From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 26 19:38:50 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i2R0coH02932; Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:38:50 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:38:50 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403270038.i2R0coH02932@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 #142 TELECOM Digest Fri, 26 Mar 2004 19:39:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 142 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Steps Up Biz VoIP Activities (VOIP News) FCC Chief Wants 'Light Regulatory Touch' on VOIP (VOIP News) Wi-Fi and VoIP: Do Them Together or Not at All (VOIP News) VoIP Related Topics in Communications Law Bulletin (VOIP News) Pulver Hopes .tel Will Promote ENUM, VoIP (VOIP News) Has Covad Changed The VoIP Rules? (VOIP News) Re: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? (Johnnie Leung) Re: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? (Clark W. Griswold, Jr.) Re: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? (Ben Ficus) Re: Telephone Switchbox (Will) Re: Western Union Clocks (Al Gillis) Vonage Cisco a t a Internal Voice (Paul Migliorelli) Fast Pass at Airport Security (Monty Solomon) DirecTV Takes Stand On Costs (Monty Solomon) GMAC Customers' Data Put At Risk By Laptop Theft (Monty Solomon) 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 are 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 12:13:20 -0500 Subject: AT&T Steps Up Biz VoIP Activities Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.phoneplusmag.com/hotnews/43h2581254.html AT&T this week announced a variety of new business VoIP activities, which it says represent an acceleration of its strategy on this front. That includes an equipment interoperability effort including three new suppliers -- Alcatel, Nortel Networks and Siemens, making AT&T "the first and only service provider committed to deliver interoperability with the five leading IP PBX providers in the industry." AT&T previously announced interoperability with Avaya and Cisco. Full story at: http://www.phoneplusmag.com/hotnews/43h2581254.html How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 12:55:25 -0500 Subject: FCC Chief Wants 'Light Regulatory Touch' on VOIP Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0403/24/technology-99753.htm Associated Press ATLANTA -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell called Monday for a "light regulatory touch" on Voice over Internet Protocol technology. "I think the government will take a hands-off approach to it," he said, speaking to a crowd of several thousand wireless industry professionals at the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's annual meeting. Full story at: http://www.detnews.com/2004/technology/0403/24/technology-99753.htm ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:26:44 -0500 Subject: Wi-Fi and VoIP: Do them together or not at all Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.silicon.com/networks/wifi/0,39024669,39119587,00.htm Wi-Fi and VoIP: Do them together or not at all by Jo Best And stop banging on about how cheap it is, vendors told. While VoIP and Wi-Fi have been getting tech sellers and users alike stirred up over the possibilities for converged communications, a new report warns that promoting individual technologies rather than collaborative technology could leave businesses wondering where the benefits are. There's no getting away from the advent of VoIP with previous security and standards hurdles now largely overcome but vendors' short-sighted approach has gone down badly with users and may even be holding up adoption, said Mark Blowers, senior research analyst at Butler Group. "There's a tendency for vendors to focus on specific technology when enterprises want solutions to problems not just to install some technology ... This year was meant to be the year for VoIP and it's not taken off as much as expected," he said. Full story at: http://www.silicon.com/networks/wifi/0,39024669,39119587,00.htm ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 14:37:33 -0500 Subject: VoIP related topics in Communications Law Bulletin-March 2004 Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com It seems that the law firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP publishes a monthly Communications Law Bulletin covering the United States. This months' bulletin is at the following URL, but you have to complete a free registration process in order to read it. http://www.mondaq.com/i_article.asp_Q_articleid_E_25137 Some of the subject headings in this issue are: Joint Board Recommendation Would Limit Universal Service Support To Primary Line FCC Considers Regulation of IP-Enabled Services Senate Asks Questions About VOIP Inflexion Asks FCC to Exempt VOIP Companies Serving Underserved Markets from Access Charges U.K., Canada to Seek Input on VOIP Regulations Law Enforcement's Request for Rulemaking on CALEA Issues Will Broadly Impact Internet Telephony and Other Broadband Services [Comment: If you don't read anything else in this issue, please at least read this section - you need to know what our government is trying to do!] The entire bulletin can be found at: http://www.mondaq.com/i_article.asp_Q_articleid_E_25137 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:24:49 -0500 Subject: Pulver Hopes .tel Will Promote ENUM, VoIP Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.cbronline.com/currentnews/2b1266009386af4580256e6300385741 By Kevin Murphy Pulver.com Inc wants to market voice over IP services using a new internet domain, but it first must be given the okay by the Internet Corp for Assigned Names and Numbers and could face opposition from the International Telecommunications Union. Pulver.com last week applied to ICANN for the right to offer .tel domain names to IP communications service providers using ENUM, a standard for mapping telephone numbers into the internet domains name system. Pulver.com is an early leader in the PC-to-PC VoIP communications space, and has been heavily involved in the VoIP regulatory debate in the US. ENUM is expected to be the de facto standard for addressing voice calls over the internet. "We're trying to provide legs for ENUM," said Pulver.com CEO Jeff Pulver. The ENUM standard has been around for a few years, and while there are many test-beds underway, mostly in Europe, there are no widespread commercial services based on it. Full story at: http://www.cbronline.com/currentnews/2b1266009386af4580256e6300385741 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 11:42:51 -0500 Subject: Has Covad Changed The VoIP Rules? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.telecomweb.com/broadband/feature.htm The first IP-based competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) with a nationwide reach is about to be born, an event that could change the VoIP landscape. Covad Communications Group [COVD] is buying VoIP provider GoBeam for $48 million in stock. The deal is expected to close in about 60 days. The deal mates GoBeam's VoIP phone service and Covad's national broadband network. That contrasts sharply with the current situation, where just about every would-be VoIP player is forced to ride the wires of an ILEC. "For really the first time there's actually going to be a company that's going to be able to provision all aspects of the VoIP business over their own facilities," says Steve Lail, Covad's vice president of voice deployment. Moreover, Lail says Covad still is willing to accommodate competing VoIP carriers, even though it will be a VoIP carrier itself. That gives the VoIP industry an alternative to dealing with the ILECs. That, in turn, has significant implications for the current battle at the FCC and in the courts over whether ILECs should be required to open up their newest broadband networks to VoIP carriers. With Covad sitting as an alternative, it is reasonable to assume that at least some of the ILECs may reconsider their refusal to accommodate VoIP competitors, rather than see the revenue go to Covad. Although it hasn't been offering VoIP services, Covad has been quietly running some small VoIP trials for close to 18 months, Lail confirms. Full story at: http://www.telecomweb.com/broadband/feature.htm ------------------------------ From: Johnnie Leung Subject: Re: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 19:50:17 -0800 Michael D. Sullivan wrote in message news:telecom23.141.9@telecom-digest.org: > In article , siegman@stanford.edu > says: >> Is this "mini-USB" connector also a general USB standard, used for >> physically small devices? > There are Type A and Type B standard USB connectors. The wide ones are > Type A, the mini ones are Type B. Type B are typically used on cameras, > scanners, etc. Almost right. There are actually two types of B connectors: the garden-variety squarish type, and 'mini-B', which measures approximately 7 mm by 3 mm. He's talking about the mini type, which is commonly used on portable devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, NetMD Walkmans and 2.5-inch hard drive enclosures. JL ------------------------------ From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. <73115.1041@compuserve.com> Subject: Re: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 21:44:55 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Michael D. Sullivan wrote: > There are Type A and Type B standard USB connectors. The wide ones are > Type A, the mini ones are Type B. Type B are typically used on cameras, > scanners, etc. Well, yes, but I do not think that is what the OP was referring to. Type A connectors are the classical rectangular USB ones. Type B are square, about 1/4 the size of Type A, with two corners rounded off. The micro USB connector is even smaller than a Type B - maybe 1/2 the size, and back to being a bit rectangular. There is a similar micro Firewire connector -- they look similar, but are not interchangable. The micro connectors are found on the newer digital camcorders. ------------------------------ From: benficus@hotmail.com (Ben Ficus) Subject: Re: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? Date: 26 Mar 2004 10:51:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Speaking of which ... Last time I was at Best Buy, they were telling me that I should buy the expensive "gold" USB connector for my printer ... the other cable will affect the quality of my prints. Any thoughts, opinions? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Radio Shack *used to* (maybe still does in some places) make that claim about the expensive gold-plated connectors in almost all applications, coax connectors, etc. I have never been able to figure out *why* the gold-plated versions of the various size/type connectors are supposed to be better. Our local Radio Shack store no longer makes that claim, however. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mlliw@joimail.com (Will) Subject: Re: Telephone Switchbox Date: 25 Mar 2004 18:21:55 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I am a newbie to this type of thing. The OfficeLink Solo looks good, but its a bit pricy for my budget. Could you please explain the " > I setup DISA on a Samsung DCS." I don't really understand this. Thanks mlliw P.S. The line I would be accessing would not be on a phone system, just a direct line. Tony P. wrote in message news:: > In article , cnavarro@wcnet.org > says: >> On 19 Mar 2004 19:05:27 -0800, mlliw@joimail.com (Will) wrote: >>> Is there a box that when called to normally, it sends through, but >>> when a code such as #22, It brings the caller to a _dialtone_ on >>> another line? I have seen several boxes that do this (for >>> computer/fax/telephone) that when #22 is dialed, they send to a >>> separate place, but they don't give a _dialtone_ on a separate >>> line. Thanks! >> It might depend on what type of phone system you have. Some systems >> have Direct System Inward Access (DISA) available. Teltone used to >> make a 106 box that was a bridging unit with amplifiers. They still >> make an Officelink Solo, but I bet it's a bit pricey. >> http://www.teltone.com/products/remotevoice/solo/home.htm >> One thing to keep in mind, DISA and the 106 is highly hackable. A >> teenager with a lot of time on his hands can key the universe of 3 >> digit numbers as a hobby to find out what makes it work. The >> Officelink is a callback device. > I setup DISA on a Samsung DCS. It requires a seven digit passcode. So > that ups the possibilities. > The way the system was configured, the first digit had to be a 2 or 3, > the next six could be 0 thru 9. So 2x10x10x10x10x10x10 = 2,000,000 > possible combinations. ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Western Union Clocks Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 19:59:41 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com DevilsPGD wrote in message news:telecom23.134.14@telecom-digest.org: > In message <> > hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) did ramble: >> I don't know why it's so hard to keep time coordinated. In the >> Philadelphia area, the transportation authority tells riders to use >> Bell (Verizon) time, 215-846-1212, as a standardized source. My $20 >> Casio "50M" watch is pretty reliable. Bell has offered that service >> since at least the 1960s (846 was TIme 6). > This always confuses me. One of my servers pulls from NTP sources on > the next, the rest synch from there. My phones all set themselves > (Analog, via CID/CND data). My bedroom clock not only has a backup > battery, but it also receives over the air signals, and is able to set > itself as well. So who can explain this about time: Most modern DVD/VCR machines can set the time based on signals from a TV station, most frequently a public broadcasting stations (CPB?) So how does that work? And why does it take so long to set the time? I'd guess there is some sort of signal during the vertical retrace interval or something like that but I've not been able to find any authorative referances to this feature. Explain it, please!! Thanks, Al ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 21:37:40 -0700 From: Paul Migliorelli (+1 3 0 3 5 4 3 2 3 1 1) Subject: Vonage Cisco a t a Internal Voice Hi all. As a blind user, I've been curious about the voice in the Vonage a t a. Just wondering if it has any features that we are not aware of. I know you can push the button, hear the config menu; you can enter 80 for the i p address. Push anything else and it pronounces p a s s w d (Hmmm. Wonder it doesn't say password?) Can the box enlighten us with anything else?? Talking caller i d would be cool, I figure, to save you having to add on another peripheral. Just curious. It's always neat to find items that speak. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Try pressing the button, listening to the introduction then pressing 123 pound sign. It will then tell you its name; mine says 'Cisco ATA 186' and the firmware version number. I think the reason it spells out p a s s w d is because it reads and has no actual word for those letters; I mean how would YOU pronounce 'passwd' in English? When it is asking for a 'passwd' it expects you to enter a code to override the lock that Vonage put on the firmware if you wish to examine/change the value stashed there. Paul, I sent you the e-coupon you requested for a month of free Vonage service, and will do the same for any reader who asks me. Its actually the *second* month of whatever type of service you wish to purchase. Other readers can do like Paul did, and send email marked 'not for pub' to ptownson@telecom-digest.org PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 23:14:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Fast Pass at Airport Security By Ryan Singel Business travelers may soon have one more item to stuff in their carry-on: a trusted-traveler card to speed them through security lines. The Transportation Security Administration plans to start testing a registered-traveler identification program in June, which will let those who volunteer for a background check avoid tight screening at the airport. While civil liberties groups have questioned the plan's merits, travel industry groups have welcomed it, calling the proposal a way to expedite travel and increase security without the costs and privacy concerns associated with CAPPS II, the TSA's ongoing attempt to create a new computerized passenger-screening program. Currently, passengers who book one-way flights, pay with cash or buy their tickets close to their departure date are flagged by a computerized passenger-screening system as potential terrorists. Those passengers, along with a random selection of other travelers, have the code "SSSS" printed on their boarding passes, which leads to intensive scrutiny that can cause them to miss their flights. http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,62777,00.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My questions would be these: If in fact you miss your flight because of the stupidity of the screening process, does the airline at least give you your money back or put you on another plane leaving *soon* to your destination, or are you just out of luck. Question two: So with the 'trusted traveler' plan, what is to prevent (not meaning to stereotype or stigmatize any nationality) your 'typical' suicide bomber -- if there is such a category of person -- from being on his best behavior long enough to get one of those cards, *then* on one of his trips abroad or wherever, smuggling in a gun and using it en-route? The last time I took an airplane anywhere was from Tulsa to Chicago in May, 2000, and with conditions as they are now, I sincerely doubt I will ever board a plane again. I *much prefer* riding a bus for long trips. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 23:32:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: DirecTV Takes Stand on Costs By Michael McCarthy, USA TODAY The angry 48-hour standoff between Viacom and EchoStar Communications (DISH) that recently left more than 9 million Dish Network subscribers without many channels could be just a warm-up for the main event. News Corp.'s (NWS) DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite TV operator, will hold the line on programming costs in 2004, accepting only monthly price increases per subscriber that are roughly equal to inflation, at a four-decade low of 1%. http://www.usatoday.com/money/media/2004-03-24-directv_x.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2004 07:54:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: GMAC Customers' Data Put At Risk By Laptop Theft By Paul McDougall, InformationWeek A division of GMAC Financial Services has been quietly informing about 200,000 of its customers that their personal data may have been compromised due to the theft of two laptop computers from an employee's car at a regional office near Atlanta. In a letter to its personal insurance customers, GMAC Insurance indicates that "a random theft" of the laptops from a locked vehicle may have left them vulnerable to identify theft. The letter -- obtained by InformationWeek --indicates that the stolen laptops contained customers' names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, credit scores, marital status, and gender. "For incidents like this, government regulatory agencies recommend that you place a fraud alert on your credit file," the letter advises customers. The letter was dated March 12. The theft took place on Jan. 26. http://www.internetwk.com/allStories/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18402712 ------------------------------ 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'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #142 ******************************