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Editorial

Will you be having SPAM or HAM this Christmas?. If you don't learn to manage your emails at server level with software like MailWasher Pro, you will continue to suffer SPAM attacks until Europe and the US in particular take legislative control like Australia did. They are "discussing" this subject now, I give them about 5 years at least.

Have a great Christmas and happy new year, see you in February 2007...

Bruce Beresford, Manager & Editor

In this Issue:

• Featured Site - The Wellbeing Clinic
• 'Tis the season to send spam
• Free wireless broadband for NSW
• ISP contracts top complaints list
• Berners-Lee worries for web
• Test the speed of your internet connection
• Quotes of the day

Featured Site  

The Wellbeing Clinic

The Wellbeing Clinic is an exciting and unique multi-disciplinary counselling and psychological services clinic in the heart of the Sutherland Shire providing specialist care and support in the many areas of psychology and counselling.

We have appointed a team of Psychologists and Counsellors who specialise in their respective fields of practice – taking the guess work out of finding an experienced therapist to best meet your specific needs.

To compliment our counselling and psychological services we also have specialist Massage Therapists for both individuals and couples as we recognise the therapeutic and long term benefits that massage provides to the wellbeing of our clients.

Visit the Wellbeing Clinic website...

'Tis the season to send spam  

In addition to plenty of turkey, a record amount of spam will be served up this holiday season.

Mass e-mailers traditionally bump up their activity as the year winds down. But this year, the amount of junk messages could be unprecedented, companies that make spam-busting tools say. And senders of unsolicited ads are already celebrating the close of the harvest season and the approach of Christmas.

"Just as legitimate vendors began stocking their shelves with holiday decor and gifts before Halloween, spammers started sending spam messages tailored to the holiday gift-giving season earlier this year," said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management at Barracuda Networks, a Mountain View, Calif., maker of security appliances.

In October, 63 billion junk messages were sent daily, on average, compared with 31 billion a year ago, according to data from IronPort Systems. Another antispam specialist, MessageLabs, reports that 88.7 percent of all e-mail sent in October was unsolicited. That percentage is expected to rise to nearly 90 percent in November and December... TechRepublic >>> more

Free wireless broadband for NSW   

FREE universal broadband internet access will be available in major central business district areas under a plan announced by the NSW government.

NSW Premier Morris Iemma today said the government would call for expressions of interest next year for the establishment of a universal wireless broadband coverage in seven areas.

The areas are: central and north Sydney, Parramatta, Penrith, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wollongong and Gosford.

"Universal access to wireless broadband in our CBDs will further boost the state's economy and make NSW more attractive for expanding all new businesses," Mr Iemma said in a statement.

"Tourists and business visitors, now accustomed to this type of technology in other global cities such as San Francisco and Paris, will have improved email and internet access."

Mr Iemma also announced the government would set up an Innovation Council and secretariat to look at ways of improving the innovation capacity of buyers in key industry sectors.

The industry sectors are logistics and transaction services, financial services, entertainment, design and media, manufacturing and resources.

The government will also establish an institute for advanced research in finance to undertake research which links the state with global thinking in finance.

The government will also spend $1 million to stimulate technological innovation associated with carbon dioxide capture and storage. AAP

ISP contracts top complaints list  

COMPLAINTS about internet service providers changing contracts topped the list of issues that the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) has had to deal with in the past 12 months.

Ombudsman John Pinnock released the 2005-06 financial year figures in Melbourne today, showing the number of overall complaints rising 10 per cent from 97,798 in 2004-05 to 107,601.

But complaints about internet contracts had resulted in the biggest increase, rising 126.2 per cent in the past 12 months.

"Many people are saying that the information provided when they sign a contract is not backed up when the products and services are delivered," Mr Pinnock said.

"A new and disturbing trend is the increase in complaints about internet service providers varying the terms and conditions of contracts without the customer's consent."

Customer gripes about ISPs accounted for 20 per cent of all complaints handled by the TIO.

"Many of the ISPs are not aware of the impact of the industry code in relation to contract issues," the federal ombudsman said. AustralianIT >>> more

Berners-Lee worries for web  

THE founder of the world wide web has voiced concern over increasing abuse of the internet, with truth the first victim as technology develops at ever more dizzying speeds.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who developed the web while working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in the late 1980s, said the global online network was at growing risk of being misused by "undemocratic forces".

"If we don't have the ability to understand the web as it's now emerging, we will end up with things that are very bad... Certain undemocratic things could emerge and misinformation will start spreading over the web," he told the BBC.

"Studying these forces and the way they're affected by the underlying technology is one of the things that we think is really important," he said.

In under 20 years, the world wide web has transformed from a useful electronic network for academic geeks to the supercharged mainline of modern communications, linking almost everyone, everywhere, all the time.

But with increasing opportunities have also come increasing risks, ranging from ubiquitous pornography websites and potentially dangerous chat rooms to hackers who can steal fortunes or top secrets with the click of a mouse. AustralianIT >>> more

Test the speed of your internet connection  

Speedtest.net is a general use broadband connection analysis tool with many geographically dispersed testing servers. If you are experiencing slowness with your Internet connection, Speedtest.net can help you identify and prove it. Your result history is saved so you can compare against past tests to detect trends. Share links to your result images with your ISP and friends.

Speedtest.net initially recommends a server for you based on what the application thinks is the shortest physical distance between you and one of the servers. However, because the Internet does not actually operate in direct paths, this recommendation may not be ideal. To best utilize Speedtest.net, find the server that provides the fastest and most consistent results and set it as your preferred server. This will turn it into your new recommended server. Test against this server frequently to make sure you are getting what you pay for from your ISP!

Quotes of the Day  

There used to be a real me, but I had it surgically removed. Peter Sellers (1925 - 1980).

I phoned my dad to tell him I had stopped smoking. He called me a quitter. Steven Pearl.

We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are - that is the fact. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980).

Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody. Franklin P. Adams (1881 - 1960).

Brought to you by The Quotations Page

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