Here are answers to your questions about Android/Google:


Question 1:

> Has anyone had experience�with such synchronization of the android 
> apps mentioned?�� That is, is it easy to achieve and accurate?

A. Over all, the sincing of email, calendar events, and other stuff 
works pretty well. I can create calendar events on my computer and find 
them on my phone or vice-versa. I can do the same with email messages. 
Some aspects of syncing seem to depend on things other than the device 
itself. For example, when I send and receive messages from my teaching 
account, both my inbox and sent mail get synced, but for other accounts, 
only the inbox is synced.


The area where I notice most problems is the calendar. I'd say things 
work as they should 95% of the time. The rest of the time, events don't 
sync, or they do but on their own time. This makes me mistrust my 
calendar a little, enough to double-check before accepting most 
freelance assignments. I don't really think this is a problem unique to 
Android because other people who do what I do for a living have the same 
complaint, even when they're iPhone users.


> Question 2:
> Does anyone have observations or experience with security and privacy 
> of such accounts, their storage and retrieval?


A. I don't know enough to have meaningful opinions. I know security 
breaches happen to Google and others. I know they're a risk. I think of 
them as necessary evils. I get a new credit card every couple of years 
because I discover the one I was using got compromised. I think of 
myself as fairly conservative about where I shop, how often, and which 
safety features I need to get for the next card, but the breaches keep 
happening, and I have to decide each time whether to get a new card and 
assume the risk or not get a card and deal with alternative payment 
options. For me, cloud security and privacy are a similar proposition. I 
don't remember having had any experiences of accounts being compromised 
on Google. I have had that problem with YahooMail.


> Question 3:
> Does anyone have comments on Google's mining of the 
> information�generated by� use of these accounts?


A. I don't have any problems with Google using my account activity 
because I feel I benefit in the long run. For example, if Google keeps 
track of where I go and uses that information to make Maps better, I'm 
happy because I use Maps to get from place to place and because another 
thing Google often does is gives me relevant information about where I 
am, like restaurant menus or sales coupons--all for free. If Google also 
uses my location to send me ads, I'm annoyed, but the benefit of using 
Maps and getting this other info outweighs my annoyance. In my mind, 
Google is different from other services--like Amazon, facebook, and to 
some degree Microsoft--because the others mostly want to sell me 
services, send me ads, and get my contact list. Google wants those 
things too, but Google gives me all kinds of excellent things in return.


> Question 4:
> Anyone have android applications to recommend as especially useful and 
> accessible?
>
A. It's hard to recommend apps without knowing what you plan to do with 
your phone. Start by using the apps that are preinstalled. Then don't be 
afriad afraid to install the obvious, like Adobe reader for PDFs.
> Hope this helps.

> You can e-mail me offline at [log in to unmask] 
> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>�if you wish.
> Thanks so much!
> So far, I like my new phone a lot and want to figure out the best uses 
> of my technologies.
> Stan
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