February 11, 2010
by scito
Google’s new Buzz service integrates with your Gmail account and turns it into a social experience. Day after its launch, privacy concerns have been raised about Google’s new Gmail-based social-networking tool, Buzz.
At issue is a feature that compiles a list of the Gmail contacts who users most frequently e-mail or chat with. Buzz automatically starts following these people and makes the list public, meaning strangers can see who Buzz users have been in contact with.
Buzz requires users to set up a public profile before they can post messages, it does give them an option to hide who they are following and who is following them.
However, the default setting is to make the information public, and only users who click on an “edit” tab can see the choice to opt out. That means many people who start using Buzz may be publicly linked to other users without realizing it.
As Silicon Valley Insider points out, unless you proactively change these settings, everyone knows your most valuable contacts.
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2 Comments » | Tagged buzz, gmail, Google, privacy
February 11, 2010
by scito
Google plunged into the world of social networking by melding pieces of Facebook and Twitter into a new feature, Google Buzz.
The Google Buzz service is tied to Gmail and lets any Gmail user write status updates that other users can see. If you create a Google profile page, your posts will go out to the full Web too.
Google Buzz also lets people post links, YouTube videos and photos from Google’s Picasa service. At launch, Google will let people link Buzz to their Flickr and Twitter accounts as well. A similar courtesy has yet to be extended to Facebook.
People will find the Google Buzz notes right in their Gmail in-boxes, where they’re marked with a special Buzz icon that looks like a cartoon text bubble filled with Google’s signature primary colors. The comments that follow an update, also known as a Buzz, are grouped in a similar fashion to the way Gmail handles a thread of message.
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No Comments » | Tagged buzz, Google
October 29, 2009
by scito
Barnes & Noble said it will resell Plastic Logic’s e-book reader, QUE, rounding out the bookseller’s upcoming products to compete with rival Amazon’s Kindle line.
Plastic Logic plans to debut pricing and details of the QUE at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January. The device, which measures 8.5 by 11 inches, will utilize AT&T’s 3G network and Wi-Fi for wireless downloading.
B&N also announced last week that it will start shipping its own e-reader, called the Nook, at the end of November. The device, which has a six-inch display, is the same size and price as the standard version of Amazon’s Kindle. Both devices cost $259.
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