Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 01:40:47 -0500 From: Bob Rankin Reply-To: TOURBUS-Request@LISTSERV.AOL.COM To: TOURBUS@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: TOURBUS - 28 Oct 1997 - PGP and Trivia _________ ____________ ________ __________ _____________ ___ _ / | / | | / | \ | LIFE BEGINS AT 50! VISIT THIRDAGE.COM / | \ |__________|__________/__________|__________|___________/ | \ / /______|----\ | Introducing ThirdAge.com, a dynamic online community |//////| | | for active, older adults. We've got celebrity chats, |//////| | | forums, news, prizes and FREE STUFF for seniors. Join |//////| | | us at ThirdAge.com. It's the web... for grownups! |//////| | | CLICK HERE: |//////| | \________________________________________________________|______|____| / \ / \ / \ \___/ \___/ T h e I n t e r n e t T o u r B u s \___/ TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: More PGP and Trivial Net TODAY'S TOURBUS STOPS: http://www.ifi.uio.no/pgp http://www.trivial.net In my last Tourbus post, I wrote about the PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) software for e-mail encryption. Unfortunately, I forgot about the export restrictions the US government places on the export of crypto products such as PGP. Because the security level of PGP encryption is virtually unbreakable, the US government considers it a "munition" and does not allow it to be exported. Their reasoning is that if spies from other countries could communicate securely, it would pose a threat to national security. It's kind of silly to think that a spy would be unable to get PGP if they really wanted a copy, but nonetheless, non-US users cannot legally download the latest version of PGP. Fortunately, people outside the US can still get an older version of PGP. For more information, visit the International PGP Home Page here: If you're in the "over 50" set, be sure to check out ThirdAge.com, today's TOURBUS sponsor, (see above in the bus logo) and thank them for keeping the Bus rolling! TRIVIAL NET ----------- Do you think you're a true geek? Then test your knowledge of computers at Trivial Net! Find out how much truly useless information you've absorbed through years of card punching, bit twiddling, and mouse clicking. You can play the Trivial Net game online, which consists of ten randomly selected multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank questions. To score a perfect TEN, you'll need to have a pretty broad background in computing, since the questions pertain to Apple, DOS, Windows, Unix, mainframes, and some systems you may never have heard of. In some cases, you'll see a picture, and be asked to identify the name of the computer or operating system that's shown. Other questions give the name of a person and ask what he's famous for. You'll also encounter nostalgic questions pertaining to the history of computer hardware and software. Here are a few examples: Q: What company created the first integrated circuit? - Digital Equipment - Fairchild Semiconductor - IBM - Texas Instruments A: Texas Instruments. First demonstrated in 1958, TI won the patent for the integrated circuit in 1964. Q: Which of the following was not a game you could buy for the Nintendo Entertainment System? - A Boy and His Blob - Bubble Bath Babes - Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout - Color A Dinosaur - Mario Time Machine - Thomas the Tank Engine - Venice Beach Volleyball - You could buy them all. A: Sadly, the Thomas the Tank Engine game was planned but never released. And finally, one of my favorites: Q: Guvf dhrfgvba vf rapbqrq jvgu jung? - BinHex encoding - PGP - ROT-13 - Uuencoding - Xxencodung A: Decoded, the question reads 'This question is encoded with what?' and the answer is ROT-13. (ROT-13 is a simple substitution scheme where you treat the alphabet as a circle and move ahead 13 characters.) You can play Trivial Net on the web at or sign up for a daily dose of trivia by e-mail each weekday morning. And if you like, you can submit your own trivia questions and try to stump other players. Trivial Net is a lot of fun, even if you're not a geek. Give it a try! *------------[ DOWNSIZED? LEARN UNIX AND SURVIVE IT! ]-------------* Try Linux, the free version of Unix for ordinary PC's. Get your copy of the NO B.S. GUIDE TO LINUX and learn valuable job skills. FREE CD-ROM with book includes Linux Pro, Apache web server and tons of UNIX goodies. 350 pages - no geekspeak or technobabble. Read Sample Chapters, Order Online and Save $5 today! *------------------- --------------------* See you next time. --Bob =====================[ Tourbus Rider Information ]=================== The Internet Tourbus - U.S. Library of Congress ISSN #1094-2238 Copyright 1995-97, Rankin & Crispen - All rights reserved Archives on the Web at http://www.TOURBUS.com Join: Send SUBSCRIBE TOURBUS Your Name to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Leave: Send SIGNOFF TOURBUS to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.AOL.COM PROMOTE your business on the Internet Tourbus. Reach over 80,000 people in a Net-friendly way. Our sponsors say "It works!" 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