Security

Ron Rivest’s proposed Voting System

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Ron Rivest, of RSA fame, has published a paper (PDF) describing a new voting system:

Not only can each voter verify that her vote is recorded as she intended, but she
gets a “receipt� that she can take home that can be used later to verify that her vote is actually included in the final tally. Her receipt, however, does not allow her to prove to anyone else how she voted.

In brief, the system allows the voter to create three ballots and then take a copy of one of them as a receipt. Attackers would not know which ballot was the real one, thus creating privacy, while the voter would have a copy of the original, thus creating verifiability. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but the first question that jumps to mind is what happens if the voter forges or alters their receipt to dispute the recorded votes?

History, Poetry, Security

WWI poem by Robert Frost revealed

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The Associated Press reports that a poem by Robert Frost, about the tragic loss of a friend (poet Edward Thomas) in World War I, has been uncovered by a student reviewing Frost’s papers archived at the University of Virginia.

“War Thoughts at Home” will now be published in the next issue of the Virginia Quarterly Review:

And one says to the rest

We must just watch our chance

And escape one by one

Though the fight is no more done

Than the war is in France.

First-hand source material is the holy grail of the Internet and information security. Rather than all the citations and quotations (like the one provided above), which diminish in quality, meaning and integrity as they become more and more removed from the source, access to original source material is golden. If primary source material were available, we could have a far more rich and rewarding source to study and learn from. Imagine hanging an exact replica of a famous painting on your wall compared to the ability to print a precise copy of Frost’s handwritten poem.

I will never forget the time I was perusing some original papers in the British Archives and stumbled upon a note from the desk of Winston Churchill. The handwriting was unmistakable. The dark, rich strokes from his fountain pen made me stop and think about the amazing treasure trove of information locked away in the rows and rows of folders that the vast majority of people will never see.

I left the archives that day imagining giant racks of spinning optical media (maybe I liked the idea of a shiny surface) serving primary source material to everyone in the world as they sat liesurely at desks hundreds or thousands of miles away. This was the summer of 1994 and I saw the Internet as a place where the source could finally bubble up. Not editorials, not analysis, not books (although those are also important) but the raw source material. As it turns out, I myself found someone had published a book misquoting original Colonial Office and War Office memos (quite badly, in fact, if I remember correctly).

I also spent an evening in the basement of an old library and found actual leaflets distributed in Ethiopia by RAF planes in the early 1940s. I mentioned the leaflets in passing to another historian and he became excited and insisted I publish them so others could someday enjoy the information I uncovered.

He was right. That library was “rennovated” and I fear it may be impossible to find the original leaflets again. Sadly, today you are most likely to find my copy of the leaflet at the end of my master’s thesis hidden away in an obscure folder in an archive or buried in some university library, and Frost’s poem looks like it will be “published” and then filed rather than posted online…

Energy

GM Diesel Hybrid: Opel Astra

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Boy, I really missed this announcement. Then again, I’m not sure anyone else saw it either. Back in January 2005, GM said it was working on an exciting new hybrid-diesel platform:

With fuel consumption below 4-liters/100km (MVEG mix), the Astra Diesel Hybrid is projected to be 25 percent more fuel-efficient than comparable diesel models.

[…]

The two-mode full hybrid technology can provide a significant reduction in fuel consumption helping to meet ever-stringent carbon-dioxide emission targets. Its scalability enables the technology to be applied to markets around the world.

[…]

1.7L CDTI with 92-kw/125-hp and 280-Nm/206 lb-ft of torque; with maintenance-free particulate filter

And since then, nada. No news on this concept car. Instead, in January 2006, GM announced a new fashion concept: the hybrid Tahoe. It is like ordering a low-fat BigMac.

The front of the Chevrolet Tahoe Two-mode Hybrid has been lowered 10 mm compared to the conventional Tahoe, which provides additional aerodynamic benefits as well as a smoother and sleeker appearance.

Lowriders are really just guys trying to get a few extra mpg out of their classic Cadillacs and Buicks, right? Reminds me of the Range Rover’s variable height said to increase mpg from 8 to 10 when used to lower the flat-boxy SUV at highway speeds. Hey, every little bit counts, even though they marketed it as a comfort, safety and off-roading stability feature (would you buy a Range Rover for any other reason?). Sorry, I digress:

“This truly looks like a special vehicle,� said [Design Manager David] Smith. “It is packed with details, and every one of them serves a function.�

Looking good is a function, right? Especially to the Design Manager. The function of all that chrome is…

There’s no mistaking this truck for anything other than a hybrid: Badging appears on the C-pillar, on the rear liftgate and on the hitch cover.

Of course. A giant SUV is so clearly a hybrid vehicle that GM decided they would paste big colorful badges all over it saying “Don’t hate us for our high-margin SUV, it’s a hybrid”.

Other aerodynamic refinements include sharpening of the D-pillar rearward, including the taillamps, a CHMSL appliqué detail spoiler over the rear hatch and a closeout panel under the back of the vehicle to facilitate airflow.

Lightweight, aero-efficient wheels with the lowest rolling-resistance tires available for full-size trucks further trim fuel use, and are complemented with a tuned ride to provide the ride and handling performance and attention to detail that customers expect from a totally integrated vehicle.

Ah, now I get it. They’re trying to make it *cool* and *hip* to be hybrid. Cool and hip means driving a Tahoe, thus they were pushed into this decision by the consumers. Maybe they will find some well-dressed androgenous actors to drive the new Tahoe in advertisements. Ok, bad joke. But the fact that SUVs are high-margin does not excuse the fact that the smaller cars are really more efficient right now, especially the smaller hybrid-diesel.

Perhaps instead of this exercise in finding new shades of lipstick for a pig, some GM marketing muscle could be put into technology developments that could put GM back on the map.

I mean, just for perspective, compare the above “wowy, zowy” super cool Tahoe press release language with the ultra-nerd tone for the Astra:

From the outside, the Astra Diesel Hybrid, with its unique panoramic glass roof, doesn’t look much different from a production-version Astra GTC.

Hmmmm. No badges? How uncool. And why isn’t it lowered with chrome wheels? Oh, wait, this is for the european market.

Inside, however, the tachometer in the gauge cluster has been replaced by instruments that provide feedback on the operation of the hybrid propulsion system, such as traction provided by the electric motors, traction from the diesel engine, or both. Another gauge displays the battery’s charge level. Also, a video animation in the graphic information display located in the center console depicts the current propulsion state of the vehicle when it’s driving.

Ah, yes, instruments showing the “current propulsion state”; what every car buyer wants to know when they look for a car.

I have to admit I’m happy that GM is headed towards hybrids, but if only they could try a little harder to get real things really rolling. After all, McDonald’s serves salads now and I hear they are not only tasty but bringing home the bacon:

The world’s largest fast-food chain also Tuesday announced the sale of its new Asian Premium salad, expected to be the company’s largest seller, according to industry experts.