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Google, pot, kettle, black

Eric Schmidt would appear to be the world's largest hypocrite, read on to find out why.

If you've got some spare coin in your back pocket you can now rush out and buy a "drone".

If you're an avid hobbyist with half a brain you can cobble together a bunch of parts that you might buy online and create your own really cool hovering multirotor craft or a fixed-wing craft that can travel long distances and stay aloft for an hour or more.

Those with fewer clues but more money can simply pull out the plastic and buy such things in a turn-key form that requires little more than plugging in a few wires and charging some batteries.

Either way, we should be concerned about the potential risks that these craft could pose, in inexperienced or nefarious hands. These craft could be considered the contemporary incarnation of my LCCM project from a decade ago.

However, the vast majority of all these craft will be put to harmless recreational uses or perhaps (when in inexperienced hands) smashed to pieces within a few seconds of leaving the ground. They are not in the same class as a home-made 600KPH jet-powered cruise missile when it comes to their "threat level".

When I published my LCCM project a decade ago, it was scoffed at by many (although nobody in the military was scoffing) but now everyone who is anyone has "suddenly" woken up to the potential that autonomous or remotely piloted craft might pose -- and they are preaching that these "drones" must be banned before they become the "tool de jour" for terrorists as well as a major threat to public safety and privacy.

And now, as if to prove my belief that, the further you climb up the ladder of power and influence, the greater the levels of hypocrisy you'll encounter -- this week Google boss Eric Schmidt has come out demanding that legislators clamp down (maybe even ban) these evil baby-killing drones.

Apparently Schmidt is very, very worried that neighbours will use these things to spy on each other (instead of just leaning over the back fence in person I guess) and he warns that terrorists are just ready and waiting to unleash attacks using them.

Cough cough... LCCM... cough, cough?

The big problem I have with Schmidt's little hissy-fit over this is that he ought not be throwing such large stones from within his glass-house.

Google is now the single largest repository of "private" information in the world.

The huge amount of data they have amassed on people's browsing, searching and posting habbits begars belief -- and Schmidt is worried about the loss of privacy that toy drones may produce?

Google has also driven down almost every suburban street in the Western world, snapping pictures of people's homes, cars and activities without their permission -- and Schmidt is worried that some kid might be flying a drone with a $29 keychain camera on it around the same neighbourhoods?

Google has published satellite and high resolution aerial imagery covery virtually every square metre of the earth's surface on its Google Earth service -- yet Schmidt is concerned that a $199 "drone" might allow someone to take far less glorious pictures of people in the park down the road?

Google has illegally tapped the WiFi communications of hundreds of millions of people all over their globe (while photographing their homes, streets and cars) -- yet Schmidt is concerned that you, I or someone else might pose a threat to public privacy through the use of a $199.99 RC toy with an onboard, low-resolution video camera?

This man is a utter idiot!

If this guy is indicative of the calibre of those at the helm of Google -- well I think Yahoo may be about to make a come-back!

And, if those flying "drones" or FPV RC models want to stay "under the radar" then perhaps this article will provide some ideas ;-)

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