NewsScan Daily, 16 December 2003 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 16 December 2003 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
       U.N. Votes to Study Administration of the Internet
       Bush Signs National Anti-Spam Law
       Sun Fined for Illegally Exports to China
       Software To Go
       Annoyed or Not, You'll Keep Getting Pop-Ups

FEATURES
       Flash Card
       Worth Thinking About: Memory, Aging, Worry, and Cats
       Mailbag: The World As We Find It

U.N. VOTES TO STUDY ADMINISTRATION OF THE INTERNET
The delegates at a U.N. conference on the Internet have decided that a
"working group" should be set up to consider introducing more international
oversight of the Internet and its administrative bodies (such as ICANN, the
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a company that has a
U.S. Commerce Department contract to coordinates Internet addresses and some
other technical issues). At the conference, delegates from the developing
countries were unsuccessful in getting the U.N. to take full administrative
control of the Internet, although they did get a promise that ways will be
explored to close the "digital divide" between richer and poorer nations.
Eli M. Noam, who heads the Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia
University, notes: "Even if it is not true, there is a perception that the
U.S. government is running the Internet." (International Herald Tribune/NYT
15 Dec 2003) http://partners.nytimes.com/2003/12/15/technology/15divide.html

BUSH SIGNS NATIONAL ANTI-SPAM LAW
A new law signed by President Bush will attempt to rid the Internet of
unsolicited commercial e-mail ("spam") -- though many technology experts
believe it will not be impossible for legislation passed by a single country
to eliminate spam, because it is a global problem. However, supporters of
the legislation say it gives state and federal law authorities the tools
needed to track down and prosecute the largest and best-organized spammers.
Democrat Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, a coauthor of the CAN-SPAM bill,
explains: "Our message is the fight has just begun and enforcement has got
to be tough, tough, tough." (Washington Post 16 Dec 2003)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4437-2003Dec16.html

SUN FINED FOR ILLEGALLY EXPORTS TO CHINA
Sun Microsystems and its subsidiaries are facing stiff fines for illegally
shipping computers to China, where it was used for military purposes.
Federal officials say that "dual-use" exports (exports that can be used both
civilian and military purposes) are on the rise to China, India, Russia,
Pakistan and other countries with known or suspected nuclear weapons
programs. Sun's response is that the company "maintains comprehensive
procedures to comply with all aspects of U.S. and, where applicable, foreign
export control laws." AP/San Jose Mercury News 16 Dec 2003)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/7504125.htm

SOFTWARE TO GO
Computer retailer CompUSA has begun offering a system called SoftwareToGo,
which dispenses software from a vending machine, and which could
dramatically change how software is sold and distributed and replace
software downloads. The service, which is already operational in some parts
of the country, includes 1,200 software programs from Microsoft and other
software makers. David Berett, a Microsoft manager, says: "It's a major
change in how software is sold: We don't have to manufacture goods and ship
them," and Dewey Thoes, a senior buyer at CompUSA, says: "The kiosk eases
shelf-space limitations. If we have a sale and run out of a program, we can
use the machine." (USA Today 16 Dec 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2003-12-16-software_x.htm

ANNOYED OR NOT, YOU'LL KEEP GETTING POP-UPS
A federal judge in Baltimore has ruled that a California company called
D-Squared can continue sending "pop-up" Internet ads until the matter is
decided at trial. Said U.S. District Judge Andre Davis: "It's not clear to
me ... if there's substantial injury to consumers. The case had the odor of
extortion as it was originally prosecuted ... but it certainly doesn't look
like extortion to me." The Federal Trade Commission believes that
D-Squared's advertisements caused "substantial injury" to consumers, and FTC
attorney Monica Spivack says: "They clearly knew that this practice was in
fact causing consumers' computers to crash. The defendant's own marketing
material said this." D-Squared attorney Anthony Dain's counter-argument is:
"Should our clients be shut down from their best marketing tool and from the
tool that best serves the customer, whether they're annoyed or not?" (Los
Angeles Times 16 Dec 2003)
http://www.latimes.com/technology/ats-ap_technology10dec16,1,7761116.story?c
oll=sns-ap-toptechnology

*****

FLASH CARD
     "If you believe that feeling bad or worrying long enough will change a
past or future event, then you are residing on another planet with a
different reality system." (William James)

WORTH THINKING ABOUT: MEMORY, AGING, WORRY, AND CATS
     The social activist Jane Addams once wrote:
     "Quite as it would be hard for anyone of us to select the summer in
which he ceased to live that life, so ardent in childhood and early youth,
when all real happenings are in the future, so it must be difficult for old
people to tell at what period they began to regard the present chiefly as a
prolongation of the past. There is no doubt, however, that such instinctive
shiftings and reversals have taken place for many old people who, under the
control of Memory, are actually living much more in the past than in the
ephemeral present.
     "It is most fortunate, therefore, that in some subtle fashion these old
people, reviewing the long road they have traveled, are able to transmute
their own untoward experiences into that which seems to make even the most
wretched life acceptable. This may possibly be due to an instinct of
self-preservation, which checks the devastating bitterness that would result
did they recall over and over again the sordid detail of events long past;
it is even possible that those people who were not able thus to inhibit
their bitterness have died earlier, for as one old man recently reminded me,
'It is a true word that worry can kill a cat.'"

See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0465019153/newsscancom/ref=nos
im for "The Jane Addams Reader" -- 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

CRIMINAL CARS

CRIMINAL CARS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9737
     "In the same ruling, the Copyright Board imposed a per-unit fee of $15
to $25 on digital music players such as Apple iPods and MP3 players but
declined to extend the fee to computer hard drives. The fees are used to
compensate musicians and songwriters." Perhaps similar fees should also be
imposed on cars, which are among the main tools of robbers and other
criminals. (Paolo Amoros, Italy)

THE FAULT OF LOUSY PRESENTATIONS LIES IN THE PRESENTER
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9738
     I am not at all surprised that NASA's Columbia Accident Investigation
Board fingered the agency's over-reliance on Microsoft PowerPoint
presentations as a contributing factor to last February's shuttle disaster.
However, I am somewhat puzzled by your headline suggesting that the Board
concluded such over-reliance "leads to simplistic thinking." PowerPoint is
simply a tool. When used properly, it can be extremely helpful in delivering
information that can be understood, accepted, and acted upon--which is (or
should be) the objective of any presentation. But like any presentation
tool, PowerPoint does not compensate for a writer's lack of presentation
skills. In my experience, few people have ever been taught the basics of
creating effective presentations. It's this lack of presentation skills, and
not the presentation tools, that leads to lousy presentations. A set of
Craftsman tools does not a carpenter make. (Dr. Martin H. Tesler, Alexandria
VA)

BANNING POWERPOINT LEADS TO RISE IN PRODUCTIVITY
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9738
     I can't tell you how satisfying it was to read about the NY Times
article on the NASA Report. It's a crying shame people don't pay more
attention to the subtle ways in which both software and hardware are
changing the way we think, our expectations, and our relationships with each
other.  And now some of the consequences are catastrophic.
     I was also reminded of a reference many years ago to someone at Sun
Microsystems removing all PowerPoint development from their sales department
and seeing a significant rise in revenue and productivity afterward.  I
think my reference first came from you guys, when you cited a story quoting
Sun CEO Scott McNealy saying: "We had 12.9 gigabytes of (Microsoft)
PowerPoint slides on our network. And I thought, 'What a huge waste of
corporate productivity.'  So we banned it. And we've had three unbelievable
record-breaking fiscal quarters since we banned PowerPoint. Now, I would
argue that every company in the world, if they would just ban PowerPoint,
would see their earnings skyrocket. Employees would stand around going,
'What do I do? Guess I've got to go to work.'" Most sincerely appreciating
the work you two are doing. (Dave Trautman, Edmonton, Canada)

IDEAS LUMPED TOGETHER DO NOT A PRESENTATION MAKE
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9738
     Regarding "Over-Reliance on PowerPoint Leads to Simplistic Thinking"
--For the kind of editing I do, people regularly dump PowerPoints on me, and
they drive me nuts. I've seen a total of maybe two in the last several years
that could possibly be considered intelligible. One of the main problems is
that they force people to try to categorize items when the person doing the
presentation either doesn't understand how to categorize or doesn't have the
specific information available to categorize in the area being discussed.
PowerPoint presentations remind me of essays from the middle ages by people
like John de Manville who would group disparate items together and think
they'd made an argument. In both cases, it's nobody's "fault," just an
inappropriate attempt to cage ideas and terms together for convenience when
there isn't enough solid information to support the association. (Derek
Davis, Dushore, PA)

A CONTRASTING OPINION ON POWERPOINT
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9738
     For an interesting, contrasting opinion on Tufte's PowerPoint remarks,
see Peter Coffee's column in EWeek:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1401470,00.asp (Thomas Frericht)

IMAGINE A PICKPOCKET ARMED WITH AN RFID READER
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9740
     With regard to "Credit Cards do the Wave": MasterCard and American
Express have been testing "contactless" versions of their credit cards that
use an embedded RFID chip rather than a magnetic strip to store financial
data. The cards can simply be waved in front of a reader to complete the
purchase." Just imagine a pickpocket with a RFID reader embedded in the
sleeve of his coat wandering the crowds, swiping his arm past wallets and
purses. Will I have to go buy a faraday cage to keep my cards safe? Thanks
but...    No Thanks. (Glenn Beer)

SMTP NEEDS TO GET A LIFE
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9736
     The "Spam Dancing" piece begs the question: Why aren't vendors and/or
the Internet community working to replace/upgrade SMTP to a more secure and
authenticated protocol? (Richard Rathe M.D.)

FAULTY LOGIC
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9702
     Per "Maelstrom"s logic, it would be perfectly OK to sneak into other
people's houses when they were not at home -- as long as you did not
actually steal anything. You could then leave them a note warning them about
their faulty security. Imagine how safe the world would be after a few years
of this.  (Hah!).  Hackers are voyeurs & egotists, pure & simple.  They get
a thrill out of getting into places they should not be, and out of proving
how "smart" they are.  All the nonsense about "Civil Disobedience," "Making
the world a better place," etc., are just lame excuses for inexcusable
behavior. Firing shots over people's heads at random does not make them
better prepared for being shot at "for real", it does not make you smarter
than they are, and it will not make the world a better place no matter how
long you keep doing it. (Carl McGaha)

GO FOR A WALK, LEARN THE PIANO
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9741
     "Part of the problem is physical, says Fortune columnist David
Kirkpatrick, who complains that the cumbersome keypad on most cell phones is
a major obstacle to adults interested in text messaging." Ha! Physical?
Perhaps! The main "problem" for me and my wife ("older folks", who have
teenage children ourselves), is that we just cannot be bothered.  Our lives
are already quite full enough, thank you. If I ever find spare time, I
certainly will not use it, and for some years have not been the slightest
bit inclined to use it, in wrestling with new technology [which will change
next week, and incidentally will take another large bite out of your
wallet]. Spare time?  Go for a walk. Learn the piano. Paint a picture. Talk
to your neighbours.  Get a life.   [Mind you ... here I am tapping away at
b****y e-mail!!]. (John Law
Hexhamm Northumberland, UK)

ANTI-SPAM PRODUCTS FOR FREE
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9726
     With regard to "Free Spam Filtering for Nonprofits" -- So now you're
posting advertising?  This isn't news, it's marketing!  It's a classic ploy
--offer a free subscription, then charge for the renewal. There are many
very good free anti-spam products available for nonprofits, charities and
everyone else to use.  See http://spam.abuse.net/ for information. (Chris
Shaffer)

A READER FOR YEARS
Just wanted to let you know I really appreciate NewsScan Daily.  I've
been a reader for years, and I'm constantly amazed at the publication's
high quality & insight. In an information overload world, you provide an
invaluable service. Thank you very much for what you do. (Mike Kuras)

THE VIBRATIONS ARE THE SOUND
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9733
     I knew what you were driving at, but there might be a better way to say
this. The vibrations ARE the sound. There are two ways for sound to get to
the inner ear where it can be perceived: air conduction and bone conduction.
Bone conduction is always present (the inner ear sits inside the temporal
bone), but is much less sensitive to environmental sounds than air
conduction through a functional middle ear (the little bones). If a person
plugs both their ears, they will experience pure bone conduction. (Richard
Rathe M.D.)

MACLEISH'S OMELET
     FWIW, the poetry of Archibald MacLeish was not universally appreciated
by literary critics. One of MacLeish's offerings was titled "The Hamlet of
A. MacLeish." In addition to the usual stanzas, the poem incorporated
marginal comments or notations. The great literary figure Edmund Wilson
apparently felt the need to pillory what he believed to be MacLeish's
pretentiousness and a style that adapted to every literary wind that blew
when he (Wilson) wrote "The Omelet of A. MacLeish." Below are excerpts:
                            *
"And the mist: and the rain on West Rock: and the wind steady:
There were elms in that place: and graven inflexible laws:
Men of Yale: and the shudder of Tap Day: the need for a man to make headway"
                            *
"And the poems that came easy and sweet with a blurring of Masefield
(The same that I later denied): ..."
                            *
"Eliot alarmed me at first: but my later abasement; ..."
                            *
"'These and the Cantos of Pound: O how they came pat!
Nimble at other men's arts how I picked up the trick of it:
Rode it reposed on it drifted away on it: ..."
                            *
"And a wind out of Valery's graveyard but it never blew anything loose:
 
And the questions and questions
                                              questioning
                                                            What am I? O
What shall I remember?
                                O my people
                                                 a pensive dismay
What have I left unsaid?
                                 Till the hearer cried:
If only MacLeish could remember if only could say it!" ...
                            *
"And the mean tang of Cummings turned saltless and sleek on the tongue:
And a Dante gone limp: ...."
                             *
"Their fierce cries of 'Aesthete!' and 'Fascist!': and like them I railed at
the
Bankers and builders of railroads: I said 'Social Credit':
(He's a tough lad under the verse mister all the same!):" ...
                              *
"And then schoolboys from Britain came over us flying like angels:
 Them too I courted: I labored to roughen the sweet
To stiffen the wilt of a style that seemed lax in that land: ..."
                              *
"I was wired for sound as I started again down the river:
And my colons went out on the air to the clang of a gong:
O when shall I ring with the perilous pain and the fever?
 
A clean and clever lad
                                who is doing
                                                 his best
                                                            to get on . . .
 "
                              *
In Wilson's version, the marginal notations included: "MacLeish breaks an
egg for his omelet": "He puts in plovers' eggs and truffles into his
omelet"; "He experiments with a new kind of peppercorn"; "He is obliged to
reopen his omelet and put a little garlic in"; "He is doomed to go on
doctoring his omelet." (William Smithers)



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