wrote in message
ups.com...
I don't understand what you mean by this:
Google may be listening to the TV shows in the
background. According to the Kim Komando radio talk show 9/10/06, Google
may
be listing to the background audio provided you have an open mic, such
as a
web cam mic, to gather personal data on TV viewing habits

How could the open mic be an issue?? Do you mean if you have an open
mic on your computer??


I have only pass on what I heard on the Kim Komando show. I did not hear the
entire segment, there may have been more details then what I have indicated
above.
Regardless though, by an open mic I mean a microphone that is capable of
responding to sound pressure at audio frequencies, connected to an A/D
converter, then formatted into a data stream that can be accessed over the
internet. Obviously the mic can be anywhere, but the assumption is that may
be located within the computer, a standalone mic connected to the sound
card, or be located with a web cam system. Exactly how Google will access
the sound data I do not know, there may be several methods, but a sneaky spy
driver to access the sound card should work for starters.