Spam ala Orange
New "Expert" Search
Everybody's Doin' It
Ban the Spam
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Spam ala Orange (*)
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Spamgourmet.com
While Hormel's versatile product might provide opportunities for amusement, e-mail spam is no joke. In addition to being annoying, distracting, and a bandwidth-clogger, spam or unsolicited commercial email (UCE) is really tough to get rid of once you are on the list. While many spam messages provide victims with an option to be removed from the list, this is many times only a ploy to confirm that they have a "live" e-mail address - then the onslaught really begins! There are ways to get around spam - don't post your e-mail address on the Internet, maintain multiple e-mail addresses/accounts for discussion lists and site registrations, create in-box rules, or use filtering software at the user or server level. But wouldn't it be nice if you could set up a self-destructing, disposable e-mail address? Now you can, thanks to Spamgourmet.com!
Spamgourmet.com is a free Internet service that allows users to create "self-destructing disposable email addresses, [with] titanium strength spam blocking, [and a] very short learning curve". Spamgourmet's software is open source and the language used on the website is rather informal. While the service is very easy to set up and use, it is probably not for the e-mail/Internet novice. Users are encouraged to read both the instructions and the FAQ before creating a disposable e-mail address in order to make educated use of the system and its available options. For instance, the FAQ reveals an optional domain name so if "@spamgourmet.com" seems a little too cheeky you can use antichef.com, antichef.net, neverbox.com, or recursor.net. After reading the instructions and the FAQ, if you still have questions or comments you can participate in the web forums for features or support.
How does a disposable, self-destructing e-mail address help eliminate spam? Websites often require "free registration" to access in-depth information or to participate in an online demonstration. Even if you had time to read the Privacy statement, you know that at the very least the company will be sending you information from time to time (for instance, recently Yahoo! changed their marketing preference options for all registered users with the default reset as "yes" for all Yahoo! Marketing - users will be notified by e-mail). Perhaps you purchase an item from Ebay or another online auction and prefer not to provide your permanent e-mail address to the seller or the service, or maybe you sign up for a discussion list with web-based online archives which expose your posts and your e-mail address - the reasons to have a "disposable" e-mail address continue to mount. Spamgourmet's offers several options to keep your in-box spam free.
The service has two modes - the "No Brainer" and the "Advanced". New users create a username and password and enter the e-mail address where he wants to receive messages. In the "No Brainer" mode that is it - you can log off the site and never go back, creating disposable addresses hither thither. Every time you give your e-mail address to an insecure or unknown source, you use your disposable address, someword.#.username@spamgourmet.com , where "someword" is anything you want, "#" is the number of times you want to receive e-mail at this e-mail address (the limit is 20), and the username you used to sign up with Spamgourmet. For example, your address could be "monkeysee.5.monkeydo@spamgourmet.com". This e-mail address will only be used 5 times before it "self-destructs" and anything else sent to it will be immediately and permanently deleted. If you prefer some interaction and more options, choose the "Advanced" mode tab. By clicking onto
the advanced tab users can view a list of their disposable addresses, add a trusted sender, or edit addresses by changing the number of remaining messages, etc. These advanced options allow a tremendous amount of flexibility and can eliminate the need for a second web-based e-mail account for your discussion lists (which eventually gets too full of spam anyway).
Spamgourmet's software is available for free download to be used by other Websites or by an organization. For website developers, Spamgourmet also offers an Address Scrambler, "another JavaScript-based email address shield against spam harvester-bots. This version is for static web pages, and has a handy "helper page" that will generate the necessary inline JavaScript code for you." Needless to say, you'll never get any e-mail from Spamgourmet - they don't even keep your username and password, so if you forget them you will need to recreate you login information. Spamgourmet is a mouth watering triumph in the fine art of spam removal. Looks delicious!
Catherine S. Reach
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The New "Expert" Search: Teoma
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Teoma.com
Teoma is a new search engine with Google in its sights. Both engines offer search results based on the subject relevance of the indexed Web documents, which is related to the number of other pages on the Web that link to the indexed page. Teoma's difference is two-fold. First, the search results bring back a list of relevant hits (and those omnipresent "sponsored" links) but supplements those with a short subject listing of related topics, and a resources listing of resources from "experts and enthusiasts". Second, the relevance of the retrieved pages is not based solely on the number of links to a page. Instead, Teoma claims that the pages that link to the indexed page. Teoma is owned by Askjeeves.com.
A recent article in the New York Times (free subscription required) announced the debut of Teoma. Visitors to Teoma, which means expert in Gaelic, will see a search engine similar in feel to Google. The interfaces are both very streamlined, with a simple graphic, search box, and links to tips and other resources. Altavista tried this with its Raging search but has since back tracked, and the site now takes you to Altavista's "text only" search engine! Teoma's simplicity belies the detailed results that appear when a search query returns.
The results, while they appear impressive, did not necessarily hold up to scrutiny. Identical searches of the phrases "american bar association" and "legal technology resource center" brought back quite different results when run on Teoma and Google. The latter's results were more relevant and consistent. Searching Teoma for american bar association without quotation marks, and not invoking the Find this phrase feature, brought back different results from the original search. Google's results were nearly the same, with or without quotes. In addition, Teoma's Resources links, while handy, do not appear to be as relevant as the Google Directory (a.k.a. the Open Directory), when it returns appropriate links. The impression is that Teoma is trying awfully hard to fill space whether or not the results are terribly relevant or not.
The promise of Teoma's technology to return only pages with high, substantive, relevance should enhance searching for research and information that hinges on its substantive content, like that used by the legal profession. It will be interesting to watch Teoma develop and see how other search engines respond.
David Whelan
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Everybody's Doing It - Intranet Envy
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Are you a portal veteran or contemplating a leap in the great intranet unknown? There is a wealth of information on intranets and portals that is freely available on the Internet. This information can help you develop an intranet or to better utilize an existing one. We are going to look at three web sites that can benefit users in various stages of intranet development.
- A Site for all Seasons
The Complete Intranet Resource (TIR) is a beautiful mess of a web site. If users can get past its sloppy design, they can find a wealth of diverse information. This web site's stated goal is to provide, "visitors with resources that will help them research, plan, design and implement Intranets". Among its many features, the Complete Intranet Resource boasts an intranet cost calculator, a popular web board, and suggested intranet publishing policies. Most of TIR's valuable content is stored in its toolbar on the left hand side of the page. Users would be wise to check out the 10 Top Pages section of the toolbar. The Complete Intranet Resource is a valuable tool for users at any stage of intranet implementation.
- Need a Plan?
Looking for a theoretical take on intranets? Need a case study on a portal implementation? LLRX's section on Intranets and Knowledge Management is an excellent place to look. LLRX is an online research and technology journal written by legal and library professionals. Its Intranets/Knowledge Management Resource Center is extremely well organized. Users can access LLRX articles and case studies and favorite links on the main page. The left side of the page is devoted to relevant articles
from other web sites. This is an excellent resource for users looking for information that is devoid of techno speak. LLRX's content gets its message across without relying on such language.
- Portal Professionals
Intranet Journal is a valuable web site for tech savvy users with established intranets. This site is managed by Earthweb and describes itself as the "independent guide to the intranet". The journal contains useful articles about firewalls, content management concerns, and implementation. The side toolbar divides the site's content into subject categories: security, software & standards, best practices, knowledge management, and many others. This happily allows users to skip over the content heavy home page. It also boasts a glossary and a very useful FAQ. Outside of those two sections, beginners will find many of the journal's articles to be over their heads.
Molly Kilmer
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Ban the Spam
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Junkbusters
Full of hints about how to get rid of unwanted solicitations, this Web site will help you eliminate unwanted telephone calls, spam, junk mail, and Internet ads from your life. Organized logically, the topics addressed by this site are telemarketing calls, junk e-mail, junk mail, data about you, and web ads.
Once you click on a topic, you are taken to a list of suggestions that will help you get rid of that particular nuisance. For example, one step you can take is to fill out a form letter and send it to the offending solicitor. This service, called Junkbusters Declare, is free and provides form letters that you can use. To fight back against spam, Junkbusters gives you a sample response that you can send to the guilty party.
Other resources include links to related Web sites, contact information for major resellers of personal data, and downloadable software that blocks web ads. With the tools provided at this Web site, you can empty your inbox, mailbox, and voicemail of unwanted interruptions. When the spam is banned, you can focus on living your life and not on telemarketing nuisances.
Evie Kalnins
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