News: 1598513294

Where's the nearest hardware store to this hotel? I want to buy a lump hammer...

I take it a 16lb one for 1st degree googlcide? Because like the toaster, it won't be an accident...

So you're a waffle man!

They might charge you for the damage. If the cable is long enough I would move it to outside the window and let it pick up traffic noise and if it is too short cover it with cushions, old socks, underwear and anything else that comes to hand

Natürlich, aber ich mache eindeutig einen Witz. In Wirklichkeit würde ich es wahrscheinlich einfach ausstecken.

"any activities will be wiped from the device when it's reset for the next guest"

Is it possible to delete anything the device hears from Google's cloud storage?

Voiceprints are pretty unique, so after using your phone and other home devices to work out which voiceprint ties with your identity, identifying who is in a hotel becomes fairly simple, even if you don't ultimately store the cloud data (but who believes that won't happen?). It also becomes easy to "hear" who else is there with you.

Of course you could mitigate this and maybe enhance your reputation somewhat by carefully selecting which film to watch loudly I guess!

I can see it now ... Google Hotel displays message "Welcome to the Hotel Bob Smith. Enjoy your stay." The hotel, of course, puts some information into their computer so that it knows who is staying there.

Google then looks through its database for a Bob Smith. It, of course, finds many but it is a good start. If Bob Smith used a Google assistant, it will be trivial for Google to voice match this Bob Smith to all the ones in the database. Bam, more "relevant advertising" on the way!

Or ... Google Hotel displays message "Welcome to the Hotel Bob Smith. Enjoy your stay. For a better experience, download the Google app for your phone and enter this code: C R E E P Y". Bam, now Google knows bobsmith123456789@gmail.com is staying here, no need for voice match. More "relevant advertising" on the way!

Then I can go elsewhere.

Presumably in Europe and the UK, they are legally obliged to make this clear and explicit or otherwise they will be violating the GDPR.

Aside from all of alarm bells ringing that Google should have any access to whatever you are doing in a hotel room, Google is unlikely to ever be able to duplicate the job that any reasonable Concierge can do.

Most of them, aside from being able to access various sources to fulfill your needs, often have personal knowledge of those recommendations and personal relationships with many of the people who run those recommendations.

" Hey Google! Self destruct now!"

OK, this device will self destruct into a flaming inferno inside your room in 5 seconds... As a courtesy to other hotel guests your room door has been automatically locked.

Full stop.

So that would be like staying in a 4 Stasi hotel then.

"No, sorry, I didn't realise the devices cable had been cut when I entered the room that first night. Must have been a previous occupant."

In a recent update to the Youtube app on iOS devices the app now requests access to your microphone in order for you to "Tell us what to search for giving you more accurate results by using your microphone".

While that may sound convenient for the great uninitiated, where privacy is concerned I'd rather not have a web-app listen to what im saying whenever it wants to and especially not from a data slurper such as Alphabet.

iOS does give you the option to not permit this of course, but I do wonder just how many people have tapped through the request popup and allowed it while not realising the full implications of giving unfettered microphone access to one of Alphabet's apps.

No reason to change your travel decisions because of this little nuisance. Find one in your room ? Unplug it and the problem is solved.

I called my brother on FarceTime and heard him say "Alexa turn music off".

I immediately followed up his utterance with "Alexa order 600 rolls of toilet paper".

2 hours after our call I got a rather terse email from said brother with a screenshot of his Amazon cart with -- 600 rolls of toilet paper ready to be purchased.

Putting these privacy invading devices in hotel rooms should be a right giggle!

You forgot to say [1]"confirm purchase" .

[1] https://xkcd.com/1807/

As long as it has a wall plug that you can remove with extreme prejudice, then fine.

Otherwise a screwdriver and wire cutters will start being part of my carry-on essentials.

With all these spywares gradually proliferating movie plots getting an agent to bug a room etc are just gonna be replaced with some guy just tapping the room mic.

Also "all the rooms in dictatorship X are bugged".

Hummm.... Seems like that's happening now in freedom loving democracy Y hidden in plain sight.

Google Nest, Amazon Alexa, GM's Onstar, cell phones... Oh yeah, people are willingly installing these devices. I read some time ago that it was discovered that Amazon sent all their voice recordings and associated data (read device location) to the CIA.

[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HaMka9N178

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HaMka9N178

'"Whatever reason is driving you to consider staying in a hotel room, you know you want to take as many precautions as possible," wrote Tom Franklin, product manager for Google Assistant, in a blog post.'

Can Nest emit an ultrasound that repels bedbugs?

"No audio is ever stored, and any activities will be wiped from the device when it's reset for the next guest," Franklin promised.

Anyone want to join a sweep stake on how long before some of this stored audio is leaked onto the Internet ? a) 6 months, b) 1 year, c) 18 months, d) 2years. I see no point in going beyond (d).

I wonder before someone watching a cookery program on the in-room TV unexpectedly finds room service knocking on the door having brought supper ?

I'm a bit concerned that you haven't offered shorter time periods

For those worried about Google Assistant listening in on whatever it is they get up to in hotel rooms, Google says the device has no camera and its mic can be switched off. "No audio is ever stored, and any activities will be wiped from the device when it's reset for the next guest," Franklin promised.

When he made that promise, did he also have his fingers crossed behind his back? For something like this, I will be removing power from the device. I don't want someone bringing condoms up (that I didn't ask for), or a pregnancy test, when I'm getting frisky with the Mrs.

Franklin must have had a gubmnt role previously as there's a few other porkies that are obvious!

"Did you say: Come In?"

I have an aluminum flight case with nice insulation for my computing needs, should I ever visit hotel with this kit, it will go into the flight case until my stay is completed.

With the usual proviso that I'm aware of the security implications and don't have or want any of these things myself, I can see some sense behind these kind of devices in hotels, and presumably elsewhere. If I found one in my room, I'd probably switch it off, but for people who want room service I can see the advantages.

Any kind of switchboard operation is ripe for this kind of automation: it means fewer people paid to to wait to answer phones.

I'll just leave this here.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/02/24/smart-speakers-accidentally-record-19-times-per-day/

Who says one of these WiFi cameras ISN'T ALREADY IN YOUR HOTEL ROOM:

- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wireless-Security-Surveillance-Cameras-Detection/dp/B087GCT779/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=wifi+spy+camera&qid=1598525375&sr=8-6

*

....or indeed in any other room?