Stamp Column Archives

The Glassine Surfer Column Archive

This column originally appeared in the American Philatelic Society's monthly magazine, "The American Philatelist." Since then some of the information may be out-of-date depending on how far back you're reading.

June 2002

Holograms moved.

The hologram stamp Web site used to be at Home.com, but when that company closed up shop, the Webmaster was lucky enough to find a new home. If you've been looking at 404's, try the new address of Hologram Stamps.

Hologram Stamps
http://www.hstamps.com

"X" marks the spot. No, the title "Glassine Surfer" doesn't relate to Buffett, but the "Post Office in Paradise" would have loved Buffett's impromptu song bash on the beach in Waikiki in April.

Post Office in Paradise
http://www.hawaiianstamps.com

APS Chapter Activities

One of the APS' member services is to assist its chapters, and on the APS site there's a large section for the Chapter Activities Committee, webmastered by Tom Fortunato.

If you're a stamp club officer, you'll find many sources of helpful information, and if you're just a passionate collector, you can avail yourself of the CAC's collection of online stamp articles, covering both US and worldwide philately.

Stamp Articles at CAC
http://www.stamps.org/cac/cac_arti.htm

If you've written some stamp stories you might also consider contributing to the archive, letting clubs circulate your articles and others read your work.

Distributed Computing

Distributed computing is a method in which a monumental task of number crunching is done by available computers as their resources become available. There are millions of PC's and Mac's that stand idle for long periods of time that could help scientific researchers by running raw numbers through a small program and thereby contributing useable data.

One distributed computing project helps researchers look for signs of extraterrestrial life when a computer's screensaver is activated. The program is part of the US's SETI (Search for Extra Terrestial Intelligence) group.

Now apparently some commercial marketers on the Web want you to, knowingly or unknowingly, volunteer your unused computer power to their profit-making enterprises. A company called Brilliant using a software add-on called Altnet Secureinstall hopes that people will be enthralled by the free software they downloaded that they won't care about the distributed computing taking place behind the screen.

Ad-ware has been the term for schemes like this. Usually in return for some desirable software, the marketer packages ads with the program or an add-on program to report the user's surfing habits. But a stealth distributed computing add-on is a horse of a different color.

Brillant's add-on is bundled with Kazaa, a file-swapping program, that's popular for sending files between peers. Kazaa is on of the companies that moved into the void created by the court rulings against Napster. In the Kazaa user agreement --- those innocuous text boxes before the "install" button --- it said:

"You hereby grant (Brilliant) the right to access and use the unused computing power and storage space on your computer/s and/or Internet access or bandwidth for the aggregation of content and use in distributed computing. The user acknowledges and authorizes this use without the right of compensation."

There are good uses for distributed computing, and those organizers are very upfront and explicit, but I hope this commercial use of home computers won't withstand the light of inspection.

SETI @ Home
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

NY Postal History

The Empire State Postal History Society (ESPHS) wants you. New York has a rich and varied postal history to enjoy and explore, and chances are you have a few intriguing covers in your collection already. The ESPHS will keep you up to date on the postal history of New York, distant and recent, and their bulletin and journal has free adlets for members.

Empire State Postal History Society
http://www.westelcom.com/users/gestus/esphs/esphs1.html

Surf Safely.

The Glassine Surfer archives are online at the Glassine Surfer Web site, and you're invited to the Sociable Stamp Society chats on Sundays and Wednesdays at 8pm. Come to the site and click on "chat".

The Glassine Surfer
http://www.glassinesurfer.com

Thanks for reading and for all your support. Remember to surf safely and support your local stamp club.

- 30 -

Part I :: Part II :: Part III