Why the hell are there TVs in Shaw\'s?

[Spacey]

infomercials!

[FrankZappa]

The way to do something like this is to offer discounts (such as the shaws card), and then to protect your children. Parents will see it as their kids being kept safe. Once that generation is used to it, you have the whole of society under your control. That being said, I\'m predicting 20 years or less to total take over unless rioted against.
If shaws was stage 1, here is stage 2:

Disney offers teen-tracker mobile
Disney is launching a US service that will enable parents to monitor how their children use their mobile phones.
They will be able to track voice, text, video and picture messages and set limits on their children\'s calls.

The phone will also allow parents to locate where their children are via a global positioning system.

The entertainment giant hopes to target what is a niche but rapidly expanding market of mobile phone using children between 10 and 15 years old.

"This is still a growth stage market," said George Grobar, general manager of Disney Mobile.

Disney is targeting 20 to 30 million children with the new service.
The decision follows market research showing that parents wanted to be able to find out where their children are at specific moments and to talk to them.

\'Big market for teenagers\'

While the US mobile phone market is well established with 70% of the population already owning a phone, this figure is lower among teenagers.

About 45% to 50% of 13 year olds have a mobile phone, according to technology analysts Jupiter Research.

Just under two thirds of parents pay for their teenagers mobile phones.

"There is certainly a big market for teenagers and parents adding them to their [mobile] phone plan," said Jupiter analyst Julie Ask.

The new phones for parents, which will be sold over the internet, are expected to be available from June.

Disney has not yet revealed what it will charge for this service, but monthly fees from other providers are as little as $10 per month for each new family member.

This is the second specialised mobile phone service Disney is developing. The company launched a sports-based service in February at the annual American football extravaganza, the Super Bowl.

Mobile phone company Nokia predicted that the global mobile phone market will increase by 15% this year.

source

This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
This is the way the world ends,
Not with a bang, but with a wimper.
-T.S. Eliot

:banghead:

[wildcoyote]

The Disney thing isn\'t that new (but scary none the less).  If you purchased your phone in the last 2 years it most likely has a GPS in it.  It may be called "location" and found under settings.  Some you can turn on or off (or can you?), or in some cases 911 only. The 911 thing is of course how they sell people on it.  
I also found out every web site I visit and every phone call I make from work, are not only monitored, but recorded and stored.  Just case they ever need a reason to fire me.
For some reason however, the streaming audio from this site isn\'t blocked when most others are.  Breakfast.info, flying under the radar!

[Jim Cobb]

ahh i never knew what that location thing was on my phone.  *turned off*

[Todd]

ahh i never knew what that location thing was on my phone.  *turned off*

Or is it???

[Jim Cobb]

Ahhhh!!!

[bonzo]

I like good T.V.
Like Sanford and Son

[FrankZappa]

but wait, there\'s more!

Privacy Group Slams Levi\'s for RFID-Chip Clothing Tags
Jeans Maker Uses Controversial Technology in Test With One Retailer
By Jack Neff

Published: April 28, 2006

CINCINNATI (AdAge.com) -- A privacy group is crying foul over what they call "spychips" getting into consumers\' Levis.

But Levi Strauss & Co., which is testing radio-frequency identification chips to track inventory in two of its Mexican franchise stores and at another unnamed retail customer, says it\'s being entirely transparent with consumers about the tags and their use

One U.S. retail store
The chips are being used on removable hang tags in "a few select men\'s products" in the core Levi\'s apparel brand in one U.S. retail store, which has asked that it not be named until it chooses to identify itself, said Jeffrey Beckman, director of worldwide and U.S. communications for Levi Strauss.

That the chips are being used on the core brand would indicate a department or specialty store is the site. Wal-Mart Stores, one of the prime retail movers for RFID adoption in mass retail, carries the Levi\'s Signature but not the Levi\'s core brand.

"It is by their standards a small test," Mr. Beckman said, adding that the retailer has asked Levi\'s to leave any announcement of its test to the chain.

Retailer Benetton ended a test of RFID chips in its retail line in 2003 after the group Consumers Against Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) launched a boycott. In a statement yesterday, the group said "it may be time to ditch your Dockers and lay off the Levi\'s" because the company isn\'t honoring CASPIAN\'s moratorium on item-level RFID tagging, but did not call for a boycott.

\'Floodgates will open\'
"Companies like Levi Strauss are painting their RFID trials as innocuous," CASPIAN founder Katherine Albrecht said in the statement. But she said "once clothing manufacturers begin applying RFID to hang tags, the floodgates will open and we\'ll soon find these things sewn into the hem of our jeans. ... The problem with RFID is that it\'s tracking technology, plain and simple."

CASPIAN says numerous patents by RFID technology developers describe ways to link unique serial numbers on RFID-tagged items and track consumers for marketing or advertising purposes. The group cites an IBM patent describing how RFID tags could be used by the government to track individuals in public places.

"There\'s no intention whatsoever to embed these [RFID chips] in products," Mr. Beckman said. And he said Levi Strauss has no current plans to use RFID for marketing applications.

"Right now, this is completely about managing inventory and being in stock on products," Mr. Beckman said. "Things could change, but right now this franchisee\'s entire focus is on improving inventory management."

Alerting consumers
He said the Levi\'s franchisee using the tags at one Mexican Levi\'s and another Mexican Dockers outlet has been "very transparent" with consumers by posting signs in stores telling about the RFID tags and putting disclosure on the removable 2-inch by 4-inch tags on garments.

The tags read "RFID inventory control tag," Mr. Beckman said, and describe the technology as "functioning like an intelligent bar code" aimed at improving product availability. He acknowledged that the tags do track individual serial numbers for each garment, but said the tags add: "Please discard this tag if it is not removed at the point of purchase."

source

[wstielau]

I just finished reading through this thread, went to check my mail and noticed some more info on RFID tags if anyone is interested.

RFID = Privacy Concerns?

-Wayne

[ChrisF]

i bought a couple pairs of jeans from old navy this winter. one of them was kind of expenisive and it had a chip that looked just like that one. i didnt realize what it was until after i wore it a few times. it was on a tag that said to cut it off after purchasing. i dont know if they use it to track inventory in that store, but i assumed it was just to set off the alarm if anyone tries to steal the pants.