Comments on: Big Brother is Watchin…, er, Listening

By: bernie68

bernie68 — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:54:16 +0000

Take out the battery and they can’t find you — until, of course, you put the battery back in.

By: twolf1

twolf1 — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:20:15 +0000

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:14:29 +0000

I think they’re about to tell us. Rumor has X-Files redux in the works. Don’t know whether it’s a film or new series.

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:12:11 +0000

They use nearly as much power “off” as “on” because they’re not really “off”.

The tv screen may be dark, for example, but the set is still essentially “on”: its memory is fully functioning, as are its other feature. Something else to note is what gadgets like TiVo do when they’re on. It doesn’t just record individual programs. It records utilization patterns 24/7 and uploads them every day to its host: Jane watched I Spy reruns from cable/dvd/TiVo source from 12.30 am until 1.45 am then powered “off”.

If your gadgets are new, borrow or buy a voltage meter, they’re readily available, and test them. That’s also a useful exercise for those wanting to cut their carbon footprint. Instead of turning a gadget off, connect it to a surge protector and shut power off from there. You’ll notice a longer lead time in powering up your gadgets, and on gadgets without backups (typically, those coin-sized batteries) you may also lose memory, settings, etc. (less common than before). That may be inconvenient, but with oil at $135/gal. and rising, with comparable costs in electricity, that may become a small inconvenience.

By: SouthernDragon

SouthernDragon — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:11:17 +0000

The amendments cost too much money. That’s been his standard excuse.

Don’t look at me that way. I can’t help it if the dickhead is a hypocrite. *g*

By: Praedor

Praedor — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:36:01 +0000

That is why those battery thingys come out. Off and remove the battery - no tracky.

I’m going to Big Brother land in the fall. I’ll have to ensure my face is rarely (if ever) available to the ubiquitous cameras and I will have to ensure my cell phone battery is removed from the handset when I’m not actually using it.

By: dakine01

dakine01 — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:19:02 +0000

New GritTV a couple of flights up

By: mui1

mui1 — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:17:39 +0000

Why do they use more power off. I understand cable, but dvd?
It was x-files. That whole series was one great big metaphor (?) for government paranoia. I wonder what the shows creators would be writing about now.

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:03:32 +0000

It’s like most modern electronics; they’re never really “off” any more. Try using a current meter, readily available at Radio Shack, etc., on your home electronics. If relatively new, the tv and dvd draw nearly as much power “off” as on. Given the collateral uses of home electronics and cable lines, and now, even mundane power lines, it’s worrisome. Was it the X-Files that had the tag line: “We’re Not Alone”?

By: earlofhuntingdon

earlofhuntingdon — Thu, 22 May 2008 19:57:50 +0000

That little cell phone handbook doesn’t advise customers about the national security uses to which GPS and other cell phone tracking technology is routinely put. The E911 program is useful, but was only the publicly acknowledged rationale for mandating the tracking capabilities inherent in currently manufactured phones.