"I used to have a work colleague who would annoyingly eavesdrop on private conversations. There wasn’t much you could do about it short of taking calls outside or whispering down the phone (which he used to do funnily enough). So I read with interest, about a technology solution to the problem, the Babble.
The babble works by detecting when you are on the phone and transmitting mumbled recordings of your voice. To other people in the office this will just sound like background noise and they shouldn’t be able to make out specific words in the babble that is masking your actual conversation." (more)
Ever did the dishes in the kitchen, looking out the window while wondering what was Mrs. Jones talking about to Mrs. Potts next door over the fence? Of course you don’t have super sensitive hearing like Daredevil or Superman, but you definitely know you want in on their hush-hush conversation. Is it something juicy about Mr. Jones and his supposed friendship with his secretary? Could she be gossiping about how you let Rover run free, performing his business on your neighbor’s lawn instead?
Put all those speculative thoughts to rest with the Spion Orbitor Electronic Listening Device. This unique device is capable of zooming in on conversations within a range of 300 feet without any obstacles in between, of course. (more)
OH - A motion seeking judgment was filed Friday in a case in which several people are suing a deceased Gibsonburg landlord who was accused of secretly videotaping hundreds of people before he was discovered in 2002.Samuel Bolotin, a Toledo attorney representing several of the plaintiffs in the case, said the motion is essentially asking the court to rule that James Rogers' estate is liable in the case. Rogers, a double amputee from the knees down, shot himself in the head with a handgun when police searched his apartment in early 2002.
The motion also shows that throughout the investigation, Gibsonburg police confiscated 237 video tapes and 83 pieces of electronic surveillance equipment.
In all, as many as 400 people may have been secretly videotaped during their time in those buildings, while a handful of victims are acting as representatives. (more)
Kevin Murray, the president of Murray Associates, has been hired by six professional sports teams (three NFL teams) to secure facilities before big contract negotiations with players -- just to ensure the competition wasn't listening in.
"They brought us in early on because they knew the other side might not be all that ethical," said Murray, who wouldn't specify for which teams he had worked. "We'd go in and do preliminary checks of the area, showing them how to set up their perimeter access control. It's always been proactive reasons."
"Eavesdropping certainly has a long history in the sports world." (more)
NFL coaching staffs sometimes have used extreme means to protect - and get - secrets.
When Saban's former boss, Jerry Glanville, told him to pass out those notebooks filled with strategy and terminology, Saban obliged as any good assistant coach would -- even if it didn't make much sense to him at the time.
"The first page of the notebook was from the 1973 Atlanta Falcons," Saban recalled. "It was a 15-year-old notebook."
Just another extreme -- and extremely bizarre -- example of the often unbelievable measures taken by some coaches to avoid falling victim of espionage in the NFL. Maybe Glanville was being paranoid back then. Or maybe he was just being smart. ...
Did the Dolphins commit an act of football treason last week when they listened to television broadcasts of past Patriots games so they could learn quarterback Tom Brady's calls at the line of scrimmage?
If only you knew.
"Just because you don't know something goes on," Saban said, "doesn't mean it doesn't go on." (more)
Foxboro, MA -- The Miami Dolphins claim they had an edge in last week’s victory over the Patriots because they acquired game film that included audio of Tom Brady making calls at the line of scrimmage.Brady responded Wednesday with another soundbite aimed directly at the eavesdropping Dolphins."I think that’s a big crock of you-know-what," Brady said. "I’m sure if you asked them, it probably sounds good for them to say they have it all figured out, but they’re 6-7 and we’re 9-4. "Go tell me who probably has it more figured out."The report surfaced Monday in the aftermath of Miami’s 21-0 win. Two players told the Palm Beach Post that they purchased the video including Brady’s audio, but Dolphins head coach Nick Saban said the team only used film from network feeds. (more)
Toronto, Canada - A lawsuit alleges OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino was wiretapping or involved in wiretapping the chair of Toronto's police services board when he was Toronto police chief.
Toronto constable Rob Correa filed the lawsuit. He had been publicly accused by Fantino two years ago of corruption. But in September, Correa was acquitted of any wrongdoing. (more)
Spycam version 1.0From Tech.Blog - "Arberg Spycam is a freeware spycam application for Nokia S60 2nd Edition mobile devices like 6600, 7650, etc that allows you to capture a photo from your mobile camera if any motion is detected and save it to your device. The application can save a maximum of 20 photos at a time after which it will start overwriting the older captured photos."From the developer - "This program is only a prototype. It continusly (sic) takes photos and detect if there are any motion. If there is, the last picture is saved. Use the Photo application to see the saved photos. Max 20 files will be saved before the first one is overwritten again. Fell free to send me some bathroom spy photos ;-) "
From us - "Hidden cell phone can now eavesdrop and capture photos at will. Time to get to know us."
"I went undercover via spycam at Sam Walton's..."
~Kerry Woo (fellow blogger)
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington - The Nike+iPod kit consists of a sensor which is placed in the sole of your left Nike+ shoe and a receiver which plugs into the bottom of the iPod Nano. The sensor in your shoe detects when you take steps (while walking or jogging) and transmits this information to the receiver.When you walk or run the Nike+iPod sensor in your shoe will transmit messages using a wireless radio. These messages contain a unique identifier that can be detected from 60 feet away. This information is potentially private because it can reveal where you are, even when you'd prefer for a bad person to not know your location.From Nike... Simply slip the Nike+ sensor into the Air Zoom Moire shoe pocket, or any other Nike+ Ready shoe, and head out. The Nike+ sensor slips unobtrusively into a pocket under the sockliner. Waterproof and virtually unbreakable. $29.00
