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November 17, 2006
The Lame-Duck R&D Pitch
Leaders from more than a dozen high-tech groups this week urged Congress to renew the research and development tax credit before adjourning their post-election session.
The United States was the innovator of the R&D credit in 1981 but has fallen behind other nations, industry leaders lamented. They added that U.S. innovation could lag as a result.
The U.S. R&D credit expired this year, and attempts to renew it have failed because of unrelated political maneuvering. Industry officials said the credit should be renewed during the lame-duck Congress because it is not a partisan issue and the election is behind lawmakers.
Other major tech policy news this week touched on anti-terrorism surveillance, e-voting reform and caller-identification spoofing. Listen to the podcast for details.
Posted by Technology Daily at 11:17 AM | Permalink
November 10, 2006
Election 2006: America Turns Blue
Democrats have regained political power for the first time in 12 years, and their success stretches from Capitol Hill to statehouses and state legislatures across the country.
The Democratic Party rode a wave of voter concern about the Iraq war and frustration over Republican scandals straight into the seats of power in both chambers of Congress. Some Republican lawmakers favored by the technology industry were among the casualties.
They included Sens. George Allen of Virginia and Conrad Burns of Montana, as well as Rep. Nancy Johnson of Connecticut, a big booster of health information technology and the research and development tax credit.
Democrats also gained a majority of governorships and state legislatures, and an online fundraising effort for Democratic candidates to become secretaries of state bore plenty of electoral fruit.
Listen to the podcast for more details on the election and the tech outlook under a Democratic-controlled Congress.
Posted by Technology Daily at 11:31 AM | Permalink
November 03, 2006
The Final Exam For Electronic Voting
Americans go to the polls for a pivotal mid-term election Tuesday, and one of the great unknowns is how well the numerous new machines for recording their votes will work. Election officials are busy making last-minute preparations so that candidates, not e-voting systems, make the news.
Voting-rights activists are going to be closely watching the performance of machines that many of them suspect are unreliable and insecure. According to a report released earlier this month by Electionline.org, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington are the states where problems are most likely to occur.
All of the states except New York, which uses lever-based machines, have deployed fleets of electronic optical scanners and touch-screen devices to satisfy federal law. Maryland and Ohio have been thrust into the spotlight this fall because of technical glitches and human errors that caused delays in primaries in both states.
This week's podcast also covers the growing Washington presence of Google, concerns about searches and seizures of laptop computers and other devices of air travelers, and the software industry's decision to slap lawsuits on peddlers of pirated at the eBay online auction site.
Posted by Technology Daily at 11:02 AM | Permalink
