Lose Rights by “Liking” a Company?

A disturbing trend showed up this week in the cyber world concerning companies and the fine print that they’re putting into their privacy policies on their websites. They’re basically making it possible to deny a customer’s right to sue the company based on the users “consent” which they unknowingly give when they “like” a brand on Facebook.

General Mills, which makes cereals like Cheerios and Chex, have quietly added language to their website to alert customers that they give up their right to sue the company if they download coupons or “like” online communities on Facebook.

The idea is that any favorable interaction with the company or its products that confers a quote “benefit” to the consumer is treated as an acceptance of the company’s terms, which includes a waiver of any legal rights against the company.

The bottom line to you as a consumer is that you should carefully read any explanations on company websites if you’re concerned about losing these kinds of rights.

A New Long Term Support (LTS) Version of Ubuntu is Out!

Ubuntu 14.04 will be the first version of Ubuntu to provide the operating system for commercially available tablets. “Trusty Tahr,” or version 14.04 will be a long-term support edition for desktops and servers.

Canonical CEO Jane Silber said Ubuntu 14.04 for desktops “would be a good option for businesses considering a switch from Microsoft, and specifically those replacing XP or Windows 7 as they come to end-of-life.” It would be nice to think that businesses would seriously consider such a switch, but I think they would be fairly forward thinking to consider it. Sadly, there are many businesses willing to take a chance of having an open source operating system upon which to base their business. Those that do decide to make the switch, more power to them!

Ubuntu is based on Debian Linux but also forms the basis of other operating systems including the popular Linux Mint desktop.