Monday, September 13, 2010

Gmail is Free

Google’s Gmail is free, has virtually unlimited storage and the user interface is well designed for efficient mail handling. There is, however, a slight catch. Because it is free, it has no support. If trouble occurs, the user is directed to a Q & A site where he becomes involved in a seemingly endless regression. A further recourse is a forum devoted to the particular glitsch. These forums have upwards of 100,000 entries apiece. The worst problem though is the refusal by the login page to accept a password. This has been a recurring headache. The protocol for resetting is a time-consuming nuisance. Far more serious is the sudden inability to reach the login page. Instead of the login page I get a site inviting me to try Gmail. That my Gmail account is active is attested by the fact that mail addressed there does not bounce. To solve that problem I skipped the forums and retained professional help. It was to no avail. Yes, Google is free, but that is too high a price.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Salmonella

The full-page advertisement by America’s Egg Farmers in the August 25th NY Times suggesting that eggs be cooked so that both yolk and white are firm implies that eggs may well be salmonella contaminated.    To eat scrambled or soft-boiled eggs is to play chicken with your health. The necessity for much tighter regulation of the industry is obvious. The use of the British protocol for elimination of salmonella from all poultry products should be mandatory. 

Egg farmers want the same rights are hog producers, all of whom sell pork which is trichinosis infected..