Roy Mark

The December cyber-attacks against Google and a number of other tech companies originating from within China has earned the unanimous condemnation of the U.S. Senate. In a Feb. 3 resolution, the Senate called on the Chinese government to conduct a thorough review of the cyber-attacks and make the results of the investigation transparent.The resolution also […]

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Cyber-Security Enhancement Act Feb. 4 by a 422-5 vote. The bill reauthorizes several National Science Foundation cyber-security programs, providing $396 million in research grants over the next four years and calls for $94 million in cyber-security scholarships.The legislation (H.R. 4061) also aims to improve the transfer of cyber-security […]

Google isn’t the only American technology company upset with policy in China. A number of tech associations are complaining that new Chinese procurement rules essentially lock American companies out of significant business opportunities with the Chinese government. In November, China instituted a catalog of products that receive significant preferences for procurement by Chinese government agencies. […]

The U.S. Senate plans a March hearing on technology companies’ business practices in Internet-restricting countries. Executives from Google and other tech firms, as well as administration officials, are expected to testify about their efforts to promote Internet freedom. The exact date of the hearing has not been set.As a prologue to the hearing, Sen. Dick […]

MeriTalk announced Feb. 1 a free online tool that allows federal agencies to quantify their potential cloud savings. The calculator provides agencies with a read on their various cloud model options-private, community and public-and the suitability and financial impact of their cloud model choice.The calculator is built to leverage federal agencies’ data inputs from their […]

NASA began the second day of its forget the moon campaign by introducing what the agency called the seven new pioneers of space, the private companies that are developing support transport of astronauts to and from low Earth orbit. NASA said it awarded $50 million in Space Act Agreements to the companies as one of […]

Southwest Airlines aims to complete the installation of Wi-Fi equipment on its full fleet of 540 airplanes within two years. Using technology from Row 44, Southwest plans to begin the installation in the second quarter. “We expect to install equipment on around 15 aircraft per month initially, with the goal of increasing that number to […]

President Obama used a YouTube appearance Feb. 1 to again state his support for network neutrality. Following Obama’s Jan. 27 State of the Union address, YouTube collected questions and votes on questions for five days. The crowdsourced interview was the first given by the president since his speech.A question involving network neutrality received more than […]

The Obama administration did its best Feb. 1 to put the best possible spin on its proposal to cancel the Constellation program designed to return Americans to the moon by 2020, but political opposition was still loud and vociferous.Released Monday to Congress, Obama’s 2011 NASA budget calls for increasing the space agency’s budget by $276 […]

With the space shuttle fleet currently scheduled for retirement at the end of the year, Endeavour begins the farewell tour with a Feb. 7 launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, headed to the International Space Shuttle. Five shuttle missions are planned in 2010; the last flight is currently targeted for launch in September.The flight will […]