US and British researchers are making progress in developing computers that will have the ability to read part of your mind. The emotional part that is.

Computers are being developed to interpret your emotions through facial characteristic recognition techniqes. Researchers have discussed that this could benefit advertisers, such that they could target you with an ad when you are ready to receive it. Of course, everything computer related must have an advertising capability.

The real benefit with reading faces is not just in the reading, but in the translation. People transmit vast amounts of information non-verbally through their facial expressions. This information is lost when a person communicates with someone on the internet. This tool could benefit online instructors so that they could literally see the lightbulbs going off or the dark cloud of confusion when a student ‘gets it’ and when a student ‘gets lost.’

Similarly, technologies that push online meeting or chat rooms could interpret facial expressions and pass that information along to people on the other end, such that its not necessary to type in silly smily characters like :0 etc. The computer would read your expression and pass it along. If you are laughing Out Loud (LOL), then the computer would gather that info in and power up your simulated image on the other side to start laughing.

If you are playing online poker, you just turn the system off maybe, when you hit the ‘Poker Face’ Button.

Coming soon — mind-reading computers��Reuters.com

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Phil Zimmermann has released the Windows version of Zfone. Zfone is a VOIP encryption standard that secures VOIP phone calls at 256 bit AES cipher and a 3kb key exchange.

In light of recent relevations of the US Government monitoring phone records and listening into phone calls of American citizens, this software when used in conjunction with VOIP systems could provide businesses and users that extra level of security they need to insure they have privacy.

From another perspective if a major phone company has accessed your phone calls on behalf of the government or as part of a larger batch for the government, this tool can provide security from the people in that company and the people that illegaly get access to that information from within or outside the company. Or another way to put it is how safe is your information as its held by the government or the phone companies? When’s the last time you heard about the government or phone companies having their security breached through the internet or lost laptops? You may trust the government, but do you trust the people that hack information away from the government?

Phil Zimmermann is no stranger to encryption, he is probably most famous for releasing PGP e-mail an email encryption program released in 1991 that spawned an entire business including PGP Desktop, which Maven Mapper’s wholeheartedly recommends.

Zfone was previously available for OS X and Linux and has recently been released for Windows in Beta.

For more articles on Zfone:

1. New York Times: Voice Encryption May Draw U.S. Scrutiny
   
2. International Herald Tribune: Encryption tool rekindles security debate
   
3. Technology Review: Encryption Software May Halt Wire Tapping
   
4. Red Herring: Zfone May Protect VoIP Calls
   
5. United Press International: PGP founder unveils new VoIP security
   
6. Wired News: A Pretty Good Way to Foil the NSAPrivacy Guru Locks Down VOIP
   
7. The Register: PGP creator offers VoIP crypto to Windows users
   
8. Blue Box - The VoIP Security Podcast: Phil Zimmermann interview about Zfone
   
9. Associated Press: PGP Inventor to Encrypt Net Calls
   
10. eWeek: Privacy Pioneer Promises Secure VOIP
    
11. TechWorld: Encryption guru returns with VoIP software
    
12. CNET News: Encryption pioneer expands on VoIP plans

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France has signaled to the world and to Apple that it will stand as tough as it always has and therefore will likely Allow Apple to roll through the Streets of Paris with the Apple DRM locked up tight under Apple control.

France has signaled that it will allow the Dadvsi law to go through with a watered down version. France will require iTunes and any other service like it to open up its DRM to rivals, unless they don’t feel like it. If they (Apple) doesn’t feel like it, they will need to provide to France a ‘permission’ slip from the contents right holder.

This might appear and probably will be a victory for Apple given France’s track record, however, Apple won’t be completely out of the woods until both houses of the French parliament approve the surrendered version of the Dadvsi law.

In addition, Norway, Sweden and Denmark (with at least one of those countries having a reputation for being stout) is also threatening to force Apple to succumb to sharing its iTunes format with competitors.

Apple will probably not be satisfied with the French appeasement tactics. Even the new Dadvsi law will require Apple to go back to rights holders and negotiate for the permission to not share their format in France. This will of course cost Apple money, and may also open the door for renegotiations in areas that Apple would prefer to leave alone, especially given their full court press to sew up the rights for digital video content in the form of Movies and TV shows.

France rolls over on iTunes DRM-busting law - Law & Policy - Breaking Business and Technology News at silicon.com

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