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[Commentary] The savings claimed by government agencies and vendors of health information technology are little more than hype.

With a few isolated exceptions, the preponderance of evidence shows that the systems had not improved health or saved money. In short, the most rigorous studies to date contradict the widely broadcast claims that the national investment in health IT—some $1 trillion will be spent, by our estimate—will pay off in reducing medical costs. Those studies that do claim savings rarely include the full cost of installation, training and maintenance—a large chunk of that trillion dollars—for the nation's nearly 6,000 hospitals and more than 600,000 physicians. But by the time these health-care providers find out that the promised cost savings are an illusion, it will be too late. Having spent hundreds of millions on the technology, they won't be able to afford to throw it out like a defective toaster. We fully share the hope that health IT will achieve the promised cost and quality benefits.

As applied researchers and evaluators, we actively work to realize both goals. But this will require an accurate appraisal of the technology's successes and failures, not a mixture of cheerleading and financial pressure by government agencies based on unsubstantiated promises.

Time Warner Cable is planning to sell its entire 7.8% stake in struggling mobile-broadband provider Clearwire.

The cable company notified other major Clearwire investors, which have an option to buy part or all of the stake, of the move and disclosed its intention in a regulatory filing on Sept 14. Clearwire, which is intertwined with network partner and largest shareholder Sprint Nextel, is overhauling its network and seeking partnerships or asset sales to raise cash. For Time Warner Cable, the sale comes as cable operators, once interested in entering the wireless business, have changed course and are largely shedding their airwave licenses. Time Warner Cable paid $550 million for the Clearwire stake in 2008, but its 46.4 million shares would be worth only about $73.3 million at current prices.

For the telecom world, the biggest lesson of the GOP convention wasn’t political — it was that a nationwide interoperable broadband network could actually work.

The convention in Tampa (FL) marked the first time law enforcement personnel were able to use the type of system envisioned by policymakers since the Sept. 11 attacks highlighted critical weaknesses in first-responder communications. Vendors and public safety officials hope the lessons can be applied nationwide. The communications system used during the convention, which relied on several vendors and often used off-the-shelf technology, allowed coordination for the public safety network over some 15 jurisdictions, all for a high-profile event that had the added complication of a passing hurricane.

After years spent trying to shield students from online bullying by their peers, schools are beginning to crack down on Internet postings that disparage teachers.

Schools elsewhere in the U.S. have punished the occasional tweeter who hurls an insult at a teacher, but North Carolina has taken it a step further, making it a crime for students to post statements via the Internet that "intimidate or torment" faculty. Students convicted under the law could be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished with fines of as much as $1,000 and/or probation. The move is one of the most aggressive yet by states to police students' online activities. While officials have long had the ability to regulate student speech at school, the threat of cyberbullying teachers, which typically occurs off-campus, has prompted efforts to restrain students' use of the Internet on their own time.