E-Musings Mon Immorata

Free software-wise there's lots happening. Another release of Opera to v7.20 Beta 1 for Windows is expected soon. Besides the usual interface tweaks and updates, it promises significant improvements in script handling. I hope that Opera finally includes ActiveX support so that its browser can better IE. Here's waiting for you kid!

I also see an increase in SQL database managers as recent betas show. Unfortunately other than DB Tools and the now-discontinued but still available for download MySQL Front, the rest of the pack aren't free. And are buggy as hell1 I managed to successfully crash my .Net Enterprise server after installing and attempting to use a new one: SQL Stripes.

Courtesy Mike's List, I learnt about Andilinks: the "Information Sector Database." According to Mike (Elgan) "the site features cool categorized links to some of the best sites on the Internet."

If you are a game freak, car classic Grand Auto Theft from Rockstar Games is available as a free, nearly 400 MB single download file. The game's still very popular. The download's been switched twice in the past fortnight plus. And while on the classic game theme, although 1980s classic Leisure Suite Larry, a DOS-only game, is no longer available. There are other games, including children's games -- The Black Cauldron, Donald Duck's Playground, Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood -- are available for free from the author's site.

A note-worthy but over-hyped product is Apple's iTunes music download site. Unfortunately for us PC owners you have to have a Mac to access the service or listen to the music! Humbug! Because at .99c a song downloads looked interesting. I see it as another ploy to sell computers that are two decades past its prime to an unsuspecting public. That Steve Jobs is a good marketer!

Stay alert, especially if you access the Net via cable or through a closed user group on DSL. IP spammers have returned. Among the many junk mail in my Yahoo account was one announcing software that sends "your Ad to 3.5 Million Desktops Everyday." Ouch! I don't want to be that recipient. The mail mentions a (new?) loophole in Microsoft messaging technology (the Windows NT/2000/XP service not the instant chat client) that permits mis-use of the "net send" protocol. This displays a pop-up message (or in this case advertisement) on another Windows machine. And all for just $29.95!

IP-Adverts.com v2.2 claims to send up to 600 messages a minute with guaranteed instant delivery. And includes a list of 3000 IP ranges covering 90 countries and most US ISPs. Since IP addressing is not email (and by extension junk mail either), there's no proper legislation. However, as the software's developed by folks with malicious intent, they aren't offering a try-and-buy version. Sounds like a scam.

The people most at risk from IP-based spamming are those on large private networks including cable companies. My office DSL connection has a firewall that blocks up to 100 intrusion attempts per hour! The problem is so acute the ISP has blocked ping on their servers. Which makes it quite hard to diagnose network throughput issues.

The Net over cable connection I now have at home is little better. The company was making an effort by using a proxy server. But indisciplined users attempting to subvert the per connection throttling were causing the proxy computer to crash once every two hours. Besides which there were lots of throughput issues.

Most are now history as the proxy has been disabled. Of course the throughput is still average. And upload speeds poor (except on late nights and weekends) for someone like this writer who need to update blogs, Web pages, and transfer files on FTP. This Google Directory link helped me find a bandwidth tester. In Bandwidth Place.

The test took under a minute. And predictably the results were disappointing: my connection were worse than a 56k modem! In comparison the new big Indian ISP--Indicom (formerly VSNL) gives sustained 45k connects with a 56k modem. And average data rates of 3.6 in and out.

But the real reason I chose Net-over-cable vs. dial-up was on cost. I pay just Rs 999 (US$21) a month with no money down for 24x7 access. In comparison dialup access for 5 off-peak hours (6-minute pulse and Net access charges waived) costs Rs 4500 (US$95).

That's enough from me for now. Email me by clicking the link below. Bye!!!

Govind Menon Email Freeloader