You're still paying more for the same hardware, sometimes even with a $500 discount.
]]>@unobservant: I should clarify (which, for the record, I am doing blind because my unapproved new-account comment is no longer visible — talk about no edit button, lol): Yes I see that they advise against giving your yahoo or gmail passwords to third-party sites. I'm not sure that that language will be clear to the less tech-savvy folks, who are the ones that most need to hear it. Nor do I think there was enough emphasis on password security.
...but, then, I'm a former keeper-of-passwords, so I'm probably a bit more anal about that than most!
]]>@rickatnight11: One of the people highlighted in the NYT story denied giving out his password as well. How, then, are these sites getting the info? Unauthorized third-party access to login cookies? (Do you remember if you were logged in to your gmail account when you signed up at LinkedIn?) Screen capture? Or, more alarmingly, somehow accessing stored passwords in your resident email client or your browser?? That's trojan/virus/malware territory.
Stories like these make me feel not so bad for being a Luddite when it comes to social networking. I just recently got dragged kicking and screaming onto Facebook. Their friend finder's emphasis on "enter your email and password!" is a little creepy. It's prominently at the top of the page, whereas the "enter your friend's email/IM" options are buried farther down. Even if I was crazy enough to share my password, I don't necessarily want to "friend" everybody on my contact list!
]]>@unobservant: Word. I couldn't believe the author blithely gave her password to an unknown site, and was shameless enough about it to let it be published in the New York Times as if it was a common or sensible thing to do...??
The article is a good cautionary tale, but would have been much better if it said outright "DON'T GIVE OUT YOUR PASSWORDS!" for the benefit of those who seemingly don't know any better. (...and, for readers who had already been taken in, tell them to CHANGE whatever password(s) they mistakenly distributed!)
]]>When LinkedIn asked me if they could spam my friends, I told them to have fun trying without my PASSWORD or the manual input of my friends' email addresses.
]]>Can we send them directions to a convention centre where I can personally smack each one of them upside the head? (After gleaning their SIN numbers and banking info, of course.)
]]>@Trai_Dep: You only think your nicer because your pretty notebook makes you elitest. In reality you been suckered into a marketing trap, while the rest of the world knows you paid $1000 insead of $400.
]]>Being an anti-social asshole has it's benefits. Less spam.
]]>I know that some folks put sites like Facebook or LinkedIn in the so-called "respected" or "trusted" websites category. However, you're being foolish to hand over this information to any website. You never know where that information is going to go and how long they'll keep it.
I mean really... you're giving someone your email address and the password. Think about it.
]]>Can't help but wonder if my friend used one of the applications that entice by saying a friend of yours uses it (not necessarily true - I think Facebook allows names to be put into these ads unless you explicitly opt out of it).
]]>