Roy Mark

NOTE TO NYPD: Many MP3 players now have digital recording ability. While that might be old news to most, apparently N.Y. police Detective Christopher Perino didn’t get the memo. It may cost Perino his badge and 84 years in prison. Perino, 42 and a 19-year New York Police Department veteran, was indicted Dec. 6 by […]

The Federal Communications Commission could not come to a clear consensus on Verizon’s request to deregulate some of its commercial broadband business. By government rules, the FCC’s 2-2 vote in 2006 on Verizon’s request meant that the commission actually approved it. On Dec. 7, a federal court upheld the decision, refusing to overturn it despite […]

For the 13th time in 26 years, Congress has agreed to a temporary extension of the research and development tax credit. On a vote of 88-5, the Senate approved a one-year extension of the R&D credit. The House agreed to the same measure Nov. 9. [This measure failed during reconciliation between the House and Senate […]

An adult social network that caters to the “sex and swingers” community agreed Dec. 6 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its use of sexually explicit pop-up ads violates federal law. According to the FTC, Various, Inc., a California corporation doing business as AdultFriendFinder, AdultFriendFinder.com and Cams.com, as well as its various advertising affiliates […]

The same bipartisan group that pushed patent reform through the U.S. House calling for reduced infringement awards introduced legislation Dec. 5 to increase criminal and civil penalties for copyright and trademark infringement. The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2007, or PRO IP, would also create an Office of the United States […]

Legislation passed by the House Dec. 5 would triple the penalties for ISPs that knowingly fail to report child pornography on their service and expand the reporting requirements to cover all communications providers, including Wi-Fi operators that offer open connections to the public. Approved 409-2, the SAFE (Securing Adolescents From Exploitation Online) Act of 2007 […]

TomTom, the Dutch-based navigation device maker, said Dec. 5 it is teaming with Google to allow users to send business addresses directly from the Google Maps Web site to TomTom devices. To accommodate TomTom customers, Google Maps’ local search page has been expanded to include a “Send to GPS” button. The option allows a one-click […]

Padmasree Warrior, the former Motorola chief technology officer who left the company Dec. 3 in the wake of CEO Ed Zander’s ouster, reappeared the next day as Cisco Systems’ new CTO. Warrior will report to John Chambers, Cisco’s chairman and CEO. Warrior left Motorola just three days after Motorola announced Nov. 30 that CEO Ed […]

AT&T and Verizon Wireless announced a spectrum swap Dec. 4 as part of the divestiture requirements of AT&T’s $2.8 billion acquisition of Dobson Communications. Before the acquisition, Dobson was the largest independent rural wireless provider in the United States, with 1.7 million customers. Verizon Wireless will acquire from AT&T some former Dobson properties in Kentucky. […]

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter introduced legislation Dec. 3 that would shift the responsibility for telephone companies’ role in President Bush’s warrantless domestic spying program to the government. Under Specter’s bill, those suing AT&T, Verizon and other carriers would have to change their legal claims from those against telecoms to claims that can only be made […]