With many companies these days, you are the product they are ultimately selling. Facebook is probably the worst offender, but Google and other companies are the same way. Their goal is to sell you to advertisers however they can. That means your privacy is always suspect and frequently abused.

This is one of the reasons I like Apple. Here’s an announcement they just made on their new privacy site:

They actively work to make your personal data impossible for them to see, because they don’t need to. Their product is the hardware, not you. You’ll likely hear people saying they don’t trust the new  Pay, but it’s probably the safest way you can use your credit card. The card information is secured on the phone and never leaves it, no one can get to it (not even Apple), and the information that passes to the reader is not even your real card number. The purchase information is also never transmitted to Apple, because you are not their product–they don’t need or want that information. iMessages are encrypted from point to point so that Apple can’t see them, the fingerprint data (not even the actual fingerprint) for the fingerprint sensor is stored in a place that can’t be accessed, even by Apple, etc. There’s a lot of FUD out there, but just follow the money. Where does a company’s majority income come from? That will tell you what is really being sold.

Some sneaky people switched the American flags on the Brooklyn Bridge with white ones. They got away with it leaving no clue behind.

If this had happened before the advent of security theater we all would have been thinking and saying, “Wow, great prank! Congratulations!”

Instead, authorities have their panties in a wad. How much money has been wasted investigating this “possibly terrorist” event? America needs to take a chill pill.

Besides, it’s obvious that Obama did it.

Neil is at his first Apple Camp. Hokey, but it’s free, fun, and Neil gets a free T-shirt.

The one problem we’re having so far is that Neil is not the most artistic child in our family. Getting him to create a story and draw pictures takes some guidance and lots of prompting.

A session with artistic Mom tonight using the Paper app would probably help a lot.