August 2005 Archives

Just when you think you've seen the bottom of the hole in human behavior, someone starts digging. Reports of Katrina-related phishing scams have been popping up, notably in this article in the Washington Post: http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/

Do not...repeat...do not donate any money to any organization you're not wholly familiar with, and never via an unsolicited e-mail. If you'd like to donate money, do it by logging into the Red Cross's Web site at www.redcross.org to find out how to do it properly and bypass the efforts of the proto-human sludge looking to make a buck off other people's misfortune.

TES

As I search for news about the fate of architectural New Orleans (Yes, I'm concerned for the city's citizens, but I'm also concerned about irreparable damage to a city I love very much), I've realized how very slow mainstream news organizations are. There are still "Top Stories" on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and others that are 10 to 12 hours old.

We update news and articles on TMCnet far faster than the mainstream organizations do!

So, in case you've been searching for THIS piece of news, I'll share something I found in the Dallas Morning News

"In New Orleans' historic French Quarter of Napoleonic-era buildings with wrought-iron balconies, water pooled in the streets from the driving rain, but the area appeared to have escaped the catastrophic flooding that forecasters had predicted."

Which means...the Vieux Carre is more or less safe.

I wonder if the signature drink will continue to be the "Hurricane"?

TES

Katrina may be powerful, but New Orleans has stood against worse than her. Perhaps the ghost of pirate and New Orleans hero Jean LaFitte can help the levees hold!

TES

Do you remember the introduction of the "Flying Toasters" screensaver? I do. Actually, the whole selection of After Dark screensavers were the delight of late-80s computer users everywhere (I actually liked the "fish tank" saver best.) Before that, computers were soulless dust collectors to most of us: necessary but about as exciting as a stapler. There was really no such thing as "my" computer; in an office situation, they were all the same, except for a few personalized saved documents.

The After Dark collection of screen savers, including the famous Flying Toasters, was the first inkling we got that our PCs could be personalized -- could become something more than just a lump on the desk that allowed us to get into WordStar.

In recognition of the birthday of Flying Toasters, After Dark is bringing back the classic. I've downloaded my (free) copy, but I've noticed that the sound of flapping (which is the best part) isn't present. Where's the flapping? I miss it.

Full release is below.

TES

I fell for this one long enough to double-check. It takes a lot for me to even temporarily fall for a scam:

I received an e-mail telling me that I had "won" an auction. It looked so much like the usual "win" e-mail that eBay sends that I momentarily panicked. I logged onto eBay to check my account, and discovered that it is, in fact, fake. Notice that it says, "Dear Buyer," rather than my account name.

Watch out for this one, and make sure you're not clicking to follow the PayPal link or inputting ANY personal information

TES

GE Ericsson EDACS 800 PCS Portable Radio Main Board !! - Item #3840204057

Please review the seller's payment instructions below. Pay using PayPal, cashier's check/Money order Buy with Confidence - Learn payment safety tips and more.

This item can be viewed for up to 90 days at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3840204057&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOAB:US:6

Note: The seller has been sent a separate email to confirm this sale.

Don't forget to leave feedback after the sale is complete.

No, I'm not starting a rival column to TMC columnist David Sims' "Morning Coffee," it just happens to be what I'm drinking right now.

David Butcher and I both spotted this today:

"SearchCRM.com is thrilled to announce The Best CRM Blog Awards recognizing the most outstanding and popular blogs in the CRM and BI markets."

http://searchcrm.techtarget.com/general/0,295582,sid11_gci1119503,00.html?Offer=CRwnba825

Now, we're not suggesting you vote for us. That would be, um... unethical. You have until September 30th to not vote for us.

TES

Well, it did, anyway. 1,926 years ago today. At lunch time. Most people forget that 20,000 people lived in Pompeii, and only about 2,000 died. That meant that 18,000 people saw the top blow off Mount Vesuvius and wisely ran like hell.

The 2,000 who remained must have been the ancient equivalent of those people who stay in their shoreline houses as Class Five hurricanes approach, already up to the armpits in sea water, and tell news crews, "Nah, we're gonna stay and ride this one out. We got canned food."

TES

Outsourcing and consulting company Unisys today announced it has been chosen to provide call center services for CANTV, the national phone company of Venezuela.

"Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) today announced that it has signed a contract extension to manage call center services for Compañía Anoníma Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela (CANTV). Under the contract extension, signed in the second quarter of 2005 and with a value estimated at approximately $12 million over two years, Unisys will continue to provide services ranging from operator assistance to customer service."

Congratulations to Unisys, but my guess is the company won't be donating any money to charities headed by Pat Robertson this year: http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/23/robertson.chavez/index.html 

The full release may be viewed at http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/aug/1175794.htm

TES

Performance management company Opus Group today announced the addition of three new customers from the health care and insurance realm (below). Insurance providers and healthcare organizations are ripe for performance management solutions because of the complexity of offerings and the difficulty in differentiating those offerings properly.

Opus Group's new customers are:

* Allied Insurance (a Nationwide Company) one of the top 100 multi-line insurance groups in the country and among the fastest growing, with specialties in home and auto protection, as well as commercial protection for business and farm owners.
* Fiserv Health, a 50-year-old company offering solutions for the healthcare administration needs of employers, government organizations, health plans and self-funded employers.
* HealthNow New York Inc., one of New York State's leading healthcare companies, providing healthcare and solutions for more than 900,000 members in Upstate New York.

For more information, visit www.theopusgroup.com

TES

This morning, the combined entity that is Concerto Software and the recently acquired (by Concerto) Aspect Communications Corp. announced that the company will be called Aspect Software.

The announcement also discussed that several "milestones" had been met along the path to combining the two companies.

It's true. A release just went out announcing that "Nuasis Integrated With Aspect Workforce Management."

Hold on, they're direct competitors. My first thoughts...Concerto, which recently purchased Aspect, already has a workforce management product in its RightForce solution. What does it want with a second workforce management solution?

I plan to get the answers to this question shortly. Watch this space.

TES

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories (which is an Alcatel company) announced this morning that one of Australia's largest teleservices providers, SalesForce, is further scaling up, by 1,000 additional seats, in its use of the Genesys call center suite. The suite is made up of Genesys Voice Platform, Genesys Inbound Voice software and Genesys Workforce Management.

Both Genesys and SalesForce indicated the move was made to allow SalesForce to better scale and better integrate/consolidate its customer service functions. By the end of the implementation, SalesForce will have fully 2,000 agents working on the Genesys platform.

The release can be found at www.genesyslab.com.

TES

On-demand CRM provider Salesforce.com today released results to be proud of for the second fiscal quarter of 2005. Highlights include:

* An increase in revenue 77 percent year-over-year, to $71.9 million; 
* Earnings per diluted share rise to $0.04, a 300 percent increase from the prior year period; 
* Net income rose to $5.0 million, up 331 percent year-over-year and up 15 percent sequentially; and   
 * Paying subscribers rose 41,000 to 308,000, up 83 percent year-over-year and up 15 percent  sequentially.

TES

I never thought that one day I'd say this, but right now, I have a Collector's Edition can of Spam on my desk. Yes, the real Spam from the Hormel Food company. It cost $2.69. No tax, it being a food product (according to some interpretations).

My museum-quality Spam was produced in conjunction with Monty Python's Spamalot, a current Broadway musical for which you can get a ticket if you agree to go alone to a Tuesday afternoon matinee in April 2009 and sit in the rafters with the lighting guys.

The back of the can proclaims, "What is your quest? To wonder at the marvel of a brilliant new musical with lots of singing, dancing and fake swordplay? Or is your quest simply to enjoy the perfect sandwich? To find something better to have with your eggs whilst in the morning shade of your finest shrubbery? Well, noble crusader, look ye no further. This golden honey and premium pork treat will fulfill your every want, you peckish, nibbly avatar!"

There are certain marketing partnerships that years ago would have seemed more improbable than Pauly Shore playing Hamlet with the Royal Shakespeare Company. (I would have said Keanu Reeves doing "Much Ado About Nothing," but that nightmare came true.) The pork-treat-filled alignment of Monty Python and the Hormel Company is one of those unlikely partnerships.

But I'll skip the temptation to make snarky comments about British food tastes and just clear a spot of honor on the corner of my desk for my new piece of artwork.

TES

In an interesting bid to raise money for the First Amendement Project, a non-profit group formed to support free speech, several prominent authors have agreed to "auction" names or location places in their next works to the highest bidder.

Want to be the victim of killer zombies in Stephen King's upcoming book CELL? You must be female, first of all. The lucky woman who wins the auction must supply her name or nickname, and a physical description of herself.

In Stephen King's words:

"One (and only one) character name in a novel called CELL, which is now in work and which will appear in either 2006 or 2007. Buyer should be aware that CELL is a violent piece of work, which comes complete with zombies set in motion by bad cell phone signals that destroy the human brain. Like cheap whiskey, it's very nasty and extremely satisfying. Character can be male or female, but a buyer who wants to die must in this case be female. In any case, I'll require physical description of auction winner, including any nickname (can be made up, I don't give a rip)."

Other authors contributing to the fundraising effort by auctioning off names to the highest bidder include Amy Tan, Peter Straub, Lemony Snicket, John Grisham, Nora Roberts and Neil Gaiman, among others. 

For more information, visit http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=auctioncause#h1

TES