Google Attempting to Coerce Picasa Users

For the past few weeks I have been prompted by Picasa to link my photos to my Google profile. This nagware appears every time I visit Picasa. It also appears I cannot comment on even my own photos without linking my Picasa account with my Google profile. I got rid of the nagging (or so it seems) by deleting my Google profile. It seems I've done this before.

Google has no regard whatsoever for its users' privacy.

What's the Buzz? Tell Me What's A-Happening

It turns out I wasn't the only one to have a strong, negative reaction to having Buzz suddenly thrust upon me, following people and having followers with no volition or discretion involved. CNET has a recent article about just this.

This is the first Comcast/Verizon-like lack of respect for users that I've seen from Google, or at least the first blatant case.

Disabling Google Buzz

Those of us who use Gmail recently got a surprise with a new "feature" called Buzz, a Facebook wannabee. A Gmail user can disable Buzz by deleting his or her profile. Unfortunately, the Buzz button still clutters the Gmail interface, so it's necessary to also go into the Labels tab in Gmail settings and hide Buzz.