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A TV That Knows and Shares What You're Watching
holy_calamity writes "A technology will be appearing soon in TVs that fingerprints what is onscreen and sends that information to an internet server able to identify the content, whether it's live TV or another source, like a DVD. Web pages and mobile apps using the same connection as the TV can access that information using an API, allowing online content to dynamically provide relevant information and ads to be more targeted. Startup Flingo, which developed the technology, says one of the top 5 TV brands in the US will launch a set with the Sync Apps system in coming months."
I do not want this technology.
Find out who is watching what: Only $10/month for unlimited access!
If my viewership can help the obscure shows I like get some advertiser love, I'm fine with my TV "reporting" on me. Back in the day, they apparently only gave Nielsen boxes to hillbillies in trailer parks (who apparently weren't big Firefly fans). I even volunteered to be a "Nielsen family," but I guess they didn't give them to single geeks. In fact, the only Nielsen family I ever even met was a family of local rednecks in my hometown when I was a kid. They were barely literate and I'm not even sure how they filled out their weekly paperwork (this was before the set-top boxes). I think they probably just randomly checked boxes, which may explain how "The Love Boat" ran for eight seasons.
Now, having said that, there *are* limits. DON'T YOU BE REPORTING ON MY PORN! THAT'S WILLIE'S TIME!!!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.