Sonia Arrison

Nine months after Barack Obama, John McCain has unveiled his own technology plan for America. At last, both candidates can be graded for their long-term friendliness to the tech sector. Lost beneath the theatrics of Obama’s pledge to announce his VP choice via text messaging and McCain’s successful YouTube “fan ...

Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) came under fire for making a ruling that many consider outside its authority. Without levying a fine, it charged that Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) violated federal policy when it interfered with a file-sharing application used by consumers. This new plot twist in the Net ...

Analysts say the real worry is that government will become involved in deciding how companies store and use people’s data. Barton raised his concerns in a May 21 letter to Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt. Barton wrote, “It is critical that Google’s and DoubleClick’s policies and procedures for handling this ...

When it comes to the Internet, Republican presidential candidate John McCain recently said that he’s “an illiterate who has to rely on his wife for any assistance he can get.” In an era where the Internet is playing an ever greater role, does such an admission matter, and does it ...

More than 200 scientists and longevity activists gathered at UCLA recently to discuss advancements in repairing humans. New technology is making it possible to imagine a world with ever greater life spans, but old world issues pervaded the discussions. The Methuselah Foundation’s Aubrey de Grey organized the event and kicked ...

Personalized medicine is touted as the wave of the future, but recent government action points to problems for Americans looking to join the health revolution. Last week, California’s Department of Public Health issued cease-and-desist letters to 13 genetic testing startups, threatening to deny service to consumers curious about their DNA. ...

The United States Federal Trade Commission recently began a formal antitrust investigation into Intel’s (Nasdaq: INTC) business practices. This action is not simply a problem for Intel, but should serve as a wake-up call for the entire technology industry and anyone who values innovation. Some of the drivers behind the ...

Last week, President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which will protect individuals from employer and insurance discrimination based on the results of high-tech gene tests. Fighting discrimination is a good idea, but the lack of opposition to GINA points to some potentially serious problems. GINA ...

At last week’s UCLA Technology & Aging Conference, representatives from Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) , Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) , Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) , Toyota and other big-name firms discussed how technology is reshaping lifestyles for older individuals. However, important policy implications directly connected to these new tools went unspoken. RFID (radio ...

Last week, GlaxoSmithKline announced it will buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals for US$720 million, giving weight to the claim that anti-aging biotech firms can be a good bet. This is good news for Americans, given that a recent Harvard-affiliated study showed that some parts of the country have seen declines in expected ...