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AOL Anti-Spam Victory (11/5/97)
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Much as we dislike AOL, we have to applaud them for fighting spammer Over the Air Equipment, Inc. Last Friday, a federal court granted AOL a preliminary injunction against the spammers, according to a company press release.

OtAE was being pretty blatant about its practices-- not only did it refuse to remove AOL customers from their mailing lists when asked to do so, but they also forged email header information and even copied an AOL trademark to give people the idea that they had AOL's approval. So while this injunction is a nice first step, it's hard to say whether it sets any serious precedent for blocking all but the most flagrant offenders.

Ironically enough, version 4 of AOL's software shows you advertisements right in your new email window, effectively turning ALL of your mail-- including messages from your own friends and family-- into spam. (The Macintosh Conspiracy has a screen shot.) It's not quite as severe as their rumored original plan, though, which involved putting advertisements in the actual text of your mail. It's good to see Steve Case has a little shame.

 
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The above scene was taken from the 11/5/97 episode:

November 5, 1997: (Sorry—this was before we started writing intro text for each episode!)

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 151: "Final" Word on Jobs CEO (11/5/97)   Not that it came as much of a surprise, but the San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Steve Jobs has officially declined the CEO position, despite being the "unanimous choice" of the rest of the board of directors...

  • 152: Executive Friction? (11/5/97)   Meanwhile, life goes on in Cupertino... Apple's executive board met today, ostensibly to discuss the issues surrounding next Monday's big brouhaha. However, all is not bliss-- Mac OS Rumors wonders about the significance of every board member appearing to be happy, except for Steve...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...
Vote Early, Vote Often!
Why did you tune in to this '90s relic of a soap opera?
Nostalgia is the next best thing to feeling alive
My name is Rip Van Winkle and I just woke up; what did I miss?
I'm trying to pretend the last 20 years never happened
I mean, if it worked for Friends, why not?
I came here looking for a receptacle in which to place the cremated remains of my deceased Java applets (think about it)

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