One of the fastest growing threats - the web site you visit

T

thanatoid

"MEB" <meb@not here@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:#Wz0d30qIHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:

> Not quite the same as the usual warnings from the
> government, but which
> should be realized by all users of the Internet.
>
> 21 April 2008
>
> One new infected webpage found every five seconds, reveals
> latest Sophos Security Threat Report
> US overtakes China as country hosting most infected
> webpages
>
> http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2008/04/secr
> ep08q1.html

Yet another reason for using a 100% safe (sic) browser called
OffByOne, which is not only faster than anything else except
Lynx, but also spares you the delight of looking at most of what
some morons, who also seem to believe "the more fonts, frames,
and java popups instead of simple links, the better" apparently
consider "good graphic design".



--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
L

lmnop@qrstuv.com

On Thu, 1 May 2008 01:41:45 -0400, "MEB" <meb@not here@hotmail.com>
wrote:

> Not quite the same as the usual warnings from the government, but which
>should be realized by all users of the Internet.
>
>21 April 2008
>
>One new infected webpage found every five seconds, reveals latest Sophos
>Security Threat Report
>US overtakes China as country hosting most infected webpages
>

YAWN........

Who cares !!!!!!

Yet another virus threat devised by antivirus companies to get more
sales of their AV software....
 
P

philo

"thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message
news:Xns9A911CAFA1E61thanexit@66.250.146.158...
> "MEB" <meb@not here@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:#Wz0d30qIHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:
>
> > Not quite the same as the usual warnings from the
> > government, but which
> > should be realized by all users of the Internet.
> >
> > 21 April 2008
> >
> > One new infected webpage found every five seconds, reveals
> > latest Sophos Security Threat Report
> > US overtakes China as country hosting most infected
> > webpages
> >
> > http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2008/04/secr
> > ep08q1.html
>
> Yet another reason for using a 100% safe (sic) browser called
> OffByOne, which is not only faster than anything else except
> Lynx, but also spares you the delight of looking at most of what
> some morons, who also seem to believe "the more fonts, frames,
> and java popups instead of simple links, the better" apparently
> consider "good graphic design".
>
>

I love OffByOne. It's an amazing little browser. Very "no-frills" but it
really works well...
loads pages very fast.

It's maybe a 1.25 meg download...so it can be transferred to another machine
on a single floppy.

I used it on one of my experimental machines. I had an amd 386 40mhz with 16
megs of RAM.
I wanted to see what I could do with a tiny HD I had...just 40 megs!.
It was too small to even load win95 on...so I pared down an exiting win95
installation
and xcopied it to the 40 meg drive, then used OffByOne.

I even got a cool utility called UPX which is an executable compressor and
got OBO down
to maybe 850 megs.

I find OffByOne useful even on my higher end machines...especially on
websites that have slow loading pages...
such as my local newspaper.


As to security....I never looked into that aspect but at least on my machine
with the 40 meg drive...
I don't think there is enough free space on the drive to even hold a small
virus (Just kidding you know)
BTW: I had to limit the swap file size to 2 megs to keep the drive from
filling up...
but running win95 with 16 megs of RAM negates the need for a larger swap
file.
 
T

thanatoid

"philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in
news:062dnUOQspm77YfVnZ2dnUVZ_jCdnZ2d@ntd.net:

> "thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message

<SNIP>

>> Yet another reason for using a 100% safe (sic) browser
>> called OffByOne, which is not only faster than anything
>> else except Lynx, but also spares you the delight of
>> looking at most of what some morons, who also seem to
>> believe "the more fonts, frames, and java popups instead
>> of simple links, the better" apparently consider "good
>> graphic design".
>>
> I love OffByOne.

Philo, I love YOU! FINALLY someone who understands!

<SNIP Ob1 accolades which I have been posting for years - to
deaf ears>

> As to security... I never looked into that aspect but at
> least on my machine with the 40 meg drive...
> I don't think there is enough free space on the drive to
> even hold a small virus (Just kidding you know)

It is 100% secure because it does not recognize scripting, no
css, no java, no flash (well, I haven't heard about flash being
dangerous, but it's only a matter of time, especially with flv
being so popular now).

I never explored the "enable external players" thing... I have
no idea what it is... Maybe it COULD actually play flash! It's
funny the authors appear to almost consider it a throwaway
project and never even bothered to make a semblance of a help
file!

Anyway, re: security: as you well know - no popups, no banners,
no redirects, direct access to pages which others have to click
through 3 minutes of crap to get to, fastest loading in the
universe, no cache to empty, one cookie file, GREAT downloading
(have you discovered that hitting Win-X updates the amount of
bytes that have been DL'd?), and the font size buttons right on
the toolbar - I mean WHAT else could you ask for?!

Now if only the idiots who make the majority of websites did
them so they would all work 100% in Ob1, then the world might
almost become bearable. I HATE having to fire up Opera (even
thought I consider it the best "full-featured" browser) just to
get to my stupid bank! (Or Hotmail, but Hotmail is a closed case
since the recent news discussed here at length. I may have to
get a gmail account for throwaway trash now. Horrors! I wonder
if gmail will work with Ob1? Hotmail used to, for a few years.)

Regards.
t.


--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
P

philo

"thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message
news:Xns9A91D9EE2C513thanexit@66.250.146.158...
> "philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in
> news:062dnUOQspm77YfVnZ2dnUVZ_jCdnZ2d@ntd.net:
>
> > "thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message
>
> <SNIP>
>
> >> Yet another reason for using a 100% safe (sic) browser
> >> called OffByOne, which is not only faster than anything
> >> else except Lynx, but also spares you the delight of
> >> looking at most of what some morons, who also seem to
> >> believe "the more fonts, frames, and java popups instead
> >> of simple links, the better" apparently consider "good
> >> graphic design".
> >>
> > I love OffByOne.
>
> Philo, I love YOU! FINALLY someone who understands!

Big red blush!

<G> ! <G>

>
> <SNIP Ob1 accolades which I have been posting for years - to
> deaf ears>
>
> > As to security... I never looked into that aspect but at
> > least on my machine with the 40 meg drive...
> > I don't think there is enough free space on the drive to
> > even hold a small virus (Just kidding you know)
>
> It is 100% secure because it does not recognize scripting, no
> css, no java, no flash (well, I haven't heard about flash being
> dangerous, but it's only a matter of time, especially with flv
> being so popular now).
>
> I never explored the "enable external players" thing... I have
> no idea what it is... Maybe it COULD actually play flash! It's
> funny the authors appear to almost consider it a throwaway
> project and never even bothered to make a semblance of a help
> file!
>
> Anyway, re: security: as you well know - no popups, no banners,
> no redirects, direct access to pages which others have to click
> through 3 minutes of crap to get to, fastest loading in the
> universe, no cache to empty, one cookie file, GREAT downloading
> (have you discovered that hitting Win-X updates the amount of
> bytes that have been DL'd?), and the font size buttons right on
> the toolbar - I mean WHAT else could you ask for?!
>
> Now if only the idiots who make the majority of websites did
> them so they would all work 100% in Ob1, then the world might
> almost become bearable. I HATE having to fire up Opera (even
> thought I consider it the best "full-featured" browser) just to
> get to my stupid bank! (Or Hotmail, but Hotmail is a closed case
> since the recent news discussed here at length. I may have to
> get a gmail account for throwaway trash now. Horrors! I wonder
> if gmail will work with Ob1? Hotmail used to, for a few years.)
>
> Regards.
> t.
>

Excellent!

The thing with me is I abhor waste. As I have always:
We are going to put so much stuff into the landfills, the earth will
eventually grow
so heavy that it will fall out of orbit.


(If anyone is about to point out the logical errors in that remark...
the problem is on your end.)


I refurbish computers for a non-profit organization
and for all people with limited incomes. Each year I rebuild or repair
literally hundreds upon hundreds of computers.

I firmly believe in re-using them and am really sickened by all the waste!
Since I am Microsoft authorized refurbisher...I can re-certify any machine
that's a P-II or above and license it with Win2k for just $5. So basically
most of the donated
machines can be re-used.

However not everyone I come in contact even has as much as a P-II...
and many of the folks I work with are still using p-1's and sometimes even
486's...
but why waste them. Many people can get by fine with what they have...
and a very light browser such as OffByOne can keep their machines still
productive.

For DOS only machines...I've even set a few up with the Arachne browser...
I can even run it on my 286...and though it will also run on an 8088...
a machine of that vintage is really only useful in the CLI mode of course.

So what do I do with the P-1's? If someone is using Win98 on the machine...
I usually give them a choice. They can trade it up to a P-II or P-III...
or else I simply take their existing win98 installation,
clean it up and perhaps add some RAM and send them on their way.


But that still leaves me with a number of P1's.
I simply load a light Linux distro onto those. Generally, Damn Small Linux
(heck I can put that on a 100 meg drive and have plenty of room to spare)...
then offer the machines on Craig's list.

Last weekend I put a Compaq P1 200 mhz on my workbench at 8 AM.
I loaded Linux on the machine...tested it...then posted it on Craig's list.
It was gone by noon!

Before I could even kill my offer on Craig's...I got a 2nd request...
so quickly found an old Packard Bell in my workshop...
and loaded Damn Small Linux on the machine...and by 4PM
that one was gone too!

Any parts or old monitors that I have that are worthless.
then go to a computer recycler in town...
But I keep close to 95% of the stuff in circulation...
and thus far have a 99% success rate with my repairs.

Since I have enough spare parts to rebuild a machine completely from
ground up...Only a crushed cased machine is deemed unrepairable
though of course..most of the parts can still be re-used
 
P

philo

"thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message
news:Xns9A91D9EE2C513thanexit@66.250.146.158...
> "philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in
> news:062dnUOQspm77YfVnZ2dnUVZ_jCdnZ2d@ntd.net:
>
> > "thanatoid" <waiting@the.exit.invalid> wrote in message
>
> <SNIP>
>
> >> Yet another reason for using a 100% safe (sic) browser
> >> called OffByOne, which is not only faster than anything
> >> else except Lynx, but also spares you the delight of
> >> looking at most of what some morons, who also seem to
> >> believe "the more fonts, frames, and java popups instead
> >> of simple links, the better" apparently consider "good
> >> graphic design".
> >>
> > I love OffByOne.
>
> Philo, I love YOU! FINALLY someone who understands!

Big red blush!

<G> ! <G>

>
> <SNIP Ob1 accolades which I have been posting for years - to
> deaf ears>
>
> > As to security... I never looked into that aspect but at
> > least on my machine with the 40 meg drive...
> > I don't think there is enough free space on the drive to
> > even hold a small virus (Just kidding you know)
>
> It is 100% secure because it does not recognize scripting, no
> css, no java, no flash (well, I haven't heard about flash being
> dangerous, but it's only a matter of time, especially with flv
> being so popular now).
>
> I never explored the "enable external players" thing... I have
> no idea what it is... Maybe it COULD actually play flash! It's
> funny the authors appear to almost consider it a throwaway
> project and never even bothered to make a semblance of a help
> file!
>
> Anyway, re: security: as you well know - no popups, no banners,
> no redirects, direct access to pages which others have to click
> through 3 minutes of crap to get to, fastest loading in the
> universe, no cache to empty, one cookie file, GREAT downloading
> (have you discovered that hitting Win-X updates the amount of
> bytes that have been DL'd?), and the font size buttons right on
> the toolbar - I mean WHAT else could you ask for?!
>
> Now if only the idiots who make the majority of websites did
> them so they would all work 100% in Ob1, then the world might
> almost become bearable. I HATE having to fire up Opera (even
> thought I consider it the best "full-featured" browser) just to
> get to my stupid bank! (Or Hotmail, but Hotmail is a closed case
> since the recent news discussed here at length. I may have to
> get a gmail account for throwaway trash now. Horrors! I wonder
> if gmail will work with Ob1? Hotmail used to, for a few years.)
>
> Regards.
> t.
>

Excellent!

The thing with me is I abhor waste. As I have always:
We are going to put so much stuff into the landfills, the earth will
eventually grow
so heavy that it will fall out of orbit.


(If anyone is about to point out the logical errors in that remark...
the problem is on your end.)


I refurbish computers for a non-profit organization
and for all people with limited incomes. Each year I rebuild or repair
literally hundreds upon hundreds of computers.

I firmly believe in re-using them and am really sickened by all the waste!
Since I am Microsoft authorized refurbisher...I can re-certify any machine
that's a P-II or above and license it with Win2k for just $5. So basically
most of the donated
machines can be re-used.

However not everyone I come in contact even has as much as a P-II...
and many of the folks I work with are still using p-1's and sometimes even
486's...
but why waste them. Many people can get by fine with what they have...
and a very light browser such as OffByOne can keep their machines still
productive.

For DOS only machines...I've even set a few up with the Arachne browser...
I can even run it on my 286...and though it will also run on an 8088...
a machine of that vintage is really only useful in the CLI mode of course.

So what do I do with the P-1's? If someone is using Win98 on the machine...
I usually give them a choice. They can trade it up to a P-II or P-III...
or else I simply take their existing win98 installation,
clean it up and perhaps add some RAM and send them on their way.


But that still leaves me with a number of P1's.
I simply load a light Linux distro onto those. Generally, Damn Small Linux
(heck I can put that on a 100 meg drive and have plenty of room to spare)...
then offer the machines on Craig's list.

Last weekend I put a Compaq P1 200 mhz on my workbench at 8 AM.
I loaded Linux on the machine...tested it...then posted it on Craig's list.
It was gone by noon!

Before I could even kill my offer on Craig's...I got a 2nd request...
so quickly found an old Packard Bell in my workshop...
and loaded Damn Small Linux on the machine...and by 4PM
that one was gone too!

Any parts or old monitors that I have that are worthless.
then go to a computer recycler in town...
But I keep close to 95% of the stuff in circulation...
and thus far have a 99% success rate with my repairs.

Since I have enough spare parts to rebuild a machine completely from
ground up...Only a crushed cased machine is deemed unrepairable
though of course..most of the parts can still be re-used
 
P

philo

<snip>
> >
> > I wonder if you could strike a deal with the guy who makes the
> > Lite PC IE remover and the 95-shell-instead-of-the-stupid-
> > active-desktop-integration-of-98
> > customizer. 98SE Lite would run just great on a P1 and probably
> > on a 486 too. But then I imagine that would /rather seriously/
> > impact your MS certification.
>

Oops, missed that.

Well since all the machines I setup for the NPO must be legit...
I only use win2k...and the refurb program also allows me to get XP.
If I end up with enough P-III's and above...I may go that route.


Any machines I setup outside the orginization
for folks who have no money... I'll do whatever I need to do...to get them
going...
and have certainly experimented quite a bit with win98 lite.
It forces compatibility and allows one to use the win95 explorer shell
and give one hybrid OS. I have used it mainly for my own experiments
however.
I have gotten pretty much away from both win95 and win98...but if anyone
needed such a machine...I can supply one ...even have the licenses...
but tend to use Linux on those lesser machines.
 
P

philo

By early in the year 2000 I felt familiar enough with the machines to tell
everyone that I had finally entered the 20th century...
and with humor they pointed out to me that (popularly) it was now the 21st
century. (Technically the 21st century did not begin
until the year 2001...but even joining the 20th century on the very last
year...was funny enough.

Then, after I had at least somewhat learned what I had missed...I went
forward and upgraded that PB
to win98...upgraded the CPU, RAM and harddrive...then installed Linux. Back
in those days...getting a Linux distro
installed was pretty tough...and it was a real challenge...but it taught me
a hell of a lot in the process.

I turned to Usenet and saw the beauty of it. I had been lurking on a Red Hat
group...
trying to gain as much knowledge as possible...when I saw a newbie
struggling to get a boot loader installed.
Since I had only figured that out myself a few days before...and since no
one had replied to his query...I
answered his question, he then posted back that my suggestion had
worked..then he asked me something
that was about a million times over my head. It was not for at least six
more months that I was able to successfully
compile a new kernel...and he had wanted to do so to enable some specialized
hardware .
Though I told him that I was not able to help him anymore as I was still
pretty new at it...
we ended up chatting a while and it turned out the guy was a computer expert
....
and NT systems administrator...who was trying to find out all about Linux.
(Gulp...OK nice talking to you.)

Eventually after repairing and rebuilding and building from scratch well
over 1000 machines...
probably many more , I was able to learn perhaps the first 0.01 % of it all.
Every time I repair a machine...I look at it as a new opportunity to learn
something. To me, it's a cheap
education...way better than any college course I had ever taken. I went to
school for more years than
I'd care to admit...but learned much more on my own.

So if you want to learn about computers...get some old junkers.
Even though I always end up formatting the drive and starting over from
scratch...
I have spent ages with old junk with horribly corrupted OS's on them
and repairing them first.

When you have an old junk machine to experiment on...
since you are not working with anything valuable...you can feel free
to do anything you want. I only blew up one machine..and that was a 286
that was missing a power supply...and I tried to rewire one from a 486
and definitely got some wires crossed! Poof. OOPs I said...too bad <G>


>
> > I firmly believe in re-using them and am really sickened by
> > all the waste!
>
> My sentiments EXACTLY.
>
> > Since I am Microsoft authorized
> > refurbisher...I can re-certify any machine that's a P-II or
> > above and license it with Win2k for just $5.
>
> Wow, THAT's interesting!
>
> > So basically
> > most of the donated
> > machines can be re-used.
>
> Great!
>
> > However not everyone I come in contact even has as much as
> > a P-II... and many of the folks I work with are still using
> > p-1's and sometimes even 486's...
>
> I have run 95B with internet on a 486 with an old Supra 28.8. It
> works, a little slower than the 166MHz I am on now, but probably
> NOT much slower than a brand new Vista machine with the "not up
> to snuff" Intel chipset!
>
> > but why waste them. Many people can get by fine with what
> > they have... and a very light browser such as OffByOne can
> > keep their machines still productive.
>
> Exactly. What you are doing is what I have always told people
> they should get into the "business" of doing. When I read about
> how computers are becoming as much of a landfill problem as
> diapers, it really freaks me out - especially since all those
> computers are perfectly usable, while diapers, well... though
> MAYBE fertilizer?
>
> > For DOS only machines...I've even set a few up with the
> > Arachne browser... I can even run it on my 286...and though
> > it will also run on an 8088... a machine of that vintage is
> > really only useful in the CLI mode of course.
>
> I don't know what CLI is. I started with computers around 1991
> or so.
> Ah.. would it be command line interpreter? (Mot that I know any
> more than the name :)
>

CLI ...command line interface Viz : dos or linux bash shell for example.

In other words ...no GUI

> > So what do I do with the P-1's? If someone is using Win98
> > on the machine... I usually give them a choice. They can
> > trade it up to a P-II or P-III... or else I simply take
> > their existing win98 installation, clean it up and perhaps
> > add some RAM and send them on their way.
> >
> > But that still leaves me with a number of P1's.
> > I simply load a light Linux distro onto those. Generally,
> > Damn Small Linux (heck I can put that on a 100 meg drive
> > and have plenty of room to spare)... then offer the
> > machines on Craig's list.
>
> I wonder if you could strike a deal with the guy who makes the
> Lite PC IE remover and the 95-shell-instead-of-the-stupid-
> active-desktop-integration-of-98
> customizer. 98SE Lite would run just great on a P1 and probably
> on a 486 too. But then I imagine that would /rather seriously/
> impact your MS certification.
>
> > Last weekend I put a Compaq P1 200 mhz on my workbench at 8
> > AM. I loaded Linux on the machine...tested it...then posted
> > it on Craig's list. It was gone by noon!
>
> :)
>
> > Before I could even kill my offer on Craig's...I got a 2nd
> > request... so quickly found an old Packard Bell in my
> > workshop... and loaded Damn Small Linux on the
> > machine...and by 4PM that one was gone too!
> >
> > Any parts or old monitors that I have that are worthless.
> > then go to a computer recycler in town...
> > But I keep close to 95% of the stuff in circulation...
> > and thus far have a 99% success rate with my repairs.
>
> That is just beautiful.
>
> > Since I have enough spare parts to rebuild a machine
> > completely from ground up...Only a crushed cased machine is
> > deemed unrepairable though of course..most of the parts can
> > still be re-used
>
> Another thing most humanoids fail to grasp.
>
> Best regards.
> t.
>


Well a lot of the machines are being recycled. I actually had a service call
at a recycling center
recently...and all the stuff is being stripped down, metal , plastic etc
and being shipped to China. I found it hard to believe that it would be
economically feasible...but I guess
it is. Even the recycling center told me that the old CRT's can be a problem
though.


Woah, did I go on and on ...
too much coffee I think. I should still be at work,
but I went home early.

(the rest)
 
P

philo

(First half of that message, server is truncating)

I seriously doubt that you are useless. Though I go way back
and took my first course in FORTRAN IV at Milwaukee School of Engineering
back
in 1968. I was *shocked* that punch cards were being used. It seemed absurd!
Eleven years later when I went back to school to get additional education
for my job,
I was mortified that we were still using punch cards! It seemed insane.
After constructing a 68000 based machine for one of my advanced courses...in
May 1982
or so...I eventually grew to HATE computers so much that I swore I would
never touch one again.

I tossed my TV out and got a 1939 L.C Smith & Corona typewriter at a rummage
sale
for maybe $5 and fixed it up and got it working.
From then on I absolutely loathed computers...and the only thing I hated
worse than computers
were the people who used them.

I retreated inwardly to my own world and wrote non-stop for well over 12
years.(poetry and prose)
The first year it was all anger...but it took me many more years to get the
anger out of my
system. I had originally intended all my thoughts to be private...but
eventually started going
to poetry readings... I changed from an extreme introvert to an extreme
extrovert...
and did performance poetry in Chicago on a regular basis. Did tons of poetry
slams at the
Green Mill in Chicago and let me tell you that was tough. There is
absolutely nothing tougher!
I ROAR with laughter if someone on Usenet tries to insult me. There is
nothing like
a live Chicago crowd out to kill you!

I've performed in Manhattan too...and finally pretty much retired from
poetry
when I finally won a poetry slam in Milwaukee!


The highlight of my poetic career was in 1995... when I was invited to the
Peace Museum in Chicago
to read two of my poems at the commemoration of the ending of WW-II with the
bombing of Nagasaki.
The poem was deeply inspired by stories my father told me...as he was among
the first US troops
to go into the city after the bombing.

Through the poetry readings...I met my girlfriend Colleen. We have been
engaged for many years...
she has the ring...but since I am such an old fart...who knows when we will
get married.

Anyway...Colleen was the one who got me interested in computers when she
gave me her old Packard Bell
back in 1999. I was with her when she bought it new in 1995 for $1600. I
thought she was nuts!

Since the machine was a freebie...I took it home and figured..might as well
see what all this computer stuff is about.
Then I go hooked. When she owned the machine I would never go near it, and
if she ever wanted to show me something...
I literally ran out of the room screaming.

So there I was alone at home watching Windows 95 boot up for the very first
time. I knew *nothing*. I knew less than
nothing. I did not even have negative knowledge, I was so clueless.

But I raced home from work each day...to fool with the thing for countless
hours each day.
The first time Windows 95 booted up...I saw the start button and said to
myself: "Maybe start here?"
That was pretty much my ending.

Within about 6 months or so...I had also gotten a 386 with win3x on it...so
started going backwards rather
than forewords...going back and trying to learn all the stuff I missed in
all those years I had never looked at a computer.
I was going crazy. I was bringing old machines literally by the truckload
into my house and ripping them apart
and putting them back together. 286's 8088's even an old Kaypro running
CP/M.
 
T

thanatoid

"philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in
news:9oCdnSqzpeuo6YbVnZ2dnUVZ_qainZ2d@ntd.net:

> I seriously doubt that you are useless.

I like to do nice things for people, BION, but generally
speaking I am totally useless. It's a long sad story. I /can/
fix a lamp :)

> Though I go way
> back and took my first course in FORTRAN IV at Milwaukee
> School of Engineering back
> in 1968. I was *shocked* that punch cards were being used.

I still used them in the late 70's when I worked (summer job, I
never went ANYWHERE) in the registrar's office of my college.
The closest we got to computers at the time, until 1980 IIRC,
was an IBM Selectric with a tiny memory for mass "customized"
mailings etc.. That was pretty damn snazzy I thought! But you
still had to type in every address manually!

> It seemed absurd! Eleven years later when I went back to
> school to get additional education for my job,
> I was mortified that we were still using punch cards! It
> seemed insane. After constructing a 68000 based machine for
> one of my advanced courses...in May 1982
> or so...I eventually grew to HATE computers so much that I
> swore I would never touch one again.

Was it such an awful experience?

> I tossed my TV out and got a 1939 L.C Smith & Corona
> typewriter at a rummage sale
> for maybe $5 and fixed it up and got it working.

It's a peculiar coupling of events but while I have been
addicted to TV for most of my life, I must say reading and
writing are definitely mouch more valuable activities than being
a semi-vegetable (producers OR viewers).

> From then on I absolutely loathed computers...and the only
> thing I hated worse than computers
> were the people who used them.

Wow. I was pretty clueless at the time and my college was an art
school... The closest I got to a computer was a basic video
editying system and a video synthesizer - but that was analog to
begin with, and really not much of a computer. I remember
watching short analog computer graphics films (conisdered
valuable works of art) which the Whitney brothers (and others)
made at /great/ pains and then seeing almost EXACTLY the same
things in screen savers...

> I retreated inwardly to my own world and wrote non-stop for
> well over 12 years.(poetry and prose)

Impressive. Especially since as you know I have seen your
paintings and artwork and find them quite good.

> The first year it was all anger...but it took me many more
> years to get the anger out of my
> system. I had originally intended all my thoughts to be
> private...but eventually started going
> to poetry readings... I changed from an extreme introvert
> to an extreme extrovert...

I was always an introvert although I have performed on stage
about two dozen times (as actor and musician/singer). Frankly, I
don't know HOW I ever managed it. Now I think I would probably
have a heart attack if I just SAW a dressing room.

> and did performance poetry in Chicago on a regular basis.
> Did tons of poetry slams at the
> Green Mill in Chicago and let me tell you that was tough.
> There is absolutely nothing tougher!
> I ROAR with laughter if someone on Usenet tries to insult
> me. There is
> nothing like
> a live Chicago crowd out to kill you!

I totally understand.

> I've performed in Manhattan too...and finally pretty much
> retired from poetry
> when I finally won a poetry slam in Milwaukee!

Congratulations :)

> The highlight of my poetic career was in 1995... when I was
> invited to the Peace Museum in Chicago
> to read two of my poems at the commemoration of the ending
> of WW-II with the bombing of Nagasaki.
> The poem was deeply inspired by stories my father told
> me...as he was among the first US troops
> to go into the city after the bombing.

Wow. That must have been quite an experience for him.

> Through the poetry readings...I met my girlfriend Colleen.
> We have been engaged for many years...
> she has the ring...but since I am such an old fart...who
> knows when we will get married.

I don't think I have ever met more than MAYBE two couples where
at least one of them did not tell me in private that gettng
married destoyed their relationship. In MY case, just the
/suggestion/ of a marriage destroyed a relationship.

> Anyway...Colleen was the one who got me interested in
> computers when she gave me her old Packard Bell
> back in 1999. I was with her when she bought it new in 1995
> for $1600. I thought she was nuts!

That does sound a little expensive, even for those days. I
guesss it must have been that top-of-the line brand name!!!

> Since the machine was a freebie...I took it home and
> figured..might as well see what all this computer stuff is
> about. Then I go hooked. When she owned the machine I would
> never go near it, and if she ever wanted to show me
> something... I literally ran out of the room screaming.

I would have liked to see that /laughs/.

> So there I was alone at home watching Windows 95 boot up
> for the very first time. I knew *nothing*. I knew less than
> nothing. I did not even have negative knowledge, I was so
> clueless.
>
> But I raced home from work each day...to fool with the
> thing for countless hours each day.
> The first time Windows 95 booted up...I saw the start
> button and said to myself: "Maybe start here?"
> That was pretty much my ending.

It's horrible how these things have invisible yet SO powerful
tentacles, huh?

<SNIP>

> By early in the year 2000 I felt familiar enough with the
> machines to tell everyone that I had finally entered the
> 20th century... and with humor they pointed out to me that
> (popularly) it was now the 21st century. (Technically the
> 21st century did not begin until the year 2001...but even
> joining the 20th century on the very last year...was funny
> enough.

You will not be surprised to hear how many arguments I have had
with people about that. Of course all things start with one!
(Except AFA computers are concerned!)

> Then, after I had at least somewhat learned what I had
> missed...I went forward and upgraded that PB
> to win98...upgraded the CPU, RAM and harddrive...then
> installed Linux. Back in those days...getting a Linux
> distro installed was pretty tough...and it was a real
> challenge...but it taught me a hell of a lot in the
> process.

I had never even /heard/ of Linux then. The day MAY be
approaching though...

<SNIP>
> then he asked me something
> that was about a million times over my head. It was not for
> at least six more months that I was able to successfully
> compile a new kernel...and he had wanted to do so to enable
> some specialized hardware .

I will NEVER get that far. My father used to write computer
programs for the huge boxes at universities they used in the
60's and 70's (does the word mainframe apply to those?) to do
his psychological statistics calculations, but the closest I
ever came to programming was making an IBM PC (the one with 2 5¼
flopppies) draw a circle on the screen. It /was/ very
satisfying.

<SNIP>

> Every time I repair a machine...I look at
> it as a new opportunity to learn something. To me, it's a
> cheap education...way better than any college course I had
> ever taken. I went to school for more years than
> I'd care to admit...but learned much more on my own.

Same here.

> So if you want to learn about computers...get some old
> junkers. Even though I always end up formatting the drive
> and starting over from scratch...
> I have spent ages with old junk with horribly corrupted
> OS's on them and repairing them first.

You are much more inquisitive than I am... I tend to get really
nervous and sweaty when things get really hairy and prefer to
just start clean. And I have never "worked" with computers -
except when I did DTP and general office boy crap at my last
job, I /somehow/ quickly turned into the person who had to show
everyone how to use their computers. Yet I remained the lowest
paid person in the company. Even then I never built one, I was
just fairly good at software - I actually READ entire manuals
just on principle! The only actual "fixing" experience I've had
is with my 3 machines (the 3rd is an HP Vectra 486/66 which I
can't even remember last firing up - but it is built like a
tank!) and a few friends' machines - but that just leads to very
unpleasant "misunderstandings". I have sworn to myself to NEVER
help any friend again.

> When you have an old junk machine to experiment on...
> since you are not working with anything valuable...you can
> feel free to do anything you want. I only blew up one
> machine..and that was a 286 that was missing a power
> supply...and I tried to rewire one from a 486 and
> definitely got some wires crossed! Poof. OOPs I said...too
> bad <G>

:)

<SNIP>

>> I don't know what CLI is. I started with computers around
>> 1991 or so.
>> Ah.. would it be command line interpreter? (Mot that I
>> know any more than the name :)
>
> CLI ...command line interface Viz : dos or linux bash
> shell for example.
>
> In other words ...no GUI

Get it.

>> > So what do I do with the P-1's? If someone is using
>> > Win98 on the machine... I usually give them a choice.
>> > They can trade it up to a P-II or P-III... or else I
>> > simply take their existing win98 installation, clean it
>> > up and perhaps add some RAM and send them on their way.
>> >
>> > But that still leaves me with a number of P1's.
>> > I simply load a light Linux distro onto those.
>> > Generally, Damn Small Linux (heck I can put that on a
>> > 100 meg drive and have plenty of room to spare)... then
>> > offer the machines on Craig's list.

I never heard of that distro. Perhaps it is not as beginning-
user friendly as it is small?

> Well a lot of the machines are being recycled. I actually
> had a service call at a recycling center
> recently...and all the stuff is being stripped down, metal
> , plastic etc and being shipped to China. I found it hard
> to believe that it would be economically feasible...but I
> guess it is. Even the recycling center told me that the old
> CRT's can be a problem though.

I have always wondered - doesn't SHIPPING those millions of tons
of stuff, even on boats, cost ANYTHING? HOW cheap can it get?

> Woah, did I go on and on ...
> too much coffee I think. I should still be at work,
> but I went home early.

Good for you. I am guessing me you are a conscientious and hard
worker, but that a lot of your time is spent in just sitting and
watching things and making sure nothing screws up - /then/ you
spring into action like WonderWoman! (I hope you don't mind the
comparison.)
So you spend a fair amt. of time on the Usenet so you won't go
crazy from boredom. Or am I totally off?


--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
T

thanatoid

"philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in
news:uns5zsKrIHA.4716@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl:

This seems to be the 2nd part of the post I just replied to - it
DID show up in its entirety on my server.

> By early in the year 2000 I felt familiar enough with the
> machines to tell everyone that I had finally entered the

<SNIP>

--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
T

thanatoid

"philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in
news:eWjUzwKrIHA.2520@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl:

And this would be the...

> (First half of that message, server is truncating)
>
> I seriously doubt that you are useless. Though I go way
> back and took my first course in FORTRAN IV at Milwaukee

<SNIP>

I hope you get the reply (such as it is).

--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
F

Franc Zabkar

On 01 May 2008 07:46:52 GMT, thanatoid <waiting@the.exit.invalid> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>"MEB" <meb@not here@hotmail.com> wrote in
>news:#Wz0d30qIHA.3420@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl:
>
>> Not quite the same as the usual warnings from the
>> government, but which
>> should be realized by all users of the Internet.
>>
>> 21 April 2008
>>
>> One new infected webpage found every five seconds, reveals
>> latest Sophos Security Threat Report
>> US overtakes China as country hosting most infected
>> webpages
>>
>> http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/news/articles/2008/04/secr
>> ep08q1.html
>
>Yet another reason for using a 100% safe (sic) browser called
>OffByOne, which is not only faster than anything else except
>Lynx, but also spares you the delight of looking at most of what
>some morons, who also seem to believe "the more fonts, frames,
>and java popups instead of simple links, the better" apparently
>consider "good graphic design".

Nice lean browser (like Opera used to be), but I need Javascript to
access my modem/router's connect/disconnect page (it powers up in
disconnected mode, which I prefer):

http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/DSL-302G/MainPages/Quick_Configuration.htm

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
 
T

thanatoid

Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
news:m0np14hsticaj7tvqkr8t3f4lrc07mp2j0@4ax.com:

<SNIP>

> Nice lean browser (like Opera used to be), but I need
> Javascript to access my modem/router's connect/disconnect
> page (it powers up in disconnected mode, which I prefer):

I know nothing about BB and routers except that they won't do
much on this 95B machine - but I am in no hurry so I don't need
the speed in any case.

> http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/DSL-302G/MainPages/Quick_Co
> nfiguration.htm

For SOME reason I thought you were a dial-up user! All the
computers I have ever seen you mention were "vintage", shall we
say, and I /think/ I saw you mention a dial up modem as well.
But maybe you have LOTS of computers :)

I have to access a few Java (etc.) sites too (the curse!), and I
use Opera 7.23 for that. But 98% of the time I use Ob1.


--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
F

Franc Zabkar

On 04 May 2008 06:10:30 GMT, thanatoid <waiting@the.exit.invalid> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
>news:m0np14hsticaj7tvqkr8t3f4lrc07mp2j0@4ax.com:
>
><SNIP>
>
>> Nice lean browser (like Opera used to be), but I need
>> Javascript to access my modem/router's connect/disconnect
>> page (it powers up in disconnected mode, which I prefer):
>
>I know nothing about BB and routers except that they won't do
>much on this 95B machine - but I am in no hurry so I don't need
>the speed in any case.
>
>> http://www.users.on.net/~fzabkar/DSL-302G/MainPages/Quick_Co
>> nfiguration.htm
>
>For SOME reason I thought you were a dial-up user! All the
>computers I have ever seen you mention were "vintage", shall we
>say, and I /think/ I saw you mention a dial up modem as well.

I was a regular participant at comp.dcom.modems which means I answer a
lot of modem related questions.

>But maybe you have LOTS of computers :)

I have an old 486 (to support my device programmer), a 9-year-old
PCChips M571 socket 7 (for Internet), and an ECS L7S7A2 AMD 2500 XP
(for multimedia).

>I have to access a few Java (etc.) sites too (the curse!), and I
>use Opera 7.23 for that. But 98% of the time I use Ob1.

I finally worked out how to get around the lack of JS.

The modem's menu (http://10.1.1.1/MainPage?id=25) uses JS to construct
the following URIs:

http://10.1.1.1/Action?id=75&index=16&status=2&cmdSubmit=Disconnect
http://10.1.1.1/Action?id=75&index=16&status=1&cmdSubmit=Connect

I just enter these URIs directly. No need for JS.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
 
T

thanatoid

Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
news:duoq14dqnk7mqs743tpg5sqpk3fmsdlnat@4ax.com:

<SNIP>

> I have an old 486 (to support my device programmer), a
> 9-year-old PCChips M571 socket 7 (for Internet)

Cool! Are you sure that M571 machine is only 9 years old? My
machine was built in Sept. 1997 and I got the M571 (3 of them,
"spikes" were blamed) and then they gave me 5h3 572 which runs
beautifully till, as you can see. This is also my internet
machine.

>, and an ECS
> L7S7A2 AMD 2500 XP (for multimedia).
>
>>I have to access a few Java (etc.) sites too (the curse!),
>>and I use Opera 7.23 for that. But 98% of the time I use
>>Ob1.
>
> I finally worked out how to get around the lack of JS.
>
> The modem's menu (http://10.1.1.1/MainPage?id=25) uses JS
> to construct the following URIs:
>
> http://10.1.1.1/Action?id=75&index=16&status=2&cmdSubmit=Dis
> connect
> http://10.1.1.1/Action?id=75&index=16&status=1&cmdSubmit=Con
> nect
>
> I just enter these URIs directly. No need for JS.

Yes, after looking at some pages' "source" I noticed many JS
commands were just obfuscated links. Nothing like simplifying
things, huh? So I have on occasion been able to get around the
Java curse even in Ob1. Unfortunately for sites with LOTS of
complex JS commands and always-changing URL's 200 characters
long, like my bank, things get a little too complicated :)
Would be nice to just NOT have to deal with it, though.

Regards.


--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
F

Franc Zabkar

On 04 May 2008 17:24:53 GMT, thanatoid <waiting@the.exit.invalid> put
finger to keyboard and composed:

>Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
>news:duoq14dqnk7mqs743tpg5sqpk3fmsdlnat@4ax.com:
>
><SNIP>
>
>> I have an old 486 (to support my device programmer), a
>> 9-year-old PCChips M571 socket 7 (for Internet) ...
>
>Cool! Are you sure that M571 machine is only 9 years old? My
>machine was built in Sept. 1997 and I got the M571 (3 of them,
>"spikes" were blamed) and then they gave me 5h3 572 which runs
>beautifully till, as you can see. This is also my internet
>machine.

The M571 went through several reincarnations. Mine is V7.0A which
supports a Vcore of 2.2V required by AMD's K6-2 CPUs. Yours may have
been the V1.3/3.2/3.2A which were limited to 2.5V out of the box, but
I know the V3.2/3.2A could be hacked to support 2.2V. There was also a
more recent M571MLR version. I bought my M571 either in 1999 or late
1998.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.
 
T

thanatoid

Franc Zabkar <fzabkar@iinternode.on.net> wrote in
news:6q4s14p1gl94m0ko954ae3klvk63etphph@4ax.com:

<SNIP>

>>Cool! Are you sure that M571 machine is only 9 years old?
>>My machine was built in Sept. 1997 and I got the M571 (3 of
>>them, "spikes" were blamed) and then they gave me 5h3 572
>>which runs beautifully till, as you can see. This is also
>>my internet machine.
>
> The M571 went through several reincarnations. Mine is V7.0A
> which supports a Vcore of 2.2V required by AMD's K6-2 CPUs.
> Yours may have been the V1.3/3.2/3.2A which were limited to
> 2.5V out of the box, but I know the V3.2/3.2A could be
> hacked to support 2.2V. There was also a more recent
> M571MLR version. I bought my M571 either in 1999 or late
> 1998.
>
> - Franc Zabkar

Your knowledge never ceases to astound me.

Best regards.
t.


--
Of course, it is no easy matter to be polite in so far, I mean,
as it requires us to show great respect for everybody, whereas
most people deserve none at all and again in so far as it
demands that we should feign the most lively interest in people,
when we must be very glad that we have nothing to do with them.

- Arthur Schopenhauer
 
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