Category: Notes From The Electronic Cottage

A weekly feature on electronic technology as it affects everyday life with Jim Campbell. Broadcast on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, ME every Thursday at 7:30 AM.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 11/8/12

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Computers have gotten very good at recognizing faces. That can be very helpful in, for example, tagging photos on your own computer. But the same technology can be used in lots of other ways, too. And for better or worse, it will change our relationship to the world we live in. Here’s why.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 11/1/12

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

As we clean up in the physical world from Hurricane Sandy, let’s do a little clean up in the digital world as well by looking at some recent developments in research on smart meter privacy hazards, and on Amazon’s occasional forays into removing stuff from your Kindle that you bought and paid for.

And if you’d like to find out how to avoid having Amazon “repossess” books you have bought, you may want to take a look at http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/drm-be-damned-how-to-protect-your-Amazon-e-books-from-being-deleted/

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 10/11/12

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Passwords: we all have them but who else knows them? If the answer if no one, it could make big problems for our heirs once we head for the next world.

And in this world, it could soon be much more difficult to loan or sell copyrighted objects which we’ve bought and paid for if the Supreme Court upholds a lower court decision on the first sale doctrine. Here’s why…

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 10/4/12

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

It’s Banned Books Week 2012, and if we think that there is no need for such a reminder in the U.S., we’d be wrong. Books can be unavailable because of efforts of some to remove books from libraries or classrooms, or, in the electronic age, because publishers refuse to sell e-books to libraries. Practically speaking, the result is the same, especially for those with limited economic resources.

Here’s a link to a letter from the president fo the American Library Association about the refusal of major publishers to sell e-books to libraries: www.ala.org/news/pr?id=11508

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 9/27/12

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

As wireless communication becomes more and more a part of everyone’s life, it seems like it couldn’t hurt to have a short reminder of how the electromagnetic spectrum is organized. Here’s a short look at the radio and television portions of the spectrum – just because.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 9/20/12

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

The coming election looks like it will be pretty close. That means every vote could make a difference – but only if votes are counted accurately. But in the era of Electronic Voting Machines, there are a lot of questions about whether that will happen.

Link to the voting report mentioned in the program: http://law.newark.rutgers.edu/files/CountingVotes2012.pdf