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Atari Online News, Etc. Volume 04 Issue 13
Volume 4, Issue 13 Atari Online News, Etc. March 29, 2002
Published and Copyright (c) 1999 - 2002
All Rights Reserved
Atari Online News, Etc.
A-ONE Online Magazine
Dana P. Jacobson, Publisher/Managing Editor
Joseph Mirando, Managing Editor
Rob Mahlert, Associate Editor
Atari Online News, Etc. Staff
Dana P. Jacobson -- Editor
Joe Mirando -- "People Are Talking"
Michael Burkley -- "Unabashed Atariophile"
Albert Dayes -- "CC: Classic Chips"
Rob Mahlert -- Web site
Thomas J. Andrews -- "Keeper of the Flame"
With Contributions by:
Kevin Savetz
To subscribe to A-ONE, change e-mail addresses, or unsubscribe,
log on to our website at: www.atarinews.org
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To unsubscribe from A-ONE, send the following: Unsubscribe A-ONE
Please make sure that you include the same address that you used to
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To download A-ONE, set your browser bookmarks to one of the
following sites:
http://people.delphiforums.com/dpj/a-one.htm
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http://a1mag.atari.org
Now available:
http://www.atarinews.org
Visit the Atari Advantage Forum on Delphi!
http://forums.delphiforums.com/m/main.asp?sigdir=atari
=~=~=~=
A-ONE #0413 03/29/02
~ Napster Stays Unplugged ~ People Are Talking! ~ Anti-spam Law Wins!
~ MS Pact Worsens Ties? ~ Judge Seeks US Comments ~ Fighting Spam Woes!
~ Privacy Rights Better ~ Judge Delays Decision! ~ Game Creator Ethics
~ Creative Computing, #1 ~ More Carnivore Details ~ Xbox Sales Down!
-* Bluelight To Change Colors? *-
-* CIPA Net-filtering Law Challenged! *-
-* HP Spent $150 Million To Push For Merger!? *-
=~=~=~=
->From the Editor's Keyboard "Saying it like it is!"
""""""""""""""""""""""""""
At the moment, I'm actually able to breathe in air through my nose! This
cold has been nagging me for over a week now and I just can't seem to shake
it. However, I do feel better than I did earlier in the week. And my mouth
is finally not too sore any longer after the surgery. Maybe by this weekend
I'll be able to chew on both sides of my mouth!
The weather is finally starting to improve and show signs of it actually
being spring. Sun and warmth is a welcomed sign. I'm ready for all of the
rites of spring!
Just to prove that my head has cleared somewhat from under this cold, it's
good to see in the news that public libraries are fighting back against the
government financial hold over them due to the CIPA law. As you may recall,
some months ago I mentioned how outrageous I thought this law was being
handled. Filtering software on library computers just doesn't seem to be
the answer to keep children free from seeing things they shouldn't see.
And, it hinders adults. Some libraries are fighting back. It will be
interesting to see what the end results will be.
Until next time...
=~=~=~=
Best of Creative Computing Volume 1 on the Web
The Best of Creative Computing Volume 1 is now available on the Web in
its entirety. Published in 1976, this book is a true classic, containing
300+ pages of articles and programs from the first six issues of
Creative Computing magazine. (It is online with the permission of the
copyright holder.)
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/
A few highlights, in no particular order:
Playing PONG to Win
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/showpage.php?page=141
Hunt The Wumpus (and other classic BASIC games)
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/showpage.php?page=247
The Life and Times of Multivac - Science fiction by Isaac Asimov
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/showpage.php?page=111
Supermarkets Are Going Bananas Over Computers - introduction of UPC codes
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/showpage.php?page=97
A Computer Career for You? - Computers in the workplace in 1974
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/showpage.php?page=37
Is Breaking Into A Timesharing System a Crime?
http://www.atariarchives.org/bcc1/showpage.php?page=4
Compute!'s Second Book of Atari Graphics
Compute!'s Second Book of Atari Graphics is now available on
the Web -- full text and all the software.
Kudos to Allan Bushman, who did the scanning and HTMLizing;
and Ron Hamilton for doing the code.
http://www.atariarchives.org/c2bag/
Scott Adams Adventureland 1 on Cart
Lance at Video61 has announced:
The first of the famous SCOTT ADAMS S.A.G.A. graphics adventures is now
available on cartridge for the atari 400/800/xl/xe/xegm computers.
Memory requirements are 48k. This is a awesome achievement by the
combined talents of three very gifted, and dedicated atari coders.
Special thanks to SCOTT ADAMS for permission to release his ground
breaking games on cartridge.
thanks,
lance
Video 61 & Atari Sales
22735 Congo ST NE
Stacy MN 55079
www.atarisales.com
MiNTNet Driver for RTL8139
There is now a MiNTNet driver available for RTL8139 based ethernet cards
available on http://assemsoft.atari.org. Milan owners will benefit, while
Hades owners will need a 'private version' .. more info on my site.
--
Regards,
Odd Skancke - ozk@atari.org - http://assemsoft.atari.org
=~=~=~=
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
compiled by Joe Mirando
joe@atarinews.org
Hidi ho friends and neighbors. Before I get into my weekly rant, I just
want to comment on Dana's comments about last week's column...
Yes, we're more than a little bit alike. We both have the same thoughts
about what A-ONE should be (and what it shouldn't).
We're also different enough to keep things interesting. Thankfully,
we're also both intelligent enough to realize that "different" doesn't
mean "wrong".
Heck, we haven't spoken on the phone for months, but I know pretty much
what the conversation would be like.
I'd be complaining about how busy I am at my day job, Dana would be
complaining about not being able to get all the yard work done that he
wanted to, my wife would be in the background wondering if we were
making all of the various terms and acronyms up as we went along, and
his wife would be in the background making fun of our pet prairie dog.
That's okay. She's suffered through more than a few of my jokes and
stories, so she's allowed.<grin>
Also,another holiday is upon us. No matter what your religious
preference, the fact that spring is here cannot be denied (unless, of
course, you happen to be in the southern hemisphere).
Even though we've had an unusually mild winter here in the Northeastern
U.S., spring is a welcomed sight. It's not just the warmer temperatures
and longer days, it's also the fact that things are starting to grow
out there. It's a time of rejuvenation and rebirth. That simple fact
has been recognized since ancient times. Since the beginning of
recorded history, this time of year has been tied to all sorts of
mystical, magical occurrences. I'm not rebutting or making fun of any of
them, and there's one very good reason why...
It's the fact that we can't do what nature does every year. With all of
our science, technology, and knowledge, entropy still reigns supreme.
Things continually break down and need to be repaired or replaced. In
nature however, things re-order themselves every year. Trees grow and
sprout new leaves, flowers pop up from the ground, seemingly of their
own accord, and the landscape comes alive, all without the help of man
and his technology.
Of course, we ARE impacting nature. The now infamous greenhouse gases
that we're putting out into the atmosphere are changing the surface of
the planet no matter what industrialists say. And whether we take
drastic steps to set things right or not, it will be set right not by
us, but by Mother Nature herself. She will choose what the climate best
suits her mood.
I find it interesting that Mother Nature really doesn't seem to care
what we do. Since our actions (or inactions) will affect us as much as
any other part of the biosphere, all She need do is wait until we are
gone, and things will again seek equilibrium.
We must start to realize that our actions may have more far-reaching
consequences than we imagine. Take our current attempts to curb
greenhouse gases. It sounds like a great idea to cut down on all the
greenhouse gases that we've become so good at releasing into the
atmosphere. Cutting down on emissions will eventually, we hope, "close
up" the hole in the ozone layer that appears annually over Antartica.
One of the greenhouse gases specified is methane. It acts as a blanket
that keeps heat from escaping from the atmosphere. Cut down on methane
in the air, and you'll cut down on global warming, right?
Right. Unfortunately, while methane is a greenhouse gas, it also breaks
down in the atmosphere and one of the end products is... you guessed it,
ozone. What this means is that, while the hole over Antartica closes
because there are less CFCs and such to destroy ozone, ultraviolet rays
will become more intense around the equator because there will be less
methane to break down.
I guess the lesson for us is that, no matter how well we think we've
thought about how to fix a problem, there's no substitute for not
causing the problem in the first place.
Well, let's get on with the news and stuff from the UseNet.
From the comp.sys.atari.st NewsGroup
====================================
Grzegorz Pawlik asks for help with AniPlayer:
"I have come across a mp3 file that cannot be converted to avr
using Aniplayer. It is played correctly on PC, it also seems to
be possible to play it directly by Aniplayer ("seems" because my
TT is a bit (6x) too slow to play mp3) but when I try to save
the sound in any format (avr, wav...) after 7 minutes 32 seconds
I get an alert box with "stream error" or something ;-)
What's going on? There is plenty of free space on the disk drive,
and it does not seem to be a memory problem since I tried it
with MagiC+NVDI (that takes much memory) and also with TOS to
make as much free memory available as possible - and this message
appeared always at this very point of the converted mp3 file... Why?"
Didier Meqignon, author of AniPlayer, tells Grzegorz:
"Normally your mp3 file is corrupted, you can try with "without error"
selected in the menu. It's possible than the result is a click at this
moment inside the wav file."
Grzegorz tells Didier:
"Thanx! It worked!"
Joseph Place asks about connecting a hard drive up to his Falcon:
"I just received my Falcon (yeah!) mounted in a Wizztronics Falcon
rack. It has a Seagate ST11200N SCSI drive, but no cable to the main
board. Is J16 a 50 pin SCSI connector, or do I need a host adaptor?"
Robert Schaffner tells Joe:
"Please do not connect anything like a hard drive to this port.
That is an internal expansions (CPU) port.
Falcons normally do not have an internal SCSI port. Only some modified
models had an internal SCSI port nearly external SCSI port.
Hard drive standard internal is 2.5" IDE
You need a cable from external SCSI2 port to SCSI hard drive.
Some SCSI2 to flat cable adaptors around on Misco magazine."
Joe tells Robert:
"Thanks Robert. I did find some schematics, and I bought an adaptor and
hooked up the drive to the external port. It is working fine."
John Perez asks for opinions on internet solutions:
"Back before I had broadband, I tried a few different options with
regard to Internet software for the Atari, but a lot has changed since
then.
I want to ask for opinions as to the fastest and most stable TCP/IP
stack and Internet software for Atari computers.
I intend to set up a NetBSD, Linux, or MiNT server on a TT030 with a
Riebl Ethernet card attached to my network, which would server to feed
TCP/IP to several computers via null modem on serial ports.
Alternatively, I could attach the TT030 directly to the network,
although this would prevent any possibility of using a color video card
for the TT (unless any of you know how to attach multiple VME devices.)
Here are some of the options that I am considering:
StiK
STinG
MiNTNet
MagiCNet
Draconis
WenSuite
Cab
Chimera
Please provide any feedback that you can."
Kenneth Medin tells John:
"As you want to run under MiNT I suppose MiNTNet is the natural answer?
I use STinG myself to connect a bunch of Ataris together in a network
where one TT has a ROM port Ethernet adaptor and then via null modem
talks to the others in several subnets. Works fine and is easy to setup
if you know how to set up netmasks and addresses in a clever way.
I use Magic, Geneva and TOS, and STinG runs well with all these OS'es.
By having a ftp server on each Atari I can also transfer files easily
to and from the two PC's that are connected to this network as well.
And yes, you can run the ftp server under single TOS as well if you
like.
BNET is used to share drives between the Atari computers. It mostly
works well but is not perfectly stable here.
With Weblight you can have a webserver running under STinG. I have kept
mine online now for 1 ½ years with an uptime of 98.5 % so it is very
stable as well. It has really only been unreachable when my ISP has had
problems on there own.
>Here are some of the options that I am considering:
>
>StiK
If you only have an Atari and want to dial in to your ISP, so not for
you?
>STinG
My favourite
>MiNTNet
Se above
>MagiCNet
An interesting alternative for Magic users who want MiNTNet
capabilities without running MinT, so not for you?
>Draconis
>WenSuite
>Cab
>Chimera
Really not related to your questions about tcp/ip stacks. I have only
tested CAB and it mostly gets the job done. As I do all my news/mail on
the Atari I use CAB to display links in messages when I click on them.
It is a bit slow but that does not matter too much as I have a semi
permanent (ADSL) Internet connection."
Jo Even Skarstein adds:
"MiNTnet for MiNT, and MagiCnet for MagiC. STiNG works fine, but
performance is not nearly as good as with MiNTnet (and probably
MagiCnet from what I've heard). You won't notice much difference with a
serial line, but with ethernet the difference is very noticeable. I'm
using STiNG under MagiC and MiNTnet under MiNT on my TT (ROM-port
adapter from Elmar Hilgart) and the difference is striking. It's just
so faster and smoother with MiNTnet.
Riebl? Hmm... I have one, and the drivers for it (both for STiNG and
MiNTnet) are very, very unstable. I wouldn't recommend using it with
the current drivers.
If you can find a second VME-connector, you can just daisy-chain it
with the one already installed. However, not all combinations of
graphics cards and ethernet cards will work."
Brian Van Tilborg asks about two serial port patches:
"I have HS modem in all my computers. But one that I recently got has
the Fast Serial fix, which is pretty simple all the same. Can I use
this instead of HSMODEM with STing? "
Mike Freeman tells Brian:
"Yes. I used it for quite some time. For some reason, I couldn't get HS
Modem to work with Geneva, but things worked beautifully when I tried
FastSerial. No trouble whatsoever. The only downside I saw was that you
couldn't change the serial buffer size without a patch like the serial
buffer AUTO prg that came with either Wensuite or Draconis (not sure
which). Run Fast Serial before the Buffer program in the AUTO folder,
and you're all set. Very little setup to do with the thing.
Another downside... It didn't seem to like Magic very much, so I had to
switch to HS Modem for that OS. So I use both, depending on the OS I
use, and I see little or no difference in the connection speed and
stability."
Well folks, that's it for this week. Have a happy, healthy, and safe
holiday weekend. And remember to keep your ears open so that you'll
hear what they are saying when...
PEOPLE ARE TALKING
=~=~=~=
->In This Week's Gaming Section - Game Creators' Ethical Issues!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Mario To Hit GameCube!
Xbox Sales Missing Targets!
And more!
=~=~=~=
->A-ONE's Game Console Industry News - The Latest Gaming News!
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Game Creators Tackle Ethical Issue
The video game industry really cares about you.
That's reassuringly evident after attending a few lectures and panel
discussions at the Game Developers Conference, where game creators this
week discussed everything from metaphysics to racism, all with the goal of
producing games that are more fun and maybe even display a little social
responsibility.
Take the panel on the addictive quality of games: In a discussion
reminiscent of the scene in "The Godfather" in which the five families
debate the ethics of peddling street drugs, game makers wondered whether
it's possible to make a game that's too compelling.
Besides the ethical implications of customers devoting excessive time to a
game, at the expense of family and other real-life elements, it's not good
game design to rely on addictive behavior, game designer Steve Meretzky
said. Players will stick with a game just to finish it, he said, but they
may not be having much fun toward the end, a bad idea for a business based
on fun.
"It's the feeling of investment," he said. (The player thinks) "I've put a
lot of time into this game. Even if I'm not enjoying it, I need to keep
going so it's not all wasted time."
As far as ways to limit addiction, nobody had a solution.
"Even if you accept that we have a social obligation here, what do you
do?" Mertzky asked. "I don't think anyone would stand for it if they were
playing a game and a window popped up saying 'You've played for three
hours--that's it.'"
A roundtable on violence in games inspired some of the most spirited
debate of the conference, with developers arguing over hot-button issues
such as the value of rating systems and the effect of violent
entertainment on kids.
Few, however, argued against the idea that gratuitous violence has played
too big a role in some video games, becoming a "design crutch," according
to conference program director Jason Della Rocca, when developers can't
think of a better way to make a game exciting.
"I don't think we need to make more of these stupid games where you run
around killing everyone," a developer agreed.
Attendees also agreed that the industry needs to do a better job of
informing parents of exactly what is in a game before they let their
children play it. "I don't think any one of us is going out trying to
sneak violence into games or sneak it past parents into their homes," said
a developer experienced in shooting games.
Racial issues were the subject of another roundtable, with panelists
decrying the ethnic stereotypes that dominate characters in some games, a
situation that may be related to the scarcity of minorities in the upper
echelons of the game business.
Moderator Darrell Porcher, e-commerce manager for Sony's game site, said
game industry jobs are fairly open for programmers and similar jobs. But
few programmers, minority or otherwise, rise to levels where they decide
which games go on the market.
"There are people who have been in the business for 20 years, making
decisions about what's realistic, what's cool, and they've never been
outside a middle-America environment," he said.
Creative issues also grabbed attention, including veteran game developer
David Braben's critique of current storytelling capabilities in games.
"Most games today have nursery-rhyme stories," he said. "The stories are
essentially an excuse to unfold a series of action sequences."
Narrative improvement depends on significant advances in dialogue.
Characters who react to each move and the player, instead of mouthing
prerecorded sound bites, could bring games closer to a cinematic
experience, Braben said. But such capabilities will require major
technological leaps.
"One of the technologies we're going to need is the ability to generate
speech on the fly," he said. "It's a frighteningly daunting technology
challenge. We need an absolutely huge leap in game logic."
Nintendo Sets Launch for Next 'Mario' Title
Mario, the pudgy little plumber who bounced across video game screens to
build an international gaming empire in the 1980s, will leap back into
American living rooms this summer, publisher Nintendo Co. Ltd. said on
Monday.
"Super Mario Sunshine" will debut Aug. 26 for Nintendo's newest console,
the GameCube, the company said, finally pinning a date on a title that has
been hotly anticipated since it was first announced at the industry's
Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June of last year.
The "Mario" franchise dates back 21 years, when he was a bit player in
Nintendo's hit "Donkey Kong," but the property's real success began in the
United States in 1985 with the launch of "Super Mario Bros." for the
Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).
Two sequels followed on NES and subsequent Mario titles accompanied the
launch of Nintendo's Game Boy, Super NES, Nintendo 64 and Game Boy Advance.
All totaled, the primary Mario titles have sold 155 million units
worldwide, including 40 million alone for the original "Super Mario Bros.,"
and the franchise has grossed, by Nintendo's estimate, over $7 billion in
total.
The GameCube, which was launched in November, was the first Nintendo
hardware platform not to debut with a Mario title alongside in over 15
years.
It did, however, have "Luigi's Mansion," a game centered around Mario's
lesser-known brother Luigi. That game was one of the top sellers for
GameCube in 2001.
Both titles were the brainchildren of Nintendo's legendary head designer,
Shigeru Miyamoto, who of late has decried the advances in video game
graphics at the expense of an emphasis on story telling.
Like most other top game titles, "Super Mario Sunshine" is expected to
retail for $49.95 when it is released.
Xbox Sales Seen Missing Target
Microsoft is unlikely to meet current sales targets for its Xbox video game
console, owing to weak sales in Japan and Europe, according to a report
released Wednesday by investment bank SoundView Technology Group.
Analyst Mark Specker said that based on data from market researcher NPD
Techworld, he now expects Microsoft to ship 4.35 million units of the game
machine worldwide in the current fiscal year ending June 30, compared with
his previous estimate of 4.6 million. Microsoft has set a sales target of
4.5 million to 6 million units for the year.
Specker wrote that Xbox sales during the current quarter have lagged,
mainly because of international markets. The game machine's arrival in
Japan was greeted with lackluster sales and reports of product defects.
The Xbox is expected to fare better in Europe, where it went on sale this
month, but the console's relatively high price may be dampening sales
there.
"While we believe that Xbox prospects remain healthy long-term," Specker
wrote, "short-term, we believe that our Xbox assumptions for (the 2002
fiscal year) are at risk.
"We believe a number of factors have hampered Xbox run rate in the March
quarter, and we are looking for improvements in these areas in the June
quarter, including improved supply in the U.S. market, acceleration from
seasonally slow January and February months, as well as...momentum" from
the E3 game trade show in May.
A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the report.
'Grand Theft Auto 3' Extends Game Sales Stranglehold
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.'s ``Grand Theft Auto 3" continued its
run atop video games sales charts in February for the fourth straight
month, according to sales figures released Tuesday.
The criminal adventure game has dominated both sales and rentals since its
late October release, and has lead Take-Two, which is under investigation
by federal regulators for accounting problems, to raise guidance for the
fiscal year.
According to the statistics, released by research service NPDFunworld,
Take-Two and its subsidiaries had five top-20 titles in the month; no other
publisher had more than two in the period.
The top game console in the month was Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2, with nine
of the top-20 titles, including five in the top 10.
Following the PS2 were Sony's original PlayStation, with four top-20
titles; Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox, with three; and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s
GameCube and Game Boy Advance, with two each.
Nine titles entered the top-20 list in February, including Nos. 2-7. Seven
of the nine were new in the month, while the other two were older PSX
games.
The top 10 games for February, based on units sold, according to
NPDFunworld:
Rank Title: Platform: Publisher:
1 Grand Theft Auto 3 PS2 Take-Two
2 State of Emergency PS2 Take-Two
3 Super Mario Advance 2 GBA Nintendo
4 Sonic Advance GBA THQ
5 Sonic Adventure 2 GameCube Sega of America
6 WWF RAW Xbox THQ
7 Wreckless Xbox Activision
8 Final Fantasy X PS2 Square EA
9 Max Payne PS2 Take-Two
10 NBA 2K2 PS2 Sega of America
=~=~=~=
A-ONE's Headline News
The Latest in Computer Technology News
Compiled by: Dana P. Jacobson
Court to Hear Net Filtering Challenge
A group of free-speech advocates is gearing up for a trial that could
determine the constitutionality of a law requiring schools and libraries
to filter Web content or forgo federal funding.
A three-judge panel at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania will hear arguments Monday regarding the controversial
censorship law, known as the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
Signed into law in 2000 by then-President Bill Clinton, CIPA requires
schools and libraries to block visual depictions of pornography, obscenity
or other material deemed offensive to children to qualify for funds set
aside by the government to help pay for computers and Internet access.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the American Library
Association (ALA) are challenging the law, saying it violates the First
Amendment. The challengers also argue that it discriminates against people
who rely on libraries for Internet access by forcing them to view filtered
material even if they are adults.
"This law will affect the poor and the people who don't have access to the
Internet except through their public library," said Judith Krug, director
at the ALA office for intellectual freedom. "As American citizens and
under the First Amendment, we have the right to access the legal
information and ideas that we need and want, and filters are going to
preclude us from doing that."
Chuck Simms, an attorney with New York law firm Proskauer Rose who is
representing the government in the case, could not be immediately reached
for comment.
CIPA is the latest censorship law to be challenged in the courts by
civil-rights groups concerned about potential censorship online. Previous
online-porn laws have been struck down by the courts, including the
Communications Decency Act, a law that would have made it illegal to
deliver indecent material over the Web. Five years ago, the Supreme Court
overturned major portions of the bill, saying such content is considered
protected speech for adults.
Under CIPA, libraries and schools must show by October that the filters
are installed to receive education rate, or e-rate, funding. The e-rate
program is designed to help wire the nation's 84,000 public schools and
16,000 public libraries.
"We want libraries to continue to be places where speech is free and where
reading is not regulated," said Lee Tien, senior staff attorney for the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is acting as counsel to the ALA and
ACLU case. "This law is a way of basically strong-arming through federal
dollars...arming libraries into controlling and restricting content coming
over the Internet."
Porn Trial Experts Say Software Block Limited
Filtering software intended to protect children from exposure to
pornography on library computers is doomed to fail despite its
congressional endorsement as a viable safeguard, computer experts testified
in federal court on Tuesday.
Two witnesses, called by plaintiffs at a constitutional trial that could
overturn the latest bid by Congress to control online smut, said filters
such as Cyber Patrol, SmartFilter and N2H2 cannot block sexually explicit
material on the World Wide Web without also denying access to innocuous
sites.
That could prove crucial in the deliberations of a special three-judge
panel that must decide whether to impose a permanent injunction against
the Children's Internet Protection Act, or CIPA, on grounds that it
violates free speech rights protected by the First Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution.
Worse still for parents who rely on filtering software for protection on
home computers, witnesses said the products also consistently allow some
Web sites containing objectionable material to get through to the viewing
screen.
"My conclusion after reviewing 40 studies is that filters are systemically
flawed," said Christopher Hunter, a communications doctoral candidate at
the University of Pennsylvania who did research for libraries, library
patrons and Web site operators that have sued to block CIPA.
He estimated software filters blocked benign Web sites 21 percent of the
time while successfully stopping objectionable material 69 percent of the
time.
Stanford University linguist Geoffrey Nunberg testified that the crude
mathematical methods used to operate filtering software were no match for
human judgement.
"These are problems that ... can't be overcome," said Nunberg, an expert in
automated classification systems.
He said that even if filtering software were more than 90 percent accurate
at stopping material deemed harmful to minors, the number of innocuous Web
sites blocked would still be enormous given the breadth of the Internet.
CIPA, signed into law in 2000 by President Bill Clinton, was the third
attempt by Congress to restrict access to the Internet and its estimated
11 million World Wide Web sites, about 1 percent of which experts say
contain some sort of sexually explicit material.
It would require libraries to install filtering software on computers or
risk loosing millions of dollars in subsidies that provide library patrons
with Internet access. The Justice Department, which is arguing the case for
the government, has postponed compliance until July 31 because of the
litigation.
The first law to control online smut was thrown out by the Supreme Court
as an infringement of free speech. A second remains sidelined by an
injunction with the U.S. high court due to issue a final opinion by
mid-year. Both would impose criminal penalties on violators.
Any appeal of the final ruling by the CIPA judicial panel, headed by 3rd
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Edward Becker, goes to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Supporters say CIPA is the government's best shot at controlling online
smut because it deals only with funding and not with direct restrictions
on Internet access.
Hunter said many of the Web sites he found blocked by filters were operated
by gay and lesbian groups.
Witnesses testified to the inconsistency of filtering software said a
program might block the word, vibrator, but not, vibrators. Or they may
block an online magazine article that asks whether President Bush's
speaking style is sexier than former Vice President Al Gore's, but not
full-color photographs of sex acts unless they are accompanied by
suggestive or objectionable text.
U.S. Government Mounts Defense of Library Porn Law
The U.S. government sought on Thursday to defend a law intended to protect
children from online pornography in public libraries, with testimony about
Internet software that allows library patrons to view explicit text but not
photos on the World Wide Web.
David Biek, main branch manager for the Tacoma Public Library in
Washington state, told a judicial panel that such software could filter out
objectionable photographs without hindering the free flow of information.
"Users can get to any Web site and retrieve the text-only version of the
Web site. The text is not blocked," Biek said at a constitutional trial
over library access to the World Wide Web's 11 million sites, more than
100,000 of which are believed to contain sexually explicit material.
His library also provides patrons with an automated system for placing
anonymous requests to unblock Web sites with redeeming social value, such
as online sex manuals or portrayals of Michelangelo's nude masterpiece,
David.
Those claims could prove key to the government's defense of the Children's
Internet Protection Act, or CIPA, which is facing a constitutional
challenge in U.S. District Court from plaintiffs led by the American Civil
Liberties Union, who claim it undermines free speech rights enshrined in
the U.S. Constitution.
CIPA, the third attempt by Congress to control online smut, requires public
libraries to install filtering software that blocks objectionable material
on the World Wide Web or lose millions of dollars in federal subsidies for
Internet access.
Biek was the government's first witness after two days of testimony from
the plaintiffs' witnesses, that included several librarians opposed to
CIPA.
On Thursday, the court also heard an official from South Carolina's
Greenville County Library blame open Internet access for several incidents,
including the stalking of library staff by patrons, that occurred before
the system installed filtering software to block pornographic and obscene
Web sites. "I was shocked," library board chairman David Sudduth testified.
A special three-judge panel headed by Edward Becker, chief judge of the
3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, is expected to rule on CIPA's
constitutional merits by early May. Appeals would go directly to the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Signed into law in 2000 by then-President Bill Clinton, CIPA's effective
date has been delayed until July. Advocates say CIPA provides the
government's best shot yet at protecting youngsters from commercial
pornographers who have proven relentless in their efforts to lure young
online customers.
The first attempt by Congress to control online smut, the 1996
Communications Decency Act, was thrown out by the Supreme Court as an
infringement of free speech. A second, the 1998 Child Online Protection
Act, remains sidelined by a court injunction.
Critics view CIPA as an attempt by social conservatives to deny public
access to Internet sites that deal with controversial subject matter,
including homosexuality and abortion rights.
Witnesses called by a coalition of plaintiffs that includes libraries,
library patrons and Web site operators have spent days attacking the
limitations of filtering software, saying it inevitably blocks benign
sites protected by the Constitution.
But Biek testified the Cyber Patrol filtering software system used at 10
Tacoma library branches did not block two plaintiff Web sites, Safesex.com
and the gay lifestyle site Planetout.com.
He also said few library patrons request Web pages that are filtered by
blocking software, placing the rate at 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent of
millions of Web page requests initiated on library computers each year.
Computer analyst Chris Lemmons testified that filtering software he tested
blocked 7 percent or less of selected sites that contained no objectionable
material. But judges suggested that sites chosen for his study may have
been too innocuous to provide useful guidance to the court.
"You didn't run anything that said 'queer,' 'butch' or 'dyke'?" asked
Becker.
"No, your honor," answered Lemmons.
Four filtering programs tested blocked 10 of 99 innocuous sites, he said,
including one devoted to condom sales and another dealing with homosexuals
and the Bible.
Court to Napster: Remain Offline
A federal appeals court said Monday that Napster Inc. may not resume its
free online file-swapping service.
The decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a federal
judge's July ruling that ordered the Redwood City company to keep its free
service offline until it can fully comply with an injunction to remove all
copyright music.
The decision, though, has little practical effect.
That is because the same appeals court in July blocked the lower court's
ruling from being enforced, but Napster never resumed its free service.
Instead, it has focused on creating a paid online music service.
The appeals court's July decision blocked the order by U.S. District Judge
Marilyn Hall Patel, pending the decision from the appeals court that was
handed out Monday.
Monday's decision supports the shutdown order from Patel, who is hearing an
ongoing lawsuit from several record companies charging that Napster
violated copyright laws by allowing millions of users to download and swap
protected music for free.
Patel issued the shutdown order July 11 after a court hearing in which
Napster said it was about to restart its music-sharing service following a
one-week hiatus to retool its song-screening software.
At the time, Napster argued that it could block more than 99 percent of all
infringing song files. But Patel told Napster it needed to block
100 percent of unauthorized copyright songs or stay offline indefinitely.
"The shutdown order was a proper exercise of the district court's power,"
Judge Robert R. Beezer wrote for the San Francisco-based appeals court.
The music industry's lawsuit against Napster is continuing in San Francisco.
The case is A&M Records Inc. v. Napster, 01-15998.
Timetable Set in Napster Lawsuit
Napster will get a closer look at major record label documents that reveal
the underpinnings of their business agreements in forming two online music
ventures, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.
The song-swapping network is looking for evidence of copyright misuse to
bolster its legal defense and limit damages in the record labels' copyright
infringement suit against it.
The Big Five major labels, Sony, Warner, Universal, EMI and BMG, will have
to forward more than 500,000 pages of documents to Napster that also have
been provided to the federal government.
The Justice Department has been investigating possible antitrust issues at
the labels for their formation of two online joint ventures, MusicNet and
pressplay. Those ventures, each launched within the last six months, offer
subscription music downloads for a monthly fee.
Napster claimed that the labels suing it are not entitled to extensive
damages if they misused their recorded music copyrights in attempting to
leverage them into greater monopoly rights.
The documents were expected to be turned over to Napster over the next
month.
Napster also is entitled to look at internal record company documents
regarding possible settlement discussions with and about Napster, U.S.
District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel ordered at a hearing Tuesday.
Napster also will be able to take depositions from third-party companies
that cut deals with MusicNet and pressplay while settlement talks between
Napster and the labels languished.
Russell Frackman, a lawyer representing the record companies, disagreed
with Napster's position that the documents could reveal an anti-competitive
atmosphere among the labels to squeeze Napster out of the online music
distribution market.
Napster secured a licensing agreement with MusicNet, the joint venture of
RealNetworks, AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann AG, and EMI Group, but says it
still does not have the wide range of content necessary to relaunch as a
subscription service.
Napster Delays Relaunch, Still Looking for Deals
Napster, the once high-flying song-swapping service that has been grounded
by legal squabbles, has postponed its planned relaunch, the company said.
A statement on the Napster Web site said the company is "taking some more
time to make sure we get the very best deals we can" from major music
labels before it reopens for business.
Napster had initially hoped to launch the new service by the end of the
first quarter.
The company has not set another relaunch date but its chief executive,
Konrad Hilbers, told FT Deutschland on Wednesday it will not reopen a
copyright-friendly Napster service for another nine months.
A Napster spokeswoman said no specific time frame for relaunch had been
set.
The company needs to secure licensing deals from the major record labels
before relaunching. Those negotiations have gone slowly while a lawsuit
between the majors and Napster drags on in the U.S. courts.
In what Napster called a legal victory, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Hall
Patel on Tuesday gave the service nearly 10 months to prove its claim that
major record labels, which have sued it for copyright infringement, have
actually misused copyrights and impeded competition.
"We are pleased that the court has agreed today to grant Napster the
discovery schedule we proposed, allowing a reasonable amount of time for
Napster to obtain and evaluate the extensive discovery material," Napster
said in a statement.
The labels, seeking a summary judgement, had hoped to conclude the case in
a few months.
In March 2001 Patel issued an injunction that effectively shut down
Napster.
On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that Napster could not restart
the free service until it could prove it could fully comply with the
injunction barring the trade of all copyrighted music from its service.
The ruling had little practical impact since Napster has shown little
inclination to relaunch the old service, instead focusing on launching a
new secure service to compete with subscription services, backed by major
labels, launched in late 2001.
The big recording labels arrayed against Napster include AOL Time Warner
Inc.'s Warner Music, EMI Group Plc, Bertelsmann AG's BMG, Vivendi
Universal's Universal Music, and Sony Music.
Bertelsmann has subsequently become a major investor in Napster and is
working to restart the service.
Meanwhile, one of Napster's original investors sued to oust half of its
board of directors, saying the move was needed soon in light of a pending
offer to buy the company.
John Fanning, uncle of Napster inventor Shawn Fanning, filed suit Monday
in Delaware Chancery Court to replace Hank Barry and John Hummer on
Napster's four-member board with two new members, Joseph Amram and Martin
Kay.
The lawsuit claims that shareholders voted to change the board on March
24, but Barry and Hummer disputed the validity of the vote and also
disputed conversion of Napster's preferred stock, which had controlled the
votes in the privately held company, into common stock on March 11.
In a statement, Napster said the allegations in the lawsuit are legally
groundless.
"Critical" Holes Trouble Microsoft
Microsoft released a patch late Thursday for a pair of "critical" security
holes in its Internet Explorer Web browser but was still investigating a
widely publicized vulnerability in its Windows NT and Windows 2000
operating systems.
The browser patch corrects two flaws. The first makes it possible for a
malicious hacker to place code on a Web surfer's PC by way of a cookie.
Cookies are small files that Web sites place in a secure area on surfers'
PCs to track return visits. The flaw allows a script embedded in a cookie
to be saved outside the secure area, on the PC's hard disk. The code can
then be triggered the next time the surfer visits the site.
The second flaw would allow a malicious programmer to include code on a
Web site that would automatically execute programs already present on a
surfer's PC once the surfer visited the site.
Microsoft rated both flaws "critical" and advised PC users running version
5 through 6 of Internet Explorer to promptly download the new patch.
Microsoft does not have a patch yet, however, for a recently publicized
hole in the software-debugging component of Windows NT and Windows 2000.
Malicious users could take advantage of the flaw in the debug tool to gain
elevated privileges on a server running either of the operating systems.
They could then access, modify and delete otherwise protected files.
Reports of the hole began circulating in mid-March by way of security
discussion groups and other Internet resources. But the flaw gained new
attention Thursday when security services company Entercept Security
Technologies issued a bulletin warning customers of the hole.
Entercept security expert Chad Harrington said the hole poses a moderate
risk, because the attacker would have to exploit it in person rather than
over the Internet. He said Entercept contacted Microsoft about the flaw
more than two weeks ago but decided to go public with the problem now
because news of the risk was spreading while Microsoft was still preparing
a response.
"We were simply trying to educate people about something people in the
hacking community already know about," Harrington said. "Generally we
don't feel security researchers should publicize vulnerabilities until the
software vendor has a fix...but this was a special case. The poison was
already out there."
Microsoft said in a statement that it is still researching the
vulnerability, and appeared to criticize Entercept for raising the alarm.
"We are concerned that this report has gone public before we've had a fair
chance to investigate it," the statement read. "Its publication may cause
our customers needless confusion and apprehension or possibly even put
them at risk. Responsible security researchers work with the vendor of a
suspected vulnerability issue to ensure that countermeasures are developed
before the issue is made public and customers are needlessly put at risk."
Microsoft is working with security researchers to develop guidelines about
how and when software vulnerabilities should be reported. The issue has
become part of the company's "Trustworthy Computing" campaign to make
security a priority in its products.
Harrington said a temporary fix for the vulnerability was available from
the German branch of the Computer Emergency Response Team.
HP Spends $150 Million to Sell Merger - Walter Hewlett
Hewlett-Packard Co. board member Walter Hewlett on Monday estimated the
company spent $150 million to override the opposition he led to the
proposed $20 billion acquisition of Compaq Computer Corp.
"We're still trying to determine how much of the shareholders' money HP
executives spent campaigning for this vote. Our best estimate at present
is $150 million," Hewlett told members of the Council of Institutional
Investors, a group of large pension fund managers, drawing gasps from many
in the audience.
An HP spokeswoman disputed Hewlett's estimate, but declined to say how
much was spent in the unusual battle that featured dueling newspaper ads
and intensive lobbying of both individual and institutional shareholders.
"The figure he has put out mischaracterizes and exaggerates the cost of
the proxy fight," said spokeswoman Rebeca Robboy. "It's certainly not that
high."
Hewlett, a key shareholder and son of a company founder, led a four-month
effort to convince shareholders to reject the proposed deal, which he said
would involve the company too heavily in Compaq's low-margin
personal-computer business.
A source close to Walter Hewlett said he had spent about $32 million to
convince shareholders to vote against the deal.
The company claimed a narrow victory after shareholders voted on March 19,
but Hewlett has refused to concede. The final results were still being
tallied and may take another two weeks to complete.
Gateway Lawyer Says Microsoft Pact Worsens Ties
The proposed antitrust settlement with Microsoft Corp. has allowed the
software giant to impose onerous new licensing terms on computer makers, a
lawyer with Gateway Inc. testified on Monday.
Gateway Group Counsel Anthony Fama also told U.S. District Judge Colleen
Kollar-Kotelly that new uniform Microsoft discounts, based on volume,
appear structured in a way that continues to favor cooperative computer
makers.
Fama, called as a witness by nine states seeking tougher sanctions against
Microsoft, said the new licensing terms for Microsoft's dominant Windows
desktop computer operating system had worsened provisions that Gateway had
already found objectionable in previous agreements.
"Microsoft has gained additional control over Gateway in the guise of a
remedy," Fama said in written testimony.
The settlement reached in November between Microsoft and the Justice
Department aims to give computer makers greater freedom to feature rival
software and requires standard licensing and pricing of Windows to reduce
Microsoft's ability to influence computer makers' software choices.
Microsoft adopted the terms of the settlement in December, even though
Kollar-Kotelly is still weighing whether to endorse the pact under a
separate proceeding.
A federal appeals court threw out some of charges against Microsoft in
June but agreed the company had illegally maintained its Windows monopoly,
sending the case to Kollar-Kotelly to consider appropriate remedies.
Kollar-Kotelly on Monday denied a Microsoft motion to throw out parts of
Fama's testimony. Microsoft had tried to argue that, like many of the
states' previous witnesses, Fama was discussing issues beyond the scope of
the case.
Microsoft also issued a statement saying that "avoiding special concessions
was precisely the point of (the provision) of the settlement agreement."
Fama testified after Red Hat Inc. Chief Technology Officer Michael Tiemann,
who said last week that attempts to pre-install the Linux operating system
on computers had foundered because the makers feared Microsoft would
retaliate.
Microsoft spent much of Monday arguing that Red Hat had failed to
popularize the Linux because of its own shortcomings, rather than
interference from Microsoft.
Red Hat had spent little money on research and development, and dedicated
few of its employees to winning over software developers to write programs
for Linux, Microsoft attorney Stephanie Wheeler said.
Gateway's Fama said Microsoft had "incredible power" over computer makers
and could still intimidate computer makers under the proposed settlement.
Fama said the volume discounts under the settlement gave the highest
advantage to Dell Computer Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. . These
companies, Fama said, were found "more compliant" with Microsoft in the
original trial court's findings of fact.
Unlike the states' proposed remedy, Microsoft is still allowed to use
market development allowances under the settlement plan, discretional
discounts for Windows that reward computer makers who follow Microsoft's
goals in configuring their hardware, Fama said.
He also alleged that Microsoft was still preventing computer makers from
asserting their hardware patent rights over any infringement by Microsoft
under terms contained in the new Windows license.
Last month, Microsoft and the Justice Department announced they were
dropping provisions in the settlement agreement that were interpreted by
critics as weakening computer makers' intellectual property rights.
Fama also said Microsoft could more easily terminate the Windows license
after two minor breaches under the standard license, down from three
breaches under Gateway's previous license agreement.
The nine states opposed to the settlement would set a 60-day period to
come into compliance after written notice of a material license breach,
Fama said, with no "two strikes" or "three strikes" provisions.
Fama said Gateway received a letter from Microsoft on Dec. 12 saying the
new terms would be effective for new licenses from Dec. 16 for the top 20
computer makers.
Gateway would no longer get royalty credits for computers returned by
customers under the settlement. Fama also said Gateway would have to pay a
Windows royalty to Microsoft on every machine it ships, even if the
customer wanted a different operating system or no operating system.
The new licensing terms also allow a favored computer manufacturer to
begin shipping new Microsoft software ahead of an official launch date,
Fama said.
Under older agreements with Microsoft, Gateway was specifically authorized
to begin distributing a product as early as any other manufacturer.
Microsoft countered outside court by offering testimonials from a list of
other computer makers, known as original equipment manufacturers or OEMs,
who had welcomed the new Windows licensing and pricing terms.
"The new Microsoft policies are good for all OEMs. A level playing field
will allow us to concentrate on developing sales and not to compete solely
on price," said Richard Leeds, chief executive officer of Systemax Inc.
The hearings on remedies are expected to go at least eight weeks.
Microsoft Judge Seeks US Comment on States' Rights
The judge in the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case has invited the U.S.
Justice Department to comment on whether states seeking harsher penalties
against the company have a right to pursue the case now that the federal
government has agreed on a settlement.
Microsoft has asked U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to dismiss
the demands by nine states, saying their action tramples on the federal
government's role in setting national competition policy.
In an order issued late Monday, Kollar-Kotelly said it seemed prudent to
seek the U.S government's view in light of Microsoft's concern for federal
powers and the state of New York's assertion that the federal government
has already affirmed the states' authority.
The nine states that have rejected a proposed settlement of the landmark
case reached between Microsoft and the Justice Department in November have
objected to Microsoft's petition along with 25 other states, including
states that have agreed to the settlement, such as New York.
Microsoft's legal maneuver discounts state authority in antitrust matters
and few states seem willing to set a precedent that would diminish their
power.
Kollar-Kotelly said the United States, if it chooses to comment, should
file its brief no later than April 15.
Hearings were continuing on Tuesday into the sanctions against Microsoft
sought by the nine non-settling states, including California, Connecticut
and Iowa.
Kollar-Kotelly is separately considering whether the proposed settlement
meets a required public interest standard.
Judge Delays Decision On Scope of Microsoft Trial
A federal judge heartened state prosecutors Tuesday by saying she won't
limit the scope of a trial on proposed antitrust sanctions against
Microsoft before weighing all the evidence.
But Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly also asked the Justice Department to file
comments on Microsoft's request to dismiss the nine states' case. That,
some legal experts say, indicates she at least may be seriously considering
the motion.
Microsoft has asked the judge to limit the states' attempts to curb the
company's tactics in markets for servers, handheld gadgets and set-top
boxes. The company says that's beyond the scope of an appeals court ruling
that it illegally protected its Windows software monopoly on PCs.
Kollar-Kotelly previously signaled a ruling on Microsoft's request might
be imminent. But, she said Tuesday, "I will make a decision in the
context of all the evidence," apparently at the end of the trial. That
means she will at least hear from executives who will testify that
Microsoft doesn't adequately disclose Windows code so their devices can
interact smoothly with PCs.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has asked the judge to toss out the states' case. It
says they have no legal standing because the firm has already reached a
settlement with Justice and nine other states. The judge is weighing that
deal against the tougher sanctions.
Twenty-five states, including some that settled, have opposed Microsoft's
motion, arguing that even Justice says the states can pursue the case.
Kollar-Kotelly said in an order it "seems most prudent to ask" Justice.
Justice's Gina Talamona said the agency "will respond as appropriate"
after reviewing the order.
Also Tuesday, Microsoft lawyer Richard Pepperman sought to discredit
Gateway executive Anthony Fama, who testified that the settlement already
has allowed Microsoft to impose onerous terms on his PC company. On
cross-examination, Fama conceded Gateway did not raise several of his
concerns when the company's license agreements were negotiated recently.
Pepperman also suggested Gateway is biased because Microsoft rival America
Online has invested $800 million in the PC maker.
Spammers Lose in Small Claims Court
Free-speech group Peacefire.org has won a legal round in its fight against
unsolicited e-mail, invoking Washington state's anti-spam law.
The King County District Court in Bellevue, Wash., on Monday granted
Peacefire $1,000 in damages in each of three complaints filed by Peacefire
Webmaster Bennett Haselton. The small-claims suit alleged that Red Moss
Media, Paulann Allison and Richard Schueler sent unsolicited commercial
messages to Haselton that bore deceptive information such as a forged
return e-mail address or misleading subject line.
Washington's tough anti-spam law bans such deceptive e-mail. Enacted four
years ago, the law is one of the nation's first measures that sets
standards for junk e-mailers and levies stiff fines for violators. In
October, the Supreme Court refused to review a constitutional challenge to
Washington's law.
California has a similar anti-spam law that requires marketers to place
the letters "ADV" in the subject line, signifying an advertisement. It too
has the support of the courts, with a state appeals court ruling the
measure does not violate a clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Congress, however, has yet to pass federal legislation governing
commercial e-mail, leaving consumers such as Haselton to seek protection
under state laws. So far, Peacefire and Haselton have been victorious. In
December, they won similar small-claims court rulings against four
separate spammers for $500 each.
Monday's rulings "show there are non-technical means to fight back against
spam," Haselton said. "I'm glad to live in a state where we have an
effective anti-spam law, and I wish other states would pass similar laws
or the federal government would pass one."
Red Moss Media and Schueler could not be immediately reached for comment;
Allison declined to comment on the ruling.
The Problem of Fighting Spam
Despite numerous legislative, consumer and technological efforts to weed
it out, experts say spam e-mail continues to proliferate, sparking
increasing user irritation in the process.
In fact, the problem has worsened in recent months. "There is now 16 times
as much spam on the Internet as there was just two years ago," Gartner
vice president Joyce Graff told the E-Commerce Times.
The number one reason is the global rise of Web use, which has given
spammers more places to buy mailing lists and more opportunity to copy
e-mail addresses from listservs and bulletin boards.
It also offers anonymous spammers new locations in which they can set up
fly-by-night e-mail addresses. Moreover, they can switch easily from one
location to another, making it nearly impossible to trace the true source
of most mass mailings.
"It's like stomping on cockroaches in your kitchen," Graff said. "You can
get rid of some, but there are always more coming from somewhere else."
In addition to its cheapness and easy distribution, Graff said the
situation is complicated by the fact that spam comes in four distinct
varieties, and a couple of the categories include mail that many actually
find useful, often in corporate settings.
Graff noted that most e-mail falls into the categories of pure trash
(fraudulent schemes, invalid senders and offensive product pitches); chain
letters, urban legends and hoaxes; honest small-business owners just
looking to make a living (the Net version of plain "junk mail"); and
occupational spam from colleagues.
That last category is tough to deal with from a filtering perspective.
Graff said it includes industry-related mailing lists and listserv
discussions, any one of which can be extremely helpful to someone in one
company
department -- and totally useless to those in other departments.
Fighting back is difficult because spammers are not hemmed in by state or
national boundaries. In the United States, several states have enacted
laws prohibiting e-mail bombardment, but those laws are hard to enforce on
mail that originates outside the state or country.
Despite this conundrum, several federal bills have been proposed in
Congress over the past year, although nothing has been enacted yet.
In the current Congress, the House is considering the Unsolicited
Commercial Electronic Mail Act (House Resolution 95). Introduced in 2001
by Representative Gene Green (D-Texas), it would forbid the use of an
Internet service provider's facilities to send unsolicited commercial
e-mail in violation of the provider's policies, if those policies are
clearly posted on a domain-name Web site.
The Senate is considering a revised version of the Controlling the Assault
of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN SPAM) Act. Senate Bill
630, introduced last year by Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana), would
mandate that unsolicited e-mail be labeled and include opt-out
instructions. The bill also would ban deceptive subject lines and false
headers.
Other measures, introduced in 2001 by the previous Congress, also are
pending:
Anti-Spamming Act (H.R. 1017), proposed by Representative Bob Goodlatte
(R-Virginia), would amend federal computer crime laws to make it illegal
to send bulk e-mail with false sender addresses or headers or to
distribute software that enables such activity.
Netizens Protection Act (H.R. 3146), by Representative Christopher H.
Smith (R-New Jersey), is identical to a 1999 proposal requiring all
unsolicited messages to contain the sender's name, physical address and
e-mail address as well as opt-out instructions.
Wireless Telephone Spam Protection Act (H.R. 113) would prohibit using
wireless messaging systems to send unsolicited advertisements.
Richard Smith, an Internet security and privacy consultant for the Privacy
Foundation, told the E-Commerce Times that legislative efforts are being
delayed in part by disputes over what is spam and what is proper marketing
activity.
"On the legal front, it appears that things are quiet right now for new
laws regulating spam," Smith said. "It is a bit difficult to distinguish
between spam and legit e-mail."
Smith noted, however, that a growing consumer backlash is forcing the
marketing industry to take action.
"The industry is getting really concerned that consumers will start
lumping together all commercial e-mail messages in with spam messages," he
said. "Groups like the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) therefore are
coming up with new rules for commercial e-mail to keep down unsolicited
messages and to help consumers determine what are legit offers and what
are not."
But Forrester Research senior analyst Daniel O'Brien said that even
legitimate marketers need to reassess their use of mass e-mail pitches,
which he noted have increased significantly since the September 11th
terrorist attacks.
"In the short term, they may think they're getting an effective number of
contacts for a very low cost," O'Brien told the E-Commerce Times.
"But in the long term, they're ruining the market," he added. "They're
tarnishing their brand name and contributing to the overload."
Until government or industry relief arrives, Smith said, the best way for
consumers to reduce spam is to avoid listing their e-mail address in
online directories or allowing it to appear on newsgroup messages.
"They also want to limit the number of Web sites that they give their
e-mail address to," he added.
Gartner's Graff said most available filtering products and services have
limited effectiveness. The majority do no more than create blacklists and
block certain senders, but those features are defeated by senders who
change names and addresses.
However, Graff said that some software offerings -- most notably
Brightmail and Elron -- are taking filtering to a higher level by creating
and downloading spam "signatures," much like virus-fighting programs do.
Graff said Brightmail and Elron use sender validation codes and algorithms
to determine what is spam. They also offer proactive sensing of spam
behaviors, she added.
Study: Big Sites Improving Privacy
Large Web sites are getting better about respecting consumers' privacy
online, collecting less data, using fewer tracking devices, and posting
more information about their practices, according to a report issued
Wednesday.
The Progress & Freedom Foundation, which studies digital technologies and
their implications for public policy, had accounting firm Ernst & Young
begin surveying the Web pages of the top 100 e-commerce sites, plus a
random sample of approximately 300 smaller sites, in December. The Federal
Trade Commission and Georgetown University conducted similar "Web sweeps"
in 2000, 1999 and 1998.
"The privacy practices and polices of commercial Web sites are continuing
to evolve, and, by at least some criteria, to improve," according to the
study. "Notably, some of the most significant changes are in the areas
that have been identified as raising the greatest concerns for consumers."
Among the key findings:
- Web sites are collecting less data. The study found that the proportion
of sites collecting information beyond e-mail dropped from 96 percent to
84 percent among the most popular sites.
- Cookie use is down. Slightly less than half of the most popular Web
sites now use cookies, small data files that can be used to store
passwords and track data about a browser user. That's down from 78 percent
in the last study.
- Almost all of the most popular Web sites post privacy information,
findings that are similar to the 2000 study. But the data posted "tended
to provide more information and were more likely to be accessible from a
site's home page," the study found.
- "Opt in" is now beating out "opt out." Thirty-two percent of the most
popular Web sites now ask visitors to opt in if they want to permit their
data to be used by third parties, up from 15 percent in the 2000 study.
The percentage of popular sites that require people to actively opt out of
third-party deals has dropped from 49 percent to 30 percent. However, in a
random sample of Web sites, opt out remained the majority policy, although
it dropped from 59 percent to 53 percent.
"The changes we have identified are evolutionary, not revolutionary," said
PFF President Jeffrey A. Eisenach, a co-author of the report. "But from a
consumer perspective, they are all in the right direction."
FBI To Divulge More Carnivore Details
Privacy advocates have won another round in their fight to gain access to
more information about the FBI's Carnivore e-mail surveillance system.
A federal judge this week ordered the FBI to expand its search for records
about Carnivore, also known as DCS1000, technology that is installed at
Internet service providers to monitor e-mail from criminal suspects. The
court denied a motion for summary judgment and ordered the FBI to produce
within 60 days "a further search" of its records pertaining to Carnivore
as well as a device called EtherPeek, which manages network traffic.
The FBI has defended Carnivore by assuring the public that it only
captures e-mail and other online information authorized for seizure in a
court order, but the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has
voiced concerns over potential abuse. EPIC sued the FBI, the investigative
arm of the Justice Department, in July 2000 under the Freedom of
Information Act so it could examine Carnivore-related documents.
EPIC "has raised a 'positive indication' that the FBI may have overlooked
documents in other FBI divisions, most notably the offices of the General
Counsel and Congressional and Public Affairs," U.S. District Judge James
Robertson wrote in his order.
The court order marks the latest chapter in EPIC's ongoing legal battle
with the Justice Department. The lawsuit could have significant
implications for the government's tactics of monitoring Internet use in
federal investigations.
According to the order, the FBI had completed its processing of EPIC's
FOIA request, producing a search of 1,957 pages of material but releasing
only 1,665 pages to EPIC. The privacy group claimed those records were
inadequate, saying they only addressed technical aspects of Carnivore, not
legal and policy implications.
EPIC General Counsel David Sobel said the FBI and Justice Department have
been "very grudging" about the Carnivore information they are willing to
release.
"A new court-supervised search is likely to result in the release of a lot
of significant new information, particularly because the information that
we're likely to get now is material dealing with the Justice Department
and the FBI's assessment of the legal issues raised by the use of
Carnivore," Sobel said. "I think now--especially after Sept. 11 when these
kinds of techniques are likely to increase in use--it's even more
important that information be made public and how the techniques are being
used and how the Justice Department sees the legal issues."
In September 2000, the Justice Department commissioned IIT Research
Institute, an arm of the Illinois Institute of Technology, to undergo a
review of Carnivore. Two months later, the institute released its
findings, saying the technology "protects privacy and enables lawful
surveillance better than alternatives." The report said Carnivore provides
investigators with no more information than is permitted by a given court
order and that it poses no risk to Internet service providers.
The Justice Department and FBI could not be immediately reached for
comment.
Kmart Changing Its Colors On BlueLight?
Kmart's Web store, BlueLight.com, is testing whether more people would
access the site under the Web address Kmart.com, a company spokesman said
Wednesday.
"We're testing to see what kind of response we get from consumers," said
Kmart spokesman Dave Karraker. "It does not mean that a permanent change
of the URL is imminent." He added that the test is also not a precursor to
changing the name of the Web store to Kmart.com.
Since Feb. 24, the company has quietly been posting the new Web address to
the bottom of Kmart television advertisements. People visiting Kmart.com
are being directed to BlueLight's Web store. The company can monitor how
many people use each URL, Karraker said.
BlueLight began a major restructuring last spring that included a
management shake-up and the merging of much of the Web store's operations
into Kmart's.
The name BlueLight, a play on Kmart's famous "blue light specials," was
chosen in the Internet boom times to differentiate it from the
brick-and-mortar store, Karraker said. Executives wanted to sell goods on
the site not offered at Kmart and position it as an independent company,
with the intention of someday filing for an initial public offering.
After Kmart filed for bankruptcy in January, some analysts said that the
retailer might be tempted to close the site. But Kmart management has said
that the company intends to continue backing the e-commerce operations.
=~=~=~=
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