Big
tech is watching you!
I was torn between linking news
of a dead spider repurposed as a robot arm gripper and the story about
Amazon handing over footage from their cloud-connected smart doorbells to law enforcement without warrant or
court order and without informing or obtaining consent from the doorbell’s owners. The latter won out
because it’s such a worrying development. In doing so, Amazon did something that is normally the prerogative
of a judge — to decide if and when surveillance data can be used by law enforcement.
More and more, for-profit companies are putting themselves above the law or even become the law. It’s an
age-old theme, explored in sci-fi even before eighties’ movie hit Robocop, but it’s taking on scary
proportions now that citizens willingly put surveillance cameras in their houses and on their doorsteps,
spying on their neighbours and streaming everyone’s moves and conversations to big tech’s central data
warehouses. Scary stuff, and exactly the sort of thing I explored in DingDong
by Zhumee, where I extrapolate where giving big tech this much power could ultimately lead to.
Goodreads giveway of the Isolated Futures Omnibus
I’m giving away 100 free copies of the Isolated Futures Omnibus on goodreads. This bundle contains six novelettes including DingDong by Zhumee. If you’re interested, and you have a Kindle account on Amazon US, sign up with your goodreads account to enter the draw.
My apologies to non-US readers, but goodreads only supports Kindle accounts based in the US. Note, though, that even if you’re outside the US, it is possible to register your Kindle account with the US store. Since I mostly (only) read English language sci-fi, this is what I have done.
Amazing August: Free SF/F Reads
Looking for something to read this August? Check out this group promotion with lots of free sci-fi and fantasy books. There’s bound to be something that peeks your interest.
Free Sci-Fi & Fantasy
And if you didn’t find anything to your taste in the promotion above, perhaps there is something in this one.
The Keyboard Circle
1976
In 1976, Rob Franken, a pioneer on electronic keyboard instruments, formed a group together with keyboard player Jan Huydts and drummer Henk Zomer. Both keyboard players arranged their keyboards in a circle which led to the name: The Keyboard Circle.
I’m a huge fan of Rob Franken’s work, thanks to record label 678 Records bringing out never-before released material. Next to the entire Functional Stereo Music collection on vinyl, this release — cd only — is a gem of seventies jazz-fusion. The keyboard players try to outbid each other on the Fender Rhodes electronic piano, the Clavinet — possibly the funkiest instrument in history — and a pair of early synthesizers, reaching dazzling heights over the drummer’s grooving and relentless rhythms.
The session was recorded in 1976 for Dutch radio broadcaster VPRO, but it wasn’t until 2011 that the tapes were rediscovered and released on CD.
It’s funky, it’s jazzy, it’s pure genius.
Get it from 678 Records directly or Check it out on Spotify.
