h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

There was a time when Google were just a search engine and a very good one at that.

In recent years they've expanded their activities to Streetview which has had some concerns from privacy people, although I'm not entirely sure whether those are justified.

They've got Google Books which has scanned about 12 million books but there have been lawsuits about copyright.

Now I'm reading that they been 'accidentally' recording information from people's unsecured wi-fi's. Hardly a blunder in my opinion ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8684110.stm

It's been said that Google is a 'geekocracy' - a bunch of techies who don't live in the real world and thus simply don't understand the ethical ramifications of what they do,

Maybe. But it at very least it opens them up to the risk of reverting to capitalist form. 'Don't be evil' is insufficient as an ethical policy.

Nope, can´t say I trust them. I read an article on the wi-fi thing in New Scientist recently. However in that one Google seemed to be talking about it as being very deliberate. That it was done to help location searches on google phones, in places where GPS wasn´t accurate enough.

google was never meant to help you people find things on the internet, that's a by-product. Its main reason for being is to make money.
Selling statistical data on internet searches to advertisement agencies is one way to make money. the more accurate and precise that data is, the more it's worth.

"If you are going to broadcast your email on an open wi-fi, don't be surprised if someone picks it up"

I think that's the point. We all need to protect ourselves, in the same way we lock our houses and cars when we go out. Although more information needs to be given at places that let you use their wi-fi, that it might not be secure.

I think that's precisely NOT the point in terms of what Google were doing. On a general level I agree that you've got to secure your network.

I don't really understand how Google just 'happened' to be collecting all that unsecured information. They must have actively decided to collect it. This was their streetview cars which were supposed to be taking pictures.

To me it's like saying "Oh and by the way as you go down each street check whether the front doors are locked and if they're not, pop in and see whether you can pick up any confidential papers, bank statements, letters, photos ..."

Yeah...but that would be OK, wouldn't it? All they'd do would be to have a quick peek at the letters and papers to see if it gave them any ideas for things we might want to buy.

That wouldn't be so evil, would it?

I remember when wi-fi first appeared. The idea was you'd stick an antenna somewhere and let anyone passing share your bandwidth. We were going to be living in a 'datacloud'.

I tried to argue with BBS, but every argument I came up with meant I actually agreed with that point of view. Can't understand how that happened - that I change my point of view when I try to justify it.

Sorry ... I'll try to be less coherent and leave some flaws in my logic in future ...

No, it was my flaws! Was going to say it was more like leaving your cash hanging about in the front garden, and some blows into the road, you gotta expect someone's gonna help themselves, right? Then I realised it's still stealing so it didn't help me much.