We've been covering this technology for some time now and have a bunch of related stories to give you the wide angle on the Smart Grid. So dive in:

• My Take: Weak Security Will Doom the Smart Grid

• Video: Smart Grid Makes Fridges Smarter

• Top 10: 10 Dumb Things About the Power Grid

• Podcast: Smarter Meters for a Smarter Grid

• News: Community Genome Could Produce Biofuels

• Feature: Moving Toward a Renewables-Friendly Grid

• Feature: How Smart Can the Grid Get?

• Puzzle: Plugging Into the Smart Grid

• Blog: Micro-Curtailment to Curb AC Use

• HowStuffWorks: How Power Grids Work

• HowStuffWorks: How Demand Response Works

• Planet Green: How to Choose a Home Energy Monitor

• Tree Hugger: Boulder, Colo.: First to Have a Smart Grid?

• Tree Hugger: Smart Grids Can Cut CO2 Emissions by 15 Percent.

• Tree Hugger: Will Smart Grid Corps Be As Shady As Big Oil?

In last few days, Ali Wise, publicity director for Dolce and Gabbana, has gotten into a bunch of trouble (and has gotten fired) for using SpoofCard to access the voice-mail accounts of girlfriends/finaces of ex-lovers. It was easy enough to do. She changed her own number to match the number she was calling. Not realizing the call was an imposter, the voice-mail service automatically granted access to the voice-mail accounts.

"If she’s trying to appear as if she’s someone else, this could be evidence of fraud," said professor Tracy Mitrano, director of IT policy at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.

I called up Mitrano to ask her whether a service such as SpoofCard is even legal and what could happen to people using it.

"I don’t think there’s anything wrong having a mechanism to have an identifier blocked," said Mitrano.

She pointed out that for decades, it's been possible to accomplish some of the same actions in an analog manner that SpoofCard allows in the digital realm. We talked about how it's possible to block (not change) the number that shows up on a person's caller ID display by keying in *67 before dialing the number. Certainly devices have been available to change a person's voice on a phone call and it is possible to record a phone conversation.

So SpoofCard is legal. But using the service to defraud is illegal.

She cited the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, which makes it unlawful to access a computer without authorization, among other things.

She also cited trespassing laws, which apply to the digital space as they do to the physical space (think: private property).

She also cited the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, which prohibits a person from intercepting any "wire, oral, or electronic communication."

So there are plenty of laws out there. Furthermore, it isn't legal in every state to record a telephone conversation without informing the person that the call is being recorded.

It's a great example of how can make a huge difference in the lives of people.

For more examples, see our Wide Angle: Technology Saving the World.

Image: courtesy of IDRC / CDRI; Photographer Sitoo Mukerji

I got to wondering what kind of technology and equipment real-life paranormal investigators use, in addition to cameras.

The Paranormal Research Society of New England has an  page on their web site called a toolbox. And you can find equipment suggestions on Prairie Ghosts.  Here's some of the equipment they recommend in addition to digital video and still cameras:

• Tape Recorders - Useful for recording notes and capturing events on audio.
• Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Detector - Used to sense disruptions in the natural magnetic field of locations. You can order them on Amazon or buy on at Radio Shack.
• Infrared Camera - Great for locating cold spots.
• Digital Laser Thermometer - Measures surface temperatures and temperature gradients.

Happy ghost hunting.

Photo: Medioimages/Photodisc

I have two thoughts.

1) Sure the United States is a huge country and it would be a challenge to offer broadband to all of its citizens. But you'd think that our country, which invented the Internet and is a major leader in the industrialized world, would at least have broadband available to a large portion of its people. But it didn't even make the top 10 list of countries offering broadband.

Photo: Digital Vision/Getty

Ok, I get it. It's like those parties in junior high school that all the cool kids went, and I didn't hear about until Monday. And that's exactly why these invitation-only marketing schemes work so well, I suspect. Because they tap into that insecure kid inside us that just wants to be included. 

The marketing trick abounds. There's invitation-only shopping,invitation-only social networking sites, including A Small World and Qube, invitation-only conferences, forums and file-sharing sites.

Well, I guess I can request an invitation. But until I receive one, I'm  locked out. The Google Wave site explains, "Even though you have a Gmail or a Google account, you must be invited to Google Wave in order to sign in. If you haven't been invited by a friend, you won't be able to use the service at this time."

Cold. 

Kevin Makice at Wired was invited. I guess he's one of the cool kids. 

Since I haven't been invited to the party, I'll poo-poo it. Maybe I'll call the guys over at Newsweek, who haven't been invited either, apparently, and commiserate about how Google's Wave is probably a lame party anyway. 

For that reason and probably because these folks represent a huge piece of the economy and have a good chunk of disposable income (provided they didn't lose it all in the recession), a new web site has been launched to appeal to them. It's called the Floh Club, named after Florence Henderson (Carol Brady on the Brady Bunch TV show). It's a telephone-based technical support service for older adults who may have questions about setting up, configuring and using computer hardware and install software or who may need a computer repaired or de-virsued. Members can also ask questions about digital cameras, MP3 players.

The service is available seven days a week between 8 a.m. and 2 a.m. Eastern Standard Time by subscription.

• annual subscription: $250/year
• monthly subscription: $25/month
• repair, tune-up and protect which includes anti-virus: $60 flat
• one-time educational package: $50 flat

I'm not a baby boomer, but I'm also not the go-to gal if a computer a breaks down. I mean, sure, I can fix a paper jam in the printer and restart my Mac when once a year it acts up. But where do non-Baby boomers/non-Mac user take their computers? (I just go to the Genius Bar at the Mac store and Voila my problems are solved!)

I guess there's Geek Squad, right? I checked their web site and prices start at $49.99. You do the math, old timer.

But soon, I hope, will come the day when cords of any type go the way of the manual dial on the television set. (My dad used to make me change the channel when I was the kid. I was the remote control!) A new device called a Power Mat requires no cords. (Duracell also has one called My Grid) You just place your iPhone, BlackBerry, MP3 player, cell phone, headset, hand held electronic games, digital camera or GPS unit on the mat and sit back and eat a donut or something.

The first time I heard about wireless power was in 2007 from a group a scientists at MIT who demonstrated how to light a 60W light bulb from a power source seven feet away. The scientists have gone on to launch a startup company called WiTricity. They have a nice explanation on their web site that explains how their wireless technology works.

I'm not sure if it's similar to how Power Mat's technology works (left), but the WiTricity site gives you some idea of how energy is transferred safely from one spot to another without zapping anything (including us) in between. I for one can't wait to toss these cords in the trash!

Photo: AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels