2010 April InfoTech & Telecom News (full text PDF)

Published March 18, 2010

The April issue of InfoTech & Telecom News reports on Google’s relationship with China, which went sour January 12 when Google traced to Chinese government operatives a spate of cyberattacks and clandestine Web surveillance targeting the search giant and other foreign tech companies.

Also in this issue:

  • A school district in suburban Philadelphia apparently thought it had devised the perfect anti-theft device for the laptops it issued its students–until parents discovered the plan involved secretly using a Web camera to snap photos of their children, even in their bedrooms at home.
  • The terrorist dubbed the “Underwear Bomber,” who tried to take down a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day, is no longer a threat, but his scheme may have done great damage to the emerging in-flight technology industry.
  • Pennsylvania’s attempts to lure high-tech companies by offering big tax incentives have brought only marginal gains, according to a new study.
  • The head of the Consumer Electronics Association was not shy about criticizing rising federal budget deficits and sticking up for free markets, publicly chiding a member of the Obama administration.
  • Two Minnesota municipalities–one the largest in the state, the other a small town–have been considered good models for how municipal wi-fi programs can work, but the taxpayer-supported systems in Minneapolis and Chaska have ended up costing more than expected while delivering less than advertised.