From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 19 02:13:34 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i2J7DX313785; Fri, 19 Mar 2004 02:13:34 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 02:13:34 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403190713.i2J7DX313785@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 #129 TELECOM Digest Fri, 19 Mar 2004 02:13:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 129 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Directory to Provide 4-1-1 on Cell Users (Joseph) Telephone Bill Reconciliation Software (Randy H) Laser Telepointer (wendell@visualecho.com) Power Lines Set to Carry Internet to Outlet Near You (Colin Sutton) Line Identifier (Steve Griffin) Re: Seeking any Advice on 5.8 GHZ Phones (burris) Re: President Bush Wants to Bug the Internet (jbl) Motorola Makes Hands-Free Dialing Easier With Aftermarket (M Solomon) How Do I Love Thee, TiVo? (Monty Solomon) A TV That Cuts All Cords (Monty Solomon) Could Stern's Anti-Bush Rants Shock the Vote? (Monty Solomon) Phone Sex (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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Joseph Subject: Directory to Provide 4-1-1 on Cell Users Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 13:49:12 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.NONOcom Phones: Despite complaints about loss of privacy, a listing of wireless owners is likely to have your number. By Dan Thanh Dang Sun Staff Consumers have come to expect a certain degree of confidentiality when it comes to their mobile phone numbers. Until now, the privacy of wireless subscribers has long been safeguarded. All that might change this year. The cellular phone industry is expected to launch a wireless directory-assistance service that seeks to include more than 70 percent of the nation's 156 million cellular numbers in a database. While wireless numbers will not be published in a book, anyone dialing 411 directory assistance on any phone will be able to get almost any wireless number. The directory could be available by the end of the year, the wireless industry said, as five of the six largest cellular carriers work to compile names and numbers. http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.bz.wireless18mar18,0,7380301.story?coll=bal-home-headlines or http://tinyurl.com/ype3b remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: randyh@southlandprinting.com (Randy H) Subject: Telephone Bill Reconciliation Software Date: 18 Mar 2004 07:02:04 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Does anyone know of a Retail or shareware piece of software that can take a phone bill from AT+T (delimeted file) and another file generated on an in-house SMDR system and compare the two for accuracy? I tried to come up with an Excel V-Lookup formula (I'm not too good with formulas) but couldnt get an accurate match. A big problem is that the Times of the calls do not match exactly in both. AT+T may have a call time at 8:00 am, and the SMDR may have the same call at 8:01 am, etc. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Randy ------------------------------ From: wendell@visualecho.com Subject: Laser Telepointer Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 13:44:26 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - Central Florida New technology now available: www.mirrorminds.com or www.visualecho.com ------------------------------ From: Colin Sutton Subject: Power Lines Set to Carry Internet to Outlet Near You Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 23:51:23 +1100 A unit of Cinergy Corp. today will become the nation's first electric utility to offer high-speed Internet service to customers via its power lines, turning every electrical outlet in homes or offices into a Web connection. Cinergy and Current plan to offer several levels of service starting at 1 megabit a second at $29.95 a month. Road Runner locally costs $44.95 a month for download speeds of up to 3 megabits; Cincinnati Bell's Zoomtown costs $41.95 a month for the same speed. They both offer signup discounts. http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/03/02/biz_biz1acin.html . Regards, Colin Sutton ------------------------------ From: Steve Griffin Subject: Line Identifier Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 19:03:24 GMT I do residential structured wiring. When I'm connecting to the NID, it's nice to know which line I'm connecting to. In most areas around here (Maryland, DC, VA), 811 will get me a recording of the line I'm calling from. In some areas, this won't work. I was told there is a universal number that will work, but I don't now what it is. Can anyone help? Thanks, Steve ------------------------------ From: burris Subject: Re: Seeking any Advice on 5.8 GHZ Phones Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 06:32:41 -0500 Dolchas wrote: > Greetings all! > I have a Uniden 900mz cordless phone that I always thought was pretty > mediocre (and the battery holds almost no charge nowadays), so I > figured I'd upgrade to a 2.4 ghz Panasonic that I saw at Costco for a > good price. The nice thing about this package is that it came with > three handsets and the promise of an intercom function; this intercom > function is a key feature for me because I live in a three story house > and am tired of yelling across floors. > When I got the 2.4 ghz system home, I found it interfered with my > Lorex transmitter device that sends signals from one TV to another on > 2.4 ghz frequency. So I figured maybe I'll try moving up to a 5.8 ghz > system, but as I started to research things, I read that: > (a) Some (many? all?) 5.8 ghz systems transmit partly on 2.4 ghz and > partly on 5.8 ghz, in which case I would still expect interference;and Yes, all that I have seen, and I do beta testing for a few manufacturers of 5.8, use 2.4 from handset to base and 5.8 from base to handset. Marketing?? > (b) higher frequency units are more likely to be obstructed by objects > as opposed to lower freq units like my 9n00 mz units. I have to be > able go through walls and floors whilst communicating between handset > and base, and handset to handset (for the intercom function) -- will I > have problems with this at 5.8 ghz? I live on the 14th floor of a hi-rise and have used cordless phones since the beginning. The 2.4 and 5.8 are terrible for range. I can't get down the hall before they all drop the signal. The very best I ever had was the Sanyo series of 900Mhz..Digital Spread Spectrum. They would work all the way down to the lobby. This was a few years ago, before read-outs came into play, so no intercoms, except for the handset locater from the base unit. The handsets were quite a bit larger and heavier than the current products. The also required a base to go with each handset...no remotes at that time yet. As far as interference, I have always kept a handset next to my computing equipment and never experienced a problem with interference with either 2.4 or 5.8. > Costco has a good price on a Uniden 5.8 ghz phone which also has three > handsets (I am not presently confident about whether or not it has the > intercom function). Does anyone know if this Uniden phone utilizes > 2.4 ghz freqs in any way? Also, does anyone know if, like the > Panasonic, it has a handset-to-handset interocom function? Am I > likely to have problems communicating through floors and walls with a > 5.8 ghz system? How is Uniden as a brand? From my years of testing and experience in using these phones, I find that the 21st Century aims a bit toward bells and whistles. I just can't believe the features that the new models have. Unfortunately, not much to do with good solid communications. Probably the best advantage is a greater measure of security against remote hacking via listening in. The phones are smaller, the have all kinds of graphics on the screens and as always, you will maybe use 25% of the features, much like TV or Stereo products. > Should I just stay in the 20th century rather than leap into the 21st? > If so, are there any decent 900 mz cordless phone systems with three > handsets and an intercom feature? > Any recommendations at all are much appreciated! You will find that everyone has a different need and expectation and result, therefore many people may disagree and find fault with my observations. For years now I have found Panasonic to be the best in the area of cordless phones. The "only" way for you to find a product that you will like and that will work in your environment is to buy it, take it home and try it. This requires purchasing from a dealer who will allow you to return any product that doesn't please you for any reason. Costco is certainly one of those dealers. Burris ------------------------------ From: jbl Subject: Re: President Bush Wants to Bug the Internet Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 00:02:10 -0700 Organization: On the desert Reply-To: jbl@spamblocked.com In , werner@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu, or actually PAT wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am pleased to make your aquaintence, > Mr. Werner (? I assume ?) I guess I am not familiar with the newsgroup > you moderate, which one is it? My goodness. Pat, meet Werner. Werner, meet Pat. I have "known" Pat since about the time he took over the digest, which is more or less when I started reading it; I have know Werner since the early days of the Macintosh, certainly when the first virus appeared on a Mac, and possibly earlier (CRAFT(*) memory strikes). I'm a little surprised that this is a first encounter. > One of the reasons I often times will intersperse my notes with the > Digest ... From time to time Pat's moderating style has come up for discussion. At this point, however ec- (or ego-?) centric it may be, it's traditional here and helps define the tone of this digest or newsgroup; people who don't like it avoid it. There's probably no point in discussing it, though. Regards / JBL (*)Can't Remember A [gosh-darn] Thing Nets: jbl@spamblocked.com | ARS: KD1ON | Phone: (520)424-9075 | [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: At one point, many years ago, when this newsgroup was the sole one on the net dealing with telecommunications (that's where the old Usenet title 'comp.dcom.telecom' came from) I did give serious thought to Mr. Werner's (and other folks') suggestions about separating the moderator notes from the rest of the messages, because I thought it would be more fair. But in the past few years there have been *so many* telecom-related discussion groups between the web, various internet sites, and ISPs that I felt it no longer really mattered. People can either post/read here or so the same thing in many other telecom-related forums. I guess the main reason I know nothing about Mr. Werner's forum is that years ago when I *could* read them I chose instead to spend most of my on net time working on this Digest, and the volume of messages was *so heavy*. Does anyone remember when I was routinely publishing five or six issues of the Digest daily; that's how heavy the volume was when there were fewer choices. Now with more choices for readers and as a result fewer messages in any group, I could go read the other groups but because of the brain aneurysm, I am **so tired** most days, and I do not get as far in my personal reading as I used to. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 09:33:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Motorola Makes Hands-Free Dialing Easier With a New Aftermarket Motorola Makes Hands-Free Dialing Easier With a New Aftermarket Integrated System With Bluetooth(R) Wireless Technology - Mar 18, 2004 09:00 AM (PR Newswire) Cornerstone of Corporate-Wide Product Strategy Is a Standards-Based Approach To Ensure Compatibility Across Multiple Devices and Vehicles HANNOVER, Germany, March 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CeBIT -- Busy mobile-professionals and tech-savvy consumers will appreciate the Integrated Hands Free system with Bluetooth wireless technology that Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) unveiled at CeBIT today. The latest Motorola in-vehicle system will automatically connect securely to a driver's Bluetooth enabled mobile phone, whether the conversation was initiated before or after starting the vehicle, all without wires or connections. The Motorola Integrated Hands Free system with Bluetooth wireless technology features intuitive user controls and is designed to help drivers keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. By incorporating advanced voice recognition technology into the system, drivers have the ability to simply speak the telephone number to which they would like to be connected, and the technology will place the call on the driver's behalf. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40870586 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 23:32:40 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: How Do I Love Thee, TiVo? By ERIC A. TAUB JEFF Davies was so fond of his digital video recorder that he bought a second one. Then he bought another. And another. And another. And another. Today, Mr. Davies, a software engineer in Mountain View, Calif., owns six TiVo and ReplayTV digital video recorders, and actively uses five of them to record programs from his satellite dish for later viewing. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/technology/circuits/18tivo.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 23:36:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: A TV That Cuts All Cords By DAVID POGUE EVERY industry has its marketing buzzwords. In the food business, you've got your "fat-free," your "all natural" and, lately, your "low-carb." In the auto market, it's "G.P.S.," "ABS" and "AWD." But in the consumer-technology racket, the three hottest buzzwords are, in no particular order, "wireless," "wireless" and "wireless." The Wireless Fairy has already tapped her magic wand on phones, computers and palmtops. But next month Sharp will deliver the first entrant in a whole new category of wireless gear. Its new Aquos LC-15L1U is the world's first wireless flat-panel television. Imagine a bright, beautiful 15-inch liquid crystal display screen - like a plasma, but with longer life and no risk of permanent burn-in - flanked by protruding round speakers that suggest a Picasso rendering of Mickey Mouse. Here's the twist: Using the carrying handle at the top, you can bring the 11-pound screen anywhere in the house as you work, play or entertain, without being tethered to your home-theater setup. You can park this Sharp on the kitchen counter as you chop carrots, keep an eye on the game as you labor at the grill, catch the end of "The Apprentice" while you brush your teeth in the bathroom - all without wires or plugs. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/18/technology/circuits/18stat.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 12:28:33 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Could Stern's Anti-Bush Rants Shock the Vote? By Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff, 3/18/2004 American liberals have been waiting for a perch on talk radio, a medium dominated by conservative and right-wing voices since the 1980s. And on March 31, the new Air America Radio network will give them a nascent one, as it premieres in the New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago markets. Just as "The Daily Show" brings an openly lefty spin to TV news, Air America will fly in the face of the right wing with hosts including Al Franken, Janeane Garofalo, and Marty Kaplan. But wait a minute: Is "shock jock" Howard Stern -- stripper aficionado, champion of misfits everywhere, all-purpose radio provocateur -- already giving liberals a voice on the airwaves? And is that voice powerful enough to affect the upcoming presidential election? Since the FCC crackdown on media "indecency" in the wake of Janet Jackson's Nipplegate incident, Stern has transformed his morning variety show into a rabidly anti-Bush talk forum. Every weekday, he has been devoting hours of his broadcast (locally on WBCN-FM, 104.1) to impassioned criticism of President Bush and support of Senator John Kerry. Railing tirelessly against the president, Stern has been attacking Bush's yoking together of church and state, the legitimacy of his National Guard service, his use of Sept. 11 imagery in his campaign ads, his stances regarding First Amendment rights, his handling of Iraq, and his stands on gay marriage and stem-cell research. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2004/03/18/could_sterns_anti_bush_rants_shock_the_vote/ ------------------------------ From: friedebach@yahoo.com (Eric Friedebach) Subject: Phone Sex Date: 18 Mar 2004 17:31:40 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Seth Lubove, 03.18.04, Forbes.com LOS ANGELES - As many as 87% of U.S. consumers are still worried about using their credit cards to make Internet purchases, according to one recent survey. Stephane Touboul says he has the killer app that could reinvent Internet purchasing. His company, ChargeMeLater, allows consumers to buy online and pay for it simply by entering the sum of the last four digits of their social security number. Touboul uses a proprietary algorithm that corroborates the identity of users based on a search of multiple databases and their phone numbers, validates their ages and addresses, makes sure they're good for the money, and then sends a bill to the user's house. "We have created a mechanism that could really change the face of commerce on the Internet," boasts Touboul from his Secaucus, N.J., headquarters. But Touboul has some big problems that stand between him and Internet enlightenment for the masses: the Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general in 20 states. In a lawsuit filed in May, and echoed in the state actions, the FTC accuses Touboul and his other company, Alyon Technologies, of "unjust enrichment," "unfair" billing, violations of the FTC's Pay-Per-Call Rule and other mischief. At the time of the lawsuit, Touboul said he was "stunned by the FTC's decision to initiate this unwarranted action," since the company had already "voluntarily" discussed the issues with the FTC and "implemented measures" to protect consumers. http://www.forbes.com/ebusiness/2004/03/18/cz_sl_0318credit.html Eric Friedebach /Tonight's Skywarn training cancelled due to... weather?/ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think the FTC is so far out in left field on these claims regards the 'ChargeMeLater' plan. I do not understand why it would be considered 'unjust enrichment' or 'unfair billing.' The internet merchant *is* entitled to be paid for whatever it is he sold the consumer, and at least under 'ChargeMeLater' the consumer gets to examine the merchandise rather than having to pay up front with a credit card (and we all know what hassles getting a refund from credit card companies can be). Under 'ChargeMeLater' a sort of informal credit card on the internet, the consumer okays the purchase, (generally thus far, just porn stuff on line), gets to examine or make use of his purchase, then **about a week later** gets a bill in the mail from the 'ChargeMeLater' people, and **within about fifteen days of that point** is expected to remit payment with a check or credit card, etc. 'ChargeMeLater' sets up small credit limits on each new customer, that limit later moves up depending on how well the person is about paying. I do not understand why FTC would think so poorly of that plan. If anything, the merchant (who does not get paid until 'ChargeMeLater' gets paid) is more likely than the consumer to get ripped off. When I first saw a reference to 'Charge MeLater' as a way to access some of 'that stuff' on line, I was astounded that an internet merchant would take chances like that. What exactly is the problem with the FTC on this? The merchants still use credit cards as valid proof of age before displaying their wares, 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, 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #129 ****************************** y