There Is No Free Lunch...

Good article, Don.

The entire tech industry, is all-in on AI and Big Data.

I restrained myself from getting on facebook for a long time, due to all of the issues discussed. I finally jumped in. The problem, is, you get left behind culturally, from everyone else. While I don't necessarily care to get on the facebook train, one kind of needs to be literate in it, in order to keep up with many things. That is one of the dilemmas with all of this stuff.

If it's free, you're the product. Simple and sweet. Up to you to decide if it's worth it. Right now, the tradeoff I make with Google is worth it. So I use it. The tradeoff with Facebook is not. I still have a Facebook account. I just never log into it. And I run CookieAutodelete in my browser, so Facebook and Twitter cookies get deleted as soon as I close the browser tab with those services in it.

I think Stampworld is a pretty cool site. First of all, using the search function, I often am able to find stamps quicker than in a catalogue - especially for countries that have lots of stamps - like Hungary or Bulgaria, for instance. Secondly, you can make trading lists and send them to people. You tick of the stamps you have for trade, they tick of the ones they have for trading, and you can exchange links. Of course, where Stampworld makes money is with their buy and sell platform. It is quite handy, especially for those lower priced stamps. It is also good for topical collectors, as you can choose a whole raft of different topics in the search function. It is of course not very useful for someone who is specialising in one particular philatelic area. But for the beginner, who does not have access to catalogues from the library - I think it is a great site.

Just got out of a long GDPR class ... It will be interesting to watch this roll out.

Businesses doing business with EU citizens are going to be required to much more maniacally safeguard users personal data. Failure to do so will result in stiff penalties. This was summarized earlier in this thread.

As was previously stated, this would also include something like this website.

Signing up requires that users explicitly agree to T&C's on how their personal data will be stored and shared. It has to be very obvious to the person signing up how this is going to work - and the user must take an active role in agreeing. The default action cannot be to agree.

Where it gets interesting, is that there is a stipulation, that if someone later wants their personal data erased, this must be accommodated, within 1 month by the Data Controller. The Data Controller is the business that makes decisions on how to use the stored personal data. The users personal data must be securely erased within that period. Furthermore, any other parties to whom they may have sold or shared that data with must be notified, and they, as well, should make a 'best-effort' (I forget the exact wording but it wasn't bullet-proof here) towards erasing the user data as well.

The only free lunch that I ever got was from one of those financial seminars near the airport where they invite you by mail to attend for a few hours to hear a talk that tries to convince you to sign onto their program and they also give you a free planner with a calculator too.

One or more offers for a "free lunch" come every week to our mailbox. I consider my time to be worth much more than what these solicitations are offering.

When they are serving a good steak at those financial seminars - I'm there.

Let's just say that once you attend one of those seminars and you don't buy anything from them, you won't be receiving any invitations anymore. They like to think that they are serving "food for thought" there.

The one I get is for dinner at Ruth's Chris. After attending some timeshare seminar in Hawaii (deal was a dinner cruise) I have never been to another free dinner appeal.

I thought the following humorous and applicable.


CALLER:
Is this Gordon's Pizza?

GOOGLE:
No sir, it's Google Pizza.

CALLER:
I must have dialed a wrong number. Sorry.

GOOGLE:
No sir, Google bought Gordon's Pizza last month.

CALLER:
OK. I would like to order a pizza.

GOOGLE:
Do you want your usual, sir?

CALLER:
My usual? You know me?

GOOGLE:
According to our caller ID data sheet, the last 12 times you called you ordered an extra-large pizza with three cheeses, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and meatballs on a thick crust.

CALLER:
OK! That's what I want ...

GOOGLE:
May I suggest that this time you order a pizza with ricotta, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and olives on a whole wheat gluten free thin crust?

CALLER:
What? I detest vegetables.

GOOGLE:
Your cholesterol is not good, sir.

CALLER:
How the hell do you know?

GOOGLE:
Well, we cross-referenced your home phone number with your medical records. We have the result of your blood tests for the last 7 years.

CALLER:
Okay, but I do not want your rotten vegetable pizza! I already take medication for my cholesterol.

GOOGLE:
Excuse me sir, but you have not taken your medication regularly. According to our database, you only purchased a box of 30 cholesterol tablets once, at Drug RX Network, 4 months ago.

CALLER:
I bought more from another drugstore.

GOOGLE:
That doesn't show on your credit card statement.

CALLER:
I paid in cash.

GOOGLE:
But you did not withdraw enough cash according to your bank statement.

CALLER:
I have other sources of cash.

GOOGLE:
That doesn't show on your last tax return unless you bought them using an undeclared income source, which is against the law.

CALLER:
WHAT !!!

GOOGLE:
I'm sorry, sir, we use such information only with the sole intention of helping you.

CALLER:
Enough already! I'm sick to death of Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and all the others. I'm going to an island without internet, cable TV, where there is no cell phone service and no one to watch me or spy on me.

GOOGLE:
I understand sir, but you need to renew your passport first. It expired 6 weeks ago...


Don

CALLER: Why don't you Go Ogle someone else?!

I've seen that somewhere else Don, but I can't remember where. It manages to be amusing and slightly disturbing at the same time....

That's about right. Years ago everyone (including myself) just thought I was paranoid. Recent conference I went to had a Jeep on stage at 70 Mph (wheels raised up of course) and they demo'd proof of concept with a remote shell to the on-board terminal to activate the emergency braking sensor. Very scary. Another talk was "Home Invasion 2.0" where it showed baby monitors, and other home IoT vulnerabilities. And today they just came out with an Alexa Proof of Concept 'Skill' that executes looped listening, transmitted to a 3rd party web server. I don my "tinfoil hat" now with pride :-)