PREVIEW

 YG Archive - Text Messages - OTHER
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

34416
From: "Phil"
Date: Jan 1, 2007
Subject: Re: Many thanks 

Hi Riccardo,
You are welcome. I randomly select a new photo based on clarity and
resolution worthy of our Group's homepage. Your pic met that criterion.
Good job!.

And a Happy New Year to you and all of our Group Members.

Phil
+---------------

34527
From: "scitech200"
Date: Jan 8, 2007
Subject: Re: Web Page Update 

Hi Gordon & Group,
As we have discussed previously, a slick search engine can be
implemented - but it's a LOT of work to initiate and maintain.
I still update the group message archive (now 34,527 message files)
and, once indexed, information is available within a few seconds
using a standard search function with boolean operations. But in
some cases, it's a lot more fun to just "poke around" on a website
and see what you can turn up?

Maybe other members will comment on their preferences.

Have you checked out the new Micscape download facility with
integrated search engine?

Regards,
Keith
+----------------------

34528
From: "Dan"
Date: Jan 8, 2007
Subject: Re: Web Links

Hello all
I would like to remind the group that it is better to omit
punctuation from the end of a web link. Many times the web link will
not work because a period or other symbol gets included in the link.

Dam
+--------------

34529
From: "Don Williams"
Date: Jan 8, 2007
Subject: Personal for Jim Bosley

Hi Jim,
Please contact me off list

don (don.williams@...)
+--------------

34570
From: "m_a_mallick"
Date: Jan 11, 2007
Subject: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems

Dear Friends,
It is a Great NEWS from Vision Micro Systems that they have launched
Image Analysis software and total Imaging Systems at a reasonable Price,
The total system cost just US$ 3500 ( Including Microscope, Digital
camera, Laptop with Image analysis software and deskjet Printer)

This is being marketed by: Vision Micro Systems, India
Tele: +91-33-22150547
E Mail: vision_micro_systems@...

Wish you all a happy time

regards
M.Yasmin 
+------------------

34575
From: "Gregg Kleinberg"
Date: Jan 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems - from A B C

Nothing like shameless self-promotion!

One must really consider what quality all of these items must be, in order to
achieve such a low price. As an individual with 28 years of microscopy
experience, specializing in film and digital imaging, I can tell you that no one
in a serious, professional occupation would purchase such a solution on price
alone - and without the opportunity to "test drive" the tool.

That being said, I wonder if the poster is shipping out evaluation systems for
all of us prospects to "qualify our interest".

Sheesh!

Gregg

PS: Oh yes, and by the way, it is "photomicrography" - you should understand the
market you are catering to!
+----------------

34578
From: Don Williams
Date: Jan 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems - from A B C 

Today I received (from Germany) a small digital scale -- going up to
fifty grams with 0.01gm resolution. It cost 7.50 Euro. It's the size of
an HP 11C calculator. I expected junk that would barely be suitable for
what I wanted -- to weigh out stains and suchlike. I tested the scale
which reads in gm; ozs; dwt; ozt selectable. It does certainly have the
stated resolution and is very accurate; a fifty gm weight weighs 50.00
gm; a 200mg weight seems to weigh 200 mg. The finish is excellent and it
seems to be a fine piece of equipment. Chinese of course.

And there are 180 x 360 Chinese Lathes sold in Germany (Maximum) with
toolmakers DIN specs, the spindle has double taper roller bearings. They
cost 800 Euro! How can they do it?

But having said all that I still wouldn't go for a $3500 Indian image
analysis setup. But we have to be careful of making judgements based on
what was going on ten years ago or even five. Indian software
development is World Class by the way. The hardware will probably be
another story.

Don
+-------------

34579
From: "David Sykes"
Date: Jan 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems - from A B C 

"Don Williams" wrote:
> there are 180 x 360 Chinese Lathes sold in Germany (Maximum) with
> toolmakers DIN specs, the spindle has double taper roller bearings.
> They cost 800 Euro!

What is the make and model ?

> How can they do it?

They make do with a bowl of rice and do not need supersized
cheeseburgers and their own sports utility vehicles ... at least not
for now.

When they do, who will be the World's cheap labour force by then ?

I cannot believe the quality of the Chinese tools I have bought, they
are excellent value.

David Sykes
+---------------

34580
From: "gsheine"
Date: Jan 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems - from A B C

I have one of those Chinese lathes and it is one piece of junk.. The design
is OK but the material used was of a poor quality and many pieces have
failed. My copy was manufactured about 5 years ago and, I am lead to believe,
that the newer ones are manufactured using far better material. They can
produce these lathes so cheaply because the cost of labor is very modest to
say the least.

Jerry Sheine
+----------------

34581
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Jan 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems - from A B C 

Don,
The picture you sent of the lathe has better handles that then one that
I can get in the states for $575 Euros less. If the late was finished as
it should be it may worth the $800 the one we get in the states is a kit
that needs finishing. We get a similar lathe here for $230 Euros. But if
you know what your doing it will do good work as it comes from the box.
I worked with a wet back[a no longer PC name] that didn't speak English
when I worked in a helicopter plant as a lathe operator. He did mostly
hand work and there was lots to do an a Brantley helicopter.
Occasionally we would need a part that normally needed a lathe, mill or
both and the would be tied up and he could almost always do the job by
hand. The boss would let him use the band saw, drill, etc but not the
mill and lathe. I always thought it was because he was afraid of being
badly shown up. He was not a particularly good machinist. I worked there
part time and was doing better work than he was in 6 months. The
difference was I use the library to get books to help me learn what I
was doing and Art relied on what he was taught. The system never had a
education program but the old way of on the job training. It is a good
way to learn if you have people that have the experience to teach but we
too far off the beaten track for that. But since it was a winter job to
supplement farming I wasn't a threat. The whole plant was made up of
farmers or farmer's wives and Mike Hynes had bought Brantley out of its
third bankruptcy and brought it back to where it started. Airplane
makers couldn't make helicopters.

I have seen the image processing stuff from India before and I was
underwhelmed. Putting together a good camera, computer and software is
no small undertaking but I would farm it to some on sending spam on the
Internet. The ImagJ mailing list one one to go along with guys like
Greg. I am trying to find a good economical solution for my IMac. It
will do a good deal better than USB II but I am having a difficult time
finding anything but high dollar Sony video camera for Firewire. I want
a NTSC to Firewire converter and I have found one or two. I have a
low light video camera with extended range in the infra red and several
others I want to use. A 512 x 512 monochrome camera has almost as good
resolution as a 4 megapixle color camera and no pixel fix up problems. I
will get a web cam as well.

I am really impressed with the IMac. It will do a 3 way sort on 56,000
line spread sheet in 5 seconds. The disk never need defaging and it is
really hard to break the OS. It never really break but I have used
enough memory that the operation go so slow for practical use it was
broken. I have only had one time I couldn't get the memory back with out
rebooting the box. I don't know if they will catch on or not. They make
a very good workstation running Free BSD, MAC and Windows concurrently.
I don't know about Windows but I can cut and paste between FBSD & Mac
apps and run FBSD and Mac apps on the same data. The way I program that
a real advantage.

My son works with some Indian teams. They are good but they have class
issues that get in the way now and then. A lot of them literately live
on the job with servants taking care of them. The job is air conditioned
and their home aren't. Cisco likes them being on site most of the time
they would be happy if they worked 200 hours a week. A lot work 80+ in
the states.

Gordon
+---------------

34587
From: "Vision Micro"
Date: Jan 13, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems 

Dear Friends,
I Understand it is very difficult to Digest this could happen in such
a low cost. You all must be aware of the fact That India is one of
the largest exporter of Software in the World. to be frank I do a bit
of Programming to and could understand what it really takes to be so.

The price difference is Huge To explain it I must consider an example:
I have been to Swizerland in 1992 then the cost of an Egg was 50
cents (Sfr) converted to Indian Rupee it was Rs.10.00 and then the
price was Rs. 0.65 and today it is Rs.1.50 Of course I dont Know the
recent cost in Switzerland Today, it is very cost effective.

I have been to this supplier and got it veryfied, IT IS RIGHT and no
SPAM or Bluff. Unless you see it for your self you wont believe.

They have Given their address so that one has to visit them and
Believe.The are New to the Market and are planning to take up the
Market. Most of the Image analysis softwares were previously Imported
now that is not Happening.

In a day or two I will try to post the photo of the format of the
IAS on getting it.

I Hope I am able to clear most of the Doubts.

Regards
M.Yasmin
+---------------

34592
From: "femtoscope"
Date: Jan 13, 2007
Subject: Re: Micro Photography using Image Analysis Systems

Sorry, I just started reading your post after hunting a few Paramecia
which I found in some new water samples. Staring at these magnificent
creatures in phase contrast and brightfield is a joy. Just simply
perfect! There is no replacement for this. So, my judgment to
objectively comment on various aspects of this thread is somewhat
impaired by my relentless pursuit to always put the art of microscopy
into the center of every discussion.

If you want to share your hobby or your professional experience in
microscopy with us, then that's great. But I hardly consider this a
suitable place for promoting this kind of "solution". Especially
since I believe that you actually want to sell a system for
photomicrography and not microphotography ;)

The primary function of this group, at least as long as I remain a
member, is MICROSCOPY. eBay is just around the corner.

Cheers,
Gregor
+---------------

34593
From: microscopy@yahoogroups.com
Date: Jan 14, 2007
Subject: File - services.txt 

Reminder of the microscope group services.
+--------------

34674
From: "vision micros systems"
Date: Jan 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software

Hi Everyone !
First of all let me be clear it is not a sales promotion. This is to
inform that Image Analysis softwares are available from Vision Micro
systems, India.

for ready reference the software layout can be seenn as in the photo
posted in the Album named Vision Micro Systems.

for further information one can write to vision_micro_systems@...

Last of all to mention it is GREAT !!!
If you want just to capture your Photo to your report (Can be tailored
Made - see the photo) directly use the VMS Capture Pro software costing
just Rs. 5000/- ( Approx $100)

There is no harm in getting the information. Just write to them

Regards
M.A.Mallick
+-----------------

34675
From: "Gregg Kleinberg"
Date: Jan 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software

MODERATORS!!!???!!!
This is not a sales promotion, but let me tell you how great it is
and how much I will sell it to you for. For crying out loud!

Let ME be clear - I, personally, have heard enough.

G
+--------------

34676
From: "femtoscope"
Date: Jan 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software from Vision Micro System 

Good point. It is time to consider pulling the plug on this one.

Gregor
+---------------

34697
From: Gary Bennett"
Date: Jan 17, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software from Vision Micro System 

Sorry folks, but I see some toe stomping in my future,
1 - This person, in my opinion, is trying to educate the folks in this group
that there IS support for this product.
2 - We live in a consumerism world.
3 - We lead the world in consumption.
4 - I believe I woke up in America, the land of free speech!? Perhaps N. Korea
bought us last night and I missed it?
5 - If I posted my Ortholux for sale in this group for a dollar, would you
complain?
6 - So the problem with this posting is?
Bottom line, everyone here has one goal, sharing information. I read this
posting and was informed. Thank You Mr. Mallick for the info!

Gary:)
+--------------

34698
From: DonH
Date: Jan 17, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software from Vision Micro System 

"Gary Bennett" wrote:
> 4 - I believe I woke up in America, the land of
> free speech!?

Free speech applies essentially to government
censorship.

> 5 - If I posted my Ortholux for sale in this group
> for a dollar, would you complain?

The moderators have said that list members can post
occasional ads for incidental items they have for
sale. That is different than a commercial post for a
consumer product by a professional business. Some of
the more active professional members here have
mentioned their
goods and services, and usually in the context of a
response to a memeber's post on a related subject; the
PaxCam is a good example.

Don
+---------------

34702
From: "Par Lundqvist"
Date: Jan 18, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software from Vision Micro System 

HI
5 - If I posted my Ortholux for sale in this group for a dollar, would
you - NOT FROM YOU !!

Pär
+----------------

34738
From: Don Williams
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: test...please ignore 

Thanks

This email transmission and any files that accompany it may contain
sensitive information belonging to the sender and is intended only
for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or the
taking of any action in reliance on this information is strictly prohibited.
If you have received this email transmission in error, please immediately
notify the sender by replying to this message and then delete it from
your computer.
+----------------

34740
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software 

Dear Mr. Mallick,
As I predicted earlier your continued commercial post an unheard of 3 in
6 days caused a great deal of negative reaction in the group. After the
third post I put you on moderation so I could discuss any further posts
with you before they are sent to group members.

Either you don't understand the nature of the group or don't care as you
keep posting in spite of a very strong negative response.

The group is about Microscopy and not e-commerce or fueling
disagreements among the group.

No more post will be approved until we discuss this.

Sincerely
Gordon Couger
one of three moderators
+---------------

34741
From: "Gregg Kleinberg"
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software

Thank you, Gordon!
+------------------

34742
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Image Analysis software

Dear Mr. Mallick
Posting your system to the group every 2 days is absolutely unacceptable
even if it is down in the comments. Please contact me off line before
you make any more posts to the group.

Everyone please cut this tread. If you have comments direct them to me.

Gordon
1 or 3 Moderators
+--------------

34746
From: "scitech200"
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ??

Does anyone know what happened to this superb website? I had not
checked in for quite some time, so I have no idea of when it actually
disappeared.

As far as I can ascertain, it was all the work of John Walsh who was
living in Sydney, Australia.

As always, thanks for any input.
-Keith
+----------------

34748
From: "couryhouse"
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

Try it at _www.archive.org_ (http://www.archive.org) and see if it pulls up
Then if it does we an suck it in and keep it

Thanks,
Ed Sharpe, Archivist for SMECC
+----------------

34750
From: "David Sykes"
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

"couryhouse" wrote:
> try it at _www.archive.org_ (http://www.archive.org) and see if it
> pulls up ...

Problem is that archived webpages still depend on the website images.

If they have gone, you are out of luck.

David Sykes
+-----------------

34751
From: "couryhouse"
Date: Jan 19, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

if there ever were there they still are there... try it see if it is there
however like the ieee site that has members only content it is not
archived nor does google cash it.

ed
+-----------------

34756
From: Don Williams
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

I've found the site and it seems complete. There is one image missing in
the section on Vinyl record deterioration.

Don W
+-----------------

34757
From: "couryhouse"
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

Send me =the url also and i will try to get the other image...

save all you can it is our responsibility
+----------------

34758
From: Don Williams
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

Here it is.
 http://web.archive.org/web/20020923031036/http://micrographia.com/

I am particularly interested in the electronic flash equipment and built
a simpler one myself a few years back. I once had a program that would
downloaded an entire website, but it was lost years ago. Does anyone
remember what it was called?

Don W
+------------------

34760
From: "David Sykes"
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

"Don Williams" wrote:
> I've found the site and it seems complete.

The reason that I was not seeing any images is because it bizarrely
requires Active Scripting to be enabled to display them.
Like so many sites it gives no indication that this is necessary.
If you then forget to disable Active Scripting you may be subjected to
annoyances or worse.

David Sykes
+-------------------

34761
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

don

It appears I can download int a put it together. If some knows him and
can get his permission to post it on Science-info.net I will. If now one
knows him well enough to it I will.

If he doesn't come whit the site and run it. I need a partial copyright
to do what I have to do.

I think there is too much there to lest slip away. Wen a few hours will
solve the problem. It eaiser if he helps but it not a big deal either way.

Gordon
+------------------

34765
From: "David Sykes"
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

"Gordon Couger" wrote:
> It appears I can download int a put it together.

Gordon, it would be handy if it could be in a downloadable form for
burning to a DVD.

David
+----------------

34766
From: "scitech200"
Date: Jan 20, 2007
Subject: Re: Micrographia website ?? 

Gordon,
You wrote:
> I think there is too much there to let slip away.

This comprehensive website was a class act. Can we even imagine how
many thousands of man-hours went into its preparation? It would
indeed be a real shame to let it "slip away".

Many thanks to Coury for leading us to the archived files website.

An initial study of the archived files indicates that the website
was active from 2002 through April 2006. I'm in contact with some
folks in Sydney to see if they can track down a John Walsh that may
have become a retiree from a university, or other institute, in 2001-
2002. It's only proper that we do our best to find out what happened.
Also, it seems that he published with Micscape so Dave Walker may be
of assistance.

> When a few hours will solve the problem.

It could be more than a few hours to do it right - but definitely
worth the effort.

-Keith

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   <SKIP>

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

35226
From: "too_many_tools"
Date: Feb 6, 2007
Subject: FYI...very interesting.

TMT

Human skin populated by veritable zoo of bacteria By Will Dunham
Mon Feb 5

Researchers on a safari for microbes have found that human skin is
populated by a veritable menagerie of bacteria -- 182 species -- some
apparently living there permanently and others just dropping by for a
visit.

There's no need for alarm, said microbiologist Dr. Martin Blaser of
New York University School of Medicine: the bacteria have been with
us for quite a while and some are helpful.

In research published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, Blaser and his colleagues took swabs from the
forearms of six healthy people to study the bacterial populations in
human skin -- our largest organ.

"We identify about 182 species," Blaser said in an interview. "And
based on those numbers, we estimate there are probably at least 250
species in the skin."

"In comparison," Blaser added, "a good zoo might have 100 species or
200 species. So we already know that there are as many different
species in our skin, just on the forearm, as there are in a good zoo."

Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms believed to have been the
first living things on Earth. While some cause disease, bacteria also
reside normally in our bodies, for example in the digestive tract,
performing useful chores.

"Without good bacteria, the body could not survive," added Dr. Zhan
Gao, a scientist in Blaser's lab involved in the study.

The researchers noted that microbes in the body actually outnumber
human cells 10-to-1.

"Our microbes are actually, in essence, a part of our body," Blaser
said.

"We think that many of the normal organisms are protecting the skin.
So that's why I don't think it's a great idea to keep washing all the
time because we're basically washing off one of our defense layers,"
Blaser added.

SOPHISTICATED TECHNIQUE
It has long been known that bacteria reside in the skin, but Blaser
and his colleagues used a sophisticated molecular technique based on
DNA to conduct a rigorous census.

The inhabitants proved to be more diverse than had been thought, with
about 8 percent of the species previously unknown, the researchers
found.

Some bacteria seemed to be permanent residents of the skin, with four
genera -- Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Propionibacteria and
Corynebacteria -- accounting for a bit more than half the population.
Others were more transient.

In each person, the population of bacteria changed over time although
a core set existed for each.

The volunteers included three men and three women, and the findings
suggested the two sexes may differ in the bacteria they tote along.

The researchers previously had studied bacteria in the stomach and
esophagus. With this research, they found that the insides of the
body and the skin had major differences in bacterial populations.

"Microbes have been living in animals probably for a billion years.
And the microbes that we have in our body are not accidental. They
have evolved with us," Blaser said.
+---------------

35261
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Feb 7, 2007
Subject: Lost Dcumentaion 

Charley Krebs observed that the documentation for a Nikon Labopht-2 was
missing from science-info.net I also fount Nikon's publication How to
use a microscopes to take a photomicrograph was missing as well. Yahoo
shine on file names with spaces for some reason. Having to rename
perfectly good files to suit some programmers whim is annoying and cause
problems like these.

I am reminded of an old Frederick Brown very very short story form the
50's about memory getting smaller and smaller. Until final all the
information in the universe was stored on something the size of a credit
card in a desk drawer in a library. It got lost and civilization ended.
Maybe we will just loose it a file or two at time and not notice.

Gordon
+--------------

35275
From: "Dogs Afire"
Date: Feb 8, 2007
Subject: Sometimes you're the windshield 

In his song The Bug, Mark Knopfler writes
Sometimes you're the windshield,
Sometimes you're the bug

I think most of us have spent our fair share of time
being the bug. But every now and then we get a
windshield moment.

Recently I bought a Zeiss Photomicroscope II but, as
these things go, it didn't have any control
electronics. Not long after, I saw another Phomi II
for sale, this time with a controller. The price was
more than I could afford at the time and I couldn't
bid on it. In the photo I could see that there were a
lot of additional pieces, but I didn't pay much
attention to them because I already had all of what I
needed except for the controller.

The auction ended with no bidders, though, and I wrote
to the seller to work out a time payment option,
figuring I could sell off the excess pieces to help
offset my costs. He agreed and I just received the
scope. Well, not only did it come with a nice
assortment of objectives (8, including 3 planapos),
eyepieces, filters and tools, it also included an epi
illuminator system along with a secondary nose piece
and set of five HD EpiPlans that look as though they
have never been used.

While checking out everything I noticed that a screw
had broken off of something. Hunting around I finally
found that it had come from an analyzer in the
Optivar. When I extracted the analyzer I saw a roman
numeral II and an arrow. Could it be? I quickly
grabbed the condenser and unwrapped it. Sure enough,
it is a DIC condenser! Holy smokes! I have seen DIC
condensers alone sell for almost as much as I paid for
the whole outfit.

It's going to be a while until I can complain about
getting the short end of the stick in an online
auction.

Definitely a windshield kind of day

Don Baker
(just had to tell somebody)
+------------------

35279
From: "forgerii"
Date: Feb 8, 2007
Subject: Re: Sometimes you're the windshield 

It does sound like you hit a gold mine
+----------------

35282
From: "Jim Bosley"
Date: Feb 8, 2007
Subject: Re: Sometimes you're the windshield 

Don
Pain shared is pain halved,
Joy shared is joy doubled- Hey! Wait a minute! I'm jealous!

Seriously, congratulations on your good fortune. Good viewing!

Jim
+------------

35323
From: Microscope@yahoogroups.com
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: File - services.txt 

Reminder of the microscope group services.
+----------------

35331
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Patent search engines

I came accosts Google's patent search engine:
 www.google.com/googlepatents/about.html

They have OCR the patent back to at least 1909. It appears they have
tokenized the text and indexed to the image that comes from the US
Patent office. It appears to be the best patent search engine to date.
Being able to search older patents is a real plus.

I haven't been able to find a way to save a file from it but I am not
sure I need to save a file as long as this works. It concerns me that
Google only finds 1/3 as many references for microscope as the US Patent
search engine at http://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-adv.htm

It uses the Google book interface and we found out with Carpenter's The
Microscope & Its Revelations all browsers don't work the same using it
so if you have problems try another browser. According to the statistics
on science-info.net Mozzila has become the most used browser for the
group that accesses it.

Gordon
+---------------

35333
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: Carpenter's The Microscope & Its Revelations 

If anyone hasn't downloaded Carpenter's The Microscope & Its Revelations
and wants to from
 www.science-info.net/docs/etc/The_Microscope_and_Its_Revelations.pdf

should do so in the next day or two. I will be taking it down as it is
clearly not in the spirit of use of Google has in mind when they make
this kind of thing available in their digital book effort. Helping some
people work around technical difficulties is one thing but I can't in
good conscious use it as drawing card to my pages. It will be replaced
with a link to the book on Google at
 http://books.google.com/books?q=the+microscope+and+its+revelations 

and not to contact me if all other efforts fail to download it.

Gordon
+-----------------

35337
From: Roger Moretz
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Carpenter's The Microscope & Its Revelations 

Thanks for your work on this Gordon, and again for the
reminder. I have saved it to my Microscopy file
(where else?). It is always great to have access to
these old texts. I used to have access to the great
Chamot & Mason text "Chemical Microscopy" but both the
owner and book have passed on to the other side. That
was my intro to LM and it taught a lot.

Roger Moretz
+----------------

35339
From: "couryhouse"
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Carpenter's The Microscope & Its Revelations 

can't download....

the google version is not the ful book unless i am missing something..
+---------------

35341
From: "mervhob"
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Help for dummy 

Can I say, as someone who gets to look at (bad) PCBs most days
whether he wants to or not, 10/10 for both Gregg and Gordon's advice.
A monocular PCB based system is definitely not the best tool, the
extra perception of a good stereo is worth its weight in gold. Once
you have discovered defects, then an adapted webcam can be used to
store pictures for future reference. A good Stereozoom 4 is a superb
instrument, with a much better working distance than a Kyowa or
Olympus, particularly if the x0.5 supplementary is fitted. The Kyowa
gives a wider field of view than the Stereozoom, but no better
resolution. There are also good 'chinese copy' stereos at very
reasonable prices. A stereo microscope is by far the best inspection
instrument - they can be used in comfort with minimum eyestrain - I
use mine for watchmaking now that age has robbed me of accomodation,
rather than the traditional eyeglass.

Cheers,
Merv
+--------------

35347
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Feb 11, 2007
Subject: Re: Carpenter's The Microscope & Its Revelations 

My version come straight from google so it that same stuff. I just left
click on the book browser windows and saved as a pdf. I am not sure that
still works. I may have to get creative with lynx an curl from the
command line and see what Google is doing to the browser. The book
viewer is new to me and I think I used Apple's safari to save it.
Everyone set up their stuff for Mozzila and MS Explorer and forgets
about a lot of the the others. They think Mac user's are too far gone to
worry about. Some of us bought IMac's for a fast Unix machine that runs
Free BSD Unix, Apple's stuff for Mac and MS Windows and know shape tools
when we see them and have some idea what they are for. All the tools
that Bell Labs wrote in the 70's are still there.

Gordon
+---------------

35473
From: Microscope@yahoogroups.com
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: New file uploaded to Microscope 

Hello,
This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the Microscope
group.

File : /Resources/used and refurbished scopes.htm
Uploaded by : mattbrin <matt@...>
Description : Vendors of used and refurbished microscopes
+-----------------

35478
From: "Jim Bosley"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing  

For a Reichert-Jung Polyvar-Met Microscope & Camera Like New
in which the seller says to contact him off-line or your bid will be
cancelled. There are three listings, all with the same pic:
170081919895
170081916751
170081916729
and he has a text offer (not an ebay offer) for a buy it now price of
$1100. He apparently has stolen the picture of the scope from a
legitimate seller. See item: 320082485135. This seller has a buy it
now price of $13,000.

I think the fraud is the same guy that was hawking a Leitz Aristoplan
earlier.

ebay must have pretty bad security and anti-fraud capability. I
couldn't even find a way to report this.

Anyway, if you have to contact someone in advance to bid on something,
be suspicious.

Best, Jim
+----------------

35481
From: "dndlg"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

It looks like the account has been hacked. Notice that this seller has
a bunched of other items all priced at $13.00 just like the Reichert,
all items also say to contact him off-line and all have a Buy it Now
of 1100 GBP.... This account has been compromised by some low-life hacker.

Daniel
+------------

35484
From: "lightsurfer2"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Hi Jim,
At the bottom of every eBay auction listing is a section headed "What
else can you do?". There is a link option there called "Report this
item". You can click that to notify eBay of a suspected fraud... it
only takes a minute or so to complete the process. They are usually
VERY fast about taking down the item when notified this way. I
monitor the eBay Leitz equipment listings pretty closely, and used
the report item feature on the bogus Orthoplan ad many times until
the perps finally moved on. eBay people actually called me on the
telephone to thank me! In their defense, it's almost an impossible
job for them to monitor and verify the millions of new listings that
go on eBay every day... interested eBay users can really help to keep
it free of outright fraudulant listings in the areas of their
interest.

Howard
+---------------

35486
From: "J.Gregory"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Seems like the same crook comes back every week with a high-end scope
and other items posted using a high-jacked sellers i.d. Once you
recognize him, reporting is easy: at the bottom of the page click
on "Report this item" then "Fraudulent listings" then "You suspect
that a listing is fraudulent (but did not bid)" then "continue,"
then "send email." An email page will appear with the item number
already in it, just put in a short note about why you know it is
fradulent, such as it has appeared many times already under other
sellers i.d.s Ebay will pull it, but the crook will no doubt be back.

I wonder if eBay could put such typical frauds into some kind of
listing filter that would tag them, and/or find a way to track these
listings back to the crook.
+--------------

35489
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Some on got though to ebay they are gone as of 2:41 eBay time.

This is an absolute red flag waning saying THIS IS a SCAM
/the seller says to contact him off-line or your bid will be cancelled./

The may not be scamming you but they intended to scam someone at the
lest they plan to beat eBay out of their charges. If you buy outside
eBay and get screwed I doubt eBay will be much help.

Gordon
+---------------

35490
From: "Jim Bosley"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Thanks for folks for pointing ebay feature letting users report fraud.
Appreciate it. 

Jim
+--------------

35494
From: "Jim Bosley"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

The guy is at it again. 330089384350.

So I used the "report it now" feature as suggested. Much better!

Be warned, and heed Gordon's advice: anybody advertising on ebay to
"contact me via email or your bid will be cancelled" is likely a fraud.

Thanks again,
Jim
+----------------

35497
From: "femtoscope"
Date: Feb 15, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Buying a microscope on eBay is risky. No doubt about that.

I looked at the ebay item you mentioned. The only thing I can
conclude is that the seller just wants to cheat eBay. He sells an
item for $2000 but he does not want you to bid this amount for this
item. He just uses eBay as a vehicle to promote his stuff. Now, is
this illegal? - I don't think so. Does it violate eBay's rules for
sellers? - Yes. - eBay could hire its own people browsing through
the listings and weed out the ones that do not comply with their own
regulations.

Of course, I would not buy from him. Why? - Someone who is bold
enough to advertise his products in such manner may also be an unfair
seller. Anyway, his rating is quite good. Is it a hijacked account?

In any case, I am not reporting people only because it is convenient
to do so. I really want to be very certain that the person violates
the law, and not just a company policy, before I help some private
organization to stop his activity.

Just my two cents,
Gregor
+------------------

35499
From: DonH
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Here is what is going on:
The scammers spam out thousands of e-mails "from eBay
regarding your account." They usually ask you to log
in and "verify your account." The page you are
logging into is fake, but now they have your eBay
username and password.

Now the fun starts: the seller copies ads from some
high-end items on ebay, and places new ads under
hijacked accounts. The ads usually have a lot of bad
English, are for anywhere from 24-36 hours, have the
bidder marked Private, have a low opening bid,
sometimes have a contradiction in the place where the
user is registered vs. where the item is located, and
has a lot of text, sometimes formed as GIF or JPG
files so that the text actually can't be discovered by
a search, stating some high buy-it-now price (even
though there is no official BIN button in the auction)
and insisting that you contact the seller at some AOL
or Yahoo address to complete the transcation, and bids
will be cancelled.

There is one flaw in this system: in order to steal
your money, the scammer must give you a Western Union
or similar money transfer account. Someone must pick
up that money. A few e-mails to that address,
pretending to be a sucker who wants to buy his item,
and the name and account number are given to you
freely. The astute investigator (like me) alerts ebay
and passes this on to the appropriate authorities, who
then set up a "sale" and cooperate with the police in
at the receiver's end to arrest whoever comes to pick
up the money.

The "Aristoplan" seller was in Romania. His ads
stopped about two weeks after I obtained his
information and passed it along to a very ticked-off
eBayer whose account had been phished, and planned to
pass it along to law enforcement with my help. I can
only imagine that he is in a dank Romanian jail
somewhere, enjoying the special love provided by other
inmates.

Best,
Don
+-------------

35501
From: J Forster
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

> Here is what is going on:
> The scammers spam out thousands of e-mails "from eBay
> regarding your account." They usually ask you to log
> in and "verify your account." The page you are
> logging into is fake, but now they have your eBay
> username and password. [snip]

There is another ruse used by phishers. You receive an email either
asking a question about your listing or demanding to know where the item
they bought is. You reply, using the eBay 'Ask Seller (buyer) a
Question' link in the email, but the link is actually to the phisher's
site.

It's clever and I almost fell for it.

Beware,
-John
+-----------------

35505
From: "desgeere"
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

"femtoscope" wrote:
> Of course, I would not buy from him. Why? - Someone who is bold
> enough to advertise his products in such manner may also be an unfair
> seller. Anyway, his rating is quite good. Is it a hijacked account?
> In any case, I am not reporting people only because it is convenient
> to do so. I really want to be very certain that the person violates
> the law, and not just a company policy, before I help some private
> organization to stop his activity.

I have not seen this particular item (it has been removed) but sounds
like the same scam that has been around for some time that I have
reported several times. On these the accounts were definitely
hijacked and I feel sorry for these innocent sellers whose good
ratings could be jeopardised. These were definitely frauds.

Des
+--------------

35507
From: "Par Lundqvist"
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

Hi All !!
Correct - Why buy on ebay
when you can buy from others and pay 10 times more ??

Pär
+-------------

35509
From: "J.Gregory"
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Dealers vs. eBay 

Par, you are one of a group of eBay sellers whom I trust as honest and
efficient, and your items are accurately described so I know what I am
getting. Maybe we should make another list of such fine eBay sellers.

But commercial dealers who do most of their business outside of eBay,
and might also service and repair microscopes, can have high overhead
costs as well as employees to pay. Their prices have to be higher than
most eBay sellers for their business to succeed. If I ran an
environmental consulting lab near Vermont Optech (and what a wonderful
part of the world to live), it might work well for me to contract with
him to provide microscopes for my lab, and to consider my time and
money well spent (also there are tax deductions for business
equipment). And unlike moderate-income hobbyists like me, there are
consumers who are well off and might want the security of buying a
microscope that has been refurbished into like-new condition, yet is
still below what it cost new. So, I don't resent what dealers charge,
but decide whether or not I can afford it, and if not look elsewhere.

Greg
+-------------

35510
From: DonH
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Dealers vs. eBay 

"J. Gregory" wrote:
> Maybe we should make another list of such
> fine eBay sellers.

That could get ugly, because a lot of members here are
eBay buyers and sellers. People have different
criteria for what makes a good eBay seller, and I know
my standards, as well as a lot of the other ebay
regulars, are pretty high. Putting together such a
list invites the airing of dirty laundry and personal
issues. Such issues have come to light in the past.
While it sounds like a good idea, it needs to be
considered carefully, regarding whether it could do
more harm than good.

best,
Don
+------------

35511
From: "Par Lundqvist"
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Dealers vs. eBay 

Hi
Many thanks , just want to point out that there
are lots of nice deals that can be made on ebay

Nice to heer that some like my stuff i sell

Best Regards
Pär
+------------

35512
From: Rane Curl
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

"J Forster" wrote:
...snip...
> There is another ruse used by phishers. You receive an email either
> asking a question about your listing or demanding to know where the item
> they bought is. You reply, using the eBay 'Ask Seller (buyer) a
> Question' link in the email, but the link is actually to the phisher's
> site.

I trash all such phishes immediately now, but initially what I did was log
onto Ebay and look for the item they cite. It never existed.

--Rane
+-------------

35513
From: Gordon Couger
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Dealers vs. eBay 

Hi Par,
Your very welcome. There are some very good deals on eBay and the
integrity of almost all of the sellers of microscopes is very good. The
guys that sell surplus and have a scope now and then are a bit risky. My
very best deals come for new comers to eBay. The buyers have something
to learn about auctions, shipping and life in general. They should try
buying at live open outcry auctions where the seller, auctioneer and
other buyers trying to screw each other. There is really wide range of
honesty in the live auction trade. The same goes for swap meets your
friends will lie to you about the condition of stuff they are selling.
The honest ones say I don't know on most of the stuff they sell. On the
Internet your integrity is all you have and the only way to establish it
is by what others say about you.

I expect freight and the weakness of the dollar have cut into you
profitability. When the Euro was 80 cents US instead of $1.31USD it
worked better for you. I know you price in dollars but you live in Euro.
I expect you notice the dollar being 63% cheaper than it was as the USA
represents the biggest market. We don't set the price unless we are the
only ones in the auction and that's often the case on some parts.

I eye the photo microscope stands that you sell so cheap and by the time
they get shipped over here they aren't very cheap.

Sincerely
Gordon
+------------

35514
From: DonH
Date: Feb 16, 2007
Subject: Re: Another Fraudulent Ebay Listing 

"Par Lundqvist" wrote:
> Correct - Why buy on ebay
> when you can buy from others and pay 10 times more ??

What do sarcastic comments like this accomplish? If
there is a point to make, then please say something
specific and worthwhile.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   <SKIP>

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------