All:

If there is no internet connection needed, then my Casio watch would become illegal to sell and maybe even own and operate. It stores data (up to 100 phone numbers, a few alarms, numbers), manipulates it (sorts the phone numbers by name, builtin calculator), etc.

Most modern cars would be illegal too since they have processors for service, brakes, and engine control (and neworked together, too), and I bet some actually send car status over the emergency link (On*).

Am I missing something?

BTW, there are good uses for Cell Phones: car breakdown on a highway, women travelling alone (in some cities make that 'Army units'), handicapped people most anywhere, dialing 911 from a highjacked airplane, etc. There are many more and none include the jerk at the next table talking to his broker.

Dave

(If you're out of the US and don't see the terrorist attack coverage shown here, please note that there were many cell phone calls from the airplanes that were crashed, and these represent the only information about what was going on onboard.)

At 8:33 -0700 9/16/01, Ned Konz wrote:
>The Walt Disney Company and other media giants are busy lobbying legislators
>to push the Security Systems Standards and Certification Act through Congress.
>
>This act will make it illegal to make a computer system that doesn't include
>the software required to implement some kind of Federally mandated security
>standard.
>... SNIP ...
>
>--
>Ned Konz
>currently: Stanwood, WA
>email:     ned at bike-nomad.com
>homepage:  http://bike-nomad.com


-- 
_______________________________
David N. Smith
IBM T J Watson Research Center
Hawthorne, NY
dnsmith at watson.ibm.com