Moving from a Touch Pro 2 to an Android

[mastergadgets]

Originally Posted by Miami_Son

The technology is moving faster than our ability to control it or even comprehend the ways in which it can be used or affect us. That's part of why I don't want to be forced to trust Google with my personal info.

I'm with you. Because it's new technology, we blithely follow the herd and later we wind up in trouble.
Google is in business for business, don't be fooled into thinking they are doing it for your good.
The same with "The Cloud". I'm not storing any of my information in any one's server that I have no control over.
Call me paranoid, but I have seen too many people get into trouble without knowing what they were getting into.

[RidleyJ329]

Originally Posted by Miami_Son

Yeah, but Outlook stores the info in a file locally on my hard drive, not on someone's internet server where I have no control over it or who has access to it (a password is hardly a deterrent). I don't use Windows Live for that very reason. Why should I trust ANY company with my private info? When I sync, the information is going from my PC directly to my device, not across an internet connection. We adopt new technologies so fast these days that we not only don't stop to think what the risks are, we don't even know yet until someone finds a way to exploit them. What legal safeguards are there in place to protect our data from abuse and/or to keep Google or Microsoft from seeing/using our personal info for other means? It might seem benign to many, but my contacts and calendar could be used by marketers or other unscrupulous people for who knows what nefarious purposes. The other day I went into a store and about a half hour after I left I got a text from the store with advertising. I didn't give them my cell phone # or permission to text me, but they did. Found out that they have a system in place that captures cell phone info in the store and then sends advertising texts. Crossing their threshhold is considered tacit approval to do this even though I am totally unaware of it. Doesn't matter that I may have to pay for their text depending on what plan I have. I have to opt out after the fact to stop more texts from being sent and there's no guarantee another visit to the store won't get me back on their list.

The technology is moving faster than our ability to control it or even comprehend the ways in which it can be used or affect us. That's part of why I don't want to be forced to trust Google with my personal info.

i completely see what your saying. that sometimes we take our security vs privleges for granted. call me nieve if you will but im usually th kinda guy that will trust/respect you untill given a reason not. ive always used live myself with out any problems. and i use google now without any problems. like you say technology is advancing so much, i feel, if someone wants my info that bad all it really takes are just a few clicks of a mouse. on the case of the store "authorizing" itself to text you adverts with you beng unaware thats definatly where i draw the line and makes wonder how they were doing it.

[subprime]

Yeah, but Outlook stores the info in a file locally on my hard drive, not on someone's internet server where I have no control over it or who has access to it

I can understand this for contacts and calendar items but if you are using outlook for your email, doesn't it grab it from some other company's server?

I'm not storing any of my information in any one's server that I have no control over.

Don't get me wrong, I am hesitant about "the cloud" too, but isn't almost all of your info on some one else's server that you have no control over? The carrier's log every call you make and receive, every text message can be retrieved, every email too. Basically, almost everything we do on our phone can be tracked...computer too if you are using the internet at all.

[Miami_Son]

You guys are right, simply using the internet means you've granted access to much of your personal life. The issue is to whom and for what reason. There's no way to lock it down except to completely give up using the internet at all. What bothers me most about Google is their main existence involves advertising. Under the guise of providing a service (web search) they have built themselves into a mega-corporation whose real purpose is all about marketing. They don't have to sell your personal info to anyone, they can simply use it for themselves. With each new product they develop under the Google brand, your info becomes infinitely more valuable to them as does their ability to market directly to you. Sure, today that may seem innocuous enough...a few advertising e-mails, maybe a text or targeted ads on a website you visit through Google. But what about tomorrow? Who knows what this data can be used for? Maybe I'm paranoid, but we just seem so willing to easily trust these faceless entities with vasts amounts of our personal info. I know I can't stop it, but I will at least try to control it as much as possible, and that means "cloud computing" is not something I'm comfortable with. The pace of technology has far outstripped the law's ability to control it and make it safe, so some prudence is warranted, even if it is only a little. I do what I can. I'm not a Luddite by any means, but I am concerned and cautiously skeptical that a corporation would have my best interests in mind.

[RidleyJ329]

Originally Posted by subprime

Don't get me wrong, I am hesitant about "the cloud" too, but isn't almost all of your info on some one else's server that you have no control over? The carrier's log every call you make and receive, every text message can be retrieved, every email too. Basically, almost everything we do on our phone can be tracked...computer too if you are using the internet at all.

+1 all things considered, there is no hiding from "Big Brother"

Originally Posted by RidleyJ329

like you say technology is advancing so much, i feel, if someone wants my info that bad all it really takes are just a few clicks of a mouse.

[Miami_Son]

Originally Posted by RidleyJ329

like you say technology is advancing so much, i feel, if someone wants my info that bad all it really takes are just a few clicks of a mouse.

That may be, but I don't have to facilitate it by putting the info there myself. With Google services, that's exactly what you're doing. You have to take it on trust that it is not only not misused by Google, but that it won't be by anyone else. Do you know Google well enough to give them such a high level of trust?

[subprime]

Not to get everyone even more paranoid, but here is a good read about gmail. I think its old but I found it really interesting:

Creepy Gmail

[RidleyJ329]

Okay guys... i decided to do this:

http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/off-topic/...-bad-ugly.html

[Snoman002]

I think its all a mute point.

To really use your Android phone you have to set up a Google Account (needed for Android Market), once you set up a google account I believe it transfers your contacts. So regardless of if you put your contacts into Google's servers manually and transfer them to your phone, or transfer them to your phone direct, I believe they are going to end up in Google's servers anyways.

I could be wrong, but I think there is no way to keep your contacts out of Googles servers, other than not getting a Google device.

[jerryyyyy]

Originally Posted by Miami_Son

Your TP2 backup file will not be compatible with anything on the Android phone. Relying on Google is the one thing keeping me from an Android phone. I'm an Outlook user and prefer not to have my info on an internet server.

This sounds like the voice of reason to me. I hear Windows Phone 7 will eventually have to support direct/usb PC Outlook synchs and this seems to be complaint number 1 of users like us.