Microsoft SmartGlass is "a Great Way to Spy on Your Kids"

[MikeWehner]

Microsoft SmartGlass is "a Great Way to Spy on Your Kids"

Could SmartGlass act as a monitoring tool for parents?

During a GDC talk today in San Francisco, Microsoft's Rosa Thomas spoke to attendees about the benefits of using the company's SmartGlass platform for second screen experiences. While most of the discussion focused on how developers can utilize SmartGlass for their own purposes (this is GDC after all), Thomas did mention reveal one rather peculiar usage she has found for the Xbox SmartGlass application: Monitoring the activities of her children.

"You get to know what's happening on your Xbox wherever your Xbox is," Thomas explains. "So, interesting enough, I was at work, testing my stuff, and I'm looking and I forgot that I had actually connected to my home Xbox, and I got to see what my kids were doing at home. It's a great way to spy on your kids, I'll tell you."

Now, while her comment was delivered in a completely off-the-cuff manner, it does shed some light on how powerful of a tool SmartGlass could become for parents. Using SmartGlass, an individual can completely control the functions of whatever Xbox 360 it is linked to. In fact, Thomas later added that she got a laugh out of repeatedly pausing her husband's Netflix stream while he sat at home trying to figure out why his movie kept stopping.

The days of a youngster flipping on the game console as soon as the parental units depart for work could very well be coming to an end. The horror!

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[tofulove]

i hope every parent uses this, it will do wonders for the call of duty community.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

If you need this to know your kids will behave you aren't a good parent. If you use this to dick over your SO then you aren't a good SO.

 

[Baresark]

Why do they keep peddling this stuff. It already exists in the market, it's just not official MS brand, oh no. Haha, all well. If your parents can use it to spy on their kids, strangers can use it to spy on everyone, that's a comforting thought.

 

[GoldenShadow]

If you need this to know your kids will behave you aren't a good parent. If you use this to dick over your SO then you aren't a good SO.

So monitoring your kids is a sign of a bad parent? What planet are you from?

 

[ThePS1Fan]

If you need this to know your kids will behave you aren't a good parent. If you use this to dick over your SO then you aren't a good SO.

So monitoring your kids is a sign of a bad parent? What planet are you from?

There's a big difference from keeping sharp things away from toddlers and making sure teenagers don't swear online. Or god help us all see some boobs in a videogame.

 

[Abomination]

I confess, I will occasionally nudge the mouse when an IT representative is remote controlling my computer to update some program that only an IT representative is allowed to update in mouse-intensive sequences of the installation.

I would have too much fun trolling family with this system. It's good that I do not own it.

 

[Weaver]

so... I'm in the dark here. What, exactly is smart glass?

 

[Asuka Soryu]

so... I'm in the dark here. What, exactly is smart glass?

Microsoft's response to the Whee Yew by turning your tablet into a sort of controller for the Ex-Bawks Tree-saxty.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

This sounds like an amazing way to troll someone so hard, they'll snap their controller.

"I'mma keep pausing your shit, hope you don't mind. Tehe."

 

[lacktheknack]

Cool, I also hope that parents take advantage of this.

And before people say "But you should trust your kids!": If kids were even remotely trustworthy, then using the SmartGlass wouldn't be worth taking advantage.

If you need this to know your kids will behave you aren't a good parent. If you use this to dick over your SO then you aren't a good SO.

So monitoring your kids is a sign of a bad parent? What planet are you from?

There's a big difference from keeping sharp things away from toddlers and making sure teenagers don't swear online. Or god help us all see some boobs in a videogame.

That's up to the parent, not you. Stop trying to impose your will on someone else's kids.

And if a parent has no issues with their kids swearing online/seeing boobs, then they won't have issues with seeing it on SmartGlass.

 

[weirdee]

Nothing like "accidentally" mashing the Xbox Live menu button from miles away.

*parents disqualified from tournament*

 

[thiosk]

The day I left for college I became convinced that everyone under the age of 18 should be shackeled as a rule.

If not in shackles for any period of time, they should be in uniform and reciting physics equations and mathematical formulae.

Three cheers for microsoft for this critically needed advance.

so... I'm in the dark here. What, exactly is smart glass?

Its kinda like gorilla glass but made from dolphins.

 

[NearLifeExperience]

Yeah, better monitor those kids, lest they are encouraged to become space marines, or start shooting fireballs from their hands..

Its kinda like gorilla glass but made from dolphins.

 

[J Tyran]

Sounds good, my son had a hissy fit when I talked to his mother about Xbox live. He is mature enough to understand violence in most games, I have no problem with him playing shooters etc. They are no worse than TV series like Strike Back or 24.

I talked his mum out of getting him XBL because I do not want him steeped in that racist, misogynistic and hateful culture. After I showed her some of the messages that get passed around and some of the voice chat she agreed. I could trust him to avoid that and see it for what it is but the risk, its not right. I do not want him to become adjusted to that and think is normal, neither do I want him joining in just to be "one of the lads".

If I could monitor it and what he was doing like on his laptop I would be happier, I know he looks at boobies etc and I do not care. Never spoke to him about it, if he was involved in anything stupid or acting in a bigoted way I would sort it out fast. On his PC and phone I have the option to keep on eye on things.

XBL culture though....

 

[lazyslothboy]

Sounds good, my son had a hissy fit when I talked to his mother about Xbox live. He is mature enough to understand violence in most games, I have no problem with him playing shooters etc. They are no worse than TV series like Strike Back or 24.

I talked his mum out of getting him XBL because I do not want him steeped in that racist, misogynistic and hateful culture. After I showed her some of the messages that get passed around and some of the voice chat she agreed. I could trust him to avoid that and see it for what it is but the risk, its not right. I do not want him to become adjusted to that and think is normal, neither do I want him joining in just to be "one of the lads".

If I could monitor it and what he was doing like on his laptop I would be happier, I know he looks at boobies etc and I do not care. Never spoke to him about it, if he was involved in anything stupid or acting in a bigoted way I would sort it out fast. On his PC and phone I have the option to keep on eye on things.

XBL culture though....

If memory serves you can set up an xbox live child account that essentially blocks voice chat unless you are on each others friend list. I don't know if you can set it up that way for messaging, but if so that might be something to consider.

But seriously, +1 parenting.

 

[ThePS1Fan]

Cool, I also hope that parents take advantage of this.

And before people say "But you should trust your kids!": If kids were even remotely trustworthy, then using the SmartGlass wouldn't be worth taking advantage.

If you need this to know your kids will behave you aren't a good parent. If you use this to dick over your SO then you aren't a good SO.

So monitoring your kids is a sign of a bad parent? What planet are you from?

There's a big difference from keeping sharp things away from toddlers and making sure teenagers don't swear online. Or god help us all see some boobs in a videogame.

That's up to the parent, not you. Stop trying to impose your will on someone else's kids.

And if a parent has no issues with their kids swearing online/seeing boobs, then they won't have issues with seeing it on SmartGlass.

OK, that makes sense, but just gonna throw this out there. Just because the parents don't care about that stuff doesn't mean the kid would be comfortable with their parents seeing it. Everyone should be able to enjoy things privately if they choose so. Monitoring things like credit cards I 100 percent understand but with something like this I feel there needs to be a discussion about boundaries.

 

[-Dragmire-]

i hope every parent uses this, it will do wonders for the call of duty community.

Not if said parents bought the game for them, it happens depressingly often.

 

[J Tyran]

Cool, I also hope that parents take advantage of this.

And before people say "But you should trust your kids!": If kids were even remotely trustworthy, then using the SmartGlass wouldn't be worth taking advantage.

If you need this to know your kids will behave you aren't a good parent. If you use this to dick over your SO then you aren't a good SO.

So monitoring your kids is a sign of a bad parent? What planet are you from?

There's a big difference from keeping sharp things away from toddlers and making sure teenagers don't swear online. Or god help us all see some boobs in a videogame.

That's up to the parent, not you. Stop trying to impose your will on someone else's kids.

And if a parent has no issues with their kids swearing online/seeing boobs, then they won't have issues with seeing it on SmartGlass.

OK, that makes sense, but just gonna throw this out there. Just because the parents don't care about that stuff doesn't mean the kid would be comfortable with their parents seeing it. Everyone should be able to enjoy things privately if they choose so. Monitoring things like credit cards I 100 percent understand but with something like this I feel there needs to be a discussion about boundaries.

I monitor my kids use of his laptop, I do not pry or overly invade his privacy. You can search for keywords, certain sites and other stuff without actually going through his chat or his web history item by item. At the end of the day he is a kid and vulnerable and like any kid might not understand what he is getting into.

If he browses porn fine, I do not even go to the site unless the searches he used or the sites themselves are unusual (as in decapitated animal head sex unusual). What I want to know is if someone could be grooming him, or if for some reason he started hanging around a neo nazi website or anything else worrying.

When he is 16 and buying his own computers he can do what he likes, until then I want to know if he is safe and not going down any dark paths.