This seems like the obvious, logical extension of the laser microphones that use stationary objects (like windows) to recover sound in real time...a long known about spy tool.

aarrrrggg, my ears. buy a decent microphone!!!

also, kinda surprised that no-one took offence to that. I would have expected at least some pro-israeli people there.

Really nifty little microphone he got there.. I want one, that doesn't sound at all bad.

If you're going to do a video about accents, buy a better quality microphone.

Her UK accents were ok (can't believe she did Liverpool, but skipped Manchester), but her Dublin accent was awful.

Anyway, there isn't even a "Dublin" accent. North Dublin and south Dublin are very different accents to say nothing of the difference between people from Cork, Limerick, the midlands, the west.....

Some of us STILL feel that way about cell phone users. ;-)
(I still say what my dad said in the 80's..."Cell phones are for people who are so unimportant that they can't afford to miss a phone call."...it's no longer true, but I still think it's funny.)
I think your examples are good theoretical reasons to tackle this issue now, while it's still possible to see the recording device....I keep wishing someone would actually make the facial recognition scrambler from 'A Scanner Darkly' for those of us that don't want to be tracked and recorded any time we leave our property. Of course, even if they did make it, I probably couldn't afford it.
I just HOPE these are just a fad and that they never catch on. I could really get behind them if they didn't have the camera/microphone built in, and instead relied on a good GPS to interact with the real world, but I know the answer to that wish...'good luck with that'.
At least, if you're correct, people can tell when the recorder is on, unless the indicator is broken or disabled. Remember, it's well known that it's fairly easy for hackers and the state to access your PC/laptop/cell phone camera without any indication that it's on, so the red light isn't a 'catch all' indicator, but it's way better than nothing.

Like someone said above, it's an app to make calls. You can't make calls without a microphone.

On another note, i've had good facebooking by not using ANY apps on it. None. My privacy rating is the best you can have.. It's Facebook, not gaming platform. Just deny every app your friends send, never ever use "share on facebook", deny all FB connect requests.

Install Ghostery, it'll keep your FB separate from other sites you visit. Same goes for twitter, google+ etc. Share via the old fashion way: copy & paste urls.

Wouldn't deleting the Facebook app from your smartphone destroy their microphone hijacks?

when it comes to emotion,
makes me start choking
so I, sit by the ocean
spent my last buck on a bottle of whiskey
drunk and broke
sittin' here in history
I made my mind up
I'm going
I got no where to go
don't know where I'm going
I do know one thing
one thing that is true
wherever I go, I'm gonna need you
we just cant let each other go now
were too close, to ever slow down
the only one who keeps my chin up
when you touch my lips we're like two dogs stuck
cold, cold beer
don't you ever worry I am right here
never live without you
don't care what I amount to, no.
talkin' bout cold cold beer
don't you ever worry, I am right here
can't ever live without you
I pick you up
I take you home
sit on my couch, turn off my phone,
cuz I love your taste, love your smell
who would ever thought that we could do so well
hell, I guess we're meant for each other
sorta like the microphone and my buddy Bruce Buffer
I can't really express my joy
sorta like a scrap between Osgood and Patty Roy
I cant take my eyes of you
went to rehab, thought that I lost you
but now we're are back together, with a vengeance
must be my little, Irish decendance.
it feels pretty good, to get this off my chest
even though people sayin, Jesse's obsessed
well maybe I am, maybe their right
one thing that I know, it was love at first sight.
Yeah, cold cold beer
don't you ever worry i am right here
can never live without you
i wouldn't even want to
cold, cold beer
don't you ever worry
i am right here
never live without you
you don't care what I amount to
Well I'm sitting on my stoop feelin' kinda lonely
me and Brenda fightin' so I call up the homies
but guys busy hangin' out in front of Sobey's
there's only one little fella who really knows me
he comes in a little brown, bottle or can
sits in my hand til I can barely stand
he's part of the family, he's part of the team
Took me under his wing when I was just a teen
every time he comes around he always,
takes me back to when I had a fake ID, and a little dirt stash
he rope soak cold pop 2 4 white pop pop top swish top tall boy, cold shot
BEER, cold, cold beer
don't you ever worry, I am right here
never live without you
you don't care what I amount to,
Oh cold beer,
don't you ever worry,
I am right here can't ever live without you
I wouldn't even want to

My experience with some tech in inboard audio assist is the damn program being the one with the speech impediments, not just in response to user input, but invariably the weak link is in the the recognition of the systems crap software. This coming from someone who speaks clearly and articulately towards the above-average. Still too many bugs in most cheap systems. Most of the weaknesses lie I am guessing, in poor, unmatched microphones and user placement of head while speaking.

From the article:
For Barnes, the device needed to be able to take cues from the human body. The lab designed a prosthesis that uses a technique called electromyography to pick up on electrical signals in the upper arm muscles. By tensing his biceps, Barnes controls a small motor that changes how tightly the prosthetic arm grips the drumstick and how quickly it moves, vital skills for a drummer.

The researchers then added another layer of complexity: a second, autonomous drumstick on the robot arm (see photo). This second stick, controlled via its own motor, uses a microphone and an accelerometer to sense the rhythm Barnes is playing, as well as music from any nearby musicians. An algorithm then produces a new beat with a complementary rhythm and melody, modelled on the music of jazz greats like John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk.

With this extra artificial intelligence, human and machine combine to make Barnes a kind of "superhuman drummer", Weinberg says.

Your video, News presenter microphone fail, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Well, I suppose that makes some sense for some people. I want my games as FUN as possible...if that means less realism in some ways, that's what I want. I do know I'm an oddball, so I feel lucky that the entire gaming industry isn't going the hyper-realism direction.
As I said, this isn't really an issue for me as I don't use multiplayer or chat much if at all (or play sports games much). If I did, and this is not optional, it would upset me to find out about it after I bought the game and/or system. That's why this video is helpful no matter what you feel about it, it's informative (if only minimally).
It IS an issue for me that XB1 has an always on microphone/camera and an always on internet connection. For someone like me, that's just a door for intrusion with little to no benefit. (I expect to hear about them being hacked by an ex-boyfriend to spy on someone within 6 months.) That's the main reason I prefer PS4 so far, the microphone/camera is optional. I also don't need my game machine to be a full multimedia platform for all my video needs, which seems to be a main 'selling point' for XB1 that's lost on me.
(and I'm not just a PS fanboy, I have a 360 and ps3, but no camera/microphone on either)

Yeah, it is a bit goofy to blame the microphone for working properly. Rather than blame 2k for thinking up that feature.

Still, I've yet to see anything that the kinect can do that would make games more fun to play. Overly sensitive referees are creative at least.

Ahhh, but if we're going to use the 'would it happen in real life?' postulate, I would point out that he was commenting as if he were a commentator, not as a player, so why was one player/team penalized?
I don't know why that would be a decent reason for this kind of thing either, most games are NOT like real life in most ways, even this game has many elements in it that are completely unrealistic in order to make it a fun, playable game. If the Xbox1 is going for this kind of unrealistic realism across the board, I think I'll stick with my ps3. I play games for fun, not to allow the speech police in my home. (That said, I don't play online or use the microphone/speech feature, so this likely wouldn't ever happen to me).
I'm just guessing, but is this a feature of multiplayer meant to keep people from spouting obscenities in quasi-public arenas in order to limit customer exposure to unwanted cursing? That would actually be reasonable, especially if it can be turned off with the agreement of both players in an online game.

It's amazing how clueless the people are about this. Makes me amusingly wonder about the "street psychics" you see sometimes in Las Vegas etc etc etc...Maybe, they're just guys with an assistant using a laptop talking into a microphone feeding to small ear canal speaker LOL...