Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re a regular Internet shopper, you were probably paying close attention to the news yesterday as the U.S. Senate was in the process of voting on a bill deemed the “Internet Sales Tax” bill. Unexpectedly, the Senate passed the bill Monday night, which was being introduced as a way for states to collect sales tax for online purchases more easily.

The so-called Marketplace Fairness Act passed with a vote of 69 – 27 and will now head to the House where its future is uncertain at this point due to a number of Republicans possibly viewing the bill as an increase on taxes. A total of 45 states which currently charge sales tax would require large online retailers to collect taxes on purchases made by the resident of their state. The new law would only apply to online sellers whose sales reach at least $1 million outside of states where the company has a physical operations, such as stores or warehouses. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Pentagon Okays Use Of BlackBerry And Samsung Devices , Under the Radar: Meet C-Level Execs From Rackspace, BofA, Virgin America and more ($200 off door price promo code),

It seems the British government aren’t the only ones who think BlackBerry doesn’t live up to their standards as the US government may also be ditching BlackBerry.

With the BlackBerry Z10 expected to launch on AT&T tomorrow and T-Mobile next week, the US Department of Defense has reportedly ordered 650,000 Apple devices as part of its mobile device testing program. The order will give the department 120,000 iPads, 100,000 iPad minis, 200,000 iPod Touches and approximately 210,000 iPhones, which we’re sure won’t be coming out of tax payers wallets. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: US Department Of Defense Reportedly Planning On Buying 650,000 iOS Devices, Apple Patent Describes A Method To Prevent Your Phone From Falling Display First,

Just last week, a Congress committee associated Huawei with “credible allegations” of “bribery, corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement.” The report, of course, was part of the Legislative branch’s ongoing concern of the company’s alleged threat to national security. Today Huawei may have finally caught a break from the US government, albeit a somewhat backhanded one: according to Reuters, a White House ordered review says that there is no evidence of spying on the Chinese company’s part. The other side of the hand lands when the report cites exploitable vulnerabilities in Huawei hardware — one person familiar with the White House review said it found the company’s equipment “riddled with holes,” and susceptible to hacking. Security complaints aside, the government’s old spying concerns are still there. “China has the means, opportunity and motive to use telecommunications companies for malicious purposes,” said the House Intelligence Committee’s Dutch Ruppersberger, explaining to Reuters that both Huawei and ZTE has pinned their limited cooperation on restrictions from the local government. Even if Huawei hasn’t been caught spying, it’s still something it could do — and that’s reason enough, it seems, for the US government to avoid doing business with the firm.

Update: White House spokesperson Caitlin Hayden told The Hill that no such investigation has been made, stating: “The White House has not conducted any classified inquiry that resulted in clearing any telecom equipment buyer as reported in Reuters,” recalling the US government’s exclusion of Huawei in the planning for America’s interoperable wireless emergency network.

Filed under: Cellphones, Misc, Mobile

Reuters: White House finds no evidence of spying by Huawei, feels unsafe anyway (update: White House denies) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 19:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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