Quotes About Technology

Human beings are tool-making animals. Since the prehistoric era, we have created and used a wide variety of objects. But now a significant change is about to occur. In the near future, we will simply become another object that can be monitored, tracked and controlled within a vast machine.

I like hotels where you can check in at an electronic kiosk and never have to speak to a desk clerk. I dislike a gold-wrapped chocolate on my pillow, a turned-down sheet, a bathroom towel folded so that it resembles a flower, or any other "personal touch" that gives humans the illusion that they are surrounded by a friendly universe. In reality, the universe is neutral about our existence. Only dogs care.

The Grid still exists even if you don't see the lines

People seldom realize just how gigantic the old steam locomotives were until they stand next to one, and

It would appear that we have reached the limits of what it is possible to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful with such statements, as they tend to sound pretty silly in 5 years.

Can we survive technology?

In an analog machine each number is represented by a suitable physical quantity, whose values, measured in some pre-assigned unit, is equal to the number in question.

Any computing machine that is to solve a complex mathematical problem must be 'programmed' for this task. This means that the complex operation of solving that problem must be replaced by a combination of the basic operations of the machine.

The very last stage of any memory hierarchy is necessarily the outside world—that is, the outside world as far as the machine is concerned, i.e. that part of it with which the machine can directly communicate, in other words, the input and the output organs of the machine. These are usually punched paper tapes or cards, and on the output side, of course, also printed paper.

One of the things that has been truly incredible to observe though, is the amount of venture investment that has gone into early stage security technology.

First, I do not think there is any silver bullet to solving the technology side of the security equation.

While there have been terrific advances in the state of technology around heuristics, behavior blocking, and things like that, technology is only a part of the approach to solving the problem with the more important aspect involving putting the right process in place.

The Barf Beamers A non-lethal weapon with the potential to do untold damage is the previously mentioned "LED Incapacitator" (LEDI). Designed like a flashlight, this light saber (also dubbed a barf beamer and a puke saber) is intended to totally incapacitate the people at whom it is aimed by emitting multiple light frequencies and colors that confuse the brain, resulting in symptoms ranging from discomfort and disorientation to temporary blindness and nausea. It has been suggested

fears that the FBI, whose computer technology record has been marred by expensive failures, could not guarantee the data's security. "If someone steals and spoofs your iris image, you can't just get a new eyeball," Saffo said.

a victim of "dataveillance," as a particular type of consumer.

ThinThread, a pilot program developed by the NSA in the late 1990s, would have enabled the NSA to collect, analyze, and secure massive quantities of communications data while protecting personal privacy in the process. ThinThread combined four advanced

The Hitachi Corporation has created the world's smallest, thinnest RFID tags. Referred to as the "powder type," these tags are barely detectable to the naked eye. They are so small that they can be easily incorporated into thin paper or a single clothing fiber. These tiny tracking devices

Some people have even had a chip implanted in their arm to provide personal and medical information to doctors and emergency personnel when needed.36 Human microchip implantation took a leap forward in July 2007 when the American Medical Association (AMA) announced

And software developed by Raptor Technologies, a Houston-based firm, is commonly used to track school visitors by checking their driver's licenses against a national database of sex offenders.10

License plate readers—which collect upwards of 1,800 images per hour—can identify the owner of any car that comes within its sights. (Illustration by Molly Zisk, courtesy of The Register)

cameras, the smart car is equipped with GPS-enabled projectiles, similar to a dart launcher and located near the front bumper of the vehicle. With the aid of a military-grade laser, a law enforcement agent can aim the GPS projectile at the target vehicle with tremendous precision. Once attached, the projectiles can track the target in real time for days.

Television results in a kind of zombification—not a great thing for a genuinely democratic society."1 —BRUCE LEVINE, clinical psychologist

This weapon uses the Active Denial System (ADS), which dispenses brief, high-energy waves at a target, resulting in a sensation of severe burning pain. As one reporter explained, the $51 million crowd-control device "rides atop a Humvee, looks like a TV dish, and shoots energy waves 1/64 of an inch deep into the human skin."32

Unknown to most Americans, nearly one-third of all vehicles on the road today (and 64 percent of the 2005 models) contain small chips and sensors known as event-data recorders (EDRs) that can retain up to 20 seconds of data prior to an accident. This information includes speed, braking, acceleration, and seat belt usage in cars.31