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Welcome to the August 2008 Issue of the Electronix Express Newsletter
STORIES
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According to Ms. Cavoukian, "Without better management of digital identities, we will not only continue to struggle with existing problems such as identity theft, spam, malware, and cyber-fraud, we will be unable to assure individual users that they can safely migrate their critical data and applications from their own computers onto the Web. She added that a more flexible identity management system would include all devices connected to the Internet such as laptop and desktop PCs, cell phones, personal digital assistants, smart cards, sensors, video recorders and online game consoles.
Among the online activities cited where personal data is exchanged are e-mails, filing tax declarations, managing bank accounts, buying goods, playing games, connecting to a company intranet, and meeting people in a virtual world.
Although the PC is still the dominant means of accessing the Internet, IDC's Digital Marketplace Model and Forecast report predicts that the number of mobile devicess accessing the Internet will surpass the number of PCs online by 2012.
Additionally, the usage model is changing. While end-users will still access Web 1.0 capabilities like searching, shopping and e-mailing, Web 2.0 activities like watching user-generated videos, posting to blogs and participating in social networks will continue to gain momentum and popularity. Web 2.0 applications are already capturing the attention and online time of more and more Internet users, which will create new opportunities and challenges for online advertisers.
More than 2 million tons of electronics are tossed in the trash every year-- the vast majority of that waste ends up in landfills. The need for a nationwide plan has never been greater, from an environmental advocacy perspective. Americans throw out an estimated 100,000 PCs every day. Add to that the equally daunting number of cell phones, TVs and other outdated electronics being pushed aside, and the dimensions of the problem are truly monumental. Angela Beaubien, manager of marketing for ReCellular, the company that handles all cell phones from Best Buy's kiosk recycling program states,
"Over 130 million cell phones are going to be retired this year, so if everyone can do their part to keep the phones out of landfills, it pushes the needle that much lower." Best Buy's cell phone recycling partner, ReCellular, has a zero landfill policy and handles all materials itself. You might be surprised what they might do with your old phone. "Everything is reused," Beaubien said. "If phones can't be resold, the parts get melted down and used to make things like carpet backing, car dashboards, and playground equipment."
Carbon nanotubes can have a needle-like fiber shape similar to that of asbestos, which has already lead to speculation that their widespread use could lead to mesothelioma, the same cancer of the lining of the lungs that is caused by asbestos exposure. The pathogenic results they found are of considerable importance, because research and business communities continue to invest heavily in carbon nanotubes for a wide range of products under the assumption that they are no more hazardous than graphite. However, a number of questions need to be answered before any definitive decisions about nanotubes and their potential applications can be made. Results from the study were not all discouraging. Specifically, carbon nanotubes come in many shapes and sizes, and the research showed that it was the long, straight variety that was the problem. Accordingly, that knowledge could be used to simply eliminate that particular type from the supply chain, leaving the many other varieties available for potentially safer use. The results suggest the need for further research and great caution before introducing such products into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided.
The satellite system should ensure a full four-bar signal for lunar colonists living in the base NASA wants to build at the south pole of the moon after 2020. The stellar vision of the mobile's future even tops the effort that managed to get a text message to the top of Mount Everest. Phone calls and other information would be bounced off satellites orbiting the moon for communication between colonists, the moon base, and the Earth.
The joint NASA/BNSC MoonLite mission, due to be launched after 2012, will test a prototype version of the satellite phone network, similar to the Inmarsat network on Earth. The explorer will rely on the expertise of BNSC satellite specialists from Guildford, who have built 27 satellites to date, with NASA making the communications module. The final system would initially be served by one or two satellites providing coverage of the south pole, with scope for more satellites to be added as a greater range is required. Data throughput in the MoonLite system would range from up to 3Kbps for the downlink and up to 2Kbps for the uplink. The MoonLite mission proposal is undergoing a review of its science goals and costs before it is approved.
Mobile phone operator Orange said that it had teamed up with GotWind, a firm specializing in renewable energy, to produce a recharger powered by dance energy alone.
The portable kinetic energy chargers will be given a test run at this year's Glastonbury Festival, the world's biggest greenfield music and arts celebration that begins on a farm in Somerset, England. Orange said the prototype chargers weigh the same as a phone and are about the size of a pack of cards. Attached to the user's arm, they employ a system of weights and magnets that provide an electric current to completely charge a storage battery. This can then later be used to recharge the phone. "We wanted to create a fun, engaging, and interactive product which would encourage users to have a laugh while charging their mobile phone and at the same time test out a new energy-efficient prototype," said Hattie Magee, head of partnerships at Orange UK.
"Voice Transact uses a voice biometric to pull together the retail and Internet banking sectors of the market, and will also open up the mobile payments market," VCG chief executive Nick Ogden said. In addition, Ogden added, the voice biometric system will help reduce security issues, including the major issue of online identity fraud.
Ogden outlined the way the system registers customers wishing to sign up for the service: "Using your online banking account, you ask to register to use voice biometrics. The phone rings, and you're asked to repeat a sequence of numbers down the phone and the system creates a voice biometric profile. "To use the system to pay for goods or services, you ring a free phone number, quoting a 'voice pay' product code and the system asks you to recite a sequence of numbers back to it down the phone -- it's as simple as that." As well as payment transactions, Ogden says that the system can also be used to get cash even if you don't have your wallet with you or authorize remote cash payments for cash-strapped relatives using the system.
However, Ogden did point to current problems with the system, the biggest of which was interoperability between different banks' systems, and the standards used in the technology.
It uses trial and error, building a random series of "candidate models" of how its parts might be arranged in order to move. It develops a set of commands to send to its motors, tests those models, and then moves ahead.
Starfish is made from printed plastic and runs Windows XP Embedded. It communicates wirelessly with a bank of 15 desktop computers. According to Cornell assistant professor and lead researcher Hod Lipson, "It allows the robot to develop [an] internal model and to make predictions. That's the core of the idea." In a few years, the number of processor cores and other advances will allow such a system to reside in the robot itself, he added.
Possible applications of the technology include the use of robots in space or other distant or harsh environments. It may also have uses beyond robotics in fields of study such as human and animal behavior and learning. The self-learned steps of Starfish demonstrate the importance of self-awareness and self-repair functionality in robots.
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