Brett_Tabke - 9:14 pm on Aug 29, 2002 (gmt 0)

While I have a philosophical agreement with Everyman, I think the core arguments and issues presented are thin. When you compare Googles use of cookies to what has been going on for years from companies such as the ad brokers, Googles usage of cookies is trivial.

If you want cold war era paranoia, think about what your isp knows about you. Much of that is easily accessible by applicable parties.

KeyMaster has it correct to turn the discussion to other issues more significant than cookies.

Toolbar. It's ability to track and monitor people habits is second only to a keystroke logger.

Caching. It is not right to use other peoples work without prior permission. I can't help but notice Google does not allow people to use it's pages without prior permission. It is the one aspect of Google I find troubling. If they are willing to overlook simple common sense business practice on an issue this large, how can we not consider that on other issues? It's a litmus test.

So I agree that all is not happy shiny in Googleland. I'm also glad some are looking after the issues. Companies do change. Googles explosive growth has a set of pressures that would be hard for most of us to appreciate and understand. Attempting to push forward while being the one on the hot seat is not easy - you get everyones best shot.