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ASPEN, Colo.--The U.S. Federal Trade Commission should take a different approach to "do not track" that would involve investigating online advertising, and then perhaps regulating it, a commissioner said today.

J. Thomas Rosch, a Republican commissioner who was appointed in 2006, suggested that the best way to create a do-not-track mechanism for the Web would be for the FTC to require all advertising networks to disclose what they do.

"The commission could serve those entities with compulsory process," Rosch said at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here. We could "direct them … Read more

ASPEN, Colo.--A Verizon Communications executive on Monday lashed out at critics who have savaged the company's recent Net neutrality announcement with Google, calling the complaints misguided and based on mischaracterizations of the joint proposal.

The language announced on August 9 is "much tougher than any nondiscrimination proposal that had ever been put on the table publicly before," Tom Tauke, Verizon's executive vice president of public affairs and policy, said at the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum here.

The actual text of the joint proposal to Washington regulators and politicians calls for "a new, … Read more

Aerogels are a high-tech material used in space missions. How about for insulating our buildings?

Aspen Aerogels, which makes insulating material for industrial applications, has started selling its air-filled aerogel blankets to make existing buildings more energy efficient, according to company executives. The company has done a number of installations in the U.K. and a few in the U.S., including a housing project in Rhode Island last year.

Aerogels are made by removing the liquid from gels, resulting in a material that is more than 90 percent air. The porous structure of that nanomaterial makes it difficult for … Read more

On Tuesday, Sony Ericsson announced the latest addition to its Greenheart series of eco-friendly phones, the Sony Ericsson Aspen. However, it's not the green angle that's catching people's attention (though it certainly is a plus), it's the fact that the Aspen is the first smartphone to run Windows Mobile 6.5.3.

This update to Microsoft's mobile operating system brings additional enhancements to the user interface, including more finger-friendly menus and touch controls and support for capacitive and multitouch gestures. In addition, Microsoft made improvements to the Web browser, so you should see faster page … Read more

ASPEN, Colo.--One thing I love is finding uses for things that perhaps no one has thought of before.

I'd already been on Road Trip 2009 for several days when I arrived in this tony Colorado mountain town known best as a playground for the rich and famous. I was hoping to go for a walk and find something good to eat.

It had been a long day of driving, starting in Colorado Springs, and traveling over Independence Pass, a 12,095 "Top of the Rockies" spot just on the Continental Divide. I had planned to stroll … Read more

Last week, we took a look at the Dodge Durango Hybrid and, surprisingly, we liked it. Its combination of hybrid tech and cabin tech had us thinking that Dodge/Chrysler had a winner on its hands. Perhaps, the bean counters at Chrysler didn't agree, because they've just pulled the plug on the Durango and Aspen Hybrids, a mere two months after the vehicles entered full-scale production.

The phrase "shooting yourself in the foot" comes to mind, but perhaps it's not that simple.

The news comes as part of a larger announcement that Chrysler is closing … Read more

ASPEN, Colo.--Verizon's chief technologist took a swipe at Net neutrality advocates on Tuesday, saying the concept has become overly politicized and important engineering details have been overlooked in Washington debates.

"We need to guard against turning technical and business decisions into political decisions," Verizon's Richard Lynch said at the Progress and Freedom Foundation's technology policy conference here.

Lynch gave the example of a customer placing a call using a voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, service that relies on time-sensitive packets. Unless a continuous stream of VoIP packets arrives, the call quality can suffer … Read more

ASPEN, Colo.--Recording industry and motion picture lobbyists are renewing their push to convince broadband providers to monitor customers and detect copyright infringements, claiming the concept is working abroad and should be adopted in the United States.

A representative of the recording industry said on Monday that her companies would prefer to enter into voluntary "partnerships" with Internet service providers, but pointedly noted that some governments are mandating such surveillance "if you don't work something out."

"Despite our best efforts, we can't do this alone," said Shira Perlmutter, a vice president for … Read more

While GM used the LA Auto Show to display its new full-size hybrids, Chrysler was busy doing exactly the same thing. Chrysler may have parted company with Mercedes-Benz, but that hasn't stopped it from making use of the two-mode hybrid technology that it developed with its old partner together with BMW and General Motors. Both the Chrysler Aspen and the Dodge Durango will come with available hybrid drivetrains for the 2008 model year at an as-yet-undisclosed price. Get an eyeful of Chrysler's new full-size hybrids right here.