Well, I got round to watching the last episode the other night and I think it was a very good series and too short. It really needed just one or two more programmes to fill everything out.
The only thing I'd take issue with is the Apple-centric focus of the technology design. When the Macintosh first came out I though it was a nice idea but when I used them in the shop it was very much a case of yes, it's nice enough, but it's just not for me.
Then the ipod was trotted out as if it was the first mp3 player ever but the fact was that it was nearly 4 years late to the party. I think the only reason that the ipod catalysed the mp3 player market was because finally here was a company that finally had enough financial clout to stand up to the record companies. I was all geared up waiting for my mpman to arrive in 1998 when they were forced to stop selling them. I really don't see what's so great about the interface on the ipod - I don't find the circular pad particularly usable and the behaviour of the buttons never really seems to make complete sense; I certainly don't find it intuitive. If the portable mp3 player pioneers had been able to develop their ideas without the threat of financial clobbering I think a much more intelligent interface would have evolved but instead we're kind of stuck in Apple limbo where most manufacturers seem to think they have to make their products like the ipod to succeed.
Of course we also had to have Stephen Fry along to educate us as well. I don't have any particular problem with him per se, but there seems to be some kind of consensus that he's some kind of polymath and an expert on all matters simply because he's reasonably well educated, well-read and well-spoken. I take issue with this because there are often times that he's factually incorrect and nobody calls him up on it (this is why I had to stop watching QI after about four series).
There were a few other minor points throughout the series, such as in the Bauhaus episode. It really needed some editing so that they could bring to light some of the apparent paradoxes within the movement as well the tensions that resulted in later years which effectively broke it apart. I would hope that it encouraged people to find out more anyway.
But I'm losing the plot here. My whole problem is that Apple were being put forward as enablers of technology and the ones who made computers accessible, which perhaps is true, but there are also loads of people now who think they know how to use a computer or think they understand about digital media, when all they really know is how to use Apple products - They don't understand the technology at all and when the apocalypse comes they'll be screwed. (If you don't think that will happen think again - Do you think films (and the books they came form) like The Omega Man, Soylent Green and Logan's Run came out of idle speculation? Think again!)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Are Social Networks devaluing social experiences?
As I was coming home today I saw a Nokia ad on a bus touting their phones' abilities for mobile, social networking. Apparently Carrie is on her way to a picnic and wants everyone to know how much fun she's going to have. So, Tom something-or-other wants her to keep a sandwich. "All that's left are crumbs" she giggles back, etc. You get the idea.
Anyway, it just struck me that with people broadcasting their social experiences to all and sundry, are they devaluing the more intimate personal experience that's been presented for public consumption? By diluting it with repetition in a letter medium, have they denied themselves the ability to now reflect on the actual experience and from this point on will their memories consist of only the most glaring details of the event with subtleties pushed out by the reprocessing of what is deemed to have "social networking" value? After all, if I go to a picnic and there are people involved that I don't really know or have a passing acquaintance with, it's an ideal opportunity to do some actual social networking and see what they're like as a person. If you're telling everyone what you're up to and they comment or reply back, without participating, what does it mean for you and them that you're now discussing an event which you've shared only in the most tenuous sense but are discussing as if you were all there?
I suppose it just seems strange to me because I'm at that age where I'm technically competent and understand technology but my socially formative experiences were generally face-to-face. I was in my early twenties when I started using BBSes and email over dial-up (and I don't meant the Internet) and from what I saw it only convinced me that only personal interaction will show what people are really like. Too much can be lost or manufactured in the transition from person to screen and back to person again, unless you're prepared to be very specific and unambiguous. When you're on the outside of a flame war looking in, it's very easy to see how foolish the argument is and the end result of things like that is that nothing is achieved, nothing is resolved and very few people learn from it.
It seems to me that social networking sites can be good for reinforcing existing friendships or creating new ones where a real-life connection existed (even if unknown before then) but these artificial friendships lull people into a false sense of social inclusion, until they experience a point where they find out the hard way who their real friends are. Quite possibly I just don't "get" the whole social networking phenomenon, but I just don't see that it is moving us in a good direction.
Anyway, it just struck me that with people broadcasting their social experiences to all and sundry, are they devaluing the more intimate personal experience that's been presented for public consumption? By diluting it with repetition in a letter medium, have they denied themselves the ability to now reflect on the actual experience and from this point on will their memories consist of only the most glaring details of the event with subtleties pushed out by the reprocessing of what is deemed to have "social networking" value? After all, if I go to a picnic and there are people involved that I don't really know or have a passing acquaintance with, it's an ideal opportunity to do some actual social networking and see what they're like as a person. If you're telling everyone what you're up to and they comment or reply back, without participating, what does it mean for you and them that you're now discussing an event which you've shared only in the most tenuous sense but are discussing as if you were all there?
I suppose it just seems strange to me because I'm at that age where I'm technically competent and understand technology but my socially formative experiences were generally face-to-face. I was in my early twenties when I started using BBSes and email over dial-up (and I don't meant the Internet) and from what I saw it only convinced me that only personal interaction will show what people are really like. Too much can be lost or manufactured in the transition from person to screen and back to person again, unless you're prepared to be very specific and unambiguous. When you're on the outside of a flame war looking in, it's very easy to see how foolish the argument is and the end result of things like that is that nothing is achieved, nothing is resolved and very few people learn from it.
It seems to me that social networking sites can be good for reinforcing existing friendships or creating new ones where a real-life connection existed (even if unknown before then) but these artificial friendships lull people into a false sense of social inclusion, until they experience a point where they find out the hard way who their real friends are. Quite possibly I just don't "get" the whole social networking phenomenon, but I just don't see that it is moving us in a good direction.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Is there such a thing as an honest economist?
Yes, and I would urge anyone who hasn't yet, to go to David McWilliams' web site. He was one of the few people publicly calling it like it was back when TV3 could actual justify their existence with his "Agenda" TV series.
Top leaving cert student criticises rote learning? Really?
Apparently this guy got seven A1s in his leaving cert. I say well done to him and he deserves his marks, but the headline in The Irish Times is very misleading (big surprise there.)
From reading the article, it turns out he actually equates rote learning with knowledge of the subject saying that, "there is no faking it" in subjects which demand this kind of learning. So, once again a newspaper headline says the exact opposite of the article content.
Obviously, opinions differ on the value of rote learning in real life. My own is that rote learning has a place, but it should be secondary to practical application and knowledge of the fundamental basics of a subject. I never really got much of a chance to test this out because it wasn't until I really started studying subjects on my own after leaving school that I had the "eureka" moments and understood what was happening, but I think this is more of a failing of the system in general rather than a particular kind of method. I don't think there is any one method that works for everyone and unfortunately the accepted method seems to be the one that rewards recall ability over reasoning.
From reading the article, it turns out he actually equates rote learning with knowledge of the subject saying that, "there is no faking it" in subjects which demand this kind of learning. So, once again a newspaper headline says the exact opposite of the article content.
Obviously, opinions differ on the value of rote learning in real life. My own is that rote learning has a place, but it should be secondary to practical application and knowledge of the fundamental basics of a subject. I never really got much of a chance to test this out because it wasn't until I really started studying subjects on my own after leaving school that I had the "eureka" moments and understood what was happening, but I think this is more of a failing of the system in general rather than a particular kind of method. I don't think there is any one method that works for everyone and unfortunately the accepted method seems to be the one that rewards recall ability over reasoning.
You have got to be kidding!?
All hail Brian Cowen, Ireland's Financial Taskmaster according to Newsweek! I've never been much of a Newsweek reader and this is the kind of thing that vindicates that.
I really don't know much about this William Underhill fellow (who seems to be the credited author of this piece), but I suspect I know a lot more about him than he does about the Irish economy. Brian Cowen is a joke, the author is a joke and by publishing this article, Newsweek have made themselves into a joke. How could anyone possibly take the rest of the article seriously?
This is the kind of thing that makes me shake my head in disbelief - As if we hadn't got enough to contend with, our fearless leader has a trolling nincompoop blowing smoke up his ass!
The tag line for this piece in Newsweek is "Running a country can be thankless job, but these 10 leaders have managed to win some serious respect". Seriously? I don't know exactly who's giving Cowen respect, but I'm sure it's not his puppet masters. I don't think it's the electorate. I don't even think his own colleagues respect him (although he's certainly in good company there, so maybe there a certain "respect among thieves" thing going on there).
Brian Cowen was one of the people who helped drive this country into the ground and now he's being praised for screwing us into the wall with a legacy of debt? Honestly, the author of the article must be completely clueless about anything, since he doesn't even seem to have been able to do the most basic background research before writing that contemptible tripe.
I really don't know much about this William Underhill fellow (who seems to be the credited author of this piece), but I suspect I know a lot more about him than he does about the Irish economy. Brian Cowen is a joke, the author is a joke and by publishing this article, Newsweek have made themselves into a joke. How could anyone possibly take the rest of the article seriously?
This is the kind of thing that makes me shake my head in disbelief - As if we hadn't got enough to contend with, our fearless leader has a trolling nincompoop blowing smoke up his ass!
The tag line for this piece in Newsweek is "Running a country can be thankless job, but these 10 leaders have managed to win some serious respect". Seriously? I don't know exactly who's giving Cowen respect, but I'm sure it's not his puppet masters. I don't think it's the electorate. I don't even think his own colleagues respect him (although he's certainly in good company there, so maybe there a certain "respect among thieves" thing going on there).
Brian Cowen was one of the people who helped drive this country into the ground and now he's being praised for screwing us into the wall with a legacy of debt? Honestly, the author of the article must be completely clueless about anything, since he doesn't even seem to have been able to do the most basic background research before writing that contemptible tripe.
LG GD900 Crystal review
I've had this phone for a few months now and have decided to do a review of it.
First of all, the reason I got it was because O2 had it on clearance at 50 euro so it seemed like a bargain and in fairness, it's not a bad phone, especially at that price. It does have enough faults that would make me think twice about recommending it to anyone. I'd recommend downloading the user manual if you're thinking about getting one so you can see how it works.
Look and feel
The phone looks nice and it feels good and solid in the hand. The slider keypad/touchpad is nice but when it's open the phone is totally unbalanced and really needs two hands so you don't accidentally drop it! As a result you never really use the keypad, which was one of LG's main marketing gimmicks! The user interface is reasonably well presented and has a decent amount of customisation available. The degree of customisation is limited by the way the phone restricts different content to the four different home screens though.
In use
Now, the bad points. The positioning of the touch-sensitive call button is a dreadful design decision as it is far too easy to accidentally touch off it with part of your hand when putting the phone down. If you happen to have a message or contact open... You can guess the rest.
The touch screen is responsive but has no calibration option. Even the hidden engineer menu doesn't seem to have a calibration option. As a result you have to put up with a phone which always seems to think you've pressed on a slightly lower position than you can feel with your finger. This disconnect between your perception and the reality can make typing on the screen a bit awkward and if you need to reposition the cursor in a text message it can be very frustrating.
In the contacts section, again it's too easy to hit off the "call" icon and end up calling someone without intending to. The phone has no confirmation option for calls, so when you press call that's what happens, there's no "are you sure" dialog, which I'm sure would have been an option if the designers had actually used the phone in testing. This is especially true in the PIN entry screen after power up. You can press the "emergency call" button by accident (due to the screen calibration issue) and it calls 112 straight away with no confirmation. Great, now I'm making nuisance calls to the emergency services!
The camera is very awkward to use. The whole point of having a camera built into your phone is so that you can take a picture quickly and with no fuss. With this phone, you have to try and get the camera interface up and running before you can even think about getting the picture framed and focused. You would think that you could just open the slider and press the shutter button at the side, but you'd actually be quicker going into the overview screen which has all the phone activities listed and starting it from there, especially if you want to record video. Once the camera is ready, it works reasonably well and the video is pretty decent quality, but colour balance tends to be quite a bit off under all but the best natural light. Perhaps there's an automatic setting for this.
The nice thing about the phone is that it has plenty of built-in memory. Well, you would think that, but what does it use the memory for? Certainly not text messages or message folders. You can only have about 500 messages stored in the phone (about 60k's worth of data) and you can only have about 10 folders set up for organising your messages. This is absoutely pitiful and LG must have had some real fools designing the software to come up with those limits. I guess it's not designed for heavy text users or people who like to keep their conversations. As a result you have to use LG's phone suite software which, like many others, is yet another flashy but usability-challenged, proprietary interface to take the data off the phone.
A number of times now the phone has also hung on me while playing back sound files (trying to choose a decent message alert and ringtone is another chore) which required a battery out-and-in operation which is pretty lame, especially in this day and age.
The web browser is not bad, but screen rendering options are pretty limited and you end up having to change the zoom level every time you go to a new page. The screen itself is very good and quite high-resolution, although my close-up eyesight is no longer good enough to really appreciate that.
The RSS reader is a nice addition, but not if you want to use it. All you can see are portions of the headings and if you want to read the rest it's into the web browser and change the zoom yet again so you can actually read the text.
The user interface is reasonably slick but for any scrolling screens which contain user content (like the contacts or message lists) the scrolling is sluggish and unresponsive.
I haven't had a chance to really test the bluetooth out but the wi-fi seems to be reliable and works well enough. The GMail and Google Maps mobile apps work well enough and go some way towards the redeeming the phone in terms of usefulness.
Final thoughts
Luckily I don't expect much from a phone other than something I can make calls and text with but this phone reminds me a lot of the PSP - It looks so nice and promises so much, but falls down in the implementation. There are far too many arbitrary limitations which make no sense at all and there appears to be no intention by LG to provide a software update to remedy the problems that it has. As a result I couldn't really recommend the phone to anyone who wants something that they can push to the limits.
Luckily I didn't pay too much for the phone, but if I had paid the original retail price I'd be demanding my money back and I would certainly never buy anything from LG in future. As it is, I'd definitely think twice before getting another LG phone in future. It has to be said that a lot of the usability problems probably stem from the use of their own OS, whereas if they had stuck with a well-tested and stable one like Symbian or even had an Android option a lot of these problem would have been fixable, bypassable or simply not there in the first place.
I would give the phone a 4 out of 10. Not impressed.
First of all, the reason I got it was because O2 had it on clearance at 50 euro so it seemed like a bargain and in fairness, it's not a bad phone, especially at that price. It does have enough faults that would make me think twice about recommending it to anyone. I'd recommend downloading the user manual if you're thinking about getting one so you can see how it works.
Look and feel
The phone looks nice and it feels good and solid in the hand. The slider keypad/touchpad is nice but when it's open the phone is totally unbalanced and really needs two hands so you don't accidentally drop it! As a result you never really use the keypad, which was one of LG's main marketing gimmicks! The user interface is reasonably well presented and has a decent amount of customisation available. The degree of customisation is limited by the way the phone restricts different content to the four different home screens though.
In use
Now, the bad points. The positioning of the touch-sensitive call button is a dreadful design decision as it is far too easy to accidentally touch off it with part of your hand when putting the phone down. If you happen to have a message or contact open... You can guess the rest.
The touch screen is responsive but has no calibration option. Even the hidden engineer menu doesn't seem to have a calibration option. As a result you have to put up with a phone which always seems to think you've pressed on a slightly lower position than you can feel with your finger. This disconnect between your perception and the reality can make typing on the screen a bit awkward and if you need to reposition the cursor in a text message it can be very frustrating.
In the contacts section, again it's too easy to hit off the "call" icon and end up calling someone without intending to. The phone has no confirmation option for calls, so when you press call that's what happens, there's no "are you sure" dialog, which I'm sure would have been an option if the designers had actually used the phone in testing. This is especially true in the PIN entry screen after power up. You can press the "emergency call" button by accident (due to the screen calibration issue) and it calls 112 straight away with no confirmation. Great, now I'm making nuisance calls to the emergency services!
The camera is very awkward to use. The whole point of having a camera built into your phone is so that you can take a picture quickly and with no fuss. With this phone, you have to try and get the camera interface up and running before you can even think about getting the picture framed and focused. You would think that you could just open the slider and press the shutter button at the side, but you'd actually be quicker going into the overview screen which has all the phone activities listed and starting it from there, especially if you want to record video. Once the camera is ready, it works reasonably well and the video is pretty decent quality, but colour balance tends to be quite a bit off under all but the best natural light. Perhaps there's an automatic setting for this.
The nice thing about the phone is that it has plenty of built-in memory. Well, you would think that, but what does it use the memory for? Certainly not text messages or message folders. You can only have about 500 messages stored in the phone (about 60k's worth of data) and you can only have about 10 folders set up for organising your messages. This is absoutely pitiful and LG must have had some real fools designing the software to come up with those limits. I guess it's not designed for heavy text users or people who like to keep their conversations. As a result you have to use LG's phone suite software which, like many others, is yet another flashy but usability-challenged, proprietary interface to take the data off the phone.
A number of times now the phone has also hung on me while playing back sound files (trying to choose a decent message alert and ringtone is another chore) which required a battery out-and-in operation which is pretty lame, especially in this day and age.
The web browser is not bad, but screen rendering options are pretty limited and you end up having to change the zoom level every time you go to a new page. The screen itself is very good and quite high-resolution, although my close-up eyesight is no longer good enough to really appreciate that.
The RSS reader is a nice addition, but not if you want to use it. All you can see are portions of the headings and if you want to read the rest it's into the web browser and change the zoom yet again so you can actually read the text.
The user interface is reasonably slick but for any scrolling screens which contain user content (like the contacts or message lists) the scrolling is sluggish and unresponsive.
I haven't had a chance to really test the bluetooth out but the wi-fi seems to be reliable and works well enough. The GMail and Google Maps mobile apps work well enough and go some way towards the redeeming the phone in terms of usefulness.
Final thoughts
Luckily I don't expect much from a phone other than something I can make calls and text with but this phone reminds me a lot of the PSP - It looks so nice and promises so much, but falls down in the implementation. There are far too many arbitrary limitations which make no sense at all and there appears to be no intention by LG to provide a software update to remedy the problems that it has. As a result I couldn't really recommend the phone to anyone who wants something that they can push to the limits.
Luckily I didn't pay too much for the phone, but if I had paid the original retail price I'd be demanding my money back and I would certainly never buy anything from LG in future. As it is, I'd definitely think twice before getting another LG phone in future. It has to be said that a lot of the usability problems probably stem from the use of their own OS, whereas if they had stuck with a well-tested and stable one like Symbian or even had an Android option a lot of these problem would have been fixable, bypassable or simply not there in the first place.
I would give the phone a 4 out of 10. Not impressed.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Waste management and recycling
It's not really that hard is it? I was just reading this article on the BBC news site and it's disappointing that people just still don't seem to get the message.
We try and recycle as much as possible in our house, and typically we only have to get the grey bin emptied once or twice a year, with an extra collection if a bit of spring-cleaning has hit the house. We manage to recycle nearly everything - Since the green bin started accepting plastic we manage to recycle just about all our packaging, and food waste is composted. It only takes a small change in behaviour to start recycling and once you start and realise how easy it can be then it just snowballs from there.
We try and recycle as much as possible in our house, and typically we only have to get the grey bin emptied once or twice a year, with an extra collection if a bit of spring-cleaning has hit the house. We manage to recycle nearly everything - Since the green bin started accepting plastic we manage to recycle just about all our packaging, and food waste is composted. It only takes a small change in behaviour to start recycling and once you start and realise how easy it can be then it just snowballs from there.
The Gartner hype cycle graph
There seems to have been a bit of buzz about Gartner's hype cycle graph recently since their article on cloud computing It seems that a lot of people have been having knee-jerk reactions about it over the last year and fail to understand that this graph is just another tool - It needs some kind of judgement exercised to create and interpret it, but I guess all sorts of people just love to get on their hobby horses about their chosen subject(or go on an anti-Gartner rant, as if Gartner should be compelled to ask EVERYONE's opinion...)
Anyway, check it out and see if you agree on where your own areas of interest are going. If nothing else, it provides a bit of stimulus to the thought centres.
Anyway, check it out and see if you agree on where your own areas of interest are going. If nothing else, it provides a bit of stimulus to the thought centres.
Amazon Kindle breaks the price barrier
Well, it looks like Amazon have finally managed to get the price down to an acceptable level for the UK release of the Kindle. I would actually be very tempted to get one now and in fact would have pre-ordered it except that they won't ship outside the UK! OK, you can order it from the international site and pay shipping and import fees but I'm not that desperate (or am I... It wouldn't be that much more than the GBP to EUR conversion). Actually, I think I will order it...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Medion Full HD Media Player - GPL source code
Well, after a bit of searching I found it...
http://download.medion.de/downloads/treiber/gpl86162de.exe (121MB)
It's a self-extracting file which contains two tarballs. Haven't had a chance to trying building it yet, but it looks promising and looks like it should contain the most recent updates.
http://download.medion.de/downloads/treiber/gpl86162de.exe (121MB)
It's a self-extracting file which contains two tarballs. Haven't had a chance to trying building it yet, but it looks promising and looks like it should contain the most recent updates.
PDF Pad - Flags, custom graph paper, calendars and charts.
I'm in the process of going through my bookmarks and rediscovering useful links.
One site that is very useful if I need to print out grids is PDF pad, which has all sorts of PDFs and PDF generators to print plain graph paper, engineering or science graph paper, isometric grids, polar charts, etc.
What's handy is that there is also a collection of flags, custom calendar generators, storyboard layouts and even a sudoku generator.
It certainly beats trying to throw something together in word or excel.
Some previews from the site (copyright PDF Pad)
One site that is very useful if I need to print out grids is PDF pad, which has all sorts of PDFs and PDF generators to print plain graph paper, engineering or science graph paper, isometric grids, polar charts, etc.
What's handy is that there is also a collection of flags, custom calendar generators, storyboard layouts and even a sudoku generator.
It certainly beats trying to throw something together in word or excel.
Some previews from the site (copyright PDF Pad)
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Note to Eric
Articles on BBC news about this collecting of wifi data streams by the Google street view cars.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8684110.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10122339.stm
If you brought your front door key into a shop to get a copy of it and the operator made their own copy for "research", would you be happy? Even if they never used the key, would that make it OK? No harm, no foul, right?
Playing devil's advocate - On the other hand, if people have an open wireless system then they are effectively saying, "Here is a network, do what you want with it", which I think they should be entitled to do. If you were to open up your garden as a right-of-way that would be your decision. If people trample all over your grass and reduce it muck, well that was your fault, but if people are going to be prevented from doing (or not doing) their own risk assessment, then how are we going to evolve into anything other than automatons.
Back to the original point, however; If you archive the raw data, then what you're doing is storing a potential time-bomb of personally identifiable information that could be cross-indexed with all your other data. Plus, who knows what kind of correlations could be made if dumps were obtained and traded in hacker networks. Say you wanted to look at web traffic to a particular site to look for vulnerabilities, what better way than to dig out that huge data source and start filtering SSL negotiation sessions or comparing secure vs insecure traffic to the same server to help work out encryption keys. The only saving grace is that it appears to have been sampling packets rather than streams.
In short though, it's one thing to say "your data was on an open network, anyone could have looked at it", but it's quite another to take that data and archive it, with who knows what kind of security protecting it from widespread dissemination.
If you think I'm being a bit extreme, there isn't much difference between this and Google opening up a cable Internet box on the street, sniffing everybody's network data and uploading it to their servers for later perusal. The only difference being that they'd have to answer to another large corporation and regulatory mechanisms instead of relatively powerless individuals.
in other words, common sense is something that was sorely lacking in the decision to archive publicly available wifi traffic. What's been done is that disparate local area networks, which in themselves would have little value have been aggregated into a potentially very lucrative source of demographic and behavioural information.
Google deserve to get smacked around for this mistake. Not because they did something bad or evil, but because they did something greedy, stupid and inconsiderate. Being acquisitive is not an admirable trait in people and neither should it be in corporations.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8684110.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10122339.stm
If you brought your front door key into a shop to get a copy of it and the operator made their own copy for "research", would you be happy? Even if they never used the key, would that make it OK? No harm, no foul, right?
Playing devil's advocate - On the other hand, if people have an open wireless system then they are effectively saying, "Here is a network, do what you want with it", which I think they should be entitled to do. If you were to open up your garden as a right-of-way that would be your decision. If people trample all over your grass and reduce it muck, well that was your fault, but if people are going to be prevented from doing (or not doing) their own risk assessment, then how are we going to evolve into anything other than automatons.
Back to the original point, however; If you archive the raw data, then what you're doing is storing a potential time-bomb of personally identifiable information that could be cross-indexed with all your other data. Plus, who knows what kind of correlations could be made if dumps were obtained and traded in hacker networks. Say you wanted to look at web traffic to a particular site to look for vulnerabilities, what better way than to dig out that huge data source and start filtering SSL negotiation sessions or comparing secure vs insecure traffic to the same server to help work out encryption keys. The only saving grace is that it appears to have been sampling packets rather than streams.
In short though, it's one thing to say "your data was on an open network, anyone could have looked at it", but it's quite another to take that data and archive it, with who knows what kind of security protecting it from widespread dissemination.
If you think I'm being a bit extreme, there isn't much difference between this and Google opening up a cable Internet box on the street, sniffing everybody's network data and uploading it to their servers for later perusal. The only difference being that they'd have to answer to another large corporation and regulatory mechanisms instead of relatively powerless individuals.
in other words, common sense is something that was sorely lacking in the decision to archive publicly available wifi traffic. What's been done is that disparate local area networks, which in themselves would have little value have been aggregated into a potentially very lucrative source of demographic and behavioural information.
Google deserve to get smacked around for this mistake. Not because they did something bad or evil, but because they did something greedy, stupid and inconsiderate. Being acquisitive is not an admirable trait in people and neither should it be in corporations.
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