about apple sending back your IMEI (phone ID number) with info requests when using the stocks and weather application on the iphone.
All I can say is wow. I can understand way they would want to track data but it seems like the stock data in particular could be a serious problem. Well, at least a seriously unfair advantage for apple when investing. If you combine that data somewhere you could easily mine important stock information. If you combined it with real name data, which they have, now that you are no longer allowed to buy an iphone with cash anyways and because ATT (spies) have all your data anyways, it seems like they could create a system that would help them identify hot stocks to buy and sell.
When you are using a wifi connection instead of the ATT connection there would normally be no identifying info for apple, except that they send the IMEI along.
<sarcasm>Luckily, it is not a business phone so the real wallstreet analyst types probably do not have one.</sarcasm> It's totally sketchy. Apple is really not what I once thought they were. Although I like the hardware, I am beginning to see that the company is essentially not much better than microosft.
Gasp! Paul how dare you! Apple can do no wrong! Apple is god!
wouldn't apple have to disclose somewhere that they are doing that? somewhere in the fine print that no one reads of the contract or something?
Lol @ Paul. Stirring up the pot!
I know that Google tracks me, but here's the thing: They tell you that they are doing that, and they only use the info to sell non-intrusive ads.
I guess I feel better about google having my information (right now, at least) because I trust them. I don't trust the phone company (they've already collaborated with the governement in an illegal search) or the government (see above), but what has google done? It has shown me ads for TMBG tickets and Presbyterian books. It's advertising that I don't really mind.
Now, as soon as somebody gets arrested because google has given information, than I'll worry. But apparently AT&T has given the government access to the servers, to I don't have to worry about google giving it away.
Omg, I hope they don't give my data to the government and have me arrested as a dissident, oh wait, wrong company.
Google just bought Doubleclick, the most obnoxious, spammy, privacy-infringing company around. The merger hasn't gone through yet because of concerns in EU and even in the FTC; but there you have it.
"Don't be Evil" is a great catchphrase.
Do you use GMail? Every link you click on GMail (even those inside email messages that someone sends to you) goes through Google's servers where they record that you clicked on it, when, etc.
And the ads on GMail? They are specifically targetted based on the contents of the message.
Somewhere, inside Google, there's a nice record of every email you've sent and received, every link you've clicked, etc.
:::link:::
My limited experience and analysis has led me to believe that they have lived up to this value of theirs. Now, I'm not saying they are perfect in the least bit, but they seem to be a corporation that makes the world better, in a world where too many make the world worse.
"Is google the only good tech company?"
LOL ... that's funny.
Google's very good: but only at PR. They're great at acting like they are different, but they're not actually any different.
I am sure they will say it is a way of preventing other people from requesting data off their servers for free without an iphone.
Is google good?
Is google the only good and profitable tech company left?
Everybody is either one or the other, it seems.