Big Brother is watching you!

Post by **LMan** » 17/12/2004 - 6:29

[edit] I removed this from the XBox thread, I was replying to Microsoft not allowing modified XBoxes to take part in online gaming.[/edit]

RANT ALERT!

Well our world is turning very much into the future that has been predicted so often by sci fi authors (esp. Orwell's 1984). Additionally to the current spyware behaviour of windows & other software, I bet in 10 years you won't be allowed to open a document / listen to a tune / watch a movie / fart, without identifying yourself to your computer via biometric interfaces first, and MS checking your license to do so. I'm not kidding, they're actually planning something like this.

There's more than that: tiny microchips implanted in everything you buy from underpants to tv sets to milk bottles. These "smart price tags" are supposed to tell the cashier to know the sum of what you have bought without unloading your cart, but they can be also used to track these items (and also your shopping habits) everytime you pass such a scanner unit. I'm not kidding, they're actually planning and testing something like this.

Don't be fooled by the given reasons for the new Toll Collect (Stichwort: "LKW Maut") bridges. If Germany wants to collect toll for usage of the autobahns by lorries, fine - why not! Use road tax disks (Vignetten) like other countries do for ages - minimum expenditure, easy appliance. But nooooo, we need surveillance bridges at every few kilometers with sattelite uplinks, and multiple licence plate identifyers from every angle, so no car can ever slip through. And additional tracking devices installed in every lorry (to be bought by the logistics companies). So we know which car passes what street at what time of the day with what average speed. This will cause a surplus load of over 4 billion EUR for economy & consumer. The set up of the technical surveillance deivces already cost billions. The maintenance and additional buerocracy will cost billions. It's like giving an ailinig economy the final death blow. The given reasons are "We invest the revenues into the infrastructure of the streets." Well fine, but regular cars pay car-tax for this, directly and again through gas tax. For lorry traffic, road tax disks would be more beneficial for logisticians, consumer -and state. Regarding all this, it's obvious that the only reason for all the expenditure *must* be the surveillance. I'm not kidding, it's already happened here, and other countries will follow, I'm certain. And don't believe regular cars will be left out of this for ever. Aside from that, you already pay, because every product will get more expensive through this.

Regarding all this, "1984" doesn't seem so sci-fi after all.

Sorry for the rant, but this matter gets my blood boiling all the time.

DHS · Post by **DHS** » 17/12/2004 - 10:27

Yesterday notice: Apple changed the firmwares of their iPods. New firmware won't allow playing music downloaded from Real's e-store.

DHS · Post by **DHS** » 17/12/2004 - 10:29

Sky Tv Italia won't allow anymore the use of common interface decoders to watch their sat tv.

They, going against european and italian laws, will not provide common interface users with a CAM to use their NDS cards.

The only mean to watch their programs will be with theri sat decoder (wich is, talking gently, a squared piece of shit).

Matrix · Post by **Matrix** » 17/12/2004 - 12:18

Modified XBoxes can get on XBox live without subscription too... but dude, i am SO with that biometric thing and chips - i think id be very tempted to flummox it with a simple magnet mounted in your coat / on your shopping cart / behind your numberplate / etc etc ....

As for Windows, I agree, its crazy, this is one of the reasons is WONT be installing Longhorn on release, it checks E V E R Y T H I N G you do... So if thats the way that technology is going, ill stick with my un-deservice packed XP Pro and any software i have now, rather than getting the latest and greatest when it appears.

AND

Dont forget about ubiqitous computing.... thats going to bury under our skin too and become part of daily life.... invisibly, yet so integrated that 10 years in we wont be able to live without it.

xo · Post by xo » 17/12/2004 - 12:35

There is a nice article[1] outlining Palladium (also known as Treacherous Computing). Palladium is now known as Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB)[2]. There is also a Cryptogram article[3] about the Palladium.

Some information about Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags[4].

Some of this information is dated from 2002.

I think the problem is that much of this is a double-edged sword. It can be used for good and less than good purposes. All of it has its selling point, it just comes at a price. And its not some fictional future, its the present. I think you're also referring to Pervasive Computing[5], Matrix. RFID could perhaps be seen as a piece of that "puzzle".

[1] http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/can-you-trust.html
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGSCB
[3] http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0208.html#1
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervasive_computing

betelzeus · Post by **betelzeus** » 17/12/2004 - 12:40

Yeah I hear ya , about getting mad about all that stuff Lman ... all that stuff is ridiculous , all of it is just getting out of hand I think. It's the 'elites' trying to do the same things they always do through out history. Basically trying to control and watch everyone. Or something , i dunno what i'm talking about lol

Anyways , and speaking of 1984 (really good book btw) .. it seems Orwell was about 20 years off with the title heh.

But emm ... Speaking of the tags in clothing and products and such , I've been hearing a bit about that lately . RFID tags ... I've heard a few stores over here are already puting them in clothing , conveniently hid inside the label lol ... cheeseballs ... and from what i've been reading (which i dont' really read about all this too much anymore b/c it was driving me nuts hah) anyways ... I hear that Walmart is suppose to start using RFID tags in all their stores pretty soon ... for inventory purposes only of course

Not only that ... speaking of ID tags ... when i did read all that kind of stuff , I would hear about implantable mircrochips , like the kind they have for pets so you won't lose them, except these are suppose to be for humans. Sounds pretty craazy i know ... but there is a company that actually exists that makes these things ... i believe the company is called Verichip ... and I remember seeing various news articles and clips about them .... there is one i remember the most ... it was a clip of one of the old guys on 60 minutes (not that i watch that bs hahah) ... anyways ... he's sitting there going on about how convenient it would be to have this chip implanted under your skin .... I mean ... what the heck is going on ... geeze ... are these people insane! hahah .... sitting there watching this guy say all this with a straight face was like being in the twilight zone

I dunno ... hopefully more and more people will begin to realize what they are up to ... and tell them to go cram that stuff up ... emm ... somewhere hahah ...

--edit -- Wow ...i didn't realize I took that long to write that hahah ... a few posts came outta nowhere

Pex `Mahoney` Tufvesson · Post by **Pex `Mahoney` Tufvesson** » 17/12/2004 - 13:03

### Your opinions about our brave new world has been registered in database_ID#0244917. Classification_group=enemy. 
 
### Don't expect any Christmas presents except those you buy yourself. And, yes, we already know whay you bought. She won't like them anyway... 
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Rafael Dyll · Post by **Rafael Dyll** » 17/12/2004 - 13:40

This is a message from Total War High Command - the citizens of Mega-City One have suffered under the yoke of Justice Department fascism for too long. The Judges must be removed by all means necessary, and it falls to us to make sure that power is restored to the people.

We are declaring war on the Judges, and will not shrink from our task. The city will be engulfed in a cleansing fire, and make no mistake, there will be casualties.

The survival of the Big Meg is hanging in the balance, and the clock starts ticking in Prog 1408 (22 September 2004). The correspondents John Wagner and Henry Flint will be reporting these historic events as they happen.

Justice Department will be destroyed.

That is all.

---

Jeez, I know why I've been a 2000AD fan for so long - I'm in.

Matrix · Post by **Matrix** » 17/12/2004 - 14:56

Well, Step 1 is complete in the Uk anyway - Blunket is no longer Home Secretary lol

Makke · Post by **Makke** » 17/12/2004 - 17:42

I wrote a 30+ pages piece on Palladium (or Next Generation Secure Computing Base as it's called nowadays) a couple of years back.

It's frigtening. It really is.

Vosla · Post by **Vosla** » 17/12/2004 - 19:29

This all has already a name:

FASCISM!

CraigG · Post by **CraigG** » 17/12/2004 - 19:35

If you're in the UK, for God's sake read up on no2id.net and fax your MP about your misgivings. The second reading is on Monday, so fax your MP *THIS WEEKEND*.

merman · Post by **merman** » 18/12/2004 - 10:05

I don't know about Big Brother watching me, but I don't watch Big Brother. It's a stupid programme for stupid people watching stupid people making themselves look even more stupid...

Post by **tas** » 18/12/2004 - 10:47

I'm probably in the minority here...

I'm actually Pro ID cards. The reason is simple..

Proving who you are?

Opening bank account can be almost impossible without taking with you forms of identity, usually Utility Bills, Passports, Driving Licenses, etc..

Thats fine and well if you own your own house, take vacations, and drive.

In the past i didn't have any utility bills, or a passport and i don't drive. Getting simple things like credit cards, Contract phones, even bloody registration to a video shop proved to be nearlly impossible cos i couldn't prove who i am. The ID card will now prove everything and so it will eliminate the hassles of trying to prove who you are. So, for that aspect i'm deffinitely pro ID card.

I don't feel my any invasion of privacy with ID Cards, afterall i've got nothing to hide. As long as the system remains optional then i see no problem with it. Maybe in time and with technology this card could be your everything... Your store card, your E-card, your credit card, your top up card etc etc.. wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

However back onto the subject of Lmans post, this is something i fear greatly and i will actively boycot Longhorn and any other software with this type of checking.

Like everything in life, if you don't like something you boycot it, and thats the only way to stop this sort of thing happening, we need to vote with our feet and boycot any product with this type of checking thingymebobs. Vote in numbers and it won't happen and will stop.

With luck, Longhorn might just be a total disaster for Microsoft and it needs to be a flop. This will be the first of it's type and if this longhorn succeeds will set a president for other manufacturers to follow suit.

Regarding Apples Ipod, thats a product i've already boycotted. While i like the idea of digital download to a small extent i don't like the idea of only being able to play something on a certain type of hardware. To me this stinks and reeks of anti competative behaviour. I won't buy an I-POD, not now, not ever.

CraigG · Post by **CraigG** » 18/12/2004 - 14:00

Tas - no offence, but do you actually know exactly what the current ID cards bill in the UK entails? Go and read everything at no2ID.net - especially http://no2id.net/IDSchemes/faq.php - this is not a simple ID card that will hold your name and address. The UK card is something that will hold at least 50 pieces of information, and every single government department (and some non-government departments) will be able to access ALL of this, whether it's relevant or not.

The costs will mean that the cost of things like passports will sky rocket and they will most likely have to be renewed far more often. And bear in mind the UK government has NEVER managed to install any IT system a fraction of this size with any degree of success.

The ID cards bill as it stands is an end to privacy in the UKÃ¢â‚¬â€it's that simple. And once it's gone, it's gone forever. Like no2ID states: "An ID scheme will mean your most intimate details will be controlled by the government forever".

As for the "if you've got nothing to hide" line, that's what the government is trying to spin. The issue is that this pushes the UK further towards a "guilty until proven innocent" state. The "optional" nature of the card is a farce as wellÃ¢â‚¬â€it *will* be optional, but you *won't* have access to the NHS (etc.) without it. Therefore, don't ever get sick, unless you have an ID card. You also probably won't be able to get various other forms of ID without it, and won't have access to state services. Oh, and the government's aim is to make it compulsory sooner or later anyway, and if you don't get a card, a massive fine and/or jail sentence is being mooted. So much for freedom!

Maybe in time and with technology this card could be your everything... Your store card, your E-card, your credit card, your top up card etc etc.. wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?

The NHS discovers on your credit card that you've bought something that you've been told you're allergic to, and then refuses to serve you.

You're behind on your council tax, and the council takes you to court, because it discovers you've been buying "non essential" items over the past month instead of paying them.

Your life insurance premium sky-rockets because you're eating a lot of fast food, and not enough fruit.

You have a car accident. You get taken to hospital with a broken leg, but no-one will fix it, because a glitch in the system means that the NHS thinks your national insurance contribution hasn't gone through, and that you don't have an alternate means of health insurance.

So, no, I don't think it's a good thing.

However back onto the subject of Lmans post, this is something i fear greatly and i will actively boycot Longhorn and any other software with this type of checking.

And yet you support something that is far more likely to massively infringe on your civil liberties, will cost you a considerable sum of money, and won't do anything that the government claims it will ("fight terrorism", "deal with benefit fraud")?

Regarding Apples Ipod, thats a product i've already boycotted. While i like the idea of digital download to a small extent i don't like the idea of only being able to play something on a certain type of hardware. To me this stinks and reeks of anti competative behaviour. I won't buy an I-POD, not now, not ever.

Every other system is the same. Other players can play AAC, but they've locked this feature, so they won't work with the Apple iTMS Store. Apple's just doing the exact same thing as everyone elseÃ¢â‚¬â€no worse, no better. (And, despite what reports in the press say, it can happily play MP3 anyway.)