Editor's View
The Lead
ECN’s Veteran’s Day tribute: Remembering those who’ve served
November 9, 2012 2:50 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | Comments
On the cusp of Veteran’s Day, I’m reminded that a disproportionate number of our friends and colleagues served in the military. And that makes me proud to work in this industry. ECN — and her parent company, Advantage Business Media — is no exception. You can’t swing a dead cat (or give a resounding Hoooah!) without hitting a veteran.
Schools should take a pass on essay grading software
April 16, 2013 4:16 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsOne of the joys of high school and college was receiving my blue essay book back from my teacher or professor. I couldn’t wait to read their comments in the columns of the book, especially when one of my essays was laden with jokes or sarcasm. But that was often a two-way street, as when my thesis statement would indicate my essay was going to go in a direction my instructor found dubious.
Internet sales tax will only benefit the state
March 25, 2013 3:34 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsGet ready to pony up more dollars for online purchases. On Friday, the U.S. Senate passed the innocuously-titled "Marketplace Fairness Act" through the upper chamber on a 75-24 vote. The bill would require e-tailers to collect and remit sales tax on interstate commerce, even when the business has no physical presence in the state.
Agita over 3D printed guns is absurd
March 1, 2013 4:26 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsHobbyists, tinkers, and DIYers are the unsung heroes of our industry — "hackers" in the original sense of the word. But conflating "hobbyists" with "guns" causes fits of hysteria. And it’s entirely unwarranted. The handwringing over the imagined capability to print 3D guns and the associated moral implications is absolutely absurd and betrays a basic misunderstanding of firearms and physics.
Mayer’s memo ending telecommuting puts Yahoo in good company
March 1, 2013 12:27 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Blogs | CommentsMarissa Mayer created quite a hornet’s nest when she issued a memo effectively ending the work-at-home option for Yahoo employees. In the memo, obtained by AllThingsD, Mayer writes, “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side."
Why 3D-printable guns are a terrible idea
March 1, 2013 9:45 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Blogs | CommentsMention the words "3D printed guns" and you’ve got an instant, increasingly heated debate on your hands. When you consider there were 16 mass shootings—defined as a shooting with multiple, random victims—in 2012 with at least 88 people dead including children, it’s definitely a topic worth discussing. My take? No one needs a 3D printed gun or the ability to create one.
Big Brother makes our rational choices less rational
February 28, 2013 3:13 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsWhile writing my February 2013 column about EDRs (event data recorders, AKA “black boxes”), I came across an article on the same topic (http://bit.ly/12YX4Fe) by one of my colleagues. She commented on the reservations I share with many others about the use of the data derived from the black boxes.
Large-scale free WiFi is still a dream worth pursuing
February 13, 2013 3:34 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsSometimes, it seems our nation no longer aspires to great things. These days our astronauts hitch rides to the International Space Station on Soviet spacecraft, and just recently, the U.S. Postal Service — once the envy of the world — announced its intention to eliminate Saturday mail service.
Automobile EDR data collection by the Government must include safeguards
February 6, 2013 10:34 am | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsIn December, The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a proposal that would require automakers to equip all light vehicles with event data recorders (EDRs) that capture information in the moments before and after a wreck similar to the way they are used to study airline crash.
Did the Justice Department cause Aaron Swartz’s suicide?
January 31, 2013 9:00 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsAaron Swartz was a 26-year-old computer programmer and online activist who died of apparent suicide on January 11, ahead of a scheduled trial where he was charged with 13 felonies. Swartz, founder of Demand Progress, an online group actively working against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)...
Obsolete industries won’t drive economic growth
January 24, 2013 12:09 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsAn article in the Associated Press, "Big Data and cloud computing empower smart machines to do human work, take human jobs," bemoans the loss of jobs to technology – a highly dubious assertion that crops up every generation like a broken record. And like the damaged piece of vinyl, this argument is immune to logic and reason.
CES 2013 a meager showcase for consumer electronics
January 17, 2013 2:20 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Microsoft Corp. | Articles | CommentsCES has never been more irrelevant. I wrote those words last year when Microsoft pulled out of CES and the industry was in the thralls of its 3D hysteria, pushing a technological gimmick that no one wanted. Since then, the industry has found a new rallying cry – 4K (or Ultra-HD) – and largely abandoned hopes of shoving stereoscopy down our throats, but the pizzazz is still missing.
New Jersey’s power and fuel infrastructure was no match for Sandy
January 16, 2013 12:14 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsThe love-hate relationship we have with "the grid" was inescapable during Superstorm Sandy. We don’t think about it much when our homes are lit and appliances are humming – we have the freedom to do anything we want. But when there’s an interruption, there’s that nagging wish to be free from the grip of our local utility....
Augmented reality helps retailers get personal
December 14, 2012 12:16 pm | by Chris Warner, Executive Editor | Articles | CommentsWe’ve all been there. You’re shopping at your favorite store, perhaps running an errand for someone else. But in order to make the purchase, you need to know if it’s right for you. The sales associate is busy helping someone else, or they may be missing in action. You just need the details about the product so you can get it right the first time without having to return it later....
Retailers employ crony capitalism in push for online sales tax
December 5, 2012 5:11 pm | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Articles | CommentsThe Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has written a letter to Congress urging them to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act by the end of the year. This "e-fairness legislation" would allegedly "close the decades-old loophole enjoyed by online-only retailers" and "restore free market principles."
Top 5 free apps for the holiday season
November 20, 2012 9:22 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsBack in the dog days of summer, we offered up a list of the 6 must-have apps for a stress-free summer. It was all about keeping kids distracted, watching your spending, and utilizing apps that got you to the relaxation phase faster.Now we’ve entered a season that can feel entirely the opposite of relaxing: holiday season
This watch could save your kid’s life
November 19, 2012 11:35 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsIf you’ve ever felt that heart-in-throat, hyperventilating, out-of-body feeling of not being able to find your kid in a park or after school, only to have her reappear after a few seconds of mind-numbing panic, you can understand why someone would want to invent a Lojack for children.
In defense of the Tesla Model S
November 19, 2012 9:10 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsWhen Motor Trend announced an electric car was their pick for Car of the Year, something tells me you could have heard a pin drop in the car world. An electric car? They must have rigged the vote.Well, my friends, I hate to break it to you, but Consumer Reports just agreed with Motor Trend,
Greatest advertising technique of all time (Hint: Involves urinals)
November 15, 2012 4:18 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsHere at ECN, we often talk about alternative energy options. Sometimes it’s solar power, other times wind power, and occasionally we dabble in the world of electric cars. But there is one energy option we’ve been sorely remiss in covering: pee-power.
Why I don't trust cars that think for themselves
November 1, 2012 10:32 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsMost drivers wouldn't feel comfortable just handing over control of their vehicle to, well, their vehicle, but a new system from Nissan may do just that. The Autonomous Emergency Steering System, as the name suggests, will take over steering in emergency situations in which a crash could be avoided when you remove human error from the equation.
The best solution for dealing with space junk
October 19, 2012 2:26 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsThere is a lot of junk in space. There’s American junk, Russian junk, Chinese junk, and corporate junk. There are satellite pieces and discarded rocket parts and metal bits. Basically, all the junk is just floating around clonking into other junk and causing general mayhem when they get a bit too close to the stuff that’s not junk.
Could this "shocking" technology save 12 billion dollars a year?
October 19, 2012 9:20 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | News | CommentsOne of the biggest challenges in immobile patients is bedsores. Because patients usually end up laying in a bed or sitting in a wheelchair, a lot of pressure is exerted on the skin and tissue over bony areas of the body like the heel, ankle, hips, or buttocks. That unrelenting pressure can often result in bedsores, a difficult- to- treat condition.
Could NASA help paraplegics walk?
October 18, 2012 9:37 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsNASA has been known to make pretty large contributions to society. But they might have outdone themselves on this one. The agency is currently in the research and development phase for a powered armor suit that could one day allow paraplegics to walk. The suit, called X1, is a robotic exoskeleton designed to be worn over the body to assist in leg movements.
The 10-letter keyboard that will make your head hurt
October 11, 2012 4:50 pm | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsThe ASETNIOP keyboard is one of those things that may be great for future generations but will have a tough time integrating itself into the current workforce. The keyboard works on the premise that the traditional setup for typing is structurally inefficient, and you really only need 10 buttons to type
What equipment do you need to skydive from 120,000 feet?
October 11, 2012 8:54 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsBy this point, you’ve probably heard that Felix Baumgartner is planning to skydive from 120,000 feet above the earth. For the record, that’s about 23 miles from solid ground. The jump was originally supposed to happen on October 9, but because of 14 mph wind speeds—they needed speeds of less than 2 mph to jump safely
Prevent accidents by making your backseat disappear
October 9, 2012 11:16 am | by Kasey Panetta, Associate Editor | Articles | CommentsCrunch. That’s the last sound you want to hear when you’re backing up your car. It is scary. It is alarming. It is NOT a good sound.It’s the reason dashboard cams were invented. Unfortunately, the embedded cameras only show a small portion of what’s behind the car, and accidents still happen.
