TIME EUROPE
September 18, 2000 VOL. 156 NO. 13
Techwatch
INTERNET-OPERATED DOMESTIC ROBOT
Remote Control
For years science fiction writers have prophesied the day when machines would take care of our every need. The ultimate cyberservant has yet to be invented, but the iRobot-LE gives a notion of what the future may hold. It wonÕt iron your skirt, mow your lawn or cook a gourmet dinner, but it can help you keep an eye on your house, plants, cat, kids or their nanny, from any place in the world where you can access the Internet. This domestic robot, about the size of the average dog and controlled through its own Web page, rolls around on eight wheels and can go up and down stairs. It is not necessary to give exact directions since iRobot-LE will sense obstacles and even memorize the layout of your home. Equipped with a video-camera eye mounted on a telescoping neck, this early approximation of R2-D2 lets you see what it sees, using slide bars to pan and zoom. And through Internet telephony, you can even talk toÑor eavesdrop onÑanyone nearby. The droid, produced by the Boston firm iRobot, is essentially a powerful computer on wheels. You can add a cd-rom drive and use it to play music. Or, when itÕs stationary, you can plug in a video screen, keyboard and mouse and use it as a PC. The first models on sale early next year in the U.S. will cost about $5,000. For the time being, the iRobot-LE canÕt feed the hungry goldfish or mop up the dust you see gathering through the deviceÕs video-camera eyes. So youÕll have to persuade your loved ones from afar that itÕs in their interests to pick up a broom.
Managers' suspicions that their staff may be doing more than market research online have just been confirmed again in a recent study by the DŸsseldorf branch of software company Sterling Commerce. It estimates that German companies lose almost $50 billion each year through employees' personal surfing of the Web while at work. Sterling surveyed 1,000 German companies and found that 60% of all employees with desktop Internet access go online at least once each day for non-business reasons, and that on average they spend 3.2 hours a week of company time online.
The German government, always on the lookout for new revenue sources, has announced that it is investigating ways to tax Internet access by employees for personal use, the theory being that free surf time is a taxable benefit — like a company car.
Imposing such a tax would be difficult, but the threat is another reason for corporations to find new ways of keeping their employees focused on the business at hand. And one company's headache is another's opportunity. Filtering and monitoring software is a booming business these days. The information technology industry research firm IDC estimates that the Internet access control software business will generate over $500 million in annual sales by 2004. That means more firms will be installing software like SuperScout by Surfcontrol, which not only knows where you surfed, but can also block access to nonessential sites. So the next time you feel like watching Big Brother at work, remember: Big Brother may be watching you.
SITE SEEING
Computers still can't think for themselves. To do that theyÕd need the cyber equivalent of common senseÑthe millions of pieces of ordinary knowledge that humans take for granted. But two Internet-based projects, Mindpixel and Open Mind Commonsense, want to close that cognitive gap by tapping into the brains of Web surfers around the world. If you want to help, go to commonsense.media.mit.edu where Open MindÕs pictures prompt you for statements about the world. Other prompts ask you to explain a relationship between words, or causes and effects (ÒSometimes eating a hamburger causes ...Ó). At www.mindpixel.com you can register with GAC (Generic Artifical Consciousness) and type in a question or statement that can be answered with either yes or no, or true or false. GAC then gives you 20 statements to confirm or deny. Example: ÒBabies are born with clothes.Ó Both sites are vulnerable to visitors typing in nonsense, but gac will soon acquire a junk filter. Last week the leaders of the two projects acknowledged that it was just plain common sense to share the vast amounts of human knowledge needed. The initiatives will soon merge.
WHAT'S NEXT
Smart Software: Read This Now!
Instant information may be revolutionizing the way we work, but for many the sheer volume of messages has become more of a hindrance than a help. Priorities, a software agent developed by Microsoft, may reduce one of the main sources of info overload: e-mail. Priorities will be able to read your e-mail, tell if itÕs a reprimand from your boss or a reminder from your spouse to buy milk, assign the message an importance ranking and decide whether itÕs worth interrupting you based on context. The software agent is part of the Attentional User Interface (AUI) project which observes a user's behavior in order to customize the computer's response. The system considers your context and even if you're away from your desk, will contact your cell phone or other digital device if it receives a message it deems worthy of your immediate attention.
Radiation: Check the Label
Because of concerns over safety, mobile phones could soon come labeled with radiation emission levels. Nokia of Finland, Sweden's Ericsson and Motorola in the U.S. are in consultation with government bodies working to devise a global standard for measuring Specific Absorption Rates (SAR), a measure of radiation absorbed by human tissue. Manufacturers note that research has yet to provide any conclusive evidence of a link between cancer and the use of mobile phones, and hope to explain sar rates in a way that will not result in customers searching for the phone with the lowest rating. In the U.S. the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association already requires all new phones to come with text on the packaging stating that they comply with the sar standard set by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. A more detailed explanation and the actual sar rate for that phone will be required inside.
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September 25, 2000
COVER STORY
Running on Empty
Protests against rising fuel costs should be a wake-up call for European governments that have lost touch with their electorates
Let Them Ride Bikes
European motorists are fed up with ever-higher fuel taxes
EUROPE
Radical Czechs
As thousands of antiglobalization protesters prepare to take to the streets, Prague braces for the worst
The Police
Can cops in Prague keep their cool?
MIDDLE EAST
Miracle Makers
IsraelÕs Shas Party is tapping into mysticism to give its politics more potency
OLYMPICS
The Real Australia
Americans know a lot about the place, most of it wrong. Our art critic evokes its true glories and flaws as only a native son can
DEPARTMENTS
Techwatch
World Watch
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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