Microsoft Plays 'Big Brother' With Xbox Live 83
Steve from Hexus writes "HEXUS.gaming reports that Microsoft's XBox LIVE on the XBox 360 is giving away far more information than is necessary. From the article: 'When we first realised the extent and detail of information that was being shared with other Xbox Live users, we did a bit of investigating. With the boss on the other end of the phone, I skipped about through my Xbox 360's functions, each time challenging the boss to tell me what I was doing. Using Media Connect, he told me just a few seconds after I had started that I was viewing pictures... then playing music... then on the Xbox 360 Dashboard and then that I was in Xbox Live Marketplace looking for something to download. The sad thing is, he was right every time!' This information isn't confined to people on your friends list either."
Umm (Score:4, Insightful)
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I'm not agreeing with how it's implemented just saying that this is supposed to be one of those "community building" types of features of Live.
Re:Umm (Score:2)
Them: But stealing windows isn't hurting you! You have enough money to make it for free!
Billy: Not the point. It's the principle of the thing.
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oh, and Geometry Wars Evolved is freaking addicting.
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where are the mods when you need em?
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- xbox live stores your credit card information. identity theft anyone?
- the optimal configuration wo
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Because there are laws not allowing it? No idea if they exist in your country though.
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Chatting up your sister.
Chatting up your girlfriend.
Chatting up your mom.
Chatting up your girlfriend AND your sister.
Shagging any combination of the above.
All of these things are possible now that you've got an xbox 360 and don't leave your room.
Re:Umm (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm posting this under the first post, to let people know the flagrant abuse Microsoft are giving their customers.
It's not like Microsoft let you change the settings [microsoft.com], or anything..
I mean, geez, why didn't make an obvious heading of "Privacy and Friends", perhaps under a sensible "Family Settings/XBox Live Controls" main header [xbox.com], so that parents can control what other people can tell about their kids?
Damn Micro
What's the scandal? (Score:2)
I would've read the article but... (Score:4, Funny)
Rep ***
Gamescore 25
Zone Concentration
Status
Offline
On the toilet
So? (Score:2, Interesting)
Why do we seem to think it's wrong for them to monitor how their subscribers use their service?
And when it comes down to it, do you really care that any random Live user knows that you're looking at pictures instead of playing Kong?
Re:So? (Score:2)
Re:So? (Score:4, Interesting)
It's a problem when those other users are in your locality, looking for the right time to break into your home while you're distracted, maybe to inflict some non-virtual fragging on your camping ass.
Or if the company you work for decides playing violent video games violates some morals clause, finds out your Live ID, and decides to fire you for playing Quake 4 at home.*
* Companies are firing people for smoking at home (and failing a drug test for tobacco); with all the hype about violent games making people violent, there is a change to make such a policy stick under the guise of maintaining workplace safety.
Re:So? (Score:1)
I see what you're saying about invasion of privacy, and I agre
Re:So? (Score:1)
Now, software EULAs... those really irk me, because they're a totally one sided dialogue, and there's no way to negotiate or change terms. Arrrr.
Re:So? (Score:2)
And people don't ask to be stalked, but that doesn't mean you need to make a stalker's job easier.
Re:So? (Score:2)
Re:So? (Score:2)
While that may be possible, please don't confuse so-called "at will" employment (where either the employee or employer can break the employment agreement at any time with or without cause) as a free pass to fire people for any reason. Generally, the "with or without cause" clause means they can fire you for a good reason (tardiness, insubordination, etc.) or no particular reason (they are disba
Re:So? (Score:2)
You can fire anyone at anytime, even if it is a bad reason. Don't confuse illegal firing with that of a bad reason firing. Illegal firing, is firing based on a protected class, such as those protected under Title VII, whistle blowing statutes and the like. Then there are other exceptions like that of Government employees, you can't fire them at will, you have to have a re
Re:So? (Score:2)
When I wrote my original post, I was considering using "protected" instead of "bad" to describe the reason. I probably should have used it, as it is more accurate.
Anyways I might be wrong as I did not go to Harvard.
Cute.
So if you can cite a Washingt
Re:So? (Score:2)
Re:So? (Score:3, Insightful)
What does the world think when your XBOX Live says you're looking at pictures when everyone knows you don't own a digital camera?
The article still has the point that this should not be shared with others by default, or a clear choice should have been prompted at initial setup. Why no up-front choice? Because the profiles a
Re:So? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:So? (Score:2)
You presume that people bother to look to at such profiles, happened to do so when the other person wasn't off-line or playing a game, or made the connection that others can see what they're doing, until called to their attention.
They shouldn't have to bite the apple to realize they are starkers.
This is insane, I don't see anybody complaining that countless forums have this EXACT SAME featur
Re:So? (Score:2)
Other more mundane issues are losing friends and relationships because you told them you were visiting a sick relative but XBOX Live tells them you were at home playing Forza Motorsport.
Um, how about not lying in the first place? Would you lose friends if you would tell them that you want to play video games tonight? Time to find some friends that are more tolerant about your hobby.
(BTW I'm serious and this is not meant as a flame.)
Re:So? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:So? (Score:2)
If they can give you a nifty gamercard and track your progress in games (which I think is a cool idea), and let you compare how you're doing in Kong with how PA's Gage is doing in it, why shouldn't they also be able to use that data to figure out better metrics?
Sales numbers tell you how many moved, but now Microsoft has access to which games stayed popular. How many hours have you logged in Kameo or PGR3? In theo
Re:So? (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, what kind of wrong?
Legally: They are most likley in the right.
Morally: A bit more gray, but no one is going to proverbial hell over this nor do most people care.
Courteous: I'd say they are in the wrong on this part. It is a bit rude of Microsoft to monitor this and let others do as well without your permission.
Remember a company has to be in right of all three of these if they want to run a business, keep th
Re:So? (Score:2)
Re:So? (Score:1)
After that, I would value having a fine degree of control over what information gets transmitted to who. This last bit would affect whether or not I personally joined such a network.
Nevermind... (Score:3, Insightful)
Yawn (Score:5, Interesting)
User Doing Logged in
generic-man Playing LORD 15 mins ago
d00d Reading mail 20 mins ago
amigarox Chat 30 mins ago
As a former SysOp, I don't know what the big deal is here.
Re:Yawn (Score:5, Funny)
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Good times.
Blown out of proportion? (Score:2, Interesting)
This hate-everything-Micorsoft-regardless-of-whether-m
Re:Blown out of proportion? (Score:2)
people are surprised why? (Score:2)
A recent appendment (Score:5, Informative)
With thanks to the several e-mails, in particular the one out of a dozen that didn't just hurl abuse, we'd like to point out that there IS is way to adjust these privacy settings between everyone, friends only or no-one at all.
The options to change the privacy settings can be accessedby selecting your gamer profile whilst in the Xbox LIVE blade and then editing your profile. Whilst this provides the degree of privacy many users may well want, it is the opinion of the Team HEXUS that these options should be an 'opt-in' option not an 'opt-out'.
Re:A recent appendment (Score:2)
Uhoh (Score:1)
Privacy Options (Score:5, Insightful)
Secondly, who really cares if people know that you are watching a movie, or looking at pictures. For one thing, you do not even know if the user is actually at the system, of if the xbox is just idling. And do you actually care if people know you are watching a movie? Its not like its announcing to the world that you are watching the latest chick flick, or flipping though your porn collection. It just says watching a movie, or viewing pictures. Its like your neighbors seeing you leave the house. Oh my god!, they know I'm leaving the house -- my privacy!!
Re:Privacy Options (Score:2, Interesting)
But why the heck is this turned ON by default??
Inflammatory article (Score:1)
Their one real point about the privacy setting not being set to 'nobody' by default might actually have been a good point of the article, had they bothered to do their own homework or RTFM in the first place. It's not like privacy settings aren't completely comm
if you don't like it, then don't use it (Score:3, Insightful)
Seems like a non-issue to me
But will it say... (Score:1)
Re:But will it say... (Score:2)
Don't really care... (Score:1)
I wish I could find the Penny Arcade... (Score:1)
Hopefully... (Score:3, Funny)
Now watching: "Underage Interracial Horses Gone Wild"
RTFA and/or RTFM! (Score:2)
Re:RTFA and/or RTFM! (Score:2)
>mailed them. Both the article and the MANUAL tell how to change the
>default privacy settings.
But why should you always have to tunr OFF such things? Why not let the user turn ON things and features they like instead in cases like this?
Re:RTFA and/or RTFM! (Score:2)
Because only
In the real world this isn't seen as a 'privacy issue.' It is seen as a cool feature.
But somehow that paranoid
And if I had to guess...t
Re:RTFA and/or RTFM! (Score:2)
>information getting out. Who the hell really cares if people know what I am
>doing with my Xbox? I don't care...and nobody who would actually bother to
>see what I am doing would care either.
So it is a pointless and useless feature that 99.99% of the population doesn't even care about, so why does it exist to start with and turned on? Considering that a bunch of those 0.01% that DO care, doesn't like it, it appears that eve
Re:RTFA and/or RTFM! (Score:2)
So, rather than making the overwhelming majority turn it ON, they decided to let the tinfoil hats turn it OFF.
Re:RTFA and/or RTFM! (Score:2)
Its called a feature (Score:2)
Re:Its called a feature (Score:1)
Wow, so far the responses amaze me. (Score:1)
Hysterical article (Score:1)