On Fri, 11 Dec 2009, Seth Mattinen wrote:
"We want your money" versus "we want your life".
I don't pay any of those search engines -- they make money off of advertising. Huh, just like Google. And to think that none of the search engines are taking that data and trying to build better products or services is naive.
We are all likely breaking some law on a daily basis.
Now this I agree with. There are so many laws, so many unenforced, that it is hard to know all of them, and to know which ones (in which state, city, local, or country!) you are breaking. You have the choice to be more private -- pay cash for everything, wear a hood or a mask to avoid being caught on camera, no EZpass, no bank account, no credit card, no cell phone, no phone at all, no Internet access. But that's kinda difficult to do, given that most of us have jobs and income based solely on this medium. The ease of logging and the human justifcation of hording that data pretty much prevents you from having a private life. Trust me, what you search on Google is much less valuable than your cell phone records, credit card statements and EZpass records. Your search records are just icing on the cake to the proscecutor.
Here's a pretty common line that Microsoft has that Google completely omits (or that I can't find):
"We do not sell, rent, or lease our customer lists to third parties."
Have you opted out of your credit card company from doing so? Do you feel as comfortable with your Credit Card company as you do with Google? Do you feel MORE comfortable with Microsoft managing your Credit Card? C'mon. Your personal information is so easily gotten right now it's silly for anyone to think that knowing Microsoft won't sell their customer lists will somehow protect you. Beckman --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Beckman Internet Guy beckman@angryox.com http://www.angryox.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------