Thoughts and Theories From Roger Andre
for the curious, and people getting to grips with computing and computers.
Tuesday 28 October 2008, 7:55 PM
Ubiquitous Computing
The video posted below was sent to me by a concerned friend....I wasn't sure how to react, but I feel moved to put it before the ZDNet community and it's readers....I think it's probably far fetched, but don't feel entirely sure, anyhow I won't keep blabering on just now, I really think the video speaks for it self....
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SKZm34jsNHY
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SKZm34jsNHY
Tuesday 21 October 2008, 11:50 PM
Electronic Voting Is Audit free!
I'm not surprised, but I really wish I was. Let me tell you why.
I listen to digital planet via a BBC world service podcast every week, and last weeks version was an eye opener and yet it wasn't!
One of the Items during the program was about trials of electronic voting in the UK that had taken place last year and two years ago. The trials were observed by a chap called Glen Whittle.
Glen is a programer and an officialy acredited election observer,and what he saw worried him. He found that his biggest problem, being an election observer after all, was that there was no way to tell if the machines where doing there job properly. He said that there where no means of auditing the system, and thus no way to tell if the system was being compromised.
So, unlike lets say online banking there is no tracking built in to the system, no auditing trail. At least with the paper system you can go back and recount the votes. So; there is no actual way to tell that the electronic system used on the day by the voter is the same one that is going to cough up the results at the end of the process.
Interesting ommisions I must confess, and as Bill Thomson pointed out, The prizes for compromising the system are so great (like running the country) that atempts will be made.
Lets not forget that in 2005 over 250 fraud allegations where made against the postal voting system. All this in the United Kingdom, the supposed mother of all democracy, although I would like to point out that in this country, we are not actually british citizens! No, in the eyes of the officialdom and of course the monarchy, we are subjects of the queen. Got a problem with the erosion of civil liberty and the ever increasing security measures trying to poke their way into our lives? Well don't be bothering the politicians about it. Oh no! Take it up the queen and good luck to you!
I listen to digital planet via a BBC world service podcast every week, and last weeks version was an eye opener and yet it wasn't!
One of the Items during the program was about trials of electronic voting in the UK that had taken place last year and two years ago. The trials were observed by a chap called Glen Whittle.
Glen is a programer and an officialy acredited election observer,and what he saw worried him. He found that his biggest problem, being an election observer after all, was that there was no way to tell if the machines where doing there job properly. He said that there where no means of auditing the system, and thus no way to tell if the system was being compromised.
So, unlike lets say online banking there is no tracking built in to the system, no auditing trail. At least with the paper system you can go back and recount the votes. So; there is no actual way to tell that the electronic system used on the day by the voter is the same one that is going to cough up the results at the end of the process.
Interesting ommisions I must confess, and as Bill Thomson pointed out, The prizes for compromising the system are so great (like running the country) that atempts will be made.
Lets not forget that in 2005 over 250 fraud allegations where made against the postal voting system. All this in the United Kingdom, the supposed mother of all democracy, although I would like to point out that in this country, we are not actually british citizens! No, in the eyes of the officialdom and of course the monarchy, we are subjects of the queen. Got a problem with the erosion of civil liberty and the ever increasing security measures trying to poke their way into our lives? Well don't be bothering the politicians about it. Oh no! Take it up the queen and good luck to you!
Monday 13 October 2008, 1:51 AM
Digital Audio Broadcast. Is There a Future?
Channel 4 are pulling the plug on their DAB radio stations. The reason being that it is an unaffordable enterprise for them. Pull the other one!!
It could be more to do with the fact that it tends not to work well in cars, or on the move in general. The units that are available for cars have to keep switching to FM mode as the signal breaks up, a recipie for frustration considering that there is much greater choice and you'd end up being shunted around stations. Let's face it, if it wont do the business in cars then that's a huge market share out of the window.
Anyway the BBC has vowed to plow on with the enterprise, having sunk in many millions of our pounds into what still amounts to a project. With boxes that go online and tune in to web radio set to become popular, it seems to me that the future looks bleak for DAB. Shame really because the choice available was a breath of fresh air when compared to the trivia on the FM band (got that radio 4)!?
It could be more to do with the fact that it tends not to work well in cars, or on the move in general. The units that are available for cars have to keep switching to FM mode as the signal breaks up, a recipie for frustration considering that there is much greater choice and you'd end up being shunted around stations. Let's face it, if it wont do the business in cars then that's a huge market share out of the window.
Anyway the BBC has vowed to plow on with the enterprise, having sunk in many millions of our pounds into what still amounts to a project. With boxes that go online and tune in to web radio set to become popular, it seems to me that the future looks bleak for DAB. Shame really because the choice available was a breath of fresh air when compared to the trivia on the FM band (got that radio 4)!?
Thursday 9 October 2008, 5:42 PM
Unwittingly Working For Google.
Yes I did exactly what the title says. This afternoon, I poped into
the local mobile phone (let us give you the world for a contract) shop and asked them what they thought of the coming google android platform.
They looked at me as though I was a madman I kid you not, they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. So I suggested they search the term and they did.
I left the shop, not wanting to hang around and be percieved as a smart ass, but curiosity led me in to the O2, then Voda, and finally the orange shop. Nobody in these places knew what I was talking about, then it dawned on me. Google don't advertise, they rely on word of mouth, and there I was being the mouth piece!
It would be interesting to know if this is a familiar situation elsewhere in the country, even the world, or just a quirk here in
central somerset.
the local mobile phone (let us give you the world for a contract) shop and asked them what they thought of the coming google android platform.
They looked at me as though I was a madman I kid you not, they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. So I suggested they search the term and they did.
I left the shop, not wanting to hang around and be percieved as a smart ass, but curiosity led me in to the O2, then Voda, and finally the orange shop. Nobody in these places knew what I was talking about, then it dawned on me. Google don't advertise, they rely on word of mouth, and there I was being the mouth piece!
It would be interesting to know if this is a familiar situation elsewhere in the country, even the world, or just a quirk here in
central somerset.
