Hi Dymitri,

You're absolutely right, the web interface looks and feels like those from the early '00s, so it's not easy to navigate at first. But, once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad, it's functional and does what it needs to do without distractions. That's becoming a rarity these days.

Scribbly writing is fine, don't worry about it, it doesn't have to be polished for me. :)

Please don't overwhelm yourself for the sake of discussing a hearing, most of your topics are interesting, it was just my curiosity.

Tablet monitoring is a very likely thing, even we on the outside are monitored by big tech. The app named Digital Wellbeing (on Android) gives you a breakdown of how you used your device and I'm pretty sure that's sent to Google. Apple likely has something alike. I suspect that since this "digital wellbeing" app is open-source, Securus/JPay/Aventiv/GTL/others might have a modified version of it that sends the data to their servers whenever there is a synchronisation. Unfortunately I don't know and it's really hard to get any information on what goes on inside those tablets. The dystopian part was the social contract/investment.

A few days ago I was talking to my friend in Michigan and he told me that on inmate.com there is a rumour about upcoming GPS trackers with geofencing in the form of bracelets/watches. This was soft announced in 2022 on the Michigan Public website (part of NPR) with the following statement:
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Governor Whitmer’s proposed budget includes $40 million in funding for a live inmate tracking system as well as a secure Wi-Fi network throughout the prisons.

The Wi-Fi and tracking bracelets are an attempt to streamline the record-keeping system in Michigan prisons, officials say.

The bracelets, which they say will resemble fitness trackers, will replace paper passes that are currently used to track inmates movements.

During a February 16 House subcommittee meeting, Michigan Department of Corrections Director Heidi Washington said the network will keep real-time updates on prisoners, their activities and their locations as well as provide educational opportunities to inmates.

Washington says the current strategies for record-keeping are staff intensive.

"This isn’t about escapes or that we can’t determine when somebody is missing. It’s a way to modernize the system so that we can be assured that people are checking in and be sure people are in the right place at the right time," Washington said.
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I don't know how they see these as providing "educational opportunities for inmates", maybe I'm not thinking creatively enough.

And here we are, just over 2 and a half years later and I'm hearing news about them coming to prison there.

I really would like to know how voluntary this is and if it's a 24/7 thing. I know they have severe staff shortages, so they're urgently looking for options to do more with less staff.

Chilling stuff!