TECHNOLOGY FOR CHANGE

Smarter Technology: Slaps and Claps: Part 3

Joe Maglitta | Date: 02-18-10 | Comments

Some technologies and practices make the world a better place. Some don�t.

CLAP!

Haiti Tech Volunteers. Media coverage of the earthquakes has faded, but the work and contribution of concerned IT pros, on-site and off, quietly continue. Notable is www.crisiscommons.org. Formed last year, this international network of �Geeks without Borders� has expanded its work to Haiti, producing a baseline country map and free Creole/English translation app for iPhone and Android for use on the ground and a rich wiki featuring current projects. Check out the group and upcoming Haiti camps this weekend in Washington, D.C., Santa Barbara, Calif., and London, England.

SLAP!

German Government Buys Stolen Swiss Bank Data. Sure, Switzerland�s creepy secret banking system is a perennial fave haven for tax cheats everywhere. Authorities worldwide, including the United States, are itching to collect billions in lost taxes from hidden Swiss accounts Even so, the German government�s plan to pay �informants� 2.4 million euros ($3.5 million) for the stolen names of suspected tax evaders is decidedly slap-worthy. �There is no future for bank secrecy,� crowed the country�s Finance Minister. Agreed. But while buying pilfered records may be good hardball, it�s not the way to clear the Swiss smoke screen. Governments, opponents noted, should be chasing data thieves, not rewarding them. While nations routinely engage hackers to advance state aims, this ugly public info-pimping feels different�and wrong. It�s a clear case where one good sleaze doesn�t deserve another.

And while we�re cuffing countries ...

SLAP!

Iran Blocks Gmail. What else would you expect from control freaks who stalk their citizens on Facebook, Twitter and other Websites? (No, I�m not talking about China. Or the United States) Iran announced it had suspended Google�s e-mail in the country in favor of its own planned national service (�Moud-Mail�?). �The primary purpose for doing this is to control communication and mine that communication, so the government can crack down on dissenters and people who threaten the government,� security expert Richard Stiennon of IT-Harvest told the Wall Street Journal. Message to Supreme Rulers: Lie back, close your eyes and relax. You�ll learn to enjoy it.

SLAP!

Fake C.A.D. Burgers. You know the fat, insanely juicy burgers on TV ads? The ones that make you want to lean over and lick the screen? Food Network Magazine reveals why burgers in some fast-food commercials are more beautiful than real life: They�re 3D computer models. Each toasty sesame seed, each soft bun, each sizzling patty is carefully engineered by firms like Branit/vfx with techniques borrowed from Hollywood. If you�ve waddled down to the food court lately, you�d know we scarcely need high-tech food-porn to make us scarf down more $1 double cheeseburgers. How about ads that make steamed broccoli look sexier?

CLAP!

Oscar the Final Comfort Cat. A quick spin through Smarter Technology clearly shows the road to more efficient, effective health care is paved with high tech. Yet as Oscar the cat reminds us, high touch might be just as important. This black and white tabby is co-star of a new book �Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat� (Hyperion) by Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician and Brown University assistant professor. For the past five years, feline and physician have worked at a Providence, R.I.-based nursing/rehab center. According to a recent USA Today story: �When a patient is about to die � Oscar goes to work, comforting the family, and consoling the family with bedside vigils. A few hours before the resident dies, the cat will jump on the bed, purr, and not leave until the patient succumbs.� Dosa, who confesses he doesn�t like cats, suspects a refined sense of smell or empathy has helped Oscar accurately predict more than 50 deaths. However it�s done, Dosa says, Oscar brings the elderly comfort and tenderness in their final moments. Could one Rx for medicine be more cats, fewer CAT scans?

CLAP OR SLAP? You decide �

Dante�s Inferno, the Videogame. I�m trying not to rant about every new violent videogame release. But Dante�s Inferno, the game? Really? How did Iron Maiden and retarded horror rock become the favored blueprint for popular entertainment? What�s next: �Canterbury: Tales of Torture?� �Walden: Death Forest 2?� �Wuthering Heights: Heathcliff�s Revenge?� Or is all fair in love and videogame war? Will, as some suggest, a sulfurous romp �round the nine rings of Hell enflame new interest in a dusty, depressed Italian poet? True, the game�s promo site does include narrated excerpts from the classic poem. But does Electronic Arts (or anybody) really believe that asking players to submit their birth date will really keep underage players away? Is Dante�s Inferno, the videogame, worthy of a Slap or Clap? Tell us what you think.

Hungry for more? See �Slaps and Claps� 1 and 2. Got a Slap or Clap of your own? Share it here.