It's plastic, costs about $20, and promises to stop the government and electronic snoops from tracking your whereabouts.

Dubbed the E-ZShield, the device is a simple windshield-mounted box that holds your E-ZPass tag and claims to block the signal it transmits.

But the New Jersey Turnpike says E-ZShield is a waste of money. Even the inventor says it is unlikely that you will be tracked.

[ ... ]

The E-ZShield, Friedman said, stops the code from being transmitted by surrounding it with plastic that is embedded with metal fibers. Drivers are told to slide open a drawer on the gray box and expose the E-ZPass tag as they approach a toll booth.

But even if the code was stolen, it is unclear what it would be used for, Orlando said. And besides, E-ZPass is shipped with a bag that can be used whenever a motorist wants to block the signal.

"All you get is a data code," he said. "A transponder does not hold your name, address, Social Security number, or credit card number. It doesn't do that."

San Angelo Standard Times, TX - Privacy report. Task force urges state to review records laws

AUSTIN -- A state task force is urging the Legislature to examine laws regarding privacy to prevent the unauthorized release of personal information but ensure an open government for Texans.

The 14-member Personal Privacy Task Force, which includes lawmakers and concerned citizens, released its interim report this week after conducting three hearings in April, June and August. Sheri Woodfin, Tom Green County district clerk, is among the task force members.

''Privacy is a very, very important issue and it's something that concerns everybody,'' said Stephen Bonner, legislative aide to state Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, and chairman of the task force. ''It's something that's Texaswide and nationwide.''

The Legislature created the task force last year in response to citizens' privacy concerns. Task force members were appointed by House Speaker Pete Laney, D-Hale Center, and Acting Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff, R-Mount Pleasant.

Laney and Ratliff are reviewing the task force's interim report, which lawmakers will use as a guide to determine if they should introduce legislation next session. Task force members say their report contains mostly observations and that they may add specific policy recommendations at a later date.

CNET NEWS.COM - Motorola: New chip will bring GPS to all.

Motorola is unveiling a global positioning system chip it says is the first GPS satellite sensor small enough and hence cheap enough for practical use in consumer-electronics devices such as cell phones and notebook computers.

The Instant GPS chip will give users of such devices the ability to tap into a satellite system and pinpoint their geographic location. Measuring only 49 square millimeters, or less than half the area of a Pentium 4 processor, the chip will sell for roughly $10 in volume quantities, said Tim McCarthy, business director for GPS at Motorola's Automotive Group's Telematics Division. That should let device makers add GPS for about a quarter of the cost of current multiple chipsets, which run about $40.

"All of a sudden, starting 10 or 15 years ago, every electronics device had a clock," McCarthy said. "I see position awareness going down that same path. It's just a question of how long it takes."

Political News from Wired News - P2P Pugilists Put Up Their Dukes.

In a panel discussion steeped in dogma, adherents on both sides of the Internet peer-to-peer (P2P) debate accused each other of everything from aiding thieves to destroying the Internet.

[ ... ]

Panelists at a Cato Institute lunch last week focused mostly on H.R. 5211, a bill introduced in July by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), whose Los Angeles district covers northeast San Fernando Valley, including the Hollywood Freeway corridor.

Berman's bill would give copyright owners the legal right to disrupt the unauthorized use of their copyrighted works on P2P networks using as-yet-undefined tactics and technology.

The House subcommittee on courts, the Internet and intellectual property, of which Berman is the ranking member, will hold a hearing Thursday to explore the alleged piracy of intellectual property over P2P networks.

Tom's Hardware Guide Networking Guide: LAN Camera Technology Offers A New View.

While this technology has existed for some time, it is only now that this network-based camera technology is coming into its own. With the continued advancements in this type of technology, as well as the lowered cost of the components that make up these products, this is becoming a viable option in the consumer arena.

We will take a look at the possibilities of this technology and at these "network cameras" in this article. While security is perhaps the leading application for which these devices will be used, there are other options, as well. Imagine being able to hide one of these cameras in your house to monitor how well your babysitter is interacting with your children, or (using a weatherproof housing) placing a camera outside to keep an eye on your children while they are in the backyard. At the touch of a button, it is possible to go to a specific Web page and see what the camera is seeing. Some cameras allow you to zoom, pan, and tilt the camera right from within the Web interface, to provide more control over the viewing area. Some cameras will even email pictures to you, at scheduled intervals that you specify, so you can view them at work or even on your Web-enabled cell phone.

While this technology might be considered 'elementary' by some security professionals, it is obvious to us that there are still many useful applications for it. The ability to access your camera across your broadband connection from any place in the world is amazing technology. However, because this product arena is so new, growing pains are bound to exist until product maturity is achieved. In the meantime, to help you experiment with this technology, we will look at four different network cameras that take varying approaches to providing a network accessible 'eye.'

Slashdot | LAN Camera Review.

xulphlux writes "The guys over at Tom's Hardware have an excellent review of 4 LAN cameras. While not currently commonplace as of yet, they have good potential for relatively low cost security uses. Keep an eye on the kids outside, your sports car out front, or the good looking girl next door... A couple even have built in 802.11b so no need for wires."

New York Times - free registration required Court Overturns Convictions for Taking Photographs Under Skirts.

The Washington Supreme Court has overturned the convictions of two men for taking pictures underneath women's skirts at a shopping mall and a food festival. Calling the conduct "reprehensible and disgusting," the court nonetheless held on Thursday that Washington's voyeurism statute did not apply to photographs taken in public places.

One of the men, Sean Tyler Glas, took his photographs "squatting or sitting on the floor" at the Valley Mall in Union Gap, Wash., in 1999, the court said. The police confiscated his film, which had what the court called revealing pictures of two women's undergarments.

The other man, Richard Lynn Sorrells, used a video camera to look up skirts at a food festival in Seattle in 2000.

"Police viewed a copy of the videotape and discovered images of children and adults," Judge Bobbe J. Bridge wrote for the nine-member court, which was unanimous in its decision. "Many of the images were taken from ground level, recording up the females' skirts."

The men were charged under a statute that prohibits voyeurism in places where a person "would have a reasonable expectation of privacy." The court held that "the voyeurism statute, as written, does not prohibit up skirt photography in a public location." Women have no expectation of privacy in public places, the court reasoned, because "casual surveillance frequently occurs in public."

Jolene Jang, whom Mr. Sorrells recorded while she was waiting in line to buy ice cream, was incredulous. "It's almost funny that this could actually be real," Ms. Jang said of the decision.

In Oklahoma, a judge took a different approach to a voyeurism charge last week. Judge Ray Elliott of Oklahoma City sentenced Danny Wayne Dickson, an elementary school janitor, to 120 years in prison for secretly videotaping five girls as they changed clothes.