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No-one here's an Anarchist - faux or other wise
Authored by: alexmathew on Oct 08, '04 07:46:34AM

The point is techniques to do something with a service that its not meant to - is part of being cutting edge in the tech world - I understand your concern for the users - but its actually irrelavant with google.

Every technology (other than discovering the theory of relativity, I guess) is derivative. If I see something that exists, I must try to do something else with it - most of it is completely legal (ethical or not - is something left to the Amercian board of censors!) and if called illegal - its usually protecting someones vested interests. RIAA does a great job with the legal aspect of things. Ripping CD's was hack sometime ago - do you rip any CD's? Do you know that according to RIAA ripping even your OWN CD's is illegal - leave alone being unethical!

If google really wants to STOP people from using gmail as a disk - they can. The app does not attack any user accounts - nor does it incovenience the users - considering that the users begged to get on gmail(BETA) anyway - it forces google to actually THINK rather than sit on their behinds and bask in the glory of a search engine! (Their SMS offering is joke - but thats another topic.)

Finally, I dont intend to use gmail and I dont intend to use this app - but its nice to know that there are people left in this world who will challenge the status-quo.

Bye
AM



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Re: No-one here's an Anarchist - faux or other wise
Authored by: chyna4xena on Oct 08, '04 09:35:33AM
alexmathew, just because a "cutting edge" thing can be done, does not mean it should. Why don't we create a "cutting edge" bomb that can destroy the entire planet in one go ? I don't accept that technological development (whilst it is a good thing) can be an excuse to behave either illegally or unethically.

"The app does not attack any user accounts - nor does it incovenience the users"
No-one said the app by itself would do anything. The concern is that Google Inc have already stated they do not want third party automated account managers (TPAAMs) accessing Gmail - for the obvious reason (ad revenue), and that Google will shut down Gmail unless ad revenue is greater than costs. Did you consider that the complete loss of Gmail will certainly "incovenience the users" ?

"If google really wants to STOP people from using gmail as a disk - they can"
This isn't just about using Gmail as a disk - it is also about using a TPAAM with it. I don't think that Google could easily stop people using TPAAMs. A TPAAM could, in theory, send exactly the same requests as a normal web browser - how would the Google servers know the difference ?

"Ripping CD's was hack sometime ago"
Um, no it wasn't. The ability to read CDs was built in to the player, it wasn't "hacked" in! And just because the RIAA takes an unbelievably conservative position on IP doesn't condone people breaking the conditions of a free service and thereby denying it to other people.

"its nice to know that there are people left in this world who will challenge the status-quo"
Challenging the status quo is one thing, wilfully committing an act that negatively affects thousands of people is another. Just because you are "challenging the status-quo" does not mean what you are doing is right! Someone could, after all, challenge the status quo of you being alive.

Sorry about the long comment, but there is one more thing - I believe that Einstein was only able to develop special relativity thanks to the efforts of countless predecessors, including Maxwell and Lorentz.


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