MS-DOS>

Just-George
I like my pentium just fine. :)
the bishop
boo. hiss.
Just-George
Is that the sound of sour grapes I here? :)
Dimwit Flathead
No, more like the sound of pure, unmitigated jealousy. Here's another example <Dimwit glares at the screen with all his might, sending a cold shiver to CB's computer for storage and automatic sending to JG when he reads this> In't technology wonderful? Got a spare VGA monitor? Maybe a 486 motherboard? 386? ;}
Just-George
Actually I have a 286 with vga runnin' my board and the 8088 with mono-cga sittin' here waitin' for someone to ask for it! :)
Dimwit Flathead
Smeghead. ;} But, I'll take the VGA! You can have my EGA in trade...maybe even two of 'em!
StraitJacket
Bypass asked for it...
Just-George
I wanna use the vga until I can get something better. But the board actually will run on CGA MONO!
Flying Wombat
Date: 5 Oct 1994 05:59:53 -0400 America Online Draws Fire For Marketing User Names Markey Raises Privacy Issue in Letter to Firm By Elizabeth Corcoran and Sandra Sugawara, Washington Post Staff Writers The debate over privacy in the computer age escalated yesterday as a major on-line services company drew fire from Congress and privacy advocates for offering to rent out names from its list of 1 million subscribers to direct marketing companies. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chairman of the House telecommunications subcommittee, raised numerous concerns about the practice in a letter sent yesterday to Stephen Case, chief executive of Vienna-based America Online Inc. In a prepared statement released late yesterday, Case said that America Online is sensitive to its members' desire for privacy. "We are committed to pull the list off the market if we are found not to be compliant with the (telecommunications) subcommittee's guidelines for consumer privacy." America Online offers customers the opportunity to keep their names off circulated lists. That option is located deep in a series of menus that appear on their screens. No laws prohibit on-line companies from renting information about their customers, which is used to target people for phone or mail sales pitches. But as more and more people begin using computer and interactive television networks to exchange information and shop, there is growing concern that it will become too easy for governments and corporations to track the activities of individuals. Electronic information services can collect information on what publications and services a customer likes, what type of computers he or she owns and a vast array of other personal data. "I feel strongly that comprehensive privacy protections must become part of the electronic ethics of companies doing business on the information superhighway," Markey wrote in his letter, "and a fundamental right of all its travelers." In a Louis Harris and Associates survey, scheduled to be released today, half of the respondents said they would be at least somewhat concerned with on-line services engaging in "subscriber profiling," the practice of matching users' names and addresses with details about their interests. Noting that telephone companies are forbidden from selling phone records of consumers, Marc Rotenberg, director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the on-line world is "an example of where the laws have not kept up with technology." A major telecommunications bill that the House of Representatives passed this summer included provisions aimed at safeguarding consumers by giving them the option to refuse to allow their names to be sold. But that legislation was not passed by the Senate. Markey's letter was prompted by an ad that appeared in the Sept. 19 issue of DM News, a trade publication for people in the direct marketing industry. In the ad, America Online said it was making available the names from its list of 1 million subscribers as well as demographic information and other details on them to advertisers. The America Online ad boasted that its subscribers are " ... computer and modem owners who pay up to $200 a month to enjoy hundreds of entertaining and informative services." Lists of 1,000 names of America Online subscribers cost $100. For additional charges, marketers can also get such information as subscribers' addresses, income, gender, children and their ages, as well as details about what type of computer they use. America Online is not alone in renting out its subscriber lists. CompuServe Inc., the largest commercial on-line service, has done it for years. CompuServe gives subscribers the chance to keep their name off the list. Prodigy Services Co. does not rent out its lists, said Brian Ek, director of marketing programs and communications. Prodigy sells reports that describe the overall demographics of its members, but no names. "You're asking people to trust you with certain information about themselves," Ek said, who said he thought privacy was a major concern of Prodigy users.
Dimwit Flathead
Somehow, I think that it figures for a network like Prodigy. Yeeurgh.
Lee Hundley
I'll take you 8088!
Starry
::smiling::
Elisabeth Perrin
Making a fuss over the AOL thing is dumb. CompuServe has been selling information for years, and MORE of it. Compuserve will keep track of what areas you visit, how much time you spend, and other defining things about you. AOL doesn't keep track of what you do online, except your time for billing purposes. AOL won't even include your online time as part of the information sold. And at the same time as AOL announced selling it's lists (and telling subscribers they could get off of it) it also announced steep price cuts in it's hourly rates.
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