780°

Kinect Is Spying on You

A reader at Lazygamer has actually read the new terms and conditions for the Xbox 360.. and it's pretty scary

"Do you ever read the terms of service agreements that come with software, hardware and firmware updates? I know I don’t. I’m all too happy to scroll on to the end and click “yes.” One astute reader, liberty, took the time to read through the updated Xbox Live terms of service included with yesterday’s Xbox system update – and uncovered some pretty scary stuff.

Remember how we, via Microsoft’s Phil Spencer, assured you that Kinect wasn’t spying on you? It seems that might not be entirely factual; According to the terms of service, they can – and will use Kinect to monitor players."

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lazygamer.net
granthinds4952d ago

Man, how on earth can people think this is real?! FIRSTLY, it'll take up valuable processing power from the console and SECONDLY waste band width! And if you'er capped, you'll be SO aware that you're PAYING for it!!!

Ognipode4952d ago

You obviously don't know Microsoft, I don't put anything past companies like them and Apple these days

granthinds4952d ago

What?! They can't AFFORD to jeopardize their PR with such a ridiculous stunt!

nix4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

i always unplug the PS3 camera.. you know just in case... i find that blue light very scary. lol. q:

@zootang: lol... i was about to do some 'activity' and then suddenly realized the camera 'looking' at me... since then i've been unplugging it. q:

EDIT 2: i wonder who disagreed with me... you can ask Sony, i swear.

John-1174952d ago

Why would MS spy on what ever I am doing wtf? lmao

KratosGIRL4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

LMFAO bunch of sissys

Web cam sex is the future !!

iMaddy4952d ago

Any goverment can "hear" every users cell phone talking by law desision..

xbox live is the same...stardart term of servise...goverment is all above any company.

all this news is just anti MS pr company...people don't like when MS have success.

Nitrowolf24952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

HOLY F I DO THE SAME

I mean i am eating in my room, or playing a game that doesn't use the cam and i see it on and i'm like "Maybe they are watching me" idk who "They" are but still. lol

anything with a camera, even my computer i usually block them just in case

lol

Theonik4952d ago

@Nix, i do too. That blue light scares the sh*t out of me.

nveenio4952d ago

This basically says that they can use illegal activity against you. For instance, if you're flashing testicles to underage boys--they'll use it against you. If you're harassing the one girl on your friends list--they'll use it against you. If the courts subpoena their records of your chats because you're using Kinect chat to organize a terrorist plot--they'll comply.

They're basically just letting you know that they aren't going to fight for your privacy if under legal pressure to let it all hang out.

edgeofblade4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

Wait a second... this is par for the course already. MS can already monitor your voice communication with a headset, and with the update, the kinect mics can replace the headset...

@inveni0: Since you put it that way, they could have been under pressure from Homeland Security do include this for their purposes.

nveenio4952d ago

I agree. And it's perfectly legal because you're agreeing to it. It's the next best thing to wiretapping!

nycredude4952d ago

Invinio

What if I like to game naked or in my boxer shorts? Can I get in trouble for being naked in my own home?

DMason4952d ago

All companies have to comply with this law. If MS is contacted by the government/police, the police have the right to monitor you.

It's not like Kinect is recording you at all times. Now if you're a child molester soliciting children on XBLA, then you have something to worry about.

MONOLITHICIDE4952d ago

John-117 + 8h ago "Why would MS spy on what ever I am doing wtf? lmao"

-And this is exactly what Big Brother wants you to think like, so they can sneak these kinds of things into our homes. They already have vans that drive down neighborhood streets that can xray into your home, and they say its to find terrorists. Now thats funny any excuse to take away our freedom and usher in their world dictatorship.

I guess you tell yourself anything to help you sleep at night kid, huh?

AAACE54952d ago

LMAO>>>You gotta include Sony into that as well since the Eyetoy is a camera. And keep in mind, the Japanese are well known freaks who like to spy... especially on little girls! They even buy used underwear from a vending machine!

I always thought it was suspect to have a camera plugged in that can be monitored at anytime. But it's just like our cellphones, we could be getting spied on at anytime. For those who don't know, as long as you have the battery in your phone, the government can listen in on you at anytime. I keep my sh*tty blackberry in it's sleeve for that reason to block the microphone.

Always disconnect the camera when not in use, or at least turn the camera away.

PopEmUp4951d ago

webcam sex is the future hahahaa

+ Show (14) more repliesLast reply 4951d ago
DirtyLary4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

black orifice 2010 console version.

Dr-ZOOM4952d ago

BOOOO!!!

You see what I did there?

Darkfocus4951d ago

whats black orifice?? never mind I probably don't wanna know...

Raf1k14952d ago

If that's what the terms actually state and you agree to it then they can legally go ahead with it.

gamingdroid4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

Everything in the ToS is vanilla, meaning you can go read Sony's and it will contain the exact same things in different words.

The only difference maybe is this:

“You should not expect any level of privacy concerning your use of the live communication features (for example, voice chat, video and communications in live-hosted gameplay sessions) offered through the Service.”

They are specifically referring to "live-hosted gameplay sessions". I think that is fair, as you are already in a public game match.

With that said, if there is one company that "seems" to respect your privacy it is MS. If you look through their history and their policies compared to let say Google or Sony with their root kit that actually made your computer vulnerable to breaches!

Either way, I wouldn't walk around naked in front of Kinect!

Anon19744952d ago

Microsoft needs to be able to police their services. Some might not like this, but it just makes sense. Of course they need the ability to keep an eye on what users are doing on their network. Sony's no different.

Scotland-The-Brave4952d ago

O look, gamingdroid turns this article about Microsoft into something bad about sony. Surprise surprise!

gamingdroid4952d ago

I talk about Google as well, but somehow you only cared about Sony!

It's kind of hard to compare the console makers when there are only three and one of them practically don't have an online presence.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4952d ago
AuToFiRE4952d ago

"cant afford it" we all know microsoft and apple are crooks, yet we continue to use their products, M$ has you by the left nut, Apple by the right, it doesnt matter what they do, all it will end up is in a fine of a couple million dollars, chump change to massive corporations like them, they will simply make back that money in a matter of hours

DelbertGrady4952d ago

I stopped buying Sony products after the rootkit scandal. /s

edgeofblade4952d ago

@DelbertGrady: And I started avoiding Sony movies after the David Manning incident.

JokesOnYou4952d ago

It's standard legal terms for just about anything that deals with "video capture" online.

-I don't know if some of you know this but yesterday when I did the 360 fall update there was settings for kinect allowing you to opt out and assign limits on what you want others to see when online, you can either set it so that everyone can see you, just friends or block everyone.

-I guess he wouldn't understand alot of products have similiar legal warnings since he admits like most of us we never read the TOS agreements, you want to read some really scary stuff try reading the TOS agreement when you get a new cell phone. lmfao, "The government is listening"

INehalemEXI4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

this reminds me of the ECHELON system http://whatreallyhappened.c...

to intercept all data.

It's illegal for the United States to spy on it's citizens. Likewise the same for Great Britain. But under the terms of the UKUSA agreement, Britain spies on Americans and America spies on British citizens and the two groups trade data.

FragMnTagM4952d ago

It is NOT illegal anymore for the United States to spy on it's citizens. If you are scared about the TOS for the new update, then you should stop using cell phones, chat rooms, well the internet altogether for that matter, especially Facebook.

Not too much anyone can do about it, except you know, take over the government.

INehalemEXI4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

There are legal limitations in the PA this is an intercept of all data and they answer to no one.

All I said is.... it reminds me of this system. I don't give a damn if the governments spying on meh if they want to watch me drop a duece more power to em.

Killed4Less4952d ago

FragMnTagM just be quiet.. You are talking out your ass about the Patriot Act. There is absolutely wiretapping and monitor laws in place. If MS was to turn even 1 camera on and view into a person's living room they are breaking federal law here in the USA period.

A school district just recently gave laptops to students and one of the camera's was activated to spy on a student. They are in serious financial and legal troubles now.

This camera is no different then the millions of web cams and cell phone cameras in the world. MS cannot and will not actively spy on you in your home because the legal ramifications would be enormous.

Ragz0174952d ago

aliens can monitor the human race this way easily.. :)

WharenPeace4952d ago

Since I generally game in my underwear, I always unplug the PS Eye. The same would hold true for if I owned Kinect.

frostypants4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

Everything you do on the internet can be tracked. It's not just Kinect.

And it's not like they have some giant TV room like in Matrix Reloaded where Bill Gates is sitting back and watching every move of every gamer. Though the thought of that is amusing.

EDIT: I guarantee you that you agreed to similar TOS with your ISP

baker_boi4952d ago

For the same reason phone companies tape your phones and record your conversations in a database.

That was unfortunately legalized through the patriot act.

Stop being dumb kids. This is America. They've been spying and tapping people's lines since the 1920's.

It doesn't take much to do this, there are loads of tutorials how to high jack cameras, and secure lines all over youtube.

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4951d ago
1233604952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

its there to keep an eye out for the perverts i suspect,there will be alot of kids using this so they may wan,t to check out any conversations if they get a complaint.sad but the 360 has had a lot of bad press over this issue so a bit of extra saftey is not a bad thing

Domer254952d ago

Now that makes sense. Forgot about the pervs.

Qui-Gon Jim4952d ago

The wording is just there to give them the right to use your communications if they need to. For example, if you are accused of exposing yourself to children via video chat, then Microsoft can call up your video chats and hand them over to police.

I can pretty much guarantee that PSN service agreements say the same thing.

TrevorPhillips4952d ago

Illuminati - the all seeing eye

tacosRcool4952d ago

And Governor Ventura is also!

Nihilism4952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

lol, careful dude, I think the Zionists are great in number on these forums, you will note by the prominent brand loyalty and monopolistic sympathizing that their mindset is at the very least pervasive. We won't see it's effect until the end game...

P.S Gaza is Palestinian land :D, I look forward to the day when war crime sanctions are rightfully issued against Israel.

killzowner4952d ago

literally the nerdiest thing said on n4g - a gaming website. You should win something for that Nihilism

Dnied4952d ago

I was going through the settings in the new update last night and noticed there was an option in the security settings where you could enable/disable MS monitoring the voice conversations. The tooltip stated that they wanted to monitor so they can get ideas for voice commands and updates etc haha

It was something like that anyway... makes you wonder though.

Blaze9294952d ago (Edited 4952d ago )

that's normal with any voice programs/hardware though. They need to collect the tone, pronunciation, and communications of every possible person they can get so that in the end, the program/device picks up many different kinds of dialect a lot better. Might have people who talk very country or with accents, that's what it's for.

common sense don't you think? They don't really want to hear about what you did last night - but 'how' you're talking so that Kinect can pick up more voices/people.

SolidSystem4952d ago

they want to make sure I dont talk down to Milo or try anything funny with him.

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150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

Read Full Story >>
xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander19723d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

3d ago
3d ago
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darthv723d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander19722d ago (Edited 2d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

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CaptainFaisal3d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead3d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan3d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl3d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx2d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

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70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
Psychonaut857d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.

380°

Microsoft's quest for short-term $$$ is doing long-term damage to Windows, Surface, Xbox, and beyond

Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's plans to increase every department's margins.

Read Full Story >>
windowscentral.com
Brazz9d ago

"The plan to move Xbox games to other platforms is codenamed "Latitude" internally, and I know there's debate and unease at Microsoft about whether or not this is a good idea. More upcoming Microsoft-owned games slated for PlayStation are already being developed. At least for now, they're potentially obvious games you'd most likely expect. And yes, while it's true Microsoft is a prolific publisher on PlayStation already, it has typically revolved around specific franchises like Minecraft. From what I've heard, Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation, and it all revolves around Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood's mandate to increase every department's margins. "

Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware.

Xeofate9d ago

"Yeah, they are going to kill Xbox hardware."

It's for the best.

Quit stringing along xbox fans and screwing over PlayStation owners.

crazyCoconuts8d ago

Take good care of those Xboxes if you have 'em ...

outsider16248d ago

An Xbox game on a Playstation. Never in my years of gaming did i ever thought this was gonna happen.

jznrpg8d ago

It is dying anyway so doesn’t make much of a difference

VersusDMC8d ago

No way can they get rid of the hardware as probably 90% of game pass subscribers are hardware users.

Highly doubtful those users will move to PC or Cloud to subscribe there and the competition (Sony and Nin) will never have gamepass on their system.

If they want to keep the current subscribers, they need to keep releasing new hardware.

PSPSA8d ago

I'm not convinced, why then announce that they're actually working on the next-generation Xbox with “the largest technical leap”, and also looking into handhelds now?

Rols8d ago

Not like MS don’t drop things a hot potato if it is not performing. Look at MS history to see products or platforms discontinued. Xbox is not a charity for MS, it needs to make money and the ABK was the last roll of the dice for Xbox.

purple1018d ago

Xbox hardware team members have been incorporated into surface team

This perhaps shows they are not expecting big things from Xbox as a separate entity

Abear218d ago

Seems like they are planning to win next gen. All the acquisitions were this generation and nobody except Xbox fans expect games from the acquisitions any time soon.

I’m sure Microsoft can afford to lose money on the short term, pretty sure they do risk assessment when acquiring many companies and spending billions, they’ll be fine lol.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 8d ago
gold_drake9d ago

i think it will kill off the xbox brand. windows will be fine.

but there is and would be a chance that xbox might be killed off in the future. if they fail to make the money they put in. imo.

S2Killinit9d ago

They wont kill it, but they will go fully PC while keeping xbox as a brand, and go multiplatform for the most part. They will also work tirelessly to diminish console gaming’s importance.

PRIMORDUS8d ago

It would be best if Xbox goes the way of Sega, just make and publish games. I know I myself will not support them at all with buying games from them, you all can. 🙃

ChasterMies8d ago

The Xbox brand will live for the games. I don’t expect Microsoft to entirely drop out of gaming hardware. They make Surface tablets and laptops. They’ll make Xbox branded hardware for those that want it.

shadowT9d ago

"Microsoft is pushing for no "red line" for what games could come to PlayStation"

Forza and Starfield next?

Skuletor9d ago

Starfield would be no surprise and there's the rumor that it will come to Playstation after the Shattered Space DLC, Forza (along with Halo and Gears of War) I find less likely but I wouldn't be surprised if they eventually end up on PlayStation too, especially if Xbox give up on hardware and go the Sega route.

shinoff21839d ago

Not to worried about forza. I'd rather see others like what inxile and obsidian are working on. Starfield sounds like it needs more time in the oven so let it cook first imo. If starfield and it's a small if does release on ps it'll be in the fall around the time for dlc or right at the dlc and come packaged with it.

-Foxtrot9d ago

In the words of Phil Spencer when he was talking about Nintendo last year

“It's just taking a long time for Microsoft to see that their future exists off of their own hardware"

S2Killinit9d ago

Yup. MS are a cancer to console gaming.

Aloymetal9d ago

100%!!
I wonder what happened to that dude that was always here posting those court articles with cartoons about MS spending all those billions in studios. He suddenly disappeared, I guess he doesn't like bad news when the green brand is in trouble. No new articles from him as of late...

PRIMORDUS8d ago

Yup, and it's only going to keep spreading.

Outside_ofthe_Box8d ago

Phil Spencer's words always comes back to bite him lol

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