American Express Spam - Anatomy of perverse marketing

American Express Spam and yet they pretend not to.

I had this email ...

From: American Express
Date: 15 September 2009 07:32:08 BST
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: A recommendation from your friend

Advert pushing credit cards and BA Miles with links directly back to AMEX servers for the images and links
... snip

Using links to images with URL tracking like

href="http://email.americanexpress.com/a/hBKnJxXXQB6DpBQKfauDq$NQN.AQB6Dpx0/amex4?MGM_URN=AAAAEgwfEhMeAg==" target="_blank" img name="bacc_mgmee_r3_c4"

Some headers:

Return-path:
Envelope-to: XXXXX@dsl.pipex.com
Delivery-date: Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:32:13 +0100
Received: from mk-filter-7.mail.uk.tiscali.com ([212.139.137.134])
by mk-delivery-2.b2b.uk.tiscali.com with esmtp (Exim 4.69)
(envelope-from )
id 1MnRaG-000DGI-To
for XXXXXX@dsl.pipex.com; Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:32:13 +0100
-Trace: 1261959694/mk-filter-7.mail.uk.tiscali.com/ListenerSBRS/$ACCEPTED/UNKNOWNLIST/72.1.201.196/4.5/noreply@emailreferral.co.uk
X-SBRS: 4.5

The email address that this spam was sent to is technical posting address and has no personal correspondence. This was not a referral this is just mailing list spam.

The domain name is freshly registered "Registered on: 06-Sep-2009" there is no web site or referral business there.
Notes as well that this "Registrant type: UK Individual" just so happens to have a PoBox address.




To put a cherry on top you can see using Google that Amex have paid for adverts to be served when you search for the return address. noreply@emailreferral.co.uk

























Another deceiving financial Institution.

Gannett

Wot more money for ipod touch software update ?

I just bought a brand new Ipod touch. It cost a lot of money - but is shinny+lovely.

Now when I plug it in iTunes want another £7 to update software to Version 3. This is is not fair because
* I bought the latest and did not get the latest incarnation of the iPod Touch.
* You are not warned when buying the Ipod that you may have to pay for upgrade right away.
* Apple runs the "up to date" program for Mac buyers when this happen on computers ie comes with Leopard but Snow Leopard has been released.
* This is like the dismal ( batteries not included ) sticker on a new toy.
* This would be easy to fix. Register an ipod Touch from serial number x onwards and get a iTunes voucher for cost of upgrade. This would also hook people in to iTunes store that is the partial aim of upgrade.

Go on Apple do the right thing, don't annoy folks that just spent 200+GBP plus on a toy by nickel+dime for a software update.

Gannett

d3o the new Velcro

Just one in a while an invention comes along that just changes the rules. This is it, "3do" is a shock impact absorbing goo that modifies it'w own structure on impact. Soft and bendable most of the time but locks rigid under impact. This will change clothing in key ways just like "Velco" fastener did in the past.

Lets hope that this product of long hard work brings rewards to the inventor Richard Palmer as well as the exploiters. An example use is for Ipod protection with this goo can be see on Tech21 website.

Gannett

Advice about data corruption events

Detection – The following items should be seen as warning signs of possible data corruption
• Unexpected exits from normally stable work jobs; any process or database abnormalities should be cause for concern.
• Failure of routine process that scan or search data volumes and file systems ( e.g.: Fsck, backups, catalog processes )
• Hardware I/O errors regardless of whether they are recoverable or not. Especially San, i/o paths and memory

Awareness – these activities are seen as high risk activities for any storage environments
• Frequent reconfiguration or replacement of storage objects.
• Microcode/firmware upgrades ( HBA, switch, array )
• San, Switch and Storage reconfigurations.

Prevention – These activities can help early detection of corruption problems
• Perform test restores of backups, check restored data integrity is sane.
• Scheduled execution of file system metadata and database integrity checks.
• Have spare reliable, tested storage available for immediate deployment, for use in a crisis.
• Maintain records of all i/o path and system device configurations, ( e.g. San, network diagrams and configuration detail)

Investigation – Review these points in the event of a data corruption investigation.
• Retain all log files. Do not let normal daily roll over wipe the evidence (e.g. syslog, alert log, engine log, san switch logs)
• Facilitate early engagement between vendors of all interconnect components.
• Retain or capture copies of corrupted storage objects, the content, size and location of corruption will be used to form theories during investigations.
• Be proactive around scanning the wider estate for similar issues.

The above is very general high level advice. If you wish to obtain specific implementation advice on a per-platform, per-process, per-product or target environment basis please contact your technical support provider.

My Mac G4 moves data at 3,335,443.25 T.Byte a second

My Mac G4 can move huge a amounts of data in a flash. It says so right here in the activity monitor .. Wow, no faking no photo shop honest that what it says.

Gannett

Understanding 3d in 5 dimensions

A good way to understand 3D and animation is to look at a scene using the following five aspects. Understand how these work in any animation and the construction picture becomes clear.

Shape - What is the outline when viewed from all angles, how does the shape change over time ?
Size - What is the object size in relation to the environment and other shapes in the scene ?
Surface - What is on the surface and how does it handle the light ? Does the surface bend curve, grow stretch ?
Steps - Animation is movement. How does the movement break into steps ?
Space - What's in the the space around the object and how does it interact with its space ? What happens when the space around the object changes ?

Look at an animation or 3d scene using the definitions above. Study each aspect and separately and together and soon you will have insight.

Try it ...

Gannett

What's broken with 118800 ?

I had an scare raising email about the new 118800 mobile directory service and problems that might arise. It was incorrect in a number of ways but lets start with this anyway ...

" THIS MAY SAVE YOU MONEY IN THE FUTURE. IT WILL STOP UNSOLICITED CALLS/TEXTS FROM ADVERTISERS (WHICH YOU WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR TO RECEIVE IF YOU ARE ABROAD, FOR EXAMPLE!)

You may already have heard about this but early next week {11 July 2009} all UK mobiles will be on a directory which will mean that anyone will be able to access the numbers. { This is not what the service does } It’s easy to unsubscribe but it must be done before the beginning of next week to make sure that you are ex directory. You may want to suggest it to all your friends and family who have UK mobiles or they could be swamped by unsolicited messages and calls. Removal is recommended by the BBC.

How to remove your mobile number from the directory

To unsubscribe, you can either click on the ex directory button on the their web homepage , or you can text the letter 'E' to 118800 from the mobile phone you want to be made ex-directory. 118800 will send you an SMS message confirming you've been taken off. "

Going to the src we see on the service FAQ that might be lies but lets see.

"Will I get sales calls via 118 800?
We do not sell or pass data to any commercial organisations. So we think it’s unlikely you will receive many sales calls via our service. But we will monitor call patterns for any suspicious activity, investigate complaints thoroughly and de-list anyone we feel is abusing the service.
….
When someone is searching for me on 118800.co.uk, can they see any information about me?
No. All searches on 118800.co.uk are via our secure application that doesn’t show mobile numbers or names and addresses of individuals. Neither do we give prompts that could disclose personal information. We simply say whether we’ve found the individual and, if we have, we forward the enquirer's contact details. "

I would say that most unsolicited sales calls are made via random number diallers, some times from abroad, that will not be altered by either a new directory service or the TPS. A more likely problem with this service is when the directory information is insufficient information for the service to identify a person. I would not like to be the first “Jack Smith” or “Thomas Jones” listed for London.

Gannett

The first shall be last and the last shall be first ( in Excel )

I had a need in Excel to swap the words round in a field. The was for address book processing where I wanted to change a "Last,First" name into a "First Last" combination. The address book has been exported Both names were in the same column and the output was needed in another column.

The second column is a formula like this from cell B1.

=REPLACE(A1,FIND(",",A1),100,"" ) & " " & REPLACE(A1,1,FIND(",",A1),"")

Three are three parts to this formula each separated by &.
The first part takes the characters from cell A1 from the comma for the next 100 characters "First"
The second part is a Space character " ".
The third part takes the characters from cell A1 from the first character up the comma. "Last"
The result showing in cell B1 is the parts joined up, the action of the & between the parts. "First Last"