Google to Use PC Microphones to Listen In? 554
seriv writes "The Register reports that Google plans to use PC microphones to collect statistics on a user's environment. Peter Norvig, who directs research at Google, told Technology Review that this software would start to show up in Google software 'sooner rather than later'. The software collects short sound clips and removes background noise. Google then targets its ads based on the statistics collected. With the current level of online privacy, this new level of invasion would seem to have frightening possibilities."
PC Microphones? (Score:3, Interesting)
-r
Hidden EULA? (Score:5, Interesting)
What is next, capturing video? Or scanning file contents?
Cloes (Score:3, Interesting)
Privacy just went out the door.... unless you use *insert favorite OP systen here*
I vote for DOS.
Re:Millionth User (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:is it april fools already? (Score:3, Interesting)
What happens if... (Score:3, Interesting)
Or machinegun fire?
Or "IhategoogleIhategoogleIhategoogle"
Or arabic speech? (will I get a visit from the secret anti-terror police?)
You only wish it was b.s. (Score:3, Interesting)
"Google listens to t.v. to pick ads Fri Jun 16, '06 03:25 PM Rejected"
If it's a hoax it's a long running hoax that's yet to be debunked,which is possible of course, but is it probable? Oh and thanks slashdot editors for blowing off yet another submission of mine only to pick up the same story MUCH later, sigh.
Being done already - on the go. (Score:3, Interesting)
Right now it's opt-in; potential users in selected markets are being sent direct mailings, with the company offering to pay for phone service for those willing to leave their phone (and the program recording 10 seconds of audio every 30 seconds) on regularly.
Interestingly enough, Al Acorn (Pong designer and Atari co-founder) is listed as CTO.
Re:Let me be the first to say... (Score:3, Interesting)
That being said, I have a deep faith in one thing: Slashdot + The Register = faulty news. Sure, Google has a technology that lets them turn on a microphone. Good for them. I'll wait to see how they attempt to deploy it before getting upset.
Actually... (Score:3, Interesting)
Now, or at least some point in the not-too far future, it shouldn't be too difficult to keep itense survellience going in real-time through the use of distributed computing applications and this sort of webcam-microphone collection. If Google's desktop software were to REALLY become widespread, it would be very easy for them to package distributied computing software to analyze the behavior of people at the same time it kept an eye on them.
The only hurdle at this point, at least as far as I know, is to write software good enough to analyze that much content in real time. It seems as if we're quite a while away from that.
Google PR Danger, OS Level Device Access Control (Score:3, Interesting)
A weaknesses in XP is the lack of management tools to control access to multimedia devices by program. Program features like the one Google is proposing make the ability to secure audio and video input devices at the OS level obviously necessary. Until such control is provided, the security minded user can unplug the microphone and the webcam when they are not in use. Not convenient, but secure. As far as I know, such security is currently unlikely to be necessary because few programs try to make such accesses -- but who knows for sure what the WGA daemon can do?
just sad (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:When Microsoft does it, it's called.... (Score:4, Interesting)
In a perfect world, people would realize that's why men evolved to have a foreskin in the first place and teach their sons to clean under there instead of mutilating genitalia...
Disregarding the privacy issue (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What data indeed? (Score:4, Interesting)
Keep telling yourself so and maybe it will be true (Score:3, Interesting)
Foreskin is vestigial.
Foreskin is vestigial in the same sense that the appendix is vestigial. Humans don't fully understand what biological purposes the foreskin serves and so consider it without biological function. For starters, foreskin is the only external tissue in the human body that has estrogen receptors. What possible biological function could estrogen receptors on the human male body serve? I don't know but I do know I wish my foreskin had not been removed before I even had a say in the matter.
Here's one site that lists many possible benefits of foreskin [noharmm.org].
Re:Actually... (Score:2, Interesting)
BTW: I just called M$ not on;y do you have to listen to their startup sound, You will also have to have a webcam and a mic attached for your computer to work. Have a nice day!