162991
submission
cyberianpan writes:
For some time we've noticed warning on Google searches that "this site may harm your computer" when Google has tagged the site as containing malware. Now Google is further publicising the level of infection in a paper titled: The Ghost In The Browser. Google are now promising to "identify all web pages on the internet that could be malicious"- Google with its powerful crawling abilities & data centres is best positioned to do this. This is potentially a very useful service but not all URLs we visit are from Google searches, some we still type in, others as links from pages. However could we soon expect a Firefox add in that will filter all http requests through Google ? So then our new overlords will indeed know everything about our web-habits ?
155095
submission
cyberianpan writes:
Wired is carrying commentary on the story that Brussels police have begun an investigation into a citizen's allegations of rape — in Second Life. For reasons of civil liberty & clarity we'd like to confine criminal law to physical offences rather than thought crimes but already threats , menace & conspiracy count as crimes. Could we see a situation where our laws extend ? What if people started signing contracts that made Second Life criminal law "real" ?
134867
submission
cyberianpan writes:
TMCnet
Imagine a world where advertisers would be able to predict your detailed behavior online. They would know when you are about to buy a song, a car, a present for your spouse — they would know virtually everything you are thinking.
With the acquisition of DoubleClick, Google now has access to the cookies and subsequently browsing history of vast numbers of web users. It would be fair to say that greater than 85% of Internet users frequently come into contact with ads served by DoubleClick.
Google could potentially have access to not only the majority of the world's search history but its browsing and e-commerce history as well. The company could know more about web surfers than they know about themselves.
Ok so privacy concerns may arise but Amazon's "if you liked that you'll like this" marketing actually helps me make savvy purchases. TV & newspapers are largely funded by "interruption advertising" (saving consumers subscription fees). Now that we are moving towards broadband rather than broadcast a new model is needed. So is the shift now to take place in consumer's mindsets towards co-operative "permission marketing" ? Do we need a firmer contract with our search overlords ?
110525
submission
cyberianpan writes:
So Google has confirmed that it is working on a phone
News.com The head of Google in Spain and Portugal has confirmed that Google is working on a mobile phone. "Some of the time the engineers are dedicated to developing a mobile phone,"
Ok this could be the 20% free time development but publicising that would be stupid. Obviously this phone could link in with Google Earth/Maps... it is a marketers dream regards targeted advertising, literally the shops may talk to you when you pass about products that they know you want. Thos could lead to Goolge having more power than any IT company ever. Obviously barriers present, chiefly in that Google doesn't have mobile phone networks & thus would have to cut deals.
