1) granted beta has evolved, and again there has been a MAJOR change in tape formulation
2) i'll gladly put a 20 year old beta against any svhs, including the professional jvc against an old bvw 40.
3) The big difference has to do with where the color subcarrier lies - vhs used the horrible color under while beta used a color over. svideo is an attempt to do what beta did originally - separate the luma and chroma signals. The huge gains in modern players have to do with the use of farujia (sp?) encoder/decoders, which work wonders cutting down chroma interference in the luminance info. (Chroma is color info, and luma is the b/w) The tape length is exactly what killed beta as a consumer format in the first place.
Also beta is much easier to maintain - i hate fixing vhs type machines.
I agree that we have digressed WAY off topic, but did want to reply to your comments.
Beta is only available as professional equipment now - you can have a new recorder for about $25-30k. Even the longest tapes only go 90 minutes. Those tapes will cost you almost $100 each in quantity (thank the epa for changing laws about tape manufacturing). I don't know too much about digibeta, as we don't have any machines to work with yet.
Too bad - beta was a far superior format, better even than svhs, but such is marketing...
Re the restrictive covenents (CCR's) - that is what the fcc has overruled - it does get a little tricky w/townhomes, condos, and apartments. With houses, it has effectively overturned the ccr's.
About the testing - the sinclair test is very questionable, as they have an interest in adding CODFM as an acceptable transmit standard, ie use either system (AM stereo anybody?). Also, they used the worst first generation hd receiver they could get to stack the deck further. The new 3rd generation receivers are much better than the 2nd gen that ive been working with. They are not perfect yet, but getting there. I'll have to check on the NBC/Philly test.
Digital cable is an improvement, but not that great - spend the extra money going with DSS - superior picture and some HDTV content. (I am biased - I hate my cable company, and have never been happy with one yet)
In any case, until there is programming worth watching, HD is not going to catch on - the Super Bowl was excellent, truly showing what the medium is capable of. Just have to sit back and wait.
Most HDTV sets have component inputs (y,Pr,Pb) this will provide a superior picture to composite or super video. Better DVD players also have this output.
DVD is a STANDARD. given how difficult it is to get people to agree to standards, it is going to be a while before you see a HD standard player, and a hell of a long time before a HD recorder comes along - and you think the DeCSS is a major fight?
now a quick rebuttal to some of the HD info
8VSB is a good technology, not the best but good. I have not seen the multipath problem, and I have worked with early receivers. During our tests at work, a 1kW transmitter produced a perfect picture, behind a hill. The MW NTSC transmitter couldn't even be received. We tested under all kinds of conditions, and it worked great. Current receivers are 2 generations better.
Receiver software - more incomplete than broken. The receiver/monitor interface is not yet standardized, but it is starting to.
The real problem is programming, or lack thereof. No one wants to produce programming if there is no one to watch, and nobody is buying sets because there is no programming. And again, there is the fight about copy protection, which is going to hold up hd vcrs.
Cable will become irrelevant. Hang a wire out your window, get a perfect picture. Cable doesn't want to supply the bandwidth. The FCC has also helped out, overturning CCR bans on having outdoor antennas. (info available at fcc.gov)
DVD won't quite be HD, but it will be superior to NTSC, assuming you use componet video. Besides, any good HD DVD player will be backward compatible, so anything you buy now will remain usable later.
Finally, Lucas is planning on shooting Ep 2 using HD equipment - its MUCH cheaper than conventional film, and 1080p@24 fps will provide excellent resolution, then print to film, if digital theatres aren't more prevelant by then. -
Another thing - the formulation of the tape is different. Rental tapes are much tougher, with extended life, at the expense of head wear. Consumer tapes are not as durable, and gentler on the video heads - buying those "previously viewed" tapes is not such a bargain... -
True - Formula 1 racing teams have been using this for several years, and are producing more power, better fuel consumption (all relative, of course) and unbelievable rpms (Ferrari at about 18500-19000; Mercedes not far behind, and the fastest last year at 17500)
However, it would be wonderful to have this technology on the street - and think of the fun for aftermarket tuning - change the chip and get better than 100hp/liter and still pass smog. What kind of kick could you get out of a camless 350 Chevy - 600+ for sure. Just hope the fail mode is with the valves closed, else you end up with a lot of bent valves. -
The whole idea is not right - teenagers (the group that is going to take most of the focus of this) - have enough stuff going on in their lives, trying to figure out who and what they are and where are they going, they don't need to spend anymore time looking over their shoulders, wondering who is going to try and stab them in the back. Teenage years are supposed to be fun, learning, playing, going out on dates, cruising (in those few places its not yet outlawed), socializing in general. This is tough enough for those already ostracized for any of a number of reasons. Now, this program is going to make their life even more difficult - it may even push some over the edge "everyone expects me to do go nuts, so why not?"
I see only one group benefitting from this - lawyers. They win if someone is wrongly accused, and they sue for slander/defamation of character, etc., and they win if someone makes a report and it doesn't get acted on - "well, someone filed a report on this person, you did nothing, and look what happened...". Everyone else looses.
The end goal is desirable, the means to get there is not. Until this is better thought out and there is a way to prevent ALL abuse of the system, its dangers far outweigh its benfits.
one parting thought - what about a persons right to privacy - this process violates that right.
I just can't wait to bolt some waveguide to the system clock and use it to cook my food - coming soon to a pc near you - the latest and greatest in pc cases, with a built in microwave - just open the convienient door, slip in that slice of cold pizza, and by the time your code is compiled, your food is hot...and just think, no more burnt popcorn - you can nuke it and have it right in front of you so you don't forget about it, just click a button on your desktop and it stops cooking (not recommended during a q3 fragfest)
of course, I guess that means we will need a bigger power supply....
The problem with a name logged to a posting is retaliation - a posted review of a bad professor is fine, but what happens if you are still in the middle of your education and either you need another class from that professor, or he/she is the chair of the department, etc.?
How will other instructors react to a student who has posted a bad review of another instructor?
College/university academia is VERY political ala DC (my father was a college prof, so I have some knowledge of this). There could be a lot of pressure to "disipline" students who rock the boat too much.
In the case of anon postings, there must be some moderation - slander/libel and violent/threatening speech is not protected and should be removed or not allowed up.
Also, there should be a forum for the instructors to reply to their reviews. Used properly this could be an incredibly valuable tool for both students and professors. There are different styles of teaching, and what works for one student doesn't for another - if you could learn which instructors use which styles, you could make better choices to help you learn better.
The single most important thing is the service plan.
There is no such thing as a good deal on a plan longer than 1 year.
About the phone itself - NEVER a nicad - go lithium-ion or one of the other types. My first was a nokia with nicad - the battery was trashed after 9 months and cost more to replace than the phone. Went to a motorola startac, and no problems since. most of my co-workers have them and everyone seems to be happy.
Take this one step further - don't just mess up the database, make certain that this becomes public knowledge - nothing will mess up the company faster than another dump of its stock value - a company that has a database full of bogus data has a product with less value = less profits/more losses = unhappy shareholders = lower stock prices = hitting the sob's in question right in their stock option lined pockets. >:P -
I've been using this program for over a year and a half and love it (ok the $20 regsitration goes against the open source thing, but im stuck with m$)
it is very easy to use, customizable by site, and will keep logs of filtered info, such as cookies, applets, javascript, referrers etc.
try www.intermute.com or www.addsubtract.com
on a related note - is there some way to black hole doubleclick? not just prevent data from being sent to them, but to mess them up when they try to send anything out?
this turned out a little long, and maybe a little awkward but here goes:
Macrovision - how it actually works, is it tampers with the vertical sync pulses of the output video, increasing and decreasing its amplitude. VCRs set their record gain by amplifing/attenuating the entire signal until the sync pulse is at the correct level. In plain english its like constantly adjusting the brightness setting on your tv. A very simple circuit can defeat this. ---- Much of the holdup for HDTV is because of these issues. Also, the DMCA applies here. A HD vcr will be able to record a perfect digital copy of programming. The sets are coming down in price at a rapid rate - i've seen HD ready sets closing in on $2k, without the set top box. (If you are going to buy a set DO NOT buy one with a built in HD tuner - get an external set top box so you can upgrade it). Expect to see the prices drop much further by Christmas time. The amount of information in the HD pipe is incredible - over the air @ 19 mb/s. (Raw HD is 1.5 gb/sec). In any case, the only available hd vcr machines at the moment are commercial grade, and quite expensive: the current sony lists for $58,500; a fuller featured panasonic at $100k - not for home use. Expect to see something like the DAT "solution" - some kind of the copy of a copy protection inserted before hdvcrs hit the home market. This is a VERY big issue in broadcasting - many people aren't going to buy HD sets until there is something to watch, and no one is making programming for HD because there are no sets out there. I've watched some HD and it is awesome - the Super Bowl was so much better in many ways.
As to what the final outcome will be - anyones guess. If you have ideas that will balance the needs of ip holders and consumers, the broadcast industry is really looking for one. They just want to get the ball rolling, and start recouping the very high cost of getting HD on the air, not to screw end users for every last cent, unlike the mpaa (although they are some of the same companies). Broadcasting and computing/networking are rapidly converging - in most major markets, all the spots (ads) you see are being played from video servers, not tape. Many of the DMCA issues are rearing their ugly head here too (remember when vcrs first came out and there were court fights about taping tv shows to watch later? and advertisers pissed because you could skip their ads and go back to your show without viewing their stuff?)
Those of you in the Las Vegas area April 8-13 can visit the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) and see a lot of this stuff and where the future of audio/video is going commercially. Also see www.nab.org
If you have a site, and ALL you have posted is the critical article, and possibly the program to decrypt the blocked list, and they block you, you should have a very strong case. If you post the program to display the parental control features, allowing someone (a child) to bypass the parental security, then maybe not.
In any case errors may be protected, but deliberate, willful blocking of a site would have to be premeditated, and thus the fig leaf won't protect them - think "malice aforethought"
calling a critical review of a product pornography is certainly easily construed as libel/slander.
a proposal: 1. FIRST! line up a very good lawyer interested in a multi million dollar class action against Mattel et al. 2. After the lawyer is ready, set up a new web site with the critical review, etc. 3. Make sure Mattel discovers and blocks this site. Test and verify with a purchased licensed copy of the software, which would allow you to verify your site being blocked, and prevent them from having your suit dismissed for using "illegally" obtained information - ie decrypting their list. 4. Then decrypt thier list and verify your site is blocked. 5. Notify them of thier error and issue a cease and desist order to them demanding they stop their slanderous action. 6. File suit!
It works. Anytime you buy so much as one item from something you got in the mail, it is a major return on investment for the bulk mailer. If you buy something in response to something you got in the mail, you have really dug yourself a hole. Don't buy/subscribe to stuff that way. If you want a good/service, find another way to get it so that they don't get the little ref # that tags along with thier bulk ad.
Several sites, such as junkbuster(s) [i don' know the spelling or url] give a long list of steps to get off various lists, including addresses.
I sent demands to the three credit beaurau's (sp?) demanding that they immediately cease and desist selling my credit info. So far, only one has replied, with a copy of my credit report. One full page of inquiries were listed, with only 6 that were legit. All the others were promotional - read sold - to various companies. Chevron was making an inquiry every other month! Guess what gas company I don't patronize anymore.
You must take an active stance to stop this junk. Once you do you will see results. Also, when you get another credit ap, return the envelope to the sender, with a letter informing them that all further correspondence will be subject to a $500/per piece proofreading charge. It costs them mail money, and gives you a nice lever to use against them. It also wastes their time sending the letter through channels.
Uncle Sam is for sale. He doesn't care about your right to privacy. Therefore you must take matters into your own hands to defend yourself. I know its not right, but until we can all get together and provide enough influence on our elected representatives, it is the only option to insure our privacy. Write to your local and state officials and let them know how you feel. Polite and well written letters are VERY effective, if you just take the time to write them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so start squeaking - loud enough to drown out some (all) of that cash from the big corporations.
Sorry this was so long, but I'm having success, and hope I can inspire a few others to get going.
just what the world needs - more security problems - ive spent the last 3 months trying to keep my win2k on line and secure - no comment on just how bad win 9x is (im still on the learning linux part)
if you aren't very careful, esp w/ m$ liking to turn everything on, you create a security hole big enough to drive a truck through - now this wonder will be available to linux as well
netbeui and tcp/ip are a bad combination on m$ operating systems, and i can't see how it will be any better on linux (in fairness i don't work in an environment where both types of machines work together on one network)
for one, i love spamcop.net: It backtracks the spam, and provides a list and email for the servers it came through, and often the host system as well, and will even email the abuse@ people for you. On my wife's system we have reduced spam from 20-30/day to 2 or 3 a day. Spammers hate being harrassed, and if you start costing them money, they will drop you. In one case i was able to get a porn site shut down BEFORE it went online - they lost all the hosting money they had prepaid to get the site ready, because they jumped the gun and spammed too soon. That made my week! Im now getting ready to sue one spammer, and will let everyone know how that turns out. -
Slashdot Mirror
Do you really hate jar-jar? I mean REALLY REALLY HATE jar-jar?
Then take a step towards the dark side and enjoy this wonderful display:
http://www.slip.net/~mtm/jarjarimpaled.html
this is one disturbed individual.
unfortunatly, slip.net is down at the moment, so save this url and go later on - i guarantee it will crack you up!
1) granted beta has evolved, and again there has been a MAJOR change in tape formulation
2) i'll gladly put a 20 year old beta against any svhs, including the professional jvc against an old bvw 40.
3) The big difference has to do with where the color subcarrier lies - vhs used the horrible color under while beta used a color over. svideo is an attempt to do what beta did originally - separate the luma and chroma signals. The huge gains in modern players have to do with the use of farujia (sp?) encoder/decoders, which work wonders cutting down chroma interference in the luminance info. (Chroma is color info, and luma is the b/w) The tape length is exactly what killed beta as a consumer format in the first place.
Also beta is much easier to maintain - i hate fixing vhs type machines.
I agree that we have digressed WAY off topic, but did want to reply to your comments.
Just in case you meant to be taken seriously...
Beta is only available as professional equipment now - you can have a new recorder for about $25-30k. Even the longest tapes only go 90 minutes. Those tapes will cost you almost $100 each in quantity (thank the epa for changing laws about tape manufacturing). I don't know too much about digibeta, as we don't have any machines to work with yet.
Too bad - beta was a far superior format, better even than svhs, but such is marketing...
Re the restrictive covenents (CCR's) - that is what the fcc has overruled - it does get a little tricky w/townhomes, condos, and apartments. With houses, it has effectively overturned the ccr's.
About the testing - the sinclair test is very questionable, as they have an interest in adding CODFM as an acceptable transmit standard, ie use either system (AM stereo anybody?). Also, they used the worst first generation hd receiver they could get to stack the deck further. The new 3rd generation receivers are much better than the 2nd gen that ive been working with. They are not perfect yet, but getting there. I'll have to check on the NBC/Philly test.
Digital cable is an improvement, but not that great - spend the extra money going with DSS - superior picture and some HDTV content. (I am biased - I hate my cable company, and have never been happy with one yet)
In any case, until there is programming worth watching, HD is not going to catch on - the Super Bowl was excellent, truly showing what the medium is capable of. Just have to sit back and wait.
Most HDTV sets have component inputs (y,Pr,Pb)
this will provide a superior picture to composite or super video. Better DVD players also have this output.
DVD is a STANDARD. given how difficult it is to get people to agree to standards, it is going to be a while before you see a HD standard player, and a hell of a long time before a HD recorder comes along - and you think the DeCSS is a major fight?
now a quick rebuttal to some of the HD info
8VSB is a good technology, not the best but good. I have not seen the multipath problem, and I have worked with early receivers. During our tests at work, a 1kW transmitter produced a perfect picture, behind a hill. The MW NTSC transmitter couldn't even be received. We tested under all kinds of conditions, and it worked great. Current receivers are 2 generations better.
Receiver software - more incomplete than broken. The receiver/monitor interface is not yet standardized, but it is starting to.
The real problem is programming, or lack thereof. No one wants to produce programming if there is no one to watch, and nobody is buying sets because there is no programming. And again, there is the fight about copy protection, which is going to hold up hd vcrs.
Cable will become irrelevant. Hang a wire out your window, get a perfect picture. Cable doesn't want to supply the bandwidth. The FCC has also helped out, overturning CCR bans on having outdoor antennas. (info available at fcc.gov)
DVD won't quite be HD, but it will be superior to NTSC, assuming you use componet video. Besides, any good HD DVD player will be backward compatible, so anything you buy now will remain usable later.
Finally, Lucas is planning on shooting Ep 2 using HD equipment - its MUCH cheaper than conventional film, and 1080p@24 fps will provide excellent resolution, then print to film, if digital theatres aren't more prevelant by then.
-
Another thing - the formulation of the tape is different. Rental tapes are much tougher, with extended life, at the expense of head wear. Consumer tapes are not as durable, and gentler on the video heads - buying those "previously viewed" tapes is not such a bargain...
-
"Democracy is the worst form of government. Except for all the other kinds."
I believe that the quote belongs to Churchill.
-
True - Formula 1 racing teams have been using this for several years, and are producing more power, better fuel consumption (all relative, of course) and unbelievable rpms (Ferrari at about 18500-19000; Mercedes not far behind, and the fastest last year at 17500)
However, it would be wonderful to have this technology on the street - and think of the fun for aftermarket tuning - change the chip and get better than 100hp/liter and still pass smog. What kind of kick could you get out of a camless 350 Chevy - 600+ for sure. Just hope the fail mode is with the valves closed, else you end up with a lot of bent valves.
-
The whole idea is not right - teenagers (the group that is going to take most of the focus of this) - have enough stuff going on in their lives, trying to figure out who and what they are and where are they going, they don't need to spend anymore time looking over their shoulders, wondering who is going to try and stab them in the back. Teenage years are supposed to be fun, learning, playing, going out on dates, cruising (in those few places its not yet outlawed), socializing in general. This is tough enough for those already ostracized for any of a number of reasons. Now, this program is going to make their life even more difficult - it may even push some over the edge "everyone expects me to do go nuts, so why not?"
I see only one group benefitting from this - lawyers. They win if someone is wrongly accused, and they sue for slander/defamation of character, etc., and they win if someone makes a report and it doesn't get acted on - "well, someone filed a report on this person, you did nothing, and look what happened...". Everyone else looses.
The end goal is desirable, the means to get there is not. Until this is better thought out and there is a way to prevent ALL abuse of the system, its dangers far outweigh its benfits.
one parting thought - what about a persons right to privacy - this process violates that right.
_
Y?
I just can't wait to bolt some waveguide to the system clock and use it to cook my food - coming soon to a pc near you - the latest and greatest in pc cases, with a built in microwave - just open the convienient door, slip in that slice of cold pizza, and by the time your code is compiled, your food is hot...and just think, no more burnt popcorn - you can nuke it and have it right in front of you so you don't forget about it, just click a button on your desktop and it stops cooking (not recommended during a q3 fragfest)
of course, I guess that means we will need a bigger power supply....
The problem with a name logged to a posting is retaliation - a posted review of a bad professor is fine, but what happens if you are still in the middle of your education and either you need another class from that professor, or he/she is the chair of the department, etc.?
How will other instructors react to a student who has posted a bad review of another instructor?
College/university academia is VERY political ala DC (my father was a college prof, so I have some knowledge of this). There could be a lot of pressure to "disipline" students who rock the boat too much.
In the case of anon postings, there must be some moderation - slander/libel and violent/threatening speech is not protected and should be removed or not allowed up.
Also, there should be a forum for the instructors to reply to their reviews. Used properly this could be an incredibly valuable tool for both students and professors. There are different styles of teaching, and what works for one student doesn't for another - if you could learn which instructors use which styles, you could make better choices to help you learn better.
What about warm beer?
You can't recuperate from a party the next morning without cold pizza AND warm beer
(i saw one post about flat beer - but warmth is more important, imho)
see my sig for other pleasant thoughts...
just my experience
The single most important thing is the service plan.
There is no such thing as a good deal on a plan longer than 1 year.
About the phone itself - NEVER a nicad - go lithium-ion or one of the other types. My first was a nokia with nicad - the battery was trashed after 9 months and cost more to replace than the phone. Went to a motorola startac, and no problems since. most of my co-workers have them and everyone seems to be happy.
good luck
-
Take this one step further - don't just mess up the database, make certain that this becomes public knowledge - nothing will mess up the company faster than another dump of its stock value - a company that has a database full of bogus data has a product with less value = less profits/more losses = unhappy shareholders = lower stock prices = hitting the sob's in question right in their stock option lined pockets. >:P
-
I've been using this program for over a year and a half and love it (ok the $20 regsitration goes against the open source thing, but im stuck with m$)
it is very easy to use, customizable by site, and will keep logs of filtered info, such as cookies, applets, javascript, referrers etc.
try www.intermute.com or www.addsubtract.com
on a related note - is there some way to black hole doubleclick? not just prevent data from being sent to them, but to mess them up when they try to send anything out?
-
A couple of comments/notes
this turned out a little long, and maybe a little awkward but here goes:
Macrovision - how it actually works, is it tampers with the vertical sync pulses of the output video, increasing and decreasing its amplitude. VCRs set their record gain by amplifing/attenuating the entire signal until the sync pulse is at the correct level. In plain english its like constantly adjusting the brightness setting on your tv. A very simple circuit can defeat this.
----
Much of the holdup for HDTV is because of these issues. Also, the DMCA applies here. A HD vcr will be able to record a perfect digital copy of programming. The sets are coming down in price at a rapid rate - i've seen HD ready sets closing in on $2k, without the set top box. (If you are going to buy a set DO NOT buy one with a built in HD tuner - get an external set top box so you can upgrade it). Expect to see the prices drop much further by Christmas time. The amount of information in the HD pipe is incredible - over the air @ 19 mb/s. (Raw HD is 1.5 gb/sec). In any case, the only available hd vcr machines at the moment are commercial grade, and quite expensive: the current sony lists for $58,500; a fuller featured panasonic at $100k - not for home use. Expect to see something like the DAT "solution" - some kind of the copy of a copy protection inserted before hdvcrs hit the home market. This is a VERY big issue in broadcasting - many people aren't going to buy HD sets until there is something to watch, and no one is making programming for HD because there are no sets out there. I've watched some HD and it is awesome - the Super Bowl was so much better in many ways.
As to what the final outcome will be - anyones guess. If you have ideas that will balance the needs of ip holders and consumers, the broadcast industry is really looking for one. They just want to get the ball rolling, and start recouping the very high cost of getting HD on the air, not to screw end users for every last cent, unlike the mpaa (although they are some of the same companies). Broadcasting and computing/networking are rapidly converging - in most major markets, all the spots (ads) you see are being played from video servers, not tape. Many of the DMCA issues are rearing their ugly head here too (remember when vcrs first came out and there were court fights about taping tv shows to watch later? and advertisers pissed because you could skip their ads and go back to your show without viewing their stuff?)
Those of you in the Las Vegas area April 8-13 can visit the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) and see a lot of this stuff and where the future of audio/video is going commercially. Also see www.nab.org
-
(sorry - this turned out quite long)
Their fig leaf will not cover them in this case.
If you have a site, and ALL you have posted is the critical article, and possibly the program to decrypt the blocked list, and they block you, you should have a very strong case. If you post the program to display the parental control features, allowing someone (a child) to bypass the parental security, then maybe not.
In any case errors may be protected, but deliberate, willful blocking of a site would have to be premeditated, and thus the fig leaf won't protect them - think "malice aforethought"
calling a critical review of a product pornography is certainly easily construed as libel/slander.
a proposal:
1. FIRST! line up a very good lawyer interested in a multi million dollar class action against Mattel et al.
2. After the lawyer is ready, set up a new web site with the critical review, etc.
3. Make sure Mattel discovers and blocks this site. Test and verify with a purchased licensed copy of the software, which would allow you to verify your site being blocked, and prevent them from having your suit dismissed for using "illegally" obtained information - ie decrypting their list.
4. Then decrypt thier list and verify your site is blocked.
5. Notify them of thier error and issue a cease and desist order to them demanding they stop their slanderous action.
6. File suit!
in view of the above, my sig is quite ironic
At the risk of going too far off-topic
yeah soldering is fun - try Vcc to Vout on a 741 op amp >;)
don't know what kind of moving platform you are/were on, but my favorite is:
working at the top of a mast 200' off the deck in high seas trying to solder a board into a radar antenna assy so we could see!
ie - i concur
the only solution is practice - good tools don't hurt either
Why do we get blanketed with this $^#%?
It works. Anytime you buy so much as one item from something you got in the mail, it is a major return on investment for the bulk mailer. If you buy something in response to something you got in the mail, you have really dug yourself a hole. Don't buy/subscribe to stuff that way. If you want a good/service, find another way to get it so that they don't get the little ref # that tags along with thier bulk ad.
Several sites, such as junkbuster(s) [i don' know the spelling or url] give a long list of steps to get off various lists, including addresses.
I sent demands to the three credit beaurau's (sp?) demanding that they immediately cease and desist selling my credit info. So far, only one has replied, with a copy of my credit report. One full page of inquiries were listed, with only 6 that were legit. All the others were promotional - read sold - to various companies. Chevron was making an inquiry every other month! Guess what gas company I don't patronize anymore.
You must take an active stance to stop this junk. Once you do you will see results. Also, when you get another credit ap, return the envelope to the sender, with a letter informing them that all further correspondence will be subject to a $500/per piece proofreading charge. It costs them mail money, and gives you a nice lever to use against them. It also wastes their time sending the letter through channels.
Uncle Sam is for sale. He doesn't care about your right to privacy. Therefore you must take matters into your own hands to defend yourself. I know its not right, but until we can all get together and provide enough influence on our elected representatives, it is the only option to insure our privacy. Write to your local and state officials and let them know how you feel. Polite and well written letters are VERY effective, if you just take the time to write them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, so start squeaking - loud enough to drown out some (all) of that cash from the big corporations.
Sorry this was so long, but I'm having success, and hope I can inspire a few others to get going.
don't laugh too hard - it was only "officially" phased out feb 99. quite simply, it worked.
.02c on a favorite if irrelevant topic
hams still use it
give me a network protocol that is as simple and works everytime, even when nothing else does.
anyway my
just what the world needs - more security problems - ive spent the last 3 months trying to keep my win2k on line and secure - no comment on just how bad win 9x is (im still on the learning linux part)
if you aren't very careful, esp w/ m$ liking to turn everything on, you create a security hole big enough to drive a truck through - now this wonder will be available to linux as well
netbeui and tcp/ip are a bad combination on m$ operating systems, and i can't see how it will be any better on linux (in fairness i don't work in an environment where both types of machines work together on one network)
constructive comments/corrections/criticisms welcomed. thanks.
can't a patent be overturned by proving its use/discovery prior to the patent application?
i was doing this w/ old surplus grocercy store scanners in the late 80's, using 1.5mW henes and one kitten.
still have the laser and can contact at least one other witness to this experiment
status of kitten is unknown (assume it is now a full grown cat)
Cthulu for president - why vote for the lesser evil...
with names like that: im sure the first is a gas to be around, and the second, well - never mind. ;)
for one, i love spamcop.net: It backtracks the spam, and provides a list and email for the servers it came through, and often the host system as well, and will even email the abuse@ people for you. On my wife's system we have reduced spam from 20-30/day to 2 or 3 a day. Spammers hate being harrassed, and if you start costing them money, they will drop you. In one case i was able to get a porn site shut down BEFORE it went online - they lost all the hosting money they had prepaid to get the site ready, because they jumped the gun and spammed too soon. That made my week! Im now getting ready to sue one spammer, and will let everyone know how that turns out. -