Although the debate is how the dress looks in the picture, the dress is actually blue/black. BBC ran an article here http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/31655696.
I can't see it as white/gold at all. Today's XKCD does a good job of showing me how it could appear that way to others though. http://xkcd.com/1492/
This is a valid point. However, technically, nothing is changing on the third party site. Those sites are changed locally on the user's laptop. I don't think that's much different from something like AdBlock. I'm not sure there's much any third party site could do about this.
"The complaint is not that Lenovo shipped adware, it's that they shipped computers which were unable to make secure network connections over HTTPS"
The thing is, the computers are capable of making those https connections. It's that they shipped with extra software on them that gets in the middle of those connections, undermining the security of the laptop in the process, to allow Lenovo and Superfish an extra revenue stream.
"That's like selling a car whose brakes don't work, not a privacy issue"
That's not how I see it. I think of it like a courier service. You're getting a letter from your bank that's sent through Lenovo Couriers Ltd (or any other courier service) that's sealed and private. Lenovo Couriers Ltd allow (and gain financially, presumably, from allowing) a third-party, who we'll call Superfish to get access to that letter. Superfish open it, read it and see if there's anything in the contents that could allow them to upsell a.n.other product to you. Then, they seal it all up again and deliver it to your door pretending to be from the bank. To me, that's a breach of privacy.
Not sure I agree with a lawsuit here though. I'd be happy to see AV firms rate all these types of applications as spyware / PUPs and get rid of them accordingly.
- Asking for where else you are interviewing.
This is important to a recruiter. If you are actively looking for work, it tells them how far down the road you are with other applications. If you're a good fit for the job they are asking about then this will push them to get things down as quickly as possible. They don't want you taking a different offer in the middle of the interviewing process. However, yes, this can also be fishing for leads. To me, it's acceptable to ask though.
- Not telling you which company the resume is getting sent to prior to their submission.
A recruiter is paid an "introduction fee". If they are not the one that introduces you to the client then they're not getting a fee. Imagine though, you're down to the last two at interview stage. You applied directly for the position and the other guy is through a recruiter. It's a very close decision for the job but taking the other guy would cost the client $8k. That may be enough to swing it in your favour and for the recruiter to lose out. When I was a recruiter, I can remember a time where I told somebody the client before submitting them and they got off the call then immediately went direct to the client for the above reason. For me, it's acceptable for the recruiter not to tell me the company if they tell me at least their size and market sector. They must tell me as soon as they have submitted my CV though. If I'm not happy, I'll cancel my application at that point.