From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Jul 4 19:07:26 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i64N7Pr00608; Sun, 4 Jul 2004 19:07:26 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 19:07:26 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200407042307.i64N7Pr00608@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 #317 TELECOM Digest Sun, 4 Jul 2004 19:07:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 317 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Coca-Cola Cans as Security Threat (momo) Cable FM (was WFMT, WCPE, YUSA Lose Satellite Carriage) (Neil Mmclain) E-Time System is Solutions Provider For Prepaid Wireless E-PIN (B Burke) Re: MOS Calculation From Objective Data (Hank Karl) Re: Norbergence Offics Raided by FBI (Lisa Hancock) Re: Norbergence Offics Raided by FBI (Billy Bob) Re: Norbergence Offics Raided by FBI (Black Ninja) General Observation re: Norvergence (Mark Crispin) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Momo Subject: Coca-Cola Cans as Security Threat Date: Sun, 04 Jul 2004 15:55:04 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com I clipped this from comp.risks and thought it might be worth discussion. Mo Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 08:48:23 -0400 From: "Dominey, Jack M, NEO" Subject: Coca-Cola Cans as Security Threat Following message forwarded by my boss. I wonder what they think of this at Coca Cola HQ? Subject: SCIF Security Advisory Security Managers: The Coca Cola Company has a summer game promotion running from 5/17 - 7/12/04 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that has the capability to compromise classified information. The company has intermixed approximately 120 Coca-Cola cans that actually contain GPS locators equipped with a SIM card, keypad and GPS chip transponder so it functions as a cell phone and GPS locator. The cans are concealed in specially marked 12, 18, 20, or 24 can multi-packs of Coca-Cola Classic, Vanilla Coke, Cherry Coke and Caffeine Free Coke. The hi-tech Coke "Unexpected Summer" promotion can has a button, microphone, and a tiny speaker on the outside of the can. Pressing the larger red button starts the game in process, thus activating the GPS signal and a cell phone used by the customer to call a special hotline. Consumers who find these cans, activate the technology, and call the hot line must agree to allow Coke "search teams" using the GPS tracker (accurate to within 50 feet), to surprise them anyplace, anytime within three weeks to deliver a valuable prize. In accordance with DIA, no specific policy for this promotion will be issued. However, DISA employees with access to SCIFs should take a common sense approach and if one of these cans are found inside a SCIF, they should treat it as they would any two-way electronic device in a SCIF and remove it immediately. Until such time as this sales promotion ends and all 120 cans are accounted for, Coca-Cola packages should be opened and inspected before taking them into any area marked as a" Restricted Area" or classified meetings/discussions, etc. are in progress or have the potential to occur at any time. Scott Addis, Chief, SSO, Defense Information Systems Agency RISKS submission from Jack Dominey, AT&T Network Disaster Recovery ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 08:10:21 -0600 From: nmclain@annsgarden.com Subject: Cable FM (was WFMT, WCPE, YUSA Lose Satellite Carriage) Pat wrote: > A question to those of you who know about FM radio carried on > cable: The tower is over on Oak Street, rather high. Exactly > *how* to they get in FM radio stations? The man told me they > have a crystal for 89.9 in a reciever there in the tower. Can > they only get what they have crystals for or is *any* station > on FM radio available over the cable (as far as improving its > reception is concerned, etc?) PAT] Apparently, CableOne uses "individually-processed" cable FM rather than "allband FM," so they have a separate FM processor for each station. They can only get what they have processors for. See and scroll down to THE RISE OF CABLE FM. The so-called "crystal" the man told you about is the FM processor. Although different manufacturers use different circuitry, the processor probably includes two crystal-controlled local oscillators (XCLO). Assuming that the output frequency equals the input frequency, one of the XCLOs (probably the output) is phase-locked to the other. Input ----> Mixer ----> IF ----> Mixer ----> Output Filter ^ strip ^ Filter | | XCLO - - - - - - - - XCLO Neal McLain nmclain@annsgarden.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for that explanation. I know that *prior to* CableOne moving into town we had Time Warner as our cable provider here. Being as we are, 100 miles southeast of Wichita, about 120 miles straight south of Topeka, 80 miles north of Tulsa, OK and 90 miles west of Pittsburg, KS/Joplin, MO (all cities with some semblance of television stations and radio signals) we had very little here other than our own KIND (1010 AM/102.7 FM) and Coffeyville's KGGF at 690 AM and their FM station to listen to. In other words, *vast* amounts of open space on the FM band. Then Time Warner moved into town and brought us 60 cable television channels, although Cox took over (and still maintains) Coffeyville. Many of the cable channels duplicated each other (in other words, the CBS affiliate on Wichita and the CBS affiliate in Topeka many times of day had the same programs on), but it was better than nothing. City of Independence insisted on, and received three or four of those channels for community use; i.e. a channel each for Independence High School, the City Hall channel for council meetings, and a channel for the college, plus a community service channel (channel 10). Time Warner spread out their offerings on the rest of the cable: all three major networks at least once or twice, Fox got a channel (cable channel three from the Fox affiliate in Tulsa, but *not* the Fox affiliate in Joplin, MO [although CBS/NBC/ABC each appear twice, once each from variously Tulsa, Joplin, Topeka, Wichita]) and a few other channels, including the 'Shopping' thing that seems to go on all the time, the idiots on the 'Christian' [i.e. right wing conservative] channel, Eternal Word Television channel, and a few movie channels, Disney, cartoons, and whatnot. As I said, better than nothing, and better than the very tall antennas some people had on their houses or in the back yard in order to get *TWO* snowy, grainy channels. Then a few years ago, some outfit moved in town with an FM radio station licensed to Dearing, Kansas (wide spot in the road south of us with population about 250 people) but studios in Coffeyville. Very loud, very raucus acid rock around the clock, 98.5 FM I think. All the kids love it; I hate it. Then Time Warner decided to sell their 'property' here, in the form of a trade off with Cable One. Time Warner got some town they liked better and Cable One got us. Same office on Penn Street downtown, same people working there, same techs, etc. I was walking around downtown one day and they were painting over the Time Warner sign outside with a new sign saying Cable One. And the lady who works in the office there told me "We will become Cable One as soon as the city council has their meeting tomorrow and gives us that franchise instead. Time Warner is on the way out." The Reporter newspaper the next day said that city council had issued a franchise to Cable One of Phoenix, AZ to take over cable service here. And the service has gotten increasingly better ever since. Cable One added a couple hundred new channels with HBO, ShowTime, all those formerly 'premium' offerings. Plus cable internet (TW kept saying "maybe, sometime"), plus a couple of PBS stations such as the one in Wichita and the one in Topeka at Washburne University, plus a 24/7 classical music channel (channel 938) with no commercials, plus 'cable radio' in the form of the two NPR stations in Tulsa, OK (89.5) and Pittsburg, KS. (89.9). The combination technical guy/installer/repairman had been driving around town inspecting the wires, traps, etc in an old van with a 'Cable One' sign on it covering up the old 'Time Warner' thing painted on it; about a month ago I saw him in a new 2004 Ford van which said 'Cable One', and had Cable One's new corporate design, etc. He is the person who told me "In the tower out in the field over on Oak Street we have 'crystals' to tune in 89.5 and 89.9" So, for a town of 8000 people in a county with all of 25,000 people we have *three* sources of classical music; better than many large cities is it not? PAT] ------------------------------ From: bruceb@etimesystem.com (Bruce Burke) Subject: E-Time System is a Solutions Provider for Prepaid Wireless E-PIN Date: 4 Jul 2004 08:44:05 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com E-Time System has launched its solution for e-pin delivery. Utilizing the E-Time System distributors and wholesalers can deliver pins for prepaid wireless recharges, prepaid phone cards and accept bill payments through retail and unmanned locations as well as turn-key websites. Deploying locations is simple as sending a url or exe to retailers with a dialup or broadband connection. The E-Time System allows distributors to sell products through the following devices: Cash Register Systems, Touch Screen or Keyboard Operated Kiosks (self-serve or semi-self serve) Nurit Credit Card Terminals, Retail Installed PC's (MS Windows, Mac, or Linux) and Private Labeled E-Commerce sites IE: www.prepaidstar.com. Distributors can deploy either a hosted solution or purchase a complete E-Time System. All variables of this system are private labeled. Distributors can deploy any or all of the retail solutions from one single point of administration. Interested parties should contact Bruce Burke (bruceb@etimesystem.com) or phone 1-866-414-8463 for more information visit the E-Time Website @ www.etimesystem.com ------------------------------ From: Hank Karl Subject: Re: MOS Calculation From Objective Data Date: Sat, 03 Jul 2004 21:50:48 -0400 Organization: NETPLEX Internet Services - http://www.ntplx.net/ Yes. Check out the IETF's RFC-3611 (RTCP-XR) and ETSI TS 101329-5 Annex E. These specs are used in G.799.1 "Functionality and Interface Specifications for GSTN Transport Network Equipment for Interconnecting GSTN and IP Networks" (GSTN is General Switched Telephone Network) H.460.9 - H.323 metric calling out RFC 3611 metrics H.248.30 - Megaco spec calling out RFC 3611 SIP RTCP-XR "event" standard in progress, uses RFC 3611. SNMP MIB - work under way, uses RFC 3611. More information can be found at http://www.telchemy.com/support.html and at http://www.telchemy.com/news.html (see the conference presentations) If you'd like to discuss this in more detail, please contact me. On Thu, 1 Jul 2004 13:10:17 -0500, Kalyan Sannedhi wrote: > Dear all, > Is there a way to calculate MOS from obejctive data such as delay, > jitter, jitter standard deviation, packet loss, loss burst, etc? We > would like like to get subjective scoring from the objective data for > the voice quality. Any pointers in the right direction will be greatly > appreciated. > TIA Hank Karl Eastern Regional Manager +1 (203)207-0047 www.nine-9s.com Representing: http://www.telchemy.com/ VQmon VoIP Quality Monitoring Software for OEMs http://www.telesoft-intl.com/ ISDN, T1 RBS, E1 R2 CAS, Frame Relay, ML-PPP, X.25, ... http://www.agoralabs.com/ elemedia H.323, Video Codecs, Audio Codecs http://www.tntss.com/ dynamicsoft SIP stack ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Norvergence Offics Raided by FBI Date: 4 Jul 2004 10:41:08 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com shinecorp1@aol.com (Alessandra Di Maggio) wrote: > What exactly did Norvergence do in terms of products and services? > Did they own any real plant or just lease line capacity from others? > (I looked on their website but didn't understand it.) How long were they in business? Was Newark NJ their only location? > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: > Norvergence ... had a large number of ex-cons and/or > parolees on the payroll Could you elaborate on their hiring of ex-offenders? Was this by design or chance? (I'm not aware of any govt subsidized or encouraged programs to employ such people.) The failure to pay workers for two cycles and sudden bankruptcy is discouraging. A normal business tracks its cash flow in advance and doesn't bounce checks (isn't that illegal?) I wonder if Norv. had contracts with baby Bells for interconnect, and if the baby Bells will get screwed as a result. I sure hope not because means the ratepayers -- you and me -- will get screwed since we'll make it up by law. I understand that the baby Bells -- by law -- must interconnect anyone who shows up regardless of their credit worthiness or business integrity, which is why many consumers get burned on phony long distance charges from sleazy LD outfits. It bothers me a lot that since divesture -- which was supposed to create a free market -- the market isn't really free. Laws protect sleazy outfits to come in and fleece other companies and the public where in a true free market (knowledgeable customers!) this wouldn't happen. Pat, I wonder if this Norv. fits in that category. When the Penn Central railroad filed for bankruptcy -- at the time considered a terrible scandal but nothing by today's standards -- they still had cash and never missed a payroll nor bounced a check. They filed because they saw that they had bonds coming due soon and they did not have the cash to pay them off nor could get them rolled over. It was a mess, but still an orderly one, and the railroad kept rolling without a blink. > It wouldn't surprise me to see the Solzano people come out of all this > bright and shiny. They'll file bankruptcy, then Solzano will go sit > down with his friends at Qwest and elsewhere, and start cutting some > new deals. PAT] Who are the Solzano people? I thought I recently read Qwest no longer exists and was taken over by a RBOC. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mr. Solzano (grep for his name in earlier issues of the Digest and elsewhere on the net) had been forbidden by the FCC to engage in owning/operating any 'telecom company' for a few years because of other troubles he had with the way he maintained those other companies. In fact, at Norvergence I believe he was the 'real owner' with others (puppets) acting and speaking for him. In any event, about the time his 'probation' period (FCC oversight of his activities) ended a couple years ago, he started Norvergence with the 'Norvergence Solution' and a way to cut back on your telecom expenses. Readers who have more details on this, please write Lisa Hancock direct with the sordid story. The reason telephone divestiture never really worked was because the government *assumed* all Americans were sophisticated and would rush to learn about the workings of the telephone and the network 'once they had a chance to do so.' In actual practice, no one cares; most people just take the telephone to be another utility service and sort of boring at that. Is Qwest now out of business with some other telco running phone service in the New Jersey area? That's news to me ... also, regards the ex-offenders on the Norvergence payroll, most states give help (in the form of tax reductions, etc) to business places who hire these men and women to help them get rehabilitated. Maybe some reader could also touch bases with Lisa on this with details. The name of the program in effect in New Jersey was mentioned here once, I do not remember what it was. And Norvergence had sales offices around the country as Bill Justice tells us in the next message in this issue. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bill.justice@earthlink.net (billy bob) Subject: Re: Norbergence Offics Raided by FBI Date: 4 Jul 2004 12:31:40 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com shinecorp1@aol.com (Alessandra Di Maggio) wrote in message news:: > I have spoken again to friends I know at Norvergence. Officially they > are closed down. The offices in Newark were raided by the FBI on July > 1, 2004 with allegations by the FBI of fraud and embezzlement. No one > received any pay for four weeks. (One month, two paydays). When > employees were notified they were all fired and not getting paid after > the fourth week in a row, they began destroying office equipment and > computers, and police were called. All Norvergence customers are > totally cut off, unless they have made arrangements elswhere. > Shinecorp1@aol.com > > Alessandra > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This scene reminds me the fiasco at the > Diner's Club Credit Card office in 1962 when they were still owned by > Alfred Bloomingdale's corporation and were located in New York > City. The office had been getting increasingly more difficult to manage > for a few years as the staff of about two thousand employees became > increasingly diverse racially. Diners, in those days, had just come > out of an all-manual system into the first year or two of computeriza- > tion. Like Norvergence, Diners had a large number of ex-cons and/or > parolees on the payroll; I guess the city and state of New York gave > them a lot of tax breaks for doing so, etc. But there were problems, > so severe in fact that Diners Club verged on bankruptcy more than > once. > Diner's management decided to make a sneaky move out of town, and > (in general) get all new employees, trained in the new computerized > system. And since 'everyone' knows that white poople in semi-rural > areas work harder and cheaper than racially diverse people in an > 'inner city area' like New York City, they decided the office would be > relocated in Denver, Colorado, at the time, 40 years ago, still very > much a 'country type' of small town, in an area outside of town > called 'Tech Center'. It would be a whole new start for the company, > and they really were hot to get out of New York City. In essence, *none*. > of the employees were told about it, except a snall handful of supervisors > and middle management people they intended to take along, and they > were sworn to total secrecy. Diner's certainly did not intend to take > along the vast assortment of riff-raff they had collected over the years > in the form of posting/ledger clerks/bookeepers, etc; the vast majority > of whom were either racially diverse or quite sympathetic to all the > 'anti-everything' attitude of the Vietnam years. > Comes the day before Thanksgiving that year (Wednesday) with the usual > four day holiday (Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun) many USA workers get, and Diners > management lined up everyone, handed out the turkeys, wished them all > a happy Thanksgiving holiday and said, "Oh by the way, don't come back > on Monday, cause we won't be here." Unlike Norvergence, Diners did > give out final paychecks and a reasonable severence check to everyone, > but still, the place went up for grabs. Some employees went around > smashing stuff up, and several went two or three floors up to the > 'computer center' (all *those* employees had been invited to relocate, > and most of them did), broke the door down, took two computer workers > *hostage*, took two big reels of tape, shredded it all into confetti > and tossed it out the window from the 15th floor of the building there > on Columbus Circle. The shredded confetti-like tapes consisted of > invoices merchants had been paid for, but had not yet been billed to > Diner's customers **and they had not yet been microfilmed (or backed > up).** > After the riot was over, police had arrested several hundred > employees, freed the hostages, and cleared the place out. Very shocked > management of Diner's Club wound up having to write off about three > *million* dollars in recievables they could not reconstruct or bill > for, even though Al Bloomingdale and others went out on Columbus > Circle and picked up scraps of magnetic tape trying to put it all > together again. It was close to a year later, located in Denver that > Diner's finally realized the extent of the damage done by employees > on the final day in New York City. And when the reality of the final > write off that would have to be done hit them smack in the face, and > many of Diners' *own creditors* were beginning to turn the screws on > them for payment and many merchants had quit dealing with Diners > because of how ineffecient they had become a year earlier in New York, > Diners did decide to file bankruptcy. To their rescue came CNA Insurance, > who bought into the action, and Amoco Oil who also bought a piece of > the action and handed Diners a great deal: a list of a few million > Amoco card holders who had been in 'phase 1' for a year or better, > with no delinquencies in their oil company accounts. But because they > are (or at least then were) not fools, Amoco said *we* will administer > the whole thing and refer to it as 'Torch Club', and Diners, all you > have to do is get your merchants (what there was left of them) to go > along with it and accept 'Torch Club' cards like they would any > Diner's Club card. > It wouldn't surprise me to see the Solzano people come out of all this > bright and shiny. They'll file bankruptcy, then Solzano will go sit > down with his friends at Qwest and elsewhere, and start cutting some > new deals. PAT] Hi, I am a former SM From SD CA I Heard the FBI also arrested some of the upper management when they raided Norvergence. Have you heard any news about anyone getting arrested at Norvrgence. Any info you may have would be nice to know. Billy Bob San Diego, Ca ------------------------------ From: triple_des1544@yahoo.com (Black Ninja) Subject: Re: Norbergence Offics Raided by FBI Date: 4 Jul 2004 11:00:24 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com shinecorp1@aol.com (Alessandra Di Maggio) wrote in message news:: > I HAVE JUST SPOKEN TO FRIENDS I KNOW AT NORVERGENCE. THE OFFICIAL WORD > IS NORVERGENCE IS SHUT DOWN ! THE OFFICES IN NEWARK WERE RAIDED BY THE > FBI ON JULY 1ST , 2004 FOLLOWING ALLEGATIONS OF FRAUD. NO ONE HAS BEEN > PAID IN 4 WEEKS ! EMPLOYEES BEGAN DESTROYING OFFICE EQUIPMENT & > COMPUTERS UPON BEING NOTIFIED THAT THEY WERE NOT GETTING PAID FOR THE > 4TH WEEK IN A ROW !!!! ALL NORVERGENCE CUSTOMERS ARE SCREWED !!!!!! > REMEMBER THAT SHINECORP1@AOL.COM WAS THE FIRST TO NOTIFY YOU ALL !!!! Good scoop, Alessandra, Too bad it's wrong. Labor board shut them down, not the FBI. Don't worry, everybody will remember that shinecorp1@aol.com told us this, if that will help you out in some way.(?) Steven J Sobol wrote in message news:: > William Van Hefner wrote: >> The move comes after the carrier came under investigation earlier this >> week by the New Jersey Labor Department for allegedly bouncing >> employee paychecks. Over 1,300 employees at the company's Newark, NJ >> office were told that they must leave immediately, and were escorted >> out of the building by security. Newark police were called in to keep >> the peace, as employees poured out onto the streets with their >> belongings. >> If and when the company's bankruptcy petition is filed, we will make >> it available for free download via our website. > Hey, Black Ninja. Any comments? This is all the customers' fault, right? > JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/ > Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.JAK.HOLE (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net > PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED) > Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids. Actually, yes, Loser, I do have a comment. Why would this be the customer's fault? Why would this be the employees' fault? If you think that this is anybody's fault other than the top brass, then you are sadly mistaken. There are a lot of hard working, honest folks that have spent years in telecom that are out of jobs because of these unscrupulous people at the top. This product worked, but the company prevented it from working the way it should by not paying the vendors, and hiring absolute idiots for a customer service dept. My second comment is that Norvergence has absolutely nothing to do with YOU. The only reason that you are posting now is because you got all butt-hurt when I slapped you down in another thread for chiming in with completely incorrect info. I see you post on other topics, and I don't jump in with lame jabs. But now you are on this hillarious quest for vengeance. Dude, get over it. Chalk it up as a lesson. Next time you'll get your facts straight before you post. If not, well, then expect the same. ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: General Observation re: Norvergence Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2004 09:31:35 -0700 Organization: University of Washington One of the leading earmarks of a scam is an organization that threatens litigation against ex-employees, disgruntled customers, etc. that publishes unfavorable information about the organization. Scams always have sleazy lawyers on the payroll whose sole function is to send threatening letters and at times file frivolous lawsuits. Reputable companies do not try to silence their critics. Reputable companies do not demand that unfavorable opinions about that company be quashed. -- 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: Thank you! You said all I could say. 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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