The Design News Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Listen to a brief tale that connects a Silicon Valley electric tower in the 1800s to the Eiffel Tower and how both inspire a new competition.

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Hello, and welcome to the DesignNews.com podcast. I’m John Blyler, Senior Editor, and host for this session of technology shorts, a brief highlight of just a few of this week’s leading stories. You’ll find the full versions of these stories on the links below.

Technology’s Atlas Doesn’t Shrug Against Titanic COVID-19

Did you know that technology, especially in the electronics and semiconductor spaces, is holding up the global economy? While bad news abounds in most markets – from consumer and industrial to energy and financial – hope is offered by the electronics and semi spaces, as highlighted in a recent SEMI Outlook virtual webinar during which Marco Chisari, from Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, said, “In all of this negative news, it should be clear from the data (S&P 500 sectors and CY20E EPS) that the semiconductor industry is now sustaining the world economy.”

Remote and Secure Provisioning Essential in Age of COVID-19

Do you remember those halcyon days when pundits proclaimed the rollout of 50 billion IoT devices by 2020? Well, like flying cars, they aren’t quite here yet. One of the reasons was due to security issues in bringing that many devices – like sensors, cameras and gateways – onto the network so quickly. That’s why major device suppliers came up with methods like zero-touch provisioning or onboarding that allows devices to be provisioned and configured automatically, eliminating most of the manual labor required to place them on the network. Well, it turns out that this same technology is proving ideal for the addition of millions of more devices – this time PCs – as workers have had to comply with stay-at-home orders thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Who would have thought?

Philosophy, Technology and Morality: A Volatile Combination?

These are challenging times in which pandemics, climate change, artificial intelligence going amuck and other potentially ‘existential’ threats to human survival and progress have made the future of humanity seem increasingly tenuous. Is it inevitable that the human species will self-destruct, as some argue? Or is there a way forward that not only leads to our survival but also to flourishing? Dr. Shannon Vallor at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley has challenged the pessimistic views of thought leaders like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking to offer a different path forward for humanity. The catch is the scientists and engineers will have to lend their voices to the global discussion.

That’s all for now. Until next time, stay safe and informed.