http://www.handsoff.org/blog A coalition of Internet users and companies united to keep the internet free from further government regulation and taxes. Thu, 28 May 2009 19:14:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en From get-rich-quick schemes to outright fraud to malware to child porn solicitations, the Net is drowning in spam. More than 90 percent of email is spam, according to a new report from Symantec and the report claims that it increased five percent between April and May. So much for the ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/the-90-percent-solution/ As the Obama Administration works toward improving our nation’s healthcare system, it is essential that we address the healthcare professional access disparity between urban and rural communities. The Hill recently published an op-ed entitled, "Telemedicine's promise and potential" which highlights the many challenges facing the adoption of a new, more ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/telemedicines-impact-in-rural-communities/ The Obama Administration has allocated substantial funds for hospitals who agree to make the transition to electronic health records; however the funds are contingent on a term called "meaningful use." In a recent New York Times article, Dr. William F. Bria, president of the Association of Medical Directors of Information ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/importance-of-health-technology/ The dark day that net neutrality activists feared has finally arrived. Access to free online video content is intentionally being blocked to tens of millions of broadband users, while millions more users might soon see their video streams intentionally degraded. Essential egalitarian principles, such as unfettered content access, are being trampled ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/told-ya/ If you haven't heard Susan Boyle impress Simon Cowell, you really need to. Click here. Now, courtesy of tech columnist Robert Cringely (real name: Mark Stephens) we have a guess on the technology required to accommodate Susan Boyle's dream: "The video file as presented on YouTube is just over seven minutes and ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/the-scot-heard-round-the-world/ Here’s some good news about the continued growth of fiber-to-the-home: Click here The number of homes in North America with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections is continuing to grow at approximately 1.5mn annually and now stands at over 4.4mn, according to new figures from the Fiber-to-the-Home Council. The report also indicates a "substantial" increase ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/fiber-rules/ New York Times “Bits” blogger Saul Hansell is trying to sort fact from fiction [Link] on the state of U.S. broadband this week.  Give him credit for trying – international comparisons are notoriously difficult, as Hansell is the first to note. What comes through from at least this first installment is ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/of-bits-and-bytes/ The DVD player isn’t going the way of the VCR anytime soon but Disney’s CEO nevertheless stated the obvious during a recent analyst call. According to Ronald Grover at Business Week, Iger is the first Hollywood studio boss to openly admit that DVD sales may not be the cash cow ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/sunset-boulevard/ In case anyone doubts the need to sustain today’s massive level of Internet investment, last Tuesday’s inauguration numbers tell the story: CNN.com reported 21 million video streams, including 1.3 million simultaneous streams. That’s about four times the level from last Election Day. MSNBC.com says it served 18.2 million video streams, including 9.1 ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/handsoff/yes-it-can/ Google Wants Its Own Fast Track on the Web The celebrated openness of the Internet -- network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic -- is quietly losing powerful defenders. Google Inc. has approached major cable and phone companies that carry Internet traffic with a proposal to create ... http://www.handsoff.org/blog/news/google-wants-its-own-fast-track-on-the-web/