Smart devices, the cornerstone of the home of the future, can't seem to capture the imagination or open the wallets of a large number of Americans. Some 46.7 million broadband households aren't ready to buy a smart home device, according to a survey released this week by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company specializing in consumer technology products.

For the majority of consumers, cutting the cable TV cord is a mixed bag for a variety of reasons. The big misconception is that you will drastically lower your cable bill. That is not the case unless you can also pickup free TV reception from an antenna. Otherwise, you will need to use a video streaming service to help lower your costs.

Eight of the top 10 states for mobile Internet coverage are in the Northeast, according to an analysis released by consumer product and services comparison website WhistleOut. However, the best mobile Internet coverage isn't in a state at all -- but in the District of Columbia. To rank the states, 75 percent of the score was based on median mobile download speeds and 25 percent by 5G coverage.

The Federal Trade Commission seeks to obtain information on how many users certain social media companies have, how active the users are, what the companies know about them, how they got that information, and what steps the companies take to continue to engage users. The FTC also is gathering information on the companies' business models and how they target children and families.

Two new Web browsing alternatives widen the field of browser choices for Linux users. The recent introduction of Microsoft Edge for Linux, and the Dec. 8 release of Vivaldi version 3.5 offer the freedom to experience a Google-free vehicle to navigate the Internet. Edge on Linux has the potential for widespread adoption. Proprietary Vivaldi is already well established on Linux and other platforms.

Downtime can cost enterprises that depend solely on a data center's ability to deliver IT and networking services to customers -- such as e-commerce companies -- up to $11,000 a minute. The cost to businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals who use subscription services in their work has yet to be calculated.

The use of smart and connected devices promises to make our lives easier, but it might also give their manufacturers greater control over our lives. Some companies offering smart devices, including Google, Belkin, and Best Buy have killed off their smart device product lines without warning, leaving consumers in the lurch.

The @ Company wants to give you a more secure and human-centric Internet built on providing you with true ownership and control of your personal data. To that end, the company has launched an app built on its new privacy protocol. This new standard will attempt to change how online vendors and companies wheel and deal with the personal information of billions of Internet users.

A social media platform that bills itself as a "non-biased, free speech" alternative to outfits like Twitter and Facebook has seen a surge in interest in its mobile app over the last week that culminated Sunday in it becoming the top free app at the Apple App Store. According to Fox Business, the Parler app has been downloaded 310,000 times in the last week alone.

Although DIA can have a steep price tag and some installation complexity, most companies will opt for a dedicated connection at offices or data centers with mission-critical operations. Let's explore the benefits of a DIA circuit, as well as some potential considerations and drawbacks, to help determine if dedicated Internet is something your business should consider.

Powerful events and product launches by Cisco, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Qualcomm promise to make our future brighter. From more effective courts and legislators, to flexible and intelligent robots, to tools we can use to improve remote productivity, to validation that our justice system works -- last week was remarkable.

The demand for smart home devices is projected to grow steadily over the next few years. Nonetheless, consumers should think carefully before making a purchase due to a trend of manufacturers phasing out "smart" products. While it does not look good when a smart device maker abandons a product line, these actions are far from random.

Zoom gave its users a big security upgrade Monday when it rolled out end-to-end encryption for its online meetings network. E2EE puts control of the keys for scrambling data in the hands of meeting organizers. Before the E2EE rollout, encryption was done on Zoom's servers, where someone with access to those servers could intercept the data. When used correctly, E2EE can make it difficult for even the best-resourced intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on communication.

Google found itself in the crosshairs of government regulators Tuesday as the U.S. Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against the tech giant for unlawfully maintaining a monopoly in online search services and in search advertising. "This is a monumental case for the Department of Justice and, more importantly, for the American consumer," U.S. Attorney General William P. Barr said in a statement.

A warning by Facebook and Google that they may have to curb service to Australia if a controversial law takes effect this year has the Aussies reviewing their options, including setting up a publicly-funded social network. The idea was floated in a report titled "Tech-Xit: Can Australia survive without Google and Facebook?"

The Big Tech companies have arguably done what they want over the years, arousing consumer anger and distrust, and numerous complaints by privacy and consumer rights groups. That includes cocking a snook at governments. While all of the Big Tech firms have been hit with multimillion-dollar fines at one time or another, many argue that's a drop in the bucket for companies that rake in billions of dollars annually.

Microsoft has aggressively updated its new Chromium version of the Edge browser with several features that should help you find gifts and save money while remaining safer on the web. Let's talk about these improvements to Edge this week, and we'll close with a new notebook from Gateway, which appears to have the near-perfect blend of size, price, and performance for our new COVID-19 normal.

Google has announced its rebranding of G Suite as Google Workspace, along with its newly integrated desktop environment that is designed for enhanced collaboration and communications, marking its latest bid to challenge Microsoft 365. Google Cloud officials said the Workspace environment will create a new user experience that integrates meetings, docs, messaging and tasks in a more productive, secure and collaborative environment.

Welcome to the new phenomenon of playing Zoom poker. It is a novel idea that is catching on as the pandemic continues. The video platform has become a popular solution for friends who miss their regular in-person poker games. It adds the missing element of banter and social interactions that playing cards and other table games alone on a computer just cannot provide.

Curbside pickup has become a necessary option to offer customers since the onslaught of COVID-19. In fact, some shoppers will not consider doing business with a retailer or restaurant that does not offer curbside service. The TextMeAnywhere solution helps make the associated logistics to service curbside easier to execute for small businesses.

While many people have been stuck at home during the pandemic, virtual travel marketing has emerged to help fill the void felt by those who yearn for faraway places. The E-Commerce Times caught up with some virtual travel experts to discover how they're using various technologies to give folks the opportunity to explore the world without leaving their homes.

Surely spurred by the work-from-home necessities of 2020, people have connected a multitude of non-business devices to their corporate networks, making it progressively difficult to implement cybersecurity because every device is a potential weak point. So, who will ultimately be responsible for cybersecurity of an IoT network?

According to gaming experts, 2021 is shaping up to be a big year for cloud gaming. When markets grow, it can be at the expense of others in the market. That won't be the case for cloud gaming, at least for the next five years. A proliferation of cloud gaming services will be launched next year, which is projected to brighten the sector's revenue picture.

For many of us a phone should predominantly be a way to communicate and aid productivity, as opposed to being a device of distractions. Though we communicate far differently these days, and the apps we use to communicate seem to prefer larger screens. This brings us to Microsoft's Surface Duo, which has twin screens and is very different from the foldable phones with which it will compete.

Users of video conference tools should be aware of the growing risk of impersonation attacks. Cybercriminals are capitalizing on the exponential increase of users turning to Zoom and other platforms to collaborate across work and friend networks. Researchers have identified attacks stemming from Australia, Germany, the U.S. and elsewhere.

A new coalition is building a low-cost solution to save lives in earthquake-threatened regions, rather than garnishing a profit from a new early-warning system. OpenEEW is an open-source IoT project with the goal to save lives by reducing the cost of earthquake early-warning systems and accelerating their deployments globally.

Cloud technology has matured substantially during the past 15 years, and now a paradigm shift is taking place, away from legacy in-house IT business services, to a cloud-first technology-driven agile workplace. Here are five trends in cloud computing for organizations to consider when plotting an IT infrastructure strategy.

Last week we ran a survey asking people which of the CEOs that were questioned by Congress last month is the most trustworthy. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg took the dubious prize for last place. Tim Cook of Apple was voted the most trustworthy. There shouldn't be any competition; Facebook has the tools and information access to assure it is beloved. Yet Apple, which doesn't have anywhere near that level of reach nor engagement, has a far better image. Let's talk about ironic incompetence.

Amazon has cleared a major regulatory hurdle in its quest to deliver Internet service to unserved and underserved areas of the earth. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved, with some conditions, Amazon's Kuiper Project, a US$10 billion low-orbit constellation made up of more than 3,000 satellites.

Though initially isolating, the coronavirus pandemic has spawned a whole new world of digital parties and get-togethers. People stuck at home are finding innovative ways to socialize, participating in everything from virtual beer tastings to online book club meetings. While the event landscape has been permanently altered by this shift, people and businesses continue to develop new ways of having fun.