TELECOM Digest     Sun, 18 Sep 2005 03:10:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 425

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Re: When it Rains, it Pours   .... (TELECOM Digest Editor)
    Micrsoft to Take on Google by Opening MSN to the Public (Reed Stevenson)
    ICANN Opens New Domain '.cat'  (Anick Jesdanun)
    Re: Alternatives to LEC Voicemail (Rich Greenberg)
    Re: Last Laugh! How Many Members of Bush Administration (Thomas A. Horsley)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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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.  

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

Subject: Re: When it Rains, it Pours  ....
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 02:09:42 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)


All my equipment here is rapidly disintegrating ... both working laptps are
now gone.  I cannot get either of them up and running. The hard drive
totally went out on one, and the other one as of Saturday night started
giving this message:  

             Native  Audio Initialization Error
             The Wave Task Manager (nspmm.dll) is not available.
             Wave Services Will be Disabled.
	             
   Then a click box with the single option OK.

I click 'OK' then a second error message comes up immediatly following

             EXPLORER: This program has performed an illegal
             operation and will be shut down. If the problem
             persists, contact the program vendor.

There is a choice of OK or 'Details'  and 'details' gives me a hex dump.
'OK' on the other hand is accepted but the desktop never comes up, and none
of the keyboard works any further at that point ... ever ... 

This is a very old IBM Think Pad model 770-ED, probably from 1994-95.

I have tried to re-install Win 98 SE but have been unable to figure
out how to get the BIOS to look at and accept the CD drive rather than
the hard drive. I do start up with F1 and get the BIOS screen, and
attempt to put the CD as the first choice, but it does not accept
that; and continues to attempt to load from the hard drive. 

I was able to google 'nspmm.dll' and have found out _how_ to get rid
of the Intel thing which came built in this old Think Pad, but since
no Win 98 desktop ever comes up, I cannot get to the Device Manager to
get rid of the Intel thing.  

Any help or advise gratefully accepted, and if _anyone_ has a slightly
older, used laptop they would be willing to donate to the Digest (or
sell me at a reasonable price, please let me know.

PAT

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

From: Reed Stvenson <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Microsoft Plans to Take on Google by Opening up MSN
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 01:28:31 -0500


By Reed Stevenson

Microsoft Corp. is making some of the features on its Internet
division site, MSN, available to outside software developers as it
takes on Google Inc. in the Web-based information and services market.

Microsoft, the world's largest software maker, is encouraging software
developers to write programs that tap into MSN, hoping such programs
will increase the number of visitors to MSN properties in the same way
millions of Web users are attracted to Google's search, e-mail, news
and other services.

At stake is the lucrative income from online advertising, particularly
ads that are displayed alongside search results, the main driver of
search leader's Google's revenue.

"What we want to do is attract people into the (MSN) network," said Adam
Sohn, director of MSN.

By tapping into the network, other technology providers will be able
to use some of MSN's content and services to create their own
products. For example, one provider has created its own messenger that
translates instant messages between Japanese and Korean.

In addition to MSN messenger, Microsoft is also letting others tap
into its search service, launched last year to compete against Google,
as well as its MSN Virtual Earth, MapPoint, games and features in its
browser toolbar.

Google also offers the ability to tap into its search database of more
than 8 billion pages, as well as its desktop search, advertising
system and its Google Maps service.

A spokeswoman from Google declined to say whether Google would be
making more of its online features available as competition with
Microsoft heats up.

Such features, known within the software industry as application
programing interfaces, or APIs, give software programmers an easy way
to link their own programs to other software, especially operating
systems.

Microsoft is holding a major conference in Los Angeles this week to
convince software developers to write programs for its products,
particularly Windows and Office, which will be upgraded next year.

Industry watchers widely agree the biggest factor in the Microsoft's
success in making Windows a monopoly was getting developers to write
programs for the operating system.

Microsoft played down the competitive threat from Google.

"Everyone wants to single out MSN versus somebody," said Sohn.

But Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, an independent
research firm based in Kirkland, Washington, said Microsoft has Google
squarely in its sights.

"Microsoft is a notoriously paranoid company and I think they're
looking to (a threat from) Google five years from now," Rosoff said.

Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited. 

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: Anick Jesdanun <ap@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: ICANN Opens New Domain Name
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 01:29:47 -0500


By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer

The Internet's key oversight agency approved a domain name for the
Catalan language Thursday while deferring final action on creating a
red-light district on the Internet through a ".xxx" suffix.

Creating the ".cat" suffix for individuals, organizations and
companies that promote the Catalan language and culture was relatively
uncontroversial.  Though the language is spoken largely in certain
regions of Spain, backers say a domain name could unify Catalan
speakers who live in France, Italy, Andorra and elsewhere. The name
could begin appearing in use next year.

As for ".xxx," the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
deferred final approval for the second time in as many months.

The board decided to seek changes to a proposed contract with ICM
Registry Inc., the Jupiter, Fla., that would run the domain name for
voluntary use by the adult entertainment industry. No details were
immediately available on the changes sought.

The ".xxx" domain has met with opposition from conservative groups and
some pornography Web sites, and ICANN postponed a final decision last
month after the U.S. government stepped in just days before a
scheduled meeting to underscore objections it had received. ICANN had
given a preliminary OK in June.

ICM argues the domain would help the $12 billion online porn industry
clean up its act. Those using the domain would have to abide by
yet-to-be-written rules designed to bar such trickery as spamming and
malicious scripts. ICM would charge $60 per name.

Anti-porn advocates, however, countered that sites would be free to
keep their current ".com" address, in effect making porn more easily
accessible by creating yet another channel to house it.

And they say such a domain name would legitimize adults sites, which
two of every five Internet users visited in April, according to
tracking by comScore Media Metrix.

Many porn sites also objected, fearing that such a domain would pave
the way for governments -- the United States or repressive regimes
abroad -- or even private industry to filter speech that is protected
here under the First Amendment.

ICANN was selected by the U.S. government in 1998 to oversee Internet
addressing policies, although the Commerce Department retains veto
power over decisions. More than 260 domain name suffixes exist, mostly
country codes such as ".fr" for France. Recent additions include ".eu"
for the European Union and ".mobi" for mobile services.

Although ICANN was to consider the ".asia" domain during Thursday's
teleconference board meeting, it took no action on establishing a
unified domain for the Asia-Pacific community.


Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

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.

For more Associated Press News and headlines, go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html   (also)
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html   (for streaming audio news radio).

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

From: richgr@panix.com (Rich Greenberg)
Subject: Re: Alternatives to LEC Voicemail
Date: Sat, 17 Sep 2005 23:47:35 UTC
Organization: Organized?  Me?


In article <telecom24.424.5@telecom-digest.org>,
<ed.gehringer@gmail.com> wrote:

> My LEC has hiked their rates again for voicemail, bringing the total
> to $10.50/mo. + tax.  I'm fed up with paying 50% more for this service
> than I did a few years ago.  So I want to investigate alternatives.

Why not a $10-20 answering machine?  Many have remote accessing.  The
only thing it can't do is answer if you are on the phone, but thats
what call waiting is for.


Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com    + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time.  N6LRT  I speak for myself & my dogs only.   VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky                   Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/  Asst Owner:Sibernet-L

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

Subject: Re: Last Laugh! How Many Members of Bush Administration
From: tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley)
Organization: AT&T Worldnet
Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 01:53:57 GMT


> ... That is the reason I always vote Libertarian ...

And speaking of last laughs and libertarians: where are all the
Libertarians that should be showing us how the free market system
could have prevented the catastrophe caused by Katrina and how the
free market would provide better recovery for all the people affected
by the storm?

>>==>> The *Best* political site <URL:http://www.vote-smart.org/> >>==+
      email: Tom.Horsley@worldnet.att.net icbm: Delray Beach, FL      |
<URL:http://home.att.net/~Tom.Horsley> Free Software and Politics <<==+


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, there are various kinds of
libertarians. Some leaning more to the right, and some leaning more to
the left. There are (uppercase L) Libertarians (the political party)
and there are (lowercase l) libertarians who are people generally
sympathetic to the Libertarian Party beliefs, but have little or
nothing to do with the actions of the party as such. I personally fall
in this second group. I believe on the one hand there is far too much
government; people need more freedom and more choices; more extreme
libertarians and Libertarians would say things like the Fire
Department and (some, even) the Police Department should be
privatized. They would claim (among other things dealing with
economics) that if your house burns down, that is _your_ problem. I
have heard some of the more extremist views presented on things like
Katrina, and if those people (Katrina victims) were in a position to
implement some of the extreme Libertarian ideas, then I would say good
for them, but that is totally unrealistic, IMO.  Once again, IMO,
generally the more wealthy Libertarians tend to believe in some of the
more unrealistic goals for our society, while the dirt poor ones like
myself tend to be perhaps more extremist on things like freedom of
speech, and realize what a crock it is to try and privatize the public
highways and the fire department. 

And please do not forget: if _any_ of you have an old, beat up laptop
or desktop PC which at least works (no basket cases please) and wish
to sell it to the Digest or donate it, whatever, please let me know. PAT]

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


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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #425
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