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Technology BLOG |
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Digital Dialogues
By: Carol Aregger
7.3.2009
Read Sonia's latest blog posts on her website "Digital Dialogues." Topics include new technologies in communications and medicine, technological innovation, science and politics.
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FCC Holds Kangaroo Court at Stanford
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
4.21.2008
The FCC convened last week at Stanford University to hear Silicon Valley's perspective on "Broadband Network Management Practices." The five commissioners questioned two panels on diverse topics including 18th century economic theory, the 19th century barbershop quartet repertoire, and a haunting tale about the "ghost of Internet future." Mostly, however, the marathon 8 hour discussion was devoted to demonizing the "ghost" of Comcast, since the company declined to appear in person.
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Going, Going, Gone! Spectrum Auction Starts Today
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
1.24.2008
The Federal Communications Commission begins auctioning off a large swath of the nation's airwaves today, making room for faster mobile broadband technologies. According to a recent survey, 61 percent of respondents did not know about this auction. Even among those with familiarity, 77 percent did not understand the rationale, significance, or consequences. Operating under the public's radar, a coalition of special interest groups and corporate lobbyists have used this auction to manipulate the FCC, impose regulations on the wireless industry, and restrict innovation over the airwaves.
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Amazon Leads La Résistance Against Protectionism
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
1.15.2008
The CEO of Amazon.com vowed this week to challenge a French law making it illegal to offer customers discounts and rebates. Last month, a French court ruled that Amazon must raise its prices, or face a fine of $1500 per day. Baffled that a country would force its citizens to pay more for his company's products, Amazon's Jeff Bezos proclaimed that "France would be the only country in the world" where offering a good deal "would be declared illegal." Sadly, however, protectionist policies are spreading all across Europe, punishing consumers with fewer choices and higher prices.
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Mayor Newsom’s Wi-Fi Flip-Flop
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
1.8.2008
On the eve of this morning's inauguration ceremony, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is renewing his pledge to blanket the city with free municipal Wi-Fi Internet access. At first glance, Mayor Newsom's comments revive memories of the waste, bureaucracy, and mismanagement which plagued the city's previous projects. At second glance, these words signal a revelation: the Mayor finally understands that success can only be achieved by taking the ‘muni' out of ‘muni Wi-Fi.'
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2007: The Year of Cleantech
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
12.28.2007
Amidst growing public concerns over rising fuel prices, instability in the Middle East, and global climate change, a new ‘clean technology' industry dominated tech sector investment in 2007. Despite the influx of private capital, the birth of innovative new startups, and the success of market-based solutions, policymakers stubbornly hold onto an obsolete model where only governments can tackle environmental challenges. If lawmakers cannot resist the temptation to pick winners, set standards, and micromanage research, a thriving new cleantech industry will be strangled in its cradle.
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Microsoft’s Antitrust Opera Continues
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
12.18.2007
Only two months after ending a four year legal battle and bowing to the demands of European antitrust regulators, Microsoft may be right back where it started. Opera Software, a Norwegian web browser manufacturer, filed an antitrust complaint last week with the European Commission, hoping to breathe new life into decade-old charges. Unable to match the popularity of competing browsers, Opera hopes to gain market share by replacing consumer choice with government mandates.
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House Reconsiders Its Start-Up Shutdown Tax Plan
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
12.10.2007
The House this week reconsiders a plan to double the tax rate for investing in high-risk, innovative technology ventures. Venture capitalists are entrepreneurs with the business skills and vision to capitalize on creative ideas, working hand-in-hand with inventors to help launch and build start-ups. Without venture capitalists, companies like Microsoft, Google, Intel, Apple, and Genentech would never have gotten off the ground. Why would Congress seek to discourage these investments?
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A Virtual Economy Case Study
By: Sebastian Wisniewski
12.4.2007
What if there was a way to live a life without meaningful consequences? What if individuals could participate in a virtual economy largely separate from the one surrounding us in the real world? What if policies could be applied to real people, but with laboratorial consequences? Second Life, an internet-based virtual world often compared to a computer game, and its derivatives may offer answers to those questions.
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How AT&T Lost the iPhone
By: Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D
12.3.2007
As this year's holiday shopping season kicks off, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson revealed last week that a newer, faster version of the iPhone is headed for stores...next year. Holiday sales are certain to suffer as shoppers reconsider purchasing a soon-to-be obsolete product. How could a 25-year industry veteran make such a huge blunder? Not only has Stephenson potentially cost his company $1 billion, but this announcement likely signals the beginning of the end for AT&T's exclusive relationship with Apple.
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Total Records: 29
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