From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Dec 16 16:30:12 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.6) id iBGLUCO01002; Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:30:12 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:30:12 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200412162130.iBGLUCO01002@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 #602 TELECOM Digest Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:30:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 602 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Yahoo Maps Offer Live U.S. Traffic Conditions (Lisa Minter) Latest Zafi Worm Wreaking Holiday E-Mail Havoc (Lisa Minter) Cell Phone Motorists are Dangerous (Lisa Hancock) FCC Announces New Competition Rules (Telecom dailyLead from USTA) Re: Urban Legends Reference Pages: (Celling Your Soul) (Tony P.) Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts (Rick Merrill) Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts (gb) Re: Cingular Migration (jrefactors@hotmail.com) Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' The Wave Of The Future? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Software Should Not Be Copyrighted -- Lawsuit (Lisa Hancock) Re: Dialogic JCT Series (Maverick) Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' The Wave of The Future? (Patrick Townson) Re: Wrong 911 Address Delays Firemen (John Levine) Re: Software Should Not Be Copyrighted (Scott Dorsey) Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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: Lisa Minter Subject: Yahoo Maps Offer Live U.S. Traffic Conditions Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 11:55:36 EST SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc. is set to offer an online service that lets users view live U.S. local traffic conditions on custom-created maps, the first site to do so nationally, the company said late on Wednesday. In a milestone for Internet-based traffic services, Yahoo has beefed up its existing mapping services to allow customers to plot a route from one local destination to another, and overlay traffic data such as road speeds and potential delays. The new service can be found at http://maps.yahoo.com/. While local radio, television and weather sites have offered traffic tracking for years, many of the maps and features are primitive. No national site exists that offers dynamically generated traffic maps, Yahoo executives said. "Certainly the distribution of this content on the Yahoo site is just a starting point," Paul Levine, general manager of Yahoo's local services unit, said in an interview. Eventually, users away from computers may be able to receive traffic alerts via e-mail or on phones with links to live maps, he said. He declined to say whether or when a version of the service might be offered on mobile devices such as phones, wireless handheld computers or car location systems. The service is currently only available for viewing U.S. road conditions. The traffic mapping feature, which will be available across Yahoo's search, local content and map sections of the site, is the latest move to enhance Yahoo's local information push and follows rival Google's own recent push into online mapping. Google recently acquired Keyhole Corp., a supplier of online satellite maps that allow users to zoom to street level and view locations such as buildings or even cars. A big limitation is that Keyhole maps rely on previously collected photos and as such give no snapshot of current conditions. By contrast, Yahoo's dynamic maps draw on real-time traffic information from metropolitan transportation departments and private providers, including embedded road sensors, traffic cameras, police scanners, and traffic helicopters. Yahoo declined to identify the exact sources of its traffic data. The site boasts traffic accident reports and road construction information in more than 70 metropolitan areas, in effect covering regions where three-quarters of the U.S. population lives. Real-time driving speed data will be available in the more than 20 top metropolitan markets. The new service generates regional maps that include the user's starting point and destination. Roadways are colored green, yellow and red, to highlight the normal movement of traffic, minor delays or severe road congestion. A user can hover over a stretch of road to view details of impediments. They can drill down at hazards to see further details. Yahoo's existing map service allows users to type in only single addresses, then zoom in or out on the resulting local map. Icons displaying convenient entertainment, shopping and services can be served up at the user's request. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . New articles daily. *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, in this instance, Reuters News Service. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ From: Lisa Minter Subject: Latest Zafi Worm Wreaking Holiday E-Mail Havoc Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 11:59:26 EST NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Zafi.D worm, which disguises itself as an e-mail holiday greeting, is currently the most frequently detected worldwide virus, software security company Panda Software said this week. The worm is most commonly found in South America, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria and Hungary and spreads itself in an e-mail attachment that says "Happy holidays!" Glendale, California-based Panda also noted in a statement on Wednesday that the virus has the ability to adapt to the language of the user, matching the message's language to the domain of a user's e-mail address. In addition, Zafi.D -- which appeared for the first time on Tuesday -- enables attackers to gain remote control of an affected computer, Panda said. The worm is not expected to have much effect on the United States because the time difference with Europe gave advance warning to U.S. anti-virus companies, broadcaster CNN said on its Web site on Wednesday. This is the fourth incarnation of Zafi, with the first one detected last April, CNN said. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . New articles daily.^^ *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, in this instance, Reuters News Service. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Cell Phone Motorists Are Dangerous Date: 16 Dec 2004 09:43:45 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I just had two close calls, nearly getting hit by two separate motorists distracted by their cell phone conversation. The first motorist was driving in the middle of the road, right on the center line, oblivious to oncoming traffic. The second motorist was driving too slowly yet igonored pedestrians in the designated crosswalk. Quite often drivers on their phones find themselves in the wrong toll gate line, and disrupt traffic when they have to shift over. BTW, in this state it is illegal drive and talk on the cell phone, not that these motorists care. Why is it so critical that people must stay connected 24/7? Can't they stay off the phone during their drive? More importantly, don't people _want_ to have a break from constant phone calls? (I know if I'm on the phone too much I'm grateful for a break). ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 13:14:53 EST From: Telecom dailyLead from USTA Subject: FCC Announces New Competition Rules Telecom dailyLead from USTA December 16, 2004 http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=18162&l=2017006 TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * FCC announces new competition rules BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Breaking down the Sprint-Nextel merger * Time Warner in $510 million settlement with federal regulators * Verizon in deal to carry Discovery channels over FiOS USTA SPOTLIGHT * USTA Says FCC Order Leaves Economy, Businesses and Consumers on Hold EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES * FCC approves wireless broadband use during flights REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Emergency GPS shutdown plans reviewed * U.K. lowers broadband access costs for BT competitors * Maryland judge rules state's anti-spam law unconstitutional Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=18162&l=2017006 ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Urban Legends Reference Pages: Politics (Celling Your Soul) Organization: ATCC Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 10:21:32 -0500 In article , mark@atwood.name says: > Steve Sobol writes: >> Tony P. wrote: >>> In article , dvanhorn@dvanhorn.org >>> says: >>>> One thing I've noticed lately, is a lot of telemarketing calls from >>>> Quebec. Note that Canadian telemarketers are not bound by US law. >>> I've noted the same thing. Is there some particular reason this occurs? >> Because they aren't bound by US law ... > But the people they are marketing on behalf of *are*, and they are > responsable for assuring the legality of all marketing efforts they > have subcontracted for. That is precisely why I say that to stop spam in its tracks you have to follow the money. Financial auditing is a tool that most law enforcement agencies don't understand. If they did we'd see a whole lot less corruption in government and business. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But they *will soon* be bound by Canadian law. Canada right now is in the process of discussing and legislating some very tough telemarketing -- or actually, anti- telemarketing -- laws. See http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . PAT] ------------------------------ From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts Organization: Comcast Online Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 16:18:23 GMT Lanceman wrote: > Hi - > I am considering switching my local landline to the AT&T CallVantage > service. I have also looked at Vonage, but am unable to move my local > number with them. Anyone out there have good or bad experiences with > the CallVantage service? > Thanks in advance for your replies. > Lance see: https://www.callvantage.att.com/help/featurefaqs/ It was a snap to disconnect the house phones from the old system and connect the Telephone Adapter (TA) to my house phone. One caution: it may not power more than three REN (Ringer Equivalency Number) worth of phones. Their official policy is to support a wireless phone with multiple handsets. One feature I use a lot is the phone messages my callers leave are sent to me as attachments to email! Another feature I like is the on-line list of callers: one click and the call is returned! Rick Merrill ------------------------------ From: gb Subject: Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts Date: 16 Dec 2004 03:45:11 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Excellent service, wonderful terms and conditions, flawless connection. Canada included, Europe calls cheap. No weird federal taxes, so, a twenty dollar service costs twenty dollars, not forty dollars. ------------------------------ From: jrefactors@hotmail.com Subject: Re: Cingular Migration Date: 16 Dec 2004 09:21:40 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Then how about SBC? I always heard SBC advertisments mentioning about Cingular Wireless. Please advise more ... ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' The Wave Of The Future? Date: 16 Dec 2004 10:10:14 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com As others mentioned, it will get to the point that no one will watch their stuff because the imposed restrictions are too onerous. There's a lot of stuff on now I will only watch as a VCR tape because it is just too loaded with commercials and irritating ones at that. It used to be about 45 minutes of content vs. 15 minutes of commercials. In an hour show; my guess now they added another 5 minutes so it's 40 show 20 commercials. Some late night or cable fare is 30/30 -- you get five minutes of content then five minutes of commercials -- utterly unbearable to watch live. (And very annoying if on cable which you're paying separately for anyway). I don't watch much of network news anymore because they made that 18 minutes instead of 22.5 and the commercials are all disturbing health care products. Yes, the VCR does allow me to skip commercials but on the other hand I can watch simultaneous shows now (watch one live, tape the other), which means I see more TV, benefiting them. Time shifting of course allows me to see stuff I'd never see, again, a benefit for them. I'd hate to see increased govt regulation of Hollywood and the TV networks, but these people have become incredibly greedy and need to be reined in. Of course, we must remember that some controls may be _worse_ than what we have now*. But I would: 1) Separate ownership of the cable TV industry from the production industry. In other words, Time Warner would be allowed to make movies/TV, but not own cable delivery systems. 2) Separate network owners. I don't mind cable networks from having multiple similar channels (ie NICK and TVLAND or A&E and HIST), but I don't like ABC owning Disney and the Family Channel, and I understand CBS/Viacom own a lot as well. *In some cases, it might be better if networks owned more of their affiliates. During some controversial broadcasts the affiliates refused to show them while the network did (ie Murrow vs. McCarthy, southern civil rights issues). That's a tricky double-edged sword. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you remember *many, many* years ago when cable television was first getting underway how 'they' said cable would be a better deal 'since there would not be any commercials; it is all paid for by your cable fees'. What a joke that was. Of course that was long before they started showing commercials in the movie theatres (where you had bought a five or six dollar ticket to watch a movie also.) PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Software Should Not Be Copyrighted -- Lawsuit Date: 16 Dec 2004 10:22:16 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Lisa Minter wrote: > Aharonian argues in his complaint that software copyright laws > violate the right to due process enshrined in the U.S. Constitution > because they do not provide clear boundaries for appropriate > use. That means industry players and courts do not have a clear idea > of the rules. >> "Until you're sued and a judge makes up his mind about what is the >> idea and expression (at stake), no one knows," Aharonian said in an >> interview. In the history of technology, there have been a great many court battles over patents. For example, I think the fellow who invented FM had a long running battle with RCA over it. Having patent is no guarantee at all of no litigation. There are plenty of arguments over exactly what a patent does and not does not cover, and whether a subsequent invention is actually something new and different or just a copy of an existing patent. A patent and copyright each have their advantages and disadvantages. I understand copyright law was recently changed to allow holders to keep their rights much longer. Some people object to that because it supposedly enriches "big [evil] corporations". It just might (like Disney and Warner continuing to get royalties over Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny). On the other hand, it also just as much protects small guys who create something and can continue to get royalties. Further, it protects certain popular images from being abused by becoming public domain and I think that's a good thing. There is always the conflict between our desire to protect creators and our dislike of anti trust. One solution in the past has been to mandate monopolists (whether intentional or not) to license their patents at reasonable cost to competitors. I think, for example, classic cartoon images should be protected, but also available for license at a reasonable fee. (I wanted to buy a video tape of an old newsreel. The company quoted me $3,000, which I thought was a bit much for something 75 years old.) ------------------------------ From: Maverick Subject: Re: Dialogic JCT Series Date: 16 Dec 2004 08:30:55 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, Thanks for the help David. I am not sure if we are purchasing from some stockist or directly or from some some reseller but I will to get some help from there as well. Thanks anyways. ------------------------------ From: Patrick Townson Subject: Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' the Wave of the Future? Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 14:18:02 -0600 C.W. (temp18@thewolfden.org) responded in this thread on Wed, 15 Dec 2004 14:17:32 CST: > wrote: >> Topic drift alert. >> Not that that ever happens here in the -> TELECOM <- digest. > Or is it now the Telecom-Computer-Hacker-Legal-WiFi-Television- > Automobile-Etc News Feed Digest? Right on, C.W.! I am glad you understand what is going on here. It is *all those things* (except for the automobile part), but the hassle is, the Digest software I use is so old it would require a lot of work to get all that in the title; my software is so obsolete that all my scripts would have to be changed to use the *entire title* before the word 'Digest', so to avoid having to rebuild all my scripts I just stick with the seven letter word 'TELECOM' which makes it all hold together just right. As a courtesy to the people who wish to read telecom news, I do run a liberal amount of it in each issue, and even more of it in the TD-Extra pages daily on our web site. Trouble is, C.W., I fell asleep at the switch when the issue before this came out, and I could not think of a witty, snotty Editor's Note to answer you back with at the time, but I hope this delayed response is good enough. PAT ------------------------------ Date: 16 Dec 2004 20:36:40 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Wrong 911 Address Delays Firemen Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As sad as this event is, *nothing* > was said about the call to 911 going over VOIP, ... Nobody said it had anything to do with VoIP. A few moments in Google news found this explanation in the NY Post: Officials said a neighbor a block away from the blaze mistakenly gave the 911 operator his own address -- sending the first wave of firefighters to the wrong apartment house. Twenty-five units altogether responded to a flood of calls but only one went to the wrong address -- a not uncommon situation, officials said. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Software Should Not Be Copyrighted -- Lawsuit Date: 16 Dec 2004 15:42:15 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Mark Crispin wrote: > Patents, on the other hand, lock up techniques; and the history of > software patents is a sad litany of numerous obvious and commonly-used > techniques being claimed under patent. The necessary litigation to > overturn such patents is ridiculously expensive. This is not necessarily something wrong with patents. This is something wrong with patents that are issued by a patent bureau with no proper examination of the patents. A quick look at recent software patents shows that the vast majority of them are not new designs but entirely dependant on prior art, and that anyone with any software experience should never have allowed them to be issued. The fact that the patent bureau does not have anybody skilled enough to realize that the ring buffer is a forty-year-old idea and therefore not patentable to Microsoft means that they should not be in the business of issuing software patents. But that does not mean that somebody out there should not be doing it. I should add that software patents should also not last anywhere near as long as they do. > Something tells me that Aharonian is a lawyer who's looking to drum up > even more business. There is a need to protect innovative technology. In the best of all possible worlds, patents will do that. In fact, issuing patents on technology that is not innovative causes the system to collapse completely. But that does not mean that there is not a kernel of goodness in the idea. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ 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. 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