United States

Oracle's Catz says businesses need $1 trillion tax holiday

Oracle's reclusive president continues to make the case that U.S. companies should be allowed to help the economy by brining overseas earnings home, nearly tax-free.

By Dan Mitchell, contributor

There is a big difference, says Oracle President Safra Catz, between the $800 billion federal stimulus package and the "repatriation" of $1 trillion in foreign corporate holdings that she advocates. Unlike the stimulus, "my money has already been printed," she said Friday, drawing MORE

Manilla: Making online bill pay into a better payoff

The new startup, incubated by Hearst and run by digital media guru George Kliavkoff, aims to incentivize customers and companies to give up their paper bills forever.

A new company called Manilla launches today and it could be the nail in the coffin for the US Postal Service. Its goal: To help businesses convert customers to paperless billing by giving consumers an easy tool for organizing and paying bills.

Manilla (as in MORE

Would you sell your Kindle to sell a used book?

A recent Supreme Court decision, confusing Copyright Office rules and Amazon's Kindle policies all indicate that the only way consumers will ever get to resell "used" ebooks may be to sell their hard drives, too.

By Seth Greenstein, contributor

The holiday season is upon us, and with it thoughts of peace on earth, goodwill... and the latest electronic media.  Visions of Kindles and Kinects dance in children's heads (and no doubt yours MORE

From laughing to judging in fifty years: The evolution of televised emotion

A new study from NBC reveals how emotions generated from TV shows have mirrored American society. And 'judgment' is the current king of the charts.

By Daniel Roberts, reporter

If you're on TV, whether in a drama or reality show, chances are that Americans are sitting on their couches, silently judging you. Those are the findings from a new study conducted by NBC Universal, which examined the top 20 broadcast programs (via MORE

Why the FCC's net neutrality proposal is the right one for right now

Despite criticism, a venture capitalist and former California State Controller explains why the Genachowski net neutrality proposal is a must-have for industry, the FCC, and the public.

By Steve Westly, contributor

Nobody likes being stuck in traffic or choosing the slow checkout line at the grocery store.

Now imagine if you were faced with the choice of being forever stuck in the digital slow lane or paying even higher fees for faster access MORE

Free minds, free markets ... free networks?

What does it means to be a libertarian in the digital age?  Tim Lee is just the man to ask.

Many computer geeks are also libertarians, so it's not too surprising to hear Tim Lee proudly describe himself as a member of both groups. No, what makes Lee unusual is his passion for figuring out exactly what it means to be both a libertarian and a technophile. What's the best way to MORE

How open government can help states save money

In California, open government collaboration saved $56 million on the state's website redesign project. The lessons learned there could ripple savings across every department -- and every state.

By John F. Moore, contributor

One thing about open government is that there's always more to learn. Carolyn Lawson, Director of eService, Technology Services Governance Division, in California, helped me learn a great deal about how open government efforts were creating jobs in the MORE

Tom Steyer: The jolly green banker

Banker and philanthropist Tom Steyer says the idea of business doing everything perfectly without government involvement is "ridiculous." That's why he's fighting to convince politicians and CEOs that going green isn't a sacrifice, it's an opportunity.

Tom Steyer founded Farallon Capital Management and OneCalifornia Bank. He's also an environmentalist and philanthropist. He and his wife funded the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford University, devoted to researching sustainable energy, and the Steyer-Taylor Center for MORE

Wikileaks: US suspects China in Google hacking case

The hacking incident that convinced Google to remove censorship from its search results was a Chinese Government-sponsored effort according to a Chinese contact in the American Embassy in China.

The report briefly cites "government operatives, private security experts and Internet outlaws recruited by the Chinese government." as the source of the Google (GOOG) intrusion which was aimed at enemies of the Chinese state, including Falun Gong members abroad. As the New MORE

The end of Internet history?

The author responds to our Scott Woolley's review of his new book, "The Master Switch."

By Tim Wu, contributor

"Time has upset many fighting faiths" – Oliver Wendell Holmes

My book, "The Master Switch" asks a simple, age-old question: Is history destined to repeat itself? Is the great revolutionary medium of our times, the Internet, destined to follow the path of its ancestors, radio and the telephone, a path of MORE