Apple patents technology to STALK YOU in your own HOME

Apple has been granted a patent for technology which will detect movement around the user's home and automatically change the settings of light switches or other household devices accordingly.

The patent raises the prospect that fanbois could wander around the house, fondling their slab aimlessly while their telly turns itself on or the oven begins to heat up.

Two or more devices will communicate to detect a fanboi's location, before distributing this information to other devices. The patent even includes technology to interpret data from mobile phone towers which could, for example, detect when someone has left the house or is heading home from work.

The devices fanbois might expect to be controlled automatically include "lighting systems, security systems, garage door openers, music controllers, climate controllers, or kitchen appliances".

The patent claims it will do away with the "tedious" requirement of turning knobs or flicking switches, something the notoriously button-averse Steve Jobs would have appreciated.

The patent reads: "Manual operation of some devices has recently been replaced with automatic operations. For example, a person can set a schedule controlling the heating or cooling of his house. The automatic operations of devices free people from needing to repeatedly adjust device controls.

"Further, a device can be adjusted to a setting such that the device is at the desired state at a desired time. For example, an oven can be pre-heated before dinner time." ®