When I went to get a cell phone for my daughter about 2 months ago, I was shocked to discover that cell phones now come with GPS locators. This is ostensibly a "service" so the company can find your phone if you lose it. But, of course, this means that they can also find YOU. And it is galling that only the company can use the GPS feature, not the cell phone user.
So if we value our privacy, cell phones have joined the lengthening list of things we have to guard ourselves against. Banks are free to read your checks to mine data about your buying habits. Grocery chains now use ID cards (for "valuable savings") to track what you buy. Only the courts prevented the lets-legislate-morality loonies from letting our ISPs check and block what we access on the web. RF-ID tags now report when we use EZ-Pass going through a toll booth. Surveillance cameras have become universal since the technology is now so cheap--and we think it's so cute when CSI uses pictures from a camera at a random intersection to help solve a crime. And who doesn't want a car with On-Star? What the heck is next? The Amish life style is looking better and better. Can you have boatanchors and be a ham if you are Amish? 73, Don Merz, N3RHT -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of George Pritchard Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 9:26 AM To: 'Discussion of AM Radio' Subject: RE: [AMRadio] Pix of BPL hardware on utility poles in Cincinnati Gentlemen, How long will it be before the govt' adds "interface devices" to the "BPL home internet connection" to further invade in on our privacy. I feel very uncomfortable with potential broadband "utility monitoring" of my electric meter! It opens the door to much invasion. Live Free or die. The 20 gauge and bird shot is interesting. George AB2KC -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Donald Chester Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 2:17 PM To: amradio@mailman.qth.net Subject: Re: [AMRadio] Pix of BPL hardware on utility poles in Cincinnati >Actually this provides additional advantages to the Utility Companies >even if you don't subscribe to the internet service. A modem could be >hung on your electric, gas, or water meters, plugged into an AC outlet, >and now all meter readings could be done back at their facilities via >the BPL internet connection, eliminating the services of electric, gas, >or water meter readers. Wonder how long before some would develop and put on the market bootleg "brown boxes" -remember the "blue boxes" in the 80's that allowed one to illegally bypass the phone co.'s billing and make free phone calls? These things would take over and alter the data stream to the utility company and illegally reduce your bill. Or if you happened to transmit over the air at the critical moment and your signal caused data loss and scrambled the data so that you or a near by resident erroneously got a ridiculously high utility bill for services you did not use. Incidentally, Apple Computers got its start as a garage enterprise that produced blue boxes, and once they gained some capital, decided to go legit and put together the first personal computer, that started a technological revolution, even though the machine was extremely crude by today's standards. _________________________________________________________________ Don't just search. Find. Check out the new MSN Search! http://search.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200636ave/direct/01/ ______________________________________________________________ AMRadio mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html Post: mailto:AMRadio@mailman.qth.net ______________________________________________________________ AMRadio mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/amradio Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.html Post: mailto:AMRadio@mailman.qth.net The information contained in this e-mail may be confidential and is intended solely for the use of the named addressee. Access, copying or re-use of the e-mail or any information contained therein by any other person is not authorized. If you are not the intended recipient please notify us immediately by returning the e-mail to the originator.(B)
