bill

According to reports, U.S. senators drafted legislation aimed at giving the federal government unprecedented authority over the nation's critical infrastructure, including the power to shut down or limit traffic on private networks during ... emergencies. The draft of the proposed legislation is allegedly intended to establish cyber-security standards to be imposed on both the government and the private sector, including companies providing software, IT work, or other services to networks deemed as 'critical' infrastructure, as well as mandating licenses for any and all individuals who administer ... (view more)

Republican politicians have reportedly called for a sweeping new federal law requiring all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and operators of millions of WiFi access points -- including hotels, local coffee shops, and home users -- to keep records ... about users for two years to aid police investigations. The legislation would impose unprecedented data retention requirements on a broad swath of Internet access providers. Two bills (S. 436 in the Senate and H.R. 1076 in the House of Representatives) have been introduced so far. Each bill is titled "Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating the ... (view more)

eBay is cutting 1,600 jobs, representing around 10% of its work force. The announcement shortly after the company announced it would spend more than a billion dollars purchasing an online payment service and several overseas classifieds sites. The ... job cuts, the biggest in the firm's history, should save around $150 million a year. The layoffs, covering 1,000 permanent employees and 600 temps, will be spread across the company and will include staff at PayPal (which eBay owns). Chief Executive John Donahoe says the savings will fund greater investment in the firm's services, which may include ... (view more)

Driving is dangerous enough as it is. Add the distraction of cell phones to the equation and being on the road becomes more hazardous than ever. Now, a newly passed law is targeting the most inexperienced of those drivers -- teenagers -- by banning ... them from using their cell phones on the road. Even hands-free devices are considered off-limits. "They're just learning to drive. They haven't learned to juggle tasks, and they're a lot more easily distracted," said California senator Joe Simitian. "We know that driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and that cell phone use is ... (view more)

With the American dollar as the recognized measure of international currency in today's modern global economy, all eyes are expected to fall upon the unveiling of the new U.S. five dollar bill. But, unlike in previous years, The Bureau of Engraving ... and Printing is introducing the bill in a hi-tech way. The Bureau is expected to partake in a digital unveiling of the redesigned currency note. The new $5 bill will be shown to the entire world via a live Internet broadcast. The unveiling has been dubbed the "Wi-5" event. The broadcast will be hosted on the Bureau's website and a number of facts ... (view more)

Is it safe to meet online people in person? For the most part, meeting a cyber-buddy for the first time can be a relatively safe experience, providing that you use the proper precautions. Having said that, there are a few guidelines that I'd ... recommend when meeting an online friend for the first time: Get a phone number and call to verify it's legitimate. Always meet in a well lit, public place in a safe neighborhood. Make sure others know who you are meeting and where the meeting is. Don't meet people alone; if possible take another friend along. Here are some additional guidelines from a ... (view more)

As promised, today's newsletter will announce the winners of our Editorial Contest. To recap: On September 23rd , I announced that infopackets would be opening its doors and allow new contributors to submit articles to our audience of 250,000 ... Readers. On November 30th , a contest was held (lasting only 5 days) for a seat on our Editing Team. From that point forward, I've been implementing many changes to the web server to accommodate our new contributors and editors. Moving on -- With so many volunteers cramming for a seat on the Editing Team, I knew it was going to be difficult trying to ... (view more)

Yesterday, Bill B. sent me a question regarding Adobe Acrobat Reader. Wait a sec -- what is Adobe Acrobat Reader? Acrobat Reader is a free-to-use tool which reads documents which contain the file extension ".PDF". The Portable Document Format has ... been around for quite some time and is supported by all major computer platforms (PC, Mac, Unix, OS/2, etc). Acrobat is a popular pick among eBook developers because it provides many useful features, including: document encryption (IE: the ability to copy-protect all / certain aspects of a document), bookmarks, clickable links, clickable ... (view more)