From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon May 17 16:40:54 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4HKesT28776; Mon, 17 May 2004 16:40:54 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 16:40:54 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405172040.i4HKesT28776@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 #245 TELECOM Digest Mon, 17 May 2004 16:41:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 245 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Internet Phone Service Vonage Hits 155,000 Users (Monty Solomon) Acoustic Cryptanalysis (Monty Solomon) Prepaid Wireless: From Bad Rap to Hip (Monty Solomon) Microsoft Turning Attention to Research (Monty Solomon) The Fight Against Spam, Part 1 (Monty Solomon) Re: Let's Have Less Of Lessig (Monty Solomon) No, Let's Have Less Of Manes (Jack Decker) Re: NANP Numbering (Scott Dorsey) Re: Combi Phone - Mixing Board (ranck@vt.edu) Re: Transoceanic Data Communication Cables (Bill Burns) Re: Seeking Telecom Site (onesimus1776) Re: With Voice-Over-Internet, Bell Tolls, Finally For Bell Canada (A. Bell) Re: VOIP Only Getting One Way Conversation (Scott) Re: Blackberry Etiquette (Chip G.) Warning to all Readers About 090 5000 3784 (Ben Smith) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 00:32:42 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Internet Phone Service Vonage Hits 155,000 Users WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - Vonage, which provides phone service over high-speed Internet lines, said on Monday it had hit the 155,000 customers mark and was adding more than 20,000 users a month. The company, which reached 100,000 users in February, also said it was lowering the price of its unlimited calling plan for new and existing residential customers to $30 from $35. Vonage is the largest retail provider of so-called voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, which allows low-cost phone calls over high-speed Internet connections. Vonage has set a target of garnering 250,000 customers by the end of this year and is expanding internationally. Vonage Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Citron said the company had hit an "inflection point," where its growing base of users had allowed it to lower costs and pass some savings to customers. The market for phone service over broadband Internet connections has been heating up in recent months, as larger firms such as AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T) and Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) stake their claims in a business that smaller companies like Vonage have had mostly to themselves until now. AT&T began rolling out its CallVantage service two months ago, and Verizon is expected to unveil its VOIP offering by June. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41470328 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you have been thinking about pulling the plug entirely on Bell and going with a computer wide band phone system, now is a good time to try one and see how it works. You can get an e-coupon good for a month of free service on Vonage by simply writing and requesting it. ptownson@massis.csail.mit.edu PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 00:43:14 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Acoustic Cryptanalysis On nosy people and noisy machines [preliminary proof-of-concept presentation] Adi Shamir Eran Tromer Introduction and FAQ One of the methods for extracting information from supposedly secure systems is side-channel attacks: cryptanalytic techniques that rely on information unintentionally leaked by computing devices. Most side-channel attack research has focused on electromagnetic emanations (TEMPEST), power consumption and, recently, diffuse visible light from CRT displays. The oldest eavesdropping channel, namely acoustic emanations, has received little attention. Our preliminary analysis of acoustic emanations from personal computers shows them to be a surprisingly rich source of information on CPU activity. http://www.wisdom.weizmann.ac.il/~tromer/acoustic/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 23:45:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Prepaid Wireless: From Bad Rap to Hip By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff Prepaid wireless phones, once regarded as a last-resort option for those with bad credit, are suddenly hip. More and more consumers, particularly the young and the old, are viewing prepaid wireless as a smart choice, a way to stay connected without having to sign a long-term contract with a wireless carrier. For as little as $40 to $50, consumers can buy a phone and start making calls on a pay-as-you-go basis. Calling rates are generally more expensive than with contract plans, but prepaid can be ideal for infrequent users or people who want to manage their wireless spending. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/05/16/prepaid_wireless_from_bad_rap_to_hip/ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are a lot of those here in Independence. So many people have gotten tired of calling SBC because of the size of their phone bills and requested some feature or another be dropped so that they can simply keep up with the bill each month only to then the next month get a bill even higher once the features were dropped that they have gone to prepaid cellular as an alternative, and fixed amount spending. A good deal here with Alltel is you can now get a prepaid *monthly* account (instead of prepaid call-by-call) and wind up getting that for not much more money than a 'regular' cell phone account. That is, you get a certain number of minutes per month, along with caller ID and various other features; I think it is around $30 per month. Alltel calls it 'Smart Choice' or some similar name. Long distance is included in however you choose to spend your minutes. Our cellular carriers here in town are Alltell, US Cellular, Cellular One, and Cingular Wireless. They've all got prepaid service plans among their other offerings. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 10:36:29 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft Turning Attention to Research By ALLISON LINN AP Business Writer SEATTLE (AP) -- When it comes to the latest technology craze, Microsoft Corp. isn't known for being first or best: It's known for being biggest. The software behemoth has used its strength, money and reach to go from underdog to top dog on everything from Internet browsers to digital content players. Now, its attention turns to the growing field of search, with a broad-based push that extends from its dominant Windows operating system to its MSN online division. Google Inc. currently dominates Internet search, something analysts say could pose problems for Microsoft _ and not only because Google takes away advertising dollars. The popularity and simple, alluring user interfaces of the best search sites threaten to reduce the control that Microsoft maintains over people's computing experience through popular products like the Windows operating system and Internet Explorer browser. Plus, as the amount of digital information explodes, Microsoft also recognizes that computing today is not just about creating work documents, e-mails and pictures of your sister's new puppy _ it's also about finding all that later. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41480808 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 12:03:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Fight Against Spam, Part 1 by François Joseph de Kermadec Spam has become a supreme annoyance on the Internet. Everyone has to deal with it, just as everyone has to deal with telemarketers and mail-order catalogs in the real world. However, assuming that we cannot get totally rid of it, spam can, to a large extent, be avoided by following a few simple rules. My goal in this series of three articles is not to provide you with the ultimate, fool-proof anti-spam strategy. Why? Because there isn't one, and I would be lying to you if I wrote that there was. What I will try to do is to list a few common-sense, easy-to-follow rules that should allow you to spend most of your time on the Web without having to worry. In the first part of this series, we're going to focus on defining spam -- not an easy task, despite the appearances -- and see how you can start fighting against it. Once you have followed these steps, you will be just in time to read the following installments that focus on fine-tuning our strategy. They also feature an exclusive interview with Kim Silverman, principal research scientist and manager of spoken-language technologies at Apple, about Mail.app's junk-mail filtering capabilities. http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2004/05/14/spam_pt1.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 10:29:26 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Re: Let's Have Less Of Lessig Larry Lessig's response to Stephen Manes piece in Forbes "It's Simple" says the MANes I hadn't realized how sensitive Mr. Manes is. For a guy who feels no hesitation in calling someone a "moron," "idiot," and "buffoon," it's a bit surprising he'd find this as "blustering and bloviating" or filled with "rage." Once again, his colorful abuse while funny, if a bit overworked, is still wrong. What follows is Mr. Manes' latest, excerpted at places where a response is required. I've cut some of the personal attacks, so if you want to get a true measure of this man, be certain to read the originals. But here's his charges of error, and the errors they manifest. Manes' words are in bold. http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/001840.shtml Earlier pieces The Trouble With Larry Stephen Manes, 03.29.04, 12:00 AM ET http://www.forbes.com/columnists/business/free_forbes/2004/0329/084.html TalkBack: Manes http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/001794.shtml#001794 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 05:26:18 -0400 From: Jack Decker Subject: No! Let's Have Less Of Manes Pat: Please conceal my e-mail address. The most ironic comment in this commentary was, "It's always fun to watch an intellectual bully stumbling over his shoelaces when he finally gets pushed back", because Mr. Manes strikes me as exactly the sort of writer who bullies his opponents with words. He may finally get around to actually attempting to make his point, but not before he roughs up the victim of his attack a little first. It always bothers me when someone pounces on another's idea because they got a few historic facts wrong. Mr. Lessig is a lawyer, not a history teacher. There's no evidence given that Lessig knew that he was giving out incorrect Disney history -- indeed, as pervasive as Disney is, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find that there are several different Disney histories floating around, each a little different than the others. Perhaps Mr. Lessig came across a different version than Mr. Manes did. I sort of doubt that either were around when Steamboat Willie came out, so to begin an attack on the fact that Mr. Lessig got his history a bit wrong seems pretty weak to me. But the real point I wanted to make, and my reason for sending this message, is that you probably can't expect a fair discussion of copyright issues by people who basically use the existing copyright laws to their own advantage. It would be like expecting the president of a labor union to give a fair and balanced assessment of a labor vs. management issue. Those who use the copyright laws (and other so-called "intellectual property" laws) for their own protection can hardly be considered unbiased in such debates. The reason we've never seen a fair discussion, beginning with the question of whether the concept of "intellectual property" should ever have been considered valid in the first place, is because all the media "gatekeepers" have a strong interest in perpetuating the current system. So Mr. Manes gets to pontificate in Forbes, while Mr. Lessig is probably lucky if his ideas get anything even approaching fair coverage in the press. Media bias is nothing new, of course, but what's sickening is that while Mr. Manes gets his attacks published in a major business publication (hmmm, a business publication, any surprise which side they'd favor?), Mr. Lessig has to resort to publishing his response in his blog. And then Mr. Manes pulls quotes out of that, brackets them with paragraphs of vitriol, and comes up with yet another attack. And he has the unmitigated gall to call Mr. Lessig a bully?!?! Let's have less of Mr. Manes! ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: NANP Numbering Date: 17 May 2004 11:09:11 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Paul Robinson wrote: > Mark J Cuccia wrote in message: >> Earle Robinson (no email address indicated), from France, claims: >> And most all of us are *QUITE WELL AWARE* that there are the overlay >> areas with *mandatory* (1+)ten-digit local/same-NPA dialing, such as >> the entire state of Maryland (301/240, 410/443), New York City >> (212/646, 718/347, 917) [] the VA suburbs of DC (703/571), [ ] >> I THINK that I've covered all of the overlay areas (which all have >> mandatory (1+)ten-digit local/same-NPA dialing). > All area codes in Virginia are shared on an overlay, so the entire > Commonwealth of Virginia is mandatory 10 digit dialing for all calls, > not just the DC suburbs. Huh? Down here in Williamsburg, I have 7-digit dialing to most of the tidewater area. I have friends on the Pembroke Telephone Cooperative (540 area code) with 5-digit dialing still. -- scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Scott, how do the users of Pembroke get out of town when they wish to? There must be some one or more reserved digits to dial when they wish to call a neighboring community or some other 'long distance' point. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Combi Phone - Mixing Board Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 15:20:20 UTC Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA cadbury wrote: > Is there a single device which would enable me to do all of the > following? > 1. Have a hands free conversaton over the phone > 2. Be able to play a cd on my computer, hear it in my headset AND > have the other person on line hear it too > 3. Be able to adjust the volumes of both audio sources (mine over the > phone and the output from the computer). This is so that I can comment > the audio source while we both listen to it. I don't know if there is anything off-the-shelf just for this, but I have an Autocom intercom system on my motorcycle that pretty much does what you want. It has an input for an audio source which I can listen to, and I can converse with my passenger mixed with the music. It also has an over-ride input that cuts off the music and intercom designed for use with a radar detector, but I don't use that and it is not useful for your purpose. The Autocom has a version that connects to cell phones. Oh, my model does not adjust volume, it relys on the audio source for that, but the version that conncts to cell phones does adjust volume separately for the passenger. Not exactly what you are looking for, but could probably be adapted. A small audio mixing console would also be adaptable for your purpose I think. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ From: Bill Burns Subject: Re: Transoceanic Data Communication Cables Date: 17 May 2004 17:31:29 GMT Organization: FTL John McHarry wrote: > Porthcurno is where the first successful transatlantic cable > landed, and many current ones still do. Porthcurno wasn't the first transatlantic cable station, but I second John's advice to visit the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum, a first class telecomms museum at the very end of England. It's there for a good reason, of course, as this is the westernmost point of the English mainland and thus an ideal place to send cables out to the west. The first Atlantic cables (1858, 1865, 1866) and many subsequent ones originated in Valentia, Ireland, which is closer still to the North American landing points in Newfoundland. The first cable to land in Porthcurno was in 1870, forming part of the Britain-India route; PK's first transatlantic cable was laid in 1882. Lots more info on my page at: http://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/Porthcurno/index.htm and the museum's own website: http://www.porthcurno.org.uk/ And for a comprehensive list of (just about) every submarine communications cable ever laid (1850-2004), see: http://www.atlantic-cable.com/Cables/CableTimeLine/index.htm I also have quite a few historical cable route maps on line, from 1858 to 1992. It's interesting to see the rapid growth of worldwide cable systems after the first successes: http://atlantic-cable.com/Maps/index.htm Visitors to that part of Cornwall should also see the Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station on the next peninsula over: http://www.goonhilly.bt.com/ The original dish first used in 1962 with the Telstar satellite is still working. Bill Burns, Long Island, NY, USA mailto:billb@ftldesign.com History of Technology Websites: http://ftldesign.com ------------------------------ From: Andrew Bell Subject: Re: With Voice-Over-Internet Bell Tolls, Finally, For Bell Canada Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 14:52:35 -0400 (Pat, please print this from andrewb314@yahoo.com) > For example, with the Vonage service Burstein pays $35 a month for a > local calling plan that also gives him unlimited calling to anywhere > in the province and 500 minutes of free long-distance calls to any > location in North America outside of Ontario. Actually, it's $37 a month with the "regulatory recovery fee" added back where it belongs. Plus 7% GST (Goods and Services Tax) since he's in Ontario. That's about $39.50 (in Canadian pesos, of course - about $30 US.) Still a pretty good deal. > "It's a great plan," says Burstein, who uses the service at his > company Trend Marketing, a small importer and wholesaler of women's > shoes. He's talking through his Vonage service during the interview, > and from where I'm sitting on the other end, the quality of the call > nearly matches a traditional phone line. "I was paying about $250 a > month for long-distance fees calling customers only in Canada." > Now, his bill rarely exceeds $35. I wonder what his bill will be after Vonage reads this and reminds him that he's on a residential plan? From the Vonage terms of service: 1.2.1 Residential Use of Service and Device If you have subscribed to Vonage's Residential services, the Service and Device are provided to you as a residential user, for your personal, residential, non-business and non-professional use. This means that you are not using them for any commercial or governmental activities, profit-making or non-profit, [...] Andrew [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think Vonage sort of adopted the United States Army's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. I am certain a lot of guys are using Vonage residential service who rightfully should be on a business plan. But Vonage has not been in business long enough to have the luxury of being all that picky about customer. Not yet at any rate. PAT] ------------------------------ From: sdgreymont@yahoo.com (Scott) Subject: Re: VOIP Help Only Getting One Way Audio Conversation Date: 17 May 2004 12:35:29 -0700 sdgreymont@yahoo.com (Scott) wrote in message news:: > Hello to the experts. > To start out with I don't know much about VOIP. We have a user who is > connected to DSL through Frontier with a speedstream 5200 adsl modem. > We are able to get out Axxess IP Phone Plus phone to show up on the > network. The problem is that we are only getting one way > communication. We can hear the end party perfectly, they just cannot > hear us over this phone. We believe we have opened all the > appropriate ports on the firewall to allow voice traffic through. We > have tried using a packet sniffer, and unfortunately we don't see > squat getting blocked from this user. > All help is greatly appreciated. Please post back to this original > string. > Scott Solved it ourselves. We put a small SOHO inbetween the DSL Modem and the phone. Now NAT was forwarding the ports correctly. ------------------------------ From: "Chip G" Subject: Re: Blackberry Etiquette Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 18:57:43 GMT "Glen McGregor" wrote in message news:telecom23.243.12@telecom-digest.org: > I'm a newspaper reporter researching a story on the etiquette of using > Blackberries and other hand-helds. Would like to hear the thoughts of > users and non-users. > I'm especially interested in any workplace that has banned or curbed > their use in meetings. > Glen McGregor > Ottawa Citizen > 613.235.6685 > gmcgregor@thecitizen.canwest.com Crackberries are strictly managed in our business. There must be a very strong business case to get one and their use is strongly discouraged during meetings due to the disruptive nature of their use. Please post the results of your research here ... sounds very interesting! ------------------------------ From: onesimus1776 Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 13:26:52 -0500 Subject: Re: Seeking Telecom Site Dear Pat, ****Please Withhold My Address. Thank You!**** On 4-25-04, Keith wrote: > I'm looking for a telecom site I used to visit a few years ago. This > particular one was run rather informally, admin might have been named > Tom, and had a plethora of information regarding telecom, telephones, > etc. It had a section on history, a telecom book review section which > was pretty huge, might have had an old payphone section, etc. > I'm thinking it was called telecom resources, telephone resources, or > something to that effect. Probably you mean http://www.privateline.com/ At one time it was called TelecomWriting.com. A fine site with lots of resources, but IMO not as much fun as comp.dcom.telecom. Best, Joe ------------------------------ From: bensmithtoonfan@hotmail.com (Ben Smith) Subject: Warning to Readers About 090 5000 3784 Date: 17 May 2004 07:12:37 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I recieved the following text message today from telephone number: 090 5000 3784. It is a scam to get you to phone a premium rate number which costs a fortune. Here is what the text said: 'URGENT! We are trying to contact u. Todays draw shpws that you have won a £800 prize GUARANTEED. Call 090 5000 3784 from land line. Claim H97. Valid 12hrs only.' Regards, Ben Smith [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for the warning, Ben. By having it here in the Digest, others can be alert also. One problem I see with the 'urgent message' however is that the phone number appears to be good only in the UK?? There was an alarm like that in the USA several years ago where businessmen were getting paged with a message saying urgent to call a certain number 212-540 something trouble was it was only good for use in New York City even though the warning message was going all over the USA. 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. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. 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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 #245 ******************************