Antitrust
Microsoft Changes Music Feature After Violation Is Cited
     Microsoft agreed to make changes to an online music feature of its Windows XP computer-operating system after the Justice Department concluded that the feature violated its antitrust settlement with the company. In an advisory to federal district Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, Justice's antitrust division said Microsoft's "shop for music online" feature violated the November 2001 consent decree. The feature effectively forced consumers to use Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser even when they had selected a competing browser like Mozilla, Netscape or Opera. "The department discussed its concerns with Microsoft," the advisory to Kollar-Kotelly said. "Without necessarily agreeing with the department's position, Microsoft has agreed to remove the override of the user's default browser." The company expects to have a modification to Windows XP available to consumers in February or March via download.

Exports
China Seeks Relaxed Export Controls As Tech Contracts Signed
     Senior U.S. and Chinese officials and technology executives hailed the signing of telecommunications contracts worth $2.32 billion. "This is another clear example of the growing trade relationship, economic relationship, between the U.S. and China," Commerce Secretary Donald Evans said at the signing ceremony organized by the Telecommunications Industry Association. Lou Qinjian, vice minister of the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry, said information technology cooperation between the two nations in the past two years has been "deep and quite effective." He also said billions more could be carved off the U.S. trade imbalance with China if the United States relaxed controls on sensitive exports to China. But U.S. officials privately have signaled that the climate in Washington for such a step is unfavorable.

Labor
Virginia Group Vows Fight Over Outsourcing Jobs Overseas
     The board of the Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) unanimously adopted a resolution opposing any Virginia bills that would ban procurement officials from working with companies that move jobs overseas, a process known as offshore outsourcing. The resolution also authorizes board members to fight such anti-outsourcing legislation at the federal level, and NVTC plans to lobby Congress on the issue this year. "Adopting such protectionist policies would not only negatively impact our competitive position globally but also significantly increase the cost of doing business with [Virginia] and therefore increase the cost of providing state services and goods on behalf of the taxpayers of Virginia," the resolution states.

White House
Bush Proposes Budget Increase For Space Exploration
     President Bush proposed spending $12 billion over the next five years for space exploration, including an additional $1 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in fiscal 2005. The White House said Bush's proposal would boost NASA's budget by 5 percent for the next three years and then by 1 percent in the final two years. Bush's space program is likely to enjoy key support on Capitol Hill, including that of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, whose suburban Houston district is home to NASA's Johnson Space Center. Last month, DeLay called for a manned mission to the moon, possibly as a precursor for expeditions to Mars -- both of which are features of Bush's plan.

Telecom
'Lean Budget Year' May Slow Progress On FCC Issues
     At its first meeting of the year, the FCC basked in its accomplishments of 2003, but staff noted that budget cuts will prevent the agency from moving forward on some projects this year. Fiscal 2004 is shaping up to be a "lean budget year," FCC Managing Director Andrew Fishel said, and as a result the FCC "will have to defer many accomplishments we want to achieve." Inflation, mandatory cost-of-living increases in pay, lower funding from currently operating under last year's budget figures while Congress ponders the new budget, and an appropriation smaller than requested are expected to result in a real-dollar cut in agency funding.

Telecom
FCC Chairman Sees Digital Services Just Around Corner
     America's transition to digital services is a little like a long car ride with bored children who constantly ask, "Are we there yet?" The good news, according to FCC Chairman Michael Powell, is that the answer is, "Not quite yet but we've reached the city limits." In a press luncheon, Powell noted the host of new-fangled gadgets and services that show America is on its way to all-things digital, adding that society just needs to look at the children. Instead of congregating at malt shops, kids meet in cyberspace, instant message each other, and talk and message each other on their wireless telephones, he said. Few people would leave home without their mobile phones, and the speedy growth of high-speed Internet services means adoption rates are "approaching the tipping point," Powell said.

Security
Officials Debate Difficulties Of Crafting Security Policy
     Defeating potential terrorist attacks on U.S. infrastructure and citizens will require careful balancing acts between competing priorities, means and methods, senior business executives and government officials said as part of a homeland security policy discussion. The panelists said effective security policies will have to balance security, privacy and regulation with self-regulation, while launching new partnerships between government and industry. Frank Libutti, undersecretary for information analysis and infrastructure protection with the Homeland Security Department, said the department has shown "manifest and tremendous leadership" at every level during the recent heightened security alert. In other news, Jim Turner of Texas, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, blamed the Bush administration for not making a screening center and consolidated "watch list" for terrorists top priorities.

Defense
Joint Command Has Big Plans For War-Fighting Technology
     The U.S. Joint Forces Command this year plans to develop and prototype more technologies to better synchronize war-fighting efforts between military forces. The year will see the command "advance its objectives to the next level by defining and implementing new technologies and concepts by working cooperatively with military service components and multinational partners," the division said in a news release on its goals. The Virginia-based unit is considered the "transformation laboratory" for the Defense Department. It develops, tests and trains joint forces with new technologies to integrate war-fighting capabilities and simulates different battlefields with computer-generated images for training or to augment "live" forces on a larger operational environment -- air, land and sea.