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U.S. has its first national broadband plan
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission officially released the country’s first national broadband plan Tuesday, and one of its major goals is to bring broadband service to all U.S. residents. The FCC meeting Tuesday was a bit anticlimactic, because commission officials had conducted briefings on the major proposals in the 360-page plan in recent weeks. The FCC on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a two-page joint statement on broadband, but did not vote on the broadband plan in its entirety. The approximately 200 recommendations in the broadband plan will need to be approved separately.
Google Nexus One available on Rogers, AT&T
Google on Tuesday began selling its Nexus One phone for the Rogers Wireless and AT&T networks, but only a full-price version is available, highlighting the challenges the search giant faces in trying to achieve its vision of an open mobile environment. The AT&T phone costs $529. It is not available at a discounted price with a contract.
MIT researchers show chips can design themselves
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Tuesday released research detailing how molecules in chips can self-assemble, potentially reducing manufacturing costs. The researchers have developed a technique in which polymers automatically fall into place to create an integrated circuit, said Caroline Ross, professor of materials science and engineering at MIT and a researcher behind the technology. The researchers designed a template to cause polymers to spontaneously arrange themselves into useful patterns.
Google China ad resellers in “incomparable pain”
A group of ad resellers for Google in China have asked the company to explain what will happen to them if Google shuts its China-based search engine, saying they have waited in “incomparable pain” since Google announced the possible move. Google has received a letter from the resellers and is reviewing it, a Google spokeswoman said early Wednesday. The letter, which lists 27 resellers, says their business is falling and asks how they and their customers will be compensated if Google.cn is shut down, according to a copy posted online by China’s state broadcaster.