bigbrother
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Xerox wants to extract demographic information from web surfers
The age of Big Brother everywhere is certainly upon us, and while we've seen (or at least heard of) tracking devices being implanted in the most unusual of places, it looks like Xerox is hoping to join the devilish fray. In an attempt to craft a demographic extractor to garner marketing dollars galore, a recently filed patent application spells out a system that utilizes software (and potentially hardware) to map users to "centroid vectors" which would determine a person's age, sex, and other "private" information simply based on their website visits. Interestingly, test cases are reportedly showing a respectable "75-percent accuracy rate" so long as a "sufficient number of pages were visited." Still, we can't imagine any tracing technology would be lawfully allowed behind the backs of law-abiding citizens (right?), but considering that even your TiVo has the potential to sell your soul to lucrative ad agencies, we wouldn't put it past 'em.[Via ArsTechnica]
AnyTrack GPS-100 discretely tracks personal property
Considering that behind-the-back GPS tracking isn't exactly illegal now, AnyDATA is offering up the option to discretely track just about anything (or anyone) you please with its AnyTrack GPS-100. Similar to other GPS / cellular hybrid devices we've seen, this rendition utilizes the AnyTrack "wireless location service" in order to continually track your mischievous teen's car or suspicious spouse. The diminutive 2.65-ounce unit can purportedly be tossed in a glove compartment, planted on a jacket, or clipped onto your dog's collar, and by taking advantage of the built-in GPS antenna and CDMA connectivity, the GPS-100 doesn't even need to be outdoors in order to transmit data. The gizmo itself will run you $199 for a limited time, while a potentially pricey pay-pay-view rate schedule will run you anywhere from $14.95 to near infinity depending on how obsessed you are with watching the dot.
Your office photocopier could help steal your identity
While we've seen just how to have a Sharp miracle in your office, it now seems that Sharp copiers (along with Xerox and a smorgasbord of others) could become a miraculous find for identify thieves. Given that many all-in-one "bizhubs" of today feature some sort of internal storage device to capture copies, scans, and faxes in case you need to resend the file a week or two later, it's not too surprising to think how such a convenience could be exploited by ill-willed individuals to extract personal information about you and your office mates. Pointing at tax time in particular, it has been suggested that many Americans photocopy sensitive documents that contain all the information needed to jack your ID without even realizing how vulnerable they've made themselves. Both Sharp and Xerox, however, have both released security kits that encrypt the internal data stored on its machines, but if you're using some off-the-wall copier and have noticed something peculiar about that fellow across the hall, stay sharp.
Scientists using MRI to predict intentions, Big Brother seen nodding approvingly
If you'd relegated the Thought Police from that Cliff Notes version of 1984 you read in high school to science fiction, think again, friend: scientists in Germany have just made the first major progress in being able to predict a person's intentions before they act them out. As you might expect, the team from Berlin's Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience are using modern technology's best tool for observing brain activity -- Magnetic Resonance Imaging -- to determine subjects' likely course of action when presented with a set of numbers that they may either add or subract. Now before you start freaking out that the cops are about to bust down your door all Minority Report-style for that nasty crime you're planning on committing, bear in mind that this research is still in its infancy, and that the reported success rate of 70% is still closer to chance than rigorous scientific truth. In other words, when researchers presented test subjects with a set of digits, they were only able to interpret the cortical activity correctly seven out of ten times -- the other three times, people zigged (added) when they were expected to zag (subtract). So, what does this all this mean for you paranoid conspiracy theorists out there? Not much -- for now. First of all, it's going to take as long as a decade to codify the cortical patterns associated with each one of the almost infinite variations on human thought. Secondly, MRI machines aren't exactly the most portable or inobtrusive instruments around, meaning that some pretty tech new devices are going to have to be invented if Big Brother really wants to monitor our thoughts covertly. In other words, tuck that tin foil cap back in the drawer and continue about your daily business.
Pentagon to implement global DVR-like surveillance?
The Pentagon's Defense Science Board released a report suggesting a pervasive system to observe and record activity in urban areas and hard-to-monitor settings across the globe -- in other words, they'd like to TiVo the entire planet for playback (or at least as much of it as they can for intelligence gathering purposes). The study mentions DVR-like technology that would be used to "run recorded time backwards to help identify and locate even low-level enemy forces," referencing the types of threats U.S. forces encountered in Iraq and Afghanistan. The proposal also seeks to minimize the use of human personnel, and instead, employ various autonomous monitoring methods, from tiny environmental data-collecting sensors to unmanned aerial vehicles. So basically, the plan is to keep a hawk eye on all areas of concern -- up to tens of thousands of square kilometers with targets as specific as an individual person, object, or activity. No word on if, or when, the military might be rolling this out. [Via Slashdot] Read - ReutersRead - Wired
SETI@home claims its first major discovery: a stolen laptop
Although this case doesn't represent the first time a thief has been tracked down by the very item he / she swiped, it does mark the first time in the history of SETI@home that the number crunching actually discovered something substantial. In another tale of good things happening to diligent people, a Minnesota husband installed the Berkeley-created software onto his wife's laptop to run whilst sitting unused, but he probably never imagined that having it check in with the California-based servers every so often would help him track down a crook. The lappie, which just so happened to house numerous crucial documents from his wife's writing collection, was jacked from their possession on New Year's Day, but as any determined and intelligent being would do, James Melin monitored the SETI@home database until the missing machine logged back into the UC mainframe, where a subpoena was then used to unearth the physical location of the stolen property. As of now, no arrests have been made, and while no pertinent documents were deleted or tampered with, Mrs. Melin noted that the perpetrator (or the eventual underground buyer's) taste in music was among the worst she's ever heard of judging by the foreign tracks that were gifted to her when the laptop returned. But what we really have here is just another good reason to join Engadget's Folding@home team![Via Slashdot]
Smile, you're on Big Brother's in-plane camera!
The folks in the UK aren't laissez-faire about this Big Brother thing one bit, them and Germany are throwing £25 million (bout $49 million US) at the "problem" of monitoring airline passengers with small cameras and microphones in every single seat back to monitor for suspicious behavior. The system will be able to detect rapid eye movements, excessive blinking, twitches, whispers or other symptoms of somebody trying to conceal something, and check the data against individual passenger profiles for alerting the crew to a potential terrorist. Airlines and privacy advocates aren't terribly stoked about the idea, with the airlines saying it'll take 10 years to outfit planes with such systems and the money would be better spent "on preventing terrorists boarding aircraft in the first place." Privacy people figure that "it will put people off flying because they will feel uncomfortable." However, Catherine Neary, the project team leader assures that under the Data Protection Act, all audio and video recordings will be destroyed at the end of each flight. That makes it all better, right?[Via Smart Mobs]
Maryland considering GPS tracking for truant students
Regardless of your personal opinion regarding the increasing use of so-called "Big Brother" tactics by the governments of the world, you've gotta hand it to the Maryland legislature for its sheer audacity here. "What, your kids won't go to school? We've got an idea, let's track 'em with GPS like the criminals they are!" Though perhaps parents will be delighted to learn that if Billy skips school too many times, an upcoming bill means they won't have to bother to do anything about it. According to Maryland Delegate Doyle Niemann, "They're not in control of their children. They take them to school, the kid walks in the front door and then out the back door. It doesn't make any sense to continue to beat on the parents." Seems like the schools might try a bit harder to spot these kids in transit from front door to back door, but if they're proving this elusive already, perhaps GPS really is the only answer.[Via The Raw Feed]
British mulling security cams that see through clothes?
There's no two ways about it: the British love their security. And when it comes to employing technology for keeping the streets clean (and Segway-free!) and the terrorists squirreled away, the Brits put the rest of the world to shame, what with their four million CCTV cams (some with mic's and speakers, but no aggression detectors -- yet), head-mounted bobby cams, rolling license plate scanners, and heck, even their camera-watching cameras. So it should come as no surprise that the government's latest idea for ensuring total citizen compliance putting safety first involves the deployment of security cams that have the ability to see through people's clothing, among other high-tech surveillance devices normally confined to your favorite airport. According to a leaked memo supposedly seen by The Sun -- they of the journalistically-dubious "Page 3" -- Home Office officials presented Tony Blair's working group on Security, Crime and Justice with a proposal to install what are technically known as "perv cams" to facilitate the detection of weapons and explosives at strategic locations around the UK, along with millimeter wave imaging and THz imaging and spectroscopy systems. The Sun's George Pascoe-Watson goes on to note that proponents of the plan are aware of the likely public backlash over such a Sliver-esque scenario, which is why some officials have suggested that only females be allowed to monitor the "dirty" feeds; whew, what a relief -- women would certainly never abuse a power like this for personal gratification. Anyway, we're not putting much stock in what is little more than a rumored pitch to a bunch of bureaucrats at this point, so it's probably okay to put away those lead-lined Jockey's for the time being.[Via Yahoo]
Lockheed Martin to build High Altitude Airship for homeland security
Although it's not exactly shocking to hear of yet another homeland security application that seems to border on Big Brother, Lockheed Martin's High Altitude Airship could keep an elevated eye on 600 miles of US countryside at any given time, and if all goes as planned, we'll have 11 of these things floating over our everyday activities by the end of the decade. The HAA prototype is a ginormous airship that measures 17-times larger than the Goodyear rendition we're all used to seeing above sporting events, and is designed to hover 12 miles above the earth in order to keep tabs on what's happening below. The airship is slated to be solar-powered and should stay in a geocentric orbit for "up to a year," and if equipped with high-resolution cameras, a single one could cover everything "between Toledo, Ohio and New York City." While Lockheed Martin is thrilled with the $40 million project they've been awarded, it's certainly understandable to get a little worried about how these blimps will actually be used, but a company spokesperson suggested then an entire fleet could actually be used for "border surveillance" -- and hey, we need a little help down there anyway, right?[Via Fark]
Big Brother could slow British motorcycles down, track routes
Most would argue that the UK certainly doesn't need one more piece of surveillance equipment watching its citizens, but regardless of the naysayers, it just might be getting another anyway. The latest implementation of Big Brother in our everyday lives comes courtesy of the Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), which are devices (presumably GPS-based) that will purportedly track motorcyclists' speeds and throttle things down if they attempt to break the posted speed limit(s). Moreover, the ISA could even be used to track bikers' journeys, and if things "prove successful," could eventually find its way into cars and other vehicles (like Segways beefed-up wheelchairs) in a reported attempt to "drastically cut the death toll on the country's roads." As expected, bikers and bike sellers are less than enthused about the new device, as they expect customers will be the ones footing the bill for the homing beacons and that sales could drop when folks realize they can't get a little footloose every now and then. While there's no hard dates on when (or if) these trackers / speed-controllers would hit motorcycles in the UK, the ISA has already undergone testing at the Motorcycle Industry Research Association (MIRA), so those looking to kick up a little two-wheeled dust best get a move on before the eyes in the sky put the clamps on your fun.[Via Fark]
The Cloud offers UK PSP users radio access via WiFi
While Sony's PSP hasn't seen all of the bizarre add-ons and proposed features become reality, there are quite a few that have indeed been realized, and just in case those PSP Spot downloads aren't keep you blokes in England happy, we've got one more reason that it pays to tote around that handheld. The Cloud, a major wireless hotspot provided in Europe, has teamed up with Channel 4 Radio to deliver 4Radio programming to PSP users via WiFi. Purportedly launched to coincide with the beginning of Celebrity Big Brother, PSP users who come into a Cloud coverage area will have access to a special link on the browser's landing page that will connect them to the radio content free of charge, but browsing other sites will unfortunately require you to pony up for the convenience. Moreover, users can even access and download 4Radio podcasts, so you won't miss a single show for the rest of, um, the next two months, as that's when this svelte promotion is (sadly) scheduled to cease.[Thanks, Jake]
Channel 4 streams content to UK PSP owners
British commuters are getting access to a very cool new feature ... provided that they have PSPs. Channel 4, the edgiest television station in the UK, will offer streaming programming for PSP owners at one of 7,500 wi-fi locations owned by Cloud. Nathalie Schwarz, director of Channel 4 Radio, said: "Becoming the first broadcaster to make radio content available wirelessly on PSPs will help 4Radio connect with a young, mobile audience, making our programming easily available whenever and wherever they want."It's expected that this service will expand to offer full television shows, such as the new Celebrity Big Brother (pictured above).[Via Times Online]
Accenture developing virtual meal technology, brings videoconferencing to the dinner table
If you're just finishing up what was likely a delicious and fulfilling Christmas dinner with your friends and family, connecting with loved ones probably isn't a problem at the moment, but for elderly and single folks who live alone and far away from old friends and relatives, Accenture is looking to expand their dinner tables as far as the webcam can see. The "virtual meal technology" seeks to aggrandize the dining room beyond a single home, allowing folks to enjoy separate meals while conversing together in real-time. Utilizing the basic premise found in videoconferencing, the plans are to unveil an (almost) automatic system that doesn't require a great deal of know-how in order to operate, with prototypes "automatically detecting" when someone is about to eat supper, and then searching for available family members that would also be interested in scarfing down some grub while chatting it up over the system. The firm is also pushing the medical aspects of such an invention, as it reports that "elderly people who eat alone often don't eat enough or eat the wrong kinds of food," which would allow younger family members to correct those eating habits before more serious health issues develop from malnutrition. While the company hasn't released any draft equipment just yet, it's hoping to have a prototype system available "in around two years," and while it's aiming for the "$500 to $1,000 range" per household, things could get a lot cheaper if your insurance company ends up footing the bill.
Wal-Mart to use infrared to track shoppers / promotions
As if its insanely coordinated logistics system, biometric payment system, and (potential) RFID shelving weren't eerie enough, America's largest retailer is taking consumer voyeurism one step further with the use of infrared technology. In an apparent attempt to avoid the taboo "RFID" flavor of intrusion, Wal-Mart is hoping to sneak an IR system into its stores to gauge the effectiveness (and elicit more advertising dollars, of course) of its various promotions. Dubbed Prism, the arguably dodgy system was crafted by Coca-Cola, Kelloggs, Kroger, Procter & Gamble, Walgreens, and Disney in order to "track shoppers' movements around the store" and correlate them with actual sales in order to judge display effectiveness. The consortium of firms has coaxed the corporate giant to install a trial system in ten of its SuperCenters, with a much broader rollout expected to follow soon; so when making that mad dash to the Tickle Me Elmo eXtreme (or bathroom supplies) section, just remember that Big Brother could be keenly watching.[Via TechDirt]
Hitachi's employee-tracking AirLocation II Tag-w WiFi-enabled RFID tags
Think wearing RFID-embedded clothing is pushing the limits of intrusion? If Hitachi has its way, your employer will soon be swapping out that company badge for a significantly more tricked-out version, complete with WiFi and RFID modules. Moving forward from the not-so-harmless RFID mirror, Hitachi is unveiling its AirLocation Tag-w at this week's CEATEC expo, which boasts a frightening ability to track and locate employees anywhere within the workplace. Aiming for "thorough and precise management of people," the device can pinpoint one's exact location, and also monitors any attempts to "enter and leave buildings." In an apparent attempt to color this voyeuristic tag in a positive hue, it also features an "emergency message function" which will broadcast a distress signal from the employee to a central help desk in case an uncontrollable robot army decides to invade your mundane corporate office. Although your manager may be salivating over the sudden ability to know the whereabouts of every mischievous subordinate on site, he / she may think twice once that ¥21,000 ($178) per unit expense hits the cost sheets.[Via MobileMag]
Apple fires retail employees for downloading Leopard
Nobody touches Big Brother's Apple's OS until they're good and ready -- not nobody. Apparently not even Apple employees are beyond the long arm of the law, since a few Apple Retail employees have been sacked after being overheard by the Thought Police co-workers while discussing their evil deeds, and were subsequently reported to corporate. Their crime? Downloading the WWDC edition of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard that was handed out to developers at the recent keynote and has been popping up on file sharing sites of late. At least five employees have been fired so far, with "dozens" more facing electroshock therapy expulsion. When questioned about their actions, the employees fessed up to the crime, and they seemed to think Apple was in the right for giving them the boot, though they do wonder if they'd still have their jobs if they'd hadn't admitted to downloading Leopard. Guess you'll never know now, eh Honest Abe? Though you can assume with our BitTorrent habits that we wouldn't be blabbing about our recent acquisitions in front any Inner Party members Apple corporate types.
Big Brother Season 7 available in iTunes
CBS and Apple have just made added Big Brother All-Stars, the seventh season of the reality show, available in the iTunes Music Store. I must admit that I am a faithful Big Brother watcher, I even watched the first season when the contestants got along and there were no challenges for them to do, they just sat around the house all day.The per episode price is the standard $1.99 but the season pass price of $29.99 is where things get interesting. CBS airs Big Brother three times a week over the summer which means that if you spring for the season pass you'll get 50 episodes (or so) for 30 bucks. Not too shabby.I should also point out that CBS is offering these episodes for free on Innertube, their online video service.[via Variety.com]
Big Brother is SMS savvy in some countries
It's no secret that China is rockin' some serious server power dedicated to filtering its SMS airwaves of unthinkable topics like Taiwan, democracy, and pornography, but other countries are getting in on the action, too. Belarus and Iran have both been called out in recent months for listening to its citizens' texts, and in Belarus' case, sending them as well. Although the technology for real-time filtering by keyword is largely homegrown (or so we hope), predictive text manufacturers like Tegic (disclaimer: Tegic is owned by Engadget's parent company's parent company, AOL) are receiving pressure from handset manufacturers to double- and triple-check their dictionaries for words that could be considered distasteful in countries with more oppressive governments than our own. Personally, discovering a word missing from T9 has never prevented us from typing it manually, but nonetheless -- between this and M-Track, we're about ready to head down into the Engadget bunker with a year's supply of Spam and just ride this whole thing out.[Via textually.org]
Get that authentic "cinema experience" on your Mac
You know the "cinema experience" that movie executives keep harping on about? Y'know, the "experience" that cinemas use to justify stupidly high snack and ticket prices? Well, a company has created a program that lets you relive this authentic experience from the comfort of your Mac. Peanut Gallery, billed as a "shared media experience" by its creators, allows you to recreate this experience from within a virtual 70's style movie theater. You can even chat over the movie along with seven other viewers via the web or Bonjour and animate little silhouette avatars that sit in rows of seats. Getting up and leaving after you realize you've spent your hard earned money on another piece of Hollywood crap has never been so easy; you don't even have to leave your chair to leave your chair! Don't worry if you're a little late for the showing, because there's also an option for a pre-show reel which, for extra realism, you'll be able to fill with annoying commercials and trailers for films you're completely uninterested in.Still, I'm a little angry that there's no implementation of a few other cinema features we all know and love including "mobile phone goes off at the tense bit" or the "crying baby". They didn't even place an obligatory anti-piracy PSA at the beginning! The pre-screening frisk down by a burly police officer is also missing. Another thing: Peanut Gallery doesn't disable my iSight or jam my cellphone for the duration of the film. Talk about unrealistic. How am I supposed to feel like I'm actually at the movies with essential parts of the cinema experience missing?!I give the program a B+ for effort, but I think a little more of a police state/Big Brother-style attitude is needed.[Via Daring Fireball]
