August 2012

Sir Bernard Lovell Dies at 98; a Radio Telescope Bears His Name

Sir Bernard Lovell, a pioneer in radar and radio telescopes from the days when the technology helped save Britain in World War II until the beginning of the space age, died August 6 at his home in Swettenham Village, England. He was 98.

Lovell, who became widely known through his books, lectures and BBC television appearances, was especially renowned for creating the Jodrell Bank radio telescope, the only antenna that could track rockets in space in the early years of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

On Oct. 4, 1957 — just two months after the Jodrell Bank telescope began operating — the Soviets launched Sputnik atop an R-7 rocket that had been designed to deliver a nuclear warhead, and Western officials turned to Mr. Lovell and his telescope to track it. Sputnik emitted a radio signal that made it easy to follow, but only Mr. Lovell’s radio telescope could track the rocket that put Sputnik into orbit. When the battery in Sputnik that powered the radio signal ran out after 22 days, even the Soviets had to turn to Jodrell Bank for help in tracking it as it finished its three months of orbiting before falling back to Earth.

R. Peter Straus, Radio Pioneer, Dies at 89

R. Peter Straus, who took over WMCA in New York in the late 1950s and turned it into one of the nation’s most innovative radio stations, broadcasting what are regarded as the first radio editorials and political endorsements and helping to popularize rock ’n’ roll, died on August 6 at his home in Midtown Manhattan.

He was 89. The son of a radio entrepreneur and the scion of a family steeped in public service, Mr. Straus counted diplomats, cabinet officials, legislators and philanthropists among his forebears. He became a United Nations official, director of the Voice of America and administrator of American aid to Africa. But his most memorable contributions were in radio. Long before NPR created a network for high-quality news, music and discussion programs, WMCA pioneered public service radio in New York. It was the first station in the country to run editorials on political and civic issues, with Mr. Straus himself reading opinions on the air, and the first to endorse a presidential candidate, backing John F. Kennedy in 1960.

White House considers executive action to address cybersecurity

White House chief counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the Administration is considering exercising executive authority to impose cybersecurity mandates after lawmakers failed to adopt legislation to implement those measures. Those options include President Obama possibly introducing several cybersecurity measures via presidential executive orders.

"We will see what we can do ... the critical infrastructure of this country is under threat" by cyberattacks from state and non-state actors, Brennan said during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington. Brennan and other administration officials argue the United States cannot afford to abide by congressional timelines to get cybersecurity mandates in place, especially while U.S. government and commercial networks are under continued attack. "We have to improve our [cyber] defenses in this country," Brennan said. "We cannot wait."

Separately, Rep Ed Markey (D-MA) said, “I’m calling on President Obama to do by Executive Order what Congressional Republicans refuse to do through legislation: protect our nation from the 21st century cyber-armies preparing to wage war on our banking, health care, and defense systems by knocking out America’s electricity grid.” He accused Republicans of putting business interests ahead of the country’s defense in blocking the Cybersecurity Act in the Senate. “Congressional Republicans once again have shown their legislative agenda to be one big I.O.U. – Insurers, Oil companies, and Utilities. … The moneyed minions behind Citizens United have driven Republicans to prioritize the interests of the wealthiest corporations over America’s national security,” he said.

Fact-Checking Is Not Enough

In the Internet era, the number of would-be watchdogs and fact-checking teams has proliferated, but the same problems remain.

It isn’t just that even hostile media coverage tends to just widen an attack ad’s audience. It’s also that the interpretation of advertisements often has more in common with cultural criticism than it does with rigorous magazine fact-checking, which makes it hard for even the most down-the-middle reporter to define what counts as fair. Sometimes this manifests itself in straightforward political bias. In a lengthy critique of “non-partisan” outlets like Politifact last winter, The Weekly Standard’s Mark Hemingway argued persuasively that their ostensibly neutral analysis often feels more “a rearguard action to keep inconvenient truths” – mostly the ones that favor conservatives – “out of the conversation.” But even when outright bias doesn’t intrude, the problem of interpretation remains.

This means that with rare exceptions, viewers and voters, not reporters and pundits, will always get the final say on whether a particular advertisement crosses a line. And the press needs to learn to trust them with it. Negative ads will always be a feature of American politics, and voters have generally shown good judgment about what counts as a legitimate issue and what doesn’t.

Another Apple vs. Samsung Battle: The Mobile Web

Chitika, which tracks Web share use on its ad network, says Samsung’s Galaxy S III is quickly becoming a force, though Apple remains the clear leader.

For every one ad impression that comes from a Samsung device, there are four from Apple devices. “Both the sales and Web presence numbers have been impressive early on for the Galaxy S III, but does it have the staying power to compete with the iPhone 5 due for release this September?” Chitika said. “Particularly in the context of the series of patent lawsuits between the manufacturers, this head-to-head matchup will be one of the most intriguing contests in the smartphone market this year.” As for the Galaxy S III, it now accounts for more than 11 percent of all Web surfing coming from Samsung smartphones. “The device has quickly surpassed the Galaxy Nexus in activity, and is hot on the tails of other Galaxy S models,” Chitika said.

Pandora asks listeners to share their e-mail addresses with Romney

Pandora's targeted e-mail sharing pitch isn't new, but it's being offered to political advertisers for the first time this year, a company spokeswoman said. Both Democrats and Republicans, and both local and national campaigns, have used the service to collect voter e-mails. It's among the latest in a series of increasingly sophisticated tactics that campaigns are using to target narrow groups of voters online — from sending ads to Internet users who have visited a candidate's website, to creating a mobile app for campaign volunteers that marks the names and addresses of nearby voters on a Google map.

Why shopping will never be the same

Intel scientist Nola Donato has designed a high-tech mirror that shows how clothes look on a consumer who simply stands in front of an LCD monitor.

Parametric technology simulates body type and how fabrics fit — based on weight, height and measurements. Think of it as a digital fitting room. The concept is three to five years from fruition but could open the door for Intel in the retail market. The convergence of smartphone technology, social-media data and futuristic technology such as 3-D printers is changing the face of retail in a way that experts across the industry say will upend the bricks-and-mortar model in a matter of a few years.

HHS: New rules will save up to $9 billion

The Health and Human Services Department announced new rules that it said will help save as much as $9 billion over the next decade. The new policy is designed to make it easier for doctors and hospitals to accept electronic payments. HHS adopted related standards earlier this year that made it easier for healthcare businesses to transfer money electronically.

Commerce Department Needs Your Input on Digital Strategy

On May 23, 2012, the White House released the Federal Digital Strategy that outlined the use of “modern tools and technologies to seize the digital opportunity and fundamentally change how the Federal Government serves both its internal and external customers–building a 21st century platform to better serve the American People.” The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is requiring agencies to implement at least two such tools or technologies by August 23, 2012.

As part of the Digital Strategy, the Department of Commerce has identified two areas that are ripe for improvement and several platforms within each that could be updated: APIs and mobile-optimization. As such, today we are asking for your input in deciding which two items we will commit to completing by OMB’s August 23 deadline. In the comments section contained below, we welcome your feedback on the possible candidates for improvement, or other opportunities we may have overlooked. Your feedback, combined with other internal and external conversations, will guide Commerce’s digital plan in the coming months and years.

Connectify combines Wi-Fi, 4G into a superfast wireless pipe

Philadelphia startup Connectify has turned to Kickstarter to raise funds for its latest PC connection management project. It’s developing software that will allow a PC to aggregate multiple broadband connections, ranging from Wi-Fi to 4G, into a single a high-bandwidth link. Connectify plans to offer the software as a stand-alone PC product as well as incorporate it into its Hotspot software, which would allow the PC to act as both connection aggregator and broadband distributor – though more Wi-Fi links would necessitate the use of additional Wi-Fi cards or USB modems. Connectify also plans to offer up an API for developers who want to use the technology in their own apps.

Benton

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