MIT Pilots Pervasive Computing

Researchers at MIT are exploring the possibilities of "pervasive" or "ubiquitous" computing with Project Oxygen. Partnering with IT industry leaders, MIT has developed several prototypes of pervasive computing environments, including such innovations as a real-time indoor map, improved instant messaging systems, and "smart rooms" in which devices understand spoken requests.



Pervasive computing is one of the most exciting areas of technological innovation, as it has an almost unlimited range of possibilities. At work, at home, in public places, "intelligent environments" can change the way we live and work. It probably won't work out the way we imagine it now, but the potential is there to improve all kinds of processes.



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Online News is a Man's World

The other day I posted a bit about the 18-to-34-year-old male demographic being so hard for advertisers to target. Perhaps these marketers need to go to news websites to find them...



According to a story in Wired, both the New York Times and the Washington Post claim that more than 60% of their registered users are male. No one seems to know why, but some leading theories are that:

• Women are still trying to catch up to men in terms of sheer numbers online, and/or
• Women aren't interested in online news

Perhaps... but I'd like to make a third suggestion. Many women, in order to protect themselves online, often misrepresent themselves as men. And since anyone can say whatever they like in online registrations, some women may choose to identify themselves as male.



But if it really is true that men outnumber women on news sites by nearly 2-1, these sites have some work to do in learning what interests women... or what keeps them away.





Minding the Planet Channel Mob

How Will an Aging Population Affect the Future?

Ask almost any futurist what he or she thinks will be the most important trend over the next 50 years, and he or she will likely tell you about the aging of the world's population. Falling birthrates worldwide, combined with greater longevity, means that the median age of humans is steadily becoming older.



The WorldChanging blog cites a Stanford Magazine article about the consequences of an aging world. Among the takeaways from the article are:

• The traditional retirement age of 65 will soon become a thing of the past. It made sense back when the average life expectancy was 61 and most work involved hard, physical labor. But in an office environment, many workers can keep working well into their 70s and 80s.
• Longer life must go hand-in-hand with better health; no one wants to see an elderly population become an infirm population. Quality-of-life issues must become the focus of future healthcare research.
• In the U.S., aging baby boomers will continue to impact the culture, changing our long-held assumptions of what it means to be old. However, because the elderly perceive time differently than younger people (a long history behind them and not much longer to go), their priorities are different.
• The large numbers of the elderly may make it possible for more young people to have mentors.
• The elderly have a more nuanced view of the world, having gained the ability to appreciate differences of opinion.

The aging world population is potentially one of the most important long-term trends, with its ramifications affecting all levels of society. How will longevity affect families? Will it become typical for people--particularly men--to go through several marriages and have more than one family? The WorldChanging blog also raises the specter of assisted suicide, which in itself involved a series of complex controversies.





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Army Debuts its "Future Warrior"

The Army has unveiled a prototype for its "Future Warrior" -- a high-tech, highly protected soldier unlike anything we're seeing today. Lessons learned in recent fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq played a large role in developing this technology.



The Army is preparing two outfit prototypes, to be deployed in 2010 and 2020 respectively. Both resemble spacesuits and protect the wearer with substantial body armor, and "wire" him into computers on board vehicles and aircraft. Solders equipped with Future Warrior technology will be in constant contact with each other and with bases... and in turn, their physical conditions will be monitored constantly. The Army, in fact, is viewing solders as part of an integrated "tactical network" that can corrdinate itself in real time.



The 2020 version of the Future Warrior suit will use nanotechnology to remain pliable and comfortable until the precise moment a bullet or some other projectile strikes it. At that moment, it will become rigid and deflect the object. From the waist down, the suit might include piston-driven supports that will be, in effect, robotic legs allowing the soldier to carry massive amounts of gear on his back without strain.



Being that military technology has a long and successful history of "trickling down" into the civilian sector, the possibilities here for all kinds of applications are mind-boggling.



For more technology the Army has up its sleeve, visit their Future Combat Systems website.



Minding the Planet Channel Mob

MESSENGER probe off to Mercury

Early this morning, while most of us were still asleep, NASA launched its MESSENGER probe to the planet Mercury. The craft will make several flybys of Mercury, Venus and Earth over the next few years to obtain gravity boosts, then insert itself into Mercury's orbit in March 2011. Once in orbit, MESSENGER will proceed to map the entire planet, as well as learn more about its geography and magnetic field.



This is the first mission to Mercury since Mariner 10 first explored Mercury in the 1970s. Even then, the photographic record of the planet's surface was incomplete.



Click here to see an MPEG video of MESSENGER entering Mercury's orbit.

If Terrorists Don't Talk, Their Laptops Will

It appears that much of the intelligence that led to the recent raising of the terror threat level in New York, Washington and Newark, NJ came not only from a terrorst arrested in Pakistan the week prior, but from his laptop. Turns out that his computer was a treasure trove of surveillance and other information that helped authorities fill in the blanks about al Qaeda's intentions.



This begs the question of what's more important for counterintelligence experts to target: terrorists, or their technology. People can bluff, play dumb or simply refuse to talk. On the other hand, laptops, PDAs, removable drives and the like can be unencrypted (many believe that the NSA has been able to decode even the highest levels of encryption for years), and once accessed, don't lie about their content. These devices also leave a trail, such as logs of downloaded information, websites visited, sent e-mail messages and addresses of devices that might contain backed-up content. A perceptive cyber investigator can learn a lot about a person from the devices he/she carries, even if that person is security-savvy and has taken great pains to cover his/her tracks.

A Better Approach to Homeland Security

By now you've surely heard that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has raised the terror threat levels from yellow (elevated) to orange (high), but only for New York City, Washington, and certain locations in Newark, NJ.



Yesterday, DHS Secretary Tom Ridge made the announcement, which was apparently based on much more specific data than they're worked off of in the past. In my view, this is far preferable to previous warnings, which were too broad and too vague to be of much use (remember the scrambles for plastic wrap and duct tape?). However, by announcing not only that specific cities, but also specific buildings, were at risk, law enforcement can focus their efforts on those areas most vulnerable.



Assuming the information DHS is working with is accurate (and it might not be), it also puts terrorists on notice that a) we're on to them and b) their plans are somehow being compromised. There are those who say we should keep quiet and not show our hand, but if we manage to spook terrorists enough for them to scrub their attack plans, we've saved lives.



Finally, in response to those who suggest that this announcement was politically motivated to make President Bush look good in the aftermath of the Democratic Convention, it would be very sad if that were true. But I don't think it is, as even the most partisan operative at the White House must realize that homeland security is too important to use as a political football. Plus, if they really wanted to throw the Democrats off kilter, they would have made the announcement Thursday night...