Roy Mark

U.S. employers are again on the hunt for H-1B visas, with demand for the controversial temporary work visas rising sharply over the last two months. According to the most recent numbers issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the late rush has pushed the number of H-1B visa petitions to 58,900.The Congressionally mandated yearly cap […]

Stonewalled by federal agencies, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit Dec. 1 against a half-dozen government agencies for refusing to disclose their surveillance policies of social networking sites. The agencies include the FBI, CIA, DOJ (Department of Justice) and DHS (Department of Homeland Security). According to news reports, the government has frequently used information […]

The Federal Communications Commission opened a new line of inquiry Dec. 2 seeking public comment on how to obtain more spectrum for mobile broadband purposes, including a controversial proposal for broadcasters to return much of their spectrum back to the government.Under the proposal, first floated by the FCC’s Blair Levin in October, broadcasters would return […]

Blogger and Internet privacy advocate Christopher Soghoian caused a stir Dec. 1 with the disclosure that Sprint has opened a new portal to help law enforcement officials track the GPS location of its customers. According to a surreptitious voice recording made by Soghoian and published on his blog, Sprint’s Electronic Surveillance Manager Paul Taylor said […]

Clearwire said Dec. 2 its WiMax service is now available in 10 more markets across four states. The 4G broadband network is now available in 27 markets across the United States covering over 30 million people.Clearwire’s new markets are Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio and Austin, Texas; Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh, N.C.; Chicago; Honolulu and Maui, […]

More than a year ago, the Federal Communications Commission approved rules for the unlicensed use of the “white spaces” between digital television signals. Touted as the beginning of a new age in digital communications and approved over the strenuous objections of the broadcast industry, white spaces are the interference buffer zones between television signals. A […]

NASA has officially taken possession of the Tranquility node, which will be the last major component set to be added to the International Space Station. When delivered to the ISS in February by the space shuttle Endeavour, the pressurized node will provide additional room for crew members and many of the space station’s life support […]

Sparks Fly from All Sides: The H-1B Visa Debate Sparks Fly from All Sides: The H-1B Visa DebateBy Roy Mark Bill Gates, Billionaire Software Mogul and Philanthropist “The whole idea of the H-1B thing is don’t let too many smart people come into the country. Basically, it doesn’t make sense.” Sen. Dick Durbin “The H-1B […]

The space shuttle Atlantis’ 11-day mission to the ISS (International Space Station) is going so smoothly the only glitch so far has been a Nov. 19 false depressurization caution alarm that aroused the crews of the Atlantis and the ISS from their sleep. Otherwise, the mission has been surprisingly glitch free.From launching on time Nov. […]

The New York City Council Committee on Technology in Government is set to consider Nov. 20 a resolution favoring stronger network neutrality regulations. Resolution 712A-2007 asks the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and Congress to set “firm net neutrality standards.”The resolution follows close on the heels of a Nov. 17 New York City debate on network […]

Aircell’s Gogo Inflight Internet service-which recently celebrated its 1 millionth customer-has begun test trials on Air Canada’s Toronto-Los Angeles and Montreal-Los Angeles routes. “Following the test period, which runs until Jan. 29, 2010, Air Canada will analyze usage and customer feedback before it proceeds with introduction of the service on other routes,” Aircell said Nov. […]

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services plans to beef up its fraud and compliance assessment of the nation’s H-1B visa program, including increasing site visits from a little more than 5,000 in 2008 to 25,000 in 2010. In a Nov. 10 letter to Sen. Charles Grassley, USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas said the agency will use […]