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The Telecom Digest for May 17, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 124 : "text" Format
====== 29 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== |
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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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: Sun, 15 May 2011 17:25:12 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Web Porn Was Error, Sears Says
Message-ID: <p06240834c9f5f4ade84e@[10.0.1.3]>
Web Porn Was Error, Sears Says
By MIGUEL BUSTILLO
MAY 12, 2011
Sears Holdings Corp. has apologized to customers after a religious
group discovered that pornographic movies could be purchased by
minors and others through the Sears.com website.
The family-oriented department-store chain said the videos violated
its standards for online merchandise and are no longer being offered
for sale.
The gaffe underscores the challenges traditional retail chains face
as they try to expand online selections to counter the rise of
Amazon.com Inc.
Sears Holdings, the parent of Sears and Kmart stores, lets other
companies sell products through its website in exchange for a slice
of the proceeds. That strategy accounts for roughly a third of
Amazon's revenue, and store chains including Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and
Best Buy Co. are also attempting to replicate it.
Sears attributed the sale of the sexually explicit DVDs to a mistake
by a vendor partner whom it declined to name.
...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704681904576317512297885604.html
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 17:05:57 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Why MIT matters
Message-ID: <p06240831c9f5f074eaea@[10.0.1.3]>
Why MIT matters
By Bill Gates
May 15, 2011
When MIT was founded 150 years ago, it adopted a novel approach for
the world of higher learning. It combined theoretical knowledge with
hands-on learning and emphasized research and teaching equally. It
was exactly what the United States needed to help ignite the
country's Industrial Revolution.
Today, MIT remains unrivaled when it comes to the basic and applied
research needed to address the complex challenges of this century. It
is on the forefront of advancements in areas such as energy, climate
change, disease, and poverty alleviation. At 150 years old, it shows
no signs of slowing down.
I was lucky enough to take a few courses at MIT when I was studying
next door at Harvard. And over the past three decades, I've visited
MIT many times and have always been impressed with the caliber of its
students, professors, and academic leaders. It's remarkable to think
that 76 current and former MIT members are Nobel Prize recipients.
Many other MIT faculty and graduates have distinguished themselves in
their fields. In the late 19th century, Ellen Swallow Richards, the
first woman to graduate from MIT, pioneered water-quality testing in
the United States. A.D. Little, a member of the class of 1885,
discovered important uses for cellulose acetate and went on to
establish the country's first management consulting firm. Pierre S.
du Pont, who earned a chemistry degree at MIT in 1890, played a key
role in the growth of his family's chemical company and the US
automotive industry.
...
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/Gates/
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 17:05:57 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: MIT 150
Message-ID: <p06240832c9f5f0a9f731@[10.0.1.3]>
MIT 150
150 fascinating, fun, important, interesting, lifesaving,
life-altering, bizarre and bold ways that MIT has made a difference
Globe Staff Writers Sam Allis, Hiawatha Bray, Scott Helman, And
Carolyn Johnson, And Globe Contributors Scott Kirsner, Karen
Weintraub, And Michael Blanding / May 15, 2011
Some were invented at MIT. Others were simply inspired by time spent
at MIT. But all of them (well, maybe not #150) have had a profound
impact, in one way or another, on society, culture, politics,
economics, transportation, health, science, and, oh yes, technology.
In the 150 years since the Commonwealth approved a charter by William
Barton Rogers to incorporate the "Massachusetts Institute of
Technology and Boston Society of Natural History" (the Civil War
delayed its first classes until 1865), MIT has established itself as
the place where great ideas are born.
...
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/mitlist/
MIT 150: The Top 50
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/specials/mit150/galleries/top_50/
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 17:25:12 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: ESPN Balks at Sprint's New Text Fee
Message-ID: <p06240833c9f5f436cc39@[10.0.1.3]>
ESPN Balks at Sprint's New Text Fee
By Colin Gibbs
May 11, 2011
Sprint has quietly raised its messaging rates for companies that
distribute texts, leading ESPN and other content providers to stop
delivering free messages to the carrier's subscribers.
Beginning April 1, Sprint began charging an additional toll of
one-half of one cent to companies that distribute texts on behalf of
organizations for every message sent through its network. While the
charge may seem minimal, it could dramatically change the economics
for news outlets, retailers, banks and countless others who send
texts as a free customer service rather than a way to generate
revenue directly.
...
http://gigaom.com/mobile/espn-balks-at-sprints-new-text-fee/
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 17:27:45 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Debit-Card Heist Lasted Months
Message-ID: <p06240835c9f5f57e191d@[10.0.1.3]>
Debit-Card Heist Lasted Months
By ANN ZIMMERMAN
MAY 14, 2011
Thieves tampered with debit-card processing equipment at Michaels
arts-and-crafts stores as early as Feb. 8, nearly three months before
customers who had used their bank cards at the chain first reported
that their bank accounts had been looted, the retailer said.
WSJ's Ann Zimmerman reports Michaels arts and crafts stores are
warning customers across the country that their credit card
information may have been obtained by hackers. (AP Photo/Donna
McWilliam)
The company began removing the compromised equipment, which it found
at 80 stores in 20 states, on May 6. It says that fewer than 100
customers have reported fraudulent transactions.
Michaels Stores is installing tamper-proof card-processing equipment.
Above, a customer shopped Wednesday at a Santa Clarita, Calif.,
Michaels.
Earlier in the week, Michaels Stores Inc. of Irving, Texas, reported
that crooks had subverted its equipment and collected customers'
debit-card data, including personal identification numbers. The gang
created duplicate cards and, using the stolen PINs, withdrew cash
from victims' bank accounts, in some cases more than once.
The company said that it uncovered almost 90 improperly altered
debit-card processing devices. The U.S. Secret Service is
investigating the incident.
...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576321611292388544.html
Date: Sun, 15 May 2011 17:29:34 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Sony Hits Restart on Game Network
Message-ID: <p06240836c9f5f606390c@[10.0.1.3]>
Sony Hits Restart on Game Network
By IAN SHERR And JURO OSAWA
MAY 15, 2011
Sony Corp. moved to restart its PlayStation Network and Sony Online
Entertainment videogame services outside Asia, following a hacking
attack that compromised personal information for more than 100
million user accounts last month.
The Japanese company late Saturday said it would begin a phased
restoration of its PlayStation Network in the Americas, Australia,
New Zealand and the Mideast following the release of a mandatory
software upgrade for all PlayStation 3 videogame consoles.
The network's operation will be limited at first, the company said,
offering Internet-based game play, movie rentals and music services
through Sony, and restored support for online video streaming through
companies such as Netflix Inc. The PlayStation Store, which allows
users to purchase games and additional content, is one service that
won't be available at the outset.
U.S. customers were able to access most of the phased-in features
Sunday morning. Full service is expected to be restored by the end of
the month, the company said.
Sony will wait to restart the PlayStation Network in Japan, South
Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and
Malaysia. The company didn't give a precise timetable for restoring
service in Asia but said it aims to have the region fully operational
also by the end of the month.
...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576323934034309052.html
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