Marguerite Reardon

Gasp! Time to ditch my grandfathered unlimited data plan?

As surprising as it is to say, unlimited data is back at Verizon. It’s been six years since the nation’s largest wireless carrier offered unlimited data to new customers. Existing Verizon customers were able to hold onto their plans, but the company did everything it could to get them to switch. These poor souls gave …

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Meet the man who’ll dismantle net neutrality ‘with a smile’

Ajit Pai, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, doesn’t let a little thing like a hurricane stop him from his obligations. When the rest of the East Coast was taking cover from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, then-FCC Commissioner Pai was sitting in his kitchen at his home in northern Virginia, delivering a keynote speech via video conference to …

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How an iPhone 4 and OkCupid led to love

This is part of CNET’s “It’s Complicated” series about the role technology plays in our relationships. By the time I’d met my husband in 2010, I had been dating online for nearly a decade. I had profiles on all the big sites: Match.com, eHarmony, Chemistry.com and, later, OkCupid. I was even selected by ABC’s “20/20” for a TV special testing …

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Democrats promise to fight threats to kill net neutrality

Six Democrats in the Senate say the Trump administration will have a major fight on its hands if Republicans try to dismantle net neutrality protections. At a press conference Tuesday, Ed Markey of Massachusetts led a group of senators that included Charles Schumer of New York, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Al Franken of Minnesota and Patrick …

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Why Comcast’s new Roku app fee will infuriate you

You might not need another reason to hate Comcast, but here’s one anyway. The nation’s largest cable operator is set to begin beta testing its Xfinity TV app for Roku devices later this year. And it’s sneaking in a charge that customers will likely find outrageous. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I explain how the charge works and why …

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AT&T, Verizon catch a break under Trump FCC

There’s a new sheriff in town at the Federal Communications Commission and he just gave AT&T and Verizon a big pass. The FCC said Friday it would end its inquiry into the companies’ so-called zero-rating offers that allow customers to watch video from certain applications from their mobile devices without it counting against their monthly data caps. AT&T lets its …

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FCC cable set

Government rules that would put an end to set-top box rental fees are likely dead. Ahead of the agency’s open meeting Tuesday, the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, removed the proposed rules from a list of items to be considered by the FCC. At a press conference following the agency’s open meeting, Pai wouldn’t comment on …

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Women’s March overwhelms mobile network in DC

The idea for the Women’s March on Washington to protest Donald Trump’s presidency started as a Facebook post, but for anyone actually at the march on Saturday, sharing their experience on social media during the event was nearly impossible. The wireless networks ground to a halt for much of Saturday as hundreds of thousands of people marched in Washington DC …

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At Trump’s inauguration, tech sputters

As he took the oath of office on Friday, President Donald Trump vowed that “the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.” “January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again,” Trump told the crowd during his 16-minute speech from the Capitol Steps. “Everyone is listening …

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What does a Trump presidency mean for tech?

The eight-year bromance between Barack Obama — who appointed the first chief technology officer for the US — and Silicon Valley is over. Now what? That’s the question the tech industry has been asking since a real estate mogul turned reality TV star, with a spotty reputation on technology, was voted in as 45th president of the United States. President …

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