From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 5 18:46:22 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i25NkM604513; Fri, 5 Mar 2004 18:46:22 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 18:46:22 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403052346.i25NkM604513@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #106 TELECOM Digest Fri, 5 Mar 2004 18:46:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 106 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Report on Investigation Into Improper Access to Senate (Monty Solomon) TiVo Triples Subscription Additions and Reports Positive Cash (Solomon) EchoStar May Need Partner Down Road / Comcast-Disney Union (M. Solomon) Microsoft Gadget Keeps Record of Your Life (Monty Solomon) Firms Look to Limit Liability for Online Security Breaches (M.Solomon) Document Shows SCO Prepped Lawsuit Against B of A (Monty Solomon) Re: Vonage with Modem and Fax (Hank Karl) Re: Vonage with Modem and Fax (Ray Normandeau) Re: Flexion X300 PABX (Duncan Fisken) Re: Need to Block Outgoing Calls to Specific Numbers (Carl Navarro) Re: Need to Block Outgoing Calls to Specific Numbers (DevilsPGD) Re: Memories: Enterprise -vs- Zenith Numbers (Saint-P) (John R. Covert) Re: Verizon Wireless / Verizon Airfone Offer 10 Cents-a-Minute (Joseph) Avaya/Nortel Users ATTN!!! (redG) Old Pay Phones Sold as Novelty Items (Joe Wineburgh) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk is definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 17:05:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Report on the Investigation Into Improper Access to the Senate REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATION INTO IMPROPER ACCESS TO THE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE'S COMPUTER SYSTEM http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=1085&wit_id=2514 http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=1085&wit_id=3088 http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/senate/pickle30404rpt1.html http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/senate/pickle30404rpt2.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 17:36:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Triples Subscription Additions and Reports Positive Cash TiVo Triples Subscription Additions and Reports Positive Cash Flow in Q4; Raises Annual Guidance to Reflect Doubling of Subscription Base - Mar 4, 2004 04:06 PM (PR Newswire) - Subscription base grew to more than 1.3 million; Revenues 85% - higher than Q4 of last year; $143 million cash position - strongest in 3 years; Announces $50 million plan that is - expected to result in a doubling of subscription base and - enables TiVo to achieve sustainable profitability by the end of - next year. SAN JOSE, Calif., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), reported today that it added a record 330,000 subscriptions in the fourth quarter, nearly triple the number added in Q4 of last year. The Company's total subscription base more than doubled during the fiscal year to over 1.3 million. Net revenue for the quarter increased 85% to $42.6 million, compared with $23.0 million for the three months ended January 31, 2003. Net loss for the quarter was ($12.4) million, or ($0.18) per share, an improvement from a net loss of ($32.5) million, or ($0.56) per share, for the three months ended January 31, 2003. Excluding non-cash items related to the conversion of Notes Payable during the periods, TiVo's net loss for the quarter was ($7.9) million, or ($0.12) per share, an improvement from a net loss of ($14.7) million, or ($0.25) per share, for the three months ended January 31, 2003. Cash Flow From Operations during the quarter was a positive $13.4 million, compared with $2.4 million in Q4 of last year. For the year ended January 31, 2004 net revenue was $141.1 million and net loss was ($32.0) million or ($0.48) per share. TiVo also reported its first full year of positive Adjusted EBITDA.* TiVo ended the quarter and its fiscal year with $143.2 million in cash, compared to $44.2 million a year ago. This represents TiVo's largest cash balance and strongest capital position in over three years. With retailers offering ten digital video recorder models powered by TiVo this past quarter, TiVo enjoyed its most successful holiday season ever. Of the 330,000 net new subscriptions added in the quarter, approximately 200,000 resulted from TiVo's relationship with DIRECTV, demonstrating 33% sequential growth, and five times the number of new DIRECTV subscriptions added in Q4 of last year. The remaining 130,000 net new subscription additions represented more than double the growth in TiVo Service subscriptions experienced in the previous quarter. TiVo Announces $50 million Growth Plan That is Expected to Result in Doubling of Subscription Base, 40% Higher Annual Subscription Adds Than Prior Guidance, and Sustainable Profitability by the end of Fiscal Year 2006. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40756085 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 17:31:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EchoStar May Need Partner Down Road / Comcast-Disney Union Comcast-Disney union could compel change, Ergen says By Kris Hudson Denver Post Business Writer WASHINGTON - EchoStar Communications Corp. chairman Charlie Ergen said Thursday that his company may have no choice but to consider a merger or acquisition if Comcast Corp. successfully engulfs the Walt Disney Co. http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~33~1997143,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 17:34:53 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Gadget Keeps Record of Your Life By ALLISON LINN AP Business Writer REDMOND, Wash. (AP) -- SenseCam, touted as a visual diary of sorts by Microsoft Corp., is designed to be worn around the neck and take up to 2,000 images a 12-hour day automatically. The prototype responds to changes such as bright lights and sudden movements and might one day even respond to other stimuli such as heart rate or skin temperature _ to track medical problems as easily as to record a Hawaiian vacation. And it could eventually link with other technology, such as face recognition to remind wearers when they've seen someone before. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40753831 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 09:30:15 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Firms Look to Limit Liability for Online Security Breaches By Jonathan Krim Washington Post Staff Writer In the face of ongoing attacks by computer hackers, some companies that store their customers' personal data are adopting a new defensive tactic: If your information is stolen, they're not legally responsible. Across the Internet, retailers and other service providers that handle consumer transactions are requiring customers to agree to waive any right to sue the companies if the businesses are hacked, regardless of how secure their systems are. The waivers are contained in lengthy terms-of-use agreements that consumers often click to accept without reading closely. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31874-2004Mar4.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How odd ... so if a company does a real schlocky job of maintaining their computer systems and the customer database all leaks out, you cannot blame the company any longer. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 09:54:30 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Document Shows SCO Prepped Lawsuit Against B of A By Stephen Shankland and Scott Ard Staff Writer, CNET News.com The SCO Group filed lawsuits this week against DaimlerChrysler and AutoZone, but the Unix seller's attorneys also had prepared a complaint against Bank of America, according to a document. A Microsoft Word document of SCO's suit against DaimlerChrysler, seen by CNET News.com, originally identified Bank of America as the defendant instead of the automaker. This revision and others in the document can be seen through powerful but often forgotten features in Microsoft Word known as invisible electronic ink. A feature in the word-processing software tracks changes to documents, who made those changes, and when they were made. These notations typically are invisible to someone reading a Word document. But as some lawyers, businesspeople and politicians have learned the hard way, Word can also display so-called metadata in the document -- including the original version and all subsequent changes. This information is available by viewing the document under "original showing markup" or "final showing markup." The presence of hidden text in the SCO document is just the latest example of this workplace issue. According to a study by market research firm Vanson Bourne titled "The Cost of Sharing," 90 percent of documents in circulation began as something else, but 57 percent of respondents were not aware that metadata may still exist in the their document. Microsoft addresses the issue on its Web site but adds that its 2003 version of Office provides a feature that lets users "permanently remove" the hidden text from Word. http://news.com.com/2100-7344-5170073.html ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Vonage With Modem and Fax Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 11:41:21 -0500 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I tried this experiment as I promised I > would do in the last issue. When I tried plugging a fax machine > directly into the Vonage adapter, it worked fine. When I plugged in > one of the (computer) modems directly to the Vonage adapter, it worked > mostly okay at 300-1200 baud, or even 9600 baud. But it just would not > do any better. So my suggestion would be to put Vonage on for your > main line and also keep one telco line as an overflow for the Vonage > and for your incoming dialup sessions. PAT Vonage uses several TAs. You may have an older Cisco ATA 186 or a newer Motorola VT1000. The capabilities of the TA and how you set the options make a major difference in the ability to send data. If you have a perfect line (no jitter, no packet loss, low end-to-end delay) you should be able to get 28.8 and possibly more on G.711. (Turn off packet loss concealment, or PLC). All codecs throw away parts of the signal, the hope is that it will sound "good enough" to the user. When sending data, you want to throw away as little as possible, or have the TA demodulate the modem output and have some other device on the other end remodulate it. Another suggestion for the OP is to set up a VPN. ------------------------------ From: rayta@msn.com (Ray Normandeau) Subject: Re: Vonage with Modem and Fax Date: 5 Mar 2004 09:31:05 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: > instrument) and I can tell you that was pretty crappy at best. At 300 > baud it barely worked (in hyperterm, pecking on a few keys and > auditing the output for accuracy) but not in a more controlled BBS I am glad to see hyperterm mentioned. In my WIN ME machine I have never used it. On my DOS 386 machine I have Procomm Plus that I can set up as a mini BBS. Could I connect both computers with a null modem cable and transfer data by using hyperterm to "call into" my DOS Procmm system? MSN addy above is dead. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I guess you could, but I would use Laplink for that job instead. That is much faster if you do not have a LAN and 'Network Neighborhood' on both computers. Actually, if you have a null modem cable you would have a network neighborhood, I think, as long as you had the appropriate drivers on each end. I am a little angry with hyperterm, maybe it is my fault. I needed to induce the weather mechanicals on my roof to produce a database display so that I could tell someone (the writer of the weather station software) the protocol it was using. I thought I could use hyperterm to do the job: tell hyperterm to talk to a given COM port to which the weather station control box was attached. I did the proper events to 'tickle it' into producing a line of output but it never arrived. I went through a half-dozen baud rates, and parity settings with no success. Then at some point I discovered that hyperterm had caused the Windows 98 machine to freeze up. I never did succeed at this project, although the weather station *is* up and running okay with some other software for it (to do the FTP from me to the server), at http://weatherforecast.n3.net or http://weatherforecast.us.tf if anyone is interested in the readings for Independence, KS which I sort of doubt. A camera 'street scene' is even included during the daytime hours. PAT] ------------------------------ From: duncan.fisken@blueyonder.co.uk (Duncan Fisken) Subject: Re: Flexion X300 PABX Date: 5 Mar 2004 04:38:43 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Check out www.voxent.com - they now own BusinessGuardian. Duncan ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Need to Block Outgoing Calls to Specific Numbers Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 07:32:39 -0500 On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 12:57:21 -0800, Sammy@nospam.biz wrote: > The only way you can solve that problem is to pay for call rejection > service for those three folks. Then, they can set the list (usually a > maximum of 10 numbers) to reject calls from your number. Sigh, I've got 5 or 6 Mitel Smar1 boxes in the warehouse that would do the trick. I might even have at least one 2 port (vs. 4 port) box. Since they've been there awhile, I can let one go pretty reasonable. I even have a full copy of the manual. The original poster may e-mail me off line for particulars. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD Subject: Re: Need to Block Outgoing Calls to Specific Numbers Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 22:59:14 GMT In message <> Sammy@nospam.biz did ramble: > The only way you can solve that problem is to pay for call rejection > service for those three folks. Then, they can set the list (usually a > maximum of 10 numbers) to reject calls from your number. That's not "the only way", there are telcos out there that offer flexible toll restriction, and include the ability to block specified nontoll (including local) numbers. Politicians, like diapers, have to be changed frequently, and for the very same reason. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 12:08:11 EST From: John R. Covert Subject: Re: Memories: Enterprise -vs- Zenith Numbers (Saint-Pierre) Linc Madison wrote: > from the rest of the world, you dial +508 5 08 xx xx xx. Nope. Just +508 xx xx xx. See http://www.st-pierre-et-miquelon.com/ /john ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Verizon Wireless and Verizon Airfone Offer 10 Cents-a-Minute Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2004 09:36:00 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom On Fri, 05 Mar 2004 03:30:24 GMT, Gary Novosielski wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So whatever happened to all the dire > warnings about using your cell phone when in flight? PAT] You *still* can't use your mobile phone *in* flight. It's assumed that you will make arrangements for the transfer of your calls and account setup whether the "a la carte" 69 cent plan or the frequent traveler $10/month plan from your mobile phone to Airphone before the flight leaves. This is about Airphone and not about Verizon Wireless in flight. remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: dave@burr.net (redG) Subject: Avaya/Nortel Users ATTN!!! Date: 5 Mar 2004 10:03:44 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have found this site very very useful for me. Just wanted to share. http://www.pbxtech.info/index.php?referrerid=951 ------------------------------ From: Joe Wineburgh Subject: Old Pay Phones Sold as Novelty Items Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 14:22:39 -0500 -----Original Message----- From: owner-ip@v2.listbox.com [mailto:owner-ip@v2.listbox.com]On Behalf Of Dave Farber Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 8:26 PM To: Ip Subject: [IP] : Old pay phones sold as novelty items -----Original Message----- From: Steve Barsh Date: Thu, 04 Mar 2004 19:57:04 To:dave@farber.net Cc:"'Kevin Werbach'" Subject: For [IP] if you wish: Old pay phones sold as novelty items For IP if you think others would find it of interest ... I can't remember the last time I actually used a payphone ... From http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/03/04/relic.phones.ap/index.html ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- Old pay phones are selling like they're going out of style. Collectors have made an online rush to buy BellSouth's boxy old pay phones that have been refurbished for home use, after the Atlanta-based company decided to pull out of a coin-operated phone business that had withered in the wireless age. "It's a novelty. You just don't usually see pay phones in people's homes," said Hugh Bowen, a retired Atlanta police officer who bought one of the 30-pound phones. "I thought it was so neat and I always wanted one. When I saw this opportunity I jumped on it." About 500 orders for the $135 phones were filled in the two months they've been for sale, and now there's a waiting list of about 300 more people. Cell phones have increasingly pushed aside the once-ubiquitous pay phones. More than six out of 10 Americans now own cell phones, said Patrick Comack, an analyst with Guzman & Co. in Miami. Pay phones have lost so much market share to wireless, it's no longer a moneymaking business, he said. So the big phones are going the way of rotary phones, crank phones and early model brick-sized cell phones. When BellSouth became the first major phone company to shutter its languishing pay phone business two years ago, volunteers with the phone company decided to refurbish the phones for home use and resell them to raise money for charity. The phones were rewired so they can plug into a wall outlet and to work without coins. About $18,000 has been raised from the $35 in profit from each phone, which will go toward groups like Habitat for Humanity and the American Red Cross. Other companies will continue to operate some pay phones, but their numbers will continue to decrease. The total number of pay phones nationwide has dropped 29.5 percent in the last five years, including a 32.9 percent drop in pay phones operated by local phone companies, according to the Federal Communications Commission. "My grandchildren and great-grandchildren won't know what it is," said Bill Ray, who bought one of the pay phones and keeps it atop a filing cabinet in his Memphis, Tennessee, BellSouth office. "I thought I'd get it for the nostalgia, and it will be a conversation piece for years to come." Thanks, Steve Barsh steve@barsh.com http://www.barsh.com 610.668.8182 Office 215.888.2101 Cell 610.668.8750 Fax Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/ ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #106 ******************************