In the run-up to today’s primary presidential election in New Hampshire, nerds have been flocking to the state. Many do not reside in New Hampshire, may not even be U.S. citizens, and therefore cannot vote in the election, but nevertheless they want to see the candidates up close. Shane Goldmacher in Politico quotes Onno Maas, a member of a group of eight tourists from the Netherlands, as saying, “It’s amazing. This is direct democracy. This is the best of it.” Goldmacher cautions, “The glut non-voters can add up to a logistical headache for campaigns which are desperate to put their candidates in front of swayable voters.” He explains that New Hampshire is more attractive to political tourists than Iowa, whose voters weighed in last week, because the former is more compact and reachable via a daytrip from elsewhere in New England.
The future of digital security “…is free of pesky passwords,” writes Robert McMillan in the Wall Street Journal. Engineers at Google and Apple are looking to the smartphone as a password replacement, with Apple offering a “sign in with your phone” beta test program. He quotes Microsoft researcher Cormac Herley as saying that from “…a cost-benefit standpoint users are rational to reject much security advice: the burden imposed is simply too great for the benefit received.” And Gartner estimates that 20% to 30% of all helpdesk calls are for password resets.
Reforms to revitalize the Russian electronics industry continue to create opportunities in the region, according to SEMI. The organization says SEMICON Russia 2016 June 7-9 in Moscow will provide insights into market developments, technology, and business opportunities. SEMI reports that investment opportunities in Russia are driven by government strategy to develop domestic industries and public funding programs. State support for the electronics industry is expected to grow, following the industrial policy law adopted at the end of 2014. State investment programs for the period 2014-2020 project a total of 130 new plants and renovated manufacturing sites, with an estimated total investment of $13 billion in R&D and infrastructure, including equipment renovation.
Keysight will demonstrate the latest Satellite and NewSpace design and test solutions at Satellite 2016, March 8-10, in National Harbor, MD. Engineers can experience system-level design tools that accelerate SatComm and SatNav design by integrating RF, Matlab, FPGA, wideband test and measurement, and flexible standards references into one convenient environment; solutions to generate and analyze custom and standard commercial and military satellite waveforms to Ka-band and beyond; multi-function PXI-based solutions; and the industry’s first 50-GHz handheld combination analyzer that’s an all-in-one cable and antenna tester, plus vector network analyzer, plus spectrum analyzer. Tom Burrell, Keysight vice president and general manager, will share his thoughts regarding NewSpace at a panel discussion titled “The Constellation Technology and Test Methodology That’s Driving NewSpace” on Tuesday, March 8.
