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Author Topic: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House  (Read 1411 times)

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Offline CG6468

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BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« on: March 26, 2012, 10:52:24 AM »
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Will Big Brother Be Watching You on Your New HD TV?
Written by Gary North on March 26, 2012

A new generation of high definition television sets are hitting the American market now. Samsung’s top-of-the-line sets will include an internally wired HD camera, twin microphones, face tracking, and speech recognition.

The question is: Who will be able to use these features, in addition to you?

While Web cameras and Internet connectivity are not new to HDTVs, their complete integration is, and it’s the always connected camera and microphones, combined with the option of third-party apps (not to mention Samsung’s own software) gives us cause for concern regarding the privacy of TV buyers and their friends and families.

Samsung has not released a privacy policy clarifying what data it is collecting and sharing with regard to the new TV sets. And while there is no current evidence of any particular security hole or untoward behavior by Samsung’s app partners, Samsung has only stated that it “assumes no responsibility, and shall not be liable” in the event that a product or service is not “appropriate.”
These are powerful televisions.

These Samsung TVs locate and make note of registered viewers via sophisticated face recognition software. This means if you tell the TV whose faces belong to which users in your family, it personalizes the experience to each recognized family member. If you have friends over, it could log these faces as well.

In addition, the TV listens and responds to specific voice commands. To use the feature, the microphone is active. What concerns us is the integration of both an active camera and microphone. A Samsung representative tells us you can deactivate the voice feature; however this is done via software, not a hard switch like the one you use to turn a room light on or off.

And unlike other TVs, which have cameras and microphones as add-on accessories connected by a single, easily removable USB cable, you can’t just unplug these sensors.

During our demo, unless the face recognition learning feature was activated, there was no indication as to whether the camera (such as a red light) and audio mics are on. And as far as the microphone is concerned the is no way to physically disconnect it or be assured it is not picking up your voice when you don’t intend it to do so.

Go out and buy your blammo masks!

Constantly intruding in personal lives
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Offline DumbAss Tanker

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2012, 11:22:27 AM »
Much like the new US cars, packed full of 'features' for which I have no use whatsoever, and all too easily turned against the owner.
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Offline FiddyBeowulf

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2012, 11:53:28 AM »
One step closer to Skynet!!!  :panic:
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2012, 12:37:00 PM »
You mean Obama can see me giving him the one finger salute with both hands now?









WELL GOOD! :-)
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“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."  Stalin

Offline Mr Mannn

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2012, 05:45:06 PM »
So, no one will drape a drop cloth over the TV when its not in use?
Maybe I could wear a batman mask every time I watch TV.
If I know I'm being watched, I could make puppet shows for the govt.

Heaven forbid that I ask a TV repairman to remove the camera, or spill a drop of paint on its lens...
« Last Edit: March 28, 2012, 05:47:22 PM by Mr Mannn »
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Offline JohnnyReb

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2012, 05:48:44 PM »
Can you imagine how many full moons they will see when Obama interupts peoples TV programs to read his teleprompter.
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“The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of ‘liberalism’, they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened.” - Norman Thomas, U.S. Socialist Party presidential candidate 1940, 1944 and 1948

"America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within."  Stalin

Offline Mr Mannn

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2012, 05:50:42 PM »
That will be fun. But if there is no way to turn these features off, people will just UNPLUG the sets.
that will end the spying right quick.
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Offline thundley4

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2012, 05:58:16 PM »
Quote from: Mr Mannn on March 28, 2012, 05:50:42 PM
That will be fun. But if there is no way to turn these features off, people will just UNPLUG the sets.
that will end the spying right quick.


Battery power with the signal sent back along the cable.
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Offline LC EFA

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Re: BIG Borther is Coming To Your House
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2012, 06:09:13 PM »
Little bit of electrical tape over the lens.

Spot of cyanoacrylate in the microphones.

Done and done.
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