Using Spoof Card Could Get You Time

October 22, 2009

Phone pranks have finally arrived in the 21st century and they're called "spoofing." Thanks to a new service called SpoofCard, which allows people to make calls via the Internet, subscribers can change the phone number callees see on their caller ID display, they can change their voice so that they sound like someone else and they can record phone calls.

In last few days, Ali Wise, publicity director for Dolce and Gabbana, has gotten into a bunch of trouble (and has gotten fired) for using SpoofCard to access the voice-mail accounts of girlfriends/finaces of ex-lovers. It was easy enough to do. She changed her own number to match the number she was calling. Not realizing the call was an imposter, the voice-mail service automatically granted access to the voice-mail accounts.

Broadband Internet Becomes a Legal Requirement in Finland

October 15, 2009

While those of us in the United States are arguing over whether health care is a legal right, the folks over in the Northern Europe are ensuring that all citizens have access to broadband Internet. The law, the first of its kind in any country, forces Internet providers to offer Internet connections that run at speeds of at least 1 megabit per second to all of the country's 5.3 million citizens.

I have two thoughts.

1) Sure the United States is a huge country and it would be a challenge to offer broadband to all of its citizens. But you'd think that our country, which invented the Internet and is a major leader in the industrialized world, would at least have broadband available to a large portion of its people. But it didn't even make the top 10 list of countries offering broadband.

2) And this gets back to my point about healthcare. If you have to argue and fight for universal healthcare, good luck with universal broadband. 

Photo: Digital Vision/Getty

Google Wave by Invitation Only

Google Wave is Google's new online communication tool. Google describes a "wave" as being "both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more." It sounds like email on speed. Hmmmm. Ok. So let's try it.

BUT WAIT! I can't try it. I haven't been invited. 

Ok, I get it. It's like those parties in junior high school that all the cool kids went, and I didn't hear about until Monday. And that's exactly why these invitation-only marketing schemes work so well, I suspect. Because they tap into that insecure kid inside us that just wants to be included. 

Outbreaks Near You

September 03, 2009

Worried that an H1N1 outbreak may be closing in on your neighborhood? Download the new and FREE iPhone application created by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston in collaboration with the MIT that allows you to track and report outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The application, "Outbreaks Near Me," builds upon the group's HealthMap, which uses official news reports and alerts to update an Internet-based map with the location of outbreaks.

The Outbreak app allows you to set an alert to notify when an outbreak has been reported nearby or if you've stumbled into an infected area. You can also submit an outbreak report and photos.

Track or Sponsor Sharks for Science

July 31, 2009

I've learned a few things about sharks since working on the Wide Angle about Shark Technology. The first is that the despite the fact that sharks have been around for millions of years, not much is known about them. And the other is that a lot of scientists are worried about the rapid decline of sharks in the ocean.

And as a result, researchers around the world are tracking sharks to try to learn more. One project, among many, that I found quite impressive is called TOPP, or Tagging of Pacific Predators. It's managed by NOAA’s Pacific Fisheries Ecosystems Lab, Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Lab and University of California, Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory. It's a 10-year project involving 80 nations to track sharks, whales, seals, sea birds and turtles and eventually produce a  Census of Marine Life that will attempt to explain the diversity and abundance of life in the oceans, where that life has lived, is living and will live.

What I like about this site is that anyone can view interactive maps or animations of the animals as they move around the ocean. The image at right shows the path of Mako sharks. The site is user-friendly and a good way to get the everyday person to care about the research.

TOPP also has a widget you can put on your blog to keep track of a particular ocean animal, such as a shark or turtle.

Get This Widget!TOPP.org

I love this thing.

And by the way, if you need a simple explanation about how how shark tracking works check out the one from the folks at Shark Tracker. If you're feeling particularly generous, you can adopt a Great White shark from them and help buy a satellite tracking kit that will help scientists study it.

This Email Will Self-Destruct in 8 Minutes

July 22, 2009

One of my first jobs in journalism was as an editorial assistant at Astronomy magazine, located in Wisconsin. One of my responsibilities was to read and answer reader letters and emails. Back in 1999 there was a big controversy about the Cassini spacecraft doing a flyby of Earth, to gather up some gravitational energy and slingshot out to Venus. The rockets are nuclear-powered and lots of people were nervous about that, thinking that some radiation could find it's way to Earth.

The magazine had a story about the controversy coming up in a future issue. We advertised that upcoming story in the magazine and someone wrote a letter railing against us for even thinking about publishing such a piece. And also criticized the article and the author.

Wide Angle: Technology to Save the World

May 04, 2009

Scientists are harnessing computing systems such as the Internet and embedded sensing networks to keep tabs on the world. What they learn could help us observe ecologies we've never seen before, identify endangered species and even see health trends that could adversely affect large populations. In this wide angle, we'll take a look at the technologies on mission to save the world.

• Podcast: Vodafone Wireless Innovation Project
  Vodafone operates in 25 countries, some of them developing nations, where things like infectious diseases and sudden natural disasters take heavy tolls. In response, it sponsored the Wireless Innovation Project. One hundred applicants submitted ideas that harnessed new and existing wireless technologies in pursuit of social good. Clark Boyd talks with the top three winners.

• Blog: Will the Internet Say "I Told You So"?
  The Internet is being eyed as a way to warn us about ecological catastrophe. Our current ecological monitoring systems just aren't fast enough -- looking for key words and patterns online from scientists, government officials, and casual observers could be more effective.

• IEEE Spectrum Feature: How To Master A Seismic Disaster
  When the next big earthquake strikes Tokyo, an early-warning system could help save lives and property.

• IM Interview: Curing the Mosquito to Stop Malaria
  Malaria is a complex disease that involves the interactions of three organisms: human, parasite, and mosquito. If scientists can interrupt any of these interactions, they could control the disease. Tracy Staedter chats with George Dimopoulos about the methods researchers are developing.

• Blog: Tech for the Developing World, Stat! Malaria
  Dr. Robert Malkin is a professor of bioengineering at Duke University and director for the Engineering World Health program. He recently spoke with me about key problem areas in the developing world and emerging solutions.

• News: Technology Saving the World
  From tagging to Twitter, researchers are developing and using new technologies to track endangered species, population growth and even diseases like the recent swine flu outbreak. Read how they do it and how it's helping people all over the world.

• Blog: Surgery Light, MacGyver-Style
  Periodic power outages are more than just annoying. They're dangerous, especially if one happens in the middle of surgery. Enter the pie-plate-bike-part-LED-battery lamp, designed by a University of Michigan student group.

• Blog: Tracking The Spread of the H1N1 Flu Virus
  People are going out of their way to track the H1N1 influenza virus (that's the swine flu) in real time over the Internet. HowStuffWorks explores how and why.

• Puzzle: Tracking the World
  Secret surveillance cameras and Internet maps are used to track everything from animals to flu outbreaks.

• Video: Text Messages Save Lives
  A text messaging-based program, called Mobiles in Malawi, is saving lives by connecting rural communities to hospitals. Kasey-Dee Gardner explain how it works.

• Top 10: Ways Cell Phones Help People Living in Poverty
  Cell phones are becoming ubiquitous, even in underdeveloped countries. This unprecedented penetration by a communications technology is clearly changing the face of the developing world for the better -- in some cases, in ways that not even the most visionary leaders anticipated.

• Top 10: Innovations for Impoverished People
  Two billion people in the world don't get enough to eat, approximately one billion live on less than a dollar a day and every year 1.4 million children die because they lack sanitary conditions and access to clean water. Some humanitarians think these numbers can be lowered with simple technologies. Here are 10 that are making a difference.

MORE DISCOVERY TECH WIDE ANGLES

Variety is the Spice of Tech

March 16, 2009

This week on Discovery Tech, we have a mix of stories, news, podcasts, blogs, puzzles and other articles. Come back daily to check 'em out.

Monday: Clark Boyd's Technology Podcast. CCTV in the U.K., Corporate Snooping in Germany, U.S. DriveCams, and the EYEborg.
A bit of theme runs through this week's Technology Podcast from PRI's The World. That theme is surveillance. In fact, we take a hard look at all manner of technologies and entities that are, in fact, looking at you.

Tuesday: Puzzle. Biofuels made from sustainable crops are showing promise. And scientists are looking at everything from Algae to Jatropa.

Wednesday: Engineering Works podcast. Gene Charleton looks at how food engineers are using a microwave-like device and irradiation to get rid of unpleasant bacteria like salmonella and E-coli that can make us sick.

Thursday: Slideshow. Math Model Grows Snowflakes

Friday: Top 10 Uses for the Large Hadron Collider

Image: David Griffeath

Weekly Preview -- Dec 8

December 08, 2008

Monday, Dec. 8
Magnet Meltdown
Why did the Large Hadron Collider break down and how do scientists and engineers plan to fix it? Clark Boyd sheds light on this and other technology with his weekly podcast. Listen in.

Video: The Skinny On Clean Rooms
Some people wear business suits to work, but scientists who build semiconductors wear "bunny suits.” Tracy Staedter and Kasey-Dee Gardner learn the ins and outs of clean room couture.

Tuesday, Dec. 9
Solve the Biomimetic Robot Puzzle

Guest Spot Invitation blog: Student researcher David Ellis talks about his area of research and what it's like to be a freshly designated PhD researchers who's still a little wet behind the ears.

Wednesday, Dec. 10
Engineering Works! podcast, courtesy Texas A&M University's Gene Charleton.

Thursday, Dec. 11
The Top 10 languages on the Internet. Can you guess what they are?

Friday, Dec. 12
Opalescent nano-sized particles are being developed for use in drug delivery, special coatings, sensors and more. See the slide show featuring different views of these beautiful nanojewels.

On Deck for the Week of Nov. 24

November 24, 2008

Monday, Nov. 24: Podcast from Clark Boyd. Among lots of things, he'll be talking about how experts are trying to reduce internet scams.

Tuesday, Nov. 25: It's Thanksgiving week and everyone is getting on the road. And you know that means traffic accidents and traffic jams. Jorge Ribas has a video for us about "roads of the future" where cars talk to each other, to the roadside and even to other people's mobile phones—all to make driving safer and smoother.

Wednesday, Nov. 26: Our weekly podcast from Gene Charleton. Venice is sinking. Or rather, the sea around it is rising. The Italian government is spending $4 billion on an engineering project to save it. Listen to what it's all about.

Thursday, Nov. 27: We need to dramatically reduce CO2 in the atmosphere. So, how? For starters, we can stop pumping it into the air. But Kurt Zenz House and Julie Shoemaker of Harvard University think we should be burying it in the ground. They give us their take.

Friday, Nov. 28: Guest blog from David Alexander Ellis. Does Social Stimuli Expand Time? Recently graduated PhD student, David Ellis, tells us about his area of study and what it's like to be starting down the path of research. Read his guest blog.