From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Dec 16 15:06:25 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p3/8.11.6) id iBGK6Ou29350; Thu, 16 Dec 2004 15:06:25 -0500 (EST) Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 15:06:25 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200412162006.iBGK6Ou29350@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 #601 TELECOM Digest Thu, 16 Dec 2004 15:06:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 601 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Wrong 911 Address Delays Firemen (TELECOM Digest Editor) Identify Theft Victim Falsely Charged (Lisa Hancock) News Services via Internet (Fred Atkinson) FCC Approves Wireless Internet Access on Airplanes (Marcus Didius Falco) Seniors Confront Foul Cellphone (Eric Friedebach) Some Down Time for Digest Over Weekend (TELECOM Digest Editor) Re: Software Should Not Be Copyrighted -- Lawsuit (Mark Crispin) Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' The Wave Of The Future? (C.W.) Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts (LB@notmine.com) Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts (Rick Merrill) Re: Cross Battery and Verizon (LB@notmine.com) Re: Kevin Mitnick Recalled (Michael D. Sullivan) Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 18:46:54 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Wrong 911 Address Delays Firemen NEW YORK - AP via Independence Reporter, Wednesday, December 15 - A fire in a six-story apartment building early Wednesday, killed one person and injured 31 others, and Mayor Bloomberg said firefighters were delayed because the caller reporting the fire gave the wrong address. Six civilians were in critical condition fllowing their rescue, three of them children. In addition, six firefighers, and five police officers were injured. A candle in a second floor apartment appeared to be the cause of the fire, and the fire quickly spread through the entire second and third floor of the building, in Jackson Heights, Queens. Mayor Bloomberg said someone called 911 and gave the wrong address of building. Firefighters went to the wrong address, discovered the error, then immediatly went to the correct address, causing in total a two or three minute delay in reaching the place they should have been. By then, the fire was spreading quickly, and police officers were called to assist in evacuating the building. The temperature was in the upper teens or low twenties. =================================== [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As sad as this event is, *nothing* was said about the call to 911 going over VOIP, rather than the more usual transport for calls to 911, nor was it explained who the 'someone' was that gave an incorrect address to the dispatcher. Maybe one of our NYC readers can provide more background on this. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Identify Theft Victim Falsely Charged Date: 15 Dec 2004 14:08:32 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com There are more and more reports of devastating losses to identity theft victims. One troubling newspaper columnist report stated that authorities only pursue criminals when the monetary loss is extremely large, otherwise it's not worth their effort. This was very frustrating to one victim. Another report (referenced below) described how another victim was falsely charged with a serious crime and suffered as a result. Apparently the victim's credit card was stolen, and the thief used it to set up an illegal porn site. The victim was raided by the Feds and his business computer (and livlihood) was confiscated. He was eventually cleared of any crime, but that took months. He claims his computers were seriously damaged in the process. With today's heightened sensitivity toward illegal porn, one can't help but worry about the risk of some sort of identity theft, either to steal money or as a malicious way to attack someone. See: http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_349120748.html If anyone knows additional details about this story, would you post them? [public comments only, please] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: He should have gotten out of the matter by *immediatly reporting* -- as soon as he knew of it -- of his loss to his local police, *then* always referred to that report whenever there were further consequences. But I do hope he sued FBI and other government officials for the hassles he suffered as a result. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Fred Atkinson Subject: News Services via Internet Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 15:29:45 -0500 Does anyone know of news services devices provided via Internet connection? To give an example of what I mean: A news scroller that runs ball scores over as they are updated by the news service provider. This could be mounted in a bar or restaurant and connected to a high speed Internet connection. If you could reply via email about this, I'd like to know who offers such services. Regards, Fred [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Search on the net for the phrase 'RSS' (Really Simple Syndication) for services like you want. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 23:10:23 -0500 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: USATODAY.com - FCC Approves Wireless Internet Access on Airplanes Press reports say that the FAA is in no hurry to allow this, so it may be=20 several years before it's implemented. This article says that they won't complete their technical study for 2 years. Another scenario, however, would be to nibble away at the rules: use is now allowed at the ramp with the doors open. It might be allowed on some airlines while taxiing based on this experience. Then later it could be allowed at altitude based on that experience. But that would take a couple of years anyhow. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-12-15-wifi-in-flight_x.htm http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=3Dcpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+FCC+approves+wireless+Internet+access+on+commercial+jets&expire=&urlID=3D12603942&fb=3DY&url=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Ftravel%2Fnews%2F2004-12-15-wifi-in-flight_x.htm&partnerID=1664 FCC approves wireless Internet access on commercial jets By Genaro C. Armas, Associated Press WASHINGTON Airlines can provide their passengers access to high-speed wireless Internet while they fly, under a vote by federal regulators Wednesday. "If there is a theme for this meeting, it is that we want (new technologies) on the land, in the air, and on the sea" Federal Communications Commission chairman Michael Powell said Wednesday as the commission considered new rules for airlines. "We are pushing the frontiers in order to bring the information age to all corners of the world," he said. The FCC also talked about whether to end the ban on using cell phones on planes, but did not vote. David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, a passenger group, said the changes under consideration would "make business travelers more efficient and while away the time for a lot of other passengers. This is all the wave of the future here." Currently, the only way passengers on domestic flights can communicate with the ground is through phones usually built into the seat backs. That service isn't very popular: It costs far more than conventional or cell phones about $3.99 a minute and the reception often is poor. Of the three companies that initially offered that service on commercial jets, only Verizon Airfone remains. It has phones on about 1,500 jets. The FCC approved a measure to restructure how frequencies for such "air-to-ground" services are used and allow the airlines to offer wireless high-speed Internet connections. Left undecided was the issue of how many companies the FCC would allow, through an auction, to offer such services. Verizon Airfone maintains that letting one company handle the service would ensure the best quality, and existing technology can't support two competitors. Others, including Boeing and AirCell, argue for two competitors to prevent one company from having a monopoly. FCC officials said the auction would take place within a year. Once plans are completed and planes outfitted with the equipment, wireless high-speed Internet access might be found on commercial domestic flights by 2006, said Jack Blumenstein, chairman and CEO of Louisville, Colo.-based AirCell. The timeline on when air travelers would be able to start using cell phones in flight is murkier, in part because both the FCC and the Federal Aviation Administration ban the practice. The FCC took up the issue Wednesday in an effort to start public discussion, and commissioners might eventually relax the rules or lift the ban entirely. Of most concern to FCC officials is how using a cell phone in an airplane would interfere with cell phone use on the ground. The FAA is worried mainly about how airborne cell phone use would interfere with a plane's navigation and electrical systems, agency spokeswoman Laura Brown said. The technology used on seat-back phones and being considered for use for wireless Internet hookups causes no interference. The FAA has commissioned a private, independent firm to study the issue, and results aren't due until 2006. The FAA will not make its decision on cell phone use until after the study is completed, Brown said. Allowing high-speed Internet access and cell phone use on planes could offer cash-strapped airline companies a new source for revenues, said Doug Wills, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, the major airlines' trade group. Still, airlines must weigh the demand for such service against the desire of other passengers for a quiet cabin, Wills said. "Some people see a cell-free environment as a good thing," he said. Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. Find this article at: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-12-15-wifi-in-flight_x.htm NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra . New articles daily. *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, in this instance Associated Press and USA Today. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Seniors Confront Foul Cellphone Date: 16 Dec 2004 00:46:13 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com [Note from Eric: The headline in my post is not the one from the AP feed. I changed it to make some sense in the archive. The actual headline is below.] Senior citizen, sentenced to probation, gets a thumbs-up in court Associated Press, 12-15-04 ST. PAUL - A retiree who tussled with a man half his age who was using foul language in a restaurant was sentenced to probation, but he got a thumbs-up from attorneys and others who sympathized with his motives. Bill Stevenson, 79, of Lake Elmo, pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court, and judge Paulette Flynn placed him on three months of probation. "I think I could've won my case by going to trial, with a sympathetic jury," said Stevenson. "I've had over 30 calls and letters and e-mails, and I've not had one negative call. They're all on my side." Stevenson and another retired 3M engineer, Sten Gerfast, 74, confronted the man July 15 at Bruegger's Bagels in the Sun Ray Shopping Center. The two retirees were going over a design Gerfast had invented when Jesse Tabor, of Minneapolis, entered the bakery with his 13-year-old daughter. In an interview after the incident, Tabor, 40, said he was talking on his cell phone with a man whose home he was remodeling and said he didn't recall cursing. But Stevenson and Gerfast remember it differently. "He was using the F-word against this guy he was talking to," Stevenson said. "There was an argument on the phone. The third time he walked by our booth where Mr. Gerfast and I were trying to design something, Mr. Gerfast said to me, 'Should I do something about it?' I thought a moment and thought, 'What can you do in a case like this?' I didn't know what you could do." So Gerfast, of Mendota Heights, decided to confront Tabor. He tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to take his call outside, Stevenson said, but Tabor said something like, "This is none of your business." "It was only when he used the words, 'you f-ing bastard' -- it was yelled across the bagel shop so everybody heard it -- that I started walking up to him," Stevenson said. "Then he said 'you f-ing a-hole" and that really bothered me. I've been in lots of different places, but when I heard that kind of stuff coming in my hometown, I thought, 'Somebody's got to do something.' " Stevenson grabbed the phone from Tabor and the two men played tug-of-war for a few seconds. Stevenson realized it was a dumb thing to do, let go of the phone and Tabor "went sailing across the floor," Stevenson said. The three men with charged with disorderly conduct. Gerfast was acquitted in a court trial last month. Tabor, who has previous convictions for criminal sexual conduct and drug possession, failed to appear at a September hearing and a bench warrant was issued for him. Attempts to reach him Tuesday were unsuccessful. http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/politics/10420049.htm [Note from Eric: This item came up on a local (Minneapolis) talk radio station today. The talk show host was able to get Sten Gerfast on the phone. It turns out Gerfast was the mechanical engineer on 3M's tape drive backup system some years back, among over two dozen other patents to his name under 3M.] Eric Friedebach /KMPX Rocks!/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 18:03:12 EST From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Some Down Time for Digest Over Weekend John Levine, who helps the Digest by providing the alias 'telecom-digest.org' address to me, via his computer in Trumansburg, NY said to me that this weekend coming up, he will be doing some maintainence on one of his computers (rearranging files, etc) and so will be off line part of the time. In the event, when you ask for the URL http://telecom-digest.org this weekend, the computer tells you the page cannot be reached, then use one of the other addresses to reach our site. In addition to our direct address http://massis.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives you can also use http://telecom-digest.n3.net if you wish. The preferred URL is the first one (with '.org') but massis and .n3.net also work fine and bypass John Levine's computer to get here. Patrick Townson ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Software Should Not Be Copyrighted -- Lawsuit Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 11:40:37 -0800 Organization: University of Washington On Tue, 14 Dec 2004, Steve Sobol wrote: >> Intellectual-property consultant Greg Aharonian hopes to convince the >> court that software makers can protect their products adequately >> through patents > No. Patents are absolutely NOT the proper way to go. Copyrights are. I agree. This is one issue that the Gnu radicals got right. Now, we may all feel that copyright should not last as long as it does, especially in the field of software where the value of intellectual property becomes moot long before its creator dies. All too often, the preservation of antique software has been hampered by the difficulty in identifying who owns the IP and securing permission. Even worse, once the owner is identified, it turns out to be an extraordinarily complex and expensive process to get the permission executed even when the owner is otherwise pleased to grant it. What's needed is an inexpensive process by which an owner can abandon IP without undesirable side-effects. But that's something that should be fixed in copyright law. Patents, on the other hand, lock up techniques; and the history of software patents is a sad litany of numerous obvious and commonly-used techniques being claimed under patent. The necessary litigation to overturn such patents is ridiculously expensive. Something tells me that Aharonian is a lawyer who's looking to drum up even more business. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 14:17:32 CST Subject: Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' The Wave Of The Future? From: C.W. John Bartley wrote on Wed, 15 Dec 2004 12:25:44 -0500 about Re: Is 'Transitional Fair Use' The Wave Of The Future? > On Tue, 14 Dec 2004, Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote: ... > Topic drift alert. Not that that ever happens here in the -> TELECOM <- digest. Or is it now the Telecom-Computer-Hacker-Legal-WiFi-Television-Automobile-Etc News Feed Digest? ------------------------------ From: LB@notmine.com Subject: Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 17:10:07 -0500 Organization: Optimum Online Lanceman wrote: > Hi - > I am considering switching my local landline to the AT&T CallVantage > service. I have also looked at Vonage, but am unable to move my local > number with them. Anyone out there have good or bad experiences with > the CallVantage service? > Thanks in advance for your replies. > Lance I believe Consumer Reports thought poorly of ATT stuff. LB ------------------------------ From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: AT&T CallVantage Service -- Your Thoughts Organization: Comcast Online Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 23:53:54 GMT Lanceman wrote: > Hi - > I am considering switching my local landline to the AT&T CallVantage > service. I have also looked at Vonage, but am unable to move my local > number with them. Anyone out there have good or bad experiences with > the CallVantage service? Excellent experiences. When the previous company continued to bill me, a rep. from CallVantage stayed with me on the phone until the other company agreed to give me full credit from the date that CallVantage switched on. It was a snap to disconnect the house phones from the old system and connect the Telephone Adapter (TA) to my house phone. One caution: it may not power more than three REN (Ringer Equivalency Number) worth of phones. Their official policy is to support a wireless phone with multiple handsets. One feature I use a lot is the phone messages my callers leave are sent to me as attachments to email! Another feature I like is the on-line list of callers: one click and the call is returned! Rick Merrill ------------------------------ From: LB@notmine.com Subject: Re: Cross Battery and Verizon Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2004 17:13:45 -0500 Organization: Optimum Online Joe Perkowski wrote: > Hey ppl, > Does anyone know what is "cross battery"? We put in a NBX 2 months > ago running fine. Now, we are getting static and crosstalk on some of > our incoming lines. > We have had a great deal of rain these past 2 weeks, and have had > previously problems with Verizon due to old copper in our area. > The Verizon guy is telling us "cross battery" is causing this? > What is "cross battery" if anyone knows...? > Thanks. > Joe He may be blowing smoke. The rain points to your problem -- poor cable. The wires in the cable actually are rotated over distance. As you can see all cable have a sag. If a poorly insulated wire inside the cable is at the bottom of the bunch where the sag is low then water can get in there. Unfortunately the fix is new cable or new way of routing. LB ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Kevin Mitnick Recalled Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 02:29:45 GMT In article , lisa_minter2001 @yahoo.com says: > Rummaging around through the Telecom Archives, I found two interesting > items on Kevin Mitnick. I wonder if anyone knows what he has been > doing since 1997 or whenever he got out of prison. He's become a computer security consultant, appearing on 60 Minutes, writing in Newsweek, running his consulting website , writing books, etc. The usual stuff for a convicted notorious hacker. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD, USA Delete nospam from my address and it won't work. ------------------------------ 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. 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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 #601 ******************************