Vonage Loses In Court

By Digital Trends Staff June 3, 2007

On Friday, New Jersey-based Vonage lost its challenge in federal appeals court on a rule under which telecommunications companies are required to contribute money to a fund that her finance services for schools and libraries, as well as low-income and rural families. Vonage has been one of the leading companies in using broadband Internet connections to make phone calls. Vonage had been appealing a 2006 Federal Communications Commission ruling extended the fund payments to providers of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services. The company claimed that not only had the FCC overstepped its authority, it had also overestimated the amount Vonage owed in payments. Although judges at the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ceded two small points to Vonage, they were in agreement with the FCC the VoIP providers needed to contribute to the fund. “We are pleased that the court vacated portions of the F.C.C.’s U.S.F. order that treated VoIP providers in an inequitable manner,” said Vonage spokesperson Brooke Schulz, adding that the company wasn’t trying to evade its responsibility to contribute to the fun, but was merely challenging “the funding methodology.” Under the FFC rules, VoIP companies have to contribute 11.7% of their long distance revenue. Last year the fund reached $7.3 billion.

Digital Trends Staff

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Deals

These NewAir beverage cooler deals ensure you’ll never be without a cold drink

NewAir Beverage Fridges Featured 2

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Smart Home

Amazon Echo Show 10 (second-generation) vs. Echo Show 10 (third-gen)

Echo Show 10 in the kitchen.

Amazon’s latest event included a newly-announced standard model for its Echo Show line -- and we're pretty excited about it. If you’re interested in a smart display, Echo Shows are some of the best picks out there, with screens in a variety of sizes for many purposes around the home, from sitting at your bedside to commandeering your kitchen.

However, the latest standard 10-inch Echo Show, now in its third generation, and (confusingly) now called the Echo Show 10, completely revamps the Show’s design with a daring new look and features. To help show the difference, we’re going over the big differences between the Echo Show (second-gen) and the third-generation with a look at their specs.
Pricing and availability

Smart Home

Best fitness skills for your Alexa speaker to help you get into shape

Meet your fitness goals with the help of Alexa

cropped shot of fitness woman working out on exercise bike at the gym. female exercising on bicycle in health club, focus on legs.

Alexa could be your new best friend when it comes to an accountability buddy. She can help you get healthy, lose weight, and stay fit throughout the year, beyond just your New Year's resolution, thanks to her multitude of great skills. Some skills can help you keep track of water consumption and fitness goals, while others provide guided workouts anywhere you can take your Alexa speaker. Here are our picks for the top fitness skills.

MyFitnessPal Lite
If you're new to using your Alexa for fitness, the first skill you should equip is MyFitnessPal Lite. It can track just about any health and fitness goal you have, such as water consumption, calorie intake, steps taken throughout the day, your weight and more. All you need to do is say simple commands like, "Alexa, tell MyFitnessPal to log 1 liter of water," or "Alexa, tell MyFitnessPal to log 10,000 steps." You can also ask Alexa to recall previous logs. Everything is stored to your account, so you can see the data in graph form on the MyFitnessPal website or app.
Fitness Thirty
Fitness Thirty is like having a trainer in your Alexa speaker. You pick "chest," "cardio," "abs," or "yoga" and then Alexa will call out a workout move for you to do while she counts down 25 seconds. After the 25 second countdown, she gives you a 5-second rest. Then, you can start all over again with a different move. For example, if you choose "abs" she may tell you to hold yourself in a plank position for 25 seconds. After, she'll say, "You deserve a five-second rest," and count down five seconds. Once the rest is over, she will ask you to choose a category again, so you can really mix up your workouts.
Easy Yoga