Consumer Reports​ left the MacBook Pro off its recommended ratings list due to inconsistent battery performance, said the publication in its latest issue. It’s the first time a MacBook hasn’t been included in the Consumer Reports' recommended ratings, it said. The latest MacBook Pro laptop did well in display quality and performance, but models “varied dramatically” in battery life as results were highly inconsistent from one trial to the next, it said. In three consecutive tests, the 13-inch model with the Touch Bar ran for 16 hours in the first trial, 12.75 hours in the second, and 3.75 hours in the third, said the testing publication. The 13-inch model without the Touch Bar worked for 19.5 hours in one trial but only 4.5 hours in the next. Typically, a laptop’s battery life may vary from one trial to another by less than 5 percent, it said, and testers average measurements to arrive at a final battery life score. “With the widely disparate figures we found in the MacBook Pro tests, an average wouldn’t reflect anything a consumer would be likely to experience in the real world,” it said. The publication used the lowest battery life scores because “it’s the only time frame we can confidently advise a consumer to rely on if he or she is planning use the product without access to an electrical outlet.”

Florida-based Inbound Call Experts, which the FTC and the state of Florida said engaged in a tech support scheme, will pay $10 million to consumers to settle a complaint and its business will be monitored for two years, said the commission in a Thursday news release. Commissioners voted 3-0 to accept the stipulated final order, which was filed in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida and entered Monday by a judge, the FTC said. The firm, which also did business as Advanced Tech Support, and other defendants used "high-pressure sales pitches to telemarket tech support products and services falsely claiming to find viruses and malware on consumers' computers," the release said. Under the final order, which bars them from misrepresenting such services, a judge will appoint a monitor to oversee the defendant's business for two years. To fund the $10 million, the company will transfer $5.75 million to the FTC within seven days after the judge signs the order and another $2.25 million within 30 days. Plus, a court-appointed receiver "will promptly transfer" another $2 million to the agency. The company didn't comment.

Accessibility rules for TVs, set-top boxes and devices designed to receive or play back video took effect Tuesday, said the FCC Media Bureau in a reminder public notice included in Tuesday's Daily Digest. The rules require manufacturers of devices built beginning that and designed for watching video -- such as TVs, smartphones and tablets -- ensure the basic functions of such devices are accessible to the visually impaired and include a simple way to activate accessibility functions, the PN said. Set-top devices used for navigating pay-TV content built or leased after Tuesday must ensure that on-screen menus and guides have an audible version for the visually impaired and a simple way to display closed captioning, if the device is capable of doing so, the PN said. Smaller multichannel video programming distributors don't have to comply until Dec. 20, 2018, and manufacturers of display-only monitors and video projectors have until Dec. 20, 2021, the PN said.

CTA knows of no "credible threats against CES 2017, but we remain in communication with the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and local law enforcement officials," Karen Chupka, senior vice president-CES and corporate business strategy, emailed us Tuesday. We questioned Chupka on any additional security precautions CES would take to thwart the type of vehicular attack made on the Christmas market in central Berlin Monday that killed 12 people. "Following the implementation of enhanced security procedures at CES 2016, we are continuing to incorporate vigilant security procedures at CES 2017 with the goal of maintaining the safety of all of our guests while creating as little inconvenience as possible," Chupka said. "This includes more armed officers at our various locations and restricted access points." CES 2017 again will use the bag restrictions and metal detectors first imposed at the 2016 show, CTA said last month (see 1611300044).

Facebook provided "incorrect or misleading information" about its planned acquisition of WhatsApp during the European Commission review of the 2014 takeover, alleged the EC. It sent a statement of objections to the social media platform, said a Tuesday news release. If the allegations are confirmed, the EC said it could impose a fine up to 1 percent of Facebook's revenue, but the current investigation won't affect the acquisition of WhatsApp since approval was based on a variety of factors. A coalition of consumer and privacy groups in September asked the FTC to investigate WhatsApp's privacy policy changes that would permit the sharing of some user information with Facebook, which the groups allege is a violation of the commitments made by the companies when they combined (see 1609220031). The EC said Facebook indicated in 2014 that "it would be unable to establish reliable automated matching between the two companies' user accounts." The EC said it "takes the preliminary view" that it was technically possible in 2014 to automatically match users' IDs of both companies, despite what Facebook said. "The Commission therefore has concerns that Facebook intentionally, or negligently, submitted incorrect or misleading information to the Commission, in breach of its obligations under the EU Merger Regulation," the release said. Facebook will have until Jan. 31 to respond to the EC. In an online statement, the company said it's "confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith" and has "consistently provided accurate information about our technical capabilities and plans."

Regional sports networks (RSNs) are the most-essential nonbroadcast channels for sports fan viewers, Fox Sports said in a news release Wednesday as it pointed to the results of a Nielsen Media Analytics Primary Research study on RSNs. Fox Sports said that according to the study it commissioned, looking at more than 1,500 pay-TV subscribers nationwide who described themselves as sports fans, those surveyed named RSNs as their fifth most-important channels behind the big four broadcasters. The unit of 21st Century Fox said that in St. Louis, the local RSN -- Fox Sports Midwest -- was named more essential than any other channel, while in Detroit, Fox Sports Detroit was ranked the second most-essential network.

Comcast says it is investigating employee actions during an Indiana outage that were the subject of a video that went viral this week. The video appears to show numerous vehicles sliding off an icy road trying to avoid a Comcast truck parked doing repairs and field techs being dismissive of the videographer's request for more traffic cones to be put on the road. In a statement, Comcast Cable Senior Vice President-Technical Operations Ed Marchetti said the company "will reach out to those who were impacted by this incident." He "was very concerned by what I saw," he said. "Our employees should always protect people and treat them with respect no matter what the situation. Safety matters most -- especially in dangerous weather conditions like this. Within the next 24-48 hours, my team leaders will meet with our technicians across our company to use this as an example of how important it is to make everyone’s safety a priority in everything we do. And just as important, there’s no place for disrespect."

Annual revenue from blockchain-based enterprise applications will increase to $19.9 billion by 2025, Tractica said Wednesday in a report. Annual revenue from such applications is set to top out at $2.5 billion at the end of this year, Tractica said. Much of the increase will come from North America, which will contribute about $10 billion to blockchain enterprise app sales in 2025, Tractica said. Blockchain “is enjoying a blossoming beyond cryptocurrency and the transfer of money, to an architecture able to support many types of transactions, from logging an event, to signing a document, to voting, to allocating energy between parties, and far beyond,” said analyst Jessica Groopman in a news release. Blockchain startups have received more than $1 billion in investment over the past year, “but through the fog of hype lies the sobering reality that this is a market of extreme nascence and fragmentation,” Groopman said. “Despite significant hurdles, however, blockchain has the potential to impact a wide variety of industries.”

NAB for the first time in recent memory published advice on how members can best navigate CES. The Las Vegas show "has a well-deserved reputation as the place to see new technology and engage with those creating that technology,” said a Tuesday blog post from NAB Pilot, the former NAB Labs. Broadcasters’ content is “reaching our audience on an increasing number and variety of devices,” it said. “It is ever more important to witness for ourselves the changes occurring in the consumer technology marketplace.” For “newcomers” to the show, “CES can be completely overwhelming, but advance planning can moderate the madness,” it said. “The best bet is to do some research in advance of the show.” The blog advised against “just diving in and wandering” the show floor, “unless you have vast amounts of time to match the vast amount of floor space covered by the exhibits, as well as the stamina and shoes appropriate for walking on concrete for long distances.” CTA is “excited to welcome NAB executives and their members to CES and appreciate that they have long attended and participated in our show, as we have in the NAB show,” Karen Chupka, senior vice president-CES and corporate business strategy, emailed us Wednesday. “Broadcast and consumer technology executives hold numerous meetings at both shows, and no doubt ATSC 3.0 will be one of the hot topics.” CTA and NAB “have partnered in many areas, celebrating the symbiotic relationship between televised content and receiving devices, jointly promoting digital television, HD radio and more, as well as collaborating to develop key industry standards,” she said. “A number of former CTA employees are now at NAB, and we employ former NAB staff. We’ve enjoyed a close relationship with NAB for a long time, and certainly look forward to continuing this successful partnership.”

Were the Trump administration to work out a deal with Congress on repatriation tax reform, that wouldn't be “positioned as a tax holiday,” but “a permanent solution, which we would be very happy with,” Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins told his company’s annual shareholder meeting Monday. Major companies have a lot of money parked overseas that they can’t bring back to the U.S. because it would be taxed at a high rate, and “most of the companies with repatriation money are tech companies,” CTA President Gary Shapiro told us just after the election (see 1611090038). For Cisco, freeing up its repatriation money “would certainly give us more flexibility” to pay for mergers and acquisitions, shareholder dividends and stock buybacks, Robbins said in Q&A. The company would welcome more comprehensive corporate tax law overhaul under the new administration, he said. “Lower corporate tax rates really are the levers for investment in an operating environment,” said Robbins. “That’s actually where I think the jobs get created through that model, because we’re able to invest more, we’re able to put more money into innovation.” There’s also the hope of “returning some portion of that to our shareholders as well,” he said. “So we’re optimistic and we’ll see how it plays itself out.” Robbins sidestepped a question on the impact to Cisco if Trump sparks a trade war with China. The equipment maker does manufacturing in “I want to say, 12 different countries around the world,” so it has a very diversified “supply chain,” he said. “We’ve invested in China from a relationship perspective,” and “relative to our business and the partnerships in China, we’ve actually been very pleased with how it’s played out over the last year,” he said. “We’ll continue to do all the things that we can to ensure that our business in China is successful.”