The Internet cookies on my computer are not directly accessible from the Start menu[1]. When I try to access them that way, a dialog box appears saying I don’t have permission to open the file. This is somewhat perplexing, as I am the only user of the machine. I can access them from by browser, however. I use Apple’s Safari browser, v. 4.0, which is probably the most advanced product of its kind in the world today. By following Edit > Preferences > Security, a dialog box has a button which states “Show Cookies”. By pressing this button, a window appears listing all of the implanted cookies. Options are available to search, remove individually selected items, or to remove all. Headings list Website, Name, Path, Secure, Expires, and Contents. When finished, one can exit by pressing the Done button.
The top ten cookies listed are Amazon.com (3 cookies), Apple.com (10 cookies), BestBuy.com (16 cookies), CareerBuilder.com (2 cookies), CNN.com (4 cookies), eBay.com (4 cookies), Expedia.com (3 cookies), Fancast.com (6 cookies), Google.com (11 cookies) and Rhapsody.com (4 cookies).
Amazon.com is a shopping site, obviously. I go there sometimes to check on new title releases. I often hope to find the next Jean Auell book. Her first, Clan of the Cave Bear, was excellent. I have read all of the other books in the Ayla series as well.
Apple.com is a fun site. I often dream of my ultimate Mac package, for which I’ll have to do very well after college to afford. It would cost over $27,000.00!
BestBuy.com is where I purchased my computer. I have gone back several times to write reviews on the products I purchased. I also did a lot of research there, as well as other sites, before I bought.
I check in to CareerBuilder.com every once in a while to see what the job market is like. It looks pretty favorable for someone like me who is going into Web design.
I get my daily news fix from CNN. I actually got to meet Ted Turner many years back, and I’ve been “brand loyal” ever since.
I like to look in on eBay just to see what’s for sale. I also sometimes am selling items there, so I check on bids as well.
I think its fun to plan trips sometimes. I go to Expedia and make up destinations. Sometimes I see what it would cost to fly first class, stay in the highest rated hotels, rent a big SUV, etc, just to see how much it would cost. It is always prohibitively expensive.
Fancast.com is probably my favorite Website of all time. I thoroughly enjoy television programs, and I can watch just about anything I desire there. Be it old or new, the chances are great that Fancast has it in their library. I even have a hyperlink to the site on my homepage!
Googling is a given for just about everyone anymore, I think. It seems I can’t get through a day without having to do a search for something.
Rhapsody.com is a commercial free streaming music site. I often have it running while I am working on the computer. I find music very soothing, and enjoy their “Soft Sounds” channel.
Cookies enable the customer service process. By tracking Web navigation habits, or clickstreaming, e-businesses are better able to market goods and services to the prospective client in a more effective manner. This translates to a benefit for the buyer, providing him/her with options they might not have otherwise considered. In today’s fast paced market, data mining has become a necessity (Clickstream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) .
The downside is the privacy paradigm, which is considerable. Unauthorized clickstream data collection has been described as spyware (Clickstream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) .The AOL search data scandal is a prime example, and resulted in the filing of a class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Northern California in September 2006 (AOL Search Data Scandal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) .
No doubt one day lawmakers will one day institute stricter legislation governing the placement of cookies, but until then, our personal computers will be the receptacles of cookies. In fact, while I was researching the notes for this paper, I cleared the cookies from my browser six different times. Every time I went to another Website I checked, and more had been loaded.
(Author's note: As is evident in all these posts, this was written some time ago - many things have changed in the interim. The information is presented purely as an academic exercise)
Works Cited
AOL Search Data Scandal - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 3 March 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AOL_search_data_scandal>.
Clickstream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 3 March 2009
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