Gizmodo Australia » congress

Congressman Wants All Cameraphones to Make Sounds, Foil Covert Pervtography

John Herrman — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:05:16 +0000

Representative Pete King of New York has introduced a bill to Congress that would require all new cameraphones to have shutter sounds. Why? For the children!

The bill states that “Congress finds that children and adolescents have been exploited by photographs taken in dressing rooms and public places with the use of a camera phone,” a fact which I doubt many would challenge. What many will challenge are the notions that the main purpose of silent camera modes is to perv on Kindergartners and that banning these modes would stop anyone from doing so.

There is a practically unlimited supply of existing, silent-mode-enabled cameras that are available to anyone who wants them, not to mention the fact that many cameraphones have video modes, which present a problem that couldn’t really be solved short of requiring handsets to scream “HEY NAKED KIDS, I’M TAKING A VIDEO RIGHT NOW SO YOU SHOULD PROBABLY GO GET YOUR PARENTS” on loop for the duration of the recording.

The measure wouldn’t be effective at solving the problem it set out to, but it would certainly be effective at stripping a useful feature from phones for regular, law-abiding users who just don’t want a tacky fake mirror slap every time they take a picture. Update: This kind of thing has been happening in Japan for some time now, so make of the what you will. [Crave]

Congressman’s Fuel Cell Road Trip Was Horrifically Inefficient

Jason Chen — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:30:00 +0000

Congressman Eric Massa of NY tried to drive a fuel cell car from NY to DC to make an environmental point and to show how great fuel cell cars are. He failed at both.

Representative Massa made the 480km NY to DC trip in a car that has a maximum range of 320km. How? By enlisting the help of two SUVs to tow two fuel cell cars while not in use.

Massa drove one fuel cell car while a hybrid SUV [Chevy Tahoe] towing an additional SUV followed along. Once he got half way, he switched to new fuel cell car [which I assume was towed to the half way point sometime earlier so that it would be waiting for the environmentally-conscious congressman]. The empty fuel cell was then towed back by the first SUV. As he continued on his journey, the second SUV followed. Once Massa arrived in DC, the second SUV then towed the second fuel cell car back to NY.

So basically, one SUV traveled 480km and one SUV traveled 960km for a total of 1600km on a 480km trip. That’s not even counting the mileage on the fuel cell car. Nice work there Captain Planet. [Famous DC via Boing Boing]

Obama Asks for Analogue TV Shutdown Delay

Jesus Diaz — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:43:54 +0000

President-elect Barack Obama has asked Congress to stop pulling the plug on analogue TV broadcasts. The shutdown is due on February 17. The reasons: “Inadequate funding” and problems with the DTV-to-analogue converter box program.

Congress Says FCC Chairman Abused Power, Played Favourites with Verizon

Matt Buchanan — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:30:00 +0000

What’s up with corrupt politicians this week? Congress just filed a 110-page report on FCC Chairman Kevin Martin’s “egregious abuses of power,” documenting his favouritism for companies, and possibly impropriety with some, like Verizon.

For instance, he leaked early warning to T-Mobile about a Do Not Call violation fine, and then helped get it reduced to just $US100,000. The Verizon allegations seem more sinister, though also more vague, since it looks like the investigators caught wind of more severe favouritism, but couldn’t quite find the evidence to prove it. Unfortunately, say the investigators, “due to the climate of fear that currently pervades the FCC,” witnesses won’t come forward.

Martin’s spokesperson notes that the report “did not find or conclude that there were any violations of rules, laws or procedures.” Regardless, one report finding you can’t argue with is that Kevin Martin “picks on cable.” [DSL Reports]

Your Tax Dollars at Work: iPhones for Congress

Matt Buchanan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 22:30:00 +0000

Right now, the dudes responsible for bailout bills, freedom fries and like, laws I think, carry the standard corporate drone equipment: BlackBerrys. To be precise, House of Representatives members and their staffs have about 8200 BlackBerrys between them. But for a few of the fancier ones, that’s not good enough. They want iPhones.

So the Chief Administrative Office is doing a trial run to decide whether or not it’s worth setting up the necessary infrastructure, which wouldn’t be cheap or easy, since right now everything runs on incompatible BlackBerry Enterprise Servers. If a House member opts for an iPhone, they would have to pay for it out of their Member’s Representational Allowance, though CAO would still have to handle and pay for everything on the admin side.

If accepted, iPhones would be offered to incoming House members in January (would it come pre-loaded with the Obama app for Dems??). It would be something of a symbolic blow to RIM—just a day after Steve Jobs gloated that Apple has beaten them—since this is the first chip at the BlackBerry’s ubiquity on the Hill. In D.C., whether you’re a Democrat or Republican, you’re on a BlackBerry. For now, anyway. [The Hill via TUAW]

Pandora and Other Webcasters Saved By Act of Congress

Wilson Rothman — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:50:20 +0000

Today the otherwise preoccupied Senate quickly passed the Webcaster Settlement Act many of you petitioned for, granting Pandora and other net radio services the right to negotiate royalties with the record industry’s SoundExchange coalition for the years 2006 to 2015. OK, that’s a mouthful—what it means is, they will likely not be driven to bankruptcy due to unreasonable royalty rates. I say “likely” because they still need to dot i’s and cross t’s on the royalty deal itself, but here, Congress approved their ability to do that, and just in the nick of time. Anyway, the world itself may be collapsing, but at least you know our legislators listened to your pleas to keep your favourite web radio broadcasters in business. [Digital Media Association]

Congress Takes First Steps in Banning In-Flight Calling Permanently

Jason Chen — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:30:00 +0000

Like a gaggle of schoolgirls, Congress traded stories about how they too were annoyed by people using their phones before and after takeoff on flights. Well, I never! One House member relayed the story of how his delicate sensibilities were stomped all over by some woman who talked about her sex life on the phone, shortly to be one-upped by another congressman saying that his wife overheard someone receiving a “Dear John” call before takeoff. Good sir! After the jab-fest portion of this sleepover was concluded, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved, via voice vote, a bill that would make the current FCC ban on in-flight calling permanent. And then one of their dads took them out for ice cream. Best night ever. [Yahoo]

FCC Asked to Get Carriers to Hurry Up Local Number Portability Already

Gizmodo US Edition — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:30:00 +0000

With all the advances in technology we’ve had over the last couple of decades, you’d think that something as simple as changing your land line number into a cellular one would take hours at most. At least Congress does, and its now urging the FCC to put rules in place that will speed up local number portability processing.

Congress says the rules, which would give a 48-hour time limit for carriers to transfer numbers between each other, are necessary since carriers have been known to delay processing in a bid to throw as many retention offers as they can at customers trying to switch. The FCC seems to agree that it’s a good idea, but was ambivalent as always about when it’d get around to implementing new regulations. [DSLreports]

Dems Launch Net Neutrality Bill, GOP Says “Hands Off the Poor ISPs!”

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, two Democratic representatives introduced a House bill that would require broadband ISPs to “interconnect with the facilities of other network providers on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis.” It also requires them to treat all content, applications and services as the same, with “equal opportunity to reach consumers,” says an IDG story in the New York Times. Any ISPs who start messing around with packets could be subject to antitrust enforcement. Republicans weren’t so happy with the bill.

The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act is sponsored by Michigan Democratic Representative John Conyers (who happens to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) along with Silicon Valley Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Conyers’ premise:

“The Internet was designed without centralised control, without gatekeepers for content and services. If we allow companies with monopoly or duopoly power to control how the Internet operates, network providers could have the power to choose what content is available.”

It seems like one of those standup routines: Democrats are like “Lalalala” while Republicans are like “Grrrrrrr.” In this case, the “Grrrrrrr” comes from the bill’s apparent threat to investment in ISPs. Yes, I cry for you, poor downtrodden multibillion-dollar multinationals with borderline monopoly arrangements for persistent and constantly increasing revenues.

The opponents specifically argue that new competition in broadband networks is what keeps ISPs honest in their dealings with consumers. Michigan Republican Representative Fred Upton is quoted as saying, “Our hands-off policy is working.” From what we’ve seen there, Fred, you are either all wrong, mostly wrong or at least partially wrong. [IDG in NY Times via Slashdot]

Free Wireless Internet For the Masses: Another Dumb Scheme From Washington

Wilson Rothman — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:00:00 +0000

A California congresswoman has proposed yet another spectrum auction—the 2,155MHz to 2,180MHz range—with some hefty public-service requirements:
• Within two years of receiving the licence, launch an “always-on” broadband with at least 200Kbps downloads
• Service is to be free of subscription, airtime and other usage fees
• “A technology protection measure” that would keep kids from the porn
• Publication of specs and standards, royalty free, so that others can develop for the network
Let me get this straight: You want some well-heeled for-profit corporation to pay potentially billions for the privilege of hastily launching a network that it can’t charge money for, and let competitors provide devices for it, again for no extra money? I don’t think so. I’m not pro-corporation, so much as I am pro-reality.

The Wireless Internet Nationwide for Families Act was introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and backed by Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Chris Cannon (R-Utah). CNet points out that the bill sounds like a plan proposed by a startup called M2Z, which wanted to build a 384-kilobit network on this spectrum that was free, but ad-supported. If this becomes a legit spectrum auction, M2Z would presumably be one of the bidders (the FCC insisted that the company play by the usual auction rules). Rep. Eshoo says that her plan will hopefully engender “a new kind of national broadband service provider.”

My instinct is that it isn’t going to get very far, for assorted reasons:
• No company with enough cash to build a network like this would take the risk on a completely new business model.
• An “ad-supported” system of weak wireless broadband might be more annoying than useful, even for people who can’t afford an alternative.
• The unfortunates targeted for this service would still have to buy or be given equipment that runs on the particular frequency band.
• If all you need to do is promise those low speeds, you could more cheaply create a compressed dial-up service that runs over traditional copper-wire phone lines.
• In the recently concluded 700MHz auction, the so-called D Block was left untouched because of its requirement of a nationwide public-safety network.

Sometimes I wish politicians needed higher-ed degrees in order to serve. This scheme could have used expertise in econ, psych, engineering, maybe even a little history. [CNet]