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Society & Politics
archives: March-April 2004
- 30 April 2004
"On Saturday, the Czech Republic, along with seven other Central and Eastern European states plus Greek Cyprus and Malta, will celebrate its official accession to the European Union, fulfilling the long-held aspirations of the region's political elites. In the coming weeks, the last border posts along the cold war Iron Curtain will be erased, and politicians from the former East Bloc will take seats in the European Parliament. Incongruously, there will not be many fireworks in the Czech Republic or neighboring countries on accession day. Although 70 percent of Czechs who voted in a referendum last year supported EU membership, public enthusiasm is waning, especially in smaller towns and villages." Although many Eastern European countries pushed for inclusion in the European Union, many citizens within the enlargement countries are having second thoughts. On the eve of integration into the EU, there is concern among some that citizens of the new member states will be treated as "second-class Europeans". Read more in the Christian Science Monitor.
- 29 April 2004
"You might call Pectinophora gossypiella - pink bollworm moths - publicity shy. You're unlikely ever to meet one: They fly around at night and hide underground during the day. And they live only in commercial cotton fields. But someday they may be a lot better known. An arm of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has filed an application to release a batch of them carrying a fluorescent marker gene inserted by scientists, making it the first approval sought for releasing a genetically altered insect in the wild. If approved, it would pave the way for approval of other lab-produced insects - from super productive honeybees to drug-making silkworms - that could benefit mankind." In order to protect the nation's cotton farmers, the USDA wants to introduce genetically modified moths into the wild. While the plan has the potential to save the cotton industry money, some worry that the plan could have a negative impact upon the environment. Read more in the Christian Science Monitor.
- 28 April 2004
"No one knows better than Rodrigo Rato how terrorism can change everyone’s priorities. On March 10th, the former Spanish finance minister was expecting his People's Party to be re-elected. On March 11th, the Madrid bombings shifted the electoral calculus in favour of the Socialist opposition. Mr Rato is now slated to be the next head of the International Monetary Fund, which concluded its spring meetings with the World Bank in Washington on Sunday April 25th. If and when he is confirmed as the Fund's managing director, he will enter a business of lending and giving to poor countries that has also been transformed by the war on terror. The World Bank fears that strategic thinking may be dominating charitable feeling in the capitals of the big donor countries. Rich countries forgave debts and dispensed aid worth $58 billion in 2002, up from $52 billion in 2001." The international war on terror has fundamentally changed the way rich countries extend aid to developing nations--prompting fears that we are returning to an era akin to the Cold War, where lending was based upon which side a country was on instead of how the money was actually spent. Read more in the Economist.
- 27 April 2004
"Unwrapping your shopping to find you have bought moldy bread, rotten strawberries and sour milk could soon become a thing of the past thanks to a range of emerging 'active packaging' technologies. While conventional packaging simply acts as a barrier that protects food, active packaging can do a lot more. Some materials interact with the product to improve it in some way, or give the consumer better information on the state it is in. For instance, they may soak up oxygen inside a wrapper to help prevent food spoilage or show whether potentially dangerous foods like red meat and chicken have been stored at unsafe temperatures. Others kill bacteria, and some can reveal whether the food is beginning to go off." In the future, the packaging of your food might work to keep perishable items fresh or soda cold. Read more about some of the high-tech ways that food might soon be packaged in the New Scientist.
- 26 April 2004
"Stung by their reputation as places of backwardness and militancy, Pakistan's madrasas -- traditional schools where Islam is taught in great detail -- are teaching computer and Web literacy as a way to gain respectability. There are about 12,000 madrasas in Pakistan, with more than 1.5 million students enrolled. Most of the students are too poor to afford a modern education. So boys between 8 and 15 years old attend these schools where they spend several hours a day memorizing the verses of the Koran. Older students undergo a difficult eight-year course that interprets the holy book. Jamia Naimia in Lahore is one of those madrasas. Subjects like math, English and general sciences are not taught here. But the school has a computer science department that teaches Windows applications, Web design and Basic. The computer room with 26 PCs -- most of them upgraded to Pentium 4 last year -- is in sharp contrast to the surrounding simplicity of the school, where students usually sit on the floor to learn." Although Pakistani madrasas are widely considered breeding grounds for radicalism, many of these religious schools are slowly embracing computer technology which, in turn, is slowly tempting students to follow new, high-tech pursuits. Read more in Wired News.
- 23 April 2004
"When Andy Rabagliati describes his work to people in Europe and America, they have trouble understanding exactly what it is he does, and why. He is in the business of providing isolated rural schools with access to the Internet, he begins. Sounds simple enough. But in fact achieving this goal is no simple matter in the green, rolling hills of KwaZulu-Natal, where he spends much of his time. Forget DSL. Here, there's no such thing. Even when schools do have dialup access through a telephone line, the cost of DSL is prohibitively high. That's where Wizzy Digital Courier comes in. It is a system that involves physically transporting data saved on a USB memory stick back and forth between one central computer -- at, say, a school with a fast connection -- and unconnected machines in outlying areas...Unlike the vast majority of the world's technological innovations, Rabagliati says, this gadget has been designed expressly to provide solutions for the needs of Africa." Although much of Africa is steeped in tremendous poverty, a small group of business people are finding that providing services like internet connections and cell phones to Africa's rural poor is actually a profitable enterprise. Read more in a fascinating report in Wired News.
- 22 April 2004
"Top Bush administration officials said Wednesday that restrictions on the entry of foreigners have prompted many to shun travel to the United States since 2001. They recommended that the constraints be reviewed. 'This hurts us,' Secretary of State Colin Powell said, citing a 30 percent decline in overseas visits to the United States over 2 1/2 years. 'It's is not serving our interests. And so we really do have to work on it.' Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the security benefits derived from the post-Sept. 11 restrictions have had unwanted economic side effects." The extensive travel restrictions that the United States is placing upon foreign visitors are resulting in a large decline in travel to the U.S. which, in turn, is having a social and economic impact. Read more in Yahoo News (link no longer active).
- 21 April 2004
"The net is being used by racist and extremist groups trying to recruit new members and spread their message. A report detailing 200 of the websites monitored by the Wiesenthal Center shows how sites have become key fund-raising and marketing outlets. Some sites feature games that let visitors "shoot" illegal immigrants, Jews and black people, said the report. In 2004 websites seeking to recruit youngsters to join holy wars and become suicide bombers have surged, it said." The internet is a powerful tool that is capable of uniting people across the globe in constructive and meaningful ways. Yet, a recent study by the Simon Wiesenthal Center indicates that the internet is also being utilized by a growing number of groups to attract members to causes that advocate hate and terror. Learn more about this disturbing trend at the BBC.com.
- 20 April 2004
"Ron Deibert's computer screensaver is a two-word message. It spins in those rare moments when the political science professor's machine is idle. It reads 'Hack Off.' It is a fitting sentiment, given Prof Deibert's loyalty to the original idea of hacking. 'Traditionally, the term was associated with someone who is interested in opening up their technology, understanding how it works, not accepting something shrink-wrapped,' he said. 'And to me, that's not just a hobby or something that geeks do, that's actually a skill that is fundamental to a liberal, democratic society. Citizens can't just accept technology at face value. They need to open the lid, so to speak, understand how it works, beneath the surface,' he explained." Although hackers are widely regarded as criminals, one scholar believes that circumventing technological constraints and hacking are essential in democratic society. Read more about this new form of "hacktivism" at the BBC.com.
- 19 April 2004
"Creating a national 'do-not-spam' registry is technologically feasible, but a weak federal anti-spam law, privacy concerns and tepid support from some of the nation's largest e-mail providers could weaken any efforts to create such a database. The gloomy assessment by anti-spam advocates and commercial e-mailers comes less than a week before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) winds up a month of gathering public comments on whether it should create a national no-spam registry akin to the 'do-not-call' list the agency launched last fall...Judging by the success of the national do-not-call list, a no-spam registry probably would gain massive popular support from people tired of cleansing their in-boxes of scores of unsolicited messages proffering hardcore pornography solicitations, mortgage offers and debt consolidation services." Although any legislation that might curb the prevalence of spam would probably be met with popular support, many specialists worry that the creation of a "do-not-spam" list is impractical--and that it might even aid spammers. Read more in the Washington Post (registration required).
- 16 April 2004
"The preacher, congregation and prayers will be real enough. Only the building will be virtual - but this 3D church could be a taste of things to come. This is the view inside what's believed to be the first virtual church, due to be launched next month as part of a scheme to reach people who would not normally step inside an actual church. The rafters, pulpit, altar and pews look real enough, in a cartoon-ish way. But the preacher and members of the congregation will actually be real, connecting via the web to each other to take part in real services...Although an unofficial move, the virtual church may well receive approval in the church hierarchy. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has called for the church to become more 'mission-shaped' by adopting new forms of worship, which could include new ventures such as 'café churches.'" Although many consider worship to be a purely spiritual activity, a new website is working to turn the spiritual realm into a virtual reality. Read more at the BBC.com.
- 15 April 2004
"They're hip. Influential. Out there. By one estimate, there are 2 million of them posted on the Internet around the world talking about everything from knitting patterns to the war in Iraq. But as blogs - or personal weblogs - move into the limelight, they're also coming under closer scrutiny. And the conclusions are in some ways sobering. Except for a tiny number of blogs that have gained prominence, all this techno-chattiness remains just that: an immature form of communication that has yet to gain traction with the general public, experts say. Most are moldering in cyberspace, updated only sporadically or abandoned completely. But out of this fervid experimentation are coming some new forms of communication that are already influencing public discourse." Despite the pervasiveness and recent popularity of blogs, most blogs disappear almost as quickly as newer ones are created--suggesting that bloggers only have limitted influence. Yet, there are also indications that blogs are slowly transforming the worlds of politics and journalism. Read more about blogs and their potential impact upon society in today's Christian Science Monitor.
- 14 April 2004
"A New York Internet advertising company has filed a lawsuit against Utah alleging an anti-spyware law passed during this year's legislative session unconstitutionally limits the right to advertise. The complaint, filed late Monday in 3rd District Court by WhenU.com, lists the state, Gov. Olene Walker and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff as defendants. It seeks to have the court prohibit the act from taking effect early next month. The Spyware Control Act makes it illegal to create or install computer software that monitors Internet activity and sends the information elsewhere, usually without the user being aware of it or consenting to it. The law also curbs pop-up advertising on the Internet and calls for penalties of $10,000 per violation. The lawsuit claims the law violates WhenU's constitutionally protected right to advertise but does little to protect the privacy of computer users." The movement to block spam and spyware is gaining ground through federal and state legislation. Yet, one company is fighting back through a lawsuit that claims Utah's anti-spyware law is unconstitutional. Read more in USA Today.
- 13 April 2004
"Can a machine read a person's mind? A medical device company is about to find out. The company, Cyberkinetics Inc., plans to implant a tiny chip in the brains of five paralyzed people in an effort to enable them to operate a computer by thought alone. The Food and Drug Administration has given approval for a clinical trial of the implants, according to the company. The implants, part of what Cyberkinetics calls its BrainGate system, could eventually help people with spinal cord injuries, strokes, Lou Gehrig's disease or other ailments to communicate better or even to operate lights and other devices through a kind of neural remote control. 'You can substitute brain control for hand control, basically,' said Dr. John P. Donoghue, chairman of the neuroscience department at Brown University and a founder of Cyberkinetics, which hopes to begin the trial as early as next month." Scientists are hoping that they might be able to improve the lives of people with physical disabilities by allowing them to control computers with only their minds. Read more in today's New York Times.
- 12 April 2004
"Wesley Bertch admits he fell for offshore outsourcing 'hook, line and sinker.' So when Bertch, chief techie for Minneapolis-based Life Time Fitness, a health club chain, needed software to evaluate potential new locations for gyms late last year, he looked overseas where he could pay $6 an hour instead of $60 for programmers. He hired a large, reputable Indian outsourcing firm a few months ago, then sat back and watched his troubles mount. Not only did the offshore team produce code that was full of bugs, they ran up big bills working overtime to fix their mistakes. Bertch finally canned the offshore contractors, hired several local programmers and started preaching to industry colleagues that managing such projects across oceans is doomed to failure." Amidst fierce social and political debate, many companies are finding that outsourcing jobs also comes with its share of problems. Learn why some companies are having second thoughts about outsourcing in this week's Newsweek.
- 9 April 2004
"It could happen on a train, in a restaurant or during an awe-inspiring aria at a performance of 'Carmen': a neighbor's cellphone starts bleating the theme song from 'Friends,' disrupting the mood and setting nerves on edge. Wouldn't it be great, you think to yourself, if this couldn't happen? Others are thinking likewise, including companies and researchers developing or already selling devices that render cellphones inoperable in certain locations...Proponents say that such measures are more effective than 'no cellphone' signs, 'quiet cars' on trains or even legal restrictions...The concerns go beyond mere annoyance: casinos are seeking to stop phone-based cheating; prison authorities want to guard against phone use by inmates for drug deals or other forms of wrongdoing. With the rise of camera cellphones have come privacy concerns that have made locker rooms and other areas no-phone zones." Today cell phone technology has created so many problems and annoyances that some companies are marketing products that could render cell phones useless in certain areas. Yet, some are questioning whether such devices are legal. Read more in the New York Times.
- 8 April 2004
"White-collar copycats may be less inclined to pilfer the well-chosen words of others now that software designed to ferret out plagiarism is moving out of academia and into the business world. For years, educators at colleges and universities have marshaled software tools to ensure that their students' work is original. Now, tainted by scandals or leery of the Internet's copy-enabling power, a growing number of newspapers, law firms and other businesses are using data-sifting tools that can cross-check billions of digital documents and swiftly recognize patterns in just seconds." The broad availability of information has made it easier than ever for people to plagiarize material at schools and news organizations. But now there is new software that might help editors and teachers fight plagiarism through high-tech methods. Learn more at CNN.com.
- 7 April 2004
"Investing in the future of the Earth may seem like a hokey slogan for an environmental organization, but for the 49 students in Lynne Lewis' environmental economics class at Bates College, it's a requirement. Last month, students at the Lewiston, Maine, college bid on--and won--the rights to pollute the environment with nine tons of sulfur dioxide at an auction sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency. They then proceeded to retire those rights, effectively keeping that sulfur dioxide from falling on Maine, or anywhere else, in the form of acid rain. It's a tactic for saving the environment that has been available to the public for more than a decade. But few individuals and environmental organizations have taken advantage of it." While capitalism and big business are often seen as the enemies of the environmental lobby, some environmental groups are using capitalist principles to fight pollution--essentially purchasing pollution allowances from businesses. Read more in Wired News.
- 6 April 2004
"Nanotechnology is well established at some major technology companies, but Wall Street is just catching on to the money-spinning potential for the rapidly evolving field, industry experts said this week. Nanotech, which aims to build new materials by manipulating atoms and molecules, is 'business as usual' at Intel Corp., Paolo Gargini, director of technology strategy, told a National Nanotechnology Initiative conference in Washington, D.C. this week. Gargini said Intel manufactures its Pentium processors and Centrimo wireless communication chips on a nano-scale, generally defined as the fabrication of things under 100 nanometers, with a nanometer being one billionth of a meter...Nanotech is still mostly a technology in search of products -- and investors, with research largely confined to government funded universities and companies looking for new products." Nanotechnology offers untapped potential for many scientific breakthroughs, but investors remain reluctant to put money in the promising technology. Read more at Reuters (link no longer active).
- 5 April 2004
"The U.S. government may not have the legal authority to ensure the safety of future biotech products, such as genetically modified fish and pharmaceutical crops, a farm research group said on Thursday. A report by the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology said new legislation may be necessary to keep pace with the growing biotech industry. Biotech companies are developing new biotech crops and animals not for human consumption, but to help in producing medicines and industrial products...The research group said the current regulatory system has so far been successful in ensuring that biotech crops, widely grown in the United States, were safe for consumers and the environment. However, the report warns that this may not be the case in the future." Although biotechnology has the potential to help alleviate many problems, a recent study warns that laws in the United States might not be keeping up with cutting-edge scientific developments. Learn more in Yahoo News (link no longer active).
- 2 April 2004
"Google's debut of a Web-based e-mail service thrust this most hyped creation of Silicon Valley's venture capitalist community back onto center stage this week. On the surface, it sounds like a wow idea. You get one gigabyte of storage and don't pay a copper cent in return. Credit the folks at Google for doing something for the common user. My other Web mail accounts too often reach the maximum storage capacity and shut down until I purge my in-box. What's more, my hunch is that Microsoft and Yahoo will eventually respond in kind, lest they fall behind Google...But all the encomia that's greeting the announcement of 'Gmail' distracts attention from the fact that there's yet a hidden price you will still pay, albeit in the form of a different sort of coin." Google's decision to begin offering users free e-mail with huge storage space and search options has generated quite a buzz. Yet, many wonder whether this new e-mail system will be made possible at the expense of users' privacy. Read more at CNET News.
- 1 April 2004
"From the time Sputnik first orbited Earth in 1957 to the fall of the Soviet Union 34 years later, Western cooperation in manned spaceflight was cemented by a common ideology and a common foe. Its capstone was the International Space Station. But today, the United States and Europe, which built the space station, have reached a crossroads as they search for ways to put astronauts on Mars. One path could lead to tighter cooperation, not only between the US and Europe, but also with Russia, China, and other nations interested in manned spaceflight. The other path could lead to an international space race in which the US may find itself still in the lead but increasingly isolated." While the United States and Europe have a legacy of cooperating to reach space, recent disagreements could trigger a space race that could, potentially, involve the U.S., Europe, Russia, and China. Read more in the Christian Science Monitor.
- 31 March 2004
"In the latest salvo in a debate over sending tech work overseas, a report sponsored by an industry group concludes that the practice is good for the U.S. economy and its workers. Offshore outsourcing of software and information technology services tasks not only is boosting the U.S. gross domestic product but also helping to generate U.S. jobs, including positions in the IT sector, according to the report. Released Tuesday, it was prepared by research firm Global Insight and sponsored by the Information Technology Association of America trade group. The study comes as the practice of farming out high-skilled work to low-wage countries has become a hot-button issue and part of the U.S. presidential campaign." Adding fuel to the fierce debate over outsourcing, a recent report sponsored by a trade group that represents a number of large corporations argues in favor of the benefits of outsourcing. Read more in CNET News.com.
- 30 March 2004
"There is at least one thing the entire world can agree on -- almost all of us hate spam. Spam is clogging fragile networks in developing countries. It's confusing people who are just getting online, and it's ruining the simple pleasure and efficiency of e-mail for those in developed countries, said delegates at the two-day global forum on Internet governance hosted by the United Nations in New York. The forum was intended to determine what, if any, involvement the United Nations should have in building and managing Internet infrastructure and dealing with associated topics such as privacy, free speech, intellectual property and network security." Read more about this recent forum which examined the role that an international body like the United Nations should have in the management of the internet, in Wired News.
- 29 March 2004
"In January 2003, voting activist Bev Harris was holed up in the basement of her three-story house in Renton, Washington, searching the Internet for an electronic voting machine manual, when she made a startling discovery. Clicking on a link for a file transfer protocol site belonging to voting machine maker Diebold Election Systems, Harris found about 40,000 unprotected computer files. They included source code for Diebold's AccuVote touch-screen voting machine, program files for its Global Election Management System tabulation software...and what appeared to be live vote data from 57 precincts in a 2002 California primary election." While many hope that electronic voting will make it easier to participate in the democratic process, some are concerned that introducing technology to the process creates potential security threats--as well as corporate and political conflicts of interest. Read more about this issue in an in-depth report published in Wired News.
- 26 March 2004
"Pass it on. It spread first across the city and then the country, multiplying itself through mobile phones, emails and the internet. You have one new message. 'Today at 6pm, Genova Street, to find out the truth. Pass it on.' And they did, in their thousands. Genova Street is the location of the conservative Partido Popular (PP) headquarters in Madrid, the party in power in Spain until March 14. By that evening, PP branches all over Spain were being harangued on the night before the general election by demonstrators not allied to any political party. In Spain, the PP appeared on television to denounce the demos; the number of protestors subsequently soared." By drawing upon the internet and cell phone technology, citizens around the world are forming "smart mobs" to draw upon the power of collective action. Learn more about this high-tech political trend in the Guardian.
- 25 March 2004
"When Helen Karjala decided to set up her own computer last year, she was fearless. She patiently plodded her way through the process of setting up the machine and connecting to the Internet, an ordeal that can bring unwholesome utterances to the lips of people half her age. 'I started investigating the wires and the prongs and I thought, 'I can do this,' recalled Mrs. Karjala, who is 88. 'Of course, I needed a magnifying glass'...Once largely written off as a lost cause, older Americans are now coming into their own as Internet users. They are researching their family histories, sending e-mail, running virtual book clubs, reading about religion and travel, and pursuing other interests lifelong and new." According to a recent study, older Americans are using the internet with increasing frequency, allowing them to stay in touch with family and participate in more mentally engaging activities. Read more in the New York Times.
- 24 March 2004
"'The time for discussion of the rights and wrongs of GM crops has passed. Intense and consistent economic sabotage and intimidation are what will make the commercialisation of GM crops an unattractive option.' Words like these, from an article in the current edition of Earth First!, a radical environmental journal, send shivers down the spines of those involved in commercialising biotechnology. The strength of public disapproval of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) was a shock and a surprise to most of those involved. Now, some people are wondering whether nanotechnology could be in for similar treatment and, if so, whether there are lessons that its protagonists can learn from the public backlash against biotechnology." Learn why some scientists are worried that developments in nanotechnology will meet a public outcry similar to that which greeted the development of genetically modified crops in this week's Economist.
- 23 March 2004
"Before 8x8 Inc. launched an Internet phone service in late 2002, it drafted a business plan, set up its equipment, posted a Web site and began taking orders from customers. As with most online ventures, U.S. government approval wasn't needed. That would change if the Department of Justice succeeds at persuading federal regulators to require new online communications services--such as Internet calling--to comply with wiretapping laws." Although some government agencies argue that wiretapping laws governing certain internet functions are vital to national security, there are others who argue that such laws would have a detrimental effect on technological innovation. Read more about this ongoing debate at CNN.com.
- 22 March 2004
"Of the half billion or so cell phones produced in 2003, fewer than 10 million were so-called 'smart phones' with the type of operating system, calendar, e-mail and other software found on computers and handheld organizers...But this week, at the U.S. cellular industry's annual trade show, a number of influential companies will be heralding what they see as a not-so-distant future when it's all about software: Everyone will want their cell phones to do a lot more computer stuff. People will shop for these smart phones with a careful eye toward the operating system, e-mail handler and Web browser, how many other programs are available for that platform and how well they all interact with a regular computer." During a recent trade show industry experts predicted that in the future cell phones will become more and more like computers. Read more at Yahoo News (link no longer active).
- 19 March 2004
"When Lisa Johnson saw a man exposing himself to her in a parking lot, she reached for her cell phone--not to call 911, but to snap a picture. The images captured on her camera phone led police to the capture of the former principal of a nearby high school. After his arrest on public indecency charges last month, he resigned from a lower school job. Cell phones that can take pictures are becoming a more common way for victims and other witnesses to help police capture criminals. Because the phones are so portable and always on, it takes only a moment to photograph the face or license plate of someone in the act of a crime." While many worry that camera phones pose a threat to personal privacy, a number of recent incidents suggest that they might also work to fight crime. Read more in Yahoo News (link no longer active).
- 18 March 2004
"A new federal anti-spam law has done little to decrease the amount of junk e-mail flooding Americans' in-boxes, according to a survey released today that found the mounting spam problem has prompted nearly 30 percent of respondents to reduce their use of e-mail. Sixty-three percent of e-mail users who responded to the Pew Internet & American Life survey said that the increase in junk e-mail has made them less trusting of e-mail as a communications tool, and more than three-quarters of respondents -- 77 percent -- said that spam makes being online 'unpleasant and annoying.'" Despite recent anti-spam legislation, a recent survey suggests that unsolicited e-mail is becoming so prevalent that many are avoiding the use of e-mail. Read more in the Washington Post.
- 17 March 2004
"With an electronic whir, the machine released a dollop of 'peach body shampoo,' a kind of body wash. Then as the cleansing, bubbling action kicked in, Toshiko Shibahara, 89, settled back to enjoy the wash and soak cycle of her nursing home's new human washing machine...Futuristic images of elderly Japanese going through rinse and dry cycles in rows of washing machines may evoke chills. But they also point to where the world's most rapidly aging nation is heading. This spring Japanese companies plan to start marketing a 'robot suit,' a motorized, battery-operated pair of pants designed to help the aged and infirm move around on their own." Learn how the Japanese are utilizing cutting-edge technology to assist their elderly population in The International Herald Tribune.
- 16 March 2004
"Two computer projects designed to preserve the privacy of Americans were quietly killed while Congress was restricting Pentagon data-gathering research in a widely publicized effort to protect citizens from futuristic anti-terrorism tools. As a result, the government is quietly pressing ahead with research into high-powered computer data-mining technology without the two most advanced privacy protections developed to police those terror-fighting tools." While some government agencies are developing more high-tech data mining techniques, there are fewer and fewer programs that seek to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens through high-tech means. Read more about this disturbing trend in Wired News.
- 15 March 2004
"These are lonely days for encyclopedias. At libraries, the volumes sit ignored for days on end as information-seeking patrons tap busily away at nearby computers. Even in the warmth of a loving home, that set of hard-bound books that once represented the crown tool of a good education gets the cold shoulder. In the age of the Internet, encyclopedias are gathering dust, and most families with young children don't even consider buying the space-hogging printed sets anymore. Even digital versions struggle for attention." Now that it is so simple to "google" information on the internet many people are neglecting traditional research tools. Are traditional research materials becoming obsolete? Learn more at CNN.com.
- 12 March 2004
"The food industry has already found out the dangers - and costs - of letting unauthorized biotech crops seep into the food supply. Now, another threat has emerged: seeds. Traditional corn, soybeans, and canola seeds available for sale to American farmers have a tiny percentage of genetically modified (GM) seeds mixed in with them, a new study shows. The finding poses immediate challenges for farmers and nations trying to keep their crops GM-free...If the genie is out of the bottle for GM seeds approved for human consumption, what's to prevent other experimental GM crops from moving into the food supply?" Read more about the disturbing possibility that all sorts of genetically modified products, from drugs to plastics, may be contaminating our food supply in the Christian Science Monitor.
- 11 March 2004
"Four of the largest internet providers in the US announced they have filed six lawsuits against hundreds of spammers. Microsoft, AOL, Earthlink and Yahoo are joining forces to fight the millions of junk e-mails sent out every day. The companies said the defendants include some of the nation's 'biggest' and 'baddest' large-scale spammers. The actions are believed to be the first major industry lawsuits under new anti-spam legislation passed in the US earlier this year." In a show of unprecedented cooperation, four of America's largest internet service providers are working together to prosecute hundreds of alleged spammers--putting new anti-spam legislation to its first real test. Read more in the BBC.com.
- 10 March 2004
"Simple misrepresentation of facts on a resume is passe. Lying convincingly is in. As companies, via background searches, try to call the bluff of less-than-honest job seekers, candidates are resorting to more complex, sometimes hi-tech means to hoodwink potential employers. Some applicants are providing employers with toll-free phone numbers, which are answered by operators of Web sites that not only offer phony academic degrees, but also 'verify' a job seeker's education." In recent months the public has become increasingly aware of the threats posed by hackers and computer viruses, but many are also using the internet and telecommunications technology for relatively low-tech crimes like forging resumes, transcripts, and fraud. Read more in Yahoo News (link no longer active).
- 9 March 2004
"The informally anointed Democratic candidate for President and the North Carolinian who many experts think could wind up as his running mate recently joined networking Web site Friendster.com, whose visitors create profiles of themselves and connect with various virtual communities of like-minded people. Friendster, whose 5.5 million registrants are 27 years old, on average, is a logical place to find the young voters that former Vermont Governor Howard Dean attracted to his party until his candidacy ended." Although the failure of Howard Dean's campaign led some to question the efficacy of using the internet as a campaign tool, the fact that Kerry and Edwards are subscribing to the trendy Friendster website indicates otherwise. Learn more in Business Week.
- 8 March 2004
"THAT there are more telephones, computers and internet connections in rich countries than there are in poor ones is obvious. There are also more cars, televisions and air-conditioners. But the difference in the availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is the focus of particular concern among policymakers, academics and non-governmental organisations. Such technology, it is generally agreed, boosts productivity, though how quickly and by how much is the subject of much debate. The far wider availability of ICTs in rich countries, goes the argument, will therefore enable the rich to get richer, while the poor are left behind...These beliefs are widely held. But a new paper by two economists at the World Bank, Carsten Fink and Charles Kenny, questions the logic of this argument and highlights the woolly thinking that pervades the digital-divide discussion." Read more about how some question whether the digital divide is growing in the Economist.
- 5 March 2004
"Dr. Louis G. Lange, a cardiologist and the chief executive of a small biotechnology company, has a new drug that, if approved, will be the first new treatment for angina in a quarter-century. Like many drug companies, Dr. Lange's, CV Therapeutics of Palo Alto, Calif., tested its new product overseas, where studies go faster because it is easy to find patients who are eager to participate. But the company's testing is nearing its end, and Dr. Lange is faced with an ethical quandary: Is his company obliged to make the drug available to the patients in poor countries like Russia who took part in the studies?" Learn more about this ethical dilemma that many large drug companies face, in today's New York Times.
- 4 March 2004
"At the Melbourne Motor Show last week, Toyota unveiled a controversial concept car that would very closely monitor, and in some cases restrict, the actions of its driver -- including refusing to turn on. To drive the sleek Toyota Sportivo, a driver would have to enter a memory card into its console to turn on the engine. Based on the driver's experience and driving record, the car adjusts its engine performance, cutting back for motorists with less experience or spotty driving records." While Toyota claims its new concept car will help drivers by adjusting the engine performance according to a computerized driving record, privacy advocates fear that this type of technology will be used to monitor motorists' driving. Read the story in Wired News.
- 3 March 2004
"The world faces a future of people speaking more than one language, with English no longer seen as likely to become dominant, a British language expert says in a new analysis. 'English is likely to remain one of the world's most important languages for the foreseeable future, but its future is more problematic -- and complex -- than most people appreciate,' said language researcher David Graddol. He sees English as likely to become the 'first among equals' rather than having the global field to itself." Learn why some experts believe that "monolingual" language speakers will have difficulty in an increasingly interconnected world at CNN.com.
- 2 March 2004
"A lawsuit accusing a key Internet agency of stymieing innovation could lead to fundamental changes in the way the global network is run, threatening an already tenuous balance between commercial and public interests online. VeriSign last week lashed out against the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), saying the group violated antitrust laws by repeatedly preventing Mountain View, Ca.-based VeriSign from launching new services based on its control over the master database for Net addresses that end in .com and .net." While this case appears to be just another legal battle between large corporations, the results could have implications for the way we use e-mail and the internet. Read more in C-NET News.
- 1 March 2004
"Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said on Friday that the U.S. is not going to 'beg OPEC for oil' and was instead developing 'game-changing technologies' to counter its dependence on imports. He noted that a huge rise in Asian demand and a recovery in the U.S. economy had contributed to the recent rise in oil, gasoline and other energy prices....For the longer term, he cited the development of clean operating coal-fired power plants, new 'meltdown-proof and proliferation-resistant' nuclear plants and hydrogen-related technologies as key to meet growing demand for energy." Read more about the United States' plans to reduce dependence on foreign oil in Reuters News (link no longer active).
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