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Device Designed To Annoy Young People Can Now Annoy Everyone
from the bzzzz dept
We've written about the Mosquito device a few times in the past. Originally launched back in 2005, the device emitted a high pitched annoying noise that could only be heard by those under 25 (or thereabouts). As people get older, we lose the ability to hear noises at higher pitches. So the device tried to take advantage of this, so that shopkeepers could use the device to ward off loitering kids. It was pretty obnoxious, though it hardly seemed like a violation of human rights, as some claimed. If annoying a certain age group with sound is a human rights violation, I'd imagine playing certain types of music would be seen as a human rights violation.
Of course, some kids realized that rather than being a violation of their rights, such a noise could be used to their advantage. Some turned the noise from the Mosquito into a ringtone that their parents and teachers couldn't hear.
However, the makers of the device have apparently released a new version of the Mosquito that has an option where the pitch is lowered a bit so that it can annoy pretty much everyone. You've got to imagine that such a product is not targeted at shop owners and the like this time around, unless they'd prefer no business whatsoever. It seems that right now the new version is being used in places like parking garages, where actual customers are quick to leave anyway, and proprietors are trying to get homeless people to move along. Of course, as with any such thing, there's apparently a group of folks who are pushing for legislation to ban the devices. It's difficult to see why such legislation is needed. Eventually, people will realize that driving people away from a business probably isn't a very good business idea.
