On Saturday 15 November 2003 03:17 pm, candlish wrote: > Sir or Madam, > > I would like to place a small sound file in an outgoing e-mail to > activate on opening, as possible in 'Outlook Express'. I tend to use > Evolution and Mozilla in the main, but could use any e-mail client. > > What I wanted was for the sound to travel with the e-mail and to be > activated on opening. This may be seen as a virus however? > > This surely be made possible! > > Thank you in anticipation. > > Malcolm Candlish.
Malcolm: No, no, no! Sober up, man! Take a cold shower! Forget it! Feel better now? Good. Let's begin by remembering that the Number One transport mechanism for Windows viruses and worms is Outlook/Outlook Express because they are diabolically designed to execute attached files. What's the very first thing that Windows users are told to do to tighten security? That's right, change the default settings to defeat the automatic execution "feature". It's also why mail filter programs strip all such attachments from incoming mail -- those things are potential bombs. Hell, most of us are paranoid about just getting HTML; your musical alerts would really light the place up. Possible under Linux? No. That's why you don't see postings here from folks who "just" opened an e-mail, and now they find that they have become a major distributor of spam and malware, their system is doing goofy things, and the mouse pointer has developed a mind of its own. It isn't be accident, my friend, it's by design. KMail (and others) can provide an audible notice that email has arrived, but it is controlled by the receiver, not the sender. Let's think a little further. I, for one, do not wish to hear whatever hit of the week accompanies your last missive, especially should you decide that the complete Slim Whitman collection would be exactly what it takes to get me to read your e-mail. Now, if I were still laboring away in a cubicle farm, and was subjected to the musical announcement of the arrival of Malcolm's latest e-mail from each of the surrounding cubes, be assured that I'd be at the forefront of the mob coming after you. (First offense: tar, feathers and a rail; subsequent offense: Nasty. Very nasty. Involves a rope and a tree. No jury will convict us.) Add to the above the overhead of your demonic thought -- bigger files, longer downloads, yada, yada... and you'll understand why the only acceptable medium for e-mail -- particularly on mail lists -- is plain text. The frou-frou is neither necessary nor acceptable. OTOH, you may have come up with a new concept here -- singing spam. Please do not include my name on any patent application that you may file. -- cmg
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