According to the most recent Pew Internet Research survey, more than half of American adults own a smartphone. An American Red Cross survey published last summer showed that 25 percent of the public would download an emergency app in case of a bad weather event.
And the public sector has gotten the word. Many state and local and governments are developing mobile apps to connect residents with critical emergency-related information. While they take many forms, most try to customize information based on the risks inherent in their particular areas, and many also make key data available offline in the event that connectivity is jeopardized in an emergency situation.
Weiterlesen: US: Pummeled by Sandy, New Jersey County Delivers Emergency App to Residents
As Dreamforce hit its third day, it could be said that San Francisco is now well aware of the conference's attendees.
Sponsored by data management company Salesforce, Dreamforce 2013 saw notable speakers like Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe and on Wednesday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.
Weiterlesen: US: Government Talks Cloud and Data at Dreamforce
The technology is not new, but has spread like wildfire across the U.S. in recent years. From Maryland to Washington, law enforcement agencies are mounting the devices on cruisers and roadsides, analyzing license plates and giving cops the 411 on drivers.
Weiterlesen: US: Cops Like What They See with License Plate Readers
Some lawmakers are attempting to put the kibosh on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) plan to regulate some mobile medical apps.
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health held an informational hearing on Nov. 19, to discuss the FDA’s recent guidance document on mobile medical applications, including what constitutes a medical device for purposes of regulation. Ambiguity in the scope of that definition has been a source of concern for some lawmakers, leading to new legislation that seeks to further clarify the FDA’s intentions and restrict some of its regulatory authority.
Weiterlesen: US: Lawmakers Clash Over Mobile Medical App Regulation
What would bureaucracy be without miles and miles of paperwork?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration intends to find out. On Thursday, Nov. 14, at Amazon’s Web Services conference, FDA Chief Health Informatics Officer Taha Kass-Hout announced an agreement between the administration and data extraction specialist Captricity to help decongest the FDA’s massive backlog of paperwork.
Weiterlesen: US: FDA Shows How to Cut Costs and Reduce Paperwork