WHAT'S NEW: Everybody's talkin' bout VeriChip

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Title: TechTarget

April 16, 2002 >> Receive this email as text  >> About this e-mail   In this Issue >> Everybody's talkin' bout VeriChip: Is VeriChip a useful medical/security device or a potential privacy nightmare? >> SearchNetworking news: What are the hottest networking topics? >> SearchWin2000 advice: James Michael Stewart / Author, LANWrights, Inc.  Everybody's talkin' bout VeriChip by Margaret Rouse, Assistant Site Editor Everywhere I go this week, it seems that people are talking about VeriChip. VeriChip, if you haven't heard, is an implantable identification chip for humans. The real deal is about the size of a grain of rice. It uses passive RFID technology and works just like the injectable ID chips used by animal shelters to tag pets. Applied Digital Solutions, the makers of VeriChip, received the go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the chip and sometime in the next few weeks, the Jacobs family from Boca Raton, Florida, will be "chipped" on national TV. Seems that young 14 year old Derek Jacobs (who, by the way, got his Microsoft systems engineer certification when he was 12 years old) learned about VeriChip and thought that getting the ID chip was a great idea. Derek's father has medical problems and (I'm guessing here) Derek figured an implantable ID chip would be way cooler than a medic alert bracelet. At any rate, his family was selected from over 2,500 volunteers to be the first to receive the implant. We should be glad for them, right? Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not sure. I've got very mixed feelings about the whole thing. I find myself wondering whether I would consider chipping my own children if they were younger -- after all, the procedure is supposed to be just like any other standard inoculation. VeriChip is thought to have some security applications. Would I feel safer flying if my pilot needed VeriChip authorization to access the airplane's cockpit? I wonder if I was diagnosed with early Alzheimers (no comments please) whether I would want to have myself chipped in case I wandered off and got lost. And how long do you think it will take for Applied Digital Solutions to make the chips trackable by GPS? Applied Digital Solutions says they're already working on it. Do I really want someone to be able to track my every move? Basically, I've got a lot of questions about whether or not VeriChip is an effective use of technology -- or whether it's just an intrusive use. Which makes me wonder what you think. Are VeriChip implants useful medical/security devices or are they just the beginning of a long slippery slope that ultimately ends in our loss of privacy? Stop by the SearchSecurity Discussion Forum and let us know what you think about VeriChip. Or drop us a note at [EMAIL PROTECTED]. LEARN MORE: VeriChip http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci815270,00.htmla implantable ID chip http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci815441,00.html  Featured Topic Site: SearchNetworking What are the hottest networking topics? SearchNetworking tracked their search engine over the last six months and came up with a list for their top ten queries. The biggest mover on the charts? We never would have guessed it -- VoIP! Here's the rest of the list:  1. VoIP  2. router  3. TCP/IP  4. ATM  5. frame relay  6. Ethernet  7. VPN  8. WAN  9. SNMP 10. MPLS Want to find out more about what's hot in networking? Register for SearchNetworking's FREE Networking Decisions conference.  Expert Technical Advice: SearchWin2000 Featured Expert: James Michael Stewart Author, LANWrights, Inc. Category: Administration and Performance Question: I just picked up a part-time job as a network administrator for a small company. I'd like to work from home as much as possible. How do I administer a computer from a remote location using dial-up? See James' advice. Got a question of your own? Ask one of our experts! A B O U T   T H I S   E M A I L This e-mail is brought to you by TechTarget where you can get relevant search results from over 19 industry-specific Web sites. Whatis.com contacts: Lowell Thing, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Margaret Rouse, Assistant Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) To unsubscribe from Updates on new site content: >> Simply Reply to this Email with REMOVE within the Body or Subject -OR- >> Go to: http://WhatIs.techtarget.com/register/1,,sid9,00.html    - Log in to edit your profile.    - Click on the link to Edit email subscriptions.    - Uncheck the box next to the newsletter you wish to unsubscribe from    - When finished, click "Save Changes to My Profile". Copyright 2002 TechTarget, Inc. All rights reserved.