VESA Publishes Embedded DisplayPort 1.4a Standard That Supports 8K Displays

Sebastian Anthony, writing for Ars Technica:

VESA, the standards body responsible for such luminary technologies as DisplayPort and the omnipresent VESA monitor mount, has published the specification for version 1.4a of Embedded DisplayPort (eDP). The new standard builds upon DisplayPort 1.3, which was published at the end of 2014. In short, eDP 1.4a allows for laptops, smartphones, tablets, and all-in-ones with 8K displays (7680×4320) or high-frequency (120Hz) 4K displays—but it includes a few other neat features, too.

eDP 1.4a appears to be almost entirely based on DisplayPort 1.3—which was published in September 2014—with a couple of new features thrown in for good measure. eDP 1.4a specifies four high-speed (HBR3) lanes between the graphics adapter and display, with each lane capable of 8.1Gbps; the lanes can either be used individually, in pairs (more on that later), or all together for a total theoretical bandwidth of 32.4Gbps. That's enough bandwidth to drive a 4K display (3840×2160) at 120Hz with 10-bit color or an 8K display at 60Hz.

So sometime in in late 2015 or early to mid-2016 for iMacs and Mac Pros to be able to use this to support beefier external displays?

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality

Tom Wheeler himself, writing for Wired:

After more than a decade of debate and a record-setting proceeding that attracted nearly 4 million public comments, the time to settle the Net Neutrality question has arrived. This week, I will circulate to the members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed new rules to preserve the internet as an open platform for innovation and free expression. This proposal is rooted in long-standing regulatory principles, marketplace experience, and public input received over the last several months.

When I saw, what could only be described as the controlled leaks, of the news earlier this week and last week, I began to believe it was the case. I did not believe Wheeler would flip on this issue from last year to this year. I am geuinely surprised and pleased by this. He will never read this, but I apologize to him for the varied and many profanities I call him. Corporate prostitute comes to mind as one example.

Another section from his article drew my attention though:

I personally learned the importance of open networks the hard way. In the mid-1980s I was president of a startup, NABU: The Home Computer Network. My company was using new technology to deliver high-speed data to home computers over cable television lines. Across town Steve Case was starting what became AOL. NABU was delivering service at the then-blazing speed of 1.5 megabits per second—hundreds of times faster than Case’s company. “We used to worry about you a lot,” Case told me years later.

But NABU went broke while AOL became very successful. Why that is highlights the fundamental problem with allowing networks to act as gatekeepers.

While delivering better service, NABU had to depend on cable television operators granting access to their systems. Steve Case was not only a brilliant entrepreneur, but he also had access to an unlimited number of customers nationwide who only had to attach a modem to their phone line to receive his service. The phone network was open whereas the cable networks were closed. End of story.

The phone network’s openness did not happen by accident, but by FCC rule. How we precisely deliver that kind of openness for America’s broadband networks has been the subject of a debate over the last several months.

It's hard to make your case that something wont happen to an FCC Chairman who your industry has personally fucked over in the past by the very thing you say wont happen. Make your own bed, you have to lie in it.

In Net Neutrality Push, F.C.C. Is Expected to Propose Regulating Internet Service as a Utility

Steve Lohr, writing for the New York Times:

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission this week is widely expected to propose regulating Internet service like a public utility, a move certain to unleash another round of intense debate and lobbying about how to ensure so-called net neutrality, or an open Internet.

It is expected that the proposal will reclassify high-speed Internet service as a telecommunications service, instead of an information service, under Title II of the Communications Act, according to industry analysts, lobbyists and former F.C.C. staff members.

This news, if it turns out to be true, is very surprising to me. Given Tom Wheeler's history on Net Neutrality, I had expected him to whichever way Comcast & friends had wanted him to vote. I am still skeptical because of this bit from the article:

But Tom Wheeler, the F.C.C. chairman, will advocate a light-touch approach to Title II, they say, shunning the more intrusive aspects of utility-style regulation, like meddling in pricing decisions.

Still though, it seems that it will be better than I feared, which is a total rejection of Title II. That's something.

Veteran Microsoft Developer Posts To Reddit About Why Microsoft Software Never Seems To Change

Take this with a large grain of salt, of course, due to anonymity. A supposed 15 year Microsoft developer made a post on /r/windowsphone about why Microsoft's software hasn't really changed much within the past 10 years. It's worth your time to read as he outlines internal problems with how Microsoft makes its products. Make sure you read further down the replies as he outlines how he thinks Microsoft will do over the next few years too.