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Show of 2-12-2022

Email and Forum Questions

  • Email from Tom Schum: Dear Tech Talk. This article is one of many that project doomsday scenarios: America Races to Avert the ‘Quantum Apocalypse’. Worst estimate for this is 5 years, optimistic estimate is 15 years. Fortunately, the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) has established a Post-Quantum Cryptography Standardization program to define the safe algorithms resistant to quantum computers. The newly published standards are expected to be complete and available in 2024, but the program will soon notify of the finalized algorithms. What do you think? Tom Schum
  • Tech Talk Responds: In the case of an attack by a future quantum computer…with its unprecedented power to decrypt existing encryption systems, the shutdown could be the most catastrophic disaster our country has ever experienced,” Arthur Herman, Director at the Hudson Institute’s Quantum Alliance Initiative. Fortunately, we have time to implement these quantum-safe solutions before the advent of large-scale quantum computers—but not that much time. This is an active research area and an important one.
  • Email from Arnie in Colorado Springs: Hi Dr. Shurtz and Andrew. As a matter of curiosity, why doesn’t Tech Talk web site have the “s” included in the web address the same as Stratford University web site? The university is more secure. No matter, great show & podcast. Arnie, Colorado Springs, CO
  • Tech Talk Responds: You are right. That surprised me. We do not have any logins or security on the site, so it is not needed, but I think is advisable. Thanks for the email.
  • Email from Bob in Maryland: Dear Doc and Andrew. I came across this article which is partly a sort of advertisement for a product called ‘activitypub’. The author expresses some skepticism about Web 3.0, as I guess Elon Musk has also done. What do you think, Doc? All the best, your faithful listener, Bob in Maryland
  • Tech Talk Responds: That was a very interesting article. W3 might be a hope for utopia, everyman’s dream. I agree that there are problems. However, distribute ledgers are powerful. You could record the latitude and longitude of land transactions and keep them secure with a blockchain. You could trace the shipment of goods in the supply chain with a block chain. Secure, verified, distributed records are valuable. Crypto currency is the gas that keeps them validated. I disagree that off-chain items cannot be tracked with a blockchain. However, the hype of W3 may be overblown because entrepreneurs will consolidate the power. Just look at OpenSeas; they dominate the NTF market. There will always be a tendency toward centralization of servers. That is a trend that cannot be stopped because average individuals do not want blockchain mining equipment under their bed.
  • The distributed ledger technology is the first improvement to accounting since the Medici’s introduced double-entry accounting in Florence. This is a technology search of a killer app. Remember the Internet was just interesting in the beginning. It became a force when email and the browser were created.
  • Email from Richard in Madison: Dear Doc and Jim. I love my Android phone. However, I have heard that it is not as secure as an iPhone. How can I make my Android phone as secure as possible? Richard in Madison
  • Tech Talk Responds: Here is how to keep your Android phone secure.
    • Enable Two-Factor Authentication On Your Google Account. You can find Google’s 2FA settings in My Account > 2-Step Verification (and you’ll have to sign in, of course).
    • Use a Lock Screen. This is your absolute first line of defense when it comes to keeping your phone safe. And don’t forget to add your fingerprint if your phone has a scanner, too.
    • Activate find my phone. You have a way to track it and, worse case scenario, remotely reset your phone if there’s no chance of getting it back. Go into Settings > Google > Security > Find My Phone.
    • Disable “Unknown Sources” and Developer Mode. This setting allows you to install apps that are not from the Google Play Store—a process called “sideloading.” You cannot trust unverified applications. Go to Settings > Security > Unknown Sources. Go to Settings > Developer Option and slide the toggle to the off position.
  • Email from Lavona in Dumfries: Dear Doc and Andrew. I am paranoid and all these smart home devices have me worried. Are they listening to my every word and collecting data 24/7? I feel like I am putting a spy in my house voluntarily. What are you thoughts about this? Lavona in Dumfries, Virginia
  • Tech Talk Responds: We are all paranoid about devices spying on us (and rightfully so). There have been so many stories about NSA hacks that allow smart televisions or laptops to spy on their owners. Are these worries justified?
  • Most smarthome devices need to be connected to the Internet to function properly. This lets you control devices remotely from your phone or use voice commands to turn things on and off. Whenever you send a command to your devices, that data gets sent to the company that made that particular device.
  • If I am away from home and I want to turn on my smart lights from my phone, I open up the Hue app and turn on the lights. That data gets sent to Philips to get processed. Whenever you activate Alexa, Siri, or Google Assistant, your voice command gets sent to their servers for processing, and what comes back is the result of your voice command. These companies also store all of the voice commands you have ever said, but you can easily erase the history if you would like. Wi-Fi cameras do the same—video recordings are stored in the cloud. So your Nest Cam recordings are stored on Nest servers. They are encrypted, so only you can view the video recordings.
  • This is not spying, especially since you agree to all of this data getting sent to these various companies. Furthermore, your smart speaker is not continually recording your conversations 24/7. Yes, it is always listening for the wake word, but it is not recording.
  • Being spied on by the companies themselves is one thing, but users are also afraid of being spied on by hackers who break into their smarthome devices. There’s a legitimate fear around this for sure, and theoretically, it’s possible. The NSA has proven it. However, if you make sure that all of your devices are locked down with a password, as well as two-factor authentication (if available), you make it difficult for something bad to happen.
  • Furthermore, it is best to stick with reputable brands when buying smarthome products, rather cheap knock-off Chinese brands. The bigger, popular companies have a reputation to uphold, so it is always in their best interest to create a secure interface for their devices, whereas a cheap Chinese brand does not need to care.

Profiles in IT: Philip Rosedale

  • Philip Rosedale is an American entrepreneur, best known as the founder of the virtual world Second Life.
  • Philip Rosedale was born September 29, 1968 in San Diego, CA
  • Aged 16, sitting with a friend at his aunt’s Windows computer, he pulled up an image of a Mandelbrot set, a never-ending intricate pattern.
  • He began to zoom in, until he ran out of resolution. He calculated that the screen he started from was now the size of the surface of Earth.
  • A realized that if a computer could contain a world, it could also make a world.
  • As a teenager, he built custom networks and databases for car dealerships. He used the proceeds to finance his education at UC, San Diego, getting a BS Physics.
  • In 1994, he moved to San Francisco and discovered the Internet. He instantly saw its potential for VR. But he needed 3D, which computers couldn’t do yet.
  • In 1995, he created an Internet video conferencing product, FreeVue, which was acquired by RealNetworks. He was hired as VP and CTO and was millionaire at 28.
  • In 1999, Rosedale went with a group of friends to see The Matrix. Afterwards, he was slumped in a corner, depressed. That was what he wanted to build. It was his dream.
  • A few months later, he took $1 million of his own money and founded Linden Lab, named after a street in Hayes Valley (a neighborhood in San Francisco).
  • In 2002 the company launched the beta version of Second Life, a complete virtual world where could build houses, businesses, and interact with others. It had a virtual currency. The full version was launched in 2003.
  • With the creation of Second Life, he fulfilled his lifelong dream of creating an Internet-scale virtual world.
  • His goal with Second Life was to demonstrate a viable model for a virtual economy or virtual society. He did not see it as a game, but rather as a platform that is better than the real world.
  • By 2006, Second Life active users reached 1 million. It really reached mainstream that year.
  • In 2006, Linden Lab received WIRED’s Rave Award for Innovation in Business.
  • I failed to grow exponentially be of its complexity, never growing beyond one million users. It active user count has stayed about the same since then.
  • By 2009, users spend about $500M annually for virtual items (houses, clothing for avatar, music concerts, furniture, bars, bordellos, etc. The real estates in Second Life is the size of Los Angeles with 200,000 to 400,000 users on at any time.
  • On March 14, 2008, Rosedale announced he would be stepping down as the CEO of Linden Lab and assuming the role of Chairman of the Board of Directors
  • In October 2009, Rosedale announced that he would be less involved in the development of Second Life, because he was focusing on a new project.
  • In November 2011, Rosedale released a new project named Coffee and Power a site that enables people to connect for small jobs and services. Rosedale called it a meta-company, that enables people to connect for small jobs and services.
  • On April 16, 2013, Coffee & Power posted to their company blog that they were going begin work on a new company named High Fidelity, a virtual world framework. He hoped that VR headsets will take the complexity away.
  • Whereas Second Life ran on servers owned and run by Linden Lab, High Fidelity is peer-to-peer. By downloading its Sandbox software, anyone with a computer can host their own VR domain. The company will charge a fee for domain registration.
  • High Fidelity’s structure solves two of Second Life’s most persistent problems: scale and latency. He has received $11M in Series B Round of venture backing.
  • In November 2018, High Fidelity hosted FUTVRE LANDS, the first music and entertainment festival hosted completely in VR. The four-hour event brought together 466 avatars from 47 countries and included live entertainment from actors, artists, and musicians across multiple stages in a virtual festival venue. High Fidelity advisor Thomas Dolby performed a live concert set.
  • In March 2019, High Fidelity hosted Multi-Con, a comic con inspired VR event featuring cosplay, fanart, and celebrity panelists.[
  • Unfortunately, VR headsets did not mature quickly enough and total immersion was still considered years away. No enough people were ready to enter their virtual world.
  • In May 2019, High Fidelity announced it would focus its efforts on an application for remote and distributed teams. The application provides a virtual space where people can collaborate using High Fidelity’s spatialized 3D audio and realistic avatars.
  • Interest in High Fidelity’s virtual meeting platform ballooned during COVID-19.
  • In January 2022, High Fidelity acquired an interest in Linden Research and Philip Rosedale rejoined to Second Life as a strategic advisor.
  • He believes Facebook’s MetaVerse is all wrong, based on selling user data and advertising. He believe that the subscription model used by Second Life is the best way to create a wholesome virtual environment.
  • With over 20 years with virtual environments, he is ready to reboot Second Life.

Observations from the Faculty Lounge

  • What is the best vision for the MetaVerse.
  • Paid subscription (Second Life) vs data collection (Facebook).
  • Game versus a building environment, with self-directed activities.
  • Creation of digital products using (primitives) and exchange using crypto currency
  • Types of allowed activities (controlled or uncontrolled).
  • Viability of VR for the public (not everyone wants to be blind around others).

Super Bowl Technology

  • CBS will have a suite of 70 cameras filming the Super Bowl, which is a big jump from the 40 cameras that covered last year’s game. The showstopper from the new cameras is sure to be the Eye Vision 360, a replay camera that can freeze any moment of play and circle 360 degrees around it, and then continue the play.
  • With a fleet of 36 cameras mounted near the red zone at the 25 yard line, the placement will allow the cameras to capture the entire field, and then render together into 360 degree views for replays.
  • Also new to this year’s Super Bowl are pylon cameras: eight high resolution cameras with high definition audio that will be affixed to the pylons on the edge of the end zone. They even have RFID tracking systems embedded in players’ shoulder pads.
  • This year’s Super Bowl will charge up to $7 million for a 30-second spot. This will be known as the Crypto Bowl because three exchanges will advertise during the show: Coinbase, Crypto.com, and FTX Cryptocurrency Exchange. Binance, another exchange, will advertise around the show, but not during the Super Bowl. This is the coming out year to crypto exchanges. This is similar to the 2000 Super Bowl which was known as the Dot Com Bowl.

IRS to Drop Facial Recognition Verification Service

  • The Treasury Department is moving away from the controversial verification software ID.me amid concern over the company’s use of facial recognition technology.
  • The IRS had announced last year that it would start requiring people who file taxes online to register with ID.me, which would verify the identity of filers with a video selfie.
  • The program was supposed to be rolled out this summer for all IRS services, including making online payments and accessing tax credits.
  • Critics have been sounding the alarm over ID.me’s use, warning that giving a private company access to that much biometric information is inherently risky and pointing out that many facial recognition systems have deep racial and gender biases.
  • me’s CEO admitted the company uses technology that matches faces against a larger database rather than just other images of the same face.

CIA Collecting Bulk Data on Americans

  • Two US senators have asked the Central Intelligence Agency to release the details of a secret bulk data collection program that has ensnared Americans.
  • Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) wrote the director of national intelligence and the CIA, asking them to declassify a review of a CIA program known as “Deep Dive II,” the details of which were redacted from their letter. The letter was written in April 2021 but was classified until yesterday.
  • The secret CIA program is operated under the authority of Executive Order 12333, which former President Ronald Reagan issued in 1981. It has been used to justify bulk data collection of people in the US, including phone calls, SMS messages, and, until recently, email metadata. That practice was limited by a 2015 reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA, which banned the bulk collection of phone and SMS metadata by the FBI.
  • FISA gets all the attention because of the periodic congressional reauthorizations and the release of Department of Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and FISA Court documents.
  • The CIA’s bulk data collection program, the senators wrote, has been “secretly conducted” without any of the judicial, congressional, or even executive branch oversight that comes with FISA collection.