Roy Mark

Despite the recent surge in economic growth and declining unemployment rates, the effects of the recovery are not yet being felt in the Internet industry according to the U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA), a national trade association for Internet commerce, content and connectivity. The group places the blame squarely on the “incoherent, inconsistent and conflicting” […]

Although Congress gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) $1 billion more in funding than President Bush requested, the DHS has approximately 30 percent less than the administration wanted for technology spending, according to a new report by Input, a Reston, Va.-based government research firm. In early October, Bush signed into law the DHS Appropriations […]

EDS Corp. has won a contract protest with the federal government, forcing the General Services Administration (GSA) to add the Plano, Tex.-based outsourcing services company to two other companies providing Web-based travel management for public employees. In August, the GSA awarded a 10-year, $450 million e-travel contract to Northrop Grumman Mission Systems (NGMS) and Carlson […]

The Federal Trade Commission has conducted its annual holiday surf of Internet retailers and sent letters to 37 e-tailers warning them about potential violations of consumer protection rules regarding warranties, shipping claims and rebates. This year’s surf involved 51 Web retail sites. The FTC review found that 14 of the 16 sites selling products with […]

U.S. Sen. John McCain said Monday he hopes the Senate can pass some version of an Internet access tax ban within the next two weeks. The five-year moratorium on taxing consumers’ connections to the Internet expired on Nov. 1. McCain predicted Monday the issue would be resolved before the Senate leaves for its Christmas break, […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Monday one of the country’s top priorities is to increase by a factor of 100 the computing capability available to support open scientific research. The effort, to be located at multiple facilities throughout the U.S., is known as the UltraScale Scientific Computing Capability. Abraham made his comments during a […]

The recovery in IT spending is underway, with a solid return to growth expected in 2004 and 2005, according to tech research firm Gartner . But the data also show that, while “strong single-digit growth over 2003 levels” is expected, growth rates will vary widely by technology sector. Also pacing the recovery, Gartner added, will […]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) plans a Dec. 1 forum in Washington to begin shaping a regulatory framework for voice over IP (VoIP) technology. The hearing will invite industry and government leaders to discuss how digital technologies are being used to provide “innovative and affordable voice services to consumers and stimulate economic growth.” It will […]

Motorola is acquiring ultra-wideband (UWB) developer XtremeSpectrum of Vienna, Va. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and approvals and is expected to close within the week. Financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Motorola and XtremeSpectrum have been active members of the standardization efforts for UWB. Monday’s announcement follows XtremeSpectrum’s filing […]

Opposition to permanently extending the ban on Internet access taxes began to stiffen Thursday night as the U.S. Senate opened debate on the Internet Tax Non Discrimination Act (S. 150). The House of Representatives has already passed legislation to make the access tax ban, which expired last Saturday, permanent. Debate will continue Friday morning and […]

After a morning of backroom negotiating that failed to find common ground, the U.S. Senate backed away Friday from voting on legislation that proposes to permanently extend the ban on taxing Internet access. Led by a coalition of Republican and Democratic senators who formerly served as governors of their states, opponents to the bill are […]

WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has obtained a temporary restraining order to stop a San Diego, Calif.-based company from exploiting a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Messenger Service to bombard Internet users with pop-up ads — ads aimed at selling software to stop the very same type of pop-up. The Messenger Service pop-up ads, also […]