The United States House of Representatives has voted to pass the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), talk of which has swept the Internet over the past few weeks. The House vote was moved up to Thursday night, and CISPA passed as 248 members of Congress voted for the bill and 168 voted against. The bill is sponsored by Representatives Mike Rogers (R-Michigan) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-Maryland), and it now faces further modifications in the Senate if it is to avoid being ve...

The United States Senate on Thursday voted 52-46 in opposition of a Republican bill that sought to block the Federal Communication Commission’s net neutrality rules. Here’s one small example of how a society without net neutrality might work: Say you’re an avid fan of Netflix or Hulu but, since you’re using those services instead of your cable company’s on-demand movie rental platform, your cable company decides to block all access to Netflix and Hulu. Under the FCC’s net ...

The city of San Francisco has approved an ordinance that will require cell phone retailers to warn customers about the dangers of cell phone radiation, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday. The ordinance, which was passed in a 10-1 vote, asks that phone retailers “post general warnings” about risks. It’s unclear what exactly will be required of the retailers, and researchers have flip-flopped on whether or not there are any real risks associated with mobile wireless devices. On May 31s...

Reuters reported on Friday that Northern and Ethical Investments, an investor in Research In Motion, has called for a shareholder vote to decide if co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie should remain both co-chief executives and co-chairmen of the company’s board. Northern and Ethical Investments reportedly wants the Waterloo based company to have an independent board member. However, Reuters said RIM has already asked its shareholders to shoot down the vote, arguing that John Richardson is an indepe...

The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted in favor of a new set of rules that will force larger cellular carriers such as Verizon Wireless and AT&T to provide roaming access to their data networks at prices set by the FCC. The move will allow smaller regional carriers to take advantage of the large investments made by national carriers at a mere fraction of the cost of building out their own data networks. Immediately following the FCC’s vote, Verizon Wireless’ executive vice pre...

In a short but sweet press release, Nintendo announced that sales of its Wii gaming console have topped 30 million units in the United States. The feat took only 45 months to accomplish which Nintendo claims makes it the fastest selling console ever. USA Today writes, “More than 73 million Wiis have been scooped up worldwide, which puts the console on pace to becoming the best-selling video game device ever. That title is held by Sony’s PlayStation 2, which has notched about 140 million in sales.&...

The FCC has announced that it has canceled its upcoming December 18th meeting. As part of that meeting, the FCC had planned to vote on the proposed auction of portions of the white space spectrum which would be used for free, nationwide wireless broadband. The white space initiative generated a firestorm of controversy that pitted T-Mobile, the National Association of Broadcasters and celebrities like Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond, and the Dixie Chicks against technology companies such as Google, Dell, Microsof...

First it was the White House that voiced its opposition earlier this week to the FCC’s plan for free wireless broadband using the white space spectrum, now it is Congress’s turn to weigh in on the matter. In a letter to the FCC,  the incoming chairmen for the Senate and House Commerce committees, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), urged the FCC to focus on the upcoming digital TV transition and to stay away from “complex and controversial items that the new Con...

In two big election day victories, the FCC approved both the usage of the white space spectrum for mobile broadband access and the Sprint Clearwire joint venture to expand WiMAX coverage. w00t, w00t! The decision for the white space spectrum was unanimous with one partial dissent from Commissioner Deborah Tate. This is a big blow to the National Association of Broadcasters et al. who have been vehemently fighting the use of this spectrum and a big win for the likes of Google, Microsoft, and Dell who have rall...

Sorry for straying from our regular content, but we felt compelled to remind readers that today is November 4. The official Bold launch is hardly the only interesting news – today also happens to be the day we will elect our 44th President. If you are registered to do so, please, do us and yourself a favor. Take a break at some point today, head down to the polls and vote. Obama/Biden, McCain/Palin, BG/Jibi, whatever. Just vote. This election will already go down in history for a variety of reasons and ...