More than six in 10 seniors agree that stay-at-home mandates swayed them to embrace technology more, and nearly half regularly binge-watch TV shows, a healthinsurance.com survey found. The healthcare website canvassed 1,000 U.S. adults 65 and older online July 20-21, finding tech ownership is high among Medicare-eligible seniors. Three-quarters own a smart TV or streaming device, 89% have a smartphone and 68% use a tablet. Two-thirds subscribe to cable. Sixty-four percent say they left the house only to visit the supermarket or pharmacy. Sixty-eight percent of those who haven’t used telehealth during the pandemic say it’s because they haven’t had to. Ten percent used it before the crisis, 44% have used it since and 43% plan to continue using it after COVID-19.
Public Knowledge's IP3 Awards event Sept. 24 -- covering areas of intellectual property, information policy and internet protocol -- will be virtual due to the pandemic, PK said Monday.
The FCC will allow employees who are teleworking now to continue doing so until at least June, and delayed its move to new headquarters until September over concerns over staff exposure to COVID-19 during the packing process. The decision allowing staff to continue teleworking until next summer was made “in light of recent announcements by school districts as well as the ongoing nature of the pandemic,” wrote Chairman Ajit Pai’s Chief of Staff Matthew Berry in a memo emailed to workers Friday that we obtained. “We want to provide those with concerns ranging from childcare to their own health with the peace of mind that they will have the flexibility they need over the coming months,” said Berry. Telework will be mandatory until the move to the new headquarters is complete in September, he told employees.
The daily share of time spent consuming audio content on digital devices in Q2 by U.S. listeners 13 and older surpassed that of listening on traditional, linear devices -- a first -- Edison Research reported last week. Before COVID-19 disruptions, 55% of the daily total share of time spent listening was done on traditional, linear devices, and 45% on digital devices; during Q2, digital jumped to 53%. Digital devices in the May study include smartphones, computers, internet-connected TVs and smart speakers. Traditional devices include AM/FM receivers, SiriusXM receivers, CD players, turntables and TV channels. Results showed an acceleration of a trend that was occurring pre-pandemic, said Director-Research Laura Ivey.
The International Trade Commission “is working on technology that will permit virtual hearings,” Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Dee Lord told Sharp and Vizio lawyers in a June 24 telephonic hearing, according to a transcript (login required) posted Thursday in docket 337-TA-1201. Lord is running the ITC’s Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into Sharp allegations that Vizio, its panel maker Xianyang CaiHong Optoelectronics, and TV set assembler TPV infringe five Sharp LCD patents (see 2005210041). The ITC picked Webex Meeting as its videoconferencing platform for Section 337 hearings and conferences “involving confidential business information,” said a July 20 update to its COVID-19 procedures. It’s working as quickly as possible to implement the software, but use of the technology will be at the discretion of individual ALJs, it said. “I'm not sure that I will conduct a virtual hearing in every case,” Lord told the attorneys. “We have had to make some significant adjustments at the ITC in the way we do business,” she said. “We have to assume that we're not going to have a live hearing, and we may not have a hearing procedure that's anything like what we're used to.” ALJs and ITC staff “are all trying really hard to make these investigations work,” she said. “I think so far we have been succeeding pretty well.” As issues arise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “we will deal with them,” said the ALJ. “It's impossible to foresee what may happen at this point.”
Counterfeiting isn’t a new problem, but “getting worse” and proliferating online, Patent and Trademark Office Director Andrei Iancu told the National Association of Manufacturers Thursday. The pandemic “has shown just how dangerous inaction can be,” he said. E-commerce’s “appeal of contact-free, front door delivery is undeniable,” he said. “Increased prevalence” of counterfeit goods sold online brings “increased dangers” during a pandemic, he said. “It is nothing short of grotesque that in the middle of this pandemic -- the worst international health crisis in a century -- criminals are taking advantage of scared and unsuspecting consumers. Frankly, the last thing our first responders should worry about is whether their” personal protective equipment is real.
Cooper Lighting is bringing to market ultraviolet light-enabled fixtures said to provide disinfection for surfaces, spaces and objects. In lab testing, its Signify-branded UV-C light sources inactivated 99% of SARS-CoV-2 virus on a surface with an exposure time of six seconds, the company emailed Friday. Cooper Lighting is combining its fixture solutions with germicidal ultraviolet light (GUV) technology in lighting targeted to retail, workspaces, restrooms, food service and hospitality, it said. GUV is a non-visible light that’s been “proven effective in killing bacteria, mold, and fungi, and inactivating viruses,” the company said.
More than half of U.S. broadband households would share smartphone data to aid contact tracing; 20% could be convinced with privacy protections, said Parks Associates Thursday. Respondents who experienced COVID-19 symptoms are more willing to share the data, and nearly half without symptoms would share. Apple and Google jointly developed an application programming interface and framework that developers, in partnership with public health stakeholders, can use to build contact-tracing apps, noted analyst Kristen Hanich. “The industry can drive widespread uptake of these solutions by emphasizing the public benefits of this data sharing while also stressing the privacy protections.” Parks reported use of telehealth tripled year over year, with 41% of broadband households using one in the past 12 months due to inability or unwillingness to have an in-person doctor visit. Despite the “dramatic switch,” if patients have a good experience, the market is “likely to see continued usage on a permanent basis.”
With Las Vegas so “dependent” on group and convention business, Rob Goldstein, Las Vegas Sands chief operating officer, sees “nothing that indicates” the business will “return at all” to the city this year, he said on a Q2 investor call Wednesday. “Las Vegas cannot perform without return of these segments. It cannot make money with limited hotel occupancy.” Even with the recent reopenings of the Venetian and Palazzo, “we’re running a regional casino” destination that’s “predicated” on customers driving in from other locales, he said. "Airlift" traffic through McCarran airport is only about 40% of its pre-COVID-19 volume, he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball into 2021,” said Goldstein. “I remain pessimistic" about the group and convention business for next year, he said. The “slowest return” will be the “large-deal group business” because it's “more tech-driven, and those people are more reluctant to travel,” he said. Goldstein doesn’t want to “predict 2021 because I don't feel I have enough insight into what might happen to the vaccine or the virus,” he said. “But I would be less than honest if I didn't tell you that Las Vegas is in a very difficult place." The city is "struggling here," said the COO. "It's painful, and I think it remains painful for the immediate future.” The stock closed 4.2% lower Thursday at $44.88. CES 2021 is scheduled Jan. 6-9 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
“No seventh-inning stretch needed for this crowd!” tweeted Fox Sports Thursday, announcing the introduction of “virtual fans” for live MLB broadcasts, beginning Saturday. Fox collaborated with Pixotope software, Silver Spoon Animation and SMT to “deliver an elevated viewing experience,” said the network. Pixotope describes itself as an “open software-based solution” for creating virtual studios, augmented reality and on-air graphics. Silver Spoon is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based studio specializing in motion-capture and virtual production services. SMT supplies “visual data intelligence” services for live sports broadcasts, including “virtual insertion.”