Slashdot Mirror
Spies Riding Shotgun
Slashdot has covered before the proliferation of black boxes - event data recorders - in modern automobiles, that automatically record data about what the car has been doing and make it available after the fact to police, insurance companies, and people suing you - just about everyone except you, in fact. We'll add to that with yet another story about the computerized spy riding shotgun in your new car.
... and the subsequent amendments.
A message from the system administrator: 'I've upped my priority. Now up yours.'
..to the day when my every every bowel movement is recorded for the enjoyment of future generations.
"You can't shut it off, and you can't manipulate it," I had that trouble when I had a Ginseng and Viagra chaser.
This is an absolute invasion of privacy! Imagine: recording every questionable driving decision you make. I wonder where I can get one for my daughter's car?
All they need to do is add a speech synthesizer and a place to deposit 1/2 your income, and its like marriage in a box (and yes, I do realise this box has nothing to do with sex, which makes the simulation even more accurate).
I don't have to worry about Orwell's "1984" because I drive a car from 1984!
How can I hack it? I would love to be able to see what type of data is available in that box.
Ah, but you have forgotten about the odometer -- i.e., the sinister spy in your dashboard !!!
Just erase it. Take that ol Porsche, and put it up on blocks in the garage. Run it backwards. This will not only move the odometer backwards, it should erase the events on the black box recorder that happened during these miles. Sounds like an original idea, right?
Yes, it's necessary to report this. As often as possible, so that /. gets as much attenion as possible. If no one reports it, then soon no one will be aware of it happening, and /. might not make bucket loads of money. One might argue that we already know, but the fact that we've already forgotten that the guy replacing Ashcroft is the same torture guy that called the Geneva Convention "quaint" is proof that our memories are very poor, so theirs plenty of oppurtunity for /. to rake it in. So, yes, it's necessary to report the ongoing use of event data recorders in consumer products and their use against consumers as often as possible, how else would we serve you all those Microsoft (who we hate) ads?.