Symantec Threatcon

Picture a close-call home robbery. A mom sleeps soundly. The kids are in bed. A window is smashed in, and an arm, always clothed in a black sweatshirt, reaches in and desperately searches for a doorknob. An alarm goes off. The kids wake up. They run into the bedroom to be with their mother, who, luckily, is on the phone with the home security company. Terrifying.

I feel the urge to call the security company, too. I consider the safety and security in my apartment. Then I gain my senses. And I feel overwhelmingly resentful.

I felt the same thing a few years back when the terrorism threat level would fluctuate, with no concrete reasons to validate the changes, and at politically opportune times. Grumble.

Now, Symantec has adopted the same system. On the Symantec website, computer users can view their color-coded risk. All of these systems seem to say the same thing: "Trust us. It's bad out there. We work in this business. We know. You should use this information as a motivator to do [fill in the blank]."

Grrr...

Nano-Posters?

In the Technology Review section on nanotech this week, there is an article about a "solution of nanoscopic iron oxide particles" that changes color in response to magnetic fields. Using variable, controlled magnetic fields, this liquid can be changed to any visible color. One of the practical applications mentioned is "as pixels in rewritable posters or other large displays."

Think of all those bars that could change the cover price for entry in response to nightly attendance:

Empty? "No Cover!"

Packed? "Cover: $20... and deadly good looks."

Technology Review Podcast

Make Magazine: Silver Dollar Ring

iBot Sighting

In LoDo last week, I saw an iBot, which is inventor Dean Kamen's answer to the wheelchair. Try to forget the media circus that took place around the Segway, that silly little scooter (Remember the code name "Ginger" and the idea that our mail would one day be delivered by Segway-driving postal workers?). The iBot is truly amazing; it provides transportation to those who can't just go out and buy a skateboard.

Using gyroscopes, the iBot balances its user high up on two wheels (at eye-level). Best of all, the iBot can take people up stairs. I even found video of a man in an iBot at the shooting range.