Roy Mark

The Executive Office of the President agreed Dec. 14 to restore a total of 94 days of missing Bush era e-mails. The agreement is the culmination long-running lawsuits challenging the failure of the Bush White House and the National Archives and Records Administration to take any action after confronted with evidence that millions of e-mails […]

The United States launched a clean energy transfer program Dec. 14 that Energy Secretary Steven Chu could accelerate deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies in developing countries. The new Climate REDI (Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative) includes three new clean energy technology programs and funding needed to launch a renewable energy program under […]

NASA successfully launched Dec. 14 its WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission with a pre-dawn, picture-perfect takeoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. WISE is an unmanned satellite carrying an infrared-sensitive telescope that will image the entire sky in infrared light.Just 10 seconds after the spacecraft separated from a Delta II rocket, NASA acquired […]

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Dec. 11 used the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to tout the Obama administration’s track record on clean energy, but stressed that ultimately solutions will be pioneered by the private sector. “I am proud to say that since taking office, President Obama has already done more to mitigate […]

Concerned over an anomaly in the motion of a booster steering engine, NASA Dec. 11 delayed the launch of the WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer) mission until Dec. 14. The new launch is currently scheduled between 9:09 and 9:23 EDT.NASA said it has implemented plans to resolve the anomaly and the current weather forecast for […]

A proposed Chinese trade policy is sparking deep concern from U.S. trade companies seeking to sell computers, software, communications products and other office products to Chinese government agencies. The policy would require the intellectual property used in those products to be developed and owned in China.The Indigenous Innovation Product Accreditation System, first announced Nov. 15 […]

President Obama is seeding the health care industry with another $88 million in funding for health care centers to adopt new health information technology systems to manage their administrative and financial matters and transfer old paper files to electronic medical records. The initiative is part of $600 million in stimulus money that will go toward […]

A Government Accountability Office study issued Dec. 10 (PDF) finds that 84 percent of Americans are very or somewhat pleased with their wireless phone service, but also concludes that early termination fees stop 42 percent of consumers who want a new carrier from switching providers.The report also found that the Federal Communications Commission has conducted […]

Legislation that would promote R&D programs to improve electronic equipment recycling and reduce the use of hazardous materials in electronics passed the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Dec. 10. The Electronic Device Recycling Research and Development Act aims to provide research grants to address hazardous e-waste. Many electronic devices contain hazardous substances such as […]

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Dec. 8 requiring data brokers to establish procedures to verify the accuracy of information that identifies individuals in their databases and to allow consumers to access and request correction of incorrect information. The Data Accountability and Trust Act, approved on a voice vote, would also require data brokers […]

A TFT-LCD maker has pled guilty to conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of LCD panels. Chi Mei Optoelectronics, based in Tainan, Taiwan, was hit with “$220 million in criminal fines for its role” and agreed to cooperate with U.S. federal authorities, the Department of Justice said in a news release Dec. 9.“According to […]

Ralph de la Vega, president and CEO of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets, had both good news and bad news Dec. 9 for iPhone users: AT&T is moving to improve service in iPhone-heavy San Francisco and New York, but the company also warned that “some form of usage-based pricing for data is inevitable,” said the […]