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

NewsScan Daily, 25 August 2003 ("Above The Fold")
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"ABOVE THE FOLD"
        Biometric Scans for U.S. Visitors
        Mixed Information on Silicon Valley Economy
        Database to Fight Financial Crime
        The Ultimate Spam-Killer: More Spam?
        Pros and Cons of Pop-Ups
        New HP E-Book 'Ready to Rock 'N' Roll'

FEATURES
        Flash Card
        Honorary Subscriber: Duncan Phyfe
        Mailbag: The World As We Find It

BIOMETRIC SCANS FOR U.S. VISITORS
Biometric face and fingerprint scans for travelers will become routine 
security measures for foreign visitors next year. By October 2004 the 27 
countries whose citizens can travel to the U.S. without visas must begin 
issuing passports with embedded computer chips with the traveler's facial 
identification. Civil libertarian Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy 
Information Center opposes the mandate: "Our government has forced on 
European governments the obligation to adopt biometric identifiers though 
most in the U.S. still oppose such systems." But Kelly Shannon of the State 
Department argues that is not only "more secure for other countries, it's 
more secure for us. The idea is that it is contingent on reciprocal 
treatment for United States citizens." And Denis Shagnon of the 
International Civil Aviation Organization adds: "What was required was a 
globally interoperable biometric -- one biometric that could be used 
worldwide and can be read worldwide." He regards the biometric techniques 
as "very user-friendly" and "unobtrusive." (New York Times 24 Aug 2003)
http://partners.nytimes.com/2003/08/24/national/24IDEN.html

MIXED INFORMATION ON SILICON VALLEY ECONOMY
Despite the high-tech slowdown, Silicon Valley residents remain bullish on 
the future -- and continue buying up homes in the $500K-plus range. "On one 
side companies are still laying people off, on the other side you see new 
homes that still have over 100 people on the waiting list," says one Valley 
real estate agent. "I call it mixed information." (San Jose Mercury News 24 
Aug 2003)
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/6606561.htm

DATABASE TO FIGHT FINANCIAL CRIME
Banks throughout the Midwest U.S. can make use of a computer database 
called FinCrime that allows financial institutions and law enforcement to 
share information about crimes and provide warnings. Once check fraud or 
some other financial crime is committed, bankers and law enforcement 
personnel can enter information about the crime and the suspect into the 
database. FinCrime looks for matching information. "Obviously the more 
participants we have, the more data we can gather in this electronic 
database, the more valuable it's going to be for participants," said John 
Sorensen, president and chief executive of the Iowa Bankers Association. 
"We're trying to expand it widely and keep the cost of participation at 
either nothing or very small costs... One of the unique things about our 
network is that it's going to be owned by state banking associations and 
that it will be provided really as a service as members of these state 
banking associations," Sorensen said. (AP/USA Today 22 Aug 2003)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2003-08-22-midwest-bank-d 
b_x.htm

THE ULTIMATE SPAM-KILLER: MORE SPAM?
Like futile attacks against the evil monster in a horror flick, recent 
efforts to "kill" spam have only served to make it stronger, says FTC spam 
expert Brian Huseman. All those fancy blocking systems create a "perverse 
result, that spammers send out even more messages to make sure a certain 
number are received." And, incredibly, *some* of the spam-mail must produce 
results or surely those cash-transfer pleas from Nigeria would cease. 
"Gullibility is being redefined today," says one investment scheme tracker, 
who predicts that when the economy improves, some of the more far-fetched 
propositions will disappear on their own. But while security experts 
struggle to come up with the ultimate fix, consumers can do their own part 
to discourage spam, says WSJ columnist Dennis Berman: "One of the most 
underrated ways to help stop spam is to dry up end-user demand… We 
desperately need a campaign of education and downright social coercion to 
stop people from cooperating with purveyors of new septic tanks and body 
'enhancement' products… We can all do our part: Never use [spam-mail] to 
buy products. Don't even click on a Web link contained in a spam because it 
tags you as a live e-mail address. And keep your address off public Web 
pages, where it could be scooped up and used to bombard you with 
solicitations. In the meantime, those struggling to clean a clogged mailbox 
can get satisfaction from that hopeful image of the spam business 
collapsing under its own weight, with spammers spamming other spammers to a 
painful spamming demise." (Wall Street Journal 25 Aug 2003)
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB10617623299247100,00.html (sub req'd)

PROS AND CONS OF POP-UPS
While spam elicits pretty much universal condemnation, pop-up advertising 
has received mixed reviews, says Wharton economics professor Patricia 
Williams. She says that while some studies indicate consumers view pop-ups 
as even more annoying than telemarketing phone calls, she says there's not 
yet enough research to support such statements. "My intuition tells me that 
ads that have a more traditional advertising format are viewed differently 
than telemarketing or spam. Consumers feel that when they watch television, 
ads will appear. It's part of the consumer process. My intuition is that 
pop-up ads are more like the television ads that we're used to." But David 
Croson, a visiting professor at MIT and a researcher at MIT's Center for 
eBusiness, disagrees: "Pop-up ads are probably the only form of advertising 
that has spawned a whole industry designed to help you get them off your 
screen. I think pop-up ads have created a really strong negative response." 
And while some experts believe that government regulators should take on 
pop-ups as part of their campaign against spam, others say there's a 
significant difference between the two. "Unlike spammers, most advertisers 
who use pop-ups need a better than a one-in-a-million response rate. So 
they'll need to find advertising mechanisms that are more about permission 
and less about destroying the user's experience of the Web site," says Dan 
Hunter, professor of legal studies at Wharton, who notes that for people 
with dial-up Internet accounts, "pop-ups are a major hassle, because they 
use valuable bandwidth that slows the download of valuable stuff, 
especially since the pop-ups tend to be flash-enabled or use fairly large 
graphic files." (Knowledge@Wharton/CNet 23 Aug 2003)
http://news.com.com/2030-1086_3-5066400.html?tag=lh

NEW HP E-BOOK 'READY TO ROCK 'N' ROLL'
Hewlett-Packard researchers have developed a prototype electronic book that 
can hold a whole library's worth of reading in a one-centimeter-thick 
device about the size of a paperback. The e-book incorporates a series of 
touch-sensitive strips that the user strokes to "turn" a page. By stroking 
the strip at different speeds, the user can speed-read or browse more 
casually. Electronic bookmarks and "fingers" can be inserted for marking a 
place or flipping between chapters. The market for electronic books is 
still in the embryonic stage, but Hewlett Packard scientist Huw Robson says 
his company wants to be ready when it does take off: "Radical new display 
technologies are on the horizon which will give a much more paper-like 
feel. When this comes along we need to have researched all aspects of how 
we will develop new displays so that we're ready to rock and roll." (BBC 
News 24 Aug 2003)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3173835.stm

*****

FLASH CARD
      "I keep the subject of my inquiry constantly before me, and wait till 
the first dawning opens gradually, by little and little, into a full and 
clear light." (Isaac Newton)

HONORARY SUBSCRIBER: DUNCAN PHYFE
      Today's Honorary Subscriber is the legendary Scottish-born New York 
cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854), whose furniture designs earned him a 
reputation as perhaps the greatest of all American cabinetmakers. His name 
has come to be coupled with a lengthy list of furniture styles: double 
pedestal banquet tables, reeded leg sofas, window benches, central pedestal 
drop leaf breakfast tables, Martha Washington sewing stands, window 
benches, lyre-back chairs, and so on. His decorative carving, turning and 
form motifs included reeding, thunderbolts, trumpets, rosettes, acanthus 
leave, water leaf, palm leaf, lion's foot, dog's foot, eagle wings, drapery 
swags, wheat ears, the saber leg, urn turned posts, curved or diagonal 
cross bars on chair backs and perhaps his most expressive element, the lyre.
      Phyfe was born Duncan Fife near Loch Fannich, Ross and Cromarty, in 
Scotland. While still in his teens he emigrated with his family to Albany, 
New York, where his father opened a cabinetmaking shop. Sadly, two siblings 
died on the trip. After completing his apprenticeship, he moved to New York 
City where in 1792 he was registered as a furniture "joiner" working at 2 
Broad Street. Two years later he relocated to Fulton Street and changed his 
name to Phyfe, presumably because he felt the new spelling would be more 
appealing in an era filled with anti-British sentiment and allow him to 
better compete with French émigré craftsmen.
      Phyfe was one of the first American cabinetmakers to successfully use 
the factory method of manufacturing furniture, and he eventually employed 
over 100 carvers and cabinetmakers in his workshop. Phyfe's products were 
equal to any in the world, making it unnecessary for the colonists to send 
to England for quality furniture. Phyfe easily satisfied the tastes of 
wealthy New Yorkers, especially the particular needs of multi-millionaire 
and highly influential John Jacob Astor, whose patronage helped make 
Phyfe's furniture popular and made Phyfe himself quite wealthy.
      Although Phyfe did not originate a new furniture style, he 
interpreted fashionable European styles in a manner distinguished by grace 
and excellent proportions. As early as 1800 his workshop was executing 
delicate furniture in the Sheraton, Regency, and French Directoire styles; 
by 1825, as taste changed, his pieces developed into the  Empire style. In 
1837 Phyfe took two of his sons, Michael and James, into partnership as 
Duncan Phyfe and Sons. After the death of Michael in 1840, the firm name 
was changed to Duncan Phyfe and Son. In 1847 the business was sold and 
Phyfe retired.
      At his death his fortune was estimated to have been almost $500,000. 
Interest in Phyfe's furniture was revived in 1922 when the Metropolitan 
Museum of Art, New York City, organized a comprehensive exhibition of his 
work.

See 
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0486223124/newsscancom/ref=nosim 
for "Furniture Masterpieces of Duncan Phyfe" -- 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

MOUNTAIN MAN IN THE AGE OF BROADBAND
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9031
      I moved to upstate Pennsylvania, which isn't exactly the hinterlands 
(though I believe Pennsylvania still has the largest rural population of 
any state). Because I live more than 3 miles from the telephone company's 
switching station, DSL doesn't exist for me, and because of the mountainous 
terrain, there's no cell phone or other wireless access -- yet. Since I do 
text work, not graphics, online, that doesn't bother me a whole lot, but I 
wonder if there aren't a fair number of people in my situation. Broadband's 
fine if you're in the right place in the right state. In our county, I'd 
guess it can serve about 25% of the population at most. On the positive 
side, I no longer live in the city. Halleluiah! (Derek Davis)

MAD ABOUT MUSIC
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9047
      The purported excuse for the threats from the RIAA is that online 
music swapping hurts "legitimate" sales. Now that the online swapping 
appears to be decreasing, I wait -- most assuredly *not* with bated breath 
-- for a corresponding improvement in industry sales figures. In fact, are 
there any NewsScan subscribers with access to the historical statistics for 
both online swapping and record industry sales? I'd not be surprised if 
there is no correlation whatsoever. (Stuart Macleod, Calgary, Alberta)

EQUALLY OBNOXIOUS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9026
      Given that current viruses forge the From: field of their outgoing 
mail, and use email addresses of unsuspecting users taken from the victims' 
address books, automatic notifications from scanning and filtering systems 
are equally obnoxious, and probably account for much of that useless 
traffic. (Paolo Amoroso)

THE FAULT, DEAR MAELSTROM, IS IN WINDOWS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9033
      Maelstrom almost makes an excellent point -- we are the first line of 
defense, by keeping our PCs up-to-date and secure we can do more than any 
virus scanner will ever do. But it takes more effort than your 
correspondent suggests: Windows was never designed to be a secure operating 
system. I have taken certain basic, obvious steps towards securing my 
Windows installation. But so many applications - including Windows 
Automatic Update - assume that every user logs on as 'administrator', or at 
least is part of the 'Local Administrators' group, it is sometimes 
impossible to get applications to function if you aren't (Windows Update 
can be started manually with the 'Run As...' command in WinXP, but as an 
automatic service it does not appear to function if the current user is not 
an administrator - though it claims to be working fine). It seems like a 
catch-22 to me: to secure my system I must ignore the basic rules of 
security. (Eric Schultz, Nun's Island, Quebec City)

STAY OUT OF PEOPLE'S MEDICINE CABINETS -- AND THEIR COMPUTERS
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9033
      Maelstrom is right for chiding those who don't regularly update their 
Windows OS. However, many of the patches that MS makes available create new 
vulnerabilities or mess up personal preferences, and disable or reduce the 
performance of existing applications. This is just as counterproductive as 
doing nothing. We all could spend more time doing things we do to make a 
living away from our Wintel computers if we didn't have to spend so much 
time dealing with the efforts of people like Maelstrom. Get a life! Hackers 
need to find a less destructive hobby. Use your energy and talents to 
create applications or entertainment that do good for all of us. And, when 
you're through snooping around people's computers, if you should ever get 
invited to someone's real house, stay out of their medicine cabinet. (Karl 
Magnuson)

GETTING OFF THE TREADMILL OF INFINITE SERVICE PATCHES
Re: http://www.newsscan.com/cgi-bin/findit_view?table=newsletter&id=9033
      Your "hacker friend" is a bit too glib. Yes, there are far too many 
unpatched Windows machines. However, simply saying "automatically apply 
patches" isn't the answer, for two reasons. First, it assumes that patches 
work and are installable. By my own back-of-the-envelope count, something 
like 10% of the patches MS issued this year in response to critical bugs 
either didn't install on all Windows configurations or contained new bugs 
or vulnerabilities. This is hardly confidence-inspiring and it assumes that 
the average home user can tell when a patch is working, can identify why a 
patch might fail to install, and can remove faulty patches. That seems like 
a lot to expect as we saw with the SQL Slammer worm, which significantly 
damaged Microsoft itself. This leads me to point two. Second, the model of 
"just throw on more patches" shifts the burden of responsibility and fault 
from the maker of the buggy, vulnerable systems to the hapless users. It is 
not the users' fault that Outlook and Windows are invitations to virus and 
worm disasters. It is not the system administrator's fault that ridiculous 
unnecessary ports are left open in the first place. We can continue to run 
the treadmill of infinite service packs and patches, or we can get off the 
treadmill and demand that OS providers - primarily Microsoft, but others as 
well - provide reasonable, secure, and robust platforms so that we don't 
all have to spend our lives as system administrators. (Alan Wexelblat, MIT)

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