Gmail (was: Re: June meeting)

[Rob Funk]

Robert Jewell wrote:
> 1)  Any US or European law that forbids this type of behavior is
> outdated and needs to be changed.   When you are reading a mail (this
> mail, for example) in gmail, gmail scans the text of the mail and,
> using Adwords, displays relevant text-ads on the side of the screen.
> I will clarify..  this is a _machine_ scanning the text of the mail,
> dynamically, to display ads to you, the user of gmail.  This is, by no
> means, a privacy concern for anyone.  In fact, it's basically the same
> thing that anti-virus softwares do.. also, spam filters..

This actually leads directly to some problems pointed out in this 
article... http://www.securityfocus.com/columnists/248

Personally I can see both sides, and prefer not to see anyone berated over 
their view of the situation.  TANSTAAFL[1], and I can't blame anyone for 
wanting to avoid the not-quite-free lunches.

[1] There Aint No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.
-- 
==============================|   "A microscope locked in on one point
 Rob Funk <rfunk at funknet.net> |Never sees what kind of room that it's in"
 http://www.funknet.net/rfunk |    -- Chris Mars, "Stuck in Rewind"