News Common PC Mac CUCUG
The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, November 17th, at 7:00 pm, at the First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The Linux SIG convenes, of course, 45 minutes earlier, at 6:15 pm. Directions to the FBC-CS are at the end of this newsletter.
The November 17 gathering will be one of our split SIG meetings. All SIG meetings are open to whatever anyone wants to bring in.
ToC
We'd like to thank these members for renewing in October: Harold Ravlin, Phil
Wall, Craig Kummerow, Kevin Hopkins, and Ed
Serbe. We'd also like to express our
appreciation to our Lifetime members Kevin Hisel and Richard Rollins.
We welcome any kind of input or feedback from members. Run across an interesting item or tidbit on the net? Just send the link to the editor. Have an article or review you'd like to share? Send it in. Have a comment? Email any officer you like. Involvement is the driving force of any user group. Thanks for supporting the group.
ToC
CUCUG will soon be electing officers for next year. The offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Corporation Agent are open for nominations. The actual election will take place at the December "Annual" meeting. If you'd like to serve your club, or know of someone who you would like to see in a position of leadership in CUCUG, be considering your nominations. The election guidelines appear later in this newsletter.
ToC
It's that time of year again to renew your membership in CUCUG. We rely on our members and their talents for our strength and vitality. You can renew at any of the meetings remaining this year or through the mail at our P.O. Box address. We sincerely hope to have you with us in the new year.
ToC
TidBITS#803/31-Oct-05
Less than 20 days after unveiling new video-capable iPods and announcing Apple would begin selling music videos, short films, and selected ad-free ABC television episodes for $1.99 apiece, Apple says it has already sold more than 1 million videos through its iTunes Music Store. The most popular items include music videos from Michael Jackson, Fatboy Slim, and Kanye West; Pixar's shorts For the Birds and Boundin'; and episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives. Apple's press release quotes CEO Steve Jobs saying the sales indicate a strong market for legal video downloads, and pledging to expand iTMS's video offerings. Is it too soon to hope for The Honeymooners or Your Show of Shows? [GD]
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/oct/31itms.html>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08287>
TidBITS#804/07-Nov-05
After June's Supreme Court decision declaring that Grokster (along with StreamCast Networks and Sharman Networks) were responsible for copyright infringements that occurred as a result of using the companies' peer-to-peer file sharing software, Grokster's network has shut down. (See "P2P Takes a Licking but Keeps on Ticking" in TidBITS-786_ for a look at the underlying issues.) The Grokster Web site now provides a brief (and quite funny) statement about the situation, noting in part, "There are legal services for downloading music and movies. This service is not one of them." The site also promises that Grokster will return as a legal service - we're not holding our breath, not that it was ever relevant to Mac users anyway. [ACE]
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=08159>
<http://www.grokster.com/>
Wed Nov 2, 8:42 AM ET
URL: http://tinyurl.com/9w53w
MILWAUKEE - A 67-year-old man who says he doesn't even like watching movies has been sued by the film industry for copyright infringement after a grandson of his downloaded four movies on their home computer.
The Motion Picture Association of America filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against Fred Lawrence of Racine, seeking as much as $600,000 in damages for downloading four movies over the Internet file-sharing service iMesh.
The suit was filed after Lawrence refused a March offer to settle the matter by paying $4,000.
"First of all, like I say, I guess I'd have to plead being naive about the whole thing," he said.
"I personally didn't do it, and I wouldn't do it. But I don't think it was anything but an innocent mistake my grandson made."
Lawrence said his grandson, who was then 12, downloaded "The Incredibles," "I, Robot," "The Grudge," and "The Forgotten" in December, without knowing it was illegal to do so.
The Racine man said his grandson downloaded the movies out of curiosity, and deleted the computer files immediately. The family already owned three of the four titles on DVD, he said.
"I can see where they wouldn't want this to happen, but when you get up around $4,000 ... I don't have that kind of money," Lawrence said. "I never was and never will be a wealthy person."
Kori Bernards, vice president of corporate communications for MPAA, said the movie industry wants people to understand the consequences of Internet piracy. She said the problem is the movies that were downloaded were then available to thousands of other users on the iMesh network.
"Basically what you are doing when you use peer-to-peer software is you are offering someone else's product that they own to thousands of other people for free, and it's not fair," Bernards said.
Illegal downloading costs the movie industry an estimated $5.4 billion a year, she said.
ToC
by Mark Joseph Edwards
URL: http://tinyurl.com/9aybq
Sony's digital rights management technology (DRM) caused an uproar due its ability to hide itself as well as its difficult removal process. Mark Russinovich first reported his discovery of Sony DRM on his own computer after purchasing a Sony BMG music CD, which required that people install Sony's music player in order to play the music on a computer. Russinovich outlined how the DRM was incredibly difficult to remove from the system. He also pointed out how if a layman tried to remove the DRM technology that doing so might actually render the system unusable.
One of the characteristics of Sony's DRM it that the associated drivers allow files to be hidden on the system using a particular naming convention, which the DRM then filters from view. In effect such hidden files won't be visible until the drivers are removed from the system, and therein lies the rub. Trojan writers quickly picked up on this nuance and used the file cloaking functionality to hide their Trojans on people's systems, thus making detection and removal much more difficult. The good news is that such Trojans would only be a significant problem on systems that have Sony's DRM installed.
Many antivirus and antispyware solution makers have already implemented detection and removal technologies to guard against the Trojan. Some even consider Sony's DRM tecnhology to be a form of spyware. One solution maker, Sophos, has created a tool that removes Sony's DRM from the system.
ToC
Posted by Fred von Lohmann
November 09, 2005 - 12:24 PM
URL: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004145.php
If you thought XCP "rootkit" copy-protection on Sony-BMG CDs was bad, perhaps you'd better read the 3,000 word (!) end-user license agreement (aka "EULA") that comes with all these CDs.
First, a baseline. When you buy a regular CD, you own it. You do not "license" it. You own it outright. You're allowed to do anything with it you like, so long as you don't violate one of the exclusive rights reserved to the copyright owner. So you can play the CD at your next dinner party (copyright owners get no rights over private performances), you can loan it to a friend (thanks to the "first sale" doctrine), or make a copy for use on your iPod (thanks to "fair use"). Every use that falls outside the limited exclusive rights of the copyright owner belongs to you, the owner of the CD.
Now compare that baseline with the world according to the Sony-BMG EULA, which applies to any digital copies you make of the music on the CD:
- If your house gets burgled, you have to delete all your music from your laptop when you get home. That's because the EULA says that your rights to any copies terminate as soon as you no longer possess the original CD.
- You can't keep your music on any computers at work. The EULA only gives you the right to put copies on a "personal home computer system owned by you."
- If you move out of the country, you have to delete all your music. The EULA specifically forbids "export" outside the country where you reside.
- You must install any and all updates, or else lose the music on your computer. The EULA immediately terminates if you fail to install any update. No more holding out on those hobble-ware downgrades masquerading as updates.
- Sony-BMG can install and use backdoors in the copy protection software or media player to "enforce their rights" against you, at any time, without notice. And Sony-BMG disclaims any liability if this "self help" crashes your computer, exposes you to security risks, or any other harm.
- The EULA says Sony-BMG will never be liable to you for more than $5.00. That's right, no matter what happens, you can't even get back what you paid for the CD.
- If you file for bankruptcy, you have to delete all the music on your computer. Seriously.
- You have no right to transfer the music on your computer, even along with the original CD.
- Forget about using the music as a soundtrack for your latest family photo slideshow, or mash-ups, or sampling. The EULA forbids changing, altering, or make derivative works from the music on your computer.
So this is what Sony-BMG thinks we should be allowed to do with the music on the CDs that we purchase from them? No word yet about whether Sony-BMG will be offering a "patch" for this legalese rootkit. I'm not holding my breath.
ToC
No pre-owned games to be allowed for Playstation 3
That's the speculation, anyroadmap
By Marc McEntegart: Wednesday 09 November 2005, 11:11
URL: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=27568
A PATENT may allow Sony to ensure that no game would be playable from any console other than the one in which it was first read.
Joystiq is reporting that this patent is the source of the many rumours that will mean as much to gamers as DRM is for music fans.
The technology would allow an authentication code to be read and then rendered unreadable, making the software unplayable on any machine but the one which first read it.
But this has caused considerable backlash from the gaming community. While many are aware of the double profit companies make on pre-owned games, this would ensure the death of trading games between friends and even going to a friend's house to play a little multiplayer.
No less than Ken Kataguri himself is listed among the inventors, which makes it look like this is a move that came from very high up. It has already been pointed out that many Playstation users have had to replace their console, surely this would leave us high and dry in that event.
While the PS3 hasn't been expressly mentioned in the patent in English or Japanese it would be the obvious place to employ this new technology, regardless of how little gamers will appreciate it. Between this and the DRM scandal, Sony could be looking at a serious drop in interest in the PS3. You can be sure you'll see more on this as it develops. As gamers, we can only hope that modern technology won't undermine the tried and tested barter system.
ToC
Uses portions of open source app without adhering to license
Posted on 2005-11-14 09:15:56
IRL: http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/69479
Sony/BMG's rootkit DRM fiasco is the story that just keeps giving: Now Techdirt
points out that the copy protection at the root of a two week controversy
contains chunks of the open source mp3-encoder LAME. The LAME software is
licensed under the Lesser Gnu Public License (LGPL), portions of which Sony/BMG
didn't comply with. The gist? The company's copyright protection system itself
infringes copyrights. Users also write in with
links that Microsoft Anti-Spyware
now detects the DRM.
TidBITS#803/31-Oct-05
Much to the delight of some of our friends down under, Apple has finally opened a version of the iTunes Music Store in Australia. Reportedly, the delay was due to at least one of the big music companies holding out, and that may account for the lack of artists from the Sony/BMG label. Despite this, Apple claims over 1 million tracks, including a number of exclusives from Australian musicians, and over 1,000 music videos; that's about half the size of the U.S. iTunes Music Store. Also currently missing are TV shows, which undoubtedly require an entirely different licensing process. Prices are a bit higher than the U.S. iTunes Music Store, with most songs costing A$1.69, which is equivalent to US$1.28 at the moment, in comparison with the US$0.99 that U.S. customers pay for most tracks. Nevertheless, it's nice to see Apple finally serving Australian Mac and iPod users in this way. [ACE]
<http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2005/oct/25itms.html>
ToC
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#802/24-Oct-05
Apple has signed on as part of a broad alliance to push a new proposal for faster Wi-Fi. The group, called the Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC), comprises 27 companies, and was formed outside the standards process that has been working on next-next- generation Wi-Fi for several years.
<http://www.enhancedwirelessconsortium.org/>
The IEEE standards group handles wireless local area networks in its 802.11 Working Group. Within that group, there's a Task Group N, the members of which have been working on efforts that have coalesced into two competing proposals for what's called 802.11n. The goal of 802.11n is increased bandwidth - up to a theoretical 600 Mbps. This 600 Mbps standard would also have much higher real-world throughput, too: plain vanilla 802.11g delivers maybe 25 Mbps of its 54 Mbps rated speed. With a 600 Mbps standard, it's possible that we could see 400 Mbps or even more in actual use.
The two competing proposals have stalled in Task Group N. Technically, they're rather close, but in terms of how voting happens, neither side can achieve the 75-percent supermajority necessary to take a proposal into its final stage of development. The IEEE voting procedure is typical among standards groups in that members vote as individuals and only receive voting rights after attending several meetings. The meetings take place all over the world every two months, which puts a large financial strain on attendees without company backing.
Intel, Broadcom (Apple's Wi-Fi supplier), Atheros, and Marvell, which sell most Wi-Fi chips worldwide, quietly built their own synthesis of the two proposals - the Enhanced Wireless Consortium - even while an IEEE group with broader membership tried to hammer out a joint solution by the November 2005 meeting. This splinter group circulated its proposal to Task Group N members and convinced 23 of them to sign on, including the largest consumer Wi-Fi firms: Apple, Buffalo, D-Link, Linksys, and NetGear. Only Belkin is missing from that list.
The ostensible purpose of this end run around the standard process is to cut several months off the time necessary to reach a supermajority-approved proposal. Companies left out, including the pioneer of multiple-antenna technology Airgo, are furious. Nokia and Motorola declined to join the EWC, stating that the EWC approach doesn't have the tools necessary to put 802.11n into cellular handsets and preserve battery life.
Apple's involvement in the EWC is good news for Mac users who like to be on the cutting edge. Apple was one of the first companies to introduce the 802.11g standard as AirPort Extreme in January 2003, and could be an early adopter of 802.11n. Based on user experiences, Apple jumped the gun a little with 802.11g; hopefully the transition to 802.11n will be smoother.
Task Group N could finish its work by early 2007, but if the direction in the EWC proposal is set in stone shortly, new chips that will interoperate among hardware from EWC members might appear by mid-2006. The EWC says that if the IEEE doesn't adopt its proposal, members may finalize their standard and release equipment based upon it without the IEEE blessing.
ToC
By David C. Hall
You guys might want to go to www.twit.tv and download episodes 12 and 13 of the "Security Now!" podcast. They are each roughly 30 minutes. The first one talks entirely about the Sony rootkit thing, and the other one touches some more on it, giving some interesting updates...
They also touch on the Sony DRM thing in the most recent "This Week in Tech" episode, but the "meat" of the subject is in those two "Security Now!" episodes.
http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/sn/SN-012.mp3
http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/sn/SN-013.mp3
References by those above:
http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/sn/SN-009.mp3
ToC
Deals for on-demand viewing without commercials by major networks change the television landscape.
November 8, 2005: 7:53 AM EST
URL: http://money.cnn.com/2005/11/08/news/fortune500/nbc_cbs.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC and CBS unveiled separate plans to make some of their prime-time shows available for viewers to watch at their leisure -- without commercials -- for 99 cents an episode, throwing open the door to "on- demand" television.
The back-to-back announcements on Monday from NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co. (Research), and Viacom Inc. (Research)-owned CBS, came weeks after Walt Disney Co.'s ABC began offering commercial-free Internet downloads of its biggest hits, "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," for $1.99 a piece.
The news also came the same day that file-sharing service Grokster Ltd. agreed to stop distributing software that allows users to copy songs without permission as part of a settlement with the recording industry.
The two latest TV deals add CBS and NBC shows such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" to the mix of programs networks are scrambling to deliver outside of traditional broadcasts.
All three ventures highlight growing efforts by the major commercial networks to shake up "old media" models and expand their avenues of distribution.
On-demand viewing -- enabling audiences to order up shows when they feel like watching instead of according to a preset program schedule -- has been commonplace on pay-cable networks for some time.
A number of broadcasters have dabbled in this area, and personal recorders such as TiVo Inc's popular device already allow viewers to record and play back broadcasts while skipping through commercials.
But the NBC and CBS ventures are the first to give viewers access to several prime-time broadcast offerings on a next-day, on-demand basis through their television sets, as opposed to a personal computer or portable digital device like iPod. And viewers do not have to record shows in advance.
Both launch early next year, with NBC programs distributed through satellite broadcaster DirecTV Group and CBS through cable giant Comcast Corp.
"This has the chance to make our networks even stronger," NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker told Reuters. "It provides more exposure to the shows and gives the viewer the ability to watch the episodes on their own timetable."
NBC narrowly beat CBS to the punch by announcing its tie-in first. Under its plan, select shows from NBC Universal's flagship network, NBC, and its cable networks will be made available for on-demand viewing to homes equipped with a new DirecTV digital video recorder (DVR).
NBC's initial offerings will include the two spinoffs of its "Law & Order" franchise -- "SVU" and "Criminal Intent," as well as workplace comedy "The Office" and sea monster thriller "Surface." Two cable shows also will be part of the mix -- USA Network's "Monk" and Si Fi channel's "Battlestar Galactica."
Hours after those shows first air on the network each week, they will be "pushed" to DirecTV Plus DVRs, where they will be stored digitally and available the next morning for customers to select and play at their convenience for 99 cents.
The CBS venture will initially make four of the network's biggest prime-time hits -- "CSI," "NCIS," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" -- available to Comcast digital cable customers in markets served by CBS-owned TV stations. Those areas include Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Baltimore and some outlying suburbs of New York City.
Comcast already offers digital cable customers some 3,800 on-demand titles, mostly movies, children's shows, sports and music, at no extra charge. Comcast has logged more than 1 billion program views this year, as of last month.
Like NBC's shows, CBS on-demand programs will be sold for 99 cents per episode, the same price online music sites typically charge for downloads of a single song.
In October, Disney began offering next-day Internet downloads of its biggest ABC hits, "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," and some other shows for $1.99 per episode via Apple Computer Inc.'s online iTunes music store.
ToC
By Gina Siemplenski
The Daily Illini, 11/8/05
URL: http://www.dailyillini.com/media/paper736/news/2005/11/08/News/Podcasting.Comes.To.University-1049223.shtml
The University is trying to implement supplemental classroom instruction and lectures through "podcasting."
With podcasting and "vodcasting," owners would be able to download audio and video files to their iTunes account in order to listen and watch them at their leisure. Vodcasting is still in the process of being developed.
Podcasting is already being used at several universities including the University of Illinois at Springfield and Stanford University.
"We (the University) are at the pre-service level, and it's too early to announce the service," said Lanny Arvan, assistant chief information officer for Educational Technologies at the University.
Arvan said steps towards podcasting are happening in a more distributed way.
Some colleges, such as the College of Education and the College of Business have the proper technology for it. WILL radio station is already using daily podcasting.
Jack Brighton, the director of Internet Media at WILL, said his objective is to give people more media options.
"Podcasts are the tipping point of the on-demand media revolution," Brighton said.
Audiences are expanding by a large amount because it gives people better access to radio programs, he said.
"Since you don't have to tune in at a specific time, you have the convenience of taking the broadcast with you to the gym or while walking to class," Brighton said.
He said podcasting is like TiVo for radio.
"WILL has offered mp3 downloads for the past couple of years, but our listeners have increased our downloads from 4,000 mp3's a month to 124,000 mp3's," Brighton said.
Arvan said Campus Information Technology and Educational Services is currently researching what options the University has to set up a program that will deal with the syndicated distribution of content.
"CITES would help people consider vendors for a free service, get the word out about how content is distributed and where the podcasts are hosted," Arvan said.
He also said he eventually hopes that PowerPoint files, Excel files and e-reserve content from the library can be distributed through iPods.
"CITES would help students find RSS (really simple syndication) Web sites," Arvan said. "Students could then subscribe to a Web site where a podcast is and find enclosures of files they want to download."
Many critics think that podcasts could replace conventional classroom instruction. However, Arvan said he doesn't think that will happen.
"It's a nice complement to lecture material and is a great option for review," he said.
Bradley Go, sophomore in FAA, said podcasts would not prevent him from going to class.
"Podcasts would remove the realm of interactivity," Go said.
Arvan said students don't need technology as a reason to ditch class.
He also said that whether CITES will provide service is undecided right now.
"We are trying to learn what people and vendors want in order to accommodate and envision what a service could look like in two or three years," he said.
Arvan said Stanford University now has a Web site for putting up content on an iTunes server.
Apple is also in the process of developing iTunes servers for other universities.
Arvan said a major problem is the need for Apple hardware, and departments that already have Apple software are more inclined to invest.
Go said podcasts are a great idea but have certain limitations.
"It depends on the University's ability to make iPods more accessible to students because not everyone can afford them," Go said.
ToC
By SAM DILLON and STEPHEN LABATON
Published: October 23, 2005
NY Times story URL (registration not necessary):
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/23/technology/23college.html?ex=1287720000&en=36556cd12f8fc287&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
The federal government, vastly extending the reach of an 11- year-old law, is requiring hundreds of universities, online communications companies and cities to overhaul their Internet computer networks to make it easier for law enforcement authorities to monitor e-mail and other online communications.
The action, which the government says is intended to help catch terrorists and other criminals, has unleashed protests and the threat of lawsuits from universities, which argue that it will cost them at least $7 billion while doing little to apprehend lawbreakers. Because the government would have to win court orders before undertaking surveillance, the universities are not raising civil liberties issues.
The order, issued by the Federal Communications Commission in August and first published in the Federal Register last week, extends the provisions of a 1994 wiretap law not only to universities, but also to libraries, airports providing wireless service and commercial Internet access providers.
It also applies to municipalities that provide Internet access to residents, be they rural towns or cities like Philadelphia and San Francisco, which have plans to build their own Net access networks.
So far, however, universities have been most vocal in their opposition.
[MORE at the URL given above]
[Contributor's Note: There were a number of stories about this unfunded mandate recently, including local stories that discussed the effect of the mandate on the UI. ... at the end of the NY Times article:
The University of Illinois says it is worried about the order because it is in the second year of a $20 million upgrade of its campus network. Peter Siegel, the university's chief information officer, estimated that the new rules would require the university to buy 2,100 new devices, at a cost of an additional $13 million, to replace equipment that is brand new.
"It's like you buy a new car, and then the E.P.A. says you have to buy a new car again," Mr. Siegel said. "You'd say, 'Gee, could I just buy a new muffler?' "
"David L. Noreen" <d-noreen@uiuc.edu> ]
ToC
Paul Thurrott
URL: http://www.wininformant.com/
Well, with Xbox 360 stepping up to the gate uncontested by rival next- generation systems, Microsoft is hoping to clean up during the upcoming holiday season. According to the software giant, it will sell about 3 million Xbox 360 consoles within 90 days of the November 22 launch, with consumers spending about $1.5 billion on Xbox 360 related merchandise. Additionally, Microsoft said it plans to ship between 4.5 million and 5.5 million consoles by June 2006. What hasn't changed, oddly, is that Microsoft will lose money on each console it sells, though it hopes to reverse that trend over the lifetime of the device. Hey, it worked the first time. Oh, wait.
Meet the new Sony, same as the old Sony. The company that let Apple waltz away with its personal electronics crown is still vainly trying to protect its music business and hurting the rest of the company as a result. But this time, they're hurting users too. What Sony has done is so epically stupid, so utterly anti-consumer, that I'm only surprised Microsoft didn't think of it first. Here's what's happening: In its never-ending effort to ensure that consumers aren't stealing music from the CDs they buy, Sony actually includes a root kit-based copy protection scheme on certain audio CDs. This malicious software silently installs itself on your PC and then is almost impossible to remove. Once there, it phones home and tells Sony your IP address and what you're doing with the CD. Aside from the ethical and perhaps legal problem with a major consumer electronics firm installing malware on users' system, the real kicker to this story happened yesterday when hackers released the first virus that takes advantage of the Sony malware to infect those systems that have played the infected CDs. Good stuff. And hey, thanks, Sony. Because you've made me realize that I never want to buy another audio CD ever again.
This week, the Mozilla Firefox Web browser turned one year old with over 100 million downloads and between 8.5 percent and 11.5 percent of the Web browser market under its belt (estimates vary). That's not a shabby first year, I guess, though obviously Firefox will need more than 10 percent of the market to be a viable competitor to market leader Internet Explorer (IE), which is slowly angling toward a 7.0 release that should dramatically improve its security and capabilities. Until then, Firefox is a clear contender to the crown, and you certainly can't find fault with the media attention this little browser has caused. Since the Firefox 1.0 release in November 2004, the Mozilla Foundation has shipped a 1.1 version of the product and is getting ready to deliver version 1.5 in the coming days (a second release candidate of Firefox 1.5 is now available). But my favorite Firefox tidbit will generate a smile from "Dodgeball" fans: Firefox 2.0 is codenamed "The Ocho." Good stuff.
Anyone still remember when Netscape was Microsoft's big boogeyman about ten years ago? When Microsoft completely rearchitected Internet Explorer 4.0 to meet some crazy Netscape desktop replacement solution that never even appeared? The results of that work continue to haunt Microsoft's users today: Windows was melded with IE, the IE shell replaced Explorer, and HTML was suddenly everywhere in the OS; all of these moves provided hackers with countless new ways to surreptitiously enter our PCs and compromise them to their own evil ends. And these attacks continue today: Every month, it seems, a new patch is released for a critical IE security vulnerability. Well, good news, Windows users. Microsoft is at it again. And this time, the supposed competitor is Google, a company that dabbles in Windows software but is really best known for Web-based services. As with Netscape, Microsoft wants to stop Google at all costs, and it's already taken a page from its original Netscape competition playbook by starting to copy every single feature Google offers. And now, it's killing MSN to meld all those services into Windows. You can sort of see where this is headed. Unless Microsoft realizes the insanity of what it's doing, the software giant is heading toward a downward spiral that can only result in products and services no one is asking for, all seamless integrated with its dominant PC-based products. Please, Microsoft. Take a step back and think about what you're doing here. Your history speaks for itself. It's not a pretty story for you or your customers.
Google this week shipped the "final" (or "non-beta") version of Google Desktop 2, its integrated Windows and Web search tool. As with the beta version, Google Desktop 2 includes the Sidebar, which provides HTML-like content panes that users can customize as desired, plus various entry points for local and Web searching. I haven't grabbed the new version yet, but the beta was surprisingly good.
ToC
by Paul Thurrott
URL: http://tinyurl.com/c4gj6
In late 2004, Microsoft purchased GIANT Company Software and acquired its industry-leading antispyware product. Since that time, Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (as the product has been known) has been in perpetual beta. This week, we learn that the new release of the product will be named Windows Defender, but there is still no mention of a release date.
Windows Defender will contain substantial changes to the Windows AntiSpyware beta version. In addition to the spyware detection and removal technologies, Windows Defender will include other malware detection and removal features and will run as a service, giving it lower-level access to the OS.
"What's really cool about this name is that it's more positive than 'Windows AntiSpyware,'" says Microsoft group program manager Jason Garms. "Windows Defender is about what Windows will do for customers, defending them from spyware and other unwanted software. Our solution has really been about more than just the standard definition of 'spyware'. We've always said we will provide visibility and control, as well as protection, detection, and removal from other potentially unwanted software, including root kits, keystroke loggers, and more."
A version of Windows Defender will be included in Windows Vista (due in late 2006), and Microsoft says that it continues to plan for a free Windows Defender version that will be made available to Windows XP users.
The question, of course, is when. With Windows Vista hurtling toward a Beta 2 release in December, Microsoft has been focusing on the version of Windows Defender that will be included with that product, causing development of the Windows XP version to lag.
But Microsoft might have bigger problems than delays. According to a report in the "Seattle Post-Intelligencer," the Windows Defender name was already being used by an Australian developer, Adam Lyttle. His Windows Defender product protected Windows users from malicious Web sites. Adam Lyttle told the Post-Intelligencer's Todd Bishop that Microsoft contacted him a month ago, charging him with infringing on the Windows trademark but neglecting to mention that the software giant wanted to use the "Windows Defender" name. Lyttle subsequently signed over rights to the name to Microsoft and was "shocked" when he later learned the company intended to use the name for one of its own products. To read the complete article, use the following link: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/247483_msftdefender08.html
ToC
[Editor's Note: Here is the copy of the notes Richard used for his presentation to the PC SIG at the October PC SIG meeting.]
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19200218
Dated April 26, 2004
The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a nonprofit group that seeks to raise public awareness of cybersecurity issues, also helped conduct the survey. Technical experts examined 329 home computers connected to the Internet with either broadband or dial-up connections in September and October. Participants were interviewed about their awareness of online threats. Following their interview, AOL technicians examined the firewall and antivirus settings on participants' computers and looked for virus infections and for the presence of spyware and adware.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,118311,00.asp
Dated October 25, 2004
A virus is a self-replicating program that spreads by inserting copies of itself into other executable code or documents.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_program
Spyware is software that collects and transmits user specific behavior and information, with or without permission.
Adware is software that generates advertisements such as pop-up windows or hotlinks on Web pages that are not part of a page's code. Adware may add links to your favorites and your desktop. It will often change your home page and your search engine to sites that earn income from various advertisers.
Malware is software that damages your system, causes instability, or exhibits antisocial behavior such as changing settings or interfering with a computer's registry and security settings.
1. Rootkit is used to describe the mechanisms and techniques whereby malware, including viruses, spyware, and trojans, attempt to hide their presence from spyware blockers, antivirus, and system management utilities. There are several rootkit classifications.
Commerical
Norton Antivirus
McAfee
PC-Cillin
Free
AVG
Alwil's Avast 4 Home Edition
Softwin's BitDefender
Look for "passed ICSA Tests"
International Computer Security Association
Stinger
Ad-Aware
Spybot
Microsoft Antispyware
Elite Toolbar Remover
Cwshredder
HijackThis.exe
Rootkit Revealer
Blacklight
Regseeker
A Regstry repair tool
Netcraft Phishing
A Toolbar to rate web pages
Firefox
A Browser that is more secure
SCANNERS:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx http://www.lavasoft.com/
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
VIRUS SCANNERS:
http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
SPYWARE GUIDES:
http://www.spywareguide.com/index.php http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/pest/ http://www.spywareinfo.com/
BROWSER HIJACKERS:
http://www.merijn.org/
http://www.intermute.com/products/cwshredder.html
PROCESS LIBRARY:
CORRUPT ANTISPYWARE:
by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#802/24-Oct-05
At a special press event in New York last week, Apple rolled out new revisions to its professional line of PowerBook computers and unveiled new high-end quad-processor Power Mac G5 systems.
<http://www.apple.com/powerbook/>
<http://www.apple.com/powermac/>
First up, Apple refreshed the 15-inch and 17-inch members of its PowerBook line, adding larger displays, increasing battery life, and making DVD-burning SuperDrives standard across the entire PowerBook line. The 15-inch PowerBook now features a 1440 by 960 pixel screen resolution (slightly larger than the previous 17-inch model), while the giant 17-inch "lunch tray" PowerBook now offers a 1680 by 1050 pixel display, the same number of pixels as Apple's 20-inch flat-panel Cinema Display. Apple says the new machines offer up to 22 percent longer battery life (up to 5.5 hours), include speedy 5400 rpm hard drives (with 7200 rpm drives available as build-to-order options), ship with a minimum of 512 MB of RAM, feature optical audio input and output, and come with built-in support for Apple's mammoth 30-inch Cinema HD display. (Because, naturally, the first thing you want to do with a portable computer is hook it up to an enormous, non-portable screen! Am I wrong?)
Both systems feature 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4 processors, DVI and S-video output (adaptable to VGA and composite), 8x SuperDrives, Gigabit Ethernet, AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR wireless networking, a built-in V.92 56 Kbps modem, illuminated keyboards, FireWire 400 and 800 ports (one each), two USB 2.0 ports, and a Type I/II PC Card slot.
The new PowerBooks are available now, with prices starting at $2,000 for the 15-inch model and $2,500 for the 17-inch model. Apple's 12-inch PowerBook is also available starting at $1,500, although its specs remain largely unchanged (save for an 8x SuperDrive and a 5400 rpm hard drive now being standard).
Apple also unveiled a revision to its Power Mac G5 line of professional-level desktop computers, rolling in PCI Express expansion slots, pro-level graphics controllers, and a high-end option with two dual-core PowerPC G5 processors running at 2.5 GHz for a total of eight floating point units, four AltiVec units (which Apple has always dubbed "Velocity Engines"), four 1 MB L2 caches, and a total processing capability in the neighborhood of 76 gigaflops.
It's not quite accurate to call the new high-end Power Mac G5 a "quad-processor" system: like its dual-CPU predecessors, it still contains only two CPU chips, but the difference is that those CPUs each contain two processor cores, rather than one. Similarly, the mid-range Power Mac G5 system is no longer a dual-processor system, but a dual-core system, containing one dual-core G5 chip running at 2.3 GHz.
<http://www.apple.com/powermac/dualcore.html>
The new Power Mac G5 systems also feature a new architecture which supports up to 16 GB of RAM, 1 TB of internal Serial ATA hard disk storage, PCI Express expansion slots (two four-lane and one eight- lane) designed for high performance expansion hardware like graphics cards, DSP audio processing, and FibreChannel storage. Apple's also offering four professional level graphics options for the Power Mac line, including the new Nvidia Quadro FX 4500, that company's fastest workstation video card, which can support dual 30-inch displays. The Power Mac G5 systems also feature 16x SuperDrives, one FireWire 800 port, two FireWire 400 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, two USB 1.1 ports (on the keyboard), two internal disk bays (one available), dual Gigabit Ethernet, optical audio input and output, analog line-level audio input, and optional AirPort Extreme (802.11g) and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR wireless networking. They come with an Apple Keyboard and a Mighty Mouse; the Apple Mouse is no longer available separately or with any Mac.
<http://www.apple.com/powermac/graphics.html>
Power Mac G5 prices start at $2,000 for a 2 GHz dual-core G5 system and run up to $3,300 for a 2.5 GHz quad-core system, with numerous build-to-order options available. Dual-core G5 systems are available immediately, and Apple says quad-core systems should be shipping by mid-November.
ToC
TidBITS#802/24-Oct-05
Sources have confirmed that the eMac, Apple's inexpensive all-in-one Mac with a CRT-based screen, is no longer available for individual sale, although educational institutions can still buy the model. It's likely that Apple felt little need to carry on with the eMac line with the Mac mini taking over as the least expensive Mac for individuals and the iMac G5 holding up the all-in-one end of the line. Although it's hard to see Apple keeping the eMac available to educational institutions indefinitely, it does meet a specific need there - schools are less likely to want to use difficult-to-secure Mac minis in public labs, and the iMac is quite a bit pricier than the eMac. [ACE]
ToC
by Geoff Duncan <geoff@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#803/31-Oct-05
Apple has released Mac OS X 10.4.3, the latest update to its Tiger operating system. Two versions are available: one, the "Delta" update, updates Mac OS X 10.4.2 to 10.4.3, while the other "Combo" update brings either Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.4.1 to version 10.4.3. The 10.4.3. update is available for free from Apple either via Software Update or as separate standalone installers: sizes vary depending on computer models and software installed, but range from around 55 MB for the Delta update to 109 MB for the standalone Combo updater.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301984>
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301985>
The Mac OS X 10.4.3 update is a collection of bug fixes and tweaks, rather than new features or capabilities, and the update includes previous security updates Apple has released for all versions of Mac OS X 10.4. According to Apple, the following changes and improvements highlight Mac OS X 10.4.3; the complete release notes are available at the first URL above, Apple's Web page describing the "Delta" update.
by Glenn Fleishman <glenn@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#802/24-Oct-05
Salling Software's latest releases extend its remote-control software across all kinds of technology. The original Salling Clicker let you use a cellular phone to control a Mac via Bluetooth. Now, you can control multiple computers across a network, use Wi-Fi on Palms and other Wi-Fi-equipped handhelds, and run Salling Clicker under Windows.
The $24 software, a free upgrade for existing users, is preconfigured with scripts for programs that beg for remote control options, such as Apple's iTunes, iPhoto, and Keynote, and third party applications like NetNewsWire Pro, Squeezebox's SlimServer, and VLC Media Player.
Salling Clicker is extensible through its guided creation of AppleScript scripts or through user-written scripts. A Phone Events tab lets you trigger scripts based on activity like the phone ringing, or a device coming into proximity so that it forms a Bluetooth connection. Some people set up their events so that when they leave their computer, Salling Clicker pauses music, stops checking email, and sets iChat status to Away.
Network support is new, and it enables a remote handset or handheld and one Bluetooth or Wi-Fi-enabled Mac to control multiple computers on a network (this feature works only on the Mac for now).
Version 3.0 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later, and supports 90 different makes and models of cell phones, handhelds, and similar devices. It's a 4.3 MB download.
ToC
by Jeff Carlson <jeffc@tidbits.com>
TidBITS#802/24-Oct-05
At a press conference in New York last week (which coincided with PhotoPlus Expo), Apple announced Aperture, a new professional application geared toward photographers shooting and working with digital photos in RAW format. Aperture aims to concentrate all of the activities pro photographers need - capture, correction, and output - in one application. The software is available for pre- order now at $500, and is expected to ship in November.
<http://www.photoplusexpo.com/>
<http://www.apple.com/aperture/>
Aperture's focus is on the RAW format, the unprocessed digital information captured by higher-end digital cameras (most consumer- level cameras capture an image and save it to a memory card in JPEG format, which applies lossy compression); Aperture also supports other common image formats such as JPEG and TIFF. It can copy photos directly from the memory card, enabling you to preview the shots before extracting them - a feature I've long wanted to see in iPhoto. It also grabs the EXIF metadata tags.
Once within Aperture, the images remain in RAW format, where you can apply correction using tools such as white balance, color shifting, red-eye removal, and more. The editing is non- destructive, so you can always revert back to the original. Clever photo-friendly features such as a light table arrangement (where you can view numerous photos in a large work space) and a loupe feature (which shows you a magnified circle to view selections of an image without zooming the entire photo) should appeal to photographers. Aperture also features extensive support for grouping and collecting images in albums and smart albums using IPTC metadata tags, as well as tools to compare multiple photos against one another. Other nice features include a built-in backup system for archiving photos, Web and book publishing that offers flexibility well beyond what iPhoto includes, and Photoshop compatibility.
Speaking of Photoshop, Apple isn't positioning Aperture as a "Photoshop killer," just as Motion isn't an After Effects killer. Rather, its strengths appear to be offering a workflow for pro photographers in one attractive package, instead of a mashup of Photoshop plus assorted plug-ins that deal with specific image adjustments (see Charles Maurer's article series, "Through the Digital Lens," starting in TidBITS-748_ for examples of this sort of thing). The question will be whether photographers, who have probably already invested in Photoshop, will be willing to cough up another $500 for Aperture.
<http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/>
<http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbser=1261>
TidBITS#802/24-Oct-05
Since the release of the new video- enabled iPod, a few noteworthy articles have appeared about getting video content onto the device. iLounge looks at the options for encoding video for the new video iPod: "iPod-Ready Videos? Not So Fast, and Not So Clear." QuickTime 7.0.3 adds an export option to QuickTime (and therefore, to applications such as iMovie) to encode video for iPod, but you don't get to customize its settings. Jeremy Horowitz performed a bunch of tests to see how long it takes to encode, and what the quality of the results was. Also, Jonathan Seff at Playlist shares his experiences encoding content, including ripping DVDs using HandBrake. I watched a few movies on a weekend train trip from Seattle to Portland and back, and found the experience surprisingly good. [JLC]
<http://ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/ipod-ready-videos-not-so-fast-and-not-so-clear/>
<http://playlistmag.com/weblogs/ipodblog/2005/10/videoipodlessons/index.php>
by Michael Rozeboom
The momentum generated by Apple's iPod digital music players and related products continues to translate into new Macintosh sales according to one Wall Street analyst who estimates that over one million Windows users have purchased a Mac in the first three quarters of 2005.
In a research note released to clients on Monday, Needham & Co. analyst Charles Wolf said the number of Windows users purchasing a Mac appears to be far higher than the firm had previously anticipated.
"If we assume that all of the growth in Mac shipments during the past three quarters resulted from Windows users purchasing a Mac, then purchases by Windows users exceeded one million," the analyst said. "Indeed, the number of Windows users purchasing Macs in 2005 could easily exceed our forecast of 1.3 million switchers in 2006."
The rest of the story is at <http://www.appleinsider.com/article.php?id=1360> .
ToC
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
October 20, 2005 - President Rollins opened the meeting, but without the usual introduction of officers, as there was no one present who didn't know them already.
President Rollins reminded everyone that membership renewals begin this month. There was a discussion of membership cards, or the lack thereof. Membership Chairman Kevin Hopkins made a lame excuse about not really needing them, but some people wanted them anyway, so he (I) will see they get made.
President Rollins asked what would be happening in the SIGs this evening. Emil Cobb said the Mac SIG was be looking at an iTunes demo, but "the guy that asked for it isn't here, so maybe not tonight."
Jerry Feltner asked. Windows NT 4.0 will it run on most things that Win95 and 98 will run on. KH1 said it needs a Pentium. Jerry said he had a PC card with 8MB memory card on it for a Thinkpad and a SCSI ZIP drive for anybody who wants them for free.
Phil Wall said he had a friend who got a new motherboard. They reinstalled Windows XP but couldn't reactivate it. Richard Rollins said he never had a problem. Richard said call the phone number and after it gets declined they'll give you another number to call and they'll take care of it.
George Krumins related his similar story. He said he had hanged a machine and then charged it back and Windows didn't complain. George said it was like it had a memory of the old configuration.
There was a discussion of this corporate "Mother My I" business practice. Ed Serbe brought up the story in the October newsletter about Emachines and Microsoft reactivation. Kevin Hisel and Richard Rollins defended Microsoft's right to do what they did in that case. This lead into a discussion of Nero sending out versions of their software that will only work with the specific drive it came with. This was concerned with OEM versions of software versus full blown version of the fully licensed software.
The topic of drives lead to mentioning the fact that every drive manufacturer has a drive back-up piece of software, with which you can clone the drive - a nibbler, bit by bit copier. With such, a user can do an end run around the whole reactivation hassle.
There was a discussion of virus software. It was stated that McAfee stinks. Richard Rollins, Kevin Hisel and Ed Serbe all concurred.
Harold Ravlin talked about a machine he has at work which has two processors, 2.4 GHz Xeons. The version of Linux he is running says the CPU speed is one GHz. It was suggested that the multiplier might be set wrong in the BIOS or there is an incorrect jumper setting.
Quentin Barnes showed his Motorola Sliver phone. The device is about the size of the iPod Nano. It has iTunes on it. Kevin Hisel said he wanted to touch it. Quentin said it also contains a camera. Emil Cobb showed his Nano, which prompted Richard Rollins to talk about the video iPod.
Wayne Hamilton asked about line conditioning. It was pointed out that UPSes go for as little as $30 now. The APC 500 amp unit sells for about $60. Wayne said he had bought his mom a computer and it was for her. In the discussion it was noted that UPSes smooth out voltage fluctuations, not so such a problem around here, but it's worse up north, closer to Chicago. They also handle power drop outs and the loss of power due to lightning.
At this point we ended the General meeting and took a break.
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
This evening's presentation was given by Richard Rollins and his topic was Viruses, Spyware, Adware, Malware, and Rootkits. Richard began by saying that the biggest problem he's been having with his costumers is crashing. These can be traced back to the five offenders just named. Since Richard ran his well crafted presentation pretty tightly to his prepared script, which you can find in the PC section of this newsletter, I'll just provide a few impressions of the things he said here.
Initially, Kevin Hisel questioned some of the figures tallying spyware programs infecting machines, suggesting they were counting cookies as spyware components, but Richard seemed pretty confident they had taken that into consideration..
Richard said spyware can come to you evn in the guise of what one might consider legitimate software. He noted that PKZip was one of the first to contain a spyware program in its distribution.
Richard then went through his major categories, focusing on Rootkit.
Richard's recommendation for avoiding these nasties is to run something other than Internet Explorer. ActiveX is the crap they're using.
Richard commented that it's come to the point where things like Norton and McAfee are bloatware. The cure is worse than the disease. He highly recommends AVG. Also noted Alwil's Avast 4 HomeEdition, Softwin's BitDefender, and Stinger.
Ad-ware, Spybot, Microsoft Antisyware? None works best. Run all three to get all of the bad stuff. You can get realtime Protection in MMicrosoft Antisyware. You can get immunization in Spybot. Ad-Aware is great, but thinks Spybot is spyware, so run them separately, not at the same time.
Here are a couple of Richard's PowePoint slides:
Toolbar Hyjackers
Rootkit Tools (rootkit.com)
Extra tools
Richard then gave a list of helpful web sites (see his article above).
Richard said run tools in Safe Mode or run them last.
This stuff is getting bad.
Microsoft calls this class of software Ghostware. They're going to make bootable Windows CDs so you can boot off the CD and look back at your machine. There already are a couple of such CDs: Win PE boot disk and Bart PE. These have been available for a couple of years to OEMs.
Richard had copies of his disk containing his presentation and program tools and offered them to anyone who wanted them. Hands flew up all around the room. He gave out copies of his Spy-Hunt disk to everybody present.
Richard's final advise was, "Whatever virus software you have, keep it updated. Do all of your Windows Security Updates."
Kevin Hisel spoke for everyone when he told Richard he thought his presentation was professional and informative. Thanks, Richard, for the presentation and the article ;-) .
ToC
reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)
The October meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Thursday, October 27, 2005, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). This was a two day delay from this meeting's usually scheduled occurrence. Present at the meeting were: Richard Rollins, Emil Cobb, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, and Rich Hall.
Emil Cobb: Emil reported that we had 15 people at the last meeting: five people attended the Mac SIG; ten people in attendance at the PC SIG. There was no Linux SIG. Reporting on the Mac SIG meeting, Emil said Quentin Barnes took over the iTunes demo. He had lots of questions about iTunes.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin said that Richard Rollins' Spy Hunt presentation was "spectacular." Richard said he enjoyed doing it.
On a personal question on how to put a Windows laptop to sleep, Richard told Kevin to hold down the Shift key when you go to Standby and it will become Hibernate.
Rich Hall: Rich reported we had 5 re-ups at the meeting. He told Richard, "I liked your presentation. Some of it is scary." Rich said he would like to see a presentation on how to set up all your security stuff.
Speaking as Treasurer, Rich reported that he had renewed our CDs.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin said that Richard's demo was "One of the most professional presentations I've ever seen. And informative. You did a good job."
Addressing Corporate Agent matters, Kevin said he discovered our corporate status lapsed five years ago. Richard Rollins said renew it. The filing fee is $200. We were involuntarily dissolved in 1998.
Richard Rollins: Richard said, "I enjoyed doing the presentation." He then reported we have no programs for next month. There was a discussion on the use of PowerPoint in Richard's presentation which Kevin Hisel really liked. Richard said he'd like to see a presentation on VPN.
There was a discussion of sniffers. Richard warned, if you use your computer at an Internet café, you are sending your login and password in the clear before it gets to the café's router and some pirates are picking them up at such places. Add this one to looking over your shoulder or using camera phones.
Richard wanted it noted that our Internet connection at the meeting is being provided as a gift from Volo. Normally, it is $32/month with a $300 one-time set up fee - they provide and maintain equipment. You normally get 250 MB per day, and can get an additional 250 MB/day for $10 more. Their site survey is fee. If you are interested, you can check out their web site at http://volo.net . Their phone number is 367-VOLO ; email sales@volo.net . Peter didn't ask for any promotion, but we're giving it to him anyway.
The meeting then became unofficial. A couple of things that came up where:
I. Offices available
A. The President - basically, the coordinator for the entire club.
Appoints committee chairs and presides over the general meetings.
B. The Vice President - performs the President's duties in his absence.
C. Treasurer - in charge of the financial affairs of the club. He/she pays
the bills.
D. Secretary - in charge of keeping all of the procedural documentation,
e.g., meeting minutes, as well as correspondence with members,
non-members and other clubs.
E. Corporation Agent - in charge of all matters dealing with CUCUG's
corporation status.
II. Candidates
A. Potential candidates should contact the chairman of the Election
Committee prior to the November meeting so that they may coordinate
the forum, etc. Kevin Hisel 217-406-948-1999
B. Nominations will be accepted from the floor at the November meeting.
C. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their views
or present their platforms at the November meeting.
D. The Nominating Committee will verify that anyone nominated is a
member in good standing. Otherwise, they will not be allowed a forum.
E. Candidates' names will be published in the December newsletter.
III. Voting
A. Who can vote
1. Every member in good standing (i.e., dues paid) may vote.
2. Must have and present the current (2005) membership card.
B. Voting at the general meeting in December
1. Secret ballots will be distributed to each member that presents a
valid membership card at the December meeting.
2. The Secretary will prepare the official ballot forms. No
candidates' names will appear on the ballots themselves.
Candidates' names and the offices they seek will be posted at the
meeting place by office and then alphabetically by candidate.
C. Proxy voting
1. If you cannot attend the December meeting, you may request a
special proxy ballot from Kevin Hisel (217-406-948-1999) no later
than December 5, 2005 (the Monday of the week prior to the week
of the meeting).
2. Place filled-in ballot in a blank, sealed envelope.
3. Place blank envelope along with your valid membership card in
another envelope.
4. Address this envelope to: CUCUG, 912 Stratford Dr., Champaign, IL
61821, clearly print the word BALLOT on the front and
mail it.
5. These proxy votes will be opened and verified only by the Tellers
at the December meeting and counted along with the general
ballots.
6. All proxy ballots must be received at the CUCUG post office box
no later than December 15, 2005 (the day of the meeting).
D. Who you may vote for
1. You may vote for anyone. Write-in (non-nominated) votes will be
accepted and counted. The candidate with the most votes for a
particular position wins that position. In the event of a tie,
the Tellers will require a recasting for that position only.
2. To assume office, a candidate must be a member in good standing
both in 2005 and in 2006. If a winning candidate cannot be
verified, the office goes to the next verifiable candidate with
the most votes. If there are no verifiable winners, a second
balloting will take place. Proxy ballots will be counted
each time.
IV. Chronology
A. October meeting
1. Announce protocol to general membership.
2. Solicit candidates.
B. November newsletter
1. Re-cap the election protocol.
C. November meeting
1. The membership will appoint a Nominating Committee.
2. Accept nominations from the floor.
3. Nominations will close.
4. Candidates will be given equal time in a forum to express their
views or present their platforms.
D. December newsletter
1. Candidates' names will be published in alphabetical order with
the offices they seek.
E. December meeting
1. Nominated candidates names and the offices they seek will be
posted in alphabetical order.
2. The President will appoint 2 or more Tellers to distribute
ballots and count the votes.
3. Votes will be taken and counted by the Tellers. Winners names
will be announced by the President.
F. January newsletter
1. Winners names will be published.
G. January meeting
1. New club officers will be installed.
ToC
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Champaign in Savoy. The FBC-CS is located at 1602 N. Prospect Avenue in Savoy, on the NE corner of Burwash and Prospect. To get to the the First Baptist Church from Champaign or Urbana, take Prospect Avenue south. Setting the trip meter in your car to zero at the corner of Kirby/Florida and Prospect in Champaign (Marathon station on the SW corner), you only go 1.6 miles south. Windsor will be at the one mile mark. The Savoy village sign (on the right) will be at the 1.4 mile mark. Burwash is at the 1.6 mile mark. The Windsor of Savoy retirement community is just to the south; Burwash Park is to the east. Turn east (left) on Burwash. The FBC-CS parking lot entrance is on the north (left) side of Burwash. Enter by the double doors at the eastern end of the building's south side. A map can be found on the CUCUG website at http://www.cucug.org/meeting.html. The First Baptist Church of Champaign is also on the web at http://www.fbc-cs.org .
Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at mid year.
Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by email. All recent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user group exchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. As a matter of CUCUG policy, an exchange partner will be dropped after three months of no contact.
For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact one of our officers (all at area code 217):
President/WinSIG: Richard Rollins 469-2616 Vice-Pres/MacSIG: Emil Cobb 398-0149 e-cobb@uiuc.edu Secretary/Editor: Kevin Hopkins 356-5026 kh2@uiuc.edu Treasurer: Richard Hall 344-8687 rjhall1@uiuc.edu Corp.Agent/Web: Kevin Hisel 406-948-1999 contact/index.html Linux SIG: Phil Wall 352-5442 phil.wall@pobox.com
Email us at http://www.cucug.org/ contact/index.html, visit our web site at http://www.cucug.org/, or join in our online forums at http://www.cucug.org/starship/ .