~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #11

[bc <human@electronetwork.org>]

===================================================
Electromagnetic News & Views -- #11
===================================================

00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (1/25/2003)

01) Top Stories of Electromagnetism
02) Electromagnetic health & medicine
03) Electromagnetic trash & treasure
04) Electromagnetic security & surveillance
05) Electromagnetic power & energy
06) Electromagnetic current & human affairs
07) Electromagnetic transportation & communication
08) Electromagnetic matter & information
09) Electromagnetic trends & inventions
10) Electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
11) Electromagnetic business & economics
12) Electromagnetic art & artifacts

===================================================
00) --commentary--
---------------------------------------------------

It may be an arbitrary indicator, and yet the rising
tide of news stories having to do with electromagnetism
and war again seem to be spiking with releases of new
infomration. It is so wide-ranging that it is hard to
know where it begins and if it even ends in any way.

For example, oil has become a talking point and so has
a new type of magnetic bomb (different from the EM-
spike bomb which may have been used in Afghanistan if
official media reports about it are to be believed).
A possible use of nuclear weapons is accompanied by
stories is linked to electromagnetic currency trading
around the globe, at the same time an internet worm
slows down the internetwork, and wreaks havoc with the
ATM system of a certain automated banking network. How
much is connected or not is beyond anyone's knowledge,
and yet just as a story in today's NYTimes indicates,
there is a new 'network theory' which to conceptualize
such seemingly connected but also disconnected events.

It seems probable at some point there will be a need
for the realities of information security to come to
consumer and corporate markets, where secure Wi-Fi and
dial-up and other (e-commerce) transactions are the norm,
and for the right reasons. Hopefully, of all the chaos,
a reevaluation of today's situations with a new common
sense approach will help limit the damages that await.

Maybe it is the same for every person, yet it seems as
if 'history' is on a cliff of sorts, many idealists may
dream of a sea-change of optimistic vision statements,
and a return to an ideal past. Others may mull cynically
and yet not be able to deny that there is a pulse beyond
all the gloom and doom, to how amazing each day is, in
terms of advances of knowledge, ideas, recognition of a
long ways to go, and yet, hope remains. For instance, if
one reads of the importance of RD&D (research, design,
and development) by Nicolaus Negroponte, an URL linked
to in this issue, it gives a sense of value to ideas,
to rethinking and opening up the imagination to bigger
questions than extending the current model incrementally.

Whatever it is that happens, one hope would be that it
would take the major paradoxes of the moment and offer
a sense of clarity- such as with information protection,
new fuels, new intellectual models, and a renewed dream
about what things could be like, something to strive for.
In place of that, recurring questions and situations as
are found in most every story below. With awareness of
our electromagnetic environments, maybe such information
will someday help form a new knowledge of electromagnetism.

bc

PS. if you are or know anyone working with electromagnetic
art and artifacts and willing to participate in an exhibit,
please see: http://www.electronetwork.org/assemblage/

also, the most critical part of the electronetwork.org site
is a contact database (PHP/mySQL) which would related many
individuals, organizations, businesses, and government
agencies to each other for networking and collaboration.
if anyone has the skills or is interested in helping to
co-develop this new site feature, please contact me at
human@electronetwork.org  many thanks.


===================================================
01) --top stories--
---------------------------------------------------

Personal Info Fills Junked Hard Drives
<http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030116/D7OJBBBG0.html>

"Over two years, Simson Garfinkel and Abhi Shelat bought 158
used hard drives at secondhand computer stores and on eBay. Of
the 129 drives that functioned, 69 still had recoverable files
on them and 49 contained "significant personal information"
- medical correspondence, love letters, pornography and 5,000
credit card numbers. One even had a year's worth of transactions
with account numbers from a cash machine in Illinois."

Powermate Air-Gen (TM) fuel-cell generator by Coleman
<http://www.powermate.com/>

"New emergency backup power system featuring fuel-cell
technology. Imagine... A machine that inhales oxygen,
combines with hydrogen and exhales electricity..."

// this is very curious- if only because if having Wi-Fi in the
// television specturm, might it become a privatized medium such
// as television and radio? and without public access, as of now?
// or the question: can Wi-Fi spectrum exist without being owned?

FCC: Open up TV waves to wireless
The Federal Communications Commission is quietly considering
opening the television broadcast spectrum for use by other
wireless devices, including Wi-Fi products.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1033-981047.html?part=dtx&tag=nhl>

America's Ultra-Secret Weapon // the magnetic bomb...
"HPMs are man-made lightning bolts crammed into cruise missiles."
<http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030127/nmicro.html>

Alex's Electronic Resource Library ....An Online Guide
to Useful Electrical and Electronic Information
<http://www.iserv.net/~alexx/lib/tutorial.htm>

// #1 issue = oil protection, Colin Powell offers assurances...

US begins secret talks to secure Iraq's oilfields
Fears that wells will be torched if regime falls
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,880437,00.html>

"Colin Powell, told the Boston Globe yesterday: "If there is
a conflict with Iraq, the leader ship of the coalition [will]
take control of Iraq. The oil of Iraq belongs to the Iraqi
people. Whatever form of custodianship there is ... it will
be held for and used for the people of Iraq. It will not be
exploited for the United States' own purpose.""

Bank of America ATMs Disrupted by Virus
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43267-2003Jan25.html


---------------------------------------------------
02-- electromagnetic health & medicine
---------------------------------------------------

Zap! // similar to early electrical medical experiments...
Scientist bombards brains with super-magnets to edifying effect
<http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/014/science/Zap_+.shtml>

"Just by pointing his super-magnets at the right spots on your head,
Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone can make you go momentarily mute or blind.

He can disrupt your working memory or your ability to recognize faces.
He can even make it harder for you to say verbs while nouns remain as
easy as ever. ... Weird, yes. Fringe, no..."

Bone Marrow Generates New Neurons In Human Brains
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030121080856.htm>

""This study shows that some kind of cell in bone marrow, most
likely a stem cell, has the capacity to enter the brain and form
neurons," says Eva Mezey, M.D., Ph.D., from the National Institute
of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), who led the study."

Study: TV watching does influence babies' behavior // no comment.
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/parenting/01/22/babies.tv.reut/>

"Babies are not just passing idle time when they stare goggle-eyed
at the television -- they are actually learning about the world,
U.S. researchers said this week."

Computer boosts memory by 10%
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2683945.stm>

"Researchers at Imperial College London have used a technique
called neurofeedback to train people to remember more clearly.

It works by showing people their own brainwaves on a computer
screen, and teaching them how to control them."

Ink-jet printing creates tubes of living tissue // wild!
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993292>

"Three-dimensional tubes of living tissue have been printed using
modified desktop printers filled with suspensions of cells instead
of ink. The work is a first step towards printing complex tissues
or even entire organs."

Bar Code Tech Drives Nurses Nuts // next step: RFIDs?
<http://wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,57311,00.html>

Thumbs down for electric toothbrush
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2679175.stm>

"Most electric toothbrushes are no better for your teeth
and gums than the traditional type powered only by elbow
grease, researchers have found."



---------------------------------------------------
03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
---------------------------------------------------

Lobbyists feted Bush administration telecom aide
<http://salon.com/politics/wire/2003/01/20/telecom_lobby/>

"The Bush administration's point person for telecommunications policy
allowed wireless phone company lobbyists to help pay for a private
reception at her home, and then 10 days later urged a policy change
that benefited their industry, according to documents and interviews."

Poindexter's Still a Technocrat, Still a Lightning Rod // no comment.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/business/20POIN.html?todaysheadlines>

"While spending time at President Reagan's ranch in California as
the national security adviser, according to several former military
officers who worked with him, the admiral would sit for hours with
his Grid laptop computer, then very high-tech. Connected to a main-
frame computer by a satellite phone, he would patiently program and
polish the software that controlled the White House's newly installed
e-mail system.

"It was Admiral Poindexter's technological expertise that permitted him
to create a back door, named "private blank check," in the e-mail system
to circumvent normal White House channels, according to David A.  
Wallace,
a specialist in electronic records at the School of Information at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The system made it possible for
the admiral to oversee the illegal activities of Col. Oliver North."

International consortium to develop electronics recycling technology
<http://www.edie.net/gf.cfm?L=left_frame.html&R=http://www.edie.net/ 
news/Archive/6572.cfm>

---------------------------------------------------
04-- electromagnetic security & surveillance
---------------------------------------------------

Wireless far from flawless  // worth reading: To G or Not to G...
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/ 
2003/01/20/BU143826.DTL&type=business>

Microsoft brings blue screen of death to mobile phones
-- Redmond, we seem to have a security problem. Over.
<http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7232>

"Yes, as an owner of a Microsoft Smartphone 2002 device you will
soon be logging onto Microsoft's support Web sites and downloading
the latest security patches and service pack updates....

It seems that an 'enthusiast' has apparently already discovered
two seperate means of breaching the security in an Orange SPV
and posted them on the Net."

// it seems improbable for the UPC (universal product code)
// system to continue in the face of RFID tagging. if only
// because when updating the UPC system, recently, it only
// added one or two more scannable bars to the system, versus
// a whole new universe of taggable and identity-aware devices.

RFID tags: Big Brother in small packages
Could we be constantly tracked through our clothes,
shoes or even our cash in the future
<http://news.com.com/2010-1069-980325.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>

"The privacy threat comes when RFID tags remain active once you
leave a store. That's the scenario that should raise alarms--and
currently the RFID industry seems to be giving mixed signals about
whether the tags will be disabled or left enabled by default."

More than 300 foreigners apprehended in biometric searches
<http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0103/011603td1.htm>

What's wrong with today's antivirus apps
<http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2909117,00.html>

"I'd love to steer you to a reputable antivirus program that doesn't
charge for antivirus updates. But... I still haven't found one."

The Curmudgeon's Crystal Ball: security predictions for 2003
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/28927.html>

"Unfortunately, the practice of avoiding responsibility for
information assurance will remain the single largest obstacle
to effective security."

How to Foil Data Thieves, Hackers 
<http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57302,00.html>

'The "user-level anomaly detection" software draws up regularly
updated profiles by closely tracking over time how each person
performs an array of routine tasks, such as opening files,
sending e-mail or searching archives.'

// curious what these monitor stations look like, having never seen
// one. imagine they are similar to weather monitoring stations...

U.S. Is Deploying a Monitor System for Germ Attacks
<http://nytimes.com/2003/01/22/national/22DISE.html>

"The system uses advanced data analysis that officials said
had been quietly adapted since the Sept. 11 attacks and tested
over the past nine months. It will adapt many of the Environmental
Protection Agency's 3,000 air quality monitoring stations throughout
the country to register unusual quantities of a wide range of pathogens
that cause diseases that incapacitate and kill."

Perspective: Decrypting the secret to strong security: Is open-source
software better for security than proprietary software?
By Whitfield Diffie
<http://news.com.com/2010-1071-980462.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>

More Checks on U.S. Travelers // Computer Assisted
Passenger Pre-Screening Program II, or CAPPS II
<http://wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,57354,00.html>

"Last week, the Transportation Security Agency announced its
intent to create a new passenger-screening database that will
be the centerpiece of a system to scan for potential terrorists
by instantly checking every domestic traveler's credit history,
arrest record and property tax data."

Senate Blocks Funding for Pentagon Database // TIA update.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34837-2003Jan23.html>

Former Gov. Wants Homeland Security Dept. To Run State, Local IT
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=74&ncid=74&e=2&u=/cmp/ 
20030123/tc_cmp/inw20030122s0010>

ISPs: Ruling Bad for Subscribers 
<http://wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57360,00.html>

"Internet service providers said their customers' rights to
privacy and due process are at risk after a judge ruled that
one ISP must surrender the name of a subscriber suspected of
illegally trading music files."

Vegas' High-Stakes Surveillance Lab // Learning from Las Vegas...
In using sophisticated systems and software to pinpoint cheats,
casinos are providing valuable lessons for law enforcement
<http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2003/ 
tc20030123_4665.htm>

Electronic attack slows Internet: Traffic on the many parts of
the Internet slowed dramatically for hours early Saturday, the
apparent effects of a fast-spreading, virus-like infection that
overwhelmed the world's digital pipelines and interfered with
Web browsing and delivery of e-mail.
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/01/25/internet.attack.ap/ 
index.html>

---------------------------------------------------
05-- electromagnetic power & energy
---------------------------------------------------

The Axis of Oil // nice synopsis of what's going on...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/21/opinion/21TUE1.html>

Nano Solar Cells
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/emerging0203.asp?p=4>

"Paul Alivisatos, a chemist at the University of California, Berkeley,
...aims to use nanotechnology to produce a photovoltaic material that
can be spread like plastic wrap or paint. Not only could the nano solar
cell be integrated with other building materials, it also offers the
promise of cheap production costs that could finally make solar power
a widely used electricity alternative."

Russia Shuts Down Aging Nuclear Plant
<http://www.technologyreview.com/offthewire/3001_1412003_2.asp>

Relocation tensions in China are growing // 3 Gorges Dam...
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/01/20/china/>

Astronaut Captures Rare Images of Red Luminosities in the Skies
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/21/science/21SHUT.html>

"The sprites, which are red flashes of electricity shooting up
from thunderclouds 13 miles into the ionosphere, and elves, which
are glowing red doughnut shapes radiating 190 miles, were photo-
graphed on Sunday by Capt. David M. Brown of the Navy."

NASA boosts nuclear propulsion plans // i knew of the nuclear RTGs
but curious how astronauts would be to a nuclear disaster onboard
or if a spacecraft breaks up upon (nuclear) launch... questions...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993285>

"O'Keefe revealed the significant new emphasis in an interview
with Los Angeles Times : "We're talking about doing something
on a very aggressive schedule to not only develop the capabilities
for nuclear propulsion and power generation, but to have a mission
using the new technology within this decade."

The request has been approved by US President George Bush and will
now pass to Congress for approval. NASA's Nuclear Systems Initiative
will also be renamed Project Prometheus."


---------------------------------------------------
06-- electromagnetic current & human affairs
---------------------------------------------------

Think before you talk
Can technology make mobile phones less socially disruptive?
<http://www.economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1534708>

"As part of an internal research project, the [Ideo] team designed five
prototype "social mobiles" which modify their users' behaviour to make
it less disruptive.

For example, the first phone, called SoMo1, gives its user a mild
electric shock, depending on how loudly the person at the other end
is speaking. This encourages both parties to speak more quietly,
otherwise the mild tingling becomes an unpleasant jolt. Such phones,
the designers suggest archly, could be given to repeat offenders
who persistently disturb people with intrusive phone conversations."

Bible college shuns 666 phone number
<http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/01/18/offbeat.mark.of.the.beast.ap/>

// outstanding article, be sure to read the the last sentence...

Chess Champion Faces Off With New Computer // Jan. 26th NY Athletic  
Club <http://nytimes.com/2003/01/21/science/21CHES.html>

"On Sunday, he begins a six-game $1 million match against an Israeli
program, Deep Junior, the three-time world computer chess champion.
...
There are some 85 billion ways of playing just the first four moves
for each side.
...
Humans are best at long-range strategic planning, where subtle,
methodically executed maneuvers ultimately carry the day. Deep Junior
excels in hand-to-hand combat, tactical dogfights in which brute
computational strength prevails."

AND

Of Pawns, Knights, Bits, Bytes // the match will be shown on Wired...
<http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,57345,00.html>

Cellular Connection
With a hum instead of a roar, the fuel cell is here.
<http://www.reason.com/rauch/010603.shtml>

"Turn on a fuel-cell car and there's no ignition, no roar, no shudder,
no plume of smoke—just a quiet hum. The fuel cell catalyzes hydrogen
and oxygen to produce energy with about 45 percent efficiency. That's
more than twice the efficiency of an internal combustion engine, which
delivers less than 20 percent of the energy in a tank of gas to the
wheels of the car."

Radio inventor's daughter speaks to space station
<http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/tech/RTGAM/ 
20030120/gtradio/Technology/techBN/>

Business etiquette catching up to a wireless world
<http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-01-22-wireless-manners_x.htm>

"Sperano believes that meeting etiquette will evolve as wireless
networks — which use radio waves to broadcast signals back and forth to
strategically placed antennas — build a pervasive information  
environment."


---------------------------------------------------
07-- electromagnetic transportation & communication
---------------------------------------------------

Bouncing Signals Push the Limits of Bandwidth
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/16/technology/circuits/16next.html>

"a system developed by Bell Labs actually embraces radio reflections
not only to improve reception but also to boost the speed of wireless
networks. Prototypes of the system, called Blast, can send data over  
third-generation, or 3G, cellphone networks at rates about eight
times those of 3G."

// there was an article a while back that mentioneed specific
// security issues that exist with this particular technology...

Power Lines Spark Net Access
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,57240,00.html>

"The same power lines that bring electricity to televisions and
toasters may become the next pathway into homes for high-speed
Internet access, federal officials said Wednesday."

Boeing debuts in-flight, broadband Internet // more details...
<http://www.msnbc.com/local/PISEA/104318.asp?0cv=BB10&cp1=1>

"   Anyone who flies is well aware of the warning before takeoff not
to use a cell phone or some electronic equipment during the flight.
But Connexion does not cause such interference.
    It uses satellites orbiting high above the  Earth to send and
receive data from the plane.
    Two Boeing-designed  antennas are mounted just aft of the distinctive
747 hump on top of the fuselage. These Ku-band phased-array antennas --
one used for sending data and the other for receiving -- scan electron-
ically for the satellite as the plane moves. There is no disruption of
service regardless of how bumpy  the flight or how the plane is  
positioned.
...
    When sending from the plane, data goes first to a satellite and then
to a ground station. From there it is transmitted to a facility south
of Seattle, in Kent. There an Internet connection is established. The
Kent facility controls access to the Internet and monitors the on-board
Connexion system during the flight."

// reminiscent of a magnetic bicycle speedometer of sorts...

Michelin to Embed Electronic ID Tags in Tires
<http://www.reuters.com/ 
newsArticle.jhtml?type=technologyNews&storyID=2045403>

'"We can coat this thing, vulcanize it into the tire, and  the chip
still has 90 percent of its read-write capability even  though it's
in the tire," Michelin spokeswoman Nan Banks told  Reuters.'

Wireless LANs Get the Keys to the Car
New products for your automobile include an MP3 player that transports
tunes in your trunk and doubles as an access point for an in-car LAN.
<http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,108821,00.asp>

Mobiles get a sense of touch // or, how to capture the
cellphone market in San Francisco in under 30 days...
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2677813.stm>

"The vibration in today's mobiles is of a single strength and
frequency. With Immersion's system, the strength and pitch of
the vibrations can be controlled and varied."

Actor Promotes Hydrogen Cars on TV, Website
<http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-21-09.asp#anchor6>

New WLAN Card Boosts PDA Power
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20554.html>

"ombining Wi-Fi and handheld devices seems like a can't-miss  
proposition.
Until now, visions of high-speed access on the go have been obscured by
the sobering reality of heavy power consumption. The advent of the  
SyChip
Secure Digital WLAN Card may change that."

Cell Industry Balks at FCC Rules
<http://wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,57343,00.html>

SD Supercomputer Center Researchers Find Unnecessary
Traffic Saturating A Key Internet 'Root' Server
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030124074245.htm>

Robot gliders to watch red tides
Winged underwater vehicles could forecast toxic blooms
of plankton. // AUVs: autonomous underwater vehicles...
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030120/030120-6.html>


---------------------------------------------------
08-- electromagnetic matter & information
---------------------------------------------------

// imagine what will happen with the HDTV and HD Radio upgrades,
// and all existing radios and televisions that may be replaced
// so as to use the new digital services... (a trillion things?)

Digital technology brings a radio revolution // HD Radio...
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/4959790.htm>

"Digital radio will take away much of the hissing and popping
that comes with AM radio and will eliminate the background
"ghosting sound" that sometimes comes with FM radio, he said."

Quantum Bits Need To Catch a Virtual Bus // flying qubits
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20485.html>

"A "virtual bus" that shuttles bits of information may be a
cornerstone of quantum computer architecture, say scientists at
the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This
critical building block, however, has yet to be designed and is
missing from most quantum computer proposals, the scientists claim."

Lasers slim enough for chips // Nanowire lasers...
Optical fibres thousand times narrower than human
hair produce laser light.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030113/030113-5.html>

Credit Card-Size Hard Drive Can Hold 5GB
Cheap, thin, flexible StorCard expected to become available this year.
<http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,108816,tk,dn011603X,00.asp>

On Media Giantism by William Safire
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/opinion/20SAFI.html>

"the leading 20 Internet sites and biggest cable channels are already
owned by the expansive likes of G.E.-NBC, Disney , Fox, Gannett, AOL
Time Warner , Hearst, Microsoft , Cox, Dow Jones, The Washington Post
and The New York Times."
...
"...the truth is that media mergers have narrowed the range of
information and entertainment available to people of all ideologies."

Wriggling Energy Source May Power Auroras // from Minnesota  
researchers...
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/ 
article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=0006F3CF-0271-1E26-8B3B809EC588EEDF>

"Sky watchers at high latitudes are often rewarded with stunning
celestial shows known as auroras. Conventional theory holds that
large-scale electric currents flowing along the earth's magnetic
field lines power the displays.  Now findings published today in
the journal Science suggest another source of energy for the heavenly  
exhibitions. Researchers report that Slinky-like wriggling of the
magnetic field lines could help fuel aurora borealis events."

Antineutrinos caught in vanishing act - Disappearance of
nuclear reactors' subatomic particles confirms theory.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030120/030120-4.html>

"Neutrinos and their antimatter siblings, antineutrinos, change
back and forth from a form that detectors can pick up to one
that they can't."

How Electronic Gates Work // electronics, not gated communities
<http://www.howstuffworks.com/digital-electronics.htm>

Microscopic 'Braille' points to new storage
A team of European scientists is experimenting with a molecular-scale
storage device that can be read like Braille and could lead to systems
that hold nearly 100 gigabits of data per square inch.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1001-981832.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

Connect, They Say, Only Connect  // Network theory arrives...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/25/arts/25WATT.html>

"Network scientists study networks: collections of people or
objects connected to each other in some way. Think of the 1.5
million Manhattan residents or the 30,000 genes inside a human
cell. Such networks, scientists argue, behave in ways that can't
be understood solely in terms of their component parts. Without
knowing what every single person or object within the network is
doing, they say, it's nevertheless possible to know something
about how the network as a whole behaves.
...
if you remove one of the hubs, the results can be catastrophic."


---------------------------------------------------
09-- electromagnetic trends & inventions
---------------------------------------------------

// besides issues about morphing PIMs and PDAs into various
// hybrid devices, and besides all of the comments that could
// be made about trying to make a watch into a PDA, and not a
// watch into a new kind of watch... still, a device like this
// would be a solution for the ubiquitous 'password security'
// issues when one is on the go, wants encrypted passwords in
// a database, and access to them and other info at all times.
// interesting too is a watch with do-it-yourself programming.

PC OnHand.com, we get the most out of your watch 
<http://www.pconhand.com/>

Connected clothing for the networked world, Walter S. Mossberg
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/3598934.html>

Are Big-Screen Notebooks Too Big To Be Portable?
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20507.html>

"In addition to their spacious displays,  these computers have high-
powered processors and excellent graphics  capabilities. Because of
their weight and short battery lives, though, they are typically
moved only from one AC-powered environment to another."

Tech Predictions for the Decade // no WiFi roaming...
<http://wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57238,00.html>

IBM looks to arm more PDAs with Linux
<http://news.com.com/2100-1040-981443.html?tag=fd_top>

TI Readies Recharger-on-a-Chip // recharging overing USB...
<http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=1093&ncid=1093&e=3&u=/ 
pcworld/20030123/tc_pcworld/108907>

Feds: Complaints of identity theft surge // included for the role
of electrical paper/document shredders as a countermeasure trend...
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/01/23/id_theft/>

IBM: 'Linux is here to stay'
It's a message that's becoming harder and harder to avoid when
listening to IBM: Linux has arrived as a mainstream operating system.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1001-981857.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

'"Linux is here to stay. It's deeply embedded in the infrastructure.
Its rate of growth and implementation in the infrastructure is
frankly unstoppable," Mills said.'


---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
---------------------------------------------------

THE FIREFIGHTERS // Oil field firefighters
Oil Teams Recall Kuwait and Fear Iraq May Be Worse
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/24/business/24OIL.html>

"For all their experience in such danger, the firefighting companies
say Iraq could pose extraordinary new challenges. No one in the
industry has worked on oil wells tainted by chemical or biological
weapons. No one wants to enter booby-trapped fields."

S. Korea plans 'worst-case' nuke scenario
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/01/16/worst/>

// quite interesting, and it makes one wonder if DNS & IP addresses
// could be shut down on a case-by-case basis during a major crisis,
// which may be one reason that ICANN has the history that it does...

Militaries and Cyber-War from Counterpane's Crypto-Gram...
<http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0301.html#1>

"One important thing to remember here is that you only want to shut
an enemy's network down if you aren't getting useful information from
it.  The best thing to do is to infiltrate the enemy's computers and
networks, spy on them, and surreptitiously disrupt select pieces of
their communications when appropriate.  The next best thing is to
passively eavesdrop.  After that, the next best is to perform traffic
analysis.  Only if you can't do any of that do you consider shutting
the thing down."

Picking Your Way Through A Minefield  // Using EM sci-tech...
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/01/030117080800.htm>

Warning on Iraqi Hackers and U.S. Safety
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/17/technology/17HACK.html>

"The military said it worked constantly to prevent hacking
at the 3 million computers and 10,000 local area networks
in its information infrastructure.
...
The assessment said recent computer disruptions have included
Web defacements, "denial of service" attacks that can disrupt
or paralyze a network, and hacking "probes" and "scans" aimed
at testing the vulnerability of a network."

How Stun Guns Work // a vehicle-mounted 'liquid stun gun'
<http://www.howstuffworks.com/stun-gun.htm>

"The gun is hooked up to a tank of highly conductive liquid ,
typically a mixture of water, salt and various other conductive
elements. When you pull the trigger, electrical current travels
from the gun, through the liquid stream, to the attacker."

America's Ultra-Secret Weapon
<http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101030127/nmicro.html>

"HPMs can unleash in a flash as much electrical power—2 billion watts
or more—as the Hoover Dam generates in 24 hours. Capacitors aboard
the missile discharge an energy pulse—moving at the speed of light
and impervious to bad weather—in front of the missile as it nears
its target. That pulse can destroy any electronics within 1,000 ft.
of the flash by short-circuiting internal electrical connections,
thereby wrecking memory chips, ruining computer motherboards and
generally screwing up electronic components not built to withstand
such powerful surges."

// krypton sniffers must've been somewhat big. today it's on a chip.
// plus, sensors mentioned can be dropped covertly from airplanes to
// remotely feed such data, which is feasible for checks & balances...

Russia Helped U.S. on Nuclear Spying Inside North Korea
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/international/asia/20INTE.html>

"... plutonium reprocessing gives off distinctive emissions that can
be tracked and measured, even in very small amounts. Experts familiar
with the joint operation between the C.I.A. and Russian intelligence
said plutonium reprocessing emits an isotope of krypton in gaseous
form that is relatively easy to detect. The Russians were apparently
given American sensing equipment to help analysts determine whether
reprocessing was under way at Yongbyon..."

Bin Laden Used Ruse to Flee
Moroccans Say Guard Took Phone at Tora Bora
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19238-2003Jan20.html>

"A Moroccan who was one of bin Laden's longtime bodyguards took
possession of the al Qaeda leader's satellite phone on the assumption
that U.S. intelligence agencies were monitoring it to get a fix on
their position, said the officials, who have interviewed the bodyguard,
Abdallah Tabarak."

Future Combat, Part 1 // A Moveable Internet
The Army of the future will be lighter, fleeter and better connected
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/ 
article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=000C031A-12A4-1E1E-8B3B809EC588EEDF>

Future Combat, Part 2
As the Army's ground forces evolve for future battles, so must its
air-transportation systems
<http://www.scientificamerican.com/ 
article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=0009BE70-3911-1E28-8B3B809EC588EEDF>

"Another concept, dubbed the Light Aerial Multipurpose Vehicle  
(LAMV),...
could be flown by non-pilots using the orbiting satellites in the Global
Positioning System, GPS, as a navigation tool--thereby reducing the  
Army's
dependency on Air Force for transportation.

"The LAMV would have removable wings, so that it could be shipped to a  
war
zone in a conventional 40-foot container. Upon arrival, the LAMV would  
be
used for squad-sized insertion and extraction of troops, medical  
evacuation
and the delivery of supplies."

Report: Iraq shoots down U.S. aircraft // drones as causalties
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/01/22/drone/>

Pentagon to Offer Combat Videophones // intriguing rationale of
information is power, we need to manage it. and also that these
devices solve an issue of journalistic activity during wartime...
<http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030122/D7ON6ET00.html>

"The $27,000 Austrian-made videophone system will allow military
  field commanders to hold "near real-time" videoconferences with
  journalists who may be sitting anywhere on the planet, said Lt.
  Col. David Lamp, a spokesman for the U.S. Joint Forces Command."

Silicon Valley Espionage Fears Resurface
<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Silicon-Valley- 
Espionage.html>

"Jiang, president and sole U.S. employee of EHI Group USA Inc./
Araj Electronics, was arrested Jan. 10 for allegedly shipping
three microwave amplifiers that could be used to improve the
quality of long-distance calls -- or to make intercontinental
ballistic missiles more accurate."

UK WHOIS service suspended after rogue attack // spammers?
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29022.html>

DoD offering admin privileges on .mil Web sites
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/29026.html>

Doomed to Fail: America's Blind Faith in Military Technology
 From Parameters, Winter 2002-03, pp. 88-103. // from thing-list
<http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/02winter/gentry.htm>

U.S. prepares for possible use of nukes in Iraq, expert says
<http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/1750749>


---------------------------------------------------
11-- electromagnetic business & economics
---------------------------------------------------

// a note about the resignatin of Steve Case from AOL-Time Warner.
// happened to see his interview on Charlie Rose, on the very day
// he announced his exit, and he would not name why things did not
// pan out. obvious, at least to this observer, is that without an
// affordable broadband infrastructure (US Telecommuncations Act)
// a broadband media-rich paid-content model would not work. which
// is maybe part of the reason Mr. Case grinned with an optimism,
// for it will certainly arrive, and he's a majority shareholder...

Perspective: Less vision, more execution, please // AOL bashing...
<http://news.com.com/2010-1071-980423.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>

U.S. Is Pressuring Industries to Cut Greenhouse Gases
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/politics/20CLIM.html>

"The administration's push has intensified as criticisms of its
cautious climate policies have increased, and more aggressive
alternatives have been proposed.
...
But in seeking that path, many experts and lobbyists for different
factions said, the administration could end up satisfying no one
and doing little to solve the problem.

Many people involved in the White House effort, including government
officials and executives from industries, say it is unlikely to lead
to improvements much beyond those already taking place as the economy
shifts from old-style manufacturing and businesses grow less wasteful."

Job-Rich Silicon Valley Has Turned Fallow, Survey Finds
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/20/technology/20VALL.html>

"...the next big innovation could as easily be something entirely
different, and it could as easily come from Finland or Singapore
as from Sunnyvale."

This Is Your Business, Virtually // videoteleconferencing rooms...
<http://wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57297,00.html>

Wireless Infrastructure Spending Surge Ahead
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20546.html>

Small Is Profitable - The Hidden Economic Benefits
of Making Electrical Resources the Right Size
Authors: Ken Wicker, Andre Lehmann, Joel N. Swisher, Karl R.
Rabago, Thomas Feiler, Amory B Lovins and E. Kyle Datta
<http://www.earthscan.co.uk/asp/bookdetails.asp?key=3813>

"'Book of the Year 2002, for Business and Economics' by The Economist  
magazine.

Today's electricity Industry - large power stations feeding a
nationawide grid - will have to change. This book explains why,
and what will replace it: decentralised and distributed electrical
resourses which can have up to ten times the economic benefits.

The authors - all leading experts in the field - identify and
explain clearly and thoroughly over 200 differant benefits, so
that engineers will understand the engineering efficencies available.

The book is set to become a classic. Everyone with a stake in the
electricity and energy industries will have to have it, including
engineering and financial practitioners, business managers and
strategists, public policy-makers, designers and interested citizens."

// still cannot get over the fact that a digital recording input
// device does not exist for consumer audiovisual applications,
// which is related to this same issue, and would turn a model of
// media consumption into one where people are media producers...

The Civil War Inside Sony
Sony Music wants to entertain you. Sony Electronics wants to
equip you. The problem  is that when it comes to digital media,
their interests are diametrically opposed. By Frank Rose
<http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.02/sony.html>

"What's changed since the original Walkman debuted is that Sony
became the only conglomerate to be in both consumer electronics
and entertainment. As a result, it's conflicted: Sony's electronics
side needs to let customers move files around effortlessly, but its
entertainment side wants to build in restraints, because it sees every
customer as a potential thief. The company's internal divisions reflect
those in the marketplace, where entertainment executives have declared
war on consumers over file-sharing. But Sony's position is unique. It
can settle the fight and flourish, or do nothing and be hobbled."


---------------------------------------------------
12-- electromagnetic art & artifacts
---------------------------------------------------

Researchers translate DNA code as music // tangentially EM...
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/01/18/dna/>

Website Defacers - the Graffiti Artists of the Internet?
<http://www.webmasterbase.com/article.php/985>

Creating a Culture of Ideas
Nicholas Negroponte says expertise is overrated.
To build a nation of innovators, we should focus
on youth, diversity, and collaboration.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/negroponte0203.asp>

"Costs are shared, different viewpoints are nourished,
and innovation stands a chance for survival in even
the worst economic times."

If a Machine Creates Something Beautiful, Is It an Artist?
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/25/arts/25TANK.html>


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