Why just help a neighbor…

…when you can take his money, too?

Zilok.com, a new service launched today, is not only a stupid idea for anyone who owns a home (granted, it might help apartment dwellers in a pinch), it is a depressing sign of hard economic times.

The service suggests that — instead of sharing your lightly-used weed whacker with a neighbor, for example — you can charge him for it.

The car safety seat pictured here, for example, is available for rent in the San Francisco State University area for eight bucks per day, which makes no economic sense whatsoever.

Zilok also says (natch) that you will be doing right by the environment, because your customers will be buying less stuff. (One reason: By renting everything, and never owning anything, they will stay poor.)

No Boston-area items were available for rent as of noon today. — mb

Zilok Official USA Launch!
Keep it local and be a green hero
By simply renting things you aren’t using to people in your area, you cut down on conspicuous consumption and encourage the reuse of everyday household items and electronics. With Zilok you help save on the natural resources needed to produce more stuff.

“Inspired by conservation and green movements in Europe, Zilok is the fun way to tackle over-consumption while expanding everyone’s access to the things they want and need—whether that is a scooter or Wii, a ratchet set or a tuxedo” offered Gary Cige, Cofounder and CEO of Zilok.

Health: Google’s first flop?

Google’s new health records service aggregates your electronic medical records — your prescriptions, diagnosis, test results, you name it. The benefit to advertisers (i.e., targeted marketing) is clear.

The government can also call dibs on your personal data at any time. (See the excerpt from Google Health’s privacy policy, below.) The fed’s interests in your data, of course, are potentially limitless: Did you get your vaccinations? Are you on psychiatric meds? The CDC, DHS, NIH, the Attorney General’s Office… they all want to know.

Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is participating in the service. So, I tried pairing my BIDMC records with a Google Health account. But my data did not seem to transfer over.

I deleted my Google Health account after this failed experiment. I will eat my hat if the data have truly been deleted from Google’s databases.

Any possible benefits to consumers from Google Health clearly outweigh the privacy risks at this point.

And I am left wondering whether this might prove Google’s “first flop.” — mb

Google Privacy Center - Privacy Policy
e have a good faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to (a) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request, (b) enforce applicable Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations thereof, (c) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or (d) protect against imminent harm to the rights, property or safety of Google, its users or the public as required or permitted by law.

Headsets getting some cachet

From my Boston Globe column last week: Smaller, better-looking video eyewear (for watching vids, checking in on your Second Life, etc.),

Headsets getting some cachet - The Boston Globe
By Mark Baard
May 12, 2008

digital eyewear
Digital eyewear is slowly becoming suitable for public viewing. In other words, headsets such as the Myvu Crystal are slim and colorful enough that they might be taken for a pair of over-the-top Gaultier frames instead of an assistive device.
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The ear buds hanging from the arms of the Crystal are a dead giveaway that something “smart” is going on behind those shades.

Like the original, less sexy looking Myvu models, the Crystal (about $300 at myvu.com, starting next week) creates a single image you can see inside the translucent lenses.