SiliconBeat

Motorola Atrix

I reviewed Motorola’s Atrix smartphone in this week’s Tech Files column. What intrigued me about the Atrix are its accessories: one optional dock allows the device to turn into a quasi-laptop; another allows it to turn into a pseudo desktop PC or even an Internet-connected set-top box.

As I wrote in the review, I liked the Atrix and thought the idea of a dockable smartphone had a lot of potential. But I found the docks themselves expensive, underwhelming and their potential largely unrealized.

Since I wrote my column, a reader alerted me to another reason to dislike the docks.

One of the advantages of the docks is that with them, you can use a full version of Mozilla’s Firefox browser to surf the Web and pull up Web apps in much the same way you would on a standard PC. What I didn’t realize was that in order to use the full Firefox browser on AT&T’s data network, AT&T requires users to pay its extra $20 a month tethering fee. (H/T here to blog site These Are the Droids.)

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I did an extra column today on the FCC’s announcement that it would make “net neutrality” the official policy of the U.S. Here’s a few links I came across if you want a deeper dive:

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My latest column looks at the urgent need for a national broadband policy. There’s a lot been written about this subject and I wanted to share some of the links that I came across while doing some background research. Read the rest of this entry »

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski visited the San Jose Mercury News on Monday to discuss a wide range of policy issues facing the Federal Communications Commission. In this 10-minute clip, he explains the three categories being explored as part of a national broadband policy his agency must deliver in February 2010.

Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission was in Silicon Valley this week. I got him on the phone for about 15 minutes to discuss a wide range of subjects. We covered the big move by the FCC this week to approve use of the so-called “white space” for wireless broadband. He also discussed some the initiatives he’s taken to expand access to broadband, and to encourage deployment of faster broadband speeds. And finally, we talked about some of the big issues and opportunities the new president will face in January 2009.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said he would recommend that the other four commissioners rule that cable giant Comcast had violated the agency’s principles regarding open access to the Internet. While the ruling is not final, the statement marks a major victory for Free Press, a non-profit advocacy group that filed the original complaint against Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company.

On Monday, I interviewed Marvin Ammori, general counsel for the Free Press. We talked about what happened last week, what happens next, and why we should all care.

For background, the original complaint is here. And more background on the history of the fight can be found here.

Going forward, Martin needs two more commissioners to sign on to his proposed decision within the next couple of weeks for it to become official. While the FCC is not recommending a fine, Ammori said his group would be satisfied with the ruling that Martin has proposed.