In this podcast, there is a great discussion of the future of multimedia recordings, it’s really worth a listen, and has some good ideas:
IT Conversations: Jamais Cascio – Personal Memory Assistants

One thing that really struck me was the potential for a “PMA” device to be an anti-corruption device. I thought I’d hash out a quick plan for one:

  • A waterproof enclosure like an iPod mini, but a smaller LCD can be substituted for our purposes.
  • With the smaller LCD, an embedded 802.11n (once it comes out) antenna could be installed in the device, to provide near-constant (theoretical) 540 Mbit/s wireless access.
  • A mic-in jack, for a lapel-microphone.
  • A fuel cell battery, not unlike the ones currently in development for mobile phones.
  • A one-inch 20GB Hitachi microdrive, the same size as the iPod mini.

Basically, the idea would be to have this voice recorder running embedded Linux. The device could be set to turn on when the user was ‘on the clock’, and turn off when they weren’t. Audio would be recorded to the device, and would be sent via encrypted VPN over the 802.11n network at regular intervals, say, in 5-minute ‘chunks’

Of course, the device would have to be able to transmit using only government-approved VPN encryption standards, and there would be a secure installation on the other side of the VPN connection that would be storing these transcripts.

This solution might also be good for people who want to cover themselves if they are in high-liability situations, such as celebrities, lawyers, etc. In addition, with the added ability to triangulate on the device via 802.11n, (methods already exist for tracing it’s geographical location any time it is online) this device could be used to ensure probation, house arrest, and other law enforcement. The signals could also be tagged with the geographic location when they are sent at the 5-minute intervals, so that the audio could be searchable by location. (You could call up all of your activity when you were at “XYZ corporation’s” main office, for example)

The hard drive space also opens the device up for video capturing also, which could be helpful to surgeons, etc. Depending on the video transmission rate, a Bluetooth-enabled earpiece with video and audio inputs could be made. This brings a host of other problems, however, as the signals would have to be sent encrypted via Bluetooth to the base unit, and powering audio, video and encryption in a small device could prove challenging. However, this would open up a world of possibility! With a video-compliant version of Riya (for example), you would be able to search on “Grandma”, and replay every moment you shared with her, without having to manually go back and tag the video. Or possibly search for “XYZ Contract”, and replay that verbal contract that you now need evidence of…

The device should probably be accessible via a Mini-B USB 2.0 or preferably a 9-pin FireWire 800 for firmware upgrades and programming. It should be stressed, however, that the ability to lock out the user from tampering should be preserved to enable the device to be able to perform as an ‘honesty check’ when used with felons or government employees.

Any other earth-changing ideas? Let’s hear them!

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