Intel has made progress on technology that could allow a person to power a device, such as a cell phone, by placing it on a countertop, bringing the consumer electronics industry a step closer to a world without wires.
On Thursday, the chipmaker plans to demonstrate the use of a magnetic field to broadcast up to 60 watts of power two to three feet. It says it can do that while losing only 25 percent of the power in transmission.
At the same time, users may start to lose some of the freedom they have been taking for granted from Internet providers, unless they want to pay a price.
Time Warner cable is trying out a 5-GB traffic cap for new users in Beaumont, Texas. Every gigabyte downloaded over the monthly allowance will cost $1 . More expensive plans have higher caps - at $54.90 per month, the allowance is 40 GB. Depending on the results of the trial, Time Warner Cable may apply the same pricing structure elsewhere.
In a sense, caps on Internet use are no stranger than the limited number of minutes a cell phone subscriber receives each month or airlines charging for luggage to offset costs. Internet use varies widely from person to person, and service providers argue that the people who use it the most should pay the most.
But the industry hasn't worked out where to set the limits, or how much to charge users who exceed them. Fearing a customer backlash, most providers are setting the limits at levels where very few would bump into them. Comcast Corp. has floated the idea of a 250-GB monthly cap.







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