New Phone Allows Bosses To Snoop On Staff 143
tad001 writes "The Japanese phone giant KDDI has developed a way to track users' movements in fine detail. It works by analyzing the movement of accelerometers, found in many handsets. Activities such as walking, climbing stairs, or even cleaning can be identified, the researchers say. The company plans to sell the service to clients such as managers, foremen, and employment agencies."
It broke again. (Score:5, Insightful)
The accelerometer clearly shows me working when this one fell too. I suppose you will have to assign me another one. Well, I'm a team player sir, you can just get me a cheap phone for work use since I seem to be so hard on them.
Dude... (Score:5, Insightful)
How about leaving it in a bag or on a bench (Score:4, Insightful)
Track that you nosey idiots. Unless they're going to stipulate that all employees must WEAR their phones.
This is a good thing (Score:4, Insightful)
If my boss wants to buy this phone, great. They've just given me a big neon flashing sign warning me that they're a control freak. I can now either move to a different department or start looking for a new job.
I'd rather have obvious signs I can't miss that my boss likes to create a hostile work environment, rather than subtle signs I might miss at first. The more blatant they are, the better.
Livestock (Score:4, Insightful)
If I had a boss that tried to make his workers use something like this, I'd quit my job.
Sounds ideal for man-down and the like... (Score:5, Insightful)
At the moment you can buy a horrifically expensive option board for some radios that does exactly this. That way you can tell if the HT that is supposed to be clipped to your security guard's belt as he walks around your bonded warehouse has suddenly gone horizontal. Another application is in shopping centres where it's pretty handy to be able to track where cleaners and security guards are - and have been in the past. Why? Nosiness? Spying? No.
Mouth-breathing Chav Scum: "ZOMG I SLIPPED AND FELL OVER ON THAT DROPPED ICE CREAM CONE THERE! THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLEARED UP STRAIGHT AWAY! I'M GONNA SUUUUUUUUEEE!!!"
You: "Well, let's see, the cleaner went past there three minutes ago, so it can't have been like that for long."
MBCS: "But... But... Butt..."
or alternatively:
You: "Right, who's doing the guard tour, oh it's Wee Wullie. That's funny, he's been standing at the same bit for a couple of minutes now, moving around quite a lot though. Wonder if everything's okay?"
<clicky on CCTV console>
You: "Aha, righty. Let's send Big Davie down to give him some 'assistance' there..."
response (Score:4, Insightful)
No, that's all right, we'll just deduct the replacement cost from your pay. That will help teach you to be more responsible with company property.
Re:How about leaving it in a bag or on a bench (Score:4, Insightful)
If a company wants to track your every movement throughout the day, how hard is it to imagine they would also require you to wear the tracking device?
Marketing fail (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously, who's the marketing genius and why isn't he fired yet?
Can't you forsee what's going to happen? Unions will be all over it, key employees will complain and go ballistic over it, threatening to quit if they're not let off the leash.
Solution: Market it to overprotective parents. Kids have neither unions nor can they quit their parents.
Re:Livestock (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd wonder if they're still in business. People who are good at what they're doing tend to find jobs anywhere. People who're bad at what they're doing have to swallow whatever their boss subjects them to.
Guess which group keeps a company afloat and which one sinks it.
Re:Jailbreak it, sire. (Score:4, Insightful)
There are two kinds of employees (Score:5, Insightful)
Being a boss is easy, there are only two kind of employees. Lazy ones, who will slack of any chance they get and perform at best at a level just above firing, and good employees who take pride in their job.
It will cost a fortune to turn a lazy one into a good one. It will save you money to turn a good one into a lazy one, in the short term. It is easy, just keep cutting benefits, breaks, perks and up the work load while micro-managing them to hell.
But most managers/bosses feel they need to earn their keep by showing they are making the people work the hardest. If you spend the money of those kind of managers and their bag of tricks on salary, you would be able to hire the absolute best and have people fighting to stay with your company. Go ahead, offer a cleaner 50% above average wage. No problems filling vacancies, no need to watch their every move and you get motivated employees who got a reason not to exchange you the moment they a chance. Because even cleaning staff builds up a lot of knowledge you can't easily replace with the Xth temp because your turn-over rate is 100%.
By all means, you go tech to try to manage those who can only earn the lowest wages, I pay a bit more and get the cream. In the end, I know who is more efficient.
Re:It works (Score:2, Insightful)
I guess that would be doable pretty easily with current technology. It's called a bug. Supposedly not legal without a warrant and all that.
I have been offered company phones at several jobs, and I always turn them down. I would rather pay for my own phone, and retain control over when (or if) I answer it. I have friends who have been carpeted by the boss for not answering their phones when they were in the loo. I would rather be able to tell them to get fucked if I were put in that position.
Well, maybe I wouldn't be so unprofessional as to tell them to get fucked. They could go get professionally fucked...
Comment removed (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:If I suspected my boss issued such a phone (Score:4, Insightful)
With a name like "clarkkent09" i'm surprised you didn't at least pick a DC superhero to use for that joke, but it was hilarious nonetheless. Too bad I don't have mod points.
Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:It works (Score:3, Insightful)
When fighting against someone far more powerful than you, bring your friends. It's just plain common sense.
If you don't trust your employee..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Then why did you hire them.
Re:Wow, a perfect match! (Score:1, Insightful)
And learn how to pluralize in the English language.