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The LangaList
2000-04-06 A Free Email Newsletter from Fred
Langa
(April 6, 2000)
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
1) The DOJ/Microsoft Ruling
When a judge applies 19th century law to a 21st century problem, it's not a pretty sight.
Microsoft made mistakes and probably did step over the line of legality in past years; for that, they deserve legal censure and punishment. But I feel the overall ruling was emotional, illogical and way over the top.
Imagine, a judge referring to how Microsoft's "oppressive" tactics stifled innovation in the computer industry. How does this jibe with the longest peacetime economic expansion in history, unparalleled wealth, all-time stock market highs, record profits, miniscule unemployment, and lavish governmental budget surpluses, all largely fueled by the computer industry and its offerings? Gosh, if that's what an oppressed industry does, maybe all market sectors should be similarly oppressed.
And who, exactly, were the oppressed ones in the computer industry? The anti-Microsoft participants such as AOL (now swallowing Time/Warner and EMI Records to become the largest, richest, most powerful media company on the planet) and Sun (posting record profits, and having enjoyed five(!) 2-for-1 stock splits in recent years?) Gimme a break.
Microsoft deserves to be punished for its wrongdoing, but not for the insupportable dominance fantasies of its competitors.
Of course, that's just my opinion. For others, see: http://content.techweb.com/winmag//specialreports/msdoj/
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This news site has been making
the rounds--- the URL has been forwarded all over the place. But just in
case you haven't seen it: http://www.soda.co.uk/soda/constructor/index.htm Although it's a bit geeky, it's a
lot of fun. 8-) Click to
email this item to a friend Just pop in the CD,
and go, right? Wrong! If you've
installed a version of Internet Explorer that didn't come with your original CD,
just popping in the CD and starting over may cause a real mess. Here's Microsoft's
official word on exactly how to reinstall Windows98 (and Win98SE) in a way that
avoids problems with different browser versions. It might be worth copying this
info or bookmarking the page so you'll have it available when you need it: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q250/9/28.asp Click to
email this item to a friend A number of readers wondered
about the international date standard I referred to. It's ISO standard #2014 and
you can read a copy here: http://www.tlcdelivers.com/tlc/crs/arch0567.htm Click to
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If you've been reading this
newsletter for a while, you know all about ZoneAlarm a "personal
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email this item to a friend Last issue, I told you of a
couple tricks you can use to sidetrack spammers. (See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-04-03.htm#3
) As usual, many readers offered other great ideas, which I'll bring you over
the next few issues. Here's one from reader Thunder Morgan: There is a relatively
new & efficient solution available that I am now using exclusively for this
problem. It's free, works like a champ & I think it is worth mentioning. It
is called Mail Expire (http://www.mailexpire.com/). They give you an address
(whatever@mailexpire.com) which will forward all mail to your real address (or
wherever) for either 12 hours, 24 hours, 7 days or a month. After that your
mailexpire address becomes non-existent, leaving would-be spammers out in the
cold. The only drawback is that the mailexpire addresses are assigned, not
chosen ,making them somewhat hard to remember. My current mailexpire address is
nlncy8w7r2@mailexpire.com (to give you an idea). I keep a sticky note on
my monitor with mine & use it whenever I must give an e-mail address to any
potential spammer, on Usenet or in chat rooms. (I 'update' my Mail Expire
weekly). Oh & if I need to
reply to a registration type of thing, I head off to ( http://welcome.to/mailto
) , a web based remailer & use my mailexpire address as the return to. With mailexpire &
some creative filtering I have reduced my spam mail to almost nothing. All from here, thanks
for the great newsletters! Nice tips! Thanks! Click to
email this item to a friend Spamfighter Suresh
Ramasubramanian has contributed to this newsletter before. The article
referenced in the previous item prompted him to write again: Reader Keith asked: There're a few other
ways. 1. ~Always~ look for
checkboxes buried somewhere in the signup form which say "Yeah, spam
me!!!" (or words to that effect) 2. If you submit your
mail id anywhere, use a throwaway address for registration (like you said), ~or~
use tagged addresses. Newer versions of
sendmail (8.9.x and upwards) allow "plussed" addresses of the format
you+somestring@yourisp.com . Newer sendmails know to ignore whatever comes after
the plus sign and direct it all to your mailbox. If you don't have your
own domain or, for whatever reason, can't create a new address for this, tag
each submission of your address with the site's name. For example - if I sign
up at www.xyz.com I'll enter my address as suresh+xyz_com@myisp.com If mail to this address
reaches me from some other source, I know for certain xyz.com has been selling
my mail id, and I can chase him with a large wooden mallet :) Hope this helps -suresh,
cauce india Thanks! Click to
email this item to a friend Reader Paul Lurix just won a free
copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating Newsletters, Bulletins,
Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications Tools." This $29.95
book has been described as "An excellent, straightforward manual on email
publishing, banner ads, driving traffic and especially ethics." (Full
details also available via the link that follows.) All he had to do was recommend
the LangaList to a friend using the form at http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2
. Once a month or so, I draw one name, at random, from among those who have used
the recommendation form, and award a thank-you prize. (Note that this isn't some
big-company sweepstakes: It's just my informal way of saying thanks for your
help in spreading the word about this newsletter.) John was the February winner. If you think the LangaList is a
worthwhile read, just use the link above to recommend the LangaList to a friend.
Your friend just may find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a
new subscriber; and you just may win a book! Or, if you'd rather try to win
$10,000(!), use this link instead: http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#1 Either way, thank you, and good
luck! Click to
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See you next issue! Best, (Please recommend
the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000!) An easier-to read formatted HTML version is
available in the "what's new" section of http://www.langa.com.
(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [GMT-5] of the
issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available via the same link. Why are you getting this newsletter? There are
only two ways to get on the list (direct email request or via the WinMag mail
list signup page) so if you're getting this newsletter; your name came to me
through one of those channels. SUBSCRIBE (it's free!): Create and send a new
email address it to subscribe-langalist@lyris.dundee.net About
the advertisers: Langa Consulting LLC will never knowingly accept
advertising for a fraudulent product, company or service. However, Langa Consulting LLC makes no implied or explicit warranty, recommendation or endorsement
of or for the products, companies or services mentioned in the ads. Disclaimer:
(Please see full disclaimer here: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm.)
Abbreviated version: The tips and other information given in the newsletter are
researched and are believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee
that all the information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the
time. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind.
Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for
any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application
of any information presented here. This newsletter is a free service of Langa Consulting LLC and is Copyright © 2000 Langa Consulting LLC. All rights reserved.2)
Cool Site
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So, You Think You Know How To Reinstall Win98?
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Last Word On The Date Format
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One More Way To Avoid Spam
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... And Another!
> I seem to be getting a lot of unsolicited email since I
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Paul Lurix Won A Book. Are You Next?
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They Loaded The Code
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Just For Grins
-Has won the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes three years running.
-When asked for their phone number, they give it in hex.
-Seems strangely calm whenever the office LAN goes down.
-Somehow gets HBO on their PC at work.
-Mumbled, "Oh, puh-leeeez!" 295 times during the movie "The
Net."
-Massive 401k contribution made in half-cent increments.
-Their video dating profile lists "public-key encryption" among
turn-ons.
-Instead of the "Welcome" voice on AOL, you overhear, "Good
Morning, Mr./Mrs. President."
-You hear them murmur, "Let's see you use that VISA card now, Professor
"I-Don't-Give-A's-In-Computer-Science!
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Have it your way, and have it seen
over 1,000,000 times a month!
Fred
(fred@langa.com)
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