Notes From The Electronic Cottage

Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Do you fly regularly, even a few times a year? How do you like flying these days? If you are like most travelers, probably not very much. But in addition to the security hassles and delays that are part of many trips these days, there is also something else you might not like too much if you knew about. We refer, of course, to the information amassed in the PNR, or Passenger Name Record, that gets created or built upon every time you fly.

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Out on the primary campaign trail, every candidate is claiming he or she stands for change for the better. Back in Washington, bills making their way through Congress would cause change all right -whether for the better or not
is another question for many. We take a peek at the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, and the PRO-IP Act, both of which will affect our lives in realms electronic. (You can find the text of both at www.loc.gov/thomas)

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Here are addresses for sites mentioned in this week’s program that offer free college level course materials to anyone who would like to use them.

Open Courseware site at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (ocw.mit.edu).

Rice University’s Connexions courseware site (cnx.org).
University of California at Berkeley has put up videos of about 250 course segments and events on Google Video
(video.google.com/ucberkeley.html) and now also on youTube as well www.youtube.com/user/ucberkeley).

Other universities have also established youTube channels. Search for channels (not videos) using the keyword “education.”
The Open University in Great Britain has an open learning site (www.open.ac.uk/openlearn/home.php).

Open-of-Course (open-of-course.org/courses/). Courses contributed by anyone with some expertise, not necessarily college professors.

W3 Schools (www.w3schools.com/). The focus here is on courses relating to web development.

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

We all want our votes to count, whether at a Maine town meeting or in the next presidential election. But increasingly, we’re concerned that may not be the case. Electronic voting machines, although full of promise, are also still full of vulnerabilities, and that could be one big problem come November.

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

We hear the term DRM, or Digital Rights management more and more often these days in general, and particularly in the halls of Congress. But what is DRM, and, more importantly, how might it affect our lives as it becomes more and more common? Let’s take a look.

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Got spam? No, not that great American taste delight. We’re talking about the kind of stuff that comes to your email box. It’s a big problem but there are some things you can do to minimize your exposure. Listen up.

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Here’s an update on several topics we’ve looked at in the past – some good and some not so good recent developments. Good news about search privacy options, restoration of EPA libraries, and non-DRM controlled music download purchases. Alas, the news about the FISA law renewal the Senate is taking up is not so good – in fact, from a civil liberties perspective, it’s downright bad.

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Producer/host: Jim Campbell

Got an analog cell phone? Won’t do you much good after February, 2008 -that’s when the analog cell phone sunset kicks in. And if you do have one, what will you do with it once it is no longer useful Hopefully, not chuck it in the trash because electronic waste is a big problem these days. And just so you don’t think the Electronic Cottage is all gloom and
doom, here’s a tip on how to get free guitar lessons over the Internet from Rolly Brown, a long time guitar wizard.

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Analog-to-Digital Transition for Wireless Telephone Service – www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/analogcellphone.html
• The Story Of Stuff – storyofstuff.com/
• Rolly Brown on Youtube – www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rolly+brown&search=Search

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