April 2013

Competition Designed to Spread Basic Technologies

Six billion of the seven billion people around the world have mobile phones, while only 4.5 billion have access to toilets, according to a recent United Nations report.

A new technological tool alerts authorities — and their watchdogs — to sanitation problems. The system, called mSchool, is one of three winners of a competition organized by the World Bank to identify promising solutions to address a striking discrepancy in access to high and low technologies in developing countries. “For us, it’s not just to show that there is a capacity in Africa to develop good applications,” said Daniel Annerose, chief executive of a mobile technology company in Dakar, called Manobi, which developed the reporting system, which lets teachers, students or parents report problems with sanitation facilities at more than 2,000 schools across Senegal. The winners of the Sanitation Hackathon, as the World Bank calls the project, are set to be honored in connection with the annual meetings of the bank and its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund. The other honorees are Sun-Clean, a computer game developed by students at the University of Indonesia, which teaches children about good hygiene; and Taarifa, a Web application developed by programmers in Britain, Germany, the United States and Tanzania, which uses “open source” technology, interactive mapping and other features to help public officials track sanitation problems. Because of the rapid spread of cellular phones, mobile technology has previously been used to address a variety of problems in the developing world, including access to financial services, health care information and education. But toilets were another matter.

Online sales tax bill set for vote in the Senate

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has moved to bring online sales tax legislation to the Senate floor, likely setting up a vote for early next week.

On April 18, he filed to end debate on the bill, which is known as the Marketplace Fairness Act. The move skips over the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the issue but has not held any votes or hearings on the bill this session. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) has insisted that the bill should go through his committee. He has expressed concern with the bill but said he would be willing to consider it as part of negotiations over broader tax reform.

Energy Secretary nominee breezes through committee vote

Energy Secretary nominee Ernest Moniz easily cleared his first hurdle in the Senate, securing nearly unanimous support from the chamber's energy committee. With a vote of 21 to 1 in favor of the pick, Moniz's nomination will move on for consideration by the full Senate. It is unclear when that will take place, but Moniz is widely expected to be confirmed. Moniz, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, would replace Energy Secretary Steven Chu who announced earlier this year that he was stepping down.

FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for May 2013 Open Meeting

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski announced that the following items will be on the tentative agenda for the next open meeting, scheduled for Thursday, May 9, 2013:

Expanding Broadband Access for Passengers on Planes: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking to improve consumer access to broadband aboard aircraft and encourage innovation through establishment of an Air-Ground Mobile Broadband service in the 14.0-14.5 GHz band, while ensuring that existing users are protected from interference.
Promoting Commercial Space Operations: The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry to ease access to spectrum for commercial space operators and enable increased federal government use of commercial satellite services, and seek comment on streamlining processes, eliminating unnecessary burdens, and identifying future communication and spectrum needs of the commercial space sector.

Wireless Devices for FirstNet Request for Information

FirstNet, an organization established under The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), requests information on smartphones, routers, tablets, modems, specialized devices, security and privacy devices/applications, device management, other wireless equipment, applications. FirstNet is conducting market research as part of its planning for the potential future acquisition of devices to run on the FirstNet Network (FNN). FirstNet is requesting information to help determine future acquisitions, including contract requirements, and potential vendors. Specifically, FirstNet is looking for vendors with core competencies and demonstrated experience in developing and sustaining public safety quality products. Submissions must be received no later than Friday, May 31, 2013.

‘Do Not Track’ is back — but ad industry has little to fear

Congress and even some tech companies are promising to get serious about “Do Not Track” legislation, which will let consumers tell companies not to collect their personal information. But any meaningful change is unlikely. The bottom line is there has been more sound and fury than usual about “Do Not Track” but that comprehensive privacy reforms are nowhere in sight.

Unleashing the Power of Big Data

As we enter the second year of the Big Data Initiative, the Obama Administration is encouraging multiple stakeholders, including federal agencies, private industry, academia, state and local government, non-profits, and foundations to develop and participate in Big Data initiatives across the country. Of particular interest are partnerships designed to advance core Big Data technologies; harness the power of Big Data to advance national goals such as economic growth, education, health, and clean energy; use competitions and challenges; and foster regional innovation. The National Science Foundation has issued a request for information encouraging stakeholders to identify Big Data projects they would be willing to support to achieve these goals. And, later this year, OSTP, NSF, and other partner agencies in the Networking and Information Technology R&D (NITRD) program plan to convene an event that highlights high-impact collaborations and identifies areas for expanded collaboration between the public and private sectors.

Digital Public Library of America Launches

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched a beta of its discovery portal and open platform.

The portal delivers millions of materials found in American archives, libraries, museums, and cultural heritage institutions to students, teachers, scholars, and the public. Far more than a search engine, the portal provides innovative ways to search and scan through its united collection of distributed resources. Special features include a dynamic map, a timeline that allow users to visually browse by year or decade, and an app library that provides access to applications and tools created by external developers using DPLA’s open data. The DPLA portal is powered by a rich repository of information, known as the DPLA platform, which enables new and transformative uses of America’s digitized cultural heritage. With an application programming interface (API) and maximally open data, the DPLA can be used by software developers, researchers, and others to create novel environments for learning, tools for discovery, and engaging apps. The DPLA App Library features an initial slate of applications built on top of the platform; developers and hobbyists of all skill levels are freely able to make use of the data provided via the platform.

Google earnings top estimates, despite mobile problems

Mobile continues to be a problem for Google, as the company struggles with how to make money off mobile ads and its Motorola smartphone unit. But earnings still beat Wall Street estimates.

Overall, Google's first-quarter revenue jumped to nearly $14 billion, in line with Wall Street expectations. Net income rose to $3.9 billion, or $11.58 per share, handily beating estimates. Though Google is a dominant mobile player thanks to Android, the shift away from desktops has caused the company some problems. Of particular concern is a metric called cost-per-click, or the average amount that advertisers pay to Google each time a user clicks on an ad.

Mobile ads command lower prices than desktop ads do, so the average cost-per-click has fallen even as the number of paid clicks increase. In the first quarter, Google's cost-per-click fell 4% compared with the prior year. That's the sixth consecutive quarterly decrease. The number of paid clicks rose 3% over the year.

CISPA changes fail to win over privacy advocates

Changes made to a cybersecurity bill that passed the House failed to win over privacy advocates who argued it would infringe on people's rights. Privacy and civil liberty advocates argue that the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) would allow companies to share cyber threat data with the government and other businesses without taking steps to remove personally identifiable information first. Several of these groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology and the Electronic Frontier Foundation — shot off statements expressing their concerns with CISPA on Thursday after the bill easily passed the lower chamber on a 288-127 vote.

Benton

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