Michael Hart

“ MICROSOFT'S IE5 REELING AGAIN AFTER TWO NEW BUGS DISCOVERED Experts this week found two new security bugs that affect Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5 (IE5) browser. Security expert Georgi Guninski discovered one spoofing glitch that would give hackers access to data on IE5 even through a firewall. The bug would allow an HTML JavaScript to activate once a user visits a Web site, and then download files back to the user's computer. Since the files are downloaded from the computer back to itself rather than to another machine, firewalls do not prevent the attack. ”

“ A survey conducted on the Web site of Computer magazine to determine attitudes about the shortage of information technology professionals found that 54% of the 84 respondents believe that such a shortage indeed exists and that liberal immigration policies are generally a good idea; 36% deny that there's a shortage, and are convinced that corporate America is simply claiming one so that it can import less expensive workers instead of investing in the U.S. workforce. ”

“ IBM ACTION ENCOURAGES WEB SITES TO POST CLEAR PRIVACY POLICIES IBM, which is the second-biggest advertiser on the Internet, has decided to refrain from advertising on any Web sites that do not post clear policies explaining to visitors of those sites such things as what information about them is being collected and how it will be used, sold, or otherwise disseminated for marketing purposes. IBM is the first large company to link advertising and privacy policy in this way. ”

“ EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WANTS ISPs TO SPY The European Parliament last Friday passed the Lawful Interception of Communications council resolution on new technologies — known as Enfopol — which requires Internet service providers and telephone companies to provide law-enforcement agencies with full-time, real-time access to Internet transmissions, even those traversing along multiple networks. In addition, wireless communications providers are required to provide geographical location information on cell phone users, along with decoding of messages, if encryption is provided as part of the service. ”

“ NetZero's banners can "follow" users from site to site as they peruse the Web. The company says it's spent a year developing software that tracks users' habits, enabling advertisers to pinpoint their messages more efficiently. "We can target within a 12-mile radius of where (a subscriber) lives," says NetZero's CEO. Idealab Capital Partners, which is backing the venture, thinks subscribers will like the free access despite the ads. "People are spending $21.95 a month for AOL — that's a lot of money," says Idealab's managing director. "We offer a value proposition that's hard to beat." ”

“ DISPUTES AND UNKNOWNS OF ELECTRONIC RIGHTS ROIL THE BOOK INDUSTRY For all the hype surrounding electronic books, the fast-moving industry is having trouble convincing the slow-moving book industry to get on board. The Authors' Guild mailed warnings to its 7,500 members last month criticizing current e-book contracts as bad deals, saying the distribution fees for e-book manufacturers are payment schemes that would deny publishers and authors their rewards in the information age. ”

“ LINUX USERS WANT THEIR MONEY BACK FROM MICROSOFT Aficionados of the Linux operating system, which is available for free, say they will demand their money back for Windows software installed against their wishes on PCs they buy. Their demand is based on a Windows licensing agreement that says that if the purchaser does not agree to the terms and conditions of use of the Windows software, he or she should promptly contact manufacturer for instructions on return of the unused product for a refund. ”

“ The ad blockers, which automatically eliminate all advertising from Web pages, go by names like WebWasher, InterMute and AtGuard. Many online advertisers dismiss the trend toward ad-blocking, noting that when faster connections are available, consumers will not be so annoyed about being forced to download cumbersome advertisement files. "Consumers understand the basic proposition that all the free things are enabled by advertising," says the chairman of the Internet Advertising Bureau. "Advertising is transforming the business model." ”

“ Since they can no longer stop us from talking to each other via email or etext or the Web, or FTP, etc., they are passing laws that tell us we cannot include 99.99% of all the information in the world, because it is not all protected by copyright. ”

“ Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Most of the countries named have state-owned Internet service providers that filter and censor Web sites for their citizens, and more repressive regimes, like Burma's, require computer owners to register with the government. A few, like North Korea and Iraq, have almost no Internet access at all. And in Saudi Arabia, the Internet is viewed as "a harmful force for Westernizing people's minds." ”

“ LIBRARY REMOVES SOFTWARE FILTERS Responding to a federal court's ruling that the Loudoun County (VA.) library's use of software filters to screen out sexually explicit material on the Internet was unconstitutional (Edupage 24 Nov 98) , the Library Board has removed filters from some of its computers and left them on others; adults will decide whether they want to use a computer with a filter or one without, and parents of minors will be asked to sign a statement specifying whether or not they want their child to have unfiltered Internet access. ”

“ If you've got a temp worker putting in 20-plus hours a week, you better start considering him or her like you would a part-time worker" — and provide employee benefits. The ruling indicated that a temporary worker can be considered a "common-law employee" if the person's work was controlled not by the placement agency but by the company for which the work was being done. Microsoft plans to appeal. ”

“ For its part, AOL says that Microsoft's attempts to undercut monthly charges will ultimately not be successful, as even deep-pocketed Microsoft cannot afford to lose money on Internet access forever. Meanwhile, Microsoft says its moves against AOL are protective in nature, believing that in the near future AOL is planning to become an online software platform to rival Microsoft's Windows. ”

“ TRACKING ANONYMOUS SPAM If you hate getting all those "Make Money Fast At Home!!!" messages from people who use hard-to-trace or false return addresses, you might want to use the services of www.spamcop.net, a Web site that allows you to take action against unsolicited junk e-mail messages sent out in bulk quantities. Spam Cop is able to dissect the header information on such messages, identify where they've come from, and send a message of complaint to the network administer of the Internet service provider the spammer is using. ”

“ NADER GROUP CHALLENGES AOL-NETSCAPE MERGER Washington, D.C.-based Consumer Project, a group run by long-time consumer advocate Ralph Nader, says it will vigorously oppose the merger between America Online and Netscape. "We feel this will harm competition in the ISP market," says director James Love. "ISPs will have to go to Netscape or Microsoft for browser software. They compete against both and if they have to go to them to get software, it creates all kinds of problems." ”

“ I will be meeting with Lawrence Lessig of Harvard, who apparently is the one the Supreme Court of the US chose to teach them about computers, and about the Internet. We will be planning the lawsuit to challenge all of the new copyright extensions we tried so hard to keep from becoming law. He has asked for some serious volunteers who would also like to sue; the cases are more secure when there are several plaintiffs, not just one. ”

“ The Department of Commerce next year is planning to launch a major advertising campaign to convince teenagers to choose a career in information technology. The marketing campaign is intended to help ease the shortage of high-tech workers by convincing teenagers that computers are "cool" and to dispel the "negative 'geek' or 'nerd' stereotype of technical workers," according to Commerce Secretary William Daley. ”

“ MICROSOFT RESPONDS TO PRIVACY ISSUE Reacting to a controversy started when a programmer in Brookline, Mass., discovered Windows 98 generates a unique serial number that is implanted in every electronic document and that can be used to trace the identity of its author, Microsoft said it will create a software tool to allow customers to remove the number, which was created to help support specialists diagnose problems for customers who call with questions. ”

“ BRITISH TELECOM OFFERS FREE PCs British Telecom has become the first U.K. Internet service provider to offer customers a free personal computer as part of its BT Internet PC package. The package, which costs 25.99 British pounds a month, also includes installation, training, and free weekend ISP connections. At the end of three years, customers will own their Fujitsu PC. BT says its new service will cost less than 90p a day, and noted that the free weekend connections would eliminate the potential problem of children running up phone bills during peak Internet usage times. ”

“ Experts say the Y2K bug may actually benefit companies and the economy in general, as it forced many firms to completely overhaul their computer systems and re-engineer their business processes to become more efficient. Federal Reserve Governor Alan Greenspan noted in his June 1 congressional testimony that the American economy "is displaying a remarkable run of economic growth that appears to have its roots in ongoing advances in technology," and many experts say the Y2K bug is to blame. ”

“ There is no service provided on the Web or on the entire Internet that really requires you to turn your cookies on. . .I suggest you email to postmaster, root and support @ any domains that say this and tell them you do not plan to use their servies until they stop this. Unless you are doing some seriously expert usage, there should be no need to turn cookies on for anything.
Mac users can download our .txt files in binary mode to avoid the double spacing cr/lf line ends creates. Or download the .zip files, which unzip properly for nearly any operating system they are unzipped for... ”

“ THE FIGHT OVER INTERNET DOMAIN NAME REGISTRATION Those who want to see the business of domain name registration opened up to competition will have to wait at least three weeks longer, as tensions build among the three major players in the discussion. Those players are: first, the Clinton Administration; second, Icann (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) , the organization the Administration created to assume responsibility for Internet administration; and, third, Network Solutions Inc. ”

“ Microsoft has advertised Windows 2000 as offering "increased reliability, availability, and scalability with end-to-end management features that reduce operating costs." Microsoft studies indicate companies migrating to Windows 2000 will see benefits immediately. Microsoft concedes that migration can be expensive, but says Windows 2000 can significantly reduce operating costs by streamlining help-desk operations, improving PC manageability, and offering businesses greater control over software applications. ”

“ This is still true today. . .you steal or lose a book over 5 years from a library and the odds are it cannot be replaced because it has gone out of print.
Since information was doubling just about every 14 years back then— the result was that half of all information was in the Public Domain . . .which isn't such a terrible way to have it be. . .the powerful, the rich, etc., can still have twice as much as those who mostly use free information. ”

“ ALTAVISTA OFFERING FREE INTERNET ACCESS AltaVista Thursday launched a free Internet access service, becoming the first major Internet site to do so. The company, which owns one of the Web's 10 most visited sites, hopes to attract more customers by providing free Internet access. Although AltaVista will lose subscription revenues, the company believes increased ad revenues will compensate for the loss. AltaVista users will be required to begin their Web surfing from the AltaVista home page, and will have an ad constantly in the corner of their computer screens. ”

“ InfoBlast will index the ebook files letting users conduct keyword, phrase, proximity, and wildcard searches. (InfoBlast can index literally 100's of megabytes quickly so no matter how big your ebook (s) are it is easy to set them up for searching.)
You can also bookmark passages of text using InfoBlast making them easy to find again. Searches are also saved as a history so you can easily go back to your past searches. InfoBlast has links to a number of the largest ebook download sites on the net (including Gutenberg.net) where you can freely obtain ebooks to use with InfoBlast. ”