ON-LINE
The Sounds of Typing
Researchers at the University of Berkeley, CA, have been able to figure out what's been typed on a computer keyboard just by listening to the sounds made while typing. They fed the sounds into a computer, and using an algorithm they developed for deciphering the acoustic signatures, were able to determine what was typed with a 96% accuracy! They used no special recording equipment, and the algorithm was adaptive and able to filter out background sounds such as music or ringing cell phones, and to handle multiple people typing simultaneously. While this "acoustic snooping" technique may be more likely utilized for corporate espionage or spying on top-secret installations, such usage may now or in the future be used to extract your personal information as it's being entered into databases by those big data aggregators, or other institutions such as banks, brokerage firms, and insurance companies. The list could be endless.
The Unannounced Recall
Been having problems lately with your digital camera or camcorder? Problems with distorted or blank images in the viewfinder or display, perhaps? The problem may be in the imaging chip, and if so, you can probably get it fixed for free. The defective chip was made by Sony between 2002 and 2004, has since been discontinued, but cameras containing the chip may still be on dealers' shelves. Equipment from Sony, Canon, Konica, Minolta, Rico, Fuji, Nikon, and Olympus are among makers of the over 80 models of cameras, camcorders, and hand-held computers that may contain the chip. Hot and humid environments increase the likelihood of chip failure. These companies have promised to repair the camera for free (or replace it at their discretion), provided the problem is in the imaging chip and the chip has failed. If you have a camera with this chip that has not failed, you're out of luck until (or if) it fails. Check the respective company's websites for a listing of affected models. As an aside, we all know that major manufacturers (and not just camera makers) sometimes share parts made by others. This is especially true with complicated computer chips. And we also know that they don't generally reveal this "little secret," which was the case here with the imaging chip. The commonality was first revealed by www.imaging-resource.com, which among other things, contains reviews of digital cameras. You can check out their listing of affected models at http://www.imaging-resource.com/badccds.html. More power to the Web!
The Internet is Robust (Repeat After Me)
In major countries of the world, it's almost impossible to imagine living and working without instant Internet access. It's on par with telephones (landline and wireless) and indoor plumbing. We've all heard that one of the great things about the Internet is that since no single entity controls it, it is pretty much immune to large-scale disruptions from a myriad of events such as equipment failure, sabotage, terrorism, and the like. While that may be true, it is not immune from contractual disputes. Just as the mobsters of yesteryear (and today) were brought down under tax evasion laws (and not so much from their actual crimes per se), so, too, has the Internet suffered under less exotic foes. One of the properties of the Internet is that the major backbone providers have reciprocal agreements that allow each to use the others' networks for free under load-sharing agreements. "You carry my traffic, and I'll carry your traffic," which works pretty well as long as the parties see it as a fair deal. Recently, however, Level 3 Communications started blocking traffic from Cogent Communications, claiming that Cogent was sending much more traffic to Level 3 than Level 3 was sending to Cogent. That, in turn, affected RoadRunner (Time-Warner, which uses Level 3) subscribers, and others, which made it impossible for those affected subscribers to access websites hosted by Cogent. The situation has since been resolved. But while it lasted, 15% to 17% of the world-wide Internet was affected.
Bill Hopkins is the Webmaster of PhotoSourceFolio* (www.photosourcefolio.com) and a regular contributor to PhotoStockNotes. Send comments via e-mail to wh@photosourcefolio.com. Fax: 1 818 831-0916. For on-line questions, contact Bill on the Kracker Barrel at www.photosource.com/board.
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Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes