[joeblow9999]

Originally Posted by OmNom

I dont know much about these buy out things, but they arent FORCED, are they? I mean the people at DoubleClick had the right to decline the deal I assume...

Definitely not forced, but that doesn't matter. The point is that corporations shouldn't be allowed to eliminate their competition, because it's bad for the rest of us. A free market cannot exist when there is no competition. And corporations generally don't want competition because they earn less money.

Originally Posted by OmNom

In terms of Google and theyre notorious privacy invasions. Honestly, i couldnt care less.

But many other people do. Would you care if Apple did it? Something tells me you would.

Originally Posted by OmNom

Ok, so they have a bot searching through my emails finding key words so that they can put out personalized ads. I dont mind that. sometimes its even handy for me. Its not like theyre selling this information to creepers and other companies and stuff. Theyre using it for something that benefits everyone.

How do you know they aren't doing anything with your data that they shouldn't be? It's a slippery slope that quickly gets ugly. Are you familiar with the scope of the Patriot Act and the powers it gave to government agencies? Google keeping all that data on you is easy pickings for the government if they decide that they want to take a look at it. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it's a valid concern. (Side note: I don't know if you live in the US or not, but I'm assuming you do unless you mention otherwise )

Originally Posted by OmNom

And yes, Google is out to make money. But as I said, they dont have the same appearance as Apple. And theres rarely a company that isnt out to get money...

And what difference does it make what "appearance" they have if they both behave the same in practice?