93% of first responders experience issues with their mobile devices, New York state mandates $15.00 a month internet for those with low incomes, Google issues a warning to update Chrome for Windows, a new study that indicates Canadians are increasingly demanding better online government services and is the “dumb-phone” making a comeback?
All this and more on the “mobile love and hate” edition of Hashtag Trending. I’m your host, Jim Love. Let’s get into it.
A new study called “Digitizing the Frontline: Transformative Technologies in Critical Care” provides a sobering look at the current state of mobile technology among emergency service workers in Canada and globally. Full disclosure, this is a study by a vendor called SOTI who appears to have a product line that they regard as part of the solution, so it’s “grain of salt time” but the problem itself is still newsworthy.
These emergency service workers play a vital role in crisis response, but the study reveals significant technological shortcomings that impact their effectiveness and efficiency.
Key findings from the report include:
A staggering 93% of first responders in Canada report experiencing issues with their mobile devices, which negatively affects their ability to provide timely care.
63% of respondents indicate that technical problems with mobile devices add stress to their jobs, complicating their responses during critical incidents.
About 72% of the surveyed workers emphasize the urgent need for technological improvements to ensure faster response times, suggesting that current tools are inadequate for the demands of their work.
Surprisingly, 57% of emergency service workers still rely on traditional pen and paper methods, a practice that risks information loss and errors, highlighting a significant area for digital transformation.
The report advocates for a shift from outdated methods to more modern, digital solutions. This transition is essential for reducing the reliance on physical documentation, which is prone to errors and inefficiencies.
Furthermore, the report notes that there are broader implications of these technological issues, including the impact on employee morale as well as the overall effectiveness of emergency response teams. As these workers contend with the stress of their roles, compounded by inadequate technological support, the push for digital transformation becomes even more critical. There’s a link to the study in the show notes.
Sources include: SOTI
A US federal appeals court has ruled that New York can enforce a law that requires Internet service providers to offer $15 and $20 per month broadband plans to low-income consumers.
The ruling from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals reverses a lower court decision from 2021 that had blocked New York’s Affordable Broadband Act. That law mandates ISPs sell broadband plans of at least 25 megabits per second for just $15 a month, or higher speeds of 200 megabits for $20 a month, to customers receiving certain government benefits.
The appellate court rejected arguments from six major industry groups representing ISPs that the state law amounted to illegal rate regulation pre-empted by federal laws and FCC policies.
Interestingly, the court reminded the industry groups that they had previously argued against the FCC regulating on net neutrality, stating that the FCC had no right to regulate them. So in an ultimate irony, the court’s ruling stated, quote: “A federal agency cannot exclude states from regulating in an area where the agency itself lacks regulatory authority.”
While an appeal is possible, especially since under the Biden administration the FCC is once again exercising authority over internet providers, the ruling allows New York’s first-in-the-nation affordable broadband mandate to potentially take effect after years of legal battles.
While this is only applicable in New York state, these types of laws tend to get copied in other jurisdictions as well.
Sources include: ArsTechnica
If you’re a Windows user with Google Chrome installed, listen up – there’s a critical update you need to apply as soon as possible to patch some serious security vulnerabilities.
Google has issued an urgent update for its Chrome web browser on the Windows platform, fixing multiple high-severity flaws. One of the vulnerabilities involves a flaw in Chrome’s graphics engine that could potentially allow attackers to execute malicious code on victim machines.
The latest Chrome stable release also includes fixes for two other high-risk memory corruption bugs. While Google hasn’t provided full details to prevent exploitation before users can update, the company says memory vulnerabilities in its web engine are frequently discovered and targeted.
With the critical nature of at least one of these flaws, cybersecurity experts are strongly advising all Windows users running Chrome to apply this newest browser update immediately. Once the patches become public, it increases the risk of these vulnerabilities being exploited by hackers.
Google has set the severity level to “critical” suggesting a credible threat, so time is of the essence for Windows Chrome users to protect themselves by updating their browsers.
In other Chrome news this week, Google has once again pushed off its plan to drop support for third-party tracking cookies to 2025 – another delay in the long saga over this controversial web technology.
The tech giant says it is still trying to reconcile divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers on how to approach cookie privacy and ad targeting.
This is the latest delay in Google’s roadmap to remove support for third-party cookies, which allow companies to track users’ browsing activity for ad targeting purposes. The phase-out was originally set for 2022 before multiple postponements.
Google finds itself in a difficult position – balancing growing consumer privacy demands that motivated rivals like Apple to crack down on cross-site tracking while still preserving its lucrative web advertising business model dependent on those same cookies.
The company says it envisions proceeding with third-party cookie deprecation starting in early 2025, assuming it can reach an agreement through its ongoing engagement with UK regulators examining the competition concerns.
But the repeated delays underscore the challenges Google faces in navigating the shift to enhanced privacy while avoiding disrupting the online ad ecosystem it dominates.
Sources include: Forbes
And a new survey is shedding light on Canadians’ evolving expectations when it comes to accessing government services digitally.
According to the survey of 2,000 Canadians aged 16 and older, 70% want the government to deliver a fully digital suite of public services like filing taxes or accessing benefits completely online. And a whopping 87% expect to see this shift happen within the next two years.
The research reveals that the average Canadian spent 28 hours engaging with government services in the last year alone. That amounts to a staggering 99,000 years of time lost across the population.
As more people now expect the same seamless digital experiences from government that they get from private companies like Uber or Netflix, 45% of respondents said they want similar time-saving features, while 40% want greater simplicity.
However, there are significant barriers standing in the way of this digital transformation. Nearly half – 48% – cited security and privacy concerns as their biggest fear about shifting government services online.
Twenty-nine percent also said they lack confidence in the government’s ability to actually deliver these digital public services anytime soon.
Darren Hedges, the VP of Nortal Canada, the company that commissioned the survey, said the findings underscore an urgent need for an overhaul of digital infrastructure and strategic rethinking of how services are delivered.
He said: “Canadians expect and deserve digital-first solutions that are not only efficient but also comprehensive, seamless, and tailored to their individual needs.”
Sources include: Nortal study
If you find yourself constantly glued to your smartphone and overwhelmed by the vortex of apps and notifications, you’re not alone. A growing number of people are seeking to disconnect by embracing a retro concept – the “dumbphone.”
Dumbphones are basic cellular devices reminiscent of the 90s – offering just calls and texting without the distractions of apps, internet browsing and social media that contribute to excessive screen time. As awareness grows around the negative impacts of smartphone addiction like loneliness, anxiety and depression, these stripped-down mobile alternatives are having a moment.
The New Yorker recently highlighted the “burgeoning cottage industry” around dumbphones, which are being marketed by startups, influencers and even big brands like Heineken as a way to be more present. One platform called DumbWireless offers a range of dumbphone models from $50 to over $300, along with service plans.
The founders say they field lots of questions from people struggling with smartphone dependency and parents looking to buy their kids’ first basic phone without the temptations of apps and games.
While dumbphone sales still represent a tiny fraction of the smartphone market dominated by Apple and Android devices, the demand reflects a growing appetite to unplug, especially among Gen Z who are embracing other retro tech trends.
Numbers from DumbWireless show their sales jumped from around $5,000 in March 2023 to over $68,000 last month as more people experiment with life beyond the smartphone.
Of course, completely ditching smartphones is unrealistic for most. But the rise of dumbphones signals people’s desire to regain control over their relationships with technology and social media. For some, it’s the latest way to go off the grid.
Source include: Axios
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I’m your host Jim Love, have a Marvelous Monday.
