Netflix took a playful jab at wearables, giving subscribers instructions to make smart socks that wake up dozing viewers. The company doesn’t plan to sell the socks, but it gives a blow-by-blow account of materials and steps needed. The “sleep detection system” uses an accelerometer that detects when a viewer has stopped moving for a prolonged period of time and triggers a signal that tells the TV to pause Netflix. When it detects dozing, an LED in the sock cuff flashes red to warn that the pause command is about to fire off to the TV. Netflix told us it shared the schematics -- a Fitbit hack created at a Netflix Hack Day for company engineers -- as a fun way to “enhance your viewing experience if any would-be makers are inclined to tackle the project.”
House lawmakers introduced the Wireless Tax Fairness Act Thursday. CTIA praised the legislation, which would ban states from imposing new taxes and fees on wireless. “It’s time to hit the pause button on any further discriminatory taxes,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who introduced the bill with Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. “Exorbitant taxes on wireless customers are discriminatory, adding costly impediments to the success of so many American businesses and affecting low-income and senior Americans who frequently rely on wireless service as their sole means of telephone and internet access,” Franks said. Lofgren posted the text. “For too long, state and local governments discriminated against wireless services by imposing [tax] rates that are often double generally applicable sales taxes,” CTIA Vice President-Government Affairs Jot Carpenter said. “In today’s information-driven, mobile economy, that just doesn’t make sense.”
Netflix took a playful jab at the wearables market, by giving subscribers step-by-step instructions on how to make their own smart socks that wake up dozing viewers watching a Netflix show. The company doesn’t plan to sell the socks, but it gives a blow-by-blow account of the materials and Arduino programming steps needed to make socks that will alert the TV to pause if viewers fall asleep while watching. “Making Netflix socks from scratch means doing a little knitting and building some electronics,” says the website. The “sleep detection system” uses an accelerometer that detects when a viewer has stopped moving for a prolonged period of time and triggers a signal that tells the TV to pause Netflix. When it detects dozing, an LED in the sock cuff flashes red to warn that the pause command is about to fire off to the TV. Netflix told us it shared the schematics -- a Fitbit hack created at a Netflix Hack Day for company engineers -- as a fun way to “enhance your viewing experience if any would-be makers are inclined to tackle the project.”
House lawmakers introduced the Wireless Tax Fairness Act Thursday. CTIA praised the legislation, which would ban states from imposing new taxes and fees on wireless. “It’s time to hit the pause button on any further discriminatory taxes,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., who introduced the bill with Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. “Exorbitant taxes on wireless customers are discriminatory, adding costly impediments to the success of so many American businesses and affecting low-income and senior Americans who frequently rely on wireless service as their sole means of telephone and internet access,” Franks said. Lofgren posted the text. “For too long, state and local governments discriminated against wireless services by imposing [tax] rates that are often double generally applicable sales taxes,” CTIA Vice President-Government Affairs Jot Carpenter said. “In today’s information-driven, mobile economy, that just doesn’t make sense.”
Not all Democrats on Capitol Hill are fully satisfied with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The lead Democrat on the House Commerce Committee and four other members criticized Wheeler for his behavior during a three-hour Nov. 17 Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing (see 1511170060), according to a letter obtained by Communications Daily. This gesture shows an uncommon split for senior Hill lawmakers and an FCC chief of the same party.
Not all Democrats on Capitol Hill are fully satisfied with FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. The lead Democrat on the House Commerce Committee and four other members criticized Wheeler for his behavior during a three-hour Nov. 17 Communications Subcommittee oversight hearing (see 1511170060), according to a letter obtained by Communications Daily. This gesture shows an uncommon split for senior Hill lawmakers and an FCC chief of the same party.
Comcast will include a national video description pilot program with NBC’s broadcast of The Wiz Live! Thursday, the first U.S. live entertainment program to be accessible to people with a visual disability, Comcast said. The video description narration track is inserted between the natural pauses in dialogue to describe the visual elements of a show or movie, including facial expressions, settings, costumes and stage direction. The pilot program, which coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, is available across the country where SAP (secondary audio program) feeds are available, Comcast said. Descriptive Video Works is delivering the video and audio description.
Comcast will include a national video description pilot program with NBC’s broadcast of The Wiz Live! Thursday, the first U.S. live entertainment program to be accessible to people with a visual disability, Comcast said. The video description narration track is inserted between the natural pauses in dialogue to describe the visual elements of a show or movie, including facial expressions, settings, costumes and stage direction. The pilot program, which coincides with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, is available across the country where SAP (secondary audio program) feeds are available, Comcast said. Descriptive Video Works is delivering the video and audio description.
Customs Reauthorization legislation shouldn't include any form of an "opt-out" provision of ENFORCE Act requirements within a final bill, said the Congressional Steel Caucus in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee leadership (here). The ENFORCE provisions "are essential to ensure that U.S. producers, who have been injured by unfairly traded imports, receive the benefit of the remedy provided by the law," said the lawmakers in the Nov. 20 letter. The Obama administration recently pushed a proposal to change some of the requirements within the ENFORCE bill, but domestic manufacturers have some major concerns (see 1510260021).
State officials want to promote mobile coverage and broadband deployment, said Lukas, Nace attorney David LaFuria at an FCBA panel Friday on state universal service issues. “They all have a desire to do something,” said LaFuria, who represents wireless carriers in FCC and state proceedings. He said some state regulators face statutory limitations but states could “regulate” broadband USF by following an FCC approach that combined “voluntary” industry acceptance of support with broadband conditions. States can help by removing regulatory barriers to broadband deployment, said Micah Caldwell, ITTA vice president-regulatory affairs. Jennifer Schneider, vice president-legislative affairs for Frontier Communications, said more states should reduce ILEC voice regulations, including carrier-of-last-resort (COLR) obligations.