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The CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology is exhibiting some of its historic, unique and formerly secret techie gadgets, dating back to the 1940s, for employees and invited guests only, according to this AP report: “…the exhibits include a robotic catfish, a remote-controlled dragonfly and a camera strapped to the chests of pigeons..”
Clicking for President – Blogs, meetups, listservs, and other online tools bring a digital aspect to every campaign.
“EPIC’s survey of the 2003 Privacy Year in Review notes the collapse of Total Information Awareness, surveillance cameras in schools, a Supreme Court victory for privacy, legal battles over the Do Not Call list, busted luggage locks, anti-terrorism law used for routine criminal investigations, and a conservative radio commentators asking for privacy.”
Three Out of Four People Connect to the Internet Through Non-Browser Based Applications: “…76 percent of active Web surfers access the Internet using a non-browser based application. Media players, instant messages and file sharing applications are the most popular Internet applications.” See also The Fabulous Disappearing Internet.
The Natural Resources Defense Council announced their choices for the best environmental websites of 2003 here.
As a follow-up to my posting U.S. Animal Tracking Database Still Under Development, this AP article, Mad Cow Scare May Spur High-Tech Tracking. What is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)? Previous beSpacific postings on RFID See also BSE Information and Resources from the USDA
Information Technology Management, Terrorism Information Awareness Program, December 12, 2003, Deparment of Defense, Office of the Inspector General. “This report completes our response addressing concerns of Senators Grassley, Nelson, and Hagel and discusses whether development of the DARPA TIA program included safeguards to ensure the technology was properly managed and controlled in an operational environment…DARPA …
Freewheeling ‘bloggers’ are rewriting rules of journalism.
FBI urges police to watch for people carrying almanacs: An FBI Intelligence Bulletin warning indicates that almanacs may be used by terrorists “to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning,” but acknowledges that use of such reference works may constitute “legitimate recreational or commercial activities.” The Register wonders if this includes the CIA World Factbook.
From ConsumerWeb Watch, a report issued December 8, Booking and Bidding in the Blind: An In-Depth Examination of Opaque Travel Web Sites From the Executive Summary: “Booking travel can be complicated, but the complexities increase tremendously when a consumer books through an “opaque” travel Web site such as Hotwire or Priceline that does not reveal …
Amend PATRIOT Act Urges National League of Cities: “Portions of the USA PATRIOT Act compromise the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and should be amended, says a resolution recently passed by the National League of Cities at its annual meeting. The resolution says that while the National League of Cities believes that efforts to …
This past May, I posted on a digital book scanning project underway at the Stanford University Libraries. As a follow-up, the USA Today reports on automated digital scanning hardware and software from Kirtas Technologies, Inc. that facilitates the “digitization of massive document libraries, fully automating the scanning of bound documents (emphasis added) at a capture …
