From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Feb 19 02:20:57 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1J7Kvs12586; Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:20:57 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:20:57 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302190720.h1J7Kvs12586@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 V22 #301 TELECOM Digest Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:20:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 301 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Verizon Launches Stepped-Up Plan (Monty Solomon) Fighting Words/Anti-Spam Software Tries to Avoid Throwing Out (M Solomon) Out of Phone Numbers? Add Digits (Monty Solomon) Bob Frankston on Comcast "Theft of Service?" (Monty Solomon) Vivato Unleashed (Monty Solomon) New Hampshire Supreme Court Rules in Amy Boyer Privacy Case (Monty Solomon) Jim Harper on Why Amy Boyer Case Has Nothing to do With (Monty Solomon) Proxim Tsunami MP.11 Product Family (Monty Solomon) Bill Would Ban Spam E-Mail in California (Monty Solomon) Comcast Plans Service Rollout (Monty Solomon) Hacker Gains Access to 5.6 Million Visa, MasterCard Numbers (Monty Solomon) Re: WorldCom Discontinues MCI Mail (tonypo1@cox.net) Re: WorldCom Discontinues MCI Mail (Mark Atwood) Fax Filtering on DID's (David Redemer) Fido Bytes (Joey Lindstrom) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:49:04 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon Launches Stepped-up Plan Targets high-end users in Mass. with unlimited local, long-distance service By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff, 2/18/2003 Looking to build off its quick start selling long-distance phone service in Massachusetts, Verizon Communications today plans to launch a $55-a-month package that lets residential customers make unlimited local and long-distance calls. Dubbed ''Veriations Freedom,'' the offering is similar to calling plans Verizon launched last month in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is also scheduled to be rolled out today in New York and Virginia. The calling plan includes premium features like voice mail and caller ID. In price and features, Verizon's package is nearly identical to MCI WorldCom's ''The Neighborhood'' plan, which is available to only 40 percent of Massachusetts residential customers. Verizon in the last six months vaulted past Sprint into third place in US long-distance customers, behind AT&T and MCI. Analysts largely credit Verizon's growth to success picking up low-volume callers who are happy to consolidate $5 or $10 a month in long-distance calling with Verizon to keep it on one bill. More than one-third of Bay State residential customers have moved to Verizon long distance since it was launched in April 2001. With the Veriations Freedom launch, the company is taking aim at the high end of the market where MCI and Sprint have been particularly successful. Sprint does not have a comparable unlimited local and long-distance package in Massachusetts. MCI limits its plan in Massachusetts mainly to Greater Boston and larger cities such as Springfield and Worcester. That's because MCI rents phone lines from Verizon to provide service and at today's rental rates doesn't see opportunity outside of these densely populated areas. MCI hoped rental rates would drop, but last week in a state regulatory proceeding Verizon proposed raising them. An MCI spokesman declined to comment on Verizon's new package. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/049/business/Verizon_launches_stepped_up_plan+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:59:38 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Fighting Words / Anti-Spam Software Tries to Avoid Throwing Out Anti-spam software tries to avoid throwing out the good E-mail with the bad By Tony Kontzer, InformationWeek Feb 17, 2003 (12:00 AM) American businesses are taking up the war against junk E-mail, which is clogging their networks, sapping worker productivity, and costing them billions. But they may be simply trading one problem for another. Jay Wessel knows firsthand just how tricky fighting the growing onslaught of spam can be. While many businesses use filtering tools to block unwanted E-mail, Wessel, director of IT for the Boston Celtics, is one of a growing number of IT managers who realize a more-sophisticated approach is needed. That's because software that blocks unwanted messages too often holds back other messages that, in fact, should be getting through. Case in point: One of the Celtics' sponsors is Pfizer Inc., the maker of the drug Viagra. As any E-mail administrator knows, Viagra is a favorite topic among spammers, and so it's become a popular term to filter. But if Wessel blocks all messages containing the word Viagra, the Celtics might miss important communications from a key sponsor. The fear of such false positives has Wessel looking for a replacement for the anti-spam tools built into Ipswitch Inc.'s iMail server, which he uses today. He's hopeful a more capable anti-spam offering Ipswitch plans to release sometime this year will do the trick. "I'm ready to start turning the screws a lot tighter," he says. http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20030216S0001 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 17:05:38 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Out of Phone Numbers? Add Digits By Patrick Di Justo Someday soon North American telephone numbers might add up to 12 digits, including area code, instead of the current 10. Verizon, Qwest and BellSouth have urged the Industry Numbering Commission, which regulates the distribution of telephone numbers in North America, to "be proactive" about what the phone companies see as the newest threat to the dwindling supply of available phone numbers: voiceover Internet protocol, or VoIP. Originally a hacker's tool to make free long distance calls, VoIP is set to emerge as the next big thing in commercial telecom. Heather Tinsley of Telegeography estimates that as much as 10 percent of all international voice traffic was carried over IP in 2002. The phone companies insist that VoIP has the potential to eat up 10-digit numbers faster than cell phones, fax machines and pagers did. This would hasten the day North America runs out of unique phone numbers, requiring an entirely new numbering scheme. http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57571,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 19:18:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bob Frankston on Comcast "Theft of Service?" Theft of Service? After getting my latest online bill notification I found myself looking at the Comcast site and not ATTBI (ATT Broadband). I started out with Continental Cablevision at 1.5mbps down and 384kbps. I now find that ATTBI has throttled me to 256kbps up speed and Comcast shows their offering to be 128kbps. As a consolation prize Comcast is offering me 3.5mbps down and 385kbps for $99 vs. $50 month (though my original charge was $40/month). The Comcast site showed no sign of online support and when I finally found a phone number (under support for their telephone service) it was answered "ATTBI". The ATTBI support people say that the ATTBI online support will shift to Comcast at some point so I don't want to be entirely unfair though the URL doesn't work yet. My real source of anger and frustration comes from today's Boston Globe which touts the new services Comcast will roll out. I call it the Hobson plan after the great Mr. Hobson who offered a choice of lame horses. Comcast (and others) prefer to call it Video on Demand. The idea is that I get my own downstream path and get to choose any content I want. Well, any as long as it's from the choices they select. http://www.satn.org/archive/2003_02_16_archive.html#90339603 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 19:27:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Vivato Unleashed Vivato's Coming Out Party: Yesterday at Demo, Vivato announced the details of their first Wi-Fi phased-array antenna/switch, an indoor office system that can serve up to 150 users at 11 Mbps at distances up to 300 meters for about $9,000. Some of the early comments have wondered about this pricing model: how many access points at even enterprise pricing of $500 can you put in place instead of a single Vivato switch? They're missing the key point that explains Vivato's disruptive potential: the Vivato unit is a switch not an access point. http://80211b.weblogger.com/2003/02/17 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:03:31 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New Hampshire Supreme Court Rules in Amy Boyer Privacy Case http://www.politechbot.com/p-04472.html Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 15:22:19 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: New Hampshire Supreme Court rules in Amy Boyer privacy case Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 11:00:52 -0500 To: declan@well.com From: Chris Hoofnagle Subject: Amy Boyer Decision Released Hi Declan, The NH Supreme Court just ruled on five questions of law that will be very important for the privacy landscape. You probably remember that this lawsuit is a civil action against the private investigators who sold Amy Boyer's personal info to a stalker, who then used it to locate and kill Boyer. This case is going to be very important in the national debate on credit reporting agencies, preemption, and regulation of SSNs. The fact of the matter is that better law is coming out of the states than Congress. *Holds that pretext calling violates the state's consumer protection laws. *Adopts the appropriation tort for the state. *Holds that info brokers and private investigators can be liable for the foreseeable harms that may occur from the sale of personal information. *Holds that obtaining a SSN from a CRA could constitute intrusion upon seclusion. The case now goes back to the federal district court where the merits will be heard. Decision: http://www.courts.state.nh.us/supreme/opinions/2003/remsb017.htm EPIC's brief: http://www.epic.org/privacy/boyer/brief.html EPIC Amy Boyer Page: http://www.epic.org/privacy/boyer/ Much praise should go to David Gottesman for litigating this case with expert skill! C POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:03:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Jim Harper on Why Amy Boyer Case Has Nothing to Do With http://www.politechbot.com/p-04474.html Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 18:07:13 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: Jim Harper on why Amy Boyer case has nothing to do with "privacy" Previous Politech message: http://www.politechbot.com/p-04472.html From: "Jim Harper - Privacilla.org" To: Cc: Subject: RE: New Hampshire Supreme Court rules in Amy Boyer privacy case Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 17:18:45 -0500 In-Reply-To: <5.1.1.6.0.20030218143330.02434210@mail.well.com> Declan: The Amy Boyer case has long been called a "privacy" case, but it's really about stalking and murder. Amy Boyer's killer obsessed about her for years. He knew where she lived and would park outside her house for hours on end. He acquired her SSN and work address only in the last days before he shot her and then committed suicide. In the aftermath, Boyer's family sought to pin blame for the murder a lot of places, including the ISP that hosted a Web site where Liam Youens had discussed his plans for murder. They finally settled on private investigators and search services. It's not easy to stop a deranged lunatic, which Liam Youens clearly was. I question whether imposing liability on Web hosting companies, private investigators, or anyone else would prevent future tragedies like this. But the New Hampshire Trial Lawyers weighed in. You can bet they favored liability for all. Only the tiniest nuggets of privacy remain in the case, and unfortunately the court appears to be wedging revelation of the Social Security Number into the "intrusion onto seclusion" branch of the privacy torts. Not a good fit. Privacilla issued a report on the Amy Boyer case in December, 2000: http://www.privacilla.org/releases/AmyBoyer.html Here is a discussion of the privacy torts from July of last year. The privacy torts provide baseline privacy protections nationwide: http://www.privacilla.org/releases/Torts_Report.html I've briefly articulated the issues decided by the court below. Though this case ain't really about privacy, Chris is right that state law is the best source for privacy protection. Jim Harper Editor Privacilla.org 1. Under the common law of New Hampshire and in light of the undisputed facts presented by this case, does a private investigator or information broker who sells information to a client pertaining to a third party have a cognizable legal duty to that third party with respect to the sale of the information? Answer: Yes As the court says, "[I]f a private investigator or information brokers ... disclosure of information to a client creates a foreseeable risk of criminal misconduct against the third person whose information was disclosed, the investigator owes a duty to exercise reasonable care not to subject the third person to an unreasonable risk of harm." The criminal misconduct here is stalking and identity fraud, not invasion of privacy. 2. If a private investigator or information broker obtains a person's social security number from a credit reporting agency as a part of a credit header without the person's knowledge or permission and sells the social security number to a client, does the individual whose social security number was sold have a cause of action for intrusion upon her seclusion against the private investigator or information broker for damages caused by the sale of the information? Answer: Yes Now the trial court must decide whether the disclosure was offensive enough. It sounds like a better case for the "disclosure of private facts" branch of the privacy torts. If it's not a good fit, the common law system has correction mechanisms that federal legislation does not. 3. When a private investigator or information broker obtains a person's work address by means of a pretextual telephone call and sells the work address to a client, does the individual whose work address was deceitfully obtained have a cause of action for intrusion upon her seclusion against the private investigator or information broker for damages caused by the sale of the information? Answer: No The court found that a work address is not private, so there can be no invasion of privacy if a work address is revealed. It probably should have sent the issue to the trial court to find that Amy Boyer's work address in particular was not private, because it's possible to keep a work address private (even if that's exceedingly rare). 4. If a private investigator or information broker obtains a social security number from a credit reporting agency as a part of a credit header, or a work address by means of a pretextual telephone call, and then sells the information, does the individual whose social security number or work address was sold have a cause of action for commercial appropriation against the private investigator or information broker for damages caused by the sale of the information? Answer: No The appropriation tort is on the furthest outskirts of the privacy torts. To have a cause of action, the defendant must have tried to capitalize on some attribute of the individual. It's not an appropriation of one's likeness or character just to transmit information about him or her, according to New Hampshire. 5. If a private investigator or information broker obtains a person's work address by means of a pretextual telephone call, and then sells the information, is the private investigator or information broker liable under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. 358-A to the person it deceived for damages caused by the sale of the information? Answer: Yes Pretext calling violates New Hampshire's general anti-fraud law. The fraud was perpetrated to get access to personal information, but this doesn't convert the fraud into a privacy violation. If you lie to someone to get information 'personal or not' that's fraud, not invasion of privacy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?qÞclan ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:53:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Proxim Tsunami MP.11 Product Family Based on 802.11b and Proxim's Wireless Outdoor Router Protocol Delivering 20-40% Faster Performance SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Proxim Corporation (Nasdaq: PROX), a leading provider of high-performance wireless local area networking (WLAN) and wireless wide area networking (WWAN) products, today announced the Tsunami MP.11, a new family of economical wireless outdoor point-to-multipoint solutions enabling campus connectivity, security and surveillance, and residential last-mile access. The Tsunami MP.11 product family includes two subscriber units - an Enterprise Subscriber Unit for businesses and a Residential Subscriber Unit for homes. The product family also includes the Tsunami MP.11 Base Station Unit, which can connect up to 100 Subscriber Units of either type. The Tsunami MP.11 base station, when paired with the Enterprise Subscriber Unit, offers a reliable 11 Mbps solution customized for businesses, campuses, schools, hospitals and other enterprises needing WAN connectivity. When paired with the Residential Subscriber Unit, it becomes the ideal residential last mile access system. The Tsunami MP.11 products are targeted to provide value- oriented connectivity for customers not requiring additional carrier-class features provided by Proxim's Tsunami MP and Tsunami MP Active Interference Rejection (A.I.R.) products. Tsunami MP.11 can be used in conjunction with Proxim's carrier-class Tsunami point-to-point and multipoint products that offer speeds up to 960 Mbps total capacity for large-scale deployments. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-18-2003/0001892817&EDATE= ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 15:45:50 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bill Would Ban Spam E-Mail in California Under proposal, people could sue for $500 per violation. Some doubt law would stem tide. By Nancy Vogel LA Times Staff Writer SACRAMENTO -- The unwanted, sometimes lurid advertisements unleashed on computer users -- e-mail spam -- would be banned under a new bill in the Legislature. The bill would make it a crime to send unsolicited commercial e-mails from California or to an e-mail address in the state. People who received such spam -- "Miniature Remote Control Car -- Great Gift!" or "Lose 32 Pounds by Easter" -- could sue for at least $500 per violation. "Spam isn't just annoying," said Sen. Debra Bowen (D-Marina del Rey), the bill's author. "It burns people's time and money by forcing them to wade through millions of messages that cost spammers virtually nothing to package and fire off." But office workers weary of drumming the computer delete button each morning should not assume that Bowen's bill will halt junk e-mail, experts say. That's because so much spam is sent from outside the country and includes false return addresses. Sometimes, experts say, spammers will hijack a company's mail-sending capability and use it to route their spam around the world. http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-spam18feb18001440,1,104460.story ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:04:35 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast Plans Service Rollout By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff, ANDOVER -- Three months after completing its $45 billion acquisition of AT&T Broadband, Comcast Corp. this week plans to start putting its own brand on the state's dominant cable provider and is beginning to roll out two service innovations: video on demand and delivery of high-definition television signals over cable. Comcast said that in May it will offer on-demand access for 800 to 1,000 hours of movies and cable shows to some digital cable customers in New England. It expects to make its ''On Demand'' service available to all of its 2.2 million regional customers next year. In addition to 24-hour movie rentals for $3 or $4, Comcast plans to make several hundred hours of shows available free for viewing any time as part of digital cable subscriptions. Starting today, subscribers who own high-definition TV sets will be able to get five channels of cinema-quality HDTV programming by paying an extra $2 a month for a special set-top box. The service will include about 50 to 100 hours of shows available each week from the HBO and Showtime cable channels and from Boston network affiliates including WCVB-TV (Channel 5) and WHDH-TV (Channel 7). Few people own a high-definition TV set, which displays a wider and far crisper image than a traditional set. In making high-definition signals available now, Comcast is looking to projections that as many as one-fifth of US homes will have HDTV sets by 2006. However, Comcast may have no more than 100,000 HDTV-capable set-top boxes in service by the end of this year nationally. ''This is all about the future,'' said Kevin Casey, Comcast senior vice president for New England. The new programming features are some of the first tangible impacts of the conversion of AT&T Broadband to Comcast, which for many Greater Boston and southern New Hampshire cable customers will be their third or fourth cable provider in barely six years. Comcast also plans over the next six weeks to replace the AT&T Broadband name with Comcast on customer bills, 2,500 trucks, 6,000 employee uniforms, and 365 offices. The company will also launch a wave of television advertisements featuring champion bicyclist Lance Armstrong. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/049/business/Comcast_plans_service_rollout+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 01:33:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Hacker Gains Access to 5.6 million Visa, MasterCard Numbers By Eileen Alt Powell, Associated Press, 2/18/2003 12:24 NEW YORK (AP) A computer hacker gained access to more than 5.6 million Visa and MasterCard account numbers by breaching the security of a company that processes transactions for merchants, the card associations said Tuesday. Visa USA spokesman Mike Riley said that there has been no report of fraudulent activity involving the accounts and that Visa was monitoring the situation. He said he could not identify the third-party processor or say exactly when or how the hacker got access to the account information, which involves some 3.4 million Visa accounts and 2.2 million MasterCard accounts. A source with knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the incident occurred in early February. Processors handle transactions for merchants, bundling and transmitting charges to the banks that issue the cards. http://www.boston.com/dailynews/049/economy/Hacker_gains_access_to_5_6_mil:.shtml ------------------------------ From: tonypo1@cox.net Subject: Re: WorldCom Discontinues MCI Mail Organization: The Ace Tomatoe and Cement Company Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:42:26 GMT In article , TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to joe@obilivan.net: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Not only did I have a 'Telex gateway' > provided through MCI Mail, for a few years I also had a 'Fido gateway' > provided by someone whose name I cannot remember. Does anyone still > use Fido anymore? That name always reminded me of a dog. Heck, does > anyone still use Telex anymore? Telex 'phone directories' used to be > big, giant books like a New York City phone directory. PAT] Law enforcement used to be a user of Telex services but now uses message switching software such as IBM's MQ, or DataMaxx. All IP based now. Tony ------------------------------ From: Mark Atwood Subject: Re: WorldCom Discontinues MCI Mail Date: 18 Feb 2003 13:22:47 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Linc Madison writes: > You also got a Telex number that translated into your MCI Mail inbox. > There was a time that was a big selling point as well. That was a VERY big selling point for one of my employers back in the late 80s. We had to maintain contact via Telex with several non-US sites, where telephone service was very expensive, which made both voice and fax contact too expensive. We had had a "telex machine", with an integrated CRT and keyboard, and paid a monthly fee. The MCI Mail service fee was exactly the same, I think we were able keep the same telex number, AND we could get rid of the telex machine and use a PC with a modem instead. Mark Atwood | Well done is better than well said. mra@pobox.com | http://www.pobox.com/~mra ------------------------------ From: David Redemer Subject: Fax Filtering on DID's Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:35:53 GMT Anyone know of a product or a way to filter junk faxes on a DID trunk. I've found products that allow for this on regular CO trunks. But these devices wont work on DID trunks, because they function with a wink start (polarity reversal) and not the regular line voltage. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Dave ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 14:30:23 -0700 Subject: Fido Bytes Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 15:04:23 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Not only did I have a 'Telex gateway' > provided through MCI Mail, for a few years I also had a 'Fido gateway' > provided by someone whose name I cannot remember. Does anyone still > use Fido anymore? That name always reminded me of a dog. The ascii-text logo for the Fido BBS system was a dog holding a floppy disk in his mouth. A more-modern version can be seen at: http://www.fidonet.org -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #301 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Feb 19 02:58:07 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1J7w6313116; Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:58:07 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:58:07 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302190758.h1J7w6313116@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 V22 #302 TELECOM Digest Wed, 19 Feb 2003 02:58:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 302 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Weapons of Mass Obstruction (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Advice Needed - Cell Service in Beijing, China (Harold Kost) Re: The A-B-C-D Fourth Column DTMF (Jack Hamilton) Re: The Perils of E-Mail (Ron Bean) Re: The Perils of E-Mail (Barry Margolin) Re: Netizenry (Barry Margolin) Copyleft (Joey Lindstrom) Let's Flap Those Wings, Right and Left (Joey Lindstrom) Last Laugh! Flies Have Wings Too (Joey Lindstrom) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 14:18:24 -0700 Subject: Weapons of Mass Obstruction Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 23:26:03 -0500 (EST), editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for an excellent rebuttal to the > original item from Ronda. I have one problem though with your statement > about the 'Pig of Baghdad'. You say he is not going to voluntarily > remove or give up the weapons ***he has***. You will have to pardon me > for being somewhat incredulous, but thus far, an army of UN inspectors > and all the sabre-rattling and warnings and threats from Dubya have > yet to produce a single weapon. You are correct in that they haven't found weapons. But that's not really what they're looking for, and more to the point, that's not what Resolution 1441 was all about. It is up to Saddam to *PROVE* that he has destroyed both the weapons we already knew he had (much of which he has ALREADY ADMITTED TO - a point many people such as yourself seem to miss), as well as all capability for making more. HE HAS UTTERLY FAILED TO DO THIS. Documents and people have disappeared: when the inspectors ask for them, all they get is a blank stare and a shrug. Colin Powell's presentation to the UN showed quite clearly that the Iraqis are moving this stuff around, and covering their tracks quite readily. Sometimes inspectors are arriving at weapons' facilities just hours after they've been cleaned out. This is irrefutable. But again, the onus is not on the inspectors, the UN, or the US to prove that Saddam *HAS* the weapons - he's already admitted it. The onus is on Saddam to prove they've been destroyed, and he's steadfastly refused to do that. Ergo, HE STILL HAS THEM and is in clear violation of Resolution 1441. France and Germany say more time is needed - I say hogwash. These two countries are hardly the best examples of leadership when it comes to this type of thing. > On the other hand, we know, for a fact, > that North Korea has plenty of nuclear weapons, ready and willing to be > used. But there is no oil in that cold, dismal country. There is not > much of anything there we want or need, except maybe in my own mind, I > am really getting sick of seeing every piece of electronic gear in > the USA saying 'made in Korea' stamped or stickered on it somewhere. That'd be "South Korea", not "North Korea". > Seriously, when is the last time you bought some electronics which > said 'made in USA'? Korea, Korea, Korea, everything. Look in Walmart, > look in K-Mart (what's left of them; we are losing ours next month); > look in Radio Shack. Korea, Korea, Korea. But they don't have oil > there which Mr. Insane has a lot of, and which Mr. Rockefeller and his > good buddy Dubya need. Pardon me if I'm misinterpreting you, but you're starting to sound as racist as you make Dubya out to be (in your next quote). As the person to whom you're responding pointed out, we do *NOT* need to go to war to get Iraqi oil. More to the point, everybody (especially the USA) benefits when oil is priced moderately high. "Taking" Iraq's oil from them would drive the price down and put a lot of Americans out of work. Your argument sounds great from an emotional point of view, as do most liberal arguments. It doesn't withstand the reason test, though. It's much like the "we must punish the rich by taxing them more" argument. Sounds great, but when implemented plunges the entire economy into the toilet (see: The Carter Presidency). > But you say, its not about oil; its about 'breaking contracts' and > being a Hitler in disguise. The contract he broke was a promise to disarm. This isn't about him screwing Uncle Sugar on a business deal. As for the Hitler thing, I hardly think he's disguising himself, do you? > Its not about a Moslem country which is > essentially despised by the 'Christians' in a 'Christian nation', > especially since 'those people' are forever giving a lot of sass to > 'our president' and 'our way of life', referring to us as Satan, > because of our life styles, etc. But you said its not about oil, its > about Mr. Insane not giving up his weapons and breaking all the 'contracts' > he made with people and the UN. Well, gee, whiz, the essence of any > 'contract' is paying the bills you owe, and when is the last time > Uncle Sam ever paid any dues to the UN? Years ago, probably before > Mr. Insane started breaking his word on things. And here we go. "OK, Saddam's a bad guy, but we're bad guys too!" Stop apologizing for this guy, Pat. Take a good hard look at what he has done to his own people, to the Kurds in the north, to other Muslims in the south. Take a look at conditions in Iraqi jails TODAY. You have spoken eloquently about the poor state of the justice system in the USA and particularly in Illinois. It's freakin' PARADISE by comparison. This isn't Christians versus Muslims, although Saddam is trying very hard to make it appear that way, to get other Muslim nations on his side (most would much rather he go away). The USA has spent the last 12 years DEFENDING Muslims and Kurds, by enforcing the no fly zones, from this monster. It has nothing to do with oil, it has nothing to do with how brown these people are, and it has everything to do with one madman and his regime, and what that madman *WILL* *EVENTUALLY* *DO* with weapons of mass destruction ... if we do not first do unto him what he would do unto us. > We agree on one very important point: the *very brave* guys who are > over there waiting to get blown to hell in pieces. They have no choice > at all in their assignments, except maybe to resign totally from the > military, and in the Vietnam era that was taken care of by a draft. I > never want to see or hear anyone *ever* pick on those guys; they are > are my (at least) heros, in these scary times we live in. But can't > you just see it all starting to take shape all over again; another > Vietnam? PAT] I'm with Heinlein on that one. The draft is just plain wrong. If you cannot convince your strong, brave men to stand up for their country and fight for it, then your country is not worth saving. At least you HAVE a military, though. We Canadians have a proud military tradition that's been pissed away by a succession of (Liberal Party of Canada) governments, to the point where we showed up in Afghanistan wearing green "camoflage". They had to spray-paint their camo gear, and they also had to hitch a ride over there! But at least we've got more than enough people ready to sign up with the Canadian Forces... we just have a government that refuses to fund our military properly, mainly because it's made up of folks who seem to believe, much like yourself, that appeasement and diplomacy and peace-making are the be-all, end-all, and that war must be avoided at all costs. Well, sometimes that cost is too high, and if we don't take care of this thing, September 11th is gonna seem like a bike ride. On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 15:04:23 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Left Wing Propoganda Crap: So what you are > saying is that you, as a netizen, DO favor the idea of a war? Yes. Not war for war's sake, but a small war now to avoid a large war later. > I take > it you are offended because she failed to take into consideration that > as a netizen you want to see a war ... good point; I will try to > remember that. No, I objected to her having the gall to pretend to speak for *ALL* netizens, which is what she claimed. She does NOT speak for me, and in fact from what I read, I abhor everything she stands for. > Speaking now in the context of a family-oriented digest on the net, > I guess you want to see Dubya go cut off Mr. Insane's 'thing' before > he gets a chance to sodomize us with it (or stick it to us as some > would say in the vernacular). That's not a half-bad idea -- it would finish him as a leader. But, see, now you're trying to speak for me too. :-) As you've seen, when I have something to say, I come right out and say it. > Mr. Sodomy Insane needs to be > troubled each day with a few more telemarketer phone calls. Go look at > Mike Sandman's home page ( http://sandman.com ) for a cute cartoon > about ways to end the 'war on terrorism' by letting telemarketers go > to work on Sodomy. Its a very cute cartoon. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The thread is closed, thanks to all who participated in it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Harold Kost Subject: Re: Advice Needed - Cell Service in Beijing, China Organization: Amateur Radio Station K1HK Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:36:48 GMT On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 22:41:33 -0800, Joseph wrote: > On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 11:51:42 -0700, usenetspamtrap+cdt@newsguy.com> > wrote: >> I'm contemplating taking a new assignment in my company that will >> result in my living in Beijing, China for three weeks out of every >> month. >> I am currently clueless as to what sort of service is available in >> Beijing (GSM, Analog, etc.). I would *like* to have one cell phone >> that worked both in the U.S. (Colorado) as well as in China (e.g., AT&T >> with a smart chip or whatever they call it, or perhaps some GSM >> multi-mode phone?). However, having two service providers (one in US, >> one in China, with two numbers) would be OK. > Assuming you are in a major Colorado location such as Denver, Colorado > Springs, etc. the choice you should make is to go with T-Mobile. > T-Mobile to my knowledge has very decent service in the metro areas. > That said they have very sketchy to no service in remote areas. The > service will however work in Beijing provided you have compatible > equipment. The US GSM is at 1900 Mhz while GSM in China will be at > 900 and/or 1800 Mhz. You will need a "triband" phone that is capable > of both North American and Asian frequencies. If you get an unlocked > GSM handset you will also be able to use a local prepaid SIM card and > it's possible that combined with a service such as Kall8 > you can forward your US number to your local > Chinese SIM card. > Another much more expensive alternative is to keep your Verizon > service. Verizon has an "international" service where they will > provide you with a SIM card that will basically have all your phone > details from your domestic Verizon account and people will be able to > call your Verizon number. > See: http://internationaltraveler.verizonwireless.com/ You will > however need to get a compatible GSM handset either rented (not a very > good deal for more than a few days) or you can buy a handset from any > number of sources. Any way you go you'll have to get a GSM handset. > If you go the route of GSM service with T-Mobile or AT&T you won't > have to get a phone which will be unusable for you after your trip. >> I currently have Verizon. I assume that, unless I keep two cell >> services, I will have to drop Verizon. >> Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide. >> Reply by posting or by email. > Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group This web site has rental information with cheap airtime rates. I have never used them and do not know anyone who has. I just ran across it. http://www.besteast.com/rental.jsp Harold Kost ------------------------------ From: Jack Hamilton Subject: Re: The A-B-C-D Fourth Column DTMF Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 21:39:49 -0800 Organization: Copyright (c) 2003 by Jack Hamilton. Reply-To: jfh@acm.org Mark J Cuccia wrote: > It's true that the fourth column of Touchtones (DTMF), 'A', 'B', 'C', > 'D', with 1633 Hz as the 'upper' frequency of the DTMF freq.pair, > never "caught on" for even "control" functions of the general public's > switched telephone network. Amateur radio handhelds (often called handie-talkies or HT's) sometimes have the A, B, C, and D buttons (for a not terribly clear example, see . They can be used to control amateur radio repeaters. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 00:40:03 -0600 From: Ron Bean Subject: Re: The Perils of E-Mail >http://www.fortune.com/fortune/technology/articles/0,15114,418678,00.html This is an interesting article. Among other things, it says: == How do you "train" people, when the basic message is "Don't do anything stupid"? == Is the real message "I don't care what you do, as long as you don't write it down"? == In employment cases, email evidence helps the employer as often as it helps the employee. == (OBtelecom): When the telephone first came along, businessmen were reluctant to conduct business in a way that *didn't* leave a paper trail. ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: The Perils of E-Mail Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 20:14:07 GMT In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > Sure, 2002 was the Year of Corporate Scandal. But really it wouldn't > be fair to give all the credit to grasping, conniving executives and > malevolent, sneaky bookkeepers. No, as those corporate honchos offer > their plea bargains, they'll all be able to name an accomplice: > e-mail. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? If they weren't doing anything wrong, there wouldn't have been anything incriminating in the email. Instead of sending employees to email training sessions, they should be sending executives to ethical training sessions. We've all heard the admonition about not putting anything in email that you wouldn't want published in the paper. That's fine advice for private, personal information that might be embarassing. It's also a good idea for trade secrets that you don't want to escape to your competitors. But in the case of corporate malfeasance and other criminal behaviors, we should be more concerned with stopping the behavior in the first place, not hiding the evidence. Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Netizenry Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 20:20:05 GMT In article , Joey Lindstrom wrote: > I guess despite how long I've been online, I must not be a netizen. > After all, Ronda has decreed that netizens don't want war in Iraq. She > couldn't say it if it weren't true. > What sheer arrogance. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Left Wing Propoganda Crap: So what you are > saying is that you, as a netizen, DO favor the idea of a war? No, the point is that there's no link between being a netizen and whether you are for or against the war. Ronda claims to be speaking for all netizens when she's actually voicing her personal opinion. Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am sorry I printed the damn article to start with!! As stated elsewhere this issue, the thread is closed as of today, 2:45 AM Eastern. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 11:00:13 -0700 Subject: Copyleft Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Sun, 16 Feb 2003 17:20:30 -0500 (EST), Shalom Septimus wrote: > (Unfortunately, they reproduced it at 78rpm, whereas the original > Columbia "78s" were actually recorded at 80rpm, so it sounds a bit > "draggy". I have an MP3 of this reproduced at the correct speed if you > (Pat) want it; and before someone gets on my case about copyright > violation, I also own a copy of the original 80rpm disc.) There's not likely to be any copyright to violate. Something that old, even if copyrighted originally, the copyright's likely expired. More importantly, there was no such thing as a copyright in a sound recording back then (but you could copyright, say, the script for a radio drama and/or the sheet music for the music performed in the broadcast). -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 11:11:50 -0700 Subject: Let's Flap Those Wings, Right and Left Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Sun, 16 Feb 2003 17:20:30 -0500 (EST), editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > Let's face it, if people in this country wanted mostly > accurate, truthful and honest reporting, instead of 'right wing radical' > reporting or 'left wing crap' then the Christian Science Monitor would > have a very large readership. I'll actually form *my opinion* on the > anti-war march/demonstration/standstill on Lexington Avenue when my > copy of the Monitor for Monday arrives in the Tuesday mail. Would it be helpful at this juncture to point out that Rush Limbaugh is the most-popular (as measured by audience numbers) radio host in the entire history of radio in the USA? A lot of HIS listeners are going to do what he jokingly tells them to do: not think about it, not form any opinion about it, until they tune into his show and he tells them what to think about it. :-) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No it would not be helpful! The thread is closed as of today. Thanks to all who participated in it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2003 11:27:04 -0700 Subject: Last Laugh! Flies Have Wings Too Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Mon, 17 Feb 2003 21:07:44 -0500 (EST), editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Left-Wing Crap: Since all True Wisdom and > Knowledge is detirmined by majority rule, I guess we can't go wrong > with your decision. But you know what they say about a million flys > don't you. Well, a million flys can't be wrong either, and they all > eat sh--. Have you tried it lately? By the way, I avoid all TV news > like a plague. Most of my news comes from the Christian Science > Monitor, the Independence Reporter and the computer. PAT] There's these two flies, and they're standing on a log of sh--. One lets out a loud, nasty fart. The other say, "hey, knock it off! I'm eatin' here!" :-) (Due credit: I stole that from Drew Carey) Yes, the majority can make stupid decision. SOMEBODY bought all those Michael Bolton albums, and SOMEBODY keeps buying all those J.Lo, Eminem, and Celine Dion records (on behalf of all Canadians, apologize for the latter). But don't you see? Many people, particularly those in the "silent majority" noted above, really, really, REALLY resent it when somebody that they view as some ivory-towered know-it-all brainiac comes along and tells them that THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOOD FOR THEM. You can't win people over by saying stuff like that, Pat. You can advise me what's good for me, but the surest way to make me your enemy is to tell me that I don't know what's good for me and that only you do. Doesn't matter if you're right or wrong, the approach is really, really bad. And let me add one obTelecom note which has a direct bearing on this. The American people, more than any time in history, have much more access to news, not just what the networks and CNN shovel out. (These days, I watch CNN for expert coverage of hard news events like the Columbia disaster, but turn it off most of the rest of the time) You mentioned several sources yourself. The Drudge Report makes a good living out of hunting down under-reported stories and highlighting them. Etc. Americans have access to many viewpoints. Those sites get a lot of traffic, so Americans are availing themselves of that access. And after reading all of these various views... guess what? They still feel war with Iraq is justified. Maybe ... just maybe ... this ONE time ... the majority is right? Maybe you and the anti-war pro-Hussein crowd just MIGHT be wrong? Has this possibility crossed your mind? See, I think what conservatives really resent about liberals, rightly or wrongly, is the perception that while conservatives need to keep an open mind and be prepared to change their minds if a really persuasive argument is made, liberals on the other hand are closed-minded and can't be swayed from their views, no matter how powerful the argument. That's the perception -- your mileage may vary. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For Gawds sake, the thread is closed. You've made your point already! The Drew Carey joke about the two flies was sorta funny however and I thought it was good for the closing of this issue **and this thread**. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, 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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Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #302 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Feb 19 23:28:43 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1K4SgB18004; Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:28:43 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:28:43 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302200428.h1K4SgB18004@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 V22 #303 TELECOM Digest Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:29:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 303 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Microwave Towers (Mark J Cuccia) Hang up and Drive (Monty Solomon) RCN to Hike Rates April 1 (Monty Solomon) 'Joe Millionaire' Is Fox's Biggest Hit (Monty Solomon) Spam Blocker Charges For E-mail (Monty Solomon) Powell Seen Dissenting From FCC Local-Phone Rules (Monty Solomon) Intel's Digital Home Vision Moves Closer to Reality (Monty Solomon) EchoStar Reaches Agreement with Gray Television, Cordillera (Monty Solomon) Qwest Communications Reports Fourth Quarter and Year 2002 (Monty Solomon) Microsoft Going After Hotmail Spammers (Monty Solomon) Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Phil Earnhardt) How Can I Detect Caller ID Using V.90 Modem (Sanjoy Sinharoy) MCI Mail Musings (+1 3 0 3 5 4 3 2 3 1 1) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 09:15:47 CST From: Mark J Cuccia Subject: Microwave Towers In New Orleans, there has been a Bell System microwave tower since the early 1960's if not earlier from sometime in the 1950's. It has been located outside of the "Broadmoor" central office building, 3951 Erato Steet, near South Broad Street. The tower is of "typical" steel girder structure, similar to oil derrick or some styles of towers which carry high voltage electric transmission lines. A tower which has a broad square base, and tapers down (sort of like a pyramid or obelisk) as it rises skyward. The New Orleans Bell System microwave tower is painted in alternating horizontal bands of red and white. It can be seen from a distance away because of its height, especially if on elevated sections of I-10, or overpasses, or high bridges (the "High Rise" bridge, the GNO bridge, the Huey P. Long Bridge, etc). I see it from the bridges or interstate on my way to work every morning, but more or less take it for "granted", not always paying "close" attention to it. Sometimes, the route I take to work is along Broad Street, and I pass right alongside the tower and "Broadmoor" central office building. I took that route to work this morning, and thought to "look up" as the bus passed alongside that city block. (I regularly go home on that bus route, but it's already dark and I never really look closely at the top of the tower). Today, I noticed that *ALL* antennae on the tower are *GONE*!!! (I'd passed in the vicinity only last month and remember seeing all of the antennae.) The four microwave horns at the peak of the tower are gone - there were two pointing southwestward and two pointing northeastward. There was also another micorwave horn midway up the tower, pointing northwestward, and it too is gone. In more recent years, there was a microwave "mesh" parabolic dish antennae also mounted part of the way up the tower, and that too has been removed. Also, there were miscellaneous standard looking VHF or UHF 'stick' antennae, as well as cellular service antennae mounted on that tower. From what I could determine by looking closely this morning, *ALL* antennae have been removed! I wonder how long it will be before the tower is dismantled and carted away. I don't know who actually "owned" the tower and most of the antennae ... AT&T Long Lines? Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph? And with divestiture, who actually owned it? AT&T? BellSouth? I guess it depended on who had the most "circuits" from antennae on the tower. Today, there is mostly fibre-optic cable, so I guess that microwave for both AT&T and the local BOC has become obsolete. I've heard that AT&T and/or the incumbent BOCs/LECs have been selling these old towers to private "holding" or "real estate" type companies, and then cellular entities (and *various* competing communications entites as well) would lease space on the tower for their various antennae. But I've also read that many of these towers are being completely de-commissioned, dismantled and removed. Some think that such towers are "eyesores". However, they are an important part of telecom history, as they provided the means in the postwar decades of the 1940's thru 70's for improved Long Distance telephone service (which was becoming more popular and used), Network Television service (there was also co-ax but microwave could be easier to install), and other private line communication services. Beginning in the 1970's (and earlier) and then used much more so in the 1980's, communications satellites were more used for "one-way point-to-multipoint" distribution, such as network television and network radio, national cable-TV distribution and such, thus there was less use of microwave. And then fiber-optic came into more common use for both by both the local telco as well as the LD carriers. But with cellular service, these towers seemed to become popular again, to mount cellular antennae. However, I guess with even more-so ever increasing popularity of cellular/wireless, more widespread lower towers are more suited for such antennae. I still think of that old microwave tower as a "landmark". I hope that it isn't to be dismantled and removed, but from what I saw this morning, I'm afraid that its fate is sealed! :( BTW, the "Broadmoor" Central Office building opened up in 1962/63, with a WECo #5XB central office switch that also served (new) Dial-TWX for the New Orleans area. The telephone prefix block served is 504-82x. This is in an older part of the city, but the central office and prefix block was brand new in the early 1960's. It was "carved" out of all switching office areas adjacent to it (all of the adjacent ones were SXS at the time). "Broadmoor" also housed a WECo XBTandem switch (with CAMA) for originating DDD service from all Step-by-Step offices in the Metro New Orleans / southeast Louisiana area. (The #5XB offices and later ESS offices had their own Local AMA and could produce their own billing tapes, thus they could route calls thru the "Main" 4A XB toll office instead of having to route to the "Broadmoore" XBTandem/CAMA). NWORLABMMG0 = Broadmoor #5XB (1962-87) NWORLABM01T = Broadmoor XBT (1962-81) In 1981, AT&T/SCBell replaced the Broadmoor XBTandem and the "Main" 4AXB (NWORLAMA01T) with a new 4ESS at "Main" which still is in use today (NWORLAMA04T, 504-2T, 060-T). In Aug/Sept 1987, BellSouth (South Central Bell) replaced the last two #5XB local offices in the immediate New Orleans area with new *DIGITAL* ESS offices! Broadmoor was changed to a brand new *DIGITAL* AT&T/WECo #5ESS office (NWORLABMDS0). The other office, Michoud (NWORLAMUMG0) 5XB was replaced with a brand new *DIGITAL* Northern Telecom DMS-100 office (NWORLAMUDS0). The "Michoud" office was also the Centrex for the NASA plant in that part of New Orleans East during the 1960s/70s/80s, and it too had a microwave tower outside the building. I haven't passed by the building lately to see if the tower/antennae are still in place. Mark J. Cuccia New Orleans LA ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 20:35:35 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Hang up and Drive SOUND MIND By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff, 2/18/2003 You know it's dangerous, but you do it anyway. The phone rings as you're tooling down the expressway, or you squeeze in a quick dial while stopped at a light and then start to chat as you drive on. No problem. You're still aware of the road, still a top-flight driver. The problem is, you're not. And the limits of your brain are the reason why. The trouble is not so much that your hand is occupied holding the phone: Even if you put down the receiver but keep talking on a hands-free model, you're still a menace on the road, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Utah. Your brain is over-occupied. Neuroscientists like to exult that the brain is the most complicated thing on the planet, and that its connections outnumber stars in the universe or grains of sand on the beach. But, when it comes to attention, it is what brain researchers call a ''limited-capacity information processing system.'' That is, attention is a finite thing, and you can only multitask so far. In fact, the Utah researchers found that part of the impairment of using a cellphone while driving is that you are not aware of your own impairment. The basic problem, said David Strayer, an associate professor of psychology at Utah, is called ''inattentional blindness.'' http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/049/science/Hang_up_and_drive+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 21:30:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: RCN to Hike Rates April 1 By Diane E. Lewis, Globe Staff, 2/19/2003 RCN Corp. yesterday increased the price of basic cable TV, telephone, and Internet service by 13 percent and raised the average price of bundled packages of telephone, cable TV, and high-speed Internet access by approximately 8 percent, effective April 1. The increases will affect consumers in 15 Massachusetts cities and towns, including Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Newton, and Watertown. In Boston and Arlington, customers will see their monthly bills increase by $5 to $37.95. Consumers in 12 communities will pay $40.95 for the service, $5 more than last year. Somerville residents will pay $34.45, or $4 more per month. The price of basic phone service will increase about 5 percent to $9.88 per month, up 47 cents. Meanwhile, digital customers who carry RCN's ResiLink Gold package will pay $145 per month, a $12 increase. ResiLink Gold, the company's most popular product, includes digital cable services, one phone line with unlimited local and regional calling, several phone features, and unlimited high-speed MegaModem Net service. Analog customers will pay $141 per month, or $16 more. In raising prices, RCN followed the lead of Comcast, a top competitor. Comcast announced last fall that standard cable TV customers would see a price increase of approximately $2.93 per month, beginning Jan. 1. In Chelmsford, standard cable rates rose to $42.25 per month, up from $39.21. Expanded service increased to $33.32, from $30.27. However, basic rates remained at $8.05 for senior citizens and $8.94 for all others. Like Comcast, New Jersey-based RCN blamed the price hikes on higher operating costs. RCN said programming costs were especially high. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/050/business/RCN_to_hike_rates_April_1+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 21:46:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 'Joe Millionaire' Is Fox's Biggest Hit By BILL CARTER Despite a protracted and somewhat anticlimatic ending, Monday night's final episode of the reality show "Joe Millionaire" became the most watched entertainment show of the television season, with more than 40 million viewers. The episode, with ratings exceeded only by this year's Super Bowl, was also the most watched entertainment show in the 17-year history of the Fox network. Consisting of a one-hour reunion of the show's rejected contestants, watched by 29 million, followed by Joe's selection (the episode drawing more than 40 million), Fox's entire two-hour "Joe Millionaire" night reached about 35 million viewers. They saw Joe Millionaire, whose real name is Evan Marriott, select Zora Andrich as the winner among the 25 women competing for his favor. They also saw him reveal to her and the runner-up, Sarah Kozer, that he was not really heir to a $50 million fortune but a lowly construction worker who made $19,000 last year. Ms. Andrich did not appear dismayed by the news, and said later that she wanted to continue the relationship. The show's much promoted twist was that Mr. Marriott and Ms. Andrich were given a $1 million check to split as a surprise prize. Ms. Kozer received no televised reward. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/19/arts/television/19MILL.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 22:21:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Spam Blocker Charges For E-mail By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com February 19, 2003, 1:34 PM PT An Australian entrepreneur has created what may be the first antispam service that lets its users charge for the privilege of sending them e-mail. The concept has been discussed in technology circles for the better part of a decade, but Sydney resident Bernard Palmer, 59, has decided to try to turn the concept into a business. "Spammers aren't going to be sending many spams to you if you charge them 50 cents," Palmer said. "A spam would cost them $2 million." Palmer's service, which he plans to announce on Thursday, is called CashRamSpam.com. After people pay $36 with a credit card to sign up for a CashRamSpam account, users may set their contact fee to be anywhere from a few pennies to as high as they think anyone would be willing to pay. Some antispam services try to use text or numerals embedded in graphic images to discern whether the sender is a human, while others rely on "whitelists" of approved correspondents, pattern-matching to flag suspect messages, or verification procedures. The process can be problematic: On Tuesday, a coalition began compiling reports of legitimate e-mail accidentally snared by spam traps. At least in its current form, CashRamSpam is more of a "proof of concept" than it is a robust antispam solution. Anyone who wishes to contact a CashRamSpam customer must purchase an account themselves first, there is no provision to permit friends or colleagues, and the system does not permit legitimate mailing lists to which users voluntarily subscribe to bypass the payment process. CashRamSpam keeps 10 percent of a user's contact fee as its payment. When someone tries to contact a CashRamSpam customer, a message is automatically returned saying: "We regret your message cannot be delivered using ordinary e-mail because the receiver has a CashRamSpam account ... If you want to succeed in reaching this receiver please register at www.cashramspam.com and resend the message from there." Brad Templeton, who wrote an influential essay around 1995 about charging for e-mail, says those shortcomings could doom the concept. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985175.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 17:55:15 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Powell Seen Dissenting From FCC Local-Phone Rules By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is likely to keep many of its rules for local telephone competition on Thursday over the objections of agency chairman Michael Powell, several sources said on Wednesday. Powell has been unable to convince a majority of his fellow commissioners that the industry needs to be deregulated quickly, industry and government sources said, and will likely issue a rare dissenting opinion when the FCC announces its revised rules on Thursday. The expected ruling is a setback for incumbent local-phone giants like Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), which have opposed rules that allow rivals like AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T) to lease their phone lines and other equipment at deep discounts. But sources say the biggest loser is Powell, who was unable to reach a compromise with fellow Republican commissioner Kevin Martin even after postponing the decision by a week, and now must publicly disagree with his own agency. An FCC chairman has not dissented from a high-profile FCC ruling for roughly 15 years. Powell has been so enamored with his deregulation theory that he neglected to line up support, one industry source said, while Martin "has been very shrewd thus far in his political maneuvering." - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31696280 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 17:53:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intel's Digital Home Vision Moves Closer to Reality Industry Enabling Building Blocks - Feb 19, 2003 12:15 PM (BusinessWire) SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2003-- Engineering Platforms and UPnP* Tools Aid Delivery of Digital Media Throughout the Home Intel Corporation announced new industry building blocks that bring the vision of the Digital Home closer to reality. Available immediately are Digital Home reference and concept platforms, and ten powerful UPnP* tools that underscore Intel's support of the Digital Home vision. ... The "Statesboro" reference platform will assist OEMs and motherboard makers to develop new PC systems this year that broadcast digital photos and music to TVs and stereos throughout the consumer's home. Statesboro is an implementation tool designed for developers that showcases the 2003 Digital Home vision. The reference platform is a complete, validated system solution featuring key technologies in support of the Digital Home usage models, as described in the Desktop Platform Vision Guide for 2003. These technologies include: Intel(R) 3.06GHz Pentium(R) 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology(1), "Springdale" chipset, Dualband 802.11 Wireless NIC, Serial ATA Hard Disk Drive, Dual Channel DDR Memory, and a DVD/CD-RW Optical Disk Drive. The new concept platform, codenamed "Powersville", showcases additional levels of Digital Home experiences, such as wireless streaming video and personal video recording, which consumers can expect as included PC features in the 2004 time frame. Powersville is designed to provide an early demonstration of experiences and technologies in order to highlight innovation opportunities for the PC industry. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31691240 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 11:24:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EchoStar Reaches Agreement with Gray Television, Cordillera EchoStar Reaches Agreement with Gray Television, Cordillera Communications for Satellite TV Carriage of Local TV Stations - Feb 19, 2003 09:16 AM (BusinessWire) DISH Network Now Offers All Major Local Channels in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Tucson, Ariz.; Lexington, Ky. EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) and its DISH Network announced today agreements with Gray Television, Inc., and Cordillera Communications, Inc., for carriage of their local TV stations via satellite in Colorado Springs, Colo.; Tucson, Ariz.; Lexington, Ky., and Omaha, Neb. As a result of these agreements, DISH Network will provide carriage of CBS-WKTY in Lexington and CBS-KKTV in Colorado Springs, both owned by Gray Television of Atlanta, Ga. Also as part of these agreements, DISH Network will provide on Feb. 20 Gray Television's NBC-WOWT to customers in Omaha, Neb. DISH Network also reached an agreement with Cordillera Communications of Plano, Texas, to provide its TV stations NBC- KVOA in Tucson, NBC- KOAA in Colorado Springs and NBC- WLEX in Lexington. With these agreements, DISH Network will offer all major local channels in Colorado Springs, Tucson and Lexington beginning Feb. 20. DISH Network previously launched local channels in these markets without all four major networks. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31686248 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 08:12:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Qwest Communications Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2002 Unaudited Results Fourth Quarter Highlights * Fourth Quarter Diluted EPS of $1.61 Compared to a $0.39 Loss per Share in Fourth Quarter 2001 * Working Capital Improved by $5.1 Billion for the Year * First Phase of QwestDex Sale Completed for $2.75 Billion * FCC Approved Long-Distance Services in Nine States; FCC Filings Pending for Three Additional States * Retail Consumer Access Line Losses Improve for Second Consecutive Quarter http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31681750 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 22:59:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Going After Hotmail Spammers By Paul Festa Staff Writer, CNET News.com February 18, 2003, 5:00 PM PT Microsoft is turning up the heat on spam, filing a lawsuit to go after people it suspects of having harvested e-mail addresses from its Hotmail servers to spam subscribers. Microsoft on Thursday filed a so-called John Doe suit in the federal court for the northern district of California in San Jose. The suit doesn't name defendants, but allows the plaintiff the power to issue subpoenas as part of the investigative phase of the trial. The defendants are accused of using a "dictionary attack" to discover active Hotmail accounts. A dictionary attack is one in which a computer program goes through every entry in a dictionary in an attempt to guess passwords. In this case, the program guessed millions of random e-mail addresses to see which ones were active, Microsoft alleged. Microsoft filed the suit the same week it called on legislators to pass laws forbidding the practice of spam-address harvesting. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985018.html ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 05:01:23 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 16:59:38 -0500, Monty Solomon wrote: > Case in point: One of the Celtics' sponsors is Pfizer Inc., the maker > of the drug Viagra. As any E-mail administrator knows, Viagra is a > favorite topic among spammers, and so it's become a popular term to > filter. But if Wessel blocks all messages containing the word Viagra, > the Celtics might miss important communications from a key sponsor. If Pfizer had an aggressive program for dealing with the venders who were [ab]using e-mail to sell Viagra, then there would be far less likelihood that an e-mail containing that word to be flagged as SPAM. Just like protecting their trademarks from abuse, companies have a duty to protect themselves from resellers using such "scorched earth" marketing techniques to promote their product. SPAM used to promote dubious products is bad, but SPAM used to promote legitimate products is equally distateful. It leads consumers to think that the manufacturers of those products are sanctioning the use of SPAM to promote their sale. It creates distrust of the particular manufacturer. SPAM is just plain bad for business. phil ------------------------------ From: Sanjoy Sinharoy Subject: How Can I Detect Caller ID Using V.90 Modem Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:58:42 +0530 Organization: IETE I am using Windows98(SE) as O/S and DAX - 56Kbps Data/Fax/Voice Modem (V.90 & K56flex). I am from India. My modem probably uses Rockwell chips. But I can't detect the 'Caller ID' using AT#CID=2 0r AT#CID=1 command in the Windows 'HyperTerminal'. But my telephone company says that they already enabled the 'Caller ID (CLI)' facility in my landline telephone! Can't we detect Caller ID using modem in India? or should I have to purchase separate gadget for caller ID ? or should I need software other than the Windows 'HyperTerminal' ? My modem is set to county code 30 (which is for India). Please help. Sincerely, Sanjoy ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 11:51:25 -0700 From: Paul Migliorelli Subject: MCI Mail Musings I remember in early '84 hearing tv ads for it. You dialed 800 3 2 3 0 9 0 5 (although there was an earlier 800 3 2 3 number, and it later changed to this), with your modem. I remember the username to type in was "register" and the password was "register". I remember it being free for a while. It worked great using my first braille output terminal with a modem, which is what I was online for a year with. Although, I had to await the Christmas gift in '83 of a Hayes 300 external, as I could never get MCI mail to work with my original Tandy acoustic coupler (grin). I also recall the fine days where MCI mail had a great gateway to Dow Jones News Retrieval. Thru that account, I was able to get in no problem, but I always had a lack of success in the prior year, (my first year online July '82), of having difficulties getting into DJNS via Telenet and Tymnet. (Luckily, while attending college in Poughkeepsie NY where there was no local Compuserve access number, Telenet worked well, although at that time, it was $7 an hour via Telennet for Compuserve instead of the $5). In like '87 or '88, there were all kinds of some kind of bulletin boards on MCI Mail, and I think there was even some kind of MCI Mail terminal you could get. The other neat thing you could do, just like a fidonet node list, was type in a word to scan around at the MCI Mail "to" prompt, such as "radio", or any word you were curious about, and you'd get a list of addresses pulled up with that particular word. Yes, the fine days of Compuserve, MCI Mail, and DowJones access were a great help as the first open door to accessible plain text in braille. I was taking some generalized economics classes, and we needed the Wall Street Journal ***every ***day in class. My original braille output device stored 200k or data on Maxell U D X L 1 audiocassettes. So, it was quite an adventure to type in the old DowJones command, which began with double slash, follwed by wsj for the Journal, and then let it go all night downloading the stories at 300 baud (smile). With determination, it sure worked well pretty much. So much for 21 years ago!! Paul in Boulder http://www.rrsr.org ------------------------------ 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, 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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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #303 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Feb 19 23:58:23 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1K4wNX18551; Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:58:23 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:58:23 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302200458.h1K4wNX18551@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 V22 #304 TELECOM Digest Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:58:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 304 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Microsoft Planning More Spam Suits (Monty Solomon) Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Monty Solomon) Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials (Eric De Mund) Re: The A-B-C-D Fourth Column DTMF (Paul A Lee) Re: Dialogic Help (Vance Shipley) Re: Autovon Dialpad and Precedence Codes (was: Code to Dial) (Scott Dorsey) Re: Fax Filtering on DID's (Scott Dorsey) Re: Code to Dial When Exchange is Busy - Bell System Codes (Scott Dorsey) Extracting Voice From AG2000 Board (Sriram Seetharam) Re: Erasing a Hard Drive (Robert Bonomi) Re: NYC Demonstration Against War in Iraq (John Higdon) Re: NYC Demonstration Against War in Iraq (Michael A. Chance) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:02:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Planning More Spam Suits By Paul Festa Staff Writer, CNET News.com Following last week's lawsuit against spam address harvesters, Microsoft plans to file three similar suits this week. The so-called John Doe lawsuits, to be filed in the federal court for the northern district of California in San Jose, target people alleged to have hit Microsoft's Hotmail servers with a "dictionary" attack, according to a company representative. Such attacks pelt servers with a huge number of random addresses in order to discover valid ones. The alleged purpose of the attack is to gather, or "harvest," e-mail addresses for spammers. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985215.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:12:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com Government efforts to block offensive Web sites are technically problematic and legally worrisome, a new study says. The study from Harvard University's Berkman Center highlights how modern Web standards have permitted thousands of domain names to share one Internet address. It concludes that instead of precisely targeting only objectionable sites, attempts to restrict Internet addresses with pornographic, political or gambling-related content inevitably make legitimate sites unreachable too. "The numbers are staggeringly high," said Ben Edelman, a student fellow at the Berkman Center and author of the report. "According to my results, two-thirds of sites are hosted on Web servers with 50 or more domain names." The research comes as state and national governments weigh methods to restrict Web sites that may be legal in other jurisdictions but not theirs. http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985216.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 10:27:37 -0800 From: Eric De Mund Subject: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials Reply-To: Eric De Mund Organization: Ixian Systems, Inc. People, Is anyone using Vonage's VoIP service? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Would you like to love it, but several quirks have you holding back the roses? After reading: How a downed tree simplified my life, by Lincoln D. Stein http://www.newarchitectmag.com/documents/s=7802/na0203h/index.html Voice Over IP, by Christopher Allbritton http://popularmechanics.com/technology/telecom/2003/2/voice_over_ip/ in New Architect and Popular Mechanics, respectively, my curiosity about Vonage's VoIP service is really piqued. On paper, the plan for $40/month that gets you unlimited local and long-distance calling looks really good. Regards, Eric De Mund | Ixian Systems, Inc. | 53 49 B2 23 AF 6C 20 81 http://www.ixian.com/ead/ | Mountain View, CA | ED DD 4C 81 AA C9 D1 A5 ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: RE: The A-B-C-D Fourth Column DTMF Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 13:40:41 -0500 In TELECOM Digest V22 #300, Mark J Cuccia wrote (in part): > There are a few other miscellaneous uses of the A-B-C-D [touch tones] ... I learned -- the hard way -- of a Comdial PBX that uses DTMF 'A' as its disconnect supervision signal for adjuncts, such as voice mail. I have a Dialogic-based custom automated attendant system on a Nortel Norstar behind a Comdial FXT in a tenant setup. The Norstar was suffering from frequent hung trunks and phantom calls. It was readily apparent that we had a disconnect supervision problem. The Norstar looks for the de facto standard open switch interval [OSI] (open loop, no battery for 250± ms) as a forward disconnect signal. The people responsible for servicing the Comdial insisted that they had programmed it to provide disconnect supervision on four extensions that served as trunks to a Nortel Norstar. The same programming worked fine with the analog extensions connecting their voice mail and auto attendant system to the PBX. Only when I went to the site and monitored the call tear-down did I discover that we were working with two different definitions of "disconnect supervision" (loop signaling versus inband signaling). Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 ------------------------------ From: vances@motivity.ca (Vance Shipley) Subject: Re: Dialogic Help Date: 19 Feb 2003 10:47:49 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ You can get all the manuals and current drivers, libraries and includes at: http://support.dialogic.com -Vance niraj@verizon.net (Niraj) wrote in message news:: > I was wondering if anyone could assist me in installing a few dialogic > boards I have for testing purposes. Unrfortunately, I don't have the > manuals for the cards nor can I seem to find one on the internet. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Autovon Dialpad and Precedence Codes (was: Code to Dial) Date: 19 Feb 2003 14:10:28 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Clark Wilhelm Griswold, Jr. <73115.1041@compuserve.com> wrote: > Gary Novosielski wrote: >> There was no defined "Flash Override" code. It is my understanding >> that this was added to Autovon because it was assumed (correctly) that >> when you put precedence buttons on someone's phone they just naturally >> would push them, bumping everyone else's traffic down a notch, until >> some bird-colonel's call to his mistress (using Flash precedence) >> couldn't get through, and he needed something higher. > Reminds me of my days in one of the US services, when MilStar was just > coming on line. MilStar was a satellite based teletype system that has > evolved over the years, but initially worked as a military only, > internet style email system. As with Autovon based phones, messages > could be coded with the same precedence codes. I thought AUTODIN was the network, and MilStar was the satellite infrastructure that extended the network out through the Pacific (and I seem to recall some AUTOVON voice circuits on it too ... something like 16 teletype circuits could go over one voice trunk, though). > Had a buddy who was manning a control center that had recently > received a MilStar terminal installation. No specific traffic had been > assigned at the time, and people would frequently bang out messages to > their friends around the world as a means of killing time in the quiet > hours of the night. > One evening my friend was having difficultly getting his message > through to his friend, so he proceeded to retry several times with > ever increasing priority, until it finally went through using the > Flash Override precedence. > Shortly thereafter he received a phone call from SAC Headquarters, > suggesting that it might be career limiting if he tried that again. It > seems that Flash Override traffic is considered so important that in > addition to being delivered to the addressee, it is also displayed on > the big screen at all the major nuclear command centers with all the > bells and sirens one might expect. In the last few years of the Vietnam war, AUTODIN trunks were so overloaded that everyone began sending everything with higher and higher priority, to the point where they had to add a couple extra priority levels in order to get actual high priority traffic through. scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Fax Filtering on DID's Date: 19 Feb 2003 14:16:39 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) David Redemer wrote: > Anyone know of a product or a way to filter junk faxes on a DID trunk. > I've found products that allow for this on regular CO trunks. But > these devices wont work on DID trunks, because they function with a > wink start (polarity reversal) and not the regular line voltage. Any > suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. Don't filter 'em! Stack them up and have your legal folks take all the senders to court in one big slew. Minimizes paperwork, only takes an afternoon or two for the legal staff, and more than pays for itself. scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Code to Dial When Exchange is Busy - Bell System Codes Date: 19 Feb 2003 14:20:26 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) In article , wrote: > Commander Riker wrote: >> I am not sure if they would work on normal lines in my area, perhaps I >> will have to grab an AUTOVON off of Ebay the next time I see one or I >> supose I could make a tone generator and check it out my area first >> before purchasing a phone, but I think AUTOVON was designed specificly >> for the military lines. > Those AUTOVON tones would mean nothing to your local switching office. An Autovon phone will have the 12 standard DTMF tones, plus the four lettered ones. The four lettered ones will be ignored by the local exchange. Years and years ago, the Sprint network used to use the four lettered tones for internal signalling, but that was back when everything was in-band. > Keep in mind folks what John Higdon said: any call beyond the local "must > carry" area of your local exchange carrier, goes over the interexchange > carrier (IXC) that *you* designate, either through presubscription or my > using a company access code. And, the IXC doesn't even "see" your "Touch > Tone" (DTMF) origination tones. Right, all the tones get dealt with by the local exchange. scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: sriramsamm@yahoo.com (Sriram Seetharam) Subject: Extracting Voice From AG2000 Board Date: 19 Feb 2003 13:09:37 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I am working on NMS-AG2000 board. Is there a way I can extract voice from the board and resend it on the network as packets, and vice-versa. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance. Sriram Seetharam ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Erasing a Hard Drive Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 01:26:26 GMT In article , Mark Atwood wrote: > bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) writes: >> The DOD spec is for handling devices that contained "classified" data, >> *only*. 'Secret', or above, and the device -never- leaves the secure >> area. When it is 'beyond use', the drive is [snip description] > Not quite entirely true, as that would require a drive destruction kit > at every secure facility at every military contractor's site > everywhere. Not practical, as it is my experience that it's not that > unusual for the contractors to keep the classified computing confined > to as few workstations as possible, in as small a room as possible. > When it's time to decommission the drives, the more common thing to > have happen is have a classified courier come pick them up and take > them Someplace Else. Bzzzzt! Even under the circumstances you describe, the drive has never left a 'secure' area. The transport the courier uses *IS* classified as a secure area. > As soon as the courier signed for them, it was > no longer the contractor's problem, the gov't handled the the physical > destruction, and the inventory updates. I always just assumed that the > NSA/DIA/etc either had regional destruction facilities, or had a > contractor running it under their supervision. > Also, it's very common for the disk drives on such workstations to be > in easily removable storage packs. That way you could power down the > workstation, pull the drives and put them in the safe, and the > workstation is now no longer classified. > Also, it's not unusual for the contractor to arrange for the gov't to > actually own the drives. This makes doing the accounting easier both > for the gov't mandated classified inventory management, and also for > arranging for and paying for their destruction. > One of the at-long-last cost saving measures implemented in the US > classified computing world in, if I recall correctly, the early 90s, > was a change in the rules. When an S or above project was ended, or > when some storage system was outgrown, the drives could be "recycled", > i.e. run thru the classified-data multiple overwrite process, and then > reused on another project that was classified at the same or higher > level. To the best of my knowledge, that was true -- given the restriction of 'classified at the same or higher level', back into the (early?) 80s. at least. 'Historical' problem was with 'SI codeword' classified, and inability to recycle to a _different_ 'SI codeword' project. As you say, _very_ big deal when that got cleared up. > This was not that big a deal for things like a thousand dollar 9 gig > disk. > It was a VERY big deal for things like ten million dollar supercomputer > storage arrays. > Mark Atwood | Well done is better than well said. > mra@pobox.com | > http://www.pobox.com/~mra ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: NYC Demonstration Against War in Iraq Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 17:12:35 -0800 In article , Cryderman, Charles wrote: > On the other hand, we know, for a fact, > that North Korea has plenty of nuclear weapons, ready and willing to be > used. But there is no oil in that cold, dismal country. All I care about is whether the equipment works. Be advised that our government is taking Korea very seriously and has been engaged in a number of little publicized actions to prepare for dealing with that problem. For one thing, those heading for Iraq have been put on notice that they may be sent directly from there to Korea with out passing "Go". There have been a number of military groups put in strategic positions in and around the area. One rogue regime at a time, please. > There is not > much of anything there we want or need, except maybe in my own mind, I > am really getting sick of seeing every piece of electronic gear in > the USA saying 'made in Korea' stamped or stickered on it somewhere. > Seriously, when is the last time you bought some electronics which > said 'made in USA'? Korea, Korea, Korea, everything. Look in Walmart, > look in K-Mart (what's left of them; we are losing ours next month); > look in Radio Shack. Korea, Korea, Korea. But they don't have oil > there which Mr. Insane has a lot of, and which Mr. Rockefeller and his > good buddy Dubya need. I have no doubt that the disturbance of trade as it affects our country is considered in policy making for both Iraq and Korea (or anywhere else). I would consider our government negligent if that were not the case. > But you say, its not about oil; its about 'breaking contracts' and > being a Hitler in disguise. Its not about a Moslem country which is > essentially despised by the 'Christians' in a 'Christian nation', > especially since 'those people' are forever giving a lot of sass to > 'our president' and 'our way of life', referring to us as Satan, > because of our life styles, etc. But you said its not about oil, its > about Mr. Insane not giving up his weapons and breaking all the 'contracts' > he made with people and the UN. Well, gee, whiz, the essence of any > 'contract' is paying the bills you owe, and when is the last time > Uncle Sam ever paid any dues to the UN? Years ago, probably before > Mr. Insane started breaking his word on things. How much was our bill to the UN for ousting Slovidon Milosevic? Was it paid? How about all the other little operations we have been asked to perform (such as the Somalia debacle)? How much do we charge the UN for hosting it in New York, and have we ever been paid? > We agree on one very important point: the *very brave* guys who are > over there waiting to get blown to hell in pieces. On that we can agree. That is a very personal matter for me right now. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: John, you apparently missed the notices in yesterday's Digest saying that this thread had been closed. As a courtesy to you, this final message in the thread has been published. Indeed, soldiers in body bags has been a personal thing for me in the past also. Perhaps that is why I took such notice of the anti-war meetings around the country last Saturday. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Michael A. Chance Subject: Re: NYC Demonstration Against War in Iraq Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 12:34:45 GMT PAT wrote: > I just wish people would get off > these kicks about 'contracts' Mr. Insane has not kept (the USA has > failed to keep a few contracts also) and how Mr. Insane bullies people > around to get his way. (The USA is famous [or perhaps infamous is a > better word] for that also.) However, to the best of my knowledge, no U. S. president has ever had relatives executed for fleeing to another country or personally shot a cabinet secretary during a cabinet meeting for suggesting that the president might want to consider resigning. Everyone keeps saying that Iraq poses no danger to the U. S., even if they do have biological weapons or nerve gas. Yeah, and it's impossible for a few guys with box cutters to hijack an airliner and fly it into the World Trade Center. The problem with waiting for a "smoking gun" is that it means the gun has already been fired. Michael Chance [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Likewise, Mr. Chance, you may have missed the closure notice on this thread yesterday. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, 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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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #304 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Feb 21 00:39:22 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1L5dMk24132; Fri, 21 Feb 2003 00:39:22 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 00:39:22 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302210539.h1L5dMk24132@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 V22 #305 TELECOM Digest Fri, 21 Feb 2003 00:40:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 305 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cato Press Release: FCC UNE-P Decision (Monty Solomon) Federal Court of Appeals Rules That Palm Infringes Xerox Patent (M Solomon) AOL Reports to Members on Its Efforts to Fight Spam (Monty Solomon) Internet Firms Seek Limits on Privacy Law (Monty Solomon) Policy Post 9.06: Reports Calls Pennsylvania Web Blocking Law (M Solomon) Clear Channel's Big, Stinking Deregulation Mess (Monty Solomon) New Cable TV Channel Aimed at U.S. Hispanics (Monty Solomon) 8 Million Credit Accounts Exposed (Monty Solomon) Hacking Democracy (Monty Solomon) Blogging By Wireless (Monty Solomon) Blogs Get Google's Embrace (Monty Solomon) Big Brother is Watching You - and Documenting (Monty Solomon) T1 - Tip and Ring (R Siffredi) Is it Possible to Make Intercom System With old W.E. Phones? (Comm. Riker) Netizen Ronda (Andrew) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:31:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cato Press Release: FCC UNE-P Decision http://www.cato.org/new/02-03/02-20-03r-2.html Media Contact: (202) 789-5200 FCC's Deregulation Decision Will Further Harm Telecom Industry Votes to shift more control of telecom industry deregulation to state utility commissions. Adam D. Thierer, the Cato Institute's director of telecommunications studies, has released the following statement in reaction to the decision of the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday to shift more control of telecommunication industry deregulation to state utility commissions: "The FCC's decision constitutes one step forward, but two steps back on the path toward genuine free market deregulation of the United States' telecommunications industry. "This complicated proceeding -- which examined the unbundled network-element platform that the "Baby Bells" must provide to competitors at regulated rates -- provided the FCC with the chance to significantly revise infrastructure-sharing rules put in place by federal and state regulators in previous years. Such rules are the FCC's preferred short-term method of encouraging entry by offering competitors generous discounts to network elements owned by the Baby Bells. "These rules rested upon the mistaken notion that competition would not have developed in local telecom markets in the short-term. On the contrary, credible threats already exist to the traditional dominance of the Baby Bells from cable and especially wireless providers. In the future, such facilities-based alternatives will continue to develop, but the Commission's unbundling and infrastructure-sharing rules may be slowing their arrival since it has encouraged competitors to share existing networks and technologies before deploying new facilities of their own. "Regrettably, today's decision by the FCC did little to alter this balance. Indeed, the Commission's order is a contradictory mix of half-hearted reforms. For example, while the decision carves out of the regulatory mix high-speed fiber optic lines to the home to ensure that the Baby Bells are not discouraged from deploying such broadband facilities, the order also demands that `dark' fiber line continue to be shared. Many other mandatory sharing regulations remain in place. "Worse yet, what little good might be accomplished under today's order will be almost completely undercut by the Commission's decision to delegate virtually unlimited discretion to state regulators in determining future telecom infrastructure-sharing rules, resulting in a balkanized telecom policy led by 51 different state regulatory offices. "Finally, with today's ruling, the FCC risks forcing yet another round of costly litigation because it merely tweaks the previous rules that the courts have already struck down before. In all likelihood, the courts will once again strike down the Commission's rules and require another revision of them. In the meantime, genuine deregulation and facilities-based competition has once again been placed on hold by an FCC that clearly has little faith in the free market." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:34:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Federal Court of Appeals Rules That Palm Infringes Xerox Patent ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2003--A federal court of appeals ruled today that Palm Inc. handheld electronic organizers infringe on Xerox Corporation's (NYSE:XRX) Unistrokes(R) patent. The ruling, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., rejected Palm's appeal and affirmed a lower court ruling made in December 2001 on Palm's infringement of Xerox's patent. At the same time, the Court of Appeals found that the lower court's ruling did not include sufficient analysis on certain aspects related to the validity of the patent. Therefore, the Court of Appeals returned a portion of the case to Judge Michael Telesca, U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in Rochester, for further analysis on validity. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31728984 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:37:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Reports to Members on Its Efforts to Fight Spam AOL Reports to Members on Its Efforts to Fight Spam, Including Blocking 780 Million Spam E-Mails from Reaching Its Members Each Day DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 20, 2003-- Members Now Reporting 4.1 Million Junk E-Mails Daily To AOL Company Responding to Members' Feedback as Part of Recently Launched 'Tell Us' Campaign America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, today reported to its members on actions it takes against unsolicited bulk e-mail -- or spam -- and announced that members are helping to make important progress in that fight. AOL recently solicited comments about the service from its approximately 27 million domestic members, and recieved tremendous feedback - much of which centered on the issue of spam. Today, in the first of a series of "Welcome Screen" messages highlighting its responses to members' concerns, AOL provided important updates on the Company's multiple efforts to combat junk email, and announced a series of new steps it will take this year to strike back at spam and spammers. AOL announced that its proprietary anti-spam filtering technology is blocking up to 780 million pieces of junk mail every day from reaching member e-mail inboxes, which amounts to an average of 22 blocked spam e-mails per account daily. Driving the successful record of blocking more than three-quarters of a billion unwanted e-mails each day is AOL 8.0's new and popular "Report Spam" button, which premiered in October 2002. AOL members are now using the button up to 4.1 million times a day to report spam to the Company. This allows engineers to update and fine-tune AOL's anti-spam filters to help prevent spam from reaching other members in the future. This is a substantial increase from the amount of spam AOL members were previously reporting. In October 2002, prior to the introduction of a streamlined tool reporting spam to AOL, members reported 200,000 spam e-mails daily. In December 2002 it increased to 2,000,000, before rising to its current level. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31718854 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:55:17 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Internet Firms Seek Limits on Privacy Law Steve Alexander Star Tribune Published Feb. 20, 2003 The ink is hardly dry on Minnesota's first-of-its-kind Internet privacy law, but already opponents are trying to limit the law's reach, raising concerns among privacy advocates. The Minnesota law, passed last spring and set to take effect March 1, requires Internet service providers (ISPs) to give customers a listing of information they have about them and their Web browsing habits. ISPs often keep records on the sites their customers visit; sometimes they sell that information to advertisers and retailers. "The Minnesota law is a pioneer and a test case to see whether state-level privacy laws are desirable and whether they are workable in practice," said Michael Beresik, national director of the privacy practice at accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in Washington, D.C. Big national Internet providers such as AOL Time Warner are trying to eliminate some of the law's requirements. AOL opposed the law last year on the grounds it would lead to an unworkable patchwork quilt of privacy laws in all 50 states. Some national experts say AOL might be right, and that laws like Minnesota's may lead Congress to enact a national privacy law that would over-ride any state laws. http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/3663661.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:57:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Policy Post 9.06: Reports Calls Pennsylvania Web Blocking Law CDT POLICY POST Volume 9, Number 6, February 20, 2003 A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology (1) CDT Reports Calls Pennsylvania Blocking Law Unconstitutional and Unsound (2) Background on the Penn. Web Blocking Law (3) Laudable Goals, Serious Constitutional and Technical Problems (4) Request Filed for Records of Undisclosed Web Site Blocking http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_9.06.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 21:32:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Clear Channel's big, stinking deregulation mess The Media Borg Clear Channel's big, stinking deregulation mess The sorry state of the radio industry today is sabotaging FCC chairman Michael Powell's plans to let media conglomerates run wild. Editor's note: Sixth in a series on the consolidation of power and ownership in the media landscape. By Eric Boehlert Feb. 19, 2003 | Clear Channel Communications, the radio and concert conglomerate so many people love to hate, has a new batch of disgruntled critics to deal with. But this time it's not the musicians who claim that the entertainment giant plays hardball and locks acts off the airwaves, or the broadcast rivals who allege the company leverages its unmatched size to drive competitors out of business, or even the former employees who insist the company's rampant cost-cutting style has gutted American radio. Nope -- now the heat is coming from other media company executives and Beltway lobbyists. They are dismayed that Clear Channel is doing what many might have thought impossible. In an era when Republicans control the government and big business generally gets what it wants, Clear Channel is making deregulation look bad. Executives at television, cable and newspaper companies want the government to lift ownership caps that limit the number of properties their companies can own. They've been envious of radio ever since the 1996 Telecommunications Act singled out radio for sweeping ownership deregulation. Passage of the Telecom Act paved the way for Clear Channel to expand from 40 stations to 1,225, and in the process, exert unprecedented control over the industry. http://salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/19/clear_channel_deregulation/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 21:47:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New Cable TV Channel Aimed at U.S. Hispanics By Cyntia Barrera Diaz NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) -Imagine "Friends" but in Spanish. Throw in elements of the tear-jerking Latin telenovela but make it younger, hipper. And, oh yes, cast six very good looking actors. A new cable television channel targeting U.S. Hispanics is readying for its May debut, hoping its edgy programming format will help it grab a youthful bilingual audience with growing spending power. Backed by a small group of equity investors, Chicago-based Expresión channel will elbow for room in a market led by Spanish-language broadcasters Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE:UVN) and NBC's Telemundo. U.S. Hispanics have become a key target for advertisers seeking a way to reach a population of 37 million with an estimated annual spending power of over $500 billion. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31730654 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:36:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 8 Million Credit Accounts Exposed FBI to Investigate Hacking of Database By Jonathan Krim Washington Post Staff Writer A hacker broke into a computer database containing roughly 8 million Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit card numbers earlier this month, prompting an FBI investigation into one of the largest intrusions of its kind. All three card companies said that the potentially compromised numbers are being closely monitored, and that so far there is no evidence that any have been used for fraudulent purchases. The big three card issuers said the intruder cracked the computer security of a firm that processes credit card transactions for merchants, but they declined to name the company or provide any other details. The companies said they had turned the matter over to the FBI. About 2.2 million of the affected numbers involved MasterCard customers. "MasterCard's rules require that merchants securely encrypt cardholder information, including card numbers, so that [unauthorized purchases] cannot occur," the company said in a statement yesterday. Visa, which accounted for 3.4 million of the numbers, sought to remind customers that they would be automatically credited for any unauthorized purchases, a policy followed by all three credit card companies. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27334-2003Feb18.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 03:22:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Hacking Democracy Computerized vote-counting machines are sweeping the country. But they can be hacked -- and right now there's no way to be sure they haven't been. By Farhad Manjoo Feb. 20, 2003 | During the past five months, Bev Harris has e-mailed to news organizations a series of reports that detail alarming problems in the high-tech voting machinery currently sweeping its way through American democracy. But almost no one is paying attention. Harris is a literary publicist and writer whose investigations into the secret world of voting equipment firms have led some to call her the Erin Brockovich of elections. Harris has discovered, for example, that Diebold, the company that supplied touch-screen voting machines to Georgia during the 2002 election, made its system's sensitive software files available on a public Internet site. She has reported on the certification process for machines coming onto the market -- revealing that the software code running the equipment is seldom thoroughly reviewed and can often be changed with mysteriously installed "patches" just prior to an election. And in perhaps her most eyebrow-raising coup, she found that Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican, used to run the company that built most of the machines that count votes in his state -- and that he still owns a stake in the firm. Harris hasn't been alone in making such discoveries. A small group of writers, technologists and activists is working hard to convince elections officials all over the country that their rush to upgrade aging punch-card machines with seemingly more reliable touch-screen systems is dangerous. But so far neither the general public nor elections officials appear too worried. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/20/voting_machines/print.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 03:50:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Blogging By Wireless Ten O'Clock Tech Blogging By Wireless Arik Hesseldahl, 02.19.03, 10:00 AM ET NEW YORK - Now that Google.com has gotten into the business of Web logs, or "blogs" as they're often called, it means there will likely be a stampede of new bloggers eager to show they have something interesting to say online on a regular basis. But if the prospect of a new crush of bloggers makes you feel a little less on the cutting edge, there's still a way to keep that edge. While most of the world will continue to post their weblog entries from a desktop PC, a new outfit based in Dublin, Ireland, called NewBay Software has designed a service called FoneBlog that could eventually let wireless customers create a blog using only a mobile phone. To be fair, posting to a blog from a wireless device is not terribly new. For example, using Blogger Pro, the enhanced version of Google's Blogger.com service, users can automatically post to a blog via e-mail. Users create an e-mail address associated with their Blogger account that no one else knows, which allows posting from any e-mail address. That means it's possible to write a blog entry from an e-mail-capable mobile phone, wireless PDA or pager. http://forbes.com/home/2003/02/19/cx_ah_0219tentech.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:39:33 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Blogs Get Google's Embrace By Cynthia L. Webb washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Tuesday, February 18, 2003; 9:35 AM More evidence that blogging is entering the tech world's mainstream: Search engine giant Google has scooped up Pyra Labs, a small, privately held San Francisco company that makes Blogger, the wildly popular, free blog publishing software. Blogs, short for Web logs, range from online diaries to collections of updated news and links on a variety of subjects. What newsgroups were to the early days of the Internet, blogs are to today's World Wide Web. Media companies like MSNBC are using the formats to relay news and communicate with readers -- and to try and make money. Salon even sells blog software on its site. Pyra Labs's Blogger has more than 1 million registered users. Not shabby, since Pyra was run by just six people, who now will work for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google. The deal, confirmed on the Blogger site, was inked late last week. Last night, Blogger said on its site that "no immediate changes will take place" as a result of the purchase, "except we're working furiously to get more servers in place to handle the extra load this news has caused. Stay tuned." Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24964-2003Feb18.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 17:34:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Big Brother is Watching You - and Documenting eBay, ever anxious to up profits, bends over backward to provide data to law enforcement officials By Yuval Dror "I don't know another Web site that has a privacy policy as flexible as eBay's," says Joseph Sullivan. A little bit later, Sullivan explains what he means by the term "flexible." Sullivan is director of the "law enforcement and compliance" department at eBay.com, the largest retailer in the world. Sullivan was speaking to senior representatives of numerous law-enforcement agencies in the United States on the occasion of "Cyber Crime 2003," a conference that was held last week in Connecticut. His lecture was closed to reporters, and for good reason. Haaretz has obtained a recording of the lecture, in which Sullivan tells the audience that eBay is willing to hand over everything it knows about visitors to its Web site that might be of interest to an investigator. All they have to do is ask. "There's no need for a court order," Sullivan said, and related how the company has half a dozen investigators under contract, who scrutinize "suspicious users" and "suspicious behavior." The spirit of cooperation is a function of the patriotism that has surged in the wake of September 11. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=264863 ------------------------------ From: R Siffredi Subject: T1 - Tip and Ring Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 23:53:13 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com On a comm T1, you have 4 wires RX tip RX ring TX tip TX ring What are the signals on these wire? Data and clock? What does the tip and ring mean in this case? TIA, i am in confusion. ------------------------------ From: bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com (Commander Riker) Subject: Is it Possible to Make an Intercom System With WE Phones? Date: 19 Feb 2003 21:52:27 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have a few old Western Electric model 554 wall phones that I would like to make an intetcom system with. In particular I would like to put one model 554 in the house and one in my garage which is set apart from my home. I have the Bell System Service Station manuals but can't find any info on this. I know it is possible. Do I need to get a telephone line simulator, like http://www.teltone.com/telecom_solutions/test_tools/test_tls-4_features.html or can I wire these old phones somehow to work as an intercom system? TIA. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just to talk from one place to another via intercom is an easy job. Take any two of your phones. Let's assume the wiring is 'standard' red/green. Take the 'red' wire from one phone and wire it in series to the 'green' wire on the other through some small battery, or if you wish, a battery eliminator such as one from Radio Shack. If you want, use a transformer at some low voltage, let's say 3-4.5 volts and maybe a half of an amp. The values don't have to be exact, just very low power. Now take the remaining green wire from the one phone and wire it straight across to the red wire on the other phone. Now when both phones are off hook, you can 'hear; the sidetone or 'battery' and talk to the other end. If either end replaces the receiver -- hangs up -- the circuit is broken and the party still off hook gets dead silence. Of course neither end wants to sit there with a phone to his ear listening for the event he will hear a click and the battery start so there can be a conversation. So what you do is get a couple of little tiny buzzers and put one in each phone. Wire them through the contacts on the 'network' inside the phones so that if either phone goes off hook the battery will have a path to the other phone *through the little buzzer* and back to the originating phone. Now when either end goes off hook, the little buzzer in the opposite phone will make a noise -- a continuing little 'buzz sound' -- which notifies the other end that a caller wants to speak with him. Most of the contacts on the network inside the phone are 'normally open', that is, not making contact until the phone goes off hook. But there is one pair of contacts inside the phone which is just the opposite, normally closed until the phone comes off hook. Use those contacts to silence the buzzer when the phone goes off hook, so that the called party does not get buzzing all the time he is trying to talk on the phone. If you want to get a bit more fancy, get one of those things they use on Christmas trees to make the lights blink on and off every couple seconds. Put this in series with the low voltage buzzer you have installed, and the result will be the buzzer goes buzz-silence-buzz-silence, etc. If you can find one of those old phones that was 'two lines' with a turn button you can instead use the third position on the turn button (depressing it) and use that wire in and out as the contact for the buzzer. The old Harper Theatre in Chicago (HYdePark-3-1717) had a phone like that in the box office, with the other end of the line being in the projectionist booth. The person in the box office took phone calls on the 1717 line on one side of the turn button, had the other side of the turn button for the intercom line, and pressed momentarily on the button to signal the other end to pick up the phone and talk to him. A 'tap' on the line allowed for still another position to listen and talk. The 'stage manager' had an old operator's headset in a jack and he could converse with the projectionist or the box office also. In the 1970's I built a few of those for friends. In fact, I was in an apartment building which had a humongous phone box in the basement, underneath where the building switchboard had been years before. The cable-pairs in that box served the entire neighborhood where I lived. Most of the pairs were in use (we heard dialtone on them when testing them) and a few others had battery (side tone) on them, but three or four were totally cold and dead. By jumping one of the house pairs to one of the idle (and dead) cable pairs and then walking down the street to the other apartment building, using a sounder to 'ring out the other pair' I was able to put an 'intercom arrangement' between someone in one apartment in my building to a person in a similar building down the street. It is absolutely amazing *how far* you can talk or make a buzzer sound with a tiny 1.5 volt triple A battery. Even allowing for some disapation on the line, a little voltage like that can easily go a city block. As a mattter of fact, I used a steady supply of DC power (must be DC, filtered!) of 4.5 volts and around 500 milliamps. You don't need any fancy equipment. You already have the old Western Electric phones and probably have a couple of batteries to wire in series to them. Invest ten dollars or so at Radio Shack and buy yourself a 4.5 or 6 volt DC transformer you plug in the wall so as to give the audio on the two phones a good punch and plug it into the wall in some weatherproof location at either end. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Andrew Subject: Netizen Ronda Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 16:38:34 UTC Organization: North Avenue Trade School Can anyone spot Ronda in this video? http://w3.kill-9.com/peace.mov Andrew [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Are you certain you got that URL correct? The first part w3.kill-9.com only got me the single word 'blah2' in the upper corner of my screen. From there, appending the directory 'peace.mov' got me a little tiny square with three small colored objects in it. No videos, even when I tried appending things like '.htm' and '.html' following that. I thought maybe it was a broken movie, or just slow loading, so I tried it again, and went to get a drink then came back in five minutes. Still nothing. What am I/did I miss in this? PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #305 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Feb 21 01:25:13 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1L6PDA24716; Fri, 21 Feb 2003 01:25:13 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 01:25:13 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302210625.h1L6PDA24716@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 V22 #306 TELECOM Digest Fri, 21 Feb 2003 01:25:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 306 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Microwave Towers (Eric Friedebach) Re: Microwave Towers (Commander Riker) Re: Microwave Towers (Daryl R Gibson) Re: Microwave Towers (Jim Haynes) Re: Microwave Towers (Jim Hopkins) Re: Hang up and Drive (temp7@thewolfden.org) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: Autovon Dialpad and Precedence Codes (Commander Riker) Re: Autovon Dialpad and Precedence Codes (John R. Covert) Re: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials (John Levine) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 19:23:00 -0600 Organization: Sir Break-Alot School of Dance Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Mark J Cuccia wrote in message news:telecom22.303.1@telecom-digest.org: > In New Orleans, there has been a Bell System microwave tower since > the early 1960's if not earlier from sometime in the 1950's. It has been > located outside of the "Broadmoor" central office building, 3951 > Erato Steet, near South Broad Street. > I don't know who actually "owned" the tower and most of the > antennae ... AT&T Long Lines? Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph? Here is a link to a useful website; the Berkana Wireless Radio Tower Locator: http://www.berkana.com/tower.php3 While the search engine does not allow direct entries of street intersections, etc., they will often show up in the results along with maps. This information comes from the FCC database, so chances are your tower is still in there (and may be some time after the physical site is gone). Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com (Commander Riker) Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Date: 20 Feb 2003 12:20:19 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ A random thought. Why would AT&T kill the Microwave Towers? In the case of a nuclear attack or terrorist attack, wouldn't it be wise to have the Microwave towers as a backup? Mark J Cuccia wrote in message news:: > In New Orleans, there has been a Bell System microwave tower since the > early 1960's if not earlier from sometime in the 1950's. It has been > located outside of the "Broadmoor" central office building, 3951 Erato > Steet, near South Broad Street. > The tower is of "typical" steel girder structure, similar to oil derrick > or some styles of towers which carry high voltage electric transmission > lines. A tower which has a broad square base, and tapers down (sort of > like a pyramid or obelisk) as it rises skyward. The New Orleans Bell > System microwave tower is painted in alternating horizontal bands of red > and white. I too am very interested in the Microwave Towers. They are a great piece of technology and history. Here is a great site that all of you should check out, if you already have not: "The Microwave Radio and Coaxial Cable Networks of the Bell System" http://www19.addr.com/~longline/ Here is an old Bell System Ad for Microwave, great for your computers wallpaper! http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/radio_relay_ad_51.jpg If you fellows find any old towers keep in mind that many times they contain a wealth of goodies inside. I have bumped into a guy that was contracted by American Tower to go up to the mountain tops and "clean" out the buildings and report their condition. He has found great Bell System things such as lineman handsets, oscilloscope, manuals, phones and much more. ------------------------------ From: Daryl R Gibson Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 10:53:12 -0700 Subject: Re: Microwave Towers On 19 Feb 2003 at 23:28, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > In New Orleans, there has been a Bell System microwave tower since the > early 1960's if not earlier from sometime in the 1950's. It has been > located outside of the "Broadmoor" central office building, 3951 Erato > Steet, near South Broad Street. > Today, I noticed that *ALL* antennae on the tower are *GONE*!!! > I don't know who actually "owned" the tower and most of the > antennae ... AT&T Long Lines? Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph? AT&T Long Lines (later AT&T Communications) owned most of those towers like you describe. The LOC towers usually looked a bit different, and they tended to use parabolic dishes, not the "sugar scoop" horns used by Long Lines. > And with divestiture, who actually owned it? AT&T? BellSouth? Probably AT&T. > Today, there is mostly fibre-optic cable, so I guess that microwave > for both AT&T and the local BOC has become obsolete. I've heard that > AT&T and/or the incumbent BOCs/LECs have been selling these old towers > to private "holding" or "real estate" type companies, and then > cellular entities (and *various* competing communications entites as > well) would lease space on the tower for their various antennae. But > I've also read that many of these towers are being completely > de-commissioned, dismantled and removed. AT&T sold most of their Long Lines towers to American Tower a couple of years ago. AMT is a tower aggregator. AT&T retained some towers where the adjacent building was used as an AT&T switching center, or POP. At one point, I believe the plan was to use those towers as part of AT&T's project Angel -- fixed wireless -- but that project went by the wayside when Armstrong bought TCI and concentrated on becoming a CLEC. Wireless was later spun off, and the new company killed Angel. Armstrong then sold Broadband to Comcast, and fortunately left AT&T along with the cable systems, having turned AT&T into a shell of its onetime self (admittedly other CEOs also had a hand in this process). AMT has pulled the horns off of most of the towers they still own, except for those that are either in a hard-to-sell area (like the middle of Nevada) or have been resold (they sold many of the towers to private parties who are using them for everything from cell sites to star observatories, to amateur antennas, to private homes -- the supporting building, not the tower, of course). As for the tower you mention, I looked it up in AMT's database, and it's not listed. I imagine it was retained by AT&T (likely) and is now being decommissioned, although it's possible that BellSouth owns it. Some of the ones in downtown areas have been pulled out, but most of them are still there, repurposed in one way or the other. Sad to see those towers lose their horns, or go away altogether, but the bandwidth that microwave provided just can't compete with fiber -- and the current glut of fiber means that in most cases, there's a cheaper, better way to do it. Plus, some of the remaining, decommissioned ones, are being pulled out because of environmentalist lobbying or neighbors' NIMBY (not in my back yard) complaining (one reason why the towers are valuable is it's easier to repurpose one than to build another one, with current NIMBY concerns and zoning laws). In your own case, if they pull it down, it's possibly for an expansion of the CO. There are a bunch of sub-groups that are interested in this sort of thing. Coldwarcomms@yahoogroups.com often discusses the old Long Lines sites (join and read back messages at groups.yahoo.com). There are also several great sites that deal with this, as well. Most are linked from my site, http://www.drgibson.com/towers Daryl ---------------------------------------------------------------- "As you ramble through life, brother, no matter what your goal, keep your eye upon the doughnut, and not upon the hole" --Dr. Murray Banks, quoting a menu ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.drgibson.com http://www.salesstar.com Personal Motivation and Positive Attitude ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 17:54:59 GMT I have driven past any number of telephone offices with steel towers bereft of microwave horns. As you noted, some real estate operators are buying up microwave sites with their towers. Some of them they can lease to cellphone operators and other mobile radio users such as police/fire. Others are in out-of-the-way places where there is no market for them except perhaps amateur radio; and I have heard of some ham repeater clubs acquiring a few of these sites. ------------------------------ From: Jim Hopkins Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 23:27:16 GMT > I still think of that old microwave tower as a "landmark". I hope that it > isn't to be dismantled and removed, but from what I saw this morning, I'm > afraid that its fate is sealed! :( > Mark J. Cuccia > New Orleans LA It probably is as good as gone. It's hard to talk the budget people into spending money to paint and light it when there's no revenue coming in from it. I worked for an RBOC in the mid 1990's when cellular service began to eclipse IMTS mobile and fiber cable replaced the microwave routes. It was almost impossible to get upper management to relinquish the mobile licenses (they thought that the sliver of 152 and 454 MHz spectrum was invaluable - as far as I know there's still nothing there besides a few paging transmitters) and equally hard to get them to cough up money to maintain the radios and towers. Then, once the decision was made to get out of radio, someone came up with the bright idea of selling all the towers as a package, even though a large percentage of them were out in the middle of nowhere. I left before it finally got resolved but I've seen several of the ones I was familiar with dismantled in the past years, so I'm guessing that deal fell through also. Jim Hopkins ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 22:42:20 -0600 From: temp7@thewolfden.org Subject: Re: Hang up and Drive > Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2003 20:35:35 -0500 > From: Monty Solomon > Subject: Hang up and Drive > SOUND MIND > By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff, 2/18/2003 > You know it's dangerous, but you do it anyway. The phone rings as you're > tooling down the expressway, or you squeeze in a quick dial while stopped > at a light and then start to chat as you drive on. No problem. You're > still aware of the road, still a top-flight driver. > The problem is, you're not. And the limits of your brain are the > reason why. I think we need to ban cellphones when driving. In fact, I also think we should ban billboards. I don't know how many times I've been reading some really humorous new billboard and almost hit the car in front of me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 12:29:12 -0600 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelex.com Organization: Crash Electronics, Inc. Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Phil Earnhardt wrote: > SPAM used to promote dubious products is bad, but SPAM used to promote > legitimate products is equally distateful. It leads consumers to think > that the manufacturers of those products are sanctioning the use of > SPAM to promote their sale. It creates distrust of the particular > manufacturer. > SPAM is just plain bad for business. I used GoToMyPC when they were in their free beta phase. I liked it. I registered every PC I sold as a GoToMyPC client, so I could do remote maintenance. Unfortunately, more than half of my service calls related to inability to connect to the internet :-) but aside from that it was pretty neat stuff. But when they took the product "live" the pay structure was no good; neither the "personal" nor the "business" package fit my needs. Now, GoToMyPC accounts for a substantial amount of the spam I receive and intrusive banner ads I see. Consequently, I wouldn't buy their product for free. OT (but related): The same thing goes for the companies that advertise on an extra flap which folds over the Chicago Tribune Sunday funnies. It's ATTACHED to the first page, it gets in the way, and you can't tear it off without risking the funnies themselves. I'm keeping a list. (I decided to Bcc this Telecom Digest post to the appropriate people at the Tribune and GoToMyPC as well; they should know how well their advertising is working...) Gordon S. Hlavenka www.crashelex.com nospam@crashelex.com Grammar and spelling flames welcome. Yes, that's really my email address. Don't change it. ------------------------------ From: bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com (Commander Riker) Subject: Re: Autovon Dialpad and Precedence Codes (was: Code to Dial) Date: 19 Feb 2003 22:02:31 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Gary, Thank you very much for the insight. It is very much appreciated! I may decide to grab an Autovon phone just to have a part of history. The Bell System sure inovated some great things! Gary Novosielski wrote in message news:: > Commander Riker wrote in message > news:telecom22.294.6@telecom-digest.org: >> Autovon legends: >> FO = Flash Override >> F = Flash >> I = Immediate >> P = Priority >> I am not sure if they would work on normal lines in my area, perhaps I >> will have to grab an AUTOVON off of Ebay the next time I see one or I >> supose I could make a tone generator and check it out my area first >> before purchasing a phone, but I think AUTOVON was designed specificly >> for the military lines. > Quite true. > And those designations of precedence levels corresponded to those that were > (and still may be) in use throughout the US, Allied, and NATO forces for all > forms of message traffic. In teletype or morse code messages it was a > one-letter code immediately before the date-time group of the message. The > codes for US forces were: > R = Routine (an Autovon call where nobody dialed a precedence code would > be Routine by default). > P = Priority; used for messages requiring precedence over routine, but > not justifying a higher code. This would (i.e., should) > typically be the highest code ever used for purely > administrative (non-operational) messages. > O = Immediate (called "Operational Immediate" by NATO forces); this was > to be used only for urgent orders affecting current field operations. > Z = Flash; reserved for initial enemy contact messages and combat orders > of extreme urgency. > Gary ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 13:17:21 EST From: John R. Covert Subject: Re: Autovon Dialpad and Precedence Codes The buttons were labelled "P" "I" "F" and "FO", but only those precedences authorized for the specific station would actually work. From a 1971 "Official Global Autovon Telephone Directory" which has no classification (not even "For Official Use Only"): NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM VOICE PRECEDENCE SYSTEM CHART FLASH Transmission Pre-emption Has precedence over any other telephonic call of lower precedence. Pre-empts lower precedence calls. May be pre-empted by the application of the FLASH OVERRIDE capability available to: (1) The President of the United States, Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff; (2) Commanders of unified and specified commands when declaring either Defense Condition One or Defense Emergency; (3) CINCNORAD when declaring either Defense Condition One or Air Defense Emergency and other national authorities as the President may authorize. Application Flash precedence is reserved generally for telephone calls pertaining to: (1) Command and control of military forces essential to defense and retaliation; (2) Critical intelligence essential to national survival; (3) Conduct of diplomatic negotiations critical to the arresting or limiting of hostilities; (4) Dissemination of critical civil alert information essential to national survival; (5) Continuity of Federal Government functions essential to national survival; (6) Fulfillment of critical United States internal secunty functions essential to national survival; (7) Catastrophic events of national or international significance. IMMEDIATE Transmission Pre-emption Has precedence over any other telephonic call of lower precedence. Pre-empts lower precedence calls. Application Immediate precedence is reserved generally for telephone calls pertaining to: (1) Situations which gravely affect the security of national and allied f6rces; (2) Reconstitution of forces in a post-attack period; (3) Intelligence essential to national security; (4) Conduct of diplomatic negotiations to reduce or limit the threat of war; (5) Implementation of Federal Government actions essential to national survival; (6) Situations which gravely affect the internal security of the United States; (7) Civil Defense actions concerning direction of our population and their survival; (8) Disasters or events of extensive seriousness having an immediate and detrimental effect on the welfare of the population; (9) Vital information having an immediate effect on aircraft, spacecraft, or missile operations. PRIORITY Transmission Pre-Emption Has precedence over any other telephonic call of lower precedence. Pre-empts lower precedence calls. Application Priority precedence is reserved generally for telephone calls requiring expeditious action by called parties and/or furnishing essential information for the conduct of government operations. ROUTINE Transmission Pre-emption Has no precedence over any other call and is handled sequentially as placed by the calling party. No pre-empt. Application Routine precedence designation applies to those official government communications which require rapid transmission by telephonic means but do not require preferential handling. ------------------------------ From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) To: ead@ixian.com Subject: Re: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST > Is anyone using Vonage's VoIP service? Do you love it? Do you hate > it? Would you like to love it, but several quirks have you holding > back the roses? I have it and am very favorably impressed. At home I run it over a T1, where it not surprisingly works great, but I just spent a few days at my sister's house where she has DSL and it worked fine there, too. They ship you a preconfigured Cisco ATA-186. You plug it into your network router or hub, and plug a phone into it. No setup is needed, it checks in with headquarters and configures itself. Even when I moved it from my network to hers (which Vonage specifically says is fine), it took maybe 15 seconds to set itself up. Once it's set up, the phone is a phone. You dial phone calls using the New York City dialing plan, 1+10 for everything. It includes CLID, call forwarding, voice mail, all the usual junk. The phone has a regular phone number which can be in any of a large number of places where Vonage has agreements with CLECs, and need not be anywhere near your physical location. (Indeed, if you're in one of the 25 states where they don't have a CLEC, you can't get a local number.) If Vonage can assign you a number in your rate center, you can often port an existing number instead. The plan I have is $26 for unlimited incoming calls, unlimited "local" outgoing for a much larger local area than my regular phone offers, and 500 bundled outgoing minutes in the US and Canada. For $40 you can get unlimited calls to the US and Canada. International rates are low, 5 or 6 cents to most of Europe and Australia. The call quality is quite good. There's more latency than on a regular phone call, but I don't notice it except when I call the POTS phone across the room to demonstrate. (At my sister's, the guys who own the local phone company were impressed when I showed them the Phone from Hell That Pays No Taxes (yet), but the pain was eased by the fact that they make more from DSL lines than from phone lines.) When your net connection gets congested the quality goes down, but is never any worse than a typical cell connection and usually better. They tell you not to use it as your only phone. Unless you have a UPS, it'll stop working if the 110V power goes out. There's no 911 service, at least partly because they have no idea where your phone is physically located. I have a few minor quibbles. Regular phone calls are dialed 7D around here, so it'd be nice if Vonage would permit that. Vonage will sell you multiple phone numbers so you can have local numbers in multiple places, but they don't do distinctive ring so you can't tell which number someone called. The Cisco box is only designed to power a single phone. It'd probably work for two or three but they make no promises, so if you have your house wired with two-line phones, you probably shouldn't plan to unplug line 2 at the network interface and connect it to the Cisco instead. (I fake it by connecting a cordless phone to the Cisco.) But if you make a lot of calls, or you want a local number in a faraway place, it's a very good deal. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ 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, 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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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #306 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Feb 21 19:24:26 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1M0OPY28963; Fri, 21 Feb 2003 19:24:26 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 19:24:26 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302220024.h1M0OPY28963@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 V22 #307 TELECOM Digest Fri, 21 Feb 2003 17:24:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 307 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: The Perils of E-Mail (Gail M. Hall) Re: Advice Needed - Cell Service in Beijing, China (Alan Burkitt-Gray) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Phil Earnhardt) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Richard D G Cox) How to Set Up PPP TCP/IP Connection via GPRS Modem Driven by RS232 (Magis) Helpful Telco Numbers Used for Troubleshooting (Reverend Dr. Benrand Jr.) Re: T1 - Tip and Ring (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: Hang up and Drive (John Higdon) Re: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials (Hank Karl) Re: Dialogic Help (Gerry Belanger) Re: Bill Would Ban Spam E-Mail in California (Fritz Whittington) Re: Code to Dial When Exchange is Busy - Bell System Codes (Command Riker) FCC Phone Decision Rings In The Old (Eric Friedebach) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Herb Stein) Re: Microwave Towers (Danny Burstein) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: The Perils of E-Mail Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 00:07:50 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Tue, 18 Feb 2003 20:14:07 GMT, in comp.dcom.telecom , Barry Margolin wrote: > In article , Monty Solomon > wrote: >> Sure, 2002 was the Year of Corporate Scandal. But really it wouldn't >> be fair to give all the credit to grasping, conniving executives and >> malevolent, sneaky bookkeepers. No, as those corporate honchos offer >> their plea bargains, they'll all be able to name an accomplice: >> e-mail. > Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? If they weren't doing > anything wrong, there wouldn't have been anything incriminating in the > email. Instead of sending employees to email training sessions, they > should be sending executives to ethical training sessions. My concern about using E-mail "evidence" is the ease with which such things as dates and mail headers can be changed with computer software. It could be easy to forge someone's address in an e-mail to put the blame on someone that the real "perp" has something against. I've read about such cases already where someone forged another employee's address in e-mail and got that person fired. It took a long time for the victim to get the job back and a law suit against the company that fired the victim. This has its parellels in telephone use because one well known way of getting confidential information from a company is to call someone in the company and pose as someone who has a right to the information. Good con artists have been able to get hold of confidential information that way for years. > We've all heard the admonition about not putting anything in email > that you wouldn't want published in the paper. That's fine advice for > private, personal information that might be embarassing. It's also a > good idea for trade secrets that you don't want to escape to your > competitors. But in the case of corporate malfeasance and other > criminal behaviors, we should be more concerned with stopping the > behavior in the first place, not hiding the evidence. It is also important to make sure the "evidence" is true and not manufactured to frame someone. One of the big problems with using fax machines to send information or orders is that after you dial a number (er, I mean punch in a number!) and get another fax machine, you don't have any real feedback to be sure you are really calling the party you intended to. The fact that some companies include a "warning" on their cover sheet or letter saying something like, "If you are not the intended recipient of this message, you must destroy this message and let us know the message was sent to the wrong number." Sheesh! That is an admission right there that people can't be absolutely certain that a fax is sent to the right party. Yet lawyers and doctors continue to use faxes every day to send confidential client information. I used to send documents to doctors' offices by computer and modem, and they had their "host" answering my call. I could see on my screen that I had reached the intended office. And I had to punch in my password to gain entry to their system. The communication went from my machine to their machine through telephone lines. There weren't a lot of "hops" between me and them as there would be on the Internet. I really am sorry that since the WWW has come into wide use that the older technology using computer-to-computer one-on-one traveling over one phone line has been largely abandoned. Gail in Ohio USA ------------------------------ From: Alan Burkitt-Gray Subject: Re: Advice Needed - Cell Service in Beijing, China Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 13:07:56 -0000 usenetspamtrap+cdt@newsguy.com asked: "I would *like* to have one cell phone that worked both in the U.S. (Colorado) as well as in China (e.g., AT&T with a smart chip or whatever they call it, or perhaps some GSM multi-mode phone?). However, having two service providers (one in US, one in China, with two numbers) would be OK." There's lots of GSM in China, from China Mobile and China Unicom, and China Unicom also has a CDMA network (though I don't know if it roams to and from CDMA networks in the US). GSM roams well. I've been in the Hyatt Grand Central in New York calling a Chinese telecoms analyst, who was at a conference in the same hotel, on her Chinese GSM number, and got connected in seconds. And called a China Unicom exec on his GSM number, to find he was in a taxi in London, only a few hundred yards from me. See http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/index.shtml for more on roaming. If you want to save money on phones, you could get a triple-band GSM phone (working on 1900 MHz in the US, 900 and 1800 MHz in China) and swap SIM cards according to where you are. Otherwise you and people calling you would have to pay hefty international roaming costs. Alan Burkitt-Gray Editor, Global Telecoms Business Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London EC4V 5EX, UK tel +44 20 7779 8518 fax +44 20 7779 8248 e-mail aburkitt@euromoneyplc.com www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com Global Telecoms Business is the official publication for the TeleManagement Forum's TM World conference and exhibition in Nice, France, May 19-22 2003 ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:58:21 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:58:46 GMT, barmar wrote: >> If Pfizer had an aggressive program for dealing with the venders who >> were [ab]using e-mail to sell Viagra, then there would be far less >> likelihood that an e-mail containing that word to be flagged as SPAM. >> Just like protecting their trademarks from abuse, companies have a >> duty to protect themselves from resellers using such "scorched earth" >> marketing techniques to promote their product. > I don't think most of these spammers are marketing Viagra. They're selling > snake-oil that claims to be as good as Viagra. Pfizer might be able to go > after them for trademark violation, but they're not Pfizer's real vendors > so they can't find them without lots of investigation. I looked through my 96MB-or-so of SPAM from the last 3 months. Grepping for viagra in those files yielded 417 lines of matches. That comes out to somewhere around 100 e-mail spams. I looked at a small sample; about half were promoting some viagra-like product; about half were promoting the real thing. AFAICT, Pfizer has done absolutely nothing about either group. >> SPAM used to promote dubious products is bad, but SPAM used to promote >> legitimate products is equally distateful. It leads consumers to think >> that the manufacturers of those products are sanctioning the use of >> SPAM to promote their sale. It creates distrust of the particular >> manufacturer. This applies to many products that don't have the copycat problems above. The manufacturers of laser printer and copier toner cartridges must be aware of the spammers regularly selling their product. Again, AFAICT, they have done nothing to get these people to stop selling their product. Hewlett-Packard uses a company called "m0.net" to send out newsletters about HP products. But I do not have a business relationship with HP. And m0.net doesn't publish telephone contact information. The messages never contained any HP contact information, either. This is SPAM, and it certainly appears to be sanctioned by HP. [Note: I'm not trying to single out HP here; there are many companies that are doing such things. It's just one company that has spammed me personally. OTOH, if anyone at HP is reading this and can tell me more about these spams from m0.net, I'd appreciate it.] Is everyone in the community familiar with the Boulder Pledge? You can see a copy at http://www.panix.com/~tbetz/boulder.shtml > Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com phil ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 11:56:56 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Reply-To: nospam@numbering.com Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:29 (UT) Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote: >> SPAM used to promote dubious products is bad Hormel would probably agree with you. I believe they own the trademark "SPAM" and seem to be content with the word having been repurposed to refer to Unsolicited Bulk Email. There's a general consensus that as the trademark is the word in all-upper-case, when we use the word to refer to UBE, we write it as "spam" or "Spam". But *never* as "SPAM"! Richard Cox [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Have you seen the television commercial for the real Spam product? It is sort of cute. A family is sitting at the table eating dinner. The woman speaks up and says "I am still hungry, I want more SPAM!" (She literally screams at the people at the table, and the camera recording it. "SPAM! I WANT MORE SPAM!!" Her face is sort of contorted and she continues to say 'SPAM! SPAM!' as the camera closes in on her angry face and her open mouth saying 'SPAM!' After she has said that word a few times getting more angry as she says it, suddenly a *huge truck* crashes through the side of the house, runs over the family computer which is sitting nearby (apparently putting it out of order in the process) and dumps a big load of the little metal cans of spam (the meat product) on her plate. Her husband or some person nearby speaks up and says 'here it is, that delicious meal you like so much.' Then he says something about Hormel Meat Company and that's the end of the commercial. Sort of witty, fun to watch. PAT] ------------------------------ From: sirmo@seeben.com (Luc MAGIS) Subject: How to Set Up PPP TCP/IP Connection via GPRS Modem Driven by RS232? Date: 21 Feb 2003 05:18:35 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I'm new in this newsgroup and I want to know if someone had experience in GPRS Modem and can give we some interesting adresses. Thanks in advance. ------------------------------ From: Reverend Dr. Benrand Jr. Subject: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 08:35:52 -0500 Organization: Michigan State University I am looking for numbers that can be used on a regular telco system to troubleshoot from a local location rather than traveling to a site. Sort of a newbie here with this stuff, but we have remote power reset sites and it is inconvenient to do traveling when a problem could be diagnosed locally, obviously. I have searched on the web for helpful codes and what I get is hacking info, I don't really need that, but verifying that a line is active would be helpful. TIA ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 09:01:14 -0600 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelex.com Organization: Crash Electronics, Inc. Subject: Re: T1 - Tip and Ring R Siffredi wrote: > On a comm T1, you have 4 wires > RX tip > RX ring > TX tip > TX ring > What are the signals on these wire? Data and clock? What does the tip > and ring mean in this case? Since a T1 is bipolar data, there is no "polarity" to it. The two "RX" leads are going to be data towards you, and the two "TX" leads are data going away from you. There is no "clock and data" as the receiver locks onto the incoming data and recovers the clock from it. Data is formatted so that pulses come frequently enough to maintain lock. On a T1, a "1" is indicated by the presence of a pulse in the time slot, and a zero by the absence of a pulse in a time slot. Every pulse will be the opposite polarity of the previous pulse. To make sure there are enough pulses, long strings of zeroes are munged according to a formula. I think T1 uses "B3ZS" which means that if there are four zeroes in a row, the fourth one will be replaced by a "bipolar violation" (no psych jokes, please :-) -- a pulse with the same polarity as the previous pulse. The receiver is smart enough to call this BPV a zero. So: (Monospaced font, please...) Data: 1100101011110100000000000101011010 T1: ^v--^-v-^v^v-^---^---^---v-^-v^-v- or: v^--v-^-v^v^-v---v---v---^-v-^v-^- The polarity is irrelevant. Actually, if you read Tip-to-ground you'll see one of those patterns, and Ring-to-ground you'll see the other. However, since it's a balanced signal reading anything "to ground" is not recommended. Reading Tip-to-Ring you'll see 1.8v pulses, and which pattern you'll see depends on which way you hook up the leads. The following would be a true bipolar violation and would trip an error indication on a panel someplace: ^v--^-v-^-^-v^--v On the equipment I worked on (20 years ago) a single BPV or bit error (on terrestrial links, anyway) meant we had to go fix something. Frames of T1 data include a sync sequence at the start and a checksum at the end. The higher speed (DS-3) equipment I worked on used B8ZS; same concept, but the PLL in the receiver can tolerate longer strings of zeroes. Before transmission, the data is "scrambled", I think by XORing it with a pseudorandom bit sequence. This is not for security, just to reduce the number of BxZS substitutions required. An idle link may just spit bazillions (technical term) of zeroes and it's better to do as few substitutions as possible. Obviously things get "descrambled" at the other end. As far as "tip" and "ring" -- I think these are just legacy names to keep the wiring straight. Even though the signal is balanced and the polarity of the pulses doesn't matter, it's Good Practice(TM) not to cross your pairs. I suppose it's even Better Practice(TM) to have tip and ring in the appropriate places in any bantam (does anybody use 310 for T1?) patch panels, although technically I don't think it matters. Gordon S. Hlavenka www.crashelex.com nospam@crashelex.com Grammar and spelling flames welcome. Yes, that's really my email address. Don't change it. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Hang up and Drive Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 07:27:56 -0800 In article , temp7@thewolfden.org wrote: > I think we need to ban cellphones when driving. > In fact, I also think we should ban billboards. I don't know how many > times I've been reading some really humorous new billboard and almost hit > the car in front of me. Hmm ... I've never had a problem with either one. Maybe we ought to simply ban certain drivers. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 12:11:53 -0500 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ I tried Vonage on my ADSL (768K/128K), and found the perceived voice quality was as good (or better) than toll calls. However, data traffic interfered with voice (if I browsed to the wrong web page, I'd miss a bit of what the person on the far-end said). And once that delay occurred, it persisted. My feeling is that Vonage is good, but your ISP and type of connection are also important. Since I get voice calls for 3.9 cents/min, it wasn't worth $40/month. If you use a lot of minutes to the same people, look into free world dialup at http://www.freeworldialup.com/. This is strictly net to net calling (not net to phone). And its free. However, you do need an internet connection and some hardware (minimum is a PC, mic and speaker, and 28.8K modem) Hank On Wed, 19 Feb 2003 10:27:37 -0800, Eric De Mund wrote: > People, > Is anyone using Vonage's VoIP service? Do you love it? Do you hate it? > Would you like to love it, but several quirks have you holding back the > roses? > After reading: > > How a downed tree simplified my life, by Lincoln D. Stein > http://www.newarchitectmag.com/documents/s=7802/na0203h/index.html > > Voice Over IP, by Christopher Allbritton > http://popularmechanics.com/technology/telecom/2003/2/voice_over_ip/ > in New Architect and Popular Mechanics, respectively, my curiosity about > Vonage's VoIP service is really piqued. On paper, the plan for $40/month > that gets you unlimited local and long-distance calling looks really > good. > Regards, > Eric De Mund | Ixian Systems, Inc. | 53 49 B2 23 AF 6C 20 81 > http://www.ixian.com/ead/ | Mountain View, CA | ED DD 4C 81 AA C9 D1 A5 Hank Karl Eastern Regional Manager +1 (203)207-0047 hank@Nine-9s.com www.nine-9s.com Representing: http://www.telesoft-intl.com/ ISDN, T1 RBS, E1 R2 CAS, Frame Relay, ML-PPP, X.25, ... http://www.agoralabs.com/ elemedia H.323, Video Codecs SIP -- watch this space! ------------------------------ From: glb1202@cognitronics.com (Gerry Belanger) Subject: Re: Dialogic Help Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 17:29:43 GMT Organization: none In article , vances@motivity.ca (Vance Shipley) wrote: > You can get all the manuals and current drivers, libraries and includes at: > http://support.dialogic.com > -Vance Unless your board has been "orphaned" like the V/S24T1 and V/S30E1. Anyone need them? Gerry Belanger, Danbury, CT glb1202@cognitronics.com, until the spammers get there. ------------------------------ From: Fritz Whittington Subject: Re: Bill Would Ban Spam E-Mail in California Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:44:07 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Monty Solomon wrote: > Under proposal, people could sue for $500 per violation. Some doubt > law would stem tide. > By Nancy Vogel > LA Times Staff Writer > SACRAMENTO -- The unwanted, sometimes lurid advertisements unleashed > on computer users -- e-mail spam -- would be banned under a new bill > in the Legislature. > The bill would make it a crime to send unsolicited commercial e-mails > from California or to an e-mail address in the state. I think it would be quite interesting to see how the California legislature defines "an e-mail address in[side] the state [of California]." Not to mention how they can determine that the spam was sent from California. In ways that will stand up in courts, of course. ------------------------------ From: bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com (Commander Riker) Subject: Re: Code to Dial When Exchange is Busy - Bell System Codes Date: 20 Feb 2003 12:15:31 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I found some interesting AUTOVON documents over at this site, http://www19.addr.com/~longline/documents/index.html Go down the page a bit and you will see a title called, "System Configuration" You will then have two links from the archives of the Defense Information Systems Agency, binder titled "AUTOVON". kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote in message news:: > In article , wrote: >> Commander Riker wrote: >>> I am not sure if they would work on normal lines in my area, perhaps I >>> will have to grab an AUTOVON off of Ebay the next time I see one or I >>> supose I could make a tone generator and check it out my area first >>> before purchasing a phone, but I think AUTOVON was designed specificly >>> for the military lines. >> Those AUTOVON tones would mean nothing to your local switching office. > An Autovon phone will have the 12 standard DTMF tones, plus the four > lettered ones. The four lettered ones will be ignored by the local exchange. > Years and years ago, the Sprint network used to use the four lettered tones > for internal signalling, but that was back when everything was in-band. >> Keep in mind folks what John Higdon said: any call beyond the local "must >> carry" area of your local exchange carrier, goes over the interexchange >> carrier (IXC) that *you* designate, either through presubscription or my >> using a company access code. And, the IXC doesn't even "see" your "Touch >> Tone" (DTMF) origination tones. > Right, all the tones get dealt with by the local exchange. > scott > "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: FCC Phone Decision Rings In The Old Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 14:50:56 -0600 Organization: Sir Break-Alot School of Dance Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Forbes.com staff, 02.20.03, 12:18 PM ET NEW YORK - Everybody got half a loaf, or maybe half a dial tone. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to relax rules that require the four regional Bell companies to lease part of their networks to rivals at below-market rates. Unfortunately, it was not the part that the companies had lobbied hardest for deregulating and not anything close to what the agency's own chairman, Michael Powell, had sought. http://www.forbes.com/2003/02/20/cx_vc_0220phone.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2003 19:03:16 -0600 Monty Solomon wrote in message news:telecom22.304.2@telecom-digest.org: > By Declan McCullagh > Staff Writer, CNET News.com > Government efforts to block offensive Web sites are technically > problematic and legally worrisome, a new study says. > The study from Harvard University's Berkman Center highlights how > modern Web standards have permitted thousands of domain names to > share one Internet address. It concludes that instead of precisely > targeting only objectionable sites, attempts to restrict Internet > addresses with pornographic, political or gambling-related content > inevitably make legitimate sites unreachable too. > "The numbers are staggeringly high," said Ben Edelman, a student > fellow at the Berkman Center and author of the report. "According to > my results, two-thirds of sites are hosted on Web servers with 50 or > more domain names." > The research comes as state and national governments weigh methods to > restrict Web sites that may be legal in other jurisdictions but not > theirs. > http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985216.html Blocking is ludicrous in the first place, but doing so by IP address is even dumber. Virtual hosting is a feature, not a bug. If you have a problem with your children accessing "bad" places, that is clearly a parental problem. Please don't make it mine. Technology can not solve this problem. Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 06:40:29 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC [ lots snipped throughout ] In Daryl R Gibson writes: > On 19 Feb 2003 at 23:28, Mark Cuccia wrote: >> Today, I noticed that *ALL* antennae on the tower are *GONE*!!! >> I've also read that many of these towers are being completely >> de-commissioned, dismantled and removed. > Sad to see those towers lose their horns, or go away altogether, but > the bandwidth that microwave provided just can't compete with fiber -- > cheaper, better way to do it. Plus, some of the remaining, > decommissioned ones, are being pulled out because of environmentalist > lobbying or neighbors' NIMBY (not in my back yard) complaining (one We here in the NYC area are fortunate to have a key bit of radio history just across the river in Alpine, NJ. The Armstrong Tower, while derided by its new yuppy neighbors, still stands in its original location about five miles northwest of the George Washington Bridge. And just like its neighbor, the Little Red Lighthouse, it's been overshadowed by newer and bigger and flashier sites and almost forgotten. And also just like the Little Red Lighthouse, it was very, very, proud to serve when needed. (After the destruction of the WTC, many transmitters were *quickly* installed on it). For some pictures (jpg, about 120k apiece) :: http://www.panix.com/~dannyb/images/alpine-160.jpg http://www.panix.com/~dannyb/images/alpine-170.jpg (some others are at alpine-110 -> alpine-150) _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #307 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Feb 22 18:41:54 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1MNfrl01891; Sat, 22 Feb 2003 18:41:54 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 18:41:54 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302222341.h1MNfrl01891@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 V22 #308 TELECOM Digest Sat, 22 Feb 2003 18:42:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 308 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Microwave Towers and Satellite Antennas (Neal McLain) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Crispin) 56kbps and PCM Channels (Alan Fowler) Re: Helpful Telco Numbers Used for Troubleshooting (Chuk Gleason) Re: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials (John) Unlimited Free Long Distance Phone Call (John) Microsoft Windows Rights Mngt Services Windows Server 2003 (Monty Solomon) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Gail M. Hall) "Reverse Slamming": Unauthorized PIC Freezes (Bob K) Re: The Perils of Email (Charles B. Wilber) Re: E.164 and Telephone Number Display Formats (Phil McKerracher) Last Laugh! "Thank You For Calling the War Sign-Up Line" (Lauren Weinstein) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 20:15:59 -0700 From: Neal McLain Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Organization: Ann's Garden Subject: Microwave Towers and Satellite Antennas Daryl R Gibson wrote: > Sad to see those towers lose their horns, or go away > altogether, but the bandwidth that microwave provided just > can't compete with fiber -- and the current glut of fiber means > that in most cases, there's a cheaper, better way to do it. A further reason for the demise of microwave towers relates to the rise of C-Band satellite antennas for television signal distribution. Two frequency bands commonly used for terrestrial microwave transmission were (and still are): 4-GHz band (3.7-4.2 GHz) 6-GHz band (5.9-6.4 GHz) When the FCC first authorized the use of geostationary satellites for communications, it apparently perceived the service as a sort of long-distance substitute for terrestrial point-to-point microwave systems. Consequently, it assigned those same two frequency bands to the satellite service: 6-GHz for uplink and 4-GHz for downlink. Consistent with this perception, the FCC imposed technical requirements on all ground-based satellite antennas, both transmit and receive, to prevent interference to or from existing terrestrial microwave antennas: - Satellite antennas had to meet technical specifications concerning beamwidth, gain, and sidelobe performance. - They had to be licensed by the FCC, even if they were used for receive-only service. - As part of the licensing procedure, they were subject to the "frequency coordination" process. Under this process, the license application had to include a technical study showing that the proposed antenna would not cause interference to, or receive interference from, any existing terrestrial microwave antenna using the same frequencies. Several companies went into the business of performing satellite frequency-coordination studies. Some of the early coordination studies look quaintly primitive today: an "interference map" was printed on a large sheet of semi-transparent paper so that it could be laid over a USGS 7.5-minute quad map. Since the printers of the day could only print text, interference data was shown as text numerals scattered across the map. Terrestrial microwave beams stood out clearly as strings of numerals shooting across the map. One of the largest frequency-coordination firms was ComSearch, originally in Dallas, now in Virginia's DC suburbs. ComSearch still does frequency coordination studies for satellite ground stations; see . In 1975, HBO launched its signal on a geostationary communications satellite for cable TV operators nationwide. Within a year or so, two other companies followed suit: - Ted Turner's Turner Communications Group launched the signal of Atlanta UHF station WTCG (now TBS Superstation). - Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network launched its CBN network feed (which, after morphing several times, is now ABC Family). Both of these services were quickly accepted by cable operators. They offered operators something not available from any other source: basic-tier programming aimed at a national audience. Of course, cable operators had to build receiving antennas to get these new services. Under FCC rules in force at the time, they had to go through the whole frequency-coordination and licensing procedure. In order to meet the technical requirements, these antennas generally used 10-meter reflectors installed on large concrete foundations. Cable operators installed a lot of them during 1975-77. Because of the cost of 10-meter antennas, cable operators petitioned the FCC to have the rules changed to allow smaller antennas, and within a few years, the FCC relaxed the technical requirements so that antennas as small as five meters could be used. But FCC still had to protect the existing terrestrial microwave service, so it didn't eliminate the frequency-coordination and licensing requirements. Other companies soon began constructing satellite antennas for television reception. Holiday Inn constructed the "HI-Net" network to distribute HBO (or Showtime) and a proprietary videoconferencing service to its franchisees. The broadcast industry began using satellites to distribute syndicated programming. All of these antennas were constructed under FCC rules in force at the time, and all were licensed. Although the licensing procedure was an expensive hassle, licenses are valuable insurance: a license gives the owner of a receive-only satellite antenna the same legal standing as a telephone company. Even a small cable operator or a Holiday Inn with a receive-only antenna could block AT&T's attempt to build a new terrestrial microwave link. Meanwhile, a new phenomenon was beginning to take shape: the backyard dish industry. Many entrepreneurs started making and selling small C-band antennas to private individuals. These antennas didn't meet FCC requirements, but they worked well enough for most buyers (except for the unlucky few who found themselves in a 4-GHz terrestrial microwave path). Besides, the programming was free! At first, the FCC didn't pay much attention to all this. After all, since these antennas weren't legal in the first place, the FCC didn't much care if they didn't work because of terrestrial interference. But Congress was paying attention: backyard dish owners were becoming a noisy voting block. Under pressure from Congress (and, probably, foreseeing the inevitable), the FCC rescinded the frequency-coordination and licensing requirements, essentially opening the field for anybody to own a backyard dish legally. While all this was going on, the telephone industry was also growing, with ever-increasing need for more capacity. But getting more capacity by microwave was becoming more difficult because of all those receive-only satellite antennas. Licensed antennas were popping up everywhere. Unlicensed backyard dishes were an even bigger problem: because they weren't documented, nobody even knew where they were. Even though the telcos were under no legal obligation to respect backyard dishes, they were well aware of the PR problems that dish-owning voters could cause in Congress. The obvious solution was for the telcos to abandon microwave altogether, and switch to fiber optics. Once they started laying fiber, they could get all the capacity they needed, and they could replace their existing terrestrial microwave capacity at the same time. During the late 80s and early 90s, many terrestrial microwave paths were abandoned. A personal case in point. In a previous life, I used to conduct microwave-interference studies for companies contemplating constructing new licensed receive-only antennas. On one particular study in the early 90s, taken from the roof of a downtown-Chicago skyscraper, I couldn't get an accurate reading: the telco microwave signals were so strong that they swamped the AGC circuits in the receiver. A few years later, from that same point, telco microwave signals had almost completely disappeared: all I got were a few blips from towers many miles away. The history of the shrinking satellite antenna can be seen in the antenna farms at many cable TV headends today. Most newer satellite antennas are small (5- to 6-meter reflectors) on small foundations (I've even seen antennas on wood bases!). But sometimes I still run across a big 10-meter Andrew monster, or at least the massive concrete foundation where one once stood. Commander Riker wrote: > A random thought. Why would AT&T kill the Microwave Towers? In > the case of a nuclear attack or terrorist attack, wouldn't it > be wise to have the Microwave towers as a backup? Or as decoys. According to an old legend popular among cable TV engineers, a certain cable TV operator was having trouble with hunters shooting at tower-mounted microwave antennas at a remote headend site. He solved the problem by placing a large decoy antenna, complete with a painted target, low on the tower. Neal McLain nmclain@annsgarden.com ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:07:24 -0800 Organization: Networks and Distributed Computing On Thu, 20 Feb 2003, Herb Stein wrote: > Blocking is ludicrous in the first place, but doing so by IP address > is even dumber. Virtual hosting is a feature, not a bug. If you have a > problem with your children accessing "bad" places, that is clearly a > parental problem. Please don't make it mine. Technology can not solve > this problem. On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has precisely the desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to clean up their act. Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent of a boycott. The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral damage. The ISPs and providers will ultimately be forced to choose between their sleazy customers and their legitimate customers. Either way, it makes things easier for the rest of us. I feel sorry for legitimate entities that find themselves in bad neighborhoods, but not that sorry. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. ------------------------------ From: amfowler@melbpc.org.au (Alan Fowler) Subject: 56kbps and PCM Channels Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 02:23:31 GMT Organization: Whitethorn Software The following is an extract from "FOLDOC" the Free OnLine Dictionary Of Computing http://www.foldoc.org/ which looks like being a useful reference. 56 kbps (56 kilobits per second) The data capacity of a normal single channel digital telephone channel in North America. The figure is derived from the {bandwidth} of 4 kHz allocated for such a channel and the 16-bit encoding (4000 times 16 = 64000) used to change {analogue} signals to digital, minus the 8000 bit/s used for signalling and supervision. Was this particular coding scheme ever used? It's my understanding that its always been eight bit encoding at 8000 samples per second. ------------------------------ From: Chuk Gleason Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 20:40:03 -0500 Subject: Re: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting Reverend - What exactly are you trying to look at, remotely; I work in a two-way radio shop, and my boss is big believer in equipment that monitors remote sites and alerts us to upcoming problems (rather than waiting for them to become crises.) There are several technologies here. Contact me off list, unless someone else requests we keep it here on the list. Chuk Gleason Cary, NC > From: Reverend Dr. Benrand Jr. > Subject: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting > Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 08:35:52 -0500 > Organization: Michigan State University > I am looking for numbers that can be used on a regular telco system to > troubleshoot from a local location rather than traveling to a site. > Sort of a newbie here with this stuff, but we have remote power reset > sites and it is inconvenient to do traveling when a problem could be > diagnosed locally, obviously. I have searched on the web for helpful > codes and what I get is hacking info, I don't really need that, but > verifying that a line is active would be helpful. ------------------------------ From: johns_95110@yahoo.com (John) Subject: Re: Seeking Vonage VoIP Testimonials Date: 21 Feb 2003 14:32:27 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I like Cuphone's product better. www.cuphone.com no monthly fee Eric De Mund wrote in message news:: > People, > Is anyone using Vonage's VoIP service? Do you love it? Do you hate it? > Would you like to love it, but several quirks have you holding back the > roses? > After reading: > How a downed tree simplified my life, by Lincoln D. Stein > http://www.newarchitectmag.com/documents/s=7802/na0203h/index.html > Voice Over IP, by Christopher Allbritton > http://popularmechanics.com/technology/telecom/2003/2/voice_over_ip/ > in New Architect and Popular Mechanics, respectively, my curiosity about > Vonage's VoIP service is really piqued. On paper, the plan for $40/month > that gets you unlimited local and long-distance calling looks really > good. > Regards, > Eric De Mund | Ixian Systems, Inc. | 53 49 B2 23 AF 6C 20 81 > http://www.ixian.com/ead/ | Mountain View, CA | ED DD 4C 81 AA C9 D1 A5 ------------------------------ From: johns_95110@yahoo.com (John) Subject: Unlimited Free Long Distance Phone Call Date: 21 Feb 2003 14:34:27 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Just bought CuPhone's VOIP Gateway (www.cuphone.com). It works really well. strongly recommend it. We use their USB Internet phone together with their Personal Phone Gateway to stay in touch with my family in Taiwan. Using the Phone Gateway, calls from Taiwan to our phone are free and sound better than the expensive long distance we used to use. ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Windows Rights Management Services for Windows Server 2003 Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 18:19:18 -0500 Microsoft Announces Windows Rights Management Services for Windows Server 2003 Rights Management Solution Will Give Organizations and Employees New Ways To Protect Information REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced plans for Windows(R) Rights Management Services (RMS), a new technology for Windows Server 2003 that will give organizations advanced ways to help secure sensitive internal business information including financial reports and confidential planning documents. Windows Rights Management Services will work with applications to provide a platform-based approach to providing persistent policy rights for Web content and sensitive corporate documents of all types. Beta code for Windows Rights Management Services will be broadly available in the second quarter of 2003. http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31743048 ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 00:23:49 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:58:21 -0700, in comp.dcom.telecom message , you wrote: > Hewlett-Packard uses a company called "m0.net" to send out newsletters > about HP products. Obviously, you don't get those newsletters. If you did, you would see they come from a domain called "CcmNewsgram.hpccm.p0.com". That the letter p followed by the number 0, dot com. I did not start getting messages from them until *I* opted to get the messages. This was fortunate because it was a message from the company that told me about a problem with the first HP printer I had. I was able to call the number the message gave and get the fix for my printer. > But I do not have a business relationship with HP. > And m0.net doesn't publish telephone contact information. The messages > never contained any HP contact information, either. This is SPAM, and > it certainly appears to be sanctioned by HP. If you are getting messages from this "m0.com" address, I suspect it is a spammer look-alike and not the real thing. At the end of every message I get from the HP news people, I see instructions for unsubscribing, change of address, and other things. If you do not see such instructions at the ends of the messages you get, then you are not hearing from the *real HP*. Here is what it says about unsubscribing: > To unsubscribe from the HP Newsgram and HP Business Essentials, > hit reply and type "UNSUBSCRIBE" as the subject line. They don't force you to go to their web page or anything like that. > [Note: I'm not trying to single out HP here; there are many companies > that are doing such things. It's just one company that has spammed me > personally. OTOH, if anyone at HP is reading this and can tell me more > about these spams from m0.net, I'd appreciate it.] I suspect you are not hearing from the real HP people. Speaking of who is the real thing or not, I understand that SBC used to be a so-called "baby Bell" phone company. But is it really being truthful in advertising when they advertise themselves as being the real original Bell Telephone Company? And that they are 125 years old now? I agree with some of SBC's other ads in which they talk about the wires and cables and such being their property and responsibility and that they install them and maintain them and such. But I really don't think those guys down in Texas know much of anything about us up here in the Great Lakes states. The Bells were split up quite a few years ago, and most of the guys involved in the original "Bell Telephone Company" are probably all retired by now. All SBC is doing is taking over a bunch of existing companies and turning it into one big monster company. Gail in Ohio USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That reminds me of Sprint and the old United Telephone Company of Kansas City. Like the *original* Southwestern Bell (SBC to you newcomers), United Tel also had roots going way, way back. I am not sure off hand of who came first, Bell or United, they both were around well before 1900, both with histories which would make you hold your nose in disgust from the stench they caused. Although 'The Bell Consortium' was probably worse; many of the thousands of independent telcos who did not choose to affiliate or get bought out by Bell chose instead to go with United or GTE. Comes sometime in the 1990's and United buys Sprint in order to get some long distance action. They change their name (United) to Sprint. Then the 'new' Sprint (United Tel plus the 'old' Sprint) starts claiming it is the oldest telco around. 'Over a hundred years of serving you', etc. They advertised that way for about a year in 1999, but eventually stopped. Southwestern Bell (now SBC), like Illinois Bell (which merged with Ohio Bell then eventually changed their name to Ameritech) was one of the Bell 'originals'. I guess now it is SBC's turn (as it was for United/Sprint a few years ago) to get all noble, and unctious and reverent about all the Good Things They Did For Society over the past century-plus. PAT] ------------------------------ From: xlea69802@sneakemail.com (Bob K) Subject: "Reverse Slamming": Unauthorized PIC Freezes Date: 22 Feb 2003 07:00:55 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I had an experience with Verizon that I call "reverse slamming": Verizon put an unauthorized PIC freeze on my local toll service, which I had been getting through them. I found out about this freeze after I decided to switch my LD and local toll to a new provider. The LD switch went through but Verizon rejected the local toll switch. When I called, they told me I had a PIC freeze, which I never asked for. They said they wouldn't have imposed the freeze if I hadn't asked for it and that all freeze requests are routed through a third-party company (either ACS or Sutherland). They had already charged me for switching my LD carrier and now they wanted to charge me again to change my local toll service provider. Since I never asked for a PIC freeze, I refused to pay and asked for a supervisor. After a moment, the rep said a supervisor wasn't available, but as a courtesy, he'd waive the charge. I thought it was interesting that the PIC freeze was only on the local toll service, which I had been receiving from Verizon, and not on the LD service, which I was not getting from Verizon. Are unauthorized PIC freezes common? Who can I report this to? (The obvious agency is the state PUC, but they often seem to have a cozy relationship to the telcos. I'm in NJ.) Bob [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A cozy relationship, you say? Gosh, just like here in Kansas where the commissioners live in the same small towns where the Southwestern Bell -- oops, I mean SBC -- executives live; lunch with them at their country clubs a few times each week, and go to the same social events and churches. Yet if you have the audacity to say the somewhat underpaid public servants on the commission eat out of the hands of the telco executives who feed them faithfully, they (the commission) get very annoyed at you for saying it. The king did not like having people notice he was naked, neither do the state commissioners. As to what you can do, and where you can report it: As a pro-forma thing, you can appeal to the Chairman's office and follow that up with a commission complaint. What that will get you is nothing except your telephone records will be noted that you are a 'complainer' (like me) and eventually it will get to the point where those sorts of things happen less often in your case. It also helps if you have a good solid background and knowledge of old time telephone industry history and practices so when you have occassion to talk to one of the service reps you can appropriately shock her sensibilities; that will have the effect of getting a lot of the small, petty charges written off they would otherwise stick you with. Remember, in twenty years or so, those of us who know anything about them at all will be dead and buried; then the telco execs won't have any further worries from us. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: 22 Feb 2003 10:44:25 EST From: Charles.B.Wilber@Dartmouth.EDU (Charles B. Wilber) Subject: Re: The Perils of Email It is the job of the defense attorney to cast doubt on the validity of email intercepts as conclusive evidence. Once such evidence has been shown to be unreliable and easily fabircated or altered, precedent will be established and courts will begin to dismiss it routinely. Charlie Wilber Dartmouth College You wrote: > It could be easy to forge someone's address in an e-mail to put the > blame on someone that the real "perp" has something against. I've > read about such cases already where someone forged another employee's > address in e-mail and got that person fired. It took a long time for > the victim to get the job back and a law suit against the company that > fired the victim. ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: E.164 and Telephone Number Display Formats Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 15:45:54 GMT Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) Mark J Cuccia wrote in message news:telecom22.295.13@telecom-digest.org: > 15 Feb 2003 03:21:47 -0800, Mark Atwood wrote: >> What is the name of the "standard" telephone number format. The plus >> sign, followed by the country code, followed by the in-nation full >> number with area code, with hyphens/spaces/dots for punctuation? > I think you must mean the "ITU Recommendation E.164" document, which > reports the standards for numbering (and dialing) for worldwide/ > international telephone services, including telephone country code > assignments and such. > BTW, I think that the E.164 "recommendation" prefers that all parsing of > blocks of digits be *SPACES*. I do *NOT* like to use spaces... The formatting is actually described in E.123 not E.164. It can be downloaded for free from www.itu.int. Spaces or hyphens (but not brackets) can be inserted anywhere to improve legibility. Before everyone starts "improving" it as usually happens in these discussions, please remember that it is the only scheme that works with GSM phones, Outlook, TAPI applications and the like, and it's already an internationally agreed standard. Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 09:24:41 PST From: Lauren Weinstein Subject: Last Laugh! "Thank You For Calling the War Sign-Up Line" Greetings. Would telecom technology help President Bush build his "coalition of the willing" to battle Iraq? "Fact Squad Radio" speculates with a handy example as described below ... --Lauren-- "REALITY RESET" http://www.vortex.com/reality Satire by Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com) = = = = = = = = = = = = = February 22, 2003 Today's Edition: "Thank You For Calling the War Sign-Up Line" = = = = = = = = = = = = = To subscribe or unsubscribe to/from this list, please send the command "subscribe" or "unsubscribe" respectively (without the quotes) in the body of an e-mail to "reality-request@vortex.com". = = = = = = = = = = = = = Greetings. In a departure from the usual format, this message is to let you know about a "Fact Squad Radio" short audio segment that may be of interest to "Reality Reset" readers. The piece runs under three minutes and is encoded as standard MP3 audio. It suggests a possible procedure that countries could use to join President Bush's "coalition of the willing" and is entitled: "Thank You For Calling the War Sign-Up Line" It is playable via: http://www.factsquad.org/radio I hope you find it interesting, or at least amusing. Thank you. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@vortex.com For information about the author, please see: http://www.vortex.com/lauren = = = = = = = = = = = = = Copyright 2003 by Vortex Technology. All rights reserved. This item may be freely redistributed so long as it is complete and includes this notice. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #308 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Feb 23 01:37:42 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1N6bg904147; Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:37:42 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:37:42 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302230637.h1N6bg904147@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 V22 #309 TELECOM Digest Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:38:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 309 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Nigerian Slain Over E-Mail Scam (Monty Solomon) Perspective: Closer to a National ID Plan? (Monty Solomon) Land-Line Rules in a Wireless World (Monty Solomon) Why European ISPs Need Partners (Monty Solomon) Increasingly, TV Viewers are Going to the Dogs (Monty Solomon) EFFector 16.5: Public Asks For DMCA Exemptions; FCC Considers (M. Solomon) Fingerprinting P2P Pirates (Monty Solomon) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (John R. Levine) Re: 56kbps and PCM Channels (John R. Levine) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Phil Earnhardt) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (SELLCOM Tech Support) Re: T-1: Tip and Ring (John Higdon) Some Messages Lost Tonight (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:28:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nigerian Slain Over E-Mail Scam By Michelle Delio A notorious e-mail scam has resulted in the murder of a Nigerian diplomat in the Czech Republic. Fifty-year-old Michael Lekara Wayid, Nigeria's consul in the Czech Republic, was shot dead by an unidentified 72-year-old Czech at the Nigerian Embassy in Prague on Wednesday. According to police reports, the suspect was a victim of the 419 scam, a thriving industry that employs thousands of people around the world. The scammers successfully manage to extort money from thousands of victims by promising them compensation for assistance in moving funds from foreign countries to banks in the United States. The criminals typically make their money by extracting ever-escalating sums of money for bribes, bank fees and the like from their "business partners," that is, the folks they scam. But according to early reports in Nigerian and Czech newspapers, the gunman's bank account was drained after he gave the account number and other personal details to someone posing as a senior Nigerian official. It is not known whether the suspect was contacted by e-mail or other means. The 419 scams were carried out by postal mail until the advent of e-mail, but, according to FBI reports, most 419 scams are now conducted, at least in the early stages, by e-mail. According Nigerian newspaper reports, the suspect arrived at the embassy and said he needed to discuss a business matter. He was referred to Wayid. Soon afterward, an embassy receptionist heard raised voices followed by shots and went to investigate. The receptionist was then reportedly shot in the hand, but managed to flee and call embassy security, who detained the suspect until police arrived. The suspect was arrested and is now hospitalized at Prague's Central Military Hospital after collapsing at the scene. The receptionist is also being treated at the same hospital. Both are expected to recover. Nigerian newspaper This Day reports that the shooter had visited the embassy "regularly over the past year" in an attempt to recover the money he had lost. http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,57760,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:36:07 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Perspective: Closer to a national ID plan? Perspective: Closer to a national ID plan? By Declan McCullagh February 17, 2003, 4:00 AM PT WASHINGTON -- A little-known company called EagleCheck is hoping to provide a standardized identity check technique that governments and corporations will use to verify that you are who you claim to be. EagleCheck, a privately held firm in Cleveland, proposes that whenever someone uses a driver's license or a passport for identity verification, the ID's authenticity will be checked through EagleCheck's network, which is tied to state motor vehicle and federal databases. The databases will respond by saying whether the ID is valid. I ran into David Akers, EagleCheck's president, last week in a Senate office building where he was hawking his system to a crowd of politicians understandably nervous about Threat Level Orange, Osama bin Laden, and possible terrorist attacks sparked by a looming invasion of Iraq. Stacked on a table were brochures warning in stark crimson letters that "EagleCheck could have flagged" 14 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001, because some had used expired visas and stolen passports. Akers has had some success so far. In December, the Transportation Security Administration gave permission for EagleCheck to link its systems "to government databases" in a pair of test projects at the Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, airports. But EagleCheck isn't limiting its marketing plan to airport security. "We are certainly looking at a variety of other applications other than airports," said Akers, listing bars, banks, government buildings -- in short, wherever ID is required -- as possible customers. If EagleCheck or a similar system succeeds, it raises the specter of something akin to a national identity card, a concept that Americans have shunned in the past but could return in a more high-tech form. (In a column last summer, I wrote about how the White House was pressuring state governments to move in this direction by standardizing on driver's licenses.) ... http://news.com.com/2010-1071-984792.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:39:06 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Land-Line Rules in a Wireless World By SIMON ROMERO In fits and starts, local telephone competition has taken hold in many parts of the country since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 - most significantly in New York, the home state of the nation's biggest local phone company, Verizon Communications. And yet, in many ways local competition is taking forms, like the remarkable growth of wireless communications and the emergence of Internet-based telephone systems, that were beyond the imagination of many policy makers of the mid-1990's. That is why, for all the lobbying devoted to it, the compromise effort yesterday by the Federal Communications Commission to fine-tune the 1996 rules for competition may prove steadily less relevant in the coming years. The fact is, even as more local telephone lines have been claimed by the Bells' competitors in recent years -- 11 percent by the middle of last year -- the actual number of local phone lines in the nation has been edging down, as consumers and businesses adopt wireless phones and other alternatives. In 2001, for the first time since the Depression, the overall number of local access lines declined, falling by half a percent from the previous year, to 191.7 million lines. Last year, it fell again, to 189.1 million. And so rather than being preoccupied with the tug of war over access to their local phone networks, some analysts say, the local Bell companies like Verizon, SBC Communications and BellSouth are likely to focus more on ways to fend off competitors that do not need the Bells' phone lines at all. Increasingly, that means the Bells will need to offer consumers bundles of services like local, wireless, long-distance and fast Internet links. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/21/business/21COMP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:45:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Why European ISPs Need Partners Article at a glance: Why European ISPs need partners As compared with independent Internet service providers, European telcos have certain advantages that helped them gain and hold greater market share than their US counterparts, which were left in the dust by strong independent ISPs such as AOL and EarthLink. The continuing strength of the telcos might deter entrepreneurs from entering the ISP market-but shouldn't. The upcoming round of growth in Internet services will offer new revenue streams for companies that choose their partners wisely. The take-away On-line subscription services for newspapers, music, and gaming finally are becoming viable businesses. Operators that want to enter (or survive in) Europe's ISP market should consider partnering with these services, as well as with portals, to share development costs and customers. http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/ar_g.asp?ar=1280&pagenum=1&L2=22&L3=77&srid=21&gp=1 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 23:36:45 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Increasingly, TV Viewers Are Going to the Dogs ANIMAL BEAT By Vicki Croke, Globe Correspondent, 2/22/2003 These days, if you ask a sports fan who he likes in the big competition, he's just as likely to say ''the poodle'' as ''the Red Sox.'' OK, maybe we're not quite there yet. But dog shows are booming in popularity and giving chase to some previously untouchable professional athletic events, such as pro football. Take Thanksgiving Day. NBC put the National Dog Show from Philadelphia up against the National Football League's game between the New England Patriots and the Detroit Lions. The dog show fetched 19 million viewers for all or part of the show. The USA Network's broadcast this month of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden -- the Super Bowl of dog shows -- had its highest ratings ever, with nearly 10 million viewers over two nights. The Animal Planet cable network, which aired the American Kennel Club/Eukanuba National Invitational Championship out of Florida last month, picked up more than a million viewers. The number of dog shows and participants is growing, too. In 1930, 40,000 dogs competed in AKC shows. In 2001, it was more than 1.5 million. Attendance seems to be up, though no one has documented this reliably. The Bay Colony Cluster in Boston routinely pulls in 15,000 spectators. Despite a few glitches, including a snowstorm this year, it has been on an upward trend for years. There is even dog-show buzz on the street these days: ''That Ibizan was robbed!'' Why dogs? Why now? Haven't we loved them for at least 15,000 years? Why is interest in them exploding at this time? ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/053/living/Increasingly_TV_viewers_are_going_to_the_dogs+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 00:35:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 16.5: Public Asks for DMCA Exemptions; FCC Considers EFFector Vol. 16, No. 5 February 20, 2003 ren@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 244th Issue of EFFector: * Public Asks Copyright Office to Allow Common CD/DVD Uses * FCC Considers Broadcast Flag for Digital Television * Mailing List Headaches? Contact Us * Got Esq? Join the EFF Cooperating Attorney List * Deep Links (5): Labels Move to Scan AU University Email Servers for MP3s * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/HTML/effect16.05.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 00:48:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Fingerprinting P2P Pirates By John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com For months, the digital equivalent of a postal censor has been sorting through virtually all file-swapping traffic on the University of Wyoming's network, quietly noting every trade of an Eminem song or "Friends" episode. The technology, provided by Los Gatos, Calif., company Audible Magic, isn't yet blocking individual file trades. But that's the next step. As the company begins testing its service with more universities, corporations and small Internet service providers during next few weeks and months, this peer-to-peer monitoring and blocking technology threatens to open the next front in the online piracy wars. With the capacity to look inside every bit of data that flows over a network -- whether it's part of a song being illegally traded or a personal e-mail -- this new generation of antipiracy technology is sure to prove controversial. But some administrators at universities and corporations -- deluged by peer-to-peer traffic that continues to overwhelm their networks -- say they're ready for this sweeping step. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985027.html ------------------------------ Date: 22 Feb 2003 22:26:11 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has > precisely the desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to > clean up their act. Perhaps, but when mandated by a government in the United States, it has horrendous first amendment problems. It's also not clear to me what standard these mandated blocks use. If it's anything like the standards that web filters use, it boils down to "stuff we don't like." John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ Date: 22 Feb 2003 22:30:20 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: 56kbps and PCM Channels Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > (56 kilobits per second) The data > capacity of a normal single channel digital telephone > channel in North America. The figure is derived from the > {bandwidth} of 4 kHz allocated for such a channel and the > 16-bit encoding (4000 times 16 = 64000) used to change > {analogue} signals to digital, minus the 8000 bit/s used for > signalling and supervision. > Was this particular coding scheme ever used? It's > my understanding that its always been eight bit encoding at > 8000 samples per second. That's the standard coding scheme used on voice channels in North America. The encoding is 64Kb, but since the low bit in each frame is "robbed" to indicate supervision, the useful bandwidth is 56Kb. When we use T1s for data, we use a more modern framing scheme that gives us the full 64Kb. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner http://iecc.com/johnl Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 21:08:49 -0700 On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 00:23:49 -0500, Gail M. Hall wrote: > On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:58:21 -0700, in comp.dcom.telecom message > , you wrote: >> Hewlett-Packard uses a company called "m0.net" to send out newsletters >> about HP products. > Obviously, you don't get those newsletters. [SNIP] That's a strange thing to say. I have received dozens. Would you like me to forward one to you? Perhaps I didn't pay enough attention to the headers. But one thing is for certain: there was absolutely no HP contact info contained anywhere in the e-mailing. >> But I do not have a business relationship with HP. >> And m0.net doesn't publish telephone contact information. The messages >> never contained any HP contact information, either. This is SPAM, and >> it certainly appears to be sanctioned by HP. > If you are getting messages from this "m0.com" address, I suspect it > is a spammer look-alike and not the real thing. When you say "real thing", are you talking about a mailing list that has an "opt in" list? That's the only kind of legitimate e-mail marketeering there is. > At the end of every message I get from the HP news people, I see > instructions for unsubscribing, change of address, and other things. > If you do not see such instructions at the ends of the messages you get, >then you are not hearing from the *real HP*. The logic of your statement escapes me. Are you saying I should know the mailings I got were illegitimate because the mailings you got were supposedly legitimate? > Here is what it says about unsubscribing: >> To unsubscribe from the HP Newsgram and HP Business Essentials, >> hit reply and type "UNSUBSCRIBE" as the subject line. You may be naive about SPAM and SPAMMERS. Here's the scoop: most of them now have an "unsubscribe" URL or e-mail address. And the rule is to never ever send anything to it. All you've succeeded in doing is verifying that a particular e-mail address is "live". To turn it into a slogan: if you're already spamming me, why in heaven's name would I entrust you with a verified e-mail address? Requesting to unsubscribe from SPAM e-mailings is problematic. The best that one can do is to add the offending sender to your filter list. > They don't force you to go to their web page or anything like that. I have no idea what this means. I never ever opted in to any HP e-mail list. I don't know how to say it any more plainly than that. >> [Note: I'm not trying to single out HP here; there are many companies >> that are doing such things. It's just one company that has spammed me >> personally. OTOH, if anyone at HP is reading this and can tell me more >> about these spams from m0.net, I'd appreciate it.] > I suspect you are not hearing from the real HP people. What you say doesn't make sense: why would some company gratuitously promote HP products if they weren't hired by HP to do that? Why go to the trouble? There's no money in it for them ... unless HP has hired them to send out the mailings. > Gail in Ohio USA --phil ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 00:53:35 -0500 Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Phil Earnhardt posted on that vast internet thingie: > If Pfizer had an aggressive program for dealing with the venders who > were [ab]using e-mail to sell Viagra, then there would be far less > likelihood that an e-mail containing that word to be flagged as SPAM. Symantec could also deal with those vendors spamming their antivirus stuff, unless it is just piracy. When I get those spams I forward them to the piracy depts of the manufacturers just in case. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, Vtech 5.8Ghz EnGenius NEW EP436 4line (the longest range), Panasonic, Twinhead notebooks, WatchGuard firewall, Okidata, Polycom! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: T1 - Tip and Ring Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:06:32 -0800 In article , Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote: > I think T1 uses "B3ZS" which means that if there are four > zeroes in a row, the fourth one will be replaced by a "bipolar > violation" (no psych jokes, please :-) -- a pulse with the same polarity > as the previous pulse. The receiver is smart enough to call this BPV a > zero. That's "B8ZS". > Grammar and spelling flames welcome. Spelling correction, not a flame. > Yes, that's really my email address. Don't change it. So is mine. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Some Messages Lost Tonight Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 00:00:00 EST At least one or two messages were lost in processing Saturday night and cannot seem to be recovered. It happens sometimes, and I must apologize. If you sent in a message late Saturday and it did not make it here as of now, then please resubmit it. You probably *did* get an auto reply. Sorry, Mark Brader, maybe others. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #309 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Feb 23 19:44:45 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1O0ijQ08297; Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:44:45 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:44:45 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302240044.h1O0ijQ08297@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 V22 #310 TELECOM Digest Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:45:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 310 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson For MP3 lovers, a Sound Investment in Home Networking (Monty Solomon) 'Five Years From Now You'll See Virtually no CD Stores' (Monty Solomon) As Music Consumers Download, They Unload Over CD Prices (Monty Solomon) Media Copyright Law Put to Unexpected Uses (Monty Solomon) Brazil's Oi Phone Firm in Talks to Buy BCP - Report (Monty Solomon) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Richard D G Cox) ICANN Future Extensions? (Al Franz) Re: Is it Possible to Make an Intercom System With WE Phones? (Comm. Riker) Re: Clear Channel's Big, Stinking Deregulation Mess (Ron Bean) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Brader) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Crispin) Re: Traffic Engineering: Reducing Peakedness (John R. Myers) Re: Netizen Ronda (Dave Phelps) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 16:29:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: For MP3 Lovers, a Sound Investment in Home Networking GEAR By Christopher Muther, Globe Staff, 2/23/2003 At this moment, I have exactly 1,459 MP3 files stored on the hard disk of my home computer. In an average week, I listen to maybe a dozen of these songs on my MP3 player, while the remainder sit on a virtual shelf, collecting cyber dust. Over the past week, however, I've become reacquainted with my MP3 collection with help from Turtle Beach's AudioTron ($299.95, www.turtlebeach.com). It's a great concept: Take advantage of your home's existing ethernet or HPNA (Home Phone Networking Alliance) to deliver music from your computer to anywhere in the house that you please. The AudioTron is designed to look like a proper stereo component and connects directly into a receiver, only the AudioTron will put the rest of your stereo components to shame. It holds a library of up to 30,000 songs when linked to a computer, plus it plays Internet radio stations. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/living/For_MP3_lovers_a_sound_investment_in_home_networking+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 16:43:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 'Five Years From Now You'll See Virtually no CD Stores' THE MUSIC BUSINESS: WHAT'S NEXT? On the eve of the Grammy Awards, the recording industry is under siege: As the Internet drives a file-sharing revolution, it's the end of the (music) world as we know it By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff, 2/23/2003 It's 2008 and you want the new Coldplay album. You walk into a record store where there are no records, enter a kiosk, and download the collection directly onto your portable digital audio device. Or maybe you're an old-schooler with a soft spot for quaint technology. You sit down at the computer, whip out the $30 prepaid card you got for Christmas, log on to Amazon.com, and burn a few of the 50 tracks you've got coming onto a compact disc. Voila: instant artifact. Perhaps you'll click over to your music subscription service. Depending on your plan, you download tracks No. 2, 7, and 11 for a dollar each into your Internet-wired home stereo or, as a monthly subscriber, load an iPod to your heart's content. Actually, it might be cooler to download the radio single directly to your mobile phone and make it your new polyphonic, master-quality ring tune. The bold new world toward which the music industry is headed will barely be on display tonight, when a pageant of pop stars takes the stage at Madison Square Garden for the 45th Annual Grammy Awards. The industry's woes are likely to be drowned out by the sound of business as usual: fans screaming, stars swapping verses, label executives getting paid their due. But like it or not, the music industry is in a free fall, and things are about to change. The very foundation on which the business is structured -- selling music to stores -- is eroding at an astonishing pace. Sales of recorded music have fallen about 16 percent over the last two years. By contrast, sales of blank CDs jumped 40 percent in 2002, and users of the biggest online file-trading service, Kazaa, outnumber what Napster ever had. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/living/_Five_years_from_now_you_ll_see_virtually_no_CD_stores_+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 16:47:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: As Music Consumers Download, They Unload Over CD Prices Bring down the costs and they'll stop getting tunes via the Internet, they say By Renee Graham, Globe Staff, 2/23/2003 Even with a world of music just a few keystrokes away, Andrea Luca Rossi isn't inclined to spend hours on his computer downloading his favorite songs. ''I'm on computers all day, and my eyes get tired,'' said Rossi, general manager at Le Soir Bistro in Newton Highlands. ''The last thing I want to do when I'm home is sit at a computer downloading music. I'd rather spend the $20 and buy the CD.'' Even though Rossi, 39, will occasionally download music, he believes nothing can replace the tactile experience of strolling into a record store and walking out with a new CD in hand. He has felt that way since he was a kid buying Pink Floyd and Deep Purple albums, and he still enjoys the sensation when he picks up the latest CD by Peter Gabriel or a Cafe Del Mar compilation. ''Really, I prefer to go to the store,'' he says. ''I still have fun going to buy music, and I try to support, as much as I can, the local stores.'' If there's any truth to the recording industry's latest lamentations, consumers such as Rossi are disappearing faster than Britney Spears's fan base. With revenues declining, label executives contend loyal paying customers are more the exception than the rule as an increasing number of music fans download music for free via Internet services as Kazaa and Morpheus. Yet, consumers who bypass traditional methods for obtaining their music insist their intention isn't to cheat artists but to shake an industry alienating its lifeblood -- music fans. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/living/As_music_consumers_download_they_unload_over_CD_prices+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 17:14:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Media Copyright Law Put to Unexpected Uses Companies are using legislation meant to restrain Web piracy to try to shut down rivals. By David Streitfeld LA Times Staff Writer February 23, 2003 Under pressure from the entertainment industry, Congress passed a bill in 1998 to restrain Internet piracy. The law made it illegal to break the digital locks shielding a piece of intellectual property -- an electronic book, say, or a CD or DVD. Just as Congress hoped, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is proving a potent weapon. The recording industry, for example, is successfully using the law to force an Internet service provider to surrender the name of an alleged pirate. But Hollywood isn't the only industry that can wield this sword. Companies that have nothing to do with the entertainment world have discovered the law's broad reach. Dow Chemical Co. used the DMCA to shut down a Web site that attacked the company. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers invoked it to remove the details of forthcoming sales from a site for bargain hunters. Apple Computer Inc. cited the DMCA to stop one of its dealers from producing and selling software that allowed Apple's new DVD-burning technology to be used on earlier models of its Macintosh computers. Apple didn't explain its motivation, but commentators noted that upgraded older machines meant fewer sales of new Macs. ... http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-dmca23feb23,1,4074563.story ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:57:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Brazil's Oi Phone Firm in Talks to Buy BCP - Report RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Oi, the mobile phone unit of Brazil's biggest phone company, Telemar (SAO:TNLP4) (NYSE:TNE), is negotiating to buy cellular phone carrier BCP to gain access to the country's wealthiest market of Sao Paulo, a local newspaper said on Friday. BCP is owned by U.S. phone company BellSouth (NYSE:BLS) and Brazil's powerful Safra family. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31738517 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 16:18:24 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Reply-To: nospam@numbering.com Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 at 15:58 UT Phil Earnhardt wrote: > Hewlett-Packard uses a company called "m0.net" to send out newsletters > about HP products. But I do not have a business relationship with HP. > And m0.net doesn't publish telephone contact information. You can get domain information from the registry: Domain Name: M0.NET Registrant: Digital Impact, Inc. (M103-DOM) 177 Bovet Rd. Suite 200, San Mateo, CA 94402 US Administrative Contact: Administrator, DNS (AD13461-OR) dnsadmin@DIGITALIMPACT.COM Digital Impact, 177 Bovet Road, Suite 200 San Mateo, CA 94402 US Phone +1 650-356-3400 Fax +1 650-357-3515 Technical Contact: TechSupport, DNS (TD4914-ORG) dnstechsupp@DIGITALIMPACT.COM (details as above) Digital Impact claim "Superior Results in Online Direct Marketing" and their webpages claim Hewlett Packard as a client. But they are based in California ... where there are specific laws about spam. > The messages never contained any HP contact information, either. > This is SPAM, and it certainly appears to be sanctioned by HP. Always unwise to make assumptions ;-)) You should write and ask HP. That would give you a good opportunity to explain your views on spam. p0.net claims to be sell.com, hosted by Internap and p0.com is Yesmail. Nobody even slightly familiar with spam prevention will find either of those surprising! Richard Cox ------------------------------ Reply-To: Al Franz From: Al Franz Subject: ICANN Future Extensions? Organization: Netmation Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:13:25 GMT What is a good resource to understand the current state of ICANN approving additional domain extensions? Tried to find the information on http://www.icann.org but was unable to find. ------------------------------ From: bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com (Commander Riker) Subject: Re: Is it Possible to Make an Intercom System With WE Phones? Date: 22 Feb 2003 23:14:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Thanks for detailed the info!! One question, the voltage does not matter for voice communiations? The reason I ask is that I have 12DC volt power supply available. bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com (Commander Riker) wrote in message news:: > I have a few old Western Electric model 554 wall phones that I would > like to make an intetcom system with. In particular I would like to > put one model 554 in the house and one in my garage which is set apart > from my home. > I have the Bell System Service Station manuals but can't find any info > on this. I know it is possible. Do I need to get a telephone line > simulator, like > http://www.teltone.com/telecom_solutions/test_tools/test_tls-4_features.html > or can I wire these old phones somehow to work as an intercom system? > TIA. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just to talk from one place to another > via intercom is an easy job. Take any two of your phones. Let's assume > the wiring is 'standard' red/green. Take the 'red' wire from one phone > and wire it in series to the 'green' wire on the other through some > small battery, or if you wish, a battery eliminator such as one from > Radio Shack. If you want, use a transformer at some low voltage, let's > say 3-4.5 volts and maybe a half of an amp. The values don't have to > be exact, just very low power. Now take the remaining green wire from > the one phone and wire it straight across to the red wire on the other > phone. Now when both phones are off hook, you can 'hear; the sidetone > or 'battery' and talk to the other end. If either end replaces the > receiver -- hangs up -- the circuit is broken and the party still off > hook gets dead silence. > Of course neither end wants to sit there with a phone to his ear > listening for the event he will hear a click and the battery start so > there can be a conversation. So what you do is get a couple of little > tiny buzzers and put one in each phone. Wire them through the contacts > on the 'network' inside the phones so that if either phone goes off > hook the battery will have a path to the other phone *through the > little buzzer* and back to the originating phone. Now when either end > goes off hook, the little buzzer in the opposite phone will make a > noise -- a continuing little 'buzz sound' -- which notifies the other > end that a caller wants to speak with him. Most of the contacts on the > network inside the phone are 'normally open', that is, not making > contact until the phone goes off hook. But there is one pair of > contacts inside the phone which is just the opposite, normally closed > until the phone comes off hook. Use those contacts to silence the > buzzer when the phone goes off hook, so that the called party does not > get buzzing all the time he is trying to talk on the phone. If you > want to get a bit more fancy, get one of those things they use on > Christmas trees to make the lights blink on and off every couple seconds. > Put this in series with the low voltage buzzer you have installed, > and the result will be the buzzer goes buzz-silence-buzz-silence, etc. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Low power voltage (not harmful to human beings) of a 'few' volts works fine. Regular, old fashioned phones have around ten volts on the line. In fact, it is the change in voltage which signals the central office to respond with dial tone. Do not put so much voltage on the line that the person talking on the phone gets 'tickled' when they pick up the receiver or touch the little buzzer, etc. Low power through a small transformer should work fine, such as your twelve volts. Keep the amperage under control also; 500 milliamps is enough or even a full amp. Just remember, put the power supply in series to ONE SIDE of the two-wire connector in a 'figure 8' manner; one side of power to the 'green' wire on one phone, the other side of the power supply to the 'red' wire on the other phone. Then tie the remaining two wires (one red and one green) together. The juice will flow right through those two phones and carry your voice quite well, as long as they are both *off hook*. If you don't want to fiddle around with a signal buzzer on either (both) end, then use a speaker phone in place of regular phones and just speak up when you want to talk to the other end. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 03:46:46 -0600 From: Ron Bean Subject: Re: Clear Channel's Big, Stinking Deregulation Mess > In an era when Republicans control the government and big business > generally gets what it wants, Clear Channel is making deregulation > look bad. What did they expect? Deregulation means sacrificing service to increase efficiency. Regulation means sacrificing efficiency to increase service. There's no free lunch, you pays your money and you takes your choice. Clear Channel did exactly what they were supposed to do. (OBtelecom: The old AT&T emphasized service specifically to avoid this kind of backlash. Were they the only monopoly that ever figured this out?) ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 01:38:11 -0500 (EST) From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) Mark Crispin: > ... widely-deployed blocking by IP address has precisely the desired > effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to clean up their act. > Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent > of a boycott. No, boycotts are voluntary. > The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral damage. No, it isn't. Mark Brader, Toronto | "I don't _want_ people using Linux for ideological msb@vex.net | reasons. I think ideology sucks." -- Torvalds [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Would you please explain to Mark Crispin, myself, and others here what you believe the 'entire purpose of a boycott' is in that case? Although boycotts are technically a voluntary thing, there are instances -- for example a labor strike or work stoppage, where there are often times many social ramifications for folks who choose not to go along. Boycotts are, in name at least, a voluntary thing. But since you mention it, what do you, Mark Brader, feel is 'the entire point of a boycott'? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 03:06:17 -0800 Organization: Networks and Distributed Computing On Sat, 22 Feb 2003, John R. Levine wrote: >> On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has >> precisely the desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to >> clean up their act. > Perhaps, but when mandated by a government in the United States, it > has horrendous first amendment problems. Considering that government has been trampling on the Second Amendment for decades (particularly in the past 35 years), it shouldn't surprise anyone that the first is now getting its turn to be stomped. This isn't really new either; let's not forget the "hate crime" and "hate speech" laws that the Democrats began importing in the 1990s from our little "allies" in Europe. Speaking of which ... in France it is now a crime to show disrepect to the French flag or national anthem; big fine and prison time. The UK has just put its citzens on notice that if you violate a law of some other EU country, even if you never set foot in that country and the act is not a crime in the UK, you can be extradited. France and Germany prosecute US-based web sites for content that is legal in the US, but illegal in France and Germany. Our cousins north of the 49th parallel are still reeling from recent laws in Canada. Don't kid yourself. Freedom of speech is getting kicked around, and it's a lot worse than whether or not an IP address is blocked because it carries dirty pictures. The kicking around is more subtle than the totalitarian movements of the 20s and 30s, but the end state is the same. Only the refusal of the US government to sign certain UN treaties (with high-sounding names and motivations but rather horrifying consequences) stands in the way of the end of the Bill of Rights in the US. I wish that I could be more optimistic. I suspect that in a few more years, we'll be told that the First Amendment is about the right of the state government to print newspapers. If there's a hopeful note to be sounded, it's that Russia is starting to buck the trend. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If the government starts trampling on the First Amendment (more than they are already) it will ruin my joke about same. Recall how 'liberal' folks, in their idealogical consistency for many years have messed with the Second Amendment while worshipping and lauding the First Amendment. You see, while sticks and stones (or in this context, guns) may break your bones, names will never hurt you. Or so 'they' say. Do like me, fire off your mouth all you like, that's cool, but fire off a gun and someone might get hurt or killed. That's how many people think, and because the USA government is so dreadfully afraid of wholesale rebellion if the general public was to routinely and legally possess guns, that is the reason for the rationale which goes like this: "The Second Amendment 'clearly' states that 'in order to have a well ordered milita' the right of the citizens to bear arms will not be infringed." Or some words close to that. That 'well ordered militia' they claim is our military forces. Of all the Amendments, the Second is the only one which in the opinion of many liberals -- and the government and their police agencies -- gives rights to the *government* instead of the citizens. That argument about 'well ordered militia equaling our National Guard' is an old, tired argument. My joke goes like this: If the Second Amendment references to a well- ordered militia refers to the national military, therefore the rest of us 'have no need for weapons', then the First Amendment must be interpreted the same way: Since the New York Times and the Washington Post (and its sister publication, News Weak magazine) both have 'well ordered' and highly sophisticated routines in place to speak for the rest of us, then we don't need free speech either. If you wish to speak, let the newspapers do it for you. After all, if you wish to fire a gun, the government 'has the right' (according to the government and many 'liberal' supporters) to fire the gun for you. I guess before long they will claim they have 'the right' to speak for you also; after all, they wouldn't say or do anything you disagree with, would they? United we stand as Americans and all that. Anyway, that's my joke. When the First Amendment gets 'administrativly revoked' (as happened years ago to the Second) then my joke won't have any meaning any longer. **Please no not misunderstand my posture here.*** I *personally* hate and despise guns or weapons. I would *never* have one in my home. I am afraid of guns, and grow physically ill having them around. I think in my lifetime, I have touched one gun, one time. But I certainly would not want to deny other people the right to own weapons or use them in a responsible way. That's the difference; the government would prefer that no one (but themselves) could have them, and in their arrogance, they would not hesitate to use them. At least they never have thus far. Okay, Mark Crispin, others who would prefer that I say nothing of the Liberal Crap Variety, and stick to Telecom Topics in this forum. Are you a little happier now? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 22:47:09 -0800 Reply-To: jmyers@n6wuz.net From: John R. Myers Subject: Re: Traffic Engineering: Reducing Peakedness lnpr@yahoo.com (Nekele) asked on 16 Feb 2003: > Hello, > What are some techniques for reducing the day-to-day peakedness of > traffic on Alternate Final routes, so that the usage of those trunks > is increased? > 2. Would decreasing the size of the Intermediate High Usage trunk > groups, thereby increasing the amount of traffic on the Alternate > Final trunk group help? This will help you to accomplish your goal of reducing peakedness on your final trunk group. > 3. Would consolidating numerous Alternate Final trunk groups (each > with varying traffic patterns) into fewer larger Alternate Final trunk > groups help? Probably not, unless there are measurements proving that the different groups have non-coincident busy hours. > -> the question being, does mixing more traffic into the Alternate > Final trunk groups (#2 & #3 above) create smoother, less peaked > traffic, so that Z is lower? You really need to provide a better problem description. Is there a quality-of-service requirement? In solution #2 you could end up with high levels of blocked calls for some origin-destination pairs. Is that OK? To analyze an alternate routing network you need to use a computer unless you are dealing with a trivially-simple network. The computer analysis is meaningless unless it is grounded in accurate measurements of offered traffic; and the traffic measurement part is far more expensive than the computer-aided design and analysis part. Start with the engineering problem of maximizing the dollar value of the traffic carried while minimizing the network cost. This gives you some idea of how much measurement and analysis you can reasonably afford to do on any given network. I hope this question was just a homework problem ... don't go moving trunk groups around on the basis of guesswork. John R. Myers / mailto:jmyers@n6wuz.net P.O. Box 50662 Palo Alto, California 94303 / USA tel. +1 650 322-6863 / fax. +1 650 322-7041 ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Netizen Ronda Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 11:04:34 -0600 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , andrew@nats.edu says: > Can anyone spot Ronda in this video? > http://w3.kill-9.com/peace.mov > Andrew LMAO! That was hilarious. I believe I will be saving my breath (fingers?) from here out. How could I convince such bright, knowledgable people to see something my way, just by presenting indisputable facts? I can't. So instead, I'll just start asking them questions about their own position. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Are you certain you got that URL > correct? The first part w3.kill-9.com only got me the single word > 'blah2' in the upper corner of my screen. From there, appending > the directory 'peace.mov' got me a little tiny square with three > small colored objects in it. No videos, even when I tried appending > things like '.htm' and '.html' following that. I thought maybe it was > a broken movie, or just slow loading, so I tried it again, and went > to get a drink then came back in five minutes. Still nothing. What > am I/did I miss in this? PAT] Pat, it's not streaming, you have to download the whole thing. It doesn't look like it's doing anything. I knew it was downloading because the lights on my hub were showing activity. Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #310 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Feb 24 14:14:24 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1OJENs13169; Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:14:24 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:14:24 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302241914.h1OJENs13169@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 V22 #311 TELECOM Digest Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:13:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 311 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Brader) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Al Iverson) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (John Higdon) 900Mhz Staticky Reception and WiFi (Duane Morin) Re: ICANN Future Extensions? (Judith Oppenheimer) Re: The Perils of E-Mail (Barry Margolin) CHP Rethinks Phones/In a Reversal, The Agency Favors a Bill (Monty Solomon) CERT Advisory CA-2003-06 Multiple Vulnerabilities (Monty Solomon) The Next Space Race (Monty Solomon) Sun, Again, Bets Against the Odds (Monty Solomon) Sony Ericsson P800 Focuses On Phone Over E-Mail Tool (Monty Solomon) ESI Announces New Products For 2003 (BHAX) Need Hitachi HCX 5600 PBX Manual Please!!! (E) Re: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting (Reverend Dr. Benrand) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Paul A Lee) Last Laugh! 800 Business Directory (Steven Lichter) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:56:59 EST From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) Mark Crispin wrote: >>> The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral damage. I (Mark Brader) wrote: >> No, it isn't. I'll go further and say that it's logically impossible for the *entire* reason for *anything* to be to cause collateral damage! TELECOM Digest Editor then noted in response: > Would you please explain to Mark Crispin, myself, and others here > what you believe the 'entire purpose of a boycott' is in that case? To damage the person or organization being boycotted, until they either shut down or make some concession desired by the boycott's organizers; to gain publicity for the cause in question, and promote unity among those sympathetic to it. Mark Brader, Toronto | "Anyone who can handle a needle convincingly can make msb@vex.net | us see a thread which is not there." --E.H. Gombrich My text in this article is in the public domain. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But isn't your latest (more lengthy) definition of 'boycott' essentially what Mark Crispin said in fewer words, 'to cause collateral damage'? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Al Iverson Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: WombatMail(sm) Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 19:37:20 -0600 In article , msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote: > Mark Crispin: >> ... widely-deployed blocking by IP address has precisely the desired >> effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to clean up their act. >> Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent >> of a boycott. > No, boycotts are voluntary. >> The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral damage. > No, it isn't. Actually, yes, it is. I would recommend that you investigate how DNSBL anti-spam "spam source" blacklists work. Look at how lists like SPEWS or Spamsites will expand listings to include servers that are not directly involved in a spam issue. The point of doing so is to increase the pressure on the entity causing the spam or spam problem, either directly or indirectly. In the case of directly, the blacklist will list the corporate mailservers of the ISP hosting what they don't like. In the case of indirectly, the blacklist will list the IP addresses and/or networks of other customers on that ISP. Then those customers complain to the ISP for not resolving the problem with the blacklisting entity. In the realm of anti-spam blocking, that's called collateral damage, and it's quite common. It makes non-spam mail bounce, on purpose, to cause pain to whoever runs or owns that server or network. I've run multiple DNSBLs, and I used to work for the Mail Abuse Prevention System. My current employer, where I work as internal spam policeman, has been periodically subject to both types, even though the issues didn't directly relate to any conduct relating to us or our network. So, I know what I'm talking about. Regards, Al Iverson -- http://www.spamresource.com -- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Protected by WombatMail! -- Disclaimer: All of my opinions are mine alone. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 16:53:40 -0800 In article , Mark Crispin wrote: > On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has precisely the > desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to clean up their act. The problem with that is: who sets "the standards" and who enforces them? One man's pornography is another man's vital medical information. Swinging a club through cyberspace in the defense of truth and right can have unintended consequences. > Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent > of a boycott. The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral > damage. By whom and for whom? > The ISPs and providers will ultimately be forced to choose between their > sleazy customers and their legitimate customers. Either way, it makes > things easier for the rest of us. So will someone supply ISPs with a detailed list of "sleazy" customers and a list of "acceptable" customers? How will they know? Sometimes opinions vary. > I feel sorry for legitimate entities that find themselves in bad > neighborhoods, but not that sorry. So now we need a third list of "acceptable" hosting sites so that web site owners can find the ISPs that have and honor the "sleazy" and "acceptable" definitions lists. Great. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some of you may recall, I had a discussion similar to this with Joey Lindstrom not too long ago about what I consider 'acceptable spam' versus the garbage stuff. I said something about my general approval of (admittedly unsolicited) items sent by educational institutions for use in this Digest. We then got into discussion of 'making subjective decisions'. Remember that discussion? If I quote Joey correctly, he said *all* UCE was essentially spam. All I can say is if we knew 20 years ago what we know today I have to wonder if Usenet would have ever gotten started. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dmorin@morinfamily.com (Duane Morin) Subject: 900Mhz Staticky Reception and WiFi Date: 23 Feb 2003 16:31:09 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I have an AT&T 900Mhz phone whose features I'm very happy with -- voice caller ID alone is worth the price so that I don't have to get up off the couch when it's my wife's parents :). However, it has lately gone pretty staticky and my wife now hates it. I've heard it too, and she's not exaggerating. It's pretty crummy. Before I assume that it is a hardware failure and just run out to get another version of the exact same phone, can somebody give me ideas what might cause this? I'm running 802.11b in the house but I was under the impression that that screwed up the 2Gig phones not the 900Mhz ones. Could the battery not be fully charged? Is it a channel thing? I doubt that it has to do with any particular call that's being made because the static can be heard even during the dial tone before the call is even connected. Does anybody have a recommendation for a cordless phone that has voice caller id? Thanks. Duane [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, I have a very good unit which I love a lot. Its a Uniden cordless phone which came to me through a friend who obtained it from Costco at a place in Oregon. Not only is it a cordless phone, it has a tapeless answering machine in the base unit, *and* caller ID in the handset, *and* a headset. Fifty dollars ... it is the EXAI-378 series from Uniden. Lots of user setable options. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Judith Oppenheimer Subject: Re: ICANN Future Extensions? Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:26:02 -0500 Al Franz wrote: > What is a good resource to understand the current state of ICANN > approving additional domain extensions? Tried to find the information > on http://www.icann.org but was unable to find. Read http://ICANNWatch.org daily. Of course there is always plenty of searchable ICANN commentary on http://ICBTollFreeNews.com, and bookmark http://www.domainhandbook.com for the best in historical reference sites on ICANN. Here is a good article you might enjoy immediately: The Farm "...where we talk about the work that we can't talk about." Thoughts On Creating a Sustainable Framework for Administering the Deployment of New gTLDs http://r.tucows.com/archives/2003/02/17/thoughts_on_new_gtlds_part_i.htm l Judith Oppenheimer http://JudithOppenheimer.com http://ICBTollFreeNews.com http://WhoSells800.com 212 684-7210, 1 800 The Expert ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: The Perils of E-Mail Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 15:45:16 GMT In article , Gail M. Hall wrote: > My concern about using E-mail "evidence" is the ease with which such > things as dates and mail headers can be changed with computer > software. While this may be true, it's irrelevant to this discussion. Management wasn't warning employees to be more discerning about forged email, they were training them to be more careful about not sending valid email that might be used against the company and its management. Also, the cases that they're worried about were not just a couple of forged messages. Situations like Enron involved a conspiracy among the entire management team, and the evidence presumably includes dozens or hundreds of emails between different people. While it may be technically possible to fabricate all of this, it's very unlikely, and everyone involved would have to maintain a consistent cover story to put it in doubt. The email is just *one* piece of evidence, not the entire case against these people. Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:13:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CHP Rethinks Phones / In a Reversal, The Agency Favors a Bill In a reversal, the agency favors a bill that would restrict drivers to using hands-free devices. By Ray F. Herndon LA Times Staff Writer After studying 18 months' worth of statewide accident reports, the CHP has recommended to Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature that California consider passing a law requiring drivers use only hands-free cellular telephones. The recommendation marks a reversal of policy for the CHP, whose director, Dwight O. Helmick, had lobbied against such a bill in the last two sessions of the Legislature. An almost identical bill was introduced for a third time at the beginning of this year's session. To inform its debate about the role of cell phones in accidents, the Legislature passed a bill in 2001 ordering the CHP to study the issue and make a report by the end of 2002. At least 22 countries -- and New York state -- require drivers to use only hands-free cell phones. Virtually every state has considered some type of cell phone legislation since 1999. The CHP withdrew its original report on the hazards of "distracted driving" and revised it in November, after a Times study found that the numbers the CHP was using dramatically understated the number of accidents in which cell phone usage could have been a factor. The final report, posted on the CHP's Web site last week, includes the higher accident numbers unearthed by The Times and acknowledges that some officers may be mistakenly underreporting accidents caused by cell phone usage. This was blamed on unclear reporting guidelines issued by the CHP, which the agency promised to clear up in the next edition of its instruction manual. ... http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-cell23feb23,1,390853.story ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:21:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CERT Advisory CA-2003-06 Multiple Vulnerabilities http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-06.html CERT Advisory CA-2003-06 Multiple vulnerabilities in implementations of the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) Original release date: February 21, 2003 Last revised: Feb 21 14:45:34 EST Source: CERT/CC A complete revision history can be found at the end of this file. Systems Affected SIP-enabled products from a wide variety of vendors are affected. Other systems making use of SIP may also be vulnerable but were not specifically tested. Not all SIP implementations are affected. See Vendor Information for details from vendors who have provided feedback for this advisory. In addition to the vendors who provided feedback for this advisory, a list of vendors whom CERT/CC contacted regarding these problems is available from VU#528719. Overview Numerous vulnerabilities have been reported in multiple vendors' implementations of the Session Initiation Protocol. These vulnerabilities may allow an attacker to gain unauthorized privileged access, cause denial-of-service attacks, or cause unstable system behavior. If your site uses SIP-enabled products in any capacity, the CERT/CC encourages you to read this advisory and follow the advice provided in the Solution section below. I. Description The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a developing and newly deployed protocol that is commonly used in Voice over IP (VoIP), Internet telephony, instant messaging, and various other applications. SIP is a text-based protocol for initiating communication and data sessions between users. ... http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-06.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:26:07 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Next Space Race This fall, China will launch its first manned satellite into orbit. For the United States, this is a threat - and an opportunity. By John J. Miller, 2/23/2003 "QUICK ALERT! " SHOUTED Air Force Captain Roger Cutshaw. "Secure all unclassified lines! " An early-detection satellite had just spotted an unscheduled rocket launch inside China. Cutshaw was the ranking officer on duty at the space control center of the North American Aerospace Defense Command-better known as NORAD-inside Cheyenne Mountain. It was a few minutes before 10 o'clock in the morning, Colorado time, this past Dec. 29. Six other people were in Cutshaw's small room. They scrambled to identify the unknown object and track its flight path, glaring at monitors and tapping at keyboards. If this were a missile, they would need to know its trajectory as soon as possible. As it turned out, the rocket didn't lift a weapons payload. Instead, it boosted the Shenzhou 4-a final prototype for the manned orbiter China has committed itself to launching later this year. "We had a good idea of what it was," says Cutshaw. "But we treat every event seriously. This is what we train for. We did our job well." The Chinese appear to have done their job well, too. The Shenzhou 4 zipped around the planet more than a hundred times before dropping its re-entry capsule back to earth about a week later, on January 5. The Shenzhou 5 is slated for launch in October or November, and it will carry a human cargo. Until now, only the United States and Russia have put people in orbit. Assuming the Shenzhou 5 succeeds, China will become the world's third spacefaring nation. There will be astronauts, cosmonauts-and taikonauts. This event, in turn, will mark China's emergence as a major space power, a prospect that is at once admirable and worrisome. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/054/focus/The_next_space_race+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 20:42:53 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sun, Again, Bets Against the Odds By STEVE LOHR SCOTT G. McNEALY, the chief executive of Sun Microsystems, was pacing the stage in San Francisco two weeks ago, working hard to stir up enthusiasm in the crowd for his company's new products. The litany of offerings was long and impressive - data serving computers of all kinds, graphics workstations, storage networks, software. The implicit message was clear: Sun, though battered by the high-technology slump, is still churning out new products and new ideas. Dressed in blue jeans and a khaki shirt, Mr. McNealy, ever blunt and informal, was helpfully translating the benefits of Sun's wares in plain terms. He gestured toward one of Sun's zippy small server computers. "Think of these as piston rings," said Mr. McNealy, who grew up in suburban Detroit, the son of an auto executive. Increasingly, Sun's customers, mostly corporations, do indeed think of computers as if they were piston rings. And that is precisely Sun's problem. No established company rode higher on the Internet wave than Sun, whose sales nearly doubled, to $18.25 billion, in the three fiscal years ended in June 2001. Sun created the Internet programming language Java and made the hot boxes -- the leading server computers -- that powered so many corporate networks using Internet technology and Web sites. Sun computers, the company's advertising proclaimed, "put the dot in dot.com." Sun's machines were pricey, but customers didn't much care during the good times. Today, things could scarcely be more different for Sun and its customers. No new-economy chic clings to any computer maker anymore. Cost-cutting is the order of the day for corporate customers. And servers based on low-cost technology from the personal computer world -- Intel-compatible microprocessors -- are eating into Sun's business. Sun's quandary is that its business appears to be alarmingly dependent on high-cost, proprietary hardware at a time when technology trends and customers seem to be headed in the other direction - toward inexpensive, PC-based hardware that is more like an industrial commodity, the computer equivalent of a piston ring. Sun relies on its own microprocessor design and its Solaris software, the leading version of the industrial-strength Unix operating system. Rival low-cost Intel-based servers run Microsoft's Windows operating system or Linux, a variant of Unix that is distributed free and constantly improved by a network of programmers. Linux poses the more imminent threat to Sun because both Sun's Solaris and Linux share the Unix heritage, easing the way for companies to move to Linux and the inexpensive hardware on which it runs. Two years ago, for example, weather.com, the Web site of cable television's Weather Channel, ran on 80 Sun servers. Today, the data center for weather.com is filled with 123 Intel-based servers running Linux - and Sun was sent packing. The savings on hardware were $2.3 million, according to Dan Agronow, vice president for technology at weather.com, who added that maintenance costs were lower, too. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/23/business/yourmoney/23SUNN.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 23 Feb 2003 21:45:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sony Ericsson P800 Focuses On Phone Over E-Mail Tool By WALTER S. MOSSBERG Wireless-gadget fans will get the chance over the next month or so to buy two new communicators -- those combination devices that attempt to merge a cellular phone, PDA and hand-held e-mail receiver. One of the new models was designed in Europe and one in California. They take very different approaches to blending the three functions. This week, I'll look at the European entry, the Sony Ericsson P800, which I've been testing in London and Washington. Next week, I'll review the latest American contender, the Palm Tungsten W. Most of the communicators produced so far are either primarily phones with the PDA and e-mail functions bolted on, or PDAs with the phone and e-mail functions bolted on. These two new entries are no exception. Sony Ericsson makes phones, so the P800 is a phone first and foremost. Palm makes PDAs, so the Tungsten W is a PDA first. The P800 is expected to be rolled out by carriers on both sides of the Atlantic in the next month or two. Until then, American consumers can buy it for $649 from the company's Web site. If you buy it that way, you'll have to activate it yourself by popping in the little smart card that bears your account information from an existing phone on a compatible carrier, such as T-Mobile, AT&T or Cingular. ... http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20030220.html ------------------------------ From: bhax@sbcglobal.net (BHAX) Subject: ESI Announces New Products For 2003 Date: 23 Feb 2003 20:10:47 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Plano, Texas, February 14, 2003 ESI (Estech Systems, Inc.) an innovative manufacturer of telephone systems for small to medium-sized businesses, has announced a sight launch for 2003 including newly designed Feature Phones, new classes of phone systems, and Esi-Mail unified messaging. "ESI continues to grow at a rapid pace as a result of providing true value-added products to the customer and exceptional service to our resellers," said Jason Beckett, ESI Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "ESI also continues to expand into new markets by increasing the flexibility of system sizing, and Feature Phone choices, as well as offering new communications technology to customers in a simple, easy-to-implement, easy-to-understand product family." New Feature Phones The three new phone models take greater advantage of ESI system features. Each has a sleek, modern look. The 48-Key Digital Feature Phone (also available in IP, TAPI and Remote IP models) is designed for the active user, and has 30 programmable keys and an enhanced three-line display. The 60-Key Expansion Console shares the look of the new phones, and connects to the 48-Key Feature Phone. The 24-Key Digital Feature Phone is designed for less active applications. The 12-Key Digital Feature Phone is intended for infrequent use, such as for lobbies, warehouses and other placements. New phone system classes IVX E-Class includes voice mail, an automated attendant and automatic call distributor (ACD). IVX E-Class systems also support the new Esi-Mail unified messaging application and advanced voice over IP (VoIP) communications. Two systems are available: IVX 72e (70 call processing ports) and IVX 128e (126 call processing ports). IP E-Class continues ESI's presence in the exploding VoIP market. The IP 200e and IP 40e handling a maximum of 198 and 70 call-processing ports, respectively are advanced, IP (Internet Protocol) network-based business telephone systems that combine all of the features of IVX E-Class with state-of-the-art delivery of packetized voice via the existing local area network/wide area network (LAN/WAN) to the desktop. Also available on IP E-Class is the new Esi-Mail unified messaging application. IVX S-Class is designed for the small to mid-sized business with flexible voice mail needs and moderate growth requirements. IVX S-Class comes with a four-line, eight-digital-station and two-analog-station configuration. It grows to as many as 12 CO lines, 24 digital stations and six analog ports, and is ideally suited to handle the majority of small business growth requirements. Also, IVX S-Class offers two new voice mail options or an Integrated Answering Machine depending on the needs of the customer. Esi-Mail unified messaging With the Esi-Mail unified messaging option, E-Class users can view, prioritize, and select for playback any voice mail message from their Microsoft Outlook 2000/2002 Inbox. A variety of controls on the integrated Esi-Mail toolbar allow for synchronization between the Outlook 2000/2002 Inbox and the user's voice mailbox. Esi-Mail has the added benefit of not requiring an expensive server, meaning unified messaging is now cost-effective for the small to mid-size business. Product availability ESI products are available through Converged Technologies. To contact Converged Technologies, an ESI Reseller, go to www.convergedtech.net, call Converged Technologies at (614) 252-8611, or sales@convergedtech.net. Ben Hackney Converged Technologies ------------------------------ From: enet@csi.com (E) Subject: Need Hitachi HCX 5600 PBX Manual Please!!! Date: 24 Feb 2003 05:57:54 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, Does anyone have a copy of Hitachi's HCX 5600 phone system manual? Ethan ------------------------------ From: Reverend Dr. Benrand Jr. Subject: Re: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 09:04:09 -0500 Organization: Michigan State University On Fri, 21 Feb 2003 20:40:03 -0500, Chuk Gleason wrote: > Reverend - > What exactly are you trying to look at, remotely; I work in a two-way > radio shop, and my boss is big believer in equipment that monitors > remote sites and alerts us to upcoming problems (rather than waiting > for them to become crises.) Numbers that could give you info on things like number of hops or line signal strength or what number you are dialing from. Things like that. I know it's failry complicated, but there has got to be some tricks. It would be helpful when testing remote power reset, we use modems for that and I don't like being completely blind. > There are several technologies here. Contact me off list, unless > someone else requests we keep it here on the list. > Chuk Gleason > Cary, NC >> From: Reverend Dr. Benrand Jr. >> Subject: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting >> Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2003 08:35:52 -0500 >> Organization: Michigan State University >> I am looking for numbers that can be used on a regular telco system to >> troubleshoot from a local location rather than traveling to a site. >> Sort of a newbie here with this stuff, but we have remote power reset >> sites and it is inconvenient to do traveling when a problem could be >> diagnosed locally, obviously. I have searched on the web for helpful >> codes and what I get is hacking info, I don't really need that, but >> verifying that a line is active would be helpful. ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:29:25 -0500 In TELECOM Digest V22 #309, Phil Earnhardt wrote (in part): > On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 00:23:49 -0500, Gail M. Hall > wrote: >> On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:58:21 -0700, in comp.dcom.telecom message >> , you wrote: >>> Hewlett-Packard uses a company called "m0.net" to send out >>> newsletters about HP products. >> Obviously, you don't get those newsletters. [SNIP] > That's a strange thing to say. I have received dozens. Would you like > me to forward one to you? > Perhaps I didn't pay enough attention to the headers. But one thing is > for certain: there was absolutely no HP contact info contained > anywhere in the e-mailing. [extensive additional point, counterpoint, and conjecture omitted] Phil and Gail may both be right. I recall receiving HP promotional email coming from several third-party companies, as well as some strange, HP-like domains (e.g., "hp3.com" or the like). If you have downloaded a driver update, a product data sheet, or any of a number of other things from Hewlett-Packard (or Compaq, or Digital Equipment [DEC]), you can wind up receiving promotional emails. It's easy to miss during the download "registration" process, but you "agree" to it. That may not be the most enlightened and forthright way to do things, but I will offer this in HP's defense: If you opt out, they DO STOP sending stuff. Check your options at http://whp-sp-orig.extweb.hp.com/country/us/eng/privacy.htm#7 In my experience, you're pretty safe sending an opt-out or unsubscribe request to a legitimate company. That doesn't necessarily mean blindly responding to the promotional email. Check the address of the sender. Look at the source code for the "unsubscribe" link. Or, as I did, go directly to the web site of the company represented in the promotion, and check for privacy or opt-out policies. Typically (again, my experience), you'll find a link or an email address to use to unsubscribe on a legit company's web site, and it will work, even when a third-party promotional service is used. The ones you have to watch out for are the emails that promote a product of a legitimate and reputable company, but that actually represent a spammer/scammer, as with the Norton product spams. I suggest you forward those to the company whose product is being (mis)represented. Trouble is, they're usually already aware of the spam and doing what they can to fight it. Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 ------------------------------ From: stevenl11@aol.com (Steven Lichter) Date: 24 Feb 2003 02:27:39 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Last Laugh! 800 Business Directory ...to teach this individual about the cost of owning an 800 number... -----Original Message----- How have you been ... You could make over $150-k in less then 3mo's time, promoting major concerts in the United States and investing into the Music Industry!! We have been investing in the music industry for over 15 years!! Check us out at: www.mcgillismusic.com If you have interest please contact us for more information!! E-Mail: Concerts@mcgillismusic.com (IMPORTANT!! Follow up with telephone call if no response to E-mail) World Wide Entertainment USA Inc. (a Delaware Corporation Since 1988) Telephone: (561) 758-5597 Toll Free USA: (800) 384-7369 Fax: (801) 730-9028 For complete details about this incredible offer, please reply to this email with the words "More Info Please" in the subject line. Thank you. Immediate Help Needed. We are a .com corporation that is growing at a tremendous rate of over 1000% per year. We simply cannot keep up. We are looking for motivated individuals who are looking to earn a substantial income. ------------------------------------------- Remember it is against the law to harrass anyone by telephone. Also you should use a payphone so that the operator can make a little money. Apple Elite II 909-359-5338. Home of GBBS/LLUCE, support for the Apple II 24 hours 2400/14.4. An OggNet Server. The only good spammer is a dead one!!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Company. ------------------------------ 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, 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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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #311 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Feb 24 18:30:53 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1ONUr114510; Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:30:53 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:30:53 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302242330.h1ONUr114510@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 V22 #312 TELECOM Digest Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:30:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 312 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #371, February 24, 2003 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Barry Margolin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (John Higdon) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Herb Stein) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Charles Cryderman) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Joey Lindstrom) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 13:46:12 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #371, February 24, 2003 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 371: February 24, 2003 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/letstalk ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: http://www.cygcom.com ** ERICSSON CANADA: http://www.ericsson.ca ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: http://www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Budget Disappoints High-Tech Groups ** Court Rejects Videotron Cabling Appeal ** Creditors Okay AT&T Plan ** Nimiq 2 Hit by Power Disruption ** Foreign Ownership Hearings, Week 4 ** New Microcell Board to Include Sirois ** 8 Million Credit Card Accounts Hacked ** DSL for $18.95 per Month ** Shaw Sells U.S. Cable Firms ** Ottawa Protests Directory Errors ** Mitel Upgrades IP-PBX, Phones ** Bell Offers BlackBerry Cellphone ** Ottawa Plans Library Portal ** Bell Mobility Offers R&D Funding ** New EVP at BCE ** Rogers Wireless Names Eastern President ** More Telemarketers Busted ** Financial Reports Axia NetMedia Com Dev Primus Canada Yak Communications ** Key to Success for Rural Broadband ** New Options for Wireless LAN Security ============================================================ BUDGET DISAPPOINTS HIGH-TECH GROUPS: Both the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance and the Information Technology Association Alliance say they are disappointed by last week's federal budget, which included no new funding for broadband and no improvements in R&D incentives. COURT REJECTS VIDEOTRON CABLING APPEAL: The Federal Court has refused to hear Videotron's appeal against a CRTC decision limiting the fees the cableco can charge to competitors who use its wiring in apartment buildings. (See Telecom Update #353) CREDITORS OKAY AT&T PLAN: AT&T Canada says that 91% of voting creditors have approved its restructuring plan. The company will seek court approval of the plan this week, and expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection on April 1. (See Telecom Update #367) NIMIQ 2 HIT BY POWER DISRUPTION: Telesat's newly launched Nimiq 2 direct broadcast satellite suffered a power failure February 20 that blacked out 10%-15% of Bell ExpressVu's channels. Telesat will investigate the malfunction this week, after moving traffic temporarily to Nimiq 1. (See Telecom Update #364) FOREIGN OWNERSHIP HEARINGS, WEEK 4: Last week's witnesses before the parliamentary committee reviewing foreign ownership of telecom carriers included BCE, Dominion Telecom, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, the National Alliance of Communications Unions, McGill Professor Richard Schultz, and the U.K. government. ** BCE CEO Michael Sabia favoured liberalized rules, suggesting that changes could be coordinated with the WTO negotiations that are slated for completion on January 1, 2005. In the meantime, the government could increase foreign ownership limits in holding companies to 49% from 33% without new legislation. ** The Communications unions warned that increased foreign ownership would lead to "poorer service, higher prices, and fewer jobs." ** The committee's final witnesses, scheduled for this week, include the CRTC, the Competition Bureau, and the Canadian Cable Television Association. NEW MICROCELL BOARD TO INCLUDE SIROIS: Microcell Telecom called a meeting of creditors March 17 to vote on its restructuring plan, by which creditors would exchange $1.7 billion in debt for 99.9% ownership. The new Board is to consist of nine creditor representatives plus current majority owner Charles Sirois. (See Telecom Update #364) 8 MILLION CREDIT CARD ACCOUNTS HACKED: Visa, MasterCard, and American Express say that in the past month an "unauthorized intruder" gained access to eight million card numbers, including 100,000 belonging to Canadians. The FBI is investigating. DSL FOR $18.95 PER MONTH: Startec Canada (formerly Vancouver Telephone Company) is reselling Telus ADSL service to its residential LD customers in B.C. and Alberta for $18.95 a month for the first six months and $34.95 a month after that. There's a $19.95 start-up fee, and customers must buy their own modems for about $70. SHAW SELLS U.S. CABLE FIRMS: Shaw Communications has agreed to sell its cable assets in Florida and Texas, which serve 71,000 subscribers, to Twean Subsidiary and Cequel III for a total of US$197 million, subject to regulatory approval. Proceeds will be used to repay debt. OTTAWA PROTESTS DIRECTORY ERRORS: If you want to get a pet spayed or neutered in Ottawa, the new phone book directs you to City Hall. The City says that's only one of more than 50 errors in the City's listings: it has complained to Bell Ontario President Terry Mosey about "poor customer service, lack of ownership, and lack of responsibility" in the Yellow Pages organization. ** Last September, BCE sold its directory publishing business to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. of New York. (See Telecom Update #349) MITEL UPGRADES IP-PBX, PHONES: Mitel has announced Release 4.0 of its 3300 IP-PBX and a new family of six IP desktop phones that are compatible with the 3100, 3300, and SX-200 IP node systems. BELL OFFERS BLACKBERRY CELLPHONE: Bell Mobility says it is the first Canadian carrier to offer the CDMA version of RIM's BlackBerry 6750, which combines cellphone, PDA, and e-mail functions. (See Telecom Update #366) OTTAWA PLANS LIBRARY PORTAL: SmartCapital has announced plans to provide integrated on-line access to the collections of all of Ottawa's public libraries and the National Library of Canada, as well as the libraries of the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and the National Research Council. BELL MOBILITY OFFERS R&D FUNDING: Bell Mobility has opened its sixth round of funding for wireless R&D conducted in Canada. Applications are due by March 31. For information, e-mail cmalette@cata.ca. NEW EVP AT BCE: Lawson Hunter, former director of the Competition Bureau and more recently a partner at Stikeman Elliot, has been named Executive Vice-President of BCE. He will be responsible for the company's regulatory affairs and other public policy issues. ROGERS WIRELESS NAMES EASTERN PRESIDENT: Jean Laporte, formerly a Vice-President and General Manager at Microcell, has been named President, Eastern Region, of Rogers AT&T Wireless. MORE TELEMARKETERS BUSTED: The Competition Bureau has laid criminal charges against seven Toronto-area individuals who allegedly took money from the bank accounts of victims, mostly U.S. seniors, who thought they were getting a free trial on a medical discount plan. The Bureau estimates that the scam telemarketers took in US$8 million in the past year. FINANCIAL REPORTS: ** Axia NetMedia of Calgary reports $31.8 million in revenue for the quarter ended December 31, compared to $18.8 million last year, an increase it attributes to its work on the Alberta SuperNet project. Axia had a net loss of $9.1 million in the quarter. ** Com Dev International reports net income for the three months ended January 31 of $168,000, compared to a $7.4 million loss last year. Revenue of $22.2 million was down 13% from the same time a year ago and 11% from the previous quarter. ** Primus Canada says its gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2002 was $40.2 million, 62% of net revenue, compared to $35.7 million in the prior quarter and $32.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2001. EBIDTA for the full year was $68M. ** Yak Communications, a Florida-based dial-around long distance reseller, reports net revenue of US$17.5 million, and net income of $1.4 million in the last six months of 2002. Ninety-six percent of the company's revenues come from its Canadian subsidiary, which has a marketing contract with Telus. KEY TO SUCCESS FOR RURAL BROADBAND: Analyzing six community broadband networks in Northern Ontario, Lis Angus identifies the key to their success: targeting government aid to locally determined priorities. Her report, originally printed in Telemanagement #195 and 196, is now posted in the Reports and Tutorials section of the Angus website. http://www.angustel.ca/ NEW OPTIONS FOR WIRELESS LAN SECURITY: In the last year, wireless LANs have proliferated in organizations across Canada -- and most are wide open to hackers and eavesdroppers. The new issue of Telemanagement features an in-depth report on the security measures you should be implementing now and preparing for in the near future. ** Also in this issue, Ian Angus describes the equipment and services he and Lis use to telecommute from a rural farmhouse, without breaking the telecom budget. ** Telemanagement is available only by subscription, and now is a great time to subscribe. Until March 15, new subscribers save $50 and get an extra bonus issue free. Download your Introductory Subscription Saving Certificate at http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/SubscriptionOffer.pdf. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@atomic.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@atomic.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2003 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:17:06 GMT In article , John Higdon wrote: > In article , Mark Crispin > wrote: >> On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has precisely the >> desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to clean up their act. > The problem with that is: who sets "the standards" and who enforces > them? One man's pornography is another man's vital medical > information. Swinging a club through cyberspace in the defense of > truth and right can have unintended consequences. The sites that result in such extreme measures are rarely on the borderline like this. They're acknowledged spammers. >> The ISPs and providers will ultimately be forced to choose between their >> sleazy customers and their legitimate customers. Either way, it makes >> things easier for the rest of us. > So will someone supply ISPs with a detailed list of "sleazy" customers > and a list of "acceptable" customers? How will they know? Sometimes > opinions vary. We know -- our abuse mailboxes are full of complaints about the sleazy ones, and hardly any complaints about the acceptable ones. The problem that often results in us being labeled as "spam-friendly" is that people expect us to be able to drop these customers on a dime. Unfortunately, our contracts typically don't allow such drastic action. We have to notify the customer, give them a chance to explain and clean up their act; only if the misbehavior persists after a couple of rounds of this can we cancel their service. In article , Al Iverson wrote: > In the case of indirectly, the blacklist will list the IP addresses > and/or networks of other customers on that ISP. Then those customers > complain to the ISP for not resolving the problem with the blacklisting > entity. We often resolve this by giving new addresses to the customers who are hit by the collateral damage, while we continue negotiating with the spammer that caused their addresses to be blacklisted. It *doesn't* cause us to violate our contract with the spammer -- it still takes just as long for us to terminate their account. So the wide net cast by the expanded blacklist doesn't really have the desired effect. If "bad guys" used techniques like this, it would be called "terrorism" instead of "boycott". Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 11:19:11 -0800 TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: > [Some of you may recall, I had a > discussion similar to this with Joey Lindstrom not too long ago about > what I consider 'acceptable spam' versus the garbage stuff. I said > something about my general approval of (admittedly unsolicited) items > sent by educational institutions for use in this Digest. We then got > into discussion of 'making subjective decisions'. Remember that > discussion? If I quote Joey correctly, he said *all* UCE was > essentially spam. All I can say is if we knew 20 years ago what we > know today I have to wonder if Usenet would have ever gotten started. > PAT] There is a world of difference between the Digest and the Internet at large. On the one hand, you have a forum with a defined focus and the moderator is the accepted authority in maintaining that focus. In other words, it is YOUR JOB to censor material submitted for inclusion in the Digest. Contrast that with the Internet at large where virtually anything goes. Any material on any subject at any level of taste and discretion can and should be found there. In that environment, NO ONE has the job of censoring material, nor should they. But even more importantly, the last entity that I would pick to censor anything, public or private, would be any government, government entity, or government-appointed entity. Other countries might do something like that, but not the US. So if you deem something worth or unworthy to appear in the Digest, and you include it or exclude it, for whatever reason may be acceptable to you, the moderator, that is the natural order of things. People are likewise free to read the Digest or not. It is all a voluntary thing. But when the government begins to make up our minds for us with regard to life in general (as represented by the Internet), a serious line has been crossed. Guidelines, maybe. Blocking IPs, absolutely not. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One thing I agree witn you on is I do not want any government agency making these decisions. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:14:01 -0600 Mark Crispin wrote in message news:telecom22.310.11@telecom-digest.org: >> On Sat, 22 Feb 2003, John R. Levine wrote: >>>> On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has >>>> precisely the desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to >>>> clean up their act. >>> Perhaps, but when mandated by a government in the United States, it >>> has horrendous first amendment problems. > It may have the desired effect for you but not for me. Simply put, > I don't trust my government (US) to make those kinds of > decisions. For that matter, I don't want my ISP to make those > decisions either. I will handle any blocking at my firewall, thank > you. That difference of opinion aside, it is not technically > feasible today to block "offensive" (to who?) material without > also block useful material. We're attacking the symptom - not the > problem. > I don't like the junk email and kiddie porn any more than the rest > of you, but I don't trust anyone else to make the decision for > me. If want a law in the US that all spam be identified as such in > the header, fine. Off course, most that I receive comes from > Russia, Taiwan, etc. and I'm guessing that they couldn't care less > about our opinion. > I do, however, have a gut feeling that I will lose this one to the > do-gooders. >> Considering that government has been trampling on the Second >> Amendment for decades (particularly in the past 35 years), it >> shouldn't surprise anyone that the first is now getting its turn >> to be stomped. > There is a perverse justice in that issue. As someone one said in some > newsgroup, "If the press defended the second amendment as hard as they > defend the first, it be required for every US citizen to own a gun." >> This isn't really new either; let's not forget the "hate crime" >> and "hate speech" laws that the Democrats began importing in the >> 1990s from our little "allies" in Europe. Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ From: Cryderman, Charles Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:28:36 -0500 The second amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." Our esteemed moderator stated: > USA government is so dreadfully afraid of wholesale rebellion if the > general public was to routinely and legally possess guns, that is > the reason for the rationale which goes like this: "The Second > Amendment 'clearly' states that 'in order to have a well ordered > militia the right of the citizens to bear arms will not be > infringed." Or some words close to that. A 'well ordered militia' > they claim is our military forces. Of all the Amendments, the Second > is the only one which in the opinion of many liberals -- and the > government and their police agencies -- gives rights to the > *government* instead of the citizens. That argument about 'well > ordered militia equaling our National Guard' is an old, tired > argument." First I put the actual wording of the 2nd amendment for all, pretty close Pat, no doubt from memory. I see the first part as a statement and I agree that it is about the US Military machine ("A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state,"). For any country to be solvent and secure a quality war machine needs to exist. As part of that, during the time the Constitution was written it was not unusual for a King or other Potentate to hurt or even kill their own citizens. Because the need for the security of the United states of America, an Army was needed. To ensure the citizens of the USA that what was common in other countries (killing of citizens for no reason other then the King wanted it as such and using their Armies to do it) there had to be some guarantee that the people could fight back ("the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed"). I see it not only as my right to own guns or any other weapon, I see it as my responsibility to own them. I also see, that if our rights are being taken away it is my responsibility to go to arms against my own government and rebel. One thing the press and liberals need to remember, the first amendment will be the second one to go, after the second is gone. They can't take away the voice of a well armed citizenry. Chip!!! Charles dot Cryderman at global crossing dot com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And that -- the possibility of a well- armed citizenry -- is what scares the hell out of the government so badly. Let's face it: if the government even *came close* -- tried to work along even occassionally -- with the citizens instead of working only for the welfare of the massive army of public servants, it might be different. But the established press looks at the word 'populist' as some kind of dirty word. The very idea of having a candidate for office who was a libertarian in nature is very unrealistic. Like most prisons, the people who *try* to keep the lid on this country are just barely able to avoid wholesale rebellion. And the government would not hesitate -- not for a minute -- to use the military as needed to keep the citizens in line if they had to do so. Remember who ultimatly has the gun in this country. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:46:16 -0700 Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 18:41:54 EST, Mark Crispin wrote: >> Blocking is ludicrous in the first place, but doing so by IP address >> is even dumber. Virtual hosting is a feature, not a bug. If you have a >> problem with your children accessing "bad" places, that is clearly a >> parental problem. Please don't make it mine. Technology can not solve >> this problem. > On the contrary, widely-deployed blocking by IP address has precisely the > desired effect: to get ISPs and hosting providers to clean up their act. > Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent > of a boycott. The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral > damage. > The ISPs and providers will ultimately be forced to choose between their > sleazy customers and their legitimate customers. Either way, it makes > things easier for the rest of us. Your entire premise rests on the assumption that the content of these "bad places" is 100% universally condemned and/or illegal, but as far as I understand this, we're talking about some pornographic BUT LEGAL sites. The assumption is bad, therefore so is the proposal. > I feel sorry for legitimate entities that find themselves in bad > neighborhoods, but not that sorry. To paraphrase Dennis Miller, when did this entire country become Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched? I have a REAL problem with this idea. Porn sites may not be your cup of tea. They're not mine either (ok, I can hear most of you saying "oh yeah, sure sure...", but my argument doesn't rest on this so I don't care if ya believe me or not, heh heh). But they have a right to exist, same as Disney has a right to put up a kids website. Your plan puts excessive, and in my view unconscionable, pressure on ISP's and web hosting companies to "police" the websites they host, against activity that is perfectly legal and legitimate. So long as the websites they host are legal, it's none of your business (nor mine) whether or not they host them, and the idea that we should block the "good" customers of these companies because they happen to share the same IP as another customer of that company, whose material (while legal) we find objectionable, is complete and utter bollocks. You are punishing the "good" customers and you are punishing the ISP/webhost. The former has done nothing wrong, the latter has done something wrong ONLY in your Kravitz-affected opinion. You expect the ISP/webhost to cater to the whims and opinions of billions of people, any one of which could find ANY website "objectionable", and you expect the "good" customer to investigate every single other customer the ISP/webhost has before agreeing to do business with them. Would you like me to describe to you just how far the "good" customer (and the ISP/webhost) will tell you to shove this idea? Now, I do support this idea when it comes to spammers, but that's a breed of an entirely different ilk (to mangle a phrase). My mail servers do a database dip on spews.org's database on every incoming piece of mail, and yes, it does catch the occasional "good" customer in a bad neighbourhood. But at least I can then whitelist the "good" customer. This "bad neighborhood" plan doesn't offer any sort of whitelist capability and for that reason alone, it should be flushed down the toilet along with the rest of the (censored). -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ 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, 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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Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #312 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Feb 24 19:53:46 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1P0rj015254; Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:53:46 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:53:46 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302250053.h1P0rj015254@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 V22 #313 TELECOM Digest Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:54:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 313 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Avaya Comverse Integration (Seth) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Fritz Whittington) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Paul A Lee) Does This Kind of Voicemail System / Service Exist? (Dave Anderson) Palm Tungsten W Handheld Available for the First Time in US (Monty Solomon) Cisco QOS for 3com NBX IP Telephony (Josh) Re: 900Mhz Staticky Reception and WiFi (Mike Hartley) Re: The Perils of E-Mail (Fritz Whittington) Picky, Picky (Joey Lindstrom) Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction (Judith Oppenheimer) What Kind of Connector is This? What is it Used For? (Patrick Townson) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: shelgesen@ingdirect.com (Seth) Subject: Avaya Comverse integration Date: 24 Feb 2003 11:34:06 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Anyone know if the Comverse/Ultra call recording application if configured for client side recording in an Avaya Definity environment will register as an active or passive ASAI link. Thanks. ------------------------------ From: Fritz Whittington Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 20:01:26 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Phil Earnhardt wrote: > What you say doesn't make sense: why would some company gratuitously > promote HP products if they weren't hired by HP to do that? Why go to > the trouble? There's no money in it for them ... unless HP has hired > them to send out the mailings. Huh? Office Depot (just for an example) sells HP printers, and I suspect that they make money on each one they sell. Don't you think they have a profit motive to promote HP products? Especially if the cost of promotion is practically free? ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 15:39:57 -0500 In TELECOM Digest V22 #307, Richard D G Cox wrote (in part): > On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 18:29 (UT) Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote: >>> SPAM used to promote dubious products is bad > Hormel would probably agree with you. I believe they own the trademark > "SPAM" and seem to be content with the word having been repurposed to > refer to Unsolicited Bulk Email. There's a general consensus that as > the trademark is the word in all-upper-case, when we use the word to > refer to UBE, we write it as "spam" or "Spam". But *never* as "SPAM"! Indeed, Richard has summarized the official position of Hormel Foods Corporation, which can be found at http://www.spam.com/ci/ci_in.htm. They give some examples of other trademarks that have been adopted as slang or colloquial references. Those slang uses -- however disparaging or pervasive -- don't confuse or dilute the brand identity. There _are_ companies that have to scramble to keep their brand identity, such as DaimlerChrysler (Jeep®), Kimberly-Clark (Kleenex®), Kraft Foods (Jell-O®), and Johnson & Johnson (Band-Aid®). There are probably many more obscure (to the general public) ones, such as FMC Technologies (Jetway®), Dow Chemical (Styrofoam®), Kawasaki (Jet Ski®), or Bombardier (Learjet®). For an example of trademark dilution carried to the extreme: Did you know that "PING-PONG" is actually a registered trademark? The generic name for the game is "table tennis", but there are manufacturers and dealers that have no claim on the PING-PONG® trademark but use it generically, as does the general public. On the flip side -- AND telecom related -- the Touch-Tone trademark was cancelled in 1984 by AT&T Bell Labs, and the term "touch-tone" in reference to all things DTMF [dual tone multifrequency] was released to the public domain. LOTS of people think it's still a trademark. It is, but not in telecom. Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 15:23:02 EST From: Dave Anderson Subject: Does This Kind of Voicemail System / Service Exist? I'm involved with a small non-profit organization with no paid staff (so there's usually nobody present to answer the phone) which is trying to decide how best to incoming telephone calls. We have quite a bit of information on various topics which we'd like to make available (far more than would fit in any single message of reasoonable length). One idea under discussion is to use a moderately complex system of voicemail menus, fanning out into more and more specific info, with the voicemail system always answering calls but offering a menu option to ring through. We certainly don't need multiple mailboxes for different classes of messages, and probably don't need *any* ability for callers to leave messages. We only have one phone line and don't need any more. I've done a bit of searching and haven't yet found anything but systems designed to integrate with a PBX or very limited services (one-level fanout to a few mailboxes) offered by the telcos -- neither of which meets this need. If anyone here knows of a service or system which might suit us (not too expensive, single line, essentially unlimited numbers and levels of menus, answers immediately but allows ringing through under menu control), I'd appreciate a pointer so I can go find out more about it. We're located in Verizon-land, near Boston, Mass. Thanks, Dave Anderson ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 16:26:55 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Palm Tungsten W Handheld Available for the First Time in U.S. Largest High-Speed Voice and Data Network, New Email, Enterprise Applications And Phone Accessory Available MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today announced the availability of the Palm(TM) Tungsten(TM) W handheld running on AT&T Wireless' next-generation GSM(TM)/GPRS network. With carrier activation, the data-centric Tungsten W handheld provides users with a sophisticated combination of wireless email, text messaging, Internet browsing, phone functionality, and business applications on the GSM/GPRS network .(1) The Tungsten W can be preordered now at The Palm Store http://store.palm.com ), as well as at Amazon.com, CDW.com, CompUSA.com, FranklinCovey.com, Insight.com, JandR.com, MicroWarehouse.com, OfficeDepot.com, PCConnection.com and Staples.com. It will be available nationally at select CompUSA, Franklin Covey and additional U.S. retail stores beginning Feb. 28. Monthly data plans from AT&T Wireless range from $29.99 for 10MB to $99.99 for 100MB. Voice plans, which can be added to any data plan, may be purchased separately and begin at $19.99 per month. In addition, a special 8MB data plan is available for $19.99 when a customer also subscribes to a voice plan. The U.S. suggested retail price for the Palm Tungsten W is $549. In addition to the phone activation service provide by most retailers, InPhonic Inc. will provide the Palm Tungsten Activation Service, a self-service online or phone activation process for the Palm Tungsten W. The Palm Tungsten W handheld will also be sold via Palm and AT&T Wireless enterprise sales channels. The Tungsten W handheld is the first Palm branded integrated GSM/GPRS wireless handheld, and it has a built-in keyboard for easy data entry; one-handed navigation; dual expansion; and a crisp, high-resolution color screen. It features a powerful battery for 10 hours of talk time, and a Class 10 radio, one of the fastest radios available today for the GSM/GPRS network, the most widely supported wireless technology used by hundreds of operators worldwide. With AT&T Wireless and the Palm Tungsten W, international roaming capabilities are available in more than 80 countries, enabling global business travelers to stay connected while abroad. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31783967 ------------------------------ From: jhortonb@yahoo.com (Josh) Subject: Cisco QOS For 3com NBX IP Telephony Date: 24 Feb 2003 14:24:10 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Has anyone had experience configuring QOS on Cisco Routers for a 3com NBX IP telephony system? I have tried several different things and nothing seems to work. I am having a hard time classifying the traffic. Thanks for the help. jh ------------------------------ From: Mike Hartley Subject: Re: 900Mhz Staticky Reception and WiFi Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 22:39:58 -0000 > Before I assume that it is a hardware failure and just run out to > get another version of the exact same phone, can somebody give me > ideas what might cause this? Worth trying a couple of things before throwing it away, if you haven't already. Replace the handset battery Power cycle the base station and handset. Tune both to to another channel, if available - (the phone may automatically search for a low(er) noise channel anyway, but it's worth a shot) > I'm running 802.11b in the house but I was under the impression > that that screwed up the 2Gig phones not the 900Mhz ones. 802.11b uses 2.4gz, or thereabouts, so it shouldn't be causing a problem. > Could the battery not be fully charged? Is it a channel thing? Could be -- see above. Incidentally, does anyone know of a cordless phone which has the same sort of phone book as a mobile? All the ones I've seen have LCDs, but really crap user interfaces which are about as easy to use as an early 80's VCR timer. Mike ------------------------------ From: Fritz Whittington Subject: Re: The Perils of E-Mail Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:29:35 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Gail M. Hall wrote: > My concern about using E-mail "evidence" is the ease with which such > things as dates and mail headers can be changed with computer > software. > It could be easy to forge someone's address in an e-mail to put the > blame on someone that the real "perp" has something against. I've > read about such cases already where someone forged another employee's > address in e-mail and got that person fired. It took a long time for > the victim to get the job back and a law suit against the company that > fired the victim. This problem has been solved for at least the last 5 years, in extremely practical terms. I routinely sign all my email with a PKI digital certificate. Based on the PRESUMPTION that my 4096-bit RSA secret key has not been compromised (which is MY responsibility to a great extent), then such a signed message cannot be altered without being detected, nor can I deny sending it. Because I make a habit of this, and can show a history of thousands of emails which have been so signed, any email that purports to be from me and is not signed is immediately suspect. (Although of course, I can't prove the negative; that I didn't send it and deliberately not sign it.) ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:16:30 -0700 Subject: Picky, Picky Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Sat, 22 Feb 2003 18:41:54 -0500 (EST), Bob K wrote: > Are unauthorized PIC freezes common? Who can I report this to? (The > obvious agency is the state PUC, but they often seem to have a cozy > relationship to the telcos. I'm in NJ.) Something similar's been happening lately when it comes to domain registrations. Many registrars, usually as a free "service" to the customer, will place a domain "lock" on your domain. Any domain that is locked cannot be transfered to another registrar. Good idea in theory. The problem is, if you don't ask for it, your domain might still be locked, and when you get fed up with your registrar and try to move to another, you're in trouble. You've gotta get it unlocked first, and your current registrar has no real reason to make this an easy process (because it only facilitates your taking your business elsewhere). DISCLOSURE: I am a Registration Service Provider (reseller) for Tucows, Inc. I don't represent them, I just resell their product. So obviously my opinion is biased, but some of what I'm saying applies to them too. Taking Tucows (and any Tucows reseller) as an example ... Let's say Pat calls me up and says "Joey, I need a new domain name. I'd like you to register sbcsucks.info on my behalf". (I have no idea if it's available, this is just a for-instance thing) So, Pat PayPals the money to me, and I register his domain. By default, domain locking is turned *OFF*. Pat can go to Network Solutions or some other registrar next year, once he realizes what a jerk I am, and transfer his domain there. But as the reseller, I have the ability to go into Pat's account (for as long as it's in my profile) and turn his domain locking ON. Pat has an excellent Tucows-provided domain management webtool available where he can change just about anything he wants to in regards to his domain name. Except domain locking. Strange, that. So now let's further suppose that I'm not only a jerk, but I'm an obstructionist jerk. I'm pissed at Pat for taking his business elsewhere. Pat asks me to turn off domain locking. I ignore his emails. Pat must then go through a lengthy process directly with Tucows in order to get THEM to pull the domain lock -- something they are loathe to do, as they rely on us reseller people to deal with the riffraff. See how easy it is? Now, I wouldn't personally do anything like that -- it's not my nature. But I've been through the process of getting set up as a domain reseller and I'm telling you, *ANY* scam operator with $500 (USD) in his jeans can get set up just as easily. And once you realize what he's done to you, he's already spent your money and is long gone. So, stick with "reputable" registrars then, eh? Not so fast (and remember my earlier disclosure). Network Solutions is the worst of the bunch. I've done quite a number of transfers, on behalf of clients, from other registrars to my own Tucows profile. The *ONLY* one that gives me grief is Network Solutions. They too have some sort of "domain lock" in place, and oddly enough they keep claiming that "the customer must have turned it on" even when I know for a fact the customer did *NOT* turn it on. The other thing they like to do is this: when the request comes in for a transfer, Network Solutions' official policy is to send an email to the admin contact for the domain, requesting confirmation that they've authorized the transfer. The problem is, 2 times out of 3, that email never gets sent out. It just seems to get "lost" in the system. You can't get them to admit they've made a mistake, either -- in fact, they'll adamantly insist that that sort of thing NEVER happens. So you have to wait 7 days for the request to "time-out", then restart the whole thing again (so far, it has always worked on the second try). As in the Verizon case you cited, these things all have one thing in common: it's being perpetrated by those with a vested interest in seeing you STAY right where you are. That alone should be enough to pique some regulatory curiosity ... but as Pat points out, most of the time those charged with regulation are in bed with those perpetrating this stuff on us. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: Judith Oppenheimer Subject: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:25:33 -0500 Two messages in one here: First of all, Judith tells me how my Illustrious Editing Tool let me down a couple issues ago, and dropped a final 'l' out of '.html' making a link difficult to reach. That is corrected below. For next: What made her correction message get asassinated by Spam Assassin? Any idea what she said that was so offensive? Its all printed below. SPAM: -------------------- Start SpamAssassin results ---------------------- SPAM: This mail is probably spam. The original message has been altered SPAM: so you can recognise or block similar unwanted mail in future. SPAM: See http://spamassassin.org/tag/ for more details. SPAM: SPAM: Content analysis details: (5.20 hits, 5 required) SPAM: MSGID_CHARS_SPAM (2.0 points) Message-Id has characters indicating spam SPAM: MSGID_CHARS_WEIRD (1.5 points) Message-Id has characters often found in spam SPAM: X_PRIORITY_HIGH (0.9 points) Sent with 'X-Priority' set to high SPAM: X_MSMAIL_PRIORITY_HIGH (0.7 points) Sent with 'X-Msmail-Priority' set to high SPAM: SPAM_PHRASE_03_05 (0.1 points) BODY: Spam phrases score is 03 to 05 (medium) SPAM: [score: 3] SPAM: SPAM: -------------------- End of SpamAssassin results --------------------- Pat, note that as you printed it the "l" didn't wrap in the link below on html, and won't click through properly. (Its too good an article for frustrated readers to pass up.) The Farm "...where we talk about the work that we can't talk about." Thoughts On Creating a Sustainable Framework for Administering the Deployment of New gTLDs http://r.tucows.com/archives/2003/02/17/thoughts_on_new_gtlds_part_i.html Judith Oppenheimer http://JudithOppenheimer.com http://ICBTollFreeNews.com http://WhoSells800.com 212 684-7210, 1 800 The Expert ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:00:00 EST Maybe someone can tell me what I have here. On one of my recent trash- picking runs (a bad, but often times profitable habit I learned from Bill Pfieffer several years ago) I found a five foot long 'modular' cord, resembling a phone connection cord. This is the way it came from the factory, not taped or patched together, or rigged up. One end of it has a plastic connector like the end of a phone cord, but too wide for phone plug. Phone connectors usually have four little pins (or sometimes just two, but with room for four; first and fourth eliminated and two in the middle kept). Connectors for my Linksys router have eight little pins in a wider piece of plastic. This thing I found has *ten* little pins on the end, the plastic it is in is a tiny bit wider, but to 'idiot-proof' it, there is a wee-tiny extra slice of plastic on the end of the plastic sheath which holds the pins. I think the idea is to prevent someone from trying to stick it in a router, which I tried to do, but it would not fit for the reasons noted above. (10 pins instead of 8 and the little plastic sliver.) The whole thing is five feet long. The other end has a traditional USB connector on it. Not the little square piece (which I think is called a 'B' plug but the 'A' style ( a thin little rectangular type thing which goes into a USB hub or a USB camera (as an example). That end does in fact fit conveniently into one of those devices. The only notation on this is on the USB end where appears the notation 940-0127A. I got so excited when I first found it because I thought it was a connector to take a USB device (camera or printer) directly to the Linksys router, which it would appear except for the one end being slightly too large to fit in the router. Any ideas what it is used for? My thanks. PAT ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #313 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Feb 25 18:53:13 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1PNrDk20874; Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:53:13 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:53:13 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302252353.h1PNrDk20874@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 V22 #314 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:53:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 314 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Book Review: "Building Secure Wireless Networks with 802.11" (Rob Slade) Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Monty Solomon) Wireless LAN Mmarket Seen Growing After Slow Start (Monty Solomon) Spike in "Spyware" Accelerates Arms Race (Monty Solomon) Wi-Fi Alliance Plans for 11g Testing (Monty Solomon) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Crispin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (R. T. Wurth) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Dave Close) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Brader) I Feel That Might Help (Dave) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Phil Earnhardt) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (SELLCOM Tech support) Re: Bill Would Ban Spam E-Mail in California (Paul Wallich) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rob Slade Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 07:47:39 -0800 Subject: Book Review: "Building Secure Wireless Networks With 802.11" BKBSWNW8.RVW 20030208 "Building Secure Wireless Networks with 802.11", Jahanzeb Khan/Anis Khwaja, 2003, 0-471-23715-9, U$40.00/C$62.95/UK#29.95 %A Jahanzeb Khan %A Anis Khwaja %C 5353 Dundas Street West, 4th Floor, Etobicoke, ON M9B 6H8 %D 2003 %G 0-471-23715-9 %I John Wiley & Sons, Inc. %O U$40.00/C$62.95/UK#29.95 416-236-4433 fax: 416-236-4448 %O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471237159/robsladesinterne http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471237159/robsladesinte-21 %O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471237159/robsladesin03-20 %P 330 p. %T "Building Secure Wireless Networks with 802.11" As with any hot topic, there are lots of people willing (eager!) to tell you about the security of wireless local area networks, without first making sure that they really know the subject. Part one is an introduction to wireless LANs. Chapter one is a history of networks, an outline of topologies (concentrating on cabling, interestingly enough), and a review of the TCP/IP (actually OSI, [Open Systems Interconnection] protocol stack. The last page gives too little information for an exercise in setting up a home LAN. Terms in regard to wireless technology are listed in chapter two, but the material is verbose without being informative. The explanations given for spectrum multiplexing are unclear, and seem to be delivered by rote without any understanding. The discussion does not build on that from chapter one to, for example, point out that ad hoc wireless networks are similar to bus topologies, while infrastructure networks are more akin to stars. The various IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11 standards are listed in chapter three. However, there is a great deal of material repeated from prior text (the discussion of spectrum is reprised almost word for word), and, other than some frequency and maximum bandwidth information, there is little additional detail. (Repetition and duplication is rife throughout the book, as well as a good deal of space wasted with pointless figures and graphics. On page 125 we are told that "The 40- bit shared key is concatenated with a 24-bit long initialization vector" and referred to figure 6.1. Figure 6.1 tells us "Concatenated-Key = Shared-Key + IV." Not very helpful.) Chapter four is supposed to help you decide whether a wireless LAN is right for you, but only has some vague opining, a little content on wireless ISPs (Internet Service Providers: hardly suitable for LAN discussions), and almost no analysis or details. Part two purports to emphasize secure wireless LANs. Chapter five has random topics regarding network security. Most of it is irrelevant to the specific needs of wireless situations or is not discussed in terms of the particular needs of wireless networks. (Physically securing the components of a wireless LAN has some importance in overall security, but may be pointless if someone driving by can take over the network). Securing the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN is not reviewed well in chapter six. There is more duplication of content, few details about WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), and some clear evidence of misunderstanding of the base technologies. (If you are going to talk about 40 bit keys at the low level, higher level security should be 104, rather than 128, bit. And a 128 bit key is *not* equivalent to 64 characters, in anybody's representation.) When security aspects are discussed, often they relate to issues that are beyond the control of the user, such as moderation of signal strength. Part three collects topics related to the building of secure wireless LANs. Chapter seven is a simplistic overview of generic LAN planning. Shopping for the right equipment is important, but the list of product specifications in chapter eight fails to address vital areas, such as driver availability, default key length, and the existence of default accounts. More space is devoted to where you can buy equipment than how to evaluate it. The installation instructions, in chapter nine, pretty much ignore security considerations. Chapter ten supposedly deals with advanced wireless LANs, including security, but has little new material aside from screenshots of Microsoft Windows utilities with some relationship to VPNs (Virtual Private Networks). Part four covers troubleshooting and maintenance. Chapter eleven touches on a number of possibly wireless connectivity problems. A collection of text repeated from prior chapters is in chapter twelve. There is a glossary included with the book. It is quite limited, and, in particular, does not deal well with acronyms. In fact, the book is full of TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms) and other abbreviations that get used before they are defined, and do not appear in either the glossary or the index. This can be quite aggravating, particularly in cases where the acronyms aren't standard. (The authors use "PHY" to refer to the physical layer of the OSI model, which is not commonly so represented in either communications or security literature.) The text of the book is excessively padded with useless verbiage and irrelevant material. The actual content pertinent to the security of wireless LANs is barely enough to fill a decent magazine article. Overall, the book is poorly structured, limited in detail, and bloated with meaningless or repetitious content. copyright, Robert M. Slade, 2003 BKBSWNW8.RVW 20030208 ====================== rslade@vcn.bc.ca rslade@sprint.ca slade@victoria.tc.ca p1@canada.com Find book info victoria.tc.ca/techrev/ or sun.soci.niu.edu/~rslade/ Upcoming (ISC)^2 CISSP CBK review seminars (+1-888-333-4458): March 31, 2003 Indianapolis, IN ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 17:38:37 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address PERSONAL TECH By Michelle Johnson, 2/24/2003 Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? Perhaps your Internet service provider is under new ownership, or your free e-mail service went belly up. So now you have to send out change of e-mail notices to a long list of family members, friends, and business associates. Worse yet, maybe you just paid for business cards that are suddenly obsolete. Subscribers to AT&T Broadband's Internet service were pretty outraged recently when Comcast Corp. took over and announced its Boston area customers would be getting their third e-mail address in a year. (Comcast later said it would redirect e-mail sent to AT&T Broadband addresses till the end of next year.) Whatever the reason, when your e-mail address changes, something usually gets lost in the mail. If you've had enough and you're ready to shield your address from the fallout of mergers and the shaky economy, it's time to stop renting and buy. Yes, you can own your own e-mail address for life. Well, for as long as you pay the annual fee for a 'dot com' address. So, for instance, you could be ''you@nameofyourchoice.com.'' I know what you're thinking: "Don't I have to have a Web site to be a dot com?" Nope. You can use a Web address (also known as a 'domain name') strictly for e-mail. And while your Net provider offers you a package that includes access to the Web and e-mail, you're not required to use its e-mail address. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/055/business/Coping_with_changes_to_e_mail_address+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 15:57:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wireless LAN Market Seen Growing After Slow Start SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Sales of telecommunications hardware used in wireless local-area networks will grow more than 60 percent through 2006, even though businesses and large institutions have been slow to roll out the technology so far, an industry report issued on Monday said. Global sales of hardware used in wireless local-area networks totaled $1.68 billion last year. Such sales are seen rising 62 percent to $2.72 billion in 2006, market research firm Infonetics Research Inc. said. Cisco Systems Inc.(NASDAQ:CSCO), the No. 1 network equipment maker, and Linksys, a privately held network hardware maker in Irvine, California, were the wireless LAN market-share leaders in the fourth quarter and are expected to hold on to their top spots this year, Infonetics said. However, businesses, the so-called enterprise market, comprised of government agencies and large institutions such as hospitals and universities, will not rush to buy and deploy so-called wireless LAN systems, Infonetics said. While the so-called wireless LAN market has posted several consecutive quarters of growth, the growth has not been as explosive as initially expected, and purchasing departments throughout the enterprise market have rising expectations for the capabilities of wireless LAN systems, Infonetics said. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31789648 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 17:38:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Spike in "Spyware" Accelerates Arms Race By John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com EarthLink's technical support staff handles a variety of problems: broken networks, corrupted files, coffee spills -- and, increasingly over the past few months, bitter complaints from subscribers about "spyware" and "adware." Those persistent types of programs, frequently operating on computers without owners' knowledge, have spread quickly in the last year, evolving as rapidly as anti-spyware software has been able to find them. EarthLink executives estimate that 40 percent to 50 percent of the Internet service provider's subscribers have running on their machines some kind of advertising or more-malicious program, which often monitors their behavior and sends the data back to the software's parent company. The level of complaints has risen high enough that EarthLink says it's finally looking for an official spyware-killer to distribute to its angry customers. ... http://news.com.com/2009-1023-985524.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 17:46:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wi-Fi Alliance Plans for 11g Testing By Eric Griffith While the specification for 802.11g is still in the draft stage with the IEEE (define), that hasn't stopped many companies and customers from embracing it. Knowing that, the Wi-Fi Alliance is already taking steps to make sure it's ready for 11g interoperability testing as soon as the specification is ratified in June of this year. Unlike with 5GHz 802.11a product testing, the Alliance plans to have products in labs immediately after the specification is finalized. ... http://www.80211-planet.com/news/article.php/1598431 ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 15:57:39 -0800 Organization: Networks and Distributed Computing On Mon, 24 Feb 2003, Barry Margolin wrote: > We often resolve this by giving new addresses to the customers who are > hit by the collateral damage, while we continue negotiating with the > spammer that caused their addresses to be blacklisted. It *doesn't* > cause us to violate our contract with the spammer -- it still takes > just as long for us to terminate their account. So the wide net cast > by the expanded blacklist doesn't really have the desired effect. Actually, it *does* have the desired effect. Your mistake is that you're thinking short term instead of long-term. Short term is that you terminate the contract with one spammer. Long term is that the increased inconvenience to your legitimate customers results in you becoming increasingly unwilling to make contacts with likely spammers and/or establishing AUPs which allow for more rapid pulling of the plug on spammers using your network. It isn't about how fast you pull the plug on a spammer. It's about whether you continue to plug in new spammers. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. ------------------------------ From: rwurth@att.net (R. T. Wurth) Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 02:04:43 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet In article , joey@telussucks.info wrote: > Your entire premise rests on the assumption that the content of these > "bad places" is 100% universally condemned and/or illegal, but as far > as I understand this, we're talking about some pornographic BUT LEGAL > sites. > The assumption is bad, therefore so is the proposal. I think it's time to re-wind the thread and recall the context. The original was about the state of Pennsylvania blocking access to web sites showing child pornography. In the US, the law is crystal clear that the child's right to privacy trumps free speech, in that the making of child porn inherently violates the child because of the child's inherent legal inability to consent. Furthermore, every display of a child's pornographic image is a further crime against that child. Is Pennsylvania going too far? I think the point is arguable both ways, given the additional damage caused by each and every showing of each and every image. I don't think either side has a clear open and shut case. Normally, I am very supportive of the rights of US citizens, even in the area of objectionable material, but I have to draw the line, as the US courts have, at kiddie porn. But, still, censorship, especially censorship of the legal content that would be blocked by blocking an entire IP address worth of webspace, hosting tens of legit web sites, I just don't know. Further clouding the issue is the fact that some overzealous authorities have been cracking down on parents who take (and submit for processing) those "cute" pix of their innocent kids who insist on taking all their clothes off at the beach, or having too much fun in the bathtub. Of course, such photos are fine by me as single copies in the family photo album, but plastered all the net in a collection that includes real porn, again, I'm just not sure. But I certainly don't trust the local WalMart acting in concert with a local Prosecutor eager to score cheap political points to make the right decision either based solely on single pictures coming out of the auto-developer, either. But the debate of this specific issue is not served by mixing up the issues of child porn, other porn and merely objectionable material that wouldn't pass (or fail, I suppose, depending upon one's viewpoint) the three-pronged Lemon test that applies in the US. (The 3-pronged Lemon test was promulgated by SCOTUS in a case involving Mr. or Ms. Lemon as one of the parties, and states that to be pornographic, material must pass three tests: patently objectionable, appeals to a prurient interest, and utterly lacking in Scientific, Literary, Artistic, or Political (SLAP) value.) (IANAL, consult your own attorney, ..., disclaimer, datclaimer, and de other claimer as well) > -- Joey Lindstrom > -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info R. T. Wurth / rwurth@att.net / Rumson, NJ USA ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 23:22:50 -0800 From: Dave Close Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California Mark Crispin wrote: > Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent > of a boycott. The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral > damage. More specifically, a secondary boycott or a blockade. A blockade is a picket line which the picketers try to prevent anyone from crossing. Because they have a beef with the object of the picket line, they try to stop anyone else from having any business with them. This sort of labor practice has long been illegal in the US. When labor unions were new, picket lines were often blockades, and sometimes led to bloody confrontations. Most of us learned from that. It is fine for a union to inform the public and try to convince them to support a strike, but coercion is going too far. The same should apply to vigilante spam blockers. Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA "Politics is the business of getting dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359 power and privilege without dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu possessing merit." - P. J. O'Rourke ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 02:37:07 EST From: msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) Earlier, Mark Crispin wrote: >>> The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral damage. And I (Mark Brader) wrote (in two messages): >> No, it isn't. ... >> I'll go further and say that it's logically impossible for the >> *entire* reason for *anything* to be to cause collateral damage! Having been challenged to do so, I then defined what I thought "the point of a boycott" is. Pat Townson, who will perhaps refrain from editing my attribution line this time, now writes: > But isn't your latest (more lengthy) definition of 'boycott' > essentially what Mark Crispin said in fewer words, 'to cause > collateral damage'? At this point I can only think that Pat doesn't know what "collateral" means. Collateral damage is damage to something that *was not* the intended target of an action. It was, metaphorically or literally, beside the target (lateral = side). Is my point now clear? No matter whether the subject is a military attack, or boycotts and similar actions, or the, um, Internet combat that we're talking about here, collateral damage is always to be deplored (although certainly there are times when it can't be avoided). And that's all I have to say on the point. Mark Brader, Toronto "Logic is logic. That's all I say." msb@vex.net -- Oliver Wendell Holmes My text in this article is in the public domain. ------------------------------ From: Dave Subject: I Feel That Might Help Reply-To: dave@black.com Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 16:06:27 GMT Organization: Road Runner - Texas WE MUST COME TOGETHER AND TAKE THESE SITES OFF THE INTERNET! NO NAZI NO WHITE POWER NO HATE http://www.nazichess.com http://www.kkk.org http://www.twelvearyannations.com/ http://www.naawp.com/ http://www.americannaziparty.com/ http://www.unitedskins.com/home.htm Hit them with letters telling them we don't need nor want them! Fill their mail boxes with junk! ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 23:23:06 -0700 On Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:29:25 -0500, Paul A Lee wrote: > I recall receiving HP promotional email coming from several > third-party companies, as well as some strange, HP-like domains (e.g., > "hp3.com" or the like). > If you have downloaded a driver update, a product data sheet, or any > of a number of other things from Hewlett-Packard (or Compaq, or > Digital Equipment [DEC]), you can wind up receiving promotional > emails. It's easy to miss during the download "registration" process, > but you "agree" to it. > That may not be the most enlightened and forthright way to do things, > but I will offer this in HP's defense: If you opt out, they DO STOP > sending stuff. I fundamentally disagree. If I want to receive solicitations from a company, I ask for them. That is the "opt-in" model for commercial e-mail. Or you could call it Solicited Commercial E-mail. If a company implicitly puts me on advertising lists -- if they implicitly or explicitly have the "send me mail" checkboxes checked -- then that's an "opt-out" model. It's not a model that respects the consumer and his most fundamental commercial right to respect his private property known as his e-mailbox. There's a corollary to this: companies should keep scrupulous records recording exactly when a consumer has opted in to their service. Companies that fail to do that risk losing the trust of their customers. I'll let you know what I find when I contact m0.net. I strongly suspect they'll have no justification for sending me HP solicitations. > In my experience, you're pretty safe sending an opt-out or unsubscribe > request to a legitimate company. That begs the question. How should I implicitly know if m0.net is legitimate? How much research should I be forced to do? > Typically (again, my experience), you'll find a link or an email > address to use to unsubscribe on a legit company's web site, and it > will work, even when a third-party promotional service is used. I would be far happier if those e-mails had a link to somewhere on hp.com about the mailings. I know nothing about m0.net; without that link on HP's site, I know nothing about whether or not HP is sanctioning those mailings. > The ones you have to watch out for are the emails that promote a > product of a legitimate and reputable company, but that actually > represent a spammer/scammer, as with the Norton product spams. I > suggest you forward those to the company whose product is being > (mis)represented. Trouble is, they're usually already aware of the > spam and doing what they can to fight it. Really? Can you tell us exactly what Norton is doing to fight those spams? > Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 On Mon, 24 Feb 2003 20:01:26 GMT, Fritz Whittington wrote: > Phil Earnhardt wrote: >> What you say doesn't make sense: why would some company gratuitously >> promote HP products if they weren't hired by HP to do that? Why go to >> the trouble? There's no money in it for them ... unless HP has hired >> them to send out the mailings. > Huh? Office Depot (just for an example) sells HP printers, and I > suspect that they make money on each one they sell. Don't you think > they have a profit motive to promote HP products? Especially if the > cost of promotion is practically free? The analogy doesn't hold -- the m0.net newsletter wasn't directly selling anything. Even if the cost is next-to-nothing, I can't see how there is any direct revenue from the m0.net spams. phil ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 18:45:57 -0500 Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Richard D G Cox posted on that vast internet thingie: > p0.net claims to be sell.com, hosted by Internap and p0.com is > Yesmail. Nobody even slightly familiar with spam prevention will find > either of those surprising! I took a look at sell.com (for obvious reasons, yikes!) and they appear to just be an ebay wannabe. It does not, at first glance appear to be the type of business that would spam. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, Vtech 5.8Ghz EnGenius NEW EP436 4line (the longest range), Panasonic, Twinhead notebooks, WatchGuard firewall, Okidata, Polycom! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: Paul Wallich Subject: Re: Bill Would Ban Spam E-Mail in California Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 09:38:28 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In article , Fritz Whittington wrote: > Monty Solomon wrote: >> By Nancy Vogel >> LA Times Staff Writer >> SACRAMENTO -- The unwanted, sometimes lurid advertisements unleashed >> on computer users -- e-mail spam -- would be banned under a new bill >> in the Legislature. >> The bill would make it a crime to send unsolicited commercial e-mails >> from California or to an e-mail address in the state. > I think it would be quite interesting to see how the California > legislature defines "an e-mail address in[side] the state [of > California]." Not to mention how they can determine that the spam was > sent from California. In ways that will stand up in courts, of > course. Courts, like legislatures, are populated in significant part by lawyers. I don't see the problem. Courts have been able to determine questions of residence and "doing business in" despite the invention of the telephone, the telegraph and the forwarded letter, so it's not clear what additional problems are posed here. There will probably be some cases that won't be decided the way you think they should (e.g. for california residents using an out of state ISP or for email not read at home), but another thing to remember is that in general courts have decided (for better or worse) that the onus is on the sender to determine whether the stuff they're delivering is illegal in the recipient's jurisdiction (see, e.g., the Amateur Action BBS case) paul ------------------------------ 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, 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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You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #314 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Feb 25 20:07:28 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1Q17SF21614; Tue, 25 Feb 2003 20:07:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 20:07:28 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302260107.h1Q17SF21614@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 V22 #315 TELECOM Digest Tue, 25 Feb 2003 20:08:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 315 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Picky, Picky (John Higdon) Re: Picky, Picky (SELLCOM Tech Support) ESI Announces New Products for 2003 (Ben Hackney) Defining Spam (Joey Lindstrom) Re: CHP Rethinks Phones/In Reversal, The Agency Favors a Bill (John Higdon) Re: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction (Hudson Leighton) Re: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction (Robert Bonomi) Re: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction (Barry Margolin) A Radio Chip in Every Consumer Product (Monty Solomon) Benefits of ISDN PRI (Forrest Nelson) How Does Telemarketing Work? (Mike O'Dorney) Re: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? (Joe Mauk) Re: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? (Paul Timmins) Re: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? (Mike O'Dorney) Spamblocks was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitmate Sites (Danny Burstein) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Site (Richard D.G. Cox) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Picky, Picky Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:16:31 -0800 In article , Joey Lindstrom wrote: > So, stick with "reputable" registrars then, eh? > Not so fast (and remember my earlier disclosure). Network Solutions > is the worst of the bunch. I've done quite a number of transfers, on > behalf of clients, from other registrars to my own Tucows profile. > The *ONLY* one that gives me grief is Network Solutions. As the registrant for dozens of domain names, it is with great pleasure that I announce that not one of them remains registered with Network Solutions. I must in all fairness, however, report that transferring them all away (over the course of about two years) was completely painless. NSI never stood in the way of moving the domain name. In fact, the process was almost TOO easy! > They too have some sort of "domain lock" in place, and oddly enough > they keep claiming that "the customer must have turned it on" even > when I know for a fact the customer did *NOT* turn it on. The other > thing they like to do is this: when the request comes in for a > transfer, Network Solutions' official policy is to send an email to > the admin contact for the domain, requesting confirmation that > they've authorized the transfer. Most of the domains I transferred from NSI required no confirmation to NSI. All I ever got from them in those cases was an email stating that the transfer had been completed. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Picky, Picky Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 11:10:13 -0500 Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Joey Lindstrom posted on that vast internet thingie: > DISCLOSURE: I am a Registration Service Provider (reseller) for Tucows, > Inc. I don't represent them, I just resell their product. So > obviously my opinion is biased, but some of what I'm saying applies to > them too. I believe that with buydomains.com I have the ability to lock or unlock domains with my control panel. I just locked some based on more of a "why not" and "because it is there" concept. Netsol once made me renew a domain before I could transfer it (of course I went through the little process with the anti-trust gov site). Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, Vtech 5.8Ghz EnGenius NEW EP436 4line (the longest range), Panasonic, Twinhead notebooks, WatchGuard firewall, Okidata, Polycom! If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: Ben Hackney Subject: ESI Announces New Products for 2003 Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:50:34 GMT Plano, Texas, February 14, 2003 - ESI (Estech Systems, Inc.) an innovative manufacturer of telephone systems for small to medium-sized businesses, has announced a significant product launch for 2003 - including newly designed Feature Phones, new classes of phone systems, and Esi-MailT unified messaging. "ESI continues to grow at a rapid pace as a result of providing true value-added products to the customer and exceptional service to our resellers," said Jason Beckett, ESI Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "ESI also continues to expand into new markets by increasing the flexibility of system sizing, and Feature Phone choices, as well as offering new communications technology to customers in a simple, easy-to-implement, easy-to-understand product family." New Feature Phones The three new phone models take greater advantage of ESI system features. Each has a sleek, modern look. The 48-Key Digital Feature Phone (also available in IP, TAPI and Remote IP models) is designed for the active user, and has 30 programmable keys and an enhanced three-line display. The 60-Key Expansion Console shares the look of the new phones, and connects to the 48-Key Feature Phone. The 24-Key Digital Feature Phone is designed for less active applications. The 12-Key Digital Feature Phone is intended for infrequent use, such as for lobbies, warehouses and other placements. New phone system classes IVX E-Class includes voice mail, an automated attendant and automatic call distributor (ACD). IVX E-Class systems also support the new Esi-Mail unified messaging application and advanced voice over IP (VoIP) communications. Two systems are available: IVX 72e (70 call processing ports) and IVX 128e (126 call processing ports). IP E-Class continues ESI's presence in the exploding VoIP market. The IP 200e and IP 40e - handling a maximum of 198 and 70 call-processing ports, respectively - are advanced, IP (Internet Protocol) network-based business telephone systems that combine all of the features of IVX E-Class with state-of-the-art delivery of packetized voice via the existing local area network/wide area network (LAN/WAN) to the desktop. Also available on IP E-Class is the new Esi-Mail unified messaging application. IVX S-Class is designed for the small to mid-sized business with flexible voice mail needs and moderate growth requirements. IVX S-Class comes with a four-line, eight-digital-station and two-analog-station configuration. It grows to as many as 12 CO lines, 24 digital stations and six analog ports, and is ideally suited to handle the majority of small business growth requirements. Also, IVX S-Class offers two new voice mail options or an Integrated Answering MachineT depending on the needs of the customer. Esi-Mail unified messaging With the Esi-Mail unified messaging option, E-Class users can view, prioritize, and select for playback any voice mail message from their Microsoft® Outlook® 2000/2002 Inbox. A variety of controls on the integrated Esi-Mail toolbar allow for synchronization between the Outlook 2000/2002 Inbox and the user's voice mailbox. Esi-Mail has the added benefit of not requiring an expensive server, meaning unified messaging is now cost-effective for the small to mid-size business. Product availability ESI products are available through Converged Technologies. To contact Converged Technologies, email sales@convergedtech.net, go to www.convergedtech.net or call Converged Technologies at 614 252-8611. ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 10:07:05 -0700 Subject: Defining Spam Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Mon, 24 Feb 2003 14:14:24 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Some of you may recall, I had a > discussion similar to this with Joey Lindstrom not too long ago about > what I consider 'acceptable spam' versus the garbage stuff. I said > something about my general approval of (admittedly unsolicited) items > sent by educational institutions for use in this Digest. We then got > into discussion of 'making subjective decisions'. Remember that > discussion? If I quote Joey correctly, he said *all* UCE was > essentially spam. All I can say is if we knew 20 years ago what we > know today I have to wonder if Usenet would have ever gotten started. > PAT] Amen. But the point I was making was one of semantics. UCE = spam. Period. The word "spam" is just a one-syllable way to say "unsolicited commercial email" (which includes usenet posts). That's not a value judgement, that's a simple fact. See: http://www.spam.com/ci/ci_in.htm http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=spam Now, if you want to make a value judgement on a particular piece of spam, that's a whole 'nother kettle of eels. All UCE *IS* spam - that's not an opinion, that's fact. But whether or not all spam is bad is definitely a matter of opinion. My opinion is that MOST of it is -- however, in saying that, I use a very loose definition of "unsolicited". If the sender has a REASONABLE belief that the recipient may be interested (and by "reasonable" I'm talking about a LOT more than the typical spammer's 0.0001% positive response rate), then the line between "unsolicited" and "solicited" becomes blurred. By definition it's still spam, but now it's veering towards "good spam". Examples from here in the Digest would include the occasional posts about jobs that are available, please send resume. Knowledge of your audience is key. The above "spam" would be "good spam". Someone spamming the Digest (or its posters, individually) with an offer of a reconditioned PBX system.... ok, that's not quite so cool. It's better targeted than most spam, but it's still a shotgun approach. But hey, we're talking about opinions. Yours will differ from mine. The definition of spam is still UCE, and all UCE is still spam. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: CHP Rethinks Phones / In a Reversal, The Agency Favors a Bill Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 17:31:03 -0800 In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > The recommendation marks a reversal of policy for the CHP, whose > director, Dwight O. Helmick, had lobbied against such a bill in the > last two sessions of the Legislature. An almost identical bill was > introduced for a third time at the beginning of this year's session. I believe the CHP endorses (or not) that which has been sanctioned (or not) by the governor. Spike Helmick was on a radio talkshow not long ago on which he was asked point blank if he supported the latest cellphone restrictions. He waffled and danced for awhile, and then gave a convoluted explanation that said something like "we haven't yet had a chance to discuss this with the governor". I guess Davis has finally decided to get on this bandwagon. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: hudsonl@skypoint.com (Hudson Leighton) Subject: Re: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 21:22:58 -0600 Organization: MRRP My guess would be too many web addresses in the message body -Hudson In article , Judith Oppenheimer wrote: > Two messages in one here: First of all, Judith tells me how my > Illustrious Editing Tool let me down a couple issues ago, and dropped > a final 'l' out of '.html' making a link difficult to reach. That is > corrected below. > > For next: What made her correction message get asassinated by Spam > Assassin? Any idea what she said that was so offensive? Its all > printed below. http://www.skypoint.com/~hudsonl ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 03:24:07 GMT In article , Judith Oppenheimer wrote: > Two messages in one here: First of all, Judith tells me how my > Illustrious Editing Tool let me down a couple issues ago, and dropped > a final 'l' out of '.html' making a link difficult to reach. That is > corrected below. > For next: What made her correction message get asassinated by Spam > Assassin? Any idea what she said that was so offensive? Its all > printed below. > SPAM: -------------------- Start SpamAssassin results ---------------------- > SPAM: This mail is probably spam. The original message has been altered > SPAM: so you can recognise or block similar unwanted mail in future. > SPAM: See http://spamassassin.org/tag/ for more details. > SPAM: > SPAM: Content analysis details: (5.20 hits, 5 required) The following two items are the -big- hits. Boils down to a 'funny' "Message-Id:" header. Since you didn't print the _full_ headers, no further analysis of _what_ was 'funny' is possible. > SPAM: MSGID_CHARS_SPAM (2.0 points) Message-Id has characters indicating spam > SPAM: MSGID_CHARS_WEIRD (1.5 points) Message-Id has characters often found in spam The following, in combination, were enough to push things 'over the limit' given the presense of the other stuff. The sender (Judith) flagged the message as 'Urgent'/ 'High Priority' / 'Special Delivery' -- a 'tagging' capability existint in the e-mail protocols that allows mail _readers_ to present 'urgent' mail "first". It is _rarely_ used in the real world, *except* by spammers. > SPAM: X_PRIORITY_HIGH (0.9 points) Sent with 'X-Priority' set to high > SPAM: X_MSMAIL_PRIORITY_HIGH (0.7 points) Sent with 'X-Msmail-Priority' > set to high _guessing_ on the 'phrases' that triggered this 'insignificant' addition to the score: "the link below" common part of 'unsubscribe' fictions "click" common part of 'invitations' to various web-sites. > SPAM: SPAM_PHRASE_03_05 (0.1 points) BODY: Spam phrases score is 03 to > 05 (medium) > SPAM: [score: 3] > SPAM: > SPAM: -------------------- End of SpamAssassin results --------------------- > Pat, note that as you printed it the "l" didn't wrap in the link below > on html, and won't click through properly. (Its too good an article > for frustrated readers to pass up.) > The Farm "...where we talk about the work that we can't talk about." > Thoughts On Creating a Sustainable Framework for Administering the > Deployment of New gTLDs > http://r.tucows.com/archives/2003/02/17/thoughts_on_new_gtlds_part_i.html ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Why Did This Happen? *****SPAM***** Link Correction Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 15:52:57 GMT In article , TELECOM Digest Editor questioned SpamAssassin treatment of a message from Judith Oppenheimer: > For next: What made her correction message get asassinated by Spam > Assassin? Any idea what she said that was so offensive? Its all > printed below. According to the data from SpamAssassin, about 75% of the reason was her Message-ID. My guess is that there's a spamming tool that creates ideosyncratic Message-IDs, and hers happens to be similar to this. Maybe if you look at the message's header you can tell what's unusual about the ID. > SPAM: Content analysis details: (5.20 hits, 5 required) > SPAM: MSGID_CHARS_SPAM (2.0 points) Message-Id has characters indicating spam > SPAM: MSGID_CHARS_WEIRD (1.5 points) Message-Id has characters often > found in spam > SPAM: X_PRIORITY_HIGH (0.9 points) Sent with 'X-Priority' set to high > SPAM: X_MSMAIL_PRIORITY_HIGH (0.7 points) Sent with 'X-Msmail-Priority' > set to high > SPAM: SPAM_PHRASE_03_05 (0.1 points) BODY: Spam phrases score is 03 to > 05 (medium) > SPAM: [score: 3] > SPAM: > SPAM: -------------------- End of SpamAssassin results --------------------- Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 09:54:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: A Radio Chip in Every Consumer Product By CLAUDIA H. DEUTSCH and BARNABY J. FEDER Here's a tip to thieves: If you are bent on stealing packages of Gillette Mach3 razor blades, go someplace other than Tesco's Newmarket Road store in Cambridge, England. There, a "smart shelf" continuously queries tiny radio chips embedded in the packages it holds, and senses the silence when one is removed. The system may soon be programmed to alert security when several are taken at once, Greg Sage, a Tesco spokesman, said. And, yes, Procter & Gamble will notice if a case of Pantene shampoo does not make it to the Wal-mart Supercenter in Broken Arrow, Okla. Its truck is equipped to monitor signals continuously from chips hidden in each case. If any case stops sending its "Hi, I'm still here" signal, a monitor in the "smart truck" will record exactly when and where. Such technology, known as radio-frequency identification -- the same techniques that enable an electronic sensor to record data from an E-ZPass tag or an office door to open for people with chip-equipped cards in their pockets -- could one day stymie pilferers. But it is also capable of doing much more for commerce. Beyond Gillette and Procter & Gamble, companies as diverse as International Paper and Canon USA are teaming up with retailers and customers to apply R.F.I.D., as it is known, to tracking products from the time they leave an assembly line to the time they leave the store. The companies are tagging clothes, drugs, auto parts, copy machines and even mail with chips laden with information about content, origin and destination. They are also equipping shelves, doors and walls with sensors that can record that data when the products are near. "We want to track all of our merchandise, and that includes items that people are unlikely to steal," William C. Wertz, a spokesman for Wal-Mart Stores, said. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/25/technology/25THEF.html ------------------------------ From: Forrest Nelson Subject: Benefits of ISDN PRI Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 15:59:33 -0800 I would like to hear experiences and effects of implementing ISDN PRI (vs. conventional analog trunks). Features - Caller ID, DID, etc Return on investment - lower overall trunk cost, time saving, etc Dependability ... Quality of Service ... Please feel free to e-mail directly. Thanks, J. Forrest Nelson, RCDD Affiliated Engineers NW, Inc. (AEI) mailto:jfnelson@aeieng.com * e-mail 206-256-0800 * phone 206-256-0423 * fax 206-972-6808 ~ cell ------------------------------ From: modorney@aol.com (Mike O'Dorney) Subject: How Does Telemarketing work? Date: 24 Feb 2003 16:00:56 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I talked with a telemarketing form, that calls everyone in the neighborhood/town/etc., with a recorded message, and, if the customer phone rings three times, it hangs up. It says "unavailable" etc. on caller id systems. I asked the company if they can put a number, or message, so the call gets taken "seriously", and they said they do a T1 link to make the calls, and couldn't do CID. My thoughts are: 1. Why can't they put the CID tones after the first ring? 2. Why can't they spoof and put any number in, since the T1 goes directly to the CO, and the calls are actually made by the CO. CID is just data, and the CO will send whatever it's programmed to do. What am I missing here? I realize a national marketing company has to be able to program a number of different CO's, but I can get my CO (a DMS-100) type from a DSL database. Cheers, Mike O'Dorney ------------------------------ From: jsmauk@aol.com (Joe Mauk) Subject: Re: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? Date: 25 Feb 2003 11:27:07 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ TELECOM Digest Editor wrote in message news: Maybe someone can tell me what I have here. On one of my recent trash- > picking runs (a bad, but often times profitable habit I learned from > Bill Pfieffer several years ago) I found a five foot long 'modular' > cord, resembling a phone connection cord. This is the way it came from > the factory, not taped or patched together, or rigged up. > The only notation on this is on the USB end where appears the > notation 940-0127A. > I got so excited when I first found it because I thought it was a > connector to take a USB device (camera or printer) directly to the > Linksys router, which it would appear except for the one end being > slightly too large to fit in the router. Any ideas what it is used > for? My thanks. It is a cable that is used to connect a APC un-interuptable power supply to a USB port. Here's a link: http://www.apcupsd.com/manual/configure.html#ConfigGeneral Regards, Joe Mauk ------------------------------ Subject: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? From: Paul Timmins Date: 24 Feb 2003 23:31:31 -0500 I think your connector is a USB connector for an APC UPS. I don't know where my cabling is at the present, but I do remember it looking amazingly like what you described. Mine have a black cable, if it helps any. And if I'm remembering correctly, the reason for the size of the connector is because you can get a serial cable that plugs in the same modified modular jack on the UPS in place of a USB cable, and those obviously have more than 4 pins. But either way, unfortunately there's no such thing that I'm aware of (besides a computer), that could allow a USB device to talk to ethernet. The protocols are different in every way, shape and form. :-( Paul Timmins paul@timmins.net / http://www.timmins.net/ H: 313-586-9514 / C: 248-379-7826 / DC: 130*116*24495 AIM: noweb4u / Callsign: KC8QAY ------------------------------ From: modorney@aol.com (Mike O'Dorney) Subject: Re: What Kind of a Connector is This? What Used For? Date: 25 Feb 2003 08:11:11 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ TELECOM Digest Editor wrote in message news:: > Maybe someone can tell me what I have here. On one of my recent trash- > picking runs (a bad, but often times profitable habit I learned from > Bill Pfieffer several years ago) I found a five foot long 'modular' > cord, resembling a phone connection cord. This is the way it came from > the factory, not taped or patched together, or rigged up. This is a management cord used for an APC Uninterruptible Power Supply. What it does is provide information from the UPS, directly into a monitoring computer. A trick I use is to search Google (and other engines) on "940-0127A" - with all the punctuation, spaces, etc. Often that will bring up info, or at least a reseller with a one-line description. Cheers (and, remember, dumpster diving is not a crime) Mike O [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, in some places dumpster diving *is* a crime, but not here in Independence, KS. Folks here are very laid back about things like that. There should be a crime, however, about going outside on days like we have had this week thus far. After 73 degrees on Friday, and somewhat cooler weather on Saturday, we had a blizzard on Sunday and yesterday! :( 10 inches of snow on Sunday during the day, combined with winds of 15-25 miles an hour throughout the day/evening/Sunday/Monday and temperatures in the single digits last night. Today, Tuesday, the temperature got all the way up to 20 degrees. My gas bill is going to be horrible this month. But the comp- uter did warn me about this 'winter storm watch' beginning last Thursday when the temperature was in the sixties all day. Can't say I wasn't warned. Thanks to the dozen or so guys who answered my question about the 'funny looking cable'. And it is black in color. I brought an APC type battery over by the computer and plugged in the cable and put the other end in a USB hub port. The Windows XP recognized it right away, and offered to install it and the software for it! I only printed three of the many replies I recieved here. That's one of the great things about being the traffic-cop/moderator in a group like this: Ask a question and get several good replies in minutes from readers. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:10:47 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In Dave Close writes: > Mark Crispin wrote: >> Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological equivalent >> of a boycott. The entire point of a boycott is to cause collateral >> damage. > More specifically, a secondary boycott or a blockade. A blockade is a > picket line which the picketers try to prevent anyone from crossing. > Because they have a beef with the object of the picket line, they try > to stop anyone else from having any business with them. This sort of > labor practice has long been illegal in the US. Again, that's NOT the case regarding spam. A much better analogy is when a supermarket is repeatedly cited by the Dep't of Health or by local newspapers and television for leaving rotting meat in the aisles. Pretty soon customers stop going there, either because they smell the meat themselves of they see the reports. Meaning that Hersheys Chocolate can't sell much product there, nor can Ben and Jerrys. Nor Kimberly Clarke their toilet paper. When the district sales reps of the legitimate companies come by to see why the numbers are down they'll have a choice of trying to get the supermarket to clean up its act, or of dropping them all together. And yes, it does mean that the Hershey's sales will miss a couple of points in that area as people don't go to that store. But that's business. As good as Hershey bars are, I'm not going to hold my breath and put on boots to get to the chocolate display. And if the other stores I go to stock Lindt or Nestles but not Hersheys, that's what I'm going to buy. > It is fine for a union to inform the public and try to convince them > to support a strike, but coercion is going too far. The same should > apply to vigilante spam blockers. And again, the spam lists are exactly that. An informational bulletin. It's up to individual internet users (or the company they contract with) to decide whether to walk past the rotting meat and pick up Hershey bars. A person or company sending out e-mail, or hosting a web page, does not, repeat NOT, have an inalienable right to enter my mailbox. Period. End of Story. Finata. ( Hersheys is a registered trademark of the Hersheys Corporation, a manufacturer of pretty decent mass market chocolate. Name used for identification purposes only. Hmmmm, chocolate... ) _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:31:17 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited At 07:22 UT on Mon, 24 Feb 2003 Dave Close wrote: >> Blocking by IP address is nothing more than the technological >> equivalent of a boycott. The entire point of a boycott is to >> cause collateral damage. > More specifically, a secondary boycott or a blockade. A blockade is > a picket line which the picketers try to prevent anyone from crossing. Dave seems to have well missed the point here - let me restate it: Blocking lists are implemented by operators of private data networks because THEY, the operators, do not wish to allow certain parties to access THEIR privately-run networks. Those certain parties are most commonly identified by the networks where the messages originate, and specified by IP address ranges allocated to them. In the case of SPEWS, the network identified as being appropriate to block is that of the hosting ISP, rather than the individual computer, because of the established tendency of hosting ISPs to move customers around to frustrate individual IP blocks. The action taken is against the hosting ISP, not the individual user, because it is the hosting ISP who determines (and hopefully enforces) the Acceptable-Use policy. > Because they have a beef with the object of the picket line, > they try to stop anyone else from having any business with them. That is not what is happening here. Every network that implements a blocking list does so of (its administrators') own free will; there is NO compulsion or pressure to do so. The only pressure is from having to clear up the mess, and pay for additional bandwidth, as a result of the unwanted material being sent from the identified networks. > This sort of labor practice has long been illegal in the US. Quite right too, but it's not relevant here. Richard Cox ------------------------------ 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, 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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Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #315 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Feb 26 22:48:12 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1R3mCG27967; Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:48:12 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:48:12 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302270348.h1R3mCG27967@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 V22 #316 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:48:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 316 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Dist. 54 Students to Get Laptops (Monty Solomon) SonyEricsson P800 Survives the Hype, and Some (Monty Solomon) Canada's Sympatico Targeted in Internet Scam (Monty Solomon) Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? (John R. Levine) Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? (john@pdj01.cinci.rr.com) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Paul A Lee) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Barry Margolin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (David Wolff) Re: Microwave Towers (techie) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (David B. Horvath, CCP) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Gordon S. Hlavenka) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:18:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Dist. 54 Students to Get Laptops By Shruti Daté Singh Daily Herald Staff Writer Dooley School teacher Jennifer Antonson is excited about the prospect of each of her students getting a laptop computer. Her sixth-graders could research and write their English papers right at their desks, and they could read about history for social studies as current events occur, Antonson pointed out. "I think back 20 years ago. A school wouldn't even consider not having a set of encyclopedias," said Antonson from her Schaumburg school. "This is a new resource every child should have access to." Schaumburg Township Elementary District 54 plans to give every student in grades four, five and six an Apple iBook laptop to use during the school year. The District 54 school board approved the project on Thursday. ... http://www.dailyherald.com/cook/main_story.asp?intID=3767715 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know, the encylopedia business is almost a thing of history. Not only the schools in the past, but many private residences also had a set of encyclopedia books. Who has them any longer? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 00:48:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: SonyEricsson P800 Survives the Hype, and Some By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco For almost a year the hype has been gathering around the SonyEricsson P800, which is easily the most talked-about phone on Slashdot. It must be the most hyped handheld device since the Apple Newton. I've had two weeks with one and generally, I'm as pleased as punch with it. As early reviews indicate, it's a great phone and a thoroughly respectable PDA, all in one, at a price that undercuts PDAs. One dealer in the UK, where it began to go on sale for as little as $300 towards the end of last week, described it to me as the best ready for market phone he'd seen, and he's probably right. But for the real news, and why I called it 'revolutionary', you can thank Opera. This is the first handheld that does the full web - Opera's native Symbian browser is quite amazing. I think this is the beginning of the end for the two quite horrible, but related ideas: repurposing content through WAP gateways or "clipping" (the Palm VII/Hiptop model); and closed-garden carrier services. People want the full web, and want to go where they please - not where some phone company wants them to go. This they can now do, at a very affordable price. ... http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/29475.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 22:17:37 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Canada's Sympatico Targeted in Internet Scam By Jeffrey Hodgson TORONTO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Sympatico, one of Canada's biggest Internet service providers, is telling some customers to contact police and credit card issuers after an elaborate e-mail scam that sought out confidential information. Company officials said on Tuesday that the scam's organizers had sent out e-mails to some 1,900 of Sympatico's 1.4 million customers last week, seeking personal and financial details, and linking their queries to a fake web site which has since been shut down. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31813112 ------------------------------ Date: 25 Feb 2003 23:51:57 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA In article you write: > Italked with a telemarketing form, that calls everyone in the > neighborhood/town/etc., with a recorded message, and, if the customer > phone rings three times, it hangs up. Just wondering, are they aware that what they're doing is extremely illegal? Under the TCPA robot sales calls to residences, or to hospitals, or to cell phones are completely illegal, and recipients can sue for $500 per call, tripled if the caller knew it was illegal. I know people who file and win these cases. Regards, John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner http://iecc.com/johnl Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: john@pdj01.cinci.rr.com Subject: Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:43:46 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online -- Northeast Ohio Mike, They can put out a number, the problem is they don't want to. A pre-recorded message to a home 90% of the time is flat out against the law. USC 47 section 227. Check with the FCC for more details. Then fill out the complaint form on their web page. -John ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 17:35:39 -0500 In TELECOM Digest V22 #314, Phil Earnhardt wrote (in part): > On Mon, 24 Feb 2003 12:29:25 -0500, Paul A Lee > wrote: >> If you have downloaded a driver update, a product data sheet, or any >> of a number of other things...you can wind up receiving promotional >> emails. It's easy to miss during the download "registration" process, >> but you "agree" to it. >> That may not be the most enlightened and forthright way to do things, >> but I will offer this in HP's defense: If you opt out, they DO STOP >> sending stuff. > I fundamentally disagree. > If I want to receive solicitations from a company, I ask for them. > That is the "opt-in" model for commercial e-mail. Or you could call it > Solicited Commercial E-mail. > If a company implicitly puts me on advertising lists -- if they > implicitly or explicitly have the "send me mail" checkboxes checked -- > then that's an "opt-out" model. It's not a model that respects the > consumer and his most fundamental commercial right to respect his > private property known as his e-mailbox. I appreciate what you're saying and I agree in principle. I would even take up the point with the company involved, given a reasonable opportunity. However, when I consider the varied promotional email I receive and the numerous ways in which my email address may have come to the attention of the sender, I tend to be circumspect. If I get an advertisement relating to a product I've been interested in, from a company I can reach and as a result of an action I took, I'm not inclined to get upset about it. It has happened quite a few times, and when I have no interest, I request removal, and they stop. In a practical sense, it's a non-event. I reserve my ire and my indignation for those senders I have never contacted and would never deal with, who have repeatedly sent me questionable promotions about products or services I have no interest in, without any initiating action on my part, and despite (or in spite of) my requests that it stop. Even more, I reserve my ire for the senders who obscure their identity, ignore remove requests, lie about their list practices, lie about how your email address got on their list, build and sell mail lists from replies, or harvest addresses from web sites and newsgroups. >> In my experience, you're pretty safe sending an opt-out or unsubscribe >> request to a legitimate company. > That begs the question. How should I implicitly know if m0.net is > legitimate? How much research should I be forced to do? I wouldn't expect anyone to know "implicitly". That kind of knowledge is empirical. It's a lot like learning where it's okay to walk at night in a big city or who is safe to go into the elevator car or stairwell with. Again, I appreciate the principle that, in the foregoing comparison, one should not _have_ to learn and know those things. And yet, I find life easier overall if I _do_ learn those things, even though they may conflict with my principles. >> Typically (again, my experience), you'll find a link or an email >> address to use to unsubscribe on a legit company's web site, and it >> will work, even when a third-party promotional service is used. > I would be far happier if those e-mails had a link to somewhere on > hp.com about the mailings. I know nothing about m0.net; without that > link on HP's site, I know nothing about whether or not HP is > sanctioning those mailings. I got a promotional email for HP just last night and realized that I was (back) on their list, apparently as a result of registering for and downloading a driver for my daughter's printer. The email was, indeed, from the "m0.net" domain. It appears I do have an HP Passport (web site user profile, complete with mail preferences), because when I clicked on the link in the email from m0.net, I was taken right to my Passport account login on hp.com. >> The ones you have to watch out for are the emails that promote a >> product of a legitimate and reputable company, but that actually >> represent a spammer/scammer, as with the Norton product spams. I >> suggest you forward those to the company whose product is being >> (mis)represented. Trouble is, they're usually already aware of the >> spam and doing what they can to fight it. > Really? Can you tell us exactly what Norton is doing to fight those > spams? No, I can't tell you exactly, but I would conjecture that they're doing the same things other reputable companies that are victimized by spammers do: Seek and pursue any trademark infringements, software piracy, and reseller contracts that might be used to stop unscrupulous sellers. However, when a manufacturer tries to selectively sanction some types of promotion or sales tactics, they have to beware of potential trade restriction and anticompetition violations. Most spam marketers quickly learn how to "fly under the radar" to avoid civil and criminal liabilities while they revel in the sleaze of their "business" practices. Our two perspectives can coexist. You can campaign to keep HP, GM, GE, IBM, ABC, and AOL from abusing their trust by sending promotional email. Me, I'll save my energy to deal with 66 ink cartridge refill offers, 73 Russian bride brokers, 104 herbal preparations to increase the size of various body parts, 231 online "pharmacies" offering Viagra, 359 nasty webcams, 581 home refinance and debt consolidation firms, and 1047 free porn sites (17 with barnyard fun). After that, an email from HP -- or even from m0.net -- is almost a welcome relief. Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 09:45:14 -0700 Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:53:13 EST, R. T. Wurth wrote: >> Your entire premise rests on the assumption that the content of these >> "bad places" is 100% universally condemned and/or illegal, but as far >> as I understand this, we're talking about some pornographic BUT LEGAL >> sites. >> The assumption is bad, therefore so is the proposal. > I think it's time to re-wind the thread and recall the context. The > original was about the state of Pennsylvania blocking access to web > sites showing child pornography. In the US, the law is crystal clear > that the child's right to privacy trumps free speech, in that the > making of child porn inherently violates the child because of the > child's inherent legal inability to consent. Furthermore, every > display of a child's pornographic image is a further crime against > that child. 1) It's a slippery slope. We block the IP of an "objectionable" site that, pretty much, we can all agree is "objectionable". That has collateral effects and results in the blocking of non-objectionable sites. OK, this is "acceptable losses", to use military parlance. But having done it, what's to stop us from next doing the same thing to "extreme" (but legal) porn sites? And then once we've done that, we continue down the slope until Hustler and Playboy are being blocked along with anyone else who shares that IP. 2) If we're talking about child porn sites, why the hell are we talking about blocking the IP's? This implies that we will leave that site running and just block IP traffic from it. Child porn is illegal pretty much everywhere: why aren't the authorities busting in and SHUTTING DOWN these sites and arresting the perps? Why are we trying to apply a technological band-aid, which results in damage to innocent third parties, to what is clearly a law-enforcement issue? > Is Pennsylvania going too far? I think the point is arguable both > ways, given the additional damage caused by each and every showing > of each and every image. I'm not going to define child porn, on the net or off it. It's wrong. But lemme just lob this grenade into the debate. You mentioned that additional damage is caused by each and every downloading of a kiddie-porn image. By "image" you imply photograph. But what if we're talking about a drawing, or a painting? Or what about an erotic story involving under-agers? A man in British Columbia, Canada, got a bunch of child-porn charges against him on this particular issue. He argued that that the child porn laws made it unlawful to possess (or distribute) images of *ACTUAL* children involved in a porn setting (I don't recall the exact wording of the law). Depictions of FICTIONAL children didn't fall under the law, and he then used the defence of "artistic merit" to have those charges struck. And it worked. Now, the guy still had a pile of other charges against him stick, for possession of bona-fide child porn (imported from Europe I think), some thousands of counts I think, but an important point was made -- and on this (and this alone), I support the guy. In question was a set of drawings and short stories, both authored by the defendant and NOT DISTRIBUTED TO ANYONE - they were for his own personal use. Now, yes, this guy is a sick, evil f*** who deserves to have his balls cut off, but on the other hand, I really worry about any law that makes it unlawful to write down my thoughts or depict them in a drawing. DISTRIBUTING that stuff is a whole 'nother matter, but just possessing that which you created all by yourself? No, I have a problem with the Thought Police coming to my house and telling me what I can and cannot think (and express). OK, off my soapbox. :-) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 15:17:39 GMT In article , Mark Crispin wrote: > It isn't about how fast you pull the plug on a spammer. It's about > whether you continue to plug in new spammers. How do you know beforehand that a new customer will be a spammer? Are salespeople supposed to be private investigators, digging up the dirt on their prospects? Aren't we in the same country where laws had to be enacted to force gun shops to do background checks on their customers? Do you really expect similar due diligence of ISP sales people without forcing it down their throats? Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What's wrong with ISP's *casually observing* the output from new users for a short period of time when they get signed up. Our ISP here in Indepedence does that, although he does not openly admit it. If you sign up for an account on his service, he watches you off and on for the first couple weeks. If a guy is a spammer, he will find it out real soon, and cut the guy off. He has done it a couple times when new users suddenly started putting out several hundred emails at a time each day. Anyone can sell his services, but he reserves the right to kill them as soon as they get on if they are a spammer, a porn person, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: dwolffxx@panix.com (David Wolff) Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 03:45:58 UTC Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. In article , nBarry Margolin wrote: [major snippage] > The problem that often results in us being labeled as "spam-friendly" is > that people expect us to be able to drop these customers on a dime. > Unfortunately, our contracts typically don't allow such drastic action. We "Typically" implies that sometimes your contracts *do* allow such drastic action ... > have to notify the customer, give them a chance to explain and clean up > their act; only if the misbehavior persists after a couple of rounds of > this can we cancel their service. Is there a reason the contracts don't typically say something like, "If we think you've spammed, we can immediately suspend your account while we investigate; if our investigation finds you guilty, we can charge you a cleanup fee of $1 per message"? I'm just asking; maybe there *is* a good reason. Thanks -- David (Remove "xx" to reply.) ------------------------------ From: techie@tantivy.stanford.edu (techie) Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 03:43:14 UTC Organization: Tantivy Associates There is a yahoo mailing list called 'coldwarcomms', which focuses on the telecommunication networks of the cold war era, mostly focused on the AT&T microwave and coax networks. There are also a number of web pages devoted to the old Long Lines network, such as: http://longlines.addr.com -- Welcome My Son, Welcome To The Machine -- Bob Vaughan | techie@{w6yx|tantivy}.stanford.edu | kc6sxc@w6yx.ampr.org | P.O. Box 19792, Stanford, Ca 94309 -- I am Me, I am only Me, And no one else is Me, What could be simpler? -- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:11:16 EST From: dhorvath@cobs.com (David B. Horvath, CCP) Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address On Tue, 25 Feb 2003 17:38:37 -0500, Monty Solomon posted: > PERSONAL TECH > By Michelle Johnson, 2/24/2003 > Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? Perhaps > your Internet service provider is under new ownership, or your free > e-mail service went belly up. So now you have to send out change of > e-mail notices to a long list of family members, friends, and business > associates. Worse yet, maybe you just paid for business cards that are > suddenly obsolete. Subscribers to AT&T Broadband's Internet service > were pretty outraged recently when Comcast Corp. took over and > announced its Boston area customers would be getting their third > e-mail address in a year. (Comcast later said it would redirect e-mail > sent to AT&T Broadband addresses till the end of next year.) Whatever > the reason, when your e-mail address changes, something usually gets > lost in the mail. When I had the need for a "permanent" email address, I got my own domain. It is very hard to change an email address within a printed book sitting on a shelf. I figured that I may want to change ISP at some point because of declining service or increasing prices (although I haven't -- they take good care of me). I figured the free services (yahoo, hotmail, etc.) might go away at some point or charge unreasonable prices. That left getting my own domain. It was a small cost to pay to maintain a fixed address ... David B. Horvath, CCP Consultant, Author, International Lecturer, Adjunct Professor Board Member: ICCP Educational Foundation, ICCP Test Council, and Philadelphia Association of Systems Administrators ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 20:13:17 -0600 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelex.com Organization: Crash Electronics, Inc. Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address > PERSONAL TECH > By Michelle Johnson, 2/24/2003 > Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? This is old news; I've been using a service called Namesecure.com for several years. When I started with them, their service was $49.95 the first year, and $24.95 each year thereafter. You also had to send Network Solutions $30/year for the domain name itself, as they were the only game in town at the time. Namesecure provides the whole package: web URL forwarding and email forwarding. They'll even host a very basic one-page website for you. If you forward your Namesecure-purchased domain to a URL, they can even arrange to keep your domain in the "Location" field of visitors' browsers. Their fee, including domain registration (Namesecure is a registrar) fee, is now $15/year with discounts for multi-year renewals. Same price for transfers. They can set an MX record to point to your mailserver, and they can directly point to your website by a static (But not dynamic) IP address. When these two things are done, it's as though you had your domain set up directly with your ISP -- except that your ISP can't hold your domain hostage if you move. Just update the information with Namesecure and you're elsewhere. Lest anyone think I'm a shill for Namesecure, let me say two things: First, they don't pay me a dime, and second, their support is pretty bad. They have NO telephone support. None. Zero. Email support takes several days and problems may take several cycles to resolve. But when Namesecure works, it works extremely well. And they've been doing it for a very long time, by internet standards. Gordon S. Hlavenka www.crashelex.com nospam@crashelex.com Grammar and spelling flames welcome. Yes, that's really my email address. Don't change it. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. 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Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #316 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Feb 27 22:03:18 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1S33HD04598; Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:03:18 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:03:18 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302280303.h1S33HD04598@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 V22 #317 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:03:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 317 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson HeadsUp (McLellan) Wireless Technology in Space Stations (Ronnie) Remote Testing Numbers (Chuk Gleason) 311 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S. (Carl Moore) IDT's Red Scare (Eric Friedebach) IVR Conversations (cabstand@lycos.com) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Herb Stein) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Garrett Wollman) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Paul Timmins) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Barry Margolin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (John Higdon) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Barry Margolin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Mark Crispin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (clowe@ofda.net) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Dave Close) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: barry_mclellan@yahoo.com (McLellan) Subject: HeadsUp Date: 25 Feb 2003 21:34:40 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Have any of you tried HeadsUp from www.utilcall.com? They just release a new version and I have a few questions that I would like to ask people. We are using this to monitor any Errors that happen on our Avaya switch, when an error occurs, we have this configured to email us the error, as well as the list history since the last error occured. Thanks, Barry ------------------------------ From: ronnierc@lycos.com (Ronnie) Subject: Wireless Technology in Space Stations Date: 25 Feb 2003 23:46:13 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, Well, does the space community feel that there is the need for Wireless communication in Space Stations? I would like to know whether any research is being done in this field of Science. Well, I for one believe that Space Station and the wirelss communication will help us to make a new web of communcation higher than that of say the IRIDIUM prjt and similar projects. SPACE STATIONS can have enormous capablilities and possibilities ... I hope some may have some research or papers presented on this topic. RONNIE ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 05:49:37 EST From: Chuk Gleason Subject: Remote Testing Numbers Reverend - OK, I think I understand now. You're looking for something that the phone company uses, internally. AFAIK, they aren't so much discrete telephone numbers as 'test points' which can be accessed remotely, using the circuit under test. Example: (I used to maintain some Nat'l Weather Service transmitters in North Carolina) Each site had its program audio fed from the forecast office via telephone line; given the distances involved, it might go thru a LEC, an IXC, then a LEC. If I had a problem, first thing I would do was call the main IXC, ask them to test the line. They in turn could tell where the audio was coming from, what level, and where it was going to. At certain points, and especially at the terminating ends, were devices that would let them 'loop-back' the audio; so they could see how the transmission path was in each direction. In my case, if it didn't come back, it was likely the loopback device was dead (site power gone, or smoke and char from lightning, etc). If telco did get their own signal back, it was once again my problem in that the transmitter was off the air for some other reason. (the transmitters are designed so that if they detect loss of program audio input, they shut down, to avoid dead carrier). That's about all I can tell you. How they worked and were accessed, was, in my business, known as FM. Funny Magic. Chuk Gleason Cary, NC >> From: Reverend Dr. Benrand Jr. >> Subject: Re: Helpful Telco Numbers Used For Troubleshooting >> I am looking for numbers that can be used on a regular telco system to >> troubleshoot from a local location rather than traveling to a site. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 11:05:19 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: 311 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S. From KYW news-radio: "The mayor wants to consolidate the call centers for eight services -- like the Water and Streets departments -- into a single answering service using a 311 number." Current switchboard number is 215-686-1776. ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: IDT's Red Scare Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 16:31:26 -0600 Organization: Sir Break-Alot School of Dance Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Michael Maiello, 02.26.03, Forbes.com NEW YORK - IDT is giving a whole new meaning to the term party line. Today, James Courter, chief executive of the Newark, N.J.-based telecom, will try to convince a bankruptcy judge in New York's southern district to nix a $250 million agreement to sell bankrupt Global Crossing to Hong Kong-based conglomerate Hutchison-Whampoa by claiming the sale would put vital U.S. national security information that might be transmitted over Global Crossing's network into the hands of China's communist government. Global Crossing creditors have approved the deal, as has the court. But the U.S. Treasury's Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States, which must approve the deal, has yet to do so. That might give Courter and IDT Chairman Howard Jonas the time they need. IDT has a nearly $1 billion war chest at the ready to snap up Global Crossing. IDT held a press conference on Monday where Jonas said, "Would we give the keys to the Justice Department buildings or the board rooms of some of our largest corporations to a foreign government so they could listen in? Absolutely not." Though the U.S. has no trade sanctions against China, the trade of sensitive technologies is regulated. http://www.forbes.com/2003/02/26/cz_mm_0226idt.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: cabstand@lycos.com Subject: IVR Conversations Date: 26 Feb 2003 14:58:46 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Looking for IVR board to receive calls, play a few messages/prompts, capture some digits, do some database lookups and inserts, open a conversation into a VOIP gateway via voice port and maintain good supervision and signalling. It would initially handle four conversations. Would also need a software toolkit to develop the app. Need a low-budget solution. Any recommendations would be appreciated. ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 22:10:35 -0600 David B. Horvath, CCP wrote in message news:telecom22.316.11@telecom-digest.org: > On Tue, 25 Feb 2003 17:38:37 -0500, Monty Solomon > posted: >> PERSONAL TECH >> By Michelle Johnson, 2/24/2003 >> Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? Perhaps >> your Internet service provider is under new ownership, or your free >> e-mail service went belly up. So now you have to send out change of >> e-mail notices to a long list of family members, friends, and business >> associates. Worse yet, maybe you just paid for business cards that are >> suddenly obsolete. Subscribers to AT&T Broadband's Internet service >> were pretty outraged recently when Comcast Corp. took over and >> announced its Boston area customers would be getting their third >> e-mail address in a year. (Comcast later said it would redirect e-mail >> sent to AT&T Broadband addresses till the end of next year.) Whatever >> the reason, when your e-mail address changes, something usually gets >> lost in the mail. > When I had the need for a "permanent" email address, I got my own > domain. It is very hard to change an email address within a printed > book sitting on a shelf. I figured that I may want to change ISP at > some point because of declining service or increasing prices (although > I haven't -- they take good care of me). > I figured the free services (yahoo, hotmail, etc.) might go away at > some point or charge unreasonable prices. That left getting my own > domain. It was a small cost to pay to maintain a fixed address ... That's what virtual domains are about. I do that. > David B. Horvath, CCP > Consultant, Author, International Lecturer, Adjunct Professor > Board Member: ICCP Educational Foundation, ICCP Test Council, and > Philadelphia Association of Systems Administrators Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ From: wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: 27 Feb 2003 05:12:45 GMT Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? Perhaps > your Internet service provider is under new ownership, or your free > e-mail service went belly up. pobox.com has been providing e-mail forwarding services to solve this problem for $10 a year since before there was a Web. -GAWollman (not a customer, just hate to see the FUD spread like this) -- Garrett A. Wollman | [G]enes make enzymes, and enzymes control the rates of wollman@lcs.mit.edu | chemical processes. Genes do not make ``novelty- Opinions not those of| seeking'' or any other complex and overt behavior. MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) ------------------------------ From: Paul Timmins Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 15:37:51 -0500 On Tue, 25 Feb 2003 20:13:17 -0600, Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote: > Lest anyone think I'm a shill for Namesecure, let me say two things: > First, they don't pay me a dime, and second, their support is pretty > bad. > They have NO telephone support. None. Zero. Email support takes > several days and problems may take several cycles to resolve. But when > Namesecure works, it works extremely well. That's no exaggeration either. I had to have some stuff done to my domain in 1999, and I couldn't get anything done. It got to the point where I managed to track down the phone number of the CEO at the time, and threatened to complain to ICANN about them not following rules (They were in the trial stage of the 3rd party registrar process at the time) to get them to change the nameserver address to point at my own servers. Needless to say I've never done business with them since. Support is not one of their strong points, but he's right, they've been around a while! Paul ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 16:12:38 GMT In article , David B. Horvath, CCP wrote: > When I had the need for a "permanent" email address, I got my own > domain. Another thing you can do is make use of services provided by your college or professional associations. Many alumni associations provide a "permanent forwarding address" -- I'm barmar@alum.mit.edu, and I forward this to my address at work. If you're a member of a professional organization, they may have a similar service (I think acm.org offers this, for instance). These forwarding services are usually free. Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 20:21:29 -0800 In article , Barry Margolin wrote: > How do you know beforehand that a new customer will be a spammer? Are > salespeople supposed to be private investigators, digging up the dirt > on their prospects? When I signed up for connectivity with my provider, I was asked quite a few questions regarding the nature of my business and the use to which I would be putting the service. My answers were satisfactory and I have enjoyed a good, long-term relationship. > Aren't we in the same country where laws had to be enacted to force > gun shops to do background checks on their customers? Do you really > expect similar due diligence of ISP sales people without forcing it > down their throats? Certainly not from all. But there are some (like mine) who are interested in maintaining quality space for their customers in general, and take measures to keep that space clean. As far as I'm concerned any provider who fails to do that deserves to get blacklisted. There is no god-given right to Internet connectivity, and providers have every right in the world to screen potential customers any way they choose. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Mon, 24 Feb 2003 19:21:46 GMT In article , Al Iverson wrote: > In the case of indirectly, the blacklist will list the IP addresses > and/or networks of other customers on that ISP. Then those customers > complain to the ISP for not resolving the problem with the blacklisting > entity. We often resolve this by giving new addresses to the customers who are hit by the collateral damage, while we continue negotiating with the spammer that caused their addresses to be blacklisted. It *doesn't* cause us to violate our contract with the spammer -- it still takes just as long for us to terminate their account. So the wide net cast by the expanded blacklist doesn't really have the desired effect. If "bad guys" used techniques like this, it would be called "terrorism" instead of "boycott". In article , David Wolff wrote: > In article , Barry Margolin > wrote: >[major snippage] >> The problem that often results in us being labeled as "spam-friendly" is >> that people expect us to be able to drop these customers on a dime. >> Unfortunately, our contracts typically don't allow such drastic action. We > "Typically" implies that sometimes your contracts *do* allow such > drastic action ... I don't know. I'm not an expert on our contracts, so I didn't want to make an absolute statement. >> have to notify the customer, give them a chance to explain and clean up >> their act; only if the misbehavior persists after a couple of rounds of >> this can we cancel their service. > Is there a reason the contracts don't typically say something like, "If > we think you've spammed, we can immediately suspend your account while > we investigate; if our investigation finds you guilty, we can charge you > a cleanup fee of $1 per message"? And what if we're wrong? My guess is that we'd have to reimburse them for the lost business. We might even be in danger of being guilty of anti-competitive business practices (I know that's not the right phrase, but I'm not a lawyer and I can't remember what it's called when you do something that prevents another company from doing business). In article , Joey Lindstrom wrote: > 2) If we're talking about child porn sites, why the hell are we > talking about blocking the IP's? This implies that we will leave that > site running and just block IP traffic from it. Child porn is illegal > pretty much everywhere: why aren't the authorities busting in and > SHUTTING DOWN these sites and arresting the perps? Why are we trying > to apply a technological band-aid, which results in damage to innocent > third parties, to what is clearly a law-enforcement issue? I think most of these sites are being operated outside the United States, so we don't have the jurisdiction to shut them down or arrest them. Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 21:15:40 -0800 Organization: Networks and Distributed Computing On Wed, 26 Feb 2003, Barry Margolin wrote: > How do you know beforehand that a new customer will be a spammer? Are > salespeople supposed to be private investigators, digging up the dirt > on their prospects? I expect you to have effective Acceptable Use Policies and procedures in place to prevent abuse. I expect you to do background checks. I expect you to be responsive when you are called about an attack originating from your site -- something other than "send email to abuse." I have seen no sign of Level3 doing anything about the spammers on 63.209.159.64 63.209.159.70 63.209.159.72 64.157.143.4 64.157.143.51 64.157.153.52 just to name the level3 spammers of the past two days that repeatedly hit my private domain's SMTP server. The SMTP HELOs all claim to be in the emailbucks.com domain. This has just been going on for ... I dunno ... how many years? Then there's the ongoing dictionary attack against my SMTP server from a certain other large ISP. It uses a different IP address each time, and is slowly advancing through the alphabet; the most recent one it tried was "bedtime". And meanwhile my DSL line's bandwidth is being eaten alive. As far as I'm concerned, this is a DoS attack. > Aren't we in the same country where laws had to be enacted to force > gun shops to do background checks on their customers? I respectfully point out that the laws that had to be enacted were those to create a *means* for shops to do the checks. Gun shops had been begging for such for years. No shop wants to appear on the TV news as having sold the firearm used in a mass murder. The only reason why we have background checks for gun sales at all is that the NRA fought long and hard for it. Revisionist propaganda to the contrary notwithstanding, the original Brady Bill proposal was not about background checks, but rather about harassing gun owners with mandatory wait periods during which the police *might* do a background check. > Do you really expect similar due diligence of ISP sales people > without forcing it down their throats? Let's put it this way; if ISPs don't clean up their act it will eventually be cleaned up for them. Since it has reached the level of a DoS attack, I expect that ISPs which allow such attacks to continue to become criminally liable. Perhaps if the CEO of Level3 finds himself wearing handcuffs one day (as the CEO of Qwest just did), Level3 may pay a bit more attention. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What's wrong with ISP's *casually > observing* the output from new users for a short period of time when > they get signed up. Agreed. It doesn't even require human monitoring. Spamming behavior is rather easy to detect through automated tools. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. ------------------------------ From: clowe@ofda.net Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 08:04:36 -0500 Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites <----blah, blah, blah---SNIP!---> > 2) If we're talking about child porn sites, why the hell are we > talking about blocking the IP's? This implies that we will leave that > site running and just block IP traffic from it. Child porn is illegal > pretty much everywhere: why aren't the authorities busting in and > SHUTTING DOWN these sites and arresting the perps? Why are we trying > to apply a technological band-aid, which results in damage to innocent > third parties, to what is clearly a law-enforcement issue? Knee-jerk reactions are not a substitute for thoughtful analysis, no matter what the "greater good" in question (No, this is not a point about our 'homeland security', but it could/should be!) A case in point was a good story in CSO magazine (and no, I am not connected with them in any way) this month talks about an interesting variation in using software worms: extortion w/child porn. The worm plants the porn on your hard drive, and then you get an e-mail threatening to turn you in if you don't pay them off. The full story is here: http://www.csoonline.com/read/020103/undercover.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 21:22:08 -0800 From: Dave Close Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California Danny Burstein writes: > A person or company sending out e-mail, or hosting a web page, does > not, repeat NOT, have an inalienable right to enter my > mailbox. Period. End of Story. Finata. No argument from me. And if I were your long-lost high school buddy and wanted to get back in touch, you might regret blocking all mail from addresses related to a spammer, one of which was mine. Your right, your loss. But if the blocking was done by your ISP without your knowledge or permission, you might have cause to be upset. When I refer to vigilantes, I mean those folks who block mail destined to other people without the permission of those other people. And when I don't receive a legitimate job offer because of such a vigilante, I'm more than upset. Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA "Politics is the business of getting dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359 power and privilege without dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu possessing merit." - P. J. O'Rourke ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #317 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Feb 27 22:59:58 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1S3xwS05838; Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:59:58 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:59:58 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302280359.h1S3xwS05838@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 V22 #318 TELECOM Digest Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:58:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 318 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Book Review: "WiFi Security", Stewart S. Miller (Rob Slade) Important Announcement: Customers - Verizon Landline Service (Fleckenstein) Feds Seizing Domain Names (Monty Solomon) U.S. Takes Over Bootleg Web Site (Monty Solomon) Feds Pick AT&T to Run Telemarketer Registry (Monty Solomon) Liberty May Go Alone in Bid for DirecTV (Monty Solomon) EarthLink to Bundle Phone Service With Internet (Monty Solomon) Net Music Gets AOL Audition (Monty Solomon) Artificial Stupidity (Monty Solomon) Marriott & Intel Promote Wireless High-Speed Internet Access (M Solomon) Verizon Wireless Lets Customers TXT the Talk (Monty Solomon) QUALCOMM Offers Free Access to Encryption Software (Monty Solomon) The Palm Tungsten W Is Good For E-Mail, but Not for Phoning (Monty Solomon) Lawmakers Dialing in E911 Pressure (Monty Solomon) VeriSign, RSA Defend Internet Technology at Trial (Monty Solomon) Wifi Caravan / CodeCon 03 (Monty Solomon) Recent Story: "Telemarketers Try to Zap the Zapper" (Carl Moore) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rob Slade Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 07:46:34 -0800 Subject: Book Review: "WiFi Security", Stewart S. Miller BKWIFISC.RVW 20030209 "WiFi Security", Stewart S. Miller, 2003, 0-07-141073-2, U$49.95/C$78.95/UK#40.00 %A Stewart S. Miller wifi@itmaven.com %C 300 Water Street, Whitby, Ontario L1N 9B6 %D 2003 %G 0-07-141073-2 %I McGraw-Hill Ryerson/Osborne %O U$49.95/C$78.95/UK#40.00 800-565-5758 fax: 905-430-5020 %O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071410732/robsladesinterne http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071410732/robsladesinte-21 %O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0071410732/robsladesin03-20 %P 309 p. %T "WiFi Security" When a book starts out with a preface that is basically an advertising pitch for the author's consulting services, one can be forgiven for doubting the author's dedication to the task of informing the audience. This work is yet another attempt to jump on a hot topic bandwagon. Supposedly chapter one introduces us to the standards for wireless LAN security. Instead, the material meanders through an unstructured collection of security and wireless topics. The material is limited, random, and not particularly informative. Even when dealing with strictly technical areas, such as the various types of spread spectrum technologies, the text seems to have been lifted wholesale from marketing brochures, and fails to explain much of anything. There isn't much "Technology Comparison" in chapter two unless we are comparing apples and oranges: again there is a haphazard compilation of topics, with Bluetooth getting the lion's share of the ink. Instead of considering security factors, chapter three lists some basic attacks against systems in general. The "issues in wireless security" are a little more on topic in chapter four. Chapter five mentions a few terms related to the 802.11 family of standards. There isn't much about the promised 802.11 security infrastructure in chapter six: instead we have another amalgam of security problems. Miller demonstrates his limited understanding of the technology, in chapter seven, with common mistakes such as the comparison of "40" and "128" bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) keys (WEP keys are composed of either 40 or 104 bit base keys concatenated with 24 bit initialization vectors, for total lengths of 64 or 128 bits respectively), so it is no surprise that the analysis of the weaknesses of WEP is only half a page long, and misses all the fundamental problems. Chapter eight is a generic warning that people might snoop on you. The authentication topics jump around so much that it is impossible to say what chapter nine is really talking about. A number of technologies are mentioned, but those discussed together frequently come from completely separate protocols or functions. Similarly, chapter ten is entitled "Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum," but doesn't explain anything about DSSS at all, and isn't even consistent in terms of the subject area under discussion. Chapter eleven does stick to the topic of equipment issues, but does not provide any useful direction to the reader. Cross-platform issues are rather confused, in chapter twelve, although there is a reasonable discussion of the WEP initialization vector reuse problem--which should have been covered in chapter seven. The vulnerabilities listed in chapter thirteen constitute another grab bag: since we have been discussing wireless LANs throughout the book, why do we now bring up the topic of the "WAP (Wireless Access Protocol) gap," which only affects Internet enabled cell phones? Chapter fourteen and fifteen mostly duplicate content from nine, with a few minor additions. Chapter sixteen repeats a lot of other material, adding a tiny bit on risk assessment. PDA security issues are reviewed in chapter seventeen. Chapter eighteen collects another random assortment of duplicated topics for a supposed look to the future. This is an arbitrary and disorganized conflation of subjects, with very little of value to anyone. There are a few salient and helpful facts, which, if brought together, might fill a few pages. However, these tidbits are buried in a deluge of impenetrable verbiage, designed more to impress the naive reader than to inform anyone. copyright, Robert M. Slade, 2003 BKWIFISC.RVW 20030209 ------------------------------ From: Steve Fleckenstein Subject: Important Information for Customers with Verizon Landline Service Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 11:20:50 -0500 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: Steve Fleckenstein Starting as of May 1, 2003, due to a change in federal regulations affecting Verizon landline telephone company's application of toll charges to calls made by its residential or business customers to wireless phone numbers, you may incur toil charges on your land line bill regarding such calls. This change will not affect your Verizon Wireless service or phone bill. However, if such toll charges appear on your landline bill, it may be that changing your Verizon Wireless phone number could decrease such charges. To see if changing your mobile number might help, check whether your landline local calling area under your landline-billing plan covers the area code and first 3 digits of your wireless phone number. If it does, you will not be affected by the change, and there is no need to change your mobile number. (It you do not know your landline local calling area, you can check with your Verizon landline company customer service.) If your mobile number is not within the Verizon landline local calling area, then you may want to call our Customer Service Department about whether changing your wireless number would decrease the toll charges. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:36:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Feds Seizing Domain Names By Declan McCullagh Staff Writer, CNET News.com WASHINGTON--Federal police have adopted a novel crime-fighting tactic: seizing control of domain names for Web sites that allegedly violate the law. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Monday that the domain names for several Web sites allegedly set up to sell illegal "drug paraphernalia" would be pointed at servers located at the Drug Enforcement Administration. A federal judge in Pittsburgh granted the U.S. Department of Justice permission to do so until a trial can take place, the government said. Wednesday afternoon, the DOJ said it had taken over the iSoNews.com domain, whose owner pleaded guilty to felony copyright crimes under the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). David Rocci, 22, pleaded guilty in December to using his site to sell "mod" chips that let Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation owners modify their devices so they can use them to play illegally copied games, or "warez." Rocci "attempted to profit by marketing circumvention devices to (the gaming) community knowing they would be used to play pirated games," Michael Chertoff, the assistant attorney general for the DOJ's criminal division, said in a statement. "He thought that there were no risks associated with his actions. He was wrong, and everyone engaged in the warez scene should take note." As previously reported, manufacturers like Sony have waged an international fight against mod chips, with Canadian police targeting an Ottawa man last July for selling mod chips for the PlayStation 2. A Hong Kong video game retailer, Lik-Sang, has been sued by game console makers Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. But this case appears to have been the first such prosecution in the United States under the DMCA, a 1998 copyright law that generally restricts anyone from circumventing copy protection technologies or distributing software or hardware designed for circumvention purposes. The DMCA says commercial violators "shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for the first offense." The Justice Department did not release a copy of Rocci's plea agreement, but said that he will be sentenced on March 7 before U.S. District Judge James Cacheris in Alexandria, Va. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1023-986225.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:21:15 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: U.S. Takes Over Bootleg Web Site By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday it had seized a rogue Web site that offered information on bootlegged video games and movies, as the owner faces sentencing for copyright violations. The site remained available to many Internet users hours after the announcement, but Justice Department officials said they would gain complete control as Internet traffic computers were updated to reflect its new address. Justice said it had taken over the Web site (http://www.isonews.com) after its owner pleaded guilty to selling computer chips that would enable users to play bootleg video games on Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox consoles, a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. ISO News, which claimed up to 140,000 hits each day, does not contain illegal copies of video games, software and movies, but instead features message boards where Internet users can trade tips about such "warez." David Rocci, 22, agreed to surrender the site after pleading guilty last December to importing 450 Enigmah Mod Chips from Britain and selling them for between $45 and $60 apiece, Justice said. Rocci operated the site as a way to attract an audience that would be interested in buying his code-cracking chips, Justice officials said. Some visitors to the site Wednesday found a warning against copyright infringement and a link to the Justice Department's computer-crime division, but others were able to reach a version of the original site. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31846834 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:18:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Feds Pick AT&T to Run Telemarketer Registry WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators have chosen a division of AT&T Corp. to build and operate a national do-not-call list intended to help people block unwanted telemarketing calls. The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday awarded a $3.5 million contract to AT&T Government Solutions based in Vienna, Va., agency spokeswoman Cathy MacFarlane said. The contract runs through September and can be extended for nine years, said company spokesman Jim McGann. Consumers can start signing up for the free service this summer, the FTC says, and the registry should be working by September. People would enroll through the Internet or a toll-free number and would need to renew their registration every five years. Telemarketers would have to check the list every three months to determine who does not want to be called. Those who call listed people could be fined up to $11,000 for each violation. Consumers would be able to file complaints by phone or online to an automated system. More than two dozen states already have their own do-not-call lists or legislation pending that would create them. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31849460 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:23:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Liberty May Go Alone in Bid for DirecTV NEW YORK (AP) -- Liberty Media Corp. is considering its own bid for satellite provider DirecTV if a joint takeover offer with News Corp. doesn't work out. Liberty spokeswoman Julie Ballantine on Wednesday termed as speculative a Wall Street Journal article that a joint bid by Liberty and News Corp. for DirecTV had fallen apart because of tax and antitrust considerations. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31844815 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:24:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EarthLink to Bundle Phone Service With Internet NEW YORK, Feb 26 (Reuters) - EarthLink Inc. (NASDAQ:ELNK), the nation's third-largest Internet service provider, is about to become one of the country's smallest telephone companies. The company said on Wednesday it will begin selling a service that allows regular telephone calls over the Internet, blurring the line between simple Web access and telecommunications. EarthLink said it plans to resell a service from Vonage, a privately held company with more than 10,000 Internet telephone customers, under its own name. Vonage, based in Edison, New Jersey, charges $39.99 a month for a service that allows unlimited calls anywhere in the country using a regular phone. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31840341 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:35:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Net Music Gets AOL Audition By John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com Legal online music services began their biggest test Wednesday, as America Online launched a long-awaited paid-subscription music plan aimed at competing with free services such as Kazaa. AOL's plans have been in the works for more than a year, but were delayed because of concerns about immature technology and the lack of available content for online distribution, company executives said. The service will continue to evolve, but the bulk of those concerns now appear to have been met, they said. In features and content, AOL's version of the MusicNet service is roughly comparable to similar monthly subscription offers from Pressplay -- distributed through Yahoo and Microsoft's media player -- and Listen.com's Rhapsody. But it is deeply rooted in the broader AOL service and billing system, a marketing advantage that analysts say could considerably enhance its appeal to consumers. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1023-986039.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:58:38 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Artificial Stupidity The saga of Hugh Loebner and his search for an intelligent bot has almost everything: Sex, lawsuits and feuding computer scientists. There's only one thing missing: Smart machines. Editor's note: Part 1 of two parts By John Sundman http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/26/loebner_part_one/ Artificial stupidity, Part 2 Can chatterbots be as dumb as a box of hammers and still pass the Turing test? Go ask ALICE, she might know. Editor's note: Part 2 of two parts. Read Part 1. By John Sundman http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/02/27/loebner_part_2/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 09:48:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Marriott and Intel Promote Wireless High-Speed Internet Access WASHINGTON & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2003-- Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE:MAR) and Intel Corporation today announced an agreement to launch a joint marketing campaign to promote the availability of wireless high-speed Internet access at 400 Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Residence Inn, TownePlace Suites, Fairfield Inn and SpringHill Suites hotels in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada. More than 200 of Marriott's hotels currently offer wireless Internet access with an additional 200 being installed this spring -- representing the hotel industry's largest rollout of wireless high-speed Internet access. The program coincides with the upcoming launch of Intel's Centrino(TM) mobile technology for notebook PCs that feature built-in wireless capability. The co-marketing agreement between Marriott and Intel will include advertising, direct mail and customer orientation introducing travelers to wireless internet access along with signage that identifies where wireless internet zones (aka Hot spots) are located. The signage is designed to assist users in identifying locations that have been tested for compatibility with Intel(R) Centrino(TM) mobile technology. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31857033 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 09:50:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon Wireless Lets Customers TXT the Talk RU TXT Messaging with VZW? BEDMINSTER, N.J., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- After growing its TXT Messaging usage 700 percent throughout the year in 2002, Verizon Wireless announced today it will continue to build upon this explosive growth movement by launching a new TXT Messaging suite of services -- TXT Messaging, TXT International, TXT Alerts and TXT Communities. The craze that is silently taking the nation by storm lets customers send TXT Messages, meet new people and chat with friends, have fun and get info, plus give their wireless phone personality. TXT Messaging from Verizon Wireless keeps customers fashionably en vogue, entertained and in touch. See the new TXT Messaging suite of services at http://www.vtext.com. TXT Messaging gives Verizon Wireless customers three ways to TXT -- Mobile 2 Mobile, e-mail and Web 2 Mobile via http://www.vtext.com. Customers can even speak the international language of TXT by sending and receiving TXT Messages with friends in other countries. Stay connected on the fly with the ex-roommate in Canada, a friend in the Philippines or a relative in Puerto Rico. A list of international wireless carriers is available at TXT International at http://www.vtext.com. For a limited time, sending a TXT Message overseas is the same price as sending a TXT Message in the U.S. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31858310 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 21:50:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: QUALCOMM Offers Free Access to Encryption Software SAN DIEGO, Feb. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an initiative designed to benefit the telecommunications industry and the general public, QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that it will allow free use of its SOBER and Turing encryption algorithms for any purpose. In the past, QUALCOMM provided the encryption software only to its licensed manufacturers or for non-commercial use. Turing and the SOBER family are high-speed, highly secure stream ciphers and are thought to be immune to any practical cryptanalytic attacks. Stream ciphers can be much more efficient for encryption than the more common block ciphers, such as the Advanced Encryption Standard. Stream ciphers can mean lower cost of hardware implementation or, at times, the choice to use a software implementation instead of building any specialized hardware. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31856391 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 21:54:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Palm Tungsten W Is Good For E-Mail, but Not for Phoning The Palm Tungsten W Is Good For E-Mail, but Not for Phoning By WALTER S. MOSSBERG The great dilemma faced by makers of communicators, those hand-held devices that seek to merge the phone, the personal digital assistant and the e-mail receiver, is which of those three functions to emphasize. If they make it too phone-oriented, it risks being weak at e-mail. If they make it too PDA-oriented, it risks being weak as a phone. Last week, I looked at a new $649 communicator from Sony Ericsson, the P800, that turned out to be a good phone, but lousy at e-mail. This week, I'll review another new device, Palm's $549 wireless Tungsten W, that couldn't be more different. It's barely competent as a phone, but much better at e-mail. In fact, the Tungsten W isn't as much a competitor with the P800 as it is a challenger to the Handspring Treo 300, which also uses the Palm operating system and has, so far, struck the best balance between the phone and e-mail functions. ... http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20030227.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 00:59:29 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Lawmakers Dialing in E911 Pressure By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com The cell phone industry and public safety agencies will come under new pressure from U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday to speed up deployment of equipment that lets rescue workers locate cell phones that have been used to dial 911. The lawmakers, including Sens. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., are part of the E911 (enhanced 911) Caucus, a committee of senators and congressional representatives created near the end of the legislative session last year to prod the wireless industry into action and make sure emergency call centers get the funding needed to meet the Federal Communications Commission's E911 mandate. The group's kickoff press conference is set for Tuesday. Clinton and Burns, along with the group's two other members, Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and John Shimkus, R-Ill., won't announce any new legislation. Instead, they'll highlight a list of goals for the caucus and draw attention to the group's first hearings, scheduled for March 5, according to a Burns representative. The group will stress, however, that it is looking at "legislative alternatives" to get the industry to deploy E911 equipment as soon as possible, the representative said. All five of the nation's largest wireless carriers have until 2005 to make it possible for police answering a 911 call to locate, within 50 feet, the cell phone used to make the call. The nation's telephone companies already supply street addresses to police every time someone dials 911 from a home or office phone. Wireless carriers are finding the task difficult. All have missed the first of a series of deadlines to begin adding the capabilities to large portions of their network. Only two carriers now offer any kind of E911 service, and only in relatively small areas. AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless are perhaps the furthest behind, having decided in late 2001 to start over with new technology. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1033-985744.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 01:15:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: VeriSign, RSA Defend Internet Technology at Trial By Elinor Mills Abreu SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Technology commercialized by VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) and RSA Security Inc. (NASDAQ:RSAS) to secure Internet transactions infringes on patents owned by a retired engineer, his lawyer told a court on Wednesday. Leon Stambler, 74, is seeking more than $20 million in damages in a trial that began in the federal district court in Wilmington, Delaware, after settling similar claims with other companies. VeriSign and RSA are defending their right to use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, which has become the authentication standard for the millions of Internet transactions that occur every day. Stambler, of Parkland, Florida, testified that he invented his patented technology in the early 1990s as a way to verify the identity of people involved in transactions. The retired electrical engineer developed the technology after his son was prevented from cashing a check at a bank with only one form of identification. He began filing patent applications in 1992 and was issued patents in 1998 or 1999, according to the court transcript. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31851705 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 10:43:06 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wifi Caravan / CodeCon 03 "How I messed up the Wifi Caravan and CodeCon 03", a short story of caution by coderman ... When it rains, it pours, and this was no exception. Hindsight is always 20/20, so maybe if I explain how I messed up everything this trip it will save some other poor soul in the future the same character building experience ... ... http://cubicmetercrystal.com/log/log-0014.html#25-february-2003 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 10:04:58 EST From: Carl Moore Subject: News Story: "Telemarketers try to zap the zapper" Associated Press story today (27 Feb. 2003) says that "Privacy services bypassed by telephone-sales firms". "Castel Inc., a maker of automated dialing technology, boasts that its DirectQuest software is immune to the TeleZapper, a $40 gadget designed to thwart sales calls by faking the tones of disconnected number." ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #318 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Feb 28 02:12:02 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1S7C1p07090; Fri, 28 Feb 2003 02:12:02 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 02:12:02 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302280712.h1S7C1p07090@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 V22 #319 TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 Feb 2003 02:12:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 319 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson These Are Not Your Father's Wiretaps (Monty Solomon) Verizon Notice About Calls to Wireless Phones (Monty Solomon) Price Cut For Starbucks Wi-Fi (Monty Solomon) Lexmark Wins Injuction in DMCA Case (Monty Solomon) Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? (Mike O'Dorney) Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? (Scott Dorsey) Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? (Rich Campbell) Re: How to Detect an 'Invasive' MAC (joe@obilivan.net) Re: DSL vs Cable (joe@obilivan.net) Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM (Scott Dorsey) Voicemail Menus and Info (+1 3 0 3 5 4 3 2 3 1 1) The NUG-IT Magazine (NUG-IT) Large PBX Questions (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) Cable's Costly Road to Profits (Monty Solomon) Tomorrow is Share Day (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:41:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: These Are Not Your Father's Wiretaps PRIVACY MATTERS By Jane Black These Are Not Your Father's Wiretaps Privacy advocates fear that the FBI's need to monitor Internet Age technologies, such as voice over IP, will give it far too sweeping powers In the old days, tapping a phone was as easy as one-two-three. All calls ran over Ma Bell's copper wires. To listen in, law-enforcement agents simply requested that the phone company isolate the suspect's wire and record any calls made or received. One phone company. One network. One flip of a switch. That was eons ago by techno-standards, however. The new world of telecommunications has made it much harder for the FBI to thwart evildoers -- and for privacy advocates to ensure that the agency doesn't overstep its bounds. Today, dozens of new technologies need to be monitored, such as packet voice and cellular text messaging. And thousands of new service providers are now in business. "Every time the technology moves ahead, you have all these pitfalls -- all these potential points where we can creep away from the status quo to a far more intrusive type of surveillance," says Lee Tien, a senior attorney at San Francisco-based advocacy group the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The job of sorting out the mess falls in large part to Les Szwajkowski, the director of the FBI's CALEA surveillance policy and planning unit. (CALEA is an acronym for Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which was passed in 1994 and granted the FBI the right to conduct surveillance on any new technologies that arise.) With his staff of 50 engineers, lawyers, and surveillance experts, Szwajkowski's most pressing task is finding a way to tackle the challenge of packetized voice, better known as VOIP (for voice over Internet protocol), which is steadily gaining a foothold in the U.S. market. VOIP provider Vonage in Edison, N.J., alone has lured 15,000 customers since it launched in April, 2002. ... http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2003/tc20030227_1190_tc073.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 23:33:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon Notice About Calls to Wireless Phones The following notice appears on the bill insert with my current Verizon POTS phone bill. "Important News Regarding Wireless Calls Recent changes in federal regulations have given rise to changes in billing arrangements between Verizon and some wireless phone service providers. Depending on the wireless number you are calling, you may incur regional toll or local message charges for calls made to wireless phone numbers that were previously paid for by the wireless provider. These changes are ongoing and will be completed by October, 2003. You may also need to dial a prefix ("1" or "1" plus the area code). If you have any questions, please call the bill information telephone number on your bill." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 23:40:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Price Cut for Starbucks Wi-Fi By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com BURLINGAME, Calif.--T-Mobile said Thursday that it's cutting the price for Wi-Fi service inside hundreds of Starbucks, a sign of possible trouble brewing for the biggest effort of its kind in the world. Starting March 1, unlimited access to the wireless networks will cost $30 a month, down from $40. T-Mobile will also slash the price of a "day use pass" to $6, which allows access for 24 hours inside any of about 1,200 wireless Starbucks. More changes are on the horizon, T-Mobile director Frank Ramirez said at Thursday's Eyeforwireless Mixed Wireless Conference. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1039-990487.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 23:51:07 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Lexmark Wins Injunction in DMCA Case By David Becker Staff Writer, CNET News.com Printer maker Lexmark International Group won a preliminary injunction Thursday in efforts to prevent a company from selling computer chips that allow toner cartridges to be recycled. Judge Karl Forester of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued the pretrial injunction against Static Control Components, a small Sanford, N.C.-based company that sells printer parts and other business supplies. The order prohibits the company from selling its Smartek chip. When installed in compatible Lexmark printers, the chips allow the printers to use cheaper recycled toner cartridges that would otherwise be rejected by the printer's sensors. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1028-990501.html ------------------------------ From: modorney@aol.com (Mike O'Dorney) Subject: Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? Date: 27 Feb 2003 06:09:50 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ > They can put out a number, the problem is they don't want to. They are pretty much targeting a small geography - no more than four central offices. How much different would it be for a DMS-100 versus a Ma Bell switch? Would they have to know the CO computer type (which isn't hard to find out)? Or, does the call "command string" look the same for any CO? Or, am I missing something here? > A > pre-recorded message to a home 90% of the time is flat out against the > law. USC 47 section 227. This is for nonprofits - churches, Sierra club types, etc. I think it's legal for non-profits and political campaigns. cheers, Mike ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: How Does Telemarketing work? Date: 27 Feb 2003 12:22:11 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) In article , Mike O'Dorney wrote: > I talked with a telemarketing form, that calls everyone in the > neighborhood/town/etc., with a recorded message, and, if the customer > phone rings three times, it hangs up. > It says "unavailable" etc. on caller id systems. I asked the company > if they can put a number, or message, so the call gets taken > "seriously", and they said they do a T1 link to make the calls, and > couldn't do CID. Either: 1. They have an older PBX which is unable to provide the caller-ID information. This is the case, for example, with the Pembroke Telephone Cooperative out in western Virginia, which produces the same result. 2. They don't want to send caller-ID information because they don't want people to know they are telemarketers and don't want them to be able to call back complaining. This is almost certainly the REAL answer. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: Rich Campbell Subject: Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? Organization: AT&T Broadband Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 20:43:05 GMT By calling a bunch of people and pissing most off. wrote in message news:telecom22.316.5@telecom-digest.org... > Mike, > They can put out a number, the problem is they don't want to. A > pre-recorded message to a home 90% of the time is flat out against the > law. USC 47 section 227. Check with the FCC for more details. Then > fill out the complaint form on their web page. > -John ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: How to Detect an 'Invasive' MAC Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 16:21:03 GMT Organization: Cox Communications Also, what are the chances of them being in-range of your wireless router to play their nasty games? Jared wrote: > I am setting up my first WLAN. > I have decided that I can't really stop warsniffers from discovering > my network, eventually sniffing out my WEP keys and cracking their way > in. However, if they're using my network, it strikes me that their > MAC's should be visible and I can use a built-in filtering rule to at > least make them keep acquiring NIC's on a regular basis. Does anyone > know of any tools to do this, or should I expect my vendor (SMC) to > provide this info (I didn't see it in the manual) from the AP itself? > TIA - > Regards, > jh ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 16:22:35 GMT Organization: Cox Communications There shouldn't be any sharing with DSL, if the network is setup correctly. David Clayton wrote: > Jack Adams contributed the following: > Has anyone out there got any info or experience with DSL degradation > when multiple DSL services are provisioned in the same cable? > I would imagine that "early adopter" DSL users would get good data rates > initially, but as more people take up DSL the crosstalk from these would > cause a gradual reduction in maximum (reliable) throughput as the > individual copper cables carry more of these services. > Regards, > David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au > Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. > Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag > you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Mainstream Companies and SPAM Date: 27 Feb 2003 12:06:29 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Gail M. Hall wrote: > On Thu, 20 Feb 2003 08:58:21 -0700, in comp.dcom.telecom message > , you wrote: >> Hewlett-Packard uses a company called "m0.net" to send out newsletters >> about HP products. > Obviously, you don't get those newsletters. If you did, you would see > they come from a domain called "CcmNewsgram.hpccm.p0.com". That the > letter p followed by the number 0, dot com. You're both right. This is Digital Impact. I believe that they are associated with the Postmastergeneral folks who were kicked off of Verio (and believe me, it takes a LOT to get kicked off of Verio). > I did not start getting messages from them until *I* opted to get the > messages. This was fortunate because it was a message from the > company that told me about a problem with the first HP printer I had. > I was able to call the number the message gave and get the fix for my > printer. >> But I do not have a business relationship with HP. >> And m0.net doesn't publish telephone contact information. The messages >> never contained any HP contact information, either. This is SPAM, and >> it certainly appears to be sanctioned by HP. > If you are getting messages from this "m0.com" address, I suspect it > is a spammer look-alike and not the real thing. Digital Impact is not good about making sure they have clean mailing lists and there is a LOT of unwanted spam coming out of them because of their inability to verify the addresses they get. We just block them at the router and don't worry about it. Yes, they have legitimate customers, but they sure send out a lot of unwanted trash. I have yet to have anyone complain about the blocks. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 13:16:22 -0700 From: Paul Migliorelli (+1 3 0 3 5 4 3 2 3 1 1) Subject: Voicemail Menus and Info While this system was actually designed for providing readings for blind users, and while it may not necessarily be cost effective for what you have in mind, it does offer a great deal of flexibility. You can read the details and get info at http://www.telephonereader.com Paul in Boulder http://www.rrsr.org ------------------------------ From: NUG-IT Subject: The NUG-IT Magazine Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 20:29:14 GMT If you manage a telecommunications system at an end user site, The NUG-IT MAGAZINE is for you. For a free subscription for telecom Vice Presidents, Directors, Managers, Supervisors, Analysts, Administrators and Technicians: www.nug-it.org Feature Writers: Gene Trouteaud Dr. Nortel Jane Laino Mike Adams ------------------------------ From: chsvideo@hotmail.com (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) Subject: Large PBX Questions Date: 27 Feb 2003 19:59:42 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello, My odd question of the day: How do 'heavy' telephone subscribers (I.e. those with the capability of 1,000+ numbers) deal with getting their numbers into directories? While I'm at it, what numbers within an NPA-NXX can't be assigned for one reason or another? How common is it for a ILEC to give an entire exchange to a user? The University I'm at has mantained its own telephone switches for the past few years (Manufacturer says it maxes out at 45,000 ports), and as far as I can tell has the entire exchange, NPA-750, to itself (DSL Reports "CO finder" indicates that the CO is at the same physical address as the University) -- the University's telephone services folks (A wonderful group of people) assign all extension/DID numbers and although they seem to like 3xxx, 4xxx, 7xxx, and 8xxx more than the other numbers, I tink we have extensions assigned in every group. Recently -- prompted by a rash of people looking for another department sent to my officemate's number by directory assistance -- I looked at the listings for the University. How is this information obtained? Is it as simple as someone sending a letter to our account rep, or is there something more sophisticated/automatic going on? Last question- when calling from outside, is there any way to tell if the "We're sorry..." messages for numbers not in service is comming from the telco or our switch? Thanks, Lincoln ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:37:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cable's Costly Road to Profits STREET WISE By David Shook Cable's Costly Road to Profits After borrowing to build their systems, some players are this close to the black. The catch? Massive debt will hobble any stock surge. If one business has kept the faith in perilous economic times, it's cable. For the past decade, operators have spent billions to rebuild networks to deliver the premium digital services that industry players and observers all agree are the future. Result: Cable providers have amassed more than $92 billion in debt -- without a whiff of profits to show for all the new infrastructure. The absence of profits has never fazed cable execs, however. Their vision is that, sooner or later, the nation's cable monopolies will solidify their grip on home-entertainment and communication services. In addition to digital cable, which allows for hundreds of channels rather than dozens, the industry is rolling out high-speed Internet service, Internet telephony, and the technology to handle high-definition TV signals. And a few providers have already begun reporting positive free cash flow -- a precursor to real earnings, which some companies could achieve as soon as later this year. ... http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2003/tc20030226_0624_tc055.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 23:09:02 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Tomorrow is Share Day Since February is the shortest month of the year, there will be another Share Day Friday/Saturday for the end of this month and the start of March. I just mention it now so that everyone is in synch for this weekend and the Digest. PAT ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #319 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Feb 28 17:38:57 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h1SMcv211121; Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:38:57 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:38:57 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200302282238.h1SMcv211121@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 V22 #320 TELECOM Digest Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:39:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 320 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Edward G. Viltz Joins Public Interest Registry - .ORG (Julie Williams) Be Your Own Wireless Network (Monty Solomon) Where the Hall Monitor Is a Webcam (Monty Solomon) Intuit Sued in TurboTax Flap (Monty Solomon) Tracking Manufacturers Map Out Future (Monty Solomon) Palm's Wireless Disconnect (Monty Solomon) (Big) Red Faces at Cornell Over E-Mail Error (Monty Solomon) Spam Blocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (John Higdon) Phone Profits CCCP (ICQ 48035239) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Barry Margolin) Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Scott Dorsey) Canada Caller ID and Recording Raw CID Signals (James Sewell) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Norm) Re: 56kbps and PCM Channels (Bob) Re: Feds Seizing Domain Names (Fritz Whittington) Re: Connecting Two E1 PBX-es (Bob) Answering Machine With Email (James Whitlow) Re: Cable's Costly Road to Profits (Ron Chapman) Re: 311 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S. (Joseph) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Julie Williams Subject: Edward G. Viltz Joins Public Interest Registry as President & CEO Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 10:43:50 -0500 Information Technology Industry Executive to Lead Efforts in Serving the Public Interest Through Management Of .ORG RESTON, Va.--Feb. 28, 2003-- The Public Interest Registry (PIR) today announced the appointment of Edward G. Viltz as President and Chief Executive Officer. PIR was created to manage the .ORG registry by the Internet Society, and is committed to setting a new standard for registry services in its management of the .ORG top-level domain. PIR is committed to meeting the unique needs and interests of the noncommercial Internet community around the world. Viltz, a former IT industry executive and consultant, has been involved in the establishment of school-based Internet and technology partnerships between the United States and African Countries. Previously, Viltz co-founded and served as President of Enterprise Integration Corporation, an IT services company, was Chief Operations Officer with Pulsar Data Systems, and held a variety of key management posts at IBM. In addition, Viltz serves on several non-profit boards including the One America Foundation and Progressive Life Center. He also served on the White House council on closing the "Digital Divide." "We are fortunate to have someone with Ed's skill, insight and commitment to public service spearheading our efforts at PIR," said David Maher, chairman of the PIR board. "His experience with both technology and nonprofit organizations make him the perfect person to fulfill our vision of making the .ORG domain to better serve noncommercial organizations worldwide." "It's exciting to be in a position of contributing to the continuing evolution of the Internet in world-wide noncommercial communities. We look forward to supporting the public interest through Internet education initiatives, new services and the management of the .ORG domain registry," said Viltz. The .ORG domain, which has come to be associated with noncommercial activities, is the Internet's third largest "generic" or non-country specific top-level domain (behind .COM and .NET), housing over 2.7 million domain names worldwide. Late last year, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Board of Directors selected ISOC's proposal from among 11 organizations bidding to operate the .ORG top-level domain. VeriSign Global Registry Services' contract as registry operator for .ORG expired on December 31, 2002. PIR assumed control of the registry on January 1, 2003. ABOUT PIR Public Interest Registry (www.pir.org) is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Internet Society to manage the .ORG domain. PIR's mission is to manage the .ORG domain in a way that supports the continuing evolution of the Internet as a research, education and communications infrastructure, and educates and empowers the noncommercial community to most effectively utilize the Internet. PIR is based in Reston, Virginia. PIR was created by the Internet Society (www.ISOC.org). ISOC a not-for-profit, open membership organization founded in 1991 and is dedicated to ensuring the open evolution, development and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people. It provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet, and is the organizational home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards. For additional information on PIR and the .ORG registry please visit www.pir.org. A photo is available at URL: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photo.cgi?pw.022803/bb3 CONTACT: Public Interest Registry, Reston Julie Williams, 703/464-7005, x111 Cell: 703/402-6715 JWilliams@pir.org ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:28:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Be Your Own Wireless Network By SARAH MILSTEIN THE allure of an Internet connection anytime, anywhere is powerful. To satisfy the craving, wireless networks have proliferated in airports, bookstores and coffee shops. But what if you have online affairs to tend to on the road, but no access to such a network? There is some good news. Your laptop can be connected to a wireless phone that can serve as a modem, or it can be equipped with a wireless modem in the form of a PC card that fits into an expansion slot. To use such a wireless setup to go online, you will need a data-transmission account from a wireless carrier. Connection speeds can be equivalent to dial-up or broadband, depending on the carrier and the data service plan. Some data plans allow you to connect while you are outside the United States. But the not-so-good news is that the service plans can be expensive and the hardware and software can be tricky to configure. Moreover, none of the carriers makes it easy to figure out how to subscribe. Wireless data service providers tend to give their plans names that are not easily understood, and finding information about them on the Web can be difficult. Can they be found under personal or business options? Wireless or Internet? Is a PC card an accessory or a phone? Interpreting the descriptions is often harder. Do data plans for Web-enabled phones apply to laptops? If additional kilobits beyond the plan cost 0.002 cents apiece, how much is the monthly bill likely to be? Customer service representatives may be of help. In any case, there are several important issues to consider. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/27/technology/circuits/27basi.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:36:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Where the Hall Monitor Is a Webcam By KATIE HAFNER FRESNO, Calif. -- THEY look like small snow globes. The dozen inconspicuous cameras on walls and ceilings at the school campus at the center of this central California city capture video images of students as they enter and leave the two buildings, work in the computer lab, climb and descend the main staircase or relax outside. Not only can the comings and goings of the 350 teenagers at the two public charter schools here be watched from a monitor in a small room next to the main building's reception area, but they can also be seen remotely over the Internet. Every night, someone in Jackson, Miss., home of the company that installed the cameras, watches over the buildings half a continent away. Sometimes the schools' executive director checks the cameras from her home. And if a crime occurs, the computers at the Fresno Police Department can display an immediate picture of what is happening. As security becomes an ever more pressing concern, schools across the nation are seeking new ways to provide a sense of safety to students, staff members and parents. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/27/technology/circuits/27scho.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:38:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intuit Sued in TurboTax Flap By David Becker Staff Writer, CNET News.com A Los Angeles lawyer has initiated a class-action suit charging software maker Intuit with misleading consumers about controversial antipiracy technology in its current TurboTax software. The complaint, filed earlier this week in Los Angeles Superior Court by the firm of Stanbury Fishelman, seeks class-action status that would cover all U.S. purchasers of TurboTax products for the 2002 tax year. The suit seeks financial compensation for people it says were defrauded by the Mountain View, Calif.-based company. http://news.com.com/2100-1046-986354.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:44:33 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Tracking Manufacturers Map Out Future By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com BURLINGAME, Calif.--Developers of location-tracking services say they're finally making some headway into the consumer market, but a shortage in handsets that connect to the technology could hamper their plans. Industry leaders gathering Thursday for the GPS-Wireless 2003 conference here said so-called location-based technology is moving beyond niche services such as Wherify Wireless' child finder devices and Autodesk's software that pinpoints shipments that go astray. Newer services are offering consumers everything from finding a potential mate to personal mobile maps. Online dating service Match.com, for instance, recently announced its 8 million registered users can now find each other using AT&T Wireless' location technology. People can determine a potential suitor's approximate geographical location by using their wireless phones. And in March, car rental company Avis will kick off its "Avis Assist" service in Dallas and Dulles, Va., which determines a person's location and reads turn-by-turn directions out loud over a Motorola phone. Location-based services rely on Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, which uses satellites in space to transmit location data to devices on Earth. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1039-990473.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:50:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Palm's Wireless Disconnect By Richard Shim Staff Writer, CNET News.com To see the future of personal digital assistants in business, look no further than the server-side applications that support them. Take Palm's new Tungsten W device. The company will begin selling the combination cell phone, e-mail and organizer device on Friday, but early reviews haven't been flattering. Although critics noted a number of problems, one of the biggest from the point of view of business users could well be the lack of server software enabling secure, wireless access to corporate data. The Milpitas, Calif.-based company and other handheld makers have been trying to woo corporate customers, who tend to buy hundreds of devices per order. The trouble for device makers has been convincing these potential customers that handheld devices increase the productivity of their employees. Adding cellular voice, two-way messaging capabilities, and wireless access to corporate information are the latest lures, but a majority of companies want a one-stop shop for those features and the devices that use them. Palm's software designed to allow customers to wirelessly access e-mail and corporate data using the Tungsten W isn't ready yet, which analysts believe takes the air out of Palm's latest offering. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1039-990506.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 10:38:02 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: (Big) Red Faces at Cornell Over E-Mail Error By KAREN W. ARENSON Virtually everyone who has used e-mail knows the feeling: You press the send button and realize that you just sent something embarrassing to someone by mistake. That happened to Cornell University on Wednesday: It sent welcoming letters to 1,700 high school students who had submitted early-decision applications, including nearly 550 who had already been rejected in December. "Greetings from Cornell, your future alma mater!" the e-mail letter began. "Congratulations on your acceptance into the class of 2007!" Within a couple of hours the university followed with an "oops" letter, admitting that it had made a mistake and offering its apology "for any confusion and distress this message has caused." It said that the message was the result of a "systems coding error" and that it had fallen short of its goal of treating all applicants "with sensitivity and respect." College admissions officials say that mistakes at admissions offices are not unusual; many of them process thousands of applications in a matter of weeks. What was unusual here was the scope. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/28/education/28CORN.html ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 21:12:14 -0800 In article , Dave Close wrote: > No argument from me. And if I were your long-lost high school buddy > and wanted to get back in touch, you might regret blocking all mail > from addresses related to a spammer, one of which was mine. Your > right, your loss. If my long, lost high school buddy couldn't figure out a way to pick up the telephone, I probably didn't have a lot to do with him in high school. I didn't gravitate toward the mentally challenged. > And when I don't receive a legitimate job offer because of such a > vigilante, I'm more than upset. I'm not too sure that I would care to work for someone who found himself on spam blacklists, and I know I wouldn't want to work for anyone who couldn't pick up the phone, or write a real job offer letter. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: ICQ 48035239 Subject: Phone Profits CCCP Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 12:10:19 +0400 INTERNET and PHONE media action USES LONG DISTANCE PHONE CONNECTION Gentlemen, I would suggest you the Internet or phone media action operation. An application downloaded by hidden means will use to reconnect a user's computer modem to a telephone number assigned on your company. Then we will get the long-distance phone charges before access will blocked. This media action is technically simple to operate. This means that copy-cat schemes are likely since we know how it is done and can easily repeat the process using any Web sites and phone numbers. Essentially, the media action work this way: Visitors to several Web sites will offered free pictures on the condition that they download special image-viewer software. But when configured on a Windows machine, the software would turn down the volume of the PC's speaker and modem, disconnect the call to the user's usual Internet service provider, then dial a phone number, assigned in your company. A switch connected to the phone number in your company involves user to make the long-distance call, would then route the call to an Internet server, to access the images. The connection to your phone number would continue long after a visitor had exited the site and even after the Web browser had been closed. As a result, some users will receive phone bills as high as $6,000 for their connection time. AT&T will have no choice but to pass the charges on to their customers because the charges are legally due to your phone company, rather than to AT&T or Bell Canada. The situation with Phone users are similar. Visitors to several Web sites will offered to make an international long-distance call on the condition that they will sponsored for making such a call with Cash or Bank transfer. Looking forward to your respond. Please give me your phone number and I will call you to discuss the matter. Mike [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A couple of questions, Mister Mike. What happens when a person using DSL/cable these days runs across the sort of scum you are talking about? What happens then, does the software shut down his DSL/cable connection, open the modem connection and do its thing? What happens in the cases where the modular phone cord is not routinely connected to the modem except when a person wants to use the modem (instead of DSL/cable) for some reason? What happens when a phone line has 900 number blocking on it, as mine does? How do you get around those situations? I *know* my 900 number blocking is in good shape: I sat here one evening, deliberatly downloaded one of those dialer programs which would feed some porn into the computer and told it to go ahead and try. About 30 minutes later, after it had been repeatedly seizing the phone line and attempting to get past the fast busy signal given on 900 call attempts, I grew tired of watching and listening to it, and smashed the software entirely. What do you do with people like me, Mister Mike? I did find out it *tried* to disconnect the modem and reset it, but it left the DSL up the entire time. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 16:08:07 GMT In article , TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Barry Margolin : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What's wrong with ISP's *casually > observing* the output from new users for a short period of time when > they get signed up. We barely have the manpower to investigate abuse complaints. And since the Internet bubble burst, we've been downsizing and going bankrupt, not hiring, so that's not likely to change any time soon. Capturing customer traffic and reading it would way overtax our resources. It also seems like a real privacy invasion, although I suspect we could get away with explaining that it's necessary to implement the service. Furthermore, it would require a significant infrastructure investment, since we'd need to put packet capturing hardware in every POP (unless there's some way I don't know of to redirect all of a customer's traffic back to a monitoring box in our data center without significantly affecting their throughput). -- Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How many *new* customers do you get in a week's time? Probably more than a small, rural area ISP like here in Independence, KS but he does it, and the two guys who work there for him nights and weekends know how to do it also. His contract with users specifically gives him the right to do 'service monitoring' as needed. His contract also specifically notes that users are on line at his pleasure; he reserves the right to discontinue someone's service at any time. He, or the workers, send you a piece of email telling you that you are being dumped. He does something in the form letter you get which explains the offense you have committed (you spammed, or you harassed, or you hacked or you phreaked, whatever.) Your account is temporarily suspended for 48 hours while you explain yourself. You can either come by our office in the Arco Building or fax us at (number). We will need to have you sign a couple additional papers for us AND provide us with a driver's license, photo ID, a few things like that. Then we will consider restoring your service. He has some sort of tricky HTML code in the email he sends you which triggers the shut down of your service as soon as you read it. Some people may think we are a bunch of country hicks here in Kansas, but far from it. And the two kids who run the tech support/help desk at night and on weekends know just what to do. PAT] ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: 28 Feb 2003 11:54:24 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) John Higdon wrote: > In article , Barry Margolin > wrote: >> How do you know beforehand that a new customer will be a spammer? Are >> salespeople supposed to be private investigators, digging up the dirt >> on their prospects? > When I signed up for connectivity with my provider, I was asked quite a > few questions regarding the nature of my business and the use to which I > would be putting the service. My answers were satisfactory and I have > enjoyed a good, long-term relationship. Providers have got together to talk about who some of the problem folks are. That's why we have things like the ROKSO database which lists some of the more notorious spammers. If your sales guys are signing up customers without finding out what their business is first, if they are signing up customers without checking the ROKSO database to see if they are well-known spammers, and if they are taking weeks or months to deal with complaints (as level3 sadly does), they will have a spam problem, and eventually the network community won't put up with it. > There is no god-given right to Internet connectivity, and providers > have every right in the world to screen potential customers any way > they choose. And not screening is very hazardous in the environment of today. It's just reasonable business sense. However, we have ISPs out there where the sales guys are issuing pink contracts guaranteeing the customer won't be disconnected for spamming. We have ISPs out there which are signing up customers with names like "megaspam.com" and "bulkmail.com" and then acting surprised when they turn out to be spammers. We have folks like Ralsky who have been kicked off of dozens of ISPs but who still keep getting new connections from new providers. Folks just won't put up with that kind of thing for long. Dave Close wrote: > But if the blocking was done by your ISP without your knowledge or > permission, you might have cause to be upset. When I refer to > vigilantes, I mean those folks who block mail destined to other people > without the permission of those other people. And when I don't receive > a legitimate job offer because of such a vigilante, I'm more than > upset. When does this happen? Most of the ISPs that offer mail blocking advertise it as a big feature. In general, users consider it a major advantage, even if there are occasional false-positives, so it's usually featured prominently in advertising. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: James Sewell Subject: Canada Caller ID and Recording Raw CID Signals Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:47:30 -0600 Organization: MTS Internet We have some goofy caller ID problems on some POTS lines we had installed to support some VoIP boxes. The lines are in a rural area. We heard through the grapevine that it is served by a a GTE "GTD5" switch. When we ordered the lines we asked (and paid for) CID service, and to the telco's credit the CID service "seems to be working". If we plug in a regular phone the CID shows up just fine. The trouble is the VoIP box can't see the digits. In our troubleshooing so far, it boils down to what CID standard is the rural switch using? We can't get any info from the telco. All they ask is can you see the digits on a phone display? Yes. OK it works, thank you for calling MTS *click*. It seems the VoIP box only supports the Bellcore CID format (USA). Apparently Canada decided to be a little different. Here is some info we found on the differences: http://www.ainslie.org.uk/callerid/cli_faq.htm#Q_7 ======================================== 7. I'm in Canada, why doesn't my Caller ID work? Yes, there is a country where things are more complicated than the UK. Most people think that Canada uses Bellcore, just like the USA. It does -- almost. For some reason, the former Stentor member companies use a non-standard implementation of MDMF. Bellcore uses DN (Directory Number), usually the 10 digit number that includes the area code found in the phone book. Stentor uses DDN (Dialable Directory Number), a variable length number that is the number that must be dialed to call the other person back (ie local calls don't include area code, long distance includes the preceding "1"). Normal Bellcore MDMF identifies each part of a message with a Message Type Word parameter, and the DN is assigned Parameter Type 02. The Canadian Stentor switches assign DDN to 03. This is incredibly confusing for anything that only looks for the DN in 02, and this includes Unimodem (see below). Some modem drivers (and Canadian phones and caller ID boxes) check for both DN and DDN and will display either -- 3Com ones for instance (and is there a general patch, perhaps for Unimodem?). Otherwise, you just have to avoid TAPI and use software that specifically knows about this quirk - Identafone is one, but most Canadian authors seem to have found out about this the hard way ;-). The relevant document was called Stentor document ID-0001 "CALL MANAGEMENT SERVICE (CMS) CALLING NUMBER DELIVERY (CND) (Single and Multiple Message Format) Terminal-to-Network Interface". Following the upheavals in the Canadian telecom market it is now Bell Interface Document BID-0001 and will cost you CAN$50 to download. Incidentally, Stentor's standard also allows for a Parameter Type 06, which includes a flag that indicates that the call is long distance and CallerID is not available, but it may no longer be in use. ======================================== We think this is probably our problem but we're not sure. Before we installed the VoIP box in the rural area we tested it on a line in the city (Winnipeg). The box saw good CID data on that line and passed it appropriately. So we know the VoIP box works with CID in general, just not on these rural lines. The city is on a Nortel DMS switch of some flavor (DMS250? we don't know and MTS won't tell us) The $64 question is, what's different in the CID signals on those lines? Is it possible that the switch in the city is sending Bellcore compatible signals and the rural switch does not? Does anybody here know GTD5 switches? Is the GTD5 capable of sending Bellcore formatted signals? If so, what should we ask the telco to change on their side? Is there a way we can capture and decode the raw CID datastream on the lines and compare the city and rural? Can we see which digits appear in the DN and DDN fields? If we can capture the data, then our VoIP vendor can make the change in their box to support the additional fields. We found some software that might help us, here it is: http://codegods.net/cidmage/index.htm Now we need a way to connect the sound card to the phone line to capture the data. All the devices we see at the Shack seem to only record after you take the phone off hook. Since the CID signals happen during the ringing period, we will never see them in the recording. Can anybody point us at a solution? Even if it's a circuit I have to build myself that's OK. -James ------------------------------ From: Norm Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 08:49:53 -0500 Herb Stein wrote: > David B. Horvath, CCP wrote in message >> I figured the free services (yahoo, hotmail, etc.) might go away at >> some point or charge unreasonable prices. That left getting my own >> domain. It was a small cost to pay to maintain a fixed address ... > That's what virtual domains are about. I do that. The rub is, owning your domain is like potato chips; you can't have just one and they can't be in the same address space. I had my domains with mydomain last year and they (and their provider) had a DoS in December and I couldn't get mail via any of them. Better to spread your domains between two providers so that you can always redirect to the working one. Unless The Apocalypse. Norm "vi vi vi - the Editor of The Beast" ------------------------------ From: Bob Subject: Re: 56kbps and PCM Channels Organization: Completely Random Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 10:38:28 -0500 Yup. It's still in widespread use today. If your business has a T1, and you're not using ISDN, then you are using "Robbed Bit Signalling", which is what you described below. It's also used for the communications to and from the SLC that may be in your neighborhood. A SLC effectively moves the line card that your home phone is on from the central office to someplace pretty close to your home. It saves cable pairs, and sometimes improves the quality of your line. Alan Fowler wrote in message news:telecom22.308.3@telecom-digest.org: > The following is an extract from "FOLDOC" the Free > OnLine Dictionary Of Computing http://www.foldoc.org/ which > looks like being a useful reference. > 56 kbps > (56 kilobits per second) The data > capacity of a normal single channel digital telephone > channel in North America. The figure is derived from the > {bandwidth} of 4 kHz allocated for such a channel and the > 16-bit encoding (4000 times 16 = 64000) used to change > {analogue} signals to digital, minus the 8000 bit/s used for > signalling and supervision. > Was this particular coding scheme ever used? It's > my understanding that its always been eight bit encoding at > 8000 samples per second. ------------------------------ From: Fritz Whittington Subject: Re: Feds Seizing Domain Names Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:16:17 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Monty Solomon wrote: > By Declan McCullagh > Staff Writer, CNET News.com > WASHINGTON--Federal police have adopted a novel crime-fighting tactic: > seizing control of domain names for Web sites that allegedly violate > the law. I note that they seem to be just changing the authoritative DNS to point to their own site. The story notes that people can still access the old site by IP address, and even provides it! So what kind of real good do they think they're accomplishing here? Same sort of thinking that caused the following quote: Mr. Doherty said he expected the panels to yield more savings in the summer months, when traditional energy costs are higher and the PV modules capture more light. He stressed that the installation was a long-term investment. "We know it will pay for itself," he said. He was talking about the $75,000 solar panel project installed on the White House pony shed, which had saved a whopping $54 over four months ... I think that works out to a little over 160 years, allowing for a little better performance in the summer ... > Attorney General John Ashcroft said Monday that the domain names for > several Web sites allegedly set up to sell illegal "drug > paraphernalia" would be pointed at servers located at the Drug > Enforcement Administration. A federal judge in Pittsburgh granted the > U.S. Department of Justice permission to do so until a trial can take > place, the government said. ------------------------------ From: Bob Subject: Re: Connecting Two E1 PBX-es Organization: Completely Random Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 14:27:03 -0500 Assuming that they are both terminal equipment, then: 1-4 2-5 and 4-1 5-2 or 1-5 2-4 and 4-2 5-1 would work fine, also, as the transmit and receive is not polarity sensitive. You just take the transmit of one side, and dump it into the receive of the other, assuming that they aren't very far from each other. Very far being defined as within a couple hundred feet. The North American DS-1 standard is a little over 600 feet at DS-X levels. I'd imagine E1 is less because of the higher rate involved - 1.544mbps vs. 2.048mbps. Adam Iganowicz wrote in message news:telecom22.286.13@telecom-digest.org: > Hallo, > Does anybody know if when connecting two E1 PBX-es (one in Panasonic KXTD > 500 and second is softwarePBX with Dialogi D/300PCI E1), the polarization > of pinouts in RJ45 patchcord: > 1- RCV_RING > 2- RCV_TIP > and > 4- XMIT_RING > 5- XMIT_TIP > is important? > Will it work?: > 1-2 > 2-1 > and > 4-4 > 5-5 ------------------------------ From: James Whitlow Subject: Answering Machine With Email Date: 28 Feb 2003 14:12:53 -0600 I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before giving up. I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I would not have to run any cables. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 06:59:02 -0500 From: Ron Chapman Subject: Re: Cable's Costly Road to Profits In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > The absence of profits has never fazed cable execs, however. Their > vision is that, sooner or later, the nation's cable monopolies will > solidify their grip on home-entertainment and communication services. For the last several years, my entire town has had wired cable competition. Americast came in several years ago and wired the entire town themselves; so, in addition to the incumbents Time Warner and Insight (which had split up the town in nice and cozy territories in which they previously had no competition), there was now a competitor. Life was good; when Time Warner got competition, they also got customer service. After years of acting like Lily Tomlin's phone operator ("we're the cable company; we don't care, we don't have to"), they suddenly started treating customers well. In addition, they rebuilt their infrastructure (to accommodate digital services, starting with broadband internet in 1997) AND did away with the evil, evil, evil $5/month converter boxes that they had required for everyone, no matter what. This was in 1997. Fast forward to 2003. The economy tanked and Ameritech got out of the cable TV business, selling Americast to Wide Open West for a penny or two on the dollar. WOW added digital services to their lineup, including broadband internet, and competes pretty darn well with Time Warner. Suddenly I see that WOW is selling a package of analog cable -- 75 channels or so, all the same as Time Warner with a couple extra that I like -- plus broadband net access at high speed for $55/month plus tax, $56.66 total. This includes a converter box if you want it, for PPV movies, plus three IP addresses. But I was a Time Warner customer. I was paying $82/month total for analog cable plus broadband net access, no converter box, and only a single IP address. That's $26 more per month, and it would be $41 more per month if I had actually bought TW's converter box and two extra IP addresses. I called Time Warner to ask about this and to see if they would do anything to keep me from jumping ship. Previously they were happy to compete with Wide Open West, happily giving discounts to keep people from jumping ship. This time? Whole different story. The people I talked with were borderline rude, certainly arrogant, and misleading at best or else flat-out lying at worst. They slung mud about their competition, no question. In other words, they're feeling the pinch and are tired of giving their service away and losing revenue -- so they're resorting to crap tactics to try to keep customers. So, I moved. No regrets. I switched cable companies and am now getting to the same internet and am receiving the same TV channels for $26/month less. If cable companies are counting on their monopoly status to gain business, my area is no better proof that competition can only be good in the cable business. We've had it for 5 years and the technology has been built up rapidly to an incredible level, while prices have been kept down. ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: 311 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S. Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 05:15:39 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Wed, 26 Feb 2003 11:05:19 EST, Carl Moore wrote: > The mayor wants to consolidate the call centers for eight services -- > like the Water and Streets departments -- into a single answering > service using a 311 number." Current switchboard number is > 215-686-1776. The only problem I see with that is that mostly 311 is being used for police non-emergency. That could cause confusion if someone didn't know that in Philadelphia that was the "utilities" code. I would have thought that 211 or 511 would be better suited for that sort of thing. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #320 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 1 15:29:39 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h21KTcD16913; Sat, 1 Mar 2003 15:29:39 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 15:29:39 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303012029.h21KTcD16913@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 V22 #321 TELECOM Digest Sat, 1 Mar 2003 15:30:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 321 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Canada Caller ID and Recording Raw CID Signals (Al Gillis) Re: Canada Caller ID and Recording Raw CID Signals (John R. Levine) Answering Machine With Email (Paul Alesu) Keeping an Eye on Things, by Cellphone (Monty Solomon) Phone Solution For Small Office (miltr@pacbell.net) Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI (Al Gillis) Re: DSL vs Cable (Dave Phelps) Re: Phone Profits CCCP (Dave Garland) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (joe@obilivan.net) British Directory Assistance (PaulCoxwell@aol.com) Qworst.net Available (John Bartley) March Share Day (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Canada Caller ID and Recording Raw CID Signals Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:39:42 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com If I were in your position I'd look into the various test equipment rental places (Leasametric is one in the states, the are some others) and rent a protocol tester for this technology. I don't have a product in mind but I'd guess a little time with Google would reveal some things. Rent the thing, watch the CLID info for a while and then either complain to MTS (if they're not sending according to the standard) or complain to the VoIP box maker (stating that his box is getting standards-compliant signals and is not interpretting them properly). Good luck and let us know how you resolve this interesting but vexing problem! Al James Sewell wrote in message news:telecom22.320.12@telecom-digest.org: > We have some goofy caller ID problems on some POTS lines we had > installed to support some VoIP boxes. The lines are in a rural area. > We heard through the grapevine that it is served by a a GTE "GTD5" > switch. > When we ordered the lines we asked (and paid for) CID service, and to > the telco's credit the CID service "seems to be working". If we plug > in a regular phone the CID shows up just fine. > The trouble is the VoIP box can't see the digits. In our > troubleshooing so far, it boils down to what CID standard is the rural > switch using? We can't get any info from the telco. All they ask is > can you see the digits on a phone display? Yes. OK it works, thank > you for calling MTS *click*. > > It seems the VoIP box only supports the Bellcore CID format (USA). > Apparently Canada decided to be a little different. Here is some info > we found on the differences: > > http://www.ainslie.org.uk/callerid/cli_faq.htm#Q_7 > ======================================== > > 7. I'm in Canada, why doesn't my Caller ID work? > > Yes, there is a country where things are more complicated than the UK. > Most people think that Canada uses Bellcore, just like the USA. It does > -- almost. For some reason, the former Stentor member companies use a > non-standard implementation of MDMF. Bellcore uses DN (Directory > Number), usually the 10 digit number that includes the area code found > in the phone book. Stentor uses DDN (Dialable Directory Number), a > variable length number that is the number that must be dialed to call > the other person back (ie local calls don't include area code, long > distance includes the preceding "1"). Normal Bellcore MDMF identifies > each part of a message with a Message Type Word parameter, and the DN > is assigned Parameter Type 02. The Canadian Stentor switches assign > DDN to 03. > This is incredibly confusing for anything that only looks for the DN > in 02, and this includes Unimodem (see below). Some modem drivers (and > Canadian phones and caller ID boxes) check for both DN and DDN and > will display either -- 3Com ones for instance (and is there a general > patch, perhaps for Unimodem?). Otherwise, you just have to avoid TAPI > and use software that specifically knows about this quirk - Identafone > is one, but most Canadian authors seem to have found out about this > the hard way ;-). The relevant document was called Stentor document > ID-0001 "CALL MANAGEMENT SERVICE (CMS) CALLING NUMBER DELIVERY (CND) > (Single and Multiple Message Format) Terminal-to-Network > Interface". > Following the upheavals in the Canadian telecom market it is now Bell > Interface Document BID-0001 and will cost you CAN$50 to > download. Incidentally, Stentor's standard also allows for a Parameter > Type 06, which includes a flag that indicates that the call is long > distance and CallerID is not available, but it may no longer be in > use. > We think this is probably our problem but we're not sure. Before we > installed the VoIP box in the rural area we tested it on a line in the > city (Winnipeg). The box saw good CID data on that line and passed it > appropriately. So we know the VoIP box works with CID in general, > just not on these rural lines. The city is on a Nortel DMS switch of > some flavor (DMS250? we don't know and MTS won't tell us) > The $64 question is, what's different in the CID signals on those > lines? Is it possible that the switch in the city is sending Bellcore > compatible signals and the rural switch does not? Does anybody here > know GTD5 switches? Is the GTD5 capable of sending Bellcore formatted > signals? If so, what should we ask the telco to change on their side? > Is there a way we can capture and decode the raw CID datastream on the > lines and compare the city and rural? Can we see which digits appear > in the DN and DDN fields? If we can capture the data, then our VoIP > vendor can make the change in their box to support the additional > fields. > We found some software that might help us, here it is: > http://codegods.net/cidmage/index.htm > > Now we need a way to connect the sound card to the phone line to > capture the data. All the devices we see at the Shack seem to only > record after you take the phone off hook. > Since the CID signals happen during the ringing period, we will > never see them in the recording. Can anybody point us at a > solution? Even if it's a circuit I have to build myself that's OK. > -James ------------------------------ Date: 28 Feb 2003 17:57:34 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Canada Caller ID and Recording Raw CID Signals Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > We heard through the grapevine that it is served by a a GTE "GTD5" > switch. ... Most peculiar. I'm in upstate New York and my rural telco also has a GTD5. The CLID shows up as 7D for calls from within the area code (regardless of local or toll, that's our dialing plan) and 10D otherwise. I've never heard of any compatibility problems. Thj CLID data encoding is very simple, little more than a block of ASCII text in the old simplex 201 modem encoding. You might see if you can dig up a modem that does CLID, plug that into the line in question, and see what CLID digits it's seeing. If I had to guess, I would guess that whoever programmed your VoIP box lived somewhere that CLID is always 10D, and it never occurred to him that it might be something else. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:03:05 -0600 From: Paul Alesu Reply-To: rpales@ix.netcom.com Organization: Total Design Subject: Answering Machine With Email James Whitlow asked about an "Answering Machine With Email" > I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, > but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before > giving up. > I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering > machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email > address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup > account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I > would not have to run any cables. You are right. It probably does not exist, but we, at Total Design, can design and build such a device. There is one problem: how large is the market out there for this kind of device? Probably not too large. Anyway, isn't it easier to forward your calls to a cellular with voice mail? Best regards, Paul Alesu Total Design == Electronics r&d for everyone (sm) email to: paul @ electronicsrd. com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 18:22:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Keeping an Eye on Things, by Cellphone By DAVID POGUE IT IS a fundamental law of electronics: the audio breakthrough always precedes the video. Think about it: radio came before television, CD's came before DVD's, and Ella Fitzgerald came before Britney Spears. The telephone world is, at the moment, still in its audio-only phase. Video hasn't gained much traction, partly because video still requires too much data for relatively tiny "pipes" of the phone system to carry, and partly because most people don't care to be caught on camera still dripping wet from the shower. But a consortium composed of Logitech, Verizon Wireless, Qualcomm and gPix has just stumbled onto a novel idea. Maybe the "killer app" for video on phones isn't seeing the person you're calling. Instead, the exciting development may be the ability to use your cellphone's color screen to view remote scenes, both of public places and of your own private ones. What was once a piece of communications gear thus becomes a tool for security, safety and even spying. A new service called Logitech Mobile Video costs $5 per month and is available to Verizon Wireless customers with so-called Get It Now phones: the Audiovox CDMA2000, the Sharp Z-800 or the Motorola T-720. These phones can run miniature programs written in something called Brew, a software tool kit for cellphones from Qualcomm. (What is it with programmers' obsession with coffee? Already they've come up with programming languages called Java, JavaScript and Brew. What's next - software written in Half-Caf Mochaccino?) The idea behind a Get It Now phone is that you can download ringer sounds, games and other programs directly to the phone, for a fee. Among the downloadable goodies is Logitech's Mobile Video software, a tiny program that lets you build a list of Logitech's golf ball video cameras (Webcams) all over the world. At any time, wherever you happen to be, you can choose a camera from this list and, after a five-second wait, view the image it captures on your cellphone screen. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/27/technology/circuits/27stat.html ------------------------------ From: miltr@pacbell.net Subject: Phone Solution For Small Office Date: 28 Feb 2003 19:16:21 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I need some advice on choosing a phone system for my new business. We have a new office, with 7 people. Is Centrex worth dealing with or can be find a PBX system used that will fit the bill? Milt ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:16:42 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Hi Forrest: I manage a large Nortel 81c in Portland with PRI service to my local carrier (ELI) and to two long distance carriers (XO and Worldcom). When used in local trunking applications IMO there is little advantage of PRIs over conventional D4 DS-1s EXCEPT for receiving calling line number and name display (and capture those to our CDR system as well). Calling line NUMBER is pretty much standard with PRIs as far as I know; calling line NAME is an extra cost item here (about $180/month per PRI, as I recall). Another difference between a D4 DS-1 and a PRI is that the "signaling" occurs on channel 24 - the "D" channel - of the PRI while signaling on a D4 DS-1 is on a per trunk basis. (on hook/off hook and dial pulses via A/B bits and Touch-Tone© via the audio circuits - Tx or Rx). That means you'll have fewer channels for calls although the theory is that PRI service is more "efficient" so you'll never miss that channel devoted to the D channel. When you have multiple PRIs in one trunk group (we've got seven PRIs in one group) it's usual to use NFAS (this is a mouthful: Non Facility-Associated Signaling) to associate one D channel with the bearer channels of several PRIs. It's also a good idea to have two D channels in an NFAS group; in a big group if the PRI with a single D channel fails the entire group is out of service. With a backup D channel and NFAS the backup will take over and continue processing calls for the group if the primary fails. When used as inter-machine tie lines (between two PBXs, for example) the advantages of PRI-type trunks would depend greatly on the way the PBX manufacturer developed their software. Your question was really "advantages of PRI circuits over analog trunks". In my view the real advantage of PRIs is that they are digital and not subject to the transmission problems of analog trunks: hum, opens, echoes and that sort of thing. My system no longer has any analog trunks at all to the outside world. We've stopped routining trunks now, and we don't get com plaints. If something fails, it's usually a whole PRI at a time and believe me, we notice 23 trunks out of service! We've not figured out an ROI - we just converted to PRI and never looked back - my customers (our employees) are worth it! And the added reliability of PRIs permit us to drink a few more cups of coffee since we're no longer troubleshooting trunks anymore! That was a lot -- hope it helps! Al Forrest Nelson wrote in message news:telecom22.315.10@telecom-digest.org: > I would like to hear experiences and effects of implementing ISDN PRI > (vs. conventional analog trunks). > Features - Caller ID, DID, etc > Return on investment - lower overall trunk cost, time saving, etc > Dependability ... > Quality of Service ... > Please feel free to e-mail directly. > Thanks, > J. Forrest Nelson, RCDD > Affiliated Engineers NW, Inc. (AEI) > mailto:jfnelson@aeieng.com * e-mail > 206-256-0800 * phone > 206-256-0423 * fax > 206-972-6808 ~ cell ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2003 23:33:14 -0600 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , joe@obilivan.net says: > There shouldn't be any sharing with DSL, if the network is setup correctly. There is *always* sharing. It's just at another location in the network. For example, cable uses shared bandwidth for each node segment (my terminology may not be right). If the segmentation is managed properly, there shouldn't be any significant congestion. DSL shares bandwidth at aggregation points, such as the DSLAM, and the network interconnecting the DSLAMs. If the bandwidth is managed properly, there shouldn't be any significant congestion. Either one could be a good choice. I tend to prefer cable for the simple fact that there aren't any distance limitations, and I don't want to deal with the LEC anymore than I have to. Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: Dave Garland Subject: Re: Phone Profits CCCP Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 01:37:03 -0600 Organization: Wizard Information > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: ...What happens > when a phone line has 900 number blocking on it, as mine does?] 900 blocking wouldn't help. 011 blocking might. That scam is dialing (international) long distance, and the money comes from the telco on the other end splitting the take with the scammer. Obviously, if the trojan dialer can't get access to a phone line that will accept international calls, the scam won't work. ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 11:14:55 GMT Organization: Cox Communications Having your own domain is the only way to go. I use Verio to host my two domains. One is a simple webmail/POP3 account for $10 a month, and the other is a full up web site. For folks who have no need for a website the $10/month webmail/POP3 account is perfect. And, if I get unhappy with Verio I simply move the domains and service to some other web hosting provider. If that is done right (don't close the old account until migration is complete) no mail is ever lost. It pays to use the ISP address on the old account near the end. I assume that consumer ISP providers won't host domains because they know it releases their clutch on your sensitive parts. ;-) Monty Solomon wrote: > PERSONAL TECH > By Michelle Johnson, 2/24/2003 > Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? Perhaps > your Internet service provider is under new ownership, or your free > e-mail service went belly up. So now you have to send out change of > e-mail notices to a long list of family members, friends, and business > associates. Worse yet, maybe you just paid for business cards that are > suddenly obsolete. Subscribers to AT&T Broadband's Internet service > were pretty outraged recently when Comcast Corp. took over and > announced its Boston area customers would be getting their third > e-mail address in a year. (Comcast later said it would redirect e-mail > sent to AT&T Broadband addresses till the end of next year.) Whatever > the reason, when your e-mail address changes, something usually gets > lost in the mail. > If you've had enough and you're ready to shield your address from the > fallout of mergers and the shaky economy, it's time to stop renting > and buy. Yes, you can own your own e-mail address for life. Well, for > as long as you pay the annual fee for a 'dot com' address. So, for > instance, you could be ''you@nameofyourchoice.com.'' I know what > you're thinking: "Don't I have to have a Web site to be a dot com?" > Nope. You can use a Web address (also known as a 'domain name') > strictly for e-mail. And while your Net provider offers you a package > that includes access to the Web and e-mail, you're not required to > use its e-mail address. > http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/055/business/Coping_with_changes_to_e_mail_address+.shtml ------------------------------ From: PaulCoxwell@aol.com Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 09:25:22 EST Subject: British Directory Assistance Some of you may have seen announcements relating to a change in directory assistance in the U.K. Here's how BT is describing the change in leaflets sent out to subscribers: BT's directory enquiries numbers are changing. In line with developments in Europe, Oftel has opened up the UK directory enquiries market to competition. Directory enquiries services are now available from a number of independent service providers including BT. Access numbers to these services are six digit numbers all beginning with 118. Information about other directory enquiries providers' offerings can be found at the Oftel website at www.oftel.gov.uk. You can ring the new numbers right away, although the existing numbers - 192 for UK directory enquiries and 153 for international directory enquiries - will be still be available until August 2003. The new BT numbers and detail s of our services are shown below. For UK directory enquiries -- now ring 118 500 (previously 192). The new number for BT's improved UK directory enquiries service is 118 500. The cost of a call is 30p per minute, billed by the second, plus a service connection charge of 25p per call. There is no limit on how many telephone numbers or dialling codes you can request per call. Through 118 500, as well as residential and business directory enquiries, you can now access our new classified business directory service plus a range of additional information services, including what's on at the cinema, which areto be introduced early in 2003. We are also able to connect your call straight through to the number you require and send number information to your mobile phone via a text message. The same service is available to Welsh speaking customers on 118 404 - call charges are the same as for 118 500. For international directory enquiries - now ring 118 505 (previously 153). The new number for BT's international directory enquiries service is 118 505. The international call charge is =A31.50 per minute (minimum call charge A31.50 from February 2003). All call charges quoted include VAT and are from BT fixed telephone lines. Other network charges may vary. Callers in the UK trying to find a North American number thus have two choices: 1. Pay 31.50 per minute, and run about a 90% chance of getting an operator who asks for pointless details that American DA doesn't need and who these days is so poorly trained so as not to know the difference between a North American area code and the IDDD prefix/country code (that's a genuine case!) 2. Just make a regular IDDD call to +1-npa-555-1212 and pay at most 24p per minute with BT (or considerably less with some other carriers). Most casual users in England just don't realize that they can do that And you can bet that BT isn't about to publicize it! ------------------------------ From: johnbartley@email.com (John Bartley) Subject: Qworst.net Available Date: 1 Mar 2003 10:01:00 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Qworst.net expires on 04/30/2003. Persons interested in this lovely true-to-life domain name are urged to contact me at johnbartley@email.com Best proposal (jusged for origininality, creativity and Sticking It To the Man) will be granted rights (including the right to pay for the renewal). ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 14:45:49 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: March Share Day This weekend is our monthly 'share day', an opportunity for you to do something to assist in production costs, etc. I keep mentioning that this Digest is 'shareware', not 'freeware'. Like all or most shareware, you get a chance to sample the product first, to detirmine its suitability for yourself. Then, unlike many other shareware products, I let YOU decide what is appropriate for payment. For people who decide to 'purchase' this Digest, I toss in someting extra for you. I have a CD rom of the entire thing, all 22 years of it. TELECOM Digest began in 1981 and has continued since then with only short interupptions, and it is all on the CD. In addition, the CD (which is actually produced by Joey Lindsrom has several 'old time radio' shows with telephone themes including Agnes Morehead's presentation of 'Sorry Wrong Number', and others. You give whatever amount you feel is appropriate, but remember, unless you send at least $20-$25 I lose money on the deal. Anyway, your help is ALWAYS and GREATLY appreciated. To donate with credit card, (or from a PayPal account) go to our web site. At the very bottom of the 'home' page ( http://telecom-digest.org ) you will find a PayPal template you can click on and use. Or use any PayPal template you happen to have or see around. You would be paying 'editor@telecom-digest.org' . If you prefer to pay by check or money order or from a bank 'check payment' program that's okay also. You would, in that case, send the payment to: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301-0050 That method is a little bit slower (than PayPal) but either way, you will receive an acknowledgement and within 2-3 weeks a copy of the Telecom CD. Be sure to give your own NAME and MAILING ADDRESS to get the CD. Thanks very much. Patrick Townson Editor/Publisher ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #321 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 2 02:33:46 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h227Xjo20305; Sun, 2 Mar 2003 02:33:46 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 02:33:46 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303020733.h227Xjo20305@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 V22 #322 TELECOM Digest Sun, 2 Mar 2003 02:34:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 322 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Spam-For-Hire Scheme Uncovered at Tufts (Monty Solomon) EFFector 16.6: Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Library (M Solomon) Spam Havens, was Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Danny Burstein) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Hank Karl) Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI (Hank Karl) Re: DSL vs Cable (Geoffrey Welsh) Re: Answering Machine With Email (Gail M. Hall) Re: British Directory Assistance (jt) Choosing a Cell Phone (Tom Carrell) Re: British Directory Assistance (Linc Madison) March Share Day, Again (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 14:49:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Spam-For-Hire Scheme Uncovered at Tufts Excerpt from Edupage, February 24, 2003 SPAM-FOR-HIRE SCHEME UNCOVERED AT TUFTS Officials from Tufts University in Massachusetts said they have uncovered a scheme in which some students were selling access to the university's network to spammers. Spammers are notorious for routing messages through remote servers, giving spam recipients the impression that the e-mail originated on that server and masking the true source of the message. Tufts had received many complaints recently about spam coming from its servers. Officials tracked the messages to a particular student, went to his dorm room, and found a message-transfer agent on his computer. The student said he was being paid $20 a month to give spammers access through his computer. A representative of Tufts said the students were not contacted by spammers but had sought the opportunity themselves. The university said it hoped to end the practice by disallowing use of student computers as servers on the network. IDG, 24 February 2003 http://www.idg.net/ic_1186045_9677_1-5041.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This really is very bad news, and quite a disappointment. I hope that the guys at Tufts with *legimate* business on the local net are not inconvenienced by the actions of this one student. I know it would be horrible if we guest users at MIT were embarassed like this by the acts of some user on the campus. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 14:51:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 16.6: Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Library EFFector Vol. 16, No. 6 March 1, 2003 ren@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 245th Issue of EFFector: * Supreme Court to Hear Oral Argument in Library Censorware Case * Federal Government: Still Crazy About Data-Mining * EFF's Cory Doctorow at SXSW * Deep Links (5): ACLU Action Alert on "Patriot II" * Administrivia ... http://www.eff.org/effector/HTML/effect16.06.html ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Spam Havens, was Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 21:00:31 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In joe@obilivan.net writes: > Having your own domain is the only way to go. I use Verio to host my > two domains. Thread merge: A great deal of spam is either sent through Verio servers or references web pages located on Verio's machines. And I can state that firsthand as someone who has received quite a bit. As Verio has continued to be unsociable, a pretty hefty, and increasing, chunk of the internet userbase blocks off Verio. Anyone using Verio (or, for that matter, other spam friendly companies) should consider whether they want to associate with such a company. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I know I personally would not want any sort of affiliation with Verio. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 16:39:21 -0500 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ Its cheaper than that. I use Godaddy for my personal domain registration, they charge about $9/year for registration, and $1 to forward 5 email addresses. Their webmail/POP3 account is $10/year if you want it. (I don't have it, forwarding is good enough for my personal domain.) My ISP provides webhosting. But I don't use the LEC ISP. On Sat, 01 Mar 2003 11:14:55 GMT, joe@obilivan.net wrote: > Having your own domain is the only way to go. I use Verio to host my > two domains. One is a simple webmail/POP3 account for $10 a month, > and the other is a full up web site. For folks who have no need for a > website the $10/month webmail/POP3 account is perfect. And, if I get > unhappy with Verio I simply move the domains and service to some other > web hosting provider. If that is done right (don't close the old > account until migration is complete) no mail is ever lost. It pays to > use the ISP address on the old account near the end. > I assume that consumer ISP providers won't host domains because they > know it releases their clutch on your sensitive parts. ;-) > Monty Solomon wrote: >> PERSONAL TECH >> By Michelle Johnson, 2/24/2003 >> Are you hopping mad because your e-mail address has changed? Perhaps >> your Internet service provider is under new ownership, or your free >> e-mail service went belly up. So now you have to send out change of >> e-mail notices to a long list of family members, friends, and business >> associates. Worse yet, maybe you just paid for business cards that are >> suddenly obsolete. Subscribers to AT&T Broadband's Internet service >> were pretty outraged recently when Comcast Corp. took over and >> announced its Boston area customers would be getting their third >> e-mail address in a year. (Comcast later said it would redirect e-mail >> sent to AT&T Broadband addresses till the end of next year.) Whatever >> the reason, when your e-mail address changes, something usually gets >> lost in the mail. >> If you've had enough and you're ready to shield your address from the >> fallout of mergers and the shaky economy, it's time to stop renting >> and buy. Yes, you can own your own e-mail address for life. Well, for >> as long as you pay the annual fee for a 'dot com' address. So, for >> instance, you could be ''you@nameofyourchoice.com.'' I know what >> you're thinking: "Don't I have to have a Web site to be a dot com?" >> Nope. You can use a Web address (also known as a 'domain name') >> strictly for e-mail. And while your Net provider offers you a package >> that includes access to the Web and e-mail, you're not required to >> use its e-mail address. >> http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/055/business/Coping_with_changes_to_e_mail_address+.shtml ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 16:44:34 -0500 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ One further advantage is that you get the full 64K on each DS0 of a PRI. I've heard that this makes a difference if you are running 56K modems over the DS0s -- you get a little better speed on them than you do on T1s with RBS. On Fri, 28 Feb 2003 21:16:42 -0800, Al Gillis wrote: > Hi Forrest: > I manage a large Nortel 81c in Portland with PRI service to my local > carrier (ELI) and to two long distance carriers (XO and Worldcom). > When used in local trunking applications IMO there is little advantage > of PRIs over conventional D4 DS-1s EXCEPT for receiving calling line > number and name display (and capture those to our CDR system as well). > Calling line NUMBER is pretty much standard with PRIs as far as I > know; calling line NAME is an extra cost item here (about $180/month > per PRI, as I recall). Another difference between a D4 DS-1 and a PRI > is that the "signaling" occurs on channel 24 - the "D" channel - of > the PRI while signaling on a D4 DS-1 is on a per trunk basis. (on > hook/off hook and dial pulses via A/B bits and Touch-Tone© via the > audio circuits - Tx or Rx). That means you'll have fewer channels for > calls although the theory is that PRI service is more "efficient" so > you'll never miss that channel devoted to the D channel. When you > have multiple PRIs in one trunk group (we've got seven PRIs in one > group) it's usual to use NFAS (this is a mouthful: Non > Facility-Associated Signaling) to associate one D channel with the > bearer channels of several PRIs. It's also a good idea to have two D > channels in an NFAS group; in a big group if the PRI with a single D > channel fails the entire group is out of service. With a backup D > channel and NFAS the backup will take over and continue processing > calls for the group if the primary fails. > When used as inter-machine tie lines (between two PBXs, for example) > the advantages of PRI-type trunks would depend greatly on the way the > PBX manufacturer developed their software. > Your question was really "advantages of PRI circuits over analog > trunks". In my view the real advantage of PRIs is that they are > digital and not subject to the transmission problems of analog trunks: > hum, opens, echoes and that sort of thing. My system no longer has > any analog trunks at all to the outside world. We've stopped > routining trunks now, and we don't get com plaints. If something > fails, it's usually a whole PRI at a time and believe me, we notice 23 > trunks out of service! We've not figured out an ROI - we just > converted to PRI and never looked back - my customers (our employees) > are worth it! And the added reliability of PRIs permit us to drink a > few more cups of coffee since we're no longer troubleshooting trunks > anymore! > That was a lot -- hope it helps! > Al > Forrest Nelson wrote in message > news:telecom22.315.10@telecom-digest.org: >> I would like to hear experiences and effects of implementing ISDN PRI >> (vs. conventional analog trunks). >> Features - Caller ID, DID, etc >> Return on investment - lower overall trunk cost, time saving, etc >> Dependability ... >> Quality of Service ... >> Please feel free to e-mail directly. >> J. Forrest Nelson, RCDD >> Affiliated Engineers NW, Inc. (AEI) >> mailto:jfnelson@aeieng.com * e-mail >> 206-256-0800 * phone >> 206-256-0423 * fax >> 206-972-6808 ~ cell Hank Karl Eastern Regional Manager +1 (203)207-0047 hank@Nine-9s.com www.nine-9s.com Representing: http://www.telesoft-intl.com/ ISDN, T1 RBS, E1 R2 CAS, Frame Relay, ML-PPP, X.25, ... http://www.agoralabs.com/ elemedia H.323, Video Codecs SIP -- watch this space! ------------------------------ From: Geoffrey Welsh Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 16:16:05 -0500 Organization: Bell Sympatico wrote: > There shouldn't be any sharing with DSL, if the network is setup > correctly. Sharing is fundamental to any packet network -- it's what differentiates it from circuit switching. DSL's dedicated 'last mile' no more dictates the overall performance of the connection than having a private driveway dictates how long it takes you to drive somewhere. Geoffrey Welsh This address is not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Unsolicited bulk mail is spam, no matter what regulations (real or imagined) it complies with! FIGHT SPAM AND SCAMS: DISCONNECT CHINA FROM THE INTERNET! ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 19:24:47 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Fri, 28 Feb 2003 17:03:05 -0600, in comp.dcom.telecom message , you wrote: > James Whitlow asked about an "Answering Machine With Email" >> I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, >> but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before >> giving up. >> I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering >> machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email >> address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup >> account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I >> would not have to run any cables. > You are right. It probably does not exist, but we, at Total Design, can > design and build such a device. There is one problem: how large is the > market out there for this kind of device? Probably not too large. > Anyway, isn't it easier to forward your calls to a cellular with voice > mail? How do the hearing impaired work things? I had the experience of answering a call last summer in which a deaf family member called using a service that "translates" to and from voice. She would type in something and the "operator" would read it to me. I would answer by voice, and the operator would type my answer for her. What happens if someone calls a phone that is already set up with TTY (or whatever they call it nowadays) and want to leave a message? Doesn't it just get typed in? Well, wouldn't it be just a step away to send that data to an e-mail address somewhere so the called party can pick it up from another location? I'll bet we are closer to that possibility than some people realize. I don't know much about the "translation" service for the speech/hearing impaired people, such as what they have to pay for long-distance calls when their calls are obviously longer than similar conversations would be for speech/hearing abled people on a normal telephone connection. It would be interesting to read something about that in this group. Personally, I think e-mail from an ordinary ISP is less expensive than using text messaging from a cellular phone unless services other than the one I have are a lot less expensive. Also, voice mail on the cellular phone costs "minutes" when it takes a call, even if the person doesn't leave a message. And it costs more minutes when you call in to get your voice mail messages. Considering that more and more will turn out to be advertizing, I would not want to encourage anyone to use my cellular voice mail. Gail in Ohio USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We have such a service here in Kansas. It is actually state-wide, but based here in Independence. Hearing- impaired persons call an 800 toll-free number, using their TTY machine. At the center (its in a large room on the 4th floor of the Independence (formerly Arco) Corporate Center building over at 9th and Myrtle Streets. Hearing-enabled persons who wish to call a hearing-impaired person call in on a different 800 number. The person who can hear normally talks in voice to the operators. In either direction, the operator calls (or is called by) the TTY machine, and types what the hearing person says, or relays in voice what the TTY user types. The operators do type in 'shorthand', something like this, "INDPC TTY OPTR, GA" which means 'Independence TTY Operator, go ahead please'. And she responds initially, "THX U" (thank you) and "NBR RINGS" or "DA" or "BY". When the conversation actually begins, the operator tries to type it word for word. Southwestern Bell subsidizes the service and also supplies TTY machines at a small charge to hearing-impaired persons and their families/friends so they can 'dial direct' without having to 'go through an operator'. State of Kansas also subsidizes the service. A sign on the wall, and notices in the 'contract' the operators work under reminds all concerned that the Privacy Act under Kansas and under federal laws and FCC tariffs pertain to the conversations which are never to be discussed or repeated or even acknowleged with *anyone* at any time, ever. Incoming calls go through an ACD (automatic call distributor) to an operator with a TTY machine who gets notice when the call is received if it is a voice caller or a deaf caller. Our center handles six or eight counties in southern and eastern Kansas; there is also a center in Topeka (state capitol) and one up north and over west, maybe its in Colby, Kansas or near there somewhere. State of Kansas makes the local telephone company (SWB here mostly, United Tel in the a few northern parts of the state) pitch in on the costs, etc. At the local center the TTY machines can type both ASCII and 7-level Baudot code (I think it is called). They go to ASCII if informed by the caller that the recipient has a computer program to use it instead. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jt Subject: Re: British Directory Assistance Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 20:17:32 -0500 Organization: WorldCom Canada Ltd. News Reader Service wrote in message news:telecom22.321.10@telecom-digest.org: [snip] > The international call charge is =A31.50 per minute (minimum call > charge A31.50 from February 2003). > All call charges quoted include VAT and are from BT fixed telephone lines. > Other network charges may vary. > Callers in the UK trying to find a North American number thus have two > choices: > 1. Pay 31.50 per minute, and run about a 90% chance of getting an operator Think you'll find that that "=A31.50" is a mis-translated 1.50. Still too much money, but not THAT much... [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Another example of my Illustrious Editing Tool letting me down again. Sorry. PAT] ------------------------------ From: tdcarrell@hotmail.com (Tom Carrell) Subject: Choosing a Cell Phone Date: 1 Mar 2003 19:06:43 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have held on to my Motorola DPC-650 cell phone until the battery latch is no longer functional. I guess I have to face it, no more AMPS -- I am finally going to have to move to the present and get a digital cellphone. The problem is that I have never heard a digital cell phone that I have liked much. Oh, I like all their features alright, I just can't stand their speech quality. It amazes me how these companies (e.g., Sprint PCS) advertise sound quality. You would think they would try to keep quiet about it because it is such an obvious deficiency. I agree there is no static, but jeeze, the vocoding artifacts, dropouts, and time delays are just unbearable to me. Am I the only one? In any case, I have been unsuccessful in finding any comparisons of cell phones regarding speech quality (seems pretty basic, but I haven't seen it). There is all sorts of information on features, calling plans, and color web browsing, but nothing as basic as how well can one understand the caller and how well can they understand you. I realize this can be pretty subjective because while I understand most of the words in cell conversations, some connections leave me dripping sweat from listening so hard, whereas others allow me to concentrate on the conversation. I don't like to work hard to listen! I don't think it is my ears because I don't have these problems on the landline or on my old cell phone. So, pointers to product or protocol reviews or comparisons would be very welcome. Next best would be personal experience or educated guesses based on the theory of operation of different systems. Thanks very much for letting me vent, and even more thanks for actual information. Tom Carrell ------------------------------ From: Linc Madison Subject: Re: British Directory Assistance Date: Sat, 01 Mar 2003 20:49:26 -0800 Organization: LincMad.com Consulting Reply-To: Telecom@LincMad.com In article , wrote: > The new number for BT's international directory enquiries service is > 118 505. > The international call charge is =A31.50 per minute (minimum call > charge A31.50 from February 2003). Just to clarify, since that got mangled (at least on my server), that's GBP 1.50, not 31.50. It's the same effect that turned $25 into =2425 into $2,425 in the infamous "809 Scam" recurring e-mail hoax. Anyway, £1.50 (i.e., GBP 1.50) per minute seems quite steep. The last time I used AT&T's international directory assistance, it was a flat charge of US$ 3.00. That's more than the base charge on the new BT scheme, but I'd bet a fair percentage of calls exceed a minute, by the time you tell the operator what country and listing you want, the operator rings the distant country and requests the listing, and gets the listing back for you. Good thing there are web-based directories for just about all of the places I have occasion to call. www dot LincMad dot com / Telecom at LincMad dot com Linc Madison * San Francisco, California ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 1 Mar 2003 14:45:49 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: March Share Day, Again I sent this out earlier today, but a good message always bears repeating at least once. This weekend is our monthly 'share day', an opportunity for you to do something to assist in production costs, etc. I keep mentioning that this Digest is 'shareware', not 'freeware'. Like all or most shareware, you get a chance to sample the product first, to detirmine its suitability for yourself. Then, unlike many other shareware products, I let YOU decide what is appropriate for payment. For people who decide to 'purchase' this Digest, I toss in someting extra for you. I have a CD rom of the entire thing, all 22 years of it. TELECOM Digest began in 1981 and has continued since then with only short interupptions, and it is all on the CD. In addition, the CD (which is actually produced by Joey Lindsrom has several 'old time radio' shows with telephone themes including Agnes Morehead's presentation of 'Sorry Wrong Number', and others. You give whatever amount you feel is appropriate, but remember, unless you send at least $20-$25 I lose money on the deal. Anyway, your help is ALWAYS and GREATLY appreciated. To donate with credit card, (or from a PayPal account) go to our web site. At the very bottom of the 'home' page ( http://telecom-digest.org ) you will find a PayPal template you can click on and use. Or use any PayPal template you happen to have or see around. You would be paying 'editor@telecom-digest.org' . Iffer to pay by check or money order or from a bank 'check payment' program that's okay also. You would, in that case, send the payment to: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301-0050 That method is a little bit slower (than PayPal) but either way, you will receive an acknowledgement and within 2-3 weeks a copy of the Telecom CD. Be sure to give your own NAME and MAILING ADDRESS to get the CD. Thanks very much. Patrick Townson Editor/Publisher ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #322 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 2 20:52:44 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h231qhZ24970; Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:52:44 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:52:44 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303030152.h231qhZ24970@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 V22 #323 TELECOM Digest Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:53:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 323 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Large PBX Questions (Al Gillis) POISON!! Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation (Keith Hamm) POISON ANTIDOTE: Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation (Ben Hackney) Re: DSL vs Cable (Steve Michelson) Re: DSL vs Cable (Herb Stein) Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time. (Monty Solomon) Downloading Data by Cellphone (Monty Solomon) IDC Finds that Broadband Adoption Will Drive Internet Traffic (M Solomon) VOIP in the Enterprise: Is A Battle Looming Between Carriers (M Solomon) Re: Answering Machine With Email (Ron Bean) Re: Answering Machine With Email (Richard D G Cox) Re: Answering Machine With Email (Phil McKerracher) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Large PBX Questions Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 15:36:54 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Lincoln - I might be one of those large users you're thinking of ... (actually, my employer, really. And I don't speak for that entity, either. What follows are my own ideas, defective as they may be!) Sorry for the delay and for the length of this response, too! So, I've got about 11,000 DID numbers feeding my PBX, all from one CLEC switch. That CLEC has an agreement with the company in this area that produces white and yellow pages to include listings of the CLEC customers. I can buy the same type listings I could if I were still a customer of the (former Bell) ILEC. That is, display ads, color highlighted ads, bold typeface listings, etc., etc. It just costs money and takes a little additional up front planning. (BTW, the company used to be Qwest Dex; it was sold recently but the new company has found it un-necessary and bothersome to contact their customers!) Regarding number availability in an NPA-NXX: I've got all of one NPA-NXX and part of another, with some protected growth in that second NXX code. As far as I know I've got all the numbers in the first one. Or at least I pay for all of them. I asked about this very item when were negotiating for the numbers - The sales guy told me there "may be a few numbers reserved for plant testing". But, later, talking with a switch tech for that company I was told that they don't reserve or hold back any specific numbers - they just grab some temporarily if they need to do some testing and release them when they're finished. I have to say that I haven't dialed each and every number to be sure they're not cheating me out of a number or two! Incidentally, we have a five-digit dial plan in my PBX (station to station calls are dialed with five digits) and the CO switch spills five digits to me on DID calls. Likewise I get five digits from my LD carrier and from my toll-free carrier. You asked "how common is it to get an entire exchange code"? Not very, except for large systems I suspect. For example, when we were ready to make our move I asked our (former Bell) ILEC about an entire NPA-NXX code. They said they'd see if that could be done. I also asked one of our CLECs - they called in a couple of days with a half a dozen codes and asked which one we wanted! So we gave that business to the CLEC (and saved 40% on each number as well!), got a bunch of PRIs working and cutover to the new numbers. About six months later the Bell-head called back to say he thought he could make it happen for us, if we were still interested. He hadn't even noticed we'd disconnected about 60 of his trunks and several thousand numbers during the intervening months! Your next question: Changes to directory listings are pretty much locked down, at least here. My supplier would not accept a change from one of the unwashed masses but rather would refer that person to me or my group (of three) people. Recorded announcements? We have several on my switch. Each is recorded by one of two women on our staff - each has a particularly alluring voice that is distinct from the less-than-memorable voices heard at most carriers. We maintain recorded announcements for several situations: Incoming calls to vacant DID numbers, outbound calls to local exchanges dialed as though they were long distance calls, network facilities that are no longer in service and intra-PBX calls dialed as though they were local calls. Let's see ... I think that's all the questions! (PAT: Sorry for hogging so much of your bandwidth!) Al Lincoln J. King-Cliby wrote in message news:telecom22.319.13@telecom-digest.org: > Hello, > My odd question of the day: How do 'heavy' telephone subscribers (I.e. > those with the capability of 1,000+ numbers) deal with getting their > numbers into directories? > While I'm at it, what numbers within an NPA-NXX can't be assigned for > one reason or another? > How common is it for a ILEC to give an entire exchange to a user? > The University I'm at has mantained its own telephone switches for the > past few years (Manufacturer says it maxes out at 45,000 ports), and > as far as I can tell has the entire exchange, NPA-750, to itself (DSL > Reports "CO finder" indicates that the CO is at the same physical > address as the University) -- the University's telephone services > folks (A wonderful group of people) assign all extension/DID numbers > and although they seem to like 3xxx, 4xxx, 7xxx, and 8xxx more than > the other numbers, I tink we have extensions assigned in every group. > Recently -- prompted by a rash of people looking for another > department sent to my officemate's number by directory assistance -- I > looked at the listings for the University. How is this information > obtained? > Is it as simple as someone sending a letter to our account rep, or is > there something more sophisticated/automatic going on? > Last question- when calling from outside, is there any way to tell if > the "We're sorry..." messages for numbers not in service is comming > from the telco or our switch? > Thanks, > Lincoln [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No hassle at all on the bandwidth, Al. I have heard of many cases as I mentioned of *large* PBXs getting two or even three exchanges, such as City of Chicago's exclusive use of 312-742 312-745 and 312-747 (and all but a few numbers given to another customer of 312-744.) Did I ever tell you the story of how 312-744 (the original exchange assigned to City of Chicago 35 years ago) got assigned? Its a cute story with distinctive anti-war, anti- police, anti-government ramifications, and the city telecom management did not catch on until it was too late to be changed. I'll relate it if anyone is interested in a Vietnam era telephone story. Regards being spread over an entire exchange with a huge PBX, do you know whose PBX was spread over *two area codes* and *two* telcos? Do you remember that crackerjack Jim Bakker and his makeup-laden, always crying wife Tammy Faye Bakker? They had that Christian resort and amusement park in North Carolina which sat right on the border with South Carolina. Their centrex/PBX ran over the whole area, but it was based in the territory of some small independent telco in North Carolina. The big, local Bell company got the tiny part that was in the main area of the resort. And Bell wanted control of that Bakker account so badly they could taste it. That's another good story. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Keith Hamm Subject: POISON! STAY AWAY GUYS! Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 17:00:10 -0500 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I've gotten a few messages today about this nasty poisonous thing going around. Read it, be alert to it, but *stay away*. He copied all the addresses he could find in the Digest and then sent this around to all of the names. You 'll even see my name in the list. The cc: was many lines long. PAT] ----- Original message follows ----- Microsoft Client This is the latest version of security update, the "March 2003, Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all known security vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express as well as five newly discovered vulnerabilities. Install now to protect your computer from these vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could allow an attacker to run executable on your system. This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches. System requirements: Win 9x/Me/2000/NT/XP This update applies to: Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later Microsoft Outlook, version 8.00 and later Microsoft Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later Recommendation: Customers should install the patch at the earliest opportunity. [TELECOM Editor: Yeah, poison yourself at the earliest opportunity! PAT] How to install: Run attached file. Click Yes on displayed dialog box. How to use: You don't need to do anything after installing this item. Microsoft Technical Support is available at http://support.microsoft.com/ For security-related information about Microsoft products, please visit the Microsoft Security Advisor web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security Contact us at http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/goregwiz.asp?target=/contactus/contactus.asp Please do not reply to this message. It was sent from an unmonitored e-mail address and we are unable to respond to any replies. Thank you for using Microsoft products. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But then notice how he refers to Microsoft as M$, something they never do. The file patch631.exe has been replaced as it contains the W32/Gibe.b@MM virus. Please consult the Graham Helpdesk for further help. ------_=_NextPart_000_01C2E107.181846A0-- ------------------------------ From: Ben Hackney Subject: POISON ANTEDOTE: Re: Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 17:15:34 -0500 I received this email also as did all of you. Do not open the so called "patch", it is actually a virus. It contains the W32/Gibe.b@MM virus. If you opened it you do have a virus. Get Microsoft patches from Windows Update, not Keith Hamm from grahampackaging.com. Ben Hackney President, Converged Technologies bhax@convergedtech.net 614.252.8611 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Below is a list of the users most likely to have gotten poisoned by this mess. PAT] -----Original Message----- From: Hamm, Keith [mailto:Keith.Hamm@grahampackaging.com] Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2003 5:00 PM To: 'kgkh@dionis.vis.ru'; 'jwilliams@pir.org'; 'ronchapman@wideopenwest.com'; 'bobsjunkmail@bellsouth.net'; 'jmswhitlow@hotmail.com'; 'jsewell@intouchnetworks.ca'; 'xyzzy@mercurylink.net'; 'rcampbell@pantelonline.com'; = 'joe@obilivan.net'; 'kludge@panix.com'; 'paulmigs@migliorelli.org'; 'ptownson@telecom-digest.org'; 'chsvideo@hotmail.com'; 'nug-it@att.net'; 'spfleck@citlink.net'; 'clowe@ofda.net'; = 'wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu'; 'barry_mclellan@yahoo.com'; 'cmoore@arl.army.mil'; 'cabstand@lycos.com'; 'ronnierc@lycos.com'; 'techie@tantivy.stanford.edu'; = 'dhorvath@cobs.com'; 'john@pdj01.cinci.rr.com'; 'dwolffxx@panix.com'; 'paul@timmins.net'; 'jsmauk@aol.com'; 'modorney@aol.com'; 'hudsonl@skypoint.com'; 'bhax@sbcglobal.net'; 'jfnelson@aeieng.com'; 'dave@black.com'; 'dave@compata.com'; 'pw@panix.com'; 'rwurth@att.net'; = 'rslade@sprint.ca'; 'dave@daveanderson.com'; 'shelgesen@ingdirect.com'; = 'jhortonb@yahoo.com'; 'mike.hartley@ntlworld.com'; 'charles.cryderman@globalcrossing.com'; 'joey@telussucks.info'; 'jriddell@angustel.ca'; = 'dmorin@morinfamily.com'; 'stevenl11@aol.com'; 'enet@csi.com'; 'joppenheimer@icbtollfree.com'; 'barry.margolin@level3.com'; 'al_iverson@wombatmail.com'; 'palee@riteaid.com'; 'rbean@shell.core.com'; 'jmyers@n6wuz.net'; 'msb@vex.net'; 'albert@netmation.com'; 'johnl@iecc.com'; 'support@sellcom.com'; 'editor@telecom-digest.org'; 'nmclain@annsgarden.com'; 'johns_95110@yahoo.com'; = 'kb4mdz@earthlink.net'; 'amfowler@melbpc.org.au'; 'mrc@cac.washington.edu'; 'charles.b.wilber@dartmouth.edu'; 'xlea69802@sneakemail.com'; 'monty@roscom.com'; 'phil@mckerracher.org'; 'lauren@vortex.com'; 'hank@nine-9s.com'; 'glb1202@cognitronics.com'; 'gmhall@apk.net'; 'jackhfanman@hotmail.com'; 'richard@example.com'; 'bbg@easylinkgroup.zzn.com'; 'herb@herbstein.com'; = 'friedebach@yahoo.com'; 'aburkitt@euromoneyplc.com'; 'f.whittington@att.net' Subject: Taste the pack from the M$ Corporation ----- Original message follows ----- MS Client this is the latest version of security update, the=20 "March 2003, Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all=20 known security vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer,=20 Outlook and Outlook Express as well as five newly discovered=20 vulnerabilities. Install now to protect your computer from these=20 vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could allow an attacker to=20 run executable on your system. This update includes the functionality=20 of all previously released patches.=20 System requirements:=20 Win 9x/Me/2000/NT/XP=20 This update applies to:=20 Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later=20 Microsoft Outlook, version 8.00 and later=20 Microsoft Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later=20 Recommendation:=20 Customers should install the patch at the earliest opportunity.=20 How to install:=20 Run attached file. Click Yes on displayed dialog box.=20 How to use:=20 You don't need to do anything after installing this item.=20 Microsoft Technical Support is available at=20 http://support.microsoft.com/=20 For security-related information about Microsoft products,=20 please visit the Microsoft Security Advisor web site at=20 http://www.microsoft.com/security=20 Contact us at=20 http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/goregwiz.asp?target=3D/contactus/contactus= .asp=20 =20 Please do not reply to this message. It was sent from an unmonitored=20 e-mail address and we are unable to respond to any replies.=20 Thank you for using Microsoft products.=20 *************************************************************************= *** ************************=20 THIS E-MAIL AND ANY FILES TRANSMITTED WITH IT ARE CONFIDENTIAL=20 AND ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR THE USE OF THE INDIVIDUAL OR ENTITY=20 TO WHOM THEY ARE ADDRESSED. IF YOU ARE NOT THE INTENDED=20 RECIPIENT OR THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR DELIVERING THE E-MAIL=20 TO THE INTENDED RECIPIENT, BE ADVISED THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED=20 THIS E-MAIL IN ERROR AND THAT ANY USE, DISSEMINATION, FORWARDING,=20 PRINTING OR COPYING OF THIS E-MAIL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.=20 IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS E-MAIL IN ERROR, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY=20 NOTIFY THE SENDER OF THIS E-MAIL AT THE ABOVE TELEPHONE# OR=20 E-MAIL ADDRESS. YOU WILL BE REIMBURSED FOR REASONABLE COSTS=20 INCURRED IN NOTIFYING US.=20 *************************************************************************= *** ***********************=20 ------=_NextPart_000_000B_01C2E0DF.5E15EFE0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Taste the pack from the M$ Corporation [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: *Be very careful* about taking so-called 'patches' sent out like this. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Steve Michelson Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 08:45:58 -0500 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises True, but having a shared driveway increases the chance that it could take a little bit longer to get to the main road, if someone else wants to use the driveway at the same time. The rest of the trip is identical, of course. But the access part *could* increase delay a little. In fact, if 100 houses use the same driveway and each house has 2 cars, then the time it takes for a local trip to the store could be dominated by the time to get off the driveway and onto the main road. That would, of course, be a lousy design but still possible. So, yes, packet networks share bandwidth. But on access, DSL has a dedicated link versus cable that has a shared medium. So cable has one more potential bottleneck than DSL, because once you enter the backbone network it doesn't matter what your access mechanism was. If the access network is engineered correctly, however, it won't really matter. Geoffrey Welsh wrote in message news:telecom22.322.6@telecom-digest.org: > wrote: >> There shouldn't be any sharing with DSL, if the network is setup >> correctly. > Sharing is fundamental to any packet network -- it's what > differentiates it from circuit switching. > DSL's dedicated 'last mile' no more dictates the overall performance > of the connection than having a private driveway dictates how long > it takes you to drive somewhere. > Geoffrey Welsh ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 11:14:51 -0600 Dave Phelps wrote in message news:telecom22.321.7@telecom-digest.org: > In article , joe@obilivan.net > says: >> There shouldn't be any sharing with DSL, if the network is setup >> correctly. > There is *always* sharing. It's just at another location in the network. > For example, cable uses shared bandwidth for each node segment (my > terminology may not be right). If the segmentation is managed properly, > there shouldn't be any significant congestion. > DSL shares bandwidth at aggregation points, such as the DSLAM, and the > network interconnecting the DSLAMs. If the bandwidth is managed > properly, there shouldn't be any significant congestion. > Either one could be a good choice. I tend to prefer cable for the > simple fact that there aren't any distance limitations, and I don't > want to deal with the LEC anymore than I have to. Cable tend to be just as fast if not faster than DSL in St. Louis. I picked DSL over cable for only one reason - my telephone has not gone out once in 24 years in my house (that I'm aware of). Cable has a somewhat less stellar record :-) > Dave Phelps > Phone Masters Ltd. > deadspam=tippenring Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 14:18:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time By MAGGIE JACKSON Tom Rotherham, the chief executive of the accounting firm RSM McGladrey, calls a halt to any management meeting there if a cellphone rings. He throws up his hands and demands $50 from the perpetrator. "Everyone laughs, and I say: `I'm not kidding. Where's the $50?' " said Mr. Rotherham, who instituted the policy two years ago at the company, which is based in Bloomington, Minn. "If you want to disrupt your life, fine. But don't disrupt everybody else's." Short of getting drunk at the office holiday party or whipping the boss at golf, there may be no faster way to anger a top executive these days than to let your cellphone trill during an important meeting. And executives are cracking down on such interruptions, which they regard as both etiquette gaffes and as drains on time and money. Although many companies require employees to carry cellphones on the road, they are also curbing their use in the office. Nearly 60 million Americans take cellphones to work, and use them for 4 of every 10 calls they make or receive on the job, according to IDC, a research firm based in Framingham, Mass. "A cellphone has gone from a symbol of status to a device of scorn," said Ian Campbell, the chief executive of Nucleus Research Inc., a firm in Wellesley, Mass., that studies technologies' returns on investment. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/business/yourmoney/02EXLI.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 14:43:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Downloading Data by Cellphone Wireless carriers offer a broad variety of data transmission plans. A selection of plans, based on information provided by the companies (prices are per month): ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/27/technology/circuits/27bbox.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 14:47:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: IDC Finds that Broadband Adoption Will Drive Internet Traffic FRAMINGHAM, Mass., February 27, 2003 - IDC predicts that the volume of Internet traffic generated by end users worldwide will nearly double annually over the next five years, increasing from 180 petabits per day in 2002 to 5,175 petabits per day by the end of 2007. To put these figures into perspective, the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress amounts to only 10 terabytes of information. By 2007, IDC expects Internet users will access, download, and share the information equivalent of the entire Library of Congress more than 64,000 times over, every day. ... http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jhtml?containerId=pr2003_02_26_142612 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 14:48:25 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: VOIP in the Enterprise: Is A Battle Looming? VOIP in the Enterprise: Is A Battle Looming Between Carriers and IP PBX Equipment Vendors? FRAMINGHAM, Mass., February 27, 2003 - Emerging opportunities in IP Centrex will give RBOCs and other carriers a practical and immediate means of moving into voice over IP (VoIP) and a revenue-producing justification for deploying softswitch architectures, says a new report from IDC. These opportunities will drive IP Centrex revenue from $281 million in 2003 to $6.7 billion in 2007. The report also cautions that the RBOCs must move quickly in order to prevent further erosion of their existing Centrex customers. ... http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jhtml?containerId=pr2003_02_21_133622 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 01:59:41 -0600 From: Ron Bean Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Gail M. Hall writes: > How do the hearing impaired work things? I had the experience of > answering a call last summer in which a deaf family member called > using a service that "translates" to and from voice. She would type > in something and the "operator" would read it to me. I would answer > by voice, and the operator would type my answer for her. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We have such a service here in > Kansas. > A sign on the wall, and notices in the 'contract' the > operators work under reminds all concerned that the Privacy Act under > Kansas and under federal laws and FCC tariffs pertain to the > conversations which are never to be discussed or repeated or even > acknowleged with *anyone* at any time, ever. The radio show "This American Life" interviewed a former operator at one of those places, last October. You can hear it in RealAudio at: Or search for the show broadcast on Oct 25 2002 ("Middlemen"). It's the first segment of that program, and lasts about 8 minutes. Not only are the operators prohibited from revealing what is said, they're also prohibited from getting involved in the conversation. The guy in the interview said people would often try to get him involved (eg, mothers who wanted him to help convince their daughters to break up with boyfriends), and he had to refuse. He also occasionally had to translate drug deals. He said that, in most cases, the drug dealers were more polite than the pizza delivery guys. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 13:59:55 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Reply-To: nospam@numbering.com Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited At 00:24 UT on 2 Mar 2003, Gail M. Hall wrote > Well, wouldn't it be just a step away to send that data to an e-mail > address somewhere so the called party can pick it up from another > location? > I'll bet we are closer to that possibility than some people realize. We are. Research is already taking place on convergence between the various technologies in use today in text-to-voice (and voice-to-text) relay systems. Present results are most encouraging. However there are a number of issues that need better understanding, particularly from an international viewpoint. > I don't know much about the "translation" service for the speech/hearing > impaired people, such as what they have to pay for long-distance calls > when their calls are obviously longer than similar conversations would > be for speech/hearing abled people on a normal telephone connection. > It would be interesting to read something about that in this group. In the UK, BT (the main "Universal Service" provider) is currently obliged by licence to provide funding for a text-relay service, and also to rebate call charges to allow for the fact that text-based calls take longer. However deaf people in the UK have expressed concern that the present relay service is under-resourced, which means that at times no relay operators are available to handle incoming calls. > Personally, I think e-mail from an ordinary ISP is less expensive > than using text messaging from a cellular phone unless services other > than the one I have are a lot less expensive. The marginal per-message costs of both are identical -- close to zero. The price charged to consumers is however very different, due in part to the fact that there are a very limited number of cellular operators in a given area, whereas there are (in most countries) no constraints on who may offer ISP services. Where the cellular operators charge consistent pricing for text messages, that pricing has the side-effect of reducing text-message spam - however some cellular networks have now started to sell "bulk" access to the text message gateways. Allowing any form of junk messaging to clog up what is an essential lifeline for deaf people - particularly those who are deaf and blind, and who therefore have to read their messages through a braille-based device -- is particularly cruel. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: (as ever, extremely helpful!) > Hearing-impaired persons call an 800 toll-free number, using their > TTY machine. To which of the various defined standards do those TTY machines work? One of the difficulties with international implementation is the wide variation in operating standards used -- some of which have to allow for speech in one direction over the same connection ... where the person using the TTY machine can speak clearly but has difficulty in hearing. (We called the TTY machines "minicoms" but now so many different types of machine are available, we tend to call them "textphones" instead) > Southwestern Bell subsidizes the service and also supplies TTY machines > at a small charge to hearing-impaired persons and their families/friends > so they can 'dial direct' without having to 'go through an operator'. As my firm does a lot of work with deaf people, I have just purchased a textphone, and will be installing it in my own office just as soon as I have got some extra cable pairs run in from the PBX to my part of the building. I have already allocated it a direct-dial number ... > the Privacy Act under Kansas and under federal laws and FCC tariffs > pertain to the conversations which are never to be discussed or > repeated or even acknowleged with *anyone* at any time, ever. All relay services have to work in that way -- but unfortunately some banks and credit card companies (and even one UK mobile phone company) refuse to accept customer calls made through a relay service. Ideally they, too, should install their own textphones -- but they won't do so. > State of Kansas makes the local telephone company (SWB here mostly, > United Tel in the a few northern parts of the state) pitch in on the > costs, etc. How are those costs determined? To what extent does the Telco get any influence on how the service is provided -- staffing levels, etc -- by contributing to the costs? And how are the calls made through the service -- which for outbound calling will obviously include some long-distance -- billed to the caller? Does the caller get to select a long-distance carrier? If anyone from Southwestern Bell -- or any other Telco or organisation involved in providing such services -- is reading this, I'd be really pleased to hear from you by private email to help me reach a better understanding of the issues you see as significant! Please email me at [text~at~numbering^dot^com] (making the obvious edits first). Richard Cox ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 16:32:09 GMT Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) > James Whitlow asked about an "Answering Machine With Email" >> I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, >> but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before >> giving up. >> I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering >> machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email >> address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup >> account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I >> would not have to run any cables. I have a Cybergear Gold ISDN PBX from Network Alchemy that can do this. They've recently stopped production but secondhand ones can be found on Ebay as people change from ISDN to ADSL. And the replacement model can probably do more. Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #323 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 2 23:56:49 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h234unu26199; Sun, 2 Mar 2003 23:56:49 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 23:56:49 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303030456.h234unu26199@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 V22 #324 TELECOM Digest Sun, 2 Mar 2003 23:56:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 324 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Virus Alert (interscan@ofda.net) Re: British Directory Assistance (Paul Coxwell) Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI (Geoffrey Welsh) Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address (Herb Stein) Re: Choosing a Cell Phone (Joseph) Re: Answering Machine With Email (John Fabrega) How to Reach an 800 Number Restricted to US From (yikes9999@hotpop.com) Re: Phone Solution For Small Office (Dave Phelps) Re: How to Detect an 'Invasive' MAC (Ben Hockenhull) How Did Chicago City Hall Get 312-744, Anyway? (Sam Etler) Last Laugh! Bible College Hangs Up on 666 Prefix (Joey Lindstrom) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 21:07:03 EST From: interscan@ofda.net Subject: Virus Alert Have detected a virus (WORM_GIBE.B) in your mail traffic on 03/02/2003 20:58:55 with an action quarantined. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just another reminder, guys. Do not eat these worms! This letter to the Digest was one of several received today from the above robot. Yes, I know I said it earlier today, but I think it needs to be said again. Do NOT open or unload 'patches' from unknown third parties. PAT] ------------------------------ From: PaulCoxwell@aol.com Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 10:42:01 EST Subject: Re: British Directory Assistance >> The international call charge is =3DA31.50 per minute (minimum call >> charge A31.50 from February 2003). > Just to clarify, since that got mangled (at least on my server), that's > GBP 1.50, not 31.50. Yes, GBP 1.50. I should have remembered not to use the pound-Sterling sign in case it got mistranslated -- sorry everyone! > Anyway, =A31.50 (i.e., GBP 1.50) per minute seems quite steep. The last > time I used AT&T's international directory assistance, it was a flat > charge of US$ 3.00. That's more than the base charge on the new BT > scheme, but I'd bet a fair percentage of calls exceed a minute, by the > time you tell the operator what country and listing you want, the > operator rings the distant country and requests the listing, and gets > the listing back for you. I'd bet that quite a large number of calls exceed a minute as well. As I mentioned, operators here these days don't seem to be very well trained when it comes to dealing with overseas telephone systems and practices. I think the last time I used British DQ (directory enquiries) was over a year ago to get a number in Ireland. Unlike DQ calls for elsewhere, for Ireland they look it up in their own database rather than contacting an operator in the country concerned. The BT operator didn't seem to realize that she was giving me an Irish toll-free number and insisted that I could dial 00 353 1 800 ... I actually had to explain the Irish 1800 numbers to her, whereupon she then suggested that I just dial 00 353 800 ... Sometimes you just can't win! By the way, although international calls to American directory assistance are now allowed by most carriers, this wasn't always the case. Back in the "old days" of the GPO/early BT, calls to +1-npa-555 were barred and just dumped the caller straight to a British N.U. (number unobtainable) tone. There was a way round the restriction though, by adding an 83 routing after the country code, i.e. 010-1-83-npa-555-1212. The primary purpose of the 83 routing code was to force a call to go via cable instead of satellite, but it had a secondary effect of bypassing the restrictions. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You think UK telephone operators are bad? It is rare anymore that I talk to one at all, but I know back in the 1990's at least, you had to feel embarassed for many of them when they handled relatively 'rare' calls (for them as individuals) to certain international points or toll stations or the very rare (for us all) manual 'ringdown' point in the USA. There were times it was simply kinder to hang up and dial again for a different operator. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Geoffrey Welsh Subject: Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 11:59:03 -0500 Organization: Bell Sympatico Hank Karl wrote: > One further advantage is that you get the full 64K on each DS0 of a > PRI. I've heard that this makes a difference if you are running 56K > modems over the DS0s -- you get a little better speed on them than you > do on T1s with RBS. That's true and, since we're at it, you might notice a light quality difference if using a videoconference unit (PictureTel, Polycom, etc.) over a 64K 'clean' line. HOWEVER, Not all long distance carriers support 64K ISDN calls. My CLEC in VA tells me that their LD carrier partner, Qwest, doesn't ... but MCI does. I'm sure that AT&T does ... any others? Thanks. Geoffrey Welsh This address is not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Unsolicited bulk mail is spam, no matter what regulations (real or imagined) it complies with! FIGHT SPAM AND SCAMS: DISCONNECT CHINA FROM THE INTERNET! ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Coping With Changes to E-mail Address Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 11:19:28 -0600 Barry Margolin wrote in message news:telecom22.317.10@telecom-digest.org: > In article , David B. Horvath, > CCP wrote: >> When I had the need for a "permanent" email address, I got my own >> domain. > Another thing you can do is make use of services provided by your college > or professional associations. Many alumni associations provide a > "permanent forwarding address" -- I'm barmar@alum.mit.edu, and I forward > this to my address at work. If you're a member of a professional > organization, they may have a similar service (I think acm.org offers > this, for instance). These forwarding services are usually free. For those of us that are IEEE members, I believe they offer free e-mail addresses as well. > Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com > Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA > *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. > Please DON'T copy followups to me --> I'll > assume it wasn't posted to the group. Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Choosing a Cell Phone Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 09:29:57 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On 1 Mar 2003 19:06:43 -0800, tdcarrell@hotmail.com (Tom Carrell) wrote: > The problem is that I have never heard a digital cell phone that I > have liked much. Oh, I like all their features alright, I just > can't stand their speech quality. It amazes me how these companies > (e.g., Sprint PCS) advertise sound quality. You would think they > would try to keep quiet about it because it is such an obvious > deficiency. I agree there is no static, but jeeze, the vocoding > artifacts, dropouts, and time delays are just unbearable to me. Am > I the only one? No, you are not the only one to notice that the vocoder used by Sprint leaves much to be desired in regards to sound quality received. Steve Punter in Canada does quite a bit of testing of mobile phones and has made comparisons of the different models that he's tested for sound quality. Check out: http://www.arcx.com/sites/index.htm where there's also a page on audio http://www.arcx.com/sites/AudioQuality.htm which does not give specifics on that page about individual sound quality on specific models you can look at his review of handsets to see which ones he gives high marks to. You'll find that audio quality varies greatly from one make or model to another. Many people (myself included) feel that the sound quality of GSM is far superior to that used with CDMA handsets. A downside to GSM is that there's no real "smooth" handoff between digital and analog (AMPS) as there is with CDMA. There are really not that many GSM handsets that even have the option to switch to analog. But as you say audio is an individual thing and what you consider good I might not. Another reader of this news group/list is in the same predicament as you in that he has an analog handset that he cannot get a replacement battery and will at some point have to consider getting some sort of digital handset as a replacement for the service he now has. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: jfabrega@nettally.com (John Fabrega) Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Date: 2 Mar 2003 11:10:36 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ James Whitlow wrote in message news: I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, > but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before > giving up. > I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering > machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email > address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup > account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I > would not have to run any cables. Are you certain you need a stand-alone machine? What happens when your phone line gets busy? There are a number of service providers (including mine) that can act as targets for call forward busy, call forward no answer, and/or simply directly dialed that will record the message and forward it to an e-mail address anywhere in the world as a .wav file. Look for unified messaging equipment and/or unified messaging service bureaus. Many can do fax (delivered as a .tif file) as well as voice. ------------------------------ From: yikes9999@hotpop.com Subject: How to Reach an 800 Number Restricted to US From Canada Date: 2 Mar 2003 12:14:25 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have quite often wished to reach an 800 in the US from here in Canada but found that it was not dialable from here. Sometimes the 800 listing is all I have! In these cases I would wish I knew of a service or method free or not I can use to connect to the 800 number or even the terminating number the restricted 800 number is forwarded to. Any ideas people? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are a few 'gateway' numbers for that purpose, at least from overseas back to United States. You pay for a call to the gateway, then dial the 800 number on the company's nickle. I do not know about one for Canada to USA. Anyone? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Phone Solution For Small Office Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 15:23:35 -0600 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , miltr@pacbell.net says: > I need some advice on choosing a phone system for my new business. We > have a new office, with 7 people. Is Centrex worth dealing with or > can be find a PBX system used that will fit the bill? > Milt Talk to a vendor. Generally speaking, Centrex is bad. Look at the Nortel Norstar. It has a lot of features, and, the biggest selling point IMHO -- reliability. The system doesn't break and the phones don't break. Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Nortel is a good system, but take care about buying all the features they offer. Most end users never even begin to learn about, let alone use, many of the less traditional features available. If you don't personally use it, then don't buy it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Ben Hockenhull Subject: Re: How to Detect an 'Invasive' MAC Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 02:30:17 GMT Organization: NTT/Verio In article , joe@obilivan.net wrote: > Also, what are the chances of them being in-range of your wireless > router to play their nasty games? > Jared wrote: >> I am setting up my first WLAN. >> I have decided that I can't really stop warsniffers from discovering >> my network, eventually sniffing out my WEP keys and cracking their way >> in. However, if they're using my network, it strikes me that their >> MAC's should be visible and I can use a built-in filtering rule to at >> least make them keep acquiring NIC's on a regular basis. Does anyone >> know of any tools to do this, or should I expect my vendor (SMC) to >> provide this info (I didn't see it in the manual) from the AP itself? Some access point provide for MAC filtering, but it's not really that much of a benefit. Nothing stops someone from faking a MAC address and getting on your network that way. Ben ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 20:42:52 CST From: Sam Etler Subject: How *Did* Chicago City Hall Get 312-744 Anyway? > did not catch on until it was too late to be changed. I'll relate it > if anyone is interested in a Vietnam era telephone story. Please do tell! sam [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, it was like this. Go back fifty years to the 1950's, and Chicago City Hall had an old-fashioned cord board with the number RANdolph-6-8000. They had that for some fifty years prior to that, although originally, going *way* back to around 1880-1900 the number there was CENtral 1. Central 1 metamorphed into CENtral then CE-6, etc. When they got the latest, greatest state of the art cordboard in the 1920's sometime, RANdolph 8000 came with it, and CENtral-6-0001 became a private, unlisted number for the mayor's personal use in his office; but I digress. Sometime around 1960 or so, phone traffic got to be just to much for the cordboard, and anyway, Mayor Daley the First wanted some improvements, so they contracted with Illinois Bell for the latest 'latest and greatest' thing, the new-fangled program called Centrex. (Yes, Bell did offer centrex on the old crossbar switches.) Sometime in the 1940's, the Police Department 'broke away' from the cordboard and put in their own cordboard for administrative, non-emergency calls on WABash 4700, although in case of emergency calls, people were to dial either POLice-5-1313 or FIRe-7-1313 and the central offices routed those calls into police headquarters on (take your pick, geographically in the city) either WABash 1313, VANBuren 1313, HARrison 1313, or RANdolph 1313 where the calls illuminated a large map showing the dispatchers where patrol cars should be dispatched. Fire Department got their FIRe 1313 calls routed by Bell to DEArborn 1313 (north side) or TRIangle 1313 from the south side. If you were a prankster and wished to send the police on a wild goose- chase, you dialed direct to the exchange-1313 and the dispatcher saw on the illuminated map that you were on the south side when in fact you were on the north side and would have been so identified had you played by the rules and called POLice 1313 from your phone instead of screwing around with the other numbers. Again, I digress, sorry. Anyway, King Daley the First got tired of the ineffeciency and ordered a centrex installed. Bell spent several months working on it and told an 'inside plant' technician to coordinate it. Remember now, in the 1950's - 1960's era, things were wide open on numbers, and area codes, etc. Plenty of them to go around, take your pick. The inside plant guy chose 744 as the 'new exchange' for the new centrex going in at City Hall. He swore up and down it was just a 'random pick' from the tons of free exchanges available (wink!), but it turned out later to be to great of a coincidence. During Vietnam, when Chicago Police and Mayor Daley (first) and other politicians were at their worst, Illinois Bell had its own troubles. They had a houseful of phreaks, war protestors and general malcontents working for them. I don't think they even knew all that back then, and later blamed it on their personnel/employment office. Like hell he picked it at random! 744 letter wise turns out to spell PIG ... and during Vietnam, with the nation in a total uproar for months at a time, 'pig' was common vernacular for police officers, the mayor and whoever worked at 'the Hall'. With a straight face, Bell took the guy's numbering assignment. The tech (as we call them now) didn't say a word about it to anyone. It got in all the AT&T databases (the only game in town in those days) and the city announced it in press releases; the newspapers made up courtesy phone directories of the new numbers, etc. The new numbering system was put in effect. For close to a month afterward, the old number RANdolph 6-8000 was answered by a manual intercept at City Hall by operators who responded saying 'what department are you trying to call?' and then advising the caller, please make a note of the new number 744-xxxx and making the caller dial it. They couldn't revoke it at that point. *Then* 'someone' (the tech insists it was not him) informed the best-selling, highly-circulated (in those days) paper called the 'Chicago Seed' of the REAL meaning of 744. Chicago Seed could best be described from those days as a totally anti-war, anti- police, anti-all government newspaper. Everyone read it, but no one would admit they liked to read it. At times, it was totally obscene as well. A huge 'underground' circulation. No one would ever admit they read it, certainly not the white collar office workers, politicians, etc. The Seed was always telling very humorous and often times lurid, ribald stories about Chicago police, politicians, etc, their sexual encounters (often times figments of imagination, etc) and always tie ins to the Vietnam War. Always ... that was the Seed. People would glance furtively over their shoulder before reading the latest epidodes in the Seed. So 'someone' told the Seed about 'those numbers, 744, and their alphabetic equivilents. As a 'public service to its readers' the Seed also printed a new phone directory, but they used a pirated copy of the internal city hall phone directory mixed in with 'public' numbers and in every instance of 744-anything the Seed printed PIG-anything. For example, 'if you wish to call the pigs just dial PIG and the four digit extension of the pig you wish to reach.' The anti-war people had a great laugh out of it, and the timid white collar workers would look furtively at it on their bus ride to work or home and snicker about it also. Mayor Daley the First did his usual blustering and foaming at the mouth including one of his famous slips of the tongue gaffes when he explained to television and newspaper reporters, "Our police officers in Chicago are not Pigs! They are human pigs" (then sort of startled he said "I meant human beans." One of his associates there on the stage with him tried to shush him up and get him to sit down and be quiet without a lot of success. Illinois Bell insisted in an embarassed tone of voice that it was 'all just a coincidence' but internally they started seeking out "which one of our people did that", and I guess they never did figure out *who*. They had ample-plenty exchange numbers to pick from in those days; no problems of area-code splits, etc. They did wise up to the internal problems they were having however, and started cleaning their own house vigorously. Because of labor laws, human rights laws, etc, they were unable to just fire a bunch of workers, and they were sort of afraid to do that anyway. They had a *lot* of rebellious workers there at the time, both in plant and the business office, people who were 'to smart for their own good', that would cause problems. But they were able to make life hell for quite a few workers there at Ma Bell, and get them to resign on their own over a three or four year period. By the time Vietnam ended (1972 ?) Illinois Bell had gotten their own house back in order also. About four years ago, City Hall needed to expand further and from 744 they also took over from Ameritech 745 and I think 747 also. Mayor Daley the Second is almost as much of a corker as his father was. I know the police were moved on to 745 and the public library and schools took over 747 I think. Anyway, Sam Etler, that's how 312-744 came to be born, back in the Vietnam era. Thanks for asking. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Sun, 02 Mar 2003 01:32:39 -0700 Subject: Last Laugh! Bible Cllege Hangs Up on 666 Prefix Reply-To: joey@garynuman.info VANCLEVE, Kentucky (AP) -- After months of asking for a new telephone number, the Kentucky Mountain Bible College has finally dropped the 666 prefix that disturbed Christians who recognized it as the biblical mark of the beast. "We're just elated that the number has been changed," said Rob Roy MacGregor, the college's vice president of business affairs. "It was like we had this Scarlet Letter attached to us." http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/03/01/offbeat.ky.prefix.ap/index.html / From the desk of Joey Lindstrom / / I like to go to art museums and name the untitled paintings... Boy With / Pail... Kitten On Fire... / --Steven Wright [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Odd, isn't it, that the Yellow Cab Dis- patching Company, Inc. did not get that sort of complaint over the seventy years or so they occupied 312-MONroe-3700. I suppose if 312-666 had been available 40 years ago, the Illinois Bell central office technician might have assigned that to Chicago Police instead if he had thought of it. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #324 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 4 01:35:51 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h246Zpj02750; Tue, 4 Mar 2003 01:35:51 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 01:35:51 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303040635.h246Zpj02750@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 V22 #325 TELECOM Digest Tue, 4 Mar 2003 01:36:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 325 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Large PBX Questions (Pete Romfh) Re: Large PBX Questions (jt) Re: Microwave Towers (CBoone@Earthlink.Net) DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (CBoone@Earthlink.Net) Re: DSL vs Cable (Rich Campbell) Re: DSL vs Cable (Steve Fleckenstein) Start-up Joltage Unplugs Wi-Fi Service (Monty Solomon) Outage Hits Microsoft's bCentral (Monty Solomon) A Real Hollywood Horror Story / New Technologies May do to Movies (Solomon) CAPPS II - Boycott Delta Air Lines (Monty Solomon) Hughes Details Charges, Cuts AOL Ties and DirecTV Jobs (Monty Solomon) Windows Update Keeps Tabs on All System Software (Monty Solomon) Snack Companies Fined $185,000 for Violating Kids' Online Privacy (Solomon) Cisco Seeks Bigger Role in Phone Networks (Monty Solomon) AOL Aims to Cash In on Instant Messenger Success (Monty Solomon) Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? (Mike O) Request Assistance with Cray Routermate T1 (Christopher Green) Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI (LARB0) NANPA Confirms no More Non-Dialable Toll Points (Jack Decker) Re: How to Reach an 800 Number Restricted to US From Canada (John Levine) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: Large PBX Questions Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 07:19:24 -0600 Organization: Not Organized Lincoln J. King-Cliby wrote: > Hello, > My odd question of the day: How do 'heavy' telephone > subscribers (I.e. those with the capability of 1,000+ > numbers) deal with getting their numbers into directories? > While I'm at it, what numbers within an NPA-NXX can't be > assigned for one reason or another? > How common is it for a ILEC to give an entire exchange to > a user? > The University I'm at has mantained its own telephone > switches for the past few years (Manufacturer says it > maxes out at 45,000 ports), and as far as I can tell has > the entire exchange, NPA-750, to itself (DSL Reports "CO > finder" indicates that the CO is at the same physical > address as the University) -- the University's telephone > services folks (A wonderful group of people) assign all > extension/DID numbers and although they seem to like > 3xxx, 4xxx, 7xxx, and 8xxx more than the other numbers, I > tink we have extensions assigned in every group. > Recently -- prompted by a rash of people looking for > another department sent to my officemate's number by > directory assistance -- I looked at the listings for the > University. How is this information obtained? > Is it as simple as someone sending a letter to our > account rep, or is there something more > sophisticated/automatic going on? > Last question- when calling from outside, is there any > way to tell if the "We're sorry..." messages for numbers > not in service is comming from the telco or our switch? > Thanks, > Lincoln I guess I qualify at a "Large PBX" manager. The series of Avaya G3R's managed by the group I'm part of handles two full exchanges (NPA-NXX) and portions of another two (NPA-NXX-0000-3999 and NPA-NYY-4000-9999). Along with smaller blocks of other numbers we serve about 55,000 extensions. Connections to "the world" are provided by a couple of CLEC's over DS3's at the large sites and PRI's at the smaller ones. When you get this large, directory services for the individual is not handled by the LEC or CLEC. If you call 1411 and ask for our company you'll get a main number for our headquarters or toll-free numbers for our contact centers. We don't try to provide "the public" with numbers for individual extensions as the info is just too dynamic. We would be making a few hundred changes each week. So we control our directory services internally. Our main directory is controlled by the HR department with information fed to them by multiple groups. Work phone numbers (and DID numbers) come from PBX administration. Voicemail numbers, some matched to phone numbers, are handled by a different team in the Telecom group. Pager and cellphone numbers are handled by separate groups. All of this info goes into the HR database and is posted to the employee's record. From there a nightly process updates a centralized directory database with any changes for the day. Four separate systems then access that database to provide "consumer level" directory services by LAN, Web, TouchTone, and Voice interfaces. In reading your message I'm thinking your institution may do something similar. To get a number updated you'll probably need to work through your Telecom or HR department. They may be feeding info to the LEC or CLEC if they're in a Centrex environment but they would know who to contact. I know it can be frustrating for the "user level" person to find the right person to get a directory number updated. It's like finding the "right person" at City Hall. Hopefully the directory includes info on who/where to contact with corrections. Our's does although many people seem to miss that information. Good luck. Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at texas dot net ------------------------------ From: jt Subject: Re: Large PBX Questions Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 08:44:12 -0500 Organization: WorldCom Canada Ltd. News Reader Service > Regards being spread over an entire exchange with a huge PBX, do you > know whose PBX was spread over *two area codes* and *two* telcos? Do > you remember that crackerjack Jim Bakker and his makeup-laden, always > crying wife Tammy Faye Bakker? They had that Christian resort and > amusement park in North Carolina which sat right on the border with > South Carolina. Their centrex/PBX ran over the whole area, but it was > based in the territory of some small independent telco in North Carolina. > The big, local Bell company got the tiny part that was in the main > area of the resort. And Bell wanted control of that Bakker account so > badly they could taste it. That's another good story. PAT] C'mon, Pat.... ------------------------------ From: CBoone@Earthlink.Net Subject: Re: Microwave Towers Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 14:02:17 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net As someone else mentioned, ATC (American Tower Corp) bought a number of ATT's towers ... they are now selling a number of these off ... after using them to cook ATC's books and make them look wealthier than they were..some of the sites were listed on the books for over $1mill but yet when they sold, it was only in the tens of $1000s range! One site just sold north of Houston ... 400ft tower, huge blockhouse, and the land all went for less than $25,000!!! BTW a lot of these sites had spilled diesel, etc and yes the new owners are required to clean them up! (So much for saving money). ATC thought they would be a good investment ... turns out a lot of the towers were in areas where cell/PCS ops had sticks already OR the tower was NOT along a major highway, etc and thus no good to the PCS op ... SOOO it never became a viable site for ATC customers ... they are keeping the ones with a major carrier as an anchor ... but thats it. IF you look at the tower gate, you SHOULD be able to see a FCC tower registration number ... go to FCC's ASR (Antenna Site Registration) page http://wtbwww05.fcc.gov/antenna/ and you can find the owner there. If it IS ATC, you can probably buy it for a mere pittance of what it cost to put up. Chris A current ATC customer Houston Mark J Cuccia wrote: > In New Orleans, there has been a Bell System microwave tower since the > early 1960's if not earlier from sometime in the 1950's. It has been > located outside of the "Broadmoor" central office building, 3951 Erato > Steet, near South Broad Street. > The tower is of "typical" steel girder structure, similar to oil derrick > or some styles of towers which carry high voltage electric transmission > lines. A tower which has a broad square base, and tapers down (sort of > like a pyramid or obelisk) as it rises skyward. The New Orleans Bell > System microwave tower is painted in alternating horizontal bands of red > and white. ------------------------------ From: CBoone@Earthlink.Net Subject: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 14:09:05 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net I have a T1 with a ATT managed Cisco router at the office... have 10 static IPs on it ... want to use one static IP as my office WAN address to a DHCP router and have the other 9 IPs NATed directly to internal addresses (192.168.x.x) ... but since ATT manages the router, I cannot access it to do the NAT internally. What is the lowest cost router I can use in this appilication?? I have a Link-Sys BEFSR11 router ... one LAN port and Cat5 on the WAN side to connect to DSL/Cable modem ... BUT it doesnt allow NAT pass thru from the WAN to the LAN ... so I cant use it (RATS!). A Cayman DSL modem I have COULD do it, but it cannot be installed in the manner ... (its designed to plug directly into a DSL line). Any suggestions are appreciated. Chris ------------------------------ From: Rich Campbell Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Organization: AT&T Broadband Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 18:44:40 GMT Cable is faster; alot faster. Just because you are "sharing" doesn't mean you will be reduced. This about it ... let's use your analogy except 100 cars ... now, the highway happens to be 1000 lanes wide. The "bandwidth" on cable is HUGE compared to DSL. Rich Herb Stein wrote in message news:telecom22.323.5@telecom-digest.org: > Dave Phelps wrote in message > news:telecom22.321.7@telecom-digest.org: >> In article , joe@obilivan.net >> says: >>> There shouldn't be any sharing with DSL, if the network is setup >>> correctly. >> There is *always* sharing. It's just at another location in the network. >> For example, cable uses shared bandwidth for each node segment (my >> terminology may not be right). If the segmentation is managed properly, >> there shouldn't be any significant congestion. >> DSL shares bandwidth at aggregation points, such as the DSLAM, and the >> network interconnecting the DSLAMs. If the bandwidth is managed >> properly, there shouldn't be any significant congestion. >> Either one could be a good choice. I tend to prefer cable for the >> simple fact that there aren't any distance limitations, and I don't >> want to deal with the LEC anymore than I have to. > Cable tend to be just as fast if not faster than DSL in St. Louis. > I picked DSL over cable for only one reason - my telephone > has not gone out once in 24 years in my house (that I'm aware of). > Cable has a somewhat less stellar record :-) >> Dave Phelps >> Phone Masters Ltd. >> deadspam=tippenring > Herb Stein > The Herb Stein Group > www.herbstein.com > herb@herbstein.com > 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ From: Steve Fleckenstein Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 14:24:36 -0500 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: Steve Fleckenstein Another tidbit I came across in real life. A friend with a cable modem has an internet voice link to his ham radio repeater using roadrunner cable service and a linux box. Even if he has everything on backup power during a blackout the distribution points on the phone poles for roadrunner go offline the moment there is a power loss. The ADSL service keeps working on central office battery power; even the remote switch I am on is has battery backup. Steve ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Start-up Joltage Unplugs Wi-Fi Service Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 11:17:03 -0500 By Richard Shim Staff Writer, CNET News.com Wi-Fi service start-up Joltage will cease operating because of slower-than-expected demand that led to a drain on its finances. The New York-based company launched less than a year ago, touting plans to sell wireless high-speed Internet access on Wi-Fi networks. But according to an e-mail sent earlier this month by Joltage founder and Chairman Andrew Weinreich, the company will discontinue its Wi-Fi subscriber and provider services. In the message, sent to subscribers and service providers, Weinreich said it appeared it would take longer than expected for Joltage to acquire enough customers on its networks for the company to sustain itself. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1039-990671.html ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Outage Hits Microsoft's bCentral Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 11:21:09 -0500 By Alorie Gilbert Staff Writer, CNET News.com A glitch knocked Microsoft's bCentral services offline Friday, leaving thousands of small-business Web sites inaccessible for much of the day. The outage, which began early Friday and was resolved late in the day, disrupted Web service for 15,000 Microsoft bCentral customers, Microsoft spokesman Rich Adolph said. "bCentral regrets the inconvenience this issue has caused to its customers," he said. The Web site of Microsoft bCentral itself was unaffected by the outage, which Microsoft blamed on a hardware problem. Among other services, bCentral provides Web hosting to small businesses. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1019-990675.html ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: A Real Hollywood Horror Story/New Technologies May do to Movies Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 11:36:24 -0500 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY New technologies may do to movies what MP3 did to music Picture a fellow named George sitting in his living room on Sunday evening. He's watching a digital playback of the latest episode of The West Wing. Zapping through commercials, he starts yawning and decides to finish watching it in bed. With a flick of his remote, he wirelessly dispatches the show to the bedroom TV. He also sends a copy via the Internet to his sister and asks her in an e-mail to make a DVD of the show to pass along to their mom. This vision of the future is closer than you think. To date, Napster and its music-sharing offspring have reigned supreme as Hollywood's biggest headache. But four insurgent technologies that will make George's Sunday possible are fast picking up steam. Together, they promise to turn the gamut of copyrighted programming into convenient files that can be downloaded, stored, and shared almost as easily as e-mail. And this shift could happen quickly -- within 18 months -- because early forms of these technologies are here now. ... http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_10/b3823088_mz063.htm ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 23:25:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CAPPS II - Boycott Delta Air Lines http://www.boycottdelta.org/ http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200303/msg00022.html http://slashdot.org/articles/03/02/28/2034232.shtml?tid=158&tid=103 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 23:30:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Hughes Details Charges, Cuts AOL Ties and DirecTV Jobs NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - Satellite company Hughes Electronics (NYSE:GMH) said on Monday in a document filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission it would record a $23 million charge for ending an alliance with America Online Inc. Hughes' satellite broadcasting unit DirecTV also said on Monday that it decided to layoff about 80 employees. Including the latest layoffs DirecTV has cut 140 jobs or about 4 percent of its workforce since the middle of February to cut costs. DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said the company has no further plans in place for organizational restructuring but continues to look at ways to reduce costs. Hughes also said in the SEC filing that it would post a pretax charge in its 2002 annual report for the shutdown of its fast internet access unit DirecTV Broadband would be $92.8 million versus its earlier estimate of $114.4 million. The break-up of Hughes marketing alliance with America Online, which was established in June 1999, comes after the internet provider's parent AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL) sold its entire stake in Hughes in January this year. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31989929 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 23:42:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Windows Update Keeps Tabs on All System Software By John Leyden Evidence obtained by German hardware site tecChannel suggests a list of software installed on an XP machine is sent to Microsoft when users run Windows Update. When patches are downloaded, a few kilobytes of data are sent in the opposite direction over a secure SSL channel. Because the data is encrypted a simple packet sniffer can't be used to see what this data contains. However tecChannel's tecDUMP utility takes advantage of an undocumented WinInet API, enabling an examination of the data before it becomes encrypted. According to tecChannel, the information sent to Microsoft includes details of all the software installed in a machine, not only Microsoft applications. ... http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/29519.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 23:47:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Snack Companies Fined $185,000 for Violating Kids' Online Privacy By Kieren McCarthy American snack companies Hershey Foods and Mrs Fields Cookies have been fined $85,000 and $100,000 respectively for violating children's privacy on their websites. The hefty fines were issued by the Federal Trade Commission after it decided both companies had broken the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from children without first obtaining parental consent. ... http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/29527.html ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cisco Seeks Bigger Role in Phone Networks Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 15:57:53 -0500 By MATT RICHTEL The telecommunications boom of the late 1990's was cruel to Cisco Systems. Now the company is trying to benefit from those harsh lessons. Cisco, which built its reputation in data networking equipment, angered many major telephone companies a few years ago by trying to expand its small share of the voice-and-data market by focusing on a group of upstarts that were competing with the telephone companies. Because Cisco acted as lender in a lot of those purchases, the company lost tens of millions of dollars on the deals when many of those start-up companies went bankrupt. But Cisco's chief executive, John Chambers, has engineered a recovery that has left the company in surprisingly strong financial shape despite the continued technology recession, and Cisco Systems may be in a position to dip back into the telecommunications waters, wiser for its troubles. As the major makers of telephone network equipment paddle furiously to keep afloat, particularly Lucent Technologies and Nortel Networks, Cisco sees an opportunity to increase its relatively small share of that market - this time by concentrating on traditional long-distance and local phone providers. So far, telephone companies are still spending relatively little on new equipment. Some industry analysts say the lull has given them a chance to reassess their investment strategies. Once spending picks up, these analysts say, the phone companies may be more inclined to begin adopting a new generation of technology in which voice calls, video and other data are transported in the same manner as Internet traffic. Although a major changeover to such technology could be two decades away, any steps in that direction could be good news for Cisco, the current leader in Internet traffic-routing gear. In recent months, in fact, Cisco has inked several deals of that sort with telecommunications companies, including AT&T and Sprint. To promote its push, Cisco operates a showroom at its headquarters in San Jose, Calif., displaying telephones that can be used to send and receive voice, e-mail and other Internet data. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/03/technology/03CISC.html ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Aims to Cash In on Instant Messenger Success Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 16:14:33 -0500 By David A. Vise Washington Post Staff Writer America Online, it seems, can do little right these days. Its core subscriber base is shrinking, its users are being swamped with junk e-mail, and its financial woes have forced founder Steve Case and other top officials to resign. Yet in one area, America Online Inc. continues to enjoy spectacular success: It is the leading purveyor of instant messaging, the world's most popular electronic communications tool. The only problem is, the service is free and no one has figured out how to make much money from it. Every day, about 2.3 billion instant messages are sent around the world via America Online, eclipsing e-mail as the favored way for people to communicate with family, friends and co-workers. About 40 percent of all Americans from age of 14 to 24 use AOL's instant messaging services, the company says. So it is no surprise that America Online's new senior management, led by chief executive Jonathan F. Miller, has focused on IM, as it is known, as a powerful tool with the potential to provide the company with the fresh revenue needed to restore growth. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30944-2003Mar2.html ------------------------------ From: modorney@aol.comIgnoreMe (Mike O) Date: 03 Mar 2003 16:33:06 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: How Does Telemarketing Work? Back to the original question -- when doing a bunch of (legal - non-profit) telemarketing calls, the caller ID info gets put in at the final CO. The data is part of the data stream of the T-1 feed, so anything can be put in. I assume all modern CO's use SS7 code, so, unless you are on an ancient CO, in an area that hasn't seen much growth, it doesn't matter if your CO is Bell, NorTel, etc. I would assume that the CO of the telemarketer has to be pretty modern, too? The T-1 starts from a CO, so that CO has to be SS7, with all the bells and whistles. As long as the telemarketer is in a downtown, or suburb, it's a safe assumption that they have a full-up CO. Of course, if someone has the idea of starting a telemarketing firm, while living on some remote fishing lake, it's a good bet his CO will be pretty old, and, while the local phone company will give him access to the T-1 line, and all the features, they don't have any features on an old CO. In this case, he only has access to a subset of SS7, not the full commands? Is this usually correct? Or am I missing something, technically? Cheers, Mike O ------------------------------ From: cj.green@worldnet.att.net (Christopher Green) Subject: Request Assistance with Cray Routermate T1 Date: 3 Mar 2003 10:52:08 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have an old Cray Routermate T1 CSU/DSU that has become separated from its power transformer. Cray part number for the CSU/DSU is 905-5261-001; for the power transformer, 550-0366-01. Does anybody have any specs on this power transformer? advTHANKSance, Chris Green ------------------------------ From: larb0@aol.com (LARB0) Date: 03 Mar 2003 13:15:12 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI In addition to MCI and AT&T, Sprint has a data network that supports 64K clear channel. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 17:13:13 -0500 From: Jack Decker Subject: NANPA Confirms no More Non-Dialable Toll Points The North American Numbering Plan Administration has released Planning Letter 329, which "announces the demise of non-dialable toll points and the return of NPA codes 886 and 889 to the available inventory." You can read it here: http://www.nanpa.com/pdf/PL_329.pdf (.pdf file format) What I find interesting is the first paragraph: "For many years, non-dialable toll points (NDTPs) provided a workable, yet inefficient, method to provide telephone service to very remote locations. Specifically, NDTPs are central office codes assigned to individual stations in locations where standard telephone service is not available. These arrangements were necessary to support call rating to these remote locations." I suppose that now that most toll calls carry the same rate regardless of distance, and it's possible to get numbers in ratecenters that bear no relation to one's actual geographic location, nobody could justify dedicating a couple of potential area codes just so the non-dialable toll points could be rated properly by the oddball toll carrier that might still care about distance. But the question is, what ARE those places doing for phone service now? Have they been added into a traditional ILEC exchange? Did they just drop their phone service altogether? Visit the Resources for Michigan Telephone Users page: http://michigantelephone.workbench.net/ ------------------------------ Date: 3 Mar 2003 21:41:34 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: How to Reach an 800 Number Restricted to US From Canada Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > I have quite often wished to reach an 800 in the US from here in > Canada but found that it was not dialable from here. Sometimes the > 800 listing is all I have! In these cases I would wish I knew of a > service or method free or not I can use to connect to the 800 number > or even the terminating number the restricted 800 number is forwarded > to. Any ideas people? Since Canada and the US have an integrated numbering plan, anyone with a US 800 number can opt to accept Canadian calls. On my number I don't, not because I have anything against Canadians, but because the calls are expensive (like 10 times more than domestic US calls) and in my case my number for some reason appears in the phone book of a large Canadian insurance company so nearly all the calls I got from Canada were wrong numbers. Most businesses with any sense publish a POTS number for people who can't call the 800 number. Lacking that, I'm afraid you're out of luck. If you know that the 800 number is carried by one of the large carriers, if you call the USA Direct number for the carrier and pay for the all at the usual inflated rate with a credit card, it may go through. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #325 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 4 02:24:29 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h247OSG03832; Tue, 4 Mar 2003 02:24:29 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 02:24:29 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303040724.h247OSG03832@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 V22 #326 TELECOM Digest Tue, 4 Mar 2003 02:24:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 326 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #372, March 3, 2003 (Angus TeleManagement) AOL Music Mobile Club for AT&T Wireless mMode Customers (Monty Solomon) Wireless Broadband Waits in the Wings (Monty Solomon) T-Mobile and Intel to Promote Wireless Broadband (Monty Solomon) Palm Updates Investors (Monty Solomon) HP Announces World's Smallest Flatbed All-in-One; Adds Networking (Solomon) FCC Telecom Ruling to Help Cable, Cox Chief Says (Monty Solomon) Re: Answering Machine With Email (Forrest Nelson) That M$ Worm Caught Before I Got It. (Gail M. Hall) Re: POISON ANTEDOTE: Re: Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation (Horvath) Re: Turn Off That Cellphone; its Meeting Time (Dave Close) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Site (Dave Close) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 17:25:07 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #372, March 3, 2003 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 372: March 3, 2003 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/letstalk ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: http://www.cygcom.com ** ERICSSON CANADA: http://www.ericsson.ca ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: http://www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** CRTC Delays 10-Digit Dialing in 613, 819 ** Receiver Sues Teleglobe Directors ** Courts Okay AT&T Restructuring ** Foreign Ownership Hearings Conclude ** Court Rules on SuperNet Dispute ** Bundling Debate Continues ** Bell Offers E-Mail Security, Privacy ** Microcell Subscriber Base Down ** RIM Patent Fight Sent to Mediation ** Phones for Food ** Speech Recognition Added to Canada Direct ** Telus Quebec Plans $500M Investment ** Toshiba to Offer Wireless Hotspots ** Air Canada Chooses Sprint ** Call-Net Revenue Down ** O.N.Telcom Rate Increase Approved ** O.N.Telcom Expands Challenge to NorthernTel ** Telecom Ottawa Intros Business Broadband ** Data Market Expansion Slows ** Amtelecom to Become Income Trust ** Bell, VoiceGenie Expand Speech R&D ** CRTC Names New Broadcasting Director ** Are Touch-Tone IVRs Obsolete? ============================================================ CRTC DELAYS 10-DIGIT DIALING IN 613, 819: Citing reduced demand for numbers, the CRTC has delayed the introduction of 10-digit local dialing in 613 and 819 from 2004 to the last quarter of 2006. The introduction of a new Area Code on top of 613, previously scheduled for 2008, has been "indefinitely postponed." (See Telecom Update #355, 363) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/dt2003-10.htm RECEIVER SUES TELEGLOBE DIRECTORS: Kroll Restructuring, the interim receiver for Teleglobe, has filed suit against five former Teleglobe directors. The suit claims that Jean Monty, Richard Currie, Thomas Kierans, Arnold Steinberg, and Terry Jarman illegally approved payment of $661.5 million to redeem Teleglobe shares owned by BCE, at a time when the international carrier was insolvent. ** BCE, which says the suit is without merit, would have to pay any penalties and fees that might be assessed against the directors of its former subsidiary. COURTS OKAY AT&T RESTRUCTURING: On February 25, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court both approved AT&T Canada's Restructuring Plan. The company says it will emerge from CCAA protection on April 1. FOREIGN OWNERSHIP HEARINGS CONCLUDE: The parliamentary committee reviewing foreign ownership of telecom carriers concluded its final week of hearings with witnesses representing the CRTC, the Competition Bureau, SaskTel, the Canadian Cable Television Association, and CanWest Global Communications. The committee has ordered its research officers to prepare a draft report. COURT RULES ON SUPERNET DISPUTE: Both sides can claim a partial victory in the dispute over whether Bell West must use Axia NetMedia as construction subcontractor on the Alberta SuperNet project. An Alberta court has granted Axia NetMedia's application to have the fight go to arbitration, but at the same time ruled that Bell West can continue construction without Axia. BUNDLING DEBATE CONTINUES: In December, the CRTC ruled that Bell Canada had violated its bundling rules, and ordered Bell and other telcos to file tariffs for any bundled services they were offering directly or through affiliates. (See Telecom Update #362) Since then: ** AT&T Canada and Call-Net say the bundled tariffs Bell has filed are too vague and do not meet CRTC rules. ** Telus denies a Call-Net charge that it too is breaking the bundling rules (see Telecom Update #365). Call-Net says Telus is playing games to avoid regulatory scrutiny. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2002/8638/c12-80.htm http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2002/8661/c25-06.htm BELL OFFERS E-MAIL SECURITY, PRIVACY: Bell Canada has introduced a new suite of virus screening and encryption services for its Business Internet customers. The services may be purchased individually or in service bundles. MICROCELL SUBSCRIBER BASE DOWN: The information circular filed by Microcell on February 20 revealed that the company's postpaid subscriber base fell by 59,789 in the fourth quarter of 2002, while its prepaid base grew by only 29,312. RIM PATENT FIGHT SENT TO MEDIATION: The patent dispute between Research In Motion and NTP Inc. has been sent to mediation by a Virginia judge. No timetable was set for the mediation process, which follows a jury decision that awarded NTP US$23.1 million in damages for patent infringement by RIM. (See Telecom Update #359) PHONES FOR FOOD: Don't throw that old cellphone away. The Canadian Association of Food Banks has launched a national program to collect and recycle used cellphones to generate proceeds for food banks across the country. Members of the public are encouraged to throw their inactive cellphones into designated Phones-for-Food drop-boxes. http://www.phonesforfood.com SPEECH RECOGNITION ADDED TO CANADA DIRECT: Teleglobe's Canada Direct service now allows Canadians travelling in 110 countries to use a speech recognition system, in either English or French, to place calls to Canada or to third countries. The system was developed by Vicorp, using technology from SpeechWorks International. TELUS QUEBEC PLANS $500M INVESTMENT: Telus Quebec says it will create 800 jobs in Eastern Quebec and Montreal by 2006 in a new $500 million program that includes consolidating the company's head office in Rimouski. The program will qualify for a 10-year provincial tax exemption and other government incentives. TOSHIBA TO OFFER WIRELESS HOTSPOTS: Toshiba of Canada says it will offer wireless Internet access in public sites across Canada on a pay-per-use basis. AIR CANADA CHOOSES SPRINT: Sprint Canada says it has won a three-year contract to provide long distance, toll-free service, and billing management services to Air Canada. The network will link the airline's eight call centres across North America. CALL-NET REVENUE DOWN: Sprint Canada's parent, Call-Net Enterprises, had total revenue of $800.7 million for 2002, down 13.8% from 2001. Most of the decline was in long distance revenue, attributed to lower rates for business LD and fewer customers for residential LD. In the nine months following its restructuring in April, Call-Net had a net loss of $57.7 million. ** Call-Net cut capital expenditure from $101 million in 2001 to $78 million in 2002, and forecasts capex of only $40 million this year. O.N.TELCOM RATE INCREASE APPROVED: CRTC Telecom Order 2003-01 approves rate increases for O.N.Telcom services in Northern Ontario, effective February 27. Including touch-tone, business lines and trunks are now $46.65; residential individual lines are $23.27. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2003/o2003-91.htm O.N.TELCOM EXPANDS CHALLENGE TO NORTHERNTEL: O.N.Telcom has expanded its claim that the CRTC should treat NorthernTel as a Bell affiliate (see Telecom Update #365). It has asked the Commission to review the relationships between NorthernTel, Telebec, Bell Nordiq, and Bell Canada, in order to decide which corporation is actually legally eligible to operate as a carrier in Telebec and NorthernTel territory. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2002/8638/c12-80.htm TELECOM OTTAWA INTROS BUSINESS BROADBAND: Telecom Ottawa, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa, now offers broadband Internet access to business customers. The service provides shared capacity up to 10 Mbps, with guarantees of 1 Mbps for $995/month, 2 Mbps for $1,495/month, or 3 Mbps $1,995/month. DATA MARKET EXPANSION SLOWS: The Convergence Consulting Group says that the Canadian market for data and Internet access grew 12% in 2002, reaching $6.3 billion in revenue, after a 17% expansion in both 2000 and 2001. http://www.convergenceonline.com AMTELECOM TO BECOME INCOME TRUST: Amtelecom Group, which owns the phone and cable TV company in Aylmer, Ontario, is selling it to Amtelecom Income Fund for $61 million, which the newly formed fund will raise through a public offering and debt. BELL, VOICEGENIE EXPAND SPEECH R&D: Bell Mobility and VoiceGenie Technologies have committed $400,000 each to an R&D program that will develop voice command access to information, graphics, and video on wireless devices. CRTC NAMES NEW BROADCASTING DIRECTOR: Marc O'Sullivan joins the CRTC as Executive Director of Broadcasting as of April 14. He has previously been Director General, Broadcasting Policy and Innovation at the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council. ARE TOUCH-TONE IVRs OBSOLETE? Will speech recognition make customers happier to deal with the voice response system? In the March issue of Telemanagement, John Riddell examines lessons to be learned from Bell Canada's moves to replace much of its touch-tone customer service system with recognition technology. ** Also in this issue: Why businesses are using Instant Messaging, and what remains to be done to ensure security and interoperability among IM systems. ** Telemanagement is available only by subscription, and now is a great time to subscribe. Until March 15, new subscribers save $50 and get an extra bonus issue free. Download your Introductory Subscription Saving Certificate at http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/SubscriptionOffer.pdf. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. 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The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:30:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Music Mobile Club for AT&T Wireless mMode Customers DULLES, Va. & REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003-- America Online, Inc. (NYSE:AOL)-- Now Users Can Access The Web's Most Popular Music Destination While On The Go America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE) announced today the launch of the AOL(R) Music Mobile Club on AT&T Wireless mMode(sm) service. The AOL Music Mobile Club extends the top features of AOL's music offerings to mMode subscribers and allows them to access news and information on popular and new artists, as well as buy related downloadable ring tones from their wireless phone. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31952330 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:29:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wireless Broadband Waits in the Wings NEW YORK (AP) -- When organizers of the Daytona 500 wanted to provide turbo-charged Internet access for the press box, race officials made a traditional choice _ they called the local phone company, BellSouth Corp. But instead of hauling in its usual, expensive connection gear, BellSouth pulled off the equivalent of a fast pit stop, giving the Florida speedway wireless modems that could communicate with antennas already being tested in the area. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31951003 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:33:25 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: T-Mobile and Intel to Promote Wireless Broadband BELLEVUE, Wash. & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003-- T-Mobile USA and Intel Corporation today announced an agreement to launch a joint marketing campaign to promote T-Mobile's WiFi (802.11) high-speed wireless Internet service, the most widely available public network of its kind with more than 2,100 locations across the country. The program coincides with the upcoming introduction of Intel(R) Centrino(TM) mobile technology for notebook PCs that feature built-in wireless capability. T-Mobile is also announcing new monthly pricing plans for unlimited T-Mobile HotSpot(SM) service, as the company further delivers on its GET MORE(R) promise to provide customers with the best overall value in their wireless voice, messaging and high-speed data services. T-Mobile and Intel are working together to drive awareness of T-Mobile HotSpot service where notebook users can wirelessly connect to the Internet and corporate networks at fast speeds at airports, airport lounges, book stores and coffee houses. In addition, to enhance the end users' wireless experience and enable interoperability, T-Mobile and Intel have conducted engineering testing or "verification" of the Intel Centrino mobile technology on T-Mobile's network. The two companies are also working on co-marketing initiatives, including advertising, on-line marketing campaigns and co-branded signage, to drive awareness for T-Mobile HotSpot locations. T-Mobile today announced new monthly pricing plans. For $29.99 a month, customers get unlimited access, with an annual agreement, to the T-Mobile HotSpot service at more than 2,100 locations nationwide including Starbucks coffee houses, national and regional airports and American Airlines Admirals clubs. The service will also be available in new locations as they are deployed, including airports, Borders Books and Music, and United and Delta Air Lines clubs and lounges. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31954826 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:31:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Palm Updates Investors MILPITAS, Calif., March 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today announced that its third-quarter fiscal 2003 results will be below the guidance given on its second-quarter results conference call in December. Revenues now are expected to be between $205 - $210 million vs. previous guidance of $230 - $250 million. Gross margins are expected to be close to 30 percent compared to the low 30 percent range for the two previous quarters. Pro forma operating expenses are expected to be close to previous guidance. Other income/expense will include charges of up to $2.7 million related to the settlement of two legal matters. Channel inventory is expected to be within the company's desired range, and balance-sheet metrics are estimated to meet previous guidance. The primary reason for the weaker results is lower-than-expected demand at the high end of the market in the United States, in part attributable to continued weakness in Enterprise I.T. spending in the handheld space. Demand for entry and mid-range products has been in-line with Palm's expectations, and demand in Europe was strong for all products. Palm's premium handheld, the Tungsten(TM) T, which has been highly praised by industry experts, comprised a lower-than-expected percentage of the mix during the quarter. The Tungsten T price reduction implemented in early February has helped to spur demand, but not enough to offset market weakness for high-end products. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31953064 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:35:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: HP Announces World's Smallest Flatbed All-in-one; Adds Networking PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 3, 2003--HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced new all-in-one printing and imaging devices for consumers at home or in the office, including the world's smallest flatbed all-in-one and a home office all-in-one with networking capabilities. Ideal for anyone tight on space, the HP PSC 1210 is the world's smallest flatbed all-in-one,(1) combining photo-quality color printing, scanning and copying in one streamlined product. Also announced, the HP Officejet 7100 series, together with the existing HP Jetdirect 280m and 200m accessories,(2) brings easy-to-use wireless networking capabilities to consumers. With the Officejet 7100 series, small business and home office consumers can access a complete and versatile range of color printing, copying, scanning and faxing capabilities to tackle nearly any digital imaging, creative printing or networked, high-volume printing need. Sales of all-in-ones continue to explode, largely contributing to triple-digit growth for HP's Imaging and Printing Group during the holidays. According to the NPD Group, HP held 70 percent of the inkjet all-in-one market in December 2002.(3) HP continues to focus on bringing consumers the kind of technology they're asking for -- specifically in the area of digital imaging, which analysts say is key for success. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31958764 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 17:41:02 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: FCC Telecom Ruling to Help Cable, Cox Chief Says PALM BEACH, Fla., March 3 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Cox Communications Inc. (NYSE:COX) said on Monday that the cable operator could benefit from a recent Federal Communications Commission decision that upheld rules requiring local phone companies to share their networks with rivals. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=31984784 ------------------------------ From: Forrest Nelson Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 16:16:27 -0800 Check out this software http://www.01com.com/prod_i2000_features.htm > From: James Whitlow > Subject: Answering Machine With Email > Date: 28 Feb 2003 14:12:53 -0600 > I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, > but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before > giving up. > I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering > machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email > address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup > account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I > would not have to run any cables. J. Forrest Nelson, RCDD Affiliated Engineers NW, Inc. (AEI) mailto:jfnelson@aeieng.com * e-mail 206-256-0800 * phone 206-256-0423 * fax 206-972-6808 ~ cell ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: That M$ Worm Caught Before I Got It Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 21:44:54 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net Pat wrote us warnings about a "patch" for M$, that it contained a worm and not to open the EXE file. I found the message in my junk folder, caught by one of my kill filters because of something in the subject line. I was curious that my own wormzapper had not put in its usual warning. The message came (supposedly) from someone at a domain name of "grahampackaging.com", which seems to be a company with an outgoing mail wormzapper. The message had this note at the end: > ******** McAfee GroupShield for Microsoft Exchange ********** > ********************************************************************** > Alert generated on: Sunday, March 02, 2003 05:00:13 PM Eastern Standard Time > The file patch631.exe has been replaced as it contains the > W32/Gibe.b@MM virus. Please consult the Graham Helpdesk for further > help. Well, obviously the recipient should not check at *that* company's help desk. I suspect that message goes back to the sender who used their mail service at the company. Although I am unhappy that they harvested the entire TELECOM DIGEST list members plus whoever posts via the list or the news gateway, at least something didn't let the actual "exe" go out. I do not see the HTML parts of messages, and if there are any links in there that might get people in trouble, then that confirms that I am right to avoid HTML, even if I don't see all those fancy fonts and "stationery" in the messages. I'm alway glad to see when culprits get smacked before they can do any damage. However, because all those addresses were in plain sight, I also received other messages that came as a result of the original "infected" message. Some were well intentioned warnings. I found at least ONE spam trying to sell me antivirus software with a personal firewall. Needless to say, I will not do business with that spammer! Pat, thanks for the good laugh I got from your history of telecom in Chicago -- that Chicago telephone exchange for the police department. No doubt we will need to hone our skills for similar activities if the twig get his way. 'Nuff said for now. Gail in Ohio USA ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Mar 2003 22:16:15 EST From: dhorvath@cobs.com (David B. Horvath, CCP) Subject: Re: POISON ANTEDOTE: Re: Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation On Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2003 17:15:34 -0500, Ben Hackney posted: > I received this email also as did all of you. Do not open the so called > "patch", it is actually a virus. It contains the W32/Gibe.b@MM virus. > If you opened it you do have a virus. Get Microsoft patches from > Windows Update, not Keith Hamm from grahampackaging.com. > Ben Hackney > President, Converged Technologies > bhax@convergedtech.net > 614.252.8611 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Below is a list of the users most > likely to have gotten poisoned by this mess. PAT] I was one of those people on the list and received the email (but was not infected). I have a feeling that the list was gathered from Telecom Digest posters. David B. Horvath, CCP Consultant, Author, International Lecturer, Adjunct Professor Board Member: ICCP Educational Foundation, ICCP Test Council, and Philadelphia Association of Systems Administrators [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Oh, of course this Digest is where the spammer got his names. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Dave Close Subject: Re: Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time Date: 3 Mar 2003 18:25:35 -0800 Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California Monty Solomon quotes MAGGIE JACKSON: > Short of getting drunk at the office holiday party or whipping the > boss at golf, there may be no faster way to anger a top executive > these days than to let your cellphone trill during an important > meeting. I attended a conference this last weekend at which more than half of the more than 300 attendees in the room were using wireless laptops during the presentations. I heard no cell phones ring. But I did hear lots of operating system start-up tunes. As those have no value at all to anyone, aside from some pleasure to the vendor, hearing them during a meeting should be considered an even more egregious etiquette breach than letting a cell phone ring. Yet no operating system I know provides an easy (one click) way to switch the sounds off and on, and certainly not before the start-up completes at least once. Maybe the laptop makers should provide a speaker switch. Dave Close Compata, Costa Mesa CA +1 714 434 7359 dave@compata.com dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu "Having to go to war without France is sorta like having to go deer hunting without an accordion." -- Ross Perot ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2003 18:43:21 -0800 From: dave@compata.com (Dave Close) Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: 3 Mar 2003 18:40:43 -0800 Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California John Higdon writes in response to my comments: >> No argument from me. And if I were your long-lost high school buddy >> and wanted to get back in touch, you might regret blocking all mail >> from addresses related to a spammer, one of which was mine. Your >> right, your loss. > If my long, lost high school buddy couldn't figure out a way to pick up > the telephone, I probably didn't have a lot to do with him in high > school. I didn't gravitate toward the mentally challenged. I don't consider myself technically, or mentally, challenged. But if I sent an email note to a long-lost friend whose address I had just found and believed to be correct, then never got an answer, I might conclude that he didn't want to talk to me. Even though I could use the phone -- if I knew his probably unlisted number -- I might not. >> And when I don't receive a legitimate job offer because of such a >> vigilante, I'm more than upset. > I'm not too sure that I would care to work for someone who found himself > on spam blacklists, and I know I wouldn't want to work for anyone who > couldn't pick up the phone, or write a real job offer letter. We were discussing the concept of blocking all addresses related to a spammer - related in the sense that they are all served by the same ISP. There was no assumption that all such customers were spammers. Why would you be adverse to working for someone innocently harmed by a vigilante? Or, turning the question back the way I expressed it, why would I as a victim of such a vigilante, not want to continue working? And why would an employer assume that an offer, sent by email to someone who had applied by email in the first place, needed to be supplemented by a phone call? Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA "You don't fight wars by blowing rose dave@compata.com, +1 714 434 7359 water through corn stalks." dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu -- Abraham Lincoln [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By saying that if you sent email to someone and the person did not respond you 'would assume he did not want to speak to you' ... but that may be placing a bit too much faith in email at the present time. I would at least send a follow up (shorter) note asking 'did you get my note of (date)' and go from there. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #326 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 4 23:54:59 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h254swM19241; Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:54:59 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:54:59 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303050454.h254swM19241@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 V22 #327 TELECOM Digest Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:55:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 327 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson +684 American Samoa to Become Part of NANP +1-684 (Mark J Cuccia) PluggedIn: Your Next PC May Sit in the Living Room (Monty Solomon) Sony Ericsson News - T606;T608;HBM-30;P800;GC79;T310;T610 (Monty Solomon) Motorola Completes Sale of 25 Million of Its 108 Million Shares (M Solomon) Re: POISON ANTEDOTE: Re: Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation (Margolin) The Sky Has Eyes (Eric Friedebach) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (J Higdon) Help! Turning Ringer Off on Panasonic KX-TC1501W (Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.) Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI (Please invert everything left of the @ to reply) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (J Meissen) NorVergence / VOIP / MATRIX (jwelker) Need Telephone Number For Local Exchange Handling 352-357 (This Old Man) HDTV Recording - Coming Soon From Sony (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time (Al Iverson) Definity G3 Audit (andrew) Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (CCIE8122) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 14:16:38 CST From: Mark J Cuccia Subject: +684 American Samoa to Become Part of NANP +1-684 It has been decided by the FCC (and the telco industry in the US) that American Samoa in the South Pacific (but on the mainland-and-Hawaii side of the Intl Date Line) will finally become part of the NANP, country code +1. The present country code for American Samoa (and possibly since the CCITT/ITU worldwide country code format of 1963/64) is +684. The other two US possessions in the Pacific, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, have since made their change from being separate country codes, to where the numerics of their country codes became their AREA codes within country code +1, the NANP. This happened on 1-July-1997 (permissive), 1-July-1998 (mandatory): +670 changed to +1-670 for the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) of Saipan, Rota, Tinian. +671 changed to +1-671 for Guam. In April of 2001, the US Federal Government and the territorial government of American Samoa (as well as the telco there, which is still owned by the territorial government) made a "formal" application to the ATIS-INC and NANPA and the FCC, to officially join the NANP. This has been desired by various agencies of the US Federal Government for a number of years. In late December 2002, the FCC announced that since there were no real "technical" obstacles (and since Guam and the CNMI joined the NANP in 1997), then Neustar-NANPA should officially *assign* area code 684 to Aermican Samoa, with the territory to be migrated into full numbering and dialing as a NANP region rather than a separate country code. Also, billing/rating for calls between American Samoa and the rest-of-the-US is to become "domestic" rather than International. So, if one has a domestic discount plan offering 5-cents/minute, or even "unlimited" domestic (interstate) calls for a fixed monthly fee, then American Samoa is to become part of that plan. This situation also happened with Guam and CNMI in 1997. In late January 2003, NANPA established a new page on their website regarding the plans to migrate American Samoa into the NANP: http://www.nanpa.com/relief_planning/american_samoa.html On Monday 3-March-2003, there was the first telco industry conference call regarding migrating American Samoa into the NANP. It was decided that *TENTATIVELY*, American Samoa will become part of the NANP effective Saturday 2-October-2004. This will actually start a permissive period of dialing (for those carriers which allow dual dialability though), where American Samoa will be dialable as *BOTH* +684 (as it is presently) as well as optionally as +1-684 (NANP method). Six months later, on Saturday 2-April-2005, American Samoa is supposed to become dialed *ONLY* as a NANP location +1-684, and Telcos and Carriers are "supposed" to stop routing calls to American Samoa if one still dials as "country code" +684, and instead are supposed to begin routing to an "intercept" recording of some kind, informing one that American Samoa is supposed to be dialed as a part of the NANP. This "intercept" period is "supposed" to last at least *TWO* years, ending on Monday 2-April-2007, when +684 is supposed to be fully reclaimed by the ITU for ultimate re-assignment to another (Pacific region) country/territory/location, if necessary. The "test number" hasn't been determined as of now. Neustar-NANPA is supposed to issue a Planning Letter issued regarding this, to be issued no later than Monday 24-March-2003. It will be found at http://www.nanpa.com/planning_letters/planning_letters_2003.html I don't know if the Planning Letter will be PL-330 or possibly one numbered higher. PL #329 was issued on Monday 3-March-2003, the first NANPA Planning Letter for 2003, which indicated that ringdown and non-dial locations either no longer exist in the NANP, or at least that pseudo area codes 886, 887, 889 are no longer to be used for billing identification of such points. The 881, 882, 883 and 885 billing ID pseudo area codes for identifying such non-dial points in Mexico were discontinued at various stages in the later 1990's. PL-330 "could" be the NANPA Planning Letter to indicate that the effective dates for the overlay of 514 (Montreal PQ) with new NPA 438 have been postponed from 2003/04 into 2005. This future overlay has already been postponed previously from earlier announced dates. At the time of this writing, NANPA hasn't yet issued a PL on the matter, although certain pages of the NANPA website do reflect the most recently revised dates. The CRTC and CNAC in Canada also have documentation which reflect the revised effective overlay dates of Sept/Oct.2005 for the 514/438 overlay in Montreal PQ. (And who knows ... it could even be postponed further!) The original NANPA PL for the Montreal overlay of 514 with 438 (which reflected dates of Feb.2004, which even those were revised from the earlier dates of June 2003) is PL #315 dated 18 March 2002 (although NANPA and Canada identified that 438 would be the new code back in Feb or March 2001). SO, if PL #330 comes out soon, regarding the further postponement in the overlay to Montreal, then it might be PL #331 for American Samoa. Also, there are still three other island group entities in the northern Pacific, just south, southeast, and southwest of Guam/CNMI, which are not really territories or possessions of the US, but in the past were the "UN Trust Territories administered by the US". These are now more or less independent entites, but they maintain a "Compact of Free Association" with the US. They use US currency and postage as well. They are also part of the US Postal/Zipcode scheme. Their telephone system is "NANP-like", in their numbering and dialing schemes, routings and switches (Lucent, Nortel, Stromberg/Siemens, Redcom - and set to North American standards and tones), and signaling. Although these three locations still have their own CCITT/ITU-assigned country codes, it *could* be possible for them to become part of the NANP in the way that Guam and CNMI have and American Samoa is to become. From west to east, these are: +680 Palau, +691 Micronesia, +692 Marshall Islands. In Summer 1997, I did a telephone profile report on the US and UN Pacific which can be found in the Telecom Digest Archives: massis.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/reports/us-un.pacific.islands.tel Not much has changed since I did the report ... American Samoa now uses 011+ for calls to points outside, and for calls to the NANP (at this point) are dialed as 011+ Country Code '1'+ ten-digits. Eventually, they will dial 1+/0+ for calls with the NANP, and they will also have 01+ for special-billed IDDD calls. There are two additional 684-NXX c.o.codes on American Samoa since 1997: 684-258 for Blue Sky Communications, a competitive ditial wireless entity; and 684-691 for the settlement of Olotele and Aoloau, on Tutuila Island (handled by the incumbent American Samoa Telco). The existing 684-NXX c.o.codes of incumbent American Samoa Telco are: 684-622 Fagaitua (on Tutuilla Island) 684-633 Fagatogo aka Pago-Pago (on Tutuilla Island) 684-644 Satala (on Tutuilla Island) 684-655 Ofu, Olesaga (of the Manua Islands) 684-677 Tau (of the Manua Islands) 684-688 Leone (on Tutuilla Island) 684-699 Tafuna (on Tutuilla Island) 684-733 WIRELESS (now digital, possibly with some remaining analog) Digital host and remote c.o. switches of Stromberg/Siemens (DCO), WECO/AT&T/Lucent (5ESS), Nortel (DMS-100), Redcom (MDX), all set to "North American" standards, have been in use on American Samoa for a number of years now. The Federated States of Micronesia (+691) seems to have a few additional NXX c.o.codes since 1997. The existing +691-NNX codes are of the '3N0' format. The new c.o.codes are '9NX': +691-320-xxxx (existing), +691-92X-xxxx (NEW/additional): Pohnpei/etc. +691-330-xxxx (existing), +691-93X-xxxx (NEW/additional): Chuuk/etc. +691-350-xxxx (existing), +691-95X-xxxx (NEW/additional): Yap/etc. +691-370-xxxx (existing), +691-97X-xxxx (NEW/additional): Kosrae/etc. I'm not yet aware of any additional codes or changes to +680 Palau nor +692 Marshall Islands. Any additional codes to Guam or CNMI can be found in Telcordia-TRA and Neustar-NANPA NPA-NXX c.o.code and switch documentation, some available for free, other documents do cost money. NOTE: +685 Western Samoa, not all that far west of American Samoa, is a SEPARATE and INDEPENDENT country/entity, with its *OWN* telephone system and standards. They are NOT "NANP-like", and are NOT a US territory. There are *NO* plans for them to join the NANP. Their numbering and dialing is NOT "NANP-like", their tones and signals are non-NANP, etc. The '685' numerics of their ITU-assigned country code (+685) are *NOT* being "reserved" by NANPA as a future NANP-based "area" code. Mark J. Cuccia ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 14:57:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: PluggedIn: Your Next PC May Sit in the Living Room By Michael Kramer TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 4 (Reuters) - Taking a page from Apple Computer's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iMac handbook, Taiwan computer manufacturer Shuttle Computer (TW:2405) is hoping to turn PCs into a living-room accessory with a sleek design and a new coat of paint. "When we first tried it, specks of dirt would get in the paint, bubbles would form, and paint would pool around the vents," said Ken Huang, Shuttle's head of systems development. Shuttle's idea is just one example of the efforts Taiwan's PC manufacturers are making to get consumers to buy another computer and help lift the industry out of its doldrums. PC makers could once count on users regularly upgrading their systems to cope with the ever-increasing power demands of the latest computer game or financial program. Not anymore. Computers purchased a year or two ago are likely to have more than enough muscle to satisfy the average PC user because computer capabilities are more defined by the speed of a user's Internet connections rather than the speed of the computer's microprocessor. So instead of trying to get consumers to upgrade, the idea is to sell them a less-powerful second PC for use as a home entertainment center to surf the Internet, look at photographs, play music or watch movies. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32030503 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 14:57:49 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sony Ericsson News - T606; T608; HBM-30; P800; GC79; T310; T610 Sony Ericsson Introduces the T606: A CDMA Phone with Innovative Design and State-of-the-Art Mobile Entertainment - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018805 Sony Ericsson Debuts the T608 - The First CDMA Mobile Phone to Feature Integrated Bluetooth Technology - Mar 4, 2003 10:04 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018864 Sony Ericsson Unveils Accessory for Music Lovers: the Bluetooth Music Hands-free HBM-30 - Mar 4, 2003 10:03 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018849 Sony Ericsson to Open On-Line Application Shop for the P800 Smartphone - Mar 4, 2003 10:01 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018716 Sony Ericsson unveils new GPRS/Wireless LAN PC-Card, the GC79 - Mar 4, 2003 10:01 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018694 Sony Ericsson Introduces the T310: A Mobile Phone That Delivers Expanded Gaming and Enhanced Messaging Capabilities - Mar 4, 2003 10:04 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018879 Sony Ericsson Unveils the Visually Powerful T610 Mobile Phone with Integrated Camera; T610 Takes Mobile Imaging to Next Level with Phone Flash Accessory - Mar 4, 2003 10:04 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018888 Sony Ericsson, Telemac Ally for Telemac-Enabled SIMS - Mar 4, 2003 10:06 AM (BusinessWire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32018976 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 14:28:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Motorola Completes Sale of 25 Million of Its 108 Million Shares Motorola Maintains Significant Investment in Nextel SCHAUMBURG, Ill., March 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) said today it has sold 25 million, or about 23 percent, of its approximately 108 million shares of Nextel Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL). Motorola sold the shares in order to realize the price appreciation of some of its investment in the wireless communications services provider and to enhance its already strong cash position. Motorola also said it has entered into agreements that hedge the value of up to an additional 25 million shares of Nextel over the next 5 years. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32010878 ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: POISON ANTEDOTE: Re: Taste the Pack From the M$ Corporation Organization: Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 15:23:57 GMT In article , David B. Horvath, CCP wrote: > I was one of those people on the list and received the email (but was > not infected). I have a feeling that the list was gathered from > Telecom Digest posters. There was a post yesterday in rec.arts.sf.tv about someone who got a message that was addressed to lots of posters to that group. So it appears that these worm-mongers are harvesting a number of different newsgroups. Barry Margolin, barry.margolin@level3.com Genuity Managed Services, Woburn, MA *** DON'T SEND TECHNICAL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY TO ME, post them to newsgroups. Please DON'T copy followups to me -- I'll assume it wasn't posted to the group. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And why not? If you were that kind of low life scum, wouldn't you feed on other people's email addresses? I mean, telecom is not the only one they do it to. It depends on the size of the mailing list how much proportionatly they get into it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: The Sky Has Eyes Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 09:57:41 -0600 Organization: Sir Break-Alot School of Dance Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Arik Hesseldahl, 03.04.03, Forbes.com NEW YORK - Picture this situation if you will: You're out and about on company business, perhaps making in-person sales calls. With some time between appointments, you break for lunch a half-hour early. No one, it seems, is watching over your shoulder--and the company-issued mobile phone you're carrying has been blessedly silent all day. You pull up to a restaurant thinking of an extended lunch. Before your feet cross the threshold of the entry, the phone starts to chirp. The boss wants to know why you're parked in front of a restaurant and not on your way to a sales call. It seems for a minute they have eyes in the sky. In a manner of speaking they do. Sound a little disconcerting? It's not terribly far from reality. The combination of wireless networks, such as those used for mobile phones and pagers, with the 24-satellite constellation that makes up the Global Positioning System is what makes the above scenario possible. Small devices that can receive location data from the GPS system and then transmit their location over the Internet via wireless networks have been available for a few years now. They come in handy for companies managing a fleet of field personnel or repair crews. http://www.forbes.com/2003/03/04/cx_ah_0304tentech.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 09:44:30 -0800 In article , dave@compata.com (Dave Close) wrote: > I don't consider myself technically, or mentally, challenged. But if I > sent an email note to a long-lost friend whose address I had just found > and believed to be correct, then never got an answer, I might conclude > that he didn't want to talk to me. Even though I could use the phone -- > if I knew his probably unlisted number -- I might not. When messages are refused due to blacklisting, they are not just dropped on the floor. They are returned to sender with an explanation. Maybe your friend really didn't want to respond. > We were discussing the concept of blocking all addresses related to a > spammer - related in the sense that they are all served by the same ISP. Oh. That is rather ham-handed and I would not condone such a practice. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: By saying that if you sent email to > someone and the person did not respond you 'would assume he did not > want to speak to you' ... but that may be placing a bit too much faith > in email at the present time. I would at least send a follow up (shorter) > note asking 'did you get my note of (date)' and go from there. PAT] I use blacklists. If my servers reject your message due to a blacklist entry, it is returned to the sender with a "550" error and an explanation that it was refused due to a blacklisting and it gives the name of the blacklist on which it appeared. On several occasions, I have been told by someone that they tried to email me but that my blacklist usage must have blocked the message. I then ask for a copy of the bounce message they would have received. Without that, I'm not convinced. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Begging your pardon, John ... not everyone is as courteous about that sort of thing as you are. Some companies and individual just dump the spam in the bit bucket and do not have any guilt complexes about doing so. When an occassional good piece of mail gets dumped by accident, that's too bad, isn't it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: shedevil@stop.mail-abuse.org (Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.) Subject: Help! Turning Ringer Off on Panasonic KX-TC1501W Date: 4 Mar 2003 18:01:46 GMT Organization: Guarantee to others that your email is not spam. www.habeas.com Does anybody know how to turn the ringer off on a Panasonic KX-TC1501W answering machine (cordless handset)? I can't find our instructions *anywhere* (following several moves), and it's driving me crazy! I know it involves the program key, the star key, and, I think, the "5" key, but I've tried every combination, to no avail! I have also tried finding the instructions online, and can't find them anywhere! Thanks for any help! Anne Never assume malice in that which can be explained by ineptitude. I am: Mom, Attorney, Professor, Advocate for Fathers and Against Spam http://www.annepmitchell.com ------------------------------ From: 6212hgk@newsguy.com (Please invert everything left of the @ to reply) Subject: Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 19:27:41 GMT On Sun, 2 Mar 2003 11:59:03 -0500, Geoffrey Welsh wrote: > HOWEVER, > Not all long distance carriers support 64K ISDN calls. My CLEC in VA > tells me that their LD carrier partner, Qwest, doesn't ... but MCI > does. I'm sure that AT&T does ... any others? Sprint does support 64K lines. Qwest's cluelessness is legendary. At least quarterly, they recocnfigure trnnks between central offices in Eugene as 56K and then allow 64K calls to use them ... with predictable results. Another Portland guy Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT. ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@shell1.aracnet.com (John Meissen) Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: 4 Mar 2003 20:28:46 GMT Organization: Aracnet Internet Reply-To: jmeissen@aracnet.com In article , Dave Close wrote: > I don't consider myself technically, or mentally, challenged. But if I > sent an email note to a long-lost friend whose address I had just found > and believed to be correct, then never got an answer, I might conclude > that he didn't want to talk to me. Even though I could use the phone -- > if I knew his probably unlisted number -- I might not. If the spamblock was correctly configured it would reject your email, causing it to bounce. If you were using a valid return address and sending your email from a legitimate service you would get the bounced message and would be aware of why it didn't go through. I have very aggressive blocking on my SMTP server. It rejects the mail immediately. I don't worry too much about it; if the sender gets the bounced mail they'll find another way to contact me. If they don't then they didn't really want me to be able to respond anyway and I don't care. john- [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Precisely, John. Even with somewhat agressive blocking here (because the people at SBC Global won't lift a finger to do anything about spam; I think its against their religion or something) I use 'mailwasher' to receive my mail first, and every day thirty to forty pieces of spam mail get picked out, bounced and returned for me. Like yourself, I could care less about who they are or what they have to say. PAT] ------------------------------ From: jlwelker76@hotmail.com (jwelker) Subject: NorVergence / VOIP / MATRIX Date: 4 Mar 2003 14:35:29 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ NorVergence is offering our company a plan in association with Qwest and Nortel Networks to reduce our telecom costs. Is anyone out there using the VOIP technology? The only info I could really find is that they are using the MetaSwitch VP30000 switch. Does anyone have a little feedback that would be helpful in our decision making? Cheers. ------------------------------ From: This Old Man Subject: Need Telephone Number For Local Exchange Handling 352-357 Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 22:53:08 GMT Can someone please tell me the telephone number for sales/service for the local exchange 352-357-xxxx. Is there a website where I can look this up? Thank you, *TOM ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 16:17:43 -0700 Subject: HDTV Recording - Coming Soon From Sony Reply-To: joey@garynuman.info TOKYO (Reuters) -- Japan's Sony said it would start sales next month of the world's first DVD recorder that uses blue laser light and can pack a two-hour high-definition TV program onto a single disc. It won't be cheap, with a retail list price of 450,000 yen ($3,800) while low-end DVD recorders using conventional red lasers go for as little as 50,000-70,000 yen. But with digital satellite broadcasts in Japan, the United States and elsewhere now bringing high-definition TV to a small but growing number of households, Sony wants to get an early start in what could become a hot product. "The market has already been established, and although it's still looking for direction, there will be a growing number of users who want high-definition recording," said Sony spokeswoman Shoko Yanagisawa. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/03/04/blue.dvd.reut/index.html / From the desk of Joey Lindstrom / / I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done, so now I just have / to fill in the rest. / --Steven Wright ------------------------------ From: Al Iverson Subject: Re: Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time Organization: WombatMail(sm) Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 20:33:12 -0600 In article , Dave Close wrote: > Yet no operating system I know provides an easy (one click) way to > switch the sounds off and on, and certainly not before the start-up > completes at least once. Maybe the laptop makers should provide a > speaker switch. Maybe because it's a hardware function? Both of my laptops (Dell and Apple) have an easy key combination to kill the sound. Al Iverson -- http://www.spamresource.com -- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA Protected by WombatMail! -- Disclaimer: All of my opinions are mine alone. ------------------------------ From: andrew Subject: Definity G3 Audit Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:05:04 +1300 Organization: TelstraClear Has anyone any advice/tips on auditing obects to identify ones not used and possible candidates for deletion? Is there a way to determine the last used date of various objects on this PABX? Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 20:40:21 -0700 From: CCIE8122 Subject: Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Organization: Computer Solutions > I have a T1 with a ATT managed Cisco router at the office... > have 10 static IPs on it ... want to use one static IP as my office > WAN address to a DHCP router and have the other 9 IPs NATed directly > to internal addresses (192.168.x.x) ... but since ATT manages the > router, I cannot access it to do the NAT internally. > What is the lowest cost router I can use in this appilication?? > I have a Link-Sys BEFSR11 router ... one LAN port and Cat5 on the > WAN side to connect to DSL/Cable modem ... BUT it doesnt allow NAT > pass thru from the WAN to the LAN ... so I cant use it (RATS!). > A Cayman DSL modem I have COULD do it, but it cannot be installed > in the manner ... (its designed to plug directly into a DSL line). The cheapest Cisco solution will be the CISCO1721 with a WIC-1DSU-T1. You are looking at just over 2 grand list. You can usually get a discount of around 30%. HTH kr ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #327 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Mar 5 13:55:16 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h25ItFT23159; Wed, 5 Mar 2003 13:55:16 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 13:55:16 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303051855.h25ItFT23159@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 V22 #328 TELECOM Digest Wed, 5 Mar 2003 13:55:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 328 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Big Brother and Your Browser (Monty Solomon) Handspring, T-Mobile Team on Treo 270 (Monty Solomon) Wayport & CNN Unwire Airports (Monty Solomon) Review: AirPort Extreme Base Station (Monty Solomon) T-Mobile Launches Assault on Mobile Data Prices (Monty Solomon) AOL Sees Cable IPO by Summer, $2-4 Bln Asset Sales (Monty Solomon) Fwd: A Bit More on CAPS II (Monty Solomon) Data Transmission to Analog Line Through Voice Call? (Duschan) Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI (Alex Beilby) Re: DSL vs Cable (John Higdon) Re: Need Telephone Number For Local Exchange Handling 352-357 (tonypo1@cox) Re: Help! Turning Ringer Off on Panasonic KX-TC1501W (Colin Sutton) Sony Ericsson On The Rebound (Eric Friedebach) Re: HDTV Recording - Coming Soon From Sony (Peter Dubuque) Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (dold@99.usenet.us.com) Re: POISON ANTEDOTE (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (D Close) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (S Dorsey) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (J Higdon) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:32:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Big Brother and Your Browser By Declan McCullagh March 3, 2003, 4:00 AM PT WASHINGTON--The U.S. Justice Department is experimenting with an Internet crime-fighting technique that raises novel legal, technical and privacy concerns. The tactic: domain name forfeiture. In two separate cases last week, the Justice Department seized domains for Web sites that it claimed were engaging in illegal activity. The first set of domains were allegedly used to sell drug paraphernalia such as bongs and marijuana cigarette holders. Now visitors to PipesForYou.com, 420now.com, OmniLounge.com and ColorChangingGlass.com are greeted by this hair-raising alert: "By application of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Web site you are attempting to visit has been restrained by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania." The second case involved David Rocci's iSoNews.com, which he handed to the feds as part of a plea bargain in which he admitted to selling illegal "mod" chips for Xbox and PlayStation game consoles. Rocci will be sentenced under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA ) on March 7 before a federal judge in Alexandria, Va. iSoNews.com now says: "The domain and Web site were surrendered to U.S. law enforcement pursuant to a federal prosecution and felony plea agreement for conspiracy to violate criminal copyright laws." Because domain names can't be squeezed into traditional legal categories, a novel problem arises: They're not ordinary property like cars or boats, which can be seized and resold without worries. It's true that domains can be an instrument of a crime, but Web sites and mailing lists are also spots where people meet, chat and search for information--without expecting that ownership may switch hands silently and abruptly. That's why we should think twice before applauding this trend in police power. One reason is that the Justice Department's privacy policy allows it to hand over information it collects from people visiting seized Web sites to "appropriate law enforcement officials" for criminal prosecution. http://news.com.com/2010-1071-990697.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:28:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Handspring, T-Mobile team on Treo 270 By Richard Shim Staff Writer, CNET News.com Handspring and T-Mobile USA are teaming up on a combination cell phone and organizer. The two companies on Tuesday plan to announce that they are working together to market and sell a co-branded Treo 270 device. The $499 device already is available on the Handspring Web site and through T-Mobile stores. A $100 rebate will be offered to new T-Mobile subscribers when they activate their service. The device includes some specialized preloaded T-Mobile software and the ability to access next-generation GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) networks. The deal is similar to the agreement Handspring made with CDMA (code division multiple access) carrier Sprint. But unlike the Sprint deal, T-Mobile did not co-develop the Treo 270 device. Handspring and T-Mobile will work together to educate consumers about the Treo 270's capabilities. http://news.com.com/2100-1041-990860.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:52:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wayport & CNN Unwire Airports Wayport & CNN Unwire Airports The broadband access provide is partnering to install Wi-Fi hotspots that piggyback on the CNN Airport Network of TVs providing news to waiting passengers, but the airports must first give the okay. http://www.80211-planet.com/news/article.php/2027921 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 23:54:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Review: AirPort Extreme Base Station Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station Modem+Broadband Apple makes the leap to 11g with its stylish hardware, and of course dares to be different by leaving out a lot of the features we've come to expect while adding a few we wish were regular in all Wi-Fi hardware. http://www.80211-planet.com/reviews/article.php/1756051 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 00:11:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: T-Mobile Launches Assault on Mobile Data Prices By Kirstin Ridley and Braden Reddall LONDON, March 5 (Reuters) - T-Mobile 1/8TMOG.UL 3/8, Europe's second largest cellphone operator, says it will slash mobile Internet prices to entice users to get online more through mobile devices -- and called on rivals to follow suit. T-Mobile, the wireless arm of Europe's largest telecoms group Deutsche Telekom of Germany, said the cost of sending data such as pictures, video clips and emails would fall by up to 70 percent across its businesses from mid-April. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32044449 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 00:19:19 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Sees Cable IPO by Summer, $2-4 Bln Asset Sales By Peter Henderson LOS ANGELES, March 4 (Reuters) - AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL) plans to sell $2 billion to $4 billion in assets to help cut its debt, Chief Executive Richard Parsons said on Tuesday. The media giant also intends to spin off its cable unit in an initial public offering by the end of the second quarter or late summer, Parsons told an investment conference in Palm Beach, Florida that was monitored by Webcast. The media and technology company is under pressure to cut its $27 billion debt load and has said it may seek to sell non-core assets, including its three Atlanta sports teams, its book publishing group, and stakes in cable networks Court TV and Comedy Central. Parsons said that AOL was considering getting out of businesses in which it did not have the scale to compete, such as its book division. That division includes Warner Books and Little Brown & Co. and is currently being offered in a sale handled by Merrill Lynch. AOL executives have said they hope to raise $400 million from the sale of that division. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32052536 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2003 09:03:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Fwd: A Bit More on CAPS II http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200303/msg00024.html Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 07:32:24 -0500 Subject: [IP] a bit more on CAPS II From: Dave Farber from: http://hasbrouck.org/links/index.html What can be done? * Anyone (whether or not they are a citizen or resident of the USA) can still file comments on the DOT/TSA proposals. * Delta Airlines passengers -- especially those traveling to or from San Jose (CA) International Airport, the only airline and airport revealed to be part of the initial deployment of CAPPS-II -- should insist on a complete Privacy Act notice, explaining what information will be transferred to the government, what they will do with it, the basis for requiring the information, and the consequences of not providing the information -- before your reservation is completed. If you don't receive such a notice when you make a reservation with Delta for travel to or from San Jose after 1 April 2003 (by which time they have said CAPPS-II will be in operation), you can sue under the Privacy Act. * Travel agencies should demand that Delta provide them with Privacy Act notices to provide their customers before they make reservations on Delta, and should advise Delta that until they receive those notices they will not be legally allowed to make bookings on Delta, especially to or from San Jose for travel after 1 April 2003. * Corporations, travel agencies, and individual travellers can let Delta and the CRS's/GDS's know that their corporate travel records are subject to nondisclosure agreements, and that if Delta will not respect those contractual commitments not to disclose confidential travel records, they will be contractually precluded from doing business with Delta. * Citizens of Canada or the European Union should ask your national data privacy protection authorities to refuse to allow airlines and CRS's/GDS's that transfer data to the USA government in violation of your national and EU privacy laws to continue to operate in your country. * Canadian and EU privacy law enforcement agencies, and enforcers of nondisclosure contracts and the Privacy Act in the USA, can seek appropriate sanctions against Delta and the TSA -- including revocation of licenses for Delta to operate in Canada and the EU, and invalidation of the ASSR regulations -- for implementing the CAPPS-II and ASSR systems in defiance of the law. ------------------------------ From: dule79@yahoo.com (Duschan) Subject: Data Transmission to Analog Line Through Voice Call? Date: 4 Mar 2003 03:10:40 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Is it possible to transmit binary data if voice call is established between cellphone (or ISDN device) and home headset which is using analog line? The phone device at house support receiving digital data, but it's attached to old analog network. So, when normal voice call (ordinary talking) is established between those two subjects, can digital data be transmitted in backgroud, without any noises? Data which is transmitting is actually fewer hex codes, like date and time... For example, if time is not set on my device, my device automatically synchronize time by the phone which I called, and it's all happening while I'm talking with that other guy. scheme: ------------------------------------------------ mobile_phone <---talking---> Home_headset (analog) > > > > [get.time (HHMMYY)] ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ From: alex_beilby@contour.ca (Alex Beilby) Subject: Re: Benefits of ISDN PRI Date: 4 Mar 2003 03:16:52 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Whilst a telecom consultant upgrading many PBXs, I found the key advantage was for sites with call centers -- not paying separately for the Caller ID, plus the ability to easily reconfigure the DNIS 4 digits to match a range of extensions if the telco had been particularly mean with the DID distribution. Also from a disaster recovery perspective, it made it easier to configure overflows and controlled overflows (ie setup a "disaster scenario 1" ready to be triggered on a phone call), especially as many carriers now allow PRI 'overflow when busy' or 'overflow when failed' to POTS line outside your local area code. From a ROI basis, the PRI 23 B+1D is equiv to about 26 analog trunks. However, if you were only using 30 trunks ( and therefore need 1.5 PRIs) the installation costs do not appear enticing, but if your LD provider is installing the PRI, you will then get dedicated rate for Long distance -- often half regular price. Then that is an easy Business case. Alex Beilby ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 20:26:26 -0800 In article , Steve Fleckenstein wrote: > Another tidbit I came across in real life. A friend with a cable modem > has an internet voice link to his ham radio repeater using roadrunner > cable service and a linux box. Even if he has everything on backup > power during a blackout the distribution points on the phone poles for > roadrunner go offline the moment there is a power loss. The ADSL > service keeps working on central office battery power; even the > remote switch I am on is has battery backup. Cable operators have never treated their services as "mission critical". Very little provision is ever made for either redundancy or power failure. All of my home servers are on UPSes and the entire house is covered by an automatic genset. But if I used a cable modem (which in all liklihood wouldn't allow servers in the first place), it would all stop because the cable itself would be dark during an outage. As it is, the DSL is as reliable as the telephone service it rides in on. -- John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: tonypo1@cox.net Subject: Re: Need Telephone Number For Local Exchange Handling 352-357 Organization: The Ace Tomatoe and Cement Company Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 07:23:58 GMT In article , nguser2u@SPAMNOTaol.com says: > Can someone please tell me the telephone number for sales/service for > the local exchange 352-357-xxxx. > Is there a website where I can look this up? Tom, Go to http://www.nanpa.com In the left hand column click on "Central Office Codes (Prefixes)". In the right hand windows scroll down to "Central Office Code Assignments and Summary Reports" and click on "Download Assignment Records" and scroll to your region and and get the "Utilized" codes for the FL area. You can bring the data into Excel or Access or any similar database. If you don't have those, MySQL works remarkably well for things like this. Hey, if you've got a web server that has php installed you can use that to link to MySQL. It's my current favorite database engine out there. Blows the doors off the Oracle install I have on this machine. Tony ------------------------------ From: Colin Sutton Subject: Re: Help! Turning Ringer Off on Panasonic KX-TC1501W Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 11:26:54 GMT Organization: BigPond Internet Services (http://www.bigpond.net.au) With the Panasonic KX-TC1060ALW you press and hold LOUD|RINGER on the handset or HOLD|RINGER on the base station until 2 beeps sound. I hope your model is similar. Colin Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. wrote in message news:telecom22.327.8@telecom-digest.org: > Does anybody know how to turn the ringer off on a Panasonic KX-TC1501W > answering machine (cordless handset)? ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Sony Ericsson On The Rebound Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 10:19:36 -0600 Organization: Sir Break-Alot School of Dance Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Arik Hesseldahl, 03.05.03, Forbes.com NEW YORK - You'd be forgiven for thinking that with all the buzz surrounding its products, Sony Ericsson still commands a top spot in the world's mobile-phone business. Phones produced by the joint venture between Japan's Sony and Sweden's Ericsson do have a way of getting noticed. Several recent handsets, in particular the T68 -- among the first phones to have an add-on digital camera -- have been pretty successful. Yet, Sony Ericsson still hasn't shown any progress toward retaking the number-three spot that Ericsson used to command behind Nokia in neighboring Finland and Motorola in the U.S. It now lags fifth behind Germany's Siemens and Samsung of South Korea, commanding a scant 6% of the world's market for mobile phones. But it's not giving up the fight. This week, Sony Ericsson showed new life with a new lineup of designs that, if wireless carriers like them, should at least get sales moving in the right direction. http://www.forbes.com/2003/03/05/cx_ah_0305tentech.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: Peter Dubuque Subject: Re: HDTV Recording - Coming Soon From Sony Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 17:00:18 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC Joey Lindstrom wrote: > It won't be cheap, with a retail list price of 450,000 yen ($3,800) > while low-end DVD recorders using conventional red lasers go for as > little as 50,000-70,000 yen. But with digital satellite broadcasts in > Japan, the United States and elsewhere now bringing high-definition TV > to a small but growing number of households, Sony wants to get an > early start in what could become a hot product. > "The market has already been established, and although it's still > looking for direction, there will be a growing number of users who > want high-definition recording," said Sony spokeswoman Shoko > Yanagisawa. This is great. Now maybe if Sony's entertainment division will stop fighting to prevent people from recording things, Sony's hardware division will be able to sell them. Me, I'm not touching anything made by Sony whatsoever until they stop being schizophrenic. I can't trust any company that deliberately tries to sabotage its own products. Peter F. Dubuque - peterd@panix.com - Enemy of Reason(TM) O- ------------------------------ From: dold@99.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 05:38:37 UTC Organization: a2i network CBoone@earthlink.net wrote: > I have a T1 with a ATT managed Cisco router at the office... > have 10 static IPs on it ... want to use one static IP as my office > WAN address to a DHCP router and have the other 9 IPs NATed directly > to internal addresses (192.168.x.x) ... but since ATT manages the > router, I cannot access it to do the NAT internally. Tell me again what you want to do. You want one static IP to come to your router, and then have 9 or 10 PCs use NAT addresses internally? That sounds like a simple task for a $29.95 router. I just don't understand what you mean by using 9 IPs NATed directly. NAT and directly don't live in the same sentence. Clarence A Dold - dold@email.rahul.net - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 12:00:59 -0600 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelex.com Organization: Crash Electronics, Inc. Subject: Re: POISON ANTEDOTE Barry Margolin wrote: > There was a post yesterday in rec.arts.sf.tv about someone who got a > message that was addressed to lots of posters to that group. So it > appears that these worm-mongers are harvesting a number of different > newsgroups. These worms do the harvesting themselves, scanning address books, browser caches, and so on on YOUR PC. So, if a Telecom Digest reader catches [random_worm_name_here] it's likely to get sent to anyone who's posted to Telecom Digest recently. This applies whether they read TD on usenet, get it via email, or read it on the TD website. Addresses can be harvested from pretty much anyplace on your PC -- the worm isn't concerned about efficiency so it will scan for any text string with an '@' in it, assume it's an email address, and use it. Bounces are irrelevant, the worm doesn't care. So, no, there's no Evil Cabal harvesting TD emails and/or r.a.s.t emails. All it takes is for one participant in one of these groups to become infected and the whole group starts getting them. Gordon S. Hlavenka www.crashelex.com nospam@crashelex.com Grammar and spelling flames welcome. Yes, that's really my email address. Don't change it. ------------------------------ From: Dave Close Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: 4 Mar 2003 20:07:06 -0800 Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California I wrote: > I don't consider myself technically, or mentally, challenged. But if I > sent an email note to a long-lost friend whose address I had just found > and believed to be correct, then never got an answer, I might conclude > that he didn't want to talk to me. Even though I could use the phone -- > if I knew his probably unlisted number -- I might not. And PAT responded: > By saying that if you sent email to someone and the person did not > respond you 'would assume he did not want to speak to you' ... but > that may be placing a bit too much faith in email at the present > time. I would at least send a follow up (shorter) note asking 'did > you get my note of (date)' and go from there. PAT You have misquoted me. I said, "I might", not "would assume". Anyway, it is not my behavior which is the general issue, but what others would do. I have to guess that some -- maybe not all -- might react as I described, and the communication would not be consumated. Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA +1 714 434 7359 dave@compata.com dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu "Everything that can be invented has been invented." -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Patent Office, 1899 ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: 5 Mar 2003 11:57:35 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) John Higdon wrote: > In article , dave@compata.com > (Dave Close) wrote: >> I don't consider myself technically, or mentally, challenged. But if I >> sent an email note to a long-lost friend whose address I had just found >> and believed to be correct, then never got an answer, I might conclude >> that he didn't want to talk to me. Even though I could use the phone -- >> if I knew his probably unlisted number -- I might not. > When messages are refused due to blacklisting, they are not just dropped > on the floor. They are returned to sender with an explanation. Maybe > your friend really didn't want to respond. Depends how the system is set up. In a lot of cases, mail systems are set to accept mail from spam sites, then the delivery agent dumps the mail if it's spam. This is the only way to block based on content, and it's the easiest way to allow users to select different blocking configurations on the same server. Unfortunately you still wind up having a lot of the storage and transfer costs doing this. In other cases, the mail server just refuses a connection. The mail bounces back to the original sender when the originating mail server gives up sending it (or not, if the originating mail server is a spamming program). This is what happens when the blocking is done at a router or firewall. This eliminates all the costs of rejected spam, but it means all users have the same configuration. In some cases, the mail server opens a connection and then replies with an error message saying mail cannot be accepted due to spam. This is what happens when sendmail is configured to query a DNSBL. This is the most useful of the possible configurations to me. >> We were discussing the concept of blocking all addresses related to a >> spammer - related in the sense that they are all served by the same ISP. > Oh. That is rather ham-handed and I would not condone such a practice. I do that all the time. For example, Rackspace's IP space seems to be full of spammers, and doesn't seem to have any legitimate users. Blocking them at the router eliminates a lot of spam problems. Same with Kornet and Thrunet in Korea. We might occasionally lose a legitimate mail message, but compared with the 180,000 to 250,000 weekly attempts to deliver spam from Korea to our servers, the problem is minimal. If I had a lot of Korean users, I might think differently. There are all kinds of different configurations, different blocking lists, different ways to implement them. They exist because the demands at different sites are different. scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 09:20:02 -0800 In article , jmeissen@shell1.aracnet.com (John Meissen) wrote: > I have very aggressive blocking on my SMTP server. It rejects the mail > immediately. I don't worry too much about it; if the sender gets the > bounced mail they'll find another way to contact me. If they don't > then they didn't really want me to be able to respond anyway and I > don't care. Likewise here. My servers reject about 95% of the mail attempted for delivery. If a legitimate sender gets blocked, the message will bounce back with a complete explanation. It is up to him to try some other means to reach me. I contend that server-level blocking is much more safe, effective, and even more courteous than mail client spam filtering. Servers bounce mail and it is returned to those with legitimate From: addresses (those without valid From: addresses can stuff it). On the other hand, client-side spam filtering usually just drops rejected messages in the bucket and everyone is blissfully unaware that innocent parties are being blocked. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #328 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 6 00:23:43 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h265NgD25741; Thu, 6 Mar 2003 00:23:43 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 00:23:43 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303060523.h265NgD25741@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 V22 #329 TELECOM Digest Thu, 6 Mar 2003 00:24:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 329 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL (Monty Solomon) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (AES) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (R D G Cox) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (Gail Hall) Service Contract For Business Telephone Systems (Martin) Nokia and Metrowerks Offer All-in-One Developer Kit for Series 60 (Solomon) Labels Think Apple Has Perfect Pitch (Monty Solomon) Sendmail Flaw Tests Homeland Security (Monty Solomon) Comcast Customers Face Plan Change (Monty Solomon) Accidental Privacy Spills (Monty Solomon) Google: Net Hacker Tool du Jour (Monty Solomon) Re: DSL vs Cable (Ron Chapman) Re: DSL vs Cable (J Kelly) Re: Answering Machine With Email (CBoone@Earthlink.Net) Re: HDTV Recording - Coming Soon From Sony (John Higdon) Modulation Type & Data/Symbol Rate for 2.4 GHz Cordless (Yeong-Chang Maa) Re: NorVergence / VOIP / MATRIX (Hank Karl) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 14:10:52 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Members Are Helping to Fine-Tune Anti-Spam Filters by Reporting up to 5.5 Million Spam Emails to AOL Each Day DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2003--America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, announced that this week it had blocked one billion spam emails from reaching its members in one day. Reaching this important anti-spam landmark comes less than two weeks after AOL announced that it was successfully blocking over three-quarters of a billion (780 million) spam emails from reaching its members, while also updating its members about the steps AOL is taking to further fight spam. By working together on spam, AOL and its members are helping t o prevent more and more unwanted emails from reaching members' email inboxes. AOL is now stopping an average of more than 28 junk emails from reaching each account on a daily basis. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32073709 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What I want to know is this ... if AOL can accomplish that, then why can't Southwestern Bell (sbcglobal.net) do the same thing to help its subscribers? My God, the amount of spam pouring in at sbcglobal.net in a day's time is incredible. But they keep taking this goody-goody position "we do not want to judge what you consider to be spam; not everyone feels the same way". But then, I guess AOL takes some concern about their customers. PAT] ------------------------------ From: AES/newspost Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 11:39:41 -0800 In article , John Higdon wrote: > I contend that server-level blocking is much more safe, effective, and > even more courteous than mail client spam filtering. Yes, fully agree. But, I'd like this to include provisions for each client to be able to have a client-specific and client-maintainable "whitelist" and "blacklist" on the server. (Perhaps you also agree with this.) "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton (1834-1902) "Dependence on advertising tends to corrupt. Total dependence on advertising corrupts totally." (today's equivalent) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 19:58:42 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Reply-To: nospam@numbering.com Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited On 5 Mar 2003 16:57 UT, kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) quoted/wrote: > In a lot of cases, mail systems are set to accept mail from spam sites, > then the delivery agent dumps the mail if it's spam. This is the only > way to block based on content, and it's the easiest way to allow users > to select different blocking configurations on the same server. No, it isn't the only way to block on content ... but it is the way that many sites operate. You can still return a rejection ("550") at the end of the message text provided your servers are capable of doing all the lookups/decoding/decloaking in real-time. With the increase in spam levels these days, not all servers can guarantee to be able to scan incoming messages as they arrive. Yes, it really IS that bad: worse, in fact, on the open wires of the 'net than it ever will be on any individual computer. There are added complications when servers also handle mail for people who insist their mail is never filtered, as the SMTP envelope can have several addressees: and any decision to reject taken after the body-text has to apply to all the recipients. Some people believe that mail to "postmaster" should not be filtered at all, but spammers are now taking advantage of that loophole, too. Another complication is that some sites do not like rejecting at the RCPT TO: phase as that allows spammers (and e-penders) to determine which addresses are valid -- and leads to the now-familiar "dictionary" attack. > In other cases, the mail server just refuses a connection. The mail > bounces back to the original sender when the originating mail server > gives up sending it (or not, if the originating mail server is a > spamming program). In many cases the "sender" is a complete forgery. Some spamware is capable of picking a "sender address" at random from the supplied list of delivery addressees, so bounces would then go to one of the victims on the same list -- and that way may well get through to victims whose sites had correctly filtered the original message. It was originally considered a requirement to always return any failed mail to the "sender", but current thinking tends to the view that it is potentially more abusive to return mail which has been rejected as a result of spam-prevention measures. > Rackspace's IP space seems to be full of spammers, and doesn't seem > to have any legitimate users. Blocking them at the router eliminates > a lot of spam problems. There are unfortunately some legitimate users on Rackspace IP ranges. Based on Rackspace's apparent reluctance to enforce any AUP, there now seems no alternative to blocking mail from their IP ranges. The few legitimate users on Rackspace addresses will simply have to get mail service elsewhere. While spam is an (ab)use of telecomms, and therefore is on-topic for TELECOM, it is even more on topic (and discussed in more detail) on the Spam-L mailing list - to sign up, just send a blank email to: mailto:spam-l-subscribe-request@peach.ease.lsoft.com Richard Cox [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know, I wish net authorities would start blocking mail in and out from sbcglobal.net until Southwestern Bell (or SBC as it is called now) began taking some action against spammers. I am so tired of having my mailwasher program full to the brim of spam every day and sbcglobal.net says they are not going to do anything about it. Do me a big favor guys; *cut them off* until they wise up to what a nuisance spam is for the entire world of civilized people. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 16:40:31 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Wed, 05 Mar 2003 09:20:02 -0800, in comp.dcom.telecom message , John Higdon wrote: > Likewise here. My servers reject about 95% of the mail attempted for > delivery. If a legitimate sender gets blocked, the message will bounce > back with a complete explanation. It is up to him to try some other > means to reach me. > I contend that server-level blocking is much more safe, effective, and > even more courteous than mail client spam filtering. Servers bounce mail > and it is returned to those with legitimate From: addresses (those > without valid From: addresses can stuff it). Problem is that some spammers forge legitimate addresses in the "From:" line as a backdoor way of sending spam. I have received a number of "return-mail" type messages because of people doing that. > On the other hand, client-side spam filtering usually just drops > rejected messages in the bucket and everyone is blissfully unaware > that innocent parties are being blocked. We do have a choice of redirecting "suspicious" messages to special folders and can empty them. It is the subscriber's choice of whether to delete a particular category of email or simply redirect it. For example, most of the mail I get from yahoo.com, aol.com, hotmail.com, and msn.com are spam, but some people I do know and want to hear from also use those services. So I do not delete those messages, but redirect them to a special folder. If someone not in my "whitelist" writes to me, I can add them to my whitelist and delete the other messages. From a business or ISP's point of view, total blocking is probably best. IMHO, people using an amployer's e-mail service really should not plan to use that address for personal e-mail. They can always get an address at one of those "free" e-mail services. ISPs serving the public should give subscribers the choice of accepting spam or opting for some kind of spam blocking. Gail in Ohio USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Gail, what do you do with mail which comes out of sbcglobal.net ? They refuse to do anything for their customers regards spam. I may just switch to Cable One's modem service when it starts in a couple weeks here in Independence. PAT] ------------------------------ From: martoasa@yahoo.com (Martin) Subject: Service Contract for Business Telephone Systems Date: 5 Mar 2003 11:35:35 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello, I am looking for a typical service contract document/template for servicing business telephone systems (PBX, Key Systems) for my customers. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out on this. Thanks a million. Martin ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 14:00:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nokia and Metrowerks Offer All-in-One Developer Kit for Series 60 SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 2003-- Series 60 Platform Now Easily Accessible to CodeWarrior(TM) Programmers Nokia (NYSE:NOK), the global leader in mobile communications, and Metrowerks, maker of CodeWarrior(TM) software and hardware development tools and services, today announce the release of an all-in-one developer kit for the Series 60 Platform. Metrowerks will distribute the advanced kit, which makes Series 60 application development in the CodeWarrior environment possible for the first time. Included in the new CodeWarrior Wireless Development Kit for Symbian OS(TM), Nokia 3650 Edition is the popular Metrowerks CodeWarrior Development Studio for Symbian OS(TM) v2, Personal Edition, and the newly released Series 60 SDK for Symbian OS(TM), jointly developed by Metrowerks and Forum Nokia, Nokia's global developer program. Also included in the bundle is a commercial-release version of Nokia's newest Series 60 mobile device, the Nokia 3650 tri-band phone. The specially priced bundle provides everything required to allow programmers to write, debug, test, and deploy games and other applications right out of the box. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32072986 ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Labels Think Apple Has Perfect Pitch Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 14:26:49 -0500 Labels Think Apple Has Perfect Pitch ... Executives of major record firms believe a speedy, simple online music service for Mac users will be a hit. By Jon Healey Times Staff Writer Top executives at the major record companies have finally found an online music service that makes them excited about the digital future -- but it's only for Macs. The new service was developed by Apple Computer Inc., sources said Monday, and offers users of Macintoshes and iPod portable music players many of the same capabilities that already are available from services previously endorsed by the labels. But the Apple offering won over music executives because it makes buying and downloading music as simple and non-technical as buying a book from Amazon.com. ... http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-music4mar04001448,1,2023391.story ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:19:31 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sendmail Flaw Tests Homeland Security By Robert Lemos Staff Writer, CNET News.com A critical flaw in Sendmail, the Internet's most popular e-mail server, has become the first test for the newly minted Department of Homeland Security and its cyberdefense arm. The agency's Directorate of Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP) worked with security company Internet Security Systems, which discovered the flaw, and Sendmail Inc. to create a patch while keeping news of the issue from leaking to those who might exploit the vulnerability. "Working with the private sector, we alerted key owners of the vulnerable software and got them talking," said David Wray, spokesman for the IAIP Directorate. "We think this is a great example of how this should, and does, work." Word of the vulnerability, which would let an attacker take control of a Sendmail server and execute a malicious program, was more widely disseminated Monday. The Department of Homeland Security got high marks from the security community for giving companies the necessary time to create the patch and for synchronizing its release. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1009-990879.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 14:55:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast Customers Face Plan Change Must buy extra service to keep local-call program By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff, 3/5/2003 Comcast Corp. has quietly ended a $13-a-month unlimited local calling plan for its phone-over-cable subscribers in Greater Boston unless they also agree to buy in-state toll service from Comcast. At the same time, customers who may have been double-billed by both Comcast and AT&T for calls that should have been covered by the plan are being given a $35 bill credit by Comcast, which said it is also working on having them get a refund from AT&T. Company officials said the move, which was phased in starting about six weeks ago, was unrelated to Comcast's acquisition of the former AT&T Broadband in December. Comcast spokeswoman Jennifer L. Khoury would not say yesterday how many customers are affected. AT&T Broadband reported having 1 million cable phone subscribers at the end of December, and industry analysts estimate about 100,000 of those are in Massachusetts. The number of customers affected by the change in the $13 calling plan could be in the tens of thousands. The changes involve AT&T Broadband phone customers in Eastern Massachusetts, now served by Comcast, who bought a $12.95-a-month ''metropolitan calling plan'' giving them unlimited calls in a zone of 84 cities and towns extending from Boston out to Interstate 495 communities such as Chelmsford, Franklin, and Wrentham. The $12.95 charge is on top of the standard basic monthly phone service charge of $20 or more. Beginning in January, the company stopped offering that plan unless customers also agreed to buy in-state toll calling service from Comcast that costs 5 cents a minute all week long. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/064/business/Comcast_customers_face_plan_change+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:26:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Accidental Privacy Spills Posted by michael on Friday February 28, @03:53PM from the quicker-picker-upper dept. ahem writes "A journalist attends the World Economic forum, and writes an email to a few friends. It's a chatty, casual conference report. The conference is a gathering of the 5,000 most powerful people in the world. The report gives a breezy insight into how stuff gets done at that level, and what the concerns are that keep the world's leaders up at night. That email was intended only for the journalist's friends. That email winds up getting plastered all over the net. Here is a very interesting discussion of the implications of this "privacy spill." Make sure you read down to the Epilogue. Here is the email itself." The Lawmeme discussion is quite thoughtful and in-depth, very good reading. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/02/28/1823256 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 18:21:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Google: Net Hacker Tool du Jour By Christopher Null Why bother pounding at a website in search of obscure holes when you can simply waltz in through the front door? Hackers have recently done just that, turning to Google to help simplify the task of honing in on their targets. "Google, properly leveraged, has more intrusion potential than any hacking tool," said hacker Adrian Lamo, who recently sounded the alarm. The hacks are made possible by Web-enabled databases. Because database-management tools use canned templates to present data on the Web, typing specific phrases into Internet search tools often leads a user directly to those templated pages. For example, typing the phrase "Select a database to view" -- a common phrase in the FileMaker Pro database interface -- into Google recently yielded about 200 links, almost all of which led to FileMaker databases accessible online. In a few cases, the databases contained sensitive information. One held the addresses, phone numbers and detailed biographies of several hundred teachers affiliated with Apple Computer. It also included each teacher's user name and password. The database was not protected by any form of security. ... http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,57897,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 16:57:42 -0500 From: Ron Chapman Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable In article , John Higdon wrote: > Cable operators have never treated their services as "mission > critical". Very little provision is ever made for either redundancy > or power failure. Very true. There have even been instances of cable companies telling customers that email and usenet news are "value added" services, and don't worry if they're down; just be happy that you have them at all. > All of my home servers are on UPSes and the entire house is covered by > an automatic genset. But if I used a cable modem (which in all > liklihood wouldn't allow servers in the first place), Earthlink has no problem with them, apparently. I was impressed. Time Warner does make you sign an agreement with them regarding your bandwidth, but it's a vague agreement that's probably not easily enforced -- although they do retain the right to pull your plug if you start using up bandwidth at levels they don't like. ------------------------------ From: J Kelly Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 19:34:06 -0600 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Reply-To: jkelly@newsguy_YourPants_.com On Mon, 3 Mar 2003 14:24:36 -0500, Steve Fleckenstein wrote: > Another tidbit I came across in real life. A friend with a cable modem > has an internet voice link to his ham radio repeater using roadrunner > cable service and a linux box. Even if he has everything on backup > power during a blackout the distribution points on the phone poles for > roadrunner go offline the moment there is a power loss. The ADSL > service keeps working on central office battery power; even the > remote switch I am on is has battery backup. Never thought of that. We have two cable internet providers in town (and zero DSL providers). One of the Cableco's (owned by the City) DOES have full backup power, as I have surfed the web while the entire city had a blackout. I wonder if the provider I'm now using (Mediacom because they are 4X faster for $5/mo less) has the same thing. Power failures are rare here. The last one I can remember was 18 months ago when a pole fuse blew in my neighborhood, and the last one affecting a large area was two years ago during a tornado, and was less than 90 seconds. J Kelly remove _YourPants_ to reply by email. ------------------------------ From: CBoone@Earthlink.Net Subject: Re: Answering Machine With Email Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:39:38 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Check out the Advanced Call Center at www.voicecallcentral.com . Their PC answering machine software will send the actual voice msg as an attachment via email (dialup OR Ethernet) ... and use the Caller ID (if your modem is so equipped) as the subject line! :) It uses compression so the file is not a LARGE wav file...and any player can handle it ... I love it! Chris James Whitlow wrote: > I have done a search for a product that probably does not exists, > but I thought I would try posting a message to the Usenet before > giving up. > I am looking for a dedicated, stand-alone telephone answering > machine that can digitize the messages and then send them to my email > address using either an Ethernet hookup to the Internet or a dialup > account. I would prefer Ethernet, but the dial-up would mean that I > would not have to run any cables. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: HDTV Recording - Coming Soon From Sony Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 17:19:29 -0800 In article , Peter Dubuque wrote: > This is great. Now maybe if Sony's entertainment division will stop > fighting to prevent people from recording things, Sony's hardware > division will be able to sell them. > Me, I'm not touching anything made by Sony whatsoever until they stop > being schizophrenic. I can't trust any company that deliberately tries to > sabotage its own products. Nothing scares the copyright industry more than an HD recorder in the hands of Joe Public. As they see it, it is the ultimate in theft enabling. Imagine someone being able to see entertainment that he has already paid to view in his home over and over at his pleasure! The copyright industry will not stand for this. You can bet that any HD recording device will have so many software locks and controls that they may not even bother to give you a remote for it. They are looking to go for things like calendar expire (meaning that the recording will only work for thirty days or whatever) or number-of-plays restrictions, after which the recording self-destructs. Actually, your recorder will destroy it on command from the coding received when it was recorded. Rather than having advanced technology provide consumers with entertainment the way they want it, how they want it, and when they want it, the copyright industry sees advanced technology as a way to charge for each and every viewing, and limit the number viewings possible as well as when viewing is even possible. Serving the customer takes a serious back seat to piracy paranoia. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: ycmaa@inprocomm.com (Yeong-Chang Maa) Subject: Modulation Type and Data/Symbol Rate for 2.4 GHz Cordless Phones Date: 5 Mar 2003 19:05:04 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi there, Does anyone know the modulation types and data (symbol) rates for the 2.4 GHz cordless phones: using analog, Digital Spread Spectrum (DSS), and Worldwide Digital Cordless Phone (WDCT, actually DECT in the 2.4 GHz ISM band) technologies? Any information or pointers will be greatly appreciated. Regards, YC ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: NorVergence / VOIP / MATRIX Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 13:47:58 -0500 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ I spoke with someone from Norvergence, and thought that they were using Voice over ATM, not VoIP, at least on the T1 from your location to the CO. > NorVergence is offering our company a plan in association with Qwest > and Nortel Networks to reduce our telecom costs. Is anyone out there > using the VOIP technology? The only info I could really find is that > they are using the MetaSwitch VP30000 switch. > Does anyone have a little feedback that would be helpful in our > decision making? > Cheers. Hank Karl Eastern Regional Manager +1 (203)207-0047 hank@Nine-9s.com www.nine-9s.com Representing: http://www.telesoft-intl.com/ ISDN, T1 RBS, E1 R2 CAS, Frame Relay, ML-PPP, X.25, ... http://www.agoralabs.com/ elemedia H.323, Video Codecs SIP -- watch this space! ------------------------------ 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, 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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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #329 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 6 19:35:22 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h270ZMr03124; Thu, 6 Mar 2003 19:35:22 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 19:35:22 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303070035.h270ZMr03124@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 V22 #330 TELECOM Digest Thu, 6 Mar 2003 19:35:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 330 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Western Union City Codes (John Ruckstuhl) TSA Books Data Mining Program (Monty Solomon) Covad Courts Apple Folks (Monty Solomon) Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL (joe) Skimming the Cream (John Higdon) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (J Higdon) Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL (Jim Weiss) Re: DSL vs Cable (John Higdon) Ftp Into Nortel NAM (Chris) Re: Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time (James Bellaire) Re: The Sky Has Eyes (amish) International Dial Plan - Full Database For Sale!!! (Marcos) T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? (Stretch) Spam From sbcglobal.net (Gail M. Hall) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ruck@acuson.com (John Ruckstuhl) Subject: Western Union City Codes Date: 6 Mar 2003 15:20:25 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Long time ago, (13 years ago) the late Larry Lippman said here in comp.dcom.telecom: > From: Larry Lippman (kitty!larry@uunet.uu.net) > Subject: Western Union City Codes > Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom > Date: 1989-09-22 16:42:45 PST > In article > markw@gvlf1-c.gvl.unisys.com (Mark H. Weber) writes: >> The instructions for registering in the UUCP ".US" domain indicate that >> city codes assigned are Western Unions' "City Codes". Is there a reference >> available for these codes, or a number to call to find out what the city >> code is for a particular city? I called my local Western Union office, but >> the operator had no idea what a "city code" was. > Well, one would think that someone in a Western Union office would > have a listing of Western Union city codes, huh? > I guess this must be a symptom of WU's "poor health". > In any event, if one really cares, they can find a complete listing > of all WU city codes in any WU Telex Directory. There are over TEN THOUSAND > WU city codes for the U.S. and Canada, which range from "AAAI" (Auburn, IN) > tp "ZUMB" (Zumbrota, MN). There is one code which begins with a number, > "150M" (150 Mile House, BC). I bet y'all wanted to know that one! :-) > Personally, I think the WU city codes are an anachronism since > Zip Code seems to be universally used for localization for any physical > delivery system. > <> Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp. - Uniquex Corp. - Viatran Corp. > <> UUCP {allegra|boulder|decvax|rutgers|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry > <> TEL 716/688-1231 | 716/773-1700 {hplabs|utzoo|uunet}!/ \uniquex!larry > <> FAX 716/741-9635 | 716/773-2488 "Have you hugged your cat today?" Well if you call WU at (800) 325-6000, their call center operators have never heard of a Telex, much less have access to a directory. Anybody have a WU Telex Directory? I'd like to know the city codes for: Palo Alto, CA Mountain View, CA Cupertino, CA Thanks! John Ruckstuhl ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 23:54:27 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TSA Books Data Mining Program By Roy Mark The Bush administration is again raising the ire of privacy groups with the announcement last week of a controversial pilot program for airlines known as the Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System II program (CAPPS II). The new system, which will be administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will scan government and commercial databases for potential terrorist threats when a passenger makes flight reservations. Under the program, airline passengers will be required to provide their full name plus address, phone number and date of birth. Once that information is entered, the airline computer reservation system will automatically link to the TSA for a computer background check on the traveler that can include a credit, banking history and criminal background check. The TSA will then assign a red, yellow or green score to the passenger based on the agency's risk assessment of the traveler. The score color will then be encrypted on the passenger's boarding pass. A green score will allow passengers to proceed through the usual airport security checks. Passengers with a yellow score will be subjected to additional security checks and a red score will ground the passenger. ... http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2013781 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why would they issue a red boarding pass that in effect would not let the passenger board at all? Why not just refuse to issue a boarding pass at all in that case? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2003 23:55:59 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Covad Courts Apple Folks By Gretchen Hyman Santa Clara, Calif.-based broadband service provider Covad Communications (Quote, Company Info) announced plans this week to expand service offerings to Mac users, a move that is expected to lead to a noticeable uptick in its subscriber base. Covad's first-ever offering to the Mac community includes high-speed Internet service for the Apple (Quote, Company Info) Macintosh platform and a simple self-install, plug-and-play broadband service with Mac-compatible software that supports operating systems 8.0, 9.0, and Mac OS X. According to a spokesperson for Covad, the company had been looking into expanding its capabilities for a long time, and based on information provided by numerous focus groups, it was clear that the demand for high-speed Mac service was growing. http://boston.internet.com/news/article.php/2105431 ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 14:19:21 GMT Organization: Cox Communications > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What I want to know is this ... if AOL > can accomplish that, then why can't Southwestern Bell (sbcglobal.net) > do the same thing to help its subscribers? My God, the amount of spam > pouring in at sbcglobal.net in a day's time is incredible. But they > keep taking this goody-goody position "we do not want to judge what > you consider to be spam; not everyone feels the same way". But then, I > guess AOL takes some concern about their customers. PAT] It's a double-edged sword, Pat. They block some ISPs wholesale, thus preventing legitimate email from being received as well. It's like letting the post office review your mail at the post office before they deliver it to you, and throwing away what *they* think is junk mail. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not know if by 'they' you are referring to sbcglobal or the rest of the net. I can tell you that sbcglobal does not block anyone from sending email to anyone. If by 'they' you were referring to the rest of the net (as in the guys who have some say-so over blocking spam emails, etc) then I would say let them go ahead and block sbcglobal. It won't be a big loss to the rest of us. If SBC is not going to set up spam/garbage filters at all, then if they lose their good customers, its their problem. The last time I spoke to the chairman's office I asked the lady who responds in his name, "how would you like it if when you answered the phone the first thing I tossed in your face were sex pictures unasked for or I started out by telling you how to make your 'thing' grow bigger, or I otherwise kept yout line tied up for hours at a time with one scam after another. That's what YOU are doing with your email service. How about if I gave you such large quantities of it sometimes your mailbox got wedged so it would not even all come out correctly?" Her goody-goody reply was since they were a phone company and common carrier they could do nothing about it. I suggested I could start making a massive transfer of my incoming email to her office each day, while she reconsidered her position on the matter. Just forward it to the chairman's office 30-40 or 50 pieces at a time each day. You know how long they would tolerate that. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Skimming the Cream Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 06:46:02 -0800 Some things are predictable. With great flourish and fanfare, SBC rolled out its highly-touted long distance offerings about a month ago in California. But something seemed not quite right. Cutting to the chase, the prices on SBC's long distance service are, to be kind, mediocre. Even AT&T, not known for particularly good long distance bargains, beats the pants off of SBC's long distance rates. Furthermore, SBC is inflexible; there is no bargaining room: take the price or leave it. What happened to the cut-throat competition of which the IXCs feared so much? The only thing that comes to mind is that SBC is going first for the cream: those folks who see some advantage to being billed by the same company for local and long distance, even if they pay more. Or perhaps they will attract those folks who are bending over for an IXC's "basic rates", having never bothered to shop or dicker for anything better. Other than that, I'm not sure why anyone would like to trade 3.9 cents a minute for SBC's 7 cents a minute. It remains to be seen when SBC REALLY intends to compete in the long distance market. -- John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You have to pay seven cents per minute on your long distance from SBC there? They sell it here in Kansas for *six* cents per minute which I thought was sort of outrageous, especially since on my cell phone I do not pay anything at all. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 07:07:11 -0800 In article , Gail M. Hall wrote: >> I contend that server-level blocking is much more safe, effective, and >> even more courteous than mail client spam filtering. Servers bounce mail >> and it is returned to those with legitimate From: addresses (those >> without valid From: addresses can stuff it). > Problem is that some spammers forge legitimate addresses in the "From:" > line as a backdoor way of sending spam. I have received a number of > "return-mail" type messages because of people doing that. Yes, I'm aware of "From: line spam". But when my server rejects a message, it isn't sending it anywhere. It is simply refusing to accept it from the connecting host. What that host does with it from that point on is out of my hands. Now, if that host is a legitimate MTA trying to deliver a legitimate message that has somehow been flagged as spam, that message will be returned to the sender by the connecting host, not by my server. If, on the other hand, it is spam, I have no idea what the connecting host will do with it. As someone else suggested, it might be "returned" to another potential spam recipient. But again, that's out of my hands, and the delivery will not be accomplished or facilitated by my server. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: John, you should try refusing to connect on SBC email then come back in a year or so and look to see how much real, honest mail you missed. Chances are, not very much good mail. PAT] ------------------------------ From: NBJimWeiss@aol.com Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 10:22:40 EST Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Blocked In One Day by AOL In a message dated 3/6/03 12:34:07 AM Eastern Standard Time, editor@telecom-digest.org writes: > From: Monty Solomon > Subject: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What I want to know is this ... if AOL > can accomplish that, then why can't Southwestern Bell (sbcglobal.net) > do the same thing to help its subscribers? My God, the amount of spam > pouring in at sbcglobal.net in a day's time is incredible. But they > keep taking this goody-goody position "we do not want to judge what > you consider to be spam; not everyone feels the same way". But then, I > guess AOL takes some concern about their customers. PAT] Bell South has "Mail Guard" which the user can elect to turn "on", "review" spam or turn "off". If "review" is selected, detected spam is automatically put in a separate folder for the user to review. I have Mail Guard turned on and get VERY LITTLE spam as a result. So, if BellSouth can do it, Southwestern Bell certainly should be capable of it also. From the Offices of: Network Brokers, Inc. Providing Long Distance Services for Less Jim Weiss, nbjimweiss@aol.com 305-252-1822; Fax: 775-796-9973; Miami Fax: 305-252-1823; [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I use something called 'Mail Washer' which presents all your incoming mail each day in one line summaries of who from, subject, and if Mail Washer thinks it might be spam or mail from the same sender has previously to the sender as bounced mail. I get POP mail from several different sources all merged in Mail Washer (which then pipes through what little actual personal mail there is to Outlook Express). I *must* check incoming mail two or three times daily, otherwise the mess is terrible. From two screens of about forty lines each, I just go through and go click, click, click one line after another smashing the spams without looking at them further. Then I 'process' them which tells Mail Washer to bounce and return to sender the things I checked, and pass the few that are left (and real mail) to Outlook Express. If I do not do it a couple times per day, then when I do check mail, I get 3-4 screens full from Mail Washer. Here at massis.lcs.mit.edu the Spam Asassin takes in 18-20 pieces each day as a separate thing. It is truly awful. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 07:59:34 -0800 In article , Ron Chapman wrote: > Earthlink has no problem with them, apparently. I was impressed. > Time Warner does make you sign an agreement with them regarding your > bandwidth, but it's a vague agreement that's probably not easily > enforced -- although they do retain the right to pull your plug if you > start using up bandwidth at levels they don't like. Server usage does not necessarily equate to bandwidth hogging. I'm very low volume here. DNS, email, and ssh (so I can get to my stuff remotely) is about all there is. Yes, I'm also running an nntp server, but the volume amounts to no more than that which would be used to read the groups, anyway. Proscriptions against servers greatly reduce the utility of a dedicated network link. The ability to access data in one's own machines from outside the home is a boon to many professionals who do a substantial amount of work in and out of their homes. Cable companies appear to view Internet services as simply another form of consumer entertainment. Any attempt to make practical use of same is frowned upon. In article , J Kelly wrote: > Never thought of that. We have two cable internet providers in town > (and zero DSL providers). One of the Cableco's (owned by the City) > DOES have full backup power, as I have surfed the web while the entire > city had a blackout. I wonder if the provider I'm now using (Mediacom > because they are 4X faster for $5/mo less) has the same thing. Power > failures are rare here. The last one I can remember was 18 months ago > when a pole fuse blew in my neighborhood, and the last one affecting a > large area was two years ago during a tornado, and was less than 90 > seconds. Most third-world countries have better power reliability than northern California. Many businesses and a surprising number of homes (including mine) have automatic backup power. For that reason, how a service provider operates during an outage is of some real importance here. When PacBell installed its cable system back in the early nineties, it included a generator in each of its curbside nodes. I seriously doubt that Gill/Heritage/TCI/AT&T/Comcast or whatever it is called this week has given the matter the slightest thought. After all, the headquarters is located back east where power isn't an issue. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: ccollins@ktc.com (Chris) Subject: Ftp Into Nortel NAM Date: 6 Mar 2003 09:13:10 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Anyone know the default user and password for the Norstar NAM? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 00:35:15 -0500 From: James Bellaire Subject: Re: Turn Off That Cellphone. It's Meeting Time Dave Close wrote: > Yet no operating system I know provides an easy (one click) way to > switch the sounds off and on, and certainly not before the start-up > completes at least once. Maybe the laptop makers should provide a > speaker switch. Radio Shack sells headphone plugs. Just stick it in the headphone jack and the speakers are quiet. There are always answers. James Bellaire http://tk.com/wireless/ ------------------------------ From: amish Subject: Re: The Sky Has Eyes Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 20:43:44 UTC Organization: BT Openworld Eric Friedebach wrote: > Sound a little disconcerting? It's not terribly far from reality. > The combination of wireless networks, such as those used for mobile > phones and pagers, with the 24-satellite constellation that makes up > the Global Positioning System is what makes the above scenario > possible. Small devices that can receive location data from the GPS > system and then transmit their location over the Internet via wireless > networks have been available for a few years now. They come in handy > for companies managing a fleet of field personnel or repair crews. Forget GPS. Your boss just needs know when enter the coverage area of the pico cell in the restaurant. A. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 19:23:49 -0300 From: Marcos Subject: International Dial Plan - Full Database For sale!!! This database is necessary to avoid billing errors, but also for certain types of (mobile) services in order to assure correct call routing and/or termination. The current full database holds over 450,000 records. Inconsistencies in international calling code breakouts have already cost carriers over $1 Billion this year... A lot of telecommunications carriers, Internet service providers, financial institutions and other internationally oriented businesses rely on it. For more information visist http://www.internationaldialplan.8m.com/ dialplan@softhome.net ------------------------------ From: Stretch Subject: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 19:56:29 GMT Organization: Road Runner - Texas I picked up a T-Mobile cell/pda a few months ago, and was frustrated by large areas where there appears to be little or no coverage, and call quality that made a satphone seem studio-quality by comparison. After getting the usual runaround from the customer service folks, I worked my way up the food chain and got, perhaps by accident, a more candid explanation of the problem. Or are they just pulling my leg again? If I understand correctly, AT&T is rolling out a GSM service as well. T-Mobile claims that AT&T is using abnormally high signal levels, which cause T-Mobile phones to be unstable or totally unusable in the affected area. I was told that since AT&T's service is in a "trial" mode, they have no regulatory solution, so T-Mobile subscribers are, basically, out of luck. I will give T-Mobile some credit: They offered to give me a second phone, which I could put my SIM card into when I needed to go into areas where the coverage was poor, and to let me manually re-program the phone as needed to force carrier selection, and they also said that T-Mobile phones need to be powered on and off several times a day to stay in "sync", due to how their network is set up. It may be a workable solution, but ... I would have rather the phone just rang when my son's school nurse tried to call me to tell me he was sick. :-( FWIW, the "Danger Hiptop" is a *neat* piece of technology. It's not the best phone in the world, but it's keyboard, browser, and email functions are the best mobile implmentation I've seen to date. If only there was a network for it to connect to. :-/ ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Spam From sbcglobal.net Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 15:02:49 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Wed, 05 Mar 2003 16:40:31 -0500, in comp.dcom.telecom message , Pat wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Gail, what do you do with mail which > comes out of sbcglobal.net ? They refuse to do anything for their > customers regards spam. I may just switch to Cable One's modem > service when it starts in a couple weeks here in Independence. PAT] Are you sitting down? ;-) I don't have that domain in my spam filters. :-) Apparently I have been able to filter out stuff from them based on subject because it is not in any of my many "suspicious domain" filters. I have a bunch of countries I redirect to the spam bucket and some common domains like hotmail.com, aol.com, msn.com, cs.com, just to name a few. I don't totally block those because lots of legit users use those services AND spammers often forge addresses to look like they are coming from those services. I quit storing spam on my computer. I need the space for other stuff, so I don't have a bunch of samples to search for sbcglobal.net. I've never gone to their web site at www.sbc.com so don't know if I would start getting spammed by them if I did. You have me a little concerned! If a telephone company like SBC has both telephone service and Internet Service Provider services, do both categories of service fall under the auspices of your state utilities commission? Maybe you could complain to them. People here in Ohio can complain about the phone companies to what we smilingly call PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio), and when they don't respond well enough to suit us, we do pronounce that as "puke-oh". My ISP is in the ISP and webhosting business. They consider service to their customers as important, and they do have some server-side but customer-configurable spam filtering available. We also can continue to manage spam with our own system software. My reader, Forté Agent, does have some fairly good filtering features, especially for e-mail. My ISP is not the cheapest in town, and that is BECAUSE they consider reliable service important enough to do what is needed to maintain good service. If your SBC-run ISP doesn't help manage spam, then you need to explore software that can do it at your end. Some users in a recent discussion of spam filtering posted this URL: http://email.about.com/cs/bayesianspamsw/gr/popfile.htm Another person pointed to the home page for some specific software: > Here's the real home page for this software: http://popfile.sourceforge.net Some users like Mozilla 1.3b because it has this content-based spam filtering built in. Another user says you can get a plug-in for Outlook 2000 or higher (not OE). http://www.upserve.com/spammunition/default.asp I haven't tried any of these. But you sound desperate, so I'm passing these along for your consideration. Another option is to use a mail service provider other than what your ISP provides. I don't know how good it is, but Yahoo.com now offers a mail service for a fee that does offer spam filtering and virus filtering. You can get it with POP, IIRC. Again, this is not the free service many of us are familiar with. You do pay for it, and if you need more space, you can pay some more for more space. I'm sure others can give you names of other, possibly better, mail service providers that can offer you server-side spam management. Good luck! Gail in Ohio USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: SBC does not generate spam as far as I know. They just do nothing about filtering out all the junk and garbage that comes through their system. You won't get spam as a result of visiting their web sites. But if they could do something like Yahoo or AOL and at least make a guess at it and put it in separate folders that would help a lot. I'd rather get ONE piece of mail from them each day saying "we have isolated 86 items that we suspect may be spam; please check them or click here if you wish us to dump them" than get all 86 items full of HTML pages that never come to an end no matter often you click it, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #330 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 7 15:04:50 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h27K4ok08506; Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303072004.h27K4ok08506@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 V22 #331 TELECOM Digest Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:05:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 331 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: DSL vs Cable (Garrett Wollman) Re: DSL vs Cable (Ron Chapman) Re: Western Union City Codes (Alan Burkitt-Gray) Communication Between PABX (foo) Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL (joe@net) Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites (D. Close) Re: Skimming the Cream (John Higdon) Re: Skimming the Cream (tonypo1@cox.net) Re: Skimming the Cream (joe@obilivan.net) Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? (Tony P) Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? (Danny Burstein) Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? (Joseph) Re: TSA Books Data Mining Program (Fritz Whittington) Re: TSA Books Data Mining Program (John P. Marshall) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Date: 7 Mar 2003 00:20:01 GMT Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science In article , John Higdon wrote: > After all, the headquarters is located back east where power isn't an > issue. I'd like to know in which universe Mr. Higdon lives, so that I can book a transit there. In my universe, the century-old power infrastructure 'back east' is not known for its reliability -- just ask any broadcast engineer. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | [G]enes make enzymes, and enzymes control the rates of wollman@lcs.mit.edu | chemical processes. Genes do not make ``novelty- Opinions not those of| seeking'' or any other complex and overt behavior. MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - Stephen Jay Gould (1941-2002) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 21:33:45 -0500 From: Ron Chapman Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable In article , John Higdon wrote: >> Earthlink has no problem with them, apparently. I was impressed. >> Time Warner does make you sign an agreement with them regarding your >> bandwidth, but it's a vague agreement that's probably not easily >> enforced -- although they do retain the right to pull your plug if you >> start using up bandwidth at levels they don't like. > Server usage does not necessarily equate to bandwidth hogging. Which is why I was extremely happy with Earthlink over Time Warner cable. Earthlink was -- and is -- a great ISP, allowing servers and whatnot and knowing what they're doing on just about all levels. I was very happy to get out of Road Runner, which is Time Warner's own ISP. Road Runner stinks as an ISP. > Cable companies appear to view Internet services as simply another form > of consumer entertainment. Any attempt to make practical use of same is > frowned upon. That would be Road Runner. Fortunately, Time Warner customers around here don't have to use Time Warner's ISPs (RR and AOL). Use Earthlink, and you can run whatever servers you want. Or, don't use Time Warner's cables at all. Use its local wired competition, Wide Open West. Life is good, because competition is here. ------------------------------ From: Alan Burkitt-Gray Subject: Re: Western Union City Codes Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 10:25:39 -0000 John Ruckstuhl wrote: "Well if you call WU at (800) 325-6000, their call center operators have never heard of a Telex, much less have access to a directory." Anybody here recall when they last sent or received a telex? Does the network still operate? Who, if anyone, uses it, and why? Here in the UK, BT's telex information online seems to mainly date back to the mid-1990s. I can't remember when I last saw a telex number on a letterhead (I removed our telex number from Global Telecoms Business magazine's masthead when I took over editorship in Dec 2001, when no one in the company could tell me where the telex machine was). Alan Burkitt-Gray Editor, Global Telecoms Business Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London EC4V 5EX, UK tel +44 20 7779 8518 fax +44 20 7779 8248 e-mail aburkitt@euromoneyplc.com www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com Global Telecoms Business is the official publication for the TeleManagement Forum's TM World conference and exhibition in Nice, France, May 19-22 2003 ------------------------------ From: di00enad@ing.hj.se (foo) Subject: Communication Between PABX Date: 7 Mar 2003 07:08:19 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ If I have one PABX with an E1 connection what protocol is used by the PAPX when sending information on the E1 line, timeslot 16? I believe it would be information about on which timeslot each call is made and certain connect and disconnect messages. But which protocol is used, is it LAPD and Q.931 or MTP-2 and MTP-3 in SS7. Where do I find information about how such signaling packets between PABX's look like? Infromation as: How do a PABX send a message about that one of the telephones connected to it will call a number on an different PABX elsewhere. ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 14:02:31 GMT Organization: Cox Communications By "they," I meant AOL. AOL has placed blocks on Verio, one of the largest web hosting ISPs in the country. Verio's policy is hands-off SPAM, because they do not feel their role is that of censor. AOL sees it differently, thus blocking legitimate email deliveries from Verio users. And, so it goes. joe@obilivan.net wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What I want to know is this ... if AOL >> can accomplish that, then why can't Southwestern Bell (sbcglobal.net) >> do the same thing to help its subscribers? My God, the amount of spam >> pouring in at sbcglobal.net in a day's time is incredible. But they >> keep taking this goody-goody position "we do not want to judge what >> you consider to be spam; not everyone feels the same way". But then, I >> guess AOL takes some concern about their customers. PAT] > It's a double-edged sword, Pat. They block some ISPs wholesale, thus > preventing legitimate email from being received as well. It's like > letting the post office review your mail at the post office before > they deliver it to you, and throwing away what *they* think is junk > mail. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not know if by 'they' you are > referring to sbcglobal or the rest of the net. I can tell you that > sbcglobal does not block anyone from sending email to anyone. If by > 'they' you were referring to the rest of the net (as in the guys who > have some say-so over blocking spam emails, etc) then I would say let > them go ahead and block sbcglobal. It won't be a big loss to the rest > of us. If SBC is not going to set up spam/garbage filters at all, then > if they lose their good customers, its their problem. The last time I > spoke to the chairman's office I asked the lady who responds in his > name, "how would you like it if when you answered the phone the first > thing I tossed in your face were sex pictures unasked for or I started > out by telling you how to make your 'thing' grow bigger, or I otherwise > kept yout line tied up for hours at a time with one scam after another. > That's what YOU are doing with your email service. How about if I gave > you such large quantities of it sometimes your mailbox got wedged so > it would not even all come out correctly?" Her goody-goody reply was > since they were a phone company and common carrier they could do > nothing about it. I suggested I could start making a massive transfer > of my incoming email to her office each day, while she reconsidered > her position on the matter. Just forward it to the chairman's office > 30-40 or 50 pieces at a time each day. You know how long they would > tolerate that. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 21:38:33 -0800 From: Dave Close Subject: Re: Spamblocks, was Re: Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites Date: 6 Mar 2003 21:35:29 -0800 Organization: Compata, Costa Mesa, California > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know, I wish net authorities would > start blocking mail in and out from sbcglobal.net until Southwestern > Bell (or SBC as it is called now) began taking some action against > spammers. I am so tired of having my mailwasher program full to the > brim of spam every day and sbcglobal.net says they are not going to > do anything about it. Do me a big favor guys; *cut them off* until > they wise up to what a nuisance spam is for the entire world of >civilized people. PAT] I'm slightly confused by your complaint, PAT. SBC is /your/ provider and delivers mail to you sent by anyone in the world. Are you saying that they should filter that mail before delivering some of it to you? Or are you complaining about /other/ customers of SBC sending spam both to you and to others? In other words, should SBC cut off its customers who happen to be spammers so they can't send to you or anyone else (I would agree), or should SBC cut off your ability to receive mail from non-spammers based on their definition of spam (I would not agree). Dave Close, Compata, Costa Mesa CA +1 714 434 7359 dave@compata.com dhclose@alumni.caltech.edu "..the last seven decades of the twentieth century will be characterized in history as the dark ages of theoretical physics." -- Carver Mead [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: *Yes* I am a customer of SBC, both for phone service, and DSL service. I get email from SBC (by default, as a DSL customer), and I also get email from Yahoo, AOL, Compuserve, and the local ISP. All the emails get funneled via POP into Outlook Express via Mail Washer. Compuserve and AOL are about tied for first place regards the amount of spam. SBC runs a close second. I get no spam at all from the local ISP, and very little from Yahoo. When I run Mail Washer prior to Outlook Express (Mail Washer presents it [while it is still on the server] so I can make a cursory examination of it in one line based on address, subject, and Mail Washer's thoughts on it), I get line after line after line of spam message headers, all of which I can simply click once to destroy at the server or click a second time to bounce back to the sender with a mail daemon saying the address is invalid. After I do this operation a couple times daily, *then* I invoke Outlook Express which goes around and collects what is left at the various places listed above, and the mail at that point is about 90 percent 'clean' and wanted. The spammers are getting very tricky. The one line headers *I see on my screen* say things like 'your account is due' when the body of the message has nothing to do with any accounts of mine. Sometimes the header will say 'your password is changed/revoked, etc' but the if I choose to accept the message the first thing I see when the actual mail is accepted is an old, tired worn out porn picture. I also get any number of MLM schemes in email and 'requests for help' which basically say when I read them 'please explain why you did not answer our previous mail offering you this great opportunity to make money' or 'you need to respond now, we have people waiting to be placed under you; should we give your place away to someone else?' So I click, click, click and wind up getting mail that is about 90 percent pure, but even then a few get through every day. I always throw away a ton of mail each day which has my name, comma, in the subject line of it, as in 'Patrick, I am confused' or 'Patrick, I need help on this'. What little (relatively speaking) spam that manages to slip through to me after my long 'click-fest' twice a day gets destroyed as well, but it tends to be the kind that requires me to reboot the computer to get it out of my face (whatever it is, it has HTML code in it that keeps bringing it back no matter how many times I click it away.) AOL has a 'spam fighting' technique where you can tell them 'do not give me any mail from anywhere that does not originate with another AOL member.' I chose that option so that spam would not get in, because I only wanted to chat with a couple AOL members only. True to their word, AOL cut off all 'off their own net' mail for me, and guess what: AOL members spam each other also, but not in the quantity it comes from outside. I would be perfectly happy if SBC put a filter in the mail which make an attempt to decide what was spam and what was not, then put all the stuff they consider spam in a separate folder as I could dump the whole thing with ONE click. But they contend they are not going to make decisions like that, and that the best I can expect is to have to go click, click, click each day. Yahoo does that, makes elementary decisions and uses a 'bulk mail folder' for it. Why is that too hard for SBC Global? Yahoo allows each user to override the mail service decisions on this by means of an HTML link which says 'this is spam' (or in the case of the bulk mail folder) 'this is not spam'. They then take what you say as an advisory to help them in pruning the spam system a little better. SBC just dumps it all at you as is. The Spam Asassin here at massis does that. It does not destroy your mail unless you ask it to do so. It just puts it in a separate folder and shows me how it reached its decisions. Why couldn't SBC do that much? PAT] ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Skimming the Cream Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 16:42:57 -0800 In article , TELECOM Digest Editor Noted in response to John: > You have to pay seven cents per minute on your long distance from > SBC there? They sell it here in Kansas for *six* cents per minute > which I thought was sort of outrageous, especially since on my cell > phone I do not pay anything at all. PAT Of course, I don't pay that. The SBC telemarketing lady was surprised when I flat out told her that SBC's LD rates were not very good, and that I couldn't imaging switching from 3.9 cents a minute to 7 cents a minute. She wasn't ready to offer me another deal, either. I suspect that Kansas has had SBC long distance longer than California has been so honored, and SBC is starting to actually compete. But of course, six cents isn't so hot, either. What is going to blow the whole industry wide open is VoIP. This was driven home to me earlier this week by a phone call I received from an associate in southern California. We talked for a few minutes over an annoying hum on the line. "GTE STILL hasn't fixed my phone line. Wait a minute...I'll call you right back." The phone rang, and my caller sounded just fine ... no hum and only some very slight digital-delay artifacts. "This is my new Vonage service. Much better ... and the call is free!" His Internet service is provided via cable modem. Phone companies, both local and long distance, should be very nervous. Just a few years ago, who would have thought that an ordinary consumer would have an instant alternative to "the phone company" ... and it would be cheaper besides? John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: tonypo1@cox.net Subject: Re: Skimming the Cream Organization: The Ace Tomatoe and Cement Company Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 00:45:34 GMT In article , no- spam@amadeus.kome.com says: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You have to pay seven cents per minute > on your long distance from SBC there? They sell it here in Kansas for > *six* cents per minute which I thought was sort of outrageous, especially > since on my cell phone I do not pay anything at all. PAT] Just like Verizon skimming the cream with it's flat rate local/ld package in NY and MA. All it's other northeast service states have to wait. Tony ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Skimming the Cream Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 14:04:22 GMT Organization: Cox Communications John, Surely you jest in your wonderment about SBC. You know that Pacific Sell has never been a price leader. They are counting on the stupid to sign up. And, if your long distance bill is only $5 a month, who cares anyway? ;-) John Higdon wrote: > Some things are predictable. With great flourish and fanfare, SBC rolled > out its highly-touted long distance offerings about a month ago in > California. But something seemed not quite right. > Cutting to the chase, the prices on SBC's long distance service are, to > be kind, mediocre. Even AT&T, not known for particularly good long > distance bargains, beats the pants off of SBC's long distance rates. > Furthermore, SBC is inflexible; there is no bargaining room: take the > price or leave it. > What happened to the cut-throat competition of which the IXCs feared so > much? The only thing that comes to mind is that SBC is going first for > the cream: those folks who see some advantage to being billed by the > same company for local and long distance, even if they pay more. Or > perhaps they will attract those folks who are bending over for an IXC's > "basic rates", having never bothered to shop or dicker for anything > better. > Other than that, I'm not sure why anyone would like to trade 3.9 cents a > minute for SBC's 7 cents a minute. It remains to be seen when SBC REALLY > intends to compete in the long distance market. > John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS > +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You have to pay seven cents per minute > on your long distance from SBC there? They sell it here in Kansas for > *six* cents per minute which I thought was sort of outrageous, especially > since on my cell phone I do not pay anything at all. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony P Subject: Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? Organization: The Ace Tomatoe and Cement Company Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 00:52:26 GMT In article , stretch@houston.rr.com says: > I picked up a T-Mobile cell/pda a few months ago, and was frustrated > by large areas where there appears to be little or no coverage, and > call quality that made a satphone seem studio-quality by comparison. > After getting the usual runaround from the customer service folks, I > worked my way up the food chain and got, perhaps by accident, a more > candid explanation of the problem. Or are they just pulling my leg > again? > If I understand correctly, AT&T is rolling out a GSM service as well. > T-Mobile claims that AT&T is using abnormally high signal levels, > which cause T-Mobile phones to be unstable or totally unusable in the > affected area. I was told that since AT&T's service is in a "trial" > mode, they have no regulatory solution, so T-Mobile subscribers are, > basically, out of luck. Isn't T-Mobile the former VoiceStream which was the former Omnipoint? So it's a definite GSM network that had excellent coverage along all the major highways. But AT&T toying with a new GSM system? Only way it would interfere is if it were on the same frequencies as the T-Mobile system, or was a harmonic of any of those frequencies. Tony ------------------------------ From: danny burstein Subject: Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 01:35:07 +0000 (UTC) Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In Stretch writes: [ snip ] > If I understand correctly, AT&T is rolling out a GSM service as well. > T-Mobile claims that AT&T is using abnormally high signal levels, > which cause T-Mobile phones to be unstable or totally unusable in the > affected area. I was told that since AT&T's service is in a "trial" > mode, they have no regulatory solution, so T-Mobile subscribers are, > basically, out of luck. It's not quite that simple, but there is, indeed, cross contamination (ain't no better word for it) as AT&T turns on its network. This topic has been thrashed out at length in the alt.cellular.gsm newsgroup (available through your friendly neighborhood groups.google.com interface). Short version: your phone "should" see that there are multiple networks available and register onto the one you're subscribed to. However, some phones get confused. All too often they'll latch onto the stronger signal. or the first one they pick up when you get out of the subway. If the AT&T tower is closer to you, then the phone will stay there and be effectively dead and T-Mobile's network won't even see it. Part of the problem is that when GSM first came to the US there was only one provider in each area (with a teensy number of exceptions). So this didn't used to be an issue. Again, some phones handle this far more gracefully than others. Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 07:24:04 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 19:56:29 GMT, Stretch wrote: > I picked up a T-Mobile cell/pda a few months ago, and was frustrated > by large areas where there appears to be little or no coverage, and > call quality that made a satphone seem studio-quality by comparison. You don't say where you are. It makes a whole lot of difference where you are as far as what your reception quality will be. If you're in the "shadow" of a hill that will affect reception as well as other natural obstructions. > After getting the usual runaround from the customer service folks, I > worked my way up the food chain and got, perhaps by accident, a more > candid explanation of the problem. Or are they just pulling my leg > again? > If I understand correctly, AT&T is rolling out a GSM service as well. > T-Mobile claims that AT&T is using abnormally high signal levels, > which cause T-Mobile phones to be unstable or totally unusable in the > affected area. Someone handed you a load of horse hockey on that one. If AT&T or any other company powers above their permissible level the FCC will come down on them like flies on dog excrement. > I was told that since AT&T's service is in a "trial" > mode, they have no regulatory solution, so T-Mobile subscribers are, > basically, out of luck. They handed you a line to get you off their backs. > I will give T-Mobile some credit: They offered to give me a second > phone, which I could put my SIM card into when I needed to go into > areas where the coverage was poor, and to let me manually re-program > the phone as needed to force carrier selection, and they also said > that T-Mobile phones need to be powered on and off several times a day > to stay in "sync", due to how their network is set up. You must've gotten a beaut who made up that fairy tale. There's no good reason you should have to power down and power up your phone several times a day to make the service perform correctly. Also every mobile device that I know of that accesses a GSM network has the ability to manually choose a network. You don't need to get another phone though there are differences between phones in how they do in regard to how well they handle weak RF. From what it sounds like in your situation you are in a marginal reception area and that's part of the reason you're having difficulty holding a T-Mobile signal. > It may be a workable solution, but ... I would have rather the phone > just rang when my son's school nurse tried to call me to tell me he > was sick. :-( You don't say how much time you've had the service, but if you're within the 14 day remorse period you might think about taking the phone back and canceling service. It may be that T-Mobile just doesn't work for you in the area you find yourself. Another carrier may work better for you. If you can't use the phone reliably in the areas which you normally will find yourself it's of no use to you. As in all things in life YMMV so act accordingly. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: Fritz Whittington Subject: Re: TSA Books Data Mining Program Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 17:09:17 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Monty Solomon wrote: > The score color will then be encrypted on the passenger's boarding > pass. A green score will allow passengers to proceed through the > usual airport security checks. Passengers with a yellow score will > be subjected to additional security checks and a red score will > ground the passenger. > http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2013781 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why would they issue a red boarding > pass that in effect would not let the passenger board at all? Why > not just refuse to issue a boarding pass at all in that case? PAT] They don't want to alert the person that anything's wrong. They want them to show up at the airport, present their "secretly-encoded" red pass (how long do you think that's gonna remain secret?), and then grab 'em. The public picture projected by the TSA so far seems to be that they are all completely clueless idiots. 'Course, they may be so smart that they do that deliberately to throw the bad guys off track. ------------------------------ From: John P. Marshall Subject: Re: TSA Books Data Mining Program Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 12:21:25 -0500 Organization: I.S. Associates, Inc. > The TSA will then assign a red, yellow or green score to the passenger > based on the agency's risk assessment of the traveler. The score color > will then be encrypted on the passenger's boarding pass. A green > score will allow passengers to proceed through the usual airport > security checks. Passengers with a yellow score will be subjected to > additional security checks and a red score will ground the passenger. > http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2013781 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why would they issue a red boarding > pass that in effect would not let the passenger board at all? Why not > just refuse to issue a boarding pass at all in that case? PAT] Perhaps the red score passengers will be subjected to invasive searches in case they can be caught "red" handed. Then they get arrested or if the search produced nothing then they're told sorry we won't let you fly anyway. I wonder if they get a refund? Regards, John ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #331 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 7 23:37:59 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h284bxG10679; Fri, 7 Mar 2003 23:37:59 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 23:37:59 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303080437.h284bxG10679@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 V22 #332 TELECOM Digest Fri, 7 Mar 2003 23:38:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 332 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Wireless Companies Turn to Walkie-Talkie Technology (Monty Solomon) TiVo Adds Record Number of Subscribers; Reports First Cash (Monty Solomon) Verizon's New Web Conferencing Service Lets Workers Collaborate (M Solomon) EarthLink Says it Blocks Identity-Theft Scam (Monty Solomon) Re: Communication Between PABX (Jan Ceuleers) Re: Communication Between PABX (Hank Karl) Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? (Joseph) Re: DSL vs Cable (Joey Lindstrom) Re: DSL vs Cable (John Higdon) Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL (temp6) Yahoo! Internet "Upgrade" to SBC DSL Users (Robert Weller) Pop-up Stopper (Joey Lindstrom) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 18:23:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wireless Companies Turn to Walkie-Talkie Technology By Yukari Iwatani CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - In a throwback to a time before cell phones were invented, U.S. wireless telephone companies are hoping a World War II-vintage communications concept will help revive their stagnating businesses. They've set their sights on a walkie-talkie-like feature that allows cell phone users to connect with friends, family and colleagues instantly with the push of a button instead of dialing a number and waiting for the call to go through. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32133287 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 18:25:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Adds Record Number of Subscribers and Reports First Cash A Positive Quarter - Annual service and technology revenues more than tripled; total subscriber base grew 64% to approximately 624,000; - Fourth quarter service and technology revenue doubled compared to previous year; Q4 loss per share of $(0.25); - Sony, Toshiba and DIRECTV with Hughes, Philips and Samsung expected to deliver products powered by TiVo this year. SAN JOSE, Calif., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO), the creator of television services for digital video recorders (DVR), today announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended January 31, 2003. TiVo added approximately 115,000 new subscribers in the fourth quarter, bringing the total subscriber base to approximately 624,000 as of January 31, 2003. The company's subscriber base grew 64% during the fiscal year. Service and technology revenue for the quarter increased 103% to $13.7 million, compared with $6.8 million for the three months ended January 31, 2002. Net loss for the quarter was $14.7 million, or $(0.25) per share, an improvement from a net loss of $41.6 million, or $(0.92) per share, for the three months ended January 31, 2002. These quarterly net loss results exclude non-cash items related to the temporary reduction in the conversion price of our notes. Service and technology revenue for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2003 grew 210% to $60.2 million, compared with $19.4 million for the twelve months ended January 31, 2002. Net loss for the year was $55.2 million, or $(1.08) per share compared to a net loss of $160.7 million, or $(3.74) per share for the twelve months ended January 31, 2002. These annual net loss results exclude items related to the repurchase of convertible preferred shares from AOL in April 2002 and also exclude non-cash items related to the temporary reduction in the conversion price of our notes. TiVo generated $2.2 million of cash flow, as measured by Adjusted EBITDA, in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $23.8 million in the fourth quarter of last year. In fiscal year 2003, Adjusted EBITDA improved by nearly $80 million, to a loss of $21 million, compared to a loss of $100.4 million in fiscal year 2002. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32143753 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 18:33:40 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon's New Web Conferencing Service Lets Workers Collaborate In Virtual Conference Room With No White-Board Dust Workers Anywhere Can Link Up Any Time NEW YORK, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting now, a virtual meeting is just a phone call and a few clicks away. Travel bills can drop; meeting rooms can go vacant. Businesses now have the flexibility to hold face-to-face online meetings any time and no reservation is needed with Verizon's Web conferencing service. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32181099 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 18:39:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EarthLink Says it Blocks Identity-Theft Scam By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, March 7 (Reuters) - Internet provider EarthLink Inc.(NASDAQ:ELNK) said on Friday it had blocked an apparent identity-theft scam that sought to collect credit-card and bank-account numbers from its customers. Many EarthLink subscribers recently received an email message urging them to resubmit their personal information or face termination of their accounts, due to a "recent system flush." Users who clicked on a link found themselves at a Web site, www.el-network.net, that asked them for their name, address, credit-card and bank-account numbers, as well as personal information such as mother's maiden name and birth date. The site featured EarthLink's logo and and links to EarthLink customer pages. An EarthLink spokesman said the site had been blocked Friday morning and the company was investigating the situation. Users who submitted information received a message that said the account had been terminated. According to domain seller Register.com, the Web site was registered to an address in California, but an EarthLink official doubted the person behind the scheme lived there. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32200898 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 21:21:05 +0100 From: Jan Ceuleers Subject: Re: Communication Between PABX Organization: -= Skynet Usenet Service =- foo wrote: > If I have one PABX with an E1 connection what protocol is used by the > PAPX when sending information on the E1 line, timeslot 16? I believe > it would be information about on which timeslot each call is made and > certain connect and disconnect messages. But which protocol is used, > is it LAPD and Q.931 or MTP-2 and MTP-3 in SS7. Where do I find > information about how such signaling packets between PABX's look like? > Infromation as: How do a PABX send a message about that one of the > telephones connected to it will call a number on an different PABX > elsewhere. There are various choices. As you appear to be from Sweden, my first guess would be that the protocol used is Qsig. This is a message- oriented common channel signalling system (like Q.931 and SS7 are), but oriented towards private networking (i.e. much more feature-rich than public signalling systems are). Had you been from the UK, my first choice would have been DPNSS. There are very few PBXs that support SS7, so that the chances are nearly nonexistent that you would find an SS7 inter-PBX trunk. Other possibilities include forms of digital tielines (e.g. CAS line signalling in time slot 16 with either DTMF or R2 register signalling in the bearer time slots) and various kinds of proprietary inter-PBX signalling systems. It would help if you told us the make and model of PBX on either side of the link. Hope this helps. Jan ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Communication Between PABX Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 20:07:14 -0500 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ On 7 Mar 2003 07:08:19 -0800, di00enad@ing.hj.se (foo) wrote: > If I have one PABX with an E1 connection what protocol is used by the > PAPX when sending information on the E1 line, timeslot 16? I believe > it would be information about on which timeslot each call is made and > certain connect and disconnect messages. But which protocol is used, > is it LAPD and Q.931 or MTP-2 and MTP-3 in SS7. Nowadays, QSIG is used between PBXes. QSIG is a symmetric variant of Q.931 ISDN. Depending on where you are and the age of the PBX, other protocols were used (e.g. DPNSS, Coronet) but they have pretty much been replaced by QSIG > Where do I find information about how such signaling packets between > PABX's look like? Information as: How do a PABX send a message > about that one of the telephones connected to it will call a number > on an different PABX elsewhere. Hank Karl Eastern Regional Manager +1 (203)207-0047 hank@Nine-9s.com www.nine-9s.com Representing: http://www.telesoft-intl.com/ ISDN, T1 RBS, E1 R2 CAS, Frame Relay, ML-PPP, X.25, ... http://www.agoralabs.com/ elemedia H.323, Video Codecs SIP -- watch this space! ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: T-Mobile GSM: Jammed by AT&T?? Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 15:57:33 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 01:35:07 UTC, Danny Burstein wrote: > All too often they'll latch onto the stronger signal. or the first one > they pick up when you get out of the subway. If the AT&T tower is > closer to you, then the phone will stay there and be effectively dead > and T-Mobile's network won't even see it. This problem has mostly affected Samsung phones notably the N105 and Q105. It also has affected some Ericsson phones. It's not a problem for Nokia or Motorola phones. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 17:31:33 -0700 Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 EST, Garrett Wollman wrote: > In article , John Higdon > wrote: >> After all, the headquarters is located back east where power isn't an >> issue. > I'd like to know in which universe Mr. Higdon lives, so that I can > book a transit there. In my universe, the century-old power > infrastructure 'back east' is not known for its reliability -- just > ask any broadcast engineer. We've been asking that question about Mr. Higdon for several months now -- we haven't had a satisfactory answer. This is the same guy who advocates filtering all incoming email from the .info TLD because he's had some spam from it. Well hey, I've had most of my spam come from the .com TLD -- guess we should filter against that one too. :-) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 12:22:44 -0800 In article , wollman@khavrinen.lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) wrote: > I'd like to know in which universe Mr. Higdon lives, so that I can > book a transit there. In my universe, the century-old power > infrastructure 'back east' is not known for its reliability -- just > ask any broadcast engineer. Well, as a broadcast engineer, I have had many discussions with my counterparts back east. And having done work in Boston (albeit some decades back) and other places on the eastern seaboard, I can tell you that it would be a good idea for you to come see how bad it can be before dismissing any "century-old power infrastructure". I'll say it again: northern California has the worst power reliability in the nation. A recent study, quoted in the SF Chronicle, shows that the Bay Area, in particular has more outages (and outages of longer duration) than anywhere else, including Alaska and other places where the elements are much, much more hostile. I suggest you get in touch with your own universe, the one which we share. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 14:37:52 CST Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL From: Reply-To: temp6@thewolfden.org joe@obilivan.net wrote Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL on Fri, 07 Mar 2003 14:02:31 GMT: > By "they," I meant AOL. AOL has placed blocks on Verio, one of the largest > web hosting ISPs in the country. Verio's policy is hands-off SPAM, because > they do not feel their role is that of censor. AOL sees it differently,thus > blocking legitimate email deliveries from Verio users. So (taking some artistic license) Verio is screaming garbage and obscenities at AOL and others over a billion times a day -- while accepting payments with their free hand -- pausing only every now and then to tell them something useful in a normal voice, and now AOL has just chosen to completely ignore them, Verio customers are getting annoyed that their email is not getting through, and maybe are going elsewhere, all because Verio claims it's not their role to stop sending something so vile and evil that laws are being argued to stop it, which affects everyone on the the internet, and which most people never find useful? Sounds like the unofficial system is working just fine. 'Scuse me now, I need to go add verio to my permanent block list. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 11:07:40 -0800 Subject: Yahoo! Internet "Upgrade" to SBC DSL Users From: Robert Weller I am an SBC (formerly Pacbell) ADSL subscriber in the SF Bay area. I've received several pieces of marketing mail and a couple e-mails asking me to "upgrade" to Yahoo! internet. The benefits of this "upgrade" are pretty nebulous, and I am concerned about losing my static IP address. Does anyone know whether the Yahoo! "upgrade" will become mandatory for SBC/Pacbell DSL users? Bob ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 17:37:25 -0700 Subject: Pop-up Stopper Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 -0500 (EST), editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > What little (relatively speaking) spam that manages to slip through to > me after my long 'click-fest' twice a day gets destroyed as well, but > it tends to be the kind that requires me to reboot the computer to > get it out of my face (whatever it is, it has HTML code in it that > keeps bringing it back no matter how many times I click it away.) Pat, I have in past issues of the Digest refered to an excellent program called PopUp Stopper (can't remember the URL offhand, do a Google search). It's main claim to fame is that it prevents those annoying pop-up and pop-under ads that many websites foist upon us. It also solves the problem you're talking about - the website from hell that just won't go away (you close one window, it loads another). It consumes VERY few resources on your PC and works wonderfully. For those times when you really need a pop-up window (ie: Canada Post's package-tracking system uses a pop-up window), you just hold down the SHIFT or CTRL key while clicking on the link that launches the window, then release when the new window has launched. Best of all, it's free. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I now have it here also. Thanks for the hint to it. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #332 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 8 23:26:50 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h294QoM16065; Sat, 8 Mar 2003 23:26:50 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 23:26:50 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303090426.h294QoM16065@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 V22 #333 TELECOM Digest Sat, 8 Mar 2003 23:26:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 333 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Judges: FBI's Child-Porn Search Illegal (Monty Solomon) FBI Misled, Deceived Judges in Online Child Porn Investigations (M Solomon) Re: Western Union City Codes (Mark J Cuccia) Re: TSA Books Data Mining Program (David Clayton) Re: Wireless Companies Turn to Walkie-Talkie Technology (Dana) White House Nastygrams Whitehouse.org over Lynne Cheney Parody (M Solomon) Noah Shachtman Replies to Politech Over Los Alamos Story (Monty Solomon) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:46:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Judges: FBI's Child-Porn Search Illegal By Robert Lemos Staff Writer, CNET News.com U.S. District Court judges this week threw out warrants used in the FBI's breakup of the Candyman online child-porn group, saying that the agency misled magistrates to obtain the right to search homes. In a Thursday ruling in the Eastern District of Missouri, Judge Catherine D. Perry found that recent evidence had shown that "false information was recklessly included in the search warrant application," leading her to overturn a previous decision and throw out the evidence the government gained from the search. A New York judge ruled similarly. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1025-991652.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 18:12:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: FBI Misled, Deceived Judges in Online Child Porn Investigations http://www.politechbot.com/p-04528.html Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 09:59:38 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: FBI misled, deceived judges in online child porn investigations http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52935-2003Mar6.html By LARRY NEUMEISTER The Associated Press Thursday, March 6, 2003; 6:58 PM Two federal judges have dealt a potentially crippling blow to a nationwide Internet child pornography crackdown, saying the FBI recklessly misled judges to get search warrants that were used in making more than 100 arrests. Constitutional safeguards cannot be relaxed just because "the crimes are repugnant," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in New York as he dismissed evidence obtained against one defendant. Chin's ruling, dated Wednesday, was released publicly Thursday. U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry in St. Louis, throwing out evidence against another defendant Thursday, said "false information was recklessly included in the search warrant application." ... Chin called the intrusion of privacy by the government "potentially enormous." "Thousands of individuals would be subject to search, their homes invaded and their property seized, in one fell swoop, even though their only activity consisted of entering an e-mail address into a Web site from a computer located in the confines of their own homes," he wrote. Defense lawyers said both judges considered new evidence that demonstrates the FBI recklessly used erroneous information in its search warrant applications. Nearly identical applications were used in cases across the country. ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2003 23:44:21 CST From: Mark J Cuccia Subject: Re: Western Union City Codes On 6 Mar 2003 at 15:20:25 (-0800), John Ruckstuhl reposted an article from thirteen years ago in comp.dcom.telecom (TELECOM Digest): [Larry Lippman (kitty!larry@uunet.uu.net) wrote on 1989-09-22 16:42:45 PST, that markw@gvlf1-c.gvl.unisys.com (Mark H. Weber) writes]: >>> The instructions for registering in the UUCP ".US" domain indicate >>> that city codes assigned are Western Unions' "City Codes". Is there a >>> reference available for these codes, or a number to call to find out >>> what the city code is for a particular city? I called my local Western >>> Union office, but the operator had no idea what a "city code" was. >> Well, one would think that someone in a Western Union office would >> have a listing of Western Union city codes, huh? I guess this must be >> a symptom of WU's "poor health". >> In any event, if one really cares, they can find a complete listing >> of all WU city codes in any WU Telex Directory. There are over TEN >> THOUSAND WU city codes for the U.S. and Canada, which range from >> "AAAI" (Auburn, IN) tp "ZUMB" (Zumbrota, MN). There is one code which >> begins with a number, "150M" (150 Mile House, BC). I bet y'all wanted >> to know that one! :-) >> Personally, I think the WU city codes are an anachronism since Zip Code >> seems to be universally used for localization for any physical delivery >> system. > Well if you call WU at (800) 325-6000, their call center operators have > never heard of a Telex, much less have access to a directory. > Anybody have a WU Telex Directory? I'd like to know the city codes for: > Palo Alto, CA > Mountain View, CA > Cupertino, CA > Thanks! > John Ruckstuhl I will get to the reqested city codes at the end of this "rambling"! :) But for now, a great deal of background on something that hasn't been discussed for a while in the Digest, Telex (and TWX), or when it is mentioned by some others, the facts are 180 degrees OUT OF WHACK! So let me ramble some factual background for a while! :) In 1989, Western Union was in the process of selling/transferring its Telex network and services over to AT&T. They also returned TWX "back" to AT&T at that time as well. AT&T started *manual* operator cord-board connected 3-Row 5-level Baudot TWX service in 1931, and automated it in 1962, by "integrating" it into the DDD Telephone Network in the US, by assigning each 3-Row TWX machine a 10-digit "POTS" telephone number, based on the telephone area code of the location of the TWX customer and a centrally located NNX c.o.code, served off a #5XB switch; AT&T also began 4-Row 8-level ASCII TWX in the early 1960's, also using parts of the telephone network in both the US and Canada, and identifying 4-Row TWX machines with special N10 "area" codes, 510 for smaller towns thru-out the continental US, 610 for Canada, 710 for TWX Switching Plan in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, 810 for TWX Switching Plan in the Southeast and Louisiana and IN/OH/MI parts of the Midwest, and 910 for TWX Switching Plan for WI/IL/nw-IN parts of the Midwest and virtually everything else west of the Mississippi River (except Louisiana). There was *NEVER* a 410 code used for TWX; Also TWX *NEVER* existed in Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, nor the Caribbean!!! There was a reserved 310 "area" code for TWX, maybe it was originally intended to identify 50-KB wideband Data traffic??? It was still reserved for TWX as late as 1979. In 1970 or so, the FCC and the US Supreme Court finally required AT&T to sell off the TWX network and services to Western Union. This only applied to the US. 610 Canadian TWX remained the function of the Telephone companies of Canada. Over the next ten years, until 1981, US TWX was still switched and routed over the Bell System DDD Telephone Network, although Western Union began to integrate parts of the TWX network into its own Telex Network, and remove US TWX off of the Bell System (US) Telephone Network. By May 1981, this was completed. As far as the *TELEPHONE* company was concerned, 510, 710, 810, 910 were no longer "area" codes in use on the US part of the DDD Telephone Network, and reverted to SPARE. Yes, WUTCO continued to maintain the TWX numbers beginning with 510, 710, 810, or 910, but they had no further previous geographic meaning, nor was the traditional N10-NNX-xxxx format retained. Instead, WUTCO TWX of the 1980's could have numbers of the form N10-XXX-xxxx. The middle triplet of digits could begin 0XX or 1XX as well as NNX or even N0X or N1X. But TWX was now completely DIS-associated from the US Telephone Network starting May 1981. WUTCO Telex began in 1958, initially in the northeast US, as an extention of CNCP's Telex Network in Canada (Canadian National and Canadian Pacific Railways and Telegraph). WUTCO Telex in the US, CNCP Telex in Canada, RCA Telex in Alaska, Hawaiian Telex, etc. all had a *TELEX* numbering plan which was *NOT* related to the Telephone DDD nor TWX numbering plan of the Bell System. In the 1980's, there was a non-telco TWX attempt to use 310 for reaching domestic telex customers of competitive telex networks of ITT, MCI-WUI, RCA, Graphnet, FTCC, TRT, etc. I don't know how long this lasted. It seems to be an *abstract artifact* of what was originally reserved in the telephone network for TWX or Data services in the 1960's/70's. By 1989/90, as mentioned earlier, WUTCO was getting out of the Telex and TWX business and sold everything over to AT&T. Even though AT&T had TWX back as well as the original WUTCO Telex network, there was *NO* "re-integration" of the numbering plans. And by 1990, the N10 codes were now being assigned for TELEPHONE (and Fax and Modem) use within the NANP. Anyhow, it's no surprise that Western Union had NO idea what Telex or a Telex Directory was circa 1989 and especially not today. WUTCO is not at all what it was in the 1970's or even early 1980's. And I have absoltuely *NO* idea what still exists of TWX or Telex in the US. Similarly, I don't know if CNCP/Unitel/AT&T-Canada/whatever their next name will be when AT&T-US and AT&T-Canada soon officially part company ... has for Canadian Telex. I do know that telco TWX in Canada "died" in Fall 1994. The ITU still maintains an F.69 recommendation for worldwide Telex service including a list of F.69 Telex COUNTRY codes, which are *NOT* part of the E.164 TELEPHONE Country code format. As for the WUTCO City Codes for Telex ... I dug out my 1978 WUTCO Telex/TWX directory. It took some time of going up and down columns, but I confirmed that Auburn IN did use AAAI, and Zumbrota MN did use ZUMB. It seems that all Telex "answerbacks" were made up by an abbreviation of the company name, then a space, then the three or four character "city code". I would assume that CNCP would be responsible for these on Canadian Telex, but that they co-ordinated with WUTCO in the US so that there wouldn't be any duplication. TWX customers didn't always have the format of "answerback" described above. Some TWX answerbacks (probably customers who had TWX service from Telco, since prior to 1970?) were ONLY an abbreviation of the customer's company name. But other TWX answerbacks (maybe 1970's era new customers of WUTCO's TWX?) had an answerback that was like that of a Telex customer, i.e., an abbreviation of the company name, then a space, then the 3 or 4 character "city code". I did look up in the CNCP Canada TWX section and could NOT find any entry for 150 Mile House BC. But I did find 100 Mile House BC, some listed with 'OML', others listed with 'EXTR'. And I looked under California, and did eventually find the listings requested. It took some time -- I did find a company that started off "Palo Alto", and it had a Telex machine. But for Mountain View, I only found ONE customer whose name started off as "Mountain View" but they were a TWX customer whose answerback was only the abbreviation of their company name. And I couldn't find any customer in Cupertino whose name started off as "Cupertino". So it took an "exhautive" finger-down search of all entries under California until I could find a Telex customer (or TWX customer with city-code in their answerback) who was located in these other two communities. So, here are the city codes for the three locations in question: PLA Palo Alto, CA MNTV Mountain View, CA CPTU Cupertino, CA Hope this helps! :) Mark J. Cuccia mcuccia@tulane.edu New Orleans LA ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: TSA Books Data Mining Program Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 19:08:14 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au Monty Solomon contributed the following: > By Roy Mark > The TSA will then assign a red, yellow or green score to the passenger > based on the agency's risk assessment of the traveler. The score color > will then be encrypted on the passenger's boarding pass. A green > score will allow passengers to proceed through the usual airport > security checks. Passengers with a yellow score will be subjected to > additional security checks and a red score will ground the passenger. > http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2013781 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why would they issue a red boarding > pass that in effect would not let the passenger board at all? Why not > just refuse to issue a boarding pass at all in that case? PAT] They may want the ability to eject the "red" passenger mid flight as a warning to others! :-) Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Speaking of Dilbert, the comic strip which bears his name in the Sunday Independence Reporter this week has Dogbert working at a help desk enviroment. The angry customer on the phone has fire in his eyes as he explains, "Finally! It took me an hour to penetrate your inscrutable audio menu system! Then I waited in queue for another forty minutes! My problem is my computer keeps freezing ..." (Dogbert cuts in and interuppts him) ... "Not so fast! I need to know your name, address, phone number, operating system, email address, all of your serial numbers, model numbers, software versions, and the name/number of each video driver ... after I get that information, I'll put you in queue for the low-level technician whose only answer for you will be to reboot. He will ask you the same questions all over again for reasons that will baffle you." (The customer again with a look of hope on his face), "But eventually you'll solve my problem, right?" (Dogbert again), "Well sure, if your problem is too much optimism." I thought it was a funny cartoon. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Dana Subject: Re: Wireless Companies Turn to Walkie-Talkie Technology Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 00:11:03 -0900 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Monty Solomon wrote in message news:telecom22.332.1@telecom-digest.org: > By Yukari Iwatani > CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - In a throwback to a time before cell > phones were invented, U.S. wireless telephone companies are hoping a > World War II-vintage communications concept will help revive their > stagnating businesses. Nextel has been doing this for years. The technology they use is a proprietary scheme from Motorola, called iDen. It has the capability for both dispatch between individuals and groups(two way, walkie talkie), and interconnect (cell phone). It uses both dispatch location areas, and interconnect location areas. The dispatch function is now coming out for nation wide service. They have placed dispatch calls from Miami to Seattle. Where Nextel does not have coverage, you may be able to get coverage from one of the Nextel partners. Dispatch voice quality is not as good as interconnect, but it is good enough where you can hardly tell the difference. Nextel also has some data offerings, but no where near as fast as GPRS. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:38:40 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: White House Nastygrams Whitehouse.org Over Lynne Cheney Parody http://www.politechbot.com/p-04531.html Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 12:49:05 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: White House nastygrams whitehouse.org over Lynne Cheney parody See: http://www.whitehouse.org/administration/lynne.asp IMPORTANT LEGAL NOTICE: Mrs. Cheney's husband wishes you to be aware (SEE LETTER AND STATEMENT) that some/all of the biographic information contained on this PARODY page about Mrs. Cheney may not actually be true. Indeed, it may all be lies propagated by the many people whom she rubbed the wrong way during her long and still-unfolding life as a controversial public figure. You know how political vipers gossip! Besides, how on earth is one to know whether an interesting tidbit arises from fact or from the seamy whispers of mendacious Chatty Cathys? That said, the editors of WHITEHOUSE.ORG are confident that any rumors about Mrs. Cheney formerly being a crystal meth pusher are 100% likely to be absolutely untrue. Similarly, any stories about her penchant for licking Brandy Alexanders off the hirsute belly of her spouse are all lies, lies, lies! http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/06/nyregion/06PARO.html Web Site Hears From Dick Cheney After Parody Involving Wife By BENJAMIN WEISER Vice President Dick Cheney's office has spurred an unusual dispute by asking a Web site that parodies the Bush administration to remove a satirical biography and pictures of the vice president's wife, Lynne. After receiving the request in a letter from Mr. Cheney's counsel, the Web site doctored the photographs of Mrs. Cheney, adding a red clown nose and blackening out one of her front teeth, said its creator John A. Wooden. "The letter is, if you read it carefully, it is only a request," he said. "But there's really no such thing as a request from the vice president's office. It's a threatening letter." The New York Civil Liberties Union said yesterday that it would go to court to defend the parody's posting if Mr. Cheney's office did not back down from its request. [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 18:13:00 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Noah Shachtman Replies to Politech Over Los Alamos Story http://www.politechbot.com/p-04529.html Date: Fri, 07 Mar 2003 11:12:56 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: Noah Shachtman replies to Politech over Los Alamos story I understand this was circulated internally to Los Alamos employees: > A story on the Wired.com Web site includes a claim by the reporter > that he easily penetrated secure areas at the Laboratory; many of you > notified Public Affairs about the story, and we appreciate your > taking the time to bring it to our attention. Pete Nanos addressed > the issue quite forcefully in a media conference call this afternoon, > and here is the Laboratory's response to reporters who have called > the PA office: >> The Wired reporter clearly did not enter a Laboratory security area. >> The Laboratory encompasses more than 40 square miles. The security >> force protects important assets within those boundaries but cannot >> -- and does not -- protect every square foot of property. Based on >> the article, it appears the reporter crossed a barbed-wire cattle >> fence, not a fence that protects a Los Alamos security area. >> There is a small security area with several buildings (roughly 400 >> feet by 400 feet) near the driveway entrance to TA-33. That area is >> surrounded by a seven-foot-high chain-link fence topped with three >> strands of barbed wire. A security guard is stationed inside that >> area seven days a week and 24 hours a day. Clearly, the reporter did >> not climb that fence. >> There are several other buildings outside the security area that are >> locked for property protection interests. They have no security >> interests. There are several gates and fenced areas on the TA-33 >> site, which are there for safety access control, not security. >> It's unlikely the reporter would be prosecuted for trespassing; the >> Laboratory does not have law enforcement authority to prosecute, and >> none of the proper authorities witnessed the trespass. Previous Politech message (this will be the last round, I expect): http://www.politechbot.com/p-04506.html -Declan Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 18:35:02 -0800 (PST) From: Noah Shachtman Subject: Re: FC: Replies to Noah Shachtman's "How I Snuck Into Los Alamos" To: declan@well.com In-Reply-To: <5.1.1.6.0.20030225204736.03bcd2d8@mail.well.com> Declan: I've received a lot of messages like Sonja Tideman's and Jan Conklin's. They say, in essence, that my story wasn't a big deal, because the area into which I went wasn't sufficiently top-secret. If I had walked out with, say, a wheelbarrow full of uranium, then they would have been impressed. Well, in 1997, during a security training simulation, soldiers were able < ahref="http://www.pogo.org/p/environment/eo-011003-nuclear.htm#(la)">to do just that. In 2000, during a similar exercise, feaux bad guys "gain(ed) access to the reactor fuel potentially causing a sizable nuclear detonation that would have taken out part of New Mexico and caused havoc downwind." I'm a scared, out-of-shape lummox without any military training whatsoever, and with no motivation to do anything harmful. Yet I got into an area that I was assured could not be accessed by any outsider -- an area that no one will even say officially what it's purpose is. If I could do what I did -- and these simulated attackers could made such spectacular inroads - what could a more determined adversary accomplish? That's the question my story asks. Several readers of Slashdot said that TA-33 couldn't have been that important, if Bussolini and Alexander stored their allegedly fraudulently-purchased goods there, and if I was able to get in. To that, one Slashdot reader replied, "I'm not comfortable assuming that the buildings he managed to get into were useless just based on the fact that he was able to access them. It seems like that sort of head-in-the-sand circular logic does not good security practices make." I agree. From: "Ted Coffman" To: References: <5.1.1.6.0.20030225110410.075f4e50@mail.well.com> Subject: Re: Noah Shachtman: "How I Snuck Into Los Alamos" Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 11:28:32 -0800 Damn, Declan. If you believe this crap, I have some land in the Everglades to sell you. I looked at the photos and they are of a building that hasn't been used in years. The door is ajar and the electrical box's handle is in the down, non conductive mode. The weeds in front of the facility should be reason enough to list this information as garbage BS, caca, etc etc. Take your pick. This guy hopped the fence into an area of no use.........Big S Deal. Who cares! What a moron. Ted From: "K S" To: References: <5.1.1.6.0.20030225204736.03bcd2d8@mail.well.com> Subject: Re: Replies to Noah Shachtman's "How I Snuck Into Los Alamos" Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2003 19:34:56 -0500 This kind of made me worried: This sort of breaking the law to show that it can be done has been going on forever. There is nothing new and it is amazing how many people still think they are doing something productive. Why doesn't he just go to the authorities with his trick instead of blasting it over the net? His only interest, methinks, is himself. And it's sooo old and unoriginal. [.] Isn't the point of being a journalist to tell the PEOPLE about what is going on? "Blasting it over the net" helps raise public awareness about our world around us, and he wouldn't go to the authorities because, well, he'd be arrested; it could be what he wanted, but I doubt it. --- From: "Howard H. Bleicher" To: References: <5.1.1.6.0.20030225204736.03bcd2d8@mail.well.com> Subject: Re: Replies to Noah Shachtman's "How I Snuck Into Los Alamos" Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 22:42:00 -0700 Sonja, I have read your response to Noah Shactman's posting on Politech. The immediate past history of the 'happenings' at Los Alamos Labs, by itself, does not lend one to feel secure about anything that goes on there. Whether it be the undetected stealing of Lab property, the missing hard drive, Notra Trulock, who blew the whistle on the biggest breach of nuclear security since the Rosenbergs at Los Alamos National Laboratories, lost his job and had his reputation destroyed or the history of dumping radioactive waste in not too secure containers into the canyons surrounding Los Alamos Lab. back in the 1950's, and most recently the resignation of John C. Browne, the director of the Los Alamos National Lab. on Dec 23, 2002 amid mounting allegations of corruption and mismanagement. Your attempt to sooth the anxieties of us all in this time of national insecurity, although meant well, really doesn't begin to answer the ongoing questions concerning mismanagement, theft of property(including classified material) and now the real threat of the Lab being an open door to amatuers let alone terrorist penetration of it's supposed secure bordrs. Howard H. Bleicher, D.D.S. howardb4@earthlink.net ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #333 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 9 00:00:15 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2950Fn16879; Sun, 9 Mar 2003 00:00:15 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 00:00:15 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303090500.h2950Fn16879@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 V22 #334 TELECOM Digest Sat, 8 Mar 2003 23:59:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 334 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Hackers Steal Vital Data About UT Students, Staff (Monty Solomon) DirecTV Says May Drop ABC Family Over Price Rise (Monty Solomon) CTA Sets Cellular Plan For Subways (Monty Solomon) Pentagon Pledges 'No Global GPS Blackout' (Monty Solomon) Microsoft Speaks, Site Goes Dark (Monty Solomon) Spamcop Again Blocks Legit Site, Reportedly Takes Out Tucows (M Solomon) E-mail Scam Tries to Fool PayPal Users (Monty Solomon) Audio-Video Player to Sport Phone (Monty Solomon) Road Runner Securityscan.sec.rr.com (Monty Solomon) Re: DSL vs Cable (John Higdon) A Cingular Advantage (John Higdon) Re: Pop-up Stopper (3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com) Re: Pop-up Stopper (Linc Madison) Re: Pop-up Stopper (David Clayton) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 23:08:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Hackers Steal Vital Data About UT Students, Staff Officials say they are closing in on thieves; university will begin telling those affected By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Thursday, March 6, 2003 Computer hackers have obtained the names and Social Security numbers of about 59,000 current and former students, faculty members and staff at the University of Texas at Austin in one of the largest cases of potential identity theft ever reported. ... http://www.austin360.com/aas/metro/030603/0306uthack.html Who is affected? http://www.utexas.edu/datatheft/affected.html UT's response to data theft http://www.utexas.edu/datatheft ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 15:33:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: DirecTV Says May Drop ABC Family Over Price Rise LOS ANGELES, March 7 (Reuters) - No. 1 satellite television company DirecTV may drop the ABC Family Channel at the end of the month instead of paying the 35 percent price increase The Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS) is demanding, the company said on Friday. ABC Family would lose about 13 percent of its audience, or 11.3 million of 85 million homes, if DirecTV pulled the channel from its basic package that is available on its U.S. network. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32205197 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:02:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CTA Sets Cellular Plan For Subways By Jon Hilkevitch Chicago Tribune transportation reporter March 6, 2003 Chicago's subway system, an 11.4-mile-long Cellular-Free Zone, may soon become a rolling gabfest. The CTA board approved an $11.2 million contract Wednesday for a Libertyville company to install a wireless communication system in the subway tunnels on the Red and Blue Lines. CTA President Frank Kruesi, who uses his cell phone daily while riding on elevated trains, acknowledged the deal was "a mixed blessing, but overall a positive amenity." The subway tunnels, built in the 1940s, were one of the last refuges from a blab-happy society that feeds on unlimited free minutes of telephone time. Ultimately, though, the cell-phone users might not prevail. After all, who can possibly talk above the thump, roar, rumble and squeal of CTA subway trains? CTA officials want cell-phone technology to work in the tunnels to make riders feel safer, especially at night. They also say it will provide a back-up to their own radio communication systems in an emergency. And opening up the entire rapid-transit system to not only cell phones, but also e-mail, wireless Internet, paging and text messaging could be an important revenue source for the CTA. So far, however, no cell-phone carriers have shown interest in leasing the equipment. http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0303060177mar06,1,6142839.story ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:17:35 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Pentagon Pledges 'No Global GPS Blackout' Andy Coghlan The Pentagon has told New Scientist it will not implement a global GPS blackout for civilian users if war starts in Iraq, as seems increasingly likely. "We would not create a global problem for transport out of spite for Saddam," says a spokesman at the US Department of Defense. However, he admitted that the US military does have the capability to jam civilian GPS signals regionally, and did not rule this option out. A blockade of non-military GPS access in the "theatre of war" could significantly hinder the capabilities of Iraqi forces. But millions of civilian users depend on the US-controlled network of 27 global positioning satellites, in activities including shipping, transportation and power transmission. Any sudden GPS blackout would trigger chaos, say experts. It might also help break the deadlock in negotiations over Europe's proposed rival to GPS, Galileo. This 30-satellite system would be run for entirely civilian purposes. If agreement is reached it could be operational by 2008 at a cost of $2.8 billion. ... http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993477 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:28:46 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Speaks, Site Goes Dark By Joe Wilcox Staff Writer, CNET News.com In an uncommonly harsh application of a widely used Internet enforcement tool, a Windows news site was taken offline for nearly 24 hours this week after Microsoft accused the site of infringing its copyrights. Neowin was shut down late Thursday and came back online Friday afternoon. Microsoft's Internet investigator sent a takedown notice on Tuesday, alleging the site was infringing the company's copyrights relating to its recently released Windows XP Peer-to-Peer Software Development Kit (SDK), apparently due to a message posted by a reader in an online feedback forum. Such legal filings are routine. But in this case, the request turned into a nightmare for Neowin when it was sent not to the site but to the upstream Internet service provider responsible for Neowin's Web connection. That provider responded by pulling the entire site offline. Neowin declined to name the ISP, but a traceroute on the Neowin.net address showed Williams Communications Group, now known as WillTel Communications, as its furthest upstream provider. Sources later confirmed that Microsoft contacted the closer upstream provider, Hurricane Electric Internet Services of Fremont, Calif. Neowin and its Web host, Invision Power Services Hosting (IPS), blamed Microsoft for the incident, saying the software giant gave them no chance to fix the problem before referring it to the ISP for more draconian measures. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1025-991624.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:28:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Spamcop Again Blocks Legit Site, Reportedly Takes Out Tucows http://www.politechbot.com/p-04527.html Date: Thu, 06 Mar 2003 13:42:52 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: Spamcop again blocks legit site, reportedly takes out Tucows [Tucows is a domain name registrar that became famous in the 1990s by offering freeware/shareware downloads. The danger here is not that Spamcop is violating its own rules; it almost certainly is not. Its procedures, as I understand them, allow incorrect or malicious allegations of spam to place a site on the Spamcop blacklist. This is not a mistake: Spamcop was intentionally designed to have a hair-trigger better-safe-than-sorry reporting system. That makes it terribly prone to abuse, and Spamcop knows it. Spamcop's designers should have the right to sell such a flawed system, but the rest of us don't need to use it and should advise others against it. --Declan] --- Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 13:34:30 -0500 (EST) From: Joe Baptista To: Declan McCullagh Subject: SpamCop (fwd) Declan - looks like spamcop blacklisted tucows. Joe Baptista - only at www.baptista.god www.baptista.god yours to discover ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2003 12:01:35 -0500 From: Edward Gray To: discuss-list@opensrs.org Subject: SpamCop Early this morning the opensrs mail system that is used for sending OpenSRS domain renewal notifications was blacklisted by SpamCop. This has happened several times in the past specifically with SpamCop. This occurs because a registrant receives the renewal notice and in error, flags it as a Spam message with SpamCop. We are required to send at least 2 renewal notices to the owner of every domain as per the ICANN Registrar Accreditation Agreement. The duration that the blacklist will remain active is difficult to determine but the longest we have remained blacklisted so far is approximately 19 hours with some of the events lasting a 1-2 hours. Edward Gray Director, Operations & Networks Tucows Inc. egray@tucows.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 17:41:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: E-mail Scam Tries to Fool PayPal Users By Alorie Gilbert Staff Writer, CNET News.com PayPal subscribers are being targeted by a fraudulent e-mail scheme designed to con them into handing over their personal information. Over the past week, users of eBay's online payments service have been receiving e-mails masquerading as official PayPal alerts, eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove confirmed Friday. The messages ask recipents to submit bank and credit card details. Tricks involving bogus e-mail posing as legitimate messages from eBay and PayPal are nothing new. However, the latest spoof e-mail -- which included a PayPal logo, links to PayPal's site and official-looking fine-print -- appeared particularly convincing, said Brenda Frymire, a PayPal user in San Ramon, Calif., who received the e-mail Thursday. The e-mails tell recipients that their PayPal accounts have been randomly selected for maintenance and placed on "Limited Access" status. The message, which appears to come from info@paypal.com, instructs the account holder to enter credit card and bank account numbers in an online form embedded in the e-mail. Pursglove said that the "spoof" e-mail did not come from eBay or its PayPal unit and that it is very likely a trick to rob people of private information. He said the company has received several complaints, but has yet to figure out who is behind the scheme. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1018-991639.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 18:13:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Audio-Video Player to Sport Phone By John Lui Special to CNET News.com A Taiwanese electronics maker plans this year to begin selling a portable device that's half digital audio-video player and half cell phone. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1041-991545.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 18:56:00 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Road Runner securityscan.sec.rr.com Found on MacInTouch ... http://www.macintouch.com/ Christian Gurney reports on unusual, aggressive activity by Road Runner, which apparently has a policy of testing other companies' mail servers to see if they can be cracked: We run a small web services company that includes a set of E-mail servers. We recently detected a increase in port scans coming from IPs in RoadRunner's network blocks and so, we contacted their network admin with the log files from our firewalls to point this out. We thought the reply we received might be of interest to the Macintouch readers: "The securityscan.sec.rr.com machine is a Road Runner Security resource that is used as a tool to assist us in determining if machines being used to send us mail may be abused from outside sources, allowing them to be used to spam our customers and role accounts. We fully understand your concerns surrounding the probing of your machine. This issue has been raised internally and we hope this email helps you better understand our process. The intention of this process is truly not meant to be a "big brother" system, but we understand that some may view it as such. Our ultimate goal, however, is to protect our network, our customers, and in role accounts. Road Runner has begin the reactive testing of IP addresses which connect to its inbound SMTP gateways. If your machine connects to ours to send email, we reserve the absolute right to perform SMTP relay and open proxy server tests upon the connecting IP address to ensure that the machine at that IP address cannot be abused for malicious purposes. These scans are done once per week per IP, via an automated process, and only on those servers that have sent our subscriber base mail. The only way for these tests to occur is if an IP address connects to our inbound SMTP gateway. If found to be an open proxy or smtp relay, the IP address will be blocked at our mail gateway borders with one of the following error messages [...]" ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: DSL vs Cable Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 08:19:04 -0800 In article , Joey Lindstrom wrote: > On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 EST, Garrett Wollman wrote: >> I'd like to know in which universe Mr. Higdon lives, so that I can >> book a transit there. In my universe, the century-old power >> infrastructure 'back east' is not known for its reliability -- just >> ask any broadcast engineer. > We've been asking that question about Mr. Higdon for several months now > -- we haven't had a satisfactory answer. This is the same guy who > advocates filtering all incoming email from the .info TLD because he's > had some spam from it. Well hey, I've had most of my spam come from > the .com TLD -- guess we should filter against that one too. :-) And your experience with utility power reliability in northern California, Mr. Lindstrom, is what? Mine is thirty-five years of designing, building, and maintaining broadcast installations in California and other states. I currently oversee or maintain approximately two-dozen transmitting sites in northern California, which includes providing for power failure contingencies and environmental adversities. Besides the several studies that have been quoted in the media, my observations regarding power reliabilty are augmented with data supplied by associates in Alaska, Washington, Florida, and New York. And by the way, I would suggest that if you NEVER received a legitimate piece of email from the .com TLD, you might want to consider blocking it, just as I once did .info. And who is "we"? Are you now the co-producer of the Digest? John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: A Cingular Advantage Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 08:49:42 -0800 An associate has recently travelled to Bahrain. Making no special arrangements, he has discovered that his Cingular phone works just fine there. We are amazed that a phone which has problems aplenty in "modern" American cities works perfectly in the Middle East! In contract, those in the same group who made special arrangements with AT&T to have service there have found that it was a waste of time. AT&T phones don't work in Bahrain, period. Looks like there is something to that GSM standard, after all! John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 00:13:43 +0200 To reply by e-mail, include "Telecom Digest" in the subject line. On Fri, 07 Mar 2003 17:37:25 -0700, you , Joey Lindstrom , wrote: > program called PopUp Stopper (can't remember the URL offhand, do a > Google search). It's main claim to fame is that it prevents those > annoying pop-up and pop-under ads that many websites foist upon us. > It also solves the problem you're talking about - the website from hell > that just won't go away (you close one window, it loads another). It > consumes VERY few resources on your PC and works wonderfully. For > those times when you really need a pop-up window (ie: Canada Post's > package-tracking system uses a pop-up window), you just hold down the > SHIFT or CTRL key while clicking on the link that launches the window, > then release when the new window has launched. There's an even more elegant solution, in my opinion - Opera Browser v7.0 (This version doesn't have the quirkiness of previous versions.) It's at (where else) www.opera.com It has various settings regarding pop-ups ... accept / refuse / open in background / open requested pop-ups only Mine is set on that last one !! Also has settings to allow/disallow page redirections (if they're disallowed, you do have the option of clicking onward), as well as the ability to stop "referrer logging", to prevent a given site from knowing where you came from ... What I like is that instead of having to pro-actively do something while clicking to PREVENT the unwanted action, Opera defaults to preventing the unwanted actions with no action on the user's part, UNLESS he/she wants to overide occassionally. (Pat, this principle should appeal to you, I think !!) >Best of all, it's free. Well. if you can live with a small (about half of the top tool bar) relatively unobtrusive banner, so is Opera .... > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I now have it here also. Thanks for the > hint to it. PAT] Give Opera a try ... you might just like it ... after all, you liked MailWasher, as I see from your recent posts !!!! Cheers Frank R. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have Opera 7.0 also but find it is sometimes difficult to use with various Yahoo sites. Otherwise it is okay also. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Linc Madison Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 14:52:41 -0800 Organization: LincMad.com Consulting Reply-To: Telecom@LincMad.com Another effective way to stop pop-up ads and the avalanche of windows that open each time you close the one before, is simply to use a browser that was written with the user in mind. Internet Explorer is, like most Microsoft products, a gigantic security hole that may offer some accidental functionality to the user. It is trivial to stop all of those JavaScripts that open a new window when you close the current one. Mozilla allows you to do exactly that. It even automatically -- without any need for modifier keys -- allows you to pop up new windows that you specifically request by clicking on a link, while blocking new windows that pop up from some script or code embedded in the page you're viewing. The only reason that Microsoft continues to provide the pop-up window functionality is that they are in bed with the spammers. Of course, the reason that Microsoft products are huge gaping security holes for viruses and other malware, is simply incompetent programming. However, in the case of the pop-ups and cascading windows, I don't believe that it was unintentional. www dot LincMad dot com / Telecom at LincMad dot com Linc Madison * San Francisco, California ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 15:03:29 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au Joey Lindstrom contributed the following: > On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 -0500 (EST), editor@telecom-digest.org > wrote: >> What little (relatively speaking) spam that manages to slip through to >> me after my long 'click-fest' twice a day gets destroyed as well, but >> it tends to be the kind that requires me to reboot the computer to >> get it out of my face (whatever it is, it has HTML code in it that >> keeps bringing it back no matter how many times I click it away.) > Pat, I have in past issues of the Digest refered to an excellent > program called PopUp Stopper (can't remember the URL offhand, do a > Google search). It's main claim to fame is that it prevents those > annoying pop-up and pop-under ads that many websites foist upon us. > It also solves the problem you're talking about - the website from hell > that just won't go away (you close one window, it loads another). It > consumes VERY few resources on your PC and works wonderfully. For > those times when you really need a pop-up window (ie: Canada Post's > package-tracking system uses a pop-up window), you just hold down the > SHIFT or CTRL key while clicking on the link that launches the window, > then release when the new window has launched. > Best of all, it's free. ....... As well, if you use IE there is a program called "Crazybrowser" (http://www.crazybrowser.com/) which is a freeware browser "shell" which enhances IE considerably, (including stopping pop ups). I've used it for a few weeks now and find it most useful. Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #334 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 9 15:23:14 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h29KNDM21191; Sun, 9 Mar 2003 15:23:14 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 15:23:14 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303092023.h29KNDM21191@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 V22 #335 TELECOM Digest Sun, 9 Mar 2003 15:23:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 335 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Over One Billion AOL Spams (Linc Madison) Re: Over One Billion AOL Spams (Dave Phelps) Re: Western Union City Codes (George Mitchell) Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (John R. Levine) Court Nixes Child Net Porn Law (Monty Solomon) Pervert Panic Prompts Pic Phone Bathing Ban (Monty Solomon) Google Closes Blogger Security Holes (Monty Solomon) Limitations Doom HP's Digital Media Receiver (Monty Solomon) Unleashing the Dogs of Cyber-War on Iraq! (Monty Solomon) Gartner Warns Against Buying Uncertified Wi-Fi Devices (Monty Solomon) New Jersey Firm Buys Central Maine Phone Company (Monty Solomon) Bluetooth Devices/Script Collections; Sony Ericsson Clicker (Monty Solomon) Comcast `Mistake' Costly to RCN (Monty Solomon) Bank Glitch Gives Student $9.9 Million (Monty Solomon) Media Rules Unsexy But Important (Monty Solomon) Who's Calling? Your Favorite Band (Monty Solomon) Re: NANPA Confirms no More Non-Dialable Toll Points (John R. Levine) Re: Pop-up Stopper (David Baldock) Re: Pop-up Stopper (Roy Smith) Re: A Cingular Advantage (Joseph) Re: Road Runner securityscan.sec.rr.com (Jim Rusling) PIN Number Wanted For Used Answering Machine (Gordon) Re: 56kbps and PCM Channels (George Hand) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Linc Madison Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 14:45:29 -0800 Organization: LincMad.com Consulting Reply-To: Telecom@LincMad.com In article , wrote: > joe@obilivan.net wrote on Fri, 07 Mar 2003 14:02:31 GMT: >> By "they," I meant AOL. AOL has placed blocks on Verio, one of the >> largest web hosting ISPs in the country. Verio's policy is >> hands-off SPAM, because they do not feel their role is that of >> censor. AOL sees it differently, thus blocking legitimate email >> deliveries from Verio users. > So (taking some artistic license) Verio is screaming garbage and > obscenities at AOL and others over a billion times a day -- while > accepting payments with their free hand -- pausing only every now and > then to tell them something useful in a normal voice, and now AOL has > just chosen to completely ignore them, Verio customers are getting > annoyed that their email is not getting through, and maybe are going > elsewhere, all because Verio claims it's not their role to stop > sending something so vile and evil that laws are being argued to stop > it, which affects everyone on the the internet, and which most people > never find useful? > Sounds like the unofficial system is working just fine. > 'Scuse me now, I need to go add verio to my permanent block list. First of all, Verio's policy is *NOT* "hands-off" on spam. Here is a quote from their AUP: "[S]ubscribers violate Verio policy and the service agreement when they, their customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage in the following prohibited activities: Spamming -- Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet (known as "spamming"). It is not only harmful because of its negative impact on consumer attitudes toward Verio, but also because it can overload Verio's network and disrupt service to Verio subscribers. Also, maintaining an open SMTP relay is prohibited. When a complaint is received, Verio has the discretion to determine from all of the evidence whether the email recipients were from an "opt-in" email list." That's hardly a statement that "it's not our role to play censor." It is true that Verio has a lot of spammers and has done far too little to fight the problem, and if AOL does actually block all Verio e-mail, they may be justified. However, it is not true that Verio has a policy of giving spammers free rein. I left Verio not long after my previous ISP was borged. That was a few years ago, when spam was far less of an issue, and I left because the overall quality of Verio's customer service was far less than I was willing to accept. It is not Verio's -- or any ISP's -- role to monitor every e-mail as it is sent to prevent spam from ever being sent. However, it is Verio's -- and every ISP's -- role to shut down a spammer promptly when legitimate complaints are received. Verio's "hat" is far from the purest of whites, but it's a long way from the blackest of blacks. Their policy -- enforced unevenly and often far too slowly -- is unequivocally anti-spam. They have booted off several large spamming operations. www dot LincMad dot com / Telecom at LincMad dot com Linc Madison * San Francisco, California [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I dunno how much AOL is really doing to block spam. I had **273** pieces of spam (and nothing legitimate) in my mailbox there yesterday. I blocked all 273 from contacting me again and forwarded all 273 spams to the department which handles it (or not) at AOL. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 12:41:03 -0600 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , joe@obilivan.net says: > By "they," I meant AOL. AOL has placed blocks on Verio, one of the > largest web hosting ISPs in the country. Verio's policy is hands-off > SPAM, because they do not feel their role is that of censor. AOL sees > it differently, thus blocking legitimate email deliveries from Verio > users. Sounds reasonable to me. If I know Verio is a major source of spam, and doesn't want to do anything about it, then I don't want to receive email from them or anyone they host. The sites that Verio hosts will move to other hosting companies, and Verio will learn that hosting spammers costs money. As long as it is optional. If people do not wish for someone to filter their mail for them, that should be their choice. Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: George Mitchell Subject: Re: Western Union City Codes Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 20:33:00 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Mark J Cuccia wrote: > TWX customers didn't always have the format of "answerback" described > above. Some TWX answerbacks (probably customers who had TWX service > from Telco, since prior to 1970?) were ONLY an abbreviation of the > customer's company name. But other TWX answerbacks (maybe 1970's era > new customers of WUTCO's TWX?) had an answerback that was like that of > a Telex customer, i.e., an abbreviation of the company name, then a > space, then the 3 or 4 character "city code". The M.I.T. Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (as it was known as at the time) obtained a TWX machine around 1969. It was listed in the TWX directory right next to a TWX machine in the M.I.T. Purchasing Depart- ment, and we got a number of misdirected messages intended for them. (Perhaps even more than messages intended for us!) So we set the ans- werback on the machine to "WRONG NUMBER!" -- George Mitchell (obfuscated email address) ------------------------------ From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Date: 9 Mar 2003 00:08:21 -0500 Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA [ Want to route 10 addresses into a private LAN with one as the catch-all ] > What is the lowest cost router I can use in this appilication?? An old 486 running Linux or FreeBSD. You probably have all the hardware you need covered with dust in a closet. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:09:49 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Court Nixes Child Net Porn Law PHILADELPHIA -- A federal appeals court has ruled that a law meant to safeguard children against Internet pornography is riddled with problems that make it "constitutionally infirm." A three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the Child Online Protection Act restricted free speech by barring website operators from posting information inappropriate for minors unless they limited the site to adults. The ruling upheld an injunction blocking the government from enforcing the law. The court said that in practice, the law made it too difficult for adults to view material protected by the First Amendment, including many non-pornographic sites. http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,57956,00.html ACLU v. ASHCROFT, No. 99-1324 (3d Cir. March 06, 2003) On remand from the Sup. Ct., the District Court did not abuse its discretion in granting an injunction against the enforcement of the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), nor did it err in ruling that the plaintiffs had a probability of prevailing on the merits of their claim inasmuch as COPA cannot survive strict scrutiny. In addition, COPA is overbroad because it is not narrowly tailored to proscribe commercial pornographers, but instead prohibits a wide range of protected expression. To read the full text of this opinion, go to: [PDF File] http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/3rd/991324p.pdf ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:52:52 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Pervert Panic Prompts Pic Phone Bathing Ban By John Leyden Fears that picture phones could be used by perverts to take pictures of half-dressed youngsters have prompted UK councils to ban the use of the technology at swimming baths and other public sports facilities. Although there's no firm evidence that paedophiles have latched onto picture messaging phones (or come to that any evidence), council sports chiefs are still wary of the possibility. Councils throughout the country are therefore updating existing policies to tackle the issue, before it becomes a problem. Leisure bosses in Carlisle have authorised staff to expel people using picture-messaging mobiles from the city's two main leisure facilities, local paper the News and Star reported yesterday. The move is an extension of existing Council policies that no filming or photography can be carried out at facilities without prior approval. ... http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/64/29649.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:55:22 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Google Closes Blogger Security Holes By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus Online Internet search giant Google confirmed this week that it closed several security holes that could have allowed hackers to substitute their own musings for any of the over one-million electronic diaries maintained through the popular "Blogger" online publishing tool. The vulnerabilities were typical of Web application security weaknesses that have plagued e-commerce sites for years, according to hacker Adrian Lamo, who discovered the holes and passed the details to San Francisco-based Pyra Labs in January. Pyra, creator of Blogger and the related hosting site BlogSpot, was acquired by Google last month. Lamo demonstrated the most serious vulnerability to SecurityFocus by replacing a reporter's skeletal BlogSpot weblog with one of his own. Before that, the hacker says he tested the technique on two other existing weblogs that had been abandoned, but that he resisted the temptation to replace any of the high profile journals hosted on the site -- one is operated by humorist Dave Barry, another by CNET Radio -- out of respect for the company. "I was tempted to do both of them," says Lamo. "Had Pyra been a less wholesome operation, I might have shown less restraint." Jason Shellen, Google's associate program manager for Blogger, said details of the vulnerabilities would be posted to Blogger's status page this week. ... http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/29637.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 03:06:54 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Limitations Doom HP's Digital Media Receiver By Mike Langberg Mercury News Hewlett-Packard's new Digital Media Receiver at $299 is a noble attempt to create a new type of consumer product but delivers so little value that I'm convinced we'll all look back in a year or two and marvel at how the company had the courage to ship such a thing. The DMR (www.hp.com/go/digitalmediareceiver) is one of the first entrants in an emerging field I call 'home entertainment networking' -- devices that move music, pictures and ultimately video from a personal computer to televisions and stereo systems elsewhere in the house. There's an obvious need for home entertainment networking, as more and more people assemble huge collections of digital pictures and songs on their PC's hard drive. No one wants to listen to music only in front of a PC, or force family and friends to gather around a computer monitor to look at snapshots from last summer's vacation. The problem is that it's not yet possible to make such a device easy to use, versatile and inexpensive. You only get two out of three: easy to use and inexpensive, but not versatile; or easy to use and versatile, but too costly. HP took the first route, opting for easy to use and inexpensive -- ending up with a box that has significant limitations. The DMR, which reached store shelves early this month and is also available direct from HP (www.hpshopping.com), resembles a small cable-TV converter and must be set up near a television set. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/5328842.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 03:17:55 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Unleashing the Dogs of Cyber-War on Iraq! Saddam Hussein could lose Internet access at the flip of a switch, and there's not much his geeks can do about it. By Brian McWilliams March 6, 2003 | Like an artist concealing his signature in the background of a painting, Loay Edmon Al-Botany tucks his name in the source code of Web pages at BabilOnline, the site he manages for Saddam Hussein's son Uday. Al-Botany, a lifelong resident of Baghdad, says his work for the government-controlled Iraqi newspaper site doesn't pay very well -- the equivalent of 100 U.S. dollars per month. But he considers himself lucky to have one of the few Internet jobs in the country, and a high-profile position at that. Any day now, however, it could all come crashing down from a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, says Al-Botany. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/06/iraq_geeks/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 00:30:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Gartner Warns Against Buying Uncertified Wi-Fi Devices By Paul Roberts, IDG News Service Research firm Gartner Inc. is warning companies to delay investing in 802.11g wireless LAN technology until products can be properly certified by the nonprofit Wi-Fi Alliance. Jumping on the 802.11g bandwagon may result in interoperability problems with other 802.11g devices as well as older 802.11b WLAN technology, Gartner said. ... http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,79101,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 00:37:47 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New Jersey Firm Buys Central Maine Phone Company WINTHROP, Maine (AP) The $28.5 million sale of Commtel, the telephone company that serves 12,000 customers in central Maine, may lead to job reductions and lower long-distance rates, officials said. Country Road Communications plans to incorporate the 105-year-old independent firm into its Maine operations, known as Pine Tree Networks, said Peter Saulnier, the company's chief financial officer. The Morristown, N.J, company has bought Saco River Telephone & Telegraph Co. in Bar Mills and Pine Tree Telephone & Telegraph Co. in Gray in the last three years. It has also established a division that serves business customers in the Portland and Lewiston-Auburn areas. Saulnier said that Country Road's combined customer base in Maine will allow it to buy large blocks of minutes from traditional long-distance companies at lower rates and pass savings along to customers. http://www.boston.com/dailynews/066/region/New_Jersey_firm_buys_central_M:.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 00:45:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bluetooth Devices / Script Collections For Sony Ericsson Clicker http://www.apple.com/applescript/bluetooth/ Script Collections for Sony Ericsson Clicker: * iTunes Scripts * Keynote Scripts * iPhoto Scripts * DVD Player Scripts * QuickTime Broadcaster Scripts * System Scripts * Sound Studio Scripts ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 01:22:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast 'Mistake' Costly to RCN By Craig M. Douglas RCN Corp., a cable and Internet provider, was on damage control this week after claiming its major rival, Comcast Corp., misled RCN's own customers by mailing them letters stating, "Dear Resident: As you may have heard, Comcast is now your cable company." According to an RCN official, the Comcast letters were mailed on either Monday or Tuesday to 18 different RCN communities. Besides the introductory paragraph, the letters, which were signed by Comcast Cable Product Manager Sandra E. Shapiro, outlined special pricing packages and installation plans. In response to Comcast's mass mailing, RCN mailed postcards and sent e-mail and phone messages to approximately 85,000 residents within the communities in question. Headlined with the message, "Recently, you may have received a communication from Comcast ... This is simply not true," the RCN response letters were sent out between Wednesday and yesterday. Aside from the confusion and time spent soothing customer concerns, Rachel Leone, RCN's director of marketing and sales, said the Comcast apparent error and the response letters likely cost RCN between $30,000 and $50,000. ... http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/local_regional/comcast03082003.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:19:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bank Glitch Gives Student $9.9 Million PRINCETON, New Jersey (AP) -- An online banking glitch gave a Princeton University student access to university accounts totaling $9.9 million when he tried to access a student publication's account. Freshman Ira Leeds didn't take any money. Leeds, financial manager for The Princeton Tory, was attempting to access the conservative magazine's account with PNC Bank on Friday when he accessed all 15 of the University's accounts, which totaled just over $9.9 million. ... http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/03/06/offbeat.banking.error.ap/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:42:25 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Media Rules Unsexy But Important By Manny Frishberg SEATTLE -- The number of TV stations one company can control, and whether it can also own a newspaper in the same town, "is not a very sexy issue," David Lougee told a pair of commissioners from the Federal Communications Commission at a hearing here on Friday. That may be one reason news outlets don't make much of an effort to cover media consolidation. The "orange blaze of a house fire" is more likely to attract a news director's attention, said Lougee, the general manager of two local television stations and a cable news channel. Even so, Friday's public hearing on media consolidation filled the University of Washington's student union auditorium. Attendees weren't even put off by snowfall during the morning rush hour -- an unusual occurrence in this normally mild climate. The Seattle hearing was one of a series of meetings organized to sample pubic opinion about proposals supported by FCC Chairman Michael Powell to relax or do away with the decades-old regulations. Radio ownership rules were deregulated in a similar way eight years ago. The rules limit one company from owning TV stations that reach more than 35 percent of American households, forbid a single TV network from owning a second broadcast network, limit multiple TV stations owned by one company in a market and place other limits on media consolidation. Judging by the muttered asides and spontaneous bursts of applause as the invited panels of experts testified, the assemblage was overwhelmingly opposed to loosening the rules. ... http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57972,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:44:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Who's Calling? Your Favorite Band LOS ANGELES -- A tiny company called Xingtone on Thursday said it has developed technology to enable users to load digital songs onto cell phones for the first time, but admits the software may hit a sour note with the embattled music industry. The software converts MP3 files, or compressed digital music files, onto wireless phones, which would take the current ring-tone phenomenon one step beyond providing the robotic sounding renditions of tunes currently playing on phones. Selling ring tones, or musical jingles on cell phones, is giving the music industry, entrenched in a prolonged sales slump, a little boost as it struggles amid a booming black market for illegal online file swapping. And with the ring-tone market expanding, many companies are now expanding into polyphonic ring tones -- which consist of more than just one note -- as well as preparing for the time when actual songs can be played on the cell phones. Some of the world's biggest music labels, like EMI Group have already licensed master recordings to wireless operators across Europe and Asia, which are expected to roll out in services on new handsets expected to be available by consumers this spring. But Xingtone, which employs eight people in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Amsterdam, said it has already gone live with its service that enables users to take an audio clip of a recording they own, load it through the conversion filter and deliver it to their phone. ... http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57958,00.html ------------------------------ Date: 9 Mar 2003 00:17:28 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: NANPA Confirms no More Non-Dialable Toll Points Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > might still care about distance. But the question is, what ARE those > places doing for phone service now? Have they been added into a > traditional ILEC exchange? Did they just drop their phone service > altogether? I suspect they now have dialable phone numbers. A few years ago we had a discussion of Deep Springs College, way out in the desert in California at the end of a very long toll station line (Deep Springs #1, as I recall) started getting wrong number calls and found that they also had a POTS number in the exchange to which their line was wired that people could call at the regular POTS rate. For places really out in the boondocks, sometimes it's possible to make cell service work at great distances by putting a directional antenna on a high enough pole. I've gotten usable analog AMPS signals at 25 miles just by parking my truck on the top of a hill, using a regular halfwave whip car phone antenna, and people report that in the Caribbean, AMPS phones work up to 100 miles from the tower using a whip antenna on the top of your boat's mast. Failing that, there's LEO satellite phones. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: David Baldock Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Sat, 08 Mar 2003 23:24:12 -0600 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com wrote: > To reply by e-mail, include "Telecom Digest" in the subject line. [snip] > There's an even more elegant solution, in my opinion - Opera Browser > v7.0 (This version doesn't have the quirkiness of previous versions.) > It's at (where else) www.opera.com > It has various settings regarding pop-ups ... accept / refuse / open > in background / open requested pop-ups only > Mine is set on that last one !! > Also has settings to allow/disallow page redirections (if they're > disallowed, you do have the option of clicking onward), as well as the > ability to stop "referrer logging", to prevent a given site from > knowing where you came from ... > What I like is that instead of having to pro-actively do something > while clicking to PREVENT the unwanted action, Opera defaults to > preventing the unwanted actions with no action on the user's part, > UNLESS he/she wants to overide occassionally. (Pat, this principle > should appeal to you, I think !!) >> Best of all, it's free. > Well. if you can live with a small (about half of the top tool bar) > relatively unobtrusive banner, so is Opera .... >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I now have it here also. Thanks for the >> hint to it. PAT] > Give Opera a try ... you might just like it ... after all, you liked > MailWasher, as I see from your recent posts !!!! > > > Cheers > Frank R. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have Opera 7.0 also but find it is > sometimes difficult to use with various Yahoo sites. Otherwise it is > okay also. PAT] Hello Pat, One nice thing about surfing Yahoo! with Opera is that you can "switch-off" the images & plug-in's, so you don't have to look at any flash or banner advertisments. I have a dual-boot system (Win98se/Linux), and the latest version for Linux is Opera 6.11. It will stop pop-ups, but doesn't have the "open requested pop-ups only" setting. On Windows, using ZoneAlarm Pro Firewall and Opera allows you to block banner ads and pop-ups, while still viewing regular website images. I'm still new to Linux, so I haven't got anything configured to block the banner ads yet. Take Care, David Baldock Electronics Engineering Technician - Testing and Modifying Digital, Analog, & RF SMT Circuits; Building Test Fixtures ------------------------------ From: Roy Smith Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 08:58:43 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com wrote: > Give Opera a try ... you might just like it ... after all, you liked > MailWasher, as I see from your recent posts !!!! Apple's Safari browser also blocks pop-ups. ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 07:28:45 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Sat, 08 Mar 2003 08:49:42 -0800, John Higdon wrote: > An associate has recently travelled to Bahrain. Making no special > arrangements, he has discovered that his Cingular phone works just fine > there. We are amazed that a phone which has problems aplenty in "modern" > American cities works perfectly in the Middle East! > In contract, those in the same group who made special arrangements with > AT&T to have service there have found that it was a waste of time. AT&T > phones don't work in Bahrain, period. > Looks like there is something to that GSM standard, after all! Well, AT&T Wireless or at least traditional AT&T Wireless up until a couple of years ago didn't use GSM and used TDMA (IS-136.) AT&T Wireless is overlaying GSM on their current IS-136 network. The AT&T GSM network is very young in that the network didn't even have its beginnings til a couple of years ago. Eventually I imagine that AT&T Wireless GSM will have coverage similar to other US GSM carriers such as T-Mobile/VoiceStream and PacBell/cingular. The AT&T Wireless network is still fairly young (July 2001.) VoiceStream/T-Mobile (February 1996) and the Pac Bell/cingular networks (July 1996) were live from the mid 90's. As ATTWS matures they will have coverage in more places such as Bahrain and elsewhere. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: Jim Rusling Subject: Re: Road Runner securityscan.sec.rr.com Organization: Retired Reply-To: jrusling-0303@cox.net Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 17:20:40 GMT Monty Solomon wrote: > Found on MacInTouch ... > http://www.macintouch.com/ > Christian Gurney reports on unusual, aggressive activity by Road > Runner, which apparently has a policy of testing other companies' mail > servers to see if they can be cracked: > We run a small web services company that includes a set of E-mail > servers. We recently detected a increase in port scans coming from IPs > in RoadRunner's network blocks and so, we contacted their network > admin with the log files from our firewalls to point this out. We > thought the reply we received might be of interest to the Macintouch > readers: > "The securityscan.sec.rr.com machine is a Road Runner Security > resource that is used as a tool to assist us in determining if > machines being used to send us mail may be abused from outside > sources, allowing them to be used to spam our customers and role > accounts. We fully understand your concerns surrounding the probing of > your machine. This issue has been raised internally and we hope this > email helps you better understand our process. > The intention of this process is truly not meant to be a "big > brother" system, but we understand that some may view it as such. Our > ultimate goal, however, is to protect our network, our customers, and > in role accounts. > Road Runner has begin the reactive testing of IP addresses which > connect to its inbound SMTP gateways. If your machine connects to ours > to send email, we reserve the absolute right to perform SMTP relay and > open proxy server tests upon the connecting IP address to ensure that > the machine at that IP address cannot be abused for malicious > purposes. These scans are done once per week per IP, via an automated > process, and only on those servers that have sent our subscriber base > mail. The only way for these tests to occur is if an IP address > connects to our inbound SMTP gateway. If found to be an open proxy or > smtp relay, the IP address will be blocked at our mail gateway borders > with one of the following error messages [...]" Yes, but try scanning IP's on rr's network that send you mail and see what their reaction is. Jim Rusling Partially Retired Mustang, OK http://www.rusling.org [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Tell us about Road Runner's attitude on this, would you please? Isn't turn about fair play? PAT] ------------------------------ From: gdubs@netrax.net (Gordon) Subject: PIN Number For Used Answering Machine Date: 9 Mar 2003 10:46:51 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have received a used telephone answering machine combo. The make is a Casio Phonemate and the model # is TI-310. Does anyone know what the PIN # is to access this answering machine from a remote phone? Thanks. ------------------------------ From: George Hand Subject: Re: 56kbps and PCM Channels Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:34:48 -0500 Organization: Mountain Cablevision Yet another example of computing folks misunderstanding telecoms; the explanation in FOLDOC is pure garbage! They're mixing analog with digital and making a right pig's ear of it. The data rate is dependant on the sampling rate of the analog signal and the number of bits used the represent the sample. The sampling rate is (usually) twice the highest frequency expected in the analog input signal, from Nyquist's theorem and as the standard bandwidth of a telephone channel is 300Hz to 3400Hz, we sample at 8000 times a second, using 8 bits per sample, giving a data rate of 64kbits/sec; some older T1 terminals used the least significant bit of the sample to indicate the status of the signalling leads with Superframe framing, but newer terminals use a dedicated signalling channel (channel 23) in the T1 frame. Hope that lays that error to rest! Bob wrote in message news:telecom22.320.14@telecom-digest.org: > Yup. It's still in widespread use today. If your business has a T1, > and you're not using ISDN, then you are using "Robbed Bit Signalling", > which is what you described below. It's also used for the > communications to and from the SLC that may be in your neighborhood. A > SLC effectively moves the line card that your home phone is on from > the central office to someplace pretty close to your home. It saves > cable pairs, and sometimes improves the quality of your line. > Alan Fowler wrote in message > news:telecom22.308.3@telecom-digest.org: >> The following is an extract from "FOLDOC" the Free >> OnLine Dictionary Of Computing http://www.foldoc.org/ which >> looks like being a useful reference. >> 56 kbps >> (56 kilobits per second) The data >> capacity of a normal single channel digital telephone >> channel in North America. The figure is derived from the >> {bandwidth} of 4 kHz allocated for such a channel and the >> 16-bit encoding (4000 times 16 = 64000) used to change >> {analogue} signals to digital, minus the 8000 bit/s used for >> signalling and supervision. >> Was this particular coding scheme ever used? It's >> my understanding that its always been eight bit encoding at >> 8000 samples per second. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #335 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 10 00:28:01 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2A5S1G23616; Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:28:01 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:28:01 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303100528.h2A5S1G23616@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 V22 #336 TELECOM Digest Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:21:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 336 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson 20th Anniversary of Portable Cellular Phone (Eric Friedebach) Telecom Defeats Challenges FCC Chief Powell's Leadership (Monty Solomon) US Court: Racketeering Charges vs Telsim Family Premature (Monty Solomon) Nigerian Scam Continues to Thrive (Monty Solomon) Mobile Phone Sales Beat Forecasts in 2002 - Survey (Monty Solomon) Intel Capital Invests in Vivato (Monty Solomon) Intel Funds Four More Wireless Companies (Monty Solomon) Computers in Libraries Make Moral Judgments, Selectively (Monty Solomon) Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Pop-up Stopper (Joey Lindstrom) Common Carriage (was Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails...) (Fred Goldstein) DSLAM (Sara) Re: PIN Number For Used Answering Machine (Steven Lichter) Re: A Cingular Advantage (Stretch) Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (David Clayton) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Eric Friedebach ubject: 20th Anniversary of Portable Cellular Phone Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 19:12:17 -0600 Organization: Sir Break-Alot School of Dance Reply-To: Eric Friedebach 2003 marks the 20th anniversary of the first commercial portable cellular phone, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000x, with a list price of nearly $4,000. Motorola has planned an exhibit in New York City from March 7 to March 16, 2003, the MOBILE Exhibit. To quote the press release from Motorola; "Motorola's MOBILE exhibit, opening in New York on March 7, will display a selection of more than 100 rare and obscure historical exhibits from the unique collection in Motorola's archives -- from the first handheld two-way radios developed by Motorola for the U.S. armed forces during World War II, to the radio communication tools that allowed Neil Armstrong to communicate his famous words as he stepped onto the moon, to the earliest consumer "brick" phones that epitomized the image of the 80s yuppie. An extensive line-up of period marketing materials, advertisements and publications will illustrate how an industrial communication tool became a ubiquitous personal device that has revolutionized human behavior all over the world. The MOBILE exhibit celebrates Motorola's part in the evolution of portable, personal communication -- from the clunky two-way radio to a discreet, universal object of desire. The exhibition tell stories from around the world of how the mobile has changed the way we talk, write and think; the way we organize our lives, relate to others and enhance our safety. MOBILE is open from March 7 to March 16, 2003, between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. and located at 13-17 Crosby St. in New York, NY. Images and additional information on the MOBILE Exhibit can be found at www.motorola.com/MotoInfo." If you wish to read more phrases such as "discrete, universal object of desire" the full text of the release can be found here: http://www.motorola.com/mediacenter/news/detail/0,1958,2467_2010_23,00 .html Here is an item from a June, 1982 issue of TELECOM Digest that I think you will find perhaps a bit more interesting: Date: 21 Jun 1982 2246-PDT Sender: GEOFF at SRI-CSL Subject: Cellular Update. From: the tty of Geoffrey S. Goodfellow Reply-To: Geoff at SRI-CSL Having just spent another week in the WDC area with a Cellular (Motorola DYNATAC) Portable phone I have some updates since my last report to this list. The license applications for the top 30 cellular markets are all in at the FCC. There were 194 applications filed at the FCC on June 7th. For the time being it looks like the FCC's wire line set-aside policy is still in place. I guess the two biggest surprises of the filing were: (1) That on the non-wire line side there were relatively few companies that filed in the larger markets (like Boston where only two applicants filed). Boston is the nations 6th largest SMSA (Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area). Of the other SMSA's there was Tampa, Fla where a dozen or so applicants filed. Keep in mind that each of these applications are about 600 to 1,500 pages in length and cost each person on the order of $100,000 to $200,000 or so to prepare!! Why would someone go to all that trouble and expense you might ask, just taking all that risk, chance, time and expense to be ONE of the 12 people to get a license? Because cellular systems, once fully deployed and operational will bring their investors' an unprecedented return on their dollars. This is the first time you can build, own and operate your own public utility which competes with an established monopoly, AT&T. The WDC-Baltimore Cellular Market Trial has been an unqualified success. Should American Radio Telephone Service (ARTS) be granted the (commercial) license for the non-wire line set-aside in the WDC-Baltimore SMSA's, in year 5 of commercial operation, each months projected profits will equal the cost of the total system itself!! (If that isn't 'unprecedented return' on investment, I don't know what is!). Surprise #2 of the week was the large number of non-wire line applicants (with substantial amounts of bank credit and cash) which filed with fantastically low basic monthly service rates of $4.95 to $15 and per minute usage charges of $.06 to $.25. Here in the San Francisco SMSA one applicant filed his basic service rate at $9.75 a month with the average cost per minute of use at $.25. Another filed his basic rate at $8 a month with the cost of $.50 for the first three minutes of conversation and $.15 each additional minute. If that isn't affordable, I don't know what is! I'm a firm believer in low(er) monthly service charges and a little bit high(er) usage charge, so that the people who use the system (more) pay (more) for it. On the equipment cost scene, the hand-held portables, like the Motorola DYNATAC unit I use, will sell for about $2500 initially, or lease/rent for about $65 a month, where as the traditional car installed mobiles will sell for about $1850 initially, or lease/rent for about $55 a month. That means the cost of a brand NEW Cellular car mounted mobile phone will cost LESS than a USED IMTS/direct-dial phone sells for today (in the $2500 range). New, state of the art, IMTS/direct-dial phones sells for $3600-3700 today. On the feature front, for a coupla bucks extra per month, you'll be able to enjoy features like call forwarding (to mobile or land-line phones), call forwarding on no answer (to direct your call to an alternate number), call answering/message taking on no answer, call screening and conference calling. It is also rumored some of the portable units will have RS-232 jacks on them which will interface to a built in 300 or 1200 baud modem. The cellular spectrum can support up to 9600 baud I have been informed. It is expected to take about a year to get the licensing issues between competing applications settled and then a year or two after the license is granted to construct a cellular system. So, all in all, it looks like a bright future for truly portable communications for us all to have and enjoy. ------------------------ Eric Friedebach [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why do I feel so old tonight for some reason? I still remember buying my first cellular phone in 1986 or 1987, from Radio Shack on Western Avenue in Chicago. It was one of those 'brick' style phones with the Radio Shack label on it, although it had obviously been manufactured by Motorola. It cost me a 'mere' $700 (seven hundred dollars), and in those days Illinois Bell was the B-side carrier in the Chicago area, and Cellular One was the A-side carrier. There were all of about 600 channels on it. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 14:21:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Telecom Defeats Challenges FCC Chief Powell's Leadership By Jube Shiver Jr. and James S. Granelli, Los Angeles Times, 3/9/2003 WASHINGTON - Few presidential appointees have had as much promise as Michael K. Powell. The 39-year-old son of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was named by President Bush to run the Federal Communications Commission in 2001. To Republicans, he seemed the perfect choice. He had the resume: US Army. Antitrust lawyer. Service on the commission since 1997. And he had the core belief in deregulation that his party believed would unwind eight years of Democratic rulemaking. He was a political star in the making. "No FCC chairman, from day one, has been more politically powerful, more well-connected, and more knowledgeable coming into the job since perhaps Newton Minow during JFK's administration," said former FCC chairman Reed Hundt, a Democrat who steered the agency through the initial writing of telecommunications rules in 1996. But like many others who came to Washington with great expectations, Powell failed his first big political test. Two weeks ago, Powell suffered a stinging defeat in his effort to overhaul the rules governing competition in the local telephone market. The setback underscored that turning ideology into policy is as much about personal politics as tactics. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/068/business/Telecom_defeats_challenges_FCC_chief_Powell_s_leadership+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 14:26:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: US Court: Racketeering Charges vs Telsim Family Premature By Ben Klayman CHICAGO, March 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court dismissed as premature racketeering charges brought by the world's two largest makers of wireless telephones against the family that owns Turkey's No. 2 wireless operator. The Uzan family, one of Turkey's wealthiest families and owners of wireless operator Telsim, still faces fraud charges filed under Illinois state law by Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) and Finland's Nokia (HELS:NOK1V) (NYSE:NOK). However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York directed U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff to decide whether those claims fall under his jurisdiction. The decision raises the question as to whether Rakoff will still render a judgment that had been expected soon or dismiss the charges, resulting in them being refiled in state court. Motorola officials said they do not expect Rakoff to dismiss the state charges and the Chicago area-based company remains committed to recovering its money. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32243580 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 14:56:37 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nigerian Scam Continues to Thrive Cashier's checks, Iraqi plea add two new flavors to old story By Bob Sullivan MSNBC March 5 - Two new flavors of the age-old Nigerian e-mail scam are making the rounds, and at least one of them appears to be gaining traction. Hundreds of victims have recently fallen for a variation that plays upon people's misunderstanding about how bank cashier's checks work. Meanwhile, other scammers are trying to take advantage of heightened interest in Iraq, posing as frightened Iraqis trying to move money out of that country before hostilities begin. The scam also took a deadly turn last month, when a victim in the Czech Republic allegedly shot and killed a Nigerian diplomat after losing his life savings to the scam. ... http://www.msnbc.com/news/881169.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 20:25:41 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Mobile Phone Sales Beat Forecasts in 2002 - Survey HANOVER, Germany, March 10 (Reuters) - An end-of-year buying spree by consumers lifted sales of mobile phones well above forecasts in 2002, a research group said on Monday, adding that it expects even stronger growth in 2003.' A total of 423 million handsets were sold to consumers in 2002, up 6 percent from 400 million units in 2001 and several million more than forecast, said Gartner Dataquest, one of the key research groups of the technology industry. Market shares of the five key players changed little from the third quarter, with Finland's Nokia (HELS:NOK1V) still firmly in the lead and selling more than twice the number of handsets than its nearest competitor, Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT) of the United States. However, Nokia no longer gained any market share over its smaller rivals. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32245416 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 20:44:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intel Capital Invests in Vivato Vivato will announce tomorrow an investment from the Intel Communications Fund. Vivato did not release the amount provided by Intel, but did disclose its total outside investment is now $29 million. After months of limited information, Vivato recently unveiled its first product along with pricing and availability. The Vivato Wi-Fi switch couples a phased-array antenna with an enterprise grade network gateway that can potentially provide longer range, higher throughput, and lower deployment costs. The phased-array antenna allows individual beams of focused wireless signal to follow individual network devices across several hundred feet indoors -- an entire floor of a building more or less -- and at distances of up to four kilometers outdoors. An antenna mounted externally pointing at a building may be able to provide service for an entire facility, such as a hotel. The first version of their switch is priced under $10,000 and serves 150 users using three beams; it's due to ship as soon as May. Each beam is a switched connection, offering full Wi-Fi speed without requiring channelization. The FCC approved Vivato's approach by agreeing that their design qualifies as point-to-point service. ... http://80211b.weblogger.com/2003/03/09 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 20:45:53 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intel Funds Four More Wireless Companies Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), which is set to launch its Centrino technologies for wireless computing this week, will announce on Monday that it has provided funding to four new companies that provide wireless software and services. Financial terms were not disclosed. Intel has invested in seven such companies since it announced plans in October to spend $150 million on companies developing so-called Wi-Fi, or wireless networking, technology. More than $25 million has been invested in at least 15 companies since 1999, the Santa Clara, California-based company said. The latest recipients of Intel's largess are rovingIP.net, Vivato, Broadreach Networks Ltd., and Pronto Networks. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32244831 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Mar 2003 21:46:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Computers in Libraries Make Moral Judgments, Selectively By GEOFFREY NUNBERG Smut in the stacks! What better conjures up the broken promises of the Internet than the image of children sitting in a public library downloading pornography? Congress has made several attempts to control access to online porn, most recently with the Children's Internet Protection Act, passed at the end of 2000. The act required schools and libraries to install software filters to screen out obscene sites as a condition for receiving various federal subsidies. Shortly after that, the American Library Association and the American Civil Liberties Union sued to block the law's enforcement in public libraries, arguing that the software isn't up to the task the law set for it. In June 2002, a three-judge federal panel agreed. It overturned the law, describing filtering technology as a "blunt instrument" that not only fails to block many pornographic sites, but also blocks a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the government's appeal of that decision. I served as an expert witness for the library association in its suit, on the basis of my background designing automatic text classification systems, of which porn filters are merely a special case. In their workings, filters are no different from the software that companies use to automatically sort e-mail messages, a job they perform with tolerable accuracy. Tolerable, however, is a relative notion. We can live with the errors that classification software make when its output is subsequently reviewed by hand -- for example when the F.B.I. uses it to try to locate potential child pornography sites. But human review isn't a practical option in surveying the vastness of the Web. It has taken the St. Louis Public Library 135 years to build its collection of 4.5 million holdings; the Web adds that many new documents every three days. No software can identify a large portion of the pornography on the Web without taking down a great many innocuous or useful sites on the way. In testing several filtering systems used by libraries, I found them blocking access to everything from teenage sex advice sites posted by Planned Parenthood and Rutgers University to a dollhouse furniture site, Salon magazine and the home page of the Canadian Discovery Channel. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/09/weekinreview/09NUNB.html ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 16:06:29 -0700 Subject: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Joey Lindstrom is apparently responding to John Higdon. He is not responding to me. PAT] Well, this is interesting. 20 minutes before you wrote the message to which I'm about to reply, you sent me a private response via email. You prefaced those remarks with this comment: "[Not submitted for posting, since when I defend myself against off-topic, ad hominem attacks in the forum, I'm accused of "wasting bandwidth".]" Yet much of what appeared in your private email also appears in this public posting -- which came about 20 minutes earlier, if I read the headers correctly. On Sat, 08 Mar 2003 08:19:04 -0800, John Higdon wrote (after his private response with a datestamp of Sat, 08 Mar 2003 07:58:57 -0800): > In article , Joey Lindstrom > wrote: >> On Fri, 7 Mar 2003 15:04:50 EST, Garrett Wollman wrote: >>> I'd like to know in which universe Mr. Higdon lives, so that I can >>> book a transit there. In my universe, the century-old power >>> infrastructure 'back east' is not known for its reliability -- just >>> ask any broadcast engineer. >> We've been asking that question about Mr. Higdon for several months now >> -- we haven't had a satisfactory answer. This is the same guy who >> advocates filtering all incoming email from the .info TLD because he's >> had some spam from it. Well hey, I've had most of my spam come from >> the .com TLD -- guess we should filter against that one too. :-) > And your experience with utility power reliability in northern > California, Mr. Lindstrom, is what? John, I'm guessing that your immense experience in the industry over a very long period of time, which you beat me over the head with in private email, has come at a high price: loss of memory and/or Alzheimers. I was referring, very obviously, to previous postings in this Digest, by a variety of different posters, that asked this very question of you -- what world ARE you living in? My comment was a slightly-humourous (ON-topic) reminder that that particular thread never did end. You just walked away from it. I was, as Rush Limbaugh likes to say, demonstrating absurdity by being absurd. > Mine is thirty-five years of designing, building, and maintaining > broadcast installations in California and other states. I currently > oversee or maintain approximately two-dozen transmitting sites in > northern California, which includes providing for power failure > contingencies and environmental adversities. Ah, my mistake. The hitting me over the head with your experience wasn't limited only to private email -- though by comparison, the above is a mere bullet point. But really John, I'm not in a position to hire you, so I really didn't need your entire resume in my inbox. I concede your vast experience and knowledge. All hail John. > Besides the several studies that have been quoted in the media, my > observations regarding power reliabilty are augmented with data supplied > by associates in Alaska, Washington, Florida, and New York. I never disputed it. I merely pointed out to Mr. Wollman that the question he was asking has been asked many times before, with no satisfactory answer, and backed it up with an example on a different (but obTelecom) topic. > And by the way, I would suggest that if you NEVER received a legitimate > piece of email from the .com TLD, you might want to consider blocking > it, just as I once did .info. This paragraph appears to be a verbatim copy of one that appeared in your private email. And I guess I wrote my reply too quickly (I was watching "Contact" on my dish at the time) because I neglected to ask a question that I'd really love to hear an answer to: "Why did you stop blocking .info email?" You wouldn't, by chance, be admitting to an error in judgment, now would you? As to your assertion: 1) Which came first, the chicken or the egg? If the first emails you get, ALLEGEDLY from the .info gTLD, are spam, and you immediately block all further access to your server from anyone using a .info "From:" address (whether spam or "legitimate"), then you're pretty much guaranteeing that all email you ever receive "from that domain" (allegedly) is spam. It's pretty self-fulfilling, isn't it John? 2) Have you kept any of that spam around as evidence? Did you do a reverse lookup on the IP addresses of the systems that delivered that mail? How many of those reverse lookups yielded .info addresses? I'll betcha a nickel that the percentage was nowhere near 100%, so even your self-fulfilling little prophecy is full of horse hockey. WHAT IS YOUR EVIDENCE that the spam you spoke of actually came "from" users of the .info gTLD? I really don't give a rat's a** what you do with your own server. But you came in here and advocated blocking all .info email, and strongly implied that anyone using a .info email address is a spammer until proven otherwise -- a nice blanket condemnation that maybe you thought would go unchallenged, until a .info user named Joey decided to call you on it. You made it personal and never apologized for it. You think my attacks on your character and credibility are unprovoked? No, John, they were very provoked. By you. And as long as you continue to pass off stinkweed as roses, you can expect myself and others to continue to find your postings to be subject to extra scrutiny. You're not the only person I've disagreed with, sometimes vehemently, in this forum. Pat Townson comes to mind. But at least when I disagree with Pat, I can at least respect his position. He's obviously put a lot of thought into his arguments, and combined that with his "vast experience" (which all by itself is something I respect). But most importantly, Pat simultaneously has the courage of his convictions, yet remains open-minded and is willing to change his mind when presented with a compelling argument to do so. If we ever decided to vote for a new moderator for this forum, I can't think of anybody I'd vote for over Pat, and I like to think I follow his example: I've got strong opinions but I'll listen to opposing arguments. I wish I could say the same about you, John, because in many respects your input to this forum is quite valuable. But you sometimes make blanket statements and back it up with only a tiny subset of available evidence -- and when we call you on it, you beat us up with your "vast experience". That's not having the courage of your convictions, John. That's just "shut up kid, I'm older and wiser than you". Maybe sometimes you are John, but sometimes you're WRONG and it would be nice, once in a blue moon, if you'd just admit it. Because despite not having anything at all like your vast experience, there is one life lesson that I *HAVE* learned (as has Pat): I have learned that I have much to learn. Is this a lesson you've learned? > And who is "we"? Are you now the co-producer of the Digest? If you can't remember those previous discussions, I've got an excellent suggestion. Pat recently sent out his monthly "share" message. Make a donation of $25 and I'll send you a copy of the Telecom Digest Archives CD. It's an excellent resource, cheap at twice the price. PS - "Vast experience", while a nice thing to have, is hardly necessary to make a meaningful post to this forum (your email implied otherwise). Mark Cuccia has little, if any, actual work experience in the telecom field, but I think most of us would agree that he's one of the most knowledgeable people here, and his posts are must-reads - this forum would be a much, much poorer place without him. Experience is important, but not paramount. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Let me respond to two points raised by Joey. For one, John Higdon has been a very generous contributor financially to TELECOM Digest, going back at least to sometime in the early 1990's. For two, John Higdon and I have had disputes in the past, the last one I can recall was in 1993, when he and a few other readers elected to begin comp.dcom.telecom.tech; prior to that there was a dispute with John and myself (though not as vigorous as the c.d.t.t. thing) dealing with the establishment of alt.dcom.telecom in 1990-91. Third, and lastly for now, Joey, I do not remember when you first started reading TELECOM Digest, but in 1993-94 we went through this discussion about 'voting for a different moderator', and that is a quite impossible thing. TELECOM Digest is my property (but you or anyone is free to start a completely new e-journal on telecom topics if you wish, and solicit reader/writers to it.) You or anyone else is equally free to solicit membership as a Usenet newsgroup, following the rules set up by the Usenet heirarchy. Or if you wish, you may begin a newsgroup in Altnet, i.e. alt.anything, but as John Higdon will be quick to advise you, alt.anything does not come close to the readership/circulation enjoyed by 'genuine Usenet' groups. Where Usenet takes a bit of effort to get a new group started, especially if it is to be moderated, and these days only a complete fool starts an unmoderated newsgroup. Anyone can start alt.anything with the click of a few keys on their keyboard. And regards taking over comp.dcom.telecom, which is all that could be hoped for (remember, TELECOM Digest is my thing), even that is not very likely; c.d.t. began life in 1981 as an 'ARPA newsgroup' which was ported to Usenet from the old ARPA system. Its my 'property' also, but not in the same sense that TELECOM Digest is my property. Around 1983-84 the Digest and c.d.t. were essentially merged into one thing. In the early 1980's there was a separate de-facto 'moderator' for comp.dcom.telecom, who elected to use the output of TELECOM Digest exclusively as his input. That's when Jon Solomon was running the Digest. I was just a contributor here in those days. I am *not* trying to make a hassle for you Joey, I just want to point out with these discussions of 'voting for a new moderator' we have *been there* and *done that* in the past. John Higdon with all his experience here can tell you all about it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 16:11:38 -0700 Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Sun, 9 Mar 2003 00:00:15 -0500 (EST), 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com wrote: > What I like is that instead of having to pro-actively do something > while clicking to PREVENT the unwanted action, Opera defaults to > preventing the unwanted actions with no action on the user's part, > UNLESS he/she wants to overide occassionally. (Pat, this principle > should appeal to you, I think !!) Point of order: Pop-Up Stopper operates that way as well. Pop-ups are stopped UNLESS the user either holds down SHIFT or CTRL while clicking a link, or if the user temporarily disables Pop-Up Stopper (done quite easily, and reenabled equally easily). >> Best of all, it's free. > Well. if you can live with a small (about half of the top tool bar) > relatively unobtrusive banner, so is Opera .... And in fairness, there are more fully-featured versions of Pop-Up Stopper that require a registration fee. Nothing's completely free anymore. :-) (I am not affiliated with this product in any way, other than as a satisfied "customer" who has paid $0 for it) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: Fred Goldstein Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Organization: AT&T Broadband Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:54:29 GMT On Thu, 06 Mar 2003 14:19:21 +0000, Moderator Pat wrote: > ...The last time I > spoke to the chairman's office I asked the lady who responds in his > name, "how would you like it if when you answered the phone the first > thing I tossed in your face were sex pictures unasked for or I started > out by telling you how to make your 'thing' grow bigger, or I otherwise > kept yout line tied up for hours at a time with one scam after another. > That's what YOU are doing with your email service. How about if I gave > you such large quantities of it sometimes your mailbox got wedged so > it would not even all come out correctly?" Her goody-goody reply was > since they were a phone company and common carrier they could do > nothing about it. I picked this comment out because it is important concerning much more than spam! When is SBC a common carrier? When they're operating an ISP, they're most definitely not! Email is not a common carrier function. While SBC owns many common carriers (the telephone companies, Cingular, and the new LD company among them), ISPs are not common carriers. A common carrier cannot do anything about content except under special circumstances. A telephone company who brings a T1 to a spamhaus is not guilty of helping spam; however, the ISP who lights the other end of the T1 *is*. Indeed a telephone company would have legal difficulty cutting off a raw bandwidth pipe, because common carriage is supposed to be nondiscriminatory. An ISP, on the other hand, is legally in the "information" business, and is thus expected to take certain responsibilities with the content it (privately, in a legal sense) carries. They are allowed to take any liberties they want; for instance, there are "Christian" ISPs who filter all content to prevent "objectionable" content. Some such filters are notoriously partisan in filtering political sites too. That's okay; ISPs are not monopolies, and not common carriers, so you're supposed to be able to choose one whose policy you like. Ditto for spam filtering. Thus Comcast, the cable company (not a common carrier), chooses what to carry. Comcast, the ISP (not a common carrier), spam-filters my email *when it directed to their server*. Comcast, the CLEC (a common carrier), wouldn't have the same rights to tell me what I could do with a modem were I to use one across their phone service (to another ISP). On DSL, there is a clear legal distinction today between the underlying common carriage (ATM or Frame Relay over copper wire) and the ISP service that uses it. Any old ISP can buy raw DSL from SBC; many do. They pay for a hookup to the ATM cloud and typically pay for their customers' DSL circuits. SBC's own ISP is supposed to operate at arms' length, and thus get the same deal that others can. You can ditch SBC's ISP and use another on the same wire. (Not that they make it easy -- because the ISP is the customer for the DSL pipe, you have to disconnect first, then have a new installation done.) But our dear friends in Washington, specifically FCC Chairman Powell the Younger, do not like this system. They are receptive to the desire of the Incumbent LECs (SBC, VZ, BLS, Q, etc.) to end this distinction between ISP and common carriage. They want to strip common carriage status from DSL. This means that the ILEC (sole owner of the copper wire after a century of government-sanctioned monopoly) would not have to rent its raw DSL service to other ISPs. Their own in-house ISP would be treated as "self-provisioning" the DSL service over their affiliate's copper, again with monopoly status (because last month's FCC ruling removed CLECs' ability to share the phone wire used to provide competitive consumer DSL). Their excuse? Cable companies, who are largely governed under a different law, aren't common carriers. Neither, of course, is the mom'n'pop wireless ISP with an antenna serving a two-mile radius of a tower in the Oklahoma flatlands. His "advantage" over the ILECs is "unfair". Under Powell's scenario, the telephone company would get to filter *all* content on DSL, and you'd get no choice. They could sell your name to spamhausen and (just for an example) choose to block access to sites belonging to congressmembers who vote against their interest, or to sites which oppose Powell the Elder's position on war. They could filter out all MP3s and MPEGs, legal or not, on behalf of RIAA and MPAA. Information service is like that. Alternately, they could permit other ISPs to use their unregulated service on a non-common-carriage basis. That would seem to blunt the worst of it, although the ILECs would still retain the right to filter content, demand revenue sharing for ecommerce, etc. When they offered ISPs such a contract last year, the terms were onerous. The plan was blocked because of common carriage. Already, it seems from the original moderator's comment, a droid working for a high-placed SBC official is confusing the ISP and common carrier businesses. If Powell gets his way, things can only get worse. Much worse. Be very afraid. Fred Goldstein k1io fgoldstein@ionary.com ionary Consulting http://www.ionary.com/ ------------------------------ From: hyperpoetuk@yahoo.com (Sara) Subject: DSLAM Date: 9 Mar 2003 18:47:15 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi all! :) Does anyone know what's the best DSLAM equipment available on the market? Which DSLAM is the best and most sophisticated product right now? Thanks everyone. Sara Lauren ------------------------------ From: stevenl11@aol.com (Steven Lichter) Date: 09 Mar 2003 21:52:18 GMT Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Subject: Re: PIN Number For Used Answering Machine > I have received a used telephone answering machine combo. The make is > a Casio Phonemate and the model # is TI-310. Does anyone know what the > PIN # is to access this answering machine from a remote phone? My guess would be you would have to set it from the machine. Apple Elite II 909-359-5338. Home of GBBS/LLUCE, support for the Apple II 24 hours 2400/14.4. An OggNet Server. The only good spammer is a dead one!!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Company. ------------------------------ From: Stretch Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 02:23:10 GMT Organization: Road Runner - Texas I've found that my Cingular phone also makes and receives calls in Mexico without any prior arrangements. (Though the buck-a-minute roaming and analog-only system encourages me to keep calls reasonably short!) Joseph wrote in message news:telecom22.335.20@telecom-digest.org: > On Sat, 08 Mar 2003 08:49:42 -0800, John Higdon > wrote: >> An associate has recently travelled to Bahrain. Making no special >> arrangements, he has discovered that his Cingular phone works just fine >> there. We are amazed that a phone which has problems aplenty in "modern" >> American cities works perfectly in the Middle East! >> In contract, those in the same group who made special arrangements with >> AT&T to have service there have found that it was a waste of time. AT&T >> phones don't work in Bahrain, period. >> Looks like there is something to that GSM standard, after all! > Well, AT&T Wireless or at least traditional AT&T Wireless up until a > couple of years ago didn't use GSM and used TDMA (IS-136.) AT&T > Wireless is overlaying GSM on their current IS-136 network. The AT&T > GSM network is very young in that the network didn't even have its > beginnings til a couple of years ago. Eventually I imagine that AT&T > Wireless GSM will have coverage similar to other US GSM carriers such > as T-Mobile/VoiceStream and PacBell/cingular. The AT&T Wireless > network is still fairly young (July 2001.) VoiceStream/T-Mobile > (February 1996) and the Pac Bell/cingular networks (July 1996) were > live from the mid 90's. As ATTWS matures they will have coverage in > more places such as Bahrain and elsewhere. ------------------------------ From: David Clayton Subject: Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 13:28:33 +1100 Organization: Customer of Connect.com.au Pty. Ltd. Reply-To: dcstar@acslink.net.au johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) contributed the following: > [ Want to route 10 addresses into a private LAN with one as the > catch-all ] >> What is the lowest cost router I can use in this appilication?? > An old 486 running Linux or FreeBSD. You probably have all the > hardware you need covered with dust in a closet. I wonder how the running costs of a PC compare with a small stand alone firewall box, (power, heat etc.)? Regards, David Clayton, e-mail: dcstar@acslink.net.au Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Dilbert's words of wisdom #18: Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #336 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 10 16:34:13 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2ALYD827776; Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:34:13 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:34:13 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303102134.h2ALYD827776@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 V22 #337 TELECOM Digest Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:34:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 337 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #373, March 10, 2003 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (John R. Levine) Re: Pop-up Stopper (3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com) Re: Wireless Companies Turn to Walkie-Talkie Technology (Scott Dorsey) Washington, DC - Avaya Telecommunications Specialists Wanted (Debbie) Palm Poor Service (Himanshu) Anquish On Line = AOL (Paul A Lee) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 10:53:17 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #373, March 10, 2003 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 373: March 10, 2003 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/letstalk ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: http://www.cygcom.com ** ERICSSON CANADA: http://www.ericsson.ca ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: http://www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Rogers Increases Stake in Cogeco ** France Telecom Posts Record Loss ** CRTC Okays Aliant Regional Centrex Tariff ** Bell Local Link Rates Going Up ** Call-Net -- Cut Fees for Payphone Toll-Free ** 3Com Sells Telecom Carrier Business ** Northwestel to Serve Alberta Town ** TSB Reborn ** Ontario Hospitals Test Remote Surgery ** Scientists Set Data Speed Record ** Tel-E Technologies Becomes Avaya Distributor ** Hydro One Telecom Gets CEO ** Amtelecom Completes Asset Transfer ** RIM Increases Provision for Lawsuit ** Financial Results CSI Wireless Mitec Wi-LAN ** Last Chance for Telemanagement Discount and Bonus ============================================================ ROGERS INCREASES STAKE IN COGECO: Rogers Communications is buying three million voting shares of Cogeco Cable from investors unaffiliated with Cogeco, for about $35 million. The purchase increases Rogers' stake in Cogeco Cable to 18%. FRANCE TELECOM POSTS RECORD LOSS: France Telecom has recorded a loss of 20.7 billion euros (C$33.5 billion) for 2002, the largest in French corporate history. One-time charges of 18.2 billion euros include a 4.4 billion writedown on Equant, its international data carrier. CRTC OKAYS ALIANT REGIONAL CENTREX TARIFF: CRTC Order 2003-99 approves an Aliant tariff for Centrex customers with 7,500 lines or more spread over all four Atlantic provinces and in at least three rate bands, on a five-year commitment. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2003/o2003-99.htm http://www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2002/a53.htm#11 BELL LOCAL LINK RATES GOING UP: Order 2003-97 approves a $2/month increase for Bell Canada Local Link lines rented on a month-to-month basis, and a $1/month increase for lines on one-year contracts, effective April 22. (See Telecom Update #370) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2003/o2003-97.htm CALL-NET -- CUT FEES FOR PAYPHONE TOLL-FREE CALLS: Call-Net wants the CRTC to review the current 25-cent per-call fee that LD providers pay Bell Canada for toll-free calls dialed from Bell payphones (see Telecom Update #205). Call-Net says this service should be rated at cost plus 15%, retroactive to June 2002. 3COM SELLS TELECOM CARRIER BUSINESS: 3Com Corporation has sold its CommWorks division, which makes voice and data products for carriers, to UTStarcom, a California company that has until now focused on the Asian telecom market. The transaction is valued at US$100 million. NORTHWESTEL TO SERVE ALBERTA TOWN: The CRTC has agreed to a proposal that Northwestel provide telephone service to Fort Fitzgerald, a small town in northern Alberta, normally Telus territory. The town, which currently has no phone service, is 132 km north of the nearest Telus facility, but only 32 km south of the nearest town served by Northwestel. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/dt2003-9.htm TSB REBORN: TSB International, once one of Canada's leading call-accounting and PBX monitoring companies, disappeared in a wave of mergers and acquisitions: most recently it was the Spectif division of Peregrine Systems. Two employees have now purchased it and formed TSB Solutions, a Toronto company again specializing in call accounting, alarm monitoring, and remote system access. http://www.tsbsolutions.com ONTARIO HOSPITALS TEST REMOTE SURGERY: On February 28, a surgeon in Hamilton participated in a laparoscopic operation in North Bay as part of "the world's first hospital-to- hospital telerobotics-assisted surgery." The Hamilton doctor's hand motions were transmitted to North Bay over a Bell Canada Virtual Private Network using Cisco MPLS technology. SCIENTISTS SET DATA SPEED RECORD: Scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center have transferred 6.7 gigabytes of uncompressed data from California through Switzerland to the Netherlands in 58 seconds. That's 10,900 km at 923 megabits per second, a new distance and speed record. TEL-E TECHNOLOGIES BECOMES AVAYA DISTRIBUTOR: Toronto-based Tel-e Technologies, which distributes equipment from Nortel, SpectraLink, and others, has added Avaya's enterprise wireless systems to its product line. HYDRO ONE TELECOM GETS CEO: John Macdonald, previously General Manager of Hydro One Telecom, is now its President and CEO. (Earlier, he worked for AT&T Canada, but AT&T's current President is a different John Macdonald.) AMTELECOM COMPLETES ASSET TRANSFER: Amtelecom Income Fund has raised $59.6 million from its public offering and purchased the telecom and cable businesses of Amtelecom Group Inc. (See Telecom Update #372) RIM INCREASES PROVISION FOR LAWSUIT: Research In Motion has taken an additional charge of between US$7 million to $8 million as a result of recent rulings in a patent lawsuit by NTP Inc, bringing its total provisions for this lawsuit to about $40 million. (See Telecom Update #372) FINANCIAL RESULTS: ** CSI Wireless, a Calgary-based provider of wireless phones and GPS technology, had sales of $54.1 million in 2002, a 32% increase from the previous year. Net loss: $3.9 million. ** Mitec Telecom had sales of $23.7 million for the three months ended January 31, 1% more than the previous year. The net loss was $4.9 million, compared to $7.4 million the previous year. ** Wi-LAN's revenue for the three months ended January 31 was $5.5 million, 14% more than the same period a year ago. Negative EBITDA was $1.4 million; the net loss was $2.8 million. LAST CHANCE FOR TELEMANAGEMENT DISCOUNT AND BONUS: Telemanagement's special offer for new subscribers (a $50 discount plus a free issue) is about to expire. The full price will apply to all orders received after midnight, March 15, so don't delay: download full details at http://www.angustel.ca/teleman/SubscriptionOffer.pdf or call 1-800-263-4415 ext. 500 right away. ** Act now and start your subscription with Telemanagement #203, featuring: New Options for Wireless LAN Security; Replacing Touch-Tone IVR With Speech Recognition; Business Applications for Instant Messaging; Telecommuting Tools for Tight Budgets ... and much much more. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@atomic.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@atomic.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2003 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: 10 Mar 2003 00:47:07 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA >> [ Want to route 10 addresses into a private LAN with one as the >> catch-all ] >>> What is the lowest cost router I can use in this appilication?? >> An old 486 running Linux or FreeBSD. You probably have all the >> hardware you need covered with dust in a closet. > I wonder how the running costs of a PC compare with a small stand alone > firewall box, (power, heat etc.)? My router is an old HP Vectra VA desktop sitting on a table. I suppose a standalone firewall box would use less electricity, but the difference is pretty marginal. Since I'm running BSD on it, it does routing and packet filtering (what Windows vendors erroneously call a "firewall") along with some other handy services like NTP. I can connect in remotely using ssh to update the configuration which comes in handy. It's extremely reliable, the only problem is that the power supply is a little oversensitive to line blips and it tends to reboot when the UPS self-tests. If power is really an issue, I've seen Linux boxes the size of a book that don't need fans. They cost about US$500 new. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:03:02 +0200 To reply by e-mail, insert "Telecom Digest" in the subject line: On Sun, 09 Mar 2003 16:11:38 -0700, Joey Lindstrom , wrote: > Point of order: Pop-Up Stopper operates that way as well. Pop-ups are > stopped UNLESS the user either holds down SHIFT or CTRL while clicking > a link, or if the user temporarily disables Pop-Up Stopper (done quite > easily, and reenabled equally easily). Ahem ... er ... yeah, but my point is that with Opera 7, when I *want* the pop-up window, I don't have to *do* anything - because I clicked on the link, I get the pop-up .... no keys to press / hold down etc .. Cheers, Frank R. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Wireless Companies Turn to Walkie-Talkie Technology Date: 10 Mar 2003 13:23:35 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Dana wrote: > Monty Solomon wrote: >> By Yukari Iwatani >> CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - In a throwback to a time before cell >> phones were invented, U.S. wireless telephone companies are hoping a >> World War II-vintage communications concept will help revive their >> stagnating businesses. > Nextel has been doing this for years. The technology they use is a > proprietary scheme from Motorola, called iDen. It has the capability > for both dispatch between individuals and groups(two way, walkie > talkie), and interconnect (cell phone). It uses both dispatch location > areas, and interconnect location areas. Currently, though, this is the hot new thing and a lot of the cell providers seem to be heavily advertising it right now. I am assuming that these functions send data at lower network priority, since considerable delay time is acceptable on a half-duplex conection, and therefore they are less expensive to have on the net than full-blown cellular calls. Is this correct? --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: Debbie_Butcher@0-1.com (Debbie) Subject: Washington, DC - Avaya Telecommunications Specialists Wanted Date: 10 Mar 2003 08:08:18 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Washington, DC - Avaya Telecommunications Specialists Wanted Telecommunications Specialists wanted with extensive experience in Avaya equipment and systems implementation and administration, i.e., Definity switches and 24 button telephone systems. Additional engineering technical skills sought include Voice over IP (VoIP) experience with Avaya systems. This role will involve some management responsibilities, customer relationship skills and frequent travel to support field office installations in the US west coast region. Interested parties should send an email with a Word copy of your resume and contact information to: Debbie_Butcher@0-1.com ------------------------------ From: himshah@oldbridge.com (Himanshu) Subject: Palm Poor Service Date: 10 Mar 2003 12:29:08 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I am very dissatisfied with Palm Corp. I had so far 3 Palm M515 stop synchronizing on USB port. I recommend against buying Palm. The quality of product is not very good. ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: Anquish On Line = AOL Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 11:35:16 -0500 In TELECOM Digest V22 #335, our esteemed editor noted: > I dunno how much AOL is really doing to block spam. I had **273** > pieces of spam (and nothing legitimate) in my mailbox there > yesterday. I blocked all 273 from contacting me again and forwarded > all 273 spams to the department which handles it (or not) at AOL. And have you tried logging on since? I have kept an AOL account primarily for my daughter to use. I am the primary user, and I receive a lot of spam. No big deal, since I don't use that email address for anything. When I tried to report/forward several dozen spams at once to AOL's spam cops, I got thrown off and access to the entire account was blocked -- get the irony here -- for sending too many messages, too quickly. I had to call their security people to get the account reinstated. They scolded me for sending so many emails in a short period of time, claiming that that indicated some kind of misuse of the account. It didn't seem to matter to them that I was reporting spam to AOL's spam cops -- blatantly obvious spam that AOL's rudimentary "filter" allowed through. I had transgressed by following their instructions to forward the spam to them. AOL = "always oblivious to logic". Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, as a matter of fact, I called in again real late Sunday night and found another 20 spams there. They were handled the same as the earlier 273; sent straight to hell and reported, accordingly. No security department contacted me, however. But I did get a message saying 'the upper limit on blocked addresses is 100 names/email addresses.' No matter that I had 293 of them in a 24 hour period, a hundred is all I was allowed to block. One of the biggest offenders was earthlink; I got a couple dozen of the multitude of spams from earthlink addresses. We will see what happens when I look in there tonight. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #337 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 10 17:58:49 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2AMwmU28650; Mon, 10 Mar 2003 17:58:49 -0500 (EST) Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 17:58:49 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303102258.h2AMwmU28650@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 V22 #338 TELECOM Digest Mon, 10 Mar 2003 17:59:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 338 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson The Darkest Side of ID Theft (Monty Solomon) Windows Root Kits a Stealthy Threat (Monty Solomon) Road Runner Security Scan Update (Monty Solomon) Re: A Cingular Advantage (John Higdon) Re: A Cingular Advantage (Joseph) Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in 1 Day by AOL (Scott Dorsey) Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? (Fritz Whittington) Need Hitachi HCX 5100 Manual Also Please (Ethan M. Grant) Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem (John Higdon) Re: Pervert Panic Prompts Pic Phone Bathing Ban (Gail M. Hall) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 09:49:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Darkest Side of ID Theft When impostors are arrested, victims get criminal records By Bob Sullivan MSNBC March 9 - Malcolm Byrd was home with his two children on a Saturday night when a knock came at the door. Three Rock County, Wis., sheriff's officers were there with a warrant for Byrd's arrest. Cocaine possession, with intent to distribute, it said. Byrd tried to tell them that they had the wrong man, that it was a case of mistaken identity, that he was a victim of identity theft. But they wouldn't listen. Instead they put him in handcuffs and drove him away. Again. This is the worst-case scenario for identity theft victims. Losing your clean credit history is one thing; losing your freedom is another. And victims of America's fastest-growing crime are discovering they often have much more to worry about than the hundreds of hours of paperwork necessary to clean up the financial mess associated with ID theft. Sometimes, they have to worry about ending up in jail -- again and again. ... http://www.msnbc.com/news/877978.asp [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As much of a nuisance as it can be, at least the two-times around victim (one of identity theft and the second time with the police arresting him) has recourse for the second offense. Maybe the first offense also, if the perpetrator can ever be located. But the police are, as 'they' say, sitting ducks, waiting to be sued and collected against for false arrest. It is true, police are obliged to *investigate* every crime reported to them, as long as they believe the offense was reported to them in good faith. It is also true, but not commonly understood, that police/prosecutors have considerable latitutde in whom they choose to arrest or follow through on punishment with, regards 'criminal' behavior. I believe the victim in this case, Malcolm Byrd, could make a successful claim that police arrested him without good faith being present. He did, after all, explain the identity theft problem, the police chose to ignore that, and for that, they (police) should have to pay. This is a substantial problem in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois where police/prosecutors -- not always known for their accuracy and honesty in criminal cases, often times try to paint the whole side of a barn with arrests galore. When it is occassionally shown they did not act in good faith and thoroughly investigate a case prior to making arrests at random, then they get sued. In Mr. Byrd's case, it is my belief he could return to court, and get the entire matter expunged from the records. That would be in the process of collecting a bundle of money from police as a result of their misbehavior. Just my opinion. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 09:16:00 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Windows Root Kits a Stealthy Threat Hackers are using vastly more sophisticated techniques to secretly control the machines they've cracked, and experts say it's just the beginning. By Kevin Poulsen, SecurityFocus Mar 5 2003 5:12AM Barron Mertens admits to being puzzled last January when a cluster of Windows 2000 servers he runs at an Ontario university began crashing at random. The only clue to the cause was an identical epitaph carved into each Blue Screen of Death, a message pointing the blame at a system component called "ierk8243.sys." He hadn't heard of it, and when he contacted Microsoft, he found they hadn't either. "We were pretty baffled," Mertens recalls. "I don't think that cluster had bluescreened since it was put into production two years ago." Mertens didn't know it at the time, but the university network had been compromised, and the mysterious crashes were actually a lucky break -- they gave away the presence of an until-then unknown tool that can render an intruder nearly undetectable on a hacked system. Now dubbed "Slanret", "IERK," and "Backdoor-ALI" by anti-virus vendors, experts say the tool is a rare example of a Windows "root kit" -- an assembly of programs that subverts the Windows operating system at the lowest levels, and, once in place, cannot be detected by conventional means. ... http://www.securityfocus.com/news/2879 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:51:49 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Road Runner securityscan.sec.rr.com Found on MacInTouch ... http://www.macintouch.com/ Robert Rosenberg followed up on Friday's note about Road Runner's insistence on proactively "testing" every mail server that connects to its mail servers -- the policy appears to be one-sided: Due to Road Runner's "We are above the Law" stance on the issue of scanning other ISPs but not allowing other ISPs to scan them, a blacklist has responded by blocking all access to RR users. See [Openrbl.org vs. RR spat] [1] for details. The report claims that this is RR's doing but that is only partly true. Prior to this policy by the blacklist site, the response to an email to the site would trigger a RR scan due to the site sending a reply email to the RR user [RR probing policy] [2]. This blocking of RR users is due to the blacklist site wanting RR to stop scanning them unless they had the right to scan back. [RR has] a habit of adding to their blacklist any ISP who attempts to scan their SMTP Server IPN (just as if one of their scans/probes had actually detected an open SMTP server or proxy), as well as any ISP that sends the "Do Not Scan Our Server" request that is asked for on that page. There is also this Jan. 21 report [3] of RR's scanning activities. [Road Runner doesn't just scan mail servers, it also scans ports 25, 80, 81, 1080, 3128, 4480, 6588, 8000, 8080 and 8081, according to the company's statement, and scans additional ports (e.g. FTP, Telnet, NNTP, and more) on its own customers' computers. -MacInTouch] [1] http://groups.google.com/groups?dq=&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=news.admin.net-abuse.email&selm=Qfvaa.51041%24zb.15323567%40twister.socal.rr.com [2] http://security.rr.com/probing.htm [3] http://isc.incidents.org/analysis.html?id=178 ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 22:48:30 -0800 In article , Stretch wrote: > I've found that my Cingular phone also makes and receives calls in Mexico > without any prior arrangements. (Though the buck-a-minute roaming and > analog-only system encourages me to keep calls reasonably short!) I believe that is the toll on the Bahrain calls. But considering the convenience and the alternatives, it is not so bad. A correspondent noted that the availability of GSM service and the relatively cheap cost is what led to the demise of the original Iridium ... which was $5 a minute! John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 06:58:30 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 02:23:10 GMT, Stretch wrote: > I've found that my Cingular phone also makes and receives calls in Mexico > without any prior arrangements. (Though the buck-a-minute roaming and > analog-only system encourages me to keep calls reasonably short!) It also helps if you identify what *kind* of Cingular you have since Cingular operates two different systems which operate differently. We don't know if you're referring to Cingular as a TDMA (IS-136) system or a GSM system. It does make a difference since Cingular is mostly a TDMA (IS-136) operator in most of the country and is GSM only on the west coast and two plus states in the east. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Over One Billion Spam Emails Now Blocked in One Day by AOL Date: 10 Mar 2003 13:57:53 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Linc Madison wrote: > First of all, Verio's policy is *NOT* "hands-off" on spam. Here is a > quote from their AUP: > "[S]ubscribers violate Verio policy and the service agreement when > they, their customers, affiliates, or subsidiaries engage in the > following prohibited activities: > Spamming -- Sending unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over > the Internet (known as "spamming"). It is not only harmful because of > its negative impact on consumer attitudes toward Verio, but also > because it can overload Verio's network and disrupt service to Verio > subscribers. Also, maintaining an open SMTP relay is prohibited. When > a complaint is received, Verio has the discretion to determine from all > of the evidence whether the email recipients were from an "opt-in" > email list." > That's hardly a statement that "it's not our role to play censor." Nice policy. How come I got hundreds of thousands of spam messages from] postmastergeneral, in spite of several telephone calls to their abuse desk, one telephone call to the president of the company, and why was I told by one abuse fellow that they "knew about the problem but weren't allowed to do anything about it?" Just today I have received four spam messages advertising Verio Web Hosting customer sites to my personal box, and over three hundred of them to various users on my machine. > It is true that Verio has a lot of spammers and has done far too little > to fight the problem, and if AOL does actually block all Verio e-mail, > they may be justified. However, it is not true that Verio has a policy > of giving spammers free rein. Verio not only ignores complaints, but upper management prevents the abuse teams from doing their job. Having a policy and then deliverately violating it is not useful. > I left Verio not long after my previous ISP was borged. That was a few > years ago, when spam was far less of an issue, and I left because the > overall quality of Verio's customer service was far less than I was > willing to accept. When Verio started borging smaller ISPs, they normally kept the local abuse folks. They had serious problems because there was no one uniform abuse team, but they would usually disconnect users if you could find the right person to talk to at the local office. Then they saw the light and established a central abuse team and really cleaned up most of their problems (except for the VWH team problems). THEN, about two years ago, the management started preventing the abuse team from doing their job and all hell broke loose. We've been blocking all Verio traffic at my day job for well over a year now, so I am not sure how serious the direct-from-verio spam problem is now, but they are still regularly hosting spammed web sites and don't seem to make any real attempt to disconnect them. > It is not Verio's -- or any ISP's -- role to monitor every e-mail as it > is sent to prevent spam from ever being sent. However, it is Verio's -- > and every ISP's -- role to shut down a spammer promptly when legitimate > complaints are received. Right. Not a year later. Verio has had spammers that have been hosting with them for a year without any attempt at removing them. > Verio's "hat" is far from the purest of whites, but it's a long way > from the blackest of blacks. Their policy -- enforced unevenly and > often far too slowly -- is unequivocally anti-spam. They have booted > off several large spamming operations. Yes, they booted them off after MONTHS and MONTHS of lies. That does not seem useful to me. Postmastergeneral was on Verio for far, far longer than they should have been. There was no reason not to pull the plug the first week the complaints came in; they should never have escalated to the degree that they did. Legitimate providers do not allow this kind of thing to happen. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: Fritz Whittington Subject: Re: DHCP Router With NAT Passthrough?? Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 21:23:53 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet David Clayton wrote: > johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) contributed the following: >> [ Want to route 10 addresses into a private LAN with one as the >> catch-all ] >>> What is the lowest cost router I can use in this appilication?? >> An old 486 running Linux or FreeBSD. You probably have all the >> hardware you need covered with dust in a closet. > I wonder how the running costs of a PC compare with a small stand alone > firewall box, (power, heat etc.)? I have heard about a Linksys router for USD 80 that plugs into a modem (cable, DSL, or PSTN depending on the model) and has a 10/100 RJ-45 connection to go into your switch/hub. Configured via browser interface from the LAN side, can provide NAT, firewall/proxy, and DHCP services. I suspect it would draw about 50 watts or so. On the other hand, an old 486 box with no monitor and not a whole lot of disk activity might get by on 100-150 watts. A 100-watt differential is 2.4 kwh per full day, or in the neighborhood of USD 0.25 per day, at 0.10 per kwh. Takes about 320 days to recover your $80 by saving electricity, or 640 days if you only pay 0.05 per kwh. Cost savings aside, on the one hand, Linux is a lot more fun. On the other, the Linksys unit is only about the size of a cigar box, and has no fan noise ... [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have a Linksys router on my system. It is a little blue box with four little squat legs that sits on top of the tower of the XP. It has six connectors on the back side of it. Four connectors are for ethernet cables, a fifth one is for a 'pass-through' connector to another such router, and the sixth connector is for the conector to the DSL modem. Besides my XP on one ethernet cable, two other ethernet connectors go to two laptops. It comes with a comprehen- sive book for installation/operation. It seems to do a rather good job of directing traffic in and out of the network. I am told I could string these boxes together for as many ports as desired. While I am on the topic, my *extreme thanks* to the person who managed to talk me through getting my old Windows 95 machine on to the 'net', rather than the dialup I had used it on for several years. It still 'looks funny' to me seeing that Toshiba Satellite 220 machine with its Windows 95 sitting on the table with an ethernet cable running out of it over to the Linksys. At only 122 megahertz it is still extremely slow, but it works; even has an old Zoom PPC camera on it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Grant, Ethan M Subject: Need Hitachi HCX 5100 Manual Also Please Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:34:25 -0500 Does anyone have the Hitachi 5100 HCX manual? ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sun, 09 Mar 2003 22:45:57 -0800 In article , Joey Lindstrom wrote: > John, I'm guessing that your immense experience in the industry over a > very long period of time, which you beat me over the head with in > private email, has come at a high price: loss of memory and/or > Alzheimers. I was referring, very obviously, to previous postings in > this Digest, by a variety of different posters, that asked this very > question of you -- what world ARE you living in? My comment was a > slightly-humourous (ON-topic) reminder that that particular thread > never did end. You just walked away from it. No, actually, the moderator mercifully ended it. As to the recent discussion, I truly thought we were discussing power reliability of California vs the rest of the nation. I had no idea you were whipping a horse that had long passed away. > Ah, my mistake. The hitting me over the head with your experience > wasn't limited only to private email -- though by comparison, the above > is a mere bullet point. But really John, I'm not in a position to hire > you, so I really didn't need your entire resume in my inbox. > I concede your vast experience and knowledge. All hail John. What is it with you? You are determined to pick a fight with me. First you tell me that I don't back up my comments with any authority. When I present that authority (in the first person) you snidely dismiss it. > I never disputed it. I merely pointed out to Mr. Wollman that the > question he was asking has been asked many times before, with no > satisfactory answer, and backed it up with an example on a different > (but obTelecom) topic. And what was the point, other than a juvenile attempt to belittle what I had to say, regardless of how relevant it might have been? > You wouldn't, by chance, be admitting to an error in judgment, now > would you? I have no trouble admitting errors in judgment. Joey, we're not in competition. Since you asked the question, I stopped blocking .info email because other methods that I am using render the practice unnecessary. > I really don't give a rat's a** what you do with your own server. Apparently, you do. When I first mentioned it back last summer, you sent me several excoriating emails and posted material to the digest explaining what an idiot and a jerk I was. Here, in the middle of another thread, you regress back to that old non-issue with comments that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. If this is how you react to something you don't care about, I would hate to get in the way of a passionate interest. > You're not the only person I've disagreed with, sometimes vehemently, > in this forum. Pat Townson comes to mind. But at least when I > disagree with Pat, I can at least respect his position. He's obviously > put a lot of thought into his arguments, and combined that with his > "vast experience" (which all by itself is something I respect). But > most importantly, Pat simultaneously has the courage of his > convictions, yet remains open-minded and is willing to change his mind > when presented with a compelling argument to do so. If we ever decided > to vote for a new moderator for this forum, I can't think of anybody > I'd vote for over Pat, and I like to think I follow his example: I've > got strong opinions but I'll listen to opposing arguments. I got news for you, Joey. The position of moderator is not an elective office. So you don't respect my opinions, comments, or observations. Fine. I suggest you learn about kill files and make suitable entries. If you want to find some buddies who will agree with you that my posts about telecom matters aren't worth reading, I suggest you all share your killfile entries. Since I'm not going away, without using a killfile, the only other alternative I see is a continuation of your nattering ad hominem comments regarding me, tee-heeing about how you think I'm all spaced out or whatever. > I wish I could say the same about you, John, because in many respects > your input to this forum is quite valuable. But you sometimes make > blanket statements and back it up with only a tiny subset of available > evidence -- and when we call you on it, you beat us up with your "vast > experience". That's not having the courage of your convictions, John. Do you have counter evidence that disputes my first-hand observation regarding topics I have mentioned? I would be most happy to see it. What the hell is "courage of your convictions" if it isn't defending your arguments? > That's just "shut up kid, I'm older and wiser than you". Maybe > sometimes you are John, but sometimes you're WRONG and it would be > nice, once in a blue moon, if you'd just admit it. OK, I asserted that power reliability in California, particularly northern California was among the worst in the nation. I have several studies, peer review, and a published media-commissioned report that agree with me. You disagree. On what basis? I'm all ears. > Because despite not having anything at all like your vast experience, > there is one life lesson that I *HAVE* learned (as has Pat): I have > learned that I have much to learn. Is this a lesson you've learned? Indeed it is. I learn everyday. But I do it from folks who actually have some information to convey. Muttering that I don't know what I'm talking about isn't particularly useful. > If you can't remember those previous discussions, I've got an excellent > suggestion. Pat recently sent out his monthly "share" message. Make a > donation of $25 and I'll send you a copy of the Telecom Digest Archives > CD. It's an excellent resource, cheap at twice the price. I am, and have been, a regular monetary supporter of the Digest. Also, I have maintained my own extensive archives of the Digest that go back to the very beginning. I think I already qualify to receive the CD if you want to send it. > PS - "Vast experience", while a nice thing to have, is hardly > necessary to make a meaningful post to this forum (your email implied > otherwise). Mark Cuccia has little, if any, actual work experience in > the telecom field, but I think most of us would agree that he's one of > the most knowledgeable people here, and his posts are must-reads - > this forum would be a much, much poorer place without him. Experience > is important, but not paramount. Mark and I have different interests in the very broad field of telephony. His posts, like mine, rely heavily on personal experience and observation. For some reason, you haven't felt moved to direct silly personal attacks at him, and I'm sure he is grateful for that. I rarely mention my experience unless someone like you yammers at my coattails, making vague assertions that I don't know what I'm talking about. It may very well be that I don't know what I'm talking about, but until you offer something of substance to clarify and corroborate your attacks on my commentary (and me as a person), all I can do is repeat what I know. I have been in error a number of times in my posts here. Someone posts a polite correction and that's the end of it. We get along just find without comments about my "lack of humanity" or my "living in another universe". Learn about killfiles; we'll all have a better time. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Let me respond to two points raised by > Joey. For one, John Higdon has been a very generous contributor > financially to TELECOM Digest, going back at least to sometime in the > early 1990's. For two, John Higdon and I have had disputes in the past, > the last one I can recall was in 1993, when he and a few other readers > elected to begin comp.dcom.telecom.tech; prior to that there was a > dispute with John and myself (though not as vigorous as the c.d.t.t. > thing) dealing with the establishment of alt.dcom.telecom in 1990-91. Indeed, Patrick, we have had our ups and downs ... but I don't recall that it ever degenerated into a spree of personal attacks, or the whipping of old, dead horses. We have always managed to move on and be adults, and I would say that both of us have mellowed over the years. > I am *not* trying to make a hassle for you Joey, I just want to point > out with these discussions of 'voting for a new moderator' we have > *been there* and *done that* in the past. John Higdon with all his > experience here can tell you all about it. PAT] I can probably tell a lot more than Joey would like to hear. But obviously, I'm not Joey's cup of tea, and he has some deep resentment regarding just about anything I have to say. I'm sorry he feels that way. I would suggest that he stop reading my material since it upsets him so much. I'm not a moving target: I post over my real name and real contact information. I use a valid and unchanging email address. Filtering out my posts should be a snap. -- John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: Pervert Panic Prompts Pic Phone Bathing Ban Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 17:16:53 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Sun, 9 Mar 2003 02:52:52 -0500, in comp.dcom.telecom message , Monty Solomon posted: > By John Leyden > Fears that picture phones could be used by perverts to take pictures > of half-dressed youngsters have prompted UK councils to ban the use of > the technology at swimming baths and other public sports facilities. [snip] I'm glad to see Little Richard getting some work. The ad I've been seeing him in lately is quite entertaining. BUT I wonder if it will backfire on Sprint's effort to promote its picture phones. In the ad a woman sees Little Richard at a bowling alley, and he is upset at the idea of having been given the wrong shoes. A woman there sees this and quickly uses her Sprint picture phone to take a picture of him and send it to her friend. Then Little Richard starts having another tizzy about having his picture taken. If it becomes known that even a few wireless phone users have cameras in their phones, I suspect that many public places, especially places where people have access to restrooms, locker rooms, and such, will ban the use of wireless phones in their facilities. If I pull out my camera, people can easily see that it is a camera and can complain to me or the management of the facility if they see me taking pictures of them in these places. But up to now, most people can see people using the wireless phone and not suspect that someone is taking their picture. But if enough people get caught taking pictures without permission, especially in sports facilities, restrooms, etc., use of ALL cell phones might get banned for the protection of customers. Sprint and other companies promoting this "service" may end up selling fewer minutes to their customers if more and more places ban the use of wireless phones. With more concern over terrorism, etc., the various governments may require the phone companies to keep records of pictures that people send over the phones the way ISPs are being asked to keep records of what people send and receive over the Internet. That would cost the companies a huge amount of money. I often see advertisements, especially on TV, that send *me* the *opposite* message from that intended by the advertiser. Gail in Ohio USA ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #338 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 11 15:44:45 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2BKijl04580; Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:44:45 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:44:45 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303112044.h2BKijl04580@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 V22 #339 TELECOM Digest Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:45:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 339 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Gemstar-TV Guide to Restate, Lower Results (Monty Solomon) TheFeature.com Launches New, Innovative Mobile Information (Monty Solomon) Nextel and Motorola On Schedule to Provide Nationwide Direct (M Solomon) Intel Communications Fund Invests in Four Wi-Fi Companies (Monty Solomon) Pechanga Resorts and Casino Wi-Fi (Monty Solomon) TruePosition and Cingular GSM Location Solution (Monty Solomon) U.S. High Court to Hear Verizon Antitrust Appeal (Monty Solomon) AOL Flips Open E-Mail Communicator (Monty Solomon) Yahoo Turns on New E-Mail Spam Filters (Monty Solomon) AOL Is Planning a Fast-Forward Answer to TiVo (Monty Solomon) As Cellphones Become Cuter, Clarity Suffers (Monty Solomon) Re: A Cingular Advantage (John Higdon) Re: A Cingular Advantage (Stretch) Seeking Employment: 802.11 WLAN (Sharif Shahrier) Re: Who Owns/Manages 352-357 ? (dnhunt) Re: Palm Poor Service (tonypo1@cox.net) Re: Pop-up Stopper (Phil Earnhardt) Providing Wired Network For Cell Phones Inside Your House (Phil Earnhardt) Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem (Ron Chapman) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:17:51 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Gemstar-TV Guide to Restate, Lower Results PASADENA, Calif., March 10 (Reuters) - Television programming guide publisher Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. (NASDAQ:GMSTE) said on Monday it will restate results again, lowering consolidated revenues for several periods by $110.9 million, following a review of its accounting policies. Gemstar, which first said it would restate results last October and again restated in January, said in a statement that a continuing review by its new independent accounting firm and itself could result in additional restatements. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32257229 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:21:00 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TheFeature.com Launches New, Innovative Mobile Information Clear and Compelling Insights about the Mobile Industry, Straight to Your Mobile Device TheFeature.com today announced the launch of a new, innovative range of mobile services to deliver important news and cogent analysis of the mobile industry to its users. These services will deliver breaking news quickly and concisely, and allow users to interact with the industry's thought leaders on its most pressing issues. ... The services are available via MMS, SMS, or e-mail, allowing users to stay on top of the latest events, even when they're away from a Web browser. They're designed to complement the information on TheFeature's site by quickly delivering concise information that keeps users up to speed on what's happening throughout the mobile industry. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32258002 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:22:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nextel and Motorola On Schedule to Provide Nationwide Direct Unmatched network innovation, 10 years of experience secure leadership for pioneers of push-to-talk technology as coast-to-coast service goes live Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL) and Motorola (NYSE:MOT) today provided an update on the completion of Phase One of Nationwide Direct Connect(TM), the much-anticipated successor to Nextel's flagship service, Direct Connect(TM)--the only long-range digital walkie-talkie of its kind with coast-to-coast service. With all Nextel markets currently enabled for the first phase of the nationwide service, and a number of markets -- specifically New England and Southern California -- already primed for coast-to-coast connections, Nextel will easily meet its plan to make Nationwide Direct Connect available everywhere in the third quarter 2003. The first phase of Nationwide Direct Connect, initially announced in January of 2003, allows Nextel users to travel with the Direct Connect service and instantly connect with anyone local to the area to which they have traveled, as well as with any other Nextel customers who have traveled with them. The second and final phase of Nationwide Direct Connect will allow all Nextel customers to connect with one another anywhere on Nextel's national network -- including to and from Hawaii -- regardless of the call sender's or receiver's location. Both phases have been extensively tested and are currently in the final stage of standard quality assurance assessments. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32258381 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:23:49 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intel Communications Fund Invests in Four Wi-Fi Companies SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 10, 2003--Intel Corporation has invested in four companies involved in Wi-Fi technology since the beginning of the year, the company announced today. The investments support Intel's initiatives to expand the use of and create new capabilities for high-speed wireless networks. The Intel Communications Fund today disclosed that it provided funding for rovingIP.net, a clearinghouse for Wi-Fi service providers, and Vivato, a Wi-Fi switch manufacturer. Broadreach Networks Limited, a broadband Internet access provider, and Pronto Networks, a provider of carrier-class OSS solutions for large hot spot networks, announced they received investments from the Fund earlier. The Intel Communications Fund now has completed seven investments in Wi-Fi companies since October when Intel announced plans to invest $150 million in companies pursuing Wi-Fi technology. Since making its first investment in a wireless networking company in 1999, the Intel Communications Fund has invested in more than 15 wireless networking companies. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32259706 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:25:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Pechanga Resorts & Casino Wi-Fi Southern California Hotel Casino Cashes in with 3Com Wireless Solution Pechanga Resorts & Casino Deploys Wireless Internet Access to Attract Business Guests to New Hotel and Convention Center Success in the hotly contested hospitality industry requires providers to offer guests a distinctive array of services. Even hotels that provide gaming and entertainment such as Pechanga Resorts & Casino in Temecula, CA, must do more to compete. So when the state's largest Native American-owned casino learned it could affordably deliver high-speed Internet access using wireless systems from 3Com Corporation, (NASDAQ:COMS), it was more than willing to roll the dice. Today, using 3Com(R) wireless LANs in the convention center, ballrooms, meeting rooms and swimming pool of its new 522-room hotel, Pechanga enables guests with notebook computers or PDAs to stay connected with colleagues and their offices, wherever they are in the hotel. Powered by the practical, high-value 3Com solution, the 2,700-employee hotel hopes to attract thousands of additional business customers per year to its facilities. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32259746 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:28:44 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TruePosition and Cingular GSM Location Solution TruePosition's U-TDOA Location Solution Provides High Accuracy For Anyphone, Anywhere(TM) KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. and ATLANTA, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- TruePosition Inc., a leading provider of location-based technologies today announced a multi-year agreement with Cingular Wireless to provide a location-based E-911 technology for Cingular's GSM networks. The same agreement also states that Cingular has contracted to upgrade its existing TruePosition location system to the TruePosition GSM location product as well. As previously announced in the Fall of 2002, TruePosition's U-TDOA location solution complies with the regulatory mandated standards. In testing conducted on Cingular's Wilmington, Delaware system, 67% of calls were located within 47.1 meters and 95% of calls were located within 112.2 meters. TruePosition has currently deployed over 4000 units in cell sites in numerous markets across the United States. This multi-year agreement is designed to support Cingular with meeting the FCC enhanced 9-1-1 mandate. The FCC requires wireless carriers to provide designated public safety agencies with location information for 911 calls in accordance with the following standard for network-based location technologies such as TruePosition's: 100 meters for 67% of calls and 300 meters for 95% of calls. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32267388 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 22:32:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: U.S. High Court to Hear Verizon Antitrust Appeal WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it would decide whether dominant local telephone companies can be sued for damages by upstart rivals and consumers under antitrust laws for poor or delayed access to local networks. The high court agreed to hear an appeal by Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), the biggest U.S. local telephone carrier, in a case that could open the company to lawsuits by rivals that claim problems obtaining access to the dominant network. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32260491 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 23:11:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Flips Open E-Mail Communicator By Jim Hu Staff Writer, CNET News.com March 7, 2003, 10:11 AM PT America Online is giving subscribers an early taste of its AOL Communicator e-mail client, an upgrade designed to appeal to its more tech-savvy members. The AOL Time Warner unit said Friday it has released a preview of the e-mail software, which comes bundled with instant messaging and address book features. As previously reported, AOL Communicator is the company's attempt to offer advanced users a different option for managing their e-mail. ... http://news.com.com/2100-1032-991559.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 01:04:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Yahoo Turns on New E-Mail Spam Filters SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 11 (Reuters) - Internet media company Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) on Tuesday said it activated new filters for "spam" and junk messages on its e-mail service, which it claimed would cut down dramatically on the unsolicited messages that sometimes plague its users. Yahoo said the new version of SpamGuard cut complaints about unwanted messages by 40 percent in its own internal testing, even as the volume of spam that it sees had risen dramatically. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32294355 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 18:10:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Is Planning a Fast-Forward Answer to TiVo By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK Personal video recorders like TiVo mock everything a television network is about. The devices let viewers thumb their noses at program schedules and, even worse, fast-forward past commercials. To many at the networks and studios, it is a cruel joke that could drive them out of business. AOL Time Warner, however, is trying to beat TiVo Inc. at its own game. A secretive team of AOL Time Warner executives has begun talking with other major cable operators and media companies about speeding up and co-opting the potential revolution that TiVo kicked off. The company's system, called Mystro TV, is AOL Time Warner's gambit in an imminent battle over the future of the television business. Satellite services, cable systems and television manufacturers are all racing to promote their versions of the TiVo-like technologies that threaten to wreak havoc on networks and studios, and AOL Time Warner wants to put its own stamp on the evolution of the medium. Its plans will turn in part on whether the company can end two years of internal discord following AOL's acquisition of Time Warner. If the company's often antagonistic divisions can cooperate, their collective arms reach to all sides of the television business. The company's Turner Broadcasting and WB are the largest collection of networks. Warner Brothers is the largest television studio. And Time Warner Cable is the most technologically advanced and second-largest cable operator. AOL Time Warner already has a track record of directing the technological course of the entertainment business, most recently by single-handledly forcing Hollywood to adopt the low-priced sale of DVD's. Now it has dedicated significant financial and personnel resources to Mystro TV. Two years ago, the company transferred Time Warner Cable's top executive, Joseph J. Collins, and top engineer, James A. Chiddix, to the secretive project full time. Meanwhile, the cable division has already implemented some elements of the technology. Viewers in New York and elsewhere can subscribe to an HBO on-demand channel, enabling them to watch "The Sopranos" and other offerings on their own schedule with fast-forward and rewind. Viewers in Hawaii can watch the nightly news and other programs whenever they want, and the cable system is testing new forms of targeted advertising there as well. But as the company rushes to stay ahead of competing services from satellite and electronics companies, AOL Time Warner must also overcome questions about its technology. At the same time, Mystro TV needs to win the cooperation of networks, studios and the creators of shows. So far, most industry executives - even some at AOL Time Warner's networks and studios - say they are dubious about the feasibility of the idea. The essence of AOL Time Warner's Mystro TV is a technology that uses a cable system itself to provide viewers capabilities similar to computerized personal video recorders like TiVo: watching programs on their own schedules, with fast-forward and rewind. But it also lets networks set the parameters, dictating which shows users can reschedule, and it also creates ways for networks to insert commercials. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/technology/10AOL.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 18:26:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: As Cellphones Become Cuter, Clarity Suffers By MATT RICHTEL SAN FRANCISCO, March 9 - The mobile telephone has evolved into a sleek multifunctional marvel. It can store e-mail addresses and hundreds of phone numbers. It can emit any of dozens of ring tones or vibrate silently. It can be used to play games and double as a digital camera -- even as it is small enough to fit in cigarette case. But for all these wireless wonders, industry analysts, researchers and consumers say that many of the sleek, versatile new models are simply not as good as the old ones at being telephones. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/10/technology/10PHON.html ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 15:59:33 -0800 In article , Joseph wrote: > It also helps if you identify what *kind* of Cingular you have since > Cingular operates two different systems which operate differently. We > don't know if you're referring to Cingular as a TDMA (IS-136) system > or a GSM system. It does make a difference since Cingular is mostly a > TDMA (IS-136) operator in most of the country and is GSM only on the > west coast and two plus states in the east. Oh. My cellular service with this network began as PacBell Mobile Services and it is 100% GSM. Then it became "Cingular". I just assumed Cingular operated similar systems nationwide. Silly me for depending upon a "brand name". John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Stretch Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 03:12:45 GMT Organization: Road Runner - Texas Joseph wrote in message news:telecom22.338.5@telecom-digest.org: > On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 02:23:10 GMT, Stretch > wrote: >> I've found that my Cingular phone also makes and receives calls in >> Mexico without any prior arrangements. (Though the buck-a-minute >> roaaming and analog-only system encourages me to keep calls >> reasonably short!) > It also helps if you identify what *kind* of Cingular you have since > Cingular operates two different systems which operate differently. We > don't know if you're referring to Cingular as a TDMA (IS-136) system > or a GSM system. It does make a difference since Cingular is mostly a > TDMA (IS-136) operator in most of the country and is GSM only on the > west coast and two plus states in the east. TDMA. I've used it roaming in various areas, and have had good results in most areas of the US. Interestingly, the SoCal area seems to be the only place where the "update time and date from network" seem to function. I guess folks in San Diego and LA have one less excuse than the rest of us to be late. :-) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It seems to work here in Independence, Kansas as well on my Nokia 5165 phone which is attached to Cingular Wireless. (My other Nokia 5165 is attached to AT&T Wireless which only offers roaming [actually, 'extended area'] service here out of Tulsa or Wichita; much more expensive). As an experiment one day, I changed the clock time on the Cingular Wireless phone to something totally wrong. Then I made a call from my landline phone to the cell phone. After a ring or two, as the caller ID on the cellular phone showed up, the time digits corrected themselves also to whatever the (caller ID) time was, which was pretty accurate. I assume that is what you mean by 'date and time from network'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: sharif_shahrier@yahoo.com (Sharif Shahrier) Subject: Seeking Employment: 802.11 WLAN Date: 11 Mar 2003 05:59:31 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I am looking for work in IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN arena. I am interested in protocols supporting Quality-of-Service and Handoff in 802.11, amonst other things. I have one year current experience in 802.11 and have filed several patent applications in areas of QoS and handoff. If anyone is interested, or can provide me with networking contacts, I would be very grateful if you can contact me via email: sharif_shahrier@yahoo.com. Thank you. Sharif ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: "dnhunt" Subject: Re: Who Owns/Manages 352-357? Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 13:45:34 -0500 Organization: Mid-South Consulting Engineers, Inc. The NPA/NXX belongs to Sprint (United Telephone of Florida) in Eustis, FL. I don't have a contact, but may find it on Sprint's website www.sprint.com David N. Hunt, Executive Vice President - Business Development Mid-South Consulting Engineers, Inc. 3901 Rose Lake Drive, Charlotte, NC 28217 dnhunt@msceng.com, Tel: 704/357-0004, Fax: 704/357-0025 This Old Man wrote asking about Need Telephone Number For Local Exchange Handling 352-357 on Tue, 04 Mar 2003 22:53:08 GMT: > Can someone please tell me the telephone number for sales/service for > the local exchange 352-357-xxxx. > Is there a website where I can look this up? ------------------------------ From: tonypo1@cox.net Subject: Re: Palm Poor Service Organization: The Ace Tomatoe and Cement Company Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 03:07:34 GMT In article , himshah@oldbridge.com says: > I am very dissatisfied with Palm Corp. I had so far 3 Palm M515 stop > synchronizing on USB port. I recommend against buying Palm. The > quality of product is not very good. It's the Palm-OS software doing this becuase my Handspring Visor Prism does the exact same thing at times. Tony ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 23:39:59 -0700 On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:03:02 +0200, 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com wrote: >> Point of order: Pop-Up Stopper operates that way as well. Pop-ups are >> stopped UNLESS the user either holds down SHIFT or CTRL while clicking >> a link, or if the user temporarily disables Pop-Up Stopper (done quite >> easily, and reenabled equally easily). > Ahem ... er ... yeah, but my point is that with Opera 7, when I *want* > the pop-up window, I don't have to *do* anything - because I clicked > on the link, I get the pop-up .... no keys to press / hold down etc .. Not exactly. There are benevolent applications that pop up a new window without any user interaction. If you're describing Opera 7 correctly, such applications wouldn't work correctly in your browser. Now, it seems that such applications are rapidly disappearing -- precisely because of browsers that categorically disable that Javascript function. But there is a difference between pop-ups that happen by clicking a link and pop-ups that happen without any user request. Mozilla's preferences have two different check-boxes: to enable the distinct features: one for opening unrequested windows and one for opening a link in a new window. While I have disabled the first feature, I have never ever seen a need to disable the second one. Thus it's trivial to configure Mozilla to behave exactly the way you describe above. Mozilla is free. www.mozilla.org --phil ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Providing a Wired Network For Cellular Phones Inside Your House? Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 23:52:26 -0700 I have a friend who would like to use cellular service for his home phone. He'd like to be able to originate and answer calls from multiple standard telephones in his house. Does any manufacturer provide some sort of dock/relay that gives this functionality? One could even imagine a dock that allowed for connecting two phones, relaying the wireless connection for each cell phone out on its own pair. This would seemingly be an attractive piece of optional hardware for some wireless venders to provide. After all, low cost is not the only reason that people choose to cut the cord. Some of us are just really don't like our local phone company. --phil [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Good news and bad news: They are out there. The one I have which I got from Mike Sandman http://sandman.com is called 'Cell Socket' and you insert your Nokia 5100/6100 series phone in the unit then attach a modular cord which runs off to a 'regular, wired' style telephone. You make calls from that. There is no reason you cannot run the modular cord off to an idle pair in your house wiring and use it on various multi-line phones all served off that pair with other working pairs in it. But be certain to keep the pair which serves Cell Socket **totally isolated** from any live pair in the cable. To do that in my case, I would have to go outside on the side of my house to the demark where two pairs come in from the pole, totally isolate the one live pair from the others, then connect the live pair from the cable back to the demark and let it run around my house as it does now. Then the 'dead' pair, which travels in the same cable to all the same inside boxes would be left alone but no longer jumped to the live pair. Then coming back inside my house, I would go to the box which is on the wall where my live, wire-line phone is plugged in and take the 'second pair' which is there, and tie on the output of the Cell Socket. Then I would find Cell Socket at every phone box in my house on that 'second pair'. Then provide a two line phone at every location, and presto, there is the Cell Socket dial tone at every location. Good in theory, but since my brain desease took over my life, I am very clumsy and grow impatient easily. So I use a cordless phone base plugged into the Cell Socket instead and carry the handset around with me. I'd be afraid of screwing it up too badly if I did what I want to do, ie. blowing up the Cell Socket device. Anyway, that's the *good news*. The bad news is Mike Sandman no longer sells the Cell Socket and the related indoor amplified antenna for it. He thinks the Cell Socket people are out of business. Cellular phones have no standards in their construction and shape. Cell Socket only works with Nokia 5100/6100 phones. Cell phones come and go so fast in their shape/design no one could stay in business very long making a 'box to sit the phone in'. Now if someone were to invent a ribbon connector which would attach to the bottom of *any* cell phone and then run off to a 'one size fits all' box with 'Cell Socket-like' func- tions in it so that any phone could be plugged into the ribbon connector and sat on the table next to the device and used as a wireless alternative to a wired phone then I am sure it would have been invented by now. Is anyone listening to me or reading this? If so, then get in touch with Mike Sandman and try to cut a deal with him to market the device. It should be easier to make a single Cell Socket box with its features and a *variety* of amphenol connectors to go on the bottom of cell phones. A person who did it might get rich on it. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 20:28:54 -0500 From: Ron Chapman Subject: Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem In article , John Higdon wrote: >> question of you -- what world ARE you living in? My comment was a >> slightly-humourous (ON-topic) reminder that that particular thread >> never did end. You just walked away from it. > No, actually, the moderator mercifully ended it. Ah, the memories. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #339 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Mar 12 02:28:56 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2C7Su007847; Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:28:56 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:28:56 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303120728.h2C7Su007847@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 V22 #340 TELECOM Digest Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:29:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 340 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson McDonald's WiFi (Monty Solomon) Nokia 3300 Creates a New Mobile Music; Messaging Experience (Monty Solomon) Leading Companies Back MPV Standard for Music, Photo & Video (M Solomon) Yahoo Mail Unveils New Version of SpamGuard to Help Protect (Monty Solomon) Intel Wireless Computer Push Sparks Industry Rush (Monty Solomon) PluggedIn: PCs Set to Cure Drive-Time Doldrums (Monty Solomon) EchoStar to Launch IX Satellite in May; New Satellite to (Monty Solomon) Free Telephone System Manuals (chris) Re: Pechanga Resorts & Casino Wi-Fi (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) President Bush Signs Into Law; National No Call List (Colleen Allen) Re: As Cellphones Become Cuter, Clarity Suffers (Joseph) Re: A Cingular Advantage (Joseph) Re: Providing a Wired Network For Cellular Phone Inside Your House (Joseph) Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft (Linc Madison) Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft (joe@obilivan.net) Re: Road Runner securityscan.sec.rr.com (Richard D G Cox) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:51:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: McDonald's WiFi Eat In and Log On at McDonald's! Fast, Easy Internet Access Begins in New York Several Hundred McDonald's Restaurants in Three Major U.S. Markets by Year End OAK BROOK, Ill. and SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Selected McDonald's restaurants in New York City now offer high-speed wireless access for customers who are constantly "on-the-go" and looking for a place to eat, rest and log-on to their laptop computers. The pilot program currently includes 10 McDonald's restaurants in Manhattan and is scheduled to expand to several hundred restaurants in three major U.S. markets by year's end. McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) today launched a joint marketing campaign promoting a new dimension of customer service that delivers high-speed wireless access to coincide with the launch of Intel(R) Centrino(TM) mobile technology for notebook PCs that feature built-in wireless capability. The co-marketing agreement between McDonald's and Intel will include advertising, in-store merchandising and a signage program that identifies where Intel-verified wireless Internet zones are located. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32323748 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Let's watch and see how long it takes for the terminals to get all gunked up with mustard, relish and beverages that get spilled on them. I asked that same question of the fellow who runs the internet cafe here in Independence. He has some nice looking equipment there at each table where people are invited to eat as they play games and check email, etc. He said to me, "I don't care if mustard gets all over the keys. I get those keyboards for about five dollars each and have a storeroom full of them." PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:58:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nokia 3300 Creates a New Mobile Music and Messaging Experience Youthful, Innovative Design Combines An MP3 Player, Instant Messaging With Mobile Phone IRVING, Texas, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nokia (NYSE:NOK), the expert in mobility, will launch the hip, new Nokia 3300 music phone that combines a digital music player (MP3 and AAC), FM stereo radio and mobile phone in the Americas market in time for the back-to-school season. The 3-in-1-music device is also optimized for messaging with a QWERTY keyboard and text, multimedia and instant messaging capabilities. The Nokia 3300 music phone will work on GSM/GPRS 850/1900 frequency bands. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32311948 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:56:33 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Leading Companies Back MPV Standard for Music, Photo and Video HANNOVER, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003--Leading PC, consumer electronics and digital imaging companies announced their support today for MPV(TM) (MusicPhotoVideo), a new open standard format to enhance the way consumers store and enjoy collections of personal music, photo and video content on storage media, such as data CDs and DVDs. Some companies will release the first MPV creation applications and players in the second half of 2003. Companies announcing support for the MPV standard include Eastman Kodak Company, HP (NYSE:HPQ), LG Electronics Inc., Olympus Optical Co., Ltd., Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, and Sony Corporation. Also announcing implementation of the MPV format in future products are companies developing leading software and firmware applications for creating multimedia discs. These applications include ACD Systems ACDSee, Ahead Software's Nero, ArcSoft PhotoBase, HP Memories Disc Creator, Planetweb Digital Photo and Audio Managers, Roxio Easy CD & DVD Creator, Sonic Solutions MyDVD and RecordNow Max. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32311313 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:53:55 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Yahoo! Mail Unveils New Version of SpamGuard to Help Protect Users Yahoo! Mail Unveils New Version of SpamGuard to Help Protect Users from Spammers; 40 Percent Decline in User Reports of Spam - Mar 11, 2003 05:30 AM (BusinessWire) SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003--Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, today launched a new and more powerful version of SpamGuard, a patent-pending spam filtering technology that is part of the basic service available to all Yahoo! Mail (http://mail.yahoo.com) users. The new version of SpamGuard significantly reduces the amount of spam delivered to users inboxes and, in preliminary tests, resulted in user reports of spam declining by as much as 40 percent. Demonstrating the company's commitment to improving technology and increasing effectiveness, SpamGuard caught five times more spam in February 2003 than in February 2002. The "This is Spam" link, launched in August 2002, has played an integral role in improving SpamGuard technology by evaluating the feedback received by tens of millions of Yahoo! Mail users to better identify and filter spam. The advanced version of SpamGuard is more comprehensive at thwarting the techniques spammers are using today. SpamGuard's sophisticated filtering technology automatically detects and directs spam into a separate folder, giving people the option and control to review all of their incoming e-mail. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32305144 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:22:54 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intel Wireless Computer Push Sparks Industry Rush By Elinor Mills Abreu and Eric Auchard SAN FRANCISCO/HANOVER, Germany, March 11 (Reuters) - Flexing its muscles as the world's largest chipmaker, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) on Wednesday will show how its industry arm-twisting could make connecting to the Internet via wireless networks a standard feature on mobile computers within a year. At news conferences from Sydney to Beijing, from Tokyo to New York, Intel will finally unveil its much-ballyhooed set of chips known as Centrino that it hopes will become the wireless computer counterpart of its established Pentium chip line. Analysts think Intel's push could be one bright spot in an otherwise dismal market for new technology this year. But by marshaling top notebook computer makers, retailers such as McDonald's Corp. and U.S. bookseller Borders, and mobile telephone providers around the globe, Intel is giving the biggest boost yet to a technology sometimes seen as a spoiler for the emerging generation of mobile Internet phones. Intel is lending support to a grass-roots technology that for years suffered from fragmented industry support and disparate names such as Wi-Fi, WLAN (wireless local area network) and 802.11, by transforming a patchwork of local and regional efforts into a worldwide grid for wireless computing. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32339555 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:35:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: PluggedIn: PCs Set to Cure Drive-Time Doldrums By Reed Stevenson SEATTLE, March 11 (Reuters) - Wouldn't you rather check your e-mail, get directions, show movies to the kids and listen to digital music files than sit in traffic, staring at the road and listening to the radio? Technology companies and car companies think so, as they develop more advanced navigation and entertainment systems that are becoming personal computers for automobiles -- or "auto PCs" -- that they hope will gain traction among tech-savvy drivers. With flat-panel displays, global positioning satellites, DVD video and cheaper computing power, drivers will be able to recreate their offices and living rooms while on the go, manufacturers say. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32328576 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:37:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EchoStar to Launch IX Satellite in May; New Satellite to EchoStar to Launch EchoStar IX Satellite in May; New Satellite to Test First Ever Ka-Band Commercial Service - Mar 11, 2003 09:23 PM (BusinessWire) LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2003--EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) announced today that its EchoStar IX satellite is scheduled to launch in May 2003. The satellite will launch from a floating platform at the equator aboard a Sea Launch rocket. The EchoStar IX satellite is equipped with one of the first commercial Ka-band spot-beam payloads for use over the United States and will be critical to the development of future generations of Ka-band services. EchoStar's Ka-band portion of the satellite will be used to test, verify and deliver future broadband initiatives for the company. The satellite payload also includes 32 Ku-Band fixed satellite services (FSS) transponders, at approximately 120 watts, that will enhance EchoStar's current U.S. DISH Network satellite TV service, including additional service for Alaska and Hawaii. The satellite will operate at the 121 degree West Longitude orbital location. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32339765 ------------------------------ From: documentation@wedophones.com (chris) Subject: Free Telephone System Manuals Date: 11 Mar 2003 18:14:16 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have tons of free online manuals available for FREE to anyone who wants if you have any you would like to contribute let me know ( you dont have to ) just take what you like. I have many more that are not on the site yet but we are working on it. www.WeDoPhones.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 16:53:54 -0800 From: Lincoln J. King-Cliby Reply-To: linwebmain@pe.net Subject: Re: Pechanga Resorts & Casino Wi-Fi So this is the wireless network I've been picking up ... Having lived virtually across the street from these people for the past 14 years (about 5 years before they built anything let alone the hideous 14-floor structure that's there now) I find leakage (from about 1K' away) this just another example of how rude they can be. (The full rant is for another post in another newsgroup at another time). This explains, quite well, the origin of the wireless network I accidentally found while configuring my own WLAN over the weekend ... and why I can only find its SSID when I'm on that side of our property facing the 'resort'. (And a reminder note to all: When using a wireless networking solution, its not just the hackers that may stumble across your WAPs -- it could very well be someone who forgot to plug in their own AP. Make sure you understand the data security implications of going wireless.) Monty Solomon wrote: > Southern California Hotel Casino Cashes in with 3Com Wireless > Solution > Pechanga Resorts & Casino Deploys Wireless Internet Access to > Attract Business Guests to New Hotel and Convention Center > Success in the hotly contested hospitality industry requires > providers to offer guests a distinctive array of services. Even hotels > that provide gaming and entertainment such as Pechanga Resorts & > Casino in Temecula, CA, must do more to compete. So when the state's > largest Native American-owned casino learned it could affordably > deliver high-speed Internet access using wireless systems from 3Com > Corporation, (NASDAQ:COMS), it was more than willing to roll the dice. > Today, using 3Com(R) wireless LANs in the convention center, > ballrooms, meeting rooms and swimming pool of its new 522-room hotel, > Pechanga enables guests with notebook computers or PDAs to stay > connected with colleagues and their offices, wherever they are in the > hotel. Powered by the practical, high-value 3Com solution, the > 2,700-employee hotel hopes to attract thousands of additional business > customers per year to its facilities. > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32259746 ------------------------------ From: Colleen Allen Subject: President Bush Signs Into Law National No Call List Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 21:55:41 -0500 President George W. Bush has signed a bill into law that creates a national do-not-call list. Consumer groups and many lawmakers say the registry has overwhelming support from the public. Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. Articles and more info: http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/money/2033892/detail.html http://www.thebostonchannel.com/money/2033892/detail.html http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/donotcall/index.html ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: As Cellphones Become Cuter, Clarity Suffers Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 20:03:57 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 18:26:11 -0500, Monty Solomon wrote: > By MATT RICHTEL > SAN FRANCISCO, March 9 - The mobile telephone has evolved into a sleek > multifunctional marvel. It can store e-mail addresses and hundreds of > phone numbers. It can emit any of dozens of ring tones or vibrate > silently. It can be used to play games and double as a digital camera > -- even as it is small enough to fit in cigarette case. [snip] A good part of the article referred to deals with manufacturers using internal antennas rather than external "stub" antennas. My findings are that reception with the internal antenna is just as good if not better than I experienced with an older model I have with the stub antenna. My first handset was a Nokia 5190 a low end phone with pretty standard features. I then got a Nokia 3390 that had an internal antenna. I had no reception problems. The handset I currently own is the Nokia 6310i and even though this handset has an internal antenna the RF reception is superb. I do have to say though that manufacturers' success in their antenna designs is very variable. A case in point is the Ericsson T68i. This handset has some of the poorest RF characteristics of any handset on the market right now. The T68i has an internal antenna. Whether the antenna is the fault of the poor RF or if it's just a design flaw in the phone I can't be sure. The article goes on to say: > But the nation's biggest cellphone carrier, Verizon Wireless, > refuses to sell phones that have internal antennas. I'm of the opinion that it's for a different reason. It has been my observation that handsets that operate on Verizon and Sprint do not have internal antennas and neither do they have stub antennas. Most all CDMA phones whether they are sold through Verizon or Sprint use telescoping antennas. My guess is it's because of either the technology requires that certain antenna length or the frequency that the antenna must acquire signals from requires it. Generally I've seen telescoping antennas only on CDMA handsets in the US. Just my observation and this may not be true, but it's what I've observed. As an observation on this if you go to http://www.nokiausa.com and look at their phone offerings if you look at the models that are for CDMA such as the 6385 it has both internal and external antennas. Similarly models such as the 6360 for TDMA or the 6310i for GSM only have internal antennas. It is my belief that the manufacturers design antennas for optimal signal for the platform they design for. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: A Cingular Advantage Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 20:06:55 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 15:59:33 -0800, John Higdon wrote: > Oh. My cellular service with this network began as PacBell Mobile > Services and it is 100% GSM. Then it became "Cingular". I just assumed > Cingular operated similar systems nationwide. Even dealing with the company they don't really understand or at least some don't that the company doesn't use the same standard in all their areas. People in forums such as the one that is on usenet aren't always aware that there are two different systems so it's not surprising that you wouldn't know that there were two incompatible technologies the company uses. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Providing a Wired Network For Cellular Phones Inside Your House? Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 20:31:25 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 23:52:26 -0700, Phil Earnhardt wrote: > I have a friend who would like to use cellular service for his home > phone. He'd like to be able to originate and answer calls from > multiple standard telephones in his house. > Does any manufacturer provide some sort of dock/relay that gives this > functionality? One could even imagine a dock that allowed for > connecting two phones, relaying the wireless connection for each cell > phone out on its own pair. http://www.cellsocket.com has a device which I'm currently using. I believe Pat made mention of it a while back. The way it works is you remove the dummy antenna plug on the back of the phone and just click your handset into the "docking station." In addition to interfacing with regular phones it will also charge your handset while in the docking station. You attach a regular phone cord with a pinch plug to the cell socket. Any phone(s) attached to the cellsocket will operate as regular phones. The only difference is when you key in a number to call (only works on DTMF) you have to press the # key when you've dialed the number. The # key is the same as the send key on your mobile phone. Basically a "start" key. While the handset is docked it will not ring, but your regular telephone will ring. If you have your lines configured in a two line set up you can use the cellsocket as your second line or if like myself you have opted not to have any regular land line service you can just plug the cell socket into a jack and it will feed any jacks that are connected to the cable pair in the jack. A caveat though is that it's only compatible with 5100/6100/7100 (CDMA/TDMA/GSM) series and also the 6310i and 6360 Nokia models. If you don't have a compatible Nokia model it won't work for you. There's another company offering a similar product from Voxlink. The Voxlink unit is compatible with certain Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson models. It does not appear to be compatible with GSM models. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And Mike Sandman seems to feel Cell Socket is either out of business or soon to be going out of business. I don't know, I am just quoting him. If you have *no* landline phone service at all, you should be relatively safe in just plugging the Cell Socket into a (now idle) phone box in your house, but do take care that some phone man somewhere does not do work on the pole behind your house or otherwise forget to cut off a multiple somewhere in the neighborhood which finds its way into your house. That would fry your Cell Socket. And wouldn't it be nice, as I said last issue, if someone came up with the idea of a ribbon connector which could be adapted to fit the various makes/styles/models of cell phones on the market? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Linc Madison Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:58:47 -0800 Organization: LincMad.com Consulting Reply-To: Telecom@LincMad.com In article , PAT wrote: > It is true, police are obliged to *investigate* every crime reported > to them, as long as they believe the offense was reported to them in > good faith. I believe that is NOT true. For a specific example, I reported a "smash-and-grab" burglary of my car last year, and the police did not even pretend to investigate. www dot LincMad dot com / Telecom at LincMad dot com Linc Madison * San Francisco, California [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How police work from one day to the next is a mystery to me also. Believe me, if it had been some sort of crime to which the officer(s) personally had taken great umbrage, they would have investigated it forever. But there is absolutely no reason when a search/arrest warrant is issued by a judge somewhere and cops decide to go out and execute it a few days later at their leisure, they couldn't listen to reason about stolen ID, etc. After all, it was not a life or death emergency for the officers at that point. They were just trying to be assholes at that point, although maybe the newly arrested prisoner had been an asshole with them also. We do not know the whole story. And no one likes an asshole. PAT] ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 10:07:12 GMT Organization: Cox Communications > When it is occassionally shown they did not act in good > faith and thoroughly investigate a case prior to making arrests at > random, then they get sued. In Mr. Byrd's case, it is my belief he > could return to court, and get the entire matter expunged from the records. > That would be in the process of collecting a bundle of money from > police as a result of their misbehavior. Just my opinion. PAT] If the cops had to personally pay, I'd be all for it. Alas, it is usually the taxpayers who get nailed, while the cops and DA serve out their time and then collect their nice pensions. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The taxpayers probably should get nailed, since police are their agents. Of course, then the police do not care, because they were not personally affected (except as tax payers themselves). A better solution would be if Officer Jones is called into his super- visor's office and told thus: "Jones, we have been sued five times since you became an officer. All of the suits were due to your negligence in your duties. Here is an either/or situation for you, Jones. EITHER you start obeying the rules and the US Constitution OR we will be glad to replace you and find an officer who will do those things." Jones has to feed his family and now has a real incentive to follow the rules and work politely and diligently with the public he serves. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Mar 2003 23:39:38 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Road Runner securityscan.sec.rr.com Reply-To: nospam@numbering.com Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited On 10 Mar 2003 at 21:51 UT, Monty Solomon reported: > Road Runner doesn't just scan mail servers, it also scans ports 25, > 80, 81, 1080, 3128, 4480, 6588, 8000, 8080 and 8081, according to the > company's statement, and scans additional ports (e.g. FTP, Telnet, > NNTP, and more) on its own customers' computers. -MacInTouch] But -- most unfortunately -- whenever Road Runner detects an insecure customer machine on ITS OWN network, its response is rather surprising: it seems to block that machine from sending mail to other Road Runner customers while leaving it WIDE OPEN to spew junk to the rest of the internet -- that's you and me, folks ... There's been an open proxy at [65.33.36.106] for over a week now, and the machine there has been listed in various blacklists for all that time: it is still (well, three hours ago when someone last checked) completely wide open to abuse, and spewing spam all over the internet. Since Mark Herrick, Road Runner's "Director of Security" had mail some time ago about that machine, we have to accept that it is his decision to allow the abuse to continue from his network ... which may perhaps explain WHY they don't like machines on their network being tested: as that testing would ultimately expose their policy of ALLOWING abuse. Perhaps it is time that the Road Runner network was made an INTRAnet and not allowed to connect to the grown-up world until it learns the behavioural standards that hosts on the real Internet expect and require of each other. Does anyone know who is actually in charge of Road Runner now? Richard Cox [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Something comes to mind you guys may be able to help me on. I stumbled across a web site recently called 'Renegade Cams' which allows one on one chat while looking at cam images. I asked a person there, how do I use this service to *send* video and not just watch it. His answer was, you get a copy of mIRC and an account with Road Runner. On mIRC you look for a room called 'chat n cams'. Get your camera started in mIRC 'chat n cams' and connect to the Road Runner IRC server on 6667'. Well I know a little about how IRC works in general, but I use it quite rarely, and getting a cam going on IRC (or mIRC) is quite beyond me. Maybe you experts with cams can advise me: is that a *good idea* and do I really want to do it? I am a little leery about getting involved with Road Runner (I have gotten tons of spam alleged to be from that domain over the years), and I have heard about sleazy situations involving cams and IRC. Am I just asking for more trouble? Advice please. PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #340 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Mar 12 17:09:17 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2CM9HJ12001; Wed, 12 Mar 2003 17:09:17 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 17:09:17 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303122209.h2CM9HJ12001@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 V22 #341 TELECOM Digest Wed, 12 Mar 2003 17:09:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 341 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Help Available for Telecom Question (Voice, Data - FR, ATM, PL) (Matthew) Suggested Link - Telecomparisons (Lori Simpson) Example Service Contract Wanted (Martin) 3Com Future-Proofs Wireless Installations with New Modular (Monty Solomon) 3Com Power Over Ethernet Products (Monty Solomon) Intel Unveils Wireless Computer Chips (Monty Solomon) Sony Music Mobile Debuts on AT&T Wireless mMode Service (Monty Solomon) Benetton Clothes to Include Tracking Chip (Monty Solomon) Free Wireless on Newbury Street (Monty Solomon) Winners of 'University Wireless Developer Contest' (Monty Solomon) Re: PluggedIn: PCs Set to Cure Drive-Time Doldrums (jt) Re: McDonald's WiFi (Joseph) Re: President Bush Signs Into Law National No Call List (John Higdon) For Real, or Another Bogus Microsoft Patch? (Microsoft Network Services) Re: Pop-up Stopper (Julian Thomas) Re: Providing a Wired Network For Cell Phones Inside House (Mike Hartley) Re: As Cellphones Become Cuter, Clarity Suffers (Mike Hartley) Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft (John Higdon) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: matthew.marsh@qwest.com (Matthew) Subject: Help Available for Telecom Question (Voice, Data - FR, ATM, VPN, PL) Date: 10 Mar 2003 20:46:48 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I am a Senior Sales Engineer for a major telecommunications company that offers most all data and voice communications services throughout the U.S. (and internationally). I have more than 14 years in the industry, so am likely to be able to help you with question you may have. No catch, no cost. I am offering my assistance with questions you might have about carrier voice and data services for two reasons... First, to be a good samaritan and use my experience to help advise others that may be less familiar with this technology. Second, to try to drum up possible new business leads that I could possibly work on. I am located in the Chicago area. I will offer any help or advice I can, even if you are not looking for carrier services. Do not worry, I am not jerking you around. I have been in this industry on the technical side too long to screw around that way. If I find some new business opportunities (especially in the Chicago area) great, if not -- then I am glad to help with advice anyway. I will not ask your name, or company name (unless you later want me to know and would like me to contact you further). So ask away if you are looking for some free tenured telecom advise. Matthew ------------------------------ From: Lori Simpson Subject: Suggested Link - Telecomparisons Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:43:08 -0500 Good Afternoon, Telecomparisons.com is a free comparative site that provides objective long distance advice. We rank phone plans and provide rates for Canadian calls, US calls and International calls. We feel that your website's users can benefit from our site. Can you please link to us? Lori Simpson Telecom Coordinator lori@energyshop.com Energyshop.com url: http://www.telecomparisons.com description: Telecomparisons.com is a comparative website created in order to find the most beneficial long distance plans for consumers. ------------------------------ From: martoasa@yahoo.com (Martin) Subject: Example Service Contract Wanted Date: 11 Mar 2003 22:54:26 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello, I am looking for a typical service contract document/template for servicing business telephone systems (PBX, Key Systems) for my customers. I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out on this. Regards, Martin ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 12:26:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 3Com Future-Proofs Wireless Installations with New Modular Wireless Access Points Offering Both 802.11a and 802.11b Connectivity - Mar 12, 2003 08:01 AM (BusinessWire) SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2003-- New Access Points Allow Mix and Match with Dual Radio Slots, Giving Customers Added Flexibility to Keep Costs Down Businesses no longer have to choose one wireless networking flavor over the other. They can now implement and take advantage of both the widely available connectivity of 802.11b and 802.11a's higher transmission speeds and less crowded frequency while keeping costs down. Today, 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) announced a new line of modular wireless LAN access points and upgrade kits that offer customers the ability to easily bring the newer 802.11a wireless standard into their network while preserving their investment in existing wireless technology. ... The new wireless products include: -- the 3Com(R) Wireless LAN Access Point 8200 with 802.11b radio; -- the 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8500 with 802.11a radio; and -- the 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8700 with 802.11a and 802.11b radios. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32345442 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 12:29:54 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 3Com Power Over Ethernet Products 3Com Delivers Comprehensive Family of Standards-Based, Power Over Ethernet Products - Mar 12, 2003 08:05 AM (BusinessWire) SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2003-- New SuperStack(R) 3 Switch 4400 PWR and 3Com's Voice, Network Jack and Wireless LAN Products Simplify Customer Experience, Offer Better Value to Enterprises 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) today announced a new Power over Ethernet (PoE)-enabled switch, new NBX(R) IP telephones and wireless LAN access points. Combined with 3Com's innovative Network Jack family, these solutions offer the industry's most comprehensive suite of Power over Ethernet networking equipment based on the IEEE P802.af draft specification. Now a single cable can provide both standards-based, intelligent power and data connectivity. Any combination of these products can be ubiquitously deployed throughout a network, providing network managers with intelligent detection of powered devices, centralized management and enhanced availability. Combining these capabilities with standards-based power assures customers that 3Com(R) products can be seamlessly deployed with any other IEEE P802.af compliant products, providing the lowest total cost of ownership. At the heart of this power-enabled approach to building networks is the new SuperStack(R) 3 Switch 4400 PWR, which offers customers the combination of a cost-effective "power source," based on the IEEE P802.af draft specification, with 3Com's most feature-rich 10/100 switch. The SuperStack 3 Switch 4400 PWR is a 24-port 10/100 in-line Power over Ethernet switch, delivering high-performance Ethernet switching with a variety of Gigabit uplink options, resilient, hot-swappable stacking and stack-wide link aggregation to enhance backbone performance and ensure network resiliency. The product can connect into an XRN(TM) technology-based backbone, which provides high availability for optimal network uptime. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32345832 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 12:27:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intel Unveils Wireless Computer Chips By Eric Auchard HANOVER, March 12 (Reuters) - Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), the world's largest computer microprocessor maker, launched a set of chips on Wednesday that promise to make wireless Internet access a standard feature on laptops within a year, changing the habits of computer users. At news conferences throughout Asia and Europe Intel unveiled a set of chips known as Centrino, which it said will allow mobile computer users to access the Internet at home and a growing number of public places via radio waves. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32345559 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 12:32:40 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sony Music Mobile Debuts on AT&T Wireless mMode Service New music channel replicates Sony Music's award-winning website for the mobile environment - a music industry first NEW YORK, and REDMOND, Wash., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sony Music Mobile Products Group announced today the debut of Sony Music Mobile on the AT&T Wireless mMode(SM) service. Music fans of all kinds can now access ring tones, graphics and breaking news about their favorite Sony Music Entertainment artists right from their wireless phone. Sony Music Mobile also features a subscription service for access to a mobile version of Sony Music's award-winning website. Subscribers with compatible handsets can receive fresh news, pictures, tour dates, album releases and more all displayed with one of the richest graphic interfaces available on wireless phones today. Through Sony Music Mobile on mMode, customers will be able to purchase ring tones from songs made famous by Sony Music Entertainment artists, display graphics featuring album covers, and make CD purchases through links to Amazon's one-click service, all through their mobile phone. Popular ring tones include John Mayer's "Your Body is a Wonderland" and Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls on Parade." Ring tones cost between $.99 and $1.99 each. For an additional subscription fee of $1.00 per month, Sony Music Mobile users can download a special Java application to receive up-to-the-minute news, tour dates, album releases, information on personal appearances, and pictures of the artist of their choice. At launch, Sony Music Mobile features artists including Amerie, Tori Amos, The Ataris, B2K, Celine Dion, Mario Frangoulis, Good Charlotte, Vivian Green, Jennifer Lopez, Nas, Opera Babes, Pete Yorn, and more. Subscribers can also enter contests and play trivia games. The Sony Music Mobile subscription service is the first-ever Java-based mobilized music company website. Java technology, most widely used for gaming applications, was used to replicate Sony Music's award-winning website on mMode. Crisp Wireless created the application for Sony Music Mobile Products Group. The application uses the content management and delivery component of the Crisp Wireless mLogic Platform to dynamically transmit the latest information from Sony Music to mobile phones and allow users to view and interact with the content through a highly aesthetic interface. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32348766 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 13:06:07 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Benetton Clothes to Include Tracking Chip NEW YORK (AP) -- Clothes sold at Benetton stores will soon contain microchip transmitters that allow the Italian retailer to track its garments from their point of manufacture to the moment they're sold in any of its 5,000 shops. http://news.lycos.com/news/story.asp?section=Business&storyId=673780 Tag, You're It What Your Clothes Say About You Clothing designer Benetton plans to weave radio frequency ID chips into its garment tags. While Benetton is poised to save money by tracking the clothes with RFID, it could also mean a loss of customers' privacy. By Elisa Batista. http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58006,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 13:15:37 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Free Wireless on Newbury Street By Leander Kahney A computer reseller in Boston is spearheading a new form of "philanthropic advertising" that offers free wireless Internet access to the local community, with subtle branding. Tech Superpowers, a Boston-based Apple reseller, is building a small, high-speed Wi-Fi network for local residents. Bostonians get to log on for free, as long as they put up with a pop-up advertisement every three to four hours. The network, NewburyOpen.net, stretches for about three-quarters of the length of Newbury Street, a busy thoroughfare in the center of town known as Boston's Rodeo Drive. The network is the brainchild of Tech Superpowers' CEO Michael Oh, who initially wanted wireless Net access in the neighborhood for his own convenience, and immediately started thinking how to make money from it. Oh quickly discounted turning a profit, but realized that a free, public wireless network could be a relatively cheap form of advertising his business. ... http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58011,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 12:31:53 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Winners of 'University Wireless Developer Contest' Nextel, Sun Microsystems, and Motorola Announce Winners of First-Ever Nationwide 'University Wireless Developer Contest' - Mar 12, 2003 09:31 AM (BusinessWire) RESTON, Va. & PLANTATION, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2003-- Winners Receive More Than $45,000 in Scholarships and Prizes; Second Contest to Begin in Fall 2003 Nextel Communications Inc., (NASDAQ:NXTL) Sun Microsystems, Inc., (NASDAQ:SUNW) and Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) today announced that Michael Yuan, a graduate student from the University of Texas at Austin has won the University Wireless Developer Contest for his iFeedback application that runs on Nextel's nationwide wireless packet data network. iFeedback is a mobile survey tool that allows professors to send course-related questionnaires for open, real-time communications with students. Yuan received a $20,000 scholarship, along with other prizes. The second and third place winners are Ramswaroop Somani, a senior from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Ju Long, a business graduate student from the University of Texas at Austin. Somani's application, the University Positioning System, provides for real-time tracking of people and possessions on campus. It is also a location-based reminder and calendar system that provides directions to and from university buildings. Long developed SmartPhrases, a mobile spell checker and dictionary application that also checks usage of words in phrases. Somani and Long received $10,000 and $5,000 scholarships - respectively - for their winning applications. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32348698 ------------------------------ From: jt Subject: Re: PluggedIn: PCs Set to Cure Drive-Time Doldrums Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 08:12:54 -0500 Organization: WorldCom Canada Ltd. News Reader Service Monty Solomon wrote in message news:telecom22.340.6@telecom-digest.org: > By Reed Stevenson > SEATTLE, March 11 (Reuters) - Wouldn't you rather check your > e-mail, get directions, show movies to the kids and listen to digital > music files than sit in traffic, staring at the road and listening to > the radio? And make sure you check out insurance quotes on the web 'cause you just rammed that Lexus in front of you. ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: McDonald's WiFi Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 07:04:02 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Tue, 11 Mar 2003 15:51:21 -0500, TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Monty Solomon who wrote about McDonalds and their planned WiFi network: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Let's watch and see how long it takes > for the terminals to get all gunked up with mustard, relish and > beverages that get spilled on them. I asked that same question of the > fellow who runs the internet cafe here in Independence. He has some > nice looking equipment there at each table where people are invited > to eat as they play games and check email, etc. He said to me, "I > don't care if mustard gets all over the keys. I get those keyboards > for about five dollars each and have a storeroom full of them." PAT] But WiFi networks *don't* run terminals. The WiFi networks allow people to hookup with their own laptops/PDAs etc. and use the network. There are no terminals, keyboards, etc. etc. They're wireless networks. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: President Bush Signs Into Law National No Call List Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 08:42:43 -0800 In article , Colleen Allen wrote: > Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. My condolences. I would be happy to give counsel to any telemarketers who are forced out of the sleaze industry and help them get into legitimate advertising. You know, the kind where you actually pay to reach population segments via print, radio, TV, etc., rather than use technology that the customer pays for against him. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Microsoft Network Public Services Subject: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 19:03:43 CET MS Consumer This is the latest version of security update, the "March 2003, Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all known security vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook Express as well as five newly discovered vulnerabilities. Install now to protect your computer from these vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could allow an attacker to run executable on your system. This update includes the functionality of all previously released patches. System requirements: Win 9x/Me/2000/NT/XP This update applies to: Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later Microsoft Outlook, version 8.00 and later Microsoft Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later Recommendation: Customers should install the patch at the earliest opportunity. How to install: Run attached file. Click Yes on displayed dialog box. How to use: You don't need to do anything after installing this item. Microsoft Technical Support is available at http://support.microsoft.com/ For security-related information about Microsoft products, please visit the Microsoft Security Advisor web site at http://www.microsoft.com/security Contact us at http://www.microsoft.com/isapi/goregwiz.asp?target=3D/contactus/= contactus.asp Please do not reply to this message. It was sent from an unmonitored e-mail address and we are unable to respond to any replies. Thank you for using Microsoft products. With friendly greetings, Microsoft Network Public Services. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only make it get sicker? Somehow I feel a bit leary about this one also, it just doesn't "look right" for some reason. As usual, don't do any patching or installing (or not) because someone you don't know makes a suggestion. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Julian Thomas Subject: Re: Pop-up Stopper Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 14:29:32 -0500 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com In , on 03/09/03 at 12:13 AM, 3yeadqp02@sneakemail.com may have used oatmeal boxes, old string, and new, used, and recycled electrons to say (at least in part): > There's an even more elegant solution, in my opinion - Opera Browser v7.0 Mozilla 1.2 and later also have this capability. Julian Thomas: jt . jt-mj @ net http://jt-mj.net remove letter a for email (or switch . and @) In the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State! Boardmember of POSSI.org - Phoenix OS/2 Society, Inc http://www.possi.org Double your drive space! Delete Windows! ------------------------------ From: Mike Hartley Subject: Re: Providing a Wired Network For Cellular Phones Inside Your House? Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 11:46:47 -0000 > Does any manufacturer provide some sort of dock/relay that gives this > functionality? One could even imagine a dock that allowed for > connecting two phones, relaying the wireless connection for each cell > phone out on its own pair. If I understand this ocrrectly, rather than connecting your cellphones to a PSTN line, you're wanting to route calls from wired phones out on cellular. There are certainly 'cellphones in a box' which will do this from a PBX -- the Nokia Premicell is one example -- but I'm not sure if you can plug conventional phones directly into it. The cellsocket sounds interesting though. Mike ------------------------------ From: Mike Hartley Subject: Re: As Cellphones Become Cuter, Clarity Suffers Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 11:56:50 -0000 > A case in point is the Ericsson T68i. This handset has some of the > poorest RF characteristics of any handset on the market right now. > The T68i has an internal antenna. Whether the antenna is the fault > of the poor RF or if it's just a design flaw in the phone I can't be > sure. It also has slow, buggy software which locks up for no apparent reason and takes ages to boot. I put mine in for repair/replace for the third time in 9 months recently I have the 6310i as a loan phone and to be honest I don't care if the T68 ever comes back! The Nokia is a bit plain compared to the T68, but like the 6210 I've had in the past it's a good solid phone with good performance and reasonable features. I've used a lot of handsets over the past 6 years and I have never really noticed too much difference between internal and external antennas -- then again coverage is usually pretty good here so YMMV. Mike [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Antennas or not, and if they are internal or external and their length is purely a function of where you live and travel. Most large cities are *so* saturatred with cell towers, it really does not matter what you use. But if you get down here in Kansas for example, (and I am in the 'more populated' eastern part of the state; Montgomery County has a population of 31,000 and is more or less considered rural) then every spare 'db' on your meter counts. My two Nokia 5165 phones are built the same, with little stub- like antennas. The Cingular phone does okay as part of the network of towers Cingular/Southwestern Bell operates. The AT&T phone on the other hand, barely sits in the 'fingerprint' of service out of Wichita or Tusla, OK. I can't really use it around here except using the 5/8 wave ground plane antenna I got from Mike Sandman http://sandman.com which pushes up the signal a little. Of course, when I use the Cingular phone with the same antenna, the signal is really great. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 08:34:27 -0800 In article , Linc Madison wrote: > In article , PAT wrote: >> It is true, police are obliged to *investigate* every crime reported >> to them, as long as they believe the offense was reported to them in >> good faith. > I believe that is NOT true. For a specific example, I reported a > "smash-and-grab" burglary of my car last year, and the police did not > even pretend to investigate. An associate had his new S-10 Blazer stolen from outside the restaurant he was patronizing. Not only did he report it to the police, he did some gumshoe work of his own. The vehicle contained all of his work materials, tools, test instruments, and a cellular phone. On the off-chance the perps were stupid enough to use the phone, he contacted a friend at Verizon (the wireless service provider). Sure enough, there were calls aplenty. He got not only a detailed listing of the calls placed and received (by number and address), he got a detail of the actual cells worked by the phone when the calls were made. Using this information, he called some of the numbers. At one, he reached what sounded like young kid. "You that new Blazer your dad's friend brought by?" "Yeah." "Does you dad know where it is now?" "Yeah, it's over at Justin's shop." When he got done, he had what was probably the exact location of the vehicle, and at the very least he had a comprehensive list of people who were in touch with the crime in some way or another. When he called the police to tell them what he had and to make arrangements to deliver it into their hands, they expressed complete and utter disinterest. "Do you have insurance on the truck?" "Yes, of course." "Then just file a claim and don't worry about it." Ever since then, I have had precious little respect for the San Jose Police Department. A citizen literally solves a grand theft case and the department couldn't care less. Apparently, they have other things to do like hassling minorities who haven't actually done anything wrong. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I guess you have been following the story in the papers about the San Francisco Chief of Police and the several officers under his command who were all recently indicted by a grand jury for an incident where some officers stole some food from a fast food place, then got into a fight with the owner of the food. According to the grand jury, the officers obstructed justice by the way in which they diddled up the paperwork about the incident after the fact, assisted by their chief. According to last night's issue of Independence Reporter, the chief took sick leave but one or more of the officers may wind up going to prison. It really warms your heart when you hear about a police officer being sent to prison, doesn't it. Ask yourself this question: if all police officers got sent to prison then who would be left to hassle minorities? Reserve police officers maybe? PAT] ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #341 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 13 00:00:14 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2D50Eq14135; Thu, 13 Mar 2003 00:00:14 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 00:00:14 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303130500.h2D50Eq14135@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 V22 #342 TELECOM Digest Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:58:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 342 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Privacy International Seeks Entries in "Stupid Security" Contest (Solomon) CASPIAN Calls for Immediate Worldwide Boycott of Benetton (Monty Solomon) Bush Signs Bill Creating National Do-Not-Call-List (Monty Solomon) Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft (Jim Rusling) Re: PluggedIn: PCs Set to Cure Drive-Time Doldrums (Paul Wallich) Re: 311 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S. (Eric Zurlo) Voting For a Moderator (Joey Lindstrom) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around (Ken Becker) AOSpam (Joey Lindstrom) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around (Peter Dubuque) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around (Reed) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around (John Meissen) Last Laugh! Re: President Bush Signs Into Law No Call List (Tom Horsley) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 18:43:54 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Privacy International Seeks Entries in "Stupid Security" Contest http://www.politechbot.com/p-04541.html Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 11:28:30 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: Privacy International seeks entries in "stupid security" contest [I have the honor of being a judge in this competition. Please send your suggestions to stupidsecurity@privacy.org. --Declan] Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2003 16:37:47 +0000 To: Declan McCullagh From: Simon Davies Hi Declan, it would be terrific if you could get this out on Politech. Best wishes Simon PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL ONE WEEK LEFT TO HELP FIND THE WORLD'S MOST STUPID SECURITY MEASURE Global competition will identify absurd and pointless security requirements http://www.privacyinternational.org/activities/stupidsecurity/ 11th February 2003 Embargo: Immediate release The human rights watchdog Privacy International has launched a competition to discover the world's most pointless, intrusive, annoying and self-serving security measures. The "Stupid Security" award aims to highlight the absurdities of the security industry. Privacy International's director, Simon Davies, said his group had taken the initiative because of "innumerable" security initiatives around the world that had absolutely no genuine security benefit. "The situation has become ridiculous" said Mr Davies. "Security has become the smokescreen for incompetent and robotic managers the world over". "I have stood for ages in a security line at an inconsequential office building and been grilled relentlessly only to be given a security pass that a high school student could have faked. And I resent being forced to take off my shoes at an airport that can't even screen its luggage" he said. Even before 9/11 a whole army of bumbling amateurs has taken it upon themselves to figure out pointless, annoying, intrusive, illusory and just plain stupid measures to "protect" our security. It has become a global menace. From the nightclub in Berlin that demands the home address of its patrons, to the phone company in Britain that won't let anyone pay more than twenty pounds a month from a bank account, the world has become infested with bumptious administrators competing to hinder or harass us. And often for no good reason whatever. Unworkable security laws and illusory security measures do nothing to help issues of real public concern. They only hinder the public and intrude unnecessary into our private lives. Until March 15th 2003 Privacy International is calling for nominations to name and shame the worst offenders. Nominations in the form of stories and anecdotes are most welcome. The competition will be judged by a panel of well-known security experts, public policy specialists, privacy advocates and journalists. The competition is open to anyone. Nominations can be sent to stupidsecurity@privacy.org Winners will be announced at the 13th Computers, Freedom & Privacy conference in New York on April 4th. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES TO EDITORS - Privacy International (PI) is a human rights group formed in 1990 as a watchdog on surveillance by governments and corporations. PI is based in London, and has an office in Washington, D.C. Together with members in 40 countries, PI has conducted campaigns throughout the world on issues ranging from wiretapping and national security activities, to ID cards, video surveillance, data matching, police information systems, and medical privacy, and works with a wide range of parliamentary and inter-governmental organisations such as the European Parliament, the House of Lords and UNESCO. - PI's website is www.privacyinternational.org The award page can be found at: http://www.privacyinternational.org/activities/stupidsecurity/ - The competition will be judged by a panel of well-known security experts, public policy specialists, privacy advocates and journalists. Details are on the PI competition page above. - Simon Davies can be reached at simon@privacy.org and in the UK on 07958 466 552 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 18:53:33 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CASPIAN Calls for Immediate Worldwide Boycott of Benetton Consumer Group Calls for Immediate Worldwide Boycott of Benetton An American consumer privacy group has called for an immediate, worldwide boycott of Benetton (NYSE:BNG) following disclosures that the company has placed identification and tracking devices into its clothing products. CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) announced today that it will oppose Benetton's plans to place Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips into clothing labels intended for the consumer market. RFID chips function as tiny radio transmitters, allowing clothing to be identified and tracked at a distance. According to a joint press release yesterday by Benetton and chip manufacturer Philips Electronics, the devices are "imperceptible to the wearer and remain in individual items of clothing throughout their lifetime." The chips have already begun appearing in Benetton's "Sisley" clothing line. Benetton's announcement sparked an immediate firestorm of concern and outrage among consumers, some of whom liken the technology to the film "Minority Report," where clothing tags were used to identify individuals and target them for advertising. CASPIAN founder and director, Katherine Albrecht, a Harvard University doctoral candidate and consumer privacy advocate, warns that Benetton's chips could be used for more than just unwanted advertising. "Manufacturers of these chips are already promoting them as a way to track individuals and inventory their belongings. It would be easy for Benetton to link your name and credit card information to the serial number in your sweater, in essence 'registering' that sweater to you," she explained. "Then any time you go near an RFID reader device, the sweater could beam out your identity to anyone with access to the database -- all without your knowledge or permission." This scenario is not far-fetched, according to a 2001 INFORMATIONWEEK article. There, RFID proponents predicted the creation of a seamless network of millions of RFID receivers strategically placed around the globe in airports, seaports, highways, distribution centers, warehouses, retail stores, and consumers' homes. CASPIAN is cautioning consumers in all 120 countries where Benetton products are sold to avoid purchasing Benetton clothing until the company publicly renounces its involvement with RFID tracking technology. Albrecht said, "We would rather go naked than wear clothing tagged with spy chips." ============================== Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN) is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes since 1999. With thousands of members around the world and in all 50 U.S. states, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail spectrum. For more information, visit CASPIAN's website at http://www.nocards.org Katherine Albecht, CASPIAN Founder and Director: 888-353-5659 Mary Starrett, CASPIAN Media Associate: 602-315-6193 ============================== For additional information, see: Phillips/Benetton press release: http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030311/115697_1.htm Forbes article illustrating remote inventorying of shoppers' clothing (As reproduced on Alien Technology's website) http://www.alientechnology.com/news/The_Internet_of_Things.htm CASPIAN overview of privacy concerns associated with RFID technology: http://www.nocards.org/AutoID/overview.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 18:46:47 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bush Signs Bill Creating National Do-Not-Call-List http://www.politechbot.com/p-04537.html Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 01:42:54 -0500 From: Declan McCullagh Subject: FC: Bush signs bill creating national do-not-call-list Subject: National Do-Not-Call List is law] From: Jason To: declan@well.org Date: 11 Mar 2003 20:31:59 -0500 Declan, Apparently, it's become law. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/11/politics/main543573.shtml Naturally: "Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. The Direct Marketing Association, an industry group, filed a lawsuit against the FTC last month on grounds the registry unlawfully restricts free speech." Someone should remind the Direct Marketing Association that their right to free speech ends at my front door in much the same way that one's right to swing one's fist ends at another person's face. And if this law will "devastate their business", I submit that perhaps they were in the wrong business to begin with. --Jason ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ From: Jim Rusling Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ID Theft Organization: Retired Reply-To: jrusling-0303@cox.net Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 20:54:58 GMT joe@obilivan.net wrote: > If the cops had to personally pay, I'd be all for it. Alas, it is > usually the taxpayers who get nailed, while the cops and DA serve out > their time and then collect their nice pensions. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The taxpayers probably should get > nailed, since police are their agents. Of course, then the police do > not care, because they were not personally affected (except as tax > payers themselves). > A better solution would be if Officer Jones is called into his super- > visor's office and told thus: "Jones, we have been sued five times > since you became an officer. All of the suits were due to your negligence > in your duties. Here is an either/or situation for you, Jones. EITHER > you start obeying the rules and the US Constitution OR we will be glad > to replace you and find an officer who will do those things." Jones > has to feed his family and now has a real incentive to follow the > rules and work politely and diligently with the public he serves. PAT] This should be done after the first justified complaint, even if there is not a lawsuit. Jim Rusling Partially Retired Mustang, OK http://www.rusling.org ------------------------------ From: Paul Wallich Subject: Re: PluggedIn: PCs Set to Cure Drive-Time Doldrums Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 16:10:20 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > By Reed Stevenson > SEATTLE, March 11 (Reuters) - Wouldn't you rather check your > e-mail, get directions, show movies to the kids and listen to digital > music files than sit in traffic, staring at the road and listening to > the radio? > Technology companies and car companies think so, as they develop > more advanced navigation and entertainment systems that are becoming > personal computers for automobiles -- or "auto PCs" -- that they hope > will gain traction among tech-savvy drivers. > With flat-panel displays, global positioning satellites, DVD video > and cheaper computing power, drivers will be able to recreate their > offices and living rooms while on the go, manufacturers say. Can we make sure that the cars implementing this kind of stuff have some readily identifiable marker, so that the rest of us can stay as far away from them as possible on the road? Offices and living rooms don't kill people while you're fiddling with the buttons on your gameboy. paul ------------------------------ From: eric@4utechnologies.com (Eric Zurlo) Subject: Re: 311 in Philadelphia, PA, U.S. Date: 12 Mar 2003 13:34:02 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Carl Moore wrote in message news:: > From KYW news-radio: > "The mayor wants to consolidate the call centers for eight services -- > like the Water and Streets departments -- into a single answering > service using a 311 number." Current switchboard number is > 215-686-1776. I think it is a great idea. When we have overloaded switchboards with 40% of calls non-emergency we need to do something about it. One call to city hall ! ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 15:15:31 -0700 Subject: Voting For a Moderator Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 00:21:42 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > I am *not* trying to make a hassle for you Joey, I just want to point > out with these discussions of 'voting for a new moderator' we have > *been there* and *done that* in the past. John Higdon with all his > experience here can tell you all about it. PAT] I understand, even from my Fidonet days, that such things can be very contentious. Perhaps I should have picked a better example to make my point, because in no way did I want to raise the idea that we need a new moderator, that we should elect one, or that I was in any way unhappy with the current arrangements. Indeed, my point was quite the opposite: that despite (and in fact because) of our disagreements, I support the job you're doing here and WOULD NOT HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY (thus my analogy: *IF* things were thrown open to a vote, I'd vote for status quo). I like the fact that you stand up for what you believe in, but you moderate this forum with an EVEN hand (ie: you don't use your power to advance your own, and only your own, agenda). I wanted to make this point publicly, though I know I've already done so privately. A lot of people here have seen you and I at loggerheads and I've had more than a few ask me (privately) what my beef is with you. So I say publicly again: I have no beef with you, and I think you're doing an outstanding job. My apologies if it was interpreted in any other way. Also, in regards to Mr. Higdon's past support of the Digest, I didn't mean to infer that he hasn't supported it in the past. It was just a little jest saying he certainly could afford to continue supporting it in the future (as can everyone else here). :-) Joey Lindstrom Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Speaking of FIDO, some of the 'authorities' there twenty years ago could certainly be rather full of themselves and agressive. I remember one time, about twenty years ago they had a rule which said you could be kicked off if you were 'annoying to other users'. We worked via a guy in Oak Park, Illinois who had a Fido setup. We had just a little group of 8-10 users at a few sites in the Chicago area. One day, unbeknownst to most of us, the group started getting exchanged with a similar group in San Francisco. Where before, there were just the 8-10 of us sitting there squabbling among ourselves and planning some sort of event we were all going to attend, now suddenly there were a dozen 'strangers' in our midst each day, which was fine I guess. But there was this one lady from San Francisco who got in with us the day of the merger and she posted a message the *second day* saying (if I remember correctly) "Well, I will not be able to use this news group any longer, I have to quit using my computer entirely I guess." When she was asked (by someone on the San Francisco side) why she had to quit she said it was because that Townson guy in Chicago has ruined this group. I tried to explain that we (in Chicago) had no idea what was going on either; I had called in one day and seen all those new messages from the west coast on what we thought was a *local* group. She would have none of it, and by golly the next day the sysadmin in Oak Park got a note from someone who was a 'zone manager' for FIDO. If I remember what he said it went like this, "I do not usually involve myself with individual users, but you have this Townson guy there you will have to get rid of. If you do not forbid him to be a Fido user, *I* will have no choice but to cut off your connectivity totally." It seems this lady in San Francisco had whined and cried and carried on to him about how dreadful I had been to her, scared her, and made it so she could not use her computer. Oh boo, hoo. Fido zone managers were very fond of of doing that ex-communication bit. Are they still like that, or does Fido even exist any more? They used to love that sort of power play. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Kenneth Becker Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 17:27:00 -0500 Organization: Lucent Technologies Microsoft Network Public Services wrote: > MS Consumer > This is the latest version of security update, the "March 2003, > Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all known security > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake > 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only > make it get sicker? Somehow I feel a bit leary about this one also, > it just doesn't "look right" for some reason. As usual, don't do any > patching or installing (or not) because someone you don't know makes > a suggestion. PAT] Pat, DON'T DO IT! Microsoft ALWAYS sends you to their update sites (windowsupdate.microsoft.com or some such). They NEVER send a file around. Yep, it's bogus. Ken Becker [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And they certainly would not send it around to someone using a UNIX system would they? :) PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 15:32:50 -0700 Subject: AOSpam Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 16:34:13 -0500 (EST), editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, as a matter of fact, I called in > again real late Sunday night and found another 20 spams there. They > were handled the same as the earlier 273; sent straight to hell and > reported, accordingly. No security department contacted me, > however. But I did get a message saying 'the upper limit on blocked > addresses is 100 names/email addresses.' No matter that I had 293 of > them in a 24 hour period, a hundred is all I was allowed to block. One > of the biggest offenders was earthlink; I got a couple dozen of the > multitude of spams from earthlink addresses. We will see what happens > when I look in there tonight. PAT] I have to be fair. If I'm gonna call John Higdon, I gotta call you. :-) How certain are you that these messages originated with Earthlink? You've traced the headers and are sure that it's Earthlink IP's involved? Or are you just going by the "From:" header, as a lot of folks do? Anyone can put anything in there, so when you say "one of the biggest offenders was earthlink", let's be sure we're not slandering. :-) If they really are responsible (either directly or through omission), then damn the torpedoes, warp speed ahead, and let's blackhole the buggers. :-) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: Peter Dubuque Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:42:04 +0000 (UTC) Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake > 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only > make it get sicker? Somehow I feel a bit leary about this one also, > it just doesn't "look right" for some reason. As usual, don't do any > patching or installing (or not) because someone you don't know makes > a suggestion. PAT] They're all fakes. First, although the average computer user may have no idea what this means, all legitimate Microsoft security bulletins are PGP-signed to allow users to verify that the email was not forged or tampered with in transit. Secondly, Microsoft never attaches any executable code to their security bulletins, and does not mail out patches. Instead, they refer readers to a download link on their website. Peter F. Dubuque - peterd@panix.com - Enemy of Reason(TM) O- ------------------------------ From: Reed Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 18:54:12 -0600 This is most certainly bogus. Microsoft does not distribute patches in this manner, and the originating email address (Microsoft Network Public Services ) is fake. Reed MS MVP ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@shell1.aracnet.com (John Meissen) Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: 13 Mar 2003 01:13:47 GMT Organization: Aracnet Internet Reply-To: jmeissen@aracnet.com > This is the latest version of security update, the "March 2003, > Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all known security > vulnerabilities affecting Internet Explorer, Outlook and Outlook > Express as well as five newly discovered vulnerabilities. Install now > to protect your computer from these vulnerabilities, the most serious > of which could allow an attacker to run executable on your > system. This update includes the functionality of all previously > released patches. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake > 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only > make it get sicker? Somehow I feel a bit leary about this one also, > it just doesn't "look right" for some reason. As usual, don't do any > patching or installing (or not) because someone you don't know makes > a suggestion. PAT] They're all fake. Microsoft does not email updates. Period. Especially not to random individuals. john- [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Especially not to Unix users either. Don't worry, I had no intention of installing anything like that. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Last Laugh! Re: President Bush Signs Into Law National No Call List From: tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:27:41 GMT > Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. Their point being? >>==>> The *Best* political site >>==+ email: Tom.Horsley@worldnet.att.net icbm: Delray Beach, FL | Free Software and Politics <<==+ ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #342 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 13 23:15:34 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2E4FXC19746; Thu, 13 Mar 2003 23:15:34 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 23:15:34 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303140415.h2E4FXC19746@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 V22 #343 TELECOM Digest Thu, 13 Mar 2003 23:15:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 343 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: President Bush Signs Into Law National No Call List (Geoffrey Welsh) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? (Gail M. Hall) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? (Colin Sutton) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? (Jim Haynes) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? (S Falke) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? (M Sullivan) Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? (Geoff Welsh) GILC Alert (Monty Solomon) WiFi Hotspot Directory Available (A Nicholas) SBC Can't Keep Bell's Famous Words 'Straight' (David) Re: Communication Between PABX (foo) Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (Henry) Samsung SGH N288 Long Range Cordless Phone (Zorkdork) Wireless GSM (SMS) Email Service - SMS Gateway Required (ashutosh) Even More Noise Pollution (Justin Time) How Do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe (Curt Finch) Re: Last Laugh! was Re: President Bush Signs No Call List (John R. Levine) Last Laugh! Dead Man Receives Phone Bill at Cemetery (Joseph) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Geoffrey Welsh Subject: Re: President Bush Signs Into Law National No Call List Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:18:11 -0500 Organization: Bell Sympatico Colleen Allen wrote (or quoted): > Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. Hollywood was convinced that the television would devastate their business (isn't it ironic, then, that movie studios couldn't have come up with many of the hits of the past decade if they weren't based on old TV shows!) Then they said the same about the VCR. Yet they manage to make enough money to pay top stars millions per movie. When Canada and the United States were about to sign the Free Trade Agreement, the United Auto Workers said that they'd lose their jobs to Canadians ... but the Canadian Auto Workers said they'd lose their jobs to the U.S. At least one of them was wrong and I'd guess that both lost because Canadians and Americans decided to buy foreign cars they liked better despite having to pay duties. The bottom line is that most people who are making a living don't want to deal with significant change, even if there is a potential upside to it. Call it shortsightedness, call it fear, whatever... but the last century has demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that change will happen and that the reward for opposing it successfully is that you're subjected to changes that you didn't even see coming. Now, why would telemarketers be devastated by a rule requiring them not to waste time and possibly toll charges contacting people who are more likely than average to say no and might even do everything they can think of (e.g. keep the caller on the line as long as possible with no intention of buying anything) to make your business less profitable?!? Geoffrey Welsh This address is not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Unsolicited bulk mail is spam, no matter what regulations (real or imagined) it complies with! FIGHT SPAM AND SCAMS: DISCONNECT CHINA FROM THE INTERNET! ------------------------------ From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 03:38:03 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 19:03:43 CET, in comp.dcom.telecom message , you wrote: > MS Consumer > This is the latest version of security update, the "March 2003, > Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all known security .... [snip, snip] > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake > 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only > make it get sicker? Somehow I feel a bit leary about this one also, > it just doesn't "look right" for some reason. As usual, don't do any > patching or installing (or not) because someone you don't know makes > a suggestion. PAT] Pat, I'm surprised you would even ask this question! You've been in this computer game longer than a lot of the rest of us. Take a look at the headers! I don't mean just the few headers that show up in our normal view of mail. I mean all the headers with the Return-path and all the Received: lines. Those headers can tell you a lot. The one I got had this return-path: > Return-Path: The .be means belgium, IIRC. In general, Microsoft does not send out update patches by e-mail, and especially does not send them out unsolicited. I have had similar messages caught by my ISP's virus scanner, but the latest one I got (probably the same one you got) did not get caught, so I forwarded it to them to ask them to double check on it. I suspect this may be a new variant that the virus scanners haven't caught yet. By tomorrow or the next day, the antivirus people may have some information about this. But sometimes it takes them a day or two to update things, so it may take another day or so to be sure. Don't run that program that came with that message! Make sure you get your updates direct from Microsoft. Just because the message gives some legit Microsoft URLs doesn't mean the attachment is for real. I see NO reason why Microsoft would hire some Belgian company to send out patches to everyone. I also don't agree to donate to the policemen's and firemen's "charities" just because some strange man calls me on the telephone claiming to be from one of those organizations. If I want to give something to them, I can always go downtown to my local fire department and give to them directly. And even some of those aren't really honest. A nearby suburb's fire chief is now being indicted for not sending money collected after "9/11" to the NYFD as promised when they collected that money in their boots. It's a sad time we are in as we are finding more and more dishonest people among us. Be careful! Gail in Ohio USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not *EVER* run anything which arrives in the mail at lcs.mit.edu . Period. The people who send me so much of that stuff do not realize this is a *unix* workstation I am on. Their 'patches' are in vain. No executable written for Windows/DOS is ever going to work on Unix. I do not run those messages here to get advice on what *I* should do. I run them to give *you* (readers) a hint as to what you should/should not do. Notice the last two or three times I have run 'messages' I recieved on this topic I 'thoughtfully' chopped of the bottom half of the message (the meat of the thing) so that none of you readers decided to try it out. Your final two sentences in your message say it all: 'more and more dishonest people among us' and 'be careful!'. Still, some users persist in trying out everything which comes through on their screen just to see what will happen. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Colin Sutton Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 10:04:53 GMT Organization: BigPond Internet Services (http://www.bigpond.net.au) I received the same message last month and reported it to auscert, who responded: > The fake bulletin and real virus you received is the W32/Gibe.b@MM > virus. It is a fairly recent virus which is a modification of the > original W32/Gibe virus which was released in the first half of > 2002. > For more details, you may reference the following anti-virus sites: > http://vil.mcafee.com/dispVirus.asp?virus_k=100088 > http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.gibe.b@mm.html > http://www3.ca.com/virusinfo/virus.asp?ID=14392 The virus checker I use, AVG, updated to catch it -- the day after I received it. Regards, Colin Sutton ------------------------------ Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 16:02:40 GMT I've received several of those, sometimes more than one a day, for the past couple of weeks. In all cases the bogosity is apparent when looking at the message headers; typically they originate from Asia. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Listen up ... if I ran all the 'patches' sent to me ostensibly from M$, there wouldn't be room here for anything else. I get two or three each day here at my *unix* work station at MIT. Some come from Belgium, others from Africa, you name it. Doesn't M$ have large tech support offices in all those cities? PAT] ------------------------------ From: s falke Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 19:44:37 GMT The email attachment I recieved, "q381276.exe within Last Network Security Pack" is infected with the W32.Gibe.B@mm virus. --s falke > Pat, > DON'T DO IT! Microsoft ALWAYS sends you to their update sites > (windowsupdate.microsoft.com or some such). They NEVER send a file > around. Yep, it's bogus. > Ken Becker ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 04:37:43 GMT On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 19:03:43 CET, someone purporting to be "Microsoft Network Public Services" posted the following to comp.dcom.telecom: > MS Consumer > This is the latest version of security update, the "March 2003, > Cumulative Patch" update which eliminates all known security > vulnerabilities ... > System requirements: > Win 9x/Me/2000/NT/XP > This update applies to: > Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 4.01 and later > Microsoft Outlook, version 8.00 and later > Microsoft Outlook Express, version 4.01 and later > Recommendation: > Customers should install the patch at the earliest opportunity. > How to install: > Run attached file. Click Yes on displayed dialog box. > How to use: > You don't need to do anything after installing this item. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake > 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only > make it get sicker? Somehow I feel a bit leary about this one also, > it just doesn't "look right" for some reason. As usual, don't do any > patching or installing (or not) because someone you don't know makes > a suggestion. PAT] Pat, Microsoft does not email out patches, period. It also does not tell you to simply execute the attached file. That's what virus propagators do. You use the automatic updater, go to windows update, or download the files. Also, Microsoft security bulletins, which are the emails sent to notify the public about patches, are from "Microsoft," not "Microsoft Network Public Services," and the email address they are sent from is a long alphanumeric gibberish name @newsletters.microsoft.com, while the poster's email address is the obviously bogus mzrllgg- fsqlkyfb@KicQiHq.com. For good measure, Microsoft puts a PGP signature on its security bulletin emails. The best line in that email, however, was: "You don't need to do anything after installing this item." You probably won't be able to. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD, USA (delete NOSPAM from address to mail me) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I guess all we have to worry about is if the real Mr. mzrrlgg-fsqlkyfb actually gets a job working for Microsoft in the Public Services Department. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Geoffrey Welsh Subject: Re: This Time for Real, or Another Bogus Patch Going Around? Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 23:29:14 -0500 Organization: Bell Sympatico > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this another one of those fake > 'patches' being sent out which far from protecting your computer only > make it get sicker? Microsoft have restated what they say every time such a hoax or virus goes around: "Microsoft does not distribute programs or updates by using e-mail messages." (In fact this is NOT true: if you need a patch that has not been released to the general public and contact Microsoft for it, they will e-mail it to you ... but at least you know it's coming and expect it.) Geoffrey Welsh This address is not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Unsolicited bulk mail is spam, no matter what regulations (real or imagined) it complies with! FIGHT SPAM AND SCAMS: DISCONNECT CHINA FROM THE INTERNET! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 17:20:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: GILC Alert GILC Alert Volume 7, Issue 2 13 March 2003 Welcome to the Global Internet Liberty Campaign Newsletter. Welcome to GILC Alert, the newsletter of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign. We are an international organization of groups working for cyber-liberties, who are determined to preserve civil liberties and human rights on the Internet. We hope you find this newsletter interesting, and we very much hope that you will avail yourselves of the action items in future issues. If you are a part of an organization that would be interested in joining GILC, please contact us at . If you are aware of threats to cyber-liberties that we may not know about, please contact the GILC members in your country, or contact GILC as a whole. Please feel free to redistribute this newsletter to appropriate forums. =============================================== Free expression [1] Jailed Chinese Net dissident goes on hunger strike [2] US high court hears library Net censor case [3] Domain name seizures provoke alarm [4] Tunisian gov't arrests 20 websurfers [5] Norwegian DVD computer speech decision appealed [6] Swiss Internet censorship plans lurch forward [7] Former Yahoo exec cleared in French Net censor case [8] News site temporarily shutdown after Microsoft complaint [9] Web protestor wins Taubman domain name dispute [10] Martus software may aid human rights reporting [11] UK parliament email censors prevent debate on bills Privacy [12] UN investigating allegations of US gov't spying [13] Fury over new DSEA surveillance proposal [14] US Congress approves restrictions on TIA spy project [15] Revised British snoop plans unveiled [16] Russian mobile phone privacy scandal erupts [17] Report: Ebay spies on customers, readily discloses personal info [18] Xupiter spyware raises privacy concerns [19] College Internet music lovers face tracking schemes [20] New GILC member: Statewatch http://www.gilc.org/alert/alert72.html ------------------------------ From: riverwlk@ntsource.com (A Nicholas) Subject: WiFi Hotspot Directory Available Date: 13 Mar 2003 13:23:54 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Riverwalk Software announced the availability of The WiFi HotSpot Directory, a free database of over 2000 public wireless Internet access locations. The database is being provided at no charge to consumers and has been completed in cooperation with a number of leading HotSpot providers. Riverwalk is providing the directory in Microsoft Excel, Palm Address Book, Handmark's MobileDB, and comma delimited ASCII formats. www.makewirelesswork.com ------------------------------ From: David Subject: SBC Can't Keep Bell's Famous Words 'Straight' Organization: Prodigy Internet http://www.prodigy.com Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 07:02:25 GMT So in the SBC page below A.G. Bell's first words spoken over the telephone were: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want you." http://www01.sbc.com/About/NewsCenter/ShowRelease/1,,430,00.html?NID=1998 But in their current TV Commercials SBC has a voice actor saying: "Mr. Watson, come here. I want TO SEE you." (emphasis added) Sounds to me like the people who manage the SBC web pages are a lot less homophobic than their TV ad agency. It's almost too stupid for words. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How do you come to the homophobic (or lack of homophobia) conclusion based on the two word phrases 'I want you' and 'I want to see you'? I was not around in the 1870's and cannot tell you *with precision* which phrase Alex Bell used to get Tom Watson to come in the room. Maybe he cursed the battery acid which splashed on his clothes and Watson come running in to see what the fuss was all about, and later, the official historians for New England Tel and Tel decided to clean it up and make it a more 'proper and clean' expression. Then too, maybe Bell was not the inventor; he just got to the Patent Office and paid off the patent examiner before Elisha Gray could do so, as Gray bitterly complained over the years. I do not know what was the first utterance made over the telephone, or if it even happened at all. Tell what makes it a 'stupid. homophobic' message otherwise. PAT] ------------------------------ From: di00enad@ing.hj.se (foo) Subject: Re: Communication Between PABX Date: 12 Mar 2003 23:38:07 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have not much knowledge in telecommunications protocols and I get a little confused by all different protocols and standards. This is how I think some protocols are releted: Physical level: E1, transmit data, often voice data in 32 timeslots one of them timeslot 16 is used for signaling. Datalink level: This only concerns signaling data on timeslot 16. Protocols used are LAPD (also called Q.921). LAPD is used in both pbx to pbx and telephone to pbx communication. Network level: This also only concerns timeslot 16. These packets are transmitted as information inside a LAPD packet. Protocols used are Q.931, SS7 and QSIG. Q.931 is only used in telephone to pbx communication. QSIG is used in pbx to pbx communication. The protcols provide signaling for basic call control. All corrections and clarifications are welcome. ------------------------------ From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 06:40:05 +0200 Organization: Elisa Internet customer John Higdon wrote: > An associate had his new S-10 Blazer stolen from outside the restaurant > he was patronizing. I'll see your 'associate at the restaurant' story and raise you one 'brother in pursuit' story. :-) A couple of years ago, my brother's car was stolen. He immediately reported the theft to the police. He also informed his extensive 'network' of family and friends so we could keep our eyes open (we live in a small city). Amazingly, about a week later, my wife and I were driving and we SAW THE CAR. I proceeded to follow it, while my wife called the police on her cell phone. She explained the situation and described exactly where we were, what direction we were heading, etc. What was the dispatcher's response? 'We'll send a patrol car to intercept you right away'??? Not on your life. He said, quote, 'We don't have time for things like that.' In shock and frustration, we continued to follow the stolen car for a while longer, but we were in no position to try and stop it ourselves and when it turned out onto the freeway we sadly had to abandon the chase. 'We don't have time for things like that.' Fortunately, the story had a more-or-less happy ending. The car was discovered three and a half weeks after being taken, in a town about 12 miles away. It had only minor damage. No thanks to the police. cheers, Henry ------------------------------ From: uptimang@yahoo.com (zorkdork) Subject: Samsung SGH N288 Long Range Cordless Phone Date: 13 Mar 2003 03:58:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have come across what seems to be a fake, hmmm, no not really a fake, anyway let me explain: This cordless phone that we have here has a manual that says it is Samsung sgh n288. I did some research and found out that although there is indeed a Samsung sgh n288 phone, the real Samsung sgh n288 is a GSM dualband device, NOT a cordless phone. This cordless phone came with a station and an aerial, the manual claims 150 to 230 km range (best conditions) but I already doubted that from the start. We installed the aerial with a bamboo pole, it is about 15 feet off the roof of our 2nd floor. One will also notice that the phone is similar but has many vital differences from the model they copied it from. The manual is very badly written and doesn't even have Samsung corporate HQ addresses or even a website. I knew from the start it was fake. I did not really fret too much as for the price that we got it (higher end of the range unfortunately); it did give exceptional performance as compared to other cordless phone brands in the same price range. About 3 kms, or 2 miles more or less; more or less appropriate to a .5 watt device, which is what I suspect this device is rated. It claims that the handheld uses 500 mA when transmitting while the base uses 1000 mA, with this amount of usage; it was my estimate (later proved correct) that this can only be expected to provide similar performance range as a .5 watt Motorola talkabout. It is also a bit goofy looking as it uses a very long pull out telescoping chrome colored antennae. This seems like a pretty new development in the Chinese electronic black market. It is fairly new I assume as there is nothing Google can come up with. I only assume this is Chinese but it could be Korean, my bet though is it is Chinese. I just put this here to spread information and make it easy for others to make better decisions. The price of this item here ranges from P4500 to P14,500 (Php54: US$1) -- Features: It does have some nice features, like caller ID reporting (provider dependent), simplex capability, called number recall, etcetera etcetera, all in all not a bad buy actually, just take note of the price range. If you have a similar model and want to discuss contact me at uptimang@yahoo.com . I can also provide scanned images of the manual and the actual item to help you in your research. Thank you. ------------------------------ From: godofgarage@yahoo.com (ashutosh) Subject: Wireless GSM (SMS) Email Service - SMS Gateway Required Date: 13 Mar 2003 04:26:37 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello, I'm looking for a company which can provide us with the following capabilities: 1. SMS to Email Service 2. Access to Email via SMS 3. Intergration with Exchange and Lotus Notes 4. SMS Gateway / SMS Server to send out Regular Alerts. 5. Bulk SMS capabilities. 6. Worldwide access. Also I'm looking for a company which would provide me with the following capabilities to help us with the web site we're building to serve ring tones, Logos and Messaging for GSM mobile users worldwide: 1. Interact with their SMS outbound gateway preferably via HTTP. 2. Ability to send binary, Unicode and EMS messages. 3. Ability to get Delivery Reports. 4. Provide tools to create Image Messages, Operator Logos and Group Logo's as a preference. 5. Ability to schedule outgoing message bursts and their release timings as an optional feature. 6. Plans on or already has the ability to assist us with MMS messaging. 7. Ability to host a roaming GSM number to be able to send us via the Internet messages which are sent to it as a preference. 8. Ability to allow us to connect to their and other SMSC's via the popular protocols, such as SMPP as an optional feature. 9. Not a one man show. 10. Cost per SMS relatively comparable to International market standards. 11. Is familiar with the different compatibility issues relating to different brands of mobiles and the ability to send readable messages and working ring tones and viewable images to them. 12. The more automated and online tools they provide, the better. Regards, Ashutosh CTO - SMS Gateway Inc. ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Even More Noise Pollution Date: 13 Mar 2003 05:57:16 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ As if cell phones and their ringers were not enough assault on our ears and privacy ... Moviso Introduces Thousands of Audio 'TruTones' to Carrier and Handset Partners Exclusive Audio Content from More Than 70 Celebrities, Tens of Thousands of Master Recordings and Sound Effects Available and Demonstrated at the Microsoft Booth at CTIA 2003 March 2003 (Newstream) -- Moviso LLC, the leading provider of mobile media products and services in North America, today announced the launch of TruTonesTM the latest high quality mobile media content that replaces the cell phone ring with recordings of celebrity voices, chart topping songs, sound effects and audio clips. http://www.newstream.com/us/story_pub.shtml?story_id=8808&user_ip=164.82.144.3 Rodgers Platt ------------------------------ From: curt@journyx.com (curt finch) Subject: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe Date: 13 Mar 2003 07:16:00 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ My teenage stepdaughter has her friends calling at 3 am! Other than kill someone, is there a way to make our phones shutdown at 10pm and restart at 6am without running around the house and unplugging them all? Is there some service I can buy like call waiting or whatever? __________________________________________________________________ Web-Based Time Tracking. Journyx *FREE* at (800) 755-9878 http://journyx.com/clf curt@journyx.com ------------------------------------------------------------------ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I personally do not know of any telco service which does what you want. And do you want the phones to be *totally* dead during the overnight hours? What if there is an emergency call during overnight hours? If your local telco offers call screening or call blocking and if your step-daughter will honestly tell you the phone number(s) of her friend(s), then you could use one of those two blocking services to *selectively block* those numbers during the overnight hours. You could get the numbers from caller-ID if you had one of those, maybe hidden away in your bedroom, etc. But don't tell your step-daughter *how* to cancel the blocks on those numbers, or she may sneak to a phone and cancel them. How many phone instruments/lines are we talking about here? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: 13 Mar 2003 00:13:29 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Re: President Bush Signs Into Law Nat'l No Call List Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA >> Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. > Their point being? Telemarketers always used to say that they didn't want to call people who don't want to be called, hence their nominal support for per-caller do-not-call lists. That claim is now officially inoperative. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Last Laugh! Dead Man Receives Phone Bill at Cemetery Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 17:28:44 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com AUBURN, Mass. (AP) A man's phone bill has followed him to his grave. A local cemetery received a phone bill last week for David Towles at his correct address Hillside Cemetery, Evergreen Section, Auburn, Mass. 01501. Towles was buried there in December 1997. He died at age 60. Cemetery Superintendent Wayne Bloomquist says he was surprised to see the Sprint bill for 12 cents, including 10 cents for a call placed on Feb. 16, five years after Towles died. http://www.boston.com/news/daily/13/odds_bill.htm Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In the early 1900's, when Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science (what is termed by many folks as Pseudo Science) passed away, urban folklore says that a telephone was buried in her grave with her; her most devout and eccentric followers simply assumed she was 'taking a nap' and would wake up soon and want to get out. I do not know if that was true or not; She has not 'awakened' yet that we know of, nor do we know the kind of calling plan or long distance carrier that was put on the line, if in fact it existed. Regards Mr. Towles, if Sprint does not get paid their 12 cents, I wonder if Sprint will consider him a deadbeat and place his account with an agency? PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #343 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 14 00:48:20 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2E5mJJ20670; Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:48:20 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:48:20 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303140548.h2E5mJJ20670@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 V22 #344 TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:48:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 344 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Remembrances of FidoNet (Puke) (Jack) Fight-O-Net (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem (Joey Lindstrom) Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Last Laugh! was Re: President Bush Signs Natl No Call List (Rich Cox) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 03:05:56 -0500 From: Jack Subject: Remembrances of FidoNet (Puke) Our Esteemed Moderator wrote: > Speaking of FIDO, some of the 'authorities' there twenty years > ago could certainly be rather full of themselves and agressive. Well, about 10-15 years ago they could (in my opinion) be genuine assholes, especially one regional coordinator in particular. I won't mention him by name, although when I referred to him I sometimes replaced the last syllable of his last name with the word "head" (private joke, someone might get it). You know the old saying about how power corrupts, well in this case a little power turned these guys into tin pot dictators. I understand some Fidonet regions were more fortunate, in having coordinators that were slightly more reasonable, but they all seemed intent on enforcing their precious policy documents that were imposed by fiat and enforced very unevenly. To me, Fidonet was an interesting sociological experiment, and it's too bad that the psychology department of some university didn't study it, because it really showed how black the human heart can be when someone's peers concur in their misadventures. In this case all the coordinators (regional and above) seemed to think they were part of some high-handed elite. The thing that I butted heads with them over, on several occasions, was their love of restrictions on connections based on geography. To appreciate why this was such a contentious issue, keep in mind the following: 1) The top speed for a modem back then was about 14.4K (maybe 19.2 if you were rich and on the bleeding edge of technology) and a lot of people were still using 2400 bps modems. Thus, it took a considerable amount of time to transfer a normal batch of "echomail" (the Fidonet equivalent of Internet newsgroups) between Fidonet nodes. 2) The Internet was not yet accessible to most mere mortals, especially in the hinterlands where Fidonet was popular. 3) Per-minute rates for long distance were higher than they are today, especially on intrastate calls. Some states had not yet authorized intrastate competition, thus a call to another in-state node might cost 25 or 30 cents per minute, while an out-of-state call might cost a fraction of that. 4) Telenet (remember them?) offered a service called PC Pursuit, which allowed you to dial out to BBS's in any of 25 major cities for a flat monthly rate. Unfortunately for many Fidonet sysops, their "assigned" point to pick up echomail might not be in one of those 25 cities, in fact it usually wasn't. 5) The Fidonet coordinators for the most part seemed to be notably opposed to anyone trying to save money on telephone toll charges if it broke up their nice, geographic based arrangement. What happened was that Fidonet was set up with the idea that any sysop would connect to their local echomail coordinator to pick up echomail (but, sometimes it wasn't a local call). The Net Echomail Coordinator would in turn connect to the Regional Echomail Coordinator to pick up e-mail -- too bad for you if he was in your state, but a high cost intrastate long distance call. Nobody quite knows how the REC's moved the stuff around, but they had stars and hubs and (we suspected) the use of tie lines paid for by their employers in some cases. Now, with that in mind, let me give you three examples of stupidity. First, Fidonet allowed compression on echomail prior to sending, but only if you used a packer known as ARC, which wasn't very efficient compared to newer packers. I could write several paragraphs about that alone, but the point is that when better packers came along, sysops were initially told they couldn't use them because they weren't "approved." I rather forcefully made the point that if two sysops agreed to use a particular compression method for transferring echomail between their nodes, that was a private matter and there wasn't a doggone thing the tinpot dictators could do about it (I even wrote some software to facilitate the process of using other compression methods, but as I am not much of a programmer, others quickly followed with better software). Second, when sysops complained about having to pay high in-state toll rates to connect to their assigned echomail feeds, in some areas their cries fell on deaf ears. So some of them would make independent arrangements with a sysop in another state (and often another region) to receive feeds, either using PC Pursuit or at least at lower interstate rates. The coordinators had several hissy fits about that, usually threatening to excommunicate anyone they caught giving or accepting such feeds. Possibly the worst case I remember reading about was when someone set up a Fidonet BBS on the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (the U.S. base on the island of Cuba that now serves as the holding place for suspected terrorists). They had permission to use a tie line that gave them a local number in the Washington, D.C. area, so they connected up with a Washington D.C. system for echomail. When the tinpot coordinators found out about that, they REALLY screamed -- not only was Cuba in a different "region", it was in a different "ZONE" (and never mind that there were no Fidonet nodes in communist Cuba). I can't remember where the base BBS was "supposed" to get their feed -- maybe Mexico City or Panama or Brazil, but definitely not Washington. Didn't make any difference that they had use of a free tie line, or that they were American soldiers, rules were rules after all! That is why I speak so disparagingly about the regional coordinators -- either they were just plain jerks, or they were simply so incredibly stupid that they couldn't conceive of the fact that network topology and geography are two totally different things. Take your pick as to which you think was true. Third, there was a case where a telephone company (which shall remain nameless, but it's one that was later borged) actually set up an echomail hub and delivered outgoing echomail on their nickel, so to speak, rather than requiring the outlying systems to call in for it (long story how that happened, but certain phone company employees volunteered to do it, and got some outside help in setting it up and running it). For a few months they provided free echomail feeds to sysops in parts of two states. Well, the tinpot regional coordinator couldn't have any part of that, so he created new nets in the outlying areas, and immediately declared the systems in that area ineligible to receive free feeds -- instead they would have to call a different system, long distance, to get them. This regional coordinator seemed to have some unknown personal interest in forcing those nodes to pay for their echomail feeds (even though he wasn't getting a dime out of it, and there was no apparent reason for it other than he was just being a jerk). But he didn't even understand the boundaries of his own Nets, which as it happened in that area were based on LATA boundaries. He caused a major stink by insisting one particular system (or maybe two, don't recall for sure) go to the new echomail hub, even though it really was in the same LATA as the phone company system giving the free feeds. Mind you, he was arguing with *the telephone company* about whether a particular system was or was not in a particular LATA. Pat, I got so fed up with this stupidity sometimes that I think the time when I was participating in Fidonet was the same time when my blood pressure shot up. I will tell you and anyone that in some ways I consider the time I was participating in Fidonet the "wasted years" of my life, and if there was a period in my life I could erase, that would be the most likely candidate. Once I finally got Internet access, I just about couldn't wait to wash my hands of Fidonet. But note well, none of the problems in my recollection were caused by the local net coordinators -- they were great guys (even the ones who were appointed to run the new nets I mentioned). It just almost seemed as though people who advanced to the regional level were required to take an oath that they would try to be as big an asshole as possible (I don't often use that word, but it fits here, feel free to edit it if you like). I understand that there were a couple of exceptions, a couple of Regions where everybody got along and where the coordinators actually tried to work with sysops to get them the lowest cost feed possible, but that certainly was not the case in our region, nor many others if the rants in Fidonews were to be believed. I will say that not everyone put up with the nonsense of the Fidonet coordinators -- there were a lot of feeds that went on behind their backs. That was what really added to the stupidity of it all -- everyone in Fidonet was there voluntarily, and many sysops had put considerable amounts of time and money into a BBS, and in many cases offered free access to those in their communities (there were also pay boards, but I think most operated on a donation basis). Here these guys were trying to provide a service and they were being treated worse than manure by the coordinators. The big failure of Fidonet was that, at least in those days, the coordinators were appointed by those above them rather than elected by those below, and generally thought they had a lot more power than they really had. I suspect that some of those coordinators have probably found new roles suited to their dispositions, such as the heads of property associations (you know, the guys who tell you what you can do with the property you supposedly own). One other thing, these coordinators did seem to have some knowledge of which side their bread was buttered on, even if network topology was a concept as foreign as quantum physics to them. They always managed to get along fine with people in their own local nets (the net in the city where they lived). When they wanted to make a sysop miserable, they almost invariably picked on one in another state, or the other side of their own state. The home net could, therefore, almost always be counted on to support their RC. When I first got access to comp.dcom.telecom it stuck me funny, Pat, that you sometimes made such disparaging remarks about Usenet, because Usenet was entirely civilized compared to Fidonet. If Usenet is a cesspool, Fidonet could at times be a toxic waste dump. It was often referred to as Fight-O-Net by those within and without. It was a giant energy sink, a pool of negativity. Count yourself extremely fortunate if you never had much of anything to do with it. And I am not saying that as an exaggeration or for comedy effect, like this guy: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/mil.millington/things.html (Sorry about the off-topic link, but this message got to be so depressing I thought I'd at least throw in something that has some humor value!) Jack [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I never got too involved with Fido. The guy in Oak Park, Illinois suggested I feed what I called 'Telecom Topics' out to interested readers as an echo group (their name for Usenet news- group.) That was in 1981-83 or so. Then I functioned also as a discussion leader in a Chicago-area social issues group about the same time. That is the time when the nasty lady in San Francisco told her Zone Manager to get me excommunicated. In the early days of this Digest (like late 1980's) on the telecom mailing list I had an 'exploder address' which went to a fellow with a Unix machine set up also as a Fido gateway and 'Telecom Topics' (which by then had simply been folded into TELECOM Digest) got sent to him where it was redistributed as an echo group to interested Fido users. Nearly all local sysops had at least one or two users who wanted to see the Digest and answer back to certain articles. Jack, depending on how involved and how long you were into Fidonet, you may have seen Telecom Topics, or did you first start posting here after it had merged into TELECOM Digest? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 12:18:46 -0700 Subject: Fight-O-Net Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 00:00:14 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Speaking of FIDO, some of the 'authorities' > there twenty years ago could certainly be rather full of themselves > and agressive. I remember one time, about twenty years ago they had a > rule which said you could be kicked off if you were 'annoying to other > users'. We worked via a guy in Oak Park, Illinois who had a Fido setup. > We had just a little group of 8-10 users at a few sites in the Chicago > area. One day, unbeknownst to most of us, the group started getting > exchanged with a similar group in San Francisco. Where before, there > were just the 8-10 of us sitting there squabbling among ourselves and > planning some sort of event we were all going to attend, now suddenly > there were a dozen 'strangers' in our midst each day, which was fine I > guess. But there was this one lady from San Francisco who got in with > us the day of the merger and she posted a message the *second day* > saying (if I remember correctly) "Well, I will not be able to use this > news group any longer, I have to quit using my computer entirely I guess." > When she was asked (by someone on the San Francisco side) why she had > to quit she said it was because that Townson guy in Chicago has ruined > this group. > I tried to explain that we (in Chicago) had no idea what was going on > either; I had called in one day and seen all those new messages from > the west coast on what we thought was a *local* group. She would have > none of it, and by golly the next day the sysadmin in Oak Park got a > note from someone who was a 'zone manager' for FIDO. If I remember > what he said it went like this, "I do not usually involve myself with > individual users, but you have this Townson guy there you will have to > get rid of. If you do not forbid him to be a Fido user, *I* will have > no choice but to cut off your connectivity totally." It seems this > lady in San Francisco had whined and cried and carried on to him about > how dreadful I had been to her, scared her, and made it so she could > not use her computer. Oh boo, hoo. Fido zone managers were very fond of > of doing that ex-communication bit. Are they still like that, or does > Fido even exist any more? They used to love that sort of power play. PAT] Maybe that's why I like you and fight with you, Pat. You're talking to the first guy who ever got booted out of Fidonet not once, not twice, but THREE times. (Someone may have later eclipsed this record, but at the time, I was #1 on the hit parade). The first time around it was kinda the same story as yours, only the whiny lady in question managed to get herself appointed as our local Net (134) Coordinator. Kathy Crockett, I think her name was. The second and third times were over minor incidents, but I'd been readmitted on a probationary basis so it was one strike and I was out. My "offence" on the first occasion was in loudly disagreeing with people -- gosh, sound familiar? :-) I disagreed with them so much that I began associating with, and promoting, other networks based on the same Fidonet technology (we would just use other "zone" numbers so that we wouldn't conflict with Fidonet). Does anybody remember "Alternet" (Zone 7)? How about "GoodEggNet" (Zone 99)? :-) I liked that one - everybody in any position of (very limited) power was elected and it was VERY hard to get booted out. I also was a member of FamilyNet and a few others as well. It was my activities in promoting any network other than "real" FidoNet that really browned them off, so any excuse to kick me out was jumped on. At one point, one local Net Coordinator (can't remember if it was that same Kathy woman or someone else) actually had the audacity to proclaim that if you were a member of any other network, you couldn't remain in Net 134. That policy didn't last long, as by then I had about 50 of their local systems in my own Net 5500, and they made a LOT of noise. :-) The infighting and politics were just amazing. Take the case of the guy who ran the first Fido BBS in Calgary, Lloyd Miller. I dunno what hardware he was running it on, but I know at the start it was on a 300 bps modem and he had this external 10 megabyte hard drive the size of a vinyl record player. :-) Anyhoo, Fido was set up in a hierarchy, of zones, regions, and nets. North America was "Zone 1". The province of Alberta (and several other western Canadian provinces and northwestern US states) were "Region 17" within Zone 1. At the time Lloyd set up, he was the only game in town, and was given an address within region 17 (thus 1:17/xx where xx is his "node number"). Later, when a few other Fido-compatible systems came along, the Region 17 coordinator told Lloyd that they had to organize into a Net, and that Lloyd was gonna be the Net Coordinator. Lloyd had no interested in it but went along with the edict, and thus Net 134 was born (addresses looked like 1:134/xx, with Lloyd being 1:134/1). Later, it got much larger -- I think at one point, Net 134 got as large as 300 nodes, all within the Calgary local dialing area. And the politics started. And they couldn't get Lloyd to take sides or help anyone advance their agenda. So, the first chance they got, they got *LLOYD* booted out for being "excessively annoying". Not just removed as NC, but booted out. He was later readmitted as a "regional independent" node within Region 17, something that I would also do at a later time. He didn't care, he just wanted his node number and access to the nodelist so that he could continue participating in netmail and a few echomail conferences that he enjoyed. Political infighting just flat out didn't interest him, and that got him blackballed. Sad, huh? As to what's up with FidoNet now, I can't really get a definitive answer. The last time I checked, over a year ago, the Calgary Net 134 was down to four or five die-hard nodes, nobody knew who was handling echomail distribution, and I could not find a current nodelist. Fidonet's decline (in Calgary) began the very instant that Cadvision opened up shop as a public ISP (around 1993 or 1994), offering an internet feed to many people for the first time. It made Fidonet look like a child's toy and people jumped off that bandwagon in droves. Still, I had a lot of fun back then ... both in my time WITH FidoNet, and in my time fighting against 'em. (My own Net 5500 at one point in time numbered 40 nodes to Net 134's 35 -- I know of no other instance where a rival local "CLEC" network actually outnumbered the "ILEC" Fidonet). In addition to being a BBS sysop, I also got to wear several organizational hats, both in FidoNet (Net Echo Coordinator for Net 134) and in the other networks (Zone Coordinator, Net Coordinator, Echo Coordinator on several levels, etc.) I was even a "GoodEggNet Commissioner" for a while (1991ish I think). Ah, the memories. :-) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, they had that 'excessively annoying' rule as a way to get rid of users they did not like. If you were 'excessively annoying' (in someone's opinion), then that person most likely had a friend who was in charge of the local net (or above that level as a zone/regional coordinator) and they would complain to that person. That end-recipient of the complaint would then complain down the line backward until it go to the local coordinator who was expected to act on it by excommunicating the 'offensive' user. To show you how ridiculous things could get, we had these two sysops who both claimed to be the local area network coordinator. They then proceeded to damn each other to hell, and excommunicated each other in their position as local area coordinator. Each of them was totally serious about it. The rest of the sysops had to go along with the mess, unless they chose to go into a new and entirely different net. They all were so full of themselves. Sounds to me like the time in the middle ages when two guys both claimed to be the Catholic Pope at the same time. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 09:46:09 -0700 Subject: Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Mon, 10 Mar 2003 17:58:49 -0500 (EST), John Higdon wrote: >> I never disputed it. I merely pointed out to Mr. Wollman that the >> question he was asking has been asked many times before, with no >> satisfactory answer, and backed it up with an example on a different >> (but obTelecom) topic. > And what was the point, other than a juvenile attempt to belittle what I > had to say, regardless of how relevant it might have been? I guess compared to you, I'm juvenile. But isn't it interesting? No matter what topic you comment on, we often see the same "what world are you living in?" response from DIFFERENT PEOPLE who had little to no exposure to the previous topics. There has to be a reason for it, don't you think? You speak, and the same response comes back. What's the common factor? > I have no trouble admitting errors in judgment. Joey, we're not in > competition. Since you asked the question, I stopped blocking .info > email because other methods that I am using render the practice > unnecessary. Ergo, blocking all email with a .info "From" or "Reply-To" wasn't an error in judgment, it was just inefficient. Does the same hold true for blocking incoming email from any IP whose reverse lookup includes "DSL" in the name? (Or was that someone else who said that?) And since it wasn't an error in judgment, I guess a public statement retracting your earlier advocation of blocking an entire gTLD is out of the question, huh? >> I really don't give a rat's a** what you do with your own server. > Apparently, you do. When I first mentioned it back last summer, you > sent me several excoriating emails and posted material to the digest > explaining what an idiot and a jerk I was. Here, in the middle of > another thread, you regress back to that old non-issue with comments > that have nothing to do with the topic at hand. If this is how you > react to something you don't care about, I would hate to get in the > way of a passionate interest. I don't know how many times I have to say this before it gets through to you, John. My problem isn't with what *YOU* do with *YOUR* server. My problem is when you come in here and ADVOCATE that others do the same. Which you did. You did so by saying that all .info email you've ever seen was spam, ergo you block all .info mail, and thus imply all .info users are spammers. YOU ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO DO THE SAME THING. You really expected me to just sit back and not comment? And that I do care about, since I'm one of the disreputable people you hit with your shotgun blast. You made this personal, not me. I bring it up again to remind anyone (or show them for the first time, if they weren't here before) who might otherwise take your opinions seriously, and possibly base future decisions on what you've said, just who they're dealing with. They're dealing with somebody who swats flies with jackhammers and doesn't have too much concern about the perhaps unintended consequences of an advocated course of action. > I got news for you, Joey. The position of moderator is not an elective > office. No sh**, Sherlock. My point was that IF THINGS CHANGED (you really should look up the word "if" in a dictionary, it'll help), and we were told that we could get rid of Pat, I would strongly support KEEPING him. I made that point to illustrate that just because I often disagreed with his opinions, I still respected the man and the job he does here. I can think of no-one I would prefer to do that job: Pat Townson is the glue that holds this whole thing together. > So you don't respect my opinions, comments, or observations. > Fine. I suggest you learn about kill files and make suitable > entries. I receive your postings as part of a Digest, all bundled together in a single email. But yeah, I can skip over it. But you say things and advocate things that have a direct negative impact on me, John, so I think I'll keep an eye on your future postings. I don't favour a United Nations "if we ignore him, we'll all be happy and nothing bad will happen" approach. > OK, I asserted that power reliability in California, particularly > northern California was among the worst in the nation. I have several > studies, peer review, and a published media-commissioned report that > agree with me. You disagree. On what basis? I'm all ears. And what colour is the sky on your planet, John? Either show me where I disagreed, or apologize for lying/mischaracterizing what I said. I SAID NOTHING WHATSOEVER ON THE TOPIC OF POWER RELIABILITY. It is a field in which I have no experience whatsoever, other than that I was late for work the other morning because we had an overnight power failure that killed my alarm clock. >> If you can't remember those previous discussions, I've got an excellent >> suggestion. Pat recently sent out his monthly "share" message. Make a >> donation of $25 and I'll send you a copy of the Telecom Digest Archives >> CD. It's an excellent resource, cheap at twice the price. > I am, and have been, a regular monetary supporter of the Digest. Also, I > have maintained my own extensive archives of the Digest that go back to > the very beginning. I think I already qualify to receive the CD if you > want to send it. Pat? Whaddaya say? This guy worth a CD? :-) Don't worry about the cost, this one's on me. John, flip me your mailing address in private email. (It's basically a dump of the contents of the massis FTP site, so if you've already got everything there, we can probably skip it - but if not, I'll be happy to send a CD along). > Mark and I have different interests in the very broad field of > telephony. His posts, like mine, rely heavily on personal experience and > observation. For some reason, you haven't felt moved to direct silly > personal attacks at him, and I'm sure he is grateful for that. I'm reluctant to speak on his behalf, as he's quite capable of doing that for himself. At length. Great length. :-) (Sorry Mark, couldn't resist!). But the reason I haven't called him on his bullshit is because he hasn't given me, or indeed anyone to the best of my knowledge, any reason to. > I rarely > mention my experience unless someone like you yammers at my coattails, > making vague assertions that I don't know what I'm talking about. But the form of the "mentioning" is along the lines of "go away, kid, you're bothering me" and "what do YOU know that compares to what I know?" And since I'm not the only one who's questioned you (ie: asking about what little world you live in), all those that have are now in the "yammering" category. I'm sure they'll feel quite honoured. And for those who don't know whether or not to feel insulted, let's look up a definition of "yammer". According to dictionary.com, it is: 1) To complain peevishly or whiperingly, whine. 2) To talk volubly and loudly. Yep, I'd say John just insulted a few of us. :-) > Learn about killfiles; we'll all have a better time. Learn about dealing with people, and we'll all have a better time. > I can probably tell a lot more than Joey would like to hear. But > obviously, I'm not Joey's cup of tea, and he has some deep resentment > regarding just about anything I have to say. I'm sorry he feels that > way. I would suggest that he stop reading my material since it upsets > him so much. I'm not a moving target: I post over my real name and real > contact information. I use a valid and unchanging email address. > Filtering out my posts should be a snap. Right. And running off into the hills to get away from everything I don't like in the world, building myself a little Teddy Kaczynski shack and not bathing for years, would also be a snap. It would also be wrong. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Joey, please send John a CD. John, please do me a favor and do not answer back on this message. Each of you can add the other one to your respective kill files. And Joey, what is wrong with having a little shack in the woods like Ted K, except don't send bombs in the mail to John or others like Ted did. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 10:46:01 -0700 Subject: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:28:56 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How police work from one day to the > next is a mystery to me also. Believe me, if it had been some sort of > crime to which the officer(s) personally had taken great umbrage, they > would have investigated it forever. But there is absolutely no reason > when a search/arrest warrant is issued by a judge somewhere and cops > decide to go out and execute it a few days later at their leisure, > they couldn't listen to reason about stolen ID, etc. After all, it was > not a life or death emergency for the officers at that point. They > were just trying to be assholes at that point, although maybe the > newly arrested prisoner had been an asshole with them also. We do not > know the whole story. And no one likes an asshole. PAT] OK, I don't know the whole story here and neither do you, so anything we have to say on it is speculation. But from what I understand, I don't see that the cops did anything wrong. A judge issues an arrest warrant to pick up "John Smith", the cops go and get John Smith. "John's" defence is that he didn't do what it was that he's accused of, he says somebody else stole his ID and did the dirty deeds. Fine. But it's not up to the cops to decide this. It's up to the judge. The cops bring him in -- they're charged with arresting "John Smith" and they DO HAVE "John Smith". Whether "John Smith" is innocent or guilty of the crimes he has committed is for a court of law to decide, not the cops on the street. How can someone pick "John Smith" out of a lineup if "John Smith" isn't in police custody in the first place? It's a pain in the ass, and I know I wouldn't want to be "John Smith", but again, I don't see that the cops had any other choice (other than dereliction of duty). If and when perps can start talking cops out of arresting them with a tale of identity theft, we're going to see that excuse being used a whole heck of a lot. :-) This seems like such a slam-dunk that I gotta think that we are missing some important detail here (or maybe it's just me). -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually Joey, its just you. Actually that sort of thing (stolen ID, or two persons with the same name, one is a bad guy the other not so bad, or actually a good guy) happens a lot in very big (Chicago like) cities. Whenever a person with a very common name or a person whose identification was stolen winds up getting arrested multiple times for the offenses of his namesake or his ID holder the Chicago area prosecutor (he is called 'Cook County States Attorney') issues a form letter to the person. It says something like this: "(Name)(Address)(SSN) was incorrectly arrested on the charge of (felony offense). Before arresting him again on ANY charges, you MUST confirm it with the State's Attorney's Office to my personal attention." The form letter goes on to say to the person who had been arrested then released, "WE ADVISE YOU TO CARRY THIS LETTER ON YOUR PERSON AT ALL TIMES TO PREVENT THIS SITUATION FROM OCCURRING IN THE FUTURE. PRESENT IT TO ANY POLICE OFFICER WHO SEEKS TO ARREST YOU. TO THE ARRESTING OFFICER: PLEASE MATCH UP WARRANT NUMBERS AND CASE I.D. NUMBERS *BEFORE* MAKING AN ARREST!" It is then signed by whatever prosecutor's office employee who issued it with a phone number. That prevents many -- but not all -- such cases. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 17:48:54 GMT From: Richard D G Cox Subject: Re: Last Laugh! was Re: President Bush Signs National No Call List Reply-To: nospam@numbering.com Organization: Mandarin Technology Limited At 23:27:41 UTC on Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Thomas A. Horsley wrote >> Telemarketers say the registry will devastate their business. > Their point being? That the only reason they're telemarketers is that there's nothing else they can do? (To serve fries at McDonalds they do have to be clean!) Richard Cox ------------------------------ 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, 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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Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #344 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 14 21:41:14 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2F2fE425906; Fri, 14 Mar 2003 21:41:14 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 21:41:14 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303150241.h2F2fE425906@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 V22 #345 TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Mar 2003 21:40:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 345 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe (Dave Christensen) Re: Remembrances of FidoNet (puke) (Jack) Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem (John Higdon) Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (Mark Crispin) Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (Andy Finkenstadt) IDiosyncracies (Joey Lindstrom) Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe (jt) Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe (AES/newspost) Wav to Fax (lucky) Advanced Communications Technologies, (Eworldwire) Help! - Need Console Pinout for Cortelco Millennium (Keeg) Bellophobia (Joey Lindstrom) Palm OS 5 Powers Up Cell Phones (Eric Friedebach) Re: Last Laugh! Dead Man Receives Phone Bill at Cemetery (Justin Time) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe From: dave@newrivergroup.com (Dave Christensen) Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 01:07:05 -0600 Qworst offers a do-not disturb feature that will intercept all calls between X & Y times and divert them to a LEC voice mailbox or a recording saying your unavailable. You can configure it to allow the caller to enter a passcode or an emergency by pass. In message , curt@journyx.com (curt finch) wrote: > My teenage stepdaughter has her friends calling at 3 am! > Other than kill someone, is there a way to make our phones shutdown > at 10pm and restart at 6am without running around the house and > unplugging them all? Posted with Ink Spot (for the Newton) from DejaVu Software, Inc. *REGISTERED* Usenet wherever you are - http://www.martnet.com/~dejavu/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 03:01:46 -0500 From: Jack Subject: Re: Remembrances of FidoNet (puke) At 12:48 AM 3/14/2003 -0500, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I never got too involved with Fido. The > guy in Oak Park, Illinois suggested I feed what I called 'Telecom Topics' > out to interested readers as an echo group (their name for Usenet news- > group.) That was in 1981-83 or so. Then I functioned also as a discussion > leader in a Chicago-area social issues group about the same time. That > is the time when the nasty lady in San Francisco told her Zone Manager > to get me excommunicated. In the early days of this Digest (like late > 1980's) on the telecom mailing list I had an 'exploder address' which > went to a fellow with a Unix machine set up also as a Fido gateway and > 'Telecom Topics' (which by then had simply been folded into TELECOM > Digest) got sent to him where it was redistributed as an echo group to > interested Fido users. Nearly all local sysops had at least one or two > users who wanted to see the Digest and answer back to certain articles. > Jack, depending on how involved and how long you were into Fidonet, > you may have seen Telecom Topics, or did you first start posting here > after it had merged into TELECOM Digest? PAT] Pat, I'm not sure where I first saw a reference to comp.dcom.telecom, but I'm pretty sure it was after it had been merged with the Telecom Digest. I think that my first exposure to it was probably individual articles (or groups of articles) that had been snipped and posted on various BBS's. But it wasn't until a guy with enough experience to pull in a Usenet feed started sending me a raw feed via Fidonet that I was able to get the newsgroup on a daily basis. I think he did that for a year or two and then finally set me up with "real" Internet access, so I could pull it myself from a news server. I know that I didn't have the ability to post to the Digest until the late 80's at the earliest. In our region some of the coordinators didn't seem to think much of the Internet (they probably quite correctly perceived that it would destroy their petty fiefdoms, not to mention pointing out the foolishness of their geographically-based topology). I don't recall ever seeing the Telecom Digest in an official Fidonet echo conference (although my memory may be failing here), but I do know there were a lot of private conversions that took place outside of the "official" echomail system, where it would for example get fed within a local net. I will bet, though, that the Telecom Digest or a converted comp.dcom.telecom feed may have been the first exposure many Fight-O-Netters had to the Internet. I think it came as quite a shock to some of them that there was a network out there with hundreds of newsgroups, and no coordinators telling people that you had to access a particular system to get your feeds. In fact one of the first things I remember that brought this point home to me was David Lesher's signature file, which included the little poem: "A host is a host from coast to coast & no one will talk to a host that's close Unless the host (that isn't close) is busy, hung or dead" (Which, for those never exposed to "classic" American television, is a takeoff on the theme song for "Mister Ed", a show about a talking horse. I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't tried to make that one into a full length feature movie yet!) Th2e Internet was everything Fidonet wasn't, especially back then. If you wanted to connect to a news server in New Zealand or Norway to grab a few newsgroups, chances are no one would stop you, or say a word, whereas the Fidonet coordinators thought it was just awful if you connected to anyone other than whom you were told to connect to. So I think some Fidonet coordinators absolutely hated the Internet, and spent a good deal of time making disparaging remarks about it. Oh, and I do remember the alternate networks that Joey Lindstrom speaks of. I was in one called LCRnet (LCR="Least Cost Routing"). The thing I think the Fidonet coordinators were blinded to (because they mostly talked to each other and reinforced each other) was how ineffective they really were in stopping the things they disliked. The average sysops were for the most part not supportive of their efforts. When someone got excommunicated from Fidonet, unless they had managed to offend everyone, they would probably have offers of new feeds within hours, or failing that, they could join one of the alternate nets. I think people also ran software to munge the "SEEN-BY" lines in echomail messages so the coordinators wouldn't see any nodes in there that they weren't supposed to see. Still, no one could understand what caused those guys to behave as they did. This probably goes along with your other thread about the cops -- there are some people who just cannot be trusted not to abuse power and authority, even if in reality they only have very little of it. Jack ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Ad Hominem Sweet Hominem Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 22:17:40 -0800 In article , Joey Lindstrom wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Joey, please send John a CD. John, > please do me a favor and do not answer back on this message. At this point you are preaching to the choir, Patrick! I'm way ahead of you. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 [TELECOM Church Pastor's Note: I do not have a choir here, John. All I do is sing solos, assisted occassionally by certain members of my 'congregation' who never see a thing wrong in what I say. Even with my damned brain desease, which has plagued me now for a couple years, some of them still want to have me here preaching and singing to them each day. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 01:07:26 -0800 Organization: Networks and Distributed Computing On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Henry wrote: > Amazingly, about a week later, my wife and I were driving and we SAW THE > CAR. I proceeded to follow it, while my wife called the police on her > cell phone. She explained the situation and described exactly where we > were, what direction we were heading, etc. What was the dispatcher's > response? 'We'll send a patrol car to intercept you right away'??? Not > on your life. He said, quote, 'We don't have time for things like that.' Let me guess ... this incident happened in a state which does not allow law-abiding citizens to carry firearms or makes it nearly impossible to obtain the necessary license if you aren't a buddy of the chief of police. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. [TELECOM Gun Control Commissioner's Note: Oooh, you are good at guessing, aren't you Mark? How many fingers does it take you to enumerate the number of states which *do NOT* have such laws on their books? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Andy Finkenstadt Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 17:27:00 +0000 (UTC) Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC Reply-To: kahuna@panix.com In henry999@eircom.net (Henry) writes: >> An associate had his new S-10 Blazer stolen from outside the restaurant >> he was patronizing. > I'll see your 'associate at the restaurant' story and raise you one > 'brother in pursuit' story. :-) > 'We don't have time for things like that.' Reminds me of the story of a man who called 911 to report a tresspassing in progress (with a rash of robberies in the neighborhood), was advised to stay inside and leave the criminal alone, the police would be by later. Man calls back 911 and says that he had taken care of the criminal himself with his shotgun, and they'd better send an ambulance. Within seconds police were there and captured the trespasser. Andrew Finkenstadt (http://www.finkenstadt.com/andy/) [911 Dispatcher's Note: Actually I am amazed the police did not start hassling the man with the shotgun instead. Typically, that is how it is done. When police arrive on the scene, the first thing they do is look around for any minority persons they can blame it on. If he is poorly educated and has trouble explaining himself, so much the better. Lacking that, they try to find someone with a gun who they can hassle. Even if he (gun holder) has the required permits, the permits are ignored unless gun holder has them in his immediate possession, and in the event he does have them in his wallet or pocket, the permits may be forged or otherwise invalid. We have to take all the permits away and examine them carefully. Then as time permits (we cannot be expected to do all these things) we heard there may be a prowler running in the neighborhood (or a serial murderer, etc) and we might go look for him. So what else is old, Andy? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 10:32:04 -0700 Subject: IDiosyncracies Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 00:48:20 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Actually Joey, its just you. ZING! Shot across the port bow! :-) > Actually that sort of thing (stolen ID, or two persons with the same > name, one is a bad guy the other not so bad, or actually a good guy) > happens a lot in very big (Chicago like) cities. Whenever a person > with a very common name or a person whose identification was stolen > winds up getting arrested multiple times for the offenses of his > namesake or his ID holder the Chicago area prosecutor (he is called > 'Cook County States Attorney') issues a form letter to the > person. It says something like this: "(Name)(Address)(SSN) was > incorrectly arrested on the charge of (felony offense). Before > arresting him again on ANY charges, you MUST confirm it with the > State's Attorney's Office to my personal attention." The form letter > goes on to say to the person who had been arrested then released, > "WE ADVISE YOU TO CARRY THIS LETTER ON YOUR PERSON AT ALL TIMES TO > PREVENT THIS SITUATION FROM OCCURRING IN THE FUTURE. PRESENT IT TO > ANY POLICE OFFICER WHO SEEKS TO ARREST YOU. TO THE ARRESTING > OFFICER: PLEASE MATCH UP WARRANT NUMBERS AND CASE I.D. NUMBERS > *BEFORE* MAKING AN ARREST!" It is then signed by whatever > prosecutor's office employee who issued it with a phone number. That > prevents many -- but not all -- such cases. PAT] I think this (the form letter) is an outstanding idea. Anything that'll help, I'm all for. But in order to get that form letter, you first have to go through your "first time" being being falsely arrested. And I'll agree it probably is highly unpleasant. I was arrested once here in Calgary, on a minor charge that was due to a misunderstanding and the charge was later dropped. It was a minor offence so obviously I wasn't treated like a hardened criminal. Indeed, I had been tipped off that the cops were likely going to arrest me, so I had a friend drive me down to the local station. Cops like that, saves them lots of work. :-) Anyways, the desk officer led me to a room (basically a small meeting room kind of thing). The only thing "unusual" about my treatment, as opposed to, say, if I were there to file a complaint against somebody, is that they locked the door of the room, and they took away my shoes - ostensibly so that I wouldn't hang myself with my shoelaces. Weird policy, especially when they enforce it on somebody like me who was wearing loafers WITH NO LACES. :-) But I realize that if I'd been arrested on a more serious charge -- burglary, kidnapping, homicide -- I'd have been treated quite a bit more harshly, and I know I wouldn't have liked it. But if I were satisfied that the cops really believed I was the guy they were looking for, and acted appropriately based on that belief, I know I'd be able to forgive 'em afterwards (though I'd be pissed as hell at the time). I'm human and I make mistakes, and I'm able to tolerate this in others. But like you say, sometimes cops do cross the line. They've been known to beat up prisoners for no reason, and other similar acts of malfeasance. That, I wouldn't be able to forgive. But if it were a case of simple mistaken identity, well ... it's hard to fault the cops, particularly since it would appear in the case we're talking about that they were intentionally misled by the bad guys. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The letter you quoted from me is *NOT* routinely given out to arrested persons who are then set free. If you get arrested three or four times on fake charges *and* you make a big enough fuss about it afterward, *then* the prosecutor will issue that letter. That way, in theory at least, it will not happen again for a fifth or sixth time. But you say, > I'm human and I make mistakes and I am able to tolerate this in > others. But how many times have *your mistakes* resulted in another person losing his liberty, having his shoes taken away from him, etc.? PAT] ------------------------------ From: jt Subject: Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 09:42:31 -0500 Organization: WorldCom Canada Ltd. News Reader Service curt finch wrote in message news:telecom22.343.16@telecom-digest.org: > My teenage stepdaughter has her friends calling at 3 am! > Other than kill someone, is there a way to make our phones > shutdown at 10pm and restart at 6am without running around the > house and unplugging them all? Social engineering. Every time one of them calls her outside the hours you set, next day she gets NO phone usage. No calls out, no calls in. She'll fix it; should take about a week. ------------------------------ From: AES/newspost Subject: Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 21:05:31 -0800 In article , curt@journyx.com (curt finch) wrote: > My teenage stepdaughter has her friends calling at 3 am! > Other than kill someone, is there a way to make our phones > shutdown at 10pm and restart at 6am without running around the > house and unplugging them all? Maybe get two-message answering machine, every nite at 10 pm switch to message B, which says, "Hello, you have reached WRONG NUMBER. If you have a message for WRONG NAME or ANOTHER WRONG NAME, please leave it after the beep". Set it to answer on first ring. If there's a "demarc" point (where fone line first enters the house) you could plug it in there, and disconnect all remaining phones beyond that point. "Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Lord Acton (1834-1902) "Dependence on advertising tends to corrupt. Total dependence on advertising corrupts totally." (today's equivalent) ------------------------------ From: lucky.lu@jumpy.it (lucky) Subject: Wav to Fax Date: 14 Mar 2003 10:05:45 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I am recording all phone calls, voice and fax, on my pc. So I have a .wav file also for every fax received or transmitted with the external stand-alone analogue fax machine. There is a way to decode these .wav file into the original image? Regards. lucky lu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 13:40:05 -0500 From: Eworldwire Subject: Advanced Communications Technologies Shareholders Meeting Advanced Communications Technologies, Inc. Announces Special Meeting of the Shareholders Next Month NEW YORK/EWORLDWIRE/March 14, 2003 --- Advanced Communications Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:ADVC) ("ACT" or the "Company") today announced that on Friday, April 11, 2003, the Company will hold a special meeting of the shareholders (the "Special Meeting") at the office of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, commencing at 10:00 in the morning eastern time, to approve an amendment to the Company's Articles of Incorporation. A proxy statement was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday. "This special meeting is an important step in management's plan to re-establish our position in the marketplace. We have been working diligently to that end and are dedicated to accomplishing our set goals through the implementation of our business plan," said Wayne I. Danson, President of ACT.  All shareholders are encouraged to attend this Special Meeting. About Advanced Communications Technologies Inc. Advanced Communications Technologies Inc. ("ACT") owns the exclusive marketing and distribution rights throughout the North and South American markets to SpectruCell, a software-defined radio (SDR) multiple protocol wireless system that is currently under development, consisting of hardware and software that enables network providers to install a single base station and configure it to any or all protocols (GSM, CDMA, UMTS, W-CDMA, etc).  This release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such statements are reasonable, no assurances can be given that they will prove correct. The Company remains exposed to risk factors that include the completion, marketability and availability of the SpectruCell product, the availability of qualified personnel, market competition, meeting time critical requirements and others. These and other applicable risks are summarized under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's amended Registration Statement on Form SB-2 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 17, 2003. Statements made herein are not a guarantee of future corporate or stock performance. HTML: http://www.eworldwire.com/wr/031403/advancedcommtech.htm ONLINE NEWSROOM: http://www.eworldwire.com/profile/advancedcommtech.htm LOGO: http://www.eworldwire.com/profile/advancedcommtech.htm CONTACT: Wayne I. Danson President  Advanced Communications Technologies, Inc. 420 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10170 PHONE: 646.227.1600 URL: http://www.actadvc.com Copyright 2003 Eworldwire, All rights reserved. ------------------------------ From: jnzy@hotmail.com (Keeg) Subject: Help! - Need Console Pinout for Cortelco Millennium Date: 14 Mar 2003 11:48:22 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Can anyone please give me the pinout to console into a Cortelco Millinnium switch so I can access it from my pc? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!! ---Anna ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 08:40:01 -0700 Subject: Bellophobia Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 23:15:34 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org wrote: > happened at all. Tell what makes it a 'stupid, homophobic' message > otherwise. PAT] Pat, if I flipped you an email that merely said "Pat ... I want you ...", don't you think you'd take it as a come-on? :-) -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If *taken in context* with the phraseology in use today, I probably would. The same thing would be true, I guess, if you used the word 'gay' these days, since it has been co-opted by gay people as 'their term'. But, if you are quoting historically, then you have to use language as the people of the era in question used it. People in the 19th century routinely used the phrase 'I want you ...' in a different way, just as they used the word 'gay' to mean happy or merry. e.g. 'I went to the party last night and we had a very gay time'. A hundred years ago that did not mean the men at the party had sex together. It meant the people there told jokes, laughed, etc. If Alex Bell said to Tom Watson, "I want you ... " (assuming historians are correct) then by phraseology in the 1870's it could have meant "please bring yourself into my presence right away" (with tools, cleanup rags, whatever). One of my favoite examples of this sort of thing comes from the 'original' edition of the Bible -- the King James Version of the early 17th Century. There are a couple of places there where God is talking to a prophet or a prophet is talking to God or whatever and the state- ment is made about 'bowels' as in 'my bowels are filled with rumbling' or 'my bowels hava a feeling of' (whatever). Do these statements mean that the prophet or God or whoever had diarreaha, or a need to use the toilet on an emergency basis? No, of course not. People in the 16th and 17th century considered their bowels to be the main part of their body, like we do with the heart today. If you met a new friend today and fell in love, you might say 'my heart really flutters when I think about him/her'. Four hundred years ago you would have said 'my bowels rumble considerably when I' (whatever). The KJV was written using the language and parlance common in its time, as Bell/Watson talked in common parlance in their time, as we talk with words and phrases common in our times. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Palm OS 5 Powers Up Cell Phones Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 15:29:15 -0600 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Arik Hesseldahl, 03.14.03, Forbes.com NEW YORK - If this week was all about mobile computing, the coming week will be all about mobile phone handsets. Next week the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association kicks off its big trade show in New Orleans. It's at this show that manufacturers of mobile handsets start showing off their new phone models that will carry them through the rest of the year. As it happens, the CTIA trade show is taking place within a few days of the CeBit trade show in Germany, which started March 12, where many phones also tend to be unveiled for the first time. One that caught our eye came from South Korea's Samsung. The SGH-i500 is the first mobile phone-PDA combination that runs on Palm OS 5. This is the newest version of the Palm operating system, which has so far debuted in handhelds from Sony and Palm , and is coming in a handheld from Garmin. It is produced by Palm subsidiary Palmsource. The phone has a clamshell design, which for Samsung is a departure from its previous candy bar-shaped Palm phones. It runs on global system for mobile communications/ general packet radio services networks like those operated by Cingular Wireless, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and AT&T Wireless . It's a tri-band phone, so it should work in the U.S., Europe and much of Asia. http://www.forbes.com/2003/03/14/cx_ah_0314tentech.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Dead Man Receives Phone Bill at Cemetery Date: 14 Mar 2003 06:17:21 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Joseph wrote in message news:... > AUBURN, Mass. (AP) A man's phone bill has followed him to his grave. > A local cemetery received a phone bill last week for David Towles at > his correct address Hillside Cemetery, Evergreen Section, Auburn, > Mass. 01501. > <> > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In the early 1900's, when Mary Baker > Eddy, the founder of Christian Science (what is termed by many folks > as Pseudo Science) passed away, urban folklore says that a telephone > was buried in her grave with her; her most devout and eccentric > followers simply assumed she was 'taking a nap' and would wake up soon > and want to get out. I do not know if that was true or not; She has > not 'awakened' yet that we know of, nor do we know the kind of calling > plan or long distance carrier that was put on the line, if in fact it > existed. Regards Mr. Towles, if Sprint does not get paid their 12 > cents, I wonder if Sprint will consider him a deadbeat and place his > account with an agency? PAT] I wonder if his name and phone number is on the just activated "Do Not Call" list? Rodgers Platt ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #345 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 15 21:23:31 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2G2NU101632; Sat, 15 Mar 2003 21:23:31 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 21:23:31 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303160223.h2G2NU101632@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 V22 #346 TELECOM Digest Sat, 15 Mar 2003 21:23:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 346 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (Henry Cabot Henhouse III) Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (Mark Atwood) Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (Dave Phelps) Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance (techie) Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe (John R. Levine) Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe (Reed) The Myth of Interference / Internet Architect David Reed Explains (Solomon) Shrill Sheen Loses TV Ad Gig ; Dixie Chicks Pulled From Air (Monty Solomon) Face-Recognition Technology Improves (Monty Solomon) AirCard 750 (Monty Solomon) Samsung MITs SGH-i500 Palm OS 5 GSM Smartphone (Monty Solomon) Insurers to Push For "Black-Boxes" in NYC Taxis - WSJ (Monty Solomon) VeriSign Do-Not-Call Service Selected by PaeTec Communications (M Solomon) QUALCOMM Announces Strong Market Demand for Advanced Multimedia (M Solomon) Cingular Wireless Customers Get More Time to Talk (Monty Solomon) Microsoft Outlines 'Smart Living' in the Digital Decade at CeBIT (Solomon) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Henry Cabot Henhouse III Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Organization: AT&T Broadband Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 01:08:20 GMT And what about the guy interviewed on last night's PrimeTime on ABC? He saw the kidnapped Elizabeth Smart in Provo Utah and called the Provo Police ... apparently they were all out for donuts ... his call went unanswered. Thank God that the Sandy, Utah Police were awake and Elizabeth was finally found and rescued. Henry wrote in message news:telecom22.343.12@telecom-digest.org: > John Higdon wrote: >> An associate had his new S-10 Blazer stolen from outside the restaurant >> he was patronizing. > I'll see your 'associate at the restaurant' story and raise you one > 'brother in pursuit' story. :-) > A couple of years ago, my brother's car was stolen. He immediately > reported the theft to the police. He also informed his extensive > 'network' of family and friends so we could keep our eyes open (we live > in a small city). > Amazingly, about a week later, my wife and I were driving and we SAW THE > CAR. I proceeded to follow it, while my wife called the police on her > cell phone. She explained the situation and described exactly where we > were, what direction we were heading, etc. What was the dispatcher's > response? 'We'll send a patrol car to intercept you right away'??? Not > on your life. He said, quote, 'We don't have time for things like that.' > In shock and frustration, we continued to follow the stolen car for a > while longer, but we were in no position to try and stop it ourselves > and when it turned out onto the freeway we sadly had to abandon the > chase. > 'We don't have time for things like that.' > Fortunately, the story had a more-or-less happy ending. The car was > discovered three and a half weeks after being taken, in a town about 12 > miles away. It had only minor damage. > No thanks to the police. > cheers, > Henry [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Police cannot always be blamed. Sometimes they are attempting to follow the 'rules' as they believe those rules exist, but they (police) are so far out of touch with the rest of the world. I'll give an example: Consider Jeffrey Dahmer; why, under God's Green Earth did he get away with so many murders of young guys before he got finally caught? A year or two earlier, Milwaukee Police had been 'called on the carpet' about their (in general) behavior toward gay guys and blacks. At the time, and prior, gay guys and blacks were each 'fair game' for cops. Sweep the streets of both categories of human beings. When a bunch of gay guys were hanging around outside a gay bar right after closing time, cops would round them up and make hassles for them because cops did not like that sort of thing. I do not have to tell you the cop's attitudes toward young black guys in those days, and the cops were -- bless them -- simply reflecting the attitudes of their employers; the general public. Then sometime around 1990, the cops were really kicked around by their supervisors and told in effect, 'hey, this is 1990, being gay is now somewhat more respectable, and furthermore, black guys have rights also.' It took the dumber cops awhile to catch on, but gradually they did, and you began to see less and less round-ups of gay guys 'for the hell of it'. And believe it or not, black people are now treated a bit nicer by cops than they were 20-30 years ago. Police essentially just act as a mirror of society, and as society in general gets more laid back in areas of societal norms, the police eventually follow. I mean, how often these days do you see or hear of 'morals squads' of police, where cops run around arresting people they take a dislike to. It still happens some, but not nearly as often. Anyway, back to Dahmer. He was *routinely* picking up young black guys and taking them to his home for drugs, alcohol, sex and then ...; he would pick them up in Chicago, where one more or less rowdy young black guy would not be missed when they did not come back home later that night with a pocket full of money and drugs he got 'from that white dude who picked him up here last night'. His neighbors in Milwaukee *did* complain about him to the police. In the most notorious case, he picked up a *four- teen year old boy, a native of Laos who could not speak English, took him home, got him drunk and drugged up then raped him. The boy escaped, and Dahmer caught him and took him back to his (Dahmer's) apartment. The neighbors complained about that also, and were told to mind their own business. Dahmer explained it off to the police officer who came to his door as 'his lover' who had gotten a bit drunk and rowdy. Because police had recently had their hands slapped and told by their supervisors to 'lay off hassling gay guys' they chose to ignore it. Well, 'laying off hassling gay guys' did not, and does not include turning your back on rape of minors (gay or otherwise) or providing kids with drugs, alcohol, or indeed, cannibalism. Indeed ... but you see, whoever tweaked the pendulum of society's clock called 'police' tweaked it a quarter inch or so too far. Believe me, when the horrors of Dahmer's carnage finally came to light by the residents of 23rd Street in Milwaukee, the black community and the gay community, the police had all kinds of hell to pay. And resident after resident lined up and told the city authorities, "we reported Dahmer's strange behavior time and time again to police; we were told to shut up and get with the times." Poor Jeff ... until the moment he got killed in prison at the hand of some of the brothers, he could not understand what he had done wrong. Poor police ... especially the dumb ones, which make up a large number of officers ... we expect them to be Superman, always on the spot with the right answers and right behavior, as perhaps we should. But far from being supermen, they are just ordinary human beings with an extra- ordinary task to do, which they fail at quite often. For every story here in recent days about police recalcitrance, there are an equal number of stories about their vigorous over-policing. If someone could just tweak that pendulum on the clock to make it run neither fast nor too slow; just move along with society keeping time as it should. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark Atwood Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Date: 14 Mar 2003 19:01:21 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Mark Crispin writes: > [TELECOM Gun Control Commissioner's Note: Oooh, you are good at > guessing, aren't you Mark? How many fingers does it take you to enumerate > the number of states which *do NOT* have such laws on their books? PAT] IIRC, 16 at last count. Wisconsin's next. Which means, I guess, that they can be finger counted if the counter takes off his shoes ... Mark Atwood | Well done is better than well said. mra@pobox.com | http://www.pobox.com/~mra ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 23:41:54 -0600 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , mrc@CAC.Washington.EDU says: > [TELECOM Gun Control Commissioner's Note: Oooh, you are good at > guessing, aren't you Mark? How many fingers does it take you to enumerate > the number of states which *do NOT* have such laws on their books? PAT] Actually, currently there are 32 right-to-carry states. So it would take more than both his hands and feet to come up with that number. I'll bet he's right. See http://www.nraila.org/FactSheets.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=18 Dave Phelps Phone Masters Ltd. deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: techie@tantivy.stanford.edu (techie) Subject: Re: The Darkest Side of ... Police Reluctance Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 09:54:01 UTC Organization: Tantivy Associates In article , Mark Crispin wrote: > On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Henry wrote: > Let me guess ... this incident happened in a state which does not allow > law-abiding citizens to carry firearms or makes it nearly impossible to > obtain the necessary license if you aren't a buddy of the chief of police. > -- Mark -- > http://staff.washington.edu/mrc > Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. > [TELECOM Gun Control Commissioner's Note: Oooh, you are good at > guessing, aren't you Mark? How many fingers does it take you to enumerate > the number of states which *do NOT* have such laws on their books? PAT] More than you may think: According to www.packing.org, there are 30 states which have "shall issue" concealed carry laws on the books, which (broadly defined) means that the state MUST issue a CCW permit to any citizen of that state who applies for one, assuming that that citizen has no criminal record, is not mentally incompetent, or subject to a restraining order. I find another 5 states that are not "shall issue" states, that issue non-resident permits, in addition to resident permits. There is one state (Vermont) that does not issue permits of any type, but has laws on the books allowing anybody to carry (concealed or not) without a permit. That leave 14 states in the 'other' category, including states that do not issue permits, or states that delegate the issue of permits to local or county authorities. -- Welcome My Son, Welcome To The Machine -- Bob Vaughan | techie@{w6yx|tantivy}.stanford.edu | kc6sxc@w6yx.ampr.org | P.O. Box 19792, Stanford, Ca 94309 -- I am Me, I am only Me, And no one else is Me, What could be simpler? -- ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 07:10:45 GMT On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 10:46:01 -0700, Joey Lindstrom posted the following to comp.dcom.telecom: > On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:28:56 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org > wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How police work from one day to the >> next is a mystery to me also. Believe me, if it had been some sort of >> crime to which the officer(s) personally had taken great umbrage, they >> would have investigated it forever. But there is absolutely no reason >> when a search/arrest warrant is issued by a judge somewhere and cops >> decide to go out and execute it a few days later at their leisure, >> they couldn't listen to reason about stolen ID, etc. After all, it was >> not a life or death emergency for the officers at that point. They >> were just trying to be assholes at that point, although maybe the >> newly arrested prisoner had been an asshole with them also. We do not >> know the whole story. And no one likes an asshole. PAT] > OK, I don't know the whole story here and neither do you, so anything > we have to say on it is speculation. But from what I understand, I > don't see that the cops did anything wrong. A judge issues an arrest > warrant to pick up "John Smith", the cops go and get John Smith. > "John's" defence is that he didn't do what it was that he's accused > of, he says somebody else stole his ID and did the dirty deeds. In the U.S., judges don't issue arrest warrants on their own intiative. They sign warrants that are filled out and submitted by cops, accompanied by affidavits or declarations from persons (cops, witnesses, etc.) that are supposed to demonstrate probable cause to believe the perpetrator has committed a crime. The judge is supposed to determine, based on the affidavits, that there is probable cause, and only then sign the warrant. The warrant authorizes the cops to arrest the person. It does not command the cops to arrest the person. Cops retain "enforcement discretion," which enables them to decide whether or not to proceed with an investigation or arrest based on their evaluation of the evidence available to them. They may get fired or disciplined if they exercise that discretion the wrong way, so they are likely to call their superior officer on the radio if there is a question. > Fine. But it's not up to the cops to decide this. It's up to the > judge. The cops bring him in -- they're charged with arresting "John > Smith" and they DO HAVE "John Smith". Whether "John Smith" is innocent > or guilty of the crimes he has committed is for a court of law to > decide, not the cops on the street. Again, cops do not have the ministerial duty of enforcing an arrest warrant; they have some degree of discretion. They decide when, where, and whether to pick up the perp. If a cop has a warrant to pick up John Smith on a possession charge, and he sees John Smith going up to a suspected drug kingpin, he doesn't arrest him on the spot. He waits until he sees what happens with Da Man. If he sees Da Man committing a bigger crime, he forgets about John Smith and goes for the big fish. If, in the process, John Smith gets away but the big guy is arrested on solid evidence, the cop hasn't breached any duty to arrest John Smith. The arrest warrant remains outstanding and the cops can pick him up any time they want to -- if they still want to. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD, USA (delete NOSPAM from address to mail me) ------------------------------ Date: 14 Mar 2003 22:08:10 -0500 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > My teenage stepdaughter has her friends calling at 3 am! What did their parents say when you called them the following day and asked them to please tell their little darlings not to go calling people after 10 PM? >> Other than kill someone, is there a way to make our phones >> shutdown at 10pm and restart at 6am without running around the >> house and unplugging them all? > Social engineering. That's my vote. If you want to go the technical route, get call forwarding and at 10 PM forward all your calls to dial-a-prayer. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Reed Subject: Re: How do I Reject Callers Based on a Timeframe Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 18:26:12 -0600 Here's how I solved the problem. See: http://www.x10.com/news/articles/0723_phone.htm -Reed ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 01:04:19 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Myth of Interference / Internet Architect David Reed Explains Internet architect David Reed explains how bad science created the broadcast industry. By David Weinberger March 12, 2003 | There's a reason our television sets so outgun us, spraying us with trillions of bits while we respond only with the laughable trickles from our remotes. To enable signals to get through intact, the government has to divide the spectrum of frequencies into bands, which it then licenses to particular broadcasters. NBC has a license and you don't. Thus, NBC gets to bathe you in "Friends," followed by a very special "Scrubs," and you get to sit passively on your couch. It's an asymmetric bargain that dominates our cultural, economic and political lives -- only the rich and famous can deliver their messages -- and it's all based on the fact that radio waves in their untamed habitat interfere with one another. Except they don't. http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/12/spectrum/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 09:14:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Shrill Sheen Loses TV Ad Gig;Dixie Chicks pulled from air after By RICHARD JOHNSON with Paula Froelich and Chris Wilson Martin Sheen's politicking against the war on terrorism may have cost him a lucrative endorsement contract. Sheen and his son Charlie starred in a spot for Visa's Check Card which was cited as one of the top TV commercials of 2002. But it was abruptly canceled last week. Insiders say Sheen's vitriolic George W. Bush-bashing was the reason. "Visa has been getting tons of complaints based on his war stance," said one source. http://www.pagesix.com/seven/03132003/pagesix/pagesix.htm Dixie Chicks pulled from air after bashing Bush DALLAS, Texas (Reuters) -- There are a lot worse things in country music than your wife leaving you or your dog dying. There's stations not playing your music because you done gone and said some things against the president. Music superstars the Dixie Chicks are finding out that criticizing President Bush's plans for war in Iraq can cost you air play, big time. Country stations across the United States have pulled the Chicks from playlists following reports that lead singer Natalie Maines said in a concert in London earlier this week that she was "ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." ... http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/dixie.chicks.reut/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 09:18:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Face-Recognition Technology Improves By BARNABY J. FEDER Facial recognition technology has improved substantially since 2000, according to results released yesterday of a benchmark test by four federal government agencies involving systems from 10 companies. The data, which is the latest in a series of biannual tests overseen by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is expected to encourage government security officers to deploy facial recognition systems in combination with fingerprinting and other biometric systems for applications like verifying that people are who they claim to be and identifying unknown people by comparing them with a database of images. But the report also highlighted continuing shortcomings, like the poor performance of recognition systems in outdoors settings in which even the best systems made correct matches to the database of images just 50 percent of the time. And it cited outcomes that it said needed more research, like the tendency of the systems to identify men better than women and older subjects better than young ones. The report was strictly a technical evaluation and did not discuss any of the privacy or civil rights concerns that have stirred opposition to the technology. Because the results of the different companies are public, the testing is also expected to become a marketing tool for those who did best, including Identix, Cognitec Systems and Eyematic Interfaces. It is expected to be especially helpful to Cognitec, a tiny German company that is not widely known in the United States, and Eyematic, a San Francisco-based company best known for capturing data from traits like facial structures, expressions and gait to create animated entertainment. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/14/technology/14FACE.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:20:35 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AirCard 750 Sierra Wireless and AT&T Wireless Announce Availability of GSM/GPRS AirCard Ensuring Mobile Professionals Stay Wirelessly Connected VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2003-- AT&T Wireless Customers Get Wirelessly Connected to their Laptops and Handhelds with the Sierra Wireless AirCard(R) 750 GSM/GPRS PC Card Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ:SWIR)(TSX:SW) and AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE) announced today the commercial availability of the AirCard(R) 750, a wide area PC Card for laptops and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). Operating over the AT&T Wireless GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) network, the AirCard 750 enables mobile users of handheld devices to wirelessly connect to the Internet, e-mail, and corporate applications. A communication solution designed for the mobile professional, the AirCard 750 is used in markets around the world to wirelessly connect mobile users to important information when traveling or working away from the office. About the size of a credit card, the AirCard 750 enables wireless access to corporate networks, personal & business data, and other mission critical information when inserted into a Type II PC Card slot on a laptop or other handheld device. Now operating in more than 5,000 cities in the United States and offering GPRS roaming in 20 countries around the world, AT&T Wireless customers can now enjoy the freedom of always-on wireless connectivity while reaching data speeds of up to 56 Kbps over the AT&T Wireless network. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32364105 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:25:34 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Samsung MITs SGH-i500 Palm OS 5 GSM Smartphone Samsung Introduces the First Palm OS 5 GSM Smartphone CEBIT, HANNOVER, Germany, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PalmSource, Inc., provider of the world's most popular operating system for handhelds and smart phones, and the Palm OS subsidiary of Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM), and Samsung Electronics, today introduced the Mobile Information Terminals (MITs) SGH-i500, the world's first GSM-based next generation smart phone running on Palm OS(R) 5. Samsung's state of the art MITs SGH-i500 is the first Palm OS 5 smart phone that provides users superior multi-media and wireless capabilities, in a portable clamshell form factor. In addition to the classic features of Palm OS, the MITs SGH-i500 from Samsung provides innovative functionality with features that include an MMS Client and WAP 2.0 web browser for fast and convenient wireless Web access. The GPRS tri-band phone also boasts a 330,000 pixel CMOS digital camera supporting a 65,000 color TFT-LCD screen display, and a media pack for video, audio and imaging. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32369655 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:27:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Insurers to Push For "Black-Boxes" in NYC Taxis - WSJ NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - Crash-prone New York taxi cabs could soon have "black boxes" that give insurers more information on the circumstances surrounding accidents, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The newspaper said closely-held American Transit Insurance Co. -- an insurer of 80 percent of New York City's taxis and limousines -- has tapped International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) to get the project off the ground. IBM, which is developing what it expects will be a large business in telematics for monitoring and communicating with automobiles, is helping design the system and will run it, the Journal said. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32369769 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:28:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: VeriSign Do-Not-Call Service Selected by PaeTec Communications VeriSign Deploys TeleBlock(R), a Patented Call Compliance Technology, On Its Nationwide Network to Give Carriers Cost-Efficient, Automated Call Blocking Service for Telemarketing Centers MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN), the leading provider of digital trust services, announced today that PaeTec Communications, Inc., an integrated communications provider serving businesses in 27 markets nationwide, is implementing its Do-Not-Call service as a more cost-effective means of helping clients comply with telemarketing regulations. VeriSign's TeleBlock(R) Do-Not-Call service combines patented technology from Call Compliance, Inc. with VeriSign's trusted intelligent network infrastructure. This technology provides telecom carriers with an up-to-date, centralized source of the data in every available state, proprietary and third party "do-not-call" list, plus a technology solution for automated call blocking to telephone numbers in those databases. VeriSign's TeleBlock Do-Not-Call service keeps auto-dialed calls to restricted voice and fax numbers from being connected. Telemarketing companies are thus better able to comply with state and federal laws and avoid fines and penalties levied by states and the federal government for incidents of non-compliance with consumer demands to block unsolicited marketing calls by placing their names on do-not-call lists. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32371200 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:29:36 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: QUALCOMM Announces Strong Market Demand for Advanced Multimedia MSM6100 Chipset Solution - More Than 20 New Phone Designs to Be Based on Industry's Most Integrated Chipset and System Software, Eliminating the Need for Separate, Dedicated Multimedia Processors - SAN DIEGO, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced strong customer demand for its latest full featured third-generation (3G) solution, the MSM6100(TM) Mobile Station Modem (MSM(TM)) chipset and system software. The highly integrated 3G CDMA2000 1X multimedia solution supports the Launchpad(TM) suite of applications, enabling the development of sophisticated devices that provide high-quality stereo audio, high-resolution in-phone cameras, video recorder/players, 3D graphics for gaming, high- accuracy location tracking, as well as many other features. Currently, a total of eight handset manufacturers, including Curitel, Kyocera, LG Electronics, Motorola, Samsung Electronics, Sharp Corporation, Syntertek and Toshiba, covering 22 separate planned device designs, have already begun to take receipt of shipments of the MSM6100 chipset solution in order to support rollouts of these new devices to consumers this year. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32371695 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:32:52 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cingular Wireless Customers Get More Time to Talk Cingular Wireless Customers Get More Time to Talk Using Their Night And Weekend Minutes With the New '7-7-7' Rate Plan Cingular Customers Can Use Their Night And Weekend Minutes Two Hours Earlier SAN ANTONIO, March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless customers in Texas can now dig into their big bucket of night and weekend minutes two hours earlier with the new "7-7-7" rate plan. With this new $7 option, customers activating new service on all Home plans starting at $29.99 can start using their night and weekend minutes at 7pm instead of the typical 9pm hour. Perfect for individuals who primarily use evenings and weekends as their main calling time, this new rate plan gives Cingular customers yet another way to customize their wireless experience. "7-7-7" includes nationwide long distance from the home calling area and is available on all Home plans starting at $29.99. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32374621 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:33:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Outlines 'Smart Living' in the Digital Decade at CeBIT New Microsoft Consumer Offerings Showcased for the European Market HANOVER, Germany, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In its consumer-focused press conference at the CeBIT 2003 technology fair, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) re-emphasized its commitment to "Smart Living" in the Digital Decade by demonstrating new and ongoing developments in its cornerstone consumer-facing products and by showing how they have been tailored to meet the needs of German and broader European markets. Key progress was announced in consumer software offerings and services, including availability of Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Powered Smart Displays from Philips and ViewSonic Corp. in five European markets. Also announced was that Creative Technology Ltd. will be building a Portable Media Player based on the "Media2Go" platform. In addition, the availability of the Xbox Live(TM) service in Germany and other European markets was announced. Microsoft also outlined how these announcements further its efforts to build "smart," connected devices and services to help simplify people's daily tasks, improve their communications and entertain them for years to come. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32375407 ------------------------------ 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, 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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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #346 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 15 22:41:21 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2G3fLP02613; Sat, 15 Mar 2003 22:41:21 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 22:41:21 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303160341.h2G3fLP02613@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 V22 #347 TELECOM Digest Sat, 15 Mar 2003 22:41:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 347 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Sony Music Entertainment and QUALCOMM Successfully Deliver (Monty Solomon) EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband (Monty Solomon) Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Monty Solomon) America Online to Showcase Latest in Mobile Communications (Monty Solomon) 700 Club Faithful Back Disney in DirecTV Talks (Monty Solomon) Cingular Takes Fans 'Beyond The Game' During NCAA March Madness (Solomon) Verizon Wireless Provides Interactive Tools for Television (Monty Solomon) Motorola Broadband Demonstrates New Offerings For Connected (Monty Solomon) Motorola PR (Monty Solomon) Telecom Surplus and Auction Sites? (Dan Bethe) Re: Remembrances of FidoNet (Hudson Leighton) Re: WiFi Hotspot Directory Available (David B. Horvath) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:46:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sony Music Entertainment and QUALCOMM Successfully Deliver Sony Music Entertainment and QUALCOMM Successfully Deliver High-Bandwidth Content via CDMA2000 1xEV-DO and the BREW(TM) Platform - Music Videos From Sony Music Artists Delivered to BREW-Enabled Handsets Over CDMA2000 1xEV-DO - SAN DIEGO and NEW YORK, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, and Sony Music Entertainment (SME), a leading global producer, manufacturer and marketer of recorded music and video, today announced that the two companies have successfully delivered SME music video content to CDMA2000 1xEV-DO trial users with BREW-enabled handsets. The success of these tests further underscores the value of the high- bandwidth capabilities of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, coupled with the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless(TM) (BREW) platform, for delivering compelling content to end users. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32375501 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:47:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband EarthLink Becomes First Major Nationwide ISP to Deploy Full-Scale Voice-over- IP Solution to End-Users ATLANTA, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EarthLink (NASDAQ:ELNK) today announced the launch of EarthLink Unlimited Voice, the first comprehensive Voice-over-IP (VoIP) solution from a nationwide Internet service provider (ISP). The new Internet service includes free unlimited local, regional and long distance calling for a flat rate and such features as voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, call return and call forwarding. EarthLink Unlimited Voice provides enhanced telephone service to high- speed cable and DSL subscribers. The latest in digital telephony, EarthLink Unlimited Voice is an easy-to-install solution that inaugurates a new choice in residential telephone service. With the services' area code selection feature, customers are no longer tied to their local area code and can select from a list of over 115 area codes in cities across the United States. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32376873 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:50:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap By Lisa Baertlein PALO ALTO, Calif., March 13 (Reuters) - Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU), which last tax season did not see a penny from nearly two-thirds, or 10 million, of the tax filings prepared with its No. 1 TurboTax software, has angered some customers with new anti-piracy measures. Nevertheless, the Silicon Valley software shop has vowed to press on with its mission to get more users to pay for its popular do-it-yourself tax products -- a move that could alienate loyal customers but potentially increase revenues, analysts said. According to Intuit, the Internal Revenue Service said it received 15 million tax returns prepared with desktop versions of TurboTax during the 2001 tax filing season. Meanwhile, Intuit sold 5.5 million desktop copies of TurboTax. Web chat rooms have buzzed with customer complaints that Intuit's addition of Macrovision Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MVSN) SafeCast technology, which ties each TurboTax program to a single computer, violates privacy and puts users' machines at risk of damage. The flap has also spawned a consumer lawsuit seeking class-action status. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32386891 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:55:49 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: America Online to Showcase Latest in Mobile Communications DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 14, 2003-- Wireless Instant Messaging, Entertainment and Other New Mobile Features at AOL Booth, #4653 Hall E, in Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans America Online Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, will showcase the company's latest wireless features and content services for handsets and handheld computing devices from popular brands including the AOL(R) Instant Messenger(TM) service, CNN, AOL(R) Music, ICQ(R) and T9(R) Text Input in America Online's exhibit booth (#4653, Hall E) during CTIA Wireless 2003. The show runs from Monday, March 17 through Wednesday, March 19. With the theme of "Connect, Inform, Entertain," visitors to the AOL booth will find a virtual neighborhood showcasing how AOL's wireless features and services keep consumers in touch with the people and things they care about while they're on the go. A wide-range of products and services will be demonstrated including: ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32398658 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:53:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 700 Club Faithful Back Disney in DirecTV Talks By Peter Henderson LOS ANGELES, March 13 (Reuters) - Satellite broadcaster DirecTV on Thursday accused Walt Disney Co.(NYSE:DIS) of helping to stir up a massive protest by viewers of "The 700 Club," as Disney negotiated to get the satellite broadcaster to pay more for the ABC Family channel, which carries the Christian program. DirecTV, a subsidiary of General Motors Corp.(NYSE:GM) unit Hughes Electronics Corp.(NYSE:GMH), has said it will pull ABC Family by the end of the month if ABC does not back down in requesting a 35-percent price hike for the channel. "The 700 Club" is carried on ABC Family, which was originally founded by "700 Club" host, Pat Robertson. The televangelist lashed out on the air against DirecTV during a broadcast of his show, saying, "I don't like it and you shouldn't like it." Robertson asked viewers to call a DirecTV official at a telephone number he gave out. A spokeswoman for Robertson quoted him as saying off the air, "I feel like a mouse in a room with dancing elephants. It is like General Motors versus Disney." ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32390365 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 23:33:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cingular Takes Fans 'Beyond The Game' During NCAA(R) March Madness National Interactive Polling, Special Consumer Promotions, Ringtones and A Sweepstakes Bring College Hoops Fans Into the Action ATLANTA, March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless today announced it is once again teaming up with CBS Sports to offer exclusive wireless data access during the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. As an NCAA Corporate Champion, Cingular will offer fans numerous ways to show their team spirit and root their teams to victory this Spring. Who's the best player in college basketball? Think your team will make it to the Final Four? Take your shot and vote on it. During tournament coverage, CBS Sports will display questions about college basketball, and ask fans to respond via text messaging through their Cingular Wireless service. The votes will be tallied in real time and the results will be presented back to the viewing audience. Cingular offered Interactive polling during select regular season NCAA men's basketball games on CBS. The number of fans participating quadrupled from the February 15 telecast to the February 23 game. In conjunction with interactive polling, Cingular is working with CBS sportsline.com, NCAAsports.com and wireless platform provider Air2Web to provide SMS score alerts to update fans on scores during various points in the game. Customers can go to www.cingular.com/ncaa to sign up for score alerts to be sent to their phones near the start of the game, halftime or at the game's finale. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32399920 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 23:49:02 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon Wireless to Provide Interactive Tools for Television Leading U.S. Carrier Grants Short-Codes to Major Television Networks, Urges Other Wireless Carriers to Assign Codes BEDMINSTER, N.J., March 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless today announced it will be first among U.S. wireless service providers to broadly assign common text messaging service short-codes so television programmers can use the capabilities of wireless to interact directly with their entire audience. Using messaging services, TV viewers could participate in live voting on game shows, reality TV shows, sporting events, contests and other programs as entertainment companies begin to use text messaging as a main form of audience communication. Verizon Wireless has assigned five-digit codes to nine national and cable networks that will allow the television industry to prompt viewers to vote, participate in contests, help determine a show's outcome and more just by sending a text message from their phone to the network using its assigned five-digit code. The specific, allocated five-digit codes are: * 62288 (NBCTV) to NBC/GE * 36988 (FOXTV) to Fox Network, Fox News, Fox Sports * 22788 (CBSTV) to CBS * 22288 (ABCTV) to ABC Television Network * 89288 (TWBTV) to the WB Network * 87688 (UPNTV) to UPN Network * 26688 (CNNTV) to CNN * 37761 (ESPN1) to ESPN/ABC Sports * 68811 (MTV11) to Music Television Known for their fierce loyalty, reality-program fans may be able to have a voice that counts. Viewers may be asked to help determine the outcome of contestant-based shows; cast a vote for the game MVP; be asked for their opinion during news coverage of political debates-the potential for interactive participation is endless. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32403329 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 23:58:29 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Motorola Broadband Demonstrates New Offerings for the Connected Motorola's Innovative Products Allow Operators to Confidently Expand the Broadband Services They Offer to the Home and Office HANNOVER, Germany, CeBIT, March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) Broadband Communications Sector, the world's leading supplier of digital cable set-tops and cable modems, will display innovative "connected home" products at CeBIT 2003. Motorola will display a portfolio of wireless cable modem gateways, digital set-tops, telephony and home networking products -- all designed to seamlessly leverage operators' existing broadband infrastructure. Ultimately, these Motorola devices can provide new revenue opportunities to broadband service providers, and greater choice, convenience, and control to consumers. Network operators can offer these devices to their customers, bundling them with new applications and services. Motorola Broadband's heritage in building cable networks ensures the devices' compatibility, ease of use, and security. ... http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32412170 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 00:06:47 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Motorola PR MTV and Motorola Rock The Mobile World With Three-Year $75 Million Alliance - Mar 12, 2003 07:00 AM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32344459 Motorola Knocks Down Cost and Time Barriers for Software Developers - Mar 13, 2003 01:01 AM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32368340 Motorola Demonstrates Mobile Content Alliances - Bringing Advanced Games, Music and Entertainment to 2003 Handset Portfolio - Mar 13, 2003 01:01 AM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32368348 Motorola Selected to Deliver US$69 Million Hong Kong Police Command And Control Communications System - Mar 13, 2003 08:40 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32392431 Motorola Launches the c18 - a New CDMA 1x Communications Module - Mar 14, 2003 05:42 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32412767 Mobile Phone Facility With Motorola Universal Interface Now Available In Various Mercedes-Benz Automobile Series - Mar 14, 2003 05:51 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32412885 Motorola Launches the g20 - a New, Extremely Small, GSM/GPRS Communications Module - Mar 14, 2003 06:05 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32413053 Motorola Continues to Drive and Excite Consumers with Complete Wireless Communications Solutions at CeBIT 2003 - Mar 14, 2003 06:07 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32413097 Motorola Drives Volvo's Four-C1 Technology (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept)1 - Mar 14, 2003 06:12 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32413176 'MotoMania' Continues as Motorola Unveils New Mobile Handsets at CeBIT - Mar 14, 2003 06:21 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32413324 ------------------------------ From: dan_bethe@yahoo.com (Dan Bethe) Subject: Telecom Surplus and Auction Sites? Date: 14 Mar 2003 17:53:25 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi all. I need some suggestions on auction sites, equipment listing sites, Usenet groups, e-zines, magazines, or other low cost (preferably free) places to advertise some used telephony equipment. The postings need to be prompt and cheap. This includes switches, voicemail systems, and T1 equipment all circa 1995. Stuff like Nortel, Excel, Dialogic, and Brooktrout, mostly ISA-based computer telephony so far. I may end up with a consistant supply of it but I am not personally a telecom specialist. It'd be grand if I could get some help identifying some of the equipment based on photos and serial numbers. Here are the results of my cursory research into the secondary telephony market so far: http://carrierworld.com/ (great attitudes, and supporters of open source software) http://www.thephoneconnection.com/ http://www.c-o-systems.com/ http://www.telexpressinc.com/home.html There are a few telecom-based auction sites which look rather fly-by-night. They are knockoffs of the ebay.com user interface and they have zero or nearly zero auctions listed in all categories. Not something I'd trust so far. I haven't found a telecom-related Usenet group which explicitly supports commercial postings, and I won't spam anywhere. And finally, we have the everlasting ebay.com which has very little focus on telecom, virtually no support, and which has relatively high listing and payment fees. I kinda need some assistance once in a while since I'm not a veteran telephony engineer and sometimes can't even identify a few of my items. I'm sensing that perhaps I might find some splinters of telephony support amongst the secondary IT market. Thanks for any advice! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, you may know, I ocassionally put notices like you are talking about here in the Digest. Not daily, but now and then. Some of the readers here like to pick up unique and difficult to find telecom items for their own use. Its been suggested to me in the past that maybe I could either start a digest specifically to do these things, or maybe use a small section of the Digest web site. I'd be glad to help you on this, within reason. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hudsonl@skypoint.com (Hudson Leighton) Subject: Re: Remembrances of FidoNet Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:20:53 -0600 Organization: MRRP In article , Jack wrote: > In our region some of the coordinators didn't seem to think much of > the Internet (they probably quite correctly perceived that it would > destroy their petty fiefdoms, not to mention pointing out the > foolishness of their geographically-based topology). The sysop that helped me get on Fidonet was excommunicated from Fidonet for suggestiong that they use the internet as the backbone. He said fine, set up a internet feed and that was the end of my Fidonetting. I acually got on the Internet before I got on Fidonet, lost my access to the Internet and got on Fidonet because he would get me the newsgroups I wanted. -Hudson P.S. remember the joys of the nodelist? http://www.skypoint.com/~hudsonl ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 17:59:42 EST From: dhorvath@cobs.com (David B. Horvath, CCP) Subject: Re: WiFi Hotspot Directory Available On 13 Mar 2003 13:23:54 -0800, riverwlk@ntsource.com (A Nicholas) posted: > Riverwalk Software announced the availability of The WiFi HotSpot > Directory, a free database of over 2000 public wireless Internet > access locations. The database is being provided at no charge to > consumers and has been completed in cooperation with a number of > leading HotSpot providers. Riverwalk is providing the directory in > Microsoft Excel, Palm Address Book, Handmark's MobileDB, and comma > delimited ASCII formats. > www.makewirelesswork.com This is really SPAM. There is no real content; it does allow signing up for the directory of installers that will be limited to 3 per metro area for a fee of $100 ... - David [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I never could understand why someone could not make directories/databases like this at a more reasonable cost, and with more reasonable terms of service. Why only three per metro area? Like with the message in this issue from the man looking for a non-commercial way to place his items for sale. I really do enjoy matching people up with things/people they are looking for, such as directories, auction sites, etc and I *could* do some of these things easily (at least prior to the onset of my brain desease I could), but you know I do not like spamming or getting spammed. And I am dreadfully afraid of letting money get in my way, which can happen easily, but still, I do have to eat, like everyone else. The greatest gift I could receive would be a way *using computer* to have a regular source of income and be able to eliminate having share days every month. Maybe I should set up a place on the web site for telecom stuff for sale, directories, etc. What do you people think? We are going to have a share day again Monday; the person who suggested breaking it in two parts each month was apparently correct. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #347 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 16 17:08:39 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2GM8dc07482; Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:08:39 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:08:39 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303162208.h2GM8dc07482@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 V22 #348 TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Mar 2003 17:08:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 348 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Student Charged With Hacking at U-Texas (Monty Solomon) Re: The Myth of Interference/Internet Architect David Reed (Paul Wallich) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Raymond Mereniuk) Tech's Love-Hate Relationship With the DMCA (Monty Solomon) MP3 Insider: It Takes a Village to Beat the iPod (Monty Solomon) Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Geoffrey Welsh) E.T.at USH Phoned Home, Left, Didn't Leave Forwarding Number (P Earnhardt) Re: Palm Tungsten W Handheld Available for First Time in U.S. (lenman33) Tungsten W ? Can it Be Unlocked? (lenman33) Re: EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband (Ron Chapman) Time to Leave (Brian Vita) Last Laugh! Totally Outrageous; Very Hysterical (Patrick Townson) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 10:49:19 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Student Charged With Hacking at U-Texas By Karin Brulliard Special to The Washington Post AUSTIN, March 14 -- Federal prosecutors today charged a University of Texas student with breaking into a school database and stealing more than 55,000 student, faculty and staff names and Social Security numbers in one of the nation's biggest cases of data theft involving a university. Christopher Andrew Phillips, 20, a junior who studies natural sciences, turned himself in at the U.S. Secret Service office in Austin. He was charged with unauthorized access to a protected computer and using false identification with intent to commit a federal offense. Authorities had announced the cyber-theft last week. It sent shock waves through the campus of the nation's largest university, prompting students and staff to consider replacing credit cards and freezing bank accounts. There is no evidence that Phillips disseminated or used the information, officials said. Phillips was released without bail and will have "limited access to computers," Johnny Sutton, U.S. attorney for western Texas, said at a news conference. "The main message today is that these cases will be taken seriously, these cases will be prosecuted, and this case will be prosecuted vigorously." If convicted, Phillips faces as many as five years in prison and a $500,000 fine, Sutton said. After searching Phillips's Austin and Houston residences, Secret Service agents recovered the names and Social Security numbers on a computer in his Austin home, Sutton said. According to the indictment, Phillips wrote and executed a computer program in early March that enabled him to break into the university database that tracks staff attendance at training programs. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27370-2003Mar14.html ------------------------------ From: Paul Wallich Subject: Re: The Myth of Interference/Internet Architect David Reed Explains Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 12:43:26 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > Internet architect David Reed explains how bad science created the > broadcast industry. > By David Weinberger > March 12, 2003 | There's a reason our television sets so outgun us, > spraying us with trillions of bits while we respond only with the > laughable trickles from our remotes. To enable signals to get through > intact, the government has to divide the spectrum of frequencies into > bands, which it then licenses to particular broadcasters. NBC has a > license and you don't. > Thus, NBC gets to bathe you in "Friends," followed by a very special > "Scrubs," and you get to sit passively on your couch. It's an > asymmetric bargain that dominates our cultural, economic and > political lives -- only the rich and famous can deliver their > messages -- and it's all based on the fact that radio waves in their > untamed habitat interfere with one another. > Except they don't. > http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/12/spectrum/ I'm confused by this article. Is Reed proposing to exchange regulation by the FCC with regulation by whatever consortium ends up owning the patents for his new kind of radio? paul ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 04:17:16 GMT On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:50:48 -0500, Monty Solomon posted the following to comp.dcom.telecom: > PALO ALTO, Calif., March 13 (Reuters) - Intuit Inc. > (NASDAQ:INTU), which last tax season did not see a penny from nearly > two-thirds, or 10 million, of the tax filings prepared with its > No. 1 TurboTax software, has angered some customers with new > anti-piracy measures. > According to Intuit, the Internal Revenue Service said it received > 15 million tax returns prepared with desktop versions of TurboTax > during the 2001 tax filing season. Meanwhile, Intuit sold 5.5 million > desktop copies of TurboTax. The conclusion that they are being ripped off by 2/3 of the return filers is BS. A paying user of a single licensed copy of TurboTax can file multiple returns. For example, husband and wife filing separate returns, instead of jointly, and also filing returns for children over 13. One can also use TurboTax to prepare your aged parents' return, your dumb brother's, etc. You can't use the standard version to prepare returns for others commercially. In other words, it is entirely to be expected that considerably more returns would be filed with TT than the number of copies licensed or "sold." That's not to deny that there undoubtedly is piracy, but it's not 2/3 by a long shot. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD, USA (delete NOSPAM from address to mail me) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 23:06:32 -0800 From: Raymond Mereniuk Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap Organization: FBN Technical Services Fri, 14 Mar 2003 Monty Solomon wrote > PALO ALTO, Calif., March 13 (Reuters) - Intuit Inc. > (NASDAQ:INTU), which last tax season did not see a penny from nearly > two-thirds, or 10 million, of the tax filings prepared with its > No. 1 TurboTax software, has angered some customers with new > anti-piracy measures. (deleted text) > According to Intuit, the Internal Revenue Service said it received > 15 million tax returns prepared with desktop versions of TurboTax > during the 2001 tax filing season. Meanwhile, Intuit sold 5.5 million > desktop copies of TurboTax. > deleted text > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32386891 In Canada Intuit purchased CanTax and converted CanTax users to their QuickTax product. In Canada you are allowed to produce 5 tax returns with each installation of QuickTax. I am sure you are given some similar provisions in the USA. Most husband/wife families would use one installation to produce 2 returns. I know many people who utilize the maximum of 5 returns. The news article quoted above makes no mention of this. Kinda makes the article look real silly for anyone who has used the product. But, it does make for a better headline and reading for those that want an excuse to "get" those pirates. In Canada the CanTax product was superior to QuickTax. The data entry screens didn't resemble the tax forms but once you used it for a few tax seasons it was a very powerful tool. The QuickTax product offers data entry screens which resemble the tax forms. Great for those who have used a real tax form recently but very difficult to use if you hadn't used a real tax form for 10 years. They copy protected the QuickTax product in Canada last year but it appears to be a different system than that used in the US this year. They are making it real difficult to have any loyalty to them. With the CanTax product I could copy the application/data to a network drive, backup and use at any time in the future. With the Canadian QuickTax I must keep the CD if I ever want to print an old return. If they use the same system as the US it is definitely time to change to a different tax program. In Canada one company is offering a web based service where if you don't get a refund you don't pay for the service. After dealing with viruses, trojans, adware and misbehaving applications almost anything is better than an application which installs active components you can't uninstall. I am sure it could be uninstalled if you hack about in the Windows registry but most users shouldn't be expected to do this to uninstall an application unless they are advised in advance. Of course, no one would advise of this feature/benefit of their product as no one would buy it. It would appear those that want to pursue a legal settlement may be entitled to this action. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 22:50:45 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Tech's Love-Hate Relationship With The DMCA By Declan McCullagh March 10, 2003, 4:00 AM PT WASHINGTON -- When it comes to the subject of copyright protection, neither Intel nor Hewlett-Packard can make up its mind what to do. The two companies seem to simultaneously love and loathe the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the 1998 law that's famously unpopular among hackers, programmers and the open-source crowd. Last week, Intel and HP's names appeared on a press release circulated by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) opposing crucial changes to section 1201 of the DMCA. Specifically, the BSA lashed out at a bill that would make it legal to bypass copy-protection mechanisms -- as long as you're not planning to circulate the resulting file to tens of thousands of your closest friends. The BSA, likely the world's most influential antipiracy group, offered the following warning: "Of particular concern, provisions of this legislation allowing the disablement of technological protection measures on copyrighted materials would provide safe harbor for pirates who could easily claim that the 'intent' of their actions were legal even if it resulted in knowingly unlawful infringement and economic loss to copyright owners." That means researchers like Ed Felten at Princeton University and companies like Static Control that sell toner cartridge chips will remain vulnerable to civil or even criminal prosecution. So will people who sell patches to DVD-burning software or distribute descrambling utilities that let legally purchased DVDs be watched on a Linux computer. In other words, the BSA, speaking on behalf of its members including Intel and HP, thinks these DMCA prohibitions should remain intact. So it opposes two related bills in Congress--one championed by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and the other by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. Yet Intel, speaking individually, has been lobbying to fix the same portion of the DMCA. Intel's name appears at the top of Boucher's list of sponsors of his bill -- anathema to the BSA -- that would defang section 1201 of the DMCA. The law currently says that "no person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, device, component" that is designed to bypass copy-protection schemes. HP, too, appears to differ with its own trade association. During a meeting with CNET News.com last month, HP Senior Vice President Pradeep Jotwani characterized recent uses of the DMCA as "stretching it." (HP appears to have learned its lesson after invoking the DMCA itself last year, then hastily beating a retreat.) http://news.com.com/2010-1071-991676.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2003 23:39:18 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: MP3 Insider: It Takes a Village to Beat the iPod By Eliot Van Buskirk Senior editor, CNET Reviews Apple's iPod has been our favorite MP3 player for more than a year, mostly because of its world-beating design. The player's physical wins are obvious: a small size, an intuitive menu structure, and the much-lauded scroll wheel. The iPod's software is equally impressive and subtler than most since you barely notice it. Currently, no MP3 player integrates with its corresponding file-transfer software as well as the iPod does with iTunes. And because players have to be synced to your computer regularly in order to load new songs, seamless integration with your digital-music collection is a key denominator in the perfect-MP3-player equation. Cases in point are the Mac and PC iterations of the iPod. The Mac versions received a 9.0 rating from CNET, while the Windows models scored an 8.7. The reason for this ratings disparity is simple: the Mac iPod integrates much more tightly with iTunes than the Windows version does with MusicMatch. On a Mac, all you have to do is plug in the iPod; iTunes launches, checks for new content, and syncs it to the portable device's hard drive without crashing or freezing. The MusicMatch experience on a PC is decidedly bumpier http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/0-3219397-8-20917251-1.html ------------------------------ From: Geoffrey Welsh Subject: Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 00:03:01 -0500 Organization: Bell Sympatico Michael D. Sullivan wrote: > They may get fired or disciplined if they exercise that discretion the > wrong way ... in which case their union, which is more concerned with whether the accused pay their dues than with whether they are guilty, will take action against the jurisdiction in question. I'm not against unions, I'm just against corruption wherever I see it ... and I can't tell you how desperately I want not to see it in police unions. Geoffrey Welsh This address is not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Unsolicited bulk mail is spam, no matter what regulations (real or imagined) it complies with! FIGHT SPAM AND SCAMS: DISCONNECT CHINA FROM THE INTERNET! In message news:telecom22.346.5@telecom-digest.org: > On Thu, 13 Mar 2003 10:46:01 -0700, Joey Lindstrom posted the following > to comp.dcom.telecom: >> On Wed, 12 Mar 2003 02:28:56 EST, editor@telecom-digest.org >> wrote: >>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How police work from one day to the >>> next is a mystery to me also. Believe me, if it had been some sort of >>> crime to which the officer(s) personally had taken great umbrage, they >>> would have investigated it forever. But there is absolutely no reason >>> when a search/arrest warrant is issued by a judge somewhere and cops >>> decide to go out and execute it a few days later at their leisure, >>> they couldn't listen to reason about stolen ID, etc. After all, it was >>> not a life or death emergency for the officers at that point. They >>> were just trying to be assholes at that point, although maybe the >>> newly arrested prisoner had been an asshole with them also. We do not >>> know the whole story. And no one likes an asshole. PAT] >> OK, I don't know the whole story here and neither do you, so anything >> we have to say on it is speculation. But from what I understand, I >> don't see that the cops did anything wrong. A judge issues an arrest >> warrant to pick up "John Smith", the cops go and get John Smith. >> "John's" defence is that he didn't do what it was that he's accused >> of, he says somebody else stole his ID and did the dirty deeds. > In the U.S., judges don't issue arrest warrants on their own intiative. > They sign warrants that are filled out and submitted by cops, > accompanied by affidavits or declarations from persons (cops, witnesses, > etc.) that are supposed to demonstrate probable cause to believe the > perpetrator has committed a crime. The judge is supposed to determine, > based on the affidavits, that there is probable cause, and only then > sign the warrant. The warrant authorizes the cops to arrest the person. > It does not command the cops to arrest the person. Cops retain > "enforcement discretion," which enables them to decide whether or not to > proceed with an investigation or arrest based on their evaluation of the > evidence available to them. They may get fired or disciplined if they > exercise that discretion the wrong way, so they are likely to call their > superior officer on the radio if there is a question. >> Fine. But it's not up to the cops to decide this. It's up to the >> judge. The cops bring him in -- they're charged with arresting "John >> Smith" and they DO HAVE "John Smith". Whether "John Smith" is innocent >> or guilty of the crimes he has committed is for a court of law to >> decide, not the cops on the street. > Again, cops do not have the ministerial duty of enforcing an arrest > warrant; they have some degree of discretion. They decide when, where, > and whether to pick up the perp. If a cop has a warrant to pick up John > Smith on a possession charge, and he sees John Smith going up to a > suspected drug kingpin, he doesn't arrest him on the spot. He waits > until he sees what happens with Da Man. If he sees Da Man committing a > bigger crime, he forgets about John Smith and goes for the big fish. > If, in the process, John Smith gets away but the big guy is arrested on > solid evidence, the cop hasn't breached any duty to arrest John Smith. > The arrest warrant remains outstanding and the cops can pick him up any > time they want to -- if they still want to. > Michael D. Sullivan > Bethesda, MD, USA > (delete NOSPAM from address to mail me) ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: E.T.at USH Phoned Home, Left, Didn't Leave Forwarding Number Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 00:07:23 -0700 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Universal Studios Hollywood has quietly closed its "E.T. Adventure" attraction. http://www.jimhillmedia.com/nav4/index.htm?../articles/03122003.1.htm~contentFrame "[...] the interior queue for Universal's 'E.T. Adventure' really is quite impressive. With its darkly atmospheric forest setting (with that semi-authentic pine scent) as well as those periodic appearances by Botanicus. I always marveled at that part of the attraction. What a nice job Universal had done." "[...] But as for the rest of the 'E.T. Adventure' ... with its somewhat scary but decidedly unlifelike policemen and government agents threatening guests as they race through the forest to all of those nauseatingly cute Cloud Bearers, Tickley Moot Moots and Jumpums that populated the Green Planet, I just found this attraction to be a huge disappointment." And I'm guessing that I wasn't the only one. Given that -- within a year or so of the official opening of USH's 'E.T. Adventure' back in 1992 -- attendance levels for this multi-million dollar attraction started heading for the basement. For the last few years, even when every other ride or show at Universal Studios Hollywood has had a 30 - 45 minute wait, the 'E.T.' ride was always a walk-on." My favorite part of the attraction was just when you exited the building: at the base of a tree was an unpresuming replica of ET's "phone home" transmitter, faithfully flashing symbols on the Speak-and-Spell while the circular saw blade advances, notch by notch. Such wonderful stuff. The attraction is still open at the Universal parks in Orlando and Japan -- for now. --phil ------------------------------ From: lfmadison@charter.net (lenman33) Subject: Re: Palm Tungsten W Handheld Available for the First Time in U.S. Date: 16 Mar 2003 00:12:03 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Has anyone been able to unlock the TW yet. I am on sprint PCS I don't want to change carriers. I also want the Tungsten W very badly But will it work on SPCS is it possible? I also want to know if there is a speaker phone option on the TW or just a silly headset. I have read that there is a TW case which gives it a "clam Shell" like feature and you will be able to talk on it just like a normal phone; is out yet? where can I find it anyone have the link?. I is apparent to me that Phone PDA are making a bad bussiness choice by locking into a certain cell provider. If they look at the market we are jumping from carrier to carrier as soon as the contract is up or we find a better deal. So why tie yourself to AT&T? I guess my last comment is that if the Treo 300 was a little faster and a made with titanium and a little more future proof; I would not be here searching the web for a better option. Maybe I'll just give in and get the Treo 300 at least it has its own (well two) product specific web sites. ------------------------------ From: lfmadison@charter.net (lenman33) Subject: Tungsten W ? Can It Be Unlocked? Date: 16 Mar 2003 01:01:01 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Has anyone been able to unlock the TW yet? I am on Sprint PCS. I don't want to change carriers. I also want the Tungsten W very badly But will it work on SPCS is it possible? I also want to know if there is a speaker phone option on the TW or just a silly headset. I have read that there is a TW case which gives it a "clam Shell" like feature and you will be able to talk on it just like a normal phone; is out yet? Where can I find it anyone have the link?. It is apparent to me that Phone PDA are making a bad business choice by locking into a certain cell provider. If they look at the market we are jumping from carrier to carrier as soon as the contract is up or we find a better deal. So why tie yourself to AT&T? I guess my last comment is that if the Treo 300 was a little faster and a made with titanium and a little more future proof; I would not be here searching the web for a better option. Maybe i'll just give in and get the Treo 300 at least it has its own (well two) product specific web sites. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 06:37:03 -0500 From: Ron Chapman Subject: Re: EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > EarthLink Becomes First Major Nationwide ISP to Deploy Full-Scale > Voice-over-IP Solution to End-Users > ATLANTA, March 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EarthLink > (NASDAQ:ELNK) today announced the launch of EarthLink Unlimited Voice, > the first comprehensive Voice-over-IP (VoIP) solution from a > nationwide Internet service provider (ISP). The new Internet service > includes free unlimited local, regional and long distance calling for > a flat rate and such features as voicemail, caller ID, call waiting, > call return and call forwarding. > EarthLink Unlimited Voice provides enhanced telephone service to > high- speed cable and DSL subscribers. The latest in digital > telephony, EarthLink Unlimited Voice is an easy-to-install solution > that inaugurates a new choice in residential telephone service. With > the services' area code selection feature, customers are no longer > tied to their local area code and can select from a list of over 115 > area codes in cities across the United States. > http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32376873 Also see http://www.vonage.com for a similar service that isn't tied to an ISP. It's a great idea for a second line. ------------------------------ Reply-To: Brian Vita From: Brian Vita Subject: Time to Leave Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 07:46:54 -0500 Organization: Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. After being a subscriber for 10+ years, its time to leave your digest. It has gone from being the premier source of telecommunications news to becoming Pat Townson's personal soapbox on politics, the police, minorities and whatever other unrelated topic is grinding his beans. Another great internet institution dies. Brian T. Vita, President Cinema Service & Supply, Inc. 75 Walnut St. - Ste 4 Peabody, MA 01960-5626 USA [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Goodbye, Brian. I am sorry to see you leaving. I have not checked the mailing list lately (it is all an automated thing now, via majordomo) so I do not know off hand if you are on it or not, but a a courtesy if you ask me to, I will manually examine the list and remove your name/email address unless you prefer to do it yourself. And regards comp.dcom.telecom, if you wish I can manipulate my nntpxmit script and mark all references to cssinc.com as 'seen-by' or 'got it' so that the Liberal Crap (as some would say) does not litter your news spool at all. But I hate to do that unless you are the only reader at cssinc.com. Anyway, adios. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Patrick Townson Subject: Last Laugh! Totally Outrageous! Completely Hysterical! Date: Saturday, 15 Mar 2003 16:51:26 -0600 Someone recently (I think it was Mike Sandman) said to me, 'there are only two categories of things on Internet these days. One is Telecom Digest; the other is pornography.' Well, I think Mike has to stand corrected. There are lots of things to see/read on Internet besides this Digest and/or pornography. Still, pornography *does* have a large role in the modern net. I have here a 'worm program' which goes about the net, in all the dark and dingy corners, collecting up pornographic jpg files for you. This worm faithfully gathers it all for you and puts it all (all million or so jpg files) in a single directory where you can view it all just like going to a cinema. You can download thousands and thousands of porn pics and movies with one click! The worm's name is ThumbGal Free Porn Downloader and you can fetch your own personal copy at http://www.thumbgal.com . After you download the worm, it takes a few seconds to get started but once it starts, the porn starts rolling in from everywhere. It crawls around everywhere, gathering up the pictures it finds. If you have DSL or cable or some sort of broadband connection like myself, assume you will get 25,000 or more downloads of filth the first day it is running. On dialup, its a bit slower, but a couple thousand pics overnight is common. Everything it finds it loads in a single directory called 'Gallery' so you can conveniently bring up a slide show of the whole thing (or conversely, if you grow nauseous it is easy in Windows or DOS to just delete 'Gallery' to the recycle bin. Be sure to bleach!) I've no idea what algorythym is used by the worm to decide what is 'pornographic' and what is not, but it is a good one. It seems to know about 'back doors' to get into the movie sites and harvest them all. If you want to get movies to watch then you have to 'register' your copy of the Porn Harvesting Worm with its inventor, and pay a one time fee of about $25.00, but for just pictures, ala slide-show style, there is no charge, but it would be courteous to register the thing anyway, under some name/email address or another. ThumbGal / Kazaa Porn Downloader is a program that instantly downloads (to the extent that internet is instantanous, the individual sites are functional and traffic congestion is not too bad) thousands upon thousands of porn pics and movies by harvesting them from TGP's and movie posts. A user with broadband internet access can easily download 25,000 pics and movies overnight and a dial-up user can easily download 2,000 pics and movies overnight. If you download it, don't be too anxious if it sits there for a few seconds to get its bearings and start on its journey around the net. It *will* eventually start looking and producing. Even if you find most of it totally outrageous, boring or too funny for words and wind up dumping most of it into the recycle bin, that's okay. Turn it on again tomorrow night and get another 105 MB of it. This morning I was told I had 27 *thousand* porn JPG files to view. That address again to get your personal copy of the crawling Porn Worm is http://www.thumbgal.com . According to its inventor, he has already had two million downloads of it. Caveat: while the worm is out looking for pictures and movies of a scurrilous nature, I am not at all sure what else it is looking at, and who it reports to, if you get my drift. So my advice is DO NOT register it until after you have looked it over carefully and are satisfied with its output, since you have to use a credit card to pay the $25 to get movies isolated by the worm. First, you want to study the pictures closely and make sure you are not getting tricked somehow. Enjoy, and get a good laugh out of it, especially at the guys who run those sites and expect monthly/daily payment via 900 phone or credit cards. Let them know you don't pay for any of that stuff! PAT ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #348 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 18 00:31:48 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2I5VmG14338; Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:31:48 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:31:48 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303180531.h2I5VmG14338@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 V22 #349 TELECOM Digest Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:32:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 349 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update (Canada) #374, March 17, 2003 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (John Higdon) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Mark Peters) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Jim Haynes) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Charles B. Wilber) Talk to Your Kids About Cell Phone Use (Monty Solomon) Your Cell Phone Is for Talking? How Passe (Monty Solomon) All News, All Video, All the Time (Monty Solomon) New Windows Laptops Feature Processor That Stretches Battery (M. Solomon) Re: EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband (John Levine) Re: The Myth of Interference/Internet Architect David Reed (Marcus Jervis) A Share Day Once Again (TELECOM Digest Editor) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 11:09:34 -0500 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #374, March 17, 2003 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 374: March 17, 2003 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/letstalk ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: http://www.cygcom.com ** ERICSSON CANADA: http://www.ericsson.ca ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: http://www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Bell Nexxia R.I.P. ** Delay for Price Cap Filings? ** CRTC Suspends Telco Local Promotions ** RIM Intros Licence Program, New BlackBerry ** Deutsche Telecom Reports Record Loss ** WorldCom to Write Off $80B ** U.S. to Create National "Do Not Call" List ** Charges Laid in Enron Video Scandal ** Cities Petition Supreme Court on Ledcor ** CWTA Conference Postponed ** ExpressVu Raises Rates ** First Nations SchoolNet Funds Extended ** Star Choice Laying Off 20% of Staff ** Telus Offers Web Meetings ** Submarine Cable Construction Boom Ends ** Telecom Employment Flat 1990-2002 ** Yak Expands Into Quebec ** Stephenson to Head Ivey School ** Calder Named Voice Mobility Chair ** When You Need a Second Opinion in Telecom BELL NEXXIA R.I.P.: In a February filing that has gone virtually unnoticed in the industry, Bell Canada told the CRTC that it will fold its national accounts organization, Bell Nexxia, back into Bell Canada on April 1. The move follows a CRTC ruling that telcos cannot use subsidiaries such as Nexxia to bypass regulation. (See Telecom Update #362) ** In a parallel move, Aliant has told the CRTC that it will wind up its Advanced Communications subsidiary on April 1. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2002/8638/bell/030210_1.doc DELAY FOR PRICE CAP FILINGS? Bell Canada, Aliant, MTS, SaskTel, and Telus say that they can't file this year's price cap numbers by the March 31 deadline, because the CRTC has not yet ruled on their 2002 submissions or finalized the assignment of services to price cap baskets. The carriers say they will need two months after the CRTC issues those decisions to prepare this year's filings. CRTC SUSPENDS TELCO LOCAL PROMOTIONS: The CRTC has expanded its review of telco winback deals to include all local service promotions. Until it completes the review, the Commission will not approve any new special offers for local telephone service. (See Telecom Update #366) http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2003/pt2003-1-1.htm RIM INTROS LICENCE PROGRAM, NEW BLACKBERRY: On Friday, Research in Motion launched a licensing program that allows other wireless manufacturers to incorporate BlackBerry technology in their cellphones and wireless devices. Early agreements have been signed with Nokia, HTC, and Symbian. ** RIM also announced North American availability of the Blackberry 6210, a voice and data equipped unit for GSM/GPRS networks that is lighter and lower priced than previous models. DEUTSCHE TELECOM REPORTS RECORD LOSS: Last week France Telecom announced the biggest corporate loss in French history. This week, Deutsche Telecom went one better by reporting a loss of 24.6 billion euros (C$39.4B) in 2002, the largest loss in European corporate history. Three-quarters of the losses were writedowns related to T-Mobile (formerly Voicestream), DT's U.S. wireless company. WORLDCOM TO WRITE OFF $80B: WorldCom says it is writing off US$45B of goodwill and reducing the value of $45B of equipment and other intangible assets to $10B. WorldCom says it expects its stock to have no value when it emerges from bankruptcy. U.S. TO CREATE NATIONAL "DO NOT CALL" LIST: U.S. President Bush has signed legislation to create a national "do not call" list, expected to be in operation this summer. Consumers will be able to enroll by phone or Internet, and telemarketers who call people on the list may be fined up to US$11,000 for each offense. CHARGES LAID IN ENRON VIDEO SCANDAL: Two Enron managers have been charged with fraud in relation to the company's failed Video on Demand project. Telus was the Canadian partner in the plan to deliver video over ADSL, and CIBC was involved in financing it. (See Telecom Update #318) CITIES PETITION SUPREME COURT ON LEDCOR: The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) has asked the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the Federal Court's December 2002 ruling, in which it dismissed FCM's appeal of the CRTC's "Ledcor Decision." (see Telecom Update #363). ** FCM, supported by Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Halifax, argues that the Constitution limits the CRTC's jurisdiction in disputes between carriers and municipalities. CWTA CONFERENCE POSTPONED: There will be no ExpoComm this year. The annual telecom conference and show, sponsored by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association, has been postponed from this fall to May 4-5, 2004, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. EXPRESSVU RAISES RATES: Starting April 28, ExpressVu will charge all customers a "system charge" of $2.99 a month, in addition to their previous fees. FIRST NATIONS SCHOOLNET FUNDS EXTENDED: Industry Canada has committed another $6.4 million to continue First Nations SchoolNet for another year. The program, administered by non- profit Aboriginal organizations, provides computers, Internet access, and technical support to First Nations schools across the country. STAR CHOICE LAYING OFF 20% OF STAFF: Shaw subsidiary Star Choice Communications will close its call centre in Fredericton in July and shift the work to its Montreal and Toronto centres. The move will eliminate 253 jobs, a fifth of the Star Choice work force. TELUS OFFERS WEB MEETINGS: Telus is using the WebEx MediaTone Network to offer Web Conferencing, which enables participants to share and collaborate on documents using their Web browser. SUBMARINE CABLE CONSTRUCTION BOOM ENDS: TeleGeography reports that world spending on construction of undersea cable, which spiked to US$13 billion in 2001, will drop to $1.2 billion in 2003, about the same level as five years ago. http://www.telegeography.com TELECOM EMPLOYMENT FLAT 1990-2002: A new StatsCan study reports that employment in the telecommunications services industry in 2002 was only 0.6% higher than in 1990. The number of women employed rose 5.1%; the number of men fell 2.8%. http://www.statcan.ca/english/research/56F0004MIE/56F0004MIE2003009.pdf TEXT MESSAGING BOOMING IN NORTH AMERICA: According to a new Lemay-Yates report, the advent of inter-carrier SMS connectivity has caused a boom in text messaging, previously successful mainly in Europe. For information: http://www.lya.com. YAK EXPANDS INTO QUEBEC: Yak Communications, a dial-around LD reseller in Ontario, has expanded its operations into Quebec. Yak offers long distance time in 30-minutes units priced at $1 each. STEPHENSON TO HEAD IVEY SCHOOL: Carol Stephenson, who resigned last month as CEO of Lucent Canada, has been named Dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business, effective July 1. CALDER NAMED VOICE MOBILITY CHAIR: Don Calder, former CEO of BC Telecom, has been named Chairman of Voice Mobility Inc, a Vancouver-based developer of messaging systems for carriers. WHEN YOU NEED A SECOND OPINION IN TELECOM: Angus Dortmans Associates consults to Canadian organizations that use telecommunications and network services as essential business tools. Our focus is on practical issues and measurable results, delivered on-time and on-budget. ** "Angus Dortmans are the most professional consultants I've had the pleasure to work with in a long time. It gives clients a nice fuzzy feeling when Henry is continuously recognized as an authority in the field." -- Patrick For=E9, Manager, Royal Canadian Mint ** Contact Henry Dortmans, 905-686-5050 x300 or dortmans@angustel.ca. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@atomic.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@atomic.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2003 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: John Higdon Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap Organization: Green Hills and Cows Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 14:15:57 -0800 In article , Raymond Mereniuk wrote: > After dealing with viruses, trojans, adware and misbehaving > applications almost anything is better than an application which > installs active components you can't uninstall. I am sure it could be > uninstalled if you hack about in the Windows registry but most users > shouldn't be expected to do this to uninstall an application unless > they are advised in advance. Of course, no one would advise of this > feature/benefit of their product as no one would buy it. Software vendors seem to forget that although software itself may be "licensed" rather than "sold", the owner of computer hardware does indeed own the machine and still has some rights regarding its use and disposition. Software that behaves in a deleterious manner to the host computer and over-reaches the scope of its functionality constitutes a liability on the part of the vendor. In article , Michael D. Sullivan wrote: > The conclusion that they are being ripped off by 2/3 of the return > filers is BS. A paying user of a single licensed copy of TurboTax can > file multiple returns. For example, husband and wife filing separate > returns, instead of jointly, and also filing returns for children over > 13. One can also use TurboTax to prepare your aged parents' return, > your dumb brother's, etc. Until my mother died in 2001, I was responsible for the filing of four returns annually. That's an even higher ratio than what Intuit is observing with its purchase/use reports. > That's not to deny that there undoubtedly is piracy, but it's not > 2/3 by a long shot. Software vendors are masters at hyping their "losses" to piracy. The underlying assumption is that all detected usage will occur whether the software is obtained for free or whether it is all obtained at full list price. Those of us in the service business know full well that the public will gladly use something for free but when it comes to pay, the numbers drop precipitously. So, even factoring the rightful multiple use of the program by duly licensed individual, the actual losses will be a great deal less than that. In other words, this almost looks like a non-issue. John Higdon | Email Address Valid | SF: +1 415 428-COWS +1 408 264 4115 | Anytown, USA | FAX: +1 408 264 4407 ------------------------------ From: Mark Peters Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 18:41:52 -0600 I have purchased Turbo Tax for many years. I produce my tax return, my children's tax returns, and my mother's tax return for a total of 4 tax returns. In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > By Lisa Baertlein > PALO ALTO, Calif., March 13 (Reuters) - Intuit Inc. > (NASDAQ:INTU), which last tax season did not see a penny from nearly > two-thirds, or 10 million, of the tax filings prepared with its > No. 1 TurboTax software, has angered some customers with new > anti-piracy measures. > Nevertheless, the Silicon Valley software shop has vowed to press > on with its mission to get more users to pay for its popular > do-it-yourself tax products -- a move that could alienate loyal > customers but potentially increase revenues, analysts said. > According to Intuit, the Internal Revenue Service said it received > 15 million tax returns prepared with desktop versions of TurboTax > during the 2001 tax filing season. Meanwhile, Intuit sold 5.5 million > desktop copies of TurboTax. > Web chat rooms have buzzed with customer complaints that Intuit's > addition of Macrovision Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MVSN) SafeCast technology, > which ties each TurboTax program to a single computer, violates > privacy and puts users' machines at risk of damage. The flap has also > spawned a consumer lawsuit seeking class-action status. > ... > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32386891 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 01:07:58 GMT Well after hearing all the complaints about Turbo-Tax I decided to switch to its competitor, Tax Cut, this year. Now I'll admit to being a weirdo who doesn't allow a Windows machine to connect to the Internet, and does most of his work with Linux, but keeps a Windows machine around for just such things as the taxes. So I bought Tax Cut in a store and installed from the CD ROM. Then went to their web site and downloaded the update, copied the file to the Windows machine and installed it. Then went to their web site and paid for and downloaded the state tax module. Copied it to the Windows machine and tried to install. First thing it wants to do is go on the Internet to see if there is an update. No obvious way around it, so I email their tech support address. A few days later they came back and said yep, you can't install the state tax module on a machine not on the Internet. You have to buy the CD ROM of state tax. So I wound up paying twice. ------------------------------ Date: 16 Mar 2003 17:22:40 EST From: Charles.B.Wilber@Dartmouth.EDU (Charles B. Wilber) Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap --- Michael D. Sullivan wrote: The conclusion that they are being ripped off by 2/3 of the return filers is BS. A paying user of a single licensed copy of TurboTax can file multiple returns. For example, husband and wife filing separate returns, instead of jointly, and also filing returns for children over 13. One can also use TurboTax to prepare your aged parents' return, your dumb brother's, etc. --- end of quote --- And that is exactly what I did. I used my bought-and-registered copy of TurboTax to prepare my personal tax return and those of my two dependent children. If I am now to believe that I twice pirated Intuit's software I will certainly find another program to use next year. Charlie Wilber New Hampshire ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 21:57:55 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Talk to Your Kids About Cell Phone Use By Larry Magid There has been a lot of talk about mobile phone safety, but it has largely focused on distraction while driving as well as the possibility that cell phone use might cause health problems. But now there's another reason to be concerned. Mobile phones in Japan and Europe have been linked to harassment and sexual exploitation of both children and adults. ... http://www.pcanswer.com/articles/synd_cellphones.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 22:02:52 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Your Cell Phone Is for Talking? How Passe By Rob Pegoraro Washington Post Staff Writer Thanks to the wonders of modern, miniaturized electronics, it is now possible to carry around a cell phone all day, put it to such use as to exhaust its battery, and yet never talk to anybody on it. Yes, technology is good. In this case, it has given cell phones more power than needed to send and receive digitally encoded speech over the air. High-resolution color screens and multiple megabytes of flash memory aren't needed to place a call from an address book, but they do offer some interesting new capabilities. I've been trying out two new phones built along these lines. The $400 Sanyo SCP-5300, available to Sprint PCS users, includes a digital camera, complete with flash. LG InfoComm's $200 VX4400, a Verizon Wireless exclusive, can download and run add-on programs on the go. Both models perform these tasks well but compromise other, more basic features. Of the two, the Sanyo makes for the more captivating demo. Flip the phone open, press the camera button, use the color screen to focus on your subject and press the camera button once more until you hear a crisp click. Then you can show off the shot to onlookers (once the phone finishes tediously saving it to memory), e-mail it or upload it to a photo-sharing area on Sprint's Web site, provided you subscribe to Sprint's Vision data service. ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28480-2003Mar15.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 22:23:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: All News, All Video, All the Time By Leslie Walker ABC News became the first TV network to attempt an all-news Internet video channel last week, rolling out a premium service called ABC News Live aimed at office workers. The service (www.abcnews.com) provides a 24-hour video stream over the Web, featuring breaking news reports and raw footage. Think of ABC News Live as a sort of C-Span Plus, offering live feeds from Pentagon briefings, White House press conferences, and the scenes of accidents, crimes and -- perhaps soon -- war. In its first few days it beamed live footage from the pretrial hearing of Robert Blake, a press briefing with Britain's Tony Blair and repeated news conferences with the family of kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart. ABC officials said that if the United States goes to war with Iraq, the Internet service will show frequent video reports from network correspondents in the Persian Gulf. ABC News offers this live feed as a new component of the existing $4.95-a-month ABCNews on Demand service. It's also free to subscribers of RealNetworks' $9.95-a-month SuperPass service. ABC News Live will normally deliver only a single video stream, like TV, but network officials said they also have developed special software to let users split their screen into four sections to view different scenes. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28481-2003Mar15.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 22:25:59 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New Windows Laptops Feature Processor That Stretches Battery By WALTER S. MOSSBERG A new generation of Windows laptops has arrived, powered by a new Intel processor claiming to extend battery life and by a marketing blitz promoting wireless networking. This is good news, but as is often the case in the computer industry, the hype obscures the truth. But you won't hear much in Intel's ads about the Pentium M. Instead, Intel will be pushing something called Centrino, a bundle of chips that includes the Pentium M as well as a new Intel-designed radio chip for Wi-Fi wireless networking. You might conclude that Centrino laptops do Wi-Fi better than other laptops, or that the Pentium M or Centrino chips are needed for wireless networking. But none of this is true. The Pentium M has no special capability for wireless networking. And the Intel-produced Wi-Fi radio chip included in the Centrino bundle is actually regarded by some computer makers as inferior to other brands of radios they were already using. Not only that, but the Intel radio used in Centrino machines doesn't support the new, faster type of Wi-Fi networks called G or A. However, Intel won't allow laptop makers to label their Pentium M machines with the Centrino brand unless they use the Intel Wi-Fi radio. So, computer makers are planning to offer two different types of laptops with the identical Pentium M processor. Some will use Intel's radio, in order to share in the glow of the Centrino marketing campaign. Others will mate the Pentium M processor with radios made by other companies, and won't be called Centrino. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20030313.html ------------------------------ From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: EarthLink Introduces EarthLink Unlimited Voice Broadband Date: 16 Mar 2003 17:55:49 -0500 Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA >> EarthLink Becomes First Major Nationwide ISP to Deploy Full-Scale >> Voice-over-IP Solution to End-Users > Also see http://www.vonage.com for a similar service that isn't tied > to an ISP. It's not a similar service, it's the exact same thing. Earthlink is reselling Vonage. As far as I know, Vonage is the only VoIP vendor that gives you a real phone number, without which you might as well use the free voice chat provided by AOL's AIM and other chat programs. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 387 6869 johnl@iecc.com, Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner, http://iecc.com/johnl, Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Marcus Jervis Subject: Re: The Myth of Interference/Internet Architect David Reed Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 00:08:11 +0000 Paul Wallich wrote: > In article , Monty Solomon > wrote: >> Thus, NBC gets to bathe you in "Friends," followed by a very special >> "Scrubs," and you get to sit passively on your couch. It's an >> asymmetric bargain that dominates our cultural, economic and >> political lives -- only the rich and famous can deliver their >> messages -- and it's all based on the fact that radio waves in their >> untamed habitat interfere with one another. >> Except they don't. >> http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/03/12/spectrum/ > I'm confused by this article. Is Reed proposing to exchange regulation > by the FCC with regulation by whatever consortium ends up owning the > patents for his new kind of radio? There are many things in this article to be confused about: "Reed uses the example of a pinhole camera, or camera obscura: If a room is sealed against light except for one pinhole, an image of the outside will be projected against the opposite wall. "If photons interfered with one another as they squeezed through that tiny hole, we wouldn't get a clear image on that back wall," Reed says. If you whine that it's completely counterintuitive that a wave could squeeze through a pinhole and "reorganize" itself on the other side, Reed nods happily and then piles on: "If photons can pass through one another, then they aren't actually occupying space at all, since the definition of 'occupying' is 'displacing.' So, yes, it's counterintuitive. It's quantum mechanics." " So astronomers don't need to worry about ambient light pollution, since photons don't actually occupy space. Hey, it's quantum mechanics! The passage below smells like a classic strawman argument. Create a metaphor (spectrum as color), then knock down the strawman when the metaphor doesn't hold (FCC regulating radio spectrum). I like the idea of software-defined radios, but he seems to be saying that there are no practical limits to spectrum as long as all current users adopt his modes and standards. "Surprisingly, the spectrum-as-color metaphor turns out to be not nearly as confounding to what's left of common sense. "Radio and light are the same thing and follow the same laws," Reed says. "They're distinguished by what we call frequency." Frequency, he explains, is really just the energy level of the photons. The human eye detects different frequencies as different colors. So, in licensing frequencies to broadcasters, we are literally regulating colors. Crayola may own the names of the colors it's invented, and Pantone may own the standard numbers by which digital designers refer to colors, but only the FCC can give you an exclusive license to a color itself." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:31:30 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: A Share Day Once Again Instead of having Share Day on the first day of each month and again at the end month, making two appeals run together, I will take the advice of someone who suggested one at mid-month and one at end of the month. If you have considered giving something financially to help on the Digest in the past but have not done so for some reason or another, now would be a great opportunity to make a contribution. TELECOM Digest is not freeware, it is SHAREware, meaning you use it, examine it and pay to keep it running each day. For people who make a contribution to the Digest operating fund, I offer a CD of the entire archives -- all 22 years of it -- all the back issues, the technical reports and other special reports in the archives. To make a donation in whatever amount you feel is appropriate, you may do so by credit card or paypal account by using the paypal template on the Digest website http://telecom-digest.org and then scrolling to the very bottom of the first page where a 'donate' button can be found. It is payable to 'editor@telecom-digest.org'. To pay by cash or check or mone order, make it payable to Patrick Townson and mail it to TELECOM, Post Office Box 50, Independence, KS 67301. In either case, include a street address so a copy of the TELECOM CD can be mailed to you. Please do it today if you can. Thanks very much. Patrick Townson, Editor ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #349 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 18 01:44:43 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6/8.11.3) id h2I6ihw15376; Tue, 18 Mar 2003 01:44:43 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 01:44:43 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200303180644.h2I6ihw15376@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 V22 #350 TELECOM Digest Tue, 18 Mar 2003 01:45:00 EST Volume 22 : Issue 350 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson RoadRunner Scanning (Monty Solomon) Privacy Advocate Warns of Microchip Invasion (Monty Solomon) In Broadband, Comcast Lets Users Find Their Own Flourishes (Monty Solomon) Yahoo's Paid Video to Supply Sports, Finance and 'Survivor' (Monty Solomon) Mass Rollout of DVR Technology Stuck on 'Pause' (Monty Solomon) Nokia Unveils New Phones to Crack CDMA Market (Monty Solomon) Texas Instruments Unveiling New Device Concept (Monty Solomon) Fight-O-Netting (Joey Lindstrom) Re: Communication Between PABX (foo) Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (Joey Lindstrom) Phone Booths Reincarnate as WiFI Access Points (TheOldBear) Re: Palm Poor Service (NMS Guy) Re: Need Hitachi HCX 5600 PBX Manual Please!!! (E) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (joe@obilivan.net) Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap (Thomas A. Horsley) Postamble and Variable Length Packets (Swami) Re: EarthLink Introduces Unlimited Voice Broadband (joe@obilivan.net) Re: Tungsten W ? Can It Be Unlocked? (Justin Time) Nitsuko (NEC AK-824) PBX System Problem (Coa) Screen Machine (Ray Normandeau) 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 01:11:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: RoadRunner Scanning Email a RoadRunner address, get scanned by their security system Fri, 14 Mar 2003 15:36:26 -0500 (EST) http://www.politechbot.com/p-04556.html Road Runner's security director replies to Politech over probes Mon, 17 Mar 2003 00:45:54 -0500 (EST) http://www.politechbot.com/p-04558.html Politech members reply over RoadRunner scanning email senders Mon, 17 Mar 2003 01:16:54 -0500 (EST) http://www.politechbot.com/p-04559.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 22:50:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Privacy Advocate Warns of Microchip Invasion Promise, peril seen in advent of ID microchips By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 3/17/2003 Katherine Albrecht has a thing about privacy. That's why the Nashua resident hasn't used a credit card in over two years and only shops at Internet retailers who accept money orders. "There's got to be some degree of private life," Albrecht says. She wants to live her life without having her every action filed in a corporate database. Indeed, Albrecht has founded a privacy lobbying group called CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering). CASPIAN has directed most of its fire at supermarket discount cards, which allow retailers to collect data on your buying habits. Now it's taking aim at a new target -- much smaller than a discount card, and in Albrecht's view, a lot more dangerous. The Italian clothing firm Benetton last week said it would begin inserting tiny radio frequency identification chips, or RFIDs, into some of its clothing products. These chips will let the company track a particular sweater or skirt from the factory floor to the shelf of the store. Boston's own Gillette Co. is doing the same with personal grooming items such as Mach 3 Turbo razors. The company recently signed a contract for a half-billion RFID chips, to be provided by the delightfully named Alien Technology Corp. of California. The RFID concept, developed in large part at the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is seductive in its cleverness. You take a microchip the size of a pinhead and attach an antenna. Embedded on the chip is a product identification number that's drawn from a vast pool of 96-bit numbers. ... http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/076/business/Privacy_advocate_warns_of_microchip_invasion+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 23:22:34 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: In Broadband, Comcast Lets Users Find Their Own Flourishes By SAUL HANSELL PHILADELPHIA - High-speed service may be the future of the Internet, but it has been nothing but trouble for most companies involved. Comcast, the newly crowned king of cable, is the accidental exception. So far the three leaders that emerged in the first Internet wave, with service based on slow telephone modems - America Online, Microsoft's MSN, and Earthlink - have attracted few customers for the speedier access known as broadband. And they have lost considerable money trying to resell fast connections bought wholesale from cable or telephone providers. Telephone companies have had some success selling their version of broadband directly to consumers and small businesses. But the phone companies still lose money on every broadband subscription. And Excite@Home, a company in which Comcast was an early investor and which was created to sell cable broadband service, collapsed in bankruptcy in 2001. Then there is Comcast itself. Without really setting out to do so, the company has become the biggest provider of broadband Internet services, with 3.6 million subscribers, and profit margins that would be the envy of any business. The question is whether Comcast can continue to perform at that level in the broadband arena once serendipity gives way to strategic planning. The chief executive, Brian L. Roberts, predicts that by the end of the year Comcast will have five million Internet customers. That would tie it with Earthlink as the third-biggest Internet service of any kind in the country by subscribers, after AOL and MSN. By revenue and operating profit, Comcast would trail only AOL. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/technology/17BAND.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:04:46 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Yahoo's Paid Video to Supply Sports, Finance and 'Survivor' By SAUL HANSELL After spending more than a year trying to figure out what sort of video programming Internet users will pay for, Yahoo is set to introduce its first subscription video service. So far, it has determined that America wants to see college basketball, investment news and the latest boiled rat recipe from CBS's "Survivor." Starting today, Internet users can sign up for Yahoo Platinum, which includes a variety of video and audio programming, for $9.95 a month. A $16.95 SportsPak adds access to some Nascar races and, most significantly, the ability to watch live broadcasts and replays of the 56 games of the first and second rounds of the N.C.A.A. men's basketball tournament, which begin on Thursday. The finals will be broadcast on television first, although replays will be available later on Yahoo's service. Jim Moloshok, Yahoo's senior vice president for media, entertainment, information and finance, said the earlier rounds were especially suited for Web broadcasts because local television stations do not show all the games. Moreover, the games are during the day, when many people have better access to a computer than a television. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/17/technology/17YAHO.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 00:12:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Mass Rollout of DVR Technology Stuck on 'Pause' Michael Hiltzik LA Times Three or four years ago, in the heyday of gotta-have-it technology, scarcely a week would pass without a clutch of Silicon Valley executives trooping through our offices to demonstrate one or another hot new gizmo. In all that time, only once did I ever see something I thought would take the world by storm. That device was a DVR, or digital video recorder. It worked by diverting a TV signal onto a hard disk, like the one inside the average personal computer, before passing the image to the TV screen. This process enabled viewers to exploit the disk's storage capacity to view live TV with VCR-style pause, rewind and replay functions -- and, given sufficient delay, to skip obliviously through commercials, all without videotape. The electronic services designed to work with the boxes also allowed viewers to schedule off-hour recording of shows with unprecedented ease. It was the greatest thing I'd ever seen demonstrated in an office cubicle, a device you had to check out only once to understand its potential to revolutionize the television experience. At the time, the technology was being developed by two competing companies, TiVo Inc. and ReplayTV Inc., that harbored great hopes for it. (The latter had given us the demonstration.) As a ReplayTV executive told me then: "Five years from now, all TV will be watched from a hard disk." This forecast sounded plausible at the time not only because we were in an era when the spread of great technology seemed to operate under its own organic logic, but also because the device was so compelling. Television network executives, contemplating a world where viewers could zip through commercials with the flick of a remote, talked about DVRs the way music executives would soon be talking about Napster: with utter fear. Yet here we are in 2003, the executive's prediction has only a year or so to run, and it must be said that the revolution is way behind schedule. Far from being an indispensable household appliance, the DVR remains a device of cliquish partiality. ... http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-golden17mar17001437,1,3980298.column ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:01:51 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Nokia Unveils New Phones to Crack CDMA Market HELSINKI, March 17 (Reuters) - The world's largest handset maker Nokia (HELS:NOK1V) unveiled on Monday several new, high-speed handset models aimed at cracking the market for the second-largest mobile phone standard. The models, including the 3586i colour screen phone aimed at the mass consumer market and the more high-end 6585 small colour phone, all run on the CDMA (code division multiple access) standard popular in the United States and Asia. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32430017 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:05:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Texas Instruments Unveiling New Device Concept NEW ORLEANS, March 17 (Reuters) - Imagine sitting at a cafe, making a cell phone call on a cordless headset and surfing the Web using a high-speed wireless data connection all at the same time on one handheld device. Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE:TXN) is unveiling on Monday a new design for mobile devices, which it said was the world's first containing all three technologies needed to make such a device a reality. The announcement was made at the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association wireless conference here. The world's largest maker of chips for mobile phones said manufacturers can use the design to make devices that integrate GSM/GPRS, 802.11 and Bluetooth. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=32431123 ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:05:10 -0700 Subject: Fight-O-Netting Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 21:41:14 -0500 (EST), Jack wrote: > Oh, and I do remember the alternate networks that Joey Lindstrom > speaks of. I was in one called LCRnet (LCR="Least Cost Routing"). The > thing I think the Fidonet coordinators were blinded to (because they > mostly talked to each other and reinforced each other) was how > ineffective they really were in stopping the things they disliked. > The average sysops were for the most part not supportive of their > efforts. When someone got excommunicated from Fidonet, unless they > had managed to offend everyone, they would probably have offers of new > feeds within hours, or failing that, they could join one of the > alternate nets. I think people also ran software to munge the > "SEEN-BY" lines in echomail messages so the coordinators wouldn't see > any nodes in there that they weren't supposed to see. > Still, no one could understand what caused those guys to behave as > they did. This probably goes along with your other thread about the > cops -- there are some people who just cannot be trusted not to abuse > power and authority, even if in reality they only have very little of > it. This reminds me of something else from those days. I mentioned that I managed to get "excommunicated" by these morons three times. Well, on the 2nd or 3rd one (can't remember which), there was a complication. In addition to running my own Fidonet-type BBS (and since I was your typical young "Trekkie" geek, it was called "Farpoint Station"), I had also been hired to do maintenance work for another BBS, operated by a computer retailer ("The Computer Shop Of Calgary"). And CShop's BBS was a FidoNet member. Now, the nominal "sysop" of CShop's BBS was Austin Hook, the owner of CShop and, I understand, somebody who is somewhat active in the BSD Unix community these days. But I was the guy doing the work on the system. I'd be down at the store once or twice a week, taking care of things. If users wanted a new echomail conference added (or deleted), that had to be done manually (by me). I also spent quite a bit of time rewriting the myriad batch files that made everything work (I still see the word "errorlevel" in my dreams even today!) But because I was excommunicated, I was no longer part of the Fight-O-Net club. This went on for a few months, until somebody in the Net 134 hierarchy found out that I was doing this work for CShop. The immediate assumption was that I was "spying" on their special, elite "sysop only" local echomail conferences (where they discuss, among other things, who to kick out next). In fact, although the temptation was there to see what they were saying behind my back, I stayed out and didn't so much as sneak a peek - hey, I was on company time, after all. :-) Well, I showed up at CShop one day and was taken aside by Austin, who normally I had very little to do with (my usual contact was one of his sales guys). He asked me what I'd done to piss off the FidoNet people. I told him (I honestly don't remember what it was I told him, ie: the specifics of whatever argument had triggered my latest excommunication) and he had a tough time believing it. "You mean to tell me that they're threatening to excommunicate the Computer Shop BBS because they don't like you personally?" I agreed that that was about the size of it, and offered to give up the job to someone else. Nope. Austin was on the phone that afternoon to whoever was Net Coordinator at the time, and I think the Net Echo Coordinator and possibly the Regional Coordinator as well. And he was mad. In no uncertain terms, he told these people that if he was removed from the FidoNet nodelist, he would be financially harmed. And that if that happened, he would have his lawyer sue the pants off everybody responsible for it. I haven't seen backpedaling like this since Clinton got caught with his fly open. :-) No no no, we wouldn't DREAM of removing the Computer Shop BBS, a long-time stout supporter of FidoNet, from the nodelist, said the NC. But we'd really appreciate it if you could limit that Joe guy's access so he can't read sysop-only newsgroups. Austin said "no problem. Anything else?" "No sir" was the reply, and the issue was resolved. Austin never did curtail my access, and from that point forward, only cuz they'd made a big stink about it, I *DID* occasionally peek. :-) And they sure seemed subdued after that. They sure do like to wield their "power" as much and as often as they can, but when somebody comes along with a bigger stick, they sure tucked their tails between their legs in a hurry. Typical bullies: when somebody bigger comes along, they disappear into the woodwork. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info ------------------------------ From: di00enad@ing.hj.se (foo) Subject: Re: Communication Between PABX Date: 17 Mar 2003 08:34:04 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Is ETS 300 125 the approperiate standard for the datalink layer in QSIG communication as described in ETS 300 171? In ETS 300 125 you can read about that a LAPD link must first be initiated with a SABME packet. My question is if it is needed when the LAPD link will be used to carry QSIG packets between two PBX:s? It also stands a lot about TEI assignments are they really nessecary for QSIG communication between PBX:s? ------------------------------ From: Joey Lindstrom Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 09:55:45 -0700 Subject: Re: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Reply-To: joey@telussucks.info On Sat, 15 Mar 2003 21:23:31 -0500 (EST), Michael D. Sullivan wrote: > In the U.S., judges don't issue arrest warrants on their own intiative. > They sign warrants that are filled out and submitted by cops, > accompanied by affidavits or declarations from persons (cops, witnesses, > etc.) that are supposed to demonstrate probable cause to believe the > perpetrator has committed a crime. The judge is supposed to determine, > based on the affidavits, that there is probable cause, and only then > sign the warrant. The warrant authorizes the cops to arrest the person. > It does not command the cops to arrest the person. Cops retain > "enforcement discretion," which enables them to decide whether or not to > proceed with an investigation or arrest based on their evaluation of the > evidence available to them. They may get fired or disciplined if they > exercise that discretion the wrong way, so they are likely to call their > superior officer on the radio if there is a question. >> Fine. But it's not up to the cops to decide this. It's up to the >> judge. The cops bring him in -- they're charged with arresting "John >> Smith" and they DO HAVE "John Smith". Whether "John Smith" is innocent >> or guilty of the crimes he has committed is for a court of law to >> decide, not the cops on the street. > Again, cops do not have the ministerial duty of enforcing an arrest > warrant; they have some degree of discretion. They decide when, where, > and whether to pick up the perp. If a cop has a warrant to pick up John > Smith on a possession charge, and he sees John Smith going up to a > suspected drug kingpin, he doesn't arrest him on the spot. He waits > until he sees what happens with Da Man. If he sees Da Man committing a > bigger crime, he forgets about John Smith and goes for the big fish. > If, in the process, John Smith gets away but the big guy is arrested on > solid evidence, the cop hasn't breached any duty to arrest John Smith. > The arrest warrant remains outstanding and the cops can pick him up any > time they want to -- if they still want to. I get that, and it's the way it should be. But what (I think) we're talking about here is a case where the cops have been investigating and found that somebody named John Smith, who lives at 123 Any Street, has committed a particular crime. They get their arrest warrant signed by the judge. They drive down to 123 Any Street, knock on the door, and a man answers. "Are you John Smith?" "Yes" "Do you live here?" "Yes" "You're under arrest" At this point the cops know that somebody identifying themselves as John Smith of 123 Any Street did the crime, and they've arrested a John Smith at 123 Any Street. On the way to the cruiser, John says "I'm a victim of identity theft!" Can you really blame the cop for saying "sure ... haven't heard THAT one before ..."? This isn't a case where discretion on the part of the cop is appropriate. This requires further investigation -- checking to see if John filed any sort of police report when his ID was stolen (if applicable), pulling his credit file to see if there are fraudulent credit cards on it, that sort of thing. And that stuff all happens AFTER John is arrested and is either sitting in stir or is out on bail. You can't expect the flatfoot on the beat, whom Pat assures us is none too bright to begin with, to make that sort of decision based on the word of a perp that he's got in cuffs and who would like to be anywhere BUT in cuffs. This sort of thing requires corroboration. That's what makes identity theft such a nasty crime. Not only are you ripping people off (and/or perpetrating other crimes), you're setting somebody ELSE up to take the fall. It's a double-whammy and as far as I'm concerned, anyone convicted of it should see some SERIOUS jail time - because of what they are putting the innocent John Smiths of the world through. -- Joey Lindstrom -- Telus Sucks http://www.telussucks.info [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But, in a case like Cook County, Illinois (or perhaps many other large cities), a person like John Smith could *quite easily* be in jail a full day *before* he is even allowed to use a phone to call his attorney (if he can afford one) who would then prompt the police to follow through with research on the identity theft. If John Smith cannot afford an attorney, then through the screaming and noise of other inmates in a dingy cell designed for half as many people as are there, he will get to meet an 'attorney' (actually an employee of the prosecutor who will act as his attorney) standing at the cell bars in a one minute interview prior to seeing a judge, maybe two or three weeks later. Most likely this 'attorney' will be a young, inexperienced lady who will hastily take a couple notes as she works her way through the crowd of guys standing there at the bars trying to get her attention. (All of them will be going to the courtroom, assembly line style starting in about five minutes.) Therefore, I respectfully suggest that police should figure all that out *prior to* arresting the wrong person if at all possible. PAT] ------------------------------ From: oldbear@arctos.com (TheOldBear) Subject: Phone Nooths Reincarnate as WiFI Access Points Date: 17 Mar 2003 18:27:10 GMT Organization: The Arctos Group As summarized by NewsScan for March 17, 2003: PAYPHONES SEEK NEW LIFE AS INTERNET TERMINALS --------------------------------------------- Bell Canada is in the midst of a pilot program that offers customers in Toronto, Montreal and Kingston free Wi-Fi Internet access through hotspots originating in 16 former payphone booths located in airports, hotels, libraries, train stations and other public transit locales. As with regular Wi-Fi access, customers must be within 100 feet of the booth to use the signal. Bell Canada spokesman Don Blair says the company has received positive feedback so far: "We've received phone calls and e-mails from people using the service. These are very positive responses from users, as well as a lot of calls from location providers -- people wanting to offer (wireless Internet) hotspots to their customers." Meanwhile, in Singapore, InfiniTech has a different idea for resuscitating the payphone booth. The company is looking for U.S. partners to help roll out booths where people could recharge their cell phones when their batteries run down. Users would deposit coins and then recharge their phones. source: Wired.com (17 Mar 2003) http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58050,00.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NewsScan Daily is a lively summary of information technology news and is distributed FREE via email to its subscribers. To receive NewsScan, send email to NewsScan@NewsScan.com and in the subject line type "subscribe". For more information, see the NewsScan web pages at http://www.NewsScan.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ From: ashu_a@rediffmail.com (NMS Guy) Subject: Re: Palm Poor Service Date: 17 Mar 2003 02:48:18 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ himshah@oldbridge.com (Himanshu) wrote in message news:: > I am very dissatisfied with Palm Corp. I had so far 3 Palm M515 stop > synchronizing on USB port. I recommend against buying Palm. The > quality of product is not very good. I agree with you. I had a M105 ... rather still have it and its cover/flip cover broke due to bad material at the hinge in two months and all Palm did was send some silly questionnaire for customer satisfaction and thank you mails whenever I wrote to them on the problem. Buy at your own peril. ------------------------------ From: enet@csi.com (E) Subject: Re: Need Hitachi HCX 5600 PBX Manual Please!!! Date: 17 Mar 2003 05:14:19 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ 5100 HCX that is. enet@csi.com (E) wrote in message news:: > Hi, > Does anyone have a copy of Hitachi's HCX 5100 phone system manual? > Ethan ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 13:43:47 GMT Organization: Cox Communications Michael D. Sullivan wrote: > On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 22:50:48 -0500, Monty Solomon posted the following > to comp.dcom.telecom: >> According to Intuit, the Internal Revenue Service said it received >> 15 million tax returns prepared with desktop versions of TurboTax >> during the 2001 tax filing season. Meanwhile, Intuit sold 5.5 million >> desktop copies of TurboTax. > The conclusion that they are being ripped off by 2/3 of the return > filers is BS. A paying user of a single licensed copy of TurboTax can > file multiple returns. For example, husband and wife filing separate > returns, instead of jointly, and also filing returns for children over > 13. One can also use TurboTax to prepare your aged parents' return, > your dumb brother's, etc. You can't use the standard version to > prepare returns for others commercially. In other words, it is > entirely to be expected that considerably more returns would be filed > with TT than the number of copies licensed or "sold." That's not to > deny that there undoubtedly is piracy, but it's not 2/3 by a long > shot. I think your logic is more likely in the "BS" category than their's. A vast majority of people who use TurboTax prepare one federal return per software license. As a CPA who has more than passing knowledge of the subject, a very small percentage of households are involved with more than one personal tax return ... presuming the couple are married. If there are unrelated persons in the household, then there is often more than one return per household. But, does the TurboTax software license permit multiple returns on one copy of the software in such circumstances? ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Intuit's TurboTax at Center of Anti-Piracy Flap From: tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2003 01:03:11 GMT > Web chat rooms have buzzed with customer complaints that Intuit's > addition of Macrovision Corp.'s (NASDAQ:MVSN) SafeCast technology, > which ties each TurboTax program to a single computer, violates > privacy and puts users' machines at risk of damage. The flap has also > spawned a consumer lawsuit seeking class-action status. Forget mere privacy violations -- what about the fact that the activation software they use simply doesn't work? I filed my taxes electronically on a Friday and came back to the exact same computer which had nothing more drastic done to it than a shutdown and power off overnight to check my tax status on Saturday, and TurboTax told me I hadn't activated the copy on this computer and would have to buy a new license. Fortunately, the "demo mode" worked well enough for me to check my status and find everything was OK, but if I had needed to make any changes, it would have been more like "Nice refund you got coming there, too bad you have to buy another copy of TurboTax to collect it ..." Game companies using the unsuspecting public as Beta testers is one thing, but tax software is a bit different. For their foisting of broken, inadequately tested, unreliable activation technology on me, Intuit becomes only the 2nd company on my lifetime boycott list (after Sony, but that's another rant :-). Never again will Intuit get another dime of my money! >>==>> The *Best* political site >>==+ email: Tom.Horsley@worldnet.att.net icbm: Delray Beach, FL | Free Software and Politics <<==+ ------------------------------ From: swami18@lycos.com (Swami) Subject: Postamble and Variable Length Packets Date: 17 Mar 2003 18:35:45 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I have a couple of questions related to multiple access at the physical layer: 1. Do you know of any protocol/commercial product/research on variable length packets (I mean completely variable, and not, say, one among a set of lengths) for multiple access? There is an additional constraint that we do not know the packet length until after we have transmitted all the bytes. So this would mean that the datalink layer will not be able to place the length field in front. 2. Is there any protocol/product/research papers on sending a postamble at the physical layer level (I mean the decision is taken by the software/hardware closest to the point of transmission)? This is mainly to solve the peroblem mentioned above. If you also happen to know of any other means to solve the above problem, do let me know. Any links/pointers on this topic would be of immense help. Thanks and Regards, Swami. ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: EarthLink Introduces Unlimited Voice Broadband Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 13:54:58 GMT Organization: Cox Communications Ron Chapman wrote: > Also see http://www.vonage.com for a similar service that isn't tied > to an ISP. > It's a great idea for a second line. Vonage seems like a great idea for the first line, too, for anyone who already has broadband, lives in an area where they can keep their present number (local number portability) and if they make many toll calls. With the inclusion of caller id and voice mail, that is quite an attractive package. Any idea whether they hammer the account with FCC access charges, and the usual such surcharges? Seems like this concept could eventually wipe out TPC (The Phone Company ;-) ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: Tungsten W ? Can It Be Unlocked? Date: 17 Mar 2003 06:37:05 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ lfmadison@charter.net (lenman33) wrote in message news:: > Has anyone been able to unlock the TW yet? I am on Sprint PCS. I don't > want to change carriers. I also want the Tungsten W very badly But > will it work on SPCS is it possible? > <> > So why tie yourself to AT&T? > I guess my last comment is that if the Treo 300 was a little faster > and a made with titanium and a little more future proof; I would not > be here searching the web for a better option. Maybe i'll just give > in and get the Treo 300 at least it has its own (well two) product > specific web sites. Trying to use an unlocked Tungesten W on Sprint would be like trying to tune an AM radio to receive FM. Different transmission protocols. The buzz I have heard around some in the wireless industry is that Sprint may not be long for this world. The fourth place wireless carrier has long been plagued with customer service issues, and now it appears as if it will be able to sustain itself as a carrier for the long run. There have been rumors that SPCS is for sale (isn't everything), but nobody want's to buy it. The Sprint network is not compatible with either AT&T or Cingular and Verizon doesn't need it. The only thing they have of real value is additional spectrum in some markets. But of course, how much credability does a sales rep have when they are talking about their competitors? Rodgers Platt ------------------------------ From: mmartin@unvm.edu.ar (Coa) Subject: Nitsuko (NEC AK-824) PBX System Problem Date: 17 Mar 2003 15:05:40 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have a problem with the AK-824 PBX System When I turn on the system sometimes the red led placed in the main board doesn't work as it should be. (flashing) It blinks in many different ways. In the station ports are a voltage (Ok) of 45-50 volts but there isn´t a tone signal present. The program phone connected in port 1 doesn't work. What could be the problem with the AK-824? PS: It seems as the Z80 CPU hangs up ... What can I do with the hardware to solve the problem? ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2003 16:03:39 PST From: Ray Normandeau
The local Target store here is closing out a neat > anti-telemarketing phone gadget -- The Screen Machine. > I bought a couple at the closeout price of $12.48. The device can be seen at http://www.privacycorps.com/products/?id=6 The Queens NYC Target store has close out of The Screen Machine, for $10.98. ------------------------------ 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, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of twenty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V22 #350 ******************************