[Brian R]

At some point, a line gets crossed. I have to "opt out?" https://gizmodo.com/you-need-to-opt-out-of-amazon-sidewalk-1845750268 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-sidewalk-devices-sharing-internet-neighbors/

[Bosterson]

[Brian R]

Agree 100%. But man that Ring camera has provided some good piece of mind while I'm away from my home. It's going in the trash tomorrow. And I just might vaporize my entire Amazon account for foisting this level of corporate arrogance.

[Randito]

Isn't the whole purpose of Ring to discourage "porch pirates" ? So if you opt out of Amazon you don't need Ring.

[neek]

So they're building an opaque private Bluetooth mesh network that 3rd parties will be able to anonymously connect to. Interesting. Sounds scary, but IMO not much more so than having these always-listening and always-watching devices around in the first place. Not to mention microphone-equipped closed-source computers you carry around in your pocket, or WiFi networks for that matter. (Those routers are the only thing standing between your increasingly complex home network and people who regularly do things like hack into oil pipeline companies and hold their networks hostage for millions of dollars.) I think we all crossed the line years ago. But with all this fear of computer hacking, the real thing that's being hacked is our minds. If I were forced to choose between a Sidewalk-enabled Ring and a FB account, I'd choose the former.

[Brian R]

I've never had a FaceBook account, or Twitter. In fact, this board is about the only "social media" I occasionally engage. I don't use Google. Bing instead. I do have an iPhone--and it's love/hate. As far as Amazon and porch pirates, I guess there are other options for on-line purchases. More and more I buy direct from the manufacturer, or sites like B&H, EVO, REI, ugh, or even WalMart, ugh. Other options for cameras too? I'm thinking Amazon's Sidewalk violates my Comcast terms of service as far as not sharing my wifi signal? I think this is going to be a giant debacle for the bald guy with the big new yacht parked outside his Climate Change Arena. Or maybe people just don't care anymore.

[neek]

Hmmm... MSFT was indeed late to the surveillance capitalism game, but I'm not sure if Bing (say it like it's fun!!) is any better than Goog these days. DuckDuckGo is another option. For camera stuff I just head up the road to Kenmore Camera. Don't care if it's a few bucks more (and it's often not); it's a local business where you can actually talk to people. It might be better to focus on simply not buying crap that doesn't actually enhance your quality of life, vs. scratching your head endlessly over how to best ethically source said crap. Interesting point about Comcast (which has been sharing your connection with the public for years). Since Sidewalk isn't going to convince anyone to cancel their account, they probably won't care. If they do, I'm sure amzn can cut a deal. Not sure how Dr. Evil plans to spend his billions now that the Technoking seems to have taken over the Total Recall plot line execution. Building gigayachts I suppose. Oh, and people do care--until it becomes too inconvenient. And the tech companies are pretty good at making it inconvenient.

[Cyclopath]

I read about this last week. It should surprise nobody. Privacy is part of the reason I've never owned any Amazon hardware. I remember when the internet was coming together and tech people could see that this was a thing they was going to take hold with the public. A lot of people who were interested in technology wanted privacy to be built in from the start and were dismayed that the public didn't care.

[Randito]

Leased Comcast/Xfinity modem/wifi routers have been doing something similar for a long time as a way of providing their "hotspot" network. "Alexa" and similar services have always seemed dumb to me. When my grandson was 5 he was amused by Alexa at his other grandparents house: "Alexa what is 3 plus 5?"

[coldrain108]

they keep pushing me to get a voice remote - no thanks. Its really not that hard to push a little button. I don't want any additional devices around listening to what I say. "Smart" phone is bad enough. I can't understand the Alexa thing at all. Just seems like complete stupidity. Growing up a Deadhead I guess I was always expecting the Man to be attempting to listen in on my phone conversations...so many code words for pot. People are happy to accept mediocrity in exchange for consistency, convenience and availability, at least its the same crap every time, so we're not surprised and I can get it anywhere at any time. win/win! S/He who dies with the biggest pile of landfill wins? Amazons new motto? We do have a landfill driven economy. One man gathers what another man spills. Internet privacy = jumbo shrimp = religious freedom = corporate integrity etc. oxymorons

[Brian R]

[Randito]

[Cyclopath]

Tangentially related. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-chrome-browser-data/amp

[Randito]

[Cyclopath]

Lol pretty much the only advertising I get is for things I just bought. Really expect the masters of the universe to be a little brighter than that.