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New Samsung TV Watches You Watching It
CanHasDIY writes "Straight out of 1984, Samsung has unveiled a new series of televisions with integrated cameras and microphones, complete with facial and voice recognition software. Best of all, there appears to be no physical indication of the mic and camera's status, so consumers have no way of knowing when they're being monitored, or by whom... and if you don't find the idea of a TV that watches you creepy enough, apparently Samsung's Terms of Service include a clause allowing third-party apps to make use of the monitoring system, and use the data gathered for their own purposes. Nothing Orwellian about that..."
Look guys, it's just too easy.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Can't be. I don't recall reading about Apple releasing a television set that watches you while you watch it.
.....which were provided to Pennsylvanian teens, and had integrated cameras, but there was no indication to the users that they were being recorded in their bedrooms (by the government).
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
Maybe you could buy a different brand? Or is that too easy?
Best of all, there appears to be no physical indication of the mic and camera's status, so consumers have no way of knowing when they're being monitored, or by whom... and if you don't find the idea of a TV that watches you creepy enough, apparently Samsung's Terms of Service include a clause allowing third-party apps to make use of the monitoring system, and use the data gathered for their own purposes.
Did you somehow manage to miss that part of the summary? It's only most of the summary, after all. In short, there's plenty to see here, only it's third parties doing the seeing, and you apparently don't get any say in when they do the seeing, or what they use the footage for.
Write failed: Broken pipe
1.) rig a secondary/tertiary monitor output on a nearby desktop and wire it to the TV's camera/audio input.
2.) set the computer output to a nonstop 24/7 loop of "Friday" by Rebecca Black, along with a slide show that alternates between Goatse, 2 girls 1 cup, and horse porn.
3.) bask in the fact that somwhere, someone is regretting the release of this technology.
4.) Don't EVER cross the wires from step 1.
5.) Profit.
I'll go out on a limb here and say:
This TV is going to end up capturing so much footage of bored men fapping to porn.
I like big butts and I cannot lie.
the best answer is always "to protect others whose freedom of political and spiritual expression is threatened by your actions". Always.
CS majors know the time/space tradeoff, but they never get taught the 3rd, crucial, tradeoff of the set: comprehension!
Oh hush. It's very easy.
50 cent roll of electrical tape. Cut a 3x3cm square using scissors. Place it over the camera aperature.
1$ bottle of superglue. The watery runny kind that whicks up into paper, and has a long neck applicator. Lay the television temporarily on a soft, cushioned surface face up, say, on the sofa. Into the microphone grill, gently dribble the runny superglue. Leave in this position for 2 to 3 hours for maximal cone set. Return television to the entertainment center, and feel marginally safer.
The first one is obvious how it works, but the second helps prevent the vibrational movement of the microphone pickup, greatly reducing its sensitivity. Sufficiently glued so that the cone can't move the coil, or the piezo crystal can't be flexed, and you have basically neutered it without opening the system unit.
These little steps are not hard at all. The hard part is staunchly refusing to buy such an intrusive Little whore of a gadget in the first place, as the powers that be all try like mad to get you to swallow that shit pill, and telescreen sensors become standard features.
Shit like this is why I refuse to buy stuff like the kinect. While you can unplug the ethernet cable on your console to ensure the thought police and social services don't see you spanking junior on candid camera, (with audio and motion tracking!), the act of buying an obvious spying device and installing it in your home tells fucked up marketing assholes that you want MOAR spying. I don't want to send that message.
If this thing videos some teenagers screwing, will employees of the company be prosecuted under child porn laws? Will the teenagers be arrested for making child porn?
actually, it's even easier. Leave the entire TV in its box. In the shop.
The television has detected more persons in the room than this content is licensed for.
Please reduce the number of persons in the room, or press the RED button to authorise a payment of a $X per additional person in the room.
Please explain to me why not having an indicator light is significant. The manufacturer controls how the entire thing is built, so it could also easily build in a function to use the camera but without making any status light come on. As I type this the status light of the camera in my Lenovo laptop is off.. But is the camera off, really?
Bit of a silly article. If you don't like web cams (or any camera) then just say so. Makes no sense to fully trust Logitech but not Samsung or anyone else.
Encore for the tinfoilers: every iPhone comes with one or two cameras. And you really don't know about the software that runs it.
Next.