(Reply) (Thread)

Would it kill this guy to use a tripod and focus the camera, or are tripods part of the conspiracy?

Without cracking my own converter box open, what's he really looking at here? Excuse me if I'm skeptical about Big Brother watching me whack off to "Dancing with the Stars", because nobody wants to see that.

(Reply) (Thread)

If you click the link, you'll see that it's a hoax, and he took a couple of parts from an old cellphone and glued them inside the box.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

You must be new here. Clicking the link is far beyond the abilities of my readers.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Dammit, I hate proving you right.

I'll throw myself on the Stupidity Grenade this time so that (hopefully) no one else will have to.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

TBF, the link looks at first glance like it's one of those generic links that just takes you to the youtube page. One would have to hover over the link to see where it goes, which they aren't going to do if it looks like something stupid and boring like a link to youtube.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

You're right, it's just too fuckin' hard to mouse over the links before opening your pie-hole. You have important things to say! Quickly!

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Well, not me, since this was my first comment. I'm just sayin', as humans we are supposed to be good at filtering out background noise and focusing on things that really matter. The link looks like background noise, so I ignored it until someone else referenced it, which I assume is also what phoenixredux did. Of course I also didn't comment on the video and would have probably looked at the post a little more closely before doing so, but in general I think it's best not the blame the user for poor design.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Finally, they'll realize that Two and a Half Men doesn't make anyone laugh.

(Reply) (Thread)

Interestingly enough, maaaannny years ago (I think 15+), I think PBS's Nightly Business Reports mentioned something about plans to put cameras in Nielsen cable boxes to accurately track how many people were watching at any given time.

(Reply) (Thread)

Tried in the UK a while back, I think. About half the 'audience' were doing something other than watching the screen.

(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)

Back when College Television Network (now MTVU) was presented to us via a bunch of TV sets hardwired to stay on at a high volume in the college cafeteria and common areas, it was pretty well known that the sets did contain a camera. It fed out via a seperate video cable to god only knows where. If you disconnected either the RF cable or that second video cable, a tech from Comcast would come out and fix it within a couple of days. Also, after I dabbed black nail polish on the lenses, some cable techs came out and replaced the cameras. I helped administer some first aid to one for an electrical burn after he managed to discharge the CRT through his hand!

The volume would drop on the TV sets when nobody was in the cafeteria. That may have been the real function of the cameras; I don't really know.

I have no idea how much the college was getting paid for subjecting students to this wonderful 'advertainment', but they did seem VERY eager to keep the whole thing running.

(Reply) (Thread)

This is brilliant! What better way to hide the truth about the cameras in converter boxes than planting this video on YouTube, then "debunking" it in Wired! Well played, NSA!

Um, wait, there's someone knocking on my door...no, they're not knocking, they're breaking it down...NOOOOOOOOOOOOO....

(Reply) (Thread)