Post Tech - A Technology Blog from the Washington Post - November 1, 2009

Microsoft buster Gary Reback goes after Google on books

Gary Reback, a leading antitrust attorney from Silicon Valley who went after Microsoft in the late 1990s, has a new target in sight: Google. He’s working to prevent a deal between Google and publishers and authors over the rights to...

Lawmakers move to reform USF program to include broadband

House lawmakers are moving to reform an outdated multibillion-dollar federal fund designed to bring telecommunication services across the nation by bringing it into the digital age. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) have circulated a discussion draft...

Worth reading: E.U. net neutrality, cable slams stimulus, Steve Jobs is Fortune's guy

Europeans adopt net neutrality regulations, says the New York Times. Cable's top lobbyist says broadband stimulus funds were misdirected, on Internetnews.com. Namaste, Mr. CEO, Fortune names Steve Jobs top exec of decade....

Technology for diplomacy: A chat with State's Alec Ross

In Congo, e-mails and text messages are being used to warn women and children of attacking rebels nearby. In sub-Saharan Africa, text messages are instructing people how to take HIV medications. In Iran, an online video from President Obama to...

Secret Internet copyright talks raise concerns

A secret trade negotiation going on in Seoul, South Korea this week could lead to your Internet service provider snooping in on your Web activity. That’s the fear held by some civil rights and public interest groups, which complained to...

Sprint won't change early termination fees

In response to Verizon Wireless' unpopular announcement that it will double its cancellation fees for smart phone subscribers, Sprint Nextel took the opportunity to say it would not be following suit. Instead, Sprint subscribers with two-year contracts will still be...

Concerns of Internet and kids, look to phone applications: group

In addition to TVs, Mp3 players and video game consoles shaping the lives of children, add the cell phone. Scores of applications for smart phones like the iPhone are being downloaded by young children. With 100,000 applications easily downloaded from...

Has the Web really turned us into loners? A new study questions that conventional thinking

Maybe the Internet isn’t turning us into loners after all. According to a study released Wednesday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, an increased use of the Web, mobile phones and other consumer technologies hasn’t made us more...

Update: Verizon jacks up early cancellation fees on smart phones

With a whole new line of smart phones coming onto the market, Verizon Wireless says that starting November 15 it is doubling to $350 the penalty fees for subscribers who leave their contracts early. James Gerace, a spokesman for Verizon...

Google boosts spending on lobbying

Google spent more than $1 million on lobbying in Washington in the third quarter, according to a report by The Associated Press. That's a 50 percent increase from the July-September period last year, according to a recent disclosure statement, the...

New York sues Intel over bullying, bribes

New York's attorney general filed a suit Wednesday against Intel for allegedly forcing or paying kickbacks to computer manufacturers to use their chips over those of rivals. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, and comes...

The Underestimated Mignon Clyburn

Before Mignon Clyburn joined the Federal Communications Commission last July, she hadn’t spent more than two weeks in a row outside of her native South Carolina. But that didn't stop some in Washington from thinking they had her figured out....

Mob Wars beware: Cisco's got its game on

Because teens in basements across the nation have wondered what a day in the life of a telecommunications service provider CEO would be like, Cisco has created an online game called myPlanNet to let them step in the shoes of...

FCC Moves on Spectrum Draw New Attention to Washington

Few issues have technology and telecommunications companies in rapt attention and at the mercy of the federal government like spectrum policy. Those companies are watching closely as the Federal Communications Commission appears to be working to covert much-coveted radio waves...

Post Tech: November 1, 2009 - November 7, 2009