From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Jul 10 16:56:35 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.3) id i6AKuZ011482; Sat, 10 Jul 2004 16:56:35 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 16:56:35 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200407102056.i6AKuZ011482@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 #327 TELECOM Digest Sat, 10 Jul 2004 16:56:00 EDT Volume 23 : Issue 327 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Norvergence - How Do I Get Out (Mark Crispin) Merchant Accounts (was Re: Norvergence - Get Out) (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Motorola DCT6200/2005 USB Ethernet Firewire (tommy) SS7 Info (Alan Ponting) Re: Tap Into Neighbors' WiFi? Why Not, Some Say (Tony P.) Re: Tap Into Neighbors' WiFi? Why Not, Some Say (Geoffrey Welsh) Re: Phone Phishing? (David B. Horvath, CCP) Re: T-Mobile USA Views Highest Ranking in Customer Care (Joseph) Re: What Happens to Expired Wireless Numbers (Joseph) Re: US FCC Wants Radio, TV to Keep Tapes of Shows (Tony P.) Death Penalty Applies to Top Posters? (Jack Decker) Re: How Much Does Bill Gates Know About His Software? (Paul Vader) 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: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Norvergence - How Do I Get Out Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 12:13:05 -0700 Organization: University of Washington I think that there is a lesson to be learned from this. From what I've read, it appears that the Norvergence customers effectively purchased the equipment (at inflated prices) and paid for an extended period of service in advance, financing it through a bank. Worse, it seems that they actually sold the equipment to the bank and leased it back. My reaction: what part of "bad deal" is difficult to understand here? Presumably the equipment has some residual value; but since you don't have title, the best you can do is try to get out of the lease somehow and let the back reclaim the equipment. Even if you had title, you'd still be stuck for the difference between the purchase cost and the residual value. This is all the more reason to ensure that the purchase cost reflects actual market value. The money paid for service in advance is lost. Never, *ever* pay for long-term service in advance unless you are willing to lose the entire amount. Never, *ever*, finance a fee for long-term service in advance. There's a big difference between a "service commitment" in which you agree to maintain monthly service for a year, and buying a year of service with $x/month payments. Something tells me that people did not read their contracts carefully. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Jul 2004 00:22:08 -0500 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelex.com Organization: Crash Electronics Subject: Merchant Accounts (was Re: Norvergence - How Do I Get Out) PAT commented: > Look at bank's attitude toward someone who wants a lousy Visa Merchant > account. Credit checks, a complete investigation, etc. all so that > you can send them a few dollars now and then on a Visa transaction. > The banks scrutinze those guys so carefully, and if internet is > concerned, often as not refuse to do business. I disagree with this. I've had a merchant account for a number of years, and I didn't have to go through any particular gyrations to get it. Decent terms, too: <1.7% for V/MC/Novus transactions. About double that for Amex and Diners Club. And no setup fees or recurring junk fees, either -- if I don't use the account it costs me zero. I did pay $20 for an imprinter, and later bought a used Verifone machine for $75. The bank programmed it for free. After a year or so the bank decided to get out of that business so I applied through a professional organization of which I was a member and got the same terms; all that changed was my merchant number. When I first got a merchant account I was a one-man shop, working out of my house, with no credit history and insignificant profits. Later for a few years I operated a retail storefront, in those days I ran a grand or two through the machine daily. Now I'm back to a one-man shop at home again and still no complaints about the merchant account, except that Amex started charging junk fees this year so I dropped them. I was leery of applying at first, because I assumed it was difficult. After all, there were so many businesses standing ready to "help" me get set up, for a nominal fee of course :-) They make it sound insanely difficult but I think that's just hype to get people to use their services. In the end I simply went to the local bank (an independent, not a national chain bank) where I had my business account and asked one of the tellers. She directed me to someone at a desk, and within a week I was running plastic. Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com "If we imagined he could _find_ the car, we could pretend it might be fixed." - Calvin ------------------------------ From: tommynospam@yahoo.com (tommy) Subject: Motorola DCT6200/2005 USB Ethernet Firewire Date: 10 Jul 2004 06:57:21 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Does anyone have any information or a site that might explain how to use the USB, FIREWIRE, Ethernet, etc ports on the DCT6200? Thanks. ------------------------------ Subject: SS7 Info Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 16:57:54 -0400 From: Alan Ponting The US mostly uses ANSI based SS7 - refer to ANSI T1.111, T1.112, T1,113, and T1.114 series of specs ( www.ansi.org ) The rest of the world mostly uses ITU SS7 - refer to ITU-T Q.700 series of specs ( www.itu.int ) Beware, most of these specs are not free. Also look at the ETSI series of specs "ETS 300 008" and "ETS 300 009" - they are very similar to the ITI Q.700 series - and can be downloaded for free ( www.etsi.org ) There are differences in message layouts and field sizes, etc. And some countries add their own little variations, just for fun. You might also refer to Travis Russell's book "Signaling System #7" ISBN: 0071387722 Hope that helps, Alan Ponting (speaking for myself) > In Digest v23 #322 Jeff wrote: >> I have been assigned a research project, and I am having a nearly >> impossible time completing it. I have been asked to find the >> differences in the SS7 networks in China, Japan, and the U.S. I was >> wondering if anyone had any insight into this, or knew of any >> resources I could use to find the answers to these questions. >> Thanks in advance for your help. ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: Tap Into Neighbors' WiFi? Why Not, Some Say Organization: ATCC Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 21:11:37 GMT In article , kd1s@nospamplease.verizon.reallynospam.net says... > In article , support@sellcom.com > says: >> Monty Solomon posted on that vast internet thingie: >>> Michael Oh, president and founder of Tech Superpowers, a Boston-based >>> specialist on wireless networking, said it's difficult to tell how >>> many people are piggybacking on or sharing the wireless high-speed >>> Internet access of their neighbors. But he is convinced a lot of >>> people are trying it in densely populated neighborhoods where wireless >>> connections overlap. >> It is astounding how many people are running wide open wireless. I >> went to my car to check a power supply for my laptop and a wireless >> connection just popped up, and it wasn't mine. >> I went to a free WiFi coffee shop and had my choice of two free >> connections, one due to the kindness/wisdom of the coffee shop owner, >> the other probably some local business that was not aware that they >> were giving away free Internet. >> I think the limitation on range gives some people the feeling that if >> someone does use it that it is a neighbor so they don't really mind. > Yup ... I'm working for a government agency and the boss keeps a Linksys > router running so he can connect via his Mac. It doesn't forward SMB > packets which is good, but it does provide IP via DHCP. Granted, we're > in the sub-basement of a building made of marble, steel and brick. The > connection doesn't go far but he doesn't even bother turning on WEP or > even hiding the SSID. > I shake my head sometimes. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If no other laws exist against this > sort of behavior (using someone else's WiFi without permission) do > you think FCC regulations against intercepting radio signals not > intended for yourself and using them to your benefit would apply? PAT] That's a good point. But then you have to ask yourself, how many people actually know enough to monitor their wireless routers. The answer is that very few of them want to know anything about it beyond setting it up and having it run. ------------------------------ From: Geoffrey Welsh Subject: Re: Tap Into Neighbors' WiFi? Why Not, Some Say Date: Fri, 9 Jul 2004 20:06:27 -0400 Organization: Primus Canada William Warren wrote: > (1) Please don't raise the "security" banner: it's a red herring to > me. Anyone who has substantial money to gain by eavesdropping on a > corporate network will find other ways in, and that's what strong > end-to-end encryption is for anyway. The only "security" to be gained > by guarding a WiFi network is job security for the IT guys. A few months ago I read in the news that police had busted someone in a Toronto neighbourhood for downloading child pornography to a laptop in his car on a street via insecure wireless access points in the area. Unfortunately, in this case, the guy was busted not because anyone tracked down the IP address and scoured the neighbourhood for an 802.11b signal, but because a cop on patrol noticed a car moving slowly the wrong way down a one way street and, when he stopped the guy to check it out, he saw that the guy wasn't wearing any pants and that there was kiddie porn playing on a laptop on the passenger seat (I guess the guy didn't drive very well -- or notice street signs -- while looking at the passenger seat.) For now the real chances are slim that any grief might arrive at my door thanks to the unathorized misuse of my open wireless internet connection but I'd rather be safe than trying to convince the court that it wasn't me who set up a kiddie porn server on my internet connection. Geoffrey Welsh [This space for rent] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We had that report (naked man obtains kiddie porn while driving in car) here in the Digest several months ago. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 20:35:57 -0400 From: David B. Horvath, CCP Subject: Re: Phone Phishing? (PAT, please withhold email address. Name is OK). This reminds me of the ASPEN voice mail system "outcall notification". I had to live with notifications at home for too many years in the past. It was the way to be responsive to customer needs -- if someone called after I left for the day, I'd get the message at home in the evening. - David On 7 Jul 2004 16:52:07 -0700, tanstaafl69@yahoo.com (Ben) posted: > I've been getting some odd calls on my cell phone recently that go > something like this: > - When the call comes in, the Caller-ID shows only an area code, no > number. > - On answering the call, and automated voice announces it has a > message for me. It does so saying my name in my voice, using the name > announcement from my voicemail. > - It then gives instructions on handling the call if answered by an > operator. > - Then is says "Press 2 if you are" and my name again. > - At this point, it asks for my voicemail passcode to continue. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I had a very similar incident early this morning (4:25 AM Saturday). I did not get the call until I woke up later in the morning. I found a message waiting in cellphone voice mail with a Nebraska 402 number. The voicemail message was another voicemail 'outcall' thing; the outcall message told me there 'has been a call out'; employees should report for work, but first press '1' to notify the dispatcher. I identified the 402 number as a power company supervisor in Nebraska and called to tell him I had gotten the message. He told me that earlier today there had been some hassle there and they had to get a bunch of the guys in to work on it, at the power company. He asked for my number and said he would to find the error in their system and get it removed. Although I had seen his number on my cell phone call ID when I looked at the call ID on my landline phone, I saw it there also so I was able to conclude the call had come to landline first, then rolled over with 'ring but no answer after three rings' to my cell phone so I gave him my landline number. He located it in the directory or repertoire of the outcall machine and removed it (he said). And he said he was very grateful that I had reported it; it was not so much the wrong person getting a wrong number call at 4:25 AM that bothered him, but that the right person -- an emergency overnight employee at the power company had *not* gotten the call. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: T-Mobile USA Views Highest Ranking in Customer Care by JD Power Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 20:13:28 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 17:18:14 -0700, Hammond of Texas wrote: > Monty Solomon wrote: >> Confirmation that T-Mobile Customers Indeed do "Get More" >> BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 2004--The results of the >> 2004 Customer Care Performance Study released today by J.D. Power and >> Associates ranks T-Mobile USA highest among national carriers, by a >> significant margin. > Yep, and by now, the T-Mobile bean counters are hard at work figuring > out just how much they have *over*-spent on customer service expenses. Care to explain *why* you believe the "bean counters" are hard at work figuring out how much they have over spent? Or are you just trying to make a dig at a company that has managed to get a good rating? BTW, nice email address!! remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: What Happens to Expired Wireless Numbers Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 20:22:25 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com On 9 Jul 2004 07:03:40 -0700, david_esan@hotmail.com (David Esan) wrote: > I was looking for a similar 'phone, and found one from Virgin Mobile. > Cost is about $20 for 3 months, or less than $7/month, .25/minute at > all times. > The local Cingular people have one for $10/month, 10 cents per minute. > Any other suggestions? Thoughts? Comments? I can go cheaper than that! I have prepaid service with Justalk http://www.phoneshark.com/showwirelesscard.cfm?f=11&t=11&p=9045 . The account is good for 180 days without having to refill. Divided by 6 it's about $1.50 per month. 22.5 cents/minute. Also includes a dedicated toll-free 1-866 number as they only have a limited number of local numbers in certain area codes. Provide a compatible used AT&T TDMA handset and you're home. I'm using a Nokia 6360 that I got from a friend, but any TDMA (IS-136) phone that has been on the AT&T Wireless network will work. You can also buy a phone from phoneshark (who runs justalk.) remove NONO from .NONOcom to reply ------------------------------ From: Tony P. Subject: Re: US FCC Wants Radio, TV to Keep Tapes of Shows Organization: ATCC Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 21:54:35 GMT In article , pv+usenet@pobox.com says: > Monty Solomon writes: >> WASHINGTON, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. communications regulators proposed >> on Wednesday that radio and television broadcasters keep recordings of >> their programming for a period of time to help the agency enforce >> federal indecency standards. > If the FCC wants to play morality police, they should make their own > damn tapes. > * -- * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and > something like corkscrews. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Does FCC still require that all radio > stations keep a log of all their programs for inspection by FCC on > demand? PAT] With what has happened with the consolidation of radio ownership in this country they won't get too many tapes. It's why I very rarely listen to the FM band anymore, it's the same junk from station to station. It's either owned by Citadel or Clear Channel and the same content is played ad nauseam 24 hours a day. Hopefully congress will fix that little problem some day. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 18:21:53 -0400 From: Jack Decker Subject: Death Penalty Applies to Top Posters? Pat, please conceal my e-mail address. On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 13:32:29 -0400, T. Sean Weintz wrote: > Dan Pham wrote: >> Will any criminal charges be filed against Norvergence's executives? >> William Van Hefner wrote in message >> news:: > No. Criminal charges WILL be filed against top-posters, however. Pardon me for being clueless, but what the heck is a "top-poster"? I hope I'm not the only one who didn't get that. Jack [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A 'top poster' is someone who reprints the entire message (to which he is replying) at the top then prints his reply below that rather than putting his reply first and then follows up with a few pertinent tidbits of the message being replied to. Some people do not care for that posting procedure, having to read the entire (original) message twice. Now, some people say it is the other way around: The reply posted **on top** and then the entire original message repeated below. Either way, a good rule of thumb is **hold quoted text to a bare minimum.** I suggest keep at least 50 percent or more of the text in your reply as your *original* work and hold quoting to less than 50 percent, preferably 10 or 20 percent if possible without losing the context, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: How Much Does Bill Gates Know About His Software These Days? Date: Fri, 09 Jul 2004 22:53:53 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My memory is a little hazy on this, but > about 1977-79 when Apple introduced its ][ and ][+ computers, didn't > they cut some deal with Microsoft to use Microsoft BASIC but rename > *their* version of it Applesoft BASIC? The code and the command set Applesoft basic is definitely Microsoft basic with a few tweaks, yes. * * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. ------------------------------ 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #327 ******************************