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The Telecom Digest for May 4, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 109 : "text" Format
====== 30 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
|
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne 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
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Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without the explicit written consent of the owner of
that address. 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, and other stuff of interest.
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Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 07:16:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Some people are still renting their phones.
Message-ID: <23f40dcd-4ef3-469a-8056-996b785e17cf@gn8g2000vbb.googlegroups.com>
On May 1, 4:31 pm, Joseph Singer <joeofseat...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> It's been almost 20 years since the breakup of the Bell System, but
> some people are still paying monthly fees for their equipment.
I suspect the number involved overall is quite small, despite what was
quoted in the article. After 20 years, many older people have passed
on and others have moved.
But, I suspect there is a far larger population overpaying their
telephone charges because they have not kept up with the latest
service plans and options. Many service plans constantly change.
That is, plans that once had components bundled now have monthly
service charges added to them, buried deep in the bill. Or, the price
of an old plan goes up, while new plans are offered with new
discounts. Sometimes speical discounts are negotiated for those
people who do call in.
Despite having national flat rate service--no calls are itemized--my
phone bill still is 6-7 pages long every month with various details.
Many lines are literally just a few cents, with such gems as "SERVICE
ADJ FEE $0.02CR". (Wow--a 2 cent credit!) But all this
extraneous detail makes it hard to find out the real costs.
It's hard for ordinary consumers to keep track of these things.
Calling 'customer service' takes time out of the workday. Websites
may not have all the details.
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 09:17:54 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate)
Message-ID: <p0624081dcbc8340640e3@[10.0.1.2]>
Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate)
A landmark ruling in one of the many mass-BitTorrent lawsuits in the
US has suffered a severe blow to a thus far lucrative business. Among
other things, New York Judge Gary Brown explains in great detail why
an IP-address is not sufficient evidence to identify copyright
infringers. According to the Judge this lack of specific evidence
means that many alleged BitTorrent pirates have been wrongfully
accused by copyright holders.
...
http://torrentfreak.com/judge-an-ip-address-doesnt-identify-a-person-120503/
Furious judge decries "blizzard" of copyright troll lawsuits
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/05/furious-judge-decries-blizzard-of-copyright-troll-lawsuits.ars
New York judge blasts trolls' practices, recommends banning mass
bittorent lawsuits in the district
http://fightcopyrighttrolls.com/2012/05/02/new-york-judge-blasts-trolls-practices-recommends-banning-mass-bittorent-lawsuits-in-the-district/
Date: 4 May 2012 01:14:01 -0000
From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate)
Message-ID: <20120504011401.79841.qmail@joyce.lan>
> Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent
Pirate)
> A landmark ruling in one of the many mass-BitTorrent lawsuits in the
> US has suffered a severe blow to a thus far lucrative
> business. Among other things, New York Judge Gary Brown explains in
> great detail why an IP-address is not sufficient evidence to
> identify copyright infringers.
It's got some pretty impressive footnotes, like this one:
9 As K-Beech put its reputation into issue, it is worth noting that
the owner of K-Beech Inc. (and the apparent inspiration for the
K-Beech mark) is Kevin Beechum. See "Porn studios raided to ensure
adult-only casts," 1/12/07, LA Times at 1. It appears that this is the
same Kevin Beechum who testified in federal prosecutions about his
experience vandalizing retail adult video stores to help extort
protection payments from their owners. See U.S. v. Feinberg, 89 F.3d
333, 335 (7th Cir. 1996); U.S. v. Sturman, 49 F.3d 1275, 1278 (7th
Cir. 1995). In those cases, Beechum described how he hired associates
to use hammers and baseball bats to inflict $10,000 in damage on a
Phoenix adult shop, and negotiated over a "few more jobs" in
Cleveland. Other evidence established that, following Beechum's
introduction, these same associates, on behalf of the extortionists,
planned to plant remote control bombs at eight stores in Chicago in
furtherance of the scheme, but that plan failed when, after
successfully attacking one store, a bomb accidentally went off,
killing one of the coconspirators.
Date: Thu, 03 May 2012 18:58:50 -0400
From: Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate)
Message-ID: <3c36q7lkpit6pelmn4pbevte2m4up87fsb@4ax.com>
Per Monty Solomon:
> Among other things, New York Judge Gary Brown explains in great
> detail why an IP-address is not sufficient evidence to identify
> copyright infringers.
That sure took a long time.
Are there implications for other than New York residents?
--
Pete Cresswell
Date: Thu, 03 May 2012 22:21:36 -0400
From: Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate)
Message-ID: <barmar-DEA750.22213603052012@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <p0624081dcbc8340640e3@[10.0.1.2]>,
Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote:
> Judge: An IP-Address Doesn't Identify a Person (or BitTorrent Pirate)
>
> A landmark ruling in one of the many mass-BitTorrent lawsuits in the
> US has suffered a severe blow to a thus far lucrative business. Among
> other things, New York Judge Gary Brown explains in great detail why
> an IP-address is not sufficient evidence to identify copyright
> infringers. According to the Judge this lack of specific evidence
> means that many alleged BitTorrent pirates have been wrongfully
> accused by copyright holders.
I wonder how this differs from the precedent of traffic cameras that
take pictures of the license plates of cars that run red lights, and
then a ticket is mailed to the registrant of the license plate? They
could have let a friend of family member borrow the car.
--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 18:49:32 +0000 (UTC)
From: Koos van den Hout <koos+newsposting@kzdoos.xs4all.nl>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: DSL line question
Message-ID: <jnujvs$rip$5@kzdoos.xs4all.nl>
Ron <ron@see.below> wrote in <qsreo7lo7oq9ftu72h0lrmp7hkb1p2918k@4ax.com>:
> As long as at least one of your filters is questionable,
Lightning can also damage them and cause DSL signal degradation.
> you might
> want to consider a DSL splitter. The phone line comes into the
> house, goes to the splitter, and one line goes out for DSL and all
> the rest of the phone wiring goes to the non-DSL output contacts.
In this country (the Netherlands) the standard setup is to have a DSL/phone
splitter as close to the entry point for telephony as possible and have
an as short as possible cable between splitter and DSL modem, to improve
DSL performance.
Koos van den Hout
--
Koos van den Hout, PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 via keyservers
koos@kzdoos.xs4all.nl
Visit the site about books with reviews
http://idefix.net/
http://www.virtualbookcase.com/
Date: Thu, 03 May 2012 12:52:27 -0500
From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (PV)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Some people are still renting their phones.
Message-ID: <ktidnQw5VsVGWD_SnZ2dnUVZ_r-dnZ2d@supernews.com>
Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com> writes:
>It's been almost 20 years since the breakup of the Bell System, but
>some people are still paying monthly fees for their equipment.
It's been MORE than 20 years. 1/1/84.
>
>http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2012/04/27/3-on-your-side-elderly-still-renting-home-phones/
>
Anyone using a 25+ year old telephone is probably happy with the things
as they are, or the billing is in error. I've changed my home phones at
least 5 times since divestiture. *
--
* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something
like corkscrews.
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 19:21:22 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Talking Business in Flight? Be Careful
Message-ID: <p06240829cbc8c33c76bc@[10.0.1.2]>
Talking Business in Flight? Be Careful
By DAVID WALLIS
May 2, 2012
PETER COCHRANE, a technology consultant, entrepreneur and blogger,
usually unwinds on the train between his home in Ipswich, England,
and London with coffee, cookies and a newspaper.
But during a memorable trip in March 2006, neighboring passengers
disturbed his relaxation rituals by behaving in a very un-British
manner: They were loud.
The English might sing at soccer stadiums, but they usually keep
quiet on British Rail.
Mr. Cochrane shot his noisy neighbors a cold stare. No luck. So he
decided that if he couldn't beat them, he would join them. He then
began actively listening to the consultants across the aisle conduct
a mobile business meeting.
"Within a matter of minutes, I know who they are. I know who their
client is. What kind of business they're in. I know what the turnover
is," said Mr. Cochrane. "And I know what kind of difficulties they
are having."
The consultant in charge then announced an imminent conference call
with a client. "The number to dial in is this and the passcode is
this," said Mr. Cochrane, who "couldn't resist" dialing into the
conference call as well. He entered the overheard passcode and
covertly monitored the conversation among his seatmates and a
publicly held aerospace company. "If I had been a bad boy," said Mr.
Cochrane, "I could have undoubtedly made some profit."
Blabbing on a business trip can cause repercussions.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/business/taking-business-calls-on-the-train-watch-what-you-say.html
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 19:45:33 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: How to Muddy Your Tracks on the Internet
Message-ID: <p06240836cbc8c8c7c34e@[10.0.1.2]>
How to Muddy Your Tracks on the Internet
By KATE MURPHY
May 2, 2012
Legal and technology researchers estimate that it would take about a
month for Internet users to read the privacy policies of all the Web
sites they visit in a year. So in the interest of time, here is the
deal: You know that dream where you suddenly realize you're stark
naked? You're living it whenever you open your browser.
There are no secrets online. That emotional e-mail you sent to your
ex, the illness you searched for in a fit of hypochondria, those
hours spent watching kitten videos (you can take that as a euphemism
if the kitten fits) - can all be gathered to create a defining
profile of you.
Your information can then be stored, analyzed, indexed and sold as a
commodity to data brokers who in turn might sell it to advertisers,
employers, health insurers or credit rating agencies.
And while it's probably impossible to cloak your online activities
fully, you can take steps to do the technological equivalent of
throwing on a pair of boxers and a T-shirt. Some of these measures
are quite easy and many are free. Of course, the more effort and
money you expend, the more concealed you are. The trick is to find
the right balance between cost, convenience and privacy.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/technology/personaltech/how-to-muddy-your-tracks-on-the-internet.html
Date: Thu, 3 May 2012 23:33:54 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Harvard and M.I.T. Team Up to Offer Free Online Courses
Message-ID: <p06240842cbc8fe55507e@[10.0.1.2]>
Harvard and M.I.T. Team Up to Offer Free Online Courses
By TAMAR LEWIN
May 2, 2012
In what is shaping up as an academic Battle of the Titans - one that
offers vast new learning opportunities for students around the world
- Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday
announced a new nonprofit partnership, known as edX, to offer free
online courses from both universities.
Harvard's involvement follows M.I.T.'s announcement in December that
it was starting an open online learning project, MITx. Its first
course, Circuits and Electronics, began in March, enrolling about
120,000 students, some 10,000 of whom made it through the recent
midterm exam. Those who complete the course will get a certificate of
mastery and a grade, but no official credit. Similarly, edX courses
will offer a certificate but not credit.
But Harvard and M.I.T. have a rival - they are not the only elite
universities planning to offer free massively open online courses, or
MOOCs, as they are known. This month, Stanford, Princeton, the
University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan announced
their partnership with a new commercial company, Coursera, with $16
million in venture capital.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Thrun, the Stanford professor who made headlines
last fall when 160,000 students signed up for his Artificial
Intelligence course, has attracted more than 200,000 students to the
six courses offered at his new company, Udacity.
The technology for online education, with video lesson segments,
embedded quizzes, immediate feedback and student-paced learning, is
evolving so quickly that those in the new ventures say the offerings
are still experimental.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/education/harvard-and-mit-team-up-to-offer-free-online-courses.html
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