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Technology Stocks : Intel Corporation (INTC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Fred Fahmy who wrote (74762)	2/27/1999 10:24:00 PM
From: NITT	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 186894

Fred and all; re: privacy issue and CPU ID There are a lot of privacy issues that people who use the net should be concerned about, but the CPU ID alone will not contribute to the problem or solve it. The so called "privacy advocates" have been trying to be heard about a whole host of issues including cookies on the internet, gathering of data when people call a company, gathering of data when you return a warrantee or response card, and even the caller ID issue with your phone. Their biggest problem is they did not have a simple sound bite to create a mantra over and they did not have one company to target. The CPU ID has given them both, and at worst some very misinformed people may actual bite on this stuff and miss out on the opportunity to own a Pentium III. At best, the rational privacy advocates may get the real issues of privacy on the table and at least gets the law abiding companies to behave on the Internet. You must allow a Java script to run on you PC in order to give up the CPU to some web site. If you are willing to allow a site to run a Java script, there are a lot more dubious things that a "BAD" player on the Internet could do to you. In addition, many of us allow web sites to place a cookie on our system. In some cases the cookie is just an indication that the PC and Browser being used have been to the site in the past. In other cases the cookie is a unique ID that lets the site know that you are back and it welcomes you by name (this is meant to be for your benefit, but is not clear that all consumers are aware that they may be being tracked). I hope Intel does not back down with the ID. The CPU ID offers benefits to both business and consumer users, but if it is not ubiquitous, the benefit is reduced. Could CPU ID be abused? Yes, but cookies can be abused today. If you are one of the Intel hater on this thread and are here just for the sport of bashing Intel wrt CPU ID please drop it. If people on this thread have any valuable knowledge about the issues of privacy and how the CPU ID helps or hinders please chime in, I open to real ideas. NITT