Slashdot Mirror
SBC-Yahoo Partnership Cuts User Privacy
simeonbeta2 writes "The San Francisco Chronicle is running a story about Pac Bell's dsl partnership with Yahoo. Initially touted as a new service, Pac Bell is apparently now mailing existing dsl customers to urge them to install additional client software that will enable 'incredible new features and services'. While SBC's privacy policy is not excessively intrusive, use of the new software is covered by Yahoo's privacy policy, which is just a bit more Orwellian." The story's a little overblown - Yahoo's privacy policy reads that way because they offer financial services and the like, where they may well need financial information from you to provide the service. The reporter needed to investigate this new software DSL users are being asked to install, and find out what sort of user tracking it enables.
Does this herald the end of an era? Hardly...
Is it even news?
Fuck it
I haven't even touched the CD that came with my cable modem, thank you very much. It's full of that transfer monitering crap - isn't it?
Comcast...grumble...
I was to be a sbc dsl user about a year ago, and I recently went to help my friend mike set up his dsl with sbc/Yahoo! while there is more software than the enternet 300 program that I had to load (now you have enternet 300 AND the connection manager) no biggie though becuase it all hides down in your task bar or system tray depending on how you set it up.
I don't think it's a real big "invasion of privacy" or even a major privacy cut for that matter I still use sbc/yahoo! dial-up and I have no complaint about it at all the only thing that they really want you to install for "added features" is the yahoo browser which hey if you can put up with msn explorer you can live with installing the yahoo browser
Maybe you (slashdot editor/_reporter_) should have researched that and either not posted the story or posted the story with your additional information.
Anyone remember rocketmail? I had a great email address on rocketmail about a decade ago. Yahoo bought them out, and urged everyone to switch. I didn't.. until they forced it. One day I logged in and my rocketmail account was just a profile under my Yahoo account. They said I could receive mail on it, but it would just be forwarded to my Yahoo mail. Grrr!
I still use Yahoo, but had to compromise on my email handle since the one that I had in rocketmail was already taken. Now, I'm going to start using my own domain for email. They make a good portal, but they're rather obtrusive. And they haven't learned yet how annoying popups are to their users...
In a novel by John D. MacDonald, a condominium buyer is told by the sales agent that the long fine-print contract he's signing is "a formality." Later, when the buyer discovers all sorts of problems with the condo and the agent is stonewalling him on getting them fixed, the agent says "After all, it says in the contract you signed that..."
The buyer protests "But you said that was just a formality." The agent says "That's right--it is a formal, binding legal contract enforceable in a court of law."
In real life, when it is honestly a negotiating situation, when I see things I really don't like in contracts I test them. "Can I strike this out?" "Can I write here, 'I have sixty-day return privileges and ask you to initial it?'" The results are very unpredictable. When the clause really IS just boilerplate that they don't actually plan to use, very often they will be perfectly agreeable, and you can get the verbal understanding down on paper. But occasionally, they'll freak out--that clause is in there for a reason and they've been ordered not to let anyone mess with it.
Unfortunately, none of this shrink-wrap and click-through stuff is a situation where you really have any power or any ability to negotiate. You can't strike out clauses and see if they'll agree to accept them.
Nevertheless, it's a very good idea to assume that contracts really do mean what they say and that all the fine print and boilerplate really might become operative someday.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
I just love the way everything's been portrayed so positively in recent years. Very rarely now do you hear the prefix "anti-". Everything has a warm, fuzzy sound to it. My point being.. why has every site's "policy of how much we use your info to screw you" become a "privacy policy"? If someone started a crummy site up that gleefully sucked in SSNs and credit card numbers only to auction them off for identity theft, no doubt there would still be a cute little link that said "Privacy Policy." I presume it would say:
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Yahoo! services and think their policy is quite reasonable. It just seems like a little more truth is in order sometimes.
Although I think that there are ligitimate grounds to complain on about software and phone service, I think that your rant goes over the edge. The majority of people out there doing business are people like you or I who choose operating a business as what to do with their life. There is certainly nothing evil about running a business. You talk about Wal-mart, Pac Bell, Yahoo! like they have a mind of their own. I will point out to you that these companies are founded and continue to be operated by human beings.
If you want to complain about a monopoly that provides inefficient service and crushes any competition, go complain about the US Postal Service
Finally, if you are reading this comment and remember only one thing, remember this: "Free Universal Health Coverage" is 100% pure BS. Someone is going to pay for it - we are. I suppose that since you imply that you aren't in business, you are a wage-earner. That money that you never see, that is taken from you paycheck every pay period, is where the money for "free" health care will come from. The US government can't just create free health care out of thin air any more than you or I could. Just remember, when you see the likes of Hillary Clinton, Robert Byrd, John Kerry, and Tom Daschle talk about providing you free healthcare, just remember where the money is going to come from. They want to raise your taxes until they own you and you are eating out of their hand of the US government.
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
it's a very good idea to assume that contracts really do mean what they say
This should be hammered into every person - there is no such thing as "boilerplate" in a contract. There is a REASON for EVERY SINGLE WORD (unless the attorney who prepared it is guilty of malpractice) It doesn't "become operative someday" - it is in force the second you agree to it. You may not understand the purpose of all the text in the contract, but the attorneys who prepared it do, and will enforce it if you arouse their ire.
DirecTVDSL just went out of business. I have a feeling that'll be the next slashdot news story. Out of business.
Sex - Find It
Remember, when stadiums had cool names, like "Candlestick", or "Ebbet's", or "Joe Robbie", or "Municipal" (well, okay, not "Municipal")? Or when bowl games were called "Rose" and "Orange"? Now our stadiums are called "Comerica" and "Pro Player" and "Gilette" and "Tampax" or whatever! And our bowls are called "Tostitos" and "Chic-Fil-A"(!)! Corporate influences have destroyed sports in America.
Anyway, there once was a park called Pac Bell. Granted, the name indicated that it was one of those "corporately defiled" stadiums, but it had a nice ring to it. But now we're going to have to call it SBC?!?! They have gone too far...
Comapnies need to 1) Stop being so schizophrenic, and 2) go away.
Okay, you can mod me -1: Offtopic now
Insightful: 76, Off-Topic: 379, Flamebait: 24, Funny: 152, Interesting: 201, Underrated: 55, Troll: 9, Total: 896
Of course you cant even sign up for this "service" unless you are running Windows or Macos. I made the switch for may account using a windows machine at work. So far it is working fine with my Linux machine at home. The sign up process was just a simple form filling exercise, which could easily have been done in HTML, can't help but wonder about their motivation to go the executable route.
On the positive side their technical support people were actually apologetic about not being able to sign up using Linux and were prepared to tell me that the "service" would work fine if I found a way to get through the registration. I liked this response much better than the usual "get lost wierdo" that I'm more used to as a Linux user.