Vietnam Imposes Rules For Bloggers
According to an article by the Associated Press published at International Business Times:
Vietnam has approved new regulations banning bloggers from discussing subjects the government deems sensitive or inappropriate and requiring them to limit their writings to personal issues.
The rules ban any posts that undermine national security, incite violence or crime, disclose state secrets, or include inaccurate information that could damage the reputation of individuals and organizations, according to a copy of the regulations obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
Isn’t the banishment of a free press a personal issue to every Vietnamese citizen?
Orthogonal Terwilliger Accordion Unleashed
The effects of Slashdot on the Internet can be extreme. Because of a post about Google’s SearchWiki possibly being used to send secret messages, a lot of people are now searching for Orthogonal Terwilliger Accordion.
Google.com Redirect Phenomenon
I’ve been having issues with Google trying to decide from what country I was visiting their site(s). Up until just recently, I was always landing on www.google.com. However, I now get redirected to www.google.de. I have nothing against the Germans or the German language, but it makes using Google difficult since I am not familiar with the language. I noticed similar issues with YouTube as well.
At first I thought there was an update to Firefox that changed some locale setting. But then I noticed I had the same issue on every computer regardless of which browser I was using. I assumed it had to be a problem with Google in relation to my IP, but I couldn’t find any confirmation until just today.
In a Google Groups discussion, a lot of users were reporting the same issue. One was able to get information from Google and relayed it to the group. Google uses location files to keep track of where an IP resides in the world in order to provide region specific services. Apparently, the files are not perfect and fortunately Google has provided a form in order to report any issues that are found.
http://www.google.com/support/bin/request.py?contact_type=ip
If anyone else is experiencing this strange phenomenon, let Google know so they can correct it. Even my brother on location in Afghanistan was being redirected to www.google.de.
Hurricane Tracking Map At StormAdvisory.org
Every year between June 1 and November 30, every island nation in the Caribbean, every country along the Gulf Of Mexico coast, and every state in the US along the Atlantic Ocean braces for the onslaught of hurricane season. Names like Andrew, Hugo, or Katrina bring horrible memories of the death and destruction that’s caused by these huge reminders that mother nature, and not mankind, still controls the weather and the seas.
And while mankind can not control the awesome force of a hurricane, we can still develop better ways to track and predict where a hurricane may strike populated areas in order to issue fair warnings so that people can seek safety or shelter in time. When Gustav was still a major threat, Google put together a meta-page in order to track it and help with any recover efforts. One of the most interesting links from that page was the Hurricane Tracking Map that StormAdvisory.org maintains.
Powered by Google Maps, you can select any or all of the hurricanes from this season and see their path from life to death. Different stages, or way-points, are detailed to show date, time, and wind-speed and are color-coded according to each storm’s severity. Current storms also give projected paths. Whats even more intriguing is that StormAdvisory even has a drop-down menu where you can see the paths of every hurricane known to exist as far back as 1851. Of course, accuracy begins to decline the further back in time you look, but it’s still cool to see.
Increase In Malware Linked Spam
I’ve been seeing an increase in spam that contains links to sites that try to trick users into thinking they have to update their Flash player plugins/software in order to watch some particular video. Just in the past two days, I’ve gotten three plus one other possible email.
- Feel her womb entrance with new length [Sexual Enhancement]
- Cheap Price degree/Bacheelor/masteerMBA/PhDD certificate srhrs 0×6e [Online school]
- Apple iPods explode while charging - Software industry sues eBay for not controlling piracy [malware - flash update]
- Lost writers wrapping up hit series - American athletes denied Chinese visa and are unable to compete in upcoming Olympics [malware - flash update]
- new Olimpic china collection - luxury stuff for Olimpic games. aspecial models with hundred discounts. [Cheap crap / possible Erection Pills]
- Medic assistance share! - Beer is a silent killer? [unknown, but funny]
- SPECIAL OFFERS-Pharmacy Online July Sale 70% [Viagra & Copyright 2008 Microsoft?]
- Bartender Gettts $10,000 Tip on $26 Tab [Sexual Enhancement]
- New recipe for successful love [malware - flash update]
- new sports watches models for Olimpic games [Erection pills]
- Try also each time new unforgettable impressions [bay.liveefilestore.com known spammer]
I think I do pretty well with controlling spam, so if I’m getting these emails, I know other computer users are certainly getting them. And that means I get to recite my usual warning:
If you don’t know the sender of the email, don’t even bother to read it. And for God’s sake, don’t even bother clicking on any links or visit any site contained within the emails. For those times when you think you know the sender, use caution and pay attention.
If some site is asking you to update your Flash player software, don’t use their supplied updater. Go to Adobe’s website and get it straight from the source. Chances are, you already have the latest software.
I’m still laughing at the first listed spam title. “Feel her womb entrance with new length.” Whoo hoo!
I Am Jack’s Complete Lack Of Surprise - MySpace Returns Part 2
So I posted an entry yesterday about how I got the June/July newsletter from MySpace when I supposedly deleted my account back at the end of January. I replied to the privacy@myspace.com email which was among the options that were presented at the bottom of the newsletter. This may come as a shock to you, by I was answered quite quickly… by an automated response. I presented the following:
I am wondering…
If I deleted my account back at the end of January, why am I possibly still
receiving any kind of notification from MySpace to my “external
email”? And since I have no account at MySpace, how in the world would I
go about changing the Account Settings so that I no longer receive any more
notifications from MySpace aside from marking them all as spam with Yahoo’s
Spam Filter? Is there a problem with MySpace’s policy towards privacy in
regards to the emails of past members?Truly, these are intriguing questions. Hopefully, someone with the correct
information can answer them.
Certainly these questions shouldn’t be too difficult to answer, especially for those at the other end of privacy@myspace.com. My questions at first fell on blind eyes as the automated responder that monitors that address sent back the following:
Hello,
The upload a video follow the instructions below:
* After logging in, go to your “Home” page then click the “Add/Change Video” link.
* Find the ‘Upload Videos’ link on the upper right side of the screen.
* You’ll be able to select a title, tag, describe, etc. your selected video.
* You’ll need to accept our Terms and Conditions to continue by checking the box ‘I agree to the MySpace Terms of Service’. (You also have the option to review them as well)
* The next screen will prompt you to locate your video. You will now need to click on the ‘Browse’ button, choose the video file that you desire to add and click the ‘Upload’ button.
* Please ensure that your chosen video is the proper format and is under 100 MB. Now, the system will process your video (please be patient). Also, note that if you are uploading inappropriate material your account will be deleted by MySpace.For the most up to date messages about MySpace, subscribe to the MySpace Help blog! You get updates almost every day! Go here to subscribe. www.myspace.com/myspacehelp
If you have any additional questions, please respond to this e-mail. Please do not alter the subject as it will be considered a new inquiry.
Thank you for contacting MySpace.com.
SURVEY FEEDBACK
Tell us how we’re doing. Copy and paste this link to into a new browser to let us know what you think:
[link removed] Please note, MySpace will NEVER ask you for your password as part of our survey feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to share your opinion with us.
I removed the survey link along with A LOT OF FUCKING WHITE SPACE in order to present it here. Even in their email correspondence, their formatting looks terrible. But how any of that information was supposed to answer any of my questions is beyond me. I immediately replied, without altering the subject, by simply asking for a real human response and repeated my original inquiry. Today I get:
Hello,
The issue seems to be resolved now. If this does not address your issue completely, please press “Reply” and provide any additional information you feel is relevant.
For the most up to date messages about MySpace, subscribe to the MySpace Help blog! You get updates almost every day! Go here to subscribe. www.myspace.com/myspacehelp
Thank you,
MySpace.com
—————Survey Feedback
Tell us how we’re doing. Click here to let us know what you think! Please note, MySpace will NEVER ask you for your password as part of our survey feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to share your opinion with us.
Yes, more white space was removed. Here we have the general form letter. I’m sure there were plenty of staff meetings involved with the creation of this boiled down reply. Take notice that there was no specific mention of any problem being resolved, just that it was. Now I have to hold on to this email for a possible future reply in case the issue has been “resolved” as they non-explicitly promised.
And see how they gave me the address to their Help blog? Updates everyday!!! You got to love a company that is so in tuned with their customer base. I’m betting I get a follow-up email in case I didn’t see those links for the survey feedback. Thank-you Simon Owen for finally giving me the motivation to ditch that company.
I Am Jack’s Complete Lack Of Surprise - MySpace Returns
A while back, I wrote a couple of posts in response to a small movement by Simon Owen of Bloggasm for the mass deletion of accounts at MySpace back in January. I took part in the International Delete Your MySpace Account Day, waited for the supposed 48 hours it was to take for my account to be deleted, and verified that it was “gone”.
Now, you’re probably asking why I quoted that last word. Call me a cynic. Call me skeptical. But from what I’ve seen in my lifetime is that no-one’s account is ever, completely, deleted. Sure, my account was not accessible by any means at my disposal. But was my account truly deleted? Well, my answer came today.
The MySpace.com June/July 2008 Newsletter arrived in my inbox today to the delight of no-one at that email address. It was complete with announcements of new features such as MySpace Karaoke, MySpace Polls, MySpace Apps, and MySpace Latino… oh my! And it would not have been MySpace official without everyone’s best friend, Tom, starting off the newsletter.
From Featured Artist, to Featured Comedian, to Featured Videos, I was never so bored with a newsletter packed with so much excitement as I was with this one. Probably so much so because supposedly my account was deleted back at the end of January. Apparently, MySpace never bothered to mention that in some rare cases, my email would be retained for future use through shameless self-promotion in order to lure me back. Nice.
MySpace does offer an opt-out. They go into great detail over it at the bottom of the newsletter:
At MySpace we care about your privacy. We have sent you this notification to facilitate your use as a member of the MySpace.com service. If you don’t want to receive emails like this to your external email account in the future, change your Account Settings to “Do not send me notification emails.” Click here to change your Account Settings. You can also contact us with any questions or concerns regarding your privacy at: privacy@myspace.com MySpace, Inc. 8391 Beverly Blvd. #349 Los Angeles, CA 90048 USA © 2003-2008 MySpace.com. All Rights Reserved.
However, considering that I am not a member of the MySpace.com service, because I have no account to go to in order to change the notification emails setting, I guess my only hope is to contact them at the “privacy” address. I’ll be sending them a quaint reply. Stay tuned for any future developments.
True. So True.
Moved to MyBossIsAnAsshat.com
LOLCAT Not Quite LOLing
Overzealous Auotconfig
Source… xkcd.com
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