Xbox 180: Microsoft scraps mandatory Kinect policy In the wake of the NSA spying revelations, Microsoft has said gamers will no longer need to have an all-seeing, always-online eye and ear attached to their Xbox. Another day brings another reversal in Microsoft's summer of U-turns, and this time its the backtracking of Kinect being attached all the time. Microsoft's Xbox Live …
I think it's more likely that they're being forced to do the right thing instead. If they don't comply to the gamers wishes then they can look at yet another major loss in sales, and something tells me that Microsoft is slowly reaching a point where they can't afford losses like that any longer.
on top of their recent record revenues you mean?
Yes my dear MS shill, but you forget that revenue isn't profit. And in that sense, profit is falling. It seems they're finally getting hit by all that Fisher Price OS kit that isn't selling? It's bound to get worse when the XBoxOne tanks as well. I doubt their 180's are good enough to bring gamers back.
You need a plastic shield.
Cameras can see through cloth. Put you phone on record in your shirt pocket if you don't believe me.
*puts head in hands * Now try it with the camera facing outwards.
The heat sensors can be stopped by a sheet of plastic or glass. You can only see heat through a window if its glowing hot.
First manufacturer to make a nice moulded clip on cover? Maybe a bit of padding to dampen the mic too.
...which won't disable the 'sensitive microphone array' built into Kinect.
Arguably audio surveillance would be more worrying than grabbing video. Depending on exactly how sensitive that array is it could cover much more than the camera sees and it's more likely to disclose genuinely worrying stuff - your bank passwords, security question or details for example. Block video and no embarrassing YouTube posts, audio is where you're life will be fscked over for identity theft or blanket state spying.
The original XBone plan definitely left the microphone array permanently enabled...
>Arguably audio surveillance would be more worrying than grabbing video.
If you're interesting enough to surveil in such detail, they can just use a laser mic on your window from orbit.
> audio is where you're life will be fscked over for identity theft or blanket state spying
Much easy ways to steal your identity and blanket spying is just about mapping points of contact.
"If you're interesting enough to surveil in such detail, they can just use a laser mic on your window from orbit."
You probably won't believe this :^), but there exist several funny technologies out there, like computerized voice recognition, relational databases and syntactic networks.
Every fucking body is 'interesting' to 'Them'.
And even when I know there's no way I can totally protect myself from snooping, I'll do my best to at least make the process slow and expensive for the spooks. If everybody did the same, the spooks could either select only the really interesting targets -e.g. real criminals, terrorists and spies- or they'll go bankrupt. Both outcomes would suit me, though I would prefer the first one.
How about you just pull the plug on it when it's not in use? Does anyone switch things off these days? I often go out walking in the early hours ( lose some weight and ponder those coding problems you never get time to mull over during the working day ) and I often see TVs left on in living rooms at 3am that no one is watching, PCs, lights, etc all left blazing away.
Wasting leccy and a big fire risk. The fridge and the landline charger stays on at night, everything else is killed off in our house!
... when politicians want to raise taxes by 5% - they announce a 20% increase before allowing the persuasive arguments to convice them that a lower tax increase is more appropriate. Then the gullible punters are happy that it's only a 5% increase.
MS announces the 'phone home one a day' policy, the always spying kinnetic, and the 'no reselling of old games', only to allow themselves to be persuaded to back down on all three. So what's the "tax increase" MS is trying to get past the punters?
“Big Brother is Watching You.”
― George Orwell, 1984
====================================
“Winston Smith: Does Big Brother exist?
O'Brien: Of course he exists.
Winston Smith: Does he exist like you or me?
O'Brien: You do not exist.”
― George Orwell, 1984
====================================
“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984
====================================
In other words people, don't assume that what is said will be the truth.
"The cake is a lie". (Portal)
As a long time Xbox user I have decided on the PS4, the Xbox One strategy was clearly designed by the money men without considering what gamers really wanted. I bet there are loads of Xbox developers inside Microsoft seething at how what is essentially a great device has been dragged through the mud by the money men only to have them to u-turn when they realised people were jumping ship to the PS4.
You can only squeeze your customers so much and they will get fed up with it and walk, especially if there are viable alternatives.
Ditto for 90% of the Xbox fans I know. They all have their PS4 pre-orders in place. Better specs, more desirable exclusives, better hardware, less money, less recurring spend.
The Xbone is being refocused as a DVR that can also play games, and you know everyone outside the US will be a 2nd class citizen as far as Microsoft will be concerned when it comes to the media services. They will also be ripped off left right and centre with adverts and double-dip subscriptions.
Deep down, Xbox360 owners knew they were getting a raw deal when they saw what Playstation Plus was offering for the same money, they kept quiet and sucked it up, but now it's time for a change...
Yes that's the issue in that most of the media/TV services will be US only. I bet most of the media services we will get in the UK will be just the existing ones on the 360.
For me a more media orientated box is the way to go (please god spare me from the 2004 nightmare of the HTPC, I don't want to go there again) with some gaming enabled. But really the XBone wont provide that for me in the UK and as for the PS4, I have no idea what that is offering.
It's funny how people will be running to Sony with there oh so perfect track record when it comes to their customers. Oh wait I forgot Sony are worse than Microsoft when it comes to DRM and screwing customers over.
As for double dipping Sony will be charging to use online services with the PS4 too
Problem is, if you want a next gen console you have two choices - Microsoft or Sony. Both have previous when it comes being dicks of the highest order. The difference right now is that Sony at least seem to be aware that they have royally fucked up in the not too distant past, and seem to be making an effort not to make the same mistakes again.
MS, on the other hand, appear to have based the original feature set of the XB1 on the Bumper Book of Things People Don't Want, then used a marketing team that thought the idea was to sell as few units as possible, and are now continuing to backpedal frantically in an effort to recover preorders. I suspect that their biggest problem now is that people have seen what they tried to do, and it's going to take them a long time to recover from that.
As for double dipping Sony will be charging to use online services with the PS4 too
Interesting comment, you know this how? Given that Sony have specifically said the likes of Netflix etc will not require a Plus subscription, and neither will their look-at-me game recording service. They only need to look at MS to see what kind of backlash they will get if they break those promises...
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