[extropy-chat] Hype or tripe?

[Bret Kulakovich]

Both?

This is the nth time I've heard this type of story, about the human  
body conducting digital info. I had even heard Microsoft tried to  
patent it.

IBM developed the "personal area network" so long ago I can't even  
remember. It was the same thing. Handshakes between individuals  
passed business card info, etc. etc. Up through borderline 'toothing'  
applications.


]3



On Jul 16, 2005, at 1:10 AM, Damien Broderick wrote:

> http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,15933078,00.html
>
> Let your body do the downloading
> Leo Lewis
> 15jul05
>
> IF you spend hours downloading songs to your iPod, the days of  
> fiddling around with wires are coming to an end.
>
> A Japanese company has discovered that the best cables may be your  
> arms and legs.
>
> According to NTT Laboratories, your whole body is the perfect  
> conductor for electronic data, meaning that information such as  
> music and films could be downloaded in seconds via your elbow.
>
> NTT, and the team of scientists that invented the "Red Tacton"  
> system, envisage a future in which the human body acts as a non- 
> stop conduit for information.
>
> Wireless networks and devices, often hampered by intermittent  
> service, will eventually be replaced, NTT says, by "human area  
> networks".
>
> The developers are convinced the new technology will be "highly  
> disruptive" - undermining existing wireless industries.
>
> Field tests are under way, and the first commercial appearance of  
> Red Tacton is expected next year.
>
> The Red Tacton chips will be embedded in machines and contain a  
> transmitter and receiver built to send and accept data stored in a  
> digital format.
>
> The chip then takes any type of file, such as an MP3 music file or  
> email, and converts it into a format that takes the form of digital  
> pulses that can be passed and read through a human being's electric  
> field. The chip in the receiving device reads these tiny changes  
> and converts the file back into its original form.
>
> With Red Tacton sensors miniaturised and built into every type of  
> device and product, the list of potential uses is endless, said  
> Hideki Sakamoto of NTT.
>
> By simply touching an advertising poster, for example, product  
> information and an order form could be sent to your laptop.
>
> Shake hands with a new contact, and every detail that would  
> normally appear on a business card will leap across your arms and  
> download itself to your mobile phone.
>
> Because the data transfer between Red Tacton machines involves no  
> dial-up or logging-in, the transfer of information is virtually  
> instantaneous.
>
> The Times
>
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