The surprising rise of China as IP powerhouse

 Given China’s determination to advance its IP systems and stature, China may well eclipse U.S. and Europe as the global center for intellectual property in just a few decades. This radical paradigm shift should be of utmost importance to Silicon Valley, particularly companies whose models and profits are based on proprietary intellectual property. Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

FCC nixes proposal that would’ve allowed cellphone calls on planes

 The Federal Communications Commission doesn’t want to hear you gabbing on your smartphone while on commercial flights. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai wants some quiet time while hurtling through the air in a metal tube, and he thinks the majority of America likely agrees, so today he sent out an order ending the proceeding begun in 2013 that would see rules around cellphone use in-air relaxed. To… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

25% of U.S. driving could be done by self-driving cars by 2030, study finds

 Self-driving still seems to be a ways off from active public use on regular roads, but once it arrives, it could ramp very quickly, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group. The study found that by 2030, up to a quarter of driving miles in the U.S. could be handled by self-driving electric vehicles operating in shared service fleets in cities, due mostly to considerable cost… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Char.gy taps into lampposts to charge your electric car

 If you have a garage with a power socket, an electric car makes an awful lot of sense. If you park on the street, however, the infrastructural challenge of keeping your electron-powered vehicle topped up becomes complicated enough that perhaps sticking to driving on squished dinosaurs makes sense for a while longer. Until Char.gy comes along, that is. Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

Waiting for the new new thing

 The smartphone wars are over, and everybody won. Life without our phones is almost unthinkable. I just spent the last five days on a couple of remote Pacific islands, and every so often I’d look up and see a flower-garlanded local child immersed in a Samsung tablet – and this seemed wholly unremarkable. But now that the gold rush is over, and we’ve entered the mopping-up… Read More


Source: Tech Crunch

How I made my own VPN server in 15 minutes

 People are (rightfully) freaking out about their privacy as the Senate voted to let internet providers share your private data with advertisers. While it’s important to protect your privacy, it doesn’t mean that you should sign up to a VPN service and tunnel all your internet traffic through VPN servers. Read More


Source: Tech Crunch