I’m Rebuilding A Quieter PC

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was worried how it will all come out. I always am when it’s PC build time.

I’m writing tonight in case I can’t write this afternoon! I’m about to make modifications to my desktop PC, always a little chancy. That’s especially true this time. To install the new component I bought this computer’s motherboard must be removed!

I built the computer myself. It’s got a beefy quad core AMD Phenom II cpu. The cpu came with a heatsink and fan which I mounted directly onto the chip itself.

It works well, but it’s NOISY!

For most common applications the computer chip throttles back and the fan slows down. The noise is there, but not too bad.

When I’m transcoding video or working with large Photoshop files it’s the opposite. The cpu gets busy which makes it hotter (a little over 100&#176 Fahrenheit). The fan responds loudly.

My purchase was a Cooler Master Hyper N520. It’s a huge cooling structure with two fans that circulate air past copper tubes surrounded by aluminum fins. This massive heat sink and slower running fans should cut the noise to a whisper… at least that’s the claim.

In order to do this the computer itself will have to be dismantled. Though the N520 sits on top of the cpu it is screwed to a bracket underneath the motherboard–inaccessible without disassembly!

This is a little nuts. I know!

I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was worried how it will all come out. I always am when it’s PC build time. Usually my fears are unwarranted. That doesn’t reduce the tension.

I will report back after the job is finished. It’s not the kind of task historically undertaken by “all thumbs” guys like me.

Where Is My Tablet?

Nothing against the iPad, but I chafe at the thought of owning another device which needs Steve Jobs’ approval for me to use as I wish.

I want a tablet computer. Please don’t ask why. I’m not sure I can explain why. Must I?

Think of it as an obsession. I’m talking to you shoe lovers!

The whole tablet genre has been around for awhile, but it wasn’t until Apple produced the iPad that anyone really cared.

Sorry Microsoft. Earlier Windows based tablets were pretty much non-starters. That’s gotta sting in Redmond!

As CNBC reported last fall:

Big news for Apple and Apple investors: The iPad is the highest-scoring product that a leading consumer satisfaction index has ever tracked.

It’s just I don’t want an iPad!

Nothing against the iPad, but I chafe at the thought of owning another device which needs Steve Jobs’ approval for me to use as I wish. That’s why I already have a love/hate relationship with my iPhone. It’s the geek in me pushing back.

After the Consumer Electronics Show I expected a boatload of new non-Apple tablets running Android, the Google produced operating system. Over 100 were introduced at the show. Few have appeared.

Motorola is unveiling it’s new Xoom tablet tomorrow. It’s too pricey.

There are tablets from Huawei and eLocity that look promising (though a friend from PCMag.com said of the Huawei, “Looks like another lousy low-end tablet to me.”).

Here’s what I’m looking for:

  • Capacitive touch screen
  • SDHC card slot
  • Front facing camera for video chatting
  • Android operating system
  • Wifi and Bluetooth. Cell connectivity not necessary
  • USB connectivity

I’d like to use a tablet computer with my camera, but at the moment there are no Android apps which recognize the RAW formats my Canon delivers. I expect that itch will soon be scratched. The same goes with apps to play poker online.

When a tablet that fills my needs comes out and costs less than $400 I’ll be ready to buy. It hasn’t happened yet. It will.

What’s taking so long?

Is Our Superiority Over Computers In Jeopardy?

At some point we’re going to need to reevaluate how society benefits from technology.

In what will surely be the most watched Jeopardy series in recent memory Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter take on IBM’s Watson starting Monday evening. Man, actually men, versus machine. It’s not as easy as it seems.

Watson, a supersized array of computer processors, memory and storage, will not have access to the Internet. No googling for answers!

It will also have to make sense of Jeopardy questions (really answers) which are often punny, obscure and related to equally punny and obscure categories! In other words Watson will have to reason to derive the correct response.

Last night Helaine and I watched NOVA on PBS which had a “Making Of” hour about this challenge. It’s online and worth watching.

“I think what’s making Watson successful is its internal architecture. It’s looking at so many different algorithms—thousands of different algorithms—some of them focused on understanding the question, weighting the various terms, looking at the grammar, the syntax, finding the phrases, the keywords, the entities, the dates, the times, trying to understand what it is being asked. And this, in itself, is a big challenge, where we use a variety of different technologies. But ultimately, what’s exciting about it is how it looks at many, many different possibilities and assesses them and builds confidence in a final answer to decide whether or not it’s correct and whether or not it wants to risk buzzing in on Jeopardy!” – David Ferrucci (Research Staff Member and leader of the Semantic Analysis and Integration Department at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center)

The computer is pretty good. It’s got more than a fair chance. It very well might win. I’m worried about the implications.

It is easy to become a Luddite&#185 in matters of advancing technology. So many jobs have been eliminated by labor saving advances. From the worker’s standpoint it’s easy to think the vast majority of benefit has gone to their bosses.

Much of what’s now done by machine used to be unskilled or semiskilled labor. Robots do the manufacturing, run the elevators and route your phone calls (which are very important us). All that used to be done by people. Robots could fly our airliners if it we’d let them!

Business benefits. Former workers sit on their hands.

Now with Watson’s leap forward into reasoned intelligence the scope of which jobs will be eliminated expands.

At some point we’re going to need to reevaluate how society benefits from technology. If there’s more productivity and less human performed work to be done maybe the concept of an eight hour day, forty hour week and two weeks of vacation should be reconsidered?

Will anyone benefit if business becomes so efficient it no longer needs or pays workers? To whom will business sell?

What Watson does on Jeopardy is only the beginning.

&#185 – The Luddites were a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanised looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life – Wikipedia

Microsoft Versus The English Language

Far be it from me to be the grammar police, but Microsoft has presented me with their own belt and suspenders moment!

Far be it from me to be the grammar police, but Microsoft has presented me with their own belt and suspenders moment! It all came in a dialog box as I was installing some software.

If you haven’t heard yet Microsoft has a reasonably good anti-virus package which they supply for free! If you’ve got an expired version of Norton on your PC or are paying for some shoddy product you should consider Microsoft Security Essentials.

A few months ago they s-l-o-w-l-y began rolling out the free upgrade to Version 2. Tonight was my turn. A dialog box emerged. I clicked a few buttons. Electrons flew through the air. Bingo. Protection is mine!

As the last step in the process I was presented with the pop-up you see at the top of this entry. Read carefully.

You’ve successfully completed the Microsoft Security Essentials Upgrade Installation Wizard

Sweet. I’m finally complete! Except the next line says,

Click ‘Finish’ to complete the upgrade

Huh? I thought I was complete?

Every night I pray these guys are better at writing code than creating complementary sentences.

CES — We Should Be In Vegas!

CES comes at the same time as the Adult Entertainment Exposition, but it’s CES that provides my porn!

I just sent an email to my friend Mike.

“Why aren’t we in Vegas for CES?”

We should all be in Vegas right now! It’s the annual Consumer Electronics Show. This is the place where high tech manufacturers and marketers unveil much of their new technology. CES comes at the same time as the Adult Entertainment Exposition, but it’s CES that provides my porn!

The pre-show buzz says 3DTV and tablet computing will be the stars.

I’ve yet to be won over by 3D. It should be noted I felt the same way about HDTV. Surprise–I’ve changed my mind.

3D poses difficult challenges considering it’s been reported some viewers don’t enjoy the experience while others become disoriented! Here’s part of Samsung’s warning:

Viewing in 3D mode may also cause motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain, and decreased postural stability. It is recommended that users take frequent breaks to lessen the likelihood of these effects. If you have any of the above symptoms, immediately discontinue use of this device and do not resume until the symptoms have subsided

No oily discharge?

For me the big deal at CES is tablet computing. The iPad opened that category and has been very successful. It is simply an amazing product.

From CNBC 9/21/2010: Big news for Apple and Apple investors: The iPad is the highest-scoring product that a leading consumer satisfaction index has ever tracked.

To me iPad is a proof-of-concept, not a mature product.

I want a tablet computer that has a front facing camera (maybe a rear facing one too) and more open access to programs and the outside world. It would be nice if a tablet could allow some simple manipulation of my digital photos shot in RAW format. Cellular connectivity isn’t a must for me as it would be for someone who travels regularly. A tablet computer should also be able to substitute for a TV or a telephone.

Those pads are coming at CES and seemingly at lower cost than traditional computing platforms. There have been lots of numbers mentioned, but the consensus view is around 70 new tablets will be introduced this week. Most will run on Google’s Android operating system, probably the Honeycomb 3.0 version which is optimized for tablets.

For many companies a CES announcement is just a trial balloon. What they’ll show in Vegas are carefully crafted prototypes that may or may not make it into production. Others will show a product at CES that’s a go, but not offer it for sale for months.

I’m very excited by all this. I will look very carefully. I plan on being a buyer. Now dazzle me.

Helaine And The Penguin: My Wife’s Linux Laptop

To Helaine Ubuntu and Windows are functionally equivalent. To a hacker or virus planter there’s a huge difference. Their voodoo won’t harm her!

Just a few feet to my left Helaine is sitting with her laptop. I can’t see what she’s doing, but whatever it is she’s doing it without complaint. Her laptop no longer runs Windows. She’s running Ubuntu Linux.

After a few pointed questions I’ve come to the conclusion she doesn’t care. That’s great.

To Helaine Ubuntu and Windows are functionally equivalent. To a hacker or virus planter there’s a huge difference. Their voodoo won’t harm her!

The anticipation of this switchover was more painful than the switch itself. I backed up her critical files, inserted the Ubuntu disk and it just installed. Both the sound and WiFi were recognized and proper drivers installed.

Beyond logging onto our encrypted wireless network there was nothing to do. The laptop just worked on the first try!

That’s not to say there weren’t challenges. The current Linux version of Picasa has a well documented glitch that kept it from running. Of course the well documented glitch wasn’t seen by me until I installed it three times!

Some of what I did wouldn’t be obvious to a new user. That’s a Linux problem, though new Windows installation from scratch would bring some similar concerns.

I understood WINE needed to be installed for a few Windows only programs to run. No problem for me, but it must be frustrating to someone who can’t conceptualize why and just wasn’t expecting it.

Converting Helaine’s email files demanded some scrambling. She’s an Outlook Express user. I set up Thunderbird as her mail client because it’s quite similar.

Unfortunately Thunderbird won’t import Outlook Express files natively. There is a separate command line program that does the conversion. Files then have to be manually renamed. Again, not a big deal, but only if you know you have to do it.

I’m pretty impressed with Thunderbird. I hadn’t configured an email program in a long time, but as soon as I told Thunderbird Helaine’s mail address it went into its database and set all the server parameters automatically. Sweet.

The default Ubuntu look is a little utilitarian and dull. The default type is very small. I reconfigured the fonts and colors and even added Helaine’s desktop background from her Windows machine. It’s a little more finished now.

So far it’s running like a champ. It boots quickly. It’s been stable. All the functionality she wants and needs is there.

By the way, all of this is free! Where have I gone right?

I’m About To Perform The Great Linux Experiment On Helaine’s Laptop

I can reload Windows XP and take the chance of it happening again or just maybe I can switch her to the virtually virus free Ubuntu Linux.

Helaine’s laptop is infected again! Though I’ve removed most of the infection her browser is still being hijacked. Google results bring spammy non-Google ‘search’ sites. There’s surely stuff I can’t find. Other functions like sound are no longer reliable.

This virus is so good it managed to shut off Microsoft’s own Windows Security Essentials program! Thanks Bill.

This is not Helaine’s fault! Considering where I found most of the infected files it looks like she was fed an infected Java jar. It probably came from an otherwise trustworthy website via an infected ad.

A day after the infection Java posted one of their ‘too damn often’ security updates. Come to think of it Microsoft was in the midst of rolling out Security Essentials 2 then too. Coincidence? I think not.

I have two choices. I can reload Windows XP and take the chance of it happening again or just maybe I can switch her to the virtually virus free Ubuntu Linux.

She was at first skeptical. OK, she was skeptical at second too. Linux sounds geeky.

Certainly there will be a different look and different programs to use. Her browser will remain the same. Her email program will change.

Helaine is primarily a web browser. She doesn’t run very many discrete programs. Those she does use have native Linux versions or claim to run through WINE the Windows emulator.

Linux comes with a ‘live’ version allowing a quick try without committing to an installation. I loaded the CD and it works.

Tonight I’ll back up Helaine’s files and install Ubuntu. Wish me luck.

Better still wish Helaine luck.

Another Piece Of The Internet’s Past To Disappear

When I read about AltaVista’s demise tonight my first thought was, “It’s still around?” I haven’t hit it in years.

Before there was Google there was AltaVista. At one point it was my “go to” search engine. Now with little money to be made and a lot more to be lost AltaVista will disappear.

In the early days of the Internet Yahoo! ruled, but it wasn’t a search engine. Yahoo! was a directory of sites. That wasn’t a scalable concept. As the net grew Yahoo! became cumbersome.

During the spring of 1995, scientists at Digital Equipment Corporation’s Research lab in Palo Alto, CA, devised a way to store every word of every HTML page on the Internet in a fast, searchable index. This led to AltaVista’s development of the first searchable, full-text database on the World Wide Web.

Though AltaVista’s website claims it “continues to advance Internet search with new technologies and features designed to improve the search experience for consumers,” its “Press Room” hasn’t issued a release since 2003, a year after it was acquired by Yahoo!.

When I read about AltaVista’s demise tonight my first thought was, “It’s still around?” I haven’t hit it in years.

It’s still sad.

AltaVista ruled when the Internet was young and mainly non-commercial. It was built for nerds by nerds. Now it’s a footnote.

It’s ironic you’ll only be able to find out about AltaVista by first searching Google or one of the other search engines that killed it.

Web Design: Satisfying Accomplishment

Most of you reading this are already lost, right?

I spent most of last night in my office working on a website. It’s a little thing I’m doing for myself, five or six pages with some video. It’s difficult to explain the feeling, but creating a website is really rewarding in a creative way.

The first step was installing WordPress on a webserver. It only takes a few minutes. WordPress is very mature. Ease is built in.

Most of you reading this are already lost, right? Here’s WordPresses own explanation.

WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

The core software is built by hundreds of community volunteers, and when you’re ready for more there are thousands of plugins and themes available to transform your site into almost anything you can imagine. Over 25 million people have chosen WordPress to power the place on the web they call “home” — we’d love you to join the family.

This site is built on WordPress too. The new site looks nothing like this!

WordPresses ‘themes’ creates the look. There are thousands of themes I could have used, but I modified the on that comes standard (it’s called Twenty Ten). That’s the most rewarding part!

Reskinning the theme requires a little programming skill in wrangling three languages: php, css and html. I know just enough to be dangerous. That means I’m writing with a few books at the ready because there will be questions! If I did this more I’d be a lot faster.

It’s all so elegant. Within a few minutes what began as an instantly familiar barebones WordPress site began to look like the site I wanted!

I spent five hours working on the site last night. It’s nearly done. Later tonight or tomorrow it will be done.

I have a very satisfying feeling of accomplishment.

Need Your Advice On Roku/Boxee/Apple TV/Google TV

Do you have one of these Roku, Boxee, AppleTV, GoogleTV kind of devices? Do you like it? Do you recommend it? What else will I need?

It’s been a while since I had a TV in my office. Without it I’m usually driven to the family room where I play on my laptop, watch TV and snack incessantly.

That snacking’s got to stop!

With that in mind I went out and bought a new TV to bring me back upstairs at night. It’s a 32″ LCD HD model and it was under $300. From a historical perspective that’s a crazy price for what you get. Next year it will probably be less!

I don’t have a DVR or HD service for the set so I went online and checked Comcast’s prices. Then I checked with my friend Peter.

“What about Roku?” he asked.

I tried to sound savvy, but it was obvious I’m not. There’s a whole class of little computers like Roku that bring shows on the Internet directly to a TV. Though they claim to provide access to thousands of programs it’s obvious you’ll need to subscribe to a service to make the box worthwhile.

I don’t know what to do and so, again, I turn to you dear readers for some advice. Do you have one of these Roku, Boxee, AppleTV, GoogleTV kind of devices? Do you like it? Do you recommend it? What else will I need?

I am like a babe in the woods right now. Help set me straight.

What’s Up With Stef’s Laptop And Can You Help?

Is is from the infection? Can bad files cause a computer to just shut itself off? Maybe it’s a hardware problem? I’m not sure and that’s why I’m posting it here.

About a week ago Stef’s laptop got infected. I wrote about it and how I fixed it. Unfortunately it wasn’t that easy.

Is anything ever?

Almost immediately after the repair her computer began spontaneously shutting down. It’s boom–lights out for no reason! This happens in safe and normal modes. It just shuts do
and goes silent. Both the battery and AC adapter seem fine.

Is is from the infection? Can bad files cause a computer to just shut itself off?

Maybe it’s a hardware problem?

I’m not sure and that’s why I’m posting it here. Maybe you know?

Here’s my plan to troubleshoot. I’ll download a Linux distribution which can be run directly of a CD. None of what’s on her hard drive will be used. Then I can just let the computer sit and see what happens. If it continues to turn itself off the problem is hardware and on an out-of-warranty laptop that means death!

I’m looking for suggestions, if you have any.

The More Things Change The More Money Talks

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.

There is a quote attributed to Andrew Lewis (who sells t-shirts emblazoned with it):

If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.

Keep that in mind. Things are changing in the tech world. They’re probably not changing for your benefit. As products evolve the user is more-and-more the product being delivered to others. You are less lkely to be in control of your digital fate.

The Times had a big article this weekend about HTML5 the new iteration of the language that runs the Worldwide Web.

In the next few years, a powerful new suite of capabilities will become available to Web developers that could give marketers and advertisers access to many more details about computer users’ online activities. Nearly everyone who uses the Internet will face the privacy risks that come with those capabilities, which are an integral part of the Web language that will soon power the Internet: HTML 5.

Marketers and advertisers are paying for access and they’ll call the shots! You are more valuable to them when they’ve probed into things you might consider private.

The same goes with your cellphone. My iPhone is jailbroken which means I’m not limited to installing programs Apple approves of and profits from. Jailbreaking is to my benefit not the benefit of the cell providers or operators of app stores.

A cautionary story circulating this weekend told the tale of T-mobile’s new tact to stop jailbreaking of its Android phones. Basically the phone will ‘cleanse’ itself of unapproved files you’ve loaded at regular intervals.

… when unsuspecting members of the public buy The “T-Mobile G2 with Google” phone at a T-Mobile store, they aren’t getting a customizable mobile computer or phone but are instead getting a device where the hardware itself dramatically limits users’ right to make changes to their computers and install the operating system of their choice.

Some tech sites have taken to calling the G2’s hidden program a ‘rootkit.’ That’s a scare tactic. However, to say this ‘feature’ acts the same way a difficult to cleanse computer virus acts isn’t far off point.

I saw early signs of this trend when I bought this Dell 640m with Windows Vista a few years ago. The ability to record audio that’s being sent to the speakers had been removed. The hardware to do it was still in the laptop (since it does it in its Windows XP version) but the functionality had been stripped from the operating system. This wasn’t done for end users but for content producers who are Microsoft’s more important customers.

If you’re used to surfing to anything on the Internet or fast forwarding your DVR through commercials be prepared to see those features fade! You’re benefitting to the detriment of those who really pay the freight.

The digital golden age might already be over.

The Return Of Mr. Tech Support Guy

Without getting too bogged in detail (maybe I’m already past that point) after an hour I was able to install Microsoft Essentials Security which found more viruses than a daycare center during flu season!

“I need to speak to Greg.” The voice was Stef’s on the phone to Helaine. Greg is me. It’s an inside joke in the Fox family.

When daughters speak to mothers it’s because they want to talk. When daughters speak to fathers it’s because they want something.

You take what you get.

Stef was calling on behalf of her friend Christina. Everything on her computer screen was stretched. Could I help?

Could I help? Does Bill Gates have a bad haircut? Please!

A few minutes later we were on a conference call with Stef in California, Christina in New Jersey and me here in Connecticut. I had Christina download the TeamViewer.com software and within two minutes I was in. Thirty seconds later the problem was solved!

Wow, I’m good.

Actually I had an idea what the problem was before I went in. A simple reset of the screen resolution did the trick.

Christina now thinks of me as a god. Stef scores major friend points.

The second tech problem was a little more complex. One of my co-workers asked me to look at his Toshiba laptop. A few minutes after booting it consistently popped a Blue Screen of Death and shut itself down.

Microsoft is constantly improving its game by issuing patches and fixes. This computer had never had any installed–none! The clock was three hours slow because no one had ever reset it from the default Pacific time it ran when it was taken out of the box two years ago.

There were multiple signs of unsafe computing including myriad toolbars in the browser and at least four antivirus programs. I was pretty sure one of those was a virus itself!

In a situation like this stabilizing the patient comes first. I had to find a way to work on the PC without it shutting down.

Without getting too bogged in detail (maybe I’m already past that point) after an hour I was able to install Microsoft Essentials Security which found more viruses than a daycare center during flu season! Here’s a sample of one ‘optional’ program on board.

Win32/Alureon – a family of data-stealing trojans. These trojans allow an attacker to intercept incoming and outgoing Internet traffic in order to gather confidential information such as user names, passwords, and credit card data. The Win32/Alureon trojan may also allow an attacker to transmit malicious data to the infected computer. The trojan may modify DNS settings on the host computer to enable the attacker to perform these tasks.

That’s seriously bad.

It’s been neutralized now. Some Trojans respawn themselves when found! I’ll have to recheck later. Scary.

I anticipate this computer will be close to purring by the time I go to sleep. At least 96 Windows updates (over 700 megabytes to download) will get installed followed by another virus scan, toolbar removal and a check of the DNS and Hosts settings.

If you’re saying this stuff is too complex for most users, you’re right. In order to allow PC owners to install the programs they want there are lots of open security holes. When the computer is neither maintained or update the threat is worse.

Alas, the average user is always the weakest link.

The Hello How Are You Spam Stops

If you’ve been getting these spam emails would you please check and let me know when yours stopped. I doubt it will unlock any secrets, but it would be interesting to see how tightly controlled this army of spammers was.

I just got a blog comment from Richard in the Netherlands.

I have not received any “hello – how are you” spam since 19-09-2010 / 20:28 CET.

That sent me to my spam inbox. The last “hello – how are you” spam was received here Sunday at 2:18 PM EDT (1818 UTC or 2018 CET), ten minutes before Richard’s stopped. Up until that point they had been coming in sporadically sometimes as often as a few a minute other times once every 10-15 minutes.

If you’ve been getting these spam emails would you please check and let me know when yours stopped? I doubt it will unlock any secrets, but it would be interesting to see how tightly controlled this army of spammers was.

Meanwhile I don’t know any more than earlier. This whole thing is a puzzle. We may never know.

Hello – How Are You. The Spamming Continues

This is an immense undertaking–that’s for sure. And as far as anyone can see there is absolutely no benefit to the spammer–zero! I’d like to know why he’s doing it.

What the heck is going on? Yesterday I wrote about a spam message making its way across the Internet.

Subject: hello
Message: how are you

As has happened a few times in the past I blogged about something esoteric, poorly covered and curious. There was no one else ‘covering’ this news. Google deemed me the authoritative source. Search: “hello how are you spam” and you come to me.

No problem. I’m glad to help.

My blog traffic began to spike overnight as geeks and nerds from around-the-world tried to figure out what was going on. If you read through the comments you’ll see how perplexed everyone is. Why would a spammer send out millions of emails with absolutely no payoff on his end?

Every possible justification for the spam led to a dead end, save one.

RFC 822 allows for using X- prefix for user generated info. I have no idea what the “X-Mras: Ok” header means, but it seems to only show up in these emails. I created a filter to send any email containing “X-Mras” anywhere in the headers to a special folder. So far the only emails that show up there are these odd “Hello – how are you” type emails.

This sort of email has been showing up for at least 2 years, off and on –the “X-Mras” field seems consistent in all cases (this may change).

For the non-geeky RFC 822 is the 1982 set of rules which govern email. The rules allow you to add your own parameters for your own purpose without telling anyone why. The only requirement is they start “X-.” These spam messages all contain “X-Mras: OK” a combination not seen in any other email.

Does “X-Mras: OK” mean or do anything? We still don’t know, but the more people who dive into this the more likely it will make sense… at some point… just not now.

Earlier I wrote how I received a few handfuls of these messages. I was wrong.

It was possible some were getting ‘stuck’ at the geofffox.com spam box and never making it to Gmail. When I went there and checked the first screen of results showed 20 spams. At the bottom of the page it said, “20 of thousands.”

I’s difficult to say with any authority the resources being pressed into service to send the “hello – how are you” spam. This is an immense undertaking–that’s for sure. And as far as anyone can see there is absolutely no benefit to the spammer–zero!

I’d like to know why he’s doing it.