E-Waste to E- Recycling

When we were talking about RFID chips one day replacing the bar code i got to thinking about how much waste that'd add up too. I once saw an E-waste commercial on the tv channel g4, a particularly tech and gadget oriented station. i tried to youtube it and searched for it onth eweb, couldnt find it anywhere. However the entire commercial featured the station's biggest names talking about e waste. They tell how much battery acid has been dumped into landfills, how many cd's have been discarded, etc. I got inspired to find litte more info after seeing that commerial.

In an online article by "Greener Choices," a division of Consumer Reports Magazine, it is stated that electronic equipment is the fastest growing category of solid waste. "In 2005, discarded electronics totaled about 2 million tons. Its estimated that only about 15-20% of this was recycled." In the March 2006 Consumer Reports, an online survey yielded these results: 1)about 3 in 10 consumers replaced their computers last year, 2 in 10 consumers who discarded the old computer threw it away in the trash. 2) about 2 in 10 consumers replaced their tv's last year, and 3 in 10 who discarded the old tv threw it away in the trash. 3) about 4 in 10 consumers replaced their cell phones last year, and 2 in 10 threw the old ones away in the trash. This problem is particularly important because toxins in such devices can leak into landfills and possibly contaminate drinking water, etc.Get more stats at: http://www.greenerchoices.org/electronicsrecycling/el_ewaste.cfm


I really like this site,it gives good info and i know it can be trusted because Consumer Reports is such an established name. I particularly like the section where you can click on a given product: TV, cell phone, computer, other electronics, and it gives you step by step help on how to decide if you should "fix it or nix it." Also, they go into detail about how and where e-recycling can be done. Personally, i feel that more people replace their mobile phones the more often than other electronic goods, causing a big part of the e waste problem, so i concentrated on cell phones.

Apparently one big problem is that e-recyclers are sometimes behaving unethically and are dumping the e waste in other countries/places and not really recycling it as they say they are. Consumer Reports recommends recycling at a place where they've signed the "Electronics Recyclers Pledge of True Stewardship" an agreement not to ship hazardous waste/components to other places/developing countries.

RFID Tags

In class on Tuesday, we got into a discussion about RFID tags and how they can be implemented into business. One of the scenarios that was brought up was putting these tags in items at stores. The positives noted were that it would help avoid any mis-labeling by a worker resulting in an incorrect price when scanned, they could create programmable shopping lists down the road that link up with the RFID tags that alert people when they pass an item, and also it can help prevent theft by putting scanners by each entrance.

One of the problems with all of this that came up was what was to happen with these tags after the purchase is made? Can anyone on the streets scan your house with a device and find out all of the goods you possess in your home? One solution to this problem was to somehow make the RFID tag deactivate once it has been scanned and purchased at the store, eliminating the ability of people to scan your goods. The problem with that idea is that if someone wanted to return the item, the tag would be expired and it would complicate the process.

My solution to this problem came to me when I thought of something we learned much earlier in class. How about stores put an encryption on their RFID tags that only that specific store holds the key to and implement that technology into the tags. That way, not only can people off the streets not be able to scan your items, but stores can be sure that the item that the customer is trying to return was purchased from their store. Just a thought.

Healthcare Industry & RFID Chips

With our discussion on the healthcare industry and sharing medical records, I thought I would talk a little more about a topic I brought up in a previous blog. In an earlier blog, I brought up how people are implanting themselves with their medical records stored on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips so that they always have this information with them. As hospitals and doctor’s offices are turning more and more to technology in order to file and sort patient history, and everyday people are using technology to organize their lives more as well, I see the implantation of RFID chips with medical information as both parties working together to ensure proper medical treatment.

The location of this implant is in the fatty tissue of the upper arm. They are 11 mm in length and are projected to last twenty years. The FDA has also placed their stamp of approval upon the product. The PositiveID Corporation is the largest company selling this product that they call the VeriChip. The impanted chip stores a 16-digit ID number that is transmitted when scanned by a handheld VeriChip scanner. The medical staff at participating hospitals can then,

enter this number into a secure page on the VeriChip Corporation's website to access medical information that the patient has previously stored on file with the company.

I believe that it is this part of feature of the implant that can calm some patient’s qualms about privacy. If the patients have control over what information is put into this RFID they will have more control over what they share with their physicians, solving part of the issue of privacy.

While storing this information in your body could save your life, it could also potentially risk your health. Studies conducted in lab rats showed 1% to 10% of the implants resulted in cancerous tumors. According to the FDA, people with implants are also vulnerable to electrical hazards, severe reactions to getting MRIs, the surrounding tissue having allergic reactions, and the possibility that it may not stay in place, and instead travel around in your body. Needless to say, there are a few kinks to work out, and I think I’ll wait a while (and maybe forever) before getting an implant of my own.

Gamer - all thanks to Mark Weiser

Ubiqitous computing is the future of IT. Infact, we learned in class that ubiquitous computing is computing anywhere and everywhere. It is also referred to as calm computing, because the main goal is for technology to be invisable in our lives. In an online journal by Marcia Riley, it says that technology ought to be embedded in our environment, rather than having a lap top, or some other actual pda device.
Mark Weiser is said to be the father of ubiquitous computing, he coined the term in the 80's. Wikipedia's page for Weiser lays out the principals he described in one of his talks:
1)the purpose of a computer is to help you do something else.
2)the best computer is a quiet invisable servant.
3)the more you can do by intuition the smarter you are; the computer should extend your unconscious.
4)technology should create calm.
He goes on to describe a reality where computers are tools used to achieve goals, and not the center of any real primary focus.
When this topic first came up in class i immediatly thought of the movie "Gamer". It stars Gerard Butler who plays 'Kable' a convict who is focred to play a deadly game against his will, primarily for public entertainment. It is set in the not too distant future, where ubiqquitous computing is the norm and is used by gamer prodigy 'Simon', the real life rich kid in the movie who pays to control Kable during the missions. Upon conviction, prisoners are given an RFID chip, which allows someone to tap in and control them. Simon plays this deadly game fromt the comfort of his own home, and whats more is he doesnt even have a controller, he just uses speech and movement to control all of his media, gaming, etc
Aside from the highly unethical issue with the improper treatment of inmates, this movie was REALLY cool. It would be totally amazing if, in our lifetime, middle to high class citizens could afford to use systems like these everyday. Nearly everything was wireless, and controlled through sensory movement. When Simon walks into his bedroom the radio system greets him and asks him what he'd like to do. He replies, log into Gamer, and BAM! projected on his wall, is the home page/site entrance for Gamer. It would be sooo cool if you could do that!! Eventually people wont even notice they're using computers anymore. Gamer is all thanks to Mark Weiser.
Other prominent ideas in this area include technology one can wear, thus having the ability to access it at any given moment. Some say in the future computers should be/will one day be worn much like glasses. Mark Weiser, said to be the father of ubiquitous computing said in an article he wrote to be published in CACM July 1993,

"the computer today is isolated and isolating from the overall situation, and fails to get out of the way of the work. In other words, rather than being a tool through which we work, and so which disapears from our awareness, the computer too often remains the focus of attention."

Rfid Chip

The other night I went out drinking with a few freinds and sure enough half way through the night one of my friends lost his wallet. This really got me thinking how nice it would be to not have to cary these things on me. Not have to worry about what one's drunk self will do with that all important wallet. The RFID Chip we talked about in class could be one of the answers to this problem. This Chip can trnasmit through radio waves a persons Identifcation and could even be used as a credit card. The potential for this kind of product could make major changes in everyday life. There are so many way that this could be intergated into your future everyday life for good or for bad.

They use many of these RFID chips to day in maby diffrent ways. They are use in tracking live stock and to keep them seperated between owners. They can be used in retail in order to keep track and count of inventory. In January of 2005 Wal-Mart required it's top 100 suppliers to use the RFID labels on all shpiments. Some hospitals have started using them in patiences wrist bands in order to keep more accuratly keep track of patiences. This could also be used to keep patiences records. Libraies have used these RFID labels to Keep track of all there books and it makes them easier to locate when needed. These are just a few of the ways that RFID chips are being used in everyday life.

If you think that this kind of technology couldn't be used for the identification of humans then you would be wrong. In 1998 a British professor inplanted on in his arm as an early experement for everyday use. Then in 2004 Conrad Chase offer the use of RFID chips in his Barcelona night club. That same year the Mexican Attorney General's office had 18 member inplanted with these chips in order to control access to secure data rooms. Above is a picture of a chip that has just been inplanted into someone's hand. I don't think that i would ever accually get this done. Something about people being able to keep track of me when and where ever I go just doesn't seem right.

Personal Area Networks

Our discussion on Tuesday led us to talking about Personal Area Networks, which are close proximity networks. I find the technology that goes along with these personal area network to be quite interesting, like wearable computers, using human bodies to transmit data, and RFID chips. In another one of my classes, we have also discussed RFID chips and they are definitely something that will change our futures and spark a lot of debate.

RFID chips are microchips that transmit signals in response to radio signals sent by RFID readers. The chip responds by sending out its own unique ID code and is powered by radio signals sent by the transceiver, which “wakes them up” and forces them to respond. They are implanted or attached to people, pets, or objects and do not require a battery to run.

Pet owners are using RFID chips, implanting their pets so that they can locate them if they get lost. Parents are implanting their children in order to track them. Michelin is implanting their tires with the chips in case of theft. Millions of stores are also using these chips in order to know when to restock shelves and to deter theft. People are implanting themselves with these chips that store medical information in the case of an emergency, or so that they simply don’t have to carry around a wallet.

While I definitely see the benefits of having a RFID chip implanted within you (quicker purchases, emergency information readily available), I am not sure that I would want one in me. I don’t want people to know my every move, where I am, what I like, what I buy, who I’m with; I just can’t help but feel that this knowledge will be abused. What if my information falls in the wrong hands? From identity left to stalking to kidnapping to murder, I don’t think we can even begin to imagine what criminals could do once they know everything about us. But then again, I think I just have to face it that RFID chips are our future and hope that security measures advance along with this technology.