Discovery News: Etherized

PRI's The World: Technology Podcast 213

What's that, you say? The World's Technology Podcast published on a Tuesday, instead of a Friday? Am I insane? Well, yes, but...your intrepid technology correspondent is taking a few days off for the first time in longer than he cares to think about, and I wouldn't want you to go without your weekly dose of groovy global technification. So, without further ado, here is WTP 213. Not only is it early this week, but it's also something that I haven't done in a long time; namely, focus on one and only one story. Well, one story, plus bagpipes, a nod to a Scottish listener who wrote in to say he wanted to hear more stories about open source. Today is obviously his lucky day.

The idea behind WTP 213 started a while back, when I received a message from "a longtime listener, first time emailer." The correspondent told me about an open source project called OpenMRS. Hackers (and here we mean the old-school good-guys-and-gals meaning) were helping to develop a medical record system (MRS) for developing regions. Many places around the world don't have any kind of medical record keeping at all, let alone something that is computerized and sharable among health centers. OpenMRS is trying to provide a solution to that problem, and therefore improve standards of health care.

Well, that sounded like a perfect fit with WTP, so I went about contacting some of the folks behind it. I found Hamish Fraser of a non-governmental organization called Partners in Health, and Paul Biondich, who works for a group called the Regenstrief Institute. The podcast includes an extended interview with the two of them, recorded here in Boston while they were both in town. Together, they tell the story of how OpenMRS got started, and how countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda and Haiti have embraced the software, which is available from the Internet for free.

Now, the coolest part of this story is that hackers from all over the world, particularly the developing world, are all donating their time and skills to improve the OpenMRS code. When I interviewed Fraser and Biondich, a number of people had gathered for an OpenMRS hack-a-thon here in Boston. I snapped this really lousy picture on my own camera phone. Much better is the audio interview with Dr. Burke Mamlin (not pictured), who co-founded OpenMRS with Paul Biondich. It was great to get his perspective, both as a medical doctor and a computer scientist.

One last note...more about the nature of podcasting than anything else. None of this material has aired on the broadcast yet. It probably will at some point. But the beauty of the podcast is that I don't have to wait around to try to tell you the "whole story," which we journalists are always ridiculously striving to get. We have at most a slice of the story, and in this case, it's hopefully a really interesting slice that leaves you wanting to dig a bit deeper. I can also run the interviews long, essentially giving you my "source code." Have at it.

And yes, the podcast also allows me to play some music from a clip I found on YouTube of a guy in a Darth Vader mask playing the Star Wars theme on the bagpipes. Och, aye! Priceless.

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PRI's The World: Technology Podcast 212

Sorry we missed you last week, and glad to announce that WTP 212 is ready for your earbuds. We've got a great line-up this week, so let's jump right in.

We start with some interesting research released this week about Skype in China. The OpenNet Initiative, which I have written about before, just published "Breaching Trust: An analysis of surveillance and security practices on China's TOM-Skype platform." In the report, author Nart Villeneuve explores how Skype, through it's Chinese partner TOM, has not only been filtering text messages sent via Skype during online chats, but also storing those messages on its servers. The filtering is part and parcel, tech companies like Skype say, of doing business in China (i.e. you have to comply with Chinese laws). But the storage? Well, we hear from Villeneuve, and we read from Skype's response.

Next up is an extended segment on a story I blogged last weekend. It's about how important high-tech and telecoms are in bringing relief to some 800,000 Haitians affected by a string of four hurricanes. You can find photos and a video detailing the relief efforts.

And then we're off to South Africa to hear about an electric car called the "Joule." That's the little fella over there. It's being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. The Joule is made by a South African auto manufacturer called Optimal Energy. It's concept only for right now. They're not expected to be on sale on the local market until 2010. We have an interview that the company's CEO did with the BBC, which in a separate article, notes the tendency for power outages in South Africa. Ah, but the Joule counters with photovoltaic panels in the roof! Cool.

And then we give a brief tip of the hat, er, wing to Yves Rossy, the Swiss pilot and inventor who flew solo across the English Channel recently. No big deal, you say? Well, he did with a jet-powered wing strapped to his back. So kudos to him. And no -- we're not going to play Elton John's Rocket Man, or Learning to Fly by Pink Floyd, or Free Falling by Tom Petty. We promise.

We end on a more scientific note. Earlier this week, I reported on new research from both Europe and New Zealand concerning mouse DNA. Turns out that the little beasties may just hold vital clues that archaeologists need to fill in gaps in our knowledge of how humans came to populate almost every corner of the globe. Hurrah, mice! And I get to quote poet Robert Burns. Scots, wha hae!

WTP is on Facebook and Twitter, so feel free and to come and be sociable.

(Pic courtesy of Optimal Energy)

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A New Lock for Your Laptop

OK, so the gentleman at right has resorted to, shall we say, extreme measures to keep his laptop on his person. Or, maybe he just loves checking email that much, it's hard to tell. There are, of course, plenty of commercially available options for laptop protection to choose from. My favorite (based on name alone, not from experience, being LoJack for Laptops...classy). But now, for those of us who don't want to shell out the Benjamins for such services, there's a free, open source product called Adeona.

Named after the Roman goddess of safe returns, Adeona is the brainchild of combined research efforts at the University of Washington an the University of California, San Diego. Adeona uses the Internet, the researchers say, like a homing beacon. You install the software, and then the laptop occasionally sends its IP address and related information to a free, online storage network called OpenDHT. This information can be used to determine the computer's location.

The main difference here is that you're not turning over your laptop's location information to a company. The researchers say that the Adeona system scrambles the information, and that it can then only be deciphered using a password known only to the person who set up the account. Hence, only the only can access the information, and can take that information to the police to help trace it. That way, even if OpenDHT got hacked, your information is still encrypted.

One of Adeona's creators puts it this way: "Typically when you create a forensics trail, you leave breadcrumbs that you can see, but also everyone else. We've created a private forensics trail where only you can see those breadcrumbs."

One note for Mac users. Adeona can use the internal camera to take a photo and send it to the OpenDHT server. That, of course, might capture an image of the thief. Or more likely, of you doing a late-night nose pick while you surf Facebook. Classy.

Oh, and as you can imagine -- iPhone owners are already asking for an app of their own.

Here's a video of UC San Diego doc student Thomas Ristenpart discussing his work on Adeona:

(Photo by tdenham via stock.xchang)

Not Everyone Drinks the Apple Kool-Aid

Norway's consumer rights watchdog has got an ongoing beef with Apple, and particularly with the company's online music store, iTunes. The beef? The company's Digital Rights Management (DRM).

Turns out that some Norwegians (not to mention Danes, Germans, Dutch, Finns and some French) do not like the fact that music purchased from iTunes can only be played on an iPod, and not on other mp3 players. Likewise, they argue, most music bought from other vendors won't play on iPods.

Norway's Consumer Ombudsman, Bjoern Erik Thon, is dead serious about this. He's announced that he will soon start legal action against Apple in Norway, and said that he hopes it serves as a test case that would allow other European nations to follow suit.

"This could have international consequences," Thon told the Associated Press. "It's a consumer's right to transfer and play digital content bought and downloaded from the Internet to the music device he himself chooses to use. iTunes makes this impossible, or at least difficult, and hence, they act in breach of Norwegian law."

No comment so far from Apple, which has until November 3 to respond. At that point, Thon said, he'll take the case to Norway's Market Council, a government agency that serves as a court for these kinds of complaints.

When I first covered this story back in August of 2006, the Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman's Office was just gearing up to lead a campaign against Apple's DRM. It seemed like it had secured some promises from Apple to open things up a bit. But clearly, not open enough, and not fast enough.

The worst case scenario could see Apple fined, or even asked to close down its iTunes service in Norway.
Who knows (he asks tongue firmly in cheek) how Apple will manage to pay the fine, or deal with the loss of the, ahem, lucrative Norwegian online music market...

(Screen grab from iTunes Norway, doctored by yours truly)

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Immerse Yourself...in Hell

I've written before about the power of video and computer games to persuade and educate. At their best, these kinds of persuasive games are not only fun and challenging to play, but they actually put you in the shoes of someone else, and give you a sense of what life is like for, say, a child searching for water in refugee camp in Darfur. Well, the British Red Cross has possibly just gone one step better. As part of the organization's month-long effort to draw attention to the plight of civilains in conflict zones, it's launched an Alternative Reality Game (ARG) called Traces of Hope.

ARGs mix storytelling, game play and detective work, and in doing so, take the idea of persuasive gaming to a whole new level. In Traces of Hope, you register to play, and then are immediately contacted by Joseph, a fictional 16 year old from northern Uganda. He needs you to help him find his mother, from whom he has been separated. Joseph has been displaced (like some two million real people) by the two-decades long conflict there. The real stuff is as nasty as it gets, folks -- civil war, kidnappings, and the use of children as soldiers and sex slaves.

After being contacted by Joseph, you get completely immersed in the game. You have to track down information scattered across various websites. You may also be asked to send emails and make phone calls in an effort to help Joseph find his mother.

The game is meant not only to highlight the Red Cross' family-tracing service, but to also give players the feel of being a teenager, scared and alone in the midst of war.

ARGs have mostly been used around commercial ventures -- think of the online mysteries created surrounding the film Cloverfield. This is the first instance I've heard of a charity trying it.

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ICTs for Hurricane Relief in Haiti

At left is the city of Gonaives in northern Haiti. As you can see, it's mostly underwater. Not surprising, as it's been hit by four hurricanes this season, and that's just so far. It's one of the worst affected parts of the country. Word on the ground is that everything, and I mean everything, has turned to mud. And it rains everyday, so the problems are compounded. Tens of thousands are without homes, living in shelters. The United Nations, which has dozens of agencies on the ground assisting, is worried now about outbreaks of infectious diseases due to poor sanitation, and about making sure everyone is fed.

Gonaives might be the last place you'd expect to find a makeshift cybercafe. And yet, that was one of the first of the UN's priorities. "Email and cell phones are not luxuries." That's what Claire Thwaites, head of the UN Foundation-Vodafone Foundation Technology Partnership told me in a telephone interview recently. "UN agencies have to talk, to communicate, to coordinate a disaster response and save lives.

The UN and Vodafone have partnered with a group called Telecoms Sans Frontieres (TSF) to quickly get telecommunications up and running in Gonaives. TSF is a group based in France that deploys teams to countries and regions facing emergency situations. Think Doctors without Borders, only for computer, networking and telecommunications specailists.

In the case of Haiti, TSF set up satellite broadband, laptops, printers and scanners for UN personnel within 20 minutes of hitting the ground in Gonaives. Oisin Walton, who is on the ground for TSF in Gonaives, told me that "our equipment weighs less than 500 pounds all together, so we're light, mobile, and get set up in a matter of minutes."

TSF isn't just supporting the UN in Gonaives. The group also goes from shelter to shelter, offering free, three minute calls (national or international) to anyone affected by the hurricane. Most Haitians choose to contact relatives in the United States and ask for financial assistance. Walton told me that there is no exact time table for when TSF might leave Gonaives. He noted that there's still a sizable chunk of the hurrican season left.

This story really highlights alot of reporting I've done over the years on the importance of ICT in emergency situations. Mark Phillips, who is coordinating World Food Program and inter-UN agency ICT in Port-au-Prince, told me that the first thing he sets up is a secure independent radio communications network for UN staff. Then, he said, he concentrates on getting computer networks and the Internet up and running.

"It's all part of our normal business environment," Phillips told me. "How else are relief workers supposed to order food, check medical supplies, or coordinate travel?"

(Top pic courtesy of World Food Program, taken by Ryan Twittey)
(Bottom pic courtesy of Telecoms Sans Frontieres)

There's Just No Pleasing Some People

Spare a thought today for the IT help desk folks. Robert Half Technology, a market research firm, just released the results of a unique little survey. The company polled some 1,400 Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from companies across the United States. The question: "What is the strangest or most unusal request you or a member of your help desk or technical support team has ever received?"

A loaded question, doubtless, and the results either beggar belief, or are truly the stuff of urban legend passed on to unsuspecting pollsters. Among my personal favorites:

1) How do I get my computer's coffee-cup holder (CD ROM drive, supposedly) to come out again?

2) Why isn't my wireless mouse connected to the computer?

and for you Windows fans...

3) My computer is telling me to press any key to continue. Where is the 'any' key?

And then there were a few gems that went beyond technical glitches:

1) Can I open the bank safe using my computer?

2) Can you install cable TV on my PC?

3) Where can I get software to track UFOs?

Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology, admitted these responses make for good comic relief, but said "these unusual requests highlight the need for technical support personnel to also demonstrate patience, empathy and a sense of humor."

I'll keep that in mind the next time I ask the help desk to reset the Internet for me, and they tell me yep, just press any key.

(Photo by tdenham via stock.xchang)

Finland, Violence, and the Internet

I first heard about the horrific shootings at a Finnish vocational school on the radio this morning. A gunman killed 10 students at the school, before turning the gun on himself. Even before I got to the office, I had an uneasy feeling that the first headlines I read about the incident would run along the lines of "YouTube Killer Runs Amok." Sure enough, there have been no lack of such headlines today. Finnish media have identified the gunman as Matti Juhani Saari, a 22 year old student who attended the school where the shootings occurred. It does appear that Saari had a YouTube account, where he uploaded videos of himself firing a handgun at a firing range. Saari also had a MySpace page, and was involved in an Internet Relay Chat service called IRC-gallery. Not unlike many a 22 year old in Finland and elsewhere.

(Picture of the scene outside the vocational school in Finland. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

PRI's The World: Technology Podcast 211

This week's tech podcast (WTP 211), we assure you, makes absolutely no attempt to play up the fact that today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. No, instead, we begin the podcast with a sea shanty, a regular wet-blanket of a dirge, of a different sort. We mourn the loss of our retirement accounts, and Pink Floyd's Richard Wright, in equal measure. Just listen in...it all fits together somehow.

The big news is, of course, the meltdown currently plaguing the US financial markets. The curse of being a journalist is that you get curious, maybe too curious, about some things. You see, I'd heard tell that there exists some different types of risk management software that these financial giants use to, well, help them NOT get into these kinds of dire straits. I couldn't help myself. I wanted to find out if it was the machines, or the people feeding the machines. So, I called up Richard Lindsey, co-author of a book called How I Became a Quant. I now see why quantitative analysis is both an art and a science.

And let's say that you did go and look at your retirement account this week. That might make you angry, or depressed; or, you may be gleefully hugging all those gold doubloons (oops, pirate reference) you've got stashed under your pillow. But if anger or depression are your fate, you can log onto this website. My Mobile Guru will send messages of comfort and encouragement directly to your cell phone. All you have to do is send a text message...oh, and be in the United Kingdom. Sorry.

There's a sampler at left, and an audio sampler on the podcast...which is well worth the listen. Six bucks may sound expensive for cell phone therapy, but hey, think about how expensive a shrink can be. Personally, I can't believe the Brits came up with this one first. Deepak Chopra, where are you when we need you...now...on our cell phones? The BBC has a discussion between the website creator, and a licensed psychotherapist.

We then pack our bags for India, where we hear about another website looking to help out. Shaadi is the Hindi word for marriage, and the website looks to bring busy Indians who don't have time for the usual arrangements together online.

And we end with news near and dear to my heart. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is one of my all time favorites, and I'll admit to complete and utter devastation when Douglas Adams passed away in a very untimely and selfish manner in 2001. H2G2 is great in just about any form, be it radio, TV, film, or the "trilogy" of five books. Two previous podcasts should convince you of my near fanboy-dom (WTP 18 and 19).

At the time of his death, Adams was writing, possibly, a sixth book to the Hitchhiker's trilogy. But now it's been announced that a sixth book has been officially commissioned. It will be written by Eoin Colfer, the Irish author of the popular Artemis Fowl series of books. The BBC interviews Colfer, who enters into the H2G2 world with equal parts excitement and intimidation.

Someone get the man a towel, and remind him:

(Screen grabs courtesy of mymobileguru.co.uk, and the home of The Guide)

GAO Bashes EPA on Electronic Waste

The U.S. Government Accountability Office yesterday pulled no punches in a report (full PDF) on electronic waste. E-waste, as it's called, is a growing global scourge, particularly in the developing world. And if you doubt it, I invite you to take a look at this National Geographic expose on it. All of those old monitors, keyboards and hard drives (not to mention laptops, cell phones, PDAs, etc.) we throw out every year end up somewhere, right? More and more often, "somewhere" is India, Pakistan, China, Nigeria and Ghana. Computers are full of potentially hazardous materials; the old cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors are considered particularly harmful because of the amount of lead they contain (up to 4 pounds!). As you can see from the picture, much of this e-waste ends up being sifted through for bits and pieces that may have some miniscule value in local markets. As the GAO report notes: "Recent surveys taken on behalf of the United Nations found that used electronics exported from the United States to many Asian countries are dismantled using methods like open-air incineration and acid baths to extract metals such as copper and gold."

How do those old computer parts get there? Why, professional "recycling" services offered right here in the U.S., of course. At the beginning of 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency actually began regulating the export of CRTs. Companies doing the exporting are required to notify EPA before exporting CRTs. The GAO wanted to check up to see how the agency was doing.

The verdict? Not so good, according to GAO. First, the EPA only regulates CRTs, not any of the other potentially hazardous electronics that leave our shores. Second, some GAO folks posed as foreign buyers looking to buy some CRTs. In so doing, It found some 43 U.S. companies prepared to skirt reporting regulations and export the CRTs. And finally, the GAO found the EPA's enforcement mechanisms lacking. The report notes that in Hong Kong alone, 26 containers of illegally exported CRTs were intercepted and returned to U.S. ports. And that's just since the rule took effect in January 2007.

Among the GAO's recommendations to the EPA: develop a systematic plan to enforce the CRT rule, and develop options to broaden its regulatory authority to cover other potentially harmful electronics.

In a letter to the GAO, the EPA defended its voluntary, "non-regulatory" approaches, and countered that it had opened some 20 investigations on e-waste violations in the past 18 months.

The GAO countered by pointing out that only one violator had actually been fined during that time, and that EPA officials "said they have neither plans nor a timetable to develop an enforcement program."

(Picture courtesy of Greenpeace)

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