Date: 09/24/2003 10:12 AM
From: Walter Reinhart ([email protected])
Subject: Pop-Up Scam Beats AOL Filter
So Microsoft has posted a bulletin stating that a software firewall will stop Windows Messenger pop-ups. Well, I've got news for them: it doesn't work ("Pop-Up Scam Beats AOL Filter," Sept. 24, 2003).
I have a software firewall installed and the pop-ups were able to breeze right past it, because the Windows Messenger is used by the system administrator to send messages over the system to inform staff of upgrades or shutdowns.
The developer who came up with this program boasted that it could not be stopped by a firewall because the Windows Messenger runs on a different port, and also that the person receiving the pop-ups wouldn't be able to track them because the program is untraceable back to its source. So it looks like Microsoft has dropped the ball on this one.
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Date: 09/24/2003 11:07 AM
From: Gabriel Kessler ([email protected])
Subject: 'Push-to-Talk' Spreading Fast
Part of the reason this poll shows that so many people want the push-to-talk feature in their next cell phone could very well be that it's so heavily advertised. They probably don't even know what other features are available ("'Push-to-Talk' Spreading Fast," Sept. 24, 2003).
So let's not assume that almost 50 percent of cell phone users want the annoying equivalent to IM on their cells. I'd rather have Bluetooth.
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Date: 09/24/2003 11:17 AM
From: Doug Kelley ([email protected])
Subject: Court Blocks Telemarketing List
Freedom of speech protects my right to speak out on a subject. It doesn't protect a marketer who is trying to sell me a product that I may or may not want. Just like it doesn't protect my right to yell, "Fire!" in a crowded theater ("Court Blocks Telemarketing List," Sept. 24, 2003).
The point of freedom of speech is to protect citizens' rights. It's not designed to protect corporations at the expense of citizens' rights. When did corporate rights supercede citizen rights?
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Date: 09/24/2003 01:00 PM
From: Dave ([email protected])
Subject: Court Blocks Telemarketing List
Sure, the DMA is crying foul, but what else can one make of an industry when 50 million people essentially wish it didn't exist? Are we somehow supposed to feel sorry for them because they cannot annoy as many people as they would like? Should we also console porn pushers who lament filters? My wish to remain unassailed by unwanted phone calls is my right, and shouldn't be undermined by some weasel phoning me up during dinner or any other time ("Court Blocks Telemarketing List," Sept. 24, 2003).
The DMA may cry "freedom of speech," but my cry is "freedom from speech," particularly the kind they champion, especially in my own home.
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