Talking Tech: Net neutrality, Google vs. Uber

VENICE BEACH, Calif. - It's not just folks who like to watch a lot of online movies and TV shows who are the victors in the FCC chairman's proposed approach to open Internet — count those of us who send text messages as well.

"This is good news for all consumers who use the Internet, and they include mobile broadband as well," says Greg Cohn, the co-founder of Burner, an app that gives secondary numbers for private phone call. "SMS and MMS, which we use to text friends, are controlled and gated by the big carriers as well."

Net Neutrality — the hot-button Washington issue that's pitted big wireless carriers and cable companies vs. consumers, was in the news this week when FCC chairman Tom Wheeler announced that he was clearly on the side of consumers. The Internet is a utility, he said, and companies shouldn't be able to charge firms like Netflix and Amazon extra when throngs of people flock to their sites in the evening to watch entertainment.

It was the lead topic in our weekly USA TODAY #TalkingTech audio roundtable as well. Click the link above to listen to our panelists tackle the issue, as well as us sounding off on those two fitness apps (MyFitnessPal and Endomondo) that sold this week to Under Armour for over $500 million, and Google's reported move to take on Uber with an alternative taxi service.

Our panel included Cohn from Burner, Kieran Hannon, the chief marketing officer of device, case and router maker Belkin, Deviant Art's Daniel Bornstein and Andrew Maltin, the co-founder of Hang /W, the app for broadcasting live videos without having to go through a social network like Google Plus or Facebook.

Our wide-ranging discussion also included a look at Google Plus, the once thriving social network that has seemingly been left neglected by Google for the last two years—will it bounce back?

Remember how tablets were the rage just a few years ago? Well, sales have been declining, rather rapidly.Fourth-quarter and year-end tablet shipment figures from market researcher IDC show that growth has nearly evaporated for the iPad, the iPad Mini, and competing devices from Samsung and others. Fourth quarter sales for all tablets fell 3% this year--a year ago they had risen 28%. Has the big smartphone killed the tablet?

And imagine my surprise when I brought up Canon's new mega 5DS, billed as the "world's highest resolution camera," with a 50.5 megapixel sensor. All the members of the roundtable own DSLRs, with everyone sporting a Canon except for Hannon, who has an Olympus. But not one (save for the moderator) knew which model they owned.

Which suggests Canon has its work cut out for it, or is looking at a tiny, sliver of the market to sell to.

Follow Jefferson Graham, Kieran Hannon, Andrew Maltin, Greg Cohn and Daniel Bornstein on Twitter.