Meet the makers of modular – TechCrunch

When Dieter Döpfer, the founder of music instrument manufacturer Doepfer, decided to launch a brand new modular synthesiser system in 1995, no one could have predicted what would follow. Today, his “Eurorack” format supports an ecosystem of hundreds of manufacturers that have collectively produced thousands of compatible modules used by famous musicians, such as Radiohead,…

AT&T joins Qualcomm’s smart cities gang, as industry seeks closer collaboration

AT&T has joined Qualcomm’s smart cities accelerator programme, which now counts almost 70 members and met for the first time in San Diego last week. The initiative has been convened as a collaboration vehicle, to connect cities, municipalities, government agencies and enterprises with end-to-end smart city solutions. Qualcomm calls it an “all-in-one matchmaking programme”. The…

To curb lobbying power, Elizabeth Warren wants to reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment – TechCrunch

In a move to correct the imbalance of power between technologically sophisticated corporations and the lawmakers who regulate them, presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren is proposing that Congress reinstate the Office of Technology Assessment. It’s a move that gets deep into the weeds of how policy making in Washington works, but it’s something that Warren…