Despite the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal, despite million of users deactivating their accounts daily, tech giant Facebook now introduces a whole new level of creepy and stalker-enabling tools:
a tablet-like device with a 10-inch screen called Portal allowing you to make video calls over its Messenger app.
(So now you can take unwanted intrusiveness to KGB-like levels.)
The device, sporting a 140-degree wide camera angle, has been touted by Zuckerberg’s armies as a smart home device, one that is activated by a voice command using the highly-original word (wait for it) “Portal.”
And in case you want more visibility, the device comes in a 15-inch variant.
For added oomph, Facebook designers loaded Amazon’s Alexa onto Portal, in case you feel the urge to ask a burning question or just want to select music on Spotify (we all need a background soundtrack to our digital dependencies, no?)
While we can understand the benefits of parents everywhere installing one in every room of the home so that rambunctious teens do not burn the house down while the oldies are away, this artificial intelligence-loaded device retails at USD199 for the smaller model and USD349 for the larger model that comes with rotating screen.
And now, I will ask Portal to look up on Spotify that hook from Drake’s massive hit. How does it go?
“You used to call me on my cell phone…”
