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The Problem With Police Scanners

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In unfamiliar hands, a familiar breaking news tool can wreak havoc.

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For the past 12 hours, much of Twitter’s information torrent surrounding the Boston manhunt has been powered by a familiar source. The only problem is, it's in unfamiliar hands.

For local beat reporters, police scanners are one of the oldest and most reliable tools of the trade, serving as both an early alert system and a virtual ride-along. Now, thanks to a host of easily accessible livestreaming scanner sites and mobile apps, access to this stream of information is everywhere, turning anyone with an internet connection and a Twitter account into their own central dispatch and inundating social streams with false and potentially dangerous information.

It's a disturbing trend that seems to be a new reality in the online age of breaking news. Numerous false reports from police scanners surfaced and were refuted during Hurricane Sandy, and Monday's bombing brought about a rash of disturbing and unconfirmed scanner reports in the marathon's chaotic aftermath. Scanners are a patchwork of unconfirmed information, being relayed by on-the-ground sources using, more often than not, an abundance of caution and broadcasting information without verification.

False scanner reports like this one from Monday’s bombing were all over Twitter:

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New Glasses Thwart Facial Recognition Scanners, Marking Trend In Privacy Wearables

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Author: Jamie Colby

In an unexpected twist against the rising tide of image-capturing modern technologies, an engineer has created glasses that thwart facial acknowledgment scanners. Tokyo’s National Institute of Informatics Teacher Isao Echizen ’ s “ Privacy Visor ” emits an infrared light source that supposedly puzzles facial acknowledgment software. Last week, an additional designer revealed a stealth hoodie that shuts out the thermal radiation scanners used by spy drones, marking exactly what can be a trend in personal privacy wearables.

“ Essential measures for avoiding the invasion of privacy triggered by photos absorbed secret and unintentional capture in camera images is now needed, ” said Professor Echizen, whose clunky-looking prototype still needs an individual wallet power source to operate. Previously, users can cake on hefty make-up or turn their head 15 degrees to puzzle scanners, but, according to Slate, the teacher found that Google ’ s Picasa envision management software might still recognize him – prompting him to prepare a more sophisticated disguise.

Last week, designer Adam Harvey introduced a line of “ Stealth Use ” for what he jokingly described as the “ fashionably paranoid market. ” Harvey ’ s concept line consists of an “ anti-drone ” hoodie with metalized material and unique cell phone pouch to shut out cellular phone tracking.

Harvey was an early pioneer in the room, making headlines for an anti-paparazzi handbag that immediately gives off a photo-obscuring burst of light in response to camera bulbs.

The government, however, isn ’ t waiting for the private sector to discover a fashion-friendly solution to personal privacy concerns. Facebook ’ s recurring efforts into automatic photo-tagging software and retail mannequins that scan buyers have prompted aggressive advances from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to regulate the brand-new modern technologies.

Obviously, similar to any philosophical motion, there ’ s a minimum of an equal and contrary reaction. Last autumn, British maker OMG Picture (yes, that ’ s their actual name) revealed Autographer, a high-resolution wearable camera that automatically logs up to 2,000 images a day.

With any luck, paranoid individuals and lifebloggers will spark a privacy/life-capturing arms race of ever-clunkier wearables. Because, truthfully, we wear ’ t have enough to consider currently.

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Canon outs redesigned arsenal of printers and scanners for its PIXMA and CanoScan lines

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Author: Brandon Zimmerman

Thinking about pulling the trigger on a new printer or scanner in the near future? You may want to sit tight for a bit. Canon has outed its newest grouping of the aforementioned peripherals with retooled frames and a smattering of other improvements. For those looking for an all-in-one solution, the PIXMA MG6320 and MG5420 carry the multi-function moniker and a snap-edge design that makes getting to those precious ink cartridges a breeze. The new exterior also relocates the paper handling to allow the unit to rest flush against a wall or the back of a shelf. What’s the difference, you ask? Well, the MG6320 (pictured above) wields a 3.5-inch touch-screen LCD while the MG5420 houses a regular ol’ 3-inch LCD. However, both feature a truckload wireless printing capabilities from both computers and mobile devices. No word on a ship date, but the pair will be priced at $ 200 and $ 150 when they make their debut in stores.

If a single-function unit is more your style, the PIXMA iP7220 might just do the trick. The wireless printer touts a Quiet Mode for less noisy operation and ramps up the output speeds to 15 images per minute (ipm) in black and white and ten in color. Details are scarce on an arrival here as well, but the peripheral will set you back $ 100 when it hits. Last but certainly not least, the CanoScan 9000F Mark II photo scanner is poised to handle that hefty cataloging project whether it consists of 35mm film, slides or other visual artifacts. The 9000F boasts a max DPI of 9,600 x 9,600 for film and 4,800 x 4,800 for other types of media alongside Auto Document Fix that insures scans are top-notch. Again, an exact sale date remains elusive, but the archival aid will ship for $ 200. All of the particulars on each of the four models awaits in the full PR just past the break.

Gallery: Canon PIXMA MG6320, PIXMA MG5420, PIXMA iP7220 and CanoScan 9000F Mark II

Continue reading Canon outs redesigned arsenal of printers and scanners for its PIXMA and CanoScan lines

Filed under: Peripherals, Canon

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Off-the-shelf brainwave scanners can extract your private information

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Author:

Brain Bats

Making use of a gamut of specialized tests, scientists at Berkley, Oxford, and the University of Geneva have established a method to extract information from your mind utilizing an off-the-shelf brainwave browsing device. The researchers placed an Emotive EPOC scanner on 28 examination topics’ heads, then measured their subconscious responses to stimuli. When the topics were shown nine random maps plus one map featuring their residence address, measurements of the subconscious signals in the subjects’ brain task exposed the area of their home with 60 percent precision.

The researchers theorize that their method could possibly also methodically extract where a person banks, their PIN number, and additional private knowledge. Nevertheless, there is little opportunity that customer …

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Vodafone to use palm scanners to protect charging phones during UK music festivals

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Author: Ian Simpson

vodafone palm scanner

Starting this summer, Vodafone will be adding hand scanners to its VIP Recharge Truck, a phone-charging station for UK festival-goers. Capable of housing 2,000 phones, the truck will utilize palm vein readers to properly identify a device’s owner, a technology that we’ve also seen with laptops and ATMs in Japan. Previously, the Recharge Truck and its staff used photos and wristbands to match a phone to its master, but dealing with lost wristbands and unidentifiable individuals created an inconsistent experience. With the palm vein readers, a music fan can have their hand scanned when they drop their phone off with the Recharge Truck staff, and then rescanned at the time of retrieval to verify ownership. The reader works by tracking and…

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Drexel University turns to 3D scanners, printers to build robotic dinosaurs

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Author: Katie Scott

3D printers, 3D scanners and robotics are usually more than enough on their own to get us interested in something, but a team of researchers at Drexel University have played one other big trump card with their latest project — they’ve thrown dinosaurs into the mix. As you can probably surmise, that project involves using a 3D scanner to create models of dinosaur bones, which are then reproduced (at a somewhat smaller scale) using a 3D printer. The researchers then hope to use those to build working robotic models that they’ll use to study how dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals may have moved and lived in their environments. That work will start with a dinosaur limb that they expect to have completed by the end of the year, after which they say it will take a year or two to build a complete robotic dinosaur replica.

Drexel University turns to 3D scanners, printers to build robotic dinosaurs originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Body Scanners That Donâ€™t Keep Pictures Apparently Keep Pictures

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Author: Jenny Zhao

The crusading Joel Johnson of Gizmodo has published a set of images taken from a millimeter scanning system at a Florida Federal courthouse. These images were not supposed to exist yet they do and, while the resolution of these is sub par, if these machines retain their images then we can only assume that TSA machines also keep and store these images.

At the heart of the controversy over “body scanners” is a promise: The images of our naked bodies will never be public. U.S. Marshals in a Florida Federal courthouse saved 35,000 images on their scanner. These are those images.

A Gizmodo investigation has revealed 100 of the photographs saved by the Gen 2 millimeter wave scanner from Brijot Imaging Systems, Inc., obtained by a FOIA request after it was recently revealed that U.S. Marshals operating the machine in the Orlando, Florida courthouse had improperly-perhaps illegally-saved images of the scans of public servants and private citizens.

Sadly, I don’t think the TSA is lying when it comes to the retention of these photos. Instead, it’s clear that they are incompetently trusting the word of manufacturers whose balance sheet for the next decade or so will be padded by the installation and maintenance of these machines. The blobs you see in these images are most certainly much more distinct when using newer technologies and, barring a sudden rise of free love in America, I don’t think anyone wants anyone else seeing their junk while trying to make a Jet Blue flight.

CrunchGear

Those Full-Body Scanners We Were Told Wouldnâ€™t Save Images? Yeah, Theyâ€™re Saving Images. Shock.

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Author: Stefanie Jenkins

Who saw this coming? Oh, right: most everyone. Gotcha. The Federal Government has admitted to storing those full-body scan images that had privacy advocates so worked up over the past few months. This, despite the fact that it said it wouldnâ€™t store the images. Say one thing, do another. Yay.

Even more annoying is the fact that these full-body scanning machines were sold to us as not even being able to store images at all! As if there was no memory for the pictures to go after they had been taken.

Clearly we have been misled.

The U.S. Marshal Service admitted to storing tens of thousands of images without the permission of passengers. They didnâ€™t even notify the passengers! Youâ€™d at least like to see something like, â€œLike it or not, but weâ€™re keeping these photos. You donâ€™t like it then donâ€™t board the airplane.â€

The Transportation Security Administration now says those body scanners must be able to store images for â€œtesting, training, and evaluation purposes.â€

Mm.

Does this all ring a bell? The full-body scanners, weâ€™ve been told, are a safe, secure way to check out whether or not someone is trying to carry contraband on-board an airplane. (Well, itâ€™s quick than a traditional pat-down.) We were told that the scanning process would be split into two: the person hitting the â€œscanâ€ button, and the person in a separate room actually analyzing the photo. That way the person doing the analyzing doesnâ€™t actually know what the person in the photo looks like.

Remember: for your protection.

I didnâ€™t mind the scanners in the beginning, but Iâ€™m not a fan of being misled to.

Oh well.

Props to CrunchGear

Canon adds fingerprint scanners to Photocopiers

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Author: Markus Smith

Guys like me are lucky. We get to work from home and bring you all of the latest gadget news. But there are some things that you miss about the office. Like abusing photocopiers. Whether just scanning some copies of your butt, or full on getting mad and giving it a good kick when it misbehaves, abusing these machines may be a thing of the past thanks to Canon.

In Japan, Canon has teamed up with Hitachi on a new fingerprint scanning system for their multi-function boxes which photocopy, print, scan and fax, so only those allowed to use the machine can use it. We also figure it will link butt-scans to the fingerprints they belong too.

They go on sale in Japan this week for about $1,460.

[Akihabara]