Google Policy changes

https://policies.google.com/terms/updat ... aign=tosso

Google has been caught doing a lot of shady things. Google Streetview was shown as possibly accessing WiFi of peoples homes and gathering information. Google denies any intent and claimed that was in error. How do you make an error like that?!
Google was caught accessing and sifting through private emails. Google countered with the claim that those gathered emails are (Usually) not read by living persons.
Right.

The list goes on...

The announced policy changes are very... sweet and kind. They promise to be good and never ever burn us, never ever sell our information to others, etc.
The first time the horse kicks you...
I'm feeling a wee bit skeptical. But - I do wonder what has inspired this bout of "policy changes?"
Are they under some kind of outside pressure?

Of course there is outside pressure, why in the heck do you think so many companies make devices that spy on you in your own home, Microsoft and Google are not the only ones who do it. Amazon's Alexa has already been proven as fact that their devices are spying on you, they record everything in the room and phone home. There are other devices like phone assistant programs like Siri on Apple phones which spy on you in the exact same way and phone home. Then you got even Smart TV's such as Samsung, where they have been proven as fact to not only spy on you via recording your voices, but also a hidden camera which watches everything you do!

The government are the obvious ones applying the pressure to push for this. Every since the evil organization that everybody knows about that spies on their own people, illegally wire taps their phones, the list goes on. When Obama decided to put a leash on them and say hey, you guys are out of control, you can't do illegal wire taps anymore, then they were like, how do we get around this problem, what loophole can we find? They found the loophole, pay companies to spy on us, so they have an easy backdoor into spying on our lives again without any repercussions whatsoever.

And the trouble is the American public are so freaking stupid, that they all bought into it! Do you know how many people own Amazon Alexa devices in their home these days? Completely oblivious to what Alexa is doing behind their backs. The country is becoming a dictatorship policed state. And when Trump gets through, he will use those special quarantine powers that everybody is talking about, to declare marshall law on the country, then people will find out how really foooooked they really are.

Google is just another piece of the puzzle that is all part of the Military-Industrial Complex. Presidents are chosen not elected.

https://youtu.be/BrNs0M77Pd4

That was an interesting video SWARF. Its like, what if Skynet was born? You know, I didn't even know about the new drone that replaced the predators drones.

Highly speculative, though.
Having talking points are fine, but in actuality, it's like predicting the weather. In some things it can be quite close, but other things- way off.
Anyone remember the scene in Total Recall where Quaid (Schwarzenegger) gets into a self-driven cab and it had a Disney-esque animatronic driver that looked like Howdy Doody? By ripping it out, he was able to then drive the vehicle.
Now- we have Tesla, There is no Howdy Doody and if there was, ripping it out would have zero effect on the cars ability (Or lack of it ... chuckle) self-drive.

Futurism is not a science. It is speculation about what may trend, what may be developed, what may be. Self-replicating Nanomachines and Gray Goo kind of stuff.
I think futurism is a great thing. But it is not something you can consider predictive, either. For solid prediction, you need a Working Theory and Theory needs vigorous testing and repeatable, verifiable evidence.

With AI you can't replicate as it is it's own system - it is code that writes itself without any human intervention. The guy giving the talk is a Military Weapons expert - it's not future it is what existed when that talk was given ... in 2013.

But there is at least much here for concern. Google is clearly hell bent on taking over the world. The problem with major corporations who seek to have their hands in everything, is that they are not able to see past the end of their nose. They have huge ambitions, so huge that they do not care if they fail. (Google Stadia anyone?) This is a dangerous mindset to be in, because it suggests that Google can make mistakes, and regardless of the damage that is done, they don't have to be held accountable.

Speaking of many futuristic and dystopian universes shown in modern movies, they often show a society that once was. They show how we grew to huge technological levels, even the ability of space travel beyond our very solar system, and technology to improve the everyday lives of man. But in our ignorance, as well as arrogance, instead of bettering human beings, we used the very technology that was supposed to improve our lives, to destroy our species.

Skynet may not be a definite future no, but if were not careful, we will destroy ourselves. Hell, its in our nature to destroy ourselves. Which means we must fight past that ancient instinct, and truly better ourself for humanity. Basically, I am talking about Gene Roddenberries vision for our species found in Star Trek. Because if we continue to regress as we have been doing, humanity won't be here for much longer. To be clear, I see Google as the enemy to humanity.

star treker wrote: Hell, its in our nature to destroy ourselves.

To be clear, I see Google as the enemy to humanity.

I see the enemy in the same way Walt Kelly's comic "Pogo" so eloquently put it:
"We have found the enemy, and they is us!"

The absurdity is not that there is an enemy against the good guys in humanity. It's not Cobra vs. G.I. Joe.
The enemy is Humanity. We believe that we are intelligent- but we are not. The vast majority of human behaviour is based not on clear conscientious thought, but on programming and instinct.
This programming becomes very pronounced when we examine the issues that are at play toward our destruction. For example
Climate Change.
The evidence that Climate Change is Very Real is extremely solid and essentially undeniable.
Yet- Humanity Is In Denial.

I see claims made by Climate Change deniers all the time. And almost all of them are weak excuses made to pander to how They Wish Things To Be.
The idea that Ostriches stick their head in the ground to hide is a total myth. But that humans do it? Hmmmmm...
We are arrogant and we are Stupid. And we generally, as societies, live in total denial.

If you pump ELF waves high into the Ionosphere you will also create changes in the way warm air flows around the world, heating parts they cannot control directly. Gakona is now closed but Fairfax is still in operation.

https://youtu.be/ZUIiRHrUbpE

No, it doesn't.

Well let's agree to disagree. UK used dry ice causing floods in 1952 - a grandmother who had a birthmark on her back was only identified by it as all her limbs had been separated following the deluge after Operation Cumulus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_feature ... lood.shtml

How can we agree to disagree if you follow it up with another unsupported and utterly unscientific claim?

You say these things as if you are doing so factually. If you are going to claim that the U.S.A.F. has been controlling the Weather or that the U.K. drowned people decades ago with such amazing (and non-existent) technologies, you must Support those Claims With Evidence.
Because currently--- Independently Verifiable Experimentation --- shows that those claims are complete nonsense.

When I saw SWARF's last post, I had the feeling he must be joking. Does SWARF even believe in what he just said? Its a lot like saying oompa loompa's came down from space to colonize on a secret island that nobody knows about on Earth, to later join a crazy guy running a chocolate factory, to make chocolate. In essence, its a book of fiction, fool of nonsense fun, but is not reality.

The BBC (if you read the article) tracked down the pilot who seeded the clouds. The technology was abandoned because clearly it had devastating effects.

https://geopolitics.co/2015/06/06/us-ai ... l-weather/

https://ia902603.us.archive.org/1/items ... iplier.pdf

https://archive.org/details/ProofOfWeatherModification

Cloud seeding has been in practice- with nominal results, since the 1800's.
I could just as easily state:
"The BBC tracked down the shaman who did the rain dance."

Does Cloud Seeding work? A bit, yes- but not in Flood Proportions. Cloud seeding does not automatically "mean rain." Cloud seeding provides particulates that condensation can cling to, building into rainfall. Clearly, this would be very dependent and sensitive to initial conditions.
Seeding CANNOT create a flood - because that kind of atmospheric density would have needed to be in place prior to seeding and seeding would not be necessary to induce rain.
Again- Independent Verification Matters. IF the Government had cloud seeding that works to create floods (In 1952!), there would be no way of conspiring to hide it.

https://soundcloud.com/overdosedenvermusic

star treker wrote:When I saw SWARF's last post, I had the feeling he must be joking. Does SWARF even believe in what he just said? Its a lot like saying oompa loompa's came down from space to colonize on a secret island that nobody knows about on Earth, to later join a crazy guy running a chocolate factory, to make chocolate. In essence, its a book of fiction, fool of nonsense fun, but is not reality.

It goes to show that people can be friends even with vastly differing ideas about the world.
The ability to exchange ideas and disagree is a great thing.
If you surround yourself with only people who agree with you, then you are only locking yourself in, unable to expand your thoughts and horizons, learn and most importantly: Question Your Ideas.

This is exactly correct. I'd like to think that life would get quite boring pretty quickly, if you were surrounded by yes men. Some people pay other's to agree with them all the time, its a crazy world we live in. We learn so much more through diversity, its a part of what makes our country great. Expanding our horizons through cultural exchanges is pretty fun. The wisest person knows, that they can also learn new things each day. The one who chooses to keep their cup full, is the one who has no room to expand their knowledge. And when knowledge is shared, everyone benefits.

Have you all heard the news???

That the American government is telling Google to force require everybody to have their location service turned on, on their phones, and Googles agreed to it? The government claims its doing this under the guys of keeping track of Corona infected people. Please tell me none of you are buying this! Its just another step towards the policed state dictatorship government of the USA, under the administration, of that golden haired barftard.

star treker wrote:Have you all heard the news???

That the American government is telling Google to force require everybody to have their location service turned on, on their phones, and Googles agreed to it? The government claims its doing this under the guys of keeping track of Corona infected people. Please tell me none of you are buying this! Its just another step towards the policed state dictatorship government of the USA, under the administration, of that golden haired barftard.

I didn't realize that our phones could tell if we have Covid-19. "There's an app for that!" Gee, why didn't we use google to figure out who needs to be quarantined in the beginning? Why that'd have been just swell.

"Hey Google. Do I have covid-19?"

Yeah, its utterly ridiculous. And or course mega giant corporations like Google will always pan to the government, because like Microsoft, they have the same philosophy. Spy on the American people, rid them of any personal freedoms that they think they have, like the right to privacy as according to the constitution, then use that ill found power to screw em up the a***, by any means necessary. People need to wake up, vote that effer out, and get a leader who actually loves their country and the people.

The real deal going on, is the American government knows that the c*** has hit the fan, and they know its going to get bad. They want to keep tabs on people, so as to stop a possible uprising.

star treker wrote:The real deal going on, is the American government knows that the c*** has hit the fan, and they know its going to get bad. They want to keep tabs on people, so as to stop a possible uprising.

This seems much more likely than that they think they can magically track Covid-19 spread with it, somehow.

https://youtu.be/70xuorU4XuE

Hey SWARF, just a little education, do you know where all this is coming from? Back in the 1980's, the early days of cell phones were known as brick phones. Back in those days, there were no cell phone towers, so there had to be big antennas on cell phones, and the phones had to produce a lot of output watts to get the signal to and from the satellites. This in the end proved to be the wrong way of doing it, as the amount of RF energy that was pumped through that antenna caused people to get brain tumors.

This is what started the introduction of cell phone towers, and the reducement of the antenna on cell phones, as well as the output wattage. In the end, making this change is what prevented further brain tumors and cancers. It don't matter if its 3G, 4G, or 5G, those are only in reference to bandwidth capacity of data transfer, not the power output!

Additionally, 5G service has been traditionally troublesome. This is because, while it is true that 5G supports a higher bandwidth protocol, allowing for faster speeds, it however has a much more limited range, then that of 2.4GHZ RF protocol. And unlike 2.4GHZ which can easily pierce through walls and reach that long distance, 5GHZ really requires line of site to work well, and the signal will breakup heavily, if asked to go through walls.

In the end, its not the 5G that is making people die, its Covid-19, and people's lack of protection against it.

Yeah... Swarfendor- honestly.... YOU Started a thread extending sympathy to the victims of Covid-19.
Please don't start Minimizing a Very Real Health Risk and in the process, make a mockery of the thread you began.
Only rational, non-arrogant, educated responses can abate Covid-19. Not exorcism of Electronic Demons.
It is now 2020, not 1690 Salem, Massachusetts.

Star Treker, what you just responded with is ALSO a myth:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-ca ... hones.html

When in doubt, try Snopes
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cell- ... in-damage/

My bad, I really thought that was real, it became common knowledge. Well, I guess thats another example of don't believe everything you hear. Of course, I was very young back then, and still learning the world, so I guess I can get a pass on that one. But I still stand by with what I said, its not the 5G network that is causing people to get sick, its Covid-19.

star treker wrote:My bad, I really thought that was real, it became common knowledge. Well, I guess thats another example of don't believe everything you hear. Of course, I was very young back then, and still learning the world, so I guess I can get a pass on that one. But I still stand by with what I said, its not the 5G network that is causing people to get sick, its Covid-19.

Agreed about 5G- which 5G is more marketing than science, anyway.

But yeah... I have also repeated myths I learned as a kid until corrected. I learned the hard way- before you Teach a "fact"- fact check.

I tried to find alternatives to Google with no success. I like the way the gmail, Google drive, Google docs and so on are integrated.

Use Firefox most of the time, but Google services works great inside it.

lekkerzorin wrote:I tried to find alternatives to Google with no success. I like the way the gmail, Google drive, Google docs and so on are integrated.

Use Firefox most of the time, but Google services works great inside it.

I disagree about Google Drive, though. No matter what O.S. I have used, including the app on Android, Google drive over the course of many years was always Glitch Central. It would upload the wrong files and download the wrong files. Out of a group, it would screw up at least one file from that group most of the time. It would lose files, too. Sometimes, it showed the file as present but when you access it, it was blank.
I absolutely HATE Google Drive.
I see your point- integration is the key. Google has a Semi-monopoly. Technically another venture could try to compete, but they can never get a leg up to do it properly.
Another example of this would be eBay. While there are many who try to compete, the thing is that Sellers go to eBay because it has The Market already- that is where the buyers look. And buyers go to eBay because that is where the sellers are. So if you start up an alternative site, there are so few bidders and so few buyers and so few sellers, that you cannot really compete.
To try to compete with incentives, you would not make enough to expand and grow to compete.
Without being able to expand, you cannot build a balanced buyer/seller presence to make it worthwhile for either. Without enough sellers, there are not enough products to interest buyers. Without enough buyers, there is not enough gain to interest sellers in the Major Hassle that selling (like on eBay) is.
These semi-monopolies are not "true monopolies," but just as effective as "true monopolies." The strongest competitor to eBay would be Amazon. But Amazon lacks bidding and is not great for finding Great Vintage Items. Amazon does not like to deal in "used" stuff. So I could argue that each cornered a Share of market, rather than directly competing.
Google gets its gains from selling advertising and information. That is why the promote so much "free" stuff. It's not really- like Radio playing music for "Free," they make their money on advertising. But Google has taken it further, by being a Marketing Company. Marketing is all about Increasing the Profit. The fallacy, of course is that there must be an upper limit to high profits can get- and you can see the slippery slope as to how far a company may be willing to go to inch those profits upward. Google has been busted with invasive spying many times and this is well documented. Yet, people keep using their services, lacking trust in them, because they become complacent with the spoon-fed convenience.
No alternatives to google are likely in the near future, at least- or maybe even in the far one. You have a choice- accept the shafting for the convenience they offer... Or accept whether that convenience is really worth the cost.
Me... I am kinda old school. A bathroom is convenient, but I can poop in the woods if someone installs a peephole on the bathroom door.

And that right there is, exactly what causes lawsuits to happen. You might recall years ago, small engines were rated in HP? But notice how weird it was that they switched to being rated in CC's? This is because small engine manufacturers were lieing about the HP on their engines. The result of that, is that they got lawsuited out the a**. As it turned out, the measurement of CC's, was the only official way to show the power of an engine, without padding the numbers. So, my opinion, an enhanced 4G network that is not 5G, but they are calling it 5G, should totally be illegal, and they should be sued, and made to correct their marketing.

Does anybody remember when Google was just a search engine? In the 80's and early 90's, the American government had balls, and broke up the monopolies. Now the government is bought and paid for by the corporations, so they can't be touched. This is what happens when you run your country on capitalism, instead of common sense.

Let me ask, what in your opinion(s) would be the best option for those who may want to get away from GMail? I've searched a few times at other free options, but it all comes down to trust. And who would you trust?

protonmail according to Aravisian. I don't know who to trust these days. What amazes me is some forum spammers use proton mail to spam with!

These days, its hard to trust anyone, which is why I have no friends, and am a hermit. Regarding corporations, I don't trust any of them.

And SWARF, the only reason why spammers are using ProtonMail, is because they know they won't be tracked like Google does. However, good people will use ProtonMail and not spam people so ya.

And last thing I will say is, remember that Aravisian is always right, follow that mindset and you will do ok lol.

star treker wrote: its hard to trust anyone, which is why I have no friends, and am a hermit. remember that Aravisian is always right

Wow, is treker Avari's prisoner...lol kidding. Aravi is correct most of the time, that's for sure. I'll have to see what he says about proton. I would like to gravitate from gmail, but just want to do it once and be done. And the where too is the issue. And I couldn't believe when I read that AOL is gaining shares for their email use. Old dog, new trick...

If I'm a prisoner, then I am a prisoner of my own mind, buried deep within my pile broken dreams.

Aravisian has never steered me wrong, and so when it comes to matters of technology and operating systems, I've learned to trust him on those grounds.

Its very easy to sign up to ProtonMail, its not a huge hassle at all. All emails you send are encrypted before they are sent out to someone, and if they are using ProtonMail, then their messages they send to you are encrypted before they are sent as well.

ProtonMail also offers a VPN service, that however will be a nightmare to setup. I was looking at how to do that on their page, and it was so overly complex with so many steps that I was like, screw it, I'm not a corporation or a research building who really needs such a thing. LOL

I can recommend ProtonMail, so there you go, you now know 2-people who support this mail service.

star treker wrote:If I'm a prisoner, then I am a prisoner of my own mind, buried deep within my pile broken dreams.

Aravisian has never steered me wrong, and so when it comes to matters of technology and operating systems, I've learned to trust him on those grounds.

Well, me thinks you have a good mind, and you'll never be a prisoner. Broken Dreams, I think we all have them as well... I wanted to an oscar winning actor...lol As for Aravi, he only steers people in the right direction when it comes to this stuff. That's why I value his opinion so much. But there's some others I value as well and sometimes getting info from different sides/opinions help me make a more informed decision. Swarf is very helpful as well, he's got tons of experience. They both are highly valued assets on this forum. But sometimes someone comes in with something from out of nowhere that too is something to be looked at. I've looked at Proton a few times. Will look again.

Yes, I use Protonmail almost exclusively, these days. This came about after the Yahoo became a major Spy thing.
I have gmail accounts that are basically Shill Accounts.

Protonmail is good and StarTrekker discovered it can be custom themed in .css which I also did on mine.
It has its flaws, though: It is a pay for service. So you only get 500 megs free. I clean out my email a lot and it has actually been a good thing- it has trained me how to go clutter free in my inbox whereas gmail and yahoo spoiled me by allowing me to keep every email from 1962 to present. Of course, this also allows them to read them- which Google is claimed to have been doing and google vehemently denies.

You may also look at Mailpile or mail.com and most ISP's offer an email service, like johndoe@cox.net for example. While not as secure and anti-spy as Protonmail, they are still no Google and for most people, it is good enough. It's not that they are unable to read your mail, they just do not care enough to bother. Whereas Google is a Marketing company and gleaning your interests out of your emails allows them to Target Market you.
With covid destroying economies... Target Marketing will increase in popularity.

STAY AWAY FROM YANDEX.MAIL!

star treker wrote:And last thing I will say is, remember that Aravisian is always right, follow that mindset and you will do ok lol.

Are you the president of my fan club?

Jeff: When you live long enough, you will have had many failures in life. Some of them are simple mistakes, easy to learn from, easy to move on from, easy to overcome and do better in the process. Some mistakes however, end in larger failures, they are the ones that burn a hole so big, that they make you feel like like you will never get better.

Truth is, we are capable of going through some truly painful, and even traumatic experiences. They say that time heals wounds, and it does. But some wounds require therapy in conjunction with time to heal. In other words, if someones has victimized you when you were a child, it takes time to realize that it was not your fault that you were abused, it is only then, can the healing process begin, once you've accepted that fact.

And regarding dreams more specifically...Sometimes we have dreams of wanting to be a super hero. In reality, its a part of us that wishes to become that crime fighter to stop evil people, from doing harm to other's, like what was done to us. When we grow up, we then realize that is a dream that is not attainable. However, we can do our part in our own small way, to give help to other's who need someone to talk to, who have also been through it, so there's that.

Regarding Aravisian, I'm glad you like the dude, cause he's amazing, and we need more people like him helping people with stuff like that, cause when knowledge is shared, everyone benefits.

Aravisian: I'm here to be whatever makes people happy. So if being president of the Aravisian fan club makes ya happy, I am more then willing. God knows I'd handle the job better then some lol. Well, I think this post is long enough at this point, God knows I could ramble on forever until I fall asleep. Speaking of which, I need some of that right about now. So I bid you all, a goodnight.

star treker wrote: And last thing I will say is, remember that Aravisian is always right, follow that mindset and you will do ok lol.
Aravi responded: Are you the president of my fan club?

I would think he is. And I would be happy to say I was a member. As long as the dues are low...lol

JeffK969 wrote:And I would be happy to say I was a member. As long as the dues are low...lol

My ego probably could stand some fans. I often feel pretty overwhelmed by all the problems these days.
But a point- the thread seems to have gone off topic.

Well, if this gets us back on topic, in regards to google... Has anyone de-googled their cell phones and used F-droid..? I'm going to watch a video on it tonight. Same guy who does all those distro reviews, he seems pretty knowledgeable, albeit he ain't Aravi... Chris were digital.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=4c2GTbXYknI

I think if you want to go pure Android then E is the way to go - provided they have an image for it. I was going to try and do it on my old 1+ 3 but my eldest fiance has it after he broke his huawei P30 Pro.

https://e.foundation/