{"id":1544,"date":"2013-06-24T17:02:32","date_gmt":"2013-06-24T22:02:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/wordpress\/?p=1544"},"modified":"2017-08-29T13:25:25","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T18:25:25","slug":"the-xbox-one-is-a-trojan-horse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/the-xbox-one-is-a-trojan-horse\/","title":{"rendered":"The XBox One is a Trojan Horse"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Trojan-horse-shutterstock_95916187_Main-image_300\"<\/a>No, I’m serious. This thing, a non-descript black box\u00a0committed to\u00a0the stylings of that dusty piece of electronics your grandfather can’t bring himself to throw away, is in disguise. On the surface, they’re pitching it as a “media hub”. They say that it is an all-in-one device into which you funnel your existing bits of tech, but I’m going to call them out on the bullshit. There are\u00a0marauding Greeks inside this console, just\u00a0waiting to sell your personal information and creep on your family.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It Recognizes Humans<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Pretty cool right? I mean, that’s the whole purpose of the Kinect, Move, and Wii in the first place. The “gaming” aspects of a camera demand that the system be sophisticated enough to see and respond to user input, which happens to be body movement. This camera, however, is incredible. It literally maps you, joints included, and even\u00a0extrapolates your physics\u00a0from an\u00a0internal\u00a03D model of the user in real time.<\/p>\n

It Senses up to Four People at Once<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Even better. Multi-player. The field of view\u00a0is\u00a060% bigger than the old Kinect, so everyone in the room will have an opportunity to play, even when sitting down actually, I guess…. apparently. Since the XBox One has mutated into a “media hub”, I guess\u00a0it’s arguable that the thing needs to spot people sitting on the sidelines, or passing through the room.\u00a0I mean, how else would a mute couch potato change the channel remotely?<\/p>\n

It Understands Speech<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Just like Siri, the XBox One is articulate enough to understand and process speech. Incredible. My fingers are way too cumbersome for typing, and a wireless headset just seems too intrusive in the modern age. What\u00a0could\u00a0possibly be even MORE intrusive, however,\u00a0is if the mic was on -like- all the time. Because that would be embarrassing. Nevermind the technical feat\u00a0of differentiating my voice from those on television, I hope it doesn’t mistake a-bomb-inable speech euphemisms and topics as security risks.<\/p>\n

\"Xbox_One_Kinect_3_people\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Users are sized and fitted for their own expressionless pod person.<\/pre>\n
It Reads Your Face<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n
Wait, what? You’re kidding. How…. no, WHY exactly? Is that a game? Are we still talking games? I rolled my eyes (hope it didn’t record that) when hand-held cameras started releasing with “smile sensors”, but what could I possibly use this feature for? Will my look of sheer concentration or utter disbelief alter my game-playing experience? Will the MP3’s track change when I frown? I can’t fathom why a piece of tech would need to be able to understand my mood, much less interface with my face.<\/p>\n
It\u00a0Senses\u00a0Heart Rate<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
You’re kidding me. From clear across the room, using its IR sensors, this creepy-ass thing can tell my heart rate? That is relevant exactly zero times if you disclude an automatic call to the hospital in the\u00a0event of a sudden stroke or pulmonary arrest. At least the XBox One will be able to tell paramedics what my last phrase and facial expression were, y’know, to make a more accurate epitaph. Me gripping my chest, teeth clenched, will be etched into a tombstone labeled, “I shoulda bought…. life alert. Hufft.”<\/p>\n
It Sees in the Dark<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
Is nowhere safe? I JUST wanted to watch some television before bed. Well at least I can unplug the damn thing.<\/p>\n
——————————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n
\"tumblr_mn80y0rvf81rrlcfno1_500\"<\/a>The\u00a0Camera and Microphone Must Remain Connected at All Times<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
Well, fuck.<\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
——————————————————————————————————————-<\/p>\n
All Devices Bow to The One<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
In fact, the whole system was never intended to be switched off.\u00a0Your current media devices are to be plugged into the XBox’s massive set of ports and since the thing can switch itself “on” by\u00a0you merely sitting down\u00a0<\/em>with controller in hand, then this proves that it is never truly “off” in the first place. Nevermind that Microsoft has patented an “achievement” system for watching certain shows, but the ability to flip seamlessly between multiple television programs, music, social networking, and the internet all while background content\u00a0is\u00a0in limbo raises a number of concerns. Whomever juggles multiple channels and\u00a0the rest of this shit\u00a0on the fly will be pleased with the system, but they should be made aware that an all-in-one equates to an intrusive investigative report being\u00a0hand-delivered to XBox’s puppet-masters on a use-by-use basis.<\/p>\n
Your Data is Their Data<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
This phrase\u00a0means that users can not ask Microsoft to delete their information.\u00a0Once taken, the info belongs to Gates and company. “Whoop-de-fuckin’-do”, says a generation who feels that Uncle Sam and corporations\u00a0have free-range rights to\u00a0view\u00a0our houses like\u00a0an ant farm, dig through our garbage, or to watch our windows with a pair of binoculars. In a way, being monitored makes\u00a0some people feel\u00a0special and important. These are the same who proclaim their “innocence” is what excuses the literal implementation of a dystopian police state. In reality, these are the fucktards that are actually ruining society, not the ones who only PROPOSE bad ideas. The more they give up, the more that is subsequently taken from the rest of us. If we can’t even get full disclosure from ELECTED officials on matters of our personal safety and American exploitation in general, why would I pay\u00a0to have a camera crew\u00a0park in my living room without me receiving a dime? They’re spying because they like your money, not you.<\/p>\n
\"irUQLUgFACKw\"<\/a><\/p>\n
You're so naughty! Now gimme \"sultry\" and some \"corporate malfeasance\".<\/pre>\n
These Features Were Cut after Consumer Backlash<\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
*Mandatory 24 Hour Check-In via Internet
\n*No Used Games in some cases (Fees for Others)
\n*No Game Lending (Rentals too?)
\n*Game Profiles Tied to a Single Account
\n*[System Mandated] Regional Restrictions on Games<\/p>\n
More appropriately, they changed these after Sony bitch-slapped them at E3. Separate from everything else in this article, these five points are “innocent” money-grabs or\u00a0DRM tactics that were meant to accompany the Xbox One. They were cut, but\u00a0I\u00a0list them to reiterate where Microsoft’s true heart is. This is the type of shit that the company\u00a0WOULD HAVE implemented had the fanbase not\u00a0blown a fuse. (It’s just too bad that we’re relatively under-concerned\u00a0with privacy infringement.) It’s also worth mentioning that you must now connect to the internet one time before playing each game to have it cleared by Microsoft, thus dicking over many Americans without the net.<\/p>\n
The Bottom Line<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
With a laughably absent amount of solid release titles and a smoke-and-mirrors presentation forcing attention away from the XBox’s ability to do the One thing that game consoles are built to do, Microsoft’s actions and this particular product should remain under severe scrutiny. Although a handful of restrictions are written into the usage agreement regarding the console’s dubious potential, we all know that latent power is still power to be considered. Since no one (including myself) reads the damn license agreement and it is self-regulated to allow for future changes on Microsoft’s part, we could very likely be looking at the next big data-mining technology that strips you of your home privacy and even targets family members for all manner of\u00a0eerily-accurate advertisements, or worse.<\/p>\n
The XBox One is a Trojan Horse which\u00a0will be invited into millions of homes come 2014. It has unprecedented biometric scanning capabilities and WILL be able to pattern your surfing habits, your channels watched, what you physically look at,\u00a0and your facial reactions to these programs. It WILL be able to\u00a0overhear your conversations, determine how many people partake (even in total darkness), and create a proportional 3D model of your sons and daughters. If you couple this capability with the heart rate monitoring, the raw data can likely be used to determine emotions on known stimuli like a polygraph test and (crazy I know) this data could POSSIBLY be compiled to create unofficial profiles of each person who merely walks in front of it, including guests to your domicile.<\/p>\n
And this monitoring monstrosity USED to require internet access for daily verification….<\/p>\n
Those who buy\u00a0the XBox One\u00a0because it is “the next big thing” deserve its violating policies.\u00a0To view the horizon of gaming, simply ask\u00a0yourself\u00a0how far Micro$oft would go.<\/p>\n
\"thefifthelement-police-026\"<\/a><\/p>\n
Vertical Twister is single player only. Sorry, no multipass.<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
No, I’m serious. This thing, a non-descript black box\u00a0committed to\u00a0the stylings of that dusty piece of electronics your grandfather can’t bring himself to throw away, is in disguise. On the surface, they’re pitching it as a “media hub”. They say … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media-buzz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1544"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2859,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1544\/revisions\/2859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/skullduggery.us\/rants\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}