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Apple, Microsoft Tout Their Privacy Policies To Get Positive PR
jfruh writes: Apple hasn't changed its privacy policy in more than a year — but that didn't stop the company from putting up a glossy website explaining it in layman's terms. Microsoft too has been touting its respect for its users's privacy. This doesn't represent any high-minded altruism on those companies' parts, of course; it's part of their battle against Google, their archrival that offers almost all of its services for free and makes its money mining user data.
When are they rolling out the update(s) for Win 7 that makes it spy on you (like Win 10 does) and what updates should we uninstall to prevent this?
You have to appreciate how Microsofts pathetic attempt to position themselves agaIsnt Google - when they were intercepting and logging Skype conversations between people all along.
Seriously, how dishonest can you get? It is still not clear how to disable MS snooping completely and permanently in Win10 and, as updated cannot be blocked permanently at the moment, there is a permanent risk of them stepping up the snooping at any time. And they have the gall to claim they respect their user's privacy? This is a direct and blatant insult to any of their private customers.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
No, they aren't doing it for you. If anything, they would be using your CPU cycles to mine BC for them.
Because you run an adblocker, you scum!
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
I have two thoughts on this. First, Apple's business model is fundamentally different from google's, and it makes sense for apple to point out the benefits of their business model at every opportunity. Second, I suspect that Tim Cook is extraordinarily sensitive to privacy issues, and one could hypothesize that it may have to do with growing up gay in Alabama in the 60s.
Windows Phone:
- No way to use GPS locally without sending location to Microsoft
- No way to use WiFi locally without forced participation in location crowd sourcing
- No way to practically use device / install software without a Microsoft account
- No way to prevent windows phone with Microsoft account from transmitting location data to Microsoft
- No way to maintain a local address book without having it all automatically sent to Microsoft
- No way to prevent device specific identifiers from being sent (in the clear I might add) to Microsoft servers.
Windows:
- No way to prevent transmission of telemetry (Windows 10 non-enterprise SKUs)
- No way to prevent connections to MS servers (vortext, data, settings) when everything CEIP, updates, everything has been completely disabled (Windows 7)
- No way to disable automatic updates (Windows 10)
- No way to prevent CRL queries when CRL checking has been disabled (Windows 7)
- No user reachable knobs to disable mostly annoying and counterproductive NLA queries
- Disrespectful defaults and intentional UX elements such as misleading appearance of MS account requirement to trick people into using a MS account to access their local systems (windows 10)
Lies applicable to TFA:
"In the past, Windows could be thought of as software existing only on your device. Now with Windows 10, important parts of Windows are based in the cloud, interacting with online services"
This is non-specific BS to setup excuses for unacceptable privacy violations enumerated later in TFA.
"When you communicate with your friends, family, and business associates, like text messaging (SMS, MMS, etc.) on a Windows device, we have to get the content of the message to deliver it to your inbox, display it to you, enable you to reply to it, and store it for you until you delete it."
I'll leave this nonsense speak for itself.
"For real-time communications, a phone-calling app needs to know the phone number of the contact you want to reach. "
This is priceless because the calling app does not have a local store. What it really effectively means if you want to call anyone Microsoft needs to know the number.
"If you lose your phone, you can locate your Windows phone on a map using Find My Phone at https://account.microsoft.com.... Even if you have turned off all other access to the location service on the phone, this feature can still work. "
This is the problem there is no effective way to opt out even up front when initially setting up the device. The only possible option is to not associate a MS account which effectively renders the device a brick/feature phone.
Apple, Microsoft Tout Their Piracy Policies To Get Positive PR. In today's date , commander Data would be so ashamed of the word "big data" ( if he had feelings)
I have two thoughts on this. First, Apple's business model is fundamentally different from google's, and it makes sense for apple to point out the benefits of their business model at every opportunity. Second, I suspect that Tim Cook is extraordinarily sensitive to privacy issues, and one could hypothesize that it may have to do with growing up gay in Alabama in the 60s.
I recently caved in and bought my wife a Macbook Pro.
I've been wanting for years to get her off Windows, and my chances of ever getting her on Linux are slim to none. I finally decided that, as little love as I have for Apple, I distrust Apple less than I distrust Microsoft. Once we get her data copied over from her old machine so I can nuke the drive, our home will be Windows-free*.
*(Other than the Win7 instance I very occasionally run in a VM for testing stuff related to my job.)
Thank you, Windows 10 and forced upgrades, for finally getting me off the fence!
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
I know your post is funny, but let's not overlook the opportunity to critique what is possibly the worst Slashdot article ever.
Apple, Microsoft Tout Their Privacy Policies To Get Positive PR
As opposed to all those times when companies tout thing to get negative PR?
Apple hasn't changed its privacy policy in more than a year
Okay, looking for the news here.
but that didn't stop the company from putting up a glossy website explaining it in layman's terms
Well, this is bad because... you know, because, something?
Microsoft too has been touting its respect for its users's privacy.
Link? Article? Something?
This doesn't represent any high-minded altruism on those companies' parts, of course
Of course. Because, you know, [CITATION NEEDED]
it's part of their battle against Google, their archrival that offers almost all of its services for free and makes its money mining user data.
Dear Slashdot/Dice/whoever is actually running the show, can someone actually articulate where there is actually anything to talk about here? Maybe other than stoking a clickbait + flame bait war over who loves TEH GOOOGLES vs. the homosexuals who likes TEH APPLES and the obvious shills who are the only ones who claim to like TEH MICROSOFTS omg zerg rush?
Seriously, Slashdot, WTF? What. The. Fuck? An article about how one company hasn't changed its privacy policy, and how another has... not done anything? What The. Fuck?
Look, I haven't left this site yet because I haven't found a better alternative. But you're making it harder and harder every day to justify staying here with shit like this.
"95% of all Slashdot
I know your post is funny, but let's not overlook the opportunity to critique what is possibly the worst Slashdot article ever.
They forgot to give us Bennet Haselton's thoughts on the subject. That would have been the finishing touch that made it the worst article ever.
FWIW, I went through the exact same thing two months ago. Non-technical wife (accountant), never used anything but Windows on the desktop/laptop. I didn't want to go balls deep with a brand new MBP in case she hated it so I picked up a 2010 version for a few hundred off Ebay.
Installed Yosemite and bought an old copy of Office for Mac 2008 for $25 so she can run Excel. Then set up Virtualbox with Windows XP just to run her ancient version of Quicken until she can transition to a native Mac version at the start of next year (hopefully finding something she can use besides Intuit). Just told her to click on the cube.
Bottom line is she loves it. I was really afraid that Finder and the apps bar would be too different for comfort but that turned out not to be the case. She knows her documents are in the Documents folder and which icons to click for apps (mail, pictures, browser), and that manipulating files involves the apple key. Time Machine is intuitive enough where she can manage file recovery herself, and I get the benefit of brainless automatic backups to the NAS.
So credit needs to be given where's it's due; there's something about Apple that just fits perfectly with average users. And at this point I honestly do feel that Apple is the least of all evils for privacy now. So the time was right.
Hope your experience turns out to be the same!