It's Wednesday, March 29, 2017. Hey, good morning! How's your week been?  Welcome to mid-week. We’ve got sub-$1,000 4K TVs in decent sizes, the US government voted on whether ISPs can sell your browser history, and IKEA is getting into the smart lighting game. You might have heard -- the device has been leaked enough -- that Samsung’s Galaxy S8 will get its full unveiling later today. We will be reporting (and liveblogging) from the event, which kicks off at 11AM ET in New York. Seriously cheap.
 Vizio continues to push TV prices down to the point where it would be crazy not to go 4K on your next TV. With its latest D-Series, a 65-inch 4K (Ultra HD) model costs $900, while the 55-inch Ultra HD model is just $570. These are not fancy HDR-equipped OLED or quantum dot models, but they do have full-array LED backlighting, built-in WiFi and Vizio's own smart TV system for apps like Netflix. Comparing the price against premium sets from established TV players like LG, Samsung and Sony, and you can see how Vizio might expect to sell plenty of ‘em.
| | Nothing to see here. The FCC just tried to implement privacy rules that would prevent ISPs from selling personal info like your browsing history without asking, but Congress is putting a stop to that. In a 215 to 205 vote, the House of Representatives approved S J Res 34, following a vote by the Senate last week. Now, if the president signs it into law -- as he says he will -- ISPs won’t have to deal with these extra privacy and vulnerability disclosure rules nationwide. Customers will still have to opt-out of any sales of their data, assuming they can figure out how to do it.
| | No colors, yet.
 Philips is perhaps the most well known smart bulb maker, but that could soon change thanks to a new entrant: IKEA. That's right, the world's biggest furniture chain is today debuting its own smart lighting range in the UK. As you might expect, the prices are a lot easier on the wallet. Its Smart Lighting collection consists of TRÅDFRI LED bulbs and remote control, a gateway kit, a motion sensor kit, dimming lights and a selection of LED light panels and doors that can be built into kitchen and bedroom cabinets -- enough to light up most homes, but only in differing shades of white. | | Colorful mascots are ready for a comeback.
 Crafted by small team made up of former Rare employees, Yooka-Laylee appears to be at the center of a 3D platformer revival. A few years ago, barring a certain red-capped plumber, the 3D platform genre was on hiatus, replaced by grittier adventure titles. More recently, we saw a rebooted Ratchet & Clank, a Crash Bandicoot remaster collection and Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey is due on the Switch this holiday. How is this crowdfunded competitor faring? | | Google and Symantec go to war over our internet security
 Google and Symantec are engaged in a war about each other's security practices, with all of us caught in the crossfire. As TechCrunch reports, Google believes that Symantec has been improperly issuing security certificates for tens of thousands of websites. If the search engine follows through with its threat, then Chrome will soon no longer place the same level of trust in Symantec's certificates. | | Cable TV is internet TV.  A report from Reuters indicates that Comcast is about to unleash Xfinity Internet TV, an expanded version of the Stream service it is already testing in Chicago and Boston. At first, it will only be available to Comcast internet customers, so the company doesn’t compete with any other cable providers. Otherwise, it’s similar to DirecTV Now and Sling TV, with a cloud DVR and value-priced “skinny bundles” of channels put together to chase customers who don’t want a cable box or contract.
| | Welcome to the internet age  Every couple of years, people on the western half of the US tune in to watch the Olympics and find out that a lot of the events are being held up on tape delay. The situation becomes more ridiculous every time, as the internet puts real-time spoilers up everywhere. Now, NBC is finally ready to bend, and says that unlike Rio, its prime time TV broadcasts for the 2018 Winter Olympics will be live in all time zones.
| | ‘Clean’ coal
The latest executive order from president number 45 takes aim at number 44’s Clean Power Plan. Its claimed intent is to create more jobs in the US energy market. What it will do is remove a rule mandating that the government consider how its actions will impact climate change when reviewing new legislation. It also allows energy companies to once again buy the rights to mine coal on federal lands.
| | But wait, there's more... | |
