By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

I reported earlier this week on a plan by the LA Sheriff’s Department to start using airborne drones named SkySeer for surveillance. Well, that plan has been grounded by the FAA. Last week the department held a demo for the media, but without filing the paperwork they had been told to file.

But the test raised the ire of FAA officials, who said they had told the Sheriff’s Department a week earlier that it could not fly the drones without receiving a certificate of authorization from the agency.

“I wouldn’t want to term us as peeved, but we were definitely surprised,” FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. Sheriff’s officials were told “that we were more than willing to sit down and talk about a certificate — but that was before their first flight.”

The FAA is now investigating Friday’s demonstration to determine whether the Sheriff’s Department should face disciplinary action. Source: LA Times

We Say: I’m sure this will be ironed out. The department has been working on this for seven years with La Verne-based defense contractor, Octatron and they’re not going to drop it now. ‘Course, there might be some feet-dragging by the FAA since they’re a little bit … er, irritated at this point.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

AT&T may have having a good week in their book, but not in mine. After last weekend’s story about AT&T amazing “naked DSL” savings, you would have thought I would have learned and read an email they sent me about their changes to their Privacy Policy more carefully. Well, I did. And so did David Lazarus of the San Francisco Chronicle. These changes take affect on Friday, and basically give AT&T a lot more flexibility when dealing with customer information.

Under its former privacy policy, introduced in September 2004, AT&T said it might use customer’s data “to respond to subpoenas, court orders or other legal process, to the extent required and/or permitted by law.”

The new version, which is specifically for Internet and video customers, is much more explicit about the company’s right to cooperate with government agencies in any security-related matters — and AT&T’s belief that customers’ data belongs to the company, not customers.

“While your account information may be personal to you, these records constitute business records that are owned by AT&T,” the new policy declares. “As such, AT&T may disclose such records to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process.” Source: SFGate

We Say: Obviously this is in response to AT&T’s alleged participation in NSA wiretapping. These changes would protect AT&T from any potential lawsuits (they are already being sued by the EFF over the aforementioned wiretapping cooperation) they might otherwise face in the future. And the new policy affects records of viewing habits of users of AT&T’s new video services as well.

I’ve stuck with DSL partly because of cost. If I switched to cable, I’d pay an extra fee because I would continue to use satellite. However, if I totally drop landline service, it’s pretty much a wash. This could be something I look into when my contract expires later this year. I’m just not comfortable with this policy change.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

See that license plate? If you were to see that on the road today, it would obviously have expired registration tags (the picture was taken off a site that “collects” plates, don’t worry). The U.K. is clamping down on such scofflaws (literally) by sending out a fleet of vans with license plate scanning technology to look for them.

The vans will be equipped with automatic license plate recognition cameras that will scan plates and check them against the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s database of untaxed vehicles.

Vehicles identified as untaxed by the vans will be clamped and impounded, the DLVA said. For clamped vehicles, a valid tax disc must be produced along with a release fee of 80 pounds ($147). Those cars not claimed within seven days can be crushed. Source: ZDNet

We Say: Seven days or crushed? Give them a little time so you can get some of those fees back.

There are a lot of expired tags out there, and this would be great for California. What worried me was the fact that when I typed in “License Plate” into Google to get a picture for this article I found a bunch of lookup sites for license plate numbers — reverse lookup to find the owner, I mean.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Never one to pass up on a dog story, I had to post this. Before any doubters out there jump in, Belle was trained to do this. Obviously an untrained dog could only do this by luck.

Belle was in Washington, D.C., on Monday to receive an award for biting onto owner Kevin Weaver’s cell phone to call 911 after the diabetic man had a seizure and collapsed.

“There is no doubt in my mind that I’d be dead if I didn’t have Belle,” said Weaver, 34, whose blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. Belle had been trained to summon help in just those circumstances. She had been taught to bite down on the number 9 on his cell phone contacting 911. Source: AP via MSNBC

We Say: Belle was the first dog to ever win the Vita Wireless Samaritan Award, given to someone who used a cell phone to save a life, prevent a crime or help in an emergency. It’s amazing what dogs can do, and Belle is definitely special. I’m happy with my Pet Therapy dog, but the only things he wants to bite into are balls.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Remember the old stories about the appearance of so many iPods at the Microsoft campus causing a bit of a … oh, dust-up? Well, an unscientific study and a more formal study seem to indicate that Microsoft employees aren’t too loyal to their search engine, either.

Andrew Hitchcock, a 19-year-old student at the University of Washington, got the ball rolling by posting Google Analytics statistics on visitors to his Web site. Of the users originating from Microsoft’s domain who reached Hitchcock’s site via a search engine, 80 percent came through Google. Only 20 percent used a Microsoft search engine (either MSN’s or the Live.com’s).

Hitchcock’s findings were in line with more formal statistics gathered by visitor analytics vendor VisitorVille Intelligence. According to the Shepherdstown, W.V.-based company, 66.3 percent of Microsoft users turn to Google for searches. Only 19.6 percent use MSN; 10.2 percent went to Yahoo to search. Source: TechWeb

We Say: Apparently Google employees are very loyal; both studies indicated 100 percent of Google employees used their technology. None of this should be surprising based on the market shares of these engines. On the other hand, it is kind of humorous.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

You may recall last month’s post, “Colleges Fall Behind in High-Tech Race Against Cheaters“, which detailed some of the technology that U.S. students are using to cheat nowadays. U.S. universities aren’t the only ones to have these issues. Chinese students, facing tough university entrance exams, are using the same sorts of techniques … and more, as some of them are winding up in the hospital. Cameras and cell phone blocking are some of the university responses, and it’s the lower-tech methods students are substituting that are proving hazardous to their health.

A student in Wuhan, capital of China’s central province of Hubei, used earphones so small that they slipped into his aural canal and perforated his eardrum, the China Daily newspaper said.

Another student’s earphones required an operation for their removal, the paper said, while an electronic device connected to headphones and strapped to a third student’s body exploded, leaving a bleeding hole in his abdomen. Source: Reuters

We Say: Well, at least China has gone down the cell phone blocking road that U.S. universities haven’t yet. With, as the article indicates, 9.5 million students competing for only 2.6 million openings, it’s small wonder that they are going to such lengths.

By Chief Gadgeteer, Gizmos for Geeks
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews.

A US company called MicroChips is currently testing an implantable drug-delivery system. From the Technology Review article, “About the size of an Oreo cookie, the device used in the test consists of a silicon and glass microchip that contains 100 miniature drug reservoirs, each about 50 micrometers wide at the top, plus a battery and electronics controlling drug release, sealed in a titanium case.” A perfect application for this device would be diabetics (or others) who need regular injections; we may actually see human trials within 5 years.

Source: Gizmos for Geeks.

By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Early in February I wrote about the LAPD, and the GPS darts they are using to track criminals and their vehicles. It looks like the LA Sheriff’s Department doesn’t want to be outdone, technology-wise. Over the next few months the department will be testing an airborne drone to use in surveillance situations.

If deputies want a birds’-eye view of a standoff, they might scramble the unmanned drone instead of a helicopter to get a closer, quieter look. Within minutes, real-time color video would be streamed to a portable computer system manned by an officer 250 feet below.

Much lighter and smaller than the military drones flown over Iraq and Afghanistan, and only a fraction of the cost, the aircraft is not much bigger than a model airplane and will initially be limited to scanning rooftops for break-ins and finding lost children or hikers. Source: ABC News

We Say: There are concerns. For example, if a plane is used to gain evidence that police would otherwise need a search warrant to collect, that could be challenged on the basis of privacy rights. Don’t expect to see the drone in “World’s Wildest Police Videos“, either. Top speed is 29 MPH.