New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
EU operators are considering joining up to create a pan-European network to reduce competitive overbuild and cost. This might lower costs and focus operators on higher-level, more interesting services.
Congress is considering a bill to extend a moratorium on Internet regulation changes for two years. But with issues like service quality, cloud performance, and privacy looming, we risk contaminating the Internet with fraud.
The risk of the ITU taking over the Internet is overblown. First, it's almost certain its goals are simply to create orderly interconnect and settlement. Second, how good a job has ICANN done anyway? If we don't like international control we should clean up our own processes in both governance and interconnect!
The new Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) initiative of operators is being run out of Europe's ETSI and not here in the United States, even though the issues have been here for five years. The US needs to step up; otherwise, it's surrendering leadership.
The FBI recently issued a warning to smartphone users, highlighting two mobile malware applications: Loozfan, which steals personal information, and FinFisher, which is spyware that takes over a smartphone's functions.
Healthcare providers have been moving to telemedicine treatments, where the patient and doctor can meet online, but insurance carriers are not required to pay for such treatments. This may change, though, as Maryland recently passed a law mandating that insurers pay up.
It wouldn't be the first time, but a group of Chinese engineers has proposed a means by which the Internet's root could be split, enabling secondary, independent networks that could be government-controlled. The Internet's root security committee is taking such proposals seriously.
Recently, security software supplier Kaspersky identified Win32.Flame as malicious code that seems to have been developed, not by hackers, but by government agencies. Warring nations may set aside their bombs and wage their wars online.
There's a lot of debate on whether ceding control of the Internet to the ITU/UN is bad for the Internet. Whether that's really true depends on just how much of the "control" we yield and what we do to balance the Internet as an innovation platform and as a service platform.
The Oracle/Google lawsuit is about arcane issues like APIs, but the ramifications of a decision here could touch every single software developer and every piece of software on the Internet. We're going to have to review the decision closely; it could stop innovation in its tracks!
The plan for unmanned police drones to patrol traffic and other city conditions in Seattle has sparked a new set of legal concerns about privacy. Law traditionally lags technology, but we can expect now to see a new round of activity in the courts as legal definitions begin to emerge on what "next-gen privacy" will look like.
US counterterrorism expert Richard Clarke, who came to prominence with his prescient warnings before the 9/11 attacks, tells Smithsonian Magazine the US was responsible for the Stuxnet supersmart worm that attacked parts of nuclear reactors in Iran – and in the process, has given away one of the world's most sophisticated cyberweapons.
Some say that exposure to violence in gaming, online video, etc., is creating a violent culture. Tom says it's not that straightforward. Rather than regulate violence, we should understand it better.
ICANN is in a crisis. But if it goes away, so will its unique "multistakeholder model," which allows Internet users to participate alongside business, government, and industry.
Confused about long forms and short forms? Well, this year, face-to-face help may be only a few clicks away. The IRS, as well as tax preparation agencies like TurboTax, have introduced new video conferencing services, designed to make it easier for individuals to get the help they need.
The AT&T notion of letting some apps "buy" the data for its users seems inconsistent with the neutrality principles designed to keep big sites from dominating the Internet. Is the principle wrong, or is AT&T's policy wrong? We need a consistent position here.
Malware designed to infect Google Android smartphones has increased dramatically, and now the government is stepping in. The National Security Agency has developed SE Android, a system that tries to close up its security holes.
We're getting wrapped around the wrong issues with SOPA. The problem isn't in how it's enforced. It's the fact that the basic concept is a violation of due process.
Reporting from "overnight duty" (hmm…) at Internet Evolution, Kim Davis gives an update on the day Wikipedia, Reddit, and BoingBoing went dark to protest SOPA.
Google Internet Evangelist Vinton G. Cerf is right to argue that the Internet is not a basic human right. (Though Kim knows he was the one to say it first…)
Dave Austin, communications director for Multnomah County, discusses why he's excited to move from the county's "old and clunky" intranet and onto an open-source platform, and how this change will help him do his job.
Staci Cenis, IT project manager for Multnomah County, discusses the cost savings of moving to the cloud and how this transition will bring users functionalities they've been requesting for a long time.
Jane Williams, technology training manager for Multnomah County, says the ability to share resources is just one of the coming benefits of moving the county's intranet to a Drupal Commons platform hosted in the cloud.
Ontario's information privacy commissioner explains the unintended consequences of facial recognition technology and how biometric encryption can make it safer.
When it comes to Internet-related research, the gap between the real world and academia is widening. Indeed, a few boffins may be up so high in their ivory towers that Earth is invisible. Sadly, some of this research is probably costing the US government – and US citizens – real money.
The world’s most powerful supercomputer now resides in Japan, but the US would like to reclaim the lead. The Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee, which is part of the US Department of Energy, is building a supercomputer that will be used for such tasks as simulating nuclear explosions.
David Vladeck, Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission, discusses the state of "Do Not Track" and the problem with consumer behavior tracking online.
The US government is funding controversial projects to collect daily Internet activity, including Web searches, Twitter messages, Facebook and blog posts, and the digital location trails generated by billions of cellphones. Its goal is to map these interactions to predict social behavior, such as protests.
We the People: Is it a fantastic petition tool for citizens? Or is it a Web 2.0 toy designed to distract people while Obama allows extraterrestrials to take over the federal government? Hmmmm...
President Obama may soon earn the badge as "Mayor" of the White House, thanks to his joining the mobile check-in service, FourSquare. Let's all sigh in unison, shall we?
Anonymous retaliated against recent arrests of its members on a large scale but apparently engaged in pointless hacks of rural police forces in the United States.
Free wireless is like tap water in Europe and Asia. Why is the US so far behind? Because of a near-religious commitment to non-government interference in markets, America lacks basic wireless infrastructure and will pay the price competitively.
Law enforcement agencies are poised to use iPhones as facial recognition systems in the coming months. The technical advance promises efficiency but has created a backlash among civil liberties proponents.
The volume of spam dropped from 225 billion to 40 billion in the past year. Kudos to law enforcement officials for shutting down some of the world's largest botnets.
President Obama conducted a town hall via Twitter this week by giving long-winded, spoken responses to Tweets. Kim thinks he should have just Tweeted back – and he demonstrates it can be done!
Initiatives like Internet2 continue to advance rapid broadband in the US, but the country still lags behind others. It's time for industry to join government in investing to further innovation and economic growth.
The US government's notion of "Internet in a suitcase" to provide online access where repressive regimes suspend it might be helpful in a democratic sense, but it may provoke more government attacks on the Internet itself, opening real online warfare.
The US boasts a commitment to "Internet freedom," but in practice that commitment falls short. What Internet freedom really means is freedom of the mind.
Our online communications and privacy are being threatened by governments and corporations. Eben Moglen believes it's time for a People's Internet, made possible by "Freedom Boxes."
President Obama appoints a Twitter CEO to an advisory committee; Rep. Anthony Weiner sends a racy, career-damaging Tweet; and Nicole and Steve laaaaaugh and laaaaaugh.
Everything about US broadband policy is inconsistent, deceitful, or both, and we're at risk of having our services get even worse relative to the rest of the world if we don't make people accountable for their data and their choices.
Social media has broken news and torn down governments, but is it a force for good? Not until we can use the power of the Internet to build up something to replace what's been destroyed.
The National Security Agency says in some ways we are more vulnerable while working from home, and that you may want to try "sandboxing" to prevent malware attacks.
WikiLeaks' founder says that Facebook is an instrument for government spying. Whether that's true or not, we're sharing too much, and we’re on the edge of compromising the notion of identity, and with it of privacy and commercial protection.
Does Reiter feel safer because a new Department of Homeland Security policy will allow broadcasting terrorism alerts over Twitter and Facebook? There’s only one way to find out!
Nice try, Karl Rove and friends, but a Wiki that is only open to hand-selected contributors and seeks to support a single point of view is... not really a wiki.
Congress isn't going to kill net neutrality, but we may face usage pricing or other changes. The best strategy for all would be to encourage ISPs to offer some of the services that OTT competitors now lead in, so they get a piece of the content pie.
Deep Packet Inspection to intercept behavioral data has never been a popular idea, but recent comments by the FTC and ISPs suggest that the players are dodging the most critical issue of all, which is whether DPI use should be considered wiretapping.
The IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit in Monaco kicked into high gear today, and we've already begun to see news emerging from that lovely city-state by the sea.
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