NewsScan Daily, 12 September 2003 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 12 September 2003 ("Above The Fold")
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NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class organization
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        State Workers' Private E-Mail Is Private
        Technology Jams Cell Phone Cameras
        New-Fangled Billboards Light Up the Highway
        Vulnerability of Electric Grid System
        Cargo Inspection Systems
        Applesauce

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Honorary Subscriber: Louis B. Mayer
        Mailbag: The World As We Find It

STATE WORKERS' PRIVATE E-MAIL IS PRIVATE
The Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday that state workers' private 
e-mails cannot be treated as public documents just because they are created 
or stored on government computers. The ruling came in a case brought by the 
St. Petersburg Times, which had sued the city of Clearwater for access to 
the e-mail records of two city employees who had exchanged messages 
regarding a private business venture. The city allowed the workers to 
determine which e-mails should be made public, a decision challenged by the 
newspaper and First Amendment advocates. Florida Attorney General Charlie 
Crist expressed disappointment with the ruling: "If the taxpayers pay for 
the computers, they ought to have the right to see what's on them." St. 
Pete Times attorney George Rahdert noted that the 1967 law covering public 
records was written before electronic communications were commonplace. "The 
problem is public records law is kind of paper-bound. It doesn't really 
account for the way that people are communicating important information." 
(St. Petersburg Times 12 Sep 2003)
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/09/12/State/Workers__private_e_ma.shtml

TECHNOLOGY JAMS CELL PHONE CAMERAS
A new product from Iceberg Systems, dubbed Safe Haven, is designed to block 
a camera cell phone's ability to snap pictures. The imaging system is then 
reactivated when the cell phone leaves the Safe Haven-protected area. The 
product uses hardware transmitters with a small piece of control software 
loaded into a camera phone handset to disable the imaging capability, and 
Iceberg Systems managing director Patrick Snow says his company is in talks 
with handset manufacturers interested in testing the technology. Safe Haven 
could prove popular with businesses that operate secure sites -- Samsung 
and LG Electronics have already barred employees from using camera phones 
in research and manufacturing facilities for fear sensitive data could be 
stolen. Snow says the system could also be tweaked to eliminate other 
annoying cell phone intrusions, such as loud ringtones in a theater or 
text-messaging in school. Meanwhile, analysts predict there will be some 1 
billion camera phones in use within five years. (CNet News.com 11 Sep 2003)
http://news.com.com/2100-1009_3-5074852.html?tag=fd_top

NEW-FANGLED BILLBOARDS LIGHT UP THE HIGHWAY
Outdoor advertising is going high-tech, with billboards that can change 
their messages based on the demographics of drivers passing by or what time 
of day it is. Smart Sign Media uses a technology that taps into the radio 
signals in cars to determine the predominant income and product preferences 
of passersby and then adjusts its billboard message accordingly (i.e., NPR 
= a Volvo ad while country = a Ford pickup ad). Another company, AdSpace 
Networks, uses something called CoolSign technology to change an 
advertiser's message throughout the day. For instance, a FreshDirect 
billboard outside New York's Queens Midtown Tunnel changes its ad based on 
what produce is fresh that day. With bottlenecks twice a day at the tunnel, 
FreshDirect estimates that 40 million people spend anywhere from two to 20 
minutes looking at the sign. Meanwhile, ad companies are looking at even 
more futuristic scenarios: "We've presented things like billboards that are 
see-through, and when you drive into a cityscape, you might see the sun 
coming up through the billboard," says a context strategy director at 
Interpublic Group. (Wall Street Journal 12 Sep 2003)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB106331375166075100,00.html (sub req'd)

VULNERABILITY OF ELECTRIC GRID SYSTEM
Researchers say that "back doors'' in the digital relays and control room 
technology managing direct electricity flow in North America is vulnerable 
to computer viruses and hackers. Cybersecurity researcher Eric Byres of the 
British Columbian Institute of Technology in Vancouver says: "I know enough 
about where the holes are. My team and I could shut down the grid. Not the 
whole North American grid, but a state, sure.'' He's frustrated because 
he's contacted a well-known manufacturer -- whom he declined to name for 
security reasons -- and urged that the weakness be fixed before hackers 
found it. Gary Seifert, a researcher with the Energy Department's Idaho 
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, defines the problem this 
way: "We have a plethora of intelligent electrical devices going into 
substations and power stations all over the United States. What's to keep 
somebody from accessing those devices and changing the settings?... We're 
still going to have back doors no matter how hard we try. You can't keep 
them out but you hope to slow them down.'' (AP/USA Today 12 Sep 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-09-12-grid-hacking_x.htm

CARGO INSPECTION SYSTEMS
The Advanced Research and Applications corporation has a contract to 
provide the Department of Homeland Security Eagle X-ray cargo inspection 
systems that can detect what's behind as much as 14 inches of steel or 
under as much as 8 feet of water. Each machine sells for between $4 million 
and $5 million, and, unlike X-ray systems produced by other companies, is 
mobile and allows inspectors to peer through cargo containers and assess 
their contents in 30 seconds. U.S. Customs official Bill Anthony says: "If 
you want to stop every truck coming into this country, the trucks would be 
backed up all the way to Mexico City within a week,'' whereas X-ray 
inspections ensure "that commerce continues to move and yet we still have a 
high degree of certainty that weapons of mass destruction aren't getting 
into the country.'' (AP/San Jose Mercury News 12 Sep 2003)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6744422.htm

APPLESAUCE
The Beatles' record company -- Apple Corp. -- is once again suing the Apple 
Computer company, this time over Apple's iTunes Music Store. The first time 
it sued was at the launch of Apple Computer in the early 1980s, with that 
case eventually being settled out of court, after the computer company 
agreed not to enter the music market. Now Apple Corp. claims Apple Comp. 
has violated their agreements. (The Register, UK 12 Sep 2003)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/32801.html

*****

FLASH CARD
      "If there is no God, who pops up the next Kleenex?" (Art Hoppe)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: LOUIS B. MAYER
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the Hollywood film mogul Louis Burt 
Mayer (1885-1957), who was for many years the ruling patriarch of the 
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture organization when it was the most 
prestigious of the major Hollywood studios. He described the formula for 
his movie making success as "great star, great director, great play, and 
great cast."
      Born Lazar Mayer in Minsk, Russia, his family moved to Canada while 
he was still a young child. He followed his father into the scrap metal 
business, but in 1904 he went out on his own in Boston, Massachusetts. To 
recover from a business loss, he took the advice of a friend and got into 
the film distribution business, investing in a small theater in Haverhill, 
Massachusetts. The business thrived, providing him with the resources to 
move into the film production enterprises that eventually made him rich and 
famous.
      Mayer saw to it that MGM productions generally avoided controversial 
issues. He insisted that MGM be known for making clean, morally uplifting, 
family entertainment films. His movies featured elaborate sets, gorgeous 
costuming, and pretty girls. He created the studio star system, putting 
under contract most of the outstanding screen personalities of the day. 
Mayer personally discovered such glamorous stars as Greta Garbo, Joan 
Crawford, Rudolph Valentino, and Clark Gable. Under his strict supervision, 
MGM turned out entertaining films of consistently high quality. The list 
includes: "Ben-Hur" (1925), "Grand Hotel" (1932), "Dinner at Eight"(1933), 
and "The Good Earth" (1937).
      As the studio star system waned in the late '40s and early '50s, so 
did Mayer's power and control over studio events. His 1951 retirement is 
generally considered to have been a forced resignation.

See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0440220661/newsscancom/ref=nosim 
for a biography of Mayer by Charles Higham -- or look for it in your 
favorite library. [We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to 
adult literacy programs.]

MAILBAG: THE WORLD AS WE FIND IT

REFLECTIONS FOR A FISHING TRIP
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9146
      Just want to add my 2p-worth. I read & enjoy the Cobbs' column and 
find it interesting and well-informed as a rule, but I think you should not 
have published their last column -- it was just a gripe about airline 
security, and lord only knows you hear enough of those anytime you fly 
(especially within the U.S.) nowadays. Maybe when Chey and Stephen have 
chilled out on their fishing-boat for a couple of weeks they'll have got it 
in perspective. (Personally I stopped locking checked luggage years ago 
because I knew that occasionally security will need to look into your bags.)
      I also agree 100% with Jane Gudicini's point that a positive racial 
profile is a security loophole. There's another thing wrong with it: it's 
pure racial discrimination and as such it *has* to be wrong, no matter how 
well-intentioned. And surely organisations like airlines and governments 
have to avoid even the appearance of endorsing racist policies or 
behaviour. (Allan Todd, UK)

ANONYMOUS MIX-AND-MATCH: NOW YOU SEE HIM NOW YOU DON'T
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9165
      Diana Bouchard makes an important point about anonymity as a mixed 
blessing. Technology is no substitute for leadership. Group Support Systems 
(GSS) and the anonymity they offer are only tools. Rigorous scientific 
experimentation shows that anonymity is an excellent tool to promote 
brainstorming. Even tightly-knit groups with strong personal and 
professional bonds produce twice as many unique ideas when they brainstorm 
anonymously rather than identified. Nonetheless, brainstorming is only part 
of what a group must do. Research also shows that, after brainstorming, as 
people work to identify their best ideas, performance improves when people 
are identified. On the other hand, alternative evaluation and goal 
alignment activities seem to work best with techniques that judiciously mix 
anonymous and identified interactions. Thus, as Ms. Bouchard rightly points 
out, blanket use of anonymity would indeed be a mixed blessing.
      Wielded with intelligence and skill, however, anonymity can promote 
both relationships and performance. Consider an example recounted by GEN 
Don Lynch, USMC (ret). When he took command of Camp Pendleton in San Diego, 
he found low morale among the troops. He invited group after group of his 
young soldiers into a computer-equipped conference room for anonymous 
brainstorming on the question, "What could we do to make this the best 
<darn> base in the U.S. Marine Corps?" Every few minutes, as they worked, 
he picked up the phone and issued orders to implement one of their 
recommendations. For example, "Quartermaster, this is General Lynch. My 
soldiers do not have sufficient brooms, mops, and cleaning supplies to keep 
their barracks as clean as their Marine pride requires. Please see to it 
that those supplies are on hand for them before they get back to their 
barracks."  Morale rose quickly.
       When authority and expertise have an urgent bearing on the matter at 
hand, people tend to sign their comments, even if the GSS is configured for 
anonymity. Likewise, asynchronous users tend to sign their contributions 
even if the system isn't set to do it automatically. If the team prefers, 
on a moment's notice, they can also configure their system to automatically 
identify the source of all subsequent contributions. Thus, using a group 
support system, teams can get the benefits of anonymity when they need it, 
to increase their breadth of ideas, and the benefits of non-anonymous 
discussion when identity contributes vital information to the decisions 
being made.
      As always, thanks for your superb work. You keep us all in the know. 
(Bob Briggs)

POP-UPS ON CALL: NOW I WANT THEM NOW I DON'T Re: 
http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9147
      When pop-ups first appeared, I hated them. And I set my browser, 
Opera XX, to refuse them. Then I realized I was missing information I 
wanted, when I couldn't pull up click-to-open pop-ups on a wide variety of 
sites. I now suffer the automatic pop-ups in order to get the click-to-open 
pop-ups I want. In fact, I manage a local government Web site and have just 
bought a Web calendar system which uses pop-ups extensively to deliver 
additional information about meetings and events. I'm using it to provide 
agendas, forms, maps, and images -- lots of information tied to specific 
county events. Like other media, pop-ups themselves aren't inherently evil 
or annoying; it depends on how they're used.
      Hey, browser software writers -- give me a choice in pop-up 
management. Let me stop automatic pop-ups but keep the ability to see 
pop-ups I click to see! (Susan Prince)

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