From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 25 01:52:42 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i2P6qgV19868; Thu, 25 Mar 2004 01:52:42 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 01:52:42 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200403250652.i2P6qgV19868@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 #140 TELECOM Digest Thu, 25 Mar 2004 01:52:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 140 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cablevision to Hike Rates, Panel Rules For YES (Monty Solomon) Cellular Execs Say Go Slow on High-Speed Wireless (Monty Solomon) AOL Sees Future in Web Standards, Digital Media (Monty Solomon) AT&T Wireless Opens For Transatlantic Texting (Monty Solomon) PluggedIn: RSS Readers Offer New Ways to Read the Web (Monty Solomon) U.S. Cable Industry to Offer Free Channel Blocking (Monty Solomon) Remedy Debated as Nextel, Safety Channels Clash (Monty Solomon) Congress Let Privacy Programs be Cut (Monty Solomon) EPIC Alert 11.06 (Monty Solomon) EFFector 17.10: Let the Sun Set on PATRIOT-Section 212 (Monty Solomon) Re: Correcting 411/555-1212 Info; Unlisted Service Not (Bit Twister) 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? (AES/newspost) Re: Western Union Clocks (John Bartley) Australia: People Telecom Takes First Steps Into VoIP (VOIP News) Share Day for March (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. =========================== 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: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 22:52:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cablevision to Hike Rates, Panel Rules For YES NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp. will hike monthly subscriber rates by 95 cents to partly cover the cost of carrying New York Yankees games, after an arbitration panel ruled it must offer the Yankees network to all of its subscribers on its expanded basic package of cable channels, the company said on Wednesday. The decision puts a temporary end to the maelstrom of controversy that has dragged New York regulators, politicians and media power brokers into a vicious brawl between the companies that create shows and those that distribute them. But emotions ran high on Wednesday, even after a deal was struck. "This ruling is a significant step backward that ignores the consumer's desire for fairness and choice," James Dolan, Cablevision's (NYSE:CVC) president and CEO, said in a statement. The arbitrators' decision appears to tip the balance of power in favor of programmers, at least for the time being, media executives said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40927398 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:10:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cellular Execs Say go Slow on High-Speed Wireless By Justin Hyde ATLANTA, March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. wireless companies are wary of pouring billions of dollars into faster networks to accommodate high-speed data, noting that it may be years before consumers widely adopt the technology. High-speed wireless data technology claimed much of the limelight at this year's Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association industry show here, but executives want more time to evaluate the technology and wait for more advanced consumer devices, such as phones that can send and receive video clips. High-speed wireless data "is here, it's here to stay and it's going to be a big part of our business," Tim Donahue, Nextel Communications (NASDAQ:NXTL) president and CEO said during a panel discussion on Wednesday. But with the telecom spending boom and bust of the past few years in mind, several cellular companies say they want a clear picture of the high-speed business before they resume spending. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40924691 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:15:24 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AOL Sees Future in Web Standards, Digital Media By Kenneth Li NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - America Online, long content to rule the Web world from its ivory tower, is lowering the drawbridge. Since its inception, the world's largest Internet service provider has used its proprietary software as a gateway to its e-mail, busy chat rooms and exclusive features from sister properties such as the popular magazines People and Sports Illustrated. The problem for the Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX) unit is that it may be driving away customers seeking cheaper, more customized services by basing its flagship service on an isolationist model accessible only to members who pay $23.95 a month. Now, ahead of a critical board meeting in April, AOL Chief Executive Jonathan Miller has to convince Time Warner that its online unit can recover from disappointing advertising sales and subscriber defections of 2.2 million, or about 10 percent, in 2003 alone. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40923954 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:27:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: AT&T Wireless Opens For Transatlantic Texting AMSTERDAM, March 23 (Reuters) - U.S.-based mobile telecoms carrier AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE) said on Tuesday its 22 million United States customers could send and receive short SMS text messages to over 263 million mobile phone users in Europe. The company, the country's third largest mobile carrier, said it was the biggest effort to date to open up the mobile texting market between the two continents. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40914446 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:30:27 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: PluggedIn: RSS Readers Offer New Ways to Read the Web By Reed Stevenson SEATTLE, March 23 (Reuters) - Noticed those little orange boxes on the Web lately with the letters "XML"? It's not a mystery or an obscure engineering feature, but rather a new way to get news and information delivered to your PC without having to browse through page after page of Internet sites. Called RSS, for Really Simple Syndication, these feeds are used to send information across the Internet using XML, or eXtensible Markup Language, the de facto new standard in formatting Web pages and information to be sent over networks. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40916870 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 23:29:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: U.S. Cable Industry to Offer Free Channel Blocking NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Top U.S. cable television companies on Tuesday pledged they would not charge cable customers to have some channels blocked so they can avoid programming they find offensive. The industry is pushing its new campaign to give consumers more control over programming amid efforts to extend broadcast indecency limits to pay television systems and calls for allowing consumers to pay only for the channels they want to receive. The crackdown on indecency follows several high-profile incidents, including swear words uttered on broadcast television and pop singer Janet Jackson exposing her bare breast on national television. The industry's trade group, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, unveiled the pledge and a new Web site, www.controlyourtv.org, aimed at giving families more information on programming choices, as well as instructions on how to block channels. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40916257 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 00:45:46 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Remedy Debated as Nextel, Safety Channels Clash By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff, 3/24/2004 Making a pre-dawn raid to execute an arrest warrant seven months ago, three Cambridge police officers found their radios would not work inside the suspect's building -- leaving them unable to call for backup if the arrest turned violent. Several weeks later, police breaking up a 2 a.m. brawl at an apartment building suffered the same lost coverage. So did a fire engine crew calling for a paramedic and a deputy chief investigating a smoke-filled building. In each case, the source of trouble identified by Cambridge Fire Chief Gerald R. Reardon, who oversees the city's public safety network, was interference from Nextel Communications Inc. cellphone sites. Last month, when Nextel activated a temporary signal amplifier at a construction project, Reardon said it caused so much interference that fire officials had to shut down the main city radio system for hours to fix it. Cambridge exemplifies a growing problem across the state and nation. As Nextel's walkie-talkie cellphones have boomed in popularity, growing to over 13 million subscribers, so has reported interference with public-safety radio systems that operate in radio channels closely interlaced with Nextel's. The Federal Communications Commission, after two years of review, is close to voting on a $850 million-plus proposal from Nextel to solve the problem by reshuffling spectrum licenses and reprogramming tens of thousands of emergency officials' radios. But the plan is coming under mounting criticism from rivals, particularly Verizon Wireless, who contend Nextel would grab a $7 billion windfall in new radio-spectrum licenses. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/03/24/remedy_debated_as_nextel_safety_channels_clash/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 00:50:02 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Congress Let Privacy Programs be Cut By Michael J. Sniffen, Associated Press, 3/16/2004 WASHINGTON -- When Congress curtailed Pentagon research it feared would ensnare innocent Americans in the terrorism fight, it also allowed the Bush administration to eliminate two projects to protect citizens' privacy from futuristic tools. As a result, the government is quietly pressing ahead with research into high-powered computer data-mining technology without the two most advanced privacy protections developed for those terror-fighting tools. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/03/16/congress_let_privacy_programs_be_cut/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 22:17:18 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 11.06 ======================================================================= E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================= Volume 11.06 March 24, 2004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_11.06.html ====================================================================== Table of Contents ====================================================================== [1] Supreme Court Hears Compelled ID Case [2] EPIC Testifies on Air Profiling System [3] DC Council Unveils DC Police's Spying Practices [4] More States Back Out of MATRIX [5] EPIC's Open Government Work Recognized With Madison Award [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Ben Franklin's Web Site [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_11.06.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 22:19:09 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 17.10: Let the Sun Set on PATRIOT-Section 212 EFFector Vol. 17, No. 10 March 24, 2004 donna@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 282nd Issue of EFFector: * Let the Sun Set on PATRIOT - Section 212 * Cory Doctorow to Participate in Barcelona Forum 2004 * Deep Links (23): The Other Silver Lining in Janet's Bustier * Staff Calendar: 03.25.04 - Fred von Lohmann speaks at GW Honors Program Symposium, Washington, DC; Seth Schoen speaks on Trusted Computing, Providence, RI; 03.26.04 - Jason Schultz speaks at Duke Law School's IP Society Symposium, Durham, NC * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/17/10.php ------------------------------ From: Bit Twister Subject: Re: Correcting 411/555-1212 Info; Unlisted Service Not Rendered Organization: home user Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 20:40:46 GMT On Tue, 23 Mar 2004 20:46:28 -0800, wrote: > Received an incoming phone call from unknown person. This unknown > caller said that the operator gave them the number, but this number > has supposedly been unlisted for about six months (for small monthly > charge). > There are multiple local phone companies, and the caller may not have > been local. So, is it possible I have no way of knowing what number > information service the caller used? > How can anyone verify whether that monthly "unlisted" charge is doing > anything? My solution. When I moved my phone service from Version to a cable company, I dropped the unlisted feature and had the shown ID owner to be RJ instead of my name. Now my name is not in the phone book and anyone calling RJ has the wrong number. ------------------------------ From: AES/newspost Subject: 110 V Cord and USB Cable Standards? Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 12:22:22 -0800 Just acquired a Konica Minolta DiMAGE Xg pocket camera -- seems very nice so far, but brings up some queries that experts on these groups may be willing to answer: 1) The USB cable that comes with the camera has the standard USB connector on the computer end and a "mini" USB device connector (similar to but smaller than the standard computer device connectors that I'm used to) on the other end. Is this "mini-USB" connector also a general USB standard, used for physically small devices? Will I be able to just keep one or two such cables around for use with a variety of USB-enabled "mini-peripherals"? Or is this some non-standard Minolta-only connector? Where can I learn more about USB standard device-end connectors? 2) Similar query for the 110 V cord for the battery charger. The charger end of this cord has a connector that seen head on looks something like a squared-off figure 8 (or an infinity sign) with two circular holes about 2 mm in ID and 9 mm apart. [The connector itself is stamped "Kawasaki KS-15F".] Is this also a "standard" 110 V connector? Does it have a name? I've seen similar power cords on stereo systems and small printers and electronic gadgets -- though they don't always .seem to want to be shared among different gadgets. [P.S.--I've posted this query to these groups because I read them and there seem to be a lot of informed people on them. Other places I should post it? Email cc of replies welcomed.] ------------------------------ From: John Bartley Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 14:54:26 -0800 Subject: Re: Western Union Clocks There are off-the-shelf receivers for this purpose, but likely spendy. How about adding an X-10 computer interface, plus an X-10-controlled relay, and programming the X-10 computer interface to signal the relay hourly?  Then, time sync the PC, and you've got what you want. On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 06:56:01 -6, in comp.dcom.telecom Mike Riddle wrote: > Several years ago our esteemed moderator ran several articles on > Western Union Clocks.  These were typically installed in train > stations and other public places.  They were electrically powered, > self-winding (made by the "Self-Winding Clock Company") and > synchronized with the Naval Observatory on a periodic basis through > a 20 or 60 ma (I'm not sure which right now) circuit to Western > Union. > I've looked in the archives and while I found several of the old > messages, I couldn't locate any detailed information on how to actual > sync them now that WU is no longer in the time business. > So I'm looking for an affordable ("cheap") WWV receiver or other > timing device that could give at least a contact closure daily or > hourly at the top of the hour so I could use one or two of these old > beauties as they were truly designed.  A manual circuit is simple and > described in the archives.  An automagic one quickly gets past my > knowledge of available products/techniques.  ;-( > TIA. > Mike Riddle > mriddle%nospam@ivgate.omahug.org > http://www.mikeriddle.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note:  Quite honestly, I am looking *even for > a single clock* right now. I had three (one wooden case, two metal > case ones) several years ago, but some one or more persons stole them > from me around the start of 2000. Mike, *unless you have sweep second > hands on your clock(s) -- not all that common -- those clocks can be > manually calibrated quite easily -- well, it takes a couple days of > very close observation -- to within a few seconds, maybe 10 seconds > per **month**, meaning with the naked eye, any discrepancy in the time > is so negligible it does not matter. They *are* beautiful old clocks, > but hardly the world's most accurate; but to the casual observer or even > some one who stand there and looks at them closely, they can be quite > accurate. > I had all three of my clocks wired in parallel to a 4.5 volt battery > eliminator; since it never happened that all three of them (and quite > rare that even two of them) chose to wind at the same time, that > little battery eliminator was quite sufficient. As the clock(s) would > wind once per hour, I also had the little red light bulb illuminate on > the winding circuit. To set the clocks, I had the setting circuits all > wired in parallel also to a nine-volt battery which was taped under my > desk through a doorbell button. Once a month or so, when I happened to > look at the clocks *and* my radio controlled wristwatch at the same > time and see the digital wristwatch approach an even hour and could > actually see with my eyes where one or more of the clocks was a thin > hair off the correct time, as the proper second approached I would tap > that doorbell button and listen to the ker-chunk as all three clocks > would jerk their minute a tiny fraction of an inch backward or > forward as needed. > How to get the clocks that accurate to start with?  Well, they have > to be ***totally level*** both flush against the wall and from the > floor or ceiling. Make sure the hands are screwed on tight. Not so > tight they bend or fall off, but make the little screw fasten on there > snuggly. Starting at midnight or noon, make both hands evenly point > at the '12'. Look again at 12:05; if you can see even the tiniest > discrepancy, then tweak the pendulum set screw just a tiny bit, mark > the *exact* time with a digital time piece and start again. Do that > every five minutes until you can no longer detect any discrepancy with > our naked eye. Then wait 30 minutes or so and check again, and repeat > as needed. No noticeable discrepancies? Then check it again in a > couple hours. Then go off to bed; when you wake up in the morning go > look again. If the discrepancy wasn't really gross to start with, > then after a day or two of looking and making little tweaks of the > pendulum as needed, you will have the clock very, very,very close, > close enough that you can ignore it for at least a few days at a time. > Train your ears also to listen to the beat. > If your clock(s) have a 'sweep second' hand as well, the setting arm > does both the second hand and the minute hand. But even WUTCO techs > had a hard time calibrating the second hand; if it was between 1 > second and around 20 seconds it would jump backward; between about > 35 seconds and 60 seconds it would jump forward. If it was between > about 20 seconds and 35 seconds more or less when the pulse came down > the line, well then you had a problem. The mechanical finger would > try to pull it one way or the other, but often times miss entirely. > (Remember, WUTCO clocks were more glamorous than they were 'to-the- > split-second' accurate.) > My wooden case clock arrived with a broken glass on the front, and > fifty years of paint covering up an original varnish finish. It spent > the first fifty years of its life hanging in the Board of Education > Building lunchroom (downtown Chicago), then I had it in service for > another *25 years* (1973-1998) in my office. The finest clock I ever > saw was a grandfather clock in a large case which stood on the floor > in the Chicago Temple Building third floor library; it also had > Western Union works in it, and I think its original smooth varnish > finish and the original glass in it, and door latches. > I sure miss those three clocks I had since they were stolen. If > **anyone** is willing to part with one, please let me know and > how much. No total basket cases please, but small repairs are quite > acceptable. Write to ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu and thanks.   PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 19:47:50 -0500 Subject: Australia: People Telecom Takes First Steps Into VoIP Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=1946546231&fp=2&fpid=1 People Telecom Takes First Steps Into VoIP Nadia Cameron, ARN People Telecom is in the process of fine-tuning both residential and business voice over IP (VoIP) services to launch this year. People Telecom CEO, Ryan O'Hare, said while the business-oriented VoIP service was still four to five months away, the carrier planned to launch a basic residential IP-based voice service from next week. O'Hare was hopeful the carrier could sign up around 10,000 residential customers to its forthcoming IP-based voice service through its affiliation with Perth-based ISP Swiftel. Business interest in VoIP would, however, take a lot longer, he said. Full story at: http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=1946546231&fp=2&fpid=1 How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Share Day For March Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 0:00:00 EST Instead of changing the Digest over to an advrtising supported forum, I have always elected to keep it as a user supported forum, and for the most part keep it spam and virus free. I am *only* able to do this because of financial support from readers here, and if you would rather not see these messages every month, then please pitch in and help now and then! Consider it sort of like public radio, which goes on for days at a time trying to raise money ... and maybe I should adopt the same system. Turn over the entire Digest once or twice a year to fund raising (entire issues, etc) and stop doing it when the budget for the year has been raised. But for now, I will stick with the present system of devoting a few messages during the month to raising money for the Digest publication expenses. Out of 400-500 messages per month, in a spam, virus free environment, two or three (only) devoted to fund raising. You know who you are; please provide some help here financially. You can use Pay Pal to donate with a credit/debit card by going to our web site http://telecom-digest.org and at the bottom of the home page look for the PayPal 'donate' button. Or if you prefer, send a check or money order to Patrick Townson/TELECOM, Post Office Box 50, Independence, Kansas 67301-0050. The amount you send is entirely up to you. You know best how much you can afford and whether or not this Digest has any value for you. Thank you very much. Patrick Townson, Editor/Publisher TELECOM Digest ------------------------------ 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 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 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 2004 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 fifty 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. If you donate at least fifty dollars per year we will send you our two-CD set of the entire Telecom Archives; this is every word published in this Digest since our beginning in 1981. 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 V23 #140 ******************************