
top down power grab [that] will target conservative media.

Republicans in Congress have already proposed a variety of bills
that limit the FCCs regulatory authority, eliminate net
neutrality rules, or replace the existing ones with rules that
are less strict. One bill, called the Internet Freedom Act,
would have wiped out net neutrality rules entirely. One bill
passed by the House of Representatives banned rate regulation
of broadband, but defined rate regulation so broadly that
Wheeler said it would hamstring the FCC in net neutrality and
other areas, such as in merger reviews. Congressional action
could also have limited the FCCs ability to oversee
interconnection billing disputes that reduce Internet quality
for customers.

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) offered a
net neutrality draft plan last year that would prohibit blocking,
throttling, and paid prioritization, just as Wheelers rules did.
But the Thune/Upton proposal also would have prevented the FCC
from using either Title II or the weaker Section 706 of the
Telecommunications Act to regulate broadband.

Democrats should have taken the Thune/Upton deal instead of
reclassifying ISPs under Title II, said Berin Szoka, president
and founder of advocacy group TechFreedom, which opposed the
Title II net neutrality plan.

That was a colossal mistake on their part, Szoka told Ars this
week. Instead of strict bans on blocking, throttling, and paid
prioritization, the government under Trump could decide to
regulate all net neutrality matters on a case-by-case basis, he
said.

It isnt a given that Congress will pass anything on net
neutrality, said Harold Feld, senior VP of pro-net neutrality
advocacy group Public Knowledge. Because Republican proposals on
net neutrality ranged from wiping it out entirely to more
measured responses, they wont necessarily agree on a final
approach.

You have split factions among Republicans between hardliners
who want to eliminate all regulation or even get rid of the FCC
and those who are not quite as psyched about that, Feld told
Ars. It's easy to go along with it when you're not likely to
get anything through, but when youre in charge you have to
make some decisions."

It's impossible to predict exactly what will happen, but Feld
said there will be "a lot of attempts to try to roll things
back."



          Google Punishes Web Backsliders in Chrome


Google said it will deal with website recidivists that have
dodged the company's punishments for spreading malware and
spawning email scams.

When Google flags sites for hosting malicious code or unwanted
software, or running some kind of scam, users see warnings in
Chrome and other browsers. The alerts appear as long as Google
believes the site poses a threat.

But after making changes to align their sites with Google's "Safe
Browsing" terms, webmasters may ask Google to lift the virtual
embargo.

Not surprising, some took advantage of the mechanism for lifting
the warnings. Sites would cease their illicit practices, but only
long enough to get back into Google's good graces. Once Google
gave the all-clear, the once-dirty-then-clean site would have a
serious relapse and again distribute malware or spew phishing
emails.

To close the loophole, Google added a new "Repeat Offender"
website violation to its Safe Browsing rules.

"Repeat Offenders are websites that repeatedly switch between
compliant and policy-violating behavior for the purpose of having
a successful review and having warnings removed," said Brooke
Heinichen, a Safe Browsing strategist, in a post to a company
blog Tuesday.

That end-around was as if a restaurant scrubbed its kitchen at
the order of a city health department, but as soon as the
inspector left, had employees upend garbage pails.

The main impact on sites marked as repeaters: Webmasters may not
request a re-check until 30 days have elapsed. The time-out was
intended to discourage sites from repeating the dirty-clean
again and again and again.

Thus, once a site is labeled a repeat offender, in-Chrome
warnings will continue to appear for a minimum of 30 days.

Chrome last month was the most popular browser on personal
computers by a wide margin. According to analytics vendor Net
Applications, 55% of all browser users ran Chrome in October.
That was nearly twice the next-most-popular browser's share;
Microsoft's Internet Explorer (and successor, Edge) accounted
for 28% of all browsers.



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