Spam, spam, spam...

As I sit here tip tapping away trying to compose my latest celebrity perfume launch, sorry blog, I'm finding it more and more difficult to stay focused on the commercial mortgages and sex games, eek, sorry again... I meant task in hand.
You see, I know what I want to say, and I know how I want to say it.
The problem is not even with me, it's with those bloody PR types and Spam mail senders.
Every few seconds my 'new email indicator' box pops up telling me of another drab PR stunt that has nothing to do with anything remotely interesting.
Each and every time I'm distracted. My attention now spans a few seconds.
Whether it's actual 'spam' mail or a PR company trying some insane stunt to rouse public consumption, they're all as bad as one another.
But I know I'm not the only one. Any idea how many 'spam' emails are sent out every single day...?
Have a guess. Now I'd put money on the fact that you're not even close to the actual estimated figure.
In February this year it was estimated that 90 billion spam emails were sent out and received. Back in 1978 that figure was around 800.
The rise in use of the internet has bred a beast in the form of spam or 'junk' email.
As you might guess the Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, is one of the world's worst hit people.
While I might complain about receiving a few spam emails every day, it is estimated that he receives four million emails every year - most of them spam. Now THAT, is what I call a problem.
Counteracting the problem is not the easiest solution in the world as we all know (Bill Gates very much included).
In America the US Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Committee has provided specific countermeasures against electronic mail spamming.
Some popular methods for filtering and refusing spam include email filtering based on the content of the e-mail, DNS-based blackhole lists, greylisting, spamtraps or checksumming systems to detect bulk email.
However, as any IT expert will tell you, each method has its strengths and weaknesses and each is deemed 'controversial' due to its weaknesses.
In a sense spam is direct marketing. It aims to advertise, and does that by targeting anyone and everyone with an email address.
The spammer might have millions of email addresses on a database that are targeted with each and every send out.
More recently spammers hell bent on destruction have also begun adding viruses to spam emails designed to take out a computer's hard disk upon opening.
The website Wikipedia describes spam as being the "abuse" of electronic messaging systems to indiscriminately send unsolicited bulk messages.
It adds: "Spamming is economically viable because advertisers have no operating costs beyond the management of their mailing lists, and it is difficult to hold senders accountable for their mass mailings."
If you think about it, it's already starting to spread with spam texts to mobile phones. And you get the feeling it's just the beginning...
One thing we absolutely know for sure is that spamming is a). illegal and b). INCREDIBLY annoying!

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Reviews:
Title: Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Platform: PS3
RRP: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5

Review: Ok, part of the reason for the delay in my latest blog is the fact that I was off poorly sick. The second is because of this title.
When THE envelope arrived on my desk, angels began to sing (or was that my next door neighbour William Telford?!). As I opened it up I began simultaneously counting down the minutes until I got home and booted up the PS3.
And was it worth the wait...? In a word, yes.
Graphically, the title is a step forward with intricate moves and responses from the players. The big step in this, the latest in the series, is the artificial intelligence of the individual players who react to your play to create an altogether more realistic feel.
Long gone are the days when you could only shoot from certain angles. You can now launch shots from anywhere on the pitch.
Other plus points are that the players play like their real selfs; the tackling and hustling for the ball is much more realistic and players actually dive to win penalties.
Also long gone - and not before too long - are the commentators. Peter Brackley has been replaced by Mark Lawrenson and John Champion and they are pretty good. The classic lines are still there but it's an altogether more pleasant experience - AND they actually remark on things that actually happen!
My only real gripe with the game is the music which has never been anything more than pants.
But still, with so many plus points PES is still at the top of its game.


Title: The Simpsons
Platform: Xbox 360
RRP: £39.99
Hit count: 3/5

Review: Ever fancied a free roam of Springfield, nipping in to Moes Tavern or The Simpsons' house or the Kwik-e-Mart. Well here's your chance.
The Simpsons have diversified from the little screen, to the big screen, and now the um, computer screen in their first proper outing in console land.
Like the film the game has been fairly widely accepted as being really quite good with a player's ability to play as any of the main Simpsons characters.
It does rip off playing styles from the likes of Star Wars and Grand Theft Auto but it is a lot of fun wandering around Springfield in great flowing graphics.
All in all The Simpsons is good fun but it hasn't got any real lasting playability.



Title: Cheggers Party Quiz
Platform: PC
RRP: £19.99
Hit count: 1/5

Review: Awful. Firstly Cheggers doesn't actually look like Cheggers, he actually looks like a cross between Jabba The Hutt and my uncle. Secondly this sort of thing has been done a thousand times before. Answer questions on a range of subjects to gain points. Um, 10/10 for originality there!
The 1 out of 5 rating is for the sheer audacity of it.