What’s Your Privacy Worth? A Free Smartphone?

Image via Wikipedia

The NYT has a good article about the pros and cons of massive data mining and the state of our personal privacy.

As a jumping-off point they look at a program being run at M.I.T.

“Now, when he dials another student, researchers know. When he sends an e-mail or text message, they also know. When he listens to music, they know the song. Every moment he has his Windows Mobile smartphone with him, they know where he is, and who’s nearby.

Mr. Brown and about 100 other students living in Random Hall at M.I.T. have agreed to swap their privacy for smartphones that generate digital trails to be beamed to a central computer. Beyond individual actions, the devices capture a moving picture of the dorm’s social network. ”

While this is a relatively harmless and completely voluntary invasion of privacy it raises a slew of questions about what constitutes “private” actions and how, in this digital age especially, are we going to balance the technical ability to track and gather personal data with the rights of the individual?

NYT piece is definitely worth a read.

Related articles by Zemanta

• You’re Leaving a Digital Trail. What About Privacy?

A ZunePhone?! An Idea That Can’t NOT Fail.

Image via Wikipedia

God, I really hope the rumor of a ZunePhone is true – I need new material for my one-man-show entitled OMG MSFT = FAIL. Zune Zune Zune

“WHAT DO YOU get if you take an Iphone, remove the clean UI, user friendliness, nice industrial design, battery life, cachet, functional OS, and in general everything else that makes it worthwhile? The new Microsoft phone, powered by Nvidia.” (via)

Oh, Microsoft, I do so love to hate you. Yet, I still use MSWord.  I’m such a hypocrite.  Sigh.

Related articles by Zemanta

• A Zune Phone? Likely.
• Microsoft, Nvidia phone? Well, we know this much
• Amid iPhone success, rumors of a Microsoft phone