Everytime Google offers a free service, there’s one guarantee: People will get paranoid.
People worry about Google accessing their data. Now, they aren’t crazy-
There’s a reason they call me paranoid. I’m paranoid-because I know what they did. I know everything they did.
there’s a legitimate reason to worry, and Google isn’t doing this just to be nice, but because it is advantageous to them. Still, people worry more about Google than they do about the other big businesses in their lives, and that’s a mistake.
As Techdirt points out, when Google offers you free wi-fi, it isn’t a reason to get out the ol’ tinfoil hat. The government isn’t going to use wi-fi to track your movements, since wi-fi isn’t as useful for tracking as that cell phone in your pocket. It isn’t very useful to track people with wi-fi, since it only works when you are using it, and unless you’re weird (or using a DS), you probably aren’t moving around while you use it. If you’re that scared, shut off your cell before you go crazy on Google.
Found on Findory
UPDATE: I like this link, a CNet story about Google winning a patent for changing a browser’s appearance based on the wi-fi access point’s service provider. There are also patents for ads in wireless access and reducing wireless access speeds (duh).
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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
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