Posted on 04/14/2019 7:35:03 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
They may or may not have the inclination ... that I don’t know ... but they certainly have the storage capacity ... that is a FACT.
If we were having a discussion about something that absolutely needed to be kept secret I would unplug the echo dot and put my cell phone in a different room. How does that make me owned?
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What you consider need-to-know and what the data miners consider important are variable. Lots of information about us all can be inferred from our schedules, our casual comments/vocal patterns, the names we casually drop in everyday conversation.
Today, they’ve monetized our preferences and buying habits. Tomorrow, it could be our emotional patterns. The day after that, perhaps they will be alerted to the circumstances which cause their devices to be silenced and the next week, they will have fixed that problem.
DH has a cell phone. I do not. Yet, I am his most frequent contact. I don’t use gmail, either, but he does and, again, I am his most frequent contact. So: the cell and gmail is my leash, as well as his. Government still needs warrants to get at our stored conversations. Big Tech has access instantaneously, in real time. We learned from zer0 and Hellery that the nexus between government and tech is not bounded. It is breached constantly and consistently.
Oh, and if you have those electronic energy meters, the energy company knows exactly when your power is being used or not.
As I’ve said here before: maybe we should just relax and learn to love the algo, since we have no control over it, its owners or their alliances.
Remember that in China, your Social Credit score controls your freedom of movement, the prices you pay and what you are allowed to access. We are one to two ‘elections’ away from a similar set-up here.
Using Alexa (or Cortana or Siri or....) just brings that inevitable day a little closer.
While I agree there is little or no privacy, that's not what I was saying. They have a different view of the *value* of privacy than we do. And no understanding of the relationship of privacy and liberty.
Since it doesn’t exist anymore it has no value. Privacy has the same value as unicorns.
My point? How could anyone possibly thing that a piece of technology that "wakes up" when anyone says its name isn't spying on you? Another issue to consider: People are trusting Amazon for unbiased research? Really?
You are arguing semantics. The fact that it (more or less) no longer exists doesn’t negate its value and only emphasizes its relationship to the other thing of great value that no longer exists - liberty.
excellent
They hear and see all of you naked! ewwwh!!!
Alexa is the one who posted Jeff Bezos “package”
Alexa: “It was a small package”.
My point exactly
So why would anyone allow a stranger to sit in their living room listening, and, in some cases, transcribing all their private and maybe even intimate conversations is beyond comprehension
Sorry, I’ll play music from either my radio, or my LP’s, CD’s, Tapes, and turn the lights on and off myself.
There's ways to take the upside of technology without handing over your life over to Jeff Bezos and his goons.
Last August, I purchased a new TV streaming service. I've been very pleased and continue to be a paying customer. The company offers a 24-hour full free trial. One of the things I like about the service is that many premium sports and movie channels are included. Last night, on my front porch, I used an iPad to watch HBO's new "Game of Thrones" episode via the company's web portal. No extra hardware or software was needed. Just went to the webpage and signed in with my username and password. I see that HBO is re-airing that episode tonight at 10pm ET. So if you missed it and might like to see it, the 24-hour free trial offer will let you do that tonight. The aerial cinematography showing the view from folks riding dragons over Winterfell castle and nearby land is stunningly beautiful. I'll probably tweet out my referral link for the free trial and mention tonight's episode. This service is available to anybody with an Internet connection around the world, and you earn a referral commission every time somebody who signed up using one of your referral links pays their monthly membership fee. I'd be a customer even if there was no opportunity to earn income (the service costs $49.95/month, and I've already saved hundreds by not renewing the few premium channels I previously subscribed to via my cable company and Apple TV). I also enjoyed watching every Redskins game live via this service last season, something I haven't done since retiring to the beach several years ago.
A new rideshare company is starting up. Their Android app for hailing a ride was released about a week ago. To use the free app, you'll have to be referred by a member. I meet Uber and Lyft drivers every week and introduce them to the new company by asking "Do people ever ask if they can request you as their driver?" The new company does include such a feature, and I suggest that they sign up for a free membership and get their own referral link because any time somebody they refer books a ride, no matter who the driver is, or where in the world they are, the person who referred them gets a referral commission.
Good points - every one of ‘em....
The cost of providing the free stuff is paid by someone, somewhere. For example, the “free” trial offer is being paid for by all existing customers. So, while the trial is free to me, it isn’t free for the existing paying customers.
Similarly, the new ride share offer you describe.
I enjoyed seeing the sunrise from the beach this morning. I know that it’s not the Sun’s movement, but the Earth’s rotation that reveals what we call sunrise. Do you think anybody who talks about sunrise is lying to you or thinks you’re stupid? It’s surely true that there are costs associated with the free trial and free opportunity offers I share. Do these costs end up raising prices to customers? I think not. The companies can offer lower prices to each customer if the customer base is larger. The case for calling me a liar seems much stronger by pointing to my use of the word sunrise than by my use of the word free.
On the Internet, you’re either the customer or the product.
God bless Steve, and have a good day.
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