« Random News Snippets | Main | How to kill the spychips in your credit card »
March 24, 2006
Random News Snippets - Part II
More from the many open windows on my desktop.
-Katherine Albrecht
Decent overview on RFID and risks from ITWorld Canada
"Many technology cheerleaders are naïve and short-sighted about the way technology is, can or will be used," says Philippa Lawson, executive director at the Canadian Internet Policy & Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC). "People have not thought through the societal implications of RFID. Is this the direction we want to be heading, giving the capability to third parties to engage in ubiquitous and surreptitious surveillance?"
Wal-Mart bank draws more congressional fire
"...due to Wal-Mart's scope and international dealings, financial problems within the company might damage the bank and disrupt the U.S. payments system....Other opposition has focused on the historic separation of banking and commerce in the United States. Some say Wal-Mart could drive community banks out of business."
I've been saying for some time now that Wal-Mart's size and retail dominance means it will someday be able to call the shots on our payment options. This threat that should be taken seriously whether or not Wal-Mart's banking bid succeeds.
First MIT looks at tagging living things, now it looks at tagging everything else
"Unit level tagging is becoming increasing important in many applications today. Last month, we heard about tagging living things. A lot of emphasis was on unit level tagging. At this session, we’ll continue the focus on unit level tagging but with a twist --
"embedded" RFID tagging!! " (<-- Note those crazy exclamation points!)
More on robotic fish -- the 2004 version
The entry below contains a link to robotic fish that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing, were it not for their coloration. Here are photos of their mechanical innards and the first attempts to get them to "swim." (These things make my skin crawl.)
Visa offers "mini" spychipped payment card (Requires subscription)
Convenient! Contactless! Keychain ready! Creepy as hell!
"Visa USA has launched a new Visa Contactless Mini Card - a small form-factor contactless payment card (about half the size of a traditional payment card), which can be attached to a key ring.... Like many customer loyalty cards that have used the format successfully, the idea is to add a little convenience for the consumer by removing the need to delve into wallets and purses at the point of sale. Visa worked with its card technology partners to reduce the size of the antenna needed, and the miniature contactless solution can also now be embedded in other form factors, such as 3D key fobs, mobile phones and other handheld devices."
Police call on citizens to watch spy cams
"Soon-to-be-chosen residents [of East Orange, NJ] will get access to a a Web site that provides panoramic views of their block, allows them to type in general complaints, pinpoint a problem location, immediately send that information to police headquarters, and simultaneously activate hidden police surveillance cameras..." This is particularly creepy to me, since I've had a screenplay based on this in mind for several years now. I hope the "real life" version doesn't go the way the film version does.
RFID: Invading Women's Underwear?
One of our favorite foils, Bert Moore of AIM Global, revisits the industry's underwear tagging conundrum in this brief overview commentary.
Idahoans grow concerned over NAIS animal tagging plans
"The enormity of tagging and electronically tracking every animal in the United States hit home to livestock owner and 4-H Club leader Maria Brown recently when her Cassia County extension office informed her that 4-H steers in the county would be required to have radio frequency identification/electronic identification (RFID/EID) tags this year.
Another surprise, she said, was when the extension office asked if she had registered her "premises" (farm,ranch,acreage) with the state."
Agriculture Secretary Johanns says all systems go for animal tagging
This man is living in a dream world if he thinks people are quietly accepting NAIS. According to the article “People have generally accepted animal ID who are in the industry and want us to move forward,†said Secretary Johanns in audio from the Thursday news conference provided by the USDA. Huh? Which USA is Johanns living in?
British growing grumpy about National ID plans (Hooray!)
"The insidious erosion of our civil liberties will accelerate dramatically if the government wins the battle over identity cards...You may have noticed the vaguely menacing tone of recent government advertising campaigns. Here is a current example: 'If you know a business that isn't registered for tax, call the Revenue or HM Customs - no names needed.' Another says: 'Technology has made it easier to identify benefit cheats.' Whether the campaign is about rape, TV licences or filling in your tax form, there is always a we-know-where-you-live edge to the message, a sense that this government is dividing the nation into suspects and informers."
Media Cover-up: Leading Journalists Expose Major Cover-ups in Media
Having seen this process first hand, I was fascinated by these journalists' reports on how the news they were working on was suppressed, censored, and deep-sixed.
Tech policy commentator grows scared of retail surveillance tech
John R. Levine writes: "Last week I had lunch with an old friend who designs and sells video chips. He told me about an RFP they got from a large retailer. (He didn't say which one.) They want to install a grid of little cameras on the ceiling of their stores that can track people as they walk around the store, starting from when they walk in the door until they leave. The grid would be self-organizing, adjacent cameras talking to each other and handing off trackees to each other...."
Posted by Katherine Albrecht at March 24, 2006 1:26 PM
Comments
New Zealand Farmers Fight On Over Microchips
Farmers are standing firm in their opposition to government plans to microchip all dogs.
The Cabinet has decided not to exempt farm dogs from new legislation which makes microchipping compulsory.
Prime Minister Helen Clark says there should be one law for all dogs. That decision has incensed the rural community and Federated Farmers says it will do nothing to encourage farmers to comply with the law.
President Charlie Pedersen says it is clear that farm dogs are no risk to the public. He says members are incensed and will take public, long-lasting action.
http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11964-5581783,00.html
28/03/2006 NewstalkZB
Posted by: at March 27, 2006 7:15 PM