The Innovation Garden by A. Michael Noll

21 May 2018

The Innovation Garden by A. Michael Noll

The Innovation Garden A. Michael Noll May 20, 2018 © Copyright 2018 AMN Long before Silicon Valley invaded California, there was an “Innovation Garden” flourishing in New Jersey. Which easily qualified as the Invention State. Thomas A. Edison and his laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey cemented New Jersey’s role in innovation. Many smaller manufactures of electrical equipment became located in New Jersey, all wit their on innovations. RCA Laboratories in Princeton, New Jersey was formed in 1942 and a host of inventions resulted, including color television. One of the more famous R&D facilities in New Jersey was Bell Telephone […]

16 May 2018

The Danger of Talking about ‘Junk’ News

Discussion of so-called fake news is gradually – maybe rapidly – shifting to the concept of ‘junk news’, and I fear this could be a dangerous move. I agree that the concept of fake news has many downsides, not the least of which is the degree it has been politicized. However, the shift to junk news might have even worse implications. My main concern is that it provides more of a rationale for blocking or filtering news, as if it were spam, for example. This evening, the science reporter at PBS, Miles O’Brien, delivered an informative story about ‘Junk News‘. […]

16 May 2018

An Interview with Vint Cerf at MSU

2018-05-16
William Dutton
Blog, engineering, Interview, Net Neutrality, Quello Center, speech

On May 10th, 2018, Google’s ‘father of the Internet’, Vint Cerf gave the Quello Lecture at MSU, entitled ‘The Unfinished Internet’. Before the interview, he was interviewed by Scott Pohl of WKAR public radio. Here is that interview: http://wkar.org/post/googles-father-internet#stream/0

16 May 2018

AT&T’s Tarnished Brand by A. Michael Noll

2018-05-16
William Dutton
Blog, Opinion, policy, telecommunications

AT&T’s Tarnished Brand A. Michael Noll May 16, 2018 © Copyright 2018 AMN The payment by AT&T of over $1/2 million to President Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen has tarnished AT&T’s reputation and brand. It also raises concerns about the wisdom and competence of AT&T’s senior management. Decades ago, the AT&T brand meant a lot to most consumers in the United States. AT&T owned the Bell System, which supplied telecommunication service as a regulated monopoly. In those old days, AT&T took its responsibility to the public strongly to supply quality service at affordable prices. However, AT&T was broken up and went […]

01 May 2018

Vint Cerf Speaking at MSU on 10 May @ 3:30PM

2018-05-01
William Dutton
Announcement, Blog, Department of Media & Information, engineering, FCC, Media and Information Department, Net Neutrality, policy, Quello Center, speech, telecommunications

THE QUELLO CENTER PRESENTS INTERNET PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE BY VINTON CERF THURSDAY, MAY 10TH @ 3:30 PM // COMM ARTS RM. 147 The Internet grew out of a successful US Defense Department experiment in packet switching and became a platform upon which a wide range of new applications have evolved. New technologies such as smart phones have reinforced the utility of the Internet by spreading access to it at increasing bandwidths and geographic scope. The Internet is estimated to have reached about 50% of the world’s population. As this decade comes to a close, what challenges remain and what […]

26 Apr 2018

Smart Devices – Foolish Users by A. Michael Noll

2018-04-26
William Dutton
Mobile Policy and Regulation, Opinion, telecommunications

Smart Devices – Foolish Users A. Michael Noll April 26, 2018 © Copyright 2018 AMN It seems we have become slaves to our computers and smart phones, with near constant updating, synching, and battery recharging. The devices might be considered “smart,” but the users seem to be “foolish” and perhaps even “stupid.” We are slaves to these devices. We need to feed them electricity to keep them charged, and groom them with updates. They disturb us with interruptions and demands for our attention. We become mesmerized and perhaps hypnotized by what they display to us on their screens. We discover […]

23 Apr 2018

Notes on the RSA Cybersecurity Conference, San Francisco, by Ruth Shillair

2018-04-23
William Dutton
Department of Media & Information, policy, Quello Center, research

[Written by Quello’s Ruth Shillair and posted by Bill Dutton, with her permission] I was honored to be selected as one of the 50 cybersecurity scholars from around the world to attend the annual global RSA cybersecurity conference. It is a gathering of 50,000 cybersecurity professionals and researchers held in San Francisco. The theme this year was “Now Matters” and cybersecurity issues certainly something that we need to address “now” rather than in the future. The overwhelming theme that I saw was that cybersecurity has gotten over the “silver bullet” fantasy. We realize there will be no killer app or […]

19 Apr 2018

Reflections, Visions, and Challenges: Discussions of the 20th Anniversary of the James H. and Mary B. Quello Center

2018-04-19
William Dutton
Announcement, Blog, broadcasting, Department of Media & Information, FCC

Reflections, Visions, and Challenges: Discussions of the 20thAnniversary of the James H. and Mary B. Quello Center On 12 April 2018, the Quello Center celebrated the 20thAnniversary of its founding with an open house at the Center and forum that engaged friends and associates of the Center in reflecting on its past and future with short presentations on key challenges on the road ahead. The day was similar to many academic events in showcasing informative presentations about the issues of policy and regulation in the digital age, but unusual in creating a stronger sense of responsibility to ensure the realization […]

02 Apr 2018

Bill Dutton Visiting Lisbon for Talks and a Panel on Dating Through a Screen

Bill Dutton will be traveling to Lisbon, Portugal, for a couple of events on 9 April 2018. Before lunch, he will present his work on the role of search and social media in shaping public opinion. This will be at the Palace Foz on the 9th of April for a couple of dozen invitees from the media companies and regulators. The work he will discuss is based on his research in seven nations, reported here: https://quello.msu.edu/research/the-part-played-by-search-in-shaping-political-opinion-the-quello-search-project/ along with related work on fake news. That evening, he will be speaking to faculty and students of ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, abbreviated ISCTE-IUL, on […]

01 Apr 2018

Dutton Visits Australia’s Wollongong University

2018-04-01
William Dutton
Announcement, Blog, Media and Information Department, research

Bill Dutton, Director of the Quello Center, has returned from a short visit to University of Wollongong Australia, which is located south of Sydney. He was invited by the School of Computing and Information Technology to contribute to a lecture series supported by a grant from the One Asia Foundation. He spoke on March 26th to a group of students and faculty about his concept of The Fifth Estate, and his research with colleagues on the role of search and social media in shaping public opinion, which challenges some of the conventional wisdom about filter bubbles and echo chambers. His […]

Blog