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There is a new drive available in the Micro product range, suitable for both brushless motors from the BL 24V range and DC permanent magnet motors from the EC 24V range.
This drive is extremely versatile and can be used in all applications where a dynamic reaction is required making it ideal for industrial applications.
Other than being able to control DC motors and DC brushless motors, it can drive with open loop, encoder or Hall sensors feedback or with tachometer feedback close loop. All requirements in the automation industry can be fulfilled with this drive.
Model 65 can be used with the following motors :
– Size 2 rated current/peak 2/4 amp for brushless motor BL005 and DC motors EC020
– Size 7 rated current/ peak 7/14 amp for brushless motors BL012-018, BL032-043 and DC motors EC035,EC050 and EC070
– Size 10 rated current/peak 10/20 amp for DC motors EC100, EC180
DC motors from the EC range, together with the encoder SE22 or brushless motors from the BL range can be used for automatic doors, using a high performance 4Q drive.

Since its foundation in 1984, ALMATEC Maschinenbau GmbH has kept on defining the current state of the art of air operated diaphragm pumps via decent product characteristics.
At the Achema 2009 ALMATEC has introduced the new E-Series as succeeding series to the A-Series.

The development of the E-Series is based on the extensive experiences with the proven pumps models and offers a large variety of new, market-relevant advantages:

further increases pump security due to innovative ring-tightening structure
increase capacity
decreased air consumption
reduced noise level
optimised flow pattern
pulsation damper suitable for flange connection
As common, the housing parts are tightened to each other via housing bolts. However, instead of single bolts pressing punctually against the housing, all housing bolts are now tightened against a diaphragm-sized ring per side. This structure results in more evenly spreading the housing bolt force and in an increased permissible bolt torque – in the end an increased pump safety which is assisted by further improvements of construction details. The flow resistance is reduced via an optimized flow pattern to increase the efficiency factor of the pump. Compared to the A-Series, the same air flow achieves a higher fluid flow, respectively less air flow is required fro the same fluid flow. The pulsation damper can still be used an integrated model on top of the pump. However, an additional version with flange connection is available now.

Seitron, a company that manufactures and sells electronic equipment for regulation, measurement and control, has expanded its range of Chemist portable combustion analyzers. The new 4-cell Chemist 400 will be on the market starting next spring, delivered with a certificate of calibration and with a second certificate made available one year after purchase, in accordance with standard UNI 10389-1.
Like the three existing models, the new version is designed to assist in fine-tuning boiler performance and carrying out maintenance: determining the efficiency of condensing boilers (UNI 10389-1), testing the tightness of gas pipes on new (UNI 7129) and existing (UNI 11127) installations, measuring carbon monoxide (CO) and measuring the stack draught on open-flue boilers. In addition to these functions, Chemist 400 can also be used to detect and measure two gases produced by combustion: sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
SO2 and NO2 can cause heavy air pollution, as well as acting as irritants to the human metabolism. Highly sensitive to environmental issues, Seitron directs the efforts and expertise of its Research and Development Division to creating appliances that can help solve the problems connected with the application of industrial equipment. Furthermore, the company is keen on ensuring customer satisfaction, providing timely and efficient support on every aspect of its products. Examples of this approach are: test tickets printed on plain paper using permanent ink ribbons, up to 4 years extended warranties on instruments and cells, competitive prices applied on all replacement parts, full-service maintenance contracts and after-sales service on all models, so that customers who have purchased Chemist analyzers since 2004 can get the latest software free of charge.
Careful design, product safety and ease of use are the main reasons why Seitron customer loyalty rates are close to 100%, which contributes to consolidate its position in the field of portable combustion analyzers in Italy and abroad.

Sluices installed on rivers rely on a gate operating system of cylinders, valves and pumps that calls for components to provide reliability in wet environments. Transducers to monitor position are typically fitted to hydraulic cylinders used to actuate the sluice gate and therefore need to be suitable for submersed operation.

Linear Variable Differential Transducers (LVDTs) sealed to IP67 and signal cabling are additionally protected against mechanical damage, resulting in a robust device capable of accurate, reliable measurement of displacement that enjoys a long service life. The choice of 4~20mA signal output permits the use of long cable runs to a dry location for the associated signal processing and data logging equipment. An alternative approach is to use transducers operating using magnetostrictive principles.

Further information and guidance on LVDTs and magnetostrictive transducers suitable for monitoring sluice position can be obtained from the RDP engineering support team on 01902 457512, or online at http://www.rdpe.com/uk/men-disp.htm.’.

– ENDS –

The wireless approach

Weighing and feeding can be a very elaborate, time-consuming and costly process. Configuration, monitoring and maintenance work are significant factors depending on the raw materials to be processed and the system properties. In some cases, scale controls used in tough environments incur high maintenance and repair costs.

Ten years ago Schenck Process took its first major step towards improving cost/benefit ratios with specially designed mechatronic weighfeeders. These feature mechanics and electronics in a shared sturdy unit which makes them particularly robust, durable, easy to maintain and highly interoperable as various interfaces allow them to be linked to virtually any automation system.

When coupled with the innovative EasyServe service program, the result is an unbeatable system that can now also be configured wirelessly from a distance.

EasyServe. The name says it all
The EasyServe service program can be used to conveniently install, configure and monitor the weighfeeders using a laptop. And thanks to new Bluetooth wireless modules, this process went wireless two years ago.

A process requiring no cables offers much more than simply high convenience. When weighfeeders are difficult to access, Bluetooth provides impressive selling points as these are now free for wireless communication and the full range of opportunities that offers.

The operator can also work at a clean and really comfortable workplace at a safe distance from all the action, which conserves the operating unit and is better for maintenance staff at the service site. Other selling points include the fact that cumbersome cables are no longer needed and can be consigned to history.

But let’s stick to the present where wireless methods can be used over considerable distances, saving both time and money. Depending on the variant used, weighfeeders can be wirelessly configured from distances of 30 or 100 metres.

Existing scales and feeders, fitted with DISOCONT®, INTECONT® PLUS or DISOMAT®, can also be equipped for modern networks. Both Ethernet and WLAN can be used for communication and data processing with the customer’s network.

Great communication services included
The breadth of services offered by the new wireless module is also impressive. Its main job is optimum configuration via EasyServe for commissioning and ongoing service work, including parameterisation, monitoring and maintenance. Settings for trends such as feed rate and weight in the weighfeeders’ time line can also be easily recorded and graphically depicted within the service program.

Perfectly equipped for every scenario
EasyServe can be used for DISOCONT®, INTECONT® PLUS, INTECONT® Satus and INTECONT® Opus.

DISOPLAN is the service tool for DISOMAT® Tersus, DISOMAT® Satus, DISOMAT® Opus and DISOBOX®.
When using several DISOCONT® feeding electronics in one system, Bluetooth wireless technology can take the place of the service bus.

Depending on specific requirements, Schenck Process offers two different module range classes: Bluetooth class 1 for up to 100 metres and Bluetooth class 2 for up to 30 metres. A two metre connection cable allows the transmission path to be aligned perfectly.

As they are simply attached using two external clips, it’s just as easy to affix the two modules as it is to operate them. Smooth data operation is indicated on the integrated LEDs and both modules offer IP65 protection.

Want to know more? No problem. Just give us a ring and speak in person to one of our specialists working on innovative scale solutions with EasyServe, the new wireless service program.

The Motion Index Drives XP series of Parallel Index Drives is ideal for extremely high speed applications, indexing a conveyor or controlling pivot arms. Most XP series Parallel Index Drives have aluminum housings that can be treated to suit any automated environment .

Technical benefits for end users:
-Available in multiple different cam designs
-High precision in dwell backlash free out put flange
-Capable of over 1,000 cycles per minute
-Induction hardened allowing smaller Parallel Index Drives to have higher load capabilities
-Cam followers, Cam and bearings fully immersed in oil bath
-Completely maintenance free

Advantages for designers and machine builders:
-Available with dual input and output shafts
-Oscillation index operation capabilities are standard with every model
-Simultaneously rotating input shaft extension allowing synchronization of other mechanical devices
-Larger models have hollow shaft option
-Housing machined on all sides for use in any mounting position

While we’ve reported Mozilla’s Fennec browser being leaked and compiled in the past, the company has just released a “pre-alpha” version of the browser to the public. Those who wish to grab the .apk and start browsing can do so by visiting this text link from your phone. The release comes via the blog of Vladimir Vukicevic, an “Infrastructuralist” at Mozilla whose blog has a fair amount of posts about Firefox’ little cousin.

Support includes installing extensions, which I find very cool. Warnings abound: it’s extremely buggy at the moment, but right now I’d take something from the developer over some fan-compiled projects.

This build should be considered “pre-alpha”, so there are some warnings and caveats:

• We’ve only really tested this on the Motorola Droid and the Nexus One.
• It will likely not eat your phone, but bugs might cause your phone to stop responding, requiring a reboot.
• Memory usage of this build isn’t great — in many ways it’s a debug build, and we haven’t really done a lot of optimization yet.  This could cause some problems with large pages, especially on low memory devices like the Droid.
• You’ll see the app exit and relaunch on first start, as well as on add-on installs; this is a quirk of our install process, and we’re working to get rid of it.
• You can’t open links from other apps using Fennec; we should have this for the next build.
• This build requires Android 2.0 or above, and likely an OpenGL ES 2.0 capable device

Vladimir Vukićević

Related Posts

• Fennec gets compiled for the Motorola Milestone
• Firefox Mobile drops support for Windows phone, makes Android focus for 2010
• Mozilla shows rapid progress on Firefox Mobile for Android
• Sneak peek of Firefox on the Nexus One
• Firefox on Android renders its first web page, no plans for iPhone

Here is a look at the titles people are playing on Xbox LIVE.

Xbox 360 Top LIVE Titles (based on UU’s)

1    Modern Warfare 2
2    Halo 3
3    Battlefield Bad Co. 2

4    FIFA 10
5    Call of Duty: WaW
6    Splinter Cell Conviction
7    Skate 3 Demo
8    Gears of War 2
9    Call of Duty 4
10    GTA IV (Purchase the full game for direct download) 
11    Left 4 Dead 2
12    Forza Motorsport 3 (Download the demo)
13    Blur – Multiplayer Beta Demo (Pre-order the game)
14    NBA 2K10

15    NHL 10
16    Borderlands
17    Madden NFL 10 (Download the demo)
18    Halo 3: ODST
19    Splinter Cell Conviction Demo

20    Game Room **

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions purchased)
1    AFTER BURNER CLIMAX
2    Game Room **
3    Final Fight: Double Impact
4    Trials HD
5    Toy Soldiers
6    Perfect Dark
7    Castle Crashers
8    UNO
9    Battlefield 1943
10    Marvel vs. Capcom 2
11    MEGA MAN 10
12    Magic: The Gathering
13    Worms 2: Armageddon
14    Hasbro Family Game Night *

15    Worms
16    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade
17    SOUTH PARK LET'S GO TOWER DEFENSE PLAY!

18    Puzzle Chronicles
19    Shadow Complex
20    Marble Blast Ultra

The above arcade list is based on full versions purchased.

**Combined sales of all Game Room  titles

*Combined sales of all Hasbro Family Game Night titles

Top Indie Games (Full Versions purchased)

1    Baby Maker Extreme
2    I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1  
3    Yet Another Zombie Defense 
4    Avatar Showdown
5    The Impossible Game
6    The Impossible Avatar Getaway
7    Breath of Death VII
8    Avatars, Ghosts'n Zombies
9    Home Run Challenge
10    Miner Dig Deep
11    Super Avatar
12    Avatar Drop
13    Let's Learn Japanese: Beginner
14    Beat Hazard
15    Shoot 1UP
16    Abduction Action!
17    Inside Lacrosse's CL2010 
18    NLL Lacrosse 2010
19    Massage Me
20    Avatar Bumper Cars  

These lists are based on global unique users connected to Xbox Live or in the case of Arcade and Indie Games, full versions purchased during the week.

Some content (and therefore the links) may not be available in all Xbox LIVE regions.

German camera specialist Leica has announced its first compact superzoom in the form of the 12.1 megapixel V-Lux 20. The new addition to the Leica family not only benefits from 12x optical zoom and 720p HD video capabilities but also features built-in GPS tagging for recording the exact geographical location of each snap taken…
Continue Reading Leica V-Lux 20 superzoom compact with GPS tagging

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GPS,
Leica,
SDXC,
Superzoom

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Luke Timmerman wrote:

Qliance Medical Management isn’t the richest startup in Seattle, but it may have the most star power behind it. The company, which deals directly with patients and doesn’t accept health insurance for primary care medical services, has nailed down another $6 million in venture capital from a group led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and which included Dell Computer pioneer Michael Dell and actor Drew Carey.

Besides those three famous names, Qliance attracted more cash from its existing investors Second Avenue Partners, New Atlantic Ventures, and Clear Fir Partners. The company got started in 2006 with a $3.5 million venture round, followed by another $4 million last July, bringing the company’s total to $13.5 million since inception. Rich Barton, the founder of Expedia and co-founder of Zillow, is another one of the big names that have put money to work at Qliance.

The big idea at the company, which we first profiled in December 2008, is a simple and disruptive one to the current U.S. healthcare system. Qliance runs what it calls a “direct practice” in downtown Seattle, which doesn’t accept any health insurance and deals directly with patients. The patient hands over a credit card, and agrees to pay a $44 to $84 monthly membership fee to Qliance for unrestricted access to its primary care medical services. The model allows Qliance to avoid spending its time doing things to get insurers to pay for primary care, which frees up the doctors to spend more time with individual patients.

Routine primary care—things like women’s health exams, flu shots, X-rays—make up almost 90 percent of the medical issues that prompt people to see a doctor, Qliance says. Going through an insurer to get these routine things done is sort of like asking your car insurance provider to reimburse you for an oil change; insurance is really needed when you’ve been in a serious accident, Qliance CEO Norm Wu said last month at an Xconomy event. Once people use “direct primary care” that avoids insurance, Qliance says consumers can get a catastrophic health insurance policy to cover them in case of a serious accident, or a cancer diagnosis, that is beyond the scope of what a primary care doc can treat.

By combining the monthly fee of primary care with the secondary insurance, Qliance contends employers and patients can save as much as 50 percent on their overall health spending, and improve overall health by making it easier for people to see a primary care doc who can help them focus on prevention and wellness.

“It’s not often you come across a business model that is truly transformational and disruptive in a sector ripe for reform, but that’s how we view Qliance in health care,” said Melinda Lewison of Bezos Expeditions, in a company statement. “We see significant long-term opportunity in Qliance as it’s easily scalable to other communities and health care reform has added wind to its back with the ability to compete in the insurance exchanges.”

The Amazon connection is a pretty clear one. Nick Hanauer of Second Avenue Partners, an early and enthusiastic backer of Qliance, was one of the early investors in Amazon.

Encouraging as the financing is, Qliance has had to clear a number of legal hurdles …Next Page »

UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS

Filed under: Advice, Health, Fitness, Fit Family Guy

Have you ever seen a brutal hit in a football game and wondered how the recipient of such violence just bounced back to his feet? He’s got a strong core and it protected his upper body from going one way while some linebacker was making his lower … Read more

 

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I know beloved Chief Daryl Gates was buried Tuesday but the funeral was over at 11 a.m. and the Council convened half an hour later and just before 1 p.m. voted to allow the con job DWP rate increase to become permanent on a 9-5 vote.

Sellouts Alarcon, Cardenas, Hahn, Wesson and Garcetti as expected provided the five votes to reject taking jurisdiction of the sleight of hand they pulled off to turn a one-quarter increase of nearly 5 percent in power rates into a permanent rate increase.

The mayor’s boys don’t feel no need to listen to the public because they think they are so secure but Cardenas and Wesson will be facing organized challenges for re-election next March from the Clean Sweep Campaign (lacleansweep.com) and Hahn suffers delusions of grandeur that ignoring the public  in exchange for union money will carry her into the office of lieutenant governor — a heartbeat away from becoming governor of the formerly great State of California.

The criticial 10th vote was missing in action, Bernard Parks, the former police chief who had every reason to pay full respect to Gates’ controversial service to the city.

Yet, less than half an hour after he chose not to support his ally Jan Perry and fulfill his commitments, Parks appeared at the City Council Chamber to run the first Budget and Finance Committee hearing on the mayor’s new fictitious budget plan.

Parks was assuming his favored role as the public’s guardian on the city’s finances — a role he has done so well we are faced with seeing our libraries and parks closing, our building code enforcement and community planning abolished, our Neighborhood Council system decimated and our DWP rates rising in what is just the first step in a massive escalation.

Parks — the half-million dollar a year man with his pension and salary and lucrative perks and benefits — was a no-show when it counted.

He must be preoccupied with his war against senior lead officers and the three-day work week for cops and thus forgot that he could have pressured the DWP to deliver the $73.5 million it promised to the general fund and given ratepayers a fair shot and forcing the utility to come clean about all the hundreds of plans and costs it has done such a good job of hiding for so long.

It would be charitable to let him off the hook as nothing but a lapse in memory. But that isn’t the truth. It was a rigged vote and Parks made it happen intentionally.

The Council has a long tradition of fixing the vote on controversial issues so that they appear to be close and gee whiz the public lost again.

That’s what happened a week ago when Zine and Krekorian rolled over and let them get away with making the DWP rate hike permanent without anyone except maybe the Machiavellian Garcetti really knowing what they were doing.

So with five “no” votes secure and Parks taking a dive, everyone else on the Council was free to pander to the anger and resentment of their constituents without disrupting the flow of money to a secretive and demonstrably incompetent agency that represents the city’s most valuable asset.

For all his talk about fiscal responsibility, for all his knowledge of penny-ante fine points of the city budget, Parks has allowed the city to paper over its overspending, make promises to workers and the public it cannot keep and pushed the city to brink of bankruptcy as much as anybody.

For a cop, always being there when duty calls is what makes them better than the rest of us. The greatest failing of Gates was that he was off partying when the Rodney King riots erupted and got out of hand.

For Parks, it was that he wasn’t there when we needed the Council to stand up to the DWP on behalf of the four million people of this city. He can posture and nitpick all he wants from now on, but he was the missing man when it counted.

The pick of the world’s most fuel efficient vehicles are lining-up at the Michigan International Speedway this week for stage one of the $10 million Automotive X PRIZE. Thirty-six entrants are are taking part in the initial “Shakedown Stage” (April 26-May 7), where they will undergo official safety checks before hitting the track for final testing and an opportunity to iron-out any last minute bugs…
Continue Reading On-track testing underway for Automotive X-Prize

Tags: Aptera,
Automotive X-Prize,
Tata,
X-Prize,
ZAP

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Filed under: Advice, Fitness, Ask a Fitness Expert

Dear Sarah,

I am training for a race that involves a 20-mile run followed by a 30-mile bike ride. I’m petite and have always had little body fat – but since I started running and taking the occasional spinning class my legs and bottom appear to be … Read more

 

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Filed under: Etc., Motorcycle

If you thought you’d previously seen it all, well, you’re wrong. Case in point: David Morales Colón, a 22-year-old Puerto Rican man who was shot to death last Thursday, and whose wake is now making headlines here in the United States. How come? Well, suffice it to say that the funeral directors at Marin Funeral Home in San Juan’s Hato Rey neighborhood have a flair for the unorthodox. For example, in 2008, they embalmed another young shooting victim and displayed his body standing up for the duration of a multi-day wake.

Back to the present: Yesterday and today, callers who stopped to pay their final respects to the late Mr. Colón got a bit of a surprise. Instead of the traditional presentation of the body in a casket, Mr. Colón’s corpse, dressed in casual duds and sunglasses, was instead posed in a very lifelike position atop his limited-edition, Repsol-liveried Honda CBR600 F4. According to Puerto Rico’s Primera Hora newspaper, the motorcycle was given to the victim by his uncle, and upon Mr. Colón’s untimely demise, family members delivered the bike to the funeral home specifically for this unusual wake.

Lest you think this is some sort of insane hoax, here’s the link to the local Primera Hora coverage, which features a multi-shot photo gallery, and here’s the less detailed AP wire version, which is presently making the rounds Stateside. Finally, we’ve got a video posted after the jump. We’ll say this: David Morales Colón rides into the afterlife in memorable style. Thanks to Joel for the tip, and thanks to Wes Siler for the bike ID.

[Source: PrimeraHora.com, YouTube]

Continue reading Puerto Rican funeral home presents shooting victim on his motorcycle

Puerto Rican funeral home presents shooting victim on his motorcycle originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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by Kevin Jon Heller

Too funny not to post (h/t, Gawker):

(The man in the photo, for those who don’t know, is Malcolm X, not Obama.)

Filed under: Advice, Health, Fitness, Ask a Fitness Expert

Recent reports suggest that 30 minutes of moderate daily activity are not enough to stay healthy. Instead, 60 minutes are now necessary – particularly if you want to lose weight.

Don’t panic! For those of you who don’t like gyms or spinning … Read more

 

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The dangerous ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano brought European air traffic to a halt. For a while, the skies over the north of Europe were almost empty of airplanes. Then, the ash went away and the beautiful mayhem resumed. [Twitter] More »

In December of 2009, a previous post noted the death of the Giorgio Carbone, the man who saw himself as the “Prince” of the Italian town of Seborga. Today, The Telegraph reports that Carbone’s successor has been elected:

Marcello Menegatto, 31, was elected monarch of the “kingdom” of Seborga by a majority of the territory’s 360 inhabitants.

He has been dubbed The King of Nylon but he has a choice of either calling himself His Tremendousness Marcello I or Giorgio II, in honour of his predecessor, a flower grower who styled himself His Tremendousness Giorgio I.

A former champion sailor and the heir to a hosiery company, he has big plans for the little principality, including building a new hotel, attracting more tourists and providing new jobs.

“I want to create new infrastructure and work for our people,” said Mr Menegatto, as he was carried in triumph on the shoulders of his supporters after being elected on Sunday. “I will continue the fight for Seborga’s independence.” One of his first tasks will be to decide on his official title. The His Tremendousness Giorgio I was really called Giorgio Carbone. He died in November, aged 73, and the fact that he had no children raised fears that Seborga’s days as a monarchy were at an end.

He was elected in 1963 and spent nearly 50 years championing the rights of Seborga, which consists of a single village on the Italian Riviera, close to the border with France.

Giorgio I claimed that Seborga should be recognised as an independent state because it had never been formally included in the unification of Italy in the 19th century.

“Serborghini”, as inhabitants are called, maintain that their village was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th century until 1729, when it was acquired by the Prince of Piedmont.

They insist that when Italy was united under the Savoy dynasty in 1861, Seborga was not formally listed as being part of the newly formed state.

The village has its own currency, stamps and a flag – a white cross on a blue background.

An amazing story! But, as I indicated previously, there is no basis in international law for Seborga’s claim to sovereignty.

(HT: Joe Grieboski)

German authorities launched a new fit of privacy hysteria last week after discovering that Google’s Street View cars are not only taking photographs — they’re recording the publicly-available router MAC addresses and SSIDs seen as the cars travel past Wi-Fi hotspots. UK and European politicians had already been up in arms about Americans wandering the streets taking pictures of citizens and completely non-secretive government buildings, and now Germany’s data protection chief is supposedly "horrified" by the discovery that Google is also collecting public wireless hotspot data. Of course a number of companies and individuals (like Skyhook Wireless and war drivers) have been doing this exact thing for years, but because it’s Google — somehow hysteria reigns.

Neither German authorities or those covering the story seem able to say how precisely an aggregate collection of public data will be used for nefarious purposes. The assumption simply is that Google has somehow figured out a way. The Register for instance informs readers that Google’s "uniquely cavalier approach to privacy" and "potential ability to cross reference the information raises additional concerns." Yet the report seems unable to tell readers what those concerns are, instead just assuming that Google must be doing something mischievous, and quoting CEO Eric Schmidt as saying users "shouldn’t worry about privacy unless they have something to hide." Of course what Schmidt actually said in that interview with CNBC was somewhat less sinister:

"If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. But if you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines like Google do retain the information for some time, and we are all subject to the Patriot Act, and it is possible that that information may be made available to the authorities."

Though Schmidt does veer awfully close to the surveillance state meme of “if you don’t have anything to hide you’ve got nothing to worry about,” in context he’s simply saying the obvious: that if you want information kept private — don’t share it — given public data these days is collected and by proxy easily accessible to law enforcement.  With the outcries over Street View taking photographs of your front door, there’s nothing being collected that users can’t already see should they walk by. With Google’s collection of Wi-Fi data, there’s again nothing being collected that isn’t publicly available. MAC addresses (and in this case we’re just talking about hotspot MAC addresses) are changeable, and users can hide their SSID if they don’t want the world to see it.

That said, how the aggregate data is used by such a large corporation is very important, and people should push Google to be as transparent as possible — but there’s a difference between asking reasonable questions about Google’s data collection practices and just assuming the worst possible scenario. Google isn’t publishing this data — and two different blog posts explain how much data they’re collecting, why it’s being collected, and how it’s being used largely to aid in GPS triangulation and local search. Though clearly from there they’ll feed this data into the heads up displays of Google shock troops clad in black gunmetal body armor — who can then carry out Google’s master plan of taking over the planet using your Linksys details.

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