begin oe_protect.scr
Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> __/ [ casioculture@xxxxxxxxx ] on Tuesday 01 August 2006 02:29 \__
>
>> casiocult...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>>> > Contemplating the Google operating system
>>> >
>>> > ,----[ Quote ]
>>> > | While the world will probably have Microsoft Windows and MacOS (and
>>> > | the flavors of Linux, which are excellently implemented) for quite
>>> > | some time, the "Google OS" is alive and well -- something this article
>>> > | describes and I agree with.
>>> > `----
>>> >
>>> >
> http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/07/31/contemplating-the-google-operating-system/
>>>
>>> There's one very, very major problem with Google though; privacy.
>>> Google has the most ominous practices when it comes to gathering
>>> information about its users.
>>
>> Let me put it explicitly; I am actually far more willing to trust
>> Microsoft in this regard than Google! I, like most people, used
>> Microsoft products for many years before Google came on the scene,
>> however, I don't recall ever feeling freaked out by Micorosoft
>> practices being too intrustive or me being unable to control them. I
>> was, however, freaked out at least twice by Google in this regard.
>
> But that is essentially the same concern that Windows Live
> will introduce. It all stems from the fact that software
> becomes an offshorn service rather than a process that is
> purely operated by your own hardware and locally-installed
> software. Companies have greed to retaining information
> because it gives power (think Google Trends, for example).
> And, yes, Google have got some logs. Some of them have even
> reached the US Government, I suspect, having been weakened
> by the DoJ. Privacy and national security will become a big
> issue in the age when Web services prevail and expand.
>
This is the nub of the issue I was driving at with hadron quark before
he pouted and took his ball home.
The concept of an "operating system" is not easy to nail down, but I
think that when people are talking about a "google operating system",
what they are trying to express is the "distributed application"
concept, where the application is in part running on the local device,
whatever it might be, and in part on some network-side cluster.
With respect to privacy, I don't trust /anyone/, but I've more time for
organisations which do not repeatedly abuse and ignore the law compared
with those which do.
Of course, the EU has very strong laws about data protection, so google
will not be allowed to keep any data about customers without revealing
what it is, and without keeping it very private too, so the concerns
with respect to misuse of data are perhaps for those not fortunate
enough to reside in the EU.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear.
-- 1 John 4:18
|
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