I'm so old I Remember when:

[tranquiliti]

My first semester of college we used them to register for classes. Had to get up in the middle of the night and go stand in line for the most popular freshman courses.

Same here, except fifteen to twenty years ago all the college kids had to log in online with variable Internet connections at unseemly hours to compete for registration in the “best” courses. I don’t know whether things have become any better these days!

 

[EmmaDonovan]

AI Overview

Cameras began to be integrated with home internet and "smart" televisions in the mid-to-late 1990s with the development of the first internet protocol (IP) cameras. However, widespread adoption for consumer use didn't occur until the 2000s and 2010s when the technology became more affordable and devices like Ring doorbells and Nest cams were introduced

Yep, smart tvs connected to the internet can listen to and watch you and share that information with third parties, ostensibly to "improve their services."

There's a creepy video making the rounds where a guy finds another guy watching him through his smart tv and records it. It has some bad language in it so I won't link to it here but you can find it if you do a search on: "Dude Says He Got A Smart Tv & Claims He Was In His House Being Watched All Day Every Day Since He Bought It." I don't know if it's real or not so take it for what it's worth.

I'm so old I remember when your tv didn't spy on you!

 

[Evadig]

I'm so old I remember when your tv didn't spy on you!

Would the old TVs still work?

 

[notabitail]

Would the old TVs still work?

CRTs will still work, but you'll have to find something to get the digital antenna to work with it. If it doesn't have VGA or DVI, you'd have to find a adapter to plug into its composite or SVIDEO port.

 

[SkyAJK]

TVs have cameras?

Yes, it has a little camera like on the laptop. Creepy little thing!

I do not turn the internet on my mobile on, but it turns itself on sometimes and it's spooky. Who turns that internet on? I am thinking when it turns the internet on by itself, what does it do? Listening and watching what infront of it? I am not technology savvy, so always check to make sure the internet on my mobile phone is turns off. Creepy technology.

I just notice a new feather on BYC, there is a green "I" on my avatar = I = Online. Handy new feature

 

[RoyalChick]

Yes, it has a little camera like on the laptop. Creepy little thing!

Nothing a bit of duct tape won’t fix.

 

[Sally PB]

Cameras began to be integrated with home internet and "smart" televisions in the mid-to-late 1990s with the development of the first internet protocol (IP) cameras. However, widespread adoption for consumer use didn't occur until the 2000s and 2010s when the technology became more affordable and devices like Ring doorbells and Nest cams were introduced

I know where the camera is on my laptop (waving a one finger salute at it), but where's the camera on a TV?

 

[The Moonshiner]

I'm not convinced.

AI Overview

And ain't taking AI's word on anything.
To find a more reliable source I asked my dog with his magic 8 ball and got "My sources say no" as the answer.

 

[NanaK]

Nothing a bit of duct tape won’t fix.

I use a small piece of black electrical tape. Blends right in.