|
 |
 |
|
OVERNIGHT TECH: President Obama signs the Competes Act
President Obama signs the Competes Act into law
President Obama signed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (Competes) Reauthorization Act of 2010 on Tuesday, ending a year-long battle over extending research grants prized by the technology community. According to the White House, the bill "reauthorizes various programs intended to strengthen research and education in the United States related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics."
The act also distributes a significant portion of research funding through a series of contests, most of which will be posted on Challenges.gov. The Obama administration has emphasized distributing financing through contests in hopes of increasing the amount of publicity and the range of participants eligible for federal research funding.
Obama also signed the the Local Community Radio Act of 2010, which modifies current restrictions to allow for more low-power FM radio stations. The bill passed the Senate in December after a compromise was reached with the National Association of Broadcasters, which had opposed the bill out of concern the low-power stations would interfere with commercial signals.
Coming Up: the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas doesn't officially begin until Thursday but the action has already heated up as reports of a new "Windows TV" device emerged on Tuesday. All five FCC commissioners as well as most of the technology press is heading out West; we'll keep you updated as the announcements start rolling in.
Another reason Microsoft is a point of focus: CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote, during which he is expected to address the long-awaited Windows tablet from HP that he showed off at last year's CES. The device has yet to be released to the public.
Also on Friday, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard Schmidt will take part in a discussion at Stanford University on trusted identities in cyberspace.
Rep. Bono Mack: Net neutrality is 'federal pat-down of the Internet'
Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) blasted Internet line regulations as unnecessary in a strongly-worded op-ed published Tuesday.
Bono Mack, the incoming chairwoman of the House Commerce Committee's subpanel on Trade, suggested that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was pandering to groups that want media reform when it passed the regulations in December. http://bit.ly/gzv2Pf
Court tosses "NYPD Blue" indecency fine
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a $1.4 million fine from the FCC against 52 ABC stations for airing an infamous 2003 episode of "NYPD Blue" that contained nudity.
ABC appealed the fine after the same court struck down the FCC's indecency policy in July, calling it unconstitutionally vague. Tuesday's ruling found the same deficiencies in the indecency rule apply to scripted television. The Parents Television Council blasted the decision, while broadcasters and opponents of the FCC's crackdown on fleeting obscenities and nudity cheered it.
The FCC is expected to challenge the July decision by filing a petition with the Supreme Court by late Feburary. Read more in The Hill: http://bit.ly/g4FGF2
Can't-miss news
Commerce report finds drawbacks to jamming cell phone signals in prisons. http://bit.ly/hBETz8
Four million landline users have ported their numbers to wireless accounts. http://bit.ly/gDpMhj
The Free State Foundation warns the FCC against placing too many conditions on Comcast-NBC Universal. http://bit.ly/fbMFgs
Forrester analyst says tablet sales will spike in 2011. http://nyti.ms/gJjJHA
Watercooler
Technology is everywhere these days — even in your medicine cabinet. The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog reports AT&T is offering a service through products called GlowCaps that send data to the manufacturer every time a user opens the medicine bottle in hopes of reminding them to take their medication. A cool idea, but it won't come cheaply: $10 for each cap plus $15 a month for service that includes an AT&T mobile network connection.
Most Viewed RSS Feed »
