---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <573B5599-1E2E-4CA7-8B29-D0B7FCA74C52@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2017 10:38:43 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: There's now a really nice Windows phone available on Verizon, and I'm not sure why There's now a really nice Windows phone available on Verizon, and I'm not sure why The HP Elite x3 happens to be a pretty nice phone if you're into platforms with no future. Early in 2016, HP announced the Elite X3, a high-end Windows 10 Mobile phone that was, well, actually really nice. A then-current Snapdragon 820, 4GB RAM, dual SIM, 6 inch 2560x1400 AMOLED screen, iris and fingerprint recognition, Qi and PMA wireless charging, waterproof, 16MP rear and 8MP front cameras: it was the kind of thing flagships are made of. HP was aiming the phone at corporate customers, but there was a sticking point; it didn't support CDMA, which meant it wasn't compatible with Verizon's legacy 3G network (though LTE service areas would have been fine). With Verizon having an estimated 50 percent of the corporate phone market, this was a big problem. While Windows Phone 8 had CDMA support, its successor, Windows 10 Mobile, did not - part of the fallout of the Nokia layoffs. This meant that even though phones like the X3 and Lumia 950 and 950 XL had the right radio hardware in their Qualcomm processors to work on Verizon's network, they were in practice restricted to T-Mobile and AT&T, the US's GSM carriers. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/11/in-the-most-inexplicable-news-of-the-week-windows-10-mobile-finally-does-cdma/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <582BF91C-5A19-4FA0-AC22-3D4C016A9A4D@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2017 10:37:32 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Stuxnet-style code signing is more widespread than anyone thought Stuxnet-style code signing is more widespread than anyone thought Forgeries undermine the trust millions of people place in digital certificates. One of the breakthroughs of the Stuxnet worm that targeted Iran's nuclear program was its use of legitimate digital certificates, which cryptographically vouched for the trustworthiness of the software's publisher. Following its discovery in 2010, researchers went on to find the technique was used in a handful of other malware samples both with ties to nation-sponsored hackers and, later on, with ties to for-profit criminal enterprises. Now, researchers have presented proof that digitally signed malware is much more common than previously believed. What's more, it predated Stuxnet, with the first known instance occurring in 2003. The researchers said they found 189 malware samples bearing valid digital signatures that were created using compromised certificates issued by recognized certificate authorities and used to sign legitimate software. In total, 109 of those abused certificates remain valid. The researchers, who presented their findings Wednesday at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security, found another 136 malware samples signed by legitimate CA-issued certificates, although the signatures were malformed. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/11/evasive-code-signed-malware-flourished-before-stuxnet-and-still-does/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <9D88B53C-9B78-4C1A-A66A-CDE7CB65C529@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2017 17:50:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Sprint and T-Mobile End Merger Discussions Sprint and T-Mobile said on Saturday that they had ended merger talks, marking the second time in three years that the two failed to reach a deal to create a stronger competitor to Verizon and AT&T. The announcement represents a setback to Sprint, T-Mobile and their majority shareholders - Sprint is owned by the Japanese technology giant SoftBank and T-Mobile by Deutsche Telekom of Germany - in their efforts to create a stronger third-place competitor in the American wireless market. The failure of the talks marked the second time in three years that the two failed to reach a deal to create a stronger competitor to Verizon and AT&T. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/04/business/dealbook/sprint-and-t-mobile-end-merger-discussions.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <6B2C7BB4-5257-4CE4-B1B4-495485FBD0ED@roscom.com> Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2017 10:40:47 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Comcast has a lot to lose if municipal broadband takes off Comcast has a lot to lose if municipal broadband takes off Comcast revenue could take a big hit in two cities that might build networks. By Jon Brodkin Comcast could lose a significant amount of revenue in cities that build their own municipal broadband networks, a new analysis suggests. Comcast and trade groups that Comcast belongs to made some well-placed political donations as elections next week in Seattle, Washington, and Fort Collins, Colorado, could determine whether the cities pursue municipal broadband projects. With that in mind, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Community Broadband Networks Initiative analyzed how much revenue Comcast stands to lose if both cities build their own broadband networks. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/11/comcast-has-a-lot-to-lose-if-municipal-broadband-takes-off/ ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171105151113.15238.qmail@ary.lan> Date: 5 Nov 2017 15:11:13 -0000 From: "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com> Subject: Re: History -- Western Union's cellular service, 1984 In article <8ab8fca0-8437-48de-9ba8-db09674ff455@googlegroups.com> you write: >. The cell phone sets were targeted toward high end businesspeople > and government officials (e.g. a big city mayor and his commissioners). > They mentioned installing them in limousines. Presumably, those > people could afford the very high cost of the telephone, installation, > and monthly service charges. I had an early-ish NYNEX AMPS cell phone in my car in the late 1980s. The practical reason to put them in the car was that they were too big to carry. My phone was similar to the one described a few messages ago, a handset mounted between the front seats and a large electronics box under the driver's seat. There was a "portable" version that put the box in a briefcase. The early handhelds were more gimmicks than useful phones, heavy, expensive, and talk time of 1/2 hr if you were lucky between overnight recharges. R's, John ------------------------------ Message-ID: <AB845E1F-E735-4A8C-B48D-1802F1E34F07@roscom.com> Date: Sun, 5 Nov 2017 11:37:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: A closer look at the capabilities and risks of iPhone X face mapping A closer look at the capabilities and risks of iPhone X face mapping On Friday Apple fans were queuing to get their hands on the newly released iPhone X: The flagship smartphone that Apple deemed a big enough update to skip a numeral. RIP iPhone 9. The shiny new hardware includes a front-facing sensor module housed in the now infamous "notch" which takes an unsightly but necessary bite out of the top of an otherwise (near) edge-to-edge display and thereby enables the smartphone to sense and map depth - including facial features. https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/04/a-closer-look-at-the-capabilities-and-risks-of-iphone-x-face-mapping/ ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Mon, 06 Nov 2017