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 Service and
Support News
Intel bug NOT bad as previous FP bug
Intel
explanation about bug in Pentium Pro and Pentium II processors
c|net article on the Intel bug
- In addition to the targeting capabilities
offered by the information that is revealed when a user makes a request for a Web page,
there are more intrusive means of gathering demographic information for pinpoint
targeting. Cookies are one such technique. A cookie is a text file inserted on a user's
hard drive when the user requests a Web page.
- Origin of the Term Cookie
- Also known as "magic cookies"
or "tokens", cookie is a UNIX programming term. UNIX programmers are known for
their creative terminology. They also named the early Internet search applications Archie
and Veronica - they've kept Internet terminology descriptive and humorous.
-
- A cookie file contains information
generated by the user's interaction with a Web site, from a unique user ID to the URL of
the Web site from which the user came to information provided through a registration form.
-
- A user may receive cookies from any
number of Web sites, but Web sites can only access the specific cookies that they placed
on the user's hard drive. The publisher programs his or her server for when it should
request to see the user's cookie; a publisher can look at a user's cookie every time the
user requests a new page on the publisher's Web site.
-
- Cookies are supported on most browsers
from Netscape 1.1 to more current software. The full specifications on using cookies are
provided in a document from Netscape titled "Persistent Client State HTTP
Cookies"; it is available at: http://www.netscape.com/newsref/std/cookie_spec.html
-
Cookies Store User Interests
- A cookie is most often used as an
identification tag. For example, when a user goes to a site, he or she is issued a unique
ID; that is, a cookie. Each time the user accesses another page on the Web site, the
server requests the ID tag. Then the user (for example, ID#345243) is recorded as he or
she moves throughout the site. Each time the user clicks on an advertisement or fills out
a survey, the actions can be recorded in a database as those performed by that user. This
ID tag resides on the user's hard disk so that the next time that person visits the site,
information already gathered can be used again.
-
- If a publisher checks an ID tag, and
discovers that according to his or her database, the user visited the auto section of his
or her Web site three times, he or she can deliver an advertisement to the user for a car
manufacturer. If the user then clicks on the ad and goes to Ford's Web site, Ford can
place its own cookie (containing a unique ID) on the user's drive. If, for example, Ford
enables users to design their dream car on its Web site and a user chooses to do so, Ford
can record that user's dream car in a database record that corresponds to the user's
cookie. Then, the next time the user visits, the server can recognize the user based on
the ID tag in his or her cookie and deliver an advertisement with the user's dream car.
The possibilities for such targeting are obvious.
-
- Using Cookies to Limit Ad Frequency
-
- A publisher using cookies can record when
a specific unique ID number saw an advertisement, and use that information to ensure that
the same ad is not delivered multiple times to the same person. This also gives
advertisers an opportunity to deliver a series of advertisements to a particular user.
After a user sees the first ad in a series, it is recorded in a database. The next time
the server recognizes that user, it delivers ad number two, and so on.
-
- Cookies can also retain other information
about users. For example, when a user registers at a Web site, the cookie can retain the
user name and password so that registration is required only once. When the user returns
to that site, the server will automatically check the cookie it gave the user to determine
his or her name and password. A cookie can also remember the items a user placed in a
shopping cart. In this way, cookies help create a relationship between the content, the
advertiser, and the visitor, without forcing the visitor to repeatedly fill out forms.
However, cookies are far from perfect.
-
When the Cookie Crumbles
- Unfortunately, the cookie picture is not
all rosy. Although this tool would seem to be invaluable for learning about users and
delivering targeted advertising, you should be aware of the cookie impasses:
-
- o Latest browsing software can block
cookies. The press has been reporting that cookies invade a user's privacy by
clandestinely placing a file on the user's hard drive. To address the concerns of users in
this regard, both Netscape 3.0 and Internet Explorer 3.0 offer users the option to block
cookie files. These browsers also have a feature that alerts users when a cookie is being
attached.
-
- o Users can manually delete all cookie
files. As noted, cookies are text files that usually reside on the hard drive in the same
directory as the Internet software, and there is a site that will tell users exactly how
to find their cookie files, as well as what is in them.
-
- o Cookies are mapped to the browser, not
to the individual. The hard drive on which cookies are placed may be used by several
people, thus opening the door for profile distortions. For example, at a college computer
center where many students may be accessing a particular Web site through the same
computer, the first time a student accesses the site from that computer, the computer will
receive a cookie file. (In this case we'll assume that the publisher placed a unique ID in
the cookie file, to learn more about the user.) Unfortunately, what the publisher thinks
is one user is actually 100 different students using the same machine.
-
- o Proxy servers may preclude cookie use.
These computers, which serve as gateways between the company's internal network and the
Internet, do not always allow cookies to be placed on individual computers. Like academic
computing centers at universities, hundreds of people -- or more -- code as one
individual.
Entertainment
on Windows NT 4.0
Some of us are always out on the "bleeding
edge" of technology. We have the latest hardware, software and OS. Unfortunately,
trying to run games, etc., under Windows latest operating system (even though it LOOKS
like 95) can be a disappointing and exasperating experience.
Well, now you can find out if you even have a chance
before you plunk down your hard-earned money. There is a web site that can tell you
whether or not the program you're considering DOES/DOESN'T/KINDA works, if there are
special instructions to get it running under NT 40. and includes many comments regarding
their operation.
Check it out at http://www.concentric.net/~Dstaines/nt40games/
Web mastery
For those who are responsible for the development,
implementation and/or maintenance of their company's Internet Point-of-Presence (Web site)
we offer the following search engine. @BRINT
is an extremely valuable tool for
everything from choosing an ISP (Internet Service Provider) and the philosophy behind
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