In The News

FCC Vote on "White Spaces" to Be Delayed?

Cyrus Farivar October 28, 2008
Besides the presidential election, November 4 marks another big vote in the US, with the Federal Communications Commission set to decide whether to open its white space – unused space between channels that produces static on televisions – for unlicensed use that could potentially allow universal broadband access throughout the US. The amount of white space will increase after the US moves to...

Microsoft Described as “Biggest Hacker in China”

Tania Branigan October 23, 2008
In demonstrating a prowess in combating online piracy, Microsoft has infuriated Chinese internet users. “The new version of its Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy programme turns the on-screen background black every hour if the installed software fails a validation test,” reports Tania Branigan for the Guardian. Chinese internet users argue the company should target producers who violate...

Diagnosing at a Distance

Margot Cohen September 10, 2008
The poor are often the last to benefit from technological leaps in health care. But trained physicians and technological advances combined with the presence of a large number of poor dispersed throughout the Indian countryside could usher in changes for health-care delivery. Rapidly declining costs of satellite and internet connections allow caregivers to use telemedicine and reach more patients...

High-Tech Ties Bridge Mideast Divide

Robert W. Gee September 8, 2008
With any lull in the violence, Palestinian and Israeli representatives reach out to each other for business and trade opportunities. One example is Israeli high-tech executive, Jonathan Levy, president and general manager of Nuvoton, who did not hesitate in outsourcing some software engineering work to seven recent graduates from West Bank universities. More than 2000 Palestinian students...

Internet Traffic Begins to Bypass the US

John Markoff September 4, 2008
The internet, invented by US scientists, has no central point of control. More users are emerging beyond US borders and shaping the system: The US has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but is responsible for about 25 percent of all internet traffic while Asia represents about 40 percent of all internet traffic. As a result, more internet data flow outside the US, explains John...

American Tech Companies in China: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

August 12, 2008
: A US senator convinced US technology firms to agree on an internet freedom code of conduct. But companies like Google, Yahoo! And Microsoft have not made great strides in China while Chinese internet firms flourish. The number of internet users in China now exceeds the US total. “If they left China, these American technology companies would have fewer market entry headaches, but the...

Neo-Nazis Using Web Sites to Threaten Opponents

Guido Kleinhubbert August 1, 2008
Neo-Nazis use the internet to their advantage. To intimidate left-leaning politicians and activists, the Nazis publish names, family information, photos and threats. Followers then use that information to damage cars, fire shots near politician’s homes or deface property. Germany tightly restricts Nazi symbols, but has discovered that it’s near impossible to stop the practice of using the...