From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 13 14:34:13 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 336F215759; Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:34:13 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #101 Message-Id: <20060313193413.336F215759@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:34:13 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 13 Mar 2006 14:35:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 101 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Tornado Damage in Kansas, Elsewhere (John O'Connor) Microsoft Takes on Yahoo and Google for Ad Dollars (D. Wakabayuke) Cellular-News for Monday 13th March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 13, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Telecom Mergers Put Cable on Defensive (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Gas Refrigerator (jsw) Re: Gas Refrigerator Lisa Hancock) Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (Neal McLain) Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (William Warren) Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power (John McHarry) Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power (John Hines) Re: 3 Phase Power (John McHarry) Re: 25 Hz Power (John McHarry) Re: 25 Hz power (harold@hallikainen.com) Re: Bell System Phone Label Code? (Allen Newman) Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? (Matt Simpson) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John O'Connor Subject: Tornado Damage in Kansas, Elsewhere Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:18:03 -0600 Tornadoes Rip Across Midwest, Killing 10 By JOHN O'CONNOR, Associated Press Writer Swarms of tornadoes killed at least 10 people across the Midwest, shut down the University of Kansas and caused so much damage in Springfield that the mayor compared it to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The violent weather started during the weekend with a line of storms that spawned tornadoes and downpours from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. On Monday, a second line of storms raked the region, with rain, hail and fierce wind tearing up trees and homes from Kansas through Indiana. To the northwest, the vast weather system pulled cold air in Canada, generating snowstorms that cut off power to thousands and shut down schools in South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Illinois' capital was hit hard twice in 24 hours, first by a tornado and then strong wind early Monday that blew debris through the city. Power lines were down across Springfield, trees uprooted and windows blown out. "It's just amazing how devastating it is," Mayor Tim Davlin said Monday after daylight let him see the extent of damage. "It looks like the pictures we saw a couple months ago after Katrina." The tornado that struck Springfield on Sunday evening was one of about 20 that broke out along a 400-mile patch across Missouri and Illinois, National Weather Service meteorologist Ed Shimon said Monday. Most major roads into the city were closed, and police searched damaged homes and businesses for people who could be trapped, said city spokesman Ernie Slottag. At least 24 people were treated for minor injuries. Two hotels looked like they were still under construction, with missing roofs and blown-out windows. A nearby Wal-Mart store had also lost its roof. Even the five-story Illinois Emergency Management Agency building was damaged, its roof partly torn off and the top floor flooded, said IEMA spokeswoman Patti Thompson. The Capitol lost two windows, and the governor told nonessential state employees in Springfield they weren't required to report to work Monday. Missouri and Kansas were also hit hard by the weekend storms, with at least nine people killed and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed or damaged. Hail as big as softballs pounded parts of the area. Bobby Ritcheson, 23, said he watched as a neighbor was killed south of Sedalia, Mo. "The trailer came down right on top of her," Ritcheson said. Homes were destroyed along a path of more than 20 miles south of St. Louis, officials said. At the University of Kansas, where 60 percent of the buildings were damaged by weekend storms, Provost David Shulenberger said classes were canceled Monday because of safety concerns about debris falling from roofs. The Lawrence campus was littered with trees, roof tiles and window glass. Two trees fell through Rhonda Burns' mobile home in Lawrence early Sunday. "If the wind had shifted that tree just a few inches, I wouldn't be talking to you," she said. Tornadoes also destroyed dozens of homes Sunday in Oklahoma and Arkansas. "It was over before you knew it," said Greg Kospar, 41, of Bentonville, Ark. "The house is gone." In Illinois, the tornado that struck Springfield on Sunday had made a two-hour pass through central Illinois. The Chicago area was struck by high wind, with gusts to 70 mph in suburban Tinley Park, and roofs were blown off apartment buildings in suburban Bridgeview. Localized flooding was reported in the Chicago and Quad Cities areas. Thousands of people were without power in the state Monday morning, including about 15,000 in the Springfield area, down from about 65,000 at the height of the storms, Thompson said. Davlin said his brother's restaurant and bar in the nearby town of Jerome was heavily damaged. "I had to call him and tell him that his roof was four buildings away," said the mayor, whose brother was out of town during the storm. The vast weather system arose as moist air from the Gulf of Mexico collided with cold Canadian air, said Philip Schumacher of the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls, S.D. The system dumped 20 inches of snow in parts of western South Dakota and knocked out power and closed schools as it moved into Minnesota and Wisconsin. "It is a sign that spring is coming," said Schumacher. "You start getting stronger low-pressure systems, and they're able to bring in stronger south winds, which tend to bring up more moisture." Missouri authorities reported nine people killed, including four whose bodies were found in the rubble of homes near the town of Renick. Another storm victim was found in Indiana, where several people had to be rescued from cars stalled in rapidly rising water. Flood warnings were posted Monday for large areas of southern and central Indiana. Kansas was more fortunate, with damage mostly in the north central part of the state, around the Lawrence and the university area. In the Independence, KS area, which serves as a 'central command point' for sheriff and other emergency personnel in the rural s.e. area of the state officials noted , "we were quite lucky that other than rain and very strong winds and some hail, most of storm passed on by us. Associated Press reporters F.N. D'Alessio in Chicago, Noah Trister in Bentonville, Ark., David Lieb in Sedalia, Mo., Garance Burke and Margaret Stafford in Kansas City, John Milburn in Lawrence, Kan., and Jim Salter in St. Louis contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Daisuke Wakabayashi Subject: Microsoft Takes on Yahoo and Google for Ad Dollars Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:20:57 -0600 By Daisuke Wakabayashi Microsoft Corp.'s top saleswoman for Web advertising, Joanne Bradford, spent her first few years on the job secretly wondering if the software giant was serious about cashing in on the Internet. When she joined Microsoft in 2001, the company lacked a search engine of its own and had no clear Web advertising strategy. Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. made multibillion-dollar businesses of search-related advertising while Microsoft waited. "I wasn't sure the first couple of years that we were here to stay," said Bradford, Microsoft's corporate vice president for global sales and marketing. "I thank Yahoo and Google for proving that a software company can be a media company and a media company can be a software company." These days, Microsoft is very serious about grabbing a larger piece of the $15 billion U.S. market for Internet advertising with a revamped search engine and a new system called adCenter to sell pay-per-click ads across the company's Web content and services. Microsoft plans to overhaul its Web presence, consolidating e-mail, instant messaging, online PC security and search at its Windows Live site along with new offerings like an online marketplace in order to increase traffic and create valuable space for advertisers. However, the company faces an uphill climb. Microsoft's MSN Internet unit generated $1.4 billion in online advertising revenue in its past fiscal year, while Google pulled in $6 billion in sales and Yahoo racked up $4.6 billion in 2005. The company's strategic push combined with a steadily growing Internet advertising market -- expected to reach $26 billion in 2009, according to Forrester Research -- should boost Microsoft's online advertising sales. "I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft could double (its online advertising revenue) in three to five years," said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft based in Kirkland, Washington. SEARCH ENGINE TUNE-UP Analysts caution Microsoft trails Google and Yahoo in producing relevant results from its search engine and unless it can close that gap, it will be difficult to gain market share in search, the largest segment for online advertising. Like Google and Yahoo, Microsoft lets advertisers, through adCenter, bid how much they will pay each time a user clicks on their ad. Until recently, all the ads on Microsoft's search service were sold by Yahoo. Yahoo still sells three-quarters of Microsoft's paid search ads, while the company tests adCenter in the United States. It plans a full switch to adCenter in the next few months. Microsoft officials said adCenter provides advertisers with demographic data to better target customers with projections about the search user's age, sex and location. Eventually, the company wants to integrate projections about the user's wealth, preferences and online behavior patterns. Backed by registration information obtained from 230 million e-mail accounts and 205 million instant messaging users, Microsoft said that database allows it to provide more accurate projections than Google or Yahoo. Microsoft envisions adCenter to one day be a one-stop shop for advertisers to gather information then buy ads on search results, Microsoft-related sites and services, non-Microsoft sites, mobile phone software or even online Xbox video games. "We're really starting to see Microsoft gear up. Of course, the company was asleep at the wheel for a long time," said independent search engine analyst Chris Winfield. One major hurdle is that ads placed on Microsoft's search results reach only a fraction of those from Google and Yahoo. Google finished January with 48 percent of the U.S. search market, trailed by Yahoo at 22 percent and MSN at 11 percent, according to Nielsen//Net Ratings. Microsoft stressed that online advertising is not a zero-sum game. "The online advertising market is growing at such a rapid pace and we want to participate in some of that," Microsoft's Bradford said. "This isn't a winner-take-all proposition." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headline news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Monday 13th March 2006 Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 07:47:52 -0600 From: Cellular-news Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[3G News]] China Homegrown 3G Standard To Test In Hong Kong http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16466.php A small trial network of China's homegrown third-generation mobile phone standard will be set up in Hong Kong soon, according to a Hong Kong government-backed wireless industry association. ... Foreign Ownership Cost DiGi.Com Malaysia 3G License-Paper http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16474.php KUALA LUMPUR (AP)--Malaysia's No. 3 mobile phone operator, DiGi.Com, failed to win a lucrative third-generation mobile phone license because it is foreign-owned, a newspaper reported Sunday, citing the country's communications minister. ... Romanian 3G Spectrum Dispute Solved http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16476.php A radio spectrum dispute between Vodafone and RomTelecom in Romania has been resolved with RomTelecom shutting down trial networks which used 3G spectrum allocated to Vodafone. RomTelecom had been granted a temporary license to use the spectrum so th... Vodafone Deploys HSDPA in Portugal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16487.php Vodafone Portugal says that it has begun the roll-out of HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) capability on its 3G network. At this stage, HSDPA technology access is available to a selected group of individual and business customers in Lisbon, C... [[Financial News]] Australia's Telstra To Expand Ties With Asia: CEO http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16464.php Australia's Telstra will continue to look at opportunities to expand its ties with Asia, Chief Executive Solomon Trujillo said Friday. ... India Spice Telecom: Telekom Malaysia Buys 49% Stake http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16465.php Telekom Malaysia has taken a 49% stake in India's Spice Telecom, said a senior executive of the mid-sized mobile phone company Friday. ... TDC: Polish Polkomtel Shareholders Accept Sale Offer http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16468.php Danish telecommunications group TDC, Friday said the Polish shareholders in Polkomtel has accepted its offer to sell 76% of its holding in the Polish mobile telecommunications operator. ... Telemar posts US$516mn profit, up 48% http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16472.php Brazilian telecoms group Telemar posted profits of 1.11bn reais (US$516mn) for 2005, up 48% compared to 2004, the company said in its earnings statement. ... Vietnamese Operators Plan Stock Floatation http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16486.php Vietnam's VinaPhone and MobiFone plan to equitise and issue shares on the stock market before year's end, according to parent firm Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT). VinaPhone assets, in terms of user subscriptions, reached US$... [[Handsets News]] Cingular, T-Mobile Confirm Component Issues With Razr http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16469.php Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile USA confirmed they had pulled a number of Motorola Razrs because they were inadvertently disconnecting phone calls. ... Kyocera expects 50% handset revenue growth in 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16470.php US CDMA mobile handset manufacturer Kyocera Wireless aims to grow its sales in Brazil by 50% in 2006 compared to 2005, Fabio Castanheira, Kyocera's general manager in Brazil, told BNamericas. ... LG expects 80% jump in handset sales in 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16471.php The Brazilian division of South Korean electronics colossus LG expects to record an 80% jump in mobile phone sales to 6.3 million units in 2006 from 3.5 million in 2005, LG announced at the Telexpo in São Paulo. ... Linux And Microsoft To Overtake Symbian - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16478.php At 3GSM in Barcelona, Symbian had announced that shipments of its mobile operating system almost tripled from 14.4 million units in 2004 to 33.9 million units in 2005, the fourth consecutive year that Symbian enjoyed a growth rate in excess of 100%. ... Nokia Opens Indian Handset Factory http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16481.php Nokia has inaugurated its new manufacturing facility in Sriperumbudur, Chennai, India. The manufacturing facility in Chennai is Nokia's fifteenth manufacturing facility globally. Nokia is the only company in India whose facility manufactures both mob... [[Messaging News]] RIM Upgrades BlackBerry Servers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16483.php Research In Motion (RIM) has announced the immediate availability of BlackBerry Enterprise Server v4.1 and BlackBerry Enterprise Server -- Small Business Edition v4.1 for Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino. Incorporating feedback from thousands o... [[Network Operators News]] Resolving Network Problems In Guyana http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16480.php Guyana Telephone & Telegraph has responded to local media complaints about congestion on their GSM network and published a program to aleviate the situation as soon as possible. For its part, GT&T has responded to what it felt were a number of inaccu... Qtel Gets New HQ Building http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16482.php Qatar's Prime Minister, H.H Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani, officially opened Qtel's new headquarters building. The 27 storey Qtel tower is fitted with IP based telephony, WiFi on every floor and advanced high-speed video conferencing facilitie... Turkcell Opens New R&D Center http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16485.php Turkeys Turkcell has opened a new R&D Center, which brings together all of the Company's research and development operations in a single location. Over 260 engineers dedicated to developing mobile communications technologies and services will staff t... [[Offbeat News]] Greek Wiretaps Probe Summons Senior Ericsson Official http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16467.php ATHENS (AP)--A parliament committee probing the wiretapping of Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis and top officials during the Athens Olympics summoned a senior Ericsson (ERICY) executive Friday to testify. ... British Workers Encouraged To "Switch Off" From Work http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16479.php British workers have been warned not to allow mobile technology to harm their work-life balance at the launch of a new public-private sector business group, led by Orange. The Orange Future Enterprise Coalition (OFEC) has brought together government,... [[Personnel News]] Gent To Quit As Vodafone Life President - Breaking Views http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16475.php Vodafone Group's Life President Chris Gent is to step down, Web site BreakingViews.com said Sunday. ... [[Regulatory News]] Subtel: Industry should concentrate on mobile, broadband, VAS http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16473.php Chile's telecommunications sector is expected to have a positive year and the industry should concentrate in areas of growth such as mobile, broadband and value-added services, local newspaper Diario Financiero quoted Chile's telecoms regulator (Subt... New Licenses for Fixed and Mobile Services in Saudi Arabia http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16484.php Saudi Arabia's Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has announced plans for liberalising the telecoms market in the Arab nation. The CITC has employed consultants, Arthur D. Little to assist it in a series of public consultatio... [[Reports News]] New Report Into Global Telecoms Development http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16477.php Although there has been global progress in improving access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), poor countries still lag behind in making ICT applications commonplace in governments, schools and business, says the World Bank in a new... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 11:39:01 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Monday, March 13, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 13, 2006 ******************************** Planning a Hydrogen-Powered Phone http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17051?11228 Clean, efficient hydrogen has long been eyed as a convenient and long lasting fuel. Now, chemists at UCLA and the University of Michigan are reporting an advance toward the goal of phones and other mobile devices that run on hydrogen rather than conventional batteries. While the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that practical ... Rostelecom Sells 90% Stake in RTK-Sibir http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17048?11228 Russia's fixed-line incumbent, Rostelecom, has sold its 90% stake in RTK-Sibir, which operates in the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia, to TeleMir, which now own 100% of the company. Significance: With its monopoly of the fixed-line, long-distance market soon to be eroded following the liberalisation of the sector in 2005, Rostelecom has... Vodafone's Global Strategy Under the Spotlight http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17044?11228 Mobile giant Vodafone saw fresh worries over the weekend (11/12 March) as its former chief executive, Chris Gent, resigned from his post as life president, and company chairman Ian MacLaurin was forced to publicly declare his support for embattled chief executive Arun Sarin. Gent, who transformed the company from a small British firm to... MIMO Clears Another Hurdle http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17043?11228 The next, fast generation of Wi-Fi using MIMO (multiple-input, multiple output) technology reached a major standardization milestone today. The IEEE working group gave its tentative approval to a draft 1.0 standard for the much-discussed 802.11n specification. Bill McFarland, chief technology officer with Atheros Communications, says... RIM in Voice 'Push' http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17041?11228 Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM - message board; Toronto: RIM) says it has bought Ascendent Systems , a move the handheld device vendor says will give it the capability to "push" voice calls from users' corporate desk phones to their wireless -- or other wireline -- devices. The acquisition comes as RIM introduces new... France Telecom Joins Million-Man VoIP Club http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17038?11228 France Telecom claims to have zoomed passed the million-customer mark in residential voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), making it one of what still is only a handful of companies in the world that can claim such a customer base. The carrier now says it's signing new VoIP customers in five countries at the rate of 5,000 per day. France... Poll: Merger Won't Spur Competition http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17033?11228 Nearly three fourths of Light Readers polled this week say that the combination of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T - message board) and BellSouth Corp. (NYSE: BLS - message board) will not improve competition in the communications industry. (See Ma Bell Is Back!.) Shortly after the mother of all mega-mergers was announced on Sunday, Light... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:42:57 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: March 13, 2006 - Telecom Mergers Put Cable on Defensive USTelecom dailyLead March 13, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dhhQfDtutbzksxFxlE TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Telecom mergers put cable on defensive BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Vodafone life president Gent quits * Money flows to Web 2.0 * Nortel to restate financial results * RIM faces challenges after NTP settlement USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Author Steven Shepard teaches two Crash Courses at TelecomNEXT HOT TOPICS * AT&T-BellSouth Deal could prompt M&A activity among gear makers * AT&T to acquire BellSouth for $67B * AT&T-BellSouth deal may lead to cable mergers * Verizon adopting coaxial cable to cut costs * Verizon targets MDUs for FiOS penetration TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Ultra-niche TV thrives online * Wireless networking installation can confuse consumers REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Editorial: The illusion of the network neutrality debate Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dhhQfDtutbzksxFxlE ------------------------------ From: jsw Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 12:30:08 CST > Being 9 or 10 years old at the time I was fascinated that a device > could be built that could make cold using only a flame. I distinctly remember gas refrigerators, and yes, I was also fascinated by the fact they used heat to produce cold. When I was about that age, some neighbors of ours in an upstairs apartment had one, a Servel. It was connected by a stubbed-out pipe from the connection to the gas range. It did have a power cord -- for the light. ;-) I don't recall if it was vented or not. (Anybody know?) Later I learned that these used a hydrogen and ammonia refregeration unit. Back in the 1970's a friend of mine had a 50's vintage suburban ranch house which had a gas central air unit. At the time it worked, but it was incredibly expensive to operate due to escalating gas prices. I remember the tag on the inside unit had a picture of a blue flame and the expression: 'Ice Blue Gas Flame.' I also vaguely recall gas deep freezers as well. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A water cooler with a DC motor is >> interesting; but did you ever see a _refrigerator_ powered by -gas- >> rather than -electricity-? Back in the 1960s the city gas works was pushing gas air-conditioning for homes. It was a big marketing campaign. If someone got such a unit, the gas works would send out cards to the neighbors inviting them to come and check it out. IIRC, in the early 1960s the city converted from manufactured gas (processing coal to create gas) to buying "natural gas". This was because pipelines were built between the oil wells and the consuming cities and collect gas that was otherwise just thrown away. Although cities had gas works for a great many years, gas was originally used for lighting. Coal was used for heating. In later years gas was used for cooking, hot water, heating, and clothes drying, all because it was cheaper than electricity for those purposes. In those days, one advantage of living in the city was that utility expenses were cheaper -- using gas was cheaper than electricity to run the household. Further, utilities charged city residents a lower rate since the higher housing density was cheaper to serve. In the 1970s this all changed with the energy crisis. I believe the domestic gas sources ran out and now gas had to be imported from the Middle East along with oil, greatly increasing its cost. Indeed, there were shortages and new housing construction had to use all-electric instead of gas. On railroads, steam was used for air conditioning. There was an explanation on the railroad newsgroup of how this worked. Steam had the advantage of being freely available as excess from the locomotive boiler. After the railroads diselized, the diesel locomotives had to contain a water boiler for passenger trains to provide steam for a/c and heat. This continued into the Amtrak era. Amtrak converted all trains to all-electric, eliminating the steam lines which were a problem to maintain. Someone mentioned Philadelphia's central steam for heating. This was once supplied by the Philaadelphia Electric company in a "steam loop" that circulated throughout center city. Buildings purchased steam instead of maintaining their own boilers. I believe industrial processes could even use that steam. The loop still exists although it was sold off. The steam generators for the loop may no longer be from the electric power plant; Philadelphia Electric has closed down a lot of old power plants. One beautiful old building is being converted into condos. Anyway, the steam loop has had varying fortunes over the years, becoming less popular, but then gaining in popularity again. I believe other cities have similar utility service. Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. (The jet engine has the advtg of being smaller.) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: They did this same thing in parts of downtown Chicago. The boiler in the basement of the Commonwealth Edison (corporate HQ at that time) Building provided steam to many buildings in the area. It was at Clark and Adams Street, right across the street from the old federal court house (for history buffs the very nice, elegant older building with the rotunda and several levels built up under the dome; they tore it down in 1963 when they build the _new_ Federal Plaza on the same spot along with the new post office. When Edison HQ was across the street, they supplied steam for at least five or six buildings along there on Clark Street. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2006 22:33:41 -0600 From: Neal McLain Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power John McHarry wrote > Apropos the earlier discussion in the 25Hz thread, I think both the US > and Europe distribute three phase wye connected power. If you look at > a distribution pole, at least before the phases are split out, you > will see three well insulated wires, and a fourth wire that is earthed > at each pole. In the USA, the fourth wire is called the "MGN" ("multi-grounded neutral"). http://www.annsgarden.com/poles/poles.htm#def The MGN isn't necessarily grounded at each pole. In my cable TV days, the rule-of-thumb used by power companies was "every tenth pole; every transformer pole; every corner pole; every end pole." At any pole with a full ground, all other facilities on the pole (such as telco and CATV cable shields) had to be grounded to the same ground. And yes, for safety reasons, distribution primary is (almost always) wye connected. Consider: - If one phase (say, phase X) of a wye-connected distribution circuit fails, all phase-X customers have no power, but phase-Y and phase-Z customers are not affected. - In one phase (say, phase X) of a delta-connected distribution circuit fails, the phase-X conductor downstream from the point of failure becomes a floating bus. Customers across Y-Z are not affected, but X-Y customers are suddenly in series with X-Z customers. Big voltage drop. Unhappy customers. I wrote "almost always" above because I've heard of at least one case of delta-connected distribution. Some fellow in New Jersey posted a story about it here on T-D several years ago -- apparently, he was one of the customers with half-voltage. Maybe he'll post his story again. > I believe both systems provide single phase house current by attaching > a transformer from one phase to neutral/earth. If you go down a street > with three phase distribution you will see the transformers (pole > pigs) attached to each phase in sequence. When you get near the end of > a run, it may drop down to two, or even a single phase. Single-phase primary distribution is quite common on residential side streets in the USA. > If you are going down a street with streetlights, there will likely be > a line below the main distribution lines carrying lower voltage for > them. Not necessarily. A separate line is sometimes used in situations where several mercury-vapor (or sodium-vapor) lamps are installed in a relatively small area (say, a city block or an interstate interchange). The lamps are wired in series, and each lampholder has a cutout circuit that shorts the circuit across a failed lamp. Presumably, there are current-limiting devices somewhere in the circuit that keep the total current constant. Far more commonly, however, streetlights of any species (incandescent, mercury, or sodium) are simply wired across any conveniently-available 115-volt secondary distribution circuits -- the same circuits that feed nearby residences and small commercial customers. Each streetlight has its own photocell (at dusk, the lights come on at different times). A burned-out lamp simply goes out, but it doesn't affect any other streetlight. A photocell may short out (or get covered with bird poop), in which case the streetlight burns all day. Of course, there will be a dedicated 115-volt secondary distribution conductor pair ("duplex") for any streetlight that happens to be on a pole that wouldn't otherwise require secondary distribution. Other pole-mounted 115-volt loads are wired in the same manner: traffic signals, pedestrian lighting, CATV power supplies, seasonal decorations. > When you come to a customer requiring three phase power, there will be > three pole pigs, one off each leg. I think in Europe these are also > wye connected, but some in the US are delta connected. The primary windings may be delta-connected, but the secondary windings are (in my experience) always wye connected. But I suppose a power company could provide a delta connection to a customer that specifically requested (and paid for) it. > Some places the power company, at least in the past, got cheap and > used two pole pigs to deliver an "open delta" where the third phase is > imputed. On a warm spring day with the sun shining and the birds > singing, this works fine. When the loads get out of balance, all sorts > of evil ensues. Why would ambient air temp affect load balance? I would think that load balance would be determined by the customer's instantaneous demand. > There is, however, a reason for both wye and delta connections. Non > linear loads, and ever more are with the prevalence of switching power > supplies, generating harmonics. Multiples of the third harmonic, > called triplen (from triple n) currents add in phase on the neutral. A > wye-delta transformation traps them and keeps them out of the upstream > system, where large currents on the neutral can wreak havoc. Are wye-delta and delta-wye transformations ever used in secondary distribution circuits? The ones I've seen were always in primary distribution or sub-transmission. Neal McLain ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:08:39 -0500 From: William Warren Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (L Danny Burstein wrote: [snip] > As the above poster mentioned, "240V" is usually a "real" (more or > less...) 240V based on tapping two 120V legs against each other. If > they're (that is, both wires) coming off opposite sides of the > transformer, you get a simple addition (120 + 120 = 240) [a]. > [a] I'd personally consider that design > to be two-phase, since the legs > are 180 degrees apart, but the > rest of the world disagrees with > me and calls it single phase. [snip] I think the confusion comes from the use of ground as a reference: a wye-connected three-phase circuit has three distinct phase angles ** with respect to ground **. In a center-tapped secondary delivering 240/120 to a home, there is only one phase angle with respect to ground. The polarity is different, of course, but the absolute value of the angle is the same. The disparity might also be an accomodaction to history: some electrical systems used to deliver two phases of power separated by 90 degrees (and thus requiring four wires). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_phase and http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=202929 for discussions. If I had to guess, I'd say that electrical engineers decided to call our usual 240/120 CT arrangement "Single phase" to distinguigh it from the four-wire two phase systems, and possibly because engineers think in terms of differences: two wires only have one angular difference. If there is a "Two phase" system in current use (pun intended), I think it would be a delta-connected service with one leg grounded. I don't know what an electrician would call it, but "Delta breakers" are commonly used for this arrangement, i.e., there are panels with two-pole breakers that control two legs of a delta feed, with the third being grounded. Come to think of it, maybe this is the "standard" for delta: any electricians care to comment? HTH. William Warren (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 02:39:57 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 14:45:53 +0000, Justa Lurker wrote: > John McHarry wrote: >> Whether I was told so, or figured out later, this must have been done >> with rotating machinery. I would guess, unless there is a cute hack I >> am unaware of, this would give a nasty waveform, but would probably be >> smoothed out by the rest of the grid. > Not necessarily ... the resulting waveform would be quite fine > ... imagine a 25 Hz motor on one side turning a shaft connected to a > 60 Hz alternator. That wouldn't be very efficient, and I think would cost more than simply replacing the 25Hz generators with 60Hz models. There was another post that pointed to a couple of large users consuming 25Hz power near the dam. It could be they consumed the 25Hz output and the rest of the then CIPS customers were supplied native 60Hz power. This strikes me as more plausible than what I was told as a youth. ------------------------------ From: John Hines Subject: Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:38:22 -0600 Organization: www.jhines.org Reply-To: john@jhines.org Justa Lurker wrote: > Not necessarily ... the resulting waveform would be quite fine > ... imagine a 25 Hz motor on one side turning a shaft connected to a > 60 Hz alternator. That is how it works. I remember doing some computer work for a company that developed aircraft electronics. In the back room with the ups and such were a couple of motor-generators that produced 400hz power, which is used in large jets. This was routed to the test benches and such. They have been used as online ups for a long time, usually with a flywheel to store the energy. Very low maintenance devices, that have been around for ages. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: 3 Phase Power Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 02:28:49 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 05:32:08 -0500, DLR wrote: > I studied power a bit 30 years ago in but now my knowledge is a bit > more limited so excuse any technical mistakes. Here in Raleigh, NC and > I'm assume other CP&L/Progress Energy locations, they have been on a > campaign for a while to loop all the 3 phase feeds from the > substations so there are few if any "ends of runs". I don't know if > this started due to Hugo & Fran, just happened at the same time, or > was accelerated due to them. I am in Wilmington, NC, which is also "Progress" Energy. Dropping phases is pretty common here, and there is still a pole pig for every house or two, at least in older areas. Maybe we are less of a priority than the capital, even though we are on the coast in an area that seems to Hoover hurricanes. Looping seems like a good idea, but I know it can cause some headaches when there is a need to drop power to a segment. I live quite close to the main hospital and noticed some rather involved switches near there. Maybe that section is looped and the bad direction can be cut off. We do have a reputation for early restoration. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: 25 Hz Power Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 02:47:58 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 16:25:53 +0100, obsidian wrote: > Your observation about single phase is correct for UK. However in > other parts of Europe 3 phase is routinely supplied to quite small > dwellings. > I live in a small 2 bedroom apartment in Belgium of about 80m² which > is supplied with 3 phase with 230 volts between phases and no > neutral. More modern homes are supplied with 3 phase and neutral... Interesting. Do you have any appliances that consume 3 phase, or is this just for the benefit of the power company? ------------------------------ From: harold@hallikainen.com Subject: Re: 25 Hz power Date: 12 Mar 2006 20:04:01 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I think light bulb manufacturers have to balance efficiency (useful light out divided by electrical power in) versus lamp life. You can make a lamp last a long time, but it becomes very inefficient. Harold ------------------------------ From: Allen Newman Subject: Re: Bell System Phone Label Code? Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2006 23:16:52 -0600 I've come back to this thread in search of a new theory. I liked the M = modular idea but I've saw a new ebay listing with pictures of two "hard-wired" WE 1500s that have number cards with the M stamp. After much scanning, measuring, image enlarging, and font matching I've finished making replica number cards for my own WE phones and I'm not sure I want the M on mine anyway but I'm still curious what it meant. In article , Allen Newman wrote: > That's a pretty good guess. I saw a touch-tone wall phone that's > still hard-wired (non modular) where Ma Bell put it and still has its > original number card (this one happens to be a card, not a sticker), > and sure enough there's no M on it. This phone is in Northwestern > Bell territory and was probably installed between 1967 and 1969 based > on it being touch-tone and not having the 1969-present Bell logo on > it. > If it stands for Modular, I wonder if it's sort of a disclaimer, since > the reality of a modular phone is that it's far easier to move it, > therefore there's more of a chance that the number card/sticker could > be wrong if the customer connected the phone to a different line. > I don't think all telcos used the M, though. I'm seeing the non-M > layout on some modular phones on ebay. > In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com > wrote: >> Allen Newman wrote: >>> On the number cards/labels affixed to latter-decades' Bell System >>> phones, there was a letter M stamped like this: >> Could it have meant "modular" since that number card was intended for >> modular phones installed by the customer? They used to give them out >> at Phone Center stores. >> I didn't care for them since it was a sticker, not a card. Admittedly, >> for most people that what was best. However, since I knew how to open >> a dial, I wanted a card to mount behind it and didn't want some sticker >> fouling my dial. Also, they used a stamper that was in relatively >> small type size compared to the bigger size used by traditional >> installers. Of course all they had was all-number, no letters. In our >> area, we were still using letters in a limited manner. To this day, >> the official internal identifier for telephone districts in our area >> was the old exchange name from way back. ------------------------------ From: Matt Simpson Subject: Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:32:21 -0500 Organization: Yeah In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Suppose some molester uses your identity in a chat to arrange an > illicit meeting with a victim. Will cops come after you? For that particular example, the cops will probably show up at the arranged meeting and arrest whoever shows up. For other examples of identity theft (hackers obtaining credit in your name), the innocent party may have a little more trouble getting clear of the mess. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #101 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 14 00:26:32 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 22D9C1575C; Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:26:32 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #102 Message-Id: <20060314052632.22D9C1575C@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:26:32 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:30:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 102 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Movie "Pillow Talk" (Lisa Hancock) Re: Bell System Phone Label Code? (Lisa Hancock) Re: The 411 on Directory Assistance (Lisa Hancock) 25 Hz Railroad Power -- Book Recommendation (Lisa Hancock) Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (John McHarry) Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (Robert Bonomi) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (John McHarry) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (T) Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power (John McHarry) Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power (Robert Bonomi) Re: Who Used 25 HZ Power in 50's (John Bachtel) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Movie "Pillow Talk" Date: 13 Mar 2006 12:16:55 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com TCM cable showed the film "Pillow Talk" the other night. It's a romantic comedy from 1959 with Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Because of high demand, Hudson and Day are forced to share a party line. Hudson is a playboy with the women and Day is mad she can't use her phone since he's always talking to girls on it, plus she doesn't like his playboy lifestyle. The normally excellent TCM moderator said not to ask why those two couldn't afford private telephone lines. He missed the point, stated early in the movie, that the telephone company was short on capacity and there was a waiting list for private lines. During the 1950s this was a problem in many parts of the country. There was considerable new construction of homes which required new exchanges and many people who once had party lines now wanted private lines. Further, people who never had a phone before now could afford one and that added to demand. I'm curious as to how many romances developed over sharing a party line. I suppose here and there a few may have happened. But in all the telephone lore I've heard, however, it seemed people only complained about the other party sharing their line--that they tied it up too much or listened in. One person told his father had his employer tell the phoneco he was a critical worker on call (somewhat true) to get a private line and get out of the nuisance. As to the movie, and other similar movies of that time frame, I must admit I didn't care for it. The movie was full of extremely subtle sex references which were never stated. Rather, the accompanying music made sounds to indicate it was something naughty. (I can't describe the sounds, but it was something like a snicker or one person elbowing another discretely, kind of from a sax or clarionet.) What bothered me was the big pretense the actors made (like Doris Day) about being absolutely prim and proper and never ever doing anything that would be "embarassing" or improper, or even looking or suggesting impropriety. Then there'd be a "wink wink" by the guys. I guess the overt hyprocracy--suggesting sex but pretending it wasn't there and keeping up a proper facade--irritated me. (There was another film with Doris Day and Cary Grant that was heavilly loaded in this regard, too). An excellent movie of that time, The Apartment, was partly based on that attitude, but handled it very differently and didn't dwell on the sexual aspect. It pretty much accepted the parties were having sex, and rather dealt with issues -- were the married men lonely or just scum cheaters. (As an aside, The Apartment accurately depicted the flashing lights of the six button key set). Now I don't mean to suggest they go to today's opposite extreme where actors and actresses go on TV talk shows and brag about sexual conquests -- A is having B's baby but dating C who is still married to D who is also involved with A. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My dear departed grandmother, bless her soul, dead now since 1978 told me about party lines and the old biddies here in Independence/Coffeyville who had them during the 1930-40's. They would set their phone in or upon a galvanized wash tub, then go out to sit on the front porch on a hot summer night. Sooner or later, they would hear the 'ticking' and 'clattering' of that wash tub as the bell clapper on the phone would make a single strike. (Recall please that party lines often used a system where the desired phone would ring normally, but the other phones on the line [with their bell ringing clappers on a different frequency] would just make a sort of feeble 'tick sound' once and then stay silent. The old witches would be out on their front porch trying to stay cool; one of them would hear that greatly amplfied [by comparison because of the galvanized wash tub] 'tick sound', excuse herself and slip inside to quietly pick up the reciever and see _who_ had called, _who_ they were talking to, and _what about_. They'd sit in there quietly listening to the others, and only occassionally would another one of the biddies happen to notice she was being spied on and angrily tell the others to get off the line. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Bell System Phone Label Code? Date: 13 Mar 2006 13:54:53 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Allen Newman wrote: > I've come back to this thread in search of a new theory. I liked the > M = modular idea but I've saw a new ebay listing with pictures of two > "hard-wired" WE 1500s that have number cards with the M stamp. In those days the "number cards" were peel off stickers. It is entirely possible that a number card was issued by itself to reflect a new number and pasted on an existed phone. Customers certainly moved around hard wired phones after divesture. Also, in those last days I don't think they were as strict on number card use as in the old days. I saw a great variety of newly installed number cards--some ANC, some with 2 letters, some with the full exchange name. It's rare, but there were the rectangular cards (for Touch Tone phones) that had the full exchange name spelled out; squeezing DEvonshire in that little space was quite an accomplishment. In the 1950s sometimes they used a fancy card in which the installer had little numbers he put into tiny slots on the card face. These were black background with white numbers. In the 1960s we got a peel off sticker with our area code which was to be pasted on the phone dial, overlaying the "wait" as in "wait for dial tone". If they had to do that today every time an area code changed they'd go broke just from postage. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: The 411 on Directory Assistance Date: 13 Mar 2006 14:07:09 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Monty Solomon wrote: > By FRED A. BERNSTEIN > The New York Times > March 9, 2006 > Calling 411 for directory assistance can be maddeningly expensive. > Carriers like Sprint and Verizon charge more than $1 and sometimes as > much as $2 a call from a cellphone.. > And much of that is profit. Directory assistance "truly is a cash > cow," said Saroja Girishankar, a vice president at the Pelorus Group, > a telecommunications market research firm based in Raritan, N.J. She > and other industry analysts said that the carriers paid wholesalers -- > who actually provide the 411 service -- from 25 to 50 cents a call. Our local directory assistance is two calls for free, then around 35c a call. I believe most places charge something like that for local directory assistance, and $1 for long distance directory assistance. At one time directory assistance was a profit contributor in that a customer wouldn't be making a call without the number. In a day when most calls were metered that was important. About 50 years ago and longer, many people made long distance calls by name and city, not by number "operator, get me John Smith in Kansas City", and the operator would call KC information to get his number then make the call. The Bell System ran ads to discourage that and to call by number, then provided free distant information. Over time however, the company found costs growing and many people using DA because they were too lazy to look in the phone book or to verify someone's name and address. So they began charging for DA use. What bothers me is that many sources are INACCURATE. My own listing is totally fouled up on some alternative sources, though it is correct in my local telephone directory. The same alternative sources have an old number long disconnected still shown as in use. If someone tries to use one of those alternative sources they won't be able to reach me. But I must admit in a way I'm glad those alternative sources are messed up. If someone truly wants me, they'll spend the 25c or $1 and call standard directory assistance and get my listing. I suspect the alternative sources are more of a resource for junk phone solicitations and junk mail. Charities and politicians are still quite heavy users of telemarketing. Some sleazy businesses call up and say "you've done business with us in the past so we're calling you today ..." ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: 25 Hz railroad power--book recommendation Date: 13 Mar 2006 14:22:31 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I see there was a lot of interest in power distribution. There's an excellent book that covers the history of electric propulsion on steam railroads, "When the Steam Railroads Electrified" by William Middleton. It is now in its second edition which contains added information. There's a chapter on motor technology. Railroads electrified to (1) increase track capacity since electric trains were faster and more flexible, and (2) avoid smoke in tunnels. A big innovation was the "multiple unit" (MU) passenger train. These are trains, usually commuter trains or subways, that have no locomotive. The motors are part of the carriage with the wheels and the engineer sits in a vestibule at the front of the train. These have the advantage of being very flexible in size--one car or 16 cars as needed, and easy to turn around since they are bi-direction. MU cars also accelerate faster. With the advent of diesel engines and improved ventilation, some tunnel electrifications were shutdown. Some commuter electrifications were shut down as well. The Pennsylvania Railroad had a massive electrified network for its passenger and freight trains. While started in 1915, it reached its peak in the 1930s. Most of the passenger network remains in place run by commuter agencies or Amtrak, but the freight network was shutdown after Conrail inherited the Pennsy. Diesel locomotives are actually electric, with the generator carried above. As such, they have many of the advantages of an electric engine without the expense of maintaining a power distribution network (substations and overhead wires). Street railways and subway-elevated lines used 600 V DC and most still do (somewhat higher voltage) to this day. The relatively low voltage requires frequent substations. Railroad trains used a variety of voltages and AC frequencies. As mentioned, 11000V 25Hz was common and still in use to this day. Opinion follows... I am a strong proponent of electric propulsion. A modern electric powerhouse is far more efficient due to economy of scale than an on-board power plant could ever be. The plant could run on coal, oil, or gas, and many can be switched from one source to another. The exhaust can be economically cleaned up by scrubbers. Since the plant is more efficient in the first place, more of the fuel is burned up and less left over to go up the stack. Also, nuclear plants which do not release air pollutants or use scarce oil can be used. Rail is the most efficient means of travel for short distances. Unfortunately, this country has chosen to massively invest in air and highway and despite that investment, those modes remain overcrowded and unable to accomodate all demand. Fast trains -- which are not that costly to build -- should be used for regional transport needs and would be far more efficient in terms of fuel, safety, and pollution. We don't have the land to build more airports and roads, and trains fit in anywhere. Planes are better for coast to coast trips. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:21:35 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 22:33:41 -0600, Neal McLain wrote: > John McHarry wrote >> Some places the power company, at least in the past, got cheap and used >> two pole pigs to deliver an "open delta" where the third phase is >> imputed. On a warm spring day with the sun shining and the birds >> singing, this works fine. When the loads get out of balance, all sorts >> of evil ensues. > Why would ambient air temp affect load balance? I would think that load > balance would be determined by the customer's instantaneous demand. I was being a bit flippant, like saying something is so loud it can be heard five miles upwind on a foggy day. >> There is, however, a reason for both wye and delta connections. Non >> linear loads, and ever more are with the prevalence of switching power >> supplies, generating harmonics. Multiples of the third harmonic, called >> triplen (from triple n) currents add in phase on the neutral. A >> wye-delta transformation traps them and keeps them out of the upstream >> system, where large currents on the neutral can wreak havoc. > Are wye-delta and delta-wye transformations ever used in secondary > distribution circuits? The ones I've seen were always in primary > distribution or sub-transmission. I don't know, but I think you know more about this subject than I do. They may do it within substations, or perhaps they have other means of getting triplens off the neutral. I do know switching power supplies cause some horrid current waveforms, mostly symmetric, so rich in odd harmonics. I used to volunteer engineering help at a public radio station. We were having trouble getting the UPSs and emergency generator to play together, so, after seeing the top clipped off the generator voltage waveform, I hooked a clamp on current probe into the scope. It looked like a pig's breakfast! Pretty much all the loads are switching supplies or fluorescent lights. The input to the UPSs looks a bit better, but is still extremely non linear. The wonder is that it worked at all. I believe they are now trying to raise the money for a much larger generator in the hopes it can cope with the insult. ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (L Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:40:30 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Danny Burstein wrote: > "240V" is usually a "real" (more or > less...) 240V based on tapping two 120V legs against each other. If > they're (that is, both wires) coming off opposite sides of the > transformer, you get a simple addition (120 + 120 = 240) [a]. > [a] I'd personally consider that design > to be two-phase, since the legs > are 180 degrees apart, but the > rest of the world disagrees with > me and calls it single phase. "Two-phase" described 2 hot-wires that were 90(!!!) degrees out-of-phase. It is demonstrably single-phase, as there is only one secondary coil. It just happens to have a 'center tap', which is at 'relative' zero potential. The rest of Danny's dissertation is spot on. :) > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I know of a janitor in an apartment > building who always used 25 watt _240 volt_ light bulbs in the > exit signs in his building (even though the fixures were the more > standard and customary 120 volts.) He said those 240 volt bulbs > (which were in difficult to reach places) _never_ had to be changed; > they would on burning for several years. He did not like the idea of > getting out a step ladder to climb up and change a bulb in an exit > sign if he could avoid it. PAT] Years? *SNORT* make that decades or *centuries*. expected lifetime of a light-bulb is approximately a 15th-order inverse relationship. Halve the voltage, and lifetime will be roughly 2**15th (32,768) times longer. The 'lumens' (actually lumen-hours) of light output, per dollar of electricity supplied will be far, *FAR* inferior to the standard 120v bulb. There are standard "rough service" bulbs (lifetime for which is at a rated 130v) that are "close" to as dollar-efficient in energy usage as the 120v bulbs, but with a greatly improved lifespan. They don't cost much more than _quality_ 'standard 120v' bulbs, assuming you can find somebody that carries them. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Precisely! But a 25-watt bulb at 240 volts in a 120 volt fixture still presents a reasonably decent glow to point people in the direction they should walk to reach a fire escape, for example, which is I think how he was doing it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 00:38:15 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800, hancock4 wrote: > In the 1970s this all changed with the energy crisis. I believe the > domestic gas sources ran out and now gas had to be imported from the > Middle East along with oil, greatly increasing its cost. Indeed, > there were shortages and new housing construction had to use > all-electric instead of gas. I think some is imported these days, but most is domestic, if you count offshore. I do remember the big push for cryogenic tankers and such, but recently they have been building gas powered power stations, which means a ready supply at a good price. > After the railroads diselized, the diesel locomotives had to contain a > water boiler for passenger trains to provide steam for a/c and heat. > This continued into the Amtrak era. Amtrak converted all trains to > all-electric, eliminating the steam lines which were a problem to > maintain. I guess you mean HVAC. I doubt the propulsion is all electric on the Chicago to New Orleans run. BTW, I just checked that it still runs, but they have renamed the Panama Limited to the City of New Orleans, which was canceled years ago. > Someone mentioned Philadelphia's central steam for heating. This was > once supplied by the Philaadelphia Electric company in a "steam loop" > that circulated throughout center city. Buildings purchased steam > instead of maintaining their own boilers. I believe industrial > processes could even use that steam. The loop still exists although > it was sold off. The steam generators for the loop may no longer be > from the electric power plant; Philadelphia Electric has closed down a > lot of old power plants. One beautiful old building is being > converted into condos. Anyway, the steam loop has had varying > fortunes over the years, becoming less popular, but then gaining in > popularity again. I believe other cities have similar utility > service. The University of Illinois at Urbana, at least in antediluvian times, when I was there, owned an operated a power plant. Originally the electricity was the main product, and the steam to heat the buildings was a byproduct. When I was there, it was really a steam plant that generated some electricity. For TDers who aren't engineers, all heat engines work off a temperature differential. You not only need a source of heat, but a sink, the colder the better. That is why they build power plants near bodies of water. > Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power > backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use > them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but > can get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use > more conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a > power failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep > things going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel > engine. (The jet engine has the advtg of being smaller.) Many use > diesels, but some have turbines. I have been told if you are ever > near one of the latter and notice the louvers opening, run. The > noise will be horrendous. There must be a scale at which gas > turbines become competitive with diesels, or power companies > wouldn't use them either. Of course, they aren't quite the same as > aircraft turbines. They are multi stage to milk as much energy as > possible out of the stream. Oh, and steam plants generally drive > multi stage steam turbines. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: They did this same thing in parts of > downtown Chicago. The boiler in the basement of the Commonwealth > Edison (corporate HQ at that time) Building provided steam to many > buildings in the area. To tie this back to telecom, here is an even weirder one: Until a few years ago, the headquarters of the British overseas telecom giant Cable & Wireless was a building on Theobalds Road in London. It had originally been a central hydraulic plant. I think they provided high pressure for elevators, but, more importantly for C&W, they powered and owned a pneumatic mail system that covered much of central London. This was one of those systems where you could put papers in a cylindrical carrier and fire them to the recipient by air pressure. When the government allowed C&W to compete with British Telecom, they were able to use the tubes from the defunct mail system to run fiber into most of the "City", being the financial district. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: University of Chicago also has (or had, as I have not been around there for more than a decade) a steam boiler over at 61st and Harper Avenue I think. In the dead of winter when there was otherwise several inches of snow on the ground, you could always tell where all the underground steam pipes (to the various buildings on campus) were buried, because no matter how much snow had fallen the night before, that spot would always be free of snow and ice. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:49:32 EST Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) On 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power > backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use > them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can > get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more > conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power > failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things > going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. > The jet engine has the advantage of being smaller.) Every "emergency engine" I ever saw in a telephone building was a conventional diesel engine. My father-in-law was shop foreman for a company that sold and service large earth moving equipment in Enid, Oklahoma, and from time to time they were called upon to routine the auto-start emergency engine in the Enid c.o. It was a conventional GM diesel engine like those used on earth moving equipment and locomotives. Offices with 24-hour coverage had larger diesel engines that were started manually. Both auto-start engines and those started manually were tested once a week by pulling the commercial power and making sure that the officde transferred properly to the emergency engine and, in the case of auto-start engines, that it started properly. As Lisa says, the batteries would carry the load for some time. The batteries always carried the load, with commercial power or emergency power being used to float the batteries and charge them continuosly. Usually the emergency engines, at least in offices with manual start, were tested at 7 a.m. on Wednesdays and run for an hour carrying the load. If you happened to hit dial tone or ringing tone at that time, you could hear a slight blip in the tone as the load shifted from the usual ringing machine running on commercial power to the backup which ran from the c.o. batteries. C.O. batteries were very large compared to the usual auto battery you think of, and existed in large numbers. As to Servel refrigerators, the patents (and perhaps the name) were purchased by ArkLa Gas (originally Arkansas-Louisiana Gas Company). It his now combined with another large gas utility and has a double name. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:08:34 -0500 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: >>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A water cooler with a DC motor is >>> interesting; but did you ever see a _refrigerator_ powered by -gas- >>> rather than -electricity-? > Back in the 1960s the city gas works was pushing gas air-conditioning > for homes. It was a big marketing campaign. If someone got such a > unit, the gas works would send out cards to the neighbors inviting them > to come and check it out. > IIRC, in the early 1960s the city converted from manufactured gas > (processing coal to create gas) to buying "natural gas". This was > because pipelines were built between the oil wells and the consuming > cities and collect gas that was otherwise just thrown away. > Although cities had gas works for a great many years, gas was > originally used for lighting. Coal was used for heating. In later > years gas was used for cooking, hot water, heating, and clothes > drying, all because it was cheaper than electricity for those > purposes. In those days, one advantage of living in the city was that > utility expenses were cheaper -- using gas was cheaper than electricity > to run the household. Further, utilities charged city residents a > lower rate since the higher housing density was cheaper to serve. > In the 1970s this all changed with the energy crisis. I believe the > domestic gas sources ran out and now gas had to be imported from the > Middle East along with oil, greatly increasing its cost. Indeed, > there were shortages and new housing construction had to use > all-electric instead of gas. > On railroads, steam was used for air conditioning. There was an > explanation on the railroad newsgroup of how this worked. Steam had > the advantage of being freely available as excess from the locomotive > boiler. > After the railroads diselized, the diesel locomotives had to contain a > water boiler for passenger trains to provide steam for a/c and heat. > This continued into the Amtrak era. Amtrak converted all trains to > all-electric, eliminating the steam lines which were a problem to > maintain. > Someone mentioned Philadelphia's central steam for heating. This was > once supplied by the Philaadelphia Electric company in a "steam loop" > that circulated throughout center city. Buildings purchased steam > instead of maintaining their own boilers. I believe industrial > processes could even use that steam. The loop still exists although > it was sold off. The steam generators for the loop may no longer be > from the electric power plant; Philadelphia Electric has closed down a > lot of old power plants. One beautiful old building is being > converted into condos. Anyway, the steam loop has had varying > fortunes over the years, becoming less popular, but then gaining in > popularity again. I believe other cities have similar utility > service. > Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power > backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use > them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can > get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more > conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power > failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things > going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. > (The jet engine has the advantage of being smaller.) Speaking of power -- my office is responsible for the central voter registration system. As such we had to build out our new location to be as robust as possible when it came to networking and power. Roughly 30 servers as well as a dozen or so network devices and a phone switch are connected to an APC Symmetra system that provides one hour of runtime. That's backed up be a transfer switch and a 125kW natural gas powered generator. We do quarterly power down tests and have preventative maintenance contracts on the generator and UPS. The first test was very interesting. They pulled commercial power at the panel. The lights went out for ten seconds as those and the AC aren't hooked up to the UPS. For those ten seconds all cubes in the I.T. office had lighting and computers. You heard a slight bang at the ten second mark and then the overhead lights and AC came on. When it was time to transfer off generator power you just noticed a slight flicker in the overhead lights. Very smooth system. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:29:06 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 09:38:22 -0600, John Hines wrote: > Justa Lurker wrote: >> Not necessarily ... the resulting waveform would be quite fine >> ... imagine a 25 Hz motor on one side turning a shaft connected to a >> 60 Hz alternator. > That is how it works. I remember doing some computer work for a > company that developed aircraft electronics. In the back room with > the ups and such were a couple of motor-generators that produced 400hz > power, which is used in large jets. This was routed to the test > benches and such. > They have been used as online ups for a long time, usually with a > flywheel to store the energy. Very low maintenance devices, that have > been around for ages. Sure, for enough 400Hz power for aircraft electronics. I also remember dynamotors for land mobile transmitters. But it doesn't sound viable for a power generating dam, especially when you could have the equipment by just replacing the original turbine driven generator. ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Keokuk Dam & 25Hz Power Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 03:25:14 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , John McHarry wrote: > When I was young I was told that the dam at Keokuk, IA generated 25Hz > power. Since construction was completed in 1913, this may well have > been true. I can confirm that the hydro at Keokuk was 25 Hz. into the 50s, residential service (at least in part of the area) was still being delivered at 25Hz. Caused problems for some consumer-grade gear where line transformers 'saturated', overheated, and burned out. , overheated, and burned out. > I was also told that the power was by then converted to 60Hz and fed > into the grid. That was a relatively _late_ change. Keokuk was isolated from the grid for a long time. > Whether I was told so, or figured out later, this must have been done > with rotating machinery. I would guess, unless there is a cute hack I > am unaware of, this would give a nasty waveform, but would probably be > smoothed out by the rest of the grid. Nope; no 'nastier' than any other 'motor generator' set. Or any other generator driven by a rotating shaft, for that matter. > The dam is still generating electricity, but the old generators and > converters have probably long ago been replaced by native 60Hz > generators. The 25Hz facility was completely off-line and cold by the mid 70s. If it has been re-activated, I'd agree it is virtually certain to be using native 60Hz generators. The superior efficiency (and lower maintenance) of modern gear vs the old stuff (generator and motor-generator) would pay for the 'upgrade' in fairly short order. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 21:20:32 -0500 From: John Bachtel Reply-To: lilburn.ga.30047@att.net Subject: Re Who Used 25 HZ Power in 50's We understood users of 25 HZ power were electrochemicals in Niagara Falls, like Hooker and Carboruncum as well as steel mills in Lackawana. jrbde NR4JB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Note: Address modified to avoid so-called "spam". To reply via . . e-mail, delete "the .30047" from address! tnx/jrb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #102 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 14 15:09:17 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 732DF14F4D; Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:09:16 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #103 Message-Id: <20060314200916.732DF14F4D@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:09:16 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.4 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, NA_DOLLARS,NO_COST autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 14 Mar 2006 15:10:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 103 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson US Google Set to Face Off in Court (Michael Liedtke) Microsoft to Offer Parental Web Monitoring (Reuters News Wire) Adapt to New Web Technology or Die Murdoch Tells Newspapers (AFP NewsWire) Cellular-News for Tuesday 14th March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 14, 2006 (Telecomdirect_Daily) Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (USTelecom dailyLead) Employment Opportunity: Jobs in the Wireless Industry (kj.davis) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (George Mitchell) Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (Garrett Wollman) Re: Article About AM Radio (Scott Dorsey) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael Liedtke Subject: US Google Set to Face Off in Court Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:42:53 -0600 By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer The Bush administration will renew its effort to find out what people have been looking for on Google Inc.'s Internet-leading search engine, continuing a legal showdown over how much of the Web's vast databases should be shared with the government. Lawyers for the Justice Department and Google are expected to elaborate on their opposing views in a San Jose hearing scheduled Tuesday before U.S. District Court Judge James Ware. It will mark the first time the Justice Department and Google have sparred in court since the government subpoenaed the Mountain-View, Calif.-based company last summer in an effort to obtain a long list of search requests and Web site addresses. The government believes the requested information will help bolster its arguments in another case in Pennsylvania, where the Bush administration hopes to revive a law designed to make it more difficult for children to see online pornography. Google has refused to cooperate, maintaining that the government's demand threatens its users' privacy as well as its own closely guarded trade secrets. The Justice Department has downplayed Google's concerns, arguing it doesn't want any personal information nor any data that would undermine the company's thriving business. The case has focused attention on just how much personal information is stored by popular Web sites like Google -- and the potential for that data to attract the interest of the government and other parties. Although the Justice Department says it doesn't want any personal information now, a victory over Google in the case would likely encourage far more invasive requests in the future, said University of Connecticut law professor Paul Schiff Berman, who specializes in Internet law. "The erosion of privacy tends to happen incrementally," Berman said. "While no one intrusion may seem that big, over the course of the next decade or two, you might end up in a place as a society where you never thought you would be." Google seized on the case to underscore its commitment to privacy rights and differentiate itself from the Internet's other major search engines -- Yahoo Inc. , Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Time Warner Inc.'s America Online. All three say they complied with the Justice Department's request without revealing their users' personal information. Cooperating with the government "is a slippery slope and it's a path we shouldn't go down," Google co-founder Sergey Brin told industry analysts earlier this month. Brin said, "We are just not going to go along with it; too dangerous to go along." Even as it defies the Bush administration, Google recently bowed to the demands of China's Communist government by agreeing to censor its search results in that country so it would have better access to the world's fastest growing Internet market. Google's China capitulation has been harshly criticized by some of the same people cheering the company's resistance to the Justice Department subpoena. The Justice Department initially demanded a month of search requests from Google, but subsequently decided a week's worth of requests would be enough. In its legal briefs, the Justice Department has indicated it might be willing to narrow its request even further. Ultimately, the government plans to select a random sample of 1,000 search requests previously made at Google and re-enter them in the search engine, according to a sworn declaration by Philip Stark, a statistics professor at the University of California, Berkeley who is helping the Justice Department in the case. The government believes the test will show how easily it is to get around the filtering software that's supposed to prevent children from seeing sexually explicit material on the Web. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Microsoft to Offer Parental Web Monitoring Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:40:54 -0600 Microsoft Corp. said on Monday it plans to include a free service to help parents control and monitor what their children are doing online in its upcoming Windows Live offering of Web services. The monitoring of children online has become a hot-button subject due to a nationwide string of cases involving adult sexual predators using virtual-communities on the Internet like MySpace.com to meet child victims. Windows Live is part of Microsoft's strategy to consolidate a range of Web services -- e-mail, instant messaging, online PC security and blogs -- to compete with Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. for Internet advertising dollars. Windows Live is being tested now and will launch sometime in the second half of 2006. Microsoft plans to roll out Windows Live Family Safety Settings in the summer, which will allow parents to filter Web sites and receive reports to see what their children are doing online. The company also plans to eventually allow parents to control who communicates with their children over e-mail, instant messaging and in their blogs. Such software already exists as part of bundled PC security offerings from Trend Micro Inc., Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. and stand-alone products from CyberPatrol and NetNanny, owned by LookSmart Ltd. The software giant already offers a similar service under its subscription-based MSN premium, but Microsoft said customers are increasingly asking for the service to be free. Microsoft said while parents often say they want to monitor their child's activities online, they are often put off by the amount of work and sometimes complexity involved in the process. The company aims to simplify the process by allowing a parent, or administrator, to monitor every family member's Web activities within Windows Live. The service is only available for certain versions of Windows XP Service Pack 2 and will be compatible with the upcoming Windows Vista operating system. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Agence France Presse Subject: Adapt to New Web Technology or Die Murdoch Tells Newspapers Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 23:44:13 -0600 The newspaper industry needs to embrace the technological revolution of the Internet, MP3 players, laptops and mobile phones or face extinction, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch said. "Societies or companies that expect a glorious past to shield them from the forces of change driven by advancing technology will fail and fall," he said in a speech to the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers. "That applies as much to my own, the media industry, as to every other business on the planet. Power is moving away from the old elite in our industry -- the editors, the chief executives and, let's face it, the proprietors. "A new generation of media consumers has risen demanding content delivered when they want it, how they want it, and very much as they want it. For many readers these days, something like 'one click to read RSS' is where things are at. If they cannot get it from us, then they'll get it from other sources on the web." Murdoch, whose News Corporation empire ranges from newspapers and magazines to television and film interests across the globe, described the 21st century as "the second great age of discovery". The greatest challenge for the traditional media now is to engage with more demanding, questioning and better educated consumers, adapting their products for new technology, the Australian-born media mogul said. "There is only one way. That is by using our skills to create and distribute dynamic, exciting content," he said. "But -- and this is a very big but -- newspapers will have to adapt as their readers demand news and sport on a variety of platforms: websites, iPods, mobile phones or laptops. "I believe traditional newspapers have many years of life but, equally, I think in the future that newsprint and ink will be just one of many channels to our readers. Note how hundreds of papers these days use internet media such as RSS to distribute their material at no charge to computer users. They understand the importance of keeping their name in front of readers; they are not worried about a couple cents worth of _actual news content_ for which (using RSS for example) they are not getting paid as traditional newspapers get paid. New York Times is one example; many of my media are also. Having your presence as the source of news out there is much more important; we understand that." Murdoch sparked one of Britain's most bitter industrial disputes over the introduction of new computer technology for journalists and printers. In January 1986, he moved his British newspapers The Times, The Sun and The News of the World overnight from their historic home on Fleet Street, central London, to a purpose-built facility in Wapping, in the east of the capital. It was credited by some with not only breaking the stranglehold of print unions on a hitherto unprofitable industry crippled by strikes but paving the way for developments such as colour printing, supplements and websites. Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html *** 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, Agence France Presse. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Read RSS news content on the Digest each day as follows: New York Times, National Public Radio, Christian Science Monitor, go to http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimes.html BBC Audio and print reports: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/BBC.html A general index of RSS news reports/features at: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/index.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 14th March 2006 Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 09:30:24 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] 3 UK Launches Datacard That Allows Skype Access http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16490.php 3 UK, the mobile telecommunications company owned by Hutchison Whampoa, Monday launched a datacard for use in laptops that also allows 3 UK's 3.2 million users to access services from voice over Internet protocol, or VoIP, provider Skype. ... Motorola to support Vivo's 3G network expansion http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16494.php US mobile phone manufacturer Motorola has pledged support as a 3G network supplier for Brazil's largest mobile phone operator Vivo, Motorola said in a statement. ... HSDPA Accelerated Up to Four Times Faster http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16500.php Downloading mobile data over HSDPA was up to 4 times faster using Flash Networks' NettGain system in a field test in a live network in Western Europe. Likewise, perceived bandwidth was tripled in the trials. Flash Networks is the first company to pro... Ericsson Wins Japanese 3G Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16501.php eMobile, a new entrant to the Japanese 3G market, has selected Ericsson as the prime supplier of its new WCDMA/HSDPA network. The agreement involves WCDMA 1.7GHz radio networks in the most populated areas of Japan, such as Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, an... [[ Financial ]] RFS to open factory in Mexico in July http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16493.php US telecom infrastructure supplier and antenna manufacturer Radio Frequency Systems (RFS) plans to open a factory in Mexico in July this year, RFS's Latin America president Luis Antonio Alves de Oliveira told BNamericas. ... Portugal's Coutinho:Not In Talks To Buy Portugal Telecom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16497.php Portuguese financier Joao Pereira Coutinho said late Monday he hasn't been contacted by any national or foreign funds to prepare a bid for Portugal Telecom. ... Etisalat Completes Pakistan Investment Deal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16507.php The United Arab Emirates based, Etisalat- has announced the completion of discussions to buy a 26% stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL). All pending issues have been agreed upon, including the conditions for payment of the bid amount of... [[ Handsets ]] PRESS: Russia's Euroset CEO says to sell mobile handsets for cheap http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16492.php Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset has directly imported 260,000 mobile handsets and plans to sell the batch at "very attractive prices," Euroset's Chairman Yevgeny Chichvarkin said, Biznes business daily reported Monday. ... Pantech to open US$50mn factory Aug or Sep http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16495.php Korean mobile handset manufacturer Pantech plans to open a US$50mn factory in Brazil by August or September, the company announced at the Telexpo trade fair in Sao Paulo. ... Sharp Handset Supporting Remote Software Upgrades http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16504.php Red Bend Software has announced that Sharp Corp. will use it's firmware over the air (FOTA) update client suite to allow customers to wirelessly download software upgrades to the Vodafone 904SH handset offered by Vodafone in Japan. This function will... Mobile Data Revolution Shakes Up Handset Retailing http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16506.php The mobile industry has been moving away from a vertically integrated model controlled by operators and manufacturers, to a more complex horizontal, layered structure, creating new challenges and opportunities for distributors and retailers of cellul... [[ Messaging ]] US Air Force Signs up to the BlackBerry http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16509.php WorldCell, a supplier of global enterprise managed wireless services, says that it has been awarded a contract from the United States Air Force Europe to supply local wireless telephone and BlackBerry service throughout the UK and Iceland. Greg Buckm... [[ Mobile Content ]] Samsung sees TV as future mobile content king http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16496.php South Korean handset and consumer electronics manufacturer Samsung believes television will become the dominant content on Latin American mobile phones in the next two to three years, Samsung product team member Andre Varga told BNamericas. ... Commonwealth Games On Mobile TV http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16505.php Telstra, Microsoft and Broadcast Australia have announced plans for Melbourne's first live demonstration showcase of mobile TV, as part of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games. The Melbourne showcase service will broadcast up to seven channels of li... [[ Network Contracts ]] Contract To Expand Angolan GSM Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16503.php Omnitele says that it has been contracted by operator Unitel to provide support services for the network expansion projects in Angola. Unitel is one of the leading sub-Saharan operators and has operated a GSM network in Angola since early 2001. Since... [[ Network Operators ]] PRESS: Chechnya's PM says may shut down MegaFon's operations http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16489.php Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon may be forced to stop operations in Russia's constituent republic of Chechnya if it does not improve quality and reduce tariffs, Chechnya's Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said, Vedomosti business daily re... [[ Offbeat ]] UK Office Workers Lack Digital Etiquette - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16510.php Would you consider it rude if you hadn't received a reply to an email within a morning? Almost half of UK office workers would, according to a major new study from business communications provider ntl:Telewest Business. Five per cent of people would ... [[ Personnel ]] KPN Appoints Two New Members To Management Board http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16491.php Royal KPN said Monday it intends to appoint Eelco Blok, currently Chief Operating Officer of division Fixed, and Stan Miller, responsible for KPN's international mobile activities, as members of the Board of Management of KPN by 1 July 2006. ... [[ Regulatory ]] PRESS: Russia's MTS files bid for GSM license in Egypt http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16488.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has filed an application to participate in the auction of a third GSM license in Egypt, MTS' spokeswoman Galina Istratova said, Vedomosti business daily reported Monday. ... [[ Reports ]] Double-digit Growth Forecast for W-CDMA RAN Equipment http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16508.php The worldwide radio access network equipment market topped US$41 billion in 2005, with 58% of that coming from GSM/GPRS/EDGE equipment, 23% from CDMA/EV-DO/EV-DV equipment, and 19% from W-CDMA equipment, according to a new report from Infonetics Rese... [[ Statistics ]] Russia's MegaFon user base in Samara region up 4.5% year-to-date http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16498.php The subscriber base of Russia?s third largest mobile operator MegaFon in the Samara Region increased 4.5% on the year to 1.15 million people as of now, MSS-Povolzhye said in a press release Monday. ... [[ Technology ]] Nokia and Deutsche Telekom Group Pilot Dual Mode Telephony http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16499.php Deutsche Telekom has launched T-One, an integrated dual-mode telephony solution combining the benefits of fixed line and mobile communications, which is being piloted on Nokia N80 and Nokia E60 devices. T-One will offer customers a simple and conveni... Nokia Launches New Frequency Set Base Station http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16502.php In anticipation of the USA regulators auction of licenses for the 1700/2100 MHz, and 700 MHz spectrum bands, Nokia has introduced the Nokia Flexi Base Station, an innovative, multi-radio platform. The Nokia Flexi Base Station enables easy deployment ... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 11:45:41 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Tuesday, March 14, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 14, 2006 ******************************** A Pricing Analysis of Broadband Take-up in Europe http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17072?11228 Europe is increasingly becoming a "network society"  Our lives are defined to an extent by the social networks (real or virtual), which we participate in. We can all be perceived as nodes of information in those networks, as we convey information to people by liasing with other nodes in the same or different networks. To illustrate... Service Integration Puts OSS at Center Stage http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17068?11228 OSS is finally coming into its own, thrust into the spotlight by a confluence of technological advancement and market opportunity. Never before has the value proposition behind OSS been so central to the future of service providers' businesses. Where it was once stuck in the back office and typically focused on process improvement and... IDT completes Net2Phone Acquisition http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17064?11228 NEW YORK -- Communications company IDT Corp. completed its acquisition of the Internet telephone provider Net2Phone Inc., now a wholly owned subsidiary. Newark, New Jersey-based IDT said its NTOP Acquisition Inc. unit merged with and into Net2Phone, which offers Voice-over Internet Protocol services. Net2Phone stockholders ... Government Rules Out OTE Sale in 2006 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17063?11228 Greek Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis has ruled out any sale of the government's 36% stake in OTE in 2006. While debunking unconfirmed reports in the financial daily Imerisia about three foreign private-equity funds' interest in the company, he insisted that his government had not been approached by anyone, and added that even if it... Telekom Austria 2005 Net Income Up 84% http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17062?11228 Telekom Austria has announced an 83.5% rise in consolidated net income to 417.1 million euro (US$498.1 million) for the 2005 financial year. The group's income growth was driven by higher operating income and lower expenses on debt repayment. In addition, lower income tax expenses, resulting mainly from a lower tax rate in Austria... Verizon: All Together Now? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17056?11228 The time could be right for Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ - message board)'s reported $40 billion dollar bid to buy its erstwhile partner Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD - message board) out of their Verizon Wireless joint venture, according to analysts. In the past, Verizon has made no secret of its interest in buying out... Consumers Need Compelling Reason to Switch TV Service to Telcos http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17055?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- As telecom companies enter the market for TV services, they face a somewhat skeptical customer base, reports In-Stat. Only 5% of satellite or cable TV subscribers that responded to an In-Stat consumer survey said they would definitely switch to a telco TV provider, the high-tech market research firm says.... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 11:34:37 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas USTelecom dailyLead March 14, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dhqQfDtutbzUglgdSp TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon's FiOS TV service takes off in Texas BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * DoCoMo rival calls for wireless giant's breakup * Tiscali challenges DT on its home turf * Redback launches residential broadband product * Comcast has eye on rest of E! Entertainment * Bharti drops prices for international mobile calls USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Cutting-edge technology papers, exhibits at TelecomNEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Wireless connections bring broadband to rural Virginia county * Rupert Murdoch hails the Internet revolution REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Bills would let wireless ISPs use vacant airwaves * National franchise bill unlikely to get vote this week Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dhqQfDtutbzUglgdSp ------------------------------ From: kj.davis Subject: Employment Opportunity: Jobs in the Wireless Industry Date: 14 Mar 2006 10:29:34 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Please go to the following link to view job openings with Cellular South. http://www.jobster.com/view.html?i=PKIHPIJDGCUW Thank you! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Your message posted here, Mr. Davis, but in the future it should be in the classified ads section: http://telecom-digest.org/classified.html Thanks very much. PAT] ------------------------------ From: George Mitchell Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 21:44:57 -0800 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > Every "emergency engine" I ever saw in a telephone building was a > conventional diesel engine. My father-in-law was shop foreman for a > company that sold and service large earth moving equipment in Enid, > Oklahoma, and from time to time they were called upon to routine the > auto-start emergency engine in the Enid c.o. It was a conventional GM > diesel engine like those used on earth moving equipment and > locomotives. > Wes Leatherock > wesrock@aol.com > wleathus@yahoo.com My memory is not as accurate as it used to be, but I have a dramatic memory from around 1968 of seeing a turbine-powered generator in the basement of 185 Franklin Street in Boston. A bunch of M.I.T. students were getting a tour of the #4 crossbar tandem, and the gentleman showing us the building actually threw the switch to fire up the turbine in test mode. I think it took over a minute to get up to full speed. -- George Mitchell P.S. The roar and clatter of those card translators is still in my memory, too. ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 06:34:49 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab In article , PAT wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Precisely! But a 25-watt bulb at > 240 volts in a 120 volt fixture still presents a reasonably decent > glow to point people in the direction they should walk to reach a > fire escape, for example, which is I think how he was doing it. PAT] If that were the goal, then it would make more sense to use a nuclear exit sign. The signs are illuminated by small capsules of tritium gas (a radioisotope of hydrogen manufactured in nuclear reactors) which are coated on the inside with a phosphor. The tritium decays by ejecting beta particles, which bang into the phosphor, causing it to glow. The signs have a service life of about ten years. (The half-life of the tritium that powers them is about twelve.) Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But was that type of exit sign (using tritium gas) generally avaialable in the middle 1970's, which is when I recall seeing the building janitor using his technique and discussing it? There are also exit signs illuminated with tiny little flourescent tubes are there not? I think those are sort of new, within the last 15-20 years. PAT] ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Article About AM Radio Date: 14 Mar 2006 11:26:06 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) John McHarry wrote: > IBOC is claimed to make AM sound like FM, but 36kb coded 15kHz audio > is full of artifacts to a discerning ear. Mine isn't, but I worked > with MP3 (a different coding scheme) with someone who is. We had to > get that up to 128kb before he couldn't hear "flanging". The worst part of AM IBOC is that it requires cranking down the transmitted bandwidth of the analogue signal, AND it produces huge amount of adjacent-channel interference. The adjacent-channel interference has meant that many stations that were audible through most of the US at night are no longer audible at all. For the most part, I think skip is the single thing that makes AM useful, and it when it is no longer possible to listen to distant stations reliably, AM has no purpose to exist any more. FM IBOC is much better designed and actually works. Not as well as Eureka, but it's not horrible. > The real push behind this is the transmission equipment manufacturers, and > Ibiquity, who see a gold mine in the wholesale replacement of existing > transmitters, and much upstream studio equipment. Yes. > The other pusher is large networks of FM stations, including Clear > Channel, but perhaps more so, NPR. FM IBOC can be subdivided into > multiple channels, allowing a single station licensee to serve two or > three market segments. This is being tested on air as we "speak". The > scuttlebutt is that it works acceptably, although my golden eared > friend would probably yodel his lunch. My guess is that if, and it is > a big if, IBOC catches on, there will not be an increase in audio > quality, but in quantity. And that is a reaction to the competition > from satellite radio. I'm not sure multicasting will really mean much. If you look in a major market, you see dozens of stations that all are playing the same music. Adding multicast IBOC signals will double the number of stations playing the same music. This is not an improvement. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #103 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 14 23:54:36 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 024FA1561E; Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:54:35 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #104 Message-Id: <20060315045435.024FA1561E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:54:35 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: R TELECOM Digest Tue, 14 Mar 2006 23:56:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 104 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Google Loses Court Case -- Mostly (Catherine Elsworth) Google Must Hand Over Some Data -- Not All Government Wanted (Howard Mintz) Google Wants to Sell Online Access to Books (Reuters News Wire) Man Charged With Hacking Into GM Database (Monty Solomon) Two-Thirds of Active U.S. Web Population Using Broadband (Monty Solomon) Party Line Ringing (Was: Re: Movie "Pillow Talk") (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Article About AM Radio (Garrett Wollman) Re: 25 Hz Railroad Power -- Book Recommendation (T) Re: Re Who Used 25 HZ Power in 50's (AES) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (Bruce L. Bergman) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Catherine Elsworth Subject: Google Loses Court Case -- Mostly Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:42:21 -0600 Judge tells Google it must hand over some data By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles Google will have to hand over details of users' internet searches to the United States government after a judge said the company must comply with a federal investigation. After hearing arguments in a key battle over internet data privacy, the judge said he was inclined to force the company to hand over at least some of the records sought by the justice department. The court clash followed the company's refusal to obey a subpoena demanding data on every search conducted on Google's site during a one-week period. The government argued the information was vital for its bid to restore laws protecting children from online pornography that were struck down by the US Supreme Court. Google refused, arguing that as well as jeopardising the privacy rights of internet users, the company's trade secrets were at risk because the government was seeking technical information to sort the research data. Tuesday the US government scaled back the amount of data on Google's searches it sought. James Ware, US District Court Judge for northern California, said the case was in essence about the government seeking the search data to test child-safe content filters and though "reticent" to decide on the relevance of the request, was inclined to give the government "some relief", but "not everything, no fishing allowed; a much smaller sample." The judge did not say whether the data would include words that users enter into the search engine. Copyright 2006 telegraph.co.uk ------------------------------ From: Howard Mintz Subject: Google Must Hand Over Some Data - Not All Government Asked For Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:50:58 -0600 Judge indicates Google must turn over some data GOV'T SCALES BACK SCOPE OF CONTROVERSIAL REQUEST AT JUDGE'S INSTRUCTION By Howard Mintz Mercury News A San Jose federal judge indicated today that he plans to order Google to relinquish at least some of its closely guarded data to the federal government, in large part because the Bush administration has dramatically limited the scope of its controversial request. In a nearly two-hour hearing, U.S. District Judge James Ware peppered lawyers for Google and the Justice Department with questions and concerns about the government's demand for a random sample of Web sites and searches that has triggered a showdown over Internet privacy rights. The government sought the data to support its defense of a law designed to shield children from adult content on the Internet. The government originally asked Google for 1 million random Web addresses and a week's worth of random search queries to assemble a study on the prevalence of sexually explicit material on the Internet and the effectiveness of Web filters in screening such material from minors. The company resisted the demand, arguing that it would expose its vault of online search habits to improper government scrutiny and threaten the privacy rights of its users. But lawyers disclosed today that the government now seeks 50,000 Web sites and 5,000 Web searches for its study, prompting Google lawyers to concede that the demand is less of a burden. After the hearing, Nicole Wong, a general counsel for Google, said the government has moved 'a long way' from its initial demand. However, Google attorney Albert Gidari still urged Ware to reject the request, saying the data was 'irrelevant' to studying Web filters and online pornography. American Civil Liberties Union lawyers, who are challenging the online child protection law in federal court in Philadelphia, also objected to handing the data to the government. During the hearing, however, Ware said he is likely to 'grant some relief' to the government, probably focused on ordering the company to provide some data on random Web addresses. The judge said he was far more concerned about releasing information that might reveal the individual search habits of Google users, expressing worry about the public's perception 'the government might be plying through the database to figure out what is going on.' The judge said "I have instructed the government to work with Google on a more realistic plan of action; the attornies for Google and the government approached me earlier Tuesday with a compromise solution they seemed to find agreeable; greatly scaled down from what the government had originally demanded. I suggest the government has some legitimate concerns here; I will give them some of what they want, but will not permit them to simply 'go fishing' as Google and others fear." Ware said he would issue a final ruling 'very soon.' The dispute erupted in January, when the Justice Department subpoenaed Google's data to assist in its defense of the Child Online Protection Act, which was put on hold two years ago by the U.S. Supreme Court. Google, backed by privacy rights advocates, resisted releasing the information, arguing that it violates the privacy rights of its users and threatens to expose the company's trade secrets. Other search engines, such as Yahoo and America Online, have complied with the government's request; Google kept refusing, and it would now appear to have gained some concessions for having done so. Contact Howard Mintz at hmintz@mercurynews.com or (408) 286-0236. Copyright 2006 MercuryNews.com and wire service sources. http://www.mercurynews.com ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Google Wants to Sell Online Access to Books Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:48:19 -0600 Google Inc. wants to partner with publishers in the United States and United Kingdom to sell online access to their books, the company said on its Web site on Monday. Google Book Search would allow publishers to set the prices for their books and make them available through a reader's Web browser. Consumers would not be able to save a copy on their computer or copy pages from the book. "It's a way for publishers to experiment with a new method of earning money from their books in addition to those that already exist," the company said. Five major publishers sued Google last year seeking to block the company's plans to scan copyrighted works without permission and derail its push to make many of the world's great books searchable online. Legal experts characterized that dispute as a new front in the battle over digital duplication of media including music, movies and books. Currently, Google users can view parts of books or entire books if the copyright has expired or a publisher has given permission to do so. The new service would be open to publishers in the United States and United Kingdom who participate in Google's Partner Program and can prove they have the rights to sell online access to their books, Google said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:03:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Man Charged With Hacking Into GM Database Man Charged With Hacking Into GM Database By TOM KRISHER Associated Press Writer DETROIT (AP) -- A former security guard at General Motors Corp.'s Warren technical center is accused of taking employee Social Security numbers and using them to hack into the company's employee vehicle database. James S. Green II, 35, of Washington Township, found out what company cars the employees drove and sent them bogus e-mails asking them their thoughts on the vehicles, Macomb County sheriff's Capt. Anthony Wickersham said Tuesday. Green was arraigned Monday on eight counts of obtaining, possessing or transferring personal identity information, one count of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of stalking that was unrelated to the GM cases. He was released after posting 10 percent of a $50,000 bond. Wickersham said Green obtained the Social Security numbers of about 100 GM employees from the Detroit area and sent them e-mails posing as a representative of GM's company vehicle evaluation program. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56670099 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:13:43 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Two-Thirds of Active U.S. Web Population Using Broadband Two-Thirds of Active U.S. Web Population Using Broadband, up 28 Percent Year-Over-Year to an All-Time High, According to Nielsen//NetRatings - Mar 14, 2006 09:00 AM (PR Newswire) Video Sharing Sites - MSN Video, YouTube and Google Video - Benefit From Broadband Penetration Increase NEW YORK, March 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nielsen//NetRatings, a global leader in Internet media and market research, announced today that the number of active broadband users from home increased 28 percent year-over-year, from 74.3 million in February 2005 to 95.5 million in February 2006. Broadband composition among the U.S. active online population has seen vigorous growth during the past three years, increasing at least ten percentage points annually and hitting an all-time high of 68 percent for active Internet users in February 2006. From February 2003 to February 2004, broadband composition grew twelve percentage points, from 33 percent to 45 percent (see Table 1). In February 2005, it increased another ten percentage points to 55 percent. This year, February saw broadband composition reach an all-time high of 68 percent, increasing an impressive 13 percentage points over the previous February. Overall Internet penetration in the U.S. has stabilized over the past few years, reaching 74 percent at home in February 2006. As broadband penetration increases, so does the average PC time spent per person. With fast connections to Web sites for online photos, audio and video files, online visitors are devoting more time to their computers. Since February 2003, the average PC time per person among active Web users has increased approximately five hours from 25 and a half hours a month to 30 and a half hours a month. ... - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56652820 ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:21:45 EST Subject: Party Line Ringing (Was: Re: Movie "Pillow Talk") In a note to a message dated 13 Mar 2006 12:16:55 -0800, editor@telecom-digest.org writes: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My dear departed grandmother, bless her > soul, dead now since 1978 told me about party lines and the old biddies > here in Independence/Coffeyville who had them during the 1930-40's. They > would set their phone in or upon a galvanized wash tub, then go out to > sit on the front porch on a hot summer night. Sooner or later, they > would hear the 'ticking' and 'clattering' of that wash tub as the bell > clapper on the phone would make a single strike. (Recall please that > party lines often used a system where the desired phone would ring > normally, but the other phones on the line [with their bell ringing > clappers on a different frequency] would just make a sort of feeble > 'tick sound' once and then stay silent. The old witches would be out > on their front porch trying to stay cool; one of them would hear that > greatly amplfied [by comparison because of the galvanized wash tub] > 'tick sound', excuse herself and slip inside to quietly pick up the > reciever and see _who_ had called, _who_ they were talking to, and > _what about_. They'd sit in there quietly listening to the others, and > only occassionally would another one of the biddies happen to notice > she was being spied on and angrily tell the others to get off the > line. PAT] Are you sure harmonic ringing was used in Indeependence and Coffeyville? As far as I can remember they were both always Southwestern Bell towns, and SWBT did not use harmonic ringing at all except perhaps in an exchange recently required from a non-Bell company. SWBT used divided ringing (ring or tip to ground), which provided for two different parties, divided polarized ringing (+/- ring or +/- tip to ground), which provided for four different parties with none of them hearing the other's ring. Beyond that they usually added codes (one ring, two rings, etc.). In the 1930s and 1940s I believe Independence and Coffeyville were both manual, and probably had only tip and ring to distinguish parties, the others having codes. Apropos of another thread, I notice that some Oklahoma organization or state board or agency is having a meeting or session this week in South Coffeyville, Oklahoma. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Both Independence and C'ville were always SBC towns. C'ville was cut to dial in 1956, Independence was cut to dial in 1961. I have some confusion here since my mother was born in 1922 when her parents lived in _southern Illinois_ in one of the suburbs of St. Louis. Mother said they moved to Coffeyville in 1928. To complicate matters a bit further, one of the small towns east and a bit south of Independence is _not_ SBC but was always in that rural telephone cooperative which is based further east around the Pittsburg, KS area. Grandmother is of course long since dead. But for _some_ small town telephone systems in those days, her story of setting the phone in a galvanized washtub to listen to the 'ringing' of the party-line neighbor is a logical report. Sorry I cannot be more specific. PAT] ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: Article About AM Radio Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:57:36 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab In article , Scott Dorsey wrote: > I'm not sure multicasting will really mean much. If you look in a > major market, you see dozens of stations that all are playing the same > music. I've lived here in market #11 for twelve years, and in that time I certainly have not seen anything of the sort. The really big win in multicasting is for multi-network NPR operators. In most of the country (with the notable exception of Minnesota and Wisconsin), the second network is relegated to markedly inferior signals (e.g., WNYC 820 in New York). Multicasting gives these operators a chance to cover the same area as their primary (often class-B or class-C FM) signal with their second network -- and the listeners to those stations are often the ones who would be willing to ante up when the station offers IBOC radios as pledge premiums. If the IBOC take-up is substantial enough, in a decade or so they could sell off their second network to EMF or Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls. Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: 25 Hz railroad power--book recommendation Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 17:54:05 -0500 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > I see there was a lot of interest in power distribution. There's an > excellent book that covers the history of electric propulsion on steam > railroads, "When the Steam Railroads Electrified" by William > Middleton. It is now in its second edition which contains added > information. There's a chapter on motor technology. > Railroads electrified to (1) increase track capacity since electric > trains were faster and more flexible, and (2) avoid smoke in tunnels. > A big innovation was the "multiple unit" (MU) passenger train. These > are trains, usually commuter trains or subways, that have no > locomotive. The motors are part of the carriage with the wheels and > the engineer sits in a vestibule at the front of the train. These > have the advantage of being very flexible in size--one car or 16 cars > as needed, and easy to turn around since they are bi-direction. MU > cars also accelerate faster. > With the advent of diesel engines and improved ventilation, some > tunnel electrifications were shutdown. Some commuter electrifications > were shut down as well. > The Pennsylvania Railroad had a massive electrified network for its > passenger and freight trains. While started in 1915, it reached its > peak in the 1930s. Most of the passenger network remains in place run > by commuter agencies or Amtrak, but the freight network was shutdown > after Conrail inherited the Pennsy. > Diesel locomotives are actually electric, with the generator carried > above. As such, they have many of the advantages of an electric > engine without the expense of maintaining a power distribution network > (substations and overhead wires). > Street railways and subway-elevated lines used 600 V DC and most still > do (somewhat higher voltage) to this day. The relatively low voltage > requires frequent substations. > Railroad trains used a variety of voltages and AC frequencies. As > mentioned, 11000V 25Hz was common and still in use to this day. > Opinion follows... > I am a strong proponent of electric propulsion. A modern electric > powerhouse is far more efficient due to economy of scale than an > on-board power plant could ever be. The plant could run on coal, oil, > or gas, and many can be switched from one source to another. The > exhaust can be economically cleaned up by scrubbers. Since the plant > is more efficient in the first place, more of the fuel is burned up > and less left over to go up the stack. Also, nuclear plants which do > not release air pollutants or use scarce oil can be used. > Rail is the most efficient means of travel for short distances. > Unfortunately, this country has chosen to massively invest in air and > highway and despite that investment, those modes remain overcrowded > and unable to accomodate all demand. Fast trains -- which are not > that costly to build -- should be used for regional transport needs > and would be far more efficient in terms of fuel, safety, and > pollution. We don't have the land to build more airports and roads, > and trains fit in anywhere. Planes are better for coast to coast > trips. Interestingly a few years back when they re-built PVD airport they decided to put a rail station in on Jefferson Blvd, about 1500 feet from the terminal. They'd then get people to the airport via very light rail. They're building the station as I type. They've also announced that they're going to build a station in the Wickford section of North Kinstown, RI. Also announced is that a stations will be built in Cranston, Pawtucket and Westerly RI and the MBTA has said they'll be willling to run commuter rail through RI. Finally! My guess is that it will take about five years to complete all this work. But the other thing they let on about was that MBTA will run into CT where you can pickup their transit trains and ride right into Manhattan. ------------------------------ From: AES Subject: Re: Re Who Used 25 HZ Power in 50's Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 12:59:19 -0800 Organization: Stanford University In article , John Bachtel wrote: > We understood users of 25 HZ power were electrochemicals in Niagara > Falls, like Hooker and Carboruncum as well as steel mills in Lackawana. > jrbde NR4JB Driving across Ontario from Buffalo to Detroit several times in 1949 through 1952, we stopped in restaurants where the lights had observable flicker. We were told it was 25 cycle power. ------------------------------ From: Bruce L. Bergman Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Organization: What - I have to be organized? Why start now... Date: Tue, 14 Mar 2006 20:46:17 GMT On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:49:32 EST, Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > On 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power >> backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use >> them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can >> get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more >> conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power >> failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things >> going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. >> The jet engine has the advantage of being smaller.) > Every "emergency engine" I ever saw in a telephone building was a > conventional diesel engine. My father-in-law was shop foreman for a > company that sold and service large earth moving equipment in Enid, > Oklahoma, and from time to time they were called upon to routine the > auto-start emergency engine in the Enid c.o. It was a conventional GM > diesel engine like those used on earth moving equipment and > locomotives. SBC (Pacific Bell) Canoga Park CA had an International Harvester Solar gas turbine power plant on the roof for many years -- since it needed to be on the roof to conserve ground-level space for parking, they needed something light and small. Personally confirmed during a long ago Open House. I think it's still up there, but I haven't driven by the CO during a test run or power failure for many years. Sounds exactly like a jet helicopter parked on the roof at idle (muffled as much as practical) and it takes the turbine a good 30 seconds to spool up to speed and take the load. But since the switching equipment is on the battery plant, the extra delay was not a problem. --<< Bruce >>-- ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #104 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Mar 15 15:11:27 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 21D5215912; Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:11:27 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #105 Message-Id: <20060315201127.21D5215912@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:11:27 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.0 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, CELL_PHONE_IMPROVE autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:15:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 105 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AOL Video Service to Debut With Intel, Kraft Ads (Kenneth Li) Worldwide Child Porn Ring Used Net (Andrew Stern) Music on Hold, Digital Player (speichts) Good Writeup of Cellular Tracking in NYC Criminal Case (Danny Burstein) Cellular-News for Wednesday 15th March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 15, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Indiana Governor Signs Statewide Video Franchise (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power (sidd@situ.com) Re: 208/240V, and Re: 25 Hz Power (Paul Coxwell) Re: Party Lines (Jim) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (William Warren) 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. 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From: Kenneth Li Subject: AOL Video Service to Debut With Intel, Kraft Ads Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:51:06 -0600 By Kenneth Li AOL said it plans to launch on Wednesday one of the biggest free video services on the Internet, serving up vintage shows and short clips backed by online advertisements. The service, called In2TV, will launch with four advertisers -- Intel Corp., Kia Motors Corp., Kraft Foods Inc., and Hershey Co. "It's from the strength of the online advertising market that we can bring free on demand (videos)," Kevin Conroy, executive vice president of AOL Media Networks said in an interview. In2TV will feature thousands of shows from corporate sibling Warner Bros., which owns the rights to shows that include "Welcome Back Kotter," "Kung Fu" and "Growing Pains." AOL, the online division of Time Warner Inc., is gearing up to take on Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Apple Computer Inc., which have their own designs on digital entertainment. AOL now sees video as a linchpin to the company's turnaround after its online presentation of the Live 8 global concerts last year were watched by more viewers than those on TV. Free videos will make up the bulk of its growth, Conroy said. "The real volume of activity is in the free streaming (video) model," he said. AOL, once known for its easy-to-use Internet dial-up modem service, has watched millions of its subscribers flee to higher speed offerings. Over the past two years, it has aimed to replace lost services revenue with online advertising. It has moved more of its once subscription-based music videos and services to its free AOL.com Web site to boost advertising. He said In2TV was in discussions with other program owners, including those not owned by Time Warner, to have their shows appear on the network. Advertisers have been keen to get placement on AOL's online video network, Conroy said. The company sold out its initial forecasts for the amount of advertising inventory on In2TV, which it has now expanded, he said. By the end of the second quarter, AOL plans to expand its video service to include paid downloads. It also plans a subscription service sometime in 2007, the company has said. Downloads are expected to cost about $1.99 per episode. NEW FEATURES ON THE DIAL Some videos will be available using a system it calls Hi-Q video format, which presents shows in DVD-quality. Users would be required to download free software to enable computers to store the videos on their hard drive. AOL, which currently lets users search for shows and videos by actor and title, in the coming weeks will allow searches by chapter or notable spots in a show. For example, actor Brad Pitt's 1987 guest appearance on "Growing Pains" would be easily searchable. "We want to make the (video) search experience more and more granular as we see search as a primary navigation tool" for video, Conroy said. AOL purchased video search engine technology company Truveo late last year and Singingfish in 2003. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Andrew Stern Subject: Worldwide Child Porn Ring Used Net Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:53:15 -0600 By Andrew Stern U.S. and Canadian law enforcement officials said on Wednesday they had cracked an international pornography ring that featured live molestations of children streamed over the Internet. Twenty-seven people from nine U.S. states and Canada, Australia and Britain have been charged with possession, receipt, distribution and manufacture of child pornography, and all but one have been arrested, according to U.S. federal authorities and Canadian police. One of those arrested has been held since January, while others were arrested as recently as Tuesday. The one who remains at large is considered a fugitive, officials said. "This international undercover investigation revealed an insidious network that engaged in worldwide trafficking in child pornography, including live molestations of children transmitted over the Internet," U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in a statement released ahead of a visit to Chicago. Authorities have identified seven child victims, including an infant whose molestation in April by a suburban Chicago man was transmitted live via an Internet chat room to a co-conspirator who used the screen name "Big_Daddy619." Four of those charged allegedly molested the children, making the resulting images available in the chat room called "Kiddypics & Kiddyvids," that facilitated trading of thousands of images and videos, the statement said. Manufacturing child pornography carries a minimum 15-year prison sentence, while the other charges call for minimum sentences of at least five years. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Mr4Sale Subject: Music on Hold, Digital Player Date: 15 Mar 2006 11:22:52 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com We've been using a CD/MP3 player, with a CDROM for our music on hold. Needless to say, after awhile running 7/24 for a couple of uses in an infinite loop it's starting to act up. I was thinking of moving to an MP3 player instead (no moving parts) this time. But we'd need one with an external power supply and one that could loop one track. Not to mention come back up into the proper state (looping the one track) in case of a power outage. Can anyone recommend a good player that has these features? We don't need much memory in it, it's just one track. I thought of using a sound card in a server (they tend to stay running long), but then I'd be into the "how do I keep it running" challenge. If I go that route, does anyone have a background software/service that will play .wav or .mp3 on a server out it's sound card? Thanks all. ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Good Writeup of Cellular Tracking in NYC Criminal Case Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 13:25:21 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC We techies know this, but most people don't ... Cell phones, whenever on (and there's some question about whether a few of them do so even when off) periodically "check in" with the cellular carrier. This happens both on a time basis (perhaps every ten minutes) or when moving from one tower area to another. (- paper edition had some good graphics -) How cell phone helped cops nail key murder suspect BY ALISON GENDAR and ADAM LISBERG; DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 No one saw the fiend who dumped Imette St. Guillen's body by the muddy shoulder of a dead-end Brooklyn road. But a tall, blue electronic sentinel stands just around the bend and sources say it puts prime suspect Darryl Littlejohn at the scene about 2 1/2 hours before St. Guillen's corpse was found. The NYPD traced Littlejohn to that lonely corner of East New York, off the Belt Parkway, by tracing the invisible "pings" that his T-Mobile cell phone sent to the antenna-studded tower, sources said. The big, blue tower apparently took notice that Littlejohn's cell phone was nearby, even though he wasn't making a call and it stored that information, which was later retrieved from T-Mobile by cops. "It's a way to track people that is stronger than relying on witnesses," a police source said. [ snip ] But even when you are not making a call, your phone is sending out a regular "check" signal. In major cities you will be within range of several phone masts. Computers can compare the signal strength emitted by your phone and the tiny time lags at each aerial, giving the operator several accurate reading s. rest at: http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/399892p-338804c.html _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News For Wednesday 15th March 2006 Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 07:53:15 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Nigeria Gets 1xEV-DO Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16521.php China's Huawei Technologies has announced that Starcomms Nigeria, Nigeria's largest private telecom operator, is to deploy Nigeria's first 1xEV-DO-based mobile broadband network. It is also one of Western Africa's first CDMA2000 1xEV-DO networks leve... HSDPA Test Calls Made In UK http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16523.php Hutchison 3G UK has announced a successful trial of High Speed Downlink Packet Access ("HSDPA") on its 3G network in the UK. The trial, which has been running for the last four months, has already delivered speeds of up to 1.4 million bits per second... Orange France Launches HSDPA Trials http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16525.php Orange France has launched a network trial based on HSDPA technology from Nortel. The trial is providing mobile broadband connectivity from 1.8 Mbps per second -- four times faster than current networks -- for 150 lead business customers in Lyon, Franc... [[ Financial ]] ETB, EPM to look at offloading Colombia Mvil http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16516.php A coordinating committee is slated to be formed this week by Colombian municipally owned telco ETB and multi-utility EPM to define the precise mechanism for handing over control of their mobile unit Ola to a future strategic partner, a top executive ... Cenbank: Slim's dominance hurts competitiveness http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16519.php Mexican telecoms incumbent Telmex and mobile telephony group America Mvil are hurting the country's competitiveness with their high rates, Mexico's central bank president Guillermo Ortiz was quoted as saying by Bloomberg news agency. ... [[ Handsets ]] Motorola Razr Reappears In Some Cingular, T-Mobile Stores http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16514.php SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (AP)--Motorola's popular Razr phone was back in Cingular and T-Mobile stores this week, making a limited reappearance after the two wireless companies temporarily stopped selling the phones because of a manufacturing defect. ... [[ Legal ]] Property fund to sell seized phones at dumping prices http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16513.php The Russian Federal Property Fund plans to sell mobile handsets and other consumer electronics seized in 2005 at dumping prices, Vedomosti business daily reported Monday. ... TruePosition Sues Over Patent Claims http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16528.php TruePosition, a provider of wireless location goods and services, says that it has sued Andrew Corporation for infringing a patent dealing with the location of cellular phones using the wireless network control channel, which is particularly importan... [[ Network Operators ]] PRESS: Russia's VimpelCom launches mobile tariff plan for hearing impaired http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16512.php Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom has introduced a tariff plan called Special (Osoby) in the Sverdlovsk Region for people with hearing impairments, the company said, Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday. ... Movistar aims for 500,000 net adds http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16518.php Mobile operator Movistar Chile, the local unit of Spain's Telefonica Mviles, expects to close 2006 with 5.8 million subscribers, meaning 500,000 net adds during the year, local newspaper El Mercurio reported. ... Nigerian Operator Continues Fast Network Rollout http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16524.php Nigeria's Glo Mobile, which covered more than 35 major cities, towns and expressways at the beginning of 2006, has continued its fast-paced expansion last month, effectively covering over 30 new locations spread across the country in the last two wee... [[ Personnel ]] Regional CDMA Growth Requires Additional Resources http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16527.php The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has announced the appointment of Dr. Chungming An, as the CDG's Vice President for Greater China and Southeast Asia. Based in Taipei, Dr. An will represent the CDG and work closely with governments and regulators, as ... [[ Regulatory ]] France's Competition Watchdog Urges SMS Regulation http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16511.php France's competition watchdog is pushing for regulation that would help cut the cost of sending a text message, or SMS, and other data transmissions by mobile phone. ... Regulator may introduce fixed-to-mobile pay calls before July 1 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16520.php Russia's Federal Tariff Service may introduce paid fixed-to-mobile calls before July 1, when the law on the Calling Party Pays (CPP) principle takes effect, the service's deputy director Vitaly Yevdokimenko told reporters Tuesday. ... [[ Statistics ]] Russia's MegaFon says subscriber base in Moscow up to 3.5 mln http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16515.php The subscriber base of Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon in the Moscow License Area (MLA) rose to 3.5 million users as of now from 3 million people as of October 2005, Sonic Duo said in a press release Tuesday. ... Spending on Mobile Services Tops $15 Billion in Central and Eastern Europe http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16522.php Even as markets approach saturation and prices continue to fall, spending on mobile services in Central and Eastern Europe expanded last year and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. According to an IDC study of 11 markets in the region... [[ Technology ]] SR Telecom eyes local market for WiMax http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16517.php Canadian broadband fixed wireless solutions provider SR Telecom believes Mexico will be one of the top 10 countries in the world for WiMax sales in 2006, SR Telecom's marketing vice president Chad Pralle told BNamericas. ... PulseWave RF Completes Demo of Power Amp Module for Base Stations http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16526.php PropheSi Technologies, a provider of semiconductor modules for high-efficiency wireless infrastructure power amplifiers, today announced it has changed its name to PulseWave RF and that it has successfully demonstrated its digital multi-carrier power... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 11:52:03 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 15, 2006 ******************************** French Competition Watchdog Wants Tougher SMS Regulation http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17098?11228 France's competition watchdog, Conseil de la Concurrence, has urged the telecoms regulator (ARCEP) to implement regulation that would help reduce the cost of sending a text message by mobile phone. According to Dow Jones reports, the watchdog said the country's three main mobile phone operators exercise a significant influence over the... CTIA Urges NY to Vote for Competition http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17095?11228 New York is considering a cell phone consumer protection bill, sparking debate from various groups. CTIA sees no reason to adopt the measure, saying it will only place costly and confusing regulations on wireless service delivery. It is best to let the competitive market work, according to CTIA president and CEO Steve Largent. "There is... Norway's Telenor Offers First Flat Fixed Line Phone Rates To Counter Flight To Mobile Phones http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17091?11228 OSLO, Norway -- Norway's main telecommunications group, Telenor ASA, Wednesday offered flat rates for fixed line telephone calls to counter a consumer switch to mobile phones. 'For the first time in its more than 150-year history, Telenor now introduces flat rates for regular telephony,' a statement said. 'Telenor is changing... 802.11n: Compatability Crunch? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17084?11228 After months of infighting at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. (IEEE) over the specification of the high-speed 802.11n wireless LAN standard, Friday's vote to approve draft 1.0 seemed to be another sign that things are moving forward apace now. As always, however, things are a little different behind the... Nielsen: 'Active' Broadband Users Up 28% http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17081?11228 According to the latest estimates from Nielsen/NetRatings, the number of active U.S. broadband users who access the network from home increased 28 percent year-over-year, growing from 74.3 million in February 2005 to 95.5 million in February 2006. The broadband composition of the user base, the research firm adds, has been moving up... Sprint: Still Going Beyond 3G http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17077?11228 Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S - message board) says its next-generation, mobile multimedia network is still on track, on time, and it will happen -- even as the carrier is plowing through a sea of radio access technologies in the meantime. Sprint officials say they expect to reach "no less than 15 million Americans" via a new network... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:25:59 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Indiana Governor Signs Statewide Video Franchise USTelecom dailyLead March 15, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/diccfDtutbAwsVSomv TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Indiana governor signs statewide video franchise law BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Vodafone's Sarin faces challenges ahead * RIM runs ad thanking supporters, urging patent reform * Verizon wins franchise deals in Delaware * Study: 68% of home-Internet users connect via broadband USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * TV's 'Apprentice' To Headline TelecomNEXT Panel TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Report: VoIP adoption up slightly * Companies launch Wi-Fi phone * Users spent $2B on Web content in 2005 * Sprint Nextel: Mobile multimedia network on track REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Mexico's top communications regulator pushes for telecom reform Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/diccfDtutbAwsVSomv ------------------------------ Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25 Hz Power From: sidd@situ.com (sidd) Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 04:57:56 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com In article , Danny Burstein wrote: snip-- > [a] I'd personally consider that design > to be two-phase, since the legs > are 180 degrees apart, but the > rest of the world disagrees with > me and calls it single phase. I have heard it referred to as split phase 220 ... snip-- > HOWEVER, if you grab two of the hot legs for the circuit, you're NOT > getting 240V but instead, because it's 120 degree out of phase, you > get (again, that's separate from the 120V... ) you get: > 120V * (square root of 3) = 208V Dropping alternate phases seems common all over the USA. sidd ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 06:41:06 PST From: Paul Coxwell Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25Hz Power Several points have been raised in this discussion to which I would like to respond. First, the normal 3-wire 120/240V North American service is most definitely single phase, NOT two phase. There are two "hot" legs on the supply, 180 degrees out of phase with respect to neutral/ground, but it is still a single secondary winding on the transformer. The 180-degree difference comes about only due to the center-tap position of the neutral connection. Note that the primary of the transformer is still also just a single winding with only two connections, and whether that primary is connected between phase-and-neutral or between two phases of the HV line, it still has only a single sinewave applied to it. You need some sort of third reference point to even be able to measure any sort of phase difference. Seombody mentioned a delta supply which has one phase grounded and whether that would be considered two phase. Such a system is commonly known as a "corner-grounded" delta, and it is still three phase. There are some 3-phase delta supplies which are ungrounded. Once again, the application of a ground connection to one phase to turn that into a corner-grounded delta doesn't alter the 3-phase nature of the supply -- it merely provides a reference point to ground. One arrangement which seems to be uniquely North American is the FOUR-wire delta arrangement, also known by various names such as high-leg delta, wild-leg delta, red-leg delta, and so on. To visualize this system, start with a basic ungrounded 240-volt delta secondary, drawn with phase B at the top and phases A and C at either end of the horizontal winding at the bottom. Now, instead of connecting a ground to one phase as you would for a corner-grounded delta, put a center-tap on the A-C winding. Ground that center-tap, and extend it to the building as a neutral, giving the four wires. You can now connect a 3-phase 240V delta load A-B-C as you would with the basic delta system, and you can connect a single-phase 240V load A-B, A-C, or B-C, as before. Thanks to that center-tap, you can now also connect 120V loads phase A to neutral -OR- phase C to neutral. The result of that ground placement, however, is that phase B will be at 208 volts with respect to neutral/ground, hence the various "high-leg" et al descriptions. I understand that the 4-wire delta was once common for light commercial services, as it allows for 3-phase 240V delta equipment while also providing 120V for lighting and general small loads without having to resort to adding extra transformers or installing a separate 120/240V service. Turning to the east side of the Pond, we have several differences in the way distribution is handled. Speaking for the U.K., we tend to use one very large transformer to feed a whole section of a neighborhood rather than the much greater number of smaller transformers that would provide power to an American neighborhood with a similar number of houses. Anywhere where there are more than just a few houses, you'll find a 3-phase transformer with its secondaries feeding a 415Y/240V 3-phase 4-wire wye distribution network. Individual houses then get a 2-wire 240-volt single-phase service tapped from one phase and neutral, the load being distributed between the phases as evenly as possible. In towns, that same wye network can also provide 3-phase 4-wire service for commercial power. It's possible for a VERY heavy domestic load to be provided with two or three phases, but extremely rare, and only likely to be found in a VERY large house which is all-electric. The standard 240V 2-wire residential service these days is 100 amps, which provides 24kW and is ample for most purposes. There are plenty of older services rated 80, 60, and even 40A still in service. I've even seen an old 30A service as recently as two or three years ago, although they're pretty rare now. We do also have single-phase transformers, most commonly found on poles in rural areas to serve one or two isolated houses or farms. These have a straight 240V secondary with one end grounded to provide a single-phase 240V service. Finally, out here in the boondocks you can also find 3-wire single-phase 240/480V distribution where there are a dozen or two houses scattered along a road. The system is similar to the American 120/240V arrangement with a center-tap neutral, except that each house still gets just a 2-wire connection to provide 240V and a single transformer will feed the whole lot. Although you won't find this system in towns, it's a convenient "halfway house" for some rural areas. On the primary side of these transformers, everything here is connected between phases. In fact NONE of our HV lines have a neutral run with them, so three-phase primaries are always delta-connected, and the primary on a single-phase transformer is connected across two phases of the HV. That primary supply to the final transformers is almost always 11kV (measured phase to phase), although there are still a very few local distribution networks operating at 6.6kV in a couple of areas. Thus a single-phase HV spur line has to be run as two "hot" phases. As noted before, in Continental Europe 3-phase supplies into homes are very common, however, and to British and American minds they seem to take 3-phase to extremes. In France, for example, it's not at all uncommon to find a small house which has a full 3-phase 4-wire 380Y/220V service, with the main breaker set to just 15 amps per phase! Arranging heating and cooking loads on a service like that can be quite a juggling act. I've referred to U.K. supplies as 240V, but in fact we only finally standardized on 415Y/240V in the early 1970s. Prior to that, the nominal declared voltage varied from region to region, anything between 200 and 250V with corresponding 3-phase voltages (380Y/220, 400Y/230, 433Y/250V, etc.). As noted, we're OFFICIALLY now 400Y/230V to align with European standards, although in practice most areas haven't actually changed anything yet. They just juggled the old +/-6% tolerance to an assymetric +10/-6% so that we could declare ourselves to be 230V without changing anything! We had several different frequencies in use across Britain in the early days. The push to standardize on the 50Hz that we use today came about with the plans for our "National Grid" in the 1930s. Some parts of the American west coast also had 50Hz power in earlier times. I understand that the Los Angeles area was on 50Hz originally, and converted over to 60Hz in the early 1930s, complete with publicity programs to help get clocks and other synchronous devices changed. I've seen other references which suggest that some parts of California (and maybe Oregon and Washington too) had patches of 50Hz power until the 1950s, presumably in those places which generated locally and were not connected to any sort of statewide grid. Other places have also used "oddball" frequencies. I was looking at some service manuals for old Garrard turntables (early 1950s) a couple of months ago, and noticed that they offered not only 50 and 60Hz motor pulleys but also 40Hz versions at that time. I found out from a contact "down under" that some parts of western Australia were using 40Hz power at that time. In Britain, DC supplies survived well into the 1950s and early 1960s in some urban areas (those older parts of cities which had been the first to get power). These DC systems used an Edison-type 3-wire distribution system, running at anything between 200/400 and 250/500V (this was before there was nationwide standardization of voltage). Normal domestic services were just 2-wire 200 to 250V, some houses tapped from the positive "outer," others from the negative. Commercial service could then get the full 3-wire supply so that they had 400-500V available as well. One other odd DC system which we still have is that on the London Underground (subway) system. LU uses a 4-rail arrangement, at a nominal 630V DC. However the ground reference is set on a one-third/two-thirds arrangement, so that the positive conductor rail (located outside the running rails in the usual "3rd rail" position) is at +420 volts and the negative rail (placed centrally between the running rails) is at -210 volts with respect to ground. -Paul ------------------------------ From: Jim Subject: Re: Party Lines Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 10:36:00 -0600 Regarding party lines ... I remember "re-grouping" subscribers in rural Iowa about 20 years ago for GTE. When one or two party line subscribers would take the leap to a private line, we would put the remaining party line members onto another line. This would keep the party lines full, and if you had the lower cost party line, you at least had to put up with a full line. Some customers would "play the system" by waiting for their partymates to upgrade to a private line, then they would be left alone on a party line. If you weren't one of the old biddies, this was just great. We didn't let this happen too often. It meant going out to the field and changing cable pairs on many folks, and we would sometimes have to use bridge lifters and bunching blocks in the CO to tie together various partymates. Of course, we had to keep good records (on paper, not computer at that time) in order to keep the right ringer frequencies together and so there wouldn't end up being two of the same frequency ringers on the same line. This was a case of trouble waiting to happen. With 4-party lines, you just had to keep track of who had a 20, 30, 40 and 50 cycle ringers. (We even had 60 cycle ringers in some exchanges, but that's another post). Early on in my career, and when I was a kid, I remember 8 party lines. You had the same ringer frequencies, but four were on one side of the line and four were on the other side, with the ground as the final ringer connection (grounded ringing). Anyway, ringing configurations have been discussed at great length in previous years on the digest. Lisa's post just reminded me of the re-grouping we used to do. Jim ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 12:21:13 -0500 From: William Warren Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > On 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power >> backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use >> them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can >> get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more >> conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power >> failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things >> going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. >> The jet engine has the advantage of being smaller.) > Every "emergency engine" I ever saw in a telephone building was a > conventional diesel engine. My father-in-law was shop foreman for a > company that sold and service large earth moving equipment in Enid, > Oklahoma, and from time to time they were called upon to routine the > auto-start emergency engine in the Enid c.o. It was a conventional GM > diesel engine like those used on earth moving equipment and > locomotives. [snip] New England Telephone went with turbine-powered alternators in the large Boston-area buildings, most with capacities far in excess of what was required for the C.O. itself: the unit at Back Bay was rated at 2500 KW. If I had to guess, I'd say they got a good deal because Allison and other turbine manufacturers were selling the aeronautical power units that they had stockpiled during the Vietnam war. The power technicians didn't like them, because they were a major change from the diesel units, but they could power a small city and they were, as I said, used to generate power for the commerical grid during summer peak load periods. Suburban offices with more modest needs remained on diesel. William Warren (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #105 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 16 15:15:22 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 3C3F415239; Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:15:22 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #106 Message-Id: <20060316201522.3C3F415239@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:15:22 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_REMOVE,ONE_TIME autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:17:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 106 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cable Industry Refuses to Run Verizon TV Commercial (Monty Solomon) In2TV - The First Broadband Television Network (Monty Solomon) Walmart Marches Onward; Now 2000 Strong (TELECOM Digest Editor) End of The Line for Cramming? (Federal Trade Commission) What Phone Company Has Clearest Audio? (skunker@gmail.com) Voip Translating and Learning Tutorial (blentoo@gmail.com) Are Cellular Base Station Antennas Worth Anything? (John L) Is This Phone Monopoly Legal? (Cyron) Cellular-News for Thursday 16th March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 16, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Rotary Service Primary in World? (Lisa Hancock) Get Rid of Your Phone Vendor? (3z3k3l) Re: Employment Opportunity: Jobs in the Wireless Industry (3z3k3l) Re: Music on Hold, Digital Player (Klay Anderson) Re: Music on Hold, Digital Player (Carl Navarro) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (T) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (3z3k3l) Re: 208/240V, was: 25Hz Power (Paul) Re: Good Writeup of Cellular Tracking in NYC Criminal Case (Lisa Hancock) 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 Mar 2006 22:57:59 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cable Industry Refuses to Run Verizon TV Commercial Cable Industry Refuses to Run Verizon TV Commercial Promoting Video Choice and Competition - Mar 15, 2006 12:00 PM (PR Newswire) Corporate Decisions Attempt to Stifle Free Speech in Cable TV Debate TRENTON, N.J., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite running virtually nonstop TV commercials attacking Verizon's efforts to speed choice and competition in New Jersey's cable TV market, two of the nation's largest cable companies are refusing to run a paid TV commercial from Verizon that asks consumers to support video choice. A third cable company did not respond to Verizon's request. In separate responses, managers and account executives at Comcast and Time Warner said they are unwilling to accept the paid TV commercial sent by Verizon. Account representatives at Cablevision did not respond to Verizon's e-mails seeking placement. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56698643 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 23:04:13 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: In2TV - The First Broadband Television Network AOL and Warner Bros. Launch In2TV - The First Broadband Television Network - Mar 15, 2006 09:15 AM (BusinessWire) DULLES, Va. & BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 15, 2006--America Online, Inc.: Thousands of Classic TV Shows To Be Available Free and On Demand on AOL.com, Including Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico & The Man, Alice, Growing Pains, Sisters, Kung Fu, Lois & Clark and More Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back, Kotter to Host Launch Celebration at Museum of Television & Radio in Los Angeles Late Actor/Comedian Freddie Prinze to Be Honored with First 'In2TV Influencer Award' AOL and Warner Bros. are saying "Welcome Back" to thousands of classic TV shows with the launch of In2TV, the first broadband television network, on AOL.com. The network offers the largest collection of free on-demand TV shows on the Web, including full episodes of favorite Warner Bros. programs from the past 40 years such as Welcome Back, Kotter, Chico & The Man, Alice, Growing Pains, Sisters, Kung Fu, Lois & Clark and many others, along with interactive features and viral videos that enable audiences to experience and interact with television programming in an entirely new way. To celebrate the launch, AOL and Warner Bros. will host an event tonight at the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, with stars from the In2TV programming lineup scheduled to make appearances. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56692337 ------------------------------ Subject: Walmart Marches Onward Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 15:26:19 EST From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Wal-Mart Opens 2000th Supercenter. In its insistence to force small town merchants everywhere out of business and force the few which remain to do things in their style, Walmart is now up to 2000 Supercenters. What's in a number you ask? For Wal-Mart and shoppers across the country, big savings. This month the retail leader will open its 2000th Supercenter in Beaumont, California, about an hour east of Los Angeles. Read about it at http://media.medialink.com/home.aspx?story_31749 ------------------------------ From: Federal Trade Commission Subject: End of The Line For Cramming? Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 14:38:04 -0600 Defendants Collected Millions For Collect Calls That Were Not Made At the request of the Federal Trade Commission, a federal judge has halted a massive fraudulent billing scheme that has collected more than $25 million in bogus collect call charges from hundreds of thousands of consumers. The FTC charged three companies and their principals with deceptive and unfair billing practices for "cramming" - the unauthorized billing of charges on phone bills - since at least January 2004. "Charging consumers for bogus collect calls is stealing," said Lydia Parnes, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection." The Federal Trade Commission will not tolerate crooks who cram unauthorized charges onto phone bills." The FTC's complaint alleges that, in many instances, the defendants initiated phony collect call charges, such as calls to telephone lines that were dedicated to computers and fax machines, and to phones where no one was present. In addition, some consumers' caller ID logs had no record of collect calls for which they were billed. The FTC charged the defendants with violating Section 5 of the FTC Act by representing that consumers owed money they did not owe, and by causing consumers to be billed for collect phone calls they neither received nor authorized. According to the FTC's complaint, the defendants claimed that they submitted charges for billing on consumers' bills on behalf of long distance service providers, although the defen- dants have few, if any, long distance carriers as clients. The defendants' charges typically were buried on the last page of consumers' phone bills, with each charge typically in the range of $5 to $8. On February 27, Senior Judge Kenneth Ryskamp ordered an ex parte tempo- rary restraining order freezing the assets of Nationwide Communications Inc., Access One Communications Inc., Network One Services Inc., and their principals, Willoughby Farr, Mary Lou Farr, Yaret Garcia, Erika Riaboukha, and Qaadir Kaid. The order appointed a temporary receiver over them and banned them from engaging in unauthorized billing. On March 8, the court found that the defendants engaged in the widespread unauthorized billing of collect calls in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act and entered a preliminary injunction order prohibiting them from billing or submitting any charge for billing on a consumer's telephone bill. The order continued the asset freeze over them and appointed a permanent receiver over Nationwide Communications, Access One Communications, Network One Services, and certain affiliated entities. The FTC ultimately seeks to permanently bar the defendants from further violations, make them forfeit their ill-gotten gains, and make them pay restitution to consumers. The Commission approved the filing of the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida by a 5-0 vote. NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has 'reason to believe' that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendant has actually violated the law. The case will be decided by the court. Copies of the complaint are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information on 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at http://www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft, and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish (bilingual counselors are available to take complaints), or to get free information on any of available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. MEDIA CONTACTS: Mitch Katz, Office of Public Affairs Federal Trade Commission 202-326-2161 Frank Dorman, Office of Public Affairs 202-326-2674 STAFF CONTACT: Laura M. Kim, Attorney Division of Marketing Practices 202-326-3734 (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/03/nationwide.htm) Related Documents : Federal Trade Commission, Plaintiff, vs. Nationwide Connections, Inc., Access One Communications, Inc., Network One Services, Inc. Willoughby Farr, Mary Lou Farr, Yaret Garcia, Erika Riaboukha, Qaadir Kaid, Defendants; United States District Court Southern District of Florida. Civil Action No.: 06-80180; FTC File No.: 052 3141 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: While this report _is_ quite good news, one pre-emptive strike everyone can take to assure this problem is at a minimum is to ask your local telco (typically, they are the billing agents for all telcos) to put a 'third party/collect block' on your lines. All the legitimate telcos at least, such as Verizon, SBC, Bell South, etc. share a common database of subscribers who do not want _any_ 'third party billings/collect calls' on their line for any reason at any time. When a caller does '00+' for example, and requests permission to bill a call to your line, or if you are willing to accept a 'collect call', this database is 'dipped' and the answer given is 'no way, Jose' or words to that effect. The calling party is then asked to provide an alternative way to bill for the call they wish to make. Of course, you also want to tell your telco to put a 900/976 block on your line as well. Given that collect calls are _so_ expensive these days, and toll-free 800 calls are so cheap, I do not know why anyone -- if they have some reason to accept calls that they have to pay for -- would not go with an 800 number instead of collect. Telco does not absolutely guarentee that a 'collect call/third party block' will work mainly since not all telcos -- at leest the sleazy ones, subscribe to the database dip. But, if a call gets billed to your number after you have instructed telco against same, they will remove it. I've had that on my lines for years with success, and although some telcos make a one time charge for being listed in the negative database, they are _not permitted_ to charge if you want to be listed in the 900/976 portion of the database. Bear in mind however this can pose problems if you need to accept collect calls from a correctional center. PAT] ------------------------------ From: skunker@gmail.com Subject: What Phone Company has Clearest Audio? Date: 15 Mar 2006 12:48:36 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi folks, I have hearing loss and have recently purchased a corded phone from a company called CLARITY (the quality is great). They make phones that have digital amplification. My question: I have AT&T/SBC phone service but not a long-distance carrier. AT&T/SBC offers their own long-distance carrier for like $20 or something a month extra. I started shopping around for a cheaper alternative and looked at VONAGE. In VONAGE's features list, they claimed they had "Higher quality calls than landline in many cases". Is this true? If so, how? The clearer the audio, the better. Is there a better service than VONAGE that carry clear long-distance calls? At this point I am not concerned of cost if it means I'll get better quality. Thanks for any advice on this matter. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For VOIP in general, including Vonage, the answer is a qualified _yes_ and _no_. Maybe, and maybe not. If you use a router, with various computers on line _and_ VOIP (Vonage or whomever) then sometimes it gets tricky in 'throttling' the line in such a way as to give all or most of your DSL/broadband capacity to the VOIP device instead of your computers, which are fighting to get their share (sometimes more than their share) of the highway. Basically, IMO, the answer would be a qualified _yes_, Vonage (or the other VOIP carrier of your choice) is pretty decent as long as you do not have a bunch of jobs running on the computer at the same time. You do know, of course, you have to have some broadband connection, either cable or DSL or similar, and if either the cable/DSL line is out or the electric power is down, your Vonage line is dead as well, unless you have battery backup on it, which most people do not have. Personally, I would keep a very slim package of LD on my basic line to use as needed. Although I make all my LD/toll calls by dialing '8' for the Vonage line on my PBX, I can, and grudgingly do dial '9' (regular landline) as needed for LD sometimes. PAT] ------------------------------ From: blentoo@gmail.com Subject: Voip Translating and Learning Tutorial Date: 15 Mar 2006 13:45:47 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Voip Translating and Learning Tutorial How this is possible, what systems are used, what is the standard, all that is covered by this Howto. http://www.freewebs.com/voipformula/VoIP-HOWTO.html ------------------------------ Date: 15 Mar 2006 22:22:26 -0500 From: John L Subject: Are Cellular Base Station Antennas Worth Anything? My village has an old water tower on which Cingular and Sprint erected base station antennas. We built a new water tower, and they put new antennas on it, abandoning the old ones. Sometime in the near future, weather permitting, we're going to take down the old tower, and it would probably be easy for me to buy the old antennas for their scrap metal value. So my question is, are the antennas worth anything? The Cingular antennas are for the 800 MHz AMPS band, three whip antennas, basically pointy metal sticks pointing straight up. The Sprint antennas are for the PCS 1900 MHz band, curved panels. All have tails of coax that they cut when they removed the transmitters. Any advice? Sell them on ebay? Don't waste my time? Regards, John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. ------------------------------ From: Cyron Subject: Is This Phone Monopoly Legal? Date: 15 Mar 2006 23:18:32 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have some friends who live in a city of approximately 25,000. I would like for them to obtain broadband internet services, however they have absolutely no selection when it comes to internet service providers. The entire city (aside from those using wireless phone service) are forced to use the services of the local telephone company. In past years, local internet service providers have sprung up -- only to be bought out by the local telephone company. I wouldn't care so much except that this telephone company does not have competitve rates at all. Currently they are charging $20/month for dialup internet service ($40 if you count the phone line), $60/month ($80 with the phone line) for a 750k/750k DSL line. There is no Sprint, AT&T, MCI, etc to turn to as an alternative. I'm paying about $30/month for 6Mb/1.5Mb with basic cable -- I can choose from a variety of cable, telephone and dsl providers. Please tell me something illegal is being done with respect to my friends and what can they do about it? Does the FCC handle such issues? Thanks, Mike ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Thursday 16th March 2006 Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 07:45:34 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ Financial ]] Telenor Hopeful Of Soon Solving Conflict With Alfa http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16532.php Norway telecommunications operator Telenor said it's more hopeful of settling its conflict with financial-industrial group Alfa Group in Russia after state officials of the two countries met. ... Mobile operators reimbursing up to US$325mn http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16537.php Argentine mobile operators have started to reimburse clients to the tune of nearly 1bn pesos (US$325mn) following an order from the communications ministry SeCom, local press reported. ... Russia's MTS reiterates want of control over MTS Belarus http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16538.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is ready to resume talks on buying a controlling stake in its affiliate MTS Belarus, Pavel Pavlovsky, MTS' foreign subsidiaries development department director, told a news conference Wednesda... Russia's VolgaTelecom says to merge its mobile assets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16539.php The board of directors of Russia's regional fixed-line operator VolgaTelecom has decided to merge its mobile assets into its Nizhegorodskaya Sotovaya Svyaz, or NSS, mobile operator, VolgaTelecom said in a statement Wednesday. ... [[ Handsets ]] Australia's Telstra Signs Agreement With Brightstar http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16529.php Australia's Telstra said Wednesday it has signed a three year agreement with Miami-based wireless distributor and supply chain solutions provider Brightstar Logistics Pty Ltd. to improve the performance of its supply chain. ... Motorola Executive:Co Gaining Market Share In All Region http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16533.php Motorola added to its share of the global cell-phone market in the first quarter, according to a Motorola executive. ... Infosonics enters agreement to distribute Alcatel, TCL brand phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16534.php Wireless handsets and accessories distributor InfoSonics has entered a distribution agreement with T&A Mobile Phones for the Caribbean region, InfoSonics said in a statement. ... BenQ earmarks US$35mn for local R&D http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16536.php Taiwanese handset manufacturer BenQ Mobile plans to invest 75mn reais (US$35.1mn) in research and development of new products at its Manaus plant in northern Brazil this year, reported local financial newspaper Valor Econmico. ... [[ Network Contracts ]] Nokia: Vodafone Japan To Use Intellisync Sync Server http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16530.php Nokia, Wednesday said Vodafone Group's unit in Japan is using its Intellisync Sync Server to launch a new service. ... [[ Network Operators ]] Vimpelcom To Invest $150 Million In Moscow Network In 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16531.php Russia's second largest mobile phone operator, Vimpel Communications, or VimpelCom, plans to invest $150 million in improving the quality of its network in key Moscow regions in 2006, the company's general manager for the Moscow region, Dmitry Plesko... [[ Offbeat ]] Vodafone, Ericsson At Odds Over Greek Wiretap Scandal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16540.php ATHENS (AP)--The head of Ericsson's operations in Greece on Wednesday disputed an account given by telecom giant Vodafone about a major wiretapping scandal that included illegal surveillance of the country's prime minister. ... [[ Regulatory ]] Cofetel: Telecoms sector grows 21.5% in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16535.php Mexico's telecommunications sector grew 21.5% in 2005 compared to 2004, according to telecoms regulator Cofetel's production sector index ITEL. ... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 11:32:01 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Thursday, March 16, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 16, 2006 ******************************** Vodafone Live! Hits 10 mil. Users http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17118?11228 Some respite has arrived for embattled mobile giant Vodafone, with the company announcing a milestone user figure for its 3G  service two weeks ahead of target. In a press release, the company revealed that it had set a 31 March 2006 target to reach the 10 million-user mark when it launched 3G services in November... Orange- and Vodafone-Backed X-Pay Wins Support http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17116?11228 x-Pay -- a mobile payment model backed by Orange and Vodafone -- has garnered the backing of leading mobile content enabler Bango. In a statement yesterday, Bango said that it will support the model and has already worked out a detailed plan on how to make it a trusted and universal mechanism for paying for mobile internet content.... GAO Report Finds Delays in E911 Upgrades http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17112?11228 NEW YORK -- Despite an end-of-2005 goal to equip all emergency dispatch centers with the ability to locate a cell phone user who dials 911, a congressional report finds that some states will need another five years or more, while others may never reach full availability. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of... FCC Proposes New Fines for Indecent TV http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17110?11228 WASHINGTON -- The government is renewing its crackdown on indecent television, proposing a total of $3.9 million in new fines while upholding its $550,000 fine against CBS stations for the Janet Jackson breast exposure at the Super Bowl. The biggest proposed fine issued Wednesday by the Federal Communications Commission was for $3.6... Iliad Profits From Triple Play http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17105?11228 Anyone who invested in alternative French operator Iliad (Euronext: ILD - message board) when it floated on the Paris exchange at Euro 16.30 in January 2004 has the right to feel pretty smug today. (See Investors Go Mad for Free Shares.) The company, which derives 80 percent of its revenues from triple-play service provider Free , saw... Iliad Profits From Triple Play http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17104?11228 Anyone who invested in alternative French operator Iliad (Euronext: ILD - message board) when it floated on the Paris exchange at Euro 16.30 in January 2004 has the right to feel pretty smug today. (See Investors Go Mad for Free Shares.)The company, which derives 80 percent of its revenues from triple-play service provider Free , saw its... Mobile Spending Up in Central/Eastern Europe http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17101?11228 Despite turbulent times in Central and Eastern Europe, the region is ripe for increased mobile spending, according to a new report coming out of IDC. In total, 11 markets in the region posted spending growth. In total, the 11 markets recorded a 13.5 percent increase in spending in 2005 to $15.12 billion. IDC predicts that total should... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Rotary Service Primary in World? Date: 16 Mar 2006 08:11:19 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I get the impression that almost all countries use Touch Tone service on their telephones. For places that never had much landline service to begin with, people are heavy into cellular, which of course is Touch Tone. (Apparently in an undeveloped place it's cheap to build a new cellular network than landline since stringing wires house-to-house and store-to-store are not required.) Anyway, I was wondering if there were any places where legacy rotary dial switchgear was still the primary method of handling calls. I tend to doubt it since electronics are so much cheaper and easier to maintain. Rotary equipment required skilled maintenance. Public replies, please. ------------------------------ From: 3z3k3l Subject: Get Rid of Your Phone Vendor? Date: 15 Mar 2006 20:33:25 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com http://www.pbxlance.com, a new telephone freelance website, has been recently launched allowing businesses to get rid of their phone vendors. Businesses are using the power of the internet and secure remote tools to utilize certified engineers remotely. This service allows businesses, who were once bound by single proprietary vendors, to contract out or send out for bidding, simple moves, adds, changes and request for quotes for their phone systems. This shifts the buying power and control to the end user and allows the business to set the price and choose the time. "This undertaking creates a paradigm shift for the telephone industry." says Rick Cruz owner of PBXLance.com, "No longer do businesses have to depend on sometimes slow or unreliable phone vendors for service. PBXLance.com gives them options that just didn't exist before." Traditionally phone systems are proprietary in nature and require specialized training and certifications to program them; thus the need for specialized vendors. Now with secure remote access; moves, adds and changes can be completed remotely from qualified individuals in a matter of minutes rather then days or sometimes even weeks. PBXLance.com offers free templates for requests for quotes, and even allows job postings to their network of freelancers. There are certifications which freelancers can attain in order to verify their information for safety purposes. Also businesses can be verified so freelancers can rest easy and know they will be paid for their work. PBXLance.com also offers a safe escrow service to protect both sides from financial harm. PBXLance.com is a division of Pbxinfo.com, a free Pbx information site, with over 17,000 registered phone system professionals. PBXLance.com strives to bring businesses and qualified phone system individuals together to complete telephony projects remotely and efficiently. http://www.pbxlance.com What do you guys think? ------------------------------ From: 3z3k3l Subject: Re: Employment Opportunity: Jobs in the Wireless Industry Date: 15 Mar 2006 20:34:48 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com There are lots of PBX and Telecom Jobs at http://www.pbxjobs.com and http://www.pbxlance.com as well. Good Luck! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Once again, I wish to point out that employment opportunities (legitimate ones, that is, admittedly few and far between relative to the scams and spams on this net) are better off placed in our classified area: http://telecom-digest.org/classified.html Just five dollars, on an honor system using PayPal's on-location template, buys you a month of whatever you wish to promote in employment, etc. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Klay Anderson Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 17:35:20 -0700 Organization: Klay Anderson Audio, Inc. Subject: Re: Music on Hold, Digital Player In article , Mr4Sale wrote: > We've been using a CD/MP3 player, with a CDROM for our music on hold. > Needless to say, after awhile running 7/24 for a couple of uses in an > infinite loop it's starting to act up. I was thinking of moving to an > MP3 player instead (no moving parts) this time. But we'd need one > with an external power supply and one that could loop one track. As the above is technically illegal, why not subscribe to and use XM Radio? Regards, Klay Anderson http://www.klay.com +801-942-8346 ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Music on Hold, Digital Player Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 04:26:15 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com On 15 Mar 2006 11:22:52 -0800, Mr4Sale wrote: > We've been using a CD/MP3 player, with a CDROM for our music on hold. > Needless to say, after awhile running 7/24 for a couple of uses in an > infinite loop it's starting to act up. I was thinking of moving to an > MP3 player instead (no moving parts) this time. But we'd need one > with an external power supply and one that could loop one track. > Not to mention come back up into the proper state (looping the one > track) in case of a power outage. Can anyone recommend a good player > that has these features? We don't need much memory in it, it's just > one track. > I thought of using a sound card in a server (they tend to stay running > long), but then I'd be into the "how do I keep it running" challenge. > If I go that route, does anyone have a background software/service > that will play .wav or .mp3 on a server out it's sound card? This is a little pricey if you have to get the "Professional" edition, but the basic MOH player is only $28 to licence (sic). http://www.nch.com.au/ims/index.html Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2006 18:14:56 -0500 In article , william_warren_nonoise@speakeasy.net says: > Wesrock@aol.com wrote: >> On 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >>> Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power >>> backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use >>> them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can >>> get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more >>> conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power >>> failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things >>> going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. >>> The jet engine has the advantage of being smaller.) >> Every "emergency engine" I ever saw in a telephone building was a >> conventional diesel engine. My father-in-law was shop foreman for a >> company that sold and service large earth moving equipment in Enid, >> Oklahoma, and from time to time they were called upon to routine the >> auto-start emergency engine in the Enid c.o. It was a conventional GM >> diesel engine like those used on earth moving equipment and >> locomotives. > [snip] > New England Telephone went with turbine-powered alternators in the > large Boston-area buildings, most with capacities far in excess of > what was required for the C.O. itself: the unit at Back Bay was rated > at 2500 KW. > If I had to guess, I'd say they got a good deal because Allison and > other turbine manufacturers were selling the aeronautical power units > that they had stockpiled during the Vietnam war. > The power technicians didn't like them, because they were a major > change from the diesel units, but they could power a small city and > they were, as I said, used to generate power for the commerical grid > during summer peak load periods. > Suburban offices with more modest needs remained on diesel. > William Warren > (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) I'm not certain but I think one is also on the PVDRIWADS02 switching center, except that it isn't on the roof but built between the old and new buildings. I've heard it on several occasions and it does sound like a chopper at idle. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am reminded of the old 'Kenwood Bell' (Illinois Bell's Chicago-Kenwood central office in its crossbar switching days) at 61st and Kenwood Avenue on a hot summer evening many years ago. With all the windows open (air conditioning was not yet invented, I do not think) you could hear that thing at least a block or two away down the street as you walked up to and past the property. PAT] ------------------------------ From: 3z3k3l Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas Date: 15 Mar 2006 20:36:55 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; you can't beat a clean fiber connection to the internet. They recently announced you will be able to get "cable" or basically 180 digital channels. They are basically doing the monopoloy thing again, they are running the fiber right to the house! We can get our phone, internet and now 180 cable tv channels through them! It beats cable hands down. Speeds are tremendous and no slow downs during the week! ------------------------------ From: Paul Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25Hz Power Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 15:38:55 UTC Organization: Me Paul Coxwell wrote in news:telecom25.105.9 @telecom-digest.org: > Several points have been raised in this discussion to > which I would like to respond. > [...] Thank you for the great write-up. My father was a power EE, and I had worked some as an electrician, so I have picked up some of this info over the years. I especially remember my father describing the high-leg delta connection when I was a kid, but I never ran into one in practice. > On the primary side of these transformers, everything here is > connected between phases. In fact NONE of our HV lines have a neutral > run with them, so three-phase primaries are always delta-connected, > and the primary on a single-phase transformer is connected across two > phases of the HV. That primary supply to the final transformers is > almost always 11kV (measured phase to phase), although there are still > a very few local distribution networks operating at 6.6kV in a couple > of areas. Thus a single-phase HV spur line has to be run as two "hot" > phases. Is the generator end wye-connected for a ground (earth?) reference, or is there ground fault detection circuitry on delta connected generators? Or is ground reference / ground fault not as big a concern there as here? Just curious. > As noted before, in Continental Europe 3-phase supplies into homes are > very common, however, and to British and American minds they seem to > take 3-phase to extremes. In France, for example, it's not at all > uncommon to find a small house which has a full 3-phase 4-wire > 380Y/220V service, with the main breaker set to just 15 amps per > phase! Arranging heating and cooking loads on a service like that can > be quite a juggling act. I can imagine. Is something like an electric range connected to 380? Is it wired single phase or three phase? Thanks, Another Paul ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Good Writeup of Cellular Tracking in NYC Criminal Case Date: 16 Mar 2006 08:06:57 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Danny Burstein wrote: > We techies know this, but most people don't ... Cell phones, whenever > on (and there's some question about whether a few of them do so even > when off) periodically "check in" with the cellular carrier. This > happens both on a time basis (perhaps every ten minutes) or when > moving from one tower area to another. Big brother is watching us. In addition to tracking by cell phone towers, we may be tracked by use of fare instruments such as electronic transit fare cards (ie NYC "MetroCard", or highway toll cards (ie EZPASS). They can track usage of credit cards and ATM cards. The cost of closed circuit TV recording systems has dropped tremendously and they are in a great many places recording our every move. Many cameras are outdoors, operated by building owners or the government. Recently, a Florida man was convicted and sentenced to death for killing a girl. A camera captured his original assault on the girl. So on the good side this electronic surveillance is helping to catch criminals after a crime as we are seeing on the news these days. It appears that vicious man in Florida certainly deserved his death sentence for what he did to the poor girl. However: Does this surveillance deter crime? Are we safer because of the surveillance? Are there any drawbacks to all this surveillance? What happens if someone steals my cellphone and while holding it, he/she goes out and commits a crime. (I don't use my phone very much so I wouldn't know it's missing for some time). Will I get blamed for it? Some of the video images of stores are quite grainy. Is it possible to have mistaken identity? Recently a photo of a wanted holdup man was shown on TV; he looked very much like a friend of mine. My friend got numerous phone calls about it. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #106 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 16 23:44:49 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 81244156A8; Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:44:49 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #107 Message-Id: <20060317044449.81244156A8@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:44:49 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, ITS_LEGAL,MAILTO_TO_REMOVE autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 16 Mar 2006 23:48:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 107 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cellphone Technical Question (Michael Muderick) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (Carl Zwanzig) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (T) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (Ed Clarke) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (T) Re: Are Cellular Base Station Antennas Worth Anything? (Koos van den Hout) Re: Are Cellular Base Station Antennas Worth Anything? (William Warren) Re: Is This Phone Monopoly Legal? (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Re: Rotary Service Primary in World? (Carl Navarro) Re: Music on Hold, Digital Player (Bob Vaughan) Re: Buffalo NY 25 hz Power (Michael D. Sullivan) Re: What Phone Company has Clearest Audio? (John L) 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: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:57:00 -0500 From: Michael Muderick Subject: Cellphone Technical Question If I leave my cell phone near my computer speakers I will hear occasional buzzing, clicking, etc. Before the phone begins to ring, I hear a dah..dah.daahhhhh. I know this is RF interference being picked up by the amplifier in the speaker. If one were to record this sound with a microphone at 11 or 22Khz, would it be possible to obtain any information (usable signal) from the recorded audio? Thanks, Michael@muderick.com ------------------------------ From: zbang@radix.net (Carl Zwanzig) Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 22:16:00 -0000 Organization: RadixNet Internet Services >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A water cooler with a DC motor is >> interesting; but did you ever see a _refrigerator_ powered by -gas- >> rather than -electricity-? I had one of those in a long since for- >> gotten apartment in Chicago back in the 1960's. No motor of course, no >> compressor, etc, but it was a refrigerator, freezer, etc, and I think >> (cannot remember for sure) it was manufactured by 'Frigidaire >> Company'. Totally silent of course. I have no idea how it worked; if >> I ever knew, I have since forgotten. PAT] Just to muddy the waters a bit -- in some cities, San Francisco for instance, some apartment blocks had ammonia-cycle cold boxes in each apartment. These were supplied by an ammonia compressor in the basement. ISTR that maybe once a year, the SF fire department finds a leak. Even though the system might have been turned off years ago, there's stll gas in the pipes. A friend lived in one of these place for a while. Unfortunately, I can't find a good cite for this. z! ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:23:56 -0500 In article , nospam.kd1s@cox.nospam.net says: > In article , > william_warren_nonoise@speakeasy.net says: >> Wesrock@aol.com wrote: >>> On 13 Mar 2006 11:02:58 -0800 hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >>>> Someone mentioned Bell using jet engines for central office power >>>> backup. I'm kind of surprised at this. The electric companies use >>>> them for summer supplements. They are very expensive to run, but can >>>> get up to speed very quickly. I believe the phone companies use more >>>> conventional diesel engines to power generators. If there is a power >>>> failure, central office battery has enough capacity to keep things >>>> going for a while, more than enough time to power up a diesel engine. >>>> The jet engine has the advantage of being smaller.) >>> Every "emergency engine" I ever saw in a telephone building was a >>> conventional diesel engine. My father-in-law was shop foreman for a >>> company that sold and service large earth moving equipment in Enid, >>> Oklahoma, and from time to time they were called upon to routine the >>> auto-start emergency engine in the Enid c.o. It was a conventional GM >>> diesel engine like those used on earth moving equipment and >>> locomotives. >> [snip] >> New England Telephone went with turbine-powered alternators in the >> large Boston-area buildings, most with capacities far in excess of >> what was required for the C.O. itself: the unit at Back Bay was rated >> at 2500 KW. >> If I had to guess, I'd say they got a good deal because Allison and >> other turbine manufacturers were selling the aeronautical power units >> that they had stockpiled during the Vietnam war. >> The power technicians didn't like them, because they were a major >> change from the diesel units, but they could power a small city and >> they were, as I said, used to generate power for the commerical grid >> during summer peak load periods. >> Suburban offices with more modest needs remained on diesel. >> William Warren >> (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) > I'm not certain but I think one is also on the PVDRIWADS02 switching > center, except that it isn't on the roof but built between the old and > new buildings. I've heard it on several occasions and it does sound > like a chopper at idle. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am reminded of the old 'Kenwood Bell' > (Illinois Bell's Chicago-Kenwood central office in its crossbar > switching days) at 61st and Kenwood Avenue on a hot summer evening > many years ago. With all the windows open (air conditioning was not > yet invented, I do not think) you could hear that thing at least a > block or two away down the street as you walked up to and past the > property. PAT] Unfortunately for me I've never heard a live electromechanical switch. It was a delight testing my recent acquisition, two WE 551C KSU's. Connecting the A to A1 leads gives a nice thunk of relays engaging and the light for the card illuminates. Now I just have to apply ring voltage and see if the interrupter still works. But I never got to hear things like Panel which existed in my city until I was 7 years old, but I was unaware of it. Did get to hear a call processing through a noisy #5 Xbar though when we moved into North Providence and ended up with a Pawtucket rate center number. Even that cut to a #5/2000 ESS just before I moved back to Providence. ------------------------------ From: Ed Clarke Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas Date: 16 Mar 2006 23:27:25 GMT Organization: Ciliophora Associates, Inc. Reply-To: clarke@cilia.org On 2006-03-16, 3z3k3l wrote: > I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; you can't beat a > clean fiber connection to the internet. They recently announced you > will be able to get "cable" or basically 180 digital channels. > They are basically doing the monopoloy thing again, they are running > the fiber right to the house! We can get our phone, internet and now > 180 cable tv channels through them! > It beats cable hands down. Speeds are tremendous and no slow downs > during the week! I just installed FIOS in New York (Westchester county) a week or so ago. It works flawlessly, gives me phone service and internet service without requiring a copper connection from the outside. I also have a business service with Vonage that works perfectly through the FIOS connection. I will probably get the television service when it comes out in six months or so. ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 21:26:27 -0500 In article , rixride@hotmail.com says: > I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; you can't beat a > clean fiber connection to the internet. They recently announced you > will be able to get "cable" or basically 180 digital channels. Uh -- we've had 15MB connections to the net for the last year. And it isn't Verizon FIOS -- it's Cox over coaxial. > They are basically doing the monopoloy thing again, they are running > the fiber right to the house! We can get our phone, internet and now > 180 cable tv channels through them! > It beats cable hands down. Speeds are tremendous and no slow downs > during the week! Luckily Cox totally rebuilt most of Rhode Island some years ago. All the backbones are completely fiber. At my office we use both their fiber and coaxial products. ------------------------------ From: Koos van den Hout Subject: Re: Are Cellular Base Station Antennas Worth Anything? Date: 16 Mar 2006 20:57:39 GMT Organization: http://idefix.net/~koos/ John L wrote in : > So my question is, are the antennas worth anything? The Cingular > antennas are for the 800 MHz AMPS band, three whip antennas, basically > pointy metal sticks pointing straight up. The Sprint antennas are for > the PCS 1900 MHz band, curved panels. All have tails of coax that > they cut when they removed the transmitters. > Any advice? Sell them on ebay? Don't waste my time? My first thought was 'maybe the 800 MHz antennas are worth something at a ham swap meet, forget the 1900 MHz antennas'. But I looked on ebay. New 1900 MHz antennas are worth a lot. But you can't test them (unless you find a ham with the right equipment to somehow verify that the antenna is still in some sort of working shape). Koos van den Hout, PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 via keyservers koos@kzdoos.xs4all.nl or RSA/1024 0xCA845CB5 -?) Fax +31-30-2817051 Camp Wireless, wireless Internet access /\\ http://idefix.net/~koos/ at campsites http://www.camp-wireless.org/ _\_V ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 19:55:15 -0500 From: William Warren Subject: Re: Are Cellular Base Station Antennas Worth Anything? John L wrote: > My village has an old water tower on which Cingular and Sprint erected > base station antennas. We built a new water tower, and they put new > antennas on it, abandoning the old ones. Sometime in the near future, > weather permitting, we're going to take down the old tower, and it > would probably be easy for me to buy the old antennas for their scrap > metal value. > So my question is, are the antennas worth anything? The Cingular > antennas are for the 800 MHz AMPS band, three whip antennas, basically > pointy metal sticks pointing straight up. The Sprint antennas are for > the PCS 1900 MHz band, curved panels. All have tails of coax that > they cut when they removed the transmitters. > Any advice? Sell them on ebay? Don't waste my time? > Regards, > John Levine johnl@iecc.com Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies" > Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Mayor > "I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly. If the COAX isn't too old, you or your town can use it for pretty much any RF application. The antennas are most likely useless unless you have a local ham radio operator who's willing to take them. BTW, I suggest you have the "old" tower structure surveyed as a "new" location for antennnas. Anything higher than a treetop is rentable these days, and a coat of paint might be all that's needed to get a new income stream. William Warren (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Is This Phone Monopoly Legal? Date: 16 Mar 2006 14:21:15 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Cyron wrote: >... The entire city (aside from those using wireless phone > service) are forced to use the services of the local telephone company. > In past years, local internet service providers have sprung up -- only > to be bought out by the local telephone company. I can't answer your question of whether this is allowable or not. However, in general terms, this is the free marketplace at work, and the goal of deregulation and divesture was a free marketplace. In some places a free market means vigorous competition. However, if there are not enough customers support a volume business, businesses will have no interest to serve that market and you have your situation. You also have the situation where one company buys up others which also is perfectly legal. In other words, if you're in the middle of Manhattan you'll find numerous choices of restaurants within a few square blocks of yourself. If you're in some town of 1,000 people, you'll find likely one restaurant, take it or leave it. You may have an anti-trust issue with your phone company buying up every potential competitor. But I don't know how anti trust law works these days or how it applies to this business. ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Rotary Service Primary in World? Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:38:41 -0500 On 16 Mar 2006 08:11:19 -0800, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > I get the impression that almost all countries use Touch Tone service > on their telephones. For places that never had much landline service > to begin with, people are heavy into cellular, which of course is > Touch Tone. (Apparently in an undeveloped place it's cheap to build a > new cellular network than landline since stringing wires > house-to-house and store-to-store are not required.) > Anyway, I was wondering if there were any places where legacy rotary > dial switchgear was still the primary method of handling calls. I > tend to doubt it since electronics are so much cheaper and easier to > maintain. Rotary equipment required skilled maintenance. We just had this same discussion on Monday and I wonder the same thing. SxS equipment is huge and bulky, and you can put 1000 lines in a box the size of a 4 cubic foot refrigerator, that will use less power and require no maintenance except to keep it environmentally warm/cool and dust free. Just where does all of that Step equipment go? Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: techie@tantivy.tantivy.net (Bob Vaughan) Subject: Re: Music on Hold, Digital Player Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 00:10:59 UTC Organization: Tantivy Associates In article , Klay Anderson wrote: > In article , Mr4Sale > wrote: >> We've been using a CD/MP3 player, with a CDROM for our music on hold. >> Needless to say, after awhile running 7/24 for a couple of uses in an >> infinite loop it's starting to act up. I was thinking of moving to an >> MP3 player instead (no moving parts) this time. But we'd need one >> with an external power supply and one that could loop one track. > As the above is technically illegal, why not subscribe to and use XM Radio? Please explain why this would be illegal? The playing of music on hold is not illegal. The problem arises when the music being played is copyrighted, and the rights are owned by others, without the proper licensing. Licensed music is available for this purpose, and of course you would always record your own music, either an original composition, or a classical or traditional piece for which there is no copyright. This discussion has made no mention of the actual content, so we don't know what is being played, or what the potential copyright issues might be. -- Welcome My Son, Welcome To The Machine -- Bob Vaughan | techie @ tantivy.net | | P.O. Box 19792, Stanford, Ca 94309 | -- I am Me, I am only Me, And no one else is Me, What could be simpler? -- ------------------------------ From: Michael D. Sullivan Subject: Re: Buffalo NY 25 hz Power Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 02:13:31 GMT DLR wrote: > John Bachtel wrote: >> In 1957 and 1958, after graduating from Kenmore High School, near >> Buffalo, I was a turbine operator at Niagara Mohawk's Charles R. Huntley >> Steam station in Tonawanda, on the Niagara River. We were still >> operating units 25 hz 24, 25 and 26 and a reversable frequency changer. >> Total cap. was abt. 200 MW, alongside 1000 MW of 60 Hz power in the >> newer sections of the plant. Operation varied with the business >> climate, from full bore 24/7 to daily startup/ shutdown, occasionally >> with only one unit. Interesting work ... I got to do the throttle ups >> and enjoy the synchrozation process during startup. It could get >> dicey with our 30-50 year old equipment and synchroscope like a giant >> clock up on the wall. Equally exciting were sudden power dumps as >> happened during severe weather. Big building quake, followed by opening >> of steam safety valves atop the adjoining boiler house. > Who bought this 25Hz power? Probably transit systems. The New York City subways operated on DC, created from rectified AC in the 25-30 Hz range. Probably still do. Michael D. Sullivan Bethesda, MD (USA) (Replace "example.invalid" with "com" in my address.) ------------------------------ From: johnl@iecc.com (John L) Subject: Re: What Phone Company has Clearest Audio? Date: 17 Mar 2006 03:42:58 GMT Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > alternative and looked at VONAGE. In VONAGE's features list, they > claimed they had "Higher quality calls than landline in many cases". Based on my experience with Vonage, those must be the cases where the landline is transmitted over twelve miles of barbed wire fence. > Is there a better service than VONAGE that carry clear long-distance > calls? These days, landline phone switches all turn your phone calls into bits, and it is my impression that most landline long distance companies just transmit the bits, so they'll all be the same. The difference is how much noise there is between your handset and the phone switch. If you want really clear audio and don't care about the price, get ISDN service so the phone itself does the digital conversion and the link from your house to the telco is all digital and noiseless. R's, John ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #107 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 17 20:45:30 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 36A5115522; Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:45:30 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #108 Message-Id: <20060318014530.36A5115522@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:45:30 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.7 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, NO_COST autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:35:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 108 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Telecom Update #521, March 17, 2006 (Angus TeleManagement Group) EarthLink Invests $50M in Covad to Expand VoIP (USTelecom dailyLead) Unusual Phishing Attempt (Jim Haynes) Toll Free Area Restrictions (trknoc@gmail.com) MPAA CacheLogic Announcement (Jonathan Hirshon) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (Mark Atwood) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (Carl Zwanzig) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) 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: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 11:00:11 -0800 Subject: Telecom Update #521, March 17, 2006 From: Angus TeleManagement Group Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 521: March 17, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Telecom Policy Report Expected Next Week ** Telus Sees Increase in Long Distance Theft ** New Ontario Area Code to Arrive Just in Time ** Erosion of Home Phones Accelerates ** Microsoft Reports Big Jump in IP Voice/Video ** MTS Adds Blouin to Board, Nominates Two Directors ** Bell and Telus Challenge MTS Service ** Some Terms of Nortel Settlement Okayed ** CRTC Reaffirms Order on VoIP Message Relay ** St. John's Developer Offers Push Email Software ** Telus Adds Second-Layer Spam Filtering ** Charges Laid in 500 Payphone Robberies ** Rogers Boosts Download Speed ** SaskTel Adopts Converged Messaging Platform ============================================================ TELECOM POLICY REPORT EXPECTED NEXT WEEK: The three-person Telecom Policy Review panel, appointed last April, is expected to release its report in Ottawa next week. A report in the Globe & Mail says that the panel's recommendations will include more flexible regulation of the incumbent phone companies and incentives to extend broadband into unserved areas. TELUS SEES INCREASE IN LONG DISTANCE THEFT: Telus says that hacker gangs have recently increased efforts to steal overseas long distance from businesses by hijacking voice mail boxes. Telus's security group detected almost 200 incidents in 2005, stopping about $1.5 million in illegal calls. ** The telco is urging business customers to change all default passwords, eliminate unused mail boxes, and if possible to disable "through dialing" features that allow employees to call into their voice mail and then dial out of the system. NEW ONTARIO AREA CODE TO ARRIVE JUST IN TIME: Area Code 226 is scheduled to launch as an overlay in the current 519 area (southwestern Ontario) on October 21. This is just in time: the latest Number Resource Usage survey predicts that the last remaining prefixes in 519 will be in use by January 2007. ** Beginning in the week of June 17, callers in the 519 area who dial local calls using only seven digits will hear a recording advising them to dial 10 digits in future. Mandatory 10-digit local dialing will begin on October 14. ** 10-digit dialing will also be required for callers in four 705 exchanges -- Alliston, Barrie, Collingwood, and Cookstown -- when they place local calls to the 519 or 226 numbers. EROSION OF HOME PHONES ACCELERATES: Statistics Canada says that the number of traditional residential phone lines in Canada fell 3% in the 12 months preceding September 2005, the largest year-over-year drop since the numbers started falling in 2001. The number of business lines was virtually unchanged in the same period. ** The report currently sells for $23, but effective April 24 there will be no charge for Statistics Canada's electronic publications. http://www.statcan.ca/english/preview/56-002-XIE/P0030556-002-XIE.pdf MICROSOFT REPORTS BIG JUMP IN IP VOICE/VIDEO: Microsoft says it has recently seen a sharp jump in customer use of its voice and video services. January's record volumes included 800 million minutes of voice conversation on MSN Messenger, 1.1 billion minutes of video conversation, and 7 billion minutes of stand-alone webcam use. Twenty million users on average use Microsoft's voice-conversation services monthly. ** The company plans to introduce new IP communications tools this year, including enabling users to set up PC-to-PC or PC-to-Phone voice or video calls by clicking on a contact's name in an email. MTS ADDS BLOUIN TO BOARD, NOMINATES TWO DIRECTORS: Manitoba Telecom Services has appointed its CEO, Pierre Blouin, to its Board of Directors. The telco will propose that James MacDonald, Chairman of Enterprise Capital Management, and Kishore Kapoor, formerly of the wealth management firm Loring Ward, be elected to the Board at the May 2 Annual General Meeting. ** In 2004, Enterprise, a hedge fund, spearheaded efforts to convert MTS into an income trust. BELL AND TELUS CHALLENGE MTS SERVICE: Bell and Telus have separately complained to the CRTC that MTS Allstream, which signed a national contract with Public Works and Government Services Canada in February, does not have tariff approval for services to be provided under the contract in its incumbent territory, Manitoba. ** Bell and Telus competed unsuccessfully for the same contract; they both obtained advance tariff approval from the CRTC for their bids. They want the Commission to prohibit MTS from providing the services until it has an approved tariff. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2006/8622/b2_200602369.htm http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2006/8622/t66_200602640.htm SOME TERMS OF NORTEL SETTLEMENT OKAYED: Nortel says it has reached agreement on some issues related to the previously announced US$2.5 billion settlement of a class action lawsuit. (See Telecom Update #516) The company's insurers have agreed to add $228.5 million toward the settlement, and Nortel will codify current governance practices, including the annual election by its directors of a non-executive chair. Settlement discussions continue. CRTC REAFFIRMS ORDER ON VoIP MESSAGE RELAY: CRTC Decision 2006-12 reiterates the Commission's direction that all VoIP providers must provide access to Message Relay Service, which assists hearing-impaired customers. ** The CISC Network Working Group reported to the CRTC in December that there are no technical obstacles preventing VoIP providers from offering MRS. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-12.htm ST. JOHN'S DEVELOPER OFFERS PUSH EMAIL SOFTWARE: Newfoundland-based Consilient Technologies has introduced Consilient Push software, which enables carriers to push email to a wide range of wireless devices. Consilient says its service can be offered cost effectively for only $5 a month. (See Telecom Update #354) TELUS ADDS SECOND-LAYER SPAM FILTERING: Telus is now using software from Borderware Technologies to provide an additional, initial layer of filtering to screen out the most obvious spam emails. Telus says that the volume of emails on its network has increased five-fold in three years, and 80% of emails today are spam or viruses. CHARGES LAID IN 500 PAYPHONE ROBBERIES: Two Toronto men have been charged with breaking into 518 payphones, collecting $21,500 and destroying $128,500 worth of payphone equipment. ROGERS BOOSTS DOWNLOAD SPEED: Rogers Cable is increasing the rated speed of its basic high-speed Internet service to 5 Mbps from 3 Mbps. The cableco says the transition will be complete in a few weeks. SASKTEL ADOPTS CONVERGED MESSAGING PLATFORM: SaskTel has deployed software from uReach Technologies that provides a single framework for wireline, wireless, and VoIP voice messaging services. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. 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If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 13:08:47 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: EarthLink Invests $50M in Covad to Expand VoIP USTelecom dailyLead March 17, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/diBkfDtutcaqoZyzlU TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * EarthLink invests $50M in Covad to expand VoIP BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Vodafone sells Japan unit to Softbank * Global Crossing sees uptick in dark fiber sales * Qwest's shares rise on acquisition speculation USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * New KPMG addresses business challenges in the digital age * TelecomNEXT kicks off Sunday: Register today and save TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * March Madness breaks online streaming records * NBC films webisodes of "The Office" VOIP DOWNLOAD * NetZero adds VoIP to HiSpeed 3G package * Father of free e-mail encryption launches service for VoIP * Level 3 eyes bigger slice of VoIP pie REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Verizon executive: Net neutrality rules unnecessary Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/diBkfDtutcaqoZyzlU ------------------------------ Subject: Unusual Phishing Attempt Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 19:00:55 GMT What's unusual about this one is that they want you to phone a number to give away your personal data rather than sending it to a phony web page. Wonder who is on the other end of that phone number. Dear Brian, [which is not my name] Your recent order has been cancelled due to the billing information not verifying with your issuing bank. Please call our Payment Processing Department at 1-800-991-6828 with the correct information and we will be happy to assist you. Please disregard this message if we have spoken to you regarding this order. jhhaynes at earthlink dot net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you received that letter in actual email I suggest they were possibly trying to avoid a scam. I called the number and tried to bluff them out; the woman who answered asked for my name and zip code (I gave bogus info) and she said she was unable to find an order 'from that zip code and name' for their various clients including 'Foot Locker' and a couple of other companies. I get the impression it is a legitimate payment processor. PAT] ------------------------------ From: trknoc@gmail.com Subject: Toll Free Area Restrictions Date: 17 Mar 2006 13:22:07 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com We're having an interesting problem. User calling from a VOIP phone in Ohio with an Ohio ANI to a Toll Free number that's allowed in Ohio, but not in CA. Customer's interconnect point to the PSTN is in Southern CA. Call is sent to a Southern CA tandem for SMS dip, and the call fails because the CIC isn't open in CA. Has anyone else run into this problem? Are there any solutions currently offered to address this problem? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:12:39 Subject: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement From: Jonathan Hirshon Reply-To: jh@horizonpr.com Greetings -- I believe you will find the following press release from the MPAA to be very intriguing indeed. Just to clarify, I am not representing the MPAA, but am distributing this w ith their approval to the media and analyst friends of CacheLogic. If you wish to contact the MPAA and/or CacheLogic for their perspective on this an nouncement, please do contact me directly and I'll be happy to facilitate t his for you cheers, JH FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 17, 2006 MPAA HOSTS TECHNOLOGY BOOTH AT TelecomNEXT Six Tech Companies to Demonstrate Content Distribution and Filtering Techn ology Los Angeles -- Beginning on Tuesday, March 21 in Las Vegas, the Motion Pic ture Association of America, Inc (MPAA) will host a technology booth at Te lecomNEXT, featuring several companies who will display some of the latest online distribution platforms and filtering tools which could assist the te lecommunications industry and play an important role in the emerging legitimate digital content distribution markets. This is the first time that the MPAA has had a presence at this event which is important in bringing busine ss and technology of communications and entertainment together. Representatives from Audible Magic, BitTorrent Inc, CacheLogic, Peer Impact, Red Swoosh and Thomson Content Security will be on hand to demonstrate methods their companies have developed to facilitate legal online movie distribution and to protect copyrights in a digital environment. "TelecomNEXT is a significant event for companies who want to see some of the latest in business and technology of communications and entertainment," said MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman. "We are excited about being included in TelecomNEXT and feel honored to host these fine companies who are representative of all those working on more ways to legally bring our movies to consumers and developing innovative solutions for protecting copyrights. By giving these innovators an opportunity to demonstrate their advances, we hope to encourage them and others to continue their important work." As part of the MPAA=92s core mission, it seeks to provide leadership for it s companies in the digital media transition. MPAA has been working on iden tifying tools that can facilitate the legal online distribution of digital content. MPAA does not endorse any particular technologies but is proud to spotlight the following six companies that will be present at the MPAA boo th as examples of these types of tools. Those companies have provided the following descriptions of their services: * Audible Magic provides content management and anti-piracy services to the media and entertainment industries, as well as governmental and educational institutions. The company's offerings utilize patented digital fingerprinting technologies and an extensive reference database of copyrighted content. Its digital technology is designed to monitor, track, manage, and in some cases filter copyrighted multimedia content in all of its forms, including radio and TV analog broadcasts, Internet and satellite streams, physical media files, as well as P2P and private network file transfers. Audible Magic has agreements with UMG (Universal Music Group), Sony Music, and is negotiating with many of the studios. * BitTorrent Inc is the developer of the world's leading open-source f ile-sharing protocol by the same name, specifically created to overcome the obstacles of transferring large files over the Internet=2E BitTorrent Inc has completed a deal to filter illegal MPAA content out of its website and is negotiating content distribution deals with the studios=2E BitTorrent Inc recently announced a deal with the UK=92s largest cable company to launch a technical trial to evaluate ultra high-speed, legal video downloads in t he UK=2E The trial download service will feature a large variety of licensed video content including popular movies, music videos and television programs. * CacheLogic provides a suite of complementary products that deliver tr affic management and network intelligence solutions to the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and telecommunications sectors. CacheLogic's core products provide carrier-grade solutions that enable ISPs to achieve considerable co st savings through the intelligent management of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) traffic across their networks=2E CacheLogic's technology can be configured to acce lerate the delivery of legitimate P2P content and dramatically reduce downl oad times, which enables ISPs to make an important contribution to the valu e chain of this revolutionary delivery mechanism. * Peer Impact is a new online digital content distribution network that provides legal peer-to-peer file sharing services for its members. Its technology offers a secure online space to purchase and share movies, music an d video games while ensuring content owners and propriety rights holders al ike are paid appropriately Peer Impact has a deal with NBC Universal and is in discussions with other studios. * Red Swoosh, Inc=2E offers P2P content delivery services for high-perfor mance, low-cost distribution of media over the Internet=2E By securely and sa fely utilizing private P2P Grids, Red Swoosh customers are able to achieve unlimited video delivery at a fixed cost while significantly increasing the performance of their streaming media and downloads=2E With the deployment o f Red Swoosh=92s innovative services, content providers have saved millions of dollars in infrastructure costs while vastly improving the economic via bility of their online initiatives=2E Red Swoosh distributes content for man y of the world's largest media companies and hundreds of smaller content owners on the Net. * Thomson Content Security provides solutions to the media and entertai nment industries, comprehensively addressing the need to mitigate the risk of illegal content redistribution=2E Thomson offers advanced solutions to pro tect digital rights, build secure content delivery networks and fight again st content piracy. The Group makes its security technologies available via a combination of off-the-shelf products for the movie, broadcast and teleco m industries, and OEM licensing. About TelecomNEXT TelecomNEXT is the only place where the business and technology of communic ations and entertainment meet. Recognizing the dramatic changes in today's integrated communications market, the TelecomNEXT exhibit floor and co nference program fully reflect the industry's continuing evolution and will bring together the most dynamic, talented and innovative players of the digital age. About the MPAA The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) serves as the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries from its offices in Los Angeles and Washington, Its members include: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc; Paramount Pictures Corporation; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; Universal City Studios, LLP; and Warner Bros Entertainment Inc. ### For more information, contact: MPAA Los Angeles Kori Bernards (818) 995-6600 MPAA Washington, D=2EC=2E John Feehery or Gayle Osterberg (202) 293-1966 Jonathan Hirshon - Principal, Horizon Communications Vox - 408-969-4888 US Mobile - 408-393-4900 Euro Mobile (only when traveling) - (+44)(0)7791 156425 GnuPG Fingerprint - 6E0A C579 5AE7 B006 DEE3 B658 F63F 74C3 7393 B433 Automatically add my vCard into Outlook (etc) at www.Ehorizonpr.com/vcard.html See the current JH Music Library at http://www.horizonpr.com/ituneslist/ ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas From: Mark Atwood Organization: EasyNews, UseNet made Easy! Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:19:12 GMT T writes: > In article , rixride@hotmail.com > says: >> I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; you can't beat a >> clean fiber connection to the internet. They recently announced you >> will be able to get "cable" or basically 180 digital channels. > Uh -- we've had 15MB connections to the net for the last year. And it > isn't Verizon FIOS -- it's Cox over coaxial. Downstream. DOCSIS is must slower and less efficient in the upstream direction. Mark Atwood When you do things right, people won't be sure me@mark.atwood.name you've done anything at all. http://mark.atwood.name/ http://fallenpegasus.livejournal.com/ ------------------------------ From: zbang@radix.net (Carl Zwanzig) Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 18:06:36 -0000 Organization: RadixNet Internet Services Following up on my own post: Carl Zwanzig wrote: > Just to muddy the waters a bit -- in some cities, San Francisco for > instance, some apartment blocks had ammonia-cycle cold boxes in each > apartment. These were supplied by an ammonia compressor in the > basement. ISTR that maybe once a year, the SF fire department finds a > leak. Even though the system might have been turned off years ago, > there's stll gas in the pipes. A friend lived in one of these place > for a while. In an email, someone asks basically "What were they thinking? Earthquakes? Dangerous?" This fits right in there with gas lamps. OTOH, central cooling systems didn't have an installed base in 1906, so when the city was rebuilding it wasn't a concern. I'd say the same went for multi-story masonry buildings. Before then, there weren't that many taller buildings and the main material was wood. They did find out that wood burns. If my copious spare time, I may hit some of the books and look for more info. (I have at least one devoted to ammonia refrigeration systems.) z! ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: 17 Mar 2006 11:01:57 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com T wrote: > Unfortunately for me I've never heard a live electromechanical > switch. Telephone switches have a distinctive sound. The clicks and clacks are very sharp and distinctive. While an ESS switch is silent (except for the noisy blowers), there may be some nearby support racks that do contain relays, and those relays will make the sharp clack sounds. As to the sound of emergency generators, they are noisy. I was passing a nursing home when they were testing their generator and it was loud! Places with critical functions likes hospitals and nursing homes have backup power generators. They are tested every so often. Sometimes power failures result from failure of the switchgear to transition from one source to another. One of my employer's location had a backup source and they did a test; they were out of commission the whole day due to failures of the control circuitry. Electric power control circuitry is pretty amazing to me. It must handle -- live -- tremendous amounts of current. The power system today is pretty fancy and duplicated which means power failures are quiten uncommon even when one piece gets hit by lightning. Unfortunately, it is so interconnected that a bad failure will ripple and make a big mess. It happened in 1965 causing the big NE blackout and again not too long ago causing another NE blackout. Unfortunately, once large segments go out, it takes a while to bring them all back online; they can't flip a switch and do a whole city at once. Also, once a power plant itself goes off line, it takes a while to build back up. I wish there was some cost-efficient practical manner of "buffering" large amounts of power for brief moments to avoid huge surges that cause everything to shut down. If the safety breakers are too sensitive there will be too many false trips causing unnecessary problems. If the breakers aren't sensitive enough surges will ripple through. The 1965 NE power failure has been documented as to causes and solutions (which presumably have been implemented). But I don't know if they ever published the analysis of the more recent NE power failure. I believe it was caused by surges in an Ohio system that rippled to other systems. I don't know if there is a protection against such "rippling". That's why I wish there were some kind of "buffers". ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #108 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 18 16:04:52 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id BB9AC1506E; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:04:50 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #109 Message-Id: <20060318210450.BB9AC1506E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:04:50 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:07:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 109 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Google Wins Partial Victory Over USA Subpoena! (Eric Auchard & Adam Tanner) Antigua Blasts USA 'Bullies' Over Gambling Laws (Reuters News Wire) Madness: Net Hit With Record Traffic Flow (Paul Gough) Various Power Issues, was: Gas Refrigerator (25 Hz Power) (Danny Burstein) In NY, ILEC Wireline Rates May Go Up Due to Competition! (John Stahl) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (T) Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) (DLR) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (T) Re: Unusual Phishing Attempt (DLR) Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement (Lisa Hancock) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Eric Auchard & Adam Tanner Subject: Google Wins Partial Victory Over USA Subpoena! Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:31:09 -0600 Google wins partial keywords victory By Eric Auchard and Adam Tanner A federal judge denied a U.S. government request that Google Inc. be ordered to hand over a sample of keywords customers use to search the Internet, but required on Friday that the company produce some Web addresses indexed in its system. In a 21-page ruling, Judge James Ware of the U.S. District for the Northern District of California said the privacy considerations of Google users led him to deny part of the Justice Department's request. "To the extent the motion seeks an order compelling Google to disclose search queries of its users the government's motion is denied," Ware wrote. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had subpoenaed Google to turn over data the government wanted from the company as part of the Bush Administration's attempt to defend a federal law on child pornography on the Internet. "You have to disclose what your robots find, but you don't have to disclose what people search for," Andy Serwin, a privacy law expert, said of the automated software tools Google uses to catalog the Web. "The order does get the government what it probably needed, not what it wanted," said Serwin, a partner with Foley & Lardner and author of the "Internet Marketing Law Handbook." During a court hearing on Tuesday when the government saw it was likely to lose entirely on its subpoena, it chose instead to offer a compromise to Google, which the company accepted. It reduced the number of Google searches it wanted data on to just 50,000 Web addresses and roughly 5,000 search terms from the millions or potentially billions of addresses it had initially sought. "The court grants the government's motion to compel only as to the sample of 50,000 URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), from Google's search index," the judge ruled, referring to the searchable catalog of documents that form the core of Google's Web search service, the most widely used in the world. "What his ruling means is that neither the government nor anyone else has carte blanche when demanding data from Internet companies," Nicole Wong, Google's associate general counsel, said in a statement on the company's Web site. The full comment is at http://googleblog.blogspot.com/. "The government will not be permitted to just run amok, fishing and gathering up whatever it wants. It is unforunate other services did not hold the line and work with us on this, instead of just giving in to government demands as they did." STAND ON PRIVACY Ware ruled that the 50,000 Web addresses, or URLs, were a relevant request by the government, which wants the data for a statistical study it is doing to show the effectiveness of filtering software at issue in a separate case -- ACLU v. Gonzales -- that concerns a federal law on online child pornography. "The expectation of privacy by some Google users may not be reasonable, but may nonetheless have an appreciable impact on the way in which Google is perceived, and consequently the frequency with which users use Google," Ware wrote. "This concern, combined with the prevalence of Internet searches for sexually explicit material ... gives this court pause as to whether the search queries themselves may constitute potentially sensitive information," he said. In his decision, Judge Ware wrote of the "three vital interests" that needed to be weighed in the case: national interest, proprietary business information and privacy concerns. "This Court is particularly concerned any time enforcement of a subpoena imposes an economic burden on a non-party," he wrote in a filing made at the close of business of Friday. Professor T. Barton Carter, a professor of communication at Boston University's College of Communication, said that beyond privacy issues there remain further concerns. "It is still a little disturbing that essentially the government can compel information from a party that is not involved in a lawsuit," he said. "Given their initial request, obviously it is a victory for privacy to the extent that no information entered from the users is being offered," Carter said. (Additional reporting by Adam Tanner, Duncan Martell and Jim Christie in San Francisco.) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headline news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Antigua Blasts USA 'Bullies' Over New Internet Gambling Laws Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:36:08 -0600 Antigua on Friday blasted the United States over what the tiny Caribbean island state said were moves to ensure it could not build up its fragile economy through revenues from Internet gambling services. Criticising proposed U.S. laws to outlaw the $12 billion online gambling industry, Antiguan ambassador to the World Trade Organization John Ashe suggested Washington felt it could act with impunity because his country did not have the economic weight to retaliate. "We believe the time has come for the United States to demonstrate ... whether the WTO agreements are to work for us all equally, or whether the WTO is indeed a 'one-way street' for the large economies to further enrich themselves at the expense of lesser ones," Ashe told diplomats at a session of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). "The United States basically says it will do as it pleases; that the rest of the world cannot stop it and that it will ruin any of us who try to get fair deals." Antigua, which has a population of 67,000 with few natural resources and a declining tourist industry, has since the late 1990s sought to build up an Internet gambling industry to provide work for its young people. The DSB was discussing developments in the squabble, first brought to the WTO by Antigua in 2003. A WTO panel and later appeals judges handed down rulings in 2004 and 2005 which both sides have claimed as vindicating their case. The United States, which before Ashe spoke told the DSB it was still in consultation with Congress on the way ahead, bars the placing of bets across state lines by electronic means, arguing that the ban is legal under WTO rules. U.S. officials say they are working to make clear that domestic gambling operations in the country are subject to exactly the same rules as foreign ones, and that there is no discrimination against Antigua. In their ruling last year, judges on the WTO's Appellate Body said that there did appear to be U.S. discrimination between foreign and local operators in betting on horse racing. The new legislative proposals were intended to clear that up, according to U.S. officials. But Ashe argued on Friday that they were both "as directly contrary to the DSB recommendations and rulings as could possibly be imagined." He said they would entrench a situation where, in violation of WTO agreements, Antigua was barred from providing services to U.S. consum- ers that could be offered by domestic operators. Diplomats said that the case was likely to be returned to the original panel next month when the time period runs out for the United States to come into line with the original rulings. The panel will have to decide if it has in fact done so. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Paul J. Gough Subject: Madness: Net Hit With Record Traffic Flow Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 13:40:38 -0600 By Paul J. Gough March Madness gripped the Internet on Thursday, with more than 1 million video streams carried in the first day of CBS' free on-demand out-of-market games. There were occassional slow downs in internet movement from the 'traffic jams'. Thursday kicked off the NCAA men's basketball tournament, one of CBS' highest-profile sports packages and one that takes over much of the network for three weeks through early April. But the online portion was expected to gain lots of attention this year as well with the offering of out-of-market games via CBS SportsLine. Businesses, which often complain about the lost productivity because of the fine art of bracketology, had even more to be worried about this year with the free streaming via the Internet. Those fears seem to have come true with what CBS said was a record-breaking day for a sports event streamed live on the Internet. CBS served more than 268,000 simultaneous streams of first-round games Thursday, pushing its first-day total to more than 1.2 million by 6 p.m. EST. "The numbers and positive feedback we have seen from our users today are extremely encouraging," CBS Digital Media president Larry Kramer said. Meanwhile, the TV coverage was affected by a bomb scare at Cox Arena in San Diego, where several of the games are being held. The Marquette-Alabama game was delayed more than an hour, with the other games delayed as well. In other March Madness news, Time Warner Cable announced a deal with CBS and its subsidiary CSTV to offer condensed games on-demand during the tournament. The package includes 63 condensed games, at the price of 99 cents. It follows a similar deal with Apple iTunes for condensed games that was announced Thursday. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html Other news headlines available at: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Various Power Issues, was: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 02:00:51 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes: [ misc snips ] > T wrote: >> Unfortunately for me I've never heard a live electromechanical >> switch. > Telephone switches have a distinctive sound. The clicks and clacks are > very sharp and distinctive. The closest you'll find to this nowadays is in older elevators. Prior to 1980 or so the controllers on automatic (as opposed to manned) elevators used bunches of Big and Loud relays. Next time you get into one, especially in older buildings, listen for the clicekty-click-CLANG-clap-click-SNAP as they determine the fate of that little box you're riding. (These are, of course, getting phased out by electronic controls, but since they last just about forever and it's still quite expensive to replace them, many of the older ones are still around). > Places with critical functions likes hospitals and nursing homes have > backup power generators. They are tested every so often. Sometimes > power failures result from failure of the switchgear to transition > from one source to another. One of my employer's location had a > backup source and they did a test; they were out of commission the > whole day due to failures of the control circuitry. A hospital complex with which I'm acquainted in NYC had an executive director who took emergency planning seriously. ( details slightly changed both due to memory fade and to protect the inocent...) Early one afternoon, when they were throwing a "nurses and EMS and local police/fire thank you" day, this director walked into the basement and bumped into a Big Red Switch, knocking out all the primary power. And then watched what happened. ( She chose this day deliberately since there would be plenty of extra personnel [most of whom would still be sober this early] around just in case emergency power didn't kick in the way it was supposed to...) Most stuff did ok, but lots and lots of issues showed up. > failure. I believe it was caused by surges in an Ohio system that > rippled to other systems. I don't know if there is a protection > against such "rippling". That's why I wish there were some kind of > "buffers". There's a simple (well, not quite so simple ...) way of significantly reducing the risks of the specific problems related to the recent blackout. It's called using High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines instead of the legacy AC ones. A hefty percentage of new circuits are, in fact, using direct current, and older ones are often switched over when they're upgraded/replaced. (No doubt we'll find other failure modes ...) _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 22:15:55 -0500 From: John Stahl Subject: In NY, ILEC Wireline Rates May Go Up Due to Competition! (Compiled from various sources) The current flap here in New York State as reported by the news media with regards to Verizon and ILEC wireline phone rates is that they have petitioned the PSC to eliminate the lowest cost service which gives per call charge for outgoing calls and unlimited incoming calls plus access to 911. According to the 3/16/06 article in the Binghamton Press, authored by Michael Gromley of the Associated Press: "... The proposal would simply give the companies the option to increase their base fee, in increments of $5 per year. The basic service now costs $8.61 and provides access to incoming calls, 911 dispatchers and long-distance carriers. The proposal would raise that to $24.95, but would include unlimited local calls. Customers with the current basic service are charged added fees for local calls ..." With all of the "fees" and taxes, the current "lifeline" service ($8.61 base) cost is almost $20./month. Allowing the rates to go up (the article reasons that "... The state commission that regulates traditional telephone companies said the companies are being squeezed by the rise in Internet services such as Vonage and cable telephone services. Internet and cable phone services are regulated federally and aren't required by the state to provide a basic, low-cost service ...") would make the minimum wireline phone service cost about $45./month with these same "fees" plus taxes added on. It seems ironic that the NY regulatory group welcomed the Telecom Act of 1994 which initially opened up the incumbent services to competition. Now that the cable and other telecom service suppliers are getting into the VoIP services, the regulators are now actually letting the incumbents eliminate the basic services so they can "compete(?)(!) Speaking of VoIP competitors, I ran across (in March 2006 issue of VON Magazine -- page 17) a "new" entrant into the market with an even lower price for unlimited outgoing local and long distance calling plus unlimited incoming calls (includes E911, too) for a very low price of $19.99 USD/month for US and Canada. Check out YAK World City VoIP at http://www.yak.com (click on the YAK Unlimited link.) I'm one of those "modern" people with a ever present cell phone (my wife has one, too) but have maintained a land-line presence mostly for the need to send/receive a occasional FAX. So I had the cheapest service (as described above) but if the PSC gives in and grants the change, then I probably will give up the land-line. Wonder if I can connect my FAX "machine" to my cell? John Stahl Aljon Enterprises Telecom and Data Consultant [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I think you can connect your fax machine to the cell phone. I know that with Cingular Wireless, to name just the example I am familiar with, for around $50.00 per month you can get some sort of PC card for your computer (which would be for fax as well) allowing you to use cellular for modems. I guess the speed is not all that great, however. PAT] ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 21:24:47 -0500 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > T wrote: >> Unfortunately for me I've never heard a live electromechanical >> switch. > Telephone switches have a distinctive sound. The clicks and clacks are > very sharp and distinctive. > While an ESS switch is silent (except for the noisy blowers), there > may be some nearby support racks that do contain relays, and those > relays will make the sharp clack sounds. Actually the #1ESS wasn't completely electronic per se -- it used reed relays to complete the calls. But our Prologix does still make some clicking noises, but nowhere near the decibel level of an old SxS I bet. > As to the sound of emergency generators, they are noisy. I was > passing a nursing home when they were testing their generator and it > was loud! > Places with critical functions likes hospitals and nursing homes have > backup power generators. They are tested every so often. Sometimes > power failures result from failure of the switchgear to transition > from one source to another. One of my employer's location had a > backup source and they did a test; they were out of commission the > whole day due to failures of the control circuitry. Yep. Our 125kW natural gas generator makes plenty of noise. And it works flawlessly too. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 06:49:47 -0500 From: DLR Subject: Re: Gas Refrigerator (was 25 Hz Power) > The 1965 NE power failure has been documented as to causes and > solutions (which presumably have been implemented). But I don't know > if they ever published the analysis of the more recent NE power > failure. I believe it was caused by surges in an Ohio system that > rippled to other systems. I don't know if there is a protection > against such "rippling". That's why I wish there were some kind of > "buffers". In general yes they do know what happened. But these systems are now more like the Internet than a generator powering a city. And while there is some (very limited) buffering that can be done, it's a cost and amazingly, each company tries to put the costs on the other guys and the income on themselves. Without an almost national power company I doubt the buffer will be there unless everyone is mandated to have it. And I'd rather see the current situation, warts and all, continue before I'd want a single national power company. If you mean "store" power for a rainy day, that's very very hard. About the only way it's done now is to do things like use nuclear power to pump water up hill during off peak times so it can be used for hydro generation when needed. AC Power is mostly a game of use it or loose it. Now back in the early 70s my father's plant spent tens of millions of dollars to change their continuous process such they could drop their power load by large megawatts in a few hours instead of the days it took (well to do it nicely) before. This was so they could give up their power for $$$ if requested by the power companies so they could ship it to NE when needed during peak summer loads. They came out way ahead on the deal after a few years. I don't know the exact figures but in 1968 his plant was using the same amount of power as the City of Detroit's power system. Will there be large scale blackouts in the future? Yes. We just don't have the knowledge to design fool proof large scale very complex systems. And not mater how many laws Congress writes, they can't legislate results. :) ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Fri, 17 Mar 2006 21:27:38 -0500 In article , me@mark.atwood.name says: > T writes: >> In article , rixride@hotmail.com >> says: >>> I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; you can't beat a >>> clean fiber connection to the internet. They recently announced you >>> will be able to get "cable" or basically 180 digital channels. >> Uh -- we've had 15MB connections to the net for the last year. And it >> isn't Verizon FIOS -- it's Cox over coaxial. > Downstream. > DOCSIS is must slower and less efficient in the upstream direction. Funny thing is, I get 5MB up. As I'm not running any actual servers out to the public that's more than enough. 90K of that is VoIP traffic -- the rest is smtp, nntp, 5190, etc. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 06:36:10 -0500 From: DLR Subject: Re: Unusual Phishing Attempt Jim Haynes wrote: > What's unusual about this one is that they want you to phone a number > to give away your personal data rather than sending it to a phony web > page. Wonder who is on the other end of that phone number. > Dear Brian, [which is not my name] > Your recent order has been cancelled due to the billing information > not verifying with your issuing bank. Please call our Payment > Processing Department at 1-800-991-6828 with the correct > information and we will be happy to assist you. Please disregard > this message if we have spoken to you regarding this order. > jhhaynes at earthlink dot net > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you received that letter in actual > email I suggest they were possibly trying to avoid a scam. I called > the number and tried to bluff them out; the woman who answered asked > for my name and zip code (I gave bogus info) and she said she was > unable to find an order 'from that zip code and name' for their > various clients including 'Foot Locker' and a couple of other companies. > I get the impression it is a legitimate payment processor. PAT] And that would fit with the vast number of Debit/Visa cards canceled recently. We've had 2 "auto-canceled" in the last week. I bet there is a non-trivial number of on line orders that got initial approval and then couldn't get the final charge approved at various places as the cards were canceled. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement Date: 17 Mar 2006 20:00:37 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com On the rec.arts.tv newsgroup there is an ongoing spirited debate about the rights of copyright holders vs. those who feel they have a "right" to download copyrighted works for free from the Internet. I do believe the property rights granted by a copyright--which is explicitly provided for in the US Constitution--are very important. I do not think it is right for people to download such works for free. That is stealing. I am no fan of "greedy corporations", but they do have very legitimate ownership rights. On the other hand, the US Constitution provides that copyrights are to last only a "limited" time. Recent changes in the law have extended this limit. (I don't know exactly the terms). In one sense, I can understand this because of the enormous cost and risk to create modern motion pictures. However, I am concerned about industry controls as mentioned above because they may intefere with my legal rights as a consumer. I have a DVD/VCR machine, but it won't let me make a VHS copy from a DVD. The law says I can make a backup copy yet I am denied the means to do so. Considering I take CDs in my car, there's a chance they'll get damaged or lost and I should be able to protect myself with a copy. I don't want future electronic equipment to be so "tight" that it adversely impacts my freedom to use it as I please. I also am a big believer in "fair use" and am afraid the industry may tighten up on that. [public replies, please] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I strongly believe in acknowledging the copyright holders and their work. I also strongly believe in making liberal 'fair use' of material as I wish. But I am also old enough to remember -- and unwilling to forget, as Hollywood and the music industry wishes I would do -- when the _intent_ of the internet was a 'share and share alike medium'. People developed whatever, their art, their writing, their thoughts, and put them on the net for anyone who could benefit from what they had done. It _still_ is that way over much or most of the net. Click on a link, or go FTP to some site, see what you need and take it. I've a quarter century of files on line here for people to use; just help yourself, and I will do the same with yours. But I do not forget where yours came from, and I hope you do not forget where mine came from. But then, in the middle 1990's, along come the latest interlopers into our village, the music and video producers. _They_ seem to feel the rules should be different for them. _They_ feel we all have to play by their rules. We were here a long time prior, and had our own informal rules to play by; _they_ say forget all those rules, our rules will now apply. And _they_ have the money and the mouthpieces (who by and large gobble up all the money) to get their way. _They_ love the idea of scattering their stuff all over the sidewalk and public way, to make it easy for the users they favor to get the stuff they want; but the rest of us had better not get into their stuff without their permission. Our stuff is all out there also, to make it easy for other users to find what they need, but that's not what the movie and music people have in mind. We were here long before them; _they_ should play by our rules or find somewhere else to play. But like bullies everywhere, they do not intend to be moved. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #109 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 18 21:07:13 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id E53FC15538; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 21:07:12 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #110 Message-Id: <20060319020712.E53FC15538@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 21:07:12 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.7 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD,ONLINE_PHARMACY,SEE_FOR_YOURSELF,WORK_AT_HOME autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 18 Mar 2006 21:08:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 110 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson SEC Shuts Down A Scammer (Spam Daily News) Woman Arrested in Porn Spam (Spam Daily News) Tamiflu Spams on the Rise (Spam Daily News) SDSU Hacker Arrested, Given Three Years Federal Probation (Spam Daily News) Norton Update is Flaky (Spam Daily News) Illinois Town May Outlaw Distracted Driving (ABC News Wire) Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement (Steven Lichter) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (Bob Goudreau) T-Mobile Offers Seamless Broadband Connection With Nortel (technologypost) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Spam Daily News Subject: SEC Shuts Down a Scammer Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:17:53 -0600 From Spam Daily News SEC shuts down 12dailypro.com; Federal court appoints receiver to take control of assets The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Charis F. Johnson of Charlotte, North Carolina, 33, raised more than $50 million from more than 340,000 investors worldwide by convincing visitors to the Web site that they could earn a 44% return on their investments in 12 days by looking at Internet advertisements. Auto-surf sites are a form of online advertising that generate revenue by automatically rotating advertised Web sites in a viewer's browser. Advertisers pay the host Web sites, which in turn pay their members to view the rotated Web sites. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Charis (pronounced Sha-reese) Johnson and her Web site, 12dailypro.com, moved beyond that business model to sell upgraded site memberships offering $6 "units" with a maximum investment of 1,000 units. Johnson promised to pay each upgraded member 12% of his or her membership fee per day for 12 days. According to the scheme, at the end of 12 days the member would earn 144% of the membership fee, 44% of which would be profit. To qualify for the payment, members would have to view at least 12 Web pages a day during the 12 day period. However, the amount paid out to investors was related only to the amount of each member's total investment, not to the number of Web pages they viewed or other services they performed. The premise behind autosurfing is that companies that advertise on the Internet are willing to pay to increase traffic to their Web sites. The more sites the individual visits, the more money he or she stands to earn. Autosurf services offer advertising packages for as low as $.05, so that's the cost to the advertiser, somewhere between $.05 and $1 per thousand (CPM). These services pay a fixed $.01 to $.10 per THOUSAND impressions to its autosurfing members. That's the market value for the autosurfer's work of viewing ad impressions. The SEC claims that Johnson's sale of membership units constituted a fraudulent and unregistered sale of securities. In addition, while investors were led to believe that their returns would be generated by advertising revenue, payments were made almost entirely from cash generated by other unit buyers in a classic Ponzi scheme, the SEC alleged. Johnson and her companies, 12daily Pro (12dp) and LifeClicks LLC, agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying guilt. As part of the settlement, Johnson and her companies agreed to stop seeking further investors, to freeze assets and to accept a court appointed receiver over corporate assets. Federal District Court Judge Nora Manella assigned Thomas F. Lennon as receiver over 12 Daily Pro. Lennon, who's business is based in Southern California, is already in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the judges order now in hand, he can take control of all aspects of the Internet venture and start tracking down the money. At this point, the largest chunk of investors money appears to be held by Storm Pay. Storm Pay is the Internet payment processor that froze the 12 Daily Pro account a month ago. Storm Pay has been vilified by many 12 Daily Pro faithful for stopping what they say had been a company that always paid its members on time. Ironically, it now appears the money Storm Pay froze estimated now at just under 50-million dollars -- may represent the best hope for those who have lost money. Randall R. Lee, Regional Director for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Los Angeles is just grateful that there is any money. "The sad truth is, in most cases by the time we shut it down, most of the money if not all of the money is already gone," said Lee. Lee also thinks quick action in this case has led to a good result. "It was almost a pure Ponzi," says Lee, who oversees the investigators who filed the original complaint with Judge Manella and negotiated the stipulated order that led to the appointment of a receiver. Lee said, "The only real source of income was from new investors. Our investigation found that 95% of the funds were simply moved from one investor to another." The SEC is also seeking the repayment of ill-gotten gains and further fines. The complaint alleged that Johnson transferred about $1.9 million to her own accounts. The FBI said Tuesday it continues to investigate the company. Johnson told the FBI last month that 12dailypro.com's 300,000 members have been paid more than $300 million over since May, according to a transcript of her statement to authorities. She told the Charlotte Observer she's earned between $150,000 and $200,000. Charis Johnson said she never intended to run an illegal business -- just one that helped people make some money from the Internet. Ponzi Scheme: Named after Charles Ponzi, who ran such a scheme in 1919-1920, a Ponzi scheme is an investment scheme in which returns are paid to earlier investors, entirely out of money paid into the scheme by newer investors. Ponzi schemes are similar to pyramid schemes, but differ in that Ponzi schemes are operated by a central company or person, who may or may not be making other false claims about how the money is being invested, and where the returns are coming from. Ponzi schemes don't necessarily involve a hierarchal structure, as in a pyramid scheme; there is merely one person or company that is collecting money from new participants and using this money to pay off promised returns to earlier participants. "I'm working with the government to fix this," Johnson told the Observer. "I think it's important for people to understand there was no ill intent. We were the moral compass in the industry. We were running our business legally as far as I knew." Johnson, a one-time television producer and filmmaker, said she found auto-surf programs while looking for a way to earn money after moving to Charlotte from the Triad in 2004 with her husband and young daughter. She said many programs ended quickly or treated members poorly. "I wanted to create something more mainstream," she said. "I wanted to build a community." She said she used marketing and Web design skills she taught herself to build 12dailypro, named after daily percentage paid to members and her desire to help people become professional Web entrepreneurs. Johnson told the FBI that 95% of 12dailypro's money came from new members, according to documents. Members were told this on the company Web site, but 12dailypro also cited other revenue, including advertising and non-site investments. 12DailyPro.com is one of the busiest websites on the planet. Part of the traffic is gathered via a huge number of affiliated sites and third-party domains -- such as 12dailypro.co.uk, 12dailypro.us, 12dailyproworks.com, etc -- which mirror or link to 12dailypro.com aiming to earn a 12% referral commission. Online since April 18, 2005, 12dailypro.com is ranked as a Top 500 Website (currently #346) in the world. According to Alexa, the Top 500 Websites account for 45% of the total Internet Web traffic. "Paid autosurf programs have become an enormous industry on the Internet," Lee said in a statement. "When these schemes depend on attracting new members in order to pay returns to current members, they are destined to collapse. We urge the public ... to exercise extreme caution before investing in any get rich quick scheme." Lee says investors have to take some measure of responsibility for where they put their money, and he says a 12% daily return as promised by 12 Daily Pro is unreasonable. Still, Lee is reluctant to place blame for any Ponzi scheme's collapse on investors, adding, "Nobody deserves to be cheated. Nobody deserves to be lied to. Everybody is entitled to the protection of federal securities laws. And so we are here to protect investors even if they make decisions that they might later regret." Ben Luke, a 60-year-old from Charlotte, said he spent $24,000 in fees since July for him and his daughter, using money from a home-equity loan and his retirement fund. "I was letting it ride," said Luke, who's gone back to substitute teaching. "I'm mad at myself. I'm mad at (Johnson). There was not enough warning about this business." Johnson said the site 12dailypro.com was not intended for people to bankroll a lot of money and she never said returns were guaranteed. In fact, the still alive mirror/affiliated site 12dailypro.co.za home page reads: The risks Just like any other type of contribution, participating in autosurf programs has its own risk. The autosurf industry today is full of scams. Many individuals have taken autosurfing as an opportunity to create modern pyramid schemes. They design their sites to look like professional autosurf companies, offer high interest rates (in return for high contributions), and run away with the members' money when the programs start to collapse. 12DailyPro has never missed a payment to anyone! Additionally every single member has been paid on time. See for yourself here. You can make up to $220 profit a day without ever having to recruit anyone, advertise, or sell anything. This paid Auto-Surf program is the real deal, and you will soon see this for yourself once you join. If you think 44% every 12 days is worth the risk you should try it out. We have and are continuing to contribute. However, keep in mind that there are several other ways to make money online besides 12DailyPro. Just after the "advice" follows an anonymous "testimonial" which resembles a Scam 101 text: Our experience: We joined 12DailyPro on 12/3/05 with just $84. We have added to this since then. From this small base we have managed to grow our contributions. We are currently awaiting payment on $7,876. Initially we were very skeptical as to how this program would work, as most people would be. A great deal of research was on done. Many sites such as this one, explained the process, and offered proof of the legitimacy of the program. Through the forums information was gained and even proof. Initial skepticism has been replaced ... we are overjoyed to have found this opportunity. Long may it continue!! ABC4.COM Investigative reporter has been unable to locate Charis Johnson. At the location she was having her members send her funds for her legal expenses was actually at an UPS Store Mailbox. At her address on file with the State when she registered her LLC, she was also not found. Instead they found someone else living there. They stated that Charis moved in January. Of all the emails and phone calls received by ABC4 News from angry 12 Daily Pro members, no one has come close to an explanation of how the program can provide a 44% return on membership investment. What may be more disturbing is the fact that some 12 Daily Pro members have actually told ABC4 News they "don't care" where the money comes from. SEC director Lee says there isn't much that investors can do but wait. "The receiver will be taking overlooking at the full scope of the operations including anybody that lost money in this scheme. The receiver at the same time will be making an effort to reach out and contact all investors. There is nothing immediate that anyone can do. It will take some time. We are firmly committed to the protection of investors." Lee advises investors to watch for updates on the http://www.sec.gov Web site. He also says the receiver will probably eventually start posting updates on the 12 Daily Pro Web site -- which is now under his control as well. Johnson said after the investigation ends that she wants find other ways to help people build their Web businesses. The FBI is encouraging persons involved with 12daily Pro who suspect being a victim to file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov SOURCE: Charlotte Observer; U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; ABC News; eWEEK; InternetNews; Alexa [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is it just me, or is 99 percent of the internet just spams and scams these days? If I have seen that Johnson lady's scam for her Ponzi scheme once on television, I have seen it a hundred times ... All I can say is this Charis Johnson lady is a fraud, a total fake, and I hope when they catch up with her -- if they do -- they totally fry her. Not only her, but all the people who make those outlandish claims about money they make on the internet. Just this afternoon, there was a commercial for a couple other web sites where, it is alleged, you can make a 'minimum of five thousand dollars per month'. One man on those commercials this afternoon claimed 'he likes working at home so much, he decided to built a new house to live in with his profits from running a web site. Then he tells us 'he has not decided yet how much money he wants to earn next month; probably at least ten thousand.' I see all those television commercials and have to wonder if the person(s) who wrote the commercials were seeking an audience of mentally handicapped kindergartners. Is it just me? Are there actually people out there making money like that on the web? I will admit that since my brain aneurysm I have felt pretty rotten most of the time, and not very enthusiastic about the net. But some days I work my tail off online and do not _come anywhere close_ to making the type of money Charis Johnson and those other jokers and liars talk about. Do you know anyone who does? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Spam Daily News Subject: Woman Arrested, Faces 15 Years in Prison Over Porn Spam Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:26:45 -0600 From Spam Daily News Jennifer R. Clason, 33, of Raymond, N.H., pleaded guilty to two spamming counts under the CAN-SPAM Act and one count of criminal conspiracy. She agreed to forfeit money obtained in the commission of these crimes and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the spamming and criminal conspiracy offenses. Sentencing is scheduled for June 5, 2006 before U.S. District Court Judge Roger G. Strand. According to the plea agreement, Clason conspired with two individuals in the transmission of numerous spam e-mails containing graphic pornographic images: Jeffrey A. Kilbride, 39, of Venice, California, and James R. Schaffer, 39, of Paradise Valley, Ariz. The plea agreement states that Clason created and transmitted the spam e-mails on behalf of Kilbride and Schaffer, at the direction of Schaffer. On Aug. 25, 2005, a nine-count indictment was returned against Kilbride, Schaffer, and Clason by a federal grand jury in Phoenix, charging all three defendants with two counts of fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail under the CAN-SPAM Act and one count of criminal conspiracy. The indictment also charged Kilbride and Schaffer with two counts of interstate transportation of obscene material using an interactive computer service, two counts of interstate transportation of obscene material for the purpose of sale or distribution, and one count of money laundering. Schaffer was also charged with one count of operating three pornographic Internet websites without including required statements describing the location of identification and other records for the performers portrayed in the Web sites, as is required by federal law. The trial of Kilbride and Schaffer is scheduled for June 6, 2006. According to the indictment, Clason, Kilbride, and Schaffer conspired to engage in the business of sending spam e-mails for their own personal gain, benefit, profit and advantage. America Online, Inc. received more than 600,000 complaints between Jan. 30, 2004 and June 9, 2004 from its users regarding spam e-mails that had allegedly been sent by the defendants' spamming operation. The indictment further alleged that the spam e-mails sent by the defendants advertised pornographic Internet Web sites in order to earn commissions for directing Internet traffic to these Web sites. It is alleged that graphic pornographic images were embedded in each of the defendants' e-mails. Four counts of the indictment charged felony obscenity offenses for such transmission of hard-core pornographic images of adults engaged in explicit sexual conduct, which meet the Supreme Court's test for adult obscenity. According to the indictment, the spam e-mails were sent in a manner that would impair the ability of recipients, Internet service providers processing the e-mails on behalf of recipients, and law enforcement agencies to identify, locate or respond to the senders. The indictment further alleged that Kilbride and Schaffer also created and utilized overseas companies named The Compliance Company and Ganymede Marketing to conceal and disguise their activities. According to the indictment, Kilbride and Schaffer also utilized overseas bank accounts in Mauritius and the Isle of Man (a British Crown dependency) for the purpose of laundering and distributing the proceeds of the spamming operation. Two other individuals, Andrew D. Ellifson, 31, of Scottsdale, Ariz., and Kirk F. Rogers, 43, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., have already pleaded guilty to charges under the CAN-SPAM Act related to this spamming operation. Ellifson and Rogers are scheduled to be sentenced on June 5, 2006 in Phoenix. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney William A. Hall, Jr., of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) of Criminal Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John J. Tuchi and John R. Lopez, IV, of the District of Arizona. It was investigated by the Phoenix Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and CEOS's High Tech Investigative Unit. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I guess I was wrong; you _can_ make thousands of dollars per month working at home on your computer; all you need to do is run a Ponzi Scheme in connection with pornographic spam. Obviously I am in the wrong line of work here, obviously the Internet can be used for good financial gain. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Spam Daily News Subject: Tamiflu Spams Spread Online Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:24:00 -0600 From Spam Daily News Spammers are exploiting and capitalizing on fears brought on by the possibility of an avian flu pandemic. The emails try and direct you to online pharmacy sites selling Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate), the antiviral prescription drug that is most effective at protecting people against the H5N1 strain of bird flu, but many of these are purely scams to try and get credit card details and other personal information. As public interest and media coverage of bird flu increases, so does consumer demand for Tamiflu. Across the country, people appear to be building home stockpiles of the prescription antiviral medicine, according to reports by drugstores, pharmaceutical benefit managers and physicians. Tamiflu is not a cure for the flu, but it can lessen symptoms if taken shortly after they first appear. A five-day course of two pills a day costs $80 to $90. Tamiflu, taken as one capsule (75mg) daily for 6-8 weeks, may be 80-90 percent effective in preventing avian influenza, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The run on Tamiflu was apparently spurred by government warnings, here and abroad, that chances for a worldwide flu epidemic are rising, and by news that Southeast Asia's H5N1 bird flu -- the leading candidate for a pandemic -- is moving westward. For more than a year, demand for the drug, known generically as oseltamivir, has been rising as more than 40 countries began to lay in millions of doses for national stockpiles. Reports have suggested Tamiflu is already in short supply and spammers are taking advantage of this by mass mailing the product. Spam urging recipients to protect themselves from bird flu by purchasing Tamiflu online has skyrocketed. Spammers are registering hundreds of new Web domain names for the purpose of sending bird flu related spam. "Spammers play on the irrational fears of readers. The feeling that buying something will protect you from death often takes precedence over a healthy level of scepticism that should be induced by the fact that it's spam," says Spamhaus, a leader in anti-spam work. Roche, the Swiss pharmaceutical company that produces Tamiflu, is aware of the Tamiflu spam campaigns, and is warning consumers not to "panic-buy" their products. The company has warned consumers against purchasing Tamiflu online, saying that it has evidence some of the medication sold on the Internet is fake. Roche is the only maker of Tamiflu, which takes more than six months to synthesize in a complicated and dangerous manufacturing process. Last December, federal customs agents have seized more than four dozen shipments of counterfeit Tamiflu pills at a U.S. post office in South San Francisco. "The packages were in containers that stated they were generic Tamiflu, but there is no generic Tamiflu, so that's a pretty big tip off," said Roxanne Hercules, spokeswoman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, explaining that the local seizures were the first in the nation of a counterfeit form of the drug. "It's all economics," said Hercules. "People are going to try to make money off whatever they can. We try to anticipate what could be coming down the road." The counterfeit pills found at the post office in South San Francisco were shipped from China and had been bought over the Internet. "The product had none of the active ingredients of Tamiflu," Dave Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Enforcement told the Associated Press. "People are jeopardizing their health and possibly even their life by purchasing prescription drugs such as Tamiflu through websites that advertise using spam," said Ted Green, CEO of Greenview Data. "The risk of receiving counterfeit, spoiled, or even toxic medication is extremely high. Tamiflu, along with all other prescription drugs, should only be prescribed by licensed physicians and purchased from trusted and reputable sources." A number of countries have reported cases of avian influenza, commonly referred to as "bird flu" in their domestic and wild bird populations. The H5N1 strain of influenza causes severe disease in domesticated fowl. Human infections with the H5N1 strains are extremely rare -- but frequently fatal. Since late 2003, 118 people have contracted the disease and 61 have died. Most of these cases have occurred from direct or close contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces; however, a few rare cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 virus have occurred, though transmission has not continued beyond one person. Nonetheless, because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that H5N1 virus one day could be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. Because these viruses do not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against them in the human population and an influenza pandemic (worldwide outbreak of disease) could begin. Experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation in Asia and Europe very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily from person to person. A specific vaccine for humans that is effective in preventing avian influenza is not yet readily available. Mathematical models published by two research teams concluded that spread of a contagious new strain of influenza virus could be slowed or even stopped by widespread use of Tamiflu at the outbreak site. Other experts, however, think that even with unlimited quantities of the drug, this is unrealistic. ------------------------------ From: Spam Daily News Subject: SDSU Hacker Sentenced to Three Year's Federal Probation Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:22:27 -0600 From Spam Daily News A young man who was 17 when he hacked into the computer network at San Diego State University and compromised operations pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges and was immediately sentenced by U.S. District Judge Napoleon Jones Jr. to three years federal probation and ordered to pay $20,735 in restitution. "This young man has now learned the hard way that the Internet does not give anyone immunity from criminal prosecution and conviction," said U.S. Attorney Carol Lam. The defendant, who was not identified because he was a juvenile at the time of the offense, admitted knowingly and intentionally accessing various legally protected computers in the SDSU network and recklessly causing damage to those computers. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitch Dembin said the defendant admitted that on Dec. 24, 2003, he scanned the University network looking for vulnerable computers and happened upon one in the Drama Department. He uploaded a variety of software tools and utilities to that computer for use in ferreting out other vulnerable computers within the SDSU network, cracking passwords and obtaining administrative privileges, Dembin said. Over the next several hours, the defendant located and compromised at least seven additional computers, including the Financial Services and Housing Department systems, according to Dembin. In mid-January 2004, the defendant uploaded a program to the Financial Services and Housing Department computers that would allow him to store, share and distribute music and software, including pirated video games, Dembin said. He said the computer breach was discovered on Feb. 24, 2004, when complaints were received from individuals who were getting unsolicited electronic mail originating from the Financial Services computer. That led to a full investigation by SDSU that revealed the larger scope of the hacker's work, according to Dembin. The hacker circumvented University computer security to access a server in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. The compromised server contained names and Social Security numbers, but the intruder did not has access to aid application or award data. The server contained information on current, former and prospective students who sent in aid applications or related material, as well as many current and former employees. The vast majority of individuals being notified are ones that provided this information since fall 1998. SDSU notified more than 178,000 individuals to be on alert, stated a March 16 press release from SDSU Marketing and Communications. Dembin said SDSU spent more than $20,000 investigating the extent of the compromise and repairing and restoring the damaged computers. The prosecutor said there is no evidence, however, that any data stored on the Financial Services computer was downloaded or used for identity theft. San Diego State University is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor's degrees in 79 areas, master's degrees in 67 and doctorates in 14. SDSU's nearly 34,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis. SOURCE: Fox News; San Diego State University ------------------------------ From: Spam Daily News Subject: Norton Update is Flaky Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:20:39 -0600 From Spam Daily News As a result of an incorrect update, thousands of AOL dial-up customers lost their connection and were then unable to reconnect, and AOL broadband users were unable to access AOL servers several days ago. The issue affected AOL customers using recent editions of Norton AntiVirus, Norton Personal Firewall and Norton Internet Security. "This update incorrectly detected traffic patterns used as part of the AOL connection as a potential risk," Symantec said. The erroneous update was removed from Symantec's servers about seven hours after it was released. A spokesman for Symantec said a "Symantec intrusion detection signature" in its March 15 LiveUpdate had caused the problem. He said the spread of the problem had been stopped and a remedy was available through updates. Symantec advises users who are unable to go online because of the issue to disable their Norton software, connect to the Internet and immediately download updated definition files. This ought to be pretty interesting. They're booted offline, so they can't get a LiveUpdate to fix the issue. Customers would have to disable their security software in order to get the update; the question is, how many of them will realize the real reason for the problem in order to do that? To fix the problem follow the steps for the product that you use. Norton Internet Security or Norton Personal Firewall Click Start > All Programs > Norton Internet Security > Norton Internet Security. In the right pane, click Security. Click Turn Off. Click OK. Start the AOL program and sign on. After you connect to AOL, click LiveUpdate > Next. Download all available updates. Restart the computer. Norton AntiVirus installed by itself or as part of Norton SystemWorks (not as part of Norton Internet Security) Click Start > All Programs > Norton AntiVirus or Norton SystemWorks > Norton AntiVirus. Click Options. If you see a menu, click Norton AntiVirus. In the left pane, click Internet Worm Protection. In the right pane, depending on your program version, uncheck Enable Internet Worm Protection or Turn Internet Worm Protection on. Click OK. Click LiveUpdate > Next. Download all available updates. Restart the computer. Click Start > Programs > Norton AntiVirus or Norton SystemWorks > Norton AntiVirus. Click Options. If you see a menu, click Norton AntiVirus. In the left pane, click Internet Worm Protection. In the right pane, depending on your program version, check Enable Internet Worm Protection or Turn Internet Worm Protection on. Click OK. SOURCE: Symantec ------------------------------ From: ABC News Wire Subject: Illinois Town May Outlaw Distracted Driving Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 16:53:14 -0600 Putting On Makeup and Talking on the Phone Would Be Illegal March 18, 2006 -- Drinking a latte, talking on the phone or even turning around to discipline the kids while driving could soon be a crime in Winnetka, Ill. Violators would pay up to $750 in fines. $750 for "coffee and looking back at your children?" said Alberto Paracchini, a Winnetka resident. "That sounds a bit extreme to me." Jenny Cleary, a mother of three, including 2-year-old twins, said avoiding distraction with a car full of kids seems impossible. "I'm drinking a cup of coffee, yelling to sit down get in your car seat, stop fighting . all those different things at one time," she said. "But I don't really think it distracts from my driving." The police chief who drew up the proposal would argue otherwise. "What I'm advocating," Police Chief Joseph De Lopez said, "is making the public more aware of their responsibility to be attentive drivers -- to minimize the danger they pose to themselves and others when they're driving." Distracted drivers cause an estimated 1.2 million accidents a year. In fact, 46 percent of drivers surveyed by the American Automobile Association admitted to putting on make up, shaving or doing some sort of personal grooming behind the wheel. Seventy-one percent said they eat or drink and 92 percent said they fiddle with the radio. Yet the cell phone is the main culprit. Laws Across the Country At least 17 states have laws that restrict the use of handheld cell phones behind the wheel, but studies show that has done little to reduce the accidents. "We try to advocate that motorists use common sense," said Kris Lathan of AAA. "Necessarily having two hands on the wheel doesn't matter if your mind's not on the road." That is why Connecticut, the District of Columbia and New Hampshire fine drivers for other distractions that lead to a crash. Town leaders in Winnetka are still talking about whether they could enforce such a law. If nothing else, this proposal gives drivers cause to think about what they're not thinking about when they're on the road. Copyright 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines of interest from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP/html ------------------------------ From: Steven Lichter Reply-To: Die@spammers.com Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc. (c) 2006 A Rot in Hell Co. Subject: Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 21:18:51 GMT hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > On the rec.arts.tv newsgroup there is an ongoing spirited debate about > the rights of copyright holders vs. those who feel they have a "right" > to download copyrighted works for free from the Internet. > I do believe the property rights granted by a copyright--which is > explicitly provided for in the US Constitution--are very important. I > do not think it is right for people to download such works for free. > That is stealing. I am no fan of "greedy corporations", but they do > have very legitimate ownership rights. > On the other hand, the US Constitution provides that copyrights are to > last only a "limited" time. Recent changes in the law have extended > this limit. (I don't know exactly the terms). In one sense, I can > understand this because of the enormous cost and risk to create modern > motion pictures. > However, I am concerned about industry controls as mentioned above > because they may intefere with my legal rights as a consumer. I have > a DVD/VCR machine, but it won't let me make a VHS copy from a DVD. > The law says I can make a backup copy yet I am denied the means to do > so. Considering I take CDs in my car, there's a chance they'll get > damaged or lost and I should be able to protect myself with a copy. > I don't want future electronic equipment to be so "tight" that it > adversely impacts my freedom to use it as I please. > I also am a big believer in "fair use" and am afraid the industry may > tighten up on that. > [public replies, please] > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I strongly believe in acknowledging the > copyright holders and their work. I also strongly believe in making > liberal 'fair use' of material as I wish. But I am also old enough to > remember -- and unwilling to forget, as Hollywood and the music > industry wishes I would do -- when the _intent_ of the internet was a > 'share and share alike medium'. People developed whatever, their art, > their writing, their thoughts, and put them on the net for anyone who > could benefit from what they had done. It _still_ is that way over > much or most of the net. Click on a link, or go FTP to some site, see > what you need and take it. I've a quarter century of files on line > here for people to use; just help yourself, and I will do the same > with yours. But I do not forget where yours came from, and I hope > you do not forget where mine came from. > But then, in the middle 1990's, along come the latest interlopers into > our village, the music and video producers. _They_ seem to feel the > rules should be different for them. _They_ feel we all have to play by > their rules. We were here a long time prior, and had our own informal > rules to play by; _they_ say forget all those rules, our rules will > now apply. And _they_ have the money and the mouthpieces (who by and > large gobble up all the money) to get their way. _They_ love the idea > of scattering their stuff all over the sidewalk and public way, to > make it easy for the users they favor to get the stuff they want; but > the rest of us had better not get into their stuff without their > permission. Our stuff is all out there also, to make it easy for other > users to find what they need, but that's not what the movie and music > people have in mind. We were here long before them; _they_ should play > by our rules or find somewhere else to play. But like bullies > everywhere, they do not intend to be moved. PAT] My Sony DVD/VHS records both ways from one or the other just fine, not that I have a real interest in do that. The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2006 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot in Hell Co. ------------------------------ From: Bob Goudreau >>> I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; ... >>> Uh -- we've had 15MB connections to the net for the last year. And it >>> isn't Verizon FIOS -- it's Cox over coaxial. >> Downstream. >> DOCSIS is must slower and less efficient in the upstream direction. > Funny thing is, I get 5MB up. Point of clarification. Are you folks really getting 15 megaBYTES (or 5 megabytes) per second upstream? I suspect you might really mean 15 Mb (megaBITS) or 5 Mb per second. I'm not trying to nitpick; the difference between that capital B (= byte) and lower-case b (= bit) is an entire order of magnitude. When you're comparing speeds like that, sloppy misuse of units will leave your audience misinformed. Bob Goudreau Cary, NC ------------------------------ From: technology_post@yahoo.com Subject: T-Mobile Offers Seamless Mobile Broadband Connections With Nortel Date: 18 Mar 2006 17:44:45 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com T-Mobile Germany Offers Seamless Mobile Broadband Connections with Nortel Wireless First European Wireless Service Provider to Offer Seamless Communications Across HSDPA/3G, GPRS and Wi-Fi Networks Read Full article at http://technology-post.com/tech/?p=233 ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #110 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 20 00:05:36 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 81B0F158AF; Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:05:36 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #111 Message-Id: <20060320050536.81B0F158AF@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:05:36 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:08:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 111 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Glide Online Service Has Good Potential, But Rough Edges (Monty Solomon) Mini Is Solid Addition To Home Media Center Despite Caveats (Monty Solomon) A New Way to Avoid the Video Store (Monty Solomon) Opening the Door on the Credit Report; Throwing Away Lock (Monty Solomon) Help - Reverse Directory 888 Number? (jtaylor) Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement (John McHarry) Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas (Michael Quinn) Re: 208/240V, was: 25Hz Power (Paul Coxwell) Re: Unusual Phishing Attempt (Al Gillis) 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: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 10:08:53 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Glide Online Service Has Good Potential, But Rough Edges By WALTER S. MOSSBERG The high-tech hype machine is in full throttle right now, pushing the idea that one day soon people will store all their files online, and that sophisticated new "Web applications," running on remote computers, will be used to manage and view all those files. But as with most hype, the actual evidence has been scarce. Now, a small company in New York City, far from the Silicon Valley publicity industry, is quietly delivering on that vision. The company, TransMedia Corp., has launched a rich, slick consumer Web service that can store, display, and share photos, music, videos, Web links, blogs and other documents. It's called Glide Effortless, available at www.glidedigital.com. Glide Effortless, which runs equally well on Windows and Macintosh computers, is the most interesting online service I've seen in quite a while. It's a large, integrated environment that has its own graphical user interface and often responds as quickly and smoothly as a desktop software program, even though it runs on remote servers. Glide has elements of photo-sharing sites, social networking sites and Web publishing services, but is different from any other site or service I've seen. It requires a broadband Internet connection, and works inside the latest versions of the most popular browsers: Internet Explorer for Windows; Safari for the Mac; and Firefox for either Windows or Mac. In my tests, I found that Glide has some rough edges. Not everything works as it should all the time, and there are some annoying aspects. It needs some work. But overall, I was impressed with the design, the care for detail and the ambition of the service. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20060316.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 10:10:27 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Mini Is Solid Addition To Home Media Center Despite Some Caveats By WALTER S. MOSSBERG This is a review of an interesting new entertainment-center component that happens to also be a personal computer -- a computer fully capable of, say, creating a spreadsheet, but one you might never use that way. This new product also happens to be a new Macintosh model from Apple Computer, but, in its entertainment-system role, it works perfectly with Windows computers. The new gadget is the latest version of Apple's tiny Mac Mini desktop computer -- a petite silver and white box that's just 6.5 inches square and stands just two inches tall, small enough to tuck away on a shelf near a TV. This Mini costs $599 and doesn't include a monitor, keyboard or mouse. The most important thing about the new Mac Mini is that it comes with Front Row, Apple's handsome software for controlling a computer from across a room, and with the tiny, simple remote control Apple designed to work with Front Row. You can just plug it into your TV and home audio system, fire up Front Row, and watch any videos stored on its hard disk, listen to any songs it holds, or view any photos it contains. It also plays DVDs. Even better, this new Mini can automatically find -- and stream to your home entertainment system -- all music and videos stored on any other computer on your home network, whether Windows or Mac. All that's required is that the other computers be running Apple's free iTunes software. The Mini can't stream photos from a Windows PC, but it can do so from another Mac. In my tests, all of this worked fine, and I can recommend the new Mini with Front Row for anyone who wants to play back, on a home entertainment system, media stored on a computer or multiple computers. But there are a few caveats. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20060309.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 10:18:11 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: A New Way to Avoid the Video Store By WALTER S. MOSSBERG and KATHERINE BOEHRET After a long day at work, there's something calming about filling a bowl with popcorn and watching a movie at home. But the experience can be diminished if you have to drive to the video store to rent a DVD. And it's worse if you get there only to find that the film you want is out of stock. Even if you subscribe to a DVD-by-mail service, like Netflix, you may have to wait for the most popular films, and the movies you have on hand at any one time might not fit your mood. Plus, you have to pay a monthly fee. Now, a new company called MovieBeam is aiming to ease those DVD issues. It is selling a $200 digital gadget prestocked with 100 movies -- some in high definition -- that you can rent at the click of a remote-control button for as little as $1.99. There's no drive to the video store, no chance of a movie being out of stock, no monthly fee, no waiting for the mail. The MovieBeam service doesn't require a computer or Internet connection, and it operates independently of your cable or satellite provider. The MovieBeam box, which looks like a slim DVD player without a slot for DVDs, is basically a smart hard disk drive that connects to your TV and receives new films every week via a small, inconspicuous indoor antenna. MovieBeam's service isn't available everywhere, but is up and running in 29 metropolitan areas that cover a fair sprawl of the country, including Boston, Orlando, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago and Philadelphia. We've been testing MovieBeam, and we generally like it. But it has some drawbacks -- most notably its limited selection, which is nowhere near as large as a video store or Netflix, and omits many movies that are newly available on DVD. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20060308.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 01:40:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Opening the Door on the Credit Report and Throwing Away the Lock By DAMON DARLIN The New York Times In a dozen states, legislatures have set up procedures for residents afraid of identity theft to lock and unlock their credit reports. But credit-reporting agencies are pushing Congress to override the state laws, which could make it harder for Americans to keep their credit information under wraps. Lobbyists for the big agencies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, owned by the Marmon Group -- are seeking to add an amendment to the Financial Data Protection Act, a bill being rewritten by the House of Representatives. (A similar bill, S1408, is working its way through the Senate.) While the wording has not been set for the bill, also known as HR3997, lobbyists for the credit agencies are pushing for a law that limits the ability to lock credit reports to victims of identity theft. Moreover, the reports could be unlocked with five days' advance notice. Once a report is locked, an agency cannot release any of its details. Consumer groups are upset that a federal law might supersede what has been done at the state level. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/18/business/yourmoney/18money.html?ex=1300338000&en=679b5dd491c851cd&ei=5090 ------------------------------ From: jtaylor Subject: Help - Reverse Directory 888 Number? Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 19:08:35 -0400 Organization: MCI Canada News Reader Service Trying this on a few reverse directories on the web gets no result: 888-333-4103 Ideally I'd like to know not only who called, but also the local number it connects to, but anything would help ... ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:27:31 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 20:00:37 -0800, hancock4 wrote: > I do believe the property rights granted by a copyright--which is > explicitly provided for in the US Constitution--are very important. I > do not think it is right for people to download such works for free. > That is stealing. I am no fan of "greedy corporations", but they do > have very legitimate ownership rights. > On the other hand, the US Constitution provides that copyrights are to > last only a "limited" time. Recent changes in the law have extended > this limit. (I don't know exactly the terms). In one sense, I can > understand this because of the enormous cost and risk to create modern > motion pictures. I don't think copyright was intended as property as such, but since it can be bought and sold, it might as well be. What galls me is that when the terms of copyrights were extended, they made that apply to unexpired rights granted for shorter terms. That is simply stealing from the public domain. The costs and risks to create such material were already assumed under the original terms, and most of the expected or hoped for rewards reaped. I don't find the "ownership rights" to such material legitimate at all. I think the current term for copyright is something like the life of the author plus 70 years, or 95 years for corporate works. Nobody determines whether to invest money or effort on expected returns that far out. This is closer to a perpetuity than a limited time. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 06:02:59 -0500 From: Michael Quinn May I ask how does the FIOS TV service in Texas compare in coat and quality to the Dish Network or equivalent? Here in northern Virginia, we have FIOS local telephone (not VOIP, though that may be available, and I'm thinking about it to save $$$) and internet service, and I'm happy with it, at $30 per month (for the internet, plus $30 plus a shitload of taxes and "fees" for unlimited legacy local telephone)) for the first year, and a $50 rebate which I just received. No problems to date in the 3 months since installation, and that includes weathering two snowstorms and one brief power failure. So far Verizon hasn't offered TV yet, but I would consider switching if it was competitive. We pay about $50 or $60 per month for Dish Network, which is the basic+whatever-makes-the-rest-of-family-happy package. Regards, Mike Springfield VA > From: Bob Goudreau Subject: Re: Verizon's FiOS TV Service Takes Off in Texas=20 > Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 19:00:24 -0500 [Please spam-proof my email address as usual...] > >>> I use Fios and it is AWESOME! 15MB to the internet; ... ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 08:41:47 PST From: Paul Coxwell Subject: Re: 208/240V, was: 25Hz power > Thank you for the great write-up. My father was a power EE, and I had > worked some as an electrician, so I have picked up some of this info > over the years. I especially remember my father describing the > high-leg delta connection when I was a kid, but I never ran into one > in practice. I understand from my Stateside friends who work in commercial settings that the high-leg delta catches some people out quite often. They've reported more than one or two odd cases in which someone has added a circuit breaker to that B-phase for a regular 120V branch circuit, not realizing that they're actually getting 208V. >> On the primary side of these transformers, everything here is >> connected between phases. In fact NONE of our HV lines have a neutral >> run with them, so three-phase primaries are always delta-connected, >> and the primary on a single-phase transformer is connected across two >> phases of the HV. That primary supply to the final transformers is >> almost always 11kV (measured phase to phase), although there are still >> a very few local distribution networks operating at 6.6kV in a couple >> of areas. Thus a single-phase HV spur line has to be run as two "hot" >> phases. > Is the generator end wye-connected for a ground (earth?) reference, or > is there ground fault detection circuitry on delta connected > generators? Or is ground reference / ground fault not as big a > concern there as here? Just curious. Yes, the lines are referenced to ground/earth at source. The generator or transformer secondary which is FEEDING the line will either be wye configuration with a grounded neutral point, or I think sometimes they'll use a delta configuration but add auxiliary wye windings to provide the ground reference point. The same goes for much of Continental Europe. The ground on the neutral of the HV system is sometimes via a low-ish impedance rather than being solid though. That's as far as the HV neutral goes here though. Transmission and distribution is then just 3-wire 3-phase with delta-connected primaries. Srandard phase-to-phase voltage levels in Britain are 400kV, 275kV, 132kV, and 66kV for longer-distance transmission, then 33kV and 11kV for more localized distribution. As mentioned before, the older 6.6kV local systems can still be found, but are now very rare. When it gets down to LV, we have much less choice than in North America. Either single-phase 240V or 415Y/240 3-phase, plus the 240/480V 3-wire in a few rural areas. Compare that with the U.S. 120/240V 3-wire, 240V delta, 240V "high-leg" delta, 480V delta, 208Y/120V, 480Y/277V, etc., not to mention Canadian 600Y/347V. >> As noted before, in Continental Europe 3-phase supplies into homes are >> very common, however, and to British and American minds they seem to >> take 3-phase to extremes. In France, for example, it's not at all >> uncommon to find a small house which has a full 3-phase 4-wire >> 380Y/220V service, with the main breaker set to just 15 amps per >> phase! Arranging heating and cooking loads on a service like that can >> be quite a juggling act. > I can imagine. Is something like an electric range connected to 380? > Is it wired single phase or three phase? > They commonly wire ranges 3-phase wye. The elements are still just 230V, connected phase-to-neutral, but they distribute the load between phases, e.g. two rings on phase A, oven and one ring on phase b, grill/broiler and another ring on phase C. These days we often have the same models on sale in the U.K. as in Europe, and they come with a 4-way (plus ground) terminal block for the supply connection. In England, we just strap L1-L2-L3 together and connect to our single-phase 240V service on a 30 to 40A branch circuit. In Europe, they'd feed it as 4-wire 380Y/220 on a 16A 3-pole breaker. French electrical systems especially are what you might call "interesting." EDF (Electricite de France - the main supplier there) has tariff structures which are quite needlessly complex, and they have a basic standing charge which is dependent upon the maximum rating of the supply and which rises rapidly at higher levels. Hence many places try to get away with supplies which are considered ludicrously low-power by American/British standards, and not helped by the 3-phase service which then makes it hard to keep what little load can be connected evened out. (Just ask any Brit who has tripped out breakers in France trying to use his trusty 3kW electric kettle for making tea!) They even have complicated sensing and switching systems for electric heating, designed to disconnect water/space heating loads when power is drawn from a general-purpose branch circuit to avoid exceeding the limit and tripping the main breaker. Some tariffs also have a highly complex system of red, white, and blue days, combined with day and night rates giving no less than six different per-unit costs for the same supply. -Paul ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: Re: Unusual Phishing Attempt Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 15:10:49 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com In my twisted mind I'm guessing that if you call them in response to their bogus "order cancellation" you would then have established a "business relationship" with the scammer, allowing him to disregard any "no solicitation" instructions you may have signed up for at the FTCs do not call registery. If you are compelled to call such a place I'd use a coin phone or the lobby phone at your employer's office (if they're dumb enough to allow outside calls from their lobby -- I don't allow such calls from my lobby phones!) Al Jim Haynes wrote in message news:telecom25.108.3@telecom-digest.org: > What's unusual about this one is that they want you to phone a number > to give away your personal data rather than sending it to a phony web > page. Wonder who is on the other end of that phone number. > Dear Brian, [which is not my name] > Your recent order has been cancelled due to the billing information > not verifying with your issuing bank. Please call our Payment > Processing Department at 1-800-991-6828 with the correct > information and we will be happy to assist you. Please disregard > this message if we have spoken to you regarding this order. > jhhaynes at earthlink dot net > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If you received that letter in actual > email I suggest they were possibly trying to avoid a scam. I called > the number and tried to bluff them out; the woman who answered asked > for my name and zip code (I gave bogus info) and she said she was > unable to find an order 'from that zip code and name' for their > various clients including 'Foot Locker' and a couple of other companies. > I get the impression it is a legitimate payment processor. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #111 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 20 14:51:44 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 232E414FB7; Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:51:25 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #112 Message-Id: <20060320195125.232E414FB7@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:51:25 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.2 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AMATEUR_PORN,AWL, BAYES_00,CELL_PHONE_IMPROVE autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:52:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 112 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FCC to Decide Verizon Broadband Request (Jeremy Pelofsky) Kinderstart Sues Google Over Index Placement (Reuters News Wire) Look Inside a Volcano (Yareth Rosen) Cellular-News for Monday 20th March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 20, 2006 (Telecomdirect_Daily) Motorola Brings Ultra-Broadband and IP Video Service Delivery (technology) Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeremy Pelofsky Subject: FCC to Decide Verizon Broadband Request Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:32:39 -0600 By Jeremy Pelofsky The U.S. telecoms regulator was poised to reveal on Monday whether it would ease numerous regulations on some of Verizon Communications' high-speed, broadband data services for lucrative business customers. The No. 2 U.S. telephone carrier asked the Federal Communications Commission in December 2004 to lift restrictions for business services such as carrying data over Ethernet and Internet-based virtual private networks, arguing there was sufficient competition. Republican FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has supported granting the request as part of his agenda to push broadband deployment. The FCC eased similar rules for Verizon and other big local phone carriers serving residential broadband customers last year. "I'm hopeful that we will be able to provide some regulatory relief for the incumbents deployment of fiber to not just consumers but to commercial entities as well," he told reporters on Friday. The FCC has until midnight on Sunday to block or modify Verizon's request. Because of the type of petition, no action by the commission would allow it to take effect. Martin, who controls the agency's agenda, had not circulated for a vote by the other FCC commissioners an order that would modify or block Verizon's petition as of Sunday evening, two sources following the matter said. The agency is expected to announce its action on Monday. FCC spokeswoman Tamara Lipper declined to comment because the deadline had not yet passed. The two Democrats on the commission have objected to granting the request, the sources said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. But because Martin controls the agenda, he could just let the petition take effect despite objections. Verizon's request includes lifting regulations on its business broadband data services that require the company to connect with competing networks, to negotiate just and reasonable terms for its services, and to contribute to the Universal Service Fund, which subsidizes communications for rural and low-income households. In an FCC filing last month, Verizon did offer to continue paying into the fund for a period of time. A company spokesman declined to comment ahead of the decision. The request also covers rules that require Verizon to make its business broadband service accessible to those with disabilities and require it keep customer records confidential. Comptel, a group that represents Verizon's rivals such as XO Communications, has said lifting the regulations would hobble competition and unfairly benefit one company. Earl Comstock, Comptel's chief executive, told Reuters that if Martin allows the petition to take effect, it would "carry out whatever is beneficial to Verizon" and harm others. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:34:42 -0600 Kinderstart sues Google over lower page ranking A parental advice Internet site has sued Google Inc., charging it unfairly deprived the company of customers by downgrading its search-result ranking without reason or warning. The civil lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose, California, on Friday by KinderStart.com seeks financial damages along with information on how Google ranks Internet sites when users conduct a Web-based search. Google could not immediately be reached for comment but the company aggressively defends the secrecy of its patented search ranking system and asserts its right to adapt it to give customers what it determines to be the best results. KinderStart charges that Google without warning in March 2005 penalized the site in its search rankings, sparking a "cataclysmic" 70 percent fall in its audience -- and a resulting 80 percent decline in revenue. At its height, KinderStart counted 10 million page views per month, the lawsuit said. Web site page views are a basic way of measuring audience and are used to set advertising rates. "Google does not generally inform Web sites that they have been penalized nor does it explain in detail why the Web site was penalized," the lawsuit said. While an entire sub-industry exists to help Web sites feature prominently in Google results, the company is known to punish those who try to trick the system into boosting their search rankings. The lawsuit notes that rival search systems from Microsoft Corp.'s MSN and Yahoo Inc. feature Kinderstart.com at the top of their rankings when the name "Kinderstart" is typed in. The complaint accuses Google, as the dominant provider of Web searches, of violating KinderStart's constitutional right to free speech by blocking search engine results showing Web site content and other communications. KinderStart contends that once a company has been penalized, it is difficult to contact Google to regain good standing and impossible to get a report on whether or why the search leader took such action. The suit was filed the same day a federal judge denied a U.S. government request that Google be ordered to hand over a sample of keywords customers use to search the Internet while requiring the company to produce some Web addresses indexed in its system. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Yereth Rosen Subject: Alaska Volcano's Web Site Allows Look Deep Inside Crater Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 23:36:17 -0600 By Yereth Rosen Want to peer into the steaming summit of an erupting volcano without risking death? Anyone with an Internet connection and a computer can do just that, thanks to about 30 cameras and other recording devices set up on Alaska's Augustine Volcano that are streaming information to a Web site hosted by the Alaska Volcano Observatory, a joint federal-state office. The site http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Augustine.php has received over 253 million hits since the start of the year, becoming a popular destination for everyone from scientists to amateur volcano buffs who want to keep tabs on the restless 4,134-foot (1,260-meter) volcano. "The Web has really revolutionized information dissemination and consequently the level of interest and knowledge of the public," said Shan de Silva, a volcanologist and professor at the University of North Dakota. Augustine Volcano, on an uninhabited island about 175 miles southwest of Anchorage, roared to life on January 11 with an explosion that shot ash miles into the air. It sits under a major air travel route between Asia and North America. The volcano has remained active since then with a series of ash-producing explosions but has settled into a period of less-dramatic lava burbling, dome building and occasional small ash puffs. For scientists, Augustine provides a near-perfect combination of factors. It is close to population centers, but not so close that it poses any serious risks. Its flanks and summit are dotted with more monitoring instruments than perhaps any U.S. volcano except Mt. St. Helens in Washington and Mauna Loa in Hawaii. "It's a new way of monitoring volcanoes now, but this is going to be kind of the standard way of doing it," said Chris Waythomas, a U.S. Geological Survey geologist who works at the Alaska Volcano Observatory. CHOCK FULL OF INFORMATION The plethora of seismic information flowing out of the volcano provided scientists with plenty of warning about what was going to happen well before the initial January eruption. "It happened a little sooner than we thought, but we weren't surprised that it happened," said Waythomas. There are real-time photographic images, seismic graphs, data from thermal sensors, satellite images and photographs taken by scientists who fly over the peak at least a couple times a week and occasionally land on it -- all displayed on the observatory's Web page. The most popular features on the site are images from a Web camera perched on the volcano's east side and other photographs, said observatory officials. The only nagging problems have been periodic buildups of ice and snow on the camera's lens and bad weather that sometimes limits overflights. For scientists, the detailed images provide a bounty of information about this extended eruptive phase to help study the nature of the magma rising out of Augustine and the incremental changes to the volcano's summit dome. Among the site's fans are middle school students in Homer, a coastal town across the inlet from Augustine. Students know the volcano well from their western skyline, yet they have been glued to the computer, said Suzanne Haines, a Homer Middle School geography and history teacher who has incorporated Augustine information into her lessons. "It's such an amazing resource because the science is fairly easy to understand on the Web site," said Haines, noting that students are so interested due to the volcano's proximity. "It's not something that's far away." (Additional reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi in Seattle) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-Nws for Monday 20th March 2006 Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 08:05:54 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[Financial News]] UK PRESS: Vodafone Likely To Sell Japan Unit To Softbank http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16575.php Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin is set to announce the sale of Vodafone Group's Japan unit to SoftBank Corp. after dismissing a joint approach from private U.S. equity firms Cerberus Partners LP and Providence Equity Partners Inc, the Daily Teleg... Brazil's Telco Results Show Brighter Wireless Outlook http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16576.php Fourth-quarter results reflected an improvement in the outlook for Brazil's wireless operators, while integrated operators showed solid but uninspiring results. ... Vodafone Sells Japanese Operations For GBP8.9 Billion http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16577.php Vodafone Group Friday said it has agreed to sell its 97.68% interest in Vodafone Japan to SoftBank for an enterprise value of about JPY1.8 trillion (GBP8.9bn) of which GBP6.8bn will be received in cash on closing. ... NEWS SNAP: Vodafone To Return GBP6 Billion After Japan Sale http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16578.php Vodafone Group, Friday said it will return GBP6 billion in cash to shareholders via a special dividend after agreeing to sell its Japanese unit to Softbank Corp., the Japanese Internet company. ... Swiss Government To Propose Swisscom Stake Sale http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16579.php The Swiss government Friday said it has "in principle" decided to make a full exit as a shareholder of telecommunications company Swisscom, and has decided against favoring Swiss retail investors in the planned privatization. ... Verizon Stuck With Vodafone In Wireless Arm, For Now http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16583.php It appears as if Verizon Communications hit a road block with Vodafone Group over joint venture Verizon Wireless. ... Telefonica makes bid for outstanding TEM shares http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16585.php Spanish telco Telefonica has made an offer to buy the shares it does not own in its wireless unit Telefonica Mviles for 3.46bn euros (US$4.2bn) to tap faster growth from mobile phone services, the company said in a statement. ... Motorola Outlook Upgrades by Debt Agency http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16593.php The debt ratings agency, Standard & Poor's has affirmed it's 'BBB+' corporate credit rating and other ratings on Motorola. The outlook is revised to positive, from stable reflecting generally improving profitability trends, benefiting from the compan... SBA Buys Rival Tower Firm http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16596.php The USA based tower management firm, SBA Communications has signed an agreement to buy AAT Communications for US$634 million in cash and the issuance of 17,059,336 shares of its common stock. The acquisition of AAT will substantially expand SBA's exi... [[Handsets News]] PRESS: Sistema's Sitronics to sell cell phones via Euroset http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16581.php Russia's electronics producer Sitronics, a subsidiary of major Russian holding AFK Sistema, plans to sell its mobile handsets through the chain of Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset starting Friday, Andrei Panagushin, Sitronics' telecom... [[Legal News]] Forgent's `Patent Trolling' Strategy Takes Litigious Path http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16584.php AUSTIN, Texas (AP)--While most technology companies make money by developing software, building hardware or providing services, Forgent Networks Inc. has taken a different route: It produces threats and lawsuits that try to cash in on ideas. ... BrT starts arbitration process against TIM merger agreements http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16587.php Brazil's third largest fixed line operator Brasil Telecom (BrT) has started an arbitration process against Italian mobile group TIM regarding merger agreements signed last year, BrT said in a press release. ... [[Network Operators News]] Orbitel to launch WiMax 3-play in 1H06 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16586.php Colombian long-distance operator Orbitel is preparing to launch WiMax-based triple-play service during the first half of 2006, Orbitel communications director Luz Ochoa told BNamericas. ... Diplomats Get Improved Cellphone Service http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16594.php The GSM network operator, Celtel in Sierra Leone has started operations of a new base station in the capital city, Freetown that is designed to improve services for diplomatic staff in the country. The Minister for Lands and Country Planning Dr Bobso... Call Quality Problems Declined for a 2nd Consecutive Year http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16595.php The overall rate of customers experiencing a wireless call quality problem has declined for a second consecutive year, with reported problems per 100 calls (PP100) reaching the lowest level since the inaugural study in 2003, according to a J.D. Power... [[Personnel News]] Sprint Nextel CEO 2005 Total Pay $5 Million Less Options, Shares http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16580.php Sprint Nextel Corp. said Friday President and Chief Executive Gary D. Forsee received 2005 compensation of $5 million, compared with about $3.5 million for 2004. Both figures exclude stock options and restricted stock awards. ... Verizon Wireless Ranks in Training Magazine's Top 10 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16597.php Verizon Wireless says that it has been named to Training magazine's 2006 list of "Top 100 Training Organizations in America." This is the fifth consecutive year Verizon Wireless has been recognized for its training and development programs. The compa... [[Regulatory News]] Nextel asks Cofetel to rescind operators' licenses on SMS spat http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16588.php Mexican trunking operator Nextel has asked telecommunications regulator Cofetel to rescind the mobile concessions contracts of three mobile operators due to their failure to follow a Cofetel order to allow SMS interconnection, local daily Milenio rep... [[Reports News]] Corporate Phone Bills Now One Third Cellular - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16592.php Spending by businesses on wireless telecommunications services accounted for nearly one-third the corporate bill for telecommunication services in 2005, says a new market research report from Insight Research. By the close of 2005, total US business ... [[Statistics News]] Ukraine's mobile services revenue up 46.3% on year in Jan-Feb http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16582.php Ukranian mobile operators took in 2.564 billion hryvnas in revenues in January-February, or 46.3% up on the year, Ukraine?s State Statistics Committee said Friday. ... Hong Kong China Unicom Adds 1.17 Million Subscribers In Feb http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16589.php Mobile phone services operator China Unicom Ltd. said Sunday it added 1.17 million subscribers in February, bringing its total mobile customers to 130.27 million. ... [[Technology News]] Cellphones Acting as a Mesh Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16590.php An interesting patent has been filed by Agilent Technologies which would enable a cellphone to act in a manner not dissimilar to a wireless Mesh Network. The patent in essence allows a handset to communicate with a base station which is out of range,... Boosting Coverage in Disaster Areas http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16591.php CellAntenna has announced the release of a fully-portable version of the company's CAE700 dual-band repeater system, which allows government agencies and other users to immediately deploy a solution that boosts cellular signals in outdoor and indoor... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 11:25:26 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Monday, March 20, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 20, 2006 ******************************** Mapping Out Business Success http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17155?11228 As the cable industry directs increasing attention to the sizeable opportunity presented by business services, a detailed understanding of market structure and resulting technical requirements is essential both for business planners and plant construction planners. In this article, we will relate the geography of business... Improving Mobile Phone Memory http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17153?11228 As designers cram ever more features into mobile phones--music, video, location-based services and so on -- the devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated and powerful. Yet, despite the added complexity, users still expect their phones to start up and operate quickly and flawlessly. Unfortunately, current memory technology is... Consolidation Fever Grips European Telecoms Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17147?11228 The spotlight is yet again on consolidation in the European telecoms market. With Vodafone's symbolic scaling back of its global ambitions, Europe's telecoms operators are gearing up for an eventful consolidation era. Although the trend had long been expected, recent events have brought the issue to the fore with suggestions and... Telenor Offers To Sell Stake in Ukrainian Mobile Telephone Group To End Dispute http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17146?11228 OSLO, Norway -- Norwegian telecommunications group Telenor ASA on Monday offered to sell its stake in main Ukrainian mobile phone group Kyivstar to end a legal dispute. Telenor said it was willing to sell its 56.5 percent interest in the Ukrainian mobile operator to Russia's OAO VimpelCom Communications for US$5 billion in cash.... Startup to Wed Mobile Games, Live TV Shows http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17145?11228 SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Dialing into the fast-growing market for mobile games, a San Francisco-based startup is poised to unveil a new service on Monday that it hopes will make television viewers as hooked to their cell phones as they are to remote controls. AirPlay Network Inc. said it will introduce a lineup of cell phone games tied... FCC Adds Another Layer, Seeks More 700 MHz Info http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17143?11228 Things were short and sweet at Friday's Federal Communications Commission open meeting, with only two telecom-related items up for discussion. Both, however, passed unanimously. First, the commission voted to establish a Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to address issues related to national security, emergency management and... Ericsson Wants Riverstone http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17141?11228 In a move as shocking as a 12th-seed upset, Ericsson AB has made an 11th-hour bid for Riverstone Networks Inc. possibly unraveling the plans for Lucent Technologies Inc. to acquire the struggling company. Ericsson's bid of $178 million -- filed at yesterday's... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: technology_post@yahoo.com Subject: Motorola Brings Ultra-Broadband and IP Video Service Delivery Together Date: 20 Mar 2006 10:10:18 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Motorola Brings Ultra-Broadband and IP Video Service Delivery Together to Drive Rich Personalized Consumer Experiences End-to-end solution across wireline broadband, wireless broadband, IP video delivery and home networking addresses consumer demand for seamless entertainment experiences Read Full article at http://technology-post.com/tech/?p=373 ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: MPAA CacheLogic Announcement Date: 20 Mar 2006 10:24:50 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com John McHarry wrote: > I don't think copyright was intended as property as such, but since it > can be bought and sold, it might as well be. Legally, copyrights and patents are defined as a form of personal property. > What galls me is that when the terms of copyrights were extended, they > made that apply to unexpired rights granted for shorter terms. That is > simply stealing from the public domain. The costs and risks to create > such material were already assumed under the original terms, and most > of the expected or hoped for rewards reaped. I don't find the > "ownership rights" to such material legitimate at all. I'm not comfortable when claims about made about "public domain". Technically you are correct -- once work expired it becomes public domain. However, it was private property to begin with. If the copyright was still in force, I have no problem extending it. I also don't agree with the concept "cost and risk were already 'assumed'". Again, technically that is true, but still the work was private property. In many cases today, a work presumed to have little value suddenly becomes valuable. I don't think it's fair that someone else other than the original owner should profit from someone's work, and that is what's happening. If laws change that add to the value of land, we don't deny existing landowners from benefitting from that. Another modern issue is material exploitation. I strongly doubt Disney could make any money off of early Mickey Mouse cartoons. Other than curiosity, they just aren't very interesting to today's market. However, I can see Disney's legitimate interest from protecting Mickey Mouse from exploitation. With it going into public domain, someone could (and probably would) make some porn movie using Mickey or other demeaning stuff. Keep in mind this is not an issue of free speech; anyone could've always critiqued Mickey Mouse all they wanted. (Further, Mickey Mouse is not an element of government, but a private entity). If you want to make a porn movie, come up with your own characters, don't steal someone else's. Keep in mind not all copyright and patent holders are wealthy big corporations. Many belong to individuals who welcome and need the modest extra revenue. Further, many copyrights and patents, even when developed at great expense, are worthless because of lack of interest. > I think the current term for copyright is something like the life of > the author plus 70 years, or 95 years for corporate works. Nobody > determines whether to invest money or effort on expected returns that > far out. This is closer to a perpetuity than a limited time. I'm not sure what the current terms are. The previous term was 56 years. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: > But then, in the middle 1990's, along come the latest interlopers into > our village, the music and video producers. _They_ seem to feel the > rules should be different for them. _They_ feel we all have to play by > their rules. I'm not sure I understand. I don't think the producers seek to change how public domain material is shared or how the older parts of the Internet function. Rather, they merely seek to protect their own works from illegal theft, and I don't have a problem with that. I like to point out that when it comes to "changing the rules", the Internet users themselves can be the most vocal. I used to get on via an old BBS system, and I was flamed constantly visciously for posts that didn't meet the "latest standards". A heck of a lot of amateur websites require the use of the very latest browser version and functionality. Those of us with older computers can't get on. I blame the technies -- which are many Internet users -- for constantly implementing new versions of stuff, forcing the rest of us to upgrade. Indeed, it's almost impossible to use the Internet with dial up because so many sites are so bloated that one needs high speed to do anything in a reasonable period of time. On the rare occassion I find a old style website I can get plenty of info at 14.4. > We were here a long time prior, and had our own informal > rules to play by; _they_ say forget all those rules, our rules will > now apply. Again, I don't understand what they're trying to do to existing public domain stuff. Is someone trying to claim ownership of this Digest? Unfortunately, life is full of changing rules. Everyone here knows I strongly supported the old Bell System in its fight against MCI -- I felt MCI was changing the rules to benefit itself while making the Bell System keep with the old rules (cream skimming). But it appears my views on this are very much in the minority. Farmers get screwed when civiliation moves close to them. New residents in new developments suddenly discover real life farming is not antiseptic little TV cartoons. It is smelly, noisy 24/7, and dirty, with slow tractors blocking roads. The new residents can successfully sue in court to shut down the "nuisance" even though the farm existed many years before they came. (Then when the farm is sold to developers, the residents complain about that, wanting the farmland to be left as open space, at someone else's expense.) ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #112 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 21 22:52:44 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id C9BB71540B; Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:52:43 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #113 Message-Id: <20060322035243.C9BB71540B@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:52:43 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:56:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 113 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Sprint Sues in Theft of Call Records Case (Reuters News Wire) Spring is Here; Two Feet of Snow With It (Ashley M. Heher) Online Dating Brings Trouble (Verna Gates) Bringing Botnets Out of Shadows/Online Volunteers Monitor (Monty Solomon) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 21, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) CEOs Talk up New Era in Media, Telecom Services (USTelecom dailyLead) Future of Video on Display TelecomNEXT (USTelecom dailyLead) Celular-News for Tuesday 21st March 2006 (Ccellular-News) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (Danny Burstein) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (Jared) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (Jsw) Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Cellphone Technical Question (Joseph Singer) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Sprint Sues in Theft of Call Records Case Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:07:51 -0600 Sprint Nextel Corp. said on Monday it filed a lawsuit against a Florida private investigation firm alleging that it uses illegal practices to get hold of its customers' phone call records. Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. wireless provider, accused San Marco & Associates of St. Petersburg, Florida, of invading customer privacy and getting hold of personal information under false pretenses. U.S. wireless service providers have recently been cracking down on Web sites that offer to sell phone call records. Sprint filed the suit on March 17 in a federal court in Florida. It said it requested temporary and permanent injunctions against the company. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Ashley M. Heher Subject: Spring is Here; Two Feet of Snow With it Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:51:16 -0600 Spring Snow Storm Buries Plains, Midwest By ASHLEY M. HEHER, Associated Press Writer The spring snow storm that buried parts of Nebraska under more than 2 feet of snow swept through the Ohio Valley on Tuesday, shutting down schools and making travel tough for voters headed for the polls for the Illinois' primary election. As much as two inches of snow an hour fell in some areas of Illinois and Indiana, and wind gusted to 40 mph, weather officials said. "Our weather's terrible. The highways are terrible. It's not the highway department's fault, they just can't keep up with it," said Morgan County, Ill., Sheriff's Deputy Trevor Lahey. He answered more than 50 calls Tuesday morning about cars in ditches west of Springfield. In Colorado, Interstate 70 reopened early Tuesday after its eastbound lanes between Denver and the Kansas line were shut down for nearly 18 hours because of heavy snow. Interstate 80 remained closed across central Nebraska but was expected to reopen during the day. The storm dumped as much as 28 inches of snow on central Nebraska on Monday, 20 inches in parts of South Dakota and half a foot in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Wind piled the snow into drifts 7 feet high in parts of South Dakota and Nebraska. Farther south, heavy rain caused flooding in the Dallas area. By midmorning Tuesday, more than 7 inches of snow had fallen on parts of western Indiana, and wind up to 25 mph created whiteout conditions in some areas, the National Weather Service said. Indiana State Police reported dozens of accidents. School districts across central Illinois and western and central Indiana closed for the day. The weather was expected to contribute to low voter turnout for Illinois' primary election, which includes gubernatorial and congressional races. It hit after an unseasonably warm winter in which snowfall was 30 percent to 50 percent below normal in Indiana. Through mid-March, Indianapolis had used only about two-thirds of its $4.6 million snow-removal budget, officials said. Indiana state climatologist Dev Niyogi said the erratic weather will likely continue, in part because of the impact of La Nina, the mild cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean that often coincides with stronger and more frequent hurricanes, a wetter Pacific Northwest and a drier South. "I think the important feature of the upcoming season is not just going to be a really cold or really warm season ahead, but the swings we are going have," he said. "Some days will really feel like winter again and some days we'll start thinking that maybe that summer is already here." Schools also remained closed for a second day Tuesday in parts of the Plains states. The Nebraska Legislature canceled its Tuesday meeting, and the South Dakota Legislature rescheduled Monday's meetings. At least five deaths were blamed on the storm in Colorado, Nebraska and Texas. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Verna Gates Subject: Online Dating Brings Trouble Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:58:57 -0600 Perils of online dating prompt safety efforts By Verna Gates Josie Phyllis Brown never had a chance against her 6-foot-6-inch (2-meter) killer, although his stature was one of the few things she should have known from his Internet profile. John Christopher Gaumer, who confessed to the murder and led Baltimore County police to Brown's body on February 7, listed his height and other attributes in his quest for dates on MySpace.com, a free Internet social site owned by News Corp. where mostly young people connect for friendship and romance. Some personal profiles on the Web site are frighteningly revealing. People publish their birth dates, schools they attend, even clubs they will frequent on a given Saturday night, complete with a cellphone number for whomever might care to join them. "Think about, there are millions of people we're dealing with here and somehow people think they are all preachers," said Paul Falzone, chief executive of Together Dating service, a brick-and-mortar company that performs background checks on all members. Falzone says background checks result in 10 percent of applicants being rejected. For most of the 40 million people using Internet sites for dating and socializing each month, a disastrous 15 minutes over coffee at Starbucks is the worst they will suffer. But there is enough danger out there that some U.S. states are considering legislation to force Internet dating sites to police themselves, while companies that do background checks say business is booming. SCREENING DATES Only a small percentage of "intimate partner violence" -- nearly 700,000 such incidents were reported to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2001 -- originate from Internet dating, according to Mark Brooks, editor of Online Personals, which monitors the dating industry. For upstart online service http://True.com, even one assault is too much. The site performs background checks on every member, ferreting out sex offenders, felons and married people. About 11 percent of those who apply are rejected. "To think a felon could find a victim, especially for a heinous crime, gives me the heebie-jeebies. I do all I can do to prevent that," said Herb Vest, chief executive of http://True.com. Nevertheless, Robert Wells, convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14, passed the http://True.com screening and posted a profile on that site. The company is suing him, claiming he committed wire fraud. The small competitor is pressing for legislation to force big Web sites like http://Match.com and http://Yahoo.com to perform background checks, or clearly state they don't. So far, California, Florida, Texas and Michigan have considered legislation. http://Yahoo.com and http://Match.com the industry leaders with 6 million and 15 million monthly visitors espectively, continually stress dating safety. Match.com forces the 60,000 people who sign up for the service each month to review its safety policies before they subscribe. On both sites, every profile is reviewed and approved by human eyes to screen out excess information or obscenity. Around 15 percent of postings are rejected, according to Kristin Kelly, spokesperson for Match.com. That is not enough for some. DARK SIDE OF THE 'NET "The Internet has its dark side and they are not doing everything they can to keep sexual predators and gold diggers off these sites. If you don't police yourselves, the government will come in and police you," said Michigan state Sen. Alan Cropsey. Cropsey has sponsored a bill that would force Web sites to do background checks, and it proposes posting a warning label on sites, much like those on cigarette packs. Cropsey's legislation met vigorous resistance from the online industry. "There are other ways to get to who that person is, rather than have the government ram a business model down your throat," said Abraham Smilowicz, chief executive of Webdate Inc. Webdate uses real-time video as a safety measure, allowing prospective dates to chat and get a look at each other via webcams. Daters themselves are also stepping forward to create their own safeguards. Companies like Safedate and Honestyonline are springing up to run background checks for individuals and grant their stamp of approval. Honestyonline will even come to a home, weigh prospective daters, take a picture and leave with bodily fluids to confirm disease-free status. William Bollinger, executive vice president of National Background Data, said his business had grown 600 percent in the past two years. Even a background check would not have saved Lori Leonard. The boyfriend she met via the Internet was convicted of her murder on January 27 in Hudson Falls, N.Y. His record showed only misdemeanors from assaults on former girlfriends, not the sort of information churned up in basic background checks. Leonard endured two assaults before her death. According to Dr. John Gray, author of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus," education is the solution. "The warning signs often come out right away. Beware of someone who can solve all your problems or who comes on really strong," said Gray. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Reuters please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 14:06:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bringing Botnets Out of the Shadows / Online Volunteers Monitor Bringing Botnets Out of the Shadows Online Volunteers Monitor Illegal Computer Networks By Brian Krebs washingtonpost.com Staff Writer Tuesday, March 21, 2006; 9:39 AM Nicholas Albright's first foray into some of the darkest alleys of the Internet came in November 2004, shortly after his father committed suicide. About a month following his father's death, Albright discovered that online criminals had broken into his dad's personal computer and programmed it to serve as part of a worldwide, distributed network for storing pirated software and movies. Albright managed to get the network shuttered with a call to the company providing the Internet access the criminals were using to control it. From that day forward, Albright poured all of his free time and pent-up anger over his father's death into assembling "Shadowserver," a group of individuals dedicated to battling large, remote-controlled herds of hacked personal PCs, also known as "botnets." Now 27, Albright supports his wife and two children as a dispatcher for a health care company just outside of Boulder, Colo. When he is not busy fielding calls, Albright is chatting online with fellow Shadowserver members, trading intelligence on the most active and elusive botnets. Each "bot" is a computer on which the controlling hacker has installed specialized software that allows him to commandeer many of its functions. Hackers use bots to further their online schemes or as collection points for users' personal and financial information. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/21/AR2006032100279.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 11:55:56 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 21, 2006 ******************************** Getting Value in Tax Risk Management From Sox 404 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17175?11228 The passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act--which resulted in major changes to the compliance practices of many U.S. companies--has fundamentally changed the way in which business organisations are required to report their financial data. However, since the Act was passed, the general view has been that the process required for compliance is... Will Bluetooth Pick UWB Sides? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17174?11228 After years of hearing from Doubting Thomases, Bluetooth technology has really started taking off. Bluetooth shipments globally grew by more than 200 percent annually from 2004 to 2005 and are expected to reach 10 million units shipped weekly sometime in 2006. As Bluetooth's evolution continues into a broadband future, however, there... Deutsche Telekom Links with Microsoft To Deliver Internet TV Services in Germany http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17172?11228 FRANKFURT, Germany -- Deutsche Telekom AG said Tuesday it has formed an alliance with Microsoft Corp. to offer Internet television services to subscribers in Germany this year. The announcement comes as Deutsche Telekom, Europe's biggest telecommunications company, expands its national network of high-speed digital subscriber... Ofcom Frees BT, Others to Set Call Prices http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17168?11228 After 22 years of price controls in the liberalised British telecoms market, Ofcom has proposed to deregulate retail price controls on fixed lines. From 1 August 2006, all phone companies will be free to set their own prices and compete for customers. In a statement released today, the regulator said: 'Ofcom believes that it is now... Vodafone Portugal Objects to Sonae Bid for Portugal Telecom http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17164?11228 Vodafone Portugal has signalled its opposition to Sonae's takeover of Portugal Telecom, citing an unfavourable competitive scenario if Sonae's mobile unit Optimus merges with Portugal Telecom's TMN. In a statement, Vodafone said: 'The bid for PT by Sonae could create or reinforce a dominant position from which significant barriers to... RBOCs to Vendors: More Nines, Please http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17162?11228 LAS VEGAS -- TelecomNEXT -- Four of the biggest U.S. incumbent carriers sent a message to telecom equipment vendors in a CTO panel here. Life is going to get a lot tougher, and it's not just because consolidation is concentrating capital expenditure among fewer and fewer players. (See Verizon Closes MCI Buy, SBC Becomes AT&T,... IPTV In A Box http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17158?11228 With IPTV barreling down the track like an express train, mPhase Technologies and a group of its partners have put together a sort of "starter kit" for bewildered telcos -- particularly smaller ones not ready to take on the daunting task of integrating a solution on their own. The offering, called "IPTV in a Box," is said to include... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 13:25:50 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: CEOs Talk Up New Era in Media, Telecom Services USTelecom dailyLead March 21, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/djwsfDtutcbuudPGRg TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * CEOs talk up new era in media, telecom services BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * News from TelecomNEXT: * Verizon will pay to carry CBS signal * DT picks Microsoft TV for IPTV deployment * Cable has easier time selling phone service, execs say * Report: Several key suppliers eye Siemens' telecom assets USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Communications and entertainment take center stage only at TelecomNEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * AOL eyes broader offering for broadband TV * Ubiquitous mobile phone gets one more use REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC deregulates Verizon's high-speed data lines * U.K. regulator proposes lifting price limits on BT services * Experts warn of risks associated with muni Wi-Fi * Is China ready to issue VoIP licenses? Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/djwsfDtutcbuudPGRg ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:11:21 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Future of Video on Display TelecomNEXT USTelecom dailyLead March 20, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/djlMfDtutcaXhRubwb TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Future of video on display TelecomNEXT BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * News from TelecomNEXT * Verizon emphasizes growth over size * Rural telco may revolutionize TV business * XO, Hatteras strike Ethernet deal * VoIP market begins to see changes * VeriSign snaps up m-Qube USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * The Intersection Starts Now - Delivering Services at the Speed of Competition * TelecomNEXT debuts in Las Vegas TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * AirPlay links reality TV, sports to mobile phone games * "M:I-3" game to hit mobile screens in May REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Cable, telecoms stop fighting citywide Wi-Fi Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/djlMfDtutcaXhRubwb ------------------------------ Subject: cellular-news for Tuesday 21st March 2006 Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 07:46:54 -0600 From: cellular-news Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] 3 Group Signs Mobile Services Agreement With Microsoft http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16600.php 3 Group, the mobile telecommunications subsidiaries of Hutchison Whampoa, Monday said it has signed a global mobile services agreement with Microsoft, which will enable 3 customers to access the software company's instant messaging and free e-mail pr... [[ Financial ]] NTT DoCoMo To Buy Mobile Phone Operation Cos In Guam http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16599.php NTT DoCoMo said Monday that it will purchase two telecommunications firms in Guam for a combined $71.8 million to offer wireless network services to Japanese tourists visiting the island. ... Temasek Placing Out Around 770 Million SingTel Shares http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16601.php Singapore's state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings said late Monday it's placing out around 770 million ordinary Singapore Telecommunications shares in a move that could raise as much as S$2.16 billion. ... Telenor proposes VimpelCom buys Kyivstar for at least $5 bln http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16602.php Norwegian telecommunication operator Telenor has made a proposal that Russia?s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom pay at least US$5 billion in cash to acquire 100% in Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar, Telenor said in a press release M... Hong Kong Hutchison '05 Net Seen Up On One-Offs,Accounting Rule http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16603.php Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. is expected to post a solid growth in its 2005 net profit on one-off gains and stronger contributions from its ports and energy operations, though its third-generation mobile business is still unprofitabl... PRESS: MTS to invest $7-10 bln in foreign acquisitions by 2010 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16604.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) plans to invest US$7 billion to $10 billion in foreign acquisitions by 2010, MTS President Vasily Sidorov said in an interview with Vedomosti business daily published Monday. ... Telefonica Not Considering Raising Moviles Offer http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16605.php Telefonica, Monday said it's not mulling to raise its EUR3.5 billion all-share offer for the 7.5% stake it doesn't yet own of its mobile unit Telefonica Moviles. ... Amazia Celular records loss of US$19.9mn in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16606.php Brazilian mobile carrier Tele Norte Celular Participales (Amaz ia Celular) recorded a net loss of 42.4mn reais (US$19.9mn) for 2005 compared to a net loss of 2.6mn reais in 2004, Tele Norte said in its earnings statement. ... SunCom sees 2005 US$496mn net loss http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16608.php US and Caribbean mobile operator SunCom Wireless Holdings made a net loss of US$496mn in 2005 compared to a net profit of US$704mn in 2004, the company said in a statement. ... Huawei to loan Ola up to US$9.9mn http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16609.php Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies has been authorized by Colombia's finance ministry to provide a loan of up to US$9.9mn to national mobile operator Colombia Moviles (Ola), reported local daily Portafolio. ... Vodafone Portugal Opposes Sonae, Portugal Telecom Merger http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16612.php Vodafone PLC's (VOD) Portugal unit on Monday said it opposed the idea of merging Sonaecom SGPS' mobile unit Optimus with Portugal Telecom's mobile unit TMN. ... [[ Legal ]] Another Lawsuit To Prevent Identity Fraud http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16614.php Sprint Nextel says that it has filed a lawsuit against a private investigation firm that employs deceptive practices to illegitimately obtain customer call detail records, and then sells the confidential information to online data brokers. In its com... [[ Mobile Content ]] Crazy Frog Spreads Its Empire http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16617.php VeriSign, the company behind "that annoying thing" - aka the Crazy Frog ringtone is buying m-Qube, a developer of, and billing platform for mobile content, applications and messaging services. m-Qube delivers premium messaging and content services th... [[ Network Contracts ]] Alcatel Wins Tunisia GSM Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16613.php Alcatel has been awarded a US$61 million contract to extend the GSM/EDGE mobile network of Tunisie Telecom, the incumbent fixed and mobile operator in Tunisia. Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel will provide Tunisie Telecom with its Evolium mul... WiMAX trial for Sri Lanka http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16615.php Sri Lanka Telecom has started testing a WiMAX broadband wireless solution based on equipment provided by Aperto Networks. Upon the completion of the trial, services based on the WiMAX network will be made commercially available. Aperto Networks has p... [[ Network Operators ]] Reiman doesn't see Russia's Svyazinvest mobile units' merger soon http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16610.php The merger of mobile operators under the control of Russia's national telecom holding Svyazinvest is unlikely to happen before the holding's privatization, IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman told a news conference Monday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] Reiman wants mobile operators to limit tariff hikes on CPP launch http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16611.php Russian mobile operators should take a "measured approach" in hiking their tariffs after the introduction of the Calling Party Pays principle, Russian IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman told a news conference Monday. ... [[ Reports ]] Customers Unwilling to Pay for Premium Services - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16616.php Telecom industry executives are focusing on growing their revenues by introducing new products and services, yet, as the industry moves toward a converged services environment, many consumers say they may be unwilling to pay a premium for such servic... [[ Statistics ]] China Mobile Adds 4.2 Million Users In Feb Vs 4.07 Million In Jan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16598.php China Mobile (Hong Kong), the largest mobile carrier in China in terms of subscribers, said Monday it added 4.2 million customers in February. ... Anatel: 88 million mobiles in use, slow sales in Feb http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16607.php Brazil had 88 million mobile phones in operation by end-February, despite it being the slowest sales month for 25 months, according to data from Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel. ... ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:07:22 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In Reuters News Wire writes: > Kinderstart sues Google over lower page ranking > A parental advice Internet site has sued Google Inc., charging it > unfairly deprived the company of customers by downgrading its > search-result ranking without reason or warning. [ snip ] I fail to see how these suits even get to the light of day. Google is a private ranking firm, and aside from the larger societal laws regarding discrimination on race, etc., they should be free to do whatever they want with their scoring. If I put together a list of shoeshine vendors and leave some out, then unless they can show it's based on a pattern of racism (or similar...) they don't have a shoe to stand on. (If I make the claim that I've listed every single one, though, then they might, might ... have a leg regarding false advertising. Maybe.) Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 21:03:12 -0700 From: jared@netspacenospamnet.au (jared) Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Secrecy & patented? Almost all patents are publically available. The exception is when related to national security. Any recent one should be available on the patent website. http://www.uspto.gov/patft/ Is this just sloppy writing? A patent may be opaquely or broadly described (IMHO), see for example application 20020123988, assigned to Google. An example of a patent assigned to Google is 6,982,945 Baseband direct sequence spread spectrum transceiver. ??? Note that people get patents, which are often assigned to a corporation. > Google could not immediately be reached for comment but the company > aggressively defends the secrecy of its patented search ranking system > and asserts its right to adapt it to give customers what it determines > to be the best results. ------------------------------ From: jsw Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 09:46:28 -0600 (CST) > Google could not immediately be reached for comment but the company > aggressively defends the secrecy of its patented search ranking system IANAL, but the way I've always understood patents, if a patent is issued, the methods involved are disclosed and are not secret. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? Date: 21 Mar 2006 11:17:36 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com William Warren wrote: > There has been a lot of press _lately_ because the networks were in > "Sweeps week", and the local stations were doing their bit to boost > ratings by sticking to the time-honored TV tradition - > IF IT BLEEDS, IT LEADS!!!! So are you suggesting that crimes involving the Internet are very rare? If you go back a bit in this newsgroup you'll find lots of posts about Internet crime, including its use in the abuse of minors. Are you saying these events are rare? It is true with TV news (and many newspapers) "if it bleeds it leads". But the fact is that crime is still a big part of our world, whether it is sensationalized or not. My local newspaper is reporting credit card fraud victims among our residents and it is a surprisingly and distubingly long list. Computer viruses and other forms of sabotage are no joke or pertty matter. We all have received those emails about some Nigerian prince or body part enlargement--do you think any of those claims are real? Someone is writing and sending them out and pocketing the money. There are destructive anti-social people who exploit the anonymity of the computer to act out their aggression; these are the people who write and disseminate viruses, spam, spyware, etc. > Technical _devices_ may make it easier to produce the forged documents > needed to steal someone's identity. Technical _weaknesses_ don't make > it easy to forge someone's identity: in fact, it's much more difficult > to forge an electronic identity than a paper one. ... I don't distinguish how the fraud or forgery was executed, whether someone mainipulated internal bits and bytes or merely stole someone's logon by peeking over their shoulder. Either way, the computer becomes a very powerful tool for evil and innocent people will get hurt. My concern in this topic is not only the victims of fraud, but also innocent people blamed for crimes. I'll discuss this in detail in another response. > Innocent people accused of crimes have the same protections they have > always had -- the truth -- and the truth is that we all do very > predictable things at very predictable times, in full view of dozens, if > not hundreds, of witnesses. Innocent people seldom have trouble proving > that they are what they seem. I'm glad that you have never been in trouble or ever accused of doing something wrong. But the real world is not so perfect or nice. Through DNA testing we have learned that some criminals who proclaimed innocence were indeed guilty. But we also learned that some weren't guilty and spent years in prison for crimes they clearly did not commit. The system is not perfect. Yes, someone falsely accused will probably (though not always) eventually be acquitted. But the cost to that person will be enormous -- loss of all their money on legal fees, loss of job, respect, family, home, etc. The power of computers introduces new risks for innocent people to be blamed ("framed") for crimes committed by others. Computer logs are used for conviction, but unlike other witnesses, they are silent and can't be cross examined. DLR wrote: > If you're not technically astute, you'd better hire a good lawyer > quick. But at the same time it is getting to be like the situation > with money with cocaine residue on it. For a while in the 80s it was > considered strong evidence of trafficking if you had 20s with cocaine > traces on it. Then someone showed that most of the money in > possession of police, judges, court officials, people on the street, > and most all money in major cities and soon the entire country had > traces on it. Actually, I thought recently that the courts ruled that such tainted currency was indeed admissable -- they found it on someone suspected of drug dealing. It is frightening. Modern science can detect extremely miniscule traces of substances. Ok, I'm now sitting in a public library chair. Isn't there a heck of a good chance that a strand of hair from the prior patron was left on the chair and now is on me? I certainly think so since I find such strands occassionally. Further, I notice some cat hair I brought in gets left on the chair and I have to sweep it off. Now a library is a random place; presumably the patron after me won't turn up dead with me as a suspect. But what about the workplace where we do sit in each other's chairs and desks routinely to work together? If something happened to any of my co-workers, odds are high you will find mine hair or other fluids (suppose I sneezed) on that other person, maybe even their skin. > Most all Internet fraud and other illegal activity is now based on > bogus identities. Any police force of any size who deals with this > knows it and deals with it appropriately. And most local police (at > least here in NC) call in the state guys for this type of stuff as > they have the knowledge to deal with it. Sheriff Bubba doesn't go > after much related to computers. I am not confident about this. I know too many "Sheriff Bubbas" who think they're computer experts when they're not. > Not to say people will not get falsely accused, but it should be a > minor part of the problem as time goes on. Note that one troubling social issue today is the abuse of minors through meetings and illegal photograph distribution. The police are going after this very aggressively with strong support by the public. (See other posts on this topic in this newsgroup). Anyway, a participant in this stuff has a motivation to use someone else's identity and e-account for their purposes. Here are scenarios I am concerned about, based on news media reports. Obviously they don't happen every day, but they have happened. 1) Stolen e-account information (taken by looking over shoulder or guessing a password or via spyware): a) Use the stolen account to fraudulently buy goods and services. b) Use the stolen account to send and receive illegal porn (per above). c) Create new accounts. 2) Forged e-account information: I doubt it is that hard to forge someone's name and account over the 'net. Spammers cover the tracks in various ways, such as finding an unprotected server (apparently there are a great many) and using it is a relay station. The risks are that above. 3) Civil liberties -- Loss of privacy: Because of the interest in illegal porn and assignation activities, there is more desire to monitor otherwise private internet use. This public library computer is now monitored for that reason. How far will this monitoring and searchse go? Will ISPs automatically and secretly report whenever of their clients access a website or newsgroup that is deemed "illegal"? Does the mere access of such sites constitute a crime? There was a 100 year old girls' college named "Beaver College". Although the name drew some snickers over the years, it wasn't a problem. But with the Internet, the alternate meaning of "beaver" triggered protectors and the college found itself hidden with decreasing applications. They had to rename themselves. Once they did applications went back up. 4) False identify: A big use these days of the Internet is to set up social meetings. There are matchmaker websites and chat rooms. But sometimes someone lies about who they are. There have been several cases reported where a minor claimed to be an adult, had ID (fake) and travelled to see a real adult. The real adult ended up being convicted for illegal activity. As posted in the other threads, there are minors today intentionally doing just that. Plenty of 16 y/o could easily pass as an 18 y/o college student. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A particularly odd instance of this took place for several years on http://yahoo.com : a middle-age gentleman had various online profiles of himself as older teenage _female_ members, none of whom actually existed. He seemed to 'specialize' in younger, more naive, less sophisticated males with whom he wished to have a homosexual relationship, but without telling them that at first. He would chat with them, flirt with these guys, and because they were sort of insecure anyway, easily engage the guys in chatting on a regular basis, never saying a word about his _true_ intentions. As the victims got more and more interested in a possible meeting with their new 'female friend' the hints would begin to issue forward. Meet at a certain time and place, etc, but always with a condition attached: The condition involved 'dealing with this older guy who has been hassling me a lot, following me around, etc.' 'Can you (new boy friend) help me get rid of this old guy who is always making trouble?' 'If you can do that for me, then I guess I can agree to meet you also'. Time and again, as reports later reached Yahoo, these sort of naive guys were agreeing to meet (allegedly to get rid of the interloper and trouble maker) in some deserted place -- where in fact the 'troublemaker' or 'stalker' was the original guy. The newer (and more naive guy) wound up getting sexually molested, or raped (at worst) or at the very least humiliated. Apparently the _sick impersonator_ of a female pulled this off many hundreds of times, Yahoo doing nothing to stop it, and generally the guys were to embarassed by what had happened to them sexually to ever discuss it again, until some were questioned at length by informal groups of investigators working to 'clean up Yahoo Chat'. PAT] 5) Malicious secret storage: People have been arrested for having illegal porn photos on their computer. In some cases it was found that the material was placed there by someone with malicious intent (similar to planting drugs in someone's purse). How would the victim of such an attack prove their innocence? Again, I realize these things do not happen every day, but as computers become more widespread and integrated in our daily lives, the risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time increases. [public replies, please] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 17:52:43 PST From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Cellphone Technical Question Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:57:00 -0500 Michael Muderick wrote: > If I leave my cell phone near my computer speakers I will hear > occasional buzzing, clicking, etc. Before the phone begins to ring, I > hear a dah..dah.daahhhhh. I know this is RF interference being picked > up by the amplifier in the speaker. If one were to record this sound > with a microphone at 11 or 22Khz, would it be possible to obtain any > information (usable signal) from the recorded audio? Odds are that you have a GSM provider such as Cingular or T-Mobile. You'll hear the "dat-dit-dit-dah-dah-dah" sound occasionally and will usually hear it prior to your phone ringing. As to what you could get with this the answer is pretty much nothing. GSM and TDMA are encrypted so you wouldn't be able to gather much of any information. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #113 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 23 08:36:31 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id A7B4C151F8; Thu, 23 Mar 2006 08:36:29 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #114 Message-Id: <20060323133629.A7B4C151F8@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 08:36:29 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=unavailable version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 23 Mar 2006 08:39:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 114 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson China Blocks VOIP Calls For Two Years (Agence France Presse) Google Evolves Into All Purpose Service (Michael Leidtke) French Lawmakers Okay Online Copyright Bill (Laurence Frost) Yahoo Instant Phone Service (Robert McMillan) Yahoo Messenger Comes Calling (Juan Carlos Perez) Bored Canadian Bureaucrat Seeks Release (Reuters News Wire) Microsoft Offers Rivals Full Technical Support (Raf Casert) CFP: MICAI-2006, Artificial Intelligence, Springer LNAI+IEEE (Alex Gelbukh) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 22, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) IIR's Service Provisioning Conference (cellular-news) Cellular-News for Wednesday 22nd March 2006 (Cellular-News) AT&T Chief Says Telecom TV will Pressure Cable (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (Waitman Gobble) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (Garrett Wollman) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (ellis@no.spam) Followup Thoughts From Former Spammer (Ryan Pitylak) Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? (Henry) Re: Online Dating Brings Trouble (Henry) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Agence Frane Presse News Wire Subject: China Blocks VOIP Calls For Two Years Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:11:31 -0600 China has moved to protect its fixed telephone line business by banning free Internet telephone services for at least two years, the Financial Times reports. Wang Leilei, chief executive of Chinese internet portal group Tom Online, which has a joint venture with Luxembourg-based telephony provider Skype, said China would not issue any licenses for computer-to-telephone calls until 2008. The government "is not going to issue VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) licences until 2008," Wang told the newspaper. The move would likely be major setback to Skype, which was reportedly in talks last year with Chinese telecom operators to launch its computer-to-telephone service, SkypeOut. Wang, whose company is controlled by Hong Kong's wealthiest businessman Li Ka-shing, played down the decision. For Tom Online, "our strategy is to grow our user base. With a big user base, there is a lot you can do. Revenue (from SkypeOut) is not important to us because we have not put in a lot of cost," he said. Skype is a leader in VoIP and provides a subscriber service that enables web users to make ultra-cheap or free phone calls using an Internet connection on their computers. Skype's computer-to-computer calls are free while computer-to-telephone calls are charged at rates often much less than with fixed line services. China Telecom has described Skype's services as illegal and the newspaper said last year that China was experimenting with software in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen to block them. Fixed-line operators are concerned that SkypeOut could undermine their core business. Last September US technology group Verso Technologies admitted that it had sold software to an unnamed major Chinese telecoms firm that would allow China to block such telephony services. Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Michael Liedtke Subject: Google Evolves Into All Purpose Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:12:53 -0600 By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer The finance section Google Inc. unveiled Tuesday continues a philosophical shift that's turning its once-pure Internet search engine into an all-purpose Web site that seems increasingly interested in getting people to stick around instead of sending them elsewhere. The evolution has been unfolding during the past four years as Google has introduced free e-mail, news, photo sharing, instant messaging, shopping and mapping services that are staples of one-stop Web sites commonly known as "portals." The changes have sparked a debate about whether Google is moving wisely to counteract its biggest rivals -- longtime Web portals like Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN -- or overextending itself in a way that ultimately will diminish the appeal of its Internet-leading search engine. "There have been concerns that Google is doing just about everything these days but focusing on search," said Danny Sullivan, editor of Search Engine Watch, a closely watched industry newsletter. Although Google dislikes being described as a portal, Sullivan and industry analysts said its new finance section leaves little doubt where the company is headed. "They are being fairly careful about it, but they are walking very rapidly toward becoming a portal," said Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li. "They have a lot of other services gunning for them, so they have become most keen about building user loyalty so the users don't have a reason to go someplace else." By keeping visitors on its site longer, Google gets more chances to serve up the ads that account for virtually all of its profits, although for now, at least, Google doesn't plan to show ads on its finance section. Finance emerged as one of Yahoo's first specialty sections when the Sunnyvale-based company decided to diversify beyond Internet search and began packaging content on its own Web site. Yahoo's finance section, introduced a decade ago, has turned into one of the company's most powerful traffic magnets. The 31.4 million people who came to Yahoo Finance last month spent an average of 54 minutes per visit on the site, according to comScore Media Metrix. Google spokeswoman Sonya Boralv said the company remains committed to guiding its visitors to other Web sites with useful information. "Our motivation isn't to provide sticky services," she said. Unlike Yahoo, Google isn't hiring any writers to produce articles for its finance section, which will provide links to stories by a variety of media. But Google's site will include extensive analytical tools, including interactive charts, that seem likely to keep people on its site for longer periods. When Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded the company in 1998, they pledged to focus obsessively on Web search and avoid the temptation to diversify into other areas that might distract them. "Google does not do horoscopes, financial advice or chat," Google once boasted. The corporate philosophy section of Google's Web site continues to declare: "It's best to do one thing really, really well." But that same page now includes a footnote to reflect the company's mind-set has changed during the past four years. "Over time we've expanded our view of the range of services we can offer ... and products that then seemed unlikely are now key aspects of our portfolio," Google said. "This doesn't mean we've changed our core mission; just that the farther we travel toward achieving it, the more those blurry objects on the horizon come into sharper focus (to be replaced, of course, by more blurry objects)." Google executives say the company devotes 70 percent of its time on Internet search, 20 percent on peripheral products like the finance section and e-mail and 10 percent on experiments like its recent proposal to build a high-speed Internet service in San Francisco. Now that Google has launched a finance section, Gartner Inc. analyst Allen Weiner believes the company is more likely to add financial planning and personal banking software to compete with Microsoft. Google's Boralv said the company expects to add more features to the finance section, but said nothing is immediately planned. Weiner also suspects it won't be long before Google offers a specialty section devoted exclusively to sports, just like Yahoo and MSN already do. Google's expansion already has caused some people to draw cautionary comparisons to AltaVista, a pioneering Web search engine that set out to build a more diversified portal in the 1990s. The expansion alienated AltaVista's once-loyal users as its search results deteriorated, creating an opportunity for upstarts like Google. AltaVista eventually was sold and its technology now part of Yahoo's effort to overtake Google in search. "You wouldn't think it would be possible for Google to repeat the same mistakes" as AltaVista, Sullivan said. "You would think Google would remember that one of the reasons it exists is because of the dumb things other people once did." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Laurence Frost Subject: French Lawmakers Okay Online Copyright Bill Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:16:05 -0600 By LAURENCE FROST, AP Business Writer French lawmakers approved an online copyright bill Tuesday that would require Apple to break open the exclusive format behind its market-leading iTunes music store and iPod players. The draft law -- which also sets new penalties for music pirates - would force Apple Computer Inc., Sony Corp. and others to share proprietary copy-protection technologies so that rivals can offer compatible services and players. Lawmakers in the National Assembly, France's lower house, voted 296-193 to approve the bill. The legislation now has to be debated and voted by the Senate -- a process expected to begin in May. Breaking days of silence late Tuesday, Apple said such a law would "result in state-sponsored piracy." "If this happens, legal music sales will plummet just when legitimate alternatives to piracy are winning over customers," the company said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. "IPod sales will likely increase as users freely load their iPods with 'interoperable' music which cannot be adequately protected. Free movies for iPods should not be far behind in what will rapidly become a state-sponsored culture of piracy." The Cupertino, Calif. company did not address the issue of whether it might withdraw from the French online music market, and refused further comment. Under the bill, companies would be required to reveal the secrets of hitherto-exclusive copy-protection technologies such as Apple's FairPlay format and the ATRAC3 code used by Sony's Connect store and Walkman players. That could permit consumers for the first time to download music directly to their iPods from stores other than iTunes, or to rival music players from iTunes France. Apple has most to lose because of its phenomenal penetration of the digital music market, according to analysts. Critics of the French move say legislators have no business forcing Apple to share its proprietary format -- arguing that customers know its limitations when they choose to buy an iPod. A spokesman for Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, who backed the crucial amendments, dismissed suggestions that the bill would unfairly damage Apple. "We're targeting absolutely no one with this bill," Paul Rechter said. Rather, he said, the legislation is designed to discourage online piracy by offering additional legal ways for music players and online stores to work together. "When this happens, iTunes will have the French government to thank for making it possible to draw so many Internet users toward legal platforms," Rechter added. The new interoperability rules were welcomed in principle by recording companies, which have often complained that iTunes has deprived them of any control over music pricing. "It is important to consumers to have the ability to move songs between their various listening devices," said John Kennedy, chairman and CEO of the International Federation of the Recording Industry. IFPI also said it is seeking clarification on the penalties set out in the new law for music pirates. The bill reduces penalties for file-sharing -- currently classed as criminal counterfeiting, with a theoretical but rarely applied euro300,000 ($365,000) maximum fine and jail term. Instead it promises tighter enforcement, and fines of euro38 to euro150 ($50 to $180) for those caught pirating music or movies for personal use. Hackers who disable copy-protection systems can be ordered to pay euro3,750 ($4,600), while the full counterfeiting charge and sanctions are reserved for people who distribute software used for piracy. Under France's fast-track parliamentary procedure, the Senate debate is likely to be the last full reading of the new legislation. If the Senate passes any amendments, a committee of lawmakers from both houses will be convened to thrash out a compromise text, which must then be formally approved in two final votes by senators and deputies from the lower house. Associated Press Writers Nathalie Schuck in Paris and May Wong in San Jose, Calif. contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Robert MacMillan Subject: Yahoo Instant Phone Service Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:46:38 -0600 By Robert MacMillan Yahoo Inc. on Tuesday said it is launching a service in the United States that lets people make phone calls through the company's instant messaging software. Available in several other countries since December, the service allows people to make calls from their computers for 2 cents a minute or less to the top 30 national phone markets, including the United States. The "Phone Out" service also allows calls from computers to regular phones at varying rates to a total of 180 countries. Using instant messaging for phone calls is one of the latest ways that technology companies are finding cheaper ways to allow people to talk all over the world without relying on traditional phone networks. "Right now the competition is just about cheap voice calls," Forrester Research analyst Maribel Lopez said. The move also attempts to undercut rates offered by Skype, a similar service offered by eBay Inc.. Yahoo Messenger with Voice rates average between 20 percent and 30 percent lower than Skype to many major markets outside the United States, according to a comparison furnished by Yahoo. Tests in the initial five countries where the service launched proved more successful than anticipated, especially in France, said Yahoo Vice President of Communications Brad Garlinghouse, where strong demand for both Yahoo Phone In and Phone Out services occurred. Phone In allows customers to receive calls on their computers from regular and mobile phones for $2.99 a month, or $29.90 a year. Yahoo's service is one among a growing list of competitors, including Time Warner Inc.'s America Online as well as Microsoft Corp.. While initially the focus is on offering cheap phone calling for computer users, the battleground should quickly shift onto mobile and cordless phones, analysts said. Toward that end, Garlinghouse said Yahoo has struck phone partnerships with headset maker Plantronics, VTech, a maker of USB handsets, and Siemens AG, a big maker of cordless phones. Attracting and retaining mobile phone customers also is something Yahoo, with its ties to major U.S. and U.K. carriers, could use to distinguish itself from Skype. "Realistically, most of the IM services all look the same right now," Lopez said. "A lot of it has to do with who do you have the relationship with, whatever IM you may have." But Garlinghouse stopped short of saying when Yahoo Messenger might feature on mobile phones: "We have not yet announced any relationships to Yahoo Messenger with Voice onto a mobile (phone)," he said. In response to consumer complaints, Yahoo has dropped X10, the previous provider of software used to control sound quality and has signed up Global IP Sound as a supplier instead. The move brings Yahoo's audio quality exactly in line with rivals AOL, Google and Skype who rely on Global IP Sound themselves. Yahoo has also added an unobtrusive advertisement at the bottom of the Yahoo Messenger window. By contrast, America Online often features a blinking ad at the top of its AIM service. (With additional reporting by Eric Auchard in San Francisco) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Juan Carlos Perez Subject: Yahoo Messenger Comes Calling Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:52:03 -0600 Juan Carlos Perez, IDG News Service Yahoo plans on Wednesday to activate Internet phone capabilities for Yahoo Messenger users in the U.S., a little more than three months after announcing this feature. Since December, Yahoo has been doing a staggered rollout of the feature, which is now available for German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Singaporean users. By enabling it in the Yahoo Messenger client software for the U.S., the capabilities become effectively available globally, said Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo's vice president of communications products. With this move, Yahoo is trying to get a piece of the hot Internet phone market, which is led by Skype. Skype has captured a global audience of users with its intuitive, low-cost, high-quality service. Making Calls The upgrade to the instant messaging service, called Yahoo Messenger with Voice, lets users dial out from the IM interface to traditional or mobile phones. Yahoo Messenger users are also able to rent one or more phone numbers from Yahoo to receive phone calls through the IM interface. Calls made to phone numbers in the U.S. and 30 other countries with heavy telecommunications traffic will cost 2 cents per minute or less. Calls can also be made to over 150 other countries. Rates vary and are based on the place where the call terminates. For $2.99 per month or $29.90 per year, users are able to obtain one or more phone numbers to receive calls from regular or mobile phones via their Yahoo Messenger interface. Initially, only U.S., U.K., and French numbers are available. Yahoo Messenger with Voice also features a free voice-mail service, and for the first time adds a banner ad in the IM interface that will be "unobtrusive," Garlinghouse said. It uses the Global IP Sound GIPS VoiceEngine technology to process audio. Copyright 2006 PC World Communications, Inc. ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Bored Canadian Bureaucrat Begs For Escape Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:48:23 -0600 A bored Canadian bureaucrat fed up with office drudgery is seeking C$1 million ($860,000) in donations so he can quit his job and "do something that makes a difference in my life and the lives of others." The unnamed man, who claims to have worked for a large civil service organization for over 10 years, has set up a Web site -- saveabureaucrat.com -- on which he explains he is desperate to escape his job. "After a while it starts to sap the energy and soul out of you and you realize that you have become a true bureaucrat ... I feel like an old curmudgeon frustrated by having to deal with paper being passed around at a snail's pace," he writes. "Retirement will free up my time for volunteer activities such as tutoring children and counseling people who are going through rough patches in their life. On a daily basis I will be a much more pleasant person to be around," he adds. Despite promising not to spend donations on "Rolls-Royce cars, 10 bedroom houses, airplanes," the bored civil servant has quite a way to go. As of Wednesday morning, five sympathetic souls had sent in a total of just C$59.26. ($1=$1.16 Canadian) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. ------------------------------ From: Raf Casert Subject: Microsoft Offers Rivals Technical Support Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:50:15 -0600 By RAF CASERT, Associated Press Writer Microsoft Corp. on Wednesday offered "free, unlimited technical support" to rivals interested in making their software work with Microsoft servers, saying it wanted to comply with a landmark EU antitrust ruling. "We are committed to doing everything in our power to address the (European) Commission's concerns," Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said in a statement. A spokesman for the EU's antitrust office said the Microsoft offer "seems to be a constructive proposal," but said the company needed to make more efforts to fully fall in line with the EU's 2004 ruling. "Microsoft will naturally be well placed to answer questions from licensees on specific points of the technical documents," EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said. He insisted, however, that even two years after the ruling that forced Microsoft to share technical details with rivals, Microsoft's efforts remained insufficient. "The Commission's preliminary view is that the technical documentation still does not comply with the requirements of the March 2004 decision," he said. The EU has threatened Microsoft with 2 million euros ($2.4 million) in daily fines, backdated to Dec. 15, and said it would make its final decision after Microsoft pleaded its case at a hearing next week. "Microsoft will have the opportunity to explain how this technical support is relevant to the March 2004 decision," Todd said. The EU levied a record 497 million euro ($603 million) fine against Microsoft in March 2004. It also ordered the company to share code with rivals and to offer a version of Windows without the Media Player software. Microsoft is appealing the ruling, and the case will be heard in late April by the European Court of First Instance, the EU's second-highest court. In the meantime, Microsoft said the documentation already made available and Wednesday's offer showed the company's good intentions. "These new documentation projects, together with free and unlimited technical support and access to Windows source code, will ensure that our competitors have all the assistance they need," Smith said. Up to now, Microsoft had offered up to 500 hours of technical support free of charge and upped that to an unlimited amount on Wednesday. "We are committed to taking every possible step to satisfy the Commission's requirements," Smith said. Todd said that, in principle, rivals should be able to make their software compatible with Microsoft servers based on nothing but the technical documentation itself. "Companies trying to compete with Microsoft must be able to have access to usable, workable documentation and should not be forced to rely on help from Microsoft staff," he said. The man appointed to monitor Microsoft's compliance with the EU ruling -- computer science professor Neil Barrett -- has found that although the documentation had improved slightly over the past months, there were still significant gaps in meeting standards. Microsoft said it had devoted over 30,000 hours to developing extensive documentation and said in a statement it "meets or exceeds industry standards." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Alexander Gelbukh Subject: CFP: MICAI-2006, Artificial Intelligence, Springer LNAI + IEEE CS Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2006 05:56:12 -0600 Organization: MICAI 5th Mexican International Conference on ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MICAI 2006 November 13-17, Mexico; www.MICAI.org/2006 Proceedings: Springer LNAI; poster session: IEEE CS. Submission: June 2 (see webpage). PRELIMINARY CALL FOR PAPERS *** PAPER SUBMISSION *** Papers accepted for oral session will be published by Springer in Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI). Papers accepted for poster session will be published by IEEE CS Press. Submissions are received via www.MICAI.org/2006; see guidelines there. *** IMPORTANT DATES *** June 2: Submission deadline. July 24 / August 4: Acceptance notification for oral / poster session. August 21 / 25: Camera-ready deadline for oral / poster session. *** TOPICS *** All areas of Artificial Intelligence, see list on the webpage. *** CONTACT *** General inquiries: micai2006 at MICAI dot org. See more contact options on www.MICAI.org/2006. PLEASE CIRCULATE this CFP among your students and colleagues. We apology if you receive this CFP more than once. It is sent in good faith of its interest for you as an AI-related person. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:05:02 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 22, 2006 ******************************** EU Urges More Broadband Internet Access http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17195?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Union's executive office called on the governments of member nations to do more to get people online, saying only 13 percent of the union's 450 million people have broadband Internet access. If governments act now to boost investment in high-speed networks in remote and rural areas, all EU citizens... AT&T Dismisses BellSouth Merger Critics http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17191?11228 LAS VEGAS -- Ed Whitacre Jr., the chief executive of AT&T Inc., dismissed critics who say its planned merger with BellSouth Corp. will form a near-monopoly for Internet access and give it the clout to dictate terms to Web sites if they want to remain reachable. At issue is the current principle of 'network neutrality,' under... Vodafone Denies C&W Takeover Rumour http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17190?11228 Vodafone has denied that it is about to launch a takeover bid for Cable & Wireless's (C&W) U.K. business. Reacting to market speculation that it was in talks for a potential bid, a Vodafone spokesman told Dow Jones that 'the company had no intention no intention of owning any fixed-line assets'. Significance: Coming barely a... Locate911 Finds Network VoIP Phones http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17186?11228 A growing number of enterprises are turning to voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems to slash their phone costs. But enhanced phone system management is another reason why organizations may want to consider the technology. A novel product that showcases VoIP's device management possibilities to the hilt is eTelemetry's... Verizon Chief Sees Fast Wireless Broadband Future http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17184?11228 The future of wireless broadband is fiber and the future of fiber is broadband wireless, or at least an increasingly complex mix of the two, said Verizon Communications Chairman Ivan Seidenberg. In keynote remarks late yesterday at TelecomNEXT in Las Vegas, Seidenberg told the telephone company attendees that the future isn't only... Footlose & Cable-Free http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17181?11228 At the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio director of enterprise services Phil Skinner has a technology group looking into applications for so-called "wireless USB." Beyond replacing messy desktop cables, the group is looking at automatic synchronization between a slew of different devices. "Not just PDAs," notes... Siemens Shuffles Top Deck http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17179?11228 Siemens AG (NYSE: SI - message board; Frankfurt: SIE) announced a major reshuffle of its board today, including a new president for telecom unit Siemens Communications Group , which is currently under the merger and acquisition spotlight. (See Sources: Lucent, Nokia in Play for Siemens and Siemens Changes Board). At Com, president... Juniper Research Reveals VoIP Drivers http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17178?11228 Revenues from voice over IP (VoIP) services in the business sector will reach $18 billion by 2010, according to a new study by Juniper Research, due to several business-related factors. Its findings say VoIP growth will be driven by the replacement of existing business circuit-switched connectivity, cheaper call costs, the massive... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Subject: IIR's Service Provisioning Conference Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 19:03:04 -0600 From: Cellular-News Integrated Service Provisioning 3rd - 6th April 2006 Hotel Husa Princesa, Madrid, Spain http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=1396 If you haven't already reserved your place and you wish to take advantage of the lower price, be sure to book your place by this Friday. And with such an excellent mix of speakers giving detailed, in-depth presentations, the conference represents great value for money. Speakers on the programme include representatives from Covad, BT, Vodafone, Mobilkom Austria, Cingular Wireless, Telecom Italia, Saunalahti, MCI, Sunrise, Telekom Austria and many others. For full details of the programme, download the brochure at http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=1397 The event provides a perfect opportunity to gain practical information on how to meet the demands of provisioning ever more complex services, fulfilling converged services and cost effectively delivering new products to market quickly. Focussing on the management of new and existing technologies and effective methods for integrating systems and increasing automation, the event will feature in depth case studies and discussion sessions from operators who are leading the way in service fulfilment. Attend this conference and learn how to: - Increase the speed and reduce the costs of service provisioning for complex mobile, mulitplay, IP and broadband services. - Maximise the reusability of tasks and processes to increase efficiency in your service fulfilment - Assess the implications of IMS complexity on Service provisioning. - Develop an effective Service Oriented Architecture and maximise the benefits for Service Provisioning. - Evaluate the business case for implementing end to end automation and enabling zero-touch provisioning. - Develop a road map for cost-effective deployment of an architecture for provisioning convergent services. - Create seamless interfaces with third parties to enable fault free provisioning of complex services. To reserve your place at the conference: call our Customer Service team now on +44 (0) 20 7915 5055, email us at registration@iir-conferences.com. Or register via the website at http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=1398 Please quote the VIP Code: CG2291CNEM when booking ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Wednesday 22nd March 2006 Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:00:34 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ Financial ]] Vodafone Has "No Intention" To Bid For Cable & Wireless http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16619.php Vodafone Group, Tuesday said it isn't bidding for UK fixed-line company Cable & Wireless Group. ... Brazil's Banco Opportunity Ousted From Telco Boards http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16621.php A court decision Monday expelled representatives of Banco Opportunity from the management and boards of local wireless companies Telemig Celular Participacoes and Tele Norte Celular Particpacoes. ... Telemig posts record profits in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16627.php Minas Gerais state's largest mobile phone company Telemig Celular posted record profits of 174mn reais (US$81mn) in 2005, up from 159mn reais in 2004, Telemig reported in its earnings statement. ... Oi boosts sponsorship 20% to US$14mn http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16628.php Brazilian mobile operator Oi has boosted its sponsorship drive for 2006 by 20% to around 30mn reais (US$14mn), reported local financial newspaper Gazeta Mercantil. ... [[ Handsets ]] Blue Star Mobile Group In Pact With Motorola On Sales Tool http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16618.php Blue Star Mobile Group plc said Tuesday that it has entered into a partnership with Motorola Asia Pacific to develop and manage a Mobile Sales Tool application. ... Nokia Doesn't See Russian Operators Sponsoring Handsets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16622.php Finnish telecommunications equipment producer Nokia doesn't expect Russian cellular operators to sponsor handsets in the foreseeable future, a company spokesman said Tuesday. ... Motorola aims to lead market in the mid-term http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16625.php US equipment manufacturer Motorola aims to lead the Chilean mobile market in the mid-term, basing its strategy on a new and more robust portfolio of handsets, Motorola communications director for Latin America Gustavo Wrobel told press. ... Huawei Launches New CDMA Handset in India http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16629.php China's Huawei has introduced the latest range of CDMA mobile phone handsets in India. Catering for entry to mid-high level, each of Huawei's CDMA handsets comes with a slim and stylish look and feel, featuring a user-friendly interface for everyday ... CEC Telecom Claims Top5 Position in Chinese Market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16630.php China's Qiao Xing Universal Telephone says that according to a survey conducted by Sino Market Research, in February 2006, the brand of its major subsidiary CEC Telecom had further moved up one place in the market share league chart for local and for... LG Launches GSM Flavoured Chocolate Phone http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16631.php LG Electronics has announced that the LG Chocolate phone (LG-KG800) will be available in Europe from the beginning of May, 2006. Boasting a 'hidden' LCD screen and touch-keypad controls that glow red when in use, the feature-rich, slim LG Chocolate p... [[ Legal ]] Qualcomm Lawsuit Dismissed http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16632.php Qualcomm has announced that the Supreme Court for the State of New York has dismissed all claims brought against Qualcomm by Whale Telecom. Whale's lawsuit, filed in November 2004, sought over US$400 million in damages relating to purported agreement... [[ Mobile Content ]] Broadcast TV to Mobile - A solution looking for a problem? http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16634.php The latest frontier of convergence is the broadcasting of TV content to mobile phones. The media industry is becoming excited about the possibility of offering broadcast TV content to mobile handsets - but is there a robust business case for operator... [[ Network Operators ]] Reiman says Russian mobile cos may soon enter Chinese market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16623.php Russian mobile operators may expand their activities to China soon, Russia's IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman said in an interview with ITAR-TASS Tuesday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] India Government Appoints Misra As Chairman Of Telecom Regulator http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16620.php The Indian government Tuesday appointed Nripendra Misra chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. ... Analyst: New telecoms law set for rapid approval http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16626.php Argentina's congress is likely to approve without much deliberation a draft bill that brings the country's telecoms law up to date, local analyst Enrique Carrier, of Carrier & Asociados, told BNamericas. ... [[ Reports ]] Researchers Investigate Mobile Branding http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16633.php Researchers at Northeastern University are releasing the initial results of a quantitative survey of two regions, an established market (the United States) and an emerging market (Pakistan), designed to provide insight into consumer attitudes and res... [[ Technology ]] Russia's defense minister sees GLONASS launched in Russia in 2007 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16624.php Russia is expected to launch its Global Navigation Satellite System, or GLONASS, for domestic use in 2007 and worldwide in 2009, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Tuesday. ... Next Phase of M2M Market Requires Fusion of Cellular & Short Range RF http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16635.php The potentially boundless benefits of machine-to-machine communications (M2M) are still at odds with both expensive network transport and the exorbitant process of integrating M2M modules into the machines they will monitor, according to a new Wirele... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 13:38:44 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: AT&T Chief Says Telecom TV Will Pressure Cable USTelecom dailyLead March 22, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dmeQfDtutcbTAZuqBi TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * AT&T chief says telecom TV will pressure cable prices BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * News from TelecomNEXT: * Verizon takes Cablevision complaint to FCC * Lucent gets Riverstone for $207M * Verizon predicts more competitive pricing after ruling * When bundled packages don't hit the sweet spot * EchoStar to spend $1.6B on new satellites USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * TelecomNEXT keynotes discuss what's next for communications * Dynamic exhibit floor with cutting-edge technologies opens at TelecomNEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Yahoo! expands VoIP service * Nortel unveils routers for converged networks * Sprint to test muni Wi-Fi network * Report on business VoIP delivers good, bad news REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * EU rings bell for broadband Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dmeQfDtutcbTAZuqBi ------------------------------ From: Waitman Gobble Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: 21 Mar 2006 20:10:15 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hello everyone. Did you check out the alexa traffic stats for this site? I am guessing that it was worth the ad revenue. ??? Take care, Waitman ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 05:05:32 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab In article , jared wrote: > Secrecy & patented? As I understand it: the technique is patented; the precise parameters (known as a "reset vector") which Google uses to generate its particular rankings are secret. If these parameters were to become known, they could be used to manipulate the rankings. Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) ------------------------------ From: ellis@no.spam Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 01:06:18 -0000 Organization: S.P.C.A.A. In article , jsw wrote: >> Google could not immediately be reached for comment but the company >> aggressively defends the secrecy of its patented search ranking system > IANAL, but the way I've always understood patents, if a patent is issued, > the methods involved are disclosed and are not secret. They're disclosed only to the point of justifying the claims. One of the big games with patents is to disclose as little as one can but still have the patent issued. http://www.spinics.net/photo/ [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Although I am not familiar with the exact circumstances of Kinderstart, I am familiar with the statistics for this Digest. I know that sometimes there are wild flucuations in the 'hit' or pages-viewed count from one day to the next when using Google's statistics. I know Google never ever comes close to the same hit count as I get from my internal program for same, so I have to wonder at times if their 'secret formulas' etc are as good as they are claimed to be. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Ryan Pitylak Subject: Followup Note From Former Spammer Trying to Make Good Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2006 22:30:06 -0600 I would like write a follow-up if you would permit it: Thank you for seeing my intentions. I hope to not only be a part of the online community, but be a force for positive change in the online community. I am working hard to bring value to the community by doing volunteer work at a local SBA backed lender, starting up a student entrepreneurship organization, helping in the fight against spam, and working with a program called Working For Good, which promotes entrepreneurialism that is civic minded. Thank you, Ryan Pitylak ------------------------------ From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Subject: Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:31:06 +0200 Organization: Elisa Internet customer > William Warren wrote: >> Innocent people accused of crimes have the same protections they have >> always had -- the truth -- and the truth is that we all do very >> predictable things at very predictable times, in full view of dozens, if >> not hundreds, of witnesses. Innocent people seldom have trouble proving >> that they are what they seem. I have a bridge I will sell you, cheap. It is magic; it leads somewhere over the rainbow, where you'll have pie in the sky. hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote: > I'm glad that you have never been in trouble or ever accused of doing > something wrong. But the real world is not so perfect or nice. > Through DNA testing we have learned that some criminals who proclaimed > innocence were indeed guilty. But we also learned that some weren't > guilty and spent years in prison for crimes they clearly did not > commit. The system is not perfect. There are two kinds of people: those who believe that the police would never _dream_ of 'planting' evidence, lying on the witness stand or otherwise 'framing' a suspect, and those who believe that it happens all the time. Cheers, Henry [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We know, of course, that it happens all the time; what is interesting is that now and then it slips out into the daily media, which normally serves as cheerleaders for police. One instance I will _not_ forget for a long time, if ever, occurred to be back in the middle 1980's: The apartment where I was living had been burglarized (this was in Chicago, naturally) and although I did not see the persons, police had a couple young black guys they had arrested for it. It got to court, we were in the little anteroom where police/prosecutors/victims sit to discuss their case before the trial. Police were quite persistent: _you did see these two guys carrying stuff from your apartment, right_? I told the cops I did not see it. The prosecutor cleared his throat and said to the police, "uh, tell Mr. Townson how things like this work out in those cases; I will be back in a few minutes." Whereupon the prosecutor _left the room_. The cop looks at me and says, and I quote (I could not forget this even if I wanted to) "when we go in there for trial in a few minutes, if you tell the judge what you just now told the prosecutor and myself -- that you did not see those NIGGERS (my emphasis) with your stuff, then the judge is going to cut them loose; let them walk. On the other hand, if you tell the judge you saw them carrying your computer then the judge will send them away for a couple years. Wouldn't it be better to have NIGGERS all off the street and locked up in jail? You think about that, Mr. Townson." Frankly I was a little shocked, but as I think about it now, I do not know why I should have been. There was nothing new or unusual about a police officer being racist and making up lies. The police officer made a sort of motion with his hand, and almost immediatly the prosecutor came back in the room. He was obviously not going to be put in the position of having heard such a statement be made and risk some legal action against himself (as prosecutor) which is why he was absent when the damning lie against those two guys was extended by the police officer. I told them both to count me out of the deal; getting couple of (in this instance, at least) innocent guys sent to prison as revenge for the burglary of my house was not worth it to me. The cop and prosecutor gave me a total cold shoulder for the rest of the court session. PAT] ------------------------------ From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Subject: Re: Online Dating Brings Trouble Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2006 08:31:06 +0200 Organization: Elisa Internet customer Verna Gates wrote: > Perils of online dating prompt safety efforts > By Verna Gates Thanks, Verna. Just what America needs -- more fear-mongering. Better stay at home, folks. Cross that street and the bus will run you down, just as the lightning is striking you. cheers, Henry [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is not really true, Henry. First of all, the bus hitting you or lightning striking you are very slim chances, but the chances of (a) some sort of crazy person encroaching on your privacy on line or (b) the chances of your computer being attacked _merely because it is left turned on_ are quite real. You should wish all you had to worry about was lightning or getting hit by a bus ... malfeasance involving your computer is a much more real, more common occurrance. Not necessarily a stalker, perhaps, but some jerk wanting to play games none the less. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #114 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 23 16:08:54 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 1C03A14EA5; Thu, 23 Mar 2006 16:08:54 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #115 Message-Id: <20060323210854.1C03A14EA5@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 16:08:54 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=2.0 tests=ACCEPT_CREDIT_CARDS, ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00,HOT_NASTY,MILLION_EMAIL,NA_DOLLARS,NO_COST autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 23 Mar 2006 16:10:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 115 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson NY Sues For Invasion of Privacy (Michael Gormley) Second Shoe, was Re: Spitzer, an Email Harvester (Danny Burstein) Fliers Privacy Safe (Roger Yu) Privacy of Medicare Records (Julie Appleby) Employment Opportunity: Network Provisioner (Srikanth_V) Cellular-News for Thursday 23rd March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 23, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) BellSouth's Ackerman Ttouts Synergies of AT&T (USTelecom dailyLead) Last Laugh! Is This a Typo? Order To Indiana (carolina water) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Michael Gormley Subject: NY Sues For Invasion of Privacy Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:06:30 -0600 N.Y. Sues Internet Firm for Privacy Breach By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press Writer New York's attorney general sued an Internet company Thursday over the selling of e-mail addresses in what authorities say may be the biggest deliberate breach of Internet privacy ever. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer accused Gratis Internet of selling personal information obtained from millions of consumers despite a promise of confidentiality. The consumers thought they were simply registering to see a Web site offering free iPod music players or DVD movies and video games, Spitzer spokesman Brad Maione said. On sign-up pages, Gratis promised it "does not ... sell/rent e-mails." Instead of confidentiality, Spitzer said, Gratis sold access to their e-mail information to three independent e-mail marketers, and hundreds of millions of e-mail solicitations followed. Gratis, based in Washington, D.C., did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. But in a statement after Spitzer's related lawsuit of March 12, a Gratis spokesmen said the company wasn't involved in any inappropriate practices. In that case, Datran Media of New York City, a leading e-mail marketer, was accused of using unauthorized personal data "mined" by other firms from about 6 million e-mail addresses nationwide. Datran agreed to reform its practices under a $1.1 million settlement. "Unless checked now, companies that collect and sell information on consumers will continue to find ways to erode the basic standards that protect privacy in the Internet age," Spitzer said. Spitzer's "data mining" investigation began last year amid reports of companies compiling and selling marketing lists. Gratis owns and operates Web sites that offer free merchandise for registering their e-mail addresses. The state fraud lawsuit accuses its owners, Peter Martin and Robert Jewell, of privacy violations in 2004 and 2005. Spitzer claims Gratis wrongfully shared as many as 7 million "user records," creating the largest deliberate breach of a privacy policy discovered by U.S. law enforcement. He said the company's promises to consumers included: "We will never give out, sell or lend your name or information to anyone," and "We will never lend, sell or give out for any reason your e-mail address or personal information." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: danny burstein Subject: Second Shoe, was: Spitzer... vs. An E-mail List Broker/Harvester Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 14:47:09 -0500 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC ( new stuff appended at end ) earlier: " Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today announced a settlement to address what may have been the largest breach of privacy in internet history. .... " Datran was alleged to have improperly used information it had obtained from several companies that compile and sell information on consumers. " The largest such company, Gratis Internet, had assured consumers on several web sites it owned and operated that it would 'never lend, sell or give out for any reason' the information provided by users. Among the sites on which Gratis collected user information were 'freeipods.com' and 'freedvds.com.' " The Attorney General's investigation revealed that Datran knew of Gratis' promise to consumers when it purchased the consumer lists. But after obtaining these lists, Datran sent millions of unsolicited e-mails to the listed consumers. Rest at: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/mar/mar13a_06.html --------------- --------------- And now: " Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today sued a company responsible for what is believed to be the largest deliberate breach of privacy in internet history. " The suit against web site operator Gratis Internet alleges that the company sold personal information obtained from millions of consumers under a strict promise of confidentiality. [ snip ] " Even on its sign-up pages, Gratis promised consumers that it 'does not ... sell/rent emails.' " However, the Attorney General's investigation confirmed that Gratis's owners, Peter Martin and Robert Jewell, repeatedly violated these promises during 2004 and 2005 by selling access to lists of millions of Gratis's customers to three independent email marketers. The marketers then sent hundreds of millions of email solicitations to those users, on behalf of their own customers. In each of these deals, Gratis wrongfully shared between one and seven million confidential user records. This is believed to be the largest deliberate breach of a privacy policy ever discovered by U.S. law enforcement. rest at: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/mar/mar23a_06.html ------------------------------ From: Roger Yu Subject: Fliers Privacy Safe Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:07:50 -0600 Fliers' privacy safe, entrepreneur says By Roger Yu, USA TODAY Travelers who sign up for the government-approved program allowing them to speed through airport checkpoints will do so at no cost to their privacy, entrepreneur Steven Brill says. Brill's company, Verified Identity Pass, operates the USA's only Registered Traveler program at Orlando and is poised to expand to more airports once the U.S. Transportation Security Administration allows it starting June 20. Other companies including Saflink, Unisys and EDS are also expected to bid for airport business, but Brill's company has established itself as the leader with impressive partnership deals with Hyatt Hotels and General Electric. Critics have assailed Registered Traveler as compromising the privacy of those who enroll. But Brill vows never to share personal data with third parties, including marketers, car rental and credit card companies or hotels. His company also refrains from accepting data from other marketers. Trade publication Business Travel News published Brill's comments Tuesday, and he elaborated on the privacy issue in a USA TODAY interview. Hacking the program's identity card code is impossible, Brill says. Even if the code could be hacked, the possession of a traveler's name, template of the right thumb and left iris would do little good for data thieves, he says. "It doesn't do you any good unless you can actually steal my right thumb and left iris," he said. Travelers who enroll, pass a government background check and pay the annual membership fee of about $80 prove their identity at airport checkpoints by an electronic reading of a fingerprint or iris. VIP doesn't keep track of members' travel patterns and destinations. "If you use it to go to Guantanamo, we couldn't tell," he says. Marcia Hofmann of Washington, D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center says the program still faces some privacy and security issues, including government handling of rejected applications. She also says creation of a separate screening line for those willing to make "civil liberties concessions to achieve some benefits" is a bad precedent. The number of VIP's enrolled customers topped 18,000 this month at Orlando. Brill says it could rise more quickly once the company signs up more corporate customers who buy memberships in bulk. In February, Hyatt bought "tens of thousands" of memberships for valued customers. Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from USA Today, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ From: Julie Appleby Subject: Security of Medicare Information Questioned Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:09:52 -0600 By Julie Appleby, USA TODAY Medical and financial information gathered on millions of Americans by Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs is vulnerable to thieves or pranksters because of inadequate computer security, federal investigators say. "Significant weaknesses in information security controls" increase the risk from those who would "inadvertently or deliberately disclose, modify or destroy" sensitive data, the U.S. Government Accountability Office says. The soon-to-be-released GAO review focuses on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), whose agencies use computer systems to pay more than a billion Medicare claims worth more than $290 billion each year, track medical research at the National Institutes of Health and manage Food and Drug Administration programs. "Instead of firewalls to safeguard sensitive data, we have Swiss cheese," says Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which requested the report. Grassley's office says Medicare keeps a variety of information on beneficiaries, including Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates and medical conditions. In a written response in the report, HHS officials said investigators do "not provide an accurate or complete appraisal" of its security programs and fail to note a 2005 effort that resulted in a reduction of 57% in reportable deficiencies. "The frequent use of the word 'significant' to describe control weaknesses ... evokes a negative connotation that is not reflective of the progress or current state of HHS' information security program," the department said. The review comes as the federal government is pushing computer technology as key to improving medical quality and slowing costs. In fiscal 2005, HHS will spend nearly $5 billion on information technology, the report says, much of it to help process Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals. Investigators for the GAO reviewed management and audit reports from 2004 and 2005 that outline security practices at 13 HHS divisions and found: .Anti-virus software not installed or up to date. .Lack of adequate control over computer passwords. .Employees and contractors serving without background checks. .Inadequate physical controls to prevent spying or theft, such as non-working surveillance cameras and unrestricted access to a data center. "Fundamentally, it's an organization that is behind in making security part of its regular operations," says Alan Paller, who has seen the report but was not involved in writing it. Paller is research director at security firm the SANS Institute in Bethesda, Md. "It's very dangerous for health care data." Find this article at: http://yahoo.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2006-03-23-medical-data_x.htm?csp=1 ------------------------------ From: Srikanth_V Subject: Empplyment Opporutnity: Network Provisioner Date: 22 Mar 2006 12:37:21 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have an urgent requirement for Network Provisioner. Please send me the perfect resumes asap. Position: Network Provisioner Location: 2 months in Austin and 4 months in Dallas. Duration: 6 months Pay rate: Open Minimum Required Skills / Competencies: Comprehensive understanding of circuit bandwidth relationships and telecommunications transmission protocols. Must have demonstrated knowledge of circuit ordering processes, including: ASR (Access Service Request), ASRW (Access Service Request Worksheet) and WSR (Wireless Service Request). Must have a working knowledge of how to translate CLRs (Circuit Layout Records) into a vendor order. Fundamental knowledge of Central Office environment preferred to support PSTN, IXC, 800 and 911 ordering. Should have a good understanding of an SS7 (Signaling System Number Seven) network as it relates to trunking network. Demonstrated experience of ISUP (Integrated Services Digital Network User Part) ordering for new trunking routes. Preferred skills:BellSouth, Verizon, SBC, AT&T and Sprint on-line ordering systems. Granite experience preferred to maintain order information For further queries please call me on 913-871-7622 or else mail me at srikanth@otsi-usa.com. Thank you. Sincerely, Srikanth Object Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTSI) 8645 College Blvd., Suite 250 Overland Park, Kansas 66210 Ph: 913-871-7622 Fax: 913-312-9099 www.otsi-usa.com srikanth@otsi-usa.com "Top 11 - Outsourcing Firm by Kansas Business Journal, 2006 & 2005" "Winner - Kansas Minority Owned Professional Services Firm of the Year, 2004" ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Thursday 23rd March 2006 Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 09:20:14 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] China 3G License Delay Will Hamper Indus Devt-Research Co http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16637.php China shouldn't postpone issuing third-generation mobile phone licenses even if the Chinese 3G standard still has problems, a senior executive of a telecoms and technology research firm said Wednesday. ... [[ Financial ]] Telemar gives Ola the cold shoulder http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16638.php Brazil's largest telecommunications group, Telemar, snubbed Colombian mobile operator Colombia Móvil's (Ola) invitation to participate in a tender to become its strategic partner, Bogot paper La Republica reported. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Mobile TV Viewers Spend Increases US$40 Per Month http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16643.php Mobile TV and video usage is growing slowly, but is attracting a higher proportion of the young adult and male demographic, reports Telephia. According to the research firm, 1.5% or roughly three million wireless subscribers in the U.S. streamed TV o... [[ Network Contracts ]] Ericsson Gets Order For Multimedia, Converges Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16636.php Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson, Wednesday said it has received an order for its internet protocol multimedia subsystem from Optimus, a mobile operator within the Portugal's Sonaecom. ... IN BRIEF: Emida provides prepaid billing support to Cingular http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16641.php US and Puerto Rico wireless operator Cingular has awarded US prepayment and value transfer platforms provider Emida a contract to support its prepaid debit/credit card programs, Emida said in a statement. ... [[ Network Operators ]] CDMA Connections Suspended in Sri Lanka http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16644.php Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) says that it has decided to seek legal redress on the Direction issued to SLT by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka with regard to installation charges for telephone services based on CDMA fixed wireless... [[ Personnel ]] Vodafone Chairmen Reach Jobs Other Chairmen Cannot Reach http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16646.php Vodafone's Chairman, Lord MacLaurin who is stepping down from the giant phone company in a few months, has been proposed to the Supervisory Board of the Brewery company, Heineken. The brewer cites Lord MacLaurin of Knebworth extensive expertise and e... [[ Regulatory ]] Movistar: Spectrum bidding rules sold well http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16639.php Mobile operator Movistar Chile, the local unit of Spain's Telefónica Móviles, is pleased with the demand for the forthcoming auction of excess spectrum it has in the 800MHz band, local newspaper Diario Financiero quoted general manager Oliver... [[ Reports ]] Wireless Operators Rapidly Building Next-Gen Networks http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16642.php Mobile operators will create their next generation networks using a range of wireless broadband and cellular technologies, including W-CDMA, WiFi, and WiMAX, says a new report by Infonetics Research. And they're moving fast. According to the study, t... [[ Technology ]] GUEST COLUMN: The thorny issue of satellite orbit 81ºW http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16640.php By Carlos Blanco, Market research director, Signals Telecom Consulting. Argentina belongs to an exclusive club of satellite operating nations in Latin America, alongside Brazil and Mexico, and this is a club Venezuela aims to join by launching an And... Qualcomm Developing Mobile Base Stations http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16645.php UTStarcom has joined with Qualcomm to develop a mobile base station unit, based on UTStarcom's MovingMedia 2000 all-IP CDMA wireless core infrastructure technology, which provides the essential connectivity components. The QDBS is designed to provide... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 11:38:30 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Thursday, March 23, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 23, 2006 ******************************** Data Quality Management: A Key to Operator Profitability http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17213?11228 Understanding how an operator can improve business performance through better data quality is not just a question of knowing what the operator is now; you need to know what it has been in the past. Like contestants on an extreme makeover show, operators are seeking to transform their external appearance to fit the demands of the market:... Time is Not Right for 3G Licensing, Says MII Official http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17212?11228 The Chinese government has no short-term timetable for launching 3G in China, according to South China Morning Post reports citing Zhou Baoyun, the vice director of the Ministry of Information Industry's (MII) general office. According to Zhou, while the necessary conditions exist for 3G introduction in China, the technology -- especially ... IP Changes Rules of Interconnect Game http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17211?11228 SINCE INTERCONNECTION accounts for a large portion of expenses and revenue for traditional wholesale carriers, the game of keeping these systems up-to-date and reducing complexity is well-known and played often. But as voice margins decline, operators are looking to deploy IP data services, like interactive gaming, music and videos,... Cesky Telecom Fined US$3.4 mil. Following Probe into ADSL Pricing http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17208?11228 The Czech Republic's competition authority, the UOHS, has announced that Cesky Telecom has been fined 80 million koruna (US$3.4 billion) following rivals' complaints that it has abused its ADSL market dominance. Cesky Telecom has said that it is considering an appeal against the decision and the level of the fine, which had been reduced... EBay Plans Payments Using Cell Phones http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17205?11228 SAN FRANCISCO -- Paypal, the online payment service owned by eBay Inc., has begun testing a new offering to allow people to make and receive payments using cell phones and other mobile devices. Paypal Mobile is being tested by an unspecified number of eBay employees and will be available to the public in the United States, Canada... Nortel, Minerva Find IPTV Partners http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17203?11228 The recently announced relationship between Minerva Networks Inc. and Nortel Networks Ltd. (NYSE/Toronto: NT - message board) could be the smaller company's entree into large telco accounts and Nortel's chance to interlock one chosen middleware vendor with its IMS offering. At this week's TelecomNEXT conference, Minerva and Nortel... Yahoo! Unveils IM with Voice http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17201?11228 Yahoo! is aiming to boost its instant messaging service by allowing customers to make calls from their PCs to landline and wireless phones. The VoIP service runs $2.99 a month. For $2.99 per month (or $29.90 per year), subscribers gain access to one or more phone numbers to receive calls from regular or mobile phones via their Yahoo... CLECs Urged Toward 'Co-opetition' http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17196?11228 At the CompTel conference and expo in San Diego, domestic competitive carriers are being advised to think about linking their network infrastructures on a spot basis when necessary in order to cope with uncertain incumbent pricing and contract terms when it comes to now-restricted unbundled network element platform (UNE-P) availability. ... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:23:27 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: BellSouth's Ackerman Touts Synergies of AT&T USTelecom dailyLead March 23, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dmrcfDtutccQupcqhd TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * BellSouth's Ackerman touts synergies of AT&T merger at TelecomNEXT BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * News from TelecomNEXT: * Verizon: FCC broadband ruling won't change MCI deal * Cox focuses on "echo boomers" * BSNL plans major network buildout USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * TelecomNEXT: BellSouth, Alcatel, Siemens execs cover new technology * New and emerging networks take center stage only at TelecomNEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * New Sony network could feature episodic gaming * CMT plans broadband channel * Wireless carriers ramp up GPS offerings REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Panel calls for relaxing Canadian telecom regulations Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dmrcfDtutccQupcqhd ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2006 02:42:11 +0100 From: carolina water Subject: Last Laugh! Is This a Typo? Order To Indiana Pleasant Day, I want to order for some items,firstly I want to know if you can ship direct to me at Indiana and also we will make payment full with (money Order Or check). I await your email. Carolina water [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I dunno if we can ship to Indiana or not. I know we ship to India, Indonesia and elsewhere around the world, and of course we accept third party credit cards and cashiers checks from your custmomers to do it. We even refund the purchase price direct to you on request! But _Indiana_ I am not so sure about. Maybe some of the bigger towns there, it might be possible, such as Winnemac, Tell City, Whiting, etc, in care of General Delivery at their post offices, and of course we would expect you to promptly honor our invoices in the same way. NB: Would you believe -- can you concieve -- that the above, country typo and all, to be gracious and courteous about it -- showed up in my mailbox today? You'd think that the authors/senders of this garbage, in this instance 'Carolina water' would at least do some modicum of proof-reading on their ouvre before depositing it en-masse in the email system. All I can say is yes Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #115 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 24 21:14:14 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id CB77A14F84; Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:14:13 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #116 Message-Id: <20060325021413.CB77A14F84@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:14:13 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.4 required=2.0 tests=ACCEPT_CREDIT_CARDS, ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00,DRUGS_PAIN autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:16:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 116 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Your Data For Sale? (Monty Solomon) Consumers Cool to 'Bundles'/Some Find That Cable, Internet (Monty Solomon) Telecom Update #522, March 24, 2006 (Angus TeleManagement Group) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 24, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Lucent, Alcatel Discuss Merger (USTelecom dailyLead) Cellular-News For Friday 24th March 2006 (Cellular-News) Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Online Dating Brings Trouble (Lisa Hancock) Re: Employment Opporutnity: Network Provisioner (John McHarry) Re: Last Laugh! Is This a Typo? Order To Indiana (John McHarry) 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: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:07:00 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Your Data For Sale? By Steve Bailey, Globe Columnist Partners Healthcare, the giant of the Boston medical world, is studying a plan with other big academic hospitals elsewhere to sell aggregated patient data to the government, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, insurers, and publishers. "As the adage goes, 'Information is power, and power is money,' " notes a confidential Partners' document outlining the 'data commercialization project." Partners executives say no decision has been made to go ahead with the project. "It is still in the brainstorming stages," says Partners chief operating officer, Tom Glynn. They are sensitive to concerns about patient confidentiality, and say the most likely first customer would be government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration. As an example, they say data collected by the hospitals could have been used by the FDA to correlate the use of Vioxx and the incidence of heart attacks. But the confidential outline makes clear Partners sees the market as much broader. "This project offers the opportunity to understand how various enterprises (government, pharma/biotech, consulting/analysis firms, investment analysts, publishers, etc.) utilize healthcare data to achieve their goals," the memo states. Among the information available in Partners' 'data warehouse': patient demographic data; diagnoses and procedure data; inpatient pharmacy data; and ''assorted data" on inpatient hospitalization and clinical encounters, including provider information. http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2006/03/24/your_data_for_sale/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:10:55 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Consumers Cool to 'Bundles' / Some Find That Cable, Internet Consumers cool to 'bundles' Some find that cable, Internet, telephone packages are a tangle By Washington Post | March 24, 2006 WASHINGTON -- Lori Mabry thought she was getting a good deal by putting all of her home communications in the hands of one company. Two years ago, the Lanham, Md., resident turned to AT&T for a package of services including local and long-distance phone and high-speed Internet, saving at least $50 and the hassle of writing three checks. But when she tried to replace the Internet component of her package with another company, the deal fell apart, and Mabry wound up disgruntled. Big telecom and cable TV companies say such 'bundles' of service are the way of the future, and the concept is driving huge corporate mergers that are remaking the consumer marketplace. But customers have been slow to pick up on the notion, and those who have, such as Mabry, sometimes find the reality has yet to match the vision. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/03/24/consumers_cool_to_bundles/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:10:47 -0800 Subject: Telecom Update #522, March 24, 2006 From: Angus TeleManagement Group Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 522: March 24, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Telecom Panel Proposes Fast Track to Deregulation Change the Regulatory Framework Create New Agencies "Complete the Job" on Broadband Encourage ICT Adoption Review Broadcasting Policy, Loosen Foreign Ownership ** Report Gets Mixed Response ** Opposing Appeals Hit Deferral Account Ruling ** Lucent, Alcatel Seek Merger ** Coast Guard Vessels to Get Internet Access ** Nortel Merges Data Divisions ** James Bay Hospitals Link to Provincial Network ** Virgin Offers Flat-Rate Evening Calling ** Matthews Startup Launches IPO ** Alan Horn Named Rogers Chair ** Glentel Records Banner Year ** Pulver's VON Returns to Canada ============================================================ TELECOM PANEL PROPOSES FAST TRACK TO DEREGULATION: Bell Canada and Telus got almost everything they wanted in the 400-page Telecom Policy Review report, submitted to Industry Minister Maxime Bernier this week. ** The report acknowledges that legislative changes will take time, but urges Cabinet to begin the recommended institutional changes now, and to direct the CRTC to act in the spirit of the recommendations as much as possible in the meantime. ** Bernier responded: "In the coming weeks and months, my department and I will carefully review this thorough report and its recommendations." http://www.telecomreview.ca/epic/internet/intprp-gecrt.nsf/en/h_rx00054e.html CHANGE THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: The report calls on the government to amend the Telecom Act and to make several institutional changes. Its 127 recommendations include: ** Rely on market forces "to the maximum extent feasible" as the means to achieve policy objectives. ** Use economic regulation only when a carrier has "significant market power" or when market forces are unlikely to achieve a policy objective within a reasonable time frame. ** Have tariffs automatically take effect seven days after filing, unless the CRTC suspends or disallows them. Make enforcement ex post, based on complaints after the fact, rather than by advance approval. ** Bring resellers under direct CRTC authority. Give them the same rights as CLECs if they take on the obligations. ** Move regulation of spectrum, submarine cables, satellite orbital slots, and telecom equipment from Industry Canada to the CRTC. Give the CRTC clear legal authority to rule on access to electrical poles and support structures, inbuilding wire, public rights-of-way, and sharing of wireless towers. ** Reduce the number of CRTC commissioners from 13 to five. Create a more open selection process, geared to hiring experts and paying them well. ** Eliminate appeals of CRTC decisions to Cabinet. Allow direct appeals to the Federal Court, without a preliminary "leave to appeal" application. CREATE NEW AGENCIES: The report proposes two new regulatory bodies: ** A Telecom Competition Tribunal, jointly operated by the CRTC and the Competition Bureau, to deal with competitive issues and complaints, including issues relating to "market power" and "essential facilities." It should have fining authority, as should the CRTC. ** A Telecommunications Consumer Agency to handle individual and small-business customer complaints. "COMPLETE THE JOB" ON BROADBAND: The report says Canada should make broadband available to 98% of Canadian households by 2010. A new "U-CAN" program would fund broadband projects through "least cost subsidy auctions" to fill in the gaps where commercial deployment is uneconomic and no other programs are providing funding. ** Note: in 2001, the National Broadband Task Force called for broadband to all Canadian communities by 2004 (see Telecom Update #288). Despite progress, this target was not reached, for many reasons including lack of funding. ENCOURAGE ICT ADOPTION: The panel wants the federal government to develop and implement a national strategy to foster increased adoption of information and communications technology, including creating a tax credit for small and medium enterprises to encourage "smart adoption" of ICT. REVIEW BROADCASTING POLICY, LOOSEN FOREIGN OWNERSHIP: The report recommends that broadcasting policy be reviewed, to create separate rules for "content" and "carriage." This would allow carriage ownership rules to be liberalized without undermining Canadian cultural objectives. In the meantime, foreign ownership restrictions should be liberalized for telecom service providers that aren't subject to the Broadcasting Act. REPORT GETS MIXED RESPONSE: Industry reaction to the Telecom Policy Review report ranged from enthusiastic to downright hostile. Some early comments: ** Lawson Hunter, EVP, Bell Canada: "This is a landmark report that will ignite a key driver of Canada's economy.... It is in the interests of all Canadians that the government act quickly and decisively on the report's recommendations." ** Willie Grieve, VP, Telus: "The presumption of no regulation is a great opportunity for players to roll out new services, to introduce more flexibility and build the business that makes rates lower." ** Chris Pierce, Chief Regulatory Officer, MTS-Allstream: "The recommendations appear hopelessly complicated and impractical. They appear based on the rather implausible notion that greater bureaucracy will result in greater efficiency for Canadian consumers and businesses." ** Ken Engelhart, VP, Rogers: "I'm not sure we need to go through this, given how close we are to deregulation. Why bring in a whole new regime at this point?" ** Pippa Lawson, Consumer Advocate: "Current regulations hold the many systemic flaws in check and replacing that with some toothless, industry-run body is totally inadequate." ** Bruce Robertson, Marketing Director, Vonage Canada: "Deregulating too quickly, before the playing field has been leveled with more and fair competition, will risk entrenching a duopoly of dominant telephone and cable companies." ** Cogeco Cable: "In an environment of convergence and bundling of all types of communications services, this review process must be extended to the broadcasting sector.... Also, Cogeco Cable is not convinced that it is necessary to establish several new regulatory bodies as proposed in the Report." ** Charles Dalfen, Chair, CRTC: "We believe the review has provided Canadians with an opportunity to think about where Canada has been, where it is now and about where it should go in telecommunications in the context of a global information society." OPPOSING APPEALS HIT DEFERRAL ACCOUNT RULING: The Federal Court of Appeal has received two directly opposed applications for leave to appeal the CRTC's recent deferral account decision, which ordered the telcos to spend most of the money on broadband deployment. (See Telecom Update #517) ** The Consumers Association of Canada and the National Anti- Poverty Organization want the Court to rule that all of the money in the account should be returned to customers, not just the remainder after broadband spending. ** Bell Canada wants the Court to rule that none of the money should be returned to customers, because the CRTC has previously found the telco's rates to be "just and reasonable." LUCENT, ALCATEL SEEK MERGER: The New York Times reports that Alcatel is considering buying Lucent for about US$12.6 billion. Lucent and Alcatel have confirmed that they are discussing a "merger of equals." The two companies tried to merge in 2001, but gave up because of disagreements about control. (See Telecom Update #286) COAST GUARD VESSELS TO GET INTERNET ACCESS: The Canadian Coast Guard is moving to equip some of its vessels with email, Voice over IP, and television through a satellite link provided by Telesat. NORTEL MERGES DATA DIVISIONS: Nortel Networks has combined its carrier and enterprise data units into a single organization, Converged Data Networks, headed by Nortel veteran Aziz Khadbai. ** The new division has launched Secure Router Portfolio, a set of routers for small and branch offices, most of them developed by recently acquired Tasman Networks. (See Telecom Update #511) JAMES BAY HOSPITALS LINK TO PROVINCIAL NETWORK: Hospitals in Moosonee and Moose Factory in northern Ontario are now connected to the Ontario Network for e-Health (ONE). The project was a joint effort of the province's health ministry and K-Net ( http://www.knet.ca ), a network serving First Nations in northwest Ontario. VIRGIN OFFERS FLAT-RATE EVENING CALLING: Virgin Mobile's new All-Nighter rate plan provides unlimited local calling from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. for $24 a month. Incoming calls can be included for an additional $7; daytime minutes are 20 cents. MATTHEWS STARTUP LAUNCHES IPO: Waterloo-based Sandvine Inc, which makes network equipment for residential broadband providers, has raised about $35 million through an initial share offering. Terry Matthews is a major investor in Sandvine, which was created by former executives of PixStream. (See Telecom Update #281) ALAN HORN NAMED ROGERS CHAIR: Rogers Communications has named Alan Horn as chairman, replacing Garfield Emerson, who held the post for 13 years. Horn was formerly Rogers' CFO, a post now held by Bill Linton. (See Telecom Update #510) GLENTEL RECORDS BANNER YEAR: Vancouver-based wireless equipment provider Glentel Inc. had sales of $146 million in 2005, a 51% increase over the previous year. Net income grew 48% to $6.1 million. PULVER'S VON RETURNS TO CANADA: The Canadian edition of Jeff Pulver's Voice on the Net conference will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, April 3-5. http://www.voncanada.com/ ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2005 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 11:59:43 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Friday, March 24, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 24, 2006 ******************************** Finland Sets the Pace for Mobile TV http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17231?11228 Digita - a unit of French media group TDF - has beat TeliaSonera, Elisa and Telemast Nordic to secure a mobile TV licence in Finland. The company had already started building a pilot network and hopes to launch commercial services to mobiles in the country before the year-end. Digita won a licence for 20 years and is expected to serve as... MTT Announces Network Co-operation with China Telecom http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17229?11228 Alternative fixed-line operator Interregional Transit Telecom (MTT) has announced an agreement with Chinese fixed-line operator China Telecom on the connection of networks. The deal will increase the volume and improve the quality of voice traffic between subscribers in Russia and China, and allow the companies access to each other's... Fear of FCC Action Prompts Cuts in WB Drama http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17225?11228 LOS ANGELES -- Barry Levinson said he doesn't blame the WB network for airing a censored debut episode of his drama revolving around a college class on sexuality. He holds the Federal Communications Commission responsible. "We don't believe that the show should have been edited, but the network is very fearful of what the FCC has been... Europe First for Redmond Push http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17222?11228 Orange Business Services, the enterprise arm of cellular operator Orange UK (London: OGE - message board) will launch Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - message board)'s push email update for Windows Mobile 5.0 next, but analysts suggest that U.S. carriers will not be far behind with the much anticipated update. Orange has been trailing... BSkyB Unveils Triple-Play Plans http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17218?11228 The U.K.'s largest satellite pay-TV operator -- BSkyB -- unveiled details of its plans for the telecom market in the wake of its acquisition of U.K. broadband operator Easynet. BSkyB, when it first disclosed its $373 million bid for Easynet left no doubt that it planned to become a triple-play operator but, until now, it... PayPal Tests Mobile Payments http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17216?11228 PayPal is gearing up for the commercial launch of PayPal Mobile, a text messaging service that will enable customers to make purchases and deliver payments wirelessly. The company is in the midst of an internal beta test and plans to unveil the service to the public in the next couple of weeks. The mobile PayPal service will only be... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 13:53:38 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Lucent, Alcatel Discuss Merger USTelecom dailyLead March 24, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dnbgfDtutcdtxpLSRW TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Lucent, Alcatel discuss merger BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * IPTV generates buzz at TelecomNEXT * DT's ambitious broadband project sparks debate over telecom regulations * Verizon, AT&T execs say Net neutrality fears are misguided * Advertisers to mobile users: "Can you hear me now?" USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Cutting-edge exhibits, quality attendees, top CEOs: Only at TelecomNEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Yahoo! to screen "60 Minutes" video * Are mobile phones the TVs of the future? * Mobile video to reach 36M users by 2009, study says VOIP DOWNLOAD * Skype goes toe-to-toe with "Skype killers" * Analysis: Yahoo! VoIP service could attract business users * VoIP's main benefits have nothing to do with cost REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Draft of bill for national video franchises could be released today Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dnbgfDtutcdtxpLSRW ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Friday 24th March 2006 Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:08:04 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ Financial ]] Telefonica Moviles To Rule On Telefonica Merger March 29 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16647.php Spanish mobile phone operator Telefonica Moviles, Thursday said it has postponed the board meeting to decide on parent Telefonica's merger proposal to March 29. ... Bear Stearns valuation of Ola sparks dust-up http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16649.php Colombian press was wrong to treat as gospel a US$600mn-800mn price estimate of mobile operator Colombia Mvil (Ola) in a recent newsletter published by US investment bank Bear Stearns, numerous industry players told BNamericas. ... Vodafone Japan Facing Debt Downgrade http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16662.php The debt ratings agency, Moody's has downgraded the debt held by Vodafone KK, the company's Japanese operations pending the sale of the company to Softbank. Moody's said the rating affirmations reflected its view that the disposal of Vodafone KK and ... [[ Handsets ]] NEC unit expects 13-14% rev growth in 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16650.php The Brazilian division of Japanese hardware firm NEC Corporation expects to post 13-14% revenue growth in 2006 compared to 2005, NEC do Brasil president Paulo Castelo Branco told BNamericas. ... GSM LatAm sets agenda to develop low cost terminals http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16651.php GSM Latin America, a trade association dedicated to promoting the adoption of the GSM mobile telephony standard, has settled on an agenda to develop an "Emerging Market Handset," GSM Latin America said in a statement. ... PRESS: Russia's Euroset plans IPO of 10-15% in late 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16655.php Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset plans to make an initial public offering (IPO) of 10%-15% of its shares in late 2006, the company's Financial Director Ruslan Gareyev said, Biznes business daily reported Thursday. ... [[ Legal ]] 3 UK Wins Legal Battle Against O2 Over Advertising http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16652.php 3 UK, the mobile phone company owned by Hutchison Whampoa, Thursday said it has won its legal battle with rival operator O2, owned by Telefonica, over 3's advertising. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Brazil Banco do Brasil Widens Mobile Phone Credit Service http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16653.php Brazil's government-controlled Banco do Brasil, the nation's largest retail bank, on Thursday announced plans to introduce its mobile phone credit service to millions of customers, including in those in Japan. ... [[ MVNO ]] CDMA2000 Operators Enable Wireless' Next Big Opportunity http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16661.php The CDMA Development Group (CDG) has announced that the CDMA2000 industry in the USA is playing a key role in wireless' next big opportunity: the US$10 billion mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market. This type of service provider targets speci... [[ Network Operators ]] Russia's Sibirtelecom to introduce single mobile brand in 2007 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16654.php Russian regional telecommunications operator Sibirtelecom plans to launch a single brand for its mobile subsidiaries in early 2007, Vladimir Shibanov, the company's public relations director, said Thursday. ... Belarus' Operator Completes Customer Migration to CDMA 450 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16656.php Belarusian mobile telecommunications operator BelCel has closed its activity in the NMT-450 standard and moved all its users to the IMT-MC-450 standard, the company said Thursday. ... CDMA Coverage Improved in Alaska http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16660.php nAlaska Communications has announced the expansion of its CDMA network to include a site at the Alaska National Guard Headquarters in Anchorage. "We are very proud of our relationship with the military as we provide to them the best telecommunications... [[ Regulatory ]] EU Court Advisor:Belgium Mobile Number Portability Legal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16648.php The top adviser to the European Court of Justice Thursday said Belgium's system of fixing the price for consumers to retain their telephone numbers when they switch mobile phone operators was legal. ... Russian Telecoms Min Backs Telenor Move To End Alfa Row http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16657.php Russia's Telecommunications Minister, Leonid Reiman, Thursday said he supports Telenor's latest attempt to end a dispute with financial holding Alfa Group Russia over their joint control of wireless operator Vimpel Communications. ... Canadian Telecoms Review Calls for Fundamental Reform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16658.php A policy review document for the future of Canada's telecommunications services has been published and handed to the Canadian government. The Panel was established in April 2005 to review Canadians policy framework government telecommunications, and ... [[ Reports ]] End of the Australian Boom for Mobiles? http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16659.php According to a report from the Australian research group, Market Clarity, the local mobile market, which has grown by 120.6% since 2000, will only show a further 17.1% growth from 2005 to 2010. This is bad news for Australia's 3G sector, which has to... [[ Technology ]] Wireless Carriers to Continue Spending Spree on Backhaul Technologies http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16663.php Wireless network operators of all types are increasing their spending on technology to improve the backhaul connections that link their base stations to their core networks -- and this trend is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, according... Adaptive WiMAX antenna Shown Off http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16664.php One of the world's first 'WiMAX-ready' adaptive antenna systems will be unveiled by wireless solutions group, Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), at the CTIA Wireless 2006 exhibition. Designed to meet the needs of emerging IEEE 802.16 worldwide interopera... ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Internet and Civil Liberties? Date: 24 Mar 2006 07:58:24 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Henry wrote: > There are two kinds of people: those who believe that the police would > never _dream_ of 'planting' evidence, lying on the witness stand or > otherwise 'framing' a suspect, and those who believe that it happens all > the time. I don't think the simple division of people you describe is accurate. The original post didn't discuss the issues you raise above. Rather, it raised the issue of potential _mistakes_ in accusation and arrest as a result of new technologies, their use, and their misuse. For example: Someone arranges for a meeting via the Internet. At some point (before, during, or after the meeting) one person is assaulted by the other person. The police trace the Internet logs back to someone else who was not at all involved, but his identity was stolen. If the victim doesn't have a clear description or the person looks similar, that outside person is in big trouble. [public replies, please] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is at least one third type of division which Henry did not mention: There are those folks who not only deny that it happens but 'go into denial' about it when there is some instance (for example, in the newspapers) they cannot avoid. One example I recall from the newspapers was that lady, Joyce (what was her last name?) in Oklahoma who was employed for however many years as a 'forensic technician' for the police in Oklahoma. Her job, was to 'investigate crime' and sort out the 'criminals' from the 'good guys' and accordingly, advise police on matters such as DNA, blood types, fingerprints, etc. Things which could easily _make or break_ anyone where police were concerened on a high profile crime. As Danny Burstein explained it here one day, a 'high profile' crime is any crime in which a white person is the victim, and usually a well-to-do white person at that. So this Joyce lady, _head forensic technologist_ for the state of Oklahoma was just going along with whatever police told her to say/do. Police would say 'thus and so is the perp' and Joyce would jerry-rig the 'evidence' to make things turn out as the plice told her they should. When the shit finally hit the fan -- as you knew would happen -- the police did not hesitate to sacrifice Joyce; they claimed it was all her fault; she said police had 'twisted her arm' many times to get the desired results. She was unable to document or prove otherwise, and as for the police, well, they did not have to prove anything; they are the police, after all. Despite Joyce's several loud protests, she was sent packing; how many death sentences did (Oklahoma) Governor Brad Henry have to write off ? ... it was almost as much of a stench as in Illinois where the former governor cleaned out death row _entirely_ in one fell swoop (over a hundred inmates) because (as he [former Illinois governor] put it) "there are just too many unanswered questions in all these cases." The people who are in denial about these things like to pretend that we have a very good 'system' in the United States and 'only occassionally' are there errors and we sure hope "there are no hard feelings in the 'rare instance' when a mistake is made." What utter nonesense! PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Online Dating Brings Trouble Date: 24 Mar 2006 08:14:27 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: [in response to Henry] > ... malfeasance involving your computer is a much more real, > more common occurrance. Not necessarily a stalker, perhaps, but some > jerk wanting to play games none the less. PAT] This is all very true. Something happens to many people when they get behind a computer*. Some people get addicted to some part of the Internet, spending hours and hours and hours on it to the detriment of the rest of their life. Many people have lost their job and family as a result. Unfortunately, sometimes otherwise good people turn bad at the computer. These are people who would never think of stealing a candy bar or stepping on an ant or hurting anyone in person. But at a computer -- probably because of the anonymity and their high technical skills -- their personality changes; and not for good. This is nothing new -- even back in time-sharing days using clunky teletypes there were those who would steal accounts, attempt to hack where they weren't allowed, etc. _Someone_ is writing all those virus programs, writing sophisticated code to generate spam and bypass filters, and send out all sorts of very nasty material. Then of course traditional criminals use the Internet as a new tool, using it as an electronic crowbar or lockpick set to break into places. Law enforcement is after these people, of course, as they should be. But there is concern, with the anonymity of the Internet, that the identity of the criminal may be masked and given to an innocent person. I cannot change my DNA or fingerprint. But a human created every and all password and ecryption schemes and that means another human has the means to bypass or modify it. *It's like automobiles, something happens to people when they get behind the wheel. The most sweet gentle people can turn into monsters when they drive (and vice versa). ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Empplyment Opporutnity: Network Provisioner Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 04:16:51 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:37:21 -0800, Srikanth_V wrote: > I have an urgent requirement for Network Provisioner. Please send me > the perfect resumes asap. PAT, if you want an income stream from TD, how about charging for posts such as this one? As long as they are telecom related and not too repetitive, I doubt there would be much objection. I still startle at such blatantly commercial posts, but I am an Olde Phart. I settle fairly quickly and realize members of this audience are looking for such information. I don't know how much you could get for selling commercial posting rights, but I would guess it is a worthwhile, if fairly modest, sum. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Tell me this, John McHarry: How much of an 'income stream' do you think it would generate for me? I have an area ( ~/classified.html ) where such things go; I would rather not get in the habit of charging for messages in this main section; that way people who _are_ interested could to there to read them. A few times I have returned the submission with (I thought) a polite note telling the person to use the classifieds. I never hear from the person again. Well, I did once. A lady whose name/email appeared on a posting like that turned me in for 'spam/scamming' her mailbox and warned me to never again send her email 'demanding money' for anything. I wrote back and told her she was obviously a Witch; she turned me in again for 'harrassing her'. Now I just settle for whatever people wish to send me, if they wish to send anything. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Is This a Typo? Order To Indiana Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 04:25:12 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Thu, 23 Mar 2006 02:42:11 +0100, carolina water wrote: > Pleasant Day, > I want to order for some items,firstly I want to know if you can ship > direct to me at Indiana and also we will make payment full with (money > Order Or check). > I await your email. > Carolina water > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I dunno if we can ship to Indiana or > not. I know we ship to India, Indonesia and elsewhere around the > world, and of course we accept third party credit cards and cashiers > checks from your custmomers to do it. We even refund the purchase > price direct to you on request! But _Indiana_ I am not so sure > about This is of course a scam. There is nothing between Ohio and Illinois. If somebody tries to claim there is make him describe it and differentiate it from the other two. It doesn't even have a time zone. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It just seems like lately people just pass along whatever trash comes their way without editing it or reading it at all. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #116 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Mar 25 14:34:08 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id C2AE11566F; Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:34:07 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #117 Message-Id: <20060325193407.C2AE11566F@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:34:07 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.7 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 25 Mar 2006 14:36:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 117 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson US Telecom Execs Battle Net Neutrality (jeremy Pelofsky & Robert MacMillan) Fans Put Satellite Radio on Cellphone, Draw Fire (Kenneth Li) http://washpost.com Blogger Plagarizes, then Quits (Salon.com newswire) Microsoft Makes Changes in Internet Explorer (Robert McMillan) Obituary: Paul Flaherty, AltaVista Creator (Jordan Robertson) Software Turns Laptops Into Navigators (Monty Solomon) Apple Computer Set to Mark 30th Birthday (Monty Solomon) BenQ Exec Claims Apple's iPhone 'Definitely Coming' (Monty Solomon) Is Cybercrime Taking Lead in Profit Margin for Criminals? (tedrichardson) Re: Why is VOIP Getting Hot Now? (timeOday) Re: Lucent, Alcatel Discuss Merger (Henry Cabot Henhouse III) Re: Employment Opportunity: Network Provisioner (Sam Spade) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jeremy Pelofsky & Robert MacMillan Subject: US Telecom Execs Battle Net Neutrality Demands Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:43:04 -0600 By Jeremy Pelofsky and Robert MacMillan Telecommunications providers like AT&T Inc. intensified their efforts this week to persuade US policymakers to avoid imposing regulations on the Internet for services like streaming movies and unfettered Web access. The "network neutrality" battle in Washington pits high-speed Internet operators against content and application providers. Network owners want to sell tiers of service to reflect bandwidth usage, while the content companies fear they will be shunted to the slow lane of the Internet or shut out unless they pay more for dedicated network service. The issue dominated the annual convention of big and small carriers held by the US Telecom Association (USTA), as they stepped up efforts to influence lawmakers and regulators who are mulling whether new rules or laws are necessary. AT&T, BellSouth Corp. and Verizon Communications executives spent the week criticizing demands for network neutrality laws at almost every opportunity. "This debate I think is all about movies," said Jim Cicconi, AT&T's senior executive vice president for legislative affairs. "What we're saying is that you can't provide dedicated line, virtual private network services for free." AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon say they do not intend to block Internet content and prefer to make commercial bandwidth deals with content companies such as Internet retailer Amazon.com or Web search engine Google Inc. USTA Chief Executive Walter McCormick pressed the matter with Federal Communications Commission officials who attended. "We're hearing a lot today about Net neutrality, it's in the newspapers just about every day," McCormick told FCC Chairman Kevin Martin during a public event. "The chairman of Disney said this is not an area to legislate in." Martin replied that the agency has previously acted against discrimination, but recognized the need for network operators to control service and ensure "they have opportunities to offer differentiated products." But Internet phone service company Vonage Holdings Corp. and others like Amazon.com worry their Internet applications could be blocked unless they pay for dedicated service. "We're not looking for a free ride, but that downstream injection of content be offered on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms," said Paul Misener, vice president for global public policy at Amazon.com. In Hollywood, streaming of full-length movies and television shows via the Internet has been slow in coming. Content delivery from Web sites like Movielink and CinemaNow has for the most part been confined to downloads. But increasingly television networks and movie studios want to use the Web to reach consumers directly. "If America is to enjoy the ever-expanding Internet, providers have to be able to manage their networks according to the needs of customers," said BellSouth Chief Executive Duane Ackerman. "But let me be clear, managing the networks is not about controlling where people go on the Internet." Some consumer groups questioned whether the carriers would give their own services priority over competitors. "My concern is they would say 'well you know we only have enough bandwidth to provide that quality of service for our service'," said Gigi Sohn, president of Public Knowledge. The FCC last year attached network neutrality conditions to Verizon's acquisition of MCI and the deal that formed AT&T. It required them to provide consumers unfettered Internet access and to run any Internet-based applications for two years. Lawmakers are considering etching those principles into law and giving the FCC enforcement power. But, some in Congress and at the FCC question if there is a problem to be solved. "There is a big difference between a very important issue that needs discussion and a problem," Republican FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate said. One of the two Democrats on the FCC, Jonathan Adelstein, said network neutrality could be resolved with more bandwidth. "You don't need to worry about priority access if you've got 100 megabits going to the home," he said. "Hopefully as we get more capacity those kinds of questions become much less significant." (Additional reporting by Bob Tourtellotte in Los Angeles.) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Kenneth Li Subject: Fans Put Satellite Radio on Cellphones, Draw Fire Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:44:59 -0600 By Kenneth Li Fans of U.S. satellite radio have been waiting eagerly for nearly a year to get XM or Sirius on to their cell phones. But as the two satellite radio providers carefully ponder their mobile strategies and chew over business plans, a small group of technically savvy devotees are taking matters into their own hands. Grassroots software and Web developers have found ways to tap into XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc.'s Web sites to stream music channels on to Windows-powered smartphones and other devices. Most have given their work away for free to other fans since late last year -- running into conflict with the wireless business strategies of the satellite radio providers. "I'm not always near a PC, but I already have a cell phone," said David Bressler, who wrote a piece of software to listen to Sirius in his office, which blocks satellite radio signals. "I like Sirius, I promote Sirius to everyone I talk to," he said in a phone interview, adding it took him about an hour last December to write the software, SiriusWM5. XM, the top U.S. satellite radio service provider with about 6 million subscribers, and Sirius, which serves about 4 million, have both said that going mobile was an important part of their business expansion. But so far, only a few of Sirius' channels are available on one wireless provider's network, Sprint Nextel. Meanwhile, XM has threatened to take legal action. In early February, a law firm representing the company sent a cease and desist letter to a developer, citing infringement of its trademark. A spokesman for Sirius said its lawyers are also pursuing the issue. "Our lawyers are diligently pursuing this," a Sirius spokesman said. "We've indicated time and again, we expect our service and technology to be widely available in portable products and we continue to explore opportunities to do that," said XM spokesman Chance Patterson. "These incidents don't have any impact on those plans. GRASSROOTS COMPETITION To be sure, the addressable market is tiny. Users have to own relatively new Microsoft Windows Mobile-powered smartphones or PocketPC handheld devices and troll online message boards to locate the software or Web site links. As a service to paying subscribers, XM and Sirius offer only a limited selection of their music channels on the Web. Sirius' hugely popular shows by ribald radio host Howard Stern, for example, are not available on its Web site. Nonetheless, marginal competitive distractions, have a way of haunting technology companies. Consider how the dorm room and garage passions of Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and Apple Computer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, dropouts from Harvard University and Reed College, respectively, took on IBM and now own the personal computer market. "We don't want to get into any trouble," said Wayne, the developer of PocketXM Radio, who declined to give his full name for fear of retribution. He said his software, subsequently renamed Pocket Satellite Radio, is no longer for sale. It had been sold at http://www.eBooksoftwarehouse.com, which is registered to Wayne Jiang, based in Texas. The potential legal quagmire such workarounds represent has not shaken the resolve of new developers, some of whom would rather continue to quietly tinker without disturbance. "I have not been contacted. I do not wish to be contacted by XM," said Younes Oughla, who created the Web site http://MiniXM.com over four weekends in his home office in West New York, New Jersey. "I make sure that people know I'm not affiliated with XM to avoid confusion," Oughla said, pointing to a disclaimer on his site, http://www.minixm.com. Another developer, whose programing allows Windows Mobile phone users to easily link to XM radio Web casts, said he wrote the software to cut down on clutter. His programing was widely distributed off his blog. "I prefer to carry one device," Nick Krewson, one of the earliest developers of software that connected to XM, said. On Internet message boards, such as http://HowardForums.com, where tech and phone geeks converge, Bressler has turned down offers to accept fees for his software. "If Sirius wants the application and wants to develop it further, it's all theirs," he said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Salon.com NewsWire Subject: http://washpost.com Blogger Plagarizes, Then Quits Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:46:35 -0600 WashingtonPost.com Blogger Quits A new conservative blogger for http://washingtonpost.com resigned Friday, a day after allegations surfaced that he had plagiarized movie reviews as a journalist in college. Ben Domenech, 24, had just started writing a daily Web log when another online publication, http://Salon.com, made the allegations. "In the past 24 hours, we learned of allegations that Ben Domenech plagiarized material that appeared under his byline in various publications prior to washingtonpost.com contracting with him to write a blog that launched Tuesday," said Jim Brady, executive editor of the Washington blog. "An investigation into these allegations was ongoing, and in the interim, Domenech has resigned, effective immediately," Brady said in a statement posted on the newspaper's Web site. Brady said http://washingtonpost.com was unaware of the allegations when it hired Domenech to write for the blog, Red America. http://Salon.com accused Domenech of using material by its writers without attribution while he was a student columnist at the College of William & Mary. Efforts to reach Domenech Friday were unsuccessful. It is the second time this year that http://washingtonpost.com has had issues with bloggers. In January, the Web site shut down a blog after readers posted personal attacks against the Washington Post's ombudsman. That blog was later restored. Domenech attended William & Mary, but he did not earn a degree, college spokesman William Walker said. Domenech left school and landed a job as a speechwriter for Tommy Thompson, the former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2002. Domenech is best known as founder of http://RedState.com, a conservative blog. On The Net: washingtonpost.com: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Salon.com: http://www.salon.com/ Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: robert McMillan Subject: Microsoft Makes Changes in Internet Explorer Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:42:42 -0600 Robert McMillan, IDG News Service Web surfers may start noticing some unusual behavior from their Internet Explorer browser after installing Microsoft's next round of security patches, expected April 11. That's because the software giant is planning to make changes to the way its browser handles dynamic content like Flash or QuickTime--changes that were made necessary following Microsoft's highly publicized patent dispute with Eolas Technologies. Microsoft has already made these changes available as an optional IE patch, but now they are being rolled into IE's next security update, which will make them effectively mandatory for most users. "Currently that update is in the testing phase and could be released as early as April," said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager with Microsoft's security response center. "But of course, that isn't final," he added. There has been some confusion over the date of this next release. Earlier this week, Microsoft's Customer Support Services group published a note saying that the changes were expected on April 11, but that announcement was pulled, because that date is "not finalized," Toulouse said. In August 2003, an Illinois court awarded Eolas $521 million in damages for Microsoft's patent violations. Though Microsoft is appealing this ruling, and challenging the validity of the Eolas patent with the U.S. Patent Office, the court ruling forced Microsoft to make the changes or risk being found in contempt of court. ActiveX Changes The ActiveX changes will gum up the way some Web surfers interact with dynamic content by forcing them to click on a pop-up "tool tip" dialog box before being able to interact with things like Flash or QuickTime. Microsoft, Apple Computer, and Adobe Systems have published work-arounds for the changes, which means that Web sites that have coded these work-arounds will appear as normal to IE users. But the IE changes will probably take some by surprise, according to Jon Galloway, a Web developer with San Francisco's VelocIT. "A lot of Web sites are not going to update their Flash right away," he said. The changes will certainly be an annoyance, but they will not prevent users from running Flash or QuickTime files, he said. "It's the kind of thing that's going to upset a marketing department that wants everything to look perfect," Galloway said. Most of the pain from the IE update will be felt by Web developers who may find themselves scrambling to implement the work-arounds. "Once this rolls out to everybody, suddenly things that used to work automatically will have to be manually done," said Richard Smith, an Internet security consultant based in Boston. "The bottom line is Web sites are going to have a lot of work to do here." Put to the Test Developers have had a fair bit of time to test the ActiveX changes. Microsoft released them as part of a February 28 "non-security" update to IE. One IE user said he'd seen "very little difference" in day-to-day browsing behavior after installing the patch. "Making this change no longer optional might throw some people for a loop, but I think overall it won't be too disruptive," said Todd Towles, a security consultant based in Austin, Texas. Adobe has published a Web page explaining how Flash developers can work around the problem. The page includes a video demonstration of what the pop-up tool tips will look like. Microsoft's work-around can be found online. Apple's QuickTime developer instructions also can be found online. Copyright 2006 PC World Communications, Inc. ------------------------------ From: Jordan Robertson Subject: Obituary: Paul Flaherty, AltaVista Creator Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 20:50:46 -0600 Paul Flaherty, AltaVista Creator, Dies By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press Writer Paul A. Flaherty, a computer engineer who helped create the pioneering AltaVista online search engine, has died. He was 42. Flaherty died March 16 of a heart attack at his home in Belmont, about 20 miles south of San Francisco, family members said Friday. Flaherty came up with the idea of indexing Web pages that made the AltaVista search engine one of the most popular Internet search tools in the mid-1990s. "He was such a warm and loving man, and he was exceptionally smart," his brother, Michael, said Friday. "It's just uncanny to find someone with that much intellectual power but that much warmth, too." Flaherty was working as a research engineer at Digital Equipment Corp. in Palo Alto when he teamed up with two other staff researchers in 1995 to develop AltaVista's technology. The Web site was made public in December 1995 and within weeks was processing several million searches a day. It was spun off from Digital Equipment as a private company in 1999. Flaherty served as director for technical strategy at AltaVista until leaving in 2000 to work in management consulting. At the time of his death, he was vice president for product development at TalkPlus, a telecommunications software company in Menlo Park. Born in Milwaukee and raised in Minnesota, Flaherty earned a doctorate in electrical engineering in 1994 from Stanford University and never quite shook his Midwest roots despite his success in Silicon Valley, Michael Flaherty said. "I never saw him taking to the more cutthroat lifestyle in Silicon Valley," his brother said. He is survived by his wife, Natasha Flaherty of Belmont; his parents, James Sr. and Ruth Flaherty of Fargo, N.D.; and four brothers. A funeral mass and burial is scheduled for Tuesday in Fargo. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to : http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 22:58:28 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Software Turns Laptops Into Navigators Software turns laptops into navigators; Loki system melds global positioning, WiFi to find services By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | March 23, 2006 A Boston company is giving away software that can turn nearly any laptop computer into a global positioning system, enabling users to find the nearest restaurant, hospital, or gas station at the touch of a button. Skyhook Wireless Inc.'s new Loki service uses the popular WiFi wireless data networking system in a radical new way. The company has created WiFi maps of the nation's 100 largest cities, with precise locations for five million wireless data signals. Loki uses these wireless signals to tell users with WiFi laptops where they are -- and where they can obtain a variety of products and services. Anybody with a WiFi-equipped portable computer that runs Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system can use Loki, which is available for download at http://www.loki.com. http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/03/23/software_turns_laptops_into_navigators/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 23:21:27 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Apple Computer Set to Mark 30th Birthday By MAY WONG AP Technology Writer SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Silicon Valley's historic orchards have virtually disappeared but one notable fruit still stands: Apple. As the storied company celebrates its 30th birthday in a week, Apple Computer Inc. will have brushed off its bruises from product failures and arguably misguided decisions to emerge with a shine that's more than skin-deep. Its brand name and products _ from the Mac to the iPod _ resonate as both hip and innovative. For all of its recent successes, however, Apple also has its share of challenges ahead as it matures into a digital media provider. In the digital music arena, where Apple dominates, French lawmakers are angling to force the company to change its successful way of chaining its popular iPod player to its online iTunes Music Store. Recording labels are also chafing at Apple's insistence that its song downloads remain 99 cents apiece. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs rebutted by calling the record industry "greedy." In the computer space, where Apple is seeing its best sales in years, information-security firms have discovered a few new vulnerabilities in its Macintosh operating system. Though the security breaches have been innocuous, security experts say they signal that Apple is a higher-profile target now for hackers, who in the past have focused heavily on Microsoft Corp.'s predominant Windows system. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=56992260 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If my recollection is correct, Steve Jobs began Apple Computer (and his first product) in a garage at his home in the spring of 1976. Something I do not recall however, he had the Apple 2, the Apple 2+ and the Apple 2E early on in his career. Those were all prior to the MAC-intosh. Was there ever an Apple 1 or something similar? PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 09:30:40 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: BenQ Exec Claims Apple's iPhone 'Definitely Coming' By Tony Smith 23rd March 2006 13:19 GMT Analysis Taiwan's BenQ believes Apple will indeed offer a mobile phone product. One company executive this week said the 'iPhone' is "definitely coming", claiming the iPod maker has been talking to Taiwanese component manufacturers, some of whom also supply BenQ's handset operation. The BenQ staffer's comment comes courtesy of Australian website Smarthouse. He said: "Among manufacturers in Taiwan [Apple's plan] is common knowledge. The issue for many is the availability of parts if the phone takes off." He said BenQ was not in the running as a potential Apple partner: the two companies would be in competition, as they already are in the digital music player arena. Telephony is an obvious direction for Apple's iPod enterprise, especially as storage - be it Flash or hard disk - gets cheaper and easier to integrate into a device that almost everyone already carries around. Apple already has a relationship with Motorola, but it didn't get off to a good start - Motorola's Rokr was criticised for its lacklustre design and the 100-song limit its version of iTunes imposes. Motorola has since said it is planning a line of music phones based on Microsoft's Windows Media Player, which could be seen as a reaction to Apple's plan to enter the market. Apple has also had, in the past, a good relationship with Sony Ericsson, particularly when it was promoting Mac OS X's data-synchronisation technology. These days, Sony Ericsson is out to win market share from the iPod using its Walkman-branded phones. The strength of the brand and the success Sony Ericsson appears to be gaining through it may also have persuaded Apple it's time to tackle its rival head-on. http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/03/23/apple_ipod_phone_benq/ ------------------------------ From: tedrichardson9925@sbcglobal.net Subject: Is Cybercrime Taking the Lead in Profit Margin for Criminals? Date: 25 Mar 2006 06:35:36 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com IBM says it is costing businesses more than regular crime and then there was the statement recently that it is more profitable than the narcotics trade. Is all tha true? http://fraudwar.blogspot.com/2006/03/is-cybercrime-overtaking-physical.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:29:49 -0700 From: timeOday Subject: Re: Why is VOIP Getting Hot Now? harold@hallikainen.com wrote: >> In my case it was $88 a month to Verizon vs. $27 a month to >> Vonage. Big difference. It's the only thing that hasn't inflated in >> the last year or two. > Of course, Vonage does not have to pay for the local loop, so there's > some savings there. How much are you paying for "last mile" > connectivity (cable modem or DSL or whatever)? I'm currently paying > Verizon about $25 per month for local dialtone. I'm paying about $3 > per month in long distance to another company (about 5 cents per > minute, probably much of that is compensation to the terminating > carrier). I'm paying $70 per month to cyberonic.com for DSL (6Mbps per > second AND they let me run my own servers). I pay $0 per month to > http://www.sipphone.com . I also pay about 1 or 2 cents a minute to > them for calls into the PSTN. SIP calls (within siphone, to FWD, > Google, etc.) are free. I use http://www.ipkall.com to get a POTS > number on SIP for free (though the number is in Washington). > There certainly are LOTS of options. > Harold I'm annoyed with Vonage because they lock down the SIP box so it can only receive calls from Vonage. There's no real reason for Vonage even to be in the loop for an IP to IP call, but I guess they know that. However, I think they're the only company where I can keep my local number, so I do. ------------------------------ From: Henry Cabot Henhouse III Subject: Re: Lucent, Alcatel Discuss Merger Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 02:39:37 -0800 [snip] > TODAY'S HEADLINES > NEWS OF THE DAY > * Lucent, Alcatel discuss merger [snip] Ok ... wager time ... will it become Lucatel or Alcacent? Maybe LuTel? Acent? ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Empplyment Opporutnity: Network Provisioner Date: Sat, 25 Mar 2006 06:20:54 -0800 Organization: Cox Communications John McHarry wrote: > On Wed, 22 Mar 2006 12:37:21 -0800, Srikanth_V wrote: >> I have an urgent requirement for Network Provisioner. Please send me >> the perfect resumes asap. > PAT, if you want an income stream from TD, how about charging for > posts such as this one? As long as they are telecom related and not > too repetitive, I doubt there would be much objection. I still startle > at such blatantly commercial posts, but I am an Olde Phart. I settle > fairly quickly and realize members of this audience are looking for > such information. I don't know how much you could get for selling > commercial posting rights, but I would guess it is a worthwhile, if > fairly modest, sum. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Tell me this, John McHarry: How much of > an 'income stream' do you think it would generate for me? I have an > area ( ~/classified.html ) where such things go; I would rather not > get in the habit of charging for messages in this main section; that > way people who _are_ interested could to there to read them. A few > times I have returned the submission with (I thought) a polite note > telling the person to use the classifieds. I never hear from the > person again. Well, I did once. A lady whose name/email appeared on > a posting like that turned me in for 'spam/scamming' her mailbox and > warned me to never again send her email 'demanding money' for > anything. I wrote back and told her she was obviously a Witch; she > turned me in again for 'harrassing her'. Now I just settle for > whatever people wish to send me, if they wish to send anything. PAT] I can't get my informational messages to post here. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You seem to have gotten this last one to post alright, i.e. ("I can't get my informational messages to post here.") So what do you think is going wrong? Could it be your 'informational messages' are by and large defined as 'spam' in large measure by many segements of the community? If so, that would trip them up every time. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #117 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Mar 26 18:45:29 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 6C6EA152ED; Sun, 26 Mar 2006 18:45:29 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #118 Message-Id: <20060326234529.6C6EA152ED@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 18:45:29 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.1 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, HOT_NASTY,NO_COST autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 26 Mar 2006 18:47:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 118 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Colorado Police Use MySpace.com for Police Line Up (Associated Press News) Illinois Man Fined For Piggybacking on WiFi Service (Antone Gonsalves) Orchestras Go Digital (Anastasia Tsicolcas) New FEC Rules Regulate Paid Web Ads (Associated Press News Wire) Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (Monty Solomon) Re: Mysterious Calls From 800-706-0971 (Linc Madison) Re: Toll Free Area Restrictions (Linc Madison) From Our Archives: Telephone Exchange Names in St. Louis (Digest Editor) From Our Archives: Telephone Exchange Names Discussion (Digest Editor) From Our Archives: Telephone Exchange Names Recommended (Mark Cuccia) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Colorado Police Use MySpace.com for Police Line Up Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:54:33 -0600 Colo. Police Use MySpace to ID Suspects Detectives used profiles posted on the MySpace social networking Web site to identify six suspects in a rape and robbery that began when a party turned violent, leaving blood "in almost every room of the house," officials said. Six men were arrested in connection with the Feb. 23 rampage, and a seventh suspect was being sought, Detective Ali Bartley said Friday. The victim, whose name was withheld, became acquainted with the suspects through MySpace, authorities said. The group met for a party. "At some point, the victim was no longer aware of what was happening, and she was sexually assaulted," Bartley said. She knew only their first names but their pictures were posted on MySpace. "Primarily, we pulled up her friends list. It helped us identify some of the players," said Bartley. The men face charges ranging from sexual assault to felony theft. Some $40,000 in electronics, jewelry, clothing and other items were taken, authorities said. About $13,000 worth of stolen goods have been recovered. "There was blood in almost every room of the house," she said. "There were broken pictures and statues. They stole stereo equipment. The media center was bare. What wasn't stolen, or smashed up was drank up." Nicolas Brison, 18, was charged with rape. The five other men ranged in age from 18 to 20. They were charged on March 7 and hearings are set for April 6. MySpace drew 28 million visitors in December. Police noted the My Space registered users list would make a 'very fine police line up as needed.' Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Antone Gonsalves Subject: Illinois Man Fined For Piggybacking on WiFi Service Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:57:49 -0600 By Antone Gonsalves In Illinois, riding piggyback on someone else's Wi-Fi could cost you some money. David M. Kauchak, 32, pleaded guilty this week in Winnebago County to remotely accessing someone else's computer system without permission, the Rockford Register Star newspaper reported. A Winnebago County judge fined Kauchak $250 and sentenced him to one year of court supervision. Kauchak has the dubious distinction of being the first person to face the charge in Winnebago County, and prosecutors say they're taking the crime seriously. "We just want to get the word out that it is a crime. We are prosecuting it, and people need to take precautions," Assistant State's Attorney Tom Wartowski told the newspaper. A police officer arrested Kauchak in January after spotting him sitting in a parked car with a computer. A chat with the suspect led to the arrest, Wartowski said. Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. ------------------------------ From: Anastasia Tsiolcas Subject: Orchestras Go Digital Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:52:24 -0600 By Anastasia Tsioulcas Already a leader in the digital marketing of classical music, Universal Classics is guiding orchestras into the download age with its new "DG Concerts" series, which rolls out March 28 on iTunes. The first two orchestras to partner in the initiative are the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Both are teaming up with Universal's Deutsche Grammophon label to issue four digital-only albums per concert season, along with potentially one physical disc per year, recorded at live concerts. Each title carries a $9.99 suggested retail price for the full digital album, although consumers also may download an individual piece or movement from the concert. The iTunes store is the exclusive partner for the launch, but Universal anticipates bringing other digital stores onboard at a later date. The L.A. Phil's initial iTunes packages offer some signature programing of contemporary music from its current "Minimalist Jukebox" series. The first two concerts, which were to be recorded March 24-26, arrive at iTunes March 31. The New York orchestra's first "DG Concert" includes Mozart's Symphonies Nos. 39, 40 and 41, recorded live in February and conducted by music director Lorin Maazel. It is due March 28 on iTunes. OVERCOMING HURDLES Orchestral releases typically achieve relatively low sales volumes. That, plus high recording costs and strict union regulations have meant that most American and many European orchestras, even those with the highest international profiles and reputations -- including the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics -- have gone without recording deals for years. Chris Roberts, president of Universal Classics and Jazz International and chairman of Universal Classics Group (U.S.), says that has been an ongoing frustration. "We really wanted to find a way to work more actively with orchestras," he says. To make the performances available, the L.A. Phil worked out a new performance agreement with the orchestra musicians. In New York, the musicians revisited their fee structure, switching from a flat-fee payment to a revenue-sharing agreement. Universal will avoid recording costs by having the orchestras deliver their own recordings, provided via partners such as radio broadcasters. Roberts hopes to create similar opportunities for international orchestras. The label group is in talks with several prominent European ensembles and announcements about additional partnerships are anticipated soon. While the initial round of releases will be branded as "DG Concerts," Universal Classics says that some of the forthcoming partnerships will be marketed in a "Decca Concerts" series, incorporating another of Universal's prestigious imprints into the larger initiative. Bogdan Roscic, managing director of Decca Music Group, sees the initiative as "the chance to represent the rich everyday musical life of cities like New York and Los Angeles, which have been going unrecorded." Reuters/Billboard Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: New FEC Rules Regulate Paid Web Ads Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 15:56:05 -0600 The Federal Election Commission proposed new rules Friday that would leave almost all Internet political activity unregulated. The proposal would, however, require paid advertisements for federal candidates on the Internet to be paid for with money regulated by federal campaign law. There has been an explosion of political activity on the Internet and political bloggers who offer diverse views say they should be free of government regulation. In a summary of the proposal, the FEC said the rules "are intended to ensure that political committees properly finance and disclose their Internet communications, without impeding individual citizens from using the Internet to speak freely regarding candidates and elections." The revised definition includes paid Internet advertising placed on another person's web site, but does not encompass any other form of Internet communications. A recent federal court decision on campaign finance law held that the previous definition of "public communication" impermissibly excluded all Internet communications. The federal court instructed the six-member FEC to draw up regulations that would extend the nation's campaign finance and spending limits to the Web. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 01:24:30 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! Everybody's Business Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! By BEN STEIN The New York Times March 26, 2006 JOHN BELL HOOD may well have been the most destructive American of all time. He was a Confederate general of undisputed courage and daring, but dazzlingly little strategic or tactical wisdom. ("All lion and no fox," said Robert E. Lee about this horrifyingly misguided soul when it was really too late to do much about it.) Among his many other misdeeds, he ordered the assault on virtually impregnable Union positions in Franklin, Tenn., in November 1864. That led to far more casualties than Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg and accomplished absolutely zero for his side, because the Union was about to evacuate its positions anyway. It led, in a way, to the absolute dissolution of the Army of Tennessee, an irretrievable disaster for the "lost cause." (By the way, he's "the gallant Hood of Texas" referred to in the fourth stanza of "The Yellow Rose of Texas," added as the Civil War was ending - if anyone remembers that song.) This comes to mind because I believe that an award in General Hood's honor should be created for the most disastrous government decision of the year, or of the decade. Now, some may say the award should go to George W. Bush for deciding to invade Iraq, but the jury is still out on that, and in any event, at the time it seemed a good idea to people much smarter than I am. But there is a decision pending within the bowels of the federal government that may be the single most incomprehensibly wrongheaded decision of the century. It's small when compared with Iraq, but it's still maddening. It involves allowing passengers to talk on their cellphones while they are in flight. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html?ex=1301029200&en=73098a4a84b7c952&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Mysterious Calls From: 800-706-0971 Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 14:37:39 -0800 From: Linc Madison Reply-To: lincmad@suespammers.org Organization: California resident; nospam; no unsolicited e-mail allowed In article , wrote: > I keep getting calls from 800-706-0971. Its listed on my caller ID > several time a day every day during the week. A quick Google search turned up this: http://www.800domains.com/70/60.htm They list 800-706-0971 as "0870 numbers" as in +44 870, which is a semi-premium prefix in the United Kingdom. 0870 calls are billed at "national rate," but in practice the rate may be higher than for an ordinary domestic long-distance call, and the operator may receive part of the revenue from the call charges. It isn't clear at all how the number is supposed to work. I suppose perhaps you could dial the U.S. 800 number, enter an account code, and then be able to dial British 0870 numbers, but that doesn't sound like a viable business model. Of course, the whole thing may be a lot of hooey, because they list my personal 800 number as something other than my personal phone. Another company I'm familiar with shows up as "reverse lookup phone number address," which has absolutely nothing to do with their business. It looks to me like 800domains.com is just a list of every possible 800 number, with Google-bait thrown in to try to bump them up the listings: "dns reverse lookup failed, reverse lookup phone number address, netscape white pages reverse lookup, my email address, etc. Oh, well; I guess that puts you back to square one, because all the other Google hits on the number in question point to this thread in the Digest. Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * lincmad@suespammers.org * primary e-mail: Telecom at LincMad dot com Political blog: "The Third Path" DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED E-MAIL TO THIS ADDRESS. You have been warned. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Toll Free Area Restrictions Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 14:45:17 -0800 From: Linc Madison Reply-To: lincmad@suespammers.org Organization: California resident; nospam; no unsolicited e-mail allowed In article , wrote: > We're having an interesting problem. User calling from a VOIP phone > in Ohio with an Ohio ANI to a Toll Free number that's allowed in > Ohio, but not in CA. Customer's interconnect point to the PSTN is in > Southern CA. Call is sent to a Southern CA tandem for SMS dip, and > the call fails because the CIC isn't open in CA. Has anyone else run > into this problem? Are there any solutions currently offered to > address this problem? What happens if you try that number with an out-of-state cellphone while in Ohio, or conversely with an Ohio cellphone while out of state? I don't know the answer, but I think it would shed some light on the problem. Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * lincmad@suespammers.org * primary e-mail: Telecom at LincMad dot com Political blog: "The Third Path" DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED E-MAIL TO THIS ADDRESS. You have been warned. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 17:04:55 EST From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: From Our Archives: Exchange Names in St. Louis The remainder of this issue of the Digest are some articles from our archives, dealing with telephone exchange names. Most articles are twenty years old, dating from 1986. An article by Mark Cuccia dates back to 1996. I hope you will enjoy re-reading them and needless to say _do not_ use any of these old email addresses given. PAT 25-Jan-86 08:16:06-EST,491;000000000001 Received: from MC.LCS.MIT.EDU by XX.LCS.MIT.EDU via Chaosnet; 25 Jan 86 08:16-EST Received: from BRL-AOS.ARPA by MC.LCS.MIT.EDU 25 Jan 86 08:20:54 EST Received: from brl-vmb.arpa by AOS.BRL.ARPA id a027354; 25 Jan 86 8:17 EST Date: Sat, 25 Jan 86 8:15:03 EST From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) To: telecom.mit-mc@BRL-AOS.ARPA cc: cmoore@BRL.ARPA Subject: Re: Named Exchanges Could not send to swenson: LAndscape 5 is a THREE-character exchange? 25-Jan-86 08:26:23-EST,749;000000000001 Received: from MC.LCS.MIT.EDU by XX.LCS.MIT.EDU via Chaosnet; 25 Jan 86 08:26-EST Received: from BRL-AOS.ARPA by MC.LCS.MIT.EDU 25 Jan 86 08:31:14 EST Received: from brl-vmb.arpa by AOS.BRL.ARPA id a027394; 25 Jan 86 8:27 EST Date: Sat, 25 Jan 86 8:20:34 EST From: Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) To: telecom.mit-mc@BRL-AOS.ARPA cc: cmoore@BRL.ARPA Subject: exchange names using 2 words There is also CHestnut Hill in Philadelphia, MUrray Hill in Manhattan, WHite Plains and MOunt Vernon in Westchester County (NY), and someone has mentioned MUrray Hill in Murray Hill, NJ (location of Bell Labs). I have seen ATlantic City (NJ) but this does not correspond to the dial prefixes I now see in the 609 area. 25-Jan-86 12:51:33-EST,615;000000000001 Received: from MC.LCS.MIT.EDU by XX.LCS.MIT.EDU via Chaosnet; 25 Jan 86 12:51-EST Date: Sat, 25 Jan 86 12:56:21 EST From: "Keith F. Lynch" Subject: Named Exchanges To: MYERSTON@SRI-KL.ARPA cc: KFL@MC.LCS.MIT.EDU, Telecom@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU Message-ID: <[MC.LCS.MIT.EDU].795949.860125.KFL> From: HECTOR MYERSTON How about the non-exchange, non-dialable, ZEnith X-XXXX numbers?. These were pre 800 800 numbers. "Call you local operator and ask for ZEnithX-XXXX, no cost to calling party". Huh? There is no "Z" on the dial. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: (in 2006) ... Zenith and Enterprise numbers only had four digits, _never_ five; they were never dialable and today have been largely replaced by 800, 888, 877 and 866 numbers which _are_ dialable. Pat] Keith25-Jan-86 18:27:28-EST,352;000000000001 Date: Sat 25 Jan 86 15:24:18-PST From: Doug Subject: numbers to exchange names, now. To: Telecom%xx.lcs.mit.edu%CSNET-RELAY@hplabs.arpa I'm not bored yet. My exchange in Oakland CA is 655-. Does anyone know if it was a "named" exchange. My friends have 547- in Oakland, also. Same question. Thanks. ------- 27-Jan-86 08:35:28-EST,267;000000000001 From: hplabs!tektronix!athena!dalel@ucbvax.berkeley.edu To: telecom@teklds.tek Subject: Trivial Query Date: 25 Jan 86 18:16:09 PST (Sat) This could get interesting. How many people remember those names? -- Dale Lehmann Tektronix, Inc. Beaverton, Oregon 30-Jan-86 15:45:37-EST,3627;000000000000 Date: Thu, 30 Jan 86 14:26:02 CST From: Will Martin -- AMXAL-RI To: telecom@MIT-XX.ARPA Subject: Prefix names Well, I could try relying on memory, and I'm sure I would provide some wrong or otherwise worthless info, so I went to the source. I went to the St. Louis public library and asked for a telephone book from the early 50's. (It took them a couple tries to find one with the front pages, with the dialling instructions and suchlike, intact enough to read -- it's interesting how frangible a telephone book gets in only 35 years... :-) Anyway, here is some "official" info on named exchanges in the St. Louis, MO area in 1953: Exchanges in the St. Louis City area: CAbany GEneva MUlberry CEntral GOodfellow NEwstead CHestnut GRand OLive COlfax HIland PArkview CUmberland HUdson PLateau DElmar JEfferson PRospect EVergreen LAclede ROsedale FIreside LOckhart SIdney FLanders LUcas STerling FOrest MAin SWeetbriar FRanklin MIssion VErnon 2 GArfield MOhawk VOlunteer 3 Some of these equate to street names, but others are sort of off-the-wall. While I didn't copy all the suburban area exchange lists, I copied one. Note this interesting difference between the names. Some have capitalized two-letter beginnings, while others do not. Maybe the ones with no capital-letter-pairs cannot be direct-dialed, and had to be asked for through an operator? (I dunno; just a guess...) Atwater Northland TEmple 7 UNderhill 7 University 4 VIctor 7-8 Vulcan 6 Here's something interesting: on the cover of the suburban directory for 1953 is a table of prefix changes, that were scheduled to go into effect at 12:01 AM December 6, 1953. (My birthday! How nice! I don't think I knew about it, being 8 at the time...:-) ATwater to VIctor 7 AXminster to WYdown 2 or 7 DIxon to VIctor 3 FEnton to DAvis 6 KIrkwood to TAylor 1 or 2 LAke to LEhigh 6 POnd to CRestview 3 REpublic to WOodland 1 or 2 TErryhill to YOrktown 5 TUlane 4 to WOodland 1 or 2 WAbash to WAbash 2 WEbster to WOodland 1 or 2 WIllow 2 to ESsex 5 WIllow 3 to BUtler 5 WIllow 4 to ESsex 6 WIllow 5 to ATlas 7 WIllow 7 to JUstice 7 WInfield to WInfield 6 WYdown to WYdown 1 Again, some of these are the names of streets or communities, but others are arbitrary words with no particular local references that come to mind (there might BE real local references, but mayhap they are in areas I am unfamiliar with and don't recognize). Anyway, it was interesting looking at that old phonebook. I looked up my own old number and it wasn't anything like what I remembered! (I had thought it was a GRand but it was a LAclede; maybe it changed later, before it changed to a PRospect, which number my mother has retained to this day [address unchanged during this].) Found various relatives' listings, etc. So what does this prove? Not a heck of a lot, but I think we can generalize and say that phone-number-word-prefixes were a mixture of nationwide arbitrary words (FIreside, EVergreen, WIllow) and local specific street or community names (DElmar, CAbany, KIrkwood). If someone can get access to telco historical files, maybe they can find a "master list" of prefix names to use nationwide when there was no appropriate local name to use instead? Well, if your time machine zaps you back to St. Louis in the '50's, at least you'll find the phone numbers familiar ... Look me up and give me some copies of the Wall Street Journal for the following decades, please... Regards, Will Martin 3-Apr-86 11:43:49-EST,1407;000000000001 Return-Path: : from Xerox.COM by XX.LCS.MIT.EDU with TCP; Thu 3 Apr 86 11:43:42-EST Received: from Aurora.ms by ArpaGateway.ms ; 03 APR 86 08:38:39 PST Date: 3 Apr 86 11:37 EST From: Denber.wbst@Xerox.COM Subject: Numbering Plans Revisited To: Telecom@XX.LCS.MIT.EDU Message-ID: <860403-083839-1247@Xerox> There was some discussion of telephone numbering plans on this list last fall. I ran across an interesting article yesterday on national numbering plans in the Bell System Technical Journal from Sept. 1952 by W.H. Nunn, which you may find of interest. A short excerpt (p. 854): Table I - Different Types of Numbering Plans Place Directory Listing Referred to as Philadelphia, Pa. LOcust 4-5678 Two-five Los Angeles, Cal. PArkway 2345 and Combined two-four REpublic 2-3456 and two-five Indianapolis, Ind. MArket 6789 Two-four El Paso, Texas PRospect 2-3456 Combined two-five and 5-5678 and five digit San Diego, Cal. Franklin 9-2345 One letter, four and Franklin 6789 five digit Des Moines, Iowa 4-1234 and Combined five and 62-2345 six digit Binghamton, N.Y. 2-5678 Five digit Manchester, Conn. 5678 and 2-2345 Combined four and five digit Winchester, Va. 3456 Four digit Ayer, Mass. 629 and 2345 Combined three and four digit Jamesport, N.Y. 325 Three-digit - Michel ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 17:10:16 -0500 (EST) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: Followup to 'Recommended' Exchange Names Here is another piece, this one on 'recommended' exchange names. From: elgart@netdepot.com (Ken Elgart) Subject: Re: Recommended "EXchange" Names Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 09:23:31 -0400 In the Telecom Archives file 'exchange.names.recommended' Mark J. Cuccia wrote: > The following is a list of *recommended* names for dialable/quotable > telephone EXchange names... As a follow-up to your post of the list of recommended exchange names (which I tried in vain to track down while I was employed at Western Electric) I thought I'd add some observations from that job and from my student days at the University of Buffalo. When I lived in Buffalo the area had 2L-4N dialing and my phone number (PArkside 6755) was dialed PA (72)-6755 but residents of Rochester which had DDD To Buffalo (and, I suspect, long distance operators) were instructed to dial the first *3* letters of the exchange name, thus to reach me they would dial PAR (727)-6755. While at WE I looked up, as a matter of curiosity, the office drawings of the last manual CO to convert to dial in New York City where I grew up. When the CIty Island 8 central office was converted the new exchange was ordered and installed as the TUlip 5 exchange but between installation and cutover New York Telephone decided to switch from exchange names to arbitrary 2-Letter combinations and it appeared in the new telephone directory as TT 5 which is dialed exactly the same as TUlip 5. The dial conversion could in fact have been done without changing the exchange name as people elsewhere in New York City had been dialing CIty Island 8 for years, reaching a call indicator in front of the inward operator at CIty Island 8 who completed the call without their being aware that an operator was involved in the call. From ptownson Tue Sep 10 11:33:14 1996 Return-Path: Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id LAA06494; Tue, 10 Sep 1996 11:33:14 -0400 (EDT) Received: from relay2.UU.NET by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.7.4/NSCS-1.0S) id LAA06481; Tue, 10 Sep 1996 11:33:10 -0400 (EDT) Received: from picayune.uark.edu by relay2.UU.NET with ESMTP (peer crosschecked as: picayune.uark.edu [130.184.252.107]) id QQbgos15481; Tue, 10 Sep 1996 11:32:47 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from news@localhost) by picayune.uark.edu (8.7.5/8.7.1) id KAA00096; Tue, 10 Sep 1996 10:31:15 -0500 (CDT) To: comp-dcom-telecom@uunet.uu.net Path: comp!plaws From: plaws@comp.uark.edu (Peter Laws) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Recommended "EXchange" Names Date: 10 Sep 1996 15:31:15 GMT Organization: The University of Arkansas Lines: 16 Message-ID: <5141k3$2u@picayune.uark.edu> References: NNTP-Posting-Host: comp.uark.edu Status: RO Mark J. Cuccia writes: > Please note that the 55x, 57x, 95x and 97x ranges are not included. In > the original list, it states "Reserved for Radiotelephone Service". [...] > As for "Radiotelephone" service in the 55, 57, 95, 97 (JKL/PRS/WXY) ranges, > I do remember many older mobile phones had ID numbers of the form "KK-xxxx" > or "WJ-xxxx", etc. Sure. W and K are two of the radio callsign series assigned to the USA, the others being AA-AL and N. Those last two were almost exclusively military or government until the last 20 years or so. Peter "stuck in prefix 579" Laws ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 17:09:16 -0500 (EST) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: From our Archives: "Recommended" Exchange Names A decade ago, Mark Cuccia sent us this list from 'Notes on Nationwide Dialing, the 1955 edition. PAT Date: Sat, 07 Sep 1996 18:21:48 -0700 From: "Mark J. Cuccia" Subject: Recommended "EXchange" Names The following is a list of *recemmended* names for dialable/quotable telephone EXchange names. It comes from AT&T/Bell's publication "Notes on Nationwide Dialing, 1955". This reference book was revised for 1956 as "Notes on Distance Dialing" and under that title was revised further in 1961, 1968 and 1975; to take on the title "Notes on the Network" in 1980; further name changes have occurred over the years of this reference book as it was revised in 1983, 1986, 1990, 1994, and the current 1996 edition. Bellcore took over publication of this reference book's revisions beginning with the 1986 edition. I don't have a copy of the 1956 edition, but I would assume that the recommended EXchange name list is included in there, too. The original list show the 'full' name *and* the recommended *abbreviation* for use in the printed telephone directory. I will only list the 'full' names here. Many cities with EXchange names had for decades been using names which are not from this list. They were not necessarily required to change the names, although some places might have changed the name to 'conform' with the recommendation. These names were supposed to have been chosen such that pronouncing the name should easily identify the first two significant dialable letters of the word, as well as quoting the two letters themselves wasn't supposed to be confused with *other* 'like-sounding' letters which were associated with different numbers on the dial. Direct customer dialing of long-distance nationwide calls was becoming popular, phased-in, throughout the 1950's and early 1960's. AT&T recommended these 'generic' EXchange names to the local Bell (and independent) telcos for areas which had only used local numbers of two, three, four or five numerical digits which were moving to a standard seven-digit (2L-5N) format for full incorporation into the North American DDD Telephone Network. These names were considered 'generic' enough for use 'anywhere' in the US and Canada, without any local differences in pronunciation or spelling in the first two letters. However, many areas still continued to use local names with unique or difficult sounds and/or spelling. Please note that the 55x, 57x, 95x and 97x ranges are not included. In the original list, it states "Reserved for Radiotelephone Service". Note that there are no vowels on the 5, 7, 9 digits on the dial. It was considered difficult to form words/names easy to pronounce from the letters JKL, PRS, WXY. However, San Francisco had their KLondike exchange (55x), and in the later 1950's and early 1960's, fictitious exchange names in radio/TV/print entertainment and advertisements used KL-5 or KLondike-5. This is really the origin of the '555' exchange, which has also been used for directory assistance, and now also the newest version of 'info' lines. As for "Radiotelephone" service in the 55, 57, 95, 97 (JKL/PRS/WXY) ranges, I do remember many older mobile phones had ID numbers of the form "KK-xxxx" or "WJ-xxxx", etc. By the late 1950's, AT&T decided to abolish 'official' use of EXchange names and rather go to "All Number Calling". One of the reasons which was given was that when international customer dialing would eventually become available, letters might be confusing as many countries had their letters on different digits, had some different character letters (Germanic and Scandinavian countries, as well as the Cyrillic alphabet used on Russia's dials), used different alphabets entirely (China and other Asian countries), some counries didn't even use letters on their dials at all. ANC has become an international standard, using 'decimal' digits for all telephone numbering as well as domestic and international traffic worldwide, although letters have made a "return" in marketing use. I think that the ITU even has a current international recommendation for placing letters on the dial, as marketing functions use them. The traditional North American dial's use of letters is the standard, including the rarely used (in North America)'Z' and 'Q' letters. Many *OLD* (1930's and 40's) North American dials had the 'Z' on the '0' (zero), and many North American operator keysets also have had the letter 'Q' on the '1' (one). I think that the current International standard uses either the QZ on the '1' or on the '0'; or the 'Q' with PRS on the '7' and the 'Z' with the WXY on the '9'. Another reason to change to ANC was because there were little or no names available from the four earlier mentioned number series. While those series were reserved for Radiotelephone (as well as *test* functions, such as ringback, reaching telco official departments, ANAC/ANI readback, etc), these four series should also be used as "POTS" numbers, as Bell was concerned about the increased use of numbering and code resources (similar to today). Automated dial-in paging (beepers) was becomming available in the late 50's and early 60's. Many PBX's were being automated for full dial-in from outside with a 'standard' seven-digit number such that every department or even employee in a company (or every guest room in a hotel or hospital) would have a distinct 'standard' direct-dial-in telephone number. And even computer modems and data processing systems with dial-up lines over the telephone network were coming into use beginning in the late 1950's. In a 2L-5N situation, the third character of the EXchange was a numerical digit. It was recommended *NOT* to use the digit '0' (zero) for the third digit, during the EXchange name days. That didn't mean it was never used, only that it was *rarely* used. By converting to ANC, it shouldn't matter if the third digit of a numerical exchange prefix was a '0' (zero). In North America, the changeover from letters/names to ANC was in a phased process. Some small to medium size towns which had local numbers of five digits (or less) were converted to DDD-standard seven-digit numbers with *NO* EXchange name used, as early as the late 1950's! The conversion of existing names began around 1960. In cities which had mixed 2L-5N and full numerical seven-digit numbers usually had new wirecenters/NNX codes introduced with all-number NNX codes from 1960-on. New Orleans had virtually converted to ANC (as far as the 'official' telephone directory) by 1966. Some cities finished their conversions in the early or mid 1970's (Chicago, New York City), and I think that Philadelphia didn't 'officially' complete conversion to ANC until 1980 or even later. Even though we are 'officially' on an ANC basis, there is nothing which prohibits one from still quoting their telephone number with the old EXchange names ... just look at my contact info in my 'sig-line'. I give the old (and valid) EXchange names as well as the corresponding numerical format, with *full international/domestic* preliminary codes. This list might help those who would like to use an old-style EXchange name if their current NN(X) office code never did have an old EXchange name from the 1950's or earlier. 22x: 23x: 24x: 25x: 26x: 27x: ACademy ADams CHapel ALpine AMherst BRidge BAldwin BElmont CHerry BLackburn ANdrew BRoad(way) CApital BEverly CHestnut CLearbrook COlfax BRown(ing) CAstle CEdar CHurchill CLearwater COlony CRestview CEnter CIrcle CLifford COngress CRestwood CEntral CLinton 28x: 29x: 32x: 33x: 34x: 35x: ATlantic AXminster DAvenport DEerfield DIamond ELgin ATlas AXtel DAvis DEwey DIckens ELliot ATwater CYpress EAst(gate) EDgewater FIeldbrook ELmwood ATwood FAculty EDgewood FIeldstone FLanders AVenue FAirfax EDison FIllmore FLeetwood BUtler FAirview FEderal FIrestone 36x: 37x: 38x: 39x: 42x: 43x: EMerson DRake DUdley EXbrook GArden GEneral EMpire DRexel DUnkirk EXeter GArfield GEneva ENdicott ESsex DUpont EXport HAmilton HEmlock FOrest FRanklin EVergreen EXpress HArrison HEmpstead FOxcroft FRontier FUlton HAzel IDlewood 44x: 45x: 46x: 47x: 48x: 49x: GIbson GLadstone HObart GRanite HUbbard GYpsy GIlbert GLencourt HOmestead GReenwood HUdson HYacinth HIckman GLendale HOpkins GReenfield HUnter HYatt HIckory GLenview HOward GReenleaf HUntley HIllcrest GLobe INgersoll GRover HUxley HIlltop GRidley IVanhoe 52x: 53x: 54x: 56x: 58x: 59x: JAckson JEfferson KImball JOhn JUniper LYceum LAfayette KEllogg KIngsdale JOrdan JUno LYndhurst LAkeside KEystone KIngswood LOcust JUstice LYnwood LAkeview LEhigh LIberty LOgan LUdlow LYric LAmbert LEnox LIncoln LOwell LUther LAwrence LInden 62x: 63x: 64x: 65x: 66x: 67x: MAdison MEdford MIdway OLdfield MOhawk ORange MAin MElrose MIlton OLive MOntrose ORchard MArket MErcury MIssion OLiver MOrris ORiole MAyfair NEptune MItchell OLympia NOrmandy ORleans NAtional NEwton NIagra OLympic NOrth(field) OSborne NEwtown 68x: 69x: 72x: 73x: 74x: 75x: MUrdock MYrtle PAlace PErshing PIlgrim PLateau MUrray OWen PArk(view) REd(field) PIoneer PLaza MUseum OXbow PArk(way) REd(wood) RIver(side) PLeasant MUtual OXford RAndolph REgent RIver(view) PLymouth OVerbrook RAymond REpublic SHadyside SKyline OVerland SAratoga SHerwood 76x: 77x: 78x: 79x: 82x: 83x: POplar PRescott STate PYramid TAlbot TEmple POrter PResident STerling SWathmore TAlmadge TEnnyson ROckwell PRospect STillwell SWift TAylor TErminal ROger(s) SPring STory SWinburne VAlley TErrace SOuth(field) SPruce SUnset SYcamore VAndyke VErnon 84x: 85x: 86x: 87x: 88x: 89x: THornwell ULrick TOwnsend TRemont TUcker TWilight TIlden ULster UNderhill TRiangle TUlip TWinbrook VIctor(ia) ULysses UNion TRinity TUrner TWinoaks VIking UNiversity TRojan TUxedo TWining VInewood VOlunteer UPtown 92x: 93x: 94x: 96x: 98x: 99x: WAbash WEbster WHitehall WOodland YUkon WYandotte WAlker WElls WHitney WOodlawn WYndown WAlnut WEllington WIlliam(s) WOodward WYman WArwick WEst(more) WIlson WOrth WAverly YEllowstone WIndsor YOrktown MARK J. CUCCIA ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #118 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Mar 27 14:25:31 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id A1E6615720; Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:25:30 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #119 Message-Id: <20060327192530.A1E6615720@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:25:30 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.5 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, INFO_TLD,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NA_DOLLARS,NO_COST autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:25:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 119 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Jajah Gets Funding From Sequoia (Reuters News Service) TiVo Suit Vs. EchoStar to Begin This Week (Monty Solomon) Cellular-News for Monday 27th March 2006 (Cellular-Nnews) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 27, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) March 27, 2006 - MLB.com is MVP in Online Video (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (Steven Lichter) Re: Toll Free Area Restrictions (Steven Lichter) Re: Why is VOIP Getting Hot Now? (Carl Navarro) Re: From Our Archives: Exchange Names in St. Louis (Mark J) Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement (ellis@no.spam) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Service Subject: Jajah Gets Funding From Sequoia, Starts in USA Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 12:23:47 -0600 A European start-up company that promises to make Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls simpler said on Monday it has won funding from Sequoia Capital and will launch services in the United States. The company, Jajah, headquartered in Luxembourg just like its rival Skype, which was taken over for $4.1 billion by eBay, has pledged to make cheap Internet calls as simple as using a search engine. Jajah asks its users to go its Web site and type in the telephone numbers they want to connect. Jajah will call both parties and will route most of the call over the Internet. Only the last mile of the call will be made over the existing phone infrastructure, either mobile or fixed line, and for this the company asks a fee related to charges made for local calls by telecommunications operators. The company will further simplify calls by integrating its service with applications that already have contact information such as e-mail systems, online search engines and contacts databases such as LinkedIn and Plaxo. The first integrations, some of which will be automatic without downloads, will be live within a week. "We will collect customers where the telephone numbers are," said co-founder Roman Scharf. A further improvement of the service will take place in two months time when customers can initiate VoIP calls from their mobile phones. "In May we will bring Jajah to the mobile phone. Consumers will be able to use Jajah from any mobile phone to any destination. We'll solve it by sending a little bit of software to the phone," said co-founder Roman Scharf. Charges vary per call. Jajah says it will charge 0.18 euros (21 U.S. cents) per minute for a mobile to mobile call between the Netherlands and the United States, which will cost a minimum of 0.50 euros for a subscriber on the Dutch Vodafone network. Jajah will charge 0.02 euros for a call between two fixed line phones between the two countries, which is half the price of some of the lowest call rates from existing operators like Tele2 and slightly more expensive than a Skype call from a computer to a normal phone. "We're not the cheapest. Our aim is to get to the normal Internet user. Market research group found that only three out of every 100 Internet users make VoIP calls from their computer. But 95 out of 100 are able to use a search engine. These people may know about VoIP, but it needs to be easier," Scharf said. Jajah is offering its services to consumers in 60 countries. Calls from those 60 countries can be made to any destination in the world. Sequoia is a known for investments in high profile companies such as Google, Cisco Apple Oracle and Yahoo. Scharf declined to say how much Sequoia had invested. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 23:38:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Suit Vs. EchoStar to Begin This Week By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer DALLAS (AP) -- In a case beginning this week, a Texas jury will be asked to decide whether satellite-TV giant EchoStar Communications Corp. stole TiVo Inc.'s technology that lets viewers skip the commercials. TiVo claims that EchoStar, which operates the Dish satellite network, violated TiVo patent on technology used to record one program while playing back another. TiVo is seeking unspecified damages. The trial is scheduled to start Wednesday in U.S. district court in Marshall, 150 miles east of Dallas, and last about two weeks. If TiVo wins, it could sue cable companies that offer other set-top boxes or at least force them to pay licensing fees. Defeat would probably relegate TiVo to a niche place in the market it created, analysts say. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57016489 ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Monday 27th March 2006 Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 06:35:29 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[3G News]] Pre-Commercial Devices Carry EV-DO Rev A Communications http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16679.php Nortel and Sierra Wireless achieved what they say is the industry's first over the air test calls using EV-DO Revision A wireless technology and pre-commercial wireless data devices. The successful tests confirm the commercial viability of EV-DO Revi... [[Financial News]] New World Mobile Holders OK Merger With Telstra's Hong Kong Unit http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16665.php Hong Kong-based mobile carrier New World Mobile Holdings said its shareholders approved the merger of the business with the Hong Kong mobile phone unit of Australia's Telstra at an extraordinary general meeting Friday. ... Lucent, Alcatel Discussing $33 Billion Merger http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16666.php Lucent Technologies and Alcatel are in advanced discussions about a US$33 billion merger that could signal the start of a new wave of consolidation in the telecommunications-equipment industry. ... Telenor: To Offer Fair Price To VimpelCom Minorities http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16671.php Norway's Telenor said Friday that if it or Russia's Alfa Group end up buying out each other's stake in Vimpel Communications, minority shareholders will be offered a fair price for their shares. ... UPDATE: Lucent, Alcatel Joined Better Able To Face Telcos http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16672.php Lucent Technologies's willingness to discuss a merger with Alcatel could be taken as an acknowledgement that it won't be able to survive in the changing telecom landscape by itself. ... Portugal Telecom Invests in Namibian Operator http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16681.php Portugal Telecom has reportedly won a tender to buy a third of the Namibia based mobile phone network operator, Mobile Telecommunications (MTC). The only other bidder was South Africa's MTN Group.... [[Handsets News]] O2 Recalls Handset Following Fire Threat http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16680.php O2 UK is recalling nearly 30,000 X1 mobile phones after the company identified a fault which could cause the handset to overheat during re-charging. The company is also going to block all X1 phones from working on its network from today. The company ... Smelly Samsung Phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16682.php Samsung has submitted a patent application for a mobile phone which would include a "perfume container" which can then spray the perfume out, either when a button is pressed on the handset, or when the phone receives a phone call. Presumably if a han... Contract Manufacturers Will Put Added Pressure on Handset Makers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16685.php The increasing demand of operators to customise and brand their own handsets will benefit contract manufacturers in the mobile handset industry according to a report from visiongain. The handset manufacturing outsourcing market is considerable in siz... [[Legal News]] Subscriber of defunct Sonet operator files claim vs Sky Link http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16674.php Mikhail Fedotov, a subscriber of Sonet mobile operator, which closed down in March 2005, has filed a claim against Sky Link mobile operator seeking compensation, Vedomosti business daily reported Friday. ... [[Mobile Content News]] Report Predicts Robust Growth for Mobile TV http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16686.php The research firm, eMarketer has forecast in a new report that there will be more than 100 million worldwide users of paid or sponsored mobile broadcast video services by the end of 2009. eMarketer's bullish outlook comes after an in-depth review of ... [[MVNO News]] Tecore launches MVNO Platform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16684.php Tecore Wireless Systems has launched a new core network platform to serve the needs of the growing MVNO market. T-MVNO, Tecore's MVNO platform, provides a modular architecture that supports a variety of MVNO business models. Based on Tecore's SoftMSC... [[Network Operators News]] Telsur launches PHS over UTStarcom platform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16667.php Chilean fixed line telco Telsur launched this week a fixed mobile service using a personal handyphone system (PHS) platform from US telecoms supplier UTStarcom, the companies announced Thursday. ... Telemar invests US$3.2mn to implement voice recognition technology http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16670.php Brazil's largest telecoms operator Telemar has invested 7mn reais (US$3.2mn) to implement voice recognition technology in its customer service center, reported financial news service Valor Online. ... Cingular Confirms Closure of TDMA Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16683.php Speaking at the TelecomNext conference, Cingular's CEO Stan Sigman says that the company plans to finalise the migration of its customers to the GSM platform and shut down its legacy TDMA network in 2008. He said that over 95% of voice traffic is now... [[Offbeat News]] Phones Banned At Japans Foreign Office http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16676.php Japan's ... Brits Chat While Naked on the Phone http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16678.php New research from the UK's Post Office has revealed that a third of Brits make telephone calls in the nude. Men are more liberated, with over 40% admitting to nattering naked compared with 27% of women. Results also revealed that people are often too... [[Regulatory News]] Regulator rejects Movistar appeal against CRT intervention http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16668.php Colombia's public services regulator Superservicios has rejected an appeal by mobile operator Movistar against telecoms regulator CRT's refusal to leave interconnection decisions to the market, local daily Portafolio reported. ... Regulator to study reselling of minutes http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16669.php Colombian telecoms regulator CRT plans to study how to allow the resale of minutes, among other telecoms services, during the second half of 2006, Colombian press reported. ... Turkmen president calls for squashing mobile services tariffs http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16673.php Turkmenistan's President Saparmurat Niyazov has proposed squashing tariffs for mobile services provided by government-controlled operator Altyn Asyr by introducing a single annual subscription fee of 250,000 manat, or about U.S. $10, ITAR-TASS report... EU Leaders Call For Lower Mobile Phone Roaming Charges http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16675.php BRUSSELS (AP)--E.U. leaders on Friday called for lower mobile phone charges for travelers who want to ring home from abroad. ... [[Technology News]] Motorola Opens Chinese Research Center http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16677.php Motorola has opened its 17th R&C center in China, at Hangzhou. The new R&D center will support both Motorola Networks' technologies and products, helping to develop, test and launch software and hardware for final integration into commercialized prod... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 11:45:09 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Monday, March 27, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 27, 2006 ******************************** Cingular to Wind Down TDMA Network by 2008 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17250?11228 The chief executive officer (CEO) of Cingular Wireless has told the TelecomNext conference that it plans to close down its TDMA network in 2008. Significance: According to the CEO, 95% of all voice traffic is transmitted over the company's GSM network. Migration to this platform has been accelerated since the acquisition of AT&T... Ericsson executives on trial in Sweden for alleged tax evasion http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17244?11228 STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Six current and former executives at wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson went on trial Monday on tax evasion charges. Prosecutors say the defendants filed false invoices worth about 3.3 billion kronor (360 million; US$470 million) in 1998-1999 to avoid paying taxes. Ericsson has since paid the taxes that were due,... Cingular, Union Reach Tentative Agreement http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17243?11228 ATLANTA -- Three hours before a threatened midnight strike, an agreement was reached Sunday night between Cingular Wireless and the union representing about 11,000 of its customer service employees in nine southeastern states. ''We have reached a tentative agreement on a labor contract,'' said Cingular spokesman Mark Seigel. ''Subject... Treo Hits New Highs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17242?11228 As Palm Inc. adds more features to its Treo line of devices to compete with Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM - message board; Toronto: RIM)'s Blackberry, the vendor reports that sales of Treos continue to climb. Palm says that during its fiscal third quarter, it shipped 564,000 Treo smartphones and sold a total of 569,000... TIA Sees Continued Wireless Expansion http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17238?11228 Wireless services continue to eat away at the numbers of wireline and that's hurting local wireline exchange providers, according to a survey released this week by a Washington, D.C.-based telecommunications gear trade group. "Loss of landline subscribers has hurt the local exchange market, though at moderating rates in the... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 12:42:48 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: MLB.com is MVP in Online Video USTelecom dailyLead March 27, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dniMfDtutceWlNwBGO TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * MLB.com is MVP in online video BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Alcatel, Lucent look to fend off Chinese competitors * Hughes ramps up rural broadband plans * Lycos teams with Netflix to offer VoIP service * Thomson may be acquisition target USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Everything You Need to Know About Telecom HOT TOPICS * Lucent, Alcatel discuss merger * Future of video on display at TelecomNEXT * AT&T chief says telecom TV will pressure cable prices * CEOs talk up new era in media, telecom services * BellSouth's Ackerman touts synergies of AT&T merger at TelecomNEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * NTT forges ahead with NGN plans * Cablevision to debut network DVR * Online NCAA demand exceeds CBS' capacity Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dniMfDtutceWlNwBGO ------------------------------ From: Steven Lichter Reply-To: Die@spammers.com Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc. (c) 2006 A Rot in Hell Co. Subject: Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:03:00 GMT Monty Solomon wrote: > Everybody's Business > Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! > By BEN STEIN > The New York Times > March 26, 2006 > But there is a decision pending within the bowels of the federal > government that may be the single most incomprehensibly wrongheaded > decision of the century. It's small when compared with Iraq, but it's > still maddening. It involves allowing passengers to talk on their > cellphones while they are in flight. > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/26/business/yourmoney/26every.html?ex=1301029200&en=73098a4a84b7c952&ei=5090 This is all we need, have you ever been in a checkout line with a moron on their cell phone talking so loud that you can hear them next into next year or the driver on a cell phone who forgets where they are and pulls in front of you, does not move at a light, or just plain stops in the middle of the street and talks, these morons need to be shot, and that is what is going to happen if cell phones are allowed on planes in flight, or worse, if so many are on that it jams the navigation system and brings the plane down, which a study proves it does. The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2006 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot in Hell Co. ------------------------------ From: Steven Lichter Reply-To: Die@spammers.com Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc. (c) 2006 A Rot in Hell Co. Subject: Re: Toll Free Area Restrictions Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 01:09:48 GMT > In article , > wrote: >> We're having an interesting problem. User calling from a VOIP phone >> in Ohio with an Ohio ANI to a Toll Free number that's allowed in >> Ohio, but not in CA. Customer's interconnect point to the PSTN is in >> Southern CA. Call is sent to a Southern CA tandem for SMS dip, and >> the call fails because the CIC isn't open in CA. Has anyone else run >> into this problem? Are there any solutions currently offered to >> address this problem? I would guess that the person who is trying to make the call may have their VOIP phone number in an area that the toll free number has blocked. A number does not have to be in an area where other number like it may be. I know when I was working on a project in the US Virgin Islands we had a 202 area code number at a managers desk, had no idea why it was still there, but he said it was installed in 1970 by then ITT and was never removed, that is one long FX, but I'm sure US NPA's are in other parts of the world. The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2006 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot in Hell Co. ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Why is VOIP Getting Hot Now? Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 02:14:27 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com On Fri, 24 Mar 2006 21:29:49 -0700, timeOday wrote: > harold@hallikainen.com wrote: >>> In my case it was $88 a month to Verizon vs. $27 a month to >>> Vonage. Big difference. It's the only thing that hasn't inflated in >>> the last year or two. >> Of course, Vonage does not have to pay for the local loop, so there's >> some savings there. How much are you paying for "last mile" >> connectivity (cable modem or DSL or whatever)? I'm currently paying >> Verizon about $25 per month for local dialtone. I'm paying about $3 >> per month in long distance to another company (about 5 cents per >> minute, probably much of that is compensation to the terminating >> carrier). I'm paying $70 per month to cyberonic.com for DSL (6Mbps per >> second AND they let me run my own servers). I pay $0 per month to >> http://www.sipphone.com . I also pay about 1 or 2 cents a minute to >> them for calls into the PSTN. SIP calls (within siphone, to FWD, >> Google, etc.) are free. I use http://www.ipkall.com to get a POTS >> number on SIP for free (though the number is in Washington). >> There certainly are LOTS of options. >> Harold > I'm annoyed with Vonage because they lock down the SIP box so it can > only receive calls from Vonage. There's no real reason for Vonage even > to be in the loop for an IP to IP call, but I guess they know that. > However, I think they're the only company where I can keep my local > number, so I do. I went with Packet8 so I could get a local number. I call forward my Verizon phone to my VOIP number and then ring both the VOIP and my cell phone. Features and price sold me. We just had a small argument with Verizon because Circular hunt is not an option in Ohio. Name and number CID delivery is not an option on Centranet, and the 1x2 grid is really a P Poor implementation of a switching system in the first place. So you get a line for $25 a month, plus $7 for CID, plus the $8.19 "poor and downtrodden" fee and you get a 1:2 ratio of lines, or you get a VOIP line for about $44 and get unlimited Long Distance, or if you're a residence, about $24 for the same thing. Pretty easy choice for 1-3 lines. Carl Navarro [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How this one for a good CHEAT from Southwestern Bell? Although I have UNE-P from Prairie Stream Communications, Prairie Steam by and large has to do whatever SBC allows/requires. We _had_ been getting call forwarding at no charge via Prairie Stream (part of the deal was 'select any three features at no additional charge' in addition to the 100 minutes of free long distance time). Because I have 'forward on busy/no answer' Prairie Stream was charging $2.00 for each of those per month but _nothing_ for 'regular' call forwarding since it was part of the 'free package'. SBC now demands that _everyone_ using call forwarding at all pay $5.00 per month for it, including UNE-P customers. So as of last month, my bill to Prairie Stream went up $5 per month, compliments of SBC, _even though I do not use it_. I do not need, nor want 'regular' call forwarding, just forwarding on those occassions when I leave my house and forget to turn it on, thus 'forwarding on no answer' or possibly forwarding on busy. SBC keeps telling Prairie Stream 'you must have regular call forwarding in order to get forwarding on busy or no answer -- no way around it -- so now they get an extra $5.00 per month from me. Of course I am still required to pay the $2.00 per month each for cf/busy and cf/no answer as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark J Subject: Re: From Our Archives: Exchange Names in St. Louis Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2006 18:21:03 -0800 Organization: Cox Communications Speaking of the ZEnith numbers, I remember up until the early 1980's in CA, to reach CHP you dialed the operator and asked to be connected to ZEnith-1200. TELECOM Digest Editor wrote in message news:telecom25.118.8@telecom-digest.org: > The remainder of this issue of the Digest are some articles from our > archives, dealing with telephone exchange names. Most articles are > twenty years old, dating from 1986. An article by Mark Cuccia dates > back to 1996. I hope you will enjoy re-reading them and needless > to say _do not_ use any of these old email addresses given. > PAT > How about the non-exchange, non-dialable, ZEnith X-XXXX numbers?. > These were pre 800 800 numbers. "Call you local operator and ask for > ZEnithX-XXXX, no cost to calling party". > Huh? There is no "Z" on the dial. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: (in 2006) ... Zenith and Enterprise > numbers only had four digits, _never_ five; they were never > dialable and today have been largely replaced by 800, 888, 877 and > 866 numbers which _are_ dialable. Pat] ------------------------------ From: ellis@no.spam Subject: Re: Kinderstart Sues Google Regards Index Placement Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 04:00:19 -0000 Organization: S.P.C.A.A. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Although I am not familiar with the > exact circumstances of Kinderstart, I am familiar with the statistics > for this Digest. I know that sometimes there are wild flucuations in > the 'hit' or pages-viewed count from one day to the next when using > Google's statistics. I know Google never ever comes close to the same > hit count as I get from my internal program for same, so I have to > wonder at times if their 'secret formulas' etc are as good as they are > claimed to be. PAT] The last quarter of 2004 traffic on my web server (running on DSL at the time) suddenly became so heavy that I couldn't even login to Google's adsense page due to timeouts. This lasted long enough for me to move to a dedicated server but Google changed my ranking a few months after the move. So while I understand Google's need for keeping their methods secret I also understand why Kinderstart is upset. http://yosemitenews.info/ ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #119 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Mar 28 14:51:17 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 0221A156E4; Tue, 28 Mar 2006 14:51:16 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #120 Message-Id: <20060328195116.0221A156E4@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 14:51:16 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NO_COST,US_DOLLARS_3 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 28 Mar 2006 14:53:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 120 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Landmark eBay Case (Peter Kaplan) Microsoft Daily Fine From EU Continues (David Lawsky) Windows is So Slow; Why? (Steve Lohr & John Markoff) Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Chris Farrar) Cellular-News for Tuesday 28th March 2006 (Cellular-News) Telecom-News Daily Update, March 28, 2006 (Telecom-Direct Daily) Bill Calls For National Video Franchise (USTA Daily Lead) Re: From our Archives: "Recommended" Exchange Names (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Re: Followup to 'Recommended' Exchange Names (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Peter Kaplan Subject: U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Landmark eBay Patent Case Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:32:35 -0600 By Peter Kaplan The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday will hear arguments in a patent case involving online auctioneer eBay Inc. that is part of a wider struggle between the software and pharmaceutical industries over the future of the U.S. patent system. Lawyers for eBay and small e-commerce company MercExchange will square off over whether eBay should be barred from using its popular "Buy it Now" feature, which infringes on two MercExchange patents. The case is being closely watched to see if the high court will scale back the right of patent holders to get an injunction barring infringers from using their technologies. Software companies complain they can be held to ransom by owners of questionable patents while drugmakers oppose any weakening of patent rights, which they say would chill their investment in new medicines. Patent experts said that, depending on how the high court rules, the case could have a profound impact on the way the courts treat intellectual property in the United States. "Any time we talk about altering injunctions we really are talking about altering the fundamental balance of power," said Steve Maebius, a patent lawyer with the firm Foley & Lardner. The arguments come on the heels of a recent court fight by a small patent-holding company seeking an injunction to shut down of Research In Motion Ltd.'s popular BlackBerry wireless e-mail devices. RIM settled the case after a judge made it clear that he would impose an injunction. At issue in the current case is a decision by a federal court of appeals upholding an injunction imposed on eBay at the request of MercExchange. EBay was found to have infringed on two e-commerce patents that MercExchange said were key to eBay's "Buy it Now" feature, which handles fixed-price sales. But a U.S. District Court refused to issue an injunction and awarded MercExchange a small amount of damages instead. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears most patent case appeals in the U.S. courts, reversed the decision, citing legal doctrine that gives patent holders the right to an injunction "absent exceptional circumstances." Hopeful the Supreme Court will overturn the doctrine, some of the largest U.S. software companies have filed friend-of-the-court briefs supporting eBay. "Money that could go to productive investments is instead diverted to legal fees and settlement payments. The costs of these practices are less innovation or a slower rate of innovation and higher costs for consumers," a group of computer technology companies wrote in a friend-of-the-court brief. EBay has argued that federal judges should have more discretion to deny an injunction and instead issue a monetary award to the patent holder. But drug makers oppose watering down the rights of patent holders. They say the right to an injunction is at the core of the U.S. intellectual property system, much like a landowner's right to evict trespassers. "Limiting the availability of an injunction after a judge or jury have found a patent to be valid and infringed would severely undermine the patent system and drive up the cost of innovation," the industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America said in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the Supreme Court. The prospect of change also provoked opposition from a group of U.S. inventors, who said in their court brief that large companies want to support intellectual property rights "only for themselves and companies like theirs." Separately from the Supreme Court case, the software industry has pressed a campaign on Capitol Hill to weed out illegitimate patents and rein in the power of patent holders. Lobbying efforts center on legislation being drafted by Rep. Lamar Smith, a Republican from Texas who chairs a key House subcommittee. Smith introduced a patent reform bill last year to modernize and overhaul patent laws and help the Patent and Trademark Office do a better job vetting new patents. Smith's bill originally included a provision making it more difficult to get an injunction, but it was removed from the bill after running into opposition from drugmakers and others. Smith is expected to introduce a similar bill soon and has been trying to find a compromise on several matters that would be acceptable to the software and pharmaceutical industries, lobbyists said. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling in the eBay case in several months. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: David Lawsky Subject: Microsoft Gets Last Chance to Avoid Daily Fines From EU Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:34:37 -0600 By David Lawsky Microsoft has a last chance to convince EU regulators this week that the software giant should not be fined up to 2 million euros ($2.4 million) daily for failing to carry out antitrust sanctions. A European Commission hearing officer will listen to the company's defense on Thursday and Friday -- behind closed doors -- against charges Microsoft has dragged its feet in the two years since a landmark antitrust decision found it used the dominance of its Windows operating system to damage competitors. Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said the decision was sparse on specifics, making the Commission's demands for information anything but obvious. "We know that the specifications need to be complete and accurate, but there's nothing that defines what complete means," he said in a telephone interview. The Commission found in March 2004 that Microsoft leveraged a quasi-monopoly position on PC desktops to boost its share of the market for "workgroup server software," used to run printers, password sign-ins and file access in offices. The Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, said Microsoft made its server software work more smoothly than others by telling rivals only some of what they needed to hook up with Microsoft Windows. "Microsoft's behavior ... witholding interoperability information ... builds an artificial barrier to entry," the Commission said in its decision. The Commission imposed a seemingly simple remedy: Microsoft must supply interoperability information that works. However, Microsoft has since failed to provide adequate documentation so other firms can make their software function properly with its products, the Commission alleges. FINES ONLY WEAPON LEFT? Enforcers say daily fines are their only weapon left to combat the software firm, which has tens of billions of dollars in cash on hand and net income of about $40 million daily. But Smith said Microsoft was working with the Commission to deduce what was wanted, adding, "there are only about five words that describe the technical specifications" in the decision. The company and a monitoring trustee, appointed by the Commission from nominees put forward by Microsoft, are discussing how to improve the documentation. The company says 18 projects are under way. "Our estimate is that the 18 projects we identified will take 3,500 to 4,000 engineering hours," Smith said. For the Commission, it all seems a bit late. After all, the company had two years. "We are thinking of fining them because our view is that they have not complied with the requirements of the decision to make available this interoperability information," spokesman Jonathan Todd said. The daily fines would be in addition to one of 497 million euros that the Commission slapped Microsoft with in 2004, when it also ordered the company to sell a version of Windows without audiovisual software. Microsoft complied, but the version has had little impact in the marketplace. At the time, Microsoft had 120 days to carry out the sanctions -- a deadline of around July 22, 2004. Microsoft responded by asking the European Union's Court of First Instance to annul the decision and sought to suspend the remedies until a final court ruling. But a judge decided in December 2004 that the remedies must take effect immediately. In November 2005, the Commission gave Microsoft a deadline of December 15 to comply with its ruling or face fines of up to 2 million euros daily on two grounds. First, the Commission said Microsoft had proposed excessive royalties for the interconnections. It is still considering Microsoft's response. Second, the Commission said Microsoft's documentation was found unusable by the monitoring trustee and four well-known software companies. The Commission on December 21, 2005, started wheels rolling to fine Microsoft, issuing a formal statement of objections. Smith said Microsoft had never been asked to provide so much documentation before and that the more usual approach was for engineers to talk to each other. Microsoft has also argued that the Commission violated its rights by failing to give it access to documents needed for its defense. The Commission said the documents were internal. In addition to working with the trustee, it announced this year plans to make portions of its source code -- a blueprint -- for work group servers available to licensees. But the trustee had said this was "never asked for nor indeed welcomed." If the Commission decides against Microsoft, it will face fines dating back to December 15. ($1=.8314 euro) But some observors noted that "Microsoft could simply continue to do as it always has and budget the amount of the ongoing fines it would have to pay each day. A couple million in fines each day would simply be an additional operating expense for Microsoft, if it came to that. I doubt Microsoft would miss the money all that much as they eval- uated whether to continue as they were going or make some changes to acomodate EU or not. " Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Steve Lohr & John Markoff Subject: Windows is So Slow; Why is That? Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 10:36:27 -0600 By STEVE LOHR and JOHN MARKOFF Back in 1998, the federal government declared that its landmark antitrust suit against the Microsoft Corporation was not merely a matter of law enforcement, but a defense of innovation. The concern was that the company was wielding its market power and its strategy of bundling more and more features into its dominant Windows desktop operating system to thwart competition and stifle innovation. Eight years later, long after Microsoft lost and then settled the antitrust case, it turns out that Windows is indeed stifling innovation -- at Microsoft. The company's marathon effort to come up with the a new version of its desktop operating system, called Windows Vista, has repeatedly stalled. Last week, in the latest setback, Microsoft conceded that Vista would not be ready for consumers until January, missing the holiday sales season, to the chagrin of personal computer makers and electronics retailers -- and those computer users eager to move up from Windows XP, a five-year-old product. In those five years, Apple Computer has turned out four new versions of its Macintosh operating system, beating Microsoft to market with features that will be in Vista, like desktop search, advanced 3-D graphics and "widgets," an array of small, single-purpose programs like news tickers, traffic reports and weather maps. So what's wrong with Microsoft? There is, after all, no shortage of smart software engineers working at the corporate campus in Redmond, Wash. The problem, it seems, is largely that Microsoft's past success and its bundling strategy have become a weakness. Windows runs on 330 million personal computers worldwide. Three hundred PC manufacturers around the world install Windows on their machines; thousands of devices like printers, scanners and music players plug into Windows computers; and tens of thousands of third-party software applications run on Windows. And a crucial reason Microsoft holds more than 90 percent of the PC operating system market is that the company strains to make sure software and hardware that ran on previous versions of Windows will also work on the new one -- compatibility, in computing terms. As a result, each new version of Windows carries the baggage of its past. As Windows has grown, the technical challenge has become increasingly daunting. Several thousand engineers have labored to build and test Windows Vista, a sprawling, complex software construction project with 50 million lines of code, or more than 40 percent larger than Windows XP. "Windows is now so big and onerous because of the size of its code base, the size of its ecosystem and its insistence on compatibility with the legacy hardware and software, that it just slows everything down," observed David B. Yoffie, a professor at the Harvard Business School. "That's why a company like Apple has such an easier time of innovation." Microsoft certainly understands the problem, the need to change and the potential long-term threat to its business from rivals like Apple, the free Linux operating system, and from companies like Google that distribute software as a service over the Internet. In an internal memo last October, Ray Ozzie, chief technical officer, who joined Microsoft last year, wrote, "Complexity kills. It sucks the life out of developers, it makes products difficult to plan, build and test, it introduces security challenges and it causes end-user and administrator frustration." Last Monday afternoon, James Allchin, the longtime engineering executive who leads the Vista team, held a meeting with 75 Windows managers and senior engineers to discuss the status of Vista. On Tuesday morning, Mr. Allchin met with a handful of his lieutenants and told them of the decision to push back the consumer introduction, a move that was announced publicly later that day, after the close of the stock market. Brad Goldberg, a general manager of Windows program management, who attended the Tuesday morning meeting, said he was not surprised, because he had been involved in the decision. "But it's a different place than Microsoft a few years ago would have wound up," he said. Like other Microsoft executives, Mr. Goldberg bristles at the notion that little innovative work has come out of the Windows group since XP. In the last five years, he said, Microsoft has released two versions of the Windows Tablet PC software intended for pen-based notebook computers, and four versions of Windows Media Center. To combat viruses plaguing Windows, much of the engineering team focused for 18 months on fixing security flaws for a downloadable "service pack" in 2004. "The perception that nothing new has come out of the Windows group since XP is just so far from the truth," Mr. Goldberg said. But last Thursday, Microsoft reorganized the management of its Windows division. Steven Sinofsky, 40, a senior vice president, was placed in charge of product planning and engineering for Windows and Windows Live, a new Web service that lets consumers manage their e-mail accounts, instant messaging, blogs, photos and podcasts in one site. Mr. Sinofsky, a former technical assistant to Bill Gates, the Microsoft chairman, was one of the early people in the company to recognize the importance of the Internet in the 1990's. He comes to the Windows job from heading Microsoft's big Office division, where he was known for bringing out new versions of the Office suite - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and other offerings -- on schedule every two or three years. The move is seen as an effort to bring greater discipline to the Windows group. "But this doesn't seem to do anything to address the core Windows problem; Windows is too big and too complex," said Michael A. Cusumano, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Vista delay, Microsoft executives said, was only a matter of a few more weeks to improve quality further, not attributable to any single flaw and done to make sure all its industry partners were ready when the product was introduced. Vista will be ready for large corporate customers in November, while the consumer rollout is being pushed back to January 2007. Mr. Allchin conceded in an interview that the decision was "a bit painful," but he insisted it was the "right thing." Mr. Allchin, 54, will continue to work on Vista until it ships and then retire, as he said he would last year. Microsoft will not say so, but antitrust considerations may have played a role in the decision that Mr. Allchin called the right thing to do. As part of its antitrust settlement, Microsoft vowed to treat PC makers even-handedly, after evidence in the trial that Microsoft had rewarded some PC makers with better pricing or more marketing help in exchange for giving Microsoft products an edge over competing software. In the last few weeks, Microsoft met with major PC makers and retailers to discuss Vista. Hewlett-Packard, the second-largest PC maker after Dell, is a leader in the consumer market. Yet unlike Dell, Hewlett-Packard sells extensively through retailers, whose orders must be taken and shelves stocked. That takes time. Hewlett-Packard, according to a person close to the company who asked not to be identified because he was told the information confidentially, informed Microsoft that unless Vista was locked down and ready by August, Hewlett-Packard would be at a disadvantage in the year-end sales season. Vista was also held up because the project was restarted in the summer of 2004. By then, it became clear to Mr. Allchin and others inside Microsoft that the way they were trying to build the new version of Windows, then called Longhorn, would not work. Two years' worth of work was scrapped, and some planned features were dropped, like an intelligent data storage system called WinFS. The new work, Microsoft decided, would take a new approach. Vista was built more in small modules that then fit together like Lego blocks, making development and testing easier to manage. "They did the right thing in deciding that the Longhorn code was a tangled, hopeless mess, and starting over," said Mr. Cusumano of M.I.T. "But Vista is still an enormous, complex structure." Skeptics like Mr. Cusumano say that fixing the Windows problem will take a more radical approach, a willingness to walk away from its legacy. One instructive example, they say, is what happened at Apple. Remember that Steven P. Jobs came back to Apple because the company's effort to develop an ambitious new operating system, codenamed Copland, had failed. Mr. Jobs convinced Apple to buy his company Next Inc. for $400 million in December 1996 for its operating system. It took Mr. Jobs and his team years to retool and tailor the Next operating system into what became Macintosh OS X. When it arrived in 2001, the new system essentially walked away from Apple's previous operating system, OS 9. Software applications written for OS 9 would run on an OS X machine, but only by firing up the old operating system separately. The approach was somewhat ungainly, but it allowed Apple to move to a new technology, a more stable, elegantly designed operating system. The one sacrifice was that OS X would not be compatible with old Macintosh programs, a step Microsoft has always refused to take with Windows. "Microsoft feels it can't get away with breaking compatibility," said Mendel Rosenblum, a Stanford University computer scientist. "All of their applications must continue to run, and from an architectural point of view that's a very painful thing." It is also costly in terms of time, money and manpower. Where Microsoft has thousands of engineers on its Windows team, Apple has a lean development group of roughly 350 programmers and fewer than 100 software testers, according to two Apple employees who spoke on the condition that they not be identified. And Apple had the advantage of building on software from university laboratories, an experimental version of the Unix operating system developed at Carnegie Mellon University and a free variant of Unix from the University of California, Berkeley. That helps explain why a small team at Apple has been able to build an operating system rich in features with nearly as many lines of code as Microsoft's Windows. And Apple, which makes operating systems that run only on its own computers, does not have to work with the massive business ecosystem of Microsoft, with its hundreds of PC makers and thousands of third-party software companies. That ballast is also Microsoft's great strength, and a reason industry partners and computer users stick with Windows, even if its size and strategy slow innovation. Unless Microsoft can pick up the pace, "consumers may simply end up with a more and more inferior operating system over time, which is sad," said Mr. Yoffie of the Harvard Business School. Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines from New York Times, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimes.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:34:13 -0500 From: Chris Farrar Subject: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: Not to want to disagree with our esteemed host, but I distinctly remember 5 digit Zenith numbers in Bell Canada territory. Zenith 50-000 and Zenith 80-000 that would get you the nearest detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the nearest Ambulance dispatchers. > How about the non-exchange, non-dialable, ZEnith X-XXXX numbers?. >> These were pre 800 800 numbers. "Call you local operator and ask for >> ZEnithX-XXXX, no cost to calling party". > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: (in 2006) ... Zenith and Enterprise > numbers only had four digits, _never_ five; they were never > dialable and today have been largely replaced by 800, 888, 877 and > 866 numbers which _are_ dialable. Pat] ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 28th March 2006 Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 06:51:08 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] China Industry Official:New Operator Needed For TD-SCDMA http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16688.php A new domestic operator should take charge of launching China's homegrown third-generation TD-SCDMA mobile phone technology, a telecommunications industry official said Monday. ... China Mobile Orders 3G Test Platform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16696.php China Mobile says that it has selected Spirent's Landslide Performance Analysis System to test 3G Packet Core Network equipment, including Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN) and GPRS Gateway Support Nodes (GGSN). The China Mobile Communications Resear... [[ Financial ]] Juniper, Ericsson Linkup Possible, Analysts Say http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16689.php If Lucent Technologies and Alcatel marry their businesses, Ericsson and Juniper Networks could be next at the altar, analysts said Monday. ... FOCUS: Telenor seeks agreement over VimpelCom, no quick fix in sight http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16690.php The long-lasting conflict between Norway?s Telenor and Russia's Alfa Group over VimpelCom, which they own together, is unlikely to see a quick resolution following the exchange of statements issued last Friday, analysts said. ... Lucent, Alcatel Better Off Together http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16694.php Lucent Technologies's willingness to discuss a merger with Alcatel could be taken as an acknowledgment that it won't be able to survive in the changing telecom landscape by itself. ... Russia's MTS US GAAP net profit up 14% 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16695.php The net profit of Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) rose 14% on the year to U.S. $1.126 billion in 2005, as calculated under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), MTS said in a press release Monday. ... [[ Handsets ]] Nokia dominates handset market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16692.php Finnish telecoms equipment provider Nokia dominates the Colombian mobile handset market, according to a study carried out by non-profit telecoms think-tank Cintel. ... Mobile Phones Pose Recycling Problems http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16702.php The UK's Science Museum is due to open a new exhibition this Wednesday which is to showcase pioneering phone technologies as well as the environmental impact of mobile phones. The exhibition opening in the science and technology news gallery of the ... [[ Messaging ]] UK Users Sent 99 Million Text Messages Daily In February http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16687.php The Mobile Data Association Monday said 2.7 billion texts were sent by UK mobile phone users during Feburary, an increase of 26% from the same period a year earlier. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] BB looks to mobile service to keep costs at bay http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16691.php Brazilian federal bank Banco do Brasil (BB) officially announced nationwide availability of its m-banking services Thursday in a bid to cut costs. ... 3 UK Takes Majority of Music Downloads Marker http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16703.php With average sales of over 200,000 tracks per month, Hutchison 3G UK says that its audio service has made up over 53% of mobile audio track downloads since the start of 2006, according to the Official Charts Company (OCC), the body responsible for co... [[ Network Contracts ]] Huawei Wins Brazilian GSM Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16697.php Huawei has been awarded a GSM network expansion contract by the Brazil based GSM network operator, Telemar/Oi, augmenting a long-term partnership between Telemar/Oi and Huawei. According to the contract, Telemar/Oi appoints Huawei to expand its GSM c... Ericsson Heading Indian GSM Tenders - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16698.php Merrill Lynch has stated in a research note that they think Ericsson is the likely leader in a couple of major GSM network infrastructure tenders occurring in India. BSNL is known to have a public GSM tender which is due to close at the end of next m... [[ Network Operators ]] EU's Reding: Roaming Charge Decision To Be "Dramatic" http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16693.php With roaming rates on mobile phone use "astronomical", European regulators will on Tuesday announce a "dramatic" decision to force them down, European Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said Monday at a conference with Intel Ch... [[ Offbeat ]] Increased Use of Portable Gadgets Leading to More Visual Fatigue http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16701.php Studies have found that the majority of people who work at a computer experience some eye or vision problems, and that the level of discomfort appears to increase with the amount of computer use. But, increased use of smaller, portable work and recre... [[ Personnel ]] Nortel Opens Argentinean Office http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16699.php Nortel syas that it has established a new customer service center in Buenos Aires, Argentina focused on services to help wireless operators around the world design, deploy, support and evolve their networks. The new Advanced Mobility Services Center ... SR Telecom Outsources Manufacturing http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16700.php SR Telecom says that it has completed a multi-year agreement to outsource its manufacturing operations. SR Telecom currently has approximately 87 employees engaged in core manufacturing operations. Of these, approximately 70 positions will be elimina... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 12:51:07 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Tuesday, March 28, 2006 ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 28, 2006 ******************************** Vodafone Wades into Roaming Fee Battle http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17266?11228 Vodafone has voiced its objections to the European Commission's plan to reduce or even scrap roaming fees across the region. The company told Reuters that it had written to the European Union (EU) warning that an ill-judged regulation could have unforeseen effects on the industry. The operator claims that competition among operators is... EU to tackle "unjustified" cost of using mobile phones abroad http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17262?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU said Tuesday it will force mobile phone companies to scrap the ''unjustified'' high cost of using a mobile phone abroad after they failed to cut prices over the past six months. The European Commission said it would draft a law that could by next summer eliminate charges for receiving a call in another EU... Broadband Growth Not Enough to Offset Wireline Voice Declines in US http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17261?11228 SOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- While growth in broadband wireline revenues remains robust in the US, it is not enough to overcome steady losses in consumer wireline voice revenues, reports In-Stat. As a result wireline service revenues in the US will decline by 3.3% annually, on average, from 2004 to 2009, the high-tech market research firm... Palm Pushes Deeper Into Enterprise http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17259?11228 Palm Inc. may have raised some eyebrows last week when it reported rapidly accelerating sales of its Treo handheld devices, but Justin Hectus, director of IT for law firm Keesal, Young and Logan, didn't bat an eye. "The best formula I've found" for corporate email, says Hectus, "is Good Technology's GoodLink running on the Treo 650."... RBOCs Wait & See on P2P http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17257?11228 AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. , and Qwest Communications International Inc. don't have hard, fast policies in place to deal with consumer peer-to-peer traffic. Despite the hype about P2P traffic volumes on carrier networks, these phone companies... Sprint Nextel Helps Customers "Find It" http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17255?11228 Sprint is putting more information in the palm of its customers' hands, with the introduction of a new mobile search service powered by InfoSpace. InfoSpace Find It!, a J2ME powered application designed specifically for cell phones, incorporates GPS capabilities and enables subscribers to not only locate restaurants, movie times and so... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:32:23 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Bill Calls For National Video Franchises USTelecom dailyLead March 28, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dnucfDtutcgixNMhkL TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Bill calls for national video franchises BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * National security issues at play in Lucent-Alcatel discussions * Wireless carriers look to capitalize on growing tween market * Fifth vendor under consideration for GPON contracts * France becomes broadband pacesetter * SuperPages.com links up with Google * Comcast's quadruple play to use "SmartPlay" brand USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Telecom Bookstore: Everything for the Telecom Professional TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Group finalizes broadband wiring tech standard REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * EU unveils plan to cut roaming charges Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dnucfDtutcgixNMhkL ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: From our Archives: "Recommended" Exchange Names Date: 28 Mar 2006 08:31:56 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > A decade ago, Mark Cuccia sent us this list from 'Notes on Nationwide > Dialing, the 1955 edition. > In North America, the changeover from letters/names to ANC was in a phased > process. Some places switched cold turkey. Some places switched gradually, such as going from a full name to just the two letters, and then giving new customers all numbers while existing ones kept their letters. Some places, like Philadelphia (the last to switch) were resistant. As ANC progressed, some people objected to that and the increasing computerization of 1960s society. In hindsight, service was far more manual back then than today. But not all new computer billing systems worked very well, with many stories of receiving a $1,000,000 bill for monthly electricity in a small home. (I personally got burned in those days when I changed jobs within an employer. My pay was hourly and I switched to a per diem pay, but the computer kept my old pay rate. So instead of getting paid for 40 hours, I got paid for only 5 hours because I worked 5 days and that was entered. Was very hard for them to straighten that out, for months I got "interim" manually prepared estimated checks.) > Even though we are 'officially' on an ANC basis, there is nothing which > prohibits one from still quoting their telephone number with the old > EXchange names ... Unfortunately, too many people today are too far distant from that usage and wouldn't understand what you were giving them. In Phila it's been 25 years since the conversion and that's the newest. I will note however that just yesterday (March 2006) I saw construction trucks still marked with DE 3 of the contractor's phone number. I noticed some newer units had 333 so he finally switched over, but much of his fleet remains. I'd love to get a picture, but it is a highway project and no place to park and walk over. (And they'd be suspicious of me if I were taking pictures and call the cops). Here and there there's an old building with an old phone number painted on it and still in use. I saw some in Oyster Bay LI a few years ago. Some stores still have an old neon sign with their old style number. Larger businesses can move or go centrex and lose their original number over time. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Followup to 'Recommended' Exchange Names Date: 28 Mar 2006 08:40:12 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > Here is another piece, this one on 'recommended' exchange names. > While at WE I looked up, as a matter of curiosity, the office drawings of > the last manual CO to convert to dial in New York City where I grew up. > When the CIty Island 8 central office was converted the new exchange was > ordered and installed as the TUlip 5 exchange but between installation and > cutover New York Telephone decided to switch from exchange names to > arbitrary 2-Letter combinations and it appeared in the new telephone > directory as TT 5 which is dialed exactly the same as TUlip 5. The dial > conversion could in fact have been done without changing the exchange name > as people elsewhere in New York City had been dialing CIty Island 8 for > years, reaching a call indicator in front of the inward operator at CIty > Island 8 who completed the call without their being aware that an operator > was involved in the call. Would anyone know when this conversion took place? I understand City Island today is a popular mini resort town of restaurants. It is a little island off the Bronx and is somewhat out of the way, so it misses some of the craziness of NYC. Anyway, as part of the ANC conversion, the Bell System experimented in New York State with intentionally non-pronouncable exchange codes, such as TT. Others were used as well in NYS. This was an effort to get more exchanges out of a district using codes that otherwise wouldn't be named. I forgot to mention one of the reasons for a uniform name list was local pronounciations that might be different if spoken remotely to a long distance operator. Philadelphia had one exchange, BAring 2 (in West Phila), but it was pronounced bear (as in teddy), not "bar" (as in drink). In 1975 I knew a politician who had a phone in his car. To reach him was by a regular 7 digit conventional phone number (LOcust downtown), so a casual caller wouldn't know they were reaching a car. I think when he dialed out he merely dialed the number. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #120 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Mar 29 15:30:01 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 9D740155DB; Wed, 29 Mar 2006 15:30:01 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #121 Message-Id: <20060329203001.9D740155DB@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 15:30:01 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NO_COST autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 29 Mar 2006 15:30:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 121 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Yahoo Terminating 'Yahoo Plus' Web Package (Reuters News Wire) Tech Firms Eye Immigration Debate (Erica Werner) Bluetooth Adopts New Radio Technology (Monty Solomon) Google Employees' Wireless Patents Published (Monty Solomon) TV Here, There, Everywhere (Monty Solomon) Cellular-News for Thursday 29th March 2006 (cellular-news) Press Release - This Man's Home IS His Castle! (javabeane@prodigy.net) MSN Cuts Dial Up Price to Compete With AOL (USTA Daily Lead) OSDI '06 Call for Papers - Usenix Association (Lionel Garth Jones) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Bruce L. Bergman) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Yahoo To Terminate "Yahoo Plus" Web Package Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 17:42:04 -0600 Internet company Yahoo Inc. will terminate a bundled offering of special Web services next month based on consumer response to the package, though the individual features will still be available, the company said on Tuesday. "Yahoo Plus" aggregated features such as extra e-mail storage, protection against unwanted spam e-mail, an online game creation service and streaming music in one package. The cost of the package was $3.95 per month with an annual subscription or $4.95 per month without an annual commitment. "When we listened to our users it became clear that Yahoo Plus was not an essential service," a Yahoo spokeswoman said. "It is just this one amalgamation of premium services (to be canceled); we still offer the individual premium services." Yahoo notified Yahoo Plus subscribers that the service will terminate on April 22. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Erica Werner Subject: Tech Firms Eye Immigration Debate Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 17:45:01 -0600 By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer High-tech firms eager to import more engineers, computer buffs and other skilled workers are waiting anxiously to see if their needs will be met as Congress grapples with overhauling immigration law. As senators began work Monday on an immigration bill, officials from tech companies, universities and trade groups gathered in a Senate meeting room to tick off some of their top priorities: adding more visas for high-tech workers and making it easier for tech-savvy foreign students to come to the U.S. and stay. They aren't the issues that have grabbed headlines, like fencing off the U.S.-Mexico border or what to do with the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants already in this country. But high-tech officials say they are essential at a time when the U.S. is creating more technology jobs but producing fewer college and university graduates with engineering degrees. "I have trouble filling high-tech jobs in remote areas, and even in metropolitan areas finding the right person," said Woody Sessums, a vice president at Cisco Systems, Inc. "We want the very smartest, the most high-level engineers to come here and stay, and we have to compete globally." Sessums was among the speakers at a Monday forum organized by the University of California Washington Center, the California Institute for Federal Policy Research and TechNet, a high-tech lobby group. An immigration bill the House passed in December did not contain any of the main provisions high-tech companies are seeking. They are more hopeful about what might come out of the Senate, although the two measures would then have to be reconciled. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has proposed allowing more of the popular H1-B visas that go to high-tech workers. Congress capped the six-year H-1B visas at 65,000 per year in 2004, and for the past few years that cap has been met even before the beginning of each fiscal year. Specter would increase the cap to 115,000, with more increases possible depending on demand. "We don't have enough homegrown scientists and people who are well-trained in math and science, and what happens is those jobs are offshored or outsourced to places like India and China," Sen. John Cornyn (news, bio, voting record), R-Texas, said as the Judiciary Committee debated the issue Monday. "It represents a real challenge to American competitiveness." Specter's legislation also would change how foreign students are dealt with, creating a new visa for students in science, technology, engineering and math and allowing them to take a job after they graduate and apply for permanent residency. Currently foreign students must pledge to leave the U.S. after completing their studies. "A lot of that innovation, talent and invention is now pushed to other countries," said Tod Loofbourrow, president and chief executive of Authoria, Inc., a Massachusetts company that focuses on recruitment and work force productivity. The Judiciary Committee passed Specter's bill Monday and the full Senate was expected to take it up Tuesday. "Hopefully there's enough support in the Senate for this that we can get this through while they're arguing about the other issues," said Victor Johnson, associate executive director at the Association of International Educators. Copyright © 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 23:24:56 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bluetooth Adopts New Radio Technology By PETER SVENSSON AP Technology Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- The Bluetooth wireless standard used in cell phones and other small devices will take a leap in transmission speed, broadening its scope to enable high-definition video and files for digital music players like the iPod. The industry group behind Bluetooth said Tuesday that it would boost transfer speeds in the next few years by incorporating a new radio technology, known as ultra-wideband, or UWB. Currently, Bluetooth works only for low-speed uses like headsets and wireless keyboards. UWB, which has yet to appear in consumer devices, enables wireless transmissions at speeds equivalent to USB or FireWire cables at distances up to 10 feet. The first products with high-speed Bluetooth may show up late next year, with wider availability in 2008, said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. UWB is developed by another industry group, the WiMedia Alliance, which includes Intel Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Microsoft Corp. Its linkup with Bluetooth will provide a way for devices with UWB hardware to identify each other and communicate. For instance, a phone with Bluetooth can recognize a headset and know that it receives and sends audio data. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57084656 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 08:25:37 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Google Employees' Wireless Patents Published By Dawn Kawamoto The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has published three wireless-related patents filed by Google employees as the search giant seeks to delve deeper into the wireless market. The patent applications, filed by Google employees Wesley Chan, Shioupyn Shen and former Google product management director Georges Harik, propose lowering the cost of wireless access by offsetting the costs via advertisements on the service. Google, which receives the bulk of its revenue from advertisers, is seeking to expand its potential advertising base by moving further into the wireless market. The patent applications, filed in 2004 and published earlier this month, address three issues related to the wireless and advertising market. Patent application No. 20060058019 seeks to develop a system for dynamically modifying the appearance of browser screens on a client device when connecting to a wireless access point. Under the patent, the browser's appearance would be modified to reflect the brand associated with the wireless access-point provider. The patent application says that Wi-Fi Internet access would be provided freely to customers in exchange for their agreement to receiving ads on their devices. Google, however, noted its patent applications do not represent a guarantee it will head in a particular direction with its technology. http://news.com.com/2100-1038-6054310.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 00:19:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TV Here, There, Everywhere David Pogue The New York Times March 23, 2006 IN the olden days, Americans gathered in front of the television sets in their living rooms to watch designated shows at designated times. You had a choice of three channels, and if you missed the broadcast, you'd feel like an idiot at the water cooler the next day. Quaint, huh? Then came the VCR, which spared you the requirement of being there on time. Then cable TV, which blew open your channel choices. Then TiVo, which eliminated the necessity of even knowing when or where a show was to be broadcast. What's next -- eliminating the TV altogether? Well, sure. Last year, a strange-looking gadget called the Slingbox ($250) began offering that possibility. It's designed to let you, a traveler on the road, watch what's on TV back at your house, or what's been recorded by a video recorder like a TiVo. The requirements are high-speed Internet connections at both ends, a home network and a Windows computer -- usually a laptop -- to watch on. (A Mac version is due by midyear.) Today is another milestone in society's great march toward anytime, anywhere TV. Starting today, Slingbox owners can install new player software on Windows Mobile palmtops and cellphones, thereby eliminating even the laptop requirement. On cellphones with high-speed Internet connections, the requirement of a wireless Internet hot spot goes away, too. Now you can watch your home TV anywhere you can make phone calls -- a statement that's never appeared in print before today (at least not accurately). Now, if you don't travel much, and even if you do, your reaction to this statement may well be, "So?" Sure enough, the Slingbox has always been intended to fill certain niches. It's for people with a fancy satellite receiver downstairs in the living room, but who want to watch upstairs in bed before retiring. It's for the hotel-room prisoner who wants to watch a movie on a TiVo at home, having realized that it's cheaper to pay $10 for a night of high-speed Internet than $13.95 for an in-room movie. It's for the traveler who wants to keep up with his hometown news while away. And if you have friends who can't see the big game because of a local broadcast blackout - really, really good friends - you could even let them download the free Slingbox player software and watch your local broadcast, though the Slingbox folks don't endorse this last use. Now that all of this is available for cellphone viewing - with no monthly fee - well, the mind boggles. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/technology/circuits/23pogue.html?ex=1300770000&en=5dccb13953901b71&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Thursday 29th March 2006 Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 06:52:12 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Orange Israel Launches HSDPA Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16715.php Nortel says that it has deployed a high-speed mobile network for Israel's Partner Communications - which trades under the Orange brandname, based on HSDPA technology. Commercial services will provide mobile connectivity at download speeds of up to 3.... [[ Financial ]] Japan's NTT DoCoMo, Lawson In Capital Alliance http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16704.php NTT DoCoMo said Tuesday it has agreed to buy a 2% stake in Lawson Inc., as part of a tie-up to enable the use of mobile phone electronic money services at Lawson's convenience store chain nationwide. ... Slim views Canada as possible AMX market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16708.php Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim believes Canada is a suitable market for his mobile unit América Móvil, Reuters reported. ... ICE mobile operations post US$146mn profit in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16709.php The mobile telephony operations of Costa Rican state telecommunications monopoly ICE ended 2005 with a net profit of US$146mn, up 143% compared to 2004, local daily El Financiero quoted anonymous ICE sources as saying. ... Ukraine's UMC investments soar to $676 million in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16710.php The investments of Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC), Ukraine's second largest mobile operator, soared to U.S. $676 million in 2005 from $282 million in 2004, the company's General Director Adam Voyatsky told reporters Tuesday. ... [[ Handsets ]] Motorola RAZR Still Dominating US Handset Sales http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16714.php Merrill Lynch has carried out another of its interesting shop visits, taking in 80 stores in 4 USA regions. Following their store visits, they are maintaining their own estimates for handset sales, which do tend to be about 10% above industry expecta... Pantech Signs Vietnamese Handset Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16720.php The South Korean handset manufacturer, Pantech has signed an agreement to supply GSM handsets to Glory Star, the second largest cell phone retailer in Vietnam. Under the terms of the agreement, Pantech will supply four of its most popular GSM models,... [[ Mobile Content ]] Consumers Interested in Mobile Video Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16713.php JupiterResearch has found that 41% of mobile phone users are interested in some form of video service on their mobile phone. According to a JupiterResearch report, the growing demand for video will generate US$501 million in revenues by 2010, up from... The Explosive Growth of Mobile Music Downloads http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16718.php The market for full track music downloads to mobile phones was twenty times larger at the end of 2005 than it was twelve months earlier, a new study from ABI Research has revealed. It found that global revenues from over-the-air (OTA) downloaded full... Mobile Download Prices Now Absorb GPRS Costs http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16719.php The SMS aggregator, mBlox has signed an agreement to offer wholesale data service charges in the UK. This has enabled them to partner with New-Visions to offer the first off-portal music track download services where consumers pay 'one price' to down... [[ Offbeat ]] Germany's Bavaria Bans Cellphone Use In Schools http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16707.php MUNICH (AP)--The German state of Bavaria Tuesday announced a ban on the use of cell phones in schools to prevent students from viewing images of pornography and extreme violence. ... [[ Regulatory ]] EU: Mobile Operators Not Getting Message Over Roaming http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16705.php European Union telecommunications commissioner Viviane Reding Tuesday accused mobile phone operators of not getting her "message" that roaming charges are too high. ... Vodafone: Roaming Regulation Could Stifle Innovation http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16706.php Vodafone Group's Director of Public Policy Richard Feasey Tuesday said that the European Union's proposals to force down the price of using a mobile phone abroad could stifle innovation within the European mobile phone sector. ... Plans to Cut Florida's Phone Usage Taxes http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16712.php Florida cell phone customers would get relief from some of the taxes on their monthly bills under legislation filed by Representative Kim Berfield and Senator Dave Aronberg. The legislation would lower the state communications services tax from 9.17%... [[ Statistics ]] Chinese Subscriber Base to Nudge 600 Million in 2009 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16711.php According to the recent report by ROA Group, the number of mobile subscribers in China reached 374.45 million as of the end of December in 2005. Currently, the Chinese mobile market is growing in a rapid manner and mobile operators are engaged in fie... [[ Technology ]] SMS-Only Roaming Service http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16716.php Roamware has launched a solution that controls mobile roaming costs for the user while enabling network operators to maintain their revenue streams by attracting new roaming customers. Roamware's SMS Roaming & Rating opens up international access for... SIM Box Fraud Detector Launched http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16717.php Sevis Systems has launched a solution that allows mobile operators to defend against the massive problems introduced by SIM Box fraud. SIM Box fraud is the unauthorized use of GSM gateways used to bypass the international gateway switch and associate... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 23:44:06 -0800 From: javabeane@prodigy.net Subject: Press Release - This Man's Home IS His Castle! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Karen Downing: (661)916-2494 Century 21-Yarrow and Associates Web: KarenDowning.com e-mail: thetabuggg@yahoo.com This Man's Home IS His Castle! Antelope Valley, Ca March 29, 2006 - Ever since he was a child, Bob Knight dreamed that he would one day live in a castle, a magnificent stone fortress that he would call his own. His not-so-noble father always said that "a man's home is his castle" and Bob took his dad at his word. It has taken the better part of his life to fulfill that dream, but finally Bob has his castle. Located in a modestly populated subdivision, just outside of the city, Bob's neo-medieval home combines the aesthetics of a traditional English castle with the comforts of modern-day living. "I wanted to recreate an authentic 11th century castle," said Bob. "Mind you, back then they didn't have centralized heating, double-paned glass windows, or foam insulation. And I'm fairly certain electricity was unavailable in that era, except in the rarest of circumstances." Bob's castle was built stone by stone, and the drywall was mounted sheet by sheet. "I really wanted a moat too, but alas, I'm situated on a steep hill, and the landscaping didn't make that possible," said Bob. "I do have a koi pond in the back yard -- although it doesn't quite give the same effect." Forgiving the asphalt driveway, the wall-to-wall carpet, and the gas fireplace, Bob's castle is more-or-less authentic. The superficial differences were mostly the result of reticent building inspectors. "I would've installed a portcullis at the front door," said Bob, "but they're a little heavy, and I heard what happened to this man's poodle when the lift latch failed. Iron bars would have been nice, but I settled on an iron-bound solid oak door with support braces, a ghoulish doorknocker, and a mail slot." Knight's castle has a two-cart garage with a remote-controlled door that drops down like a drawbridge, a fully functional dungeon complete with a torture room which doubles as a rec-room, and several dank cells ideal for uninvited in-laws. There's even an entertainment room with a 50" plasma television, a pool table, and an armory. Although mostly for appearances, Bob's castle is also fitted with an operational siege defense system, which includes turrets, murder holes, and crossbow mounts. The defenses are perfect when being assaulted by neighborhood kids selling chocolate-covered almonds and raffle tickets for their sports teams. And there are stone gargoyles attached to the south wall to scare away annoying Girl Scouts. "I can also pour boiling pitch on nosy neighbors, pesky door-to-door salesmen, or Jehovah's Witnesses," said Bob. "Although the city has already warned me twice about doing that--mainly because the acrid smoke from the burning pitch violates local pollution by-laws." Bob recently added a trebuchet to his courtyard for use as a disposal mechanism. "I just catapult my garbage into the city landfill, or into the neighbor's yard," Bob said. To complete the look to his castle, Bob is considering a few add-ons, including an archery range, a secret escape tunnel, and a wizard's tower that will be tall enough to provide him decent satellite reception This story appeared on TheToque.com on the web. Karen Downing is a licensed real estate agent at Yarrow & Associates in Lancaster, CA and can be reached via e-mail, thetabuggg@yahoo.com, cell phone 661-916-2494 or via the message form on her website, KarenDowning.com. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 12:49:59 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: MSN Cuts Dial-up Price to Battle AOL USTelecom dailyLead March 29, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dnBkfDtutcgKoBIIpG TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * MSN cuts dial-up price to battle AOL BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Comcast ups broadband speed to match Verizon's * Cingular, Dell link up in wireless broadband deal * Tech giants vying for NFL Web rights * Report: Juniper said to consider H3C bid USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Stay On Top of VoIP Technology with the Telecom Bookstore TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * High-speed Bluetooth to accommodate HD video * YouTube teams with E! for new broadband channel * Survey finds significant interest in mobile video REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Net neutrality debate flares up in Europe Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dnBkfDtutcgKoBIIpG ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:11:01 -0800 From: Lionel Garth Jones Subject: OSDI '06 Call for Papers Deadline Approaching Call for Papers: OSDI '06: 7th Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation November 6-8, 2006 Seattle, WA http://www.usenix.org/osdi06/cfpb Submissions Deadline: April 24, 2006, 9:00 p.m. PDT OSDI is sponsored by the USENIX Association, in cooperation with ACM SIGOPS Dear Colleague: The submissions deadline for the 7th Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation (OSDI '06)is fast approaching. Please submit your full papers by 9:00 p.m. PDT, April 24, 2006; no extensions will be granted. Submission guidelines are available on our Web site: http://www.usenix.org/osdi06/cfpb . Please note that papers violating the format requirements will be rejected without review. OSDI '06 will bring together professionals from academic and industrial backgrounds in what has become a premier forum for discussing the design, implementation, and implications of systems software. Emphasizing both innovative research and quantified experience, OSDI takes a broad view of the systems area and solicits contributions from all fields of systems practice, including but not limited to: *operating systems *networking as it relates to OSes *file and storage systems *distributed systems *mobile systems *secure systems *embedded systems *the interaction of hardware and software development We particularly encourage contributions containing highly original ideas or groundbreaking results that push the frontiers of systems research. Taking place November 6-8, 2006, in Seattle, WA, the symposium will consist of 2.5 days of single-track technical sessions with presentations of refereed papers and a keynote address. A poster session and a session of Work-in-Progress reports are planned. Deadlines for posters and WiP reports will be posted by July at the OSDI Web site. We look forward to receiving your submissions. Brian Bershad, University of Washington Jeff Mogul, Hewlett-Packard Labs OSDI '06 Program Co-Chairs osdi06chairs@usenix.org P.S. The Second Workshop on Hot Topics in System Dependability (HotDep '06) will be held on November 8, 2006, immediately following OSDI '06. For more information, please see http://www.usenix.org/events/hotdep06/ . Call for Papers: OSDI '06: 7th Symposium on Operating Systems Design and Implementation November 6-8, 2006 Seattle, WA http://www.usenix.org/osdi06/cfpb Submissions Deadline: April 24, 2006, 9:00 p.m. PDT OSDI is sponsored by the USENIX Association, in cooperation with ACM SIGOPS USENIX Association 2560 9th Street, Suite 215 Berkeley CA 94710 (510) 528-8649 ------------------------------ From: Bruce L. Bergman Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Organization: What - I have to be organized? Why start now... Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 07:03:11 GMT On Mon, 27 Mar 2006 16:34:13 -0500, Chris Farrar wrote: > Not to want to disagree with our esteemed host, but I distinctly > remember 5 digit Zenith numbers in Bell Canada territory. Zenith > 50-000 and Zenith 80-000 that would get you the nearest detachment of > the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the nearest Ambulance dispatchers. Zenith 1-2000 was the statewide number for many decades for the California Highway Patrol. Supposedly for Nevada Highway Patrol also. And I just now dropped a "0" to SBC/AT&T to confirm - that number is one of the few Zenith numbers still officially active. The operator would put it through if necessary, no charge. --<< Bruce >>-- ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #121 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Mar 30 15:45:32 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id D55A615842; Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:45:31 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #122 Message-Id: <20060330204531.D55A615842@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:45:31 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:47:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 122 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Apple Offers Way to Cap Volume on I Pods (Reuters News Wire) Citigroup Lauches Internet Banking Site (Jonathan Stempel) Worldviews Total Solar Eclipse on Wednesday (Kwasi Zopodo) Verizon Broadband Dergulation Challenged by Competitors (Reuters News Wire) Cellular-News for Thursday 30th March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 30, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) DSL Posts Strong Growth in 2005 (USTA Daily Lead) IVR System with Credit Card Transactions (Dave) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Lisa Hancock) Re: Tech Firms Eye Immigration Debate (Mark Crispin) Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (Scott Dorsey) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Apple Offers Way to Cap Volume on I Pods Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:50:23 -0600 Apple Computer Inc. said on Wednesday it introduced a software update for its market-leading iPod that lets parents set maximum volume limits on the popular music player, as concerns grow about the risks its earphones might pose for hearing loss. The software update, which is available as a free download for the iPod nano and fifth generation iPod, gives users the ability to set volume caps on the iPod and lock it with a combination code, Apple said. The move follows a class action lawsuit that was filed against Apple in a federal court in California in January, which claimed that iPods could cause hearing loss because they have the capacity to produce sounds in excess of 104 decibels and up to 115 decibels. The National Institute of Health said earlier in March that more research is needed to determine whether portable music players like the iPod increase the risk of hearing loss, in response to a lawmaker's request for a review of the issue. "With the increased attention in this area, we want to offer customers an easy-to-use option to set their own personal volume limit," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod product marketing, in a statement. The company said iPod users can get the software upgrade as a free download from www.apple.com/ipod/download. It said the new volume limit feature works with any headphone or accessory plugged into the iPod headphone jack, as well as the iPod Radio Remote. Apple has sold more than 42 million iPods and over 1 billion songs on its iTunes Music Store since they were introduced. Apple's shares rose $2.93, or 5 percent, to $61.64 on Nasdaq. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.ht ------------------------------ From: Jonathan Stempel Subject: Citigroup Lauches Internet Banking Site Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:52:14 -0600 By Jonathan Stempel Citigroup Inc. has set up an Internet bank that offers higher interest rates, as part of its plan to attract more online customers and reverse a decline in consumer banking profit. Citibank Direct is offering a 4.5 percent yield on savings accounts, with no minimum balances required, and in some cases no monthly fees. Customers, however, must open linked checking accounts to get that rate. The largest U.S. bank is hoping to better compete with ING Group NV's ING Direct and HSBC Holdings Plc's HSBC Direct in offering higher-yielding online accounts amid growing competition industrywide for deposits. "They are late to the game, but with bank interest rates still relatively low, this offers customers a way to achieve decent returns and still have banking flexibility," said Jacob Jegher, a senior banking analyst at Celent Communications LLC. The online deposit market is growing. ING Direct said it added its 15-millionth customer in January, and HSBC Direct said it was recently adding $75 million of deposits a week. HSBC Direct offers a 4.8 percent yield on some savings accounts, while ING Direct is offering 3.8 percent, according to their Web sites. Capital One Financial Corp., the credit card issuer making a big banking push by acquiring North Fork Bancorp Inc. and Hibernia Corp., touts a 4.25 percent savings account yield. Emigrant Direct offers 4.5 percent. In contrast, traditional savings accounts in markets such as New York and California often yield less than 1 percent, according to Bankrate.com. The average yield on interest-bearing checking accounts is 1.23 percent. Many banks use online banking to add new customers, and increase business with existing customers who prefer to bank through more than one channel. Existing Citibank checking customers may apply for Citibank Direct online. The maximum online account balance is $250,000. New York-based Citigroup's online push comes as the bank plans to open as many as 200 branches worldwide and 100 in the United States this year. The latter number is three times as many as Citigroup opened from 2002 to 2005. Last year, profit from Citigroup's consumer banking unit fell 9 percent to $10.9 billion, and in the United States fell 10 percent to $7.17 billion. Citigroup is advertising Citibank Direct on Yahoo Inc. home Web page. The product differs from Citi f/i, an online portal that the bank shut down in 2001 after two years, because customers may also visit branches. Citigroup also plans this year to start a mobile phone banking service. Other big banks have also struggled with Internet banking. Bank One Corp., now part of JPMorgan Chase & Co., shut down its WingspanBank.com after two years, also in 2001. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Kwasi Zpodo Subject: World Views Total Solar Eclipse Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:56:36 -0600 By KWASI KPODO, Associated Press Writer Schoolchildren clapped and cheered as the first total eclipse in years plunged Ghana into daytime darkness Wednesday, a solar show sweeping northeast from Brazil to Mongolia. During the rare heavenly alignment, all that could be seen of the sun were the rays of its corona -- the usually invisible extended atmosphere that glowed a dull yellow for about three minutes, barely illuminating the west African nation. Automatic street lights flickered on, authorities sounded whistles and schoolchildren burst into applause across Ghana's capital, Accra. Many in the deeply religious country of Christians and Muslims said it bolstered their faith. "I believe it's a wonderful work of God, despite all what the scientists say," said Solomon Pomenya, a 52-year old doctor. "This tells me that God is a true engineer." The last such eclipse in November 2003 was best viewed from Antarctica, said Alex Young, a NASA scientist involved in solar research. "Imagine if your hair was to stand up from static electricity, that's kind of what the corona looks like all around the sun," Young said. But directly looking at the sun can damage the eyes without proper protection. About 12,000 tourists from 40 countries and 20,000 Libyans trekked out to three viewing spots in Libya -- one on the border with Egypt and two deep in the desert, Libya's Tourism Ministry said. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, his wife and several ministers joined 8,000 tourists and astronomers from six countries in Solloum, Egypt. The town lay nearly dead center in the path of the total eclipse, giving spectators nearly four minutes of darkness starting at 12:38 p.m. In Iraq, Sunni and Shiite Muslims were summoned to their mosques during the partial eclipse for a special prayer reserved for times of fear and natural disasters. Dozens shut down shops and left offices to gather in mosques, particularly in the southern city of Basra, home to many devout Muslims. Even in Baghdad, which has been wracked by violence in recent days, people congregated to look at the sky. Inside mosques, they shouted "God is great." A total eclipse could be seen in Nalchik, Russia, about 870 miles south of Moscow. People on the streets screamed, some with fear and some in wonder, and they were joined by the cawing of crows when the city fell into darkness and temperatures plunged suddenly. In Turkey's Mediterranean town of Side, hundreds streamed down a main street, some carrying tripods, to an ancient Greek temple dedicated to Apollo. It was "spiritual and emotional," said Brian Faltinson of Victoria, Canada, who was in Turkey to witness his second eclipse. "It just about made me cry." Joaquim Boix traveled to Turkey from Barcelona, Spain, saying he became addicted to eclipses after seeing one in Germany. "It's fantastic," Boix said. "It's the color, the metallic blue-green color on the skin of the people. The sky with the stars in the background. Usually you watch the stars in a black background. ... The background is blue. It's a special feeling." Astronomers and scientists from NASA and the San Francisco-based Exploratorium science museum gathered in Side. "It's one of those experiences that makes you feel like you're part of the larger universe," said NASA astronomer Janet Luhman. NASA said the best spot to view the eclipse was along the Turkish Mediterranean coast, and Turks welcomed the many tourists after a recent bird flu outbreak and protests over the caricatures of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. "It should happen more often," said Hamza Bikmaz who was selling eclipse T-shirts outside the theater. West African governments scrambled to educate people about the dangers of looking at the eclipse without proper eye protection. Authorities imported hundreds of thousands of pairs of special glasses that sold rapidly in Togo's capital, Lome. But villagers in the interior did not have access to the eyewear, and officials urged them to stay home. Superstition accompanied the path of the eclipse, as it has for centuries. One Indian newspaper advised pregnant women not to go outside during the eclipse to avoid having a baby who is blind or having a cleft lip. Food cooked before the eclipse should be thrown out because it will be impure, and those holding a knife or ax during the event will cut themselves, the Hindustan Times added. In Turkey's Tokat province, wary residents set up tents outside despite assurances from scientists that there was no evidence of a link between earthquakes and eclipses. In August 1999, an earthquake in northwestern Turkey killed some 17,000 people just six days after a solar eclipse. Total eclipses are rare because they require the tilted orbits of the sun, moon and Earth to line up exactly so that the moon obscures the sun completely. The next total eclipse will occur in 2008. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Verizon Broadband Dergulation Contested by Rivals Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 16:09:17 -0600 A group representing telephone and Internet companies on Wednesday challenged action by U.S. regulators that freed Verizon Communications from rules on its broadband data services for businesses. The Federal Communications Commission exempted Verizon from scores of regulations for its high-capacity data business services, including requirements that it connect to other networks and negotiate deals with competitors. Comptel, which represents companies that compete against Verizon, and Sprint Nextel, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to review the action last week by the Federal Communications Commission. "We believe that the FCC has abdicated its responsibility to protect the public interest and instead has chosen to advance the private financial interests of a single giant corporation," said Jason Oxman, senior vice president for legal and international affairs at Comptel. The two Democratic commissioners at the FCC criticized the action, arguing it could result in higher prices and fewer choices for customers. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, a Republican, had supported granting most of the relief the company had requested. Verizon, the No. 2 U.S. telephone carrier, won deregulation by filing a petition with the FCC which was granted automatically after a 15-month waiting period expired with no steps by the agency to block it. A spokesman for Verizon declined to comment and a spokeswoman for the FCC had no immediate comment. AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. carrier, has said it also plans to seek similar deregulation as it competes with Verizon and others to offer services to lucrative business clients. Analysts have valued the market for business telecommunications at roughly $150 billion. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Thursday 30th March 2006 Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 07:08:31 -0600 From: cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Belarus MDC launches 3G network in test mode in Minsk http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16733.php Belarusian mobile phone operator Mobile Digital Communications (MDC) has launched a 3G network in test mode in Minsk, First Deputy IT and Communications Minister Ivan Rak told reporters Wednesday. ... Over 750,000 BWA/WiMAX subscribers in Brazil by 2010 - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16744.php There will be 768,000 accumulated BWA/WIMAX subscribers in Brazil by 2010, of which two thirds will be WiMAX, according to the latest report from leading research firm Maravedis. The Brazilian players are anxiously awaiting the new 3.5 GHz auction to... [[ Financial ]] AT&T Operating Chief: Telecom Industry Not Through Consolidation http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16724.php The telecommunications industry is not through with its consolidation, although AT&T Inc. may not necessarily be a participant in the future deals, Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson said. ... Ericsson Services Deal With Vodafone Smaller Than With 3 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16725.php Ericsson's contract to take over operations for parts of Vodafone Group's Dutch unit is significantly smaller than previously announced deals with Hutchison Whampoa's 3 in Italy and the UK, an Ericsson executive told Dow Jones Newswires. ... Boston Communications Licenses Products To Convergys http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16726.php Boston Communications Group agreed to license some of its products to Convergys Corp. for an undisclosed number of years. ... Radiomovel Opposes Sonaecom Takeover Of Portugal Telecom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16727.php Radiomovel, which operates mobile telecommunications in Portugal using CDMA, on Wednesday said it opposes Sonaecom SGPS' merger with Portugal Telecom. ... Telenor Extends Deadline For Decision To Buy Kyivstar http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16728.php Norway's Telenor said Wednesday it had extended to April 14 a deadline for Alfa Group and Vimpel Communications to consider a proposal to buy Kyivstar for $5 billion. ... CEO confirms Vivo's importance for PT http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16730.php Portugal Telecom (PT) greatly values its stake in Brazil's largest mobile phone operator Vivo and does not want to sell it, international press quoted PT's president Miguel Horta e Costa as saying. ... [[ Handsets ]] Lojas Renner, Leroy Merlin abandon mobile phone business http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16731.php Brazilian clothes retailer Lojas Renner and local building materials company Leroy Merlin have stopped selling mobile phones, reported local financial newspaper Valor Econmico. ... Multimedia, Data-Rich Phones Taking Market Share in Asia http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16737.php Cutting-edge mobile phones -- phones integrated with various multimedia and rich-data functionalities -- are rapidly increasing their share of phones shipped in the Asia Pacific market, reports In-Stat. For example, with 252.3 million mobile phones s... Motorola RAZR Doubles Market Share to Acquire Lead in Europe http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16738.php Design innovation and the promising 3G user experience influenced European handset sales during the 2005 holiday season, according to Telephia. The company's Q1 2006 European Subscriber and Device Report (ESDR) shows Motorola RAZR posting higher mark... [[ Legal ]] Qualcomm Sues Broadcom Over Patent Dispute http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16740.php Qualcomm says that it has filed a new complaint against Broadcom for trade secret misappropriation and patent infringement. The complaint, filed in federal court in San Diego, charges Broadcom with misappropriating trade secrets relating to Qualcomm'... [[ Network Contracts ]] Ericsson In Managed Services Deal With Vodafone Netherlands http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16722.php Swedish telecommunications equipment maker Ericsson, Wednesday said it has signed a five-year managed services partnership deal with Vodafone Netherlands of Vodafone Group. ... Alcatel Wins Chinese GSM Contracts http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16736.php Alcatel has announced the signing of two contracts for a total of US$29 million with Shanxi Mobile Communication, a subsidiary of China Mobile. One of the contracts is the 11th GSM network expansion with this operator; the other is a GSM/GPRS network... Ericsson Wins Palestine Network Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16739.php Ericsson has been awarded a US$23 million contract in Palestine, for GSM and GPRS expansions with added EDGE capabilities for the entire network. The expansion will enable Jawwal, to offer mobile broadband services to 1 million subscribers with EDGE ... [[ Personnel ]] SingTel's Australian Optus To Cut 200 Jobs This Week http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16721.php Singapore Telecommunications's Australian unit Optus has informed 200 staff that they are to be made redundant, with the cuts to take effect March 31, a spokeswoman said Wednesday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] PRESS: FAS wants regulator to reconsider VimpelCom frequency bid http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16723.php Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has ruled that the State Radio Frequency Commission should reconsider a license application filed by Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom seeking to get radio frequencies in the Far East Federa... Government invites feedback on three new regulations http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16729.php Three new telecoms regulations aimed at correcting perceived disparities in Ecuador's market will be opened for public comment in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca the second week of April, local daily Expreso reported. ... Regulatory Issues Costing EU Telecoms Lost Investment http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16734.php A new report from Strategy and Policy Consultants Network (SPC Network) has been published which examines how ineffective regulation of the telecommunications sector is costing Europe vital investment. The report says that effective, pro-competitive ... Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: Telecom Industry Front Groups http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16743.php The US consumer group, Common Cause has released a new report exposing "Astroturf" lobbying groups and other allies created by the telecommunications industry to pressure lawmakers to enact industry-friendly policies as Congress debates critical issu... [[ Reports ]] Wireless Providers to Focus On Business Subscribers as Total Voice Revenue Declines http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16735.php A report from IDC has concluded that the business market is poised to play an increasingly important role in the USA's wireless industry as total subscriber growth slows. With the consumer wireless market approaching saturation, service providers wil... China Fixed-line Operators Face Challenges to Expand Subscriber Base http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16741.php The China based research firm, Analysys International says, as PHS user growth slows down, fixed-line telecommunication operators face challenges to further expand the subscriber base. According to Analysys International, China fixed-line telecommuni... Household Telecom Spending To Fall As Services Converge http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16742.php The convergence of fixed line and mobile telecommunication services has this year begun in earnest with potentially severe repercussions for the European Telecom Services market, says the fifth annual research report, 'Facing Off on Convergence', fro... [[ Technology ]] Telemar develops Wi-Mesh pilot in Tiradentes http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16732.php Brazilian fixed line operator Telemar is developing a Wi-Mesh wireless broadband pilot project for municipal authorities in the historic town of Tiradentes in Minas Gerais state, reported local newspaper Estado de S.Paulo. ... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 11:03:12 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Thursday, March 30, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 30, 2006 ******************************** CEO Demands Immediate Privatisation of OTE http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17300?11228 OTE chief executive Panagis Vourloumis has demanded the immediate privatisation of his company, according to Dow Jones reports yesterday. Vourloumis is calling on the government to privatise its remaining 36% stake in OTE soon, in order to enable the company to adapt. 'The need to complete the privatisation of OTE is immediate,' he said.... Nokia Ups Global Mobile Growth Estimate, Launches New Handsets For Asian Markets http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17297?11228 HELSINKI, Finland -- The world's largest cell phone maker, Nokia Corp., on Thursday upped a growth estimate of worldwide mobile device sales this year to 15 percent, saying most of the increase will be in the emerging markets of Asia and Africa. Separately, it announced the launch of three low-priced handsets in China, in a... EU Clears Virgin and Carphone Warehouse To Start New French Mobile Phone Service http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17295?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- EU regulators on Thursday cleared Virgin Mobile Holdings PLC and Carphone Warehouse Group PLC to launch a new mobile phon eservice in France. The two companies said last October they would jointly create and own a mobile virtual network operator that would rent access from France Telecom's Orange network and... Telcos Vs. Cablecos: 'A-Feudin' Over Franchising http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17290?11228 And you thought the fabled Hatfield-McCoy feud was nasty. U.S. telcos and cablecos are escalating a nasty war of words over media advertisements and other propaganda messages that are posing "fer or agin" positions on the nationwide video-franchise issue. The public-relations fight has been building steam for weeks but it picked up... Qualcomm Extends Feud with Broadcom http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17287?11228 Qualcomm is once again crying foul, filing its third intellectual property infringement case against rival Broadcom. This latest legal battle covers alleged infringement of Qualcomm's patents relating to WCDMA and wireless local area network chipsets. The suit, which was filed in a San Diego court, claims Broadcom's WCDMA and WLAN... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 13:31:56 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: DSL Posts Strong Growth in '05 USTelecom dailyLead March 30, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dooofDtutchwiZmOaO TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * DSL posts strong growth in '05 BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Alcatel board gathers to discuss Lucent deal * Skype booms in China * Google to invest $1B in AOL with new pact * DirecTV says broadband offering won't arrive till year's end * Nokia raises growth forecast for handset market USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Didn't make the technology sessions? Get the presentations! TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Sling Media says it's good for cable, broadcast * Open source poised to shake up phone gear business REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Barton predicts franchise bill will pass this year * Debate emerges over China's 3G plans Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dooofDtutchwiZmOaO ------------------------------ From: Dave Subject: IVR System With Credit Card Transactions Date: 29 Mar 2006 23:12:04 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I am putting together a small business plan and I need to get an idea about what is needed for an automated telephone menu system that allows the caller to make a few selections and then a credit card purchase. I need a system that allows maybe two or three callers to simultaneously access the service. They would be booking a shuttle service and would need to enter a time and date as well as a few other menu items before getting a price quote and then hopefully entering credit card information for the sale. What kind of hardware would I be in need of? I am a technically capable person, is it something that I could likely purchase and set up myself? Is this something that can be completely outsourced more effeciently? Any cost estimates would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Dave ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Date: 29 Mar 2006 12:36:19 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Chris Farrar wrote: > Not to want to disagree with our esteemed host, but I distinctly > remember 5 digit Zenith numbers in Bell Canada territory. Zenith > 50-000 and Zenith 80-000 that would get you the nearest detachment of > the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the nearest Ambulance dispatchers. If memory serves, the Reading Company (RR) passenger information was Enterprise 11,000. I'd have to find an old schedule to be sure. Until the mid 1990s Enterprise/Zenith/etc numbers appeared in some city telephone directories. Many listings were obsolete but somehow were never deleted. One or two still worked (though the telphone operators needed prodding to put the call through). Then one year they disappeared. I never understood why they lasted as long as they did. AFAIK, they were charged as a collect call. In the old days that wasn't too bad, but in the modern era collect calls became rather expensive esp compared to what 800 service could cost. In the 1980s the Bell System advertised remote call forwarding. For about $16/month, a business got a listing in a distant city. Calls were forwarded to the home office at the dialed direct rate. Enterprise/Zenith/etc dated from at least the 1930s (I have an old Bell System publication from that era referring to them). I think it was around 1970 that 800 numbers began to appear. One thing I've realized is that back then a lot of companies still had regional offices -- things weren't as centralized as they are now. So calling an airline in your city would connect you to the airline's office in your city. Later on as computer tie-lines became cheaper and more usable things were centralized as they are today. Companies put their call centers in remote locations where buildings and labor were cheap. In viewing old railroad timetables, there was a large table of ticket offices in cities and towns served with the phone number for people to call for information. Larger locations had two numbers, one for passengers only, the other for freight and other railroad business. A timetable from the 1950s shows the great variety of dial schemes, from 7 digit numbers down to four or manual exchanges. (In some towns the railroad had a dial PBX or dial tie-lines but the local town was still manual.) ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: Tech Firms Eye Immigration Debate Date: Wed, 29 Mar 2006 14:42:18 -0800 Organization: Networks & Distributed Computing On Tue, 28 Mar 2006, Erica Werner wrote: > "I have trouble filling high-tech jobs in remote areas, and even in > metropolitan areas finding the right person," said Woody Sessums, a vice > president at Cisco Systems, Inc. "We want the very smartest, the most > high-level engineers to come here and stay, and we have to compete > globally." I think that what Sessums is really saying is that he wants to hire a $90K engineer for $30K, and he wants it to be a kid that he can force to work unpaid overtime. -- Mark -- http://staff.washington.edu/mrc Science does not emerge from voting, party politics, or public debate. Si vis pacem, para bellum. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! Date: 30 Mar 2006 11:36:06 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Steven Lichter wrote: > This is all we need, have you ever been in a checkout line with a moron > on their cell phone talking so loud that you can hear them next into > next year or the driver on a cell phone who forgets where they are and > pulls in front of you, does not move at a light, or just plain stops in > the middle of the street and talks, these morons need to be shot, and > that is what is going to happen if cell phones are allowed on planes in > flight, or worse, if so many are on that it jams the navigation system > and brings the plane down, which a study proves it does. The system being proposed involves a cell "tower" itself which is inside the aircraft. This does a number of things... first of all it causes the individual cell phones to drop down to the lowest possible power, and secondly it allows all communications to them to be routed through a single path. This eliminates a lot of the emission problems with cellphones causing induced noise in avionics. It also eliminates a lot of the cellphone infrastructure problems with one cell being able to talk to a dozen or more towers at the same time. But, it requires a continuous link from the "tower" in the plane to a ground station through which calls are routed. Technically, I think the system is a good idea and it solves pretty much all of the technical issues that make cell phone use in planes a bad idea. Socially, I think it's terrible and the only good thing about being on an airliner is being free of people yammering on cellphones. But technical solutions to social problems never work. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #122 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 31 17:20:31 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 00C88154DE; Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:20:30 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #123 Message-Id: <20060331222030.00C88154DE@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:20:30 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BEST_PORN,CELL_PHONE_IMPROVE autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 31 Mar 2006 17:20:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 123 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Apple Computer Now 30 Years Old (May Wong) State to Give Dutch Citizens Personal Web Pages (Reuters News Wire) Microsoft Claims Breakthrough in EU Fines Hearing (Darren Ennis) Google Beefs up Local Advertising (Michele Gershberg) Comcast Exec Sees Greater Use of DVRs (Monty Solomon) Cellular-News for Friday 31st March 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - March 31, 2006 (Telecomdirect_daily) Telecom Update #523, March 31, 2006 (Angus TeleManagement Group) International Country Code Lists site (chppatel@gmail.com) Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (George Berger) Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (AES) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Wesrock@aol.com) Train Passengers -- Images Frozen in Time (Lisa Hancock) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: May Wong Subject: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:30:08 -0600 By May Wong, AP Technology Writer Apple Computer Celebrates Its 30th Birthday Amid Recent Successes, Future Challenges SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Silicon Valley's historic orchards have virtually disappeared but one notable fruit still stands: Apple. As the storied company celebrates its 30th birthday this weekend, Apple Computer Inc. will have brushed off its bruises from product failures and arguably misguided decisions to emerge with a shine that's more than skin-deep. Its brand name and products -- from the Mac to the iPod -- resonate as both hip and innovative. For all of its recent successes, however, Apple also has its share of challenges ahead as it matures into a digital media provider. In the digital music arena, where Apple dominates, French lawmakers are angling to force the company to change its successful way of chaining its popular iPod player to its online iTunes Music Store. Recording labels are also chafing at Apple's insistence that its song downloads remain 99 cents apiece. Apple's CEO Steve Jobs rebutted by calling the record industry "greedy." In the computer space, where Apple is seeing its best sales in years, information-security firms have discovered a few new vulnerabilities in its Macintosh operating system. Though the security breaches have been innocuous, security experts say they signal that Apple is a higher-profile target now for hackers, who in the past have focused heavily on Microsoft Corp.'s predominant Windows system. "Apple is on more people's radar now that the company is a major force," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a technology consultancy. "And these are all growing pains." Apple's journey began in 1976 when two college dropouts -- Jobs, a marketing whiz, and his friend Steve Wozniak, an engineering genius -- filed partnership papers on April Fools' Day, their eyes set on building and selling personal computers. Another friend, Ron Wayne, opted out of the risky venture within two weeks. Their first product was a build-it-yourself computer kit. A year later, in 1977, the Apple II microcomputer was born. It was not the first personal computer but it was the most successful -- a hit not just among engineers, but home users, too. Many credit the Apple II as the genesis of the personal computer revolution. Apple's cultural and technological influences only grew from there. Some of the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's creations have been duds that failed to make it any money, but became a source of inspiration and income for others. The Apple Lisa, introduced in 1983, used an innovative icon -- and mouse-based graphical user interface that laid the foundation of today's computers and replaced the previous arcane text-based systems. But the Lisa was a commercial flop: Its high price -- $9,995 -- sent business users to PCs from rival IBM Corp. The hugely successful -- and more affordable -- Apple Macintosh followed in 1984, giving birth to desktop publishing by allowing users to create their own newsletters or printed material. Microsoft eventually copied the user-friendly graphical interface and licensed its Windows software to manufacturers who copied the IBM PC. The clones proliferated while Macintosh sales were hobbled by Apple's decision not to license its software to other hardware makers. The next decade was punctuated by an internal power struggle that forced then-chairman Jobs to leave the company, a series of execution missteps, and botched projects -- most notably the Newton, a handheld computer dubbed a personal digital assistant. In 1996, when Apple was struggling for a foothold in the personal computing market and its efforts to upgrade its operating system were going nowhere, the company bought Jobs' second computer company, NeXT, returning the prodigal son to the fold, and later to the helm. Jobs, whose charismatic persona is the face of Apple, led the company's resurrection with one breakthrough after another -- first with the iMac, then the slick new OS X operating system, then the iPod music player, then the market-leading online iTunes store. A side venture Jobs acquired during his absence from Apple, Pixar Animation Studios Inc., had also put the already celebrated high-tech executive in the middle of Hollywood. The connection to Pixar, which is now being acquired by The Walt Disney Co., has since bolstered Apple's rising star in the world of digital entertainment and consumer electronics. Apple's iPod and iTunes franchises have popularized the notion of music -- and more recently, video -- on-the-go. They also spawned the modern explosion in podcasts, or self-made broadcasts of audio programming over the Internet to portable gadgets. Today, Apple's well-honed, self-propelled reputation as David fighting the Goliath of Microsoft and the rest of the PC industry belies reality. Apple may still hold roughly only a 4 percent share of the worldwide PC market, but analysts say its current operating system set the bar for rival Microsoft with innovative features, including 3D-like imaging and a side pane for "widget" applications. Many analysts expect that Apple's market-dominating iPod -- which works with both Windows and Macintosh machines -- and its new comp- uters based on Intel Corp. chips -- the same used by Windows -- will help grow Apple's slice of the PC market. Meanwhile, Apple's financial health is better than ever. It posted record revenue of nearly $14 billion for its fiscal 2005 and is armed with more than $8 billion in cash. "Apple will continue to be a force in portable music and video, and desktop innovation," Bajarin said. "Its key challenge now is how it will extend the Mac more into the digital lifestyle, into the living room and the rest of the house, as well as to other portable devices." No matter how well the company does with its future endeavors, many things people do today -- from desktop publishing to music downloads -- will long be regarded as the fruits of Apple. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In another issue of the Digest later today, a more comprehensive history of Apple Computer will be presented. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: State to Give Dutch Citizens Personal Websites Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:12:00 -0600 Dutch citizens will get a personalized Internet page giving them access to their records at public institutions and reminding them when to renew important documents, the government said on Friday. The aim is to let citizens and companies, which will also get pages, access their data at any time, and eventually reduce administrative costs. A trial Personal Internet Page (PIP) project will start later this year. Between 10 and 15 government organizations will participate, giving citizens on-line access to their tax information, grants, licences and social security data. The PIP will also remind citizens when to renew their travel documents or driving license, and may show the status of a building permit. Forms can be filled in and submitted on-line, and will re-use standard personal data. No date was given for when pages would be available to all. "It is unclear when the Personal Internet Page will be fully functional, because a comprehensive introduction is a long-term and complex affair," the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Several countries in Europe have put state, regional and local services on the Internet. Denmark even offers citizens a mailbox and a personal digital key to access all public services. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headline news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Sabina Zawadski & Darren Ennis Subject: Microsoft Claims Breakthrough in EU Fines Hearing Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:14:17 -0600 By Sabina Zawadzki and Darren Ennis Microsoft's top lawyer said on Friday there had been a breakthrough in the U.S. software company's dispute with the European Commission at a hearing into antitrust fines ordered by Brussels. "As I said in the hearing, I believe that we have had a breakthrough," Brad Smith told reporters at the end of the two-day hearing into the Commission's plan to start fining Microsoft 2 million euros ($2.4 million) a day. The EU's executive, which accuses Microsoft of blocking competition by witholding information on its business software, said it would take its time before deciding whether to proceed with the fines. "We will take into account what was said at the hearing and the documents submitted before we make a decision," Commission spokesman Jonathan Todd said. "It will take several weeks." Smith gave little indication of why the company considered there had been a breakthrough, but he said Microsoft now had "greater clarity" on the antitrust case, helping to bring about a solution. Some rivals of Microsoft said they had heard nothing new from the software giant at the closed-door hearing, run by independent arbitrators. Thomas Vinje, lawyer for the European Committee for Interoperable Systems which groups companies such as IBM and Oracle, told reporters earlier in the day that Microsoft's defense was "still not good enough." Microsoft spent most of Thursday presenting its case. ABUSE The Commission, which acts as Europe's top antitrust body, found in 2004 that Microsoft abused its dominance of its Windows operating system to muscle competitors out of the market. It fined Microsoft almost half a billion euros and ordered it to share information with rivals so they can make server software that runs as smoothly with Windows as Microsoft's own. Despite 12,000 pages of documentation that Microsoft has submitted spelling out how its software works, the Commission says rivals still did not have the right information and it wants to fine the company until it complies. Microsoft has previously said it has not only complied with the demands, but it is willing to do more. The case has already raised some U.S. political concerns. In a letter seen by Reuters on Thursday, the U.S. mission in Brussels urged the Commission to treat Microsoft fairly and said the company's claims of unfair treatment, "are of substantial concern to the United States" if accurate. Microsoft has accused the Commission of denying it access to documents it says it needs to defend itself against the fines. Commission spokesman Todd played down the importance of the letter and said Microsoft's antitrust case was not raised when senior European Union and U.S. competition officials met in Washington on Thursday. Microsoft is not without its supporters. On Thursday, six companies including Norwegian digital broadcast system maker Tandberg Television said Microsoft's documents were useful and helpful. The Association for Competitive Technology, which represents more than 3,000 information technology companies including eBay , said the Commission's demands were unreasonable. "As a software engineer with 12 years of experience ... I know that search for perfect documentation is a search for the Holy Grail," said ACT's president, Mike Sax. "It is equally true that perfect documentation has never been necessary to create interoperable software," he said. Microsoft has also offered parts of its vital source code for work group servers as well as 500 hours of free technical support from Microsoft engineers to software developers. Independent legal analysts say it looks as if the Commission will impose the fines on Microsoft and have called the hearing set-piece theater merely airing old arguments. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Michele Gershberg Subject: Google Beefs up Local Advertising With Logos Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:16:25 -0600 By Michele Gershberg Internet search leader Google Inc. on Thursday began offering marketers more features for local advertising, allowing them to add logos and business information to their listings on a Google map. Local advertising on the Internet is expected to be a prime driver of growth in the sector. The new features allow an advertiser to insert a business logo or picture in a balloon that pops up next to its location on the Google map, as well as provide additional information in several lines of text, such as a phone number of business description. It can be used by any advertiser targeting a local market, from a neighborhood plumber to the closest restaurant of a national fast-food chain. "Since we launched maps last year, advertisers have come to us asking for more control on (Google) local," Dominic Preuss, product manager of local advertising at Google, told Reuters. "There has been really strong demand for this." The Google Local service already provides textual information on a business when a user conducts a search, and a reference map with the street address. Advertisers can purchase the space through Google's AdWords program, where marketers bid via an auction-style system for popular search terms related to their business. Preuss said Google will not charge an additional fee for the map icons, but the price will be determined by the auction system. "If people find these ads are more valuable they will bid higher," he said. "It will simply be market driven." Google has been testing the service over the last two weeks with a handful of advertisers, including bookseller Barnes & Noble. The features become available to the wider marketing community on Thursday night. Earlier this week, Google said it reached an agreement to allow Verizon Communications Corp.'s online directory SuperPages.com to sell Google search terms to its millions of listed businesses, aiming to boost for its local advertising base. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 21:57:52 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast Exec Sees Greater Use of DVRs By SETH SUTEL AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- A top executive at Comcast Corp., the largest cable TV company in the country, on Thursday predicted that the cable industry would move toward adopting a networking technology that could significantly increase the use of digital video recorders. Steve Burke, the chief operating officer at Comcast, told an investor conference that he thought that a trial of the new technology that was recently announced by rival cable operator Cablevision Systems Corp. looked promising, and seemed to be on a solid legal footing. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57137066 ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Friday 31st March 2006 Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 06:56:46 -0600 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Ofcom Targets 3G Termination Rate Regulation http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16750.php UK telecommunications regulator Ofcom Thursday proposed imposing new controls on prices cellphone companies charge each other for connecting calls between third-generation networks. ... VimpelCom: Incomplete Russia Cover May Hit 3G Bid http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16752.php Russia's second-largest mobile phone operator Vimpel Communications, Thursday said its lack of coverage in Russia's Far East territories and Chechnya may spoil its chances of qualifying for a third generation license later this year. ... HSDPA Tests in the Philippines http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16763.php Philippines' wireless service provider Smart Communications and Nokia have completed the first High Speed Data Packet Access (HSDPA) call in the country. Smart is conducting HSDPA tests just a month after launching its 3G service. Nokia is supplying ... Faster Wireless Data Speeds Grow the Laptop Modem Market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16765.php The spread of high speed mobile data services is driving the increasing adoption of wireless modems in laptop computers, according to a new study from ABI Research. In the early days of mobile computing, only the most hardcore road-warriors in niche ... Sprint Accelerating its EV-DO Rollout http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16766.php The USA based CDMA operator, Sprint has announced aggressive plans for the expansion and evolution of the Sprint Power Vision network which now covers over half of the US population with mobile broadband data services. By year end 2006 the high-speed... [[ Financial ]] Telenor says may still stay with Alfa Group in VimpelCom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16747.php Norwegian telecommunication operator Telenor may remain one of the shareholders of Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom together with Russia's Alfa Group, Telenor Executive Vice President and Head of Eastern/Central Europe Jan Edvard Thy... Russia's MTS may get $250 mln 8-year loan from EBRD http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16751.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) may take out a US$250 million 8-year loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the EBRD said in a statement Thursday. ... Govovernmemt expects US$200mn telecoms investment in 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16754.php Peru's communications ministry expects telecommunications investment in the country to increase 27% in 2006 to some US$200mn, deputy communications minister Juan Antonio Pacheco was quoted as saying by Agencia Peruana de Noticias. ... Entel aims for double-digit growth http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16756.php Chile's second largest telco Entel expects double-digit growth in profits this year, building on the 71bn-peso (US$132mn) net earnings posted in 2005, news service Reuters quoted Entel corporate financial manager Felipe Ureta as saying. ... [[ Handsets ]] Nokia Increases 2006 Handset Sales Expectations http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16764.php Speaking yesterday at Nokia's AGM, company Chairman and CEO Jorma Ollila traced the rapid rise of mobile communications and described the nature of the industry now. Ollila described how the size, growth and dynamics of emerging markets are increasin... [[ Mobile Content ]] Russia's Sky Link starts testing BREW services in two cities http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16757.php Russian CDMA mobile operator Sky Link has started testing BREW services in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the company said in a press release Thursday. ... [[ Network Contracts ]] Thai Advanced Info Inks $120 Million Deal To Expand Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16746.php Thailand's Advanced Info Service PCL (ADVANC.TH) said Thursday it has signed a $120 million contract with five telecom suppliers to expand and upgrade its network in the first half of 2006. ... AlanDick Gets Tunnel Vision in Malaysia http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16758.php AlanDick says that it has developed and installed a unique cellular, emergency service and maintenance radio solution for a motorway tunnel system in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that duals as a massive storm drain during flash floods. The company has dev... [[ Network Operators ]] EU OKs Carphone Warehouse, Virgin Mobile JV In France http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16748.php The European Commission Thursday approved an agreement by Carphone Warehouse Group to sell products of Virgin Mobile (UK) at its 185 French stores. ... France Telecom's Orange To Revise Tariffs By Summer http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16749.php France Telecom's mobile unit Orange plans to revise its service tariffs for all French customers by the summer, Orange France Chairman and Chief Executive Didier Quillot said Thursday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] UK Mobile Call Charge Controls Remain Necessary http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16745.php Ofcom, the UK telecoms regulator, Thursday published outline proposals to continue controls on wholesale mobile call termination charges where there is evidence of market dominance when the current regulation expires in March 2007. ... Vivo expects license for national coverage by July 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16753.php Brazil's largest mobile operator Vivo expects to be able to start completing its footprint across the country in the third quarter, when it will have received the necessary spectrum license, financial newspaper Valor Econômico quoted company pr... Voting On Lower Cellphone Taxes in Pennsylvania http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16762.php Pennsylvania wireless consumers, fed up with paying double taxes on their monthly cell phone bills, are urging their state Senators and Governor Rendell to support legislation (SB 691) that would repeal the state's 5% Gross Receipts Tax (GRT). Thousa... [[ Reports ]] Family Plan Tariffs Provoke Strong Consumer Loyalty - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16759.php Just over forty percent of US adult mobile phone users say they currently have a family plan, and 97% of these consumers say they never had a family member leave their plan, according to a recent survey by Harris Interactive. Looking to the future, e... [[ Technology ]] Laird Technologies to set up Reynosa plant in April http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16755.php US cell phone antenna manufacturer Laird Technologies will open a plant in Reynosa, Mexico in April or May, its first plant in Latin America, the company said in a statement. ... Nortel Distributing Indoor CDMA Products http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16760.php LGC Wireless has announced an agreement with Nortel which will enable Nortel to distribute its in-building wireless products as part of Nortel's CDMA portfolio of mobile wireless infrastructure solutions. Under the agreement, Nortel will sell and dis... Nokia Spurs Growth in New Growth Markets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16761.php Nokia is strengthening its offering for new growth markets by announcing a new business model for profitable market expansion, the Nokia Connect Market Expansion Toolkit, and the start of licencing of its Prepaid Tracker to GSM and WCDMA device manuf... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 11:43:00 -0500 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Friday, March 31, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For March 31, 2006 ******************************** Portugal Telecom Reports 50.1% Y/Y African Mobile Growth to 5.32 mil. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17319?11228 In June 2005, PT announced that it was consolidating its dozen or so African holdings into a single holding company, PT Africa). Following the acquisition of a majority stake in a Congolese mobile operator and the acquisition of a 34% stake in Namibian mobile operator MTC, PT Africa now holds stakes in three fixed-line operators, six... EU Approves Virgin Mobile, Carphone Warehouse Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17315?11228 The European Union (EU) has approved the joint-venture agreement between Carphone Warehouse Group and Virgin Mobile Holdings that will see Virgin Mobile sell its products at the 185 French stores of Carphone Warehouse. According to Dow Jones, the two companies will split the revenue, although there is no forecast yet of how much that... Broadband USA http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17310?11228 As U.S. carriers try to shore up falling revenues from consumer voice services by adding more "high value" business customers, enterprise users are looking for more broadband capabilities and better roaming deals from the cellular giants. "Top of my list is broadband, high-speed connectivity and international roaming charges," says... CompTel Takes FCC To Court On Verizon Default http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17307?11228 The CompTel competitive-carrier association filed a lawsuit against the Federal Communications Commission for its controversial deadline slippage that allowed a Verizon deregulation request to be granted by default after no official action was taken. The legal challenge -- via a petition for review made in the U.S. Court of Appeals... Sprint Nextel Outlines EV-DO Expansion http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17306?11228 Sprint Nextel is moving full speed ahead into EV-DO technology, with plans to have its Power Vision network reach 190 million people in the United States by the close of 2006, the carrier says. Sprint also is committing to Revision A upgrades beginning in the second half of this year. Sprint intends to begin offering customers the... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 11:05:19 -0800 Subject: Telecom Update #523, March 31, 2006 From: Angus TeleManagement Group Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 523: March 31, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Bell and Rogers Offer Nomadic Broadband in 20 Cities ** Local Competition Allowed in Small-Telco Territories ** Cutback of Bell Work Causes Layoffs at CGI ** Ten-Digit Dialing Push Starts in Five Areas ** Phone Retailers Sue BCE ** New Spectrum Auction Planned ** Aliant Offers Businesses Wi-Fi Hotspots ** Bell High-Speed Metro Service Gets Final Approval ** Virgin Offers "Video Ringtones" ** Nortel Expands Services Business ** Cablecos May Take 27% of Home Phones ** Ballet School Adopts IP Telephony ** Four Arrested in Telemarketing Scam ** Rural Newfoundland to Get High-Speed Access ** Cygnal Records "Disappointing" Year ** SR Telecom to Outsource Manufacturing ============================================================ BELL AND ROGERS OFFER NOMADIC BROADBAND IN 20 CITIES: Bell Canada and Rogers Communications have both begun offering wireless broadband Internet service in 20 cities across Canada, using "pre-WiMAX" technology developed by NextNet, a U.S. company owned by Craig McCaw. The underlying wireless network is owned by Inukshuk Wireless, a Bell-Rogers joint venture formed last year. (See Telecom Update #497) ** The services are "nomadic," meaning the modem can be easily moved from place to place within the coverage areas. ** Bell's "Sympatico High Speed Unplugged" offers up to 512 Kbps download and 128 Kbps upload for $45/month, or up to 3 Mbps download and 384 Kbps upload for $60/month. The modem is $99 on a 24-month contract. ** Rogers' "Portable Internet" offers up to 1.5 Mbps download and 256 Kbps upload for $49.95/month. The modem is $99.95 on a one-year contract. ** Service is available now in Vancouver, Victoria, Red Deer, Calgary, Edmonton, Whitehorse, Toronto, Barrie, London, Windsor, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Ottawa, Gatineau, Quebec City, Montreal, Charlottetown, Halifax, Fredericton, and St. John's. Inukshuk says it will extend service to 45 cities and 100 rural and remote communities by the end of 2008. LOCAL COMPETITION ALLOWED IN SMALL-TELCO TERRITORIES: CRTC Telecom Decision 2006-14 allows local competition in the territories served by Canada's 38 independent telephone companies, and renews their price cap regime, with modifications, for another four years. (See Telecom Update #494) ** Resale of small-ILEC local services is now permitted. ** Small ILECs must file tariffs for competitor services, including unbundled local loops, but only when they receive a valid request from a competitor. They must support "porting out" of phone numbers to competitors, but may choose whether to also support "porting in." ** Their local rates are frozen for four years, except for unused credits from the past price cap period. Rate increases based on such credits are limited to $4 in any 12-month period. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-14.htm CUTBACK OF BELL WORK CAUSES LAYOFFS AT CGI: CGI Group says it will eliminate 1,000 jobs this year, with "more than half" the cuts due to lower-than-expected BCE work volumes. ** When CGI agreed to buy back part of BCE's stake in December, BCE promised that CGI would remain its "preferred IS/IT supplier" until 2016. (See Telecom Update #510) TEN-DIGIT DIALING PUSH STARTS IN FIVE AREAS: Local phone carriers have begun urging customers in area codes 450, 514, and 819 in Quebec and 519 and 613 in Ontario to reprogram fax machines, modems, and other autodialing gear to include the area code for all local calls. Beginning June 17, calls dialed with 7 digits will receive a recorded message advising them to dial 10 digits in future. ** Use of 10 digits will become mandatory in all five areas between October 14 and November 4. ** Ten-digit dialing will also be required for local calls from 418 to 819, and from 705 to 519, 613, and 819. PHONE RETAILERS SUE BCE: Seventy-nine Bell Canada retailers are suing BCE for $135 million, saying that BCE reneged on a verbal agreement to permit the store owners to transform their properties into an income trust. BCE says the company will "vigorously defend our position." NEW SPECTRUM AUCTION PLANNED: Gazette Notice DGTP-002-06 says Industry Canada will shortly open consultation on an auction of wireless spectrum in the 2500 MHz band. Unlike previous licenses in this band, these would allow mobile services. ** Existing MCS licensees (the key one is Inukshuk) are reminded that their licence conditions allow them to offer only fixed services. (see Telecom Update #226) ** MDS broadband licensees (including Look and Skycable), currently authorized to provide "wireless cable" broadcasting service, may now apply to offer fixed Internet service as well. ** Current MCS or MDS licensees that want to offer mobile service in this band must apply for new licences and return part of their spectrum for the auction. http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf08551e.html ALIANT OFFERS BUSINESSES WI-FI HOTSPOTS: Aliant will now install Wi-Fi hotspots for businesses that want to provide Internet access to customers. The service, which uses infrastructure and software from Halifax-based SolutionInc, is already operational in 19 hotels. BELL HIGH-SPEED METRO SERVICE GETS FINAL APPROVAL: CRTC Telecom Order 2006-65 gives final approval to Bell's High Speed Metro service (see Telecom Update #388, 435). ** The Commission denies an MTS Allstream request that Bell be ordered to offer a wholesale version, but notes that Bell said it would propose such a service if competitor demand actually materialized. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2006/o2006-65.htm VIRGIN OFFERS "VIDEO RINGTONES": Virgin Mobile is now selling video clips that play on a cellphone when the phone rings. The clips, marketed with cellphone screensavers as "the Groove," cost from $1.50 to $4.95 each. NORTEL EXPANDS SERVICES BUSINESS: Nortel Networks says it is expanding its services business and has announced four new offerings in this area. It is also simplifying this business into five areas where it has "unique strengths and expertise." CABLECOS MAY TAKE 27% OF HOME PHONES: The new edition of "The Battle for the North American Couch Potato," published by Convergence Consulting, predicts that Canadian cablecos will have 12% of the residential telephone market this year and 27% by 2009. http://www.convergenceonline.com/06CouchPotatoSample.pdf BALLET SCHOOL ADOPTS IP TELEPHONY: The National Ballet School in Toronto is installing a customized NEC Univerge IP-PBX to serve 1,100 users. Special services include digital signage, channels for emergency response, wireless VoIP, and customized call-home facilities. FOUR ARRESTED IN TELEMARKETING SCAM: The Competition Bureau says four people have been charged with deceptive telemarketing related to a Quebec-based office-supplies scam that brought in $7.8 million between 2000 and 2004. The Bureau received 619 complaints about this operation. RURAL NEWFOUNDLAND TO GET HIGH-SPEED ACCESS: Industry Canada's BRAND program, which funds high-speed Internet access in remote regions, has pledged $542,723 toward a Kittiwake Economic Development Corporation project to provide broadband access in 18 communities along the northeast coast of Newfoundland. CYGNAL RECORDS "DISAPPOINTING" YEAR: Cygnal Technologies lost $27.6 million last year compared to a loss of $7.2 million in 2004. Revenues fell 10% to $126 million. CEO Jos Winterman said the results are "obviously disappointing, but I believe the difficulties are largely behind us." SR TELECOM TO OUTSOURCE MANUFACTURING: SR Telecom, which supplies fixed wireless equipment, is outsourcing its manufacturing operations. The transition, to be completed by the end of May, will eliminate 70 staff positions. ** Revenues for 2005 were $76 million, down 23% from the previous year. The net loss rose 6% to $91 million. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: chppatel@gmail.com Subject: International Country Code Lists Site Date: 30 Mar 2006 14:57:06 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I found this really useful site for international country code lists. http://www.countrycodelists.com/ ------------------------------ From: George Berger Subject: Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 19:34:13 -0500 Organization: Heller Information Services The thought of being cooped up with a population of yammering idiots on a Boeing 777 is enough to cause me to drive - - not fly - - to any US location in the 48 local States. As to the ultimate in scenarios - - can you imagine one of those Airbus Superliners (700 souls) having a landing incident , and while 700 souls are escaping down the chutes, there are persons - - still anchored to their cell phones - - exclaiming to the person on the other end: " Now, I'm stepping onto the inflatable chute - - now, I'm on the chute - - now I'm off the chute - - now what are you fixing for dinner??" Just a comment by someone who has avoided serious auto accidents by dodging idiots who are totally engrossed in cell phone conversations and not knowing where they were in traffic. George (The Old Fud - - and a former USAF Command Pilot) -- I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant. -- Robert McCloskey, State Department spokesman (attributed) ------------------------------ From: AES Subject: Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 16:59:44 -0800 Organization: Stanford University In article , kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote: > But, it requires a continuous link from the "tower" in the plane to a > ground station through which calls are routed. > Technically, I think the system is a good idea and it solves pretty > much all of the technical issues that make cell phone use in planes a > bad idea. Socially, I think it's terrible and the only good thing > about being on an airliner is being free of people yammering on > cellphones. But technical solutions to social problems never work. But this situation would at least hold the possibility of a compromise solution in which the "tower" is only turned on for, say, 30 minutes out of every 4 hours, or turned off during sleeping periods, or . . . Although if the airline is deriving revenue from the tower through a surcharge on calls made through it, as seems likely, even that is probably too much to hope for. How about a couple of "phone-booth" seats back by the lavatories, with a per-minute use charge? (which could in fact be collected automatically by a surcharge that's not paid on the spot, but goes on the caller or callee's phone bill for the call) ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2006 20:15:59 EST Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers In a message dated 29 Mar 2006 12:36:19 -0800, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes: > I never understood why they lasted as long as they did. AFAIK, they > were charged as a collect call. In the old days that wasn't too bad, > but in the modern era collect calls became rather expensive esp > compared to what 800 service could cost. That is not correct. My business had such a number in Konawa, Oklahoma, in the 1950-1952 and the calls were charged at the normal sent-paid station rate rather than as a collect call. (In Southwestern Bell territory they were called "Enterprise" calls rather than Zenith. Some states or companies called them "WX" numbers rather than Zenith or Enterprise.) The advantage to the caller was that they did not have to go through the hassle of making a collect call. The advantage to the terminating business was that the call was charged at the sent-paid rate and the that callers who might be hesitant to make a collect call because they felt it would tab them as a cheapskate or for other reasons would not feel the same stigm. A disadvantage was that a separate Enterprise (Zenith, WX) service had to be obtained for each city you wanted the receive such calls from. There was a monthly rate for each such service, which would add up quickly if you had such service from several originating cities. > I think it was around 1970 that 800 numbers began to appear. One > thing I've realized is that back then a lot of companies still had > regional offices -- things weren't as centralized as they are now. So > calling an airline in your city would connect you to the airline's > office in your city. Later on as computer tie-lines became cheaper > and more usable things were centralized as they are today. Companies > put their call centers in remote locations where buildings and labor > were cheap. I think 800 numbers started quite a bit before that. And having remote locations was not a big deal for airlines which had massive data lines already connecting their offices. When 800 numbers first went in, airlines already had massive call centers. American Airlines call center was in a suburb of Fort Worth, while the huge computers already in existence were underground in Tulsa, where they remain to this day. Airlines had published (local) numbers in most cities they served, and often in surrounding cities, connecting by FX lines to their call centers. If you called the listed number for the airline, you reached the call center, not the local ticket office. The 800 number just made the call center available from everywhere in the country, not just in places where they had FXs. (It also was usually cheaper from a hotel.) Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Train Passengers - Images Frozen in Time Date: 31 Mar 2006 07:42:45 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com [random thoughts -- photos are a form of communication] I found some old train/transit pictures I took 1976-1981 of some terminals. In it were pics of people boarding trains or sitting on a train. Some clothes styles were definitely dated -- some men still wore fedora hats (very narrow brim by those days), some women had their hair in a 1960s curl. But the younger people looked pretty much the same -- styles have reverted back to the 1970s look. Some of the people, even on a rush hour train, looked like senior citizens or close to it. When I looked at the people, I realized 25-30 years had passed. A teenager then would be a full adult today, a 20 year old would be 50. It makes one wonder what happened to those people. The older people may no longer be with us. I also wondered how many of those people are still living in those towns and if any are still commuting. Given that so many businesses have moved out of the central city to the suburbs I tend to doubt it. Also, many of the residential neighborhoods served have changed. At the time the telephone company was a major employer. It needed service representatives, operators, and accounting clerks. Undoubtedly some of the commuters I saw were Bell employees (the neighborhood served was a rich source of that type of worker that Bell preferred). Today billing functions are consolidated in large service centers as are the service reps where labor and real estate are cheap. Two large Bell office buildings downtown were vacated. (Sometimes I wonder how geographically dispersed my own high school class has become -- how many still live within the city, how many live within the metro area, and how many moved out of town. For those that moved away, why? Was it voluntary to seek something better, or was it forced as the only option?) I believe geographic stability -- multi generations staying within an area -- is a healthy things. Developing roots to a community gives a community stability and a richness. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Sometimes it was voluntary, other times it was essentially forced (as in, move to town X if you want to continue your employment with us; don't bother if you wish to seek employment elsewhere.) During World War 2 my grandparents and my mother just assumed we would always live in Coffeyville. One thing about that war was that soldiers therein were _guarenteed_ their jobs back when they returned. That was the law, at least in those times. My grandfather was too old to be in the war, of course, but my father was the right age. In 1946 when there were _massive_ discharges of troops, the guys came back home and went back to work. The law said 'you get your job back if desired, even if the person(s) who were hired in your place have to get dumped.' In the oil industry, they took that to mean 'same pay or better, same job or better' and with the technology improving even back then, there had to be a lot of movement around the country and elsewhere. My father was offered his choice of staying in Coffeyville at same pay for six months (all the government required) _or_ accept a transfer to East Chicago, IN at the refinery there, _or__ accept a transfer to Caracas, Venezuala, where Sinclair had an operation going, _or_ accept a year's pay and get lost. In the latter two cases, 'Chicago area' (as they described the refinery operation in the north) or Caracas, Venezuala the job would be 'permanent' with a substantial raise in pay. I was only four years old, maybe five. My grandfather made the decision for us; he was offered a position in Whiting at a raise in pay (so that his old job in Neodesha, KS could be made available to whomever had done it prior to the war). He grabbed it up; mother wanted to be with her parents, so the decision was made to 'relocate north'. Dad and grandpa came first, to find us homes; mother and grandmother stayed behind to sell our old homes, then came the day when the three of us boarded the AT&SF train in Coffeyville to join dad and grandpa in the 'Chicago area' which was totally foreign to mother and grandmother, and me as well, then being about 7 I think. Little did I expect I would be around the area for a half-century. Grandpa died in the early 1960's; my dad stayed on with the refinery until 1978 when he reached retirement age. He and my mother brought grandmother back here to Independence to live where the company known as Sinclair had become Atlantic-Richfield. Grandmother died in 1980, dad followed her in 1991; _still_ I chose to remain in Chicago until it just got to be too rough for me there; in 1999 I found a job oppor- tunity I liked much better in Junction City, KS and happily moved away from the Chicago area, I think 52 years after I had gotten transplanted there. People who have been here in Independence say the town appears to be 'stuck in 1940s mode' and to some extent that is true. But my brother, (named Daniel, in his early 40's) tells me all the changes which have happened in Chicago since I moved away; it is hard to imagine. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #123 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Mar 31 20:59:13 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id CFF5C151DA; Fri, 31 Mar 2006 20:59:12 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #124 Message-Id: <20060401015912.CFF5C151DA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 20:59:12 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.7 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 31 Mar 2006 21:00:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 124 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson History of Apple Computer (Patrick Townson) Vonage May Seek Buyer (USTelecom dailyLead) Is This Possible? Two Lines Squeezed Into One Line Phone (Chris2029) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Patrick Townson Subject: History of Apple Computer Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:34:30 -0600 Apple Computer is thirty years old this weekend. It was officially founded on April 1, 1976. This report, taken in large part from Wikipedia tells about much of the past thirty years. It will be filed in the history section of our archives. Pre-foundation Before Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple, he was an electronics hacker. By 1975, he was working at Hewlett-Packard and helping his friend Steve Jobs design video games for Atari. Wozniak had been buying computer time on a variety of minicomputers hosted by Call Computer, a time-sharing firm run by Alex Kamradt. The computer terminals available at that time were primarily paper-based; thermal printers like the Texas Instruments Silent 700 were state of the art. Wozniak had seen a 1975 issue of Popular Electronics magazine on how to build your own computer terminal. Using off-the-shelf parts, Wozniak designed the Computer Conversor, a 24-line by 40-column, uppercase-only video teletype that he could use to log on to the minicomputers at Call Computer. Alex Kamradt commissioned the design and sold a small number of them through his firm. Aside from their interest in up-to-date technology, the impetus for "the two Steves'" seems to have had another source. In his essay From Satori to Silicon Valley (published 1986), cultural historian Theodore Roszak made the point that the Apple Computer emerged from within the West Coast counterculture and the need to produce print-outs, letter labels, and databases. Roszak offers a bit of background on the development of the two Steves' prototype models. Recently (June 12, 2005 Commencement Address, Stanford University) Jobs said, "When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions." (in the June 14, 2005 edition of the online "Stanford Report" ). http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html In 1975, Wozniak started attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club. New microcomputers such as the Altair 8800 and the IMSAI inspired him to build a microprocessor into his video teletype and have a complete computer. At the time the only microcomputer CPUs generally available were the $179 Intel 8080, and the $170 Motorola 6800. Wozniak preferred the 6800, but both were out of his price range. So he watched, and learned, and designed computers on paper, waiting for the day he could afford a CPU. When MOS Technology released its $20 6502 chip in 1976, Wozniak wrote a version of BASIC for it, then began to design a computer for it to run on. The 6502 was designed by the same people who designed the 6800, as many in Silicon Valley left employers to form their own companies. Wozniak's earlier 6800 paper-computer needed only minor changes to run on the new chip. Wozniak completed the machine and took it to Homebrew Computer Club meetings to show it off. At the meeting, Wozniak met his old friend Jobs, who was interested in the commercial potential of the small hobby machines. The Apple I Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak ("the two Steves") had been friends for some time, having met in 1971, when their mutual friend, Bill Fernandez, introduced 21-year-old Wozniak to 16-year-old Jobs. Jobs managed to interest Wozniak in assembling a machine and selling it. Jobs approached a local computer store, The Byte Shop, who said they would be interested in the machine, but only if it came fully assembled. The owner, Paul Terrell, went further, saying he would order 50 of the machines and pay $500 each on delivery. Jobs then took the purchase order that he had been given from the Byte Shop to Cramer Electronics, a national electronic parts distributor, and ordered the components he needed to assemble the Apple I Computer. The local credit manager asked Jobs how he was going to pay for the parts and he replied, " I have this purchase order from the Byte Shop chain of computer stores for 50 of my computers and the payment terms are COD. If you give me the parts on a net 30 day terms I can build the computers in that time frame deliver and collect my money from Terrell at the Byte Shop and pay you." With that, the credit manager called Paul Terrell who was attending an IEEE computer conference at Asilomar in Pacific Grove and verified the validity of the Purchase Order. Amazed at the tenacity of Jobs, Terrell assured the credit manager if the computers showed up in his stores Jobs would be paid and would have more than enough money to pay for the parts order. The two Steves and their small crew spent day and night building and testing the computers and delivered to Terrell on time to pay his suppliers and have a tidy profit left over for their celebration and next order. Steve Jobs had found a way to finance his soon-to-be multimillion-dollar company without giving away one share of stock or ownership. The machine had only a few notable features. One was the use of a TV as the display system, whereas many machines had no display at all. This was not like the displays of later machines however, and displayed text at a terribly slow 60 characters per second, however this was faster then teletypes used on contemporary machines. The Apple I also included bootstrap code on ROM, which made it easier to start up. Finally, at the insistence of Paul Terrell, Wozniak also designed a cassette interface for loading and saving programs, at the then-rapid pace of 1200 bit/s. Although the machine was fairly simple, it was nevertheless a masterpiece of design, using far fewer parts than anything in its class, and quickly earning Wozniak a reputation as a master designer. Joined by another friend, Ronald Wayne, the three started to build the machines. Using a variety of methods, including borrowing space from friends and family, selling various prized items (like calculators and a VW bus), scrounging, white lies (or petty fraud, depending on your point of view), Jobs managed to secure the parts needed while Wozniak and Wayne assembled them. They were delivered in June, and as promised, they were paid on delivery. Eventually 200 of the Apple I's were built. The Apple II But Wozniak had already moved on from the Apple I. Many of the design features of the I were due to the limited amount of money they had to construct the prototype, but with the income from the sales he was able to start construction of a very much upgraded machine, the Apple II; it was presented to the public at the first West Coast Computer Faire on April 16 and 17, 1977. On the first day of exhibition, Jobs introduced Apple II to a Japanese textile technician named Mizushima Satoshi who became the first authorized Apple dealer in Japan.[1] The main difference internally was a completely redesigned TV interface, which held the display in memory. Now not only useful for simple text display, the Apple II included graphics, and, eventually, color. Jobs meanwhile pressed for a much improved case and keyboard, with the idea that the machine should be complete and ready to run out of the box. This was almost the case for the Apple I machines sold to The Byte Shop, but one still needed to plug various parts together and type in the code to run BASIC. Building such a machine was going to cost a lot more money. Jobs started looking for cash, but Wayne was somewhat gun shy due to a failed venture four years earlier, and eventually dropped out of the company. Banks were reluctant to loan Jobs money; the idea of a computer for ordinary people seemed absurd at the time. Jobs eventually met "Mike" Markkula who co-signed a bank loan for $250,000, and the three formed Apple Computer on April 1, 1976. Why Apple? Jobs had worked at an apple orchard for a while, and he considered it to be the perfect fruit. With both cash and a new case design in hand, the Apple II was released in 1977 and became the computer generally credited with creating the home computer market (though this is open to debate). Millions were sold well into the 1980s. When Apple went public in 1980, they generated more money than any IPO since Ford Motor Company in 1956, and instantly created more millionaires than any company in history. A number of different models of the Apple II family were built, including the Apple IIe and Apple IIgs, which can still be found in many schools as late as 2005. The Apple III By the 1980s, Apple faced emerging competition in the personal computing business. Chief among them was IBM, the first "big name" in computing. IBM's PC model, running DOS (short for "disk operating system", and licensed to IBM by Microsoft) was capturing a large share of the emerging desktop computing market in large companies. Apple III Several smaller businesses were using the Apple II, but the company felt it needed a newer, more advanced model to compete in the corporate desktop computing market. Thus, the designers of the Apple III were forced to comply with Jobs' lofty and sometimes impractical goals (a continuing theme throughout Apple's history). Among these was the omission of a cooling fan -- it is reported Jobs found them "inelegant." Due to this design flaw and production flaws many of these machines were dead on arrival or succumbed to overheating. Thousands were recalled and replaced with no questions asked. The Apple III was also expensive and, though the company introduced an updated version in 1983, the initial bad press discouraged buyers and left the III largely a failure. Xerox PARC and The Lisa Meanwhile, various groups within Apple were working on a completely new kind of personal computer, with advanced technologies such as a graphical user interface, computer mouse, object-oriented programming and networking capabilities. These people, including Jef Raskin and Bill Atkinson, agitated for Steve Jobs to put the company's focus behind such computers. It was only when they brought him to see the work being done at Xerox PARC on the Alto in December 1979 that Jobs decided the future was in such graphics-intensive, icon-friendly computers, and supported the competing Apple Lisa (named after Steve Jobs' first daughter) and Apple Macintosh teams. Over the objections of some PARC researchers, many of whom (such as Larry Tesler) ended up working at Apple, Xerox granted Apple engineers 3 days of access to the PARC facilities in return for selling them one million dollars in pre-IPO Apple stock (approximately $18mil. net). The Lisa debuted in January 1983 at $10,000. Once again, Apple had introduced a product that was ahead of its time, but far too expensive (the company would continue to follow this pattern for the next few years), and Apple again failed to capture the business market. The Lisa was discontinued with the unceremonious burial of the remaining inventory at a landfill in Logan, Utah in 1986. The release of the Macintosh and the 1984 commercial The Lisa project was removed from Jobs' control midway through development to prevent another Apple III incident and Jobs soon turned his attention to the Macintosh Project. The Macintosh was originally envisioned by Jef Raskin as a truly personal computer with everything the end-user would ever need built right in. It was a research project at the time Jobs came along in the very early development stages. Being somewhat upset about the exile from Lisa he set out to mold the Macintosh into a device that would surpass Lisa. This was a time at Apple where different projects like Lisa and Macintosh were discrete departments which were somewhat self-contained in all aspects; a serious flaw which created hostilities and unrest within the company. The Apple Macintosh was launched in 1984 with a now famous Super Bowl advertisement based on George Orwell's novel 1984 and directed by Ridley Scott. Steve Jobs' intention with the ad was to equate Big Brother with the IBM PC and a nameless female action hero, portrayed by Anya Major, with the Apple Macintosh. The commercial ended with the following: "On January 24, Apple Computer will introduce Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like '1984'" - the implication being that the Mac's new, "user friendly" GUI (with icons designed by graphic designer Susan Kare) would liberate computing and information from the IBM PC. Macintosh also spawned the concept of Mac evangelism which was pioneered by Apple employee, and later Apple Fellow, Guy Kawasaki. Despite initial marketing difficulties, such as lack of software, the monochrome-only display and the closed architecture, the Macintosh brand was eventually a success for Apple. This was due to its introduction of desktop publishing (and later computer animation) through Apple's partnership with Adobe Systems which introduced the laser printer and Adobe PageMaker. Indeed, the Macintosh would become known as the de-facto platform for many industries including cinema, music, publishing and the arts. While it did briefly license some of its own designs, Apple did not allow other computer makers to "clone" the Mac until the 1990s, long after Microsoft dominated the marketplace with its broad licensing program. By then, it was too late for Apple to reclaim its lost marketshare and the Macintosh clones achieved limited success before being axed after Steve Jobs returned to Apple Computer in 1997. Beginning of Windows In anticipation of the Macintosh launch, Bill Gates, co-founder, chairman of Microsoft was given several Macintosh prototypes in 1983 for software development for the new computer. In 1985, Microsoft launched Microsoft Windows, its own GUI for IBM PCs using many of the elements of the Macintosh OS. This led to a long legal battle between Apple Computer and Microsoft, ending with an out of court settlement. In this settlement it was stated that Microsoft would be granted access to and allowed unlimited use of the Macintosh GUI. By that point the IBM PC system had been reverse engineered and many companies were also making IBM PC Compatibles, cheaper copies of the PC. Although the first version of Windows was technologically inferior to the Mac, a Windows-equipped PC clone could be purchased for much less. 1985: Jobs leaves Apple After an internal power struggle between Steve Jobs and the new CEO John Sculley in 1985, Apple's board of directors sided with Sculley and Jobs was asked to resign. Jobs bought the visual effects house, Pixar. He also went on to found NeXT Inc., a computer company that built machines with futuristic designs and ran the UNIX-derived NeXTstep operating system. While not a commercial success due in part to its high price, the NeXT computer would introduce important concepts to the history of the personal computer (including serving as the inital platform for Tim Berners-Lee as he was developing the World Wide Web). 1985-1997: Sculley, Spindler, Amelio Apple IIgs Macintosh SE The Apple II family of the 1980s Apple now had two separate, incompatible platforms: the Apple II, an affordable, expandable home computer, and the Apple Macintosh, the closed platform for professionals. (John Gruber, among others, has speculated that this platform incompatibility was the main reason the Macintosh did not share the initial commercial success which was experienced by the Apple II in the late 1970s. [2]. However, by the mid - 1980s, the Apple II was now competing with the IBM PC and its clones, and a new energy was focused upon marketing the Macintosh. Thus, Apple continued to sell both lines promoting them to different market segments: the Macintosh to colleges, college students, and knowledge workers, and the Apple II to home users and public schools. A few months after introducing the Mac, Apple released a compact version of the Apple II called the Apple IIc. And in 1986 Apple introduced the Apple IIgs, an Apple II positioned as something of a hybrid product with a mouse-driven, Mac-like operating environment. Apple II computers remained an important part of Apple's business until they were discontinued in the early 1990s. The Mac family At the same time, the Mac was becoming a product family of its own. The original model evolved into the Mac Plus in 1986 and spawned the Mac SE and the Mac II in 1987 and the Mac Classic and Mac LC in 1990. Meanwhile, Apple attempted its first portable Macs: the failed Macintosh Portable in 1989 and then the more popular PowerBook in 1991, a landmark product that established the modern form and ergonomic layout of the laptop. Popular products and increasing revenues made this a good time for Apple. MacAddict magazine has called 1989 to 1991 the "first golden age" of the Macintosh. The early-mid 1990s In the late 1980s, Apple's fiercest technological rivals were the Amiga and Atari ST platforms. But by the 1990s, computers based on the IBM PC had become more popular than all three; they finally had a comparable GUI thanks to Windows 3.0, and were out-competing Apple. Apple's response to the PC threat was a profusion of new Macintosh lines including Quadra, Centris, and Performa. Unfortunately, these new lines were marketed poorly. For one, there were too many models, differentiated by very minor graduations in their tech specs. The excess of arbitrary model numbers confused many consumers and hurt Apple's reputation for simplicity. Apple's retail resellers like Sears and CompUSA often failed to sell or even competently display these Macs. And the cost of the machines remained higher than a comparable PC. In 1994, Apple surprised its loyalists by allying with its long-time competitor IBM in the AIM alliance. This was a high-profile bid to create a revolutionary new computing platform, known as PReP, which would use IBM and Motorola hardware and Apple software. PReP's (projected) outstanding performance and software would leave the PC far behind, and would upset Microsoft, which Apple had identified as its real enemy. As the first step toward the PReP platform, Apple started the Power Macintosh line in 1994, using IBM's PowerPC processor. These processors utilized a RISC architecture, which differed substantially from the Motorola 680X0 series that were used by all previous Macs. Parts of Apple's operating system software were rewritten so that most software written for older Macs could run in emulation on the PowerPC series. In addition to computers, Apple has also produced consumer devices. In the 1990s, Apple released the Newton, an early PDA. Though it failed commercially, it defined and launched the category and was a forerunner and inspiration of devices such as Palm Pilot and its descendants-PocketPCs. 1997: The return of Jobs In 1996, the struggling company beat out Microsoft and Be, Inc.'s BeOS in its bid to sell its operating system. Apple purchased Steve Jobs' company, NeXTon December 20, 1996, and its NeXTstep operating system. This would not only bring Steve Jobs back to Apple's management, but NeXT technology would become the foundation of the Mac OS X operating system. On July 9, 1997, Gil Amelio was ousted as CEO of Apple by the board of directors after overseeing a 12 year record low stock price and crippling financial losses. Jobs stepped in as the interim CEO to began a critical restructuring of the company's product line. He would eventually become CEO and is serving in that position to the present day. 1998- 2001: Apple's Renaissance The original iMac Company headquarters on Infinite Loop in Cupertino The iMac, iBook, and PowerMac G4 After discontinuing Apple's licensing of its operating system to third-party computer manufacturers, one of Jobs's first moves as new acting CEO was to develop the iMac, which bought Apple time to restructure. The original iMac integrated a CRT display and CPU into a streamlined, translucent plastic body. The line became a sales smash, moving about one million units a year. It also helped re-introduce Apple to the media and public, and announced the company's new emphasis on the design and aesthetics of its products. More recent products include the iBook, the Power Mac G4, and the AirPort product series, which helped popularize the use of Wireless LAN technology to connect computers to networks. In 1999, Apple introduced the Power Mac G4, which utilized the Motorola-made PowerPC 7400 containing a 128-bit instruction unit known as AltiVec as its flagship processor line. Also that year, Apple unveiled the iBook, its first consumer-oriented laptop that was also the first Macintosh to support the use of Wireless LAN via the optional AirPort card that was based on the 802.11b standard. Mac OS X In 2001, Apple introduced Mac OS X, an operating system based on NeXT's NeXTstep. Aimed at consumers and professionals alike, OS X married the stability, reliability and security of Unix with the ease of a completely overhauled user interface. To aid users in transitioning their applications from OS 9, the new operating system did allow the use of Mac OS 9 applications through OS X's Classic Environment. Apple's Carbon API also allowed developers to adapt their OS 9 software to use Mac OS X's features. Apple chain stores In May 2001, after much speculation, Apple announced the opening of a line of Apple retail stores, to be located throughout the major U.S. computer buying markets. The stores were designed for two primary purposes: to stem the tide of Apple's declining share of the computer market, as well as a response to poor marketing of Apple products at third-party retail outlets. The iPod In late 2001, Apple introduced its first iPod portable digital audio player. 2002 to present In early 2002, Apple unveiled a redesigned iMac, using the G4 processor. The new design had a hemispherical base and a flat panel all-digital display supported by a swiveling neck. This model was discontinued in the summer of 2004. In 2002, Apple also released the Xserve 1U rack mounted server. Originally featuring two G4 chips, the Xserve was unusual for Apple in two ways. It represented an earnest effort to enter the enterprise computer market and it was also relatively cheaper than similar machines released by its competitors. This was due, in no small part, to Apple's use of Fast ATA drives as opposed to the SCSI hard drives used in traditional rack-mounted servers. Apple later released the Xserve RAID, a 14 drive RAID which was, again, cheaper than competing systems. In mid-2003, Apple launched the Power Mac G5, based on IBM's G5 processor. Apple claims this the first 64-bit computer sold to the general public, but in fact that title actually goes to the AMD Opteron line (Opteron processors were however marketed more directly to the enterprise for use in rackmount servers and in workstations). Both 64-bit CPU's were pre-dated by the 64-bit DEC Alpha architecture, although the Alpha was aimed more at servers and workstations and not at the "general public." The Power Mac G5 was also used by Virginia Tech to build its prototype System X supercomputing cluster, which at the time garnered the prestigious recognition of 3rd fastest supercomputer in the world. It cost only $5.2 Mil (USD) to build, far less than the previous #3 and other ranking supercomputers. Apple's Xserves were soon updated to use the G5 as well. They replaced the Power Mac G5 machines as the main building block of Virginia Tech's System X, which was ranked in November 2004 as the world's 7th fastest supercomputer. [3] A new iMac based on the G5 processor was unveiled August 31, 2004 and was made available in mid-September. This model dispensed with the base altogether, placing the CPU and the rest of the computing hardware behind the flat-panel screen, which is suspended from a streamlined aluminium foot. This new iMac, dubbed the iMac G5, is the world's thinnest desktop computer, measuring in at around two inches (around 5.1 centimeters). Apple computers such as the PowerBook, the iBook, and the iMac are frequently featured as props in films and television series. Occasionally the heroes use Apple computers while the villains are relegated to PC compatibles. In 1996, Apple ran an advertising campaign for the PowerBook tying in with the film Mission: Impossible and in the film Independence Day a Macintosh laptop is used to infect the alien mothership and save the human race. Through the 1990s, personal computers based on Microsoft's Windows operating system began to gain a much larger percentage of new computer users than Apple. As a result, Apple fell from controlling 20% of the total personal computer market to 5% by the end of the decade. The company was struggling financially under then-CEO Gil Amelio when on August 6, 1997 Microsoft bought a $150 million non-voting share of the company as a result of a court settlement with Apple . Perhaps more significantly, Microsoft simultaneously announced its continued support for Mac versions of its office suite, Microsoft Office, and soon created a Macintosh Business Unit. This reversed the earlier trend within Microsoft that resulted in poor Mac versions of their software and has resulted in several award-winning releases. However, Apple's market share continued to decline, reaching 3% by 2004. Initially, the Apple Stores were opened in the U.S. only, but in late 2003, Apple opened its first Apple Store outside the USA, in Tokyo's Ginza district. Ginza was followed by a store in Osaka, Japan in August of 2004. More shops for Japan are supposedly in the works. Apple's first European store opened in London in November 2004, and is currently the largest store. A store in the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham opened in early 2005, and the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent opened in July 2005. Apple opened its first store in Canada in the middle of 2005 at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre in North York, a suburb of Toronto. Apple will open two more stores in the UK by the end of 2005; one in Meadowhall, Sheffield and the other in the Trafford Centre, Manchester. Also, in an effort to court a broader market, Apple opened several "mini" stores in October 2004 in attempt to capture markets where demand does not necessarily dictate a full scale store. The first of these stores was opened at Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. These stores follow in the footsteps of the successful Apple products: iPod mini and Mac mini. These stores are only one half the square footage of the smallest "normal" store and thus can be placed in several smaller markets. On April 29, 2005, Apple released Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" to the general public. Presently Apple's wildly successful PowerBook and iBook products rely on Apple's previous generation G4 architecture which were produced by Freescale Semiconductor, a spin off from Motorola. Engineers at IBM have had some success in making their PowerPC G5 processor consume less power and run cooler but not yet enough to run in iBook or PowerBook formats. As of the week of October 24, 2005. Apple released the PowerMac G5 Dual that features a Dual-Core processor. This processor contains two cores in one rather than have two separate processors. Apple has also developed the PowerMac G5 Quad that uses two of the Dual-Core processors for enhanced workstation power and performance. The new PowerMac G5 Dual's cores run individually at 2.0ghz or 2.3ghz. The PowerMac G5 Quad's cores run individually at 2.5ghz and all variations have a graphics processor the has 256 bit power or can be expanded to 512 bit for ultimate performance. [4] In a keynote address on June 6, 2005, Steve Jobs officially announced that Apple will begin producing Intel-based Macintosh computers beginning in 2006. Jobs confirmed rumors that the company had secretly been producing versions of its current operating system Mac OS X for both PowerPC and Intel processors over the past 5 years, and that the transition to Intel processor systems will last until the end of 2007. Rumors of cross-platform compatibility had been spurred by the fact that Mac OS X is based on OPENSTEP, an operating system that was available for many platforms. In fact, Apple's own Darwin, the open source underpinnings of OS X, was also available for Intel's x86 architecture. [5] [6] [7] On January 10, 2006, the first Intel-based machines, the iMac and MacBook Pro, were introduced. They were based on the Intel Core Duo platform. This introduction came with the news that Apple will complete the transition to Intel processors on all hardware by the end of 2006, a year ahead of the originally quoted schedule. As well as the transition to Intel microprocessors, the release of Apple's next version of Mac OS X, Mac OS X v10.5 "Leopard", is expected at the end of 2006. Leopard will run natively on both Intel and present day PowerPC processors. During his keynote address at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs also projected that the Mac OS X architecture will be the basis of Apple's operating systems for the next two decades. Apple and "i" Web services In 2000, Apple introduced its iTools service, a collection of free web-based tools that included an email account, internet greeting cards called iCards, a service called iReview that gave internet users a place to read and write reviews of Web sites, and a tool called KidSafe which promised to prevent children from browsing inappropriate portions of the web. The latter two services were eventually cancelled because of lack of success, while iCards and email became integrated into Apple's .Mac subscription based service introduced in 2002. The .Mac service currently costs $99.95 annually in the United States (the iCards service, however, remains free for all). iPod and iTunes Music Store iPod mini A fourth-generation iPod In October 2001, Apple introduced the iPod , a portable digital music player. Its signature features included; an LCD, easy to use interface, and a large capacity drive (initially 5 GB) which was enough to hold approximately 1,000 songs. It was quite large when compared to the 20-30 songs of Flash-based players of the time. Apple has since revised its iPod line several times, introducing a slimmer, more compact design, Windows compatibility (previous iPods only interacted with Macintosh computers), AAC compatibility, storage sizes of up to 60 GB, and easier connectivity with car or home stereo systems. On October 26, 2004, Apple released a color version of their award winning iPod which can not only play music but also show photos. In early 2005, Apple unveiled its smallest iPod yet: the iPod shuffle, which is about the size of a pack of gum. Speaking to software developers on June 6, 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said the company's share of the entire portable music device market stood at 76%. Apple has revolutionized the computer and music industry by signing the five major record companies to join its new music download service, the successful iTunes Music Store. Unlike other fee-based music services, the iTunes Music Store charges a flat $0.99 per song (or $9.99 per album). Users have more flexibility than on previous on-line music services. For example, they can burn CDs including the purchased songs (although a particular playlist containing purchased music may only be burned seven times), share and play the songs on up to five computers, and, of course, download songs onto an iPod. The iTunes Music Store commercial model is one-time purchase, which contrasts with other commercial subscription music services where users are required to pay a regular fee to be able to access musical content (but are able to access a larger volume of music during the subscription). If these services begin to gain traction in the marketplace, it is arguable if Apple will not reshape the iTunes Music Store in some way to stay competitive. The iTunes Music Store was launched in 2003 with 2 million downloads in only 16 days; all of which were purchased only on Macintosh computers. Apple has since released a version of iTunes for Windows, allowing Windows users the ability to access the store as well. Initially, the music store was only available in the United States due to licensing restrictions, but there were plans to release the store to many other countries in the future. In January 2004 Apple released a more compact version of their iPod player, the 4-GB iPod Mini. Although the Mini held fewer songs than the other iPod models at that time, its smaller size and multiple colours made it popular with consumers on debut with many stores having "sold out" their initial inventories of the devices. In June 2004 Apple opened their iTunes Music Store in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. A European Union version opened October 2004 (actually, a Eurozone version; not initially available in the Republic of Ireland due to the intransigence of the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) but eventually opened Thursday January 6, 2005.) A version for Canada opened in December 2004. On May 10, 2005, the iTunes Music Store was expanded to Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. On December 16, 2004, Apple sold its 200 millionth song on the iTunes Music Store to Ryan Alekman from Belchertown, Massachusetts. The download was The Complete U2, by U2. Just under three months later Apple sold its 300 millionth song on March 2, 2005. On July 17, 2005, the iTunes Music Store sold its 500 millionth song. At that point, songs were selling at an annualized rate of more than 500 million -- and that rate was growing. On January 11, 2005, an even smaller version of the iPod was announced, this one based on flash memory instead of using a miniaturized hard drive. The iPod shuffle, like its predecessors, proved so popular that it sold out almost immediately, causing delays of up to four weeks in obtaining one within a single week of its debut. This is despite the fact that critics had gawked at the lack of LCD screen in the Shuffle, a norm in almost all current flash memory based mp3 players. The iPod is giving an enormous lift to Apple's financial results. In the quarter that ended March 26, 2005, Apple earned $290 million, or 34 cents a share, on sales of $3.24 billion. The year before in the same quarter, Apple earned just $46 million, or 6 cents a share, on revenue of $1.91 billion. In July 2005, the iPod was given a color screen, merging the iPod and iPod Photo. On September 7, 2005, Apple replaced the iPod mini line with the new iPod nano. While some consumers were put off by the high pricetag ($199 for 2 gigabytes), and others put off by the easily scratchable surface, the Nano had sold 1 million units in the first 17 days. A month later, on October 12, 2005 Apple introduced the new fifth-generation iPod with video playback capabilities. The device is also 40% thinner than a fourth-generation iPod and has a larger screen. Annual Revenue: $13.93 billion USD (68% FY 2005) | Employees: 14,800 (2005) | Stock Symbol: NASDAQ: AAPL | Website: www.apple.com See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Apple_Computer Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So, happy 30th birthday to Apple! Although my _first_ computer was an OSI (Ohio Scientific, Inc) C-1-P which I purchased from a neighbor of mine in 1977 -- it had all of 4-K memory, mind you, no disc drive -- you loaded the DOS and any other programs from a tape player. I got into Apple shortly after that. Shortly after getting the OSI C-1-P I got a Zenith model Z-1 terminal in a kit from the Heathkit Company, along with a Hayes 300 baud modem. And all my earliest online communication stuff was done with the Zenith Z-1 terminal. My first one had a green screen; later on I traded it for one with an amber screen. I also 'traded up' the modem to one that ran at 1200 baud. The Apple ][+ I bought was actually a Bell and Howell 'Black Apple' which was an overstock the Bell and Howell people no longer needed, and I got it for a couple hundred dollars. There were a few things which made the ][+ superior to just the 'original ][' but I do not remember what they were. There were also a few things about the Bell and Howell 'Black Apple' which made it different than the regular cream-colored Apple, but I do not remember that either. About the time I purchased the Bell & Howell Black Apple, I had also accepted a volunteer position as 'sysop' or system operator for the Chicago Public Library BBS (Bulletin Board System). They had the first BBS anywhere run by a public library for its patrons and it used the software developed by Bill Blue called "People's Message System" which was developed for Apple. There were various BBS's written for Apple, including one called ABBS. Of course, the concept of BBS had been started by Randy Seuess and Ward Christianson a year before that (which I religiously called each day using my Zenith Z-1 terminal and 300 baud modem). I decided to operate the ABBS program on _my_ Apple while having the library BBS operating on the _library_ machine. (Different concepts; the library BBS was intended for book and movie reviews; my machine was called 'Lakeshore Modem Magazine', it was more into news of the day and discussion, etc. I had a friend who ran a multi-party chat line on his Apple; if you recall, there were 8 slots in the back of the box; you had to have one for the DOS bootstrap thing; and (assuming you wanted a live clock inside) one for the clock, the other five or six slots in his instance were all modems, so he had a big party line, the original Compuserve or AOL-style 'chat room' thing, except he had one of the modems 'tied across' to me which allowed one of his callers to dial his number, but connect to the 'port' which got them onto me. His phone numbers were all in a 'hunt group' for ease in allowing his callers to get on his system. I kept my BBS running for about five years, through the end of 1985. By 1983 or so, I was personally more interested in Usenet and had pretty much quit doing any personal BBS'ing. Which reminds me! Would any of you regular readers be interested in taking over _full time (without any help from me)_ the job of maintaining the http://history-internet.org site? The skeleton is there, and a few items; but it needs a lot of work and someone to give it lots of love ... I will be glad to walk you through what I have done thus far, but I really need to get some of this off my back. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:19:50 EST From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Vonage May Seek Buyer USTelecom dailyLead March 31, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/doywfDtutcizrpxeKk TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Vonage may seek buyer BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Cramer scores major deal with BellSouth * Comcast signs VOD deal with NBCU * Sprint Nextel ramps up 3G rollout * Google job ad may shed light on TV ambitions * Survey: More phone customers go wireless USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * dailyLead and membership USTelecom prepares you for What's NEXT TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * "Digital divide" shows signs of narrowing * CBS rules the Web with NCAA action VOIP DOWNLOAD * Vonage claims E911 milestone * IBM, 3Com join in IP telephony pact REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Sen. Stevens favors telecom deregulation Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/doywfDtutcizrpxeKk ------------------------------ From: chris2029@gmail.com Subject: Is This Possible? 2 Lines Squeezed Into One Line Phone?? Date: 31 Mar 2006 16:31:12 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have the need to squeeze 2 lines into one line on my phone. [Note - getting a 2 line phone is not a solution as I already have a 2 line and 2nd line is taken by VOIP.] One of the lines is standard tel co line -- other is essentially my gate bell. In my fantasy -- I imagine talking on the phone and when someone rings the gate, the call waiting feature alerts me and I can jump back and forth. Is this possible or am I deluding myself? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You are _not_ deluding yourself. It is quite possible, and is done frequently. I had this on my _two line_ phone (a little button near the top of the phone, twist it one way for line one, twist it the other way for line two, raise the plunger of the switchhook to put either line on hold). Let's talk about what you refer to as your 'gate bell'. Are you the only user of this 'gate' or is it a common entrance way into the building for many people? There was a device made by telco years ago which was a sort of hybrid centrex. In addition to your phone, and a phone at the gate, there was equipment in the telco central office. All the pairs coming to your building from the central office were 'dedicated'; that is, always kept for just that purpose, serving your building. This system was called 'Enterphone'. The front gate phone ran on a pair back to the central office and the device where it was distributed out to the individual apartments, by _temporarily_ camping onto the associated pair. Now in more recent years, since telco went out of business, the same device has been mounted at the customer premises instead and it goes by the name _I_nterphone. Other than Enterphone versus Interphone and the box with the electronics inside it being located on customer premises versus at the central office, the rest of it works the same way. Assuming there are several users of the 'gate' then you need a larger control box. If you are the only user, then a smaller version is quite enough. Person at the gate wants to enter; lifts phone, gets dial tone and dials your _code number_, NOT your telephone number. The little electronic box hears what was dialed, and 'translates' it into the number associated with your wire pair. Cheaper versions of this simply translate it into your _phone number_ (and thus send it back to the central office for handling) but there are problems with this version which I will explain in a minute. Better quality units translate what was dialed into your pair number locally, then look for that pair in your own house wiring. Finding that pair, it 'tests for busy' and if the line is not in use, it temporarily seizes the pair, inserts a short, distinctive ring tone on it, repeating as needed three or four times. If when it tests for busy, it finds that your line is indeed in use, it inserts a 'distinctive call waiting tone' (different so you can tell if the call waiting is another outside call arriving or it is the gate calling) and presents that tone instead. Above I said 'better' and (a bit more expesnsive) to translate the code number dialed into your 'house pair' number rather than trans- lating it into your telephone number and handing it back to the central office because if you do not have call-waiting on your line otherwise, the gate-visitor could get a busy signal when you did not want it (now gate knows you are on the phone with someone) or if you are not on the phone (and get a normal ring from the c.o.) you have no way of knowing it is the gate calling, which could make a difference. The really cheap Interphone systems just tell gate to dial your number (?!) which is the worst of all; at the very least you want a code number dialed (which is changeable at will) and a translation done. So now you have received a gate call, how do you deal with it? The gizmo detirmines your line is free (or was busy, but presented a call waiting signal and allowed you to tap the hook and click in) and it puts the central office line on hold (assuming you were on a call) and allows you to dial '4' to accept the gate visitor or something else to deny the gate visitor and return to the call you left on hold. If you decide to accept the gate visitor and dial '4', the gizmo in turn throws a current load at a solonoid which unlatches the gate for some preset length of time (typically 4-5 seconds) allowing the person at the gate to open it and walk in, then the solonoid clicks shut and the gate is locked once again. So you were partly right and partly wrong: you used the phrase 'squeeze two lines onto one' and that it does not do. A pair is only good for one call at a time; something has to 'hold' the other call or busy it out. But this gizmo Interphone/Enterphone sits there midst all the house pairs, with central office pairs coming in and going out the other side, and upon signal, examines the appropriate pair, seizes it for a couple seconds and does its thing. With most Interphone/Enterphone devices, they are set to time out after 'conversations' which can last ten or twenty seconds tops. After all, how long does it take to answer the front gate and tell the person to come in, or go away, or whatever. I do not know who sells these devices currently, you might ask Mike Sandman http://sandman.com for advice, or possibly Google for 'Enterphone' and also for 'Interphone'. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #124 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Apr 1 21:27:59 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id B6E3615046; Sat, 1 Apr 2006 21:27:58 -0500 (EST) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #125 Message-Id: <20060402022758.B6E3615046@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 21:27:58 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.7 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 1 Apr 2006 21:30:00 EST Volume 25 : Issue 125 Inside This Issue: Don't Forget to Set Clocks Up! More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law (Saul Hansell) Google Joins the Lobbying Herd (Kate Phillips) Whose Internet is it, Anyway? (Christian Science Monitor) Re: Train Passengers - Images Frozen in Time (Lisa Hancock) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Lisa Hancock) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Jim Burks) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Harry Dodsworth) Site Manager Needed for History-Internet.org (Patrick Townson) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Saul Hansell Subject: More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 19:13:50 -0600 By SAUL HANSELL Both the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union confirmed yesterday that they had requested and received information from Internet service providers and software makers in connection with an A.C.L.U. lawsuit challenging an anti-pornography law. Earlier this year it was revealed that the Justice Department, which is defending the law, had subpoenaed information from four search engine companies about keyword requests by users. Although the other search engine companies quickly complied with the request, Google challenged its subpoena. This month a judge ordered the company to provide some information to the Justice Department but not information on individual searches, saying that had the potential to violate the privacy of users. Last summer, the Justice Department also issued subpoenas to at least 34 Internet service providers and security software companies, according to information the department provided after a Freedom of Information Act request by InformationWeek magazine. The companies subpoenaed included America Online, Comcast, Verizon, EarthLink and Symantec. The department is defending the Child Online Protection Act, which makes it a crime to post "material that is harmful to minors." Two years ago, the Supreme Court prevented enforcement of the law and ordered a lower court to consider whether filtering software designed to block inappropriate content was a better way to achieve the law's aims. The case goes to trial in October. Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said the agency had issued the subpoenas "to see the effectiveness of Internet filters." He said he was not able to say which of the companies had responded to the subpoenas and to what extent they had complied. The A.C.L.U. also subpoenaed many of the same companies, said Aden J. Fine, a lawyer for the organization. "We have asked for information that is relevant to the lawsuit, such as information to show that filters are effective," he said. Mr. Fine declined to say how many companies were subpoenaed and what questions they were asked. While the A.C.L.U. had objected to subpoenas of individual search data as an invasion of users' privacy, Mr. Fine said it did not see similar concerns for requests for data from the Internet and software providers. The Justice Department subpoenas did not, in fact, ask for information that could be attributed to any individual user. Rather, it asked for detailed quantitative and technical descriptions of the Internet filters that were offered to customers, how they worked and how many people used them. The department also asked for market research information on how many people wanted filters and how satisfied they were. According to Mr. Fine, the Internet and software companies largely complied with both sets of subpoenas. According to a letter provided to InformationWeek, Verizon initially raised objections and requested clarifications on issues mainly related to Justice Department requests for contracts and other trade secrets. David Fish, a spokesman for Verizon, said that the company provided the information after reaching an agreement with the Justice Department on who would have access to it. Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from New York Times, with no registration nor login requirements, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimes.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is it just me, or do other readers agree there is a _huge_ amount -- more than even a year or two ago -- of pornography on the net. Much, much more than there was even two or three years ago. If the amount and nature of the spam we receive is any indication, there is _much more_ porn around also. One thing I find quite interesting about this case is that (as with email spam in general) filtering just does not work, is quite ineffectual, even though some insist on using it to 'protect children' as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Kate Phillips Subject: Google Joins The Lobbying Herd Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 19:16:32 -0600 By KATE PHILLIPS WASHINGTON, March 27 - For a company that takes pride in being the quintessential outsider, Google is moving quickly into the ultimate insider's game: lobbying. Started less than a decade ago in a Stanford dorm room, Google has evolved into a multibillion-dollar business, its search engine ubiquitous on the Internet. Its sprawling growth, fueled by a public stock offering in August 2004 that created a market behemoth, has now thrust it into the glare of Washington. As lawmakers and regulators begin eyeing its ventures in China and other countries and as its Web surfers worry about the privacy of their online searches, Google is making adjustments that do not fit neatly with its maverick image. It has begun ramping up its lobbying and legislative operations after largely ignoring Washington for years, in a scramble to match bases long established here by competitors like Yahoo and Microsoft, as well as the deeply entrenched telecommunication companies. Google has hired politically connected lobbying firms and consultants with ties to Republican leaders like the party chairman, Ken Mehlman; Speaker J. Dennis Hastert; and Senator John McCain; and advisers say the company may set up a fund-raising arm for political donations to candidates. And in a town where Republicans hold the levers of power, Google has begun stockpiling pieces of the party's machine. To some, Google is a novice arriving late to the table. To others, the company's embedding on K Street, which serves as home to many of Washington's top lobbyists, represents a new and not necessarily welcome sign of sophistication. "It's sad," said Esther Dyson, editor of the technology newsletter Release 1.0 and former chairwoman of ICANN, a nonprofit group that administers and largely controls the Internet. "The kids are growing up. They've lost youth and innocence. Now they have to start being grown-ups and playing at least to some extent by grown-up rules." In doing so, Google provides another example of how Internet companies, no matter how unconventional their roots or nonconformist their corporate cultures, increasingly find themselves wrestling with the same forces in Washington that more traditional industries have long faced. Google's executives consider the moves necessary as they achieve a prominence that allows them to elbow their own interests onto the political stage. "We've staked out an agenda that really is about promoting the open Internet as a revolutionary platform for communication," said Alan Davidson, brought on board less than a year ago as the company's policy counsel to set up offices in the Penn Quarter area of Washington. "It's been the growth of Google as a company and as a presence in the industry that has prompted our engagement in Washington." Even as they emphasize policy over politics to raise their profile, Google executives and advisers are also fully aware that they are embracing the lobbying world at a time when it has been rocked by the Jack Abramoff scandal of influence peddling. Some advisers say the company may wait until after Congress decides whether or how to overhaul lobbying laws before it wades more deeply into fund-raising and politics. With its stock price closing on Monday near $370 a share and its vaulting onto the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index this week, the company also cannot afford to be caught flat-footed by regulatory agencies or its competitors. "They are brilliant engineers," said Lauren Maddox, a principal in the bipartisan lobbying firm Podesta Mattoon that was hired by Google last year. "They are not politicians." In signing on Podesta Mattoon and other consultants, Google is spreading its lobbying dollars on both sides of the political aisle, increasing its spending on outside firms this year to well beyond $500,000, officials said, although that does not include its own new office complex or payments to some of the consulting groups being added on. (By comparison, the giant Microsoft spent almost $9 million last year in lobbying, and Yahoo spent more than $1 million for just part of last year, according to partial-year filings compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine, an independent campaign finance Internet site.) Podesta Mattoon is led by Anthony Podesta, a Democrat, and Daniel Mattoon, a Republican and longtime friend of Speaker Hastert, an Illinois Republican. The speaker's son Joshua also works at the firm, along with Ms. Maddox, a former top aide to Newt Gingrich. Adding to its arsenal is the DCI Group, a firm with top-flight corporate clients and strong ties to Mr. Mehlman and Karl Rove, President Bush's senior political adviser. DCI, Google officials say, will help it establish links to Republicans, as well as promote its book search project, an effort to make the full text of books searchable online, among publishers and authors. At the helm of that operation is Stuart Roy, senior vice president of DCI and a former aide to Representative Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas. Mr. Roy also counts as a client Progress for America, the conservative group that successfully rallied grass-roots support for Mr. Bush's Supreme Court nominees. Ms. Maddox said Google's emerging army of advisers would help it fight fires along several policy lines, including copyright law, access to the Internet and privacy issues like its successful court fight this month to narrow a Justice Department subpoena over disclosure of its users' searches. "We have a team of Republicans and Democrats who are helping them sort out these issues," Ms. Maddox said, an effort that recognizes that the "policy process is an extension of the market battlefield." The big Internet companies, including Google, are bracing for an uphill struggle with lawmakers and the titans of the telephone and cable industries over whether fees should be charged for heavy data traffic, like video streaming over broadband width. "Our belief is that this is going to be an issue of great concern for consumers," Mr. Davidson said. "The telephone companiqqes have been lobbying these committees for generations. Our industry is very young." Google's political awakening was nowhere more evident than on Capitol Hill last month, when it, Microsoft, Cisco Systems and Yahoo were slammed by Republicans and Democrats alike over business dealings in China. Elliot Schrage, vice president for global communications and public affairs at Google, was lashed repeatedly with the company's motto, "Don't Be Evil," as House members accused the corporations of abetting China's government in censoring Internet communications and imperiling the safety of Chinese Internet surfers. It is an issue that Google and others know will not go away soon. Representative Christopher H. Smith, Republican of New Jersey, and other legislators are demanding that Internet companies be more sensitive when dealing with foreign countries. "I think they are just going to lobby to spread this yarn that by being there, they're going to spread democracy," said Mr. Smith, who presided at the hearing. "This dictatorship can go on for generations if it's not unchecked." Mr. Davidson said companies were trying to address the prickly subject. "I think we all said in our testimony that we were serious about trying to work out standards for engaging in countries where these kinds of censorship issues come up," he said. By some accounts, China may be so radioactive that even a longstanding relationship with Congress would not have tempered that hostile reception. But "the lack of a presence is what they recognized needed to get remedied fast," said Harry W. Clark, managing partner of the Stanwich Group, who has just been hired as a management consultant for Google. A veteran adviser to Internet corporations, Mr. Clark is a tightly connected Republican who worked in the Bush administration and who is now doing volunteer work for Senator McCain, an Arizona Republican. Google's recruitment of heavy hitters in the nation's capital has not stopped. While it had already retained the firms of Public Policy Partners and Capital Tax Solutions, the headhunter Russell Reynolds Associates is in the midst of a search to fill a senior position alongside Mr. Davidson. Mr. Clark also predicted that Google would name a political director, probably a Republican. Because some Republicans still view the company as Democratic-leaning, citing the 2004 election analyses that showed nearly all its employees' contributions went to Democrats, the company will be careful, Mr. Clark said, to spread its wealth around. "The folks I've talked to," he added, "everybody recognizes that the employee contributions were weighted heavily toward Democrats, and they're waiting to see a course correction." And despite the climate of indictments and investigations that pervades K Street right now, industry experts say Google has no choice but to get into the arena. Rhett Dawson, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, admonished that lobbying was not "a dirty word." Google, Mr. Dawson noted, "is quickly going through a maturation phase that a lot of companies have gone through that shows it pays to pay attention to Washington or it can hurt you in ways that don't reflect well on you." He added, "It doesn't have to be a system that makes you embarrassed to talk to your mother about." Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from New York Times, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimes.html ------------------------------ From: Christian Science Monitor Subject: Whose Internet is it, Anyway? Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 19:20:08 -0600 from the March 24, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0324/p08s02-comv.html Whose Internet is it, anyway? The Monitor's View The hot debate over "Net neutrality" has spilled beyond Internet chat rooms and into Congress. The concept that those who own the "pipes" can't dictate what goes through them has made the Internet an engine for individual and economic growth. An Internet with gatekeepers threatens the Net's creative soul. A group of 70 organizations has sent a letter to Congress urging that it pass "meaningful and enforceable" Internet neutrality legislation. Among them are citizen groups, such as the Consumer Federation of America and the AARP, as well as the stars of the 21st-century Internet-based economy: Google, Microsoft, eBay, TiVo, and Yahoo. Sen. Ron Wyden (D) of Oregon has introduced legislation that would ban Internet service providers from setting up special "fast lane" higher-priced services or from blocking, degrading, altering, modifying, or changing the Internet traffic they handle. Opposing them are big providers such as AT&T and Verizon. They'd like to charge extra to those who don't want to have their Internet traffic caught in the slow lane, as well as use that fast lane for products they create and own. What's the harm in that? Google surely has the cash to pay extra for premium service. But could Google, a tiny startup only a few years ago, have sprung up in an environment where the established search engines of the day could pay more to buy premium service? YouTube is a fledgling online company that already transmits some 30 million videos per day and is attracting attention. Would it get fair treatment if big TV and movie corporations can pay to have their video get special service? Internet-based phone companies like Vonage and Skype have revolutionized the phone industry by offering calls over the Web at low cost. But AT&T and Verizon eventually saw what they were doing and jumped in to offer those services, too. What's to keep them from giving these little guys poor connections and expediting their own products on the fast lane? "Net neutrality" simply means that data -- a phone call, an e-mail, a video -- can travel freely over the Internet without the interference of those who own parts of the pipeline. Those transmitting it shouldn't discriminate as long as the content is legal and doesn't damage the system. The phone companies argue that competition between carriers will prevent abuses. If customers feel unfairly treated by one provider, they can switch to another. But no such competition exists. A handful of cable TV and phone companies control the lion's share of US broadband Internet access. Many consumers have no choice among broadband providers. The acquisition of Bell South by AT&T, now under way, shows that competition is shrinking, not expanding. If Congress fails to act, the only hope may be that neutrality advocates can open up a "third pipe" to homes, even if only in some key markets. That might create just enough competition to keep the cable-phone duopoly honest. That third pipe might be a municipal wireless (WiFi) network, another wireless system, or some future technology. Pipeline owners shouldn't choose winners and losers in the online marketplace. Tollbooths and gates are the last thing the Net needs. http://www.csmonitor.com | Copyright 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Train Passengers - Images Frozen in Time Date: 31 Mar 2006 20:52:42 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Sometimes it was voluntary, other times > it was essentially forced (as in, move to town X if you want to > continue your employment with us; don't bother if you wish to seek > employment elsewhere.) During World War 2 my grandparents and my > mother just assumed we would always live in Coffeyville. ... WW II caused many people to move around in the U.S., but it was generally from small towns to larger cities. In the socialogical study "Plainview USA" (and others), a constant theme is rural folk moving from farm villages to the big city. Servicemen and women war workers got to see the country and wanted more than the small villages had to offer. Today "Mayberry" is beloved nostaglia, but back then people were glad to get out. Of course, cities back then were a lot nicer and safer than today. The experience of your family was repated all across the country. In the cities, such as where I took these pictures, the situation was different. People tended to return home. Children married and tended to stay in the general area. Indeed, after the war they moved in with their inlaws bcause there was no housing available. "Plainview" had two studies, one in 1939, one in 1954. (I'll get the exact book titles if anyone is interested, very good histories and i recommend them.) Anyway, the 1939 study found a rather backward town, still loaded with superstition about farm problems. In 1954 the young had left the town leaving only the elders collecting social security. They spent their time watching the new TV. With our talk of the "good old days", 1939 Plainview had its share of problems. It was common for the 17 y/o girls to get in trouble and have to get married, most couples seemed to start out that way; people just sort of ignored the 5 months for the first baby to come. There was vandalism. People went to church because they felt forced to do so, not because they really wanted to. After the war the town got a new paved highway connecting it other places (it was quite isolated before), and townspeople took advtg and overcharged tourists passing through. A lot of the people from such small towns had problems when the went into bigger cities. Some girls were married but very young (16-18) and not ready to assume serious wife responsibilities, esp away from their mother. Long Distance calls were very expensive back then and out of the question. People lived in squalid temporary war labor camps (some later became squalid public housing projects). Children were left unattended. Henry Kaiser, an industrialist known for rapid shipbuilding, provided his workers with support services knowing it would reduce turnover and absentism. Henry Ford, owner of the big Willow Run aircraft plant, offered nothing. Willow Run has also been well doucmented by social studies. I lastly strong recommend the book "Back Home" by war cartoonist Bill Mauldin. His other works is well known, but his book about the trials of returning servicemen is very good too, and many issues he discusses are the same as today. (I have a wartime "telephone guide" for a war town produced by the phone company, I'll have to dig it up and summarize its contents. I really need to visit the AT&T Archives, presuming there still is such a place, to look at their wartime records. AT&T ran display (large) newspaper ads asking retired tele operators to return to work to help with war traffic.) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You refer to the book as 'Plainview' but I do not think that was the correct name. There were two studies, about fifteen years apart, and the place they referenced was Muncie, IN, a small town in Indiana and also the home of Ball State University. (But they did not mention Ball State by name [it would have given away too many clues] and only wrote in general, statistical terms for the most part.) The two-part study was intended as a sociological effort discussing the 'typical' American small town. The town was intended to remain anonymous, and did so for about twenty years following the second part of the study in 1954. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Date: 31 Mar 2006 20:31:54 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com WR wrote: > That is not correct. My business had such a number in Konawa, > Oklahoma, in the 1950-1952 and the calls were charged at the normal > sent-paid station rate rather than as a collect call. Until the 1970s the Bell System had only two toll rate types -- -station and person. All station calls, whether dialed direct or operator handled were charged the same price. In the 1970s, with virtually the whole country equipped for DDD, the Bell System began to give discounts for directly dialed station calls, particularly at night hours. Over time the directly dialed calls got cheaper while operator handled station calls got more expensive. This was a big change at the time, rolled out gradually. I think it was test marketed in North Carolina. I believe at the time it also introduced a late night toll class (after midnight, then after 11pm) that was cheaper than the existing evening rate. We college students, who kept odd hours and had friends far away, made good use of it, but you had to call from a home phone, not a coin phone. Coin rates were "operator handled". Station calls included plain, "time and charges", 3rd party billing, collect, and 3 minute notification. In the 1950s people could call by name and city "get me John Jones in Seattle" and the toll operator would first get the number from Seattle D.A. The Bell System encouraged people to call by number to save operator time. Anyway, there was no difference between sent-paid and collect rates. Enterprise calls saved the trouble of an operator calling ahead to get acceptance, that was assumed. My point was that in the 1980s the cost difference between an 800 service and Enterprise service began to be significant. By 1985 it was foolish for a business to maintain an Enterprise line. Perhaps they didn't even know they had the service and the collect calls were just buried in with other toll charges. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you recall how, even after they set up a reduced rate for 'direct dialed' calls versus a more expensive rate for 'operator assisted' (but still station to station calls) if a customer appealed the higher 'operator assisted' rates the customer would be given 'direct dial' rates if he had 'tried to dial it himself but failed' for some reason? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Jim Burks Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 14:31:13 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com wrote in message news:telecom25.123.12@telecom-digest.org: > In a message dated 29 Mar 2006 12:36:19 -0800, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com > writes: >> I think it was around 1970 that 800 numbers began to appear. One >> thing I've realized is that back then a lot of companies still had >> regional offices -- things weren't as centralized as they are now. So >> calling an airline in your city would connect you to the airline's >> office in your city. Later on as computer tie-lines became cheaper >> and more usable things were centralized as they are today. Companies >> put their call centers in remote locations where buildings and labor >> were cheap. > When 800 numbers first went in, airlines already had massive call > centers. American Airlines call center was in a suburb of Fort Worth, > while the huge computers already in existence were underground in > Tulsa, where they remain to this day. Airlines had published (local) > numbers in most cities they served, and often in surrounding cities, > connecting by FX lines to their call centers. If you called the > listed number for the airline, you reached the call center, not the > local ticket office. The 800 number just made the call center > available from everywhere in the country, not just in places where > they had FXs. (It also was usually cheaper from a hotel.) I used to keep a Holiday Inn hotel directory from the late '70s or early '80s. It had a state listing with about 5-7 800 numbers divided among the various states. This is when 800 number pricing was based on bands 1-5. 1 was neighboring states and cheapest, 5 covered nationwide. Holiday at that time had 3-4 call centers around the country, and was trying to optimize rates by buying 3-5 band 2-3 800 numbers. Another company where I worked had dialing codes for Band 2 and Band 5 WATS outgoing. We were told, if dialing a Band 2 location to WAIT for the line to become available, not to use the Band 5 WATS unless it was really important. Gee, how things have changed now with distance independent pricing and 5c calls to the UK. Jim Burks ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 01 Apr 2006 16:43:15 +0000 (GMT) From: af877@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Harry Dodsworth) Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Organization: National Capital Freenet, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada The Air Canada timetable for 25 Oct., 1970 lists five digit Zenith numbers for many localities in Ontario and Quebec. In the United States, most Enterprise and Zenith numbers were four digits; some of each were five digit and some Florida places had a seven digit Enterprise number. A few places (N.J. and FL) used WX and four digits. Boise, Idaho was listed as EN 722, possibly a typo, the only three digit number. Mohawk Airlines (based in Utica, NY) had a similar mix of Enterprise and Zenith numbers in the April 1969 timetable. Regular numbers were a mixture of two letters + five digits, and seven digit numbers. Some exchanges could not be made into words (Buffalo was NF 2-3000). In the October 1970 timetable, all regular numbers were given as 7-digits; (Buffalo 632-3000). A number of upstate locations now used a 1-800 number. I think someone suggested 1-800 numbers came into use about 1970. ------------------------------ From: Patrick Townson Subject: Site Manager Needed for History-Internet.org Date: 01 Apr 2006 20:00:00 EDT The History-Internet.org site needs to have someone take it over full time, with full authority for it. Preferably, someone who _knows_ the workings of the internet, and would enjoy being a curator there. I have a skeleton set up for it http://history-internet.org and many of the links and references need attention. Please, anyone? PAT ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #125 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Apr 2 18:39:51 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 2E2C4155AA; Sun, 2 Apr 2006 18:39:51 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #126 Message-Id: <20060402223951.2E2C4155AA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 18:39:51 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NO_COST,OPTING_OUT autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 2 Apr 2006 18:42:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 126 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Lost an IPod? Check on the Web to Find It (Andrew Ryan) Netflix Hopes Customers Will Fall For 'Cowboy' (Gina Keating) Different "Cultures" For Business Calling (Mr. Joseph Singer) France's Alcatel to Buy Lucent for $13 bln (Kenneth P. Stox) Microsoft Warns Against Outside Fixes (Allison Linn) AT&T Doesn't Like my Last Name (semenzato@gmail.com) Re: From Our Archives: Exchange Names in St. Louis (Paul Robinson) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (daryl.gibson@gmail.com) Re: More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law (Garrett Wollman) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Andrew Ryan Subject: Lost an IPod? Check on the Web to Find It Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 15:25:43 -0500 Lost an IPod or Wallet? Look for It Online By ANDREW RYAN, Associated Press Writer Maureen Silliman felt her empty pocket and gulped: Her new $300 iPod must have bounced out as she ran to catch a train. While she sobbed, her boyfriend suggested a message on the lost-and-found section of Craigslist, an online bazaar of classified ads. "No," the 24-year-old Silliman said. "Nobody would ever turn in an iPod." Her boyfriend posted the message anyway. Within 24 hours, Silliman's iPod was back. In an increasingly cynical world, there are still places where people try to do the right thing. Everyday on Internet message boards, honest folks post notes about valuables they found: cash, bank cards, diamond bracelets, engagement rings, wedding bands, digital cameras, and even a cockatoo valued at $1,200. In turn, when there is no place left to look for something missing, the desperate sometimes take the longest of longshots and look online themselves. Occasionally, it works for both sides. People such as Silliman get back their iPod, still loaded with Radio Head and Broken Social Scene. The impulse to be honest doesn't surprise Lawrence M. Hinman, the director of The Values Institute at the University of San Diego. "I think we perceive ourselves as being much worse than we actually are," Hinman said. "There are people who live lives of quiet honesty." Take Monique Peddle, 48, in Hollywood, Fla., who posted a note online when she found a diamond studded gold bracelet that she could have just as easily slipped quietly in her pocket. Or Blake Facente, 30, who also turned to Craigslist when he discovered a Dell Inspiron laptop leaning against his building in San Francisco. The same for Agnes Satoorian, 27, who climbed into a cab in Boston last month and found a pricey digital camera that another rider had left behind. "I know that pain," said Satoorian, who had recently lost her own camera loaded with sentimental pictures. "I decided I would try to make it right for someone." Craig Newmark, the namesake and founder of Craigslist, said that the company added the lost-and-found message board in March 2003 after they noticed a proliferation of people looking for things that they were missing. "The culture of trust is key, and the fact is that we work really hard at that," said Newmark, 53, who now has Web sites in 190 cities that boast more than 10 million users a month. That means everyday there are new lost-and-found posts. Like the drawer in a school secretary's office where missing scarves wait to be claimed, the message boards accumulate a disparate collection of goods. Some are outlandish. The three teeth -- including a molar with a filing that needed replacing -- pick up in downtown Honolulu. The $100 bill found on a sidewalk on the Las Vegas strip. The man in Copenhagen who lost his ex-wife. Or the New Yorker who misplaced her clean-shaven cowboy and implored: "If found please send him to Queens." In the lost column in Dublin, Ireland, a post under the heading, "$1 Million US reward," has a link to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted poster for Boston fugitive mobster James "Whitey" Bulger. "I just want him caught," said the post's author, reached through e-mail, who declined to elaborate or give his name. Other posts are authentic, and even touching. The 39-year-old woman in Frankfurt, Germany, looking for her birth mother (Bridgitte Siglinde Stolba). The Homestead, Fla., mother searching for a lost dog named Sparky that detects her 17-year-old epileptic son's seizures and barks for help. The 1-carat diamond engagement ring that slipped off a woman's finger in the hills outside Berkeley, Calif. Success of the Lost and Found is difficult to measure. Craigslist does not track its sites, and the free posting are only valid for 30 days. But as stories about triumphs like Silliman's iPod circulate, more people keep playing the odds. Last Fourth of July, scuba diver Stephen Klink found a solid platinum men's wedding band buried in sand beneath 30 feet of water off Cape Cod. Klink, 36, recently posted a note on the Boston-area Craigslist. "It's a long shot, but I figured it's worth a try," Klink said from his home in Hillsdale, N.J. "Some married guy somewhere is getting whopped on because he lost his wedding ring." On the Net: http://www.craigslist.com/laf/ Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Gina Keating Subject: Netflix Hopes Customers Will Fall for 'Cowboy' Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 15:23:36 -0500 By Gina Keating Online DVD renter Netflix Inc. hopes its subscribers will fall in love this week with "Cowboy del Amor," and many other unsung movies it is quietly buying at film festivals to release in arthouse theaters. Netflix will begin offering its customers the low-budget, independent "Cowboy" film as the first title it has backed with a theatrical release under a strategy to be the only place cinephiles can rent some small, critically praised works. Typically, DVD rentals get a boost from the publicity films receive in theatrical release. That is especially true for low-budget and art-house films like "Cowboy," which was released at theaters in a handful of cities for a few days in February . Netflix's publicity department made sure "Cowboy" -- a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Michele Ohayon about an ex-rodeo cowboy who runs what he calls a "woman bidness" to introduce lonely American men to marriage-minded Mexican women -- got noticed by reviewers. For the next month, "Cowboy" will be available only at Netflix. "I was married to an American woman for 17-1/2 years. She spoke perfect English and I never could understand her," begins the film's folksy narration, by "Cowboy Cupid" Ivan Thompson, who Netflix sent out on a media tour, including a visit to Howard Stern's radio show set for Monday. Lonely and unable to find an American wife, Thompson ran an ad in a Mexican newspaper more than 16 years ago and said he was astounded to receive replies from more than 80 women, including one from the gal he married, then divorced -- twice. "I said to myself, 'Self, this will make a good bidness,' and so I started doing it for the public," Thompson explained. The film, shot over three years in Mexico, New Mexico and Texas, traces the varying successes of three of Thompson's customers in finding cross-border love. "To present a woman good, I have to be enthused about 'em and like 'em, so it's a whole lot like the horse bidness," Thompson muses toward the end of "Cowboy." 'DATA-DRIVEN HUNCHES' Data collected on Netflix's 4.2 million subscribers' movie tastes help the company find an audience for hidden gems like "Cowboy," Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said. "We do fill a unique niche around small-market films," Sarandos said. Netflix often recommends little-known films to subscribers based on ratings customers give to earlier movies they have rented. Netflix's practice has built a level of trust among subscribers who believe the company is recommending a movie they will like. The company, which pioneered online DVD rental, began dabbling in distributing small films in 2004 with DVD releases of films such as "Born Into Brothels," a documentary on the children of prostitutes in Calcutta, which later won an Academy Award for best documentary. From "Brothel," Netflix learned "the importance of making the film an event for a particular audience but not trying to make one film for everybody," Sarandos said. "Being able to identify what niche wants a particular film and marketing that film (to them) ... is really valuable." Sarandos said he and his staff plan to secure rights to 100 more titles per year based on what he called "data-driven hunches." Sarandos saw "Cowboy Del Amor" at the South by Southwest film festival in Austin, Texas, and realized it was made by Ohayon, whose previous two films, "The First Year" and "It Was A Wonderful Life," were distributed exclusively by Netflix. "As far as I'm concerned everything I have done with Netflix has been successful," Ohayon said. "I know that every film has a long shelf life if you handle it right. There was complete respect for the filmmaking behind it, which is a filmmaker's dream." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 10:40:52 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Different "cultures" For Business Calling Just wondered if my perception is that there are different "attitudes" about calling businesses. In the US (and I believe in Canada) it's quite common that for someone to reach a business (such as an airline or a telephone company) that you will call a toll-free (800/888/877/866) number. When visiting the Netherlands I found toll-free "freephone" was not at all the norm. What appears to be the norm in the Netherlands is premium rate calls to reach pretty much any major business or other concern. To call an airline, telephone company, a telethon or even a product that you see in an "infomercial" you have to use an 0900 number for which you pay a premium rate. 0800 "freephone" numbers are available but they are far and few between. Is this just a culture difference between the US and the way things are in the Netherlands similar to paying for outgoing only on mobile phones? ------------------------------ From: Kenneth P. Stox Organization: Ministry of Silly Walks Subject: France's Alcatel to Buy Lucent for $13 Bln Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2006 17:56:08 GMT By Sudip Kar-Gupta and Michele Gershberg PARIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) - French telecoms equipment group Alcatel (CGEP.PA) said on Sunday it had finalized a deal to buy Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU - news) for around $13 billion to strengthen its position in a consolidating market. The transaction, which will see Alcatel shareholders have the lion's share of the new company, comes amid a wave of consolidation in the telecoms industry and will create a company with combined revenues of around 21 billion euros ($25 billion). The companies said the deal would result in a 10 percent reduction in their combined global workforce. "This is an industry where size and scale matter," Patricia Russo, who will be chief executive of the new group, said on a conference call. The Alcatel/Lucent tie-up had been partly complicated by Alcatel's plans to increase its stake in French defense electronics group Thales (TCFP.PA) -- a politically sensitive issue that has involved the German and French governments. Alcatel said it would continue talks with Thales over possibly increasing its shareholding in the group. Alcatel now has a stake of around 9.5 percent in Thales, while the French government holds around 30 percent of Thales. Alcatel and Lucent said the deal was a "merger of equals." However, Alcatel shareholders will own around 60 percent of the new company, with Lucent shareholders owning the rest. NEGOTIATING POWER As part of the deal, Lucent shareholders will receive 0.1952 of an ADS (American Depositary Share) representing ordinary shares of Alcatel for every common share of Lucent that they currently hold. This values Alcatel's takeover of Lucent at around $13.4 billion. Alcatel Chairman and Chief Executive Serge Tchuruk will be non-executive chairman of the new Paris-headquartered company. A tie-up between Alcatel and Lucent strengthens the ability of both companies to negotiate prices with their telephone company customers, who have led consolidation in the telecoms sector. Alcatel said it expected its acquisition of Lucent to be accretive to earnings per share (EPS) in the first year. The transaction terms were thrashed out with the backdrop of a complex battle for French company Thales. Alcatel said it remained keen on increasing its stake in Thales. Defense industry sources have said Alcatel hopes to fold its satellite activities into Thales in exchange for a bigger stake in the company. However, European planemaker EADS is also keen for a stake in Thales. EADS tried to grab control of Thales in 2004 and media reports said French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed a three-way deal between EADS, Thales and Alcatel to create a leading European satellite firm. Lucent said it would create a separate and independent unit to oversee its sensitive contracts with the US government. Retired workers of Lucent had said that the U.S. government should not approve of the deal with Alcatel, but Lucent said the merger was not contingent on their approval. Alcatel shares closed down 1.5 percent at 12.77 euros on Friday, while Lucent ended down 1.3 percent at $3.05. ------------------------------ From: Allison Linn Subject: Microsoft Warns Against Outside Fixes Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 15:27:44 -0500 By ALLISON LINN, AP Business Writer When Microsoft Corp. researchers learned recently that a software flaw had been made public and could prompt Internet attacks, the company ordered a team to devote all its time to fixing the flaw and making the repair work with other products. Microsoft argues that's the approach customers want and expect, but some security experts complained that the software company's traditional method, which could take days or weeks, wouldn't help people fast enough. So for the second time in three months, outside programmers took matters into their own hands by quickly releasing their own fixes, days ahead of the official Microsoft patch for its market-dominant Internet Explorer browser. Microsoft doesn't endorse such third-party fixes, warning it can't vouch for whether they will work smoothly with Microsoft products and other applications. But those providing them argue they have a responsibility to protect users from attacks. "It's kind of like having the cure and not sharing it with anybody," said Marc Maiffret, chief hacking officer with eEye Digital Security Inc. of Aliso Viejo, Calif., which earlier this week released such a fix. Rather than replacing Microsoft's own patch, Maiffret says he is hoping to provide a bandage for the interim. The security expert also doesn't fault Microsoft for taking time to finalize an official patch because it can be difficult to make sure that repairing one part of the complex Windows operating system, which includes Internet Explorer, doesn't cause problems elsewhere. He also realizes that a patch like this can cause any of the thousands of non-Microsoft applications running on Windows machines to stop working, crippling businesses and frustrating home users. But Maiffret argues that Microsoft should be the one providing the type of temporary treatment his company was able to quickly pull together in response to what the industry refers to as "zero-day" problems -- vulnerabilities that attackers can immediately use to try to infiltrate other people's computers. Johannes Ullrich, chief technology officer with the security research organization SANS Institute, also recognizes that Microsoft needs time to build patches but believes the company can more quickly release a "beta" patch so users would have temporary -- if not perfect -- protection in the interim. "The real problem is that Microsoft leaves that opening," Ullrich said. Such problems are relatively rare. In most cases, Microsoft learns about flaws in its systems confidentially from security experts, who hold off on making their findings public -- and alerting potential attackers -- until Microsoft can release an official patch. But occasionally, reports of a vulnerability leak out before Microsoft has time to build a fix, creating a dangerous situation in which attackers can take advantage of the flaw while users have little protection. When Microsoft faced such a problem a few months ago, SANS recommended that users download the third-party fix because of the unusual severity of the threat. This time, Ullrich said the flaw appears to be less worrisome, so SANS is recommending that people either disable part of Internet Explorer or temporarily use an alternative browser, such as Firefox or Opera. Microsoft says it is hoping to release a patch for the most recent IE flaw by April 11, its normal time of month for issuing security updates, and sooner if possible. In the meantime, Stephen Toulouse, a program manager with Microsoft's Security Response Center, said the company is working with other security companies to help guard against attacks, and helping to shut down the Web sites that exploit the flaw. Toulouse said the company also is trying to find ways to create and test its patches faster -- for instance, by conducting tests in tandem rather than one after another. But Microsoft, he said, cannot risk releasing a patch that causes problems for even a small number of users because people may decide not to use the fix at all if they hear it's problematic. "The huge responsibility we have is that we have to answer to our customers, and our customers represent potentially hundreds of millions of different configurations," Toulouse said. Third-party fixes also create the potential for a malicious person to release a pretend fix that is really an attack, much like the occasional e-mail falsely attributed to Microsoft and others, masking as legitimate communications but really luring users to malicious Web sites. Even well-meaning programmers have the potential to wreak havoc. Meanwhile, Microsoft will likely have to keep grappling with this problem, despite all the security improvements the company has made in the past few years. It takes only a few programming mistakes -- amid millions of lines of code -- to expose Windows users to potential attacks. "Even if they're doing everything right," Maiffret said, "there's going to be four to five mistakes a year, and those four to five mistakes are going to lead to the same things you're seeing now." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: semenzato@gmail.com Subject: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Date: 1 Apr 2006 21:42:22 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com The "new" AT&T (formerly SBC, my local phone company) sent me a form letter stating that my user ID does not comply with their new rules and needs to be changed, or they will terminate the online access to my account. My AT&T user ID happens to be my last name (semenzato), same as my user ID everywhere else. It complies with all AT&T rules except possibly their profanity clause. This is the first time anybody suggests to me that the first part of my last name is a profanity (seems more like a technical term to me). I let them know that I was quite offended and they should fix their filter to skip the profanity check for certain variations of the customer's name. Their response was another form letter stating, among other nonsense, that "though this may be a temporary inconvenience, we are certain you will appreciate the efforts we have taken to protect your information." If this were my bank, I would change bank and be done. But this is my local phone company, so I cannot change it. Still, I feel that I have the right to use my last name as my user ID. Do I have any recourse? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I suggest you invest a few minutes on the phone to see if you can possibly reach anyone at SBC/ATT who is able to deal with this (don't hold your breath waiting and do not spend much time on the phone with it.) There _are_ limited alternatives. I assume you use SBC/ATT's highly touted DSL service, which is where the verbotin 'username' you are not allowed to use comes into it. SBC, now over two years ago, tried to tell me I had no choice either, and my response was to kick them out of my house totally. Most people have a cable or satellite alternative to DSL. We are also very fortunate here that we have local telco alternatives, and you may have also. Gage is one alternative offering service in many parts of the country; so is Prairie Stream Communications if you are in Kansas or a few other SBC territories; there are others. Of course, none of the alternatives can sell you DSL; for DSL you have to stay with Bell; that's their one ace in the hole; the one thing which keeps as many customers with them as it does. The alternative carriers may in fact get their facilities from Bell, but what do you care as long as you do not personally have to deal with AT&T/SBC? I know that when SBC lied to me (for the last time I would allow it) and got _really_ ignorant with me trying to tell me there was not a damn thing I could do about it, I immediatly reported this to the carrier I preferred, Prairie Stream, and the owner there told me to go see (some name) at the cable company here in town, and get cable internet instead, which I did, then as he suggested I just bode my time for the 24 hours or so until the cable modem was up and running. Then I pulled the plug on DSL, called back to SBC and told them DSL was no longer needed. Once DSL was out, I was then 'eligible' to port my existing number over to Prairie Stream. Even if you have to keep your telco service SBC/ATT, I am sure you will probably like cable internet a lot better than DSL anyway, and most of them are not as ignorant and beligerant as SBC. But remember, do NOT evict DSL until you get your new cable or satallite internet installed first. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Paul Robinson Subject: Re: From Our Archives: Exchange Names in St. Louis Date: Sun, 02 Apr 2006 04:49:25 -0400 > From: HECTOR MYERSTON > How about the non-exchange, non-dialable, ZEnith X-XXXX numbers?. > These were pre 800 800 numbers. "Call you local operator and ask for > ZEnithX-XXXX, no cost to calling party". > Huh? There is no "Z" on the dial. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: (in 2006) ... Zenith and Enterprise > numbers only had four digits, _never_ five; they were never > dialable and today have been largely replaced by 800, 888, 877 and > 866 numbers which _are_ dialable. Pat] Not correct. When I lived in Long Beach, California, around 1987, the Orange County Transit District ran service into Long Beach but its offices were long distance from Long Beach. I believe the number was (then) 714-547-3311, and from 213-427, for example (it was that far back that Long Beach was still in the 213 area code), was a toll call, they had, for the benefit of people in Long Beach and a few other communities, their "toll-free number" (which, you are correct on that point, was non-dialable, you had to dial operator to get) was the easy to remember Zenith 7-3311 since it matched the last five digits of their number. Also, for years -- and they may still be using it -- the California Highway Patrol had the statewide number Zenith 1-2000. So I know of at least two independent cases where Zenith numbers had 5 digits. I've been living in the Washington, DC area for some 15 years now so I don't know if that is still the case, but it was then. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 09:43:01 EDT Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers In a message dated Sat, 01 Apr 2006 16:43:15 GMT, af877@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Harry Dodsworth) writes: > The Air Canada timetable for 25 Oct., 1970 lists five digit Zenith > numbers for many localities in Ontario and Quebec. > In the United States, most Enterprise and Zenith numbers were four > digits; some of each were five digit and some Florida places had a > seven digit Enterprise number. A few places (N.J. and FL) used WX and > four digits. > Boise, Idaho was listed as EN 722, possibly a typo, the only three > digit number. My Enterprise number for Konawa, Oklahoma, was Enterprise 287, as I recall. It terminated on my business number, 234. Yes, 234 was a local number in a dial exchange. Terminal-per-line. Party lines had four digit numbers in the 4xxx series, the last digit denoting the party ringing. Three- and four-digit Enterprise numbers were not unusual in those days. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: daryl.gibson@gmail.com Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Date: 1 Apr 2006 21:16:27 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com In Utah, which was part of the same Bell Operating Company, Mountain States Tel & Tel/Mountain Bell, the Utah Highway Patrol used Zenith 123. Perhaps the length of the number was dependent on the number used in a particular service area. Daryl ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 03:30:30 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab In article , PAT writes: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is it just me, or do other readers > agree there is a _huge_ amount -- more than even a year or two ago -- > of pornography on the net. No, I don't. Indeed, I very rarely see any, unless I go out of my way to look for it. > Much, much more than there was even two or three years ago. No, definitely not. > If the amount and nature of the spam we receive is any indication, > there is _much more_ porn around also. I don't see that in my spam either. I made a quick survey of the 84 messages currently in my spam box. The breakdown is as follows: 24 finance, mostly pump&dump stock scams 15 entirely in a non-English language 9 consisting of "confuser" text and a GIF image (possible porn?) 8 advertising drugs (including ED drugs) 5 ads for diploma mills 4 completely unidentifiable (e.g., just a random URL) 4 419 scams 4 pirated software 4 offering credit (phishing attempts?) 2 complaints sent to the wrong abuse desk 1 advertisement for a sex toy 1 ad for judgment processing (pyramid scheme?) 1 ad for an art gallery 1 ad for a Chinese manufacturing company eager to sell me widgets 1 "backscatter" bounce message for spam sent to someone else (I then deleted the contents of the spam box wholesale, of course.) So in the category of "porn" or things potentially related thereto, I see at most 14 out of 84 messages or 17%. This seems to be substantially more that what I see regularly on the Web, although it's hard to generate hard numbers when only the big search providers have the databases. (There's actually an interesting theory problem here. Given a map of the link structure of the Web, such as that used in approximate form by the search engines, you can consider the average path length of a random walk before it enters the "porn zone". My intuition is that there are many connected subgraphs which have no out-links closer to the "porn zone" than the average for all sites, and that most unintentional access to porn sites involves either searching for it or mistyping URLs. Has anyone done this research yet?) -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What I found out was I have an email address I had mostly forgotten about at Yahoo.com. Apparently, at some point or another, someone had signed up _my_ email address at Yahoo on some porn mailing list. I have been getting 300-400 porn emails per day via that Yahoo.com address. And not just 'regular' or garden-variety porn either. Lots of extremely kinky, graphic, raunchy porn. And it keeps pouring in to that Yahoo.com mailbox, much of it coming from Yahoo 'groups' with porn, kinky, graphic, raunchy themes. At last count, three dozen different Yahoo Groups on gay themes, each with slight variations in what they were offering were sending me things, each with pictures, stories, etc. I am sorry, but I did not realize there were _that many_ different ways of doing gay sex stuff. My problem is this: normally we are told do not respond to 'opt-out' notices sent in spam email; as often as not it is just a way to collect more names to use. Either filter it out or manually toss it; but do _not_ respond to it. I guess I will just tell Yahoo to please close that email account; the last thing I need is more email addresses. PAY] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #126 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Apr 6 15:07:45 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id CB8AA1515E; Thu, 6 Apr 2006 15:07:44 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #127 Message-Id: <20060406190744.CB8AA1515E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 15:07:44 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 6 Apr 2006 15:11:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 127 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson EFFector 19.06: Help EFF Sue AT&T and Stop NSA's Illegal (Monty Solomon) EFFector 19.07: Don't Let Congress Rubberstamp Wiretaps (Monty Solomon) EFFector 19.08: Action Alert - End Game for PATRIOT Senate (Monty Solomon) EFFector 19.09: Tell AOL To Drop Its Pay-To-Send Email Plan (Monty Solomon) EFFector 19.10: Action Alert - Stop RIAA's Radio Interference (M. Solomon) EFFector 19.11: Get the Word Out About Sony BMG Settlement (Monty Solomon) EFFector 19.12: Action Alert - Stop Congress from XXXing (Monty Solomon) Alcatel to Acquire Lucent in $13.4B Deal (Monty Solomon) Cingular Wireless Customers Help Make Television History (Monty Solomon) VeriSign Launches Service That Automatically Backs Up Mobile (M. Solomon) Action Engine Powers TiVo Mobile; Wireless Software Company (Monty Solomon) Motorola Makes TV Shows Mobile -- From DVR to Mobile Phone (Monty Solomon) Cellular-News for Monday 3rd April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 3, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law (nospam4me@mytrashmail.com) Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (Scott Dorsey) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (Kenneth P. Stox) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (John McHarry) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (John Mayson) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (Paul A Lee) 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: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:39:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.06: Help EFF Sue AT&T and Stop the NSA's Illegal EFFector Vol. 19, No. 6 February 10, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 367th Issue of EFFector: * Help EFF Sue AT&T and Stop the NSA's Illegal Domestic Spying Program * Google Copies Your Hard Drive - Government Smiles in Anticipation * AOL, Yahoo, and Goodmail: Taxing Your Email for Fun and Profit * It's Not Too Late - Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's Pioneer Awards! * miniLinks (19): CAFTA (and Anti-Circumvention for Central America) in Trouble * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/19/06.php ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:40:10 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.07: Don't Let Congress Rubberstamp the Wiretaps EFFector Vol. 19, No. 7 February 17, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 368th Issue of EFFector: * Action Alert: Don't Let Congress Rubberstamp the Wiretaps * Sony BMG Settles Up with Music Fans for Copy-Protection Debacle * Internet Companies Need Code of Conduct in Authoritarian Regimes * EFF Challenges Clear Channel Recording Patent * Who Wants to Kick Macrovision's Tires? * TSA Grounds Secure Flight For Now * It's Not Too Late - Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's Pioneer Awards! * miniLinks (12): Google Desktop Banned in Universities, Hospitals * Staff Calendar * Administrivia ... http://www.eff.org/effector/19/07.php ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:41:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.08: Action Alert - End Game for PATRIOT in Senate, EFFector Vol. 19, No. 8 February 24, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 369th Issue of EFFector: * Action Alert: End Game for PATRIOT in Senate, Public Loses * Help Make E-Voting Safe: Become a Citizen Lobbyist in Washington, * DC, April 6-7 * Join EFF and Get Free Online Privacy Protection * It's Not Too Late - Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's Pioneer Awards! * Copynight Reminder: Cocktails and Copyright, February 28 * Come See EFF at eTech, March 7-9 * miniLinks (8): 3G Phone Makers Called "Bunch of Big Girls" for Caving to Hollywood * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/19/08.php ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:43:08 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.09: Tell AOL To Drop Its Pay-To-Send Email Plan EFFector Vol. 19, No. 9 March 3, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 370th Issue of EFFector: * Tell AOL To Drop Its Pay-To-Send Email Plan * New House Bill Would Cripple Digital Radio Devices * EFF Files Brief in P2P File Sharing Case, Fights Expansion of Copyright Holders' Rights * Support EFF: Fourth Amendment Shipping Tape and Mini-Flashlights now Available From the EFF Store * Summer Legal Internships at EFF * Come See EFF at eTech, March 7-9, and SXSW, March 12-14 * "Cultural Environmentalism at 10" Symposium at Stanford, March 11-12 * miniLinks (15): DRM Down Under * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/19/09.php ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:45:01 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.10: Action Alert - Stop the RIAA's Radio Interference! EFFector Vol. 19, No. 10 March 10, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 371th Issue of EFFector: * Action Alert: Stop the RIAA's Radio Interference! * DearAOL.com Coalition Grows From 50 Organizations to 500 in One Week * Help EFF Spread the Word About the Sony BMG Settlement * PATRIOT Renewal Rubber Stamped, NSA Spying May Be Next * Consumer Alert: AdviceBox.com Isn't Anonymous Email * Update on the WIPO Development Agenda Meetings * Support EFF: Buy Special Superman Comics Signed by Tech Podcasters * Bloggers' Rights Campaign -- Top Ten Winners Announced * Come See EFF at SXSW, March 12-14 * miniLinks (9): Be More Aware! * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/19/10.php ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:46:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.11: Get the Word out About the Sony BMG Settlement EFFector Vol. 19, No. 11 March 17, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 372th Issue of EFFector: * Get the Word out About the Sony BMG Settlement * Proposed New Jersey Laws Would Chill Free Speech * Job Opportunity: Develop Tor and Help Protect Online Privacy * Thank You, Call For Help! * miniLinks (10): Google's Gaffe Reveals Internal Secrets * Staff Calendar * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/19/11.php ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:48:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EFFector 19.12: Action Alert - Stop Congress from XXXing with EFFector Vol. 19, No. 12 March 31, 2006 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 373th Issue of EFFector: * Action Alert: Stop Congress from XXXing with Free Speech! * EFF Motion in AT&T Surveillance Case Draws Government's Eye * "Email -- Should the Sender Pay?": EFF Fundraiser, Debate Between Esther Dyson and Danny O'Brien * Hearing Set for Key Bloggers' Rights Case * FEC Protects Bulk of Internet Speech From Campaign Finance Rules * DMCA Rulemaking Hearings Underway * miniLinks (15): The Gagged ISP Operator * Administrivia http://www.eff.org/effector/19/12.php [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I can tell you right now what the answer to that third item on email -- 'Should sender pay'-- be: if the senders are going to be sending out these _HUGE_ loads of crap like I found in my inbox (inbox yet, to say nothing of spam box which had a record volume while I was in the hospital) -- if they are going to be sending all that out then YES they should be required to pay for it. I mean, I was working on spam, weeding it out most of Thursday morning. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Apr 2006 20:25:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Alcatel to Acquire Lucent in $13.4B Deal Alcatel to Acquire Lucent in $13.4B Deal - Apr 2, 2006 07:25 PM (AP Online) By LINDA A. JOHNSON AP Business Writer France's Alcatel SA will acquire rival telecom equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc. in a $13.4 billion (11.1 billion euro) stock swap that would form an industry powerhouse with a product line broad enough to entice customers in a consolidating telecom industry. Company leaders said Sunday they plan to shed 10 percent of the combined work force _ about 8,800 jobs _ after the deal closes. The combined business, to be based in Paris, will work to capitalize on fast-growing converged offerings such as "triple-play" Internet, phone and TV packages that have become popular in the telecom field, the companies said. The new company will have annual sales of $25 billion (21 billion euros) _ ahead of LM Ericsson's $19.9 billion (16.4 billion euros) _ and an 18 percent share of the fiercely competitive market for telecom gear. The tie-up will generate annualized pretax savings of $1.7 billion (1.4 billion euros) within three years, the companies said. Just over half the savings will come from job eliminations, with the rest by consolidating purchasing, research and development and support services such as sales and marketing. The combination should add to per-share earnings in the first year, excluding restructuring charges expected to total about $1.7 billion (1.4 billion euros) and asset writedowns. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57244033 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 22:58:31 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cingular Wireless Customers Help Make Television History Cingular Customers to Determine the Plotline of an Upcoming Episode of One Tree Hill through Quickreach, Powered by Air2Web LAS VEGAS, April 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest carrier, today announced it is allowing viewers of the hit show on The WB, One Tree Hill, to send SMS votes that will determine the plotline of an upcoming episode. The One Tree Hill wireless program runs on Cingular's Quickreach(SM), the carrier's offering for reaching mobile consumers with wireless marketing and entertainment initiatives. Air2Web, the leading developer of mobile messaging and marketing applications for carriers and enterprises, created and manages the Quickreach platform and develops applications, such as the One Tree Hill voting campaign, for Cingular clients. Using their mobile phones and smart devices, One Tree Hill viewers will be able to send text message responses to network-initiated questions. Fans will submit their text message response and wait to see the outcome on the following week's episode. In addition to voting on an upcoming show scenario, One Tree Hill fans can also access music downloads and graphics, as well as engage in polls and trivia via Quickreach. Cingular introduced Quickreach in 2003 as a way for its customers to quickly and easily extend their reach to a mobile market. Quickreach, which is a customized version of Air2Web's Campaign Manager Application, was originally used for campaigns like NCAA basketball and the Charlie's Angels Full Throttle movie premier. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57352779 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Apr 2006 22:59:21 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: VeriSign Launches Service That Automatically Backs Up Mobile VeriSign Launches Service That Automatically Backs Up Mobile Phone Content - Apr 5, 2006 08:30 AM (PR Newswire) Cincinnati Bell Wireless First Carrier to Offer Solution That Replicates Personal Data for Lost, Stolen or Damaged Phones LAS VEGAS, CTIA Wireless 2006, April 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), the leading provider of intelligent infrastructure services for the Internet and telecommunications networks, today announced VeriSign Backup Plus, which instantly and automatically backs up and restores personal data on mobile phones. Cincinnati Bell (NYSE:CBB) will be the first carrier in the world offering the hosted, self-care service. VeriSign is committed to introducing new services and features that elevate the mobile experience. VeriSign Backup Plus will initially feature instant, over-the-air back up of contacts in mobile phone address books, giving consumers peace-of-mind from knowing their data is backed upon entry and easily retrievable if phones are lost, stolen or damaged. Later this year, the service will back up mobile calendars, pictures and video and audio content. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57352456 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 00:02:23 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Action Engine Powers TiVo(R) Mobile; Wireless Software Company Action Engine Powers TiVo(R) Mobile; Wireless Software Company Named as Developer of the New TiVo(R) Mobile Application for Online Scheduling of Recordings - Apr 5, 2006 09:15 AM (BusinessWire) LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 5, 2006--Shattering the mobile usability barrier, Action Engine(R) Corporation, the mobile application platform leader, announced today that it was selected by TiVo (NASDAQ:TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), as the technology provider that will power the TiVo(R) Mobile entertainment service. The TiVo Mobile service is delivered through a new downloadable application that lets TiVo(R) service subscribers schedule recordings for their TiVo Series2(TM) DVRs directly from select mobile handsets. Action Engine and TiVo will have more information on the new service available at the Action Engine booth #4212 at CTIA Wireless 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on April 5-7, 2006. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57354377 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 08:13:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Motorola Makes TV Shows Mobile -- From DVR to Mobile Phone and Motorola Makes TV Shows Mobile -- From DVR to Mobile Phone and Back Again - Apr 6, 2006 07:00 AM (PR Newswire) Part of the Motorola Follow Me TV experience, new technology makes recorded shows available on a next-generation RAZR LAS VEGAS, April 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expanding on the Follow Me TV experience of room-to-room media sharing, Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT) will demonstrate a new technology that can move recorded shows from a Motorola digital video recorder (DVR) set-top directly to a Motorola mobile device like the next-generation RAZR V3x. This new ability to move content can expand Motorola's existing whole-home video platform to meet the video needs of consumers anywhere and everywhere. A live demonstration of this exciting new feature will be on display at both the CTIA Wireless 2006 (5-7 April, Las Vegas Convention Center, Stand # 2606) and the 2006 National Show (9-11 April, Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Stand #1537). The explosion of digital video technologies in recent years is leading the demand for ever-greater control over TV at home and on the go. Starting with a Motorola set-top, consumers can now create a multimedia network that sends content not only to other rooms in the home, but to mobile devices with storage-card capacity. In addition, Motorola mobile devices can be used to program a Motorola DVR remotely. No more worries about forgetting to record your favorite show -- control your television wherever you are! - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57389727 ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Monday 3rd April 2006 Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 10:27:36 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[3G News]] Polands PTC Ready to Launch HSDPA http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16782.php During the Intertelekom Trade Fair, Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa (PTC) presented its technological readiness to introduce HSDPA standards in its UMTS network. PTC says that the fast progress in broadband communications is its priority, and both the range... Nortel and Qualcomm Achieve Industry's Fastest HSDPA Data Call http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16785.php Nortel and Qualcomm say hat they have successfully achieved the industry's first 7.2 Mbps HSDPA mobile data calls. The companies completed the initial series of pre-commercial category 8 HSDPA data calls using test terminals based on Qualcomm's Mobil... HSDPA for South Africa http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16791.php Two of South Africa's networks have upgraded their networks to HSDPA capabilities. Last week, MTN launched its service and today that will be followed by Vodacom. Vodacom's HSDPA upgrade is using Siemens as the preferred technology partner. MTN says ... [[Financial News]] Telstra CEO Sees Asian Interest In Company Privatization http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16768.php Telstra Corp. Chief Executive Sol Trujillo said Friday Asian investors remain interested in buying shares of his company as it is privatized, despite regulatory uncertainties. ... Pension system considers mobile investment http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16772.php Honduras' state pension system for public employees (INJUPEMP) is looking at helping state phone company Hondutel with its plans to set up the country's third mobile operator, local daily Tiempo Digital reported. ... Telefonica, Telefonica Mviles approve merger http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16774.php The boards of Spain's Telefonica and its mobile unit Telefoica Mviles have approved a plan to merge the two companies, Telefonica said in a statement. ... Government Sets Colombia Telecom Minimum Price At $233 Million http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16776.php The Colombian government on Friday set a minimum price of $233 million for a controlling stake in the country's biggest telephone company, Colombia Telecomunicaciones. ... [[Handsets News]] Heavy, Long-term Mobile Phone Use Danger To Health - Study http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16769.php A new Swedish study on the use of mobile telephones show 10 years of intense mobile phone use increases the risk for severe brain tumor. ... Russia's Euroset says police seize 167,500 handsets, cites violations http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16771.php Russian police have seized 167,500 mobile handsets worth 530 million rubles from Russia?s largest mobile handset retailer Euroset, Euroset said in a statement Friday. ... [[Legal News]] Australia Government T3 Adviser:Close Attention To ASIC Charges http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16767.php The Australian government will watch closely the Australian Securities & Investment Commission's court case against Citigroup Global Markets Australia, which is a member of the panel appointed to sell the government's remaining stake in Telstra, a sp... EU commission probes TeliaSonera's Telecominvest buy http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16770.php An E.U. commission on antimonopoly policy has started probing the purchase of a 26% stake in Russia's telecommunications holding Telecominvest by Swedish-Finnish telecom operator TeliaSonera, Vedomosti business daily reported Friday, citing Denmark's... Class Action Against Nokia Dismissed in its Entirety http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16786.php On March 31, 2006, Judge Kenneth M. Karas of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted Nokia Corporation's Motion to Dismiss all claims made in the class action securities litigation filed against Nokia Corporatio... [[Mobile Content News]] Mobile TV Needs Mobile-Specific Content - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16790.php The results of a new study from Red Bee Media (formerly part of the UK's BBC Broadcast) confirms the need for broadcast and entertainment brands to work harder to tailor their content to mobile phones. The findings suggested that full length programm... [[MVNO News]] TDC Launches Norwegian MVNO http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16789.php TDC Mobile has launched an MVNO service in Norway through TDC Song Norge. This has been made possible with the MVNO agreement TDC Mobile entered into with Telenor, last autumn. The agreement covers both 2G and 3G services. The company is planning to ... [[Network Operators News]] Digicel launches services in Antigua & Barbuda http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16773.php Caribbean mobile provider Digicel launched services on Friday (Mar 31) in Antigua & Barbuda with an investment of US$6mn, the company said in a statement. ... Venezuela's CANTV To Invest $500 Million For Operations In 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16777.php Venezuela's largest communications firm, Compania Anonima Nacional Telefonos de Venezuela, or CANTV, plans to invest $500 million this year, similar to the amount invested in 2005, the company said in a statement Friday. ... Vodafone Egypt: Third Mobile Operator Not A Threat http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16779.php The arrival of a third mobile network company in Egypt won't eat into Vodafone's market share, Ian Gray, chief executive of Vodafone Egypt, said Sunday. ... MTC Targets 2011 As Deadline To Become A Global Operator http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16783.php Kuwait's MTC recently called in more than 130 key company personnel from the 19 countries in which it operates to help plan strategy to achieve the group's target of becoming a global force in the telecoms business within five years. The group said t... Nigerian Operator Doubling Network Capacity http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16784.php Mtel, the Mobile subsidiary of Nigeria's state owned telecommunications outfit, has unveiled plans to increase the capacity of the network by an additional two and half million lines, a more than 200% increase on the existing 1.2 million lines capaci... [[Regulatory News]] Kuwait To Set Up Third Telecommunications Co -Report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16778.php Kuwait is to establish a third mobile telecommunications company, the official Kuwait news agency reported Sunday. ... Consumers In 12 States Would Be Biggest Losers Under Federal Phone Tax Plan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16787.php Plans to modify the USA's federal "Universal Service Fund" (USF) fee on long-distance phone bills, has been criticized by the Keep USF Fair Coalition. Consumers in 10 states already pay more in federal USF taxes than their states get back, and that d... [[Reports News]] Promotions Have Little Impact on Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16780.php A new Harris Interactive survey shows that two-thirds (66%) of US adult mobile phone users shop around for wireless service providers, with more than two in five (43%) beginning to do so two months before their contract expires or less. While provide... Brits Admit To Rarely Checking Their Phone Bill http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16781.php A report from the UK arm of T-Mobile says that contract customers feel they are losing out because tariffs can't keep pace with the fact that their phone usage can vary significantly from one month to the next. A nationwide poll, conducted in conjunc... [[Statistics News]] Indec: Feb mobile base reaches 23 million http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16775.php Mobile operators in Argentina closed February with 23 million lines in service, up 60.8% compared to February 2004, when the number reached 14 million, according to statistics bureau Indec. ... [[Technology News]] Multi-Network IP Based Mobile-VPN Demo in Taiwan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16788.php Taiwan Mobile (TWM) has successfully demonstrated IP-MVPN (Mobile Virtual Private Network with VoIP support) and 3G-PC bi-directional video call services at a local trade fair. TWM is the first mobile operator to demonstrate these services in a WiMAX... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 11:47:01 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Monday, April 3, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 3, 2006 Alcatel, Lucent Seal Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17345?11228 Alcatel (NYSE: ALA - message board; Paris: CGEP:PA) and Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LU - message board) announced today (Sunday) that they've agreed to merge, creating a global supplier of fixed and wireless telecom infrastructure with annual revenues of $25 billion, a market capitalization of about $36 billion (based on Friday's... Cable's Next Crusade http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17341?11228 Sparked by the recent landmark joint venture between Sprint Nextel and four of the U.S. cable industry's top MSOs (Advance/Newhouse, Comcast, Cox, and Time Warner), the addition of a wireless service that would join video, voice and data to comprise the much coveted quadruple play is not only a reality, but considered by many to be a... The Journey from Analytics to BI http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17337?11228 There's an old maxim about four blind people in a room with an elephant. Each person has a different view of the elephant, depending on whether he or she is holding the trunk, the tail, the ear or the foot. After spending millions of dollars on enormous ERP, CRM and data warehousing initiatives, executives are left with the same problem,... Time Warner Cable Eyes Mobile Services in U.S. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17334?11228 Time Warner Cable Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dick Parsons has said that the company is looking to establish a strong presence in the mobile business, according to an interview with the Financial Times. Parsons did not reveal if Time Warner Cable would purchase wireless spectrum or acquire a mobile operator as soon as the... OTE for Sale in 2007 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17332?11228 Greece's government has said that it is ready to sell its stake in telecoms group OTE from 2007, Reuters reports. In an interview with Eleytherotipia newspaper yesterday, Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis said that his government was willing to sell its 36% stake in OTE from 2007, if there was 'corresponding interest' in a deal. The... MGM Concentrates on Digital, Wireless http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17329?11228 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) formed a new division that will focus on the digital media space, namely wireless and broadband. Douglas Lee will spearhead the new unit. The division will be tasked with shepherding MGM's digital distribution strategy. Lee has been named executive vice president and will build on knowledge gleaned from... Untapped Carriers May Be Hit For USF Payments http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17328?11228 The anticipated U.S. House of Representatives legislative proposal on reforming the universal service fund (USF) has surfaced with provisions that would control monetary disbursements, provide incentives for rolling out broadband Internet access and broaden the base of contributions. The Universal Service Reform Act of 2006 to improve... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: nospam4me@mytrashmail.com Subject: Re: More Subpoenas in Suit Over Obscenity Law Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 14:51:15 +0000 (UTC) Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Garrett Wollman : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What I found out was I have an email > address I had mostly forgotten about at Yahoo.com. Apparently, at > some point or another, someone had signed up _my_ email address at > Yahoo on some porn mailing list. I have been getting 300-400 porn > emails per day via that Yahoo.com address. Several months ago I started getting very sexually explicit spam in my Yahoo Inbox (which I have SpamGuard enabled). All the spams had the following in common: The domains advertised were hosted by Yahoo (they'd redirect to China or Russia) the domains were sold by Yahoo partner Melbourne IT all the spams were sent from compromised machines - in my opinion a professionally-run email system shouldn't be accepting Port 25 connections from residential cable modem and DSL users. A couple months ago the spam storm abated though, I do have to wonder whether rogue elements inside Yahoo were at work. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Herb Oxley From: address IS Valid. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! Date: 3 Apr 2006 10:29:11 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) AES wrote: >In article , kludge@panix.com >(Scott Dorsey) wrote: >> But, it requires a continuous link from the "tower" in the plane to a >> ground station through which calls are routed. >> Technically, I think the system is a good idea and it solves pretty >> much all of the technical issues that make cell phone use in planes a >> bad idea. Socially, I think it's terrible and the only good thing >> about being on an airliner is being free of people yammering on >> cellphones. But technical solutions to social problems never work. > But this situation would at least hold the possibility of a compromise > solution in which the "tower" is only turned on for, say, 30 minutes > out of every 4 hours, or turned off during sleeping periods, or . . . I don't think cellphone-using passengers would stand for this. Because there is no technical reason not to allow cellphone use once the system is installed, people will demand that it be permitted. Their calls are so important, you see. More important than the sleep of others. > How about a couple of "phone-booth" seats back by the lavatories, with > a per-minute use charge? (which could in fact be collected > automatically by a surcharge that's not paid on the spot, but goes on > the caller or callee's phone bill for the call) That's effectively what we have with Airfone. Some seats, not all, equipped with handsets. I think Airfone is a fine idea and eliminates the real need for cellphones on planes. But others disagree. Scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: Kenneth P. Stox Organization: Ministry of Silly Walks Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 02:06:23 GMT semenzato@gmail.com wrote: > The "new" AT&T (formerly SBC, my local phone company) sent me a form > letter stating that my user ID does not comply with their new rules > and needs to be changed, or they will terminate the online access to > my account. My AT&T user ID happens to be my last name (semenzato), > same as my user ID everywhere else. A friend of mine recently got the same letter. In his case, however, it seems that AT&T objected to the sequence "mci" in his username. Apparently, they consider that obscene, also. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: My God, that would eliminate everyone whose last name is McIntosh, McIntry, and similar. Just IMO, I think AT&T needs to have a _good, efective_ class action suit brought against them. Of course, they have needed that for a long time anyway. They no sooner bought out SBC (or was it the other way around?) that the huge amount of SBC spam mail (letters saying how much I was missed and how they would now give it all away for free to me for a few months until they could get me to start accepting their lies and B.S. again) switched from SBC letterhead to 'we are the new AT&T' letterhead'. They probably used up all their old letterhead from SBC then started using AT&T. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 03:00:05 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 21:42:22 -0800, semenzato wrote: > The "new" AT&T (formerly SBC, my local phone company) sent me a form > letter stating that my user ID does not comply with their new rules > and needs to be changed, or they will terminate the online access to > my account. My AT&T user ID happens to be my last name (semenzato), > same as my user ID everywhere else. > It complies with all AT&T rules except possibly their profanity > clause. This is the first time anybody suggests to me that the first > part of my last name is a profanity (seems more like a technical term > to me). I let them know that I was quite offended and they should fix > their filter to skip the profanity check for certain variations of the > customer's name. Their response was another form letter stating, among > other nonsense, that "though this may be a temporary inconvenience, we > are certain you will appreciate the efforts we have taken to protect > your information." I did about the same as PAT suggests, but then changed my phone service to VOIP, since there are no CLECs here. I had Packet 8 for well over a year, but recently changed to Earthlink. Both are very good services. Packet 8 consumes less bandwidth, but the voice quality is a bit lower. About the only impairment still noticeable with Earthlink is delay, which can cause a few collisions in conversations until you get used to it. They both offer flat rate service to the US and Canada for less than telco local service. Unless they are now insisting that nobody use their last name as a user ID, it might help to suggest that you think they are committing some sort of ethnic discrimination. If you get ahold of a supervisor, you might wonder whether the PUC or newspaper might agree. I wouldn't actually threaten, however. You are right that 'semen' isn't profane, or obscene. If that is the reason they are objecting to your ID, they must have infuriated a huge number of users who have recognizable letter strings in their names. ------------------------------ From: John Mayson Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Date: 2 Apr 2006 20:41:15 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Reminds of a story from the late 1980's. I was living in Atlanta and a man from Pakistan wanted a personalized license plate displaying his hometown of "Lahore". Georgia's motor vehicles department denied the request claiming the word "Lahore" was obscene. I agree with PAT. Contact them, but don't old your breath about getting a human being with any authority to override this ridiculous rule. ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Date: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 10:54:51 -0400 Organization: Rite Aid Corporation In TELECOM Digest V25 #126, semenzato@gmail.com wrote (in part): > The "new" AT&T (formerly SBC, my local phone company) sent me > a form letter stating that my user ID does not comply with > their new rules and needs to be changed, or they will > terminate the online access to my account. My AT&T user ID > happens to be my last name (semenzato), same as my user ID > everywhere else. > It complies with all AT&T rules except possibly their > profanity clause. This is the first time anybody suggests to > me that the first part of my last name is a profanity (seems > more like a technical term to me). I let them know that I > was quite offended and they should fix their filter to skip > the profanity check for certain variations of the customer's > name. Their response was another form letter stating, among > other nonsense, that "though this may be a temporary > inconvenience, we are certain you will appreciate the efforts > we have taken to protect your information." If AT&T (SBC) is providing your local phone service, then they're almost certainly subject to regulation by your state public utilities/service commission (see http://www.naruc.org/ or phone directory blue pages). I suggest you file a complaint with that commission that AT&T is violating your civil rights by discriminating against you, based on the ethnicity of your family name, in providing service. You could also try pointing out the discrimination to AT&T contacts, or even to local news media. That should get you some attention above the drone level at AT&T. Paul A Lee Sr Telecom Engineer Rite Aid Corporation WP-IS-COM (Telecomm) V: +1 717 791-6408 5280 Simpson Ferry Rd, Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 F: +1 717 791-6406 P.O. Box 3165, Harrisburg, PA 17105-3165 C: +1 717 805-6208 ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #127 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Apr 6 19:32:46 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 06F8114E3F; Thu, 6 Apr 2006 19:32:46 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #128 Message-Id: <20060406233246.06F8114E3F@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 19:32:46 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.3 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, HOT_NASTY autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 6 Apr 2006 18:35:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 128 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson What Happened to Me (TELECOM Digest Editor) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 4, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 6, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Alcatel, Lucent to Merge (USTelecom dailyLead) FCC Reports Big Jump in Broadband Subscribers (USTelecom dailyLead) PMC-Sierra Acquires Passave in FTTH deal (USTelecom dailyLead) House Subcommittee OKs National Franchise Bill (USTelecom dailyLead) Cellular-News for Tuesday 4th April 2006 (Cellular-News) Cellular-News for Wednesday 5th April 2006 (Cellular-News) Cellular-News for Thursday 6th April 2006 (Cellular-News) The Front Lines - April 4, 2006 (Jonathan Marashlian) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: What Happened to Me Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 17:29:21 EDT From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) You last heard from me on Sunday as I recall. I had a doctor appointment on Monday morning to begin my cardiac rehab stuff, as a result of my latest heart attack about three weeks ago. I went over to the doctor in charge of the rehab thing (not my regular doctor but another one there in the clinic). He took one look at me and said 'no rehab right now; you have pneumonia in your lungs and we have to deal with that first.' I knew I had _something_ still wrong with me when I came back from Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, but I attributed it to continued weakness from the heart attack. I still had very labored breathing, (sort of an emphsezma/COPT condition) and was using oxygen when I slept at night. But I _assumed_ it was all under control. It now appears I had pneumonia when I was admitted to Jane Phillips; Mercy Hospital (here in Independence) had assumed I would stay in JP until all was cured; JP on the other hand wanted to first deal with my heart attack (and the stent they put in me) as the first priority, then they sent me back home figuring I would deal with the pneumonia on an outpatient basis with Mercy. All last week I was quite ill, although I continued doing Digest stuff namd 'making do' as best as I could. I _assumed_ things would get better. I get over to Dr. Dykstra (cardiologist) and Dr. Higknight (his associate here) and although Dykstra thought that plan of action would be acceptable, Dr. Higknight flipped his lid -- literally -- was quite angry and said Bartlesville should have held me over and 'done the entire job right'. My personal doctor, Dr. Walker, was sort of neutral on the matter, but considering he is the 'low man on the totem pole' here in Independence (the new guy in town as I mentioned here a week or two ago) he went along with Dr. Higknight's beliefs. At the Monday morning meeting Higknight checked out my lungs and said "no way am I going to allow you to be in the rehab program right now! I am not going to 'walk' someone around in the rehab room down-stairs while they still have water in their lungs. In fact, I want you in the hospital _now_". Then he apparently had second thoughts and decided it best not to simply override his associates (Dykstra or Walker [my physician]) and said to me to wait there a couple minutes. He left the room, went and found the two of them, brought them over to his examination area to have them look at me and prod me; they then all came to the consensus that yes, I should be immediatly back in the hospital; they called across the street to the hospital proper and told them to plan to admit me as an inpatient. I said let me go back home and finish up some work, I will return to tomorrow morning for treatment. "NO! they said, this is urgent, you are wheezing too hard, coughing and gagging and tomorrow may be too late." They brought a wheel chair there but I would not get in it. (There is an underground tunnel from the clinic area to across the street at the main hospital building; they had planned to wheel me across the street, apparently.) Since I would not ride in the wheel chair they made me at least promise to _immediatly_ walk across the street and check myself in. (Which I _mostly_ did; Monday was a warm pleasant day; unseen by the doctors and nurses in the clinic I sat on an outside bench in the parkway area and had a couple of my beloved cigarettes first _then_ I walked in the ER/inpatient entrance in a dignified way and reported to the intake desk. So Monday from about noon or 1 PM until today, Thursday morning, there I was, hooked up to an antibiotic intravenous machine intermittently and with a mask on my face and tubes in my nose, pumping liquid into me and suctioning snot and muccus out of me, along with a machine which would periodically pound my back around my lung area to loosen up whatever they found was still lodged in there. They also forced a lot of oxygen into my nose. Each day, Tuesday, Wednesday and today, Dr. Walker came around to probe me a bit more. Yesterday he said, "well you are sounding a lot better, if you continue sounding okay like this I will let you go home tomorrow." Apparently I did sound better because this morning he came around and said I was being discharged. OB-TELECOM and MERCY HOSPITAL DATACOM: _Everything_ at Mercy Hospital is computerized. Everytime a human being came into my room to variously change the antibiotic bag or feed me some pills or pound my back or for that matter to dump my piss-pot urinal in the toilet they would make entries on a lap top computer they brought with them and plugged into a connection in my room. First thing they always did was plug in the computer, scan my wrist band, watch to see it pop up on the computer screen, then evaluate the medications the computer said were appropriate and scheduled. Then they would scan their own wrist band (to show who was administering what) and proceed to pop the pills into me or connect up the IV drip or whatever. Before they would even empty the urinal container they would note the numbers on the side, scan my arm band, etc. No paper charts, no manual records of any kind. Even Dr. Walker had to scan his ID card each time he came into my room when he would write his commentary there on his lap top. And of course, when they left the room, the lap top went with them. No reason to leave it there for patients -- or 'others' to be tempted by! This being a small town, the hospital full time -- paid -- chaplain happens to by coincidence also be the (unpaid) priest at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany where I attend; so I had a good chance to pick his brains a bit about the computer and telephone system there. He said the main reason for having all the medications audited and tracked by the computer was because "The Sisters of Mercy out of St. Louis (hospital administrators) 'have had some problems in the past with missing medications, patient complaints, etc". He quite agreed the system was not fool-proof, but when it booted up in each patient's room it did present some sort of message from Microsoft about what it was doing, and he said among other things, it did remove the possibility of 'human error' in noting the administration of drugs to the patients, etc. I asked him if it was possible the computer could mis-diagnose an illness or the amount or type of medication to dispense, he said it did not do that; "_anything_ it does requires human approval, it is not a computerized physician or pharmacist, mostly just an auditor of what the human beings around here do. 'St. Louis' gets all these records every day also automatically transmitted. 'Big Sisters' in St. Louis know what is going on here as soon as we know." How interesting. Every doctor's note, every pill given out, etc. Apparently even small town hospitals like ours have some 'big city' problems like drug abuse and 'evil-nurse' syndromes from time to time. THE PHONE SYSTEM: Mercy Hospital's main switchboard is 620-331-2200. Patient rooms are all direct dial as 620-330-8xyz where X is the floor number, Y and Z are the bed number and room number. Those of you who called me called both ways: some via 331-2200 and asking the operator for me, others by the direct-to-room method. It is not a very large place, I suppose 50-60 patient rooms total. Lobby plus two floors of patient rooms, and basement with cafeteria, etc. Not a single _wired_ phone where staff is concerned. Patient phones were wired, of course, but every staff person had a cellular phone. They called them 'hospital phones', and claimed they were on a different frequency than cellular; to me they just appeared to be cellular phones, and not their personal cells either. They would answer them _by their department name_ even when in patient rooms. On the roof of the main hospital building here and there I would see little antennas stuck around everywhere, that is what they worked with I guess. Even though these 'hospital' (really cellular?) phones looked and acted like cell phones in general, I noticed that when they had occassion to call another employee or department they only punched out four digits as though it was an extension. Every phone of this type I saw had a notation on it saying 'BLUE 2911' and 'RED 5911'. And when I was in the doctor's office on Monday getting told to immediatly go check in at the hospital, Dr. Higknight's phone was the same way, four digits dialed got him the intake department across the street at the hospital, and '9' got him an outside line. His phone was a 'hospital' (cellular?) phone as well. Well, that's what I have doing all this past week; sorry to cause the Digest to run a few days behind schedule once again, but I had no real choice; the three doctors all said "you _WILL_ be admitted now to the hospital; not tomorrow when you might 'forget' to return here; not later tonight, but _NOW_. Either walk across the street on your own (and sneak in a cigarette break on the way) or Nurse Jane will push you through the tunnel in a wheel chair, your choice, but one way or the other." I hope not to see it happen again. PAT ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 12:05:47 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Tuesday, April 4, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 4, 2006 ******************************** Virgin Launches MVNO Onslaught in France, Heralds Quadruple-Play with NTL in U.K. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17363?11228 U.K. entrepreneur Richard Branson has taken his Virgin Mobile MVNO concept to France, targeting a million users within three years and promising to halt a perceived rip-off of consumers by the three big French mobile operators. Virgin Mobile is partnering with Carphone Warehouse - Europe's largest mobile retailer - for the MVNO service... Equity Firms Hover over Portugal Telecom as EU Warns Government on 'Golden Shares' http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17361?11228 Another twist in the long-running takeover bid for Portugal Telecom has emerged, with Dow Jones reporting that a consortium of seven investors has begun a valuation exercise that could lead to a counter-bid to the US$13.4 billion put forward by Sonae for the former telecoms monopoly. The report claims that six private-equity firms -... Norway's Telenor and Egypt's NTC to jointly bid for Egyptian mobile phone license http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17357?11228 OSLO, Norway -- Telenor ASA and Egypt's National Telecommunications Holding Corp. on Tuesday announced a joint bid for a mobile phone network license in Egypt. Norway's Telenor and the Egyptian telecommunications group, usually called NTC, said they will submit an application required to join bidding for the license by May 4. The... CTIA: Wireless Futures http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17353?11228 As the telecom industry pauses after a round of major mergers and acquisitions, industry leaders, equipment manufacturers and service providers will gather in Las Vegas this week to plot out the next advances in the mobile revolution, at Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2006 show. The largest event... EV-DO Push Continues http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17347?11228 Less than a week after announcing new markets for its 1X EV-DO network, Verizon Wireless is once again extending the reach of the high-speed wireless offering. The latest: BroadbandAccess and V CAST services are being rolled out in Northern California's San Benito County. The new market expands the carrier's broadband reach in Northern... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 11:46:49 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Thursday, April 6, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 6, 2006 ******************************** Vodafone Unveils New Organizational Structure, Targets Key Converged Telecoms Services http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17411?11228 LONDON -- Vodafone Group PLC unveiled a new organizational structure Thursday that included plans for the struggling British mobile phone operator to break into key converged telecoms services. Vodafone, the world's largest mobile phone company by revenues, is facing slowing growth in mature markets, and the shuffle is also... EU Takes Action Against 11 Member States for Failing To Implement Emergency Call System http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17406?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Commission said Thursday it was taking legal action against 11 EU governments for failing to implement a 14-year-old EU-wide emergency telephone number system for travelers. EU Commissioner Viviane Reding said that failure to implement the emergency 112 number could cost lives. ''The ability to... Samsung Unveils Thinnest Mobile Phone for U.S. Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17404?11228 LAS VEGAS -- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. unveiled the thinnest mobile phone in the U.S. market, aiming to take a wider slice out of sales of Motorola Inc.'s popular Slvr. The t509, which hits the market in May, is a candy-bar shaped phone that is thinner than a deck of cards at 9.8 mm thick and is a tad skinnier than Slvr, which... Verizon Revs It Up http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17396?11228 SIN CITY -- Verizon Wireless says it plans to deploy faster 3G cellular technology -- with the unwieldy moniker of "CDMA EV-DO Rev A" -- as soon as the 3-Mbit/s kit is available from suppliers. "As soon as it is available we'll start putting it in," says Richard Lynch, executive vice president and CTO of Verizon Wireless. "Rev A... Sprint Nextel Hunts for 2.5GHz Service http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17394?11228 LAS VEGAS -- CTIA -- As a condition of approving the recent merger between Sprint and Nextel, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has required the merged company to begin offering service in the 2.5GHz band to at least 15 million Americans by 2009 and to 15 million more by 2011. So is the 2.5GHz band ready to deploy... 3G Market Entering Refinement Period http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17392?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Cellular operators continued to steadily roll out new 3G systems in 2005, though the rate of new deployments has slowed, reports In-Stat. In 2005, 35 new WCDMA systems were deployed, as well as 7 new CDMA2000 1X EV-DO systems, the high-tech market research firm says. "Most carriers have deployed at least their... Lucatel' Satellite Deal Keeps Everyone In The Dark http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17390?11228 More pieces of the proposed Lucent-Alcatel merger fell into place as Alcatel released details of the sale of its satellite unit to Thales, a move designed to keep French military secrets away from prying American eyes. Even as Alcatel was finalizing its Thales deal -- which reportedly and somewhat conveniently had been underway... Action Engine Powers Mobile Initiatives http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17388?11228 Action Engine unveiled two new wireless partnerships at the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show in Las Vegas this morning. The mobile application platform company will power an ad-supported mobile news service from MSNBC.com as well as the new TiVo Mobile service. Action Engine is working with MSNBC.com and Microsoft to support a beta launch... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 13:29:02 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Alcatel, Lucent to Merge USTelecom dailyLead April 3, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dphgfDtutcjruBUUQl TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Alcatel, Lucent to merge BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Culture clash at play in merger * Time Warner Cable eyes wireless play * Verizon sells Latin American interests * XO scraps plan to sell phone, Internet business * Comcast runs national ads amid growing competition USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Learn how to implement IP video HOT TOPICS * Vonage may seek buyer * Bill calls for national video franchises * Alcatel-Lucent deal puts spotlight on Nortel: * Fifth vendor under consideration for GPON contracts * Cramer scores major deal with BellSouth TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Studios to sell movies via download * Live TV to be available via mobile phones REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Macedonia looks to wireless broadband to get more users online Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dphgfDtutcjruBUUQl ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 13:07:57 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: FCC Reports Big Jump in Broadband Subscribers USTelecom dailyLead April 4, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dppIfDtutcjTjJXYuS TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * FCC reports big jump in broadband subscribers BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Alcatel, Lucent go extra mile to ensure safety of defense secrets * Intel launches WiMAX venture with U.K. partner * Virgin agrees to NTL takeover bid * America Online officially morphs into AOL * Microsoft wins huge mobile software contract * TiVo victory in Texas courtroom could hurt cable DVR USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Fixed Mobile Convergence and IMS -- now available on demand TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Free 411 challenges fee-based model REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC takes five bids for in-flight broadband auction Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dppIfDtutcjTjJXYuS ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 13:12:24 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: PMC-Sierra Acquires Passave in FTTH Deal USTelecom dailyLead April 5, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dpAMfDtutclislXYDA TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * PMC-Sierra acquires Passave in FTTH deal BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Verizon Business launches IM service * Cisco to retire 2600 series routers * Disney enters mobile phone biz * Execs predict 'Net will supplant broadcast TV USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Buy Now: Telecom Management Crash Course TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * MobiTV teams with AT&T to offer Wi-Fi TV * RIM to put Yahoo! Web services on BlackBerry devices * Analysis: TV industry faces audience split REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Air France to test in-flight mobile phone use Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dpAMfDtutclislXYDA ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 13:11:08 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: House Subcommittee OKs National Franchise Bill USTelecom dailyLead April 6, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dqlofDtutclOoZaVkp TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * House subcommittee OKs national franchise bill BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * New York's Hempstead OKs Verizon's franchise request * Google, EarthLink move closer to San Francisco Wi-Fi deal * Thales buys Alcatel divisions * Vodafone unveils restructuring, taps William Morrow to head European business * Nokia's CEO says mobile voice is "killer application" USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Now in the Telecom Bookstore: Introduction to IP Television TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Early reviews of Intel's Viiv lukewarm * Episodic games move from theory to practice * Wireless carriers rush to blunt Wi-Fi threat * Marketers, wireless carriers look to mobile ads REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Telstra sale could be delayed * Lucent sues Microsoft over MPEG-2 patent Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dqlofDtutclOoZaVkp ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-news for Tuesday 4th April 2006 Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2006 07:43:16 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com ====================================================================== [[ 3G ]] Huawei Wins Vodafone 3G Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16807.php Following on from yesterday's 3G contracts from Vodafone in Czech Republic, Huawei Technologies says that it also has signed a contract for the construction of a UMTS network for Vodafone Czech Republic. According to the contract, Huawei will provid... [[ Financial ]] Alcatel To Acquire Lucent For $13.5 Billion In Stock http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16793.php France's Alcatel has agreed to acquire Lucent Technologies for $13.45 billion in stock, expanding Alcatel's share of the U.S. market and placing it among the world's top two makers of communications equipment. ... [[ Handsets ]] Nokia Postpones Shipments Of E-Series,Multimedia Phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16799.php Nokia said Monday that it has missed a self-imposed deadline for starting shipments of a new range of mobile phones intended to compete with Research In Motion's Blackberry devices and some additions to its flagship multimedia phone range. ... Doubling of Mobile Handset Shipments by 2012 - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16808.php Mobile handset shipments will more than double over the next seven years, says a new report published by Telecom Trends International. The number of mobile handsets shipped will increase from 815.2 million units in 2005 to just under 1.7 billion mill... Top-10 selling phones in March - RAZR Finally Number 1 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16812.php The Swedish manufacturer of carrying cases for portable electronics, Krusell, has released their "Top 10"-list for March 2006. The list is based upon the number of pieces of model specific mobile phone cases that have been ordered from Krusell during... [[ Legal ]] Court adjourns hearings of Norway's Telenor claim vs VimpelCom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16798.php The Moscow Arbitration Court adjourned until April 7 the hearings of a lawsuit filed by Norway's telecommunication company Telenor, seeking to find VimpelCom's extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (EGM) held on September 14, 2005, void. ... EU Likely To Charge Lisbon On Portugal Telecom Veto Power http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16800.php The European Commission Tuesday is likely to take legal steps against Lisbon for its "golden share" in Portugal Telecom, a commission official said. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Quarter of UK Regularly Download Mobile Content http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16804.php A quarter of UK mobile phone owners have taken up downloading mobile content such as ringtones, pictures and music according to a survey released by Adamind. The survey, undertaken by Harris Interactive, showed that mobile content is finally reaching... Poker Dominates Top Selling Mobile Games http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16809.php Securing a top deck placement on cell phones is critical to the success of a mobile game. As the leading provider of performance measurement information to the mobile industry, Telephia's new Deck Monitoring Report shows that more than 20% of the top... [[ MVNO ]] Carphone Warehouse Signs Virgin Mobile France JV Pact http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16794.php Carphone Warehouse said Monday that it has signed a joint venture agreement with Virgin Group Investments Limited to operate a nationwide MVNO in France. ... [[ Network Contracts ]] Ericsson Gets Network Order From Vodafone Czech Republic http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16792.php Sweden's Ericsson, Monday said it has received an order from Vodafone Czech Republic, part of Vodafone Group, to build a 3G transmission and core network, including its mobile softswitch solution, in the Czech Republic. ... [[ Network Operators ]] GSM Kazakhstan mobile operator sees 2006 investment flat on yr http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16797.php Kazakhstan's leading mobile operator GSM Kazakhstan plans to invest at least U.S. $140 million in 2006, flat on the year, the company's CEO Serdar Canogullari told a news conference Monday. ... Russia's Synterra launches first WiMAX network in Moscow http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16801.php Russian alternative telecommunication operator Synterra has launched a WiMAX network into commercial operations in Moscow, the company said in a statement Monday. ... Russia's Sibirtelecom launches CDMA mobile service in Tomsk http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16802.php Russian regional telecommunications operator Sibirtelecom has launched IMT-MC-450, or CDMA 2000, mobile services in the Tomsk Region, the company said in a press release Monday. ... Slight Change to China Unicom Branding http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16806.php China's CDMA and GSM network operator, China Unicom has launched a brand new corporate logo in tone of red. The company says that the new logo symbolizes that China Unicom will enter a new era of telecommunications with a brand new and more internati... [[ none ]] Siemens Communications Gets Order From Vodafone Czech Republic http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16795.php Siemens Communications, Monday said it received a contract to build a significant part of the 3G-radio access network for Vodafone Czech Republic. ... [[ Offbeat ]] Gold Plated Nokia Phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16814.php Well-heeled customers are making a beeline for the latest 'must have' fashion accessory -- 24 carat gold-plated mobile phones. London-based entrepreneur Laban Roomes who runs Midas Touch International, a specialist gold-plating organisation, has been ... [[ Personnel ]] CEO of Vodafone operations in Turkey http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16813.php Vodafone Group has announced that Attila Vitai will be appointed as CEO of Vodafone's operations in Turkey, subject to the regulatory approval and completion of the purchase of the Turkish mobile operator Telsim.... [[ Reports ]] How Americans Use Their Cell Phones - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16810.php The cell phone has become an integral and, for some, essential communications tool that has helped owners gain help in emergencies. Fully 74% of the Americans who own mobile phones say they have used their hand-held device in an emergency and gained ... Mobile Phones Increase Work Productivity - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16811.php The mobile phone sector was responsible for an increase of just under 1% of UK labour productivity, representing a financial boost of almost billion in UK GDP in 2004, revealed a new report commissioned by O2. It also estimates that UK workers can... [[ Statistics ]] MTS Belarus' subscriber base up to 2.335 mln people as of Apr 1 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16803.php The subscriber base of Belarusian-Russian joint venture Mobile TeleSystems, or MTS Belarus, increased 3.8% in March to 2.335 million subscribers as of April 1, a spokesperson with the company told Prime-Tass Monday. ... [[ Technology ]] Nokia Adds Hosting To Services Portfolio http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16796.php Nokia, Monday launched its Nokia Mobility Hosting solution for mobile service providers, offering them to quickly roll out new services for subscribers while keeping investments in check and uncertainties to a minimum. ... Vietnam Testing WiMAX Service http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16805.php After the Government allowed four companies to provide Wimax service on a trial basis, Vietnam's Ministry of Posts and Telematics (MPT) has granted licenses to those firms to test the service. The four companies - the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunicat... ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Wednesday 5th April 2006 Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 07:59:35 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ Financial ]] Softbank To Procure About Y1.28 Trillion For Vodafone Japan Buy http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16815.php Softbank Corp. plans to procure around Y1.28 trillion from a syndicate of Japanese and overseas financial institutions for its planned acquisition of the Japanese unit of Vodafone Group, people familiar with the transaction said Tuesday. ... NTL Agrees To Buy Virgin Mobile For $1.68B http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16817.php U.K. cable operator NTL Inc. on Tuesday said it has agreed to buy Virgin Mobile, the virtual mobile network operator mostly owned by Richard Branson, for 962.4 million pounds ($1.68 billion). ... SingTel Could Pay Up To S$4.2 Billion In Dividend For FY06 - Analysts http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16818.php Singapore Telecommunications could pay shareholders a bumper total dividend of up to S$4.2 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31 due to the absence of large acquisitions in the past 12 months, analysts said. ... OTE Looks To Dispose Of 90% Stake In Armenia's Armentel http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16819.php Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE) Tuesday said that after consultation with the government of Armenia, it's examining options to dispose of its 90% stake in Armentel. ... Russia's MTS buys stakes in four minor regional companies http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16824.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has bought controlling stakes in four minor regional Russian companies, MTS said in a statement Tuesday. ... Analyst: Ola suitors face complex challenges http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16825.php Companies interested in becoming a technology, management and financial partner for mobile operator Colombia Mvil (Ola) have challenges that could go far beyond the fact that Ola's total net revenue in the past three years is negative US$386mn. ... America Mvil to acquire Verizon LatAm assets for US$3.7bn http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16826.php Verizon Communications has agreed to sell its Caribbean and Latin American telecommunications operations, including a stake in Venezuela's Cantv, to Mexican group America Mvil (NYSE: AMX) for US$3.7bn, the company said in a statement. ... [[ Handsets ]] Battle for Mobile OS Domination is Over - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16834.php Many people believe that the future battle on the mobile market will be between the mobile operating systems. Especially Microsoft and Symbian are competing to become the future operating system (OS) on the mobile market, but also PalmSource, Linux b... Golden Walkman from Sony Ericsson http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16840.php Sony Ericsson is launching a golden flavoured upgrade to its W800 Walkman phone. Available in Titanium Gold the W700 is the 8th Walkman phone from Sony Ericsson. The Walkman music player even works with the phone turned-off - great for use on flights... [[ Legal ]] Judge 'Struggling' With Sprint Side Of UbiquiTel Suit http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16831.php A Delaware judge Tuesday said he is "struggling" with a key argument Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) is using to defend itself against accusations it has breached affiliate agreements with UbiquiTel and iPCS. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Mobile TV Takes Center Stage At Wireless Trade Show http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16828.php While video on the cell phone was merely a gimmick last year, it's become a full-blown feature and will be one of the main focuses at this year's CTIA Wireless trade show. ... Fox TV Content For Mobile Phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16838.php Proteus says that it has significantly expanded distribution into the Latin American wireless market with a broad and exclusive partnership with Fox Latin American Channels. As a part of the deal, Proteus and Fox have launched "MyFox," a new cell pho... Don't Ignore Older Mobile Content Customers - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16839.php School-age teens and young adults are the leading users the mobile applications sector in Britain and Germany, says M:Metrics. In its February Benchmark Survey, the measurement firm found that Generation M, 13 to 24-year-olds, are the most predispos... [[ Network Contracts ]] Ericsson and Mascom Partner to Introduce 1800MHz to Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16835.php Mascom, the leading cellular operator in Botswana, has awarded Ericsson a US$1.4 million contract to add 1800MHz spectrum to its network as part of its strategy to improve the quality of its service and provide a platform for future growth. This foll... Thai Operator Orders Billing Platform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16841.php WeDo Soft has announced a partnership with AIS, a Thai cellular service provider, who has chosen to integrate RAID, the company's Revenue Assurance Solution. AIS wanted to implement automated, integrated, end-to-end Revenue Assurance processes, which... [[ Network Operators ]] Russia's VimpelCom starts Beeline campaign in Ukraine http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16823.php Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS), a subsidiary of Russia?s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom, on April 1 started advertising campaign for VimpelCom's Beeline brand in Ukraine, Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday, citing representatives of U... Entel PCS aims for 15% growth in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16827.php Chilean mobile operator Entel PCS forecasts growth of 15% this year, in line with growth expectations for Chile's mobile industry as a whole, local newspaper El Mercurio quoted Entel PCS general manager Hernin Mari as saying. ... Official says Russia's MegaFon cuts tariffs in Chechnya threefold http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16829.php Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon has cut its tariffs for mobile services in Russia's constituent republic of Chechnya threefold, Muslim Khuchiyev, deputy chief of staff of Chechnya's president and government, told ITAR-TASS Tuesday. ... MegaFon launches network in Norilsk http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16830.php Mobicom-Novosibirsk, a subsidiary of Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon, has launched its mobile network into commercial operations in the Norilsk industrial area and the Taimyr Autonomous District, MegaFon said in a statement Tuesday. ... Telenor Aims To Take Reclaim No 2 Spot In Sweden http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16832.php Telenor's newly-acquired Swedish mobile telecom unit aims to reclaim the number two position among business users it had several years ago, the unit's chief executive, Johan Lindgren, told reporters at a press meeting in Stockholm Tuesday. ... Landlines Follow Where Cellular Leads http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16833.php Cable & Wireless in The Cayman Islands as extended its landline network to an island that had uptill now only had cellular phone capabilities. The Cayman Islands' stronger network Cable & Wireless has completed a major programme of work in Little Cay... Nigerian Operator Expands Coverage http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16837.php Nigeria's Glo Mobile says that it has extended its GSM network coverage to every state in the country. According to a recent report presented to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Globacom has covered all major Nigerian cities and towns wh... [[ Regulatory ]] Telenor, NTC To Make Joint Application For Egypt Licence http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16820.php Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor, Tuesday said it will cooperate with Egyptian company National Telecommunications Holding to make a joint application to deliver a mobile network in Egypt. ... EU Warns Countries Over Failing To Apply Telecom Rules http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16822.php The European Commission Tuesday sent formal warnings to more than a dozen countries for breaking European Union telecommunications rules. ... [[ Statistics ]] Number of fixed CDMA-800 users up 16.4% in Ukraine in Jan-Mar http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16821.php The number of subscribers to fixed CDMA-800 services increased 16.4% on the year to 135,000 users in Ukraine in January-March, the Association of CDMA operators of Ukraine said Monday. ... [[ Technology ]] NTT Docomo Unveils New Mobile Credit Card Service http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16816.php Japanese mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo unveiled Tuesday a new mobile phone-based credit card service, which it plans to roll out later this month. ... Four Factors Critical to Near Field Communications Market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16836.php Near Field Communication (NFC) is still in the early stages of commercial development. ABI Research has identified four factors that will be critical to the technology's successful deployment over the next few years. According to Erik Michielsen, the... ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Thursday 6th April 2006 Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 07:50:10 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ Financial ]] RadioShack's Wireless Business Struggles, As Does Stock http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16844.php RadioShack Corp.'s wireless business continues to struggle and its stock continues to languish along with it as the retailer searches for a new chief executive. ... Deutsche Telekom Says Mobile Unit May Not Meet Targets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16845.php Deutsche Telekom's mobile unit may not be able to achieve its targets in Europe due to increasing competition, the company said in its 2005 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. ... Ukraine's DAMPS operator DCC merges into Astelit http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16847.php Ukraine's DAMPS mobile operator Digital Cellular Communications (DCC) has been merged into GSM mobile operator Astelit, Astelit said in a press release Wednesday. ... Vodafone Dismisses Imminent Sale Of Verizon Wireless http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16849.php Vodafone has no plans for the imminent sale of its stake in Verizon Wireless, a Vodafone spokesman said Wednesday. ... Centennial posts US$6mn net loss in Q3 FY06 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16855.php US and Caribbean wireless and broadband provider Centennial posted a net loss of US$6.1mn in the third quarter of fiscal year 2006 compared to a profit of US$4.2mn in the same quarter of FY05, the company said in a statement. ... [[ Handsets ]] Russia's MTS to buy 40,000 mobile handsets from Japan's NEC http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16853.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has signed an agreement to buy 40,000 mobile handsets from Russia's NEC Infocommunications, a subsidiary of Japan's NEC, NEC Infocommunications said in a press release Wednesday. ... Teikon expects revs of US$47mn in 2006, opens new factory http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16858.php Brazilian handset manufacturer Teikon expects to bill 100mn reais (US$47mn) in 2006, doubling its 2005 revenues, with the help of a new factory in southern Brazil, local tech news service Baguete reported. ... [[ Legal ]] PRESS: Russian police retract statement on Euroset's illegal batch http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16848.php The K department of Russia's police has retracted a statement it made Tuesday, which said that a recently seized batch of mobile handsets from Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset was imported illegally, Kommersant business daily reported... Court to hear Telenor claim against VimpelCom's URS buy on May 25 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16854.php The Moscow Arbitration Court adjourned on Wednesday until May 25 the main hearings of a lawsuit filed by Norway's telecommunication company Telenor, seeking to void VimpelCom's purchase of mobile operator Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS). ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Yahoo, RIM Expand Pact To Offer Yahoo Services Worldwide http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16843.php Yahoo! and Research In Motion said Blackberry users in more than 60 countries will have access to Yahoo services such as email and messenger as the two companies expand their global alliance. ... [[ Network Contracts ]] Nokia In $19 Million Deal To Expand GSM Network In Thailand http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16842.php Finland's Nokia, Wednesday said it has signed a US$19 million contract with Thai mobile operator Advanced Info Service to expand its GSM network in Northern, Central and Southern regions in Thailand. ... Nokia Gets 3G Network Order From Sonofon In Denmark http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16846.php Finland's Nokia, Wednesday said it has been selected as supplier of WCDMA 3G network equipment for Sonofon in Denmark, owned by Norwegian operator Telenor. ... [[ Network Operators ]] FOCUS: Kazakhtelecom may get GSM license, remain state-owned http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16850.php Kazakhtelecom, the key fixed-line operator in Kazakhstan, is increasingly looking to diversify its activities and get a GSM license this year, but the government may not be interested in the privatization of a major cash cow although a lot depends on... [[ Regulatory ]] Sprint Executive: US Telecom Ind Needs Supportive Regulation http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16851.php The telecommunications industry in the U.S. needs a lighter, more supportive, regulatory touch from the government, according to Sprint Nextel Chief Operating Officer Len Lauer. ... T-Mobile Prepared To Reduce Fees For Fixed-Line To Mobile http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16852.php Deutsche Telekom's mobile arm, T-Mobile, said Wednesday it is optimistic of reaching agreements with other companies to further reduce charges for transferring phone calls from fixed lines into its networks, thereby avoiding enforced regulation. ... Digicel granted license for Turks & Caicos http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16857.php Caribbean wireless operator Digicel has been granted a license to establish a GSM network in the newly liberalized market of Turks & Caicos, the company said in a statement. ... [[ Statistics ]] Colombia fastest growing LatAm GSM market in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16856.php Colombia was the fastest growing Latin American market for GSM users last year, rising to third place in terms of total users from its sixth place ranking in 2004, local daily La Republica reported. ... ------------------------------ From: Jonathan Marashlian Subject: The Front Lines - April 4, 2006 Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 14:54:38 -0400 Organization: The Helein Law Group http://www.thefrontlines-hlg.com/ The FRONT LINES Sponsored by The Helein Law Group, P.C. http://www.thlglaw.com/ Advancing The Cause of Competition in the Telecommunications Industry NOTICE: SECOND QUARTER 2006 UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND CONTRIBUTION FACTOR INCREASED TO 10.9% The Wireline Competition Bureau of the FCC announced that the Universal Service Fund contribution factor for the Second Quarter of 2006 increased from the current 10.2% to 10.9%. The 10.9% contribution factor became effective April 1, 2006. Contributors are reminded that they may not mark up federal universal service line-item amounts above the contribution factor. Thus, contributors may not, during the second quarter of 2006, recover from end users through a federal universal service line item an amount that exceeds the interstate (and international) telecommunications charges on a customer's bill times 10.9%. REMINDER : FCC REGULATORY REPORTING DEADLINES FCC FORM 499-Q - QUARTERLY TELECOMMUNICATIONS REPORTING WORKSHEET Deadline: May 1, 2006 Providers of interstate and international telecommunications services ("Universal Service Fund contributors") are reminded that their FCC Form 499-Q is due no later than Monday, May 1, 2006. The FCC requires all non- de minimis USF contributors to file Form 499-Q to report actual billed revenue and projected revenues. In the Form 499-Q due May 1st, contributors must report actual billed revenue for the 1st Quarter of 2006 and projected billed & collected revenue for the 3rd Quarter of 2006. The Universal Service Administrative Company mails forms and instructions to contributors who have reported in the past. If you have not reported in the past, but are required to do so, forms and instructions are available on the FCC's website - www.fcc.gov http://www.fcc.gov/ - or you may contact our firm and we'll e-mail them to you. Contact: mail@thlglaw.com or 703-714-1300. De Minimis carriers and service providers (i.e., those with $10,000 or less in annual USF contributions) are not required to file Form 499-Qs unless and until they reasonably project exceeding the de minimis threshold within a given year. The Front Lines is a free publication of The Helein Law Group, P.C., providing clients and interested parties with valuable information, news, and updates regarding regulatory and legal developments primarily impacting companies engaged in the competitive telecommunications industry. The Front Lines does not purport to offer legal advice nor does it establish a lawyer-client relationship with the reader. If you have questions about a particular article, general concerns, or wish to seek legal counsel regarding a specific regulatory or legal matter affecting your company, please contact our firm at 703-714-1313 or visit our website: http://www.thlglaw.com/ www.THLGlaw.com The Helein Law Group, P.C. 8180 Greensboro Drive, Suite 700 McLean, Virginia 22102 ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #128 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Apr 6 22:04:21 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 0BAA31536D; Thu, 6 Apr 2006 22:04:21 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #129 Message-Id: <20060407020421.0BAA31536D@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 22:04:21 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=unavailable version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 6 Apr 2006 22:06:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 129 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson iPod, Therefore I Am (Monty Solomon) NYS AG Spitzer Again, This time vs. Spyware/Adware/Popups (Danny Burstein) Voice Over IP Home Service (carlos) USA Today Reports on Free Directory Assistance (Paul Robinson) What do Cellphones Talk About? (Thomas A. Horsley) Sharing One Line For Fax and Voice? (John Doe) VoIP Help Request (Ryton) VoIP Softswitch! (voip.nexge@gmail.com) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (Brian Inglis) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (Justa Lurker) Competitive DSL (was Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name) (Paul Robinson) Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers (Lisa Hancock) Re: Is This Possible? 2 Lines Squeezed Into One Line Phone?? (Brad Houser) Re: Is This Possible? 2 Lines Squeezed Into One Line Phone?? (spuorgelgoog) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (Lisa Hancock) Re: Train Passengers - Images Frozen in Time (Lisa Hancock) Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! (John Levine) 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: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 18:00:32 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: iPod, Therefore I Am iPod, Therefore I Am By MICHAEL WOLFF Vanity Fair April 3, 2006 After 30 years as an outsider, Apple founder Steve Jobs is the white-hot center of mass-market media. His obsession with design is now America's: the machine has become the message. With the $7 billion Pixar deal, Disney-kingdom of content-is Jobs's new playground. How did he turn the tables? The rise of Steve Jobs in American business life has always been a story about exceptionalism. He's been the alternative. The other. The anti-Gates (with Gates representing the triumph and profitability of hegemony, constancy, mediocrity). Jobs is the artiste as businessman-famously odd, difficult, flaky, rude. His businesses, even his successful businesses, have been, in a sense, unbusinesses. The formative point about Apple, which turns 30 this month, is that most people didn't want one. From an adult-company perspective-that is, a Windows perspective-Apple has been a child's company, a Peter Pan company. But now it turns out that Jobs is not marginal, or eccentric, or even fanciful at all. His is the at-one-with-the-American-consumer golden gut. He's the ultimate media guy. Everybody wants to know what Steve knows. Everybody wants to know what Steve wants. Whereas his evil twin, Bill Gates, his epic rival, his Moriarty, finds himself smacked upside the head by every Internet entrepreneur and, often, as flummoxed by the direction of modern life and technology as everybody else. This goes further. For most players in the media business, it's all about blindly groping through a bollixed up, destabilized, haphazard, random world. Nobody can see what's going on. If you survive, you survive by luck and chance (and always with diminished prospects and a lagging share price). Steve, however, proceeds with the greatest assurance and aplomb and ever increasing value. He has special radar. He's the official One-Eyed Man. But further still. With some perspective-and 30 years will do-it turns out that in critical ways the media business is such a tectonic-plate- shifting, existentially precarious place because of Steve Jobs. What Jobs has been doing these last 30 years, while everyone thought that all he was up to was his specialized, la-di-da stuff, was literally re-inventing, revolutionizing even-thinking truly differently about-every aspect of the media business. The bite-size and broken-grid elements of nearly every printed page owe themselves to the Macintosh. The plasticity of pictures, of video, and the ease and economy with which the visual world can be manipulated, in which everybody becomes his own director, in which the barrier-to-entry costs fall every day-the full effect of which has yet to be felt by the media industry-is a Mac by-product. The transformation (or death, depending on your point of view) of the music business is Steve and the iPod-and, shortly, the iPod will do for video what it's done for music. And this is not to even mention the personal computer itself, whose very look and feel and identity and fundamental metaphor come from Jobs (albeit channeled from Xerox PARC). Everywhere, Jobs has been helping media consumers take media away from the media business itself. And now, with uncertain, ostensibly modest purpose ("We're really buying into Bob's vision," he said about Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger), he's entered Disney as its largest shareholder and most eminent figure. http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/060403roco01 ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: NYS AG Spitzer Again, This Time vs. Spyware/Adware/Popups Date: Tue, 4 Apr 2006 15:06:18 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC " Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today sued one of the most elusive internet spyware companies, alleging that the firm surreptitiously installed millions of pop-up ad programs on consumers' computers. " The suit against the Direct Revenue company seeks a court order enjoining the firm from secretly installing spyware or sending ads through already-installed spyware. The suit also asks the court to compel the company to provide an accounting of its revenues and asks the court to impose appropriate monetary penalties... " The company's executives specifically highlighted the insidious nature of their product. For example Direct Revenue's then-CEO Josh Abram (a defendant in the lawsuit) boasted in an April 2005 email to a distributor, ' We have a very stealthy version of our adware product which we're happy to give u... Don't worry. If we do a deal -- a build together -- these will not be caught'. rest: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/apr/apr04a_06.html _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: carlos Subject: Voice Over IP Home Service Date: 3 Apr 2006 13:10:11 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hello, I wanted to make you all aware of a new voice over IP (VoIP) service that I have recently tested. It is low cost, very robust, available throughout the U.S. and Canada. It has performed flawlessly, much better than either Skype and Vonage. You can find full details at: http://www.gaslightusa.com Carlos ------------------------------ From: Paul Robinson Subject: USA Today Reports on Free Directory Assistance Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 19:10:32 -0400 A while ago our moderator mentioned much less expensive directory assistance being offered (at around 65c per call) than the current crop of gouging "operators" (at upwards of $1.25 or more for local listings, with out-of-area listings being anywhere from $1.99 to a whopping $3.49). Well, now there's an even better offer. Page B1 of the Money section of USA Today for today April 4, 2006, lists 3 services providing free directory assistance (DA) if you're willing to listen to (up to) 15-second advertisements. The article by Paul Davidson, "Free 411 info on call if you'll listen to ads," points out that the price of DA is getting so expensive, "Now, calling 411 will nick you for the price of a starbucks coffee." There are currently three services, and until I saw the article in the paper I didn't know of any of them. 1-FREE-411 (800-373-3411) and 1-800-411-METRO (800-411-6387) debuted last year; 1-800-411-SAVE (800-411-7283) starts today "after trials in Chicago and San Francisco." Directory assistance charges are a whopping $7.2 billion a year. Estimates are that only 7% of customers realize how much a DA call costs them. Telcos have been boosting prices to make up for revenue which is not coming from the calls people aren't making (to paraphrase Yogi Berra). While 69% of all calls are placed from landline phones, Wireless DA is still a big profit center at $1.50 per call. The 1-800-FREE-411 service got 7 million calls from 2 million users last month. These free services could conceivably reach 1% of all DA calls and 6% by 2011. "Even if the three of us were to split a small piece of the market, that's still a giant number," according to Mike Loftus, who is CEO of 1-800-411-METRO. Basically they are taking a page out of free services on the Internet by offering targeted ads, e.g. if you're looking for a pizza place, they might also mention Pizza Hut or Papa John's. Too add to the benefits, (especially if the number might be a long distance number), 1-800-411-METRO offers free automatic connections to businesses. I decided to rate the service and tried my own number. I called 1-800-411-METRO and asked for a residential listing, my own number, and gave my street address as there are many people named Paul Robinson in the area. When I ended up with a live operator she reported that the number is unlisted. This is news to me as I have never asked for my number to be unlisted, and it appears in the white pages of our local directory (I just looked), as it has for more than six years. 1-800-FREE-411's recording apologized as all circuits are busy now and I should try again later. 1-800-411-SAVE could not find my listing either. It found some others named Paul Robinson and a Paul G (which is not my middle initial). I then tried 411 (which would be Cavalier, the phone company I use) and discovered that *they do not have me listed either*. (They also found the same Mr. Paul G. Robinson too, but not me). So now I am encouraged to find out why. A relative here suspects she may have given a request for non-listing (or maybe it was marked for listing in the white pages but not in 411) if someone had asked her, as she has always had her number unlisted. I called Cavalier and there is no special marking on my account so I put in a trouble ticket and the clerk says they will have it fixed but it may take up to 1 business day. Which is okay, mostly I'm concerned that if I didn't make sure it's right I might end up not being listed in the directory. (Since the Verizon white pages were issued July, 2005 it's probably getting close to the deadline so it's a good idea I found out in case there might be a problem.) So making this attempt has allowed me to learn something. I think I'll retry this experiment in a week or two and see what happens, and I'll let the readers of the Digest know, one way or the other. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for the mention of the free D.A. services. Prior to going into the hospital earlier this week I had been thinking about mentioning 800-411-METRO but had not gotten around to it. I had received one piece of email from them asking about possibly becoming a sponsor here at the Digest (but they did not write back again) so naturally, I was going to discuss them, and I shall anyway and just maybe they may decide to favor me also! :) Mike Sandman specifically built and is selling a 'diverter' box for them (I have a couple of them on my PBX lines here at home) which serve the purpose of 'listening for 411' as the first three (and only) digits dialed at which point it breaks the connection and redials out to 1-800-411-METRO. You listen to an advertisement of 10 seconds, then a robot asks you "is this a business or residential listing?" You respond and the robot comes back and asks "what city and state please?" You tell it that information, then the robot asks for the listing desired. You tell it that and it goes away a couple seconds then comes back and advises "please hold for an operator". A live operator then comes on, clarifies what was requested, and tells you "hold for the number". _Then a second ten second advertisement is played out_ and the number is given. But here is the interesting thing about 800-411-METRO: If you do not hang up at that point, having heard the number but stay on the line, it then _dials the number and completes the call_ at apparently no extra charge. They (411-METRO) do not seem to be very good about answering my email: I wrote them and asked if 'auto call completion' (like Cingular Wireless at least around here) was going to be a regular part of the package or if I had stumbled onto a temporary malfunction that day; they did not answer me. It still seeems to do that each time I use it. (Pass the number, then play a _second advertisement_ then connect to the number). The intercept box Mike Sandman built (he says to their specifications) is necessary, but has a minor problem with it. I will mention the problem first: around this part of the country at least (s.e. Kansas in SW Bell territory) one does _not_ dial '411' for directory; one has to dial '1-411' for directory and if you are accustomed to dialing 1-411 it is a hard habit to break out of and dialing `1-411' bypasses the intercept entirely and goes to, well, SBC's 1-411 service at their dollar and a half charge or whatever. If you are accustomed to only dialing '411' then the intercept box does just what you would expect it to do: no training of your employees is needed. Let them dial as they wish, they always wind up getting 411-METRO as a result. But if your employees/customers/users are traditionally trained to dial into 1-411 and they do that, then the intercept misses the point entirely. I asked Mike if the box could be 'idiot-proofed' for use with or without a leading '1'. He said it could not, unless it was also built to look for '555-1212' combinations and a few other things. But what- ever he sells them for (I think around $30.00 more or less, ask him at mike@sandman.com or http://sandman.com ) they are definitly worth it to stick on your outside lines if 411 charges are an expensive burden for you. Why is this sort of 'interceptor box' needed for 411? Well, theoret- ically it should not be. In the Bell divestiture or modifications to it later on, one of the 'services' Bell had to get rid of -- or at least treat at 'arms length' was Directory Assistance. Just as they had to give you your choice of LD carriers, LD operator assistance, and give their own repair service a 'not so easy' number as '611' to remember, they were _supposed_ to do the same thing with '411'; that is let it go to whatever default the customer picked. My 411 went to my choice of service, yours to your choice of service, and something like the ten-ten codes if you wanted something other than your own personal 411 default value. Bell seems to have forgotten all about that part of the deal :( ... and don't bother holding your breath while asking them to default _your_ 411 to METRO or any of the other services other than their own high-priced cash-cow directory bureaus. That's just like twenty years ago when if we wanted to *absolutely insure* that our people sent LD traffic via MCI we had to dial those 950 numbers first. Maybe someday the courts will force Bell to give people a convenient dialing pattern on directory assistance as well. Anyway, for now, either use one of the inexpensive directory services such as 877-EASY-411 (our advertiser here in the Digest) or use 800-411-METRO and listen to advertisements, or best of all, get one or more of the little diverter boxes from Mike Sandman to force your users into doing it the way you want it done. If anyone can get an answer from 800-411-METRO about the 'free auto call completion' thing they do, share that answer with me also. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: What do Cellphones Talk About? From: tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 23:48:36 GMT When the batteries were live, my cellphone signal detector pen would light up at least once an hour when sitting near my cellphone. I always assumed that useful information was being exchanged with the nearest cell tower. But Sunday (first morning after daylight time change in USA), I looked at my phone and it was still an hour off. It wasn't until I made a web connection by asking it to check my account balance that the clock finally reset to correct time. So what the heck are all those little talks with the cell tower about if they don't even exchange the time of day while they are at it? (My definition of "useful" must be different than my cellphone's). >>==>> The *Best* political site >>==+ email: Tom.Horsley@worldnet.att.net icbm: Delray Beach, FL | Free Software and Politics <<==+ ------------------------------ From: John Doe Subject: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 21:30:08 +0200 Organization: Guest of ProXad - France Hi, We currently have two landlines, one totally unbundled (ie. voice is VoIP on an ADSL line), and the other is a regular analog line, just to receive faxes. Since we receive very few faxes these days, we'd like to close the second line, and receive faxes on the ADSL line. Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11 plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem? Thank you. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There sure is, and I hate to keep making embarassing plugs for Mike Sandman repeatedly in the same issue of the Digest, but he offers in his catalog 'line sharing' devices which do what you want. It answers the phone and if it hears a fax tone it immediatly shifts the call over to your fax machine line. Look at http://sandman.com at 'line sharing devices'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Ryton Subject: VoIP Help Request Date: 4 Apr 2006 16:36:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Good day ... I have a VoIP/DSL setup which has what appears to be a random problem on incoming calls, as follows: 1. Phones ring. 2. LCD call display does not illuminate on the phones. 3. Answer the call and there is a continuous loud tone present which prevents having a conversation with the caller. Any help appreciated. ------------------------------ From: voip.nexge@gmail.com Subject: VoIP Softswitch! Date: 5 Apr 2006 00:26:49 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi All, I represent a company called Nexge technologies. We sell VoIP Softswitches. We enable calling card solution as well as Broadband VoIP solutions.We are offering it at a competitive price. We also offer VAS (Value Added Service) platform that can be offered by telecom operators to their customers . Interested people can contact. We invite you to visit our website www.nexge.com for more details. Regards, B.Vimallraj +91-98417 22471 vimallraj@nexge.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Apr 2006 03:24:57 +0000 (GMT) From: Brian Inglis Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Reply-To: Brian.Inglis@SystematicSW.ab.ca Organization: Systematic Software On 1 Apr 2006 21:42:22 -0800 in comp.dcom.telecom, semenzato@gmail.com wrote: > The "new" AT&T (formerly SBC, my local phone company) sent me a form > letter stating that my user ID does not comply with their new rules > and needs to be changed, or they will terminate the online access to > my account. My AT&T user ID happens to be my last name (semenzato), > same as my user ID everywhere else. > It complies with all AT&T rules except possibly their profanity > clause. This is the first time anybody suggests to me that the first > part of my last name is a profanity (seems more like a technical term > to me). I let them know that I was quite offended and they should fix > their filter to skip the profanity check for certain variations of the > customer's name. Their response was another form letter stating, among > other nonsense, that "though this may be a temporary inconvenience, we > are certain you will appreciate the efforts we have taken to protect > your information." > If this were my bank, I would change bank and be done. But this is my > local phone company, so I cannot change it. Still, I feel that I have > the right to use my last name as my user ID. Do I have any recourse? How many immigrants with non-English names are there in the US? How many English names contain potentially offensive words in other languages? You might want to point out that Google has 109,000 English pages and 330,000 pages in all languages containing that name, and refer them to the Wikipedia article on José Carlos Semenzato. Their culturally imperialist political correctness department either needs to add a blacklist of potentially offensive words in other languages (perhaps you could suggest a few?), or preferably, a whitelist of names in other languages. Thanks. Take care, Brian Inglis Calgary, Alberta, Canada Brian.Inglis@CSi.com (Brian[dot]Inglis{at}SystematicSW[dot]ab[dot]ca) fake address use address above to reply ------------------------------ From: Justa Lurker Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 21:25:29 GMT Paul A Lee wrote: > In TELECOM Digest V25 #126, semenzato@gmail.com wrote (in part): >> The "new" AT&T (formerly SBC, my local phone company) sent me >> a form letter stating that my user ID does not comply with >> their new rules and needs to be changed, or they will >> terminate the online access to my account. My AT&T user ID >> happens to be my last name (semenzato), same as my user ID >> everywhere else. First of all, let's establish the proper context. I believe that the "user ID" to which Mr. Semenzato refers is a user ID which (in conjunction with a password, of course) is intended for use by a customer in accessing the former "MySBC" website which is now called "AT&T Account Manager". It's not an email ID or anything like that; rather it's just an internal identifier local to AT&T's web server. Some of these sites require that the customer choose a user ID while others have been designed to utilize the telephone # NPA-NXX-XXXX as the "user ID". For example, legacy AT&T customers (e.g., not pre-merger SBC like Mr. Semenzato) such as myself log in with our phone number and password to view our latest bill and so forth. It'd be just as simple (maybe simpler) for SBC to have assigned some arbitrary user ID to each account when the customer originally registered for on-line access but they probably figured that a customer would be less likely to forget an ID which he chose himself ... also this would make the login somewhat more persistent and 'portable' if the customer moved and got a new telephone number (yes, I know about LNP). >> It complies with all AT&T rules except possibly their >> profanity clause. AT&T (nee' SBC) is certainly within their rights to constrain the selection of particular user IDs in any manner they wish ... similar to what is done with the choice of passwords. In the case of passwords, such restrictions are usually applied with respect to the number of characters, mixture of upper and lower case, no easily identifiable text strings, and so forth in order to ensure "strength". In the case of user IDs, any restrictions (besides those which are purely programmatic like maximum number of characters) probably center either around uniqueness (for obvious reasons) or good-faith [although perhaps a little ham-handed] attempts to maintain a sense of workplace decency/propriety in case a company agent has to view the user ID on their CRT or whatever in the course of routine business. >> This is the first time anybody suggests to me that the first part >> of my last name is a profanity (seems more like a technical term to >> me). I let them know that I was quite offended and they should fix >> their filter to skip the profanity check for certain variations of >> the customer's name. Their response was another form letter >> stating, among other nonsense, that "though this may be a temporary >> inconvenience, we are certain you will appreciate the efforts we >> have taken to protect your information." This sounds like a pretty standard response from any big corporation these days, not just nasty old Ma Bell. How this managed to offend you is beyond my grasp, of course, unless you omitted or I overlooked some particularly egregious or perjorative phrasing in their form letter. Maybe you could be more specific. After all, they didn't cast any aspersions on you or your Italian (I think Semenzato is an Italian name, if not I apologize) heritage. They just asked you to pick another user ID. > If AT&T (SBC) is providing your local phone service, then they're > almost certainly subject to regulation by your state public > utilities/service commission (see http://www.naruc.org/ or phone > directory blue pages). Very true. > I suggest you file a complaint with that commission that AT&T is > violating your civil rights by discriminating against you, based on > the ethnicity of your family name, in providing service. Nonsense. No one's civil rights have been even remotely violated here. Your telephone service remains fundamentally unchanged (you might not like its quality or price, but that's another discussion !) > You could also try pointing out the discrimination to AT&T contacts, > or even to local news media. Again, AT&T is not discriminating against anyone. I suspect that no one but a bunch of telephone enthusiasts will even be interested --- especially once the facts become clear. > That should get you some attention above the drone level at AT&T. Ummmmmmm, no I don't think so. ------------------------------ From: Paul Robinson Subject: Competitive DSL (was Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name) Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 16:06:10 -0400 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: [ ] SBC, now over two years ago, > tried to tell me I had no choice either, and my response was to kick > them out of my house totally. Most people have a cable or satellite > alternative to DSL. We are also very fortunate here that we have > local telco alternatives, and you may have also. We have that here in Northern Virginia (there are probably close to a dozen). The two I have dealt with are RCN (formerly Starpower) and Cavalier Telephone. I have volumously described over the years in this Digest my problems with (what was then) Bell Atlantic of Maryland's back office practices and later as (its reincarnation with GTE) Verizon, such that I was afraid if I ordered a simple change I'd end up with Foreign Exchange service from West Virginia or something wierd like that. When I was able to get competitive local service (in Maryland) from Starpower, I switched to them. Yes, they resell Verizon's service but at least I could symbolically tell them "up yours." When I moved in with relatives in Virginia I got my own phone line, and specifically ordered it from Starpower (who later changed back to their old name, RCN). That probably made our house unique as they had their phone line from Verizon and mine came from RCN. I decided to get DSL service when it became available and the only place I could get it from was Verizon so I had it put on that line. (RCN could not offer it.) We have Dish Network because it's cheaper than cable. When I moved down the street for a couple of years, I wanted to have some form of cable or satellite service installed. Dish Network offers free installation. But I called the cable company to check first. Oh, yes, I can get cable installed. It will cost $300.00. So I decided not to take Comcast up on their offer. I ended up moving back in with relatives after I became disabled. We decided to eliminate the phone service from Verizon as we didn't need multiple phone lines (as RCN was cheaper than Verizon) but it seriously meant losing DSL. Well, I saw that Cavalier Telephone was offering DSL service. And they have it available in my neighborhood. So I decided to check. No, RCN does not offer DSL, and yes, Cavalier does and they offer it in my area. And for less than Verizon was (then charging) for better service. And I was able to keep my old phone number. The secret is that while RCN resells bulk service they buy from Verizon, the only thing RCN uses is the trunk lines, they have their own switch. So for $24.95 a month I get DSL service which includes all the usual features, newsgroups, web access (of course) and everything else, I think the speed is usually around 3 megabits. And I get something else I could not have gotten from Verizon for less than triple this: a static IP address. The total cost for my phone service is $67.95 a month, which consists of $24.95 for DSL, same for local service, and $17.00 a month is taxes and fees. Included as standard with the service is voice mail, caller ID, call waiting and call forwarding. Basically it costs less for all of these than Verizon charged for a basic line with caller ID. Long distance is 5c per minute with no monthly fee; last month the 8 minutes of long distance we used cost a whopping 40c. For $20 more I could purchase unlimited (USA & Canada) long distance if I needed it. This exactly matches a prediction from our moderator a few years ago that eventually you'll be able to get unmetered long distance for the same price as you pay for unmetered local service. I have had excellent service from Cavalier over the last six months, and if you can get them I recommend doing so. They're mostly on the East Coast. So I can say that in the something like eight years I've had the same phone number here, and a year before than in Maryland I've never once had service from Bell Atlantic/Verizon. Back before the turn of the century when I was able to get service from someone other than Bell Atlantic, I moved from them "faster than a gypsy roofing company can quit town." As an extra note, I want to point out that despite the problems I have had with Verizon's back office, I have, in over fifteen years of dealing with them, never once found a lineperson who was not polite, knowledgeable, and more importantly, willing to call in and ask for technical assistance if they weren't sure. Their field people are world class and if Verizon could have gotten their half-assed back office systems up to even 50% of the competence of their field people I'd never have switched. I mean, I used to deal with GTE in Long Beach, California and it seems like "the worst phone company in California, bar none" according to the California PUC, was perhaps better in some aspects than Barf Atemetic, err I mean Bell Atlantic! TELECOM Digest Editor added in the note: > Of course, none of the alternatives can sell you DSL; for DSL you > have to stay with Bell; that's their one ace in the hole; the one > thing which keeps as many customers with them as it does. Well, since Cavalier Telephone operates their own switch, that is why they can offer DSL on a competitive basis. And they do at least as well as Verizon. Of course, it ain't really hard to do better than them. One final note about the switchover I had. Since the wires running to the building still belong to Verizon, they have to find the particular pair so Cavalier can switch their dial tone over to them. The lineman from Verizon came out but the guy from Cavalier was delayed. And he saw the service order and recognized the name: the guy who was doing the install for Cavalier was one of Bell Atlantic's former lineman who had retired after 30 years of service! Paul Robinson "Above all else... We shall go on..." _"...And continue!"_ "If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us." ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Remembering Old Zenith Numbers Date: 4 Apr 2006 10:21:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you recall how, even after they > set up a reduced rate for 'direct dialed' calls versus a more > expensive rate for 'operator assisted' (but still station to station > calls) if a customer appealed the higher 'operator assisted' rates the > customer would be given 'direct dial' rates if he had 'tried to dial > it himself but failed' for some reason? PAT] Yes, that's true. Today not dialing a long distance call yourself seems strange, but back in 1970 for some people it was still a novelty. Business and hotel PBXs would routinely ask for time and charges. While most places had DDD, not every place did and there were even a few manual towns left (e.g. Catalina I. off of California). The system was virtually electromechanical back then and the risk of problem, while small, was greater than now. So, if a customer had trouble and requested assistance, the dialed direct rate would be used. If the customer didn't have DDD, the dialed rate was used. Initially, the charge difference between dialed and operator handled was modest. But over time subsequent rate schedules increased the differential by lowering dialed and increasing operator. At my employers of the era, toll call policy changed from management only via PBX operator handled to direct dialed from your desk and billed back to your extension. In the 1980s, larger companies got sophisticated PBX/Centrex gear that would automatically locate the most economical line--normal toll, FX, or outward WATS, to route the call over. A large company might own some outward WATS lines shared among everyone. Today, my state's intra (state wide) toll rates are confusing. Calling the Operator for assistance now often results in a service charge of some sort. Asking the dial-0 operator to place a call, even an operator handled one, is more costly than dialing 0+full number. Many pay phones today won't even take coin long distance calls anymore. SEPTA, the local transit agency, used to offer $1/minute coin service from public pay phones on its property but that apparently has been discontinued. (Why I don't know). Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > My Enterprise number for Konawa, Oklahoma, was Enterprise 287, > as I recall. It terminated on my business number, 234. Yes, 234 was a > local number in a dial exchange. Terminal-per-line. Party lines had > four digit numbers in the 4xxx series, the last digit denoting the > party ringing. > Three- and four-digit Enterprise numbers were not unusual in those > days. In the early 1950s, all sorts of local dial code combinations were common. Even in the 1970s small town local and near-local dialing would be a hodgepodge of codes and access numbers depending on the origin and destination. The how-to-dial section of local phone books had all sorts of explanations and directions. This hodgepodge was one of the big challenges of implementing nationwide DDD. A small town with a dial office often was dial for itself only and perhaps one or two adjacent exchanges. Anything beyond -- in or out -- required an operator to make the connection. All of that effort had to be automated and done in a way consistent with national DDD. Keep in mind sometimes Bell had acquired an exchange from another company and that that exchange didn't use standard Bell System procedures. Outward dialing required an option to switch to a toll center and ANI or ONI. But inward dialing required an addressable unique 10 digit number. It's one thing on paper to assign an exchange name and zero-fill 3 digit local numbers. But it's quite another effort to implement that in hard-wired step-by-step gear on an economical basis. A great many small towns continued with short 5 digit dialing right up until they went ESS in the 1980s. Many customers had part or all their phone number changed as a result of needing unique codes or upgrading equipment in the late 1950s. In Philadelphia, several exchanges were abandoned in order to fit the new scheme. At the same time all this was going on, the Bell System was faced with an explosion of demand for new telephone lines and higher calling volume. Even if new lines could be installed, the switchgear couldn't handle the increased traffic. Many customers were forced onto party lines at a time when many wanted out of party line service (see our recent discussion on the film "Pillow Talk"). In addition, the Bell System had many new defense contracts which diverted staff and material. Some Bell System ads in the 1950s point that out. A few are proud of Bell's contribution to new missles. A few apologize for delays in local service as a result of defense needs. But it seems overall the Bell System kept its defense work of the 1950s and 1960s at a lower profile than its WW II work. This was long before social protests criticizing the practice. The computer industry also benefited greatly from defense work. I find it ironic that many social activists who proclaim the "new freedom" of the modern Internet and computers are using a tool largely developed by the very defense investments they dislike. Defense contracts paid for many technical advancements in the 1950s and 1960s and contributed to lowering the commercial cost of computers. When IBM developed Stretch and SAGE it didn't make a profit on the sales, but gained valuable development experience. ------------------------------ From: Brad Houser Subject: Re: Is This Possible? 2 Lines Squeezed Into One Line Phone?? Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2006 12:11:34 -0700 Organization: Intel Corporation Reply-To: bradDOThouser@intel.com On 31 Mar 2006 16:31:12 -0800, chris2029@gmail.com wrote: > I have the need to squeeze 2 lines into one line on my phone. > [Note - getting a 2 line phone is not a solution as I already have a 2 > line and 2nd line is taken by VOIP.] > One of the lines is standard tel co line -- other is essentially my > gate bell. In my fantasy -- I imagine talking on the phone and when > someone rings the gate, the call waiting feature alerts me and I can > jump back and forth. Is this possible or am I deluding myself? There is a device called the Doorbel Fon that will do this for up to two doors, each with a distinctive ring. http://www.smarthome.com/5070.html Brad Houser ------------------------------ From: spuorgelgoog@gowanhill.com Subject: Re: Is This Possible? 2 Lines Squeezed Into One Line Phone?? Date: 6 Apr 2006 12:23:26 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com chris2029@gmail.com wrote: > I have the need to squeeze 2 lines into one line on my phone. [Note > - getting a 2 line phone is not a solution as I already have a 2 > line and 2nd line is taken by VOIP.] One of the lines is standard > tel co line -- other is essentially my gate bell. In my fantasy -- > I imagine talking on the phone and when someone rings the gate, the > call waiting feature alerts me and I can jump back and forth. Is > this possible or am I deluding myself? Okay, you either need a 3-line phone or some sort of PBX or device to take the line and gate bell as trunks. TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response: > Now in more recent years, since telco went out of business, the > same device has been mounted at the customer premises instead and > it goes by the name _I_nterphone. > ... But this gizmo Interphone/Enterphone sits there midst all > the house pairs, with central office pairs coming in and going out the > other side, and upon signal, examines the appropriate pair, seizes it > for a couple seconds and does its thing. With most Interphone/Enterphone > devices, they are set to time out after 'conversations' which can last > ten or twenty seconds tops. After all, how long does it take to answer > the front gate and tell the person to come in, or go away, or > whatever. I do not know who sells these devices currently, you might > ask Mike Sandman http://sandman.com for advice, or possibly Google for > 'Enterphone' and also for 'Interphone'. PAT] This sort of thing is made in the USA by http://www.vikingelectronics.com - they only deal with distributors but a lot of companies sell their kit on. Something like their C-1000B might be suitable. It sounds like your gate bell is something like the W-3000 doorbox, which mimics a phone line to your house phone. Owain ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Date: 6 Apr 2006 13:14:29 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com May Wong wrote: > Apple Computer Celebrates Its 30th Birthday Amid Recent Successes, > Future Challenges It is interesting in the history of computers and technology how some companies last many years and others are a flash and burn out quickly. Whatever happened to Visicalc? WordPerfect? Commodore? For a while, Compaq and Gateway were the rage. Now it seems to be Dell. It should be noted that Hewlett Packard is a much older company, I believe dating back to the 1930s. They had mini-computers out by 1970. I doubt younger readers ever heard of Remington Rand. This was a large company making business products. It took over the newly invented Univac and ERA groups and became Univac. It merged with another business giant, Burroughs to become Unisys. It's a much smaller company today. Where are DEC (Digital/PDP) and CDC (Control Data Corporation)? What about Cray? I date IBM to the start of Herman Hollerith's tabulating company in 1890, though I think IBM itself uses a later date when Thomas J. Watson Sr was hired as the new manager. (Watson was NOT the founder of IBM, it already existed. He built it up, though). By the way, the IBM website has a history section exhibit on Tom Watson Jr, interesting stuff. Through ups and downs IBM is still a large company and very high up on the Fortune 500. It's strange that so many websites and articles refer to the "early days" and "antiques" of computers to only 30 years ago. The PC revolution was indeed a big change for society. However, the advent of computers in business was a much bigger change since it changed processing from pencil and automation. Even if at home we didn't have a computer, we were using one at work or businesses we visited used one. Even if the PC never was developed, many features we see, such as telephone inquiry, would still have come to pass supported by mainframes or minis. I submit the 40th Anniversary of System/360 was quite significant. ' The upcoming 50th anniverseary of the disk drive (this Sept 2006) is very significant since almost everything we do would be impossible without random access disk memory. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Lisa, we _need_ a good article on disk drives for our archives in the history section. Would you mind preparing one I could keep on file here? PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Train Passengers - Images Frozen in Time Date: 6 Apr 2006 13:26:51 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You refer to the book as 'Plainview' > but I do not think that was the correct name. There were two studies, > about fifteen years apart, and the place they referenced was Muncie, > IN, a small town in Indiana and also the home of Ball State University. > (But they did not mention Ball State by name [it would have given away > too many clues] and only wrote in general, statistical terms for the > most part.) The two-part study was intended as a sociological effort > discussing the 'typical' American small town. The town was intended > to remain anonymous, and did so for about twenty years following the > second part of the study in 1954. PAT] The library catalog has them as: "Plainview USA" "Plainview, 15 years later" I believe they picked a small town in Missouri; this town was rather small and poor and I don't think any college was there. I'm pretty sure there was a separate but similar study for Muncie, Indiana called "Middleton". ------------------------------ Date: 6 Apr 2006 21:33:42 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Cellphones in Flight? This Means War! > That's effectively what we have with Airfone. Some seats, not all, > equipped with handsets. I think Airfone is a fine idea and eliminates > the real need for cellphones on planes. But others disagree. Airfone at this point has basically been turned into a sales tool for VZ wireless. If you have a VZW phone, Airfone costs 69 cents/min or if you pay them a $10/mo fee, a very reasonable 10 cents/min. For the rest of us, it's an absurd $4 connection fee and $5/min. With any luck, they'll also price cell-on-the-plane at $5/min, so nobody will use that, either. R's, John ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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'. 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #129 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Apr 7 18:27:48 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 954F714F7C; Fri, 7 Apr 2006 18:27:46 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #130 Message-Id: <20060407222746.954F714F7C@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 18:27:46 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 7 Apr 2006 18:30:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 130 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cellular-News for Friday 7th April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 7, 2006 (Telecomdirect_Daily) EPIC Alert 13.07 (Monty Solomon) California to Consider Statewide Franchise Plan (USTelecom dailyLead) Telecom Update #524, April 7, 2006 (Angus TeleManagement Group) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (SD) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (Lisa Hancock) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (Andrew Hastings) Re: What Happened to Me (John McHarry) Re: What Happened to Me (Lisa Hancock) Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? (John Reiser) Re: Competitive DSL (was Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name) (Steve Sobol) Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name (Steve Sobol) Re: Alcatel, Lucent to Merge (SD) Re: What do Cellphones Talk About? (Mr Joseph Singer) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: cellular-news for Friday 7th April 2006 Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 07:51:53 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Vodafone's Portugal Unit Launches 3.5G Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16862.php Vodafone's Portuguese unit Thursday began the commercial rollout of its High Speed Packet Data Access service for portable computers. ... Ericsson to demonstrate up to 28Mbit/s HSPA http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16874.php Ericsson is performing the world's first (High Speed Packet Access) HSPA demonstration with Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology during the CTIA Wireless 2006 show this week. The demo is based on Ericsson's commercial Radio Base Station. ... NEC Wins 3G Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16875.php NEC has announced that its HSDPA upgrade is to be deployed in the 3G network of 3 Hong Kong. This contract has been awarded to NEC and its 3G partner Siemens following a successful field trial on 3 Hong Kong's UMTS network. During the field trial, NE... [[ Financial ]] Vodafone Operations To Be Managed Through Three New Units http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16860.php Vodafone Group, Thursday announced changes to its organisational structure whereby the operations will be managed through three new business units. ... Norway's Telenor in talks on Kyivstar proposal with Russia's Altimo http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16864.php An executive with Norwegian telecommunication company Telenor has met with the CEO of Russia's Altimo to discuss Telenor?s proposal that Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom acquire Ukraine's largest mobile operator Kyivstar, Telenor sai... Millicom signs for 100% control of Telecel http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16866.php European mobile holding company Millicom International Cellular has reached an agreement to acquire a 4% share in its Paraguayan mobile unit Telecel, Millicom said in a statement. ... [[ Handsets ]] Euroset buys 19 outlets in St Petersburg http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16871.php Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset has bought 19 outlets from St. Petersburg-based retailer Telecom Point, Euroset said in a corrected press release Thursday. ... [[ Legal ]] Movistar incurs order to pay US$1.3mn damages http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16865.php An arbitration tribunal in Colombia has ordered mobile operator Movistar to pay service reseller Powercell damages of 3.09bn pesos (US$1.3mn) for breach of contract, according to Colombian press reports. ... [[ Messaging ]] Mobile E-Mail "Liberates" Professionals - Surprise Report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16876.php New research conducted by RONIN Corporation has shown that more than 70% of mobile professionals expect mobile email to 'liberate' them. Amid today's concerns of the continuing erosion of personal time, this research suggests that mobile email can ac... [[ Mobile Content ]] Ad-funded Mobile Entertainment http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16873.php According to a survey of members conducted by the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), the mobile entertainment industry is overwhelmingly enthusiastic about introducing advertising as another revenue stream for mobile content, with mobile TV/video deem... Opera Claims 2 Million Browser Users http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16878.php Opera Software says that its new mobile Web browser, Opera Mini, has attracted two million users around the world since its launch just a few months ago. While every user does not browse every day, the daily number of Web pages surfed with Opera Mini... [[ Network Contracts ]] Nokia Wins Bangladeshi GSM Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16877.php Nokia has won a radio network contract from the Bangladesh GSM network, Warid Telecom. Deliveries have begun, and the network will be launched later this year. As part of the contract, which covers the key Dhaka administrative district, Nokia will su... [[ Network Operators ]] Disney Focuses On Parental Control In New Disney Mobile http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16859.php Disney Mobile, a new service from Walt Disney Co. (DIS) that was unveiled Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless trade show, will focus on parental control and integrated entertainment, the company said. ... Personal doubles investments in 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16867.php Argentine mobile operator Telecom Personal, owned by Telecom Argentina, plans to invest up to 500mn pesos (US$162mn) this year, nearly doubling that made in 2005, local press quoted the company's general director Guglielmo Noya as saying. ... Ukraine's URS launched 40 base stations, has 635 as of April 1 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16870.php Ukrainian mobile operator Ukrainian Radiosystems, or URS, has launched 40 base stations in January-March increasing the total number of its operating stations to 635 as of April 1, the company's General Director Sergei Mironov told reporters Thursday... [[ Offbeat ]] Greek Lawmaker Panel Questions PM Aide, Executives On Wiretaps http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16863.php ATHENS (AP) -- A Greek parliament committee questioned a top government aide and executives from telecom giants Vodafone and Ericsson, Thursday about a major wiretapping scandal that targeted Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis. ... [[ Personnel ]] PRESS: Source says Russia's MTS President Sidorov to leave soon http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16861.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) may announce the resignation of its President Vasily Sidorov "very soon," a source in the company said, Biznes business daily reported Thursday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] Chile Antitrust Court Suspends Telefonica Moviles Auction http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16869.php Chile's antitrust court temporarily suspended an auction of mobile spectrum by the Chilean unit of mobile telephony company Telefonica Moviles, the court said on its Web site Thursday. ... [[ Reports ]] American Mobile Data Usage Surges http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16879.php Telephia reports that mobile data usage in the USA, such as text and multimedia messaging, mobile Web, and downloads, has reached the 50% adoption mark in Q4 2005, rising seven percentage points since the beginning of the year. The latest data from T... [[ Statistics ]] TIM: Mobile market to hit 100 million users this year http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16868.php Brazil's second largest mobile operator TIM expects the country's mobile market to surge to 100 million users this year, up from the 86.2 million users reported by industry regulator Anatel at end-2005, local news service Agencia Estado reporte... Uzbekistan's telecom revenue up 36.4% on year in Jan-Mar http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16872.php Revenue from telecommunications services in Uzbekistan rose 36.4% on the year to 110.2 billion som in January-March, Uzbekistan's State IT and Telecommunications Agency said Thursday. ... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 11:38:49 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Friday, April 7, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 7, 2006 ******************************** The Shifting Broadband Access Market in the U.S. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17430?11228 The latest FCC data reveals a growing penetration of broadband technologies other than xDSL and cable modem, which continue to dominate the provision of the country's 42.9 million high-speed lines at the end of June 2005.... FastWeb Launches ADSL2+ http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17426?11228 Italy's second-largest broadband provider, FastWeb, has launched ADSL2+ technology, ANSA reports. The technology enables the provider to offer speeds of up to 20 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload. The report adds that the new service is aimed at small companies. The company is also offering its 'naked DSL' service, FastWeb Easy - designed... U.S. Report Deals With Global Telecom http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17422?11228 WASHINGTON -- The United States took aim at high mobile phone charges in Germany, Japan, Mexico and Switzerland and sizable licensing requirements in China in a new report Thursday detailing barriers American telecommunication companies face in doing business abroad. ''Barriers in foreign telecommunication markets negatively impact U.S.... House Subcommittee Revamps IPTV Franchise Bill http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17414?11228 A key House of Representatives subcommittee yesterday revamped a controversial proposed video franchising measure that would create a national system for telcos to enter Internet Protocol television (IPTV) activities, yet would allow cablecos more flexibility in responding to the additional competition. The initial Republican-pushed... PayPal Mobile Makes its Debut http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17413?11228 PayPal officially took the wraps off its PayPal Mobile service today at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas. The new SMS-based payment service has already attracted several high-level merchants, such as MTV and Fox Home Entertainment. PayPal Mobile gives PayPal users the ability to make purchases and deliver payments wirelessly. The... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 11:56:31 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EPIC Alert 13.07 ======================================================================== E P I C A l e r t ======================================================================== Volume 13.07 April 06, 2006 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Published by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) Washington, D.C. http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.07.html ======================================================================== Table of Contents ======================================================================== [1] Federal, State Officials Object to Proposed IRS Rules [2] Coalition Pushes for Privacy in Electronic Health Records [3] Congress Continues to Scrutinize Warrantless Surveillance Program [4] Federal Agency Finds Flaws in Government Use of Commercial Databases [5] Report on Bank Privacy Notices Recommends Cosmetic Changes [6] News in Brief [7] EPIC Bookstore: Evan Hendricks's "Credit Scores and Credit Reports" [8] Upcoming Conferences and Events ... http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_13.07.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 13:32:19 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: California to Consider Statewide Franchise Plan USTelecom dailyLead April 7, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dqvkfDtutcmrzhkBay TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * California to consider statewide franchise plan BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * AT&T urges China to deregulate telecom market * WiMAX gear makers position for spectrum auction * RIM posts Q4 profit * Nortel discovers accounting mistake, details business strategy USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Triple-play or Triple-problems: Customer Service via Support Automation TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * ESPN expands broadband service, hits milestone * Verizon's V CAST in content deal with TBS * Study: Mobile phone users want more features * Moto unveils DVR-to-mobile service VOIP DOWNLOAD * Report projects strong growth for VoIP * Jajah goes mobile * Pogue: VoSky Call Center lets Skype users roam REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Canada sets guidelines for local phone rate deregulation Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dqvkfDtutcmrzhkBay ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 11:23:41 -0700 Subject: Telecom Update #524, April 7, 2006 From: Angus TeleManagement Group Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 524: April 7, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** CRTC Sets Local Deregulation Rules Aliant Forbearance Application Denied Winback Period Reduced Mixed Reaction to CRTC Decision ** Bell to Send Customer Calls to India ** Winback Rules Upheld ** Nearly 5% of Homes Use Cellphones Only ** Alcatel Agrees to Buy Lucent ** Genesys to Buy VoiceGenie ** Navigata Launches VoIP in Saskatchewan ** MTS Adds Alarm Service to Telecom Bundles ** Bell Says Videotron Impedes Customer Choice ** Nortel Broadens Restatement ** Telus Offers Small-Business Bundle ** ITU Telecom Show Returns to Geneva ** Cableco Buying British Virgin Mobile ** RIM Revenue Soars; Stock Slips ** Head of Network Group Leaves Cygnal ** CWTA Holding Wireless Conference ** Our Publishing Schedule ============================================================ CRTC SETS LOCAL DEREGULATION RULES: CRTC Decision 2006-15 sets out the criteria that the Commission will use in ruling on applications to "forbear from regulating" incumbent phone companies' local telephone service. The criteria include: ** Residential and business services will be considered separate markets for purposes of forbearance applications. ** To be considered for forbearance, the incumbent must have lost 25% market share (based on wireline and VoIP phone numbers in service) within a Local Forbearance Region (LFR). The decision lists 86 LFRs (33 metropolitan areas and 53 less-urban economic regions) for which the CRTC will track market share figures. ** In addition, the incumbent must have met all of its competitor quality of service indicators for the previous six months, and must have wholesale ADSL tariffs in place for competitors. It must also show that "rivalrous behaviour" exists in the relevant market. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-15.htm ALIANT FORBEARANCE APPLICATION DENIED: The only specific forbearance application ruled on in Decision 2006-15 was from Aliant, first filed in 2004. The CRTC ruled that, though Aliant has lost 33% of the local residential market in the Halifax LFR, it does not have a wholesale ADSL tariff and has failed to meet almost half of its competitor QoS indicators in the most recent six months reported. ** The Commission says it will "expeditiously" consider a new application from Aliant when it has met all the forbearance criteria. WINBACK PERIOD REDUCED: The forbearance decision reduces to three months (from 12) the period during which incumbent telcos are prohibited from directly contacting residential customers who have moved to a competitor's local service, in an attempt to win them back. MIXED REACTION TO CRTC Decision: Two weeks ago, we reported that "Industry reaction to the Telecom Policy Review report ranged from enthusiastic to downright hostile." (See Telecom Update #522) The same is true of reaction to the CRTC's ruling on local service deregulation, but the roles are reversed: now Bell and Telus are angry and their competitors are pleased. Some responses: ** Chris Peirce, Chief Regulatory Officer, MTS Allstream: "The forbearance decision is a good one for the telecommunications industry and for business and residential customers in Canada.... The CRTC has recognized that fair competition also requires a transitional approach to wholesale deregulation." ** Robert Depatie, CEO, Videotron: "This decision will allow competition to take root in a harmonious manner, to the benefit of Canadian consumers ... Deregulation of local telephone service is inevitable, but it must be introduced once conditions conducive to sustainable competition exist." ** Yves Mayrand, VP, Cogeco Cable: "The CRTC's new criteria will provide consumers with the assurance that they will quickly benefit from the impact of competition." ** Dan McKeen, Co-CEO, EastLink: "EastLink believes the CRTC made a thoughtful attempt to balance the interests of all parties ... [but would have preferred a 30% threshold and larger geographic areas, so it] is concerned the guidelines ... will not maintain long-term sustainable competition." ** Bruce Robertson, Director, Vonage Canada: "With these new rules, Vonage Canada believes all companies, regardless of size, will have an equal opportunity to compete for Canadians' telephone business on a level playing field." ** Michael Janigan, General Counsel, Public Interest Advocacy Centre: "We are pleased that the Commission listened to our views on the consumer safeguards that are necessary in markets which have been deemed to be competitive." ** L'Union des consommateurs: "Disappointed by the decision ... not convinced that deregulation is in consumers' interest ... Fears that the 25% rule will lead to duopoly rather than true competition." ** Lawson Hunter, EVP, Bell Canada: "We are profoundly disappointed ... The Commission's ruling exacerbates the problems of a system that policy experts have already said is broken ... An appeal to the federal cabinet remains a very strong possibility." ** Heather Tulk, VP, Aliant: "Once again the CRTC has shown a stunning lack of concern for consumers and an inability to understand the reality of the market characteristics at play in the various regions of Canada ... Aliant fully intends to appeal this decision." ** Janet Yale, EVP, Telus: "Unlike the forward-looking framework recommended in the government's recent Telecom Policy Review report, this decision shows that the Commission is out of step with the telecommunications industry's current situation." ** Ian Russell, Chair, Coalition for Competitive Telecommunications: "This Decision continues the legacy of regulatory intervention in the telecommunications marketplace that we know is no longer needed or wanted by Canadian business." BELL TO SEND CUSTOMER CALLS TO INDIA: By the third quarter of this year, Bell Canada will route 5% of its total incoming call volume to call centres in India. Bell Senior VP Ellen Malcolmson tells Telecom Update that the offshored calls will be taken from the 30% of calls to Bell that were previously outsourced to third-party call centres in Canada. ** The Canadian Telecommunications Employees' Association says its members fear that the volume of offshored calls will grow, further eroding job security and job opportunities in Canada. WINBACK RULES UPHELD: Two CRTC decisions this week deal with the winback rules: ** In Decision 2006-17, the CRTC agrees with Quebecor that Bell Canada violated the winback rules when it sent "customer appreciation" cards to former customers, inviting them to call Bell and providing a phone number (see Telecom Update #497). Bell is ordered to stop the practice. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-17.htm ** In Decision 2006-16, responding to a 2005 application by Bell Canada and SaskTel, the CRTC says the winback rules do restrict commercial free speech, but that the infringement is a reasonable limit consistent with Section 1 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-16.htm NEARLY 5% OF HOMES USE CELLPHONES ONLY: A cellphone is the only phone in 4.8% of Canadian households, more than double the number two years ago. Statistics Canada says B.C. has the most cellphone-only homes -- 7.1% -- while New Brunswick, with 2.4%, has the fewest. ** The percentage of homes with no phone at all dropped from 1.5% in 2004 to 1.2% in 2005, the first time that figure has fallen since 1998. http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/060405/d060405b.htm ALCATEL AGREES TO BUY LUCENT: Alcatel and Lucent have agreed to combine in a "merger of equals" based on a US$13.4 billion stock swap. Alcatel shareholders will have a 60% stake, but the board will be split 50-50 and Lucent CEO Patricia Russo will head the merged company. (See Telecom Update #522) ** Alcatel and Lucent plan to lay off 10% of their combined staff; they have not said if Alcatel's 3,000 employees in Canada will be affected. GENESYS TO BUY VOICEGENIE: Genesys, a subsidiary of Alcatel, is buying Toronto-based "voice portal" developer VoiceGenie for an undisclosed amount. VoiceGenie, which has 90 employees, is second to Genesys in market share for IVR systems worldwide: its Canadian customers include Scotiabank, Bell Canada, and Rogers Telecom. NAVIGATA LAUNCHES VoIP IN SASKATCHEWAN: Navigata, a SaskTel subsidiary, now offers its WebCall VoIP service in Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert. Basic service, including 1,000 minutes of off-net long distance, is $29.95/month. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2006/o2006-68.htm MTS ADDS ALARM SERVICE TO TELECOM BUNDLES: Manitoba Tel customers can now include services from AAA Alarm Systems in product bundles with MTS Wireless, MTS High Speed Internet, and MTS TV, and receive an additional $5/month discount. BELL SAYS VIDEOTRON IMPEDES CUSTOMER CHOICE: Bell Canada has asked the CRTC to order Videotron to stop disconnecting customers' inside wire from Bell's network when activating cable telephony service, and to allow these customers to continue using Bell's high-speed Internet services. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2006/8622/b2_200602773.htm NORTEL BROADENS RESTATEMENT: Nortel Networks now says that the scope of the accounting restatement announced March 10 will be wider than expected. The amounts involved were not disclosed. (See Telecom Update #520) TELUS OFFERS SMALL-BUSINESS BUNDLE: Telus has introduced Business One, a bundle of IP-based telecom, Internet, and IT services designed for small businesses. It is currently available only in Alberta and British Columbia. ITU TELECOM SHOW RETURNS TO GENEVA: This year's Telecom World show will be held in December in Hong Kong, the first time that the once-every-three-years extravaganza has been held anywhere but Geneva. But it seems that the non-European venue was not well received by exhibitors and attendees: this week the International Telecommunications Union announced that Telecom World 2009 will be held in Geneva: Hong Kong didn't even submit a proposal. CABLECO BUYING BRITISH VIRGIN MOBILE: A British cable company, NTL, has agreed to buy the British wing of Richard Branson's wireless holdings for 962 million pounds. Branson's Virgin Group also owns 50% of Virgin Mobile Canada. RIM REVENUE SOARS; STOCK SLIPS: Research In Motion says subscriber additions are up 50% since settlement of the NTP suit. Revenue of US$561 million in the quarter ended March 4 was 39% higher than a year ago. A $162 million charge related to the NTP suit held profits to $18 million. RIM's results trailed forecasts, sparking a 6% drop in its share price. HEAD OF NETWORK GROUP LEAVES CYGNAL: Todd Rutherford, President of Cygnal Technologies' Network Solutions Group, is leaving the company to "pursue other interests." His interim replacement is CEO Jos Wintermans. CWTA HOLDING WIRELESS CONFERENCE: The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association will hold a two-day conference entitled "Work. Live. Play. The Infinite Potential of Wireless" in Toronto May 16-17. It is the CWTA's first multi-day conference since 2002. http://www.cwta.ca OUR PUBLISHING SCHEDULE: Next week's issue of Telecom Update will be published on Thursday, so that our team can enjoy the long weekend. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: SD Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 10:08:08 -0500 On 4/6/2006 3:14 PM, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > May Wong wrote: >> Apple Computer Celebrates Its 30th Birthday Amid Recent Successes, >> Future Challenges > It is interesting in the history of computers and technology how some > companies last many years and others are a flash and burn out quickly. > Whatever happened to Visicalc? WordPerfect? Commodore? Brinklin did not patent the electronic spreadsheet and consequently lost out to bigger players that had more marketing. Wordperfect is now with Corel. Commodore is a sad story ... Amiga rest in peace. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Date: 7 Apr 2006 08:41:59 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Lisa, we _need_ a good article on > disk drives for our archives in the history section. Would you > mind preparing one I could keep on file here? PAT] Yes, I'm trying to put something together in time for the annivesary. I don't know if IBM is doing anything or not. In short: In the early 1950s Tom Watson Jr, now president of IBM, wanted to attract promising college grads from the west coast, but they weren't interested in coming east. So he established a new IBM library in San Diego. Previously IBM facilities was mostly in the NY state area based on train travel. Watson Jr was very much into aviation, being a WW II air corp pilot. IBM recognized it needed a random access memory instead of just tape. The mag drum of the time was too small. They developed the disk drive. They had to invent a very flat surface, even dispersal of mag coating, a disk arm mechanism, a disk read write head, a way to ensure the thing would fall down on the platter yet stay close enough to read/write; and a way to randomize records. It was announced as a product in Sept 1956. For such a momentus product, the business and trade press of the day were largely silent, just a minor few lines mentioned IBM announced some new products. The earliest disk drive held only 5 meg--5 million characters. Then they got it up to 50. The disk was HUGE and part of a bigger machine. It was very expensive. It some years to get the cost down and space up, and then disks was available in other products. But for many years tape was the way to go. Even the early PCs had provision to connect a tape drive (actually an ordinary audio cassette recorder) for lowcost storage, but soon disks got so cheap it wasn't needed and tape was too slow. The IBM history web page, on their site, has more information. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 11:30:58 -0500 From: Andrew Hastings Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Organization: Sun Microsystems hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Where are DEC (Digital/PDP) and CDC (Control Data Corporation)? What > about Cray? DEC was bought by Compaq and merged into HP. CDC split into two companies, Ceridian (services) and Control Data Systems (hardware). Ceridian lives on. CDS evolved into a systems integration business and was purchased by the British firm Syntegra which in turn was acquired by British Telecom. (Extra credit: We've heard about Burroughs, Univac, and CDC. What happened to the remaining two companies of the BUNCH: NCR and Honeywell?) Cray Research was purchased by SGI, shrunk, and then sold to Tera Computer. Tera took on the Cray name and lives on as Cray Inc. Cray still has a respectable showing on the Top 500 list of supercomputers http://www.top500.org . A recent article reverses this and (incorrectly) claims Cray bought Tera: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=181502574 ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 03:12:31 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:29:21 -0400, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > I knew I had _something_ still wrong with me when I came back from > Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, but I attributed it to > continued weakness from the heart attack. I still had very labored > breathing, (sort of an emphsezma/COPT condition) and was using oxygen > when I slept at night. But I _assumed_ it was all under control. It > now appears I had pneumonia when I was admitted to Jane Phillips; > Mercy Hospital (here in Independence) had assumed I would stay in JP > until all was cured; JP on the other hand wanted to first deal with my > heart attack (and the stent they put in me) as the first priority, > then they sent me back home figuring I would deal with the pneumonia > on an outpatient basis with Mercy. If the system you describe in Independence were linked with the Bartlesville system, presuming they have one, that wouldn't have happened. Information handling in medicine is really culpably poor. > OB-TELECOM and MERCY HOSPITAL DATACOM: _Everything_ at Mercy Hospital > is computerized. Everytime a human being came into my room to > variously change the antibiotic bag or feed me some pills or pound my > back or for that matter to dump my piss-pot urinal in the toilet they > would make entries on a lap top computer they brought with them and > plugged into a connection in my room. > ...and he said among other things, it did remove > the possibility of 'human error' in noting the administration of > drugs to the patients, etc. It certainly reduces it, but I don't believe it eliminates it. Let's also hope they have the system properly backed up and decoupled from any Internet access. > Not a single _wired_ phone where staff is concerned. Patient phones > were wired, of course, but every staff person had a cellular phone. > They called them 'hospital phones', and claimed they were on a > different frequency than cellular; to me they just appeared to be > cellular phones, and not their personal cells either. They would > answer them _by their department name_ even when in patient rooms. On > the roof of the main hospital building here and there I would see > little antennas stuck around everywhere, that is what they worked > with I guess. It doesn't sound like the building is very tall, but if it is one of the taller structures in the area, it may well rent out antenna space. Also hospitals tend to have pager systems, links with various other emergency services, etc. The few of them I have been on the roof of had fairly impressive antenna farms. > Even though these 'hospital' (really cellular?) phones > looked and acted like cell phones in general, I noticed that when > they had occassion to call another employee or department they only > punched out four digits as though it was an extension. That could work either way. It is possible for cellular systems to implement Centrex groups with internal dialing plans. > Dr. Higknight's phone was the same way, four digits dialed got him > the intake department across the street at the hospital, and '9' got > him an outside line. His phone was a 'hospital' (cellular?) phone as > well. If they don't think it is cellular, it still might be some variation of it. If they want to cover the entire town, it would almost have to be, but if it only needs to work near the hospital, it might be some sort of standalone system. The latter would have the distinct advantage of being less likely to saturate in an emergency, or of being able to implement precedence and pre-emption, like military systems at least used to do. > Well, that's what I have doing all this past week. Sounds like you were better entertained than anyone, yourself most of all, would have wished. Glad to have you back. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The previous time I was there, some three or four weeks before as an emergency room in-patient of course was when I had the heart attack. (My third one of God knows how many I will go through before I finally depart.) I really did not feel very well that time around; not well enough to critique the phone system. I do not think they intend to saturate the entire town; that is what the public phone system is for. I do know the switchboard has a 'tie-line' or two between B'Ville OK, C'Ville KS and Independence. I suspect that Labette County Medical Center (next county east of us) is on that line as well, as are Wichita and Topeka, and probably Tulsa. Those main cities (Wichita, Tulsa, Topeka) are all the principal medical centers in our area; All three are about equally distant (100-150 miles?) from the center core (B'ville, C'ville, Independence) where rural medical services are needed. I do not know what the various antennas on top of Mercy Hospital do, but I have heard on my scanner radio when calls went out to the helicopter which transports patients around. And I know City of Independence has an antenna up there as well, but I do not know why, City Hall, (police and fire stations) as well as the County Court House (sheriff and correctional center [or, as we call it the 'jailhouse']) are all within about one mile of each other, and all have antennas on their roofs also. I do know that on top of each of those buildings there are also siren horns, to warn of tornados, which is our big problem around here. When I got dismissed from Mercy yesterday about noon, I had been home about two hours and the sky got _very_ black and the horns went off; then police took over the cable system telling people 'get into cover' and drove down the street making the same demands, so I went and stood in a certain spot (a closet in between a couple of outside walls where one can sort of crunch down) to wait until the 'all-clear' was sounded. Something very odd, to me at least: In 150 years, Independence has never once been directly hit by a tornado. They say that is because we are in a low-lying valley area. Things sort of blow over the top of us. Elk City State Park, five miles west of us got hit by a very big tornado about a week ago however. And that one was a *weebitclose* IMO, as the far west side of town got some damage and -- God Forbid! -- even Walmart had to go into a lockdown that day for twenty minutes; no one admitted to or allowed to leave the store during the storm. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: 7 Apr 2006 08:23:25 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > now appears I had pneumonia when I was admitted to Jane Phillips; That's not uncommon. > I get over to Dr. Dykstra (cardiologist) and Dr. Higknight (his > associate here) and although Dykstra thought that plan of action would > be acceptable, Dr. Higknight flipped his lid -- literally -- was quite > angry and said Bartlesville should have held me over and 'done the > entire job right'. My personal doctor, Dr. Walker, was sort of neutral > on the matter, but considering he is the 'low man on the totem pole' > here in Independence (the new guy in town as I mentioned here a week > or two ago) he went along with Dr. Higknight's beliefs. Sadly this "intramural squabbling" is common among doctors and the patient is caught in the middle. The poor patient has no idea what to do. A friend of mine had a "bubble" in a key intestinal artery and required surgery. He didn't know he also had pneumonia as well. The post op treatment plan for him was frustrating as different doctors told him to take or not take various drugs. Also, they weren't passing on their test results to other doctors in the chain. Then they were giving other drugs to counteract the side effects from the earlier drug which in turn caused other side effects. It was a mess getting it all straightened out. Not helping was that he was upset and confused by the whole thing and it was hard for him to follow along with everything. > He left the room, went and found the two of them, brought them over > to his examination area to have them look at me and prod me; they > then all came to the consensus that yes, I should be immediatly back > in the hospital; they called across the street to the hospital > proper and told them to plan to admit me as an inpatient. ... You were fortunate that the doctors and the hospital were all in one place. His doctors were all over the county. Of course, not helping was that he wasn't allowed to drive so it was hard getting to see all these people, plus make appointments that wouldn't conflict with each other. He was able to round up some people to take him to various visits, but not everybody has that luxury, esp when your friends are working and would have to lose time from work*. I'm glad it worked out for you. Best wishes for continued good health! > OB-TELECOM and MERCY HOSPITAL DATACOM: _Everything_ at Mercy Hospital > is computerized. ... With the advent of inexpensive scanning devices and micro computers, this is practical. Having worked in a hospital I do think it's a good idea. All of that stuff used to be done by hand by either the nurse or a clerk and was subject to error. Upon admission, each patient got an Addressograph plate, similar to a credit card. (For some reason they still do to this day). For every patient action the plate would be used to stamp a form (remember the old heavy charge stamp machines cashiers had to post a credit card?), and the details filled out on the form. In the old days, chargeable actions, such as prescription or supply orders, would be keypunched and processed for billing. IBM had a sophistical patient accounting system to do that that ran on its 1401 using only 16K, indeed, many hospitals kept that system going years after conversion to more modern computers, running the 1401 under emulation. Several times a day the patient's vital signs are taken. This may be automated now with the beep monitors attached to people, but they are important as a steep change could indicate something wrong and allows them to nip serious problems early. Presumably now an order for say pharmacy is electronically transmitted so an orderly doesn't have to carry the slip down as in the old days. There was considerable traffic in such slips and forms. > He said the main reason for having all the medications > audited and tracked by the computer was because "The Sisters of Mercy > out of St. Louis (hospital administrators) 'have had some problems > in the past with missing medications, patient complaints, etc". He > quite agreed the system was not fool-proof, but when it booted up in > each patient's room it did present some sort of message from Microsoft > about what it was doing, and he said among other things, it did remove > the possibility of 'human error' in noting the administration of > drugs to the patients, etc. That hospital was by no means unique in missing meds or errors. The computer system can improve accuracy, but human error is still possible. The volume of medicines dispensed is incredible, and many have special conditions. It gets messy. Years ago when I was a patient after surgey I was entitled to a pain killer. I could choose between 30 mg or 60 mg every 4 hours. The problem was that 30 mg was not enough but 60 mg was too much and made me sick. So I asked for the obvious, such as 45 mg or to take the 30 mg more frequently. (Wouldn't 30 every two hours equate to 60 every four hours)? They said NO, one or the other. I also preferred an injection rather than a pill due to naseua which was approved, but sometimes the nurse insisted on a pill. I don't know if modern systems would alleviate the above problem. It depends on a large part to the people making the entries in the first place and the subsequent people interpreting the entries and THE RULES. More recently, with my mother in the nursing home, she got a sedative that knocked her out. I asked and was approved for her to get a half-dose but often the nurses wouldn't bother cutting the tablet for a half dose and still gave the full pill. That used to annoy me but I had other bigger issues to deal with. IMHO, I think it is imperative for anyone getting major health care treatment to have a "manager" look out for their interests. That manager should understand all drugs and treatments, what they are for, what they are supposed to accomplish, and what side effects there will be. Sometimes there are treatments that are routinely done but not always necessarily in a particular case. My friend above had a friend help him much of the time with this mgmt to clear up some of the confusion. Usually the manager is a spouse, parent, or child, but that person needs a cool head and good common sense. If the closest relative isn't too well skilled (and not everyone is), it could be a problem. Another problem is when two relatives disagree on treatment. > Apparently even small town hospitals like ours have some 'big city' > problems like drug abuse and 'evil-nurse' syndromes from time to > time. IMHO, many health care workers in direct patient care are overloaded; there are simply not enough qualified staff to do a proper thorough job. People are either stretched too thin, work double shifts, or inadequately trained helpers are used. In the old days only an RN could dispense meds, then it became an LPN, now it is aides under an LPN's "supervision". I think they're giving these aides, who are not that skilled or trained, too much responsibility. I don't like it when professional staff like RNs or LPNs work double shifts. > THE PHONE SYSTEM: Mercy Hospital's main switchboard is 620-331-2200. When I was in the hospital it was a classic Bell System dial PBX. Patient rooms had beige phones, all others were black. In semi-pvt rooms (with 2 beds), each patient had their own set, but were on a common extension line for the room. The PBX operators would screen patient calls if requested and make blanket screenings. Calls to the maternity ward were rejected during certain hours at feeding time. No calls after 9pm went through. Individual requests were accomodated by placing a colored dummy plug in the switchboard jack for that patient extension. The operator would either reject all calls for that room ("the phone is disconnected") or restrict to "calls by immediate family only"). I don't think any of this screening is possible today with centrex, except to shut off rooms after bedtime. At another hospital with a centrex, the operators manually threw a toggle switch to shut off the rooms at bedtime and reopen them in the morning. Patients could only dial 9+local number or the hospital operator, they could not dial any hospital extension. Patients could only be reached through the operator. The hospital switchboard was 12 positions and very busy. There were 700 beds and 900-1000 extensions plus tie lines. There were also many lamps on of outside (trunk) and attendant calls coming in. Operators "overlapped", taking a second call while ringing on the first. This was a classic style operation with terse standard phasing and high volume. The operators made up a toll ticket and got time and charges from Bell for outside toll calls. Two operators handled paging for doctors. Paging was done through the headset and a key on the keyshelf. I believe Western Electric provided the PA system. When there was a stat call, an operator would call the elevator man to position it as needed. Bell made a phone for elevators oddly shaped to fit into the phone box. When the Chief Operator retired, she returned shortly afterward as a volunteer and worked taking calls. One change from then to now is back then family were forbidden to call the nursing station desks, only doctors were allowed; the operators screened such calls. But today the operators put family right through the nurses' station to answer questions on treatment and condition. That does make it easier for family. When I visited my above friend during his stay, I was surprised that his hospital still extensively used loudspeaker paging. Even 25 years ago the above hospital was moving to beepers; I figured by now all doctors would use beepers. Anyway, Pat stay well! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: One thing I noticed about Mercy was the place was generally _very quiet_. Of course I kept the door of my room mostly closed, but there were no 'beepers' or 'pagers'; just the occassional incoming 'cell phone' call to a staff person. No loudspeakers, no blue or red codes while I was there. Lisa, I _hope_ I can stay well, I would like to at least get through 25 years of it here; which is not to say I would quit then, but it would be a logical place if it was to happen. PAT] ------------------------------ From: John Reiser Subject: Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 19:45:57 -0700 > Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11 > plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct > the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem? Some FAX machines have this builtin, for instance some Panasonic models. Daisy chain from line to FAX to answering machine. The FAX lets the answering machine start every time, but the FAX intercepts (and hangs up on the answering machine) when it recognizes the FAX tone. If the FAX has a handset then you can answer manually, then push the START button on the FAX as necessary. On an ADSL line, remember to insert the filter before the first non-ADSL device. ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol Subject: Re: Competitive DSL (was Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name) Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:29:28 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com Paul Robinson wrote: > I have volumously described over the years in this Digest my problems > with (what was then) Bell Atlantic of Maryland's back office practices > and later as (its reincarnation with GTE) Verizon, such that I was > afraid if I ordered a simple change I'd end up with Foreign Exchange > service from West Virginia or something wierd like that. When I was > able to get competitive local service (in Maryland) from Starpower, I > switched to them. Yes, they resell Verizon's service but at least I > could symbolically tell them "up yours." More importantly, when Verizon breaks things, you get to let Starpower deal with the problem instead of having to call Verizon yourself. > As an extra note, I want to point out that despite the problems I have > had with Verizon's back office, I have, in over fifteen years of dealing > with them, never once found a lineperson who was not polite, > knowledgeable, and more importantly, willing to call in and ask for > technical assistance if they weren't sure. SBC is malicious, clueless and does a lot of stuff that borders on criminal, but SBC's Advanced Services group are wonderful. They're the guys who actually maintain the DSL lines -- the group was spun off to avoid regulatory hassles. Their Hi-Cap people and linemen are terrific too. I think that's pretty standard, regardless of which telco you deal with. > have switched. I mean, I used to deal with GTE in Long Beach, > California and it seems like "the worst phone company in California, > bar none" according to the California PUC, was perhaps better in > some aspects than Barf Atemetic, err I mean Bell Atlantic! Hm. If you really think Verizon is the worst phone company in California bar none, maybe you should try SBC. After my experiences with them in Ohio, I am pleased to be able to pay Verizon instead of SBC for dialtone out here. (Verizon in the Victor Valley was formerly GTE, which in turn was formerly Continental Telephone.) It will be very hard for Verizon to piss me off the way SBC did. Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, CA ** 888.480.4NET (4638) ** sjsobol@JustThe.net Resident of Southern California - the home of beautiful people and butt-ugly traffic jams [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: This is exactly how I feel about SBC. I do not know which is worse; their inaccuracy in their billing and procedures, or their arrogance in claiming they are never wrong and always have it right. At one point, at least an appeal to the chairman's office got you someone who would attempt (and usually succeed) in making things right. Now they just do not seem to care at all; and I have heard they are outsourcing their customer service reps mostly to India and Hong Kong. Any truth in that if you know? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol Subject: Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:31:25 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com Paul A Lee wrote: > If AT&T (SBC) is providing your local phone service, then they're > almost certainly subject to regulation by your state public > utilities/service commission (see http://www.naruc.org/ or phone > directory blue pages). What's the userid used for again? (I forgot) Most data services are not regulated. Stuff like T-1 might be, but T-1 lines don't require a userid to use. Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, CA ** 888.480.4NET (4638) ** sjsobol@JustThe.net Resident of Southern California - the home of beautiful people and butt-ugly traffic jams ------------------------------ From: SD Subject: Re: Alcatel, Lucent to Merge Date: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 10:00:13 -0500 I hate this being called a merger. Just like Mercedes and Chrysler? Bye, bye Murray Hill ... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 09:25:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: What do Cellphones Talk About? tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) Tue, 04 Apr 2006 23:48:36 GMT wrote: > But Sunday (first morning after daylight time change in USA), I looked > at my phone and it was still an hour off. It wasn't until I made a web > connection by asking it to check my account balance that the clock > finally reset to correct time. > So what the heck are all those little talks with the cell tower > about if they don't even exchange the time of day while they are at > it? (My definition of "useful" must be different than my > cellphone's). It depends on the cellphone and what technology it uses. If it was a CDMA phone the time is part of the spec so it will always be up-to-date. GSM systems can and often do have a system called "NITZ" (Network Information Time Zone) which will automatically update the time and date. Not all operators use it and also not all handsets support the standard since it's an optional specification in GSM. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #130 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Apr 8 21:52:18 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 727BA14F03; Sat, 8 Apr 2006 21:52:17 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #131 Message-Id: <20060409015217.727BA14F03@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 21:52:17 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, HOT_NASTY,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NORMAL_HTTP_TO_IP autolearn=unavailable version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 8 Apr 2006 21:54:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 131 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Judge Okays AOL Class Action Settlement (Associated Press News Wire) Europeans Rush to Register .eu Names (Reuters News Wire) Cingular to Sell Ring Tones From MySpace Bands (Reuters News Wire) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (DLR) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (Robert Bonomi) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (T) Can DECT Work From Moving Vehicle? (news@absamail.co.za) Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? (DLR) Re: What Happened to Me (Henry) Re: What Happened to Me (DLR) Re: EFFector 19.12: Action Alert - Stop Congress From XXXing (Robt Bonomi) Today's Last Loser! Another Spammer (Mike) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Judge Okays AOL Class Action Settlement Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 19:25:17 -0500 A judge has approved a $2.65 billion class-action settlement of claims that advertising revenue was counted in a fraudulent manner prior to the merger of America Online Inc. and Time Warner Inc. U.S. District Judge Shirley Wohl Kram signed a ruling approving the deal Thursday. She had given the settlement tentative approval in September 2005. The settlement resulted from lawsuits brought by shareholders who complained that AOL improperly accounted for dozens of advertising transactions, inflating revenue for 15 quarters between 1998 and 2002. AOL and Time Warner announced they were merging in early 2000. AOL's steadily declining dial-up subscriber base became a drain on Time Warner, though the Internet provider has risen in stature with the recent boom in online advertising. According to the deal approved by Kram, Time Warner will pay the bulk of the settlement while its auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, will pay $100 million. The judge noted in her ruling that the settlement resulted from seven months of intense negotiations overseen by a court-appointed special master. She said it was clear that class members will not recover their entire loss, but added that the settlement was "all the more impressive" when the parties continue to dispute the very existence of damages. She said the settlement had received overwhelming support by nearly all of the estimated 600,000 claimants. The lead plaintiff was the Minnesota State Board of Investment, which manages the investment of retirement fund assets of the Minnesota State Retirement System, Teachers Retirement Association and the Public Employees Retirement Association. The Minnesota board, with total assets exceeding $50 billion, lost an estimated $249 million and had the largest financial stake in the litigation, Kram said. Kathy McKiernan, a Time Warner spokeswoman, said the company had no comment. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Europeans Rush to Register .eu Names Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 19:23:50 -0500 Hundreds of thousands of Europeans rushed to sign up for .eu Internet domain suffixes on Friday, the first day for registrations by individuals, the European Commission said. "The demand of European citizens and companies will show whether they believe in Europe," Commissioner for Information and Society Viviane Reding told reporters. In addition to the .eu domain, each of the 25 member countries has its own domain suffix, as well as the familiar .com, .org and .int. names to choose from. Reding said about 300,000 people had applied for the .eu suffix in the first hour on Friday. European residents can apply by going to domain registrars listed at www.eurid.org, the Commission said. The domain name has been open to businesses and organizations since December with more than 300,000 applications, of which 54,000 have been approved. The Commission expects EURiD to register around 240,000 companies and organizations by the end of this year. That figure is small compared with the 40 million .com domain names, about 10 million German .de names and .net with 7 million names, a Commission official said. The registrars listed at EURiD offer varying prices and annual fees, and the Commission advised consumers to shop around. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters newswire, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Cingular to Sell Ring Tones From MySpace Bands Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 19:22:38 -0500 Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. cellphone service, said on Thursday it plans to sell ringtones from bands that put their music on MySpace.com, the social Web site that is popular among teenagers. Cingular, a venture of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., said it hopes the service will boost revenue, customer loyalty and help its image among young people. "One of our goals is to really appeal to and be relevant to younger people ... It's a reason to stay with Cingular in a highly competitive environment," said David Garver, a Cingular marketing executive at the CTIA wireless show here. Customers will be able to preview ringtones and buy them on the MySpace Web site, which will then send them to their cellphone. Cingular plans to charge about $2.50 for each 30 second ringtone and will give the bands 25 percent of the proceeds. The rest of the money will be split between Cingular and InfoSpace Inc., which is helping to create and select the ringtones for Cingular. U.S. operators are putting everything from music to video on cellphone networks in an effort to get customers to use their phones for more than just talking. Yankee Group analyst Andy Castonguay said Cingular will need to be careful not to breach copyright laws as musicians may run afoul of music labels if only a portion of their song sounds like a previous track. But he said working with new bands was a "great opportunity for them." Because MySpace, owned by News Corp., has about 56 million users it has been eyed as a potential place to pick up young customers by companies including Cingular, and Helio, a Korean-American venture which is expected to set up a cellphone service for young people in the next few months. Reuters/VNU Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters Newswire and other media, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/ and select from the audio and visual contents on display there. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 09:38:12 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Lisa, we _need_ a good article on >> disk drives for our archives in the history section. Would you >> mind preparing one I could keep on file here? PAT] > Yes, I'm trying to put something together in time for the annivesary. > I don't know if IBM is doing anything or not. > In short: > In the early 1950s Tom Watson Jr, now president of IBM, wanted to > attract promising college grads from the west coast, but they weren't > interested in coming east. So he established a new IBM library in San > Diego. Previously IBM facilities was mostly in the NY state area > based on train travel. Watson Jr was very much into aviation, being a > WW II air corp pilot. > IBM recognized it needed a random access memory instead of just tape. > The mag drum of the time was too small. They developed the disk > drive. They had to invent a very flat surface, even dispersal of mag > coating, a disk arm mechanism, a disk read write head, a way to ensure > the thing would fall down on the platter yet stay close enough to > read/write; and a way to randomize records. > It was announced as a product in Sept 1956. For such a momentus > product, the business and trade press of the day were largely silent, > just a minor few lines mentioned IBM announced some new products. > The earliest disk drive held only 5 meg--5 million characters. Then > they got it up to 50. The disk was HUGE and part of a bigger machine. > It was very expensive. > It some years to get the cost down and space up, and then disks was > available in other products. But for many years tape was the way to > go. Even the early PCs had provision to connect a tape drive > (actually an ordinary audio cassette recorder) for lowcost storage, > but soon disks got so cheap it wasn't needed and tape was too slow. > The IBM history web page, on their site, has more information. news.com.com did a nice history of the San Jose facility. And yes they wanted the Cal Tech and Sanford grads who had NO interest in NY. :) > (Extra credit: We've heard about Burroughs, Univac, and CDC. What > happened to the remaining two companies of the BUNCH: NCR and > Honeywell?) NCR was bought by AT&T? You skipped GE and Sperry. ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 13:57:34 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , wrote: > May Wong wrote: >> Apple Computer Celebrates Its 30th Birthday Amid Recent Successes, >> Future Challenges > It is interesting in the history of computers and technology how some > companies last many years and others are a flash and burn out quickly. > Whatever happened to Visicalc? WordPerfect? Commodore? WordPerfect *is* still around. Still viable. Still making money. Admittedly, they're not the independent company they used to be -- they were purchased by Corel Corp., who made an offer that was 'too good to refuse'. WP is still very much the preferred software in legal environments. A few months ago, the U.S. Dept of Justice announced they were dumping _all_ use of MS Word (at least -- I think it was the entire MS office line that was dumped), and standardizing _solely_ on the WP products. As for VisiCalc, see: a story released today, Saturday, April 8. Commodore was brought down by management problems -- bad strategic decisions, etc. -- _while_ they still had a competitive product. Subsequent attempts to revive the product line were doomed by: the elapsed time due to legal wrangling, attempting to maintain 'backward compatibility' the prior machines when the 'world' had moved to much more sophisticated platforms, etc. Note: the 'maintaining backward compatibility' dilemma is also what killed off WordStar, in the face of competition from the likes of WordPerfect. > For a while, Compaq and Gateway were the rage. Now it seems to be > Dell. HP has never been much good at -aggressive- marketing. Historically, they sold mostly to the technical/engineering market, where superior specifications and quality were -- pretty much _by_themselves_ -- sufficient to 'make' the deal. They sold 'beef', not 'sizzle'. :) Forays into 'consumer' products have been handicapped by the unwillingness (or 'inability') to sell primarily based on 'sizzle'. > It should be noted that Hewlett Packard is a much older company, I > believe dating back to the 1930s. They had mini-computers out by 1970. I thought they were post-WWII, but their web-site says 'Incorporated in 1939'. > I doubt younger readers ever heard of Remington Rand. This was a > large company making business products. It took over the newly > invented Univac and ERA groups and became Univac. It merged with > another business giant, Burroughs to become Unisys. It's a much > smaller company today. Would you believe that Remington-Rand still sells typewriters? And under that brand label. > Where are DEC (Digital/PDP) and CDC (Control Data Corporation)? What > about Cray? DEC was bought by COMPAQ (who eventually killed off the product-line names), which was then absorbed into HP. Control Data Corp remained in existence, as an -independent- company, until *1999*, when they were acquired by 'Synterga' (sp??), a large mining company. CDC had gone through several 're-alignments', and changes of business direction (including getting out of the manufacture of high-performance mainframes) in the preceeding couple of decades. [[.. snip ..]] > It's strange that so many websites and articles refer to the "early > days" and "antiques" of computers to only 30 years ago. The PC > revolution was indeed a big change for society. However, the advent > of computers in business was a much bigger change since it changed > processing from pencil and automation. Even if at home we didn't have > a computer, we were using one at work or businesses we visited used > one. Even if the PC never was developed, many features we see, such > as telephone inquiry, would still have come to pass supported by > mainframes or minis. I submit the 40th Anniversary of System/360 was > quite significant. ' The 'escape' of the mini-computer from the research lab environment, and into the business world, was the real '2nd revolution' -- the first being the introduction of the mainframe into business records-keeping. The S/360 announcement was significant, in that it committed IBM to a long-term strategy of _compatible_ systems in increasing performance, thus significantly reducing the 'total cost of ownership' across several _generations_ of hardware. This made it 'feasible' (i.e. financially practical) for a larger share of the existing 'potential customer' base to take advantage of computerization, but it did not bring entirely new classes of customers into the market. Which the mini-computer revolution, and the subsequent desktop revolution _did_ do. S/360 was a quantitative change in the markets, admittedly a significant one, but still only quantitative. Mini-computers, and later, desktop ones, were _qualitative_ changes in the world of computing. This is a significant difference. > The upcoming 50th anniverseary of the disk drive (this Sept 2006) is > very significant since almost everything we do would be impossible > without random access disk memory. ObNitPick: 'random access' and 'disk' are *NOT* synonymous. Most of the things we do today do require random-access mass storage of some sort, and this, as a _practical_ matter, translates to 'rotating mass storage' of some sort. ('random access' _does_ exist on 'start/stop' mag tape drives, although performance is, 'relatively speaking', abysmal :) RMS can be implemented in a number of ways, only one of which is 'disk'. Disk has a price/performance advantage over other implementations, but to state that things would be 'impossible' without disk is a clear overstatement. Everything we do with disks *would* be possible with 'drum' storage, for example -- it *would* be more expensive, but _possible_. ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2006 19:07:52 -0400 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Lisa, we _need_ a good article on >> disk drives for our archives in the history section. Would you >> mind preparing one I could keep on file here? PAT] > Yes, I'm trying to put something together in time for the annivesary. > I don't know if IBM is doing anything or not. > In short: > In the early 1950s Tom Watson Jr, now president of IBM, wanted to > attract promising college grads from the west coast, but they weren't > interested in coming east. So he established a new IBM library in San > Diego. Previously IBM facilities was mostly in the NY state area > based on train travel. Watson Jr was very much into aviation, being a > WW II air corp pilot. > IBM recognized it needed a random access memory instead of just tape. > The mag drum of the time was too small. They developed the disk > drive. They had to invent a very flat surface, even dispersal of mag > coating, a disk arm mechanism, a disk read write head, a way to ensure > the thing would fall down on the platter yet stay close enough to > read/write; and a way to randomize records. > It was announced as a product in Sept 1956. For such a momentus > product, the business and trade press of the day were largely silent, > just a minor few lines mentioned IBM announced some new products. > The earliest disk drive held only 5 meg--5 million characters. Then > they got it up to 50. The disk was HUGE and part of a bigger machine. > It was very expensive. > It some years to get the cost down and space up, and then disks was > available in other products. But for many years tape was the way to > go. Even the early PCs had provision to connect a tape drive > (actually an ordinary audio cassette recorder) for lowcost storage, > but soon disks got so cheap it wasn't needed and tape was too slow. > The IBM history web page, on their site, has more information. Wow -- and I'm all depressed that my new laptop has only 512MB of RAM and a 60GB hard drive. ------------------------------ From: news@absamail.co.za Subject: Can DECT Work From Moving Vehicle ? Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 05:34:38 -0500 Hi, I understand that DECT has some critical timing requirements? Could it be used to 'collect' data from a stationary 'partner' while passing within 30 m. and travelling at 100 km/h ? Since it would only be in-range [< 100 m separation] for a few seconds, it could only collect a little data. What is typical DECT data rate ? Thanks for any info. == Chris Glur. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 09:25:15 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? John Reiser wrote: >> Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11 >> plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct >> the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem? If you can get "distinctive ringing" for multiple numbers on a link there are boxes that will direct the call based on the ring pattern. This means the line doesn't get answered by the wrong machine which then has to "hand off" the call. Multi-Link has one I've used for years. About $100 at Graybar. http://www.faxswitch.com/sr.html ------------------------------ Subject: Re: What Happened to Me From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 13:26:44 +0300 You know of course that the cell phone system in Europe is different from the US. Here, there are signs at the front door of all hospitals (and in many places inside) saying 'Mobile phones MUST be switched off'. The idea is that they can interfere with various medical equipment. I don't know if that is true, or if it is like the prohibition on airplanes -- but in any case, that's the rule. And most people follow it. Having said that -- my wife is a nurse and in her hospital the staff do have cell phones. They are called DECT and apparently they use a sub-set of the frequency band that is sure to not conflict with all the monitors, analyzers, etc. in the building. Can the public use their own personal mobile phones in American hospitals? Cheers, Henry ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 09:31:49 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: What Happened to Me John McHarry wrote: > On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:29:21 -0400, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: >> I knew I had _something_ still wrong with me when I came back from >> Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, but I attributed it to >> continued weakness from the heart attack. I still had very labored >> breathing, (sort of an emphsezma/COPT condition) and was using oxygen >> when I slept at night. But I _assumed_ it was all under control. It >> now appears I had pneumonia when I was admitted to Jane Phillips; >> Mercy Hospital (here in Independence) had assumed I would stay in JP >> until all was cured; JP on the other hand wanted to first deal with my >> heart attack (and the stent they put in me) as the first priority, >> then they sent me back home figuring I would deal with the pneumonia >> on an outpatient basis with Mercy. > If the system you describe in Independence were linked with the > Bartlesville system, presuming they have one, that wouldn't have > happened. Information handling in medicine is really culpably poor. >> OB-TELECOM and MERCY HOSPITAL DATACOM: _Everything_ at Mercy Hospital >> is computerized. Everytime a human being came into my room to >> variously change the antibiotic bag or feed me some pills or pound my >> back or for that matter to dump my piss-pot urinal in the toilet they >> would make entries on a lap top computer they brought with them and >> plugged into a connection in my room. >> ...and he said among other things, it did remove >> the possibility of 'human error' in noting the administration of >> drugs to the patients, etc. > It certainly reduces it, but I don't believe it eliminates it. Let's also > hope they have the system properly backed up and decoupled from any > Internet access. >> Not a single _wired_ phone where staff is concerned. Patient phones >> were wired, of course, but every staff person had a cellular phone. >> They called them 'hospital phones', and claimed they were on a >> different frequency than cellular; to me they just appeared to be >> cellular phones, and not their personal cells either. They would >> answer them _by their department name_ even when in patient rooms. On >> the roof of the main hospital building here and there I would see >> little antennas stuck around everywhere, that is what they worked >> with I guess. > It doesn't sound like the building is very tall, but if it is one of > the taller structures in the area, it may well rent out antenna > space. Also hospitals tend to have pager systems, links with various > other emergency services, etc. The few of them I have been on the roof > of had fairly impressive antenna farms. >> Even though these 'hospital' (really cellular?) phones >> looked and acted like cell phones in general, I noticed that when >> they had occassion to call another employee or department they only >> punched out four digits as though it was an extension. > That could work either way. It is possible for cellular systems to > implement Centrex groups with internal dialing plans. >> Dr. Higknight's phone was the same way, four digits dialed got him >> the intake department across the street at the hospital, and '9' got >> him an outside line. His phone was a 'hospital' (cellular?) phone as >> well. > If they don't think it is cellular, it still might be some variation of > it. If they want to cover the entire town, it would almost have to be, but > if it only needs to work near the hospital, it might be some sort of > standalone system. The latter would have the distinct advantage of being > less likely to saturate in an emergency, or of being able to implement > precedence and pre-emption, like military systems at least used to do. >> Well, that's what I have doing all this past week. > Sounds like you were better entertained than anyone, yourself most of > all, would have wished. Glad to have you back. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The previous time I was there, some > three or four weeks before as an emergency room in-patient of course > was when I had the heart attack. (My third one of God knows how many I > will go through before I finally depart.) I really did not feel very > well that time around; not well enough to critique the phone system. I > do not think they intend to saturate the entire town; that is what the > public phone system is for. I do know the switchboard has a 'tie-line' > or two between B'Ville OK, C'Ville KS and Independence. I suspect that > Labette County Medical Center (next county east of us) is on that line > as well, as are Wichita and Topeka, and probably Tulsa. Those main > cities (Wichita, Tulsa, Topeka) are all the principal medical centers > in our area; All three are about equally distant (100-150 miles?) from > the center core (B'ville, C'ville, Independence) where rural medical > services are needed. I do not know what the various antennas on top of > Mercy Hospital do, but I have heard on my scanner radio when calls > went out to the helicopter which transports patients around. And I > know City of Independence has an antenna up there as well, but I do > not know why, City Hall, (police and fire stations) as well as the > County Court House (sheriff and correctional center [or, as we call it > the 'jailhouse']) are all within about one mile of each other, and all > have antennas on their roofs also. > I do know that on top of each of those buildings there are also siren > horns, to warn of tornados, which is our big problem around here. When > I got dismissed from Mercy yesterday about noon, I had been home about > two hours and the sky got _very_ black and the horns went off; then > police took over the cable system telling people 'get into cover' and > drove down the street making the same demands, so I went and stood in > a certain spot (a closet in between a couple of outside walls where > one can sort of crunch down) to wait until the 'all-clear' was sounded. Moto and others sell cell phone technology based private systems. They work especially well in places like hospitals. Look for little 1' or shorter antennas in the halls. The nice thing about cell technology is that it can be designed for a limited area such as a hospital and the surrounding support businesses. And can easily have multiple places tied together. > Something very odd, to me at least: In 150 years, Independence has > never once been directly hit by a tornado. They say that is because we > are in a low-lying valley area. Things sort of blow over the top of > us. Elk City State Park, five miles west of us got hit by a very big > tornado about a week ago however. And that one was a *weebitclose* IMO, > as the far west side of town got some damage and -- God Forbid! -- > even Walmart had to go into a lockdown that day for twenty minutes; no > one admitted to or allowed to leave the store during the storm. PAT] Tornadoes have a very small foot print compared to other weather systems. I've been within 5 miles of a tornado 5 or 10 times in my life yet never seen or heard one. And this covers 3 very separated homes in 2 states. The closest I ever got was we almost bought a house when moving to Raleigh but rented instead. The 2 weeks after moving in, a really big tornado grazed the back yard of the house we almost bought. :) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I understand the _height_ of buildings in a community make a difference also. For instance, I have never seen nor heard of a tornado in downtown Chicago (for example; is it even possible?) nor in Manhattan, NY. I _assume_ it may have something to do with the overall height on average of the buildings. Am I correct on that? Our tallest buildings here in Independence are, approximatly in this order: 'Professional Building' downtown, 6 stories; the 'Arco Building' (also known as 'Independence Corporate Office Center'), 5 stories; a portion of Mercy Hospital, 4 stories; 'Penn Terrace' (a senior citizen housing complex), 6 stories; Saint Andrews Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, and Epiphany Episcopal Church each of which have steeples about 50-70 feet high. And they are all scattered about town, not right next to each other, as for example one would see buildings along Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Unlike a place like Chicago, where one town ends and another suburb immediatly begins and the only thing you notice is a sign saying now leaving suburb X and entering suburb Y, same style houses and continuing streets, you leave one town here, go through a rural area and then come eventually to the next town, five to fifteen or twenty miles away. That may make a difference in air/wind patterns also. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: EFFector 19.12: Action Alert - Stop Congress from XXXing Date: Sat, 08 Apr 2006 12:22:44 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > EFFector Vol. 19, No. 12 March 31, 2006 editor@eff.org > A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation > ISSN 1062-9424 In the 373th Issue of EFFector: > * Action Alert: Stop Congress from XXXing with Free Speech! > * EFF Motion in AT&T Surveillance Case Draws Government's Eye > * "Email -- Should the Sender Pay?": EFF Fundraiser, Debate Between > Esther Dyson and Danny O'Brien > * Hearing Set for Key Bloggers' Rights Case > * FEC Protects Bulk of Internet Speech From Campaign Finance Rules > * DMCA Rulemaking Hearings Underway > * miniLinks (15): The Gagged ISP Operator > * Administrivia > http://www.eff.org/effector/19/12.php > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I can tell you right now what the > answer to that third item on email -- 'Should sender pay'-- be: if > the senders are going to be sending out these _HUGE_ loads of crap > like I found in my inbox (inbox yet, to say nothing of spam box > which had a record volume while I was in the hospital) -- if they > are going to be sending all that out then YES they should be required > to pay for it. I mean, I was working on spam, weeding it out most of > Thursday morning. PAT] I take it then, that _you_ are ready, willing, and prepared to pay to send out TELECOM Digest emails, right? [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Absolutely! If in fact, TELECOM Digest is detirmined to be 'spam' (not very likely IMO), then I would have to pay to send it out, as would other publshers similarly situated. I say it is not very likely, since -- if you will quit pouting and read along with me for a few minutes -- what we shall call the 'AOL people' (meaning that organization and its pay-for-email-supporters) have all said they do not intend to change a thing where _estabished, bonafide_ mailing lists and newsgroups are concerned. You understand, of course, (at least I think you understand) that this would all be a moot point if it were not for the spam-enablers among us; not the spammers, but the enablers. If mosquitos bite your arms in the next three or four months, do you blame the mosquitos for doing what comes naturally to them? But if you were given a can of RAID or similar but refused to use it or only used it in a half-hearted way (puh-leese! let's not go through the inventory of excuses all over again!) then I would blame you. I do not expect any better out of mosquitos, nor of spammers, either. They are all low-life. Well, spammers can sometimes be trained. Now if the enablers did a good, comprehensive job of abatement, none of this would be needed. But I am sure it will come to that before long. The enablers won't be able to get off their high-horses long enough to work together; every worthwhile plan will be damned to hell by all the others so those of us who put out our little ouvres each day or three will have to pay for it. So yeah, to answer your question, I would have to start paying also if it came to 'that point'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mike Subject: Today's Last Loser: Another Spammer Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 06:57:56 -0400 Spammer strikes again... ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: mgriffinb@you-have-won.net < mgriffinb@you-have-won.net> Date: Apr 6, 2006 8:47 AM Subject: XXXX XXXXX, please call Mike, Please call us at 1-866-677-4100. We previously tried to contact you at 1-248-XXX-XXXX, but were unable to reach you. This is reference to an entry form you filled out, either on-line or at a major mall or movie theater. We actually have some decent news in regards to the Grand Getaways and Ford Explorer contest. We have an address, claim number, and further details for you. Since all prizes are well over $500, we will need a few moments of your time to cover all related lottery-type information from procuring your prizes due to any tax issues on them. Sincere congratulations! Verification Center P.S. For your convenience, we are available 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM Central Standard Time, Monday to Friday 68.61.169.153 Jan 30 2006 12:45PM Please follow url below to stop further emails http://www.you-have-won.net/cgi-bin/frame1.cgi?email=XXXXXXXXXXXXX.com Sender: Verification Center 105 South River Rd North Aurora, IL, 60542 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I can only presume that Mr. Bonomi (the author of the note before this last one) places _me_ and this Digest in the same category as the 'Verification Center' above since _these_ are the sort of things which AOL would require to pay their own way. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #131 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Apr 9 18:35:09 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 5E672155ED; Sun, 9 Apr 2006 18:35:09 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #132 Message-Id: <20060409223509.5E672155ED@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 18:35:09 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.3 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, CREDIT_CARD,HOT_NASTY,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 9 Apr 2006 18:36:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 132 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cable Providers Plan More Services (Seth Sutel) Now Starring on the Internet: YOUTube.com (Michael Liedtke) Sprint vs Comcast For Phone Service (Rich Greenberg) Programming Coin Operated Payphone (Eric) Great Site / NPA-NXX (Markus Diersbock) Re: What Happened to Me (T) Re: What Happened to Me (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: What Happened to Me (David Wolff) Re: What Happened to Me (Robert Bonomi) Re: What do Cellphones Talk About? (Koos van den Hout) Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? (Henry) Re: Competitive DSL (was Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name) (Lena) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Seth Sutel Subject: Now Starring on the Internet: YOUTube Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 13:47:47 -0500 Now Starring on the Internet: YouTube.com By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Press Writer Internet video sensation YouTube.com seems like a startup straight out of Silicon Valley central casting. A year ago, co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen were in between jobs, a pair of twentysomething geeks running up big credit card debts as they tooled around a garage trying to develop an easy way for people to share homemade videos on the Web. Now they're flirting with fame and fortune, budding media moguls in a new entertainment era that relies on unconventional channels like YouTube - by some measures, the leading video-sharing site, one that's cultivated a huge audience while testing the bounds of creativity, monotony, copyrights and obscenity. "We are providing a stage where everyone can participate and everyone can be seen," said Hurley, 29. "We see ourselves as a combination of 'America's Funniest Home Videos' and 'Entertainment Tonight.'" Having graduated from Hurley's garage to a small office above a pizzeria, San Mateo-based YouTube Inc. is capitalizing on society's shortening attention span and growing exhibitionism to establish itself as a window into popular culture. It's become an outlet for sharing everything from amateur videos made by teenagers goofing off to slick productions posted by the likes of Nike Inc., MC Hammer and the director of the upcoming movie "Superman Returns" to drum up demand for their products. Meanwhile, the buzz keeps getting louder. As April began, Hurley said people were posting about 35,000 new videos daily at YouTube.com, luring even more viewers to an audience that's already watching more than 35 million videos per day, most lasting 30 seconds to 2 1/2 minutes. Just four months ago, YouTube's visitors were posting about 8,000 videos a day while viewers were seeing 3 million videos daily. The growth has been infectious, depending largely on referrals from users who alert their friends and family to a favorite video. Many of the viewers who discovered the site then decided to share their own videos, a factor that continually deepens YouTube's pool of content. YouTube's success also is being propelled by a steady increase in high-speed Internet connections at home, making the distribution and consumption of online video more practical. Although YouTube was one of the first, Internet powerhouses like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. and upstarts such as Break.com and Metacafe.com are all trying to capitalize on the rising popularity of online video. The intensifying competition doesn't faze Hurley. "We are at the forefront of this cultural shift," he said. "They are all going to be chasing us." Many analysts liken YouTube to MySpace.com, the hip Internet hangout for teens and young adults snapped up last year by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. for $580 million. YouTube drew much of its early audience from MySpace members looking for a place to share their videos - MySpace has since added that feature. Others see potentially troublesome similarities between YouTube and the original Napster file-sharing service, which made it easy to download free music, often illegally. It was sued and eventually shut down for rampant copyright violations. Like Napster, YouTube is totally free. It is also filled with video cribbed from TV shows and movies -- clips that violate copyrights. YouTube "has a strong position right now, but we'll have to see how much staying power it really has," said Mary Hodder, chief executive of Dabble.com, a startup offering a way to track all the video cropping up on the Web. "You can't help but wonder whether YouTube will eventually lose its audience the way Napster did." In some cases, copyright-infringing postings on YouTube have helped boost the popularity of segments originally aired on television. For example, a short "Saturday Night Live" spoof of two men rapping about their Sunday plans to see a movie attracted widespread attention on YouTube before NBC demanded its removal. YouTube promptly complied, as it does with all copyright notices, and the spoof is now featured for free on NBC.com. YouTube hasn't been sued yet and so far Hollywood studios have described the company as a "good corporate citizen." Hurley and Chen hope to work more closely with copyright holders to convince them they can stimulate interest by sharing snippets online. Indeed, some movie studios now post clips as part of marketing campaigns. In a nod to copyrights, YouTube recently imposed a 10-minute limit on all videos, figuring that time restriction will lessen the likelihood of massive infringement. Not much has slowed YouTube since last May, when Chen debuted the site's first video -- a clip of his cat, "Pajamas," pawing at a dangling string - a few months after he and Hurley realized after a dinner party that there was no easy way to share online video, the way you can with photos. In February, YouTube's 9 million U.S. visitors viewed 176 million pages, compared with 38 million pages at Microsoft Corp.'s MSN Video and 76 million at Google Video. (Last month, The Associated Press and Microsoft launched an advertising-supported online video news network, using Microsoft's technology.) For now, the 25-employee YouTube is subsisting on $11.5 million invested by Sequoia Capital, the same venture capital firm that helped launch Google. Hurley and Chen hope to start selling video ads soon; much like Google with its search engine, YouTube conceivably could display ads hawking a product or service related to whatever video is being watched. But that might pressure the company to do more to block pornographic videos. Though such clips violate YouTube's policy, the AP recently found footage of strip-teasing women and of graphic sex scenes promoting other porn sites. YouTube aggressively removes such material after it receives complaints, but not before thousands watch. Besides scaring off advertisers, YouTube's vulnerability to porn risks infuriating parents, said Greg Kostello, chief executive of vMix, one of the many video sites trying to catch up to YouTube. Unlike YouTube, Kostello said, vMix uses filters to keep out pornography and other inappropriate material. "I can't imagine my kids coming to a site and seeing some of the porn ... that shows up on YouTube on an almost daily basis," said Kostello, a former executive with Vivendi Universal. "And if you are an advertiser, you aren't going to be happy if porn shows up by one of your ads." Hurley and Chen believe their community policing system is highly effective, pointing to similar practices used by online auctioneer eBay Inc. and Internet advertising service Craigslist. YouTube's technology also blocks repeat offenders from posting videos. Chen, 27, figures YouTube still has time to work out the kinks. "It's kind of scary to think about," he said, "but it will probably be another nine months before this idea really hits the mainstream." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more Associated Press news and audio reports, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: richgr@panix.com (Rich Greenberg) Subject: Sprint vs Comcast For Phone Service Date: 9 Apr 2006 14:54:09 -0400 Organization: Organized? Me? I am soon moving to N. Fort Myers, FL. I seem to have two choices for telephone and high speed internet. 1) Comcast cable. I will have it for TV, probably one of the more basic plans. To that I can add internet and telephone (using VOIP I assume). The phone comes with unlimited local and LD and a bucket of other feechers. 2) Sprint, which is the local LEC and DSL. I would get the phone with unlimited local & LD and a few of the feechers that are standard on Comcast. Does anyone have an opinion on which will be more relieable and more responsive to problems? This will be my first time with a non-Bell ILEC. Suggestions for CLECs would be welcome if there are any in that area. P.S. to Pat: Glad you are back and again in relatively good health. Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507 Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67 Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am glad to be back; and glad for what little health and time remains for me! PAT] ------------------------------ From: Eric Subject: Programming Coin Operated Payphone Date: 9 Apr 2006 11:46:00 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Greetings all, I picked up a coin operated payphone on eBay that was made or sold by "System One Telecom" of Miami, which doesn't seem to exist any more. It accepts coins only (no card reader), and it came with all the keys I need to open it up and a 110V to 24V transformer and filter. I'd like to get it working on a standard POTS line (more precisely a SIP ATA), preferably requiring a coin be dropped, but if not, just as a normal telephone. It's just going to be in my office, so no regulatory or security issues. Any help or advice would be appreciated! Regards, Eric eric.jacksch@gmail.com ------------------------------ From: Markus Diersbock Subject: Great Site / NPA-NXX Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 04:11:23 -0400 Hey Patrick, Great site, I've read through many of the archives. Do you know where I could locate the lastest toll-free NPA and their prefixes? I see you have many from the 90's. They'd be worth a paypal donation ;-) Thanks! Markus [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The two most recent and current homes for the lists you are seeking are http://www.lincmad.com which is maintained by Linc Madison and http://areacode-info.com which is maintained by John Cropper, Eric Morson and Sergiu Rosenzwieg. Their sites are similar, yet each has certain distinctions. You should review them and pick your requirements from each. When my lists were prepared (early/middle 1990's) there was no World Wide Web -- or only a very rudimentary one -- without nearly the ability to do the sort of work we take for granted these days artistically, etc. Most of my files of this sort were _text-based_ for use with older types of transport mechanisms; i.e. telnet and FTP. Your donations are certainly appreciated, but you are free to take any of the older files and use them as you wish. PAT] ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 23:40:59 -0400 In article , henry999@eircom.net says: > You know of course that the cell phone system in Europe is different > from the US. Here, there are signs at the front door of all hospitals > (and in many places inside) saying 'Mobile phones MUST be switched > off'. The idea is that they can interfere with various medical > equipment. I don't know if that is true, or if it is like the > prohibition on airplanes -- but in any case, that's the rule. And most > people follow it. > Having said that -- my wife is a nurse and in her hospital the staff > do have cell phones. They are called DECT and apparently they use a > sub-set of the frequency band that is sure to not conflict with all > the monitors, analyzers, etc. in the building. > Can the public use their own personal mobile phones in American > hospitals? Interesting. I recently had to visit my ailing grandmother in the intensive care unit of a local hospital. No warnings about cell phones and in fact saw staff use them. So I'd say yes, we can use our cell phones in hospitals. In article , news22 @raleighthings.com says: > John McHarry wrote: >> On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 17:29:21 -0400, TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: >>> I knew I had _something_ still wrong with me when I came back from >>> Jane Phillips Medical Center in Bartlesville, but I attributed it to >>> continued weakness from the heart attack. I still had very labored >>> breathing, (sort of an emphsezma/COPT condition) and was using oxygen >>> when I slept at night. But I _assumed_ it was all under control. It >>> now appears I had pneumonia when I was admitted to Jane Phillips; >>> Mercy Hospital (here in Independence) had assumed I would stay in JP >>> until all was cured; JP on the other hand wanted to first deal with my >>> heart attack (and the stent they put in me) as the first priority, >>> then they sent me back home figuring I would deal with the pneumonia >>> on an outpatient basis with Mercy. >> If the system you describe in Independence were linked with the >> Bartlesville system, presuming they have one, that wouldn't have >> happened. Information handling in medicine is really culpably poor. >>> OB-TELECOM and MERCY HOSPITAL DATACOM: _Everything_ at Mercy Hospital >>> is computerized. Everytime a human being came into my room to >>> variously change the antibiotic bag or feed me some pills or pound my >>> back or for that matter to dump my piss-pot urinal in the toilet they >>> would make entries on a lap top computer they brought with them and >>> plugged into a connection in my room. >>> ...and he said among other things, it did remove >>> the possibility of 'human error' in noting the administration of >>> drugs to the patients, etc. >> It certainly reduces it, but I don't believe it eliminates it. Let's also >> hope they have the system properly backed up and decoupled from any >> Internet access. >>> Not a single _wired_ phone where staff is concerned. Patient phones >>> were wired, of course, but every staff person had a cellular phone. >>> They called them 'hospital phones', and claimed they were on a >>> different frequency than cellular; to me they just appeared to be >>> cellular phones, and not their personal cells either. They would >>> answer them _by their department name_ even when in patient rooms. On >>> the roof of the main hospital building here and there I would see >>> little antennas stuck around everywhere, that is what they worked >>> with I guess. >> It doesn't sound like the building is very tall, but if it is one of >> the taller structures in the area, it may well rent out antenna >> space. Also hospitals tend to have pager systems, links with various >> other emergency services, etc. The few of them I have been on the roof >> of had fairly impressive antenna farms. >>> Even though these 'hospital' (really cellular?) phones >>> looked and acted like cell phones in general, I noticed that when >>> they had occassion to call another employee or department they only >>> punched out four digits as though it was an extension. >> That could work either way. It is possible for cellular systems to >> implement Centrex groups with internal dialing plans. >>> Dr. Higknight's phone was the same way, four digits dialed got him >>> the intake department across the street at the hospital, and '9' got >>> him an outside line. His phone was a 'hospital' (cellular?) phone as >>> well. >> If they don't think it is cellular, it still might be some variation of >> it. If they want to cover the entire town, it would almost have to be, but >> if it only needs to work near the hospital, it might be some sort of >> standalone system. The latter would have the distinct advantage of being >> less likely to saturate in an emergency, or of being able to implement >> precedence and pre-emption, like military systems at least used to do. >>> Well, that's what I have doing all this past week. >> Sounds like you were better entertained than anyone, yourself most of >> all, would have wished. Glad to have you back. > Moto and others sell cell phone technology based private systems. They > work especially well in places like hospitals. Look for little 1' or > shorter antennas in the halls. The nice thing about cell technology is > that it can be designed for a limited area such as a hospital and the > surrounding support businesses. And can easily have multiple places > tied together. >> Something very odd, to me at least: In 150 years, Independence has >> never once been directly hit by a tornado. They say that is because we >> are in a low-lying valley area. Things sort of blow over the top of >> us. Elk City State Park, five miles west of us got hit by a very big >> tornado about a week ago however. And that one was a *weebitclose* IMO, >> as the far west side of town got some damage and -- God Forbid! -- >> even Walmart had to go into a lockdown that day for twenty minutes; no >> one admitted to or allowed to leave the store during the storm. PAT] > Tornadoes have a very small foot print compared to other weather > systems. I've been within 5 miles of a tornado 5 or 10 times in my life > yet never seen or heard one. And this covers 3 very separated homes in 2 > states. The closest I ever got was we almost bought a house when moving > to Raleigh but rented instead. The 2 weeks after moving in, a really big > tornado grazed the back yard of the house we almost bought. :) > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I understand the _height_ of buildings > in a community make a difference also. For instance, I have never seen > nor heard of a tornado in downtown Chicago (for example; is it even > possible?) nor in Manhattan, NY. I _assume_ it may have something to > do with the overall height on average of the buildings. Am I correct > on that? Our tallest buildings here in Independence are, approximatly > in this order: 'Professional Building' downtown, 6 stories; the 'Arco > Building' (also known as 'Independence Corporate Office Center'), 5 > stories; a portion of Mercy Hospital, 4 stories; 'Penn Terrace' (a > senior citizen housing complex), 6 stories; Saint Andrews Roman > Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, and Epiphany Episcopal Church > each of which have steeples about 50-70 feet high. And they are all > scattered about town, not right next to each other, as for example one > would see buildings along Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Unlike a place > like Chicago, where one town ends and another suburb immediatly > begins and the only thing you notice is a sign saying now leaving > suburb X and entering suburb Y, same style houses and continuing > streets, you leave one town here, go through a rural area and then come > eventually to the next town, five to fifteen or twenty miles > away. That may make a difference in air/wind patterns also. PAT] We've had little mini tornadoes here in RI. Some have knocked bricks off buildings, etc. But those are few and far between. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 09:42:58 EDT Subject: Re: Re: What Happened to Me In a message dated Sat, 08 Apr 2006 09:31:49 -0400, editor@telecom-digest.org writes in a note added to a message from DLR : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I understand the _height_ of buildings > in a community make a difference also. For instance, I have never seen > nor heard of a tornado in downtown Chicago (for example; is it even > possible?) nor in Manhattan, NY. I _assume_ it may have something to > do with the overall height on average of the buildings. Am I correct > on that? That used to be the theory, but various tornadoes since then have provided examples where this did not appear to be true. The first example was a tornado that hit the tallest buildings in downtown Waco, Texas, and caused severe destruction. This was in the 1950s. Several years ago a tornado went right through downtown Fort Worth, Texas, and battered the downtown buildings. One skyscraper -- I think it was the Bank One tower was so badly damaged it was never reoccupied and posed a hazard. Just within the last month or two it was torn down, perhaps imploded, after years of trying to decide what to do about it. Examples are fairly rare, probably because the path of a tornado is so narrow that the odds of it hitting a downtown area of a city would be pretty small, the same as it is for any other specific place. Downtown areas are a pretty small percentage of the total area of the earth. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com ------------------------------ From: dwolff@panix.com (David Wolff) Subject: Tornadoes, was Re: What Happened to Me Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 20:59:27 UTC Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. In article , PAT discussed: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I understand the _height_ of buildings > in a community make a difference also. For instance, I have never seen > nor heard of a tornado in downtown Chicago (for example; is it even > possible?) nor in Manhattan, NY. I _assume_ it may have something to > do with the overall height on average of the buildings. Am I correct > on that? Our tallest buildings here in Independence are, approximatly > in this order: 'Professional Building' downtown, 6 stories; the 'Arco [snip] It's not (directly) the height or arrangement of buildings, it's the heat of the city. Large cities affect weather in their area because the concrete, asphalt, and steel hold more heat, and they lack green areas that reflect heat or lose it via water transpiration from plants. Apparently tornadoes are deflected by this "heat island" effect. I'd guess tornadoes in downtown Chicago are possible, just not likely. Thanks -- David (ex-Chicagoan) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: From one ex-Chicagoan to another, isn't it _great_ to be out of that hell-hole once and for all? In the six -- soon to be seven -- years since I packed up and split, I have only once or twice entertained a notion of _possibly_ returning for a visit. PAT] ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2006 20:37:24 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , PAT wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I understand the _height_ of buildings > in a community make a difference also. For instance, I have never seen > nor heard of a tornado in downtown Chicago (for example; is it even > possible?) nor in Manhattan, NY. I _assume_ it may have something to > do with the overall height on average of the buildings. Am I correct > on that? Our tallest buildings here in Independence are, approximatly > in this order: 'Professional Building' downtown, 6 stories; the 'Arco > Building' (also known as 'Independence Corporate Office Center'), 5 > stories; a portion of Mercy Hospital, 4 stories; 'Penn Terrace' (a > senior citizen housing complex), 6 stories; Saint Andrews Roman > Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, and Epiphany Episcopal Church > each of which have steeples about 50-70 feet high. And they are all > scattered about town, not right next to each other, as for example one > would see buildings along Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Unlike a place > like Chicago, where one town ends and another suburb immediatly > begins and the only thing you notice is a sign saying now leaving > suburb X and entering suburb Y, same style houses and continuing > streets, you leave one town here, go through a rural area and then come > eventually to the next town, five to fifteen or twenty miles > away. That may make a difference in air/wind patterns also. PAT] The only infallible rule about tornado paths is "they go where they d*mn well please". E.g. the 'wisdom' that tornadoes won't cross a river valley. See Xenia, Ohio, 1974 for how accurate *that* wisdom is. Since 1855 there have been 89 'significant' tornadoes in the Chicago area. One in 1876 ripped apart buildings in downtown Chicago, a large multiple-vortex tornado was seen moving out over Lake Michigan. 2 fatalities, 35 injured. In 1896, one went through Park Ridge, Edison Park, and Norwood Park. In 1912, one touched down in (now Skokie), and carried through Wilmette. 1920, a biggie, starting around Romeoville, going through Maywood/Bellwood, and all the way to Wilmette. a 53 mile(!) ground track. 1963, wholly inside the city -- from 91st & Western to 68th and the lake. $7 million in damages -- 1 killed, 115 injured. 1967, Palos Hills to Oak lawn, to Chicago's South side; over $50 million in damages, _33_ killed, 500 injured. Several 'smaller' tornadoes have hit near Evanston since the 1950s, and, in 1961 and 1967, tornadoes hit just south of the U of C on the south side. As for (modern) big cities being immune, on March 28, 2000, a twister went through downtown Fort Worth TX, killing 2, and causing $400 million in damages. Oklahoma City, Miami, Nashville, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, Birmingham, and Washington D.C. have also been hit in recent years. See: http://images.usatoday.com/weather/tornado/cities/1997-05-12-miami.jpg for a picture of a tornado among the skyscrapers. See: http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tornado/wtcities.htm for stuff on big-city hits. ------------------------------ From: Koos van den Hout Subject: Re: What do Cellphones Talk About? Date: 9 Apr 2006 20:08:11 GMT Organization: http://idefix.net/~koos/ Thomas A. Horsley wrote in : > So what the heck are all those little talks with the cell tower about if > they don't even exchange the time of day while they are at it? (My > definition of "useful" must be different than my cellphone's). I'm no cellphone technician or protocol technician, but for as far as I know it boils down to "I'm here!", "I'd like to register with cell 0x6EC1", "I'd like to stay with cell 0x6EC1" and more of the same. Koos Camp Wireless, wireless Internet access at campsites| Koos van den Hout http://www.camp-wireless.org/ | http://idefix.net/~koos/ PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 or RSA/1024 0xCA845CB5| Fax +31-30-2817051 ------------------------------ From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Subject: Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 12:38:16 +0300 Organization: Elisa Internet customer DLR wrote: > John Reiser wrote: >>> Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11 >>> plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct >>> the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem? > If you can get "distinctive ringing" for multiple numbers on a link > there are boxes that will direct the call based on the ring pattern. > This means the line doesn't get answered by the wrong machine which > then has to "hand off" the call. To answer John Reiser's question first, yes, there are such boxes. And to respond to DLR's concern about the line getting 'answered by the wrong machine', the point is that the _box_ answers the call and routes it appropriately. 'Distinctive ringing' from the telephone company isn't required at all. One manufacturer is: http://www.command-comm.com/products.html I have been using an earlier model of theirs since 1994 and it works a treat. The one I've got has three ports -- one is connected to the phone, one to my standalone fax machine and one to the internal fax-modem in the computer (used very rarely, for dialup to the ISP if/when the broadband goes down or occasionally to send a fax directly). Cheers, Henry ------------------------------ From: Lena Subject: Re: Competitive DSL (was Re: AT&T Doesn't Like My Last Name) Date: 9 Apr 2006 03:32:38 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Paul Robinson wrote: >> local telco alternatives ... > We have that here in Northern Virginia (there are probably close to a > dozen). The two I have dealt with are RCN (formerly Starpower) and > Cavalier Telephone. > I have had excellent service from Cavalier over the last six months, > and if you can get them I recommend doing so. Paul, you will probably continue to be satisfied with Cavtel as long as you don't have to deal with their customer service, or make any changes to your service with them. I had Cavtel's 700Kbps DSL at $25/mo and asked to be upgraded to the 3 Mbps DSL that they were offering new customers for the same $25/mo. It was four months from the time the change order was put in until they started working on it. They disconnected my DSL and phone without warning (after four months, I thought they just forgot about the work order), and each time I called customer service asking when my dial tone would be restored, the answer was "in a few hours". After 30 hours without a dial tone, I called and threatened to cancel my service if it wasn't restored soon. Tech support enabled my dial tone in less than five minutes. (Do you think Verizon would even consider leaving one without a dial tone for that long?). When I asked about my new modem, I was told it would be FedEx-ed immediately. It wasn't. I didn't receive it until a full week after they disconnected my DSL. Realizing I was constantly being lied to, I told them to cancel my DSL or restore my old DSL so I could use the Internet. They said I couldn't stop a work order in progress. I signed up with Verizon FIOS and had it installed a week later. I wanted to switch to Verizon POTS and keep my old number. Verizon said I had to cancel my DSL before they could port my number. Called Cavtel to cancel DSL, and was told it would take 15 to 20 business days to remove it from the line. If the higher speed DSL that was promised in a week took four months to install, I wonder how long the removal, promised in 15 to 20 business days will take. Had I left well enough alone, I'd probably still be a Cavtel customer today. But dealing with customer service is a nightmare. BTW, freeing myself of DSL, which requires POTS, means I could go to VOIP, and the total cost for FIOS/VOIP would be less that Cavtel's DSL/POTS with that $17 worth of taxes and fees. Lena [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is this telco/DSL inter-dependence one with the other which is why I prefer to stay with cable internet. I like having the ability to move around as desired and not have to have the one yanked away (or forbidden to me) on account of the other. And considering how awful SBC customer service has become in the past two or three years, I am sure it would only be a little while before I would find them impossible to deal with. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #132 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Apr 10 14:24:15 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 37AFB155DC; Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:24:15 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #133 Message-Id: <20060410182415.37AFB155DC@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:24:15 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 10 Apr 2006 14:27:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 133 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Does Computer Spy on You at Your Work? (Jack M. Germain) Time Warner Cable Mulls TV Ad Auctioning System (Kenneth LiMon) Queen Elizabeth's Email Thirty Years Ago (Reuters News Wire) Cellular-News for Monday 10th April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update April 10, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Newspapers Sign on to Syndicate Bloggers (Eric Auchard) How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (Dailhart) Re: What Happened to Me (T) Re: What Happened to Me (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: What do Cellphones Talk About? (Koos van den Hout) Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? (Henry) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Jack M. Germain Subject: Does Computer Spy on You at Your Work? Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 11:54:02 -0500 Jack M. Germain, newsfactor.com As the number of workers using the Internet for pleasure as well as business grows, so does anxiety among corporate higher-ups worried about productivity and exposure to security risks. Many executives and managers have turned to computer surveillance. Low-cost technology is making it easier than ever for businesses of all sizes to monitor computer misuse among employees. The market for this so-called secure content-management software -- which includes applications that monitor Web surfing, e-mail, instant messaging, and even keystrokes -- is expected to grow to $6.4 billion by 2007, more than double what it was just three years ago, according to the research firm IDC. "The use of corporate management of employee use of the Internet is widespread today," said Mike Newman, vice president and general counsel at Websense, a company that makes Internet and desktop security software. "More than half of the Fortune 500 firms alone use our Web-filtering products." High Stakes The Internet can be tempting to workers who would rather check out eBay than check in with their clients. But by giving employees unmonitored reign over instant messaging, personal e-mail, file downloading, and virtual window shopping, I.T. managers and CIOs risk getting more than they bargained for. In addition to lost productivity and wasted bandwidth resources, companies can be held liable for a broad range of misconduct that includes sexual harassment and the use of unlicensed software. The proliferation of spam is also a huge concern, as it not only consumes valuable I.T. resources, but can also expose a company to legal liability if people find the unwanted messages offensive. Workers also risk introducing viruses into the corporate network by downloading unauthorized files. The possibility of sensitive corporate data being lost or stolen outright is also feeding the upswing in workplace surveillance. Technology such as USB drives and digital-camera storage media make it easier than ever for workers to find, store, and swap information. Corporate America is paying attention. A 2005 report by Proofpoint, an e-mail security company, found that 63 percent of companies with 1,000 or more employees either use or plan to employ staff to look at outbound e-mail. A similar study by the American Management Association found those numbers to be 52 percent in 2003 compared to 24 percent in 2001. Sensitive Issue While the percentage of employees with Internet access at work has remained largely unchanged, more employees are using the Net on the job even if their activities are not work-related. Websense, which interviewed 350 I.T. managers and 500 employees for a May 2005 survey, found a blurry line between work and play. Half of the respondents said their Web surfing on the job was a mix of work and personal use, and of those employees who admitted to personal use, 52 percent stated that they would rather give up their morning coffee than go without Internet access. In fact, 93 percent of employees surveyed said they spent at least some time accessing the Internet at work, up from 86 percent in 2004. The most popular Web-site categories unrelated to work were news (81 percent), personal e-mail (61 percent), online banking (58 percent), travel (55 percent), and shopping (52 percent). The rationale behind monitoring employees, according to Newman, is that a computer at work is a corporate tool for enhancing the employee's productivity. Because some people abuse that privilege by sending personal e-mail and viewing movies during working hours, employers feel they have little choice but to monitor what their workers are doing. "Most companies are very clear with the Internet-use policies. The company owns the computer system and the network. Clearly, there is no expectation of privacy on the part of the workers," Newman said. Precedent-setting litigation would seem to back up that claim. It's All Nice and Legal Traditionally, courts have sided with employers in privacy suits filed by workers. In 1993's Bourke v. Nissan, plaintiffs Bonita Bourke and Rhonda Hall alleged that Nissan wrongfully fired them after their bosses accessed, printed, and read their e-mails at work. A trial court upheld the auto maker's contention that the plaintiffs had no reasonable expectation of privacy in their e-mails. In 1996, Michael A. Smyth sued Pillsbury after he was fired for transmitting "inappropriate and unprofessional" comments to his supervisor over the company's e-mail system. Smyth said the company's actions invaded his privacy, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of Pillsbury. According to Richard Corenthal, a partner in the New York law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., federal law clearly establishes employers' rights to monitor e-mail. "Once that is in place and the policy is provided to the employees, they effectively have no recourse," Corenthal explained. "Nor is there any expectation of privacy in the workplace." The advocacy group Privacy Rights Clearinghouse counsels visitors to its Web site that if an e-mail system is used at a company, the employer owns it and can review its contents: "Messages sent within the company as well as those that are sent from your terminal to another company or from another company to you can be subject to monitoring by your employer." According to the privacy rights organization, the employer can also monitor Web-based e-mail accounts such as Yahoo and Hotmail, as well as instant messages. But employers would do well to exercise some restraint, lest they create problems by improperly monitoring workers' e-mail accounts. "There are some interesting twists to the question," Corenthal said. "For example, policies must be evenly enforced or otherwise the employer might be the subject of a discrimination claim. Meeting Halfway One approach gaining favor in some corporate circles is to set aside time for workers to surf the Web or take care of other business online, reducing the likelihood that they will shirk their responsibilities on the job. "A company can give its employees quota time to look at various Web sites," Websense's Newman said. "Then there is no need to monitor their activities since the amount of time is regulated. A company can also grant unlimited access to workers during certain times of the shift when bandwidth issues are less of a concern." Christine Liebert, a senior analyst at the consulting firm Yankee Group, agreed that such shared-use strategies could become a viable solution to any unpleasantness generated by spying. Even if workers did not agree to such self-imposed limitations, I.T. departments could routinely put bandwidth-shaping and application-shaping software in place to manage these limits, she said. And software could continue to maintain controls that protect the company from security risks. Websense, for example, has a pop-up feature notifying a worker that the requested Web site is not work-related. It then asks the employee if he or she wishes to use some of the allotted quota time. "Employees are aware of the limitations placed on them," Newman said. "We use this same software internally at Websense. I don't mind it." Copyright 2006 NewsFactor Network, Inc. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Kenneth LiMon Subject: Time Warner Cable Mulls TV Ad Auctioning System Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 11:50:04 -0500 By Kenneth LiMon Time Warner Cable is in early discussions to create an auction place for advertising spots on video-on-demand channels, modeled after Google's AdSense system on the Internet, the company's top executive said. The cable services division of media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. is considering a plan much like that of Google Inc., which allows advertisers to bid to display ads in front of viewers with specific viewing habits. For instance, automobile manufacturers or car dealerships could bid to put their ads on the television screens of viewers who spend a lot of time watching the Speed Channel. The move is another sign of how the television industry is borrowing and improving upon some of the most lucrative practices of the Internet. Last year, Comcast Corp. told Reuters it was looking at how to create a search engine-like on-screen guide to navigate the vast number of channels and videos on demand that could some day be made available. "We can start doing what Google does -- auctioning off spots," Time Warner Cable Chief Executive Glenn Britt told Reuters in an interview at the cable industry's annual convention in Atlanta. "We have the ability, using our set tops and new software we're putting in, to begin targeting advertising," Britt said at the show sponsored by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. "We're actively looking at this." The discussions are still in the early stages, but indicate how Time Warner, which plans to spin off 16 percent of its cable division, will compete amid the looming threat of competition from the telephone industry. The spinoff is expected to occur after Time Warner completes its purchase of bankrupt cable operator Adelphia Communications Corp., which Britt said would happen at the end of the second quarter. Britt said Time Warner Cable would be able to create such an advertising system because it possessed highly detailed usage information on some of its customers. The company would not identify individual users to advertisers, adhering to strict privacy laws, he said. Craig Moffett, a senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said cable's biggest asset is its storehouse of customer information. "Google and Yahoo have made fortunes out of very good information about what consumers do, but virtually no information about who is doing it," he said. "Cable operators have the potential to do that one better." While Internet media companies track mouse clicks reliably, the users themselves are largely anonymous, analysts said. But in homes with cable set top boxes, cable operators can easily track the name, number of children and other data, combined with a household's viewing habits, Moffett said. "You can pair that data with whether they watch home improvement shows, and if they're interested (in an ad) from something like Home Depot," he added. BACK TO THE FUTURE Time Warner, the second-largest U.S. cable operator, has deployed a feature in limited markets that lets viewers start some shows from the beginning if it is still airing. The company said about 70 percent of its customers in its test market in Columbia, South Carolina, used the "Start Over" service an average of about seven times per month. It plans to deploy the feature, available on networks including General Electric Co.'s NBC Cable channels, Turner, News Corp.'s Fox Cable channels and HBO, in seven to eight additional markets this year. By 2007, the company expects to offer a more ambitious extension of the idea it has dubbed "Look Back," which will let viewers watch shows on participating networks from a day or several days ago, Peter Stern, executive vice president of product management at Time Warner Cable, told Reuters. "TV is more powerful than the Internet at the end of the day," Britt said. (Additional reporting by Yinka Adegoke) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters NewsWire Subject: Queen Elizabeth's Email Thirty Years Ago Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 11:51:59 -0500 Queen Elizabeth sent first e-mail in 1976 Mon Apr 10, 6:50 AM ET Queen Elizabeth sent her first e-mail as long as 30 years ago, according to a list of 80 facts about the monarch released by Buckingham Palace to mark her 80th birthday on April 21. No details of the e-mail were included, except that it was sent from a British army base in 1976. The 40th monarch since William the Conqueror, she has undertaken over 256 official visits overseas during her 54-year reign and has received some bizarre gifts, the list revealed. They included jaguars and sloths from Brazil, two black beavers from Canada, a grove of maple trees and 7 kg of prawns. The queen traveled on the London underground for the first time in 1939 and attended her first FA football cup final in 1953, two experiences she never showed much appetite for repeating. But dogs and horses were a different matter: she has owned more than 30 corgis in her reign, starting with Susan who was an 18th birthday present in 1944. Her first pony, Peggy, was given to her by her grandfather King George V when she was four years old. The 80 facts are at http://www.royal.gov.uk Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html Other news headlines and stories are at: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimee.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Monday 10th April 2006 Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 07:52:23 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[3G News]] 3G Market Entering Refinement Period - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16896.php Cellular operators continued to steadily roll out new 3G systems in 2005, though the rate of new deployments has slowed, reports In-Stat. In 2005, 35 new WCDMA systems were deployed, as well as seven new CDMA2000 1X EV-DO systems, the high-tech marke... Qualcomm Expects Commercialization of EV-DO Rev. B in 2007 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16899.php Qualcomm has unveiled more of the Company's strategy for driving CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Revision B to market. Still on schedule for commercialization in 2007, Qualcomm says that it's chipset solutions for the EV-DO Rev. B standard will support unsurpassed ... [[Financial News]] Research In Motion 4Q EPS 10 Cents Vs 61 Cents http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16881.php Research in Motion said late Thursday it swung to a quarterly profit as surging sales and a drop in legal expenses offset charges related to a long-running lawsuit it settled last month. ... Official sees Russian mobile cos' 2008 revenues up to 401 bln rbl http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16884.php The revenue of Russian mobile operators is expected to increase to 401 billion rubles in 2008 from just over 300 billion rubles in 2005, Deputy IT and Telecommunications Minister Dmitry Milovantsev told a conference Friday. ... Wireless Carrier Executives Bullish On Data Services Revenue Gains http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16885.php Data services will make up 20% of the U.S. wireless industry's total revenue by the end of the decade, said Len Lauer, chief operating officer of Sprint Nextel. ... Alcatel Sees More Projects on the Horizon in Asia Pacific http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16894.php Alcatel's Asia-Pacific President Christian Reinaudo, addressing an Asia Pacific reporter event in Sydney recently, said that the Asia Pacific region's telecommunications market is on the cusp of a new trend around network transformation.... Verizon Wireless Buys Small Operator http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16903.php The USA based CDMA operator, Verizon Wireless has purchased the operating assets of Mid-Missouri Cellular, which will expand Verizon Wireless' network footprint in seven counties in central Missouri. Financial terms are not being disclosed. The purch... [[Handsets News]] PRESS: Russia's Euroset says won't sue police for seized phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16883.php Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset is not currently planning to sue the Russian police for the recent seizure of a batch of mobile handsets, Euroset's President Eldar Razroyev said, Kommersant reported Friday. ... DJ Matsushita Elec:Mulling 3G Cellphone Tie-Up With NEC,TI http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16889.php Matsushita Electric Industrial and NEC said Friday the two companies and Texas Instruments are considering a tie-up in the area of mobile phone handsets, in a move that could strengthen their cost competitiveness. ... US Cell Phone Users Asian-Grade M-Commerce Services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16897.php Many U.S. cell phone users want the same advanced mobile commerce services and biometric fingerprint protection that are available to cell phone users in Asia, a new AuthenTec survey found. The online survey of nearly 500 U.S. cell phone users, which... [[Legal News]] Court adjourns hearings of Norway's Telenor claim vs VimpelCom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16887.php The Moscow Arbitration Court has adjourned until May 15 the hearings of a lawsuit filed by Norwegian telecommunication company Telenor, seeking to find VimpelCom's extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (EGM) held on September 14, 2005, void. ... [[MVNO News]] Vivendi's SFR To Appeal Regulator's Decision On Afone http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16882.php Vivendi Universal's unit SFR, the second-largest mobile operator in France, Friday said it will appeal a regulator's demand that it offer telecommunications services company Afone (France) access to its network. ... [[Network Contracts News]] Cisco to install wireless mesh network in northern city http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16892.php US networking equipment vendor Cisco Systems plans to install a wireless mesh network for a local government authority in the north of Brazil, reported local technology publication IT Inside. ... Harris Wins African GSM Backbone Contract http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16898.php MTN Zambia has selected Harris Corporation to design, build and install new microwave infrastructure for its national GSM network. Harris TRuepoint radios will be used to construct a new network backbone, metro rings and access links connecting MTN Z... [[Offbeat News]] DJ Nepal Govt Cuts Cell Phone Service Ahead Of Protest Rally http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16888.php KATMANDU, Nepal (AP)--Nepal's royal government severed cellular mobile services in the Nepalese capital Saturday in an apparent attempt to foil an anti-government rally in Katmandu. ... Presidential candidate against tax on mobiles, cable TV http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16891.php Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala has criticized the ruling Partido Nacionalista del Perú (PNP) for its plans to impose taxes on mobile phones and cable television, local daily Diario Correo reported. ... [[Regulatory News]] Customs service for NW Russia says to tighten cell phone import control http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16886.php The Federal Customs Service's division for Russia's Northwest Federal District plans to tighten control over imported mobile handsets, the customs service said Friday. ... Entel appeal derails Movistar spectrum auction http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16890.php Chile's antimonopoly tribunal TDLC has accepted an appeal presented by the country's second largest operator Entel to stop the sale of excess spectrum by rival operator Movistar Chile, local newspaper Diario Financiero reported. ... [[Reports News]] Research: 768k broadband wireless users by 2010 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16893.php The number of Brazilans using wireless broadband connections such as WiMax is expected to grow to 768,000 by 2010, after several companies launch such services this year, research firm Maravedis said in a report. ... Wireless Markets Will Drive GaAs Device Growth http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16900.php Strategy Analytics has published a five year outlook for the Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) microelectronics industry. The report predicts that GaAs device revenues will grow by 36% over 2005 to 2010, breaking the US$3 billion barrier in 2006. Overall marke... S&P:Pressures Continue For EMEA Telcos http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16901.php The first quarter of 2006 for the EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) region's largest telecoms operators saw a continuation of the 2005 trends, says Standard & Poor's Ratings Services. The report card provides an overview of the performance o... [[Statistics News]] Subscriber Growth Breaks Record - Again http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16904.php The USA's Wireless Association has announced that 25.7 million new wireless subscribers were added in calendar year 2005, breaking a previous 12-month growth record that was set in June. The total number of estimated wireless customers in America at ... [[Technology News]] Mobile Technologies Flaunt Capabilities At Wireless Show http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16880.php Last year, the CTIA Wireless show set the foundation for next-generation technology ranging from high-speed mobile connection to integrated voice and data networks. This year, the equipment vendors are back to show off their capabilities. ... New Zealand Testing Dynamic Optimization of Mobile Networks http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16895.php Bell Labs, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies says that it has been working with Telecom New Zealand over the last two years to trial a unique new approach to optimizing the coverage and capacity of mobile networks. This technolo... Air France to Offer In-Flight GSM Connectivity http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16902.php The French state airline, Air France will take delivery in early 2007 of the first Airbus aircraft line fitted with the OnAir GSM equipment enabling the use of mobile phones on board, it was announced lst week, at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hambu... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 12:07:14 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Monday, April 10, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 10, 2006 ******************************** IPTV Privacy Risks http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17453?11228 I went to the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show with the goal of learning more about IPTV, and in particular, whether there are any services that IPTV can deliver but traditional hybrid fiber/coax cable technology cannot. What I learned is disturbing. But first, let me define IPTV. The term means different things to different people.... Telefonica Wins Colombia Telecom Bid for US$348.4 mil. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17448?11228 After the fourth round of negotiations, Telefonica Group won the auction for a 51% stake in state-owned operator Colombia Telecoms on 7 April 2006, with a bid of 853.57 billion Colombian pesos (US$348.4 million), according to local newspaper El Cronista Comercial. This was 60% higher than the minimum price of 533.57 billion pesos set by... Cell Phone Industry Steps Closer to VoIP http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17447?11228 LAS VEGAS -- Wojtek Felendzer held a mobile phone to his ear as he walked across the room, the call automatically switching behind the scenes from a Wi-Fi wireless hotspot to the regular cellular network. "Can you still hear me?" the Nokia Corp. employee asked. "Yes," the reporter answered. "That's good," he said. "This is... Wireless Achieves Record Growth http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17442?11228 Wireless service penetration rate stands at nearly 70 percent in the U.S., thanks to the addition of 25.7 million new subscribers during the six months ended December 2005, according to CTIA's semi-annual wireless industry survey. The association calculates the U.S. closed 2005 with 207.9 million wireless customers, which is a 14.17... Nortel Acct'ing Mess Worsens; Divisions On The Block? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17440?11228 Oh, brother. Just when everyone thought it couldn't get worse, Nortel disclosed it's made yet more mistakes in accounting and will shift an additional unknown amount of previously reported revenue into future quarters -- resulting in even larger losses when the company finally files its restated financials. At the same time,... Researchers Eye Cooler Mobile Devices http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17439?11228 Mobile devices are hot, in terms of both popularity and operating temperature. Much of the heat generated by devices like notebook computers and smart phones come from microprocessors. Today's very large scale integration (VLSI) processors hold more than 100,000,000 transistors running at very high speeds. With even denser... Mobile Giants Size Up DSL http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17437?11228 Good news for DSLAM vendors: Pure-play mobile operators such as O2 plc and Vodafone Group plc (NYSE: VOD - message board) are set to enter the fixed-broadband fray in Europe, and are sizing up local loop unbundling (LLU) options that would see them procure and deploy their own DSL equipment. Vodafone last week announced a management and... Dramatic Growth in Store for Multimedia Handsets, but Consumers Still Not Enthused About Multimedia Options http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17434?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The number of cellular phones with multimedia capability will double in the next two years, but this capability is still not generating much consumer enthusiasm, especially in the US, reports In-Stat. In spite of the phenomenal growth of dedicated MP3 players during 2005, user interest in having this capability... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Eric Auchard Subject: Newspapers Sign on With Syndicate Bloggers Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 18:07:36 -0500 By Eric Auchard A syndication service that delivers commentary from 600 bloggers for use by newspaper publishers is set to launch on Tuesday, further blurring the lines that divide blogs and mainstream media. BlogBurst, as the service from blog technology company Pluck Corp. is known, includes headlines and articles for use by newspaper publishers in the news or feature sections of their online services, as well as print editions. Pluck initially has signed up Gannett Co. Inc., Washington Post Co., San Francisco Chronicle, Austin American-Statesman and San Antonio Express. Eventually, the Austin, Texas-based company will offer BlogBurst editorial materials to niche business and overseas publications. Newspapers are looking to BlogBurst to provide expert blog commentary on travel, women's issues, technology, food, entertainment and local stories, areas where publishers may not have dedicated staff, Pluck Chief Executive Dave Panos said. In return, a select group of popular bloggers are offered wider distribution for their writings, he said. The online syndicate drives traffic to blog sites, allowing featured bloggers to make money from resulting online advertising fees. "I think you are going to see hundreds of newspapers accessing the content we produce by the end of the year," Panos said. Blogs distributed by BlogBurst range from tech-focused Micro Persuasion http://www.micropersuasion.com/), the parental musings of Finslippy http://finslippy.typepad.com/finslippy/) to Teen Fashionista http://teenfashionista.blogspot.com/). BlogBurst has its own staff to review and edit blogs, in effect accrediting them for newspaper publishers and thereby addressing issues of quality control that have often poisoned relations between mainstream media and bloggers. In recent years, established media have struggled to face the threat that blogs would chip away at their readership, as more and more people turn to online media for their news. Simultaneously, classified advertising, newspapers' traditional source of revenue, has come under attack from online services. Meanwhile, bloggers have played a big role in exposing the failings of conventional media. For their part, traditional journalists have seen the lack of editorial oversight over individual bloggers as a danger to impartial news reporting. "Everything that flows on to publishers' sites they have the opportunity to bless and to put a unique spin on while giving them the quality levels they are looking for," Panos said. Bloggers can sign up to join the service at http://www.blogburst.com. Postings from approved bloggers are automatically available whenever a blogger posts online. BlogBurst provides publishers with tools for syndicating blog posts on various topics into their online publications. In return, bloggers and other web site owners are free to use the RSS output of many newspapers in their own work. Jeff Jarvis, the former TV Guide media critic turned blogger http://www.buzzmachine.com , said he doubts whether paid syndication of blogs works, but believes that newspapers are moving in the right direction by featuring bloggers, and allowing bloggers and web sites to feature them. "The lines between the mainstream media and the rest of the world will start to blur, not because people (bloggers) are joining the mainstream media, but because of the opposite effect: the mainstream media rejoins the people," Jarvis said via e-mail. Pluck has also begun to sign up niche business publications in sectors such as aviation and architecture to use its blog syndication service and to talk with European publishers as blog commentary has begun to take off in that region. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Dailhart Subject: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card Date: 10 Apr 2006 06:10:25 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I routinely dial a toll free 866 number from my cell phone to retrieve e-voice calls. They do not have a regular local number for this purpose. It costs me .35/min from my cell phone (no long distance plan). It could cost me .03/min if I could use my calling card. The calling card does not allow toll free calls. Are there any calling cards, methods or services that would solve this problem? Your advice is much appreciated. Dartonbud [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I personally think this (35 cent surcharge) is the intention of your cell phone provider. I will tell you why I say this: (1) there is _no such thing_ -- at least not in the 866 range -- as a toll free number without a 'regular local number for this pupose'. A few of the real old, a/c 800 numbers are, or were delivered via T-1 direct to the recipient with no direct dial number involved ... very few, long ago; maybe some still. But 99.8 percent of all 'toll free numbers' these days do have a 'regular' number they translate into. If your inbound call is delivered via T-1 circuit direct to the voicemail thing nowdays, then that is the way the owner/ proprietor wants it to work, i.e. much of the 35 cents is for him. And (2) if he (voicemail proprietor) is collecting 35 cents per minute, then whether he gets it via his 866 arrangement or if he gets it via a calling card direct dial, in any event, _he_ is going to collect it. And I can tell you that any calling card you wish to use is not about to charge you _three cents_ for what someone along the way is charging them _35 cents_ to give out, whether that 35 cents is a legitimate charge or not ... and these days in telecom, there is virtually nothing which _legitimatly_ costs 35 cents per minute to deliver. Unless you have some vested interest in using your 35 cents per minute voicemail (the nature of the contents provided, for example; does it include news/weather/sports/features?) my suggestion would be there are lots of voicemail services for two or three cents per minute to which you might subscribe instead. Combine those with a 'forward on busy/no answer' feature on your cell phone (you _do_ have that; your cell phone uses it now when you otherwise do not answer) and re-direct your calls to _your_ personal voicemail account. PAT] ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Sat, 8 Apr 2006 23:40:59 -0400 In article , henry999@eircom.net says: > You know of course that the cell phone system in Europe is different > from the US. Here, there are signs at the front door of all hospitals > (and in many places inside) saying 'Mobile phones MUST be switched > off'. The idea is that they can interfere with various medical > equipment. I don't know if that is true, or if it is like the > prohibition on airplanes -- but in any case, that's the rule. And most > people follow it. > Having said that -- my wife is a nurse and in her hospital the staff > do have cell phones. They are called DECT and apparently they use a > sub-set of the frequency band that is sure to not conflict with all > the monitors, analyzers, etc. in the building. > Can the public use their own personal mobile phones in American > hospitals? Interesting. I recently had to visit my ailing grandmother in the ntensive care unit of a local hospital. No warnings about cell phones and in fact saw staff use them. So I'd say yes, we can use our cell phones in hospitals. In article , news22 @raleighthings.com says: > John McHarry wrote: > Moto and others sell cell phone technology based private systems. They > work especially well in places like hospitals. Look for little 1' or > shorter antennas in the halls. The nice thing about cell technology is > that it can be designed for a limited area such as a hospital and the > surrounding support businesses. And can easily have multiple places > tied together. We've had little mini tornadoes here in RI. Some have knocked bricks off buildings, etc. But those are few and far between. ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 09:42:58 EDT Subject: Re: What Happened to Me In a message dated Sat, 08 Apr 2006 09:31:49 -0400, editor@telecom-digest.org writes in a note added to a message from DLR : > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I understand the _height_ of buildings > in a community make a difference also. For instance, I have never seen > nor heard of a tornado in downtown Chicago (for example; is it even > possible?) nor in Manhattan, NY. I _assume_ it may have something to > do with the overall height on average of the buildings. Am I correct > on that? That used to be the theory, but various tornadoes since then have provided examples where this did not appear to be true. The first example was a tornado that hit the tallest buildings in downtown Waco, Texas, and caused severe destruction. This was in the 1950s. Several years ago a tornado went right through downtown Fort Worth, Texas, and battered the downtown buildings. One skyscraper--I think it was the Bank One tower was so badly damaged it was never reoccupied and posed a hazard. Just within the last month or two it was torn down, perhaps imploded, after years of trying to decide what to do about it. Examples are fairly rare, probably because the path of a tornado is so narrow that the odds of it hitting a downtown area of a city would be pretty small, the same as it is for any other specific place. Downtown areas are a pretty small percentage of the total area of the earth. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com ------------------------------ From: Koos van den Hout Subject: Re: What do Cellphones Talk About? Date: 9 Apr 2006 20:08:11 GMT Organization: http://idefix.net/~koos/ Thomas A. Horsley wrote in : > So what the heck are all those little talks with the cell tower about if > they don't even exchange the time of day while they are at it? (My > definition of "useful" must be different than my cellphone's). I'm no cellphone technician or protocol technician, but for as far as I know it boils down to "I'm here!", "I'd like to register with cell 0x6EC1", "I'd like to stay with cell 0x6EC1" and more of the same. Koos Camp Wireless, wireless Internet access at campsites| Koos van den Hout http://www.camp-wireless.org/ | http://idefix.net/~koos/ PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 or RSA/1024 0xCA845CB5| Fax +31-30-2817051 ------------------------------ From: henry999@eircom.net (Henry) Subject: Re: Sharing One Line for Fax and Voice? Date: Sun, 9 Apr 2006 12:38:16 +0300 Organization: Elisa Internet customer DLR wrote: > John Reiser wrote: >>> Are there some kind of boxes to plug on an RJ11 with two outgoing RJ11 >>> plugs, that can tell if an incoming call is voice or fax, and direct >>> the call to the ad hoc plug, either a handset or a fax-modem? > If you can get "distinctive ringing" for multiple numbers on a link > there are boxes that will direct the call based on the ring pattern. > This means the line doesn't get answered by the wrong machine which > then has to "hand off" the call. To answer John Reiser's question first, yes, there are such boxes. And to respond to DLR's concern about the line getting 'answered by the wrong machine', the point is that the _box_ answers the call and routes it appropriately. 'Distinctive ringing' from the telephone company isn't required at all. One manufacturer is: http://www.command-comm.com/products.html I have been using an earlier model of theirs since 1994 and it works a treat. The one I've got has three ports -- one is connected to the phone, one to my standalone fax machine and one to the internal fax-modem in the computer (used very rarely, for dialup to the ISP if/when the broadband goes down or occasionally to send a fax directly). Cheers, Henry ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #133 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Apr 10 23:54:58 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id D5EE315702; Mon, 10 Apr 2006 23:54:57 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #134 Message-Id: <20060411035457.D5EE315702@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 23:54:57 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NO_COST autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 10 Apr 2006 23:57:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 134 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers (Monty Solomon) NSDI '06 - Register Today (Lionel Garth Jones) Cable Jumps Into Wireless Business With Sprint (USTelecom dailyLead) Downtown Tornadoes was Re: What Happened to Me (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: What Happened to Me (Dave Garland) Re: Sprint vs Comcast For Phone Service (John Levine) Re: Sprint vs Comcast For Phone Service (John McHarry) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (Andrew Hastings) Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday (Paul Vader) Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (Lisa Hancock) 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: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 19:22:27 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers By SETH SUTEL AP Business Writer ATLANTA (AP) -- There's a big power shift in the world of paid television, and it's not between the traditional rivals of cable and satellite. Consumers are getting more control over what and how they watch, and cable operators are doing everything they can to cater to their rapidly evolving desires. As the cable TV industry's annual trade show got under way in Atlanta Monday, one of the hottest topics was finding ways to keep abreast of consumers' TV viewing habits, which seem to change daily as shows become available over the Internet, on portable devices, and on DVDs. Underscoring just how quickly TV business models are evolving, Walt Disney Co.'s ABC announced Monday that it would offer full-length episodes of several of its hit shows, including "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," for free streaming over the Internet on the day after they appear on ABC. The shows will be supported by advertising that you can't skip through. Disney described the effort as a two-month test, but if it's successful it could pose problems for cable companies, which are working hard to get more premium shows available on their video-on-demand offerings, one of several promising new business areas for cable. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57505373 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 10:42:14 -0700 From: Lionel Garth Jones Subject: NSDI '06 - Register Today Join us in San Jose, CA, May 8-10, 2006, for the latest in networked systems research. The NSDI symposium focuses on the design principles of large-scale networks and distributed systems. With over 28 papers selected, the 2006 program includes: * Keynote Address by Udi Manber, VP of Engineering, Google Inc. * Refereed papers representing a diverse collection of areas including: wide-area distributed services, new network architectures, measures of deployed system, and more * Poster Session: Please send a proposal, one page or less, by March 29, 2006, to nsdi06posters@usenix.org. Don't miss out on the best of current networked systems research and practice. Register by April 17, 2006, to save $150. For more information and to register, please see http://www.usenix.org/nsdi06/progb ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 13:29:05 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Cable Jumps Into Wireless Business With Sprint USTelecom dailyLead April 10, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dreEfDtutcndbReXlu TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Cable jumps into wireless business with Sprint Nextel venture BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * New Zealand telecom to join units * Judge OKs settlement of AOL accounting lawsuit * Verizon DSL ads target dial-up users USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Shopping for or selling telecom equipment? TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Future is now for mobile VoIP * Heavy.com to offer content to Verizon's V Cast * ESPN hopes to boost broadband service through World Cup REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Q-and-A: FCC chief Kevin Martin * Issues remain over San Francisco's wireless plan Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dreEfDtutcndbReXlu Legal and Privacy information at http://www.dailylead.com/about/privacy_legal.jsp SmartBrief, Inc. 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005 ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:37:11 EDT Subject: Downtown Tornadoes was Re: What Happened to Me In a message dated Sun, 09 Apr 2006 20:37:24 -0000, bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) writes: > As for (modern) big cities being immune, on March 28, 2000, a twister > went through downtown Fort Worth TX, killing 2, and causing $400 > million in damages. Oklahoma City, Miami, Nashville, Salt Lake City, > Cincinnati, Birmingham, and Washington D.C. have also been hit in > recent years. If we're talking about downtown areas among the skyscrapers, I have to disagree on Oklahoma City. I've lived here for more than 50 years and there have been a great many tornadoes, some pretty close to my home, but none among the tall buildings. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: Dave Garland Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2006 23:29:57 -0500 Organization: Wizard Information It was a dark and stormy night when henry999@eircom.net (Henry) wrote: > Can the public use their own personal mobile phones in American > hospitals? Hospitals I have been in within the last couple of years had areas where phones were banned. For example, the waiting room was ok, but the actual emergency work area had signs prohibiting phones. I think the entire cardiac department was off limits, also Intensive Care Units. In some areas there are a lot of (presumably unshielded) sensors attached to patients and a lot of of computerized monitoring equipment, and I was told that if a phone was too close it could cause the equipment to malfunction or cause false alarms. I did notice little stub antennas in corridors but am not sure what equipment they were for. Dave ------------------------------ Date: 9 Apr 2006 22:53:32 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Sprint vs Comcast For Phone Service > 1) Comcast cable. ... Their phone service almost certainly isn't Vonage-style parasitic VoIP but rather packetcable which uses IP signalling over dedicated bandwidth. > 2) Sprint, which is the local LEC and DSL. ... > Does anyone have an opinion on which will be more relieable and more > responsive to problems? Sprint, formerly United Telephone, has a pretty decent reputation as an ILEC. I expect either would be fine, but if the power fails, your Comcast phone service will depend on batteries in the box they install on your house and in various cable boxes on the pole, while ILEC service is usually powered from the CO. R's, John ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Sprint vs Comcast For Phone Service Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2006 23:55:50 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Sun, 09 Apr 2006 14:54:09 -0400, Rich Greenberg wrote: > I am soon moving to N. Fort Myers, FL. > I seem to have two choices for telephone and high speed internet. > Does anyone have an opinion on which will be more reliable and more > responsive to problems? This will be my first time with a non-Bell > ILEC. Suggestions for CLECs would be welcome if there are any in that > area. It very much depends on the area, not just the local carrier, but the part of town. You won't really know until you have been there a while, although the opinions of neighbors should be useful. A rule of thumb is telephone networks have more built in reliability, but the service is a guess. If you go with a cable modem, there are other voip carriers that you can use instead of the cable company, that are probably less expensive. I have had good luck with both Packet 8 and Earthlink. The former uses less bandwidth, the latter has better audio quality. In both there is a little noticeable delay, but not bad. If you go with DSL, the phone company will probably only provide it if you buy telephony from them. Also, DSL tends to have somewhat less bandwidth than a cable modem. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 13:04:54 -0500 From: Andrew Hastings Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Organization: Sun Microsystems DLR wrote: >> Andrew Hastings wrote: >> (Extra credit: We've heard about Burroughs, Univac, and CDC. What >> happened to the remaining two companies of the BUNCH: NCR and >> Honeywell?) > NCR was bought by AT&T? > You skipped GE and Sperry. AT&T bought NCR, then spun it off at the same time it spun off Lucent. NCR lives on as a solutions company, after selling its hardware business to Solectron. Sperry == UNIVAC, discussed earlier by hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com. GE was never part of the BUNCH, by definition: B = Burroughs U = Univac N = NCR C = CDC H = Honeywell By the time the BUNCH acronym was popular, GE had already sold its computer business to Honeywell. Honeywell sold its computer business to Groupe Bull in 1991. Honeywell lives on, having merged with Allied Signal in 1999. ------------------------------ From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (Paul Vader) Subject: Re: Apple Computer 30th Birthday Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2006 22:08:56 -0000 Organization: Inline Software Creations Andrew Hastings writes: > (Extra credit: We've heard about Burroughs, Univac, and CDC. What > happened to the remaining two companies of the BUNCH: NCR and > Honeywell?) NCR was digested by AT&T and then spit back out in 1996. They still exist. Honeywell exited the computer business in the early 90s. The remainder of the company merged with Allied Signal a few years later. * * PV something like badgers--something like lizards--and something like corkscrews. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card Date: 10 Apr 2006 13:15:50 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Dailhart wrote: > I routinely dial a toll free 866 number from my cell phone to retrieve > e-voice calls. They do not have a regular local number for this > purpose. > It costs me .35/min from my cell phone (no long distance plan). It > could cost me .03/min if I could use my calling card. The calling card > does not allow toll free calls. A "toll free" number is just that -- toll free. Accordingly, I don't understand why you're getting charged, regardless if you have a long distance plan or not. I thought long distance plans were included in the cell phone. I think you first need to determine exactly who is charging you that 35c. As Pat noted, perhaps your voice mail service is the one charging the fee, not your cell phone. Now, some cell phones do charge their normal airtime rate when you fetch your messages. But getting a calling card won't change that. Perhaps you need to look at your entire cellphone service and make a change. [For myself, I pay a lot per minute on my cellphone, but I use it so rarely and pay a low monthly rate it works out ok for me.] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The way those guys pull this off is by saying "YES, the telephone transit or toll is reverse charge; it is FREE to you and paid for by us ... what you are paying for is the _SERVICE YOU PURCHASED_ -- i.e. a voice mail box -- not the cost of reaching us. We are _here_, you are over _there_, you want to use our service, we pay the toll charge for you to call us long distance, but you pay for the services you purchased." And further in their defense they say "you call lots of 800 numbers; catalogs, credit cards, etc. Do you expect those people to pay for the services you got from them just because they agreed to pay for your phone call in the first place? Then why do you expect us -- your voicemail provider -- to pay for your voicemail costs as well?" And just because their principal -- or only product -- happens to be delivered over the phone lines, for example an 'advice' line or 'consulting' service or 'secretarial' service, i.e. voicemail, even though we did take your phone call for free, you want our services for free also? Our service happens to cost 35 cents per minute, whether you call us on our toll-free line or if you want to call us on our regular number at your expense." Is it a rip off? Well, some would say so. Depends on how well you shop around. Many cell phone carriers provide voicemail with no charge at all, or the charge embedded in the overall cost of the service. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #134 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Apr 11 17:22:43 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 00E5615326; Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:22:40 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #135 Message-Id: <20060411212240.00E5615326@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:22:40 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.1 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,SOME_BREAKTHROUGH autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:27:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 135 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson US Air Chief Says Iran Nuke Option Not Under Debate (Agence France Presse) Iran Defies United States With Nuclear Breakthrough (Agence France Presse) Iran Hits Milestone in Nuclear Technology (Ali Akbar Dareni) Cellular-news for Tuesday 11th April 2006 (Cellular-News) Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (DLR) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 11, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) AT&T Adds New Customer Service (USTA Daily Lead) NEC DS-2000 No Caller ID (wellbe) A New Telecoms Blog About Mobile Society and Technology (2K Keijo) Re: What Happened to Me (Justa Lurker) Scientific Atlanta Expands Options for Operators OCAP Platform (technology) Motorola's New Additions to Set-Top Products DCT3080, DCC100 (technology) The Invention of Telephone Makes Interesting Reading (seo@bitscape.co.in) Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers (Clark W. Griswold, Jr.) Some Memorable Property Up For Sale (A Regular Reader) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Agence France Presse NewsWire Subject: US Air Chief Says Iran Nuke Option Not Under Debate Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 12:44:30 -0500 The chief of the US Air Force said he has not taken part in any internal debate over whether nuclear weapons should be considered as a military option against Iran. The New Yorker magazine, in an article published over the weekend, said the attention being given the nuclear option within the US administration had aroused serious misgivings within the offices of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and some officers had talked about resigning. "I've not been in any meeting that is portrayed in the way the articles are written over the weekend," said General T. Michael Moseley, who as the air force chief of staff is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president's top military advisors. He added that he was not considering resigning. President George W. Bush on Monday dismissed as "wild speculation" that the Pentagon has stepped up planning for possible military strikes, insisting that the United States remains committed to diplomacy in dealing with Iran's nuclear program. Iran also has rejected the reports as being part of a psychological warfare campaign. The Washington Post reported Sunday that the government was studying options for military strikes as part of a broader campaign to coerce Tehran into giving up its alleged quest for nuclear weapons. The New Yorker story by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh said the one of the military options presented last winter called for the use of bunker-busting tactical nuclear weapons such as the B61-11 against alleged Iran underground nuclear sites. "There are always operational planning endeavours ongoing whether it's in Korea, whether it's in Southcom, whether its in Eucom, or Centcom," said Moseley, referring to the US military's combat commands around the world. He added: "It's not appropriate to comment on particular military options." Among the many challenges US military planners face in Iran is that its nuclear facilities are scattered and some are buried in undergound bunkers, raising the question whether they could be destroyed with conventional weapons. Stipulating that he was talking about general capabilities and not an Iran scenario, Moseley said the air force's ability to destroy buried, hardened targets using conventional weapons depends on how deep they are. "There are a variety of weapons that can penetrate concrete and steel structures, and there are variety of weapons that can penetrate a mix of concrete and steel and sand and rubble structures," Moseley said. "It depends on how deep and it depends on how the structure is put together," he said. "There are potentials I would suppose of things so deep and so hardened that it would be hard to get through with anything." Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Hmmm, 'only wide speculation'; ' just an option'; where have we heard _that_ kind of talk before? Iran says they will retaliate in kind, if it gets to that point, 'but we may not be as careful in how we aim back ...' PAT] ------------------------------ From: Agence France Press NewsWire Subject: Iran Defies United States With Nuclear Breakthrough Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 12:46:24 -0500 Iran defies UN/USA with nuclear breakthrough Iran announced it had successfully enriched uranium to make nuclear fuel, a major breakthrough in its disputed nuclear drive that is in defiance of the UN Security Council. The announcement came just 15 days before the expiry of a Security Council deadline for Iran to freeze its enrichment programme -- a process that can be extended to make the fissile core of an atomic bomb. In a speech carried live on state television, vice president and atomic energy chief Gholam Reza Aghazadeh announced that "on April 9, we successfully enriched uranium to 3.5 percent," the purity required for civilian reactor fuel. He also said the progress in enrichment "paves the way for enrichment on an industrial scale." The announcement, made in the northeastern city of Mashhad before top regime officials, was greeted by chants of "Allahu Akbar" ("God is Greatest"), and the singing of patriotic songs. Iran insists it only wants to generate nuclear power, but is widely suspected in the West of seeking to developing nuclear weapons. "If the United States leaves us alone; then we will leave you alone," Iran officials insisted. On March 29, the Security Council called on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment to provide a watertight guarantee that its nuclear programme is peaceful, with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei asked to report on Iranian compliance after 30 days. ElBaradei is also due to arrive in Tehran overnight Wednesday. ElBaradei said the government 'fully expects' the United States to make the first agressive attack on their country, and "we will respond as needed; we are about able to defend our country now; an attack on Tehran by the USA is expected; if it happens we will return fire." Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Ali Akbar Dareini Subject: Iran Hits Milestone in Nuclear Technology Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 12:51:32 -0500 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a landmark in its quest to develop nuclear fuel, hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. He insisted, however, that his country does not aim to develop nuclear weapons, 'unless the United States through its agression forces us to do so'. In a nationally televised speech, Ahmadinejad called on the West "not to cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians" by trying to force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, or worse, "force us to return fire in a war which the United States would be hard pressed to win. But be assured, we will defend our country as needed. "At this historic moment, with the blessings of God Almighty and the efforts made by our scientists, I declare here that the laboratory- scale nuclear fuel cycle has been completed and young scientists produced enriched uranium needed to the degree for nuclear power plants Sunday," Ahmadinejad said. "I formally declare that Iran has joined the club of nuclear countries," he told an audience that included top military commanders and clerics in the northwestern holy city of Mashhad. The crowd broke into cheers of "Allahu akbar!" or "God is great!" Some stood and thrust their fists in the air, and the melodies of patriotic music could be heard. The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment activity by April 28. Iran has rejected the demand, calling it 'nonsense' and saying it has a right to develop the process. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is due in Iran this week for talks to try to resolve the standoff. "Who appointed the United States in charge of this process?" he demanded to know. The White House denounced the latest comments from Iranian officials, with spokesman Scott McClellan saying they "continue to show that Iran is moving in the wrong direction." Ahmadinejad said Iran "relies on the sublime beliefs that lie within the Iranian and Islamic culture. Our nation does not get its strength from nuclear arsenals, as does the United States, apparently, but we will defend our country against what now appears to be an imminent attack from the west, returning fire to them, one by one whatever they choose to do to harm us. He said Iran wanted to operate its nuclear program peacefully under supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency and within its rights and regulations under the regulations of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty. "Just because President Bush says otherwise, does not make it so. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 11th April 2006 Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:56:11 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] Five equip producers apply to create test 3G network in Ukraine http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16916.php Ukraine's National Commission for Communications Regulation (NKRS) has received five applications from equipment producers to create a test network for third generation (3G) services in Ukraine, a spokesperson with the commission told Prime-Tass Mond... Motorola Survey Demonstrates the Real-World Impact of 3G http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16920.php Are you the leading wo/man who enjoys the spotlight and embraces the new videophone age? Or the no-show who shuns it for fear of being caught out in places that are hard to explain? How is etiquette muscling in on the next-generation of mobile phones... HSDPA Launched in Czech Republic http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16925.php The Czech mobile operator, Eurotel Praha has launched the first High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) network in the Czech Republic. The solution, provided by Nokia, allows Eurotel, an affiliate of Telefonica and O2, to operate its network more c... [[ Financial ]] Blackstone Denies Report Of Consortium Bid For Vodafone http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16906.php Private equity company Blackstone Group, Monday denied reports that it is working on a bid with a host of other companies to break up Vodafone Group. ... Ericsson CEO Sees Opportunity From Alcatel/Lucent Deal http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16907.php Ericsson Chief Executive Carl-Henric Svanberg Monday said he expects the planned merger of Alcatel and Lucent Technologies to give his company an opportunity to grab market share. ... Telefonica wins Colombia Telecomunicaciones auction http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16912.php Spain's Telefonica has outbid Venezuela's Cantv in the auction to buy 50% plus one of telco Colombia Telecomunicaciones' (Telecom) shares, Telefonica's investor relations department in Spain told Namericas. ... Swisscom Regrets Parliament Decision Not To Privatize Co http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16915.php Swisscom, Monday said it regrets the decision of a Swiss parliamentary commission not to support the government proposal to sell the government's holding in the Swiss telecommunications company. ... Investments in Ukraine's telecom sector up 34.5% on yr in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16918.php Capital investments in Ukraine?s telecommunications sector rose 34.5% on the year to 7.79 billion hryvnas in 2005, the State Communications Department said Monday. ... [[ Handsets ]] Alcatel expects US$40mn in handset revenues http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16911.php French equipment supplier Alcatel expects US$40mn in revenues from mobile handset sales in Chile in 2006, the company's first full year since launching the handset division in that country, Alcatel Chile sales and marketing manager Pablo Radó tol... Retailer says Russia's Jan-Mar mobile handset sales up 5.9% on year http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16917.php Mobile handset sales in Russia rose 5.9% on the year to U.S. $1.26 billion in January-March, Russia?s largest mobile handset retailer Euroset said in a report released Monday. ... How Handset OS Impacts on Consumer Choice http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16919.php A handset's operating system (OS) is more important to the average wireless shopper than its camera, Bluetooth functionality, music or even email. Shoppers, however, don't care much about the specific operating system brand according to new research ... [[ Legal ]] PRESS: VimpelCom OKs 2005 financial report amid Telenor opposition http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16909.php The board of directors of Russia?s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom approved the company's financial report for 2005 on April 7 despite opposition from one of the shareholders, VimpelCom's Press Secretary Yulia Ostroukhova said, business dail... Greek Panel Urges Vodafone's Prosecution Over Wiretaps http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16914.php ATHENS (AP)--The head of a parliamentary committee investigating a phone-tapping scandal that targeted Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis and other top officials called on Monday for the prosecution of telecom giant Vodafone Group. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] China's Wireless Music Market to Reach US$1.7 Billion by 2008 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16921.php China's Analysys International says revenues from wireless music, including CRBT, IVR, stream media and music related WAP/MMS services, will reach US$1.7 billion in China by 2008. Wireless music subscribers will reach 114 million in 2008, accounting ... Mobile Platform as Fertile Ground for Proprietary DRM Vendors http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16923.php Multimedia to the mobile phone is one of the hottest and youngest market segments in the wireless arena. Attempts to bring uniformity to it with open digital rights management standards are premature at this stage, according to a new study released b... Mobile Access To Bank Accounts http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16926.php The UK based bank, HSBC and its online subsidiary, First Direct will be the first banks to offer customers a new mobile phone banking service later this year when their services go live on the MoniLink network, a new UK mobile banking platform from t... [[ Network Contracts ]] HSDPA Upgrade For Sweden and Denmark http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16922.php Ericsson has been selected to upgrade 3 Scandinavia's 3G/WCDMA networks with HSDPA. Ericsson will deliver commercial HSDPA hardware, software and implementation services. Deliveries have already begun, with a scheduled commercial launch in selected S... Orange Israel Orders 3G Testing Platform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16924.php Radcom says that Israel's Partner Communications (which trades under the Orange brand name) has selected its UMTS monitoring solution. The Omni-Q system enables Partner to manage 3G service performance across various local sites from a single control... [[ Network Operators ]] Chechnya prime minister still unhappy with MegaFon http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16908.php Ramzan Kadyrov, prime minister of Russia's constituent republic of Chechnya, said he was still unhappy with the services of Russia?s third largest mobile operator MegaFon, the only mobile operator in the republic. ... BrT mobile unit expects 3 million users in 2006 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16910.php The mobile unit of Brazilian fixed line operator Brasil Telecom expects to reach 3 million users in 2006, up from 2 million last year, Ricardo Couto, BrT's director of marketing for the fixed and mobile units, told BNamericas. ... [[ Regulatory ]] Swisscom Faces Sanction On Mobile Termination Rates http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16905.php Telecommunications company Swisscom, Monday said a draft ruling from the Competition Commission recommends that the company pays a CHF489 million fine for misuse of mobile termination rates. ... Regulators may share stolen cell phone database http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16913.php El Salvador's electricity and telecommunications regulator Siget is discussing with neighboring Guatemala the possibility of sharing a database of all the cell phones that have been stolen in each country, La Prensa Grafica reported. ... UK Regulator Considering Phones on Planes Usage http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16927.php The UK's telecoms regulator, Ofcom says that it has been approached by stakeholders from the avionic and telecoms sectors suggesting that it should review the wireless telegraphy licensing regime in order to permit the provision and use of mobile ser... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 00:20:35 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Dailhart wrote: >> I routinely dial a toll free 866 number from my cell phone to retrieve >> e-voice calls. They do not have a regular local number for this >> purpose. >> It costs me .35/min from my cell phone (no long distance plan). It >> could cost me .03/min if I could use my calling card. The calling card >> does not allow toll free calls. > A "toll free" number is just that -- toll free. Accordingly, I don't > understand why you're getting charged, regardless if you have a long > distance plan or not. I thought long distance plans were included in > the cell phone. Toll free is a land line concept. With most cell phone plans (all that I've seen) a toll free number is just like any other nation wide number. If you've got free minutes, it's free, if not you pay the CELL PHONE minute rates. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 11:53:03 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Tuesday, April 11, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 11, 2006 ******************************** Are Designer Phone Companies The Future? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17473?11228 If pundits are right, communications is no longer a standalone business. It's a service that is offered alongside another business, such as entertainment or retail. In this futurist view, any business can provide communications services as a way to engage customers with the companies' products or services in a more intimate way, up to... Voices Carry http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17471?11228 Wireless carriers now have the networks to provide all manner of rich media, including streaming video, full-track downloads and online games. Cell phones are becoming mini-computers capable of acting like MP3 players and tiny TV sets. In fact, handset decks are starting to look like regular Web pages, but they're a whole lot harder to... VimpelCom's 2005 Financial Report Approved, Despite Telenor Objections http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17466?11228 VimpelCom's 2005 financial report has been approved by its board of directors, according to Prime-TASS, but there were objections from the three directors representing Telenor. VimpelCom is 26.6% owned by Telenor and the Nordic group's representatives refused to approve the report, citing their dissatisfaction at VimpelCom's purchase... Sprint Nextel and Cable Operators to Trial Joint Wireless Services http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17465?11228 More details have emerged on Sprint Nextel's plans to offer joint wireless services with cable operators Advance/Newhouse Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable. According to the Wall Street Journal and other sources, Comcast will trial the service in Portland (Oregon, United States) and one city in... Carphone Warehouse Unsettles Market with 'Free' Broadband Service http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17462?11228 Carphone Warehouse today unveiled its long-awaited broadband strategy, offering customers free broadband internet connections if they sign up to its Talktalk phone service. The retailer said that the offer - which would be priced at GBP20.99 (US$36.55) per month for an 18-month contract - would become available from today to customers in... Sprint Commits to Invest $7 Billion http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17459?11228 Sprint Nextel Corp. is moving ahead with its wireless efforts. The carrier plans to invest $7 billion this year to improve its network. Company Chief Executive Gary Forsee committed to the $7 billion investment during a panel session at the National Cable & Telecommunications Association show being held this week in Atlanta. Sprint... Global Crossing, Sprint Nextel Eye VoIP Pushes http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17457?11228 Global Crossing and Sprint Nextel separately disclosed plans for additional expansions of their Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) businesses targeting international and domestic markets, respectively, highlighting a growing incursion of VoIP activities into mainstream enterprise and residential markets. While Global Crossing outlined... Cisco ACEs Applications http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17455?11228 Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board) is continuing its push into application control with today's release of its Application Control Engine (ACE), a new card for the Catalyst 6500 line. ACE is part of application networking services, the latest of Cisco's "advanced technologies" expected to become $1 billion markets. The... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 13:40:29 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: AT&T Adds New Customer Service USTelecom dailyLead April 11, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/drpIfDtutcoklBeInB TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * AT&T adds new customer service BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Analysis: Disney's online move could change the rules * Carphone bundles free broadband with voice service * Analysis: For AT&T, China proves tough nut to crack * Where does the Alcatel-Lucent deal leave Juniper? * Sprint Nextel passes 1M VoIP subscribers USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Triple-play or Triple-problems: Customer Service via Support Automation TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Video technology moves beyond traditional TV box REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC set to approve plan for spectrum auction Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/drpIfDtutcoklBeInB ------------------------------ From: wellbe@gmail.com Subject: NEC DS 2000 - No Caller ID Date: 11 Apr 2006 11:39:25 -0700 Our company just bought a new NEC DS2000. It was supposed to have caller id on the digital stations. It only gives the id occasionally, like 1 out of 20 calls. The installer said he'd have to order some daughter boards in order to fix it. Is this common? Why do you have to fix new equipment right out of the box.? The telco has good equipment locally (SBC, now AT&T). Why do you have to patch equipment with add in boards to make it work the way it was supposed to work in the first place? TIA marc ------------------------------ From: 2k Subject: A New Blog About Mobile Society and Technology Date: 11 Apr 2006 10:59:09 -0700 Hi, I just wanted to inform about my telecoms related blog. Topics covered are mobile society and lifestyle, future of telecoms and mobile technologies. The address of my blog is http://www.ringtone-search.net (ironicly it has very little to with ringtones). Best wishes -keijo- [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Good luck with your new blog. I suspect that when this message appears in the Digest, you will have at least a few readers from here over to look at it. Perhaps over the next few months you will build up a steady stream of readers/conttibutors. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Justa Lurker Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:11:33 GMT Dave Garland wrote: > I did notice little stub antennas in corridors but am not sure what > equipment they were for. I believe those antennas may be part of the telemetry system which monitors patients while they are ambulatory away from their bed (e.g., moving about in the hallway, sitting down the hall in the solarium, etc.). Or perhaps what you saw are associated with some sort of wireless LAN access point, although I think my first guess is more likely. ------------------------------ From: technology_post@yahoo.com Subject: Scientific Atlanta Expands Options for Operators with OCAP Platform Date: 10 Apr 2006 22:09:45 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com OCAP solutions enable operators to deploy the next generation of interactive applications for the connected life on a standard platform across multiple devices. ATLANTA, GA - THE NATIONAL SHOW - To support the interoperability of OpenCableTM Application Platform (OCAPTM) applications across cable networks, Scientific Atlanta, A Cisco Company, has announced extensive hardware and software support for the industry standard ... http://technology-post.com/tech/?p=627 ------------------------------ From: technology_post@yahoo.com Subject: Motorola's New Additions to Motorola DCT3080 and Motorola DCC100 Date: 11 Apr 2006 02:47:22 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com New additions to set-top product line underscore the Motorola commitment to all-digital broadcasting. http://technology-post.com/tech/?p=636 ------------------------------ From: seo@bitscape.co.in Subject: The Invention of Telephone Makes Interesting Reading Date: 10 Apr 2006 22:33:23 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com http://worldofbiography.com/9022%2DGraham%20Bell/inventiontelephone.htm Telephone, the device, that played a vital role in turning the world in a 'global village' is not just an instrument, but a revolution in itself. The invention of telephone makes an interesting reading. It enables people to talk to each other over great distances by means of electricity. It was mankind's dream realized by Alexander Graham Bell. http://www.worldofbiography.com ------------------------------ From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. Subject: Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 07:46:03 -0600 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Monty Solomon wrote: > Underscoring just how quickly TV business models are evolving, Walt > Disney Co.'s ABC announced Monday that it would offer full-length > episodes of several of its hit shows, including "Desperate > Housewives" and "Lost," for free streaming over the Internet on the > day after they appear on ABC. The shows will be supported by > advertising that you can't skip through. Which explains why the telcos have been plotting to charge content providers for access to their DSL subscribers and why the cable companies have been silently cheering them on. The Telcos saw TV over IP as their way of competing with cable companies, *as long as the cable model worked.* That model has the cable companies charging the consumer, plus collecting ad revenue and "slotting fees" from the channels. Producers selling programs direct to the consumer take all that revenue away from the phone/cable companies, and they don't like being just a pipeline supplier. ------------------------------ From: Regular Reader Subject: Attention: Pat, Not List. Some Memorable Property Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 03:39:01 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC This refers to Ed Gein, one of your heroes. As you wrote a couple of times when describing him: his name rhymes with fiend, not fine. He was whacked out serial killer and was the person the movie "psycho" was based on. ----- From: Hoodoo Newsgroups: alt.obituaries Subject: Man selling former Gein property says he's received one offer before eBay yanked his ad off its online auction site Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 01:36:55 -0500 Apr. 10, 2006 Man selling former Gein property says he's received one offer Associated Press http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/14309338.htm WAUSAU, Wis. - The man trying to sell the land where Ed Gein -- the grave robber and murderer whose story inspired the movie "Psycho" - was arrested said Monday he received one offer before eBay yanked his ad off its online auction site. Mike Fisher said the offer was far lower than his $250,000 asking price. Fisher said eBay pulled his real estate advertisement on Saturday, five days after it was first listed, calling it a violation of the site's murder memorabilia policy. "It was bound to be controversial," Fisher said. The 40-acre property near Plainfield about 70 miles south of Wausau once contained Gein's ramshackle home and part of his farm, where Gein was arrested and body parts and clothing made from human skin were found in 1957. Fisher, who inherited the land from his grandfather, listed the property on eBay on April 4 under the heading, "Ed Gein's Farm ... The REAL deal!" Fisher's sales pitch drew the attention of a man leading a national campaign against sales of serial killer memorabilia. Andy Kahan of Houston said Fisher was wrong for trying to use a horrible crime and the notoriety of it to "hook a higher price" for his land. Kahan said Monday he purposely didn't contact eBay about the ad to see whether the company was enforcing its policy. "It finally got pointed out to them," he said. "Obviously, they passed with flying colors. We applaud eBay for being a consistent watchdog and not allowing the sale of murderabilia." In a telephone interview from his home in southern Wisconsin, Fisher said his eBay ad received more than 10,000 hits before it was pulled. He refused to disclose details about the lone offer, which he did not immediately accept. The property remains for sale, he said. "I have a number of interested parties. We have yet to exchange information. They want to take a look at the place, that type of thing." Fisher said he doesn't plan to list the property with a real estate company. "The word is out. If someone is truly interested, they can track me down," he said. "Public records will show where I am at. As with any real estate deal, price is always negotiable." Kahan said he was not surprised Fisher's ad attracted 10,000 hits. "It's human curiosity. People are always fascinated with the morbid and the macabre," he said. Gein was arrested for murder when the headless body of a hardware store owner was found hanging at his farm home. The woman's body was dressed out like a deer carcass. Investigators also found parts of other bodies. They concluded Gein had robbed graves and may have murdered other people. Gein, eventually ruled guilty but criminally insane, died in a mental hospital in 1984 at the age of 77. Fisher's grandfather, Emden Schey, bid $3,883 for Gein's farm plus another $775 for the homestead site, outbuildings and 40 acres in 1958. The farmhouse on the property burned down before the auction. Schey later sold off some of the land, and the 40-acre homestead site was passed down to Fisher and his brother. Fisher, 40, said he bought out his brother's interest. The 40 acres is covered with trees, planted by his grandfather to try in some way to redeem it from its ugly past, the grandson said. Fisher and friends have hunted deer on it for more than two decades. -- .... --- --- -.. --- --- [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thank you for passing this on to me. I dunno what it is about the Chicago/Milwaukee/northern Indiana geography which seems to bring such creatures out of hiding from time to time. Maybe the atmosphere? From the 1920's onward to the present, they pop up every decade or so with regularity: Consider 1924, and the two University of Chicago students, Nathan Leopold and his partner Mr. Loeb. Both brilliant geniuses -- quite literally -- they molested and murdered fourteen year old Bobbie Franks, and stuffed the boy's nude body in a storm sewer in the far south side Hegewisch neighborhood, then had the audacity to demand a million dollar ransom from the boy's grandfather, who was the Vice President of Sears, Roebuck at the time. They were caught when Mr. Leopold accidentally left behind a pair of eye-glasses at the crime scene. Richard Loeb died in Joliet Penitentiary in 1935 as the result of a homosexual affair with another prisoner in the hoosegow. The Chicago Daily News (a long, out of business newspaper) reported it the next day by noting that 'brilliant linquist, honors student at University of Chicago yesterday made one fatal mistake: he ended his sentence with a proposition'. Leopold on the other hand, completed his 'life sentence' in 1956 when he was paroled, much to the dismay of the surviving Franks' family members. You see, both guys had the services of well known attorney Clarence Darrow who managed to get them spared from being hung by their necks in the alley on Hubbard Street behind the old courthouse by assuring the judge that they would never again see the light of day outside prison. And Loeb didn't, since another inmate took great umbrage at his suggestions, but Leopold made it out thirty-plus years later, when most people had long since forgotten about their naughty activity. Another University of Chicago student was not so fortunate with his parole plans: (I'll think of his name in a minute) ... like the earlier two lads, this fellow had an insatiable urge to rape and murder and in 1946 one of his (estimated five or six) victims, a child five years old was kidnapped from her bedroom on North Kenmore Street, (around Kenmore and Foster Avenue somewhere) and her nude, dismembered body was found in street sewers up and down Kenmore Avenue a couple weeks later. Very cooperative, he showed police where he had taken the child to do her in (a basement in one of the apartment buildings around Broadway and Lawrence Avenue somewhere.) Police appreciated his cooperation so much they agreed to give him life without parole. To insure he kept his part of the bargain -- life without parole -- the family members of the victim went religiously to his parole hearings beginning after about 25 years when he became 'eligible' to protest his possible release. The family members and the original arresting police officer all kept going to the parole meetings, and kept right on protesting. Then the little girl's parents died, her older brother died, the arresting police officer died; and the only person left to protest parole was her older sister; now a woman in her eighties. And she said "well the deal he made with Governor Kerner (1940's Illinois governor) was _life without parole_ and he still is alive." So this old gentleman, himself now in his eighties but originally a college freshman in 1946 when the crime was committed remains in prison. An old, frail man, believe it or not, the _oldest_ (both in terms of age and in terms of time in prison -- fifty some years) prisoner in the Illinois system remains incarcerated. The state has more or less committed to 'when the old lady (victim's sister) finally dies, we will let you out of prison also; while she remains alive, we do not intend to hurt her feelings or cause her any more anquish.' Then there were the Schussler-Peterson murders, a 1954 hideous crime (three school boys, ages 11, 12 and 13) who were left denuded, their carcasses scattered on a bright fall Sunday afternoon in October that year through the Robinson Woods Forest Preserve. It took police _39 years_ to solve those murders; for many years it had been in the 'cold case files'. There was _no one_ left on the Chicago Police force who had been employed by police when those dastardly crimes were committed; no one at all; no DNA, no forensics, they had none of that stuff; their only 'evidence' were a few faded, curled up poloroid pictures of the crime scene and some old Chicago Tribune newspaper clips. The perpetrator who had been a 21-year old stable hand at a farm in the area (yes, there used to be farms around Chicago!) was now a 60-year old successful real estate guy from one of the wealthier suburbs. When the case was solved, in 1993, the Chicago Tribune headline the next morning proclaimed '39-year old murder cases solved' and the story told us "now you can see what homophobia can get for you if you work it well enough". A few newer, less homophobic police officers had decided to take it on and try to solve it and after four or five years of effort had managed to do so. And that merely brings us up to more 'modern times' and the sex and otherwise kinky crimes of the last half of the twentieth century from around Chicago, i.e. John Wayne Gacy (now itself a quarter century ago; he was executed); Larry Eyler, (bodies scattered up and down the highway between Chicago and Terre Haute, IN) and of course, the cannibal from Milwaukee, and others. The cycle around Chicago seems to be every eight to ten, or maybe twenty years one or two come out of the woodwork. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #135 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Apr 11 23:15:43 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 66928156DD; Tue, 11 Apr 2006 23:15:43 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #136 Message-Id: <20060412031543.66928156DD@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 23:15:43 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=unavailable version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 11 Apr 2006 23:16:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 136 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Phone Records in Jamming Case Point to White House (Larry Margasak) MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft (Eric Auchard) My Space Posts Ads Promoting Safety (Alex Veiga) Amber Alerts (Wesrock@aol.com) Computers Hijack Vote in State of Washington (Curt Woodward) Googles Hidden Payroll (Christian Science Monitor) Re: NEC DS 2000 - No Caller ID (DLR) Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers (Neal McClain) Re: Reliable, Easy, and Cost Effective Way to Record Calls (Phil Earnhardt) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Larry Margasak Subject: Phone Records in Jamming Case Point to White House Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:13:59 -0500 Records in N.H. Case Show White House Ties By LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press Writer Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show. The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 -- as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down. The national Republican Party, which paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin, says the contacts involved routine election business and that it was "preposterous" to suggest the calls involved phone jamming. The Justice Department has secured three convictions in the case but hasn't accused any White House or national Republican officials of wrongdoing, nor made any allegations suggesting party officials outside of New Hampshire were involved. The phone records of calls to the White House were exhibits in Tobin's trial but prosecutors did not make them part of their case. Democrats plan to ask a federal judge Tuesday to order GOP and White House officials to answer questions about the phone jamming in a civil lawsuit alleging voter fraud. Repeated hang-up calls that jammed telephone lines at a Democratic get-out-the-vote center occurred in a Senate race in which Republican John Sununu defeated Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, 51 percent to 46 percent, on Nov. 5, 2002. Besides the conviction of Tobin, the Republicans' New England regional director, prosecutors negotiated two plea bargains: one with a New Hampshire Republican Party official and another with the owner of a telemarketing firm involved in the scheme. The owner of the subcontractor firm whose employees made the hang-up calls is under indictment. The phone records show that most calls to the White House were from Tobin, who became President Bush's presidential campaign chairman for the New England region in 2004. Other calls from New Hampshire senatorial campaign offices to the White House could have been made by a number of people. A GOP campaign consultant in 2002, Jayne Millerick, made a 17-minute call to the White House on Election Day, but said in an interview she did not recall the subject. Millerick, who later became the New Hampshire GOP chairwoman, said in an interview she did not learn of the jamming until after the election. A Democratic analysis of phone records introduced at Tobin's criminal trial show he made 115 outgoing calls -- mostly to the same number in the White House political affairs office -- between Sept. 17 and Nov. 22, 2002. Two dozen of the calls were made from 9:28 a.m. the day before the election through 2:17 a.m. the night after the voting. There also were other calls between Republican officials during the period that the scheme was hatched and canceled. Prosecutors did not need the White House calls to convict Tobin and negotiate the two guilty pleas. Whatever the reason for not using the White House records, prosecutors "tried a very narrow case," said Paul Twomey, who represented the Democratic Party in the criminal and civil cases. The Justice Department did not say why the White House records were not used. The Democrats said in their civil case motion that they were entitled to know the purpose of the calls to government offices "at the time of the planning and implementation of the phone-jamming conspiracy ... and the timing of the phone calls made by Mr. Tobin on Election Day." While national Republican officials have said they deplore such operations, the Republican National Committee said it paid for Tobin's defense because he is a longtime supporter and told officials he had committed no crime. By Nov. 4, 2002, the Monday before the election, an Idaho firm was hired to make the hang-up calls. The Republican state chairman at the time, John Dowd, said in an interview he learned of the scheme that day and tried to stop it. Dowd, who blamed an aide for devising the scheme without his knowledge, contended that the jamming began on Election Day despite his efforts. A police report confirmed the Manchester Professional Fire Fighters Association reported the hang-up calls began about 7:15 a.m. and continued for about two hours. The association was offering rides to the polls. Virtually all the calls to the White House went to the same number, which currently rings inside the political affairs office. In 2002, White House political affairs was led by now-RNC chairman Ken Mehlman. The White House declined to say which staffer was assigned that phone number in 2002. "As policy, we don't discuss ongoing legal proceedings within the courts," White House spokesman Ken Lisaius said. Robert Kelner, a Washington lawyer representing the Republican National Committee in the civil litigation, said there was no connection between the phone jamming operation and the calls to the White House and party officials. "On Election Day, as anybody involved in politics knows, there's a tremendous volume of calls between political operatives in the field and political operatives in Washington," Kelner said. "If all you're pointing out is calls between Republican National Committee regional political officials and the White House political office on Election Day, you're pointing out nothing that hasn't been true on every Election Day," he said. Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera said Monday: "With every development in this case, there are new questions about the extent to which key national Republicans had knowledge of or were involved in a criminal scheme to keep New Hampshire voters from getting to the polls. The American people have a right to know whether the White House political director, who today sits as chairman of the national Republican Party, had any hand in it." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I am curious and trying to remember from a long time ago: During the Watergate scandal, didn't the Republican party also pay for the legal expenses of the accused? PAT] ------------------------------ From: Eric Auchard Subject: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:52:13 -0500 By Eric Auchard News Corp. is set on Tuesday to name a security czar to oversee child safety measures on MySpace.com, the popular teen dating and music site that has provoked an outcry among parents who fear they have not done enough to thwart sexual predators. Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam, now director of Consumer Security Outreach & Child Safe Computing at Microsoft Corp., will head up safety, education, privacy and law enforcement oversight programs for MySpace and other Fox Web properties. The appointment is effective May 1, News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media, the parent of MySpace, said in a statement. The move is one of several responses MySpace and its owners have taken in recent months to respond to harsh criticism by parent groups, legal authorities and politicians. Just last week, a U.S. Congressional committee held hearings on potential laws to thwart the sexual exploitation of children online. MySpace, which began as a music fan site, has caught fire as the most popular online forum for teenagers to hang out and express themselves with peers. Largely a U.S. cultural phenomenon, MySpace now counts 69 million members. Its success is tied to how it combines together in one place many features otherwise only available separately -- from blogs, to instant messaging, music videos and photo galleries -- powering it to become the second most visited U.S. site. Nigam brings strong credentials to his new role. He has more than 15 years of experience in online safety, including serving as a Federal prosecutor against Internet child exploitation for the U.S. Department of Justice. He was also an advisor to a Congressional commission on online child safety, and an advisor to the White House on cyberstalking. Prior to Microsoft, Nigam was vice president of worldwide Internet enforcement at the Motion Picture Association of America, where he oversaw the global strategy to combat online video piracy for seven major Hollywood studios. MySpace has implemented a series of measures to protect young users. It limits access to the site to members who are at least 14 and provide special protections to kids under 16. It claims to have deleted more than 250,000 profiles of underage kids since the site's inception. Over the weekend, MySpace said it was working with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Advertising Council to create the largest-ever online safety program using nationwide public service advertisements. Gartner Inc. Internet analyst Allen Weiner, whose teenage daughter is a big fan of MySpace, said the site suffers from what sociologists might call the "busy street corner problem." "People are going to find nefarious things to do with anything that draws such a huge audience," Weiner said. "I think MySpace is actually doing a pretty decent job in terms of security," the analyst said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters please check out: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Alex Veiga Subject: My Space Posts Ads Promoting Safety Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:55:43 -0500 By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer Along with ads for bottled water and iTunes, a new campaign has begun appearing on the online social networking hub MySpace.com. "1 in 5 kids online is sexually solicited. Online predators know what they're doing. Do you?" read the public service ads that began running Monday. A division of News Corp., MySpace enables computer users to meet any of more than 60 million members. Users post searchable profiles that can include photos of themselves and such details as where they live and what music they like. But the Web site's features and popularity with teens have raised concerns with authorities nationwide. There have been scattered accounts of sexual predators targeting minors they met through the site. The spots, which computer users can see on MySpace in the form of banner ads, were also slated to begin running on a host of News Corp. outlets, including other Fox Interactive Media Web sites, the 28 Fox Networks Group broadcast networks, Fox All Access radio and the New York Post. They are part of a campaign launched two years ago by the Ad Council and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Meanwhile, MySpace announced Tuesday that it has hired a Microsoft Corp. executive to oversee safety, education, privacy and law enforcement affairs, effective May 1. Hemanshu Nigam currently serves as a director responsible for driving Microsoft's consumer security outreach and child safe computing strategies. He was previously a federal prosecutor who specialized in online child exploitation cases. The new ad campaign warns parents and teens that sexual predators are increasingly using the veil of anonymity provided by online chat rooms, forums and social networking sites to target minors. "One of the things we're trying to persuade kids to do is not to give out personal details online, don't advertise where they are and who they are," said Ernie Allen, president of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "The person with whom they may be interacting may not be who they say they are." Some 22 percent of users are registered as under 18, according to MySpace. The site forbids minors 13 and under from joining and provides special protections for those 14 and 15 -- only those on their friends' list can view their profiles. The company uses a computer program that analyzes user profiles and flags members likely to be under 14. Hundreds of thousands of flagged profiles have been deleted, the company has said. Still, children regularly lie about their age to get around those restrictions. Last month, two men were arrested in what prosecutors said were the first federal sex charges involving MySpace. Two Connecticut girls involved in that case were 11 and 14, the FBI said. On the Net: MySpace: http://www.myspace.com Ad Council: http://www.missingkids.com/adcouncil/cpgn.html Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:54:52 EDT Subject: Amber alerts I do not have any information on the subject, but I wonder in what way Amber Alerts are disseminated so quickly. The reported kidnapping of a 16-year-old girl in Independence got me thinking about this. It was quickly on all the TV stations in Oklahoma (not just Tulsa) and I assume on the overhead road message signs, too. Probably the same thing is true in Kansas. Surely there must be some form of authentication and then rapid transmission to various police agencies, the media, and the state DOTs. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: All these things are true. In the case of Kelsey Stelting, the sixteen year old girl here in Independence Tuesday morning, when I woke up at 7:30 AM it was already running as a 'ticker ribbon message' on KOAM (Cable channel 2) out of Tulsa. The 'local use' cable channels here, channel 10 (municipal) and channel 14 (Independence High School) were completely consumed with it. Apparently she was kidnapped between 6:15 and 6:30 AM in front of her parent's house at 5th and Pine Street. We are told she was grabbed at gun point during her morning jogging session. All the details are not totally clear to me, except that she was instructed by the kidnapper to "run in the direction of a lumber yard five blocks away at Penn and Pecan Streets and get into a 'white van' driven by a confederate of the kidnapper." Apparently she was able to sneak in a call on her own cell phone to (a) police and (b) her mother at home and in a short conversation (before being caught using the cell phone) tell them what was happening to her. According to later news reports, the cell phone was rudely taken away from her when she was caught using it. According to this evening's _Independence Reporter_ -- which as you might expect had S-C-R-E-A-M-I-N-G headlines on the topic, -- her father lives in Houston, Texas heard the news at 7 AM in _Houston_ and a family friend heard the news in _Florida_ about the same time; flew (via airplane) to Houston, retrieved the father and brought him on to Independence, where they met with Kelsey's mother at about noon. So between 6:35 AM and 7:00 AM, police were notified here in Independence, her father and his friend were notified in Texas and Florida, our Chief of Police Lee Bynum (or his designate, the only persons who are authorized to send out an Amber Alert) managed to get word out not only to our own cable system (really, it is just a matter of 'flipping a switch' in police HQ in our instance) but also got the word to Cox Cable which handles C'Ville (and some Oklahoma places?). I am not really sure how they got it out that fast, including all the highway signs, etc. A fact sheet I have here about AMBER ALERT says: > The AMBER Alert Plan, named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, is a > voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, > and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in the most > serious child-abduction cases. Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert > System (EAS) to air a description of the abducted child and suspected > abductor. This is the same concept used during severe weather > emergencies. The goal of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the > entire community to assist in the search for and safe recovery of the > child. The FAQ from the same fact sheet says: > Frequently Asked Questions > Why was the AMBER Plan created? > The AMBER Plan was created in 1997 as a powerful legacy to > 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and brutally murdered > while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas. > The tragedy shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents > contacted radio stations in the Dallas area and suggested they > broadcast special "alerts" over the airwaves so they could help > prevent such incidents in the future. > The next year local law enforcement and broadcasters created the > AMBER Plan in Amber Hagerman's honor. The AMBER Plan, also known as > America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response Plan, is a program > in which broadcasters and transportation authorities immediately > distribute information about recent child abductions to the public, > enabling the entire community to assist in the search for and safe > recovery of the child. > What began as a local effort in Dallas, Texas, has grown into a > seamless system of AMBER Alert programs across the country, each > year saving the lives of abducted children. > How do AMBER Alerts work? > Once law enforcement has been notified about an abducted child, they must > first determine if the case meets the recommended criteria from the U.S. > Department of Justice for activating an alert. Guidance on Criteria for > Issuing AMBER Alerts (PDF) > a.. There is reasonable belief by law enforcement an abduction has > occurred > b.. The abduction is of a child age 17 years or younger > c.. The law-enforcement agency believes the child is in imminent > danger of serious bodily injury or death > d.. There is enough descriptive information about the victim and abduction > for law enforcement to issue an AMBER Alert to assist in the recovery of the > child > e.. The child's name and other critical data elements, including the > Child Abduction flag, have been entered into the National Crime > Information Center (NCIC) computer > If these criteria are met, alert information must be put together > for public distribution. This information may include descriptions > and pictures of the missing child, the suspected abductor, and a > suspected vehicle along with any other information available and > valuable to identifying the child and suspect. > The information is then faxed to radio stations designated as > primary stations under the EAS. The primary stations send the same > information to area radio and television stations and cable systems > via the EAS, and participating stations immediately broadcast the > information to millions of listeners. Radio stations interrupt > programming to announce the Alert, and television stations and cable > systems run a "crawl" on the screen along with a picture of the > child. > Some states are also incorporating electronic highway billboards in their > AMBER Plans. The billboards, typically used to disseminate traffic > information to drivers, now alert the public of abducted children by > displaying pertinent information about the child, abductor, or suspected > vehicle that drivers might look for on highways. > What should I do when an AMBER Alert is issued? The AMBER Alert > message encourages the public to look for the missing child or > suspect. You become the eyes and ears of local law enforcement. > In the event you spot a child, adult, or vehicle fitting the AMBER Alert > description, immediately call the telephone number given in the AMBER Alert > and provide authorities with as much information as you know. ================== I do know that by about 9 AM here, the high school and middle school had discussed it with their students, and notices were appearing in store windows. Ditto with the case about two years ago here where the small child went with an unauthorized adult in a car after school. Five minutes after it happened, when school authorities noticed the child missing, police were searching. I think they take it rather seriously around here at least. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Curt Woodward Subject: Computers Hijack Vote in State of Washington Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:53:47 -0500 Computers Hijack Wash. Quarter Design Vote By CURT WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer Talk about your two-bit schemes. Robotic computer programs stuffed the online ballot boxes in a contest for Washington's official state quarter design, forcing technicians to suspend voting. State officials overseeing the balloting realized something was fishy when the contest, launched last Thursday, swelled to more than 1 million votes over the weekend. They stopped Web-based voting Monday so technicians could retool it. The opinion poll reappeared Tuesday afternoon, but the earlier results and an up-to-the-minute vote tally were abandoned. Computer users attempting to cast a second vote were greeted with a message thanking them for their earlier participation. The State Quarter Advisory Commission assumes some technical minds will figure out ways around the new setup, but they'll be watching for chunks of votes from similar Internet addresses, spokesman Mark Gerth said. "We'll be doing a number of different things to make sure the automated voting isn't counted in this next tally," he said Tuesday. The quarter commission initially allowed an unlimited number of votes from a single Internet address so family members sharing a computer could each make a pick, Gerth said. But that philosophy was abandoned after the weekend's voting, which showed some computers casting repeated choices for a quarter design faster than humanly possible. "You could sit there and watch 200 votes appear over the course of a couple of minutes, obviously going a little too fast," Gerth said. "We hadn't counted on, I guess, the over-enthusiasm of people," Gerth said. Stefan Sharkansky, a computer software consultant and conservative blogger, noted the online vote's susceptibility Sunday after getting tips from readers. The three quarter designs featured on the Web site are finalists to grace the back of Washington's official quarter, which the U.S. Mint expects to release next March. The choices are: _A leaping salmon breaching the water in front of a conifer-trimmed Mount Rainier. _An American Indian-style drawing of a playful killer whale, spouting water and raising its tail flukes. _A salmon, apples and Mount Rainier within an outline of the state. The advisory commission plans to consider the online vote when it submits a design recommendation to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who has the final say. The orca design was winning before officials pulled the plug on the balloting, and technicians searched unsuccessfully for ways to purge only the clearly invalid votes from the totals before resuming. Earlier votes sent by traditional mail will still be counted in the final tally, Gerth said. On the Net: State quarter: http://www.governor.wa.gov/quarter/default.asp U.S. Mint: http://www.usmint.gov Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Csrolyn O'Hara & Travis Daub Subject: Googles Hidden Payroll Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 19:58:02 -0500 from the March 29, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0329/p13s02-stct.html Google's hidden payroll In developing nations, people boost their incomes by running ads by the popular search engine on their personal websites. By Carolyn O'Hara and Travis Daub | Contributors to The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON - Jayant Kumar Gandhi, a former software engineer in New Delhi, is one of hundreds of thousands around the world on Google's shadow payroll. In his spare time, Mr. Gandhi runs a free computer help website and recently began running ads by Google on his homepage as part of Google Adsense, a program that pays website publishers for advertising space. When visitors click on the ads on Gandhi's site, Google makes a small profit from the advertiser, and in turn, pays a percentage of that profit to Gandhi. Such clicks can translate into pennies - or dollars - a day for a Web publisher. "I had no intentions of using it for more than a week," Gandhi says. "I didn't believe the stories that Adsense paid decent money. I ignored them as a marketing gimmick." But Gandhi's Adsense profits have exceeded his wildest dreams. He now earns about $1,000 a month from the program, the same salary he previously earned as a software engineer. His new income has allowed him to leave his job and return to school. "Today I am able to sponsor my higher studies because of Adsense," he says. Since its launch in 2003, the Google Adsense program has revolutionized Web publishing, turning blogs and personal websites into potentially lucrative ventures. It is easy to join. A Web publisher or blogger simply completes an online Adsense form. Google then places ads on the site, similar to those that appear next to search results on Google. The ads are contextually matched to content on the host site, so a blog post about having a headache might attract ads for pain-relief medicine. Anyone with a site is eligible, and Web forums are awash in success stories of small online entrepreneurs placing ads on their sites, sitting back, and watching checks from Google roll in. But it is Web entrepreneurs in the developing world who are reaping the greatest benefit from the program. Because Adsense earnings can vary widely depending on a site's traffic or subject matter, many Web publishers in the developed world don't bother participating. Whereas a $25 monthly payout may not be worth the trouble to a blogger in Manhattan, it can mean the world to a blogger in Manila. Andrew de la Serna runs a small search engine in Davao City, Philippines, and derives about 40 percent of his monthly income from Adsense. "It's great to do what you love to do and earn money from it at the same time," he says. His earnings have allowed him to purchase a cellphone, develop new websites, and build up his savings account. Dr. Rodolfo Rafael, who owns a small medical clinic in San Fabian, Philippines, says the Adsense earnings from his medical website allow him to "dream big" and reinvest in his medical practice. Their experiences are shared across the developing world. In Cairo, Mohamed Sallam was grounded for health reasons from his job as an airline steward, and he now spends time maintaining a Web forum devoted to discussions of Islam. He earns most of his income, about $500 a month, from Adsense. "The low cost of living here allows us to live comfortably on that income," he says. "My two sons want to try their luck. We have a high unemployment rate here and making money from Adsense would be the perfect solution for them." Deepesh Agarwal, who runs a small cybercafe in Rajasthan state, India, draws about 90 percent of his income, or $1,500 a month, from his Adsense earnings. It is a princely sum in a state where the average income is just $300 a year. "Adsense has changed my life," Mr. Agarwal says. "I can afford things that I was not able to before. I am planning to buy a new car. I can save for my future." The program is a big revenue generator for Google, too. The company earned some $2.7 billion in Adsense revenues last year. Google refuses to disclose the exact percentage it pays out to Adsense member sites, but recent news reports have put that figure as high as 78.5 cents on the dollar. "We do not disclose [the revenue share] for different reasons," says Brian Axe, an Adsense group product manager at Google. "But it is more than fair. [These success stories] bring a smile to our faces." Still, many hurdles remain for Adsense users in the developing world, not the least being access to the Internet. Payment checks from Google can be difficult to receive due to inefficient or non-existent national postal systems, and they can be even more difficult and costly to cash. There are also legitimate concerns about people attempting to defraud the system, causing many to wonder whether the program has real sustainability. Some website owners try to increase their earnings by clicking on their own ads, and some create automated sites that exist solely to make money from Adsense. "Google is actively looking for those kinds of sites," and removes ads from them, explains Eric Giguère, author of "Make Money with Google: Using the Adsense Advertising Program." Google has a clear interest in protecting the program that last year accounted for nearly half of its advertising revenues, and is quick to play down the threat of fraud. "Many times [the fraud] gets blown out of proportion," said Google's Mr. Axe. "I don't think it's an issue that would unravel the business." For the time being, that "business" offers a rare opportunity to Web users in developing countries to participate on a level playing field with other websites all over the world. Thanks to Adsense, a blogger in New Delhi can earn the same 5 cents for an ad-click as a blogger in Detroit. For many Adsense users in the developing world, that opportunity has become perhaps the most unintentional -- and most successful -- development program to spring from the online revolution. http://www.csmonitor.com | Copyright 2006 The Christian Science Monitor. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:38:11 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: NEC DS 2000 - No Caller ID wellbe@gmail.com wrote: > Our company just bought a new NEC DS2000. It was supposed to have > caller id on the digital stations. It only gives the id occasionally, > like 1 out of 20 calls. > The installer said he'd have to order some daughter boards in order to > fix it. > Is this common? Why do you have to fix new equipment right out of the > box.? The telco has good equipment locally (SBC, now AT&T). Why do > you have to patch equipment with add in boards to make it work the way > it was supposed to work in the first place? Check out http://necnec.com. They sell this system direct and will have the configuration rules for it. ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 17:59:38 -0400 Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote: > The Telcos saw TV over IP as their way of competing with cable > companies, *as long as the cable model worked.* That model has > the cable companies charging the consumer, plus collecting ad > revenue and "slotting fees" from the channels. > Producers selling programs direct to the consumer take all that > revenue away from the phone/cable companies, and they don't > like being just a pipeline supplier. Slotting fees? That's news to me. Can you provide some more information, or perhaps cite a source to back up that statement? Thanks. Neal McLain ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Re: Reliable, Easy, and Cost Effective Way to Record Calls? Date: 11 Apr 2006 15:16:08 -0700 Organization: NewsGuy.Com 30GB $9.95, Carry Forward and On-Demand Bandwidth Back in December, I asked for a cost-effective means to digitally record telephone conversations: > I'm going to be doing interviews over the phone; I'd like to be able > to easily and reliably record the calls. I recently located a product to do this. OVO Lab makes a product Phlink ( http://www.ovolab.com/phlink/ ) which is a USB device plus software that bridges between a POTS line and a Mac running OS X 10.3 or higher. Phlink allows your PC to originate calls, answer calls, and operate as an answering machine. Telephone calls can be recorded and incoming answering machine messages can be stored and relayed as e-mail attachments. That device seems to be a good solution for a desktop computer. For laptops, it would be superior to have a Phlink device that one could access through the LAN rather than USB. --phil ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #136 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Apr 12 19:09:11 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 0728F151AB; Wed, 12 Apr 2006 19:09:11 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #137 Message-Id: <20060412230911.0728F151AB@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 19:09:11 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.3 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, DRUGS_ERECTILE,MAILTO_TO_REMOVE,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 12 Apr 2006 19:10:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 137 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cellular-News for Wednesday 12th April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 12, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Verizon Inks Another Pennsylvania FiOS TV Deal (USTelecom dailyLead) BellSouth DSL Vrs Time Warner Cable Speed Tests, Reliability (pattyjamas) VOIP Updated Basic, Translating (Kiwi) Re: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft (Herb Stein) Re: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft (masonboro_island) Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers (Clark W. Griswold, Jr.) Re: What Happened to Me (Jack Hamilton) Re: What Happened to Me (Colum Mylod) Re: What Happened to Me (Matt Simpson) Re: Amber Alerts (Neal McLain) Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (Ron Kritzman) Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Lisa Hancock) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Cellular-News for Wednesday 12th April 2006 Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 07:53:08 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] WCDMA and CDMA2000 1x Base Station Prospects Improving http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16940.php Even though total base-station deployments have been declining for some time, vendors of WCDMA and CDMA2000 1x base stations have reason to smile. The latest forecast from ABI Research suggests that while the overall long-term prognosis for the wirel... [[ Financial ]] Carphone Unveils Aggressive Broadband Plan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16928.php Carphone Warehouse, the UK mobile phone retailer and telecommunications service provider, Tuesday unveiled an aggressive plan to offer free broadband Internet to consumers who subscribe to its fixed-line voice packages. ... KPN CEO: German Mobile Unit E-Plus Undervalued By Market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16931.php Royal KPN, Tuesday said the company's German mobile operator is undervalued by the market. ... Salesforce.com To Buy Mobile-tech Firm Sendia For $15M http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16936.php Business software provider Salesforce.com Inc. on Tuesday said it would acquire Sendia Corp., a small wireless technology firm, for $15 million in cash. ... Portugal Telecom Bid For Brazil Telemar Unlikely, For Now http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16937.php A bid by Portugal Telecom for Brazil's largest telecom operator Tele Norte Leste Participacoes, or Telemar, is unlikely in the short-term, as it would hit regulatory obstacles. ... [[ Handsets ]] Motorola to explain exploding batteries http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16933.php Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel has ordered US mobile phone manufacturer Motorola to explain a recent explosion of two batteries in a mobile phone, reported local newspaper Gazeta Mercantil. ... Nokia, Sanyo plan to set up CDMA plant http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16934.php Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia and Japanese technology giant Sanyo plan to set up a CDMA mobile handset plant in Brazil, a Nokia spokesperson confirmed to BNamericas. ... Vivo expects to order 4.1 million handsets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16935.php Brazil's largest mobile operator Vivo expects to order 4.1 million handsets this year, local newspaper Gazeta Mercantil reported. ... Nokia Update Average Handset Price http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16942.php Nokia says that it has updated its previously disclosed outlook for the Q1 handset average selling prices and preannounces that its device average selling price (ASP) in the first quarter of 2006 was EUR 103. This reflects the lower than expected pro... Consumers Still Not Enthused About Multimedia Handsets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16945.php The number of cellular phones with multimedia capability will double in the next two years, but this capability is still not generating much consumer enthusiasm, especially in the United States, reports In-Stat. In spite of the phenomenal growth of d... [[ Messaging ]] Efforts to Clamp Down on Spam SMS http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16944.php The Australian telco, Telstra says that it is introducing simple, new measures to help customers who are targeted by unwanted premium text messages. From mid-May, Telstra's telephone consultants will contact Service Providers on behalf of customers t... [[ Mobile Content ]] Mobile Advertising Represents a New Source of Revenue for Operators http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16939.php Advertising is making its way into the mobile industry, following in the footsteps of mobile marketing, according to a recent IDC study. Mobile operators will have to embrace mobile advertising, which is key in their strategies for the coming years. ... Rise of the camera phone: World Cup to be the Most Photographed Event in History http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16946.php The proliferation of camera phones means that this year's World Cup in Germany is set to be the most photographed sporting event in history says mobile device management company SmartTrust. Based on existing rates of camera phone usage, the company e... [[ Network Contracts ]] Ericsson To Supply Equipment To Ukraine's Kyivstar http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16930.php Ericsson and Ukraine's largest mobile phone operator Kyivstar Tuesday said they have signed a three-year agreement to expand services networks in Ukraine. ... Data Compression on CDMA Network http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16943.php SlipStream Data has announced that the Ecuador based mobile operator, Alegro PCS has deployed SlipStream's newest mobile acceleration product, SlipStream MSP, in its 1X/EVDO network. Alegro PCS, a Mobile Service Provider (MSP) in Ecuador, formally la... [[ Network Operators ]] VimpelCom URS Unit Launches Beeline Brand In Ukraine http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16932.php Russia's second-largest mobile phone operator Vimpel Communications (VIP) said Tuesday that its URS unit has launched its Beeline brand in Ukraine. ... VimpelCom CEO says to invest $500 mln in Ukraine http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16938.php Ukrainian Radiosystems (URS) mobile operator, a subsidiary of Russia?s second largest mobile operator VimpelCom, plans to invest U.S. $500 million in its Ukrainian operations in 2-2.5 years, VimpelCom's CEO Alexander Izosimov told a news conference T... Vodafone Welcomes Latvia to its Global Community http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16949.php Vodafone has signed an extension to its Partner Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija" to become the latest member of Vodafone's global community. With the addition of this extended agreement, Vodafone custo... [[ Personnel ]] FOCUS: MTS may fire Sidorov amid poor stock performance http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16929.php Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is rumored to be seeking to replace its president, a move that has been widely expected by the market for many months. MTS' President Vasily Sidorov did much to develop the company, but the mo... [[ Reports ]] Majority of Households Have Multiple Cell Phones - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16941.php Nearly two-thirds (62%) of USA households with cellular phones had more than one cell phone in the house in the 4th quarter of 2005, according to a study released by ICR. The trend is up from 53% of households in the 2nd quarter of 2002. The ICR CENT... Incentivising Profitable Revenue Generation in the Telecoms Industry http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16947.php The Telco market is fast moving and dynamic. Today, a typical mobile phone is obsolete within six to nine months of its launch and an increasing number of users avoid purchasing a service contract in favour of "pay as you go" plans. Phones are consta... The Mobile Operators Business: Turning Inside Out and Upside Down http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16948.php Traditionally the mobile operators that have had the all-important role in the mobile value chain -- and they never really had any other intention than playing first violin. This is why the mobile operators have constantly try to maximise their contro... ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:09:22 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Wednesday, April 12, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 12, 2006 ******************************** Vodafone Prepares for World Cup Mobile TV Broadcasts http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17491?11228 Vodafone Netherlands has announced plans to broadcast 64 matches in the 2006 soccer World Cup in Germany straight onto mobile phones. In a press release yesterday, the operator said that customers would need to make a one-off payment of 5 euro (US$6.10) to gain access to exclusive pictures of goals, highlights, match round-ups, a daily... KPN Loses Protection against Hostile Takeover http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17487?11228 In a clash of opposing groups, shareholders in Dutch telecoms group KPN have blocked attempts by the company to institute a mechanism to prevent a hostile takeover, according to Reuters. At the company's annual general meeting (AGM), U.S. shareholders fought off opposition from shareholders representing several Dutch pension funds to... Getting Small: Gateway's Ultraportable Notebooks http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17483?11228 For many people, particularly business travelers, ultraportable notebook computers mark the perfect balance between mobility and computing power. With Wi-Fi hotspots proliferating worldwide, the easy-to-tote systems are widely appreciated for their ability to connect users to the home and office via both voice and data links. ... Cuban Won't Stream HDNet http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17481?11228 ATLANTA -- NCTA National Show -- HDNet founder Mark Cuban pledged to the cable industry here Tuesday that he would not use the open Internet to distribute his company's high-definition video content. "You're never going to see a streaming HDNet," Cuban said. One of the cable executives sitting next to Cuban asked him to "promise." And... eBay Buys Skype A Present http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17479?11228 eBay is buying Sonorit Holding AS of Luxembourg and its U.S. subsidiary Camino Networks Inc. in order to get its hands on the startup's voice technology team, which will become a part of eBay subsidiary Skype. The deal is being presented as Skype buying all Sonorit/Camino assets -- believed to consist almost entirely of intellectual... Wireless Location Services for Businesses Could Top 1 Million Subscribers by 2010 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17476?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz -- Depending largely on the cellular operators' actions, the US Location-Based Services (LBS) business market is forecast to grow to from 582,000 to 1.1 million subscribed devices by the end of 2010, reports In-Stat. Location-enabled enterprise applications constitute a small but important segment of the market for... Virgin Mobile USA Preloads AIM http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17475?11228 Virgin Mobile USA introduced a new Kyocera Wireless handset designed to keep text-happy teens satisfied. The Switch-Back handset comes preloaded with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). The black handset flips from its clamshell-style form to a widescreen with a large QWERTY keypad, which is designed specifically for easy e-mailing, texting,... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 13:48:47 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon Inks Another Pennsylvania FiOS TV deal USTelecom dailyLead April 12, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/drBkfDtutcoOjlaeav TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon inks another Pennsylvania FiOS TV deal BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Google, EarthLink to team again on Wi-Fi bid * Time Warner's Bewkes urges networks to go to free VOD * RIM to stick with wireless e-mail strategy * Skype acquires VoIP firm USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Voice Over IP Crash Course by Steven Shepard TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Disney's Iger: No plans for free ESPN streams * Advertising's future up for grabs, cable show attendees say REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Australia puts off Telstra decision Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/drBkfDtutcoOjlaeav ------------------------------ From: pattyjamas@hotmail.com Subject: BellSouth DSL vrs Time Warner Cable Speed Tests, Reliability Date: 12 Apr 2006 13:11:59 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I have Time Warner Cable (normal operating speed-not gamers speed. Am getting these stats in my area in Charlotte, NC Downstream: 5622 Kbps or 5.62 Mbps (686 kB/s) Upload: 365 Kbps or 0.37 Mbps (45 kB/s) Site used for stats: http://www.testmy.net/ Another test using: http://www.dslreports.com/stest?loc=3 Downstream: 4700 Kbps down Upstream: 360 kbps It also says this is 12% worse than the normal RR user which I believe since our area has some latency through some overloaded TW switch. Time of day Wednesday 4pm EST. I also am running VOIP with Vonage which works fairly well. I have no phone company. ****BellSouth is telling me they can offer: a higher speed DSL up and downstream which they claim is more secure than Time Warner IP Cable Modem infrastructure and which is not prone to ups/downs (spikes) by other users which would occur with Cable. Obviously it was a sales pitch to offer me to get rid of Vonage and get rid of Road Runner and use some of their boxes (I use no boxes) for TV (not sure what they sell for TV) in favor of unlimited long distance at any time across the US, faster and more consistent Internet speeds, and more secure data flow-at the same or lesser price. I think this is a lot of bunk. ****Opinions? Thank you, Patty [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have had no experience at all with Bell South -- only second hand heresay knowledge of the company -- but I am generally leary of anything generic Bell has to say these days; and I will be honest about it, that is mostly because of my really bad experiences with Southwestern Bell, i.e. SBC, now AT&T, and the newly reconstructed 'telephone company' is by and large these days a product of SBC. Overall, I agree with you it sounds like a lot of bunk. PAT] ------------------------------ From: kimi Subject: Voip Updated Basic, Translating, Voip News and Advanced Date: 12 Apr 2006 15:14:35 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Voip Updated Basic,Translating,Voip News and Advanced How this is possible, what systems are used, what is the standard, all that is covered by this ... http://www.freewebs.com/voipformula/VoIP-HOWTO.html ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 04:38:07 GMT Eric Auchard wrote in message news:telecom25.136.2@telecom-digest.org: > By Eric Auchard > News Corp. is set on Tuesday to name a security czar to oversee child > safety measures on MySpace.com, the popular teen dating and music site > that has provoked an outcry among parents who fear they have not done > enough to thwart sexual predators. I'm sure we would never consider the incompetent parents in this equation. Now, I'm raising children and the world is my babysitter? Somebody's kidding, right? What a crock! FYI, I accept phone calls from lousy parents. Leave my number or take it off as you see fit. > Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam, now director of Consumer Security Outreach & > Child Safe Computing at Microsoft Corp., will head up safety, > education, privacy and law enforcement oversight programs for MySpace > and other Fox Web properties. > The appointment is effective May 1, News Corp.'s Fox Interactive > Media, the parent of MySpace, said in a statement. > The move is one of several responses MySpace and its owners have taken > in recent months to respond to harsh criticism by parent groups, legal > authorities and politicians. > Just last week, a U.S. Congressional committee held hearings on > potential laws to thwart the sexual exploitation of children online. > MySpace, which began as a music fan site, has caught fire as the most > popular online forum for teenagers to hang out and express themselves > with peers. Largely a U.S. cultural phenomenon, MySpace now counts 69 > million members. > Its success is tied to how it combines together in one place many > features otherwise only available separately -- from blogs, to instant > messaging, music videos and photo galleries -- powering it to become > the second most visited U.S. site. > Nigam brings strong credentials to his new role. He has more than 15 > years of experience in online safety, including serving as a Federal > prosecutor against Internet child exploitation for the U.S. Department > of Justice. > He was also an advisor to a Congressional commission on online child > safety, and an advisor to the White House on cyberstalking. > Prior to Microsoft, Nigam was vice president of worldwide Internet > enforcement at the Motion Picture Association of America, where he > oversaw the global strategy to combat online video piracy for seven > major Hollywood studios. > MySpace has implemented a series of measures to protect young > users. It limits access to the site to members who are at least 14 and > provide special protections to kids under 16. It claims to have > deleted more than 250,000 profiles of underage kids since the site's > inception. > Over the weekend, MySpace said it was working with the National Center for > Missing and Exploited Children and the Advertising Council to create the > largest-ever online safety program using nationwide public service > advertisements. > Gartner Inc. Internet analyst Allen Weiner, whose teenage daughter is > a big fan of MySpace, said the site suffers from what sociologists > might call the "busy street corner problem." > "People are going to find nefarious things to do with anything that > draws such a huge audience," Weiner said. "I think MySpace is actually > doing a pretty decent job in terms of security," the analyst said. > Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. Herb herb@herbstein.com 314.952.4601 ------------------------------ From: masonboro_island@yahoo.com Subject: Re: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft Date: 12 Apr 2006 12:31:50 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I think this is good news. I've been reading up about the online predator issue for a while now and I'm glad to see that social networking communities are beginning to bring in people and advertisements that help promote online safety. It won't solve everything but its an improvement. MySpace is now partnering with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which also happens to provide the cybertipline service so people can report predators. What does everyone else think about this issue? ------------------------------ From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. Subject: Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:55:44 -0600 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Neal McLain wrote: > Slotting fees? That's news to me. Can you provide some more > information, or perhaps cite a source to back up that statement? "Slotting Fees" is a term from the grocery industry, where manufacturers or distributors pay the grocery store to put their product on the aisle endcap. Those fees can take the form of cash, extra product to sell at a future date, advertising support, etc., but the most common is a cold hard cash payment to the store or chain, based on the number of days the product is displayed on the end cap. In the case of cable or satellite TV (known as a MSO), the most common example of this are the so called shopping channels. While I can't provide any direct links at the moment, its been widely reported that those channels pay a fee/percentage of the channel's gross sales to the cable company. How they handle a situation where both cable and satellite carry the same channel in the same zip code, I don't know. Maybe they ask the buyer what channel number they are watching. In addition to that, its not unusual for a new channel to offer cash to an MSO in order to get picked up and distributed. These payments can go on for years until the channel either gets a large enough audience to exist on ad revenue and popular enough to extract a per subscriber fee from the MSO, or the channel gets dropped. This by the way, is a major reason why it is so hard for a new channel to launch in today's bundled environment and why the theory that niche channels will disppear if ala carte were implemented is specious. Finally, most ad supported channels provide what are called local insert ad slots. These are preemptable ads that the MSO can replace with their own ads. Think "Boflex", "Pseudo Viagra" and all those goofy "Fat Burner" ads, with the MSO keeping all the advertising revenue. All of these revenue sources for the MSO disappear when the business model for programs is direct sale from the producer or content owner. The problem is obvious, when you have a system where the pipe is controlled by someone who has a financial interest in providing content over that pipe, what happens? We learned this lesson when oil companies owned pipelines and most retail stations and movie studios owned the theaters. Guess what will happen this time around? ------------------------------ From: Jack Hamilton Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2006 21:09:44 -0700 Organization: Copyright (c) 2005 by Jack Hamilton. Reply-To: jfh@acm.org Dave Garland wrote: > It was a dark and stormy night when henry999@eircom.net (Henry) wrote: >> Can the public use their own personal mobile phones in American >> hospitals? > Hospitals I have been in within the last couple of years had areas > where phones were banned. For example, the waiting room was ok, but > the actual emergency work area had signs prohibiting phones. I think > the entire cardiac department was off limits, also Intensive Care > Units. My mother died last month, in a hospital-based hospice unit. The hospital itself had signs warning visitors not to use cell phones -- except in the hospice unit, where the signs explicitly said it was OK to use cell phones. Hospices are good things. Support your local hospice. http://www.hospicebg.com/ http://www.hospicenet.org/ Jack Hamilton California <> Qui vit sans folie n'est pas si sage qu'il croit. <> François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld ------------------------------ From: Colum Mylod Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 09:44:02 +0100 Organization: Me own Reply-To: ZAPcmylod@bigfoot.comREMOVE On Sat, 8 Apr 2006 23:40:59 -0400, T wrote: > In article , henry999@eircom.net > says: >> You know of course that the cell phone system in Europe is different >> from the US. Here, there are signs at the front door of all hospitals >> (and in many places inside) saying 'Mobile phones MUST be switched >> off'. The idea is that they can interfere with various medical >> equipment. I don't know if that is true, or if it is like the >> prohibition on airplanes -- but in any case, that's the rule. And most >> people follow it. Compliance in hospitals is dropping off. British hospitals let outside companies set up bedside phones whose rates would scare the corpses in the mortuary (premium rate numbers to call, phone cards to make calls from). Result is widespread use of mobiles. Immigration in Heathrow has plenty of crossed-out symbols (as if the phones are banned!) but widespread disregard is the norm. And why not. >> Having said that -- my wife is a nurse and in her hospital the staff >> do have cell phones. They are called DECT and apparently they use a >> sub-set of the frequency band that is sure to not conflict with all >> the monitors, analyzers, etc. in the building. DECT stood for Digital European Cordless Telephones but to spread the technology the E changed to Extensible. Base stations can put out more power than GSM cellphones, the handsets are typically milliwatts. Still possible interference to sensitive gear but a lot less than a GSM phone cranked up. Security people in hospitals can have walky-talkies on far higher power but not spread spectrum like GSM. > Interesting. I recently had to visit my ailing grandmother in the > ntensive care unit of a local hospital. No warnings about cell phones > and in fact saw staff use them. Away from necessarily-sensitive medical equipment everything else should be hardened to GSM. Especially airplanes but it's not happening soon enough IMHO. Old anti-spam address cmylod at despammed dot com appears broke So back to cmylod at bigfoot dot com ------------------------------ From: Matt Simpson Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 10:31:19 -0400 Organization: None In article , T wrote: > Interesting. I recently had to visit my ailing grandmother in the > ntensive care unit of a local hospital. No warnings about cell phones > and in fact saw staff use them. > So I'd say yes, we can use our cell phones in hospitals. It varies. One hospital where I spent a lot of time a few years ago (as a visitor, not a patient) banned all cell phone use anywhere in the building. I got in trouble on my first visit. There was a big sign with a "no cell phone" symbol on the door between the ER waiting room and the actual ER. I assumed it meant no cellphones beyond that point, and was sitting in the waiting room yakking on my phone (telling somebody else what little I knew about the patient), and was told to take it outside. I hated to be one of those obnoxious cellphone jerks who thinks rules don't apply to him, but the sign's location really was confusing. The official rule was that ALL cellphones had to be TURNED OFF anywhere in the building. I'm sure there was no way to strictly enforce it, and I'm not sure what they did about doctors. Since that time, the hospital has proudly announced their new Vocera system for staff communications: http://www.vocera.com/ It's voice over wireless IP, with all kinds of bells and whistles. Slicker than hog snot. Staff carry little badge-size communicators that allow them to get in touch with others. I assume it doesn't use standard cellular frequencies. I don't know whether it uses the same band as standard wireless IP, or whether there's some reason to believe that whatever it uses is less likely to interefere with medical equipment than cellular traffic. On a more recent, work-related visit to the same hospital (it's owned by my employer), I needed a network connection to the outside world. Plugging a laptop into an open port on an ethernet switch we found in a closet didn't work; they had a very strict firewall. The laptop said it was picking up a wifi signal, but was unable to establish a connection. I don't know whether it was seeing the Vocera system, or whether they also had a standard WiFi system for data IP. ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Re: Amber Alerts Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 07:05:26 -0400 Wes Leatherock wrote: > I do not have any information on the subject, but I > wonder in what way Amber Alerts are disseminated so > quickly. > Surely there must be some form of authentication and then > rapid transmission to various police agencies, the media, > and the state DOTs. As the fact sheet quoted in Pat's "TELECOM Digest Editor's Note" indicated, it's called the Emergency Alert System (EAS). A "primary" AM radio station in each community sends out alert messages. Each message begins with that godawful "buzz buzz buzz" noise, followed by a voice message and an encoded three-letter event code indicating the nature of the alert. The "Child Abduction Emergency" code is CAE. A list of event codes is at http://www.weather.gov/os/eas_codes.shtml Equipment at reception points monitors the primary and responds to the codes accordingly. A radio or TV station issues an alert either immediately (automatically, interrupting programming) or within a few minutes (manually, at a logical break point). Automatic equipment at cable tv headends inserts a crawl on some/all channels immediately (satellite TV operators are exempt). Newspapers may do a story. Other agencies take whatever action is appropriate. Further information: FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/eas/ NWS: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/NWS_EAS.shtml SBE: http://www.sbe.org/eas/eas.html SCTE: http://tinyurl.com/nrfwr WIRED: http://tinyurl.com/oqd4p Neal McLain ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:44:40 -0500 From: Ron Kritzman Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: > say this: (1) there is _no such thing_ -- at least not in the 866 > range -- as a toll free number without a 'regular local number for > this pupose'. Sure there are, Pat. Plenty of large businesses and especially call centers have T spans direct to their tollfree carriers. If the tollfree carrier has to use the PSTN to send the call the last mile, they have to pay the LEC a piece of it. If they can get the call from their closest terminal to the to the customer by some other means (point to point T, microwave, tin can and string, whatever) they don't have to give the LEC a cut and can pass the savings along to the customer. If you can save 2 cents a minute you only need 25,000 minutes a month to pay for a $500 t span. - Ron Emoveray ethay Igpay Atinlay otay eplyray ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: 12 Apr 2006 13:32:21 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com In a Bell System ad in a 1950's National Geographic, the photos of a Service Rep is credited to Ansel Adams. He was a famous photographer noted for beautiful outdoor scenes. The photo shows a service rep dialing on a colored phone. Seated next to her is a man (in his 50s) in a business suit holding a slip of paper. Another photo shows the woman with a blind man and his guide dog; in her leisure hours she raises money to provide such guide dogs. The ad reads in part: One of the nice things about the telephone business is the way it brings us close to people. Many, many times each day -- in your community and in coutless communities throughout the land -- we have the opportunity and the privilege of friendly contacts with those we serve. Sometimes they are by telephone. Very often they are personal visits. "What we like people to do," says (Mrs. Robert) Gaye Evans, Busn Office Service Rep, "is to think of us as their personal representatives at the telephone company. Whenever there's any question about service or a bill or you're moving or needing more service, we're here to help in every way we can." "It's nice to have people think of the telephone company as a place where they can always find courtesy and consideration. That's our job and we try to be good at it." ======================= Today regretfully there are no more offices open to the public. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Not only are there no more offices open to the public, but many office staffs are being outsourced to India and/or Hong Kong and the Phillipine Islands. They can hire their help a lot cheaper in those places. Telco, like many other large corporations prefers to hide behind the anonymity of the telephone. That topic is worth a discussion on its own merits I think. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #137 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Apr 13 00:35:31 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id D2C02153DA; Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:35:30 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #138 Message-Id: <20060413043530.D2C02153DA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:35:30 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.0 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NO_COST,SAVE_THOUSANDS autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:38:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 138 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Russian Students Win Programming Contest (Matt Slagle) China Internet Fraud Laws Are Weak (Associated Press News Wire) MetroFi Selected to Operate Portland Wi-Fi Network (Reuters News Wire) I Have the Same Mystery Number Coming in on Cell Phone (Josh Sommers) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (John Levine) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Jim Rusling) Re: Amber Alerts (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: What Happened to Me (DLR) Re: How to Dial a Toll Free Number Using a Calling Card (Steve Sobol) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Matt Slagle Subject: Russian Students Win Programming Contest Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:32:54 -0500 By MATT SLAGLE, AP Technology Writer A team of three students from Russia proved their brainy prowess Wednesday, winning an academic competition in which they had just five hours to solve perplexing computing puzzles such as how to connect gears of a clock when given a specific shaft speed. "I am pleased with our performance today. It feels pretty good," Igor Kulkin, 21, said after his team from Saratov State University won the 2006 Association for Computing Machinery's International Collegiate Programming Contest. Working in teams of three, contestants in the 30th annual event had five hours to solve 10 problems that would ordinarily take months to complete. Saratov led the pack by solving six of them in the allotted time. The questions were dizzyingly complex. Among the puzzlers, greatly simplified here: . Write a program that computes how the gears of a clock can be connected with an hour and a minute hand, based on a provided input shaft speed with a maximum of three gears per shaft. . Create a program that can find the maximum numbers of degrees of separation for a network of people. . Develop a system to interconnect different nodes of a corporate network in the cheapest possible way. In addition to the champion's trophy, the first-place team members won a $10,000 scholarship as well as computer gear from IBM Corp., the event's main sponsor. The awards were handed out during a Texas-themed presentation Wednesday evening complete with stage hands who wore cowboy hats, bandanas and blue jeans to help escort the winners. There were three runner-up gold medal winners each winning $3,000: the University of Twente in the Netherlands, Altai State Technical University in Russia and Jagiellonian University of Krakow, Poland. Three schools shared in $2,100 and a silver medal: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, St. Petersburg State University in Russia and China's Shanghai Jai Tong University. Bronze medals and $1,050 in prize money went to Ufa State Technical University of Aviation and Moscow State University, both in Russia, as well as two Canadian schools: the University of Waterloo in Ontario and the University of Alberta. The recognition is considered the biggest reward, said Doug Heintzman, director of IBM's Lotus division. "They get bragging rights and they have on their resumes that they were here," said Heintzman, who added that IBM has hired 80 contest winners over the years. "Inside the head of one of those kids is a cure for cancer or AIDS. It's sitting out there." Winners were determined based on how many correct answers they submit within the time limit. In the event of a tie, the schools were ranked based on how many attempts they needed to submit the right answer. Bill Poucher, the contest's executive director and a computer science professor at Baylor University, the contest's administrative headquarters, explained the difficulty of the problems this way: "When was the last time you heard someone say 'I need a piece of software in 10 minutes?" he asked. The contest, held earlier in the day in a circular assembly hall, included spectator seating, walkways covered in artificial turf and two overhead projection screens showing real-time scores. Competitors huddled around glowing computer screens, chatted with teammates and shuffled stacks of paper as they worked against the looming deadline. With minutes to go, many stood up from their tables with a mixed expression of satisfied exhaustion. Adding to the hushed tension: As each team solved a problem, a colored balloon rose above their table to let rivals and spectators know where they stood. For many, it was like a sporting event -- just with lines of computer code instead of balls and nets. "It's an intellectual competition, and any competition is a sport," said Andrew Lopatin, 25, a two-time past winner from St. Petersburg State University in Russia and now a coach for that school's team. On the Net: Contest Web site: http://icpc.baylor.edu/icpc/finals Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Police Say China Internet Fraud Laws Are Weak Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:34:29 -0500 Police: China Internet Fraud Laws Are Weak Chinese police complain they have few legal tools to prosecute ballooning Internet fraud, despite the country's fierce reputation for strictly controlling online content. Officers investigated 20,000 allegations of Internet fraud last year, but relatively few resulted in prosecutions because China's laws don't sufficiently address cybercrime, officials said in comments reprinted Monday by the Xinhua News Agency. "Because the laws are out-of-date, the degree to which we can attack is not very great," said Xu Jianzhuo, deputy director of the Public Security Ministry's Bureau of Internet Security. That admission, first reported by Outlook magazine last week, contrasts sharply with China's stringent restrictions on Internet speech, including harsh prison sentences for people who discuss sensitive political or social issues online. While police can act against clear-cut cases of illegal pornography and gambling, they said they have few weapons against online criminals who steal bank account numbers and other personal information or cheat consumers with offers of phone sex or other phony services. Of the 11,521 cases of alleged Internet crime brought before courts between 1997 and 2005, just 14 resulted in criminal convictions, Li Jingjing of the ministry's Bureau of Security Solutions was quoted as saying. Others resulted merely in administrative punishments such as having business licenses withdrawn, Li said. Even when investigations are successful, prosecution can be thwarted by the diffuse nature of the Internet and the reluctance of victims to come forward. In one case, police sought to help people get back money from a Web site that purported to sell exam answers, but not a single person admitted to paying for the phony service. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: MetroFi Selected to Operate Portland Wi-Fi Network Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:36:15 -0500 MetroFi Inc. said on Wednesday it was selected by the city of Portland, Oregon, to design and operate a citywide Wi-Fi network that will provide free wireless Internet access and improved public services. MetroFi said the Portland system will be built at no cost to the city, which expects to save millions of dollars in productivity and wireless Internet service fees by using the network. MetroFi's free Internet access services will be supported by local and national advertisers. Customers who want Internet access without ads will be able to connect to a premium service for about $20 a month, the company said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Subject: I Have the Same Mystery Number Coming in On Cell Phone Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 16:57:19 -0700 From: Josh Sommers Six times today I have received incoming calls on my cell phone from 866-383-0986. When I answer there is nobody on the other end of the line. When I call this number back I get static and then it hangs up. Josh ------------------------------ Date: 13 Apr 2006 00:55:28 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams > Today regretfully there are no more offices open to the public. Gee, I walk by one every day. Of course, it's my locally owned independent ILEC, not Verizon. R's, John [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Its the same thing here in Independence, John ... not SBC of course, but Prairie Stream Communications and its parent company, TerraWorld. The telephone exchange building, at 6th and Maple, downtown has a huge space on the first floor which years ago _used to be_ a business office and cashier has long since been empty. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Jim Rusling Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Organization: Retired Reply-To: usenet@rusling.org Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:19:53 -0500 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Not only are there no more offices open > to the public, but many office staffs are being outsourced to India > and/or Hong Kong and the Phillipine Islands. They can hire their help > a lot cheaper in those places. Telco, like many other large corporations > prefers to hide behind the anonymity of the telephone. That topic is > worth a discussion on its own merits I think. PAT] But most of the time you cannot even get a person on the phone. I noticed a damaged remote equipment closet and tried to call it in. They wanted my phone number and since it was not with the phone company it disconnected me. It took me over 20 minutes to finally get to a person that even knew what I was talking about. I had the location and all identifying numbers. Jim Rusling More or Less Retired Mustang, OK http://www.rusling.org [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That sort of stuff (locaation and identifying numbers) means nothing. The only thing they are equipped to work with is _your_ telephone number in order for them to work from their script book of responses. Since they are in India now or Hong Kong, I doubt they even have 'equipment closets' or anything like that. Their choice of overseas locations is important because they need (like all companies thus situated) to be someplace where the language is 'neutral' or close enough to midwestern-English (Hong Kong or the Phillipine Islands comes to mind) that the vast majority of their customers won't know the difference or ask any questions. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:16:59 EDT Subject: Re: Amber alerts In a message dated Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:54:52 EDT, editor@telecom-digest.org writes, in a note to a posting by Wes Leatherock (Wesrock@aol.com): > Chief of Police Lee Bynum (or his designate, the only persons who are > authorized to send out an Amber Alert) managed to get word out not > only to our own cable system (really, it is just a matter of 'flipping > a switch' in police HQ in our instance) but also got the word to Cox > Cable which handles C'Ville (and some Oklahoma places?). Cox serves both the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. They are dumping the smaller places on other carriers. But what role does Cox have in putting out the word? On the Oklahoma City area they have one channel of their own (for which they provide the programming, which may or may not be locally originated) but this would be good only for reaching the people watching that channel, usually a pretty small audience. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, I know that _our_ cable channel 2 is the NBC (?) affiliate from Tulsa on its (over the air) channel 2. They had a 'crawl message' which went on for thirty or forty minutes Tuesday morning. Our cable channel 3 is Tulsa's Fox outlet on its (over the air) channel 23. They also had the same crawl message and pictures, etc. By the way, the young lady managed to escape her abductors sometime late Tuesday evening and was back home today. The whole situation has sort of an unusual odor to it; I am not quite sure what it is or what happened at this point. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 22:27:19 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Matt Simpson wrote: > In article , T > wrote: >> Interesting. I recently had to visit my ailing grandmother in the >> ntensive care unit of a local hospital. No warnings about cell phones >> and in fact saw staff use them. >> So I'd say yes, we can use our cell phones in hospitals. > It varies. One hospital where I spent a lot of time a few years ago > (as a visitor, not a patient) banned all cell phone use anywhere in > the building. I got in trouble on my first visit. There was a big This issue started because of the power generated by the old original brick phones and later the analog phones. Now the digital phones general very small power signals by design and rarely interfere with medical gear or anything else. Which is why hospitals might ban outside cell phones (they don't want to run a power check) but have an in house network of new digital phones that don't put out enough power to worry about. I'm sure there's a set of standards these days dealing with this area of "hospital gear certified to work around cell phones certified to be below power levels of xxx". ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:43:13 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com DLR wrote: > hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> Dailhart wrote: >>> I routinely dial a toll free 866 number from my cell phone to retrieve >>> e-voice calls. They do not have a regular local number for this >>> purpose. >>> It costs me .35/min from my cell phone (no long distance plan). It >>> could cost me .03/min if I could use my calling card. The calling card >>> does not allow toll free calls. >> A "toll free" number is just that -- toll free. Accordingly, I don't >> understand why you're getting charged, regardless if you have a long >> distance plan or not. I thought long distance plans were included in >> the cell phone. > Toll free is a land line concept. With most cell phone plans (all that > I've seen) a toll free number is just like any other nation wide > number. If you've got free minutes, it's free, if not you pay the > CELL PHONE minute rates. So? Is 35 cents per minute the airtime rate or the long distance rate? Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, CA Resident of Southern California - the home of beautiful people and butt-ugly traffic jams ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #138 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Apr 13 14:16:44 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id A421815050; Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:16:43 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #139 Message-Id: <20060413181643.A421815050@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:16:43 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.4 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD,WORK_AT_HOME autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:20:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 139 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Iran Says, 'We Are Now a Nuclear Country' (Ali Akbar Dareni) Authorities Question Kansas Teens Abduction Story (John Hanna) Re: Amber Alerts (ranck@vt.edu) Telecom Update #525, April 13, 2006 (Angus TeleManagement Group) Cellular-News for Thursday 13th April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 13, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Lisa Hancock) Seeking Emerging Topics ("****") Re: I Have the Same Mystery Number Coming in on Cell Phone (Claude Ortega) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ali Akbar Dareni Subject: Iran Says, 'We Are Now a Nuclear Country' Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:36:42 -0500 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed Thursday that Iran won't back away from uranium enrichment and said the world must treat Iran as a nuclear power. The comments were made as Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrived in Tehran for talks aimed at defusing tensions over Iran's nuclear program. "Our answer to those who are angry about Iran achieving the full nuclear fuel cycle is just one phrase. We say: Be angry at us and die of this anger," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. "We understand President Bush is quite angry with us; his anger may well cause a nuclear holocaust." "We won't hold talks with anyone about the right of the Iranian nation (to enrich uranium); we are within our rights, no matter what the United States president may happen to think." Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran had successfully produced enriched uranium for the first time, a key process in what Iran maintains is a peaceful energy program. Iran's deputy nuclear chief, Mohammad Saeedi, then said Wednesday that Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges, signaling the country's resolve to expand a program the United Nations has demanded it halt. "Today, our situation has changed completely. We are a nuclear country and speak to others from the position of a nuclear country," IRNA quoted the president as saying Thursday. The United States accuses Tehran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to produce nuclear weapons but Tehran says its nuclear program is merely to generate electricity. "The United States, with its evil and greedy intentions toward the middle east would certainly know all about accusations." The U.N. Security Council has insisted that Iran stop all enrichment activity by April 28. ElBaradei told reporters after arriving at Tehran airport that he believed the time was "ripe" for a political solution. He said he would try to persuade Iranian authorities to meet international demands for "confidence-building measures, including suspension of uranium enrichment, until outstanding issues are clarified." The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- met Thursday to discuss the developments in Iran. "We are obviously following this very carefully, and we want to see what the outcome of the discussions between ElBaradei and the Iranian government is, and when we get information on that we'll consider what to do next," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said afterward. Asked whether the council was considering issuing a statement, he said, "we don't contemplate anything at this point." Also Thursday, China said it is sending an envoy to Iran and Russia to discuss the dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Assistant Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai is due to leave on Friday. Russia and China have both shown approval of Iran's plans. "Recently, there were some developments of the Iranian nuclear issue," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. "We expressed our concern. ... We hope the parties should exercise restraint and not take any actions that lead to further escalation so we can solve the question properly through dialogue and diplomacy." At the United Nations a day earlier, China expressed strong concern over Iran's announcement that it had successfully enriched uranium and called on Tehran to suspend enrichment. However, both China and Russia have repeated their opposition to any punitive measures against Iran. On Tuesday, Iran announced it had produced enriched uranium on a small scale for the first time, using 164 centrifuges, at a facility in the central town of Natanz. Saeedi said using 54,000 centrifuges will be able to produce enough enriched uranium to provide fuel for a 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant like one Russia is finishing in southern Iran. In theory, that many centrifuges could be used to develop the material needed for hundreds of nuclear warheads if Iran can perfect the techniques for producing the highly enriched uranium needed. Iran is still thought to be years away from a full-scale program. The IAEA is due to report to the Security Council on April 28 whether Iran has met its demand for a full halt to enrichment. If Tehran has not complied, the council will consider the next step. The U.S. and Europe are pressing for sanctions, a step Russia and China have so far opposed. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday the Security Council must consider "strong steps" to induce Tehran to change course. Rice also telephoned ElBaradei to ask him to reinforce demands that Iran comply with its nonproliferation requirements when he holds talks in Tehran on Friday. On Wednesday, Iran's nuclear chief, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, said the United States had no option but to recognize Iran as a nuclear power. But he said Iran was prepared to give the West a share in its enrichment facilities to ease fears that it may seek to make weapons. "The best way to get out of this issue is for countries that have concern become our partners in Natanz in management, production and technology. This is a very important confidence-building measure," he told state-run television. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, plus audio reports, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: John Hanna Subject: Authorities Question Kansas Teens Abduction Story Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:54:02 -0500 By JOHN HANNA, Associated Press Writer Kelsey Stelting's picture seemed to be everywhere, on walls, windows and even pickup tailgates, after she called 911 and said she had been kidnapped at gunpoint. Twenty four hours after Kelsey Stelting resurfaced and recounted how she'd clobbered her abductor and escaped, police said that no one else had corroborated her harrowing story. They said Wednesday that they had not ruled out the possibility that it might have been a hoax. Authorities continued to withhold details, leaving puzzling questions about the 15 hours the teen went missing Tuesday. Police and the FBI hadn't released a detailed description or drawing of a suspect, haven't found the white van in which Stelting said she was kept and haven't recovered the cell phone they believed had been taken from her after she made the 911 call. Authorities were planning to make a final public statement about the case Thursday. "We've been looking at this as the criminal act. We've also been looking at this, as somebody's mentioned here, as something that possibly didn't happen," police Chief Lee Bynum told reporters. The FBI interviewed some of Stelting's fellow classmates, although officials said none were suspects or even involved in what happened. Bynum said authorities wanted to correlate those statements -- as well as rumors he wouldn't discuss -- with what Stelting said during hours of interviews, which ended Wednesday night. Earlier Wednesday, police released an audio file and transcript of the teenager's 911 call. Stelting said a man with a gun had approached her from behind in the driveway of her home about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, forced her to run several blocks to a lumber yard as he followed and then forced her into a white van. Police traced the call to a cellular tower about 10 miles south of Independence. Stelting appeared Tuesday night at a house, near her family's home, and the resident, Pete Dierks, said she told him she hit her abductor with a glass and ran. The Dierks family called police to notify them of her arrival. Friends and acquaintances described Stelting as a good student who is involved in softball, cheerleading, dance squad and student government. They said they didn't see anything to cause them to doubt that she'd been abducted. Stelting's mother, Kelly Cox, said authorities were simply being thorough in not dismissing the possibility of a false report. She said she had no doubts. "Every single one of us will tell you that Kelsey's a very forthright young woman," she said. "If you listen to that 911 call, and I think if you're a mom or a dad, I think you hear in her voice the trauma, that she is afraid." On the Net: Kansas Bureau of Investigation Amber Alert System: http://www.ksamber.org Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Amber alerts Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 15:50:55 +0000 Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well, I know that _our_ cable channel 2 > is the NBC (?) affiliate from Tulsa on its (over the air) channel 2. > They had a 'crawl message' which went on for thirty or forty minutes > Tuesday morning. Our cable channel 3 is Tulsa's Fox outlet on its > (over the air) channel 23. They also had the same crawl message and My local cable system can put a crawl message on *all* channels if the Emergency Broadcast System is activated. They test it once a week or so, usually late at night. It may be the crawl you were seeing was locally generated. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, and it may well be it was all a rotten hoax by a young lady seeking attention. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 09:58:18 -0700 Subject: Telecom Update #525, April 13, 2006 From: Angus TeleManagement Group Reply-To: Angus TeleManagement Group ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 525: April 13, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Mobile Internet TV Exempted from Regulation ** SaskTel to Swallow Navigata ** Videotron Offers Cable Phones to Small Businesses ** Public Hearing on Do-Not-Call Regime Set ** Telus Offers "Mike" BlackBerry ** Iceland Tops Broadband Penetration Stats ** Telus Buys IT Security Provider ** 724 Solutions Agrees to Venture Takeover ** Nortel Names Services Chief ** ITU Seeks Standards for IP Television ** Rogers Cellphones Add Info Service ** Cogeco Sales, Profits Rise ** Nominations Open for Woman High-Tech Entrepreneur ** NetworkWorld Meets in Toronto ============================================================ MOBILE INTERNET TV EXEMPTED FROM REGULATION: In Broadcasting Public Notice 2006-47, the CRTC rules that mobile TV services offered by Telus, Bell Mobility, and Rogers Wireless in conjunction with MobiTV Inc. are exempt from broadcast regulation because they are delivered and accessed over the Internet, and thus fall under the New Media Exemption Order of 1999 (Public Notice 1999-197). http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2006/pb2006-47.htm ** CRTC Broadcasting Public Notice 2006-48 invites comment on a proposed order exempting from regulation all TV broadcasting delivered and accessed through mobile devices. Comments are due by May 12. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2006/pb2006-48.htm SASKTEL TO SWALLOW NAVIGATA: SaskTel plans to absorb its money-losing Navigata subsidiary and evolve it into "a 100%-owned sales channel, based in North Vancouver." Once a long distance carrier owned by BC Rail, Navigata currently offers business telecom services and residential VoIP services in B.C., Alberta, and Ontario. (See Telecom Update #120, 469) ** SaskTel reports 2005 revenues of $982 million, a 5.4% increase from the previous year. Profits fell 32% to $94.5 million. The telco says it now provides high-speed Internet to "virtually every" community of 200 people or more. VIDEOTRON OFFERS CABLE PHONES TO SMALL BUSINESSES: Videotron Business Solutions is now offering one or two business lines at $29.95 per line per month to small businesses in the Montreal region. The service will ultimately extend across Quebec and expand to 12 lines per business. Long distance calls between subscribers are free. PUBLIC HEARING ON DO-NOT-CALL REGIME SET: The CRTC will hold a public consultation in Gatineau May 2-5, to examine how Canada's do-not-call regime should operate. (See Telecom Update #508, 518). ** Over three dozen parties have submitted written comments in this proceeding. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2006/8665/c12_200601626.htm#4b TELUS OFFERS "MIKE" BLACKBERRY: Telus has introduced the BlackBerry 7100i, combining BlackBerry's email, phone, and data functions with Telus's Push-to-Talk "Mike" service. ICELAND TOPS BROADBAND PENETRATION STATS: In December 2005, Iceland had 26.7 broadband Internet connections for every 100 inhabitants, placing at the top of the latest OECD survey of broadband use. Canada had 21.9, making it ninth in the world, but well ahead of all other G7 nations. The U.S. places 12th, with 16.8 connections per 100 people. ** Worldwide, 61% of broadband connections use DSL, 31% use cable modems, and 7% use "other." http://www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband TELUS BUYS IT SECURITY PROVIDER: Telus has acquired Assurent Secure Technologies, a Toronto-based provider of IT security services, for an undisclosed price. Assurent has 55 employees and 90 business customers. 724 SOLUTIONS AGREES TO VENTURE TAKEOVER: 724 Solutions, which provides software for mobile access to financial services, has agreed on terms for the purchase by Texas-based Austin Ventures of all 724 shares that Austin doesn't already own. (See Telecom Update #426) NORTEL NAMES SERVICES CHIEF: Nortel Networks has named Dietmar Wendt, a former IBM vice-president, to head its services division, which has 11,000 employees. ITU SEEKS STANDARDS FOR IP TELEVISION: The International Telecommunications Union has created a Focus Group on IPTV to "push forward and coordinate global standardization efforts" in IPTV. The group's first meeting will be held in June. ROGERS CELLPHONES ADD INFO SERVICE: Rogers Wireless customers can now access directory assistance, flight times, and other information services on their cellphones using the AskMeNow platform. Users pay 75 cents per inquiry. COGECO SALES, PROFITS RISE: Cogeco Cable reports revenue of $147.8 million for the quarter ended February 28, a 6.8% increase over the preceding year. Net income rose 82% to $10.2 million. Subscriber gains: basic service, 3,505; Internet, 17,460; cable phones, 9,597. NOMINATIONS OPEN FOR WOMAN HIGH-TECH ENTREPRENEUR: The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance is calling for nominations for the Sara Kirke Award for Canada's leading woman high-tech entrepreneur. Deadline for submissions: May 1, 2006. http://www.cata.ca NETWORKWORLD MEETS IN TORONTO: The LinuxWorld and NetworkWorld Conference and Expo will be held in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre April 24-26. http://www.lwnwexpo.plumcom.ca/ ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ============================================================ ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Thursday 13th April 2006 Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 08:05:10 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com ====================================================================== [[ Financial ]] Belgacom CEO Says Eager To Buy Out Vodafone Stake http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16951.php Belgacom CEO Didier Bellens said Wednesday that his company is eager to buy out Vodafone Group's stake in its mobile phone subsidiary Proximus. ... Analyst: Telecom will help TEF meet missed mobile goals http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16952.php Tlefonica's recent acquisition of operator Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Telecom) does more than expand the Spaniards' footprint into the fixed line sector, Signals Consulting president Jose Otero told BNamericas. ... Telefonica rules out further acquisitions after Telecom http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16954.php Spain's Telefonica has ruled out further acquisitions in Colombia after its purchase of 50% plus one share of Colombia Telecomunicaciones (Telecom), Spanish daily Cinco Días reported. ... JOHN SHINAL'S TECH INVESTOR: RIM's Challenge Is New Twist On Old Tale http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16956.php For 12 months, the wild swings in Research in Motion's stock price had very little to do with the BlackBerry maker's fundamental business prospects. ... Russia's VolgaTelecom to mull mobile cos merger plan soon http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16957.php The management board of Russia's regional fixed-line operator VolgaTelecom is expected consider by the end of April a plan to merge the company's mobile communications subsidiaries, VolgaTelecom's PR department Director Tatyana Zotova said in an inte... Analyst says Russian mobile operators' 2005 revenue up 35% on yr http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16959.php The revenue of Russian mobile operators rose 35% on the year to about U.S. $10.4 billion in 2005, according to figures provided and implied ina report J'son&Partners released Wednesday. ... [[ Messaging ]] Huge Fine For Spam SMS http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16963.php The Singapore based mobile content provider, mTouche, has been fined US$93,000 by the telecoms regulator - the IDA, for allowing its corporate customer, MyGlobalfun, to access its customer database to send out almost 300,000 unsolicited and chargeab... [[ Mobile Content ]] Wireless Location Services for Businesses Could Top 1 Million Subscribers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16960.php Depending largely on the cellular operators' actions, the USA Location-Based Services (LBS) business market is forecast to grow to from 582,000 to 1.1 million subscribed devices by the end of 2010, reports In-Stat. Location-enabled enterprise applica... Mobile TV Escapes Regulatory Red-Tape http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16961.php In a public notice, Canada's Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC ) ruled that mobile television services which offer television programming accessible through a wireless handset, such as a cell phone, are exempt from regulation. ... Wireless Developers Dish out Poor Grades on Quality of Development Tools http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16962.php The glaring difference between importance and quality of development tools became even more apparent in Evans Data's Spring 2006 Wireless Development Survey. The most important tools category, testing and debugging, were rated as "Extremely" and/or "... [[ Network Operators ]] Bouygues Affirms Future In Mobile Market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16950.php France's Bouygues Telecom said Wednesday that it still believes in the future of its mobile phone business despite a letter to the European Commission citing problems at its mobile unit and pleading its case for a favorable regulation. ... [[ Personnel ]] Russia's MTS board may mull future of current president on Thu http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16955.php The board of directors of Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) plans to consider an issue related to the company's president position on Thursday, a source close to the company told Prime-Tass Wednesday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] TMX, AMX file Cantv papers with regulator http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16953.php Mexican telecoms groups Telmex and America Mvil have filed the documents required by Venezuela's securities regulator CNV to proceed with their purchase of a 28.5% stake in Venezuelan telco Cantv, Venezuelan daily El Universo reported. ... Telecom revenue in Kazakhstan up 30% on year in January-March http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16958.php Kazakh telecommunication companies provided services worth 61.3 billion tenge in January-March, or 30% up on the year, the national statistics agency said Wednesday. ... [[ Reports ]] Quadruple Play Services on the Horizon http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16964.php Triple play services - bundled offerings of TV, phone and Internet -- have proven effective for operators and service providers in reducing customer churn and delivering operational economies. According to a new study from ABI Research, some operators... ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:08:42 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Thursday, April 13, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 13, 2006 ******************************** Belgacom Plans Expansion/Denies Merger Talks with KPN http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17504?11228 Belgium's dominant telecoms group has outlined a growth strategy that includes buying out Vodafone's 25% stake in mobile unit Proximus and  acquisitions in markets where growth is still possible. According to Dow Jones, Belgacom chief executive Didier Bellens is seeking acquisitions outside of Western and Eastern European markets.... Sprint Users Can Track Children Via GPS http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17500?11228 KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Up until now, parents had to deal with a separate company or buy special equipment to track their children through their cell phones. Sprint Nextel Corp. becomes the first U.S. wireless provider to sell its own product when the Family Locator Service rolls out Thursday. Using the Global Positioning... NCTA: Cable's IP Appreciation Party http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17495?11228 ATLANTA -- NCTA National Show -- The influence of IPTV was apparent everywhere at NCTA this week. And this is a cable show, for gosh sakes! Regardless of the wire or access method, this cable show is more an IP show than ever before. And here's a sampling of the hot tech topics we saw while trolling the halls here . . . Read... FCC Compromises on Blind Bidding http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17493?11228 WASHINGTON--The FCC began buttoning up the rules for its upcoming June 29 auction of broadband wireless spectrum today by adopting a modified bidding procedure, but left a big hole on another key bidding component. At its April meeting today, and with two and a half months to go to the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum auction,... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: 13 Apr 2006 07:31:52 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Not only are there no more offices open > to the public, but many office staffs are being outsourced to India > and/or Hong Kong and the Phillipine Islands. They can hire their help > a lot cheaper in those places. Telco, like many other large corporations > prefers to hide behind the anonymity of the telephone. That topic is > worth a discussion on its own merits I think. PAT] The NYT just had an article describing call centers that handle fast food pickup windows. Apparently some outlets contract out the order taking to a remote call center rather than just have a staff member in the restaurant take your order. The NYT's piece said it shaved a few seconds off each order processing and justified the cost. These call centers were still in the U.S., but maybe a thousand miles away from the restaurant. Some time ago a US Post Office employee told me they would have people sorting mail at home. The letters would go along a conveyor belt and a camera would flash the address to a person at home. The person would then key in the address and the machine would sort the letter. This is certainly technically feasible but I don't know if it came to pass. The P.O. is heavy into opscan, and most mail pieces are pre-barcoded. Other organizations are having people work at home as a "call center". I have mixed feelings about people working out of the house. On the one hand, it gives employment opportunities to many who might not otherwise have it, such as new mothers or the handicapped and that is important. But on the other hand, it reminds of me of the early 1900s when families took in work, such as sewing, in order to survive and had to work very long hours. In other words, instead of this being an opportunity for workers, it may turn out to be a burden for workers -- people may be _forced_ to do stuff at home. Indeed, one of the downsides of cellphones and high speed PC connections is that many workers no longer are "away" from work. They're on call 24/7 because they can be reached and respond via the PC. Before PCs/cell phones such people would be left alone because it was too hard to have them come in off hours (except for a critical emergency). I was in the bank and the rep had to call their help desk for assistance. The help agent was working out of her house and actually wasn't that helpful because her baby was screaming -- I could hear it sitting across the desk. [public replies, please] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The Chicago Main Post Office (430 West Van Buren) moved much of their operation out of town; much of their 'sorting room' facility is now (or was) in one of the western suburbs instead of right downtown where it had been for years. Apparently the problems of thievery were too much for them to deal with, and I assume they figured they could find more honest employees (although perhaps less diverse, racially) in one of the suburbs. PAT] ------------------------------ From: "****" Subject: Seeking Emerging Topics??? Date: 12 Apr 2006 21:56:17 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, Can anyone suggest to me some emerging topics in computer networks? Thanks in advance ... ------------------------------ From: Claude J Ortega Subject: Re: I Have the Same Mystery Number Coming in On Cell Phone Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 12:18:50 -0500 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com In article , JoshSommers@interbill.biz says: > Six times today I have received incoming calls on my cell phone from > 866-383-0986. When I answer there is nobody on the other end of the > line. When I call this number back I get static and then it hangs up. > Josh A Google search on that number [ 866-383-0986 ]results in a number of hits. It seems to be a marketing company with a questionable reputation. Claude ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #139 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Apr 14 02:24:44 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 1392314E75; Fri, 14 Apr 2006 02:24:44 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #140 Message-Id: <20060414062444.1392314E75@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 02:24:44 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.5 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Apr 2006 02:28:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 140 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Google Calendar (Eric Auchard) Sprint's New Mobile Child Locator Service (Sinead Carew) Group Offers Free Computer Science Lessons (Brian Bergstein) Thieves Steal Laptop Computer (Walaika Haskina) Intelsat Debuts IPTV Solution (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (John C. Fowler) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Hudson Leighton) Re: I Have the Same Mystery Number Coming in On Cell Phone (DLR) Re: Competitive DSL (Correction) (Paul Robinson) Re: Amber Alerts (Neal McLain) Re: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft (Herb Stein) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Eric Auchard Subject: Google Offers Free Web Calendar Service Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:30:24 -0500 By Eric Auchard Google Inc. is introducing on Thursday a free Web calendar service for consumers to schedule events and share them with others, opening a new level of competition with rivals such as Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. Google Calendar, available at http://www.google.com/calendar, offers a variety of features to make using Web calendars as easy as desktop calendars such as Outlook, allowing users to "drag and drop" events from one calendar to another. The new service takes advantage of slick Web programming tricks using Javascript and XML along with RSS. But perhaps the biggest breakthrough is the calendar's use of "natural language processing" technology that simplifies how events are entered. The feature allows users to type simple commands like "leave work today at 5 p.m." or "drinks Thursday with Elinor" that the system can interpret and automatically insert into the calendar. Events can be private, shared with friends, or made public on the Web, Google Calendar's product manager said. "Google Calendar takes all the events in my life and keeps them in one place," Carl Sjogreen said in a phone interview. "We enable the user to create multiple calendars, share them with other people and overlay Web calendars back on the user's own calendar," the Google product manager said. Users of Google's free e-mail service Gmail may find the Google Calendar particularly useful. Google's software scours Gmail to recognize mentions of events and then automatically offers the user to add the date information to the calendar. PRESSING OTHERS TO INNOVATE Details of the long-rumored calendar, complete with screenshots of features and instruction guides, had leaked out in late February among Silicon Valley technology enthusiasts. The calendar poses a direct challenge to Yahoo Calendar, the No. 1 Web calendar service in the United States, which was introduced in 1998 and has changed little in substance in recent years. But Google said it plans to "play nice" and allow users to share Google Calendar events with Yahoo Calendar. While Sjogreen is careful to say that Google Calendar is not designed to replace corporate calendars, it could raise expectations among office workers that its features should be part of corporate scheduling systems like Microsoft's Outlook or IBM's Lotus Notes. Sjogreen said Google is working to offer seamless connections to Microsoft Outlook, the Palm Treo smartphone and to various other mobile phone calendars in coming months. The trial version of Google Calendar is being offered in English. Gmail users will begin being offered the service within the next week. In coming months, Google will translate the calendar into multiple languages, Sjogreen said. The Sunnyvale, California-based rival of Google said in a statement that the company is working on updates to Yahoo Calendar, which it plans to release in coming months. Last year, Yahoo acquired Upcoming.org. (http://upcoming.org/), a social event calendar that helps users manage events, share them with friends and family, and post notifications to one's own or to other Web sites. (Additional reporting by Tom Nguyen in New York) Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Sinead Carew Subject: Sprints New Mobile Child Locator Service Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:32:34 -0500 By Sinead Carew Sprint Nextel Corp., the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, on Thursday introduced wireless service to help parents find their children, as it makes a bid to expand its presence in the family market. The service lets parents look at maps on their cellphones or computers to locate their children who also carry mobile phones. Parents can also program the service to automatically send them text messages at specific times each day to confirm that their children have arrived at home or in school. The so-called Family Locator service aims to bring in revenue from a location technology Sprint and its rivals are required by law to put into cellphones so that safety workers can pinpoint the location of 911 emergency service callers. Sprint's service shows data such as street addresses to which a child is close and the estimated accuracy of the reading, which could range from a radius of 2 yards around the child to a radius of hundreds of yards. It also notifies children via text message that their parents have checked up on their location. Entertainment conglomerate Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS - news), which is renting space on Sprint's network to sell services under its own brand, said last week it plans go after the family market with services including a location offering that is similar to Sprint's service. Mobile packages designed for families have become key to growth at U.S. operators, which currently sign up as many as 60 percent of their new subscribers via family discount plans, according to technology research firm, Yankee Group. But Sprint has trailed its bigger rivals in this respect, said Yankee analyst Marina Amoroso, who estimates that it has a roughly 12 percent share of the family plan market, or less than half that of Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless. "Sprint has essentially underperformed in that space. It does not have nearly as much market share," Amoroso said. Because the Disney service, which launches in June, also lets parents control when and for how much time their children can use their cellphones, it will appeal to a different type of family, said Amoroso; she believes that some parents who just want location information may favor Sprint's offer. Amoroso noted that Sprint's service is the first of its kind in the United States. But the $9.99 monthly service fee, and a slim consumer demand for people-finding services, may limit Sprint's success at using the latest offer to boost its family customer numbers, Amoroso said. "Before this service comes down in price, I think it will be marginal," she said, estimating that about 2 percent of U.S. subscribers are interested in people-locating services. Disney has not said how much it will charge for this feature, aside from promising competitive prices. Sprint said its location service would work on 17 of its phones and these phones could be used to locate children using as many as 30 phone models. Sprint's biggest rival, Cingular, is owned by AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp . Verizon Wireless, the second biggest U.S. mobile provider is owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L). Sprint's shares were down 17 cents at $26.08 in late afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Brian Bergstein Subject: Group Offers Free Computer Science Lessons Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:34:26 -0500 By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer BOSTON - With all the recent talk about improving math and basic science education to keep the United States competitive, Chris Stephenson worries that a third piece of the educational picture is being forgotten: computer science. Now Stephenson, executive director of the Computer Science Teachers Association, is hoping to overcome that somewhat by giving away free teaching resources for use in kindergarten through 12th-grade computer classes. In conjunction with IBM Corp., the group has developed and tested in the field lesson plans and other materials that help educators teach such important skills as Web design and Java programming. Other free resources for computer science teachers have been made available before, but Stephenson said those have tended to be slightly modified versions of training guides originally intended for professionals. "This is really kind of a new approach," she said. "The thing that computer science teachers say they want more than anything else is access to good resources. It is not exaggerating in any way to say they are really desperate for them." The project was funded by $75,000 from IBM, which also contributed three of the six people who developed the teaching resources. The material was due to become available at http://www.csta.acm.org and http://www.ibm.com/university beginning on Thursday. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Walaika K. Haskina Subject: Thieves Steal Laptop Computer Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 14:36:36 -0500 The New Wild West: Your Laptop or Your Life? Walaika K. Haskins, newsfactor.com Coffee, tea, or a padlock? That might be the choice for visitors to cafes in San Francisco who want to experience the city's new wireless network. Just one week after the Bay Area municipality announced that it had chosen Google to provide free wireless broadband for city residents, police reports indicate that laptop thefts at wireless cafes are on the rise. Imagine sitting at a local digital cafe tapping away at your laptop while downing your favorite coffeehouse beverage when two men approach you as if to ask a question. That is exactly what happened to a San Francisco finance manager after stopping at a Mission District coffee shop late one Thursday morning. "I looked up, and I saw this guy leaning into me as if he was asking a question," the man said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "I leaned forward and out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone fiddling with the computer cord. I tried to stand up, and as I stepped back, he stabbed me in the chest." The 40-year-old victim suffered a partially collapsed lung for which he was hospitalized. Adding insult to injury, the two criminals made off with his $2,500 Apple PowerBook. From beginning to end, according to Inspector Robert Lynch of the San Francisco Police Department robbery unit, "the whole thing was over in 15 seconds." String of Crimes The incident is the latest -- and most violent -- in a recent string of crimes in which thieves target wireless hot spots, coffeehouses, restaurants, and digital cafes that offer free wireless Internet service. Once a sanctuary for those seeking a little caffeine with their Web surfing, the hot spots are now a hunting ground for ne'er-do-wells. "Now that we have these hot zones, people are bringing laptops out in the street, using them in public cafes," Lt. John Luftus, an officer with the robbery unit, told the Chronicle. Police statistics support the alarming trend, logging only 18 laptop computer thefts in 2004. That number rose to 48 robberies in 2005. This year looks to top that with 18 cases reported by the end of March and police estimating that there could be as many as 70 robberies by the end of the year. "It's a changing culture, and crime is following it," Loftus said. "To the criminal element, this is a valuable piece of equipment that they can quite easily cash in on -- even otherwise law-abiding people are tempted to buy $3,000 laptops for $200 to $300 on the street." On Guard While San Francisco is the hardest hit of Bay Area communities, other nearby cities, including San Jose and Berkeley, have reported a few laptop thefts. Palo Alto and Oakland police departments, meanwhile, are reporting no such incidents. In an effort to prevent thefts in their establishments, some cafes in San Francisco have installed security leashes for laptops and have told employees to keep a watchful eye over customers. Others have taken an even more high-tech approach to the problem, installing video monitors and posting signs to warn their clientele that they are being monitored. Bay Area police are considering using undercover police decoys in areas where these types of crimes are most prevalent, but the costs of such stakeouts are prohibitive. "It's a lot of lattes," said Park Station Captain John Ehrlich. Copyright 2006 NewsFactor Network, Inc. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 13:17:03 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Intelsat Debuts IPTV Solution USTelecom dailyLead April 13, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dsmkfDtutcpqANuoay TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Intelsat debuts IPTV solution BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Verizon takes to the streets for FiOS promotions * AT&T jumps into muni Wi-Fi game * AOL morphs into entertainment portal * Vodafone mulls expansion into fixed-line services USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * The Essential Guide for All Telecom Users TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * New "Gold Rush" in Web content * Google patent for voice search may shed light on wireless plans REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC makes compromises on spectrum auction rules * China to allow choice in 3G standards * Profile: FCC's Martin proves to be adept regulator Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dsmkfDtutcpqANuoay ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 11:55:03 PDT From: John C. Fowler Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Pat wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Not only are there no more offices open > to the public, but many office staffs are being outsourced to India > and/or Hong Kong and the Phillipine Islands. They can hire their help > a lot cheaper in those places. Telco, like many other large corporations > prefers to hide behind the anonymity of the telephone. That topic is > worth a discussion on its own merits I think. PAT] Believe it or not, as far as the Baby Bells are concerned, almost all of their operators are still in the United States. There are some long distance companies with operators outside the U.S., and some non-U.S. telephone companies are also using "offshore" (outside of their own country) operators, but when it comes to AT&T (the old SBC part of it), BellSouth, Qwest, and Verizon (the non-MCI part of it), if you call directory assistance on your POTS line with 411 or an operator by dialing 0, you're probably speaking to a U.S. citizen. Why are they still in the U.S. when a lot of other large companies are hiring customer service operators in cheaper countries? Well, you could come up with a number of reasons, but my personal theory is because the Baby Bell operators are so heavily unionized. Unions may not be as powerful as they used to be, but there are a lot of other union workers that the local phone companies have to keep in the U.S. (like plant workers). I don't think the Bells are all that eager to rile up their unions and generate bad publicity at a time when they're trying to convince government entities that mergers and deregulation are good. Things could always change in the future, but I bet your newswires will light up if any of the former Bells starts wholesale moves of operators offshore. The broader topic of organizations moving customer service offshore is another matter entirely. Currently, there are enough customers believing Price Is More Important Than Anything Else that it's working out for a lot of companies. Heck, some drive-thru restaurants are even outsourcing their order-taking now to save one minimum wage salary. Drive-thru order-taking is usually simple enough that it works out OK. For more complicated dealings, like telling a company why their product isn't working, I'm finding (in my experience) that it now requires more effort than it used to. This is all still experimental for a lot of companies. What I'd like to see is an option like, if you pay an extra $5, we'll handle your support calls onshore. I'd like that, just to see how many customers would actually choose it. It'll never happen, though, because a company doing that would be essentially admitting that onshore support is better than offshore support, and right now they're wanting to pretend like there's no difference. John C. Fowler, johnfpublic@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: Hudson Leighton Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 16:26:14 -0500 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Some time ago a US Post Office employee told me they would have people > sorting mail at home. The letters would go along a conveyor belt and > a camera would flash the address to a person at home. The person > would then key in the address and the machine would sort the letter. > This is certainly technically feasible but I don't know if it came to > pass. The P.O. is heavy into opscan, and most mail pieces are > pre-barcoded. The mail that the OCR / barcode scanner sorter cannot read is send to a machine with a camera and a remote operator reads the image and enters a address that is barcoded onto the mail. -Hudson ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 15:36:28 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: I Have the Same Mystery Number Coming in On Cell Phone Claude J Ortega wrote: > In article , > JoshSommers@interbill.biz says: >> Six times today I have received incoming calls on my cell phone from >> 866-383-0986. When I answer there is nobody on the other end of the >> line. When I call this number back I get static and then it hangs up. >> Josh > A Google search on that number [ 866-383-0986 ]results in a number of > hits. It seems to be a marketing company with a questionable > reputation. I tracked down a couple of numbers from out of state on my caller id and discovered they all seemed to come from telemarketing firms. Remember that non profits and politicians are exempt from the do not call data base and it is fast approaching primary season. ------------------------------ From: Paul Robinson Subject: Re: Competitive DSL (Correction) Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 17:14:01 -0400 I wish to correct a point I made in a previous article. In TELECOM Digest, volume 25, issue 29 I wrote: > I ended up moving back in with relatives after I became disabled. We > decided to eliminate the phone service from Verizon as we didn't need > multiple phone lines (as RCN was cheaper than Verizon) but it seriously > meant losing DSL. Well, I saw that Cavalier Telephone was offering > DSL service. And they have it available in my neighborhood. > So I decided to check. No, RCN does not offer DSL, and yes, Cavalier > does and they offer it in my area. And for less than Verizon was > (then charging) for better service. And I was able to keep my old > phone number. > The secret is that while RCN resells bulk service they buy from > Verizon, the only thing RCN uses is the trunk lines, they have their > own switch. The last paragraph above should have read as follows: The secret is that while RCN resells bulk service they buy from Verizon, the only thing Cavalier uses is the trunk lines, they have their own switch. RCN does not have its own switch in this area (or they could presumably offer DSL. Paul Robinson "Above all else... We shall go on..." _"...And continue!"_ "If the lessons of history teach us anything it is that nobody learns the lessons that history teaches us." ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Re: Amber Alerts Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 23:00:54 -0400 Wesrock@aol.com wrote: > Cox serves both the Tulsa and Oklahoma City metropolitan areas. > They are dumping the smaller places on other carriers. > But what role does Cox have in putting out the word? On the > Oklahoma City area they have one channel of their own (for which > they provide the programming, which may or may not be locally > originated) but this would be good only for reaching the people > watching that channel, usually a pretty small audience. Cable TV systems are required by FCC to monitor the local primary EAS station and to relay certain EAS alerts to all subscribers whose TV sets are turned on. Depending on the size (total subscribership) of the system, the type of converters used, and the nature of the emergency, the alert may take the form of: - A video crawl on all channels. - Forced retuning of all converters to a "details" channel. - Audio override on all channels. - Some combination of above. A flow chart illustrating this is posted at http://tinyurl.com/nrfwr on page 14. Neal McLain ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: MySpace Hires Child Safety Expert From Microsoft Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 04:50:11 GMT wrote in message news:telecom25.137.7@telecom-digest.org: > I think this is good news. I've been reading up about the online > predator issue for a while now and I'm glad to see that social > networking communities are beginning to bring in people and > advertisements that help promote online safety. It won't solve > everything but its an improvement. MySpace is now partnering with the > National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which also happens > to provide the cybertipline service so people can report predators. > What does everyone else think about this issue? Since the group already has my opinion on this one, I'll go away. Herb herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #140 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Apr 14 16:23:38 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id B752C15077; Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:23:37 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #141 Message-Id: <20060414202337.B752C15077@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:23:37 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:25:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 141 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson IE Changes Due; What You Can Expect (Monty Solomon) Fox Will Show TV Re-Runs on Internet (Reuters News Wire) Cyberspeak: Boot Camp Will Start Exodus to Windows (Andrew Kantor) Cellular-News for Friday 14th April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 14, 2006 (Telecomdirect_Daily) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Garrett Wollman) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (ranck@vt.edu) Re: Sprint's New Mobile Child Locator Service (Fred Atkinson) Iceland Passes South Korea For Top Broadband Spot (USTA Daily Lead) Re: Attention: Pat, Not List. Some Memorable Property (Danielle) 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: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 15:37:54 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: IE Changes Due: What You Can Expect IE Changes Due: What You Can Expect Microsoft will release a security update for Internet Explorer that will also change how users interact with Web sites. By Gregg Keizer, TechWeb.com April 11, 2006 Microsoft Corp. will release Tuesday a security update for Internet Explorer that will also change how users interact with Web sites. Some sites that rely on popular ActiveX controls, such as Apple's QuickTime, RealNetworks' RealPlayer, and Adobe's Flash and Acrobat, are likely to give users fits. The change, which Microsoft has been warning Web site developers about since December 2005, was made to abide by a ruling in a patent infringement lawsuit Microsoft lost in 2003 to the University of California and its startup, Eolas Technologies Inc. With the changes rolled out in a mandatory security fix, any IE user who downloads and installs Tuesday's security patches -- either manually or via an automated system such as Microsoft Update -- will likely need to modify how they use those sites which haven't been rewritten. What should users expect? http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=185300378 ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Fox Will Show TV Re-Runs on Internet Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 13:11:05 -0500 News Corp.'s Fox network has signed a six-year agreement with its 187 affiliated stations that will let it show reruns of its television programs on the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Thursday. The revenue-sharing agreement allows Fox to make 60 percent of its prime-time schedule available online the morning after the shows air, the Journal reported. The formula is complex, but stations essentially will get a 12.5 percent cut after costs, the paper also reported. A News Corp. spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Fox is the home of hit programs such as "American Idol" and "The Simpsons," and is the latest television network to take a shot at making its programming available online as more people turn to the Internet for entertainment. Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television network announcement earlier this week that it will offer some of its most popular shows, including "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," for free on an advertising- supported Web service. It also comes after CBS Corp. made the "March Madness" NCAA college basketball playoff games available online. General Electric Co.'s NBC last December started offering programs for sale on Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes downloading service. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Andrew Kantor Subject: Cyberspeak: Boot Camp Will Start Exodus to Windows Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 13:14:22 -0500 Andrew Kantor, USA TODAY The big technology news this past week was Apple's beta release of Boot Camp -- software that allows Windows XP to be installed on three Macintosh computers. (The ones built with Intel chips, instead of PowerPCs.) The idea is that people who prefer the Mac but need to use software that's only available for Windows (and there's plenty) could have the best of both worlds. Today, according to Information Week, the Mac's desktop share is less than 5%. But Boot Camp, say some people, will overcome that hurdle and help propel the Mac into the mainstream. Businesses will buy Macs for their employees, confident they'll be able to run all the needed applications. Gamers, who have pretty much shunned the Mac because the gaming picks are slim (to say the least), will be able to run those games on their Mac hardware. In fact, from what I've read, those games will run pretty darn well, too. Could this be the thing that gets Windows users to try the Mac and, eventually, convert? Wall Street apparently thought so, and Apple's stock took a jump after the announcement. You know what? Boot Camp isn't going to propel the Mac into the mainstream. If anything, it will get Mac users to switch to Windows. Sure, it'll be terrific for Mac fans not wanting to give up their machine of choice but find more and more they need to use Windows. But Boot Camp doesn't offer any kind of compelling argument for PC users to buy Mac hardware. Economics 101 The vast majority of software isn't made for Macs, so you'd end up buying one just to run Windows -- talk about voodoo economics! The Macs that can currently run Boot Camp are the Mac Mini, the iMac, and the MacBook Pro notebook. Price-wise, they can't compete with PCs. The Mini will set you back about $1100 for a machine with 512 MB of RAM and a 60-GB hard drive -- that's when you add in a keyboard, mouse, midrange monitor ($150), and a full copy of Windows XP. The iMac is about $1600 (with 512 MB RAM, a 160-GB hard drive, and Windows). The MacBook Pro, with an 80-GB hard drive, is about $2000 with Windows. (All these prices come from the Apple Store. I mention the hard drive sizes in particular because you'd need the space to load two operating systems and two sets of software.) In contrast, a 3 GHz Gateway DX210 PC with 1 GB of RAM, a 160 GB hard drive, and the same monitor I suggested for the Mac Mini -- that'll be only $900. If you own a business, it's a pretty easy choice. But let's say the extra cost of buying a Mac doesn't bother you -- your employees really want Macs and have convinced you to buy them. By the way, I certainly hope you haven't bought into the argument "graphics are better on the Mac." Yeah, in 1992. Go to a bookstore and grab a book on using Photoshop; you'll see that the Mac and Windows versions are identical. In fact, Photoshop isn't yet optimized to take advantage of the Mac's Intel processors. Oh, and the whole "no viruses on the Mac" business? Besides the fact that it's no longer true, you can get this neat stuff called anti- virus software. Still, say you decide to buy Macs for your business. Your employees will boot to Windows only to run the applications they absolutely have to, but they'll "live" in OS X most of the time. That'll be fun. Boot Camp doesn't allow quick switching between OS X and Windows. You have to reboot: "John, can you get me that info from the accounting system?" "Sure, but hang on a few minutes while I reboot into Windows." (The folks at Parallels.com, however, released "virtualization software" that they say allows OS X to run any operating system, including Windows, within OS X -- no rebooting required. So that's a step above Boot Camp right off, even if it costs $50.) Further, your IT department now has to support two operating systems, which -- given that the majority of IT pros aren't Mac people -- means hiring or training. But let's say you're blessed with a staff that already knows both. You're still faced with two OSs, two sets of problems, and double the headache. Oh, joy. (Mac fans: You may now commence writing me to scream, "Double the headache??? More like 1.00001 times!!! Macs don't cause headaches!!!") Why bother? So if Boot Camp isn't going to convince legions of Windows users to join the Cult of Mac, what's the point? After all, Steve Jobs (praise be unto him) wouldn't introduce a product without a plan. Well, it's a great tool for people who want to stick with the Mac for whatever reason -- security, hardware or software investment, or simple preference. It will allow those people to access the tremendous amount of software not available for the Mac while still letting them boot into OS X when they wanted to use a Macintosh application -- or simply if they wanted an OS X fix. And businesses who have employees who need (or say they need) Macs might also find Boot Camp useful for the same compatibility reasons. But the notion put forward by some Mac folks -- that Boot Camp will improve the Mac's position in the business and gaming marketplace -- is backward. Instead, it's more likely to convince Mac users to switch to Windows once they've used it long enough to be deprogrammed. And, judging by some of the comments to an Apple message board, they may not have a choice. It seems that installing Boot Camp can kill OS X, thus instantly converting Mac users to Windows. It may not be so bad -- they might even enjoy the convenience of sharing a common platform with the other 97% of the world, brought to them courtesy of Boot Camp. Andrew Kantor is a technology writer, pundit, and know-it-all who covers technology for the Roanoke Times. He's also a former editor for PC Magazine and Internet World. Read more of his work at kantor.com. His column appears Fridays on USATODAY.com. Copyright 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines and stories from USA Today, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Friday 14th April 2006 Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 09:20:17 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] China Reiterates Won't Favor One 3G Standard - USTR http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16968.php China won't favor any third-generation mobile phone standard when it issues 3G licenses, and will let telecommunications operators choose which standard to use, according to a statement on the U.S. Trade Representative Web site. ... Telefonica Loses Swiss 3G License http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16969.php Spanish incumbent operator Telefonica has lost its Swiss UMTS license, because it never used it, nor has it invested in the infrastructure that was part of the agreement, the Swiss communications commission said Thursday. ... Ukraine's regulator may issue 2nd 3G mobile license by year-end http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16970.php Ukraine's National Commission for Communications Regulation (NKRS) plans to issue a second license for third generation (3G) mobile services by the end of this year, NKRS' press office said, citing the commission's Chairman Oleg Gaiduk. ... [[ Financial ]] Sistema chief: Won't team up with foreigners for int'l mobile mkts http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16972.php Major Russian holding AFK Sistema plans to expand into foreign mobile communications outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) without foreign partners, Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Sistema's chairman and major shareholder, told reporters Thursd... Nortel opens second Caribbean office http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16975.php Canadian telecoms equipment supplier Nortel Networks has opened its second office in the Caribbean, in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Nortel said in a statement. ... [[ Handsets ]] Wireless Trade Show Pushes All-In-One Nature Of Handsets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16966.php According to Len Lauer, chief operating officer of Sprint Nextel, there are only three forgotten things consumers will return home for: a cellphone, a wallet or purse, and keys. ... [[ Legal ]] Supreme court: C&W financials are public documents http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16973.php A team of two lawyers has filed a suit to obtain Caribbean telco Cable & Wireless' (C&W) financial statements, local daily La Prensa reported. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] Helio Strikes Deal To Offer Yahoo Services On A Phone http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16967.php Helio LLC is expected to announce Thursday an agreement with Yahoo to offer Yahoo's search, email, Messenger, news and sports services on Helio mobile phones. ... [[ Network Contracts ]] Huawei expects local 2006 sales to double http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16974.php Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei expects its Colombian revenues to double in 2006 to US$120mn, local daily Portafolio reported. ... [[ Personnel ]] RadioShack Chairman Roberts To Resign http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16965.php DALLAS (AP)--Leonard Roberts said Wednesday he is resigning as executive chairman at RadioShack, which still hasn't replaced the chief executive who left two months ago because of questions about claims on his resume. ... MTS board appoints Melamed acting president http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16971.php The board of directors of Russia's largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has appointed Leonid Melamed acting president starting Friday, the company said in a statement Thursday. ... ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 12:27:33 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Friday, April 14, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 14, 2006 ******************************** AT&T, Group Challenge U.S. Spy Program http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/17522?11228 SAN FRANCISCO -- AT&T Inc. and an Internet advocacy group are waging in federal court a privacy battle that could expose the reach of the Bush administration's secretive domestic wiretapping program. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it obtained documents from a former AT&T technician showing that the National Security... CRTC Tunes Out Mobile TV http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17513?11228 Canadian regulators yesterday proposed exempting from regulation the emerging business phenomenon that converges wireless communications with television broadcast entertainment services, generally known as mobile TV. In a public notice, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruled that TV programming... Amp'd Attracts More Financing http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17509?11228 Youth-oriented MVNO Amp'd Mobile has landed $150 million in new financing, attracting a host of new investors, including Intel Capital and Qualcomm. The company believes the infusion of new funds will enable it to ramp up quickly and meet its goal of delivering, what it deems a unique wireless broadband experience. In addition to... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 16:27:11 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab In article , John C. Fowler wrote: > What I'd like to see is an option like, if you pay an extra $5, we'll > handle your support calls onshore. There are companies that do that, only it's usually called "premium support" and usually costs a lot more than $5. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 17:36:14 UTC Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA John C. Fowler wrote: > The broader topic of organizations moving customer service offshore is ... > works out OK. For more complicated dealings, like telling a company > why their product isn't working, I'm finding (in my experience) that > it now requires more effort than it used to. This is all still > experimental for a lot of companies. I've had mixed results with presumably offshore tech support. I say, "presumably" because it's hard to know if the Indian accent I'm hearing is coming from Bangalor, India or Boulder, Colorado. In any case I have had the tech support for a wireless router I was trying to set up not only know what Linux was, but actually have helpful advice. In another case, with Veritas software (now part of Symantec), they have some sort of "rolling tech support" such that you get a technical person in one of several call centers around the world depending on time of day. It was only when I got the Indian support center that the problem got solved quickly and easily. On the other hand, I have placed tech support calls and gotten someone I could barely understand, and with clearly limited knowledge of the product. It seems that if you pay the offshore folks a little more you can get better results. At least, I am guessing that the good results I have had were due to companies not going *too* cheap. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Re: Sprint's New Mobile Child Locator Service Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 07:04:43 -0400 Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but most school systems don't allow children to have cell phones in school. I know this was true in Maryland. In fact, I heard a story from a young man who got suspended from school for three days because he brought his two meter amateur radio set to school for a show and tell project. Someone care to expand on this? Fred ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 13:37:23 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Iceland Passes South Korea For Top Broadband Spot USTelecom dailyLead April 14, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dsxcfDtutcpQqRqPnD TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Iceland passes South Korea for top broadband spot BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * JDSU acquires Test-Um * BellSouth, Weather Channel team to "Notify" subscribers * Amp'd adds $150M to coffers * Research: Metro Ethernet equipment spending nearly doubles USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Order Today! Newton's Telecom Dictionary -- 21st Edition TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Study: Hispanics closing gap on digital divide * Report: Consumers not willing to pay for public Wi-Fi yet * Online video growth not expected to fuel PC sales VOIP DOWNLOAD * Survey: VoIP awareness increases in U.S., U.K. * Skype launches software for Apple users REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Report: Government may end excise tax on phone services * Qualcomm to settle antitrust charges with $1.8M fine Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dsxcfDtutcpQqRqPnD ------------------------------ From: Danielle Subject: Re: Attention: Pat, Not List. Some Memorable Property Date: 14 Apr 2006 10:13:21 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com TELECOM Digest Editor Noted in response to Regular Reader: > ...Consider 1924, and the two University of Chicago students, Nathan > Leopold and his partner Mr. Loeb. Both brilliant geniuses -- quite > literally -- they molested and murdered fourteen year old Bobbie > Franks, and stuffed the boy's nude body in a storm sewer in the far > south side Hegewisch neighborhood, then had the audacity to demand a > million dollar ransom from the boy's grandfather, who was the Vice > President of Sears, Roebuck at the time. They were caught when Mr. > Leopold accidentally left behind a pair of eye-glasses at the crime > scene. Richard Loeb died in Joliet Penitentiary in 1935 as the result > of a homosexual affair with another prisoner in the hoosegow. The > Chicago Daily News (a long, out of business newspaper) reported it the > next day by noting that 'brilliant linquist, honors student at > University of Chicago yesterday made one fatal mistake: he ended his > sentence with a proposition'. Just for the sake of accuracy: Nineteen year old Leopold and eighteen year old Loeb did not molest Robert Franks. Franks was killed almost immediately when he got in the car. This myth about molestation came about because the killers tried to disguise the body by pouring acid on the face and genitals (Franks, like his killers, was Jewish). The Sears-Roebuck connection is with Richard Loeb; his father was a Vice-President of that company. There was no million dollar ransom. A million dollars was the reported fee Clarence Darrow asked for to defend them in court. Leopold and Loeb's ransom note, to Robert's father Jacob Franks, demanded $50,000. Richard Loeb was killed in January 1936, slashed 58 times by an ex-cellmate who claimed he was defending himself against Loeb's advances. Not bloody likely. Loeb's throat was cut ear to ear and his hands and arms were slashed to ribbons in an effort to defend himself. The cellmate didn't have even a scratch on him. The "homosexual advances" story was considered ridiculous by everyone who had any knowledge of the two men, including the warden (who was not allowed to testify); a homophobic jury nonetheless acquitted Loeb's killer. James Day killed Loeb because Day was convinced Loeb had access to unlimited money from his family and he demanded that Loeb support him. The two had been arguing for weeks over Day's demands for money. James Day was a known predator. He was later caught sodomizing another prisoner and was punished for it. That's part of the record, too. Anyone interested in the case should read the Hal Higdon book. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Another book of interest on this case was written about 1956 called 'Compulsion' if you recall it. I think what you refer to as the 'myth about the molestation' came about because the men chose to strip the boy's body naked and attempt to deface the boy's genitals; this is not a 'normal act' in a 'heterosexual murder' at least. Bobbie Franks knew the killers quite well; he went with them willingly when they offered him a ride home from Chicago Normal School, where he was a teenage student. He had known them for years. They had worked up quite an elaborate scheme regards the ransom money, including a telephone call to the Walgreen's Drug Store pay phone on 63rd Street and Drexel where Mr. Franks had been told to wait for their call; the call was timed in such a way that Mr. Franks would have only a few minutes to take the sack of money and race to the Illinois Central station at 63rd Street and board the South Shore train to Michigan City which was due to come through five or ten minutes after the phone call was received. On boarding the South Shore train he was to look for a note hidden in the box of (blank) telegraph forms for a note which instructed him to toss the bag of money off the train into a wooded area near the Champion Tire Company from where the guys would retreive it a few minutes later. The whole scheme fell apart when Nathan Leopold lost his eye-glasses at the scene of the crime; the body was found in the sewer by workmen trying to otherwise repair it. The eye-glasses were traced back to him by the optician who had originally built them for him. Clarence Darrow based his appeal for their lives partly on his claim that both guys were insane. Apparently after killing the boy, they left his body in the back seat of their 'Model T' automobile and drove around looking for a place to eat lunch; they finally agreed on some restaurant on Indianapolis Boulevard in Whiting; stopped, got out to get food then got back in and argued about where they should dump the body. Darrow noted that "at that time of day, the evening rush hour, hundreds of machines on the roadway at the same time; accidents are very common; had there been an accident with their machine the police would have been involved, it would have all been over for them; yet they wanted to stop right there and eat their meal before they took the body on for disposal. I defy you to tell me they are not insane for acting like that." PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #141 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Apr 15 17:56:08 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 024EA14FD7; Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:56:06 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #142 Message-Id: <20060415215606.024EA14FD7@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 17:56:06 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.4 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, HOT_NASTY,NUMERIC_HTTP_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 15 Apr 2006 18:00:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 142 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson TV Networks, Stations Challenge FCC Ruling (Monty Solomon) Jury Verdict Is More Good News for TiVo (Monty Solomon) Read It? Watched It? Swap It (Monty Solomon) Two Challengers Enter Smartphone Wars (Monty Solomon) The Proposed .tel Domain From ICANN (Anick Jesdanun) Calif. Court Rules Against AT&T (Neal McLain) VoIP via Verizon Down 780k/s up 135k/s DSL Line? (wenmang@yahoo.com) Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (John McHarry) Re: Amber Alerts (John McHarry) Last Laugh! You Have Been Infested With a Birus (Adam Townson) 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: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 01:51:05 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TV Networks, Stations Challenge FCC Ruling By GARY GENTILE AP Business Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Four TV broadcast networks and their affiliates have filed court challenges to a March 15 Federal Communications Commission ruling that found several programs "indecent" because of language. ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox, along with their network affiliate associations and the Hearst-Argyle Television group of stations, filed notices of appeal in various federal courts, including in Washington, D.C., and New York. Some were filed late Thursday and the rest Friday morning. The move represents a protest against the aggressive enforcement of federal indecency rules that broadcasters have complained are vague and inconsistently applied. Millions of dollars in fines have been levied based on those rules. The appeals challenge the FCC's finding that profane language was used on the CBS program "The Early Show" in 2004, incidents involving Cher and Nicole Richie on the "Billboard Music Awards" shows broadcast by Fox in 2002 and 2003 and various episodes of the ABC show "NYPD Blue" that aired in 2003. The FCC did not issue fines in those cases because the incidents occurred before a 2004 ruling that virtually any use of certain expletives would be considered profane and indecent. While none of the cases involved NBC, the network filed a petition to intervene on behalf of the other networks and stations. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57642579 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 01:58:40 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Jury Verdict Is More Good News for TiVo By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer MARSHALL, Texas (AP) -- In a case cast as crucial to TiVo's survival, a federal jury decided that EchoStar Communication Corp. copied key technologies from the digital video recording pioneer and awarded nearly $74 million. The 10-member jury spent just about two hours, including a cigarette break, to decide that the parent of the Dish satellite network had infringed nine sections of TiVo's patent on technology for digital video recorders that let viewers pause, rewind and fast-forward live TV shows. "There was no one thing," said jury forewoman Cathy Lindsey, a school secretary. "We just felt like there was infringement on all the charges. It wasn't unanimous to start with, but we were close." TiVo won most of the $87 million in damages it sought. The case in federal district court was closely watched on Wall Street, with some analysts even dropping in during the two-week trial. They said a victory would help TiVo win other royalty deals involving digital video recorders, or DVRs. News of the verdict sent TiVo shares soaring 21.7 percent, or $1.75, to $9.80 in after-hours electronic trading Thursday night. If that price holds in regular trading when the Nasdaq Stock Market reopens on Monday, it would mark a 52-week high for the stock. EchoStar shares dropped 22 cents to $29.75 in after-hours trading. The judge could triple the $73.9 million award _ which is subject to appeal _ since the jury found that EchoStar had willfully infringed TiVo's patent. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57624206 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 02:12:42 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Read It? Watched It? Swap It By MICHEL MARRIOTT The New York Times April 13, 2006 For Heather Perlmutter, a 41-year-old investment portfolio manager in Manhattan, the Web site with the whimsical name made perfect sense. Like many Americans, she found herself awash in CD's, DVD's and VHS tapes that were seldom if ever played anymore. They just took up valuable space in the Upper West Side apartment where she lives with her husband and two young children. Then a friend of a friend told her about Zunafish (www.zunafish.com), a new Web site that matches people with discs and tapes to trade - and video games and paperback books, too. To the delight of her 7-year-old son, Ms. Perlmutter recently used the site to barter her tape of "Fried Green Tomatoes," the 1991 Kathy Bates drama in which an unhappy housewife befriends an elderly woman in a nursing home, for a tape of Steven Spielberg's digital dinosaur blockbuster, "Jurassic Park." "You feel like you're getting something special, that you're getting the better part of the deal," Ms. Perlmutter said. "Wow, somebody wants your stuff. I guess it's one man's trash is another man's treasure." That was certainly the thinking of Dan Elias and Billy Bloom, the unlikely founders of Zunafish. In a highly competitive era, independent tinkerers who are convinced they have a big idea can face big problems getting the idea to market. Even video games, once famous for whisking their creators from makeshift workshops to fast fortunes and expensive cars, are mostly made today by corporate teams of designers and programmers in sprawling office parks. But Mr. Elias, a television news anchor in western Massachusetts, and Mr. Bloom, the owner of a volleyball league in New York City, both self-described amateurs at creating a digital service and company, spawned Zunafish, a singularly simple-to-use media trading site. ... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/technology/13zuna.html?ex=1302580800&en=08d4f8ea076f6d12&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 12:14:01 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Two Challengers Enter Smartphone Wars April 12, 2006 Two Challengers Enter Smartphone Wars By WALTER S. MOSSBERG and KATHERINE BOEHRET When it comes to smartphones that have a full keyboard and good email capability, Palm's fast-selling Treo is the best. New devices are constantly being announced in hopes of becoming the "Treo killer." Most of these challengers use Microsoft's Windows Mobile software, formerly called Pocket PC, which was designed to evoke the Windows computer experience on a hand-held device. None of these Microsoft-based devices has gained much traction, however. The most notable entry so far has been a hybrid gadget -- a Treo that uses the Windows Mobile software, the 700w. But this model is mostly aimed at the computing staffs of big companies, who rigidly favor Microsoft products. For individual users, Palm still offers the Treo 650, which uses the Palm operating system and will soon be replaced by a newer Palm-based model capable of running on faster networks. This week, we tested two of the latest Microsoft-based, would-be Treo killers: T-Mobile USA's $400 MDA and Sprint Nextel Corp.'s $600 PPC-6700. (Both cost less when purchased with service plans.) These new email phones have some very nice hardware features. But they suffer when compared with the Treo because of their Windows Mobile software, which often requires more clicks and greater menu navigation to get simple things done than the Palm-based Treo does. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20060412.html ------------------------------ From: Anick Jesdanun Subject: The Proposed new '.tel' Domain From ICANN Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 18:20:21 -0500 Internet agency weighs '.tel' domain name 4/14/2006, 7:07 p.m. ET By ANICK JESDANUN The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - Reaching out and touching someone used to be as simple as dialing a string of numbers. But now there are home, cell and work phone numbers from which to choose, and sometimes work extensions to remember. There are also e-mail addresses -- at home and at work -- and instant messaging handles, perhaps separate ones for the various services, some of which now do voice and video besides text. Some people even have Web pages -- through their employer or Internet service provider, or perhaps a profile or two on MySpace. To help people manage all their contact information online, the Internet's key oversight agency is considering a ".tel" domain name. If approved, the domain could be available this year. As proposed, individuals could use a ".tel" Web site to provide the latest contact information and perhaps even let friends initiate a call or send a text message directly from the site. Businesses could use a ".tel" site to determine customers' locations and route them automatically to the correct call center. Its proponents also envision ".tel" as a place from which the various people-finding services on the Internet could pull the latest contact information as individuals move about. Now, data typically come from third-party sources like phone listings, which may be old or incomplete, particularly if an entire household is listed under one name. And telephony applications and devices yet to be built could one day make use of such data, especially as wireless and wireline networks converge, according to London-based Telnic Ltd., which proposed and would run the domain if it is approved. There's nothing inherent in ".tel" that would enable these features; rather, its aim is to create a place to which people would know to go to find contact information. Todd Masonis, a co-founder of contact management service Plaxo Inc., is familiar with the hassles of keeping track of everyone. His parents have had the same house and phone number for some 30 years, and "for a long time that was how they are identified," Masonis said. "But in the last two years, even they have had a couple of cell phones, a couple of e-mail addresses and Web pages and instant message IDs." Still, he questions the need for ".tel" when companies like his already use ".com" to host services that help manage contacts. He worries that a ".tel" name would create yet another identifier for people to remember, without doing away with the others. The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) plans to review the proposal Tuesday, although it may wait until next month or later to decide. Telnic officials likened ".tel" to the creation of domain names decades ago as an easier-to-remember alternative to the series of numbers behind every Internet-connected computer. Instead of memorizing a friend's phone numbers, they say, just remember the ".tel" address. But Telnic was vague on how all this would work, saying it is merely enabling developers to come up with innovative ways to use ".tel." Nor did the company say in its application how much a ".tel" name would cost. A spokesman said Friday that officials were unavail- able because of the Easter holiday. Telnic was one of two applicants for ".tel" when ICANN sought bids in 2004 for new domain names. John Jeffrey, ICANN's general counsel, said the other ".tel" applicant had failed to correct deficiencies identiified by ICANN. But that applicant, Internet telephony pioneer Jeff Pulver, blamed politics for the rejection. Some other 'outsiders' to the ICANN process tended to agree, saying "if ICANN does not want it, then it is not going to happen, no matter how good or beneficial to the net it may be otherwise. If ICANN does want it, then it _will_ happen, regardless. Consider the several requests from the internet community regards '.sex' and/or '.xxx'. ICANN did not want it, so that was it. Consider two other domain names, '.spam' and '.scam' which would have more realisiticaly shown where things are at on the net. ICANN did not want them, so that was it, although with 80-85 percent of all email in the above categories, it really should be a 'no-brainer'." "But they have taken a liking in recent years to others, and ICANN has approved '.eu' for the European Union, '.jobs' for human-resources sites, '.travel' for the travel industry, '.mobi' targeting mobile services and '.cat' for the Catalan language, bringing the number of domains to 264." The organization finally agreed to go into negotiations to create ".xxx" for porn sites, ".asia" for the Asia-Pacific community and ".post" for postal services. The few who submitted comments to ICANN on ".tel" were skeptical. Francisco Cabanas, owner of Canadian domain registration company FineE.com, said an organization like The Associated Press could simply create an address at "tel.ap.org," rather than require an "ap.tel." Otherwise, who would get the ".tel" name? The AP? Internet service provider AccessPort, which uses "ap.net"? Or Audio Precision Inc., at "ap.com"? "It kind of magnifies the problem," Cabanas said. "If I'm looking for a phone number or an e-mail address or whatever and I'm getting a totally different (company), it defeats the purpose." Also unclear is what the demand would be like, giving the popularity of ".com." The seven domains approved in 2000 -- including ".aero," ".museum," and ".info" -- "just never have caught on," said Dan Tobias, a Boca Raton, Fla., computer programmer who runs a site on domain names. "Nobody's figured out how to educate the public enough to seek out a different ... domain." Copyright 2006 Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I would suggest the new owner of a '.tel' domain should be whomever applied for it first, just as is done now with .com and .org and other addresses. To protect myself from rip offs of my name here, both http://telecom-digest.com and http://telecom-digest.net bring you to this same place, the same as (my preference), http://telecom-digest.org unless, of course, ICANN decided to use it for a strictly numerical format, such as http://3105551212.tel in which case the owner of the number would be entitled to use it. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Calif. Court Rules Against AT&T Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 09:06:04 -0400 By Linda Haugsted 4/14/2006 12:14:00 PM Multichannel News Cities are within their rights to demand a franchise of AT&T Inc. for its video service, according to a ruling from a judge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The judge, however, did not rule specifically on whether Internet- protocol-delivered video is a cable service. But cities can pursue franchises because the action is not specifically precluded in the federal Cable Act, Judge Maxine Chesney wrote in a decision issued Friday. The ruling is a blow to AT&T, which argued that its service -- which will deliver programming in data packets at the demand of consumers -- does not meet the definition of a cable service. The company has challenged any attempts at franchising, filing this suit against Walnut Creek in California, as well as another city there, to go along with three suits in Illinois. AT&T argued that it has a right to deliver video under the authority given to it as a local-exchange carrier. The dispute in this case arose when AT&T sought permits to place hardware in city-controlled rights of way. Walnut Creek issued the permits, but with the caveat that by accepting them, AT&T would be agreeing to enter later into a franchise agreement in advance of delivering video. AT&T's suit alleged pre-emption of the city action by federal law, violations of the First Amendment and contracts policy, as well as state law violations. Chesney deferred the state arguments to state court. She dismissed the federal counts, but AT&T has 20 days to refile on those counts. http://www.cabletv.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=3&d=1145034866 http://www.cabletv.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5&d=1145035946 Posted by Neal McLain with thanks to Jonathan Kramer of KramerFirm.com. ------------------------------ From: wenmang@yahoo.com Subject: VoIP via Verizon Down 780k/s up 135k/s DSL Line? Date: 15 Apr 2006 07:08:15 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, Does anybody use Verizon DSL($15/month with down 780k/s up 125k/s) for VoIP? I am thinking of using this type of service, but not sure whether the DSL is fast enough for VoIP. I have checked my DSL speed through Vonage website, the speed is around 90% rating with 700K/s(down) and 130K/s(up). Thanks. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:44:58 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Mon, 10 Apr 2006 06:10:25 -0700, Dailhart wrote: > I routinely dial a toll free 866 number from my cell phone to retrieve > e-voice calls. They do not have a regular local number for this > purpose. > It costs me .35/min from my cell phone (no long distance plan). It > could cost me .03/min if I could use my calling card. The calling card > does not allow toll free calls. > Are there any calling cards, methods or services that would solve this > problem? I think you have a legitimate complaint against your cell phone provider. 8xx numbers are really automated collect calls. You should be charged only for air time. If they don't see it that way, tell them you are going to write to the FCC and ask their opinion. Some time ago I worked on calling cards. Generally they blocked 8xx calls because it was felt people would feel cheated if we charged for them, and there was no point in doing it for free using a premium service when they could make the free call from the phone they were using to call us. There was also the issue that certain 8xx numbers were only supposed to work in certain areas. Now long distance is so cheap they are probably all national, but back then, a calling card call appeared to originate from where the card processing equipment was located, so the areas would be all messed up. That issue also made me wonder about the legality of something British Telecom implemented, which allowed UK users to dial a US 8xx number. It warned them they would be charged for a call to the US, then put it through. I happened to be in London at the time and working for a non BT US carrier, so I called one of our 800 numbers and had the call traced. They were making it appear to originate in Phoenix, or somewhere in the SW. It got me to wondering whether an 8xx subscriber unable to do overseas business might claim wire fraud for being delivered collect calls he would never agree to accept. I never heard of that issue arising, so I guess anyone in such a situation who got enough of those calls to notice probably considered it cheap market research towards a future expansion. ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Amber Alerts Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2006 23:59:15 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net On Tue, 11 Apr 2006 20:54:52 -0400, Wesrock wrote: > I do not have any information on the subject, but I wonder in what way > Amber Alerts are disseminated so quickly. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: >> The AMBER Alert Plan, named for 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, is a >> voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, >> and transportation agencies to activate an urgent bulletin in the most >> serious child-abduction cases. In NC, at least, it isn't voluntary. Most EAS messages get printed out and can be delayed, read by local staff, or ignored. Amber Alerts, like national alerts (full scale nuclear war), cut through immediately. >> Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to air a >> description of the abducted child and suspected abductor. This is >> the same concept used during severe weather emergencies. The goal >> of an AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to >> assist in the search for and safe recovery of the child. > The FAQ from the same fact sheet says: >> How do AMBER Alerts work? >> The information is then faxed to radio stations designated as >> primary stations under the EAS. The primary stations send the same >> information to area radio and television stations and cable systems >> via the EAS, and participating stations immediately broadcast the >> information to millions of listeners. Radio stations interrupt >> programming to announce the Alert, and television stations and cable >> systems run a "crawl" on the screen along with a picture of the >> child. At least for radio stations, there is a chain. Secondary stations, and so on, have monitor receivers which trigger special EAS decoders to receive and print out the data, as well as record or immediately play the audio. I think lower tier stations monitor at least two stations above them, and the EAS equipment is hooked into the audio chain where it can over ride everything else. ------------------------------ From: Adam Townson Subject: Last Laugh! You Have Been Infested With a Birus Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 13:50:49 -0500 ----- Original Message ----- From: Adam Townson Sent: Friday, April 14, 2006 11:26 AM Subject: You Have Been Infested With a Birus BUENOS DIAS!! JOU HAVE YUST RECEIVED A MEHICAN BIRUS!!!!! SINCE WE NOT SO TECHNOLOGICALLY ADBANCED IN MEHICO, DIS IS A MANUAL BIRUS. PLEASE DELETE ALL THE FILES ON JOUR HARD DRIVE JOURSELF AND SEND THIS E-MAIL TO EBERYONE JOU KNOW. TAN JOU POR YELPING ME. JULIO MANUEL JOSE RODIRGUEZ GARCIA MEHICAN HACKER ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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 V25 #142 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Apr 16 01:07:57 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 38E6314F8B; Sun, 16 Apr 2006 01:07:57 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #143 Message-Id: <20060416050757.38E6314F8B@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 01:07:57 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.4 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, DRUGS_ERECTILE,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Apr 2006 01:10:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 143 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers (ndmclain@aol.com) Getting Run-Around on Porting Number From AT&T to Vonage (curious_br) Video of my "Internet and Empires" Talk at Google (Lauren Weinstein) In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent (John Markoff) Reprint of Volume 2 Issue 33 of Digest - Goodfellow (TELECOM Digest Editor) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:01:42 -0400 From: ndmclain@aol.com Subject: Re: Cable TV Races to Keep Up With Consumers Clark W. Griswold, Jr. wrote: > The Telcos saw TV over IP as their way of competing with cable > companies, *as long as the cable model worked.* That model has the > cable companies charging the consumer, plus collecting ad revenue > and "slotting fees" from the channels. > Producers selling programs direct to the consumer take all that > revenue away from the phone/cable companies, and they don't like > being just a pipeline supplier. Whereupon I wrote: > Slotting fees? That's news to me. Can you provide some more > information, or perhaps cite a source to back up that statement? Griswold responded: > "Slotting Fees" is a term from the grocery industry, where > manufacturers or distributors pay the grocery store to put their > product on the aisle endcap. Those fees can take the form of cash, > extra product to sell at a future date, advertising support, etc., > but the most common is a cold hard cash payment to the store or > chain, based on the number of days the product is displayed on the > end cap. Ok. > In the case of cable or satellite TV (known as a MSO), the most > common example of this are the so called shopping channels. While I > can't provide any direct links at the moment, its been widely > reported that those channels pay a fee/percentage of the channel's > gross sales to the cable company. How they handle a situation where > both cable and satellite carry the same channel in the same zip > code, I don't know. Maybe they ask the buyer what channel number > they are watching. Ok, I agree: shopping channels are license-fee-free to cable/satellite operators, and they do indeed pay commissions. I'm not convinced that a sales commission is the same thing as a "slotting fee," but I agree that it produces the same result: it's an incentive for the cable/sat company to carry the channel on the basic tier. As to how shopping channel operators allocate the commission to the right company, that's a monumental hassle fraught with errors. Not only do they have to distinguish between cable and sat; they also have to determine which cable franchise within a given zip code the caller is calling from. In the real world, the biggest cable company in the zip code often gets the commission no matter where the caller actually calls from. BTW, "MSO" stands for Multi-System Operator. I don't think satellite companies would appreciate being referred to as MSOs. > In addition to that, its not unusual for a new channel to offer cash > to an MSO in order to get picked up and distributed. These payments > can go on for years until the channel either gets a large enough > audience to exist on ad revenue and popular enough to extract a per > subscriber fee from the MSO, or the channel gets dropped. I'm afraid you've got it backwards: in most cases, cable TV and satellite companies pay the programmers for the right to carry the programming. Here are the typical situations: NON-BROADCAST COMMERCIAL: Non-broadcast adwvertising-supported channels carried on basic or extended-basic tiers are subject to monthly license fees. This fee varies from a few cents per subscriber per month all the way up almost $3.00 per sub per month for ESPN. Under most licensing contracts for ad-supported non-broadcast programming, channels carried on the basic tier usually incur lower license fees than channels carried on upper tiers. So I suppose you could argue that this fee differential constitutes a "slotting fee" for carriage on basic. NON-BROADCAST PREMIUM: Non-broadcast advertising-free premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.) are subject to an even larger license fee, typically 40% to 60% of the retail price. C-SPAN: The three C-SPANs, though non-commercial, are largely funded by license fees. However, C-SPAN also receives some foundation support. NON-BROADCAST FREE: There are several non-commercial services that are free of any fees (no cash changes hands in either direction): religious channels (funded by viewer contributions); NASA-TV (funded by taxpayers); Classic Arts Showcase (funded by The Rigler/Deutsch Foundation). COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATIONS: Commercial broadcast station licensees have been trying for years to extract concessions from cable/sat companies in exchange for giving them "retransmission consent" to carry their broadcast signals. http://www.fcc.gov/mb/facts/cblbdcst.html Until recently, they haven't been particularly successful in extracting cash payments, but they've had better success in bundling retransmission consent with carriage of co-owned non-broadcast programming. As a condition for carrying an owned-and-operated broadcast station, cable/sat companies also must agree to carry (and pay for) non-broadcast advertising-supported programming offered by the station's owner. The number of possible tie-ins this situation creates is absolutely astounding: Disney (ABC), General Electric (NBC, Paxson, Telemundo), and News Corporation (FOX) all own non-broadcast program services. http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/ As it happens, CBS recently succeeded in imposing license fees (cash payments) for its O&O stations, and it expects to extend the practice to its non-owned affiliates. Now that CBS has cracked the nut, we can expect other station owners to follow suit. http://tinyurl.com/m2fky NON-COMMERCIAL BROADCAST STATIONS: Non-commercial educational (NCE) broadcast stations (typically, but not necessarily, PBS affiliates) are free of license fees (no cash changes hands in either direction). However, NCE stations have mandatory carriage ("must-carry") rights on all cable systems within their Grade B contours or within 50 miles. LAUNCH ASSISTANCE: In this one isolated case, programmers sometimes make payments to cable TV companies. In this situation, a programmer may agree to underwrite the capital cost of the equipment needed to add its channel (receiver, descrambler, modulator). If the programming is on an oddball satellite, the programmer may even pick up the cost of the antenna. This payment may be in the form of a check, or it may be a credit against future license fees. One of the biggest launch-assistance deals occurred when HBO began scrambling its signal. HBO itself purchased the descramblers directly from the manufacturer (Jerrold) and had them drop-shipped to affiliates. As part of the deal, HBO had Jerrold program each descrambler for the specific headend where it was to be used, so it was ready to go out-of-the-box. After HBO started scrambling, most other programmers followed suit, all using the same Jerrold Videocipher II descrambler. Some (but certainly no all) programmers picked put the cost of the descramblers. Scrambling caused many cable systems to face an even bigger expense: rack space. Those old VCII descramblers were monsters: each took up four rack units (7 inches). Adding a blank RU for cooling resulted in a total of 8.75 inches of new rack space for each scrambled channel. A headend that once fit nicely in two racks suddenly filled four or five racks. Some cable systems had to build additions to their headend buildings just to accommodate scrambling. I can assure you that no programmer ever picked up that cost! > This by the way, is a major reason why it is so hard for a new > channel to launch in today's bundled environment and why the theory > that niche channels will disppear if ala carte were implemented is > specious. The vast majority of cable systems are channel bound, and will remain so until the conversion to digital is complete. Adding new bandwidth to carry new channels right now is all but economically impossible for most cable systems. I monitor SCTE list, where there are countless posts from cable techs trying to squeeze more capacity out of existing bandwidth. Most of this discussion centers on adding HDTV broadcast signals; the only new analog channel I've heard anything about lately is RFD-TV. After DirecTV and Dish added it, many rural cable systems found that they had to add it in order to stay competitive with satellite. > Finally, most ad-supported channels provide what are called local > insert ad slots. These are preemptable ads that the MSO can replace > with their own ads. Think "Boflex", "Pseudo Viagra" and all those > goofy "Fat Burner" ads, with the MSO keeping all the advertising > revenue. They're called "avails." Not all cable systems use them. Large cable systems (>~2000 subs per headend) typically use them to partially offset the license fee. But the cash flow derived from running (or contracting with) an ad sales/ad insertion business rarely comes close to offsetting the entire fee. Most smaller cable systems don't even do ad insertion (except maybe on The Weather Channel crawl) because the cost of doing it exceeds the potential revenue. The Boflex/ED/Fat Burner ads usually come from the network rather than the local cable system. If a cable system doesn't sell an avail, the network ad passes through by default. > All of these revenue sources for the MSO disappear when the business > model for programs is direct sale from the producer or content > owner. So do the license fees. So does the cost of an ad insertion business. So do many the costs of running customer service. It's certainly true that cable and satellite companies generate revenue from the markup between the license fee for a given channel (wholesale price) and the incremental revenue derived from carrying that channel (retail price). Losing that programming revenue (net of the cost of license fees, ad insertion, and customer service) will indeed be a net loss of revenue. But it's a relatively small percentage of the company's total revenue. A much bigger chunk of the revenue goes to offsetting the cost of building, owning, managing, operating, maintaining, and amortizing the infrastructure: - For satellite companies: signal reception, signal processing, uplink facilities, satellites, TTC (telemetry, tracking and command). - For cable companies: signal reception, signal processing, headend, distribution network, customer drops. Under the current business model, this revenue is buried in the price of the basic tier of programming. If direct-sale-from-programmer-to- consumer were to become a normal business model, then cable and sat companies would have to impose a separate network access charge. Just like ISPs charge for internet access right now. Parenthetically, all this raises a fascinating question. Now that CBS has succeeded in imposing license fees for its O&O stations, what would happen if direct-sale-from-programmer-to-consumer actually became a normal business model? How much will consumers be willing to pay for CBS? Probable answer: the "network access fee" would include all local broadcast stations whether consumers want them or not. Congress is not about to pick a fight with the NAB. For that matter, the fee would probably include PEG access channels as well. I doubt that Congress is interested in picking a fight with NATOA and its hundreds of member LFAs. > The problem is obvious, when you have a system where the pipe is > controlled by someone who has a financial interest in providing > content over that pipe, what happens? We learned this lesson when > oil companies owned pipelines and most retail stations and movie > studios owned the theaters. Guess what will happen this time around? Gasoline and oil are not advertising media; the revenue received by the producers comes exclusively from the sale of the product. Motion pictures are not, at least in theory, advertising media; the revenue received by the producers comes exclusively from the sale of the product (theatrical-release license fees, DVD rentals, DVD sales, syndication sales etc.). Of course, the recent rise in product placement provides an additional source of revenue -- and that really is a case of slotting-fee payment! Advertising-supported non-broadcast television channels clearly are advertising media. The producers receive revenue from two sources: sale of the product (license fees from cable and sat companies) and advertising. As such, the producers have a financial interest in making sure that their products are exposed to the largest possible audience. And that's why cable TV and satellite licensing contracts inevitably stipulate that the channel must be carried on the most-widely-distributed tier, typically basic. From the producers' point of view, the beauty of this model isn't just the sum of the two revenue streams; it's the way in which the two revenue streams reinforce each other: - License fee revenue reinforces advertising revenue. There's an old adage in the advertising business that "paid advertising is worth more than free advertising." A consumer who pays for a publication (print or video) is more likely to read/watch it than a non-paying consumer. - Advertising revenue reinforces license fee revenue. Ad revenue enables the producer to provide a better product (print or video), thus enticing consumers to spend more time reading/watching it, and, by extension, enticing more consumers to buy the product. Broadcast stations and networks, on the other hand, rely exclusively on advertising revenue (or at least they did until CBS managed to extract retransmission-consent payments). Consequently, broadcast programming must be designed to attract the widest possible audience. Or, as some folks might say, it has to appeal to the lowest-common-denominator audience. Whether or not advertising-supported non-broadcast programming is "better" or "of higher quality" than broadcast programming is a subject I won't touch. I will conjecture, however, that if non-broadcast programming were so popular with mass audiences that advertising alone could support it, broadcast networks would be carrying it, and advertising *already would be* supporting it. And that brings me back to the issue that started this thread: the practice of broadcast networks offering programming over the internet. Yes, these programs are free, but they include advertising (apparently unavoidable). And, so far at least, the only programming being offered is the same stuff that they carry on their broadcast networks: 100% advertising-supported. Non-broadcast programmers are far less likely to offer their products on an advertising-supported-only basis. Not only do they depend on license fee revenue; they also depend on the exposure they get from being carried on the basic tier. Of course, they could offer their programming for a fee, with or without advertising. But as I've noted before in this space, if every non-broadcast ad-supported channel had to survive on its own as a retail product, its price would rise to retail levels. And if it couldn't survive at that price, it would disappear, notwithstanding your "specious" argument. http://tinyurl.com/76j3l Neal McLain ------------------------------ From: curious_br Subject: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage Date: 15 Apr 2006 07:32:16 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Early in March I signed up with Vonage and asked them the transfer my number from AT&T, my local service provider. I signed a LOA and waited. When nothing had happened after 3 weeks I emailed Vonage. They now tell my that AT&T is apparently trying to resell my number and therefore the transfer is not going through. I called AT&T and was told that AT&T is not reselling my number and that there they can't see a problem with the transfer. I email Vonage with that information and receive an email that now that all the obstacles are removed they will proceed with the transfer request. So I wait again. Finally about 10 days later I email Vonage to ask them what is holding up the transfer. They reply that they are waiting for AT&T to set an FOC date. I turned around and ask AT&T what is holding them up setting the FOC (firm order confirmation) date. So I get the reply today that AT&T does not give an FOC but that "due to systems limitations" Vonage will not be able to port my local service directly from AT&T and that I will need to switch my local service to Verizon and then port to Vonage from that provider. I am exasperated. Is there any truth to this? Why can't AT&T port the number directly to Vonage? and if not, somebody at Vonage should have known about this from the start since I would certainly not be the first person to go through this process. Instead I am now paying for 2 concurrent services (AT&T and Vonage) and have to add on another 3rd service (Verizon) while spending more time waiting for the transfer. Is somebody making money of this? Is it kind of scam? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 16:32:04 PDT From: Lauren Weinstein Subject: Video of my "Internet and Empires" Talk at Google Greetings. In late January, I was invited to Google's Los Angeles (Santa Monica) facilities to give an informal talk (titled "Internet and Empires") on a range of Internet-related topics. Since I touched on a number of familiar issues, I thought that the presentation might be of some interest here. The topics naturally included a number of the controversial issues related to Google, but also more generally privacy, free speech, ISPs, data retention, government and legal issues, censorship, network neutrality, and more. Video and audio-only versions of the approximately one-hour talk are available (in a variety of formats) via: http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000173.html Comments and questions are naturally welcome. Thanks very much. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren@vortex.com or lauren@pfir.org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, IOIC - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com ------------------------------ From: John Markoff Subject: TELECOM Digest V2 #33 Sender: JSOL at USC-ECLB To: TELECOM: ; Reply-To: TELECOM at USC-ECLB TELECOM AM Digest Thursday, 18 Mar 1982 Volume 2 : Issue 33 Today's Topics: Technology For Tomorrow - New Products Available Today "Unbelievable" Answering Machine Feature Try Sending A Telegram These Days Comparison of Long Distance Alternative Services - ITT, MCI, SPRINT ------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: 17 Mar 1982 0025-PST Sender: GEOFF at SRI-CSL Subject: Real World services for the Technological Elite. From: the tty of Geoffrey S. Goodfellow Reply-To: Geoff at SRI-CSL "Go out and see what the real world as to offer." -Gerry Todd, SCTV I did, and here are two spiffy services you can get: 1) Electronic Mail for people on the move . . . For the lucky residents of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Greater Los Angeles area, you can get a device called a MetaGram Receiver (MR-80), which is, for the most part, a `Digital Pager'. An MR-80 (in the process of being trademarked as `THE MESSENGER') allows you to: . Receive & store one or more messages up to a total of 940 characters in length --and selectively read, reread, or delete these messages. . Take your MetaGram receiver anywhere [I have mine clipped onto my belt most of the time] because it is small 6.5" x 1.5" x 2.75", lightweight 10 oz., and battery operated. [operates for 18 hours and then requires 6 hours charge -- unit remains fully operational while its being charged.] . The MetaGram Receiver can alert you by choice of flashing display (great for getting confidential messages passed to you in meetings), beep and/or vibrating action. . You can have messages sent to you at anytime by simply calling (via an 800 IN-WATS #) a dispatcher [for those without a terminal and modem], or by dialing local numbers all over the Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles area and typing in the messages yourself. . You can receive messages in any city in which this service exists. [I receive messages both in LA and SF areas with my unit]. . There is a hardcopy printer option which you can slide your unit into, and get automatic printout when msgs come in. The MR-80 has a 20 char wide LED display which shows msgs line by line. You can freeze a frame in the display [handy for reeling off numbers to the mobile operator when driving and placing a call from your car phone]. The MetaNet system also sends out periodic msgs to all units about every 2 minutes, and if you miss two of these periodic `watchdog' msgs, your unit lets you know you're out of range. An ARPANET to MetaNet Gateway exists (and an improved version is under development), which allows ARPANET users to send msgs to people on the MetaNet without having to run and find a terminal with a modem on it or go thru the human dispatcher. I.e. so you can now do fun things like be driving down the road and have a message appear that says: [YOU HAVE NEW MAIL]. The service itself costs $60/mo, and that includes 4000 characters worth of traffic. Traffic above the 4000 characters is a half-a-cent a character. There currently is no different between self-dispatched msgs and msgs send via the human dispatcher. Further information available from LIGHTNING COMMUNICATIONS, 6173 Purple Sage Court, San Jose, CA 95119 or via the phone: 408/354-1226. 2) Turn any telephone into a complete electronic message service. A service called `VoiceMail' allows you to purchase a VoiceMailbox. A VoiceMailbox differs from the traditional answering machine in that it is two-way (between two VoiceMail subscribers). I can call in (on an IN-WATS 800 #, tollfree Inter or Intra state), and leave a `Voice Message' for you in your VoiceMailbox. Later, when you call in, you `play' my message, and can then hit REPLY (a single key touch tone operation) to answer my message. VoiceMail also allows you to delay delivery of voice messages to other subscribers or call-out periodically (until the phone is answered) to deliver messages to non-subscribers. With VoiceMail, you can: . Send a message of any length to any VoiceMail subscriber or to a group of subscribers. . Have messages sent immediately or sent later at a specific time. . Receive messages from any VoiceMail subscriber or from non-subscribers you wish to allow access. . Have a personalized announcement left for callers. . Forward a messages from any caller to another VoiceMail user, or have the message forwarded to phone number. . Have messages `screened' and sent to you on any telephone if its `important'. There are provisions for having people operate the system who are not on Touch-Tone phones; Assisting in forwarding calls through hotel and office switchboards. You can selectively play, replay, delete and store messages permanently. VoiceMail has a special introductory offer, which gives you two VoiceMailboxes for the price of one. The cost is $25.00 per month which includes 50 messages. Additional messages are 50 cents each. There is a one-time set-up fee for both boxes of $10.00. With the special introductory offer, you have the choice of subscribing to two VoiceMailboxes or, one VoiceMailbox and once `Tel-Answer(TM)' box. The `Tel-Answer' box is a "one-way" Voicemailbox through which non-subscribers can leave you messages. The Tel-Answer mailbox is ideal for use as a personal automatic answering service. Further information from VOICEMAIL INTERNATIONAL, INC., 2225 Martin Avenue, Santa Clara, CA 95050, or via the phone: 408/496-6555. ------------------------------ Date: 16 March 1982 2035-PST (Tuesday) From: lauren at UCLA-Security (Lauren Weinstein) Subject: "unbelievable" answering machine feature... The most obvious way for an answering machine to tell the caller whether there are any messages (before answering) is to vary the number of rings before the call is answered. For example, if there were messages, the machine might answer after the first ring. If there were no messages, it might wait until after the fourth, to give the caller time to abort the call. At least one answering machine manufacturer found itself in legal trouble after advertising such a scheme, since it is a form of toll fraud. "Toll fraud?", you ask incredulously. Sure! Because you are passing information over the network without paying for it! In fact, giving a friend a signal (like one ring) to have them call you back is also, strictly speaking, a form of toll fraud. --Lauren-- [Thanks also to Michael.Fryd at CMU-10A (C621MF0E) for describing this method --JSol] ------------------------------- Date: 17 March 1982 09:45 est From: Sibert at MIT-MULTICS (W. Olin Sibert) Subject: telegrams Sender: Sibert.RDMS at MIT-MULTICS Gone are the days when you could send a telegram and expect it to be delivered expediently. When I was in London last Saturday, I wanted to send a telegram saying my flight had been cancelled, rather than calling, since it was 5:00 AM in the U.S. The person at the airport was apologetic, but said my telegram probably wouldn't be delivered until Sunday, or more likely Monday. She then suggested, only half facetiously, that I send flowers with my message, since I could count on that being delivered within a few hours! (I ended up leaving my message with a ticket agent, who telephoned for me at a more civilized hour ... but it sure would have been funny to "Say it with flowers".) P.S. I'm told there was once a time when you could send your answer saying you'd meet someone for lunch today by midmorning mail, in response to an invitation you'd received in early morning mail. ------------------------------ Date: Wednesday, 17 March 1982 11:05-PST From: KING at KESTREL Subject: A difference between MCI, and ITT or SPRINT There is one difference between the three long distance services. All three services work by having the customer first dial an "access number", a seven-digit phone number that connects the customer to their computer. ITT & SPRINT give you an account which can be used anywhere in the country. You get a list of the computers' numbers all over the country. (with SPRINT you get a six digit password, plus a two digit code to use if you call from anywhere but your "home" local area. With ITT you get a seven digit password that will work anywhere in the IT&T system.) MCI accounts can only be used in the calling area for which they are issued (unless you are willing to incur long distance rates to call your "own" computer). For an extra $5/mo you get a "travel card". I don't know whether this gives you just one more computer to call, or it allows you to use the whole rest of the network. One common thing you certainly CAN'T do with basic MCI service is use one MCI account to support both directions if there are two people, each of whom calls the other often. I judge that to be a common situation. When I pointed this out to the saleswoman, she said that it "reduces code abuse". Can anyone figure out how it might? With so many people (about 3-5%, I believe) using some long distance service, I wonder how many people wiretap for the purpose of getting code numbers by decoding touch-tone touches. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest ********************** ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V25 #143 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Apr 16 17:53:50 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id D3C5F15611; Sun, 16 Apr 2006 17:53:49 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #144 Message-Id: <20060416215349.D3C5F15611@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 17:53:49 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=unavailable version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Apr 2006 18:55:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 144 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Is Poker Losing its First Flush (Monty Solomon) Internet Calls Untethered From Your PC (Monty Solomon) The Long-Distance Journey of a Fast-Food Order (Monty Solomon) Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want? (Monty Solomon) Re: Iceland Passes South Korea For Top Broadband Spot (Linc Madison) Re: In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent (Mark Crispin) Re: Sprint's New Mobile Child Locator Service (mikebk824@gmail.com) For Sale: InternetDotComs.com (internetDotComs.com) Keeping Repaired Items (rudeces) Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill -- Not SBC, Either (Marcus Didius Falco) 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: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 17:33:22 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Is Poker Losing Its First Flush? Is Poker Losing Its First Flush? By TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN The New York Times LAS VEGAS NEXT month, Fox Broadcasting plans to introduce "Poker Dome Challenge," a live television show that will be broadcast from inside the Neonopolis, a shopping mall just down the block from Binion's, the gleefully bawdy casino where high-stakes poker started here more than 50 years ago. While "Poker Dome" may be Binion's neighbor, the show will be as far removed from poker's leisurely Mississippi Delta roots as weekend paintball matches are from big-game hunting. "Poker Dome" will encase a group of players in a soundproof, glass-walled stage, while viewers and a studio audience watch everything they do. Microphones will capture game chatter, and pulse monitors strapped to the gamblers will track their heart rates. Robotic cameras will scrutinize every nervous tic on the gamblers' faces, projecting the angst of brinkmanship onto oversized video screens. New to the mix will be an N.B.A.-like shot clock that gives gamblers only 15 seconds to bet, check or fold, an innovation that Fox says will increase the rate of play to 80 to 100 hands an hour from the usual 15 to 20. "It's poker on triple espresso," Fox boasts in a "Poker Dome" news release. Three years into the poker boom, the game's purveyors are out to prove that it is not a mere fad, but a form of entertainment with real legs -- even as there are signs that the country's poker appetite may be becoming less ravenous. Some industry analysts expect the growth of online poker to slow sharply, and televised poker is already drawing fewer viewers. The Travel Channel says ratings for its "World Poker Tour" have fallen 36 percent in the last two years. Poker even has its own miniature stock scandal, with the Securities and Exchange Commission investigating whether the poker legend, Doyle Brunson, and his Las Vegas lawyers manipulated the stock price of WPT Enterprises, the company that runs the "World Poker Tour." Even so, the commercialization and transformation of the old game zips along at light speed. Fox, as well as other companies and networks that produce and broadcast poker, dismiss naysaying and continue to inject more adrenaline into promotion. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/business/yourmoney/16poker.html?ex=1302840000&en=2039741f7b11be6d&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:52:28 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Internet Calls Untethered From Your PC David Pogue The New York Times April 6, 2006 WHY does Skype get so much hype? Sure, this software lets you make free "phone calls," computer to computer, anywhere in the world. But it wasn't the first such program, it's not the most feature-laden, and it's still a mystery to most people over 25. Yet somehow, Skype is changing everything. Twenty-five million people are using it to make free calls, much to the annoyance of the phone companies. College students call home and friends with it. Business travelers keep in touch with the family. Visitors to the United States chit-chat with their buddies in Europe, Japan or wherever. The software -- free from skype.com and available for Mac, Windows, Linux and PocketPC -- is pitifully easy to use, and the sound quality is more like FM radio than a phone call. Skype's popularity has caused some impressive ripples in the fabric of business and society. The word is now a verb, =E0 la Google ("Have your people Skype my people"). Last fall, eBay bought Skype for $1.3 billion and 32.4 million shares of eBay stock. And most intriguing of all, an entire industry of Skype accessories has sprung up. But one niggling footnote continues to dog Skype: to make free calls, you and your conversation partner must both sit there in front of your computers, nerdlike, wearing headsets. You can call regular telephones, but that's not free. (Rates are complicated, but 2.1 cents a minute is typical.) And you still have to sit handcuffed to your computer. Wouldn't it be nice if you could make and receive Skype calls from your home phone or any ordinary cellphone? Enter the VoSky Call Center ($60 at actiontec.com), nicknamed the Liberator. (All right, I gave it that nickname, but still.) It's a tiny black box, about the size of a sandwich, that connects to a Windows PC (with a U.S.B. cable), to your phone line and to your telephone. An exceptionally clear instruction sheet walks you through the installation. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/technology/06pogue.html?ex=3D1301976000&en= =3D09022e425c1720fb&ei=3D5090 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:55:15 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Long-Distance Journey of a Fast-Food Order By MATT RICHTEL The New York Times April 11, 2006 SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Like many American teenagers, Julissa Vargas, 17, has a minimum-wage job in the fast-food industry -- but hers has an unusual geographic reach. "Would you like your Coke and orange juice medium or large?" Ms. Vargas said into her headset to an unseen woman who was ordering breakfast from a drive-through line. She did not neglect the small details -- "You Must Ask for Condiments," a sign next to her computer terminal instructs -- and wished the woman a wonderful day. What made the $12.08 transaction remarkable was that the customer was not just outside Ms. Vargas's workplace here on California's central coast. She was at a McDonald's in Honolulu. And within a two-minute span Ms. Vargas had also taken orders from drive-through windows in Gulfport, Miss., and Gillette, Wyo. Ms. Vargas works not in a restaurant but in a busy call center in this town, 150 miles from Los Angeles. She and as many as 35 others take orders remotely from 40 McDonald's outlets around the country. The orders are then sent back to the restaurants by Internet, to be filled a few yards from where they were placed. The people behind this setup expect it to save just a few seconds on each order. But that can add up to extra sales over the course of a busy day at the drive-through. While the call-center idea has received some attention since a scattered sampling of McDonald's franchises began testing it 18 months ago, most customers are still in the dark. For Meredith Mejia, a regular at a McDonald's in Pleasant Hill, Calif., near San Francisco, it meant that her lunch came with a small helping of the surreal. When told that she had just ordered her double cheeseburger and small fries from a call center 250 miles away, she said the concept was "bizarre." And the order-taking is not always seamless. Often customers' voices are faint, forcing the workers to ask for things to be repeated. During recent rainstorms in Hawaii, it was particularly hard to hear orders from there over the din. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/11/technology/11fast.html?ex=1302408000&en=fba08e17788e24c9&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 16:02:52 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want? http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/business/yourmoney/16frenzy.html Media Frenzy Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want? By RICHARD SIKLOS The New York Times April 16, 2006 AT the National Cable and Telecommunications Association convention in Atlanta last week, the cable guys were at it again. They were kvetching that the Federal Communications Commission had gotten it terribly wrong in pushing to loosen the way that cable television channels were packaged and sold. Essentially, the cable contingent says that its current practice of selling a package of 75 or so broadcast and cable channels is better for consumers and the public good than letting people pick and choose the 10 or 20 stations they actually watch. The average price of extended basic cable -- the type of channel package to which most of the nation's 73 million cable-watching lds subscribe -- is $41 a month, according to Kagan Research. Plenty of other premium channels and services are available, but the only cheaper option is truly basic: a package of mostly local stations with none of the popular cable channels (ESPN, MTV and CNN, to name but a few). At my house in Connecticut, for instance, basic cable runs me $13 a month. The cable operators say that forcing them to give people more latitude over the channels they buy would constitute rank government interference, the equivalent of forcing restaurants to sell burgers and buns separately. The ala carte model favored by some regulators would lead to much higher rates for individual channels, executives argue. Whereas that same $41 might get you only 10 hand-picked channels, the bundle model both pays for the infrastructure -- all those pipes and set-top boxes and servers and repair trucks -- and preserves the smorgasbord of big and small channels to suit all demographics and tastes. Without bundling, programmers like Disney and Viacom might no longer be able to afford shows with smaller but loyal followings. Under the current system, they can produce niche channels like ESPN Classic because they are bundled with ESPN and other channels, the programmers say. For the most part, the F.C.C. rolls its watchdog eyes and notes that the price of expanded basic has increased well beyond other goods and services over the past few years. It and the cable association have drawers full of studies disputing the other's studies about their studies. Kevin J. Martin, the F.C.C. chairman, showed up briefly in Atlanta to reiterate that he was not giving up the fight, even after recently cajoling cable companies to agree to put together a new, smaller tier of family-oriented channels that was a few dollars less than extended basic. "Putting more control in the hands of consumers is always good," he said. Alas, the legislative year is rapidly winding to a close in Washington, making it unlikely that Congress will pass any =E0 la carte legislation this time around. Still, even a few renegade television providers are finding it difficult not to side with Mr. Martin. Cablevision Systems in New York and the satellite service EchoStar have done so, though they remain a clear minority. Comcast, Time Warner, the News Corporation, Walt Disney and others are lined up to harrumph at Mr. Martin. The great paradox of this debate is that it comes as the number of media options is exploding and the way they are being priced is all over the map. The much-maligned bundle will most probably prevail as the most popular business model for media, although it, too, is likely going to need an extreme makeover. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/business/yourmoney/16frenzy.html?ex=3D1302= 840000&en=3Da63c3b2dd60c8aad&ei=3D5090 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Iceland Passes South Korea For Top Broadband Spot Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 22:05:51 -0700 From: Linc Madison Reply-To: lincmad@suespammers.org Organization: California resident; nospam; no unsolicited e-mail allowed In article , USTelecom dailyLead wrote: > USTelecom dailyLead > April 14, 2006 > > NEWS OF THE DAY > * Iceland passes South Korea for top broadband spot While Iceland's adoption of broadband is commendable, it is important to remember that the entire country has about 3/4 the population of Omaha, Nebraska. Korea is about 160 times more populous. Vatican City could easily become the top broadband spot in the world, just by installing a half dozen DSL lines and a few routers. (With fewer than 1,000 people, Vatican City is the least populous nation on earth.) Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * lincmad@suespammers.org * primary e-mail: Telecom at LincMad dot com Read my political blog, The Third Path: DO NOT SEND UNSOLICITED E-MAIL TO THIS ADDRESS. You have been warned. ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin Subject: Re: In Silicon Valley, a Man Without a Patent Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 23:16:10 -0700 Organization: University of Washington For what it's worth, I know Geoff Goodfellow personally. I haven't had much contact with him since 1988 or so, but I can confirm his claims about RadioMail (nee Anterior). I remember Geoff demonstrating it to me. I understand perfectly well why he didn't patent it. To both of us, and anyone else in the Internet community at the time, the idea was obvious. The thing to make money out of was to get a gizmo built and a service set up, and then get people to use it and pay for it. When I first hear of RIM and Blackberry, my immediate reaction was "how is this different from RadioMail?" I never heard of NTP, or Thomas J. Campana, prior to them suing RIM. It's news to me that Geoff had dealings with RIM, but I'm not particularly surprised. To my mind, the NTP vs. RIM lawsuit was of one thief suing another over stolen goods. I have no particular sympathy for either. NTP is owned by lawyers now; it will eventually fade into oblivion once the lawyers have squeezed every last bit of blood from that stone. However, RIM was also pretty obnoxious by claiming that it had created this technology. -- Mark -- http://panda.com/mrc Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote. ------------------------------ From: mikebk824@gmail.com Subject: Re: Sprint's New Mobile Child Locator Service Date: 16 Apr 2006 07:26:16 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com In article , Fred Atkinson wrote: > In fact, I heard a story from a young man who got suspended from > school for three days because he brought his two meter amateur radio > set to school for a show and tell project. > Someone care to expand on this? I'm in Columbus, Georgia where one of the major employers is the US Army Fort Benning base which had/has a large number of troops deployed. About a year ago there was a major flap when a student received a call from his mother in Iraq. It didn't seem to make a difference that the time difference meant that the mother could only call during school hours! Mike ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 18:34:47 +0200 From: internetDotComs.com Subject: For Sale: InternetDotComs.com Organization: NetVision InterNetNews site domain for sale: internetdotcoms.com http://www.afternic.com/name.php?id=11866440 ------------------------------ From: rudeces Subject: Keeping Repaired Items Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 09:42:02 -0700 How long ago did this happen to you? I recently sent in a unit for repair and it is taking forever to get it back. I just read your e-mail and got a sinking feeling in my stomach. Have you tried the Chicago Better Business Bureau? Rudy Cesena ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 03:50:27 -0400 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: Last Laugh! Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill; and Not SBC, Either. http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/10/D8GTAQRG8.html Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill Apr 10 3:08 PM US/Eastern KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he recieved a $218 trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday. Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in January after he died and settled the 84 ringgit ($23) bill, the New Straits Times reported. But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit ($218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper reported. It wasn't clear whether the bill was a mistake, or if Yahaya's father's phone line was used illegally after after his death. "If the company wants to seek legal action as mentioned in the letter, I'm ready to face it," the paper quoted Yahaya as saying. "In fact, I can't wait to face it," he said. Yahaya, from northern Kedah state, received a notice from the company's debt-collection agency in early April, the paper said. Yahaya said he nearly fainted when he saw the new bill. Government-linked Telekom Malaysia Bhd. is the country's largest telecommunications company. A company official, who declined to be identified as she was not authorized to speak to the media, said Telekom Malaysia was aware of Yahaya's case and would address it. She did not provide further details. Copyright 2006 Britebart. Direct replies are unlikely to be read. To reply use the address below: falco(underscore)md(atsign)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. 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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 V25 #144 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Apr 17 19:13:02 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 98AB6156F4; Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:13:02 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #145 Message-Id: <20060417231302.98AB6156F4@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:13:02 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 17 Apr 2006 19:15:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 145 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Cell Phones Ready to Start Dialing for Dollars (Brian Garrity) Trading up From Paperclip to House (Brian Bergstein) Web Merchants Fighting Costs of Fraud (Monty Solomon) Cellular-News for Monday 17th April 2006 (Cellular-News) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 17, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (Lisa Hancock) SunRocket is an Immoral Company (Angry SunRocket Customer) Level 3 Snaps up ICG (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Scott Dorsey) Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage (L Hancock) Re: What Happened to Me (Scott Dorsey) Re: Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want? (Thomas A. Horsley) Re: Internet Calls Untethered From Your PC (B. Wright) Re: Last Laugh! Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill; Not SBC Either (DLR) Re: Last Laugh! You Have Been Infested With a Birus (Matt Simpson) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Brian Garrity Subject: Cell Phones Ready to Start Dialing For Dollars Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 16:58:13 -0500 By Brian Garrity Forget about cash and credit cards. There's a new payment alternative for buying CDs, DVDs and other such entertainment pleasures -- your cell phone. Online payment specialist PayPal, a unit of Internet auction giant eBay, has introduced PayPal Mobile to North America. The wireless version of its service enables users to buy goods and exchange money using their phones. Transactions are conducted by secure text message. Music heavyweights Universal Music Group and MTV already are supporting the technology. UMG will use PayPal Mobile to sell CDs by the Pussycat Dolls, Mary J. Blige and Daddy Yankee in direct-marketing initiatives. Rollout is imminent. And MTV plans to use it to sell basic merchandise from its Web store, including T-shirts and DVDs. Other big-name media and entertainment brands, including 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Bravo and the NBA Store, hope to drive similar impulse buys by offering items for purchase via PayPal Mobile. "With the overwhelming popularity of mobile phones, the time has never been better for the merging of e-commerce and wireless devices," PayPal president Jeff Jordan says. To be sure, the opportunity is huge. PayPal claims more than 100 million members. In addition to purchasing goods, PayPal members can send money to other individuals as well as to participating charities and merchants. "PayPal Mobile is an important indicator of the broader changes now occurring in the mobile content/payments space," says Ed Kountz, senior financial services analyst with Jupiter Research. NEW TO THE STATES Sophisticated mobile phones can already be used to buy digital products, including music downloads, ringtones, pictures and videos. But the ability to use a phone as a digital wallet for buying physical goods is a new phenomenon in the United States. PayPal's technology figures to be just one of a number of mobile payment applications. Motorola is said to be targeting the market, as are startups Obopay and TextPayMe. And credit card companies, including Visa, are testing a contactless payment technology in phones called near field communication (NFC), which uses radio waves to transmit transaction data. In the NFC trials, participants use their phones to make purchases at a coffee shop, download a movie trailer in a DVD store, shop from their home TV and buy concert tickets from a smart poster. "You're going to start to see retailers embrace (mobile) as another payment option," Universal Music Mobile vice president and general manager Rio Caraeff says. Analysts say mobile payment technology creates new sales opportunities for the music business, including CD pre-orders, ticketing and concert merchandise. New mobile payment services are expected to expand the number of merchants selling digital products for use on phones. In a move unrelated to PayPal Mobile, UMG in May is expected to launch a new premium short-message service that will allow consumers to use text-message codes to buy ringtones, wallpapers and videos for their phones. Billing will be handled by participating carriers including Cingular, Sprint and T-Mobile. Analysts are divided over what the music business should expect from these new mobile payment options. "To the extent that digital money doesn't feel like real money, it may increase spontaneous purchasing," says Aram Sinnreich, an analyst with Los Angeles-based research firm Radar Research. Sinnreich argues that "carriers have a very simple and transparent billing relationship with consumers, and adding a second billing platform only confuses things." Kountz cautions that it will take 12 to 18 months to see how much traction services like PayPal Mobile can gain in North America. "User habits and awareness don't shift overnight." Reuters/Billboard Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Reuters News Service please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Brian Bergstein Subject: Trading Up From Paperclip to House Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:00:39 -0500 By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer Kyle MacDonald had a red paper clip and a dream: Could he use the community power of the Internet to barter that paper clip for something better, and trade that thing for something else -- and so on and so on until he had a house? After a cross-continental trading trek involving a fish-shaped pen, a town named Yahk and the Web's astonishing ability to bestow celebrity, MacDonald is getting close. He's up to one year's free rent on a house in Phoenix. Not a bad return on an investment of one red paper clip. Yet MacDonald, 26, vows to keep going until he crosses the threshold of his very own home, wherever that might be. "It's totally overwhelming, I'm not going to lie," he said by phone from Montreal, where he and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, live with two roommates. "But I'm still trading for that house. It's this obsessive thing." The story begins last July. MacDonald had spent years backpacking, delivering pizzas and working other part-time jobs, suiting his jack-of-all-trades, restless nature. He paid his $300 share of the rent by occasionally promoting products at trade shows. But he yearned for one piece of settled-down adulthood: a house, which he knew he could not afford. It's clear, however, that MacDonald has a knack for promotion. Asked what he had talked up at all those trade shows, MacDonald slipped right into his spiel for the employer, TableShox.com. "You ever sat at a wobbly table at a restaurant?" he said. Beyond a gift for advertising table stabilizers, he's a geography buff, keeps a blog and writes short stories. Random interactions with strangers and the rich kitsch of North Americana provide his favorite material. Put it all together, and you have the outline of MacDonald's quest. He advertised it in the barter section of Craigslist.org, the Web site teeming with city-specific listings for everything from job openings to apartment rentals. At first, MacDonald said merely that he wanted something bigger or better for his red paper clip. No mention of a house -- he feared seeming flaky. While he was visiting his hometown of Vancouver, British Columbia, two women gave him a fish-shaped pen for the paper clip. Later that day, MacDonald headed to Seattle to catch a ballgame and a flight home. Before the airport, though, he stopped to see Annie Robbins, an artist who had just stumbled upon the Craigslist barter section. She admired its anticonsumerist vibe, she said, so she answered MacDonald's posting "on a lark." MacDonald left her home the proud owner of a small ceramic doorknob with a smiley face, made by the son of an artist Robbins knows. Next up was Shawn Sparks, who was packing up to move from Amherst, Mass., to Alexandria, Va. Sparks, 35, is a huge fan of Craigslist barters, having acquired his 1993 Chevy Blazer in a trade for a used laptop. Sparks offered MacDonald a Coleman camping stove. Sparks had two, and didn't want to lug both on his move. And he needed a new knob for his espresso machine. Done. The men celebrated with a barbecue at Sparks' house. MacDonald gave the camping stove to a Marine sergeant at Camp Pendleton, Calif., getting a generator in return. East again. MacDonald swapped the generator for an "instant party package" -- an empty beer keg, a neon Budweiser sign and a promise to fill the keg -- proferred by a young man in Queens, New York City. Before the trade, MacDonald left the generator in storage in his hotel. When he went to claim it, he was told it had been confiscated by the fire department because it was leaking gas. "If there was ever a movie based on all that, that would be the closest to losing it all," he said, recalling his anguish. But more on movies later. MacDonald reclaimed the generator by tracking it to a firehouse in lower Manhattan, where he got a Tootsie Pop from the crew and petted their Dalmatian. The beer package went to a Montreal disc jockey, in exchange for a snowmobile. Here's where the project's grassroots purity may have gotten compromised. MacDonald's blog, http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com, was attracting attention, and MacDonald was invited onto Canadian television. Our wandering man was asked if there was anywhere he wouldn't go to trade the snowmobile. An obscure place came to mind, so he spit it out: Yahk, a hamlet in the Canadian Rockies. Some publicity-seeking ensued. A snowmobiling magazine offered an expense-paid trip to Yahk in exchange for the snowmobile. The trip went to Bruno Taillefer, Quebec manager for the supply company Cintas Corp. He got headquarters to let him give MacDonald a 1995 Cintas van that he had been planning to sell. MacDonald gave the van -- stripped of Cintas logos -- to a musician seeking to haul gear. In turn, the musician, who works at a Toronto recording studio, arranged a recording contract, with studio time and a promise to pitch the finished product to music executives. MacDonald handed the contract to Jody Gnant, a singer in Phoenix who owns a duplex. And that is how Kyle MacDonald has turned a paper clip into a year of shelter in the desert. Where it goes now, who knows. He says he has offers from Hollywood studios to turn his story into a film. But he pledges not to accept gifts or overly lopsided trades that would undermine the peer-to-peer joy that he says has animated his journey. Asked what he has learned from all this, he responded: "If you say you're going to do something and you start to do it, and people enjoy it or respect it or are entertained by it, people will step up and help you." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2006 23:39:02 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Web Merchants Fighting Costs of Fraud By Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press Writer | April 16, 2006 BETHLEHEM, Pa. --Talk about buyer's remorse: A man who had purchased a $4,500 custom-made engagement ring over the Internet abruptly called off the wedding just days before the big day -- then called his credit card company to get his money back. He succeeded, but not for long. Ice.com, one of the largest jewelers on the Internet, fought the credit card chargeback, correctly arguing its 30-day return guarantee had long since expired. The customer was out the money. Internet merchants once viewed such chargebacks and other payment fraud as a cost of doing business, mainly because they are difficult and time-consuming to fight. But with fraud sapping hundreds of millions of dollars from online revenues, companies that do all or most of their business over the Internet are increasingly pushing back. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/04/16/web_merchants_fighting_costs_of_fraud/ ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Monday 17th April 2006 Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:19:21 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com ====================================================================== [[3G News]] 78 Million 3G Customers for China by 2008 - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16984.php China's Analysys International says that 440,000 users will be using 3G mobile terminals by the end of 2006 and by the year 2008, over 78 million users will be using 3G mobile terminals in China. According to a report recently released by Analysys In... Romanian 3G Coverage Expanded http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16985.php Connex Vodafone has expanded its 3G services to 7 new cities - Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Alba Iulia, Bistrita, Turda, Bacau and Buzau, for a total of 22 cities. This brings the penetration rate of 3G services to approximately 30% from Romania's populatio... 3G Video Interconnection for Malaysia http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16989.php Malaysia's Celcom and Maxis have launched 3G interconnection, enabling interconnect video telephony. By opening access between the two major 3G networks, the 3G user community in Malaysia immediately increased twofold, allowing Celcom's and Maxis' us... EDGE for Trinidad and Tobago http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16992.php Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) has launched EDGE services on its network. With the activation of EDGE, TSTT says that it has become the first mobile service provider in the Region to offer customers service on two independe... [[Financial News]] Qtel Updates its Egyptian GSM License Bid http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16990.php Qatar's Qtel has announced its second partner in the bid for the 3rd Mobile License in Egypt. Qtel says that it has partnered with Naeem Holding, an Egyptian company; one of the fastest growing Investment Banking houses in the region. Qtel has alread... [[Handsets News]] Samsung unit aims for 25% share of handset market http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16978.php Korean hardware manufacturer Samsung expects its share in Chile's mobile handset market to reach 25% this year compared to 17% in 2005, Samsung Chile's commercial director Rodrigo Herrera told BNamericas. ... Vivo to outsource 142 stores in Sao Paulo http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16980.php Brazil's largest mobile operator Vivo is outsourcing 142 stores in Sao Paulo, reported local financial newspaper Valor Economico. ... Sony Ericsson 1Q Net Pft Up Sharply http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16983.php Mobile phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson Thursday said first-quarter net profit more than tripled, thanks largely to the continued popularity of its Walkman-branded music phones and delivery of new advanced phones in Japan. ... [[Legal News]] Russian prosecutors open criminal case on Euroset's cellphone imports http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16981.php Moscow regional prosecutors' office has opened a criminal case in connection with an illegally imported batch of mobile handsets that belonged to Euroset, the largest Russian mobile handset retailer said in a statement Friday. ... Lawsuit Over Adult Mobile Content Contracts http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16987.php Giant Mobile, a Santa Monica-based producer of wireless content for mobile phones, says that it has filed multiple claims against LFP, publisher of such adult magazines as Hustler, Barely Legal, Taboo and Asian Fever, for breach of contract and inter... Qualcomm Resolves Legal Complaint http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16991.php Qualcomm says that it has reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) resolving gun-jumping allegations arising from Qualcomm's acquisition of Flarion Technologies earlier this year. The acquisition was cleared by the DOJ's Antitru... [[Network Operators News]] BPL Mobile Rebrands as Hutch http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16988.php Hutchison Essar is taking its next step in the continuing integration process of the recently acquired Tamil Nadu circle of BPL Mobile Cellular. Hutchison Essar has announced that BPL Mobile brand in this circle will now be re-branded to Hutch.... PrePay Registration Required in Vietnam http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16996.php Vietnam's Ministry of Posts and Telematics (MPT) is to step up measures to tighten control of pre-paid mobile phones. Under the new measures, new pre-paid subscribers will have to register their handsets, in a manner similar to post-paid users. Accor... [[Offbeat News]] Crazy Frog and Michael Jackson Share Music Promoter http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16993.php The company which brought the awful Crazy Frog ringtone to the UK music charts has reportedly been signed up by fallen pop star, Michael Jackson to assist his comeback. Gut Records boss Guy Holmes is understood to have flown to the Middle East, where... Nokia Dumps the Landline http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16994.php The town of Nokia, former home to the more famous handset manufacturer is to abandon the landline in favour of the mobile phone. Nokia's government workers will all be given mobile phones to replace their office landlines. The plan will affect some 1... [[Personnel News]] Softbank Head:Will Also Be Vodafone Japan Unit President http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16976.php Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son said Friday he will double as president of Vodafone Group's Japan unit when Softbank's purchase of the mobile phone company is completed, Kyodo News reported. ... [[Regulatory News]] ERSP looks to 400MHz band as rural telephony alternative http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16977.php Panamanian telecoms regulator ERSP is looking for alternatives for providing telephony to rural and remote areas as the debate on a proposed law to promote universal telecoms access drags on and on, local daily La Prensa reported. ... Govt prepares to renegotiate mobile concessions http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16979.php The Ecuadorian government is preparing to renegotiate the country's mobile telephony concession contracts, local daily El Universo reported. ... Mexico: Cell Phone Cos Can't Charge For All Incoming Calls http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16982.php MEXICO CITY (AP)--Mexico's telecommunications regulatory commission ruled on Thursday that companies will not be able to charge cell phone users to receive long distance national or international calls if they are in their home zone. ... [[Technology News]] France Telecom Testing Grid Computing Methods http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16986.php Fujitsu says that, in collaboration with France Telecom, they have developed a system based on grid computing that enables telecommunications carriers to optimize use of their IT resources, and have successfully completed testing of the system. In th... London Underground Pushing Ahead with Phones on Trains Plan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16995.php The UK's subterranean railway network, London Underground says that it intended to push ahead with a feasibility study into plans to permit the use of mobile phones on the networks underground stations and possibly trains. A feasibility study, beginn... ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 11:34:21 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Monday, April 17, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 17, 2006 ******************************** Partners Mull Buy-Out of Vodafone's Stake in US, Belgium & ... http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17543?11228 Verizon, Belgacom and Swisscom have indicated theirwillingness to buy out Vodafone's minority stakes in mobile operatorsVerizon Wireless, Belgacom's Proximus and Swisscom Mobile, with Verizontabling a reported US$50... Intelig Aims to Boost Revenues by 10% During 2006 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17541?11228 Brazilian telecoms provider Intelig Telecom - 50% owned by theBritish National Grid, 25% by France Telecom and 25% by Sprint - aimsto boost its revenues by 10% in 2006, according to local news serviceAgencia Estado. Intelig's 2005 revenues were 80% from long-distancerevenues and 20% from data.Significance: In order to reachits target,... Mobile Phone Software a Virtual Bodyguard http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17536?11228 It may not be as strong a deterrent as pepper spray or a loud scream, but Rave Wireless hasdeveloped mobile phone software that aims to help college students protectthemselves against muggers and other attackers.The NewYork-based company's Rave Guardian is designed to turn an ordinary mobile phoneinto a personal security system. The... RBOCs Want Inside Your House http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/17534?11228 As if selling you voice, video, and data services weren't enough, three ofthe nation's largest phone companies have designs to help build and manage yourhome network, too.  In recent interviews with three RBOC technology executives, AT&T Inc., VerizonCommunications Inc., and Qwest Communications International Inc.... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? Date: 17 Apr 2006 11:19:43 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Given the mess* in "customer service" call centers, should consumers tape record their calls in case of subsequent trouble? For one, it gives the consumer a clear record of what was said they if they aren't sure, they can play the tape back. Secondly, in case the service rep gives bad information or promise that isn't carried out the consumer is protected with a record of the conversation. *The call center mess: In the old days, customer service representatives of a business, such as a bank, insurance company, or telephone company, were well trained experienced employees. They knew the company's products and services and policies. They knew had to look up customer records (whether manually or on-line) and how to make account adjustments when necessary. However, today, call centers is a factory assembly line operation. The employees are lower paid, under strict time quotas, and have high turnover. They are not trained as to a company's policies. They are under pressure to sell premium goods and services regardless of the customers' real needs of service. In many cases the operators are overseas. Often times the clerk is not very skilled or bright, and unable to properly use the computer. Rather, they read off scripts provided by a computer screen. If a customer's inquiry can't be answered by pre-canned answers, the customer is out of luck. If the customer is lucky, the call will be passed to a true experienced and knowledgeable rep for assistance. BTW, is there anyone out there who can justify today's call center boiler rooms as being "better"? [public replies, please] ------------------------------ From: Angry SunRocket Customer Subject: SunRocket is an Immoral Company Organization: sunrocket.com Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 17:45:30 GMT Are you aware that SunRocket's Gizmo (the InnoMedia SIP MTA 6328-R) leaves WAN ports 80 and 23 open for all the world to access? As if that's bad enough its setup doesn't let you turn off this type of WAN access with the firmware that ships with the Gizmo. And as if that is not bad enough SunRocket does not tell you any of this! This is just outrageous. If you're going to do business with this company put their Gizmo behind a router. At least change the gizmo's password. As for me, I'm shipping their gizmo back tomorrow and going to get my money back. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 13:12:24 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Level 3 Snaps up ICG USTelecom dailyLead April 17, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dtesfDtutcqPcdoLlG TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Level 3 snaps up ICG BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Motorola could go after Siemens' telecom business * Babcock in pursuit of Eircom * Barron's: TiVo could become takeover target * Low-cost handsets a big winner for phone makers * Cable plays around with gaming to fend off telecoms USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Learn how to implement IP video HOT TOPICS * Cable jumps into wireless business with Sprint Nextel venture * Intelsat debuts IPTV solution * AT&T adds new customer service * Q-and-A: FCC chief Kevin Martin * Sprint Nextel passes 1M VoIP subscribers TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Wireless carriers eye mobile commerce REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * States legislate mobile use while driving Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dtesfDtutcqPcdoLlG ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: 17 Apr 2006 14:48:43 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Garrett Wollman wrote: > In article , > John C. Fowler wrote: >> What I'd like to see is an option like, if you pay an extra $5, we'll >> handle your support calls onshore. > There are companies that do that, only it's usually called "premium > support" and usually costs a lot more than $5. I don't care if the support is handled onshore or offshore. I don't care where the person is. What I care about is whether he can solve my problem or not. And far too seldom are they able to do that. It is very difficult in most of these outfits to be able to speak to an actual technician, rather than someone who reads a troubleshooting script. If the problem was soluble with the troubleshooting script in the manual, I would have solved it before calling tech support. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage Date: 17 Apr 2006 12:18:36 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com curious_br wrote: > Early in March I signed up with Vonage and asked them the transfer my > number from AT&T, my local service provider. I signed a LOA and > waited. Do we have local number portability now? I thought that only existed for cell phones. Can a VOIP provider, who may be far away, provide local numbers? ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: What Happened to Me Date: 17 Apr 2006 14:45:44 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Justa Lurker wrote: > I believe those antennas may be part of the telemetry system which > monitors patients while they are ambulatory away from their bed (e.g., > moving about in the hallway, sitting down the hall in the solarium, > etc.). > Or perhaps what you saw are associated with some sort of wireless LAN > access point, although I think my first guess is more likely. These days, they are most likely to be BOTH. Lots of doctors carry around laptops to check records with, and at the same time a lot of the telemetry gear now uses the same network. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want? From: tom.horsley@att.net (Thomas A. Horsley) Organization: AT&T Worldnet Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 00:35:55 GMT > Why Can't I Have Just the Cable Channels I Want? Because that's not the right question :-). The right questions is "Why can't I just have the programs I want?", I have no idea why some people think "channels" are what they want -- there is plenty of utter bilge on any given channel (channels are really just very small "bundles" after all). ------------------------------ From: B. Wright Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 13:40:17 +0000 (UTC) Organization: XMission Internet http://www.xmission.com Subject: Re: Internet Calls Untethered From Your PC Monty Solomon wrote: > David Pogue > The New York Times > April 6, 2006 > WHY does Skype get so much hype? Sure, this software lets you make > free "phone calls," computer to computer, anywhere in the world. But > it wasn't the first such program, it's not the most feature-laden, > and it's still a mystery to most people over 25. that's all Skype is, HYPE. It's a proprietary closed protocol and it locks you down to one provider where you have zero flexibility to shop for rates. > Enter the VoSky Call Center ($60 at actiontec.com), nicknamed the > Liberator. (All right, I gave it that nickname, but still.) It's a > tiny black box, about the size of a sandwich, that connects to a > Windows PC (with a U.S.B. cable), to your phone line and to your > telephone. An exceptionally clear instruction sheet walks you through > the installation. This box is ridiculous, it's like everything Skype, it requires a PC with an unstable operating system (Windows) to sit in the middle of everything. I, and several others, have been using devices such as the Sipura SPA-3000 to do this same thing (bridge to a standard phone line), WITHOUT a PC involved for some time now. Why does this new "wonderbox" seem so great to people? Once again Skype=Hype. The setup with the Sipura SPA-3000 served me well for over six months of international travel, without intervention. I'm confident that if there was a Windows PC involved this would not have been the case (not to mention the cost to power a small SIP device 24/7 is orders of magnitude below an entire PC). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 09:57:29 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill; and Not SBC Either. Marcus Didius Falco wrote: > http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/10/D8GTAQRG8.html > Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill > Apr 10 3:08 PM US/Eastern > KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia > A Malaysian man said he nearly fainted when he recieved a $218 > trillion phone bill and was ordered to pay up within 10 days or face > prosecution, a newspaper reported Monday. > Yahaya Wahab said he disconnected his late father's phone line in > January after he died and settled the 84 ringgit ($23) bill, the New > Straits Times reported. > But Telekom Malaysia later sent him a 806,400,000,000,000.01 ringgit > ($218 trillion) bill for recent telephone calls along with orders to > settle within 10 days or face legal proceedings, the newspaper > reported. In the 80s I got a bill from Diner's Club saying to pay my $40,000+ bill or else. NOW!. Took me a minute or two before I noticed the amount they claimed I owed was the same as my ZIP code. Apparently they upset a LOT of folks that month. David ------------------------------ From: Matt Simpson Subject: Re: Last Laugh! You Have Been Infested With a Birus Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 10:45:56 -0400 This one has been circulating for a while, with the ethnicity changing to suit the sender (Kentucky virus, redneck virus, etc.) What's ironic is that a very similar "virus" with slightly different wording used to circulate very successfully. A few years ago, it was common to receive breathless warnings from well-meaning but clueless friends about the latest "virus". The message would give instructions to dig into some obscure Windows system folder, and if you found a certain file there, it meant you had a virus and you should delete the file. The message usually included a note that said "Oh my god. . I found this on my system!! You may be infected too!!" The "virus" file turned out to be a normal, but obscure, part of Windows that was supposed to be there. But people blindly followed the instructions to delete it, and then forwarded the message to all their friends. Deleting it usually didn't break the system very badly. But if the message had specified a more vital file, many people probably still would have deleted the file and forwarded the message (if their system stayed up long enough for them to forward it). So it may seem funny to joke about ignorant people obeying a message to delete critical files from their system and then forward the message to their friends, but when the message was worded just a little bit differently, many people of all ethnicities did just that. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. 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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 V25 #145 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Apr 18 14:12:34 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id E7542156AE; Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:12:33 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #146 Message-Id: <20060418181233.E7542156AE@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:12:33 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: R TELECOM Digest Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:15:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 146 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Agressor's Hand 'Will Be Cut Off' (Ali Akbar Dareini) San Francisco Earthquake Centennial (Lisa Leff) CNET Announces CNET TV; Cox Communications, TiVo Inc., TVN (Monty Solomon) "IBM and the Future of TV Podcast" (Monty Solomon) When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Stephen Greenfield) Cellular-News for Tuesday 18th April 2006 (Cellular-News) CRTC Chair Responds to Forebearance Critics (John Riddell) Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (Gordon Burditt) Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (DLR) Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (B. Wright) Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (Dailhart) Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage (Lena) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (DLR) Re: Last Laugh! Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill (harold@hallikainen.com) Satellite Phones (violeta) 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ali Akbar Dareini Subject: Agressor's Hand 'Will Be Cut Off' Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:38:11 -0500 Iran: Aggressor's Hand Will Be 'Cut Off' By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned that Iran would "cut off the hand of any aggressor" and insisted Tuesday the country's military must be prepared amid escalating tensions with the international community over its disputed nuclear program. The defiant stance came hours before a meeting in Moscow of senior diplomats from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany to discuss the issue and less than two weeks before a council deadline for Iran to stop uranium enrichment. "Today, you are among the world's most powerful armies because you rely on God," Ahmadinejad declared at a parade to commemorate Army Day. "Iran's enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and the land of Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead," Ahmadinejad said. The United States, Britain, Japan, Israel, France and Germany have accused Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has maintained its right to enrich uranium and says it is only building nuclear facilities to generate electricity. President Bush said Tuesday that "all options are on the table" to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons but said he would continue to focus on the international diplomatic option to persuade Tehran to drop its nuclear ambitions. "We want to solve this issue diplomatically and we're working hard to do so," Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. Bush also said there should be a unified effort involving countries "who recognize the danger of Iran having a nuclear weapon," and he noted that U.S. officials are working closely nations such as Great Britain, France and Germany on the issue." Bush was asked if his administration was planning for the possibility of a nuclear strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. "All options are on the table," he said. Ahmadinejad said Iran's army "has to be constantly ready, equipped and powerful. It has to be equipped with the latest technologies, recognize the enemy and constantly be vigilant." He spoke to military officers before a parade of the armed forces in southern Tehran. While threatening possible aggressors, Ahmadinejad said Iran's army would "serve peace and security for mankind especially the region and its neighbors." The "power of our army will be no threat to any country. Our army carries the message of peace and security. It is humble toward friends and a shooting star toward enemies," he said. The president's speech and the military parade were broadcast live on state-run Iranian television. Foreign military attaches were present. The parade provided another opportunity for Iran to show off its military equipment, including missiles that are difficult to track with radar, super-fast torpedoes recently tested in war games, and other domestically produced weapons. The radar-avoiding missiles, 705-pound bombs, high-speed torpedoes, tanks and other armament were carried on trucks. Among the weapons tested in the war games and displayed Tuesday was the Fajr-3, a missile that can avoid radar and hit several targets simultaneously using multiple warheads, and a high-speed torpedo designed to sink war ships. The United States has said Iran may have made "some strides" in its military but was likely exaggerating its capabilities. Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane. Iran's regular army is separate from the elite Revolutionary Guards that make up the backbone of the ruling Islamic establishment. Ahmadinejad has been increasingly defiant and made several high-profile threatening statements since announcing last Tuesday that Iran has successfully enriched uranium using 164 centrifuges, a significant step toward the large-scale production of a material that can be used to fuel nuclear reactors for generating electricity -- or to build atomic bombs. For example, in a recent speech he said that "President Bush willfully lied about our neighbor country Iraq having weapons of mass destruction. He made those claims in order to get a war started, which he desparatly wanted in his popularity contest. Now it is our turn; he won't need to lie about us; he will see for himself what we can do. Mr. Bush, the citizens of Iran are begging you to show restraint and peace in your dealings with us if you fear for your own country's survival." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Lisa Leff Subject: San Francisco Marks Earthquake Centennial Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 10:41:38 -0500 By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer SAN FRANCISCO - Sirens wailed through the city before dawn Tuesday as residents marked the moment 100 years earlier when the Great Quake shattered the city, killing thousands as it leveled buildings and touched off fires that burned for days. A handful of centenarians who survived that devastation joined hundreds of residents for a moment of silence and a memorial ceremony to remember one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history. "What an extraordinary example, the pioneering spirit that defines our past, I would argue defines our present, and gives me optimism of the future," said Mayor Gavin Newsom. "San Francisco, a city of dreamers. And San Francisco, a city of doers." Most of the city's 400,000 residents were still in bed when the magnitude-7.8 earthquake struck at 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906. The foreshock sent people scrambling, and the main shock arrived with such fury that it flattened crowded rooming houses. The epicenter was a few miles offshore of the city, but it was felt as far away as Oregon and Nevada. In 28 seconds, it brought down the City Hall. From cracked chimneys, broken gas lines and toppled chemical tanks, fires broke out and swept across the city, burning for days. Ruptured water pipes left firefighters helpless, while families carrying what they could fled to parks that had become makeshift morgues. Historians say city officials, eager to bring people and commerce back to the city, radically underestimated the death toll. Researchers are still trying to settle on a number, but reliable estimates put the loss above 3,000, and possibly as high as 6,000. In any case, it ranks as one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history, a benchmark to which later calamities are compared. "It doesn't really feel like a party to me," said Bob McMillan, 37, who walked to the memorial event early Tuesday with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. "There is a sense of the tragedy, but there is also that San Francisco optimism. It's kind of like, 'We're still standing.'" Linda Cain, 52, joined the crowd to honor her late grandmother, Loretta O'Connor, who lived through the quake. "Growing up she would talk about how this devastated her life," Cain said. "She loved San Francisco very much and she passed that on to me." Communities up and down the San Andreas fault planned to commemorate the earthquake Tuesday. In Santa Rosa, where 119 of the 7,500 citizens were killed, 119 volunteers dressed in vintage garb would walk by candlelight behind a horse-drawn hearse to the cemetery where 15 earthquake victims were buried in a mass grave. San Jose, which was also hard-hit, has staged a geology exhibit called "It's Our Fault, Too." At the Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco, an artist sculpted a quivering San Francisco neighborhood in Jell-O. Historians generally agree on one point: that San Francisco will fall again in a future quake. But they disagree over whether people should love the city or leave it. A study released Monday determined that a repeat of that 1906 temblor today would cause 1,800 to 3,400 deaths, damage more than 90,000 buildings, displace as many as 250,000 households and result in $150 billion in damage. Philip L. Fradkin, author of "The Great Earthquake And Firestorms Of 1906: How San Francisco Nearly Destroyed Itself," has chosen to make the Bay Area his home in spite of the threat. Fradkin lives in Point Reyes Station, north of San Francisco. The San Andreas Fault, source of the magnitude-7.8 temblor, runs close by. "San Francisco fell, and it will fall again," Fradkin said. "And if we can't deal with the realities of history, we're lost. We do not know when or how soon. Fifty years from now? Next month? Tomorrow morning at 5:12 AM? Will it happen as just a mild little jiggle; we have lots of those, or will the next _big one_ not only knock things over but have a 'tsunami effect' as well, washing things out to sea in the process? Be prepared, that's all I will say." ___ On the Net: 1906 Earthquake Centennial Alliance: http://1906centennial.org Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:48:33 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: CNET Announces CNET TV; Cox Communications, TiVo Inc., and TVN CNET Announces CNET TV; Cox Communications, TiVo Inc., and TVN Entertainment Sign on to Launch CNET TV On-Demand; CNET to Bring On-Demand Experience to Its Web site - Apr 17, 2006 08:30 AM (BusinessWire) SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2006--CNET, a source of information and inspiration for a world gone digital, and a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNET), today announced "CNET TV," a new video-on-demand (VOD) service that packages a selection of CNET's popular video content for distribution on television and online. CNET TV will launch initially with partners Cox Communications Inc., TiVo Inc., and TVN Entertainment, as well as on CNET in the second half of the year. As consumers are increasingly interested in taking advantage of a world that has gone digital, CNET's videos have grown dramatically in popularity, with over 100 percent increase in video streams in the last year(1). Videos range from instructional to informative to entertaining, and are integrated throughout CNET's family of sites, which include CNET.com, News.com, and Download.com, to enhance the user experience. CNET TV will provide online users and TV viewers a single destination where they can access all of CNET's original video content. Video content includes CNET's popular video franchises such as Insider Secrets, Weekend Project, and First Look from the Labs. For online users, the content will be programmable based on topics of interest, or by selecting a favorite "channel," made up of the CNET franchises. CNET TV will also feature special news reports, coverage of special events such as the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, user-generated videos, and regularly scheduled programming to keep consumers updated on the day's news and trends. Interactive tools will let users engage with CNET's editorial personalities, build custom play lists they can share with friends, and click to buy products or read full reviews. The VOD partnerships follow a successful trial run with TiVo in which CNET's videos, offered to TiVo Series2(R) broadband connected subscribers, were found to be very popular(2). Cox Communications, the third largest cable operator in the nation; TiVo, a pioneer in on-demand viewing; and TVN Entertainment, which provides leading MSOs (multiple service operators) and telecommunications companies more than 2500 hours of VOD programming from over 100 content providers, will package CNET TV to fit their own platforms and customers. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57673036 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:54:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: "IBM and the Future of TV" Podcast IBM to Release "IBM and the Future of TV" Podcast - Apr 17, 2006 01:18 PM (BusinessWire) - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57682176 =========================================================================== ARMONK, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 17, 2006--IBM announced today that the 12th podcast in the series "IBM and the Future of . . ." will begin today on its investor Website. The podcast is called "IBM and the Future of TV." "IBM and the Future of TV" discusses the profound changes shaping the way billions of people get their news, culture, education and entertainment. As technology evolves, consumers are getting more and more choices for media content, when to receive it, and how to experience it. This is leading to increasing market fragmentation, which is challenging established media, programmers, and advertisers - and creating vast new opportunities for the expanding media and entertainment industry. The podcast is hosted by Ethan McCarty and features a discussion with Saul J. Berman, IBM Business Consulting Services strategy and change leader for Americas Media and Entertainment, and Steven L. Canepa, IBM vice president for Global Media and Entertainment Industry. The podcast will be available on IBM's investor Web site, at http://www.ibm.com/investor/viewpoint/podcast/17-04-06-1.phtml While the current information on its investor Web site is largely historical, IBM's podcast series discusses both general technology trends and IBM innovations in a variety of emerging business and technology areas. Future topics will include "IBM and the Future of . . ." commuting and the corporation. Other podcasts in the series can be downloaded at http://www.ibm.com/investor/viewpoint/podcast.phtml . CONTACT: IBM Jorge Alberni, 914-642-4722 alberni@us.ibm.com SOURCE: IBM ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 23:39:20 -0700 Subject: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? From: Stephen Greenfield Dear Patrick, I've been trying to research the date a particular sign was posted on my property in Glendale, California. When I saw that it had the company's name (Pacific Fence Co.) and a very old 2L-4N phone number ( Hillside 8141 ), I grew to wonder when Los Angeles would have made the transition to 2L-5N, because I could probably figure the sign predates that time. My property was built in 1926. I'm guessing that Los Angeles switched over sometime after WWII and before 1949, but I can't get a better fix on that. Any chance you know where to look? (I've been scanning old postings and digests, but haven't found anything definitive)/ Best Regards, Stephen Greenfield StephenG@screenplay.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Perhaps some of our older readers who have been around Los Angeles for a half-century or so, or older readers who lived there in the 1940-60 era will be able to answer this. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 18th April 2006 Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 09:20:48 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ 3G ]] 3G WAN Router Launched http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17005.php Digi International has announced the introduction of the ConnectPort WAN, an upgradeable 3G Wireless WAN router. Featuring an embedded four-port Ethernet switch, two RS-232 serial ports and one USB port, the ConnectPort WAN enables many different kin... HSDPA Launched in Czech Republic http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17010.php The Czech Republic based, Eurotel has announced that HSDPA technology was launched on its network last week. The company launched its 3G network last December using HSDPA capable infrastructure and has now applied the necessary software to support HS... [[ Financial ]] Telecom Funds Look For Clear Signals From Volatile Sector http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16997.php Telecommunications-sector mutual funds disconnected from investors in the 2000-2002 bear market, but nowadays they're ringing loud and clear. ... TELECOM REPORT: Alcatel-Lucent: What's In A Name? http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17001.php France's Alcatel and USA-based Lucent Technologies have lots of reasons to stick with their old names after they complete their $13.5 billion merger. Several hundred million reasons, perhaps. ... Kenyan Operator Writes Off Interconnection Debt http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17007.php Kenya's GSM network operator, Safaricom has secured a US$170 million loan facility which will be used in part to write off the debt owed to it by majority shareholder, Telkom Kenya. Due to interconnection fees, the state owned landline operator, Telk... [[ Handsets ]] Motorola's 1Q Results Seen Propelled By Razr Phones http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17000.php Motorola Inc. (MOT) could exceed its earnings forecast for the first quarter on the continued strength of its popular, ultra-slim Razr cellphones and building momentum in its newer Slvr model. ... CDMA Handsets Manufactured in Vietnam http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17006.php Electricity of Vietnam subsidiary EVN Telecom has joined with Qualcomm to manufacture fixed and CDMA based mobile phones. In its first year of operation, the factory will produce around 500,000 fixed and mobile CDMA units. The output will increase to... [[ Network Operators ]] Ukraine Mobile Co Kyivstar Refreshes Brand, Logo http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16998.php Ukraine's largest mobile phone operator, Kyivstar, said Monday that it revised its brand and logo in a bid to look dynamic and modern as the market is becoming more competitive and showing signs of slowing growth. ... MegaFon delays CPP principle launch in Chechnya http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17002.php Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon has postponed indefinitely the launch of the Calling Party Pays (CPP) principle in Russia's constituent republic of Chechnya, the company said in a press release Monday. ... Terrorists explode base station in Ingushetia http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17003.php Terrorists have blown up a base station of Russia's third largest mobile operator MegaFon in Russia's constituent republic of Ingushetia, ITAR-TASS reported Monday. ... [[ Personnel ]] FOCUS: Doctor Melamed selected to cure MTS, market disappointed http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17004.php Leonid Melamed, a medical doctor by education, who until recently headed Rosno insurance company, was appointed the new president of Russia's largest mobile operator MTS on Thursday. ... [[ Regulatory ]] Russia's VimpelCom to sell Golden Telecom's direct cell numbers http://www.cellular-news.com/story/16999.php Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom has signed an agreement with Golden Telecom to sell the latter's "direct" local numbers with the "495" prefix to mobile subscribers in the Moscow Licensed Area (MLA), the two companies said in a joint... Extending Coverage in Pakistan http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17008.php Pakistan's Telecoms Authority is understood to be preparing to permit mobile phones to be used in the country's Northern Areas, where phones are currently forbidden. The regulator is considering permitting the existing mobile networks to extend the r... More Calls to Kill Cellphone Tax http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17011.php The USA's Wireless Association, CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent used the impending tax-filing deadline to reiterate the wireless industry's support for repealing the antiquated Federal Excise Tax (FET). The tax, first instituted in 1898 to finan... [[ Technology ]] Patents That Kill Background Noise on Phone Calls http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17009.php TechnoConcepts says that it has filed two provisional patent applications with the US Patent Office for new inventions which virtually eliminate background noise in cellular and other communications devices, while vividly improving the voice clarity.... ------------------------------ Subject: Telecom Update Special: CRTC Chair Responds to Forbearance Critics Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 12:16:37 -0400 From: John Riddell ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE SPECIAL ISSUE Exclusive interview: CRTC CHAIR RESPONDS TO FORBEARANCE CRITICS Number 525b: April 18, 2006 ************************************************************ Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.com/canada/telecom/ ** MITEL NETWORKS: www.mitel.com/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ INTERVIEW WITH CHARLES DALFEN: The CRTC's "local forbearance" decision has been widely criticized in the press and elsewhere. In this exclusive interview, Telecom Update editor Lis Angus asks CRTC Chairman Charles Dalfen to respond. ANGUS: Some have said the forbearance decision shows that the CRTC is opposed to relying on market forces. Do you agree? DALFEN: No. The opposite is true. We believe in market forces and deregulation. In the past few years we have deregulated sector after sector in the telecom industry -- in fact, local phone service is the final frontier for deregulation. But the Telecommunications Act says the CRTC can only "forbear from regulating" when and where there is enough competition to protect the interests of users. The purpose of this proceeding was to set criteria for deciding when that stage has been reached in local phone service. We set two key criteria: the incumbents have to have lost 25% of the market within a local forbearance region, and they have to have met all competitor Quality of Service indicators for six months. In addition, they have to have a wholesale ADSL tariff, and have to show that there is rivalry in the market. ANGUS: The CRTC only issues its competition report, including market shares, once a year. Do carriers have to wait for that annual report to apply for forbearance? DALFEN: No. They can apply at any time. They can even apply before they have entirely met the thresholds -- so forbearance could be approved conditional on meeting the criteria. ANGUS: How long will it take the CRTC to process applications for local = forbearance? DALFEN: We expect to turn around forbearance applications in four months -- and after the initial few applications, probably even faster. ANGUS: When will we likely see local services deregulated? DALFEN: I expect that most business markets -- in major cities at least -- will be forborne in the next 18 months. As for residential service, Aliant has met two of the criteria in Halifax already, market share loss and rivalry. The other criteria -- filing a wholesale ADSL tariff and meeting the competitor QoS indicators -- are under Aliant's control. I expect Montreal and Toronto will soon qualify as well. ANGUS: Why did you use lines in service as the measure of market share, rather than revenues? DALFEN: Lines is the measure of competition used around the world. It is a straightforward and simple measurement. Tracking revenue is more complicated, with a lot more bookkeeping. People wanted clear criteria and that's what we set. ANGUS: Would you be open to a forbearance application based on revenue? DALFEN: We'd probably be open to a case being made on revenue as a measure of market share, if for some reason there is a big discrepancy between lines and revenue. ANGUS: Why did you set 25% as the market share loss figure? DALFEN: As every party to the proceeding acknowledged, setting the level of ILEC market share loss to be used as criterion for forbearance is not a precise scientific exercise. We think that 25% is a fair level. ANGUS: Why did the CRTC set different deregulation criteria for local phone service than it did for cable TV? Cablecos can apply for deregulation when they've lost only 5% of their customers DALFEN: When we set the criteria for cable deregulation, the competition was from satellites. By definition, satellite competitors had facilities in every market, while cablecos did not have ubiquitous coverage. In local phone service the situation is reversed: the incumbents have near-universal coverage in their territories, while competitors have much less. Also, in the local phone market, competitors--even the cablecos -- depend on the incumbents for essential services such as phone numbers and interconnecting trunks. Some also require local loops and other services. Satellite TV providers don't need any facilities from the cablecos. ANGUS: Why do you require the phone companies to meet certain quality standards for services they provide to competitors? Isn't this just protecting competitors? DALFEN: No. It's about protecting customers. There's no point to "sustainable competition" if it's just about the providers. The point is that consumers need choices. We have to ensure that the incumbents can't use their position to inhibit competition, leaving consumers unprotected. ANGUS: Why does the CRTC require the incumbents to provide wholesale ADSL to competitors, including naked DSL, before they can apply for forbearance? DALFEN: This ensures that competitors who want to offer a bundled VoIP-over-broadband service can get necessary facilities from the phone companies, and that their customers can choose to cancel the incumbent's phone service without losing the right to have broadband. ANGUS: But isn't it true that the telcos' main competitors -- the cablecos -- don't use the incumbents' infrastructure? DALFEN: Firstly, as I said, all local service competitors, including the cablecos, need some essential facilities from the incumbents, such as phone numbers and interconnecting trunks. Secondly, the cablecos aren't the only competitors -- resellers and other competitors need a variety of other facilities from the telcos. We had a whole proceeding to establish the minimum standards required to allow competitors fair access to essential services. The incumbents have been failing to meet these standards. Meeting these standards is entirely within the phone companies' control. It's neither acceptable nor fair to argue that those standards are not important. ANGUS: A recent Financial Post editorial claimed that the CRTC makes it "illegal for the phone companies to cut prices." Is that true? DALFEN: No. I don't know how anyone can draw that conclusion. The incumbents can't raise residential prices, but they can certainly reduce them if they wish -- as long as their prices don't drop below cost. ANGUS: The Telecom Policy Review report recommended relying on market forces as much as possible, and -- where regulation is still required -- relying on complaints-based enforcement instead of requiring prior approval of tariffs. Do you agree with that recommendation? DALFEN: The TPR report also recommended that the CRTC have the power to impose fines. Without that power, after-the-fact regulation is toothless. Before the recent election, the government introduced a bill that would have given the CRTC the power to impose meaningful fines if carriers violate their tariffs or other regulations. If the new government passes such a provision, I could see the logic of complaints-based enforcement for retail services rather than requiring advance approvals. For further information, see: ** Telecom Update #524: http://www.angustel.ca/update/up524.html ** CRTC Telecom Decision 2006-15: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-15.htm Telecom Update is published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group, http://www.angustel.ca HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: gordonb.9dj6a@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) Subject: Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 01:41:13 -0000 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com > Given the mess* in "customer service" call centers, should consumers > tape record their calls in case of subsequent trouble? > For one, it gives the consumer a clear record of what was said they if > they aren't sure, they can play the tape back. Secondly, in case the > service rep gives bad information or promise that isn't carried out > the consumer is protected with a record of the conversation. It has been argued in legal newsgroups that the meaning of "this call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes" which is commonly played on customer service calls is not what many people think it is. It gives YOU, the caller, *PERMISSION* to record the call in both-party states (and you don't need permission in either-party states). If they were informing you that *they* were going to record, it should be "this call might be recorded for quality assurance purposes". Gordon L. Burditt ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 07:50:41 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Given the mess* in "customer service" call centers, should consumers > tape record their calls in case of subsequent trouble? > For one, it gives the consumer a clear record of what was said they if > they aren't sure, they can play the tape back. Secondly, in case the > service rep gives bad information or promise that isn't carried out > the consumer is protected with a record of the conversation. > *The call center mess: > In the old days, customer service representatives of a business, such > as a bank, insurance company, or telephone company, were well trained > experienced employees. They knew the company's products and services > and policies. They knew had to look up customer records (whether > manually or on-line) and how to make account adjustments when > necessary. > However, today, call centers is a factory assembly line operation. > The employees are lower paid, under strict time quotas, and have high > turnover. They are not trained as to a company's policies. They are > under pressure to sell premium goods and services regardless of the > customers' real needs of service. In many cases the operators are > overseas. Often times the clerk is not very skilled or bright, and > unable to properly use the computer. > Rather, they read off scripts provided by a computer screen. If a > customer's inquiry can't be answered by pre-canned answers, the > customer is out of luck. If the customer is lucky, the call will be > passed to a true experienced and knowledgeable rep for assistance. > BTW, is there anyone out there who can justify today's call center > boiler rooms as being "better"? > [public replies, please] My wife works on the lost baggage "desk" of a major airline. She's a supervisor. It's a thankless job. While many of us see the ugly side of boiler room call centers, we (those reading here) tend to be a fairly honest well educated group. She gets to deal with the rest of the population daily. Many of them are rude, lie, and out to "get one over on the big company" any time they can. Not all, not most, but enough to make her want to crawl in a hole at times when her day is done. Tips for dealing with a call center. Don't get emotional. Listen carefully to what is being said. It usually isn't what you want to hear and many folks will mentally skip the parts they don't like. Write down facts. Yours and the ones given. Remember the person on the other end isn't a God with magical powers. If your luggage (so to speak) is in San Jose and you're in Chicago, no one on the planet can get it to you in 1 hour. And no amount of yelling will change that. :) And the job isn't all that bad, two of the nicer folks they've dealt with were Oscar winners who were missing some really expensive clothes. And the reason one of them was a problem was that they had left an old baggage tag on a suitcase. When it got checked the tag was missed but when loaded on a plane it was seen as going to London instead of LA. That suitcase traveled a LOT of miles in 12 hours. :) As to why call centers have gone to boiler room operations, over and over again, surveys and sales have proven that initial prices trumps back end service 95% or more of the time in people deciding where to buy things. There was even a recent wire service newspaper article about this last week. Airlines have not yet gone the India route (Delta tried but I think they pulled it back.) is that things like lost baggage services requires a knowledge of how the "systems" work. It can't be scripted. ------------------------------ From: B. Wright Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 05:34:49 +0000 (UTC) Organization: XMission Internet http://www.xmission.com Subject: Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Given the mess* in "customer service" call centers, should consumers > tape record their calls in case of subsequent trouble? > [public replies, please] Yess, because there is no accountability in these boiler room call centers. I have had, on several occasions, people blatantly lie just to get off the phone and get out of dealing with a complicated problem. Later, when I called back, they had even annotated the account with information completely to the contrary to what we discussed, just to cover their tracks. Even the smallest customer service issue could turn into a mess, especially if it is something that could involve your credit. If/when you finally speak to someone at their corporate headquarters (many times it comes to this to get real problems resolved) and you let them know that you're conversations have been recorded, they seem to take a much greater interest rather than ignore you. It's a shame that it has come to this, but simply having something to fall back on when you find out you were lied to can save you several hours of wasted time later. ------------------------------ From: Dailhart Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card Date: 17 Apr 2006 18:52:21 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hanco Man is right. In my case, there is no such a thing as a toll free number on my cell phone. I do not have a long distance calling plan on my company's cell phone. Nextel charges 35 cents per minute; the same as a regular long distance call. My calling card will not allow toll free calls. To retrieve evoice from evoice.com, I have to dial 1-866-MY-EVOICE at 35 cents per minute. Evoice.com says that they do not have a local number, which I find hard to believe. I'm still looking for a cheaper option to call 1-866-MY-EVOICE from my limited cell phone. I have to keep evoice.com since I have a local number already registered with them. Thank you for your comments; please keep looking. JD ------------------------------ From: Lena Subject: Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage Date: 18 Apr 2006 04:01:58 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com curious_br wrote: > ... Vonage will not be able to port my local service directly > from AT&T and that I will need to switch my local service to Verizon > and then port to Vonage from that provider. Is there any truth to this? Possibly. AT&T may not have a portability agreement set up with Vonage. I am going through a similar problem, trying to port my number from Cavalier Telephone (a Richmond, VA company) to AT&T's CallVantage. I was told by AT&T that they could not port my number directly and suggested I switch from Cavalier to Verizon and then to AT&T. (To make matters worse, I cannot port my number from Cavalier to Verizon until I have the DSL removed from my line, which, according to Cavalier, takes "15 to 20 business days".) I think it is unfair to "use" Verizon in this manner; certainly they lose money setting up accounts for all these folks who just want to keep their home or business phone numbers, only to have them closed after a month or so of service. We all have been paying a fee for quite a while to insure number portability, and when we want to take advantage of it, the system fails. Lena ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 07:51:37 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Scott Dorsey wrote: > Garrett Wollman wrote: >> In article , >> John C. Fowler wrote: >>> What I'd like to see is an option like, if you pay an extra $5, we'll >>> handle your support calls onshore. >> There are companies that do that, only it's usually called "premium >> support" and usually costs a lot more than $5. > I don't care if the support is handled onshore or offshore. I don't > care where the person is. > What I care about is whether he can solve my problem or not. And far > too seldom are they able to do that. It is very difficult in most of > these outfits to be able to speak to an actual technician, rather than > someone who reads a troubleshooting script. > If the problem was soluble with the troubleshooting script in the manual, > I would have solved it before calling tech support. That makes you a part of a small minority. ------------------------------ From: harold@hallikainen.com Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Man Gets $218 Trillion Phone Bill; and Not SBC Either. Date: 18 Apr 2006 06:03:24 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I wonder if, perhaps, this is a two's complement problem. The phone company actually owes him a slight amount, but the software misinterprets a negative number as a high positive number. While computers use two's complement numbers, we can visualize the problem by using 10s complement, as on the odometer of your car. If you start at zero, go forward 1 mile, then back two miles, you've gone -1 mile, but the odometer shows 999,999. Harold ------------------------------ From: violeta Subject: Satellite Phones Date: 18 Apr 2006 07:44:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Satellite telephone info, new models, informations, global satellite telephone providers, satellite telephone base stations, paging, astellite FAX systems, voice over internet protocol ... read more at: http://www.freewebs.com/sattelephones and get the latest information about satellite phones. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #146 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Apr 18 22:01:52 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 2805D156AB; Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:01:52 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #147 Message-Id: <20060419020152.2805D156AB@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:01:52 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, BIZ_TLD autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:05:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 147 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Da Vinci Code Quest Launched as On Line Puzzle (Reuters News Wire) Companies Warn About EU Broadcasting Rules (Associated Press News Wire) Verizon Launches FiOS in Plano, Texas (USTelecom dailyLead) Is it Possible to Get a Shock from POTS/DSL (SBC)? (SD) Motorola to Extend Wireless Broadband Capabilities (technology_post) WTS Audiocode Boards (cooltuna) VOIP Billing (naftali) Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Robert Bonomi) Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Anthony Bellanga) Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Steven Lichter) Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (T) Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (Steve Sobol) Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams (Robert Bonomi) Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage (T) Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card (Steven Lichter) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Da Vinci Code Quest Launched as OnLine Puzzle Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:39:44 -0500 It has been spun into a video game and mobile phone game already -- now fans of The Da Vinci Code can also embark on an online puzzle quest run by Google. The reality game-style code quest fits with the book's themes of brain-bending puzzles, with 24 contests running daily until May 11, 2006 and a prize draw for those who answer all 24 puzzles correctly. The puzzles include symbol logic, chess-related codes, city map jigsaw puzzles and video riddles. Accessible in Britain on http://www.google.co.uk/davincicode, the online quest is also available for fans in the United States and Australia. The UK winner will get return tickets to Paris on the Eurostar. Written by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code is a thriller in which the main characters must uncover clues they hope will lead them to an important religious relic. The book is one of the most successful novels of all time with sales of 40 million copies. Brown was vindicated this month in a British court battle with two historians who accused him of plagiarizing their book. The Da Vinci Code movie, starring Tom Hanks, premieres in May at the Cannes film festival in France. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Companies Warn About EU Broadcasting Rules Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:41:20 -0500 Media and technology companies are warning that proposed European Union broadcasting rules would restrict the growth of emerging media formats such as video broadcasts on the Internet and mobile phones. On Tuesday, an alliance of British companies -- including ITV PLC, BT Group PLC and Vodafone Group PLC, and the UK subsidiaries of Yahoo Inc. Intel Corp., and Cisco Systems Inc. -- said a European Commission proposal to impose rules for traditional broadcasters on new media providers could have "unintended consequences" and hurt investment. The European Commission wants to create a level playing field by making TV and TV-like services -- such as broadcasts over high speed broadband and third-generation mobile phones - follow the same set of rules. Those rules include limits on hate speech, advertising and the kind of content that can be broadcast to children. Intellect, a London-based business lobby representing technology companies, said it would be difficult enforce the strict rules. The EU proposal could ultimately mean less investment for an area that has enormous growth potential -- leading to fewer companies, less innovation and higher prices, the group said in a statement. "Many services unconnected to scheduled broadcast television will be unintentionally caught," it said. "Citizen media such as blogs, video-casts and the like are one of the most exciting developments enabled by new technology. This phenomenon has the potential to create new businesses ... but this proposed regulation severely risks stunting its growth," it said. EU officials were not immediately available Tuesday to respond to the criticism, but the European Commission has insisted that it has no plans to regulate the Internet. The European Internet Services Providers Association also is concerned about the "lack of clarity" in the EU draft law and is unsure what kind of technologies would be governed by the stricter rules, said Richard Nash, the association's secretary general. "The U.K. government has taken a pro-active line stimulating the debate. In other countries, there's less awareness of it," he said. Last year, David Currie, chairman of Britain's broadcasting regulator, the Office of Communications, said he doubted more regulation was the best way to promote new content and new business models in Europe. "We have real concern as to whether it is feasible to adopt a traditional, broadcast-type regulatory model for content delivered on new media platforms," he told a September conference on EU broadcasting rules. The law will need the backing of the European Parliament and 25 European Union governments before it can take effect. The Parliament is likely to vote on it later this year. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headline news and audio reports from Associated Press please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:08:31 -0400 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon Launches FiOS in Plano, Texas USTelecom dailyLead April 18, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dtoMfDtutcrFvlXnGF TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon launches FiOS in Plano, Texas BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Birch comes out of Chapter 11 * Charter adds, expands markets for phone service * XO broadens footprint for VoIP PBX solution * Sprint Nextel may be forced to buy wireless reseller * Eisner invests in broadband TV startup USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Stay on top of IPTV, Network Security, IMS, Ethernet, IPv6 and more TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * CNET moves into TV with video-on-demand network * UMA is on the way * Commentary: Online, the future is local REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Study: Telecom TV competition could lower cable rates Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dtoMfDtutcrFvlXnGF ------------------------------ From: SD Subject: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL (SBC)? Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 14:10:39 -0500 My brother says he is occasionally getting a shock when using his wired phone (ATT Trimline) with DSL filter on a SBC POTS/DSL line. Is the phone shorted? TIA, SD ------------------------------ From: technology_post@yahoo.com Subject: Motorola to Extend Wireless Broadband Capabilities Date: 18 Apr 2006 12:18:30 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com SCHAUMBURG, Ill. Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Orthogon Systems, a privately held, leading provider of high-performance fixed wireless solutions. The addition will expand the MOTOwi4 portfolio of IP, wireless broadband solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory and other customary conditions, is expected to close in the first half of 2006. http://technology-post.com/tech/index.php/motorola-to-extend-wireless-broadband-capabilities-through-acquisition-of-orthogon-systems/ ------------------------------ From: cooltuna Subject: WTS Audiocode Boards Date: 18 Apr 2006 13:38:27 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Want to sell Audiocode boards TP1610 480 spans new in box. Best offer. Also have other Audiocode in stock. ------------------------------ From: naftali Subject: VOIP Billing Date: 18 Apr 2006 16:38:36 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com PortaBilling100 is a carrier-grade VoIP billing and customer management platform that enables IP telephony providers to launch, price and provision their services immediately. PortaBilling supports Caller-ID (ANI) based billing, with both prepaid and postpaid billing models, as well as prepaid calling cards and account/PIN systems with Interactive Voice Response (IVR). PortaBilling100 can also be used by wholesale providers who terminate VOIP calls for other providers. PortaBilling100 can be installed and configured in less than an hour. It offers a fully-featured, web-based interface, allowing it to be hosted in outsourced data centers. A Cisco access server and PortaBilling100 are all you need to launch a wide array of telephony services, including low-cost international calling card systems, or to offer telephony solutions for SME. PortaBilling100 uses a real-time authorization, authentication and billing engine to provide AAA services via the RADIUS protocol for any VoIP gateway using a stop-accounting billing method. Our software is built on open standards and runs on a UNIX server, and is ideal for reliability-conscious ITSPs. You can see more at http://www.portaone.com Thanks, George Muenz Sales Manager PortaOne Inc. Tel: +1-866-SIP VOIP (+1 866 747 8647) ext. 719 george.muenz@portaone.com http://www.portaone.com ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:27:40 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Stephen Greenfield wrote: > Dear Patrick, > I've been trying to research the date a particular sign was posted on > my property in Glendale, California. When I saw that it had the > company's name (Pacific Fence Co.) and a very old 2L-4N phone > number ( Hillside 8141 ), I grew to wonder when Los Angeles would have > made the transition to 2L-5N, because I could probably figure the sign > predates that time. > My property was built in 1926. I'm guessing that Los Angeles switched > over sometime after WWII and before 1949, but I can't get a better fix > on that. Any chance you know where to look? The chances are very good that the GLENDALE PUBLIC LIBRARY has old telephone books for Glendale. If not, it is a safe bet that the L.A. (the city proper) Library has L.A. phone books going back that far. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:07:26 -0600 From: Anthony Bellanga Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:18:37 GMT In article telecom25.146.5@telecom-digest.org, Stephen Greenfield at StephenG@Screenplay.com wrote on 4/17/06 23:39: > Dear Patrick, > I've been trying to research the date a particular sign was posted on > my property in Glendale, California. When I saw that it had the > company's name (Pacific Fence Co.) and a very old 2L-4N phone > number ( Hillside 8141 ), I grew to wonder when Los Angeles would have > made the transition to 2L-5N, because I could probably figure the sign > predates that time. > My property was built in 1926. I'm guessing that Los Angeles switched > over sometime after WWII and before 1949, but I can't get a better fix > on that. Any chance you know where to look? > (I've been scanning old postings and digests, but haven't found anything > definitive)/ > Best Regards, > Stephen Greenfield > StephenG@screenplay.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Perhaps some of our older readers who > have been around Los Angeles for a half-century or so, or older > readers who lived there in the 1940-60 era will be able to answer > this. PAT] Having lived in the San Fernando Valley through 1972, I remember having our number changed from DImond XXXX to DImond1-XXXX in 1958 or 59. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Was the exchange name 'Dimond' or 'Diamond' (with the /a/ as the third letter)? PAT] ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:06:29 -0400 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > Given the mess* in "customer service" call centers, should consumers > tape record their calls in case of subsequent trouble? > For one, it gives the consumer a clear record of what was said they if > they aren't sure, they can play the tape back. Secondly, in case the > service rep gives bad information or promise that isn't carried out > the consumer is protected with a record of the conversation. > *The call center mess: > In the old days, customer service representatives of a business, such > as a bank, insurance company, or telephone company, were well trained > experienced employees. They knew the company's products and services > and policies. They knew had to look up customer records (whether > manually or on-line) and how to make account adjustments when > necessary. > However, today, call centers is a factory assembly line operation. > The employees are lower paid, under strict time quotas, and have high > turnover. They are not trained as to a company's policies. They are > under pressure to sell premium goods and services regardless of the > customers' real needs of service. In many cases the operators are > overseas. Often times the clerk is not very skilled or bright, and > unable to properly use the computer. > Rather, they read off scripts provided by a computer screen. If a > customer's inquiry can't be answered by pre-canned answers, the > customer is out of luck. If the customer is lucky, the call will be > passed to a true experienced and knowledgeable rep for assistance. > BTW, is there anyone out there who can justify today's call center > boiler rooms as being "better"? Over the weekend the Dell 1370 wireless card on my partners laptop died. I called Dell and had to go through a 3+ hour odyssey which involved stepping back through system restore points, backing up data and re-installing the OS and software, and then reseating the network card only to find that my original diagnosis was correct. I was definitely dealing with folks in India. The funny part is, at work we use Dell servers and gear. Our standard line with their support (Which is U.S. based, btw.) is to tell them it's a production box and send us the part, which they do without fail. There ought to be some sort of vetting process for I.T. folks to get past those damned support scripts. ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol Subject: Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 17:52:45 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com B. Wright wrote: > Yes, because there is no accountability in these boiler room > call centers. It really depends on the call center. I've dealt with very good ones and crappy ones. Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, CA Resident of Southern California - the home of beautiful people and butt-ugly traffic jams ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Bell System Photo by Ansel Adams Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:00:55 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Scott Dorsey wrote: > Garrett Wollman wrote: >> In article , >> John C. Fowler wrote: >>> What I'd like to see is an option like, if you pay an extra $5, we'll >>> handle your support calls onshore. >> There are companies that do that, only it's usually called "premium >> support" and usually costs a lot more than $5. > I don't care if the support is handled onshore or offshore. I don't > care where the person is. > What I care about is whether he can solve my problem or not. And far > too seldom are they able to do that. It is very difficult in most of > these outfits to be able to speak to an actual technician, rather than > someone who reads a troubleshooting script. > If the problem was soluble with the troubleshooting script in the manual, > I would have solved it before calling tech support. Hear, hear! I once had my account,for tech support calls, flagged with "when this guy calls, refer it _directly_ to **level IV** support". (This was a workstation vendor -- level IV was the 'guys in the back room, with actual access to the O/S source-code'.) The Level II and III folks found it awfully frustrating when they couldn't understand the question well enough to figure out _where_ to start looking for an answer. I was _the_ support point-of-contact for our company, and these were the *only* kinds of calls they got from us. Like with Scott, if it was anything simpler than 'really esoteric', *I* answered it in-house without having to call vendor support. I got that kind of access, because it was frequently worth it _to_them_ when I called. We didn't have an O/S source license, so the guy looking at their code _couldn't_ tell me much about what the was looking at, but it tended not to matter. one typical conversation: me: I think I've found a bug in the {mumble} library routine, under _these_ circumstances. Would you grab the source code, and tell me if this is right? ts: ok. [pause] got it. me: right. we enter the routine with things set like this, and first it does _this_. ts: uh-huh. me: and then it does *this*. ts: uh-huh. me: and then it does =this*. ts: uh-huh. me: and then it does ... ts: (interrupting) oh, *shit*!!!! me: that's what I was afraid it was doing. and, maybe an hour later, I have a patch for the problem in hand. ------------------------------ From: T Subject: Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Company Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:55:18 -0400 In article , hbreder@adelphia.net says: > Early in March I signed up with Vonage and asked them the transfer my > number from AT&T, my local service provider. I signed a LOA and > waited. When nothing had happened after 3 weeks I emailed > Vonage. They now tell my that AT&T is apparently trying to resell my > number and therefore the transfer is not going through. I called AT&T > and was told that AT&T is not reselling my number and that there they > can't see a problem with the transfer. I email Vonage with that > information and receive an email that now that all the obstacles are > removed they will proceed with the transfer request. So I wait > again. Finally about 10 days later I email Vonage to ask them what is > holding up the transfer. They reply that they are waiting for AT&T to > set an FOC date. I turned around and ask AT&T what is holding them up > setting the FOC (firm order confirmation) date. So I get the reply > today that AT&T does not give an FOC but that "due to systems > limitations" Vonage will not be able to port my local service directly > from AT&T and that I will need to switch my local service to Verizon > and then port to Vonage from that provider. > I am exasperated. Is there any truth to this? Why can't AT&T port the > number directly to Vonage? and if not, somebody at Vonage should have > known about this from the start since I would certainly not be the > first person to go through this process. Instead I am now paying for 2 > concurrent services (AT&T and Vonage) and have to add on another 3rd > service (Verizon) while spending more time waiting for the > transfer. Is somebody making money of this? Is it kind of scam? Probably because AT&T is reselling Verizon service. Get the local PUC involved and cc the FCC. There's clearly no technical limitation, it's just determining who owns the number. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: How to Dial a Toll-Free Number Using a Calling Card From: Steven Lichter Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 00:20:07 GMT In article telecom25.146.11@telecom-digest.org, Dailhart at dailhart@yahoo.com wrote on 4/17/06 18:52: > Hanco Man is right. > In my case, there is no such a thing as a toll free number on my cell > phone. I do not have a long distance calling plan on my company's cell > phone. Nextel charges 35 cents per minute; the same as a regular long > distance call. My calling card will not allow toll free calls. > To retrieve evoice from evoice.com, I have to dial 1-866-MY-EVOICE at > 35 cents per minute. Evoice.com says that they do not have a local > number, which I find hard to believe. > I'm still looking for a cheaper option to call 1-866-MY-EVOICE from my > limited cell phone. I have to keep evoice.com since I have a local > number already registered with them. > Thank you for your comments; please keep looking. > JD You should be able to change to one of Sprints plans now. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #147 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Apr 19 13:18:32 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 7D6DD151AC; Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:18:32 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #148 Message-Id: <20060419171832.7D6DD151AC@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:18:32 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.2 required=2.0 tests=ACCEPT_CREDIT_CARDS, ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:20:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 148 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Yahoo Accused of Helping Jail China Internet Writer (Reuters News Wire) Google Searches Inside Business Software Programs (Eric Auchard) Multicarrier EDGE Yields Increased Bandwidth? (Raqueeb Hassan) Companies Warn About EU Broadcasting Rules (Monty Solomon) Telecom News Daily Update - April 19, 2005 (Telecom News Update) Cellular-News for Wednesday 19th April 2006 (Cellular-News) Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Steven Lichter) Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL (Lena) Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL (Robert Bonomi) Re: "IBM and the Future of TV" Podcast (Lisa Hancock) Re: For Sale: InternetDotComs.com (NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us) Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? (Steve Sobol) Lucent Avaya NT1B-300 Network Termination (FRM Guru) How Pathetic! Time, Money, Keeping You From Earning Degree (Mr. Marcelyorg) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Yahoo Accused of Helping Jail China Internet Writer Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:28:14 -0500 Yahoo Inc. may have helped Chinese police to identify an Internet writer who was subsequently jailed for four years for subversion in the third such case, an advocacy group for journalists said on Wednesday. News implicating Yahoo in the imprisonment of Jiang Lijun in 2003 surfaced on the eve of a summit between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Bush in Washington. It was the third such case involving the U.S. Internet giant. Yahoo was accused of providing electronic records to Chinese authorities that led to an eight-year prison term for Li Zhi for subversion in 2003 and of helping to identify Shi Tao, who was accused of leaking state secrets abroad and jailed last year for 10 years. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said it had obtained a copy of the verdict showing that Yahoo! Holdings (Hong Kong) helped Chinese police to identify Jiang by confirming that the e-mail account ZYMZd2002 had been used jointly by Jiang and another pro-democracy activist Li Yibing. "Little by little we are piecing together the evidence for what we have long suspected, that Yahoo! is implicated in the arrest of most of the people that we have been defending," the group said. "We hope this Internet giant will not, as it has each time it has been challenged previously, hide behind its local partner, Alibaba, to justify its behavior. Whatever contract it has with this partner, the e-mail service is marketed as Yahoo!," it said. But the watchdog conceded that the access code could also have been provided by Li, who is suspected of having been a police informer in the case. Yahoo could not immediately be reached for comment. The company has defended itself in the past, saying it had to abide by local laws. The 40-year-old Jiang was accused of seeking to use "violent means" to impose democracy, Reporters Without Borders said. Police believed Jiang to be the leader of a small group of Internet dissidents, including Liu Di, a university student who was detained for one year and released in November 2003 after police decided against pressing charges. The case is the latest in a string of examples that highlight the friction between profits and principles for Internet companies doing business in China, the world's number-two Internet market. Web search giant Google Inc. has come under fire for saying it would block politically sensitive terms on its new China site, bowing to conditions set by Beijing. In December, Microsoft Corp. shut down a blog at MSN Spaces belonging to outspoken blogger Michael Anti under Chinese government orders. China has intensified a crackdown on the media in the past year, sacking newspaper editors, arresting journalists and closing publications. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Eric Auchard Subject: Google Searches Inside Business Software Programs Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 10:29:50 -0500 By Eric Auchard Google Inc., the consumer Web search favorite, will help office workers dig deeper into business software programs and databases to find relevant information tidbits, the company said on Tuesday. Google is introducing a new version of its system to trawl for information locked inside an organization's key business systems, working with software makers including Oracle Corp., and Salesforce.com. The Mountain View, California company seeks to answer criticism that its basic keyword system of searching for information on the public Web is too blunt an instrument to cut through complex office filing systems to find salient details. The new feature, known by the mouthful "Google OneBox for Enterprise," is built into boxes Google sells to businesses. They help create custom search systems for employees inside organizations or for consumers on the company's own Web site. "Google is becoming more and more savvy about what the enterprise needs in the way of search," said IDC analyst Sue Feldman, an expert in the enterprise search field. "It is taking commodity search, adding features, and making search more appealing" for business users, she said. While Google lacks the sophistication of systems that have long focused on the corporate search market -- from suppliers like Autonomy, Fast Search and Transfer and IBM -- Google is quickly making in-roads, Feldman said. Google plans to allow corporate customers to create company-specific searches where employees can use the familiar Google search box to locate information such as contacts or calendars, employee benefits, sales leads or purchase orders. "Over time Google has become a gateway for searching for all types of information," said Dave Girouard, general manager of the company's enterprise business. "We have been doing this on the consumer side for years," he said. Already, when a consumer goes to http://www.google.com and types in a query for certain types of information, Google analyzes the request to figure out if it may refer to, say, a song or airline flight times, the weather or stock prices. The seeming simplicity of Google disguises how different search terms whisk a user into entirely different databases. Similarly, office workers using the new business software search feature inside companies using a Search Appliance -- as Google's hardware product is known -- will be able to drill down and search for specific types of office documents. The move to customize how Google hardware searches inside popular software applications comes as the Search Appliance nears sales to its 4,000th customer, nearly double the 2,000 customers it counted in 2005's third quarter, Girouard said. A company could set up a hundred different categories of custom searches for documents inside their organizations, with specific queries targets to particular employee groups. Initial software partners include Cognos Inc. and SAS, suppliers of software used to uncover marketing trends in business databases along with Employease, an online supplier of employee benefits services but the scope of Google's effort is to embrace hundreds if not thousands of common software types. Google will promote use of the new search feature by providing open access to developers to download the software, create new applications and share them with other developers. In order to jump start use of its search software inside business, government and other private organizations, Google has worked with consulting partners such as BearingPoint and Persistent Systems to provide access to commonly used applications from SAP AG , Oracle's PeopleSoft, Microsoft Exchange and IBM's Lotus Notes. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines and stories, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ From: Raqueeb Hassan Subject: Multicarrier EDGE Yields Increased Bandwidth? Date: 19 Apr 2006 07:24:48 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com As I was reading one of the 'Ericsson Review' issues on GSM/EDGE service evolution, It said "Multicarrier EDGE yields increased bandwidth. This is manifested by increased peak and meanbit rates both over the uplink and downlink." Now, for a given time slots of maximum 8 for EDGE transmission in each direction (uplink and downlink), as GSM standard allows it, the transfer rate can be upto 480 kpbs. Now for increasing the bandwidth, we can employ multiple carriers, as I understood. Lets say, with four carriers and 8 timeslots each, the highest transfer rate would be like 2Mbps. Now, what might be the complexity for the operator to install multiple BTSs, (Base Transceiver Station) in same area for providing more time slots than that of 8? Does that mean we also have to upgrade our terminals/cell phone/EDGE devices that can recieve from more than 1 BTS? Will our terminals/phones need to have mulitiple transceivers? TIA. Raqueeb Hassan Bangladesh ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:19:44 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Companies Warn About EU Broadcasting Rules BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- Media and technology companies are warning that proposed European Union broadcasting rules would restrict the growth of emerging media formats such as video broadcasts on the Internet and mobile phones. On Tuesday, an alliance of British companies _ including ITV PLC, BT Group PLC and Vodafone Group PLC, and the UK subsidiaries of Yahoo Inc., Intel Corp., and Cisco Systems Inc. _ said a European Commission proposal to impose rules for traditional broadcasters on new media providers could have "unintended consequences" and hurt investment. The European Commission wants to create a level playing field by making TV and TV-like services _ such as broadcasts over high speed broadband and third-generation mobile phones _ follow the same set of rules. Those rules include limits on hate speech, advertising and the kind of content that can be broadcast to children. Intellect, a London-based business lobby representing technology companies, said it would be difficult enforce the strict rules. The EU proposal could ultimately mean less investment for an area that has enormous growth potential _ leading to fewer companies, less innovation and higher prices, the group said in a statement. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57736330 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:55:56 -0400 From: Telecomdirect_Daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Wednesday, April 19, 2006 ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 19, 2006 ******************************** Google Accelerates Push in Corporate Search http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17574?11228 SAN FRANCISCO -- Hoping to become less dependent on Internet advertising, online search engine leader Google Inc. is introducing a tool designed to make it easier for companies and their workers to find vital information scattered across a maze of complex software applications. The latest upgrade to Google's 4-year-old search... U.S. Cell Phone Provider Cingular Swings to Profit in First Quarter http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/17568?11228 ATLANTA -- Cingular Wireless LLC, the United States' largest cell phone provider, reported Wednesday that it swung to a profit in the first quarter on a 9 percent increase in revenue. The Atlanta-based company said it earned $354 million for the three months ending March 31, compared to a loss of $240 million in the same... Seven Adds Third in U.S. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17567?11228 Wireless e-mail provider Seven added its third U.S. carrier customer today as Alltel signed up to deliver both enterprise and personal editions of its software. Seven's wireless e-mail is now being offered through about 80 carriers globally, including Cingular and Sprint in the United States, says Jason Guesman, vice president of... Motorola Makes Piping Hot Fixed-Wireless Buy http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/100/17566?11228 Motorola is purchasing fixed-wireless house Orthogon Systems, known for its software-defined wireless Ethernet bridges, in which it already holds a minority stake. The buyer also is a distributor of Orthogon products. Terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in the next month or two, were not disclosed. Orthogon has raised... Mobile Phone With a Hidden Secret http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17564?11228 What do you need in a mobile phone? If text messaging is as important to you as talking, you'll probably want to take a close look at LG Electronics' latest handset offering.   The South Korean electronics giant is marketing its new LG F9200 for Cingular as an "instant-messaging phone." That's because the LG F9200 features a... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Subject: Cellular-News for Wednesday 19th April 2006 Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 07:40:29 -0500 From: Cellular-News Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com [[ Financial ]] Ireland's Eircom Receives $2.9 Billion Buyout Offer http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17012.php Eircom on Tuesday confirmed Tuesday it has received a US$2.9 billion buyout offer for the Irish telecommunications services provider, adding to the growing trend of European telecom mergers. ... VimpelCom US GAAP net profit up 75% in 2005 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17015.php The net profit of Russia's second largest mobile operator VimpelCom increased 75.6% on the year to US$615.131 million in 2005 as calculated under U.S. GAAP, the company said in a press release Tuesday. ... Amdocs Buys Qpass http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17025.php Amdocs has finally confirmed that it is acquire Qpass, a provider of digital commerce software and solutions, for approximately US$275 million in cash. Through this acquisition, Amdocs can enable its customers to create additional sources of revenue ... [[ Handsets ]] Samsung to give Russia's Euroset distributor status http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17014.php South Korean electronics equipment producer Samsung is likely to grant Russian mobile handset retailer Euroset status as an official distributor of Samsung products, a source in Samsung said, Vedomosti business daily reported Tuesday. ... Report: Mobile market to import 10 million handsets http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17020.php The Argentine mobile market is expected to import 10 million mobile handsets this year, down from the 12 million imported in 2005, local newspaper Infobae reported. ... [[ Legal ]] Sprint Nextel Settles With NY Consumer Affairs Dept On Adverts http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17024.php Sprint Nextel Corp. on Tuesday said it has settled its dispute with New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs. ... [[ Messaging ]] Research In Motion, T-Mobile USA Introduce New BlackBerry http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17023.php Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) and T-Mobile USA Inc. introduced the Blackberry 8700g which can be used as a phone, as well as to access the Internet and email. ... [[ Mobile Content ]] The Growing Market for Mobile DRM http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17030.php They reside at the convergence point where content providers, service carriers and platform makers are aligning to develop digital entertainment. They play a key role in the development and growth of digital content for both home-entertainment and mo... [[ Network Operators ]] MegaFon ups number of base stations in Moscow http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17013.php The number of base stations of Russia's MegaFon subsidiary Sonic Duo in the Moscow License Area (MLA) rose to 1,600 as of now from 1,500 as of November 30, 2005, the company said in a press release Monday. ... Comarcoop to invest upwards of US$120mn to launch services http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17017.php Argentine mobile telephony firm Comarcoop, created by a group of local cooperatives, plans to invest US$100mn-120mn to launch services, local press quoted Comarcoop executives as saying. ... [[ Offbeat ]] Cellphone Forensics at Crime Scenes http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17026.php Logicube has developed a portable kit which can extract data from over 160 handset when needed by the police and forensic staff. The CellDEK has been developed in cooperation with the UK's Forensic Science Service (FSS). Built to perform in the field... [[ Regulatory ]] Cofetel applies CPP to domestic LD calls to mobiles http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17018.php Mexico's telecoms regulator Cofetel has passed a resolution mandating that domestic long-distance calls to mobile phones be subject to calling party pays rules, newspaper El Financiero reported. ... Russia's Sibirtelecom unit gets GSM 1800 license for Kemerovo Region http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17021.php Mobile operator Stek GSM, a subsidiary of Russian regional telecommunications operator Sibirtelecom, has received a license to provide mobile services in the GSM 1800 standard in the Kemerovo Region, Stek GSM said in a press release Tuesday. ... Egyptian 3rd Mobile License Deadline Delayed http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17029.php The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of Egypt says that the deadline for submission of proposals for third mobile operator network has been extended to the 4th of May 2006. The bid was due to last until April 17th, and the winner will ... [[ Reports ]] Informa Sees Global Fixed-Mobile Revenue At $28 Billion By 2011 http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17016.php Informa, the research company, Tuesday forecast that fixed-mobile convergence services will generate $28 billion in revenue globally by 2011. ... Market Segmentation Driving Future Handset Sales - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17028.php The mobile handset market looks set to take a curious path over the next year as it is fuelled by two distinctly different forces. On one hand, the growing segmentation of saturated markets has prompted a rise in replacement rates. On the other hand,... Mobile Phones To Rival the PC As Dominant Internet Platform http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17031.php Today, the personal computer remains the dominant platform to access the Internet globally. However, Internet access via the mobile phone actually outpaces wireless access from a notebook PC in many of areas of the world - a statistic driven largely ... Apple's Deeper Mobile Play is Inevitable - report http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17032.php Visiongain says in a new report that it believes that the years 2006 and 2007 will see Apple's product offerings accelerate as it focuses on convergence technologies. Apple shipped over 14 million iPods during fiscal Q1 2006 ended December 2005, repr... [[ Statistics ]] Fitec expects 106 million mobile users by year-end http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17019.php Brazil could boast 106 million mobile users by year-end and 170 million by 2010, according to local technology research company Fitec president Jose Luis de Souza. ... Colombia's Mobile Phone Lines Rose To 25 Million In 1Q http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17022.php The number of mobile telephone lines in Colombia in the first quarter rose to 25 million, 14% more than in December, President Alvaro Uribe's press office said late Monday in a statement. ... [[ Technology ]] Nokia Expands Chinese R&D Center http://www.cellular-news.com/story/17027.php Nokia says that it will further strengthen its R&D operations in China and expand its Chengdu R&D Center to carry part of Nokia mobile network infrastructure products development for global and local markets. Nokia Chengdu R&D Center, established in ... ------------------------------ Subject: Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? From: Steven Lichter Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 01:59:03 GMT In article telecom25.147.10@telecom-digest.org, Steven Lichter at shlichter@sbcglobal.net wrote on 4/18/06 17:18: > In article telecom25.146.5@telecom-digest.org, Stephen Greenfield at > StephenG@Screenplay.com wrote on 4/17/06 23:39: >> Dear Patrick, >> I've been trying to research the date a particular sign was posted on >> my property in Glendale, California. When I saw that it had the >> company's name (Pacific Fence Co.) and a very old 2L-4N phone >> number ( Hillside 8141 ), I grew to wonder when Los Angeles would have >> made the transition to 2L-5N, because I could probably figure the sign >> predates that time. >> My property was built in 1926. I'm guessing that Los Angeles switched >> over sometime after WWII and before 1949, but I can't get a better fix >> on that. Any chance you know where to look? >> (I've been scanning old postings and digests, but haven't found anything >> definitive)/ >> Best Regards, >> Stephen Greenfield >> StephenG@screenplay.com >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Perhaps some of our older readers who >> have been around Los Angeles for a half-century or so, or older >> readers who lived there in the 1940-60 era will be able to answer >> this. PAT] > Having lived in the San Fernando Valley through 1972, I remember having our > number changed from DImond XXXX to DImond1-XXXX in 1958 or 59. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Was the exchange name 'Dimond' or > 'Diamond' (with the /a/ as the third letter)? PAT] Sorry about that; Diamond. I also seem to remember that this was a Northridge (Shirley CO) and Reseda had DI, but it stood for something else, can't remember what though. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? Date: 19 Apr 2006 07:21:54 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Stephen Greenfield wrote: > Dear Patrick, > I've been trying to research the date a particular sign was posted on > my property in Glendale, California. When I saw that it had the > company's name (Pacific Fence Co.) and a very old 2L-4N phone > number ( Hillside 8141 ), I grew to wonder when Los Angeles would have > made the transition to 2L-5N, because I could probably figure the sign > predates that time. Unfortunately, the 2l-5n transition date won't be much help in dating the sign's installation. Signs of the type you describe are often made in high volume and will be used until the stock is exhausted even if the number if partially obsolete. I've seen a great many such signs still in use where the phone number was partially obsolete. For example, signs for a cab company in a small town still had the old 5 digit number rather than the current 7 digit number. So, the sign/fence could've been installed well after the conversion. Another possibility is that the fence was second-hand and in use before used on your property. Postal zip codes came out around 1964, but it took years for people to change their addressing from the old zone system ("Philadephia 50, PA") to zip code ("Philladelphia, PA 19150". There is a highway company whose trucks to this day still say "DE 3" on them. (I wanted to take a picture the other day when passing a work area, but there was no place to safely pull over, plus taking pictures these days of public works evokes suspicion and maybe a police inquiry.) One of the reasons we have mandatory ten digit and area code overlays is to avoid splits for forcing people to get a new area code. That's a nusiance for business people who must print up new stationery, change their advertising, alert customers, etc. I'm lucky in that I still have my original area code. My region had one split and I stayed on the old side of the boundary. Even my cell phone is the old area code. But now we have overlays. I'm glad I don't have a new area code, I can't even keep track of them. ------------------------------ From: Lena Subject: Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL (S Date: 19 Apr 2006 00:14:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com SD wrote: > My brother says he is occasionally getting a shock when using his wired > phone (ATT Trimline) with DSL filter on a SBC POTS/DSL line. Is the > phone shorted? If it was a true technical "short", meaning two wires are touching, the phone wouldn't work. Your brother is somehow making contact between the two wires coming into the phone, or between the hot wire and another ground. It may be possible that the receptacle into which the phone is plugged is wired backwards. It is likely that something is worn or touching the metal part of the phone; it shouldn't. Phones are so cheap, it isn't worth fooling with. Toss the thing in the trash and spend the ten bucks for a new one. Lena ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:12:27 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , SD wrote: > My brother says he is occasionally getting a shock when using his wired > phone (ATT Trimline) with DSL filter on a SBC POTS/DSL line. Is the > phone shorted? Almost anything is "possible". Getting a shock from a _plastic_ telephone housing is *VERY**UNLIKELY*, however. Ring voltage on U.S. telephones is circa 90VAC. This is enough to give a non-trivial shock. *IF* there is a path for it to 'escape' through, that goes through the person holding the phone. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If a person's hands are wet (or, for example, a person is in a bathtub) having a phone with you is _very dangerous_. Water is a very good conductor of electricity. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: "IBM and the Future of TV" Podcast Date: 19 Apr 2006 07:39:43 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Monty Solomon wrote: > IBM to Release "IBM and the Future of TV" Podcast > - Apr 17, 2006 01:18 PM (BusinessWire) > - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=57682176 I believe this was previously posted, but around 1943-1944 IBM joined with some other businesses to get a microwave carrier license for a postwar transcontinental network. IBM intended to use it for high speed data transmission (remember, this was 1944!) and perhaps television broadcasting. (As reported by the New York Times. There was about one hour nightly of commercial television service in those days (WW II years) , I don't know how many sets were in use at that time (anyone know?). There was also FM radio, but on different frequencies than used later. I'm pretty sure postwar TV and FM transmissions were somewhat different than what was used during the war years. A search on the keyword "television" of the on-line NYT index finds a surprising great many references during the war years; technical schools were training people and industry was gearing up to manufacture components.) I don't know what became of that application and plans. IIRC, after WW II the FCC wasn't sure what to do with microwave channels and a number of businesses sought licenses, some for private use, some for common carrier use. Stuff dragged for a while. There were legal debates about common carrier status. I don't think IBM did anything further in data communication until the 1950s (during the war, it did have radio teleteypwriters for the army it developed). As an aside, in the early 1980s with deregulation coming up, many people expected a big clash between IBM and AT&T as their respective worlds collided. That was a major cover story often in the trade press. It never came to pass. While IBM made modems and bought Rolm telephones and AT&T bought NCR computers, they never became fierce competitors as predicted. Indeed, both companies found it tough to survive in the new world and had to change drastically. On the inside, IBM is a very different company than it was back then. They had to get out of a 1950s consent decree to do so ------------------------------ From: NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us Subject: Re: For Sale: InternetDotComs.com Date: 19 Apr 2006 07:56:19 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com GoDaddy.com runs an "After Market" auction site for used domain names. ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol Subject: Re: Should Consumers Tape "Customer Service" Calls? Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:18:29 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com T wrote: > I was definitely dealing with folks in India. The funny part is, at > work we use Dell servers and gear. Our standard line with their > support (Which is U.S. based, btw.) is to tell them it's a production > box and send us the part, which they do without fail. > There ought to be some sort of vetting process for I.T. folks to get > past those damned support scripts. Two of my three home PC's are Dells and we spec Dell at work. Institutional customers like schools and companies work with different tech support teams than the teams individual customers work with. Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, CA Resident of Southern California - the home of beautiful people and butt-ugly traffic jams ------------------------------ From: FRM Guru Subject: Lucent Avaya NT1B-300 Network Termination Date: 18 Apr 2006 18:52:45 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com We currently have in stock the Lucent NT1B-300 Network Termination in Used and Unused (new in box) condition. Lucent NT1B-300 Network Termination Unit New - $67.00 Used - $57.00 The NT1B-300 is an in-line NT1. It is specifically designed for compatability with the NT1B-310 Rack Module. 2 Status indicators Protection devices on all external interfaces Low power consumption Easily accessible configuration switches Advanced SMD technology Self testing features Built-in multi-point capability We accept all types of credit cards thru PayPal and thru Authorize.net. If you are have any questions about any of our products, please let us know by emailing us at info@edirecttelecom.com or by clicking here. You may also give us a call at 908.370.6545 during the hours of 9:30 am to 10:30 pm EST. We are here to assist you in anyway possible. Thank you very much and hope to hear from you soon. Best regards, Felipe Lopez eDirect Telecom, LLC. 908.370.6545 flo@edirecttelecom.com www.edirecttelecom.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 08:02:22 +0500 From: Mr. Marcelyorgo Subject: Time, Money, Keeping You From Earning the Degree You Deserve? - Carly [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How absolutely pathetic this is! It is the old -- and I mean _really old_ -- excuse "oops, my email must have gone to the wrong address" way of sending spam; make it appear that you wrote a personal letter to family or friends, somehow through the mystery of computers and email it fell into the wrong email box. I got a few of these today; not only did the 'computer' put it in the wrong box, it also backfired and sent out multiple copies. Mr. Marcelyorgo can't be blamed for that, can he? Sigh ... PAT] Hey Family! Just wanted to write you, and let you know, how the degree program I tried out went. Well, six weeks later, I graduated, finished & received my Masters Degree with no study required and %100 verifiable. Yeah mom, I know you and Dad doubted it at first, but this turned out to be %100 legit. This opportunity was given to me because of the professional experience and previous course work I had accumulated. I'm so excited mom and dad, this was a life altering opportunity and for once in my life I took advantage of it. I already have jobs, that wouldn't have given me a chance before, now they are calling off the hook! This really is a godsend. Tell Susan and Cousin Joey that they better hurry up and call that number I gave them the other day. Again these are the degrees they offer, BA, BSC, MA, MSC, MBA and PhD, and the number to call is 1-813-436-5335, tell them to leave a brief message with their name, the degree they are interested in and their day and evening phone numbers. They will contact you soon after. Anyway, much love, and tell the rest of the family I said hello. Love, Your son, Len P.S. Mom, why don't you send this email to a few of your friends? My professor told me that if we send over referrals the school can give us a scholarship. The number to call is 1-813-436-5335 :-) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not know if Len (the son) 'screwed up' in how he addressed his email or if 'his mom' had us listed as some of her friends. Bur I do know the guys at MIT, Harvard, and many other schools will be glad to know they can get a 'Masters Degree in just six weeks; no study required, and completely verifiable'. I imagine also they will be pleased to have job opportunities ringing their phone off the hook shortly thereafter. But seriously, why can apparently nothing be done about the jokers and con-artists who send out this sort of crap? And what really amazes me was the simpleton whose letter I published here last week making a comparison between TELECOM Digest and this sort of crap in claiming that if _they_ (the crap senders) have to pay for their email, then no doubt Telecom will have to pay to send email also. All I can say to answer that gibberish is to quote the late comedian Jack Benny when he noted, "_really, Mary_" PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 V25 #148 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Apr 19 22:49:00 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id C2667158CF; Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:48:59 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #149 Message-Id: <20060420024859.C2667158CF@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:48:59 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.0 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,TARGETED autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 19 Apr 2006 22:52:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 149 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Niche Web Networking Sites Chase MySpace Ad Dollars (Yinka Adegoke) Bill Gates Makes Cryptic Remark on Internet Rights to China's Hu (AFP News) Vonage + Motorola VT1005 Warning (skyline_blvd@earthlink.net) AT&T Teams With Akimbo For DSL VOD Service (USTelecom dailyLead) Does DSL Speed Correlate With POTS Speed? (Harry Dodsworth) Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL (Lisa Hancock) Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL (DLR) Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting Number From AT&T to Vonage (curious_br) Last Laugh! Company Offers Escape Route for Bad Date (Eliott Spagat) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Yinka Adegoke Subject: Niche Web Networking Sites Chase MySpace Ad Dollars Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:38:45 -0500 By Yinka Adegoke Social networking online isn't just for hip twenty-year-olds any longer, as a new wave of targeted Internet community sites build business models to attract larger audiences and more advertisers. The Internet will see a lot more targeted community launches in the coming months, both from start-up companies and established media businesses, rather than the general youth community sites that defined the sector such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com or Friendster.com, industry watchers say. At least two new sites were unveiled this week. Sisterwoman.com caters to women over 21 while JokeBox.com invites users to share jokes and other funny material. Like most social networking sites, both allow users to create and share blogs, pictures and videos with friends and the wider public. "You're going to see a lot of these kinds of sites in the next six to nine months, both start-ups and major companies," said Andrew Frank, an analyst at Gartner Research. Frank said that sites such as Sisterwoman would offer advertisers added value in reaching an audience that will be prepared to engage with marketers. The sector drew investor attention after News Corp. bought MySpace for $580 million last July. In March, General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal said it planned to buy women's online network iVillage for $600 million. Sisterwoman launched on Wednesday after signing on ahead of time four major advertisers, including beauty-care line Neutrogena and cable network The Learning Channel. Sisterwoman is offering them the opportunity to sponsor services around which users can share their own photos, videos or other links. Founder Allie Savarino said advertisers were traditionally resistant to two-way conversations with consumers, which opens the gates on both positive feedback as well as criticism. "Now they realize they have no way of increasing their market share without it," Savarino told Reuters. "It is tied to the ownership that consumers have of your brand." GROWNUPS WANTED Sisterwoman and Jokebox are the latest in a new line of community sites hoping to build on the success of younger-skewing Internet networks but attract mainstream advertisers looking for other audiences. Jib-Jab Media, a company behind popular comic Internet films, also unveiled this week a site allowing users to share jokes and funny material. The company described JokeBox.com, which featured a prominent plug for Bud Light beer on its home page on Wednesday, as a hybrid of MySpace and cable channel Comedy Central. Sites aimed at adult consumers would appeal more to advertisers than MySpace, despite the youth network's huge popularity, said Eric Wheeler, chief executive of Internet media buyer Neo@Ogilvy North America, a unit of WPP Group. Advertisers are generally concerned over the commentary they may receive online, and even more wary of the freewheeling discussions of younger users. "Anytime you move away from buying a placement (in the media) to buying something that is live, it can get a little dicey for advertisers," said Wheeler. Adults are also more likely to recommend brands to each other on a regular basis and may be more receptive to advertiser messages, Savarino said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines from Reuters, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Agence France Presse News Wire Subject: Bill Gates Makes Cryptic Remark on Internet Rights to China's Hu Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:42:36 -0500 Microsoft chairman Bill Gates made a cryptic remark about Internet freedom at a luncheon with Chinese President Hu Jintao, underscoring the sensitivity of the issue. "This new era of an Internet-based economy also presents new challenges to us all," Gates said in a speech that preceded Hu's to a gathering of about 600 people at a luncheon hosted for the visiting Chinese president. "It is my belief that industry and government around the world should work even more closely to protect the privacy and security of Internet users, and promote the exchange of ideas, while respecting legitimate government considerations." The statement appeared to be urging China to respect the rights of Internet users, but also seemed to suggest Gates thinks "legitimate" government worries need to be taken into consideration, without defining legitimate. Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman, declined to say later what Gates meant or reveal whether Gates had raised the issues of Internet censorship with the Chinese leader on the first stop of Hu's official visit to the United States. But former Washington state governor Gary Locke and Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said no one raised the issue of human rights with Hu during the two-day visit in the Seattle area. Hu left Washington Wednesday afternoon to fly to the US capital for a summit with Bush on Thursday. China's government routinely jails people for posting politically sensitive essays online, including those critical of the Communist Party, and regularly shuts down or censors websites for sensitive content, including any mention of Taiwan independence or the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement. Software giant Microsoft and search engines Google and Yahoo have all faced criticism for doctoring content on their Chinese services and products to suit Beijing's strict censorship rules. Further, Yahoo has faced international condemnation for providing information to authorities that led to the jailing of two online dissident writers. Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: skyline_blvd@earthlink.net Subject: Vonage + Motorola VT1005 Warning Date: 19 Apr 2006 11:17:09 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi all -- just wanted to offer a heads-up for anyone considering signing up for Vonage service who's searching the newsgroups for information. I just cancelled my Vonage service today (after having been connected for about two days now.) Reason? Well, the voice quality was pretty good, no beef there. The pricing, as anyone who's done their homework knows, is pretty outstanding. Problem is, the Motorola adapter I received from Vonage sends my Internet connectivity straight into the ditch (slow to non-existent), even when it's NOT servicing a phone call (outbound OR inbound). The phone works fine, but surfing the net and checking mail became a dicey proposition at best. As a technical note, my adapter was placed between my DSL modem and my wireless broadband router (the setup designed to give phone calls priority.) I tried various sequences of resetting my DSL modem, the VoIP adapter, and my router, and none worked -- removing the Motorola from the equation was the only way I could restore good, fast Internet service. When I phoned Vonage to cancel (which, by the way, left me very unimpressed, once again, with their customer service, especially the thick foreign accents and -- believe it or not -- the poor voice quality of the phone connection with customer service) the Vonage account rep actually told me that he personally had fielded a few calls *that day* regarding the very same problem. Bottom line? Based on my experience this week, I would advise being very wary of signing up with Vonage *IF* you intend to use the free (after rebate) Motorola device -- it is abundantly clear to me that there are, at the very least, reliability issues with a signficant number of the recently manufactured units. I can't say that all VoIP adapters will cause problems, and want to make that clear. I also can't say that I have issues with Vonage voice quality -- it was about as good as I expected, given the nature of the signal delivery. But you may want to consider hardware options other than the Motorola VT1005 that they're giving away. I hope that this info helps someone avoid annoyance similar to mine (it IS a nuisance to have to pack stuff up and return it almost immediately after having set it up.) Skyline [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I have been with Vonage now for about three years (since early/mid 2003) and find that what you are saying is sort of true with the older units as well. I cannot seem to do both (voice and data) at a speed I am satisfied with. If the voice is up there okay, then the data slows down, and if the data is okay then the voice quality drops. Originally I had it set up with the Vonage unit as one of the ports on the router (that was the way Vonage built them in the beginnning). I got a new TA from them which was built as you are familiar, with the TA in the middle, acting as a 'throttle' on the whole thing. That made the voice quality go up, but the data speed go _way_ down. Even with the newer TA, I wound up wiring it like a port off of the router again; that brought the speed back up but took a chunk of the voice away. Now I content myself with having the TA on a port and when on a phone call, I _stop typing_ and/or recieving data, since given my brain disease, I cannot do both at the same time very well anyway. But -- I have one computer here which is on line 24/7 -- a weather station -- and once each minute it sends its data via FTP to another site where it is available to the world and typically, once each minute on my voice calls the voice drops off a wee bit :( I hava a mini-PBX arrangement here, room-to-room calling as extension 1xx, dial '9' for local outside calls, dial '8' for 'long distance' (the Vonage line); the hangers-on around here are free to make calls to wherever they wish; I make _them_ do the '8' for long distance thing and let them complain about it; I generally dial '9' for both my local and long distance (wink!) or use my cell phone. But I have been thinking about dumping Vonage also if I can find one I like better. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:26:40 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: AT&T Teams With Akimbo for DSL VOD Service USTelecom dailyLead April 19, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dtzsfDtutcuVrBSIPZ TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * AT&T teams with Akimbo for DSL VOD service BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Cisco, Telus invest in video encryption specialist * Yahoo! acquires Meedio * Companies team to launch wireless broadband in Atlanta * Verizon raises price for entry-level DSL * Cisco to beef up operations in Saudi Arabia * Cingular, Motorola report earnings: USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Shopping for or selling telecom equipment? TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Study: Minorities set pace in broadband adoption * Oracle solution emphasizes SOA * A bandwidth glut no more Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dtzsfDtutcuVrBSIPZ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 19:50:29 GMT From: af877@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Harry Dodsworth) Subject: Does DSL Speed Correlate With POTS Speed? Organization: National Capital Freenet, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada I'm thinking of getting DSL. It is available in my area now with a download speed of 3 Mb/s (to my number and neighbours). However the best connection speed I can get over my phone line with a 56k modem is 31.2 kb/s. With the same computer I was able to connect to freenet at 48k over long distance from Toronto. As my POTS line isn't the best, can I still get a good DSL connection? The odd thing is that my exchange (613-731-xxxx) was one of the first in the Ottawa area to be electronic -- I've had TouchTone since 1974, and I have always had very reliable connections to freenet, even when other members were having connection problems and dropping lines etc. Maybe a solid line at a lower speed beats a high speed flakey line :-) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Before you invest your money in DSL, I would at least look at a cable modem. Cable is typically just a wee bit faster, plus you get the flexibility of changing telcos if you find a telco you like better. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL Date: 19 Apr 2006 10:59:40 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com SD wrote: > My brother says he is occasionally getting a shock when using his wired > phone (ATT Trimline) with DSL filter on a SBC POTS/DSL line. Is the > phone shorted? As others mentioned, it is unlikely to get a shock through the plastic housing of a phone. However, if the phone is defective it is possible, especially during ringing. If someone is wet or sweating (sweat, being salty, is an especially good conductor of electricity) it is more possible. It is also possible (and rather dangerous) if the telephone wires are near or touching house current wires and picking that up. Or another unit (ie answering machine, computer modem) connected to the phone line is defective. If the problem is only on one particular telephone set and no others, simply discard the particular telephone set (as others suggested). But if the problem is on multiple telephone sets, you should have an electrician or the phone company check the telephone lines and other units connected to it. You should perform a visual check of phone wires and jacks and boxes to make sure none of the wires or boxes you can see are broken, and that house current electrical lines are also in good shape. If the phone or power lines serving a house are more than 40 years old, the insulation may be defective and wiring needs replacement. If there was any remodeling done on the house it's possible wiring was damaged in the process. It is also possible, though unlikely, that there is a wiring problem outside the house where the phone lines might be too close to power lines. The phone company would have to test for this. There have been reports that communiation lines have gotten too congested on utility poles and have become too close to each other. [public replies, please] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 18:18:48 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Is it Possible to Get a Shock From POTS/DSL >> My brother says he is occasionally getting a shock when using his wired >> phone (ATT Trimline) with DSL filter on a SBC POTS/DSL line. Is the >> phone shorted? > If it was a true technical "short", meaning two wires are touching, > the phone wouldn't work. Your brother is somehow making contact > between the two wires coming into the phone, or between the hot wire > and another ground. It may be possible that the receptacle into which > the phone is plugged is wired backwards. It is likely that something > is worn or touching the metal part of the phone; it shouldn't. Phones > are so cheap, it isn't worth fooling with. Toss the thing in the > trash and spend the ten bucks for a new one. Actually he should rule out the power outlet isn't wired wrong with hot on the neutral. ------------------------------ From: curious_br Subject: Re: Getting Run-Around on Porting my Number From AT&T to Vonage Date: 19 Apr 2006 13:06:16 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com When I asked AT&T why I had to go through Verizon to have our number transferred to Vonage, I received this reply: > I have reviewed your account and I find that the issue is that, due > to systems limitations, Vonage will not be able to port your local > service directly from AT&T. You will need to switch your local > service to Verizon and then port to Vonage from that provider. Apparently AT&T is a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier) wheras Verizon is our LEC (local exchange carrier). According to my reading CLECs lease network equipment from LECs and operate under somewhat different rules. (There are some good articles in Wikipedia on this.) Anyway Vonage should have know this from the outset and not told us that it takes at least 10 to 14 business days for the number transfer, since they must have known that AT&T could not port the number to Vonage. Instead the wait cost us money and aggravation. AT&T Callvantage even states in their web site that, if the number cannot be transferred, the contract is canceled with no expense to the subscriber. We are thinking about transferring our account to Verizon and subscribe to Verizon Voicewing. ------------------------------ From: Elliot Spagat Subject: Last Laugh! Company Offers Escape Route for Bad Date Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:40:22 -0500 By ELLIOT SPAGAT, AP Business Writer Secure Networks USA LLC says it has just the escape route for painful dates: A plea you can pre-arrange online before your encounter. Here's how it works: Before your date, go on the Internet and scribble a message to friends and family. Set the time for the message to be sent -- by cell phone, e-mail or instant messaging. If the date is going well, cancel the message by logging on to the Internet from your cell phone. If you don't cancel, your friends will spring into action, such as by placing a call that could give you an excuse to say an emergency has come up. Secure Networks said it introduced the Secure Singles free notification system because it was "alarmed by the prevalence of dating disasters and online predator stories that continue to be reported around the world." What if the date is going well and you forget to cancel the SOS? Jenny Gilcrest, a spokeswoman for the San Diego-based company, said friends would call and learn that it was a false alarm. Of course, that interruption might have killed that passionate moment. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization. End of TELECOM Digest V25 #149 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Apr 20 13:42:01 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id F169815339; Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:41:52 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #150 Message-Id: <20060420174152.F169815339@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:41:52 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.8 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 20 Apr 2006 13:44:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 150 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Hewlitt Packard Recalls Thousands of Defective Computer Batteries (Reuters) Web Site of Wartime Show Now a Window to the Past (Reuters News Wire) New Technology Will Force TV Ad Viewing (May Wong) Blind Bidding (Marcus Didius Falco) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - April 20, 2006 (Telecomdirect_Daily) Internet Plays Bigger Role in Life Decisions: Poll (PewInternet) Re: Does DSL Speed Correlate With POTS Speed? (DLR) Re: Does DSL Speed Correlate With POTS Speed? (Julian Thomas) Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? (Wesrock@aol.com) 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Hewlitt Packard Recalls Thousands of Defective Computer Batteries Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:42:38 -0500 Hewlett-Packard Co. is recalling about 15,700 HP and Compaq notebook computer batteries worldwide for a burn and fire/explosion hazard. These batteries may be highly dangerous, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday. HP has received 20 reports of batteries overheating, including two in the United States, with one report of a minor burn injury, the agency said. The recall is for lithium ion rechargeable batteries manufactured in early January 2005 and used with various HP and Compaq notebook computers. The affected batteries have a bar code label starting with L3, the agency said. About 4,100 of the recalled batteries covered were in the United States. The batteries were manufactured in China, and the computers were sold in the United States at retail and online stores from January 2005 through December 2005 for between $1,000 and $3,000, the CPSC said. Battery packs were also sold separately for between $100 and $300. The computers that may contain a recalled battery include the model series: dv1xxx and ze2xxx in the HP Pavilion Family, nx48xx in the HP Compaq Family, and V2xxx and M2xxx in the Compaq Presario Family, according to the CPSC. Some of these computers have been damaged due to the faulty "L3" battery. The agency said consumers with an "L3" coded battery should stop using it _immediately_ and contact HP to determine if the battery is being recalled and for a free replacement battery if it is included in the recall. Consumers can get additional information by calling HP at 888-202-4320, or visiting the HP Battery Replacement Program Web site at www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more Retuers News Headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Carly Mayberry Subject: Web Site of Wartime Show Now a Window to the Past Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:39:15 -0500 By Carly Mayberry One man's discovery of a treasure trove of Vietnam War-era memorabilia has spurred the creation of an online museum commemorating one of the longest running variety shows in the history of the armed forces. The man was Ace Lundon, and he has become the curator of http://www.VietnamJeanLondonShow.com, a 60-page Web site highlighting in photos and words the days of "The Jean London Show," which entertained 750,000 Vietnam warriors from 1966-72. The Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based live production featured Lundon as master of ceremonies and showcased a parade of comedy skits, musical performances and pinup girls, a cavalcade that included Yvonne De Carlo, Rhonda Fleming and Lundon's then-wife, Jean London, at center stage. It all started when Lundon got a call in January 2005 from the editor of the magazine VVA Veteran. He wanted photos and suggested the show's online immortalization. So Lundon began to create the Web site, first giving himself a crash course in the new technology. "I knew nothing about the Internet and had moved like 82,000 times -- once after my garage in West Hollywood was flooded," said Lundon, 69, who now lives in his native South Dakota. "I didn't think there were still any photos floating around." Two weeks later while rummaging through a closet, he discovered about 400 negatives -- many with mold around them -- that had been at the bottom of a box for 30 years. After futile trips to a host of photo labs that insisted the negatives were too old to print, Lundon left 60 of them with a tiny backwoods shop in South Dakota as a last resort. What he got back were black-and-white prints depicting such celebrities as Aldo Ray, Ann B. Davis (Alice from "The Brady Bunch") and original Mousketeer Sherri Alberoni taking pictures, shaking hands and posing with U.S. troops. "Holy mackerel! There really is something here," Lundon recalls thinking. Initially, Lundon was daunted by the cost and technology involved, but he also was lucky enough to find a helping hand at every step along the way. When he learned that each negative would cost $2.50 to print and realized that the expense of processing hundreds of frames would be overwhelming, he ran into Steve Babbitt, director of the photography department at Black Hills State University. Babbitt and his students printed the photos for free as part of a school project. Then Lundon sought out longtime friend Joseph Marino, who worked at St. Francis Indian School in South Dakota, where Lundon had been involved in American Indian causes over the years. Marino, originally from San Diego, offered his expertise with the Internet as a way to honor his own relatives that were in the war. With $500 he raised and the help of Babbitt and Marino, Lundon created a window to the past on the Web. "Anything worthwhile has always been done by more than one person," Lundon said. "If the road doesn't go uphill, I don't know if there's a road at all." With its abundance of pictures and Lundon's commentary, the site has become a tribute to the military men and women who served in the Vietnam War and to the celebrities who entertained them. "Those in the industry were called a lot of names during that war, but when it came to entertaining our troops, the sentiment was 'those are our boys' and that was that," Lundon said. Now he is in the process of getting the site inducted into the Library of Congress archives. It already has been accepted by the Vietnam era section of the South Dakota State Historical Society. Lundon said his goal is for all 750,000 veterans who saw the show to find themselves in the many crowd shots on the site. "You don't know what those shows meant to us," wrote one 57-year-old veteran from southern California after visiting the site. "It's what kept us sane. I always knew there would be a show when I left Pendleton and when I got back." For Victoria Meyerink, a trouper on the 1960s CBS variety series "The Danny Kaye Show," the site amounts to "an easily accessible digital time capsule" that has brought back many happy memories of bus rides and performances. "We'd all load on the bus together somewhere in Hollywood with Ace as our ringleader," recalled Meyerink, who at the time was pegged the show's "little sister junior pinup." "Once leaving a show, I remember a Marine chasing after the bus to give me his jacket. He said, 'You remind me of my little sister at home, he said, and I want you to have it."' Reuters/Hollywood Reporter Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: May Wong Subject: New Technology Will Force TV Ad Viewing Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:47:34 -0500 By MAY WONG, AP Technology Writer In this era of easy ad skipping with TiVo-like video recorders, could television viewers one day be forced to watch commercials with a system that prevents channel switching? Yes, according to Royal Philips Electronics. A patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says researchers of the Netherland-based consumer electronics company have created a technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it. The pending patent, published on March 30, says the feature would be implemented on a program-by-program basis. Devices that could carry the technology would be a television or a set-top-box. Philips acknowledged, however, that the anti-channel changing technology might not sit well with consumers and suggested in its patent filing that consumers be allowed to avoid the feature if they paid broadcasters a fee. On Wednesday, company officials issued a statement that noted the technology also enables the opposite: allowing viewers to watch television without advertising. The intention was never to force viewers to watch ads against their will, the company said of the technology. "We developed a system where the viewer can choose, at the beginning of a movie, to either watch the movie without ads, or watch the movie with ads," the company stated. "It is up to the viewer to take this decision, and up to the broadcaster to offer the various services." The company also said it had no plans to use the technology in any of its products. Philips wanted to provide the technology and seek the patent only as part of the broader developments within the industry, Philips spokesman Andre Manning said. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headline news from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: If their intention is to disable the channel selector during commercials, then they should also disable the volume control and the mute button. Many television commercials I see are much louder than the programs they are on with. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 21:54:53 -0400 From: Marcus Didius Falco Subject: Blind Bidding http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/15/AR2006041500= 123.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/15/AR2006041500= 123_pf.html Blind bidding Sunday, April 16, 2006 In telecommunications regulation, a way of conducting a multiple-round auction for spectrum in which participants know the bids but not the identities of other bidders. See also anonymous bidding. The method the Federal Communications Commission will use in a June 29 auction for more than 1,100 wireless licenses that, by one estimate, could generate $15 billion for the Treasury. According to game-theory experts consulted by the commission, a process that makes it more difficult for competitors to tacitly collude in their bidding by signaling their intentions with early-round bids. According to most wireless companies and their industry association, an unnecessary and risky strategy that will make it harder for bidders to assess the motives and financial strength of competing bidders. An issue on which Verizon broke ranks with others in the industry because of disenchantment with the outcome of past auctions. The subject of a rare FCC victory for consumer groups. -- S.P. Copyright 2006 The Washington Post Company Direct replies are unlikely to be read. To reply use the address below: falco(underscore)md(atsign)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html *** 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, Washington Post Company. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:57:36 -0400 From: telecomdirect_daily Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - Thursday, April 20, 2006 Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For April 20, 2006 ******************************** Telefonica, Lucent Sign IP TV Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17604?11228 Spanish telecoms group Telefonica has selected U.S. telecoms equipment vendor Lucent for its global IP TV roll-out. Under the terms of the deal, Lucent will take over responsibility for Telefonica's Imagenio IP TV middleware platform, including development, deployment and marketing. Lucent will also create several IP TV research centres... UPC Broadband Plans VoIP Launch http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/17602?11228 Leading Czech Republic cable operator UPC Broadband is planning to launch internet telephony services later this year. Significance: UPC Broadband is also getting ready for VoIP roll-outs in Slovakia and Ireland. The company claims that its European VoIP customers have doubled in the last 15 months, reaching more than 1 million. Voice... EarthLink Moves To Next 'Level' For VoIP/DSL http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/105/17591?11228 EarthLink's current drive to move into telephony and long-haul networking today included selection of Level 3 Communications to serve as the underlying carrier for the ISP's new Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and digital subscriber line (DSL) bundled home services. EarthLink and Level 3, which already have a wholesale long-haul... Qualcomm Hit with Anti-Trust Complaint http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/17589?11228 Qualcomm is the subject of a newly filed complaint with the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) of Korea. Nextreaming alleges Qualcomm is in violation of South Korea's anti-trust regulations. Qualcomm disputes the charge. The Korean company, which provides embedded multimedia solution for mobile phones, asserts its business has been hampered by... Copyright (C) 2005 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Internet Plays Bigger Role in Life Decisions: Poll Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:01:40 -0500 Nearly half of U.S. users of the Internet went online for help with major life decisions such as finding a college for their child or looking for a new place to live, according to a survey released on Wednesday. The results show that the Internet is becoming increasingly important to users in their everyday lives, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, a non-profit group which conducted the survey. Some 45 percent of Internet users, or an estimated 60 million Americans, said the Internet helped them make big decisions or face a major moment in their life during the previous two years, the survey found. That was up from 40 percent of Internet users who answered the same survey questions in 2002. Specifically, the survey asked 2,201 adults last month if the Internet played a crucial or important role in making at least one of eight major life decisions. An estimated 21 million Americans turned to the Internet when seeking more training for a career, while 17 million used it to choose a school for a family member or to help another person with a major illness, the Pew Internet group said. Some 16 million Americans used the Internet when buying a car or making a major investment or financial decision, it said. An estimated 10 million Americans used the Internet when looking for a new place to live; 8 million when changing jobs; and 7 million when dealing with their own major illness or health condition, the survey said. "It seems likely that the convenience of broadband draws more users to the Internet to deal with some decision," the Pew Internet group said. However, better online content and more widely advertised web sites may also contribute to the rising use of the Internet with major life decisions, it said. The survey results were posted on the Internet at http://www.pewinternet.org. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. 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/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 09:03:06 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Does DSL Speed Correlate With POTS Speed? Harry Dodsworth wrote: > I'm thinking of getting DSL. It is available in my area now with a > download speed of 3 Mb/s (to my number and neighbours). > However the best connection speed I can get over my phone line with a > 56k modem is 31.2 kb/s. With the same computer I was able to connect > to freenet at 48k over long distance from Toronto. > As my POTS line isn't the best, can I still get a good DSL connection? The correlation between DSL speeds and dial up is there but loose. You might get full 3mbps or get nothing. YMWV Sorry. ------------------------------ From: Julian Thomas Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 10:58:29 -0400 Subject: Re: Does DSL Speed Correlate With POTS Speed? In <20060420024859.C2667158CF@massis.lcs.mit.edu>, on 04/19/06 at 10:48 PM, editor@telecom-digest.org typed: > I'm thinking of getting DSL. It is available in my area now with a > download speed of 3 Mb/s (to my number and neighbours). > However the best connection speed I can get over my phone line with a 56k > modem is 31.2 kb/s. With the same computer I was able to connect to > freenet at 48k over long distance from Toronto. > As my POTS line isn't the best, can I still get a good DSL > connection? Probably not a lot of correlation. There are a number of reasons why a dialup connection might be slow -- involving CO characteristics, and any line concentrators or remote D to A converters used to group multiple subscriber lines onto one high speed link to the CO. Julian Thomas: http://jt-mj.net In the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State! Warpstock X - October 12-15 2006; Windsor, Ont. I'll be there - will you? COFFEE.EXE Missing - Insert Cup and Press Any Key ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2006 09:36:52 EDT Subject: Re: When Did 2L-5N Become Required in Los Angeles? In a message dated 19 Apr 2006 07:21:54 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes: > For example, signs for a cab company in a small town still had the > old 5 digit number rather than the current 7 digit number. So, the > sign/fence could've been installed well after the conversion. Many small towns required only four- or five-digit dialing locally long after the "conversion" took place. By "long," I mean 10 or 15 years or more. And in many towns with only one prefix, even if dialing it was mandatory, it was the custom to give only the digits required. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is precisely how things are done here in Independence. Our phone numbers are given as four digits, with the 620-331 portion assumed. Bur everyone knows to dial at least seven digits locally or ten/eleven for long distance. Those few instances of 620-330 or 620-332 numbers are usually given out in full, but they are quite rare. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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'. 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