Technology & Society
On Tuesday, government officials in India rejected an offer to participate in a much-hyped project to distribute laptops costing US$100 each to the world’s impoverished children. A closer look reveals this scheme to be little more than open source evangelism
The European Commission has taken a break from trying to re-design Microsoft’s software just long enough to get excited about DVDs. According to this report, “European Commission antitrust officials are probing the licensing strategies of two rival new generation DVD
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the end of the ancient federal excise tax (FET) on long-distance telephone bills. Consumers should be wary of this seemingly positive development, as cash-strapped bureaucrats now press forward with plans for new technology
As the country gears up for the November elections and online communities start to buzz, it’s instructive to look back at the way image myths were created, even with the openness of the Internet. The Howard Dean campaign is one
This week, European Commission (EC) regulators fined Microsoft 280.5 million euros (US$356 million), adding to the 497 million euros ($630.7 million) the company has already been forced to pay. Noncompliance with a mandate to disclose technology documents is the official
EU regulators today fined Microsoft 280.5 million Euros ($357 million USD) for supposedly not complying with their demands. Of course, the regulator’s demands are currently in the appeals process and the Commission dragged their heels in making their demands clear,
This week, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee approved the Communications, Consumer Choice and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006, sponsored by Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii). If passed by the full Congress, this massive telecom bill will bring consumers
News reports are saying that EU antitrust authorities plan to recommend that Microsoft pay as much as $2.5 million (USD) in penalties for every day it finds the company failed to disclose information on Windows to competitors. The penalty would
This is from a UK publication: http://www.digitmag.co.uk/news/index.cfm?NewsID=5869 The coupling of Microsoft and Lawrence Lessig, an outspoken proponent of loosening restrictions on copyrights for digital content, may seem an unlikely one. But the software company and Lessig’s Creative Commons organization will
There’s a cool looking program on the Science Channel today at 2pm. According to the site, the “film will closely examine the technologies that give hope to the disabled, allowing them to push beyond their limits and realize their potential.”
In an unfortunate turn of events, Adobe has threatened an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in Europe. That two American companies may have their fate decided by European bureaucrats is bad enough, but the underlying assumptions make it even worse.The dispute
You either are born with it or not says this study.
Broadband adoption in American homes grew by 40 percent in the last year, twice the growth rate of the year before, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That’s good news that should be followed by more good
Today, the WSJ reported that Adobe is threatening an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in Europe because Adobe doesn’t want Microsoft to use PDF in MS Office. So why is Adobe going to Europe? They are both American companies, so it
At least six bills before Congress deal with an issue that leaves many confused and involves a lot of money, constant spin doctoring, and now Hillary Clinton. No, we’re not talking about HillaryCare redux or Whitewater, but “Net neutrality,” a
Social networking Web sites like MySpace, Friendster and Facebook are becoming increasingly popular with the nation’s youth, prompting attempts to control the medium. However, though protecting children is the goal, the outcome is too often the opposite. Recently proposed legislation
Here’s a great column from Declan on what Congress is plotting for data collection in the name of helping children.
PRI’s Lloyd Billingsley writes an excellent piece on video choice and education. The key question he asks is why California’s left-leaning democrats think competition is good in cable, but not for education. Here’s an excerpt: Speaker Nunez is right that
Getting cheaper and better cable services to consumers has been difficult because the laws governing the sector have proved tough to change. This week, officials in two states announced key decisions that may significantly change the terms of the debate.
There’s a policy issue before Congress so pressing that even Hollywood actors like former “Charmed” star Alyssa Milano are blogging about it. It’s called “Net neutrality,” and its purpose is to control what network owners can charge for their services.