Thank you, Lenovo, for including a camera cover on your Smart Display

I ordered the Lenovo Smart Display from day one because a digital badistant with his own screen is one thing that really interests me. Since the first DIY & # 39; er astute builds the first intelligent mirror, people have thought about ways of visual feedback can be integrated with something that gives you additional information, and a small screen (ish) that can harness the power a virtual badistant would make for the ultimate bedside clock. At least until we see a big smart mirror for your dresser or dresser, that is

I thought that I would be able to have what I wanted when Amazon abandoned the Echo Show with its 7-inch screen and the power of Alexa to tell me the time, play me a song, or wake me up when I just want to stay in bed. When we had the information and specifications I knew that I was not going to buy one for a simple reason – you can not turn off the camera.

There is a search engine for pirated webcam streams and no I am not linking it for you.

Some of us might be OK with a camera on their bedside table. Some might even [1945910] want a camera next to the bed for one reason or another. I am neither of these people, nor will I spend all that money, then stick a piece of tape on a hole in the lens or resort to Other less simple plans and call it a day. Ideally, I wanted a model without a camera, but at least I would need a way to turn it off properly and block it. Like most of us, I have a phone and a tablet or a laptop if I want to make video calls and I do not need an Orwellian eyeball for watch me while I sleep.

Order one is the thing most people do not care about – you can cover the camera and it shunts out of the system as it has never been there.

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This is a simple addition probably costs more than I want to know include. But it's also a smart decision, and not just for people like me who think about their bedside table. It seems strange (for me at least) that people are more than happy to share every detail of their personal life with their cell phone operator or Google or Facebook, but panic on Google Assistant or Alexa and all the details of our digital data. I calculate the fact that something like Google Home or Amazon Echo can talk to you so that you can not escape to see how much he knows about you, even though Google and Amazon already had the data at

] Adding a camera to the mix can seem cool when you're thinking of calling someone and discussing the Star Trek style, but soon the conversation turns to a camera connected to a business that feeds your data in the middle of your living room or your kitchen. Or room. Even if you know and understand how these things work, you will never be able to be 100% sure that the camera is not turned on and that it is not watching. There will be a lot of times where you do not want the camera and you watch when it is inside your home.

So, consider this as a boost to Lenovo to think about the future and spend money to include a lot of people will appreciate. We will soon see a lot more smart display products and hope that this sets a precedent for others – including Amazon for the Echo Show v2 – to follow.