"Gmail Man" - Microsoft Slams Google in Parody Video

Microsoft Slams Google in Parody Video

Excerpt:

"Gmail Man" follows a personified Google bot poking through private emails to find semi-relevant keywords for banner ads. As email users are horrified by his actions, he shrugs them off with a hearty laugh and complete indifference.

Comment: I'm not bothered by Gmail ads ... don't think I've every clicked on one!

Speaking of Gmail (and YouTube)

New Google Project Goes for the Jugular

Excerpt:

Gmail continues to trail Hotmail and Yahoo Mail in user number -- at 190 million users to Hotmail's 360 million and Yahoo's 270 million.

Comment: www.emailintervention.com

GM's IPO

GM Stock Sale in High Gear - Government-Backed Car Maker Is on Pace to Score One of Largest U.S. IPOs Ever

Excerpts:

On Thursday, the stock opened 6% higher as GM Chief Executive Dan Akerson rang the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange.

GM sold about 478 million shares Wednesday at $33 each, a price higher than the company and its bankers thought was possible just days ago. An additional 71.7 million shares are expected to be sold by GM's bankers as part of an "overallotment" allowed when sales are stronger than expected. And it sold $4.35 billion in preferred shares.

...

Buyers of the GM shares included giant pension and hedge funds as well as GM factory workers and retirees. Among foreign buyers will be China's largest car maker, SAIC Motor Corp., which is GM's biggest partner in the world's largest auto market. SAIC will buy about $500 million of shares for a GM stake of close to 1%, people familiar with the matter said.

Comment: It's going to be interesting to see how GM and F track.

Currently (9:37 am):

F = $ 16.50
GM = $ 35.44

One problem with IPO's is that it hard to judge the true value of the stock just out of the gate! My own prediction (although this is more or less a hunch!) is that GM is worth more in the $ 30 to $ 32 range. We'll see where they are in three months!

Anatomy of a Phish

Wikipedia: Phishing

Below was in my Gmail spam folder. Hurray for Gmail to catch this stuff (which the service does quite well!)

Comment: The URL looks legitimate! But you would think that they would spell "receiving" correctly!



The seemingly legitimate weblink takes one here (above). Note that the view (I had to shrink for this blog) looks almost identical to the genuine site below! The fake site url begins with an http:// (not https://) and then an ip address!



Above is the genuine Abbey Bank site. By the way, I do not have an account with nor had even heard of the Abbey Bank until today! The genuine site has an https:// leading the URL.



The real bank has a warning about Phishing!

Updated: Cyberthieves go phishing to rob banks

Gmail Paper

April Fools from Gmail!



Is it free?

Yes. The cost of postage is offset with the help of relevant, targeted, unobtrusive advertisements, which will appear on the back of your Gmail Paper prints in red, bold, 36 pt Helvetica. No pop-ups, no flashy animations—these are physically impossible in the paper medium.

How about attachments?

All part of the deal. Photo attachments are printed on high-quality, glossy photo paper, and secured to your Gmail Paper with a paper clip. MP3 and WAV files will not be printed. We recommend maintaining copies of your non-paper Gmail in these cases.

Is there a limit?

You can make us print one, one thousand, or one hundred thousand of your emails. It’s whatever seems reasonable to you.

But what about the environment?

Not a problem. Gmail Paper is made out of 96% post-consumer organic soybean sputum, and thus, actually helps the environment. For every Gmail Paper we produce, the environment gets incrementally healthier.

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The above was all in fun from Gmail! There are some weird and dangerous hoaxes. Reference sites:

http://www.snopes.com/

http://www.hoaxbusters.org/