"[McAfee] invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the
UK, to surf without spam filters".

A slightly underwhelming sample size...

<http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7482991.stm>


-- 
They laughed at Joan of Arc, but she went right ahead and built 
it.

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:12:25 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:

> "[McAfee] invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the
> UK, to surf without spam filters".
> 
> A slightly underwhelming sample size...

That's cos it's not research, it's marketing bollocks.

And I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
anyway.


-- 
One way ticket from Mornington Crescent to Tannhauser Gate please.

Fevric J Glandules <fevric@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
> anyway.

I'm glad it's not just me that thought that.

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 09:50:14 +0100, Steve Firth wrote:

> Fevric J Glandules <fevric@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> 
>> I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
>> anyway.
> 
> I'm glad it's not just me that thought that.

I dropped them a line - it'll be ignored.

One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...


-- 
Why is the alphabet in that order?
Is it because of that song?

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:09:41 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:

[news]

> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...

Everything.

-- 
One way ticket from Mornington Crescent to Tannhauser Gate please.

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:41:09 GMT, Fevric J Glandules wrote:

> On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:09:41 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:
> 
> [news]
> 
>> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...
> 
> Everything.

But, if everything is wrong...


-- 
I can't understand why people are frightened of new ideas.
I'm frightened of the old ones.

In article , 
watercress@spamcop.org says...
> 
> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...

The entire licensing strategy

Linux - separate
Mac - separate
Firewall - separate
Pricing - increased by factor of 4, at a time when their competitors are 
marketing aggressively

-- 
Snob? Were I a snob, I wouldn't be talking to you.

Hot Badger Deluxe  wrote:

> On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 09:50:14 +0100, Steve Firth wrote:
> 
> > Fevric J Glandules <fevric@invalid.invalid> wrote:
> > 
> >> I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
> >> anyway.
> > 
> > I'm glad it's not just me that thought that.
> 
> I dropped them a line - it'll be ignored.
> 
> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...

The BBC obeys the first law of journalism. If you know something about a
subject any news article will have obvious and serious flaws. Therefore
by extrapolation, they're all bollocks.

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 11:48:41 +0100, Steve Firth wrote:

> Hot Badger Deluxe  wrote:
> 
>> On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 09:50:14 +0100, Steve Firth wrote:
>> 
>>> Fevric J Glandules <fevric@invalid.invalid> wrote:
>>> 
>>>> I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
>>>> anyway.
>>> 
>>> I'm glad it's not just me that thought that.
>> 
>> I dropped them a line - it'll be ignored.
>> 
>> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...
> 
> The BBC obeys the first law of journalism. If you know something about a
> subject any news article will have obvious and serious flaws. Therefore
> by extrapolation, they're all bollocks.

Yup.

I really must re-read some Hunter S. Thompson.


-- 
Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.

In uk.misc,  (Fevric J Glandules) wrote in
<%1Hak.19310$E41.18058@text.news.virginmedia.com>::

>On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:12:25 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:
>
>> "[McAfee] invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the
>> UK, to surf without spam filters".
>> 
>> A slightly underwhelming sample size...
>
>That's cos it's not research, it's marketing bollocks.
>
>And I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
>anyway.

It's nonsense.  If you don't put your email into anything, you can surf
until you turn blue.  Unless what they mean is "surf without any
protection at all"- in which case, more fool them.
-- 
Marc

Life's tough when you're a lazy loner with a low boredom and frustration
threshold, and it will remain so. -- Lyra Goldbloom's motto for the INTP mailing list

In uk.misc,  (Fevric J Glandules) wrote in
<9XIak.19374$E41.16561@text.news.virginmedia.com>::

>On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:09:41 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:
>
>[news]
>
>> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...
>
>Everything.

Certainly anything technological.  This is more like small local paper
journalism- it's essentially an "advertorial".
-- 
Marc

Life's tough when you're a lazy loner with a low boredom and frustration
threshold, and it will remain so. -- Lyra Goldbloom's motto for the INTP mailing list

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:52:43 +0100, Marc Wilson 
wrote the following to uk.misc:

> In uk.misc,  (Fevric J Glandules) wrote in
><9XIak.19374$E41.16561@text.news.virginmedia.com>::
>
>>On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:09:41 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:
>>
>>[news]
>>
>>> One wonders what else they are getting so badly wrong...
>>
>>Everything.
>
> Certainly anything technological.  This is more like small local paper
> journalism- it's essentially an "advertorial".

About the best handling of one of these security company "surveys" was one I
saw in the Inquirer a few weeks back. They reported the survey findings and
then added something like "and the company mentioned something about wanting
to flog their software, but it wasn't really worth repeating". The survey as
marketing tool is almost as much an advertising cliche as the one with a
thick man and clever woman.

mh.
-- 
http://www.nukesoft.co.uk
http://personal.nukesoft.co.uk

From address is a blackhole. Reply-to address is valid.

On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:51:48 +0100, Marc Wilson wrote:

> It's nonsense.  If you don't put your email into anything, you can surf
> until you turn blue.  Unless what they mean is "surf without any
> protection at all"- in which case, more fool them.

I think they mean "use the internet".

I.e., just turn off the spam filters and collect email as normal and
see how much arrives.

-- 
One way ticket from Mornington Crescent to Tannhauser Gate please.

In article <%1Hak.19310$E41.18058@text.news.virginmedia.com>, 
fevric@invalid.invalid says...
> On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 09:12:25 +0100, Hot Badger Deluxe wrote:
> 
> > "[McAfee] invited 50 people from around the world, including five from the
> > UK, to surf without spam filters".
> > 
> > A slightly underwhelming sample size...
> 
> That's cos it's not research, it's marketing bollocks.
> 
> And I really don't know what the hell "surf without spam filters" means
> anyway.
> 

The Beeb are invariably crap when it comes to anything net related. 
Probably because anyone they have who knows anything about the subject is 
too busy doing stuff to bother briefing the journos.

What bugs me is that every time there is a virus scare they give the same 
WRONG advice. "Only open email attachments if they come from somebody you 
know". I've had to deal with clearing up the mess caused by people 
assuming that to be good advice. I've complained to the Beeb. They have  
given the same crap advice twice since.

-- 
eric
"live fast, die only if strictly necessary"

On Wed, 2 Jul 2008 15:38:26 +0100, Eric Jarvis wrote:

<snyp>

> What bugs me is that every time there is a virus scare they give the same 
> WRONG advice. "Only open email attachments if they come from somebody you 
> know". I've had to deal with clearing up the mess caused by people 
> assuming that to be good advice. I've complained to the Beeb. They have  
> given the same crap advice twice since.

It's Stranger Danger all over again.

My favourite IT Guru (the late Geoff Sida) once knocked out a systems
architect for stating that Geoff's (brilliant) solution "didn't fit in with
VME's architecture".

Respect.

-- 
There is no sense in being exact about something 
if you don't even know what you're talking about.

In uk.misc,  (Fevric J Glandules) wrote in
<plLak.19443$E41.2602@text.news.virginmedia.com>::

>On Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:51:48 +0100, Marc Wilson wrote:
>
>> It's nonsense.  If you don't put your email into anything, you can surf
>> until you turn blue.  Unless what they mean is "surf without any
>> protection at all"- in which case, more fool them.
>
>I think they mean "use the internet".
>
>I.e., just turn off the spam filters and collect email as normal and
>see how much arrives.

Erg.  I hate such misuse- it shows that they don't know what they're
talking about.  See also: "Log on to our website".
-- 
Marc

"In times of change the learners will inherit the earth, while the 
learned find themselves beautifully equiped to deal with a world
that no longer exists."  (Eric Hoffer)