back to article Drones will be able to carry 120GB footage of you in the shower if Seagate has its way

Seagate is partnering with drone maker DJI to develop onboard storage for its unmanned aerial vehicles. They say drone cameras are gaining resolution and flight times are getting longer, both of which mean more data needs to be stored in flight. DJI's Inspire 2 drone can record 5.5K video for example, and a 25-minute flight …

  1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

    Where are the Drone Jammers then?

    So that we can stop the voyeurs who fly these things in their tracks?

    Otherwise I predict a big increase in applications for Shotgun licenses. Yeah I know it is illegal but pointing a camera mounted on a drone through a bedroom window is also illegal.

    1. Rob Crawford

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      Please tell me you don't believe in the voyeur/pedophile/pervert and a drone crap.

      I mean really please return my faith in the IQ of people

      1. auburnman

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        It will happen. Maybe not at any significant scale, but at least someone will try it if only to see if it can be done (and/or they can get away with it.) Also don't forget there's money to be made by the paparrazi rats if they can catch the latest supermodels going topless or celebrities doing crack in a hedge or whatever sells the rags these days.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          " there's money to be made by the paparrazi rats if they can catch the latest supermodels going topless or celebrities doing crack in a hedge"

          The solution to this problem is social reprogramming so that nudity is no longer an issue, then seeing a star naked will loose its appeal.... unfortunately we still have hangups left over from the puritan past....

      2. HieronymusBloggs

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        "Please tell me you don't believe in the voyeur/pedophile/pervert and a drone crap."

        Given the propensity of the listed types to take advantage of available technology, I take it you forgot the joke icon.

        1. Cynic_999

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          "

          Given the propensity of the listed types to take advantage of available technology,

          "

          Except that drone technology is unlikely to satisfy that particular goal. Firstly, there are very few places where a person would be visible to a drone while involved in a "private act". Are *you* usually able to be seen from the air while doing anything sexual (or even merely naked)? Secondly the skill required to get a drone to record clear images from close enough to see much even with an HD camera is not trivial (even in auto-pilot mode). Thirdly drones make a fair amount of noise, so getting close enough without the person noticing is unlikely. Fourthly the battery life is measured in minutes, so by the time you have flown to & from location you won't have much time to record much.

          If your goal is to take photos of naked people, just take a holiday at a naturist resort and carry a camera in your swim bag.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

            Well ignoring that some people might like to sunbathe naked by their fenced in pool in their backyard, it isn't uncommon for people to be naked indoors in rooms without the shades drawn, if it is facing their backyard or on the second floor. You shouldn't have to worry about drones with a telephoto lens filming inside your bedroom from 100' away through your window.

            I rather like the idea of lasering them and destroying their CCDs. Finally a real use for a laser pen!

            1. cork.dom@gmail.com

              Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

              I have not yet seen a consumer drone on the market that has an optical zoom or a telephoto lense.

              If i wanted to see naked people, there are plenty of web sites on the internet to fulfill that need which would be far easier and safer than attempting to capture a grainy badly lit sneaky photo of a neighbour through a window with a very noisy drone.

              Seriously people - drones DO NOT make good spying / voyeur tools and you really shouldn't believe everything your read in the papers.

              1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

                Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                I have not yet seen a consumer drone on the market that has an optical zoom or a telephoto lens.

                Well, here you are. Anything else I can help you with?

                If i wanted to see naked people, there are plenty of web sites on the internet to fulfill that need which would be far easier and safer than attempting to capture a grainy badly lit sneaky photo of a neighbour through a window with a very noisy drone.

                There's difference between a voyeur and someone who likes to look at dodgy pictures. Voyeurs get off on the act, not so much on the result other than as mementos of aforementioned act. Both are compulsions, but they have different modus operandi. That's also why I prefer to call government surveillance voyeurism; evidently it's the act they love, because the lack of outcome should have ended that quite a while back...

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  FAIL

                  Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                  @Fred.

                  Did you look at the price and sizes?

                  So you are talking $500+ for the camera, plus the mounts and lenses, then the drone to haul that weight up, say $5000

                  Hardly "Consumer"

                  1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

                    Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                    Did you look at the price and sizes?

                    So you are talking $500+ for the camera, plus the mounts and lenses, then the drone to haul that weight up, say $5000

                    Sure, but where there is "pro" there is usually a consumer who made his own because making things is just the sort of challenge that gets a tech person going. All I wanted to demonstrate is that it is not that hard to add a degree of tele zoom to a drone camera, nor is it hard to look into a room.

                    1. Anonymous Coward
                      Anonymous Coward

                      Drone camera quality

                      It doesn't matter what the camera quality is today. What were the cameras on phones like a decade ago? Now they have much better quality, resolution, and optical stabilization. The only reason they don't have optical zoom is that they can't fit that in a thin smartphone profile. That wouldn't be a concern on a drone. Drone voyeurism will be more practical in a few years than it is today, just like having your smartphone as your only camera is a lot more practical today than it was in 2009.

                      As for the noise, if you have a decently insulated house and the window isn't open, how are you going to hear a drone from 100'? I can barely hear my next day neighbor's lawn mower, that's closer than 100' and louder than a drone.

                2. Rob Crawford

                  Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                  So what you are pointing at are modified cameras that permit updated lenses.

                  In the case of DJI you are flying through the same camera as used for photographic purposes and for the most part these days they are DJI specific items

                  Additionally so that isn't going to go too well as you need a wide FOV to fly the damn thing and there is no method of changing the 'zoom' when in flight.

                  For most consumer kit the weight of any useful long range lens (even these days) will limit it's usefulness and by the time a suitable gimble (as it would need to be a good one that copes with more than an ultra light action cam) the weight and therefore the machines size goes up again.

                  I have a lightweight gimble for a small DSLR & associated lens that I am repairing (for a commercial pilot) and I could assure you no DJI available in an electronics store would be lifting it off the ground even without a camera in place.

              2. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                Seriously people - drones DO NOT make good spying / voyeur tools and you really shouldn't believe everything your read in the papers.

                What do you recommend, then?

            2. Cynic_999

              Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

              There is a magnitude greater probability that the guy in his garden will be seen by someone cleaning his gutters (or the kids next door deliberately looking through/over the fence), and the person in the room seen from a passing lorry or double-decker bus. A drone's useless for that type of thing. Drones can't carry telephoto cameras until you get to the extremely expensive professional camera platform variety (too much vibration & instability for a long lens), and a normal CCD camera would in any case adjust it's exposure to the outdoors and show the inside of the room as a black hole.

              And in any case so what? People who are so body-shy that they would be hugely upset by the idea that they might be seen while undressed should not indulge in naked activities in any place that has line-of-sight to anywhere outside the property.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                @Cynic_999, You're correct that a large telezoom would be useless due to vibration as well as loss of light - only a small one would work.

                People who are so body-shy that they would be hugely upset by the idea that they might be seen while undressed should not indulge in naked activities in any place that has line-of-sight to anywhere outside the property.

                Ah, but that's the whole issue: drones do a Google Streetview alike peek over the line of sight prevention that people put in place to guard their privacy, that is the exact problem. If you were only able to fly a drone at eye height there wouldn't be an issue, but that would be a pointless exercise.

                That said, drone enthusiasts can prevent a lot of irritation and upset if they respect other people's privacy. There is plenty of room to avoid problems, and even where it cannot be avoided a polite knock on the door and a quick, friendly chat goes a very long way to avoid misunderstandings and unpleasantness.

                You know, being social and considerate and all that instead of being selfish - it works. Even if it doesn't work you will then at least know in advance to keep the car engine running :)

                1. Rob Crawford

                  Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

                  Have added the quote

                  "That said, drone enthusiasts can prevent a lot of irritation and upset if they respect other people's privacy. There is plenty of room to avoid problems, and even where it cannot be avoided a polite knock on the door and a quick, friendly chat goes a very long way to avoid misunderstandings and unpleasantness."

                  Actually 'drone pilots' shouldn't have to do that, for the simple reason that they should not be flying that close to people and structures. There are regulations that flyers are obliged to adhere to.

                  Although I do get irritated with the scare stories I have never had any compunction to tell people to stop flying somewhere inappropriate or in the past report them to the cops (flying model plains at the end of a commercial runway) or posting horrendously dangerous content to youtube (when the CAA used to want such material reported)

                  The majority of flyers are the same as they are responsible people who do not wish to lose their hobby due to the actions of a selfish few

            3. Rob Crawford

              Re: @Cynic_999 - being seen from the air while naked

              Somehow I don't think anybody will be spending a few grand on building a large machine to hoist a camera with a large lens into the air to photograph you in your house.

              You do realise that any commonly available machine doesn't have much more than a go-pro on board, even the nice DJI cameras are fairly high quality but still have action cam type optics.

              The behemoths that carry the kit for what you are referring to are large, loud and expensive (I know enough licensed commercial operators)

              But then again who is worried about reality when you can simply invent deviants to rail against

        2. Rob Crawford

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          I take it from your comment that your experience of multi rotors and the cameras they can lift is non existent.

          FYI they're noisy, very obvious and the cameras they carry are very limited unless you are going to spend a hell of a lot of money to hoist a DSLR into the air.

          Remember when mobile phones with cameras where banned for the same reasons.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        Please tell me you don't believe in the voyeur/pedophile/pervert and a drone crap.

        I do, as I've witnessed it. I'm with the shotgun people on this.

        1. Cynic_999

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          "

          I do, as I've witnessed it.

          "

          Exactly what have you witnessed, and where?

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          Of course you did

      4. Stevie

        Re: Please tell me you don't believe in the voyeur/pedophile/pervert and a drone crap.

        Only as much as you believe in the out-of-control moron with a shotgun crap, Mr Crawford.

        Takes all sorts to make a world.

        A world of shotgun owners.

        A world of drone owners.

        Same pool of morons for both.

        1. Rob Crawford

          Re: Please tell me you don't believe in the voyeur/pedophile/pervert and a drone crap.

          What are you talking about, are you making up statements I have not made?

          What is the problem with me flying my radio control aircraft around an area where the flying of model aircraft is permitted?

          What is the problem with proximity flying within abandoned buildings?

          There is none, but for some reason you have decided to classify me as a moron, I'm afraid that you really need to educate yourself and on more than the matter of flying radio control models (because that's what they are)

    2. NotBob
      Coat

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      Shotgun license? We just walk in to Walmart or the local gun shop and walk out with one. Grab a couple boxes of bird shot, too. Remember, kids, gun control means using both hands, so you're probably going to have to put the beer down.

      Mine's the one with the sawed-off mossberg in it.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        Some parts of the world are a bit more civilised and you just can't walk into the local ASDA and buy a gun unless it is a toy one.

        1. m0rt

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          Think that people are missing a trick.

          Don't need a shotgun, airgun, catapult.

          All you need is a fishing rod, with a decent weight on the end. Bit of casting practice, with a decent heavyweight line...

          1. auburnman

            Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

            Best bit about the fishing rod is if you down a drone you can prove it was flying within X feet of you, possibly supporting any related complaints of trespass or harassment if the operator comes looking for their gear back.

            1. Cynic_999

              Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

              Trespass is not a criminal matter in the UK, and prevention of trespass would certainly not be a valid defence to a charge of criminal damage to property worth several £100. I think that the guy with the fishing rod is far more likely to find himself hauled before a court than the guy flying the drone.

              Not to mention who would be held responsible should you cause the drone to crash into an expensive car or kill a child.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

                Not to mention who would be held responsible should you cause the drone to crash into an expensive car or kill a child.

                Whereas contributing to a plane crash is, of course, entirely acceptable...

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

            All you need is a fishing rod, with a decent weight on the end. Bit of casting practice, with a decent heavyweight line...

            Ah, so THAT's what fly fishing is. I was wondering ..

            :)

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          Some parts of the world are a bit more civilised and you just can't walk into the local ASDA and buy a gun unless it is a toy one.

          Are you saying that more civilised parts of the world don't have ASDAs? I suspect that if you had ASDA in those areas of the world they'd stock just the same as the other shops or risk losing out on sales. The only thing that surprised me is that there aren't more holdups at Walmart given that the tools for it are effectively sold in the shop.

          Or maybe they don't sell ski masks?

        3. Roland6 Silver badge
          Pint

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          Asda is just Walmart, but with a reduced range; which actually adds an interesting dimension to your observation.

          I think one reason Walmart kept the Asda name was to help visiting US nationals: I'm sure some would vocally complain if they couldn't buy shotguns etc. in a UK Walmart - because isn't the UK the 53rd state?.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      Ignoring the ridiculousness of the justification here,

      I foresee a future of high powered infrared illuminators. Digital camera sensors are quite sensitive to IR (as it helps give the right colour balance and improves low-light imaging). I reckon enough IR could white-out a camera so that it can't get any useful footage anyway.

      Yes, they come with IR filters, but they don't completely block the IR for the above reasons.

      1. m0rt

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        Lasers can easily destroy ccds.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

          Lasers can easily destroy ccds.

          Unfortunately too dangerous unless you can assure it's aimed properly. You don't want to miss and light up a cockpit instead.

          Or would an IR laser be able to cook its way through a filter?

          1. m0rt

            Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

            "Unfortunately too dangerous unless you can assure it's aimed properly. You don't want to miss and light up a cockpit instead."

            Seriously? Where do you live? In landing path at Heathrow? Aside from the fact that any drone use in an area where the odds of lighting up a cockpit are high due to flight paths etc.

            The odds of lighting up a cockpit by accident are very, very small for most of the UK, especially if aiming for a drone which happens to be casting its beady eye on you.

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

              The odds of lighting up a cockpit by accident are very, very small for most of the UK, especially if aiming for a drone which happens to be casting its beady eye on you.

              You don't act safely by assuming a risk does NOT exist (which is apparently the approach of most drone operators), you assume risk until you can prove it does not exist, has a very low likelihood or you have found a way to mitigate it. IR lasers, for instance, won't harm visual acuity for pilots so they're a valid mitigation.

              I would naturally research how and where I can down a drone with low risk and with as much plausible deniability as I can muster - maybe I ought to find a way to better aim clay pigeons :)

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        I foresee a future of high powered infrared illuminators. Digital camera sensors are quite sensitive to IR (as it helps give the right colour balance and improves low-light imaging). I reckon enough IR could white-out a camera so that it can't get any useful footage anyway.

        You could even use normal light. There are no real laws against lighting up the sky to light up an object unless you're close to a flight path, and there are plenty "bazillion lumens torch" projects on Youtube. That said, the benefit of IR flooding is that you would not actually have to aim.

        The benefit of targeted light is, of course, that it makes it much easier to hit the damn thing too so maybe it's worth combining things. All you then need to do is work on a tracer that identifies the owner before he takes flight (pardon the pun).

    4. Titus Aduxass
      Holmes

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      Drone Jammers?

      Also known as a pair of curtains...

    5. Tom 7

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      If you try videoing me from your drone I'm gonna get naked and you are going to be vomiting all over your shiny and writing it off!

      1. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        If you try videoing me from your drone I'm gonna get naked and you are going to be vomiting all over your shiny and writing it off!

        Hah! If I go naked the camera will probably break ..

        :)

    6. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      I shower wearing a fake moustache and a sombrero so no one will know it's me if someone does use a drone in this manner.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        I shower wearing a fake moustache and a sombrero so no one will know it's me if someone does use a drone in this manner.

        Ooh yes. I could do a roaring trade in Tony Blair, Trump and Theresa May masks for that purpose. Good idea.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        You are Homer Sanchez and I claim my five pounds.

    7. GruntyMcPugh Silver badge

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      Oh please, not this again,... I went for a walk around Dovedale on Monday, I heard some guy flying a drone over the River Dove,.... from about 400m away, hardly stealthy. The cameras on these things are wide angle, so not much use for snooping. You should worry instead about your nosy neighbour with a DSLR on a tripod, who can silently zoom in on your activities, if you leave your curtains open.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        You should worry instead about your nosy neighbour with a DSLR on a tripod, who can silently zoom in on your activities, if you leave your curtains open

        Him I can catch easily, and he won't be able to quickly run away on account of actually living there so that's not a comparable threat. Unless he uses a drone for it, of course :).

    8. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      In your garage.

      You most likely use it quite often.

      It is called a pressure washer. Very complicated bit of kit you know.

      Connect it to a garden hose, an electric socket and put some bog standard garden paint or decking treatment instead of the detergent in the attachment bottle. Press the trigger. Depending on the model you get 10-15m range at the right wash setting. So if the drone is anywhere within "paedo/voyeur" range it is a write-off.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        It is called a pressure washer. Very complicated bit of kit you know.

        Ah yes, the stuff that Kärcher used to do very well until they started to do a Mercedes on the quality (I have family in the DIY trade, and especially the cheaper ones now form a large part of their warranty returns).

        Hmm. I wonder how much effort it would be to hide a steerable nozzle in between the fountain ones (so it looks like a failed jet instead of a non-deniable action to hose the thing out of the sky).

        Hello new DIY project :).

    9. cork.dom@gmail.com

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      You clearly have never attempted to point a normal handheld camera through a window from approx 10m away have you? If you did, you will notice your picture doesn't contain much detail of the room through the window... You generally get a picture of a window and nothing else.

      Add the facts drones are incredibly noisy and do not have optical zooms and you will realise a drone is a completely useless spying tool. Nobody uses them for voyeuristic activities. Stop believing the media hysteria.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        You clearly have never attempted to point a normal handheld camera through a window from approx 10m away have you? If you did, you will notice your picture doesn't contain much detail of the room through the window... You generally get a picture of a window and nothing else.

        Well, if we're going to throw the word "clearly" around, you clearly have never heard of a pola filter. Any photographer knows that a polarisation filter will remove the glare from that window as if it was never there. Besides, you are also assuming the room is dark - during a normal sunlit day* you can quite comfortably see into the room as a bit of Streetview surfing will show.

        * OK, those are a tad more sparse in Blighty, but even normal daylight tends to be enough if the window is sufficiently large

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

        You clearly have never attempted to point a normal handheld camera through a window from approx 10m away have you?

        I have, across the Thames (to be precise, next to the Battersea bridge). I took rather good shots through the windows of a house on the Chelsea side standing on the Battersea side of the Thames, with a fairly normal camera with a 55x lens (I think it was a £300 or so Panasonic Lumix or similar - this was 10 years ago), precisely because a friend of mine who lived there wanted to find out just how much could be seen.

        The answer, FYI, was "not much" from the quay level angle as his place was a few floors up, but from a higher floor of the office block right next to the bridge it was possible to look in without much effort. For reference, 55x means that you can get the license plate on a car on the opposite side to fill the frame, but at that point you're into digital magnification so resolution goes to pot. That was, by the way, only with an UV filter.

        However, you don't fly that far away from what you want to film with a drone, or you have somewhat missed the point ;)

    10. AnotherITGuy

      Re: Where are the Drone Jammers then?

      Seriously? ..... Really? .... You're actually buying into the ridiculous sensationalisation?

      YouTube any flying drone and tell me that you and everyone in the area will not be able to HEAR let alone spot a drone hovering outside your bedroom window. Go on. Just do that simple little thing.

      Before you go out a commit an OFCOM offence you probably ought to do some research also on radio signal jamming and the limited amount of legality that surrounds that. Also shotguns, how'd you fancy doing time for using one for destroying property.

  2. hairydog

    You can buy 128GB microSD cards. They're pretty small and light.

    1. Bronek Kozicki

      Yes, thought about this too, then checked the write speeds here. No microSD (or regular size SD) will match 4Gbps (or 400MB/s). Still, I wonder if this speed is really useful in this case?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Sustained speed is also an issue. Shooting 5,5K video is going to batter that SD card.

        1. P. Lee

          >Sustained speed is also an issue. Shooting 5,5K video is going to batter that SD card.

          If the word "drone" is involved, I demand laser, er, "downlinks" of one sort or another.

      2. Roland6 Silver badge

        re: No microSD (or regular size SD) will match 4Gbps (or 400MB/s)

        No, but then you can build a RAID stripping configuration (remember reading an article about how to do it a year or so back) to achieve the speed, which is effectively what is inside an SSD...

    2. SVV

      "They want to have efficient storage that securely stores, manages, downloads, plays, backups and shares the potentially hundreds of gigabytes of data that can be generated from a single drone flight."

      Totally agreed on the "what's the big deal about 128Gb of storage" comments. You could fit way more than that in a drone, and 128Gb only costs about 25 quid right now.

      And what's with this "manages, downloads, plays, backups and shares" stuff? Is the process of transferring files from one device to another a new probem that needs a new solution?

      Very underwhelming story indeed. Please engage brain when press release is recieved.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Huh?

    Why does a drone need to record video of its flight at all, never mind in very high resolution?

    And never mind shotguns, a catapult, paintball gun or net should sort the buggers out. :-)

    1. DasWezel
      Happy

      Re: Huh?

      Well, for starters the TV production industry quite like to be able to record what they're shooting...

    2. Stoneshop

      Re: Huh?

      Trials are being run, using video footage from a quadcopter as a way to do a primary inspection of railway bridges, as that can be done without taking the tracks out of service. That would only be necessary if something is spotted warranting further inspection. Though in the case of this trial they used a live HD video feed, so that the operator could close in on particular features in real time.

      Recording onboard the 'copter versus transmission has its pros and cons such as weight, link reliability and power usage.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Huh?

        @DasWezel @Stoneshop - yes, drones with video for things liek making TV programmes, reconnoitering sites of archaeological interest and bridge/structure inspections, sure. But outide of those uses? The headline was clearly indicating use of drones by yer average plebs like us.

        I'd also point out to those syaing that drones are used by 'normal' people, if you're implying that it should be a case of 'what's the problem?' then in a word - privacy, the same thing that not a few commentards here realise is the issue with 'social media' and IoT crap. not to mention public safety issues, and the possibility of harassment via drones. And, for the recrd, I don't know of anyone owning a drone, not have I even seen one in use yet. So not THAT normal, yet, thank god.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Huh?

      My dad got a drone for a present, but he can't fly so well, so I ran it up over the treeline and did a slow 360° pan of the surrounding area. It came out very well. It's another way to take pictures. We don't live in South Park and are not looking for Craig's Mom's Bush. Whatever sight it is to behold. Normal people use drones too, in other words.

      My comment is also along the lines of; 120GB?! That's it? Wake me when you get to 2TB on that stick, mmm-kay?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Huh?

        Kingston supposedly will be releasing a 2TB stick shortly, no word on price yet. (I want!)

    4. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: Huh?

      Why does a drone need to record video of its flight at all, never mind in very high resolution?

      It doesn't, just that for many 'drone' means 'flying camera'.

      For remote inspection/survey/surveillance applications, it is normal to use a 'low-res' real-time stream back to the ground (with the option to view snapshots/short sequences at higher resolutions), whilst the camera records everything (to local storage) at a much higher resolution such as 4K.

      What the article is missing, is a little context for general readers, namely, the basic DJI Inspire 2 drone camera platform retails at a little over 3000 GBP.

    5. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Huh?

      Easyjet already uses drones for airplane inspection at Gatwick and Paris.

      There are other uses.

      As far as the shotguns, catapult, paintball - they are inefficient and prohibited for city limits in some places. If a drone is that close for you to use any of those you are better off with a bog standard pressure washer and a bottle of paint or dye instead of the detergent.

      The issue with all of them is - by the time you got to one of them the drone is gone. So you are better off with passive defences. Privacy foil for windows is about 5£ a meter and takes approx 15 min per window to install. I got it on most windows already to reduce glare and heat in the summer.

  4. Andy 73 Silver badge

    Not much news..

    ..nothing much being said there. Drone that uses memory sticks will use memory sticks.

    And out of the woodwork come the "oh no, drones!" crowd who seem to forget that everything from Country File through to the latest Tom Cruise film uses drones. The BBC has its own department developing in house technology, and police, fire and ambulance services use them for scene of accident, search and rescue and safety monitoring. Ignoring those, the wildlife photographers, travel writers, and people who just want a cool selfie have every right to take the benefit of new technology.

    It's remarkable that a technology site famous for ridiculing the "think of the children" line still has readers who take the approach that any new technology that might be used by 'bad people' should be regulated, banned then regulated some more. I guess because they personally don't have one means they can't imagine why anyone else should? Good job we all have mobile phones, laptops and fnarking duct tape already, or we'd have to ban them too.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Not much news..

      I agree, a large chunk of Planet Earth 2 used drones.

      Next ban telescopes and binoculars because people in tower blocks may spy in your bedroom.

      1. AnotherITGuy

        Re: Not much news..

        And cameras. Don't forget to ban cameras ... like this one https://youtu.be/_P18JOsdlFU

  5. chivo243 Silver badge

    boring

    Who needs 25 minutes of me in the shower... or 10 as my showers are pretty short, enough to wake me up.

    1. breakfast Silver badge

      Re: boring

      You say that but Seagate apparently think you take upwards of 50 hours and they don't want to miss a second of it.

  6. Haku
    Thumb Down

    "Drones" ... "footage of you in the shower"

    Tabloid scaremongering headlines much, El Reg?

    Shame on you.

    You're better than that.

    1. SkippyBing

      Re: "Drones" ... "footage of you in the shower"

      'Shame on you.

      You're better than that'

      They really aren't

    2. Blotto Silver badge

      Re: "Drones" ... "footage of you in the shower"

      @Haku

      did you miss the huge site title in red at the top of the page. just like the paper red tops, the reg chases punters with dodgy headlines and some stupid stories.

      you'll never guess etc.......

    3. AnotherITGuy
      FAIL

      Re: "Drones" ... "footage of you in the shower"

      "Shame on you.

      You're better than that."

      Once upon a time, maybe. No more! Sad days.

      1. JudeKay (Written by Reg staff)

        Re: Re: "Drones" ... "footage of you in the shower"

        Yep, it's a jokey headline on a story about storage for drones. We should have written a seven-decker containing an intricate explanation of NVMe. That's us told.

        1. AnotherITGuy
          FAIL

          Re: "Drones" ... "footage of you in the shower"

          What reaction did you expect to your Daily Mail headline n'est pas?

  7. Bucky 2
    Trollface

    I've been hanging my wang out the bathroom window for 3 hours now, and still no drones.

    What am I doing wrong?

    1. Brian Miller
      Facepalm

      Well, most people don't pay much attention to Wang these days. Upgrade to something else, then hang that out the window.

      1. P. Lee

        >Well, most people don't pay much attention to Wang these days. Upgrade to something else, then hang that out the window.

        Hang out with Windows. Something exciting is bound to happen to you and "your" er, data.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Joke

      lack of a good enough zoom?

    3. Lars Silver badge
      Trollface

      Your hands are too small.

      PS. How much memory do I need if I just want to drop a bomb on one particular neighbour, what about a licence.

  8. Stevie

    Bah!

    Speaking as an extremely hefty, extremely hairy, extremely superannuated male who really enjoys a nice shower: I'm ready for my close-up, Mr Dronetard. Are you?

  9. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Coat

    Is it just me

    ... or does that picture resemble some evil alien creature with 4 wicked claws.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Is it just me

      I had to have a second look, but yes, that does look like something evil that would chase you back to your Hogwarts dorm room, or you'd have some wicked marks on your bottom to show for your slowness!

  10. Alistair
    Windows

    yegad

    Well. I'm not likely to be caught on drone video in the shower due to the simple fact that the bathrooms have no windows. Yeesh.

    There are 4 or 5 drone owners in the area (mind you, we're talking the quad copter $269 on special at christmas type drones, NOT $6,500 units) and if even ONE of those is fired up one can pretty much hear it from 2 or 3 blocks away. (We've several large greenswards in the area, which is typically where these folk break out the drones for fun).

    The drones that you'd need to be worried about spying on your dear sweet innocent daughter are the ones that make almost no noise. And as a result can carry just slightly more than a gram. And get caught in a breeze from the dog exhaling in the wrong direction. And fly for about 2 minutes.

    In reality -- the biggest issue with drones in my books is idiots flying them in places where they could get whacked by an aircraft with real live people on board and possibly do damage causing said aircraft to fail. We've been through this argument dozens of times on this site and the assessment has been that "no way a drone can take out a plane", and "there are already laws".

    I'll agree there are already laws (and since my middle one got one of those neat cheap at Christmas drones from a ...part time relative...,I know them), personally I think they need MUCH more teeth.

    And while I'll agree that it would be fairly unlikely that his drone (range 150' not meters, weight about 470g, 99.9% plastic) will take out an aircraft by bouncing off the surface(s), I've seen one around the corner (easily 4' across, 6 props, likely in excess of 10lb) that could do some serious damage to either a small plane or even the engine on a jet.

    Now. I've seen M2 drives out there with *decent* IO rates (no, not 4Gb/s) in the 1Tb to 2Tb range already -- admittedly 4K video would be pushing them rather hard, but I don't think that they'd be impossible to use --- I suppose it rather depends on the encoding that is being done on that video....

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The best defense against a bad guy with a drone

    ..is a good guy with a bigger drone :-)

  12. AnotherITGuy
    Mushroom

    If you're worried about Drones then you're going to poop yourself at these ... perfectly legal ... available from your local Curry's Digital for £220 and completely, and totally silent.

    https://youtu.be/_P18JOsdlFU

    Now stop worrying about noisy and heavily regulated Drones use! FFS.

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