Silver State of Mind

The most recent show.

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Tech Tuesday
  1. 9:04The Smart Start

    They're taking away the phone that works when the power's out

    AT&T is winding down copper landlines, and Nevada is expected to be done by 2030. Up here that is actually our phone company rather than Las Vegas's. We look at what the replacement does, what it runs on when the power goes out, and why there is no state regulator left to ask about it.

    Reno Gazette-Journal, syndicated (Nevada expected gone by 2030, Phone-Advanced capabilities) · 2026-07-15AT&T CLEC network change disclosure registry (the six actual Nevada copper retirement notices, ~300 circuits) · 2026-07-27AT&T home phone battery backup support article KM1041593, via Wayback (backup is purchased, limit to emergency calls, test cordless phones) · 2026-05-20Broadband Breakfast (the June 29 approval is California only: 184,000 locations, 360 wire centers, shutoffs from June 2027) · 2026-06-30CenturyLink official NPA-NXX provider table (CenturyLink of Nevada serves 702/725 only; zero presence in 775) · 2026-07-27NCHS, Wireless Substitution: State-level Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, 2023 · 2025-06-01Nevada PUCN consumer telephone FAQ (2007 deregulation, NRS 704.68877) · 2026-07-27
  2. 9:18The Smart Start

    Should a robot answer your business phone

    Most business owners make this decision from behind the counter and never once from the parking lot. We look at what customers say they want, how many small shops are actually doing this, and where the line sits between a call a machine can take and one it can't.

    SurveyMonkey (2,017 US adults, fielded Dec 10-11 2025) · 2026-02-19US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey · 2026-05-26FCC Declaratory Ruling 24-17, CG Docket 23-362 (AI voices are 'artificial' under the TCPA) · 2024-02-08Nevada Legislature, 2025 session (AB 406 and AB 73 are the AI bills; neither covers commercial disclosure) · 2025-06-05
  3. 9:34The Smart Start

    At least 180 cameras are reading your plate, and no law about any of it

    There are at least 180 automated license plate reader cameras across Washoe County, Reno's data is searchable by more than 500 outside organizations, and Nevada has never written a law about any of it. Sparks may be walking away from the system entirely.

    The Nevada Independent, via Carson Now (at least 180 in Washoe; no state law). NOT an AP story · 2026-03-26Reno News & Review (507 organizations with search access, 30-day retention) · 2026-07-21City of Reno staff report, item D.5 ($450,000 ARPA allocation, gunshot detection and surveillance) · 2024-11-20This Is Reno (Sparks declining to renew, moving vendors) · 2026-07-24Electronic Frontier Foundation (Aurora CO plate-reader misread, Brittney Gilliam, $1.9M settlement) · 2022-01-27Nevada Legislature, NRS 484A.600 (the photo-ticketing statute, not a plate-reader law) · 2026-07-27
  4. 9:48The Smart Start

    The state got hit for 1.3 million dollars. It started with one download.

    Nevada published exactly how its own 2025 ransomware attack happened, and the timeline is uncomfortable reading for any small business. We go through what the state's report actually says, and the two free things that stop most of it.

    State of Nevada Governor's Technology Office, After Action Report: 2025 Statewide Cyber Incident · 2025-10-28FBI IC3 2025 Annual Report (Nevada per-capita rank, BEC totals, national losses) · 2026-04-16FBI IC3 PSA I-091124-PSA (business email compromise defenses) · 2024-09-11CFPB, 12 CFR 1005.2 and 1005.6 (Regulation E scope and tiered liability) · 2026-07-27Nevada Legislature, NRS 104A.4202 (payment orders and commercially reasonable security procedures) · 2026-07-27National Cyber Security Alliance (the 60% figure disavowed and withdrawn) · 2022-05-08

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