New Xbox by NSA partner Microsoft will watch you 24/7

Originally posted by NarcolepticBuddha
Cool. I want one so I can play Call of Duty 12...

This is incredibly disturbing. I can't imagine anyone with half a brain that would even buy one of these with all the James Bond-like spy gadgets it comes with. This is horribly invasive all for the sake of money (and probably big brother setting foot in your house.) What, Microsoft didn't make enough $$$ with their last 2 revolutionary, groundbreaking consoles? pffft

Technology to make sure you're reading the ads? Is this seriously something people are okay with in exchange for playing a video game?

A device that never stops listening so that it can respond to voice commands?! How is this unlike a wiretap that you paid to put in your house?!

Perhaps the saddest thing is that all it would take to send a loud and clear message is a massive effort to boycott and shun the system. Simple, right?

Now, about my copy of Call of Duty 12. I'll even give a blood sample and copy of my birth certificate if I can have an advance copy!

edit on 8-6-2013 by NarcolepticBuddha because: (no reason given)

I know it's not the most glamorous job, but I do work for an electronics retailer. Whenever anyone asks me about the Xbox One, I make sure to tell them EVERYTHING they're doing. Thankfully most people pretty much get annoyed, especially at the Kinect/Once a day internet check, but I do actually run into the people who tell me that none of that stuff effects them, so they want to buy one anyway.

"I've got nothing to hide, they can watch me all day long!"

By the gods, I want to smack people like that. Every person who buys one of these only tells Microsoft that it's perfectly ok to continually take away our consumer rights as long as they've got "games". But not only that, it's only proving to the government that if they entertain us, they can remove our rights period. I know it's almost always proven on a day to day basis, but damn, it grinds my gears. >_

reply to post by Necrobile

I look forward to the day when they shutdown their authentication servers making their games and console completely useless.

Well the answer to this simple, don't buy this cluster#, train wreck of a games console, vote with your wallet.

I'm most likely purchasing an Xbox one, I've been reading a lot about the possible privacy issue but I've found that as long as you are very watchful you can easily avoid falling under unwanted supervision. We live in corporate land so we play by corporate rules such as contracts and what nots , anyway, just read what applies to having / owning one (ex: such as a rumor that the Xbox one , even tho purchased, will not belong to the buyer so it cannot be resold ) but its all in the fine print I'm careful with everything even apps as I have an iPhone and apps like facebook(keeping) are monitored and can actually tap into your phone, so it's best to avoid some.. Overall I can only recommend being aware to the requirements and deciding yourself .. If there is nothing on the requirements that says you're being watched or whatever it may be, then you are not allowed to be prosecuted and can be fought against with I'm sure little to no fight .. You just have to know what you're getting into . Alot I times requirements are overlooked especially social sites where it clearly tells you ... You will be watched .

Good luck to all and remember read before you sign.... Or you just might sign away your life.

Originally posted by schmirror
I also like the fact that previous posters think people are hired to spy on people 24/7.

Actually, the personal data can be mined almost without any human interference whatsoever--just download it all to the database. It does take a human to analyze and interpret the data somewhat. I'm sure they also have sophisticated softwares that do most of the analyzing though

Plus, I'd spy on someone 24/7 for a very modest fee since I don't have a job. Trust me, they'll find a couple of down-on-their-luck private investigators to do the snooping.

It's not that far-fetched, if you ask me.

Is there any way to know that this isn’t already happening with our lap tops. All the things that are being said about the xbox camera and internet hook up is going on with our lap tops . Mine starts at night and gets updates and I don’t know till the next day. My lap top has a camera a microphone and a internet connection. So are they all that different?
And don’t lots of computers run on operating systems made by this same company?
Wait…that means… I gatta go (at least put pants on if some one is already watching me )……..thanks Painfulhead

I wouldn't be surprised that it's powered by an internal battery -- once you turn your Xbox on, the Kinect comes on and stays on...forever, even if you plug out the console. Probably hard-coded to always transmit data. Rofl, that would be one hell of a discovery.

It's no surprise though, Xbox has always been a 'media' console, it's sole purpose was never for playing games. Games were always just a by-product. The original Xbox to the 360 all pandered media entertainment, not just games. Always stuck with Sony, at least their products do what they're supposed to, and little to almost nothing more.

reply to post by Necrobile


The problem is that everything Microsoft is doing is to appeal to the publishers whereas Sony is going the pro-consumerist route. It won't matter if Microsoft comes out and blatantly says they're spying on people with Xbox One. If they end up getting all of the exclusive AAA titles it will win the console war.

I am going to buy a Xbox One and disassemble it. I want to know what is inside this bad boy. Might even make a thread with pictures about it.

Originally posted by juleol
Microsoft just confirmed that you cannot play a game without first hooking it up to the internet. It has to call back at least once per day for you to be able to play your games.

I assume you mean the new one then, because I can play mine offline to my hearts content. The only issue I have every had is that once in a blue moon games with DLC sometimes seem to get stuck loading unless you plug it back in again for a few minutes and allow them to update. Of course if you reset your system cache you will want to plug back in to allow it to download patches each time you start up a new game.

The thing is though, once its updated, and even if its required once a day, you just allow it for a few minutes and then shut it back off. There is really not much information that they are going to glean in that few minutes of having it plugged in.

Originally posted by juleol
And even if it has an option to turn off kinect access to internet, you still cannot trust this company considering they lied about NSA tapping into their services. Since this surveilance program was supposed to be a secret then they are probably under some kind of NDA.

Yeah, but as I (like most people) have nothing to hide anyway, other then not wanting to look stupid playing a kinect game, it really is not that big of a deal. The machine cannot transmit through an unplugged wire no matter what microsoft does. So lets say I'm playing star wars kinect and hopping around waving my arms looking like “Star Wars Kid”, and I'm afraid that I might end up as a youtube video , I simply unplug the wire.

Originally posted by juleol
And even if you unplug internet, who is to say it is not storing information that will be sent back once you finally hook it back up?

Well, that's a good point I guess I never though of, but I would assume that it would show up on the hard-drive as a pretty big file that would be hard to hide. Still you can always disconnect the kinnect.

You know, you can also do the same thing with this that I do with my built in laptop camera when I am not using it... Cover it with something. I use a small piece of blue painters scotch tape that won't damage the lens. I do this in case I ever get a virus or hacked, but you can do it if you are worried about microsoft.

Funny that cellphones have not come up yet, as that is a proven device that they can remotely activate to use the microphone and camera.

Most recent thing I heard is if the Xbone detects that you have in some way disabled the kinect sensors (by tape or facing it towards the wall or otherwise blocking the mic) then it will ask you to set it up properly before allowing you to use the console any more.

It's seeming more and more likely that Microsoft fully intend to spy on users as much as they can. Of course they say they'd never do that. But... does anybody really believe a word Microsoft say anymore?

Originally posted by Tru3NugMaster
I'm most likely purchasing an Xbox one, I've been reading a lot about the possible privacy issue but I've found that as long as you are very watchful you can easily avoid falling under unwanted supervision. We live in corporate land so we play by corporate rules such as contracts and what nots , anyway, just read what applies to having / owning one (ex: such as a rumor that the Xbox one , even tho purchased, will not belong to the buyer so it cannot be resold ) but its all in the fine print I'm careful with everything even apps as I have an iPhone and apps like facebook(keeping) are monitored and can actually tap into your phone, so it's best to avoid some.. Overall I can only recommend being aware to the requirements and deciding yourself .. If there is nothing on the requirements that says you're being watched or whatever it may be, then you are not allowed to be prosecuted and can be fought against with I'm sure little to no fight .. You just have to know what you're getting into . Alot I times requirements are overlooked especially social sites where it clearly tells you ... You will be watched .

Good luck to all and remember read before you sign.... Or you just might sign away your life.

Well, it is your right to do what you want with your money, and I apologize for sounding rude, but I have absolutely no respect for you. Why? Because you are making it worse for everyone in the future. I'll explain.

Everything M$ is doing is in my honest opinion, very messed up. They are slowly taking away our consumer rights, and quite a few people seem perfectly alright with it, as long as they get to play fun games. All the stipulations regarding internet kinect-ivity, registering your games, all the hassles they're going to make people go through just to loan/trade/sell their own games, all of this nonsense should NOT be happening, at all. But they are happening, and there's only one way to show them that it's wrong.

With your wallet.

Now I understand there are plenty of people who feel what M$ is doing is quite alright, because as many have said......"It doesn't effect me." Sure, it may not effect you personally, but it DOES effect the entire video game industry as a whole. For every sale of this console tells M$ that people will put up with anything, just to be entertained.

"Spy on us as much as you want, just give me Halo! Don't allow me to sell my games, just let me play CoD! Need to buy used games, because you're too poor to buy new ones!? Screw you, get a second job you slacker, I want my Gears of War!!!"

A couple of days ago, I saw 2 brothers(between 6-10) talking about how they were going to pool their money together to buy a game for themselves. I remember those days. If it wasn't for used NES games back when I was a child, I'd barely be able to afford barely any games. M$ is going to put in a system for "participating retailers" to use that will allow them to remove games from someone's Live account, and add them to another. You will also have to sell the game through that same system, and the profits will be split 3 ways(M$, Publisher, retailer), and guess who says how much each group gets?? So if you thought that you don't get enough for your games now, wait until this happens. So now it will be harder for people without much money to afford games. But so what, right? It doesn't effect you.

Thanks to said system, no more will you be allowed to sell your stuff through Craigslist, or trade with friends. A few years back, a good friend of mine bought Portal 2 on the PS3, and didn't like it. So, out of kindness, he just gave it to me. He knew my g/f and I liked playing games together, and it had a fun coop mode. Nope, won't happen if M$ has their way. You'll have to sell the game through a "participating retailer", then buy it again through said retailer. You know what else will suffer because of this?? Game rentals. Sure, you may not rent games anymore, but whether you care or not, many people still do. Some games are so bad, they're only worth a rental. M$'s system will pretty much kill rentals. But who cares, right? It doesn't effect you.

Now I know some of this may not be 100% accurate, because not all of the information is fully released regarding the system. I base my statements on everything I've heard/read regarding the new console. I've been a gaming nerd for pretty much my whole life, so I like to read up on things constantly. But everything I've read on the Xbox One is just plain bad. I understand many will want to buy the system for the games, because all of that other stuff "doesn't effect them".

But if you're perfectly alright with losing more and more consumer rights, all so you can play fun games, then all I have for you is a big "F-you!". ,|,,('.'),,|,

You want a solution to this?

Hmmm...how about unplug it from the wall when you are done playing?

Then you can do whatever you want!

I honestly don't see what the government could gain from this. At the end of the day they'd just have terabytes upon terabytes of footage of 12 year old's feverishly beating off to the lingerie section of JC Penny catalogues before mom gets home from work, and 35 year old men playing COD while their wives shout at them to go mow the lawn.

I vaguely remember something similar to this ,on the news,about new flat screens and DVD players coming out.
Don't quote me ,as I don't recall all the details just now,but something about every appliance could be made to do this kind of stuff .
If everyone recalls,the change over the the new system in the USA ,where our old tv sets were no longer functional without that box attachment ,were put into pls e just after Obama took office .
I said at the time ,this is to better control our airwaves.
Now all media is stoppable with the flip of a switch,which it wasn't on the old system .
It's all to one end ....just my two cents .

Glad I don't have an Xbox .

I heard from a guy, who heard from a guy, who knows someone in the Know, who says there is actually a small person with a tape recorder hiding INSIDE the Xbox.

I want to see the specs on a final product before I condemn anyone. I plan on NOT getting an Xbox One, for the record.

As someone mentioned just a few posts back, your computer and phone are no doubt, a greater risk.

PS4 it's that simple.

Screw any giant game companies and their "must have titles" any legit game company will go for what the consumers buy.

And you know what? Give INDIE developers like ME a chance anyway, make Millionaires of REAL people.... To hell with EA and Steam and all the rest.

Nobody should buy the One... Cost Microsoft a few dollars...

I'm game obsessed myself, but buying this thing is like being a mouse that goes for cheese in a trap knowing it's a trap... there will be a zillion games to play made by cool companies and hardcore enthusiasts and smaller developers... screw em. Screw em good...

Reply to post by Xaphan

When all this spy news broke last week NPR interviewed two guys who left their NSA jobs and became whistleblowers.

According to them the collection of data has been the goal for a long time now at thw cost of missing important data.

They described as heaping more hay onto stack making the needle harder to find.

Right now its all about stacking as much hay as they can and later theyll work on sorting it.

They catch kids eating crap and drinking soda expect your premiums to go up.

If they have the data theyll use it.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

soon your every move will be recorded and watched.

Originally posted by Necrobile

Originally posted by Tru3NugMaster
You know what else will suffer because of this?? Game rentals. Sure, you may not rent games anymore, but whether you care or not, many people still do. Some games are so bad, they're only worth a rental. M$'s system will pretty much kill rentals. But who cares, right? It doesn't effect you.

This is the one that is going to hurt me most, I had gamefly for awhile and some of those games well most of them if I paid $60 for that I'd have been so mad. But at the same time I've also rented games where I liked a whole lot and ended up buying and I don't buy too many games as it is. I think this is something microsoft hasn't really thought through as I already don't buy many games and I usually stick with what I know, but if I played a rental game and liked it I'd go out and buy it, now I'm back to buying maybe a game or two a year instead of 4 or 5.

I'm not getting it though, they are pretty much telling me that I cannot use the console I just paid $400 (give or take) anywhere I want to, so they are restricting me a consumer who paid for a product from using in when and where I want to. I would not be able to take this to my cabin for a week or so because there is no internet. I can use my phone as a hotspot unfortunately that adds $30-$40 a month to my already ridiculous cell phone bill, and even if I do that I'd only use it for maybe a month or two out of the year. So now the console costs $400 + 30 + whatever microsoft live is because I'm sure none of the tv stuff they are advertising will be available to people without a live gold membership so that's what abother $100 or so a year? plus the price of a game so that's $60.

I am hoping that the ps4 doesn't have the always online thing, if it does then I am not buying either generation, I might get a Wii U and just play zelda or something

edit on 9-6-2013 by sandman441 because: (no reason given)