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Filed under: Internet, E-mail, Web services, Google

German Gmail could be a goner

GmailDespite the stupid alliteration in the title, German Gmail users could face a real threat to their service. The threatened shutdown is In response to a new German law that will require email services to keep personally identifiable information for account holders.

For all the information Google tracks about its users, the company doesn't require a home address, phone number, or anything else that can tie your email account to an individual person. Since Google makes its money off of advertising, anonymized and aggregated data is more useful.

The new law is framed as an anti-terrorism measure, but Google says it violates the company's privacy policy. What's funny is that Google's recently come under fire for holding too much private user data. Sometimes you just can't win.

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Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

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