Weekly output: Bluesky verification, brain-computer interface, Xfinity Mobile, resisting FTC commissioners, Comcast pain points

RIO DE JANEIRO–The organizers of Web Summit Rio have once again seen fit to have me moderate panels at their conference here (with my hotel paid for and my airfare to be reimbursed). And while last year I got away with only doing one panel, this year I have three: a discussion about Web3 possibilities Monday, a session on data privacy Tuesday, and a panel about AI in advertising on Wednesday.

4/21/2025: Bluesky Adds Blue Checks to Verified Accounts, But They’re Not for Sale, PCMag

Bluesky’s management continues to impress me with their thoughtful responses to problems that arise with that decentralized platform.

4/23/2025: I Controlled a Wheelchair With My Mind (Well, I Think I Did), PCMag

The research for this happened three weeks ago at NTT’s Upgrade 2025 conference in San Francisco (with that Japanese telco covering my airfare and lodging), but writing this post took some time. And then my editor had to find time of her own to edit this between all of the news breaking this month.

4/23/2025: Xfinity Mobile’s New Premium Unlimited Plan Doubles Data Without a Price Hike, PCMag

I felt a little confused covering a story about Comcast that did not involve a service costing more–especially coming a day after T-Mobile announced a rate rewrite that looks like it will amount to a large cost increase for many users.

4/24/2025: The FTC Commissioners That Trump Wants to Fire: We’re Not Going Away, PCMag

I spent Wednesday and Thursday at the privacy trade group IAPP’s annual conference in D.C. thinking that Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel interviewing Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, the two members of the Federal Trade Commission that Trump wants gone, would be the newsiest part. And so it was.

4/25/2025: Comcast Execs: Our Pricing Is Opaque and We Can Be Hard to Do Business With, PCMag

Because I was busy getting ready for IAPP Thursday morning, I missed the Comcast earnings call that featured executives admitting the “pain points” the company had created with its customers. Fortunately, nobody else at PCMag picked up the story before I could get to it Friday.

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