El universo es como un pozo oscuro en el que identificamos algunas luces. Un pozo lleno de maravillosas sorpresas, que sólo podemos descubrir y comprender a través de la observación y la interpretación teórica. La búsqueda es tan sutil como compleja. ¿Cómo podemos saber acerca de aquellas cosas que no están próximas a nosotros, como el Sol y las estrellas? ¿Cómo podemos saber acerca de cosas que ni siquiera nos ofrecen luz con la que poder verlas, como los objetos oscuros de los que hablan los físicos: los agujeros negros, la materia oscura y la energía oscura? Estos son, de hecho, los problemas concretos que aborda El universo en tres pasos, un libro donde los hermanos David y Richard Garfinkle, físico el primero y escritor de obras de ciencia ficción el segundo, desbrozan con claridad y sencillez cuestiones -unas clarificadas hace tiempo y otras esperando todavía su respuesta- que solemos considerar fuera del alcance de las mentes de los legos en materias científicas.

“RFID is the first important technology of the twenty-first century. That’s an awesome responsibility. How can we know when and how RFID is being used? How can we make sure it is not misused? How can we exercise choice over how it affects us personally? How do we ensure it is safe? This book is a valuable contribution to the ongoing effort to find the answers.”
—From the Foreword by Kevin Ashton, cofounder and former executive director, Auto-ID Center; vice president, ThingMagic Corporation

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is rapidly becoming ubiquitous as businesses seek to streamline supply chains and respond to mandates from key customers. But RFID and other new wireless ID technologies raise unprecedented privacy issues. RFID: Applications, Security, and Privacy covers these issues from every angle and viewpoint.

Award-winning technology journalist and privacy expert Simson Garfinkel brings together contributions from every stakeholder community—from RFID suppliers to privacy advocates and beyond. His contributors introduce today’s leading wireless ID technologies, trace their evolution, explain their promise, assess their privacy risks, and evaluate proposed solutions—technical, business, and political. The book also looks beyond RFID, reviewing the privacy implications of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, smart cards, biometrics, new cell-phone networks, and the ever-evolving Internet. Highlights include

• How RFID and other wireless ID technologies work
• RFID applications—from gas stations and pharmacies to the twenty-first century battlefield
• RFID, privacy, and the law—in the United States and around the world
• RFID, security, and industrial espionage
• How Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can track individuals, with or without their permission
• Technical solutions to wireless ID privacy concerns—their values and limitations
• Stakeholder perspectives from EPCglobal, Inc., Gemplus, The Procter & Gamble Company, and other industry leaders
• The future of citizen activism on privacy issues

Clear, balanced, and accessible, this is the indispensable primer for everyone involved in RFID: businesses implementing or evaluating RFID; technology suppliers responding to user concerns; and policymakers and privacy advocates who want a deeper understanding of the technology and its implications.

Includes contributions from

AIM Global, Inc.
CASPIAN
Center for Democracy and Technology
EPCglobal, Inc.
The Galecia Group
Gemplus
IDAT Consulting & Education
Institute for the Future
Matrics, Inc.
MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
MIT Media Laboratory
OATSystems
Privacy Journal
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
The Procter & Gamble Company
RSA Laboratories
UCLA Department of Geography
Wayne State University Law School