Estimating Age With Kinect's 3D Camera To Filter Content

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Estimating Age With Kinect's 3D Camera To Filter Content

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday October 1, 2011 @03:41AM from the can-i-choose-what's-objectionable dept.

theodp writes "Hal in 2001: 'I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that [open the pod bay doors].' Kinect in 2011: 'I'm sorry, Dave Jr. I'm afraid I can't do that [tune in to the Spice Channel].' A Microsoft patent filing made public this week proposes to restrict access to TV, movies and video games by using a 3D depth camera to estimate viewers' ages based upon the dimensions and proportions of a person's body, such as head width to shoulder width, and torso length to overall height. For adults with short arms or other seemingly childlike proportions, settings can be overridden by someone with an administrator password."

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Slashdot applications by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 03:46 · Score: 0

With this technology Slashdot could add an extra delay in posting by children, enabling adults to get first post too.
1. Re:Slashdot applications by mwvdlee · 2011-10-01 04:38 · Score: 1
  
  Why would you want to lose the ability to get first post?
  
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In reality... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 03:51 · Score: 1

"Junior, what is the admin password?"
1. Re:In reality... by artor3 · 2011-10-01 04:34 · Score: 1
  
  If you haven't noticed, the people having kids these days grew up on Nintendo and Windows. The technically oblivious parent meme may be on it's last legs.
2. Re:In reality... by Oligonicella · 2011-10-01 04:54 · Score: 1
  
  Unfortunately replaced by the psuedo-technical user who harasses you to tweak your system.
3. Re:In reality... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:10 · Score: 0
  
  Nintendo and Windows? You mean the way my parents grew up on typewriters and reel-to-reel tape decks?
4. Re:In reality... by iamhassi · 2011-10-01 07:12 · Score: 1
  
  If you haven't noticed, the people having kids these days grew up on Nintendo and Windows.
  Nintendo didn't have an admin password (still doesn't), and Windows 95/98/ME crashed before it could get to login
  
  --
  my karma will be here long after I'm gone
5. Re:In reality... by iocat · 2011-10-01 10:12 · Score: 1
  
  The Wii does indeed have a parental admin password, which you can require before going on the shop, or playing M rated games. All major consoles have this type of functionality now.
  Wii Parental Controls
  Xbox 360 Parental Controls
  PlayStation 3 Parental Controls
  
  --
  Dude, I think I can see my house from here.
Can they reach the cables? by RyanFenton · 2011-10-01 03:51 · Score: 1

Unplug the 360(or future console), then plug the cable into the TV, and you're back to a regular TV, no password needed.
Ryan Fenton
1. Re:Can they reach the cables? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:08 · Score: 0
  
  You realize of course that this isn't targeted at current generation consumer goods, right? It is intended to be built in to a TV you buy in a few years. Similar to how the "V-Chip" was supposed to be in all TVs by a certain time. It will be an interesting trick to get all of your devices to play by the same standards and share a "household master password" across them. Want access to the section in the fridge where the beer is? Sorry Junior. Want to watch that pron flick? Nope. But before they can do this for more than just one device they need to be able to link them with a home automation system that allows a single user database. Or some cloudy thingy. I like that cloud one myself - "your internet connection is down, you cannot have access to the beer until the connection is fixed and you can be validated".
2. Re:Can they reach the cables? by icebike · 2011-10-01 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  Right, and everyone is OK with putting a Camera in their living room, or bedroom.
  
  --
  Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
3. Re:Can they reach the cables? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:54 · Score: 0
  
  You are assuming that the 360 isn't the cable box... which is likely part of Me's vision with this.
4. Re:Can they reach the cables? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:48 · Score: 0
  
  A TV with a camera in it? Now where did I read about such a contraption, I wonder...
5. Re:Can they reach the cables? by Tubal-Cain · 2011-10-15 19:25 · Score: 1
  
  Cable and Internet TV get to be a lot more racy than Broadcast. MS is planning to provide cable content through the XBox, so bill-payers just may decide to drop the cable box.
  And if they do that, the kids are going to circumvent the XBox to watch... what, exactly?
This begs the question... by idbeholda · 2011-10-01 03:52 · Score: 1

What happens if instead of accessing racy content, the user provides racy content to the Kinect? I would probably pull a Buffalo Bill/"Goodbye Horses" striptease and let nature take its course.
1. Re:This begs the question... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:11 · Score: 1
  
  Raises the question, not begs. Please be smart when posting here.
2. Re:This begs the question... by idbeholda · 2011-10-01 04:31 · Score: 1
  
  Can I beg to "raise your mom"?
3. Re:This begs the question... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:39 · Score: 1
  
  Give it up; the cause is lost. Prescriptivism rarely prevails, and the common, incorrect usage makes sense anyway.
4. Re:This begs the question... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:33 · Score: 0
  
  Please pull the stick out of your ass when posting here.
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7E-aoXLZGY
5. Re:This begs the question... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:53 · Score: 0
  
  Clearly it'd have to be broadcast to another random Kinect user, Chatroulette-style.
6. Re:This begs the question... by martin-boundary · 2011-10-01 16:50 · Score: 1
  
  Wrong. The cause is never lost because language is fluid. Keep complaining and usage can change back again.
  Think about it. If usage were truly too hard to change, then it would never have become incorrect in the first place.
  Begging the question is a fallacy.
7. Re:This begs the question... by martin-boundary · 2011-10-01 19:59 · Score: 1
  
  Nice. Of course his point is lost in the sea of proper grammar he insists on using throughout while simultaneously attempting to convince people of its superfluousness.
8. Re:This begs the question... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 23:59 · Score: 0
  
  Yes, "begging the question" is a type of fallacy and now it also means, "to elicit a question logically as a reaction or response".
  Even the Wikipedia article you cite presently describes the modern usage as well. The Wikipedia article cites thefreedictionary.com entry, which includes a reference to the Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed, that lists the modern usage first, before the definition of the fallacy ("if a statement or situation begs the question, it causes you to ask a particular question").
  The other internet-based citation from the Wikipedia article is even more damning: "...most people now suppose the phrase implies something quite different: that the argument demands that a question about it be asked—raises the question. Although using the expression in its original sense is now rare, using it in the newer sense will cause irritation among traditionalists." Ouch.
  So, you're correct that language is fluid. It's just that the burden is now upon you to stamp out a commonly accepted idiom that makes perfect sense in its modern, "incorrect" form vs. the traditional, regrettable English translation of the petitio principii fallacy. This is obviously what you are attempting to accomplish, but I don't believe your goal is worthy. Furthermore, I believe it is disingenuous to refer to the modern usage as incorrect at this stage.
9. Re:This begs the question... by sjames · 2011-10-02 08:55 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sorry Mr. Coward, your horse has died. There was nothing anyone could do...
Cardboard hacks by fragfoo · 2011-10-01 03:56 · Score: 3, Insightful

I imagine a kid making a silhouette of an adult with cardboard or something.

--
Sig? Heil
1. Re:Cardboard hacks by RyanFenton · 2011-10-01 04:05 · Score: 1
  
  Better yet - using a conveniently available blow-up doll would be wonderfully ironic. Using the forbidden creepy doppelganger to access forbidden knowledge. :^)
  Ryan Fenton
2. Re:Cardboard hacks by Alworx · 2011-10-01 04:07 · Score: 1
  
  Even better, a blow up doll!!
3. Re:Cardboard hacks by Baloroth · 2011-10-01 04:21 · Score: 1
  
  Good luck making a flat-cardboard silhouette look human to a 3d camera.
  
  --
  "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
4. Re:Cardboard hacks by Baloroth · 2011-10-01 04:23 · Score: 1
  
  I rather think that if your kids have convenient access to a blow-up doll, the TV is going to be a pretty small problem by comparison.
  
  --
  "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
5. Re:Cardboard hacks by RyanFenton · 2011-10-01 04:40 · Score: 1
  
  Depends on what knowledge the parents consider 'forbidden'. Might be the lesser of evils for the child to attempt to use their "boxing buddy" (non-sexual blow-up figure) to allow them to see the science channels - but I'd expect a LOT of very interesting variations on that story.
  Ryan Fenton
6. Re:Cardboard hacks by fragfoo · 2011-10-01 05:45 · Score: 1
  
  Kinect is not a 3d camera. Unless the setup has several kinects but thats not the usual.
  
  --
  Sig? Heil
7. Re:Cardboard hacks by fragfoo · 2011-10-01 05:47 · Score: 1
  
  Better yet - using a conveniently available blow-up doll would be wonderfully ironic. Using the forbidden creepy doppelganger to access forbidden knowledge. :^)
  Ryan Fenton
  Have you ever seen a blow up doll? They usually are smaller than an adult =P
  
  --
  Sig? Heil
8. Re:Cardboard hacks by _0xd0ad · 2011-10-01 05:53 · Score: 0
  
  Here, lest you look like an idiot again in the future.
  
  Kinect is based on software technology developed internally by Rare, a subsidiary of Microsoft Game Studios owned by Microsoft, and on range camera technology by Israeli developer PrimeSense, which interprets 3D scene information from a continuously-projected infrared structured light.[26][27] This 3D scanner system called Light Coding[28] employs a variant of image-based 3D reconstruction.
9. Re:Cardboard hacks by grumbel · 2011-10-01 05:54 · Score: 1
  
  Huh? Kinect is a 3D camera. It gives you a nice depth map along with the regular video picture and it should be able to easily pick out a flat cardboard from a full 3D human.
10. Re:Cardboard hacks by monkyyy · 2011-10-01 12:21 · Score: 1
  
  read the summery, its not based on size, other wise the kid could just walk closer to the tv
  
  --
  warning pointless sig
Hey Kid... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:05 · Score: 0

Hey Kid. Help me enter the administrative password, this thing is not adult friendly.
Christ. by swalve · 2011-10-01 04:07 · Score: 1

How about they just tell parents to do the dirty work of parenting their children? I am all for innovation, but can't they focus their genius on something more worthwhile?
1. Re:Christ. by hedwards · 2011-10-01 04:14 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I was wondering how they intend to handle problems related to individuals that look young. The current hardware is just not good enough for this to work, but even in the future if they manage to get it to see the people, I can't imagine it coping with teens that are heavyset with beards or people that look like they're teens even though they're adults.
  Ultimately, if even bouncers and police officers sometimes get it wrong, I'm not sure how we can hope that an electronic device is going to do any better.
2. Re:Christ. by Baloroth · 2011-10-01 04:18 · Score: 1
  
  Parents are too busy making money to spend on toys like Xbox 360s to care for their kids. So they want some of the toys to do it for them. And Microsoft is happy to take their money to help.
  
  --
  "None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
3. Re:Christ. by Nursie · 2011-10-01 04:29 · Score: 2
  
  I thought that the inclusion of (usually optional) parental control settings was part of parenting, deciding whether your kids are ready for whatever's behind the lock.
  Or have you decided that when you spawn you're going to be around your kid 24/7 ?
4. Re:Christ. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:38 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah and people making baby safety fences should do something more worthwhile. Parenting means making sure your toddler doesn't fall down the stairs without using some fancy technology.
5. Re:Christ. by Sperbels · 2011-10-01 04:40 · Score: 1
  
  I was wondering how they intend to handle problems related to individuals that look young.
  It's doubtful this would work the same way we identify youthfulness. It would probably look at something like the size of the head in proportion to the rest of the body. That would probably keep the number of false positives down. If if you are an adult who's that much out of proportion, you're probably too ugly to have kids anyway and you can just turn the feature off.
6. Re:Christ. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 05:32 · Score: 0
  
  Or technology can help lessen the burden... I mean, that's what technology is for. You seems to be thinking that this is the end-all solution when it should only be an assistant tool for parents. Doesn't' mean they have to use them but it can help parents who work 12 hours a day and simply can't be there 24 hours to baby their kids. After all, the first responsibility of a parent is to keep their children sheltered and fed. Everything else is secondary to that.
  As for this technology, sounds like basically a more convenient password system since it gets annoying to have to keep typing in the password. Instead, this system is more automatic (encourage it's usage) while merely an extension of what we previously have (adult password lock).
  Also, who deems what's worthwhile or not? This add one usage for kinects while being fairly minimal in programming and worthwhile to some users. Some users may find it useful while others notso. Worthwhile is the definition of value to people and as long as *some* people find value in such a thing, you can't say it's not worthwhile.
7. Re:Christ. by ScrewMaster · 2011-10-01 06:01 · Score: 1
  
  I was wondering how they intend to handle problems related to individuals that look young.
  It's doubtful this would work the same way we identify youthfulness. It would probably look at something like the size of the head in proportion to the rest of the body. That would probably keep the number of false positives down. If if you are an adult who's that much out of proportion, you're probably too ugly to have kids anyway and you can just turn the feature off.
  Either way, I predict an upswing in sales of wigs and fake mustache kits.
  
  --
  The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
8. Re:Christ. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:02 · Score: 0
  
  Yeah something has to be 100% effective to be useful. I'm not sure how people can sell cancer treatment that only works x% of the time, unpitted olives that may still contain pits, and telescopes that can't see when it's cloudy.
9. Re:Christ. by Ironchew · 2011-10-01 06:24 · Score: 1
  
  While this is sold under the guise of easy parenting, I wouldn't be surprised if the real purpose of this feature is to silently collect demographic information for Microsoft or its advertising partners.
10. Re:Christ. by hedwards · 2011-10-01 07:22 · Score: 1
  
  Yes and if we didn't already have a viable alternative you'd have a point. Nothing is 100% effective, but something like this is just laughable. You're not going to ever have it get the degree of accuracy necessary for it to be useful without a hell of a lot more technology than a game console has. And certainly not with just a Kinect.
11. Re:Christ. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 07:47 · Score: 0
  
  advertisers and content (think per head PPV) both benefit from having a camera attached to your TV and there have been multiple attempts to get one there in the past, so I think you are pretty much spot on. Whether consumers are dumb enough to fall for it remains to be seen
12. Re:Christ. by cptdondo · 2011-10-02 00:50 · Score: 1
  
  Yup. Not happening. At a guess my wife would be prohibited, while my 13 year old daughter would pass.
  I work with a woman in her 30s who regularly gets carded and accused of carrying fake ID. She has season tickets to a local college football team, and has been asked to leave because the guards suspect her of underage drinking.
  There's just too much variety in human body types and looks to work. Also, how is this thing going to work if the person is on the sofa under a blanket? Are we going to have to stand up and "assume the position" to watch TV now?
13. Re:Christ. by sjames · 2011-10-02 09:20 · Score: 1
  
  I'm sure little people everywhere will just love you for your remark.
14. Re:Christ. by Mr2001 · 2011-10-03 12:04 · Score: 1
  
  I thought that the inclusion of (usually optional) parental control settings was part of parenting, deciding whether your kids are ready for whatever's behind the lock.
  Covering up the parts of the world that make you uncomfortable is not parenting. Your kids will be exposed to that stuff whether you like it or not, so your job as a parent is to give them the knowledge and skills they need to understand it in context.
  
  --
  Visual IRC: Fast. Powerful. Free.
Heightism! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:08 · Score: 0

I'm a 19 year old European man at 5 foot 6 you insensitive clods @ MS
This should go well by xclr8r · 2011-10-01 04:09 · Score: 1

With those that have the (dwafism) growth hormone deficiency gene. There is nothing like being told that you are not average. I also see stuff like fatheads (life size posters http://www.fathead.com/) being a popular circumvention devices.

--
Beware of those who profit off the docile and persecute the unbelievers.
1. Re:This should go well by artor3 · 2011-10-01 04:36 · Score: 1
  
  Yes, I'm sure parental controls will be enabled by default on every unit and unable to be turned off.
2. Re:This should go well by rvw · 2011-10-01 04:40 · Score: 1
  
  I also see stuff like fatheads (life size posters http://www.fathead.com/) being a popular circumvention devices.
  I think a RealDoll would be the best circumvention.
3. Re:This should go well by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 11:31 · Score: 0
  
  10 grand to play blocked games would be out of most kid's budget. It'd be cheaper to hire a hooker... to stand in front of the camera to unlock the game.
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by grimJester · 2011-10-01 04:12 · Score: 0

Yeah, the horrible leftist Slashdotters would probably even object to Kinect killing terrorists based on their head width to shoulder width ratio.

Damn you terrorist enablers!
Greys... by Maljin+Jolt · 2011-10-01 04:30 · Score: 0

That should be used for detecting grey aliens abducting adult video gamers too!

--
There you are, staring at me again.
Better yet by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:34 · Score: 0

Remember that huge kid with the beard in 5th grade? He's gonna be a lot more popular!
1. Re:Better yet by Hognoxious · 2011-10-01 21:04 · Score: 1
  
  You mean Richard Stallman?
  
  --
  Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Hack already available! by MTO_B. · 2011-10-01 04:38 · Score: 1

In other news... Age verification is known to be overwritten by using one of these, giving the you full access: http://www.deal-cool.com/CustomerImgList/4544.htm
hey junior by circletimessquare · 2011-10-01 04:47 · Score: 1

i am very impressed with your life size replica of me in lego bricks. however, i don't know why you positioned me facing the television

--
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
A better idea by Samantha+Wright · 2011-10-01 04:48 · Score: 1

Use the Kinect not for age detection, but identity verification. The adults who own the Kinect can see the mature content, the kids can't. No topical algorithms required. (Also, "head width to shoulder width" sort of, y'know, varies drastically between genders. Not a good metric to start from.)

--
Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
1. Re:A better idea by Belial6 · 2011-10-01 05:44 · Score: 1
  
  It also varies by nationality.
Finally. Thank you! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 04:58 · Score: 0

About time they got parental controls right. Next step facial recognition: "No Junior, you can't watch American Idol -- it'll rot your brain."
Can't wait for Google to start giving age ratings to YouTube videos. Oh, what, did I offend the libertarian sensibilities of the /. crowd?
1. Re:Finally. Thank you! by oblom · 2011-10-01 05:00 · Score: 1
  
  Amen brother.
Completely Off Topic But by MaizeMan · 2011-10-01 05:08 · Score: 1

Your sig line is awesome!
(Fellow biologist)
False positive. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 05:28 · Score: 0

Think of the midget!
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by cyber-vandal · 2011-10-01 05:28 · Score: 1

I hope you'll be clapping just as loudly if Bush Jr gets killed for the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi deaths he ordered.
estimateing ... and posting it to JailbaitGallery by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 05:44 · Score: 0

I guess the folks at JailbaitGallery will really appreciate this new technology.
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 05:51 · Score: 0

If we were to consistently apply your own logic, you just ordered the death of Bush Jr, so I'll be clapping plenty loudly if someone kills you.
trivial borderline cases by Tom · 2011-10-01 05:53 · Score: 1

I don't even worry about small or young-looking adults - the main problem with this kind of access restriction is that it may work nice for clear cases (your 9 year old son trying to access 18+ content). But it is guaranteed to fail when the required and real age are close together. Extreme case: You don't really look that much different one day before and one day after your birthday.
Another poster has come up with a really clever, simple, straightforward and - in regard to these kinds of problems - reliable solution here:
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2455598&cid=37577718

--
Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
fuck this technology by mr_bigmouth_502 · 2011-10-01 05:57 · Score: 1

this shit is clearly designed for irresponsible parents who don't know how to take care of their own kids.
1. Re:fuck this technology by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 07:02 · Score: 0
  
  No, its designed for advertisers. They are just using "think of the children" to get consumers to accept it.
This is a terrible idea by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:02 · Score: 0

You can tell the difference between 9-year-olds and 20-year-olds pretty reliably, but it's not going to work even remotely reliably among pubescent teenagers. My brother had adult-like proportions at age 14 or so, whereas I'm now out of college and still look no older than mid-teens. Quite simply, with the massive variation in how people grow during puberty, this won't merely "break on corner cases": it'll be almost completely useless for its main target age range!
This is discrimination against midgits! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:08 · Score: 0

Won't someone think of the little people?!
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by icebike · 2011-10-01 06:23 · Score: 1

I mean with 50% of slashtards thinking there is something wrong with killing terrorists.... Watch the horror as Microsoft trys to help parents limit what their kids watch on TV.
Watch with horror as yet another AC trots out yet another "Won't someone please think of the children post" in support of putting cameras in our living rooms.

--
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
Seriously ??? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:35 · Score: 0

Anyone hear of a rubber Halloween mask?
Farsighted individuals? by HockeyPuck · 2011-10-01 06:35 · Score: 1

If I don't have my reading glasses on, I've got to hold books/menus/iPads at arm's length. So I guess my head would look small... however, my 5yr old, who has much shorter arms, could hold the device right up to his head and make it look like he had a giant head...
1. Re:Farsighted individuals? by interval1066 · 2011-10-01 08:31 · Score: 1
  
  No. Distance to object and proportional ratios can be accurately gauged in the kinect and other motion control sensors. I'm not saying these gizmos can't be hacked, but not that way.
  
  --
  Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
I'm a Midgit and this makes me Maaaad! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 06:43 · Score: 0

Little people always get the short end of the stick.
Tits or GTFO! by Alex+Belits · 2011-10-01 06:45 · Score: 1

THAT'S what I call the implementation of "Tits or GTFO!" in practice!
Too bad, it's completely useless for the stated purpose, just like everything coming from Microsoft.

--
Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
1. Re:Tits or GTFO! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:29 · Score: 0
  
  I really love that motion sensing 3D camera that the Linux community has designed and manufactured. Much better than the Kinect and it works great with my awesome Linux community made game console!
2. Re:Tits or GTFO! by Alex+Belits · 2011-10-01 11:10 · Score: 0
  
  As usual, Microsoft supporters post vague, content-free comments expressing nothing but their opposition to Linux.
  However, if anyone wants to know, Kinect contains absolutely no new technology, and could be produced by any CS student -- if there was any application for it that someone cared for. As a game controller it sucks, as a machine vision system it's inadequate, for exotic and contrived purposes as discussed here, it's useless.
  
  --
  Contrary to the popular belief, there indeed is no God.
3. Re:Tits or GTFO! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-02 02:27 · Score: 0
  
  As usual, Microsoft supporters post vague, content-free comments expressing nothing but their opposition to Linux.
  Wow.. that sounds similar to the anti-ms trolls such as yourself.
Anti discrimination lawsuit .. by formfeed · 2011-10-01 06:49 · Score: 1

.. coming in 3 , 2 ,1
Filed by a relative of baby face Nelson on behalf of all 20 somethings who still look like 14.
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 07:05 · Score: 0

Considering it's parents putting cameras in their own rooms, and those cameras can't stream feeds back to MS without explicit permission (or some casual hacker finding out on the first day), what's the big deal? Is it really another big brother scenario?
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by icebike · 2011-10-01 07:29 · Score: 1

Can't stream feeds....
Famous Last Words.

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Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
What about the other direction? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 07:33 · Score: 0

I'm one of those guys who's looked 26 since age 14. If parents don't know about this system, do people like me get full access?
Feeding the advertising monster by airfoobar · 2011-10-01 07:34 · Score: 1

Maybe this is the first step towards targeted advertising technology for television...
Just unplug it? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:07 · Score: 0

Seriously though, unless its required to use the software in the future, which i doubt, just unplug the dam thing.
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:09 · Score: 0

If we were to consistently apply /your/ logic, you just ordered the death of the one who ordered the death of Bush Jr. I think I'll refrain from clapping, otherwise I would be ordering the death of the one who ordered the death of the one who ordered the death of Bush Jr.
time to buy.. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-01 08:18 · Score: 0

inflatable dummies. and i thought i might have to steal somebodies fingerprints like in the movies.
Prediction ... by Tjp($)pjT · 2011-10-01 08:23 · Score: 1

Kids will be asking for hulk hands and tall foam cowboy hats ...

--
- Tjp
I am in wallow with my inner money grubbing capitalistic pig. ... Oink!
What if... by pongo000 · 2011-10-01 16:39 · Score: 1

...the administrator is an adult with short arms or other seemingly childlike proportions? Would this call for an administrator's adminstrator's password?
We are lucky we live in a world where the vast majority of patents never see the light of day. Thank (deity of your choice) this is one of them.
Re:This should have slashdot posters in a tizzy by cyber-vandal · 2011-10-02 01:22 · Score: 1

In what way do you get to that point? Logic isn't your strong point it seems. Bush is responsible for a great many more civilian deaths than anyone in al Qaeda so by the "kill the murderer without a trial" rules he should be killed by someone from Iraq and you should be cheering that person on.
Quit making up words? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-10-02 02:26 · Score: 0

http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxbegthe.html , http://www.bash.org/?364782
Girth Restrictions by jswinth · 2011-10-02 03:31 · Score: 1

"I'm sorry, you cannot watch the food network due to your current girth. How about we tune in Biggest Loser instead?"
Really? by DrChandra · 2011-10-03 05:53 · Score: 1

This won't work for elderly midgets.

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Words, words, words ... Buz, buz! - Hamlet, Act II, Scene II
Other Uses by foobsr · 2011-10-13 03:25 · Score: 1

Quote:
'"I'll pay you tomorrow," he told the door. Again he tried the knob. Again it remained locked tight. "What I pay you," he informed it, "is in the nature of a gratuity; I don't have to pay you." "I think otherwise," the door said. "Look in the purchase contract you signed when you bought this conapt. You discover I'm right," the door said. It sounded smug.'
Phillip K. Dick, UBIK
CC.

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TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)