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FOSTA Would Be a Disaster for Online Communities Frankenstein Bill Combines the Worst of SESTA and FOSTA. Tell Your Representative to Reject New Version of H.R. 1865. The House of Representatives is about to vote on a bill that would force online platforms to censor their users. The Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA, H.R. 1865 ) might sound noble, but it would do nothing to stop sex traffickers. What it would do is force online platforms to police their users’ speech more forcefully than ever before, silencing legitimate voices in the process. Back in December, we said that while FOSTA was a very dangerous bill, its impact on online spaces would not be as broad as the Senate bill, the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA, S. 1693 ). That’s about to change. The House Rules Committee is about to approve a new version of FOSTA [.pdf] that incorporates most of the dangerous components of SESTA. This new Frankenstein’s Monster of a bill woul

Future growth hinges on the appropriate response to present conditions while strategically developing longer-term plans. For most industries, social, environmental, and political issues are having increasingly greater impact in reshaping the present and future business environment. In particular, the oil and gas (O&G) industry is challenged to reliably and economically deliver transportation fuels in the present day while working strategically to provide “cleaner” energy products in the future. Globally, governments are passing legislation to address climate strategy. New laws promote sustainable operations and lowering carbon emissions from mobile and stationary sources. Low-carbon fuels and renewable energy are also strong options to achieve sustainability goals. Looking ahead, the global economy is progressively moving toward clean, green, and affordable energy. Accordingly, O&G companies must find a balance in providing energy and the shift toward sustainable operations. T

My family has caught the HQ trivia bug, but the app is also bugging us, with its tendency for glitches including stalled video. It appears to be an example of an application becoming so popular so fast that the technology platform it runs on can’t keep up. In that, there’s a lesson – and opportunity – for colocation providers. If you’re not aware, HQ trivia is a free, interactive iPhone trivia game (with Android in beta as of this writing) where twice a day (3 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST) you get the chance to correctly answer 12 questions to win a share of a real money prize, usually $1,000 or $2,000. Although on Sunday, January 21, the prize was $15,000 – not coincidentally attracting the largest audience to date,  more than 1.6 million players . Indeed, the game has surged in popularity over the last few months. On Oct. 16 of last year, the 9 p.m. game had  about 3,600 players . On Jan. 7, the 9 p.m. game we played had 1.2 million players, a record at the time – but a short-lived one. B

If you own or manage any large building, plant, or public infrastructure, you depend on reliable electrical distribution services. You also need equipment to be as sustainable as possible in terms of maximum lifespan and minimum cost of ownership. Most switchgear manufacturers and design engineers have recognized that new approaches are needed to protect equipment from increasingly extreme environmental conditions. Medium voltage (MV) equipment is getting particular emphasis due to its critical role in keeping operations running, as well as it typically being more exposed to the elements. In this two-post series, we’ll discuss some of the conditions that expose MV equipment to special conditions that may influence its ratings and lifespan. We’ll also look at some of the advances in testing and technology that are helping switchgear survive those conditions, lasting longer with higher levels of reliability. Understanding service condition changes in IEC 62271-1 Electrical switchgea

Could you make your medium voltage electrical installations safer? There could not be a more important goal. The latest digital training innovations can give students an edge and a perspective that wasn’t previously achievable within the confines of a classroom experience. Specifically, I’m talking about training using virtual reality (VR). It’s an effective teaching tool because the technology allows operators to familiarize themselves with MV electrical installations and prepare them for real-life scenarios. It gives field personnel hands-on training by simulating situations in a controlled environment. VR training gives users visual, real-time, simple-to-follow instructions and operating procedures as well as key messages, which help reduce the chance of human error and direct operators to the correct equipment for handling particular tasks. This training comes in many shapes and sizes and can be used by either individual learners or groups and either in-person or remotely. The t

When the Copyright Office Meets, the Future Needs a Seat at the Table Every three years, EFF’s lawyers spend weeks huddling in their offices, composing carefully worded pleas we hope will persuade the Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress to grant Americans a modest, temporary permission to use our own property in ways that are already legal. Yeah, we think that’s weird, too. But it’s been than way ever since 1998, when Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, whose Section 1201 established a ban on tampering with “access controls for copyrighted works” (also known as “Digital Rights Management” or “DRM”). It doesn’t matter if you want to do something absolutely legitimate, something that there is no law against — if you have to bypass DRM to do it, it’s not allowed. What’s more, if someone wants to provide you with a tool to get around the DRM, they could face up to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine, for a first offense, even if the tool is only ever

Recently, the French Federation, Domotics, and the Smart Building Alliance (SBA) for Smart City awarded Jean-Pierre Moreau of Light and Room Control EcoXpert , Connectibat , the 2017 Smart Building prize. The event was part of the international Mondial du bâtiment exhibition. Having one of our esteemed EcoXpert partners earn this honor, prompted us to take the opportunity to provide some insight into the day-to-day real life of a Schneider Electric L&RC EcoXpert partner. KNX projects (or C-Bus ) are, of course, a core part of their activity and service offering. However, the continuing evolution of Internet of Things (IoT) technology is redefining the world in which we live and the ways we interact with that technology. Today’s building automation professionals must consider the growing need for full and seamless integration that incorporates a variety of different components and elements including: Specialist system controls, including: Power Distribution HVAC Door Entry

Did Congress Really Expect Us to Whittle Our Own Personal Jailbreaking Tools? In 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and profoundly changed the relationship of Americans to their property. Section 1201 of the DMCA bans the bypassing of “access controls” for copyrighted works. Originally, this meant that even though you owned your DVD player, and even though it was legal to bring DVDs home with you from your European holidays, you weren’t allowed to change your DVD player so that it would play those out-of-region DVDs. DVDs were copyrighted works, the region-checking code was an access control, and so even though you owned the DVD, and you owned the DVD player, and even though you were allowed to watch the disc, you weren’t allowed to modify your DVD player to play your DVD (which you were allowed to watch). Experts were really worried about this: law professors, technologists and security experts saw that soon we’d have software—that is, copyrighted

At SXSW this year, connectivity is more important than ever before as AI, IoT, and edge computing play a bigger role in delivering high-quality video, music, and gaming to consumers each day. With this in mind, film, music and interactive content stand to suffer if connectivity is threatened. In the panel on March 9 at 2pm CT, How Connectivity Will Control Everything We Know , my colleague Ross Johnson, Enterprise Account Executive for Schneider Electric’s cloud, colocation and edge business, will help uncover why these types of computing are so critical to connectivity. In the meantime, however, we sat down with Ross to discuss what audiences can expect to learn from the panel, and how his past experiences position him as a connectivity expert. 1. Your panel at SXSW will focus on connectivity challenges, from an infrastructure perspective. This is not the typical panel that you see at SXSW; can you give us a sense of what inspired you to design this panel? As an Austin native and t

Written by Guest Blogger,  Mariana C. Gonzalez Effective goal setting is fundamental in many aspects of our lives, whether we are drafting and proposing annual performance goals to our manager or setting personal goals of any kind (e.g. related to exercising, learning a new skill, executing a home-improvement project, writing a book etc.). Knowing how to formulate goals in a way that is truly helpful and conducive to reaching them is essential. A well-formulated goal galvanizes one’s energy and resources as well as establishes a clear direction towards its attainment. Further, effective goal setting also involves prioritizing beforehand and deciding on what we ought to concentrate our efforts, as doing so spares us from overstretching, losing focus, and pursuing too many goals to the detriment of reaching any. Such clarity with respect to deciding and articulating goals is inextricably tied to having a clear vision in which these goals fit as steps in the direction of its materializa

In my last post, we looked at how the cost, reliability and quality of electricity can present significant risks to your business if they are not managed. Whether you’re operating commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, healthcare facilities, or data centers, it’s important to understand that lowering your electricity bills is more complicated than just trying to use less energy. The key for optimizing your electrical energy costs is to operate your facilities with a clear understanding of how your utility charges you for electricity, so that you use power in the right way at the right time. It’s also easy to appreciate how power interruptions and poor power quality can have a serious negative impact on your operations – potentially costing your business significantly. So, it’s quite surprising that so many corporations do not invest in managing these risks the way they do other business risks. For those companies who recognize the need to minimize these risks, the good news is

One of Sigmund Freud’s most famous quotes centers around the “fact” that there is “no such thing as an accident”. Of course, his theories tended to be more of a philosophical representation of human behavior than scientific; but if there’s even an ounce of truth to his statement, could we control the future? What if you knew an accident were about to occur in time for you to avoid it? It would certainly change how we live. We could avoid life-altering personal injuries, traffic accidents, and medical emergencies, etc. and all the headaches that go along with responding to them. Now, think what this would mean in the process plant. Documented benefits of costs you could avoid through early warning notification include: A complete Asset Excellence solution provides three key offerings: Smarter Operations, Now and in the Future As IIoT/Industrie 4.0 continues to enable smarter equipment that creates increasing amounts of data, chemical companies are faced with both the challenges an

The 21st century has brought us many innovations. One that’s having a big impact on everyday life is the internet of things (IoT) – smart objects that can connect to the internet and link the physical world to the digital world. Not long ago we could hardly imagine being able to control the lights in our house or open the garage door through our cell phone, but today it’s a reality. IoT and smart technology isn’t just about connecting gadgets through your home, though. It’s also transforming medium voltage switchgear and other areas of the MV network . The medium voltage industry is traditionally conservative when it comes to decisions like capital investments and updating technologies. This isn’t surprising. The typical lifespan of electrical equipment such as switchgears tends to be 15-30 years, or even longer , yet equipment standards and technology is changing at a much faster rate. The main function of electrical equipment operators is to keep the network running and in good co

Historically midstream oil and gas organizations have kept two critical functions within their businesses almost entirely separate – Information Technology and Operations Technology. But with the industrial Internet of Things and Industrie 4.0 gaining momentum in almost every industrial market, pipeline organizations are beginning to identify new opportunities for these functional departments to collaborate and drive improved profitability and maximized return on capital across their asset and operations lifecycles. One of the biggest challenges organizations face in making progress towards OT and IT convergence is not knowing where or how to get started. Here are some questions midstream pipeline operators can ask themselves to help identify a solid starting point and begin to chart a course for their asset performance management journey: Do you know how much visibility and control you have over your current pipeline assets and their maintenance strategy? OT and IT can take a sim