Beware The Granny Spammer- December 15, 2003 Here's a different take on the spam wars: the granny spammer. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tells the story of Flo Fox, a graying grandmother in a "What Would Jesus Do" T-shirt who uses a couple of shopworn computers to out millions of junk e-mails for merchandise ranging from land in Belize to blessed coins. What I found interesting about the story, apart from the granny bit, is that the spammers interviewed say they have established Internet accounts in countries where spam isn't...http://loosewire.blogspot.com/2003_12_14_loosewire_archive.html#107145573899143249 Windows 98 - Is Microsoft Really Dumping Users- December 15, 2003 This from reader Jim Erlandson on Microsoft's declining support for Windows 98: "Windows 98 support isn’t dropping off the face of the earth according to Microsoft. $35 per incident phone support is. How many people do you know who have spent $35 for a phone call to Microsoft latelyAnd a quote in CNet indicates that security updates will probably still be released as needed. The company's policy would not ordinarily call for Microsoft to provide any security-related patches, but in an...http://loosewire.blogspot.com/2003_12_14_loosewire_archive.html#107144758738661314 More Search Tools- December 13, 2003 Search seems to be this week's Thang. eWeek reports that Groxis is about to launch a new version of its desktop software that can retrieve results from multiple search engines and instantly categorize them. Rather than returning a simple list of results, Grokker 2 groups them into various categories that are displayed in a visual map of icons, allowing users to drill down to find specific sites or content. In Version 2, eWeek says, Grokker has its own intelligence engine that analyzes content...http://loosewire.blogspot.com/2003_12_07_loosewire_archive.html#107128995345028873 Google The Portal- December 13, 2003 At what point does Google stop being a search engine and start being what we used to call a Portal Or has it already happened Yesterday it announced a new search feature for tracking shipments via Federal Express and United Parcel Service. Type in your tracking number into Google and it will take you directly to the relevant company's webpage, CNET reports. The new "Search by Number" feature also brings up information linked to other kinds of numbers, such as patent numbers, equipment...http://loosewire.blogspot.com/2003_12_07_loosewire_archive.html#107128884921499877 |