Roy Mark

The Indian software industry association Nasscom is proposing that the U.S. Congress create a new category of visas to replace the increasingly controversial H-1B visas. As Nasscom sees it, Congress should create a “service” visa to allow companies to send workers to the United States for a limited amount of time. The new visa would […]

Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s revised Cybersecurity Act of 2009 is creating as much controversy as his original effort in April did. Both versions give the president unprecedented authority to shut down private Internet networks in the case of a cyber-security emergency.The original draft bill gave the president the broad authority to designate various private networks as […]

The space shuttle Discovery finally got under way late Aug. 28 for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. After two postponements-one for weather and another due to a faulty liquid hydrogen valve-Discovery’s midnight launch went smoothly, and the spacecraft is expected to arrive Aug. 30 at the ISS.Unlike recent ISS missions, which have […]

A faulty liquid hydrogen valve forced NASA Aug. 27 to delay the launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery by almost 24 hours. After two postponements earlier this week, NASA had tentatively scheduled a 12:22 a.m. EDT launch Aug. 28 but later pushed the blastoff to the International Space Station to no earlier than 11:59 p.m. […]

The Federal Communications Commission unanimously voted Aug. 27 to launch two inquiries into the world of wireless communications, including the competitive and innovative state of mobile Internet providers and the billing practices of U.S. wireless and broadband carriers.Chairman Julius Genachowski said the inquiries strike at the heart of what he called “core components of the […]

Scientists got their first glimpse Aug. 24 of NASA’s expanded high-end computing system that will serve as the modeling centerpiece of a new climate simulation. The expansion added 4,128 computer processors to Goddard Space Flight Center’s Discover high-end computing system.The IBM iDataPlex “scalable unit” uses Intel’s newest Xeon 5500 series processors, which are based on […]

NASA scrubbed the second launch attempt of the space shuttle Discovery Aug. 26 when a liquid hydrogen valve developed problems during tanking operations. An Aug. 25 launch was scratched when thunderstorms struck the Cape Canaveral area.The space agency tentatively rescheduled the launch for Aug. 28 at 12:22 a.m. with a second launch window at 11:59 […]

The average download Internet speed in the United States has increased by only 1.6 mbps (megabits per second) over the last year, according to a study released Aug. 25 by the CWA (Communications Workers of America). At that rate of speed increase, according to the CWA, it will take the United States 15 years to […]

NASA postponed the Aug. 25 launch of the space shuttle Discovery after a last-minute storm hit the Cape Canaveral area. The space agency rescheduled the launch for Aug. 25 at 1:10 a.m. EDT. Weather for tanking and launch is currently at 70 percent acceptable for the launch.NASA said current predictions call for three more launch […]

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski reaffirmed his commitment to network neutrality Aug. 25. Genachowski helped craft then-presidential candidate Barack Obama’s technology policy, which strongly supports network neutrality.“One thing I would say so that there is no confusion out there is that this FCC will support net neutrality and will enforce [its rules in the case of] […]