Info Manager

Info Manager for May 5, 2003

[*]   IMHO: "Can spam be stopped?"

[*]   Yes Virginia, you can can spam

[*]   Bidders Beware

[*]   "Google Hacks!"

[*]   How Apple got music downloading right

[*]   Verizon Ordered to ID Song Swappers

[*]   Email now a 'Snap' for OS X

[*]   The "Digital Life" gets a hand

[*]   SW: Webmasters' get help checking links

[*]   Short week

[*]   Quotes of the week: Are we barbarians?
 

IMHO: "Can spam be stopped?"

IDG News reported on the conference that Fred Showker attended last week.
      What I found interesting, was that the first item on the agenda was defining spam and how difficult it was to come up with a definition. Some anti-spam advocates said that spam is all unsolicited email and some said that it should be defined only as e-mail that has false subject lines or misleading e-mail headers.
      What is amazing, is that when the Internet first got started, everyone was saying that web sites and thus companies would be able to be very specific in their targeting their e-mail to specific customers. What wasn't realized, was that e-mail marketing is so cheap that it isn't necessary to send to only people they know would be interested. Thus we get all this material on products for which we have no use. Personally, that is my definition of spam. Any e-mail that I didn't request that I have no use for. I think most individuals would agree with me. However I know that marketing companies would disagree with me. (BTW - I work in a marketing department for a major corporation.)
      It will be interesting to see how Virginia's new law causes a crack down on spam.
      We don't have any problems defining spam, in fact you can read complete definition of "UCE" (spam) as part of the AACUG's "ISP Anti-Spam Initiative" at:
http://www.aacug.org/UCE/define_uce.html

Yes Virginia, you can can spam

In the wake of the tough new spam law enacted last week in the state of Virginia, AACUG's anti-spam and safe netting evangelist Fred Showker is calling for all Virginia user groups to join the AACUG's initiative to "Can the Spam in Virginia."

Showker has set up an information network to connect user groups in Virginia for the speedy flow of information, and member assistance in litigating spam cases.
      "We want to strike fear in the hearts of spammers, and send a clear message that they won't be tolerated in the email boxes of Old Dominion Mac users!"
Contact Showker at AACUG:
http://www.aacug.org/contact.html

Bidders Beware

51,000 online fraud cases were entered in 2002, and more than half involved online auction complaints, which has now become the single largest category of Internet related complaints. For each victim actually reported, the FTC believes there are four others who didn't report. Current trends predict there will be 420,000 new auction victims by the end of 2003.
      Auction fraud is rampant. A new trend has recently emerged where the scammer uses charge card numbers of previous victims to open new seller accounts, then with a separate identity ripped off elsewhere, sets up a bogus escrow service. The seller now insists to the winner of the auction that they use the escrow service, touting it's advantages over traditional means of payment. The victim sends the money, and both seller and escrow service disappear. In one case, the scammers were using stolen charge card identities obtained from a hotel employee.
      One recent escrow service called "Premier Escrow" ripped off hundreds of buyers before they were caught. Luckily a U.S. district Court in Virginia has dismantled the scammer's web site and seized the defendant's assets, pending trial.
      The FTC and law enforcement treats online fraud the same as brick-and-mortar fraud, and they'll prosecute every case they can. This is part of a coast to coast crackdown called "Operation Bidder Beware" which has already resulted in 57 civil law enforcement actions.
      You are urged to call: toll-free 1-877-382-4357 (877 FTC HELP) if you or someone you know is a victim of online fraud. If you have relatives or friends who frequent online auctions and may be potential targets, they can call this number and receive the FTC's new consumer action booklet "Internet Auctions: A guide for Buyers and Sellers."
      The FTC fully acknowledges that it is very difficult to apprehend offenders of online scams. That's why this new crackdown is working hand-in-hand with the National Association of Attorneys General and cautions that education is the most important defense in the fight against online fraud. However, nothing will ever happen if the complaints and rip-offs aren't reported!
If you or someone you know is ripped off, use the FTC Complaint form at:
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm

Please post this to your user group newsletter and web site!

"Google Hacks!"

I mentioned this once before, but the folks at ResearchBuzz is advertising this product, a book of 100 tips, tricks, and ideas for getting the most of the Google Search engine and the Google API. It is from O'Reilly and thus you can get a MUG discount by getting it direct from them. But they also look at some of the hacks on the web site, (you'll find hacks here that aren't in the book!): http://www.buzztoolbox.com/google/
 
http://www.aacug.org/books/google.html

How Apple got music downloading right

Dave Coursey at Anchordesk.com has a review of Apple's new service under this head line, after using the iTunes Music Store for almost a week. Obviously he approves. Read it at:
http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/

Verizon Ordered to ID Song Swappers

The US Court ruled that Verizon's customers have no rights to privacy in hiding illegal activity and thus Verizon must name two alleged music pirates so that the RIAA will be able to find them and prosecute them. Full story at:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/

Email now a 'Snap' for OS X

A complete new re-write of SnapMail moves SnapMail into the 21st century, running over TCP/IP networks and supporting Apple's Rendezvous technology. SnapMail 4 will also run on Classic. Full story and download links at:
http://www.aacug.org/MUG/2003/snapmail.html

The "Digital Life" gets a hand

According to InfoTrends Research Group, low end, sub-$1,000 digital cameras worldwide will reach 51 million units in 2007. In-Stat/MDR predicts that worldwide portable digital music players will grow to over 36 million. And by the end of 2003, DVDs will be in more than half of U.S. homes, according to the DVD Entertainment Group. The rapid rise of these affordable digital imaging and audio devices is creating unprecedented opportunities for consumers to capture not only their media favorites, but also the important moments in their lives.
      Manage your digital life with iView
... more features, multi-platform One of the long time "BEST" products for the Mac has been iView. We've evangelized it to all Mac users, awarding it an Academy Award the year it was released, and seeing it win virtually all the other important awards out there. However, one long standing complaint has been that we could not share the iView slide shows and collections to our Windows friends. Let's face it -- with Mac being only about 9% of the computers in use, you're eventually going to want a Windows user to enjoy the wonderful features of iView. Well, here you go. Full story:
http://www.aacug.org/MUG/2003/iviewmedia.html

SW: Webmasters' get help checking links

Link Checker 1.1.4 A continuing problem administrating web sites -- particularly those with lots of info, or those which change often -- broken links. The webmaster hates them, and the surfer hates them! Well, Dot software now helps webmasters end the plight of broken links with the release of their new Link Checker 1.1.4. -- and you can download it here:
http://www.aacug.org/MUG/shareware/checklinks.html

Short week

Unfortunately, I had a mishap on Monday that caused my work week to be shorted by a couple of days. (I passed out after giving blood on Monday and wound up spending over 24 hours at the hospital for observation. All test came out negative, so I am doing okay now.) I believe, that caused me to miss some of the news stories this week that I think you would find of interest. I should be up to speed again next week. - Lynn

Quotes of the week: Are we barbarians?

In 2002, unwanted commercial email cost American corporations $8,900,000,000 U.S. dollars.
        Ferris Research

"Anyone sending commercial emails containing obscene, drug-related, or graphically violent content shall face imprisonment for up to 2 years and fines up to 10,000,000" (about $8,000 US)
        Article 2, chapter 42 of the Korean Minor Protection Act

"AOL blocks 780,000,000 spam messages from member mailboxes every day"
        Joe Barrett, Senior Vice President, Systems Operations, America Online, Inc.

"We seized $30,000,000 in luxury homes, automobiles, cash, jewelry and numerous bank accounts throughout Arizona from individuals operating a penile enlargement spam operation."
        Janet Napolitano, Attorney General of the State of Arizona

"70% of today's spam is illegal under one or more current laws in the United States."
        U.S. Federal Trade Commission, May 2, 2003

"Our people are learning all about the American culture through your spams"
        Motohiro Tsuchiya, Associate Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Center for Global Communication, International University of Japan (May 2, 2003)

"If you send your spam into Virginia, you'd better run and hide -- we're coming to get you!"
        Fred Showker, AACUG anti-spam evangelist

Anyone can be a barbarian;
it requires a terrible effort to remain a civilized man.
        Leonard Sidney Woolf

pau

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Also see: MUG NEWS bursts from the AACUG Mac User Guide (MUG)

Note: Features schedule

The InfoManager invites user groups to use his column in full or in pieces in their newsletter. Or add a link to their web site. He would appreciate word that you are doing so however and if you can, please send a pdf version of the newsletter for his perusal. Or provide him with a link. The address is InfoManager@user-groups.net. You can also use that address for feed back.
Note: Features schedule
1st Monday Vendor of the Month; (VOM)
2nd Monday "InfoManager's Humble Opinion (IMHO);
3rd Monday TBA (What would you like to see?)
4th Monday: User Group Tips. (Send them in)
5th Monday: Nothing extra - my day of rest. ;-)
Of course I could make adjustments to this schedule as I see fit and will take suggestions. Have a great week! Note: In light of the new AACUG MUG tabloid publication, I may be changing the above schedule. Please send me your input.
Pau

The Info Manager is a veteran of the UGN (AOL User Groups Forum) and User Group Network. He's been a supporter and volunteer on many, many UGNet and User Group Academy projects. As a long time user group member, he's served as volunteer from Honolulu to Boston and many points in between. Currently working with the Apple Corp of Dallas, the Dallas Mac Pack, Cowtown MUG of Ft. Worth and TUMS (the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society) doing newsletter articles and the monthly CD-ROM Update. Post a lead Info Manager should follow up on.

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