[Sussex] The gadget show?

[Steve Dobson]

Iain, John, ...

On Sat, Feb 26, 2005 at 05:13:57PM +0000, John D. wrote:
> Iain Stevenson wrote:
> > I nearly fell off my chair in hysterics at MS's "home of the future" - 
> > will those guys never learn from mistakes of the past?  Still, with 
> > M&S putting RFID in their underwear the MS home of the future will be 
> > able to tell you when to change it as well as programming the washing 
> > machine with suitable cleaning instructions etc.
> >
> Funny that you mention that Iain, because I'm one of those cynic's that 
> believe that RFID is such an intrusive technology that I can't be left 
> up to the like of "big business" and should be legislated for. Sure I've 
> nothing against the likes of Tescos or whoever using it for stock 
> management, but think that there must be law to ensure that any tags are 
> of a type which MUST be deactivated on leaving the store (death 
> penalty/public stoning/etc etc might prevent "them" from trying it on).

No, I like the fact that the WiFi part of the spectrum is "unlicensed".
This means that I can invent a new technology that uses it in a new
way.  If there is legislation governing the bands then that may stop
me developing that new killer app.

If you believe in freedom then you have to believe that others can also
use that freedom to do things you don't like.  We have a powerful way
of changing M&S (or any high street retailer) way of thinking - stop
shopping there.  Buy your underware on-line!

> Similar, I suppose, to store loyalty cards. I mean, I have one for 
> tescos, because that's usually the cheapest for diesel, so we might as 
> well have any possible benefits, but also for somerfield (the 
> nearest/most convenient) and a nectar one, because the BP connect is 
> where I get my nuclear grade coffee (double espresso with extra uranium) 
> to keep me awake when working overnight :-)  (and well spotted, I might 
> have the cards, but I'm certainly not loyal to any one of the robbing 
> swines).

If you don't want the big stores to gather information about your shopping
habits then don't get a loyalty card.  That is what they're used for.
The stores gain valuable info about the shopping habits of their card
holders.  If you want to say anonymous then don't use a loyalty card
and pay in cash.
 
> Still, you're definitely right about "their" home of the future, not so 
> much "future", but more like "home of now (with added intrusive chips - 
> I'll have mine covered with mayo :-D )".
> 
> No seriously, I feel that it was interesting, because it gives me an 
> idea of what's available, or heading this direction, but also what the 
> sneaky bastards are gonna try next. Lets face it, M$ and their ilk are 
> all for the high margins, but if they also get added marketing data 
> thrown in for good measure, then hell, they can sell that more readily 
> than they can their dodgy OS!

But if you know how they play the game then you also know how to avoid
it.  But it comes at a price: the lose of the convince.

Steve