By Jorge Sosa
Did you know that the digital TV switchover is one of the signs of the Apocalypse? Oh yeah, it's right there in the Book of Revelation between all that business with the locusts and the star called Wormwood.
Yeahhh ... I'm not a very convincing liar. But, if I actually had you fooled for a second there, this article is for you. It seems there's a fair number of people out there who fear the digital TV transition is part of some evil fascist/socialist/Klingon conspiracy.
"Obviously, the government can't control your mind with digital signals. Everyone knows you need analog signals to do that."
I actually know one of these people (don't worry, Lars, I won't divulge your name) and he's otherwise fairly rational and level-headed. But, we're living in uncertain times. Chaos abounds and one can't turn on the aforementioned digital TV without hearing some crazy bad news about the economy, a suspicious celebrity death, or more saber-rattling by some nuclear-armed lunatics.
Uncertainty and fear often accompanies change, so it's perfectly natural for some people to subscribe to the following DTV conspiracy theories. And, it's equally natural for me to point and laugh at them. If there's one thing we love at Computing Unplugged, it's a good mock.
If you're up for a little jaunt through a tangled jungle of paranoia, I'll happily be your tour guide.
Do not adjust your DTV
When I was a kid, I used to get freaked out by reruns of "The Outer Limits." A narrator at the beginning would say, "For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear."
Nobody can really do that, right? Well, this guy claims DTV allows the government to do exactly that. Vic Livingston writes "DTV technology provides an electronic means for third parties to selectively control the programming available to each set or converter box."
On this point, Livingston might not be entirely off his rocker. An East Coast company company called INVIDI claims to have proprietary technology allowing it to individually target broadcast advertising. You can check out the company's patent application for the technology here.
But, to make the leap that the One World Government -- or whatever -- is going to use the same technology to control what you see and hear is ... well ... kind of paranoid. Or TiVo.
