Related
An interesting article that I came across today; bolded some points that struck me as dangerous grounds ...
Sound Check by Alan Cross
February 12, 2010 12:30 a.m.
Back in November, I wrote about ACTA, the secret anti-counterfeiting trademark agreement involving Canada, the U.S., Mexico, the EU and nine other countries. Representatives have been meeting behind closed doors for two years to hammer out a treaty that will inevitably affect every single person on the Internet.
Yet there has been almost zero transparency. None of the draft texts have been made public and those outside the inner circle are bound by tough non-disclosure agreements.
This doesn’t mean there haven’t been some leaks.
Aside from measures to fight counterfeiting, there have been discussions about a worldwide “three strikes” rule. Accused (not caught, proven or convicted) of file-sharing music three times by an aggrieved rights holder, and you’re banned from the Internet. For life.
Internet service providers and telecoms would be liable for copyright infringements by their users. To avoid prosecution, that means they’ll have to find some way of sniffing through all the data — YOUR data — that passes through their pipes. And even though you may have a legitimate right to, say, ship a music file from point A to point B, there’s the potential for red flags at the ISP. Accused three times (not caught, proven or convicted) and you’re done. Not just with your current ISP, either. They’ll be required by international law to publish your name to an Internet no-fly list that will prevent you from ever having an Internet account in your name ever again.
And it gets better. Within the document is a second called Border Measures. There’s the real possibility that some border guard will have the power to make you prove all those music files on that iPhone in your pocket are, in fact, not pirated. Can’t do it? Bye-bye, iPhone. Oh, and you could be charged and fined.
This is more than just file-sharing for stopping fake Louis Vuitton bags. It’s about privacy, civil liberties, and legitimate use of the Internet for commerce and innovation.
The seventh round of negotiations is underway in Mexico — secretly, of course, partly because U.S. President Barack Obama has declared this an issue of national security. Same thing for the next round in April in New Zealand.
And because this is an international treaty, it’ll just be rubber-stamped into law. No public debate.
Be informed. Read what the Electronic Frontier Foundations says at eff.org/issues/acta.
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Click to collapse
Sources:
http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/com...ifetime-ban-from-the-internet-it-could-happen
http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/comment/article/509570--the-orwellian-plan-to-track-your-music
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/06/02/copyright-bill-clement-montreal.html?ref=rss
http://www.eff.org/issues/acta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Counterfeiting_Trade_Agreement
Updates:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqE8SuLOQxo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2XPiqhN_Ns&annotation_id=annotation_910879&feature=iv
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=210429284986#!/group.php?gid=210429284986&ref=nf
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10467337-38.html
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/03/your-life-will-some-day-end-acta-will-live-on.ars
http://news.google.com/news/more?um=1&cf=all&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=d7q9CZNjAmTXtvMz0xI_8sjNmJ6cM
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6275575&postcount=40
* EDIT *
FYI; the EFF is a good starting point for those who decide they want to do something - they may also be able to recommend an equivalent organization in your country.
thats pretty messed up. if it happens in the us, im sure itll end up in the supreme court and declared unconstitutional. this is way above what the powers the constitution granted to the government. after all, the government needs consent of the people or else its not a democracy anymore.
Unfortunately, since ACTA is considered to be an International treaty, it can be passed into law without public debate.
... and that's just the "tip of the iceberg". All one has to do is imagine the scenarios and since most of the treaty is being kept confidential, we don't know how far the reach and impact of the treaty will be. Here's a few other ongoings that most folks aren't aware of:
Rein In ACTA: Tell Congress to Open the Secret IP Pact
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=420
In The News: Cellular User Privacy at Risk
http://www.eff.org/press/mentions
Control is arriving to internet...
Wow,
It is amazing about this article.
I really hope this won't succeed, as this trespasses the limits of control and privacy.
As next meeting will be here in México, I´ll try to fond out more locally...
Wow, definately hope this is a No Go
If this has any truth to it, yet another reason why i hate obammer
I get the feeling though that for every ISP that followed the no-fly list, another ISP like Google's new high speed internet would let someone on that list connect.
It reminds me of "Home Taping Is Killing Music. And It's Illegal" campaign.
And a opposing campaigns called,
"copyright is killing music - and it's legal"
"Home Taping is Skill in Music"
"Home Taping Is Killing the Music Industry: Killing Ain't Wrong"
Hope this doesn't become a law. If so, we may have to migrate to Iran (where there is no copyright law).
zizou417 said:
I get the feeling though that for every ISP that followed the no-fly list, another ISP like Google's new high speed internet would let someone on that list connect.
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Let's say for the sake of argument that this treaty is passed ...
As the majority of services are paid via credit card or pre-authorized bank debit, it would seem to me that the person would never be able to get another Internet service under their true identity. Speculating further, the "no-fly" list would likely contain name, address, location, financial, and possibly other government information that establishes a person's unique identity - passport, birth certificate, etc. Some questions that come to mind:
Would this mean that the person would be banned from using cellular or other dial-up means to connect to the Internet?
Should the person use someone else's identify, would they be exposed to criminal prosecution and would the person who's identity was used be banned as well?
Taking it one step further; let's say some disgruntled person or company decides they want to shutdown a competitor, website, or other person, all they need to do is report the key stakeholder anonymously to the authorities (or governing body) a sufficient number of times so as to exceed the threshold ... and voila, banned! In a matter of a few calls, a person such as the owner of a website could be banned from accessing the Internet therefore taking down their website in the process.
Furthermore, countries could be "strong-armed" into adopting the treaty if they wish to conduct commerce over the Internet with countries that are part of the treaty.
I think, it is less likely that some thing like this treaty coming into existence.
I do not know about other developed countries. But, in developing and underdeveloped countries, virtually everyone uses the internet to share the music,movie,software.... So, if you ban all the people form the internet what business these ISPs and e-commerce people are going to do?
And you know, the major market are these countries due to their population. So, developed countries doesn't want to jeopardize their market.
May be, a stricter law to curb such copyright infringement can be applied. But, I hardly see effectiveness of these laws in developing and underdeveloped countries.
(May be China is more happier to apply such law and ban everyone form the internet. Which it is already doing with different means ).
What a "Brave New World" we live in..
hmmmmm, interesting read. Don't agree with this to be honest, but not much I can really do....... I wonder if this could be applied to spammers
raghu13uk said:
I think, it is less likely that some thing like this treaty coming into existence.
I do not know about other developed countries. But, in developing and underdeveloped countries, virtually everyone uses the internet to share the music,movie,software.... So, if you ban all the people form the internet what business these ISPs and e-commerce people are going to do?
And you know, the major market are these countries due to their population. So, developed countries doesn't want to jeopardize their market.
May be, a stricter law to curb such copyright infringement can be applied. But, I hardly see effectiveness of these laws in developing and underdeveloped countries.
(May be China is more happier to apply such law and ban everyone form the internet. Which it is already doing with different means ).
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Agreed; but how does one determine a true copyright violator? And obviously, it won't stop at audio and/or video. And what is the purpose of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) then? Was that act not supposed to be for this purpose? And how many companies/people are aware that the ACTA treaty is in the process of being finalised behind "closed doors"?
Of additional interest is the provision to empower border security such that they can search any/all electronic equipment. As the article points out, this means that no information is confidential. So if one happens to encounter a border security person having a "bad day", one could be faced with confiscation of their cellular phone or laptop as a result of not being able to prove that the information found on the device was legitimately paid for (ex: audio, video, application). Attempting to retrieve a wrongly confiscated item is costly both legally and personally.
Additionally, there are numerous articles on the Internet that already highlight the fact that most authorities have the means to bypass most encryption algorithms so as to extract the contents of hard drives and cellular devices. In some countries, it is even a federal offense to use certain depths of encryption - for the longest time, France only permitted 40-bit encryption.
Imagine this scenario;
You're browsing the Internet while waiting for your flight. You happen to connect to a compromised website which redirects you to several pornographic websites. An announcement over the PA system announces that your flight has been moved to a different gate and you realize that the gate is at the opposite end of the airport.
You close your laptop, stuff it in the bag and rush to the new gate just in time to see that people are boarding the plane. You board the plane, stow you laptop and later during the flight, you turn it on to do some work and then stow it away again forgetting to clear your history and browser cache.
When you arrive at your destination, border security instructs you to provide your electronic devices for scanning. During the scan, they discover the browser cache full of pornographic images.
Now what?
Imagine this other scenario;
What happens if this treaty provides large corporations with the power they require to close down websites that are considered hostile to their revenue or websites that provide information on how circumvent mechanisms that are in their products? And what happens if the treaty empowers the authorities to obtain all of the trace-back information of all of the people who frequented such a website so as to ban/prosecute them?
If they do this, i'm gonna sue someone important!!!
I would NOT want to see this thing passed. It's our internet, and they don't have the right to kick us off of it. Watch this video on the topic here, this one is more likely to happen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqE8SuLOQxo
What happened to that law that stated we could use any type of music/media as long as we don't make a profit on it?! this is so wrong imo. Sorry saw this thread and had to join.
I would much rather see tax dollars going to matters of national security, and helping the job market right now, then pay for big expensive servers that dedicate their time to crawling through everyone's internet, filtering out everything that's deemed "bad." What if you have say, a niece or nephew, that comes over to your house frequently and gets on the computer. They in turn download music, or go a a forbidden website, or something stupid like that, more than a few times. Bam! Your banned for life because of your brother or sister's child's mistake? I would be furious.
I can not see this going into effect without a HUGE public uproar. From us, as consumers, but also from the ISP companies. They will start taking HUGE revenue losses because of this.
Oh, and the border filtering... you've GOT to be freakin kidding me, right? Before I say any of this, let me make it perfectly clear that I am no racist. I either love, or hate people based on their personalities and actions. Okay, not a racist? Understood. Okay. Why not, instead of filtering electronic devices through the borders, they protect the borders a little better? I'm all of immigration, let them all come over, if they want, but make them do it the legal way. That's all. If that technology filter is applied at our borders, then I can see a huge uproar from a lot of racists, and non-racists, in the Texas, California areas.
There are way too many holes in this. It'd be like trying to hold water in a mesh container. In it's current state, there's no way this will be effective.
2012: The Year The Internet Ends
This will happen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2XPiqhN_Ns&annotation_id=annotation_910879&feature=iv
Badwolve1 said:
If they do this, i'm gonna sue someone important!!!
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You won't be alone, let's make it a Class Action lawsuit!
I'm sure there will be plenty of constitutional lawyers ready to pounce on this one...
http://blog.tmcnet.com/blog/rich-tehrani/google-buys-microsoft.html
Microsoft to be bought by Google, Windows 8 now to be Chrome OS!
Windows Phone 7 to be merged into IceCream Sandwhich
wow its amazing what they have there fingers in
Google has worked with several corporations, in order to improve production and services. On September 28, 2005,Google announced a long-term research partnership with NASA which would involve Google building a 1-million square foot R&D center at NASA's Ames Research Center. NASA and Google are planning to work together on a variety of areas, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry. The new building would also include labs, offices, and housing for Google engineers.[56] In October 2006, Google formed a partnership with Sun Microsystems to help share and distribute each other's technologies. As part of the partnership Google will hire employees to help the open source office program OpenOffice.org.[57]
Time Warner's AOL unit and Google unveiled an expanded partnership on December 21, 2005, including an enhanced global advertising partnership and a $1 billion investment by Google for a 5% stake in AOL.[58] As part of the collaboration, Google plans to work with AOL on video search and offer AOL's premium-video service within Google Video. This did not allow users of Google Video to search for AOL's premium-video services. Display advertising throughout the Google network will also increase.
In August 2003, Google signed a $900 million offer with News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media unit to provide search and advertising on MySpace and other News Corp. websites including IGN, AmericanIdol.com, Fox.com, and Rotten Tomatoes, although Fox Sports is not included as a deal already exists between News Corp. and MSN.[59][60]
On 6 December 2006, British Sky Broadcasting released details of a Sky and Google alliance.[61] This includes a feature where Gmail will link with Sky and host a mail service for Sky, incorporating the email domain "@sky.com".
In 2007, Google displaced America Online as a key partner and sponsor of the NORAD Tracks Santa program.[62][63][64]Google Earth was used for the first time to give visitors to the website the impression that they were following Santa Claus' progress in 3-D.[65] The program also made its presence known on YouTube in 2007 as part of its partnership with Google.[66]
In January 2009, Google announced a partnership with the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, allowing the Pope to have his own channel on YouTube
I highly doubt that's true. If anything it would be microsoft buying Google...
Skellyyy said:
I highly doubt that's true. If anything it would be microsoft buying Google...
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It would help if people look at the date on things before they submit them.
This is from 2005, and guess what date of the year
Lol retards never fail to amaze.
'April 1, 2005 8:51 AM'
"The opinions and views expressed in comments, blogs, etc. are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of TMC, TMCnet, or its editors. TMCnet reserves the right to edit, delete, or otherwise make changes to the content that appears on these pages at its own discretion and as it deems necessary.
April 1, 2005 8:51 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks
"
read any1 ?
It's not particularly my main though when I read an article to check the date tbh. It's not really a retarded mistake though, just a common mistake. My bad though haha.
Oh and everybody hop off Pulsers d*ck, if it wasn't for him, none of you would of spotted it either.
An old april 1st joke.
AHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
*cough cough
*splutter
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
That is all.
Haha I thought it was true to skelly
In fact I was happy... Couldn't wait for an update to change my Windows 7 boot screen to say Google Windows 7
You'd know these two morons on top of me are from off topic.
I would've personally hand-delivered Google a buck if they had done that.
lmfao! i was like what hahahahahahahaha
SciFiSurfer said:
I would've personally hand-delivered Google a buck if they had done that.
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You and me both. I was so confused until I saw the date on the article.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Loltard alert... and he even put the damn article on his siggie.
This is sooo epic fail...
RTFA's date dude...
Lol funny..I believed it until I read the last sentence...
The SEC is expected to allow this merger and the deal will be done if 4 months from today. Speaking of today, Happy April Fool’s Day!
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This would be simply amazing though if it was a reality
Alright, for those amongst us whom have not come to realize why this will never happen:
1. Google stands for openness, Microsoft stands for opening your wallet.
2. Google's motto is "Do no evil". They might have failed many times, but they still try to uphold it. Bill Gates is now trying to buy his way into heaven.
3. Google's browser, Chrome is a good browser for fast browsing and excellent for content consumption. IE is only good for downloading Firefox or Chrome.
4. Google stands for innovation and openness. Microsoft used to fire people for working on own projects.
Looking at the cultural differences, any business analyst would have seen through it and realized the Google's buyout will result in a mass lay-off of MS employees. On top of that, Google would never have been able to afford the deal (unless they promise share for share exchange).
Last but not least, SEC would have blocked the deal. 100% of all searches in USA would be controlled by one entity (Yahoo is powered by Bing, remember?) and that goes against the anti-trust laws.
'nuff said.
The word Google has become synonymous with online search as it refers to the world’s best search engine, and it has developed a platform for huge free web-based applications that now we use every day to perform tasks, or simply for entertainment. The company now is a multinational corporation with a huge budget and a pre-determined strategy to grow bigger. But how does Google does it?
Google does it simply with its interest in providing what everyone needs and the way they want it to be. Unlike the other corporates that sells good or sometimes excellent products for a high price, Google’s answer to this is simply, a high quality “product as a service” and the best part it’s for free. However, the company also does sell online advertisement spaces. The ads are served also in their propriety services like Gmail and Docs etc.
Presenting an operating system for the small gadgets and making it free is a wise way to approach the market, and to get the approval of the experts the company made it based on Linux, the developers’ favorite. The project was first at the hands of a small company, but Google acquired it and financed the project so it can become a reality in order to expand in the telecommunication industry. The smart thing was including all of its services alongside new ones into the software, this making it getting closer to its users and getting the feedback with not much of an effort.
Google has developed some of its key services out from university labs. At first they would be tested for a long time internally, and then when it’s near perfection it’s released to the world like Gmail. The service was in beta phase for five years before it became stable. It’s is a pressure-free developing style, a style that divers it from others. While other companies have deadlines and a releasing schedule, Google doesn’t, simply because there is no one to report to. Its external contracts are different; Google doesn’t create a product for another corporate. Having so will enforce the company to work in a narrow area and with predetermined way. On the contrary it simply creates and presents the product for the other companies to work with.
Its employees are encouraged to work on project that interests them directly. This corporate culture cannot be simply copied. If it was, we would see someone doing it. It’s also what divers it from other companies and it’s what defines it now. Making the workspace fun and interesting is to maintain the current staff and attract new “brains”, the ones who might have an idea of a project that can turn out to be the next big thing.
Google maintains its services up and running with its dependency on ads; this was at first and might still be at a certain degree. But its market share and its focus on many fields might define the future of the corporate. Sole dependency on ads online is definitely not a good strategy and Google has figured that out already, with its expanding plans to other areas, first, ten years ago when it acquired Blogger the famous blogging platform. After that YouTube, with its 4 Billion videos streamed daily, alongside it’s cloud music service that has shown great threat to competitors with its simplicity. And lately it’s 12.5 Billion bid on Motorola Mobility.
It’s clear that Google continues to grow with its unique way of managing its business. It’s is what will define the corporate future, alongside our lifestyle that has been influenced and still does. We used to read printed books; we now read them on small devices to save the huge space the books occupy. There are many examples of how Google has enhanced the way we perform our tasks and activities and made them easy for us, and this is the reason why Google is so succeful.
Unagi said:
Unlike the other corporates that sells good or sometimes excellent products for a high price, Google’s answer to this is simply, a high quality “product as a service” and the best part it’s for free.
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Click to collapse
NOTHING is free. I am as guilty as most of the people for taking their 'free' candy, but it will someday bite us on the ass.
Not sure when, but it will happen. And it won't be pretty!
And believe me they are not doing it to be good corporate citizens.
Making money online is easy
Unagi said:
The word Google has become synonymous with online search as it refers to the world’s best search engine, and it has developed a platform for huge free web-based applications that now we use every day to perform tasks, or simply for entertainment. The company now is a multinational corporation with a huge budget and a pre-determined strategy to grow bigger. But how does Google does it?
Google does it simply with its interest in providing what everyone needs and the way they want it to be. Unlike the other corporates that sells good or sometimes excellent products for a high price, Google’s answer to this is simply, a high quality “product as a service” and the best part it’s for free. However, the company also does sell online advertisement spaces. The ads are served also in their propriety services like Gmail and Docs etc.
Presenting an operating system for the small gadgets and making it free is a wise way to approach the market, and to get the approval of the experts the company made it based on Linux, the developers’ favorite. The project was first at the hands of a small company, but Google acquired it and financed the project so it can become a reality in order to expand in the telecommunication industry. The smart thing was including all of its services alongside new ones into the software, this making it getting closer to its users and getting the feedback with not much of an effort.
Google has developed some of its key services out from university labs. At first they would be tested for a long time internally, and then when it’s near perfection it’s released to the world like Gmail. The service was in beta phase for five years before it became stable. It’s is a pressure-free developing style, a style that divers it from others. While other companies have deadlines and a releasing schedule, Google doesn’t, simply because there is no one to report to. Its external contracts are different; Google doesn’t create a product for another corporate. Having so will enforce the company to work in a narrow area and with predetermined way. On the contrary it simply creates and presents the product for the other companies to work with.
Its employees are encouraged to work on project that interests them directly. This corporate culture cannot be simply copied. If it was, we would see someone doing it. It’s also what divers it from other companies and it’s what defines it now. Making the workspace fun and interesting is to maintain the current staff and attract new “brains”, the ones who might have an idea of a project that can turn out to be the next big thing.
Google maintains its services up and running with its dependency on ads; this was at first and might still be at a certain degree. But its market share and its focus on many fields might define the future of the corporate. Sole dependency on ads online is definitely not a good strategy and Google has figured that out already, with its expanding plans to other areas, first, ten years ago when it acquired Blogger the famous blogging platform. After that YouTube, with its 4 Billion videos streamed daily, alongside it’s cloud music service that has shown great threat to competitors with its simplicity. And lately it’s 12.5 Billion bid on Motorola Mobility.
It’s clear that Google continues to grow with its unique way of managing its business. It’s is what will define the corporate future, alongside our lifestyle that has been influenced and still does. We used to read printed books; we now read them on small devices to save the huge space the books occupy. There are many examples of how Google has enhanced the way we perform our tasks and activities and made them easy for us, and this is the reason why Google is so succeful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is very easy to make money online, go to moolamails . info and Members can earn extra money online by visiting our sponsors websites. After you visit our sponsors link for the designated time, your account will be credited. Members can also earn 25 cents per signup for joining our advertisers programs. You can cashout your earnings at $2 witch will never increase. Along with the pay per click ads, members can also earn by opting into our paid emails list. If you choose, you may have paid emails sent to your email address on file. In our members traffic exchange we offer random 1 cent bonuses. The most important way to earn here is by telling the world about us with your custom Moola Mails referral links and banners. Earn 10% of your direct referrals earnings as a free member or up to 35% with a premium membership. No limits on direct referrals. Take advange of our paid to promote feature, we give you 5 cents for every 1000 times your show the world your custom Moola Mails referral link. Send people to your Moola Mails referral link and watch your ptp earnings and your referral tree grow. Join and start making extra money online with our easy to use custom interface today.
ravisinghal20 said:
It is very easy to make money online, go to moolamails . info and Members can earn extra money online by visiting our sponsors websites. After you visit our sponsors link for the designated time, your account will be credited. Members can also earn 25 cents per signup for joining our advertisers programs. You can cashout your earnings at $2 witch will never increase. Along with the pay per click ads, members can also earn by opting into our paid emails list. If you choose, you may have paid emails sent to your email address on file. In our members traffic exchange we offer random 1 cent bonuses. The most important way to earn here is by telling the world about us with your custom Moola Mails referral links and banners. Earn 10% of your direct referrals earnings as a free member or up to 35% with a premium membership. No limits on direct referrals. Take advange of our paid to promote feature, we give you 5 cents for every 1000 times your show the world your custom Moola Mails referral link. Send people to your Moola Mails referral link and watch your ptp earnings and your referral tree grow. Join and start making extra money online with our easy to use custom interface today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will cost me more than 25 cents in electricity just deleting all of the spam generated from signing up to worthless sites. And 5 cents for showing a referral 1000 times? Lol. I think bums on skid row wouldn't waste their time on that!
BTW, Nice segue into a plug for your site.
"Hey, Google! What the hell??!?! Honestly, I'm not upset that that the phone is in huge demand. I'm not upset that they sold out far faster than expected or that they just didn't have enough supply. That's great for Google, great for Android, and great for wireless in the US where carriers have a stranglehold on the market. I'm freaking thrilled, in fact, that the market is embracing a new model for buying phones and sticking it to the carriers who have been totally ubstructionist to updates and have, in many ways, crippled Android over and over on phone after phone.
I'm angry because this is bloody Google - You'd think they could figure out how to handle peak loads and ecommerce at least as well as Apple. Google locates their datacenters near hydroelectric dams for God's sake so that they can access enough power to keep the world searching, to process the 72 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, and to crunch enough data to automatically give me directions to my various destinations as I hop into my car for an appointment.
And yet Google couldn't switch from "Ships in 3-5 days" in the Play Store to "Sold Out" several hours after their stock had been depleted. Google didn't know the difference between "Coming soon" and "Sold Out" and actually let people continue buying phones long after they had all been gobbled up.
Google didn't have the sense to limit numbers of purchases to one or two per household and the situation was exacerbated because the miserable excuse for a storefront that they call the Play Store was such a disaster at peak load that people were buying two or three phones accidentally.
Google has enough information from the nation's aggregated searches to track influenza outbreaks faster and more accurately than the CDC and yet they didn't anticipate demand for a $300 unlocked superphone running the latest version of Android. Gee, Google, do you think a few people might want one of those? They certainly knew I did based on the search and social data I happily and consensually share with them every day through my Google account.
Google can track the movement of illegal weapons worldwide better than our own government who should really be in a position to know about the weapons trade. And yet, when I sent an email today checking on the status of my order, just moments before I received that backorder email, the automated response cheerily told me that my phone should ship today and that I would have a UPS tracking number by tomorrow.
Why is this so damned hard for a company that is probably better than any other at processing data? Why, for a company that pioneered large-scale failover and redundancy and can shift literally petaflops of processing power among its various datacenters worldwide, could it not handle demand for a phone? Have you ever gotten an email from Apple saying, "Gosh, so sorry, we didn't think many of you would actually want a freaking iPhone so we didn't bother scaling our ecommerce systems or building a kajillion phones, so even though we told you that you got one, we were wrong so now you'll have to wait a while"? No, probably not.
Google finally discovers the secret sauce for Android and turning the wireless industry on its ears only to be derailed because its online store choked. Really? Seriously? Because Google didn't have the scalability or computing muscle to handle a spike on a few of their several hundred thousand servers? Because there weren't any Google engineers smart enough to figure out a better way to do ecommerce? Despite being able to auction millions of ads in real time? Really?
Ridiculous. Just ridiculous. Google, if you're listening (and I know you are, since you already know virtually every move I make), please go buy a company that knows how to sell things on the Internet. There's one or two (or 100) that do it fairly well." Christopher Dawson ZDNet
http://www.zdnet.com/google-nexus-4-play-store-debacle-gives-buyers-the-backorder-blues-7000007482/
AmesCell said:
http://www.zdnet.com/google-nexus-4-play-store-debacle-gives-buyers-the-backorder-blues-7000007482/
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yes - hence I quoted him.
Its good that a writer from one of the tech sites finally wrote this - it feels like the others are letting Google off the hook.
Google made an excellent choice by hiring Matias Duarte to head up UI creation they urgently need to hire logistical experts.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
It's not even the demand that was the issue. If they knew they would have (say) 100 phones that would be ready to be shipped on Nov 15th. HOW is it possible for them to take more than a 100 orders?
It's really put a bad taste in my mouth for Google. It may be true, all they care about it the data they need from all of us. Everything else (experience, consistency, etc) comes second, at best.
---------- Post added at 05:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:02 PM ----------
Blackice-original said:
Its good that a writer from one of the tech sites finally wrote this - it feels like the others are letting Google off the hook.
Google made an excellent choice by hiring Matias Duarte to head up UI creation they urgently need to hire logistical experts.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
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They should ask Tim Cook for recommendations. That man is a genius when it comes to this.
Google deserves bad publicity for their launch failure!
glenroebuck said:
"Hey, Google! What the hell??!?! Honestly, I'm not upset that that the phone is in huge demand. I'm not upset that they sold out far faster than expected or that they just didn't have enough supply. That's great for Google, great for Android, and great for wireless in the US where carriers have a stranglehold on the market. I'm freaking thrilled, in fact, that the market is embracing a new model for buying phones and sticking it to the carriers who have been totally ubstructionist to updates and have, in many ways, crippled Android over and over on phone after phone.
I'm angry because this is bloody Google - You'd think they could figure out how to handle peak loads and ecommerce at least as well as Apple. Google locates their datacenters near hydroelectric dams for God's sake so that they can access enough power to keep the world searching, to process the 72 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, and to crunch enough data to automatically give me directions to my various destinations as I hop into my car for an appointment.
And yet Google couldn't switch from "Ships in 3-5 days" in the Play Store to "Sold Out" several hours after their stock had been depleted. Google didn't know the difference between "Coming soon" and "Sold Out" and actually let people continue buying phones long after they had all been gobbled up.
Google didn't have the sense to limit numbers of purchases to one or two per household and the situation was exacerbated because the miserable excuse for a storefront that they call the Play Store was such a disaster at peak load that people were buying two or three phones accidentally.
Google has enough information from the nation's aggregated searches to track influenza outbreaks faster and more accurately than the CDC and yet they didn't anticipate demand for a $300 unlocked superphone running the latest version of Android. Gee, Google, do you think a few people might want one of those? They certainly knew I did based on the search and social data I happily and consensually share with them every day through my Google account.
Google can track the movement of illegal weapons worldwide better than our own government who should really be in a position to know about the weapons trade. And yet, when I sent an email today checking on the status of my order, just moments before I received that backorder email, the automated response cheerily told me that my phone should ship today and that I would have a UPS tracking number by tomorrow.
Why is this so damned hard for a company that is probably better than any other at processing data? Why, for a company that pioneered large-scale failover and redundancy and can shift literally petaflops of processing power among its various datacenters worldwide, could it not handle demand for a phone? Have you ever gotten an email from Apple saying, "Gosh, so sorry, we didn't think many of you would actually want a freaking iPhone so we didn't bother scaling our ecommerce systems or building a kajillion phones, so even though we told you that you got one, we were wrong so now you'll have to wait a while"? No, probably not.
Google finally discovers the secret sauce for Android and turning the wireless industry on its ears only to be derailed because its online store choked. Really? Seriously? Because Google didn't have the scalability or computing muscle to handle a spike on a few of their several hundred thousand servers? Because there weren't any Google engineers smart enough to figure out a better way to do ecommerce? Despite being able to auction millions of ads in real time? Really?
Ridiculous. Just ridiculous. Google, if you're listening (and I know you are, since you already know virtually every move I make), please go buy a company that knows how to sell things on the Internet. There's one or two (or 100) that do it fairly well." Christopher Dawson ZDNet
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If the person who wrote this were on XDA, I would have made a thousand accounts just to Thank him as many times. I am bloody tired of the whole Play Store debacle. Not usually the one to whine and *****, but this is beyond words!
Only those who got no phone care. /small violin playing.
I clicked buy and it worked for me. But then again, even if I had missed getting one. Its a phone. I just would have waited for the next batch. Or maybe I would piss and moan about something so small, write a 5 paragraph statement on a Non Google Site and then burned down an orphanage. /Waaaaaaaa
I know a lot of people are upset about the fact that the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 doesn't have a SD card slot and this right here is exactly why I have a 2TB backup drive in my house and it's also the reason I tell people not to use any type of online cloud storage..
Microsoft sues US over secret demands for customer data
Apr 14, 2016 07:29 PM
By BRANDON BAILEY
AP Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Microsoft sued the U.S. government for demanding access to user emails or online files in secret, saying a provision of a 1986 law that authorities use for such undisclosed searches is unconstitutional.
The lawsuit is the latest clash over privacy rights in the digital age. Law enforcement officials want freedom to view a treasure trove of information - including emails, photos and financial records - that customers are storing on electronic gadgets and in so-called "cloud" computing centers.
Microsoft says the U.S. Justice Department is abusing the decades-old Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which allows authorities to obtain court orders requiring it to turn over customer files stored on its servers, while in some cases prohibiting the company from notifying the customer. Microsoft says those "non-disclosure" orders violate its constitutional right to free speech, as well as its customers' protection against unreasonable searches.
A Justice Department spokeswoman said the government is reviewing the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Seattle federal court.
One former federal official was critical of Microsoft's position, saying it could lead to warning "child molesters, domestic abusers, violent criminals and terrorists that they're being investigated."
The non-disclosure orders must be granted by a judge who has concluded that "notifying these individuals will have an adverse result, which could include messing up an investigation or even endangering the life or safety of individuals," said Daniel "D.J." Rosenthal, a former National Security Council and Justice Department attorney.
But Microsoft argues the law sets a vague standard for granting secrecy around digital searches. Authorities are required to disclose most search warrants for information stored in filing cabinets, safes or other physical locations, the company noted in its court filing.
"At the end of the day, when you are being investigated by the government, you should know about the investigation so you can prepare a defense," said Mark Jaycox of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.
Microsoft said government demands under the ECPA law are increasing in number for a variety of investigations, including white-collar cases.
"We appreciate that there are times when secrecy around a government warrant is needed," Microsoft Corp. President Brad Smith said in a statement. "But based on the many secrecy orders we have received, we question whether these orders are grounded in specific facts that truly demand secrecy. To the contrary, it appears that the issuance of secrecy orders has become too routine."
The Redmond, Washington-based company says authorities used the law to demand customer information more than 5,600 times in the last 18 months. In nearly half those cases, a court ordered the company to keep the demand secret.
Although some orders expired after a period of time, Microsoft said the gag orders were indefinite in about 1,750 cases, "meaning that Microsoft could forever be barred from telling the affected customer about the government's intrusion."
As more people store data online, Microsoft argued in its lawsuit that the government is exploiting that trend "as a means of expanding its power to conduct secret investigations."
In an interview, Smith said the company decided to sue the Justice Department after a case where authorities threatened to hold Microsoft in contempt when it sought to contest a particular secrecy order.
"That caused us to step back and take a look at what was going on more broadly," he said. "We were very disconcerted when we added up the large number of secrecy orders we've been receiving."
While the lawsuit specifically challenges ECPA's secrecy provision, Congress has been debating a number of reforms in response to criticism that it's outdated in various ways.
The House Judiciary Committee this week approved a bill to amend the law so authorities would need a warrant to see email and other digital files that have been stored online for more than 180 days. Currently the law allows access with a subpoena, which can be obtained more easily by satisfying a weaker legal standard.
But a recent amendment to the bill would still allow non-disclosure orders lasting up to six months, which could potentially be extended. Microsoft's Smith said he's not optimistic that Congress will pass any reforms this year.
Microsoft rival Apple has been waging a high-profile legal battle over the FBI's attempt to compel that company's help in obtaining data stored on iPhones.
"It's part of the same trend," said Alex Abdo, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union. He said tech companies "have gotten the message loud and clear from the American public, that privacy matters."
The source link to this is here.
http://m.wtvm.com/wtvm/db/376055/content/8llRzBFa
is a good point - but you should also never use a VPN hosted by any of the "five eyes" countries, or all of the "fourteen eyes" either, also you wouldn't run a Samsung account, use Google services such a Gmail, Facebook, or any other myriad of (especially) US based privacy invasive "free" services online.
Privacy is very important. But people forget that their free Gmail account does come at a cost, so does Facebook (loathe that platform).
You cannot just stop using a cloud based storage service (personally I use Tresorit - end to end encryption and a zero knowledge service) and we all use Android devices here (MM privacy settings are a step in the right direction, but also reading and learning about what you can do to make sure your phone isn't the information leak Google would prefer it to be is a wise thing to do)
Change your email to something offering zero knowledge and end to end encryption such as Protonmail or Tutanota. Create a "throwaway" email and account for Google Play and their services. Always use the Google Play gift cards rather than a credit card for purchases.
Don't use Google Maps period. Use Open Street Maps instead.
Use DuckDuckGo as your search engine, never Google.
Find out what a warrant canary is and check them for all the services you use regularly!
Use a firewall on your device. Use Tor on your device. Don't ever use Chrome, use Firefox and make sure you adjust the privacy settings hidden inside it.
As you can see, there is a lot to consider and do if you value your privacy, not just cloud storage.
All of this is easily searchable on the internet so it pays to read.
To paraphrase Glen Greenwald, many people will say they have nothing to hide, well if that is the case send me your login details to your email accounts and online social media accounts. No one has ever taken up that offer......
geekygrl said:
is a good point - but you should also never use a VPN hosted by any of the "five eyes" countries, or all of the "fourteen eyes" either, also you wouldn't run a Samsung account, use Google services such a Gmail, Facebook, or any other myriad of (especially) US based privacy invasive "free" services online.
Privacy is very important. But people forget that their free Gmail account does come at a cost, so does Facebook (loathe that platform).
You cannot just stop using a cloud based storage service (personally I use Tresorit - end to end encryption and a zero knowledge service) and we all use Android devices here (MM privacy settings are a step in the right direction, but also reading and learning about what you can do to make sure your phone isn't the information leak Google would prefer it to be is a wise thing to do)
Change your email to something offering zero knowledge and end to end encryption such as Protonmail or Tutanota. Create a "throwaway" email and account for Google Play and their services. Always use the Google Play gift cards rather than a credit card for purchases.
Don't use Google Maps period. Use Open Street Maps instead.
Use DuckDuckGo as your search engine, never Google.
Find out what a warrant canary is and check them for all the services you use regularly!
Use a firewall on your device. Use Tor on your device. Don't ever use Chrome, use Firefox and make sure you adjust the privacy settings hidden inside it.
As you can see, there is a lot to consider and do if you value your privacy, not just cloud storage.
All of this is easily searchable on the internet so it pays to read.
To paraphrase Glen Greenwald, many people will say they have nothing to hide, well if that is the case send me your login details to your email accounts and online social media accounts. No one has ever taken up that offer......
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Click to collapse
Most of those thing's I don't use and the rare times that I do use them I have account names that mean nothing and have no important information in them. Any important emails that I get are sent to my own personal encrypted mail server and I don't bother with VPN connections because Tor Browser is good enough for me. This is also the reason I don't use Microsoft Windows at all and use Linux instead because when something gets installed on my system it's because I did it but with Microsoft Windows it's to easy to get viruses and whatnot and I've yet to ever have that happen to my nix. I also loathe Facebook and I rarely ever get on there because it seems like people detail their entire day every day from the time they wake up until they go to bed and that's a treasure trove to anyone who is looking for information on you! But let's face it though, there really is no way to 100% truly secure your information online because if someone is determined and smart enough they'll get what they want but we don't have to make it easy for them to get it!!
Same here - but I am always surprised at the other people out there that complain about privacy but never do anything about it, or don't know anything about how to fix it...
Unfortunately I am locked into Windows 10 as I have a SP4.....until the touchscreen and the pen works with Linux it is pointless to move OS's - I do have it locked down and no longer sending any telemetry as much as humanly possible!
I spend a lot of time being mobile so setting up my own email servers or use something like OwnCloud (isn't there a vulnerability with that at the moment?) to sync my phone isn't practical as it would require more than a SP4!
Agree that if they really want to know what you are up to they will, but why make it easy eh?!
geekygrl said:
is a good point - but you should also never use a VPN hosted by any of the "five eyes" countries, or all of the "fourteen eyes" either... <snip> Protonmail or Tutanota
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So, basically, I agree with what you said, and I've looked at both those providers. Protonmail is based in Switzerland, and Tutanota in Germany. Um... given the Snowden revelations (and other things) can we actually depend on any German company? Is Switzerland even secure anymore?
Maybe I'm being silly, ignorant, or whatever about this. Got any thoughts on this?