Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Google Earth
Quite an interesting article on Dizzy Thinks blog today about the possibility of terrorists using google maps. He quotes from an article in the New York Post
It was argued that terrorists can use Google earth to find targets. This balance between the positive aspects of technology and the negative downsides always seems to cause problems. Should the internet be a place for freedom and a tool for developing knowledge? For example I frequently use google earth in my family history research, to compare what life was like then using old maps and comparing the place to present day times. Its useful for identifying churches, streets, areas and the farms where many of my ancestors worked.
However I can also understand the other side of the argument, could Google Earth be used by criminals or terrorists to plot targets? My own particular problem with any curtailment of uses of technology on the web is that it could destroy the fundemental objective of the web, a free exchange of ideas and views and a superb resource for developing understanding of issues, history and society. I remember reading an article many years ago when I studied law about who guards the gate keepers, it seems to me that this is still a moot point.
It was argued that terrorists can use Google earth to find targets. This balance between the positive aspects of technology and the negative downsides always seems to cause problems. Should the internet be a place for freedom and a tool for developing knowledge? For example I frequently use google earth in my family history research, to compare what life was like then using old maps and comparing the place to present day times. Its useful for identifying churches, streets, areas and the farms where many of my ancestors worked.
However I can also understand the other side of the argument, could Google Earth be used by criminals or terrorists to plot targets? My own particular problem with any curtailment of uses of technology on the web is that it could destroy the fundemental objective of the web, a free exchange of ideas and views and a superb resource for developing understanding of issues, history and society. I remember reading an article many years ago when I studied law about who guards the gate keepers, it seems to me that this is still a moot point.
Labels: family tree, technology
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
technological things that baffle 1
A while ago I blogged about Spanish tin openers and how I couldn´t see how they were supposed to function, my latest bafflemento is how is a person supposed to clean a car using a vacum cleaner in a petrol station.
There is a funnel linked to a machine however the funnel is about 10 centimetres in diameter which makes it impossible to clean anywhere in the car except the seats and the pedals. My ciggy ash deposits itself down the side of the seat next to the brake handle etc.. So using this piece of (what can best be described as reverse sandblasting equipment)tube it is impossible to reach the places where the irritating dirt is. I had to sit down on the floor and blow between the seats looking like some coke addict on saturday night in town. Does anybody know of any cheap car valets?
There is a funnel linked to a machine however the funnel is about 10 centimetres in diameter which makes it impossible to clean anywhere in the car except the seats and the pedals. My ciggy ash deposits itself down the side of the seat next to the brake handle etc.. So using this piece of (what can best be described as reverse sandblasting equipment)tube it is impossible to reach the places where the irritating dirt is. I had to sit down on the floor and blow between the seats looking like some coke addict on saturday night in town. Does anybody know of any cheap car valets?
Labels: Alcala, technology
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