From: James Fallows, Hacked! (edited)
Google presents itself as the world’s leader in handling big data.
It attracts users with the idea that trusting cloud services is moderne.
And, yes, the services are free but the users are indispensable to the company as advertising vehicles.
Then, it exposes users to the risk of a “single-point failure” that could in a few minutes eliminate many years’ worth of crucial data.
This is the same company famed for making every bit of data part of the world’s “permanent record.”
That embarrassing picture of you in a nightclub, that subversive definition of “santorum”— they and other ephemera are eternal, but all your e‑mail can disappear before noon?
My Comment:
Is Google great? Yes. Does putting its best foot forward mean hiding its other foot. Yes, indeed.
You should read that whole article. It's amazing.
