NewsScan Daily, 25 September 2003 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 25 September 2003 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
       Judge Rules Against FTC's 'Do-Not-Call' List
       California Spammin'
       Moving Images on New E-Paper
       Dell's Media Strategy
       RIAA Withdraws in a Case of Mistaken Identity

FEATURES
       Flash Card
       Worth Thinking About: Could A Chimp Design A Car? -- Could You?
       Mailbag: The World As We Find It

JUDGE RULES AGAINST FTC's 'DO-NOT-CALL' LIST
A federal judge in Oklahoma has ruled that the FTC acted beyond its
authority when it created the national "do-not-call" list. The judge said it
was the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) -- and not the FTC (Federal
Trade Commission)  -- to which Congress gave the authority to operate "a
single national database to compile a list of telephone numbers of
residential subscribers who object to receiving telephone solicitations."
FTC chairman Timothy Muris: "This decision is clearly incorrect. We will
seek every recourse to give American consumers a choice to stop unwanted
telemarketing calls." (AP/San Jose Mercury News 25 Sep 2003)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6849984.htm

CALIFORNIA SPAMMIN'
California's new anti-spam law may face the same fate as a similar law in
Utah earlier this year. Kevin Johnson of the e-mail marketing company
Digital Impact warns: "Hard-core spam will still come through, but
legitimate companies will be more hesitant to send e-mail"; he also warns
that when companies try to determine whether e-mail recipients live in
California, spammers and advertisers may be forced to learn more about
consumers, thereby reducing privacy. E-mail marketer Trevor Hughes suggests
that the only answer is national legislation to harmonize spam laws in more
than 30 states. (USA Today 24 Sep 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-09-24-spam_x.htm

MOVING IMAGES ON NEW E-PAPER
Scientists at Philips Research in Eindhoven, Netherlands, are developing a
new generation of "electronic paper" that would allow high-definition,
moving images to be displayed on a wafer-thin foldable screen. The images
could be overwritten each day, using a process called electrowetting, "The
reflectivity and contrast of our system approach those of paper. In
addition, we demonstrate a color concept which is intrinsically four times
brighter than reflective liquid-crystal displays and twice as bright as
other emerging technologies." (Reuters/Forbes 24 Sep 2003)
http://www.forbes.com/home_europe/newswire/2003/09/24/rtr1090431.html

DELL'S MEDIA STRATEGY
Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell says his company has been talking to media
companies "to get agreements with the content owners and the artists. We're
going to do some things with music and I think there's opportunity in
movies." Dell is expected to announce a new company strategy intended expand
its commitment to consumer's home with new digital products, possibly to
include a digital music player, flat-panel television sets and a new
handheld computer. Dell's competitors will include Apple, which sells the
iPod music player, and Gateway, which sells big-screen televisions.
(Reuters/Forbes 24 Sep 2003)
http://www.forbes.com/technology/newswire/2003/09/24/rtr1090941.html

RIAA WITHDRAWS IN A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has withdrawn a lawsuit
that accused a 66-year-old woman of illegally downloading and sharing more
than 2,000 songs online. An attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation
says the woman and her husband simply use the Internet to send e-mail to
their children and grandchildren. Also, they use a Macintosh, which cannot
run the software needed for the Kazaa file-sharing service they are accused
of using illegally. The RIAA accusation seems to have been a case of
mistaken identity, and the EFF attorney says more mistaken-identity cases
are expected because many Internet service providers do not assign IP
addresses to any one user but shuffle them around. (San Francisco Chronicle
24 Sep 2003)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/09/24/nati
onal1155EDT0579.DTL

*****

FLASH CARD
     "The thing I hate about an argument is that it always interrupts a
discussion." (G.K. Chesterton)

WORTH THINKING ABOUT: COULD A CHIMP DESIGN A CAR? -- COULD YOU?
     Dale Peterson, an accomplished student of primate life, writes:
     "The next time you go to the zoo and wander past cages containing
chimpanzees, you might pause and look into the eye of a being who will
indeed look back; and you should know that you (genetically almost 99
percent chimpanzee) are sharing a gaze with someone who is, according to the
best measurement, almost 99 percent human. You are on one side of the bars,
the chimps on the other side, simply because those apes lack a little more
than 1 percent of the requisite genes to be treated like humans. And if you
linger to gaze at gorillas in the same zoo, remember that they are sitting
on the other side of the bars or the moat not because they have done
anything wrong, but simply and solely because they happen to be missing just
slightly more than 2 percent of the human genome.
     "It remains a commonplace act of self-flattery for people to persist in
emphasizing that great divide between the intellect of humans and the other
apes. Why should we, the makers of such wondrous things as automobiles and
computers and atomic bombs, be impressed by them, the makers of mere
nutcrackers and termite dippers? We continue to mark not similarity but
difference, as if the distinction between us and them is a matter of our own
species' pride. Homo sapiens may possess some superficial similarities with
Pan troglodytes, it has been declared again and again, but the mental divide
between the two species remains uncrossable. 'I considered the differences
between men and animals," so journalist Jeremy Gavon has recently expressed
the idea. "Some were vast. A chimpanzee could be taught to drive a car. It
could even be taught to build parts of it. But it could not begin to design
it... Our intellect is incomparably more sophisticated than any animal.'
     "True, a chimpanzee could not begin to design a car. But, come to think
of it, neither could I. Nor could you or any other person working in
intellectual isolation -- without the help of books, conversations,
directions, documents, explanations, and traditions -- design a car. Or even
a bicycle. Or a pair of shoes. Or a mousetrap. Apes work in intellectual
isolation because they lack language. We have language, and therefore our
creations and inventions and technologies become collective efforts and
cultural products. With your brain alone, with my brain alone (minus
language and a language-based tradition), we would consider ourselves very
lucky indeed to think of cracking nuts between a stone hammer and a stone
anvil. Our greatest human creation is not the tool but the word, not the
technology that we so treasure and depend on but the language that has
allowed us to talk about it. Language, not technology, is the most
compelling artifact of the human intellect."
                              ***
See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0520230906/newsscancom/ref=nos
im for Dale Peterson's "Eating Apes" -- or look for it in your favorite
library. (We donate all revenue from our book recommendations to adult
literacy programs.)

MAILBAG: THE WORLD AS WE FIND IT

ELIMINATING SPAMMERS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9261
     Regarding "California Bans Spam" article: While the U.S. Government
tiptoes around the lobbyists, friends and other campaign funding groups
trying to come up with perfect anti-SPAM legislation that will get them
votes without reducing campaign contributions, the citizens get more benefit
from California passing their own limited law. While California's approach
may not be perfect, it is an elegant solution to the problem; fine those
companies who are paying for the advertising.  They certainly can tell us
where they send their checks to pay for advertising.  Let's also understand
that it doesn't need to be perfect solution to begin solving the problem.
After the first successful prosecution, we will all benefit from a reduction
in the amount of spam we receive.   Once other states see success in
California, they are sure to follow suit.  This should eliminate spammers
originating in the US in a very short amount of time.
     There is no doubt that we will continue to get Spammed by offshore
sites for awhile, but they too inevitably will be eliminated once Congress
becomes convinced that we are unwilling to suffer the spam.  They are in a
better position to deal with off-shore generated spam.
     There was no reason not to pass opt-in legislation as other countries
have done.  The citizens of the U.S. very quickly demonstrated how tired
they are of intrusive advertising with the national do not call list and the
original TIVO television recording device which could be set to
automatically bypass commercials.
     We can still fast forward our TIVO's and other recording media, now if
only we could fast forward our paid representatives! (Greg Youngs)

VERISIGN WANTS TO GRAB NEW BUSINESS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9252
     What Verisign is doing (Site Finder) is not new. I neglected to renew
my old web site, ILLPD.com. Not a very catchy name. However, I found that
someone had snatched the site name  and was offering different things for
sale. I offered them $100.00 to buy it back. They said they weren't
interested in selling, but they already had $650.00 invested. Hint. I moved
on to a newsite.
    Companies have been snatching up expired web sites for years. Verisign
just wants to grab that business for themselves. (Leslie R. Morris)

DNS TIMEOUTS OR JUST PLAIN SLOWER SERVICE
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9252
     There's a technical problem with Site Finder, too. When a user makes a
request for a web page, the user's local DNS server resolves the IP address
and stores it in its memory (so that when you click on a link to another
page on that site, it doesn't have to do the lookup again). However, if a
site does not resolve, then no record of the lookup is kept on the DNS
Server. Here's the problem: the Site Finder service causes an address to be
returned every time, either the address of the real site or the address of
Verisign's advertising page. This is causing DNS servers to become
congested, need more memory and operate slower. If your company's DNS server
is also its firewall and email gateway and several other things, you'll wind
up seeing a lot more DNS timeouts (page not found errors on pages you know
exist so you click refresh to try again) or just plain slower service.
(Steve Kalman, CISSP)

NOW YOU HEAR IT, NOW YOU DON'T
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9240
     Can you imagine buying a book and having the ink disappear after you've
read it ten times?  I'd lose parts of the book because sometimes I have to
re-read parts several times to make sure I understand it.  There are some
songs that I've heard dozens of times and still can't figure out the words.
I guess I won't be listening to much music of my own if they start making
smart CD's. (Karen Birkelbach)

ELECTRONIC VOTING
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9221
     What is more interesting is the use of Internet technologies at the
polling place. One benefit may be to allow people to vote at any polling
place, instead of only their own; this would benefit all segments of society
equally. (The California "Internet Voting Task Force" has a detailed and
quite interesting write-up. While it is no longer easily available online,
Google has it cached, so if you're interested in more information search for
the task force and look at the cached version. Ultimately, they recommended
against using Internet technologies for voting at all, at this time, an
opinion with which virtually every computer expert who has no vested
interest agrees. The risks just aren't worth the conveniences.)
     One frequent comment in this arena is that "tight security for Internet
voting can do little to increase the overall security of an election.
Putting strong locks and guards on one barn door, when there are weak locks
and no guards on the other doors, does not increase the overall security of
the barn." The logic of this statement baffles me; it's like saying that
since your chimney has too much soot in it, you shouldn't mind having large
tanks of gasoline in your basement. I don't want explosives in my basement,
and -- thanks, I hadn't noticed the soot. Let's call a chimney sweep.)
     If voting at home or work were being considered, then I think it's
clear that Rev. Sharpton is basically correct; there is a clear and
unmistakable bias in that proposal. But it's not about color; it's about
wealth. I was dismayed with the reader who commented that "[a list of
wealthy executives] can't get out of the office [early] enough to vote. So
who is more disenfranchised, [them or the tenement grandma]?" It's specious
to use analogies like this. The "grandma" was meant to be an illustrative
example, not a representative sample. The actual data aren't elusive, and
they aren't pretty. About 32.9 million Americans lived in poverty circa
2001, and the level of poverty is getting worse
(http://www.cbpp.org/9-24-02pov.htm). Furthermore, the number grew by 1.23
million in the year ending mid-summer 2002, a 4% increase
(http://www.cbpp.org/9-3-03pov.htm). These 34 million people represent 10%
of the total population. In contrast, presuming that $50k/year is the
minimum salary which predicts a computer and internet access, only 40% of
American citizens will have it. A proposal which aids only the wealthiest
40% of our citizens is clearly biased. (Don Schneider)

KEEP YOUR MONEY UNDER THE MATTRESS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9241
     "ATMs to Switch Over to Windows" -- Ohmygawd! "...says Celent analyst
Gwenn Bezard. 'With open technologies [like Windows] it is easier to run
different types of hardware on the same software.' "  Say what?  Open
technologies  like Windows??? Let's define some terms here, please.  And
since when do we run hardware on our software?  I'm certainly not impressed.
Does this person know anything about the technology? Let's see,... wasn't it
Micro$oft that said they could not simply remove pieces of Windows (like IE)
with out harming the whole O/S (as they call it)? Then how did they go about
creating "a cut-down version of Windows that doesn't contain things like Web
servers." I may have to start saving my money in my mattress again. (Richard
England)

GENETIC MANIPULATIONS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9239
     While early selection of genetically superior foods was apparently a
result of observation and selection of the biggest or best tasting foods and
propagation of only the best seeds or animal offspring, those genetic
improvements were a result of nature's voluntary offering.  We have become
progressively coercive in our manipulations until now instead of permitting
or encouraging nature to produce useful variants, we chemically, or by other
artificial means, force our will on nature, and that is where my
reservations about genetic manipulation begin. (Howard C. Bybee)

WINDOWS/LINDOWS LAWSUITS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9214
     Speaking of Microsoft losing lawsuits, checkout www.msfreepc.com where
Lindows is selling linux software and PCs to people eligible for a
settlement because they bought windows! Is that a story? (Gerry Visel)

HUMBOLDT STREAM
Re: 
http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=honorary_subscriber&id=703
     Just another fact on Alexander von Humboldt: one of the most important
sea streams of Americas (on the coast of Chile and Peru) is named after him,
although that great scientist insisted that his only merit had been having
measured the water flow, once that fishermen in that area knew the stream
for long. Humboldt Stream (or Peruvian Cold Sea Stream) plays a very
important role in the complex system behind "El Niño". A fortunate
coincidence bringing together one of the greatest geographers of mankind and
one of the most important geographic phenomena. (Luiz Claudio)

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