From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Nov 16 13:33:42 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.6) id iAGIXgV13795; Tue, 16 Nov 2004 13:33:42 -0500 (EST) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 13:33:42 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200411161833.iAGIXgV13795@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 #550 TELECOM Digest Tue, 16 Nov 2004 13:34:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 550 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bigstring - Erasable, Recallable, Non-Printable Email (Monty Solomon) Breaking the Ice 2.0 (Monty Solomon) Senate May Ram Copyright Bill (Monty Solomon) Motorola RAZR V3 Now Available at Cingular Wireless (Monty Solomon) DrayTek VoIP Router model, Vigor2900V (Chris Tsai) SBC Communications Announces Launch of Residential VoIP (Lisa Minter) Re: Wired News: American Passports to Get Chipped (Marcus Didius Falco) Re: Trial Shows How Spammers Operate (jdj) Which Adapter For Vonage? (Hemant Shah) Satellite Receiver Calling Out Over VOIP? (Hemant Shah) Re: Access of Calling Card Dial in Number From Prepaid Cellular (Joseph) Re: Chechen Rebel Web Site Reopened (Henry) Re: Last Laugh! Purely Spam! MY PRESENTATION TO YOU (Tim@Backhome.org) Re: Vonage Tech Support Dead? (Sara Garland) Re: Wired News: American Passports to Get Chipped (William Warren) 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, 16 Nov 2004 11:40:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bigstring - "Erasable, Recallable, Non-Printable Email" Bigstring keeps the e-mail on their server and sends an HTML link to the recipient. Bigstring - "Erasable, Recallable, Non-Printable Email" http://bigstring.com/ http://bigstring.com/learn_more.php http://bigstring.com/faq/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 11:58:34 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Breaking the Ice 2.0 Forget the bland name sticker: The interactive nTAG is giving strangers something to talk about as they network at social events By Diane E. Lewis, Globe Staff Schmoozing can be a trial for the shy, reclusive, and socially challenged. Even those who understand the power of networking sometimes quake at the thought of a roomful of strangers. But a Boston company has come up with a solution that helps break the ice at big meetings. All participants need to do is enter some personal information into an electronic file before the meeting or event: place of employment, alma mater, job title, hobbies, or, for sports lovers, the name of the team they rooted for during the World Series. An electronic name tag then helps get conversations going. The brainchild of Boston inventor Rick Borovoy, the product is called nTAG: It measures 4 inches wide and 3 inches high, and hangs around the conventioneer's neck from an adjustable lanyard. Wearing the nTAG is a bit like sporting a tiny, six-ounce TV screen, except the screen beams messages to fellow conventioneers like, "Hi, Jane, I like strawberry ice cream, too." For those who do their networking at cocktail hour, when the lights are dim and the bar is stocked, the nTAG lights up in the dark. It uses infrared sensing, radio frequency identification, a screen, and three control buttons to connect people with mutual interests or needs, including people who might otherwise gravitate toward folks they already know or hover around a buffet table instead of employing the art of schmooze. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/11/15/breaking_the_ice_20/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 11:20:51 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Senate May Ram Copyright Bill By Michael Grebb WASHINGTON -- Several lobbying camps from different industries and ideologies are joining forces to fight an overhaul of copyright law, which they say would radically shift in favor of Hollywood and the record companies and which Congress might try to push through during a lame-duck session that begins this week. The Senate might vote on HR2391 , the Intellectual Property Protection Act, a comprehensive bill that opponents charge could make many users of peer-to-peer networks, digital-music players and other products criminally liable for copyright infringement. The bill would also undo centuries of "fair use" -- the principle that gives Americans the right to use small samples of the works of others without having to ask permission or pay. The bill lumps together several pending copyright bills including HR4077, the Piracy Deterrence and Education Act, which would criminally punish a person who "infringes a copyright by ... offering for distribution to the public by electronic means, with reckless disregard of the risk of further infringement." Critics charge the vague language could apply to a person who uses the popular Apple iTunes music-sharing application. The bill would also permit people to use technology to skip objectionable content -- like a gory or sexually explicit scene -- in films, a right that consumers already have. However, under the proposed law, skipping any commercials or promotional announcements would be prohibited. The proposed law also includes language from the Pirate Act (S2237), which would permit the Justice Department to file civil lawsuits against alleged copyright infringers. Also under the proposed law, people who bring a video camera into a movie theater to make a copy of the film for distribution would be imprisoned for three years, fined or both. http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,65704,00.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 11:04:30 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Motorola RAZR V3 Now Available Exclusively at Cingular Wireless The Wait is Over: New Motorola RAZR V3 Now Available Exclusively at Cingular Wireless Ultra-thin mobile phone delivers technological excellence with awe-inspiring style LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. and ATLANTA, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) and Cingular Wireless announce the exclusive availability of the Motorola RAZR V3. Delivering cutting-edge design and advanced technology, the Motorola RAZR V3 brings an elegant new twist on the classic flip phone to Cingular Wireless customers nationwide. Created with aluminum, magnesium nickel-plated copper alloy and chemically-hardened glass, the durable Motorola RAZR V3 captures attention for its beautiful form. Space-saving engineering is leveraged to deliver the latest in mobile technology, including MPEG 4 video playback, Bluetooth(R) wireless technology, digital camera with zoom and an internal quad-band antenna for global communications. Ryan Seacrest, the popular host of "American Idol," helped unveil the Cingular-exclusive Motorola RAZR V3 at a Cingular store in Los Angeles. The Motorola RAZR V3 launch coincides with the availability of the "Cingular Experience" in all Cingular stores. Just three weeks after joining forces to become the biggest wireless carrier in the U.S., Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless have -- overnight -- truly become one company by converting more than 1,000 AT&T Wireless company-owned stores into Cingular Wireless stores. Another approximately 10,500 agent locations will be converted in the coming months. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=45040963 ------------------------------ From: cisco8899@yahoo.com.sg (Chris Tsai) Subject: DrayTek VoIP Router Model, Vigor2900V. Date: 15 Nov 2004 21:59:22 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, I found out a interesting new VoIP Router model-Vigor2900V from UK site-www.draytek.co.uk This model has rich features with VPN, Firwall, IP Sec, DES, 3DES, bandwidth management facilities and support FXS ports to make & receive real voice calls. Some friends told me DrayTek Vigor is a reliable router model in whole Euro market. Did you try to use VoIP Router ? pls pick-up Vigor2900V !! ------------------------------ From: Lisa Minter Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 11:11:03 -0500 Subject: SBC Communications Announces Launch of Residential VoIP Service http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20041116005259&newsLang=en SBC Communications Announces Launch of Residential VoIP Service; Another Step Forward in the SBC IP Transformation; Full-Scale VoIP Service Rollout Planned for Early 2005 SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 16, 2004---SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) today announced the launch of a residential Voice over IP (VoIP) service that will significantly expand the SBC IP service portfolio and give DSL customers a powerful new option for communicating with friends and families. The full-scale VoIP service rollout will take place in early 2005. It is preceded by a trial, now under way, in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago and San Antonio. The service will use IP technology and a DSL Internet connection to deliver not only voice calling but also other enhanced features, such as a Web-based portal and advanced call- management capabilities that make it easier for customers to manage their communications. "When we fully launch our service early next year, consumers will be able to choose between traditional and traditional plus next- generation voice services from SBC companies," said Randall Stephenson, SBC chief operating officer. "Over time, we expect that VoIP will be a preferred voice service because of the features and benefits this technology enables. "Our VoIP services continue to evolve, as we introduce innovative features that take full advantage of the power of IP technology," he said. "Residential VoIP is an important emerging technology, and with our industry-leading base of DSL customers and our ability to integrate wireline and wireless communications services in new ways, we're committed to playing a leading role in this growth market -- just as we have in the business VoIP market." The SBC VoIP service will have a Web portal with features such as "find me" and enhanced "do not disturb," giving customers the ability to specify which numbers can ring through, as well as a click-to-call capability that lets customers call friends and family with a click of a mouse The service will also have popular calling features, such as voice mail, call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID and three-way calling. VoIP technology uses high-speed connections to make voice calls to anyone over the Internet or IP networks rather than over the traditional circuit-switched phone network. Customers must have broadband in order to use VoIP service. "By adding VoIP to our extensive consumer product lineup, we gain more flexibility to create an array of innovative and integrated service bundles," said Stephenson. "With a portfolio that includes wireless, broadband, video, Wi-Fi, VoIP, and traditional local and long distance services, customers can get the complete range of integrated communications and entertainment services from SBC companies." Building on a History of IP Leadership The SBC VoIP service is the latest milestone in the company's emergence as a leader in IP communications and in its strategy to create a host of new features and offerings that will seamlessly integrate communications devices and networks for its customers. In October, SBC companies announced the acceleration of an initiative -- Project Lightspeed -- to build a fiber optic-based network that will use IP technology to deliver digital TV, VoIP and super high- speed broadband services to 18 million customers in two to three years. In September, SBC companies, which have provided IP services for businesses since 1998, won contracts for several large-business VoIP deployments, including a deal to create and manage a VoIP network for 50,000 Ford employees located in 110 different facilities. Also in September, SBC companies launched SBC Unified Communications. This new messaging service uses IP technology to create a single electronic mailbox for multiple types of messages, including e-mail, wireless voice mail, landline voice mail and even faxes. The innovative service works over either a DSL or dial-up Internet connection. Customers access the mailbox from any compatible PC or PDA with Internet access or any touchtone landline or wireless phone. The service uses text-to-speech technology to read e-mail and/or fax headers over the phone. Regulatory Rulings Help Spur Consumer VoIP Offer Recent decisions by the Federal Communications Commission have encouraged companies like SBC companies to invest in bringing the latest IP services to customers more quickly. For example, the FCC recently ruled that VoIP was an interstate service and that it would keep authority over the promising new technology in order to eliminate the possibility of a patchwork of state-by-state regulations. "The FCC is moving to create an environment that promotes investment and innovation in IP services," Stephenson said. "It is important that federal, state and local authorities keep the road clear so that this technology can reach consumers faster. The fact that we are accelerating our investment to bring new technologies to the market more quickly shows how good policies can deliver good results to consumers." SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves more than 46 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com. Contacts SBC Communications Inc. Sue McCain, 314.982.8664 www.sbc.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 23:53:38 -0500 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: Re: Wired News: American Passports to Get Chipped Steve Sobol said in Re: Wired News: American Passports to Get Chipped on Mon, 15 Nov 2004 13:50:59 -0800: > Marcus Didius Falco wrote: >> "The reason we are doing this is that it simply makes passports more >> secure," Shannon said. "It's yet another layer beyond the security >> features we currently use to ensure the bearer is the person who was >> issued the passport originally." > Moron. Let's store personal information digitally, and not encrypt it! > That'll make it MORE secure! >> While there are no laws in the United States prohibiting anyone from >> snooping on someone's passport data, Roy Want, an RFID expert who >> works as a principal engineer for Intel Research, thinks that the >> possibility of identity theft is overblown. >> "It is actually quite hard to read RFID at a distance," said Want. > Sure it is. Didn't a couple major retail chains have trouble with > people reading RFID tags this past year? > Why should we believe someone who works for Intel, a company that could > potentially profit big from a large deployment of RFID? I guess if we're concerned, the thing to do will be to make the chip unreadable. I guess putting the passport in the microwave should burn out the chip. I'm sure there will be a lot of such instructions on the internet in a couple of months. :-) ------------------------------ From: jdj Subject: Re: Trial Shows How Spammers Operate Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 19:59:02 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com There is a stressed out twisted-knickers type on slashdot "suggesting" that spam be responded to, including spam sent to bad addresses, to cost spammers money. It's been suggested before and was instantly squelched without comment, except to accuse the poster of being a troll. Seems that spam service providers charge fees for everything, from using their address database to send spam to charging for each hit on the website they provide to their spamming clientele as well as getting a cut of each sale. It seems to follow that at least some spammers can be bankrupted if every single item from them were to get several responses in return. It's almost like sending back empty business-reply envelopes that come with annoying snailmail ads. There is an added benefit if spam to bad addresses were responded to: the bad addresses are confirmed valid and permanently taint the databases, which get sold around and the fun starts all over again. Should not be too difficult to set up a procmail script for servers to send a few http requests to a spammer's website instead of bouncing mail with bad addresses. It would cost very little, if anything for a mail server to respond to a few spams but the spammer's site wold get a huge number of hits and the spammer would certainly pay for all the the traffic. Instead of using filters to try to make it as if spam does not exist (the Emperor's New Clothes approach) which costs the spammer nothing at all, why not make the spammer pay literally by hitting the website with http requests (the validated parking for shopping approach)? The idea of spending the spammer's money is appealing and seems to be a very tasty bit of revenge, much better than the current crop of spam "solutions". But it has a weakness: It requires a large number of mail servers cooperate in responding to spam instead of bouncing it or dumping it in the bit bucket. ------------------------------ From: Hemant Shah Subject: Which Adapter For Vonage? Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 16:26:06 UTC Organization: Aaja Fasaja & Co. Reply-To: NoJunkMailshah@xnet.com Folks, Is there a difference (as far as phone adapter features are concerned) between Linksys PAP2 and WRT54GP2? I already have Netgear wireless router and would prefer to buy PAP2 if there is no difference in phone adapter features between the two. Circuit City has PAP2 free after rebates. Hemant Shah /"\ ASCII ribbon campaign E-mail: NoJunkMailshah@xnet.com \ / --------------------- X against HTML mail TO REPLY, REMOVE NoJunkMail / \ and postings FROM MY E-MAIL ADDRESS. -----------------[DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED BULK E-MAIL]------------------ I haven't lost my mind, Above opinions are mine only. it's backed up on tape somewhere. Others can have their own. ------------------------------ From: Hemant Shah Subject: Satellite Receiver Calling Out Over VOIP? Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 16:26:54 UTC Organization: Aaja Fasaja & Co. Reply-To: NoJunkMailshah@xnet.com Folks, I am considering gettting VOIP service at home (probably Vonage), I also have 2 dish network receivers (one is a DVR) at home and they are connected to a land line. Dish network said that I have to have the receivers connected to the phone line, otherwise I have to pay extra per month per receiver (I think it is $5 per month per receiver). Will the satellite receiver be able to dial out over VOIP? Thanks. Hemant Shah /"\ ASCII ribbon campaign E-mail: NoJunkMailshah@xnet.com \ / --------------------- X against HTML mail TO REPLY, REMOVE NoJunkMail / \ and postings FROM MY E-MAIL ADDRESS. -----------------[DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED BULK E-MAIL]------------------ I haven't lost my mind, Above opinions are mine only. it's backed up on tape somewhere. Others can have their own. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Vonage is supposed to be just like a 'telephone', and able to do anything a 'telephone' can do. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Access of Calling Card Dial in Number From Prepaid Cellular Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 22:00:27 -0800 Reply-To: JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com On Fri, 12 Nov 2004 23:43:32 +0100, Marek Tomczyk wrote: > So I have decided now to get an American mobile phone on my next > trip to the USA. Since you have a phone that's capable of GSM 1900 why not pick up a T-Mobile USA "T-Mobile To Go" SIM card. Full retail price is $50 which includes $30 of calling time, but these cards are often on sale on eBay for much less. Some of them even have extended expiry times of one year's time. > I like the offer of AT&T Wireless very much as it provides a long > validity of one year for balances starting at $100. Domestic calling > with the Free2Go service is very reasonable priced, but calling > foreign countries is still expensive. Unfortunately with the Free2Go service it will be necessary for you to buy a telephone instrument as the Free2Go service is not GSM but is TDMA and requires a TDMA technology handset. > So the idea is to use a calling card service for this matter. The AT&T > documents say that prepaid calling card service is not possible with > Free2Go. Besides this AT&T says in its terms that certain numbers can > be blocked if "abuse" to the network happens. For making international calls from your mobile phone I recommend a service called Gorilla Mobile < http://gorillamobile.com > which provides very reasonable rates for international calls. Calls to foreign mobiles such as in Europe are a good deal more expensive, but that's usually the case with all long distance providers or many of them at least. You must have a major credit card to charge your calls or have a US bank account to debit the charges. > Is calling a local dial in number from a mobile phone in America, in > particular from a free2Go phone, abusive usage of the network? If you mean is there a larger charge to call a US mobile as there is in Europe? The answer is no. Calls made from the mobile phone are the same whether calling regular land line numbers or other mobile phone numbers. However, you should know that in North America you are charged both for incoming calls as well as outgoing calls. Normally you are also charged for calling "free phone" numbers (800/888/877/866 numbers.) > Do you know if calling of local (regular) dial in number from American, > in particular prepaid aka "pay as you go" services is possible? I'm not sure if I understand your question but you can pretty much dial any number either domestically or internationally from your mobile phone whether it's monthly or "pay as you go" or as they call it in North America "prepaid." > Can such providers block access to those numbers? I'm sure it's possible that a provider could block certain numbers if they wished to, but as far as I know no providers do or at least don't intentionally. ------------------------------ From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Subject: Re: Chechen Rebel Web Site Reopened Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 11:38:03 +0200 Organization: Elisa Internet customer BobGoudreau@withheld wrote: > ... either Lisa or Reuters made a typo. > And indeed, www.kavzazcenter.com comes up fine in my browser. Thanks, Bob. But ... "kavzaz"??? D**n those typos! But, we know what you mean. :-) Cheers, Henry ------------------------------ From: Tim@Backhome.org Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Purely Spam! MY PRESENTATION TO YOU Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 05:40:47 -0800 Organization: Cox Communications Dan Lanciani wrote: > I wonder who actually ends up paying in cases like these? Are there > any posted accounts that tell whether the bank absorbed the loss? Or > whether they were able to pull the money back? These might provide > some ammunition to argue with banks that universally refuse to block > ACH debits on consumer accounts (as that would be inconvenient for > businesses) and claim that they can clean up any fradulent withdrawals > after the fact. The banks love to act like innocent conduits when it comes to any issue about ACH debits. Nonetheless, with any given transaction, if the account holder affirms on a timely basis that it's either fraud or simply not authorized, the bank has no choice but to charge it back. Banks hate the concept of consumers knowing that. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Vonage Tech Support Dead? From: no_email_address@hotmail.com (Sara Garland) Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 16:59:16 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net DevilsPGD wrote: > Just wondering if anybody has contacted Vonage within the last month or > so and gotten a response? > I sent two emails (about different issues) on October 25th. I received > ticket numbers, but no response since then I sent them a complaint yeterday -- my *69 is stuck, telling me that the last incoming call was six months ago. I got an automated ticket # by email immediately, but no human yet. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Wired News: American Passports to Get Chipped From: William Warren Organization: Comcast Online Date: Tue, 16 Nov 2004 16:10:02 GMT On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 13:50:59 -0800, Steve Sobol wrote: > Marcus Didius Falco wrote: >> "The reason we are doing this is that it simply makes passports more >> secure," Shannon said. "It's yet another layer beyond the security >> features we currently use to ensure the bearer is the person who was >> issued the passport originally." > Moron. Let's store personal information digitally, and not encrypt it! > That'll make it MORE secure! Yes, it will. If the passport holder knows that the data is available at every doorway, (s)he will take steps to protect it that (s)he might have neglected if "encryption" persuaded otherwise. >> While there are no laws in the United States prohibiting anyone from >> snooping on someone's passport data, Roy Want, an RFID expert who >> works as a principal engineer for Intel Research, thinks that the >> possibility of identity theft is overblown. >> "It is actually quite hard to read RFID at a distance," said Want. > Sure it is. Didn't a couple major retail chains have trouble with > people reading RFID tags this past year? > Why should we believe someone who works for Intel, a company that could > potentially profit big from a large deployment of RFID? Reading data outside the Immigration Office is what Bruce Schnier artfully describes as an "Externality". Intel doesn't bear the cost of identity theft, privacy invasion, and/or other abuses such as customer-profit-potential-pre-screening (Have a good medical plan? Want the ambulance attendant to know that?). Intel doesn't care about the costs you pay; only its own. Of course, this issue would be better seen outside the "Passport" metaphor that's being used for this trial balloon: everybody "knows" that you "must" have a passport to cross a border, so passports are safe places to put rfid chips. However, if the War On Terror [TM] or the Campaign To Save Our Children [TM] or (pick your buzzword) requires it, RFID chips can be easily and painlessly implanted below the skin in the delivery room. Think of the advantages: you'll never have to prove who you are, ever again, not to the cop at the demonstration, not to the cop at the caucus meeting, not to the cop in your woodpile, not to the cop who's knocking on your front door. William "And then they came for me" Warren (With apologies to the Firesign Theatre) ------------------------------ 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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