You better believe it, Orwell was totally right. Big Brother indeed watches you. Not through the television as Orwell envisioned but through the miracle of the computer. And, the computer lurks everywhere. From your appliances to whatever! I would have liked to say A to Z, but could not think of anything starting with Z.
Lets look around us. Do you know who the largest user of computer chips is right now? The automobile industry. Right now there are more computer chips in your modern car than you can imagine. A friend of mine lost his headlights. Burned out bulb? Nope computer failure. I think it costs $400 bucks for the repair. I collect old cars, some of them over 30 years old you can still get parts off the manufacturer's shelf. Bet your nice new Gasmobile will not be so well supported 30 years from now. But, I digress. Lets have a quick look at the latest gadget. The fancy little information autopilot (Onstar on GM's) that seems so trendy. So, if you can tell exactly where the next road hazard is do you think that it just might be possible for the bank to turn off the ignition if you miss a payment??? Think about it! As a matter of fact, it did fail a while ago. All the Cadillacs in N. America suddenly had their trunks open up.
We have all heard about the hazard of giving out credit card numbers on your cordless phone. Well, that is just the tip of the iceburg in the big world of cordless communication. Do you know with hardly any effort your cell phone can be used to tell exactly where you are? Even without it being used. When it is turned on it constantly reports to Big Brother. As you move now it does not know exactly where you are. But as you travel it passes you from one "Cell" (read area) to another. At that moment it is possible for them to start tracking where you are. Another fellow like Hitler in our century would not have to have an SS to track you down. He would just instruct the phone company's programmers to come up with a tracking program, and presto, we know where everyone is. So, lets hope Big Brother stays honest.!
Now to the machine we all love so much. The Personal Computer. We are addicted to computer communication. From your home to the corner grocery store. All these places have computers with the power to report your every move. Who cares about the security of what you say, that is not important. Who you say it to and from where could be the item of interest. A few years ago a company which will remain nameless decided to survey the Internet activities of the employees. A simple task as long ago as 5 years. Well, to no-one's surprise the survey proved that a lot of employees spent more time on "non-company" Internet activity than they actually worked. Some folks in a days shift used more Internet time than the time they clocked for the company. Wonder how they got any work done. Then again, maybe they were Civil Servants!
The phone company offers "Voice Mail". Your company and government already has all the latest in this technology. Three guesses how fast anyone with access to the computer that runs it can read your messages.
And, now I get to prophesize... Thirty years ago I built my first computer. Us "Geeks" all predicted then that they would eventually be in every home. Little did we know how much and how fast. I also get to brag about being one of the pioneers that introduced computer Image Processing to Law Enforcement. Just 10 years ago. Know why DNA evidence is now showing up? They knew then that they had something, they just did not have the science that they could take to a court. So I ask, "what about the next ten years"? You cannot possibly imagine it The only reason a lot of stuff is not used right now is the difficulty of proving its truth as evidence.
Even the futuristic Robo Cop type things just touch the surface here. Law enforcement, once it can prove the tools has us by the gonads. You can't do anything now without your Social Insurance Number. Now the government wants to issue all of us a new number. Seems that the number is too widely used to be of any use to identify you. And there are now more numbers in circulation than there are people. Watch this one closely! It can be a tool that Big Brother can use to track everything you do and exactly where you do it.
To recap now! Here are is a simple scenario of a typical day. You are a techno freak, so you have a wakeup call phoned to you. Report one to Big Brother (now BB for simplicity). You get up, do your morning things, probably check your email, another report to BB. You are short cash, so you stop at a bank machine. Big report here to BB, not just where you are, but statistics can be started on your banking habits. Got a secured parking area?. For you folks that travel the new freeways that have electronic toll gathering. Your car or parking card can report direct to BB Once at work you are easy picking. Your phone, your computer, your bank card purchase at lunch, all can report to BB. Your paycheck is deposited directly to your bank account. Add that to the money you take out and BB knows if you are living within your means.
OK, so work is a dangerous place. How about your leisure? What do you pay for the movie with. Right on, another report to BB. Like to gamble? Well, use a card, bingo, BB knows you were at the track. Like the odd drink? Use a card? You got it, BB can tell where, when, how much, and with a little program modification exactly who you were there with. All the while that little cellular phone keeps track of where you are. Aren't we lucky that we live in a trusting society, with honourable laws and governments. But do we?
I like to watch a program called "Law and Order" It is the most factual program I can find. And you regularly see them use court orders for wire taps and phone records. All true! They use credit card records routinely. Simple as anything. Now expand that to a totalitarian society where the issues I mentioned above are constantly watched and recorded. Sound far fetched? Not at all, it only takes a simple set of computer programs now. I can even write them. The machinery to do it is all in place. For all I know, it is already being done. But you know what? If it is, please don't tell me. I am paranoid enough as it is.
This is not a disclaimer, I take full responsibility for what I write. If you have a comment to make to me email me. If you dropped here from another link you might want to hit your back key. Otherwise, I have more irresponsible drivel indexed to go to. Go back to the index page
73 for now, Tom