From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed May 26 15:16:00 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i4QJG0s09627; Wed, 26 May 2004 15:16:00 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 15:16:00 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200405261916.i4QJG0s09627@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 #260 TELECOM Digest Wed, 26 May 2004 15:16:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 260 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson TiVo Q1 Results (Monty Solomon) Microsoft, Developer Combine Anti-Spam Standards (Monty Solomon) Microsoft and Meng Wong to Merge Caller ID for E-Mail and SPF (M Solomon) Ringtones Left Out of Digital Music Price Wars (Monty Solomon) Getting a Handle on URNs (Monty Solomon) Multiline Residential Phone System Recommendations? (ed) Re: Ringing Multiple Devices (was Re: Bye, Bye Ma Bell) (Hank Karl) Re: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV (Garrett Wollman) Re: T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture with Cingular (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) Cell Phone in Switzerland, Part II (John R Levine) Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider (gene) Re: Qwest DSL Service and Modem (Dave Garland) Labor/Union Stuff (Short) was Re: The Strike Goes On (Danny Burstein) Re: The Strike Goes On (Mark Crispin) Re: The Strike Goes On (Michael Chance) Re: My Posting on Norvergence (Tony P.) Re: My Posting on Norvergence (Justin Time) Re: My Posting on Norvergence (Steve Lopes) Naked DSL - Verizon to Ditch Forced Bundling? (VOIP News) Comcast Plans to Offer Phone Service (VOIP News) Popular Telephony Announces Peerio444 Serverless (VOIP News) Comcast Announces VoIP Service (VOIP News) 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: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:43:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Q1 Results Strong Consumer Demand More than Triples Q1 Subscription Growth for TiVo; Lower Prices and Broad Availability Drive Record Results DIRECTV with TiVo subscription additions grew nearly 5x compared to Q1 of last year; TiVo owned subscription additions nearly double in the same period Service revenues grew 74% in the quarter, compared to Q1 of last year Management reiterates plans to double subscription base in current year SAN JOSE, Calif., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), reported today that it added a record 264,000 subscriptions in the first quarter, more than three times the number added in Q1 of last year. Total cumulative subscriptions grew to nearly 1.6 million, more than double the subscription base TiVo reported a year ago. Net revenues for the quarter were $34.5 million. Of this amount, Service revenues were $22.2 million, which represents growth of 74% compared to the same quarter of last year. Net loss for the quarter was ($9.1) million, or ($0.11) per share, compared to a net loss of ($7.9) million, or ($0.12) per share, for the three months ended April 30, 2003. Of the 264,000 new subscriptions added in the quarter, approximately 196,000 resulted from TiVo's relationship with DIRECTV, nearly five times the number of DIRECTV subscriptions added in Q1 of last year. New TiVo Service subscriptions additions in the quarter were 68,000, an 84% increase compared to Q1 of last year. DIRECTV with TiVo and Series2 DVRs Momentum Drive Record Q1 Results The explosive growth of DIRECTV with TiVo in Q1 demonstrates the growing strength of what is one of the best experiences in television home entertainment: the DIRECTV DVR with TiVo. The record number of DIRECTV activations in the quarter was driven by increased product availability, the $99 price point, and a variety of promotional programs directed at the DIRECTV subscriber base. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41637010 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:52:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft, Developer Combine anti-Spam Standards By Andy Sullivan WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - The backers of two anti-spam proposals said on Tuesday they would work together to provide a single standard that would make it easier for Internet providers to block unwanted junk e-mail. Giant software company Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT). and Pobox.com co-founder Meng Wong said they would combine their approaches, which both aim to weed out fake e-mail addresses used by spammers to cover their tracks. Both Microsoft's Caller ID for e-mail and Wong's Sender Policy Framework would allow Internet providers to check that a message from joe@example.com actually comes from the numerical addresses used by example.com's e-mail servers. Mail that did not match up could be safely rejected as spam. The standard would pose few difficulties for most companies that handle e-mail, and individual users would not have to make any changes at all. E-mail forwarders like Pobox.com would have to make the biggest efforts to comply with the new standard, Wong said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41633697 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 23:53:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Microsoft and Meng Wong to Merge Caller ID for E-Mail and SPF Unified Anti-Spam Proposal to Enable Swift Industry Adoption of E-Mail Authentication Technology to Help Prevent Domain Spoofing and Phishing REDMOND, Wash., and PHILADELPHIA, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp (Nasdaq: MSFT), author of the Caller ID for E-mail proposal, and Meng Wong, co-founder and CTO of Pobox.com and author of the Sender Policy Framework (SPF), have announced today that they have agreed to converge the two proposals into one specification designed to help eliminate domain spoofing and provide greater protection against phishing schemes. By providing a unified specification, Microsoft and Wong hope to simplify industry adoption of effective e-mail authentication technology, thereby helping to more swiftly provide greater spam protection to e-mail users worldwide. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41629190 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:02:59 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Ringtones Left Out of Digital Music Price Wars By Bernhard Warner LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - A recent price war has made Internet song downloads cheaper while the price tag on a mobile phone ringtone has barely budged, and in some cases, is creeping up, a new report on Tuesday said. The price discrepancy between downloads and ringtones -- those ubiquitous tuneful greetings programmed into millions of handsets -- can be laid squarely at the feet of record companies, according to London-based consultancy Informa Plc. The main culprit is the advent of so-called "sample" ringtones, the latest stereophonic tones pulled from actual studio recordings. They carry a price tag of as much as four times higher than the typical Internet download price in Western Europe -- a price gap that could prematurely stifle a promising ringtone business, Informa said. Record labels are demanding mobile operators and other ringtone resellers pay a royalty rate equivalent to between 25 percent and 55 percent of the total retail price for a "sample" ringtone, Informa said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=41628362 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:12:26 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Getting a Handle on URNs It is extraordinary how in just over a decade Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) have entered everyday life to such an extent that they are now found practically everywhere -- from the side of buses to the back of cornflake packets. But this universality tends to mask the fact that they suffer from a serious defect. Everyone has encountered the problem, which manifests itself as the dreaded "404 page not found" message. The trouble is that changes in site design, file directories and domain names can easily make a URL obsolete, with no means of automatically redirecting to the new Internet location (where it exists). What is needed is a standard way of permanently naming a digital resource similar to that provided by the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for analogue books. The solution is to move from URLs to URNs: Uniform Resource Names. The important thing about URNs is that they do not point directly to an Internet resource, but are rather a placeholder for the location and other metadata. This means that the URN does not need to change if the URL does: it is enough to update the redirection. URNs sound great in theory. Unfortunately, progress towards realising them has been slow. One attempt to address what is sometimes called linkrot is the use of PURLs: Persistent URLs. This employs redirection to solve the problem of changes in directory structure, but is basically an adaptation of the URL. More thoroughgoing in its attempt to create full URNs is the Handle system. http://news.netcraft.com/archives/2004/05/24/getting_a_handle_on_urns.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 11:38:29 -0400 From: ed Subject: Multiline Residential Phone System Recommendations? I'm seeking recommendations for a multi-line (3 lines) residential phone system that also supports cordless extensions and can be interfaced to standard intercom systems. ease of use and reliability are key requirements. Any suggestions? Thanks much! -ed ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: Ringing Multiple Devices (was Re: Bye, Bye Ma Bell) Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 12:21:19 -0400 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ On Tue, 25 May 2004 20:00:29 GMT, joel@exc.com (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) wrote: >> VoIP services have to compete on features. For example, AT&T's >> CallVantage offers a 9-way conference bridge, and the ability to have >> a call ring up to five devices. Both of these features can be done on >> a landline, but I don't know of any providers who offer the multiple >> ring capability. > Do you mean up to five different numbers ring at once, as in, say, > your CallVantage line, a landline, and a cellphone? THAT would be a > wonderful feature. According to http://www.usa.att.com/callvantage/what/features.jsp, (click on the "locate me" option) the numbers can ring at once or in sequence (your choice). ------------------------------ From: wollman@lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: FCC Asked To Examine A la Carte Cable TV Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 17:04:10 +0000 (UTC) Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science In article , wrote: > there whether they offered 1 or 1,000 channels. You might get 50 > channels for $55 a month instead. Why would the consumer go for that? I'd be happy with broadcast basic plus about 20 channels (mostly news and public affairs). The real sticking point, I think, is that most consumers want their VCR/DVR/PVRs to work, and going a-la-carte would require a substantial increase in encryption, which is generally incompatible with those devices. Perhaps when the cable companies finally implement the requirements of the '94 Cable Act to standardize on a workable (non-"box") consumer interface to conditional access and digital cable services. Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@lcs.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those of| search for greater freedom. MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. ___ (2003) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 14:46:52 GMT From: joel@exc.com (Dr. Joel M. Hoffman) Subject: Re: T-Mobile USA to End Network Venture with Cingular Organization: Excelsior Computer Services > approximately $2.3 billion to Cingular. In addition, T-Mobile USA > will: > -- transfer 10 MHz of New York spectrum in exchange for certain > California spectrum owned by Cingular as specified in the > termination provisions of the joint venture agreement; Won't that significantly decrease service in NY, an area where the network is already often overloaded? -Joel ------------------------------ Date: 26 May 2004 00:10:46 -0400 From: John R Levine Subject: Cell Phone in Switzerland, Part II I got lots of helpful advice on my quest for a cell phone to use in Switzerland. One of the most helpful bits of advice was that there are zillions of phones for sale on ebay, so why pay $50 to rent a Euro phone when for the same $50 you can buy one to keep. So I'm working on that. Several people pointed out that you can buy prepaid Swiss SIM cards. The prices in the US are ridiculous, but a little poking around found the very informative http://www.post.ch/SiteOnLine/EN/Accueil/1,1727,6419,00.html which lists the prepaid SIM cards you can buy at Swiss post offices. They're the same ones sold here, at half the price. So here's my comparison sheet, prices in Swiss francs. The value is the amount of credit you get in the initial SIM. If you use it up, you can buy reload cards. Local/min and US/min is the price to make local calls and calls to the US. Network SIM price Value local/min US/min SMS Orange 49 20 .90 ?? .25? Sunrise 65 50? .69 .89 .20 Pronto Swisscom Natel Easy 120 80 .80-.99 1.10 .20 Cingular via Swisscom -- -- $1.29 $1.29 The post office says the Pronto card is worth SFr 50, although some of the other web sites say 25. Orange's price goes down if you use more than SFr 30/mo. You get extra credit which makes the effective price lower. If I roam with my US Cingular account, I don't have to buy a SIM, but I pay more per minute and incoming calls are quite expensive, $1.29 plus whatever they charge to call Switzerland, $1.50 the last time I looked. Assuming the numbers I have are right, it looks like my best bet is to get a Sunrise SIM when I get there, then find an internet cafe and forward my Vonage number to it, which is 32 cents/min. Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. ------------------------------ From: gnj2@ridgenet.net (gene) Subject: Verizon DSL Newsgroup Provider Date: 26 May 2004 04:44:01 GMT I'm planning on switching to Verizon DSL for my ISP. Talked to their technical information person to ask who Verizon gets their Newsgroup feed from. Her answer:"What's a newsgroup?" Is there someone using Verizon DSL here who can answer this for me. I know there are NG providers that you can sign up with for a monthly fee. Up to now though all the ISPs I've used provide one in their regular package for no cost. Thanks for any information. Gene ------------------------------ From: Dave Garland Subject: Re: Qwest DSL Service and Modem Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 00:19:41 -0500 Organization: Wizard Information It was a dark and stormy night when niy38@hotmail.com (Niy) wrote: > Does anyone here use Qwest DSL service with other modem? There's a list at http://www.dslreports.com/faq/9142 . The Cisco 678 is probably the best (that's what I use), but they're discontinued so you'd have to find one on eBay. Other users at my ISP seem to like the Zoom X3/X4/X5 (basicly the same unit), but it may require different settings on the ISP end. Don't expect any cooperation or support from Qwest or MSN. ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Labor/Union Stuff (short) was Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 04:24:50 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Steven J Sobol : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I take it Ohio does not have a 'Right > to Work' law on the books, which is why you were 'forced' to join > the union. But there is still a way around that, partially. You can > join the union, but only be forced to pay the portion of the dues > which apply to the administration of the union, and withhold the > (majority of) the dues which the union officials use for whatever > political causes they are promoting. Federal law allows for people > to be 'administrative members' only, as a free speech matter. Your > money cannot be taken forcibly from you (through payroll deduction > for example) to support causes you do not believe in. Ask any lawyer > specializing in labor matters. PAT] Just to respond to this one point, as the bigger issues of whether labor unions are good, bad, evil, or great ... and whether they're "wrong" to force people to join, etc., etc. could go on forever (and aren't quite that relevant to telecom): Our esteemed moderator makes the valid point that union members, or "agency shop" (an alternative available in many states to people who don't want to join the union but are kind-of forced to [a]) can get a refund of their dues that were used for non laborish items. [a] big over-simplification there ... The Federal laws that require unions to refund (or not collect) the monies that are used for such things as political campaigns is commonly referred to as the "Beck decision", based on the case of "Communications Workers of America v. Beck, 487 U.S. 735 (1988)". As one might expect, since unions generally delude themselves into thinking Democrats are friendy to workers organized labor, when the Republicans are in control they and their sock puppets make sure that as many people as possible hear about this and demand refunds. (Politicians playing political games? I'm shocked) While the exact definitions of what is and is not a direct and valid management/labor/contract type expense by a labor union has made plenty of lawyers rich, the percentage of union dues that goes to secondary functions is usually quite small. In my own experience a decade ago as a municipal union officer in NYC, the number (which was well documented and audited) was roughly 15 percent. And yes, this was refunded to people on request. Obviously other unions will have different figures, and while most will be honest and upfront, some are every bit as sleazy as the corporate titans they're in battle with. Anyway, my point is simply that, on a strictly direct financial measure, getting a refund of the "Beck" money will generally not make a huge difference in the member's wallet. It may still be something the member wants to do, but in just about all cases it's not going to lead to the major discount in dues payments that the usual pundits claim. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Danny is correct. There is some difference of opinion as to the amount of the dues is 'Beck' money and how much is legitimate union administration fees. But whatever the amount of money is, **by all means withhold it from the dues** unless you happen to like whatever cause the union is promoting and you wish to participate. Another thing you can do is exercise your own freedom of speech: on any check you send the union, always be sure to write the phrase 'extortion payment' in the memo area of the check. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Date: Tue, 25 May 2004 21:45:28 -0700 Organization: University of Washington On Tue, 25 May 2004, TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Steven J Sobol: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I take it Ohio does not have a 'Right > to Work' law on the books, which is why you were 'forced' to join > the union. But there is still a way around that, partially. You can > join the union, but only be forced to pay the portion of the dues > which apply to the administration of the union, and withhold the > (majority of) the dues which the union officials use for whatever > political causes they are promoting. In states without Right-To-Work laws, the so-called "representation fee" which "union protestors" (people who decline to join the mandatory union) must pay is very close to the union dues. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I don't care if the difference is one dollar or less: **Always demand your money back**. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Michael Chance Subject: Re: The Strike Goes On Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:29:48 GMT In article , TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to pv+usenet@pobox.com: > TELECOM Digest Editor writes: >> According to the Independence Reporter for Sunday, May 23, the labor >> dispute at SBC continues. > It's over. A tentative agreement was reached early this morning. The union agreed to essentially SBC's "final" offer. There was some tweaking around the edges of the proposal. You can read the details of the agreement at http://www.sbc.com/Investor/IB_242_5_25_04-830a.pdf There was an interesting analysis of the strength of the union (or the lack thereof) in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday. You can read the article at http://makeashorterlink.com/?X59B14668 Some info that I heard during the walkout: - while the vote to approve giving the union leadership the ability to call a strike was 90% in favor, only about 10% of the membership actually voted. - SBC did a poll either just before or just after the strike, and according to their results, 90% of the CWA union households polled indicated that they would accept the offer SBC put on the table last week. - Except for some isolated locations, and the big rally in San Antonio on Monday, there were very few picketers at most SBC locations, even on Friday when the walkout started. Given that the union has over 100,000 members working at SBC, I'd have expected significant numbers at most of the work locations when the replacement workers started arriving on Friday. - There have been a few incidents of apparent sabotage either just before or during the walkout, and some reported incidents of union harassment of either replacement workers or their families by strikers, mostly in Michigan and California. A big question now is what will happen when the IBEW contract with SBC (mostly for employees in Illinois) expires at the end of June. Michael Chance [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yeah, but is SBC being truthful with their employees and the 'final offer'? If they lie and are deceptive with their employees to the same extent they are with their customers, then I'd be most reluctant to accept the offer. Yesterday in the US Mail I got still another 'offer' from SBC telling me how much they wanted me back as a customer. Their latest deal is $15.95 for the take it all package for six months, then $25.95 per month after that. For another $2.00 per month, an hour each month of long distance, which reverts to $7.00 per month after six months. I decided to verify that, so I called the business office, waded through several layers of voice mail hell and another 5-10 minutes on hold. When I got through to a rep, she hastened to inform me there was *no such offer available*, despite the fact that I got a postcard from SBC telling about it. Finally she looked further and said "Well, but you would not be eligible for it." and then proceeded to give me a hard sell line on going back wth SBC. For that I wasted 15-20 minutes on the phone. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: My Posting on Norvergence Organization: ATCC Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 04:03:43 GMT In article , stlopes@comcast.net says: > Could you remove this posting from your website? I have resolved my > differences with Norvergence. > Part of my resolution with Norvergence is that I no longer post > negative points of view toward Norvegence. Every time this post keeps > popping up, I get a call from Norvergence. > http://www.mailarchive.ca/lists/comp.dcom.telecom/2003-11/0513.html > Steve Lopes > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For hopefully the last time, Steve, > the answer is a three letter word, "N-O-E". Norvergence asked me > to remove the message, Norvergence then tried to twist the arms > of the MIT trustees, then their lawyer asked me. You asked me once > before, your lawyer asked me, and now you are asking me again. Even > if I were so-inclined -- I am not -- once the message leaves here > and goes out on net in various archives, not all of which are my > own, then even God Almighty could not get the message removed. Well, > I guess God could, if she caused earthquakes and fires all over the > world at the same time, but that is about it. No! No! No! PAT] This is one of those people for whom the go-back feature in some e-mail schemes was written. Lotus Notes had that -- you could cancel that nasty e-mail you sent to the boss, or take back that hasty resignation. But Usenet isn't like that. Groups get copied all over the place, and I do mean that geographically, as in places not subject to U.S. law. I would've told both Steve Lopes, his attorney and the attorneys from Norvergence to go and pound sand if they didn't know how the net worked and what replication was. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Ah, the hotshot lawyers at Norvergence don't know chicken salad from chicken shit. Their ignorance is the reason for their bliss. I am tired of trying to be courteous to those fools. I encourage them to start a lawsuit. PAT] ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: My Posting on Norvergence Date: 26 May 2004 06:26:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Steve Lopes wrote in message news:: > Could you remove this posting from your website? I have resolved my > differences with Norvergence. > Part of my resolution with Norvergence is that I no longer post > negative points of view toward Norvegence. Every time this post keeps > popping up, I get a call from Norvergence. > http://www.mailarchive.ca/lists/comp.dcom.telecom/2003-11/0513.html > Steve Lopes > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For hopefully the last time, Steve, > the answer is a three letter word, "N-O-E". Norvergence asked me > to remove the message, Norvergence then tried to twist the arms > of the MIT trustees, then their lawyer asked me. You asked me once > before, your lawyer asked me, and now you are asking me again. Even > if I were so-inclined -- I am not -- once the message leaves here > and goes out on net in various archives, not all of which are my > own, then even God Almighty could not get the message removed. Well, > I guess God could, if she caused earthquakes and fires all over the > world at the same time, but that is about it. No! No! No! PAT] Not having been trained in the rules of courtroom intimidation, it would seem that the order to Mr. Lopes to not post articles critical of Norvergence is being obeyed -- if he does not post a NEW message, then he is compliant. If someone reposts a previous message, one filed before the agreement, then he is still compliant as he was not the originator of the repost. If the agreement was that he were to remove all postings, then as you stated Pat, it would take a superhuman action as the order cannot be enforced in areas that do not recognize the authority of the entity giving the order to cease and desist. In other words, all their lawyers and all our judges can't make the citizen - or server or database in a different country -- comply with their demands. Rodgers Platt [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder why the FOOLS cannot see or understand that www.mailarchive.ca does not equal telecom-digest.org and that there is no way I can tamper with anything on www.mailarchive.ca . But so many of these FOOLS make their money off of nonsensical lawsuits mainly designed to harass people. Read this closely: I strongly encourage any damn FOOL of an attorney who represents Norvergence or Steve L. or whoever to bring it on here and now. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Steve Lopes Subject: Re: My Posting About Norvergence Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 12:26:29 -0400 Pat, This is why I asked you to remove it. Norvergence is harassing me again. If you can remove it would save me a lot of aggravation. If you cannot, they have already threaten to sue both you and I. I understand your position though. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim Gattuso" To: Sent: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 9:29 AM Subject: RE: My posting > Mr. Lopes, > Please be advised you are in breach of Settlement, per section 2 listed > below. Failure to remove the aforementioned internet posting within > (15) fifteen days from the date of this email will result in legal > action by Norvergence, Inc. against Stanley Steamer and yourself. Your > anticipated cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. > Section 2, Settlement Agreement: > 2. Stanley Steamer Carpet Cleaner agrees to take the necessary > action(s) required to rescind any and all current and future legal > actions and Internet postings upon receipt of the above mentioned one > time payment of $1000.00. > Thank you, > Jim Gattuso > Director of Corporate Affairs > Norvergence, Inc. > 550 Broad St., 3rd Floor > Newark NJ 07102 > 973-242-7500 x4599 > jim.gattuso@norvergence.com -----Original Message----- > From: TELECOM Digest Editor [mailto:ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu] > Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 8:46 PM > To: ptownson@telecom-digest.org; stlopes@comcast.net > Cc: Jim Gattuso > Subject: Re: My posting > You are going to have to live with it. Whats in the archives is there > for good. I am so sick and tired of hearing about Norvergence either > way. I do NOT alter the archives, and that is that. > Patrick Townson > TELECOM Digest Editor/Publisher [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Where does Stanley Steamer come into this? I suggest you write Mr. Gattuso and let him know that the Digest Editor for one is eagerly awaiting his suit on behalf of his client, Norvergence. In fact, let him know that *I* am likely to sue him (the attorney, as an individual) for Barritry (or the filing of useless lawsuits intended only for harrassment.) Suggest to him that someone may force an appearance by himself before the appropriate bar association on account of his inability or unwillingness to understand rules pertaining to my free speech, my role and immunity as a newsgroup moderator. Steve, if you and the attorney are trying to cause me to have another heart attack, you are doing a damn good job of it. Obviously the only way this matter is going to be concluded is for the attorney to go right ahead with his lawsuit plans. Well, I am waiting ... ah. and they were going to buy you off for a thousand dollars, eh? PAT] ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:25:52 -0400 Subject: Naked DSL - Verizon to Ditch Forced Bundling? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44664 In a move to be applauded if true, Verizon hopes to offer "naked" DSL (not requiring the bundling of local service) before the end of the year, according to the latest edition of DSL Prime . The tactic of forced bundling has seen no limit of complaints from users who have had their DSL line shut off when switching to a local competitor, or who simply wanted DSL without a local voice component. Responding to complaints, bell representatives often informed users that simply providing DSL was either illegal or not technically possible. Canadian telcos Telus and Bell Canada recently justified the tactic by claiming that without local service pushing 48-volt DC current through the lines, the lines would oxidize and fail . Qwest also recently decided to begin offering naked DSL . The issue has recently received more attention as an increasing number of VoIP and wireless users look to ditch their landlines. Article plus reader comments at: http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44664 http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/44664 ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:30:51 -0400 Subject: Comcast Plans to Offer Phone Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5066666/ Report: Cable firm eyes 40 million households NEW YORK - Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable television operator, plans to offer a phone service to about 40 million households by the end of 2006, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday. Comcast executives told the Journal they are moving ahead with plans for a national rollout and will introduce phone service that uses the Internet to transmit calls -- a method called voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, the Journal said. Full story at: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5066666/ ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 10:59:32 -0400 Subject: Popular Telephony Announces Peerio444 -- The First Serverless Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp?epi-content=GENERIC&newsId=20040526005209&newsLang=en&beanID=202776713&viewID=news_view Popular Telephony Announces Peerio444 -- The First Serverless Technology Application for Peer-to-Peer Telephony NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2004--SYNOPSIS: Company will be the first to integrate true peer-to-peer technology in a free Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) product for consumers; expects to introduce competitively priced peer-to-peer telephony product for the enterprise based on this technology later this year. Popular Telephony Inc., a telecommunications middleware company, today announced Peerio444(TM) -- the first Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) application powered by true serverless peer-to-peer technology. Peerio444 marks the company's introduction of a consumer application for serverless peer-to-peer telephony, with plans to introduce a separate enterprise application based on this technology at SuperComm 2004, Chicago, IL, June 22-24, 2004. Expected to completely transform traditional telecommunication infrastructures by eliminating the need for servers and associated hardware, the patent-pending technology behind both applications will also address previous scalability, security, redundancy and system issues inherent in a peer-to-peer network. Currently in beta testing on a limited basis and expected to be generally available via free download at www.peerio.com in the coming weeks, Peerio444 turns a PC into a fully functioning telephone that allows users to make unlimited, free calls via the Internet to other PCs, as well as low-cost PC-to-phone calls. Inspired by the principles of peer-to-peer computing, the forthcoming enterprise application will enable companies to create and deploy a wide-scale serverless IP telephony network. Popular Telephony's groundbreaking technology will enable application developers to create VoIP-enabled applications to bring peer-to-peer telephony to a wide audience. "We anticipate that within ten years there will only be peer-to-peer calls placed over the telephony network, making it the de-facto standard for next generation telecommunications," said Dmitry Goroshevsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Popular Telephony Inc. "Built on open standards and inspired by the principles of true peer-to-peer computing, we expect the enabling technology behind Peerio444 to become a basic platform for peer-to-peer telecommunications. Peerio444 will be forever free to consumers and is phase one of Popular Telephony's plan to become the leader in peer-to-peer telephony." Calls placed using Peerio444 technology will be connected to any PC or telephone number -- including mobile phones, 800 and international numbers -- via a built-in telephony interface. The technology is currently compatible with Windows and Linux operating systems, with plans to add Macintosh compatibility later this year, and provides users with more free features than a traditional landline phone, including voicemail, call waiting, call hold, call transfer, contact management and filters. Unlike existing peer-to-peer VoIP technology, Peerio444 is not monitored by switchboards or Spyware, does not contain Adware or other backdoor profit tools and does not restrict users to call only other standard VoIP applications. Compatible with industry standards for VoIP, including H.323 and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Peerio444 is relevant to both consumers and application developers: -- For consumers, the technology can be applied as ready-to-use, downloadable, standards-based, feature-rich client software for peer-to-peer communication. -- For developers, the open source application and the proprietary Peerio444 core library will enable them to create an enhanced peer-to-peer application for voice communications. The highly portable core library will be supported by a dedicated team at Popular Telephony, ensuring a high level of technical support, product updates, roadmaps and documentation. "With VoIP services gaining significant momentum in today's markets, evidenced by the number of legacy telecommunications firms that have recently launched VoIP divisions, Popular Telephony is helping to bring a cutting-edge technology to a wider audience," said Stanley Blau, Managing Director of PS Capital, a member of the Board of Directors of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and Vice Chair of the Enterprise Communications Association (www.encomm.org). Blau, who is also a member of Popular Telephony's advisory board, added, "This move, coupled with additional growth plans in 2004, strongly positions Popular Telephony as a leader in the peer-to-peer telephony market." ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 12:20:23 -0400 Subject: Comcast Announces VoIP Service Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040526S0001 TechWeb News Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable-television operator, will begin to roll out its VoIP offerings next year, in anticipation of providing the service to 40 million households in 2006. In announcing the move Wednesday, Comcast noted that it will continue testing the Internet-telephone service in three markets this year. Initial tests with VoIP in Boston and Minneapolis were successful, the firm said, and influenced its decision to forge ahead with Web phoning. To work efficiently, VoIP must travel over broadband, and Comcast has several million broadband subscribers, placing it in a strong position to take advantage of the nascent Web-phoning technology. "We're hopeful voice telephony will allow our industry, yet again, to have another growth product," Comcast chief executive Brian Roberts told The Wall Street Journal. The VoIP announcement came just days after the cable company abandoned its campaign to take over the Walt Disney Co. Full story at: http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20040526S0001 ------------------------------ 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. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 #260 ******************************