http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=1867
Pay as you drive “black boxes” threaten privacy
July 15, 2009 by Dissent Filed under Businesses, Legislation, U.S.
The California Department of Insurance (DOI) is considering regulations that would enable insurance prices to depend on the precise number of miles a car is driven in a given billing period. But in implementing these “Pay As You Drive” regulations, the DOI appears poised to empower insurance companies to require customers’ cars to be outfitted with “black-box” devices that could transmit back to the insurance companies all sorts of data about car motion (acceleration, braking, and so forth) as well as driver behavior (steering and seat-belt wearing).
Although DOI has retreated from its prior position that these devices should track your location – a definite improvement – it’s still true that every car already has a reliable, tamper-resistant device that verifies actual mileage: an odometer.
Read more on the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
New law.
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=1880
ID theft law enacted in CT
July 16, 2009 by Dissent Filed under Breaches, Legislation, U.S.
Criminals who target senior citizens while committing identity theft will face tougher penalties this year under a law that passed with bipartisan support.
The law also empowers the state to seize cash and property obtained through identity theft and use it to reimburse victims.
[...]
The new bill bars businesses from printing their customers’ Social Security numbers on ID or access cards, or requiring customers to transmit Social Security numbers over the Internet unless the connection is secure.
Employers also are required to shred job applications so identity information on them is not revealed inadvertently.
Read more in The Hartford Courant.
One billion Indians can't be wrong! But what if they don't get a choice?
http://www.pogowasright.org/?p=1860
India to issue biometric ID cards to 1.2 billion
July 15, 2009 by Dissent Filed under Govt, Non-U.S., Surveillance
The Indian government has announced that it is to issue all of its 1.2 billion citizens with biometric identity cards.
The operation will be run by the Unique Identification Authority, a new government department created specifically for the task of assigning every living Indian an exclusive number and gathering and electronically storing their personal details.
Read more on The Telegraph.
Thanks to the The Jeff Farias Show.com for sending me this lead.
[From the article:
It is hoped that the operation, which is expected to cost at least £3 billion, [Approx $5 per card. I bet it costs a lot more. Bob] will fight corruption but it could also be used to identify illegal immigrants and tackle terrorism.
… At present Indian citizens can be issued with up to 20 proofs of identity, including birth certificates, driving licences and ration cards, although none is accepted universally.
A computer chip in each card will contain personal data and proof of identity, such as fingerprint or iris scans. Criminal records and credit histories may also be included. [Think they will be targets for hackers? Bob]
Mr Nilekani, who left Infosys, the outsourcing giant that he co-founded, to take up his new job, wants the cards to be linked to a “ubiquitous online database” accessible from anywhere.
How retro! Would anyone younger than 30 recognize the ring?
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/free-ringtones-that-sound-like-real-phones/
Free Ringtones That Sound Like Real Phones
Jul. 15th, 2009 By Guy McDowell
This one should sound familiar to almost everyone as it is the phone ring used most often in old movies and TV shows. Thanks to Hollywood Lost and Found for this one.
Sounds just like the one that your dad might have had in his office, doesn’t it? Those were the days.
Ever seen those old phones where the earpiece hung on the main phone that looked like a candlestick? This is the ring from one of those.
Looking for that certain je ne sais quoi? This one is the ticket. C’est bon!
I like the distinctive double-ring of the UK phones. Reminds me of old episodes of Coronation Street.
Here’s the same kind of UK ring, but with a little higher pitch.
Now for some famous classic phone rings…
This is the ring that Agent 86’s shoe phone made. Yes, there was a TV show of Get Smart before the not-so-good movie.
This one is my favourite! It seems not many people under 40 know that the phone ring from Austin Powers was taken from the Our Man Flint movie, starring James Coburn. It was also a sort of spy-spoof movie.
Apparently this is the ring tone from Jack Bauer’s CTU unit on 24. Honestly, I’ve never made it through a full episode of this show, but the ringtone is pretty cool.
If what we have here doesn’t fill your boots, there is one other really good source for classic real phone ringtones that I found over at BeepZoid’s Vintage Phone Ringtones. With over 60 different ringtones in MIDI, MP3 and iPhone formats, there’s a good chance you’ll find what your looking for.
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