Viewing Thread:
"I spy?"

Far from getting better, internet snooping seems to be hitting an all-time high. Many companies are finding out that the internet is a useful tool in increasing their client base, including Procter & Gamble, who hilariously (or should that be hairlariously?) used their net spying skills to allegedly steal the secrets of it’s rivals hair care clients, meaning that they could target a big customer base without doing much work themselves. There are many cases of this ‘net snooping’ cropping up in the media recently and it doesn’t seem to be abating. Now, spying on other companies data is possibly breaking the bounds of legality and could be a very bad thing, but there is also a growing trend for companies to absorb data from many different online sources, including the everyday forms and registration documents sent out by normal people innocently using their net access at home.

Now, compare that with the current trend in online gaming. Alright, so at the moment, the PC and Mac are the only formats to seriously push the boundaries of online entertainment, but soon Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft will join their ranks. With broadband access arriving soon for more and more homes, there would appear to be a great wealth of information for the big sneaky companies to steal from under our noses, and broadband brings its own problems too, always-on access could mean that people leave their computers online for a lot longer than normal, leaving them open to hackers as well.

Every time you fill in an online survey, either for a competition or as part of a game registration, you are submitting another piece of the puzzle that goes to make up your life to the information vultures on the net. Is this important? Well, it depends how you see it. If you wish to remain anonymous to the big corporations then it could be a problem, if you hate junk mail it could be your worst nightmare. If, however, you wish to have advertisements that are more relevant to you, rather than the random junk mail that filters through your door and your email inbox, then this might actually be seen as a boom.

So what can you do? Well, one way to beat the system is to provide incorrect information in many of the forms you fill in. You’ll have to be careful though, as doing this for some of the online registrations can be illegal. A few well placed lies here and there would make all the difference though and may send the companies databases around the bend. You could always use the system to your advantage too, with companies providing free samples such as t-shirts, soap and hair products and even chocolate, you could end up looking at a hamper full of goodies coming your way, although the postmen and ladies may object to all the extra weight.

Either way, without new legislation restricting the use of data on the net (and that includes the current data protection act, which is outdated at best) most households will have to put up with the peeping tom companies looking through their electronic windows while they surf.

*congratulates himself, and everyone else, on helping to degenerate a perfectly intelligent topic into a discussion of porn sites*

M16 wrote:
> Oh, and I love your tagline, PB! :-D

...thought you might. Grumble, grumble...

Yep, they are made for people like Goatboy...

farting?

Unless you have a fetish for farting, porn sites get reather samey(sp?).

Oh, and I love your tagline, PB! :-D

Spy Vs Spy was a good game, better than any spy game to date. Including Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Well maybe not. Still, Spy vs Spy 3D or something might be fun, although the traps would be even harder to use. Actually, no they wouldn't since you could move in four directions anyway and you'd still have to search objects such as cases and pictures. It's a bit like playing Perfect Dark, having proximity mines on (with a limit) and having to search various pieces of furniture which can also be booby trapped. Except the mines only go off when you search the thing rather than going near. Oh and you have to find certain specific objects (varies depending on which spy game you're playing). So not like perfect dark then.

Time_Warp wrote:
> I might be a kid to most of you but porn is cheap balomi and once
> you have seen one bit, you have seen it all. To me it is't anything
> exciting so let 'kids' be kids.

What 'bit' would that be then TW? hm?! ;-)

Anyway, it's far better in real life, all those people surfing porn get out and get a girlfriend...

I might be a kid to most of you but porn is cheap balomi and once you have seen one bit, you have seen it all. To me it is't anything exciting so let 'kids' be kids.

Grix Thraves wrote:
> (*waiting patiently for some kid to boast about how he can get more
> than that*)

Well that was my plan, but like everything in this world. Grix has to ruin it...
:)

(*waiting patiently for some kid to boast about how he can get more than that*)