People are lining up for a free TV that spies on you

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[MpBuRn]

dont we vote on people to protect us against situations like these? plz explain if im way off.

[zanekal]

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. - George Orwell 1984

[pcsecuritychannel]

I feel like when the internet was new we had a subset of intellectuals using it, and we assumed that's how it was inherently, but now it is for us to realize that what we thought was 'the internet culture' was just our bubble and as everyone starts pouring in we see the same behavior trends we see in real life. People want free stuff, wtf is privacy and customizability and user control. They just want their stuff as cheap and with as little effort as possible.

[lvmlvm]

This was described word for word in George Orwell's 1984:
A television you must have in your house which you can not turn off, and which has a camera that is watching you 24/7.

The only thing Orwell got wrong about his "telescreens", was that in the story, they were government mandated, where as here, just as you said, we do it to ourselves.
And worse - those of us who refuse, get ridiculed and belittled for it.

[troodon]

I still don't understand why the same people that are paranoid about their government spying on them seem to have no problem with voluntarily letting private companies do it.

You hit the nail on the head right there: when we lose our freedom and privacy it won't be because it was forcibly taken away from us, but because we willingly gave it away. I don't know anymore if I'm going insane, or everyone else is and I'm one of the last sane ones left.

[GapWim]

The counter argument I often hear is: _"But what are you trying to hide, if you have nothing to hide?"_

This implies that privacy is only important to people who have something to hide ... I usually fail to convince them that's not the point.

[AlexandruVoda]

I read their terms of service. You have to send it back if you want to stop using and are not allowed to tamper with the hardware. If tempering is detected they automatically charge your card. If you move and take the SpyTV with you have to tell them the new address. You are literally installing a billboard in your home and may not interfere with it.

[makskip]

I remember being a kid back in 98-99 and my mom got a couple of "free pcs". It was essentially the same system, a free Compaq pc and they shoved adware into it and monitored your usage. Fortunately the software didn't work properly and the company disappeared and we kept our shitty pcs. Also wasn't too difficult to wipe the whole thing and have a clean slate. Doubt such a thing will be possible with these new abominations.

[walkingcontradiction]

"It's not the company, it's us." I saw this coming when pay to win *free* games started to become common.

[achillesa]

Not gonna lie, I'm not even mad at the company at this point. You're completely correct, it's not the companies, it's us. They're perfectly honest about what they're doing and people have decided that it's ok with them.

[thethinker]

When the product is free, you are the product.

[MagnusVictor]

The "Just put something over the camera or otherwise disable the mic/camera" solution is obvious, but given that it's an always-online system I suspect that the company has thought of that as well. I'd bet that the contract includes some points to the tune of "If either the mic/camera stops working at any point, or the software doesn't report that the ads were displayed normally, a technician *will* be sent to your home to 'repair' the unit, or you will be *required* to send in the 'faulty' unit for replacement."

[koztech]

Reminds me of those "free" PC's in the late 90's/early 2000's that gave you a 1024x768 resolution display, but only 800x600 viewable because the rest was filled with ads. There were also free dial-up services that did something similar. But this is much worse since there are cameras, sensors, microphone, etc. Surprised this the company isn't called Ingsoc.

[olencone]

I was reading about this Telly offer yesterday and did some digging... in their own privacy terms, they discuss how it can collect information about what you watch or listen to, what channels you watch and for how long, what you search for, and, best of all, it can collect information about *"the physical presence of you and any other individuals using the TV at any given time."*

Soooo, yeeeeaaaahhhh... no. F no.

[stoneymahoney]

My sister-in-law is so proud of being affluent enough to spend all her money on devices that spy on her. It's like the thought of your stuff listening to you and watching you and reporting in on you is somehow the ultimate narcissistic trip.

[derrickramey]

The way you talk about that HD Homerun is bittersweet. You're so happy reminiscing about it but you're also reminded those days are gone forever.

[daniihh]

a billboard in the heart of your living room you can't turn off that streams constant ads? hmm, sounds awfully familiar to the TVs in 1984

[tourmaline]

I genuinely thought this product was something satirical when you first mentioned it Louis - it's horrifying how people can be so willing to give up their rights and privacy for the sake of a free TV set

[MiD]

Besides the insane privacy concerns that comes with this, why would one expose oneself to more advertising? I don't watch regular TV and all my devices are ad-free. The only ads I get to see/hear are posters/billboards and sometimes when a radio is turned on. In fact, when I do get an ad on my PC, phone etc. it scares the shyte out of me because something has to be malfunctioning and even 1 ad reminds me of how noisy and dirty the internet and TV sector has become. How can one sign up to have MORE of that? And like I said, that's even before all of the major dangers and concerns of the fact that you have bugged your own house for 24/7. This shyte is scary AF... Stuff of nightmares even

[RandomGreenFishPhone]

I have learned many things from your videos over the years - Electronics repair, shady commercial real estate practices, the battle for the right to repair, our dwindling privacy, and much more. People are listening and I hope you continue to do what you do. But if you ever do decide to call it quits and spend your days by the lake in New Hampshire, would you please consider still uploading videos of your cats from time to time?