smartphones, webcams and xbox kinects are all used to spy on us at home
For market research by big companies.
I remember having this conversation whilst stoned and it made me think.
At the moment I'm not quite sure, is that possible ? Also I have a friend who thinks that the London riots was started by the police to distract us from the economical crisis.

Yay my first ever QOTW suggestion to make it :)
(shezam slouching towards nirvana., Tue 6 Dec 2011, 20:39, 9 replies)

I rather like the idea of an "economical crisis".
Sounds cosy.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 6 Dec 2011, 20:48, closed)

That was my mistake not his.
I need to sleep more...
(shezam slouching towards nirvana., Tue 6 Dec 2011, 21:05, closed)

as for the riots i personally believe they let it escalate on purpose so they could justify cracking down on protests and getting away with kettling. however i dont think they ever thought it would go as feckin crazy as it did.

also id like to point out they forced all media outlets to drop any coverage of the stuff which was happening at the olympic site as the powers that be didnt want any of the rioting to appear to have any political motive.
(bruxia, Tue 6 Dec 2011, 21:14, closed)

Not sure that the webcams are used.
But your phone use may certainly be spied upon:
www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/12/carrier-iq-data-vacuum/
(Me, I'm not... in any way intoxicated, Tue 6 Dec 2011, 21:21, closed)

Google profits
Of course your data is sold on. Web tracking is as old as the hills. Cookies, magic cookies, flash, Facebook, Twatter, etc. Mobile phones are just making it easier with that added GPS. Face Recognition in Facebook - as developed by the idiots who keep taging the photos of their mates.

We are well on the way to the adverts like you see in Minority Report which will address you personally. See the stories from this Thanksgiving over in the US where certain Malls were all ready to track mobiles from store to store...

Big Brother is brought to you by advertisers, not the Government.

(Turning on web cams, mics, kinects is still illegal so not done... yet)


Also, remember, in reality there is no point in trying to track EVERYONE and bug EVERYONE and record phone, email, web, etc. How on earth would they sort through all that data? You'd need a lot of staff to do the checking. And then who watches them?
( Batter Pudding Hurler is a figment of your imagination, Tue 6 Dec 2011, 22:10, closed)

You'd need a lot of staff to do the checking. And then who watches them?
I dunno, the Coast Guard?
( Holly Would long wheel based tranny, Tue 6 Dec 2011, 23:28, closed)

plenty of point to track everyone
E.g. Bloke robs shop. Cops query phone database to see who is in the area at the time. Ooh, great, a list of suspects. No idea if this happens, just mean you don't have to try very hard to think of a use for such tech.

As to who watches the watchers? An enteral problem. The traditional solution being the police watches the police and if they do anything nawty they flush the evidence down the bog.
( rob, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 9:25, closed)

Yeah but..
Britain is the most watched country with all its CCTV, yet that hasn't reduced the crime rate one bit.
(shezam slouching towards nirvana., Wed 7 Dec 2011, 9:34, closed)

That's because 99% of the cameras are only there to reduce insurance premiums
And so are switched off a lot of the time, suddenly get switched on when the insurance assessor pops round for a visit at renewals time, and even then the feed goes to an E-180 VHS casette so old it's still got the Aardman-designed, Derek-Guyler-voiced plasticine skeleton on the cardboard sleeve, that constantly gets re-used so is only ever of use in solving crimes if those crimes took place and are detected within three hours of an insurance renewal assessment visit.

Big Brother may well be watching you, but he's got the memory of a goldfish.
( shinyshinyscalp less a man, more a way of life, Wed 7 Dec 2011, 14:00, closed)