Comments on: A Brave New World Of Shopping

By: kryptothesuperdog

kryptothesuperdog — Sun, 06 Jun 2004 10:41:23 +0000

that seems to be exactly what I was after, thanks!

By: CygnusX1

CygnusX1 — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 20:39:33 +0000

Remember (big electronics retailer)’s wireless cash registers that wardrivers in the parking lots would use to pick up customer credit card numbers?

Relatively inexpensive portable RFID transmitters/receivers will quickly become available for store inventory control. Which means they’ll also be available for thieves who want to prowl the parking lots of malls, etc. looking for cars where expensive purchases have been stashed for ’safety’. No more guessing what’s under the blanket in the back of that minivan, you’ll know if they’re covering some trash from a Burger King trip or a new home theater system. Adds a whole new dimension to the Christmas shopping season. ;^)

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 20:06:23 +0000

but not because the world’s not getting better. The world IS getting better. We couldn’t have had this exchange in the 1970s, for example. (Well, you wouldn’t have been on the planet, primarily…but even if you had been, there would have been no Sciscoop. No net.)

My personal world keeps getting better, too. But still, my cynicism has grown in proportion to my age. Losing trust or faith in one’s government, leaders, or other major influences on one’s quality of life usually takes time, it seems to me. I’ve taught over 3,500 adolescents/young adults over the past 30 years, and only a very few have professed convincing cynicism.

Tell you the truth, krypto, I hope you’re right. I’d love for my cynicism to be unjustified. I hope you never have reason to change your mind :-). Now I’m going to tackle Drog’s privacy find!

By: Drog

Drog — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 10:41:29 +0000

I googled and found this. Looks like exactly what you wanted. I'll give it a read myself.

By: kryptothesuperdog

kryptothesuperdog — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 09:49:54 +0000

Interesting idea. I’m 21 and don’t really care that much about privacy, but I’m a real exception amongst my friends. Mention, for example, ID cards and the immediate reaction is that they’re a bad thing because they ‘invade people’s privacy’. Privacy is much more of a hot topic amongst my friends than civil liberties; I’d say that younger people tend to have less understanding of the phrase ‘civil liberties’ (myself included), possibly as they’ve never had any first hand experience of direct ‘violations’.

Heh. What you see as ‘the longer one lives, the more one understands the potential for evil amongst those in power’, I’ve always seen as increasing, generally unjustified, cynicism due to the world not getting any ‘better’. But I may change my mind :-)

Regarding the ‘right’ to personal privacy, can anyone recommend any philosophical writings on the subject? I am but a n00b and would like to get some understanding before I shoot my mouth off again :-)

By: buraianto

buraianto — Wed, 02 Jun 2004 09:11:59 +0000

Just last night I watched a show on the LA Police department, hosted by Peter Jennings. Jennings asked a straight question of the current police chief, something like (highly paraphrased), "People in LA are scared of the police. You seem to be using any excuse (like seatbelts) to stop someone and seach them and their car. Do you feel justified in treating all people this way?" And the response was something like (again, paraphrased), "We know that doing this lets us reduce crime."

Of course, I think it’s a very difficult job that the LA police have been asked to do. But it’s sad and scary that they feel that in order to do their jobs they feel justified in running everybody through a screen, tossing back the good ones and jailing the few bad ones.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 14:38:31 +0000

Sprint has already developed two RFID apps based on customer loyalty cards; if you have the card with you, a store will pop up a computer controlled avatar to greet you and make offers based on your past purchases.

See Sprint RFID Loyalty Card Triggers Minority Report-Style Ads.

Bill

By: gypsysoul

gypsysoul — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 13:42:12 +0000

I can’t help but wonder if those of us who fear the slipping away of personal freedoms are a bit older than those who tend to shrug their shoulders and say, “No biggie.”

I certainly don’t remember being nearly so concerned in my 20s and 30s of government/big business/any institution’s control of my private life as I am now (I can’t remember what 30 even feels like :-) ).

I could be wrong. There may be just as many Baby Boomers who think NO governmental or other kind of institution would ever use private info to control or manipulate in any way. This may be one of those, “Yes, global warming will destroy the planet” or “No, global warming is no big deal,” issues that people of all ages love to debate… I just have a feeling that the longer one lives, the more one understands the potential for evil among those with power.

By: Drog

Drog — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 06:35:28 +0000

I was due for a good rant. :)

By: kryptothesuperdog

kryptothesuperdog — Tue, 01 Jun 2004 01:37:40 +0000

Well that serves me right for starting a debate on a topic I don’t know much about :-) Hope I didn’t wind you up too much!