This is the place to discuss the wireless report by Critical Friends of Technology.

Hi,
I just briefly glanced at the report and appreciated what seemed a balanced approach. I was a little diappointed not to find much about the social changes brought on by wireless technology. Much more difficult to measure, but also a "health" aspect of this technology is how it transforms time spent with friends, task management, and experience of physical surroundings.

Any reactions/links for these issues would be appreciated.

Michael.

PS: To put this in context, I am a researcher from MIT doing work now in Venice, Italy modelling mobile technology for tourists. One of the big issues we have confronted is how to design such devices so that they are useful at certain moments, but don't cancel out such joyful experiences as asking locals for directions/suggestions, general wandering, and experiencing the mystery of the place.

Michael, Thanks for your comments. I realize we did not cover
everything, and perhaps that calls for an iterative document that will grow and change as things develop. Since we stopped work on it (never finish) there has been growing interest in geo-spatial wireless and geocoding. Maybe that's what you are doing. If so, take a look at http://starhill.us. They are hoping to have a conference on
geo-spatial systems later this year. Your input might be useful.
Here's a place that needs geo-coding: Palazzio Zenobia in Venice. See if you can find out about it. I wrote about it after staying there, and I still get letters from travelers wanting to know more.

Best,

On Friday, August 1, 2003, at 06:22 AM, QT - Michael Epstein wrote:
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Steve Cisler
4415 Tilbury Drive
San Jose, California 95130
http: //home.inreach.com/cisler home page
http://glocal.crimsonblog.com web log on ICT
Tel. 1-408-379-9076
cisler@pobox.com
< replied-to message removed by QT >

Hi, I've only given this a quick once over. I liked it for the most part -- I think you've collectively brought some important issues to the fore. I would have liked to see some idea of perspective from within developing contexts, but I assume that would be difficult given how you describe yourselves as being from the Bay Area.

On the environmental issues, I think it important to go "full circle" with the toxic chemicals and metals used in the production of cell phones & also address the fact that some of the metals are mined in slave-like conditions in Africa. Like War Diamonds, I believe the profits are also used to fuel wars. The New York Times Magazine did an expose of this issue in 2001. You should dig that up... it is all part of the ecology of the cell phone & one which is particularly hidden.

Also, on recycling technology, I think more could have been said about what happens (or doesn't) to used computers and cell phones now -- exportation to developing countries where they are stripped down for the metals in them. The rest ends up in the garbage -- land fill. Check out the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition for more on this.

Thanks for making such an important "dent" on these issues! I've also put it up on my blog: http://edublog.kmdi.utoronto.ca/ZeroCostComputing/

Julia

Great comment Julia. I plan to use this article in my course this winter, as it opens up the discussion, and is valid for framing future inquiry. I don't expect first monday pieces to be compendious or definitive, but rather to open up the discussion. I certainly hope that there is some discussion around this topic, though it might not be as sexy as some of the others.

What sort of course, Jason? That's great that you think it helps start a discussion. As to the toxic issues: I live in Silicon Valley and just as the bubble was bursting I gave a talk in Amsterdam at the Tulipomania conference (which forecast the end of the Internet bubble) and it was a personal tour of the dark side of Silicon Valley. I talked about the superfund sites and the groups here working on it.
I realize we could have put more in about things like Coltan
(columbite-tantalite) which is mined in the Congo and is used in cell phones, game machines. Clean industries are never all that clean. Steve
On Wednesday, August 13, 2003, at 04:48 AM, QT - Jason wrote:

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Steve
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What course? Well, perhaps two of them. I teach knowledge media design at the University of Toronto (http://kmdi.toronto.edu/courses2003-2004.htm). And I'm trying to shift the discourse to include a wider conceptualization of how technology impacts us globally, as well as to instill in students a more critical assessment of technology innovations. But in a previous life I taught environmental studies... so this is just an obvious direction for me to follow.

Edited by author 12-22-2005 11:50 PM
There are a number of researchers who are flagging warnings about the adverse bio-effects of low non-thermal non-ionizing radiation. I was in quite a bit of disbelief therefore to read the FCC/FDA and WHO sites that suggested there were no harmful effects and focus only on the thermal effects.

I have read about:
- 3 studies showing RF-induced DNA breaks(Lai/Singh, Spanish study, and EU-sponsored REFLEX project)
- Studies finding children may be at greater risk (Spanish study/Hyland, Sweden's Lund University Hospital).
- Researchers across many countries reporting adverse health effects (Australia-Dr. Bruce Hocking, Italy-Fiorenzo Marinelli, Finland-Darius Leszczynski, Spain-Gerald Hyland, Germany U.Essen, Hungary U. Szeged, New Zealand-Neil Cherry, US U.Washington-Henry Lai)
- Reports of health effects at extremely low dosages from cell towers (http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/masts.asp) (which although they may be lower than cell phones, radiate 24x7 and possibly at higher bandwidths)
- There are some postulating that rf would partially explain the recent rise of cancers and neurological disorders like Alzheimers, Parkinson's, cancers.

There are a number of people who have reported manipulation by the industry which helps comfort the public:
http://www.cancercoverup.com/newsletter/pr...l_phones_threat.asp
http://www.cnet.com/4520-6033_1-5741203-1.html

I would also recommend the following sources:
Levitt, Blake (2 books related to this topic, one that also covers power line EMFs in addition to RF and also notes impacts of RF on ecology such as bird navigation, the other (Cell Towers book) has a chapter (ch.3) by Henry Lai on how low strength fields can have impacts over long durations of exposure)
Other web sites of interest:
http://www.powerwatch.org.uk/masts.asp
http://www.microwavenews.com
http://www.iegmp.org.uk
http://www.latitudes.org
http://www.energyfields.org
http://pages.britishlibrary.net/orange/
http://www.emrnetwork.org/news/news.htm