Member Avatar for Lisa Hoover

In the run-up to Inauguration Day, just about has been everyone speculating on what changes our newly-elected president will bring to the table. Naturally, we talk a lot around DaniWeb about how Obama's plans will affect the tech sector. As long as everyone else is making predictions and suggestions, I might as well too.

I'd very much like to see a focus on developing the technology infrastructure of this country. Most urban areas have DSL and high-speed fiber optics (and the lucky ones even get WiFi), but there are plenty of rural areas that are still struggling with out-dated dialup as the only option for connecting to the Internet.

Besides just being generally annoying, it puts small-business owners and some self-employed people at a competitive disadvantage, and that's no way to rebuild the economies of dying towns. As a bonus, bringing high-speed Internet access to rural areas would create lots of jobs.

I'd love to see businesses receive more incentives for "going green." Many consumer electronics companies are creating products that cost more to fix than simply replace. Everything from cell phones to MP3 players are essentially becoming disposable, and you don't need m to draw you a picture to understand the long-term impact on the environment. I also think there's plenty of opportunity to offer greater incentives for companies that reduce their carbon footprint and streamline their data center energy consumption.

I think it's time to have measures in place that prevent schools and educational institutions from putting all its eggs in one software vendor's basket. For example, my local school district is all Apple, all the time, while a few towns over it's all about Microsoft. Don't even get me started on why there's no Linux representation. The restrictions software companies place on schools in exchange for reducing pricing gives a whole new meaning to vendor lock-in and is I'd love to see something in place that keeps vendors from buying a school district's exclusivity.

Speaking of incentives, I'd love to see some for software vendors who devote a portion of their resources to advancing general scientific research would be outstanding. SETI is a neat idea, but practically speaking, there are far better places to push resources. I know Fedora tried to get something like this off the ground a while back with Nightlife, and I'd like to see more projects in the same vein.

What would you like to see happen for the tech sector during Obama's presidency? Let me know in the comments.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Rashakil Fol

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Good points from , and the pushback from highlights the tradeoffs. Here are practical, policy‑oriented moves that actually reduce the friction between those two positions—so infrastructure isn’t left only to market forces, but incentives still reward efficiency.

Expand last‑mile access pragmatically: prioritize funding and pilots that lower build costs (shared middle‑mile, streamlined right‑of‑way rules, public‑private partnerships), plus interim fixes (fixed wireless, community WiFi, library/telework hubs) where fiber is infeasible. Pair infrastructure grants with small‑business digital adoption vouchers and basic training so access turns into real economic activity rather than unused capacity.

Make “green” measurable and market‑friendly: require government procurement to favor energy‑efficient and repairable devices, offer tax or grant support to refurbishers and certified repair programs, and fund e‑waste collection/processing. Encourage data‑center efficiency by publishing simple performance metrics and rewarding demonstrable improvements—this nudges industry without heavy-handed mandates.

Fix vendor lock‑in with procurement that enforces portability and competition: require open file formats or export tools, non‑exclusive licensing terms, and evaluation of cross‑platform interoperability in RFPs. Schools should get sample migrations included in contracts and staff training funds. For vendor contributions to research, structure programs as transparent cloud/compute credits or sponsored grants to universities and independent labs so public benefit is auditable.

Acknowledge ’s cost concern—users paying for service is part of the mix—but moving people out of struggling towns isn’t scalable. Targeted public action plus clear accountability creates options: affordable local access, better device lifecycles, and procurement rules that preserve choice and data portability.

Member Avatar for Rashakil Fol

Here's a better idea for the economies of dying towns: have people who need internet access for their business pay for it themselves, or move somewhere where high bandwidth infrastructure is affordable.

Oh wait, you have a better idea: encourage businesses to operate inefficiently. Yeah, that's a brilliant idea.

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