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 August '06 Topics
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"I agree completely with my son James when he says the Internet is like electricity. The latter
lights up everything, while the former lights up knowledge."
August '06 Topics
If you believe in telekinesis, raise my hand.
Essential Sites
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"The Internet is a giant international network of intelligent, informed computer enthusiasts, by which I mean, 'people without lives.' We don't care. We have each other."
August '06 Topics
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Actrix Newsletter August 2006This newsletter has been produced to help you
get the most out of the Internet, Welcome to the August 2006 Actrix customer newsletterWelcome to the latest Actrix customer newsletter. I'm amazed at how quickly the months roll by. There are a couple of announcements to make. One is that we now have new help desk hours. The help desk has always been open from 8 am until midnight, but a very low number of calls during the last hour of operation each day (and oftentimes none at all) means that we can better serve customers by closing at 11 pm instead, and using the staff earlier on in the evening when there are more calls. As far as the newsletter goes, we're going to retire the "A Little Levity" section for a while. Funny little lists and jokes about the Internet that haven't been around for a long, long time are getting harder and harder to find. Instead we thought we might feature two or three news stories that were included in Actrix newsletters from five years ago. These will often be interesting as they show how much technology has changed over the years, but sometimes we'll include them just because they are interesting in and of themselves. Rob Zorn Podcasts and Internet RadioYou may have heard the word "podcasting" and wondered what it was all about. Perhaps you dismissed it as just one more new Internet fad thingy that only kids will ever understand. Well, it is pretty recent, but it certainly isn't just for kids and geeks. Podcasting is the latest Internet trend to deliver the power of mass communication into the hands of any average Joe or Josephine who has a computer, a microphone, and a hankering to be heard. Podcasts are inexpensive to create, free to distribute, and virtually censorship free. Whether you want to create your own, or just get in touch with what people all around the world are doing and saying outside mainstream media, podcasting offers something for everyone. You do need a little bit of tech-savvy to create and publish a podcast, so we'll just stick to finding and enjoying them for the here and now. What is podcasting?Podcasts are recorded files (mainly audio, sometimes video) typically created by amateurs and uploaded to the Internet. They're usually episodic and are designed to be downloaded and played at the listener's leisure. The most common types of podcasts are news stories, opinions, interviews, discussions, musical performances and personal blogs. They range in quality from tacky and self-indulgent through to slick, artful, professional and thought-provoking. The term "podcasting" is derived from the words iPod, and broadcasting, though you certainly don't have to have an iPod to play them. Any portable media player should be able to do the job, and if you don't have one of those, your computer will have built in software, such as Windows Media Player, that will handle them fine. Podcatchers
The most popular and well-supported podcatcher is iTunes (a free 35 Megabyte download from www.itunes.com). If you can handle a big download, this is the one to go for. Even though the iTunes music service isn't yet available in New Zealand, you can still use the program for listening to podcasts and Internet radio. It's also good for playing other sound files, and ripping them to mp3, and when the iTunes music service does become available here, you'll be all ready to go. Other popular podcatchers that might suit those looking for a smaller download include PodSpider (14 Megs – www.podspider.com $14.99 U.S.) or Juice (6.3 Megs – http://juicereceiver.sourceforge.net - Free). What's out there?Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular all around the world as well as right here in New Zealand, and many are advertised on web sites. To subscribe, find and click the button on the page that applies to your podcatcher. If there isn't one there (and most support iTunes) look for other information about how to subscribe or enjoy a one-time listen. New Zealand
The Radio New Zealand website (http://www.radionz.co.nz/) has a podcast section and about 10,000 episodes are downloaded there everyday. Simply click the individual shows (such as Saturday Morning with Kim Hill, or Insight, and listen to them online, or you can drag and drop the shows into your Podcatcher in order to subscribe more permanently. International: Here are a couple of other gems from elsewhere around the world. Skepticality: An entertaining regular podcast that explores rational thought, critical thinking, science, and the de-bunking of the supernatural and pseudoscience: http://www.skepticality.com/. Nobody Likes Onions: An entertainment and comedy podcast covering topics ranging from technology to toothpaste. "It's like taking a cold shower in sarcasm!" http://www.nobodylikesonions.com/nlo/.
The Sounds In My Head: A weekly music show featuring songs and bands you might have missed. http://www.thesoundsinmyhead.com/ (iTunes only) You can also go to podcasting directory sites, and there are thousands of these. Some of the more popular are: Every Podcast: http://www.everypodcast.com/ Internet RadioAnother way to get audio content from the web is via Internet radio. Most major radio stations in New Zealand and around the world also broadcast over the Internet simultaneously. Internet radio is designed to be listened to live. It is streamed rather than offered for download, and can’t be saved for later listening. The advantage of Internet radio, of course, is that it comes to you across the Internet, and you don’t have to worry about all the hassles of shortwave reception to hear broadcasts by stations overseas. New Zealand stations that stream their content include all the main ones. The Radio New Zealand site (www.radionz.co.nz) for example will let you choose to listen live to their various stations (Concert FM, National Radio, Parliament) or download individual shows as podcasts.
Lots of online directories exist that will point you to available stations. These include: Internet Radio Index:
http://www.internetradioindex.com/i-probe/ip_radio.html You can also find international radio stations using the built in radio feature of iTunes. Simply click the genre that interests you and then double click any of the various stations that are displayed. iTunes has a wide range of genres ranging from classical to classic rock, punk and alternative, and more stations than you could shake your mouse at. Many of these stations can only be heard over the Internet. Printer friendly version of this article...
Time for a web site?Last month we looked at how cheap and easy it is to get your own domain name and use it for your e-mail address. You could stop there, but if you’ve gone that far, you’re only a hop, step and jump away from the ultimate testament to your tech-savvy-ness, a web site. Whether you’re going to build it yourself (and it isn’t that hard) or employ someone else, your first personal or business site should probably be pretty modest; three or four pages limited to text and a few images. If the initial time or money you spend proves worthwhile, you can always expand your horizons. It is way too easy to spend hundreds of hours or thousands of dollars on something that turns out not quite to be what you thought you might possibly have originally wanted... maybe. Basic everyday web sites are built using a language called HTML. HTML is so simple to understand that an eight-year old can master it, and many of them do. It is written in plain text so you don’t need any special software to write it, and there aren't too many weird symbols or anything. Its principles are easy to grasp and there are a large number of web sites online that offer tutorials in how to produce your first web site from scratch. A good basic online guide can be found at http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/, but there are literally thousands of similar sites, and a quick Google search on HTML tutorial, will help find the one that is just right for you. "The really good news is that we've just increased our hosting allocations, so you get more for your money." Even for the completely uninitiated, basic font, and background colours, adding click-able links and placing images can probably all be learned in an evening. The hardest part about coming up with something that looks good is mastering the elements and principles of style and design, and a quick waltz around the Internet is proof of that. There are millions of sites designed by those who have quickly learned the basic ideas behind HTML, but who haven't found the time to develop an understanding of colour schemes, limited font variation and placement. If you’re working on a site of your own, have a look at what others have done. Find a site or two that you like the look of and try and do something similar yourself, whilst keeping things simple. As a rule of thumb, stick to a few well-matched colours, and keep the size of images small so they don’t take too long to download. There is software specifically designed for designing web sites in HTML. They allow you to put the site together just the way you want it, and all the HTML is done for you behind the scenes. Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage are the two used mainly by professional designers, but they are expensive to buy. Simpler free or free-trial programs are also available to be downloaded from the web. Coffeecup is a popular one that offers a free trial version at www.coffeecup.com. The good thing about a program such as this one is that you can download it, play around with it for a while, and if you decide that HTML is not for you, it hasn't cost you anything. Hosting the web siteThe last thing to worry about is actually getting the site onto the web. To achieve this, you need to have your site hosted on a computer (in this case one called a web-server) that is already on the web. Again, Actrix can help in this regard. For as little as $12.50 per month we'll make sure your web site stays up, and that it works when people type in your web address. Your domain name gets added to our name (or DNS) servers which propagate your domain name all around the world, so people anywhere can get to it by typing in your web address. The really good news is that we've just increased our hosting allocations, so you get more for your money. Our basic Cyberhost 5 plan used to allow you five megabytes of space (adequate for most starter sites) but the plan has been renamed the CyberHost 10, and guess how many megabytes of storage you now get? That's right; ten! Other hosting plan allocations have also increased. You can find all the new amounts at http://www.actrix.co.nz/webservices/hosting.php. Actrix will also provide you with your own password-protected access for uploading your site. You normally do this using an FTP (file transfer protocol) program. The principles of FTP are also very simple, and the various programs out there (plenty are free) are child's play to use. The FTP program just makes a temporary connection between your computer and the web server. It will allow you to choose a file on your hard drive and upload it to your web site with little more than a click or two of your mouse. Again, our help desk will happily give you a few tips to get you started. To get your web hosting ball rolling, just visit the web hosting section of our web site: http://www.actrix.co.nz/webservices/hosting.php or click the Web Services menu on our home page. There you'll find more information, and a short form to fill out and submit in order to be personally contacted by one of our representatives. Most Actrix customers are entitled to some free web space for a non-business site. Free hostingMost Actrix customers are entitled to some free web space for a non-business site. Five megabytes of personal space comes as part of your connection. You don't have to apply for it. It's already set up for you behind the scenes. This may be a good place to experiment with your first web site outing. It doesn’t cost you anything beyond what you’re paying for connectivity, and it’s a good opportunity to experiment, and learn. Without spending a cent you’ll soon know whether designing your own web site is really what you want to do. When you're ready to experiment and you think you have some web site files ready to upload, log into My Actrix on our main web page (www.actrix.co.nz). Inside My Actrix you'll find a link called User Homepage. This will allow you upload your own web site to your personal web space. To see how your site looks, just go to http://users.actrix.co.nz/yourusername/. There are a couple of provisos. You can't use this personal space in conjunction with a domain name, and you can't use it for business purposes. The web address you get is probably not the most professional look for a business anyway, but personal web space is a fine way to publish your resume or upload family news and photos for friends and family to access from overseas. So why not be adventurous and give it a go? Printer friendly version of this article... Please forward this among all your contacts!I've received a couple of these forwarded e-mails from well-meaning customers of late, so it looks like the old virtual virus e-mails are doing the rounds again. I'd hoped we'd seen the last of them. They typically look like the following, and there are lots and lots of variations:
But the whole thing is a load of nonsense, a hoax designed to cause panic, and to mimic virus behaviour even when there isn't such a virus. Usually some big names are mentioned as having announced or discovered the virus (such as Microsoft, CNN or AOL), and it's always the most destructive virus ever, with no known cure. It will always eat your entire hard drive (or burn it with an Olympic torch, whatever that means) and you won't be able to fix it. By encouraging you to send the bogus warning on to everyone you know, or to your entire address book, the e-mail is trying to act like a virtual virus. Viruses like to replicate by sending themselves on to other addresses found on your computer without you knowing. This e-mail is trying to make a sucker out of you by getting you to do this knowingly. So, if you do receive these panicky types of virus warnings, you can safely ignore them. The last thing you want to do is pass them on. If you're still tempted to because you think it's better to be safe than sorry, at least check first. If CNN, Microsoft, or AOL really have made an announcement about the most destructive virus ever, it will be on their web site. The Virus Myths web site at www.vmyths.com currently has some problems, or I would send you there, but a quick Google search will often reveal the truth about virus hoaxes as will sites like this one: http://vil.nai.com/vil/default.aspx. Printer friendly version of this article...
Readers' forum
Shirley writes: Hi Rob on my Outlook Express email I deleted by mistake a folder in my local folder files which had some important documents for me to action later on. I went through them two weeks ago and pressed delete on one of the emails I had in the folder and only just realized now I had deleted the whole folder. Is there any way of retrieving this folder? Here's hoping... regards Shirley Hi Shirley, You have a chance! Normally, when you delete a folder, Outlook Express moves it into your Deleted Items folder where it effectively becomes a sub-folder of Deleted Items. Have a look and see if there's a little cross next to your Deleted Items folder. If there is, click that and any sub-folders should be displayed. If your important folder is there it will show, and you can drag it back out into your folder list. If it isn't there, then it's gone for good, but you normally have to delete something twice with Outlook Express in order for it to be permanently gone. I hope that helps and that you find it! -- Carol Ann writes: Could you please tell me how I can get my website to come up on searches? Hi Carol-Ann, Getting your web site to feature well in searches is no easy task, and a lot of work goes into the ones that do always come at the top of the list on any search, but here are a few things to do. Firstly, register your site with the major search engines such as Google, Yahoo and NZ Search. These sites will have a "Submit your site" button somewhere that you can click and let them know about you. In time, they will send their web spiders out to visit your site and they'll add it to their archives. Secondly, you need to set up good meta tags within your web pages' headers. These are site descriptions and key words that will be used to find your site, and they're easy to add when you know how. A good tutorial on meta tags can be found here: http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2167931. Thirdly, make sure that the text of your web page repeats the key words used in your key word list about three or four times. Don't over-do this, as a search engine is pretty good at telling when you're faking it by overloading key words, and they'll tend to ignore you if you do. Fourthly, get your page linked to by other sites where that's possible. If lots of other sites link to you, it gives a search engine the idea that your site is good and popular, and this will lift its ranking in the returns it gives. These are the basics. There are a number of other things that can be done, and a quick Google search on "improving site search ranking" will probably give you all sorts of other helpful tips and tricks. By coincidence, one of our other customers, John Wort, alerted me to this
interesting page on how Google collects and ranks its results. Quite
fascinating, really:
http://www.google.com/librariancenter/articles/0512_01.html. Printer friendly version of this article...
Interesting sites (Click the picture links to access the sites)Please note: Actrix supplies links to these sites for your interest and possible use. We cannot endorse or take any responsibility for their contents. Got a site you think would be neat to share with other readers? Click here to e-mail and let me know!
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 The Incredible World of Navel Fluffwww.feargod.net/fluff.html - "Some people gaze into their navel for inspiration: I look into mine and see navel fluff. Also known as navel lint, it is that fascinating fluffy substance that forms mysteriously in the belly buttons of special people." Graham Barker's collection has been certified by the Guinness Book of Records. He also collects his whiskers....... |
 Nice Peoplewww.nicepeople.co.nz/ - Each year Vodafone looks for nice people for their World of Difference Programme. This year they're running a "nice-onality test" that really is a lot of fun. You're given a small collection of toys or tools that you can only use once for each of a series of scenarios they set for you. You can play the game as nicely or as not nicely as you like, and it's a lot of fun to see what the flash animation does with your choices, whether they are sensible or not. It's all done so nicely and tastefully, even when the homeless person eats the kitten. |
 Socialise NZwww.socialise.co.nz/ - Socialise was launched recently as a chat site aimed at decent types. It is not just about dating, but friendship and networking as well. It is the first web site in New Zealand which uses virtual chatrooms - where you pick an identity, right down to the clothes, colour of your hair and skin. A member can invite another member on a virtual outing to a zen garden, restaurant or fun park and for those who want a communal outing, a night club, cafe, beach or harbour cruise is available. |
 Crazy for Cowswww.crazyforcows.com/index.shtml - This site is a celebration of all things bovine. Cow lovers from all around the world can get together and share their beefy stories and photos, play games, and buy and sell cow-related paraphernalia. It's all very a-moo-sing. I've never herd of such a thing. There are lots of links to other cow related sites, and quizzes to do in case you need to beef up on your cattle-knowledge. |
 Miss Nomer's Phraseswww.resultgroup.com/missnomers/default.asp - "The English language is horribly confusing. Not only is spelling tough but, certain phrases are becoming so common that it's often hard to tell what the correct phrase actually is! Warning - reading the Miss Nomer list may cause you to inadvertently substitute the incorrect phrase, thus becoming an unwilling victim to the trend! Miss Nomer urges her readers to use care and only use the misnomers is a casual environment where people know that you are only joking!" |
 Problems solved by MacGyverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_problems_solved_by_MacGyver - What a "can-do" guy that MacGyver was! A childhood hero for many, he was the only man on earth who could build an entire shopping mall out of a hose, a cereal box and a broken nail clipper. The wonderful Wikipedia has listed all his amazing achievements by episode. Kids, don't try this at home. There's a chance it may not quite work the same for you. |
 Star Dollwww.stardoll.com/ - What tremendous fun! Do you think you could do a better job dressing the stars than they do themselves? Ever fantasised about being in wardrobe (not in a wardrobe)? Then this is the site for you. Choose your celebrity and then drag and drop the clothes into place. Hours of entertainment for the whole family! |
 Today's Front Pageshttp://www.newseum.com/todaysfrontpages/ - I think we featured this site a few years ago, but its worth it again as it is now better presented (and newspaper front pages all around the world have gotten better over the years too). Mouse over a front page to see it invoked to the right. Click it to bring it up. American papers are presented by default, but you can search the rest of the world by clicking on List by Region. |
 For sale by mental patientwww.total.net/~fishnet/ - I'm not a hundred percent sure what this site is all about, but if you're interested in buying tomatoes that don't bark, tooth-crafted mugs, and complete access to the diseased areas of this chap's banana, then you don't want to miss this site. If you buy one of his mugs, he writes you a poem, and some of them are pretty good in an awful sort of way. Some very occasional, very mild crudity here and there, but mostly good, clean, off-the-wall fun. |
 Old Superstitionshttp://www.oldsuperstitions.com/ - Playing cards with a dog in the room causes disputes. The spouse who goes to sleep first on the wedding day will be the first to die. Changing a horse's name brings bad luck. Ants are the transmuted souls of druids who refused to accept Christianity. It's fascinating what we used to believe! |
Pssst - looking for a job?: ...the site matches employers with prospective candidates anonymously, fitting the type of job, salary, and location a candidate wants with what the employer can give. If the two match the candidate's CV is sent to the employer, but with all personal information kept hidden. Click here for more.
Music access now local and legal: New Zealand is catching up with legal music downloading in other countries, thanks to the last of four deals with major international record companies brokered by local digital music website digiRAMA. Click here for more.
Girls put at risk on net: People are divulging too much personal information online. For example, people are giving their names and cellphone numbers and posting images... Click here for more.
E-voting pushed back to 2014: The Chief Electoral Office has scratched a proposal to let people vote over the internet in the general election scheduled for 2008. Click here for more.
E-fraud costs Westpac $500,000 over six years: Recent phishing attempts haven't fooled as many customers because people are getting more wary about emails purporting to be from banks. Click here for more.
Novel plan put on the net: Aditya Kesarcodi-Watson is selling words and letters for $1 each on his website to create a constantly evolving novel titled Million Word Story. Click here for more.
Teachers under attack on website: "I would rather eat broken glass than sit through (her) lesson," writes one pupil about a Wellington College teacher. Click here for more.
Police to patrol internet: Police are planning to patrol internet sites to target organised crime, violence and sexual crimes. Click here for more.
Net story on way: The non-profit society that runs the country's internet is going back to its roots, commissioning a history of the net in New Zealand. Click here for more.
Teens seek identity in cyberspace: In the past, teenagers met new friends at parties or down at the mall. Now they can do it with a click of a mouse. Click here for more.
US schoolgirls 'mug MySpace man': Two teenage girls in the US have been charged with holding up at gunpoint a man they are said to have contacted on social networking website MySpace.com. Click here for more.
Who's reading your e-mail?: New plans to scan e-mails for illegal images of child abuse may give the appearance that children are being safeguarded but they may not be as effective as they first seem. Click here for more.
Heaven or hell? How will technology shape our future?: ...we will live longer and banish disease; we will be more intelligent and quicker-witted with photographic memories and the ability to go days without sleep. Click here for more.
Image-based Spam on the Rise: Have you noticed more spam in your inbox lately? You're not alone. Among the lead culprits in the spam overflow is a new take on an old technique called image-based spam. Click here for more.
Lay's death prompts confusion on Wikipedia: The death of former Enron chief Ken Lay on Wednesday underscored the challenges facing online encyclopedia Wikipedia, which as the news was breaking offered a variety of causes for his death. Click here for more.
Street gangs get Web-savvy: Some of the America's most notorious street gangs have gotten Web-savvy, showcasing illegal exploits, making threats, and honoring killed and jailed members on digital turf. Click here for more.
Oz Big Brother outrage prompts law change: Australia is to change its broadcasting laws to encompass webcasts in reaction to general outrage over an alleged sexual assault on the show which was streamed online and not shown on television. Click here for more.
From Google to just plain google: One of Google's worst fears may have been realised. The latest edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes the word "google" which means to use the well-known search engine to look for information on the web. Click here for more.
Paralyzed man moves computer cursor through thought: The BrainGate sensor, which involves implanting electrodes in the brain, could offer new hope to people paralyzed by injuries or illnesses. Click here for more.
India bloggers angry at net ban: India's burgeoning blogging community is up in arms against a government directive that they say has led to the blocking of their web logs. Click here for more.
Google's unknown artist has huge following: The 28-year-old webmaster designs the whimsical logos that decorate Google.com's otherwise Spartan Web site on special occasions. Click here for more.
Transistorized!: The transistor was probably the most important invention of the 20th Century, and the story behind the invention is one of clashing egos and top secret research... Click here for more.
US 'worst' for online child abuse: The IWF study also said that some sites that contain the illegal content remain accessible for up to five years despite being reported to relevant authorities. Click here for more.
How to solve the problem of spam: Regular columnist Bill Thompson explains what it is like to fall victim to a "joe job" in which spammers abuse someone's good name and then leave them to clear up the mess. Click here for more.
Tom Cruise wins TomCruise.com: Tom Cruise has won his domain namesake, TomCruise.com, from notorious cybersquatter Jeff Burgar. Click here for more.
Surfing the Web with nothing but brainwaves: Someday, keyboards and computer mice will be remembered only as medieval-style torture devices for the wrists. All work - emails, spreadsheets, and Google searches - will be performed by mind control. Click here for more.
Is there a zombie in the Vatican?: The Vatican has emerged as an "unwitting relay source of spam traffic" in the latest "dirty dozen" report released by Sophos, which names and shames the countries generating the highest amounts of junk email. Click here for more.
New Virus Pretends to be WGA: A virus posing as Microsoft's controversial anti-piracy software is spreading via AOL's popular Instant Messenger network, but it appears to be more of a jab at Microsoft than a real threat. Click here for more.
Users Pass on Updating Antivirus Software: ...while most home computer owners have antivirus software, the majority are not updating it because the update process is too clumsy and intrusive. Click here for more.
Trojan poses as Google Toolbar: Users who accept a offer to download "Google Toolbar" software from the bogus site will find themselves installing a Trojan which turns their machines into zombie clients, controlled by hackers. Click here for more.
Vishing Joins Phishing as Security Threat: Just as Internet surfers have gotten wise to the fine art of phishing, along comes a new scam utilizing a new technology. Click here for more.
Parents warned over computer use: A third of children in the UK use blogs and social network websites but two thirds of parents do not even know what they are, a survey suggests. Click here for more.
Criminals exploit net phone calls: Malicious hackers are turning to net phone systems in a bid to trick people into handing over personal details. Click here for more.
Bots, Google Hacks: The Internet 'Storms': Windows, Linux or Mac - does operating system or platform matter to hackers? Not necessarily, according to research from Fortify Software, an application security provider. Click here for more.
Exploits Fish For Unpatched PCs: Although Microsoft patches released July 11 easily foil both the DHCP and "mailslot" exploits, writers of the attack code know a lot of people take their sweet time patching their system. Click here for more.
Anti-piracy tool confuses users: An anti-piracy check for Microsoft Windows is causing problems for some users who are being told their copies of operating system XP are not genuine. Click here for more.
Web perils advise switch to Macs: Security threats to PCs with Microsoft Windows have increased so much that computer users should consider using a Mac, says a leading security firm. Click here for more.
How Open Source Saved My Neck: Though Microsoft might disagree, open source software in many cases can be a real cost saver. It can also save your neck. Literally. Click here for more.
Ubuntu heads for the mainstream: Mark Shuttleworth, millionaire cosmonaut and self-funded Linux guru, has managed to make his Ubuntu project the Linux distribution of choice in just two years. Click here for more.
Firefox 2.0: Mozilla's Tabs Overfloweth: So how many tabs can you fit in one window? No matter how many you can fit into Firefox 1.5.x, the next release of Firefox 2.0 Beta 2 will give you more. Click here for more.
Will All Software Go Open Source? : A larger question under scrutiny... was whether it might someday become the dominant paradigm for software development. Click here for more.
The website that matches your face with a celebrity's: Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell once famously claimed he and Helen Clark were "very, very, very good friends". Well, they could be more than that. Click here for more.
Blogger proves one red paper clip can indeed buy a house: Taking a paper clip and turning it into a house sounds like a cheesy magic trick or a phony instance of resourcefulness on the 1980s TV show "MacGyver." Click here for more.
US 419 victim shoots preacher husband: The Winklers' money troubles appear to have stemmed from a 419 "sweepstake" scam in which victims are are told they've won a pot of cash. Click here for more.
Trader fakes death to get out of online trade: A woman appears to have taken online trading scams to a new level, allegedly faking her own death to escape a deal. Click here for more.
Each month we dredge through our archives to pull out stories from the Actrix Newsletter of exactly five years ago. Sometimes these stories will show just how much the net has changed in such a short time, and sometimes they'll be included just because they're interesting.
Prince Charles urges kids to ditch computer games for books: Prince Charles has called for more cash to be spent on books and the arts to drag children away from computer games. Click here for more.
Dope virus smoking up a storm: A harmless but irritating virus extolling the virtues of marijuana and calling for its legalisation is starting to spread across the Web. Click here for more.
Jury finds half of hacking counts proven: A jury returned a split verdict yesterday in the long-running trial of NZ computer hacker Andrew Garrett. It found him guilty on five charges but was undecided on five others. Garrett was found guilty on four counts of reproducing a document with intent to defraud and one count of threatening to damage property. Click here for more.
Thanks again
for reading the Actrix newsletter. Feedback can be sent to me via the e-mail address
listed below. Please limit this to comments/suggestions regarding the newsletter.
Non-forum requests for support should go to the Actrix Help Desk (support@actrix.co.nz) or to the Accounts Department
(accounts@actrix.co.nz).
Take care through August!
Rob Zorn
editor@actrix.co.nz
http://editor.actrix.co.nz
Podcatchers
are programs that let you browse a list of available podcasts you can subscribe to or just preview.
They can be set to download all the latest episodes that interest you while you do other things online.
The Voicebooth – 
This Week in Tech: Keeps you up to date on all the latest news in global technology.
You could use Google to find the web site any station here or overseas, and then look for a button or link on
the site that mentions streaming or listening live. If you click the link, the site will automatically open the
default media player installed on your PC and streaming will begin.
If you'd like to ask a question or request some help on any Actrix
or Internet-related matter. Simply