PC & IT 02 (Nov 08 - Mar 10)

[LenaHuat]

Hi mojo
Thanks a gazillion for your response.
I like the sexy slim body. I have no problem with a 1 kg weight on my laps May I know if U acquired this from the stores at Funan Center or via the web?? I'm thinking of replacing my 6-year old notebook.

[mojo_]

Lena, I actually got it at Sim Lim Sq and braved being assaulted but to avoid the hoi polloi Funan is the place to go to ... no lah, they're mostly quite friendly and I usually go there for the more exotic odds and ends (eg. multi head graphics cards) that can only be found there.

If you decide to get it, try to wrangle the free goodie that was promoted at the recent Suntec IT show - external usb dvd drive (promo is officially now over)

[LenaHuat]

Dear mojo
I c. Thanks a million.
BTW, wef 2day Cedele has reduced their prices. Your fav scone now costs $1.80 and my fav muffin costs $2.60. I like to think that my abstinence (Ok reduced appetite fr 4 times a week to 2 times) has contributed to this. Of course the haughty landlord has bowed to tenants' pressure to cut rents.

[mojo_]

Lena, thanks for the heads up on cedele ... bakery items aren't exactly non-discretionary expenses that they can charge 200% office rental increases to their customers who only buy in their shopping mall outlets ... i had actually stopped buying their scones altogether but still patronise their organic breads which are priced relatively competitively... partially also for healthy eating reasons

[winston]

Cybercrime complaints up 33 pct in 2008: FBI

AFP - Tuesday, March 31WASHINGTON (AFP) - - The number of complaints about Internet crime soared by 33 percent last year over the previous year with total dollar losses rising nearly 11 percent, the FBI reported on Monday.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and National White Collar Crime Center, said 275,284 complaints of Internet crime were received in 2008, up from 206,884 in 2007.

Total dollar losses reported rose by 10.8 percent in 2008 to 265 million dollars from 239 million dollars in 2007, it said in its annual report.

It said the average individual loss from Web crime last year was 931 dollars.

"This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet," FBI Cyber Division assistant director Shawn Henry said in a statement.

"It also underscores the need for continued vigilance on the part of law enforcement, businesses, and the home computer user to be aware of these schemes and employ sound security procedures."

The complaints received by the IC3 ranged from auction fraud to credit or debit card fraud to computer intrusions to spam or unsolicited e-mail to child pornography.

The report said 72,940 complaints were referred to federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies around the country for further consideration.

It said the most common complaints concerned non-delivery of merchandise and/or payment, comprising 32.9 percent of referred complaints.

Internet auction fraud accounted for 25.5 percent of referred complaints while credit or debit card fraud made up nine percent.

The report also found that men tended to lose more money to Internet fraud than women -- with males losing 1.69 dollars to one dollar lost per female.

"This may be a function of both online purchasing differences by gender and the type of fraudulent schemes by which the individuals were victimized," the report said.

[iam802]

If you need to free up some precious space from your harddisk, try PureRA

==
PureRa is a simple tool that does a simple job: it removes files from your computer that other mainstream cleaning programs tend to oversee. Some of our targets can simply be removed to create some valuable space while others are removed in an attempt to repair certain problems because they will simply recreate themselves.
==

http://raproducts.org/purera.html


Also see JavaRA which removes old and redundant versions of the Java runtime

http://raproducts.org/javara.html

[winston]

It's Good to Know: Stop Forgetting E-Mail Attachments

It happens all the time. You compose a lengthy e-mail about an ongoing project, hit send... and get this reply: "I didn't get the attachment."

Annoying on both ends.

If you're using Gmail, there's a Google Lab application that will "remind" you to attach the file. But that pop-up, in itself, can be annoying. So get in the habit of doing this: Attach the file first - before you type in the recipient's e-mail address, the subject line, or anything in the body of the message.

(Source: Everyjoe.com)

[winston]

It's Good to Know: Ghost Twittering

You can follow celebrities and politicians - Shaquille O'Neal, President Obama, 50 Cent, Britney Spears - through their postings on the Web 2.0 darling Twitter. But you might wonder how they fit making those postings into their busy schedules.

Well... turns out they may not be writing them at all. Enter ghost twitterers, the perfect solution for the rich and famous who want to take advantage of the marketing potential of Twitter but don't want (or don't have the time) to put in the actual work. These specialized ghostwriters, often part of the star's entourage, use their client's "voice" and keep fans stocked with updates throughout the day.

Where does the marketing part of this come in? With frequent special announcements about such things as movie, book, and album launches.

(Source: The New York Times)

[winston]

It's Good to Know: The m-SPAM Act

The CAN-SPAM Act, passed in 2003, was intended to protect consumers from unwanted commercial e-mails. When it was initiated, it led to rigorous "opt-in" procedures for legitimate businesses that use e-mail to reach their customers - but spammers still found ways to beat the system. (A quick look at your inbox will tell you all you need to know.) And now some legislators are pushing for a companion act, the m-SPAM Act (the m is for “mobile”), to protect cellphone users from spam text messages.

Their intentions may be honorable - but, considering how ineffective CAN-SPAM has been, makes you think their time might be better spent on some other "cause."

(Source: Internet News)

[winston]

Dear All,

Does anybody use Yahoo Mail ?

All of my emails in my Inbox just disappeared ! It's not inside "Trash" either.

So where did they go and how do I recover those emails that was supposed to be in my Inbox ?

Thanks,
Winston