TELECOM Digest     Sat, 12 Nov 2005 15:25:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 516

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    EU Takes Swipe at U.S. Internet Oversight With ICANN (David Lawsky)
    Re: Showdown With USA Over Internet Control (Patrick Townson)
    Can You Still Build a PC For Less? (Tom Mainelli)
    Sony to Suspend Making Anti-piracy CDs (Ted Bridis)
    U.S. Enters Blackberry Patent Fight (Stephanie Stoughton)
    If You Wish to Get Away From ICANN Oversight and Registrars (P. Townson)
    EFFector 18.38: Action Alert - Horror Triple Bill for Digital (M Solomon)
    Re: MIT's 5ESS: (was: NN0 Central Office Codes) (Garrett Wollman)
    Re: MIT's 5ESS: (was: NN0 Central Office Codes) (Diamond Dave)
    Re: Infone to Shut Down (J Kelly)
    Delayed Flight (Fred Atkinson)

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: David Lawsky <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: EU Takes Swipe at U.S. Internet Oversight With ICANN
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:11:58 -0600


By David Lawsky

The European Commission on Friday took a swipe at U.S. oversight of
the Internet but offered no concrete alternatives, in advance of an
international summit on how the Internet should be run.

A U.N. report has proposed a multinational approach as a more
democratic and clearer way of running the Internet.

The controversy centers around the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based non-profit company set
up in 1998.

ICANN doles out Internet suffixes such as the familiar .com, country
suffixes such as .uk, and newer suffixes such as .tv, .biz or .eu. It
authorises changes to the "root zone file," which matches those
domains with numerical addresses, but ICANN has refused to allow
either .xxx or .sex and has refused to discourage spam and other
questionable or illegal uses of the net. 

The U.S. Commerce Department has ultimate control of the root zone
file, and Washington made clear recently it intends to maintain that
role.

The U.S. Commerce Department was expected to surrender its control of
ICANN, but said in July it would "maintain its historic role in
authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone
file."

EUROPE CRIES 'FOUL'

Europe cried "foul," arguing Washington changed the rules of the game
and plans to keep permanent control of the system.

"There was an agreement that the Department of Commerce control would
be phased out but this summer the United States announced they would
maintain this oversight function," a Commission official said.

A second European official added: "We just say this needs to be
addressed in a more co-operative way ... under public policy
principles."

Both officials asked not to be identified.

The European Union will try to reach agreement at the World Summit on
the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis on Wednesday and Thursday. But
the United States has said it will not agree to any changes.

As matters stand, for example, if a country wants to change some
aspects of its national top level domain, such as .nl for the
Netherlands, that decision must be approved first by ICANN and then by
a Commerce Department official.

The European Commission wants to take the Commerce Department out of
the loop, but it is vague about what should replace that.

Pressed, European Commission officials referred reporters to its
principles, which say that "the role of governments ... should be
mainly focused on principle issues of public policy, excluding any
involvement in the day-to-day operations."

But to American ears that sounds like replacing what they call the
"light touch" of American Internet regulation with potential
interference from upwards of 200 countries. But European Commission
officials say that 'light touch' ICANN seems to prefer should be
at least tightened just a little, to firm up attitudes prevalent
elsewhere. 

"We don't really see how an organization can have oversight and final
veto control and not have an impact on day-to-day activities," said
David McGuire of the non-government Center for Democracy and
Technology in Washington, D.C.

"We don't think it's optimal for any government to be directly
involved in the oversight management," of ICANN.

He said the U.S. government has never reversed an ICANN decision and
eventually the organization should stand on its own two feet.

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: Patrick Townson <editor@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Re: Showdown with USA Over Internet Control
Date: Sat, 12 Nov 2005 14:00:00 -0600


Andy Sullivan writing for Reuters, quoted Commerce Secretary Michael
Sullivan in TD V24_#515:

> "It would be akin to having more than 100 drivers of a single
> bus. Right now we have a driver, and the driver's been doing a good
> job," said Assistant Commerce Secretary Michael Gallagher, the
> U.S. official who oversees the domain-name system.

Unfortunatly no ... the bus driver has _not_ been doing a good job.
The bus driver _says_ he has been doing a good job, but that is 
just his opinion. What bus driver would admit to doing a lousy job?

> "Materially there's nothing wrong with the current structure. But
> formally it is strange that something with such a global impact is
> being controlled by one nation, and there is a sharpened position
> against the United States' unilateral thinking," Dutch Minister of
> Economic Affairs Laurens Jan Brinkhorst said in an interview.

The United States seems to be saying, we invented the bus, therefore
we will also appoint the driver.

> If unresolved, the clash could lead to a split in the domain-name
> system, and Internet users wouldn't necessarily reach the same Web
> site when they type an address like "www.reuters.com" into their
> browsers.

And that would be bad news.

> The list only changes when a California nonprofit body called the
> Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, adds
> new top-level domains or redelegates the ones that exist. ICANN can't
> make any changes without the approval of the U.S. Department of
> Commerce.

> Some countries worry that the United States could use this system to
> effectively "unplug" a nation from the Internet by redirecting its
> country code. Experts say that would be difficult to pull off because
> it would require thousands of computer administrators across the globe
> to cooperate.

Then why is the USA so concerned about internet being 'controlled' (as
if it could be) by some other country? Would the same 'thousands of
computer administrators across the globe' handle things any
differently if ICANN was treated as a technical agency of the United
Nations (just as ITU is now) than if it remained the sole property of
the United States? Wouldn't the 'thousands of computer administrators'
continue doing their own thing?  

> Gallagher says the United States has kept politics out of the root
> since it set up ICANN in 1998. But in August he asked ICANN to
> postpone work on a .xxx domain for sex sites after conservative groups
> urged the Commerce Department to block it.

But in this instance, ICANN and the conservative groups were in
agreement about .xxx although for different reasons. Although
conservative groups do not want to legitimitize sex for reasons of
their own, ICANN does not really like the idea of sex being
stigmatized, as they fear would happen with .xxx . It would be a lot
like asking ICANN to start a couple new top-level domains (let's call
them .spam and .scam and maybe .phish) to properly and accurately
reflect where things are at on the net these days. I honestly do not
think ICANN wants attention drawn to the overwhelming use of the net 
these days for spam, scam or for that matter sex. Where spam and scam
are concerned, ICANN almost treats it as just an abberation, something
out of the blue which 'coincidentally' happens and that we users 
should not be concerned; after all, the 'experts' will cure it for
us if they decide it needs curing, and we can always 'filter' our
email, and run virus scanners galore, isn't that sufficient? And they
do not want to make things _too easy_ to filter out; that might make
the internet useful for average, everyday citizens once again.  

> Gallagher said he sent the letter to express concerns in as
> transparent a manner as possible and avoid charges of backroom
> manipulation.

> "(When) other countries have done it, it's not a foul. For some reason
> when the U.S. does it it's a foul," he said.

Because the United States _should_ know better. After all, we were a
major force in the creation of the United Nations were we not? And the
UN is headquarted here, is it not? Presumably there were good reasons
for that. 

> Though the United States does not plan to give up control of the
> domain-name system, 

So they have said at least a few times. 

> the summit may lead to other changes.

Let's hope so.

> Participants may also agree to set up a forum to discuss cross-border
> issues like spam and cybercrime.

Considering the huge amount of spam and cybercrime on the internet
these days, I really have to wonder why the USA thinks it would be
so awful having an 'oppressive government' involved in running things.
Isn't the amount of spam and cybercrime we have now oppressive enough
in its own right? Could (for example) China or Iraq make things any
worse? In some ways they might make things _better_. 

> Copyright 2005 Reuters Limited.

PAT

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

From: Tom Mainelli <pcworld@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Can You Still Build a PC For Less?
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:13:53 -0600


Tom Mainelli, PC World

Conventional wisdom once stated that building your own PC was more
than just a way to create your perfect computer -- it was also a lot
cheaper than buying a finished system. However, in recent years
economies of scale have overturned this truism, making it nearly
impossible for the average individual PC builder to beat a big
vendor's price when it comes to a basic desktop system.

Don't believe me? Just try building yourself a Pentium-4 based system
for less than you'd pay for any basic Dell Dimension PC. See, every
day Dell buys a gazillion hard drives, optical drives, motherboards,
and so on, so it gets a better unit price for these components than
you do for your single purchase. The fact is, without cannibalizing
half of your current PC's parts, you can't touch Dell when it comes to
building a cheap PC.

That said, I recently stumbled upon the satisfying realization that
when it comes to high-end systems, there's still some wiggle
room. Apparently this is the market where PC builders -- both big and
small -- like to pad their margins a bit, so you can still save some
bucks by doing it yourself.

Super-Powered Shuttle

When Shuttle recently announced its first dual-graphics-board system,
I sat up and took notice. I'm a long-time fan of the company's small
form factor bare-bones products and its fully finished systems, and
with the XPC P 2600, Shuttle promised blazing desktop performance.

I requested and received a fully outfitted (and notably expensive)
P 2600 review system to test for our January issue. And I have to say,
Shuttle delivered big time. This is one serious, high-performance
desktop PC. If speed is your need, this tiny terror will not
disappoint.

Using NVidia's NForce 4 chip set and SLI technology, the P 2600's
design is mighty impressive: The company fits two full-sized EVGA
7800GTX cards side by side in the 12.6- by 8.3- by 8.7-inch case. Also
elegantly stowed inside: a Advanced Micro Devices X2 4800+ CPU, 2GB of
memory, two 400GB hard drives, and a DVD burner.

In our tests the P 2600 put all that cutting-edge hardware to good use
and notched a WorldBench score of 123, near the top achievers in our
Power Desktop category. Predictably, the unit also scored very well in
our graphics tests. But despite its high-performance pedigree -- and
its seven internal fans -- the system remains remarkably quiet.

If the P 2600 has any weakness, it's a lack of expandability. There is
no room to add parts to this machine: no open PCI or PCI Express
slots, no unused bays to add hard drives, and no empty memory
sockets. That means, for example, that you'll never be able to upgrade
from the integrated audio.

And then there's the spare-no-expense price tag. The shipping system I
tested -- which included a 17-inch LCD, complete with carrying handle
 -- sells for a whopping $4635.

Now, to be fair, I did ask Shuttle to load this system up with the
latest and greatest hardware. And we all know bleeding-edge stuff is
expensive.  Plus, putting two NVidia 7800 GTX graphics boards in a PC
is never going to be cheap.

But $4635? That seems awfully high. I was convinced I could build
nearly the same system for less. A lot less, even. So I pointed my
browser toward NewEgg.com and got to work.

Saving a Pretty Penny

Shuttle started off engineering and selling bare-bones systems
exclusively; it only started selling fully configured desktops a few
years ago. I was pretty sure I could find the exact same chassis and
motherboard combination as that of the P 2600. I was right: It's the
$559 XPC SN26.

 From there I just worked my way down the P 2600's components list,
most of which are standard-issue.

One AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+:                     $884
Two 400GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 SATA drives: $471
Two EVGA GeForce 7800 GTX boards:               $918
One Shuttle XP17 monitor:                       $390
One copy of Windows XP Pro (OEM version):       $149

For those parts I couldn't match precisely, I picked top-quality
alternates that weren't always the most expensive, but weren't the
cheapest either.

One Lite-On DVD Burner:                         $43
Two sticks of Corsair XMS DDR 400 memory (2GB total): $221
One Logitech mouse, keyboard, and headset:      $110

By the end I'd pretty much re-created the spitting image of Shuttle's $4635
XPC P 2600 system in my shopping cart. Grand total: $3745.

Doing the Math

Now, if I were a math wiz I'd be a famous architect and not a
journalist.  But I'm pretty sure that's a huge savings. (It's $890, to
be precise.) True, the P 2600 comes with some additional software, a
system warranty, and a QuickStart guide and disc-based
manual. However, I noticed that none of these things were made of
solid gold, so I still think the build-it-yourself deal is a better
one.

I'm not here to give Shuttle a hard time for the price of its high-end
system. The company deserves to make a profit, right?

Okay, maybe I am here to give Shuttle some grief. I mean, just how big
a profit margin do you need?

In the end, I suppose the question for anybody who wants a system just
like this is simple. Do you want to spend the time and effort to build
it yourself and save some cash, or would you rather have it delivered
to you ready to go?

I didn't actually build this system, but if I had I can't imagine it would
have taken me more than a few hours, including the OS install. My time is
valuable, but I'm pretty sure it's not that valuable.

For my money -- or lack thereof -- I'd build every time.

Tom Mainelli is currently trying to figure out if he can turn in a receipt
for Civilization 4 as a work expense.


Copyright 2005 PC World Communications, Inc.

NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the
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------------------------------

From: Ted Bridis <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Sony to Suspend Making Antipiracy CDs
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:15:04 -0600


By TED BRIDIS, Associated Press Writer

Stung by continuing criticism, the world's second-largest music label,
Sony BMG Music Entertainment, promised Friday to temporarily suspend
making music CDs with antipiracy technology that can leave computers
vulnerable to hackers.

Sony defended its right to prevent customers from illegally copying
music but said it will halt manufacturing CDs with the "XCP"
technology as a precautionary measure. "We also intend to re-examine
all aspects of our content protection initiative to be sure that it
continues to meet our goals of security and ease of consumer use," the
company said in a statement.

The antipiracy technology, which works only on Windows computers,
prevents customers from making more than a few copies of the CD and
prevents them from loading the CD's songs onto Apple Computer's
popular iPod portable music players. Some other music players, which
recognize Microsoft's proprietary music format, would work.

Sony's announcement came one day after leading security companies
disclosed that hackers were distributing malicious programs over the
Internet that exploited the antipiracy technology's ability to avoid
detection. Hackers discovered they can effectively render their
programs invisible by using names for computer files similar to ones
cloaked by the Sony technology.

A senior Homeland Security official cautioned entertainment companies
against discouraging piracy in ways that also make computers
vulnerable.  Stewart Baker, assistant secretary for policy at DHS, did
not cite Sony by name in his remarks Thursday but described industry
efforts to install hidden files on consumers' computers.

"It's very important to remember that it's your intellectual property,
it's not your computer," Baker said at a trade conference on
piracy. "And in the pursuit of protection of intellectual property,
it's important not to defeat or undermine the security measures that
people need to adopt in these days."

Sony's program is included on about 20 popular music titles, including
releases by Van Zant and The Bad Plus.

"This is a step they should have taken immediately," said Mark
Russinovich, chief software architect at Winternals Software who
discovered the hidden copy-protection technology Oct. 31 and posted
his findings on his Web log.  He said Sony did not admit any
wrongdoing, nor did it promise not to use similar techniques in the
future.

Security researchers have described Sony's technology as "spyware,"
saying it is difficult to remove, transmits without warning details
about what music is playing, and that Sony's notice to consumers about
the technology was inadequate. Sony executives have rejected the
description of their technology as spyware.

Some leading antivirus companies updated their protective software
this week to detect Sony's antipiracy program, disable it and prevent
it from reinstalling.

After Russinovich criticized Sony, it made available a software patch
that removed the technology's ability to avoid detection. It also made
more broadly available its instructions on how to remove the software
permanently. Customers who remove the software are unable to listen to
the music CD on their computer.

On the Web:

Sony's XCP Page: http://cp.sonybmg.com/xcp

Russinovich's Blog: http://www.sysinternals.com/Blog

Symantec warning:
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/securityrisk.aries.html

Computer Associates warning:

http://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/newsinfo/collateral.aspx?cid76345

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.

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

From: Stephanie Stoughton <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: U.S. Enters Blackberry Patent Fight
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:17:15 -0600


By STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, AP Business Writer

The U.S. government has inserted itself in a high-stakes patent fight
over the popular BlackBerry device, saying it wants to make sure
federal workers won't be cut off from mobile access to their e-mail.

The Justice Department filed a "statement of interest" earlier this
week to explain how the U.S. government, with as many as 200,000
BlackBerry users, could be harmed if a federal judge in Virginia
issues an injunction against Research In Motion Ltd. to stop selling
the device and accompanying e-mail service.

If the judge issues an injunction, "it is imperative that some
mechanism be incorporated that permits continuity of the federal
government's use of BlackBerry devices," the filing said.

The patent dispute with NTP Ltd. has heated with its return this week
to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia --
nicknamed the "Rocket Docket" for its speedy resolution of civil
cases.

And RIM may have more reason to be concerned. In a status hearing
Wednesday, Judge James R. Spencer appeared impatient to wrap up the
long-running suit brought by NTP, which convinced a jury in 2003 that
the technology behind the BlackBerry infringes on its patents.

The judge immediately dashed one of RIM's hopes. Spencer said it was
unlikely he'd delay proceedings to wait for a re-examination NTP's
patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which recently issued
preliminary rulings questioning their validity.

"I don't run their business and they don't run mine," Spencer said,
asserting that he had spent enough time on the suit and intended to
move swiftly on key issues.

Spencer, who issued an injunction against RIM after the 2003 jury
verdict, but stayed it pending appeals, could rule before Thanksgiving
on whether a $450 million settlement deal reached earlier this year is
valid.

RIM says it is. NTP says it was never finalized.

The government filing by Paul J. McNulty, U.S. Attorney for the
Eastern District of Virginia, said "there does not appear to be a
simple manner in which RIM can identify which users of BlackBerries
are part of the federal government."

But James H. Wallace Jr., an NTP attorney, called McNulty's filing
"highly misleading and inappropriate."

Wallace said NTP has promised several times that an injunction would
not apply to any government or emergency personnel in the United
States, and said it would not be difficult for wireless carriers to
identify such users.

McNulty said one way to ensure continued e-mail service for government
employees would be to create a database of their devices. He suggested
the court delay consideration of the injunction for at least 90 days,
given the potential expense and complexity involved in inventorying
those BlackBerries.

The filing included an estimate that anywhere from 50,000 to 200,000
federal employees use BlackBerry devices, which allow employees to
retrieve and send e-mails when away from their office computers.

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 other Associated Press headlines and stories, please go to:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html  (also)
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html

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

From: Patrick Townson <ptownson@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: If You Would Like to Get Away From ICANN Oversight and Registrars
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:34:57 -0600


ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is sort of
a strange bunch to deal with. If you would like to get a domain name
totally free of charge in another country which is essentially
anonymous (you do self registration) try one of these possibilities:

UNONIC (United Names Organization) http://unonic.com where you can register
any domain name of your choice in the '.tf' top level.

or JOYNIC http://joynic.com where you can register domains in the name of
your choice on the top level '.tt'

or CYDOTS http://cydots.com where you can register domains in the name of
your choice in the top level '.ms'

or DHS International http://www.dhs.org where you can register domains in
the name of your choice in the 'n3.net' top level and a few other top
levels. These folks are based out of Australia
and do use 'American-looking' domain names i.e. '.n3.net' and they ask for a
voluntary donation via Pay Pal.

or SMARTDOTS http://smartdots.com where you can register domains in the name
of your choice in the top level '.tc'

All the above are self-service registration, meaning you do it from
your own computer, picking the desired URLs and answering a few simple
questions, set up the contact information _truthfully_,  etc. Many of
them also have email forwarding, and all of them simply redirect to
your existingweb page elsewhere. The WHOIS information on many of them
is totally confidential with only email of inquiry sent to you from
the nosy person who is asking.

They are all totally free to use, they all cloak the true name of your
web site by using frames and your alias URL name. They all last
forever, require no contracts and except for DHS are totally free but
they like it if you use a pop up or a banner they supply. In addition
to the country codes mentioned 'tc' 'tf' 'tt' and 'ms' they all have a
raft of second-level choices under them such as 'net' 'us' and
others. I've had several of them over the years; for example, check
out http://patricktownson.us.tf which will take you to my blog, the
same as if you entered http://ptownson.blogspot.com .

I hope this information is helpful to you especially if you do not like the
ICANN contracts, prefer to be anonymous, etc.

PAT

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

Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:44:56 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: EFFector 18.38: Action Alert - Horror Triple Bill for Digital


EFFector Vol. 18, No. 38  November 4, 2005  editor@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

In the 354th Issue of EFFector:

 * Action Alert: Horror Triple Bill for Digital Technology
 * File-Sharing Lawsuits Fail to Deter P2P Downloaders
 * Justice Department Not Appealing Cell Phone Surveillance Cases
 * Uproot Sony-BMG's Invasion of Your Privacy and Your Computer
 * Report from Hearing on National Security Letters
 * miniLinks (6): What Would Justice Do? Clues on Alito
 * Staff Calendar
 * Administrivia

http://www.eff.org/effector/18/38.php 

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

From: wollman@khavrinen.csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman)
Subject: Re: MIT's 5ESS: (was: NN0 Central Office Codes)
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 23:38:46 UTC
Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory


In article <telecom24.515.5@telecom-digest.org>, Joe Morris
<jcmorris@mitre.org> wrote:

> Thread drift question: how common are successful hacking (old
> definition of the word "hack") attempts against MIT's 5ESS?

I've never heard of one, although that doesn't necessarily mean
anything, since I don't know the people who manage it.  According to
the first hit on Google, it's located in E19, with extensions in 24
and NW12 (i.e., the usual places for network gear).  I have no idea
where in E19 it is, or how well-secured those locations are -- but
phone blocks are exposed in a whole bunch of locations that are
probably easier to access.  There's also the additional challenge that
many lines, particularly "class A" lines with unlimited access, are
ISDN lines using the AT&T proprietary BRI signalling to communicate
with 7506 desk phones.  But telephone equipment is ancient history;
who would want to mess with that when there are *computers* around?!

One story I can tell, as it was relayed to me by a hacker who was
there: the original 7506es had a firmware bug.  When the handset was
off-hook, the built-in clock stopped running (presumably because they
were using the same timer interrupt for the call timer).  LCS was an
early adopter of the ISDN phones, and my colleague told me that AT&T
sent a technician to every office in the building to extract a ROM
from each phone and replace it with a fixed version.  They tried to
get one of the buggy ROMs to hack on; I don't recall if they were
successful.  (This would have been mid-1980s.)

> I'm having trouble imagining today's MIT students being able to resist
> the challenge of hacking into the switch and making it do
> "interesting" things.

But don't forget that hacking ethics would prevent them from doing
anything so interesting as to have an impact on public safety.


Garrett A. Wollman    | As the Constitution endures, persons in every
wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own
Opinions not those    | search for greater freedom.
of MIT or CSAIL.      | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003)

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

From: Diamond Dave <dmine45.NOSPAM@yahoo.DOTcom>
Subject: Re: MIT's 5ESS: (was: NN0 Central Office Codes)
Organization: The BBS Corner / Diamond Mine On-Line
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:54:21 -0500


On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 19:17:20 UTC, Joe Morris <jcmorris@mitre.org>
wrote:

> Thread drift question: how common are successful hacking (old
> definition of the word "hack") attempts against MIT's 5ESS?  When I
> was at the 'tute long ago it had a SxS (in building 10 IIRC) with the
> main number at UN4-6900, and one of the popular entertainments among
> the student body was trying to find a live wire pair from which one
> could dial "9" to make an outside call [*].  Occasionally someone
> would manage to get into the switchroom and do a bit of rewiring,
> although I don't recall ever hearing of any damage being done other
> than a few unauthorized LD calls.  (But one of the hackers' exploits
> in 1961 or so was described in an article in Newsweek ... not for his
> "informal" rewiring jobs, but for his use of what today is called
> "social engineering" to make an international call from a campus-only
> line.)

Most are probably worrying about hacking the campus computer system to
change their grades. Most also probably have cell phones and could
care or less about landlines.

For landline service, most colleges use outside services to handle
their LD service. Penn State, for example, uses AT&T ACUS (forget what
the acromym stands for) and all the LD is handled via AT&T's OSPS
operator services & calling card platform (Operator Services Position
Station). Pretty hard to hack. Not impossible, but not simple either.

Dave

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

From: J Kelly <jkelly@newsguy.com>
Subject: Re: Infone to Shut Down
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 21:48:20 -0600
Organization: http://newsguy.com
Reply-To: jkelly@newsguy.com


On Fri, 11 Nov 2005 00:17:06 -0700, DevilsPGD <spamsucks@crazyhat.net>
wrote:

> In message <telecom24.513.6@telecom-digest.org> J Kelly
> <jkelly@newsguy.com> wrote:

>> I remember a couple years back some posts about Infone, the Metro One
>> "teleconcierge" service.  I got an email today from Infone telling me
>> their service will be closing up shop on 12/31/05.  I used it a few
>> times and was quite pleased with the service.  I hate to see it go,
>> but I guess they only managed to attract about 83,000 subs after
>> spending $70 million to promote the service.  Not a real money maker.

> I signed up, but I never bothered to use it, I've just never made a
> 411 call either.  The rest of their features looked interesting, but
> not all that useful since it wouldn't save much time.

> Sure I could call Infone and have them make a reservation for me, but
> I could just call and do it myself in the same amount of time.

So true.  I used them a handful of times from my cell mainly because
it was cheaper than using US Cellular's 411 which costs "only" $1.50.
USCC makes it out like they are doing me a favor by only charging a
buck fifty.

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

From: Fred Atkinson <fatkinson@mishmash.com>
Subject: Delayed Flight
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2005 18:35:20 -0500



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Fred sent along this article especially
for Veterans Day which was Friday, but it got here too late to appear
in the issues of the Digest which went out yesterday. His sentiments 
are very good and appropriate for the occassion.  PAT]

I sat in my seat of the Boeing 767 waiting for everyone to hurry and
stow their carry-ons and grab a seat so we could start what I was sure
to be a long, uneventful flight home.

With the huge capacity and slow moving people taking their time to
stuff luggage far too big for the overhead and never paying much
attention to holding up the growing line behind them, I simply shook
my head knowing that this flight was not starting out very well.  I
was anxious to get home to see my loved ones so I was focused on my
issues and just felt like standing up and yelling for some of these
clowns to get their act together.

I knew I couldn't say a word so I just thumbed thru the "Sky Mall"
magazine from the seat pocket in front of me.  You know it's really
getting rough when you resort to the over priced, useless sky mall
crap to break the monotony.

With everyone finally seated, we just sat there with the cabin door
open and no one in any hurry to get us going although we were well
past the scheduled take off time.

No wonder the  airline industry is in trouble I told myself.

Just then, the attendant came on the intercom to inform us all that
we were being delayed.  The entire plane let out a collective groan.

She resumed speaking to say "We are holding the aircraft for some very
special people who are on their way to the plane and the delay
shouldn't be more than 5 minutes.

The word came after waiting six times as long as we were promised that
I was f inally going to be on my way home.

Why the hoopla over "these" folks?

I was expecting some celebrity or sport figure to be the reason for
the hold up ...

Just get their butts in a seat and let's hit the gas I  thought.

The attendant came back on the speaker to announce in a loud and
excited voice that we were being joined by several U.S. Marines
returning home from Iraq !!!

Just as they walked on board, the entire plane  erupted into applause.

The men were a bit taken by surprise by the 340 people cheering for
them as they searched for their seats.

They were having their hands shook and touched by almost everyone who
was within an arm's distance of them as they passed down the
aisle. One elderly woman kissed the hand of one of the Marines as he
passed by her.  The applause, whistles and cheering didn't stop for a
long time.

When we were finally airborne, I was not the only civilian checking
his conscience as to the delays in "me" getting home, finding my easy
chair, a cold beverage and the remote in my hand.

These men had done for all of us and I had been complaining silently
about "me" and "my" issues I took for granted the everyday freedoms I
enjoy and the conveniences of the American way of life.

I took for granted that others had paid the price for my ability to
moan and complain about a few minutes delay to "me" while those Heroes
were going home to their loved ones.

I attempted to get my selfish outlook back in order and minutes before
we landed, I suggested to the attendant that she announce over the
speaker a request for everyone to remain in their seats until our
heroes were allowed to gather their things and be first off the plane.

The cheers and applause continued until the last Marine stepped off
and we all rose to go about our too often taken for gr! anted everyday
freedoms.

I felt proud of them.

I felt it an honor and a privilege to be among the first to welcome
them home and say "Thank You for a job well done."

I vowed that I will never forget that flight nor the lesson learned. I
can't say it enough, THANK YOU to those Veterans and active servicemen
and women who may read this and a prayer for those who cannot because
they are no longer with us.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

WELCOME  HOME!  AND THANKS FOR A JOB WELL DONE!!!!!


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Ditto from myself and I am sure, many
readers of this Digest. Regardless of what you or I may think about 
the situation in Iraq and other parts of the world, it is _not_ the
fault of these brave men and women, who are there following the
instructions they have been given. Although the end result of the war
in Iraq may well turn out to be the debacle we saw in Vietnam, and I
would not be surprised if it did turn out that way, considering the
higher up authorities in our nation and their role in it all, at least
I hope the American public has 'wised up' enough to place any blame 
where it belongs, which is _not_ on the average American
soldier. Bless them, one and all.    PAT]

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


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