He added that aliens could now be eavesdropping on us. "As from 1927, we have been propagating outwards from Earth, a very specific indicator of our existence." ~ Dr. Michael Perryman, formerly of the European Space Agency (more)
Quick, play "Indian Love Call."
An excellent summary by Russell Mickler, technology consultant.
"Many SMB (small to mid-range businesses) are not aware of the Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act ("ECPA"). ECPA addresses the interception and monitoring of electronic communications: telephone conversations, voice mail, email, instant messaging chats, and other online interactions fall into ECPA's perview.
Violations of ECPA are punishable by fines or imprisonment for up to five years; any persons harmed by an ECPA violation are permitted to file for equitable relief covering damages and attorney fees of up to $10,000.
Since many SMB's monitor and intercept the electronic communications of their employees, understanding ECPA business use exceptions can reduce the risk of legal exposure to ECPA claims filed by employees.ECPA extends federal protection over employee communication in the workplace but this protection is limited. Presumably, employers would want to monitor electronic communications to guarantee quality control and to protect intellectual property, investigate incidents of wrong-doing, and so on, and ECPA provides "business use exceptions" to allow the employer to do these things.A couple of rules as it relates to intercepting transmissions and monitoring employees in the workplace:
One-Party Consent. Interception and monitoring are allowed if either the sender or recipient consents before it occurs.
Ordinary Course. Business use exceptions under ECPA dictate that interception or monitoring be conducted within the regular course of employer's business and the subject matter be one in which the employer has a vested interest. Employers should be aware that, if a voice conversation turns personal, the employer may lose its exemption because it is no longer authorized to monitor such conversations.
Equipment Restriction. Employers can monitor and tap only the equipment that they own and which is used in the employer's regular course of business.
Email. Employers have the right to monitor and access email communications of employees stored on their assets (client workstations and servers). This is tricky because employers do not have the right to monitor or access email hosted by a 3rd party (like AOL or MSN), even though such communication might transverse the company's network.
Suggestions for the SMB to remain in ECPA compliance revolve around the creation of good Administrative Controls (policies) to govern employee expectations. Example:
1. Employees should be offered some form of notification is required either through a statement, a written policy signed at the time of employment, or a recording over the phone system.
2. Employers should present a policy to prohibit personal use of communications assets (phones, cell phones, computers, private email systems, and instant messaging) which would set acceptable use practices to restrict employee's use to strictly business communications.
3. An acceptable use policy that prohibits the use of personal communications and storage equipment - MP3 players, digital cameras or recorders, cell phones, thumb-drives - to conduct company business.
4. A privacy policy should be crafted to identify the personal private information (PPI) collected on employees that defines how that PPI is used and maintained." (more)
London - The government will consider whether to lift a ban on the use of tapped telephone calls as evidence in court, a move that would bring it into line with Western partners but could pose challenges for its security services. Britain currently does not allow wiretap evidence to be presented to a jury, even though it does admit material gathered by the police and security services through other forms of surveillance, such as bugging a suspect's home or car. (more)
"There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'." ~ B. Dylan
Circuit City puts it succinctly..."HD Radio (Hybrid Digital, not High Definition) is the most significant advancement in radio broadcasting since the introduction of FM stereo more than 50 years ago. The new technology allows AM and FM radio stations to broadcast their programs digitally—a tremendous leap from the analog broadcasts of the past.The technology behind HD Radio allows stations to broadcast higher-quality versions of their normal programming, as well as alternate formats not available on regular radio. And like traditional analog radio, HD Radio is completely free, with no subscription fees." (more) (find stations in your area)
Pamela Low, who was credited with developing the flavored coating for Cap'n Crunch cereal, has died. ... She drew upon a recipe that her grandmother, Luella Low, used to serve at home in Derry. "She used to serve rice with a butter-and-brown sugar sauce that she made. She'd serve it over the rice on Sundays." (more)
Edward Traisman, an innovative U.S. food scientist, researcher and inventor, has died of heart disease at age 91. Traisman, who lived in Monona, Wis., the Wisconsin State Journal said. Over his long career, he was part of a Kraft Foods team that created Cheez Whiz. (more)
A former Naval Academy doctor has been charged with conduct unbecoming an officer and violating state and federal laws related to wiretapping and destruction of evidence after Navy prosecutors said he secretly videotaped several midshipmen having sex at his house.But Bill Ferris, a civilian lawyer representing Cmdr. Kevin Ronan, said the charges stem from an extortion attempt by a disgruntled former midshipman who had moved in with his client after he was dismissed from the academy. (more)
(update 11/9/07)
A Navy physician was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in the brig after a military jury found that he had secretly recorded Naval Academy midshipmen having sex in his Annapolis home.
The jury also dismissed Cmdr. Kevin J. Ronan from the Navy and stripped him of his government pension.
The 10-day general court-martial at the Washington Navy Yard concluded with Ronan, who turns 42 today, being escorted in handcuffs through a cold rain into a van. He declined to talk to reporters. (more)
Three family members of a Chinese-American engineer convicted last month of spying for China have agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from an investigation into the transfer of submarine technology.A jury found Chi Mak guilty of conspiring to violate export laws, operating as a Chinese agent in America, and lying to the FBI. Mak's brother and sister in law, Tai Wang Mak and Fuk Li, and their son, Billy Mak, were set to go on trial today in Santa Ana, Calif. (more)
MI - A Flushing Junior High School teacher suspended this week for planting a listening device in another teacher's classroom risks losing her job and her freedom.Police allege that a listening device intended to pick up conversations was discovered May 18 taped to the back of a desk.Investigators believe a teacher planted it there to overhear discussions between her daughter and another teacher. There had been allegations of problems involving the daughter and class disruptions, police said.
...
In recent years, several people have been prosecuted in Genesee County for eavesdropping, usually for secretly photographing or taping people in bathrooms, bedrooms or other private places....A self-described Flint youth pastor was convicted this year of installing an eavesdropping system after an elaborate spy camera system was found in his bedroom....A man hired to paint a Fenton Township tanning salon was placed on probation for two years and given six months in jail for eavesdropping after he pleaded no contest to eavesdropping amid allegations he secretly taped about a dozen women, including a 15-year-old girl....Fears that someone is listening have even extended to township government. In 1996, Argentine Township spent $350 to make sure no bugs had been planted in the township hall, fire hall or police department. Everything down to the electrical outlets were swept, but no listening devices were found. (more)
$350.00? No devices found? I would love to know the rest of this story.
MI - A Milford man known for his work as a freelance photographer of local youth athletes and community events could be facing years in prison after he allegedly set up a video camera in his home to watch young female visitors undress. Michael Sharpe, 59, was arraigned last Thursday in Oakland County’s 52-1 District Court before Magistrate Michael Batchik on eight counts of possession of child sexually abusive material and two counts of felony eavesdropping. Each of the child pornography charges is punishable by up to four years in prison. The eavesdropping charges carry penalties up to two years in prison. (more)
Digital paper that can speak to you has been created by scientists. Researchers from Mid Sweden University have constructed an interactive paper billboard that emits recorded sound in response to a user's touch.The team envisages that the technology could be used by advertisers, and in the future, it might even be employed for product packaging.
The key to the billboard's capabilities is a layer of digital paper that is embedded with electronics. Speakers are made by printing electromagnets out of conductive ink and stretching the paper over a cavity like a speaker cone behind the billboard. The electromagnets vibrate in response to a current, creating a sound. ...or vice versa, thus acting as a microphone (more)(more)
This scientific advancement is amazing. From our point of view it is also scary. Any first-year electronics student knows that speakers may also be used as microphones.
"The P'gaackan Discombobulator''
by Kaden
"Welcome to Eccentric Genius...I'm Kaden;
I'm responsible.
More or less.
I build antiques from ...er ...somewhere else. A parallel universe where Leonardo Da Vinci, John Cleese and Jimmy Neutron spend every Tuesday night playing poker with Sherlock Holmes, and the Victorian era 'gentleman inventor' still toils diligently in his potting shed laboratory."
He builds other cool stuff, too.
It was the best of cats, and the worst of cats...
It's no great shock that cat lovers can get a little excessive when it comes to their feline friends. But one company, banking on the fact there are more than a few prospective pet owners willing to part with some serious ka-ching for a kitten, is selling a designer breed of cat that costs $22,000.
The Ashera, bred by Los Angeles-based Lifestyle Pets, "is a new ultra-exotic breed of domestic cat that already has wealthy animal devotees paying to get on the waiting list," the company press release claims. (more)
Cat breeders say descriptions of the Ashera bear a striking resemblance to an already recognized breed, dubbed the Savannah, which is a cross between a domestic cat and a wild African serval. (more)
We won't pussy-foot around on this one. This smells of either espionage, scam or blatant rip-off. Remember the Portuguese Water Dog v. Charlie Dog affair? Perhaps $22,000. is reasonable for a big kitty-cat? If so, we will name ours Audry III. "The guy sure looks like cat food to me."
Privacy killing pens - audio & video - are out there, in force.
Know your enemy...
Sample features...
• 2-18 hours of recording time.• Some record and store. Some transmit wirelessly.• Automatic sensitivity - equalizes volume of near and far speakers.
• USB connection to computers for sound downloading and recharging.
• Easy to use.
• Good quality sound. Acceptable quality video.
Some look clunky, have strange buttons and are generally easy to detect visually.
Some are quite elegant and are difficult to detect visually.
Audio Models (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
Video Models (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)
Cheap Imports (1)(2)(3)(4)
Once you are familiar with the Killer Pens it is time to check out the Killer Watches.
He added that aliens could now be eavesdropping on us. "As from 1927, we have been propagating outwards from Earth, a very specific indicator of our existence." ~ Dr. Michael Perryman, formerly of the European Space Agency (more)
Pamela Low, who was credited with developing the flavored coating for Cap'n Crunch cereal, has died. ... She drew upon a recipe that her grandmother, Luella Low, used to serve at home in Derry. "She used to serve rice with a butter-and-brown sugar sauce that she made. She'd serve it over the rice on Sundays." (more)
Edward Traisman, an innovative U.S. food scientist, researcher and inventor, has died of heart disease at age 91. Traisman, who lived in Monona, Wis., the Wisconsin State Journal said. Over his long career, he was part of a Kraft Foods team that created Cheez Whiz. (more)
It's no great shock that cat lovers can get a little excessive when it comes to their feline friends. But one company, banking on the fact there are more than a few prospective pet owners willing to part with some serious ka-ching for a kitten, is selling a designer breed of cat that costs $22,000.
We won't pussy-foot around on this one. This smells of either espionage, scam or blatant rip-off. Remember the Portuguese Water Dog v. Charlie Dog affair? Perhaps $22,000. is reasonable for a big kitty-cat? If so, we will name ours Audry III. "The guy sure looks like cat food to me."
