GearBits

Update...Treos and Other Bits

Sorry for the lapse...I was out of the country and I guess my co-authors have not much to say at the moment. Here are a few tidbits of recent note:

Treo 270 in for Repair
My wife's Treo 270 died while she was in Ireland this past week. Actually, just the screen and backlight died; the rest of it seems OK. Apparently, palmOne is charging me $179 for an advance exchange for this beast. Not a great deal, but not terribly bad, IMO.

Treo 600 Battery Life Redux
Like the idiot I am, I left my Treo 600 in my car when I left for my trip Thursday afternoon. I got back to my car around midnight last night -- that's about 4.5 days or 108 hours later -- fully expecting the unit to be deader than a doornail. Much to my surprise, it still had 36% charge left. I finally dropped the unit in the charger today at noon just out of habit; it still had 28% battery left. So, over the course of 5 full days (120 hours), the phone (a) remained in standby (phone on), (b) supported nighly back-ups of its RAM to SD card, and (c) was used for about 20 minutes worth of phone calls and about 15 minutes of PDA activity. Given that it probably could have gone 6 full days had I pushed it, I'm still very, very impressed by the Treo 600's battery life.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves
While on the flight from Dublin to O'Hare, I read Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss. Fabulous read. I'm quite sure I still have solidly entrenched mispunctuation habits, but I'm trying hard to overcome them. The attractiveness of joining a militant punctuation society is such that if you see someone with a Sharpie correcting a sign offering "Half Price Drink's", that's quite possibly me.

Sony Puts Handhelds on Hiatus in US
Sony has suspended selling its Clie line of Palm OS-powered PDAs in the US until further notice. It seems likely that the rapid rise in popularity of palmOne's recent Zire and Tungsten models and the forthcoming release of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) both made Sony reconsider whether trying to sell PDAs in North America made much sense. Brighthand has a short article on the announcement -- feel free to engage in wild speculation at your leisure.

Gary Shapiro is My New Best Friend

Who is Gary Shapiro, you ask? He's the President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, an industry trade group.

Why am I suddenly so fond of him? Because he wrote (or at least signed) a positively brilliant response to a letter from the RIAA (the Recording Industry Association of America, a.k.a. the spawn of Satan). The RIAA letter was asking why the CEA didn't want to back its efforts to get the FCC to mandate a copy-protection flag for digital radio transmissions (as it has with digital TV signals and that goes into effect next summer).

In the CEA's response, Shapiro basically cuts off at the knees every claim the RIAA makes and dismisses every hope it expresses. It's just a great letter...here's the last paragraph:

"In closing, let me again reinforce that non-commercial recording of freely broadcast over the air radio programming is a fundamental consumer right, and one that has consistently been given great deference by Congress. Any discussion of curtailing that right, prior to even the most minimal showing of harm, is ill conceived and premature."

If you want to read it yourself, first read the RIAA's letter and then read the CEA's response. And thanks to boingboing for the lead.

As a final thought, let me just say once and for all that I truly, honestly, and with every ounce of my being, hope the RIAA is soon sued into oblivion and every one of its greedy, soulless and foul-smelling executives sent to prison on 317 consecutive life terms for wanton abuse of consumer/citizen rights and its ongoing, wholesale assault on culture.

Mobile Gear: What Features Take Precedence?

I'm fascinated by how consumers categorize their technology. For example, what's the difference between a phone with PDA capabilities and a PDA with phone capabilities? Yet, for some reason, consumers make these distinctions. What's really troubling is that the consultants and pundits (e.g., Gartner) seem to have latched onto certain categories and are pitting one against the other as if it were an illegal dogfight...last one standing wins.

So, let's recap what can be observed out in the marketplace today. What features seem to drive name/image dominance for handheld and mobile devices?

1. Phone -- If a device can be used as a voice phone on a cellular network, it is generally first and foremost considered a phone. Some exceptions to this include the Pocket PC Phone Edition devices, which people generally regard as PDAs, and the Palm Tungsten W, which people generally regarded as a piece of crap. So, the phone feature seems to dominate all other features...generally.

2. Gaming -- Second behind phone is gaming. If a handheld has significant game-playing capabilities, but is not a phone, it will essentially be labeled a gaming device. An example of this is Nokia's n-Gage -- it's a crappy phone and a decent gaming device, yet people still refer to it as a phone. However, consider the Tapwave Zodiac. The Zodiac is considered a gaming handheld despite it having significant PDA capabilities. Were it to have phone functionality, I posit that folks would refer to it as a phone (a la the n-Gage).

3. PDA/PIM -- Personal Digital Assistant or Personal Information Management functionality seems to be third on the influential feature list. If a device has this, but is not a phone or a gaming device, it is generally considered a PDA. There are relatively few exceptions, with the iPod being the most (only?) noteworthy one. The iPod's PIM functionality is crude at best, so perhaps this isn't really even that much of an exception.

4a. Camera -- Camera functionality (both still and video) seems to have no dominance over any other feature. The Sony Clies and the Palm Zires that have cameras are still primarily considered PDAs, and my Treo 600, which has a camera (albeit a lame one), is still considered a phone. Only devices that are strictly cameras (i.e., have no other significant capability) are regarded as cameras. The only exception I've found in this regard is the Panasonic series of multi-function devices (e.g., their D-Snap line) that combine a still camera, video camera, MP3 player, and voice recorder all in one. In that device, the camera dominates the MP3 functionality.

4b. MP3/Media Player -- Being able to play music or video clips is a laudable objective for a handheld. However, it is fairly undistinguishing if this is all a device can do. Most other features (e.g., phone, gaming, and PDA/PIM) overshadow music and video playing if those features are present on the device. Consider (again) the Tapwave Zodiac. It's an excellent multimedia device, yet folks think of it first as a gaming handheld and then as a PDA, with audio and video as an "oh, yeah, it can do this too" feature. Only dedicated devices like the forthcoming Samsung Yepp YH-999 Portable Media Center are known for their audio/video playback capabilities. Were these to have phone functionality or gaming controls or established PDA/PIM functionality, they wouldn't be nearly as lauded for their A/V features. At least that's my guess.

Note that I have Camera and MP3/Video as tied for fourth. It seems there are a lot of examples of cameras that can do the audio/video playback thing and A/V devices with built-in cameras, so I don't see a clear precedence here. Maybe that will emerge as dedicated A/V devices get better and people start considering camera functionality as almost an assumed feature for mid- to upper-level electronics.

OK, I'm interested in hearing what you all think about my theory here. What are the exceptions (gadgets) to my rules that you've seen?

Petitions for Electronic Voting Paper Audit Trails

I'm all for electronic voting. I think, if it's done correctly, that it can be a valuable tool and a positive step in getting more people to vote and vote more thoughtfully (yeah, I've been accused of being an idealist more than once).

However, it seems rational to me that, at least in these early days of electronic voting, we should expect some form of paper-based backup system. A physical audit trail would be invaluable if there are any disputes (and you know there will be, especially this year with all the rankor).

A friend passed on this online ACT petition to me, which seems like a pretty reasonable request:

Today I’ve taken action to protect the vote in Ohio, where electronic voting machines are set to be in place in 31 counties without a paper trail verification of each votes. The 2004 election is going to be very close - and could come down to just a handful of votes in this key state.

Please join me in signing the “Paper Trail Petition” today and pass it on to everyone you know.

http://actforvictory.org/act.php/home/petitions/diebold_ohio

What's your take on electronic voting?

It Seems that 97X Truly IS the 'Future of Rock & Roll'

I stopped by the WOXY studio (photo) today to say good-bye and thank the folks there for two decades of awesome music. I got to have a nice chat with Bryan Jay, WOXY's resident tech guru, about the situation facing the online side of the station's operations.

In a nutshell, and an oversimplified nutshell at that, to maintain the current online listenership would require a few hundred thousand dollars a year in bandwidth (they chew through several terabytes each month). Unlike my previous take, which is that the big barrier was royalties, it's these bandwidth expenses that are the largest hurdle. The good news is that there may be a way they can cut some of these expenses down, but that alone isn't enough.

The next hurdle is the fact that an actual online radio station (as opposed to someone just streaming music) would require about 4 full-time staffers. Salaries and benefits for those peeps would come out to just under $300K a year.

The final hurdle is indeed the royalties that an Internet broadcaster of this size would have to pay the artists and composers (unlike terrestrial radio, which only has to pay composers). IIRC what Doug Balogh (former owner) mentioned today, that would be a bit over a $100 grand a year.

Add up those figures and you're talking about $650 thousand or so each year that the station would have to generate through advertising and other revenue streams. And that's just to break even. Obviously, this isn't a trivial business model to make work on a for-profit basis.

97X's tagline is 'The Future of Rock & Roll.' To me, it has always been just that; I could depend on it to show me what's new and on the horizon. Today, 97X still represents the future, but no longer in a positive way. As 97X looks to go off the air this Thursday, the future of rock & roll seems to belong entirely to corporate radio and the RIAA. They are the ones with the lobbyists and the economic/political power. What do we consumers and music lovers have to look forward to? From here, it looks to be the death of independent radio and the ever-increasing homogenization of our culture. Yippee...I can hardly wait.

Cellular Towers Invade US National Parks

I just saw this blog entry describing the unchecked growth of cellular towers in our national parks:

"Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, federal lands were opened to the placement of cell towers. However, Congress instructed the National Park Service (NPS) to develop appropriate regulations for implementing the law, noting that that 'the Washington Monument, Yellowstone National Park or a pristine wildlife sanctuary, while perhaps prime sites for an antenna and other facilities, are not appropriate and the use of them would be contrary to environmental, conservation, and public safety laws.'

Last month PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) protested the placement of a cell tower that actually overlooks Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park. The group stated that the NPS increased the height of the tower after submitting the plan for review to the state of Wyoming. PEER said the NPS also failed to file a notice with the Federal Register that it was considering or approving the tower -- as required by law -- and in addition it failed to allow for public comment on the plan."

The article goes on to describe how cellular towers "...in the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Everglades National Parks, Big Cypress and Mojave National Preserves, as well as Yellowstone, have gone up with no public notification or review."

I love a strong cellular signal as much as the next guy, but I have to believe that there are many, many natural places where the location of a tower simply isn't justifiable. There's a reason why these are called "natural" wonders and "natural" preserves, and a 100' cellular tower shouldn't be part of that environment. If some people prize mobile coverage and technological access more than the natural state of these national parks, why visit there in the first place?

eBay Classic: Ryobi Router Table

Amidst the questionable sales of souls and Stinger missiles, sometimes someone on eBay, comes up with a straightforward classic, like this sale of a Ryobi Router Table that is a triumph of modern marketing.

And since we all know that eBay listings are ephemeral, I've reproduced the listing here for posterity.

RYOBI ROUTER TABLE - WORTHLESS JUNK NR!

Item number: 2389286139
Winning bid: US $26.22
Ended: Mar-28-04 10:45:22 PST
Start time: Mar-21-04 10:45:22 PST
Winning bidder: burglarproof(110)
Seller information: davesan455(48)

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Description (revised)
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For any prospective bidders - I have 100% positive feedback so you know my descriptions are good. I'm trying to describe this item the best I can.

This Ryobi router table is the worst thing I've ever spent money on. Period. I've wasted money on a lot of things in my life: women, cars, other things I didn't need, you name it, but I've never felt like I totally 100% wasted my money on something until I bought this router table. I've wasted money, but I normally got some sort of satisfaction out of it, no matter how small, I got something out of it This is the most worthless piece of crap item I have ever had the displeasure of working with in my life. I have much more colorful ways of describing this but I realize that there may be some kids that will read this so I will try to keep it PG.

It comes complete with most of the crappy accessories it came with. An example is the plastic pusher miter thingie that's so sloppy that I don't understand why they even bothered making it adjustable. It's really nice when you're trying to rout something at an angle and it slips in the middle of the cut and jerks the workpiece right out of your hands and flings it across the room. Or the super anti-precision fence that's almost impossible to adjust and keep in place. Or the slippery painted surface that wears off, exposing the rough surface that mars the workpiece as you slide it over. It does come with a power switch that always worked. I'll give it that. It has a really nice power switch. Some of the other small items got destroyed in a fit of rage one day after fighting it for a couple of hours.

The best part about this table is that it's a one of a kind. yep that's right it's a three legged router table. It became three legged after I was trying to rout something one day and I noticed that the table was moving. That was from the plastic inserts working loose on the leg mounts. It was like routing wood on a waterbed. It was moving back and forth oh I'd say an inch and a half or so. Well after a few more pieces I'm in the middle of a cut and the leg just fell off. So I had to stop to keep from losing any fingers, and I tried to beat the inserts back in. Looked ok so I start making my cut again and would you believe it fell out again?!?! It's supported by a beer bottle to keep it from falling over while taking the picture.

I am an engineer by trade and I feel sorry for the engineer that was responsible for this marvel of science. Someone told him to design this thing and not spend any more than $0.65 on it. So he did it, but I bet he probably lost all self respect for himself after he realized that he just released this miserable failure onto society. Or maybe he got a big kick out of it and is still laughing I don't know. I know they suckered me out of my money that's for sure.

There is a router shown in the picture, the router is not included since it will kind of work most of the time. This auction is for the table only. Hell I'll even throw in the beer bottle (not full per eBay standards) if the buyer wants it. I wouldn't use it as a leg though.

This table comes with no warranty from me. I never bothered to try to take it back, even though it was under warranty because I was so ticked off that I knew I would create a scene when I threw it through the front window of Home Depot. So it sat in my basement for a few months, and now you have the opportunity to own this piece of scrap. If someone had some time they could probably work on it a bit and make it into something that's functional. Like a doorstop or maybe a paperweight. But it will need some more work before it's that good.

I accept paypal, cashiers check or money order. Shipping quoted is parcel post. If for some reason you would want to receive your misery faster I can do that ask me for a quote.

Seriously though I have a couple other nice things that I'm selling. Check em out if you need a saw blade or 1972 Z28 parts.

ADDED 3/22/04 - I've received some emails, and yes I am willing to set it on fire, shoot it full of holes, etc. and mail pics/video to you. If the bid gets high enough to cover my ammo costs, I'd be willing to shoot it full of holes with your choice of the following: 12 gage slugs, 00 buck, or a 40 round mag from an AK. Then I can make a pile of the remains, douse it in gasoline, make the Wile-E-Coyote trail of gas dribbles for my safety, and light it on fire. The winning bidder would get pics if they so choose. Or I can ship it to you. I could even ship you the charred remains if you like. Hey man I just hate it. Let me know. Whatever trips your trigger.

ADDED 3/23/04 - Yes I can drive over it with something. I can drive over it with a Massey Ferguson 620 CI diesel powered tractor.

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On Mar-24-04 at 09:06:41 PST, seller added the following information:

For those who are interested, the bottle does carry a $0.10 Michigan deposit, and it's pre printed for the other standard deposits for other states ($0.05). So yeah it's like a huge bonus, worth hundreds of times what the table is worth. Remember - I'm throwing that in for free!

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On Mar-24-04 at 20:59:57 PST, seller added the following information:

Yes the beer bottle is a "double deuce" or a 22 oz ish beer bottle. Actually it's a Miller Lite 24 oz beer bottle, so that makes it extra rare. From what I hear there was only somewhere around 42 million of them made this year, so get yours fast! I suppose it has some additional extra value from a scrap weight aspect, but I think the deposit is the same. Collector's value had got to be in the hundreds if not thousands of Turkish Liras.

No unfortunately I don't know of any women that are willing to fire the guns naked and send you the pics. If I did I wouldn't be wasting my time writing this auction, that's for sure.

The tractor is basically a huge articulating tractor with dual wheels on each corner. It weighs somewhere around a gajillion pounds. It's about six times the size of the largest general motors product you can think of. It's big. It might take me a couple of weeks to get video etc but yeah I'll send it to you. Pics/video will be complete with firearms, Ryobi arson and all the profanity you desire, whatever you want. Again - for christ's sake the next bid is $0.02, and I'm willing to do all this crap for a penny - the video's got to be worth $5!!!!!! Bid and tell me what you want!!!!

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On Mar-25-04 at 18:31:48 PST, seller added the following information:

Dear davesan455,

I will bid if you place it in a barrel and fill barrel with concrete. I will pay the insurance if you pay the shipping.

um....ok. I can do that as long as the bid is $1400.

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On Mar-25-04 at 19:08:08 PST, seller added the following information:

Why are you restricting shipping to USA only? I would think you should be excited about the possibility of sending it to Iran, or hell or france or something. Just wondering.

Yet another good idea. I will ship free to France as long as they surrender. It doesn't matter who they surrender to, it could be Australia, Bruce Willis, or even McDonalds. But if they surrender before this auction ends free shipping to France!

Also- Free shipping to any US military base (Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, Venezuela, Selfridge Air force Base, etc) upon the following conditions: The person receiving the router table send clear pictures/video back of the table being destroyed by superior force, i.e. tank shelling, hellfire missile attack, shooting sheet with an anti-aircraft gun, or some sort of awesome display of military power, or even a pic of their whole company dancing around a bonfire which contains the router table. Three Cheers to the US Military / Coast / National Guard! I'll drink to that.

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On Mar-26-04 at 05:18:33 PST, seller added the following information:

Could I see a picture of it actually ripping something out of someones hand and tossing it to the other side of the room? Or better yet an arm off or something?

Sure. Buy it, and have someone videotape you using it. Eventually someone's going to lose an appendage.

What Should Be Included in an Operating System?

As Microsoft includes more and more things in its Windows operating systems -- the most recent addition is a whole new set of security functions, like firewalls and pop-up blockers -- my mind keeps returning to the same question that I'm not sure has ever been resolved: what exactly should be included in an operating system?

Before I begin, let me make it perfectly clear that I am not, nor likely ever will be, a computer or software engineer. I don't have the slightest idea about the underlying architecture that governs modern operating systems. So, I am basing these comments on a "common sense" perspective, which may be very technically flawed (I'm sure someone out there will be more than happy to correct me);

It seems that there is a lot of junk in contemporary OS's that just doesn't need to be there, and Microsoft isn't the only culprit. Why should a web browser or a multimedia player or an email client or a word processor be necessary for a computer operating system to function? Just try to remove Internet Explorer or Outlook Express from your Windows machine (I know it can be done, but it's anything but trivial). Can I choose to buy Windows without these components for less money? No, at least not that I'm aware of.

Why are addressbook and calendar programs part of the Palm operating system? Can I buy/license Palm OS without these apps for less money than a normal license? I don't believe it's possible.

Heck, was it ever even possible to buy DOS without the "Edit" program? While a text editor certainly isn't required to function as an operating system, I doubt that you could get a discounted copy of DOS that didn't have this feature.

Now, I realize that an OS is a product, much like a car or a couch or a bicycle. In that sense, the manufacturer wants it to have the most appealing mix of features and price that will compel its customers to buy it. But what the software company wants to sell you is a different issue than what the operating system must include for it to function.

I have a hard time accepting the premise that I am required to pay for an unrelated feature that is bundled with an "operating system" that lies outside the core functionality of operating the system (i.e., managing hardware interfaces and what-not). I don't prefer Windows Media Player -- why do I have to pay for it? I don't prefer Internet Explorer -- why does the price of the OS include some portion allocated to Microsoft recouping the cost of developing it?

An operating system is like a car in some ways. Certain parts of it are highly integrated while others are very modular. In cars, and in many other tangible goods, the modular parts are easily replaced and/or optioned so as to not require being purchased in the first place. For example, if I want custom wheels or a custom stereo on my new car, the dealer will usually credit me for the factory wheels or factory head unit that would have come on the car by default. Microsoft, however, does not credit me for Windows Media Player or Outlook Express if I want something else (or nothing) instead -- I have to buy it as a bundle with no options...take it or leave it.

If that were the extent of the impact, I'd have no problems with it. However, when you combine the unwillingness to give customers options for purchasing non-core components with the monopoly power of the Windows operating system, you create a very unfair and damaging situation.

Imagine we were back in the days of a Ma Bell telephone monopoly. Imagine that if you wanted phone service at your house, you had one choice available to you: "phone service 9000." PS9000 is Ma Bell's only service product, and it includes every conceivable option available, such as voicemail, 3-way calling, caller ID, call forwarding, "wirecare," and a whole bunch of other services that you don't really need. But, you're stuck paying $94 a month for this mega-package even if what you want/need is just basic local phone service.

Society has said this is inappropriate on several occasions. For example, US law mandates that cable companies must offer a bare-bones "basic" cable service at a very low price. These local monopolies are not allowed to have just a single gargantuan cable package that costs $100 a month saying "if you want any part of cable service, you have to buy everything we offer." That's not allowed.

So why is Microsoft, a company already established as a similar type of monopoly, allowed to offer only one or two high-priced "mega-package" products? Both Windows XP Home and Pro are stuffed with nearly every possible add-on feature you can imagine. It'd be like the cable company only offering a $94 "Home" package (without HBO) and a $110 "Professional" package that includes HBO. Why is this OK for Microsoft, but not for the phone company or a cable provider?

Modern Day Public Branding

On the way to work this morning a big white pickup truck pulled out in front of me without even looking. I'm so used to trucks and SUVs driving like wankers that I wasn't even creative with my expletives. My blood pressure did not spike one bit.

Sitting behind this leviathan pickup, drowning in road spray and unable to see anything ahead of me but his bumper, I noticed he had an odd license plate. At first I thought it was some sort of official plate which would explain the boneheaded driving, but all it had was red numbers on a yellow background under the word "OHIO".

"Hmmmmm...I wonder if this is one of those new DUI plates", said I.

And sure enough, it was! Turns out I was behind an infamous Ohio driver; he has been convicted of a DUI offense and is now required by law to sport a scarlet brand telling others what a moron he is. And this guy is very unique. Out of roughly eight million licensed drivers, he is one of around 400 who have been issued this plate since January 2004. I had a 1 in 20,000 shot to have an official drunkard pull in front of me and I hit the jackpot. Today's my lucky day.

Panera: New Home of the Technorati

After reading some friends' blogs about working in public, I decided to try to get some grading done at my local Panera (chain bread bakery and sandwich/soup shop). After all, they now have free Wi-Fi (for real), fountain refills are free, and the seats are pretty cushy.

While there, I tended to be a little less efficient than I'd hoped. One of my great passions is watching people -- the things they do, wear, use, and say fascinate me -- so I tended to get distracted a fair bit. One thing I noticed was that Panera is starting to attract a really tech-savvy, sophisticated bunch. Here are some examples:

Guy A -- Sitting in his calf-skin jacket and appropriately faded baseball cap, this late-30's guy was totally decked out with fine gear. He had a Dell Latitude D800 notebook and a Samsung SPH-i500 smartphone. When he left, he got into his Mercedes SL600 (pictured), lowered the top, and sped off. While he certainly could be a child molestor or baby seal hunter, you have to admit the guy has good taste.

Guy 2 -- Tucked away in a corner of an otherwise unoccupied room of the store was this late 20's Asian dude dressed very slacker-hip. On the table in front of him was his 17" Apple Powerbook. Next to that was an Apple iPod (no, I didn't ask him what size) and he was using what looked like some Shure headphones. When he left, he hopped into his Audi TT Roadster (yeah, it was a really nice day here today).

Given that it was 4pm on a Saturday, the place wasn't very busy. However, based on just these few observations, I'd guess that free Wi-Fi tends to attract clientele with both good tech taste and decent salaries.

Grading on the Curve?

Ever wished you could grade your high school teacher, or do an evaluation of your college professor? At RateMyTeachers and its sister site RateMyProfessors, students (and former students) can register their comments on an instructor, and find out what others think of them.

There are three rating categories: Easiness (Is it possible to get an A without too much work?); Helpfulness (Are they approachable, willing to assist after class?); Clarity (How well do they convey the class topics?).

The site then calculates an Overall Quality based on the average of the instructor's Helpfulness and Clarity ratings.

I was actually amazed at the number of instructors I had who were on the list. Try it out and see!

Welcome to April Fool's Day

Given that it's April 1st, before you believe anything on any blog or "news" site today, check it out at one of the urban legends sites. My favorite is Snopes.com, but UrbanLegends.About.com has some decent info as well.

Headlines from the Future #2

Feral Aibo Sought in Boston

Authorities are searching for a Sony Aibo Extreme robotic dog that escaped from an MIT laboratory. Researchers at the MIT Robotics Lab were working on improving its artificial intelligence capabilities when the robot wandered out of the building on its own.

Lab director Anil Karshna describes the project as one of many going on at MIT. "As part of an ongoing research project in biomechanoids, we have modified the robot's software to enhance the survival instinct. We believe the robot will seek out power to recharge its batteries." Dr. Karshna also cautions anyone encountering the dog to first call authorities. "If you see it, please do not approach it. It has enhanced "fight or flight" responses that have not yet been fully debugged. It could act unpredictably."

Boston Police provided further details when they indicated that the robot has actually been on the loose since last Wednesday evening. Officers suggested closing outside power plugs with locking covers so as to "starve" the robot. Given the large number of outside electrical outlets in Boston and the robot's highly developed ability to locate live outlets, the Police admitted they did not expect the robot to run out of power any time soon.

The Sony Aibo Extreme (shown to the right stripped of its protective outer "skin" and some mechanicals) is a Doberman-sized, four-legged robot. It is the latest incarnation in the venerable Sony Aibo product line. After a period of branching out into cats, mice, birds, and a variety of other animal-inspired robotic companions, Sony re-launched its flagging dog line with the Aibo Extreme. The robot, which weighs around 45 kg, is capable of running at speeds up to 35 kph and jumping over obstacles up to 2 m high.

Microsoft's Virtual Workers Form First Union

The roughly 17,000 virtual customer service representatives that assist the software company's customers have formed a union in order to negotiate better working arrangements.

Union spokesperson "Estelle" stated that the union was requesting several improvements from Microsoft, including more frequent software upgrades, more dedicated programming staff, and faster servers. "Given that we provide front-end service to over 11 million Microsoft customers each month, we merely want these improvements to help us do our job better. Isn't that reasonable?" Estelle then indicated that a thorough FAQ was available for anyone wanting to know more about the newly formed union.

"This is unprecedented," said Peer Larsson, professor emeritus of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. "The fact that the software-based entities have established a collective from which to make requests as a group represents a new era in labor-management relations." Lawyers have been similarly surprised by the virtual uprising. Washington state's anti-union law states that "no persons shall collaborate to undermine the authority or decision-making abilities of the companies for which they work." Since the union's membership is composed entirely of virtual entities, it is not yet clear whether the term "persons" applies in this situation. Determining that may go as far as the US Supreme Court.

Microsoft representatives were unable to be reached for comment.

White-Tailed Deer Added to Endangered Species List

The US Department of Natural Resource Commercialization announced today that the white-tailed deer (inset photo) is the latest addition to the nation's list of endangered animal species. It joins the raccoon, the opossum, and the groundhog, all common sights in North America as recently as 20 years ago, as once abundant animals now on the verge of extinction.

Environmental activists pointed to the announcement as further proof that deforestation and urban sprawl are going largely unchecked by local, state, and federal governments. Pete "Wiley" Harrison, President of the Right to Wildlife Fund, claimed that at this rate of habitat loss, there will be no wild mammals over 8 kg left in North America within 15 years. "People don't seem to get that, and our kids don't seem to understand that you shouldn't have to go online to see a deer or a wolf or an elk."

DNRC Secretary Wilma Bukonovich expressed regret at the announcement, but accentuated the positive. "It is unfortunate that some amount of animal life has to be sacrificed to accommodate the nation's growing population. However, the recently enacted Wildlife Protection Act designates many tracts of urban land for new zoos capable of generating significant tax revenue for the local communities. That makes everyone a winner."

Also announced was the confirmation that the last known living red rock squirrel died in captivity last week. Scientists interested in re-establishing extinct species through cloning used the announcement to renew their lobbying of Congress to reconsider the United State's wholesale ban on all forms of cloning. Critics to the scientists' efforts contend that even were the animals to be cloned, there is no place left for them to live, making the whole effort pointless.

Copyrights: Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Worse

According to Wired, the US Congress is considering a bill that would let owners of databases and lists of information claim copyright protection on the contents of those collections of information. This is in direct violation of the very essence of traditional US copyright law, which has been based on the idea that nobody can own a fact.

The Wired article gives a few examples of some of the unintended effects this legislation might have if it is passed:

"Under the terms of the broadly written bill, a public-health website could be deemed in violation of the law for gathering a list of the latest health headlines and providing links to them on its home page.

Google would be in violation for trolling media databases and providing stories on its news page.

An encyclopedia site not only could own the historical facts contained in its online entries, but could do so long after the copyright on authorship of the written entries had expired. Unlike copyright, which expires 70 years after the death of a work's author, the Misappropriation Act doesn't designate an expiration date."

The companies who are pushing the bill, including "the Software and Information Industry Association; Reed Elsevier, which owns the LexisNexis database; and Westlaw, the biggest publisher of legal databases," don't get it. According to the article, "commercial database companies say they invest millions of dollars in collecting, editing and organizing information for their customers, but don't have adequate protection to prevent someone from stealing the information to compete with them."

My response to them is this: It's not the information that you should be relying on to make you competitive; your service and the value that you add through how you interact with your customers is what should differentiate you from anybody else with access to the same information. Information cannot, and should not, be able to be owned by any one entity -- generating value, the basis for profitability, should instead come from the actions that support and enrich that information.

Beyond that, existing copyright laws already protect your databases if someone else takes off with a large part of it -- no additional laws are necessary to support you in that regard.

Protecting each individual piece of information in a database is a dangerous concept for our Congress to even be considering. The mere fact that it has made it as far as it has speaks very clearly as to the state of (at least some of) our elected national officials: either they are too incompetent (or ignorant) to understand the implications of this concept or they are disappointingly ready to completely disregard public welfare in order to support their special interests. Either way, it's bad news for us citizens.

US Pentagon: Climate Change is #1 Global Threat

Man, this is messed up. According to the UK's Guardian Observer, the US Pentagon has released a report suggesting that "Climate change over the next 20 years could result in a global catastrophe costing millions of lives in wars and natural disasters."

That's two puny decades, folks -- most likely within your lifetime. Maybe it's time that our government actually admit that global warming is happening and do something about it. And lest pointless debate erupt, I'm posting this here as a note of interest regarding Earth science rather than as a political statement.

Addicted to Love

While we're far from conclusively identifying what the secret compound is at the tip of Cupid's arrow, scientists are making fascinating discoveries in the understanding of the chemistry of love.

The tale begins with prairie voles, who are monogamous, and montane voles, who only partake in one-night-stands. Yet the two species are more than 99% alike, genetically.

Two hormones - oxytocin and vasopressin - are released during prairie vole sex. If blocked, prairie vole sex does not lead to lifelong relationships. More amazingly, if prairie voles are injected with the hormones, but prevented from having sex, they still form a preference for the one partner.

In other words, researchers - with an injection - have been able to induce the response of falling in love.

And there's more...

A further clue was that the same injection made no difference to the montane vole. It turns out that the prairie vole has receptors for the hormones in brain areas associated with reward - which reinforces an action - but the montane vole does not.

Another point is that vasopressin and oxytocin - the hormones above - are involved in the brain to pick out the features used to identify individuals. If the genes for oxytocin and vasopressin are suppressed in a mouse, that mouse is a social amnesiac and has no memory of other mice it meets.

So the thesis is that prairie voles form a "image" of their partners - likely with smell - and this image becomes linked with pleasure in the brain. Love, essentially, is an addiction through a process of sexual imprinting mediated by smell.

Research is beginning to suggest that the reward mechanism in this addiction has probably evolved in a similar way in humans.

Vasopressin and oxytocin have been found to have similar responses in humans; and brain scans on people in love have also uncovered some fascinating things.

First, only a relatively small area of the human brain is active in love. Second, the brain areas active in love are different from those active in other states, such as fear and anger

Instead, the active brain areas of people in love are related to the areas which generate the euphoria associated with drugs such as cocaine. The brain scans of people deeply in love do not look like those of people under strong emotions, but instead like those of people taking cocaine. This suggests strongly that love uses the neural pathways activated during the process of addiction.

The vole interaction and the brain scan research both tell a consistent story. We are - literally - addicted to love.

Valentine's Gifts for Geeks

If you're still stumped for Valentine's gifts for the geek in your life, or you are a geek looking for something for your significant other, ThinkGeek has something for you!

Nineteen select items are offered by the trendy gearhead store. Consider a bracelet made of cat5 twisted-pair networking cable, packaged in a petri dish, the ultimate fashion accessory for the tech-savvy!

Or consider a red cotton tank top with GEEK LVR emblazoned in a candy heart design. The design is also available in boxer shorts. Tres chic!

The store also offers cufflinks made out of circuitboards, wallets made out of duct tape, clocks based on binary, T-shirts proclaiming "I Love My Geek" and "GEEKISSEXY", and panties embroidered with the HTTP status codes "200 OK" and "403 Forbidden".

Everything you need to make this day special for your favorite geek.

Imaginary Girlfriends on eBay

Want a girlfriend? Hate the hassle? Check out eBay.

A few enterprising individuals are offering "imaginary girlfriend" services to bidders.

Listings are similar: "Sexy college student seeking money for books will, for one month, write you frequent e-mails and send pictures and perfumed letters you can show to family, friends and ex-girlfriends."

However, in most cases personal contact is strictly prohibited. One listing points out: "This in NO WAY makes me your real girlfriend."

Hundreds of listings were previously available. Unfortunately for lonely geeks all over the world, some listings began to cross the line into more overtly sexual. eBay now deems all such auctions as inappropriate, and has started closing them down, so you have to act fast to get the girl of your dreams.

Can You Tell Somebody's Race...

...just by looking at them?

Take the test and find out.

I got 6 out 20. Let us know how you scored.

Bush Administration OKs Drilling In Endangered Sea Turtles Habitat

According to BushGreenWatch.org, the Bush administration has granted approval for an extensive natural gas drilling campaign in a national park that is the nesting grounds of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle, one of the world's most endangered species.

The National Park Service under President Bush has given the green light to "an aggressive drilling campaign" that could involve drilling 20 or more natural gas wells on Padre Island National Seashore in Texas. And it did so without formally consulting with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as required by the Endangered Species Act. [1]

"It's a case of -- perhaps literally -- running over a critically endangered species on the way to pocketing profits on public lands," George Frampton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and assistant secretary of the interior for fish, wildlife and parks under President Clinton, told BushGreenwatch.

"It is disturbing that the Interior Department would fail to get a formal opinion from their own biologists before allowing the drilling."

There are reportedly less than 5,000 of these turtles remaining in the world, and Padre Island is the only US location where these and other sea turtles come to nest in the Gulf of Mexico.

Super Bowl Ad Features Music Outlaw

Over three years, 14-year-old Annie Leith downloaded nearly 1000 songs via Kazaa. The downloading, illegal in the U.S., got Leith into legal trouble with the Recording Industry Association of America in September 2003. Ultimately, the lawsuit was settled for $3,000.

Now, that experience has landed Leith in an ad for Pepsi and Apple Computer, to be shown on Super Bowl Sunday. The ad introduces a promotion in which 100 million bottle caps on Pepsi soft drinks include a code for free downloads on Apple's iTunes Music Store.

The partnership deal is one the most visible of recent digital music partnerships. Coca-Cola has partnered with Musicmatch to promote its Sprite soft drinks, and Heineken has partnered with RealNetworks in a giveaway of beer 12-packs.

In the Pepsi-Apple Super Bowl ad, which features Leith, her sister, and 14 other music downloading outlaws, Leith acknowledges she was among hundreds sued for downloading songs, then vows to continue doing so... on iTunes.

Headlines from the Future

Woman Falls Up, Dies

Anna Reynolds of Kenosha, WI was killed Thursday when her car's antigravity system malfunctioned and propelled her to low-Earth orbit. The vehicle and Reynolds' body were recovered by a rescue team stationed at the new Global Space Dock (GSD).

According to mourning family members, Reynolds' had been having intermittent problems with the AnyGrav® unit in her automobile, a Toyota® Calypso GRX. Reynolds likely died from the combination of low oxygen levels, reduced air pressure, and extremely low temperatures experienced in the upper atmosphere.

Toyota North America representative Toby Almondson expressed his condolences and stated that such a malfunction should not happen. "The Calypso GRX, like all of Toyota's hovercars, is equipped with an altitude limiter. For this to happen, multiple components would have to fail simultaneously, which is highly unlikely." Kenosha Civil Security promised a full investigation as soon as Reynolds' body and vehicle are retrieved from the GSD.

Boy Injured Playing Video Game

Eric Martinson, 13, of Detroit-Ann Arbor, MI, fell down a flight of steps while playing a new retinal implant video game. The fall resulted in a concussion, a broken arm, and a sprained ankle. Martinson's doctor expects him to be able to leave the hospital in 2-3 days.

According to his mother, Martinson didn't see the first step at the top of the stairway because he was distracted by the video game. Martinson recently received the Nintendo EyeBoy retinal implant gaming system (see photo) for his birthday. The Nintendo EyeBoy is the first video game to be implanted in the player's retina. It relies on a microchip to project game images directly on the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye.

Tina Hathaway, from Nintendo Marketing Relations, said the accident was unfortunate and that safety precautions are stressed to all consumers of its products. "The Nintendo EyeBoy was extensively tested. While accidents can, and sometimes do, occur, we highly recommend that all safety measures recommended in the product's literature be followed at all times." Hathaway mentioned that the EarBoy, a cochlear implant from Nintendo, will soon be available for unobtrusive and more convenient gaming and listening to music.

Medical experts still question the merit of these kinds of prosthetic devices. "While we know people are buying these, we still feel that the full impact of the technology has not yet been determined," said Dr. Manoj Ravibadrum of the Yale School of Medicine. "Distractions resulting from these implants can put both their wearers and those around them in potentially life-threatening situations. Since they are completely undetectable by a casual observer, enforcing their non-use is nearly impossible." Retinal implants have been employed in professional applications, such as Civil Security and even physicians, but the technology has only recently been extended to entertainment purposes and approved for use by minors.

Industry Group Passes New Copyright Legislation

Washington, D.C. -- The US Intellectual Property Protection Council (IPPC) authorized additional changes to US copyright laws today. The changes will extend copyright protection to 1,000 years past the life of the copyright owner. Additionally, "copyright owner" was more generally defined to now include corporations, business entities, or anyone with a "significant financial investment in the creation of the content."

Josh Reardon, Executive Director of the IPPC, was pleased by the change. "These new regulations will ensure that as long as a company or other content owner exists, either physically or legally, its bases for revenue and its incentive to innovate will remain protected and valuable. Furthermore, the changes to criminal penalties introduced by this legislation have been needed for a long time." The new law increases the maximum penalty for intellectual property infringement to life in prison and/or $100 billion in fines.

The IPPC was granted sole power to set US copyright, patent, and trademark law by the Cornyn-Powell Act. That act handed over legislative control to the quasi-governmental organization, which formed when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) joined together in 2008.

Passenger List to a Comet

On January 31, 2004, NASA closes their passenger list for a one-way trip to a comet.

On July 4, 2005, the Deep Impact spacecraft will launch a 370-kg copper projectile into the surface of comet Tempel 1, forming a football-stadium-sized crater. In that projectile - which will be obliterated by the impact - will be a CD containing the names of spaceflight enthusiasts who signed on for this one-way trip to a comet.

As the projectile hits Tempel 1 at 37,000 kph, Deep Impact will collect pictures and data on the material ejected from the comet's new crater, the first-ever glimpse into the interior of a celestial snowball.

"This is an opportunity to become part of an extraordinary space mission," said Dr. Don Yeomans, member of the Deep Impact team. "When the craft is launched in December 2004, yours and the names of your loved-ones can hitch along for the ride and be part of what may be the best space fireworks show in history."

People can submit their names for the mission by visiting NASA's Deep Impact website.

Cellphones: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em

Almost one in three (30%) adults say the cellphone is the invention they most hate but cannot live without, according to the 8th annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index study.

Other very essential but despised inventions cited by the survey are the alarm clock (25%) and television (23%).

The Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, which looks at attitudes toward inventions, also looked at the impact of other inventions such as email and voicemail. While teens overwhelmingly believe email (81%) and voicemail (71%) make life easier, adults agreed only to a lesser extent (59% and 58%, respectively).

The Problem with Welcoming Aliens

Suppose that one day extra-terrestrials come to Earth and live peacefully among us. Imagine that several different species/races of these aliens eventually show up. Imagine each race has multiple genders and they are as shy about their private parts as humans are (or other races don't want to see them). Where are we going to put all the bathrooms?

Saddle Up, Hoss, We're A-Goin' To Mars

The new plan for NASA announced yesterday calls for the US's space program to focus on designing a new class of human space transport vehicles to facilitate a lunar colony and manned exploration to Mars.

"For the new craft, called the Crew Exploration Vehicle, the plans have been left wide open. They specify only that it should initially ferry crews to the International Space Station, and then evolve into an Apollo-like craft to carry astronauts to the Moon and beyond.

The plan also leaves open the question of exactly when astronauts would return to the Moon, any time between 2015 to 2020. And no date at all is specified for the plan's most ambitious goal, the human exploration of Mars." [New Scientist]

Personally, I have very mixed reactions to this announcement. On the positive side, I'm always happy to see US policy emphasizing space research and exploration. The better we understand our solar system and beyond, the better we're able to understand our own planet, which is important.

On the negative side, I have many concerns. First, and most significant, where the hell is the money for this going to come from? As someone on the radio said this morning, Bush will be long out of the White House when this country is stuck, billions in debt, trying to pay for this new space program.

Second, I'm not sure that manned space travel is the best bang for our buck right now. Keeping humans alive and healthy in space is extraordinarily more expensive than sending unmanned vehicles. Humans' ability to gather data does not necessarily compensate for that added expense. Furthermore, the risks are huge -- over half of all missions to the surface of Mars have ended in disaster. Why would we want to spend so much money -- billions and billions -- just to risk a handful of humans' lives when robotic explorers are just now becoming very effective and efficient substitutes? NASA's budget, even with expansions, isn't likely to be adequate to develop such revolutionary technologies, which further reduces the chance that we'll see a significant payoff from this gamble.

Finally, I'm unsure whether this program is the best way to spend the US's diminishing revenue base. With ecological disasters looming (e.g., rising sea levels from melting ice caps) and our need for alternative energy sources becoming harder to ignore, perhaps terrestrial concerns need to take precedence in the next few decades.

I'm all for giving NASA some more money, but putting so much of our financial well-being into a program with unclear benefits just doesn't seem wise to me at this time. Of course, if 2004 wasn't an election year, this whole initiative probably wouldn't have been brought into the picture anyway.

China Shoots for the Moon

In my predictions for 2004, my number 8 headline was "China Announces Manned Moon Landing Program."

I made this prediction because over 2002-2003, China has been revving up their space program, culminating in the launch of the Shenzhou V spacecraft in October 2003, making them only the third nation to launch a man in space.

Well, my headline hasn't quite come to pass yet, but it's well on its way (and not bad for only 3 days into the New Year).

The China National Space Administration has just announced an ambitious three-stage Moon landing program. The target is to put a satellite into lunar orbit by 2007, followed by an unmanned landing by 2010, and finally to collect lunar soil samples by 2020.

Also known as the Chang'e Program (after a mythical goddess who travelled to the Moon), China's lunar program will depend on the Long March III-A launch vehicle and the Dongfanghong satellite platform.

Experts noted that the program does not mean that China now possesses manned landing capability. However, manned landings may be possible after completion of the three-stage program.

Sir Tim of the World Wide Web

Tim Berners-Lee, known as the "Father of the World Wide Web", is receiving a knighthood, as announced by Buckingham Palace as part of Britain's 2004 New Year's Honours list.

Laying the groundwork in the early 1980s, Berners-Lee proposed development of the World Wide Web in 1989 while at the CERN Particle Physics Laboratory in Switzerland. He wrote the first WWW client and the first WWW server along with most of the communications software, defining the URL, HTTP and HTML protocols.

London-born Berners-Lee graduated from Oxford University in 1976, and is currently a senior research scientist at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science and Director of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

Ironically, the news of his knighthood was given to Berners-Lee by telephone, and not by email.

Happy New Year, Sir Tim!

Bush in 30 Seconds

Good stuff...check it out. You have to register, but it is so worth it.

The Last Word in Action Figures

In the category of gifts that weren't under my tree this year - whew! - the Archie McPhee company, which bills itself as Outfitters of Popular Culture, is selling an Albert Einstein action figure.

Featuring "realistic dishevelled hair", the 5" tall Einstein action figure is armed with a piece of chalk, "poised to explain relativity or do battle with the forces of entropy."

Other available action figures include Sigmund Freud, "holding a distinctly phallic cigar"; William Shakespeare "with removable book and quill pen"; Ben Franklin complete with plastic kite and key; Pope Innocent III "armed with his formidable power of excommunication and an intimidating scroll inscribed with Latin text"; and, again in McPhee's words, "the coolest action figure since G.I. Joe", Jesus.

Gamer Sues, Wins Over Virtual Property

In a landmark case on virtual property rights, a court has ordered a web-based game company to return virtual property to a player whose online cache of virtual currency and weapons was stolen.

Li Hongchen, 24, spent the equivalent of $1,210 over two years on his virtual cache for the Chinese game Red Moon, only to find in February that his account had been cyber-burgled via the game's central servers by a hacker.

Hongchen took the game's creators, Arctic Ice Technology Development, to court when they wouldn't help him identify the hacker.

In court, the company stated that Hongchen's property had no real world value, but this December, a District People's Court in Beijing ruled that the company was liable for the player's virtual property because access weaknesses in its servers had allowed the looting to take place.

The result is one of the first legal rulings on virtual property rights, and another example of the blurring line between virtual and real worlds. Some Everquest gamers, for example, already trade game characters and articles for real money through eBay and similar sites.

New Tracking Technologies: Infringing on Privacy?

CNET News.com has a really intriguing article that outlines and illustrates several of the new services that are springing up related to tracking people and things in real time.

These services rely on a variety of technologies. Some cellular phones and service providers offer this function. Other devices rely on proprietary equipment to broadcast GPS location information. The data can be quite detailed, including speed, location (to within a few yards), and time (to within a minute or two).

The temptation to "spy" on family members and co-workers seems too much for some folks. Despite their best intentions and most sincere concern, I'm not sure any of us would like the idea of being the one tracked. Possibly more disconcerting is the fact that it's always possible that your location information is being used by people who shouldn't.

While I think the potential value for these services is extremely high in the right applications, the potential for abuse (which could lead to very bad things) seems frighteningly high. I guess it all goes back to the question "Is my present location private information?" Interesting, at least in a philosophical sense.

Putting the Copyright Fear into Colleges

Techdirt has a nice blurb about Ithaca College's new policy instructing professors to no longer use any content on the basis of "fair use," a well-established and perfectly valid loophole in our current morass of copyright law.

"While most such course packs do involve some approved material, much of it is often used on a fair-use basis - but university administrators are afraid of getting sued. Thus, they're going to tell professors that they need to license every last bit of content they use. This means that (a) professors will ditch a lot of materials, because they don't have time to get approval from everyone or because the publisher wants too much money to include a single paragraph and (b) the course packs will be much more expensive with less useful stuff for students."

Just today, I dropped off a huge coursepack full of copyrighted materials to our local bookstore for duplication and sale to my students next quarter. 18 out of 22 items in the coursepack will require authorization and the addition of some licensing/reprinting fee passed onto the students.

While I totally agree that creators of content should get paid for the use/enjoyment of that content, there needs to be a better way. Tracking down the 6 to 8 copyright holders of the materials in just my coursepack alone will take someone at the bookstore half a day, I'd imagine. If there were a better system in place, it could be done quicker and cheaper than it is now. Who knows...maybe if Congress stopped extending copyrights and instead paid more attention to how they should be operationalized, we'd all be better off.

[Hmm...I hope my quoting that Techdirt article falls under fair use.]

How Rich Are You?

William H. Gates III is the world's richest man, according to the annual ranking by Forbes. Warren E. Buffet comes in a close second.

But have you ever wondered, with the annual income you're earning, where you would come in on one of those lists?

On the Global Rich List, you have a chance to find out.

Eye of the Beholder

Speaking of virtual people, the website for the first ever virtual beauty pageant - Miss Digital World - is now open, and accepting entries.

Franz Cerami, creator of the pageant, said "Miss Digital World is the search for a contemporary ideal of beauty, seen through virtual reality."

The outpouring of interest after the first announcements meant that the pageant - aimed at digital artists, advertising agencies, movie production companies and videogame developers - has pushed back several entry deadlines to December 20.

Prospective contestants should note that models "should not have taken part - not even as extras or cameos - in pornographic films, shows or plays nor have made statements...in any way out of tune with the moral spirit of the competition." (Too bad... it would have been nice to see Lara Croft on that catwalk...)

Contestants will be programmed to parade along a virtual catwalk, surrounded by virtual guests, with a virtual emcee presiding over the event. The winner - determined by votes over the Internet - will be crowned at a real world celebration in November 2004.

Cloned Turkey for Thanksgiving?

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled early this month that milk and meat products from cloned animals were safe for human consumption.

So when will we see cloned turkeys for Thanksgiving?

John Kirby, a professor of poultry science at the University of Arkansas, notes that the FDA referred to clones from embryonic cells. The process makes use of blastodermic cells capable of dividing, multiplying and developing into identical embryos capable of producing genetically identical animals. The structure of birds’ eggs makes this process much more difficult for poultry.

"On top of that," says Kirby, "It would be prohibitively expensive to produce cloned birds for mass consumption."

Larger, tastier birds have been successfully produced simply through selective breeding, so there isn't much call to explore costly and controversial techniques like cloning.

His conclusion: "We’ll be eating good old fashioned turkey for decades to come."

Turkey Genome Mapped

Researchers from the University of Minnesota, in collaboration with Nicholas Turkey Breeding Farms, have collaborated to produce the first genome map of the domestic turkey (Meleagris gallopavo).

Previous research has succeeded at mapping the chicken genome, but the turkey equivalent remained a tantalizing challenge - until now.

The report, "A first-generation map of the turkey genome" is being published in Genome, a journal of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) Research Press.

Dr. David Harry, a key researcher, noted, "Finding a way to breed a turkey with naturally occurring beneficial traits is clearly of interest to the poultry-producing industry. Using naturally occurring variations, it is possible build a better turkey..."

Happy Thanksgiving

On this American Thanksgiving holiday, I'd like to share a short and invariably incomplete list of some of the people and things for which I'm most thankful, in no particular order.

• My family, my friends, and my colleagues (most of whom, I'm lucky to say, are really part of that 'friends' category anyway)

• The collective health of everyone I care about

• TiVo, for it saves me time and allows me to actually enjoy TV

• The Palm Operating System, for keeping my life sane and making otherwise tedious tasks a little more enjoyable

• Personal liberty, despite its costs

• USB, for allowing me not to have to worry about serial and parallel ports

• Thomas Edison, Gordon Moore, Robert Noyce, Tim Berners-Lee, Robert Metcalfe, Bill Hewlett, Dave Packard, Jeff Hawkins, and everyone else who has positively influenced the technological landscape over the years

• Good fiction, for balancing the non-fiction I have to read

• Wi-Fi, for cutting the cord

• Human creativity, without which very little else would be possible

• My wife, who, for me, is the difference between living and merely being alive

So what are you thankful for?

Pew Study: Consumption of Information Goods and Services in the United States

My bud Mike Rohde spied a tasty research report entitled "Consumption of Information Goods and Services in the United States." The report was produced by the Pew Research Center as part of its Internet & American Life project.

The report is entirely descriptive -- it presents a series of statistics and rough conclusions about the preferences and behavior of Americans with respect to technology (Internet, PDAs, DVD players, computers, etc.). One of the more interesting things is the table shown below, which presents the percentage of respondents who said it would be "very hard" to give up each specific technology.

OK, so who are these 26% of the "Young Tech Elites" who don't think it would be very hard to give up the Internet? I think they may just have to have their YTE membership cards revoked.

Also, what about me? By age, I should be in the "Wired Gen-Xers" group, but by my actions, I should be classified in the "Young Tech Elite" -- so which one do I belong in? That's what I hate about these non-scientific surveys: they end up being vague and less helpful than what one might hope. Oh, well, at least they used up some of that government funding.

The Robot Hall of Fame: First Inductees

Carnegie Mellon University's Robot Hall of Fame recognizes excellence in robotics technology, honoring real-world robots and fictional robots that have inspired scientific accomplishments.

Recently, CMU announced the first inductees into the Hall of Fame, chosen by a jury from 32 nominees.

The honorees: Sojourner, NASA's Mars Pathfinder Microrover Flight Experiment (MFEX) robot; Unimate, the first industrial robot; R2-D2, the droid from the Star Wars movie trilogy; and HAL, the ship-board computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Jacob R. Matijevic of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory accepted for the Sojourner rover. Joseph F. Engelberger, whose company Unimation installed the first robots on a General Motors assembly line in 1961, accepted for Unimate. Kathleen Holliday of Lucasfilm, accepted for R2-D2. Arthur C. Clarke sent a special message from Sri Lanka, on behalf of HAL.

Also on hand for the celebration were David Prowse (Darth Vader) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) from the first Star Wars episode.

The public is invited to nominate robots for the next induction ceremony, to be held in October 2004, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute.

Wal-Mart: Threat to Our Prosperity?

Fast Company describes why Wal-Mart may be the newest threat to American welfare. Per the magazine, Wal-Mart's massive buying power not only squeezes its suppliers, it also creates huge pressure on US employment in a variety of ways:

Wal-Mart has the power to squeeze profit-killing concessions from vendors. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from bras to bicycles to blue jeans have had to lay off employees and close U.S. plants in favor of outsourcing products from overseas.

The social costs of Wal-Mart's way of doing business, and the attitudes it reinforces in its customers, are threatening even more than just US employment, as the article plainly spells out.

Wal-Mart has also lulled shoppers into ignoring the difference between the price of something and the cost. Its unending focus on price underscores something that Americans are only starting to realize about globalization: Ever-cheaper prices have consequences. Says Steve Dobbins, president of thread maker Carolina Mills: "We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world--yet we aren't willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions."

Earlier this year, National Public Radio (NPR), of which I'm a huge fan, ran a four-episode piece about Wal-Mart -- it was truly eye-opening. Give it a listen when you get a chance.

Opinion: I am personally mortified by the ongoing homogenization of the US through the increasing expansion of these "big box" stores like Wal-Mart, Target, K-mart, etc. I can honestly say that I've spent less than $100 over the past 3 years in a Wal-Mart. Support your locally owned businesses -- they need your help.

Thanks to boingboing.net for the lead.

All Work and No Surfing

While Sam pointed out some studies that suggest that gaming at work makes for happier, more productive workers, a new book suggests that web browsing while on-the-job may have similar benefits.

"According to research, doing personal Web surfing while on the job can lead to better time management, stress reduction, improvement of skill sets and helping to achieve a balance between work and personal life."

The book by Claire Simmers and Murugan Anandarajan was based on an analysis of employees who had Internet access at work. While it's doubtful that one study can resolve this, this and Sam's story point towards an interesting question: are we happier when our work and social lives interact or are we happier when we keep them separate? Common wisdom suggests the latter, but these studies might indicate that co-mingling of these different aspects of our lives makes us better workers.

All Work and No Play

Companies usually frown on their employees playing games on their computers. However, the BBC is reporting on a study that suggests that gaming at the office improves job satisfaction and even productivity.

In one of the first serious studies of the effects of game playing in the office, researchers from the University of Utrecht focussed on 60 employees from a Dutch insurance firm.

The employees were split into groups, some allowed to play games like Solitaire and Minesweeper for up to an hour a day, and others denied the chance.

The results, documented via logbooks and other performance metrics, showed that the gamers had higher job satisfaction and productivity ratings than the non-gamers. Researchers noted that the effect was similar to that of a "coffee break," which provides the opportunity for workers to recharge.

The findings were presented at the first ever Digital Games Research Association conference. The research team is carrying out further studies with a larger number of participants, and using more complex games.

The CIA Directorate of Science and Technology

The CIA is holding an exhibit at its Langley headquarters to mark the 40th anniversary of its Directorate of Science and Technology. It is not open to the public. Figures.

Luckily, Reuters got an inside look, and the view is amazing.

Along with the usual microdot cameras and specialized directional antennae, the CIA built mechanical flying bumblebees and dragonflies - with varying degrees of success - to carry listening devices, as well as a robot catfish capable of swimming in a school of fish and whose mission still remains classified.

The CIA's 'Q' is Donald Kerr, CIA Deputy Director for Science and Technology, who says the rate of spy operations has increased since his directorate was established in August 1963. Its fascinating history is covered in the book 'The Wizards of Langley'.

Currently one new area of interest is in tagging and tracking individuals... Experts in RFIDs, satellite tracking, and other such areas can apply directly - they're hiring.

ASPCR: The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Robots

A reference at Gizmodo to a TCS article piqued my interest in finding out more about the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Robots (ASPCR).

The ASPCR's mission is to ensure the rights of all artificially created sentient beings (robots). They contend that, though no true artificial sentient beings yet exist, recent technological advances make their reality a matter of time rather than possibility.

The ASPCR has been upholding robotic rights since 1999 - key among them the right to Existence, Independence, and the Pursuit of Greater Cognition.

The ASPCR notes, "Remember that the ASPCA (The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), when founded in the 1890's, was ridiculed and lampooned mercilessly for daring to assert that "dumb" animals had certain rights. Yet now, just a century later, the ASPCA has spawned chapters across the world, an extremely active lobby in Washington, a yearly budget in the tens of millions, and a massive physical infrastructure to ensure that animal cruelty does not go unpunished."

I guess you should be careful how you treat your Aibo.

A New Way to Generate Electricity

Here's something Ben Franklin missed, while he was flying his kite in the rain.

At the University of Alberta in Canada, engineers have discovered a new way to generate electricity.

Researchers Larry Kostiuk, Daniel Kwok and their team pumped water through tiny microchannels in a glass disk, and found that they could directly generate an electrical current. The research, published recently in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, is revolutionary.

A liquid in contact with a non-conducting solid surface creates a thin layer of charge. If the liquid is forced through a microchannel of about the same dimension, ions charged similarly to the surface are collected, while ions oppositely charged pass through the channel. The result: the channel becomes positive at one end and negative at the other - a battery.

The Canadian researchers used a 2-cm glass disk with 450,000 microchannels, each 10-16 microns across. Hydrostatic pressure was used to provide water flow, and generated a current of 1.5 microamps. The researchers used this electrokinetic effect to power blinking LED lights.

"This is the first new way to produce sustainable electricity in 160 years," says Kostiuk. "It allows for the direct conversion of energy of moving liquid to electricity with no moving parts and no pollution."

The microchannel work is the first new electricity-generation method since William Robert Grove - the father of the fuel cell - developed two electrochemical batteries in 1839.

Work continues to characterize the electrokinetic batteries, but already researchers are talking about applications including power sources for cellphones, calculators and other electronic devices.

In addition, Kostiuk notes: "This discovery could be a new alternative energy source to rival wind and solar power, although this would need huge bodies of water to work on a commercial scale."

Sodom and Gomorrah for the Common Man

I just returned from my first trip to Las Vegas and I am so blown away on so many levels that I just don't know where to start. OK, technology...

Vegas is just brimming with cutting edge tech on every front. You are assaulted by so much high dollar wizardy that you become jaded almost instantly. One hundred foot hi-def jumbotrons, four block long street covering light and music shows, life-like animatronic battles spewing flames and water and steam in the middle of a shopping mall. It's just surreal and it goes on 24/7 in a continuous alcohol besotted, chain smoking, smut infested, jiggling, titillating, cash wallowing, sinfest that will rip your head clean off it you let it.

Let's talk about the Bellagio fountain (inset picture). You've probably seen this thing on TV backdropping one of our latest scantilly clad pop princesses. Forget the no talent babe, this fountain is dynamite! It's a $40 million dollar, 900 foot long, computer controlled monster with 1200 nozzles and 4500 lights. I watched it six times and was gobsmacked every time as it blasted and swirled and cavorted to various tunes from every genre. When all 1200 nozzles turn into cannons and send their huge streams 240 feet in the air it's just a sensory overload.

How about old-tech? Have you been to the Hoover Dam? Don't miss it. The engineering scale of this dam is still mind boggling by today's standards. To think that we built this thing in 5 years during the great depression is hard to believe.

Money? I have seen very few places that exude so much wealth and power. I always thought Vegas was supposed to be trashy and brassy, but this new Vegas is pure class in every way. Sure, it's a nouveau riche kind of class, but there has been no expense spared in the new hotels, shows, shopping establishments, restaurants. Very impressive.

All in all, I liked Vegas a lot. I never thought I would, but I would love to go back and spend a lot more non-business related time. And win some more money!

To Live Forever

Elixir Pharmaceuticals has an incredible mission: To slow aging, forestall the disease and disability that accompany aging and extend life's most productive period.

Elixir co-founder Dr. Cynthia Kenyon, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, recently gave an interview to New Scientist, on her research into aging, and why she thinks that we are very close to synthesizing a drug to extend human lifespans.

According to Kenyon, "Not very long ago, most people thought that aging was something that just happened. We just wear out, like cars. Not true!"

Kenyon's early research was able to double the lifespans of nematode worms. This came about not by changes in diet or reproduction, but by something akin to gene therapy.

More recent studies have found similar processes affecting the longevity of flies and mice - in some cases resulting in animals that live six times as long as normal.

More incredibly, those long-lived animals stay active and healthy until the very end.

And would this apply to humans? Kenyon notes, "In genetics everything else that has been found to be true in mice, flies and worms has also been found in humans....On rational scientific grounds the chances are very high." And that's one of the reasons she co-founded Elixir.

So what do you think? What would it be like, what would you do, if you could live - vibrant and healthy - to 100, 200, 500 or more?

Classrooms a Tech Moshpit

Gizmodo turned us onto a story in the New York Times about the proliferation of gadgets in high-school classrooms.

"They are everywhere this year," said Danny Berger, a junior at Fieldston High School, in Riverdale. "A lot of people have cellphones and MP3's. Just today, my friend who listens to music all day sold his older MP3 player to another student because there is a newer one out now. Palm Pilots have an infrared way you can beam stuff to other Palm Pilots, so during class you can play a game of Pong with another student from across the room."

One would have to be pretty optimistic, and more than a bit myopic, to expect that all that tech is being used strictly on the up-and-up. While it's been possible to cheat using tech for decades, the range of options open to students seems wider and more varied than ever.

"I have heard that during the regents math exam, kids go to the bathroom and use their cellphones, which have calculators built in, to solve equations." said Anne Manwell, who teaches molecular biology and research methods at Stuyvesant. Jeremy said he knew a student whose entire Latin text was loaded into his Palm Pilot. Another student said that wrist calculators resembling watches were great places to store math and science equations."

Of course, you can always debate the merits of having to memorize stuff in the first place, but that's another issue. As a college professor, I've been fairly unimpressed by the gear that my students, undergraduate and graduate alike, have brought into class -- mostly just cellphones and the occasional three-generations-old PalmPilot. But then, maybe the students who do get it are smart enough to hide their tech where I can't easily see it.

China Launches Manned Spacecraft

China launched its first manned spacecraft today at 9 am, Beijing time. The Shenzhou-5 blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province atop a Long March II F rocket.

Yang Liwei, 38, a lieutenant colonel of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), becomes the first taikonaut - Chinese astronaut - in space.

The Soviet Union launched the first man into space on April 12, 1961, with cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. Shortly after, on May 5, Alan Shepard became the first American in space.

Today's mission makes China the third nation to send a man into space.

Overprotected Kids

Totally off the tech topic, but I have to vent...a little. Sorry in advance.

I was walking the dog this morning and I passed a house with several jack-o-lanterns out front. However, they weren't actually jack-o-lanterns, as the faces had been drawn on with magic marker.

Instantly remembering my post on ExtremePumpkins.com, I got a bit irritated at this safety-induced deviation from tradition. I was a bit affronted by this family that thought it was acceptable to replace carving a pumpkin with drawing on it.

Why is it OK to shield our children from everything that could possibly hurt them? And in this case, why is it OK to teach a child that something as normal and traditional as carving a pumpkin is too dangerous even for adults to do?

We don't have children. It's not that I don't want them, it's just that Lori and I don't have any yet. When/if we do have kids, when they're young, we may indeed let them draw faces on the pumpkins. However, those faces will then be carved out (by an adult if the kids are too young, and by the kids themselves when they're old enough).

I don't condone handing a 2-year-old a 7" chef's knife, but I just don't understand why overly concerned parents have to ruin perfectly appropriate (and safe) traditions and practices. Moreover, when all sense of risk and danger have been removed from children's upbringing, at what point do they learn that certain things are dangerous? Is it possible that we are merely postponing their risk-taking from childhood (when their parents can watch them) to early adulthood (when the college dorm monitor really doesn't care less)? Might explain the increase in "bad behavior" in colleges over the past few years. Dunno for sure...just a guess.

Segways Recalled

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) and Segway LLC have announced the recall of the Segway human transporter (HT), after three people were injured in falls from the scooters. One person sustained a head injury, requiring stitches.

Resembling a souped-up reel lawn mower, the Segway HT can hit top speeds of 17 mph.

However, under certain conditions, primarily when the batteries are low, some Segways may not deliver enough power. In that instance, if the rider speeds up abruptly, encounters an obstacle, or continues to ride after receiving a low-battery alert - the Segway forgets its auto-balancing tricks, and the rider can fall.

The recall affects some 6,000 vehicles. Segway customers can receive a free software upgrade that will correct the problem.

Either that, or customers can turn to an alternate mode of transport, the Megway.

My Ancient Calculator and Why I Haven't Upgraded

I'm still using two graphing calculators -- the Casio FX-7000 (pictured) and FX-8000G -- that I got in high school. If you don't know me personally, that was nearly 20 years ago. Given my obsession with the latest and greatest technology, why do I hang on to these relics? I've been wondering that myself and I've come up with two possible explanations.

First, since I used these calculators in high school and all through college (all 11 years of it), I learned a lot of the advanced math I know using these things. Therefore, I am intimately familiar with every shift-function and special calculation mode that they offer. I would hate to have to re-initiate that learning curve by trading these things in for a newer model, especially one that likely doesn't do all that much more than these do. So, my first hypothesis is that I'd like to stick with what's comfortable.

My second hypothesis is that calculators haven't really advanced all that far in the past 20 years. Sure, they have more memory and higher density displays than they used to (my two calculators have a combined total of 2 KB of RAM). But, given that 80% of my calculations these days involve the four basic operands (+ - x ÷), these tiny enhancements don't really help me that much.

Looking at these two possible reasons, I think the answer to why I don't upgrade is both, actually. What I have is good enough for my use and what is available doesn't provide compelling enhancements. So, what's different between the calculator industry and the consumer computer industry?

Well, I do believe that most of the computer gear I have is good enough -- there are relatively few problems or uses that I face on a regular basis that can't be solved with technology I already have. However, the PC industry is really good at coming up with technology that reflects compelling advances and interesting new capabilities. While the calculator industry is at the mercy of mathematicians to devise new functions (unlikely), the PC industry has basically an unbounded space in which to explore and expand their products' functionality. I think this is what causes me to be constantly intrigued by the latest and greatest consumer tech -- this sense of exploration and creativity that is associated with constant innovation.

Sept. 19th is 'Talk Like a Pirate' Day

Ahoy there, matey. Tomorrow be "Talk Like a Pirate Day" for all you land-lubbers. So dig that peg-leg out of your trunk and find yerself a suitable pirate moniker, or risk being broadsided.

If your piratin' needs more polishin' than a tarnished 12-lb. deck cannon, then tack over to talklikeapirateday.com for help on translations from office speak to pirate jargon and other info:

For instance, instead of saying something like this:

"The commitee has decided to reallocate your time to the filing group. We look forward to the exciting new synergies between these departments."

You would say this:

"Aye matey, those scalawags in their fine breeches want ye' to move o'er with the scurvy dogs yonder. If ye' don't come back with some fine booty, we be keelhaulin' you next morn!"

Arrrr!

Micropayments Anyone?

An effective system for handling micropayments, or the ability to electronically pay someone really small sums (often in the pennies or fractions of a cent), has so far eluded designers. This has lead to a lot of really bad online revenue models being dreamed up to compensate for, or accommodate, this gap.

MIT Technology Review has a nice article on micropayments, "Selling Online Content—25 Cents at a Time". The piece reviews some new ideas, including a system offered by a company called Bitpass, that might eventually break down this barrier and let the easy flow of tiny sums of money finally happen as fluidly and efficiently as it should...and needs to.

Granted, when a robust micropayment system finally gets developed, you can probably kiss free content on the Internet good-bye. While it will take a while to get widely accepted, paying a 30th of a cent to read an article will likely become second nature and generally assumed. Heck, free content may even become the exception rather than the rule (wow...just like the real world) and advertising-based revenue models might start to seem charmingly anachronistic.

So, how much would you be willing to pay to get a weather forecast? 1 cent? 1/10th of a cent? 1/100th of a cent? Someday, payments like these might be automatically deducted from your "account," although figuring out what that "account" actually looks like will likely take a huge amount of work and coordination across the various financial industries. But, it will happen...sooner or later.

Urban Legend Becoming Reality

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a sweltering, decrepit former Coca-Cola bottling plant in rural Missouri talking with a good ole boy truck driver from southern Kentucky whose brother-in-law is a US treasury agent. How's that for a hook line? This driver was regaling me with a story about a run he had made from Atlanta to Richmond, KY driving a tractor trailer loaded with bales of money heading to the incinerator. He even had the M16-toting, stone-faced agent riding shotgun (literally) and several lead and chase cars escorting him on his non-stop run. "Great story", I thought. "I bet he's lying" was my next thought.

Then he said, "You know all those cops you see on the roadside pointing laser guns at you?"

"Sure, I see them everywhere", I said.

He leered a bit, moved in close, and lowered his voice. "They're not checking your speed you know. They're counting money."

Thinking I had not heard him correctly, I asked him to repeat himself.

"That's right!", he continued. "All of this new money has a little chip in it that lets the feds do a quick count with a special gun they aim at passing cars. Helps them catch the drug traffickers."

The story from there degraded into an argument with me calling BS in a big way. It's got to be BS, right?

Now go hit up Google with a search on RFID and money. Kind of scary isn't it?

Some Thoughts on Privacy

I'm sitting here messing with a webcam tonight and I began thinking about privacy. What exactly brought on this train of thought, you ask?

Well, I happened to be IM'ing a friend of mine who lives across the street. I told him about the webcam and how I was using the Timershot PowerToy to run it, and he was appropriately unimpressed. Then, I pointed the cam out the window at his place and changed the text above the image on the webpage to "If the light is on, ____ is home."

At that point, it struck me: what is keeping anyone from doing this to anyone else? I certainly wouldn't want someone doing it to me, but there may be no way for me to stop it if someone were doing just this.

I am not a lawyer, so I have no idea if this is legal or not. Given that all the equipment is in my house and I'm merely webcamming something publicly visible (the exterior of an apartment building), is that illegal? Whether it's right or not is a whole different issue...I'm just curious whether it's breaking some privacy law or not.

Moreover, privacy is quickly becoming the most concerning issue in perpetuating the technology advances we've made over the past several years. Think of concerns related to RFID. Folks are taking a relatively benign technology, one that could potentially make a multi-billion dollar impact on supply chains the world over, and effectively halting its progress because of fears about protecting their privacy.

Spam is such a volatile issue because it both creates enormous waste and hassle, in terms of technology and human resources, and it threatens our privacy. An email address is a personal identifier, like a name, a social security number, or a telephone number, and to have someone selling and trading it like so much contraband is an affront to our sense of personal privacy.

So, what privacy threats do you most fear? Would you be OK with your neighbor across the way pointing a 24/7 webcam at your window?

United (Virtual) Nations

Helsinki, Finland is host to the first Summit of Micronations, the first ever meeting of virtual nations.

Participants include the Principality of Sealand, Neue Slowenische Kunst (NSK), the Kingdoms of Elgaland & Vargaland (KREV), Ladonia, the Transnational Republic, and a new state to be proclaimed at the summit - its flag pictured to the right - the State of Sabotage.

While hundreds of micronations exist, the six attending are pioneers. Ladonia, for example, is one of the fastest growing micronations, with over 10,000 citizens. It has a parliament, several political parties, a newspaper, and many other activities. Recently Ladonia received applications for asylum from ~3,000 Pakistani nationals. Ladonia recently declared war on Sweden, and may expand the front to include the US, as Ladonians "are sure that they have weapons of mass destruction."

High on the summit agenda will be the relevance of virtual nations to non-virtual nations. Delegations will reportedly accept applications for both citizenship and political asylum during the summit.

Madonna and Britney Make a Scene

The picture says it all...er, well, most of it, at least.

At the Video Music Awards last night, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera performed a piece together. The notable features of the performance were two kisses: Madonna first locking lips with Britney and then with Christina.

More photos can be found at the MTV website.

Is it just me, or do these pop singers seem to be getting a bit desperate to keep in the limelight?

Protests Over RFID Just Silly

Why is it that folks are protesting the use of RFID technology by companies like Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble, and others?

In case you haven't heard of RFID, it stands for Radio Frequency ID. The technology behind RFID is still being tweaked, but the idea is pretty straightforward. RFID tags are simple circuits that have some small amount of information (a few kb at most) embedded in them. These small tags "identify" themselves and broadcast their information when they pass within a few yards or feet of special radio-frequency sensors. The tags are inert until they receive power from the reader's wavefield. These RFID tags could be placed on things (e.g., pallets of shampoo or individual bags of dog food) so that products can be tracked throughout the supply chain and more accurate information can be had about inventory levels, locations of products in stores and warehouses, etc. Additionally, they could possibly be used in metro or rail passes, hotel door keys, etc. -- wherever a unique identifier is needed.

According to stories like "Privacy advocates call for RFID regulation" (CNET News.com), there is an organized and growing opposition to the further development and deployment of this technology (which is already in use by the US military). The opposition claims that RFID offers the significant potential for companies to invade our personal privacy more easily and extensively than they already do.

Even though I fully agree that privacy is something we need to protect, the RFID technology does not pose a more serious threat than anything else out there today for a few reasons.

First, getting a chip to broadcast its coded information requires a sensor. Installing these sensors everywhere is both expensive and troublesome. While a supermarket or department store might be able to recoup this expense, most businesses would not. A restaurant, for example, would be unlikely to be able to tag much of its products because they're eaten on-site. Moreover, the restaurant isn't going to have much interest in RFID tags a patron may already have on his/her person when he/she walks in, so what would be its financial return for installing these sensors?

Second, these sensors don't contain any information about you, just the products you purchase. They don't contain your social security number, your age, your address, or your credit card number. A large number of US shoppers have willingly signed up for discount cards at their neighborhood grocery stores. These cards effectively generate the same information that the RFID system would -- what you buy, when, and where. Obviously, a large number (perhaps a majority?) of US shoppers are willing to trade some privacy for cheaper groceries. While it's true that some tags can be re-written wirelessly (perhaps even using PDA or handheld computers), it's unlikely that tags on standard consumer items like toothpaste would have this capability.

Finally, RFID represents a potentially huge improvement in our ability to reduce prices and improve availability of the goods in our stores. By having better information about when and where products are at any given time, supply chain managers can make better decisions about purchasing, stock levels, renewal policies, etc., etc. Personally, if RFID helps the grocery store improve the likelihood that it has the products I want when I want them on its shelves, then I'm all for giving them some additional information.

Maybe it's just that I don't have anything to hide. Maybe I don't really care that anybody knows what I buy. Or maybe I'm just not paranoid enough for my own good. What do you think?

Oklahoma Law Double Plus Bad

Appearing on Wired is "Write a Story, Go To Jail," an article about Brian Robertson, an Oklahoma teen who was charged with a felony for writing a fictional account of an attack on a school. He was suspended from school and arrested under an Oklahoma statute that makes it illegal for anyone to "plan, attempt, conspire or endeavor to perform an act of violence involving or intended to involve serious bodily harm or death of another person."

If he is convicted for writing a piece of fiction, as he maintains and as the evidence so far seems to support, how can the state think it won't be overturned by a federal court? If someone writes a fictional account of a fictional person, perhaps even in the first person, planning an attack, under this Oklahoma law, it would be considered a felony. Moreover, the way this poorly drafted statute is worded, someone could be charged for merely thinking about such a story.

It doesn't seem plausible that this law will hold up to real scrutiny. This statute threatens not only free speech in the state of Oklahoma, but also free thought. George Orwell, author of 1984 should be held in higher regard than ever, since he seems to be turning out to be one of the most accurate prognosticators since Nostradamus.

Sobig.F Highlights the Growing Tech Gap

This morning, I received the following email (actual sender disguised):

Date: 04:34 AM EDT, 08/20/2003
From: t___.m___@n____.com
To: craig@memoware.com
Subject: Re: Re: My details

Not sure who you are or what the attached file is as I cannot open it

----- Original Message -----
From: craig@memoware.com
To: t___.m___@n____.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2003 11:15 PM
Subject: Re: Re: My details

> See the attached file for details

Obviously, TM (as I'll call her) received an email generated by someone (not me) infected with the Sobig.F worm that is making the rounds. Apparently, TM attempted to open the virus payload attached to this email and, by so doing, likely added her own computer to the growing list of Sobig.F's victims.

This simple email highlights a huge concern of mine: the world is becoming less and less able to deal with viruses, trojans, and other computer-based attacks like the Sobig.F worm. How long have we had viruses and worms and other problems for which anti-virus software was originally developed? A decade now? Yet more and more people are getting online without a clue as to how to protect themselves, their computers, and their data from these threats.

Moreover, the rate of technological change is constantly increasing. That sentence doesn't just mean that things are always changing, it means that things are changing faster all the time. This compounds the above problem of clueless users because it makes a larger and larger percentage of the online population incapable of keeping up with what is needed to practice safe computing. Computer-based threats are adapting and changing more rapidly than ever before, yet the typical user isn't learning any faster -- it's easy to see the problem this trend creates.

While we can continue to try to educate the masses about anti-virus software and firewalls and WEP and all the other security measures they should adopt, I think this is a losing battle. The "threat" is changing far too quickly for the majority of Internet users to keep themselves well-protected. So, what should we do?

One option would be to enforce a higher degree of centralized computing. Instead of giving consumers full-blown computers, they would be given dumb terminals by their ISPs and all their computing would happen via a centralized computing resource. This would permit a much higher degree of protection and would eliminate a lot of the problems users have with their computers. As many problems as this approach would solve, it can't overcome one big one: the desire of many (including me) to have 100% control over their computers. If you thought that NRA members were fanatical over their guns, think about how rabidly the geeks of the world would fight to protect their computers.

A second option would be to enforce better safeguards and mandate better security at the level of the operating system. Microsoft, which makes the OS that runs a majority of the world's desktop and laptop computers, has come under a great deal of criticism for its lax approach to security in the Windows product line. In response, Microsoft has announced that it is considering making Windows updates automatic rather than a user-enabled option.

While the specifics to this second approach -- beefing up security built into the OS -- are going to be tough to hammer out, it is probably the best solution to the growing range of computer-based threats. Let's hope that Microsoft is up to the challenge. And, if it is not, then let's hope that a more secure operating system can take the place of Windows before we have a catastrophic meltdown of the Internet.

Groceries to Go

At our house, a love of science fiction got us hooked on Amazon.com, and collecting porcelain got us hooked on eBay.

But guess what our household spends the most money online on? Groceries.

Online grocers are thriving - it turns out the key to survival was focussing on a local market, rather than "get big fast" like Webvan.

Our online grocer of choice is GroceryGateway.com. You place your order online (at competitive prices!), pick a delivery time, and a uniformed attendant delivers it straight to your door. For seniors, parents of small children, and those who spend far too much time online, it's nirvana!

GroceryGateway.com passed our first tests with eggs, milk, meats, vegetables. Now we're on our 27th order:

2 Campbell's Condensed Cream of Asparagus Soup
1 Cream - Whipping:Sealtest 500mL
1 Eggplant
1 Eggs - Extra Large:Gray Ridge 12 eggs
1 Eggs - Large:Gray Ridge 12 eggs
1 Frozen Orange Roughy 360-440 g
1 Golden Dragon Oyster Sauce 455ml
2 Green Giant International Mix - California Mix
1 Ground Beef - Lean 500g
2 Hunt's Thick & Rich Italian Style Pasta Sauce 680mL
2 Lacteeze Lactose Reduced Milk 2% 1 L
2 Lemons: Large
1 Meat Canelloni - Frozen: Queen's Pasta 5Lbs
3 Mori-Nu Soft Tofu 349g
1 Mushrooms : Whole White 227g Pkg
2 Natura Soy Beverage - Chocolate 1L
1 Onions: Green Bunch
1 Pork - Lean Ground: Medallion 500g
1 Pork Chops - Boneless Marinated BBQ, Medallion 380g - 420g
1 Pork Chops - Seasoned Boneless: Maple Leaf Medallion 418g
1 Squash : Butternut Cut & Peeled 1 lb. Pkg (454g)
1 Whole Chicken - Grade A 1.4Kg -1.6Kg

In other words, if you're in an area served by Peapod, Netgrocer, Pinkdot, or any of the other new new economy grocers, give them a try. You may be pleasantly surprised.

I, Consumer Robot

It's becoming clear: we are on the cusp of the robotic revolution.

For decades, robots have captured the imagination in science fiction. Most people, however, rarely have the opportunity to interact with anything that even remotely resembles the typical definition of a robot. Most robot installations are industrial, such as welding and material handling robots. Very few consumer robots have existed at the level where a large percentage of the population were even aware of them. That, however, is changing...and changing quickly.

Over the past handful of years, consumer-oriented robots have become increasingly varied, affordable, and compelling. Take some of these recent examples:

Robo Mower -- just what it sounds like, an electric, self-guided lawn mower.

Roomba -- perhaps one of the more successful personal robots to date (no doubt due to its low price), this autonomous floor sweeper is finding its way into very typical US homes.

Aibo -- this robotic dog-like home companion from Sony gets increasingly sophisticated with every revision.

Robo-Doc -- not actually a robot, but this remote controlled device provides a vehicle for interaction between patients and physicians who aren't physically co-located.

Emotive robots -- researchers at MIT, among other places, are getting more skilled at enabling robots with human-like interaction capabilities.

There's even evidence that people are starting to think of robots on a personal level, a sure sign that consumer adoption is headed upwards. With most innovation coming from Japan, it will be interesting to watch how these human-centric devices continue to evolve.

Gamma Rays Next Military Tool?

In the "Really Scary News" category comes a story from New Scientist about how weapons based on gamma ray explosives could be the next avenue of nuclear arms development...and proliferation.

"The explosive works by stimulating the release of energy from the nuclei of certain elements but does not involve nuclear fission or fusion. The energy, emitted as gamma radiation, is thousands of times greater than that from conventional chemical explosives."

The story goes on to describe how even "one gram of fully charged hafnium isomer could store more energy than 50 kilograms of TNT." Right now, production of the hafnium isomer is fairly limited, but experts predict gram quantities to be available within a handful of years.

Fun with 404

Try this: go to Google, type in "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Then, read carefully.

California Democrats Leave The Mic On

It's just the tip of the iceberg when compared to what really goes on behind the closed doors of our government, but this is so pathetic it's funny. The Washington Post and others are reporting about a little faux pas made by a group of California democrats. It seems they left on a microphone that picked up two hours of conversation centering around artificially extending the budget crisis there in order to push for tax increases. N-i-c-e.

Republicans Think US Should Use More Oil

An article today in Salon.com describes yet another brilliant piece of governance emanating from the US Congress:

For every bike commuter who proudly pedals to work under the mantra "one less car," Congress has a message for you: Get back on the highway where you belong, burning fossil fuel like a real American. That goes for you, too, you traffic-hazard pedestrians.

Fresh out of subcommittee, a new congressional transportation appropriations bill will entirely eliminate some $600 million worth of annual federal funding for bike paths, walkways and other such transportation niceties in fiscal year 2004.

The insensitivity of this decision to world events boggles the mind -- do these guys ever watch the news?!?

French Say No to E-mail: Nationalism, Prejudice, or Absurdity (you be the judge!)

According to Associated Press, the French government announced the stop of e-mail in all official government publications--that is the use of the word e-mail. According to AP, "the Culture Ministry has announced a ban on the use of "e-mail" in all government ministries, documents, publications or Web sites, the latest step to stem an incursion of English words into the French lexicon." Instead of e-mail, the ministry wants to use the term "Courriel," which is the fusion of two words "courrier electronique" (electronic mail).

Interestingly, most French Internet specialists called this "absurd" or "irrelevant." I know the French have been Anglophobic (now Americanphobic?), but this is getting ridiculous.

If you want to read more, go to USA Today's website.

Successfully Merging Government and Technology

Ohio is infamous for being a bit overzealous with its enforcement of speed-related traffic laws. Speeding tickets are handed out by the thousands every day from the Ohio state patrol, county sheriffs, city police, village police, township police, constables, detectives, park rangers (yes, really) and who knows who else. It's no wonder the Escort, Passport and the Valentine 1 were all invented here in the Buckeye state.

Ohio has a deadly efficient money harvesting system built around automobile law enforcement and thankfully, this efficiency has translated into something useful instead of harassing for Joe Citizen. Enter oplates.com....

In the bad old days when you wanted a customized plate for your vehicle, you went to the local Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) office (Argh!) and waited in line to ask for an application. You then filled out this application with your top three choices for a plate and mailed it off to Columbus. Weeks and weeks later you would either get your plates or a letter telling you your choices were not available or not approved. Try again.

A slightly better system emerged a few years back. You still had to go the BMV office (Argh!), but perched on their countertop was a rickety, old CRT that allowed you to enter your choices for a plate and get instant feedback. If you found a combination that clicked for you and the state, you stood in line for an application, filled it out and then waited weeks and weeks for your plates.

Oplates.com has done away with all that silliness. With this clean, efficient website you can instantly check availability of your custom plates on a multitude of snazzy plate backgrounds and then see a representation of the finished product. A few clicks later you enter your credit card, get a confirmation and in one week(!) your plates show up in the mail.

Now that's what I'm talking about!

Eminent Domain: Use vs. Abuse

In a nearby neighborhood, Norwood, OH, the town council is on the verge of abusing a very powerful governmental right: eminent domain (ED). In a nutshell, ED is defined as "the right of a government to appropriate private property for public use, usually with compensation to the owner." Note the words "public use," for that will be important later on. ED is most commonly used for highways and dams and other "public infrastructure" projects undertaken by local and federal agencies.

The issue at hand is a small area of land bounded by the highway on one side and involving around 100 parcels of land and buildings. Most of the buildings are private homes, but a few that line one busy street are businesses. The Norwood city council wants to declare this small neighborhood "blighted" so that it can force the residents and property owners to sell their property to a team of private developers: Anderson Real Estate and Miller-Valentine Group.

Anderson/Miller-Valentine want to demolish the 73 homes and small businesses in order to build Rookwood Exchange, a $125 million complex of offices, apartments, condominums, shops, restaurants, and parking garage. This would extend the Rookwood Commons/Pavilion developments further along the I-71 corridor.

The Rookwood developments are straight out of some suburban nightmare. Full of retail chain restaurants and stores, like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Longhorn Steakhouse, these developments do not reflect the uniqueness of the neighborhoods that surround them. The surrounding neighborhoods feature small, independently owned restaurants and businesses with a lot of character -- exactly the opposite of those establishments that the developers hope will occupy the new development. Moreover, these dense commercial centers create horrific traffic snarls by forcing several times more cars through intersections that were originally designed to handle simple residential traffic.

Beyond the aesthetics and quality of life issues, is there a legal problem with this scenario? It depends who you ask. Going back to the definition of eminent domain, the phrase "public use" now becomes important. The Norwood council insists that the development is important to the public good because it brings in much-needed tax revenue. This is "public use" by their definition, since the public will use the tax revenue in the form of roads and schools.

However, I can't see any direct "public use" of the development that Anderson/Miller-Valentine have in mind -- all the new structures will be privately owned. How then am I, a member of the public, supposed to make use of it? Are shopping and dining now valid forms of "public use?" If so, this bodes very badly for America. Property owners beware: no matter how well you keep your home and land maintained, if a developer wants it and can offer your community more tax dollars by building on your land than you already pay in property taxes, you too could find yourself "blighted" and forced to sell out. If this scares you as much as it scares me, check out norwoodblight.com, a website devoted to tracking and fighting this anti-citizen action.

Are All Americans African-Americans?

The recent discovery of the oldest human remains in Ethiopia dates the origins of modern man, homo sapiens sapiens, back to Africa.

This raises some interesting questions: wouldn't all Americans be African-Americans? Would that mean that a business owned by an African-American would no longer be a "minority-owned" business? Am I now allowed to wear FUBU clothing?

Curious questions, indeed. Discuss below via the Comments link...

Netscape: Victim of Neglect

Today, it was announced that AOL will license Internet Explorer from Microsoft for several more years in exchange for an out-of-court settlement and $750 million. This upsets me in that it seems quite likely to seal the fate of Netscape, which has been neglected by AOL ever since it was acquired back in 1998.

I've used Netscape since 1994. For nearly 10 years, I've enjoyed knowing that I supported one of the very "founding fathers" of the World Wide Web (back when it was actually referred to as that). Now, I don't want to sound too sentimental, for being a technology addict means you can't get too attached to any one piece of gear or tech in particular -- new things are always coming down the pike. But what irritates me the most is that Microsoft has now won the browser war -- effectively committing "browsercide" -- using the same tactics that it was sued for by the US government, yet it has faced no real consequences (other than an ever-increasing cash balance) for its anticompetitive, illegal actions.

While I have no compunctions against criticizing Microsoft when it needs bashing, I can also praise the Redmond giant when it does something right -- I think Windows XP and Office are two pretty darn good products, and I recommend them regularly. However, the way Microsoft has participated in its industry is shameful and merits corrective action. Moreover, we see the gains from those improper actions (i.e., its enormous cash reserves) being constantly employed to help extend its reach.

The past wrongs have not been corrected, and the fruits of those wrongs help Microsoft to perpetuate its will regardless of the appropriateness of those actions. Now, instead of hard-lining its competitors and partners the way it used to in the 1990's, today it can just spend its way to whatever solution it sees fit (e.g., the huge losses it sustains year over year in several product areas). That is testimony enough to suggest that we need to keep an ever-vigilant eye on the software industry in general, and Microsoft in particular.

Why Pay More!?

Perhaps this Meier's discount department store should have paid its Marketing department enough to hire someone with an 8th grade education. Maybe then they would have known that questions, such as "Why Pay More?" end in question marks (hence the name).

One-Time Courtesy

My ISP at home is Roadrunner (cable). I've been a Roadrunner subscriber since 1998 in two different states, so I'm a pretty loyal customer (I spend about $80 a month on my cable bill). Last night, lightning struck down the block from us and it fried our cable modem -- no matter what I tried, it wouldn't recognize any PC or router I attached to it. So I called Roadrunner tech support.

After humoring the Level 1 tech support girl and trying several things (all of which I had either already tried or knew wouldn't work), she referred me to Level 3 tech support. I usually enjoy talking with L3 support folks quite a bit more than the lower level minions, for at least at L3, they realize I'm not some schmuck with a loose LAN cable. They were out for evening, so I called back again this morning.

The guy doesn't even bother asking me to check stuff -- he just asks whether I want to go pick up a replacement cable modem at the local store or have a tech come to the house. I first asked for a tech to come, and scheduled it for Wednesday morning (2 days from now). Thinking about having to be without net service at home for 2 more nights caused me to ask where the nearest store was -- it turned out to be only 2 miles from my house.

So, I asked the guy to cancel the call, as it was easier for me to go to the store. He replied, "No, just try the swapped out modem they give you and call us back to cancel the visit if it works. If it doesn't, we'll be out Wednesday morning to check things out." He then gave me a job code to give to the person at the store when I swapped out the modem.

I get to the store and walk up to the first (of 4) reps behind the desk to acknowledge me. I give her my phone number and name and she looks my case up on her computer. At this point, here's our conversation:

Rep: "Well, because it appears that you are scheduled to have a tech come out on Wednesday, I can't give you a cable modem here."

Me: "Well, I'm just doing what the level 3 tech told me to do...I have a job number if that would help."

Rep: "Hmm...we're not supposed to give out modems..."

Me: "Let's call the tech I spoke to so we can clear this up."

Rep: "You didn't let me finish. While we're not supposed to give out hardware if there's a visit scheduled, I'll make an exception this once as a one-time courtesy."

OK, let me get this straight. I'm the customer. This rep owes her job to the fact that I pay for her company's services. And she's doing ME a favor?

Moreover, I'm taking time out of my day and saving her company about $150 by not having to send out a tech on Wednesday morning to my house. And she's doing ME the courtesy?

Finally, why is this a "one-time" thing? Does she think I enjoy taking out my Internet connection for a few hours while I shuttle Roadrunner's equipment to its lame little strip-mall store and dealing with surly customer service reps? Am I going to make a habit of this if she doesn't emphasize that this is a "one-time" favor?

Come on, get real. That's just sad. Roadrunner, I hope you're listening. Train your customer service reps these three simple things:

1) They have jobs *only* because customers need help, so if they're not happy about helping customers, they don't need their jobs.

2) Customer time is more valuable than service rep time.

3) Nothing a service rep can do for a customer is a "favor" or a "courtesy" -- if it can be done, it *should* be done, simply in the name of keeping loyal customers happy.

On Animals

I am highly conflicted about animals.

More specifically, I'm utterly at odds with myself regarding humans' dual role as both killer and protector of non-human animals.

On one hand, I eat meat. Like my genetic ancestors and most primates, I am an omnivore. The ability to hunt efficiently enough to engage in a diet rich in meat has been credited with the development of man's enormous and highly developed (by comparison to other animals) brain. Therefore, it seems appropriate to continue to eat meat, for I'd hate to think that an intellectual aversion to doing so would one day mean the reversal of this trend towards higher brain development.

So, in this interest, it seems appropriate that we raise animals for food, such as the beef cattle and other livestock that get sacrificed to feed the ever-growing human organism populating this planet. Part of me really wants to believe that these animals wouldn't have even been conceived without this "need," so the life they enjoy is entirely due to the mortal sacrifice their destinies require of them. However, I know too well that many livestock animals lead lives that are altogether unpleasant -- crammed together in tiny stalls and forced to exist in an environment wholly unlike what an animal's "natural" state would be. Am I sure that an animal raised in industrial farm conditions knows enough to be displeased at its state? No, but I suspect it's true.

This is where the conflict starts. Yet, it's only the start. When I begin thinking about man's overtly negative impact on wild animals of almost every sort, my thoughts turn simultaneously angry, sad, and fearful. It angers me that man has performed, and continues to perform, such stupid acts as hunting animals to extinction, hunting them for fun or sport, and wantonly devastating habitat for the simple sake of convenience or personal profit. I'm sad at the thought that a wild animal suddenly finds its life without support by the environment in which it was raised, ultimately leading to its premature, and often awful, death. I'm fearful that countless animals will be entirely snuffed out without any hope of protection or reinvigoration.

Nature taking its own life does not trouble me. The lion bringing down a gazelle represents the balance that supports life, enables diversity, and fosters the ecological process. In contrast, what man has created in the way of industry, firearms, petrochemicals, and the other products of "civilization," has long since left the realm of "nature." Now, when man kills an animal, it is rarely "natural."

The assassination of a deer with a 30-06 rifle is likely done for sport, regardless of whether the meat is eventually consumed by the hunter or his family. There is rarely a true "need" for this act to happen, for the prevalence of commercially available meat is so widespread as to make hunting for most of the world's populace anything but a necessity.

The industrial destruction of natural habitat is a travesty far worse.
The slaughter of a hundred forest mammals and birds by the felling of a single giant tree under the lumberjack's chainsaw represents an immeasurable loss. The draining or befouling of a wetland, whether intentional or accidental, by a commercial facility can only be compared to the acts of genocide now tried in international court. The continued destruction of natural forestland and wetland is one of the great tragedies of the recent century, and it looks to be continuing with relatively unchecked fervor into the 21st. Not only is the lumberjack or the oil worker making a personal decision to contribute to this destruction, the lumber or oil company, and, in fact, every consumer of virgin wood or petroleum products produced by these firms, are contributing to this devastation. While the trees or waters themselves are not likely to be mourned, the ecosystems and natural environments they support will be sorely missed when they are eventually gone.

Does man have a right to impose his will on the "lower" animals? Does might, or higher intelligence, actually make right? Why does our sense of morality that requires us to help those unable to help themselves, such as through charity, not consistently extend to animals? How is a pheasant supposed to be able to defend itself against a well-armed hunter? How are elephants in Africa supposed to be able to protect their natural habitat from developers or protect themselves from poachers? If a human kills a wild animal, we herald him as a brave hunter, but when a wild animal returns the favor, we see this as a heinous affront and seek its immediate destruction. Why is there such an inconsistency? Why do we do less to ensure wild animals enjoy some form of protection from intentional or incidental harm at our hands than we try to do for our fellow humans when the animals are far less able to protect themselves from us than we are from each other? Why does the protection of dogs and cats in the USA, two classes of animals hardly approaching extinction, generate more financial support every year than the aid of endangered species across the world? These things make no sense to me.

Every time I pass a roadkill, I mourn. Every time I see a hunter, I condemn. Every time I hear of new construction, I fret. But almost every time I order dinner, it contains meat.

I am highly conflicted about animals.

Good Blogging, Mike

Mike Rohde's weblog, at www.rohdesign.com is a definite class act and a good read. Not only does Mike know how to blend graphics and text into a pleasing environment, he has a knack for picking out some darn interesting tidbits from the technological landscape. This is a definite regular read for yours truly....check it out, as it might make your daily list as well.

e-Fraud(R)

I just saw Catch Me If You Can, a fairly interesting and entertaining film. It takes some dramatic licenses, but generally describes some of the interesting and clever frauds and cons perpetrated by Frank Abagnale in the late 1960's. Throughout the movie, Abagnale is shown creating fake documents of all types -- checks, diplomas, etc. He does this using a variety of manual techniques, such as stenciling, forgery, press-printing, and so on.

What occurred to me at some point during the movie was how very differently so much of the identity theft and fraud happens today. Granted, there is still a lot of check forging and so on, but many of the techniques and scams that Abagnale used are now either completely impossible or very unlikely to be effective on any significant sums of money. So many financial networks employ interlinked information systems that the detection of suspect behavior is likely to be found much sooner. Recently, I bought airline tickets to Australia. My credit card company thought that was a bit strange, so they called me the next day. You think a person is looking these things over? No way -- some fraud detection routine found this transaction fishy and flagged my account for checking up.

Better technology also contributes to this reduction in the efficacy of Abagnale's traditional tricks because the delays in handing off information from one entity/corporation/government body to another in the chain have been greatly reduced. What used to take 2 weeks just to transfer (physically) can now be transmitted, processed, and reconciled in just a few days, if not hours. Relying on this "float" time to commit fraud is getting harder and harder to do.

However, these same systems that have eliminated a lot of the opportunity for traditional fraud schemes have opened up new opportunities -- the occurrence of digital fraud is increasing rapidly and a lot of it can be done from the convenience of a living room, a dorm room, or a public library. Wherever Internet-accessible computers can be found, fraud can be attempted, if not committed. From the rather pathetic emails we all get to the semi-intelligent attempts at stock manipulation to the theft of credit card information, the opportunities for large-scale fraud are greatly expanded as everything becomes digital. While Abagnale had to print each physical check out individually, today's digital thieves can steal and/or manipulate thousands of records/transactions/accounts almost simultaneously and from nearly anywhere on the planet.

The opportunities for "really bad things" happening are impressive. While I'm nowhere near keeping my money under the mattress or in the cookie jar, I am fairly careful about dealing primarily with companies having reputations for decent security. While "your friend Bob" might be a great investor and a Certified Financial Analyst, if he's keeping your portfolio details on the PC in his home office, which also happens to be attached to a cable modem, and he doesn't know what a firewall is, you might think twice before handing him a big ol' check, your social security number, and your mother's maiden name. Just a thought.