Thursday, November 29, 2007

Looking 'out' for you...

I found this today:

In Pictures: How They're Watching You Read the full story Robert Ellis Smith

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/11/21/privacy-surveillance-technology-oped-cx_res_1126privacy_slide.html?partner=yahoofp

Location-Based Technology
Deployment of computers and cameras not just to collect personal information but to collect images and keep track of individuals' locations. Closed-circuit TV, ATMs, global positioning systems, wireless telephones and Google "Street View" are examples.

Nanotechnology
Referring to miniature but highly sophisticated creations that permit "unprecedented control of the material world" on a nanoscale. Also called "molecular mechanics."

Ubiquitous Computing
The presence of computers everywhere we go, to collect and dispense information, to monitor, to capture images. A term to replace last year's "Internet of Things," which describes all-encompassing, constant connectivity of inanimate objects--meaning that computers connect billions more things than persons.


Uberveillance
The pervasive presence of covert computers in all aspects of human life, leading perhaps to more cases of paranoia. The German word "über" means "over" or "super."




Zettatechnology
The next generation of nanotechnology? "Zetta" connotes sextillion. The capacity for taking over human functions is virtually limitless. my comment: do you know the power of someone changing your heart beat?

see the technology at https://www-eng.llnl.gov/mir/mir_search_rescue.html

LLNL UWB radars have demonstrated applications for noncontact and long distance vital-sign monitoring. The mechanical motion of the human heart can be observed noncontact at close range and respiration can be observed over long distances through barriers.