Google....friend or foe?

[DaGoomba]

Google is a friend but I usually keep one eye open just in case. For those with little or no experience with Linux, Google is your best friend when it comes to troubleshooting or just finding something. But those with experience know that Google will stab you in the back if it means profit. I agree with techiemoe, they're more of a Lando Calrissian.

[jmadero]

interesting that not one person has said foe yet I thought for sure privacy issues or their....prioritizing Windows over Linux often (because of profit) would lead at least one person to say foe

[DaGoomba]

interesting that not one person has said foe yet I thought for sure privacy issues or their....prioritizing Windows over Linux often (because of profit) would lead at least one person to say foe

I believe the reason is what I said before, "Google is your best friend when it comes to troubleshooting or just finding something". We all kind of owe Google for what it's helped us with. Nobody here started off as an 'all-knowing and wise' guru, everyone used Google for quite a bit of info.

[elija]

I believe the reason is what I said before, "Google is your best friend when it comes to troubleshooting or just finding something". We all kind of owe Google for what it's helped us with. Nobody here started off as an 'all-knowing and wise' guru, everyone used Google for quite a bit of info.

Agreed. How many of us "search the web" or do we google it?

[arinlares]

I say neutral. As I understand it, Google uses Linux for their workers, and even have their own versions of a couple distros. I don't mind the privacy violations, but I don't look up how to commit crimes against humanity on a regular basis, and the fact that the have a Linux version of Chrome in the works says volumes, as well as their use of Linux in Android, which has, I'm sure, shown some people the benefits of open-source development.

The negatives are, IMHO, tied to the fact that Google is a large corporation that still needs to efficiently turn a profit. And, let's face it, if you aren't Red Hat or Novell, Linux isn't too lucrative right now.

[schwim]

I don't mind the privacy violations, but I don't look up how to commit crimes against humanity on a regular basis, ...

Exactly! The right to privacy is completely unneeded and incredibly overrated. If you think otherwise, you obviously have something nefarious to hide.

I myself look forward to the day when I can host a gov't agency at my house for the weekly inspection. I've already picked out the doilies and dishes.

[jmadero]

the funny thing is that I am on the same page for privacy but I can say for sure that I have some libertarian friends that are probably the most law abiding citizens that I've ever met but they hold privacy at an almost God level. For them, it's simply, their right. Regardless of what they are doing or not doing, they have a right to privacy, pure and simple. Several of my friends have read and compared privacy statements of email providers, chat clients, etc....just to pick the one that they felt at least told them that their privacy was valuable.

Regardless of if this is something that everyone agrees to, I think we can all agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion & not jump to conclusions that the only people that value privacy are those that have something to hide. I may just tell my dar friend to read this and see what he says....he's most definitely the most law abiding, "straight arrow" that I know and he's one of those that if he heard "I don't care about my privacy" come from anyone, he'd do as much as possible to provide evidence of why you should care.

I see someone finally voted foe

[rcgreen]

I've already picked out the doilies and dishes.

LOL

I think both Google and Yahoo have made it easier for
dissidents in authoritarian countries to get busted.
But it is true, corporations have only one main mission:
to help their stockholders get a return on their investment
It is impossible to judge them the way you would
judge an individual. Nevertheless, I voted foe.

Every site you visit these days, it "phones home" to Google.

[fguy64]

I think privacy is one of the cornerstones of a free society. But I also kind of think that some people over estimate the value that Google would place in the details of their personal lives. I mean, why should they care, and who would pay for it anyway?

Let's not forget that aside from the fact that Google is a big corporation, It takes real people, techies, etc to actually engage in activities such as spying. And there are also plenty of people who would pay handsomely to break a story about Google taking a fall. Too may people would have to be involved to keep it a secret, and Google has a lot more to lose than they have to gain if someone blows the whistle. Same goes for Microsoft. So read the privacy policy. I don't think we have a lot to worry about.

[schwim]

But I also kind of think that some people over estimate the value that Google would place in the details of their personal lives. I mean, why should they care, and who would pay for it anyway?

You're right. They probably just throw it away.