A new laptop for <€150

The laptop will be tough and foldable in different ways, with a hand crank for when there is no power supply.

More news in the ELSOKAI pc section >

Online adultery

Having some work done on the house today so a quick news update, I’ll see what I can find this evening.

What I did find so far was an interesting and clear article in The Times about Turkey’s ambition to join the EU – seems The Times and Tony Blair share the same view.

Also, doctors plan to go on strike.

And there's an interesting article about online adultery – seems it can be deemed grounds for divorce!

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Er, what's a blog?

Hi-tech crime is truly international. And you can forget chip-and-pin – card security is going digit-al.

But it’s been deemed illegal for sports clubs to record or collect the fingerprints of fans and use them to check the details of ‘supporters’ entering their grounds.

Meanwhile, it’s the UK vs. the EU over Turkey.

Police arrested yesterday a 49-year-old man accused of raping at least four female tourists near the Acropolis after offering them cheese pies spiked with sleeping pills.

And as the traditional healthy Greek cuisine is gradually edged out of busy lifestyles, experts are warning Greeks about the quality of food they are putting on their tables and point out that locals are consuming about 5 kilos of food preservatives per year.

Oh, and 7 out of 10 people in the UK don’t know what a blog is (oh my!)

All this, and more, at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Toxic time-bomb in your front room

A group of oil workers who took over a Greek well owned by a subsidiary of crisis-hit Regal Petroleum has succeeded in selling nearly $3m (£1.7m) worth of oil over the past three and a half weeks.

A ring of Kurds believed to have swindled more than 500,000 euros from a series of banks was broken yesterday following the arrest of three suspected members.

The Culture Ministry yesterday denied any responsibility for last Friday’s collapse of a huge steel roof over the Akrotiri site on Santorini, instead blaming the previous administration.

Tourism arrivals will rise by at least 8 percent this year.

Cyber bullying is the latest worry in the States, and sure to spread around the net.

As the government announced a new train service which cuts the Athens – Corinth journey time to 60 minutes, news of the ‘Son of Concorde’ which will fly from New York to London in the same time.

Meanwhile, pettol prices in Greece are the lowest in the EU, but car insurance will double in cost.

And have you got a toxic time-bomb in your house? Probably. Find out in the pc section at ELSOKAI (requires registration and log in)

More details at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Calm before the storm?

Looks like another quiet day for news (which maybe isn’t such a bad thing?).

The collapse of the roof covering the archaeological site, which resulted in one death and several serious injuries, has been blamed on poor materials used in the construction.

And it’s been revealed that some 6,000 police officers are assigned as ‘minders’ to top politicians, businessmen and journalists. I’m finding it hard to figure that one.

More details in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Feel free to add your own news / comments (or even a joke or two). There's a guest spot for unregistered users, or you can take the plunge and register. It's free and easy.

Memo to self: must get a surge protector for the modem now the stormy season is here.

The lost boys

Another quiet day for Greek news (aren’t Sunday always?) but some interesting finds elsewhere:

A new congestion charge will be introduced on the M24 near Heathrow airport, effectively making flights to and from Heathrow more expensive for many.

It seemed like a good idea at the time: a light-hearted advertising campaign to persuade Romanians to adopt a stray dog, using pictures of three well-known 'historical figures’ with their pets. Hitler, Ceausescu & Bush…

Efraim Zuroff, successor to Simon Wiesenthal, is putting cash bounties on the heads of fugitives accused of war crimes in an attempt to bring them rapidly to justice.

A plague of kidnapping has swept across Yunnan, a remote southwestern province, claiming hundreds of boys from the city of Kunming alone. One vanished while his father bought sweets. Two more were led away in broad daylight from a busy market. Yet there is no helpline, no nationwide appeal, no television broadcast with pictures of the missing. Instead, police have refused to investigate cases and have harassed families who dared to complain.

More on these stories in the International News section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

PC news update

A quick update of what’s new in the pc section at the ELSOKAI Forums:

A new form of spyware has been developed at the University of California, Berkeley and an anti-porn shield has been developed here in Greece at Komotini’s Democritus University of Thrace.

If you’re thinking of using Incredimail or Winfixer2005, well, up to you, but I wouldn't.

And if you’re using Kerio personal firewall, the bad news is that it’s being discontinued. You can find other firewalls, free and pay-for, listed in the ELSOKAI pc section.

Symantec (Norton) are suggesting that Firefox is less secure than Microsoft’s much maligned Internet Explorer and the free version of Opera internet browser now doesn’t include those annoying ads.

A new version of OpenOffice, the free alternative to Microsoft Office, has been released and there’s also an updated version version of Foxit PDF reader now available – this is a very good, small and fast alternative to the mega-huge, and slow, Adobe Acrobat PDF reader.

There’s also (on page 2) information on HOSTS files and how to protect your pc 100% on the internet.

Lots more info available for registered users in the pc section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Immigrants earn more than Greeks

So much news, so little time! Still, my friends flew back to the sunny UK today so I should be able to spend a bit more time getting my pc up and running how I want, and getting back on track with the blog and forums.

A tourist has been killed and others injured at the archaeological site at Santorini.

After the death of scores of wild horses in the mountainous Souli region in Epirus last winter, the government said yesterday that it would begin the process of providing shelter, food and water for the animals to prevent a rerun of the situation this winter.

Ambelopoulia is a word only spoken furtively in the tavernas of Cyprus these days. It is the name of the dish that will claim the lives of one million migrating song birds this autumn in a slaughter of rare cruelty.

Road tolls are set to rise from next year

The Greek government absorbed 5.8 billion euros of EU funds in 2004.

Three men were detained in northwestern Greece in connection with the theft of electronic data from foreign companies over the Internet.

Fewer than one in three Britons can converse in a second language.

The government is preparing an alternative plan for Olympic Airlines if it fails to sell the company to private investors. Tickets for flights conducted by Olympic Airlines are to increase.

The government is considering launching a network of 12 lightweight satellites into orbit primarily to monitor Greece’s borders for illegal immigration and construction, a source said yesterday.

Economic migrants to Greece save on average twice as much of their incomes as do locals.

Alpha Bank said in a report on Greece’s aging population that, despite the continual inflow of migrants to the country, the population will start to shrink as of 2015.

University scholars in Turkey plan to open a ground-breaking conference this weekend on the mass killings of Armenians under Ottoman rule.

And new software which can ostensibly shield Internet surfers from websites containing pornography has been designed in Greece.

More details, and info on how to protect your pc 100% on the internet, at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Check out the posts by deviousdiva and maybe visit her blog – could get a bit controversial.

And if anyone is visiting the CARMA forums, bear with it as their server is in the path of the latest hurricane. Hope it’s OK, Deb.

ND to pull plug on Olympic

A quick news summary today as I’ve been busy re-setting up my pc – the mvps HOSTS file went on tonight… quite easily, in the end, don’t know why I made such hard work of it. So, from today’s news:

Three people were killed in an accident on their way to a funeral.

Nine petrol stations have been fined for selling sub-standard fuel.

A children’s vaccine has been withdrawn from sale.

Six of the country’s largest supermarket chains have been referred to an Athens prosecutor for cheating customers.

Corfu was transported back to the 1930s as a camera crew from the BBC filmed scenes for a television movie.

And the future of troubled Olympic Airlines came into further doubt yesterday after evidence appeared showing that the government has already informed the European Union that it intends to shut down the state-owned air carrier.

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Terrapins in't beck

No news is… pretty boring. But that’s how it goes some days. Gave me a chance to take my car in to the workshop and cheer Nikos, the mechanic, up. Not that he’s particularly pleased to see me, I think he’s just amazed the damn thing is still running. But I love it to bits.

What I did find:

A Greek-American consortium are interested in buying Olympic Airlines.

An earthquake shook Kefalonia – not that I had to read that in the news, I felt it.

And an Italian man has discovered a Roman villa near his home after using Google Earth on the internet.

More details in the ELSOKAI Forums >

Good news of the day: Well, I’ve seen a solitary terrapin in the beck by the office several times, yesterday I saw two terrapins and today I saw three, and then four, terrapins. Mum, dad and two baby terrapins, all sunbathing on a log in the beck. Made my day.

Who's helping the criminals?

Quite a lot of news today. Starting with the Greek news, the pilot and co-pilot who were at the controls of the doomed Helios Airways plane which crashed north of Athens last month both suffered from heart problems, according to comments made by the coroner who examined the remains of the 121 people killed in the accident.

In the International news:

Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who was credited with tracking down 1,100 Nazi war criminals, died today aged 96 and one of the most wanted war criminals is being shielded by the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican hierarchy, the United Nations' chief prosecutor said yesterday.

In the UK, convicted criminals are to be offered tailor-made contracts promising help to find a job and a house, obtain health care and sort out their benefits in exchange for going straight under reforms outlined by Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, last night.

A key obstacle to Turkey's plans to start EU membership talks was overcome last night when European ambassadors agreed to a declaration on Ankara's refusal to recognise Cyprus.

China exports the most faulty products, according to the number of alerts sent out by EU authorities this year.

More news in the ELSOKAI Forums, click on link on right >

In the pc section, news that Symantec has attacked the perceived security advantages of Firefox and Apple Macs, describing Mac fans as living in a "false paradise".

In another blow to Firefox, the popular Opera web browser has permanently dropped the inclusion of advertising banners in its free version.

More news in the Asklepion pc section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Google spoof threatens pc's

A quick update: a couple of big-time plane delays on Kefalonia recently. More in the Local News at ELSOKAI.

And, for registered users:

Virus writers have developed a worm that spoofs the behaviour of internet search engine Google.

And in the first half of 2005, the UK has almost a third (32 per cent) of all bots – virus-infected, zombie PCs under the control of hackers and used for malicious purposes such as identity theft and spam distribution

More details in the Asklepion pc section at the ELSOKAI Forums >

Hackers target net phone calls

Another quiet day for news, when little really reached out and grabbed me. The government is expected to prepare this week the legal framework that will allow it to sell off Olympic Airlines (OA) bit by bit. More news at the ELSOKAI forums.

A couple of things that did stand out for me, though:

Malicious hackers are turning their attention to the technology behind net phone calls. Voip has been in the news a lot in 2005 as more and more people realise how much money they can save by making some of their calls via the net instead of through old-fashioned phone lines.

And Yahoo! plans to develop a global television network, going out over the internet on broadband.

Registered users can log in and read more in the Asklepion pc section; if you haven’t registered yet, it’s free and easy (and safe) – click on the ELSOKAI Forums link on the right >

'Hatefest' violence erupts

Riot police have clashed with left-wing anarchists in central Athens following a rally by neo-fascists demanding that Turkey should be barred from joining the European Union.

Travel agencies accused of charging "rip-off" prices during school holidays have bowed to government pressure and promised discounts on breaks in July and August and other peak times.

And registered users of ELSOKAI can get the low-down on Winfixer2005, a new program which claims to rid your computer of viruses and fix slow performance.

Click on the ELSOKAI forums links on the right >

Have fun, earn €2,000

Bit of a quiet day in the news, which is handy as I’m busy re-setting up my pc. A couple of interesting items: two Romanians have been arrested in an ATM scam which netted them over €100,000 and, if you want to earn yourself a cool €2000, and have fun in the process, check out the National News section at ELSOKAI >

Check your bank accounts

Members of a Greek hacking gang stole at least 40,000 euros from the bank accounts of their victims by using Trojans hidden in emails. Details at ELSOKAI on how to protect your pc, for free.

Olympic Airlines may still fly – if the government can find a buyer for the trouble-hit airline.

And retsina is Greek! After some twenty years, a compromise has been reached between the EU and America whereby American wine producers cannot use certain names and terms for their wines – but Europe has to allow dodgy American wines to be sold in member states. Hm, flavouring wine with wood chippings – whatever next? Ah well, if they can’t add resin to it, I guess wood chips are next best.

More news in the ELSOKAI forums, click on the links on the right >

Free Willy

Yo! Back on line! What I expected to take about half a day, at very most, ended up taking ten or so. Maybe I’ll leave my thoughts about Multirama ‘til another day. So…

Olympic Airlines may be going broke as the EU has ordered Greece to recover hundreds of millions of euros given to Olympic Airlines (OA) in illegal subsidies.

Thousands of right-wing extremists from all over Europe are hoping to attend a banned "Hatewave" festival in Greece. The event's main slogan is "Our Europe, not theirs. Turkey out of Europe".

And a Turkish immigrant in Germany has confessed to shooting dead his 23-year-old sister because he "could not accept her morals".

Less than 30 percent of Greek men who are more than 50 years old seek regular checkups for prostate cancer and a diet rich in beans, nuts and cereals could be a way to prevent cancer, believe UK researchers.

More details on these stories in the ELSOKAI forums.

For registered users, some interesting pc news: Foxit have released a new version of their PDF reader. Adobe PDF reader is mega-huge and slow while Foxit is small and light and does as good a job. But much faster.

OpenOffice.org has released a new version of their award-winning free alternative to Microsoft office.

And a new version of Firefox is available to testers.

More news in the Asklepion pc section at ELSOKAI, click on the links on the right >

Good news of the day: Eight bottlenose dolphins that had lived in a marine aquarium were washed miles out to sea when Hurricane Katrina hit Mississippi. But all eight have been discovered huddled together in the sea a few hundred yards from the site in Gulfport where their aquarium once stood. I’m glad they’re safe but… why the hell do they have to be taken captive in the first place. An aquarium is no place for dolphins and whales, anymore than a hutch is suitable for a rabbit or a cage for a bird.

Multirama muddle

For staggering chaos, Multirama in Argostoli must take some beating. I took my pc in for a minor mod which should have taken about 30 minutes. I was told it would probably be done the same day. It wasn’t. Nor the day after.

At one stage I was asked to go in to the shop to show them which was mine… oh my god, they don’t even know which pc is which?

On day three, the manager told me he would start on it in about half an hour. When I phoned back the following day he wasn’t there and the staff were too busy to help me, could I call back?

I managed to speak to the manager again the following day. It wasn’t ready but he’d phone me back in thirty minutes, maybe an hour. He never did.

On day five he told me it would be fixed in half-an-hour’s time. It wasn’t.

When I went to collect it, six days later, they couldn’t find the CDs I had taken in with it. Did I need them? Well, the CDs contain Windows XP, Microsoft Office and Service Packs 1 & 2, so yes, at somewhere around €300 or so, I think it is pretty essential that I have them back.

Try as they might, they just couldn’t find them, nor could they find the manager.

I paid for the repair, took my pc and rang the Head Office, who promised to call me back within 30 minutes.

OK, Maria in Head Office has promised that the missing CDs will be delivered to me by courier. That’s cool.

In today's news:

Poor piloting is being blamed for the Helios air crash which killed all 121 on board, according to the International Herald Tribune newspaper.

The government plans to improve ferry services by allowing prices to increase.

Checks made public yesterday uncovered serious breaches of cleanliness, including cockroach-infested kitchens, at some of the capital’s largest public hospitals.

Athina Onassis is fighting for control of the Onassis Foundation, which seems to be trying to block her having much to do with it.

Police in the UK fitted a dying racing pigeon with a radio transmitter in an attempt to track down a poisoner who was trying to kill peregrine falcons.

And a scooter accident on Kefalonia has left two tourists critically injured.

More details in the ELSOKAI forums, click on the links on the right >

Quiet day here

The possible death toll from Hurricane Katrina staggers but me it's been a quiet day for news here-abouts.

A dangerous electrical adaptor has been identified and recalled and fifteen companies face prosecution of potentially selling rotting food.

More in the ELSOKAI forums, links on the right >

Katrina 'virus'

A new twist on the snake-kills-baby story and news of a new 'virus' which is doing the rounds in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

More details in the ELSOKAI forums, links on right >

A brand new pc for less than a fiver?

Fancy a brand new pc for less that a fiver? Or how about a TV and DVD for a mere 49p? More details in the International News section at ELSOKAI.

Now, everyone who’s been to Greece just a few times knows how the rumour mill works, and here’s one I hope is unfounded – a baby killed by a snake while in a babyseat in a hire car.

And it seems some tourists had a lucky break when their hire jeep went down a ravine.

Meanwhile, a British engineer who worked on the fated Helios jet has refused to return to Cyprus.

And good news for home-owners – house prices seem set to rise in 2005.

More details at the ELSOKAI forums, click on the link on the right >