Roy Mark

President Obama is seeding the health care industry with another $88 million in funding for health care centers to adopt new health information technology systems to manage their administrative and financial matters and transfer old paper files to electronic medical records. The initiative is part of $600 million in stimulus money that will go toward […]

A Government Accountability Office study issued Dec. 10 (PDF) finds that 84 percent of Americans are very or somewhat pleased with their wireless phone service, but also concludes that early termination fees stop 42 percent of consumers who want a new carrier from switching providers.The report also found that the Federal Communications Commission has conducted […]

Legislation that would promote R&D programs to improve electronic equipment recycling and reduce the use of hazardous materials in electronics passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Dec. 10. The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act aims to provide research grants to address hazardous e-waste. Many electronic devices contain hazardous substances such as […]

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Dec. 8 requiring data brokers to establish procedures to verify the accuracy of information that identifies individuals in their databases and to allow consumers to access and request correction of incorrect information. The Data Accountability and Trust Act, approved on a voice vote, would also require data brokers […]

A TFT-LCD maker has pled guilty to conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of LCD panels. Chi Mei Optoelectronics, based in Tainan, Taiwan, was hit with “$220 million in criminal fines for its role” and agreed to cooperate with U.S. federal authorities, the Department of Justice said in a news release Dec. 9.“According to […]

Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, had both good news and bad news Dec. 9 for iPhone users: AT&T is moving to improve service in iPhone-heavy San Francisco and New York, but the company also warned that “some form of usage-based pricing for data is inevitable,” said the […]

The third time proved the charm for Rep. Mary Mack Bono (R-CA) as the U.S. House approved the Informed P2P User Act Dec. 8, mandating P2P (peer-to-peer) software vendors to provide a “clear and conspicuous” notice to consumers about the files being shared by the software and to obtain user consent for sharing the files. […]

Agito Networks and Rivada Networks have been selected to aid in emergency response support for homeland security and defense missions. The companies’ ICE24 (Interoperable Communications Extension) is an interoperable, mobile-deployable first responder communications solution allowing interoperable communications at an incident site using voice over IP technologies.ICE24 kits, delivered by Rivada and powered by Agito’s RoamAnywhere […]

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office plans to fast track green technology patent applications under a pilot program announced Dec. 7 by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Pending patent applications in green technologies will be eligible for special status and given an expedited examination. The pilot program will reduce the total […]

The Federal Trade Commission has targeted three companies that allegedly made so-called robocalls “to sell worthless credit card interest-rate reduction programs for hefty up-front fees of as much as $1,495,” the agency announced Dec. 8. In addition to the lawsuits, the FTC obtained temporary restraining orders against the companies pending trial. The FTC requires bloggers […]