831 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
831 lines
35 KiB
Plaintext
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Computer underground Digest Wed Aug 27, 1997 Volume 9 : Issue 64
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ISSN 1004-042X
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Editor: Jim Thomas (cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu)
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News Editor: Gordon Meyer (gmeyer@sun.soci.niu.edu)
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Archivist: Brendan Kehoe
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Shadow Master: Stanton McCandlish
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Shadow-Archivists: Dan Carosone / Paul Southworth
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Ralph Sims / Jyrki Kuoppala
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Ian Dickinson
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Field Agent Extraordinaire: David Smith
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Cu Digest Homepage: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest
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CONTENTS, #9.64 (Wed, Aug 27, 1997)
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File 1--Wired News on the Politics of Netscape
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File 2--Sex is driving Internet progress, experts say (fwd)
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File 3--Commerce Dept encryption rules declared unconstitutional
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File 4--AOL Target of Credit Card Scam
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File 5--E-Mail Advertising (fwd)
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File 6--Novadigm Sues Marimba
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File 7--ADVISORY/Novadigm CEO Rebuffs Marimba
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File 8--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 May, 1997)
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CuD ADMINISTRATIVE, EDITORIAL, AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION APPEARS IN
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THE CONCLUDING FILE AT THE END OF EACH ISSUE.
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 21 Aug 1997 10:25:52 -0800
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To: fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
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Subject: File 1--Wired News on the Politics of Netscape
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Source - fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
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From Wired Nnews: http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/6190.html
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Political Player Isn't Yet a Political Power
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by Ashley Craddock
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5:10am 21.Aug.97.PDT In the heart of the digital universe,
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one thing seems clear: Although Netscape's once
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skyrocketing fortunes may be in turnaround, and its
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sometime stellar public profile is in the early stages of
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eclipse, CEO Jim Barksdale, the corporate guru who raised
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Netscape from squirrelly start-up to industry leader, is
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still striving to position the company as a heavy hitter. And
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he's doing it by working the smoky corridors of DC politics.
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Consider the evidence: Since Netscape's founding in 1994,
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Barksdale has dabbled in antitrust law, poked and prodded
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the Clinton administration about immigration policies, and
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toyed with tort reform. He's testified before Congress about
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the long-term folly of using export policy to choke the
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development of robust encryption technologies - and, by
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extension, the most booming sector of the nation's economy.
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And this summer, pairing with venture capitalist and
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Silicon Valley good ol' boy extraordinaire John Doerr,
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Barksdale did something heretofore unthinkable: From the
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center of the politics-wary world of high tech, he launched
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the Technology Network, the industry's first formal stab at
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creating a political organization to advance info-tech goals
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on Capitol Hill.
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But no matter how maverick Barksdale's political acumen
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looks from the Valley, the view from the Hill is more
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mundane: He's simply the CEO of a vulnerable start-up
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scrambling to protect his corner of the volatile info-tech
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boom. "What gave anyone the idea that Netscape is a big
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political player?" asks one well-known Washington
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Internet activist who doesn't wish to be identified. "Don't get
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me wrong, Netscape has played an invaluable role in the
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fight for stronger encryption, but on all the other big
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Internet issues, they've been pretty much invisible."
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Even in Technology Network's Palo Alto, California, offices,
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where several dyed-in-the-wool politicos have parked
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their stars, Barksdale's political aura seems to pale beside
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co-chair Doerr's notoriously intense wattage. "We still
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think the Gore and Doerr thing is a joke," says TechNet
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Republican consultant Dan Schnur, citing a recent New
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Yorker profile of the nominally Republican Kleiner,
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Perkins, Caufield & Byers partner. "But let's just say I
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wish we had someone like Doerr pushing our side of the
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agenda."
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Isolated victories
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Barksdale, who arrived at Netscape after stints at Federal
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Express and McCaw Communications, carried to the Valley a
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more intimate knowledge of the necessary intersection
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between politics and business than many of the Valley's
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homegrown execs.
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"Jim is far more seasoned than people like [Intuit's] Scott
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Cook, [Sun Microsystem's] Scott McNealy, and [Marimba's]
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Kim Polese," says Peter Harter, Netscape's public policy
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counsel. "At Fed Ex, he worked with labor unions and the
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trucking industry. He worked the FBI and the National
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Security Agency on issues about shipping packages. And at
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McCaw, he had to deal with the Federal Communications
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Commission. He knows the way Washington works, and
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people in Washington know he knows it."
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Since arriving at Netscape, Barksdale has used that
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experience to his company's benefit. He has won at least
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three significant individual battles in the looming Internet
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policy war. After several key pilgrimmages to DC, he
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obtained major concessions on the export of encryption
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embedded in Netscape Navigator, the browser that made his
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company's name and fortune. He influenced the free-market
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tilt of the Clinton administration's white paper on
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electronic commerce. And, in negotiations on the budget bill
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earlier this summer, Barksdale pushed for tax credits on
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research and development and software exports.
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But those were isolated victories, and Netscape and the rest
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of the software industry have still barely cracked
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mainstream Washington's consciousness. The Congressional
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Internet Caucus has little real clout. And while
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administration officials note that the president's yen to
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improve his historical rank offers favor-seekers a perfect
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opportunity for political leverage, Silicon Valley seems
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strangely unprepared to act.
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The reason, says Oliver Smoot, executive vice president of
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the Information Technology Industry Council, is simple:
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Nobody in the Valley, including Netscape, wants to pay to
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play. Indeed, while technology executives account for 26 of
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Forbes' list of the 400 richest in America, only five show
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up on Mother Jones' list of the nation's 400 top political
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contributors. "In terms of its contribution to the national
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economy, the software industry is beginning to have very
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high visibility here," says Smoot. "But compared to a lot of
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less profitable industries, it doesn't really carry much of a
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punch."
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And for all Barksdale's nipping and tucking, Netscape, like
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its counterparts, seems content to hurl only a few strategic
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pitches a year. Indeed, as far as Washington presence, the
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company falls far short of the low-water mark set by an
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industry known for stashing its lobbyists in sunless
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backroom offices. Netscape employs only one full-time
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lobbyist, who doesn't even have a DC base. Since his arrival
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at Netscape fresh from a stint at an Ohio nonprofit, Peter
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Harter has peddled the company's somewhat meager
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influence from his Palo Alto office.
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Political Lobbyist
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Head Count
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Netscape
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1
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Microsoft
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6
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Intel
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12
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IBM
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24
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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Of necessity, Harter is pragmatic about his position in the
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lobbyists' galaxy. "Say we identify five issues that are very
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important," he says. "As a small company, we may only
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have resources for three, so we'll look at what's ripe for
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resolution and focus on that." In the two years Harter has
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been working for Netscape, his main focus has been
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relaxing export controls on encrypted software so the
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company can expand overseas sales. Now, he says,
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priorities are shifting. Believing that the administration is
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about to hand down regulations Netscape can live with,
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Harter has shrunk his cryptography budget and is now
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turning his attention toward copyright and privacy
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concerns.
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Underdog seeks an upper hand
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As much as anything, Netscape's public-policy initiatives
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all stem from the need to protect and bolster an
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increasingly fragile bottom line. "Netscape is the underdog,
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so Barksdale is focused on ensuring that it's able to remain
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competitive," says the Internet activist, who worked with
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Netscape in the fight against online content regulations
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imposed by the since-eviscerated Communications Decency
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Act. "If that lines up with sound public policy, great. But
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that's not really what's driving any of the company's
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politics. In fact, as far as the CDA, Netscape's only
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significant action was to make sure that Internet access
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providers, i.e. browser-makers like Netscape, were
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exempted by the original bill."
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By signing on as co-chair of TechNet, however, Barksdale is
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explicitly leveraging Netscape's reputation as a catalyst for
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the Internet-driven new economy. Born out of a successful
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1996 fight against California's Proposition 211, an
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initiative that would have lowered the barrier to
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shareholder lawsuits, TechNet was founded in July to
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endorse candidates, raise money, and lobby state and DC
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politicians. Since its founding, the nonpartisan
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Valley-based group - whose members include Polese, Cook,
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and McNealy - has wined and dined Jack Kemp, Al Gore,
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Senator Tom Daschle, and William Bennett, among others.
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In spite of Netscape's leadership role, there remain
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uncertainties about what the organization will do to advance
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the goals nearest and dearest to the company's heart. No key
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Internet issues - not access fees for service, not bandwidth,
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not free speech, not domain names, not even encryption -
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have so far lit the nascent group's radar screen. And, says
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Harter, they probably won't. For one thing, TechNet hopes
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to represent the biotech industry as well as software and
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hardware companies. For another, "All TechNet's member
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companies have different agendas when it comes to
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encryption," says Harter. "It's a divisive issue that TechNet
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probably doesn't need to touch."
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So far, TechNet's overall strategy - fighting for passage of a
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bill that would standardize regulations on state-level
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securities litigation, and lobbying for education reform -
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has worked like a charm. "People in Washington are
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fascinated by Silicon Valley's magic," says Mark Gitenstein,
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a lobbyist who worked on the 1995 Federal Securities
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Litigation Reform Act and is now TechNet's DC consultant on
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the issue. "TechNet's creation represents the industry's
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first real acknowledgement that no important sector in our
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economy can avoid government regulation. And god knows,
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this is an important sector."
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Why does the economic powerhouse info-tech industry
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insist on playing wiffle-ball politics? Essentially, while
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the nascent industry is bursting with cash, it's also
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bursting with competition. "The rebirth of Silicon Valley
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three years ago is different than anything that came
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before," says Jim Bidzos, CEO of RSA Data Security, the
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Valley's leading cryptography software firm. "You see tons
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of companies making tons of money, and you see tons of
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companies disappearing. It's all any CEO can do to keep up.
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And Washington is so far behind, it's hard to care what's
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going on except when some wrongheaded government
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initiative becomes a direct political threat."
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Other observers believe that Silicon Valley magic-makers
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like Barksdale may wield more influence in DC than several
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pots of gold. "If these groups stick to the high ground on
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developing the Internet as a public resource, they may be
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able to exert a lot of power without a ton of money," says
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Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Information Privacy
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Center. "Right now, the industry that TechNet represents is
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a policymaker's darling. They can ride that a long way."
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Copyright 1993-97 Wired Ventures Inc. and affiliated
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companies.
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All rights reserved.
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------------------------------
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Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 00:53:13 -0400 (EDT)
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From: "noah@enabled.com" <noah@enabled.com>
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Subject: File 2--Sex is driving Internet progress, experts say (fwd)
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07:01 PM ET 08/18/97
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Sex is driving Internet progress, experts say
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CHICAGO (Reuter) - Sex is the most searched-for topic on the
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Internet and the quest for it is driving the net's technological
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advances, researchers said Monday.
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``This is going to be the next sexual revolution. It's going
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to affect sex in a profound way,'' said Al Cooper, clinical
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director of the San Jose Calif. Marital and Sexual Center.
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Questions being asked range from whether voyeurism in
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cyberspace constitutes infidelity to whether meeting someone
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electronically before visually might lead to better long-term
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relationships, he said.
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Ray Noonan, a sexual researcher from New York University,
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said, ``The Internet is probably one of the most profound
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changes in world society history, with greater impact than the
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Gutenberg press and broadcast media...
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``Sex drives the technology of the Internet and the World
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Wide Web,'' he added.
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The two researchers and others spoke during a panel
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discussion on the topic during the annual meeting of the
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American Psychological Association.
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Cooper said sex was the most searched-for topic on the
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Internet, even though the number of sites or user groups devoted
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to it represent a relatively small percentage of the masses of
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information available in cyberspace.
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Adult entertainment and sexually explicit material are the
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''No. 1 income generator on the Internet,'' he said, adding that
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he believed they would drive telephone sex services out of
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business in a few years.
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The phenomenon will impact human sexuality by offering
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information, education, the chance of a ``first step'' for the
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otherwise timid and the possibility of linking those with
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similar sexual orientations and tastes.
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``There is also a potential for better long-term
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relationships,'' Cooper said, if people get to know each other
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before physical attraction occurs.
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------------------------------
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Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 19:41:19 -0700 (PDT)
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From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
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Subject: File 3--Commerce Dept encryption rules declared unconstitutional
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Source - fight-censorship@vorlon.mit.edu
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A Federal judge in San Francisco ruled today that the Commerce
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Department's export controls on encryption products violate the
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First Amendment's guarantees of freedom of speech.
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In a 35-page decision, U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel said the
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Clinton administration's rules violate "the First Amendment on the
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grounds of prior restraint and are, therefore, unconstitutional."
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Patel reaffirmed her December 1996 decision against the State
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Department regulations, saying that the newer Commerce Department
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rules suffer from similar constitutional infirmities.
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Patel barred the government from "threatening, detaining,
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prosecuting, discouraging, or otherwise interfering with" anyone
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"who uses, discusses, or publishes or seeks to use, discuss or
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publish plaintiff's encryption programs and related materials."
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Daniel Bernstein, now a math professor at the University of
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Illinois, filed the lawsuit with the help of the Electronic
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Frontier Foundation.
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Patel dismissed the State, Energy, and Justice departments and
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CIA as defendants. President Clinton transferred jurisdiction over
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encryption exports from the State to the Commerce department on
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December 30, 1996.
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The Justice Department seems likely to appeal the ruling to the
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Ninth Circuit, which could rule on the case in the near future.
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------------------------------
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Date: Thu, 28 Aug 1997 13:42:38 -0500
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From: Jim Thomas <jthomas@well.com>
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Subject: File 4--AOL Target of Credit Card Scam
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The Chicago Tribune (27 Aug '97, p. 3) reported a scam that
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attempted to target AOL subscribers two weeks ago. The story
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describes how e-mail, disguised as official correspondence from
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AOL attempted to entice subscribers to divulge credit card numbers
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and other sensitive information. The scam worked by inviting
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subscribers to click on a link that took them to an official
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looking homepage, where a letter, ostensibly by AOL's CEO Steve
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Case described AOL's successes in fixing bugs. Subscribers
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where then asked to update their AOL accounts by supplying
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confidential information.
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When AOL users log on to AOL, a prominent note reminds them that
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AOL personnel will *never* ask for such information.
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It's not known how many users were victimized by the scam, and the
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fraudulent homepage was apperently up only for a few hours.
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Unlike sex-related crimes, there have been no screaming "INTERNET
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BLAMED IN SCAM ATTEMPT" headlines. That's encouraging. It's
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hardly a surprise that the Net contains predators, just as do
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churches, highschools, and police departments. The trick, which
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|
the media seem to be slowly catching on to, is not to create
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|
hysteria with clueless horror stories, but to stress a few basics.
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In this case, one of the cardinal rules pertains: Do not give out
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personal information to strangers on the Net. In this case,
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however, the scam was sufficiently clever that it could easily
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catch inexperienced (or even some experienced) netfolk. A second
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rule then pertains: Double check the sources - if something seems
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odd, avoid it.
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The text of "spam" letter setting up the scam was posted on The
|
||
|
Well (a public access community in California's Bay
|
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Area--http://www.well.com for info) on August 12 by
|
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<amicus@well.com>.
|
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============
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Tue 12 Aug 97 04:51
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I just got what is apparent Spam that would seem to go far
|
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|
beyond illegal... it purports to be from AOL (address is
|
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|
something like "ServerUpdate@aol.com") and contains a letter
|
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|
from Steve Case, along with a URL on an IP-address-only site.
|
||
|
When you go to the site, you're in a secure form, purporting to
|
||
|
be a reregistration form for you with AOL, asking for various
|
||
|
confidential information. The page bears logos for both RSA and
|
||
|
VeriSign... it seems to be crafted to *look* legit, for those
|
||
|
folks who merely understand that the Internet *can* be secured,
|
||
|
somehow. Checking headers, the thing seems to have come from
|
||
|
UUNet (surprise!). For those who want to check it out, the URL
|
||
|
is http://209.41.43.223/index.htm
|
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-------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
here's what I got... NB the bogus domain (aoI.com) and the
|
||
|
"Authenticated server is..." comment. Clever enough to catch
|
||
|
newbies, certainly.
|
||
|
|
||
|
<begin letter>
|
||
|
|
||
|
From AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com Tue Aug 12 08:22:50 1997
|
||
|
Received: from relay6.UU.NET (relay6.UU.NET [192.48.96.16])
|
||
|
by embassy.org (8.8.4/8.8.4) with ESMTP
|
||
|
id FAA18670 for <director@embassy.digex.net>; Tue, 12 Aug 1997 05:24:13
|
||
|
-0400 (EDT)
|
||
|
From: AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com
|
||
|
Received: from mail.uu.net by relay6.UU.NET with SMTP
|
||
|
(peer crosschecked as: slip129-37-52-122.ca.us.ibm.net [129.37.52.122])
|
||
|
id QQdcgj02863; Tue, 12 Aug 1997 05:24:11 -0400 (EDT)
|
||
|
Received: from mail.aoI.com (alt.aoI.com (207.34.342.246)) by aoI.com
|
||
|
(8.8.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id GAA01943 for <ServerUpg@aol.com>; Tue, 12 Aug 1997
|
||
|
05:18:19 -0600 (EST)
|
||
|
To: ServerUpg@aol.com
|
||
|
Message-ID: <173840394782.GAA73847@aoI.com>
|
||
|
Date: Tue, 12 Aug 97 05:18:19 EST
|
||
|
Subject - Important AOL Information! Please Read. --)
|
||
|
Reply-To: AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com
|
||
|
X-PMFLAGS: 34078848 0
|
||
|
X-UIDL: 268493654736a37aeb4b67463529878e
|
||
|
Comments: Authenticated sender is <AOL-ServerUpdate@aol.com>
|
||
|
|
||
|
Special News Bulletin:
|
||
|
|
||
|
August 12, 1997
|
||
|
|
||
|
Dear Members:
|
||
|
|
||
|
As you know, the number one priority for all of us at America
|
||
|
Online continues to be meeting our obligation to provide you with
|
||
|
the best possible service. We have been working day and night to
|
||
|
fix the busy signal problem and to catch up with the incredible
|
||
|
surge in demand for AOL. In this month's letter, I'd like to give
|
||
|
you an update on how we are doing.
|
||
|
|
||
|
When it became clear to us that unlimited use pricing stimulated
|
||
|
more demand for AOL than we had anticipated, we announced a $350
|
||
|
million expansion program and made four commitments to you:
|
||
|
|
||
|
- To expand system capacity as quickly as possible
|
||
|
- To serve our existing members before adding new members
|
||
|
- To work extremely hard to maintain the loyalty of members
|
||
|
who've had problems with busy signals
|
||
|
- To communicate frequently about the steps we are taking to improve AOL
|
||
|
|
||
|
So let me update you on what we're doing to meet each of those
|
||
|
commitments, including the development of a new server which
|
||
|
offers a higher system capacity.
|
||
|
|
||
|
You may either take a moment to read in depth about the steps we
|
||
|
have taken, or just complete the required update of your
|
||
|
information on our new servers.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Please Click <A HREF="http://209.41.43.223/index.htm">HERE</A> to
|
||
|
Continue.
|
||
|
|
||
|
All you have to do is click on the text above with your left
|
||
|
mouse button and it will take you directly to our new information
|
||
|
screen.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Thank you for your Cooperation,
|
||
|
AOL Member Services
|
||
|
|
||
|
Below are the Headers used by AOL's newly developed servers.
|
||
|
Please Disregard these they are of no importance.
|
||
|
<end letter>
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 11:56:33 -0400 (EDT)
|
||
|
From: Larry Will <larry@idb.vitro.com>
|
||
|
Subject: File 5--E-Mail Advertising (fwd)
|
||
|
|
||
|
((MODERATORS' NOTE: Normally, we don't reprint letters from spam
|
||
|
targets to spammers, but the possibility of politicians spamming
|
||
|
us every fall is a bit frightening. Larry Will's thoughtful
|
||
|
response to the spam might dissuade potential pol-spammers from
|
||
|
repeating this one's faux pas)).
|
||
|
|
||
|
I sent the attached message to an unlikely spammer---a politician (or,
|
||
|
more precisely, the politician's internet marketing firm). I've yet to get
|
||
|
a reply from either the spammer or the candidate.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Lw
|
||
|
|
||
|
--
|
||
|
Larry Will will@tracoris.com 301-231-2013
|
||
|
5305 Griffith Road, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20882-2020
|
||
|
|
||
|
Software Engineer, Tracor Information Systems, Rockville, MD
|
||
|
President, Capital Area NetWare Users, Washington DC
|
||
|
<http://canu.ml.org>
|
||
|
|
||
|
---------- Forwarded message ----------
|
||
|
Date--Wed, 20 Aug 1997 10:36:42 -0400
|
||
|
From--Larry Will <will@vitro.com>
|
||
|
To--CManzano@ix.netcom.com,
|
||
|
TGParker@worldnet.att.net,
|
||
|
manzano@NYCT.NET,
|
||
|
vinny@NYCT.NET
|
||
|
Subject--E-Mail Advertising
|
||
|
|
||
|
Dear Ms. Fields,
|
||
|
|
||
|
I received the electronic message included below earlier
|
||
|
this morning. Since my e-mail account name has been
|
||
|
included, without my consent, in a database for use by
|
||
|
organizations wishing to do mass mailing across the
|
||
|
internet, I receive several such unsolicited messages a day.
|
||
|
|
||
|
You may not be aware of this, but much of the internet
|
||
|
community, including myself, consider unsolicited electronic
|
||
|
messages to be annoying, a waste of time and energy, and
|
||
|
contrary to established rules of etiquette governing conduct
|
||
|
in the online world.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Unsolicited commercial e-mail is also known by the
|
||
|
pejorative term "spam", and those who spam are called
|
||
|
"spammers". I believe that those in your campaign
|
||
|
responsible for spamming have done your campaign a great
|
||
|
disservice. Consider only that I live in Montgomery County,
|
||
|
Maryland, and that this message arrived in my workplace's
|
||
|
electronic mailbox, and that regardless of my political
|
||
|
background I have no interest in the current Manhattan
|
||
|
Borough President campaign.
|
||
|
|
||
|
There are some in the internet community who retaliate in a
|
||
|
very negative way to spammers and their sponsors. It is
|
||
|
possible that your web site, e-mail box, and internet access
|
||
|
provider may be subject to attack and abuse from some who
|
||
|
have received this message, causing a loss or denial of
|
||
|
service.
|
||
|
|
||
|
I am not part of this crowd; but I feel it would be a
|
||
|
disservice to you and your campaign if I did not bring these
|
||
|
issues to your attention. I believe there are far better
|
||
|
ways to advertise your campaign than resorting to spam.
|
||
|
|
||
|
I am also sending this message to those responsible for
|
||
|
Midtown Media Consulting and their internet domain
|
||
|
midtownmedia.com.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Thank you for your attention.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Larry Will
|
||
|
Software Engineer
|
||
|
Tracor Information Systems
|
||
|
Rockville, Maryland
|
||
|
will@tracoris.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
----original message included below----
|
||
|
|
||
|
http://www.midtownmedia.com/Fields97
|
||
|
|
||
|
C. VIRGINIA FIELDS
|
||
|
|
||
|
FOR MANHATTAN BOROUGH PRESIDENT '97
|
||
|
|
||
|
IMPORTANT NOTICE - DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY - TUES. SEPT. 9TH,
|
||
|
1997
|
||
|
|
||
|
PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 08:56:10 -0400
|
||
|
From: Dale Gardner <daleg@novadigm.com>
|
||
|
Subject: File 6--Novadigm Sues Marimba
|
||
|
|
||
|
The topic of push technology and differencing is heating up -- I'm sure
|
||
|
you've been following the issues, including Marimba's announcement
|
||
|
yesterday about the DRP. I wanted to make sure you saw the following
|
||
|
release which outlines our position on the matter.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Please give me a call or send an e-mail if you have questions.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Regards,
|
||
|
|
||
|
Dale Gardner
|
||
|
Director of Marketing
|
||
|
+1.703.771.6075
|
||
|
daleg@novadigm.com
|
||
|
|
||
|
For Release 8 am ET
|
||
|
August 27, 1997
|
||
|
|
||
|
Novadigm Sues Marimba
|
||
|
|
||
|
Patent Infringement Lawsuit May Impact W3C Protocol Submission
|
||
|
|
||
|
Mahwah, NJ, August 27, 1997: Novadigm, Inc. (NASDAQ: NVDM) today said it
|
||
|
has warned the World-Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that elements of the
|
||
|
proposed Distribution and Replication Protocol (DRP) may infringe its
|
||
|
intellectual property rights. The company asked that the consortium
|
||
|
defer consideration of the proposal, pending resolution of a patent
|
||
|
infringement lawsuit Novadigm filed against Marimba Inc. in March 1997.
|
||
|
|
||
|
The lawsuit alleges that Marimba has infringed upon Novadigm's existing
|
||
|
"fractional differencing" patent, issued in December 1996. Based upon a
|
||
|
review of documentation made public by Marimba and the W3C, Novadigm
|
||
|
believes DRP may use techniques similar to its patented methods,
|
||
|
including DRP's use of differential indexing. Neither company has
|
||
|
previously commented publicly on the lawsuit.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Novadigm said it will also notify the other companies involved in the
|
||
|
DRP proposal of its claims against Marimba. Those companies are:
|
||
|
Netscape Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: NSCP), Novell Inc. (NASDAQ:
|
||
|
NOVL), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW), and @Home Network (NASDAQ:
|
||
|
ATHM).
|
||
|
|
||
|
"Standards are clearly a positive force in the industry, but the fact
|
||
|
remains that this technology is not Marimba's to give away," stated
|
||
|
Albion Fitzgerald, chairman and chief executive officer of Novadigm. "We
|
||
|
have invested over six years and thousands of hours in perfecting the
|
||
|
technologies needed to solve software and information distribution
|
||
|
problems. This work has resulted in production implementations on a
|
||
|
scale unmatched by any other vendor."
|
||
|
|
||
|
"Marimba is a start-up which has garnered much attention, but apparently
|
||
|
does not respect our property rights. We think that Marimba's sudden
|
||
|
magnanimous decision to abandon their own patent process and donate the
|
||
|
technology to open standards should be seen in the light of our already
|
||
|
granted patent and the ongoing litigation as an exploitative action
|
||
|
without regard to the obvious intellectual property issues involved. We
|
||
|
own this technology and we're going to vigorously defend it, even as
|
||
|
Marimba works aggressively to use and claim credit for it."
|
||
|
|
||
|
Fitzgerald said Novadigm was surprised by Marimba's DRP proposal,
|
||
|
announced yesterday, and is unable to say whether the partner companies
|
||
|
knew of the infringement claim. "We've remained silent about the
|
||
|
litigation in order to facilitate a resolution by the legal and patent
|
||
|
processes we are all supposed to adhere to, but dragging the W3C and the
|
||
|
Internet community unknowingly into the middle of the dispute is a
|
||
|
particularly inappropriate tactic. We think Marimba either didn't inform
|
||
|
the other companies and the W3C of the lawsuit or told them only one
|
||
|
side of it," Fitzgerald said. "We are hoping the Wc3 and Marimba's
|
||
|
partners will take an equitable and arms-length approach as the matter
|
||
|
proceeds through the courts."
|
||
|
|
||
|
Novadigm's counsel advised that the case is in discovery stages and that
|
||
|
Novadigm is investigating the nature and scope of Marimba's alleged
|
||
|
infringement.
|
||
|
|
||
|
About The Patent
|
||
|
|
||
|
Novadigm's Patent (Number 5,581,764) "Distributed Computer Network
|
||
|
Including Hierarchical Resource Information Structure and Related Method
|
||
|
of Distributing Resources" describes the processes needed to generate
|
||
|
from a common reference model a unique content configuration for each
|
||
|
target end user, and to "difference" the "desired state" configuration
|
||
|
with the actual-state of the target, yielding highly granular and very
|
||
|
specific updates to distributed content automatically. The patent covers
|
||
|
two central areas:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Desired state configuration - processes which incorporate essential
|
||
|
elements of both "push" and "pull" distribution models. By generating
|
||
|
from a common reference model a unique user configuration which
|
||
|
describes the specific software or content a target user should have,
|
||
|
producers can automatically 'push' content to specific servers,
|
||
|
desktops, or users; or groups of users. In addition, the 'pull' process
|
||
|
provides a means for users to control when the flow of information takes
|
||
|
place, what information is delivered, and where it is stored.
|
||
|
|
||
|
Fractional Differencing - processes for comparing and contrasting the
|
||
|
desired state configuration identifying what components a target should
|
||
|
have with the resources it actually has, resulting in a concise and
|
||
|
highly detailed difference configuration describing what components are
|
||
|
needed - or should be removed - to ensure the targeted user is properly
|
||
|
configured with a minimum of network traffic.
|
||
|
The technologies protected by the patent are incorporated into
|
||
|
Novadigm's Enterprise Desktop Manager(tm) software management solution.
|
||
|
That product is used by some of the most demanding and complex
|
||
|
information technology organizations world-wide. They are also the basis
|
||
|
for new Novadigm products which will address requirements for efficient
|
||
|
desktop management in the Internet environment.
|
||
|
|
||
|
About Novadigm
|
||
|
|
||
|
Novadigm is a leading provider of distributed software management
|
||
|
solutions that reduce the cost and complexity of managing client/server,
|
||
|
packaged and Internet software. The company's products use a patented
|
||
|
'desired-state' automation platform to distribute software across
|
||
|
thousands of desktops and servers without manual intervention. The
|
||
|
company licenses its products to Fortune 5000 IT organizations, software
|
||
|
vendors, and service providers around the World. Novadigm's common stock
|
||
|
trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the symbol "NVDM". More
|
||
|
information on Novadigm, Inc. can be found on the World Wide Web at
|
||
|
http://www.novadigm.com/ or by calling 800-626-6682.
|
||
|
|
||
|
# # #
|
||
|
|
||
|
Note To Editors -- Novadigm, EDM, and Enterprise Desktop Manager are
|
||
|
either trademarks or registered trademarks of Novadigm, Inc. All other
|
||
|
product, trademark, company, or service names mentioned herein are the
|
||
|
property of their respective owners. Novadigm, Inc. is not affiliated
|
||
|
with Novadyne Computer Systems, Inc. of Reston, VA.
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Fri, 29 Aug 1997 12:03:44 -0400
|
||
|
From: Dale Gardner <daleg@novadigm.com>
|
||
|
Subject: File 7--ADVISORY/Novadigm CEO Rebuffs Marimba
|
||
|
|
||
|
MAHWAH, N.J.-- Aug. 29, 1997-- MEDIA ALERT
|
||
|
|
||
|
Albion Fitzgerald, chairman and CEO of Novadigm, Inc.
|
||
|
(NASDAQ: NVDM), today responded to comments by Marimba, Inc. CEO
|
||
|
Kim Polese published Wednesday, August 27 regarding Novadigm's
|
||
|
pending patent infringement lawsuit.
|
||
|
|
||
|
"Ms. Polese not only termed our suit 'baseless', but called
|
||
|
into question the acceptance of our technology in the market.
|
||
|
Regarding the suit, we and our attorneys are confident of our
|
||
|
position," said Fitzgerald. "Her response is nothing more than you
|
||
|
would expect from a defendant in a case of this type, whatever its
|
||
|
merits. Regarding our current market position -- hype aside --
|
||
|
Novadigm's success relative to Marimba's is indisputable. In the
|
||
|
last 12 months, we and our partners have generated nearly $50 million
|
||
|
in revenues based on our proven technology. That's $15 million more
|
||
|
than 1997 estimates for the entire push market -- which includes
|
||
|
Marimba -- according to Forrester Research. And our customers are not
|
||
|
simply experimenting with pushing content or Java applets to desktops.
|
||
|
They are managing production, mission-critical applications across
|
||
|
thousands of desktops worldwide."
|
||
|
|
||
|
The controversy between Marimba and Novadigm heated up
|
||
|
Tuesday, with Marimba's announcement of its submission (along with
|
||
|
co-sponsors Netscape, Novell, Sun Microsystems and @Home Network) to
|
||
|
the Worldwide Web Consortium of a new industry protocol (Distribution
|
||
|
and Replication Protocol) designed to speed the distribution of
|
||
|
information over the Internet. Novadigm contends that the technology
|
||
|
on which the standard is based infringes on a Novadigm patent
|
||
|
awarded in December 1996, and is the subject of a lawsuit filed
|
||
|
against Marimba in March -- a fact that Marimba knew and did not
|
||
|
disclose with its submission. Novadigm believes that Marimba is
|
||
|
attempting to give away technology that it does not rightfully own
|
||
|
and asked the consortium to defer consideration of the proposal
|
||
|
pending resolution of the lawsuit.
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
EDITORS PLEASE NOTE:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Novadigm's patent infringement lawsuit is available for downloading
|
||
|
at http://www.novadigm.com/.
|
||
|
|
||
|
For additional comments on Novadigm's leading technology or its
|
||
|
patent infringement lawsuit against Marimba:
|
||
|
|
||
|
Michael Barclay, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati Law Firm,
|
||
|
(650) 493-9300
|
||
|
|
||
|
David Coursey, Analyst, Coursey Communications, (415) 577-2545
|
||
|
|
||
|
------------------------------
|
||
|
|
||
|
Date: Thu, 7 May 1997 22:51:01 CST
|
||
|
From: CuD Moderators <cudigest@sun.soci.niu.edu>
|
||
|
Subject: File 8--Cu Digest Header Info (unchanged since 7 May, 1997)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Cu-Digest is a weekly electronic journal/newsletter. Subscriptions are
|
||
|
available at no cost electronically.
|
||
|
|
||
|
CuD is available as a Usenet newsgroup: comp.society.cu-digest
|
||
|
|
||
|
Or, to subscribe, send post with this in the "Subject:: line:
|
||
|
|
||
|
SUBSCRIBE CU-DIGEST
|
||
|
Send the message to: cu-digest-request@weber.ucsd.edu
|
||
|
|
||
|
DO NOT SEND SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE MODERATORS.
|
||
|
|
||
|
The editors may be contacted by voice (815-753-6436), fax (815-753-6302)
|
||
|
or U.S. mail at: Jim Thomas, Department of Sociology, NIU, DeKalb, IL
|
||
|
60115, USA.
|
||
|
|
||
|
To UNSUB, send a one-line message: UNSUB CU-DIGEST
|
||
|
Send it to CU-DIGEST-REQUEST@WEBER.UCSD.EDU
|
||
|
(NOTE: The address you unsub must correspond to your From: line)
|
||
|
|
||
|
Issues of CuD can also be found in the Usenet comp.society.cu-digest
|
||
|
news group; on CompuServe in DL0 and DL4 of the IBMBBS SIG, DL1 of
|
||
|
LAWSIG, and DL1 of TELECOM; on GEnie in the PF*NPC RT
|
||
|
libraries and in the VIRUS/SECURITY library; from America Online in
|
||
|
the PC Telecom forum under "computing newsletters;"
|
||
|
On Delphi in the General Discussion database of the Internet SIG;
|
||
|
on RIPCO BBS (312) 528-5020 (and via Ripco on internet);
|
||
|
CuD is also available via Fidonet File Request from
|
||
|
1:11/70; unlisted nodes and points welcome.
|
||
|
|
||
|
In ITALY: ZERO! BBS: +39-11-6507540
|
||
|
|
||
|
UNITED STATES: ftp.etext.org (206.252.8.100) in /pub/CuD/CuD
|
||
|
Web-accessible from: http://www.etext.org/CuD/CuD/
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ftp.eff.org (192.88.144.4) in /pub/Publications/CuD/
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aql.gatech.edu (128.61.10.53) in /pub/eff/cud/
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world.std.com in /src/wuarchive/doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
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wuarchive.wustl.edu in /doc/EFF/Publications/CuD/
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EUROPE: nic.funet.fi in pub/doc/CuD/CuD/ (Finland)
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ftp.warwick.ac.uk in pub/cud/ (United Kingdom)
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The most recent issues of CuD can be obtained from the
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Cu Digest WWW site at:
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URL: http://www.soci.niu.edu/~cudigest/
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COMPUTER UNDERGROUND DIGEST is an open forum dedicated to sharing
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information among computerists and to the presentation and debate of
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diverse views. CuD material may be reprinted for non-profit as long
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as the source is cited. Authors hold a presumptive copyright, and
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they should be contacted for reprint permission. It is assumed that
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non-personal mail to the moderators may be reprinted unless otherwise
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specified. Readers are encouraged to submit reasoned articles
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relating to computer culture and communication. Articles are
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preferred to short responses. Please avoid quoting previous posts
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unless absolutely necessary.
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DISCLAIMER: The views represented herein do not necessarily represent
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the views of the moderators. Digest contributors assume all
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responsibility for ensuring that articles submitted do not
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violate copyright protections.
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------------------------------
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End of Computer Underground Digest #9.64
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************************************
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