The television and movie industry is quietly making sure that copy protection is built into any HDTV Tuner/Reciever in existence. (NYT) I imagine they are also "discouraging" off the shelf computer parts from those chip set companies. I suspect that the chip companies that make the video cards have much more money at stake in the long run not running afoul of the movie and broadcast industries.
Enron was named today one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" by Fortune magazine. Climbing to number 22 from number 24 last year, Enron is the highest ranking global energy company on the list.
"Our corporate culture and our world-class employees make Enron a great place to work," said Kenneth L. Lay, Enron chairman and CEO. "We are proud to receive recognition as a top workplace; it's a reflection of our commitment to our employees and to their key role in our company's success."
The Fortune survey is based primarily on feedback from employees, who were randomly selected to fill out a 57-question survey developed by The Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco. The remaining part of Fortune's scoring was based on a culture audit and a detailed human resources questionnaire.
Enron adds the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" distinction to its "Most Innovative Company in America" accolade, which it has received from Fortune magazine for the past five years. The magazine also has named Enron the top company for "Quality of Management and the second best company for "Employee Talent."
Forget the state of current technology and think about what it shortly will be, live pictures at decent resolution. The issue will always be the ethical and socially acceptable use of the product. Unfortunately our privacy is constantly being eroded and as a society we seem to be presuming people guilty to a greater degree. We are a more cynical nation.
Another problem is that pictures are like inkblots, people filter what they see. Example, instant replay in football.
There is also the interesting question of fraud. Are you really seeing a picture that was just snapped? Or will people have innocent locations stored in their phones for certain callers? Or not so innocent locations? Will the camera phones digitally authenticate time and location/GPS information?
I would love to be able to dial 911 and snap a picture of a crime in progress or the threat of one, especially if I was the victim. I would think criminals would find it discouraging their picture was already at the police station and rethink going ahead and committing a crime. (Some interesting thoughts along the lines of Minority Report come to mind.)
Also, imagine being able to anonymously phone an FBI hotline if the guy in the Waffle House looks a lot like America's Most Wanted and have the image immediately processed via facial recognition software and if a match pops up then the GPS info from your phone is decoded.
My biggest problem with picture phones is that appearances can be so prejudicial. A picture can reveal a lot of information that is none of the callers business. As well, some people photograph better than others and our culture is appearance oriented enough.
There are also legitimate uses for picture phones/ video cell phones, but the technology can be misused.
As for visual privacy, these days I would not assume it unless I am in a room with the shades drawn. Picture phones are going to make no difference on that score. I don't really like it. But there is not anything I can do about it either.
Point #1. All art is in the eye of the beholder and if the creative team wants to call it art, fine lets call it art. But nothing exempts some art from being age inappropriate, just like everything else in life.
Point #2. In an ideal world ratings are simply informative. In the end I think that objective information on the outside of the box lead to better purchasing decisions. I think it should be up to local communities to decide what should be sold to minors and what should not be.
Point #3. Without the legitimate threat of government ratings and controls, there are no voluntary ratings. Thus while I do not like the idea of government control, the option must exist in order to encourage the more preferable option. Most marketing people don't see the carrots that I see in ratings systems, they just pay attention to the stick.
Point #4. I am in favor of ratings and technology that allow parental controls without parental following children around every second of every day.
Point #5. If you think ratings systems are for the birds go buy it for your kid yourself. In the end, regardless of ratings, it is a free country.
High style points. I am not techie enough to judge what the best solution would be, but I admire the attempt. I do question the conversion of an old style keyboard as being the best solution, although I am inclined to say that it is the most romantic notion I can think of. This is just me, but the introduction of electronic componets into a manual typewriter seems, well, untoward.
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The television and movie industry is quietly making sure that copy protection is built into any HDTV Tuner/Reciever in existence. (NYT) I imagine they are also "discouraging" off the shelf computer parts from those chip set companies. I suspect that the chip companies that make the video cards have much more money at stake in the long run not running afoul of the movie and broadcast industries.
Gas from the past
Enron was named today one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" by Fortune magazine. Climbing to number 22 from number 24 last year, Enron is the highest ranking global energy company on the list.
"Our corporate culture and our world-class employees make Enron a great place to work," said Kenneth L. Lay, Enron chairman and CEO. "We are proud to receive recognition as a top workplace; it's a reflection of our commitment to our employees and to their key role in our company's success."
The Fortune survey is based primarily on feedback from employees, who were randomly selected to fill out a 57-question survey developed by The Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco. The remaining part of Fortune's scoring was based on a culture audit and a detailed human resources questionnaire.
Enron adds the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" distinction to its "Most Innovative Company in America" accolade, which it has received from Fortune magazine for the past five years. The magazine also has named Enron the top company for "Quality of Management and the second best company for "Employee Talent."
Forget the state of current technology and think about what it shortly will be, live pictures at decent resolution. The issue will always be the ethical and socially acceptable use of the product. Unfortunately our privacy is constantly being eroded and as a society we seem to be presuming people guilty to a greater degree. We are a more cynical nation.
Another problem is that pictures are like inkblots, people filter what they see. Example, instant replay in football.
There is also the interesting question of fraud. Are you really seeing a picture that was just snapped? Or will people have innocent locations stored in their phones for certain callers? Or not so innocent locations? Will the camera phones digitally authenticate time and location/GPS information?
I would love to be able to dial 911 and snap a picture of a crime in progress or the threat of one, especially if I was the victim. I would think criminals would find it discouraging their picture was already at the police station and rethink going ahead and committing a crime. (Some interesting thoughts along the lines of Minority Report come to mind.)
Also, imagine being able to anonymously phone an FBI hotline if the guy in the Waffle House looks a lot like America's Most Wanted and have the image immediately processed via facial recognition software and if a match pops up then the GPS info from your phone is decoded.
My biggest problem with picture phones is that appearances can be so prejudicial. A picture can reveal a lot of information that is none of the callers business. As well, some people photograph better than others and our culture is appearance oriented enough.
There are also legitimate uses for picture phones/ video cell phones, but the technology can be misused.
As for visual privacy, these days I would not assume it unless I am in a room with the shades drawn. Picture phones are going to make no difference on that score. I don't really like it. But there is not anything I can do about it either.
Point #1. All art is in the eye of the beholder and if the creative team wants to call it art, fine lets call it art. But nothing exempts some art from being age inappropriate, just like everything else in life.
Point #2. In an ideal world ratings are simply informative. In the end I think that objective information on the outside of the box lead to better purchasing decisions. I think it should be up to local communities to decide what should be sold to minors and what should not be.
Point #3. Without the legitimate threat of government ratings and controls, there are no voluntary ratings. Thus while I do not like the idea of government control, the option must exist in order to encourage the more preferable option. Most marketing people don't see the carrots that I see in ratings systems, they just pay attention to the stick.
Point #4. I am in favor of ratings and technology that allow parental controls without parental following children around every second of every day.
Point #5. If you think ratings systems are for the birds go buy it for your kid yourself. In the end, regardless of ratings, it is a free country.
High style points. I am not techie enough to judge what the best solution would be, but I admire the attempt. I do question the conversion of an old style keyboard as being the best solution, although I am inclined to say that it is the most romantic notion I can think of. This is just me, but the introduction of electronic componets into a manual typewriter seems, well, untoward.