UGN Info Manager UGN Info Manager
This week's InfoManager is a skeletal edition, mainly because Lynn took the week off, and it's been a very busy over the holidays. However, there are several items in the queue that I'll send along. InfoManager this week
Last week several posts from the CIA and FBI caught our attention in the spam traps and I had to look to see what it was all about. Attached was an unknown EXE file. The message said I had been looking at illegal Web sites and should answer some questions in the e-mail's attachment. In my ongoing rituals of tracking down spammers and phishers to report, I knew I had indeed visited many illegal sites.
Tracking the emails further I found that Symantec classified these emails as the "Sober" virus, rating it a "level 3" threat, with level 5 being the most severe. On Wednesday, Symantec said it has detected more than 1,600 potential threats from among its corporate customers, and over 300 from consumers in mid-November.
I checked the news feeds and found this Wired story by Munir Kotadia calling the virus "prolific" and capable of generating large volumes of email, causing problems for corporate e-mail gateways. ... see the full story...
News.com's Scott Ard says : "When it comes to buzzwords, TiVo's announcement Monday was loaded: quick, easy, download, TV shows, mobile, PSP and, of course, iPod." TiVo is expanding that service by permitting owners of TiVo boxes transfer TV shows to their computers and Sony's portable game machine, the PlayStation Portable, and to iPods capable of playing video. Read more...
According to Taiwan's DigiTimes, Apple's iPod has driven out yet another competitor from the Taiwan music player market. We checked the BenQ website, but its Joybee series MP3 player models (picture) seem to still be marketed there in force. Yet the news reports say due "to strong competition from the Apple Computer iPod series," BenQ plans to phase out MP3 players. Add that one to Rio and Olympus as victims in the ongoing march of the iPod.
In the same news day, Apple announced that it has shipped over 30 million iPods since 2001. Apple also said it has sold over 600 million songs via its iTunes Music Store since its launch. ... see the full story...
We would have to assume that Apple plays fair in the marketplace, right? Of course Apple needs to buy at the most competitive prices in order to make the Nano fly, so it buys at prices offered -- right? Apple had just recently announced supply Aagreements for flash memory with Hynix, Intel, Micron, Samsung Electronics and Toshiba to secure the supply of NAND flash memory through 2010. (Article)
On the other side of the Pacific, the Korea Times is reporting that Samsung has come under investigation by the South Korean government for "dumping" NAND flash memory chips to Apple at half their market value. The Times claims: "MP3 player makers claim they are being hurt by cheap iPod nano, Apple's latest MP3 player, which uses NAND flash memory chips instead of hard disk drives." On the other hand, Samsung claims it has maintained margins of 30 percent, which would make the dumping claims untenable, since such profits could not be generated by selling memory at half of its fair market value. ... see the full story...
When you use it on your lap, of course. But recently Apple's laptops have been getting hotter and hotter -- to the point that you can no longer use them on your lap. You remember, back in 1999, I reported when playing a game on my lap, that lifting the Pizmo left the melted impressions of a scorched thumb in the softened, nearly melted underbody of the computer. Not good. With the Aluminum Macs, if you don't want to continually hear the tiny fan cutting in and out, and you don't want to burn your knees, you have to lift them up for air circulation.
EdgeBlur believes it has come up with a solution with three new surfACE laptop computer stands, designed to suspend the notebook at a comfortable working height. (See picture) Looks nice and comfy to me, but I suspect there may be a problem when you try to qualify it as "carry-on" for your next flight. Fortunately it's designed with interchangeable parts that can be added and detached to create a custom configuration. ... see the full story...
Yesterday my daughter called from Kampala Uganda (where she's been doing mission work and about to join the U.S. Diplomatic Corps) with rather disturbing news: pressing the wake-up button on her brand new Apple Aluminum PowerBook G4 brought orange flame and smoke out of the back. I suspect it's a case of the recalled batteries, which Apple warns could be a fire hazard. DHL shipping to the nearest Apple service center, France, costs $235 U.S.; one-way. So, we may have to scrap the PowerBook and hope to retrieve the data from the removed hard drive. Wish us luck. If you've got one of these PowerBooks, you would be well served to see Apple's Battery Exchange page...
If you plan to send out holiday greeting cards, these free Christmas images may help get the job done nicely. (Picture) Mail Factory or Swift Publisher owners can download the Christmas set that contains 70+ high-quality vector and photo images -- create greeting envelopes, mailing labels and family cards with Mail Factory and design outstanding XMAS flyers and newsletters in Swift Publisher. Download and install the free Christmas set at: www.belightsoft.com
From the Executive Producer of Halo, comes Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. (Picture) Stubbs The Zombie is a third-person action game that uses an updated Halo engine to deliver "a stirring take on one man's hunger for love, justice and brains. In the game, players step into the shoes of the rebel himself; former door-to-door salesman Stubbs is now a wisecracking zombie terrorizing the ultra-modern city of Punchbowl, Pennsylvania circa 1959, using nothing but his own carcass and the weapons of his possessed enemies. BEWARE: RATED: MATURE - includes: Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Intense Violence, Mature Sexual Themes, Strong Language (See trailers ) ... see the full story...
This week we tap into every department of the software library to find: "Help" authoring, Backuper, Rumpus, Saver Menu, Palm Desktop, Adobe InCopy, InDesign InEffects, stock analysis, Scramble word finding game, Film Effects and GeoParty! Party Game. (This week's Windows Shareware is at: www.ugnn.com) in the Software department
We've been busy setting up the InfoManager blog, which will debut soon. This new venue will allow the InfoManager to be more timely and interactive, including your comments to each article. We're excited about this new addition to the UGNN family. After we iron out the browser bugs, (don't go there with Firefox!), we'll let you know. If you'd like to kick the tires and give us feedback on the draft version, feel free to visit: www.UGNN.com
"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up."
- Jesse Jackson
"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
- Mark Twain
Have a great week... (See last week)
User Group Network Affiliates may reprint articles as long as full credit and a link to this web site: http://www.user-groups.net/info/ provided. Other Non-profit or non-commercial publications should contact us. The UGNN cannot guarantee accuracy or timeliness of articles beyond the date of publication. All URLs, links and email addresses are accurate as of date of publication. Clicking links in articles older than 30 days may result in a broken link. If you encounter a broken link, please let us know.
Return to: the top of this page, or the INDEX for this department
Exit to: The User Group Network front page
Contact: The Editor, Webmaster or Membership Director