February 01, 2006
Tempest For Eliza
Observe without Touching
Tempest for Eliza, by by Erik Thiele, is a program that uses your computer monitor to send out AM radio signals. You can then hear computer generated music on your radio. You need no additional hardware to understand that it is really possible to observe your computer without physically touching it. (tempest). I wrote this program because it was fun and because it teaches in an amusing way that tempest really exists. I want people to understand that their computers can be observed. And last but not least you can listen to music without a soundcard!
How does this work? All electronic devices send out eletromagnetic waves. So does your monitor. And your monitor does it all the time at very high frequencies, high enough for your short wave AM radio. All you have to do is display the "correct" image on your screen and your monitor will emit the "right" signals. Tempest for Eliza displays pictures on your screen, one for
each note in the song.
Posted by jo at February 1, 2006 08:11 AM
