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U.S. states are asking the courts to reinstate net neutrality rules, Apple may be updating MacBook Air and Mini, and Huawei gets caught faking photos.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Wednesday, August 22nd and I’m your host Meagan Simpson.
First from Reddit: Some U.S. state leaders are attempting to protect an open and free internet. On Monday 22 state attorney generals and the District of Columbia asked the U.S. appeals court to reinstate the former net neutrality regulations. They are asking the court to reinstate the Obama era rules and reject the Trump administration’s regulations that take away state’s powers to keep on open internet. The states originally filed a lawsuit in January after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to reverse rules protecting net neutrality. They are arguing that the FCC failed to identify any valid authority for preempting state and local laws that would be used to protect neutrality. On Monday, several internet companies including Mozilla Corp., Vimeo Inc. and Etsy Inc. also filed a separate lawsuit challenging the new rules that took effect in June. The state attorney general’s suing represent states that include California, Illinois, New Jersey and North Carolina and many other states that represent more than half of the American population.
Next up from Google: Apple may be releasing a long awaited update to the MacBook Air and Mini. According to a Bloomberg report it is rumoured that the company is finally upgrading the Air and Mini to meet needs of customers. The Air hasn’t seen a major overhaul in several years. And, apparently some loyal Apple users who prefer the lightweight, less expensive laptop have complained that updates to software simply haven’t met their professional needs. People familiar with the plans, who asked not to be identified, told Bloomberg that the new laptop will look similar to the current version but will include thinner bezels around the screen, and offer higher resolution. The Mac laptop has always been a steady seller for Apple, and was even ahead of the iPad in sales in the last fiscal year. The Mac Mini, which hasn’t been updated in four years is said to be getting more storage and processor options. Apple spokesperson Bill Evans declined to comment on Bloomberg’s report.
Finally from Twitter: Huawei has been caught faking its smartphone pictures. An actor from the phone company’s latest commercial has revealed that a DSLR camera was used to take some of the photos and not the new Nova 3 smartphone being advertised. The image in question is about halfway through the ad and shows a couple ‘taking a selfie’, however a since deleted Instagram post from the actress in the shot shows the ‘selfie’ was taken by a professional photographer using a DSLR camera. And the Nova 3 is nowhere to be found. While we must admit that Huawei never explicitly stated that its commercial photos came from its smartphone, it seems implied that a company known for quality camera phones would actually use it for the ads. According to the Verge this not the first time the Chinese smartphone maker has blurred the lines in its ads, it has also been caught using a Canon camera in the past for its P9 ads and got caught photo-shopping bezels off its P8.