Hewie's Views and Reviews
By Hewie Poplock

Welcome to this issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ . Hewie's Quick Thoughts appear almost daily at http://www.hewie.net/weblog/ .

In this issue:

++++ 2003 Digital City Surveys
++++ Streaming Videos
++++ Bush Signs National Anti-Spam Law
++++ You'll Keep Getting Pop-Ups
++++ Lots of New additions to Hewie's Favorites

January, 2004

++++ 2003 Digital City Surveys

The Center for Digital Government announced the results of its third annual Digital Cities Survey. Underwritten by Microsoft, the Digital Cities Survey examined and assessed how city governments are utilizing information technology to operate and deliver quality service to their customers and citizens. Tampa, Florida was number 1 in the cities over 250,000. I noticed a lack of cities in the northeast in the results.

There were 3 categories based on population. Colorado had the most cities in the list, with California and Virginia tied for second. See the list at http://www.centerdigitalgov.com/center/03digitalcities.phtml

I recently read that nearly half of all US access to the Internet is by broadband (DSL and Cable). Sometime in April or May, we will pass the 50 percent mark. That's amazing when you think about it.

++++ Streaming Videos

PC world has some short (about 3 minutes each) step-by-step how-to's and PC World editors' reviews at http://www.pcworld.com/resource/video/ which are very good. There is an increasing trend to use the bandwidth with streaming videos and flash animations.

++++ Bush Signs National Anti-Spam Law

A new law signed by President Bush will attempt to rid the Internet of unsolicited commercial e-mail. I don't think you will see any change in the amount of spam that you receive. However, supporters of the legislation say it gives state and federal law authorities the tools needed to track down and prosecute the largest and best-organized spammers. You can read more at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4437-2003Dec16.html

++++ You'll Keep Getting Pop-Ups

A federal judge in Baltimore has ruled that a California company called D-Squared can continue sending "pop-up" Internet ads until the matter is decided at a trial. FTC attorney Monica Spivack says: "They clearly knew that this practice was in fact causing consumers' computers to crash. The defendant's own marketing material said this." D-Squared attorney Anthony Dain's counter-argument is: "Should our clients be shut down from their best marketing tool and from the tool that best serves the customer, whether they're annoyed or not?"

++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites

URLwire
http://www.urlwire.com/
Selective and personalized site announcement services focusing on Web site events Web based promotions and Web site launches

Sophos spam information
http://www.sophos.com/spaminfo/
Sophos provides a comprehensive range of material and information about spam

Calendar Of Updates Calendar
http://www.dozleng.com/updates/index.php?act=calendar
Software updates by date

Kinati 2PDF Converter
http://www.k2pdf.com/
Free online web-based document conversion service of Portable Document Format (PDF) files

USB Flash Drive Alliance
http://www.usbflashdrive.org/
Alliance to educate the public on the benefits of using USB flash drives which are tiny devices capable of storing files such as digital photos or music files

FreeTechMail
http://www.freetechmail.org/
FreeTechMail – IT Newsletters – Providing Free Technology News to Your Mailbox

Web Marketing & E-Commerce
http://www.wilsonweb.com/
E-commerce e-mail and web marketing information for small business entrepreneurs researchers non-profits and merchants

Worldwide Brands
http://www.info1.mydssd.com/wwb/?
Drop Ship Source Directory and other info for online products

American RadioWorks
http://www.americanradioworks.org/
Radio programs - public affairs documentaries on major social and economic issues investigative reporting and the Living History series

Fifties Index
http://www.fiftiesweb.com/
Well researched and offers authentic material in particular photos which capture images of the 50's

futon critic
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=home
Primetime television resource with a hot-off-the-wire compendium of TV information

BNET.com
http://www.bnet.com/
Get business white papers case studies and webcasts

CellUpdate.com
http://www.cellupdate.com/
Cell Phone news articles and critical info. Selecting a cell plan types of plans tips for lowering your bill charges in the fine print taxes and fees other faqs info on cell phone portability

Coupon Mountain
http://www.couponmountain.com/
Online coupon codes & discount shopping offers updated several times daily

Seniorshops.com
http://www.seniorshops.com/
Shopping for products to aid older people in coping with everyday problems

Carbohydrate Awareness Council
http://www.carbaware.org/about/index.htm
Network of resources and an authoritative voice for advocacy of the low-carb industry

Turkey for the Holidays
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/turkey/
Turkey for the Holidays is your guide to this traditional holiday meal. Includes cooking techniques selection carving side dishes nutrition food safety using leftovers

Witts Computer Wallpaper
http://wittswallpapers.com/
Free windows desktop computer wallpaper

Professional Resumes
http://www.professional-resumes.com/
Professionally written resume. Lots of good advice as well. If you are looking for a job worth a look. Free articles- tips - samples - advice

Tech Support Alert
http://www.techsupportalert.com/
Where to find tech support resources - free support sites - shareware sites and more

HomeTownLocator
http://gazetteer.hometownlocator.com/index.cfm
Gazetteer Census Data Physical and Cultural Features

Zip Backup to CD
http://www.zip-backup.com/
Zip Backup to CD is a data backup software that I use. It distributes files to stand alone Zip files fitting a CD-R

Sophos describes hoaxes
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/hoaxes/
Good list of information about virus hoaxes

SpamAnatomy.com
http://www.spamanatomy.com/
News Behind the News on Spam

SpywareInfo
http://www.spywareinfo.com/
Information about spyware and how to guard your privacy

Local weather forecast
http://www.weatherforyou.com/index.html
Local weather forecast for over 65000 cities. More current conditions through personal weather station network. Forecasts radar weather satellite folklore and links

j79zlr's tips and tweaks
http://j79zlr.homeunix.com/
Lots of good hints to help with XP and other versions. Good registry tutorial

MCSEworld
http://www.petri.co.il/
MCSEworld by Daniel Petri is one of the most comprehensive MCSE related web sites. Windows 2000 NT XP and Exchange 2000 related tips tricks and how-to articles knowledge bases

Recover CHK Files
http://www.ericphelps.com/uncheck/index.htm
Identify and recover (as much as possible) data lost in CHK files

Knoppix Linux
http://www.knoppix.net/
Free and Open Source Live Linux CD

NoviiRemote & Guide
http://www.novii.tv/products/noviirg/
NoviiMedia software for your PDA. Universal learning remote control TV listings and remote control Movie listing