Big Brother is … listening
Watch out! Your TV might be eavesdropping on you.
At least one maker says its smart sets can capture every word of your private conversations. Smart TVs link to the Internet, allowing you to browse the web or view programs on demand. Most of them are voice activated so you can switch channels without using your remote control.
Samsung’s smart TVs use voice recognition to capture spoken commands. But the convenience also has the ability to “listen” to your conversations and transmit them to a third party, which analyzes your voice pattern to further attune your set to your voice commands.
And if you don’t give your permission to allow this in the manufacturer’s terms and conditions, you will not be able to access some of your TVs features. In fact, owners of Samsung and Toshiba sets won’t be able to use any of those features at all.
It is reported that 141 million smart TVs will be sold worldwide this year, and more than half of TVs sold are now “smart” models.
Futuristic building blocks
The way we build homes and edifices today will soon be obsolete, thanks to the emerging technology of 3-D printing. I found this fascinating article at Yahoo, which reported that in the not-so-distant future, building your new home might be as simple as printing it out.
“The process of wielding 3D printers to make homes is in its infancy today, but someday soon you may look out your window at a large-scale printer, swiftly spitting out a whole home under the instruction of just one operator.”
Follow this link to the piece and its accompanying illustrations and video, and soon you’ll be looking into the future of building construction. Also visit Contour Crafting’s website to see even more about how this technology might one day be building our cities, here and on the moon!
Tracking movement
In a previous Surfin’ Safari column I showed you how you can track air traffic around the world in real time with FlightRadar 24 on Twitter.
This week I want to tell you about another website that allows you to track maritime vessel positions, locations, port arrivals and departures and traffic in real time based on AIS data. AIS is the Automatic Identification System.
According to MarineTraffic.com, “AIS is initially intended to help ships avoid collisions, as well as assisting port authorities to better control sea traffic. AIS transponders on board vessels include a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, which collects position and movement details. It includes also a VHF transmitter, which transmits periodically this information on two VHF channels (frequencies 161.975 MHz and 162.025 MHz – old VHF channels 87 & 88) and make this data available to the public domain.”
I charted out the Port of New York on Sunday at 2:13pm ET. The map showed the real-time positions of tankers, passenger and cargo ships, high speed craft, tugs, pilots, yachts, fishing boats, navigational aids and other unspecified ships.
Getting “Twitchy?”
Are you getting Twitchy? The “who said what” aggregator of U.S. politics, entertainment and media tweet aggregator.
Smart Internet users know that Twitter users deliver the news instantly from the sources all over the world. Many use Twitter as their “go-to” for breaking news. Many tweeters are the most snarky, clever and adroit practitioners of using a limited number of characters to succinctly convey commentary about unfolding events and the personalities driving them.
For example, on Sunday these were the top notices on the Home Page:
Practiced Tweeters who want to keep up with popular culture and politics know that when it’s on Twitchy, it’s what’s happening.
Valentine’s smooch
“He was my first kiss, yeah. He needed a little practice. So did I.”
So said Mary Moorcroft, who recently reunited with the first boy she’d ever kissed 50 years ago!
Here’s the story. And though Valentine’s Day 2015 has come and gone, for this couple Valentine’s Day will be every day for the rest of their lives.
Bargains, deals and freebies
Looking for free and bargain bestsellers? Sign up with landers BookBub, and in less than 30 seconds you’ll be perusing the “cyber” stacks of free and discounted e-books that match your interests.