1 Google is the devil

2

Just in time for election season. Outstanding!

Good thing they are totally non-partisan, with no political leanings whatsoever.

Wonder who else gets to see some of this data, collected by the thought police...

3 More information as to why I don't use Google for anything, if I can help it.

4 But Lamar Smith is a conservative Republican.  He's one of the good guys!  (I avoid Google products.)

5 That was a good one!  Hadn't seen it before.

This is fucked.  I hope somebody sues the fuckers.. there should  always be an opt out!

6 Google is evil.  Says so in the corporate bylaws.

7 That's brilliant.

Google:  We're way up your ass.


Heheheheh.  True, true.

8 Google has managed to make Microsoft a sympathetic and caring company.

9 I have a gmail account as a throwaway. I rarely ever send email using it.

And I just cannot give up google search.  All of the others suck compared to it, especially for techie stuff that I need it for for my job.

10 I have no problem with this.  I never use google anything for anything.  People who use google products deserve what they get.

I do use Android, but that is only until a less-than-despicable alternative exists for touchpads.

11 "Dear Congress: I know none of us have any money for lobbying, but we do have votes. How about a comprehensive privacy statute? And keep Lamar Smith away from it." No. A thousand times, no. Stop using all Google services if you don't like the privacy concerns. You still have to voluntarily provide information to them. They are not a governmental organization and the feds getting involved will only make things 10,000 times worse.

12 No thanks to Google's improvements.  Never use it anyway.

13
I wish I was a hacker. I'd hack the Google site and change their name to Big Brother.

14 Anybody who's used Google software knows that the pattern is almost always the same, Google announces something (think Google + just as an example) and after a big start up with much hullabaloo it lingers for a while, being ignored by Google and people in general, and then Google quietly pulls the plug. The only thing Google does that's designed to last is the ability to collect your private information and make money off it.

15 Barack Obama is a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable tyrant.

16
Bing baby Bing!

17 So, there are several businesses that use Google as a solution for email and document storage and all that.

What does this do for those bound by HIPA laws and such?

Seems like a violation to me, but......

18 Google has managed to make Microsoft a sympathetic and caring company.

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJconservative) at January 25, 2012 11:24 AM (nEUpB)

Microsoft was always the more decent when compared to apple, which is google's business progenitor - a company that holds its own customers in contempt (and they love the company for it!).  Apple has been this way since the first massively overpriced Apple II hit the streets.  They just lost out to Microsoft, which only controlled software.  Apple put the clamp down on the software AND the hardware and relegated themselves to a fringe existence, until they started making pop gadgets.

Google is just like Apple, an evil clone almost.

19
btw, cute shot at Rubio in the sidebar

Rubio sucks because he doesn't like Newt? Or does he suck because he doesn't hate Mitt?

"We have met the enemy, and it is us."

20 I have no problem with this. I never use google anything for anything. People who use google products deserve what they get.

I do use Android, but that is only until a less-than-despicable alternative exists for touchpads.

Posted by: really ... at January 25, 2012 11:25 AM (X3lox)

what....and you think that's Immune to this?

21

Google seems like something out of the Robocop universe.

22 No, we don't need another federal law.

Don't like the terms for a free service?  Don't use it.  That simple.

23 "No. A thousand times, no. Stop using all Google services if you don't like the privacy concerns. You still have to voluntarily provide information to them. They are not a governmental organization and the feds getting involved will only make things 10,000 times worse."

This.  x1,000,000.

12th Commandment:  Thou Shalt Not involve the Federal Government any more than absolutely necessary in private enterprise.

If you don't want Google to use your data, don't use Google's services.
Easy-peasy.

24 *sigh*  Does anyone know another good free email service that has a large storage capacity like Gmail? 

25
First time in today and unsure of previous content? 

Has the S E Cupp article about Newt been posted and discussed? 

26 No, we don't need another federal law.

Don't like the terms for a free service? Don't use it. That simple.

Posted by: Hollowpoint at January 25, 2012 11:30 AM (SY2Kh)

Yeah, that's all well and good until they ALL start doing it.  Once the president is set and all that......

27

I agree with the poster above that Google search is still the best.  Aside from using that I have a couple of YouTube accounts that I don't do much with.  They can mine my sh*t for whatever they want

Having said that, I know a lot of people who use GMail and that is plain stupid, giving them direct access to your communications.

28 I ze everything

29 "Does anyone know another good free email service that has a large storage capacity like Gmail?"

Yahoo and Hotmail should both be relatively comparable to Gmail.

Your internet provide almost certainly also provides you with one or more email addresses.

30 If you don't want Google to use your data, don't use Google's services.
Easy-peasy.
Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Team Meteor. Now with Cheesecake at January 25, 2012 11:31 AM

That, um, sounds suspiciously like free market principles.  Let me be clear, we can't have that.

31 what....and you think that's Immune to this?

Posted by: © Sponge at January 25, 2012 11:30 AM (UK9cE)

Not at all.  As soon as there's a decent alternative, I'll switch.  I accept whatever privacy issues there are on the touchpad.  I don't have any personal information on it and go on the assumtpion that whatever I do on it might end up somewhere else.

32 "Added: "NotCoach" provides this comment:" You probably just lost 50% of your readers quoting me.

33 GREAT.  My craptastic, PoS iPhone went swimming a few days ago, and I lost all of my 500+ of my contacts.  I had just backed up all my info to my computer, but my iPhone might as well be a doorstop now.  The one chance I had for recovering that info was to wait a few days until the phone "dried out" (right), and then to sync the phone to my GMail account, which I finished doing - successfully - about eight minutes ago. I just finished downloading that info to my new non-PoS-Apple product - got an Android - and I see this.  Awesome.  All of my contacts are now Google's to peruse and profile me with.  Can't tell you how good that makes me feel.

34 That, um, sounds suspiciously like free market principles. Let me be clear, we can't have that.

Posted by: Barry Obama at January 25, 2012 11:34 AM (lXi+d)

Yeah, well, you're a stuttering clusterf*ck of a miserable tyrant.  We don't care what you think.

35 rd brewer.....or Andy, if you're around, Jane D'oh is banned.  She sent her IP to ace but nada.

And OMG, this video is really screwing up the main page!

36

Google is about a bullshit company if I ever saw one.  The only reason they ever made any money was because they had a cute name that was easy to remember.

You know when you type a wrong address and it takes you to a phony "search" page?  Same product Google offers.  You know when you get a virus that installs a "toolbar" to search for "deals"?  Same product Goocle offers.  But Google has a cute name so they get the investments.

Google Earth is a great application (despite the fact its screwed me over more than once)  but that's about the only useful thing this bloated facade ever produced.

37 7 So, there are several businesses that use Google as a solution for email and document storage and all that.

What does this do for those bound by HIPA laws and such?

Seems like a violation to me, but......

Posted by: © Sponge at January 25, 2012 11:29 AM (UK9cE)

 

-----------

 

That's a good point.  When I used to work at NH DHHS, several of the sections I worked with would use Google Docs to collaborate on documents like RFPs, grant proposals, etc.  Likewise the NH Dept of Ed (which brings FERPA into play).

38 I'd like to use Bing, but every time i do i get some ad popping up telling me to use Bing which, ya know, i already happen to be doing.

39

Not seeing the issue here. Don't like the product? Don't buy it. It's free? Ok, don't use it.

We've known that Google reads email for how many years now? And we're surprised by this?

Oh, and Barack Obama is a Stuttering Clusterfuck of a miserable failure.

40 Bing!

41 Precedent.......PIMF.

42 F Google, I just dumped all my Gurgle accounts yesterday. Never really liked em that much anyway.

43 Tami, I fixed the video.  How's the main page now?

44 "So, there are several businesses that use Google as a solution for email and document storage and all that.What does this do for those bound by HIPA laws and such?Seems like a violation to me, but......"

The Google Device is not the same thing, and I'm relatively certain they don't (can't) compile that data.

As for people using GoogleDocs- or any online office software- unless they were very, very careful, that was already in violation of HIPAA anyway.

45 Google is the devil.

46 I think we should get outraged and get the whole SOPA/PIPA crowd outraged too.

And remind them that Google is a bunch of wild-eyed hardcore Democrats.

Although Republicans were not uniformly against it (incl. Lamar Smith), SOPA/PIPA was really a Democrat baby.

47 Does anyone know another good free email service that has a large storage capacity like Gmail?
______________

How large is large?  After getting fed up with Yahoo mail I've found a home at Zoho.com  45MB free.

48

But they're going to keep my amputee pr0n! searches private though, right?

 

49 43 Tami, I fixed the video. How's the main page now?

Posted by: rdbrewer at January 25, 2012 11:38 AM (Iyg03) 

Yep, it's good.  Thanks.

And can you pass the Jane D'oh info on, please?

50

Is Bing just a face for Google?

 

51 That's a good point. WhenI used to work at NH DHHS, several of the sections I worked with would use Google Docs to collaborate on documents like RFPs, grant proposals, etc. Likewise the NH Dept of Ed (which brings FERPA into play).

Posted by: MWR, Proud Tea(rrorist) Party Hobbit and ABO supporter at January 25, 2012 11:36 AM (4df7R)

I make one every occasionally.... 8^)  (yes, that's on purpose)

That being said, I do think this is a slippery slope for them, but it won't be addressed until someone is in the government that actually gives a shit about the law.

52 Already passed on the Jane D'oh message.  Thanks for the heads up.

53

Meanwhile, Julian Assmunch of Wikileaks is getting his own TV show, and Firefly is still cancelled.

The world, it is flipped ass over tea kettle.

54 Bing is Microsoft.

55 "If something is free, you are the product."

No new laws, please. How about a libertarian search engine? There must be a way to monetize a search engine besides invading everyone's privacy. Come one, morons, quit horsing around here and just do it!

56 53 Meanwhile, Julian Assmunch of Wikileaks is getting his own TV show,

So where are Obama's transcripts, you toughguy rapist?

57

You can register your own domain and have it hosted with unlimited email accounts for like $50-$100 a year.  Check hostgator.com for an examle.

I use a couple of Windows Live accounts for when I have to give an email so they can collect the spam.

58 How large is large? After getting fed up with Yahoo mail I've found a home at Zoho.com 45MB free.

Posted by: Bob Saget at January 25, 2012 11:40 AM (SDkq3)

 

-----------------

 

I've got a lot of emails with attachments that I save (cross stitch patterns, some scanned photos, etc), so I tend to look for GB rather than MB.   But I'll keep Zoho in mind!

I've used Yahoo! in the past but something about the interface just annoyed me.  Not that Gmail is much better, but at least it had more storage space!  And it allows for larger attachments.

59 I think there's a market niche for a company that provides email, browsers, and search pages that is specifically set up to beat info-gathering creeps.  Something like Mozilla's Firefox, you know?  Like "Firefox Privacy Platform" or something.

60 Well.. in phones it's not really easy to avoid them.  It's Apple or Android.

Windows phones are hitting the market, but I haven't heard much about them.  Anyone here have one?

61

Poor Jane D'oh.  She finally returns from her self-imposed mental health break, and immediately gets banned.

 

 

62 Still looking for a replacement to Gmail...as for search engines, I use Starting Page.

63 Windows phones are getting good reviews from what I've seen.

64 "Windows phones are hitting the market, but I haven't heard much about them. Anyone here have one?"

I don't have one, but I've seen them.

I think they're actually pretty slick, though I haven't found any handsets that are aesthetically as pleasing as the iPhone or some of the higher-end Android offerings.

65

If you use a Windows-based phone, what are the odds that you'll get BSODed at least once during an important phonecall?  Like when you're calling 911 because you're being stalked by an axe-wielding lunatic.

66 I quit using google long ago.

67 Like when you're calling 911 because you're being stalked by an axe-wielding lunatic.

This happens to you often?

68 Well, as long as it allows them to better tailor pr0n selections for me, what do I have to lose?

69 Rather then fight Google, we need better proxy services. Let them draw meaningless conclusions from noise.

70 FREE JANE D'OH!!!!!

71 I have an Android but have zero apps and have disabled tracking features (there may be still be some in the background)...I'm one step away from rooting it.

72 I've avoided Google for years.

But, being evil I have an android.

Think I'll go check alternatives, I guess I could go back to Apple.
When Metro (windows hits the scene it will be a game changer, but for the moment all the windows phones I've seen (not) working in the field give me pause.

Oh yes, and Google? FOAD.

73 O/T: The UN has announced that global warming is turning Cambodian women into whores.  Really.  (Story is at Weasel Zippers, no link due to Pixy chaos).

74 There is nothing in my e-mail of any commercial value.  *srednop*

75

Poor Jane D'oh. She finally returns from her self-imposed mental health break, and immediately gets banned.

She did?  What did I miss?

76 ok, so the number eight makes a happy face? WTF?

8, windows 8 huh?

77 @65  I saw a BSOD a couple times back in 1998.

78 oh, 8 with a ). Fucking cheap chinese blog.

79 we should google bomb some hobo related searches.

perhaps a little twilight zone inspiration coupled with the AOSHQ lifestyle

google "To Serve Hobos"

80 Bing it.  Better services anyway.

81

*waving at google*

82 bah...off sock

83 Another thing that bothers me is what will happen with these huge info files 10-20 years down the line when it's combined with, say, face recognition technology or license plate location databases.  You won't be able to walk or drive down the street without someone hawking something to you personally. 

"Hey, Rd!  Still have jock-itch?  Try Tineacure!"

84

OT (because the thread is moving slow!), but SAY IT AIN'T SO, Liam.

-----------

 

"Liam Neeson Considers Converting to Islam" (www.imdb.com/news/ni21671426/) 

 

Irish actor Liam Neeson is considering converting to Islam after becoming fascinated by the religion while filming in Turkey.

 

The Taken star grew up as a devout Catholic who acted as an altar boy at his local church and was even named after a priest.

 

However, during a trip to Istanbul to shoot a film, he was moved by Muslims' Call To Prayer, which takes place five times a day to summon followers to worship.

 

He says, "The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing.

 

"There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim."

 

Neeson admits he has always been both fascinated and baffled by religion, adding, "I was reared a Catholic but I think every day we ask ourselves, not consciously, what are we doing on this planet? What's it all about?

 

"I'm constantly reading books on God or the absence of God and atheism."

 

-------------

 

Liam, sweetheart -- pretty architecture is not a reason to become a Muslim.  That would be like becoming a Catholic because you like looking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 

 

And remember, that "beautiful" call to prayer isn't so beautiful when you're a Coptic Christian in Egypt and every time you hear it you wonder if you're going to survive the day.

85 Time to cancel my gmail account.

86 "29 "Does anyone know another good free email service that has a large storage capacity like Gmail?"

Yahoo and Hotmail should both be relatively comparable to Gmail."

Hotmail tends to delete mail that's older than six months.  At least it did that with mine.  I've still got the account but rarely use it.

Yahoo is okay as an email client, and they do have a lot of storage.  But they keep changing the interface (making it worse, of course).

87 since Google screwed me on Notebook, I am inclined to question their ability to execute.

88 does that mean Google Chrome Incognito isn't?

89 67 Like when you're calling 911 because you're being stalked by an axe-wielding lunatic.

This happens to you often?

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Team Meteor. Now with Cheesecake at January 25, 2012 11:51 AM (8y9MW)

 

------

 

....

 

<_<

 

>_>

 

...I plead the Fifth.

 

90 I've used yahoo mail for years and have had no problems.

As for a replacement for google, I've tried startpage, but am not loving it.

Any other ideas morons?

91 "According to Google, you were in the vicinity of an arson that occurred on 12-1.  What do you have to say for yourself, torch boy?"

92 @72 Nokia 900.  Nuff said, that thing is a beauty.

93 Posted by: BeckoningChasm at January 25, 2012 11:57 AM (i0App)

Frankly, the best mail services are paid ones (not terribly surprising).

And a personal domain isn't all that expensive, if you just want the domain and the basic hosting.

94 17 So, there are several businesses that use Google as a solution for email and document storage and all that.

What does this do for those bound by HIPA laws and such?

Seems like a violation to me, but......

Posted by: © Sponge at January 25, 2012 11:29 AM (UK9cE)

Problem in the IT world is getting CLIENTS to care... they are computer illiterate, and all they see if 'Free'...

Then we, in IT, have to try to clean up the mess...

This also leads to HUGE insider trading issues....

95 I only use Gmail for my Droid apps.  Other than that, I stay away.

Guess I'll have to find a new search engine, too.

96 "Hey, Rd! Still have jock-itch? Try Tineacure!"

Posted by: rdbrewer at January 25, 2012 11:56 AM (Iyg03)

 

-------

 

Oh God.  It'd be like every annoyingly loud cellphone conversation you've ever been forced to listen to against your will on the train/subway/bus, but ten thousand times worse because it'll be other people broadcasting YOUR issues.

 

"Angie!   Still got anorexia?  Let us help you!"

97 Nokia 900. Nuff said, that thing is a beauty.

Do any of the pre-paid/no contract providers offer WindowsPhone phones?

98 "Trust us.  We'll never use or provide the data in a way that could identify you personally."

99

I use startingpage.com as my home page. It sends search requests to google thru a proxy server, so there are no cookies installed on your browser and google can't log your search requests.

 

And fuck Gmail. I can't believe anyone would use free hosted email for business. Having your own Exchange server is a cost of business. Don't be a cheap ass and trust these shitballs with your sensitive data.

 

For personal email, I've been using Hotmail for nearly 15 years and it's very non-intrusive. That comes with 25G of free storage. Just replaced BlackBerry with Windows Phone 7.5 and it syncs seamlessly with all my Outlook shit, OneNote and other Office docs. Very slick product. Beats the shit out of my wife's new iPhone 4s.

 

100 rdbrewer, don't worry about recognition tech, your phone imei works great

101 "We just want the data for this.  Not for that other bad thing."

102 This is how we will have to dress in 10 years:

http://tinyurl.com/7bstjpt

103 And a personal domain isn't all that expensive, if you just want the domain and the basic hosting.

Posted by: AllenG (Dedicated Tenther) Team Meteor. Now with Cheesecake at January 25, 2012 11:58 AM (8y9MW)

----------------------------------------

That's what I would recommend.  Having a domain is so much more useful, too, and well worth the minimal cost.  It is the individual's truly "private cloud" that they can access from anywhere to do pretty much anything they want.

104 I'll keep using gmail as a repository for the 2 gigs of mail I get a year. Outlook is slow as hell on searching, mail folder is too large to use google desktop search. Online google is sub-second quick. Nothing else I've found will reliably index 20GB (10 years worth of) .pst files.

105 Putting on my tinfoil lined Ron Paul hat, why would Google announce this?

106

>>Yahoo is okay as an email client, and they do have a lot of storage. But they keep changing the interface (making it worse, of course).

 

Yeh...change it...and then have to offer a "classsic interface" that everyone uses...but I don't use my internet provider's email because we move every few years...

107 I've actually had much better results using Bing as a search engine than Google.

108 102 This is how we will have to dress in 10 years:

In blue?

109

>>Oh God. It'd be like every annoyingly loud cellphone conversation you've ever been forced to listen to against your will on the train/subway/bus, but ten thousand times worse because it'll be other people broadcasting YOUR issues.

>>"Angie! Still got anorexia? Let us help you!"

Or..."Judging by the force pushing down on the subway seat, Angie, I guess you got over that whole anorexia thing!"

110 Compilation of "Google Sucks" art from scroogle.org
Scroogle search uses Google but provides users with (some) anonymity
Google has been an information vampire since day one

111 Scroogle.org  is what I use.  They use Google search through their servers, and wipe your address so Google can't use it.  Give them a try.

112 Does anyone know how to change the right-click search facility in Firefox from Google to any other search engine?

113 Do other emails load to the iPhone as quickly as gmail? I have AT&T service ( must thru work) and my old charter email only loaded a couple times per day. That's when I started using gmail as my main. ???

114 Posted by: kathysaysso at January 25, 2012 12:11 PM (ZtwUX)

This one works well also.

https://us2.startingpage.com/eng/

115 Hope all the Texas morons are safe and dry...

116 <Compilation of "Google Sucks" art>

Your name has been added to the reeducation camp roster, see you soon.

117 And Facebook is now requiring everyone to switch to the annoyingly invasive Timeline profile. ugh

118 "We'll never allow this data to be combined with other data that might identify you.  But that subsidiary or that other company we sell info to?  They might."

119 Posted by: Empire of Jeff at January 25, 2012 12:01 PM (PFvlM)

Which phone?

I'm in the market for a new one and I like the Windows Phones, mostly because it isn't Apple of Google and it actually makes sense to me.

120 For now I'm ok with Google's data stuff. I could always leave them however. There are tons of alternative search engines, mobile products, etc.

We'll see in 5 years if I'm singing the same tune however.

121 Posted by: brak at January 25, 2012 12:13 PM (CC5Yr)

Not me.

I dumped my Facebook account after I realized that there was a reason why I didn't stay in contact with all of the people who wanted to "friend" me.

And because it's just fucking creepy.

122 "118 "We'll never allow this data to be combined with other data that might identify you. But that subsidiary or that other company we sell info to? They might."

Posted by: rdbrewer at January 25, 2012 12:14 PM (Iyg03)"

As far as I understand, this is not how Google operates. They sell ad-words, not people. A company bids a certain amount of money for ads that correspond to the occurance of word "X". The company hiring Google does not get an IP breakdown of who accessed it. There are ways of trying to track people down using this, yes, but they are extreme examples that aren't that practical at the individual level.

123 Hope all the Texas morons are safe and dry...

Posted by: Mama AJ at January 25, 2012 12:13 PM (XdlcF)

I live North of Dallas and as my old man used to say; "It's raining like a cow peeing on a flat rock". A real turd floater, which is good because we need it.

124 This one works well also.

https://us2.startingpage.com/eng/

Posted by: CharlieBrown'sDildo (NJconservative) at January 25, 2012 12:12 PM (nEUpB)

Thanks. I'll give it a try, too.  On my firefox, there is a down facing arrow next to the G for Google.  Clicking it allows you to manage search engines.

125

The reason I ask is Bing just a facepage for Google is i find this in the search bar when i use it-

=Google&CREA

WTH?

126 Very creepy and makes me want to take another look at bing And on another topic I am so sick of this Military hating cock sucker obama using the Navy Seals as props and as if he anything what so ever to do with that. I hate that SOB with all my heart and all my soul.

127 72 I've avoided Google for years.

But, being evil I have an android.

Think I'll go check alternatives, I guess I could go back to Apple.
When Metro (windows hits the scene it will be a game changer, but for the moment all the windows phones I've seen (not) working in the field give me pause.

Oh yes, and Google? FOAD.

Posted by: Clutch Cargo at January 25, 2012 11:52 AM (Qxdfp)

You could strip your android phone of Google services. If you root your phone and put a custom Android ROM on it, just don't include google services. You won't have access to the Google market, but you could instead use Amazon's app store, or some other 3rd party one.

This is what I might do in the future. Going to Apple's walled garden or Microsoft is basically an even worse idea.

128

LOL, Sgt. Fury, that's lovely imagery.

I'm in Louisiana, just waiting for the storm to hit and listening to warnings of impending Doooom.

129 125 The reason I ask is Bing just a facepage for Google is i find this in the search bar when i use it-
=GoogleCREA
WTH?

Posted by: Ndugu at January 25, 2012 12:18 PM (Q2Fgg)

I don't.  I bet Google went ahead and installed a "deal toolbar" for you.

130 Also, re privacy concerns: Lamar Smith has it exactly ass-backwards.  A while back he said, "We need to bring law enforcement out of the Dark Ages."  No, asshole.  We need to bring the Fourth Amendment out of the Dark Ages.

131 http://duckduckgo.com/

An open search alternative, if you are thinking about ditching Google search.

132 Like Mama AJ said, all you Morons and 'ettes in Texas keep dry!  Don't go floating away!   Hopefully the ground will absorb most of the rain; I know y'all have been parched out there for a LONG time now.

133 By the time the information has been collated and cross-referenced, not only will Google know more about you than you think, they probably know more about you in total than you fully realize about yourself.

134

Posted by: Mama AJ at January 25, 2012 12:20 PM (XdlcF)

Yep, the old man grew up on  Cotton Farm during the depression and had quite a few "colorful" sayings. I've tried to remember them all and I really need to write them down before the beer and age take them from me. Stay safe in Cajun Country.

135 The company hiring Google does not get an IP breakdown of who accessed it. There are ways of trying to track people down using this, yes, but they are extreme examples that aren't that practical at the individual level.

Posted by: GergS at January 25, 2012 12:17 PM (2okAn)

If the ad includes anything from the company's servers (like an image, or a javascript file, ...) then they know exactly what IP addresses their ads are showing up on and exactly when and they can independently track those people so long as their ads continue to show up on the pages.

136 Even if your IP is masked, there are ways of identifying you, like, for example, your computer settings.

137 LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood star Liam Neeson is considering giving up his Roman Catholic beliefs and becoming a Muslim. The actor, 59, admitted that Islamic prayer "got into his spirit" while filming in Istanbul. He told The Sun, "The call to prayer happens five times a day, and for the first week, it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit, and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing." He added, "There are 4,000 mosques in the city. Some are just stunning, and it really makes me think about becoming a Muslim." Neeson was raised in Northern Ireland as a devout Roman Catholic and was named after the local priest. What kind of water are these people drinking?

138

No, asshole. We need to bring the Fourth Amendment out of the Dark Ages.

----

Why stop with just the 4th? Might as well bring the whole constitution back.

139 The simple thing is to ditch your smartphones. A plain cell phone is fine. If you want a tablet the Kindle Fire is probably your best bet, put Amazon between you and Google.

140 I have yahoo for personal use, hotmail as a decoy account, a third (probably a fourth) through work that I use for that business...and I may get a private domain this year, just because I can.

Bing for searches, not that I do a lot.  Google Maps is useful, normally used for work purposes.  (Never underestimate an embedded map as an assist to directions to an event.)

The Kindle Fire is basically an Android device, though, isn't it?  Frak.  Frakfrak.  Frakfrakfrak.

141 @137  Wonder how his wife feels about that?

142 Why do they call it a "privacy" policy?

It should be called the "big brother" policy.

I've seen this before; corporations are more often than government the real eroders of our constitutional rights and lower expectations.

It's because they're allowed to by reason of them being a private company.

Trouble is what starts as a "policy" in a company becomes a law from government.

Computer use monitoring, camera surveillance, drug testing, health care decision intrusions, personal outside actions made reason to affect compensation, continued employment or benefits.

All these were first carried out by companies/corporations and then spread to government.

It's companies making products and writing software that are our biggest threats against our rights and freedoms.

All in the name of profit.

We've all seen the movies where the genius invents some innovative product that then becomes the basis for death, destruction and the enslavement of the people.

Well, SkyNet's^tm just around the corner and it'll be brought to us by some juice box kid with bright ideas, no sense of history, no experience of the human condition and a desire to "make the world a better place".

Laugh all you want jack wagons, it's coming and the internet will be the first target. You might want to look up the effort to REQUIRE everyone to have a NOAA radio in their home. Probably set to go on automatically whether you want it to or not. (they talk about it being a NEED or for SAFETY like a smoke detector.)

Then there's the effort to require that the government be allowed to FORCE you to accept text messages from it. Whether you want it or not.

What's all that possibly mean? Well for one it means that you'll be required to let a government agency take control of your personal communication device and allow them to place an announcement device (and if you're real paranoid, it could easily be a transceiver) into your home.

Thus if all other avenues of news were cut off (easily done. The controls are there and the laws are there.) then your only source of information will be . . . (wait for it) . . .  THE GOVERNMENT!

So it seems that G. Orwell was only wrong about one thing; the date of the takeover.

Enjoy all them "FREE SERVICES" from Google.

143

Anyone seen the Newt PAC attack ad on Obamneycare?

It seems to me very devestating. I wonder how it will play in FL.

144

I guess it is time for me to post a picture of my balls again, along with the word "Sharkman," and endlessly hit refresh.

 

Take That, Google Fucks!

145

And, time to get off gmail.

Moron horde, what is your suggestion for an alternative that does not have the Book of Revelations tendencies?

146

@CBD

I bought the Samsung Focus for $500 thru my carrier - it's the only model they carry. But the main reason is because it's also the only WP7 device with memory expansion, so with a 32G card, I have 40G available on my phone plus online access to another 25G on my Sky Drive.

 

It came with the old software but as soon as I connected to my PC (it uses Zune to backup, update and buy apps) it downloaded the newest Mango update.

 

4-inch Super-AMOLED screen. Best looking display I've ever seen. 720p video, which is more resolution than I can discern on that small a screen.

 

It's not stupid-simple like the iPhone, but it is very intuitive. Best virtual keyboard I've tried. Plenty of apps - I found all the ones I used previously. The Live Tiles feature is fucking awesome. 

 

I bought my wife an iPhone because she doesn't want to spend even 10 minutes learning how to use a device or program. That's fine, and Apple makes products with her in mind.

 

I find this one to be way more capable than hers for business use and just as, if not more capable with the social applications. I don't use Facebook anymore, but it integrates all your contacts and conversations with them onto one page. I can start a conversation with you via email, continue it on Facebook and Twitter, finish it in SMS and it will all be threaded on the same page under your name.

147

Posted by: nevergiveup at January 25, 2012 12:26 PM (eCnLg)

As long as he doesn't turn into a version of Cat Stevens *ahem* Yusuf Islam, then I really don't have a problem with it.  His wife died not too long ago, so his drive to find a purpose to fill in that void left by his beloved's passing away is understandable. 

148 OT but I've received confirmation and my parking pass. I am in for tomorrow!!!!

Woo hoo!!

149

"Hollywood star Liam Neeson is considering giving up his Roman Catholic beliefs and becoming a Muslim. "

 

Hey, Liam, just don't have second thoughts on coming back the other way eventually because the religion of peace is not as understanding as the Pope at being slighted.

150 First off, don't use gmail.  I'm stopping now.  My next phone will not be an android either.  To be fair, androids are quite rough around the edges still anyway.  They are probably tracking your every move and selling that info to the gov't.

Google is the definition of a progressive company.  "don't be evil"... well they don't think they are.. They think doing the right thing in their mind is good, even if that just mean a bigger paycheck for them.  If a gov't stooge tell them this 1984'esk behavior may .. save... one... life... then its ok with them.  Other fascistic behavior be damned

151 What kind of water are these people drinking?

It's labeled "Everything the West has ever done is EVIL!!!"

152 Dump gmail.

There's Yahoo Email, hotmail, and a ton of other places you can get mail.  For that matter, for $5 / month you can get a GoDaddy account with your own domain name and mail, etc.

Get multiple accounts, with multiple providers, use them for different things, and never tell any of the providers about any of the other providers.

The only way they can collect info on you is if you are lazy enough to give it to them.

153 The government can tell private businesses they can't discriminate (the Civil Rights act). Why is it constitutional? Why? Because they're "public domain". Some 4x4 feet kiosk in a remote village is, but Google isn't. Great reasoning. Splendid.

154 "Does anyone know how to change the right-click search facility in Firefox from Google to any other search engine"

Just click on the little down arrow on the left side of the search box.  You will get a list of several other search engines.  I set mine to Bing as soon as I install Firefox on a computer.

I've been on the "use Google as little as possible" bandwagon for a long time, but it was over their refusal to acknowledge Memorial Day.

155 >>He says, "The Call to Prayer happens five times a day and for the first week it drives you crazy, and then it just gets into your spirit and it's the most beautiful, beautiful thing.

Helloooooo Liam? Programming? Cult? Do you hear yourself?
Get out of town.
Literally.

I really think that actors have inadvertently trained themselves not to really hear their own words.

It would explain a lot.

156

Moron horde, what is your suggestion for an alternative that does not have the Book of Revelations tendencies?

-----

Hotmail. Always has been Hotmail. It's the disposable pre-paid cell phone of email accounts. You can make as many as you want, for free, and use totally bullshit personal information for all of them. John Doe, Mindur Bidnez, whatever.

157 Pixy still hasn't fixed the formatting? Sasami could have done it by now.

158

I really think that actors have inadvertently trained themselves not to really hear their own words.

----

They train themselves to be extremely delusional and uncritical. So they can, on command, believe they are a make believe person, so as to convincingly act it.

159

On the Windows Phone front...AT&T is rumored to be releasing the Nokia Lumia 900 on March 18th for $100.  I currently have the HTC Titan, and the phone and O/S are friggin awesome!  That 900 sure does look purty though.

Also, Obama is a SCOAMF.

160 'Pixy still hasn't fixed the formatting?'

Pretty sure Pixy has more than us Morons to worry about.

Besides, the problem was/is/always has been hijinks in the namespace.  That hasn't changed yet, and I suspect it's not a simple fix.

161 Just so people know:

Every single time you have an image or even a useless, do-nothing javascript file or style file or anything that has to be rendered on your web page (even with a refresh), your browser looks in your cache to see if you have a file with the same name, already, that is still valid.  If it does, it just throws it on the screen.  If it doesn't, however, it goes to the company server and tells it that your IP needs the image file.  The difference in the image name can be of no consequence (in a query portion of the filename, with information that has nothing to do with the image) and the fact that your browser requested it gives that company server two big pieces of information about your IP (that it has to send the image back to, with new information to read on your next request for this same main image name - minus the query addition) which that company looks up in all the transactions it has on your account so far.  By this simple method, ads track your movements and requests without dropping cookies or leaving anything overt.  They store all the old information on their servers and update it with every image/file request your browser makes to render a page one of their ads is on.

Pretty much everyone does this stuff, which is why you see image files in your cache with image names that look more like web page addresses, with full queries and the like and php extensions instead of jpg, png (not that the extension really matters, but it's a lazy tell).

162 Liam Neeson now. . . sheesh! Someone hit me in the head with something quicklike, damn. I hate skiing so I guess my wall will have to suffice.

163 Hey Liam, in order to become Muslim, you have to reject the divinity of Christ, and his Divine Mercy, and, his passion redeeming humanity to God. I've always thought the Holy Communion was one of the most inspiring ceremonies in religion. Have you strayed so far from faith you are ready to reject the redemption it has brought you?

164 OT/
 Rush calling The SOTU address a Class Warfare Rally.

165

LOFL.

The Rush/Paul Schaffer satire of the SOTU is hillarious... and yet, difficult to tell apart from the real thing.

166 'Have you strayed so far from faith you are ready to reject the redemption it has brought you?'

He's in Hollywood.  Probably did so years ago.

167 "All that matters now is that I get elected, and I will ring every bit of glory that I can out of that flag. This nation is great because I am great. Thank you."

168 When I can right-click on a highlighted phrase and search with a different engine, then I'll say that "the government should stay out of it."

169 There is one change I'd like to see about this kind of thing in Federal law: You own your personal information. If someone else wants to use it, they have to pay you royalties.

170 Remember this story?

Film Furor: Narnia Star Says Aslan Can Symbolize Mohammed

As stated in the story, Liam is a great actor, but a lousy theologian and a bit of a lazy thinker. 

I would like to think my own faith is unshakable and unassailable, but I dunno what I'd do if I lost a close loved-one and was constantly on the move. 

171 Oops, here's the linky:

http://tinyurl.com/2en7q47

172 >> When I can right-click on a highlighted phrase and search with a different engine, then I'll say that "the government should stay out of it."

Using Firefox, my right-click goes to Bing, by the options I've set.

173 "You own your personal information. If someone else wants to use it, they have to pay you royalties."

$5 every time you scream my name. Lol.

174 Heh.  Something tells me he didn't read 'The Final Battle' all the way through, Kratos...

175 When I can right-click on a highlighted phrase and search with a different engine, then I'll say that "the government should stay out of it."

If you're in FireFox, you can.  Your default search provider should be in the top-right of your browser window (IE Defaults to Bing, now, I think), and you (or, at least, I- but I suspect you, too) can set that default search provider to Bing.  *Poof* now when you highlight and right-click, it says, "Search with Bing..."

176 I have generally liked the functionality of Google's products until Google+ ruined my blog. All on their own they created an album comprised of every single picture I ever uploaded for my blog. I didn't particularly want this all compiled into one place like that so I axed the album. For whatever reason this deleted the source files on picasa. Now there are no pictures on my blog whatsoever, including the header logo that I no longer have the art for. I won't be re-uploading them, and I cancelled my Google+ membership for it, not that I was actually using it anyway. Other than that, I actually do very much like how Gmail, Google Documents, and Google Sites work, and use them to operate my business.

177 I can't not use Google Gmail in the past since I don't have a time machine, so the smug suggestion that I just not use it is so much horseshit. I have privacy-right, federal-law protected information about clients in my past emails. If Google picks any of it up at all, they run afoul of the law. And like I said, for tons of users this is a situation that "just don't use it" is a ridiculous and doltish recommendation.

178 $5 every time you scream my name. Lol.

Posted by: HeatherRadish needs italics. And a beer. at January 25, 2012 12:46 PM (ZKzrr)

Good thinking!

179

When I can right-click on a highlighted phrase and search with a different engine, then I'll say that "the government should stay out of it."

----

You can, if you add the accelerator for that.

You don't know what you don't know how to do. You can pretty much do whatever you want - never is it "you can't do that with your computer", it's just that you have no idea how, or else, it might not be worth the time it will take.

But it can be done.

180 How does one close a gmail account, btw?

181 Free market. Just don't use it.

182 I predict that at some point in the future Google executives will be going to prison over some of the shit they pull.  By comparison, Google makes Microsoft look like Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and Fred Rogers all rolled into one.

183 181 Free market. Just don't use it. Really, tell me about where you bought your fucking time machine where you were able to go back into the goddamned past to unsubscribe before someone sent you business documents with five hundred confidential bits of info (SSN's) on their employees for you to import into your accounting software. Because I need that fucking time machine to follow your stupid fucking advice, nitwit.

184

Narnia Star Says Aslan Can Symbolize Mohammed

So Aslan, instead of sacrificing himself to pay the debt of a traitor to evil, fucks Lucy and then kills everyone who won't worship him. Must be in Book 8.

185 "I have privacy-right, federal-law protected information about clients in my past emails. If Google picks any of it up at all, they run afoul of the law."

And if they pick up any of it and use it, then sue them.
And stop using them going forward.

Further, you can archive all of that data to a local and secure data store (which is where personal/confidential information should be anyway) and then delete it from GMail.

Once you've done that, you can send an email to Google asking them to permanently delete those files (they do after a while anyway).  If they give you any grief- sue them.

I'll say it again: if you are using any of the "free" email providers for personal/confidential/business emailing, you're doing it wrong.

186 startpage search engine

187 >>I would like to think my own faith is unshakable and unassailable, but I dunno what I'd do if I lost a close loved-one and was constantly on the move.
Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at January 25, 2012 12:44 PM (9hSKh)


All you'd have to do is keep reminding yourself that those fucksticks aren't willing to wait patiently for the game ending chaos.

They'd rather be proactive about it.

188 Google is the devil

I thought Google was Skynet?

189
Steve Jobs must be so happy in his grave.

Apple, I think, right now has just barely surpassed ExxonMobil for the biggest market cap. Amazing.

190
I would like to think my own faith is unshakable and unassailable, but I dunno what I'd do if I lost a close loved-one and was constantly on the move.

I don't get it personally. Their are plenty of orders and callings within Christianity to satisfy any fervor or desire for piety or rigor in practice. What makes someone who truly believed in the divine mercy so ready to cast it aside by simply viewing the faith of others? Is it some desire to find a faith that is missing, and being simply envious of those that have it, and believing that by changing religious doctrine that suddenly a wellspring of faith will emerge? I think he is putting the cart in front of the horse. He needs to find his own faith *first* then go shopping for a proper devotion. Not say "hey that devotion is cool" and use that to define his faith.

191 "Really, tell me about where you bought your fucking time machine where you were able to go back into the goddamned past to unsubscribe before someone sent you business documents with five hundred confidential bits of info (SSN's) on their employees for you to import into your accounting software."

Why were you accepting 500 SSNs into a "free" webmail service?  You didn't see any potential problems there?  How many times have Yahoo and Hotmail and Gmail been hacked, already?

192 hm

193 Because I need that fucking time machine to follow your stupid fucking advice, nitwit.

Posted by: Inspector Asshole at January 25, 2012 12:52 PM (K1qrq)

Hmm. You make a good point. Google and its evil collaborators are hunched over a table right now pouring over your information. Your need the government on this one.

For everyone else, don't use it.

194 And I just cannot give up google search. All of the others suck compared to it, especially for techie stuff that I need it for for my job.

I'm not sure if it really helps circumvent the spying, but I use Start Page.  It uses Google and hides your information.  It's G's search results....hiding you in the process.  Or as I understand it.

195

>>What makes someone who truly believed in the divine mercy so ready to cast it aside by simply viewing the faith of others?

Hopefully he was just shooting off his mouth for the sake of talking and getting people to pay attention to him.

196 Why were you accepting 500 SSNs into a "free" webmail service? You didn't see any potential problems there? How many times have Yahoo and Hotmail and Gmail been hacked, already? I was unfucking clueless about the "Don't Accept THIS Email" button you evidently have that would un-receive emails sent from someone else five years ago. Where the fuck is that "Don't Receive THIS Email and Send It Back Undownloaded" button you must be referring to? Because it doesn't exist in my world.

197 Link didn't work.  Start Page is https://startpage.com

198 Apple, I think, right now has just barely surpassed ExxonMobil for the biggest market cap. Amazing.

Posted by: soothsayer at January 25, 2012 12:54 PM (sqkOB)

Shit.  Apple's cash position alone is the 44th largest company in the world, by market cap.

199
Google's market cap is $185B.
And they make, what, nothing?

Apple makes stuff.
ExxonMobil makes stuff.

Google makes nothing.

200 Facebook makes nothing either.  Amazing the wealth that can be created by essentially making....nothing.

201 Not doing evil is harder and more impressive than not "being" evil.

202

I was unfucking clueless about the "Don't Accept THIS Email" button you evidently have that would un-receive emails sent from someone else five years ago.

-----

Umm... yes. So? Nothing can change what happened 5 years ago...

203 <Google makes nothing.>

We make the internet more fappable!

204 Google is just like Apple, an evil clone almost. Posted by: really ... at January 25, 2012 11:29 AM (X3lox) I'm sorry, but this was a fucking retarded comment. I own several Apple products. My MacBook had issues with Lion, so they replaced half the parts out of warranty, for free. I also dropped my iPhone once, breaking the antenna, brought it in and they swapped it out with a brand new one and restored all my data, again out of warranty, for free. Ditto calls to customer support and getting refunds for apps. If they held me in contempt than I wish all companies would hold me in contempt the way Apple does.

205 Where the fuck is that "Don't Receive THIS Email and Send It Back Undownloaded" button you must be referring to? Because it doesn't exist in my world

I'm not talking about time travel- I'm talking about paying attention to what you're doing in the first place.

Don't blame us because you didn't stop to think, "Hmm... I don't actually own this email account or domain, let alone the servers where the data resides.  Maybe I shouldn't use it for my business email, and should provide some other address- more under my control- to business contacts for business use."

And if you did provide such, and your partner sent 500 SSNs to your GMail address anyway, that's their bad- not yours.

206
Yahoo really makes nothing. But their market cap is more down-to-earth at $19B.

207 Google makes nothing.

Posted by: soothsayer at January 25, 2012 12:58 PM (sqkOB)

As much as I hate them, google makes information and that is as valuable as anything.  Google got its intial market share because they introduced better ways (by orders of magnitude) of doing certain sorts of distributed programming and searching.

208
Second look at dead Steve Jobs for president?

209

Well, if you're outraged about this just remember the old adage:

If you aren't paying them money, you aren't a customer...you're the product.

Users have about as much sway with Google over things like this as pigs do about the shape of the trough they get.

210
Apple could probably create a device that would do a far better job than Obama.

the...

iPresident

211 OT:  I get the idea that while Ace may be climbing in the tank for Romney, most of the cob-loggers are definitely Newt partisans.  This may be an interesting few months, methinks.

212 Ditto calls to customer support and getting refunds for apps. If they held me in contempt than I wish all companies would hold me in contempt the way Apple does.

Posted by: Christina Hendricks' Mighty Jugs Says We Are All Truly Boned at January 25, 2012 12:59 PM (i/3GK)

Apple always refused to license any of its stuff (hardware or software) and loved to lock their customers in expensive strangleholds.  That's apple's right and their customers loved them for it, anyway.  Good for them.

It's not my type of thing.

213 WASHINGTON -- The Department of Education has acknowledged using flawed data in a study on the impact of race on student loan repayment rates, having omitted black students from its calculation. The analysis was conducted during the debate over gainful employment regulations, in response to complaints that the rules would hurt colleges that enroll relatively high percentages of minority students.

214 And before you get all puffy about it all, gmail was and is recommended by at least ten state departments of education for their employees to use to send documents. It was presented as a way to share documents for such departments, pushed by Google itself as a cost-saving measure to them. So when I receive an official response, even to my specific non-gmail work email address, 8 times out of 10 it is a reply to my email through gmail on the other end. So basically nearly everything I've received on my end in my non-gmail account relating to work has "passed through" Gmail in one way or another. There's no way to undo the past and keep them from pulling shit from emails I've sent from a non-gmail account if the recipient decides to reply or forward to their gmail account back in 2006. So this fucks me so much that it may cost me my livelihood as there's absolutely no way I can deal with the liability now. Without an opt-out option, this goddamned company is going to cost me tens of thousands of dollars to keep my clients from being liable themselves for disclosing private info.

215 'I get the idea that while Ace may be climbing in the tank for Romney,'

I suspect it's more exhausted, depressed resignation than anything else.

I expect consumption of Valu-Rite to increase by roughly 400%, as if that were possible.

216 That's sort of like your bank looking at who you write checks to to figure out what junk mail to send you, isn't it? I find Gmail very convenient, but I can always go back to using some POP or IMAP client if they get too obnoxious.

217 'pushed by Google itself'

...explain to me again why that wasn't a bright red warning sign...?

218 Fill in your own, for fun and education! Entertainment for the whole family. Ages 4 and up.

219

OT, yet again.  I do apologize, but only the Morons and 'ettes here at the HQ can ring the pure humor out of this headline.  It's impossible not to share. 

 

Link in my username, found via Drudge

 

------------

 

"Southern California Woman Claims Neighbor's Energy-Efficient Windows are Melting Her Prius"

 

...Toyota told Patron nothing was wrong with the car. After having the mirrors replaced, she noticed the mirrors on the car parked next to hers were also melting.

 

Patron then observed a powerful beam of light that was reflecting off the window of a next door condominium, casting a concentrated beam over her carport.

 

CBS2Â’s Randy Paige placed a thermometer in the pathway of the beam on a partially cloudy day. The temperature registered over 120 degrees in less than five minutes.

 

“I’m positive that this window is what is causing the damage to my car,” says Patron..."

 

-----------

 

My favorite quote is at the very end of the article.

 

"The Los Angeles City Department of Building and Safety says even if the window is the source of the damage, there are no code violations involved. The department says itÂ’s not against the law to install a window that reflects sunlight."

 

I LOVE THIS.

220 Apple could probably create a device that would do a far better job than Obama.

the...

iPresident

Posted by: soothsayer at January 25, 2012 01:02 PM (sqkOB)

--In fact, in a way that is how Barky McShitwit campaigned.  The "i" in Apple products is meant to stand for different things like "individual" or "imagine."  When the cliché is mentioned of 0bama being a "blank screen" to "project" various "hopes and dreams" on, the same principle was at work.  That shit ain't flying with the truly skeptical this time around.

221 Wilmar Villar, in a prison within the larger prison called Communist Cuba, died two days ago following a 50-day hunger strike to protest tyranny under the never-elected Castro brothers.

222 Apple always refused to license any of its stuff (hardware or software) and loved to lock their customers in expensive strangleholds. That's apple's right and their customers loved them for it, anyway. Good for them.

It's not my type of thing.

Posted by: really ... at January 25, 2012 01:03 PM (X3lox)

The whole Apple phenomena always cracked me up.  They have the worst warranty in the industry, their customer service has ALWAYS been sub-par and they've never really innovated anything, I guess until the iPhone, so the cult following is amazing.

223 >>>OT: I get the idea that while Ace may be climbing in the tank for Romney, most of the cob-loggers are definitely Newt partisans. This may be an interesting few months, methinks.

Allen, I voted for Newt, but I'd be damned if I call myself a partisan.  Just the thought of that makes me.....feel dirty and itchy.

224 I use Ixquick:  https://ixquick.com/eng/

225 Logprof, FYI, I am absolutely, 100% stealing the term "Barky McShitwit."  That is pure poetry.

226
good catch, logprof

Obama has indeed packaged himself as a nifty device that can do all kinds of neat and cool shit.

But, as you say, he does not function as advertised.

227 <...explain to me again why that wasn't a bright red warning sign...?>

<gmail was and is recommended by at least ten ""state departments"" of education for their employees>

State Departments is a second IMO

228 I don't think this will be tough few months. I think it will be settled soon, the Newt v Romney thing. Then after it is all settled, we have November to start the recriminations flame war.

229 The department says itÂ’s not against the law to install a window that reflects sunlight

Their are a lot of things "not against the law" that can cause you to be civilly liable. Libel for instance, not illegal, you can do it all you want and not go to jail.

230 Nokia 900: http://bit.ly/A8b0VA

Ive been waiting for a pretty WP7 phone.  Something that gives iPhone a run for it visual appeal hardware wise.  This is it for me.  Come march i will be Apple and Google free.

231 The iObama: ask it a question and it lies to your face, takes your wallet, and blames the theft on Bush.

232
OT: So I take it the site has never recovered totally from that weirdness that hit it.

233 The whole Apple phenomena always cracked me up. They have the worst warranty in the industry, their customer service has ALWAYS been sub-par and they've never really innovated anything, I guess until the iPhone, so the cult following is amazing. Posted by: © Sponge at January 25, 2012 01:08 PM (UK9cE) Actually it is not hard to explain at all. Their stuff works. They have a genius bar at each and every strore. Most of their toys integrate with their other toys and they tend not to break unless you drop them down 3 floors or drop them in a tub of water. And they are also designed well.

234 "So this fucks me so much that it may cost me my livelihood as there's absolutely no way I can deal with the liability now.

Without an opt-out option, this goddamned company is going to cost me tens of thousands of dollars to keep my clients from being liable themselves for disclosing private info."

Then sue them.

Actually, I'm sure you're not the only one so affected (I bet a whole bunch of accountant and lawyer types are), so start a class-action suit.  Seriously- demand (at least) the scrubbing of specific files and providing you with an archived copy (not in that order, obviously).  Then let your clients know that, because of this "privacy" change, that you'll no longer be accepting business related material which has gone through Google- people will need to start sending business related documents to you separately and from non-Google-based accounts.

On the liability front, though, I don't see how you're liable because someone else used GMail to send you documents to your non-Gmail account.

That would be like holding an insurance company responsible for PHI that was released by someone else.  I just don't see that happening.

235 O/T (but who cares by now), from LukewarmAtmosphere:

"Gingrich: Romney lacks concern for the “humanity” of illegal immigrants"

...yeah.  That would be a 'heartless' moment, right there.  Didn't take long for that to happen.  Hey guys, at least the Dems only had ONE 'Dean Scream' moment that year...just saying, is all...

236 Have been a PC guy for a long time. Wife got me an iPad and I understand why people dig this Apple World so much. As an engineer I appreciate how hard it is to make something so simple.

237

https://ssl.scroogle.org/

That's a good site.

Fuck goooooooooooogle

238 "Allen, I voted for Newt, but I'd be damned if I call myself a partisan. Just the thought of that makes me.....feel dirty and itchy."

I was referring to the sidebar.  Some of the plugs there are... interesting.

239 Posted by: Empire of Jeff at January 25, 2012 12:33 PM (PFvlM)

Thanks for the review. I am comfortable with learning how to operate electronics, and the features you have described sound like it's just what I need. Integrating all of the various contacts regardless of method is great!

I think I'll go with a real keyboard because of my fat fingers and irritation with the virtual, but the operating system sounds good.

I appreciate the time you took to write this.

Thanks again.

240 they've never really innovated anything

Microcomputer, keyboard, monitor, that seemed like a big innovation at the time...

241 Personally, I'm happy with my Blackberry.  It does what I need it to do, and it's pretty much indestructible.

I'm hoping that RIM's shakeup at the top will make them more relevant.

242 Concern for humanity of illegals?

Why won't one of these GOP asshats pander to ME?  Conservative taxpaying citizens need love too.

243 Actually it is not hard to explain at all. Their stuff works. They have a genius bar at each and every strore. Most of their toys integrate with their other toys and they tend not to break unless you drop them down 3 floors or drop them in a tub of water. And they are also designed well.

Posted by: nevergiveup at January 25, 2012 01:12 PM (eCnLg)

Actually, they have the same design flaws and issues that EVERYONE else does in the electronic gadget industry. 

I guess you didn't see the articles about the phones lighting on fire or randomly erasing their data and all the other things that all other manufacturers appear to have issues with as well.

244 New Batman movie this summer. Probably will be #1 movie of the year. Everybody will see it. Name of the bad guy? Bane. So by July Romney's Bain Capital will sound 10x more evil to the average swing (idiot) voter.

245 "Gingrich: Romney lacks concern for the “humanity” of illegal immigrants"

...yeah. That would be a 'heartless' moment, right there. Didn't take long for that to happen. Hey guys, at least the Dems only had ONE 'Dean Scream' moment that year...just saying, is all...

Posted by:at January 25, 2012 01:13 PM (GBXon)

--Good lord, that "heartless" shit is like a Tourette's tic with these fucking establishment guys.

246 Good lord, that "heartless" shit is like a Tourette's tic with these fucking establishment guys.

Join Team Meteor.  We have cupcakes and cheesecake.

247 Actually, they have the same design flaws and issues that EVERYONE else does in the electronic gadget industry. I guess you didn't see the articles about the phones lighting on fire or randomly erasing their data and all the other things that all other manufacturers appear to have issues with as well. Posted by: © Sponge at January 25, 2012 01:17 PM (UK9cE) Nope I am a simple dumb Apple consumer with over 12 years of happy worry free use. Which is why they are the largest company in the World with more money than G-D. They must be doing something good and more people than just me must think so.

248
Imagine a cpu designed and programmed by the most idiotic leftist professors in the world.

Now put that cpu into a robot.

249 I go back to the cares about people like me issue. That's what Newt is beating on and Obama will too. No matter how competent Romney is he fails at the cares about people like me question. GOP needs to show that Obama talks about caring but is actually a crony.

250 Microcomputer, keyboard, monitor, that seemed like a big innovation at the time...

Posted by: MikeTheMoose Camellia Sinensis Operative at January 25, 2012 01:16 PM (0q2P7)

Apple invented that?

Um.........

251

http://  gizmodo.com/5879163/  how-will-googles-new-privacy-policy-affect-you

252 Apparently Mitt and Newt are currently competing to see who will flame-out first.

253 Most of the inventions claimed for Apple are false. Typically stolen from HP or Xerox Parc.

254 Imagine a cpu designed and programmed by the most idiotic leftist professors in the world.

Now put that cpu into a robot.

Posted by: soothsayer at January 25, 2012 01:21 PM (sqkOB)

--Reminds me of the Iowahawk text game parody.

255 https://ssl.scroogle.org/ That's a good site. Fuck goooooooooooogle
----
Scroogle has been in business longer than any other Google alternate/bypass that I'm aware of (but then again, I'm an idiot). They've been getting somewhat shafted by google via denying them access to the Google search servers intermittently. I need to re-read this thread ......

256 Nope I am a simple dumb Apple consumer with over 12 years of happy worry free use. Which is why they are the largest company in the World with more money than G-D. They must be doing something good and more people than just me must think so.

Posted by: nevergiveup at January 25, 2012 01:20 PM (eCnLg)

Well, that's great.  I'm glad you're happy.

You just keep them up on that pedestal then.

Oh, and Revenue wise, Apple is the 46th largest company in the world.

And I don't suppose that you think Apple is doing similar things with all your data via iTunes, do you?

257

Apple invented that?

and the rectangle!

258 "Apparently Mitt and Newt are currently competing to see who will flame-out first."

When they should be competing to see who can Donkey Punch Obama in the (rhetorical) Jimmy the hardest.

259 Yay! This is the one thing we european anarchists and you Tea Party revolutionaries agree on 100%.

260 --Good lord, that "heartless" shit is like a Tourette's tic with these fucking establishment guys.

Posted by: logprof at January 25, 2012 01:18 PM (ykSKg)

 

Indeed.  Makes me sick.   It doesn't matter how often they make these fake displays of compassion (and they're all fake - just like it's fake when the libtards do it) - the MFM will make them look like evil minority-haters regardless.  Any Republican who wastes his time trying to appear compassionate is a fool.  It will not help him, AT ALL.

Republicans do better when they cast aside that BS.  If you're going to be portrayed as a big fat meanie, then go with it.  Use it.  Show that it is good.  There are a lot of us out here who are pining away, waiting for someone with many stones to say "NO" every now and then.  Chris Christie isn't popular because he embraces the widows and orphans and holds them tight.  He's popular because he's calling all these self righteous and entitled libtards on their BS.  He's saying "no more for you."

261 GOP needs to show that Obama talks about caring but is actually a CRIMINAL.

Posted by: Blaster at January 25, 2012 01:21 PM (Fw2Gg)

FIFY

262 Well, that's great. I'm glad you're happy. You just keep them up on that pedestal then. Oh, and Revenue wise, Apple is the 46th largest company in the world. And I don't suppose that you think Apple is doing similar things with all your data via iTunes, do you? Posted by: © Sponge at January 25, 2012 01:26 PM (UK9cE) Well I hardly use iTunes except for updates and the such and you seem to think I have some personal interest in this? I don't. All I, and most people, care is that when they turn on their computers/pads/phones they work as advertised so we can get on with doing the more important things we all do in life.

263 Droid phones are Google powered. Great.

Second look at Windows phone?

264 Romney wants to know Pelosi's secret
(http://tinyurl.com/7j8ae6k)


Newt bashes Romney for making money off investments (http://tinyurl.com/86atr5v)

265 Apparently Mitt and Newt are currently competing to see who will flame-out first.

****
Woo hoo! Time to bring in boring and predictable! I'm up!!

266 Well I hardly use iTunes except for updates and the such and you seem to think I have some personal interest in this? I don't. All I, and most people, care is that when they turn on their computers/pads/phones they work as advertised so we can get on with doing the more important things we all do in life.

Posted by: nevergiveup at January 25, 2012 01:28 PM (eCnLg)

Well, good for you, then.  I'm not really intending to argue with you about anything, so, it's all good.

267

Apple invented that?

Um.........


They were the first that offered a microcomputer in that configuration; The Apple 1. Later that year the TRS 80 and the Commodore PET were released which had similar configurations. But Apple gets credit for making the first computer to be considered a "Personal Computer"

Prior to the Apple 1, interfaces with microcomputers sucked. They really really sucked.

268 I care first and foremost about a politician's record and platform.

269 "Republicans do better when they cast aside that BS. If you're going to beportrayed as a big fat meanie, then go with it."

Preach it, brother!

270 Droid phones are Google powered. Great.

Second look at Windows phone?

****
For precisely that reason I have stayed the hell away from Droids even when Verizon didn't sell the I-Phone. I've been with Verizon for years and my latest contract expires next month and I'll get a great deal on an I-Phone, which I intend to purchase. All along however, I could have received a discount on Droid, it's just that I'd rather not have a smartphone than be tied to Google in any way shape or form.

And, I've taken care here at every opportunity to point out that it's BING, never, ever Google.

271

Apple makes elegantly simple, robust products aimed at affluent technophobes.  Products with limited usefulness for people with limited needs and lots of cash.

 

All of that is fine with me. It's when these dipshits think that they're computer savvy now that they were able to create a photo collage in one of their Fisher-Price iTard programs that I start to get annoyed. It's like every teenage boy who gets laid for the first time thinks he invented fucking.  Shut up, kid.

272

I have no strong feelings about Apple one way or the other (though I've been sickened often enough by apple fanbois).  But what I'll say is this - Apple is now, and has always been, a would-be monopolizer.  Special music format that only the ipod can play?  No thanks.  Apple's designs, whether for good or ill, trap the consumer wherever possible.  If it's a happy place to be trapped, then great.  But I'm just not that trusting.

273 Romney wants to know Pelosi's secret

(http://tinyurl.com/7j8ae6k)


Aw hell, she can keep that $#!+ to herself...

274 There's Yahoo Email, hotmail, and a ton of other places you can get mail. For that matter, for $5 / month you can get a GoDaddy account with your own domain name and mail, etc.

***

I still have my old, free AOL account, as well as a Yahoo and Comcast account, and I use the AOL the most. You are right that there are plenty of other options to Gmail.

275 off boring sock

276 Second, last, long, lingering look at the USPS? They'd need a warrant.

No one has ever accused the Chinese of reading Lockheed's mail.
At $0.45 each now, just think of how much you've saved on stamps. Damn, we sure taught them a lesson, didn't we? We so modern.

Phil Marlowe: "A black pool opened up at my feet. I dived in. It had no bottom."  Bottom's coming up fast, now. Sound of a trap snapping.


 

277 I switched to a Windows phone this Christmas (Samsung Focus S) on ATT and the thing is slick as wet ice on wet ice. Its operating system seems like the antithesis of what desktop Windows was/is, very streamlined and intuitive.  If you can tolerate being the odd man out, I'd say definitely check them out.

278 Apple makes elegantly simple, robust products aimed at affluent technophobes.

I'm consistently underwhelmed by the physical robustness and mechanical engineering aspects of their products.  Their stuff doesn't do well when dragged out into the field regularly into relatively hostile environments.

Their notions of backward compatibility and extendability also differ significantly than say Microsoft or IBM.  Working within the closed Apple universe reduces their testing effort considerably though.  Its much easier to train code to walk through an errata minefield when the safe path has no foreign code altering the map.

279 Posted by: DarkLord©, Rogue Commenter at January 25, 2012 12:45 PM (GBXon)

Do you have a Bing search bar in the window? That's the only way I can figure out how to do it. I don't want the search bar, so it defaults to Google!

Help me Obi Wan, you're my only hope!

280 Thanks EoJ and MikeInBA and everyone else for their Windows Phone suggestions. 

I still have a simple flip phone and been thinking about getting a smart phone for a while.  I like the Windows Metro style interface - amazing Microsoft came up with something that different.

thanks again!

281 Android is open-source. No way am I not supporting it when the other option is the walled garden of non-computing iOS and Windows Phone 7. Android is the next Nokia for the developing world.

282 It's getting to the point where you can't even search for porn in privacy.

283

"If you root your phone and put a custom Android ROM on it, just don't include google services."  How does one go about doing this?

As for Google Search--I use startingpage.com.  It supposedly doesn't store or share your search info.

If enough people ditched their Android smartphones, pressure from the wireless carriers/handset makers might be brought to bear.  However, I don't see it happening.

284

I'm curious as to why Google is announcing this now.  Their privacy policies going back several years have given them the ability to combine data from their various services, so why announce that they're going to do something they've already reserved the right to do?  It's not a change in the policy, so why announce it?  Merely to not be evil?  I somehow doubt it.

285 * For e-mail, use your service provider if at all possible.
* Use bing.com, or scroogle.com for searches. (Scroogle rocks. Check it out.) * Get a good blocking hosts file. winhelp2002 at mvsp org.
winhelp2002 (dot) mvps (dot) org (forward slach) hosts.htm has an excellent one.

I've added googleanalytics to my blocking hosts file.