NewsScan Daily, 20 May 2004 ("Above The Fold")

NewsScan Daily, 20 May 2004 ("Above The Fold")
***********************************************************
NewsScan Daily is underwritten by RLG, a world-class organization making
significant and sustained contributions to the effective management and
appropriate use of information technology. NSD is written by John Gehl and
Suzanne Douglas, [email protected].
***********************************************************

"ABOVE THE FOLD"  
       If You Send It, Will They Read It?
       FTC Demands "Explicit" Label for "Explicit" Material
       Spammer Gets 46 Months in Prison
       Attack Jams Spy Cameras

FEATURES        
       Flash Card
       Honorary Subscriber: Christiaan Huygens
       Mailbag: The World As We Find It

IF YOU SEND IT, WILL THEY READ IT?
     DidTheyReadIt.com, a new service costing $50 a year, allows a sender of
e-mail to secretly track that e-mail to see whether anyone opens it, how
long the recipient keeps it open, how many times it was opened, and where
geographically the recipient read it. The whole process is invisible to the
person who receives the message. Mitchell Kertzman of the technology
investment firm Hummer Winblad says the service "violates our electronic
space in a way that's as uncomfortable as someone violating our physical
space. Add this company to the long list of people who are making the
Internet a less attractive place to live and work." Technology expert Esther
Dyson predicts that the service "will freak people out," but Case Western
Reserve University professor Youngjin Yoo thinks people will be of two
minds: "You will want to know how others treat your e-mail messages even if
you don't necessary want others to know how you are treating theirs."
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2004-05-20-email_x.htm

FTC DEMANDS "EXPLICIT" LABEL FOR "EXPLICIT" MATERIAL
     A new Federal Trade Commission rule requires that unsolicited
commercial e-mail containing adult-oriented material include a special label
in the subject line; it also bars graphic images from appearing in the
opening body of the message (to force a recipient to take at least some
positive action to see the material he or she has been warned about in the
subject line). FTC attorney Jonathan Kraden says the label should help the
computers to filter if a computer user decides to set their filtering system
up to recognize the label, but First Amendment lawyer Jonathan L. Katz
warns: "This is a back-door effort to violate people's First Amendment
rights, whether well-intentioned or not." Spammers who violate the rule face
possible imprisonment and criminal fines of up to $250,000 for individuals
and $500,000 for an organization. (AP/San Jose Mercury News 19 May 2004)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/8706069.htm

SPAMMER GETS 46 MONTHS IN PRISON
     A 20-year old Texas man who pleaded guilty of luring people to fake
websites has been sentenced to 46 months in prison. The U.S. Justice
Department said the sentence in Houston, Texas, for Zachary Keith Hill was
linked to a phishing scam that used emails purported to come from AOL and
the online payment service PayPal. The e-mail messages identified the sender
as "billing center" or "account department" and the subject line carried
warnings such as "AOL Billing Error Please Read Enclosed Email" or "Please
Update Account Information Urgent!" (The Australian 19 May 2004) Rec'd from
John Lamp, Deakin Univ. http://tinyurl.com/2whrl

ATTACK JAMS SPY CAMERAS
     An electronic invisibility cloak generated by nothing more than an
off-the-shelf PDA would allow intruders to elude wireless security cameras
using vulnerabilities in the most common wireless technologies. There is no
defense against such a Mission Impossible-style attack, which can be used to
knock out wireless networks and possibly transfer unwitting users to a
spoofed wireless network. Accidentally discovered last year by PhD students
at the Queensland University of Technology's Information Security Research
Centre, the exploit presents obvious  applications for terrorism and
espionage. The vulnerability is "trivial" to exploit and only took 30
minutes to master, says Associate Professor Mark Looi. "It just uses
off-the-shelf hardware and you don't need to write specific software, you
just need to know the correct commands to use with the software that's
supplied. On a difficulty rating of 1 to 10, it's probably a 2." (The Age 18
May 2004) Rec'd from John Lamp, Deakin Univ.
http://theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/17/1084646114738.html

*****  

FLASH CARD 
     "It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make
their experiments on journalists and politicians." (Henrik Ibsen)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: CHRISTIAAN HUYGENS
     Today's Honorary Subscriber is the 17th century Dutch physicist,
astronomer, and mathematician Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), who proposed
that light consisted of waves and not the particles espoused by Isaac
Newton. He used this theory in investigating the refraction (bending) of
light. Today, scientists believe that light behaves as both a particle and a
wave. 
     Huygens was also the first to take note of surface markings on Mars and
to assign specific distances to the stars. He put telescopic observations on
a quantitative footing; first by measurements of space and then by
measurements of time. For spatial measurements he devised a micrometer to
measure angular separations in seconds of an arc. His time measurement was
the greater of his achievements. Following the lead of Galileo he attached a
pendulum to the gears of a clock, using falling weights to keep the pendulum
swinging. Knowing that a pendulum would only swing properly if it followed
an arc that was not exactly circular, Huygens devised attachments at the
pendulum's fulcrum to get the correct movement. His "Grandfather's clock"
replaced the ancient water clocks and the less accurate medieval mechanical
weight clocks, and introduced the modern era of accurate timekeeping. Among
Huygens' other important achievements was his refinement of the value of pi
and his discovery of Saturn's rings.
     Huygens was born into a wealthy and distinguished middle-class family
in The Hague, the Netherlands. His father, a diplomat, Latin scholar, and
poet, was the friend and correspondent of many outstanding intellectuals,
including the scientist and philosopher René Descartes.
     Tutored at home by private teachers, Huygens later studied law and
mathematics at the University of Leiden and the College of Orange at Breda.
Working with his brother Constantijn he developed skill in grinding and
polishing spherical lenses, which they then used to build the most powerful
telescopes of their time. Combined with his writings on mathematical
subjects, Huygens work in astronomy and physics earned him a reputation for
scientific scholarship and achievement throughout Europe. For a period of
time he took up residence in Paris, where he moved in intellectual circles
that included luminaries such as Pascal and Leibnitz. In 1666 he became one
of the founding members of the French Academy of Sciences, which granted him
a pension larger than that of any other member and an apartment in its
building. Previously while in England, Huygens had been elected a member of
the Royal Society. In 1673 he published his "Horologium Oscillatorium," in
which he presented his mathematical theory of curvatures, as well as
complete solutions to other problems in the dynamics of rotating bodies and
circular motion.
     In 1681 a serious illness caused Huygens to return to Holland, where he
intended to stay only temporarily. Continued ill health and other
circumstances prevented him from every returning to France. He died in
Holland in 1695 after composing a treatise on extraterrestrial life,
published posthumously as the "Cosmotheoros" in 1698.

MAILBAG: THE WORLD AS WE FIND IT

WIRELESS CANDY
Re: 
http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&dateissued=2004
0510#10560
     Regarding "WiMax: A Technology in Search of a Market," the LA Times
article fails to mention reasons the technology is likely to fail in the US:
(1) WiMax uses licensed bands, versus the no-license chunk of spectrum used
by WiFi; (2) the 300 foot limit of WiFi is purely fictional; (3) Leaves
(found on "trees," a form of life not seen in most Wireless Internet
laboratories) eat up radio signals like candy at those frequencies,
rendering both WiFi and WiMax nearly useless in forested rural areas. (Tom
Williams)

LET THEM BE SUED
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10608
     Corporate execs *should* blast the tech industry, and the tech industry
needs to take more responsibility, but we need government action. The
original story says "Both groups, however, said they oppose government
mandates on security." Corporate execs have asked, and tech industry execs
have promised, to improve security for several years, yet we still have
major security problems. Nothing will change until governments do something.
The first step governments should take, without a "mandate," is to force the
tech industry to accept liability for the damages caused by their products.
We can sue consumer electronics, automobile, and airplane companies -- why
can't we sue computer hardware and software companies? Right now we can't
sue because we're forced to accept contracts that prohibit customers from
suing. (R.S.;  please don't identify where I work)

BE BOLD, BUT NOT CRAZY
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10546
     "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and
power and magic in it," says Goethe. But what a difference context makes.
Goethe was writing in the intellectual and cultural environment of the
Enlightenment. I would not want to spur on religious zealots with Goethe's
words. (Peter Kindlmann)

GOOGLE'S KILLER APP
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10546
     Google can overcome the possible objections to its Gmail and have a new
source for much more advertising revenue by adding a feature that will make
its service irresistible for the customers. Out of 1GB that Google will
allow for emails, it should make available 100MB for free hosting of a
personal website for every user. While most users would love to have their
own free web sites and Google will be able to place its ads on these sites.
A customer, who will be getting free e-mail as well as a free website, is
very unlikely to leave Google. It will be a killer application, so to speak.
(Muhammad Abd al-Hameed  Lahore, Pakistan)

THE DEAD AWAKEN (IN DVD)
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10247
     Your brief excerpt from Joyce's "The Dead" in NewsScan reminded me of
the John Huston movie version of this story. It is one of the greatest
movies ever made --and Huston's last effort. A must-see. (George Mason)

WHAT DID BEN IMBIBE?
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10582
     I have seen another version of today's quotation (ostensibly from
Benjamin Franklin), to wit: "Wine is constant proof that God loves us and
wants us to be happy." A difference of only two words, and 'constant' can be
dispensed with, but which beverage did he actually refer to? Historically
Franklin was known to drink pretty much whatever was on offer. (David Sisk)

LOCK-DOOR ALGORITHM
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10608
     I was amused by the comment by the Tech. Assoc. of America person that
"We all have responsibilities to lock our doors in our homes..." What he
didn't mention is that we don't have to have a Master's degree in Mechanical
Engineering to do that. We have to have at least MS level CS training to
deal with a lot of home computer issues. (Bob Futrelle)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR NEWSSCAN
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=10608
     We received a large number of messages congratulating us on our tenth
year of NewsScan, and we appreciate all of these. Here's a little sample:
     Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, you inform and intrigue
us and that's pretty damn cool. (John Brassil)
     I don't mind you making a wish... Just please don't blow out the
candles!! You've been lighting my life and others for ten years. Please keep
up the good work! (Suki)
     Wow, how time flies. Happy birthday NewsScan, and congratulations. (Dr.
Peter Tylee)
     As one of your original subscribers, happy birthday NewsScan. I hope
you learn as much and get as much enjoyment out of producing it as I do
reading it. (John McNulty, Halifax, Canada)
     I have been with you for 7 or 8 years now. I can't actually remember
when I signed on. It was while I was working for the USCG in Port Angeles. I
am retired now and still enjoying your NewsScan. (Al Dawson)
     I wish to congratulate you on 10 years of good work. I hope you can
keep it up, your efforts are a much anticipated part of my day. (Stewart D.
Turner, Dept of Neurobiology & Anatomy, U of Texas Health Science Center)
     Happy Birthday, NewsScan! Haven't been with you for ten years, but
several, and the enjoyment's continuous, the surprises fairly common, the
info always welcome and the knowledge gain invaluable. Hope your wish comes
true. (K McKenzie)
     Happy anniversary! And, thanks so much for a great publication. I have
been receiving your worldly intelligence and wit for about ten years. The
evolution of the little cheepo e-mail newsletter into one of my professional
"must haves" has been absolutely great! Your efforts truly can be classified
as one of the great successes of the Internet Age. (Scott Smith)

SUBSCRIPTION INFO FOR NEWSSCAN DAILY:
      To subscribe or unsubscribe to the text, html, or handheld versions
of NewsScan Daily, send the appropriate subscribe or unsubscribe messages
(i.e., with the word 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe' in the subject line) to
the addresses shown below:
      Text version: Send message to [email protected]
      HTML version: Send mail to [email protected]
      NewsScan-To-Go: http://www.newsscan.com/handheld/current.html

TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT NEWSSCAN DAILY! Send them our little frog:
http://www.newsscan.com/newsscan/newscup.html

***********************************************************
Please visit the site of RLG, the great organization that makes NewsScan
Daily possible. (RLG has no influence over, nor any responsibility for, our
editorial content.) Created in 1974 as the Research Libraries Group, RLG is
a not-for-profit membership corporation of more than 160 universities,
national libraries, archives, museums -- and other institutions with
remarkable collections for research and learning. Its major initiatives are
long-term retention of digital materials, resource sharing among member
institutions, and improvement of researcher access to primary source
material. RLG supplies online research resources worldwide. Visit RLG at
http://www.rlg.org.

*********

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the TEXT version of NewsScan Daily, send an
e-mail message to [email protected] with 'subscribe' or 'unsubscribe'
in the subject line. To subscribe to our HTML version of NewsScan Daily,
send mail to [email protected], with the word 'subscribe' as the
subject. (Subscribing to the HTML version won't automatically unsubscribe
you from the text version; please unsubscribe yourself as explained above.)
Please note: To unsubscribe from an account to which you no longer have
access, send mail to at [email protected].

*********

We call our news section "Above The Fold" to honor the tradition of the
great "broadsheet" newspapers in which editors must decide which news
stories are of such importance that they should be placed "above the fold"
on the front page. The NewsScan Credo: Be informative, have fun, and get to
the point! See http://www.newsscan.com/, and send us mail: John Gehl
<[email protected]> and Suzanne Douglas <[email protected]>, or call
770-704-7517.

*********

Get a free 6-week trial subscription to Innovation Weekly, an executive
summary of trends, strategies and innovations in business and technology.
Send mail to [email protected] with the word 'subscribe' in the
subject line.

What customized news and information services do you need for your company?
Get in touch with us at [email protected] or call 770-704-7517 to talk
over the possibilities.

Copyright 2004. NewsScan Daily (R) is a publication of NewsScan Inc.
***********************************************************