!@#$ spyware vultures. GO PC PITSTOP!
Gator foe bitten, but still not shy
By Paul Festa
"Fresh from settling a libel lawsuit by pulling anti-Gator pages from its site, PC Pitstop this week plans to launch a new, expanded site critical of the controversial software."
Demand Opt-in!!!
Senate Amends, Approves Spam Bill
Updated CAN-SPAM Act faces another vote, but could become law soon.
By Grant Gross
"WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate approved a national spam bill on Tuesday that would allow fines of up to $6 million or jail terms of up to five years for some spammers. But the bill’s legislative journey is not over yet. The Senate, by unanimous consent, approved the House version of the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act of 2003. The bill must now return to the House for final approval because the Senate version included some technical corrections to the House version, said a spokesperson for Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana), a cosponsor of the Senate CAN-SPAM bill."
"The House is expected to schedule a final vote on the bill for December 2. If passed, it will then go to President Bush to be signed into law. The House voted 392-5 Saturday to approve its pumped-up version of CAN-SPAM, which originally passed the Senate in October."
I like this bit. "Spam isn’t even pollution, it’s attention theft."
"Summary: Excessive word count and worthless details are making it harder for people to extract useful information. The more you say, the more people tune out your message. "
Spam is evil. I’d like to see spammers burned at the stake.
Cleaning a Toilet Is Better Than Spam
By JUSTIN BACHMAN
"Frustrated by clogged inboxes, e-mail users think spam purveyors ought to face some sort of punishment, according to a survey of nearly 28,000 people. The irritation has reached such a level that more than three out of four people said it was less aggravating to clean a toilet than to wade through the junk messages in their e-mail. Of those, nearly a third said spammers should face stiff fines while one in five said people in the spam trade ought to be deluged with junk mail at their own homes. About one in six said spammers’ business licenses ought to be revoked, while one in twelve felt a jail term was appropriate. On the other hand, a quarter of respondents said spam was merely a job, and spammers ought not be penalized. The online survey was conducted last month by Yahoo! Mail, the free e-mail service associated with Yahoo! Inc"
Somebody please stop these people.
Telemarketers seek ways around do-not-call list
By Jaweed Kaleem
"WASHINGTON – The new National Do Not Call Registry already has 30 million telephone numbers in it, but enterprising telemarketers are trying hard to keep those phones ringing."