Group Blog For 1pm class

RFID--Pictures and Interesting Articles

2004-04-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

This is an article from Prison Planet.com that shows RFID tags in the new $20 bills. From the authors "What we resent is the fact that the government or a corporation can track our 'cash'. Credit purchases and check purchases have been tracked for years, but cash was not traceble until now..."

Here is a post by John Chamberlain in his online diary that claims the above article is a hoax. He then goes to discuss a hypothetical story of a pick-pocketer with a portable RFID tag reader who finds the "fattest" wallets to steal.

Here is a definition of RFID tags and I've copied the following from that defintion
"RFID systems can be used just about anywhere, from clothing tags to missiles to pet tags to food -- anywhere that a unique identification system is needed. The tag can carry information as simple as a pet owners name and address or the cleaning instruction on a sweater to as complex as instructions on how to assemble a car. Some auto manufacturers use RFID systems to move cars through an assembly line. At each successive stage of production, the RFID tag tells the computers what the next step of automated assembly is."

Here is a picture of an RFID tag.

Jonathan Jones
Sorry if this post seems disjointed. It's purpose is to centralize several links to use for the group presentation.

Rich - Home Security Cameras

2004-04-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

Going back to the theme of security cameras, lets turn our attention to the following site:

Home Security Cameras

This site sells all the furnishings of home survailance. There are cameras for every sort of condition, wavelength, and purpose. These cameras are made to give the individual citizen the same ability to survey an area from a distance. This is a very powerful ability, because it places the individual in equal control of security with organizations. This may not seem like much, but a security camera represents the ability to recieve raw, uncut information live any time. It has been stated that information is the most powerful thing in the world.

Grant- Final Wrap-up

2004-04-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

These technologies test the boundaries of our rights as citizens. It is also important to remember that even though new technologies can be beneficial, in the wrong hands, they could also be detrimental. Also one has to view it from a distanced stance, new technologies in the 40’s and 50’s scared people, but they are fairly well excepted today. When Sputnik, the first satellite, was launched into space, people began to fear this new and relatively unknown technology. Today the idea of a satellite in space is main stream and more than likely won’t spark a sentiment of fear and anxiety. When we walk into a store that has a monitor showing you, people usually don’t think differently except maybe make a mental note that if they misbehave, someone could watch them. Some people believe these technologies are often abused, mainly by the government. The saying “Big Brother is watching you” has come from a fear of tracking technology. Some people fear the government’s power to follow and learn about individuals, and these people sometimes try to isolate themselves as much as possible. Although I recognize its ability to use such technologies to do such things, I also believe that such bureaucratic governments aren’t efficient enough to watch most people of the general public. There are rumors about computers that monitoring all phone calls and Internet transactions, but this only plays into some people’s fantasies. Could this all be true and you have reason to fear, possibly; but for the most part, I don’t think it should be a problem.

Rich - Helpful Highway Cameras

2004-04-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

Searching the web, I found a page from the United Kingdom's Department of Transportation about roadside security cameras. They back the use of security cameras on roadsides with real hard numbers. Statistics show, as the site says, that:

deaths and serious injuries have fallen by 35% on roads where speed cameras operate.

the number of vehicles speeding at camera sites dropped by 67%

average speed at all camera sites fell by 10%

These numbers show real, measurable success of the cameras in preventing excessive speeding and wreckless driving. The real interrest in this report, however is how the cameras are strongly refferenced as a deterent, rather than a means of conviction. This supports the theory that I previously posted that the point of security cameras is to establish a panopticon. This evidences more clearly than any example that security cameras can and do work as a panopticon for social control. This is indeed dangerous, but when used properly (like in this case) it can also be a lifesaver- literally.

UK Department of Transportation

Grant- How GPS works

2004-04-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

We’ve been talking about GPS technology, but we never actually explained what it is or how it works. GPS stands for global positioning system. It originated with the US military developing a navigation system, but it’s now open to the public. There are 27 three to four thousand pound earth-orbiting satellites. They orbit the earth twice a day and there are at least 4 in the visible sky from any point on earth at any time. On each of these satellites there is a very accurate and expensive atomic clock that can keep time to the nanosecond. The clocks’ time is broadcast to earth and to the GPS receivers. The receivers get this data from at least 4 satellites so using it’s own clock, it can tell relative distances from each of the satellites. Each receiver also has the data of the paths of the satellites so at any given time, it knows where they should be. Knowing the satellites position and it’s own distance from each one, it can pinpoint exactly where it is. This is the data that the GPS provides to the user. So the basic parts of the receiver are a clock, a memory bank, an antennae, and a calculator. As far as cost is concerned, it does not have to be too expensive. The less accurate the clock, the less accurate the receiver, but most people don’t need to know within a few feet of where they are, so it’s not a big problem. When talking about smaller and smaller receivers though, the main limitations are the antenna because they have to receive signals from space. Some errors arise when communicating because, the atmosphere can play a part in slowing down the signals and therefore altering the data, plus the waves can bounce off objects there fore increasing the overall travel distance and altering the data. However it is fairly reliable and is updateable from the ground.
Article 1

2004-04-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

oh, and i also posted the response to grant's article too. i'm terrible about signing my name, sorry.
-john catoe

2004-04-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

hey, i'm the one that just posted that response.
thanks,
-john catoe

Response: RFID tags

2004-04-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is a response to Jonathan's article on RFID tags.

Just like the magazine cover stunt I wrote about earlier, how long will it take for the knowledge carried by these RFID tags to fall into civilian hands where any joe-smoe can use it to find anyone, and anyone's habits, past, location, etc, they want?

Yeah, the idea of using it for lost luggage makes sense. But when it comes to using it to monitor vehicles, how long will it take for police agencies to take advantage of this and to unknownly issue a ticket for someone who's sped or violated some other unknown law?

The whole idea of these RFID tags in clothing, or under a person's skin, is creepy. Will the government or some agency step in a put a stop to the proliferation of these technologies or will it get out of control?

Response: Tracking Car Technologies

2004-04-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

In response to Grant's writeup, I saw a special on 20-20 or Dateline, one of those shows-- they're are the same, about a couple who rented a car and drove it across state lines and were charged, I think, two thousand dollars more than the balance of the rental because they violated the terms of the rental contract. The car rental company used these tracking technologies to track and confirm the fact that they went out of state. This poor eldery couple had no idea. They stayed within the limited of the mileage for their budget, and what made matters worse was that this car rental company was located very close to another state border. Such heavy charges for these infractions is asinine, not to method the methods which the rental car companies use to confirm these violations. Another case of the Man robber the poor and eldery and feeding the rich.

Creepy Creepy and oh yeah, Creepy

2004-04-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

I've got two links to this creepy article, one this here and it's a tid-bit from Slashdot and the other is here and it's an abstract from the NY Times article, you can buy it for a bargain low 3 dollars. And here's a link to Reason magazine just for the hell of it.

The crux of the article is this: on the cover of June's Reason magazine will be a satellite photo of the subscriber's house with advertisements that suit the subscriber's buying patterns also on the cover. Each cover will be personalized for the magazine's 40,000 subscribers.

I can only imagine my reaction if I was walking out to my mailbox one day and discovered that my magazine had a satellite photo of my domicile along with ads for stuff I like-- buy Nutella, the new Neal Stephenson novel comes out in July order now, buy the new Radiohead CD!

I know that the military has had the technology for this for a long time, and I know that they can do crazy stuff with surveillance and stuff-- that doesn't bother me so much. But now a team of civilians can gather such specific information about any given person is disturbing. Can a pedophile gather all this information about his next elementary school child victim? Can a serial killer gather all this information about his next plotted kill? Why allow every citizen to wield such power?

2004-04-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hey, in case anyone didn't know, I did the mapquest.com blog.
-John Catoe

RFID Tags in Airports

2004-04-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here is an article, from a Slashdot post that's about RFID Tags being used to track luggage in airports. This acutally sounds like a good solution to the luggage problems in airports.

Jonathan Jones

Rich - Panopticons

2004-04-16T11:50:00.000-07:00

In order to better explain my points about security cameras, I'd like to cover the concept of a panopticon (I may have mentioned this a few posts ago). The concept of a panopticon originated with Jeremy Bentham as a design for control of a building (ie a prison, or factory). His original design looked like this. The concept is based in very complex theories on power relations. In short, the idea is that all power derrives from a difference in information.

Take for instance this original design. The prison guard in the center has the ability to see where all the prisoners are at all times. The prisoners, however, have no way to know whether or not the guard is looking at them. This gives the guard an enormous amount of power, because as far as the prisoners are concerned, they are always under watch. They lack the necesary information to make judgements as to when they are safe from the guards eyes.

This is the power I believe security cameras hold. The owner of the security camera automatically has an information advantage over the person(s) on camera.

Response: Camera's at Kroger

2004-04-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

A real-life example, in response to Rich's thoughts on cameras. I was at the Kroger on Howell Mill road a couple of months ago. I had a question about the price of an item that wasn't marked. I asked someone for help and they got the manager for me. The manager came down from the office and I thanked him for taking time out of his busy day to help me with the price of an item. He then said that it was no problem because he wasn't doing anything anyway, in fact, he was using the kroger security cameras to track a "hot girl" through the store. Presumably, this is not an isolated case. With the increasing number of cameras in an increasing number of places, the potential for abuse is there and the manger at Kroger certainly abused his privilege. If this is not getting "too carried away," I don't know what is.

Jonathan Jones

RFID Tags, A new wave of tracking

2004-04-14T07:18:00.000-07:00

RFID tags are the new wave of the future in tracking technology. Click HERE for the definition of RFID. An article on MSNBC outlines some current and potential uses of RFID tags.HERE. In short RFID tags are very small pieces of silicon that can be implanted in just about anything. The biggest potential application is in the retail section. The consumer giant Wal-mart is leading the way and is going to use RFID tags to keep track of the inventory (Link to Slashdot article.) Eventually, there will be RFID readers on all the shelves and can automatically tell when a product is getting low and needs to be reordered, or if an item is stocked incorrectly. On the surface, this is all fine and dandy, who doesn't want Wal-mart or any other store to be able to keep track of their merchandise. However, the tracking implications are extremely great. What if your shirt has an RFID tag in it. Every time you go by a RFID reader, it could know who you were, where you bought the shirt and maybe even more information about you. That's not to say that it will happen though, supposedly after purchasing your clothing, you should have the option of having the RFID tags "killed", yeah right.

Another post on Slashdot discusses a proposed RFID tag system for cars that would reduce road fatalities (Direct link to article. The article outlines how your car would have a RFID tag system that would allow a "reader" to broadcast information at you whenever you drove by the "reader". Some such information would be traffic conditions ahead, possible dangerous weather conditions, and if you're driving too fast for an upcoming situation. The implications of this system are enormous. Whoever is incharge of the system, presumably the government, could do lots of things with the information accumulated from the system. They can track where you go in your car, how fast you go, and things like that. An obvious possible consequence of this is traffic enforcement, particularly speeding. If your car is caught going too fast above the speed limit when you travel by one of these sensors, the government could send you a nice little speeding ticket in the mail, like the autonomous license plate cameras at some intersections.

RFID technology used in the right way could have positive benifits such as a more complete knowledge of a stores inventory, and saving lives on the highway. However, they could just as easily track us and take away our freedoms.

Jonathan Jones

Grant- People Trackers

2004-04-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder if someone was watching your every move? Did that ever freak you out? Now imagine that you know that at any time, someone could know where you are and maybe even how you feel? If your heart was racing, your blood pressure went up, or body temperature drops, your parents or maybe the government could know. One company, Bell mobility, has products that can monitor the location of a child for up to 100 meters. There are chips out now that can be implanted in the body and when a reader passes nearby, data can be sent. This could be used as identification or a code to access a person’s bio on a mainframe computer system. These chips can also be used to monitor vitals and when combined with a pager sized GPS and transmitter, it can broadcast the location and physical state of an individual. If we could one day have tiny chips implanted in people to track their whereabouts, who would use this and for what. Professor Kevin Warwick in England had a chip implanted and sensors in his work so he can be tracked while in the building. Would parents have their children implanted so they can track them? Until what age might they stay in? Should ex-convicts and/or sex offenders be required to have them implanted? Also there is a problem of who can monitor these people. If the authorities track the convicts and only parents can track their children, what happens if there is a security breach? Also do store owners and property owners have the right to put up sensors on their property to see who walks by? This technology may cause more problems for it’s potential benefits so may never be used because of these infractions on our rights.
Articles:
Article 1
Article 2

Rich - Corporate Media Monopoly

2004-04-13T15:25:00.000-07:00

In response to Grant's post about MapQuest, I have a few comments to make about the subject of media buyouts. AOL-Time-Warner, along with 2 other companies (Viacom and Turner) control nearly all communications interrests in the United States. This is beneficial in some manners, in that it allows for much easier production of multimedia (by multimedia I refer to the books made for movies, movies made for books, video games made for TV shows etc.). However, there are nearly infinite MAJOR problems with this degree of media control.

Probably the most troubling problem is that these media companies control much of the news we recieve. Since nearly all of the news channels and shows are run by these same companies, there is no garuntee of unbiased news. If one of the major networks chooses not to run a news article, that event may not even show on news channels in some areas. Another major problem is that of monopoly. With only 3 companies controlling the media, it presents a very strong monopoly in some areas (isnt the fed supposed to prevent this kind of thing?). This allows the media companies to maintain ridiculous prices. Notice that the price of cable TV has not come down at all in the last 30 years. Does it make sense that this technology has not gotten cheaper with age? The reason is quite clearly the monopoly of the media companies, as well as the service monopolies of many of the cable companies.

Sadly, there's not a whole lot we the citizens can do about these large monopolies, short of telling your local congressman to fight media mergers.

Grant- OnStar

2004-04-09T09:18:00.000-07:00

One use of GPS is to improve the driving experience. A GPS device in a car could allow a person to use a map with the car’s position shown, or with communication technology, many other features could be implemented. One company has provided a service that utilizes these technologies. OnStar has teamed up with many auto-makers to put this equipment into new cars. Many General Motors produced cars as well as some independent car makers such as Volkswagen and Saab are OnStar equipped. This means that the cars can send and receive data with the OnStar system. Although OnStar doesn’t necessarily provide automated maps, a driver can call an agent who will talk them through directions. The car can also send data automatically such as when an air bag is deployed, where it is located in case it’s stolen, and even remote diagnostics information. Remotely, a caller can have their vehicle unlocked or the horn and lights flashed to locate a car. The user can also get roadside assistance if the vehicle breaks down, have a tow truck and taxi called, or even use an online concierge to suggest restaurants. These features aren’t free but they can make a driving experience easier and more comfortable. Some cars use GPS and an in dash monitor to provide directions to certain locations. Also with voice activated technology, these systems can provide a driver to car interaction.
Article

cameras, cameras everywhere

2004-04-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

in response to rich's thoughts on the camera thing. yes, the security/theft-deterrent aspect of cameras is probably beneficial to society as a whole. for example, hail to the cameras that "caught on tape" the kidnapping of that little girl in florida. but the last time i checked, this country is neither socialist nor communist. and it seems to me that the benefits to society as a whole undermine the rights of the individual. but, rich is right, most of the cameras in atlanta are probably unmanned, except when "time saver traffic" takes us to the brookwood interchange during the evening news. another camera issue i believe needs to be addressed are those traffic-light cameras. not to advocate breaking the law by running a stop-light, but i just think it's wrong. and the world thought that robots would take over our jobs, looks like it's the police we won't need.
clancy

2004-04-06T11:36:00.000-07:00

i think john is obsessed with mapquest. that's cool though, after reading his blog i have a little bit more useless trivia. i am probably one of the few people on the planet that has never visited the mapquest.com website. when people ask me directions - and lately, everyone seems to want to know how to get to the varsity, you know, that place with the hotdogs? - i do tell them street names and whether to take a right or left turn. and if i didn't know where the closest wendy's was, i do know where the closest phonebook is. i think that these types of services, while somewhat useful, might be more detrimental. does anyone know how to read a map anymore? to look up a number in the phonebook? i worry about future generations and their ability to get along in life if the power happens to go out and the computer doesn't work.
clancy

Grant- Human Black boxes

2004-04-05T17:55:00.000-07:00

When an airplane crashes, we have data recorders called black boxes to collect data pertaining to the flight so we can find out what happened in-flight to cause the plane to crash. This is useful and they are only used after crashes occur and allow the world to learn from mistakes. However that same technology is moving into the lives of average people. For instance, NASA is pursing the use of devices that track the vitals of astronauts while they perform tasks. Currently, sensors in the EVA suits can track their condition while they are outside of the space ship, but in order to check information such as blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature the astronauts must hook up to machines using wires. The new technology can allow them to stay mobile, while still being monitored by doctors. As we all know, if NASA is using something now, in 20-30 years, it will be mainstream. Such technology will allow sick people to be monitored remotely and if there is a problem, help could be sent before anyone even knows there is a problem. However, with these benefits come problems. Such a system could be abused and strangers could steal data and know very personal data about you. If it is used with a locator technology such as GPS (in order to find a victim), then if a hacker breaks security, it could be used in negative ways. With new technologies come new problems, many of which are not foreseen but are first dealt with when they arise. This medical advance is no exception.
Articles:
Article 1
Article 2

Rich - Security Cameras

2004-04-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

While driving around the city of Atlanta today, I noticed something I had not noticed so much before (although I fairly well knew it was the truth). Everywhere that you look there are cameras. It is as if every footstep we take, every mile that we drive is all recorded for security. This makes sense and is a sensible, affordable security solution. However, does that justify spying on individuals 24/7.

Of course it doesn't, but that also is not the point at all. At first, I thought it was a travesty to have so many cameras. In my most humble opinion, it reduces our right to privacy to basically nil. This is a very serious price to pay for security. The redeeming fact is, though, that they're really not there for spying and prying. Most of the cameras you see are probably not even monitored, but used as theft detterent because they can catch criminals in the act. When I sat back and considered how many gas-station armed robbers alone have probably been brought to justice by the cameras I realized just how much we need it.

The security camera produces an effect called a "Panopticon". The panoptic principal effectively states that the best way to control masses is to give them the impression that they are being watched at all times, even though there clearly are not enough security officials for that (one security official for every man woman and child in Atlanta alone is ridiculous). The finest example of this is panoptic prisons, where a guard stands behind 2-way glass in a center booth, able to observe any cell at any time. The prisoners cant tell where the guard is looking (just like with security cameras) so they presume that he is looking at them.

Lets just be careful not to get carried away...

2004-04-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Tracking Technologies: Mapquest

If a person asked you for directions 5 years ago, you would tell them to go down street a, take a right at stop light b, go straight on highway c, etc.
But if a person asked you for directions today you'd most likely say it's on mapquest.com.

Need to find the closest Wendy's? How about movie theatre? Whatever you want, mapquest.com has it.

Mapquest.com (yes, that is the official company name now, formerly Mapquest) is the leader and sole provider of cartographic services on the Internet-- there is no competition. Think...where else do you get directions on the Internet? This isn't like search engines such as google or yahoo, where you have a lot of options and one dominating choice-- mapquest.com is it.

Originally, Mapquest was a startup company in the early 70s located in Pennsylvania charged with mapping regions and printing maps for free distribution in gas stations. Eventually their services grew to include custom maps to reference, travel, textbook, and directory publishers, where they became the leader provider in each. In 1991 Mapquest was the first mapping company to invest in cartography through advanced spatial technology. From there, Mapquest became a steamroller. The company continued to expand and find contracts with large companies providing custom maps for call-centers, kiosks, client-server environments, and wireless/cellular devices. Then in 1996 Mapquest expanded to the Internet. As the first of its kind, it attracted a great deal of customer and business interest. Eventually Mapquest grew into what we know it as today, renaming their company to mapquest.com in 1999.

However, in the year 2000 AOL bought out mapquest.com, meaning mapquest.com is now a fully subsidiary of AOL-Time Warner. This may be a seemingly innocuous transaction which has far reaching consequences. Mapquest.com generates income through selling mapping options to businesses. If you have a business and want to link to a map on your site, you have to go through mapquest.com and join up with Mapquest.com Business Solutions. Business also must become a part of Mapquest.com Business Solutions if they want their business to appear when customers are searching for their type of business in a particular area. Beginning to see the possibilities? AOL-Time Warner can tell Mapquest.com to charge as much as they want to provide businesses with map-options on their website, and there is no well-known competition. Also, if a business does not want to be a part of Mapquest.com Business Solutions, they won't be included in the business search engines through their website.

The following quotation is from their website, "MapQuest.com receives more than 26 million visitors every month and serves up over 10 million maps and directions each day." Think on that a while.

2004-04-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

grant - i am 100% with you on this one. gps is scary. i think if i got into a gps-controlled car, i would have a hard time controlling my urge to rip the device out. and i would certainly never purchase a car with such a homing device in it. think about it, if your onstar advisor can unlock your car while sitting at a computer thousnads of miles away - what else do they have the ability to do? what other parts of the car do they control? maybe i'm just being overly-paranoid, but probably not.
clancy

Grant- Car Rental Tracking

2004-03-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

Every think you are being paranoid when you think Big Brother might be watching you? Well with GPS tracking, this is legitimate reason to worry. Some newer cars are installed with GPS devices in order to provide on-board maps and directions, stolen-car locator, and other useful features. However some car rental companies are using the technology to track drivers and even determine the speed of the vehicle. In some of their contracts they state that the vehicles cannot leave the state or go over certain speeds and the drivers are fined if found in violation of these contract agreements. Some of these companies are being brought to court on account of violating privacy, but the companies defend that they are protecting their propertey. Hertz and Avis have come out saying they don't use GPS equiped cars for these purposes, but this just goes to show it sometimes pays to read the fine print.
Read the article

2004-03-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Our group members and interests in the topic include:

John Catoe- interested in the emergence of location tracking technologies such mapquest.com

Grant Farmer- worried about the abuse of people tracking technology and how it may infringe on people's rights

clancy - those kroger plus/cvs extracare cards just weird me out.

Richard - America is a voyeurist country. We all love watching eachother, including government and buisiness officials. What happened to privacy.

Jonathan Jones - I'm really interested in the ability to track people, products, etc, and also the gradual decline of personal privacy.

Our topic is tracking technology. This technology includes GPS (global position system) which includes the emergence of location website such as mapquest.com, development of new auto-technologies such as the On-Star system and cell phone tracking, and simple tracking through 'googling'. Implementation of camera technologies uses in highway cameras which monitor for speeding, security or surveillance camera used for other purposes. More tracking technology includes purchase tracking through super-market savers card and through websites such as Amazon.com. And on a larger scale deals with lesser known tracking practices outlined in such laws as the Patriot Act, high quality satellite imagery. and tracking through unmanned spy-planes.