Category: Tech

Phone Book Ends

Phone Book Ends == Verizon Pennsylvania’ s white pages —  the traditional phone book — will now only be delivered upon request.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Nov. 4, gave unanimous approval to a request by the company to change its tradition of including the listing with the distribution of its 12-million revenue producing yellow pages.

Verizon says they are doing it for the environment and that the move will save 200 tons of paper per year.

Verizon says the listings can be found on its website. It also says it is willing to provide them via a DVD.

The blue pages containing the numbers for government agencies and social services will remain.

Yellowbook, Verizon’s competitor, will continue to distribute white pages along with the paid advertising in its yellow pages.

Those still wanting a Verizon Pa. white pages should call its directory distribution center  at 800-888-8448.

The white page listing can  be found at http://www.verizon.com/whitepages.

 Phone Book Ends

Phone Book Ends

Green Energy Technology Sailing Away to China

China has moved pass Germany, Denmark, Spain, and the US to become the biggest wind turbine producer in the world.  It is expected that China will be the largest producer of solar energy technology in two years.  In the meantime, as China has been allowed to take the bull by the ring and take all of the green jobs that were proposed during the presidential race, US leaders are still arguing and posturing about whether the government should support the creation of green jobs with taxpayers money or oil companies should be allowed to lead in the production of green energy.  Probably after all the oil is gone.


 I saw a documentary where Bangladesh was even creating solar cells and getting their people to build up their infrastructure with green energy.  Something is definatley wrong with this whole discussion.  I think that a government is supposed to tax people and to spend what they collect with the taxes for the betterment of the people whom they tax.  The idea is that the government takes a little from each person and then spends it to get more than each person possibly could because of the amount of money they have collectively. I believe in big government–government of the people by the people and for the people, that works, instead of a government with no money who has to beg corporations to finance programs.  I guess that I am just old fashion though.  I think of this as I watch all of the green technology projects and jobs floating over to China where they will remain because we, like in most of the manufacturing sector, cannot afford to compete because of their low labor costs. Let’s just wave bye bye to those new jobs everyone wanted.
Green Energy Technology Sailing Away to China
Green Energy Technology Sailing Away to China

Privacy Has Ended

Privacy Has Ended — Some concerned with the erosion of privacy direct their ire at Google Maps’ “street view “. Others say full-body scanners at airports are the best herald of an Orwellian future.

Well, American Science & Engineering of Billerica, Mass. has combined the best of both fears into a nondescript vehicle called the Z Backscatter Van or ZBV.

A ZBV  travels  streets and parking lots in anonymity using a narrow stream of x-rays to reveal and record the interiors of cars, containers and buildings.

And yes, they will reveal what’s beneath a person’s clothing.

You won’t find these mobile X-ray Specs in the back of a comic book, though. Their cost is $850,000. Five hundred of them having been sold since 2003, most to the Department of Defense which has used them to foil roadside bomb attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Foreign governments have also bought them, however, as have domestic law enforcement agencies, which has used them for border control and security matters.

The New York City Police Department is among the agencies confirmed to have adopted this technology.

American Science & Engineering Marketing Vice President Joseph Reiss told Forbes magazine that their product is the “largest selling cargo and vehicle inspection system ever.”

Privacy Has Ended

Channel 6 Where Are You?

Channel 6 Where Are You? — Those using an antenna for television might be wondering whatever happened to WPVI-Channel 6 when broadcasting went digital on June 11, 2009.

WPVI is owned by ABC.

Channel 6 is Philadelphia’s second-oldest station behind the CBS-owned KYW- Channel 3 and has been broadcasting since 1947. The low VHF channels were once the prime real estate for broadcasting.  These frequencies, however, require large antennae or antennae with amplifiers  for good reception and are susceptible to interference from  sources such as FM radio stations.

And the strong FM signals being sent by the   WXPN 88.5,  WRTI 90.1 and WHYY 90.9 which are co-located on a tower in Roxborough are getting in the way of the WPVI signal.

The FCC gave WPVI permission to boost its power two weeks ago from 7.5 kilowatts to 30.6 kilowatts which is the maximum allowed in the Northeast.

As of today, however, it is still not being received in central Springfield.

Channel 6 Where Are You?

Super Secret Space Plane Mission

Super Secret Space Plane Mission — The super secret X-37B robot space plane is being used to develop spy satellites a group of amateur skywatchers have deduced. The space plane had its historic inaugural launch without fanfare on April 22, 2010 from Cape Canaveral and there was much speculation that it was designed to herald a new reign of space weapons.

Super Secret Space Plane Mission
Watching the inaugural April 22 launch of the X-37B robot space plane from Indian Harbor Beach, Fla. are Margaret Jane Lawrence and granddaughter Skyler Jane Lawrence.

The skywatchers, however, have been tracking the plane and have determined that it is following the pattern of a spy satellite. It is orbiting the planet every 90 minutes at an altitude of 225 miles.

Of course science fiction fans might wonder why some might not think it useful to put weapons on spy satellites.

Super Secret Space Plane Mission

Mechanical Failure Reportedly Not Cause Of Osprey Crash

Mechanical Failure Reportedly Not Cause Of Osprey Crash — The April 8 Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey crash in Afghanistan was apparently not due to mechanical failure according the aviation website  FlightGlobal.Com.

The crash occurred as the craft was landing in a wadi around 1 a.m. under brown-out conditions.

Killed were the pilot, a flight engineer, an army Ranger and a civilian.  Others were injured.

The military has ruled out enemy fire.

The Osprey’s fuselage, cockpit,avionics, and flight controls are built at the Boeing Helicopter plant in Ridley Park with the rest of the machine being built by Bell Helicopter in Texas.

Mechanical Failure Reportedly Not Cause Of Osprey Crash

 

Lower Merion Spied On Students Via Laptop

Lower Merion Spied On Students Via Laptop
Blake Robbins being watched at home.

Lower Merion Spied On Students Via Laptop — A federal class action lawsuit was filed Feb. 16  alleging that Lower Merion School District used the webcams in the laptops distributed to students to spy on them in their homes.

The case, Robbins v Lower Merion School District,  is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The suit was filed by Michael E. and Holly S. Robbins on behalf of their son Blake, a student at Harriton High School, and the 1,800 or so other students at Harriton and  Lower Merion, the district’s other high school.

The suit  seeks damages caused by school district’s alleged invasion of privacy, theft of private information, and unlawful interception of electronic communications, and alleges the district broke numerous  state and federal laws including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Pennsylvania Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Act, along with the defendants’ Fourth Amendment Rights.

Lower Merion distributed the laptops to each high school student. Unbeknown to the students and the parents, the school district had the ability to remotely, and at anytime, activate the embedded webcam capturing the images in front of the camera.

The Robbins learned about this ability Nov. 9  when Harriton Assistant Principal Lindy Matsko told them that Blake was engaged in improper behavior in his home and presented as evidence a photograph taken via the webcam from the laptop the school gave Blake.

The suit doesn’t say what exactly Blake was doing but whatever it was it was not as bad as public officials stomping over duly passed laws.

The case is being handled by the law firm of Lamm Rubenstone LLC of Trevose, Pa. They can be reached at 1-215-638-9330. They were contacted and confirmed the filing of the suit.

 

Lower Merion Spied On Students Via Laptop