Well,m FWIW, I use Google Maps and search but leave the rest alone because (a) too much baggage and (b) suitable alternatives exist. OTOH, I don't fault them for being as competitive as possible - that's the way most successful businesses operate in a dog eat dog environment.

>They were wrong. They used another company's technologies (Java) without signing a license to do so. That's why Oracle is suing them in court. Most legal experts have said that email is damning. Even the judge in the case has said so. Google has tried several times to have the emails thrown out. http://fosspatents.blogspot.com/2011/08/oracle-and-google-keep-wrangling-over.html
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>Google is competing in ways that could be illegal. The outcome of the Oracle suit will be interesting. Right now, things are not going Googles way in the case and Oracle definately has the upper hand.
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>As for Google scanning emails, I'm aware the user agreement says that. I don't use GMail because of that. I don't use Google services either.
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>>If you read the email you are referencing you will see there is nothing out of the ordinary or illegal. Google researched alternatives to Java, didn't like the alternatives, and determined they would need to negotiate a license with Oracle.
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>>It's a competitive world and Google is competing, same as Oracle, IBM, MS, Intel and better than Sun, Digital Research, Novell, Borland, Ashton-Tate, AOL, etc., etc. If gmail users don't like the fact that Google scans their emails then they shouldn't use their service, there are plenty of alternatives available. They were getting something for nothing anyway so just think of it as they got something plus a little extra. Besides, it takes a bit of chutzpah to complain about a free service. On top of all that, Google states in their user agreement, in relatively clear legalese, that the content of emails is used for targeting advertisements.