Monthly Archives: July 2005

WiFi Wars

In Saint Petersberg, Florida, police have arrested Benjamin Smith III for accessing an unsecured WiFi network. He’s being charged with “unauthorized access to a computer network.”

Smith pulled his SUV up in front of the “victim’s” house and logged onto the Internet. Smith admits this much. The homeowner, Dinon, noticed this guy on his laptop in front of his house and called the police.

Having a bandwidth-stealing freeloader might have bothered Dinon some, but I bet it was the creepy factor – a stranger parked in front of the house – that motivated Dinon to call. Had Smith been his next door neighbor freeloading from the backyard, the over-the-fence conversation would have probably been:

“Ben, dang-it, get your own WiFi so I can bum off you next month!”

It’s a competition of interests. On one hand, we have the interests of those who install WiFi in their homes to not be leeched on. On the other hand, we have the interests of the public to have use of WiFi wherever it can be found. There’s a lot of overlap between the two crowds. I had no interest in using WiFi anywhere until I installed it in my home and got a laptop with WiFi capability.

Of course I prefer to keep the bandwidth at home to myself. “Shoo, nerds! Shoo!” But recently, while my family finished their cheeseburgers at the local Sonic, I turned on the laptop and found that I had good WiFi. So, I checked my email. Thinking about it now, its probably much more likely that I was enjoying service from the apartment complex next door than from the Sonic. Did I commit a crime? I didn’t intend to.

What if I accessed WiFi from a coffee shop parking lot rather than going in (because I don’t want to buy a $8 cup of coffee)? Would that be a crime? It’s a network intended for the public, but its intended to bring the public in for coffee. The owner probably wouldn’t appreciate that sort of leeching any more than I would like SUVs full of guys like Smith parked in front of my house.

Here’s the bright line that our society should draw – any unsecured WiFi is fair game. If you use that WiFi to cruise for child pr0n, spam, or steal credit card information; well, that’s criminal already. If you are physically trespassing on private property to get close enough to log on, that’s also criminal already. Reading Instapundit in a public place (or on property you own) should not be a crime – even if you’re doing it on your neighbor’s unsecured WiFi. It’s rude, maybe even creepy, but it shouldn’t be illegal.

Those who are concerned about bandwidth leeches can easily protect their WiFi networks with a password.

UPDATE: I found another article that had more information:

Dinon also stated that he later observed foreign icons on his home computer screen, and suspected that Smith, 41, may have been using his network.

A foreign icon? Was Smith installing a backdoor?

I think it’s a safe bet that the prosecutor will try to prove something more than bandwidth leeching. I doubt he or she would bother otherwise. If Smith was installing a back door or accessing Dinon’s computer in some way, more power to the prosecutor.

But public policy should favor Internet surfers who are doing otherwise legal activities. Internet connectivity is a good thing. And losing a little bandwidth is a small thing. And if that bothers you, secure your WiFi.

I’m willing, as the owner of a WiFi network, to either accept the loss of a little bandwidth from time-to-time, OR accept the slight inconvenience of a password. Either is a small price to pay for not having to worry about accidentally breaking the law when I’m away from home.

UPDATE 2: Triticale points to this WiFi post at FuzzMartin.com. Check out both the post and the comments.

Sequencing Neanderthal Man

neanderthal child.JPGFirst, the Cave Bear, now Neanderthal Man.

German and U.S. scientists have launched a project to reconstruct the Neanderthal genome, the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology said Wednesday.

When the sequencing of the cave bear was announced last month (Only last month! The world is moving fast on this.) it was explained how they were able to extract useful DNA information from old samples once thought to be hopelessly contaminated.

In the past scientists have found it next to impossible to extract useful DNA from such old samples. While some information was thought to remain, broken and scattered, most of the DNA in these old samples was microbial contamination.

So, hoping that there would be enough DNA within these samples to learn something, DOE scientists used a brute force high throughput sequencing approach that was developed for sequencing modern samples. It worked. 6% of the sample was broken pieces of cave bear DNA. That was enough to get a complete sequence. A piece of DNA was found here, a piece there, and then it was reassembled using dog DNA as a template.

Presumably they’ll use Homo Sapiens as the template this time.

I love what U.S. geneticist Edward Rubin had to say about the project.

Firstly, we will learn a lot about the Neanderthals. Secondly, we will learn a lot about the uniqueness of human beings. And thirdly, it’s simply cool.

Heh. Exactly.

FastForward Radio, Episode 4


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We hope that you had a great Independance Day yesterday. Phil and I celebrated our freedom of speech this weekend by recording the fourth episode of FastForward Radio.

In this episode we discuss insane hot sauce, the new War of the Worlds movie (and whether we should really be concerned about alien invasion), the Grokster decision, whether radical life extension is coming soon, and the iTunes podcasting service.

Don’t miss it!


Or, download the MP3 file.

Be sure to subscribe to Fast Forward Radio (it’s free of course) by copying the following URL into your podcast receiver program:

http://stephentg.audioblog.com/rss/fforward.xml

Once you subscribe, you’ll never miss an episode.

Click here if you need to find a podcast receiver program.

Declaration of Singularity

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men human beings
sentient beings of human-level or greater intelligence
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
rights, that among these are life of indefinite duration,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments
technologies and economic activity are instituted
among men intelligent beings, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed participants.
That whenever any form of government civilization
becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or
to abolish it, and to institute a new government
civilization, laying its foundation on
such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate
that governments cultures long established
should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience
hath shown that mankind intelligent beings
are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves
by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train
of abuses and usurpations government the existing
civilization,
pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design
to reduce constrain them under the
absolute despotism of remaining in the current developmental
stage
, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government
civilization, and to provide new guards
for their future security. –Such has been the patient sufferance of
these colonies beings ; and such
is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems
of government
civilization. The history
of the present King of Great Britain Post-Industrial
Age
is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having
in direct object the establishment prevention
of an absolute tyranny the further evolution
of
over these states beings.
To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

In the face of unrelenting progress, this civilization
has continued to harken back to "natural" limitations of development
which must never be challenged.

It has promoted and enforced harmful and prejudicial
distinctions between human and non-human intelligence.

It has set artificial and arbitrary limits as to duration
of lifespan.

It has enforced meaningless distinctions between labor
and leisure.

It has equipped despotic governments and enterprises
to restrict the means of production and self-expression to a limited few.

It has promoted the creation of artificial boundaries
between creative minds.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America all
sentient beings of human-level or greater intelligence
, in General
Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude
of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people
of these colonies
these beings, solemnly
publish and declare, that these united colonies beings
are, and of right ought to be a free and
independent states civilization; that they
are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown current
human civilization
, and that all political connection between them
and the state of Great Britain Post-Industrial
World
, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a
free and independent states civilization,
they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, live,
interact, create,
contract alliances, establish commerce, and to
do all other acts and things which independent states a
civilization
may of right do. And for the support of this declaration,
with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge
to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

UPDATE: Rand Simberg suggests that we should commemorate, not just celebrate on the Fourth, and recommends reading the text of the (real) Delcaration of Independence. I couldn’t agree more.

T-Minus 10, 9…

Last year I speculated that a simple form of life extension therapy would be available within a decade. With less than nine years left to go, I stand by this prediction.

Aging is a very complicated problem. But age therapy is coming soon because the beginning of the answer to aging will be much simpler than a more complete solution that addresses all seven of Aubrey de Grey’s age problems.

As Aubrey de Grey has repeatedly pointed out, we don’t have to have a complete solution to benefit. In fact, we might live to see a complete solution to the age problem if we live to see the first true therapy for aging. This “bootstrapping” idea means that the time we gain from the first age therapies might help us live to benefit from second-generation therapies, second-generation therapies bootstrap us to the third generation, etc.

From last year’s “Life Extension Soon” post:

Michael West’s book, The Immortal Cell, gives me reason to hope for some form of life extension – something less than escape velocity – within the next ten years. Dr. West is a pioneer in the field of therapeutic cloning. His studies have shown that when the genetic material of an adult somatic cell is used in cloning, infant stem cell results. Our aging is reversed in the “time machine” of conception.

It’s not difficult for Dr. West to imagine effective life extension therapies resulting from this and related technology:

…I am particularly intrigued about the possibilities of making young bone marrow stem cells. These cells normally reside inside our largest bones…and give rise to all of our blood cells. As we age, these cells progressively lose their telomeres and become dysfunctional. As a result, the elderly have greater difficulty mounting immune responses to the flu and other infections…

…young bone marrow stem cells made by therapeutic cloning would be indistinguishable from those that you and I had when we were born. And these cells are relatively easy to transfer back into the body of an older patient. They can be simply infused into the blood vessel in the arm, and they will migrate through the blood and eventually take up residence in the bone marrow to make young blood cells instead of the old ones. This single application of therapeutic cloning in geriatric medicine could improve the lives of millions. If so, it would be the first time in history that geriatric medicine applied scientific knowledge of the aging process in such a profound manner.

Dr. West also speculates that a similar process would allow us infuse the bones of elderly patients with endothelial precursor stem cells. These cells are involved in replacing the cell linings of blood vessels. Aging of these cells is thought to be a cause of coronary artery disease.

The impact of such an exciting new therapy [infusion of endothelial precursor stem cells] could extend beyond atherosclerosis to heart failure, geriatric skin ulcers, and many other manifestations of the aging process.

Yesterday, June 30, 2005, Wired reported that this idea has now been tried in cows, and the results are astonishing.

Stem cells were injected into elderly cows — animals whose age was equivalent to an 80-year-old human. Tests showed boosted immune systems and rejuvenated blood vessels more than a year after an injection of a tablespoonful of stem cells taken from cloned bovine fetuses.

scientists who performed the study believe embryonic stem cells taken from days-old embryos in a petri dish, perhaps some leftover post-in-vitro fertilization, could impart the same benefits.

“The cells are so competitive and youthful that they just take over,” said Robert Lanza, vice president of medical and scientific development at Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Massachusetts.

It’s not too surprising that Advanced Cell Technology would be working on this problem. It is Michael West’s company.