I guess that the latest straw broke the camel's back:And who is the technology-illiterate luddite who said this? Asa Dotzler, Mozilla's director of community development.If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place. If you really need that kind of privacy, the reality is that search engines -- including Google -- do retain this information for some time and it's important, for example, that we are all subject in the United States to the Patriot Act and it is possible that all that information could be made available to the authorities.That was Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google, telling you exactly what he thinks about your privacy. There is no ambiguity, no "out of context" here. Watch the video.
I've put up with their anti-American garbage, I've put up with their hiding search results in Auto-complete. In each of those cases, it was at least arguable that this was a mistake, or incompetence, or the work of some low level flunky.
But Eric Schmidt is Der Fuhrer. You have to figure that this is Google Corporate policy. Sorry, I'll go play with Microsoft - they're not evil.
You can get the Bing plugin for Firefox here. Once you have it, go to the search bar in the upper right corner of your browser. There is a little down arrow next to the Google logo - click the arrow, and you'll get a menu of search engines to select from. When you choose one, it becomes the default. Buh-Bye, Google.
I bailed after Veteran's Day, when the "big G" failed to mention it- all other SEs did.
ReplyDeleteYou get a day like 9/11, & their header reflects the birthday of some obscure 17th century painter, or something.
Screw 'em...
I beg to differ -- I think Microslut is just as evil as Google, if not more so. My search engine of choice is Dogpile.com -- good engine, a nice front-page design, and rarely-if-ever misses any significant American historical day or holiday.
ReplyDeleteI made the same switch just over a week ago due to the way Google had been found out over Climategate. The biggest international news story of the last fortnight 30+ million hits but Google still prompts "Climate Guatemala" instead of mentioning it. If it is deliberate it is unacceptable. If it is not deliberate then is shows a major, major flaw in their search engine.
ReplyDeleteGoogle is finally putting-up climategate, but only when you put the "g" there.
ReplyDeleteI dislike Microsoft enough to avoid Bing, and as a visual-arts guy a lot of my searches are image-based and I don't get nearly the same results from Bing. Try searching with "red dot range time" for comparison on either. ;-)
I've got a "love/hate" relationship with search engines in general.
ReplyDeleteTwo major issues:
Google, while meeting many of my search needs splendidly, does show a pronounced political/social bias at times. I'm aware of it, and try to interpret results accordingly.
I don't like the argument that if you're not doing anything wrong you shouldn't mind Big Brother having a look around. If that were the case we wouldn't need a big chunk of the Constitution.
That being said, Google comes flat out and tells you that they will provide your search data to the authorities in compliance with the Patriot Act. The idea that Microsoft won't also pony up your info when requested may be a little naive. They may not tell you about it, but I'd bet cash that they would.
My problem isn't with Google providing info in response to Government Orders as much as it is Government's ability to make that order to begin with.
"Sorry, I'll go play with Microsoft - they're not evil."
Is this the universe where Spock has a beard? :)
Schmidt is a Smuck. I put Bing in a while ago, when it first came out. It's not quite as good as Google, but the more people use it, the better it's searches will get.
ReplyDeleteGoogle was kind of a habit, but I've changed my default search engine over to Bing. I'll put up with slightly less complete results in order to send the message.
May Google go the way of AOL.
Great logo by the way!
ReplyDeleteWhile Google is deplorable in not recognizing major events in U.S. history (nothing on Dec. 7?), it is wishful thinking to hope that Bing/Microsoft won’t roll over for any three-letter-agency that comes along with a search warrant. Your best bet is to keep your public Internet habits innocuous and keep your private habits private by using something like TOR (The Onion Router) or other prixies to hide your home IP address.
ReplyDeleteAfter I read that quote from Schmidt, I started dismantling my use of Google Reader and looking for an RSS reader alternative. I sure hated to, as it keeps my blog reading synced between PCs and my iPhone. But having them track all my activity (not just by IP, but by a username directly connected to me!) is just too high a price to pay for that convenience.
(As I type this in the comment box, I notice below that “Google Account” is one of the options for “Choose an identity.” Just how much are people unknowingly giving away to Google for tracking?)
Aw, geez... Not "prixies", but "proxies".
ReplyDeleteI use "ixquick" as a search engine. It's anonymous and leaves no traces.
ReplyDeleteI think "prixies" fits well for a plural of proxieses. :-)
ReplyDeleteHave already done this. Google is laying by the curb, kicked aside like the treacherous little snit it is.
ReplyDeleteBing and Dogpile.......
Naturally one must be smart about the trails one leaves. Of course, Google own Blogger, so if the goal is to go Google free, then move from Google Blogger to your own hosted site. (Easy to do, and cheap). Google is hard to get away from; I use Google Voice, Adsense, Picasa, Android, Google Maps, GMail, Google Reader, Google Connect, etc. Would be moving mountains to go Google Free for me.
ReplyDeleteBoth Microsoft and Google are evil. Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. Neither deserve recognition, support or to be spat upon. Privacy is about freedom and choice, not necessarily "hiding things". And what is so bad about practicing privacy? I believe that people should maintain privacy to a certain degree. These corporations don't need to know everything about you. [Personal] "Information" is a hot commodity seller. Information = profits. Money is the "god" of planet earth. Money is the root of evil. As the old saying goes, a fool and his money soon part.
ReplyDeleteI have scroogle set as my default.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scroogle.org
I get the benefits of google's search engine, but deprive them of all the tracking. :)
"The LOVE of money is the root of all evil." Money, like guns, is just a tool - render unto Caesar, etc.
ReplyDeleteUh... You're still on blogger.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't go by by too far