Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): "Steve Jobs Is Watching You: Apple Seeking to Patent Spyware"
Here's a sample of the kinds of information Apple plans to collect:
- The system can take a picture of the user's face, "without a flash, any noise, or any indication that a picture is being taken to prevent the current user from knowing he is being photographed";
- The system can record the user's voice, whether or not a phone call is even being made;
- The system can determine [and record] the user's unique[,] individual [biometric] heartbeat "signature";
- To determine if the device has been hacked, the device can watch for "a sudden increase in memory usage of the electronic device";
- The user's "Internet activity can be monitored or any communication packets that are served to the electronic device can be recorded"; and
- The device can take a photograph of the surrounding location to determine where it is being used.
Now, if you own an iPhone, and that doesn't scare you... well, it should. I mean, not that you're actually doing anything "wrong" -- but, that somebody ELSE can "collect" (and store and forward) that data? Good grief! But, Jobs ain't stupid... he knows the guv'ment Spooks already want this technology. So, he gets in front of the market (I mean, that is how he made his billions) and applies for the patent... he also knows that if he doesn't do it, somebody else will. I guess the next version of the iPhone will even be able to collect and forward your DNA to whomever good ol' trustworthy Apple decides.
Why do I get the feeling "John Anderton" will be coming through my front door any second... Oh, wait... I'm anti-Apple; so, I guess there won't be a red ball with my name on it 'til after Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg form an alliance to take over the NSA (a.k.a. Google).
