"Who controls the past commands the future. Who commands the future conquers the past." George Orwell

Isn't it ironic that when 1984 rolled around, instead of Orwell's prophetic claim of mind domination we had the introduction of the Apple Macintosh (the computer for "the rest of us"), and the launching of the first people's Internet (FidoNet), two vehicles that allow an individual complete freedom of expression.

It was the same year William Gibson coined the term 'Cyberspace' in his novel 'Neuromancer.' And the Net as we know and love it today was ready to rock and roll - the 'Domain Name Address' scheme had just been figured out.

I love ironies. However, Orwell may not have been wrong, only off by a few years.

By the time lunch time rolls around you have been photographed more than a dozen times, usually without your knowledge. That's right, the digital revolution has some drawbacks folks. And, as we get more wired into this digital MESH, more and more of your personal freedoms will be under attack. But for the moment let's stick with your face.

On an average day, a videocam is pointing at you when you enter a bank, convenient mart, Walmarts or other department store, in the courtroom, hallways of buildings and hotels, ATM machines, highway intersections (look up above the light sometime) and along the highway, in the park, sitting on the plaza, in those stairways of tall buildings, in the cop car behind you, and I bet you can figure out a few more.

Thanks to the digital revolution there is a Webcam pointed at border crossings in remote spots of the earth, or at the bathroom door in your neighborhood bar. There are literally thousands of Webcams on the Net. We are turning into one hell of a voyeuristic society.

There are even people, like Jenni (jenniCam) who, for a fee, will let you watch everything she does - yes, everything - at home where she has webcams in every room. Andy Warhol was right. Everyone is getting their 15 minutes, and more, of fame.

However, along with this new found freedom of expression comes a price. Companies have figured out a way to track every move you make on the Net, so they can target sell you the latest CD or antiperspirant. Big Brother is watching too. They are reading your profile of what you read in Usenet newsgroups. They have "sniffer" programs checking the doors of every Internet Service Provider (ISP) to make sure no threats are made to the President (can you say Phillips Exeter Academy). And now they want more.

Last year, the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) (http://www.epic.org ), an electronic watchdog group warned that a new Clinton Administration proposal would become an unprecedented intrusion into the privacy of private homes and businesses.

The White House plan would allow federal and local law enforcement agents to secretly break into private premises and alter computer equipment to collect e-mail messages and other information in your computer.

This draft legislation was known as the "Cyberspace Electronic Security Act," the latest White House effort to address the growing use of encryption technology.

The proposal would amend existing law to authorize "the alteration of hardware or software that allows plaintext to be obtained even if attempts were made to protect it through encryption."

According to EPIC, for the first time courts would be able to approve covert police entries into homes and offices for the purposes of making such alterations. David L. Sobel, EPIC's laywer said "It would be truly ironic if the use of encryption -- which is designed to protect privacy -- gave the police a green light to secretly break into homes."

Interestingly, last year there were only 50 approvals by federal and state judges to enter and install hidden microphones which is the most common surveillance technique, for example. So, according to Sobel, "extending this extraordinary power to cases involving computer files would make police break-ins far more common than they are today."

The latest administration proposal on computer surveillance comes after the previous unwelcome "FIDNET" initiative, a government program that would have monitored activity within both federal and private sector computer networks. When the details of that proposal became known, it met with strong criticism from members of Congress as well as privacy groups (including EPIC).

Oh well, Orwell also said, "Men are only as good as their technical development allows them to be."

The moral of the story is to keep your hair combed and put on a good face when out in the public. Oh yeah, and don't put anything on your computer you don't want mom or the FBI to know about.

I have to go now. I'm going online and see what Jenni is wearing for dinner.