Two Bad Ideas Prove Popular
Sometimes I marvel at my fellow man. What he thinks is a great, neat, and super-cool idea, I find to be stupidity squared (S²). Sadly.. instances of this happen every day.
Example #1: Color
“Color, the brand-new but already controversial free mobile app released on iPhone and Android devices today, has already turned off plenty of potential users. What does Color do? It taps into your GPS to find your location and shares photos that you took with other users—any other users, not just your friends—who are within a 100-foot radius. It’s voluntary in the sense that you have to download and install the app in order to use it or be included in what other people see, but once you’re in, you’re in, with little ability to limit who sees what.
Guardians of online privacy have been shaking their heads all day. Meanwhile, eager early adopters are throwing their privacy concerns to the wind and snapping photos left and right of anything at all (and from what I’ve seen, little of substance; such is the elation to try the thing out)…”
Example #2: Omegle (aka “an anonymous chatroom”)(There are others, too)
“Omegle is a great way of meeting new friends. When you use Omegle, we pick another user at random and let you have a one-on-one chat with each other. Chats are completely anonymous, although there is nothing to stop you from revealing personal details if you would like.”
(Parents.. you do not want your kids on sites like this, read this. [and yes; “chat” includes “video chat”…])
Both of these are popular. Why? So people can ask other people, “A/S/L” (age, sex, location?). It’s about sex.. and “hooking up“. With Color, someone can snap a picture of themselves, and transmit it to strangers 100′ feet from them.. maybe one of those strangers will want to have sex with them.
Woohoo!
And, someone, somewhere, can show advertisements on these sites.
Meet new friends. Show ads. Brilliant!
Bonus! Example #3:
(Maybe this explains some of the HR people I’ve heard about…)
Bonus bonus: 3-D smartphones ditch the glasses (3D smart phones???)
Orlando, Florida (CNN) — After a lukewarm reception from television buyers, 3-D technology is pushing its way onto small screens.
Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.
>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<
• About Tech Paul
I am a Retired computer & network technician. I used to think the machines were pretty cool. Now I don’t.
They’re anything but.
I regularly posted how-to’s and tricks & tips and general computing advice here starting in 2007. (Use the Search tool to find answers. But be aware, many are rather dated.) Sometimes I answered (your) specific questions in an article if I believed the answer was generally helpful to “everyone”. All the writing you see was my own, typos and all. There always is/was an implied “IMHO” in what you see here.
Note: You are responsible for using this blog and its content. I am in no way liable for any losses caused by user error, viruses and/or other malware, hardware or software failure, or any other conceivable reason.
-
Say "thank you!" Buy Tech Paul a cup of coffee (and keep T4E ad free).
-
-
McAfee® Cybersafety Resource Portal, an online help center designed to assist victims of computer crime and provide information on how to avoid becoming a victim.
-
Subscribe to Tech--for Everyone by EmailRecent Comments
-
-
-
-
Also:
-
-
Tech - for Everyone 