21 st Communiqué - Newsletter #1
Index
1. Congress Passes Anti-Spam Measure
2. Wireless Technology Expands Its Reach - If Not Its Grasp
3. The Complete Story Is Moving To Windows Media Player 9
4. Spyware and Adware Threaten Your Computer's Privacy and Performance
5. Friendster: A Different Type of Computer Networking
“It’s not only innovation that matters, it’s the rate at which innovations are improved and brought to the market. And this has declined precipitously since the bust (dot com). The result is a surplus of innovations, with vast numbers of potentially important advances being warehoused or shelved.”
Kenan Sahin “Our Innovation Backlog”
1. We Do Not Like The Threat of Spam
The House of Representatives has passed a bill that bans deceptive emails and sets up a do-not-spam registry according to Wired News. President Bush has indicated that he will sign the bill, which the Senate previously passed 97-0, into law. The bill does not ban all unsolicited commercial e-mail (estimated to account for 50 percent of all email traffic) but instead limits its efforts to the deceptive or fraudulent emails that constitute the bulk of unwanted messages. A variety of spammer tactics are outlawed in the bill: using multiple accounts to evade filters, falsifying return addresses and using misleading subject lines to name a few. Spammers would also be prohibited from emailing those who place their email addresses on a do-not-spam registry that is similar to the do-not call list set up by the Federal Trade Commission to combat unwanted telemarketing phone calls. Violators could a face a year in prison and up to $1 million in fines. Repeat violators would face up to five years in prison.
To view the Wired News (Reuters) stories, please click the following link: http://wired.com/news/politics/anti-spam bill
2. Widening Wireless
Wireless technology that allows high-speed communications at distances over a few hundred feet will soon be available. It’s called 802.16, or WirelessMAN (MAN standing for Metropolitan Area Networking). Companies like Intel and Nokia are preparing to promote the new technology, expected in retail stores by the end of 2004. Whether or not this technology beats existing Internet broadband through cable and DSL remains to be seen. According to MIT’s Technology Review, one doubter is Charles Golvin of Forrester Research in Cambridge, MA. Golvin states he hasn’t seen anything that will be viable where DSL and cable are already established. However, the technology may succeed where high-speed Internet isn’t yet available, e.g., the farther reaches of the countryside.
3. The Best Is Getting Better
The Complete Story is an indexed, streaming multimedia player that can be used to create powerful web-based communications. The player is currently based on the Windows Media Player 7.1 platform but 21st Communications is migrating its flagship product to other platforms, including Windows Media Player 9, Flash and Video on Demand (VOD). This will enable The Complete Story to expand its viewing size and distribution platforms.
If you’d like to learn more about 21st Communications and The Complete Story, click on the following link: http://www.21stcommunications.com/
4. Spies Among Us
Your computer may be tracking your web-surfing habits and sending this information to companies for purposes that you neither intend nor condone. Spyware and adware not only affect your privacy but also slow your computer’s performance as well.
Check out the recent article in PC World detailing the dangers of spyware and adware as well as how to find and combat them on your machine: http://www.pcworld.com/adware & spyware
5. Friendster or Foe?
Friendster, an eight month old website that allows people to create their own online social network, has gained 2 million users according to an article in the E-Commerce Times. However, the same article notes that the founder of the website has not figured out a way to profit from the site’s success; meanwhile, imitators have cropped up and a backlash has ensued. All of which goes to show that eight months is a long time in cyberspace.
To visit Friendster, go to http://www.friendster.com/
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