732 results found
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Rewrite intellectual property law via a democratic process.
Title says it all. Copyright law, patents, and trademark law harm the many and benefit the few. Let people in every state set up councils that are open to the whole public, and send delegates to a national IP congress to revamp copyright law.
6 votes -
A "law to english" translator to let citizens grok gov't.
Government creates and is itself governed by a syntax called "law". Only specially trained "lawyers" are able to grok this language. Citizens, to be effective, must understand their government and must thus grok law. A simple law to english translator would do a lot to facilitate citizens' education.
14 votes -
Make all non-classified taxpayer-funded software open source
All software created by or for the government should become open source, a shared resource, since it was paid for by taxpayer money. As should data and literature. Even better would be to use and improve existing open source software.
434 votes -
encourage adoption of Agile software development practices
Successful technologies companies have mostly transitioned to Agile methods over the course of the last decade. It's time for government-sponsored technology projects to do the same.
Agile software development refers to a group of software development methodologies that are based on similar principles. Agile methodologies generally promote: A project management process that encourages frequent inspection and adaptation; a leadership philosophy that encourages team work, self-organization and accountability; a set of engineering best practices that allow for rapid delivery of high-quality software; and a business approach that aligns development with customer needs and company goals. (Description from Wikipedia)
302 votes -
1 vote
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universally affordable internet-enabled mobile devices
Great strides towards broadband accessibility are being made in many communities. In fact, such a proposal is getting many votes on this site However, we also need to make sure that the devices to use Internet resources are available. Libraries and other public access sites are helpful, but most of the new technologies work best when access is ubiquitous. Having affordable mobile technologies that allow even the most economically marginalized to use Internet resources is essential for an inclusive society and for leveraging the gains that have been made with broadband access.
1 vote -
50% Oil by 2025
Set up a man on the moon type mission to get to this goal. (NASA spent roughly $25 billion between 1961 and 1972 to put astronauts on the moon after John F. Kennedy issued his challenge.)
13 votes -
use search engine results to track public health risks
The CDC should partner with search engine providers to compile and track data on disease-related search results. This data would allow sharper tracking of diseases as they move through the population and has been done well by Google tracking the flu already.
11 votes -
Create a DRM-free national music/video subscription service.
It is patently obvious to all but the ossified music and video industry that you can't treat bits like an object. Music and video have to be free. But artists and those that provide services to them deserve to be supported and when they're good, to be rich!
If you want to jump-start the economy, create a cheap subscription service. It will more than pay the artists and the industries that really serve them. And it will UNLEASH sales of hardware/software like NOTHING ELSE.
9 votes -
Enact legislation to protect privacy of ISP consumers
With new marketing schemes being developed by shifty organizations, it is important to protect internet users' online privacy. Schemes like Phorm look to inspect and modify all your internet accesses at the monetary benefit to the ISP. Some IT security communities have already spoken out against this technology. But, there is no legislation protecting consumers from their local ISP, should they decide to roll out such a technology.
4 votes -
Improve the efficiency of govt operations to save costs
The appointment of a skilled individual in developing and implementing the kinds of applications that have reduced corporate costs while improving access to services could re-instill public confidence that government services create, not destroy value to its citizens. Such innovations could also be transported overseas to improve the trade balance a la NASA-led innovations in previous decades
5 votes -
Repeal the Digital Milennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
It is evident that the framers of the infamous Digital Millenium Copyright Act intended it to have a transformative effect on the public and legal perception of intellectual property. In the attempt to develop a fully-realized definition of what constitutes infringement, fair use, and the rights of users in the consumption of digital works, the DMCA has had quite the opposite effect by institutionalizing considerable legal ambiguity. The recent spat between the John McCain presidential campaign and YouTube has demonstrated that both practitioners of law and a leading supporter of the DMCA are no closer to understanding the controversial law…
8,888 votes -
Decomplicate Undersimplification
Does every voter have to have a friggin advanced degree to understand what they're voting for? What about all of the contracts we sign by clicking "I accept"? Smart people are making it harder, not easier, for the rest of us average types to get by in this world. Cut it out! The new CTO can use technology to empower people by bringing SIMPLER, SHORTER, MORE ACCESSIBLE LANGUAGE TO BEAR as part of everything the government publishes and regulates. 6,922 votes.
16 votes -
buy growvotes.org
As a civic communication tool.
3 votes -
Reform and simplify software procurement standards
Traditional government procurement standards are full of barriers that build complexity, transactions cost, and time into each process. The possible benefits of the complexity are extremely disproportionate to their cost, favor larger vendors who have a vested interest in perpetuating that complexity. This results in inhibiting innovation, and eroding the US's competitive position in the world as other countries leapfrog the US. We build large scale acquisitions that result in unmanageable contracts of 100's of millions of dollars when fairly inexpensive software solutions exist, or can be easily developed, The government would benefit from the shared cost of software development…
2 votes -
Complete the job on metrication that Ronald Reagan defunded
The government has failed to take the lead on completing the task of moving the country completely to the SI metric system. George H.W. Bush tried to do something about it, but gave the bureaucrats an easy out. Failure to follow the same measurement standards as the rest of the world is costing US industry something like $1 trillion per year.
7,008 votes -
fund more pure science research (@ universities)
We have the greatest research universities in the world, but we limit what they can study because of policy & politics. Blind funding for good ideas should be the basis for how we enable pure research (top 2-5 universities per state should be "funded" for research in a speciality field).
142 votes -
Location Location Location
While its great to think about what the top priorities of a Obama administration CTO can be, the only way to achieve them is to make sure he or she is located high enough in the administration. Only with the ear of the President, and the authority to make sure the entire Executive Branch gets a 21st century reboot, will any of the suggestions on this list get any serious traction.
12 votes -
Standardize InfoSec across local/state against int'l attacks
One of the major priorities needs to be the defense of our local, state and federal government systems from foreign attacks. This would include hardening the infrastructure, standardizing encryption standards and data formats. This Informatoin Security plan would include coordination with legislative and judicial branches with regards to privacy, crime/punishment, custodianship and, as necessary, budgets.
29 votes -
Create a web UI for all levels of government
Government needs a user interface - not just the federal level, but state and local as well. The user interface should not only allow access to all services, but should provide information resources, including ongoing work by legislators and city councils, and the ability to discuss ongoing issues among citizens and with representatives in a public forum. It can be up to each locality to adapt it to their circumstances.
29 votes