Dropbox Indeed Balked at Major Acquisition Offer from Apple

[Tilpots]

The Dropbox and Skydrive terms are no better than the Google Drive terms.

Yes they are. They're more clearly defined in the scope of the terms.

 

[bpaluzzi]

Yes they are. They're more clearly defined in the scope of the terms.

Sorry, you're wrong. Read any of the newer stories, after the initial round of FUD. Google, Dropbox, and SkyDrive all EXPLICITLY tell you that you remain all copyright and ownership of your files, but they also ALL have the right to do anything that they want to with your files.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/25/2973849/google-drive-terms-privacy-data-skydrive-dropbox-icloud

 

[Tilpots]

Sorry, you're wrong. Read any of the newer stories, after the initial round of FUD. Google, Dropbox, and SkyDrive all EXPLICITLY tell you that you remain all copyright and ownership of your files, but they also ALL have the right to do anything that they want to with your files.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/25/2973849/google-drive-terms-privacy-data-skydrive-dropbox-icloud

I've seen that and it's mentioned in the article I linked. Google does not define the scope of their terms as clearly as the other services and they do retain a right to your files, plain and simple. You just have to "trust" that they won't do evil. Again, no thanks. Dropbox for me.

 

[bpaluzzi]

I've seen that and it's mentioned in the article I linked. Google does not define the scope of their terms as clearly as the other services and they do retain a right to your files, plain and simple. You just have to "trust" that they won't do evil. Again, no thanks. Dropbox for me.

Again, you're wrong. Google is much more explicit with what they can do. Dropbox is terribly nebulous, their exact wording is "You give us the permissions we need to do those things solely to provide the Services. This permission also extends to trusted third parties we work with to provide the Services, for example Amazon, which provides our storage space (again, only to provide the Services)."

That's waaaaay broader than Google's. You're about 2 days late to this discussion, and this has been hashed out ad nauseum already.

 

[Tilpots]

Again, you're wrong. Google is much more explicit with what they can do. Dropbox is terribly nebulous, their exact wording is "You give us the permissions we need to do those things solely to provide the Services. This permission also extends to trusted third parties we work with to provide the Services, for example Amazon, which provides our storage space (again, only to provide the Services)."

That's waaaaay broader than Google's. You're about 2 days late to this discussion, and this has been hashed out ad nauseum already.

"solely to provide the Services." Show me that in Googles terms. And just because you discussed it two days ago doesn't make you right or the final authority.

 

[bpaluzzi]

"solely to provide the Services." Show me that in Googles terms. And just because you discussed it two days ago doesn't make you right or the final authority.

Okay, you're right. The hundreds of pundits and dozens of sites, as well as the IP lawyers that have been commenting on it are wrong, and you're right.

A list of specific functions is less specific than saying "the permissions we need to do those things".

 

[Tilpots]

Okay, you're right. The hundreds of pundits and dozens of sites, as well as the IP lawyers that have been commenting on it are wrong, and you're right.

A list of specific functions is less specific than saying "the permissions we need to do those things".

If you actually read any of those pundits or lawyers, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

 

[bpaluzzi]

If you actually read any of those pundits or lawyers, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Are you serious? You're arguing the opposite of every recent discussion. Again, you need to get sources that are newer than 3 days old.

 

[hafr]

Sorry for resurrecting a dormant thread--but it seemed like I'd get more/higher quality responses this way...

Related question(s) to the Dropbox turning down Apple thing: Has anybody seen any transactions in Dropbox stock on the "private market" sites? Been meaning to register with these for a while, and finally got to it a little while ago. Signed up as a member of Second Market and SharesPost--I recall seeing both of these pseudo-exchanges mentioned more or less positively in the WSJ. Any others I should be checking out as well?

IDrive, SpiderOak, SugarSync and Wuala.

----------

With Google Drive released I think Drew should be kicking himself now. He'd be lucky to get $80,000 for Dropbox now, let alone $800 million.

Check out the Dropbox forums, lots of pro users are so allured by Google's storage pricing!

I don't think he figured he would ever be able to get more than that for DropBox, but not everyone are in business to make as much money as possible. Just look at the perfect example - Linus "Linux" Thorvald.

 

[Abazigal]

Past a certain point, does it really matter whether you get 800mil or 4 bil? To me, it's still more money than I could spend in a lifetime anyways.

Plus, to all of you who said that apple would ruin it the same way they seem to be screwing up mobileme or even icloud, isn't that the point? They couldn't replicate dropbox's features/success, so they figured the next best thing would be to buy it over.

 

[hitekalex]

If you actually read any of those pundits or lawyers, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

@Tilpots - you keep referring to the initial hysteria of uniformed public, who latched onto 3 selectively chosen sentences from a generic Google ToS. All the subsequent analysis of people with actual expertise indicate that G-Drive TOS are fundamentally the same as Skydrive, Dropbox and others.

Here's a quote from Nilay Patel's article comparing TOS of 3 services. Nilay is an IP attorney and a well known expert in these issues. So please, enough with the FUD.

"In the end, though, the actual wording of these documents doesn't reveal much — they all set out to do the same thing, and they all accomplish their goals. What's most important is how much trust you're willing to give companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Dropbox as more and more of your data moves to the cloud."​

 

[Tilpots]

@Tilpots - you keep referring to the initial hysteria of uniformed public, who latched onto 3 selectively chosen sentences from a generic Google ToS. All the subsequent analysis of people with actual expertise indicate that G-Drive TOS are fundamentally the same as Skydrive, Dropbox and others.

Here's a quote from Nilay Patel's article comparing TOS of 3 services. Nilay is an IP attorney and a well known expert in these issues. So please, enough with the FUD.

"In the end, though, the actual wording of these documents doesn't reveal much — they all set out to do the same thing, and they all accomplish their goals. What's most important is how much trust you're willing to give companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Dropbox as more and more of your data moves to the cloud."​

Thanks for the link, hitekalex. I have read that info and it was all in the first article I linked, but the fact remains the same; Google may indeed use the uploaded materials if they so choose, at anytime, even if the content is no longer stored with Google. It explicitly states Google will also be the only one of the cloud providers discussed that will crawl your content and use it to tailor ads to you. Of all the years I've used Dropbox, not once has the information contained in the documents and media I've uploaded been used for anything, that I'm aware.

I know it's all legalese, but I still don't feel confident in Google's service, yet. Dropbox has been an excellent provider for me and I trust their product and services. This is exactly what Nilay points out.

 

[hitekalex]

Of all the years I've used Dropbox, not once has the information contained in the documents and media I've uploaded been used for anything, that I'm aware.

Exactly, you're just not aware. For example, DropBox indexes and hashes all the content uploaded to their servers. So when you and I upload the same file, say, for instance, the latest Ubuntu distribution - Dropbox only stores a single copy. So technically speaking - both Dropbox and Google crawl through the contents of your data. And this is exactly why they need this sort of TOS.

Now, if you have an issue with cloud providers crawling through your content - you can choose not to store any truly sensitive data in the cloud.. OR you can pre-encrypt your data locally, before uploading it to the cloud.

I know it's all legalese, but I still don't feel confident in Google's service, yet. Dropbox has been an excellent provider for me and I trust their product and services. This is exactly what Nilay points out.

And that's perfectly fine. But I think it's a lot different than saying "Google TOS is inherently evil and they are looking to own your content, while Microsoft/Dropbox terms are so much more privacy friendly".

 

[Tilpots]

And that's perfectly fine. But I think it's a lot different than saying "Google TOS is inherently evil and they are looking to own your content, while Microsoft/Dropbox terms are so much more privacy friendly".

Good thing I didn't say that then!

 

[bawbac]

Besides iCloud, Apple is gather your personal information to use for solicitation or "for sale" by other means.

Apple wants it all!

When you use Siri, the things you say will be recorded and sent to Apple to process your requests. Your device will also send Apple other information, such as your first name and nickname; the names, nicknames, and relationship with you (e.g., “my dad”) of your address book contacts; and song names in your collection (collectively, your “User Data”). All of this data is used to help Siri understand you better and recognize what you say. It is not linked to other data that Apple may have from your use of other Apple services. By using Siri, you agree and consent to Apple’s and its subsidiaries’ and agents’ transmission, collection, maintenance, processing, and use of this information, including your voice input and User Data, to provide and improve Siri and other Apple products and services.

http://images.apple.com/legal/sla/docs/iphone4s.pdf.

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