First things, please don't view this as an attack on the usefulness of Unity lenses. View it as coming from a "critical friend" (and if in doubt re-read it a couple of times).
On 25 September 2012 00:22, James Thomas <selin...@googlemail.com> wrote: > Hmmm.. You are writing from a google mail account that does send targeted > adverts dependent on the content of your emails. Which I know about. It's in the privacy agreement/terms of use when I sign up for the service. I don't recall anything similar with Unity, > This system is giving you what you want without profiling you or passing > your data on. Where's the privacy policy? How do I know this? > I don't understand the issue here, there is no data mining going on. You > make a request and the server gives you (hopefully) the response you want, > much like typing in a search at google. > Except google do profile you. Not quite. When I type into the Dash it's the primary way of launching local applications and finding local files. There was a blog post (IIRC by Mark) about changes to the Dash removing "available for installation" applications as people viewed their Dash as their own. In addition, with a Google search there's a "privacy policy" link at the bottom of the page; there's nothing similar for Unity. Plus, I can change the amount of information sent back to Google. If I search while not signed in it's not linked to my account. If I want to use the network-based location service on my Android phone I can set the device not to report my location to Google. Canonical can (theoretically) build a profile based on geoIP, Ubuntu One SSO, (Firefox searches?), and now Dash searches; the point of discussion is how to "find the creepy line". > This is making things more secure to search, not less... > > Or is my understanding completely off? > It's all about making sure people are aware. Though this will likely open me up for flames, the evolution of the Unity lenses smacks of a hobbyist attitude (much like some of Google's services): it works for me, I have no problem with it, I can't understand why anyone would mind, but if you do you can go somewhere else. One solution is pretty straightforward: make online search features an option in the installer (same page as third-party codecs) with a link to the privacy policy etc. J -- ubuntu-uk@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-uk https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UKTeam/
