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Reader Dmax writes in with a fascinating tale of the government in our bedrooms:
"In the later 1980s, the Phoenix AZ city government attempted to
install citywide monitoring of homes. They partnered in a pilot
program with the FirstAlert fire alarm company to create a new,
"improved" version of its fire alarm/CO monitor - but the ones
marketed in the Phoenix area had a special addition: a fisheye lens
and wireless feed back to a series of monitors at the Police Station.
Gradually, through the early 1990s, more and more of these units were
installed in homes - either in new construction, or as homeowners
replaced their current models. Unfortunately, due to the clandestine
nature of the project, the police department wasn't given the
increasing resources to monitor the multiple feeds now coming in. The
program fell apart after multiple arguments about legality, funding,
and who got to watch the more "interesting" feeds.
However, the monitors still exist and are installed in homes,
broadcasting to anyone with the electronics to receive and translate
their signals."
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