| Monday
June 11, 2001
There was a lot of quite good mail done over the weekend,
so do not neglect Saturday and Sunday
of last week.
Note also that we have a
page for discussions of the current state of applications under Linux.
We can begin with one reader's experience. I append the
previous correspondence although the final message is pretty clear:
Sorry for being obtuse; it was one of those days and
this was just one more thing. The outfit is called Digital Owl. I had
purchased Scott Adam's (of Dilbert fame) most recent work call "God's
Debris" from a link on the United Media website. It was one of those
web installs that leaves no trace of an install program on your PC. That
should have been a big red flag. I am in the process of moving from my old
desktop to a new laptop. The old PC is to be reformated and given away. I
contacted Digital Owl's customer support about how to move the reader and
e-book over to my laptop and was told I would have to re-purchase the
book.
Today, I received an e-mail from them that they were
"allowing" me to download the printable version so I can print
my e-book out on paper (at .05 a page this more or less doubles the
original $5.00 price). Sweet. These guys really know how to make customers
just come running back...
Ric Frost http://www.rdfrost.com/
>
-----Original Message----- > From: Jerry Pournelle
[mailto:jerryp@jerrypournelle.com] > Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 4:40
PM > To: ric@rdfrost.com >
Subject: RE: Another digital publisher to avoid.
> > > Good but what was it to begin with? I am glad to include
the > report in mail but please make it easier to determine who we >
are avoiding... And what the program did > >
-----Original Message----- > From: Ric Frost [mailto:ric@rdfrost.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2001 8:14 PM > To: jerryp@jerrypournelle.com
> Subject: Another digital publisher to avoid. > > Another
digital publisher that thinks I'm going to > re-purchase in order to
move the content to a new machine. > Not likely. Luckily, I'm only out
five bucks with these clowns. > > Ric Frost > http://www.rdfrost.com/
> > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Customer Service
[mailto:Customer.Service@DigitalOwl.com] > > Sent: Thursday, June
07, 2001 9:59 AM > > To: 'Ric Frost' > > Subject: RE: When you
were offline...(via HumanClick) > > > > > > Dear Ric
Frost, > > > > Due to the digital protection applied to the
content it can not be > > copied or transferred to another computer.
> > > > Viewing the content on another computer would require
another > > purchase. > > > > If you require any further
assistance pleased contact us toll free > > 866-681-2788 or via
email customer.service@digitalowl.com > > > > Thank You >
> > > The Customer Service Team. > > > >
-----Original Message----- > > From: Ric Frost [mailto:ric@rdfrost.com]
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2001 5:25 PM > > To: randy >
> Subject: When you were offline...(via HumanClick) > > > >
> > > > User number 2777. > > > > I recently
purchased a new PC. Is there a way to transfer > my digital > >
owl content to my new pc? They are linked via ethernet. > > >
> Thanks! > > > > _______________________________ > >
The above message was sent when you were offline, via your > >
HumanClicked site. > > > > Message sent from IP: 12.40.131.131
> > > > Ric Frost > http://www.rdfrost.com/ > >
Then there is this:
Dear Dr. Pournelle:
I read the correspondence pertaining to Digital Owl
and would like to confirm that I had the same experience with them. Not
quite as bad as your other correspondent, but still absurd, given that
they have the record of my transaction and I was writing from the same
email address that I gave when I ordered.
I wrote them a nastygram in response, with a cc to
Mr. Scott Adams, the man I'd least expect to be mixed up with this sort of
thing. So far, no response from either.
I attach my own correspondence below:
>>>>>BEGINS
In the event of a format, you will need to reinstall
Title Vision and reregister.
After the reinstall of TitleVision email
customer.service@digitalowl.com and we will generate a new link for you to
obtain your content.
Please Include: 1. Your original order number. 2.
Your first and last name. 3. Your email address.
If you need any more information feel free to
contact us toll free 866-681-2788 or via email customer.service@digitalowl.com
Thank You
The Customer Service Team -----Original Message-----
From: David G.D. Hecht [mailto:barzai@earthlink.net] Sent: Friday, May 11,
2001 7:01 PM To: customer.service@digitalowl.com Subject: God's Debris no
longer works after moving from one hard drive to another
Dear sir or madam:
I had to reinstall Windows on a different hard drive
due to a catastrophic failure, and am just now reassembling the bits. I
tried to import the *.owl file for _God's Debris_ from the other drive,
but it acts as if it were not downloaded--each page says that it is only
available to subscribers. Can you resend the document, or at least the
link for me to download it?
ty, dh
<<<<<ENDS
You have been warned.
Anne Bokma wrote:
"If you cant force Outlook to use the LAN
rather than a modem, how can you keep a modem on standby for the fax and
voice functions?"
And you replied:
"Understand that it only does that if the modem
is ON and CONNECTED; it won't cause it to dial. Not many are going to have
a local modem on and connected as well as have connections through a LAN.
In our case it's a feature until we have a high speed connection after
which we will turn the modem off except when needed for certain tasks that
have to dial to a particular number."
My server uses Win2k Pro for file, print and
Internet connection sharing. The locally connected modem on my Win2k Pro
workstation listens for faxes and sends them. The software claims it's
capable of voice as well, but the telco provides answering even when the
line is engaged, so I haven't tested that. Outlook 2k ignores the local
modem and uses the LAN to access mail. I didn't do anything special to
achieve this. Setting OL to use the LAN in the email Accounts dialog just
worked.
Jonathan Sturm http://www.sturmsoft.com
In our case if the local modem is on
Outlook uses it and if not it uses the LAN. Fairly soon that is going to
be moot anyway.
Dear Dr. Pournelle,
This is sort of a malange of things on my mind.
Please take it all for what it is worth.
Congratulations on winning the award for SURVIVAL OF
FREEDOM. My autographed copy still is on my shelf; the other copies I
bought to lend are long gone. It would be terrific if you could get it
published again. I don't know what your relationship with Jim Baen is
right now, but methinks he would jump at the chance to re-issue it.
Speaking of Baen, I hang out at Baen's Bar quite a
bit and mentioned that you were interested in re-releasing (or at least
posting in Chaos Manor) A STEP FARTHER OUT. He replied that he would be
delighted to have it. Perhaps it can be re-printed; perhaps it can be
offered as an e-book. Why not put ALL your columns (including the ones
from DESTINIES and your "Alternate View" columns) and fact
articles out in e-form? I, for one, want to see your classic article on
Atlantis again. My copy of VERTEX is long gone, too.
James Warner Bellah. I have long loved John Ford's
Bellah films, and have read every story I could find after reading
"Spanish Man's Grave" when you printed it. I know your plate is
full, but is there anyone who could collect and edit his work? I seem to
remember that you might have the rights to Mr. Bellah's work. I truly
believe that he still has something to say today.
That should about do it. Please don't let Mr. Niven
go jogging in that cast.
Best Always, Frank Luxem
PS: The Noble Native Americans didn't wipe out the
mammoth, mastodon and horse. It was really Evil Dead White Guys from the
future who built a time machine and went back to kill said species off so
that the blame would be placed on said Innocent Noble Native Americans.
Evil Europeans and their progeny in America are responsible for EVERYTHING
that has gone wrong since the Big Bang. Didn't you know?
I have just spoken to Jim Baen and
STEP FARTHER OUT was sort of lost in the gears when he moved to Carolina;
we're making a new deal to get out a print edition as well as putting it
on line.
As to other stuff, if I can find
copies I can get them typed in, and perhaps some exist in electronic form,
but quite a bit of that stuff was on 8" floppies and is long gone...
I do have an archive of stuff on
glass disks (5 1/4 R/W and WORM disks) and I need to set up a SCSI system
that can try to read them. And I have some DAT backups only I don't think
I have software that will read those; they were TNA Palindrome backups. We
will see....
Dear Dr. Pournelle:
The current issue (June 2001) of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronic Engineer's general membership magazine,
Spectrum, has an interesting short article at page 27.
Based on measuring the Earth's light reflected from
the moon, astronomers at the Big Bear Solar Observatory believe that the
Earth's reflectivity is correlated with solar activity, with perhaps a
2.5% reduction in albedo in the last five years. The proposed causative
factor is that during solar maxima, fewer cosmic rays reach the Earth,
thereby giving fewer seeds for cloud formation. If so, the article notes
that it "... could mean that greenhouse gases play less of a role
than previously thought in global warming, much of which would be linked
to the solar cycle."
The on-line version of Spectrum available to
non-IEEE members unfortunately does not pick up this article. However,
Spectrum is available at the larger bookstores.
Of course, no mention of this in the
"mainstream" left-of-center press, such as the New York Times or
the Washington Post.
>From my reading of the literature, as an
interested amateur, the current global warming debate seems to downplay
large climatic changes over historical times. Even in the late 1970's the
fear was of an imminent ice age.
Of course, if a drop in albedo is a problem, perhaps
we need a crash program to install mirrors.
Jack Smith Clifton, VA
Indeed: the Lowell Observatory has
data going back a long way recording the brightness of Mars and Saturn and
this seems to show solar variability. There is no doubting a warming
trend since the 1600's; the question is what caused it, since much of it
happened before any massive amount of CO2 was added to the atmosphere.
There are many scienti-bureaucrats
who now would starve if we applied real science to climatology. The
various fixes to the problem have advocates who make their living at that;
and real scientists don't have so much stake in a particular theory as in
the truth. But the truth gets short shrift in "regulatory
science" circles. Edith Efrom did a wonderful book called The
Apolocalyptics on that, but copies are VERY hard to find now. For good
reason, it threatens an entire industry of "regulatory science".
Regulatory science is to real science as rat catchers are to rats, of
course.
AND NOW A PLEA FOR ADVICE:
Jerry,
My boss and good friend is in Rome for a month and
can't make his laptop connect to his ISP. His Italian host and translator
got sick at the last minute and didn't make the trip. He's in a rented
apartment in Rome. He can't seem to make his basic conversational Italian
work at the electronic stores he's been to. If you were in this situation,
where would you look for access? I've got a list of Roman Cybercafes. I'm
trying to find the equivalent of "Laptop Lane" ( try translating
that) in Rome or maybe something like Kinkos?
Thanks Jerry
John Hanlon in Syracuse ( NY)
Anyone got suggestions? I haven't
tried to be connected in Europe: my wife will kill me if we go to Europe
and I get on line...
Dr. Pournelle:
I've traveled extensively in Western Europe with my
laptop and can offer a few suggestions. Unfortunately, none of these may
be of particular use to someone already there and may also require a bit
of computer knowledge.
1. I've kept an AOL account active for years, just
to use whilst traveling. There may be a surcharge of a few dollars an hour
to access (last year in the UK, I recall the charge as $8.00/hour) but you
have access to local telephone numbers in dozens of countries. You then
access your ISP's mail server via AOL. (See comments below about phone
system compatibility.)
2. You *can* direct dial back home. You may need a
specialized adapter to work with the European connectors. You may also
need to disable your modem's "wait for dial tone" as the US dial
tone is different than the frequencies used in most other countries.
Direct dial can be VERY expensive, especially if you are accessing from a
hotel. I recall one trip in Germany in the late '80s when my phone bill
for a three day stay exceeded the lodging bill by a substantial amount.
Whilst most hotels no longer charge extortionate rates, they still tack on
a significant surcharge.
3. You can dial back home to your ISP via one of the
bypass services, such as USA Direct. This gets a bit complex if you are
using a modem as it requires dialing an access number, credit card and
called number. But, it is usually quite a bit cheaper than a direct dial.
4. The slickest access (not the cheapest) works if
you have a GSM mobile phone. (In the US, see VoiceStream or Pacific Bell).
If you purchase a "world phone" you can use your GSM
subscription data service (9600 b/s) in about 100 countries around the
world. Expect to pay about $1.00 per minute for a call back to the US. The
newer GSM phones have an IR port and can link to a laptop IR port for
"wireless" connectivity. It's very handy to have one phone
number and be able to be reached or make calls almost anywhere in the
world. (The US uses different frequency bands for GSM, but the same basic
transmission protocol, and VoiceStream and Pacific Bell have widespread
international roaming agreements. Hence, it is important to get a phone
that can work on not only the US frequencies. These are usually called
"world phones" or tri-band phones or something like that. I have
a Motorola and my wife uses a Bosch world GSM phone.) I wouldn't recommend
this solution to a total computer novice, but you might wish to think
about it for your next European visit. It's also nice to have a US
telephone number that rings your phone whilst strolling along the banks
for the Seine. You can also send and receive e-mails via the SMS function,
but I wouldn't recommend this as a general purpose replacement for a
laptop.)
5. There are going to be much higher speed GSM-based
wireless solutions soon, but that's not quite here yet.
Perhaps the best quick access would be to get an AOL
disk and install that service. The AOL help desk can probably talk a
computer novice through a basic setup. It also will be the cheapest
alternative, assuming local telephone service is available. I know for a
fact that AOL has local access numbers in Rome, or at least did not long
ago.
Jack Smith Clifton, VA
Thanks!
There's a wonderful editorial in today's Wall Street
Journal that says nothing you don't already know but does it in a way that
everybody in the world should read:
http://opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=95000606
Regards, Tim Herbst
I didn't read the Journal today.
Guess I'd better. I hear Germany will scrap its nuclear power plants. That
ought to do wonders for the environment. For more on this see View.
Mr. Pournelle,
In response to your 6/11 column on "Wiring
Larry Niven", I'm sure others have written to you suggesting wireless
home wiring, and I'd like to add my two cents worth. First I would like to
say how much I have enjoyed your columns over the years - going back to
the printed Byte's humble beginnnings. Many times, your columns have
inspired me to try new technologies. I've been able to test things at
home, and then make them work for the office as well.
Recently - actually last weekend - I installed a
Linksys Access Point (WAP11) device and wirelessly connected a Dell
Latitude LS laptop (Win2k Pro) with a Linksys wireless PC Card (WPC11),
and my home Dell Dimension XPS 300 Win98 system with a Linksys wireless
PCI Card (WDT11) &; PC Card combination - the PCI Card is just a holder
for the same PC Card that fits into a laptop. I was able to set everything
up in three hours - including a thorough reading of the manuals before
starting. (Sorry it's the German in me.)
These are front-ended with a DSL modem and a
Watchguard Technologies SOHOtc Internet sharing device and firewall. The
DSL modem plugs directly into the Watchguard's WAN port, and one of the
LAN ports is cabled to a 3COM hub. The Linksys WAP is also plugged into
the hub. The Watchguard uses IPSEC to connect to my office firewall,
making my home network just another WAN site to the company.
There were a few glitches. I have two other NT4
boxes - one is a Compaq P166 with 128mb RAM running NT4 server. The PCI/PC
card setup would not make any connections - no lights would even light,
indicating that the box was not communicating with the card. The other box
is a Toshiba Pentium Pro 200 with 224mb RAM running NT4 Workstation. With
this box, the card's lights indicated that it should be working, but NT
never could get the driver to load. I even took the time to put Win2k Pro
on the Toshiba, but it also didn't work - in the same way, so I'm assuming
that it's just old hardware with no Plug-and-Play capabilty. Ditto the
Compaq. I say Plug-and-Play knowing NT4 isn't PnP, but I just think
something in the hardware or BIOS isn't right. These system are always
close to the hub so using a 3' foot cable isn't a big deal.
The other glitch was with the Dell desktop. The
Watchguard does DHCP, but the wireless NIC just wouldn't get an address. I
hard wired an Ip address in the same subnet, and it works just fine. It's
only about 15' between the system and the WAP device, which is located in
the rooom just above it. The Win2k laptop did just fine getting a DHCP
address in all of the recesses of the house, including right next to the
desktop. It really is pretty slick.
I will be doing a similar network in our beach house
next month: cable modem -> Linksys Cable Modem Router and Switch ->
a Win2k desktop and a couple of Win2k laptops. It should be just as slick.
Of course, 3COM and others have similar offerings -
I have had good success with Linksys in the past, and it fits my home
budget. I will be testing 3COM wireless in the office and see if my Linsys
PC Card lives up oi its Wi-Fi advertising.
Again, thank you for the writings and insghts.
Steve Kauffman Marblehead, MA
Thanks for the additional
information and the kind words.
Hello Jerry,
My daily dose of Chaos Manor led me to
the Insight article on soy formula. You
might find it interesting to look at http://www.purdeyenvironment.com/
- suggesting that manganese poisoning might be a cause of BSE and vCJD.
Apparently the scientific establishment is somewhat unreceptive... Thanks
for all your work, and best regards, Peter Smith
Thanks. I have no expertise in this;
but I have known Goodman a while and if he cites a study it's a real
citation of a real study.
And a plea for
help:
Help me, Obi-Jerry, you are our only hope.
My wife and I have been using Email.Com for our
public email addresses to fandom and the world for over two years. It
allowed us to change ISPs behind the scenes, and our correspondents never
knew, or needed to know, which #^Q*$&;^Q#! ISP we were using this week.
However, all things must pass, or so it seems;
Mail.Com AKA Email.Com AKA Easylink (yes, ex ATT), aka Iname.Com, has
stopped forwarding email and does not answer when we beg for assistance.
All I can find is a one sentence blurb at Mail.Com's website stating
they're doing a migration. Reading the headers of the email which does get
through shows a new server at outblaze.com, but otherwise nothing useful.
Emails to their tech support troops (now the only
accepted means of support) have goine unanswered for over a week.
My technique of checking WHOIS with SamSpade.Org and
caling the phone numbers listed there is also fruitless, as no one
answers.
Easylink is NASDAQ listed (as EASY) and I suppose I
could make a hobby of calling every Wall Street tech analyst to let the
world know they don't keep their word are are ducking voicemails and
emails... but perhaps a Manor reader has a better way to help us get their
attention?
And, if you wish to contact anyone with an address
at Email.Com, Mail.Com, EasyLink.Com, Iname.Com or any other redirection
service they maintain, well, you may have to use a telephone or snail, TFN.
Anyone out there able to help?
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