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Many Republicans say that there is a skills gap between the two parties, based on neglect within their own ranks and advances on the Democratic side.
Acceptance, and adapting to overcome the deficit, will be critical to rebuilding the Grand Old Party. It's impossible to deny that President Obama's campaign ran the far superior technological operation. The technophiles who built a start-up-like atmosphere of 40 or so programmers and data crunchers are achieving something approaching a mythical status in postelection media coverage. In the space of less than two years, they created groundbreaking voter-identification tools, turnout models, and a get-out-the-vote system that helped squeeze every last ballot out of the Democratic coalition. Mitt Romney's team and the Republican National Committee, put simply, did not equal those efforts. The early scapegoat after Election Day was something called Project ORCA, a voter-turnout system the Romney campaign planned to use to make sure their voters headed to the polls. That system failed on several fronts. No one beta-tested the product; passwords given to volunteers didn't work; the program crashed on Election Day.
Do Democrats Have the edge in Tech Skills?
When it comes to entertainment, watching television is still where those in the U.S. primarily turn on a daily basis: on average, we watch TV for almost three hours per day. But mobile app usage continues to grow at a pace that is coming closer to rivaling television, according to new data released by mobile analytics firm Flurry.
We spend more than two hours a day using apps on our phones or tablets, which suggests that eventually what is now considered the “second screen” is inching closer to overtaking the first screen. Between December 2011 and December 2012, while we watch TV for 168 minutes per day (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics latest stat, which is from 2011), the firm’s own data shows that we spend 127 minutes per day using mobile apps — either playing games, shopping, checking social media feeds, etc. The 127 minutes is a significant step up from the data measured between December 2010 and December 2011, when we were averaging just 94 minutes per day in smartphone or tablet applications. That’s an increase of 35 percent.
US spends 35 percent more time using apps in 2012, while web usage drops
Big data can make lives better, but it can also ensure bigger profits. That’s the pitch that Guavus, a real-time data analysis platform is sharing with mobile operators. If they show Guavus the data, the software can help them optimize pricing and capacity spending.
How telcos are using big data to set prices and maybe make bills better
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered cable operators (and TiVo) to update their cable boxes to include support for high definition streaming over home networks to devices like PCs, smart TVs, and tablets. In addition to video streaming, cable boxes must also allow HD video recording on external devices through home networks. By June 2nd 2014 the vast majority of set top boxes will have to support an open standard, although cable companies with fewer than 400,000 subscribers have been given an extra three months to implement the changes.
Cable companies ordered to support HD content streaming within homes by 2014
Softbank's planned $20.1 billion investment in Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile USA's intended merger with MetroPCS are "significant transactions," but that does not mean the deals will alter the competitive landscape in the U.S. wireless industry, according to Standard & Poor's Rating Services.
S&P said Sprint's agreement to give up a 70 percent stake in itself in exchange for Softbank's multi-billion-dollar investment resulted from future financing needs rather than efforts to build scale or leverage synergies. Any competitive benefits of the Sprint-Softbank combination, such as cost savings on handsets and network equipment, "would likely take time to emerge, and would likely result from Sprint's greater financial flexibility allowing consistently higher investment in the business," said the firm. The combination of MetroPCS and T-Mobile is being viewed a bit differently in that it is a merger of rivals, and the combined company could benefit from having larger scale, which would give it greater operating efficiency, better equipment pricing and more spectrum to accommodate an LTE upgrade, said S&P.
Sprint-Softbank, T-Mobile-MetroPCS linkups are not 'gamechangers'
West Virginia's largest Internet provider is questioning whether the state Broadband Deployment Council should distribute $3.15 million in grants to make broadband service available to an estimated 2,600 homes in rural communities.
The $1,200-per-household cost is about $500 more than what a federal grant program spends to subsidize broadband expansion in rural areas. One Pocahontas County broadband project recommended for state funding would cost about $10,000 per household. "Clearly West Virginia taxpayers have an interest in the prudent use of their funds," said Frontier Communications executive Dana Waldo, who also serves on the Broadband Council. "Cost should be a concern." Waldo also predicts the grants could discourage private investment. Telecommunication firms might choose not to expand broadband service on their own, if they believe the government plans to subsidize competitors, he said. "State code cautions that the council should respect market forces and avoid duplicating or displacing existing service or getting involved in projects where companies will serve the market in the reasonably near future," said Waldo, senior vice president and general manager of Frontier's West Virginia operations. But council member Lee Fisher, a Braxton County farmer, said Frontier's objections shouldn't stop the board from handing out grants to the company's competitors next week.
Frontier questions broadband grants in West Virginia
A proposed federal rule nips and tucks previously issued regulations governing the testing, certification and use of electronic health record (EHR) systems. The proposed rule, issued jointly by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), tweaks several of the meaningful-use criteria that healthcare providers must meet to qualify for payment under the federal EHR incentive program.
Specifically, the proposed change will update what's called the data element catalogue, which identifies all of the data needed to calculate the clinical quality measures included among the federal EHR incentive payment program's meaningful-use requirements. Providers must demonstrate their meaningful use of certified EHR systems to qualify for incentive payments.
CMS, ONC propose tweaks to EHR regulations
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski pushed for wider in-flight use of electronic portable devices during airplane flights.
Chairman Genachowski called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to "enable greater use of tablets, e-readers, and other portable devices" during flights in a letter sent Thursday to Michael Huerta, the acting administrator of the FAA. The FAA launched a study group this summer to review its policies and guidance on in-flight use of electronic devices as people have increasingly turned to mobile phones and tablets to connect with one another. To the chagrin of most passengers, the FAA said the study would not consider allowing "voice communications" during flights. "This review comes at a time of tremendous innovation, as mobile devices are increasingly interwoven in our daily lives," Chairman Genachowski writes. "They empower people to stay informed and connected with friends and family, and they enable both large and small businesses to be more productive and efficient, helping drive economic growth and boost U.S. competitiveness." In the letter, Chairman Genachowski pledged to working with the FAA, airlines and manufacturers on the review.
FCC to FAA: Allow 'greater use' of electronic devices during flights
When, during the first presidential debate of the 2012 election cycle, then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney proclaimed to PBS' own Jim Lehrer that he would cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of his presidency, all eyes were suddenly on the oft-overlooked broadcaster. But PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger said that the sudden publicity gave them an "opportunity to talk about who we are and what we are." "We're educators," Kerger said. "Most of what we try to do on a sustained basis is in the spirit of education." The funding Romney was talking about, she said, is so infinitesimally small -- only 15% of PBS' funding comes from the government -- that it was "strange" Romney would discuss it.
Kerger -- Philanthropy, Not Government, Funds PBS
At the end of the day, many of us flop on the couch and turn on the TV to channel surf. But if YouTube has its way, more of us will be channel surfing the online video service instead. A majority of YouTube visits happen because someone clicks on a link from a friend or searches for a certain video. YouTube is trying to encourage casual users to use it more like diehards, who return every day or when they have a few minutes, to check in on their favorite channels. (Channels on YouTube are series of videos by the same creator, whether your sister posting baby videos, a YouTube celebrity or a professional producer like ESPN or PBS.) YouTube’s effort to get casual users to become more dedicated is critical as people increasingly use YouTube on mobile phones or televisions; it is more difficult to browse YouTube for interesting videos on those devices. YouTube began rolling out a redesigned Web site that it hopes will nudge people to subscribe to channels and return daily. With the redesign, every time you visit YouTube on any device, you will see the latest videos from the channels to which you subscribe.
YouTube Tries to Become More Like TV