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A Q&A with Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).
She has been in Congress since 1995, representing San Jose and surrounding areas. Silicon Valley was already a hub for technology and innovation at that time, but the World Wide Web and widespread Internet use was in its infancy. Yahoo, eBay, Google, and other Web giants sprouted in and around Lofgren's district. They've changed our world dramatically since she's been in office, creating amazing new services, major policy challenges, and conflicts between industries. As a lawmaker who has been in office for almost as long as the Web has existed, Rep Lofgren has been at the heart of those.
Rep Zoe Lofgren talks the 2013 tech agenda
Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity company, has identified a sophisticated cyberespionage campaign that has been in operation since 2007.
The spy campaign targeted a range of government and diplomatic organizations, mostly in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, but also in Western Europe and North America. Digital clues suggested that the perpetrators were Russian-speaking, but the campaign did not appear to be the work of a nation state. However, as with a number of other alarming recent reports on computer spying, Kasperky’s report offered few details that would allow for independent verification and did not specifically call out the names of the organizations affected. The vast majority of infected machines were based in Russia — where Kaspersky identified 38 infected machines — followed by Kazakhstan, where 16 infected machines were identified. Six infected machines were found in the United States.
Security Firm Discovers Cyber-Spy Campaign
Smartphone users consume more mobile data than tablet users and iPhone 5 users are the biggest data consumers of all, according to an analysis of mobile data. The analysis, Smartphones Trump Tablets—Recent Trends in Extreme Data, published by network management software provider Arieso, reveals the ever increasing demands made on mobile networks by ever-more demanding smartphones, and shows why small cells are likely to play an increasingly important role in future, perhaps as a way of handling the top 1% of users who consume 40% of all data. According to Arieso CTO, Michael Flanagan, out of the top ten most voracious devices six were smartphones, three tablets and one a “phablet” (a combination of a phone and a tablet) — the Samsung Galaxy Note II.
Smartphone Users Demand More Data than Tablets
The Justice Department dropped its charges against Internet activist Aaron Swartz, citing his death. The filing is standard when the defendant in a case has died.
Federal prosecutors indicted Swartz in 2011, accusing him of breaking into a computer network at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and downloading 4.8 million documents from JSTOR, a subscription service of academic articles. He faced up to 35 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. His trial was scheduled to begin in April.
Justice Department drops charges against Internet activist Swartz
Other than lots of talk about the "culture of media violence," Washington, for the most part, seems to be focusing on tougher gun laws and not on new laws to restrict violent media and video games.
Despite the obvious First Amendment hurdles, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) is not giving up and plans to reintroduce his bill that calls for the National Academy of Sciences to study the impact of violent video games and programming on children. And now that he's announced he will not seek re-election in 2014, the chairman of the Senate Commerce committee has nothing to lose by pursuing an aggressive agenda. Besides, a study that looks at whether or not there is a connection between violent media content and video games doesn't run afoul of free speech. The bill is the same bill Sen Rockefeller introduced last month, less than one week after the Sandy Hook tragedy shook the nation and reinvigorated the debate in Washington about guns and violence.
Sen Rockefeller Plans to Reintroduce Bill to Study Violent Video Games
[Commentary] All today's Federal Communications Commission talks about is broadband. But Earth to FCC! Broadcast television is still out there, alive and well, and actually having a big impact on the American people. Really.
Broadcasting fulfills its promise, delivering entertainment and vital information to the public — free of charge, if people want it that way. Yet, the current FCC ignores broadcasting's contributions and pushes broadband policies that undermine the medium. "Listen to the FCC and you'd think broadcast television is simply dead-weight economic loss." So next time you hear an FCC personage wax eloquent about the redeeming virtues of high-speed Internet connections, just remember what matters the most to American taxpayers and voters. And, sorry Charlie. It isn't "universal broadband," the last time we checked. It's our old friend, TV.
[Robinson is a Washington communications lawyer and one-time senior legal adviser to former FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes.]
Why Doesn’t the FCC Love Broadcast TV?
[Commentary] Peace appears to be breaking out between mobile Internet users and regulators.
During the three-day Innovation Policy Summit here at CES, members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission, industry representatives, and consumer groups found little to disagree on, whether the topic was incentive auctions for more broadband spectrum, retiring legacy copper networks in favor of native IP, sharing government spectrum in the 5 GHz band for high-speed Wi-Fi, or the continuing threat of international efforts to turn Internet governance over to repressive national governments so they can destroy it.
Some minor skirmishes broke out, of course, but the conversation this week has been remarkably civil.
FCC, stakeholders align on communications policy -- for now
The National Rifle Association has launched NRA: Practice Range, an iOS app the organization calls its new "mobile nerve center."
The app features a 3-D target practice shooting game and provides resources for news and legislation updates around gun control and educational materials about gunholders' rights. The NRA appears to be emphasizing safety and responsible ownership with this new app, which has an Apple App Store rating of 4+ ("no objectionable material"). The NRA says its built-in shooting game strikes "the right balance of gaming and safety education, allowing you to enjoy the most authentic experience possible." That authenticity also extends to the 9 real-life firearm models available within the app--including an M9 pistol, an M16 rifle, and a Dragunov SVD semi-automatic rifle-- as well as the AK47 and the AWM sniper rifle, which are offered as $0.99 in-app purchases.
Apple Rates NRA's New Shooting Game App Appropriate For Players 4 Years Old And Up
Big Data is one of 2013's most popular buzzterms. It's also transforming the cable television business, which is in ongoing disarray as cord-cutters and competition from phone companies change the rules of the game. Aggregate data analysis and predictive analytics are helping cable firms redistribute bandwidth, retain Netflix-centric customers, and rebuild in the wake of superstorm Sandy.
How Big Data Keeps Cable TV Watchers Hooked
In a matter of weeks, a new television channel called Al Jazeera America will launch with the hopes of achieving the impossible: convincing Americans that they should break from their regularly scheduled programming to watch a 24-hour, global news network owned by a Middle Eastern government. When it goes live, the network will no doubt battle the most intense and familiar accusations of bias that have dogged its Arabic and English channels — charges that it is anti-American, anti-Israel and worse. But that’s not even its biggest problem. What Al Jazeera America is really worried about is this: Will anyone actually watch? “The big effort here is going to be getting people to give us a shot,” said Stan Collender, an Al Jazeera spokesman.
Al Jazeera America: Will they watch?