Had it up to here with junk mail?: Robert Bulmash believes that recent attempts to crack down on spam e-mail and telemarketing have led many bulk advertisers to return to an old-fashioned tactic: sending junk postal mail.
To fight back, the founder of Private Citizen Inc. is encouraging Americans to hold on to every piece of junk mail they get in April. Then on May 1, Bulmash suggests that we write “return to sender” on all the unopened envelopes and take them to the post office, which has to trash them or dump them back on their source.
Bulmash hopes his “Cut Junk Mail Month” draws attention to the waste and annoyance created by the unsolicited credit card offers and product pitches stuffed in our mail slots.
And he hopes to encourage federal regulators to crack down on junk mail, just have they have tried to restrict “telenuisances” – phone and e-mail pitches. He’d like to see a “do-not-mail” list like the federal “do-not-call” list for telemarketers.
Due process issues in privacy case to be appealed: Privacy advocate John Gilmore couldn’t persuade commercial airlines to let him fly without having to show identification. A federal judge in San Jose, Calif. didn’t buy his argument, either.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston dismissed Gilmore’s lawsuit against Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and government officials. She rejected Gilmore’s claims that the airlines’ ID requirement violated his Fourth Amendment protection against illegal searches and seizures.
However, her opinion, filed March 23, also said her court was not the proper jurisdiction to address Gilmore’s claim that his due process rights were violated by vague federal security regulations.
That gave a glimmer of hope to Gilmore, who said he would pursue the issue in appellate courts.
“This isn’t the end,” he said Tuesday.
The lawsuit stemmed from Gilmore’s July 4, 2002, attempts to board planes in Oakland and San Francisco for Washington, D.C., where he planned to petition the government. He argued he was denied that right by airline agents’ refusal to let him board without first showing an ID or submitting to a more intense search.
New ways to make calls in development stage: Two hot technology trends – Wi-Fi wireless Internet access and voice-over-Internet service – could come together soon with Wi-Fi phones that promise free or very inexpensive calls.
Voice-over-Internet carrier Vonage Holdings Corp. is testing Wi-Fi handsets it hopes to sell by fall. The devices would look like cordless phones and would likely be used in homes with Wi-Fi networks.
Rival Net2Phone Corp. is six months into a test of technology aimed at turning Microsoft Corp.’s Pocket PCs into Wi-Fi cellphone replacements.
The Net2Phone test hopes to deliver better quality audio than cellphones and a calling plan with low-priced minutes, said John Will, a vice president at DiamondWare Ltd., a software company working with Net2Phone.
Voice-over-Internet technology converts voice into packets of data and sends them like e-mails or Web pages. By bypassing much of the traditional phone network, the technology avoids access fees.
Consumer Internet phone services require users to have a broadband connection, generally DSL or cable. Wi-Fi’s blazing speed works just as well.
So far, the market for Wi-Fi voice calls is “very small, it’s nascent,” said Elka Popova, an analyst at Frost &Sullivan, a consulting firm. That’s because Wi-Fi phones can be used only in wireless “hot spots,” which are far from ubiquitous.
You can be the campaign manager: An upcoming video game turns political junkies into campaign managers as they vie for the virtual presidency.
Players of “The Political Machine” must raise money, take out advertisements and make TV appearances on fake new shows such as the “O’Maley Factor,” “HardHitter” and “Barry King.”
Livonia, Mich.-based Stardock Corporation Inc. says the game will have premade candidates, including current contenders John Kerry and President Bush, as well as past candidates like Bill Clinton and Bob Dole.
Players can create their own candidate, but they’ll have to balance traits including intelligence, charisma, integrity and experience to garner the most votes.
As you advance, hecklers, spin doctors, protesters and celebrity supporters become available. You win by getting the most votes from the electoral college.
“There’s an entire class of political junkies like me who are into this kind of thing,” Stardock game designer Brad Wardell said.
Perhaps the best part of the game, which debuts in June: no faulty voting equipment.
Associated Press
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