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TELECOM Digest     Mon, 18 Apr 2005 16:33:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 170

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Crown Castle Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) (Monty Solomon)
    Verizon Wireless Ringback Tones: The Newest Stage (Monty Solomon)
    VOIP Cautions (Lisa Hancock)
    Journalist Seeking Source, Mobile Phone Cracker; Related (geermeister)
    SprintPCS Lousy Web Interface (D. M. Hendricks)
    Intel to Launch WiMAX Chip (Telecom dailyLead from USTA)
    Recieve a Call in One Country and Transfer it Over Internet (Stiki)
    XO Communications Lauches Business VOIP (Jack Decker)
    Re: Can I Substitute NiMH Battery for NiCd in Cordless Phone (R Bonomi)
    Re: Can I Substitute NiMH Battery for NiCd in Cordless Phone (Sullivan)
    Re: Can I Substitute NiMH Battery for NiCd in Cordless Phone (Berkowitz)
    Re: Can I Substitute NiMH Battery for NiCd in Cordless Phone (S Dorsey)
    Re: Can I Substitute NiMH Battery for NiCd in Cordless Phone (P Vader)
    Re: Surveillance Cameras More Common Everyday (FrazNor@gmail.com)
    Re: Internet Pioneer: VoIP is NOT Telephony (Scott Dorsey)
    Re: Internet Pioneer: VoIP is NOT Telephony (Justin Time)
    Re: Getting Serious About the War on Spam (Henry)
    Re: PPC Advertising, Click Fraud, and Effect on Search Engine (R Bonomi)
    For Sale on E-Bay: Clarisys VOIP USB Phone (Yammie)

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.  

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 00:33:34 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Crown Castle Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H)


     Crown Castle Mobile Media Selects Windows Media and Windows Media
     DRM 10 to Deliver Live Television to Mobile Devices
     - Apr 18, 2005 12:01 AM (PR Newswire)

It Accelerates the Deployment of Windows Media-Based Digital
Entertainment Services for Cell Phones, PDAs and Portable Media
Devices

HOUSTON and LAS VEGAS, April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Crown Castle
Mobile Media, a subsidiary of Crown Castle International Corp., and
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced that Crown Castle
Mobile Media has selected Windows Media(R) Audio, Windows Media Video
9 and Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) 10 for its Digital
Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) broadcast service deployment. As a
preview of the exciting possibilities this relationship will deliver,
Crown Castle Mobile Media will be demonstrating with Microsoft live
mobile TV on Windows Mobile(TM)-based devices at the National
Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas from April 16 to
April 21, 2005.

Windows Media helps enable the secure delivery of high-quality 
digital entertainment services over IP and other digital networks. 
The components of the Windows Media 9 Series platform are available 
from Microsoft in source code format, may be ported to mobile devices 
based on any operating system, and are licensed under published terms 
that provide significant commercial advantages for device 
manufacturers compared with alternative solutions. Windows Media 
Video 9 is Microsoft's implementation of VC-1, the proposed Society 
of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) standard.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=48423061

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:15:58 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Verizon Wireless Ringback Tones: The Newest Stage


     Verizon Wireless Ringback Tones: The Newest Stage for Universal
     Music Group Artists
     - Apr 18, 2005 08:31 AM (PR Newswire)

Verizon Wireless Customers Can Express Their Individuality With a
        Choice of Popular Universal Music Group Artists

BEDMINSTER, N.J., April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless, the
nation's leading wireless service provider, announced it has entered
into an agreement with Universal Music Group, the world's leading
music company, to bring new Ringback Tones from the company's
extensive catalog of chart-topping artists to Verizon Wireless
Ringback Tone customers. With an extensive collection of 500 hot
Ringback Tones, Universal Music Group is the newest resource for
Verizon Wireless customers looking for the perfect Ringback Tone to
replace the standard ring callers hear while they wait for their call
to be answered. Verizon Wireless became the first national carrier to
offer Ringback Tones when it introduced the service in Southern
California and Sacramento last year.

With an entire catalog of popular music choices, Universal Music Group
makes it easy for Verizon Wireless customers to select the Ringback
Tone that best fits their personal style. By browsing through
categories such as Rap, Hip-Hop, Soundtracks, Metal/Alternative,
R&B/Soul, 80's, Classic Rock, Pop/Rock, Country, Club Hits, 70's,
Oldies, 60's and Holiday, customers can set up their Ringback Tones to
include a standard Ringback Tone (including the Verizon Wireless
standard Ringback Tone), or choose different Ringback Tones for each
caller based on the Caller ID, Group List or the time of day.

Universal Music Group fans will find it easy to choose the perfect
Ringback Tone by simply visiting the Ringback Tones Web site at
http://www.verizonwireless.com/getitnow/ringbacktones where they can
register, browse and preview the latest Ringback Tones from the
biggest names in the music industry today. Customers can also sign up
to receive a TXT Alert whenever their selected artists release new
Ringback Tones by visiting the My Alerts section of the site and
selecting TXT notifications. Standard text messaging rates apply to
TXT Alerts.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=48430368

------------------------------

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: VOIP Cautions
Date: 18 Apr 2005 10:13:26 -0700


1010news radio reported that consumers need to be careful before
signing up for VOIP service.  Some people think the service is as
reliable as landline when it is still experimental and bugs are being
worked out.

service still shaky
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VOICE_OVER_PANIC?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=TECHNOLOGY&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Risks
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VOIP_ATTACKS?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=TECHNOLOGY&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Issues
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VOIPS_GROWING_PAINS?SITE=1010WINS&SECTION=TECHNOLOGY&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

"A hacker might trick a phone into obtaining a software update from a
rogue server, or toss a fake "hang up" command into the data flow -
perhaps as a caller is trying to land an important job interview.

Some services let you take phones on vacation, and hackers might
decided to trick the system and redirect your calls to them instead.

All kinds of mischief is possible: A rival might try to capture your
business sales lead. Or a snoop might listen in on a neighbor's secret
calls to a lover.

Though these attacks would be difficult to perform today, security
experts believe that as such phones get more popular, hackers will
have greater incentive to develop tools for automating such attacks -
just as they have with viruses and other computer threats today.

As for reliability, phone providers are still trying to make their
systems fully compatible with 911.

In some cases, phones might ring a non-emergency number or fail to
provide caller ID details like location - crucial when a caller can't
speak.

And during blackouts, traditional phones can draw upon electricity in
the phone lines, but an Internet modem will fail without backup
power."

------------------------------

From: geermeister@gmail.com
Subject: Journalist Seeking Source, Mobile Phone Cracker or Related Expert
Date: 18 Apr 2005 08:05:30 -0700


Following the Paris Hilton Sidekick II story, I am writing about how
to "hack" (in a good way) your own mobile phone in order to make it
more secure.

This is for a technical hobby magazine for engineers and others who
like to tinker.

Of course, I don't want to print anything that would lead someone to
do something in violation of the law.

If you might be a source, feel free to respond to this e-mail address.

Regards,

David

------------------------------

From: D. M. Hendricks <dmhendricks@despammed.com>
Subject: SprintPCS Lousy Web Interface
Date: 18 Apr 2005 10:14:34 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Ok, so I received a fraudulent call on my SprintPCS phone this
weekend.  Someone claiming to be a SBC Representative and stating
that I have an account balance due of $117 and I can pay now with
check or credit.  I quickly hung up and called SBC, who confirmed
this was not the case and that they did not make the call.

Being a good citizen, I'd like to report the fraud incident with the
phone number.  Unfortunately, the caller ID was blocked on my Sprint
phone.  I called Sprint to get the number, but they said my billing
cycle ended yesterday (a day after I received the call) and that they
could not pull up calling history from that period (!!).  She said I
could either wait for my invoice in the mail or look it up online.
Not wanting to wait for snail mail to report a phone number that will
likely disappear in days, I tried to go online to check where the call
originated from.

Their MyPCS is an UNHOLY PILE OF HORSE MANURE.  It's quite possibly
the slowest interface I've ever used, taking ~10 minutes to load each
page.  Before I can get to my latest invoice, it usually times out and
requires me to login again, and I get to start all over.  I've been
trying for hours to view my damn invoice online.

It's good to know that Sprint cares so much about fraud prevention.
Why is it so terribly difficult to find out who called me?

"SprintPCS - The clear alternative to cellular"

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:49:40 EDT
From: Telecom dailyLead from USTA <usta@dailylead.com>
Subject: Intel to Launch WiMAX Chip


Telecom dailyLead from USTA
April 18, 2005
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=20898&l=2017006

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Intel to launch WiMAX chip
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Alcatel taps insider for COO position
* Interview with Cisco's John Chambers
* Egyptian telecom mogul close to buying Italy's Wind
* Coaxsys helps telco deploy IPTV
USTA SPOTLIGHT 
* Newton's Telecom Dictionary -- 21st Edition, JUST RELEASED
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Disney, TWC target toddlers with mobile video content
* Web, TV will merge, despite cable, programmer concerns
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Qwest, Colorado PUC close to deal on phone regulations

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=20898&l=2017006

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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new
articles daily.

------------------------------

From: stiki101@gmail.com (Stiki)
Subject: Recieve a Call in One Country and Transfer it Over Internet
Date: 18 Apr 2005 11:14:57 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


I would like to recieve a call in one country and transfer it over
internet (using something like Skype) to another country. Is that
possible?

stiki101

------------------------------

From: Jack Decker <jack-yahoogroups@withheld_on_request>
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:18:47 -0400
Subject: XO Communications Launches Business VoIP Services Bundle Nationwide


http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/04-18-2005/0003432165&STORY&EDATE=

XO Communications Launches Business VoIP Services Bundle Nationwide
http://www.xo.com

Now Available in 45 Major Markets, Including More Than 1,000 Cities
Nationwide

Combines Unlimited Local and Long Distance Calling with Dynamic Bandwidth
                Allocation for a Flat Monthly Rate

RESTON, Va., April 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- XO Communications,
Inc.  (OTC Bulletin Board: XOCM.OB) today announced the nationwide
rollout of XOptions(R) Flex, its industry-leading Voice over Internet
Protocol (VoIP) services bundle for businesses.  XOptions Flex is now
available in 45 major metropolitan markets, which includes more than
1,000 cities nationwide.

XOptions Flex is an integrated VoIP services solution that gives
business customers enhanced features, functionality and value for
their voice and Internet services, all in one simple package.  It is
the industry's first VoIP services bundle for businesses that combines
unlimited local and long distance calling, dedicated Internet access
and web hosting services for a flat monthly price.

"XOptions Flex offers businesses across the country the most
comprehensive and flexible VoIP services bundle," said Craig Collins,
vice president of product management at XO Communications.  "VoIP is
truly revolutionizing the telecommunications industry, and XOptions
Flex leverages the power of the Internet to provide a high quality and
reliable communications solution that integrates voice and data over a
single broadband connection with more valuable features for small and
medium-sized businesses that save them time and money."

The service leverages the latest in VoIP technology to provide
customers with next generation communications capabilities, such as
unlimited voice calling, dynamic bandwidth allocation, voice virtual
private networking (VPN), and a simple Administrative Web Portal.
With a broadband connection on the XO IP network, it utilizes XO's
award-winning national IP network and softswitch technology to carry
customers' voice calls more efficiently and cost-effectively than
traditional services that rely on the public switched telephone
network.  In addition, businesses can take full advantage of all of
these IP-enabled capabilities and features without having to replace
their existing analog phone systems.

"Businesses are ready to adopt VoIP and take advantage of its ability
to more cost-effectively improve communications with customers and
among employees," said William Stofega, Research Manager with IDC's
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Services Program.  "The providers
that will differentiate themselves are those that offer more features
with the flexibility to deliver true business benefits.  XOptions Flex
provides that flexibility with a simple, integrated VoIP solution that
can expand as businesses' voice and data needs grow."

"We are very pleased with the features, performance and value of
XOptions Flex," said Wendi Westbrook, office manager of Alpha
Biosciences, a Baltimore-based business specializing in the production
of culture media for the biological sciences industries.  "The quality
of our phone calls is excellent and, with unlimited local and long
distance calling, dynamic bandwidth allocation and a toll free number
at no additional charge, we are getting more capabilities and value
for our telecommunications budget.  As a business that expects to grow
substantially over the next two years, XOptions Flex has the
flexibility to grow with us as our business needs expand."

    Features:

XOptions Flex includes more than twenty standard voice features for
each phone line including call forward, three-way calling, and voice
mail.  Key features of the service include:

    -- Dedicated Internet Access up to 3 Mbps
    -- Dynamic bandwidth allocation
    -- Unlimited local calling
    -- Unlimited inbound and outbound domestic long distance calling
    -- An easy-to-use Administrative Web Portal for making real-time changes
       to services
    -- Web Basic Hosting Package
    -- Additional voice lines, hosting and other applications can also be
       added on an a la carte basis.

    XOptions Flex is now available in major metropolitan areas across
the United States, including Akron, Allentown, Atlanta, Austin,
Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Denver,
Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Worth, Harrisburg, Houston, Jersey
City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Memphis, Nashville, New York,
Newark, Oakland, Orange County, CA, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix,
Portland, Sacramento, St. Louis, St. Petersburg, Salt Lake City, San
Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Scranton, Seattle, Spokane, Tampa,
Trenton, Washington, DC, West Palm Beach, and Wilmington, DE.

To support the national rollout of XOptions Flex, XO plans a national
print advertising campaign that will highlight how businesses will
benefit from the service.

For more information about XOptions Flex visit http://www.xo.com/flex
or contact an XO sales representative by calling (866) 963-9696.

About XO Communications

XO Communications is a leading provider of national and local
telecommunications services to businesses, large enterprises and
telecommunications companies.  XO offers a complete portfolio of
services, including local and long distance voice, dedicated Internet
access, private networking, data transport, and Web hosting services
as well as bundled voice and Internet solutions.  XO provides these
services over an advanced, national facilities-based IP network and
serves more than 70 metropolitan markets across the United States.
For more information, visit http://www.xo.com.

SOURCE XO Communications
Web Site: http://www.xo.com 

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: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Can I Substitute a NiMH Battery for NiCd in a Cordless Phone?
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 03:05:39 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.168.5@telecom-digest.org>, <curious@nospam.com>
wrote:

> I recently bought a cordless phone, which came with a NiCd battery.
> In the manual it says:

> "To reduce the risk of fire, use only 3.6V 850mAh Nickel Cadmium
> (Ni-Cad) cordless telephone replacement battery pack."

> I've heard about the dreaded "memory effect" with NiCd batteries, so
> I'm interested in replacing it with a NiMH one.  Someone who is
> selling a 3.6V 1000mAH NiMH battery on Ebay claims it works with my
> phone, but will it really be safe?  Wouldn't want to install a NiMH
> battery and have the house burn down.

*BELIEVE* the manufacturer's statements.  They know how the phone is
designed/built.

Different _types_ of batteries require different kinds of re-charging 
circuitry.

Using "type b" batteries in a "type a" charger -- *whatever* 'a' and
'b' are, is asking for trouble, unless you know enough about the
charger circuitry to _know_ that it is not going to be a problem.

Some chargers have 'smarts' enough to handle mixed types of batteries,
many others *do*not*.

Just because a battery "fits" (physically) the device, does not mean
that it is advisable, or even sensible, to do use it in that device.

Comment: If you get a new battery charger, as well as the batteries,
and the batteries have to be removed from the phone to be charged,
then the issue above is moot.  If the batteries are automatically
recharged when the phone is in the base station (typical), the above
*does* apply.

Note: "memory effect" in NiCD batteries is mostly a thing of the past;
newer designs have all but eliminated the issue.

------------------------------

From: Michael D. Sullivan <userid@camsul.example.invalid>
Subject: Re: Can I Substitute a NiMH Battery for NiCd in a Cordless Phone?
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 03:07:59 GMT


curious@nospam.com wrote:

> I recently bought a cordless phone, which came with a NiCd battery.
> In the manual it says:

> "To reduce the risk of fire, use only 3.6V 850mAh Nickel Cadmium
> (Ni-Cad) cordless telephone replacement battery pack."

> I've heard about the dreaded "memory effect" with NiCd batteries, so
> I'm interested in replacing it with a NiMH one.  Someone who is
> selling a 3.6V 1000mAH NiMH battery on Ebay claims it works with my
> phone, but will it really be safe?  Wouldn't want to install a NiMH
> battery and have the house burn down.

The NiMH battery will power the phone just fine, once it's charged.
But you need to have a charger designed for NiMH batteries.  Some
Ni-Cad chargers also are designed to charge NiMH batteries, but some
are not.  (I assume there is a difference in charging current or
something.)  Don't use NiMH batteries in a charger designed only for
Ni-Cads.  Since you will undoubtedly be charging the batteries in the
phone, not swapping them out into a charger, you shouldn't use NiMH
batteries in a phone that says to only use Ni-Cads.

The only exception I would make to this is if the phone vendor sells a
NiMH replacement battery specifically intended to be used in the phone
in question.  And I would go with the vendor's battery, in that case.


Michael D. Sullivan
Bethesda, MD (USA)
(Replace "example.invalid" with "com" in my address.)

------------------------------

From: Gene S. Berkowitz <first.last@comcast.net>
Subject: Re: Can I Substitute a NiMH Battery for NiCd in a Cordless Phone?
Date: Sun, 17 Apr 2005 23:25:36 -0400


In article <telecom24.168.5@telecom-digest.org>, curious@nospam.com 
says:

> I recently bought a cordless phone, which came with a NiCd battery.
> In the manual it says:

> "To reduce the risk of fire, use only 3.6V 850mAh Nickel Cadmium
> (Ni-Cad) cordless telephone replacement battery pack."

> I've heard about the dreaded "memory effect" with NiCd batteries, so
> I'm interested in replacing it with a NiMH one.  Someone who is
> selling a 3.6V 1000mAH NiMH battery on Ebay claims it works with my
> phone, but will it really be safe?  Wouldn't want to install a NiMH
> battery and have the house burn down.

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: 3.6 at 850 is _close enough_ to 3.6 at
> 1000 that I think it should work. The difficulty with swapping
> batteries around randomly however is not so much that your house would
> burn down as it is that differences in those batteries could possibly
> cause some slow degredation on your electronics unit and cause it to
> fry out prematurely. Your voltage (3.6) is critical; you want to avoid
> increasing _low voltages_  very much. A device which calls for 3.6 
> should pretty much be confined to 3.6. You can play around with the
> amperage a bit however; 1000 will work fine with something rated for 
> 850. But make certain the battery contacts line up correctly and do
> not cause a short circuit accidentally. It would be a shame to waste
> that new battery as soon as you got it.    PAT]

There has been a rash of "exploding" cell phone batteries, primarily
caused by bootleg Asian import batteries that lack thermal protection
devices.

Also, the charging characteristics for NiCd are different than NiMH.
The charger could cause a NiMH battery to overheat, or at least reduce
its useful life.

--Gene

------------------------------

From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
Subject: Re: Can I Substitute a NiMH Battery for NiCd in a Cordless Phone?
Date: 18 Apr 2005 13:42:03 -0400
Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000)


In article <telecom24.168.5@telecom-digest.org>, <curious@nospam.com>
wrote:

> I recently bought a cordless phone, which came with a NiCd battery.
> In the manual it says:

> "To reduce the risk of fire, use only 3.6V 850mAh Nickel Cadmium
> (Ni-Cad) cordless telephone replacement battery pack."

> I've heard about the dreaded "memory effect" with NiCd batteries, so
> I'm interested in replacing it with a NiMH one.  Someone who is
> selling a 3.6V 1000mAH NiMH battery on Ebay claims it works with my
> phone, but will it really be safe?  Wouldn't want to install a NiMH
> battery and have the house burn down.

Memory effect basically has not existed for many years now.  It used
to be a serious problem, but today most NiCd failures are caused by
people reverse-charging cells as they overdischarge packs in an an
attempt to avoid nonexistent memory problems.

If you put a NiMH pack into the thing, you will get more capacity at
first because the energy density of the pack is higher.  But because
the charger is not designed for NiMH cells, you will find that the
battery pack doesn't last very long before it fails.

If the phone works, why screw with it?

--scott

"C'est un Nagra.  C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

------------------------------

From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader)
Subject: Re: Can I Substitute a NiMH Battery for NiCd in a Cordless Phone?
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 15:54:34 -0000
Organization: Inline Software Creations


curious@nospam.com writes:

> I've heard about the dreaded "memory effect" with NiCd batteries, so
> I'm interested in replacing it with a NiMH one.  Someone who is
> selling a 3.6V 1000mAH NiMH battery on Ebay claims it works with my
> phone, but will it really be safe?  Wouldn't want to install a NiMH
> battery and have the house burn down.

NiCd and NiMH use very different chargers. You can not successfully charge
an NiMH battery in a phone designed only for NiCd. It's quite possible that
the new battery will vent itself if you install it. Not exactly a fire or
explosion (both of which are pretty unlikely), but your phone will
probably be wrecked by it nonetheless. *

* PV   something like badgers--something like lizards--and something
       like corkscrews.

------------------------------

From: FrazNor@gmail.com
Subject: Re: Surveillance Cameras More Common Everyday
Date: 18 Apr 2005 07:45:27 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Here is one on Times Square:

http://images.earthcam.com/ec_metros/ourcams/fridays.jpg

Refresh as needed.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The one you mention, and three or four
other cameras are used at Times Square (34th and Broadway if my 
memory is correct) in the program Webcam Watcher, an interesting piece
of software for Windows. Independent people, with web cams at fixed
locations, donate the output from the cameras for use by voyeurs on
the net who like looking at things. The writer of the Webcam Watcher
program has a directory of about _three thousand_ such locations all
around the world. He gives you thumbnail images of all of them on your
screen; allows you to manually choose any of them, or have the program
function like a 'scanner' (doing a big image) of one after the next,
just like a radio scanner operates, working its way to the end of the
line and starting over again. If a repretoire of three thousand images
seems a bit much to deal with, you can also select a smaller number
 from the indexes of same, or the thumbnails and concentrate on just
those; for instance, those cams active in the past minute, the past
five minutes, etc. Some are in constant operation; others only snap
a picture of their surroundings every hour, etc. You select the
desired cams from the indexes of same, and make up your own list of
what to scan whenever one or more of them takes a new picture. If your
'active scan directory' is too large, the big pictures on your screen
change every second or two. If it is too small, then you can actually
look at and study a picture for a few minutes before the next image
(from some other location) comes through, like a radio scanner. 

Webcam Watcher is _not_ intended as a sex thing at all. He has that
type of cam (adult) in the master index, but they are all isolated
so you can choose that kind of thing "if you like to watch" but the
majority of the cams are just 'regular' scenes, such as expressway
cams in Japan (some also from Georgia highways), parks and gardens;
a few cams are scenes of the border crossings in Texas, Arizona and
California and Detroit, MI; I have one of my weather station cam in
his directory, etc. There is one of the ships going through the Panama
Canal, some absolutely stunning cam images of mountain tops in
Alaska and Wyoming, etc, people's homes, school classrooms, about a 
dozen cams in New York City (including the several in Times Square),
Chicago, San Francisco, etc. I get sort of depressed using the
program, since there are so many absolutely delicious views of
absolutely wonderful cities and sites I would dearly love to be young
enough -- and well enough -- to to visit and see in person, but I know
I will never get to see in person, a beach in Australia, or a coffee
house in Indonsia for example. If you have a cam with a public display
you welcome people viewing, _and you have the WebCam Watcher program_
consider adding the locations of these files to the directory he
updates from time to time. Just Google for 'Webcam Watcher'. He has
both free and paid copies of the software.   PAT]  
 
------------------------------

From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
Subject: Re: Internet Pioneer: VoIP is NOT Telephony
Date: 18 Apr 2005 14:04:33 -0400
Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000)


> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How would you then deal with 'phone
> patches', the little devices which allow VHF/UHF radios to link into
> the public phone network?  Should they also be subject to the rules 
> of the public switched telephone network?  PAT]

Yes.  Patched calls are subject to BOTH the rules of the public
telephone network AND the rules of whatever radio channel is in use,
because the call is handled by both services.

--scott

"C'est un Nagra.  C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I guess what I meant to say was the
person using the radio who issues certain tones to the base station
where the 'phone patch' is located, who then makes outgoing phone
calls over a (common, owned by the ham radio operator's club for
example) phone line. Is that commonly-owned phone line, and the
'patch' device in the middle, and most important, the portable
transciever (a two meter rig comes to mind) all subject to both
radio and telco rules, for example, the 911 surcharge, and other
fees on account of his transciever rig _can possibly_ be used on
the phone network?  What about the local number portability fee,
etc? After all, he does have a _phone number_ (albiet shared in
common with other club members) doesn't he?   PAT]

------------------------------

From: Justin Time <a_user2000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Internet Pioneer: VoIP is NOT Telephony
Date: 18 Apr 2005 12:15:41 -0700


Pat wrote:

> TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How would you then deal with 'phone
> patches', the little devices which allow VHF/UHF radios to link into
> the public phone network?  Should they also be subject to the rules
> of the public switched telephone network?  PAT]

I think you are barking up the wrong tree here Pat.  Those little
devices that do phone patches for amateur radio operators connect to
telephones that are part of the public switched network.  As such, the
group operating the patch equipment pays the local exchange company for
the monthly charges on the line.  As the telephone lines are obtained
from the local exchange company, or a competitor they are subject to
all the rules and do provide ANI/ALI information to the PSAP.

The other point to remember is that phone patch equipment is normally
operated (triggered) by a licensed radio operator who presumably would
know the limitations of the connection.

Rodgers Platt


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You don't feel that Vonage also
connects to the public switched network, and Vonage has to pay
telco for the lines they use?  PAT]

------------------------------

From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry)
Subject: Re: Getting Serious About the War on Spam
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 09:39:17 +0300
Organization: Elisa Internet customer


Tony P. <kd1s@nospamplease.cox.reallynospam.net> wrote:

> Better yet -- every piece of spam tries to sell something. Just follow
> the money trail and arrest and imprison the seller. Suddenly it won't
> be as attractive to market via spam when you're facing a 15 year
> sentence.

Yeah, and _what kind of_ a 15-year sentence! Popular lore has it that
there is a 'hierarchy of respect' among inmates, with bank robbers
having the highest prestige and child molesters at the bottom. If/when
more of these spammers are locked up, the molesters may get a break.

Cheers,

Henry


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And please don't forget, if we are
serious about the problem with spam, let's get MCI, cut out of the
loop ASAP.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: PPC Advertising, Click Fraud, and Its Effect on Search Engines
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 02:48:14 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.168.4@telecom-digest.org>, Greg Skinner
<gds@best.com> wrote:

> By now, many if not most of you have probably read, or at least heard,
> about the lawsuit filed against several search engines, accusing them
> of conspiring to overcharge for advertisements.  More information
> here:

>http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?cat=USMARKET&src=704&feed=dji&section=news&news_id=dji-00001320050405&date=20050405&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw

> The WSJ recently featured a front-page story on the issue of click
> fraud as well.

> I have always been skeptical of the pay-per-click (PPC) method of
> charging for advertisements.  I have always felt it was a poor
> business model, because of its susceptibility to fraud.  I have never
> understood the search industry's fascination with PPC, especially
> since there are other methods of selling advertising, such as fixed
> fees, which provide no means (and thus, no incentive) to game the
> system by merely clicking on ads.  Furthermore, the money that is
> spent both by the advertisers and publishers (including the search
> engines) implementing complex fraud detection systems can be put to
> more productive uses.  Just about everyone I have spoken to with a
> technical background in Internet protocols and architecture seems to
> realize this, but the message doesn't get through to business people
> who feel that despite click fraud, PPC is a superior advertising model
> to any others. Perhaps there is something I have overlooked in my
> assessment of the risks vs. rewards of PPC advertising.

Yup.  There is.

Q.  "What is an ad worth?"
A.  "Depends on how many people see it."

This is why a 30-second spot during the SuperBowl costs more one on
that same network at 3:00AM on a Tuesday.

Advertisers by space based on "cost per M" -- i.e. how many dollars
does it cost to geth their ad in front of a thousand potential 'customers'.

What they will pay "per thousand impressions" depends on how likely 
somebody is to _buy_, after having encountered the ad.  Things/places
with higher rates of sales "conversions" are worth more 'per thousand'
than those with lower conversion ratios.  Given similar conversion
ratios, the place delivering the larger number of impressions is worth
more than the site with the smaller number of impressions.

Before an advertising buyer enters into _any_ contract for ad
placement one of their first questions is guaranteed to be "how many
people will see this ad?"  It doesn't matter _how_ the space is priced
 -- flat rate or $/M -- they want to know how many people it will
reach.  Note: along this line, TV/radio ad contracts (especially for
"new" programming) usually specify a minimum vievership level -- if
the subsequent ratings show that that level wasn't reached, the
stations/networks are committed to run 'extra' ads to ensure the
required number of 'impressions'.  There are parallels in print
advertising -- particularly when a new publication is starting up.

With web-pages, there is *no*way* to estimate how many people see any
particular ad.  *OTHER* than to count how many times it was displayed.
And that is not a "reliable, accurate" number, by any means.  What it
is, however, is the "best available" data for estimating.

"Smart" web-advertising buyers, have been, for _years_, specifying
that they will pay only for "unique" clicks -- only one hit from a
given IP address within a specified time-frame (minimum hours,
sometimes days).

> It seems that PPC advertising is going to be a fixture in web
> advertising.  Given that PPC makes click fraud easy, we can expect to
> see more of it in the future.  This should be a serious concern to
> anyone who invests in search engines or other companies that do PPC
> advertising, or is a customer of such companies.  At the very least,
> the companies need to disclose the criteria they use for determining
> that fraud has taken place, and the rights their customers
> (advertisers) have with regards to getting refunds for fraudulent
> clicks.

It's _always_ a "guessing game".  You *cannot* know whether a given
click -- or pattern of clicks, even -- is legitimate or fraudulent.

The ROM in computers does *not* stand for "<R>ead <O>perator's <M>ind"
which is the necessary pre-requisite for making a 100% accurate
determination.

> I'd also like to know if there are any technical groups that are
> studying the issue and proposing solutions.  From a standpoint of
> detecting fraud at its inception, I thought I might find some interest
> among the intrusion detection community, but I haven't yet.  The types
> of intrusion detection done at the packet level don't seem to scale to
> the types of attacks I've witnessed, which suggests that the detection
> might be better done at the web server and/or web log processing
> level.  I checked the Apache documentation to see if any work of that
> type had been done, and outside of some basic configuration options
> for blocking certain types of sites and requests, there wasn't any.
> Also, based on what I've read about some of the tools people are using
> to analyze web logs, they can detect certain types of fraud, but don't
> necessarily provide alerts of impending fraud, especially if the site
> receives a considerable amount of traffic.  (This is especially the
> case for the largest search engines.)

Consider a "fleet" of 500,000 "zombie" PCs, scattered across three
continents.

Each machine, _once_a_day_, at a random time, connects to a given web-page,
without anybody in front of the machine.

Now, just _what_ are you going to detect?  

Consider an ISP who gives all it's customers RFC-1918 addresses, and
does NAT/PAT to a relative handful of 'public' IP addresses.  And
something shows up on slashdot (or similar) that gets "everybody" on
that network going to look at the particular page (and ads).  Suddenly
you see a sh*tload of queries coming from the _same_ IP addresses --
including multiple simultaneous connects from a single address, just
with different source ports.

How do you differentiate _that_ from a single box with a click-bot running?

How do you differentiate _that_ from a single box with a click-bot *behind*
the NAT/PAT device?

An IP address is part of a DHCP pool.  You get a number of clicks from
that address at widely separated times.  Is that all one user, or is
each from a different user, who just happened to get that address fort
their dial-up session?

How do you *know* whether that address is a DHCP pool address or not?

------------------------------

From: Yammie <yamslinger@yahoo.com>
Subject: Clarisys VOIP USB Phone
Date: 18 Apr 2005 09:58:18 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Barely used

E-bay Item #  5768559922

------------------------------


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