Voting Machines are in the news again. Understandable.
This from the New York Times, Jan 16 2008
The solution is for all votes to be recorded on paper records. Voters can then verify that their choice has been accurately reflected — and the paper record can be used as a backup for the electronic machines.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/16/opinion/16wed1.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=a+quick+fix+for+electronic+voting&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
We can have security and electronic voting too: Here is a piece of election equipment that is automatic, user friendly, handicapped accessible, but creates a paper ballot~
http://www.applieddata.net/Devices/ballot-marker_AutoMARK.asp
This device is just a ballot marker (it does not store or tabulate votes, it only marks ballots for the disabled) but it had to go through the same certification ringer as DRE (Direct Recording Equipment).
Moving back to paper is not a bad thing. For all history, our important information has been coded on more archaic media. We communicate with friends and family via email, but wedding invites go on vellum via snail mail. If you buy a house, the paper to do it gets a big embossed stamp. If you ever sign a treaty or trade agreement with a sovereign, it will probably have sealing wax on it.
We should not begrudge ballots their proper place anointed by a slightly retro technology.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The ‘funny’ DRM link is off YouTube.
Well, the funny YouTube link from the last post is gone. It violated copyright of the original movie maker, and you-tube pulled it. And this is the core of the issue around DRM. The link was built from an incredibly dramatic and well acted German docu-drama about Hitler’s end in the bunker. The creator of the work took offences at its use.
Captions of Sony/Toshiba marketing speak were overlaid, and these made the clip funny- to me. I'm sure some people felt mocking Hitler was disrespectful (and about them I could care less). But what if it was a movie about the twin towers, Lee at Gettysburg, Crockett at the Alamo, Nathan Hale at the Gallows, or Leonidas at Thermopylae?
The creator has some rights to control his work- I never want to see Mickey mouse or Bugs Bunny porn.
Captions of Sony/Toshiba marketing speak were overlaid, and these made the clip funny- to me. I'm sure some people felt mocking Hitler was disrespectful (and about them I could care less). But what if it was a movie about the twin towers, Lee at Gettysburg, Crockett at the Alamo, Nathan Hale at the Gallows, or Leonidas at Thermopylae?
The creator has some rights to control his work- I never want to see Mickey mouse or Bugs Bunny porn.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The HD Wars are Over
Just before CES Warner announced exclusive support for Blue-Ray. Here is a link that will show the reaction of the HD camp. (Very funny, and a bit of 'adult language', but worth it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=friS4OOcdgQ
On a serious note- The DVD Wars were all about DRM, the movie studios do not want to go the way of the recording studios. The reason I go to CES is you get to meet some real experts in topics like DRM, guys like Robert Weber ManagingRights.com. He knows the world is filled with grey areas and 'it depends' but I got the drift that he felt Sony had cleaned up their DRM act.
Sony, after many false starts with a 'root kit' and other unpopular mechanisms, went to a virtual machine model for DRM. The secure path from Disk to Player to Computer to Display is controlled not by the computer, but by a VM, running on the computer. The opinion is that as hackers advance, Sony and the studios can just update the VM.
I suppose the last and cruelest defection from the HD-DVD camp was Microsoft. Microsoft bypassed the whole battle with a Warner deal for Video on Demand direct to xBox 360. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/nov06/11-06TVMovieDeliveryPR.mspx As if that were not enough, it seems future xBox systems may ship with Blue Ray disks
From Reuters:
LAS VEGAS — Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox video gaming unit still fully backs Toshiba Corp.'s HD-DVD high-definition DVD format but could consider supporting Sony Corp's rival Blu-ray technology should consumers want it, an executive said Tuesday (Jan. 8). "It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," Albert Fennell, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware said when asked whether Microsoft would support a Blu-ray DVD accessory in the event that HD-DVD failed.
DRM and its close cousin IRM (intellectual rights management) will be an important part of future embedded system designs that hold copyright media (Movies, music) or confidential information (HIPPA records, personal Id's)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=friS4OOcdgQ
On a serious note- The DVD Wars were all about DRM, the movie studios do not want to go the way of the recording studios. The reason I go to CES is you get to meet some real experts in topics like DRM, guys like Robert Weber ManagingRights.com. He knows the world is filled with grey areas and 'it depends' but I got the drift that he felt Sony had cleaned up their DRM act.
Sony, after many false starts with a 'root kit' and other unpopular mechanisms, went to a virtual machine model for DRM. The secure path from Disk to Player to Computer to Display is controlled not by the computer, but by a VM, running on the computer. The opinion is that as hackers advance, Sony and the studios can just update the VM.
I suppose the last and cruelest defection from the HD-DVD camp was Microsoft. Microsoft bypassed the whole battle with a Warner deal for Video on Demand direct to xBox 360. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/nov06/11-06TVMovieDeliveryPR.mspx As if that were not enough, it seems future xBox systems may ship with Blue Ray disks
From Reuters:
LAS VEGAS — Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox video gaming unit still fully backs Toshiba Corp.'s HD-DVD high-definition DVD format but could consider supporting Sony Corp's rival Blu-ray technology should consumers want it, an executive said Tuesday (Jan. 8). "It should be consumer choice; and if that's the way they vote, that's something we'll have to consider," Albert Fennell, group marketing manager for Xbox hardware said when asked whether Microsoft would support a Blu-ray DVD accessory in the event that HD-DVD failed.
DRM and its close cousin IRM (intellectual rights management) will be an important part of future embedded system designs that hold copyright media (Movies, music) or confidential information (HIPPA records, personal Id's)
Friday, January 11, 2008
Back from CES!
More than 140,000 of us attended CES 2008, crawling over 40 acres of exhibits, resulting in a human density matched only by a Tokyo subway or perhaps Hugh Heffner’s Jacuzzi. Somewhere in there was embedded system news, and the keynotes of Microsoft and Intel were the place to start looking.
Each keynote drew perhaps 5000 attendees. The line to get Microsoft tickets was 4 hours long.
These indeed were keynotes of note- The Sunday pre-show keynote was reported to be Bill Gates’ last public appearance on behalf of Microsoft. In counterpoint, Intel CEO Paul Otellini's is new at the helm of Intel, and this was where he opened up a bit on Intel's path forward. The two men were interesting contrasts.
Gates took the stage after a hilarious introductory video on the subject of his last day at Microsoft. Self-deprecating executive humor has been a traditional feature of Gates or Balmer presentations; this was the best. Gates presided over the keynote in his trademark polyester sweater and six dollar haircut letting various MS group managers talk about the consumer business. The presentations were not techy. Most of the MS keynote highlighted business achievements, which were impressive. For example, Xbox consoles outsold both Playstation and Wii; and Xbox games sales outsold both together!
The crowd at the Gates keynote was tech heavy. Everyone I talked to had Visual Studio 2008 installed
To the extent the presentations were on emerging technologies, Gates spoke to us directly. Everything he chose to highlight himself was ‘embedded’. Specifically, Gates demoed a UMPC format device with camera that would recognize everyone in your contacts folder, and reference them to any events, notes or journal entries. The same recognizer technology could look at a streetscape and identify any building, and if a theater, show what movies were playing and how to book tickets. It was pretty easy to see how this path forward was a natural extension of the current location-enabled Windows Mobile Live Search.
The other noteworthy Gates demo was “Surface Computing”. Hitachi, Panasonic and others are also betting on surface computing, but their systems are relitivly primitive- projection TVs on a touch panel or such. The Microsoft offer is some optical/projection hybrid I do not understand, which allows multi-user, multi-touch operation. The HMI of the device is Silverlight, and this demo, like all MS demos, was not of a device, but of a web-connected database application.
Otellini's Intel demo was even more exciting. In past years, I have always thought Intel management was great because they kept focused on their technology and kept Moore’s Law running. Now I think Intel’s management is great because they are looking ahead with clarity and meeting the big platform needs. At CES Intel started touting their new semiconductor technology based on Hafnium doped silicon. If you remember, a few years ago it seemed Moore’s Law might be reaching an asymptote. Otellini feels this Hafnium technology puts those concerns to rest, and Intel is planning for five more cycles- ten years- of Moore’s law evolution.
Otellini also demoed a UMPC format device (albeit leashed to some quad core Pentiums) with features similar to what Gates demoed earlier. The Intel keynote was conspicuously devoid of any mention of Microsoft, although Adobe “AIR” was suggested as the HMI technology of the future.
T
he coolest thing Intel did was demo a virtual band system, where musicians in different locations could collaborate. At first Otellini called up a few musicians on the web, and then added a live singer- Steve Harwell of Smashmouth. Then, using another package, Intel created an animated avatar of Steve, and put the whole band together in a virtual garage. Cool.
Intel brought back Smashmouth for a totally rocking, non virtual party after the Keynote
CPU power will be key to realized Intel’s vision- and they see this in an integrated context- for example a bi-direction multi-lingual translation device that knows the target language by GPS setting. Apart from delivering ten more years of increasing processor power, Otellini promised continued efforts to promote WiMax to bring fast wireless downloads/uploads to wireless, edge-connected devices. His vision for the internet is not a place you ‘go to’ via a browser. His vision is an internet that finds you, via all the devices in your everyday life, and understands your context and anticipates your needs. It brought to mind the line from Terminator “I will be back”.
So, CES was cool, very cool, but past Intel and Microsoft I have little to say today. Keeping up with the pace was tiring, and it is good to be home. I will update more on later posts- any questions??
Lawrence Ricci
The Embedded Insider
Each keynote drew perhaps 5000 attendees. The line to get Microsoft tickets was 4 hours long.
These indeed were keynotes of note- The Sunday pre-show keynote was reported to be Bill Gates’ last public appearance on behalf of Microsoft. In counterpoint, Intel CEO Paul Otellini's is new at the helm of Intel, and this was where he opened up a bit on Intel's path forward. The two men were interesting contrasts.
Gates took the stage after a hilarious introductory video on the subject of his last day at Microsoft. Self-deprecating executive humor has been a traditional feature of Gates or Balmer presentations; this was the best. Gates presided over the keynote in his trademark polyester sweater and six dollar haircut letting various MS group managers talk about the consumer business. The presentations were not techy. Most of the MS keynote highlighted business achievements, which were impressive. For example, Xbox consoles outsold both Playstation and Wii; and Xbox games sales outsold both together!
The crowd at the Gates keynote was tech heavy. Everyone I talked to had Visual Studio 2008 installed
To the extent the presentations were on emerging technologies, Gates spoke to us directly. Everything he chose to highlight himself was ‘embedded’. Specifically, Gates demoed a UMPC format device with camera that would recognize everyone in your contacts folder, and reference them to any events, notes or journal entries. The same recognizer technology could look at a streetscape and identify any building, and if a theater, show what movies were playing and how to book tickets. It was pretty easy to see how this path forward was a natural extension of the current location-enabled Windows Mobile Live Search.
The other noteworthy Gates demo was “Surface Computing”. Hitachi, Panasonic and others are also betting on surface computing, but their systems are relitivly primitive- projection TVs on a touch panel or such. The Microsoft offer is some optical/projection hybrid I do not understand, which allows multi-user, multi-touch operation. The HMI of the device is Silverlight, and this demo, like all MS demos, was not of a device, but of a web-connected database application.
Otellini's Intel demo was even more exciting. In past years, I have always thought Intel management was great because they kept focused on their technology and kept Moore’s Law running. Now I think Intel’s management is great because they are looking ahead with clarity and meeting the big platform needs. At CES Intel started touting their new semiconductor technology based on Hafnium doped silicon. If you remember, a few years ago it seemed Moore’s Law might be reaching an asymptote. Otellini feels this Hafnium technology puts those concerns to rest, and Intel is planning for five more cycles- ten years- of Moore’s law evolution.
Otellini also demoed a UMPC format device (albeit leashed to some quad core Pentiums) with features similar to what Gates demoed earlier. The Intel keynote was conspicuously devoid of any mention of Microsoft, although Adobe “AIR” was suggested as the HMI technology of the future.
T
he coolest thing Intel did was demo a virtual band system, where musicians in different locations could collaborate. At first Otellini called up a few musicians on the web, and then added a live singer- Steve Harwell of Smashmouth. Then, using another package, Intel created an animated avatar of Steve, and put the whole band together in a virtual garage. Cool.Intel brought back Smashmouth for a totally rocking, non virtual party after the Keynote
CPU power will be key to realized Intel’s vision- and they see this in an integrated context- for example a bi-direction multi-lingual translation device that knows the target language by GPS setting. Apart from delivering ten more years of increasing processor power, Otellini promised continued efforts to promote WiMax to bring fast wireless downloads/uploads to wireless, edge-connected devices. His vision for the internet is not a place you ‘go to’ via a browser. His vision is an internet that finds you, via all the devices in your everyday life, and understands your context and anticipates your needs. It brought to mind the line from Terminator “I will be back”.
So, CES was cool, very cool, but past Intel and Microsoft I have little to say today. Keeping up with the pace was tiring, and it is good to be home. I will update more on later posts- any questions??
Lawrence Ricci
The Embedded Insider
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