This was a good chapter because it dealt with some really cool applications of technology, specifically cameras. I don't know if you have but, if you haven't, download Google Earth! What an amazing application. It takes images from worldsat (the same thing Simson was talking about in the chapter) and combines them to make a fully interactive model of the globe. Now, you can even make it have a relief of the building in the city.... pretty cool stuff! Back to the chapter though. Surveillance cameras are a very useful technology when it comes to asset protection in a company. If something is ever stolen or misplaced, you can track it down and see exactly what happened to that order of Playstations. I feel that it gets to be a little too intrusive though because I don't like to be watched or feel like I'm being watched when I'm shopping but it is something that I am going to have to get used to because it isn't going anywhere any time soon.
Webcams, on the other hand, freak me out. I had a room mate freshman year that would always be on his webcam, talking to his girlfriend (she was in Chicago so I guess it was cool that he could have real time video of her from over 1500 miles away). It just kinda made me uneasy though when I found out that he would leave his camera on but turn off his monitor (not on purpose) and whomever was on the other end could see everything that was going on in the room. I found that to be very intrusive, obviously.
2 comments:
At the school where I used to teach we had video cams in one of the classrooms where students had to handle money and retail items because of the problem with theft. It seemed to help with the theft issue when the students were told they were being monitored. After a while, however, people tend to forget the video cams are there and you have to occasionally remind them they can be viewed at whatever they are doing.
I think webcams are a great way to keep in touch with loved ones at a distance; however, would also be extremely irritated if a webcam was left on continually and I was unaware of it. That is definitely an invasion of privacy. I thought the cam that had a manual shutter Garfinkle mentioned was a really good idea. It would certainly guarantee your privacy if you could see the shutter was closed.
I don't ever think about being watched in public places, because I pretty much expect that I am. And it also doesn't concern me because I'm not doing anything illegal anyways!
I do agree that your roommate's webcam incident is kinda freaky, because you would expect to not be watched in your own place. I have a webcam and never use it...too much work I think.
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