From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 6 15:25:28 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i26KPRT12308; Sat, 6 Mar 2004 15:25:28 -0500 (EST) Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 15:25:28 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403062025.i26KPRT12308@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #107 TELECOM Digest Sat, 6 Mar 2004 15:25:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 107 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Circuit City to Carry Vonage Phones in 600 Stores (Monty Solomon) Review: Proving That a PC Can Rival TiVo (Monty Solomon) Patent Central to Microsoft Case Invalidated (Monty Solomon) TiVo to Webcast Investor/Analyst Day on March 5, 2004 (Monty Solomon) TiVo Expects to Top 10 mln Subscribers in 3-4 Years (Monty Solomon) Re: Verizon Wireless/Verizon Airfone Offer 10 Cents-a-Minute (M Solomon) Echostar, Viacom Deadlocked But Hope Seen in Dispute (Monty Solomon) Re: Saint Pierre, was Memories (John Levine) Re: Firms Look to Limit Liability for Online Security Breach (Landsberg) Re: Vonage with Modem and Fax (Alex) Voip Setup (Maxspd) A Mobile Media Mogul (Eric Friedebach) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk is definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 18:45:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Circuit City to Carry Vonage Phones in 600 Stores By Eric Auchard NEW YORK, March 4 (Reuters) - Vonage, which provides inexpensive phone service as an add-on for customers with high-speed Internet lines, on Thursday said that it has reached its first deal with a national retailer to sell its services. Vonage, of Edison, New Jersey, said that Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE:CC) will begin selling its services in 600 retail outlets as well as online. Vonage, which has sold more than 100,000 of its innovative Internet phones since it began offering service two years ago, now expects upward of 300,000 customers by the end of this year, higher than its previous goal of 250,000 for 2004. Retail exposure should attract additional subscribers, founder and Chief Executive Jeffrey Citron said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40757074 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 19:00:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Review: Proving That a PC Can Rival TiVo By MATTHEW FORDAHL AP Technology Writer SnapStream Media Inc.'s latest software is an excellent example of how a personal computer can improve on a TV set: It offers more choices, more information and, most important, more control over the viewing experience. The program is similar to the TV features in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP Media Center Edition, but SnapStream offers more features _ without the purchase of a so-called multimedia computer. It even gives the standalone personal video recorder from TiVo Inc. a run for its money. The SnapStream software has undergone some major reworking, including a name change from "Personal Video Station" to "Beyond TV 3." It's addressed past annoyances by adding much-needed support for mouse pointing devices, better program guide integration and greater reliability. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40758597 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 19:10:19 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Patent Central to Microsoft Case Invalidated By Reed Stevenson SEATTLE, March 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated a claim to Web browser technology central to a case against Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), a move that could spare the software giant from paying more than half a billion dollars in damages, according to documents obtained on Friday. The patent agency's preliminary decision, if upheld, also means that Microsoft will not be required to make changes to its Internet Explorer Web browser that would have crippled the program's ability to work with mini-programs that work over the Internet, such as the Quicktime and Flash media players. Last year, an Illinois jury delivered a $521 million verdict against Microsoft for infringing on technology developed by a privately held firm, Eolas Technologies Inc., and the University of California. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40766065 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 19:02:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo to Webcast Investor/Analyst Day on March 5, 2004 NEW YORK, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) will be webcasting its Investor/Analyst Day Presentations on Friday, March 5, 2004. The live webcast can be viewed by going to http://www.shareholder.com/TiVo/medialist.cfm . An archive of the webcast will be available within 24 hours of the end of the event and can be viewed at http://www.shareholder.com/TiVo/medialist.cfm . - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40759838 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 19:08:57 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Expects to Top 10 mln Subscribers in 3-4 Years NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) on Friday said it expects subscribers to its television recording service to increase dramatically and revenues to grow as much as 80 percent annually over the next three to four years, fueled by growing consumer acceptance of the technology. At a meeting with analysts, Chief Executive Michael Ramsey said he expects the service, which lets users customize `qtelevision viewing by recording shows on a built-in computer hard drive for playback later, to have more than 10 million subscribers -- up from its current total of 1.3 million. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40762038 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2004 19:43:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Verizon Wireless and Verizon Airfone Offer 10 Cents-a-Minute More details are on their web site http://www22.verizon.com/airfone/vzw/vzw_airfone_service.html Monty ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 2004 02:15:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Echostar, Viacom Deadlocked But Hope Seen in Dispute By Kenneth Li NEW YORK, March 5 (Reuters) - Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIAb) and EchoStar Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) said on Friday they were deadlocked but held out hope of resolving a contract dispute before a Monday deadline that would leave EchoStar subscribers in major cities without CBS programming. After four months of deadlocked contract negotiations, EchoStar in January filed a lawsuit in federal court in a bid to block Viacom from pulling its broadcasts of local CBS stations from its subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and 13 other media markets. A judge last week gave EchoStar and Viacom until midnight Pacific Time on Monday to reach a pact on broadcasting the CBS stations in those markets. The dispute also affects Viacom-owned cable networks such as MTV, VH1 and Nickelodeon. The No. 2 U.S. satellite service, based in Englewood, Colorado, has balked at what it has described as Viacom's demands that it carry new additional channels such as the new Nicktoons channel in exchange for the rights to broadcast CBS. Viacom has dismissed EchoStar's legal claims and has called its lawsuit an attempt to strong-arm the broadcaster in the long-running contract talks. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40767309 ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 2004 03:53:11 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Saint Pierre, was Memories Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > Nope. Just +508 xx xx xx. See http://www.st-pierre-et-miquelon.com/ Actually +508 41 xx xx, since it's a rather small exchange. The local ISP, which belongs to the telco, is at http://www.cheznoo.net. They offer all the usual stuff, dialup, cable modem (they own the cable TV network), web hosting. Near the upper right of their home page the "Annuaire" link takes you to the local phone book along with service numbers like 15 for ambulance. The spmtelecom.com site describes their Ameris mobile phone system which has good coverage but is rather pricey and has the usual politically goofy rates, e.g., E1.10 to the US, but E0.68 to French Guyana because it's domestic. By the way, a traceroute to cheznoo.net reveals that they're connected via Newfoundland, not via France. I don't know whether voice or other traffic also takes that route. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 330 5711 johnl@iecc.com Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner http://iecc.com/johnl Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ From: Nick Landsberg Reply-To: hukolau@NOSPAM.att.net Subject: Re: Firms Look to Limit Liability for Online Security Breaches Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 00:46:23 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Monty Solomon wrote: > By Jonathan Krim > Washington Post Staff Writer > In the face of ongoing attacks by computer hackers, some companies > that store their customers' personal data are adopting a new defensive > tactic: If your information is stolen, they're not legally > responsible. > Across the Internet, retailers and other service providers that handle > consumer transactions are requiring customers to agree to waive any > right to sue the companies if the businesses are hacked, regardless of > how secure their systems are. > The waivers are contained in lengthy terms-of-use agreements that > consumers often click to accept without reading closely. > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31874-2004Mar4.html > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How odd ... so if a company does a real > schlocky job of maintaining their computer systems and the customer > database all leaks out, you cannot blame the company any longer. PAT] I'm not a lawyer, but I believe the principle of "due diligence" would apply here. If they sat on their rumps and did nothing to prevent the information from being stolen, even with the TOU agreements, then you would probably have a case. Then again, what's with the thousand line "terms of use" (TOU) agreements? I was on a site the other day which advertised something I *might* be interested in. I clicked on the link, and up popped a page which asked me to sign up. The TOU agreement was in a 2.5 line scroll box, maybe 20 characters wide. Obviously readable only by anal-retentives. To read the whole thing you had to scroll down through well over 50 lines (I stopped at about 50). No options to open a separate page with the whole agreement there. No options to print it out, etc. I called the number and asked for a copy of the TOU agreement before signing up. The droid said ... "You have to sign up and then we will send you the terms of use agreement if you request it." Thanks but no thanks. Now, this is the same stuff that spammers do. They comply with the "letter of the law" but not the spirit. In something like real-estate contracts, I thought it was now illegal to hide the details in the small print. This is tantamount to hiding the details in the small print. "It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious" - A. Bloch ------------------------------ From: alex@totallynerd.com (Alex) Subject: Re: Vonage with Modem and Fax Date: 5 Mar 2004 06:03:15 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com John and Pat, Thanks for the info ... but after contacting Vonage via email, they said they don't have my area yet but should soon. So, I'll hold-off until they're around here before pursuing it further. Thanks for your time and info on this, Alex John Levine wrote in message news:: >> I'm talking about running a regular modem, such as a Zoom, USR, etc, >> over the Vonage lines then a standard analog modem would as well, > Forget it. >> They say Fax machines will work, but Faxes are generally 9600 bps. >> I need 28,800 bps for a good PPP connection. > I find that faxes usually work, but their compression scheme is written > with faxes in mind. If you need 28K dialup, you need a real phone. > I like my Vonage phone just fine, but I wouldn't want it as the only > phone in the house because it doesn't work when the power fails, and > its 911 service is inferior to that on a real phone. > Regards, > John Levine johnl@iecc.com Primary Perpetrator of The Internet for Dummies > Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, > Sewer Commissioner > "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I tried this experiment as I promised I > would do in the last issue. When I tried plugging a fax machine > directly into the Vonage adapter, it worked fine. When I plugged in > one of the (computer) modems directly to the Vonage adapter, it worked > mostly okay at 300-1200 baud, or even 9600 baud. But it just would not > do any better. So my suggestion would be to put Vonage on for your > main line and also keep one telco line as an overflow for the Vonage > and for your incoming dialup sessions. PAT] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As far as 'not having lines yet in your area', I'd not waste a lot of time, but check in every day or three and see how long it takes them to get in your area. When I first started with Vonage (last April), they were only serving basically the west and east coasts with scattered 'pops' in the middle west, but nothing I could use. They did not send out any special announcements about moving into the central states area, but one day I decided to check (assuming I would still find nothing useful in the midwest), but lo-and-behold, this time they had 'pops' all over Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, so I swapped out my San Francisco line for a much closer one in Winfield, Kansas (620 area, same as myself). They seem to be very rapidly expanding, just as MCI/Sprint did in the early part of the 1970's. So keep watching. They also offer 800 numbers now. If you have any line of theirs, you can get a 'virtual' 800 number for five dollars per month with a hundred minutes of talk time per month included. So something like that might work for you also. PAT] ------------------------------ From: maxspd01@hotmail.com (Maxspd) Subject: Voip Setup Date: 5 Mar 2004 15:27:46 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I was wondering what it take to setup a phone company like Vonage? (Highly technical description is fine). [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, let's start with the money. You'll need a lot of it, maybe a bank can help you on that. You will need a truckload of DID lines, preferably in every single phone exchange everywhere, unless you were planning to build your own exchanges. Until/unless/ever you get to the point where all your traffic stays on your own network, you'll need to have good credit with the various telcos to pay some humongous billings for your off-net traffic (both in and out) which will be 90 percent or more of it. You'll need a vendor for your VOIP boxes, such as Cisco or Motorola, and have enough money to get your way with them regards how the adapter boxes are to be programmed, etc. Assume all the above will actually have to happen months or even a year before you are actually in a position to begin selling your service. That's for starters. PAT] ------------------------------ From: friedebach@yahoo.com (Eric Friedebach) Subject: A Mobile Media Mogul Date: 5 Mar 2004 16:01:52 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Arik Hesseldahl, 03.05.04, Forbes.com NEW YORK - Mobile phones are quickly turning into something more than what you use to talk to other people. They are increasingly becoming a source of entertainment. They're taking pictures. They're playing music. They're displaying video. And they're becoming an ever-more-popular platform for playing video games. All these new features are intended to boost the number that wireless carriers live by, known as ARPU -- average revenue per user. The trick is to convince customers to use their phones for a lot more than talking. In Europe and Japan this has worked out a lot better than in the United States, at least so far. Americans still like to spend most of their time talking on their phones, and aren't as likely to use them to send messages with pictures attached. http://www.forbes.com/technology/2004/03/05/cx_ah_0305tentech.html Note from Eric: I've received something new on my mobile handset this past week; spam. I think they knew what they were sending *to* since the character limit was not exceeded. Just a quick note saying I could have the figure of a supermodel if I called an 800 number. Eric Friedebach /No Dirty Words On The Whiteboard/ ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work and that of the original author. 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