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from the smile-you-are-on-Candid-Camera dept.
Why install them if they don't plan to use them ? Doesn't pass the smell test.
Fusion site passes on the news that Hertz is putting cameras inside its rental cars as part of its "NeverLost" navigational system:
Hertz has offered the NeverLost navigational device for years, but it only added the built-in camera feature (which includes audio and video) to its latest version of the device -- NeverLost 6 -- in mid-2014. "Approximately a quarter of our vehicles across the country have a NeverLost unit and slightly more than half of those vehicles have the NeverLost 6 model installed,” Hertz spokesperson Evelin Imperatrice said by email. In other words, one in 8 Hertz cars has a camera inside -- but Imperatrice says that, for now, they are inactive. "We do not have adequate bandwidth capabilities to the car to support streaming video at this time," she said.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday March 18 2015, @01:47AM
Alright, so right now, the idea of Hertz spying on it's customers is objectionable.
All the same, Hertz is investing the money, putting the cameras in place, and at some point in time, they WILL turn the damned things on. No corporation is going to waste money on cameras that they don't intend to use. They are testing the waters, while at the same time conditioning customers to the idea.
Two years from now, all of Hertz cars will be spying on their customers.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by TheGratefulNet on Wednesday March 18 2015, @02:18AM
playing devil's advocate even though I also mistrust anyone who installs a cam and says they wont' use it - but maybe the model they bought was at the right price point and the cam came with it, no choice involved.
most phones come with cameras. you almost can't buy a phone with a cam. some companies have strict policies about not bringing cameras into workplaces and so you'd have to find a phone that does not have a cam in it. hard to do these days.
I worked at a company about 15 or 20 yrs ago that made cdrom drives for computers (they were a computer oem, actually). one client demanded that we remove the volume control and audio out jack (remember, this is a long time ago when audio cd's just came out). they didn't want 'workers' to listen to music at work! so we had to remove the jack and vol control.
but it costs to do that. often its cheaper to buy a standard model.
so, its possible that it just came that way.
still, I would avoid such cars if there are ones on the lot that don't have this.
the scary part is: someday, you may not even have a choice, they all might come with it ;(
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Snotnose on Wednesday March 18 2015, @03:19AM
I can't imagine a scenario where Hertz gets free cameras. They say it's for teleconferencing, but what percentage of their customers do that while driving? I'm guessing pretty close to zero.
I agree, most phones come with cameras. But lets look at who doesn't want a camera on their phone. People with secret clearances. Lawyers (phones aren't allowed in court). A small sample of the population to be sure, but I used to be one of them (secret clearance, had to leave my phone at the entrance every day).
I came. I saw. I forgot why I came.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Wednesday March 18 2015, @03:24AM
Dang, I need a 2 minute window to edit my posts. Lawyers aren't allowed to have cameras in court, not phones.
Evidently there's a limit to how soon I can comment on my own post that shows I'm a dumass :(
I came. I saw. I forgot why I came.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2015, @10:12AM
Yes, there's a 2 minute delay until you can post again. I'm not even sure it saves bandwidth; I suspect the inevitable repeated attempts to post until it finally gets through (who actually watches his clock to determine when he can post again?) actually increase bandwidth usage.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Wednesday March 18 2015, @04:18AM
They say it's for teleconferencing, but what percentage of their customers do that while driving? I'm guessing pretty close to zero.
I'm not sure what would the other, dastardly intent of Hertz be. How can they use a camera that shows the face of the driver? Are they getting swamped with unauthorized drivers? A criminal would cover the camera. A GPS connected to the same cellular network would be far more useful to them, as it locates the vehicle and monitors the speed. I'd be somewhat able to understand if you install a camera in your personal car to raise hell if someone else is driving. But quite a lot of strangers drive rental cars... Is Hertz planning to publish videos of driver's faces on YouTube for a small fee, or what?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2015, @06:54AM
Get in a wreck and they can tell if you were on the phone or otherwise distracted in the seconds before impact. That way the super expensive insurance they sold you as part of the rental won't have to pay out because negligence isn't covered.
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Thursday March 19 2015, @04:13AM
I'm not a criminal and you can be 100% sure I'd be putting electrical tape over the camera. Is that gonna make my rate go up?
I came. I saw. I forgot why I came.
(Score: 1) by tftp on Thursday March 19 2015, @04:31AM
Is that gonna make my rate go up?
You may find words like these on the page 811 of your Car Rental Agreement:
3615.1: The Customer agrees to not obstruct or otherwise interfere with technologies of Remote Monitoring of Well-Being™, whatever they may be and however they may be implemented in the rented vehicle. If the service of Remote Monitoring detects failure in operation of the said systems, the vehicle will be remotely disabled to ensure continued Well-Being of the Customer and their passengers. Customer agrees to the surcharge [of $300] per each incident of tampering with the vehicle's systems.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 18 2015, @04:09AM
> they didn't want 'workers' to listen to music at work! so we had to remove the jack and vol control.
> but it costs to do that. often its cheaper to buy a standard model.
Should have just put epoxy in the headphone jack.