MESSAGE
| DATE | 2004-01-12 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir Secretary NYLXS
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] Span Can Do bill?
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Senate approves landmark spam-friendly anti-spam bill
By John Paczkowski
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GMSV will not publish for the remainder of the week. It will return on Monday, Dec. 1. Stay well and enjoy the holiday.
Christmas came early for the folks at the Direct Marketing Association this year. On Tuesday afternoon the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Can Spam Act, the spam-friendly anti-spam bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last weekend (see "CAN-SPAM: Thanks for nothing..."). Full of loopholes and difficult to enforce, the bill will supercede some 37 anti-spam laws enacted by other states, including a bill in California that requires companies to have consumers' consent before sending commercial e-mail. It's a lousy piece of legislation that allows e-mail marketers to bury us in spam, as long as they include an opt-out mechanism of their own choosing in each unsolicited message. That mechanism could be as simple as an unsubscribe mailto, or as complex as an opt in/opt out menu located on the marketer's Web site which we will legally be required to visit in order to opt-out. Which one do you think the spammers will be more likely to choose? CAN-SPAM is a real disappointment and it's a pity President Bush is expected to sign it into law when it finally lands on his desk in December. Said California State Senator Debra Bowen (D-Redondo Beach), who authored California's "opt-in" anti-spam law: "It's the biggest turkey the president will see all week and he should stuff it the moment it lands on his desk."
Q U O T E D
The County of Los Angeles actively promotes and is committed to ensure a work environment that is free from any discriminatory influence be it actual or perceived. As such, it is the County's expectation that our manufacturers, suppliers and contractors make a concentrated effort to ensure that any equipment, supplies or services that are provided to County departments do not possess or portray an image that may be construed as offensive or defamatory in nature.
One such recent example included the manufacturer's labeling of equipment where the words "Master/Slave" appeared to identify the primary and secondary sources. Based on the cultural diversity and sensitivity of Los Angeles County, this is not an acceptable identification label.
We would request that each manufacturer, supplier and contractor review, identify and remove/change any identification or labeling of equipment or components thereof that could be interpreted as discriminatory or offensive in nature before such equipment is sold or otherwise provided to any County department.
-- Excerpt from a County of Los Angeles memo asking computer manufacturers to stop labeling their equipment with the master/slave designation.
Your forearm or your life! Is it just me or is has this RFID thing gone too far? Applied Digital Solutions, the venture that brought us the Digital Angel GPS system, is grabbing headlines today for developing a subdermal microchip that could someday replace credit cards. Embedded in the flesh of a human arm, ADS' VeriPay RFID tag transmits a unique identification number that transforms its owner into a walking credit card. Of course, such technology is rife with security issues. What's to prevent someone from intercepting someone's ID number and rebroadcasting it to an ATM? ADS spokesman Matthew Cossolotto says the company is aware of such concerns and is working to address them. "We do hear concerns about this from a privacy point of view," he told News.com. "Obviously, the company wants to do all it can to protect privacy. If you don't want it anymore... you can go to a doctor and have it removed. It's not something I would recommend people do at home. I call it an opt-out feature."
10 million U.S. consumers paid to download music from the Internet in the first half of 2003. This according to a new report from research outfit Ipsos-Insight based on data collected in June, prior to the debut of ITunes for Windows and other Windows-based services. "Downloaders of all ages are clearly beginning to experiment with fee-based online music distribution in increasing numbers," said Ipsos-Insight's Matt Kleinschmit. "This is significant in that these data were collected in late June, prior to the recent release of multiple Windows-based online music services."
What do you mean didn't I read the EULA? Of course I didn't read it: Writing in his Freedom to Tinker Web log, Princeton professor Ed Felton offers a compelling solution to some of the common problems with End User License Agreements (EULAs): a rating system. "The first tool is a service, provided via a website, that rates EULAs in the same way that political advocacy groups rate legislators," Felton writes. "I'm not talking about a detailed explanation -- which rationally ignorant users wouldn't bother to read -- but a simple one-dimensional rating, such as a grade on an A-to-F scale. Products whose EULAs get good scores might be allowed to display a trademarked "Our EULA got an A-" logo. Naturally, reducing a complex EULA to a single rating is an oversimplification. But that's exactly the point. Rationally ignorant users demand simplification, and if they don't get it they'll decide based on no information at all. The site could offer more details for users who want them. But let's face it: most users don't."
Overpriced vibrator vendor actually Billion-Dollar Idea: Among the 110 entries in Draper Fisher Jurvetson's Billion-Dollar Idea contest were five that Tim Draper says are actually worth pursuing. "I'm amazed," Draper told News.com. "I was just expecting I'd have an interesting afternoon. But we got five ideas that we'll take a closer look at." Among the five: a virtual network to capitalize on excess broadband capacity, an online sales referral system and some sort of venture dedicated to developing upscale adult toys.
Anyone get the license plate on that electric personal assistive mobility device? It took far longer than expected but we finally have our first hit and run accident involving a Segway. Last week a 3-year-old girl playing outside her father's San Francisco store was injured when she was hit by a man riding a Segway. After a brief confrontation with the girl's father, witnesses say the man fled the scene traveling at an expeditious 10 miles per hour.
Off topic: Unusual executive gifts and Dave's List of Words That Are Fun To Say
Send Thanksgiving leftovers to Jpaczkowski-at-realcities.com
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