Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Big Brother Now Watching George Orwell's House
Big Brother, the ever-watchful leader in the novel 1984, has popped up all around George Orwell's former home in London.
If you haven't had your daily dose of irony yet, here it is. Within 200 yards of George Orwell's flat 27B overlooking Canonbury Square in Islington, North London, there are thirty-two CCTV (closed circuit television) cameras.
(1984 finally arrives in London)
Orwell's view of the tree-filled gardens outside the flat is under 24-hour surveillance from two cameras perched on traffic lights.The flat's rear windows are constantly viewed from two more security cameras outside a conference centre in Canonbury Place.
I have to say, the Brits are going on a bit of a CCTV surveillance binge lately. Britain now has over 4.2 million cameras - that's one for every fourteen people. A typical citizen is caught on camera an average of 300 times per day.
Just like in 1984, watchers have the opportunity to talk to you anywhere you might be by attaching speakers to CCTV cameras - see Big Brother Would Like A Word With You. Some of them are even using children's voices to chide adults - see 'Baby' Brother Cams.
The next steps? There is a proposal on the table for a national standard for CCTV cameras; this would make it possible for all images gathered by individual cameras to be accessed by authorities.
Alistair Darling, transport secretary, has outlined a proposal to charge UK drivers in a "pay as you go" tax to pay for roads. In order to implement the plan, all cars would carry a device that would be tracked every minute by satellite. The UK already uses ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras placed every 400 yards along major roadways to create a national vehicle movement database (see ANPR Cams - Britain's Roadside Big Brother).
Just to give you a little taste of the novel, here's a snippet on BB:
The black-moustachio'd face gazed down from every commanding corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into Winston's own... In the far distance a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight. It was the police patrol, snooping into people's windows.
Read more at The Daily Mail.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/14/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 3 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell." - Frank Quattrocchi, 1951.
Goodness Gracious Me! Google Tries Face Recognition Security
'The actuating mechanism that should have operated by the imprint of her image on the telephoto cell...' - Schachner and Zagat, 1931.
Live Stream With Meta-Ban Multimodal Smart Glasses
'...the bug-eyed, opaque gape of her True-Vu lenses.' - David Brin, 1990.
Brin's 1990 Novel Earth Still Full Of Predictions
'... making the point that their likenesses, every move they made, were being transmitted.' - David Brin, 1990.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Finally, Robot Conductors On Autonomous Buses
'Wardour Street,' he told the robot-conductor.'
RoboShiko! Sumo Exercises Still Good For Robots
'... the expressionless face before me was therefore that of the golem-wrestler, Rolem, a creature that could be set for five times the strength of a human being.'
Giant Robotic Hands At Gundam Next Future Science
'Waldo put his arms into the primary pair before him; all three pairs, including the secondary pair mounted before the machine, came to life.'
JWST Finds Bucking Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1
'... the glittering little rocket bolted to the black iron behind him.'
BeamBike Solar Power Canopy For Electric Bikes
'The slender stalks of a sunshade-photocell collector...'
California Fireman Arrested For Starting Fires
'Fire is bright and fire is clean.'
Robots Need A Better Sense Of Touch
'First, it rubbed my arms...'
MouthPad Supports Head And Tongue Tracking
'The operation that had transformed half his body... had located the control switchboard in his teeth.'
REALLY Remote Control Excavators
'It takes over a second for the signal to get to the Moon...'
Disney Helping Robots Dance
Dance, Robots, Dance.
Kolors Virtual-Try-On Predicted, And TRIED, By Harry Harrison
'Bill blinked at his own face under the plumed helmet...'
Detecting Drones In Ukraine With Candy (Sukork)
'...a robot detector circuit closed, activating a bell."
Nevada Will Use AI To Decide Worker Benefits
'They had screwed up and been blacklisted by Manna.'
Tether Cryptocurrency Flow Rate US$190Bn Per Day
'Alex did not find it surprising that people... were electronically minting their own cash.'
First Trips To Mars Announced By Elon Musk
'I had determined that my first attempt should be a visit to Mars.'
WaPOCHI Micro-Mobility Robot Follows Like A Pet With Your Bags
To follow the user like a pet while carrying their cargo!
