gordoncomstock

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gordoncomstock
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  • Apple Store Easter egg celebrates its 10th anniversary

    gordoncomstockgordoncomstock
    How underwhelming. 
    pscooter63

  • AT&T CEO claims HBO will glean consumer data from Apple TV viewers

    gordoncomstockgordoncomstock
    Why would you assume he's lying?  I'm guessing it's because you don't understand what Apple qualifies as personal information. 
    Apple defines personal information as: data that can be used to identify or contact a single person.  So they can easily say they aren't sharing personal information without being dishonest.  Apple never states they won't share non-personal information.  Non-personal data has a less stringent sharing parameters.  In fact Apple states: We also collect data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. 
    Examples of non-personal information and some examples of how Apple uses it:  We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, referrer URL, location, and the time zone where an Apple product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising. 

    So he has no reason to lie because Apple is probably not sharing personal information with AT&T beyond what's necessary to manage the account.  But non-personal information like the type listed above?  Yeah, I bet they're getting some of that.
    "data that can be used to identify or contact a single person."

    Realize that "identify" and "contact" are carefully chosen words with meanings defined by Apple and similar entities who gather data.

    Consider this:

    Suppose I place someone outside of your home who logs every publicly visible action you make: the times you come and go, what you're wearing, what direction you take when you leave, etc. And, when you leave, another person follows you to log your every movement. Throughout this data collection, your exact legal name and home address are not gathered (because I don't want to be accused of tracking your personal information), but over time, I know a lot about you: where you work, shop, eat, exercise, drink, find entertainment, worship, etc. I know enough about you to place highly personalized advertisements in front of you anywhere you go, on a digital billboard, in your doctor's office, in an elevator, at the gym, in a grocery store's produce section. These ads are so personalized that they border on the creepy, BUT... no ad ever called you by name or referred to your home address, so even though they know it was "you" they didn't know it was YOU.  What constitutes contact in advertising? —Addressing you by your legal name?

    Note how the words you quoted from Apple play out.  "We also collect data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual"

    Digest that one phrase:  ON ITS OWN.

    This does not mean that, when aggregated with other data, one cannot be identified to a degree that does, effectively, identify a specific, trackable individual. Choosing not to take the additional step of identifying that individual by legal name and home address, keeps these data collecting and aggregating entities technically out of legal jeopardy, but by the time a profile is assembled, a legal name and address is really superfluous unless they want to start an old fashioned direct mail campaign.
    beowulfschmidtmuthuk_vanalingam

  • Apple slapped with class action suit over gambling apps

    gordoncomstockgordoncomstock
    Can we just get past the ghosts of our Puritan roots and legalize gambling already? Legalized online poker & sports betting is S-L-O-W-L-Y making its way from state to state. At the current molasses-in-the-Feb-2021-artic-blast pace it'll be the next century before a full slate of casino games are available online. Get it out of the shadows of offshore sites and under regulation.
    watto_cobra