The White House's annual economic report received a bit of an upgrade (of sorts) this year.

The more than 400-page tome on the country's fiscal outlook, released Thursday, is far more accessible and portable than its predecessors, said Christina Romer, chairwoman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers.

Some of the upgrades are slightly less high-tech than one might expect. "So for the first time it's been printed in color," Romer said during Thursday's press briefing, amid a few chuckles.

Others, however, are a bit more promising.

"It's going to be the first time, staying with our accessibility and transparency [theme] -- it will be available in electronic form for your Kindle and your Sony Reader, and whatever," Romer explained.

Added Romer: "So, you know, everybody on the beach will be reading the economic report of the president."

Even Silicon Valley -- once an innovative, lucrative tech hotbed -- has struggled to weather last year's economic recession.

A new report, released Thursday, finds that the 2009 downturn has left many of the region's top businesses hampered by a "new era of uncertainty, with vulnerabilities that could compromise our long-term prosperity."

Silicon Valley thus faces immense challenges, some not too unlike what the rest of the country is experiencing as it emerges from last year's Great Panic, reports the 2010 Silicon Valley Index, a briefing released ahead of the annual "State of the Valley" conference.

Those obstacles include withering investment, dwindling finances and increasing competition from other countries, not to mention slimming support from California government and growing unemployment, the report finds. All of those challenges, the Index concludes, have put the region "at risk" and in many ways threatened future innovation.

"2009 was a rough year. We learned the hard way that Silicon Valley is not immune to the larger forces at work in the global economic recession," wrote Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, and Emmett. D. Carson, president and CEO of Silicon Valley Community foundation.

"Like other regions, we have lost tens of thousands of jobs, absorbed thousands of home foreclosures, and seen our incomes decline," they added. "Despite our many strengths—from talented people to world-class technology—we could not insulate ourselves from the larger economic downturn."

Ultimately, the two trade groups stressed in their report that Silicon Valley businesses still "have many strengths," and they emphasized that the region competes on a "very-high level" with other, similarly advanced tech hubs throughout the world.

But the tone of their latest report was unmistakeably dismal. The Index noted that the region was struggling to attract new workers, as many bright tech minds from other countries were remaining there, as their local economies grow more competitive. At the same time, the state of California was cutting funds to higher education programs that could normally churn out talented workers -- all the while quabbling over already sparse resources that could help Silicon Valley thrive.

While the Index characterized those problems as concerning, they implored other members of the Silicon Valley community to reject "complacency" and begin to innovate new solutions that keep the region competitive.

"From the rise of Asian economies to California’s budget meltdown, our future will in many ways depend on how we respond to forces emanating beyond our region," the report stressed.

The Senate's jobs bill circulating around Washington is now the vehicle for the much-delayed renewal of DISH Network's and DirecTV's licenses to reach 1.7 million people.

If passed by the Senate, the bill would renew satellite providers' ability to import distant TV network affiliates to viewers who can't receive their local affiliates through broadcast or cable service.

So if someone lives in a mountainous region of Colorado and can't get the local network's signals, satellite companies could send them the signal from another market -- say, Phoenix -- in its place.

Satellite companies' right to send these signals to customers were set to expire at the end of 2009. But in December, Congress extended The Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act (SHVERA) by 60 days. The satellite licenses have to be reauthorized by Congress every five years.

Congress is running out of time to approve the provisions in the jobs bill. If the licenses expire, about 1.7 rural satellite customers could lose access to programming from the likes of NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX.

The current version of the bill would allow DISH Network to once again offer out-of-town signals to customers.

DISH lost that right when a court ruled it overstepped the law by sending distant signals to homes already served by local signals. Under the proposed legislation, DISH would be able to once again deliver distant signals in exchange for agreeing to deliver local TV signals in all 210 markets around the country. (DISH currently delivers local signals in around 180 markets.)

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, and other Republicans on the panel, had initial concerns with making that deal with DISH, leading to the legislation's delay.

The current bill also allows viewers in smaller markets to receive missing networks from an adjacent market. Previously, DISH and DirecTV were not allowed to offer distant signals to those customers.

The negotiations between broadcasters, satellite providers and Congress have been ongoing over the past year. K Street and Congressional sources say all parties are, for the most part, satisfied with the compromises reached in the Senate bill.

Citing "SHVERA fatigue," the sources said they simply want to put the law's renewal behind them.

The Senate still plans to plow ahead with talks on the jobs bill Thursday, but a vote is unlikely. Congress will be in recess next week.

That leaves just one week for the Senate and House to approve the jobs bill before the satellite licenses expire at the end of the month.

The Justice Department on Friday will begin making its case for new standards allowing law enforcement to use cell phone data in criminal investigations.

Its case before the U.S. 3rd Court of Appeals in Philadelphia could provide more clarity to a bevy of murky cell phone location tapping laws, but it is sure to upset those who dread any federal encroachment in the realm of digital communications.

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Justin Amash, the freshman Michigan state representative, used Facebook to announced his candidacy for Congress Tuesday.

"I am committed to bringing restraint, accountability, and transparency to the federal government," he said on his political Facebook page. "The president and Congress are spending our money and our children's money to bail out failing companies and reward irresponsibility. Government should not be entangled in our private industries and personal lives."

His announcement simultaneously went live on Twitter.

Amash, 29, announced his candidacy just hours before the man he wanted to unseat, 76-year-old Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), announced his retirement.

Ehlers is ranking member of the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Science Education. He is a vocal advocate of a federal ban of online poker. With a PhD in nuclear physics, he is also known as a valuable friend to the technology industry and increased support for science, math and engineering training.

Amash has also used technology make a name for himself, using social media and online video to stay connected with the younger set of conservative voters in Michigan.

This year, Republicans may be tempted to show their valentine how much they care with an e-card emblazoned with the face of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid or Al Franken.

There's even an option to send a cheerful card with the White House crashers smiling with Joe Biden. The caption: "Everyone's Invited this Valentine's Day."

Or share an ACORN-themed greeting: "We'd Like to Help You Set Up a Tax-Free 'Romance Business.'"

Better yet, Sen. Mary Landrieu says: "For $300 Million in Taxpayer Money for Louisiana, I Sent You This Valentine."

The GOP Valentine's Day Cards site was paid for by the Republican National Committee.

But card-senders beware -- observers on Twitter have warned that the site could be fertile ground for fraudsters looking to harvest a slew of e-mail addresses for spamming purposes.

A more secure site would ask for a verifiable e-mail address before asking visitors to enter the e-mail addresses of 50 of their closest friends.

A humorous e-card probably isn't worth exposing your e-mail account to malicious "spambots" that can hijack your account and send spam to your entire address book.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) wants President Barack Obama to seek a man on Mars.

In a floor speech on Tuesday, Nelson said the United States can develop the technology to send astronauts to Mars.

Nelson said, "The goal is Mars. We have to develop the technology, the vehicles, the safety systems, the life support systems to get there."

Nelson, whose state houses NASA's Kennedy Space Center, praised Obama for proposing a budget increase for NASA. However, he sharply criticized the White House for how it handled its decision to cancel the Constellation Program, which was scheduled to go to the Moon by 2020.

That program, Nelson pointed out, was supported by Obama when he was running for president. And Obama's decision to kill the program, which was outlined in his budget request, created "the perception that it is killing the manned space program for the United States. That perception is not entirely true... We live in a world where perception often governs instead of the actual substance."

Nelson, who spent six days orbiting Earth aboard space shuttle Columbia as a sitting member of the House in 1986, said Obama needs to set the big goal of going to Mars: "Presidents are the only ones who can lead America's space program. A Senate commitee cannot do it. The administrator of NASA cannot do it. Only presidents can set the vision and the goal, and that goal ought to be what we all know is where we want to go and that is to the planet Mars."

Six years ago, President George W. Bush proposed human missions to Mars, but Congress did not embrace it.

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said Google's plans to build trial super-fast broadband networks across the country will let communities "step up" and "show America what is possible."

Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, has been supportive of net neutrality and is the first lawmaker to release a statement on Google's announcement.

“Google is not the only company with the know-how and capacity to build this kind of network, but somebody had to go first," he said. "Maybe network providers with different ideas for what is possible will step up as well.  Either way, we may finally see in America what a first class, neutral platform can mean for unleashing innovation, strengthening community institutions, and generating economic activity."

He added:  "I believe in the power of big broadband pipes over which people are free to innovate and deliberate and will be watching this experiment carefully. The lessons we learn will have implications for the implementation of a national broadband plan and whether or not we are doing enough to push the development of our communications infrastructure.”

Google wants to build ultra-fast broadband networks in a number of trial locations across the U.S., offering speeds 100 times faster than what's available to most Internet users.

And it will apply net neutrality rules to the networks.

Google's chief telecom counsel, Rick Whitt, said the company suggested the Federal Communications Commission build super-fast broadband networks as "testbeds" in a few communities to help figure out the best ways to expand access and adoption.

"We thought it was important to back up our policy recommendation with concrete action, so we've decided to build an experimental network of our own," he said in a corporate blog entry.

"We think ultra high-speed bandwidth will lead to many new innovations--including streaming high-definition video content, remote data storage, distance learning, real-time multimedia collaboration, and other that we simply can't imagine yet."

One of the primary proponents of net neutrality, Google said its new trial networks would include net neutrality rules. That means Google, as the Internet service provider, would have to treat all traffic equally, no matter how bandwidth-demanding the traffic is.

With a 1-gigabit-per-second connection, there should be plenty of bandwidth to spare. But it will put pressure on just about every other Internet service provider in the country that generally oppose net neutrality rules, especially as the FCC weighs the regulations.

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