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Google is developing spy software

I know, no big surprise right? We all knew Google was evil deep down, at least a little bit. According to The Register, Google is planning on using "spy" software to catalog and categorize the background sounds heard while you're using your microphone on their VoIP/chat client, then serving you ads based on what they hear. I suppose if Google hears sheep in the background, they will show you hay and alfalfa ads, or kids in the background, they will show you ads for Barney videos and Cheerios. Obviously, there are many privacy issues here to be addressed, and I don't feel good about Google knowing every little thing that goes on in my house, just because I like my privacy and anonymity. Google would become big brother's best friend in a heartbeat. Imagine I have a romantic evening planned and forget to turn the microphone off, will Google sell me wine and chocolates the next day? I am morbidly interested in Google's strange fascination with sucking every last drop of usable information out of us, but not really interested in this kind of software that invades my privacy. I will give up a small degree of privacy online in text only, but recording my sounds? That seems too personal. What's next, reading my thoughts through some highly advanced retinal scan? Google wishes.

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Featured Time Waster

Civiballs is a beautiful, soothing physics puzzle Time Waster

CiviballsI have an absolute weakness for physics games, and while Civiballs isn't the strongest physics-based game, what it lacks in the physics department it makes up for a few times over in style and fun.

In Civiballs, you are presented with a few colored balls, and your goal is to get those balls into the same-colored urn on the level. The "civi" part of Civiballs is that there are 3 sets of levels to play, each representing a different civilization. While the civilization doesn't affect gameplay, the artwork for each level is beautifully themed to it's appropriate era.

To play the game, you are given only one tool - a sword with which to cut the chains that are holding the balls. The puzzle part of the game is in figuring out what order, and with what timing to cut each chain. Do it right, and all the right balls end up in the right urns, with no stray balls entering an urn (a no-no). Do it wrong, and you get to start over again.

Civiballs is not terribly deep on gameplay; the entire game can be completed in about 15 minutes. But if you enjoy this type of game, it will be a very enjoyable 15 minutes.

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