Tag: technology

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 6/25/09

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Technology has played an important role in the protests about the recent election in Iran – both for good and for ill. The Internet allowed protesters to communicate after the Iranian government effectively took control of the mass media. Deep packet inspection technology also allowed the Iranian government to monitor protesters emails and help identify those who were communicating via the Internet and what they were saying. The monitoring technology was supplied by western companies – who also supplied the same technologies to western governments, including the U.S., who are using it in much the same way the Iranian government is. Interestingly, the language we use to describe that activity is quite different depending on who is doing the monitoring.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 6/18/09

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell
The TopCoder Open is a big deal international computing competition. It was won this year by an 18 year old Chinese lad. Out fo 4200 entrants, there were 70 finalists: 20 were from China, 10 from Russia, 2 from the U.S. About the same time, the Carnegie Corporation of New York issued report entitled “The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy.” These two events might serve to give pause to those who may think the United States will automatically be the leader in technology in the future.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 12/18/08

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Technology is moving very fast, and promises to change important parts of our lives in the not too distant future. IBM has recently described five technologies that will change our lives within five years. Here’s a peek at several and their implications for our daily lives – both good and perhaps not so good.

Notes from the Electronic Cottage 11/13/08

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

On this program, we’ve often looked at technologies which have the potential to impinge on the liberty and privacy of individuals. To see what a world might look like in which a combination of technologies, all of which are available today, are deployed by the state – in the name of combating terrorism, of course – check out “The Last Enemy,” a program set in the London of the very near future. It depicts what it might be like to live in such a world in a way no science report ever could.