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The Harrow Technology Report
Insight,
analysis, and commentary on the
Copyright © 2001-2005, Jeffrey R. Harrow. All rights
reserved.
Complexity, Convergence, and Innovation. Give your eyes a rest. Look beyond the obvious! Complexity is a very relative term, but "we" may be at the top of the heap! Additional services that I can provide... Some scions of Convergence might seem to spring from Lewis Carol's Wonderland! After more than a few years, we may get them back! It's "enhanced humans" -- sort of... Breaking Smart Card security, in a truly innovative way! What do "loos" (British for toilets) and high tech have in common? You'll see...
Schedule Note.
The next issue of "The Harrow Technology Report" will publish on June 16.
Listen to this Issue.Do you prefer to let your ears do the work of keeping you in-touch with, and thinking about where technology is taking us? If so, "The Harrow Technology Report" is also available in an audio-on-demand, Web-based, MP3 version. If you have an MP3 player on your system (and most do, such as Window's Media Player, RealPlayer, etc.), clicking on the link below will either stream the file to you, or, depending on how your system is configured, it might download the file before playing it. Alternatively, if you specifically want to download the file, simply right-click on the link, and choose "Save Target As..." Also, to learn how you can listen at whatever speed is most comfortable to you, check out the FAQ at http://www.theharrowgroup.com/help.htm . So, if you wish, just click on the following link to listen to this issue! http://www.theharrowgroup.com/articles/20030526/20030526.mp3 .
Quote of the Week."Don't look only under the light, for your lost keys."
Dick Morley A good reminder that looking beyond the obvious, outside your (or your field's) comfort zone -- "outside the box" -- is often where you'll find the rare, the new, the unexpected, and perhaps the "break the bank" ideas!
Do You Think The INTERNET Is Complex?
According to recent surveys and
projections by CyberAtlas
(http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/ The Internet is clearly a large and complex network, demonstrating impressive growth. Yet this huge network, composed of 200-300 million computers, pales beside some REALLY complex networks that each one of us is intimately familiar with -- "us!" Alan Kay ("The best way to predict the future is to invent it," of Smalltalk, windowed-interface, desktop publishing, Ethernet, and laser printer fame, who was a co-founder of Xerox PARC and held leading technical positions at Apple, Disney, and now HP Labs - http://unrev.stanford.edu/presenters/alan_kay/alan_kay.html) has more than enough credentials to be called a visionary. And perhaps more importantly, he has the habit of bringing his visions to life. During a keynote speech he delivered to last week's "Congress On the Future of Engineering Software" conference (http://www.cofes.com/news/?20030122), where I modestly delivered the other keynote, Alan described how we each are made up of one BILLION nodes (commonly thought of as cells) -- in just the first joint of our thumb! Add up all the cells in the rest of our bodies and we're each a network of 100 TRILLION separate nodes, all working together to make us what we are. Now THAT'S complexity. And self-assembly. And self-management. And self-repair. And it all works. Once we figure out how we
manage our own (very) internal networks, we'll be
much farther along towards learning how to create
and manage the really large networks of "connected
everythings" that a growing number of people
envision. (For an example of how this is beginning,
check out the newest in vineyard data collection at
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/ This is a good example of the power and the potential of NBIC (the Convergence of Nanotechnology, Biology & medicine, Information sciences, and Cognitive sciences), and we're very lucky in this regard -- we are eager students, and Nature is a willing teacher. "Convergence" is a beautiful thing.
Begin Self-Serving Advertisement There's MUCH More I Can Do For You!
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Speaking of "Convergence," over the past decade or so the first Convergence (that of Computing, Content, Consumer Electronics, and Communications) has taught us to expect multi-function devices, such as video cameras that take stills and vice versa; PDAs that take pictures and place phone calls, cell phones that act like converged PDAs, and far more. But a prototype from Sony called the GT3/K, brought to our attention by the "Unanticipated Convergence" article in the May 3 issue of Mike's List (http://www.mikeslist.com/61.htm), reaches new Convergence heights.
This combination video and still camera and PC weighs under 2.5 pounds, runs Windows 2000 (and hence I assume XP) from its 30 gigabyte hard disk, and has a maximum of a quarter-gigabyte of memory. Its ports include FireWire, USB, TV-out, and of course the Sony Memory Stick. Its LCD display sports 680,000 pixels (somewhat less than a 1024x768 display). And all of the components swivel to reduce the need for user-contortion. Although only intended for "limited production" according to Dynamism.com (http://www.dynamism.com/gt3/main.shtml), the device runs a power-miserly Crusoe 600 MHz CPU that they claim will run for 17 hours(!) from its battery (which would be quite impressive, if it does so under normal operation such as with its LCD backlight turned on, etc.) The one things they didn't mention, which would seem a 'must have' for such a device, would be wireless connectivity such as 802.11 (WiFi) and a built-in cellular phone. I'm rather sure this doesn't fit into a pocket, but such a device could certainly fill a traveler's niche. And of course, this is just a hint of the things yet to come...
Return Of The Pockets!
When I compare my contemporary pocket cell phone to my first mobile phone (which took up much of the trunk of my car, ran on vacuum tubes, and used a mechanical stepper to decide if one of four mobile calls possible at one time in that major city was destined for me), I'm always humbled by the progress we've made in the past 35 or so years. But along with the "good" that pocket cell phones have brought, there's also one particularly noticeable "bad." Many of us have had to give up our pockets! We constantly fight a different but quite noticeable "Battle of the Bulge" as our cell phones compete for pocket space with all the other "must have" detritus of modern life. (There's hardly room for lint anymore!)
But It Shall Not Always Be So! You might remember that back in 1999, I introduced you to a working prototype wristwatch phone from Samsung that I had a chance to use on the COMDEX show floor (http://h18000.www1.hp.com/rcfoc/19991129.html#_Toc467917268). I found the design elegant (if somewhat large), and at least in that location and under those conditions, it worked perfectly.
But alas, regardless of my patient waiting, this prototype or its equivalent never appeared on the market. Until now. Because by the time you read this, DoCoMo will have already put its "Wristmo" on sale in Japan for its PHS cellular network! (http://www.wristomo.com/top.html)
I can't read most of the specs because they're in Japanese, but it appears that this one is designed to work both on the wrist via speakerphone, or unfolded, off the wrist, as a more traditional cell phone. If you can wait a little
longer, you might prefer Samsung's (at last!)
offering that's due to hit some stores for this
year's holiday shopping!
(http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/
That's apparently a color OLED display, which should be extraordinarily bright, sharp, and power-miserly, plus a speakerphone, voice-dialing, etc. After four years of waiting, I can't wait to wear one. And this phone will also connect to Bluetooth headsets
so it will work without wires, similar to Lt. Uhura's communications gear in that first Star Trek series, so long ago.
A phone on your wrist; a wireless bud in your ear, and you're good to go! I'll let you know how this potential wrist-fixated love affair blossoms, if I get the opportunity. Bottom line? As we learn seemingly every week, if there's something technological that you need, want, or crave but it's either not available or too expensive, then just wait a while -- probably a short while -- and it will be so. (Remember, a terabyte of storage that cost $2,500 in 2002 is anticipated to cost $21 by the end of this decade!) Oh -- and with wristwatch phones, we get our pockets back. The fashion divas will be pleased. Don't Blink!
Hoisted With My Own Petard.
The feedback and "gotchyas" from you, my readers, and from those attending my seminars (see http://www.theharrowgroup.com/consulting2.htm#Abstract), keep me humble and honest, which is a Good Thing. But when you catch me in my not thinking quite as openly and innovatively as I like to think I think (got that?), well, that's particularly humbling (but also spurs me to 'try harder.') In this particular case, last
week I was giving a keynote speech to the Cray
User's Group Conference
(http://www.theharrowgroup.com/consulting2.htm#cug
and
http://www.cugoffice.org/cugoffice_realms/CUG_S03/pages/ While I'm not going to reveal the specific puzzle, the normal solution requires using four lines in innovative ways. For those who already know this solution, I ask for another solution that requires only one line. But in this case the Chief Scientist for supercomputer-maker Cray, Burton Smith, came to me afterwards and showed me how he had solved the puzzle using NO lines -- a solution no one had ever brought to my attention in the many years I've used this brain teaser. (I guess that's why Burton is Chief Scientist of one of the premier supercomputer companies in the world.) Yet if Burton's was an enviable "think fast" solution, audience member Michael Karo's solution rubbed my nose in the very exponentially-growing technologies that I was discussing in the presentation -- it seems that although Michael didn't know the solution to the puzzle, he suspected that others did and used his notebook plus the wireless LAN provided by the show organizers to Google-out the answer within the time I had allowed to solve the puzzle! Kudos to Michael!! (A variation on the old proverb: "It's not what you know, but how quickly you can find what you need to know.") This is an interesting example of early "enhanced humans." No, Michael didn't have an implant or any 'active devices' jacked-in, but his "senses" were certainly expanded by his notebook-plus-wireless-LAN card, plus the world's worth of information that the Web, literally, put at his fingertips. Michael, you see, was at a "competitive advantage" compared to the others in the audience who were using only their own brain power to devise a solution! Which is a good example of why I suspect that once safe and effective internal "enhancers" become available (probably from the ramping-up of NBIC[1] research), a similar wave of "competitive advantages" will drive people to loose their squeamishness and 'enhance away.' (Consider the competitive plight of those businesses without telephones once they began to catch on, or more recently, those without Internet access.) Pretty soon, un-enhanced individuals won't be able to keep up with the "enhanced," and the mold will have been cast. Both for good and for ill. Just a reminder, that as NBIC innovations melt away the differences between our bodies and our machines, we'd best remember that we DO have choices about the results, and it's up to each of us to help assure that we create an environment that we can, quite literally, live in. Again, Don't Blink!
[1] NBIC - The
Convergence of Nanotechnology, Biology & Medicine,
Information Sciences, and Cognitive Sciences.
If It Ain't Broke -- It Still May Be...
Smart Cards, those credit card and related cards that contain a microprocessor, memory, encryption software, and -- your data, have obviously been designed to be secure. The presumption is that a stolen card without your (brain-resident) PIN code won't give up your data. But now, thanks to a keen eye
by reader James Ronholm and a May 14 News.com
article (http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/ In this case, Sudhakar Govindavajhala found that by heating the card with the lamp he could accelerate the chance of spontaneously causing a random bit in the card's memory to "flip" from a 1 to 0, or visa versa, which broke the security model of the Smart Card. Having first loaded the unsecured portion of the card's memory with his special "attack program," and at least 60% of the rest of the unsecured memory with the 'address' of his attack program, there was a 70% chance that his attack program would execute when his heat-induced "bit-flip" occurred, giving him unrestricted access to the user data on the card. And this "exploit" will only get worse in future Smart Card chips that are built of smaller and lower-power devices, since the threshold for an unintentional bit-flip will be lower. Oops. According to principal analyst Fred Cohen with The Boston Group, "...people who created virtual machines didn't take into account this possible attack method." Just a reminder that smart people (and this is one college student who shouldn't have a problem getting a job at graduation) have this nasty habit of looking at things from new (and sometimes disturbing) perspectives. Yet again, Don't Blink!
Skip To The iLoo -- And Browse!
Finally, those portable toilets that sprout like blue-green mushrooms at festivals and at other rustic gathering places may not be as comfortable as the one at home, but they are better than, well, no toilets at all. Yet just as these chemical "loos" (the English term) are better than the original outhouse, Microsoft(!) is planning the loo's next upgrade! It's called the "iLoo," and it's destined to make its first appearance at UK festivals this summer. So what makes this better? It's not soundproofing, air conditioning, or smell-less chemicals (although it does use vacuum suction like many airliners). Instead, this loo comes with a built-in high-powered Windows XP computer with high-speed wireless Internet access, a plasma screen that rotates out from the wall, a wireless keyboard for input, and 6-channel surround sound! According to the May 2 News.com
(http://news.com.com/ My first thought was that this might be a self-defeating innovation, considering the long lines that typically form outside of ordinary loos, but Microsoft has taken steps to mitigate this issue -- they've added another plasma screen and weatherproof keyboard on the OUTSIDE of the loo, so those waiting in line can spend the time checking their Email! Of course I did have a suspicion that that this might be an April Fool's joke, as also suggested by reader Mike Lempriere. Indeed, I could find no mention of the iLoo on Microsoft's global or UK sites, so the iLoo may not be real. Digging further, I did find an article that hints at possible legitimacy (see http://www.neowin.net/comments.php?id=10744&category=main). Also, if you don't mind crude language and bathroom humor (and are 18 years old or older), you can follow the iLoo thread by reading what could have been a parody of the iLoo, although it was written several years ago. It's at http://www.theonion.com/onion3536/e_toilet.html . Additional, still-unverified stories suggest that Microsoft later disclosed that this was a one-off development project that has since been halted. The "reality" debate continues to rage, but whether the iLoo turns out to have been real or not, innovation does come in many forms, and perhaps this one will catch the fancy of fancy bathroom designers, changing the look of "Active Bathrooms" to come. I just hope, though, that if this loo "crashes," it does so in a dignified manner...
About "The Harrow Technology Report."
"The Harrow Technology Report" explores the innovations and trends of many contemporary and emerging technologies, and then draws some less than obvious connections between them, to help us each survive and prosper in the Knowledge Age. "The Harrow Technology Report" is brought to you by Jeffrey R. Harrow, Principal of The Harrow Group. http://www.TheHarrowGroup.com . Where To Find "The Harrow Technology Report:"
Copyright (c) 2001-2005, Jeffrey R. Harrow. All
rights reserved.
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