Just for your information, Lawrence, because you have asked; There is a saying in German that underlies much of my thinking: SILENT WATERS ARE DEEP I use Linux since Microsoft decided (as from XP) to check what I do with my computer, and what not. Using Linux is more effort, it is not as user-friendly as is Windows, simply because it has a much smaller user base. I don't mind, I can do everything in Linux that I could do under Windows, and probably even more if I were to put in the effort to learn scripting and the command line. I like reading Peter's mails, it keeps me in touch with what other people think, When talking about Google, let's not forget that it's primary purpose in life is to sell advertisements - targeted advertisements. If I want to see these ads, I can open my mail in Firefox. As I don't, I open the mail in Thunderbird. This is software written outside Google, and all Google ads are removed. To be able to do targeting, Google does data mining on a large scale. Data mining only works if one's interests are narrow enough, and if there are enough requests for the same type of data that a pattern can emerge. Thus, as long as my interests are sufficiently diversified, data mining fails. But the moment I join a Google group, my interests are no longer diversified enough, and data mining succeeds. Think of the bomb that went off in Boston, or think of British soldier Lee Rigby. In both cases, routine data mining by the security services failed, and people are dead. I do not need to keep secrets, thus confidentiality is no concern of mine. But I do use occasionally Google Translate. As long as its output is as much rubbish as it is currently, I can be certain that no computer can understand what I am writing here and instruct a team of secret agents to come visit me guns blazing, as happened at a well-known Auckland mansion, and thus I need not look for encryption. Once I do go for encryption, a computer will detect that, and flying under the radar is over, and tor needs to be installed, and a password server, and . . . Gotcha??? Let's keep the ripples on the water small, and the pond deep! Don't you think the fish like it better that way? Or must they advertise their presence to the fisherman? Wolfgang On 27/11/14 12:50, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 25 Nov 2014 19:31:33 +1300, Wolfgang wrote:
I rather get off the list altogether than expose myself to Google profiling and advertisements Why? This is not exactly a confidential list.
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