by Alex Roldan
Radio Frequency (RF) jamming devices are threatening the first ever automated election in the Philippines. Fact or fiction?
The fact is, people these days are crazy about technology. Many would want to get hold of any advanced and even strange technological gadgets that they can show off to everybody. An example is the cellular phone. Many are willing to spend more to have a sophisticated unit with an array of features that are seldom or of no use to them. Are you not wondering why you have a very expensive cellphone when most of its use is just to send text messages? Want to have a phone with camera, but cannot capture images like a real camera, with wi-fi capability but still use the computer most of the time when surfing the Internet, or with bluetooth that is always switched off against unwanted signals from phones nearby?
That is how technology is being marketed – psycho tactics in marketing! They advertise the product that makes you feel good, satisfy your needs or develop your urge to have it, and, in case of technology, makes you feel superior or advanced over the people around you.
The human brain has not changed since Homo sapiens started to walk upon the earth. The natural instinct to compete in order to survive still dominates, be it on a larger scale or between peers.
The rapid changes in technology make survival harsher for companies. The need to continually innovate and develop new products becomes critical to their continued existence. However, this harsh environment leads companies to the path of capitalizing on the natural instinct of people to compete as a strategy to keep their cash register ringing.
This is the very reason why your dependable Windows 95 computer operating system has been changed almost every other year for the past 15 years. Newer programs won’t work in older operating systems. Consumers are in constant fear that next year their units will already obsolete and have to prepare to buy faster computers and software to keep up with the rest. Yet, most have not yet explored the full potentials of those systems! I bet, that not many of us have explored fully the capabilities and features of Windows 95!
The same is happening in the case of electronic gadgets. Not only that they are cheap to produce, but the technology is already widely available. Radio jamming devices that were limited only to the military before can now be built at home.
But why produce signal jamming devices, and who would need such a device?
Obviously, this device is important to those who maintain local area networks (LAN). Cellphone signals sometimes interfere with their signal, thus, they need jamming devices to cover a limited area. For VIP security, they employ such device against possible cellphone detonated explosive devices, and others. But who else needs it?
Of course, it is all about having such a device even if it is not needed, and the perceived power that comes with it. Natural human instinct! Having such a device would make one brag to his peers that he has a capability that others don’t have. He could make others wonder why suddenly they cannot connect to their phone providers or send text messages! This is all about the feeling of being powerful, being in control and most of all the simple joy of pestering other people.
The fear that these devices could jam the signals of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS), may be true, but it may be a ploy by business crooks to make their devices popular, or from those who have devious plans for the election. Publicizing its supposed capability to disrupt the automated election would in the end result in shooting-up the demand for such a device. I am sure there are some who are now wondering what could it do, and will try to test what it can achieve if it is in their hands. The sellers of these devices are clearly making a killing now that this gadget has become popular.
Another fact is that, even if you control the sale of such device, those who know electronics can easily download the schematic of that device from the Internet. But I firmly believe that it would be out of this world for any ordinary person who owns such jamming device would dare think of sabotaging our election. What could be their motive? There may be one or two who may try to jam the PCOS, but this is more of a nuisance than sabotage.
If there is anybody who would want to sabotage the result of the election, it would come from those who fear that they will lose their political power. The real threat is from those who want to use the fear that jamming devices are now in the country to sabotage the election. For they are now starting to influence the perception of the people – not to trust the election result. That is their business, propagating FEAR.
For comments, e-mail to:roldanalex@yahoo.com
