Your TV is spying on you
There is an absolutely awful movie with the title, “I know what you did last summer.” Well now that kind of “know all” function may about to be installed on your TV. Your TV set will know where you went and when you were there. For some people, that may not be a good thing. For others, it opens a whole new world of features and functions.
Intel, the company most responsible for today’s PC technology, recently launched a new system on a chip (SoC) for the next generation of television sets, set-top boxes and DVD players. Moving far beyond the traditional functions of sound and video or even Internet capability, this chip can “learn.” These TV sets will be equipped with tentacles that can tap into your past activities, what you did and where you did it.
The SoC is based on Intel’s Atom CE4100 and was highlighted in a demonstration last month by Intel CTO, Justin Rattner, at the Intel Developer Forum. One of Intel’s goals for the platform is to enable your TV set to become a hub of social networking and interactivity. To enable this functionality, Intel has built into the chip sophisticated, connectivity and learning technology.
While targeted at set-top and TV set applications, it also supports Internet and broadcast applications on one piece of silicon. It has the processing power and audio/video components necessary to run rich media applications such as 3D graphics and Adobe Flash 10.
Key features include:
• A 1.2GHz processor;
• Hardware decoding for up to two 1080p video streams with advanced 3D graphics and audio;
• Support for Adobe Flash Player 10 to optimize the playback of graphics and H.264 video;
• Hardware decoding for MPEG-4 video that is ready for DivX Home Theater 3.0 certification;
• Lower power consumption and a smaller footprint;
• Intel’s Precision View Technology, which is a display processing engine that supports HD imagery; and
• Intel’s Media Play Technology for seamless audio and video.
Rattner commented, “‘TV is out of the box and off the wall. TV will remain at the center of our lives, and you will be able to watch what you want where you want. We are talking about more than one TV-capable device for every man and woman on the planet. People are going to feel connected to the screen in ways they haven’t in the past.”
OMG, that almost sounds ominous. I’m not sure I want to be connected to any screen — ever! Once that kind of information is in a chip, anyone has access to it. Can you say George Orwell and 1984?
Continuing his demonstration, Rattner first played back a standard video, not of itself spectacular. But then he paused the video on the television. He then turned on another television set and its menu immediately offered him the ability to continue his viewing from the point he turned off the previous set. In other words, the second TV knew what he was doing on the first TV.
It gets even better, or more scary depending on your viewpoint.
Prior to the demonstration, Rattner had been carrying with him a mobile Internet device (MID). The MID communicates wirelessly with the TV’s SoC. With the MID in your pocket or purse, it keeps track of where you’ve been, even to the point of what stores you’ve visited and the times you were there.
In the demonstration, based on information received from the MID, the television set learned that Rattner had recently visited a music instrument store. So when he accessed the TV, it offered him a menu of programming choices based on guitarists. Accompanying the options and programs was a matching guitar store advertisement along the bottom of the screen.
He concluded with a live 3D demonstration. Rattner was on the stage inside the convention center and Howard Postler, the COO of 3ality, was located outside the hall. The Atom SoC displayed Postler in live 3D imagery, and the two carried on a live video conference — all in 3D.
Intel is also working in conjunction with Apple to develop a new interconnection standard. Called Light Peak, it will provide fiber-optic connectivity I/O on Intel chips. That’s huge. Initially, the technology will handle 10Gb/s, but it will scale up to 100Gb/s. Even at the slower speed, you could transfer a Blu-ray movie in 30 seconds.
The bottom line is: This is one powerful processor. I like the 3D TV capabilities. However, I think it’s kinda creepy that my TV would know and keep track that I was at Wal-Mart last night. Some things are just meant to be kept private.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:24 am
I have to agree, this is too much like the weird stories from the 60’s that the government could watch your activities through your TV.
With this technology were one step closer to giving someone else control over our privacy and our lives.
You could say this is a “beastly - 666″ technology.
Dan
October 20th, 2009 at 7:45 am
I feel that my privacy is being invaded, not on a large scale, but incrementally. Who knows how far this subtle and what appears to be an innocent feature of high technology will go to spearhead other ambitious schemes.
October 20th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I would not call “I Know What You Did Last Summer” an awful movie. It was a somewhat clever update of an older film. I think the older filmed was called “I know who you are and I saw what you did!”
As far as 1984, we are already tracked electronically with our cell phones, credit/debit cards, GPS, etc.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
This is really frightening. Orwell’s 1984 is here, but it is not the government that is doing it. It is the likes of Microsoft and Google. I for one, do NOT want to be the subject of ads that are targeted at me according to some very simplistic scheme involving what a dumb computer thinks of my “recent activities”. If I purchased a piano last night, I would be very irritated by ads aimed at selling me another one or even at selling piano or music accessories. I am doing something else today and do not need the misdirection when I go on-line or view TV.
Above and beyond that, it is really frightening to consider what other uses such detailed knowledge may be put to. Who exactly would have access to this information? Would the police be able to access it? Under what circumstances and with what controls? Would other individuals have access? Could a stalker use it to learn the habits of his/her target? Could lawyers use it to help formulate law suits against me? The list is almost endless and VERY FRIGHTENING.
I don’t have any mobile internet access devices and if this is how they will be used, I may never have any. I am a firm believer that the ordinary user should be able to easily and quickly find out where every bite of informatio he/she recieves on the internet (especially e-mails) comes from. This means a real person at a real street address and a real phone number. I also believe each person should be able to access exactly how any information he/she has ever provided on the internet will be used and have the option of denying that use BEFORE it is so used. No, lets correct that. That information should not be available for any use unless the individual EXPRESSLY and POSITIVELY consents to each and every particular use in advance. A lack of a response for such permission must be considered as denial of permission to use it. No blanket permissions would be allowed. Each use must be explained to the individual and each one would requiire explicid, advanced permission.
Extreme? I don’t think so. We are rapidly loosing control and something needs to be done to recover it before it’s too late.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Most people don’t realize how much government and business is watching them. A review of headlines provides only a miniscule look at the numerous ways that both government and businesses track where you are and what you are doing.
Last night I went shopping at Wal-Mart. I counted 12 cameras watching me as I walked across the parking lot. As I entered the store, two entryway video cameras recorded my arrival. Once in the store, there were so many ceiling-mounted cameras, I gave up counting them.
As you drive to work, perhaps talking to a friend, the cell phone company is tracking your precise location. As you enter the highway, police cameras record your tag number and photo just to be sure you don’t enter the merge lane without a green light.
Practically every stop light has four-corner cameras. Snapshots are taken of every light change. They record the driver’s image and the front of each car, which usually contains a car tag.
Once you reach the office or station, your entry card generates a time stamp on the photo of you as you open the door.
When you purchased cable TV service, I’ll bet you were required to provide a social security (SS) number. I complained, but was told, no number, no service. “Besides, we erase all but the last four digits once we approve your credit rating,” said the Time Warner representative. Wanna bet?
It’s obvious that a cable company can track every channel I watch, every VOD purchased down to the minute. But, matching my SS number against databases could allow a company to target advertising based on any number of demographics. What’s the business value of being able to select viewers by state, city, zip code, street, house, family size, employment, income, number and type of car, real estate value, movies watched, web sites visited? Billions and billions.
And, any information businesses have about you — government can get. The Time Warner cable home page has a large button labeled, “Subpoena Instruction – for law enforcement.” The link provides step-by-step precise directions for cops telling them how to get most anything they want related to your use of TW products.
I have friends who say (to my admittedly pessimistic viewpoint) “I never do anything wrong, so why should I care?” What if such information were used to automatically place you on certain “lists?” Do you watch or e-mail conservative programs or web sites? Do you ever rent “adult movies?” Do you contribute to certain (liberal or conservative) causes? Are any of those groups or activities considered “radical?”
There’s nothing illegal in any of the above behavior. But, in the wrong hands, such information could be used in ways that might be unhealthy for you. I believe, the less government and business knows about me, the better!
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