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Editorial

IE8 Arrives - After taking 6 years to move from version 6 to version 7, the Microsoft IE team has offered the first IE8 beta barely 18 months after IE7's release. Cosmetically, things don't look all that different to IE7, but under the bonnet -- where most of our nightmares originate -- the IE dev team seems to have set some pretty ambitious goals. For the techies out there...

Have a happy Easter; drive safely (watch out for motorbikes...)

Bruce Beresford, Manager & Editor

In this Issue:

• Featured Site - Illawarra Model Aero Club (IMAC)
• Telstra loses to rivals on pricing
• Aussie mums fleeced in online scam
• Microsoft Vista SP1 update can destroy data
• Quotes of the day

Featured Site  

Illawarra Model Aero Club (IMAC)

Welcome to the Illawarra Model Aero Club (IMAC) web site.

Please browse the site to find out about this Wollongong aeromodelling Club.

We welcome your visit to our Berkeley flying field as:

• A visitor who just wants to see what model aircraft flying is all about.
• A visitor who is from another Club, is MAAA registered and wants to come for a fly ( Maximum of three visits per year).
• A visitor who is from another Club, is MAAA registered and wants to join IMAC as an affiliate member.
• A visitor who wants to join IMAC as a full member.

Any visitor who wants to fly must be signed in by an IMAC member, sign the visitors’ book, show their MAAA membership card and must be authorised for solo flight at their home club.

Visit the Illawarra Model Aero Club website...

Telstra loses to rivals on pricing  

TELSTRA'S push into the mobile broadband market has been hampered by savage competition from cheaper rivals offering entry-level packages priced up to 80 per cent below those being pushed by the dominant telco player.

Over the Christmas period, Hutchison Telecommunications' Three network was selling a fast mobile broadband package priced at just $14.50 a month for 1 gigabyte of data, while Vodafone was selling 5 gigabytes for $39 a month. Both deals included a free USB broadband modem.

In contrast, Telstra's cheapest mobile high-speed broadband deal was priced at $79.95 a month for 1 gigabyte of data, and required customers to buy awireless modem costing an additional $249. Analysts said retail distributors had reported a slowdown in sales of Telstra products in response to the increased price competition.

"Hutchison and Vodafone had a strong period over Christmas with their wireless broadband, which Telstra has been running for the last 18 months and saying it's the best thing since sliced bread, but the others have cut their prices significantly in the last few months - it's a massive discrepancy," said one investment analyst.

"Telstra will tell you they've got the best coverage but the reality is that most of the customers are in Sydney and Melbourne, and they don't really care about coverage."

Vodafone mobile data product manager Tim Cowan said his company had seen a four-fold increase in weekly connections since introducing its $39 plan in November.

Three head of broadband Klaas Raaijmakers said the growing popularity of laptop computers was boosting demand for mobile internet connections among home users, building on the market already established among businesses.

"The interest in the market in January was very strong for us as people received laptops for Christmas and this is a very obvious addition," he said.

A Telstra spokeswoman refused to comment on the take-up of the mobile broadband service ahead of next month's release of profit figures for the first half of the financial year. AustralianIT Jan 2008.

Aussie mums fleeced in online scam  

POLICE are hunting a 27-year-old woman who has been ripping thousands of dollars off mothers and concert lovers for at least three years in an online scam.

They confirmed that the woman traded under several aliases and used multiple internet provider addresses in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane to evade detection.

The woman posed as a mum on essentialbaby.com.au and motherandbaby.com.au, who wanted to sell cots and other items for children.

She also posed as a member of the public on community website gumtree.com.au, owned by eBay, where she claimed to be selling concert tickets in Brisbane and also interstate.

Despite investigations by The Courier-Mail showing the conwoman had been operating since at least March 2004, using the same bank account details, the Office of Fair Trading said it had received no complaints.

A Queensland police spokeswoman confirmed police were investigating 13 complaints relating to essentialbaby.com.au.

An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said the AFP was aware of the scam but would not be investigating the matter because it was not within its jurisdiction.

Secretary Sally McLennan was one of five Brisbane residents duped by the same scammer over tickets to a concert by the Wombats.

"I was really annoyed that I was conned out of $50, I think more needs to be done to catch this person," Ms McLennan said.

Brisbane student Kate Schafferius said she lost $130 for two tickets to last night's Wombats concert at the Zoo after responding to an advertisement on gumtree.com.au.

"This person sounded so genuine. I'm quite upset that I won't get to see the Wombats play, but it now hurts financially because as a student that's a lot of money to lose," Ms Schafferius said.

The scammer operates by responding to an advertisement or placing a fake advertisement for a product.

A negotiation via email was undertaken between the buyer and the woman and money was then transferred to her bank account.

Once the money had been deposited victims claimed all email contact stopped and the promised goods never arrived.

Gum Tree Australia spokesman Mark Gibson confirmed the scam but said it had been an isolated case.AustralianIT Mar 2008.

Microsoft Vista SP1 update can destroy data  

Microsoft has stopped automatically distributing a prerequisite piece of software for Windows Vista Service Pack 1, following customer complaints that it had caused system problems.

Servicing stack update KB937287, released last week, contained updates to Windows Vista installation software, and was billed as being "necessary to successfully install and to remove Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) on all versions of Windows Vista."

Microsoft stopped distributing the update on Wednesday, according to a blog post by Microsoft product manager Nick White.

"We've heard a few reports about problems customers may be experiencing as a result of KB937287," wrote White. "Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further customer impact while we investigate possible causes. ZDNet Australia Feb 2008. more >>>

Quotes of the Day  

A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it. Bob Hope (1903 - 2003)

The word 'meaningful' when used today is nearly always meaningless. Paul Johnson

A sense of humor is part of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of getting things done. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 - 1969)

Nothing can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own. Sidney J. Harris

Brought to you by The Quotations Page

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