Roy Mark

Discovery managed to dodge unidentified space debris Sept. 10 but was unable to overcome stormy East Coast weather as NASA called off the scheduled landing for the space shuttle returning from its cargo mission to the International Space Station. Discovery will remain in orbit at least another day as flight controllers study the weather conditions […]

WASHINGTON — Google Chief Legal Counsel David Drummond waited and politely smiled as Amazon, the Registrar of Copyrights and assorted other critics Sept. 10 slammed the proposed Google Book Search deal before a sparse panel of the House Judiciary Committee. Then, late in the hearing, he dropped a surprise announcement. “We believe strongly in an […]

AT&T Sept. 9 promised increased speeds for its 3G network in six U.S. cities by the end of the year as part of the rollout plans for its HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) 7.2 technology. The first targeted cities include Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Charlotte, N.C.According to AT&T, the upgraded network platform […]

More than 81 million Americans visited government Websites in July, representing 42 percent of the U.S. Internet audience, according to data released by comScore Sept. 8. While that represented only a 3 percent increase over July 2008, several sites — the White House, the Senate, the House and NASA — scored impressive gains from a […]

With the ability to make 69.7 trillion calculations per second, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new supercomputers are gearing up to “improve forecast accuracy and extend watch and warning lead times for severe weather, including hurricanes, tornadoes, air quality, wildfires, floods, tsunamis and winter storms,” the NOAA said in a statement Sept. 8. “The […]

A federal court ruled Sept. 8 that a controversial Maine marketing law set to effect Sept. 12 is likely unconstitutional, confirming Maine Attorney General Janet Mills’ opinion that the legislation is overly broad in the way it regulates commercial speech and violates the First Amendment.As approved by Maine lawmakers, the Predatory Marketing law would require […]

Despite a last-minute legal appeal by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify electronic employment verification system became effective Sept. 8, requiring federal contractors to enroll in E-Verify to confirm the identity and employment eligibility of both citizen and non-citizen workers in the United States.E-Verify is an Internet-based system operated by […]

EDS signed Sept. 8 an $8.1 million, 12-month add-on contract with the DoD (U.S. Department of Defense) Military Health System to make technical enhancements to several Defense Health Information Management Systems. The contract extends the 16-year relationship between EDS, an HP company, and the military’s family of systems that manages and maintains the military’s electronic […]

The U.S. manned space program is underfunded with unrealistic goals, a presidential review panel appointed by President Obama told the White House Sept. 8 in an executive summary. The 10-person panel chaired by former Lockheed Martin CEO Norman Augustine said for the United States to maintain a meaningful human spaceflight program, another $3 billion annually […]

The space shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station Sept. 8, conducted a fly-around of the space station and then hit the thrusters to head back to Earth. NASA anticipates a Sept. 10 landing at Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.Pilot Kevin Ford undocked Discovery from the ISS at 3:26 p.m. EDT while the two […]

The HTC Hero will debut on the Sprint network Oct. 11, marking the first Google Android-based smartphone for the nation’s No. 3 wireless carrier. The open-source Android device will cost $179.99 with a two-year contract and $150 in rebates. The Hero joins the Palm Pre and the BlackBerry Tour 9630 in Sprint’s smartphone lineup. The […]

NASA officials are closely tracking space debris from a 3-year-old European rocket that is expected to come within two miles of the International Space Station Sept. 4. If the 204-square-foot chunk from an Ariane 5 rocket body comes any closer to the ISS, NASA may be forced to maneuver the space station out of the […]