I have heard from a usually reliable source ( he usually pays for my
coffee) that new computers, television sets, cellphones and cable
boxes are fitted with audio devices that can listen to what is said in
the area and transmit the audio to a monitoring center. Certainly the
Onstar has this potential and so do cellphones. The source says that
there is a little subassembly on the mainboard as they have not yet
integrated the listening device in the mainboard of a computer.
Supposedly you can disconnect this device to ensure privacy. It is
supposedly required by Homeland security so they can listen in to
terrorists etc, but it responds to key words a la Eschalon to determine
public trends. All my equipment is too old to have such a thing and I
wonder if anyone has heard of this or is it just an urban myth. I think
my 8-track is safe. My first reaction is to think that the audio would
be too muffled and echoed to be of much use. I know that someone ( I
think Sony) has developed a picture tube that will produce a picture
and transmit the room image at the same time. There can only be one
purpose for this device.