On 13 August 2015 at 08:32, D. Hugh Redelmeier <[email protected]> wrote: > | From: Giles Orr <[email protected]> > > | I use Google Calendar, which is brilliant AND co-ordinates with my > | phone. It also gives my entire life schedule to Google, totally > | compromising my privacy. I suspect you're being more reasonable and > | avoiding this route: more power to you. Sadly, all calendars in my > | life are now measured by the great - but privacy destroying - Google > | Calendar, and all others have failed. <sigh> > > "You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it." Scott McNealy 1999 > > "The future is already here -- it's just not very evenly > distributed" William Gibson 1993 > > I dispair of privacy but am fighting a rear-guard action. iOS and > Android leak stuff like crazy, but what's the mobile alternative? > > Now desktops are copying this. And not just browsers. Windows 10 > appears as bad as Android and iOS. Simple example: Microsoft gets > information about all the programs you run and that cannot be turned > off (it could be firewalled surely). Your OS as an Advanced > Persistent Threat. > > Many, but not all, of these leaks come with advantages to the user. > For example, Cortana, Siri, and Google Now(?) may be fun but they are > always listening to you and sending something home. Google (and > other) search have to send the queries upstream. > > If I remember correctly, on a recent update, I had to give Google > Slides general permission to use the microphone. Huh? > > Our legal system doesn't provide tools and norms to limit the damage. > We need mandated and enforce limitations on information flows within > organizations as well as between organizations. This is going to be > hard since Big Data is such a thing. And specifict consent should be > required. > > I really don't like it that our desktops are becoming treacherous > devices, following our smartphones.
Ubuntu phone, now available outside Europe: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/08/11/ubuntu_phone_global_sales/ Note that while you can buy it, connectivity in the U.S. (which probably means Canada too) may be spotty. The larger 5" model is 200 euros, which currently translates to $290 Canadian - although that doesn't include tax or shipping. I'll be watching this closely: I have an intense aversion to Android and Google's snooping habits, and the idea of a Linux phone is very appealing. I'm not good at reading the standards and I don't care much about data plans (in fact I don't use them on my phone, only voice and Wifi). How well would this behave in Canada? -- Giles http://www.gilesorr.com/ [email protected] --- Talk Mailing List [email protected] http://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
