Michael Powell, a former FCC chairman and currently head of the cable industry’s biggest lobbying group, is frustrated. Enlarge Image NCTA President Michael Powell addresses the cable industry at the group’s annual trade show last week. Marguerite Reardon / CNET Cable companies have been “increasingly saddled with heavy rules without any compelling evidence of harm …

During Facebook’s F8 developer conference in April — amid updates on Oculus VR, a new 360-degree camera rig and chat bots — the social site’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, demoed a new option for its Facebook Live feature: live-streaming video from a drone. A DJI Phantom 4, to be specific. The drone maker has integrated Facebook Live into its Go mobile …

A majority of the nation has probably never heard of FiOS, Verizon’s broadband and video service. With super-fast 5G wireless technology, that could change. Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam entertained the idea that FiOS, which is only available in the Northeast, could go nationwide. But instead of a physical line going into your house, the connection would be via the next-generation …

If Brian May could capture one moment from his life so that others could step inside that moment and experience it, it would be the time he strode onto the roof of Buckingham Palace alone except for his guitar and played to 200 million people. “I’d love people to know what that felt like,” said the Queen guitarist. “It was …

Now playing: Watch this: Touchscreen may be coming to MacBook Pro 1:38 Apple last month announced an incremental upgrade to its 12-inch MacBook line, kitting out the slick machine with an improved processor. However, the MacBook Pro is set to get a more dramatic makeover, according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and 9 to 5 Mac. It’s said that …

Microsoft said Tuesday it had awarded grants to 12 businesses as part of the company’s Affordable Access Initiative, part of the software giant’s effort to encourage low-cost Internet around the world. Grant recipients include businesses from Argentina, Botswana, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Nigeria, Philippines, Rwanda, Uganda, the UK and the US. In addition to financial support, each company will have access …

If competition drives prices down, the flipside of that logic is that lack of competition keeps prices high. And that seems to be the case with LG’s OLED televisions. The Korean manufacturer — sole producer of big-screen TVs that utilize organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display technology — has just announced pricing for all of its new 2016 models. They start …

Spotify’s pioneering streaming-music business, now emulated by the likes of Google and Apple, pulled in revenue of 1.95 billion euros ($2.18 billion) in 2015, a healthy 81 percent over the $1.21 billion the Swedish company garnered the year before. But according to the figures, released in a regulatory filing and published by the Wall Street Journal and Music Business Worldwide, …

CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page. Last week we talked about headphones (well, earphones) for the gym. Today, let’s talk about another scenario: headphones for the home. The pair …

Nokia could be planning to cut 10,000 to 15,000 jobs worldwide, according to Reuters. That number is far greater than the company’s earlier announcement that it would layoff around 2,4000 jobs in Finland and Germany in a cost-cutting effort. Not to be confused with the Nokia mobile phone business, the latest layoffs would hit the telecom network equipment company, which …