Google's Software Principles

Nick writes "Google has just posted a new set of "Software Principles" at their site on how they feel about spyware and the like. It is interesting to see the company whose motto is "Do no evil" trying to get the rest of the internet world to follow, with proposed principles dealing with upfront installation, clear behavior, simple removal, and keeping good company. The question is, though - why would a company who makes spyware (whose very nature is to be secretive and hard to remove) want to follow Google's principles?"

Comments

Re:Politics are very important

[pavon]

Yes. Concidering that we already have one spyware law on the books, and others in concideration, I think it is very important as an industry to continue to discuss these issues and attempt come to some sort of concensus about what we think is reasonable behavior. Google has taken the initiative to provide what it conciders a reasonable set of guidelines so others can comment and build on it.

Or we could let the politicians figure things out on thier own.

Re:Why follow google's principles?

[k12linux]

Today's xp computer can become completly unusable within a month or 2 of internet surfing, and downloading by an average non-technical computer

That's no joke either. My neighbor's computer can barely make it 2 months before their DSL line seems like dial-up. I take that back.. it is actually WORSE than normal dial-up speeds. AdAware, two hours, and a "Cool Web Search" removal tool and it's back to normal. At least for another month or two.

Why follow principles?

[Mulletproof]

Since when were principle nessisary to make million? Isn't this the same forum that incessantly rags on Micro$oft's (note the trendy dollar sign) unethical business tactics?

What worries me most is this all of a sudden holiness that Google has found. Weren't they a business before they were an IPO? Where was all of this before they had to impress shareholders? Wouldn't a company who is claming the Anti-Evil high ground have been doing this from day one?????? ...Or at very least sometime significantly sooner than their 2.7 billion dollar double blind garage sale. Far be it from me to say so, but it's looking like Google has been taking lessons from the political spindoctors-- Saying stuff that sound all well and good, but is actually ineffectual and useless, aggervated by the fact that they haven't taken the moral high ground until now and are directing that message toward people who probably don't give a crap anyway. Tell me how much spammers are making by flooding your email with junk again?

Maybe if they'd started out as a small, righteous company it'd mean something. But as it stands, it's PR BS.