Picture Blocking Beer Cooler Keeps Your Face Out of Embarrassing Photos

cylonlover writes "It may sound like something dreamed up by a cheesy men's magazine as a joke, but apparently this is a real thing that actually exists. Ostensibly, the Norte Photoblocker is a functional beer cooler surrounded by four sensors that can detect the flashes from cameras or cell phones. If a flash goes off in the direction of the Photoblocker, it fires its own flash to flood the resulting photos with bright white and obscure anyone nearby. Now you can go about your usual business of cheating on your spouse, being an idiot around your boss, or drunkenly harassing fellow party-goers without worrying that some wildly irresponsible person will tag you in a photo and posts it online."

Comments

Absolutely flawless

[igreaterthanu]

Because there is no way to take a photo without a flash.

Re:Absolutely flawless

[Cajun Hell]

"Your money was well-spent, sonny. She's been cheating on you."

"I suspected as much, that's why I hired a private dick. But it's proof I need."

"You're not gonna like it..."

"I can take it. I have to know, for sure."

PD slides an envelope across the table. Man opens it. He stares, aghast.

"Oh my god."

"I'm sorry, sonny. Been workin' this line of business twenty years, but I never get used to the look of guy's faces. Some guys, they don't really want to know. They want to hold on to a forlorn hope that maybe, just maybe, the dame really was visiting her sister, see?"

"YOU BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU?"

"Look, I'm not proud of what I do. But you hired me, sonny. If you didn't want to know, y-"

"You used a flash! Where's the artistry? It's so unnatural. Her form intermingled with my soon-to-be-dead friend's.. look at their bodies. There's no depth. The lighting, good god man, the lighting! I'm supposed to believe this was a romantic interlude? They're like lifeless puppets!"

Product Synergy

[Kuipo]

This will go great with my strobe light at my next party!

I want this for my car

[Joe U]

Can I get this for my license plates?

If there are two of them in the room,

[Anonymous Coward]

would the first stray flash trigger a duel to the death?

Re:I must be old now; just don't be an idiot

[Mousit]

You don't have to be an idiot for a picture to be a problem. After all, there was the somewhat recent case (even featured here on Slashdot, sorry I'm too lazy to dig up links) of the kindergarten teacher that was fired over a photo of her at a party, drinking from a cup that allegedly contained alcohol (gasp). She was of course legal, and was doing nothing unusual, merely smiling and drinking, but it was deemed "inappropriate" for her position, whatever the fuck that means.

There's a plethora of such cases. Or the numerous stories (again, featured on Slashdot too) of companies that troll social networking sites (or employ third parties to do so for them) to look up info on applicants and potential hires. Simply being at a party, drinking, is often frowned upon as the companies have outright stated when interviewed on this subject. There's also the issue of not everyone in your social circle may respect your wishes about no pictures (yes, I think that makes them jackasses), and this is especially true of parties where attendants may not all be your personal friends. Friends of friends, acquaintances, the types that are even more especially likely to not know and/or respect your picture wishes.

All of this, of course, are symptoms of a much larger blight on our society, but nonetheless, the point still stands: a picture of you drinking at a party does not necessarily have to show you being an idiot, to affect your life. Especially your professional life.