4 Considerations for Launching an Effective Digital ID System

by  Carl Hammersburg

Successful digital identification programs need to provide equal access, security, interoperability and user convenience. 

States are accelerating efforts to launch digital identification programs, aiming to make it easier and safer to use a state ID in a range of circumstances—from airport security checkpoints to age verification at retail locations. Many states already offer digital IDs and driver's licenses for Apple and Android devices and to Apple and Google Wallet users. The Transportation Security Administration now accepts digital IDs from 6 states at airport security checkpoints, and 31 states are exploring or implementing digital IDs. California recently launched a digital ID pilot with the goal of enrolling up to 1.5 million residents.

 Read full story at Route Fifty…

Bridging the Gap Between GIS and Asset Management

by  Chris Vanderheyden

 In today’s digital age, organizations looking to establish effective asset management practices have a plethora of options available to them. One example includes geographic information systems

The reality is that it’s impossible to extract a holistic asset management approach from GIS software alone. To gain confidence in your organization’s long-term planning and decision-making, it is essential to bridge the gap between GIS and asset management systems and start by considering your asset management maturity, systems maturity and data maturity, as these elements serve as the foundation for strong asset management programs.

 Read full story at American City and County…

How Should Government Guide the Use of Generative AI?

by  Adam Stone

 As governments grapple with how to roll out generative AI — or whether they even should — policies in Seattle, New Jersey and California aim to to be broad, easy to understand and relevant in the face of change.

For some, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence is a cause of anxiety. Will AI perpetuate bias, surface inaccurate information or automate people out of their jobs? As New Jersey’s first chief AI strategist, Beth Simone Noveck sees this moment not as a cause for alarm, but rather as an opportunity.

“A lot of places are being silent, leaving public servants wondering what they should be doing,” she said. In New Jersey, “we have said: You should go out and use these things, and please ask about them. Let’s talk about them. Let’s have a conversation.”

 Read full story at GovTech…

4 Preventative Steps to Avoid a Home Networking Disaster

by  Alaina Yee

A few minutes now can save you hours later. 

Setting up a router can be a quick and easy task—so quick and easy, in fact, that you might skip a few steps or plan to return to them later. Except later might not come soon enough, as I recently discovered after an unexpected (and much unwanted) reset of my router. In seconds, the device configuration and settings were all gone. Poof! With no recoverable backup on hand.

It serves me right, since I know better than to skip steps. … Take an extra 15 minutes and follow these four steps—and don’t put some of them off, like I did.

 Read full story at PCWorld…

Dell Tells Remote Workers That They Won’t Be Eligible for Promotion

by  Scharon Harding

Big turnaround from Dell's previous pro-WFH stance 

“For remote team members, it is important to understand the trade-offs: Career advancement, including applying to new roles in the company, will require a team member to reclassify as hybrid onsite,” Dell's memo to workers said, per Business Insider

 Read full story at arsTechnica…

Successful digital identification programs need to provide equal access, security, interoperability and user convenience.

by  Howard Wen

Google Meet is a solid videoconferencing app on its own, but adding a few key Chrome browser extensions can make it even better.

The Chrome Web Store offers a slew of extensions you can install to your Chrome browser that enhance Meet in some way.

… But even Workspace users can get more out of Meet by installing some helpful Chrome extensions. The following extensions enhance the Meet interface or add new tools to it. Most can be used for free, although some require that you pay to use their more sophisticated features.

 Read full story at Computerworld…

An Expanded Distribution Utility Business Model: Win-Win or Win-Maybe?

by Timothy Brennan

Challenges to the sustainability of the traditional distribution business model have brought calls for diversification into energy services, distributed generation, and other markets.

The chapter assesses reasons for permitting diversification despite these risks, noting that a distribution utility could retain market power even as its market shrinks. It also notes that utilities may be unduly vulnerable from pricing regimes that allow consumers to essentially get backup electricity capacity for free.

  Purchase PDF from Science Direct…

Generative AI for Smart Grid Modelling

by  Jonathan Spencer Jones

MIT’s Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS) aims to apply generative AI to smart grid modelling. 

The initiative, part of the Tennessee Tech University led smart grid modelling and testing ‘Smart Grid Deployment Consortium’ project in the Appalachian region of the US, will focus on creating AI-driven generative models for customer load data.

These will then form inputs to the modelling services of the HILLTOP microgrid simulation platform for modelling and testing new smart grid technologies, in particular for the rural electric utilities that serve much of the region and for example for energy tech startups that are interested in scalability and interoperability.

 Read full story at Smart Energy International…

UK Ponders Transatlantic Grid Link With US

by  Sean Wolfe & John Engel

The plan, proposed by a group of London investors and consultants, would include installing six cables spanning about 3,500 miles under the Atlantic, allowing both countries to import power during peak demand due to the timezone difference. 

The U.K. has become increasingly reliant on imported power in recent years, the Telegraph reports, with nine operational interconnections allowing it to receive power from other European countries. A subsea cable system between the U.K. and U.S. would have been unfeasible until recently, as improvements in cable manufacturing have resulted in much lower losses in power over long distances, the Telegraph reports.

 Read full story at Power Gird International…