Sat, 08/14/2021
Welcome to ‘Tech Roundup,’ where we highlight some of the most significant/thought-provoking news items from the world of tech, especially at the nexus of law and technology. We are particularly interested in foregrounding tech news that is happening in Nebraska, and our region more broadly. If you have a news item you would like to see in the Roundup, please email neil.rutledge@unl.edu.
Local/Regional
Rural Public Transit? Nebraska's System Is Growing but Many Don't Know It Exists
Nebraska Public Media
- Eighty-two of Nebraska’s 93 counties have some form of public transportation. But even getting to a bus stop can be a challenge for many people, says Nebraska Department of Transportation Transit Manager Kari Ruse.
- Recent growth is no accident. NDOT has prioritized mobility over the past several years, and is pushing to expand options even more. It’s all part of the effort to get Nebraskans where they want to go.
Cornhusker State Games the Latest Sign of Esports Growth in Nebraska
Nebraska Public Media
- The floor of the Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln was bathed in neon red, green, and purple lighting people of all ages streamed in for the first day of the esports portion of Cornhusker State Games, a competitive amateur sporting event modeled after the Olympics.
- According to analytics website InsiderIntelligence.com, esports in the US is projected to be a $1.5 billion industry by 2023 as game streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube Gaming increase in popularity. High-profile investors like Mike Tyson, Shaquille O’Neal and Drake add even more attention.
Elkins developing modeling tool to study makeup, movement of magma
Nebraska Today
- With a five-year, nearly $700,000 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program, Husker geochemist Lynne Elkins is developing a tool that may shed light on some of the processes (behind volcanic eruptions), particularly those that govern the makeup and movement of magma, the molten rock located deep under the Earth’s surface.
- The project will produce a publicly available, open-source computer modeling program to calculate the expected compositions of magma that result from partial melting of the Earth’s mantle layer, which is where most magmas originate.
Brazil-based research empowering vulnerable families, communities amid COVID-19
Nebraska Today
- Cody Hollist, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, is working to improve educational outcomes for children and youth living in Cachoeirinha, a high-risk, low-resource suburb of Porto Alegre, Brazil.
- The researchers are working to identify the relationship needs among families and community agencies, along with their collective abilities and resources to address those needs. They’re particularly focused on the mental health and self-efficacy of adolescents, including the factors within families that affect the adolescents’ growth and development.
Congressional delegation addresses Infrastructure, China, IRS
Nebraska Public Media
- Members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation expressed their views on subjects including infrastructure and relations with China in a “legislative summit” meeting Thursday.
- Sen. Deb Fischer talked about the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill just passed by the Senate. Fischer, one of 19 Republicans who joined with Democrats voting for the bill, praised the bipartisan cooperation.
- Fischer said the bill would bring about $2.5 billion to Nebraska for roads and bridges, as well as additional money for improvements to airports, water infrastructure, and broadband. Fischer said those things could happen, despite Republicans having little leverage in the Senate or the House
Local Startup Spotlight
Nebraska insurtech startup Breeze raises $10 million in record-setting Series A round
Silicon Prairie News
- Omaha-based insurtech company Breeze announced yesterday that it had raised the largest first round of institutional capital ever invested in a Nebraska software startup. The company’s $10 million Series A round will help advance its mission “to protect American families in their most financially vulnerable moments,” according to a press release issued yesterday.
National/International
Senators target Apple’s App Store exclusivity in new bill
The Verge
- There’s a new bill introduced in the Senate Wednesday targeting the power dominant tech firms like Apple and Google have over the app store market.
- The bipartisan “Open App Markets Act,” introduced by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) would ban app stores from forcing developers to use the store’s payment systems. It would also bar companies from punishing developers that offer lower prices on a separate app store or through their own payment systems, along the lines of Apple’s public dispute with Epic Games. Notably, the bill would also make it unlawful for companies like Apple to use non-public data from their stores to build competing products against companies using their service.
How to Protect Quantum Computing Innovations With IP Rights
Bloomberg Law
- Analysis of U.S. patent applications put quantum computing in the top 10 fastest growing technologies last year, say Troutman Pepper attorneys Ben L. Wagner and Gerar Mazarakis. They lay out patent, copyright, and trade secret protections and the practical limitations of each for innovators seeking to protect their IP.
- A trillion-dollar industry? It’s hard to believe, but that’s where quantum computing is headed, solving problems considered extremely difficult or impossible for current computers. Patent filings in this space grew exponentially over the past several years to match pace with the increasing commercial prospects and private funding.
Pew Research Center
- In a year dominated by major news events, cable news channels saw explosive audience growth in 2020.
Sonos Wins First Round in Patent Case Against Google at ITC
Bloomberg Law
- Sonos Inc. shares jumped as the wireless audio company came one step closer to winning a global battle with Alphabet Inc.’s Google when a U.S. trade judge found the search giant infringes five Sonos patents -- a decision that could shut some Google smart home devices, phones and laptops out of the U.S. market.
- The judge’s findings are subject to review by the full commission, which is scheduled to issue a final decision by Dec. 13 and has the power to block imports of a wide range of Google products, including the Home and Chromecast systems, and Pixel phones and laptops.
Apple’s Software Chief Explains ‘Misunderstood’ iPhone Child-Protection Features
Wall Street Journal
- Apple’s tools for flagging child pornography and identifying explicit photos in kids’ messages caused backlash and confusion. In an exclusive interview, Apple software chief Craig Federighi sat down with WSJ’s Joanna Stern to defend the technology and explain how it will work.
The fiendish new trick cyber-criminals are using to evade capture
BBC
- A new service has launched on the darknet offering criminals a way to check how "clean" their digital coins are.
- "We're seeing criminals start to fight back against blockchain analytics and this service is a first," explained Dr Tom Robinson, chief scientist and founder at analysis provider Elliptic, who discovered the website.
- "It's called Antinalysis and criminals are now able to check their own Bitcoin wallets and see whether any association with criminal activity could be flagged by authorities," Dr Robinson said.
Digital Addictions Are Drowning Us in Dopamine
Wall Street Journal
- The quantity, variety and potency of highly reinforcing drugs and behaviors has never been greater. In addition to addictive substances like sugar and opioids, there is also a whole new class of electronic addictions that didn’t exist until about 20 years ago: texting, tweeting, surfing the web, online shopping and gambling. These digital products are engineered to be addictive, using flashing lights, celebratory sounds and “likes” to promise ever-greater rewards just a click away.
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