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Another Example of SPAM Email

Photo by Daniel Ventura

I got this email the other day (I found it today because it was filtered to my spam folder so I didn’t notice it right away).  I thought it was interesting for two reasons: I’ve actually heard of people being pulled in by emails like this, AND the story shared in the email is actually a neat story (they usually are).  Read it, remember the tactic, and NEVER be pulled in, it is ALWAYS a scam!

YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS MAIL WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGE
From: Lady Agatha Shaw.
A MAILING ADDRESS WAS SHARED HERE,
London , England .

I am the above named person but now undergoing medical treatment in London , England . I am married to Dr. Jim Shaw who worked with British Railway Commission in Chelsea England for over a decade before he died on 5th of July in the year 2003. We were married for fifteen years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for two weeks.

Before his death he made a vow to use his wealth for the down trodden and the less privileged in the society. Since his death I decided not to re-marry or get a child outside my matrimonial home.

When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $10 Million (Ten Million Dollars) in a Vault with a Bank here in Europe . Presently, this money is still there. Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the next 150 days due to cancer problem. Though what disturbs me most is my stroke. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to an individual or better still a God fearing person who will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct here in. I want an individual that will use this to fund and provide succor to poor and indigent persons, orphanages, and above all the less privileged in the Society.

As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of my Lawyer. I will also issue you a letter of authority that will empower you as the original beneficiary of this fund, through my Lawyer. I want you to always pray for me. My happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation.

Whosoever that wants to serve the Almighty must serve him with all his heart and mind and soul and also in truth. Please always be prayerful all through your life. Any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing for an individual for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act according to my specification herein. Hoping to hear from you.
Thank you and may the Almighty bless you.

This mail should be replied to my private email box:
E-mail: NOT SHARING THE EMAIL – sorry!

Yours sincerely,
Lady Agatha Shaw (Benefactor)

If you get email like this, just delete it.  They may make for interesting reading, but that’s about it!  Just another type of email SPAM.

Firefox Friday – Follow Firefox on Twitter

Welcome to another Firefox Friday post!  Today I want to introduce you to Firefox’s Twitter feed.

Surely you’ve heard of Twitter before, right?  Twitter is an awesome way to keep up with the latest and greatest!  Well, I use it to keep up with a few friends, but also some other technology related tweeters for the cool links they enjoy sharing.  I basically use TwitterFox and then I am notified whenever someone I’m following tweets something.  I then only waste a second or two checking it out.

Today I want to introduce you to Firefox on Twitter.  They’re constantly posting links and tweets about Firefox and Mozilla.  Just take a look at a few of the links (fresh off the Firefox Twitter press as of the writting of this post):

• More thinking on the next million Mozillians
• For Mozilla and Google, Group Hugs Get Tricky
• Robot Love is Infectious!

They also post links to the latest updates to Firefox so it’s really a great way to stay informed.  Drop by Twitter.com/Firfox and follow them!  You won’t regret it!

Morguefile.com is Down… For the Count? I Hope Not!

There are a few different places I get photographs from for blogging and other projects.  One of my favorite places has been Morguefile.com because they have an extensive collect of free photographs and they don’t even mandate attribution (still, it’s nice and appreciated if you DO give credit).

Well, when I was in the midst of writing a post (for MakeUseOf.com – I had my first article published by them the other day!) and I headed over to Morguefile.com to find a photograph for the post.  To my utter astonishment and dismay, they were still down!  I noticed them down the other day and assumed they’d be back soon, but sadly they are still down.

While researching the issue, I found out that they are keeping the world abreast via Twitter.  On Wednesday, July 15th they tweeted “drive array crash, host is telling us 8 hours until its back.”  Well, that was two weeks ago!  Oh, pray for them, they’ve got some work to do!  Meanwhile, if you want updates on how the restoration process is coming, follow @morguefile_site.

Do you know of any updates on the situation besides what they are tweeting?  Let us know!

Lifehacker Helps Us Ease Our Transition To Google Voice

Lately there has been a lot of buzz about Google Voice and how it has the potential to change how we think about our phones.  I, too, have acquired an invite to try Google Voice (I was using Grandcentral.com when Google acquired it) and am loving the experience.  There are, however, some difficulties while transitioning to the new number and service.  I’d like to call it growing pains.

The good folks over at Lifehacker.com have put together an article with some tips to help ease the transition.  Here are the tips covered; I hope they help:

1. Number switching – Have you ever changed phone numbers in the past and gone through the difficult task of getting your contacts to save and call your new number?  Well, if you are to get the full advantages of Google Voice, people have GOT to start calling your ONE number!  Well, the article gives some tips to help you in this transition period.
2. Believe it or not, there are some annoyances associated with Google Voice:
   • Some text messaging issues
   • Calling out – there’s a really cool trick you can do to save contacts in your cell phone but still call using your GV (Google Voice) number!  It’s all in the article!
   • In some instances, there may be a slight voice delay.  There are some tips to help ease this pain.
3. Forming your groups – GV allows you to group different types of contacts together, such as family, friends, work, church, etc.
4. Tweaking call rules – From the horse’s mouth: “Here’s how to save money, avoid annoyances, and get more out of Google Voice’s custom calling rules.”

Of course, if you missed the prior post, you can also use GV to save money on outgoing calls on your cell phone!

Tell me, have you had the opportunity to try Google Voice?  What are your thoughts?  Can you add to the tips from Lifehacker.com?

Activism and How Video and the Internet Play a Part Now

I’ve noticed how quickly news travels now, especially when there is a video involved.  Remember the incedent with Ryan Moats and the police officer?  How about poor old lady being tasered?  Many of us have seen these videos and have our own opinions about them but just think back 5 to 10 years ago… would so many of us have known much about them?  Probably not.

In a recent post on the Google Blog, the subject of “digital activism” was discussed.  I think it’s a very interesting thing to ponder in light of fairly recent events in some very closed nations.  There were some videos being circulated from China, and even Iran showing some goings-on.  Sites like Youtube have really opened the door for people to get their points across!

A few weeks back I was interested to watch a youtube video of someone making a point.  There is a movement in New England about camera rights and particularly in court rooms and other public places.  The movement is an interesting one but not really what I want to talk about today.  It made me think about how easy it is today to make video content and how easy it is to share it with others.

Check out the video and share some of your thoughts in the comments.  Tell us a few things:

1. Has the impact of the digital age been a good thing or not, and why or why not?
2. In what ways has digital activism changed how you think or feel?
3. Obviously the idea of activism is to help others see your point of view.  Does this video help you see the activist’s point?  Why or why not?

Firefox Friday – Firefox Frees Itself with the Fastest Firefox Ever!

This Firefox Friday I want to share a fun part of Firefox.  Since the release of Firefox 3.5, the fastest version yet, Firefox has been encouraging the community to submit videos of your fastest talent to help “prove” how fast Firefox 3.5 really is.  I’d use the word “demonstrate” but either way, these videos are really interesting to watch.

Some of them include the fastest clapper, the fastest banjo player, the fastest cup stacker, and the fastest talking female.

AND, for your viewing pleasure, here’s a compilation of some of the submittals:

Would you have had the confidence to submit a video?  If so, what’s your fastest talent?

You Can Now Dress Up Firefox With the Timmyjohnboy.com Persona!

A few Firefox Friday posts back I wrote an article about an easy way to personalize the look of Firefox with Personas.  I also mentioned that I tried my hand at designing my own and had submitted it to the gallery.  Well, yesterday was my lucky day!  I received an email indicating that my Persona has been added!

This means that you can head over there and choose the Timmyjohnboy.com Persona to decorate your Firefox!  Not only will your browser look cool, you’d be helping me get the word out, and remind yourself, about Timmyjohnboy.com!

Google Voice Needs to Make Money, Too!

I just heard the story that Google Voice is in the process of figuring out how to monetize Google Voice (besides the selling of overseas minutes).  In the past Google has been pretty inobtrusive with their advertising.  Their ads on sites are generally off to the side and not very distracting.

Since I’ve been using Goog-411, I have noticed that there is a quick ad stating, “Calls connected by Bandwidth.com.”  This quick little ad pops in right before the call is connected for you.  I don’t think that’s so bad.  What else could you ask for with a free service?

Well, apparently Google is looking into audio ads for Google Voice, too.  Maybe ads will be slipped in before a call is made through the service, or during a silent period, who knows.  I wouldn’t complain about ads on the site.  I may, however, complain if they have enough nerve to interupt when a conversation goes silent for a moment.

Advertising can be a touchy game to play.  You want to get the attention of the potential buyer, however you don’t want to annoy or distract them to the point of them not wanting to do any business at all!  What are your thoughts?  What type of advertisements get on your nerves the most?

8 Tech Sites I follow That I Think Others Should Follow, Too

Today I want to do little more than share a list of sites I think you’ll find helpful.  I hope you get as much out of these sites as I do (in no specific order):

1. unclutterer.com – Visit this site to find ways to unclutter your life (who doesn’t need that?)
2. WebWorkerDaily.com – This site is all about working remotely but there are many cool tips anyone can use
3. MakeUseOf.com – MakeUseOf is all about sharing tips and tools you can use (you may end up seeing some posts by yours truly)
4. Bill Mullin’s Weblog – Tech Thoughts – Good guy who knows his computer stuff, find tech thoughts by a real master
5. YFNCG.com – Really neat blog about Matt’s road to beginning his own home-based computer support business (learn as he does)
6. Tech – for Everyone – Tech tips and tricks & advice – written in plain English
7. ClearTechInfo.com – Beginner’s guide on computers, Internet, and technology
8. LifeHacker.com – Tips and downloads to get things done

What sites do you regularly follow?  Share in the comments!

Firefox Friday – Coffee and Firefox Combine into One Fine Add-on: Morning Coffee

How can it be?  Is it finally Friday once again?  Well, this time an add-on has combined my favorite browser with my favorite morning beverage!  This Firefox Friday is an introduction to the very handy add-on Morning Coffee.

Morning Coffee is an add-on that makes your morning online routine a little bit easier to snap into.  I don’t know about you, but I have several websites that I automatically visit each morning while getting ready for work.  I check my email(s), my website stats, my adsense, and my RSS reader.  On weekends, I add a few more but that’s the general gist.  As you probably know, it can be a chore opening each one, but Morning Coffee changes all that.

With Morning Coffee, I can add all of the sites I want to open and they’ll open with a click of the coffee cup icon.  Very cool, and very easy!  The other cool thing is that you can add different sites according to the day of the week.  For me, my routine is pretty much the same but I know other people are different.

Check it out!  I’m sure it will make at least one thing about your morning that much easier.