“It’s one thing if during the development process of this device that someone on the inside thought for some reason that this was a good idea. It’s quite another to stand by the stupidity when those on the outside are made aware of it, ask the company about it, and the company still stands by it,” Goldman writes. “Which is apparently exactly what happened yesterday. When the Times called Palm for comment, not only did the company not deny it, but proceeded to explain why this was all OK.”
Goldman writes, “The vague statement issued said Palm ‘privacy policy’ includes detailed language in its more than 1,600 words about how the company might use a user’s information ‘all toward the goal of providing a great user experience.’ How that’s done by invading a user’s privacy I have no idea, but this continues a trend of misplaced hubris at this company that has never made sense to me.”
Goldman writes, “Palm, give your valued, and precious few Pre customers a chance to disable this feature, or just turn it off for them. Otherwise it might be real easy to keep track of all your Pre’s: they’ll be unsold, on store shelves, right where you left them.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: Despite all of the hype over this device, fewer than 250,000 Pre units were active in mid-July, according to JRPG. This news certainly won’t help them move any more units than the paltry number they’ve shipped to date.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Robert S.” for the heads up.]
1984?
We are watching you.
Better Customer Experience Through Privacy Invasion? Google reads all my email to filter out Spam. So by invading my privacy, they’re protecting my privacy.
It makes my brain hurt. OW!
Actually, I was expecting you to insult Palm by commenting on the Pre phoning user and location data to home base. I wonder why instead you only commented on the number of pre units sold.
Could it be that deep down you probably suspect the iphone does the same thing by reporting on user data and location?
“The vague statement issued said Palm ‘privacy policy’ includes detailed language in its more than 1,600 words about how the company might use a user’s information ‘all toward the goal of providing a great user experience.’
Sounds like the US House wrote the policy for Palm.
“Palm, give your valued, and precious few Pre customers a chance to disable this feature, or just turn it off for them. Otherwise it might be real easy to keep track of all your Pre’s: they’ll be unsold, on store shelves, right where you left them.”
Bwahaha! Brilliant.
I think this site desperately lacks post from a PalmTard or better yet, a PreTard.
What!?!? Someone should contact all 3 users
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While all cell phones report their approximate position (+/- a mile or so), using the GPS is a stroke of genius!
Now, when the Palm people see that their customer is about to venture near an Apple store or an outlet that sells RIM products, they can send them a false map, misleading text message, or call them up with a special offer that takes them in the other direction!
Or if they see that their customer is surfing MDN, they can redirect the http request to palm.com.
Brilliant!
Why not link to the original Los Angeles Times article?
This is a story taken from CNBC taken from the L.A. Times. Doesn’t anyone write original stories anymore?
No, wait I forgot, this is the internet.
Their tracking to see whether someone in a major company is actually using a Pre – then they’ll approach the company to take them over
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Uhm, you know, how else does that smart multitasking they advertise, supposed to work? Of course, it needs to know where you are at all times, and what app you are accessing.
I want to know the location of the crazy looking woman in the ads, so I can stay away from her.
Old news…
+ Doesn’t need to be paranoïd to know that everybody does the same thing since years.
Buy a Palm Pre give up your right to privacy. It’s just that simple.
Does anyone have evidence that the same thing is done by Apple?
QUICK POLL:
I enabled Find My iPhone on my kids iPhones so that I would know where they are as they go off to college tomorrow. All on the pretense that if they lost their iPhones we would be able to locate their devices. If I told them my real motivation – they would surely disable this feature. (As I would have at their age)
My kids are 19 and 20 and I have no desire to spy on them. I just thought it would be nice to know where they were … and if something bad ever happened … I would be able to either drive to their location or direct the police to help them.
– Good Idea?
– Bad Idea?
@iPhoner – As a parent, I can totally relate. A friend of mine had a son who had disappeared 20 years ago. He was a haunted man.
Ok MDN, tell us how many iPhone apps have built in Pinch Analytics and not bothered to tell us…..
http://www.pinchmedia.com/#pinchanalytics
Figures. A piece of shit company is using sneaky tactics on their piece of shit device to collect data.
They are doomed.
Suddenly I have the urge to simultaneously give my girlfriend a Pre and apply for a job at Palm. Easier and cheaper than hiring a private investigator.
Scumbuckets. Just leave it in strip bars and surf porn.
I am constantly amazed at how these companies treat the privacy of their customers so cavalerly. Would they like the same done to them by other companies?
On another note, people in the Seattle area now have Snow Leopard before the rest of the world. Yes, it isi true! The Seattle Zoo is now showing its two baby snow leopards to the public.
iPhoner, bad idea, unless you reciprocate, so they can know where you are at all times.
iPhoner
Keeping track of your kids is perfectly fine. Knowing where they are is not over the line, especially if they are minors. Even at the ages of 19-20, if you are paying for their phones, they still shouldn’t complain too much. However, at that age I wouldn’t “locate” them unless I had real reason to be concerned–don’t just spy on them. I also would not tell them you were able to do so or else they may intentionally leave their phone behind or turn it off when they were going certain places, which would prevent you from locating them if there was an emergency.
Many people may object to this as an invasion of privacy. However, 19-20 yr olds are not quite really adults, and depending on the individuals, it may serve them well to be looked after a little more closely by their parents. It really depends on how responsible and mature your kids are. If doing this could really help keep them safe, then do it, but if it’s just being snoopy, then leave them alone.