Confessions of a Digital Immigrant

Computers are reading our minds

2010-04-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

If you thought mind reading was only for psychics and fortune tellers, think again. Intel Corporation has recently showcased software that can analyze brain scans, via MRIs, to determine what people are thinking about.

In a recent test the software was 90% accurate in its prediction of which two words a person was thinking about. According to Intel Labs researcher Dean Pomerleau, this technology will put humans one step closer towards controlling technology with our minds.

In a 1992 Newsweek article, we were informed that once the human brain was under a scanner that neuroscientists would be able to watch our thought patterns move along our neural networks. Less than 10 years later, we're wearing electrode covered caps writing letters and playing pinball via our minds, without using our hands.

If Intel's technology is any indication, we're moving closer to a future where, according to Clemens Holzner of g.tec, "people will be able to control wheelchairs, open doors and turn on their televisions with their minds."

Beware of job scams

2010-01-21T22:51:00.000-08:00

These days finding work is very challenging. In addition to the brutal economy, there are cyber criminals preying upon those who are desperate to find work.

One famous scam is the 'Account Manager' position. For this position you're asked to process payments for a company's client. The compensation is promised to be high with the minimal requirements being to have a bank account, to be at least 18 years old and to have an Internet connection and email. The minimal requirements for the job are typically a flexible work schedule, career advancement, home-based opportunities and the ability to take unlimited vacations. If this seems too good to be true that's because it is. To safeguard against these scams, one should be sure not to give out one's bank account or social security number, take notice of non-professional emails or those typically from Yahoo or Gmail, and/or lots of errors in the message.

Be safe out there!

Have a great New Year!

2010-01-01T22:56:00.000-08:00

May we all have a wonderful New Year!

Tattle-telling on the boss?

2009-12-16T01:43:00.000-08:00

Need a little extra holiday cash? Well, if you're an employee in London, snitching on your boss might pay big dividends this holiday season.

While we know that software piracy is a huge problem, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) is going to pay employees who alert the organization that their boss is using pirated software. In London, the payout can be as high as $32,000.

This isn't the first time BSA had such a campaign. A 'Nail Your Boss' campaign took place in the United States in 1997. The BSA is made up of about 80 companies, including Microsoft and Apple.

Given the tough economic climate, the campaign is expected to be very successful. According to the BSA, a whopping 41% of all software is pirated.

The power of social media

2009-12-09T16:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, so DARPA, that secretive and sometimes downright spooky research arm of the Defense Department (which totally intrigues me) put out a challenge to find 10 moored, 8-foot, red, weather balloons at 10 fixed locations. The balloons were strategically scattered around the United States and nine days were allowed to find the balloons for a $40,000 winning prize. So, imagine DARPA's surprise when the contest was won in under nine hours. How? Read here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/dec/07/darpa-challenge

Too dependent on technology?

2009-11-29T23:48:00.000-08:00

Today, most of us depend on various technologies for our daily lives, whether it's Google, Facebook, texting, email and/or our cell phones. We've even heard about President Obama's Blackberry dependence. So, like the rest of us, could he also be too dependent on technology to carry out the simplest of tasks? Let's check with the hilarious Onion News Network:

Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner

Your directorial debut

2009-11-22T23:44:00.000-08:00

As you've probably heard by now, the movie Paranormal Activity, made on a $11,000 budget, has become a huge box office success. And now, thanks to accessible gadgets, you can also become a director. A good script, help from friends and/or family, and a little ingenuity just might be your ticket to the big league.

One item that will help you get there and that I find truly amazing is today's camcorder. I remember when camcorders were big, bulky and expensive. While they weren't totally out of the reach of every day folk, you would have to spend more than a few dollars to own one. Today, you can get a HD digital video camera for about $200...and some even fit in your pocket. The Flip camera is pretty cool. Also, Apple's iPhone has a pretty cool camera that's all the rave on Flickr.

So, if you've ever had aspirations to become a director now is a great time to put your talents to the test. Paranormal Activity grossed $22 million in its first weekend with a full wide release. Just think, the next great flick might have your name on it.

Are the French right?

2009-11-16T01:10:00.000-08:00

Whether it's ideal skin or flawless hair, everyday we're inundated with images of perfection. It's no wonder that advertisers spend so much money showing us their products. As we know, these images can result in increased dollars for advertisers as we seek to attain or obtain that which we see in those images.

But can these images do any damages to our psyches? According to French officials, yes. And this is why France is considering requiring advertisements, art photos, press photos, or any product that's been digitally altered to carry a disclaimer "Photograph retouched to modify the physical appearance of a person." Failures to include this disclaimer could result in $50,000 or more or up to half the cost of the ad campaign. Yes, you read that correctly!

Now, if you've used Photoshop, you know it's a very powerful application. From simple and subtle changes and smoothing out the rough edges to deleting or adding objects/people into an image to editing video images and more, anyone who uses this software has some pretty amazing power over the creation process. And it's this amazing power that some would prefer to disclose as being Photoshop.

So what do you think about Photoshop disclaimers? Would that work in the U.S.? I'm sure there would be some backlash. But then again, some might prefer to show us that life isn't, well, perfect. Who knows, maybe 'au naturel' might become vogue.

The amazing growth of the Internet

2009-11-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

Here's a little Internet trivia for ya'. According to Internet WorldStats, there are a whopping 1,733,993,741 people online. In other words, approximately one out of four people are Internet users. That's a lot of folks. Also, the top 10 languages are as follows:

English, 478 million users
Chinese, 384 million users
Spanish, 137 million users
Japanese, 96 million users
French, 79 million users
Portuguese, 73 million users
German, 65 million users
Arabic, 50 million users
Russia, 45 million users
Korean, 37 million users
All the rest, 290 million users

And check this out:
YouTube – 445 million users, 1 billion+ video views each day, 20+ hours of video uploaded each minute
Facebook – 390 million users, 6 billion minutes spent each day
Twitter – 55 million users, 5 thousand tweets per second during peak times

The Internet continues to amaze and astound. Growth is projected to be in mobile internet (note the growth in iPhone and iTouch devices), which, according to some, is expected to outpace desktop internet applications.

Ahhh, the amazing power of the Internet. Who knows what the future holds? Well, hang onto your hat as we'll soon find out!

Do we have a God complex?

2009-11-08T23:35:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, November 1st, Beijing experienced unseasonal snow fall for 11 hours. It's said that it was heavy and arrived early. OK! So what, you say. Who cares what the weather is like in China, right? Well, what's odd about this story is that China is claiming that the snow was manufactured, in other words, man-made. Yes, China claims that it's in the weather modification business and plans to seed the clouds to help with its lingering drought.

Now, before we jump all over China, the country is not alone in experimenting with such techniques. The United States has done so and continues to be interested in such weather modification abilities. But there's doubt among some scientists that it works at all. They call into question the ability to know if modification techniques worked or if the weather would have occurred anyway.

Referred to as geoengineering, the techniques comprising this area are creating a lot of buzz among investors. Yet there's concern that geoengineering our environment might be dangerous. Could this ability be used as a weapon? What might happen if a few people get hold of such techniques, could they hold the rest of the world hostage? Interestingly enough, the 1976 Environmental Modification Convention was designed to stop nations from meddling with each others weather. Hmmm...

So, the next time it rains or snows, we might be more inclined to ponder if this came from the sky naturally or if such weather is a human invention.

The saga comes to a town near you

2009-11-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

This post is for all the Star Wars fans. If you are one, like myself (BTW, a die-hard fan) then you must go see the Star Wars Concert. You'll do yourself a grave disservice if you miss this wonderful event. Trust me! It's incredible! In case you didn't know, a live orchestra plays to carefully edited Star Wars clips. I absolutely loved it!

There were also amazing costumes on display as well as the actual miniature ships for all to see. What got my attention was some production clips from the actual making of the movie. It's truly amazing what technology can do within the realm of movie making. And all this from the mind of George Lucas. A true genius!

Perhaps more amazing is the longevity of Star Wars. There were kiddies there who anxiously awaited to take a picture with the Star Wars characters, especially Darth Vader. I was also glad that the kiddies were privy to a live symphony orchestra. There's truly something magical that happens when such beautiful music is made.

I can't write enough about the phenomenal Star Wars soundtrack. I played the flute for about 10 years, so that instrument is still near and dear to my heart and it can be prominently heard throughout the music. As a youngster, I had the sheet music and played the theme all the time. This concert brought certainly back such pleasant memories.

Once again, I definitely recommend this wonderful and amazing concert. The narration by Anthony Daniels, AKA C-3PO, really put one in the spirit of the evening. Do yourself a favor, go see it!

Stop the madness!

2009-10-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

Ok, call me crazy, but why do we need legislation banning texting while driving? Shouldn't people know that texting while driving can be deadly? Don't you hear a 'duh'? In fact, according to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, research shows that 6,000 people a year die because they're driving while texting. Admittedly, I can barely talk on the phone behind the wheel. I simply can't wrap my brain idea around the idea of texting while driving. I text a lot, but behind the wheel of a car? This is utter madness.

If Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) have their way, the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009 will ban texting while driving, which also includes checking email, using a PDA or a GPS unit. This ban also seeks to put an end to drivers who make calls without using a headset. There's also a bill introduced by Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the Alert Drivers Act. And President Obama has already moved on this ban by issuing an executive order that will bar federal employees from texting while driving if using a government car or mobile device. And even Arnold the Governator has outlawed texting while driving in California.

My, have times changed. When I was growing up cell phones were not the norm. In fact, it wouldn't be until 1984 that we (the masses) would see cell phones, which were about the size of a brick and cost around a hefty $4300. The idea of a phone in the car was reserved for the rich...and we only saw this in movies.

Of course, now everyone has a cell phone. And everyone is texting, which is fine, but behind the wheel of a car? Let's put this madness to an end...and not too soon.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

2009-10-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'll admit that I couldn't quite figure out how Wall Street could boast about making so much money so quickly after the near collapse of the financial system. How could that be, I wondered? Well, once again, technology provides one of the answers to this puzzling question.

As you probably know, electronic exchanges put stock trading on steroids. As such, gone were the days when buyers and sellers gathered on the floor hashing out a deal. Today, they're on the floor, but powerful algorithms can make the difference between earning millions of dollars or losing that amount. And thanks to high-frequency trading, powerful Wall Street systems that tend to outsmart all other computers and humans, companies engaging in this type of trading are reaping huge benefits.

Yet, this new form of trading isn't without controversy and the SEC is investigating certain aspects of this practice. Due to their speed, these computers can spot trends before others and change orders at the blink of an eye. So, if you want to know why there's such an increase in stock exchanges, high-frequency trading is one area to investigate.

Check out this hilarious clip on Wall Street's latest strategy.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Cash Cow - High-Frequency Trading

www.thedailyshow.com

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To Facebook or not Facebook - That is the question

2009-10-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

According to Don Tapscott, author of the book Grown Up Digital, "the debate over banning Facebook is a typical case of boomer employers just not getting it." He believes that employers should let their employees cool off by taking a break using Facebook.

While Mr. Tapscott might think using Facebook on the job is a good idea, more than half of the companies in the US don't allow employees to visit Facebook or other social networking sites like Twitter or MySpace while at work. Of those companies that do allow their employees to visit social networking sites doing so is only allowed for business purposes.

In the not-too-distant past many employers banned email. Now companies can't imagine doing business without it. We shall see if the same shift will occur with today's social networking sites.

For more, read: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g46V1qCXwiXcfAP9LXT5kAnXuA9w

All that data

2009-10-11T23:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I confess, I've always been in awe of spies. And yes, I've seen every James Bond movie. What I find most fascinating about these movies are all of Bond's gadgets. They're amazing and Bond has all kinds of information at his fingertips. When I read about spying these today, I find myself again in awe of the truly astronomical amount of data that some of today's spy agencies are able to capture, enough to certainly make Mr. Bond's jaw drop. Take for instance the NSA (National Security Agency). According to James Bamford, author of the book 'The Shadow Factory', this agency collects so much information that it, "may be rapidly moving from measuring the data by the petabyte to measuring it by the exabyte, which is 1,000 petabytes." Now to help you digest this, "200 petabytes equals all of the printed material." Bamford informs us that "five exabytes (5,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes) represents enough information to fill 37,000 new Libraries of Congress." To help you visualize this much information, envision a "thirty-foot stack of books for every man, woman, and child on the planet" and you can begin to understand the agency's collection of an incredible amount of information. It should come as no surprise that the NSA's analysis makes up about 60% of the information in the President's daily intelligence briefing. But it doesn't stop here, according to the MITRE Corporation, a septillion pages of text will be captured. By the way, that's
(1, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) pages of text. It's no wonder that the Agency is building a one million square foot $2 billion building in Utah that will use the same amount of energy as every house in Salt Lake City combined. Wow! Imagine what James Bond could do with that amount of information. With this amount of data, the world of spying gets more interesting.

Bombing the moon?

2009-10-09T00:37:00.000-07:00

Hang on to your hat. Today is the big day. The moon gets hit.

Poof that data away

2009-10-04T23:48:00.000-07:00

When I grew up, if you wrote something embarrassing, you'd just erase it, tear up the paper and toss it. However, deleting an embarrassing message in our digital age isn't so easy.

If you've every posted a message that you couldn't delete, you know that stomach turning feeling. That 'uh oh' response when you realized that it was gone and that blowback was coming. Well, hang on to your nerves, you just might be in luck should that ever happen again.

Thanks to some computer scientists at the University of Washington, that message, with the help of software called 'Vanish', just might be what the computer doctor ordered. This self-destructing data will allow the user to delete that message and be saved from the embarrassment of posting something in haste or during a less-than-sober moment.

Now, before you get too excited, even with this software, this doesn't mean that that message will disappear forever. Someone could have copied your message via screenshots or even printed out. Interestingly enough, other computer scientists came up with software called 'Unvanish' to counter the Vanish software. So let the battle begin.

But just pondering the ability to have your data self-destruct is a quite interesting. Kinda James Bondish stuff. However, we'll need to rethink this if the bad guys get access.

From days to seconds to do that job

2009-09-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

Offshore outsourcing is a very emotional topic. Just start talking about the jobs that are leaving and those that are coming and you can be sure that the discussion will get heated.

What often gets lost in the conversation is what's getting outsourced, where, and to whom...or perhaps more accurately - to what. According to Daniel Pink, author of the wonderful book, A Whole New Mind, once upon a time programmer jobs were plentiful. Of course, this is no longer the case as many of these jobs are outsourced, but not always to a human. According to Pink, a small British company called Appligenics has "created software that can write software." Re-read that sentence! He says that the average computer programmer can write about 400 lines of code per day. Well, the Appligenics applications can write 400 lines of code in less than a second! Whoa!

We know that automation is ushering in sweeping changes in many professions. I can only wonder just how advanced and "smart" our technology will become and what will happen when the technological advancements surpasses human intelligence. The future promises to be interesting.

Beware of the so-called credit card investigators

2009-09-26T01:07:00.000-07:00

ID theft is such a big problem that I want to mention it again here in this post. Not sure if you've heard about the following scam, but if not, you'll want to be prepared. There are people calling unsuspecting victims on the phone posing as credit card fraud investigators. Their purpose? To steal your sensitive credit card account information.

Here's the scam. These fraudsters call and pretend that they're investigating a "questionable" charge that you may want to dispute. As part of the scam, they'll ask you to verify the three-digit security code on the back of your card. As you know, this is a sensitive number and enables anyone who has it, along with your credit card number, to make unauthorized charges to your card. Never give out this number. And note that your credit card company will never ask you for this number.

If you, or someone you know, provided such information, be sure to call the credit card company and explain what happened. Also, if you have any questions, always call the number on the back of your card. And if someone leaves a number on your answering machine, make sure it's that same one on the back of your card. If not, use the number on the card.

ID thieves are very creative...and unfortunately, very successful, especially in this economy. They will employ any means necessary in an effort to separate you from your money and an economic climate like the one we're currently in serves as a breeding ground for all kinds of nasty tricks. This means they'll use deceit or coercion to get information to do bad things. So it behooves us to be mindful of anyone calling us inquiring about such information. Remember, only 1 in 700 of these guys are caught. But if we're aware of such scams, we can help to lessen their success. So, let's do our part to catch these guys.

Only 1 in 700 are caught

2009-09-22T23:48:00.000-07:00

GEEZ! As if identify theft isn't scary enough, just imagine only 1 in 700 identity thieves ever getting arrested. Well, this is true and according to the Federal Trade Commission, victims of identify theft spend over 400 hours trying to get their credit restored. And if this isn't bad enough oftentimes the victim doesn't find out that s/he is a victim until a whopping 12 months later. YIKES!

While there are many public networks available, in places like Starbucks, tempting us to connect to the Internet, we need to remember that doing anything more than browsing the Internet isn't a good idea. If we log into our Facebook page from these places we tend to forget that usernames and passwords travel in plain text making it easy for identity thieves to 'e-grab' our information.

Our country is very open, friendly and a target-rich environment for those who don't have our best interests at heart. While we want to share information, we have to keep in mind that Internet criminals are out there and Internet crime is a serious problem that causes real damage and losses for the victims.

Big leaps towards the future

2009-09-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, so you think you've seen most of today's robots. Well, hang on to your hat. We now have robots that can make big leaps...literally. Big deal? You betcha. The one you're about to see will be able to leap about 25 feet once it's completed. With its powerful leg, Boston Dynamics, the company that's building this little autonomous bot, says that it will save military lives by providing reconnaissance. The company expects the robot to be delivered next year. The project is funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).

A dangerous trend?

2009-09-16T23:51:00.000-07:00

There's a lot of discussion in our country about education. Debates continue about public and private schools, which ones are better, should vouchers be an option.

One area that concerns me is the increased plagiarism that's taking place among today's students. I've been teaching for more than seven years and continue to see an increase in the instances of plagiarism. Now, I've just read that many students are buying papers instead of making an effort to write them. I've caught a few students attempting to submit bought papers, but was hoping this wasn't a trend. (http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hPzGjoFyb4Nu_9ZbtQcJU6aRjhhQ) Not good!

I can certainly say that when I was in school, "buying" a paper wasn't an option for myself or my friends. Not only did the thought not enter our conscience, but we didn't have the money to do so. In addition, we would have feared the consequences of getting caught.

In a time when North American students will be competing fiercely with students from around the world, buying paper does them a grave disservice on many levels. Today's students need to understand that their geographic location won't necessarily give them a competitive advantage for the workplace in a world of increasing offshore outsourcing. Now is the time for them to do their best, because as President Obama recently said, not everyone will be a celebrity...and from what I see on TV these days, hopefully not every one wants to be.

2009-09-12T23:54:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for Google! When I was growing up there was no Google, no search engine that could provide an instant response to a research topic, and no 24x7 online library. But today, with an incredible free database at one's fingertips, one can hardly remain ignorant about history. Yet, as you'll soon read, we have some very interesting interpretations of history from some of today's college students. Below are some responses to exams and term papers about historical topics, (misspellings belong to the students):

"Rulers were entitled Faroes. A famed one was King Toot. It was a special custom among them not to marry their wives".

"Mesapatamia was squigged in a valley near the Eucaliptus river. Flooding was erotic".

"The history of the Jewish people begins with Abraham, Issac, and their twelve children. Judyism was the first monolithic religion. It had one big God named "Yahoo." Old Testament profits include Moses, Amy, and Confucius, who believed in Fidel Piety. (One of the only reasons Confucius was born was because of a Chinese tradition).

Hilarious! As a child I recall a popular public service announcement that ran all the time - RIF (Reading is Fundamental). Perhaps this PSA needs to be re-aired :)

BTW: These come from the book - Non Campus Mentis by Professor Anders Henriksson.

The cyber crime landscape

2009-09-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

My oh my! It seems as if the cyber criminals are really racking up the money...and lots of it. Estimates are that the U.S loses about $3.2 billion annually to phishing alone (see my newsletter on the topic). Thus, phishers have come a long way since the first known use of phishing in 1996. In addition, fraud that's based on spam brought in a whopping $43 billion last year.

Interestingly enough, cyber criminals are everywhere. Just recently, the Australian Federal Police said that a majority of its cyber crime incidents were driven by Russian organized crime. Go figure! Perhaps most illuminating was when asked about the contributors to cyber crime, Australian officials indicated that Australians weren't changing their passwords or updating the anti-virus software that can help to protect their computers from hackers who work for these organizations.

When I grew up the mention of organized crime invoked images of Al Pacino in the blockbuster The Godfather. I dare say that the lives of everyone I knew were far removed from the dangers that played out on the screen. So it's incredible that today so many law-abiding citizens, by not doing our part to protect our computers, just might be (unknowingly) aiding and abetting such organizations.

This just goes to show us that computer security is everyone's business. Computer security professionals who take on the responsibility to protect our systems need everyone's help. Frequently changing our passwords and not sharing them and making sure that we have the latest anti-virus software installed can go far in helping the good guys. Given today's cyber threats, we all must do our part to protect our computers and try in every way possible to thwart the efforts of the bad guys.

Catch 'em and throw away the key

2009-09-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

When I grew up, if you committed a crime, you go to jail. Ok, maybe that's oversimplifying things a bit as the law didn't always catch and lock up the bad guys that easily. But compared to today's cyber criminals and the poor track record of locking them up, even the illusion of past law and order is better than today's reality.

Remember the ILoveYou worm that infected about 10% of all connected computers, overflowing the inboxes of many organizations including the Pentagon and the CIA? Well, if you don't recall, the worm's creator, Onel de Guzman, was arrested and then released for lack of an existing Philippine law to prosecute him. This is all too common when trying to catch these folks. No supporting law/legislation to use against them. And just how much damage was caused by this worm? Over $7 billion.

Imagine causing that much damage before the advent of the Internet. Good chance it would have taken considerably more time than Guzman needed to create this costly worm - if it could have been done at all. And I dare say that causing that much damage would have landed one behind bars for a long time. Not so today.

Thanks to networked computers, there's a whole lotta' cyber-thievery goin' on as some companies are actually buying stolen information about their competitors obtained from hackers. And to add insult to injury, some of these criminals are opening up Swiss bank accounts to hide their ill-gotten gains.

There's no doubt that the magnitude of today's crimes have been facilitated by the Internet. But the thought of today's cyber criminals actually getting away with their crimes should make everyone want to become a cyber warrior - if for no reason other than to make it more difficult for these crooks to carry out their nefarious activities.

A lesson in humility for us earthlings?

2009-08-29T23:57:00.001-07:00

Turn up vol to hear Pink Floyd.

The amazing phone

2009-08-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

Just today my mother and I were discussing the ways in which we use some technologies that would have been unimaginable 20 years ago. Take for instance the telephone.

If you're of a certain age, you'll remember that in the not-too-distant past, there was no 2-way, 3-way calling or caller ID. If you called someone and they were on the phone, you'd get a busy signal and you'd simply have to wait until the line was free. How agonizing - especially when there was juicy gossip ;) My mother recalled that when she was young, her dad's best friend would call at the exact time that she was waiting on her boyfriend to call :) So, she'd have to wait until they finished their gossip-fest, which could have been at least an hour.

My, how things have changed. Today, actually talking on the phone is just one use for a phone. Try telling a young person today that they can only talk on their phone and they'd probably hit you with it (okay, maybe not, but you get my point). Today, you can check your email, surf the Web, text, take pictures and make videos from a phone. While I pride myself on staying abreast of the latest technologies, I continue to be in awe of how quickly technology is changing some of our everyday activities.

Of course, in the not-too-distant future, we'll probably have some sort of embedded chip in our bodies and won't even need a handheld device for all of the phone-related activities listed above. But until that time, I reckon we'll continue to be amazed at how the simplest of technologies can be life-changing.

Growing diamonds?

2009-08-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

The other night I was watching TV when a man said that his company was going to make diamonds from Michael Jackson's hair. Huh? In addition to asking why would anyone want to do that, another question is how can it be done?

This reminded of a story that I read about of two companies that have figured out a way to make diamonds in a matter of days. Yes, those shiny rocks that takes Mother Nature millions of years to create, and that marketing firms have told us are a girl's best friend, can now be "made" by humans in two days. As you can imagine, DeBeers and other diamond companies must be shaking in their boots.

How is this possible you ask? Nanotechnology. Defined as "the willful manipulation of atoms and molecules" this process allows the Apollo Diamond company and Gemesis Corporation to manipulate carbon atoms and "grow" diamonds. Rumor has it that these companies just might have the ability to produce 38% of the world's diamonds by 2016.

Not one who gets excited about jewelry, I'll admit that the ability to "grow" diamonds in such a short period of time peaks my curiosity. It's just a small example of how nanotechnology has the ability to revolutionize our world in ways we can't begin to imagine.

Yippie! The naughty get caughty

2009-08-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Wow! I thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head when I read the story about three men being responsible for recently stealing 130 million credit and debit cards. To quote one of my favorite characters, Jack Tripper from the hilarious sitcom Three's Company, "Lordy, lordy, lordy". While I'm always reading about cyber crime, it took me a minute to wrap my head around the enormity of this case. Imagine for a minute no Internet and the bad guys trying to physically steal the 130 million cards. Would that be possible? Maybe. But feasible? Naw! That's more likely the route they would have taken when I was growing up. Today, computers have made all that unnecessary. So here we are with what's been deemed the biggest case in ID theft thus far.

Ok, so how was it done? Well, according to officials, the bad guys (one American and two Russian nationals) intercepted the card numbers when customers made purchases (some at 7-Eleven) and hacked into various department stores and some Fortune 500 companies. The stolen credit card numbers were then uploaded to servers in New Jersey, California and even the Ukraine and then sold to other bad guys who made fraudulent purchases. The obvious greed in this case becomes even more ominous when, interestingly enough, Mr. Albert Gonzalez, the only named defendant, is familiar to law enforcement as he's also facing charges in connection with stolen credit cards from TJ Maxx. Go figure!

That e-crime is big business is an understatement. Today's cyber criminals are bold, increasingly sophisticated and well-funded by criminal organizations. But sometimes they get a little too big for their britches and get caught. So here we have a great example of why crime doesn't always pay. Kudos to the good guys!

Watch thy neighbor?

2009-08-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, not all neighbors can be described as neighborly. Watch this video and see why cyber threats can come from anywhere and anyone:

Really bad guys

2009-08-13T20:25:00.000-07:00

According to a report by the Cyber Secure Institute,"federal and private sector IT professionals increasingly report that the attacks they confront on a regular basis are from highly skilled, highly motivated and well-resourced actors - ranging from the Russian mob, to the Chinese military, to organised cyber-criminals.” Chilling!

Long gone are the days when teenage hackers used their computers hacking skills primarily for notoriety. Remember when hackers would simply deface a website? In the early part of the 21st century a marked shift occurred and hackers realized that money could be made from their skills...big money. And with less than a 5% chance of getting caught, they realize that cyber crime is proving to be too tempting to resist. Unfortunately, we appear to be at the beginning stages of serious, and increasingly ominous, cyber criminal activities. What I find particularly disturbing is that according to some security experts, organized crime makes more money from its cyber criminal activities than from its more traditional crimes.

Given our reliance on technology in every facet of our lives, it should unnerve everyone that cyber crime is proving to be so economically fruitful. Hopefully educational efforts will go far to counter these criminal activities before the bad guys hold us all hostage.

What would the Jetsons say?

2009-08-11T01:01:00.000-07:00

When I was a youngster, the Jetsons was a cool, futuristic cartoon. Who could forget the floating schools and shopping centers and Rosey the Robot from the rent-a-robot maid service? How cool to a youngling like myself. So, who knew that by 2004 robots would navigate a 132-mile trek in seven hours with humans watching on the sidelines? Yes, the robots were in control. Or that by 2007 there would be about 2 million personal robots such as vacuum cleaners and scrubbers, with South Korea stating that it wants a robot in every household by 2020? BTW: South Korea has already built a robot that can recognize 400 words and looks human-like.While impressive, that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg regarding robotics.

Some of the most incredible robotics advancements have been in the military, with the U.S Defense Department hoping to have 1/3 of all units in combat to be robots by 2015. While most of us have heard of the Predator drones, I still have to wrap my head around the pilots who sit in Nevada, in a cubicle, flying these drones over Iraq and Afghanistan. Or what about the Global Hawk that can take off by itself, fly 3,000 miles, spend a day surveying an area and fly back and land itself? Hmmm...should future pilots be worried?

Interestingly enough, I recently read an article about how the Air Force is planning for an all-drone future. An Air Force study, Unmanned Aircraft System Flight Plan, suggests that in the future larger and more sophisticated flying robots might replace every type of manned aircraft in its inventory. Imagine that! While the study doesn't say this will definitely happen, just think about the possibilities. Trust me, this isn't taken lightly when you can buy 85 Predators for the price of one F-22, which is the Air Force's latest jet.

If you're interested in robotics, an absolute must read book is Wired for War by P.W. Singer. It is without a doubt the best book on robotics that I've read.

Today's eyewitness

2009-08-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

A few months ago there was a terrible accident here in Georgia. A young lady ran into a family on a highway and killed everyone in the car, including a baby. It was a grizzly accident. The story was (and still is) in the news with most wondering just what happened. Did the driver get sick behind the wheel? Was she distracted by a phone? Was she going too fast and lost control of her car?

If her BMW was equipped with a "black box", we'll definitely find out what happened. No longer just for planes, many of today's cars come equipped with "black boxes", unbeknown to many drivers. Like airplanes, they provide a host of detailed information about what goes on inside of a car, more than the information already gathered in today's cars. Known as an event data recorder (EDR), if your car has one of these you might as well come clean if you're the cause of an accident because this black box will contain the best information used against you. By providing information about your braking time, seat belt status, speed, and turn signaling, the results of the EDR can send you home or could send you to a new home, bars complimentary. In addition, there's a good chance that your insurance company knows about this device, so should you.

Anyone driving a new GM, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Isuzu,or Subaru has one. If I understand correctly, about half of the new Toyotas are also equipped with them. Don't have one? Don't fret, by 2011 the feds will make them mandatory in the United States.

When I was growing up, human eye-witnesses, if there were any, were critical in finding out what happened when an accident occurred. While they continue to play an important role, it appears that today's electronic eye-witness might outperform its human counterpart.

Inquiring minds want to know

2009-08-05T21:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's safe to say that many technologies have changed our lives in significant ways. No where is this more apparent than in the workplace. Employers have vast tools at their disposal in an effort to increase efficiencies in the workplace. From being able to log every employee's keystroke to following every article that's read, today it's not difficult to see what's being done when we're working...and goofing off. And if they choose, an employer can even implement software that maps everyone we communicate with, painting an interesting picture of our daily communications. Remember the email clusters at Enron that showed which employees communicated with each other? This shed a lot of light on conspiracies taking place in the company. (http://jheer.org/enron/v1/). Even though most employers don't dissect every employee's behavior, the technology is there for them to do so.

While we've become accustomed to some of the technologies that monitor employee activities, there appears to be much more on the horizon that I'm sure many people will find very interesting. For example, if Microsoft has its way, in the not-too-distant future managers will receive alerts if their employees are experiencing increased levels of stress or anxiety. How? By patenting a technology that will monitor the blood pressure, heart rate, electrical-type skin response and facial expressions of employees, Microsoft plans to help managers know a lot more about their staff then just what keys they're typing. With the continuous need for increased productivity in the workplace, we can look forward to new and improved tools to boost workplace productivity.

Along for the ride

2009-08-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

A few days ago my mom and I went out for a delicious treat at Sonics (yes, we’re victims of TV’s late-night marketing of those delicious treats). As we went on our way I noticed that the light to my car’s emergency service was on. As you might know, this service, which I signed up for and appreciate, connects me to roadside assistance, stolen vehicle recovery, remote door unlock assistance, and many others. I thought that the light being on was odd and jokingly told me mom that our conversations might be heard. We laughed and hurriedly proceeded to get the yummy treat that heightened our taste buds the night before while reflecting on the fact that we had no such services in our bright orange Gremlin when I was growing up. Yes, we had a Gremlin ;)

But perhaps I laughed too soon. While I have absolutely no proof that the customer service people were listening in on our conversations, which probably would have just made them hungry, the fact that they can listen in on conversations taking place in cars, unbeknown to the occupants, is quite unsettling. As with such services offered in cars these days, the microphone can be activated remotely. While this is great when lives are at stake, it might surprise you to know that the FBI has used this service to eavesdrop on conversations inside of people’s cars during investigations.

If you check, you’ll see that most of these services are used in cooperation with law enforcement and other agencies regarding criminal investigations, so that probably doesn’t surprise you. And I dare say that more often than not, no one is eavesdropping on our car conversations. But the next time you convey some personal information while you’re cruisin’ the highways and byways, you might stop to consider there just might be some invisible occupants along for the ride.

What's the cost?

2009-07-31T01:17:00.000-07:00

If you're like me you can appreciate being able to save money, especially in this economy. So when I go to the grocery store (or almost any other store these days) and the cashier asks for my customer loyalty card, I don't hesitate. In fact, s/he usually doesn't have to ask as I'm ready to hand it right over. Seems innocent enough right? But just how much of my privacy am I giving up in order to save a few bucks?

I have to ask myself this question because by using my customer loyalty card the grocery store, for example, keeps track of my purchases. In gathering this data, the grocery store is better informed about my shopping habits and can even provide me with different coupons for savings on future purchases when I check out...not to mention the desire to keep me coming back. That's cool! But who else gets this information and what are they doing with it?

It's free to sign up for most of these cards, but I continue to ask myself what does "free" mean in our digital age? And while there are privacy policies about these cards, many people are expressing concerns about privacy, including groups like C.A.S.P.I.A.N (http://www.nocards.org/) that are paying close attention to the uses of customer data. Here's another interesting article in case
you're interested in more on the topic - http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/loyalty_cards.html.

So, when I willingly turn over my discount cards I know that every purchase is stored in a database with the date/time stamp.Hmmm... And to be honest, upon reflection, this certainly makes me feel a little more exposed. Again, I can only wonder where all of this information will eventually end up.

This acknowledgment might seem somewhat trivial to some, but as we leave longer digital trails of our electronic fingerprints, the notion of privacy seems to take on new meaning.

Illiteracy rates on the rise!

2009-07-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

According to Alex Iskold, author of 'Is YouTube the Next Google'"In the first half of the 20th century, people grew up reading books and newspapers. Then there was a generation that grew up on movies and television. The last shift was to the Internet. And now web video is creating yet another generation." I grew up reading books (a lot) and watching TV and going to movies (albeit less than reading). I got my first library card when I was two years old. I always laugh at that because my mom told me that I signed my name so big that I missed most of the card while marking up most of the table in the library. To this day you'll always find a book in my hand. I also remember the public service announcements about reading that were always aired on TV. (Hmmm...haven't seen those in many years).

So imagine my horror when I came across some disturbing news about illiteracy in the U.S. Yes, in 2009, functional illiteracy in North America is reaching epidemic levels and this should concern all of us. According to ABC News, there are 7 million illiterate Americans. Other sources, including the National Institute for Literacy, report that 27 million are unable to read well enough to complete a job application and 30 million can't read a simple sentence. There are about 50 million who read at a fourth or fifth grade level. The nation's illiterate is growing more than 2 million each year. A 1/3 of high-school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives, and neither do 42% of college graduates. In 2007, 80% of families in the U.S didn't buy or read a book.

I certainly appreciate many of today's technologies. I believe we've learned a lot of valuable information about our world as a result of today's incredible technologies and will continue to be amazed at what the future holds. However, while I ponder the Internet and other technological incredible advancements, I hope that we work to turn the tide on illiteracy and from time to time turn away from non-reading online activities, turn off the TV and read a book!

I'm Back!

2009-07-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings, I'm back! Took some time to do some writing for the Examiner and decided to return to my own blog again. So thanks for reading!

Blog has moved

2009-02-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

Greetings,
My writings about the Web and Internet have moved to the following site:

http://www.examiner.com/x-2938-Atlanta-Web-Examiner

Thanks.

The Internet continues to grow

2009-02-01T05:24:00.000-08:00

I continue to be amazed at the growing number of Internet users. As of December the number of Internet users has surpassed one billion, and some believe that the actual number might be higher than that. While impressive it’s expected that this number will significantly increase since only 18% of the world’s population currently has Internet service. Watch for growth in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America which are expected to garner most of this increase.

While the numbers aren’t exact, it’s estimated that there are at least 100 million web sites and 15 – 30 billion web pages in existence today. In addition, here is some very interesting information about email:

• 1.3 billion – The number of email users worldwide.
• 210 billion – The number of emails sent per day in 2008.
• 70% – The percentage of emails that are spam.
• 53.8 trillion – The number of spam emails sent in 2008 (assuming 70% are spam). (http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/01/22/internet-2008-in-numbers/)

And yet, there’s plenty of room for growth.

Perhaps you wouldn’t be surprised at this, but China has the highest number of Internet users with more than 253,000,000 users. The U.S is second, with 220,141,969. The remaining top five are: Japan - 94,000,000; India, 60,000,000; and Germany with 52,533,914 users.

The above stats are just the tip of the iceberg about where the Internet is headed. I honestly believe we’re in for quite an exciting ride.

Computer and Clouds

2009-01-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

The sweeping changes in technology are truly profound. Just when you think you know something, a new service/product/concept is right in front of our eyes. This can be challenging for us digital immigrants. But we must be committed to learning and even unlearning as we continue our digital journey.

One major shift that’s taking place will change the way we compute. Right now, one’s information is linked primarily to the computer that s/he is working on. In other words, most people feel tethered to their laptops or desktops to retrieve their information. Well, thanks to a trend called cloud computing, your desktop might soon become a thing of the past.

In fact, if you have a yahoo or hotmail account, or use applications like Flickr, you’re already using cloud computing. You can check these accounts from any computer connected to the Internet, not just your own. This trend will go beyond email to include all kinds of programs and applications that we normally store on our individual computers. Should cloud computing take hold, the information that we normally store on our individual computers will be accessed via the Internet on computers stored servers, thereby freeing us from being tethered to our personal desktops or laptops.

What you’ll soon discover is that if Google has its way later this year, the hard drive in your personal computer will be a thing of the past, replaced with the Google Drive, or the GDrive. This means that your operating system and personal files will reside on Google’s servers and will be accessed via the Internet, bringing to life another layer for cloud computing.

Of course, cloud computing isn’t without its critics, who have expressed concerns over Google’s control of one’s personal information. Some raise the possibility that all of your information could be viewed by someone else. Other concerns have expressed apprehension about Google possibly being subpoenaed and turning your information over to the government.

Time will tell about the pace of this trend. But for now, just note that it might not be long before you ditch that computer to start computing in the clouds.

Tech-savvy Prez

2009-01-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

Even we digital immigrants can get addicted to electronic gadgets. For example, just look at the incredible number of cell phone users over age 40. Admittedly, I’m having fun with my Samsung Instinct (just can’t bring myself to stand in a long line for the iPhone). So I’m not sure how I would react if for any reason I was told that I could no longer use my new Instinct.

Meet President Obama. As a digital immigrant, he has comfortably learned to traverse today’s technological landscape and even admitted that his worst habit used to be constantly checking his Blackberry. Well, in becoming President, you’re probably thinking that the worst news he would receive would be information in the PDB (Presidential Daily Brief). However, I dare say that some of the worst news that this tech-savvy guy probably received was being told that he couldn’t use his Blackberry. Trust me, to a techie this is beyond one’s worst nightmare. After some "commander-in-chief"-type discussions, he will be able to keep his Blackberry, with its superduper encryption, even though there is no Wi-Fi in the White House.

But the banned technologies don’t stop here. There’s also no instant messaging in the White House. And we shouldn’t be surprised to find that as of right now, there’s no Facebook, MySpace, YouTube or Twitter. For security reasons, we can understand why some of today’s technologies might be banned, but one must still wonder how this team, that ran such a high-tech campaign, will come to grips with much of the well-known antiquated technology in the White House. My gosh, they’re still using Microsoft software that’s six years old. Since President Obama is a Mac guy, we’ll see if Macs will be used in the White House.

One area that you should investigate is the new White House web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov/), which even has a blog. It’s very nicely done and keeps you abreast of what the President is doing if that interests you.

President Obama has been calling for greater transparency, but in our digital world, I think this might be a tad bit redundant. There’s very little ‘hiding’ in today’s world for anyone, in any position – Google will find you! But it’s good to know that our President is tech-savvy and I believe that it’ll be interesting to see how different technologies will be used under this administration.

Kids taking the technology reins

2009-01-21T01:05:00.000-08:00

As a youngster, I had a TV in my room. However, I wasn’t given free rein to watch whatever I wanted, as my mother had more than effective monitoring skills. In fact, I don’t recall even watching a lot of TV. I had my few favorite shows, but my mom told me that in addition to school and homework, I read a lot, played with the neighborhood kids and went to the YMCA for judo and gymnastics classes. Since I was an only child, my mom kept me very busy. A sedentary upbringing? Absolutely not.

Enter the digital era. I recently read that today’s children are becoming multimedia gurus. According to a survey by ChildWise, “children as young as five are turning their bedrooms into multi-media ‘hubs’ with TVs, computers, games consoles, MP3 players and mobile phones all within easy reach.” Yes, five years old! GEEZ! And apparently the parents are having a challenging time keeping up with these techno kiddies.

Ok, so on one level, you’re probably like, what’s the big deal? Isn’t this good, you ask? Won’t this knowledge just equip them with the skills needed for the future? Many parents believe that this technological ‘know-how’ helps with homework (although the survey found that education wasn’t a motivating factor for being online for these kids).

I have little doubt that their comprehension and ease of use of technology will prepare and propel them into an increasingly digital world. And in fact, their digital nativity will undoubtedly leave many digital immigrants, including their parents and teachers, scrambling to catch up on their knowledge of technology.

However, there are some people who are very concerned about this embrace of technology at such a young age. According to the survey mentioned above, these kids aren’t reading as many books – reading for about ½ hour. They’re not playing outside, but are instead joining up online to play games. There’s also research that suggests these youngsters will be deficient in reading and writing and that they’ll find competing in an adult world rather difficult.

The debates about the advantages/disadvantages of growing up digital are fascinating and informative. Yet I’ll confess that looking back on my childhood, I had one that was balanced with school and play. That was ‘my normal’. I dare guess that projecting into the future, these net children will be positive about their upbringing as this digital era will be ‘their normal’.

'One size fits all' needs rethinking

2009-01-17T02:06:00.000-08:00

During my youth, mass education was the norm. As a product of the industrial economy, this one-size-fit-all method of education was in tune with the times. During this period, the mass media and mass production were critical to our way of life and this educational format complimented that arrangement.

Fast forward almost 30 years and we find ourselves in a digital age, a time that has ushered in significant technological changes. For example, thirty years ago, a phone was a phone. Land lines and public pay phones were the norm. However, today, if someone tried to sell you a cell phone that was only used for talking, well, you’d probably be waiting for the punch line as you’d guess it was a joke. And where are all of those public pay phones? Plus, who just talks on a phone these days? The Apple iPhone has 16 applications. And at a minimum, today’s phones are equipped with a Web browser, digital camera, voice recorder, texting device, and GPS capability.

Jump over to Japan and you’ll find that the youth have taken cell phone usage to another level. In addition to having the above functionality, Japanese youth use their mobile phones as train passes, to listen to music, watch movies, buy food at vending machines and to read books.

With the Net generation tethered to Google, MySpace, Second Life, etc, is mass education sufficient today? Or should we be seeking a more customized educational solution? Most studies indicate that today’s youth have a very different view of learning and working and if research is correct, lecturing and working 9-5 isn’t gonna cut it for most of this Net generation. This is a generation that wants to discover knowledge versus being lectured, desires collaboration versus individualized learning, and seeks a more customized approach which puts the student at the center of the educational journey versus a teacher-centric approach that teaches everyone the same information.

Today’s technologies, such as wikis, blogs, YouTube, Google, Facebook, and Skype offer incredible opportunities to enrich the learning experience for today’s youth and truly puts the world at their fingertips. For example, MIT posted all of its 1800 courses online for anyone to access (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm). This is truly a step in advancing the frontiers of knowledge.

When reflecting on the early years of my education, we basked at the feet of our teachers as they imparted their knowledge (okay, maybe I exaggerate, but you get it). This approach just might need some changin’ today. I believe we’re on the cusp of a revolution in education, one that will take advantage of today’s technologies and advance knowledge at breakneck speed.

Becoming pancake people?

2009-01-14T02:28:00.000-08:00

Ah, our trusty search engines. What would we do without them? Admittedly, I’m on The Google (to quote Pres. Bush ;) everyday. I appreciate the shortcuts it allows me, especially when I need information quickly. I also appreciate the advanced features that make searching more precise. However, I do have reservations about The Google as it makes privacy almost laughable. Anonymity seems like a thing of the past.

According to most researchers, I’m a baby boomer (born in 1964). This means that there was no Google or Yahoo or any of the other search engines when I was growing up. For my generation, television transformed our world more than any other medium. While I wasn’t allowed to sit in front of the TV for too many hours at a time (as I was an avid reader) I did have my favorite line up of shows – some including Land of the Giants, Tom Jones, Hawaii 5-o, and the Saturday horror movie line up, etc). Television would also capture the movements in the 60s and other significant events.

Today’s Net generation is too busy multitasking to be slouching in front of the television. Their very distinct relationship with technology has them going to the Internet (or, the Net) for their information. They’re all over The Google, which gives them their information immediately and they tend to watch less television and are more apt to use RSS feeds to their favorite sources.

But what effect is Google having on our mental faculties? I like to read, but notice that my attention span is shorter online. And I’m not alone. According to one study about online users, highlighted in Nicholas Carr's, article, 'Is Google Making Us Stupid’ :

It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of “reading” are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.

If Google’s goal is to become the perfect search engine that “understands exactly what we mean and gives us back exactly what we want” is there something more unsettling taking place? According to Carr,

“In Google’s world, the world we enter when we go online, there’s little place for the fuzziness of contemplation. Ambiguity is not an opening for insight but a bug to be fixed…The idea that our minds should operate as high-speed data-processing machines is not only built into the workings of the Internet, it is the network’s reigning business model as well. The faster we surf across the Web—the more links we click and pages we view—the more opportunities Google and other companies gain to collect information about us and to feed us advertisements. Most of the proprietors of the commercial Internet have a financial stake in collecting the crumbs of data we leave behind as we flit from link to link—the more crumbs, the better. The last thing these companies want is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated thought. It’s in their economic interest to drive us to distraction.”

Like Carr, maybe I’m a worrywart, but I hope we’re not sacrificing introspection for efficiency. I like Google and other search engines and I can only hope that we’re not becoming, as playwright Richard Foreman wrote, “‘pancake people – spread wide and thin as we connect with that vast network of information accessed by the mere touch of a button.”

Now that bugs me

2009-01-12T03:28:00.000-08:00

Every now and then, the journey of us digital immigrants takes an interesting turn. As we adjust to this digital world to catch up with the digital natives, we can uncover some rather interesting information along the way. Recently, I’ve come across some weird information that I must share.

Even though I’ve gone camping and hiking, I’ve never claimed to be the outdoorsy type. As a youngster I went to band camp and cheerleading camp. I’ve even done a little hiking in Zermatt Switzerland. However, my camping and hiking hobbies have been curtailed for one small reason…that reason being of the creepy, crawly type. Admittedly, I don’t like bugs. I try to maintain an ongoing contract with them, one that requires that they stay outdoors. Most obey, but some don’t. Nevertheless, a bug has always been a bug....until now.

Thanks to today’s technology, in the near future, that little bug might be more than just a bug. In fact, researchers are now growing insects with electronics inside them. Yes, you’ve read that correctly. The Pentagon is creating cyborg remote controlled moths and flying beetles. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the Pentagon’s research arm, has created a program called HI-HEMS (Hybrid Insect Micro-Mechanical Systems). If you’re interested, author Nick Turse has done some incredible work in this area. According to him, DARPA’s aim with this project is designed to turn “insects into unmanned air-vehicles.” So, in the very near future, that bug that you’re looking at on your screen just might be looking right back at ya’…with surveillance and all, recording your every move.

Now, if this isn’t strange enough, once the program is completed, some of the purposes outlined for using such bugs will be for surveillance, and in the future, as possible bio weapons. In fact, these “insect cyborgs” could be used as military micro-surveillance systems.

In addition, researchers at Harvard Microrobotics Laboratory are creating small insect-like robots that will eventually be outfitted with “onboard sensors, flight controls and batteries” to fit around obstacles and into places that humans can’t access.

But hold on, it gets even odder. Turse goes on to uncover information from defense tech-expert Noah Schactman of Wired magazine who reported that “DARPA projects have equipped rats with electronic equipment and remotely controlled sharks, while the military has utilized all sorts of animals, from bomb-detecting honeybees and chickens used as early-warning sensors for chemical attacks to guard dogs and dolphins trained to hunt mines…robots that resemble dogs, monkeys that control robotic limbs with their minds, and numerous other projects inspired by nature.”

Well, not sure about you, but I’ll never look at a bug (or any other of the above mentioned animals) the same ever again.

Super Duper Computers

2009-01-10T05:27:00.000-08:00

Back in the 80s, my first computer was a Tandy from Radio Shack. As a teenager, let me tell ya’ I was thrilled with this computer. While there were certainly limitations with its use, to have had a personal computer back then was fantastic. Now, just to give some perspective, its memory ranged from 4k – 8k, my TV was used as the monitor, BASIC was the programming language and I believe the retail price was about $400-$500 (even though I was able to get a discount because my aunt worked for Radio Shack at the time). I also remember the 5.25 inch floppy disk drive and the tape cassette storage, just to name a couple of peripherals.

Ok, as you laugh, just keep in mind that even that was a vast improvement from the first computer at the University of Pennsylvania, which about 60 years prior, took up almost 2000 square feet, weighed three tons, had 19,000 vacuum tubes and cost a whopping $500,000.

Of course today, your handy laptop is very affordable, most costing under $1000, coming in a rainbow of colors, roughly the size of a book, with about 1000 times the power of that bulky computer mentioned above.

But of course, the evolution of computers would get more interesting. By 1996, Intel informed the world that there was a computer, using its chips, that processed more than 1 trillion calculations per second. Then, in 2006, a supercomputer was on the horizon capable of 70 trillion calculations per second. And it’s predicated that by 2010, IBM will produce a computer capable of 10 quadrillion calculations per second. Translation? As a human, it would take you about 8 billion years to do what this computer can do in one second. So, wrap your head around that for a minute.

But soon it won’t only be universities and research centers that will have these super computers. Just recently, the world’s first personal supercomputer was unveiled. Called the Tesla, this supercomputer, while very similar to your PC, will be able to process information 1000 times faster. This means that if you have programs that take a long time to process your information, with this computer, those processes will be greatly accelerated. And while this personal supercomputer will initially be sold to universities, scientific and research centers, Dell has already announced that it will mass produce these computers for the general public.

GEEZ – at this rate, as I look into my crystal ball I predict that supercomputers will surpass human intelligence by 2015. Oooops silly me - that prediction has already been made. So much for my psychic abilities.

Learning, unlearning and relearning

2009-01-08T03:29:00.000-08:00

According to author Alvin Toffler, “the illiterate of the twenty-first century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” I dare say for us digital immigrants, this is probably one of the most poignant comments that I’ve ever read. Long gone are the days when we could expect to work for one company until retirement. Yes, those days are indeed long gone. And in all honesty, I’m not sure that’s so bad. Today, more people are aware that there’s very little, if any, job security. This means that if we don’t continue to learn and relearn, we just might find ourselves in a world that no longer exists. Today we must be open-minded and realize that we must not take anything for granted in our professions.

One occupation that has undergone significant changes is teaching. In the not-too-distant past, teaching was face-to-face. As we know, students and teachers met in the classroom, talked on the phone if necessary and took theory on the road by taking field trips and/or bringing in outsiders to provide insight about a particular topic. That was and continues work for many. However, a tectonic shift has taken place in education. When distance learning was first introduced, I remember a lot of hoopla about how it couldn’t work, that there was no effective way to teach students who couldn’t be seen and that this format would lower educational standards as technology would get in the way of learning versus enhancing it.

Of course, when I grew up and even during my undergraduate tenure, there was no such thing as distance learning. My, how times have changed. While improvements in distance learning are always needed, it’s amazing to witness how many of the initially staunch naysayers are now having to embrace distance learning. Many universities are now establishing online programs as more students demand them. And many faculty are being required to upgrade their skills to teach online if they want to continue in academia. Massachusetts Institute of Technology has upped the ante with an announcement two years ago that it was putting all of its courses online for free. And some schools/universities are offering classes in virtual worlds like Second Life.

The changes that will take place in the field of education will undoubtedly be incredible. As an online educator, I can anticipate some changes, while I can only wonder about new learning methods on the horizon.

In order to meet the challenges of the future, I’m certain that we must guard against complacency. We must embrace the humility to continue to learn and admit what we don’t know and the courage to unlearn ideas that are no longer applicable in today’s world. Truly challenging endeavors, but exciting nonetheless.

Electronic footprints

2009-01-07T03:40:00.000-08:00

In my last entry I recalled that I hadn’t written many letters via longhand in quite a long time. I used to write out my papers for graduate school before using the computer, but that changed when I found myself having to write more than one 20 page paper at a time. As a result, today, most of my “letter writing” takes place via my computer.

But this got me thinking about my attendance at a computer forensics conference at Kennesaw State University a few years ago. I recall attending a very interesting session led by a representative from Paraben Corporation who was giving a dynamic lesson about cell phone forensics…I mean, very interesting. It was fascinating in light of how much information can be obtained via our cell phones these days. Nevertheless, when asked what electronic device she used for her written communication, she held up a pencil and paper. In other words, here’s a brilliant woman who knows a heck of a lot about electronic communications but who chooses to use a pencil and paper when she has something important to write. Hmmm… While she’s a forensics examiner, she was clear that she’s very concerned about how our electronic communications can be obtained. I’ll bet the former Detroit Mayor and his ilk wish they had talked to her before writing all those text messages – but I digress.

So, is she paranoid? Well, interestingly enough, and as you probably know, we all have amassed a rather impressive electronic footprint in our digital world. From the use of credit and debit cards (on and offline), cell phones, email, texts, controls in our cars, and of course, our computers, we leave a trace of our activities every single day. And thanks to Google, you can no longer hide. If you’re part of the global information infrastructure that can probably safely be referred to as the Matrix, you can be found, even if you don’t want to be. I remember reading in the book The Numerati that in one month Yahoo amasses about 110 billion pieces of data about its customers, which translates into each person leaving about 2,520 bits of information for Yahoo’s advertisers. Whoa! No wonder you can’t hide online.

While I can certainly appreciate today’s technology, I do remember the days when there was a semblance of privacy by using a simple pen and paper…and a typewriter every now and then. But oh well…unless we’re sent back to the “dark ages” via an asteroid, comet or some E-bomb, (my apologies, but I’ve been watching the History Channel’s Armageddon Week) looks like I, along with the wired world community, will continue to enlarge my electronic footprint via my good ole’ Dell.

Texting and Me

2009-01-05T03:31:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my Chinese instructor and I were talking about how impressed we were with how fast some people can text. Interestingly enough, he said that texting was huge in China, probably even bigger than here in the U.S. We both confessed that we’re not the fastest texters. While I do ‘okay’ I’m by no means that fast. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that for those who are fast texters and see that pace at which I text, they’d probably suggest that I enter ‘remedial’ texting classes…and I’d probably agree. But I admit that I enjoy texting and if I hadn’t decided to purchase a Sprint Instinct, I might not be texting all that much today. My old cell phone was hardly the most text-friendly phone.

In our conversation about writing, my instructor explained that in Chinese, ‘shi shu’ (室书)means a family letter. He explained that years ago in China, when families were separated and men went away to work, receiving a letter from the person who was away was important as oftentimes this was the only way to find out how the person was doing…and it took a long time for the family to get the letter. While this term is still in use, today most people don’t write a lot of letters. Given the incredible popularity of texting, the ‘shi shu’ has transformed into text messages, emails, etc. In fact, my instructor said that he probably hasn’t written a letter in 10 years and that when he did, it could take from 10-14 days for his family to get the letter. Today, if he wants to talk to family in China, he simply calls.

That got me to thinking that like my instructor I confess that it’s been a while since I’ve written a letter – longhand, even though I do write a lot via computer. I recall doing a lot more letter writing when I was younger. And when I lived abroad in Europe in 1984, I wrote more letters and did a lot less calling, as it was still pretty expensive to call home. Cell phones were not really accessible to most of us mere mortals during that time. In fact, had someone owned a cell phone during this time, they would have paid about $4300 for it and it would have been about the size of a brick. Imagine trying to look cool with a brick up to your ear.

Today’s cell phones are a long way away from those expensive, bulky relics of yesteryear. And imagine the days when all one did was talk on a phone. With the many different features of today’s cell phones, well, who has time to write a letter? Gotta go…got a text message.

My 90s immigration

2009-01-04T03:25:00.000-08:00

Allow me to digress a little about how I came to find myself in technology.

For the last seven years I’ve been an online instructor at various universities. As a result, I enjoy teaching and reading about many areas of technology. As I ponder how I got interested in Information Technology as a career choice, I attribute that decision to a book and a conversation. In 1994, a friend of mine, Dwayne Jenkins, also a bibliophile, and I read Jeremy Rifkin’s book, The End of Work. We had many discussions about the implications of this book and it really opened my eyes about the role that technology would play in our society…even though I had no way of predicting some of today’s technologies. As a result I figured that I’d better get more information about this field called ‘Information Technology’. And while I know that Rifkin didn’t mean to do so, he scared the crap outta me as he outlined how technology would displace a lot of people.

In his introduction, on the very first page, he wrote, “More than 800 million human beings are now unemployed or underemployed in the world. That figure is likely to rise sharply between now and the turn of the century as millions of new entrants into the workforce find themselves without jobs, many victims of a technology revolution that is fast replacing human beings with machines in virtually every sector and industry of the global economy.” Pondering this, I remembered the conversations that my mom and I had about the robots at Ford Motor Company, where she worked how they were doing more and more tasks on the assembly line. ‘Yikes’ I remember sayin’. Looks as if Rifkin might be on to something. Ok, so how to get hooked into this new technology so as not to be one of those displaced people he was talking about.

After building web sites for a couple of small companies, I decided to dig a little deeper into technology. A few years later I decided to become a full-time student and get a Masters in Information Technology. Glad I did. Not only did I meet great people, I learned a lot about the advances in technology at that time and this decision opened up a new world with lots of opportunities. Interestingly enough, even in today’s rough economy, technology continues to be designated a growth area that can withstand the economy’s downturn. Let’s hope this remains the case.

Ok, thanks for allowing me to digress. Now, back to what’s going on in our world of technology…

Beginning the Digital Journey

2009-01-03T02:31:00.000-08:00

As a self-proclaimed bibliophile (yes, amazingly there are some of us who still prefer books, turning and marking up the pages, etc, but I digress), I’ve recently come across a book that provides an ideal label for those of us who didn’t grow up with the Internet, 24-hour news coverage, cell phones or microwave ovens. According to Gary Small and Gigi Vorgan, authors of the book iBrain, a Digital Immigrant is someone who has come to the digital/computer age as an adult but whose brain wiring took place when social interaction was the norm. In other words, a world without MySpace, Facebook, Second Lives, or any of the other social networking sites or virtual worlds that are so prevalent today. The technologies that were big in my early years were TV, radio and land-line telephones (I know, how dreadful for today’s youngsters).

So in our age of blogging, I couldn’t help but to devote my blog to what life was like when I was growing up and how I experience it today with our incredible technologies. This blog is also a great way for me to try in some organized way to keep up with what’s going on in the world of technology. So, I’m going to borrow the term Digital Immigrant as a way to stay abreast of the incredible technological changes that I must adjust to in order to be a knowledgeable digital immigrant – and to catch up and keep up with today’s younger generation.

When I tell my students that there was no Internet or cell phones when I was growing up, they ask, “Gosh Doc, so what was life like with the dinosaurs?” Well, okay, they don’t go that far, (even though I think they may ponder that question) but they honestly can’t imagine life without the technology that they take for granted today. “What do you mean go to the library?” What was life like when all you did was talk on a phone? No texting? No camera? – you’ve gotta be kiddin.’”

Like all immigrants, us digital immigrants must constantly learn the language of the land that we find ourselves in. I’ll admit that while some adjustments have been easy, others have taken a little more time, which I’ll write about in this blog. As I ponder the changes that have taken place, I believe that it’s been quite a fascinating technological journey and I know that it’ll get more interesting as we move forward. So please come along with me as I try to work my way through today’s (and tomorrow’s) digital landscape.