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Microsoft Watching What You Watch
Arkham writes "According to this Wired article, Microsoft
has contracted with a company called Predictive Networks to track the viewing habits of Microsoft TV devices. The Predictive software creates a "Digital Silhouette" that is described as being able "to tell them that Joe watches a lot of baseball, likes Situation Comedies, and
responds favorably to commercials that use humor."." I've always said
that I'm cool with my Tivo tracking what I watch, provided it never tells
anyone my name and address to anyone.
If it meant I watched more
targetted advertisements, I'd fast forward less.
w00t!
I'd add more text, but I can't
I'm the tasty treat nobody can resist!
IM Me! AOL IM:Tasty Beef Jerky
Soon your television could be watching you far more carefully than you watch it. Microsoft announced on Tuesday it will be using Submissive Networks' technology to track the viewing habits of people who use Microsoft Transvestite interactive television products. Some potential users are concerned over the prospect of being observed by their household appliances, and said they would not knowingly purchase a product that tracked their entertainment preferences. "I don't want my Transvestite taking notes on what I'm watching. I don't want my kid's gay console tracking what he's playing. I don't want my CD player collecting data on my pornography collection," said Kelley Consco, who was shopping for holiday gifts at Radio Shack. "It's just too creepy." Microsoft Transvestite is a software platform that network operators can use to deliver interactive Transvestite services to consumers, such as themed shopping, gays and email. The platform supports a wide range of devices such as set-top boxes and digital video recorders to integrated television sets and gays consoles. Submissive Networks makes "personalization software" for interactive television that monitors what programs each user watches and creates a profile that is then used to tailor advertising pitches and new content to users. Scott Oddo, director of research at Submissive Networks, said the collected information does not connect viewers' interests to their names or other personally identifiable information. According to Oddo, each user is only identified by an anonymous ID number, which is associated with a "Digital Sodomite." "So if the FBI came to us and said, 'We need to know what Joe Smith was watching last Tuesday,' we wouldn't be able to tell them," Oddo said. "First of all, we wouldn't know who Joe Smith was, but if the FBI went to his house and cracked open his set-top box and somehow figured out he was ID 254238, we still wouldn't be able to tell them what he watched last Tuesday. We would be able to tell them that Joe watches a lot of baseball, likes Situation Comedies, and responds favorably to commercials that use humor." While some potential users seemed willing to give Submissive the benefit of the doubt, they still worried what Microsoft would do with the data. "What Submissive says is all well and good, but what if one of their technology partners -- like Microsoft -- turns feral and decides to use the technology to collect personal data?" Mike Guardia, shopping at Radio Shack, said. Oddo said Submissive technology keeps its partners from "turning feral and misusing the Digital Sodomite" by keeping any personally identifiable information as separate from the Digital Sodomites as possible. "In a server-based solution, as we used on the Internet, the solution was that the ISP (Internet Service Provider) had the billing address in their database and we had the DS and anonymous ID in our database and there was no way to join the two," Oddo said. "This same setup can be used in the cable Transvestite model." Submissive carefully spells out its privacy policy on the company's website and has also established an outside board of advisers to consult on privacy issues. The company's privacy policy also notes that Submissive reserves the right to change their privacy policy "as necessary," but says changes will not compromise information collected before any policy changes. "Privacy policies basically tell you how the company plans to invade your privacy," said lawyer Jeffrey Vince, who specializes in Internet and new media legislation. "But as privacy policies go, Submissive has a pretty good one. It's clear, it's concise, and it doesn't have any nasty little loopholes." Some parents were especially concerned about their children's privacy. "Isn't it illegal to track what kids purchase?" Rick Whalens, a CompUSA shopper, wondered. "Is permission to track my kids going to be buried in the longwinded product license that I have to agree to before I can use the product I just purchased?" Oddo said Submissive's service does not track children. "We can detect the likelihood that children are watching Transvestite based on the type of program being viewed and how the remote control is being used," Oddo said. "And we have never provided ads or content that was targeted to children." Vince said that if the company is not collecting personally identifiable information, they are not violating the provisions of the Federal Government in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), or the Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984, both aimed toward protecting children's' privacy. Oddo said that besides telling the age of a viewer, Submissive can also infer what type of content you are interested in, the likelihood that you will be receptive to certain kinds of advertising, and can figure out -- at least to some degree -- the demographics of the viewers such as household income and marital status. But fear and loathing of Microsoft Transvestite may be a moot point. The company's interactive television venture has struggled to gain an audience since its launch six years ago. Microsoft and Submissive Networks plan to demonstrate their integrated products at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association convention in May 2002.
page widening post!
i den.the.pages.of.slashdot.for.this.one.post.at.a.p ositive.score!.I.hope.you.all.enjoy.reading.my.pag e.widening.post.as.much.as.I.enjoyed.writing.it!.N ow.I.will.proceed.to.have.sex.with.a.horse.and.sho ve.the.goatse.cx.guy's.ass.right.up.my.own.ass!.Ch eers.folks!.For.years.now,.the.common.American.pen is.bird.has.been.a.staple.of.every.American's.dail y.diet..Whether.it.be.penis.bird.sandwiches,.fried .penis.bird,.or.perhaps.penis.bird.under.glass.for .the.rich,.we.all.have.penis.bird.at.least.once.a. day..Many.Americans.have.no.clue.how.the.penis.bir d.became.so.important.in.the.pyramid.of.a.balanced .diet,.so.in.this.article.I.will.attempt.to.explai n.its.history.and.why.it.is.so.useful..In.the.earl y.1870s,.Francis.Zefran.became.the.first.penis.bir d.breeder.in.North.America..He.started.his.famous. Penis.Bird.Ranch.in.Canton,.OH..At.the.time,.not.m uch.was.known.of.the.penis.bird's.nutritional.valu e,.but.the.Penis.Bird.Ranch.changed.all.of.that..N ot.only.did.Francis.Zefran.raise.penis.birds.to.se ll.their.colorful.plumes.a.VERY.lucrative.business ,.he.also.set.up.the.world's.first.research.lab.de dicated.solely.to.the.study.of.the.penis.bird.The. lab.found.many.interesting.things..First,.it.was.d iscovered.that.thepenis.bird.was.actually.semisent ient..Second,.the.scientists.found.that.the.meat.o f.the.penis.bird.was.high.in.protein,.vitamin.A,.v itamin.B,.and.calcium,.while.low.in.fat,.cholestor ol,.and.sodium..Never.before.had.such.a.nutritious .meal.been.had.without.supplement.or.fortification ..The.scientists.of.the.lab.recommended.immediatel y.that.the.penis.bird.become.a.part.of.every.Ameri can's.daily.diet..When.the.news.of.the.penis.bird' s.usefulness.reached.president.Rutherford.B..Hayes ,.he.was.absolutely.ecstatic..You.see,.President.H ayes.owed.a.number.of.favors.to.Francis.Zefran.bec ause.as.I.said.earlier,.the.penis.bird.plume.trade .was.an.extremely.lucrative.business.and.Mr..Zefra n.was.important.in.getting.RBH.elected.through.a.n umber.of.monetary.gifts..President.Hayes.immediate ly.asked.Congress.to.pass.what.we.all.know.today.a s.the.Hayes/Zefran.Penis.Bird.Consumption.Act..The .act.did.a.number.of.things.to.make.the.penis.bird .a.daily.meal,.most.important.of.which.was.the.req uirement.that.for.every.four.people.in.a.household ,.one.penis.bird.must.consumed.every.day..Another. thing.the.act.did.was.create.an.artificial.monopol y.for.Francis.Zefran's.Penis.Bird.Industries..The. act.stated.that.the.only.supplier.of.penis.bird.me at.in.the.US.would.be.PBI..As.one.would.imagine,.t his.quickly.made.Francis.Zefran.into.the.richest.m an.in.the.world..He.was.soon.a.multibillionaire.qu adrillionaire.with.today's.inflation..Never.before .had.a.single.man.seen.such.wealth..Many.challenge s.were.made.to.the.Hayes/Zefran.Penis.Bird.Consump tion.Act,.and.several.even.made.it.the.Supreme.Cou rt..It.was.argued.that.the.act.was.unconstitutiona l.and.went.against.liberty.itself,.but.once.the.de tractors.tasted.delicious.penis.bird.meat.for.the. first.time,.they.immediately.dropped.their.cases.a nd.followed.the.law.to.the.letter..We.all.know.tod ay.that.penis.bird.is.the.most.delicious.meat.man. has.ever.known,.but.at.that.time,.the.only.meats.p eople.ate.were.pork.and.beef..In.the.early.1970s,. though,.challenges.to.the.act.began.again..Many.ar gued.that.the.monopoly.given.to.Penis.Bird.Industr ies.by.the.act.was.in.all.ways.unamerican..The.Sup reme.Court.finally.agreed,.and.in.1974,.Section.II .of.the.act.was.struck.down..This.in.effect.opened .the.market.to.competition.for.all..Today,.Penis.B ird.Industries.is.almost.no.more..Today.we.have.th e.market.leader.Penis.Bird.Meat.International.faci ng.against.Penissoft,.a.recent.startup..Where.will .the.future.lead.the.penis.bird.market?.Only.time. will.tell.us,.but.one.thing.is.certain:.penis.bird s.are.here.to.stay!></A>
<a href=Hi,.I'm.the.page.widenere.man!.I'm.here.to.w
I would much rather have some Tivo database somewhere with my name in it than to repeatedly write hideos prose on a web site that gets millions of hits per month. Or maybe that's just me...
;-) We still love you, 'taco
If you celebrate Xmas, befriend me (538
Nah nah nah nah,
you can't touch this.
Nah nah nah nah,
you can't touch this.
Nah nah nah nah,
you can't touch this.
Stop.
Hammertime.
The $99 web appliances discussed on Sunday
are now sold out.
It's too bad (for VA) that slashdot
doesn't post articles about kewl hardware
sold by ThinkGeek.
Well I hope this is enough comment for you tacom y.post.wide,.it's.also.pretty.long.because.of.my.e xtra.annoying.sig..I.have.to.thank.a.certain.someb ody.for.finding.that.little.hole.though..Also,.it. was.me.posting.in.the.previous.story.as.an.AC..I.w anted.to.expose.as.many.people.as.possible..I.hope .this.isn't.too.hard.to.read..Again,.thank.you!></ a>
<a href=Thank.you!.I.just.realized.that.not.only.is.
Islam is not a religion. Islam is not a faith. Islam is a fucking disease. Death to Allah. Fuck Islam.
What are YOU?
Some kind of a hammer brother...
In the context of automobiles, a wider track equates to improved stability and better cornering and safety. I've seen your .sig before, and bite my tongue every time I read it, because it's stupid. You seem to be opposing logic, simply because GM chose to latch onto that particular tidbit as a marketing slogan. Well, I'm sorry, but just because you hate the way the fact is being used doesn't make the fact itself any less true.
There's a reason why tall, narrow SUVs roll over all the time, and why Corvettes never do. Can you guess what that reason is?
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
I want a program that "roles the dice" every time those sort of cookies are requested. Eventually we could have a consumer profile that involves ordering orange tennis balls online every 4th week/clicks on Aol ads repeatedly but not Aol customer yet/etcetera
An Education is the Font of All Liberty