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The Telecom Digest for January 13, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 13 : "text" Format
====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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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: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 05:01:50 -0800 (PST)
From: Mark Smith <marklsmith@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Mixed news for AT&T in Consumer Reports wireless survey
Message-ID: <1357995710.6994.YahooMailClassic@web122306.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
> --- On Thu, 1/10/13, John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
>> Perhaps the Consumer Cellular customers have very low expectations of
>> network quality, or perhaps AT&T customers just like to complain a lot.
>
> They probably do different things. I have a Tracfone that runs on
> AT&T's network, and I think it works great. That's likely because I
> make voice calls and SMS, no data. Looks like Consumer Cellular is
> the same idea.
I use Consumer Cellular and my girlfriend uses Tracphone. My only
complaint is lack of call availability. We are in Laurel, MD and it's
a very busy phone area. Sometimes I don't get a tower response (no
bars) and sometimes the call starts but doesn't go through. I get a
lot of voicemails where the phone never rang.
Mark L. Smith marklsmith@yahoo.com
http://smith.freehosting.net
Http://marksfolkmusicphotos.shutterfly.com
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 14:01:32 -0500
From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Mixed news for AT&T in Consumer Reports wireless survey
Message-ID: <MPG.2b5b7d1864290fd7989d84@news.eternal-september.org>
In article
<1357995710.6994.YahooMailClassic@web122306.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>,
marklsmith@yahoo.com says...
> > --- On Thu, 1/10/13, John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
> >> Perhaps the Consumer Cellular customers have very low expectations of
> >> network quality, or perhaps AT&T customers just like to complain a lot.
> >
> > They probably do different things. I have a Tracfone that runs on
> > AT&T's network, and I think it works great. That's likely because I
> > make voice calls and SMS, no data. Looks like Consumer Cellular is
> > the same idea.
>
> I use Consumer Cellular and my girlfriend uses Tracphone. My only
> complaint is lack of call availability. We are in Laurel, MD and it's
> a very busy phone area. Sometimes I don't get a tower response (no
> bars) and sometimes the call starts but doesn't go through. I get a
> lot of voicemails where the phone never rang.
That's nothing. I live in 4G saturated area. So when my phone starts
saying it can't get on the net, etc. I have to reboot it.
It's a Samsung SCH-R910 if you're interested.
The reboots happen roughly every other day. What annoys me most about
Android is that in it's pure state it's a *Nix base operating system. It
should be trivial to stop and start the phone service without having to
reboot the phone but no such luck. It's been so messed with by the
Vendor (Samsung) and the carrier that it explains the inability to do
much in that sphere.
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:46:07 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Be productive: The Ultimate Smartphone Guide, part V
Message-ID: <p06240804cd177bb8582c@[10.0.1.3]>
Be productive: The Ultimate Smartphone Guide, part V
Phones now handle business beyond e-mail-calendars, Word processing, and more.
by Andrew Cunningham
Jan 10 2013
Ars Technica
Today's desktops and laptops have become fast enough that we've
stopped seeing huge performance increases from generation to
generation. This year's processors and graphics cards are faster than
last year's, but not by so much that it's worth buying a new PC every
year.
In smartphones, though, it's a different story. ...
.... in the fifth and final entry in our ultimate smartphone
guide. We'll be looking at the best way to get work done on iOS,
Android, and Windows Phone 8, evaluating both the capability of each
operating system's built-in apps as well as the best third-party apps
for filling in functionality gaps.
...
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/work-it-the-ultimate-smartphone-guide-part-v/
***** Moderator's Note *****
The ultimate smartphone is the model that you can leave in a
drawer. It will answer your email, figure your cost factors, and send
birthday greetings to all your boss's relatives automagically.
Until that phone arrives, you'll be stuck with just-another-electronic-leash.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:28:21 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Just How Dumb Is It For CBS To Block CNET From Giving Dish An Award?
Message-ID: <p06240802cd1776fc3bf5@[10.0.1.3]>
Just How Dumb Is It For CBS To Block CNET From Giving Dish An Award?
by Mike Masnick
Jan 11 2013
Techdirt
As you may or may not recall, last year, pretty much all the TV
networks sued Dish Networks over a new feature it had launched,
PrimeTime Any Time (PTAT), with its Autohopper technology on its
DVRs. PTAT is where it would automatically record all the major
networks' prime time programming and hold onto it for a bit.
Autohopper would then automatically skip over the commercials. It's
important to recognize that these features, on their own, have been
considered legal. VCRs had auto commercial skip ages ago and DVR
technology (time shifting) has been called fair use plenty of times.
Given that, the lawsuits aren't going well so far.
But, in a moment of pure stupidity, some very short-sighted suits at
CBS made a really silly decision. As you may or may not have heard,
CES -- the massive consumer electronics show -- has been going on all
this week in Las Vegas. I just got back from there myself. At the
show, Dish announced another merging of some of its products, adding
its Slingbox (who they bought years back) to the same basic setup.
Slingbox, of course, is for "place shifting" what the DVR is for
"time shifting." You hook it up to your TV and it lets you access
what's playing on your TV via the internet (so, via your computer,
phone or tablet). It's hardly surprising that this is where Dish was
heading.
And... the early reviews and buzz were definitely strong. For example,
CNET wrote a glowing review in which executive editor David Carnoy
suggested it may be the best DVR out there these days. The CNET crew
liked the thing so much that they nominated it for their "Best of CES"
award.
And... then the suits at CNET parent company CBS noticed.
...
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130111/00145421637/just-how-dumb-is-it-cbs-to-block-cnet-giving-dish-award.shtml
-or-
http://goo.gl/VF4ed
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