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

where did it tell you about your follower?

I've got one (it's Mu Beta, as it happens) - displays their real name and picture.

I don't have a Picasa account or any of the other things so thankfully I'm safe unless I choose to activate them.

And where does it tell you this Vip?

When I click on the Buzz icon on the left hand side menu bar. I think there may be several screens as I sometimes got the one about Picasa etc. instead. Try minimising the window that crops up (there's a cross on the top right) and see if it's underneath.

Ah, thankyou!
No followers and no following. Buzz turned off again

Oddly enough, my follower was Mu Beta as well.

Is he the stalker of h2g2?

RF

I don't have a public profile, but Mu Beta was following me, as it happens. I removed him.

Do we have to go and check every day now, although we don't use Buzz?

What I find a bit unnerving, is that it says, 'Share what you're thinking.'

In the past it was always said, however oppressive a regime you live under, they can never know what's going on inside your head. But now it seems they're getting people to put buzz out, about that. I mean it has my real name attached to it for email purposes, so people know who I am. Hmmmm I bet the Iranians are all over this.

"[I]t's as if the Buzz team never envisioned anyone would want to completely opt out."

Here are instructions for how to properly disable Buzz. Just clicking on the link at the bottom of the page isn't enough.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10451703-2.html

Swatted, like an annoying insect

Here's an article discussing Buzz and some of its features.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10450487-2.html?tag=mncol;txt

Yes, do remember that the link at the bottom of the email page does not "turn off Buzz" as it claims. It just *hides* Buzz.

I am not pleased about this whole thing. My Gmail is my real name. I need a professional email address that people will automatically link with my name, but I emphatically do not want it connected to any of my other internet selves. I don't want to publicise what I'm doing in that account. I certainly don't like finding out that I have, in essence, made Google the owner of my privacy.

The name is rather apt, tho'

It's bugging a lot of people

Anyone got any other decent free email sites?

Good news: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/13/AR2010021303881.html

>> Anyone got any other decent free email sites? <<

I've used Yahoo! Mail for over 10 years. Always worked fine for me. Probably less of an issue now, but they were always the first of the free web-mail providers to interact easily with other email clients, phones etc. - I've been able to read my email on my phone since 2001.

RF

Update...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/technology/8517613.stm

"Google has admitted to BBC News that testing of its controversial social network Buzz was insufficient.

The firm has had to make a series of changes to the service after a ferocious backlash from users concerned about intrusions of privacy."

Cheers Rockhound!

From that article and the Washington Post one I linked the other day, it seems they've corrected most of the major problems. One that I believe is still a major oversight is the ability for someone to anonymously follow someone and that person being unable to block them if since they can't know who it is.

If they get that fixed (maybe they have already and I've just not noticed it), then I think it might be a good service. Until then I'm not rushing into it. Right now I'm on it but since I have no followers and I'm not following anyone, it's of no consequence.

Can someone clarify a couple of things:

1. Buzz is not active by default unless I go through that set-up process.

2. If I don't have a google profile, I don't have an active buzz. Or is it a gmail profile?


This seems handy:

http://www.google.com/profiles