Eye Spy

In case you haven't heard, Microsoft is billing their new console, the Xbox One, as an "integrated entertainment device." The idea is that it would serve not only as a game console, but as a threshold controller for streaming content, satellite/cable, etc. One of their selling points is that Kinect, the motion-sensing camera, is integral to the system, allowing for motion and voice control of both the device and the content. It seems, however, that their plan -- possibly formulated in conjunction with the content providers -- may be rather nefarious in nature:

Microsoft has filed for a Kinect-related patent, and it’s a doozy of an application. The abstract describes a camera-based system that would monitor the number of viewers in a room and check to see if the number of occupants exceeded a certain threshold set by the content provider. If there are too many warm bodies present, the device owner would be prompted to purchase a license for a greater number of viewers.

You think they count the dog?

Since the content is being provided under contract between private parties, presumably with a signed EULA, it's not really a violation of the Fourth Amendment. It is, however, very disturbing. When Norman Jewison made Rollerball in 1975, it seemed more like entertaining fantasy than the prophecy he claimed it to be. Now I'm starting to wonder.