Big Brother Assisted by Georgians -- Yuk
Gregory Abowd, an associate professor leading the project, says the new camera-neutralizing technology shows commercial promise in two principal fields - protecting limited areas against clandestine photography or stopping video copying in larger areas such as theaters. “We’re at a point right now where the prototype we have developed could lead to products for markets that have a small, critical area to protect,” Abowd said. “Then we’re also looking to do additional research that could increase the protected area for one of our more interesting [sic] clients, the motion picture industry.”
Abowd said the small-area product could prevent espionage photography in government buildings, industrial settings or trade shows. It could also be used in business settings - for instance, to stop amateur photography where shopping-mall-Santa pictures are being taken.
You know this won’t stop there — this is the beginnings of yet another battle for control. More details — love the trumpeting (not) — here. (At least it doesn’t work with SLRs!)
Dr. Gregory Abowd of Georgia Tech, get stuffed.
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Posted by Giles, Wednesday, June 21, 2006, at 5:27 PM.
Posted to Business | Ethics | Freedoms and rights | Photography | Public domain
Comments:
I think David Pogue said it best when commenting on Target refusing to print a woman’s own digital pictures: “OK, I know we’re all in a freaky gray-area digital age, feeling our way through the warring interests of convenience and copy protection. But c’mon, people–must we lose every shred of common sense along the way?”
Ew. That Target story is just bad. No surprise that Wal-Swill’s doing the same.
Uh, I mean, Wal-Mart. Sorry…;)