Facebook Launches Location Based Product

And... by Spad · 2010-08-18 23:58 · Score: 4, Insightful

And so we know exactly where you are all the time and which adverts to serve you.

Re:And... by betterunixthanunix · 2010-08-19 00:30 · Score: 4, Insightful

No of course not! Really! This system would never get used for such an intrusive advertising technique! It is just to better connect you and your friends!

18 months later, Facebook announces a new advertising platform...

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Palm trees and 8
Re:And... by LordKronos · 2010-08-19 01:30 · Score: 4

I can understand your concern about the first half, but about the second half....why are so many people always offended by the notion of targeted advertising? People always seem to get mad about the possibility that the ads they see might actually be relevant to them. Why is this so terrible? You'd rather see ads for tampons and the AARP instead of seeing one for a restaurant that is in your area? The only possible reason I can see to be offended is because you have no will power to resist the messages of advertiser, and if they start targeting you with relevant ads then you are going to rush out and buy everything they tell you to. If that's the case, I don't think the biggest concern is targeted advertising.
Re:And... by Spad · 2010-08-19 01:36 · Score: 1

I have no concern about targeted advertising, though I understand why people dislike it when it follows you beyond its original context (You visited the abortion clinic last week, perhaps you'd like some adverts for other abortion clinics splattered all over your Facebook page, for example); it was more a case of the motivations for offering the service (i.e. More money, obviously).
Re:And... by xgr3gx · 2010-08-19 01:44 · Score: 1

I agree - while targeted ads can be fake and annoying (Are you a 30 year old dad who works in the IT industry and likes classic cars?) Holy crap, that's me! I must click on that ad!
I would be nice to be walking around some place and see an ad for free appetizers and 1/2 price pints at a bar with in a few blocks.

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Shameless plug alert: Game server control panel
Re:And... by Lord+Byron+II · 2010-08-19 04:00 · Score: 1

The problem isn't the targeted advertising, it's the tracking.
I have absolutely no problem if an advertiser uses my info to display relevant ads.
I do have a problem with how they get that information and what they do with it after they display the ad.
If a targeted ad has a better response rate than a random ad, then the information used to generate that targeted ad has value; my information is valuable. Now, if ad agencies, companies I do business with, and data wholesalers are all making money off of MY information, then I want a cut.
"I'll give you the information you need to provide me a targeted ad, but I want a nickel first."
Otherwise, IMO, it's just a form of identity and privacy theft.
Re:And... by gstoddart · 2010-08-19 04:15 · Score: 3, Insightful

I can understand your concern about the first half, but about the second half....why are so many people always offended by the notion of targeted advertising? People always seem to get mad about the possibility that the ads they see might actually be relevant to them. Why is this so terrible?
Because, the amount of information a company knows about you in order to do targeted advertising is bordering on the scary.
The way they collect that information continues to be opaque, and likely spread across a large number of sources, and far too much of your personal life can be cross-referenced without people realizing it. The fact that this information gets collected, and the routinely sold means that a lot of your personal/lifestyle/spending information is just out there for people to use, abuse, or just plain exploit.
Voluntarily signing up on Facebook so I can tell everybody where I am, what I'm doing, and the names and addresses of everybody I know is like signing up for Big Brother, only with some stupid game involving farming to placate the masses. Some of this stuff used to be considered confidential, and places like banks would guard it. Now, every schmuck with a customer card willingly hands over boatloads of personal information by associating a customer number with everything they buy.
I mean, seriously, if you go for a prescription to clear up an "infection of a personal nature", do you want to be inundated with ads for anti-itch cream, condoms, yeast infections, incontinence products, free clinics and whatnot? It's like when people say "if you have nothing to hide, why do you have secrets?" -- some information is personal, and isn't really intended to be spread around to everybody.
This really has to be a generational thing -- a lot of geeks used to be rabid privacy nuts. Now everybody is willing to publish all of this stuff onto Facebook like it's normal for the world to know what gotchies you're wearing, when you've got an itch, and the results of your latest medical tests.

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Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Re:And... by Americano · 2010-08-19 04:31 · Score: 1

Correction: "We know exactly where you are when you check in on your GPS-enabled mobile device which is running our app which you specifically had to load, open, and click "Check In" on, and that is the only time we know where you are."
Unless you're really suggesting that this app is transmitting a constant stream of GPS location data back to Facebook?
As far as what advertisements to serve me, how is that a problem? Seeing information about businesses near your current location is a bad thing, exactly how?
Re:And... by FatdogHaiku · 2010-08-19 04:35 · Score: 1

I would be nice to be walking around some place and see an ad for free appetizers and 1/2 price pints at a bar with in a few blocks.
A bit later you get ads for a cab service after you stay at the bar too long...
And then an email goes to the DUI Task Force when you don't avail yourself of the proffered taxi ride...

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You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
Re:And... by Americano · 2010-08-19 04:38 · Score: 1

Except you would have to specifically check in from the abortion clinic. If you don't check in, then how are they going to know that you were at an abortion clinic?
And if you do check in, maybe you want people to know you're there, and also don't mind getting the occasional advertisement for "abortion clinics near you right now," just in case you ever get the urge to have one on a whim - because we all know that elective abortions are the new trucker hat for the hipster set.
Do you see how STUPID and baseless this concern is yet?
(And as far as targeted advertising... you realize that *other* people wouldn't see abortion clinic ads on YOUR facebook page... right? The point of targeted advertising is not, "Here's a bunch of shit the person you're looking at likes and does!" It's "here's a bunch of shit you might like, while you look at this person's page.")
Re:And... by Americano · 2010-08-19 04:44 · Score: 1

I mean, seriously, if you go for a prescription to clear up an "infection of a personal nature", do you want to be inundated with ads for anti-itch cream, condoms, yeast infections, incontinence products, free clinics and whatnot? It's like when people say "if you have nothing to hide, why do you have secrets?" -- some information is personal, and isn't really intended to be spread around to everybody.
Good thing this isn't happening, then, right? FUD.
Your scenario has nothing to do with "location awareness," and since the pharmacy isn't selling your PERSONAL MEDICAL RECORDS WHICH ARE PROTECTED BY LAW to Google already, this change to Facebook won't alter the terrain at all in this space. Facebook letting you check in with, "At the pharmacy getting some jock itch cream and antibiotics for a raging case of pecker rot LOL!", is the ONLY way that an advertiser would know about your case of pecker rot, and if *you* disclose this information publicly, it's your own fault.
Re:And... by JustinOpinion · 2010-08-19 04:44 · Score: 5, Insightful

People always seem to get mad about the possibility that the ads they see might actually be relevant to them.

It's worth remembering that what the viewer considers relevant and what the advertiser considers targeted are not the same thing. You may be interested in computers and sci-fi, but that doesn't mean they will only show you ads for those products. Advertisers try to hit middle-ground in viewers. It's true that it's a waste of their money to try to advertise a product to you that you will never buy (e.g. baby products to people without kids). But they also don't really want to waste advertising to die-hard fans and aficionados, who will already buy those products (of course they need to keep the fans aware of the products to some extent). Advertising dollars do the most good for the group of fence-sitters: people who might or might not purchase the product. This means that if the advertisers are doing their job right of targeting you on products that you're "on the fence" about, then you'll get a bunch of ads for things you don't quite want. In other words, stuff that is only semi-relevant.

Also worth remember is that quite a bit of advertising has to do with just getting consumers to remember brand names. People always bring up the "I'm a guy--I don't need to see ads for tampons!" but that's actually a case where some advertising to men can make a difference. Guys don't regularly buy tampons, but on the few occasions that they do (girlfriend has just run out and desperately needs more), they want you to walk into the drugstore and, because you're unsure of what to buy, gravitate towards their well-recognized brand ("No boyfriend ever got dumped for buying Tampax")...

Again, it may not be relevant for you to see Tampax ads, but the company certainly wants you to recognize the brand.

The only possible reason I can see to be offended is because you have no will power to resist the messages of advertiser
You're implying that only weak-willed people are affected by ads (implicitly, that you are able to 'resist'). People are more affected by advertising that they realize or would care to admit. If you are among those who are good at spotting crap and not buying it (e.g. making a decision not to buy from companies that make ridiculous claims in their commercials), then properly targeted ads would instead show you the much more subtle kinds of advertising (again, building-up brand recognition and brand image has a large but typically unnoticed effect on your shopping behavior).

I'm not saying that people are slaves to marketing. You can certainly rise above the ads to some extent. But conversely it is effectively impossible not to be somewhat affected by advertising.

This is not to say that I think people should be deathly afraid of targeted ads. But let's at least recognize the dangers (or even just nuisances) they present.
Re:And... by gstoddart · 2010-08-19 05:00 · Score: 1

Your scenario has nothing to do with "location awareness,"
So, if you read the part of the post where I quoted the poster saying "why are so many people always offended by the notion of targeted advertising? " ...
You might realize I'm not specifically discussing Facebook. I am, in fact, saying why I object to targeted advertising in a broader sense.
Because it has a really bad habit of being subject to scope creep and sale of this information to other people, who aggregate it with even more data, and come up with a far more detailed set of information about you.

if *you* disclose this information publicly, it's your own fault
Have you seen the crap people put on their Twitter and Facebook pages? The existence of Twitter Poop supports my point nicely.

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Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Re:And... by betterunixthanunix · 2010-08-19 05:33 · Score: 1

why are so many people always offended by the notion of targeted advertising?
Well, for one, targeted advertising implies that we lose some of our privacy; those of us who still think privacy is worth having find that to be problematic. There is also a bit of a notion that advertisers believe we do not know what we are looking for, and that we need them to tell us. I know what I need and what I want, and I do not need anyone's trend tracking algorithms to tell me what I should be buying. If I am looking for restaurants, I can find a restaurant guide. Why do I need a computer telling me that I am looking for restaurants in my area (and why should an advertising company know what my specific area is)?

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Palm trees and 8
Re:And... by Americano · 2010-08-19 05:38 · Score: 1

Yes, when people have the opportunity to behave like fools in public, they will sometimes do that. If you make something public knowledge, it is your fault, not Facebook's, or Google's or the pharmacy's.
The scenario you are giving is a SPECIFICALLY PROTECTED piece of information that will never legally be disclosed to an advertising agency anyway. And that's the best argument you can come up with against targeted advertising "in a broader sense"? That's why it's FUD, and that's why your point fails. If you don't want to disclose more information than you are comfortable disclosing... don't. Facebook doesn't make you fill out a billion question survey to join. Facebook doesn't even force you to join.
Re:And... by siriuskase · 2010-08-19 05:56 · Score: 1

This is what I really hate: http://www.exactsalesleads.com/mortgage-lists.html A marketer can't pull my credit report without my permission, but if he buys enough of these mailing lists, he will have the same information anyway. I know this has nothing to do with Facebook, but when infomation gathering systems are designed, the privacy measures always and by design leave a way for "private" info to leak out to someone willing to pay.

I was creeped out the first time Google Maps on my phone told me where I was. I wasn't surprised that they could do it, but it bothered me that they did it without asking me for my permission. Or, maybe they did, but it was hidden away somewhere. I guess I'll never use Facebook on my phone again, because I don't trust Facebook based on stunts they've pulled in the past. I don't want people to know when I'm out of my house for the evening or the week.

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If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
Re:And... by node_chomsky · 2010-08-19 09:49 · Score: 1

you have no will power to resist the messages of advertiser, and if they start targeting you with relevant ads then you are going to rush out and buy everything they tell you to.
That's exactly the problem with advertising. People do follow it mindlessly.
Re:And... by LordKronos · 2010-08-20 01:38 · Score: 1

This is what I really hate:
http://www.exactsalesleads.com/mortgage-lists.html
A marketer can't pull my credit report without my permission, but if he buys enough of these mailing lists, he will have the same information anyway.
Apparently you have no clue about that which you are linking. From the linked page:

We specialize in pulling your leads to meet the requirements of any individual loan program's criteria for funding by using "soft credit inquiries" from the major credit bureaus.
A soft pull IS a pull of your credit report. However, it doesn't give them any of the details of your report, other than that it meets some broad criteria. They ask for all people whose credit score is over 700, have had a mortgage for 3+ years without missed payments, and have less than 10% of their available credit currently utilized. They then get a list of contact information for everyone that meets that criteria so that they can contact those people for offers. Buying these list is not going to get them any other info from your credit reports.
Re:And... by LordKronos · 2010-08-20 01:52 · Score: 1

This is not to say that I think people should be deathly afraid of targeted ads. But let's at least recognize the dangers (or even just nuisances) they present.
Sorry, but I'm not quite seeing what the danger or nuisance is. You made a case about how non-targeted are good for building name recognition, which kind of even goes against the idea that targeted ads are so much worse. Everything else you've said basically comes back to the "I'm powerless to resist the calls of advertisers, and that offends me" type of argument.
Re:And... by siriuskase · 2010-08-20 09:59 · Score: 1

I know that. And they can do it without my permission. That's my point. So WTF is yours?

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If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
Re:And... by LordKronos · 2010-08-20 12:41 · Score: 1

I know that. And they can do it without my permission. That's my point. So WTF is yours?
My point is, you said

A marketer can't pull my credit report without my permission, but if he buys enough of these mailing lists, he will have the same information anyway
. In other words, you think buying these reports will get him the information on your credit report, but that is false. These are generated from credit reports but contain no data other than your contact info. No matter if he buys a million of these reports, he will get no more than the contact info. That's WTF my point is. You said something blatantly false (and then get snarky with me when I point it out and you fail to realize it)
Re:And... by siriuskase · 2010-08-21 14:24 · Score: 1

they also know the criteria used to prepare the list. You buy the lists, then see who pops up on more than one list. You might not know every detail of his credit report, but if you buy lists of people in a certain income bracket, with a certain credit score, and a few others, (I think there were 20 possible criteria in the ad) you don't need to pull the complete report to have a very good understanding of the financial situation of someone who appears on multiple lists. They might not pull a report on LordKronos, but if he appears on the DUI list, the mortgage default list, the high risk pool, and rents in the slums, some who buys all those lists will know more about him than his address.

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If you must moderate, please moderate as irrelevent, not something bad, because I'm sure someone will find this interest
Re:And... by LordKronos · 2010-08-22 00:51 · Score: 1

Too bad that income, DUI convictions, rental information**, etc is NOT information that is on credit reports. If you want to be concerned about that sort of stuff being pulled from other sources, that is fine. But your point (the one which I was addressing) was about getting info that is on your CREDIT REPORT, and none of the stuff you are talking about has anything to do with your credit report info. Knowing the criteria used to generate the list doesn't help. A soft pull is incredibly lossy. You get a very vague idea about some very vague topics, but it's impossible to turn that back into specific pieces of your credit report. The only was to get that type of info is with a hard pull, and that's only available to entities you've authorized to do so***.
** Credit reports don't contain rental data, unless you don't pay your rent and it gets sent to collections, in which case the credit report will say that you have been sent to collections, but it won't say things like where the rental unit was located or what the monthly rent was.
*** Well, someone could lie and say they have your permission, but that creates a record on your credit report that you yourself can see for the next 2 years, and you could then very easily sue them under the FCRA and collect punitive damages from them for doing so.
Re:And... by MobyDisk · 2010-08-25 02:57 · Score: 1

Because it is harder to filter out. Advertising is so prevalent these days it almost makes me want to join the Amish. I know for a fact that there is an area of my brain dedicated to filtering them out. I don't want that area getting any bigger - there's better things to do with those brain cells.

Turn it Off by BoldAC · 2010-08-19 00:01 · Score: 5, Informative

I turned this off as soon as I could.

http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/7046/how-to-prevent-being-checked-into-facebook-places-privacy/

I get social media. I really like most of it. However, I enjoy my fancy stereo and big screen TV too much to let people know when I am out of town or out of my house.

"Oh, I know that dude. He just bought a fat entertainment system and now his facebook says he's out of town for a month. Woot!"

No thanks.

Re:Turn it Off by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 00:15 · Score: 3, Interesting

What? It is enabled by default?
Again?
When is Facebook going to learn?
Re:Turn it Off by BobZee1 · 2010-08-19 00:18 · Score: 2, Funny

it seems to me that it is ALWAYS someone you know that decides to "borrow" all of your things while you are away from home. now that i have done what i can to remove all "friends" from my life, my belongings tend to stay where i left them.

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dumber people are doing harder things everyday
Re:Turn it Off by slasho81 · 2010-08-19 00:25 · Score: 4, Informative

Oblig. link
Re:Turn it Off by Dominic · 2010-08-19 00:26 · Score: 4, Insightful

Yeah, because this is exactly what burglars have been waiting for! Except it isn't. Most people with stuff worth stealing have jobs, so burglars just have to go to your house in office hours. They're not going to be looking at Facebook.
Anyway, it's just your friends who can see this. If you are friends with people who will steal with you then you have other problems.
Re:Turn it Off by BobZee1 · 2010-08-19 00:37 · Score: 3, Informative

no, i wasn't being sarcastic. i honestly have 1 friend and probably 2 or 3 acquaintances (co-workers that i will generally converse with about non-work related things). oh yeah, i don't have a facebook account. i should probably be modded troll or off-topic.

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dumber people are doing harder things everyday
Re:Turn it Off by Thanshin · 2010-08-19 00:42 · Score: 1

Anyway, it's just your friends who can see this.
Indeed, and it's just impossible that anyone could ever get friend access to your facebook account. It would take people in some random site like, totally from the top of my head, 4chan, many, many long minutes.
Re:Turn it Off by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 00:49 · Score: 1, Informative

It is generally accepted that most people have a circle of friends comprising about 150 people[...]
Either you are new here on ./, or you are confusing "friends" with "people you know".
Re:Turn it Off by rwa2 · 2010-08-19 01:06 · Score: 1

Yeah really... and besides, apprehending the perpetrator will be a simple matter of searching FB Places for who was near your home, hell, they'd probably even set their status to: "Im in ur base, steelin ur stuff, wifin ur daughterz"
Really! I'm only being a maybe a little sarcastic ^_^
Re:Turn it Off by Monoman · 2010-08-19 01:14 · Score: 1

First: Burglers can assume you aren't home during office hours but they may be wrong. Some folks work nights so smart ones would do some reconn work.
Second: There is an option to share your location with Everyone.
Third: There is an option that lets your friends tell others your location.

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Keep the Classic Slashdot.
Re:Turn it Off by Abstrackt · 2010-08-19 01:27 · Score: 2, Informative

It is generally accepted that most people have a circle of friends comprising about 150 people[...]
Either you are new here on ./, or you are confusing "friends" with "people you know".
It's a symptom of having a Facebook account; "friend" now means anyone you may have shared oxygen with at some point.

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They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
Re:Turn it Off by LordKronos · 2010-08-19 01:32 · Score: 4, Insightful

What? It is enabled by default?
Again?
When is Facebook going to learn?
What?
You actually thought facebook was going to reasonable in their actions regarding privacy?
Again?
When are you going to learn?
Re:Turn it Off by Spad · 2010-08-19 01:37 · Score: 1

When it's worth their while to do so.
Re:Turn it Off by Nadaka · 2010-08-19 02:00 · Score: 1

burglars also want to rob you while you are on vacation because it is easier to sell your stuff before it is reported stolen, and because it gives any potential witnesses time to forget the details of potentially suspicious activity.
Re:Turn it Off by Americano · 2010-08-19 02:28 · Score: 2, Informative

It inherits the same sharing permissions as who can see your contact info. I have contact info set to "friends only", and "places I check in" now also shows up as "Friends only".
Of course, you ALSO HAVE TO ACTUALLY CHECK IN on a mobile device for any of this to be relevant, as well.
Unless you make a habit of friending people on Facebook who you expect to rob you, I'm really not certain I see the big issue; If you make a habit of leaving your Facebook info open to the world, then "oh noes dey robbin mah apahtmint" is probably the least of your worries, and you should go check your credit report asap.
If someone is determined enough to rob your sweet Sony Hifi, they're not going to sit there and go, "Gee, now what do I do, I can't see his Facebook to tell when he's out of town." There are plenty of ways to determine this without needing Facebook, and I'd venture a guess that MOST thieves aren't in the habit of trolling facebook for targets, when they have a whole world full of houses and apartments that are empty most of the day out there to pick from.
Re:Turn it Off by psoriac · 2010-08-19 02:31 · Score: 1

On a slightly surprising note, I found that the 'Include me in "People Here Now" after I check in' option defaulted to disabled. At least they got 1/2 right, and to be honest, if you only friended people who were really your friends, letting them check you into places isn't such a horrible thing.

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I browse Slashdot at +3, Funny
Re:Turn it Off by Americano · 2010-08-19 02:38 · Score: 1

Except most neighbors will never even think to question someone who is reasonably clean-cut looking wearing khakis, a blue or black polo shirt, and carrying a clipboard. And if they do question you, you have a reasonable cover story ready to explain why you're there, and when the neighbor says, "I think they're out of town," you say "Hmm, okay, I guess I'll try back in a week or so," and leave. Maybe you carry a few brochures from a painting company or something with you, and hand one to the neighbor, and say "If you're interested, give us a call!"
Honestly, do you think thieves show up wearing ski masks and carrying burlap sacks over their shoulder to cart away all your stuff?
The random crackhead who shows up looking to steal your stereo probably isn't using Facebook to find you. The "professional" who might use Facebook to select you doesn't need it.
Re:Turn it Off by Americano · 2010-08-19 02:41 · Score: 1

But, but... stupid FUD is only bad when Microsoft does it. When it's being used against Facebook, it's okay!
Re:Turn it Off by js_sebastian · 2010-08-19 03:24 · Score: 1

wtf... having a facebook account means having to check the privacy settings every other day to disable whatever new feature (or re-labeled old feature) is open-by-default this week...
Re:Turn it Off by tehcyder · 2010-08-19 04:03 · Score: 1

Are you so scared that by telling your friends you are at Starbucks for coffee that others are going to break into your house and steal everything you own? /blockquote. It's not your friends you're worried about though. You might think it is paranoid to believe that anyone else could get hold of your data, but I would say that there is more than justifiable concern about the security of Facebook (and other social media).

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To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
Re:Turn it Off by Americano · 2010-08-19 04:49 · Score: 1

So somebody is going to:
1) Target you specifically;
2) Hack into Facebook's servers to steal your data;
3) Repeat #2 until they find out you've posted an "on vacation!" status;
4) Break into your house to steal your shitty $50 clock radio;
Is this reasonable? Geeks here are so fond of reminding people "security through obscurity isn't secure." If the only thing preventing people from stealing all your stuff is that they can't see your Facebook status updates, you might want to invest in some basic locks & deadbolts, and maybe a cheap security system if you have enough "expensive stuff" to warrant it.
Re:Turn it Off by vanyel · 2010-08-19 06:50 · Score: 1

So I leave a facebook window open at both home and work. Not seeing how places is useful, much less a concern...
Re:Turn it Off by smackmywhammy · 2010-08-19 07:43 · Score: 1

+1 Sage advice. Lose *everything* to burglars a couple times and your ability to trust folks diminishes rapidly, especially when you discover much later the perps were so-called friends of yours that oddly stopped talking to you about the same time... If someone needs to know where I am, I'll go out of my way to tell them, otherwise, it's none of their damned business.
Re:Turn it Off by vlueboy · 2010-08-19 08:58 · Score: 1

Indeed, and it's just impossible that anyone could ever get friend access to your facebook account. It would take people in some random site like, totally from the top of my head, 4chan, many, many long minutes.
Sarcasm noted. Indeed, "friends" is probably all that's needed to be approached by the press [probably for free too and without any citation] to unlock a friend's full-resolution photograph or two. I'm pretty sure the Time Square, NY would-be bomber a few months ago didn't just have a public page for everyone to see, when he went and messed up the bombing and got put to jail away from his facebook account.
It's terrifying that the press doesn't even need a police photo anymore... they post one of your own looking your best, but without your "permission" (even criminals pending a trial have privacy rights... correct?)
Re:Turn it Off by SlashDotDotDot · 2010-08-19 09:47 · Score: 2, Informative

Of course, you ALSO HAVE TO ACTUALLY CHECK IN on a mobile device for any of this to be relevant, as well.
Apparently that isn't quite true. The link he provided implies that people can check on behalf of their friends. See items 9 and 10.

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/...
Re:Turn it Off by Americano · 2010-08-19 10:05 · Score: 1

Not sure how that setting defaults - it's ambiguous, and I haven't seen an explanation of it yet, whether or not it's something you have to explicitly opt-in or opt-out of.
Knowing facebook, you probably have to opt-out. However, it still requires you or someone you've friended to check you in from their mobile device before any of these concerns are relevant in the least.

this is how... by polle404 · 2010-08-19 00:04 · Score: 5, Informative

account -> privacy -> Customize settings

change "Places I check in" to "only me"
and uncheck "enable" in "Include me in "People Here Now" after I check in"
and set "Friends can check me in to Places" to "disabled"

and you're back to good ol' privacy-invading facebook as you know it.

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~men are from earth. women are from earth. deal with it.~

you would have thought they'd designed it properly by maharg · 2010-08-19 00:06 · Score: 1

and abstracted it to 'things'...

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$ strings FTP.EXE | grep Copyright
@(#) Copyright (c) 1983 The Regents of the University of California.

Re:Serve ads by TaoPhoenix · 2010-08-19 00:07 · Score: 1

+1 Minority Report!

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My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine

Uses by Thanshin · 2010-08-19 00:09 · Score: 4, Insightful

...And to target the space laser, of course. We would hate to vaporize the wrong person."

Re:Uses by Thanshin · 2010-08-19 00:38 · Score: 1

Let's see. The post was modded insightful because:
1 - Funny doesn't give karma.
2 - Modders actually believe a space laser can target someone just because he connected his GPS phone.
3 - Modders know a space laser can target someone just because he connected his GPS phone.
4 - Modders are the ones who use the space laser and want the snitch to repost so they can target hi #%!@#70824645[CARRIER LOST] ...
Re:Uses by ZeroExistenZ · 2010-08-19 00:46 · Score: 2, Funny

You know too much...
Can I suggest you a nice locationbased facebook game? You can share your score with your friends and grandmother!! FOR FREE!

--
I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
Re:Uses by Critical+Facilities · 2010-08-19 01:37 · Score: 1

5 - Thanshin (1188877)* has a few alternate SlashDot accounts which currently have mod points, and decided to reward him/herself with a little karma.

*don't get mad, I'm just busting your chops.

;-)

Unless... by veeoh · 2010-08-19 00:11 · Score: 1

...you are anywhere else but the US it seems. I hate that.

arse biscuits.

Re:Unless... by Magorak · 2010-08-19 00:15 · Score: 1

Ya it blows. Love how they launch a service for a site that has 500 million people on it but then only make this "feature" available to a small subset.

--
No matter how fast computers get, you'll always be waiting - Matt Klem
Re:Unless... by Tim+C · 2010-08-19 00:42 · Score: 1

I'm in the UK and I just checked my privacy settings and the settings relating to this are present. I don't know if the service itself is enabled yet though.

--
It's official. Most of you are morons.
Re:Unless... by veeoh · 2010-08-19 01:11 · Score: 1

Nah, if you tap the icon on my iPhone it just says not available in your region yet.
Re:Unless... by Spad · 2010-08-19 01:38 · Score: 3, Insightful

All of the tracking, none of the benefits.

Hmmmm... by shabble · 2010-08-19 00:14 · Score: 3, Insightful

So then, does this mean your stalkers will know where you are, and your local burglar will know where you aren't?

--
http://harridanic.com

Re:Hmmmm... by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 00:56 · Score: 2, Insightful

...and your spouse will know which ex's house you're at.

Don't input any real data by hessian · 2010-08-19 00:14 · Score: 4, Insightful

Apropos of this:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7951269/Young-will-have-to-change-names-to-escape-cyber-past-warns-Googles-Eric-Schmidt.html

I don't know why anyone would put any real data into a service like Facebook.

It's a large, profit-driven, high-margin corporation. You wouldn't tell McDonald's or Coca-Cola what your interests are, where you live, YOUR POLITICAL OPINIONS, who your parents are and who you want to date, would you?

Stay anonymous. Fill in entertaining bullshit when they ask you personal questions. They think I'm a gay Black Christian Libertarian who wants legal pot and likes chinchillas.

--
Futurist Traditionalism

Re:Don't input any real data by Tim+C · 2010-08-19 00:40 · Score: 4, Interesting

I don't know why anyone would put any real data into a service like Facebook.
Because I have actual real-life friends on Facebook, and as I am interested in seeing what they're up to from time to time, I assume that that interest is reciprocated. I have also made new friends on Facebook and similar sites, some of which have become genuine, real life friends.
Facebook gets useful demographic data about me that they use to target adverts at me (that I block and/or ignore), I get to keep in touch with friends more easily (especially ones that are geographically distant) and sometimes make new ones. To me, I come off best in that trade. Your mileage may (and clearly does) vary.

--
It's official. Most of you are morons.
Re:Don't input any real data by PmaxII · 2010-08-19 00:47 · Score: 1

Man... then they'll think you are me .....
Re:Don't input any real data by Thanshin · 2010-08-19 00:48 · Score: 1

Stay anonymous. Fill in entertaining bullshit when they ask you personal questions. They think I'm a gay Black Christian Libertarian who wants legal pot and likes chinchillas.
Ok, ok, I get it. No need to be rude.
I'll sell my pot and chinchillas to someone who actually wants them.
Re:Don't input any real data by houghi · 2010-08-19 01:01 · Score: 4, Insightful

I don't know why anyone would put any real data into a service like Facebook.
Because most people have no understanding about what the consequences might be. Apart from the first year or so online, I have used an alias especially to separate real life and online things. Basically because I know people will drag stuff out of context.
I had an facebook account just to see what it was and got even to the point of having 100 people as 'friends'. Basically people I have no idea of what to say to in real life. So I had no idea why I had them as 'friends'. I guess the number of people on your list is like a pissing contest.
Anyway: there was only one other person who did not use her own name and that was because she was stalked by her ex and she would want to use her own name. And yes a real name IS real data. And all the other information that people put out there is amazing.
Just ask one of these people to go to a complete stranger in a pub or on the street and tell them the information they just hared with the world and they will think you are crazy or they are natural attention whores.

--
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
Re:Don't input any real data by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 01:23 · Score: 1, Funny

What? Slashdot users who aren't great a social interaction have a hard time understanding a site that is big on social interaction? This rates high on the unintentional comedy scale.
Re:Don't input any real data by IndustrialComplex · 2010-08-19 01:30 · Score: 1

It's a large, profit-driven, high-margin corporation. You wouldn't tell McDonald's or Coca-Cola what your interests are, where you live, YOUR POLITICAL OPINIONS, who your parents are and who you want to date, would you?
Actually I tell everybody in the world that sort of information. Especially my POLITICAL OPINIONS. I even have a website where the domain includes my actual name. In this website I establish my beliefs, my goals and aspirations, as well as my past activities with respect to different projects.
It's called being a politician.
Now, I am a very vocal advocate of privacy rights, but what you stated isn't so much privacy but bordering on paranoia. And you know what? Good. A little healthy scepticism would do well for this country. But for a good majority of us, our political leanings, opinions, and activities are fairly public to begin with, we just never thought of them as being so.
My main complaint about these services is not that they exist, but that their information collection tends to be opt-out instead of opt-in. That's it.

--
Out of modpoints but really liked a post? 1BDkF6TtmmeZ3yqXbz9yhdYVqRYnwFoXDj
Re:Don't input any real data by Culture20 · 2010-08-19 02:07 · Score: 1

I had an facebook account just to see what it was and got even to the point of having 100 people as 'friends'. Basically people I have no idea of what to say to in real life. So I had no idea why I had them as 'friends'. I guess the number of people on your list is like a pissing contest.
That's really kind of sad. According to your ID number, you're probably my age or just a little younger, but I have a couple hundred friends on FB, and they've been judiciously chosen as _real_ friends (and family) that I want to stay in contact with. And I would consider myself to be closer to the hermit side of the social-scale. Get out of the house, have a beer with your kids' friends' parents, join a local organization of some sort.

That said, the number of friends is a pissing contest for youngsters, and they need to learn that it's not a good idea to add random friends just to score "points".
Re:Don't input any real data by DerekLyons · 2010-08-19 03:01 · Score: 1

I don't know why anyone would put any real data into a service like Facebook.
Because most people have no understanding about what the consequences might be. Apart from the first year or so online, I have used an alias especially to separate real life and online things. Basically because I know people will drag stuff out of context.
And most Slashdotters keep vaguely handwaving about 'consequences' without ever really actually enumerating any. It's become a fear word like 'terrorism' or 'think of the children'. If you need an alias to separate your words from yourself, I suspect the problem is you can your communications skills - not 'people'.[1]

I had an facebook account just to see what it was and got even to the point of having 100 people as 'friends'. Basically people I have no idea of what to say to in real life. So I had no idea why I had them as 'friends'. I guess the number of people on your list is like a pissing contest.
In other words, you added people you don't really know as friends - and this it's somehow Facebook's fault that you don't have any actual people you'd want to talk to.

Anyway: there was only one other person who did not use her own name and that was because she was stalked by her ex and she would want to use her own name. And yes a real name IS real data. And all the other information that people put out there is amazing.
And here you invoke the equivalent of 'think of the children' again.

Just ask one of these people to go to a complete stranger in a pub or on the street and tell them the information they just hared with the world and they will think you are crazy or they are natural attention whores.
Which is utterly irrelevant to Facebook, as unless you are crazy or a natural attention whore, the people in your friends list aren't complete strangers.
[1]What I've posted to my facebook in the last 24 hours:
- A link to a story about an amazing rescue performed the USN (they flew a helicopter under a bridge and into a narrow canyon to medivac an injured hiker).
- A wry comment on looking through the house for something only to find it right where it should have been in the first place. ("Don't you have when you're looking for something, and when you find it: a) it was right where it should have been and you swore it wasn't..., and b) you've walked past/looked right at it half a dozen times?")
- A link to a picture I took back in March, but just now got around to processing and putting up on Flickr. (And a pretty good picture if I do say so myself.)
I can see how there's going to be serious consequences for sharing that, and how people can take it out of context, etc... etc...
Or not.
Re:Don't input any real data by ComputerGeek01 · 2010-08-19 04:46 · Score: 1

Fill in entertaining bullshit when they ask you personal questions. They think I'm a gay Black Christian Libertarian who wants legal pot and likes chinchillas.
Yeah but we all think this about you
Re:Don't input any real data by bjk002 · 2010-08-19 05:13 · Score: 1

"I'm a gay Black Christian Libertarian who wants legal pot and likes chinchillas."
Dude, what's your Facebook userid? We have GOT to become friends!!!

--
Opinion:=TMyOpinion.Create(Me);
Re:Don't input any real data by alexandre_ganso · 2010-08-19 08:04 · Score: 1

wtf I MARRIED a girl I found on a social network!
I did it. Seriously. And always married another one.
Re:Don't input any real data by BitZtream · 2010-08-19 09:16 · Score: 1

Because I have actual real-life friends on Facebook, and as I am interested in seeing what they're up to from time to time, I assume that that interest is reciprocated. I have also made new friends on Facebook and similar sites, some of which have become genuine, real life friends.
Yea, sure you do. Thats why you go so out of your way to keep in touch with them ...
If you had real friends, you would be a part of thier lives and keep up with them without facebook.
What you and your friends have is a emotional/mental problem causing you to want to air your daily life to everyone because you might get some attention from it. The only reason people comment on your online diary is because just like you, they think you care and will give them attention in return. Its from your deeper issues of insecurity. Its generally common in teenagers due to hormones, but it seems that one of the latest generations has carried it into adulthood as well. I blame teachers and parents who continually tell their children they are special and unique.
Everytime someone says 'I use facebook because I have real friends' all I hear is 'I am an attention sponge who is so self centered and needed that the only people that will talk to me without being forced is these other emotional wrecks on the Internet who also have no actual friends and dontcare about anything but how popular they are on facebook. I don't actually care about me Facebook friends because I'd see them often enough that I wouldn't need facebook to keep in touch'.
I guess you and I have different definitions for 'friend'. Mine actually involves giving a fuck about the persons life and enjoying their company. Yours seems to revolve around how many times you check your facebook wall and comment on a daily bases.
If you have more than about 5 or 6 'facebook friends' then you don't actually know what a friend is, 'real life' or otherwise. What you define as a friend, most people define as an acquaintance or 'someone they know'
What you said and what you mean are two different things, even if you aren't conciously aware of it.
You said you have friends and facebook gets demographics.
Reality is, you don't have friends, you have attention whore acquaintances and Facebook gets GREAT demographics about people who are so emotionally insecure that they'll follow even the dumbest of fads. IE, they not only get to know pretty much everything about you because you think someone actually cares (really, they don't) AND they have a priceless list of idiots to sell to others so they can sell you stupid shit. Your just like people who buy Apple products because they are cool, and the list of people like you is worth a freaking FORTUNE to businesses who are more than willing to use that to their advantage.
I don't use facebook, obviously, but I value when someone tells me they use facebook on a regular basis. Makes it REALLY easy for me to know who NOT to associate with.
Go see a therapist and you'll probably end up far happier once you get to a well adjusted state than you have ever been from everything on Facebook combined.

--
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
Re:Don't input any real data by houghi · 2010-08-19 11:27 · Score: 1

I could not cope with a couple hundred friends. I would not even call then friends, but acquaintances. I could have gone there and the majority would have been on a 'how are you now?' basis. I do not have the need for a large group of people and many that have played a very important part in my life have gone out of sight.
I do not call that sad. I feel very lucky to have known them and by moving on meeting others.
I also rather keep in contact one-on-one. None of my friends have a FB account and also none of my family (and we live in different countries). We can call, email or just meet somewhere for a good dinner and/or drink.

--
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.

hookup central by eagl · 2010-08-19 00:15 · Score: 4, Insightful

It's gonna turn into a hookup tool. Like craigslist adult forums, but very very immediate.

Re:hookup central by veeoh · 2010-08-19 00:18 · Score: 5, Funny

You say that like it's a bad thing... ;)
Re:hookup central by drooling-dog · 2010-08-19 00:30 · Score: 2, Insightful

Like craigslist adult forums, but very very immediate.
Which is pretty much the way they did it 30 years ago...
Re:hookup central by Xarius · 2010-08-19 00:49 · Score: 1

GPS-Based hook-up mobile apps already exist for this purpose! Google for Grindr if you're into a little random man-on-man action.

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C17H21NO4
Re:hookup central by goontz · 2010-08-19 01:03 · Score: 1

It's gonna turn into a hookup tool. Like craigslist adult forums, but very very immediate.
There was an episode of Law and Order: SVU in which the rape/murder victim was on a site exactly like that.
Re:hookup central by Godskitchen · 2010-08-19 03:15 · Score: 1

That's what it USED to be. Back when it was restricted to university students, I could just browse people that went to my school and randomly friend/message them. Worked fairly well... now pokes have fallen out of favor and are considered "creepy." Sigh... I miss the good ol' days. ;)
Re:hookup central by oik · 2010-08-19 06:11 · Score: 1

Man, I totally read that as "Law and Order: SUV" and thought, "Hmm, these spinoff series are just getting stupid..."

Facebook had been expected to announce a location by Threni · 2010-08-19 00:28 · Score: 1

What's this sentence doing in the write up? As long ago as monday, eh?

Facebook, the swiss army knife for the stalker by joshier · 2010-08-19 00:40 · Score: 1, Interesting

This really is turning into a great tool for obsessive people. Here's an example; I'm on facebook and I am updated about what new friends my friends have. Why on earth should I know this? It is utterly pointless and makes you feel like a stalker. As for the location business, it's like a ticking time bomb to me until the media focus on a particular crime where the attacker used facebook as a means to gather private information about whereabouts. Facebook is either really stupid, or they think they are invincible.

Re:Facebook, the swiss army knife for the stalker by Mascot · 2010-08-19 01:28 · Score: 1

and I am updated about what new friends my friends have. Why on earth should I know this? It is utterly pointless
No it isn't. Many of my FB friends were added by noticing a common friend via one of my existing ones. Apart from an original handful, that's actually how almost all of mine got added.
The Places functionality seems like a non-issue. Looks like you'll only check in at a location if you click the "Check In" button within a separate area of the application. In other words, you have _so_ opted in. There is an option for others to check-in on your behalf, and it has an ambiguous default setting (not enabled or disabled, but select one). But apart from that the default settings seem fine to me.
Re:Facebook, the swiss army knife for the stalker by DerekLyons · 2010-08-19 03:08 · Score: 1

This really is turning into a great tool for obsessive people. Here's an example; I'm on facebook and I am updated about what new friends my friends have. Why on earth should I know this? It is utterly pointless and makes you feel like a stalker.
When one of my high school friends has a new friend, it just might be someone I knew/know as well, who just got on Facebook. When one of my SCA friends has a new friend - it just might be someone I knew/know as well, who just got on Facebook. When one of my geocaching friends has a new friend... well, you get the picture.

As for the location business, it's like a ticking time bomb to me until the media focus on a particular crime where the attacker used facebook as a means to gather private information about whereabouts.
And then what? Oh, you don't actually have a 'then what' - you're just invoking vague handwaving like "terrorism" and "think of the children".

Alternative by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 00:46 · Score: 5, Funny

Login to facebook
http://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account
Complete CAPTCHA
Do not login or connect with your Facebook account for 14 days.

You'll wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe

Soylent green is people by ndg123 · 2010-08-19 00:52 · Score: 2, Insightful

The product isn't the social networking service offered to the mostly unwitting registrants. The product is the data harvested from them and sold to advertisers and other human detritus for their nefarious purposes. The announcement is really "we're going to pump this GPS data out of the data cows and you'll be able to buy it from us". see also: a number of pronouncements from Zuckerberg indicating how much he respects the users.

Big brother anybody? by houghi · 2010-08-19 00:53 · Score: 1, Redundant

It just amazes me how much we are willing to give away everything that is related to our privacy.

Advertisement is one of the least things I am worried about. What I am worried about is that nobody really cares about privacy. Not really. Many people think that if you are in public, you do not have a right on privacy. Many people think that if you give it away, it is your right and not a big issue.

However I try to do my best to not only think about my privacy, but about others as well, just as I would think about other peoples freedom and not just my own.

--
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.

Re:Big brother anybody? by ScentCone · 2010-08-19 01:42 · Score: 1

Many people think that if you are in public, you do not have a right on privacy

What do you mean?

--
Don't disappoint your bird dog. Go to the range.
Re:Big brother anybody? by cerberusss · 2010-08-19 02:21 · Score: 1

It just amazes me how much we are willing to give away everything that is related to our privacy.
I bet you were just fishing for karma -- "zOMG big brother!!1!" always works here. But really, it's not a big deal. Being in a public place isn't really private. Private stuff I consider things like the small love note I write for my wife, the advice on relationships I ask my dad, the girl I talked to when my wife was away with friends, etc. Not the small stuff, like the bar I hang out.

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8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?
Re:Big brother anybody? by MozzleyOne · 2010-08-19 04:47 · Score: 1

The trouble is, we've never really had any privacy - it's just been harder to find stuff out. Whereas you used to need a private investigator, you now just use the internet. Nothing really changed, just finding stuff out has (and will continue to get) easier to discover about people.
I don't really care about this too much - if the only obstacle to Bad Things happening is this some flimsy old-school notion of "privacy", we need to do some thinking.

--
Ayjay on Fedang
Re:Big brother anybody? by jahudabudy · 2010-08-19 07:41 · Score: 1

the girl I talked to when my wife was away with friends

I hope your wife doesn't know your slashnick....

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...sometimes, in order to hurt someone very badly, you have to tell that person terrible lies. - PA

They should have called it Placebook by RabbitWho · 2010-08-19 01:39 · Score: 1

Obviously.

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it's under construction

Re:Iphone and Windows? by trevc · 2010-08-19 01:42 · Score: 3, Funny

Just shut-up and go buy an iPhone...

Re:Iphone and Windows? by wannabgeek · 2010-08-19 01:43 · Score: 2, Insightful

I don't know if I'm feeding a troll but let me attempt an answer anyway - it's about the market share of people that actually use the app. My wife has a symbian non-touch phone but it's such a pain to use any of the apps including the browser. The screen size and the keypad for input make it really unusable. Lest you call me fanboy, I own an Android phone and the only Apple device I have is the very first gen iPod.

--
I'm much more funny, interesting and insightful than the moderators think

iPhone app will go live on the Aug 18 by Culture20 · 2010-08-19 01:54 · Score: 1

What year? 2011? The summary was posted Aug 19, 2010, at ~1PM GMT... There's no place on Earth that's -13 or -14 GMT, so it had to be the 19th when it was posted to the front page.

Re:iPhone app will go live on the Aug 18 by Americano · 2010-08-19 02:59 · Score: 1

It's slashdot. There's a delay. You know this.
The product was announced yesterday afternoon (Aug 18), at about 7:30 EST. "The iPhone app will go live on Aug 18" means "it's live today, the date of the announcement, Aug. 18, 2010, but the Places service won't be turned on until August 19th, 2010, so you won't be able to use the iPhone app to check in to that service until tomorrow, Aug. 19th."

Re:Iphone and Windows? by Americano · 2010-08-19 02:56 · Score: 3, Insightful

Oh, and if you're going to reply telling me that the Iphone is more popular, have the decency to look up actual market data

Step away from the keyboard and calm down a little. You're way too invested in hating on the iphone.

Those other platforms may have more market share - but do they have a bigger market share of FACEBOOK users in the US, which is where this service is rolling out first? Most "mobile" updates I see from people come from Android or Iphone devices, so I'd say that it would certainly fit with my experiences that iPhone & Android constitute a majority devices where the facebook app is installed.

RIM has a huge market share... and a lot of that market share is business phones, which are locked down. My company wouldn't appreciate me installing Facebook and a bunch of other random apps on my business phone. Looking down my Facebook newsfeed right now, I see 0 people using a Blackberry to post updates, 5 individuals using an iphone, 2 using Android, and 2 using Palm WebOS. Despite that, I know at least 22 of my Facebook "friends" have blackberries - but they're corporate devices.

Re:Iphone and Windows? by Linux+Ate+My+Dog! · 2010-08-19 03:52 · Score: 1

Open API. In the spirit of FOSS: roll your own Symbian client. And J2ME for Series 40 with GPSes.

Re:Iphone and Windows? by Shihar · 2010-08-19 04:11 · Score: 1

First, RIM is irrelevant. Having a large chunk of the market share is irrelevant when it is all business related. RIM is dead in the consumer market. The same goes for Windows. It is all business with just a smattering of quickly dying consumer phones. Symbian is a waste to develop for. It is in the process of being rapidly murdered and it has no real history of heavy app usage. I actually agree that it was silly not to release both the iPhone app and Android app at the same time. I really can't think of any good reason why you wouldn't do both at the same time. If anything, it steals some of your thunder for the Android users who go to look for the feature when it is announced and can't find it.

Quid pro quo, Facebook by Bertie · 2010-08-19 04:36 · Score: 1

I have to say I just don't get services like this.

Facebook, like many other websites, tries to strike a balance with its users. In exchange for offering me a range of services, I provide them with data of various kinds which they then use in an attempt to make money from me. I've found it a useful means of keeping in touch with people, sharing photos, and so on, and I've been happy enough to give them what they've asked for thus far as payment for it. It's generally nothing secret - I don't care who knows my age or what town I live in, and if I write a status update, I do it voluntarily because I want people to read it. They can do what they like with it.

But now they want me to get into the habit of telling them where I am. In return for... What, exactly? Geographically targeted ads I don't want? The occasional discount, if I'm lucky? Sorry, this deal's biased too far in their favour. I'm not playing.

I'm increasingly getting the feeling that Facebook's over the hill. Empires rise and fall very quickly on the Internet, because it's so easy to desert something and move on. Facebook, in their arrogance, think they've built a site so sticky that their users won't be able to bring themselves to desert it, no matter how hostile they become towards them. I think they're going to start to find out that, like everybody else before them, they're wrong.

Re:Iphone and Windows? by roju · 2010-08-19 04:40 · Score: 1

For some reason, RIM develops all their social networking apps in house. So they'll probably add it themselves to their (buggy) Facebook app.

A present for the cat by istartedi · 2010-08-19 04:46 · Score: 1

This stuff reminds me of that cartoon where the mice decide to give the cat a present: a pretty, shiny bell to put around the cat's neck. For me? the cat exclaims. Now the mice know when the cat is coming.

No thanks.

--
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?

basement? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 04:54 · Score: 1, Funny

What products will they advertise for my mom's basement?

Re:basement? by Anonymous Coward · 2010-08-19 05:25 · Score: 1, Informative

Air fresheners, porn, and fleshlights, of course.

Re:Iphone and Windows? by mdwh2 · 2010-08-19 10:32 · Score: 1

I don't know if I'm feeding a troll but let me attempt an answer anyway - I have a Symbian touch phone, and it's easy to use all the apps, including the browser. Obviously a touch phone is going to be better than an old non-touch phone with small screen - that's hardly a fair comparison.

Even today, on current sales, Symbian outsells everything else - so it's still largest, even if we ignored the installed userbase of old phones like you unfairly compare to.

And as for whoever modded me troll - once again, anyone even asking for platforms other than the Iphone gets censored, by mods who can't bear any criticism for their beloved company.

When a Mac or Linux user asks where's a version for them, because they only released for Windows, it's not considered trolling (even though Windows only at least makes some sense, being the largest platform).

Re:Iphone and Windows? by mdwh2 · 2010-08-19 10:38 · Score: 1

I am calm - I could say the same to you; all the people who are outraged that someone might ask for other platforms, need to calm down.

I hope you are right, and we'll see a Symbian version when they roll it out worldwide. I'm not holding my breath though.

Looking down my Facebook newsfeed right now, I see 0 people using a Blackberry to post updates, 5 individuals using an iphone, 2 using Android, and 2 using Palm WebOS.

But not every person posting gets their phone listed! This is an appallingly bad way of judging how many have their own phones of a particular type. Anyone who uses an Iphone for just about everything gets an "Using An Iphone" ad tagged onto it, but this is less common with other phones. I know of loads of people with Nokias, but I rarely see it tagged on their posts.

Also the argument becomes circular - more apps produced only for Iphone, so Iphone users are more likely to use an app instead of the website, so Iphone users are more likely to have "Posted using an Iphone" advert attached, and then you conclude that there's more demand for Iphone apps...

Re:Iphone and Windows? by mdwh2 · 2010-08-19 10:42 · Score: 1

Symbian is a waste to develop for.

Er, Symbian uses standard C++ and Qt, which I would say is one of the best application toolkits around. Apparently it used to be bad, but that's old news - I might as well criticise the Iphone for not having copy and paste.

It is in the process of being rapidly murdered

How? Not only is it still number one in current sales, the number of sales is growing twice as fast as the Iphone (Q2 2010 results), with only Android growing faster. Android is no doubt going to become a major player in future, however, in the mid-range there's still no competition for Symbian (you can get a Symbian phone for as little as £70 on PAYG, where as the latest Android release still requires a high end phone). The mid-range sells far more than the high-end.

and it has no real history of heavy app usage.

Circular argument - because they're releasing for the Iphone and not Symbian. (Do you have a source for this claim, anyway?)

Slashdot Mirror

Facebook Launches Location Based Product

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