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FCC bans carriers from buying Huawei, ZTE gear with subsidies
The FCC is acting on its vow to keep Chinese technology out of American wireless networks. Commissioners have unanimously approved an order barring any carrier receiving Universal Service Fund subsidizes from using that money to buy equipment from companies deemed a "national security threat" -- and of course, Huawei and ZTE are the first two companies considered threats. The measure also establishes a process for identifying other risky companies and will require audits.
University library starts 'drone loan' program for students
There's good news if you're a broke University of South Florida student who'd like to take an $1,195 DJI Phantom 2 Vision UAV for a spin: you can now sign one out from the library. Before you start preparing some kind of water balloon-dropping scheme, however, there are a few caveats. First off, all use will be supervised by library staff and you'll have to take a course in drone operation before you can borrow one of the two available. Secondly, you'll need a good reason to use it -- one approved usage cited by a library supervisor was aerial surveying by architecture students to learn about building layouts. Educational projects aside, however, with the Phantom 2 Vision's stabilized footage we imagine there'll also be a lot of sweet aerial mixer videos.
University iPad program reveals room for improvement
The University of San Francisco has revealed the results of a six month 2010 iPad study involving 40 faculty members that looked at how teachers could use the device as a tool in the classroom. The result: while many teachers found the device useful, all thought there was room for improvement. The study asked the participants to call out the iPad's weaknesses, listed below. The original study was done using the first iPad, so I've noted in parenthesis advancements the features of the iPad 2 and iOS 5 have addressed. VGA-out issues (the iPad 2 resolved this) Lack of a USB port Difficulty using the keyboard primarily due to size (iOS 5 introduced a detached/split keyboard) Inability to play Flash video Lack of a file management system TabTimes points out that when the teachers were asked what Apple-installed and third-party apps were the most useful in a classroom setting, they chose Safari, Mail, Keynote, iAnnotate, GoodReader, Evernote, Pages, Dropbox, Blackboard Mobile and YouTube. Interestingly, AllThingsD has reported on a separate research survey by Piper Jaffray that found virtually all educational technology directors surveyed were deploying or getting ready to deploy iPads in the classroom. For those of you interested in delving into the findings of USF's iPad study, you can find a PDF of the research methods and result here. You can also view a YouTube video with interviews of the participants in the study.
Defective graphene sheets look poised to succeed silicon
As circuitry gets smaller and approaches the effective limitation of silicon's computing power, and Moore's Law begins to look like it has an expiration date, we get closer and closer to needing an alternative. Graphene is held to be the answer; sheets of carbon a single atom thick that could be stacked and composited to create processors. Two professors at the University of South Florida, Matthias Batzill and Ivan Oleynik, have found a new way to turn those sheets into circuits by creating nanoscale defects. These strips of broken atomic rings wind up having metallic properties, thus making them act like microscopic wires. IBM is already teasing us with the possibilities of graphene and now, with a more practical way to make graphene-based electronics, we'd say Moore's Law still has at least another couple decades left. [Photo credit: Y. Lin]
FCC boss keeps driving home the 'spectrum, spectrum, spectrum' message for wireless broadband
Love him or hate him, it seems destined that the FCC's Julius Genachowski will leave as big of a mark on the agency he's leading -- if not bigger -- than his predecessor Kevin Martin did, because he's hell-bent on shaking up the wireless airwaves and landlines he oversees in some pretty huge ways. Pushback from broadcasters is apparently quite strong, but he's reiterated at a conference today that he intends to investigate freeing up TV spectrum for to make room additional wide-area wireless services, a move that certainly seems to make sense on the surface considering that universal broadband to the home -- which could carry all the TV you'd ever need -- is also high on Genachowski's to-do list. The Universal Service Fund, which every American phone subscriber pays into and partly finances rural landline telephone operations where profits are harder to come by, is looking like a ripe target for renovation to bring broadband into the fold, theoretically making high-speed data more accessible to folks of all demographics and geographical affinities. Like the TV spectrum move, the USF realignment is meeting its fair share of detractors -- mainly among rural landline operators who rely on the funds for operation, of course -- but we're definitely gaining confidence that this dude isn't taking "no" for an answer in the long term.
USF scientists develop brainwave controlled wheel chair
Those crazy kids at the University of South Florida are at it again -- they've given us 'intelligent' scarecrows and engaged an RFID network in the fight against Alzheimer's, and now they're doing some rather interesting work with the Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). The device uses an electrode-covered head cap to capture P-300 brainwave responses and convert them into action, such as "typing" or manipulating a robotic finger. The team has developed a motorized "smart wheelchair" that allows users to pilot the chair and even control a robotic arm without any physical movement whatsoever. USF researchers say that this will be a great help not only for those with special needs, but also for the extremely lazy.[Via MedGadget]
RFID network used in the fight against Alzheimer's
The problem with diagnosing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia is that by the time someone presents symptoms, it is generally rather late in the game. Looking for a way to detect the affliction earlier on, researchers at the University of South Florida have developed a wireless network for use by senior living centers. Utilizing a series of receivers placed strategically around the building and RFID transponders worn on the wrists of patients, the system monitors people's walking patterns, looking for actions characteristic of cognitive decline -- including a tendency to wander, to veer suddenly, or to pause repeatedly. So far the study has found a statistical relationship between abnormal walking patterns and people for whom testing indicated dementia. The next step is to take that data and look for ways to predict the disease. Good luck, kids -- and hurry up. We ain't getting any younger 'round here.
Verizon and BellSouth shamefully retract USF "replacement" fees
In case you haven't been following the exciting world of telecom regulation lately (and really, why would you?), the FCC recently mandated that DSL providers no longer have to pay into the Universal Service Fund that's meant to subsidize rural and low-income phone service (and that may induce all kinds of pork-barrel spending, but that's a whole other story right there). Anyway, the elimination of this surcharge was supposed to be passed along to consumers in the form of lower monthly bills -- and many companies, including AT&T and Qwest, did just that -- but the sneaky suits over at Verizon and BellSouth decided to keep charging customers almost the exact same fee, though for different reasons. Verizon claimed that it had "developed new operating costs" in the previous year, justifying this so-called "supplier surcharge," while BellSouth began calling theirs a "regulatory cost recovery fee" -- even though the USF contribution regulation no longer existed. Both companies offered up some confusing doublespeak as to why these new, identical fees came into play at the exact same time that the USF fee was withdrawn; ultimately, however, pressure from consumers, the media, and the FCC forced them to retract the charges from customers' bills and issue credits where applicable. So in conclusion, we're really starting to see an encouraging trend here: first Dell implements a massive battery recall following tons of negative publicity, then Foxconn stops picking on those "slanderous" journalists in the wake of a massive public outcry, and now the telcos have been forced to mend their greedy ways after everyone got wise to their shenanigans. Therefore, that old adage actually seems to be true: a lot of the time, it's the squeaky wheel that really does get the grease.Read- Verizon's feeRead- BellSouth's feeRead- BellSouth cavesRead- Verizon caves
FCC ruling could mean higher VoIP bills
A new plan by the FCC to keep the Universal Service Fund stocked in anticipation of the coming August exemption for DSL providers will likely lead to higher VoIP bills for consumers. The agency has ruled that companies like Vonage and SunRocket who offer Internet telephony services must now pay 7% of their revenue into the fund -- used to subsidize rural and low-income phone service -- which has been traditionally been stocked by taxing POTS and DSL providers at a rate of 10.9%. However, since DSL providers have been let off the hook for this program, the FCC needed to make up for the shortfall, so the agency both instituted the VoIP component and raised cellular carriers' contribution from 3% to 4%. Since providers tend to pass new costs on to the consumer, we can probably expect to see higher VoIP bills in the near future, but luckily the recent repeal of that Spanish-American war-era excise tax should mostly balance things out on the cellphone side of things.
