Regarding Google not handling human interaction very well..
I used Google Checkout to buy something after Black Friday with their $20 off special from Buy.com. The process went fine, and then I realized something - I hadn't gotten an order confirmation email. I went to sign into Google Checkout, and was rebuffed multiple times. Confused, I went through Google's help pages and sent them a message via their contact form. I received a reply within 24 hours explaining that I had been one letter off when I keyed in my email address, and that they had corrected it.
I think that's pretty decent for customer service from an online company. No boilerplate responses, no excessive wait, no hassle.
I have come into possession of a Fujitsu Stylistic 3500ST tablet for cheap (dead HD). I replaced the HD, and considering its design tradeoffs, it seems to be a decent machine for an LCARS home control interface. (500 Mhz Celeron, 256MB RAM, 12 GB HD, 1 USB, 2 IR, 1 COM, 1 PC Card - Other propietary ports).
I've set it up with Win 2K w/ SP4 & all critical updates. It loads any software by way of a wireless card, sharing out a folder & the DVD-ROM on my laptop.
I've been a trekker for a long time, and myself and a friend were discussing turning it into an LCARS terminal a few days ago. The problem is that while I can find mos, if not all of the LCARS interface elements online, I have no idea how to use them to turn the system into a seamless functioning terminal.
Four cylinder cars might have to cut the air off to get an extra boost to get safely into a new line of traffic. Once you are cool, you can turn the air back on.
Don't bother with that, as it is just another distraction. (Buttons on the dash are getting smaller and smaller as automakers cram more feaures up there every year..)
Most cars have a cut-off relay that will automatically disengage and re-engage the A/C compressor as needed, usually dictated by the on-board engine control computer.
As the subject says, have you tried a Nokia 6010 yet? It's a very basic phone, but it has stellar RF performance and very good battery life. It's also quite durable.
It's also free from most providers, or can be had for $50 or less elsewhere. If you're looking to just try it out, hunt down a T-Mobile ToGo Nokia 6010 Starter Kit. This is T-Mobile's prepaid service, but the phone is the same as what you'd get on a postpaid account. Being that it's in a prepaid kit, you can usually return it to the store within 30 days and get your money back.
Also, being a Nokia, it's very easy to unlock so that it will accept the SIM of any provider. It also comes with support for both 850Mhz and 1900Mhz frquencies.
> What I cannot understand is why PC manufacturers do not use something like the above instead of "pay for updates" products. It would reduce their support calls dramatically, would it not?
Which stone are you hiding under?
Putting free stuff on gets them nothing, where as something people may pay for in the future will.
The company will give them incentives, maybe pay them a small ammount to bunbdle, give them concessions on other software to budle etc.
Furthermore, yes I use AVG free edition on my windows box's however I can see why it doesn'y get bundled.
Not hiding under a stone here, just wondering why is all.
Free software, such as AVG, may very well get them something. AVG does make a more advanced version, for which they charge money. It is conceivable that as the users learn more about how to use their systems, they may want more control than the free edition offers, and upgrade to the paid version. This could easily be made into a commission for the PC maker.
As for the paid software companies giving them incentives, which would you consider more important if you were in charge at that PC company? Lower support costs from less viruses and malware, or a (very likely) ridiculously small amount from software makers? The first option also has the added benefit of giving customers a better impression of the PC maker. If Joe's Dell gets a lot less virus infections than his friend's Compaq, one of them is bound to notice that eventually. This would hopefully lead to increased repeat sales and referrals.
While I'm pleased to see that you use AVG on your Windows boxes, I am curious as to why you says you can see that it doesn't get bundled. (If not for one of the above reasons already stated.)
It is almost amazing to me that most viruses (and other various forms of malware) continue to flourish in a computer culture where using a virus scanner is so common nowadays.
Why is that? From personal experience, most people I know run some form of AV software, which is good. They do not however, keep it updated! Let's examine why this is.
Average Joe buys a Dell. It comes with AV software, such as Norton or McAfee preloaded.
The software has a finite length of time (usually 3 to 6 months) before the user must pay to continue getting updates.
Average Joe doesn't see why they should have to pay to keep their AV software updated. ("I paid $XXX for this machine, and they want more? Heck no.")
While that may be a valid objection, it doesn't help to stop the spread of viruses. So what is the solution?
In my personal opinion , the solution is to make basic AV software, and any required updates, free of charge for the user. Software that fits this desription Example:Grisoft AVG Free Edition is already available.
What I cannot understand is why PC manufacturers do not use something like the above instead of "pay for updates" products. It would reduce their support calls dramatically, would it not?
Okay, Morta. The Enterprise computer system is controlled by three primary main processing cores cross linked with a redundant melacortz ramistat and fourteen kiloquad interface modules. The core elements are based on FTL nanoprocessor units arranged into twenty-five bilateral kelilactirals with twenty of those units being slaved to the central heisenfram terminal.
You do know what a bilateral kelilactiral is, don't you?
Of course I do, human. I am not stupid.
No, of course not.
Now this is the isopalavial interface which controls the main firomactal drive unit.
(slaps Morta's hand away)
Don't touch that - You'll blow up the entire firomactal drive.
What? Wait.. What is... what is a firomactal drive?
(Riker just gives him an astonished look.)
(Morta, embarrassed)
Just explain it to me!
Riker takes on an air of infinite patience. He points to something to Morta's left.
I'll be moving up from my 768k dsl sometime around 2020 I'm afraid...
Rural America is fun fun fun.
Don't complain - I moved from 'Rural America' (Actually, 1.05 miles outside the city limits) to the city just under a year ago.
I went from 26400bps dial-up modem speeds (And this was achieved with one of those old USRobotics 56k V.90 hardware controlled ISA card modems, so it was as good as it was going to get) to 1.5mbit DSL.
The price went from $4.95/mo to $14.95/mo, but I'd call that a heck of a deal.
Emergency workers driving to an actual emergency, announcing their presence with lights and sirens have cause to drive quickly. A police car on non-emergency business without it's lights or it's siren going has no business blowing down the left lane at 90.
I agree. In fact, the cops I see on the roads who ARE driving at the posted limit is few and far between.
In one case, I was almost wrecked by a cop who chose gross negligence over safety. I was driving a 2 lane 55mph rural road (lots of trees, deep ditches, barely any shoulders to speak of, etc..) near my house, and there was a cop on the right shoulder of the road about 1/4 mile ahead. Sitting still, no lights, etc. I assumed he was doing speed enforcement. I was in the right lane, doing the speed limit, and there was minimal traffic. When I was about 50-100 feet away from him, I suddenly see him veer back onto the road at such a high rate of acceleration that it ripped up grass and threw dirt from under his rear wheels. No lights or sirens. I had to slam on my brakes and horn while diving for the left lane to avoid plowing into him.
I was so incensed that I caught up with him to get his unit number and once I got to the store (3 miles down the road), I called it in to a police supervisor. I was profusely apologized to, but he couldn't tell me if it would lead a careless/reckless driving charge, since unlike police, I do not have the ability to write traffic citations based on what I see and have them 'stick' in a court of law.
However, I did receive a visit at my home later that night by that same officer who almost wrecked me, and he apologized. In his words, "He didn't see me". While I was receptive to the apology, I had to wonder aloud - How can you miss a minivan coming down a road with hardly any other traffic on it? He had no answer for that.
"Right now, I believe that is the only thing that can rescue what is left of the show's core, and that is, despite all the hurt, something I still want to do. "Save Enterprise"? No. To hell with Enterprise. Save Star Trek."
dbolger, if I had mod points right now, you'd have them!
I was reading this article in disgust, and asked my room-mate why the government can't just put a small addition into each years tax forms, along the lines of "I would like to send X amount to NASA".
It could be similar to the already optional contributions on tax forms, except that the NASA one would be a blank to fill a number into, instead of a set figure, like $1 for the presidential election campaign fund.
Does anybody here think that there would be enough public interest to sustain NASA, or at the very least supplement their budget?
For those still running IE (by choice or not), I'd like to suggest Ad Muncher. It's a very nice shareware ad stopping utility that stops popups, popunders, and numerous other browsing annoyances. It also supports anonymous proxy browsing, changing your referrer, browser ID, and other stuff.
Frankly, I haven't seen ads in a VERY long time, even those that are said to get around most ad blockers, including those that plague Firefox.
I've been a beta tester for more than a year now, and it is under active development, with a v5.0 release coming soon, which will add Linux support.
No spyware, install file under 150k, fast, unobtrusive, and chock full of options, including a custom filter list on the off chance that an option you'd like isn't included, or its sometime aggressive filtering breaks a page.
Also, it has the ability to install without the 'email developers' or 'live chat support' options, as well as the fact that it can be locked down with a password, making it well suited to your grandmother's machine or company systems.
"No battery for a laptop that is actually USED for anything lasts more than a couple hours"
Would you consider browsing the web with a PC Card 802.11b card "using" a laptop? If so, my old Dell Latitude C600, which I picked up off eBay (3 months shy of its 3 year warranty expiring) consistently lasted for slightly more than 3 1/2 hours.
Let's say that I run a personal mail server on my headless Linux box in the closet, which handles my personal mail, mail for my small home based business, and a few accounts for friends.
With scum like Mr. Richter and his ilk running around spamming people, my mail server incurs an additional load, in the form of increased bandwidth of useless messages pouring into it, which require me to upgrade my hardware and/or storage space to cope with it and still maintain some reasonable modicum of speed and reliability.
The spam also causes me to expend time and energy fighting it, setting up filtering software, tweaking it, etc.
Who pays for these upgrades that the spam forces me to have to put in place? Not the spammers. Me and my wallet.
If there were no spam, I could run the system on some old 386 I have in the basement, and not have to worry that it'll drown in an unwanted assault of traffic that has nothing to do with, and no value for, my customers, my business, my friends, or me.
Now, if the above illustration was for a small time mail server, imagine how much bigger the costs are to an ISP, or an upstream backbone provider. MUCH higher. And you wonder why people are fighting spam?
Spam costs little (or in most cases, nothing) for the spammer to send, but it costs people money to deal with it.
I'd almost be willing to bet money that the Windows disk he tried to copy and install from was an OEM version.
In my opinion, yes it serves him right. If he bought the laptop through a larger retailer, it should have come with an OS.
If it was bought from a secondary outlet, such as eBay or a private seller, that still doesn't absolve him of responsibility for attempted pirating, as there are several very good versions of free software OS'es around.
Data mentioned TV would become unpolular as the Earth interplanatory network took over the entertainment medium sometime in first decade of the 21st century.
Today the FCC is phasing out TV signals on antenna by 2006 and this interplanatary network is called the internet and world wide web. Hmm?
If you have a digital cable box today you may see the technicians from the cable company setup each units IP address. Its an intranet and if you pay for high speed access you can be routed to the internet. In other news its part of this interplanatary network even though its a private network routed to it.
My guess over the next decade digital boxes will become more like Tivo's or smart PVR devices. It may become more of a mini-computer so to speak that can be used for games, IM, or just watching video streams. Hmmm it looks alot like Lcars terminals on the enteprise that could do all of that. In another decade it will be less of standard television as we know it kind of like a gradual revolution.
Also replication and teleportation is already happening. Particles and photons already have been teleported or replicated depending on how you look at it through entagglement. Its mentioned in past slashdot stories.
Star Trek use to hire consultants in all sorts of fields as future specialists, to physcists, to even nasa engineers, to help their writers. It showed.
Man do I miss those days. [Berman] SUCKS!
Here, here, I second that entire sentiment!
TNG's devotion to scientific correctness showed. And that made it all the easier to 'suspend my disbelief' for about an hour and just sit back and watch!
Oh sure, there are LOTS of errors in TNG eps (Many pages have been written on them) but then - That means that people were watching the show with their heads, which is a good thing.
But the fact that they made a valiant attempt to keep it as close to correct as possible, on the grueling schedule of a weekly television series, for seven years - Was amazing!
Some day, in the not too distant future, we will have computers (and other technology) that will meet and even surpass Trek's vision, I think.
But I wonder - Is the 2.28 cents per minute rate (domestic US only, others higher) a good deal?
What about the call quality?
A quick look at the site shows the adapter to be about $90 - which, I think, is required to be able to use a normal telephone. That kind of upfront cot is not going to win over customers!
"I can see there is evidence I have gone against the rules," he concedes. "But they have taken all my money for three years and pulled me up the day before I finished. If they had pulled me up with my first essay at the beginning and warned me of the problems and consequences, it would be fair enough."
University authorities wouldn't comment directly on the case stressed that the university is very clear on the subject. David Nightingale, the deputy vice-chancellor said: "All students are given clear guidelines as well as practical advice and support as to what constitutes plagiarism. These spell it out that it is not acceptable under any circumstances."
I'll admit that I've never been to a university, but I have to assume that like any respectable organization, this university made it clear to the student when he enrolled that plagarism was not acceptable. I'm sure there's a signature of his on a form somewhere in his records stating that he knew that well in advance.
"Depending on how you want to think about it, it was funny or inevitable or symbolic that the robotic takeover did not start at MIT, NASA, Microsoft or Ford. It started at a Burger-G restaurant in Cary, NC on May 17, 2010. It seemed like such a simple thing at the time, but May 17 marked a pivotal moment in human history."
Both of these web-based email services have the ability to block loading of images in spam, though, at least with Yahoo, it's worthy to note that this feature extends only to messages stored in your 'Bulk' folder.
As to Gmail, I don't know, but from what I've heard it works in a similar way.
Also, the newer versions of AOL diasable images in emails by default, requiring the user to click on an 'Enable images and links' option on each email they want to see images/have working links in.
Having email clients disable images by default (Which sems to be an increasing trend) will relegate this 'service' to the wasteland of failed dot coms pretty quickly, I'd think. When this happens, I wont be one to shed a tear. I have no desire for anyone that emails me to be able track if I have read their message. If I have, and I choose to respond to it, then they know. If I don't respond, they can keep guessing.
Slashdot Mirror
Just dropping by to say that I signed the petition and shared it with some friends.
Carry on.
Regarding Google not handling human interaction very well..
I used Google Checkout to buy something after Black Friday with their $20 off special from Buy.com. The process went fine, and then I realized something - I hadn't gotten an order confirmation email. I went to sign into Google Checkout, and was rebuffed multiple times. Confused, I went through Google's help pages and sent them a message via their contact form. I received a reply within 24 hours explaining that I had been one letter off when I keyed in my email address, and that they had corrected it.
I think that's pretty decent for customer service from an online company. No boilerplate responses, no excessive wait, no hassle.
I have come into possession of a Fujitsu Stylistic 3500ST tablet for cheap (dead HD). I replaced the HD, and considering its design tradeoffs, it seems to be a decent machine for an LCARS home control interface. (500 Mhz Celeron, 256MB RAM, 12 GB HD, 1 USB, 2 IR, 1 COM, 1 PC Card - Other propietary ports).
I've set it up with Win 2K w/ SP4 & all critical updates. It loads any software by way of a wireless card, sharing out a folder & the DVD-ROM on my laptop.
I've been a trekker for a long time, and myself and a friend were discussing turning it into an LCARS terminal a few days ago. The problem is that while I can find mos, if not all of the LCARS interface elements online, I have no idea how to use them to turn the system into a seamless functioning terminal.
Any ideas?
Don't bother with that, as it is just another distraction. (Buttons on the dash are getting smaller and smaller as automakers cram more feaures up there every year..)
Most cars have a cut-off relay that will automatically disengage and re-engage the A/C compressor as needed, usually dictated by the on-board engine control computer.
It's also free from most providers, or can be had for $50 or less elsewhere. If you're looking to just try it out, hunt down a T-Mobile ToGo Nokia 6010 Starter Kit. This is T-Mobile's prepaid service, but the phone is the same as what you'd get on a postpaid account. Being that it's in a prepaid kit, you can usually return it to the store within 30 days and get your money back.
Also, being a Nokia, it's very easy to unlock so that it will accept the SIM of any provider. It also comes with support for both 850Mhz and 1900Mhz frquencies.
Give it a try - It just might suit you.
Which stone are you hiding under?
Putting free stuff on gets them nothing, where as something people may pay for in the future will.
The company will give them incentives, maybe pay them a small ammount to bunbdle, give them concessions on other software to budle etc.
Furthermore, yes I use AVG free edition on my windows box's however I can see why it doesn'y get bundled.
Not hiding under a stone here, just wondering why is all.
Free software, such as AVG, may very well get them something. AVG does make a more advanced version, for which they charge money. It is conceivable that as the users learn more about how to use their systems, they may want more control than the free edition offers, and upgrade to the paid version. This could easily be made into a commission for the PC maker.
As for the paid software companies giving them incentives, which would you consider more important if you were in charge at that PC company? Lower support costs from less viruses and malware, or a (very likely) ridiculously small amount from software makers? The first option also has the added benefit of giving customers a better impression of the PC maker. If Joe's Dell gets a lot less virus infections than his friend's Compaq, one of them is bound to notice that eventually. This would hopefully lead to increased repeat sales and referrals.
While I'm pleased to see that you use AVG on your Windows boxes, I am curious as to why you says you can see that it doesn't get bundled. (If not for one of the above reasons already stated.)
Why is that? From personal experience, most people I know run some form of AV software, which is good. They do not however, keep it updated! Let's examine why this is.
Average Joe buys a Dell. It comes with AV software, such as Norton or McAfee preloaded.
The software has a finite length of time (usually 3 to 6 months) before the user must pay to continue getting updates.
Average Joe doesn't see why they should have to pay to keep their AV software updated. ("I paid $XXX for this machine, and they want more? Heck no.")
While that may be a valid objection, it doesn't help to stop the spread of viruses. So what is the solution?
In my personal opinion , the solution is to make basic AV software, and any required updates, free of charge for the user. Software that fits this desription Example: Grisoft AVG Free Edition is already available.
What I cannot understand is why PC manufacturers do not use something like the above instead of "pay for updates" products. It would reduce their support calls dramatically, would it not?
Abandon ship! Warp core breach imminent! Quick! Someone activate the retro encabulator!
I can do better than that, lol..
Okay, Morta. The Enterprise computer system is controlled by three primary main processing cores cross linked with a redundant melacortz ramistat and fourteen kiloquad interface modules. The core elements are based on FTL nanoprocessor units arranged into twenty-five bilateral kelilactirals with twenty of those units being slaved to the central heisenfram terminal.
You do know what a bilateral kelilactiral is, don't you?
Of course I do, human. I am not stupid.
No, of course not.
Now this is the isopalavial interface which controls the main firomactal drive unit.
(slaps Morta's hand away)
Don't touch that - You'll blow up the entire firomactal drive.
What? Wait.. What is... what is a firomactal drive?
(Riker just gives him an astonished look.)
(Morta, embarrassed)
Just explain it to me!
Riker takes on an air of infinite patience. He points to something to Morta's left.
That is the firomactal drive unit...
Rural America is fun fun fun.
Don't complain - I moved from 'Rural America' (Actually, 1.05 miles outside the city limits) to the city just under a year ago.
I went from 26400bps dial-up modem speeds (And this was achieved with one of those old USRobotics 56k V.90 hardware controlled ISA card modems, so it was as good as it was going to get) to 1.5mbit DSL.
The price went from $4.95/mo to $14.95/mo, but I'd call that a heck of a deal.
I agree. In fact, the cops I see on the roads who ARE driving at the posted limit is few and far between.
In one case, I was almost wrecked by a cop who chose gross negligence over safety. I was driving a 2 lane 55mph rural road (lots of trees, deep ditches, barely any shoulders to speak of, etc..) near my house, and there was a cop on the right shoulder of the road about 1/4 mile ahead. Sitting still, no lights, etc. I assumed he was doing speed enforcement. I was in the right lane, doing the speed limit, and there was minimal traffic. When I was about 50-100 feet away from him, I suddenly see him veer back onto the road at such a high rate of acceleration that it ripped up grass and threw dirt from under his rear wheels. No lights or sirens. I had to slam on my brakes and horn while diving for the left lane to avoid plowing into him.
I was so incensed that I caught up with him to get his unit number and once I got to the store (3 miles down the road), I called it in to a police supervisor. I was profusely apologized to, but he couldn't tell me if it would lead a careless/reckless driving charge, since unlike police, I do not have the ability to write traffic citations based on what I see and have them 'stick' in a court of law.
However, I did receive a visit at my home later that night by that same officer who almost wrecked me, and he apologized. In his words, "He didn't see me". While I was receptive to the apology, I had to wonder aloud - How can you miss a minivan coming down a road with hardly any other traffic on it? He had no answer for that.
dbolger, if I had mod points right now, you'd have them!
It could be similar to the already optional contributions on tax forms, except that the NASA one would be a blank to fill a number into, instead of a set figure, like $1 for the presidential election campaign fund.
Does anybody here think that there would be enough public interest to sustain NASA, or at the very least supplement their budget?
Frankly, I haven't seen ads in a VERY long time, even those that are said to get around most ad blockers, including those that plague Firefox.
I've been a beta tester for more than a year now, and it is under active development, with a v5.0 release coming soon, which will add Linux support.
No spyware, install file under 150k, fast, unobtrusive, and chock full of options, including a custom filter list on the off chance that an option you'd like isn't included, or its sometime aggressive filtering breaks a page.
Also, it has the ability to install without the 'email developers' or 'live chat support' options, as well as the fact that it can be locked down with a password, making it well suited to your grandmother's machine or company systems.
LOL.. Now *that* would be a worthwhile invention! ;)
Would you consider browsing the web with a PC Card 802.11b card "using" a laptop? If so, my old Dell Latitude C600, which I picked up off eBay (3 months shy of its 3 year warranty expiring) consistently lasted for slightly more than 3 1/2 hours.
Let's say that I run a personal mail server on my headless Linux box in the closet, which handles my personal mail, mail for my small home based business, and a few accounts for friends.
With scum like Mr. Richter and his ilk running around spamming people, my mail server incurs an additional load, in the form of increased bandwidth of useless messages pouring into it, which require me to upgrade my hardware and/or storage space to cope with it and still maintain some reasonable modicum of speed and reliability.
The spam also causes me to expend time and energy fighting it, setting up filtering software, tweaking it, etc.
Who pays for these upgrades that the spam forces me to have to put in place? Not the spammers. Me and my wallet.
If there were no spam, I could run the system on some old 386 I have in the basement, and not have to worry that it'll drown in an unwanted assault of traffic that has nothing to do with, and no value for, my customers, my business, my friends, or me.
Now, if the above illustration was for a small time mail server, imagine how much bigger the costs are to an ISP, or an upstream backbone provider. MUCH higher. And you wonder why people are fighting spam?
Spam costs little (or in most cases, nothing) for the spammer to send, but it costs people money to deal with it.
Kudos, and good luck to you!
No problem? Come again?
I can see P2P becoming the next DeCSS in the eyes of the courts and receiving similar treatment.
So when can I expect my shirt?
In my opinion, yes it serves him right. If he bought the laptop through a larger retailer, it should have come with an OS.
If it was bought from a secondary outlet, such as eBay or a private seller, that still doesn't absolve him of responsibility for attempted pirating, as there are several very good versions of free software OS'es around.
Today the FCC is phasing out TV signals on antenna by 2006 and this interplanatary network is called the internet and world wide web. Hmm?
If you have a digital cable box today you may see the technicians from the cable company setup each units IP address. Its an intranet and if you pay for high speed access you can be routed to the internet. In other news its part of this interplanatary network even though its a private network routed to it.
My guess over the next decade digital boxes will become more like Tivo's or smart PVR devices. It may become more of a mini-computer so to speak that can be used for games, IM, or just watching video streams. Hmmm it looks alot like Lcars terminals on the enteprise that could do all of that. In another decade it will be less of standard television as we know it kind of like a gradual revolution.
Also replication and teleportation is already happening. Particles and photons already have been teleported or replicated depending on how you look at it through entagglement. Its mentioned in past slashdot stories.
Star Trek use to hire consultants in all sorts of fields as future specialists, to physcists, to even nasa engineers, to help their writers. It showed.
Man do I miss those days. [Berman] SUCKS!
Here, here, I second that entire sentiment!
TNG's devotion to scientific correctness showed. And that made it all the easier to 'suspend my disbelief' for about an hour and just sit back and watch!
Oh sure, there are LOTS of errors in TNG eps (Many pages have been written on them) but then - That means that people were watching the show with their heads, which is a good thing.
But the fact that they made a valiant attempt to keep it as close to correct as possible, on the grueling schedule of a weekly television series, for seven years - Was amazing!
Some day, in the not too distant future, we will have computers (and other technology) that will meet and even surpass Trek's vision, I think.
What about the call quality?
A quick look at the site shows the adapter to be about $90 - which, I think, is required to be able to use a normal telephone. That kind of upfront cot is not going to win over customers!
"I can see there is evidence I have gone against the rules," he concedes. "But they have taken all my money for three years and pulled me up the day before I finished. If they had pulled me up with my first essay at the beginning and warned me of the problems and consequences, it would be fair enough."
University authorities wouldn't comment directly on the case stressed that the university is very clear on the subject. David Nightingale, the deputy vice-chancellor said: "All students are given clear guidelines as well as practical advice and support as to what constitutes plagiarism. These spell it out that it is not acceptable under any circumstances."
I'll admit that I've never been to a university, but I have to assume that like any respectable organization, this university made it clear to the student when he enrolled that plagarism was not acceptable. I'm sure there's a signature of his on a form somewhere in his records stating that he knew that well in advance.
Manna, Chapter 1
Here's a teaser from the story..
"Depending on how you want to think about it, it was funny or inevitable or symbolic that the robotic takeover did not start at MIT, NASA, Microsoft or Ford. It started at a Burger-G restaurant in Cary, NC on May 17, 2010. It seemed like such a simple thing at the time, but May 17 marked a pivotal moment in human history."
As to Gmail, I don't know, but from what I've heard it works in a similar way.
Also, the newer versions of AOL diasable images in emails by default, requiring the user to click on an 'Enable images and links' option on each email they want to see images/have working links in.
Having email clients disable images by default (Which sems to be an increasing trend) will relegate this 'service' to the wasteland of failed dot coms pretty quickly, I'd think. When this happens, I wont be one to shed a tear. I have no desire for anyone that emails me to be able track if I have read their message. If I have, and I choose to respond to it, then they know. If I don't respond, they can keep guessing.