Slashback: Stupidity, Telebastardy, Fast Search

Slashback tonight with updates and corrections on Overture's Fast Search acquisition (overstated in a previous story), sex.com's sordid adventures in California, the ongoing struggle involving telemarketers vs. your privacy, and more -- read on for the details. Just the parts that matter. Peter Gorman of FastSearch writes:

"I read your Overture/FAST story on Slashdot and wanted to make a clarification.

Your headline implies that Overture is completely acquiring FAST. This is completely incorrect. Overture has only acquired FAST's Internet business unit assets, which includes FAST WebSearch, FAST PartnerSite and FAST's popular search site, AlltheWeb.com."

Thanks for the correction, Peter.

Isn't that the stuff that sells? icantblvitsnotbutter writes "In what looks like a scoop, The Register has an article covering the latest in the ongoing battle between Gary Kremen and VeriSign. The High Court of California has rejected a request to consider the legal issue of whether a domain can legally be deemed as property. This is a huge help for (relatively) money-strapped Kremen, whose opponent VeriSign was evidently using the request as a delaying tactic. VeriSign previously had breathlessly warned that a wrong decision would 'cripple the Internet'."

And they made such a pleasant version of Debian, too ... robmered writes "Three years after receiving US$135M in cash from Microsoft, and one and a half years after Xandros bought Corel's Linux assets, The Age is reporting that Corel has finally removed all Linux software from its website. The end of an era, or a margin note in history? The Age thinks the former, but the strength of Open Office, Gimp and numerous desktop environment efforts seem to indicate that the Linux bandwagon will roll on regardless."

Certainly, I would like to talk at length about your business proposal. Would you like to know my fees in advance? KC7GR writes "There's an article running at DMNews about a company called Castel, Inc. that has, supposedly, developed software that can be used by automated dialing equipment to bypass a TeleZapper, or similar SIT generators, and get through to your phone no matter what.

It is also claimed that the software can deliver any type of text or phone number to a recipient's caller ID box, no matter if it's true or false, and that it can also bypass the anti-telemarketer blocks made available by some telephone companies, such as SBC and Qwest.

Granted, this software is not cheap (about $2,700.00 per calling position, apparently), and Castel is quick to claim that they created this stuff primarily for collection agencies to help them get through to deadbeats who use TeleZappers. Does anyone here really think that'll stop telemarketers from using the same crap, just because they can?"

Brevity is one antidote to stupidity. Yoda2 writes "Here is Part II of the Salon story on the Loebner Prize that Slashdot covered yesterday."

Comments

I always knew the day would come...

[alpha_1100001]

When someone invented a caller id blocker blocker blocker.

Re:I always knew the day would come...

[ctr2sprt]

You're probably right, too. First there was radar to catch speeders. Then we got radar detectors, which are still illegal to use (if not to own) in some states. So the cops got radar detector detectors. To which my current radar detector is supposedly invisible... but it still features a radar detector detector detector. No joke.

Er...

[squiggleslash]

It is also claimed that the software can deliver any type of text or phone number to a recipient's caller ID box, no matter if it's true or false, and that it can also bypass the anti-telemarketer blocks made available by some telephone companies, such as SBC and Qwest.

But can it get past the telephone answering machine I use to screen my calls, at the caller's expense?

Er, nope.

And people still fork out $5 a month for CLI. Meanwhile there's just no way a telemarketer can get through to my phone, and I don't breach the privacy of my friends and collegues (why should I force them to give me their phone number? I wouldn't force them to give me their address before letting them in the house...) and all because of a $15 piece of junk I got from the local branch of Wal*Mart.

Bliss. And my electricity bill's lower too. Between this and my new Mac, I can power the entire house on my own smugness...

This call is from POTUS.

[$$$$$exyGal]

Many call centers opt to transmit no caller-ID data instead. Because of this, calls from telemarketers often appear as "out of area" or "unavailable" on caller-ID boxes.

This new technology allows the telemarketers to make any name appear that they want. Great. Now I'm going to get calls from "President Bush" and "Saddam Hussein" and "Michael Jackson", instead of "Unknown Out of Area Caller". Which is worse? ;-)

--sex

Re:This call is from POTUS.

[tarquin_fim_bim]

I've already had to block "President Bush", "Saddam Hussein" and "Michael Jackson", they just don't have anything interesting to say anymore.

Re:Incoming Call

[$$$$$exyGal]

You hit "Decline". On the other end, they see:

Abort, Retry, Fail?

--sex

Re:Incoming Call

[The Bungi]

Incoming Call From: Richard Stallman
GNU/Decline? ...

phone teergrube/SPEWS

[sleepingsquirrel]

What we need to do is start apply spam principals to telemarketers, like a teergrube. I don't know if it would be possible to do, but I'd like to have a button next to my phone which I could press which wouldn't hang up the connection for an hour or two, thus clogging up their precious lines. I've heard that law enforcement has something like this to help in tracing calls. Or even better, have a machine setup which listens in and whenever it hears a pause on the other end of the line it would spit out a canned recording saying something like "hmmm.. that's interesting. Tell me more".

And why exactly can't we have a SPEWS/blackhole type of call blocking list? I'm paitently waiting.

Re:A Business Held Accountable? Oh My!

[Tackhead]

> Why then, if someone were to pay VeriSign for a service, should VeriSign not be accountable for said paid for service?

Because if they'd really wanted a vendor who was accountable to the customer, and who delivered what was paid for, why the fuck'd they choose Verisign in the first place?

Old joke:

Q: How do you know someone in your office is talking to someone at Verisign?
A: You hear someone three cubes away, screaming at the top of their lungs into the telephone "you dumb motherfucker!"

Telemarketers are fun!

[Cpt_Kirks]

I simply do not understand people who duck telemarketers. They are the greatest free stress relievers in existance.

Come home from work pissed (as in mad, not drunk), the phone rings, tear the jackass on the other end a new one. You don't know them, they are vermin, your karma is clean.

I have made MCI telemarketers cry before.

Hey, if they want respect they should pick up cans or work at MickeyD's...