Hasta La Gadget!

The FCC has been providing regular updates on the progress of broadband rollout in the United States for some time now, but it’s gone a bit further with for its latest Broadband Progress Report. It’s now also released in a new web-based interactive map that that lets you zoom in on broadband availability county-by-county to get a better picture of all that data, with details on things like population, income and access to different types of broadband provided for each area. In case you missed it, the report itself found that 19 million Americans lack access to any sort of fixed broadband service, and that a further 100 million haven’t subscribed to a broadband service even in areas where it is available. You can find an embedded version of the map after the break, or a larger version at the source link below.

Continue reading FCC releases interactive map for latest Broadband Progress Report

Filed under: Networking, Internet

FCC releases interactive map for latest Broadband Progress Report originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  FCC Broadband Deployment Map  | Email this | Comments

It’s not the backdoor access that the FBI has been pushing for, but US District Judge William Pauley III has now ruled that it and other law enforcement agencies are entitled to view your Facebook profile if one of your “friends” gives them permission to do so. As GigaOm reports, that ruling comes as part of a New York City racketeering trial, in which one of the accused, Melvin Colon, had tried to suppress evidence turned up on Facebook that led to his indictment. That information was obtained through an informant who gave investigators access to the profile, something that Colon had argued violated his rights against unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment. In the ruling, Judge Pauley dismissed that claim, likening the Facebook access instead to a phone wiretap in which one person on the call allows the government to monitor it — a practice that has been ruled constitutional. GigaOm also has the ruling in its entirety at the source link below for those interested.

Filed under: Internet

Judge rules Facebook users can share friends’ profiles with the feds originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  GigaOm  | Email this | Comments

The US Census Bureau just released its first public API last month, giving web and mobile app makers access to its vast stores of statistics, and it’s now also gone the extra mile by releasing its first mobile app. Dubbed America’s Economy, the app draws on data from the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor to provide a real-time picture of the US economy, offering details on everything from the country’s gross domestic product to housing sales to the unemployment rate (all presented with the requisite charts and graphs). That’s available for Android smartphones and tablets right now, while an iOS app promised in the “coming weeks.” It’s also the first of three planned apps from the Bureau — the others are said to be coming over the next several months (both of which will also be available for both Android and iOS).

Filed under: Software

Census Bureau releases first mobile app, offers real-time stats on the US economy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink @uscensusbureau (Twitter)  |  Google Play (Phone), (Tablet), Census Bureau  | Email this | Comments

We’re just days away from the Curiosity rover’s touchdown on the surface of Mars, and with the historic event quickly approaching, NASA has started thinking about the future. Specifically, NASA chief Charles Bolden is thinking of manned missions to the red planet, which are planned to occur sometime in the 2030s. The US has been talking about manned missions to Mars for quite some time now, but when the moment finally arrives, Bolden says that the US won’t be going it alone.

“I have no desire to do a Mars landing on our own,’ Bolden told USA Today. “The U.S. cannot always be the leader, but we can be the inspirational leader through international cooperation in space exploration.” Bolden also said that any future trips to the moon will likely be based around international cooperation as well, meaning that the US is pretty much finished making advances in space exploration on its own.

Indeed, Bolden may not have much of a choice in the matter anyway. With NASA’s funding continuously getting cut, we’ll need to rely on scientists from other nations to get the job done. Even if money wasn’t an issue, a mission to Mars is a monumental undertaking, and it would serve well to have the world’s top minds working together on the mission instead of making it a US-only party.

For now, however, the focus remains squarely on the Curiosity rover and its landing on Mars, which is set to go down on August 6. We’re less than a week away from touchdown, and thankfully, NASA isn’t keep all the excitement to itself, announcing earlier this week that it will be live streaming the entire landing. Be sure to check out our story timeline below for more information about the Curiosity rover and Mars in general!

As Curiosity rover touchdown nears, US says it won’t go to Mars alone is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Since the end of WWII, America’s naval might has been undisputed and our aircraft carriers have been its crown jewels. However, the days of dominance could end with China’s new DF-21D ballistic missile—the only device on Earth capable of sinking an aircraft carrier—four and a half acres of sovereign US territory—with one shot. More »