Linked by mrhasbean on Thu 28th Apr 2011 20:59 UTC
In a move touted as one to "make Apps easier to adopt and manage", Google has announced that it will reduce the number of free users from 50 down to just 10 before businesses have to sign up for its paid service. This follows a previous reduction from 100 to 50. Google claims that existing users won't be affected, but we'll just have to wait and see how long that lasts. And if you don't want your whole life tracked and sold off to the highest bidder by Google's "free" and "open" technologies but would like access to actual free or low cost services there is a decent article here that shines some light on your options.
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Member since:2010-06-24
I don't know any other company (and certainly not Apple) that does that :
http://www.dataliberation.org/home
Member since:2009-05-19
Except in all cases the alternatives don't sell off your usage data for their advertising network. Are you suggesting we shouldn't sign up for various online services because they then all have access to our IP address and whatever username / password combination we use for that site along with whatever other personal information their signup process requires? It's not about the data they collect - every online service collects some data in order to actually function - it's what they do with the data that's the problem.
Again, can you answer my question. How does an advertiser get personal information for each visiting person from Google? As an advertiser I would like to get that information, but Google does not give me that
Apparently you know how to get it... or you are full of paranoid BS. Everyone touts Google's services as being free, but they're far from it, and they are certainly NOT open - opensource != open.
Sorry. When did I pay for the free tier of GMail? Hm... Never in 7 years. Ads? I don't see them, I use an IMAP client.
And when are their services being touted as open? And they are not opensource.
What's your personal information worth? Mine's certainly worth a hell of a lot more than a couple bucks a month that I might have to pay for alternatives. At least Apple are up-front about the restrictions and costs involved, and actually give you an option BEFORE you use their products or services to opt out if you don't like their policies, unlike Google who don't give you that option until, well, ever...
Yes, Apple is up-front with CYA entries in the EULA. Apple is already in the advertisement business. And they have had your sociological profile since before iAds.
As for opting out, there is that button called "Privacy" at the bottom of Google's main page.
Member since:2005-09-10
Guys, he's never going to reply.* mrhasbean never replies to anything that contradicts his anti-google rants. And he's going to repost the same shit next time something is posted about Google (or Apple). He's our local troll/Apple fanboy.
*well, he may reply, but he'll conveniently ignore any of your points that he can not counter...
Member since:2008-06-02
Damn, now that's dedication! Not only have you trolled the comments of nearly every Google-related story in the past year and a half - but now you're actually contributing stories to troll in. Bravo, I must admire your ingenuity and tip my hat to you, sir.
If I may be so bold, perhaps you should try something other than the usual post-and-run strategy this time? I think people are starting to see through that one.
Yours in trolling,
- BallmerKnowsBest
Member since:2005-06-29
Member since:2006-02-15
Except in all cases the alternatives don't sell off your usage data for their advertising network.
Google doesn't sell specifically your data alone, either. They sell usage data in large bunches that are combined in such a way as not to be able to pick specific individual from all that data, and as such I see absolutely nothing wrong with that. Besides, EVERYONE these days does that, even credit card companies. Do you stop using your credit cards too?
Member since:2005-06-29
On top of that - ads are a fact of life. I'd rather they are targeted and potentially relevant than entirely random.
mrhasbean being our resident Apple and anti-Google troll, it's always fun to see him completely ignore the fact that Apple is sitting on a massive body of user data as well (iTunes Music/App and Mac App Store), while Apple is also an advertising company. However, when Google does it, it's wrong, but when Apple does it, it's okay. It's gruberlogic.
mrhasbean also often resorts to the "think of the children" arguments regarding his own children, so let me ask you this, mrhasbean: without targeted advertising, children could be exposed to naughty advertisements! See! Google is protecting our children, while you are advocating they be exposed to sexual advertisements and whatnot.
See, I can troll too. It's easy!
Features
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Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/16/13 9:29 UTC
The day has finally come: Google has started shipping Google Glass to the lucky few early adopters. Now that it's shipping, Google has also unveiled a lot more about the API and the specifications of the device itself. While the company had already given out substantial details at earlier occasions, there are still a few surprises here.More Features »
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Member since:
2006-04-03
Except in all cases the alternatives don't sell off your usage data for their advertising network. Are you suggesting we shouldn't sign up for various online services because they then all have access to our IP address and whatever username / password combination we use for that site along with whatever other personal information their signup process requires? It's not about the data they collect - every online service collects some data in order to actually function - it's what they do with the data that's the problem.
Everyone touts Google's services as being free, but they're far from it, and they are certainly NOT open - opensource != open. What's your personal information worth? Mine's certainly worth a hell of a lot more than a couple bucks a month that I might have to pay for alternatives. At least Apple are up-front about the restrictions and costs involved, and actually give you an option BEFORE you use their products or services to opt out if you don't like their policies, unlike Google who don't give you that option until, well, ever...