From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jul 5 22:10:04 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i662A3J12918; Mon, 5 Jul 2004 22:10:04 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 22:10:04 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200407060210.i662A3J12918@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 #318 TELECOM Digest Mon, 5 Jul 2004 22:10:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 318 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson High Court's Ruling Boosts Internet Filters (Monty Solomon) Software Has Some Seeing Red / Harvard Grad Gains Overnight (Monty Solomon) Home WiFi Setups Handle Music and Movies, Too/Industry Sees (Monty Solomon) ISOC Launches New ccTLD Workshops (Internet Society) Panasonic DBS Music-on-Hold (Christopher) Re: Internet Phone Service For Every Home Not Far Off (ellis@no.spam) Re: ANI->CNID, was Re: Pizza; Can I Tell a Cell or Pay Phone (Stan Cline) Re: Coca-Cola Cans as Security Threat (John McHarry) Comment re Norvergence and Another re Telecom Digest (sin nombre) Norvergence (Elliott Taub) Re: Norvergence Offics Raided by FBI (Steven J Sobol) Can VoIP Survive Congress? (VOIP News) Anonymous Surfing No Longer Available (Anthrax 500) How Much Does Bill Gates Know About His Own Software? (Lisa Minter) 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, 5 Jul 2004 16:26:38 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: High Court's Ruling Boosts Internet Filters By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | July 5, 2004 Last week's US Supreme Court decision to block a law that banned Internet materials deemed "harmful to minors" was reviled by social conservatives worried about the effects of pornography on children. But the ruling was good news for companies that make software to let parents filter out undesirable Internet sites. The court ruled 5-4 that while the government has an interest in protecting children from inappropriate materials, it must do so in a way that places the least constraint on the free speech rights of adults. The court held that the voluntary use of filtering software would often work better than a federal ban on indecent materials, because US law can't be applied to the many websites based in other countries. And filtering software affects only those who want protection, leaving others to view whatever they want. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/07/05/high_courts_ruling_boosts_internet_filters/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 16:25:27 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Software Has Some Seeing Red / Harvard Grad Gains Overnight Harvard grad gains overnight notoriety with e-mail tracking By Scott Kirsner | July 5, 2004 Depending on your perspective, Alastair Rampell is either a software prodigy -- a Gates-in-the-making -- or the Internet's version of Aldrich Ames, a devious double agent. At 23, the Harvard graduate achieved overnight notoriety in May with the release of his latest product, an e-mail monitoring service called DidTheyReadIt. After an initial story on the front of USA Today's business section, coverage followed on CNN, National Public Radio, and NBC's "Today Show." DidTheyReadIt allows users to track the e-mails they send, alerting them when a message is opened by its recipient -- and even reporting on how long the recipient looked at it, and offering a rough geographical guess about where he is located. The service is either subtle or surreptitious, depending on your point of view. It's nearly impossible to tell that an e-mail you've received is being tracked by DidTheyReadIt. Rampell says that in the service's first month, about 25,000 people have signed up to try it. (Fewer than 10 percent of those people eventually convert to paid users, shelling out $49.99 for a year's worth of e-mailing.) http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/07/05/software_has_some_seeing_red/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 16:27:50 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Home WiFi setups handle music and movies, too / Industry sees a Industry sees a new market beyond data By Keith Reed, Globe Staff | July 5, 2004 The most commonly used technology for wirelessly networking home computers, WiFi, is quickly being adopted for another, less work-related use: home entertainment. Traditional computer component and networking companies like Microsoft and Linksys are tweaking their product lines to include devices that beam music files and pictures all around the house. And electronics makers are increasingly including WiFi receivers in standard home appliances like televisions and stereos, giving consumers the ability to listen to any song or view any photo stored on the home computer from any room in the house. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/07/05/home_wifi_setups_handle_music_and_movies_too/ ------------------------------ From: Internet Society Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 10:46:38 +0200 Subject: ISOC Launches New ccTLD Workshops Geneva, Switzerland - July 5th, 2004 - The Internet Society (ISOC) recently held the first in a series of new workshops for country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) operators. The workshops, which continue ISOC's long tradition of delivering network training to developing countries, are being held in response to numerous requests for technical education as well as help with best practices relevant to running exemplary registry services. The first event, which took place at the RIPE NCC in Amsterdam from 19th to 22nd June, was sponsored by the Public Interest Registry (PIR) and brought together operators of ccTLDs in Burundi (.bi), Benin (.bj), Nepal (.np), Sri Lanka (.lk), Ghana (.gh), Thailand (.th) and Uruguay (.uy). Instructors included renowned experts from a wide range of organisations including ICANN and the University of Oregon's Network Startup Resource Center (a joint organiser of the workshop). "We recognise the important role ccTLD operators play in the development of the Internet. Our workshops are aimed at helping them get access to the knowledge and skills that they need to build up high quality infrastructure and services as well as a strong policy capability in their countries," said Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society. "As the Internet continues to grow, ccTLDs are integral in shaping the global evolution. .ORG is supportive of this growth and PIR is proud to have sponsored the ISOC ccTLD workshop on best practices for an exemplary registry," said Edward G. Viltz, President and CEO of Public Interest Registry, managers of the .ORG gTLD. Starting with a review of DNS, attendees were taken through the steps required to build and scale their DNS infrastructure. Detailed examples were given of how to install BIND and how to build and maintain a zone file. The instructors went on to provide valuable tips on techniques and tools to help automate operations and hands-on exercises helped attendees get a grip on the practical aspects of building their registry operation. Participants had the opportunity to learn not only how to set up the required technical infrastructure, but also how to interact with bodies such as IANA and ICANN - the practical details of knowing who to talk to, where to find information and what information needs to be provided during registration or dispute handling processes being equally important to smooth registry operations. The workshop also provided an excellent forum for participants to exchange their own experiences and to work with the instructors to tackle their specific issues. The success of the event was due to the enthusiasm of all who participated and to the efforts of organiser Mirjam Kuehne (ISOC), instructors Lucy Lynch (University of Oregon), Joe Abley and Suzanne Woolf (ISC), Frederico Neves (Registro.br), Jaap Akkerhuis (SIDN), John Crain (IANA/ICANN), Olaf Kolkman (RIPE NCC) and Alain Aina (Technologies Reseaux & Solutions, Togo). Event hosting and administrative support was provided by the RIPE NCC and Michiel Leenaars of the ISOC Netherlands chapter. Materials presented at the workshop are available now at ISOC's Workshop Resource Centre (http://ws.edu.isoc.org). The ISOC ccTLD workshop series will continue with events in other parts of the world. ABOUT ISOC The Internet Society (http://www.isoc.org) is a not-for-profit membership organisation founded in 1991 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner. For over 12 years ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time. ABOUT PIR Public Interest Registry (http://www.pir.org) is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Internet Society to manage the .ORG domain. PIR's mission is to manage the .ORG domain in an exemplary manner while educating and empowering the global non-commercial community to more effectively utilize the Internet. PIR is based in Reston, Virginia. FOR FURTHER DETAILS Internet Society: http://www.isoc.org Peter Godwin Senior Program Manager E-mail: godwin@isoc.org Internet Society 4, rue des Falaises 1205 Geneva Switzerland ------------------------------ From: neomage23@hotmail.com (Christopher) Subject: Panasonic DBS Music-on-Hold Date: 5 Jul 2004 11:14:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hello, We have a Panasonic DBS 576HD, and our dealer wants an insane amount of money just to adjust the volume/fidelity of the music-on-hold/background music feature of our CPC-HL. Basically, it sounds kinda scratchy, like it our stereo volume needs to be turned down, but the DBS volume control needs to be turned up. Please help! Neo ------------------------------ From: ellis@no.spam Subject: Re: Internet Phone Service For Every Home Not Far Off Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 02:52:54 -0000 Organization: S.P.C.A.A. In article , Matt Simpson wrote: > That's a crock. We are still a very long way from "Internet Phone > Service For Every Home". Before that can happen, we need broadband in > every home. And that's a long way off. The bigger crock is the claim that VoIP is somehow superior to circuit switched service. The biggest "virtue" of VoIP is its ability to circumvent regulations and that has nothing to do with technology. ------------------------------ From: Stanley Cline Subject: Re: ANI->CNID, was Re: Pizza ... Can I Tell a Cell or Pay Phone Call Organization: Roamer1 Communications Reply-To: sc1-news@roamer1.org Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 06:32:40 GMT On Fri, 2 Jul 2004 18:31:42 UTC, Danny Burstein wrote: > (I'm not 100% certain whether it's kicking me ANI or unblocked > CNID. All the folk who've called me recently have been from places > where the two are identical, or where I couldn't check back. The > tollfree mechanism, though, makes it much more likely it's ANI). It *is* in fact ANI -- I've confirmed it more than once from cell phones and other lines where CNID and ANI don't match. SC (just another happy Kall8 customer) Stanley Cline -- sc1 at roamer1 dot org -- http://www.roamer1.org/ "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today. There might be a law against it by that time." -/usr/games/fortune ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Coca-Cola Cans as Security Threat Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 22:05:11 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net Momo wrote: > 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. They will probably call in Col. Bat Guano. ------------------------------ From: sin nombre Subject: Comment re Norvergence and Another re Telecom Digest Date: 4 Jul 2004 17:00:52 -0700 Organization: Newsguy News Service [http://newsguy.com] Re Norvergence: If they wrote NSF checks to employees, what do you suppose the odds are that they also wrote NSF checks for payroll tax deposits? I think this company will be providing work for many attorneys for many months, if not years. Re Telecom Digest: I've just read a post on the Norvergence topic which had little content other than to flame another poster. Pat, I trust your judgement; but that one getting through came as a surprise. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well sometimes I let those through because I want to give them enough rope to hang themselves with. Steve has been posting here for many years, and I trust his postings. Not necessarily so with his current antagonist. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 08:57:40 -0400 From: Elliott Taub Subject: Norvergence I am a telecommunications consultant, residing in NJ , in business for approx. 20 years. For a no cost or obligation assistance in restoring your phone service. Please call Elliott Taub 800-364-1066 ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Re: Norvergence Offics Raided by FBI Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 12:04:26 -0500 Black Ninja wrote: > Actually, yes, Loser, I do have a comment. Why would this be the > customer's fault? It wouldn't. That's my point. Every time someone's slammed Norvergence you've come back with a reply like "But we have the best deals" or "The customer should have known that X was our policy". Problem is, no one believed you. > Why would this be the employees' fault? I'm certainly not blaming it on the employees. You missed the point. > 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. Ha. This is the company you've been defending ... I posted the Google Groups link to the alt.cellular discussion on Norvergence where you insisted they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. It appears that you've done a 180 ... News flash: if customer service sucks, in all likelihood it didn't go downhill just in the last few weeks. So you were touting Norvergence's services knowing that their customer service was horrid -- I'll assume that you weren't aware of the vendors not being paid. Nice. > 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. But I was right, and now you're backpedaling. Norvergence WAS screwing its customers. There are plenty of examples offered by ACTUAL CUSTOMERS (well, ex-customers now). Read this newsgroup. You'll see some. > 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. I'm not on a quest for anything. I made a point, which you claimed was wrong. I don't care what the reason was; perhaps Norvergence hadn't planned on stealing money from its clients and not providing service, or jacking up prices on "proprietary" equipment. (I doubt it, but it's possible.) But even if the issue was sheer incompetence and nothing else, Norvergence still screwed its customers. If it wasn't outright fraud, it doesn't even matter (and a whole lot of things point to it being outright fraud). So then you jump in and start calling me all sorts of names. You still haven't identified yourself, Mr. Anonymous Troll. Evidence was posted that I was right and all you could do is insult me, since you didn't have any real arguments. Now it comes out that the company was taking money and not using the money to pay its bills, leaving its customers with no telecommunications... and you're STILL shooting off your mouth. How does it feel to be without a job, Norvergence ex-shill? Lisa Hancock wrote: > Who are the Solzano people? I thought I recently read Qwest no longer > exists and was taken over by a RBOC. Isn't Qwest itself an RBOC? > Is Qwest now out of business with some other telco running phone > service in the New Jersey area? Verizon is the RBOC in most of New Jersey. Former Bell Atlantic/NYNEX... JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/ Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (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. ------------------------------ From: VOIP News Date: Mon, 05 Jul 2004 16:44:31 -0400 Subject: Can VoIP Survive Congress? Reply-To: VoIPnews@yahoogroups.com http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5256334.html By Declan McCullagh Washington politicos are about to kick off what will be a long and exhausting process aimed at deciding the future of phone calls made over the Internet. On Wednesday, a House of Representatives panel will convene its first hearing devoted to considering how much of the thousands of pages of weighty telecommunications regulations should be imported to cover voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) services. The apt title of the hearing: "VoIP: Will the Technology Disrupt the Industry or Will Regulation Disrupt the Technology?" This is a process fraught with problems. For all the hype surrounding VoIP, it remains a fledgling industry that could be severely--perhaps even permanently -- harmed if Congress veers in the wrong direction. Full story at: http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5256334.html How to Distribute VoIP Throughout a Home: http://michigantelephone.mi.org/distribute.html If you live in Michigan, subscribe to the MI-Telecom group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MI-Telecom/ ------------------------------ From: Anthrax500@aol.com Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 21:44:54 EDT Subject: Problem With Anonymous Surfing Tool I can't seem to get your anonymous surfing tool to work ... is it down? Thanks, Mark [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, it is down. It is no longer available. Sorry. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Lisa Minter Subject: How Much Does Bill Gates Know About His Software These Days? Date: Mon, 5 Jul 2004 20:00:00 I know that Bill Gates started Microsoft, back in 1976, I think (?) and one of his first products was Microsoft Basic. Does anyone know if he wrote all that code himself? Also, the Microsoft Company has grown a lot since those days, and how much does Bill Gates actually know about Windows, etc these days; that is, has personal knowledge of the various technical aspects of his products, or like many folks, are large parts of the code outside his personal ability to under- stand also? I am just wondering to what extent he has kept up in his personal knowledge of his products, etc. Anyone know? Lisa ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. 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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 #318 ******************************