Technology Advance Enables Machine Surveillance

Ah, big data problems.  These are the ones we mention that people are continuously trying to solve.  We've had guests to the classroom report on their desire, and a marketing initiative discussing their ability to produce directed advertising to mobile subscribers by understanding data they receive about users and delivering marketing based on their preferences and environments.  This article takes a look at the same technologies and views the dark side and even discusses the negative impact on freedom of our ability to process big data.
You remember Minority Report?  Thousands of people walking around being retina scanned and then receiving directed marketing.  Well, the realist in me initially thought, no way you can do retina scans from that distance, and even if you could, the time frame to sort through retina listings presents a huge big data problem. Both these problems are solutions that are being sought.  What happens when the time to search  billion records for a single match is reduced to mere seconds?  What if the remote retina scan remains impossible but you can do facial, body heat, or some mix of scanning at a remote distance in order to identify a passerby?  At what point does that scan become invasive or illegal of my personal space?  Is this machine surveillance legal and for what purposes?   Ah the joys of technology getting mature.

Idea and inspiration for this post comes from this article.
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2011/11/techonomy-mike-lynch-autonomy-surveillance.html

The most innovative man to die in October 2011?

How many of you have heard of Dennis Ritchie?

We all mourned the loss of Steve Jobs in October, but about a week later the world of innovation and computers suffered the loss of arguably a larger innovative mind.  Dennis Ritchie was the creator of the C programming language and a developer of UNIX.  Ask your local tech geek where we would be without those two disruptive innovations.  Both innovations are at the heart of computer language and operating systems today.   UNIX is extensively adopted in Apple's product line, was used by DARPA in designing what we know today as the internet and is the basis for much of today's open source software movement.

As I thought about a speaker from this last week's class challenging what disruptive technology is, I thought of Dennis Ritchie.  I thought of how his languages are still at the base of many innovations that are still occurring today.  He challenged assumptions and grew new ideas.  Was his innovation less amazing and stunning than Steve Jobs.  How do you evaluate the worth of two great individual's innovation.  Certainly not only by public opinion or direct monetary worth.  

Your Smartphone can be used as a key logger?

Researchers at GT have discovered with an 80% success rate that an iPhone 4 can be used to "feel" your keystrokes.
This new technology use is obviously not what the accelerometer and gyroscope were designed for, but offers even more of a requirement for why users should protect their smart phones and also not allow their phones inside secure facilities.
I was interested in the potential applications on some of the work that I currently do in the government as well.  Using these sensitive sensors in different unintended applications definitely holds interesting value since their use has driven their costs down.


http://gcn.com/articles/2011/10/18/smart-phone-sensors-steal-keystrokes.aspx?s=gcndaily_191011

Grocery Applications

During the summer's capstone idea generation many individuals thought up ideas for expanding the use of mobile tech in grocery applications.  This article shows that many groceries are thinking the same thing. Home delivery of groceries is already available.  This step shows that it is going to quickly be possible to scan as you go without the extra costs of scanners that some stores have taken to.  While not a totally new idea of scanning on the go, it definitely is the convergence of two separate technologies.

WASHINGTON - At most supermarkets, a cashier rings up items or patrons run items through a scanner themselves. Soon, both practices may be obsolete.

Through a pilot program, Stop and Shop grocers are allowing customers at three stores in Massachusetts to scan their purchases with their iPhones as they go, pay on their phones and leave without waiting in any lines.

Many grocery store chains like Wegmans, Giant and Food Lion also offer free smartphone applications, allowing shoppers to find stores, check the latest specials and create an electronic shopping list. Some even allow customers to refill prescriptions or place an order at the deli counter.

The Wall Street Journal reports Stop and Shop plans to bring it to more stores soon, and at least two other large but un-named supermarket chains are getting ready to roll out similar apps.

Stop and Shop is owned by the same company as Giant Food, which operates a number of stores in the D.C. region.

Cable Companies Consider Splitting Channels

As was suggested in class cable companies are considering splitting their channels and billing a la carte.

I think it will be interesting to see the "a la carte" menu. I think some people will be surprised to see the cost of some individual channels. As is mentioned in the article ESPN is one of the most expensive channels. The second and third order of effects of causing this to be billed a la carte may see more people attempting to watch ESPN as a online stream (ESPN3) I know this is not ESPN's intention I'm sure a large profit is being made by them in cable subscriptions.
Also, the article mentions that Discovery and Viacom producers of content may end up getting the short end of the stick in this type of arrangement as well as their channels are often bundled with other channels and may not get the same revenue in an a la carte market.
Interesting times to be in the cable business thinking about how to keep your product viable with streeming services.

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.aspx?post=205417b6-537b-44f9-a883-8e37bfa8ab06&gt1=33002

Police attempt to improve customer relations with body cam

 This article spells out new application of wearable cameras in use by several police departments.  This is new use of existing camera technology in a new direction to solve a public relations problem.  One of the benefits is the belief that if all of us knew we had a camera on us whenever we dealt with a police officer this would help both sides behave in a "non-escalating" manner. 
This technology emergence comes from an individual thinking across two uses of technology.  The dashboard mounted camera currently in use by police and the application of small web cameras.  Then with the needed hashing technologies they can provide the confidentiality and integrity requirements to use these feeds  in court.  I am also impressed with the price range for the cameras, as I was not expecting this technology to be as inexpensive as it is.

http://gcn.com/articles/2011/09/21/police-wearable-cameras-body-cams.aspx

AMD processor goes to extremes, gets Guinness World Record

AMD recently set the world record for processor speed at 8.429 GHz.  This drive for speed continues to point towards future innovation providing us with continued increase in speeds for processors.  The processor when fielded with computers is expected to be rated at 4.5GHz, but for the test was over clocked and cooled with liquid nitrogen at its top speed.

Advances in processor speed do effect numerous government programs attempting to innovate and run these processors in parallel to solve numerous mathematical and computational problems.  AMD and Intel's innovation and competitive research in processors consistently pays off for the world at large as the competition pushes up speed and improves technology.

http://gcn.com/Articles/2011/09/13/AMD-FX-processor-Guinness-world-record-speed.aspx?s=gcndaily_140911&Page=1