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A decade ago, Microsoft thought it could ignore bureaucratic rumblings with little or no fallout. That attitude led to the historic Microsoft antitrust trial and the realization that bureaucrats can indeed wield bigtime impact. Google is now learning a similar lesson, albeit in a different way. In...
European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes is touring the United States this week. Her visit comes during a nasty spat between the commission and Microsoft that could seriously hurt technology businesses and consumers. Microsoft is planning to launch its new operating system, Windows Vista, in...
Hold on to your hats -- California lawmakers have finally done something even the most jaded critic will appreciate. It's called cable franchise reform, and it will have a positive impact on California and the entire nation. "California has led the way in the evolution of new technology, and with ...
This week, a key federal official cautioned against calls for net neutrality, the effort to expand government reach in the Internet marketplace. It's a wise move to keep the Internet free of red tape. So why are lobbyists pushing for new rules? Net neutrality holds that Internet network providers s...
This week, the U.S. State Department began rolling out "e-passports," new high-tech documents that bolster border security through identity safeguards. In a dangerous world, upgrading passports is prudent policy that serves the interests of Americans at home and abroad, but not everyone is happy wit...
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 in the Third World. The laptop project i...
Last week, the California Public Utilities Commission released a key draft decision that redraws telecom laws in a forward-thinking way. If commissioners can hear above the cawing of activist groups, consumers will benefit greatly. The Uniform Regulatory Framework, an ambitious effort by the CPUC to...
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department announced the end of the ancient federal excise tax 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 taxes, threatening innovation.
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 example. During the 2004 election, the Dean campaign was credited with ...
This week, European Commission regulators fined Microsoft about US$356 million, adding to the $630.7 million the company has already been forced to pay. Noncompliance with a mandate to disclose technology documents is the official reason for the fine, yet the deadline for such compliance has not yet...
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 significant benefits, espe...
As Congress draws closer to passing significant telecommunications reforms, it's clear that a larger issue serves as a backdrop to the hot topics of net neutrality, cable franchise reform, and municipal WiFi. That is, will the Internet be treated like telecommunications, or the other way around? Ne...
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 centers on two issues. First, Micros...
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 news if technology is allowed to move forward, unfettered by heavy gover...
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 concept being used to trick Americans into accepting reg...
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 by Congressman ...
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. Both announcements involve cable franchise re...
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. Such a plan would harm consumers and crush di...
The European Court of First Instance buzzed with energy this week as Microsoft and the European Commission squared off over a damaging 2004 ruling that, along with a fine of 497 million euros (US$613 million), creates a new Microsoft product and exposes the company's valuable intellectual property.
Last year, Congress passed the Real ID Act, a law that calls for standardization of drivers' licenses across the country by 2008. The current reaction from states like California and New Hampshire raises questions about how a national ID system would affect civil liberties, putting welcome pressure...
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