Bill Gates Knows What You Did Last Summer 303
theodp writes "Give Bill Gates your 'pictures, videos, documents, e-mail, instant messages, addresses, calendar dates/scheduling information (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, appointments), voice mail, phone logs, RSS feeds, subscriptions, bookmarks, mail lists, project management features, computing device data, tasks and location data,' and he'll improve your 'quality of life.' That's the promise behind a patent issued Thursday to Bill Gates and his 20 co-inventors for 'Personal Data Mining', which Microsoft notes 'can include a monetization component' that 'could initiate an auction to sell information to the highest bidder.'"
Privacy (Score:5, Interesting)
Is not privacy essential to a high quality of life?
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Funny)
Not for everyone.
The way to combat this is to kill the monetization component. The way to do that is to beat Bill to the punch and give all your data to everyone before he does, so they have to motivation to buy it.
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Not for everyone.
The way to combat this is to kill the monetization component. The way to do that is to beat Bill to the punch and give all your data to everyone before he does, so they have to motivation to buy it.
Another way to combat this is to gather such information on Gates, other high-profile corporate figures, and politicians. Then publically post them onto highly visible Web sites. I mean after all, they think no privacy is such a great idea, right? Let them be the pioneers.
Like the notion that if the average Congressman knew that he had to depend on Social Security for his retirement, it would have been fixed (i.e. made sustainable) a long time ago.
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Another way to combat this is to gather such information on Gates, other high-profile corporate figures, and politicians. Then publically post them onto highly visible Web sites. I mean after all, they think no privacy is such a great idea, right? Let them be the pioneers.
I agree.
The ChaosComputerClub in Germany published a government official's fingerprints in a magazine after he introduced legislation to get everyone's fingerprints.
I think they did them on an easy to 'apply' foil sheet.
I believe someone
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'Like the notion that if the average Congressman knew that he had to depend on Social Security for his retirement, it would have been fixed (i.e. made sustainable) a long time ago."
What have you been smoking? In Congress-Critters had to rely on SS, it would have been made insolvent long ago as they would have larded it up with baubles for "next of kin" which would have included first, second, and third cousins and the family cat. Remember, a Congress-Critter feels an election cycle has been wasted if s/he c
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Informative)
The Video Privacy Protection Act [wikipedia.org] was passed after the video rental records of a Supreme Court nominee were leaked. So your suggestion does have precedence.
Re:Privacy (Score:5, Interesting)
So know someone with a great deal of economic leverage is trying to push exactly such a system, and all of slashdot goes "Oh my god, how evil! Quick, everyone give your data away for free, so nobody can monetize them any more, not even yourself!"
Guys, Bill Gates stopped being the most evil man about five years ago. I care much less about the shortcomings of Windows than I care about Google and Facebook knowing more about me than I do myself. At this point, I'd be willing to pay Bill Gates if he offers to secure all my personal data.
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I think I can dissolve your confusion.
Real privacy would mean you get to decide whether this data is collected in the first place. If it's going to be gathered anyway and you might get a little discretion over how it is used once amassed, that's not real privacy. Sort of like the way that the ability to choos
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Interesting)
You CAN do that by limiting the amount of data created.
#1 - Store loyalty cards? GET RID OF THEM.
#2 - Use ONLY CASH for every transaction. Some really big ones you cant, but you can limit the data creation.
#3 - DONT register warranty cards, or registration of anything.
#4 - Xbox live user? Use a not connected to you information base and ONLY use scratch and sniff cards. make a random person that cant be connected to you, this is not hard.
#5 - Prepaid cellphone with only cash bought minutes from cards linked to fake information.
There are a lot more, but it can be done. The problem started with YOU not getting verbally upset with banks selling your information to everyone. Along with stores, etc... The time to have stopped this was 20 years ago before an entire industry was created around collecting data on everyone.
Some places now have cameras at the card swipe machine pointing at your face from the keypad. I guarentee these are taking a snapshot of you and can be used to attach your cash purchase to you. Simply covering the camera before you enter view will solve that.
If you want to protect your information and privacy you have to work hard at it because your government does not care one tiny bit about it.
Re:Privacy (Score:5, Insightful)
Sadly, the end result of this sort of behavior is that Netflix recommends I watch Transformers 2. A high price to pay, but such are the wages of freedom.
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Funny)
Have you been searching Google Images for "megan fox nipslip?".
Sincerely,
Bill Gates.
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Funny)
#1 - Store loyalty cards? GET RID OF THEM.
A few friends and I used to rotate our Kroger cards randomly about once a week. We were all from different walks of life, so I can imagine what Kroger thought after a while. "One week: 5 packs of Ramen and a 24-banger of Bud. Next week: Filet, salmon, fresh vegetables, and a couple $30 bottle of wine. Next week: Weight Watchers Meals and 'Vitamin Water'. WTF?"
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Bender just loves hookers (Score:2, Redundant)
Ironic, no?
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How so? Privacy affects quality of life, but I don't see how hookers affect blackjack unless the hooker is dealing.
I thought you were joking, but since the mods didn't thing so I'm confused?
A thought: hookers and winning at blackjack affect the quality of life.
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Essential? What kind of blackjack do you play? I want in on that action.
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Is not privacy essential to a high quality of life?
It's helpful for a "high" quality of life..
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Yes, we all know that data-mining makes a market more efficient. Why should my mailbox be stuffed with ads that I do not care about? I, and the marketer and the retailers and everyone else, would rather the ads were relevant.
The problem is that this same data can be used to identify and persecute people who behave unfashionably. The
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How do you figure? I could see a very high quality of life where you have very little privacy.
Perhaps you should take a moment to define what sets the quality of your life - I define it by clean drinking water, warm shelter, and having access to entertainment.
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Insightful)
Being free from the manipulations of other people who think they know what is best for me is an absolutely indispensable part of a quality life. Be it marketers or moralists, I don't care.
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Interesting)
What sort of privacy did you have in a hovel with -3-4 generations of family all sleeping on the same dirt floor?
What sort of quality of life did you have then? You had piss poor privacy, and piss poor quality of life. As people's fortunes improved, they chose to improve their quality of life by increasing their privacy.
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Perhaps you should take a moment to define what sets the quality of your life - I define it by clean drinking water, warm shelter, and having access to entertainment.
Ah, so for you 'Brave New World' was utopia.
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Brave New World was utopia. John just wasn't conditioned with the proper morality for such an environment; and Bernard was somewhat of an accident and thus hard to account for. They even would have sent them to be with other free thinkers like them if they had wanted it.
Or to pose a more interesting question: What is utopia if not happiness, and if you don't care how does an invasion of privacy (in and of itself) affect your happiness?
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John just wasn't conditioned with the proper morality for such an environment
That pretty much applies to any environment. Working hard in the sugar mines for your insect overlords is utopia too. Serving the insect overlords is good, and serving them should bring you a sense of tranquil satisfaction. The pain they inflict in their whippings is cleansing, and motivational, and while you should avoid failing to live up to their expectations you should take pride in knowing that they care enough about you to in
Re:Privacy (Score:4, Insightful)
I think it's time to post a link to this story [sff.net] again.
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Hey, when you look at the lives of the people across the globe, being in a North American Prison is a pretty sweet gig. You don't have to worry about starving, land mines, unlawful execution, etc.
If Bill Gates selling your browser history for marketting reasons is something that serious deters from your quality of life - you have some ridiculously high standards and need to take a look at what is actually happening in the world.
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Hey, when you look at the lives of the people across the globe, being in a North American Prison is a pretty sweet gig. You don't have to worry about starving, land mines, unlawful execution, etc./quote>With US insistence on continuing with capital punishment most of the civilised world would disagree about the last.
And Microsoft Loses to Google AGAIN! (Score:3, Interesting)
Come on, Bill, what's all this "Ask" crap about? In a Man's World, you just take someone's data, you don't "Ask" like some panty-waist privacy advocate! You think Sergey Brin would "ask" before he takes my data? Hell, no! Sergey will just take it, sell it to the NSA, and then create an Android app that will let me dial in and get it back again -- for a fee.
Seriously, Bill... first combating world hunger, then curing disease, and now ASKing me before you breach my privacy? You're getting soft. Time to
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If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place,
-Eric Schmidt, Google CEO.
I'm guessing Google has prior art for all of this. Although Google claims all of the information it has on you is for serving you ads, I've yet to see an ad that didn't have something to do with what was being searched for at the time.
No (Score:2)
Privacy is not essential to a high quality of life. Having other people merely know everything you do will not decrease your quality of life. To do that, others would have to act on that information in a way that hurts you. If you are confidant that others can not use personal information against you, then there is no need for privacy. For instance, if everyone knew everything about everyone, then everyone would know that someone was using your information against you, and could act against that person.
Howe
Re:No (Score:4, Insightful)
If you are confidant that others can not use personal information against you, then there is no need for privacy. For instance, if everyone knew everything about everyone, then everyone would know that someone was using your information against you, and could act against that person.
You don't think that a guarantee of privacy would have made, say, Alan Turing's life much better? If you do things that are not morally wrong, but other people think they are then privacy is very much essential for your quality of life.
Re:No (Score:5, Informative)
Actually, modern research suggests you are at least partially wrong. In fact, less than 5% of people will act that way the majority of the time and regardless of circumstance. Around 15% will almost always act in a fair and equitable manner, even if everyone around them is cheating and acting unfairly. The rest will act fairly when in fair situations, and take advantage only when they see the majority of people around them taking advantage.
Google 'fairness reciprocity economic research.' Most people are not in fact driven primarily by self interest, but by notions of fairness and reciprocity. Look up games theory on wikipedia for an interesting jumping off point if you are interested, read about some of the experimental games played, and how people do not act to maximize their personal benefits, but to create and maintain justice.
We're not all evil, but the belief that 'we're all evil' is itself a primary motivation to act in a selfish fashion.
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Is not privacy essential to a high quality of life?
According to Mark Zuckerberg [guardian.co.uk], the answer is "no". The really sad part is that most of the general public will blithely go along with this asinine assertion.
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Privacy is like the answering "No" to a request. It will keep you out of trouble, and avoid risk. However it will avoid a lot of reward.
For example having you information public or more public will help better targeted adds to you (Yea sound bad at first but... If you are in a market for say a new computer and the computer you were looking at happen to have an add with a 15% off coupon then you are better off getting 15% off then not.
Or knowing what type of food you like. You go to an area and it will sho
Want privacy, be very very boring (Score:2)
being so boring and uninteresting as to induce coma in people looking into your life is all you need.
We are a social society, far many will decry privacy loss and turn around post to internet sites and the like
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Your privacy isn't essential to his quality of life, no.
And you were worried about Google? (Score:2)
Isn't this basically the engine inside Clippy only writ large?
Re:And you were worried about Google? (Score:5, Funny)
It looks like you're getting married, would you like to...
() Perform background check on your fiance
() Take out a loan to pay for the reception
() Invite Clippy... Please? I'm so lonely...
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Parent will inevitably be modded funny, but I'd like to point out there's a lot of people who'd benefit from doing number 1, and would like assistance in number 2. And hey, everyone loves a giant anthropomorphic paper clip, bring him along!
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It's only Evil when Microsoft does it (Score:4, Insightful)
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When Google does it, it's okay. Thats why Slashdot has the evil Borg for Bill Gates and the friendly Google logo for Google.
I don't really understand how either of them could patent this idea. Haven't companies discovered decades ago that the personal information (names, addresses, phone numbers) of their customers can be collected, "monetized", and sold to various advertisers advertisers (junk mailers, telemarketers) for a fee? This is starting to look like one of those "somehow completely different when a COMPUTER is involved" sort of patents.
Re:It's only Evil when Microsoft does it (Score:5, Insightful)
For the most part that is because Google doesn't require using Google software on your personal computing device to access Google services. Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to take offense if you are not using their platform.
Re:It's only Evil when Microsoft does it (Score:4, Insightful)
Microsoft, on the other hand, seems to take offense if you are not using their platform.
I guess it's why e.g. Office Live Apps officially support [msdn.com] Firefox (including on Linux and Mac), and Safari.
You could say that using IE (or at least Silverlight) is nonetheless suggested, but then again, every time I log into GMail with my favorite browser (Opera), I see the ad urging me to try out Google Chrome...
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How long did that take them? Look at Outlook Web Access - it still doesn't allow you to use the useful interface if you don't use IE, despite the fact that Firefox handles it fine. (try switching your useragent)
They've just *barely* started supporting other browsers. I guess that's cause for some praise, but Google has supported other browsers since the beginning.
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How long did that take them?
Longer than I'd like, yes. Nonetheless, things are changing.
Look at Outlook Web Access - it still doesn't allow you to use the useful interface if you don't use IE, despite the fact that Firefox handles it fine. (try switching your useragent)
Fixed in Exchange 2010 - full version of OWA is now supported [robichaux.net] in Firefox and Safari.
Yes, that took a while, too, but better late than never.
They've just *barely* started supporting other browsers. I guess that's cause for some praise, but Google has supported other browsers since the beginning.
I'm not saying that Google isn't historically doing much better on that front (for one thing, it annoys me that neither Office Live nor OWA support Opera).
I was merely correcting GGP's generalized assertion that "Microsoft ... take offense if you are not using their platform".
Re:Office.microsoft.com hates alternative browsers (Score:5, Informative)
(apologies for the formatting, I just created this 20 minutes ago for my own purposes). Bottom line: the entire intention of this Office.Microsoft.com "feature" is misguidedly implemented, showing a complete lack of testing using the common 'alternative' platform.
Visiting Office.Microsoft.com with FireFox and NoScript gives the following message:
Enabling scripts, loading the page, then disabling scripts, results in the message at the top of the page, along with the requested page content (which doesn't appear prior to loading scripts):
Warning: This site requires the use of scripts, which your browser does not currently allow. See how to enable scripts.
That seems to be a disconnect. The second message shows that the site can be used with scripts disabled. The only reason I see the "One Moment Please..." message is the lack of cookies. In theory, the browser would check which versions are installed, and then show customized content for your version. IE browser allows ActiveX controls which could access the local filesystem, which can report that information.
VBScript function ofctestax() creates objects using the following CLSID values and then calls GetOfficeX() and/or GetOfficeLcid() functions to see what's installed:
It then calls the function ofcpost() which sets cookies describing which versions are installed. ofctestax() is called inline from a script at the bottom of the page.
How does this work in FireFox?
ofctestax is a VBScript function, so in IE and any browsers supporting VBScript, it will run. In other browsers, it will not be recognized, and thus be undefined. ofcpost() function is called with default values, setting cookies to uninformative values.
With no cookies, this happens, because ofcpost() calls post() function:
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Where did I say anything about SharePoint or OWA in my original post?
Proper support for Firefox (and Safari) only came to SharePoint & Exchange 2010.
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Actually, it's not OK when google does it either. You raise a good point though. Maybe we should "Borg" Google as well.
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Yes. Their Live Mesh is actually quite useful. Their SkyDrive is 25gb, one of the larger free online drives I've found. Their Microsoft Sync appears to work fairly decently. Hotmail has been improving. Outlook Live is actually pretty decent as well. And yes, Windows 7 is pretty nice so far, IMO.
Google's products are good, too. A lot of them, anyways.
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Sure, those Microsoft products work fine... if you are using them with Microsoft products. Try to use them with the anything else and they don't work so well. One can find a ton of articles describing problems with Sync and the iPhone, LiveMesh and OSX, Outlook and anything but IE...
Compare that with Google. How many different systems do the Google products work with again?
Isn't that called Google? (Score:5, Interesting)
Isn't that already called Google, where you give them your email, your pictures, your videos, your calendar, all your documents, all your web searches, and about half of your total web surfing (*cough* analytics *cough* doubleclick *cough)?
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Yeah, well, Microsoft did it first, Google just did it better.
And for the first time ever, no one had a patent on it before two major companies started these methods.
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My MSN email account is so clogged with spam that it is unusable.
My Gmail account is filtered well enough that I have no problem with receiving it on my phone. If I was receiving a few spam per hour like on the MSN account it would drive me buggy.
Both MSN and Google are trying to do the same thing, I trust Google more than MSN with my information. MSN will sell all the information to anyone they can. Google sells information stating that I may like (insert variable here).
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I've had my MSN account 4 years. I've gotten about 5 spam emails in that entire time, and they've all been from "friends" who had their accounts pwned and spam came through their address lists.
Re:Isn't that called Google? (Score:4, Insightful)
Isn't that already called Google, where you give them your email, your pictures, your videos, your calendar, all your documents, all your web searches, and about half of your total web surfing (*cough* analytics *cough* doubleclick *cough)?
That's why double-click and google-analytics are on my blocked no-script list.
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So what advert do they choose to show me on this page? "Chicago Patent Lawyers" --Which is better than the normal "Tidy your SQL" type adverts.
I don't code any more. I don't live in Chicago or even the USA.
Most of my RSS feeds on my iGoogle home page are to do with football. Surely that must be the biggest clue for them?
Google fail. They fail so hard wi
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Trust no one, especially not a publicly traded, for-profit corporation.
Re:Isn't that called Google? (Score:4, Interesting)
especially not a publicly traded, for-profit corporation.
You say that like the "not-for-profit" companies are any better. Most of them are pushing agendas of their own. Just because they don't profit share with stockholders doesn't make them any more trustworthy.
Re:Isn't that called Google? (Score:4, Interesting)
What exactly did Google do to earn your trust that Microsoft never could?
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What exactly did Google do to earn your trust that Microsoft never could?
Unobtrusive ads.
Re:Isn't that called Google? (Score:5, Insightful)
A clean interface; not wanting to own my computer; not wanting me to do everything their way; not calling design flaws "features"; not charging me for beta software; not charging me hundreds of dollars for products that should cost, at most, tens; not being cutesy and pandering to ten year olds (including Clippy).
Google treats me like I'm a respectable adult. Microsoft treats me like I'm a retarded five year old.
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Hmm (Score:5, Funny)
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You must be thinking of the current Microsoft CEO. Bill Gates only jumps over chairs [youtube.com].
Choice? (Score:2, Insightful)
So I guess the real choice is whether you want Bill Gates to have all your data, or Steve Jobs. But either way, google already has it. :)
He wants to recreate you virtually!! (Score:5, Funny)
'pictures, videos, documents, e-mail, instant messages, addresses, calendar dates/scheduling information (e.g., birthdays, anniversaries, appointments), voice mail, phone logs, RSS feeds, subscriptions, bookmarks, mail lists, project management features, computing device data, tasks and location data,
... and then he will use your virtual avatar and put it into a military robot... we know where that goes!
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Please explain. I'm not sure where that goes. It's very unclear.
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Minor correction (Score:2, Interesting)
This patent did not issue on Thursday. US patents always issue on Tuesdays. This one issued on 2 February.
The USPTO publishes patent applications (18 months after filing) on Thursdays.
There's only one thing to say (Score:2)
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Will nobody rid us of these troublesome companies?
I also have a patent (Score:2)
An obvious case for prior art (Score:4, Funny)
see this link
http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html [google.com]
why is this only evil if Google does it :) (Score:2)
awesome! (Score:2)
Here's to hoping that they'll take anyone to court who tries to infringe on their patent!
We know something about Bill Gates too (Score:5, Funny)
He started watching Caprica.
Wait... (Score:2)
Re: Bill Gates Knows What You Did Last Summer (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Ummm...used Linux? :P
The reprogramming task force is on the way to you.
anything Google isn't doing already ? (Score:2)
would be kinda funny if MS came up with an original idea ?
Facebook (Score:2)
If only UFO aliens would abduct Billly (Score:2)
Give him anal probes for 70 years, then inject him into Uranus.
Even better for life on Earth is if they would go back in time and do it 30 years ago.
Identity Auctions (Score:2)
That's the promise behind a patent issued Thursday to Bill Gates and his 20 co-inventors for 'Personal Data Mining', which Microsoft notes 'can include a monetization component' that 'could initiate an auction to sell information to the highest bidder.'
'Cause it's not identity theft if you get paid for it?
Eventually we will all have our own immortal Cylon simulacra dopplegangers.
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Eventually we will all have our own immortal Cylon simulacra dopplegangers.
Except of course that we won't own them ourselves. They'll be owned by corporations who will buy and sell them like patent portfolios and then sue you back for failure to license yourself.
One note about data mining... (Score:5, Insightful)
You get such interesting stuff when it's way off.
I recently picked up, at a going out of business sale, a piece of jewelry that was normally $1200 for less than $200.
Since then, I've gotten several high end credit card offers, none of which I would normally qualify for.
So mess with the system.
Use your grocery store card... but only when buying beef jerkey and toilet paper.
Get your name on a couple strange mailing lists.
etc.
If the data becomes so worthless that they can't actually use it, they'll stop. But only if enough of us go through with this.
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
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And when the analysts look at the bell curve, the outliers that are the weird are easily isolated and discarded from the analysis.
What did I do last summer? (Score:5, Funny)
I was camping in a middle of a fucking forest with a herd of hippies, that's what I did.
So, how can you improve the quality of my life, mr. Gates? Can you give me a bigger forest? More hippies? Less villagers with pitchforks?
It's just a patent (Score:2)
Having a patent on doing evil does not mean you have to use it. That's what market lock-in monopoly is for. Oh, wait.
Bing is supposedly better than Google, rememeber? (Score:5, Insightful)
Where are all the /. posters who've said the past few months that everyone should move to Bing over Google, because Google is the evil behemoth that doesn't respect your privacy?
I'm just curious.
Google should be pissed (Score:3, Funny)
...for Gates patenting their complete business model. Is it more evil that Google didn't patent it, or is it worse that they kept it on the down-low?
A "privacy" article at Techflash? Really? (Score:4, Informative)
If you're running AdBlock, click on the blacklist for that site. In my case, it's literally the first time I've seen that AdBlock has a mechanism for handling more blocked scripts than my screen can display.
If you're not running AdBlock, and you value your privacy at all, don't read the article.
6 Doubleclick cookies, a Quantserve pixel, cookies AND a pixel image from 2o7, more scripts from more companies than I care to count.
"My God! It's full of crap!"
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Yeah, he should have shifted the ASCII values by one. Nobody would have been able to decode that!
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He could bitwise XOR it with “the Spanish inquisition”.
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today after Microsoft partners with the N.S.A. for "help" to
stop the "China hackers".
That was Google wanting to partner, not Microsoft. Keep trusting Google and fearing Microsoft, though.
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You do realize that your grandmother is probably a cyborg, don't you? If she has an artificial hip, knee, pacemaker, or any other device incorporated in her body that aids in its functions, she's a cyborg.
You will be assimilated. You will pay good money to be assimilated!
When I was assimilated in 2006 [slashdot.org] my existance as I knew it was over. And I'm thankful as hell!