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TSA hopes scanner upgrades reduce privacy worries

The Transportation Security Agency is planning to accelerate adoption of software it says will help "enhance passenger privacy" for its controversial full-body scanners.

TSA chief John Pistole said yesterday that the software, which shows only generic body outlines rather than actual images, soon will be installed on all full-body scanners that use millimeter wave technology. Testing on body scanners that use backscatter X-ray technology will begin this fall.

The announcement comes after TSA said in February that it would begin testing the software upgrades on scanners in Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. (See related CNET Q&A … Read more

Appeals court: TSA must rethink airport body scans

The Transportation Security Agency violated federal law when installing controversial full-body scanners in U.S. airports without following proper procedures, a federal appeals court ruled today.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., rejected arguments from the Obama administration that the TSA was exempt from laws requiring federal agencies to first notify the public and seek comments.

"It is clear that by producing an image of the unclothed passenger, (a full-body) scanner intrudes upon his or her personal privacy in a way a magnetometer does not," wrote Judge Douglas Ginsburg for the three-judge panel. … Read more

Ultrawideband gets humans one step closer to 'tricorder'

The tricorder, that handheld geological, biological, and meteorological device of general awesomeness from the Star Trek universe, has spawned several real-life iterations boasting such uses as the detection of ulcers and deadly gases.

So in May, the X Prize Foundation announced that, alongside Qualcomm, it would award a $10 million Tricorder X Prize to the person who develops a mobile device that can diagnose a broad range of common health ailments as well as--or better than--a panel of board-certified physicians.

A team at Oregon State University in Corvallis is now one step closer to what remains a pretty tall order.… Read more

Blogger Bob--TSA's Internet mouthpiece (Q&A)

The Transportation Security Administration appears to have pulled off an Internet first: hiring the U.S. government's most controversial spokesblogger.

All federal agencies have spokesmen. Some have blogs. But it's the pseudonymous Blogger Bob who, more than anyone else, has come to represent the online voice and personality of his employer--not always with entirely successful results.

Internet fact checkers have accused Blogger Bob of eliding relevant facts about disputes involving the TSA. A Forbes.com column noted that Blogger Bob had curbed critical comments (and then subsequently permitted them). Reason Magazine has dubbed Blogger Bob someone who's … Read more

The 404 816: Where we only buy American (podcast)

The 404 is finally back together again after Wilson's departure last week for San Francisco. Now that he's back, we get to hear all the reasons why the CNET office in San Francisco is better than ours.

There are lots of stories to talk about today, like banned arcade machines, iPad 2 riots in Beijing, and custom Abbottabad levels in Counter-Strike, but we're also launching a Twitter contest today for a chance to win one carbon fiber BodyGuardz skin for the iPad 2 or two codes worth $30 at the site.

To win, just follow @The404 and @BodyGuardz and mention both of us in a Tweet, and that's it! There's one prize winner, but the two runners-up will each get a $30 credit for anything on the site.

The 404 Digest for Episode 816

Massachusetts town continues 1982 ban on coin-operated arcade machines. iPad 2 Beijing release causes riot. New Counter-Strike map of Osama bin Laden's hideout. Real magazine issues coming to the iPad from Hearst, Conde Nast. Steven B.'s 404 sticker in a U.K. telephone box!

Episode 816 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Your iPhone as a window to the night sky

SkyView lets you use your iPhone camera view to create an augmented-reality view of the sky complete with constellations, planets, and satellites. Simply launch the app and point your iPhone camera skyward to see constellations and other celestial bodies where they are in real time. You also can touch planets, stars, and constellations to get more info and history at the bottom of the screen.

While you can spend plenty of time simply pointing in different directions and viewing celestial bodies, SkyView offers a few more handy features for finding what you want. You can use the search tool to … Read more

Rumor: Apple to add carbon fiber body to iPad 2

If you're like me, you can hardly sit still in anticipation of Apple's announcement on March 2, which is sure to include all the juicy details of the iPad 2, the second-generation touch-screen tablet that is sure to trounce any of the recent influx of iPad competitors.

Now that we have a solid date for the announcement, the last few rumors are making their way around the Web.

Apple's current aluminum construction of the iPad may (a big stress on the word may, here) switch to a lighter, more durable, carbon fiber body. This is according to … Read more

Swimming pool to be heated by the dead?

Sometimes, it seems to take a lot of energy to save energy. It seems to take a considerable carbon footprint to save a carbon toeprint.

So please join me in commending the council members in Redditch, U.K., who, according to the Guardian, have come up with a mortally interesting concept to heat their Abbey Stadium swimming pool and leisure center.

They'd like to keep it warm by using cold, dead bodies. Well, scalding dead bodies, to be precise.

I am sorry if this alarms you. But, in a rather charming example of zoning, there happens to be a … Read more

CES: Tanita unveils wireless body fat monitor for kids

LAS VEGAS--Childhood obesity is a concern throughout most of the U.S., and yet most scales are not child-specific, nor do they take body fat measurements.

So Tanita's BF-2000 IronKids Wireless Body Fat Monitor, for children ages 5 to 17, is an intriguing concept. Just unveiled at CES this week, the monitor is set to be released in March for $150.

Company reps tell me the monitor uses alternating current signals to measure body impedance (a process known as biometric impedance) for body fat calculations. The whole process takes about three seconds for a reading.

Tanita is actually releasing … Read more