Re: Incoherent E-mails

From: BillW50 (BillW50_at_aol.kom)
Date: 10/15/05

  • Next message: Theo: "Re: Plug-in USB hardware device captures keystrokes on Mac and PC USB keyboards." 
    Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 21:42:28 GMT

    "Moe Trin" <ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld> wrote in message
    news:slrndl2o8v.6nm.ibuprofin@compton.phx.az.us...
    Date: Sat, 15 Oct 2005 15:05:54 -0500

    > In the Usenet newsgroup alt.computer.security, in article
    > <zIR3f.2561$tV6.223@newssvr27.news.prodigy.net>, BillW50 wrote:
    >
    > >Hi Moe... It must have been along time since you have either Updated
    > >a Windows machine or actually had used one.
    >
    > Yup - got rid of that crap in 1992. It's so much easier when the
    > staff at the non-profit I occasionally help (who knows I'm working
    > on computers) comes by wailing about the latest mall-ware
    > infestation and is asking for help - sorry, I don't do windoze.

    Funny Moe... I hated Windows and I wouldn't have it until '93. My father
    purchased a Windows 3.1 machine and wanted me to help him set it up. And
    I found it quite pleasing and went out and bought the same machine as he
    did. And I've been happy ever since. In fact, I still enjoy working on a
    Windows 3.1 machine. <grin>

    Before Windows 3.1, I've used mostly character based OS. Although I was
    a big GEOS fan before my first Windows 3.1 experience. Although the GEOS
    people had MS beat, but then sat on their butts and they didn't improve
    it. And they waited for third parties to make applications for it. Later
    they blamed MS for their failure. How dumb!

    And while I believe you actually don't always have to have experience to
    be some sort of expert with a given subject. But in this case, I believe
    you are in trouble. As you have no idea whether the reports of Windows
    problems are really do to Windows or not. Believe it or not, most have
    nothing to do with bugs within the software at all.

    > Funny how the two servers I've set up for them (which _don't_ run
    > windoze) just keep on working.

    All of my Windows machines are also doing well and keeps on working.
    Say, did you know Linus Torvalds secretly runs Windows? Yup, he says so
    right in his book. I guess his own Linux isn't as productive (and fun)
    as Windows.

    > >As this used to be MS' SOP, but now they lock them down tight (since
    > >the XP SP2 anyway).
    >
    > So - all of the problems reported on Bugtraq must refer to earlier
    > versions. Funny that it doesn't look that way.

    I don't know what Bugtraq is saying, but I would guess some have gone in
    their settings and turned off all of the safeguards so everything will
    work. Unfortunately, including the viruses, trojans, etc. But that is
    the users fault, now isn't it?

    > >The tradeoff of course is that newbies can't get anything to work
    > >anymore.
    >
    > I dunno - last month or so when there was yet another worm problem,
    > the local news radio station has a quick interview with the klowns
    > who run the weekly computer help show (actually, they run a chain
    > of stores here in the Phoenix metro area) who are telling people to
    > get the latest virus update, but they _still_ are recommending
    > people not get SP-2 because of all the things it breaks.

    Well I also agree with that thought. Get the updates, but stay away from
    SP2. Some like SP2 and some don't. Maybe better, stay away from XP if
    you can help it and use Windows 2000 instead.

    > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8859-1
    >
    > I've never considered them an authority.

    So what are you saying? The members who controls the ISO-8859-1 standard
    hasn't moved on to bigger and better things?

    > >I use HTML email when I need to use tables, bullets, newsletters,
    > >pictures, etc. It's all part of the MIME standard.
    >
    > Actually you should check the standards documents - MIME is _still_
    > a draft standard (RFC2045 - 2049) - even though it's been through
    > several re-writes (RFC1341 - June 1992, RFC1521 - Sept. 1993) and
    > the current drafts from November 1996).

    Every RFC document seems to me to be a draft standard. Is it just me?

    > I also use a simple filter on the mail server to reject any HTML mail
    > before it's accepted for delivery by the server.

    You could do what I do. View most (or in your case all) HTML messages as
    ASCII. No not with the HTML tags and all, but all tags stripped out and
    just the plain ASCII text comes through. In fact, Outlook Express v6
    does this with an update. Very simple to use.

    Other email programs do the same thing. It's one thing to use an emailer
    that can't display HTML email (which I don't understand why one would
    want to). But to be able to, but delete them without reading doesn't
    make any sense to me (unless they are spam).

    > >Plain text is about 50 years old now.
    >
    > Oh, really?

    Yup, the ASCII standard is about 50 years old now. Remember daisywheel
    printers? I still have one. Ah life before GUI. <grin>

    > >It is time for some to quit hanging on to the old past. As it only
    > >makes one ill.
    >
    > I've yet to see a convincing need for HTML - thanks to

    I had a discussion with an old friend of mine who used a character based
    OS (non-GUI) and stated there was no need for a color monitor (he didn't
    have one for starters). And you sound a lot like him IMHO. Anyway when
    I'm using a character based OS, I love color monitors. As the colorful
    menus allows one to make things easier to find. Same is true for HTML
    email as well. And all of this linking sure beats plain text only
    messages.

    > >As modern computers have more power than yesteryear's mainframes. It
    > >is time some people actually start using all of that computing power
    > >and stop wasting it.
    >
    > Apparently you feel it necessary to use that computing power to
    > draw pictures of words - I only need to see the words themselves in
    > raw text. I really do find other uses for my CPU cycles.

    Making things easier to see and understand are fine uses of CPU time. As
    let the computer do most of the work while you relax a bit. That makes
    sense to me.

    > >> Some of us don't use microsoft products
    >
    > >And some of us do and we also have used other OS in our time as
    > >well. And there is nothing wrong with Microsoft products per se.
    >
    > Then you are welcome to use them. Just don't expect everyone else to,
    > and don't expect others not to laugh at this.

    Those that laugh don't actually realize that the joke is actually on
    them. I'll use any OS and have. And Windows isn't worse than the others
    out there in reality.

    > >Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD under Windows 2000)
    > >-- written and edited within WordStar 5.0
    >
    > Never got into WordStar - but if that's all you are touting, there

    No I also use other word processors and text editors as well. Although
    WordStar v5 (didn't care for later versions, yes I have them too) and MS
    Word 2000 are my favorites for editing and composing ASCII text. And I
    have created macros (which launch with hotkeys) for each to make this
    task a blast! Remember; let the computer do the work.

    > are a number of applications that emulate it, and run on many other
    > operating systems. One example might be 'jed' which runs on
    > anything that can have the 'slang' library (DOS, doze, OS/2, old
    > and new Mac/OS, VAX/VMS, UNIX and clones such as *BSD and Linux).
    >
    > Old guy

    Yes, I've seen these before. Well a program which uses the WordStar CTRL
    command set doesn't make it like WordStar (WordStar for Windows isn't
    like the old WordStar either). They are completely different and don't
    work the same. Some of them do come close like VDE, but the original
    WordStar is still better IMHO. But thanks for the tip. Oh I also use
    WordStar on my old CP/M machines as well. Yet oddly enough, the first
    code was written on a 6502 CPU. Although I don't know of any version
    that actually ran on a 6502. CP/M and DOS versions were the most
    popular.

    ______________________________________________
    Bill (using a Toshiba 2595XDVD & Windows 2000)
    -- written and edited within Word 2000

  • Next message: Theo: "Re: Plug-in USB hardware device captures keystrokes on Mac and PC USB keyboards."