[gui-talk] Fwd: Article: Do you want chips with that?
Joel Deutsch
jdeutsch at dslextreme.com
Thu Sep 6 22:37:07 CDT 2007
Okay. You can crash here. I've got a nice sofa bed . Not to worry.
----- Original Message -----
From: "albert griffith" <albertgriffith at sbcglobal.net>
To: "'NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List'" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 10:55 PM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Fwd: Article: Do you want chips with that?
I'm going to head out to L.A. with the other nuts and await God's wrath.
The big quake is just around the corner and it won't matter who's keeping
track of us. ha ha
-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Joel Deutsch
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 7:15 PM
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Fwd: Article: Do you want chips with that?
You mean you're not afraid that the World Government and their black
helicopters are going to track you down in your island redoubt at Mackinaw
and wipe out the last free American? (that's a joke, kids)?
Good for you, my brave fellow.
----- Original Message -----
From: "albert griffith" <albertgriffith at sbcglobal.net>
To: "'NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List'" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 9:51 PM
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Fwd: Article: Do you want chips with that?
While I'm grateful to those who keep watch over my privacy rights, I'm not
too concerned. Since I can remember, I've been a part of many data bases.
I'm plugged in to more agency listings than I care to count merely because
I'm blind and have used a multitude of services funded through various
governmental agencies. I'm sure this is true for most of you, as well. If
it makes my life easier in the sort run, bring on the RFID. chips.
-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:gui-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Steve Pattison
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2007 6:41 PM
To: GUI Talk; Access-L
Subject: [gui-talk] Fwd: Article: Do you want chips with that?
>From: Terrie Arnold [mailto:tanderson3 at kc.rr.com]
Do you want Chips with that?
By Paul Crichton
21 Aug 07, 04:10 PM
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are set to replace
barcodes in supermarkets.
They are much smarter, being able to store information and send out a
radio signal saying "here I am" and "this is who I am" to nearby
computers who need to know for the purposes of stock control, for
instance.
Interestingly this same RFID technology is starting to be used to make
a difference in the lives of disabled people, creating networked
digital environments that sit alongside our physical environments.
Everything can talk to everything else with RFID and has the potential
to do far more than stock control, like, for instance, telling a blind
person where he or she left the TV remote control or keys via an
application on their talking mobile phone (they've all got them, trust
me). Wow, this sounds brilliant I hear you say! But there is also a
darker side. Read on ...
GaiShan Technology
is trialling a handheld scanner for visually impaired people called
TellMate. It comes with reusable RFID labels that can be applied to
household objects, from tins of food to clothes. The user can record
an audio note about an object, such as a use-by date or washing
instructions that will be played back to them when scanned.
Similar to the existing
VoiLa Talking Barcode Reader
but it remains to be seen how much smarter the device is.
Elsewhere, scientists at
VTT
and
Innovision R&T
have developed a system so that information on supermarket shelves,
like price, or nutritional values of food items, can be sent directly
to the user's mobile phone to make grocery shopping an easier
experience for visually impaired people. Having a scanner that can
quickly and simply show what is a tin of baked beans and what is
pineapple chunks has to beat making Braille labels. And as Braille
labels are small and can't hold vast amounts of information, RFID tags
can bridge the gap with all sorts of nutritional stuff that everyone
wants to know about these days. At last, visually impaired people can
avoid the obesity trap!
Many organisations are exploring the potential of RFID chips that
could make a difference to a variety of disability groups.
The Escher Group
has conducted research into "smart doors". An RFID tag in a shoe
could communicate with a reader in the door, either opening or
remaining locked depending on the signal.
This could be great for everyone, not least those with physical
disabilities that can make using keys difficult.
RFID tags are not without their controversy, however.
Whilst the
US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) approved implanting medical information on RFID chips into
patients more than three years ago, when it came to VeriChip , a
manufacturer of RFID chips, actually doing so with people with
Alzheimer's, it provoked an outcry.
The nature of Alzheimer's, a cognitive mental disability, means that
in a medical emergency, the patient may not be able to pass on vital
information.
Conversely,
opponents argued that a patient with Alzheimer's would be in no
position to provide fully informed consent to the procedure.
That debate continues
.
No less controversial, and more widely reported in the mainstream
press, is the question of privacy. Indeed, RFID chips have been
popularly dubbed as, "spychips." Whilst RFID tags can be used to
monitor shoe stock in a shop, they could also reveal more about your
lifestyle than you might wish if they continue to track your movements
after leaving the store.
People are worried that consumer data collectors could drive down a
street with RFID receivers in their black vans and hoover up vast
amounts of data being screamed out by the yoghurts, clothes and
toothpaste in your house. This could, in theory, allow them to profile
you as a person or your neighbourhood and help them to target you even
more effectively with adverts and promotional materials.
These concerns need to be addressed as RFID chips could ultimately be
embedded in items ranging from cigarette packets to exam papers . The
question is, would companies be as interested in exploring this
technology without the extra information they can gather about their
customers?
With credit cards, loyalty cards, and who knows what else, there are
already ways to build up a detailed profile about someone's lifestyle.
I don't have an oyster card to use London Transport because I don't
want records of my journeys held for three months, for instance.
But would you consider it a fair trade-off to sacrifice a bit of
privacy for the extra independence that scanning food in a supermarket
would provide?
And remotely
finding your remote control? It's almost like being able to say to the
room: "where are you Mr TV Zapper" and have it jump up and say "I'm
here Daddy". Wow.
Regards Steve
Email: srp at internode.on.net
Skype: steve1963
MSN Messenger: internetuser383 at hotmail.com
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