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-
- Computer underground Digest Sun Oct 6, 1996 Volume 8 : Issue 71
- ISSN 1004-042X
-
- Editor: Jim Thomas (cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu)
- News Editor: Gordon Meyer (gmeyer@sun.soci.niu.edu)
- Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
- Shadow Master: Stanton McCandlish
- Field Agent Extraordinaire: David Smith
- Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
- Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
- Ian Dickinson
- Cu Digest Homepage: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
-
- CONTENTS, #8.71 (Sun, Oct 6, 1996)
- File 1--Defamation and web site addresses
- File 2--ELEMENTS OF THE NEW CRYPTO PROPOSAL
- File 3--The fictive environment of DoD infowar kooks
- File 4--(Fwd) Cybercast of GA HB1630 Press Conference
- File 5--Re: Microsoft lies, damned lies, and statistics
- File 6--Re: Microsoft lies, damned lies, and statistics (in CuD)
- File 7--Response to Michael Bernard/Microsoft's Methodology
- File 8--Channel WoW Broadcasts Live ON THE Internet
- File 9--Re: Call for Papers: The Jrnl of IWAR Intel. Acquisition
- File 10--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 Apr, 1996)
-
-
- CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION ApPEARS IN
- THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Date: 3 Oct 1996 14:55:41 +1000
- From: "Brian Martin" <Brian_Martin@UOW.EDU.AU>
- Subject: File 1--Defamation and web site addresses
-
- Defamation and web site addresses
-
- Brian Martin
-
- This is the story of how a university administration, by
- threatening to sue for defamation, was able to deter the mass media
- from publishing a web site address.
-
- Earlier this year I publicised the address of a site on the web
- where information can be obtained about a case involving Dr David
- Rindos and the University of Western Australia. As a result, the
- university threatened to sue me and several media outlets for
- republishing a defamation. What we published was not defamatory
- material itself but a web address where it was possible to read
- material that the university alleged was defamatory.
-
- The information in question concerns the denial of tenure to Dr
- David Rindos at the University of Western Australia. Hugh Jarvis,
- who was concerned about the case, set up a web site which includes
- a large number of documents about it, especially copies of letters,
- submissions and newspaper articles. The site is located at the
- State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo.
-
- I have been following the Rindos-UWA case for some years and
- written a few letters about it. In May two similar letters of mine
- appeared, one in the Australian (8 May 1996, p. 41), a national
- daily newspaper with a higher education supplement each Wednesday,
- and the other in Campus Review (8-14 May 1996, p. 8) , a national
- weekly newspaper. Here is the letter published in Campus Review
- under the title "Threat to autonomy."
-
- "THE West Australian parliament has set up an inquiry into the
- events surrounding the denial of tenure to Dr David Rindos by the
- University of WA.
-
- "It has been reported that the Australian Vice-Chancellors'
- Committee sees this inquiry to be a threat to autonomy.
-
- "But sometimes 'university autonomy' can be at the expense of other
- interests. In the numerous cases of whistleblowing and suppression
- of dissent that I have studied, internal procedures seldom have
- delivered justice. Universities are little different from other
- organisations in this regard.
-
- "When an academic exposes some problem such as favouritism,
- plagiarism or sexual abuse, it is common for senior academics and
- administrators to close ranks and squelch open discussion. A more
- enlightened response would be for the university to put its house
- in order. If the University of WA had set up a truly independent
- inquiry, with experts from the outside, the present parliamentary
- inquiry probably would have been unnecessary.
-
- "The Senate Select Committee on Unresolved Whistleblower Cases
- reported in October last year. In relation to higher education, it
- commented as follows: 'The committee heard allegations of
- destruction of documents, alteration of documents, fabricated
- complaints concerning work performance and harassment of the
- individuals concerned. Such allegations raise concerns about the
- ethical standards within institutions and attitudes to outside
- review. The committee concedes that there is a need for outside
- review to be balanced against the autonomy of academic
- institutions. However, autonomy cannot be allowed to override
- responsibility to academic staff as well as students.'
-
- "Since a web page has been set up about the Rindos case
- (http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~hjarvis/rindos.html), readers can
- judge the issue for themselves without relying on the AVCC." [end
- of letter]
-
- On 15 May, I received a letter from the legal firm Freehill
- Hollingdale & Page acting for UWA. Their letter stated that the
- material on the web site "contains statements which are defamatory
- of members of our client's [UWA] academic and administrative staff,
- including the Vice-Chancellor and at least one Professor. By
- publishing the address of the web site, you have both drawn the
- attention of others to it and have provided the means by which the
- defamatory material posted on the site may be viewed. That
- constitutes a re-publication of the defamation." They stated
- further that unless I refrained from publishing anything containing
- the web site address, UWA "will be forced to consider recommending
- to its staff members that action be taken against you." I
- understand that similar letters were sent to the Australian, Campus
- Review, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Hugh Jarvis
- and SUNY.
-
- If it is defamatory to refer people to a site that contains
- allegedly defamatory material, then by the same logic all sorts of
- everyday recommendations could be considered defamatory. A large
- web site can have as many words as a book, a newspaper, or large
- collection of documents. By analogy, the following actions could be
- considered defamatory:
-
- * recommending that someone reads a newspaper or magazine;
-
- * encouraging someone to read a book;
-
- * referring someone to a section of a library;
-
- * suggesting that someone reads the graffiti along a train line;
-
- * telling someone to read documents in the drawer of a filing
- cabinet;
-
- * citing a source as a footnote in a scholarly article.
-
- There is a further difference. In some of these cases, such as
- newspapers, defamation has been proved. It is only alleged that the
- Rindos web site contains defamatory material.
-
- From the beginning, UWA's threats seemed to me to be bluffs
- intended to deter further publicising of the web address by the
- mass media, especially during the course of the WA parliamentary
- inquiry, but unlikely to be followed through with writs and
- appearances in court. These bluffs seem to have worked, for the
- most part.
-
- According to ABC journalist Jane Figgis, after she broadcast a
- programme giving the web site address, UWA contacted the ABC, which
- removed the reference from the repeat broadcast. I sent letters to
- the Australian and Campus Review telling about the UWA threat. The
- Australian did not publish my letter. Campus Review took a stronger
- line. The editor, Warren Osmund, published my letter (though
- removing the web site address) and refused to agree to UWA's
- demand.
-
- Meanwhile, Hugh Jarvis quite properly asked UWA officials what
- particular material on his site was defamatory, and invited UWA to
- present its own point of view. According to Jarvis, UWA has not
- responded to these overtures, instead merely reiterating its
- general threat to sue. This is compatible with my impression that
- UWA's threats are bluffs.
-
- For distributing messages, the net provides an alternative to the
- mass media. As well as sending letters to the two newspapers, I
- composed a general message, including the text of my first Campus
- Review letter, and sent it first to Forums & Debates at the
- University of Wollongong (which gets to nearly all staff) and then
- to various others whom I thought would be interested. In my message
- I encouraged individuals to send copies to others: "If you are
- concerned about this attempt by UWA officials to inhibit open
- discussion, you can send a copy of this message to others who might
- be interested."
-
- As a result of this initiative, I received quite a few supportive
- messages. Several individuals set up links from their own web
- sites to the Rindos web site and wrote letters informing the
- Vice-Chancellor of UWA of this. Others informed me that they
- forwarded my message to numerous other people. Thus, by alerting
- people to UWA defamation threat, the information about the Rindos
- web site was circulated widely. As well, journalists in Perth (the
- home of UWA) have written stories about UWA's actions. I put a
- version of this article, including text of various letters, on my
- own web site, which deals with suppression of dissent
- (http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/bmartin/dissent/). Hugh Jarvis also
- has an account on his Rindos/UWA site
- ((http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~hjarvis/rindos.html).
-
- UWA's threats may have deterred some of the mass media but have had
- little impact on users of the net. As web access grows, UWA's
- threats may in the longer term turn out to generate the very
- publicity that UWA officials seem most anxious to suppress.
-
- Brian Martin
- Science and Technology Studies
- University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
- email: brian_martin@uow.edu.au
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 02:02:48 -0400 (EDT)
- From: Voters Telecommunications Watch <shabbir@vtw.org>
- Subject: File 2--ELEMENTS OF THE NEW CRYPTO PROPOSAL
-
- VTW BillWatch #60
-
- VTW BillWatch: A newsletter tracking US Federal legislation
- affecting civil liberties. BillWatch is published about every
- week as long as Congress is in session. (Congress is in session)
-
- BillWatch is produced and published by the
- Voters Telecommunications Watch (vtw@vtw.org)
-
- Issue #60, Date: Tue Oct 1 01:59:19 EDT 1996
-
- Do not remove this banner. See distribution instructions at the end.
- ----------------------------------------------
-
- ELEMENTS OF THE NEW CRYPTO PROPOSAL
-
- Strap yourself in, friends. The White House is at it again.
-
- On Thursday October 3, the White House will unveil it's long-dreaded
- encryption proposal. The cause of some significant consternation among
- Administration staffers, the proposal has been so long in coming that
- Justice officials attending hearings last week on H.R. 3011 were visibly
- annoyed at being left to twist in the wind.
-
- Leaks abound right before a big announcement like this, but this time
- everyone with a copy of the proposal has kept mum these last few days.
- However the press has caught bits and pieces of it which we've collected
- for you here. If you're an absolute crypto-media-hound, this may not be
- news to you.
-
- MOVE OF EXPORT APPROVALS FROM STATE TO COMMERCE, FBI VETO POWER
- For years, companies have attempted to get their encryption products
- through an easier, more lenient export process in the Department of
- Commerce, instead of State. Approval in Commerce goes quickly, and
- the hurdles are less formidable. Clearly, this should be a good thing.
-
- However the deal that's been floating around for several weeks now is
- that this move will not be this easy. The Department of Justice,
- (or as Brock Meeks translates, the FBI) wants a seat at the table. In
- effect, they want veto power over export applications. The assumption
- is that they feel they can influence the domestic encryption market to
- integrate Clipper-style key escrow technology by simply refusing the
- export of any strong encryption products that might have previously been
- approved in State.
-
- This is bad news for companies that have no customer base demanding
- government-friendly key escrow products.
-
- KEY LENGTH RAISED TO 56 OR 64 BITS PROVIDED IT USES KEY ESCROW
- This aspect of the proposal looks like old news, and to a certain extent,
- it is. The Clipper II proposal suggested that the industry build hooks
- into their products so that third parties could hold your keys for you.
- Of course, that third party cannot be yourself, or anyone you would think
- of when you think of entities you trust.
-
- Thursday's proposal is likely to look a lot like Clipper II, and it will
- likely cite the new IBM offering, SuperCrypto, as an example of products
- that employ key escrow to allow export of products that use higher length
- keys. What isn't certain is the extent to which key lengths will be raised.
- There have been several conflicting rumors, some of them claiming 56 bits,
- others claiming 64 bits.
-
- More important than the question of key length will be the determination of
- which companies are allowed to hold their own keys. This author predicts
- that the only entities that will be allowed to hold keys will be: a gov't
- agency (such as NIST), the maker of the encryption product itself, or
- large companies that have the significant resources to run a key recovery
- center. In all cases, the key recovery centers will still need to be
- seperate entities that will dole out keys to law enforcement without the
- knowledge of the key's owner.
-
- In other words, you as an individual or small business are still out of luck.
-
- PROBABLY NOT IN PLAN: KEY LENGTH RAISED TO 56 BITS WITHOUT KEY ESCROW
- It has long been rumored that the avalanche of proof provided by the industry
- experts would eventually force the Administration to raise the key length
- for which unescrowed encryption products could be exported. Currently,
- this limit is 40 bits, but several rumors floated and died within the
- last few weeks suggesting that the Administration would be raising the
- key length. It now looks like those were indeed just rumors.
-
- SUMMARY
- Most of these measures, if not all of them, can be implemented
- administratively removing the need for Congress to get involved. However
- Congress has already staked out its turf on this issue, and isn't likely
- to cede that any time soon. Keep an eye out for the reactions from sponsors
- of S.1726 (Pro-CODE) and HR 3011 on the feasibility White House proposal.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 13:48:15 -0500 (CDT)
- From: Crypt Newsletter <crypt@sun.soci.niu.edu>
- Subject: File 3--The fictive environment of DoD infowar kooks
-
- The September 8-15 issue of Defense News magazine featured an
- article on information warfare kooks at the Pentagon and elsewhere
- in the western world. Coming together at the National Computer Security
- Association's annual InfoWar Con in Washington, DC, various political
- and military attaches were quoted making amusing and fantastic
- claims by reporter Pat Cooper.
-
- One of the best examples was given by the Australian embassy's defense
- attache in Washington, air vice marshal Brendan O'Loghlin. O'Loghlin
- was reported to say information warfare could be used to destroy enemy
- computers through the release or deployment of computer viruses into
- foreign networks.
-
- Of course, this will feed more computer virus myths on the effectiveness
- of trivial replicating programs as weapons. It also overlooks the
- problem of "blowback," or what happens when a military option imposed
- on an enemy blows back over friendly borders and becomes a menace at
- home.
-
- Indeed, the entire history of computer viruses shows their epidemiology
- is no respecter of diplomatic treaties, allies, or international borders.
- Spread of computer viruses is by practical definition uncontrollable.
-
- Does this mean a branch of the Australian military is actually thinking
- about writing computer viruses or procuring them as potential weapons?
- Hard to say.
-
- But it does raise the question why a politico-military appointee in the
- Australian diplomatic corps isn't censured by his home office for
- spouting such arrant stupidity in a high profile public forum.
-
- Another trenchant quote was provided to Cooper by Marine General John
- Sheehan, head man at Atlantic Command in Norfolk, VA. Sheehan said
- he was getting involved in information warfare because "We don't
- want to get our butts kicked by a bunch of long-haired 26-year-olds
- with earrings."
-
- And the world of infowar kooks is not without its own evolving jargon,
- too, where old phenomena and plans evolve into new words that make no
- sense but which serve to hide spoiled old wine in new bottles.
-
- One of the better terms Crypt has seen is "fictive environment."
- Coined by infowar kooks at the Air Force College of Aerospace Doctrine
- at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, a "fictive environment" is
- one created when the U.S. military spams a bogus electronic press
- (or a radio or TV broadcast) release on Saddam Hussein kissing a pig
- into, say, the Iraqi communications network. This used to be called
- psychological operations but information warfare kooks have cleverly
- renamed it "fictive environment," perhaps to avoid being downsized
- when the psy-ops budget is cut.
-
- Of course, information warfare kooks in the U.S. military believe
- such a stunt would discredit enemy leaders in the eyes of their troops,
- causing foreign soldiers to march to our side -- or at least be gripped
- by indecision. The U.S., say the information warfare kooks, is
- immune to a "fictive environment" since we have an open society and
- no one ever gets taken in by bogus news stories on computer networks
- or television broadcasts. The skeptical reader is forgiven for wondering
- what planet Department of Defense information warfare kooks have been
- living on.
-
- Crypt Newsletter
- http://www.soci.niu.edu/~crypt
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 20:21:34 +0000
- From: David Smith <bladex@bga.com>
- Subject: File 4--(Fwd) Cybercast of GA HB1630 Press Conference
-
- ------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
- RealAudio Live broadcast of the press conference is available at
- http://www.efga.org/realaudio/hb1630.htm at 10:30 am EST (NY) from Atlanta
- Georgia.
- -------------------------------------
- Joint News Release:
-
- AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
- ELECTRONIC FRONTIERS GEORGIA
- REP. MITCHELL KAYE
-
- Groups Challenge Georgia Law
- Restricting Free Speech in Cyberspace
-
-
- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
-
- September 24, 1996
-
- Contacts:
-
- Teresa Nelson, ACLU of Georgia, 404-523-6201
- Robert Costner, EFGA, 770-512-8746
- Mitchell Kaye, 770-998-2399
- Emily Whitfield, Nat'l ACLU, 212-944-9800
-
- ATLANTA--The American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontiers Georgia,
- Georgia State Representative Mitchell Kaye and others today filed a lawsuit
- seeking a preliminary injunction against a Georgia statute restricting free
- speech in cyberspace.
-
- At a news conference here, the groups said that the law is
- unconstitutionally vague and overbroad because it bars online users from
- using pseudonyms or communicating anonymously over the Internet. The Act
- also unconstitutionally restricts the use of links on the World Wide Web,
- which allow users to connect to other sites.
-
- "Fundamental civil liberties are as important in cyberspace as they are in
- traditional contexts," said Ann Beeson, an ACLU national staff attorney
- specializing in cyber-rights. "The right to speak and publish using a
- virtual 'nom de plume' has its roots in a long tradition dating back to the
- very founding of democracy in this country."
-
- The lawsuit is the first such challenge to state cybercensorship laws, the
- ACLU said. The ACLU said it has been monitoring state regulation of the
- Internet and that currently, over 20 states have considered such laws.
-
- "This is the first challenge that we know of to a state statute that has
- tried to regulate national -- indeed, international -- communications," said
- attorney Beeson. "The nature of the Internet makes state regulation
- extremely problematical, because it forces everyone in the country to comply
- with one state's law. If fifty states pass fifty contradictory laws,
- Internet users will be virtually paralyzed for fear of violating one or more
- of those laws."
-
- The complaint includes the assertion that the Commerce Clause of the United
- States Constitution bars state regulation of the Internet because it is an
- interstate communications medium.
-
- The suit was filed in U.S. Northern District Court of Georgia Federal Court,
- challenging the state law on behalf of 14 plaintiffs (note: see attached for
- a list of plaintiffs). The lawsuit names Governor Zell Miller and state
- Attorney General Michael Bowers as defendants.
-
- The Act was passed by the Georgia General Assembly and became effective on
- July 1 of this year. The law provides criminal sanctions of up to 12
- months in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine for violations.
-
- Two of the plaintiffs, Electronic Frontiers Georgia and Georgia State
- Representative Mitchell Kaye (R-Marietta), lobbied against the law before
- its passage, and solicited help from the ACLU and others to mount a legal
- challenge after it was enacted.
-
- Electronic Frontiers Georgia (EFGA), a Georgia-based cyber-liberties
- organization, said that the group had supported a letter written by the
- co-counsel in the case to state Attorney General Michael Bowers asking him to
- clarify the law so that any debate about its meaning could be settled without
- litigation.
-
- "It's clear that no one would want to pass a law that says what this law
- says, that simply linking from website to website or using a pseudonym is
- illegal in Georgia and therefore throughout the Internet," said Robert
- Costner of EFGA.
-
- Rep. Kaye said he became involved in the battle against the law when
- members of the House attacked him for maintaining a private website that
- they said might be mistaken for the "official" website of the Georgia House of
- Representatives. The website is maintained by the Conservative Policy Caucus
- and contains prominent disclaimers that it is not an official government
- site.
-
- "House leaders felt threatened that their voting records were being
- published along with political commentary that was not always flattering,"
- said Rep. Kaye, a member of the Conservative Policy Caucus. "Sunshine is the
- best government disinfectant, and freedom of speech is a not a partisan
- issue."
-
- Teresa Nelson, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said that ACLU
- was acting as a plaintiff as well as a litigant in the case in order to protect
- visitors to its website who may wish to access or discuss sensitive
- information anonymously or using a pseudonym.
-
- "These concerns were addressed in the letter to Attorney General Michael
- Bowers, requesting a very narrow interpretation of the law. Unfortunately,
- he chose to ignore our request and we have been forced to litigate to protect
- confidentiality on the Internet."
-
- The national ACLU, serving as co-counsel in the Georgia case, is also a
- litigant in ACLU v. Reno, its challenge to Internet censorship provisions of
- the federal Communications Decency Act.
-
- In June of this year, a federal three-judge panel in Philadelphia granted
- an injunction against the CDA, saying that, "as the most participatory form
- of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection
- from governmental intrusion." The government has appealed that ruling and the
- case is now on it way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
-
- The Complaint
-
- According to the complaint, the law makes it a crime to use a name that
- "falsely identifies" a speaker on the Internet, without distinguishing
- whether the person communicating had any intent to deceive or defraud or
- simply wanted to keep his or her identity unknown.
-
- "In some cases, anonymity is a necessary security measure," said ACLU
- attorney Beeson. "The personal safety of human rights dissidents, domestic
- abuse victims, and whistle-blowers would be compromised if they could not
- communicate anonymously."
-
- Use of pseudonyms or anonymous identities also eliminates the potential for
- discrimination and harassment according to gender or ethnicity, Beeson said,
- and allows users to access controversial, embarrassing, or sensitive
- information without revealing their identity. She added that in some cases
- an online "handle" or pseudonym is assigned automatically by a commercial
- online service such as Prodigy or Compuserve.
-
- The complaint also states that the law may prohibit web links by making it
- a crime to publish information "using" trade names, logos or other symbols,
- again without regard to the nature of the use, and without any definition of
- what constitutes "use" on a computer network.
-
- According to Robert Costner of Electronic Frontiers Georgia, many websites
- include links using trade names or logos as a means of providing information.
-
-
- The EFGA site, he noted, provides a link to the BellSouth web page to
- assist other Internet users in contacting BellSouth about a recent rate increase
- request for ISDN telephone service. Given the new technological context of
- the Internet and unique "linking" feature of web pages, Costner explained,
- even this type of grass roots news advisory over the Internet could now be
- illegal in Georgia.
-
-
- The Plaintiffs
-
- The 14 plaintiffs and organizations named in the suit all expressed concern
- that the law would prohibit them -- at risk of jail or fines -- from using
- pseudonyms to protect their privacy, communicate sensitive information and
- defend themselves against harassment if their identities were known on the
- Net.
-
- For instance, the Atlanta Veterans Alliance, a Georgia-based organization
- for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered veterans, said the law would
- risk disclosure of the identity of AVA members who remain in active military
- service. Such disclosure would likely end their military careers.
-
- Another plaintiff, Josh Riley, an Atlanta-based realtor, operates two
- Internet websites that contain many links to other websites of interest,
- often using corporate logos and trademarks without specific permission. His
- award-winning web page, www.blackbaseball.com, contains information on the
- Negro Baseball Leagues, including links to a site on an HBO movie "Soul of
- the Game."
-
- Mr. Riley said he believes it would be impossible as a practical matter to
- obtain permission for every link in his site, even though he is confident
- that all of the companies and organizations would give permission if they
- were asked.
-
- Certain plaintiffs also expressed concern that loss of anonymity would put
- them and others at risk. Plaintiff Community ConneXion, an Internet Service
- Provider, specializes in providing the highest level of privacy to online
- users. The group recently developed a service known as the Anonymizer, which
- enables any Internet user to browse and retrieve documents anonymously.
-
- Sameer Parekh, President of Community ConneXion, said that organizations
- and individuals around the world use their services to protect them from
- oppressive governments, invasive marketing databases and harassment online.
- He said the Georgia law may force the group to choose between shutting down
- its services or risking prosecution.
-
- Lawyers representing the 14 plaintiffs are: J. Scott McClain (as volunteer
- attorney) of the Atlanta firm of Bondurant, Mixson and Elmore; Ann Beeson
- and Christopher Hansen of the national American Civil Liberties Union; and
- Gerald Weber, staff attorney with the ACLU of Georgia.
-
-
- Note to Editors: For more information on ACLU of Georgia et al. v. Miller et
- al., visit these online sites: EFGA - http://www.efga.org. (EFGA will be
- providing RealAudio of the news conference.)
- ACLU - http://www.aclu.org and via America Online at keyword: ACLU.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 96 06:39:28 PDT
- From: olcay@LIBTECH.COM(olcay cirit)
- Subject: File 5--Re: Microsoft lies, damned lies, and statistics
-
- >I went to the Microsoft home page, and found that the entire study by
- >Usability Sciences Corporation is available online. I was looking at
- >their research methodology --- do you know what their sample
- >population was? *NEW* users. That is, people who had never used an
- >Internet browser before.
-
- I don't see how else the study could have been fair.
-
- >By dropping the qualifer that these were new users, Microsoft is
- >being intentionally misleading and deceitful.
-
- Seasoned users like me are biased: we have emotional attachments to the
- software that we use. I would have picked netscape no matter what.
- David, be honest, even if IE 3.0 was unequivocally better than
- Netscape, wouldn't you do the same?
-
- Although I hate to protect Microsoft, new users are generally the least
- opinionated.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 14:00:02 -0800
- From: Michael Brennan <mikeb@AMGEN.COM>
- Subject: File 6--Re: Microsoft lies, damned lies, and statistics (in CuD)
-
- Regarding Microsoft's deceptive tactics in marketing Internet
- Exporer (IE)...
-
- I'm surprised no one has been making a stink over Microsoft's
- blatant propagandizing via MSNBC, the new cable channel it partly
- owns. The channel masquerades as an objective unbiased Internet
- "news" channel, but it has repeatedly aired lies in Microsoft's
- favor.
-
- For instance, I recently saw a "comparison" of the leading web
- browsers (Netscape and IE) that was anything but objective. Guess
- which one they rated as easiest to use and most full-featured?
-
- What was infuriating about the show (apart fromt he fact that many
- viewers who don't know any better will accept it as fact) was that
- it blatantly lied about Netscape's feature set. For instance, one
- "advantage" it claimed IE has over Netscape is that IE lets you
- hierarchically organize your bookmarks. They neglected to mention
- that Netscape also lets you hierarchically organize your bookmarks.
-
- I'm surprised Netscape (nor anyone else) has made a stink to the FCC
- about this glorified infomercial masquerading as a news channel.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 01 Oct 96 11:55:01 -0400 Eastern
- From: adventure.man@glib.org
- Subject: File 7--Response to Michael Bernard/Microsoft's Methodology
-
- TO: Microsoft's Michael Bernard ---
-
-
- You STILL don't get it! I'm replying to your message in Computer
- underground Digest Sun Sep 29, 1996 Volume 8 : Issue 69.
- [Regrettably, you declined to provide your email address.]
-
- Your promotional misinterpretation of the results of your so-called
- Internet Explorer usability study continues.
-
- In your response to David Smith, you said "It should have stated
- that 'four out of five new Web users prefer Microsoft Internet
- Explorer to Netscape Navigator.'"
-
- This statement of yours remains blatantly erroneous. I would
- appreciate your rectifying your promotion of this study to make
- clear that the results pertain only to Windows 95 users, and
- specifically only to those Windows 95 users not feeling hostility
- towards Microsoft Corporation (per the test protocol).
-
- As a devoted Macintosh enthusiast, the assumption underlying your
- remarks that all Web users are Windows 95 users is exceedingly
- galling (especially since Macintosh users have a disproportionately
- large net presence).
-
-
- Warren Potas
- adventure.man@glib.org
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 10:12:19 +0000
- From: "mediacentre@architechs.com" <mediacentre@inin.co.uk>
- Subject: File 8--Channel WoW Broadcasts Live ON THE Internet
-
- CHANNEL WoW BROADCASTS LIVE ON THE INTERNET
-
- Channel WoW presents Canvas live in person and on the Internet. To
- celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of the Kirklees Media
- Centre a unique collaboration of Huddersfield technicians, musicians
- and poets are working together to produce a multimedia performance
- that will be broadcast via the Internet. Creating a heady mixture of
- songs poetry and musical improvisation Canvas' performance will be
- broadcast live on the Internet from the Window on the World Cyber
- Bar. This will allow those not able to be at the Cyber bar for the
- actual event to `virtually' hear the performance in their own home
- anywhere in the world.
-
- The performance will be simultaneously loaded on to a web site where
- anyone with a multimedia computer and an internet connection will be
- able to down load the performance almost as it happens. A specially
- constructed website will be set up which will also feature examples
- of the poets work as well as the performance itself. Artists
- involved include renowned poets Milner Place, John Bosley, Steph
- Bowgett. This initiative of the Kirklees Media Centre will be the
- first of many events where Channel WoW will broadcast live
- performances via the Internet.
-
- This event has been kindly sponsored by Yorkshire & Humberside Arts,
- Wards Brewery, Architechs IT and Kirklees Council Date and Venue:
- 8pm - Saturday October 19th - Window on the World Cyber bar,
- Kirklees Media Centre, 7 Northumberland Street, Huddersfield.
- Admission: Strictly limited but only stlg2 and stlg1 for
- concessions Web address: Channel WoW will be available from October
- 19th at http://www.architechs.com/ChaWoW
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Wed, 02 Oct 1996 23:57:35 -0700
- From: William Church <wchurch@RICOCHET.NET>
- Subject: File 9--Re: Call for Papers: The Jrnl of IWAR Intel. Acquisition
-
- Call For Papers
-
- The Journal of IWAR Intelligence Acquisition requests the submission of
- papers for its first issue in the Spring of 1997.
-
- The Journal of IWAR Intelligence Acquisition is a quarterly electronic
- journal focussing on the methodology and status of developing
- International Information Warfare Intelligence Sources. Information
- Warfare, for the purpose of this journal, is defined as the hostile
- activity or implied threat of gaining unauthorized access to operating
- systems, information, transmission points and methods, and the
- utilization of that access/threat to gain a demonstrated leverage over
- that target or other targets.
-
- The direction of the journal is to assist the International Information
- Security Community in its movement from a largely reactive stance to
- proactive identification and cancellation of threats.
-
- Papers should be 2,000 to 4,000 words and submitted electronically as
- ASCII text. Suggested areas of interest are:
-
- The Intelligence Community Reorganization Act: Will Information Warfare
- Intelligence Acquisition Get Lost in the Shuffle.
-
- The European Union Model for Intelligence Acquisition in Information
- Warfare.
-
- Matching the Critical Information Infrastructure Security Demands to
- Intelligence Gathering.
-
- A Suggested Taxology for the IWAR Threat Community: Hackers, Political
- Agents, Economic Agents, and Unidentified Agents.
-
- Moving From Reactive to Proactive Threat Assessment: Putting Meaning to
- Systemic Incursions.
-
- The Rand Corporation's "Day After.." exercise: Is a Global Threat a
- Reality?
-
- Deadline for Submission: December 15, 1996
- Attention: William <wchurch@ricochet.net
-
- The Journal of IWAR Intelligence Acquisition is available without charge
- to qualified subscribers.
-
- ------------------------------
-
- Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 22:51:01 CST
- From: CuD Moderators <cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu>
- Subject: File 10--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 Apr, 1996)
-
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- ------------------------------
-
- End of Computer Underground Digest #8.71
- ************************************
-
-