Gator gets into searches
p2pnet.net News:- Gator (oops, Claria) apparently wants to pop out of pop-ups.
The company has been wooed, of late, by Bill and the Boyz. They gave it a clean security bill of health by downshifting it from ‘quarantine’ to ‘ignore’. So does that mean it’s soon to become part Microsoft?
Apparently not. Acquisition talks are, “reportedly off because of Claria’s tumultuous history being linked to spyware,” says CNET News.
Meanwhile, “Claria plans to use its intimate knowledge of those users’ search behavior – historical interests, number of visits to a destination site, time viewing a site, for instance – to tailor query results on its search engine,” says the story.
Gator (oops, Claria) gained some (most?) of this knowledge by in effect spying on users and collecting data on them without their knowledge or permission.
"Over time and with more users … personalization technologies will allow consumers a richer, more customized online experience," Claria ceo Jeff McFadden is quoted as saying.
This is somewhat similar to the entertainment cartels promising they have consumers’ best interests at heart.
“For now, the search engine is available only to a handful of testers within its network, but Claria said the site will be open to the public by the end of 2005,” says CNET.
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See:-
CNET News – Adware maker Claria steps into search, July 13, 2005
July 14th, 2005 at 10:33 am
You’d have to be high to download the new Claria toolbar, when it comes out. I’d also equate it to making out with an unnatractive woman when drunk, then instantly regretting it. Temporary loss of insanity may also prompt you to use it’s ‘personalised searches’. Burn, gator, and die.