Beijing has long mistrusted foreign technology companies and the Snowden revelations have exacerbated those concerns.
The fallout from the U.S. spying scandal is starting to take its toll as U.S. technology companies including Cisco Systems Inc and IBM Corp are facing unprecedented difficulties selling their goods and services in China.
Continue reading… “Fallout from NSA leaks hurting U.S. tech sales in China”
A simple graphic that shows how the NSA hacked Google.
As technology races ahead, from time to time public debate and the law of the land must catch up to it. Government surveillance is one of the most important technology issues of our times. In the US, the NSA files have already had a profound impact on the perceptions of Americans about surveillance and civil liberties. Outside the US, Germany is aghast that the US and UK, NATO allies would spy on Angela Merkel and Germany. On the other hand, there is some evidence that the NSA has aided in combating Mexican drug cartels and prevented terrorism.
Continue reading… “Government mass surveillance will create a surge of technology spending”
Food stamps keep about five million people out of poverty.
There are some big problems with the way poverty is measured in this country. A Census report came out this week based on the “supplemental poverty measure” — a newer, unofficial method that figures in the value of many government benefits, the cost of living in different cities, and health-care costs.
Continue reading… “50 million Americans living in poverty in the U.S.”
The government CIO role is increasingly under pressure due to the development and implementation of digital government strategies, leading to the creation of new roles, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner predicts that by 2014, more than 10 percent of government organizations will have appointed a chief data officer and over 20 percent will have appointed a chief digital officer.
The Postal Service will pay the futurist $565,769 to assess the future of stamps.
The United States Postal Service is financially strapped but they are paying a futurist more than half a million dollars to assess the future of stamps as the agency struggles to raise revenues.
Continue reading… “U.S. Postal Service pays futurist to study the future of stamps”
Government agencies are tracking the data that two out of five software engineers are collecting, creating, and analyzing. And if you only ask those who are confident they could tell if the government was indeed spying on their data, that number goes up to 59 percent.
Margaret Focarino, Commissioner for Patents, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was in a state of crisis in 2009. There was a huge backlog of pending patent applications and it was growing. The process for reviewing patents had not changed in decades and was out-of-date. Employee job satisfaction was low and the longstanding distrust between management and the patent examiners union was ever-present.
Continue reading… “Patent system gets streamlined makeover”
Futurist Thomas Frey: A few days ago the people in Deer Trail, Colorado made national news with a proposed ballot initiative to allow hunting licenses to shoot down flying drones.
Continue reading… “Agriculture the New Game of Drones”
Deer Trail will vote on October 8th on whether to issue permits to hunt drones.
The tiny plains town of Deer Trail, Colorado doesn’t have much to offer visitors. The town has a gas station, a bar and a small-time rodeo one weekend a year. But it is considering a proposal to make itself a national attraction for gun enthusiasts and people skeptical of government surveillance. Citizens of Deer Trail will vote on Oct. 8 on whether to issue permits to hunt drones.
Continue reading… “Deer Trail, Colorado may issue licenses to shoot down drones”
The NSA’s surveillance network covers more Americans’ Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed.
The existence of several NSA programs that allow for far greater surveillance than the government has admitted to, and, importantly, detail how the government forces Internet service providers (ISPs) to hand over raw data, Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
Continue reading… “NSA scans 75% of all U.S. internet traffic”
Around 20% of American adults who do not use the Internet at home, work and school, or by mobile device.
There has been a $7 billion effort by the Obama administration to increase internet access throughout the country. Perhaps most staggering, though, is that almost 20 percent of American adults still don’t use the internet at home, work, school, or through a mobile device — a statistic that has generally remained the same since 2009.
Continue reading… “20% of adults in the U.S. don’t use the internet”
Futurist Thomas Frey: Consider the following scenario.
In 2035 a heinous criminal escapes in the city of Dallas, Texas and the local police department acquires a court order to conduct a thorough search of the metro area. Within 15 minutes a fleet of twelve surveillance drones is deployed to begin an ultra high-res flyover.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.