Todays Best Press Release from DotcomTucson

Education Commissioner Apologizes to North Atlantic Regional High School (NARHS)

In a rare, official government apology and retraction, the North Atlantic Regional High School in Lewiston, Maine, received an official letter from Maine’s Commissioner of Education. After false statements about this private school were given to the press, colleges, the military, and others, the school sought the assistance of Maine’s leaders. School administrator, Steve Moitozo, met with the State’s Assistant Attorney General, representatives from the Senate leadership, the State House Representative from the school’s district, the school’s attorney, and the Commissioner, Susan Gendron. When presented the facts of the case, the Commissioner took corrective action with her staff.

Lewiston, ME June 27, 2006 -- The North Atlantic Regional High School has received a written, formal apology from the Maine Department of Education Commissioner, Susan Gendron.

In part, the letter states, "The Maine Department of Education retracts the inappropriate statements made by Edwin Kastuck (and those associated with him) concerning the North Atlantic Regional High School ("NARHS") suggesting that NARHS was not a lawfully operating school which could issue diplomas and that NARHS was a "diploma mill" selling diplomas to customers. These statements, which were not authorized by me, made to the press, to the military, and families were ill-chosen, beyond the authority of Mr. Kastuck or any employee of the Department of Education to make, and inaccurate..."

The recent letter comes as result of NARHS losing students after staff in the Department of Education gave false information to the press and to multiple inquiries. This has resulted in substantial financial losses to the school and damage to the schools 18-year pristine reputation.

The Commissioner’s letter goes on, "We apologize for the difficulty these statements have caused your school over the years...Inquiries relating to NARHS should be directed to my office for a response..."

Commissioner Gendron’s letter came on official state stationery and closes with, "Thank you for bringing this matter to my attention, for the information you delivered to me, and for your work assisting families."

NARHS Administrator, Steve Moitozo, concludes that, "Rumors or recent news articles that contain information using derogatory terms about NARHS (North Atlantic Regional High School), should be considered suspect, inaccurate, and false. These reports originated from illegitimate sources inside of the state’s bureaucracy." Moitozo goes on to state, "The Maine Department of Education has retracted the false information. Our reputation is cleared, our program is solid, and our families deserve to know we are a real, legitimate, private school, authorized by state law, and recognized by the Department of Education."

For more information on the North Atlantic Regional High School, visit www.NARHS.org If you would like a complete copy of the Commissioner’s letter to NARHS, please request one from a visit to the web site. OR, call 800-882-2828.

If you would like to speak to the Commissioner’s office directly, you are invited to call the Maine Department of Education at 207-624-6600. Tell the operator you want information about NARHS. You will be directed to the Commissioner’s staff.

Agnitum Issues First In-Depth Analysis of Microsoft OneCare Firewall; Concern Expressed Over Low Level of Customer Protection Provided

The firewall security experts at Agnitum, developers of the widely-acclaimed Outpost Firewall product family, have conducted an in-depth analysis of Microsoft's new OneCare Firewall, part of Microsoft's "Live" security initiative. The results are so far below industry standards that the company felt obliged to share the results of its analysis with the public.

ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA -- SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA June 28, 2006 -- The firewall security experts at Agnitum, developers of the widely-acclaimed Outpost Firewall product family, have conducted an in-depth analysis of Microsoft's new OneCare Firewall, part of Microsoft's "Live" security initiative. The results are so far below industry standards that the company felt obliged to share the results of its analysis with the public.

Highlights of the report include the following:

- The OneCare firewall failed all but the simplest leak tests and does not offer even the most basic intrusion detection capability, leaving users' PCs wide open to being hijacked into a botnet
- The OneCare firewall database of pre-approved applications is very small, and adding each new application requires several user interactions and a reboot
- Application access rules are limited to 'allowed' and 'not allowed' --- users cannot configure different rules for different types or times of usage, such as allowing IE to connect with some but not all websites
- Similar limitations apply to network file access and remote desktop operations
- The Windows Defender anti-spyware component of OneCare imposes significant delays on program execution, and is updated on a separate schedule than other OneCare components

Agnitum engineers also found compatibility issues with OneCare---but not the ones they had expected. Before installing the software, they already had a firewall running, as would most people. OneCare did not request the de-installation of any existing firewall, so Outpost Firewall Pro was left in place. OneCare worked smoothly alongside Outpost Firewall Pro---so smoothly that Outpost was the first to monitor the system, ask questions and protect the user, not OneCare.

The full analysis can be found on the Agnitum website at http://www.agnitum.com/r/firewall/onecare

"Microsoft has tried to create software for novice users, making it very limited in settings and customization. The problem is, they've gone too far. OneCare is too simple. Yes, it's easy to use. But unfortunately, it doesn't provide much protection," says Alexey Belkin, Chief Software Architect at Agnitum. "This 'one product for everyone' attempt is likely to end up being 'one product for no one.' The product itself looks like it was designed as a mandatory part of the operating system, and that is simply shortchanging users who haven't yet decided what security solution to invest in."

The business community worldwide, as well as the firewall security vendor community, has reacted swiftly to the appearance of this new player, not only from a technology perspective but also from the point of view of Microsoft's business practices. Reactions concerning "predatory pricing" (first discussed by Sunbelt president Alex Eckelberry in his blog http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2006/06/microsoft-practices-predatory-pricing.html) are arising, primarily that Microsoft is setting artificially low prices. But "cheap" doesn't equal "good value," as can be seen in the Agnitum analysis of the OneCare firewall.

"No one is underestimating the potential impact of Microsoft entering the Internet Security market, but at Agnitum we are seeing this development having more positive than negative effects," says Mikhail Penkovsky, Global VP of Sales & Marketing at Agnitum. "The updating of the Windows Firewall in Vista makes a clear statement that the personal firewall is a must-have; Outpost and other third-party firewalls will still be there for customers when they realize---as many will---that the protection provided by OneCare is extremely limited. Our key distributors and resellers are in full agreement that OneCare is nice to look at but that's pretty much all there is to it."

About Agnitum ltd. (www.agnitum.com)
Founded in 1999, Agnitum is committed to delivering and supporting high quality security software products. The company's headline products are Outpost Firewall Pro, securing personal and family computers, and Outpost Network Security, ensuring reliable endpoint protection and performance for small business networks. Agnitum firewall technology is licensed by Novell, Sophos, and Lavasoft.

Train Chartering Sends a Private Rail Car Across the US, and Remodels privaterailcars.net

Train Chartering has supplied a Private Rail Car for a return journey between Fargo ND & Seattle WA for an individual and his entourage. This charter coincides with the total redesign of www.privaterailcars.net.

June 29, 2006 -- Train Chartering has supplied a Private Rail Car for a return journey between Fargo ND & Seattle WA for an individual and his entourage. This charter coincides with the total redesign of www.privaterailcars.net.

Train Chartering has sourced and managed the private use of a period rail car for the tailored 1,500 mile journey from Fargo, North Dakota to Seattle.

The rail car left Fargo recently on a route that allowed the six guests to enjoy the magnificent scenery of the Cascade Mountains and the Rockies. Our passengers joined a cruise ship out of Seattle. The rail car was stabled pending the return to port, when our passengers rejoined the train for the return to Fargo.

Train Chartering supplied a rail car with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, dining room, kitchen and lounge. There is also the luxury of an open observation deck at the rear of the car, use of which is one of life’s "must dos".

Simon Pielow is Managing Director and co-founder of Train Chartering with Fay Lejeune, Operations Director. He is enthusiastic about hiring rail cars, "Lounging in armchairs in your own rail car or standing on an observation deck traveling through North America while uniformed stewards serve cocktails must be one of the world’s ultimate travel experiences."

Train Chartering’s commitment to developing their rail car charter business is demonstrated by the re-design of www.privaterailcars.net, which has largely remained unchanged since purchase by the company in 2005. A key aim of the design is to present private rail car charters as simply as possible. In this way, inquirers who may be unfamiliar with rail will consider a rail car instead of, for example, a private charter aircraft or road transport hire.

Simon Pielow invites rail car owners to list their cars on www.privaterailcars.net. "Listing is free of charge unless we place an order, when we hope for a 5% commission. We ask for good quality photographs, a car plan and other details requested in our car information sheet."

Train Chartering (www.trainchartering.com) is the pioneer of a coordinated approach to sourcing, theming and crewing special trains for upscale private travel, as well as for movie locations, corporate & private events, airport or cruise liner transfers. This full service project management approach is enhanced by guest management services from start point to final destination.

For more information: Simon Pielow, Train Chartering, +44 (0) 1293 783 347: private rail cars & private train charters with tailored journeys, in North America and worldwide. www.trainchartering.com.

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