Techno-politics

President Obama’s somewhat testy but endlessly hilarious Between Two Ferns clip with Zach Galifianakis is storming the Internet on Tuesday, racking up more than 3 million views in just a few hours. Even more, it appears that the president’s gambit — looking a little silly — was worth it to reach a core demographic of Continue Reading →

Microsoft is trying to persuade politicians to take out targeted ads on Xbox Live, Skype, MSN and other company platforms as midterm elections begin heating up around the country. To plug the idea, Microsoft officials handed out promotional materials Thursday at CPAC, the annual conference for conservatives. It’s the latest move by tech companies to Continue Reading →

For the moment, commercial drones are, unequivocally, legal in American skies after a federal judge has ruled that the Federal Aviation Administration has not made any legally binding rules against it. The judge dismissed the FAA’s case against Raphael Pirker, the first (and only) person the agency has tried to fine for flying a drone Continue Reading →

The big boys came out on the side of the broadcasters in their upcoming appearance in front of the Supreme Court in the Aereo case. The solicitor general’s office put the Obama administration solidly in the anti-Aereo camp with a 40-page amicus brief (read it here) filed with the SCOTUS today. The broadcasters say that Continue Reading →

Connecticut has been so successful in getting people to sign up for health insurance through its online marketplace that it is setting up a consulting business to help other states build and operate websites where people can compare and buy private insurance policies. And the Obama administration has encouraged the effort, in the hope that Continue Reading →

Here are 10 reasons why a US dollar is worth the paper it’s printed on: USS Nimitz (CVN-68) USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) USS George Washington (CVN-73) USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) USS George Continue Reading →

Last Tuesday President Obama met with top engineers and Pentagon people. He publicly said: “Basically, I’m here to announce that we’re building Iron Man […] Not really. Maybe. It’s classified.” People laughed, but the truth is that yes, the US military is building Iron Man, and the first prototypes are coming in this June. First, Continue Reading →

A Democratic U.S. senator is asking the federal government to take this remarkable step: completely ban Bitcoin. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia sent a letter today to the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and other regulators characterizing the virtual currency as encouraging “illicit activity” as well as being “highly unstable and disruptive to our Continue Reading →

Administration lawyers have presented the White House with four options for restructuring the National Security Agency’s phone-surveillance program, from ditching the controversial collection altogether to running it through the telephone companies, according to officials familiar with the discussions. President Barack Obama in January asked U.S. intelligence agencies and the attorney general to report by March Continue Reading →

Google is lobbying officials in at least three U.S. states to stop proposed restrictions on driving with headsets such as Google Glass, marking some of the first clashes over the nascent wearable technology. Some eight U.S. states are considering regulation of Google Glass, a tiny computer screen mounted in the corner of an eyeglass frame. Continue Reading →