 |
Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
|
 |
GandhiCam For Blackberry Auto-Uploads Sousveillance
GandhiCam for post-8700-series Blackberry devices is an application that will automatically wirelessly upload your pictures or video as they are taken to prevent confiscation by the police. This application is a response to a spate of incidents in which UK police have deleted or confiscated pictures taken by tourists or by protesters at events like the G20 summit.

(GandhiCam screenshots)
This app is for BlackBerry only and is compiled using the 4.2.1 SDK, it’s only been tested on a 9000/Bold but should work on all post-8700 series devices (Pearl/8100, 8800, Curve/8300, Bold/9000). This is completely unsupported by Hippocamp Software, if it doesn’t work for you we’re sorry but can’t spare the time to help. If you’re using a Storm - good luck.
The name "GandhiCam" derives from the satyagraha philosophy of civil resistance developed by Mohandas Gandhi and applied so successfully during the Indian struggle for independence from Britain. One of the key elements in the application of satyagraha to solving social problems is making sure that the protest is public and preferably photographed to be seen by as many people as possible.

(Gandhi and fellow satyagrahis protest British salt tax [1930])
The creator of GandhiCam credits a Reddit user - Shaper_pmp - with the concept (and the excellent name). However, I'd be inclined to credit David Brin for the concept. In his excellent 1990 novel Earth, Brin writes about a surveillance technology that the oldtimers (aka baby boomers) used in most public places. True-Vu goggles were worn rather than conventional sunglasses; everything the True-Vu goggles saw was recorded for later use in court, if necessary:
"Watching, all the time watching... goggle-eye geeks...
What brought on Crat's sudden outburst was the sight of yet another babushka, glaring at them from a bench under one of the force-grown shade trees... The very moment they came into view, the old woman laid here wire-knitting aside and fixed them with the bug-eyed, opaque gape of her True-Vu lenses...
(Read more about Brin's Tru-Vu goggles)
The video content was then uploaded to a secure location.
Update: I got a note from Shaper_pmp who adds the following comments:
I don't claim to have invented the concept - as you note, sousveillance has a long and distinguished (if slightly obscure) history, and the idea of wirelessly uploading the evidence to protect it from sequestration is an obvious development from there.
Rather, rehsif started work on his gandhicam app for the Blackberry after reading some of my reddit posts discussing the idea, and he seems to have assumed I invented the idea. All I really did was give a name to the device/feature to make discussing it easier, and (accidentally!) prompt someone to actually start making it happen. ;-)
Ultimately my only interest is in getting this functionality on as many phones and mobile devices as possible - I think it has the potential to massively increase the transparency of society, as well as increasing personal safety and a whole raft of other benefits.
Thanks, Shaper_pmp. It's a great idea and kudos to Reddit user rehsif for implementing it so a large number of people can try it out. End update.
Read more about (or download) GandhiCam; via BoingBoing Gadgets.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/18/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.
| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories -
("
Surveillance
")
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!)
is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for
the Invention Category that interests
you, the Glossary, the Invention
Timeline, or see what's New.
|
 |
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
RoboBallet The Dance Of Cooperative Robots
'...an integrated seven-unit robot team.'
Chrysalis Generation Ship to Alpha Centauri
'This was their world, their planet —
this swift-traveling, yet seemingly moveless vessel.'
Alexa+ And Its AI Brain Improvements
'What's it do?' he asked. 'It amuses.'
Does CloneRobotics Offer A True Android?
Is this What Little Girls Are Made Of?
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
Are AIs Going Rogue Like Hal 9000
'I know that you and Frank were planning to disconnect me...'
Animated Tumblebugs On Astounding Cover!
'Gaines and Harvey mounted tumblebugs, and kept abreast of the Cadet Captain...'
LingYuan Vehicle Roof Drones Now Available, ala Blade Runner 2049
Accompanied by a small selection of similar ideas from science fiction.
China Steals Strato Airship Design From Google App Engine
'...war-balloons, or, as it would be more correct to call them, navigable aerostats.'
The First Space Warship For Space Force
'Each of the electrical ships carried about twenty men...'
Biohybrid Jellyfish Explore The Ocean
As predicted, and detailed, by science fiction writers!
Should AIs and AI Robots Demand Rights?
'This robot is a creature... It is a manlike being. Therefore, like any other talking, thinking man, he is entitled to a court trial!'
Robot Learns Human Tool Usage By Imitation Learning
'I got one of those new electronic cameras...'
Companion Caregiver ChatGPT Dolls
'Every Artificial Friend is unique, right?'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...'
Man Builds 200 Foot Basement Firing Range
'The basement was huge... carved deep into the rock.'
More SF in the News Stories
More Beyond Technovelgy science news stories
|
 |