I like Google. It makes my life easier and gives me cool and useful tools, like Google Earth. Every now and then, Google does something vaguely icky, like censoring search results for repressive regimes, but my overall impression of Google is mostly positive. I was a little leery about Google's "search history" feature, although not enough to deactivate it or delete the results (what can I say.. it's handy). But, I'm always looking forward to their next big thing.

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Now, though, it seems Google's newest big thing, Google Chrome, comes with an End Use License Agreement (EULA) giving Google a claim to your soul that the devil himself would envy. (in case you don't know, a EULA is that thing you click "I Accept" without reading when you load software.)

While graciously allowing that "You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services," the agreement goes on to state that "By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services."

Yikes.

Kind of makes Microsoft seem warm and fuzzy.

Google is backing off a bit, now, saying it was a mistake and they will reword their End Use License Agreement, but I think I'll be just fine without Chrome in my software arsenal. What really worries me is what I've agreed to with all these other "I accept" buttons I've been clicking without reading.