CAN-SPAM is a BUST

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Well, duh. In what had to be one of the dumbest attempts to control spam, our government passed the CAN-SPAM law, which placed requirements on spammers to have verifiable return addresses, use opt-out lists, etc. This story, posted on Yahoo, reports that the law is a total bust. Non-compliance fell, meaning that just over 1/2 percent of spammers are actually following the law. Of course, the other 99.5 percent just aren’t bothering.

Folks, this is going to require a technological solution. I’ve implemented whitelists and a challenge/response system. It’s not pretty, but it works. Spam is too cheap to go away, so e-mail recipients are going to have to implement systems and demand that their e-mail service providers do the same.

iPods to Duke Students

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This article shows some of Apple’s incredible innovation in the education market. Duke University will distribute iPods to students along with a special copy of iTunes, where students will be able to get educational materials as well as purchase music.

By the way, after finally purchasing an iPod myself, I found myself disappointed that Apple dropped the price about $100 on their newest iPod. Once again, I paid a premium to get the device early.

Intentional Reference in Matrix Reloaded to the “Father of the Internet”?

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I recently saw Matrix Reloaded (yes, I waited until the DVD came out) and almost fell off my seat when watching the scene where the Architect is introduced. Although this reference would probably be considered very unlikely to be recognized by many individuals, I couldn’t help but notice a striking resemblance between The Architect and Dr. Vint Cerf, the individual generally regarded as the “Father of the Internet”. I’ve had the pleasure and honor to meet with Dr. Cerf on a few occasions and I’ve heard him speak several times now at different functions and the similarities are striking. While their appearances are somewhat similar, what really hit me was the similarity in their mannerisms, tone of voice, and general conduct.

Amazing.

So I haven’t actually listened to the director’s commentary on the DVD yet, but I plan on jumping over to that scene and checking to see if anything is said about it in the file. When I googled the subject, I found nothing.

This image, below, is a scene from the movie with the Architect. Inset is a photo of Dr. Cerf. You can judge for yourself.

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Manufacturer to Produce Portable XM Player

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I’m a big believer in XM, but this story about Cambridge Soundworks producing a portable XM receiver just caused images of the South Park episode “Cartman Gets An Anal Probe” to run through my head. I’m sure it’ll be great when it appears on the market, but I just can’t help thinking about where that satellite antenna will have to be installed :-).