~e; Electromagnetic News & Views #30

[human being <human@electronetwork.org>]

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Electromagnetic News & Views -- #30
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00) Electronetwork.org Commentary (6/07/2003)

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

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00) --commentary-- [send news to info@electronetwork.org]

===================================================
01) --top stories--
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// Matt Drudge has been doing acronym building for
// each news story about mergers and consolidation,
// and it is an effective way of understanding media:
//
//	GEVIACOMDISNEY
//	NEWSCORPAOLTIMEWARNER
//	MSFTWASHPOSTNYT
//	GANNETTTRIBUNEHEARST...

FCC Votes to Ease Media Ownership Rules // cable-internet, telephony?
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3271-2003Jun2.html>

	"The Democrats said the new rules mean a single company can own in one  
city up to three TV stations, eight radio stations, the cable TV  
system, cable TV stations and the only daily newspaper."

Sensors May Track Terror's Fallout
Region Gets First Fallout Sensors // nuclear/dirty-bomb sensors...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1185-2003Jun1.html>

	"In preparation for a terrorist attack, federal scientists have  
installed sensors to map wind currents in downtown Washington,  
Arlington and Silver Spring, the first deployment of a high-tech  
network to help predict the airborne path of a chemical, biological or  
radioactive release."

// cypherpunks article for those interested in learning more
// about how wired and wireless communications work in regard
// to radiating information. interesting stories about the
// era of microwave communications, fiber, and the especially
// intriguing use of VLF for sending submarines instructions...

Continental US Signals Intelligence (SIGNIT)
<http://cryptome.org/conus-sigint.htm>

// interesting comment about satellite interception of unencrypted
// cellphone traffic, more on fiber that seems to indicate it is
// the most secure landline (if that is an appropriate use of the
// term) technology, yet it is curious about microwave traffic as
// being focused on communications primarily, (this is 1997 though)
// as the SCADA black-boxes used in power systems, or for automatic
// switching or other industrial applications, were operated via
// remote control via microwave links, two relatively recent essays
// seemed to indicate this as a major vulnerability to the dubious
// intents of someone with a pringers can and some directed radio...
// it may not be informational intelligence but command, communi-
// actions, and control-type applications with critical faultlines.

[and] Russian Sigint // also by Dave Emery...
<http://jya.com/rusigint.htm>

	"Of course all sigint yields information such as passwords and  
encryption keys and spectral signatures of speakers and call addressing  
and routing information (traffic analysis) that can be used to good  
advantage in later active man-in-the-middle attacks."

The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even …more // 2 QT.movs...
<http://www.toutfait.com/issues/issue_2/Multimedia/summers.html>

	"This is an animation based on the artwork created by Marcel Duchamp  
titled The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. I have recreated  
it as a 3D model and animated its motion loosely-based on his "book"  
the Green Box, which explained how the piece "works." Furthermore, I  
have explained why and how the glass came to be cracked."

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

More Autonomy For Blind People Thanks To Satellite Navigation
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030606081631.htm>

	"The system called "Tormes", named after a famous Spanish 16th century  
story, is a computer with a Braille keyboard and satellite navigation  
technology that gives verbal directions."

Shocking Cells Into Submission*// thanks *
<http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,59133,00.html>

	"A new treatment called electroporation uses pulses of electric  
current to force cells to accept DNA, which is designed to fight HIV,  
cardiovascular disease and other maladies." "Electroporation... uses a  
transient electric current to open up the cell wall."

'Kiss-and-run' Rules The Inner Lives Of Neurons
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030605082712.htm>

	"The transfer of information between nerve cells occurs when chemicals  
called neurotransmitters are released into the synapse, the junction  
between neurons. Electrical impulses in the neuron cause tiny vesicles  
loaded with neurotransmitters to move to the tip of the nerve terminal  
where they are released."

Scientists Find The Root Of Learning In The Brain*s Hippocampus
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/06/030606081111.htm>

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03-- electromagnetic trash & treasure
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Ellison's NIC Co. to shut down // 90s.network holy-grail...
Larry Ellison's New Internet Computer Co., which sold cheap
Web-surfing devices as an alternative to PCs, is closing its doors.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1042-1012119.html>

The gray area around green PCs
CRITICS QUESTION MANUFACTURERS' ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5995702.htm>

	"So far, only 11 percent of obsolete computers are being recycled,  
according to the National Safety Council. Some 63 million computers are  
expected to be retired in 2005, the council predicts.
	Recycling is gaining momentum as an issue with increased awareness  
that throwing electronic products in the trash creates toxic hazards,  
particularly because devices like computer monitors contain hazards  
like mercury, cadmium and bromine."

Man Catches Fish With Computer in Belly // drudgereport.com [MN]
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18469-2003Jun5.html>

	"He recovered 19 months of data from the computer. It had been  
recording the depth and water temperature every 15 seconds, and will  
tell researchers what kind of water the lake trout like, and in what  
temperature they spend their time."

Weedkilling robots slash herbicide use // dual-use facial recog...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993797>

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

TiVo to sell customer viewing data
<http://salon.com/news/wire/2003/06/02/tivo_data/>

	"TiVo Inc., the leading maker of digital television recorders, on  
Monday began offering advertisers and broadcasters second-by-second  
information on the commercials and shows its users are watching -- or  
skipping."

Pentagon tool to record a user's every sensation // lifeLog...
<http://salon.com/tech/wire/2003/06/02/darpa_diary/>

Virtual Time Machine May Foil Hackers
<http://www.osopinion.com/perl/story/21642.html>

	'"Not only can we turn back the clock on an attack to undo the damage,  
we can also go back to any point during the attack to observe exactly  
how the intruder breached the system," says University of Michigan  
computer-science professor Peter Chen.'

Superhero Server Takes War on Hackers to Mythic Level // Hydra OS...
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21652.html>

Most Cyber-Attacks Will Come from Insiders
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21654.html>

Sensors to sniff out toxins in wind // via drudgereport.com
<http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/89128p-81072c.html>

	"Federal scientists will soon blanket the heart of midtown and the  
West Village with high-tech sensors designed to track biological,  
chemical and radiological agents in the event of a terrorist attack."

Rogue AOL Subsidiary Leader to Resign // Winamp creator, re: Waste
<http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-AOL-Nullsoft.html?th>

	"Nullsoft's latest creation was a file-sharing program that allowed  
users to set up secure networks of no more than 50 people. .. Within  
hours of its posting, Waste was deleted."

How Internet Cookies Work -
<http://computer.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm>

Top 75 Security Tools
<http://www.insecure.org/tools.html>

Dear Darpa Diary // Safired...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/opinion/05SAFI.html?th>

	"The human user may have opt-in control of the wireless wire he is  
secretly wearing, but all the people who come in contact with PAL and  
its willing user-spy would be ill-used without their knowledge. Result:  
Everybody would be snooping on everybody else, taping and sharing that  
data with the government and the last media conglomerate left standing."

Security standards could bolster file-sharing networks
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993793>

	"...But Michael Smith and colleagues from Harvard University in the US  
say the same TCPA technology could, ironically, be used to make file  
sharing networks more robust. Cryptographic signatures could be used to  
verify that clients on the network are trusted thereby preventing an  
outsider from creating a client designed to disrupt network traffic or  
to spy on users' sharing activities."

Government forms cybersecurity unit // critical infrastructure
<http://news.com.com/2100-1028-1014067.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

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

Windmills Sow Dissent for Environmentalists
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/national/05WIND.html?th>

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

ETHICOMP 2004: Challenges for the Citizen of the Information Society
<http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/conferences/ethicomp2004/>

Big Brother and the next 50 years // Q&A Bruce Sterling
<http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-1010864.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>

Court lifts video-game ban
A federal appeals court panel has struck down a law that restricted  
children's access to violent video games, giving the software the same  
free-speech protection as that for works of art.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-1012882.html?tag=lh>

Mobs move into 'Sims Online' power vacuum
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6019958.htm>

	"An underground group known as the Sims Shadow Government has taken  
over the fantasy world that is ``The Sims Online,'' meting out mob  
justice."

// geocaching as a sport may be related to those treasure
// seekers of the St. Paul Winter Carnival, who search for
// clues in riddles, to find something buried in the snow.

MINNESOTA: GPS treasure hunt under fire // geo-tourism...
<http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/local/5992641.htm>

	"[S]ome park officials...say geocaching leads to geotrashing."

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

Quick Delivery - How E-mail Works
<http://computer.howstuffworks.com/email.htm>

TV News That Looks Local, Even if It's Not // 'Central Casting'
<http://nytimes.com/2003/06/02/business/media/02TUBE.html>

Distributing the Search Burden // GRUB.
LookSmart's new distributed search tool probably won't
topple Google, but it points out the leader's weaknesses.
<http://www.business2.com/articles/web/0,,49852,00.html>

In the midst of the Iraq war - and always on the phone
Hand-held satellite phones have become indispensable
to war correspondents trying to file stories, catch
the latest scuttlebutt - or get tips on avoiding danger
<http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0527/p07s02-woiq.html>

	"The Thuraya - ablack-and-blue phone no bigger than an eyeglass case -  
has become the indispensable tool for every reporter covering wars in  
this part of the world. Never before have so many journalists relied on  
a single piece of equipment to keep in touch, not just with their  
editors and the folks back home, but with other reporters facing common  
dangers on the road to regime change." .. "Thuraya, whose name in  
Arabic means the constellation "The Pleiades," is based in the United  
Arab Emirates."

Cellphones Made Easy by David Pogue // ~more sent, more spent~
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/05/technology/circuits/05stat.html?th>

	"I challenged each cellular carrier to send me not its fanciest  
handsets, but its simplest: models designed for the iconoclasts who  
still think phones are for talking."

Packet tracking promises ultrafast internet // Fast TCP
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993799>

	"...Because Fast TCP uses the same packet sizes as regular TCP, the  
hardware that carries messages around the net will still work. The  
difference is in software and hardware on the sending computer, which  
continually measures the time it takes for sent packets to arrive, and  
how long acknowledgements take to come back."

FCC cartoon by Mark Fiore [Flash animation]
<http://www.markfiore.com/animation/rules.html>

Bush Orders Airwaves Review // full-spectrum dominance...
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59125,00.html>

Underwater robot mimics an amoeba // gizmodo.net
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,972544,00.html>

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

In Computing, Weighing Sheer Power Against Vast Pools of Data
<http://nytimes.com/2003/06/02/technology/02SUPE.html>

	"Innovation in data-storage technology is now significantly outpacing  
progress in computer processing power, [the researchers] say, heralding  
a new era where vast pools of digital data are becoming the most  
crucial element in scientific research."

The Simplex Solution // 'smoothed analysis'
The mission to improve the widely used simplex-method
algorithm showed instead why it works so well.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/vandre0603.asp>

30 years of Ethernet gains // Q&A with Bob Metcalfe
<http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-1008450.html?part=ctx&tag=chl>

IDC: More storage networked than not
<http://news.com.com/2100-1015-1013987.html?part=dtx&tag=ntop>

Stick-on pads stifle guitar feedback
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030602/030602-8.html>

	"A battery-powered device may tame the bane of the intimate gig:  
acoustic-guitar feedback."

Making a wormhole just got easier... ...but it's no simple matter.
<http://www.nature.com/nsu/030527/030527-12.html>

	"To travel through time, all you need to do is open a wormhole in  
space-time and step through it. And to do that you need a magic  
ingredient called 'exotic matter', which is repelled rather than  
attracted by gravity." .. "It's weird stuff.. it can be considered to  
have negative energy, meaning that it has even less than empty space."

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

Gecko tape will stick you to ceiling // van der Waal force...
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993785>

[what is] Van der Waals Force ? // electromagnetic interaction.
<http://www.fyslab.hut.fi/~asf/physics/thesis1/node33.html>

Taming the Terahertz: T-rays could be more versatile than x-rays.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/innovation40603.asp>

	"...another promising imaging technology is now emerging from an  
underused chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum: the terahertz  
frequencies. These so-called t-rays can, like x-rays, see through most  
materials. But t-rays are believed to be less harmful than x-rays. And  
different compounds respond to terahertz radiation differently, meaning  
a terahertz-based imaging system can discern a hidden object*s chemical  
composition."

New drive gives compact devices more storage // media-drive.
<http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5995703.htm>

Palm Gets Handspring in Its Grasp // smartphone focus.
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21664.html>

// the below gadget is what may be the logical conclusion to
// the amorphous 'multimedia device' functionality that PDA,
// cellphone, and portable gaming systems seem to be aiming at.
// that is, there's audio, there's video, there's recording,
// there's television, there's radio. voice recorder. storage.
// it does not have all these features but most, and in addition
// this data-pod type of device is probably more plane-friendly
// than laptops for portable movie viewing (with headphones),
// it can show slideshows (powerpoint, etc) as it can hook up
// to projectors and-or televisions, maybe it could have HDTV
// capabilities, some wireless. something like this could store
// games with an add-on controller. gigabytes of photographs.
// it could even show e-book materials, wi-fi info/data device,
// not a computer, but a container for data exchange and play.
// could also function as a 'briefcase' device for enterprise
// and teaching markets, where one's information is stored in
// a device that can interface with many other types (PC, TV
// digital projector, audio system, etc). not a cellphone-pda,
// probably not something one would carry around everywhere...
// ['top bottom' image looks like a salamander is hiding inside]

Archos Video AV320 Recorder // PVP portable video player
<http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-6342420-1304-21248597.html>

---------------------------------------------------
10-- electromagnetic weaponry & warfare
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A DIY cruise missile: yours for *3,000
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,969920,00.html>

	"A model aircraft enthusiast from North Island claims to have made a  
cruise missile in his shed for *3,000, and plans to publish  
instructions for making it online."

The soldier is the network -- In the battle of the future, the helmet  
becomes a data retrieval device // via gizmodo.net
<http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/05/30/22FEbattlefuture_1.html>

[and] Coming Soon: Smarter Soldiers*// the Scorpion ensemble...
<http://wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,59074,00.html>

Failing to Keep Up With the Information Revolution // defensetech.org
<http://www.cia.gov/csi/studies/vol47no1/article07.html>

	"The basic DI work area consists of at least two computers linked to a  
single monitor, a secure telephone, and a commercial telephone.* One of  
the two computers is connected to the CIA*s classified network and is  
approved for most levels of classified work. The second computer is  
usually for Internet access from the Agency service provider and is not  
approved for any classified work. A switchbox allows an ana*lyst to  
shift from one computer to the other, and eliminates the need for  
duplicate keyboards, mice, and monitors."

Jailing the messenger:  With the media suffering self-inflicted wounds,  
the CIA spies an opening // overt info-media war...
<http://www.msnbc.com/news/919521.asp?0si=->

	"With big media back on its heels, the CIA fired its own broadside  
this week, publishing an *unclassified* memorandum that recommends  
using espionage laws to prosecute media outlets that publish or  
broadcast leaked information from government officials if that  
information turns out to be classified."

Bush show off high-tech Air Force One // 9/11 & AF-1 quote...
<http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/ 
6013840.htm>

A "Rifle" in Space // via Secrecy News...
USAF's  KH-7  spy satellite  system  constituted
a major advance in  overhead  intelligence  collection.
<http://www.afa.org/magazine/June2003/0603kh7.asp>

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

Does Linux Have a Dark Secret? // potential legal quandry.
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21658.html>

	"In essence, SCO is challenging the entire Linux community: "Prove you  
wrote this code." That's a challenge only an open-source foe would  
make. And while Wall Street and Main Street have embraced the Penguin  
tribe, the SCO litigation has brought to the fore a nagging worry about  
open-source software: What are the exact origins of the code going into  
popular open-source programs? Could the code have been stolen or  
lifted?"

'IT Doesn't Matter' - Yeah, Right
By comparing IT with the great industries of yesteryear, like
the railroads and electricity, HBR editor-at-large Nicholas
Carr misses the point that IT is still in its infancy.
<http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21672.html>

Wal-Mart to throw its weight behind RFID :
Inventory management technology that uses wireless signals
to track products from the factory to store shelves is set
to win a major new ally next week: Wal-Mart.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1022_3-1013767.html?tag=fd_lede1_hed>

LED Lighting Technologies and Potential for Near-Term Applications
<http://www.nwalliance.org/resources/reportdetail.asp?RID=122>

	"This research has identified a number of near-term opportunities for  
market transformation projects, as well as available technologies and  
end use applications that can still benefit from utility oriented  
resource acquisition projects."

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

University of Hertfordshire
RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE CONFERENCE 2004
University of Hertfordshire on Friday 2 July 2004.
"THE ROLE OF THE ARTEFACT IN ART AND DESIGN RESEARCH"
<http://www.herts.ac.uk/artdes/resprac/RES2PRAC/>

VIPER Basel - International Festival for Film, Video, and New Media
Until June 30 2003 works and projects can be submitted in the following  
categories: [imagination|processing|transposition]
21 - 25 November 2003 <http://www.viper.ch/>

UNESCO Digital Arts Award 2003
<http://portal.unesco.org/digiarts>

NETWORK EFFECTS: USE OF THE INTERNET IN THE CHINESE RAVE SCENE
John von Seggern // excellent, on music + 'The Internet Invasion'
<http://www.digitalcutuplounge.com/newsite/jvs_papers/netfxinchina.htm
 >
	"The rapidly evolving Internet-based music scene on the mainland may  
have radical implications for a society based on the principle of  
monolithic state control of information."

Lights! Camera! Retake! // via Design-L...
The Honda Accord campaign launched last week looks certain to become an  
advertising legend. Quentin Letts goes behind the scenes
<http://www.dailytelegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/13/ 
nhonda13.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/04/13/ixhome.html>

[and] the Honda 'Cog' commercial // as kinetic art. some EM...
<http://myweb.cableone.net/gryphon/honda.html> // 3.9mb .swf

ArtBots: the Robot Talent Show
FREE event. Saturday and Sunday, July 12th and 13th, 2003
Time: Noon to 6:00 p.m. Eyebeam Gallery New York, NY
<http://www.artbots.org/>


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