Google Announces Development of New “Prints” Service

Google Prints, another Google service with bold ambition, will be eagerly welcomed by those who fear Google doesn’t have quite enough information about each and every facet of their lives.

The service, which is of course free, accepts digitally scanned images of your fingerprints for use by Google in identifying ways to make life better for you. Using yet-to-be described, bot-like devices (powered by AI software derived from its self-driving car research), Google will be heavily equipped to determine what objects you have touched in retail areas, including items that you were possibly interested in but could not afford, or found to be lacking in some way. Google will also be able to supplement its records of where you’ve been whenever your phone has lost service or GPS. “Google Prints should help narrow Google’s knowledge gap between what you do offline with what it knows about your online activity,” says Jorge Soros, an Internet marketing executive at Soros Worldwide, who seemed ecstatic about its potential.

For advertisers, sources say that Google hopes to augment its AdWords and AdSense offerings to include “PrintSense”, which ostensibly will allow for highly-targeted campaigns seeking out those who have not merely searched online, but have actually touched a particular type of product.

Whether or not you wish to be included in Google’s fingerprint database, the Internet giant may soon have your prints anyway: it is rumored that numerous grocery and retail chains have already agreed to allow Google to integrate fingerprint-reading cameras into POS devices at checkout. Privacy fanatics and other technology naysayers would be required to pay cash for every purchase to avoid the seemingly inevitable inclusion into the program.

Setting Up An Android Phone for Sound Level Readings

In my previous post, I wondered about whether regularly riding the T could result in tinnitus and/or long-term hearing loss: http://jaycopson.blogspot.com/2016/05/does-riding-t-cause-long-term-hearing.html

In preparation of taking decibel measurements at various points along the multiple subway lines, I first explored what apps are available for Android phones, and whether these apps are accurate.  According to a 2014 study by the Centers for Disease Control, the smartphone sound apps are useful for making "quick spot measurements" to determine if noise levels are too high. See: http://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2014/04/09/sound-apps/

However, the CDC report was very particular about which apps passed muster for use in its study, and favored apps written for Apple iOS devices. Whether microphones and software features of Android devices have caught up in the subsequent two years is worth looking into, but in any case, a careful selection of which app to use is probably more important. It would also be helpful to know how the built-in microphone compares to an external mic; simply moving the phone around in silence creates pressure on the built-in mic, which registers as noise in the apps I have tested so far.

Regardless, it seems that reasonably accurate measurements should be sufficient for this project. In similar investigations, it has already been determined that subway riders in New York City are indeed subjected to dangerous noise levels: http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/subway-noise-can-damage-your-ears-say-experts-1.6164286

Unfortunately, these studies seemed to focus more on sound levels on the subway platform than on board the trains. It is important to note that lower sound levels over a longer duration can have an equally deleterious effect on hearing.

Keep in mind that playing music or other audio through headphones is not a form of hearing protection. On the contrary, this only compounds the problem: http://www.hear-it.org/30-minutes-in-new-york-subway-can-damage-the-hearing

Until next time, see you on the T.

Does Riding the T Cause Long-Term Hearing Loss?

    

The T, Boston's subway system, beats out most similarly-sized cities for coverage. If I can avoid using it during rush hour, it's often fairly pleasurable to use my commute to catch up on some reading or open up that always-present stack of neglected mail; I like making use of all my waking hours. I've even been known to chow down on a big bowl of shrimp scampi on the train from time to time, if I don't care about the shirt I'm wearing.

Segments of the track are particularly loud however, and coupled with some of the overly amplified announcements of the conductor, I end my trip feeling as if I've just left a concert. What is the average decibel level of the commute? Does it vary much from line to line, or within certain sections of a line? Most importantly, does riding the T potentially cause long-term hearing loss? Should we all take to wearing earplugs? Considering the rising number of schoolchildren taking the T, is this potentially an urgent issue?

I plan to start taking decibel readings and compiling data to explore this topic further. Please let me know your thoughts, or if you are interested in collaborating on this project. Reach me via linkedin.com/in/jcopson