As I’ve stated many times before, I’m fascinated by new technologies. Be it something as mundane as battery life or cell phones or computers or self-driving cars, among other things, I’m so there.
When Amazon announced their latest gadget, the Amazon Echo a while back, I was very intrigued…
Here is an interesting review of the device which gives you an even better idea of what it is all about:
As intriguing as the machine appears, the things it is capable of doing were things I do through other means and, while I considered buying the Echo, in the end I felt I didn’t need this device. Still, I suspect the device will go through many iterations and become better and better as new generations of it are produced so I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime in the future I change my mind and feel it is worth purchasing.
If you do feel like you want to get this device, you may want to check out this fascinating article by Matt Novak and found on Paleofuture before doing so:
The FBI can neither confirm nor deny wiretapping your Amazon Echo
That’s right, kids, a device that listens to you 24/7 (assuming you keep it on all day and night) and is connected to the internet is also a singularly beautiful device for hackers -be they FBI agents or…others- to gain access to your home and, yes, listen in to whatever you and your family says in the privacy of your home.
Like many others, when I was young and in high school we were assigned George Orwell’s famous novel 1984. It was frightening work that presented a society where all freedoms were stripped from its citizens.
In today’s world technology that would fit right at home in the novel 1984 comes in shiny, pretty colors and entices us to buy rather than frightens us away. Thus, consumers voluntarily and without realizing it may place such devices in their homes without realizing they offer access to their privacy.
So, buyer beware. As intriguing as these devices may seem, one needs to realize they are internet connected microphones which others could hack into.
You’ve been warned.