-=> Aaron Thomas wrote to Dr. What <=-

 RL> hundreds of dollars so people pirated it.  Lotus was, of course, mad.

 AT> I remember downloading it just because it was popular. I never learned
 AT> how to use it or anything. That's one thing they did right: they got
 AT> their name out.

They did.  But their pricing model was poor and encouraged others to do better
for much less.  Which hurt Lotus in the long run - not only in sales, but in
reputation.

 AT> I always feel like big tech wants my phone number, and I don't wanna
 AT> give it to them (even though Google already probably has it.)

I think the main thing is that we want some level of control over our
information.

Certain companies have a legitimate need for my phone number (ex: Doctor,
Dentist).  But others don't.

Some companies use your phone number as an ID.  Our local grocery store uses it
as your ID for their points program.  But if you don't want to participate, you
don't have to.

So far, I've only encountered 1 store (which is no longer in business) that
demanded to know what my phone number was.  But the cashier couldn't tell me
why and what I get out of it.  I declined the transaction and walked out. 
Based on the fact that it no longer exists, I'd say that many others did the
same.


... If it's useless, it will have to be documented.
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