31 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
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The Telecom Digest for July 21, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 157 : "text" Format
====== 31 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
included herein for any reason other than responding to an article
herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to that person, or email address
owner.
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: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 09:25:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telemarketers call in reinforcements as they ignore do-not-call list
Message-ID: <623db582-d652-4d45-b4fb-e53463a3aa71@googlegroups.com>
On Wednesday, July 17, 2013 1:39:12 AM UTC-4, Monty Solomon wrote:
> Telemarketers call in reinforcements as they ignore do-not-call list
I still get calls from "Credit Card Services". One day I had two such
messages, and each message was announced by a different speaker.
Perhaps the scam has been adopted by multiple parties.
I also get sales calls and texts to my cell phone, even though that's
illegal.
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 22:07:12 -0400
From: unknown <arnie.goetchius.remove-this@and-this-too.att.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Big disconnect: Telcos to abandon copper phone lines
Message-ID: <ks4tt7$j9q$1@dont-email.me>
Michael Moroney wrote:
> John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> writes:
>
>>> Voice Link won't handle medical device checking, alarm systems and
>>> credit card payments. Verizon needs to come out with Voice Link II
>>> that will handle that stuff and charge a premium for it.
>
>> No, Verizon needs to spend the money to fix the fripping phone lines.
>> They're a public utility with a duty to provide universal service.
>> It's their job.
>
> It seems a reasonable solution would be to rewire the whole town with
> fiber & rip out the copper, as long as it could look like a copper phone
> line to anything that needs such, except for the availability of power
> (need the box with UPS/battery). Offer FIOS package and a basic phone
> line equivalent over it.
>
I have FiOS and like everything about it except the need for a UPS for
power in order to use the internet. I have a 650VA UPS with which I
power the router and the ONT. This gives me about 90 minutes of internet
connection. After 90 minutes I lose the router and the ONT switches to
its internal battery backup which gives me telephone only for about 6
hours. For short outages, this works fine but for Sandy, it sucked. I
was without power in NJ for 11 days and moved to a motel in PA on day 3.
Fortunately, FiOS knew when my telephone service went out and
automatically transferred all incoming landline calls to my prepaid cell
phone which is good for telephone calls and messages but not wifi or data.
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 11:14:45 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Millions of US license plates tracked and stored, new ACLU report finds
Message-ID: <p0624085fce0c648e4b74@[10.0.1.9]>
Millions of US license plates tracked and stored, new ACLU report finds
Alarming number of databases across US are storing details of
Americans' locations - not just government agencies
Ed Pilkington in New York
guardian.co.uk
17 July 2013
Millions of Americans are having their movements tracked through
automated scanning of their car license plates, with the records held
often indefinitely in vast government and private databases.
A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union has found an
alarming proliferation of databases across the US storing details of
Americans' locations. The technology is not confined to government
agencies - private companies are also getting in on the act, with one
firm - National Vehicle Location Service - holding more than 800m
records of scanned license plates.
...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2013/jul/17/million-american-license-plate-privacy-tracking
You Are Being Tracked: How License Plate Readers Are Being Used to
Record Americans' Movements
http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/you-are-being-tracked-how-license-plate-readers-are-being-used-record
http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/071613-aclu-alprreport-opt-v05.pdf
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:03:29 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Google Said to Weigh Supplying TV Channels
Message-ID: <p06240828ce0bd5e2dae8@[10.0.1.9]>
Google Said to Weigh Supplying TV Channels
By BRIAN STELTER
July 16, 2013
If Google has its way, you might someday get cable television the
same way you get Gmail: through any ordinary Internet connection.
Foreshadowing a new challenge to entrenched cable and satellite
providers, Google is one of several technology giants trying to
license TV channels for an Internet cable service, according to
people with direct knowledge of the company's efforts.
No deals are imminent. But Google's recent meetings with major media
companies that own channels are a sign of the newfound race to sell
cablelike services via the Internet, creating an alternative to the
current television packages that 100 million American households buy
from companies like Comcast and Time Warner Cable.
Intel is hard at work on one such service and companies like Sony and
Microsoft have previously shown interest in the same idea, called an
"over the top" service because the channels would ride on top of
existing broadband connections. They need support from the channel
owners, though, and so far that has been tepid.
Google, which also owns YouTube, the world's largest online video
site, declined to comment on its television interest. But by
instigating conversations with channel owners about a service that
would compete with the likes of Comcast, the company is taking a
different tack than its rival Apple, which has been trying to
collaborate with both channel owners and their distributors on a TV
offering.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/business/media/google-is-said-to-mull-internet-cable-service.html
Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 13:04:59 -0400
From: Julian Thomas <jt@jt-mj.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Google Said to Weigh Supplying TV Channels
Message-ID: <07D76290-96DB-46ED-8423-D0747067FFD7@jt-mj.net>
On 17Jul 2013, at 1:03 AM, Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote:
> If Google has its way, you might someday get cable television the
> same way you get Gmail: through any ordinary Internet connection.
Er - how many of us get our internet connection from our cable company? IIRC
naked internet isn't a very attractive buy.
--
Sent from my iMac
Julian Thomas
jt@jt-mj.net
http://jt-mj.net
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:58:15 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Universities Face a Rising Barrage of Cyberattacks
Message-ID: <p06240825ce0bd4c497b4@[10.0.1.9]>
Universities Face a Rising Barrage of Cyberattacks
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
July 16, 2013
America's research universities, among the most open and robust
centers of information exchange in the world, are increasingly coming
under cyberattack, most of it thought to be from China, with millions
of hacking attempts weekly. Campuses are being forced to tighten
security, constrict their culture of openness and try to determine
what has been stolen.
University officials concede that some of the hacking attempts have
succeeded. But they have declined to reveal specifics, other than
those involving the theft of personal data like Social Security
numbers. They acknowledge that they often do not learn of break-ins
until much later, if ever, and that even after discovering the
breaches they may not be able to tell what was taken.
Universities and their professors are awarded thousands of patents
each year, some with vast potential value, in fields as disparate as
prescription drugs, computer chips, fuel cells, aircraft and medical
devices.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/17/education/barrage-of-cyberattacks-challenges-campus-culture.html
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 11:54:31 -0500
From: Jim Haynes <jhaynes@cavern.uark.edu>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telemarketers call in reinforcements as they ignore do-not-call list
Message-ID: <slrnkuirq7.3mk.jhaynes@Frances.localdomain>
I've received three calls so far in a two-hour period this morning. One
from "John at the shipping department..." with some emergency medical
alert scam - getting to be as frequent or more than Rachel these days.
The others from quite likely bogus charities that may be exempt from the
do-not-call list.
Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2013 10:13:37 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telemarketers call in reinforcements as they ignore do-not-call list
Message-ID: <20130720141337.GB26911@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, Jul 19, 2013 at 11:54:31AM -0500, Jim Haynes wrote:
> I've received three calls so far in a two-hour period this morning. One
> from "John at the shipping department..." with some emergency medical
> alert scam - getting to be as frequent or more than Rachel these days.
> The others from quite likely bogus charities that may be exempt from the
> do-not-call list.
The latest scam to hit my phone is robocallers telling me to "Push
One" if I want to hear about how they're going to send me a "Free GE
home-security system".
Anyone who drills down to the details, after working his way past the
first semi-humanoid troll who only wants to screen away those whom are
complaining about violations of the do-not-call list, will discoverer
that the "free" system needs "monitoriing", which is an internet-based
service costing almost $500 per year.
The attitude of the people involved, from start to finish, is
shameless hucksterism and vicious manipulation for profit. Laws are an
externality to them.
It's not as if Uncle Sam doesn't notice: it's that he doesn't know how
to solve it. Last year, I was interviewed by an FTC employee who was
looking for ways to prevent forged caller ID and DNC violations. I
told him that there's always a CLEC with a payroll to meet and bills
to pay, and that the hucksters have cash.
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
He wants to dream like a young man
With the wisdom of an old man
He wants his home and security
He wants to live like a sailor at sea
- Bob Seger
Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:34:42 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Apple 'Kill List': What Your iPhone Doesn't Want You to Type
Message-ID: <p06240834ce0bdd3a9360@[10.0.1.9]>
The Apple 'Kill List': What Your iPhone Doesn't Want You to Type
The Daily Beast
Jul 16, 2013
Spell 'electrodialysis' wrong in a text, and Apple will correct you.
Miss 'abortion' by one letter? You're on your own. A Daily Beast
investigation into your iPhone's hidden taboos.
...
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/16/the-apple-kill-list-what-your-iphone-doesn-t-want-you-to-type.html
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 00:54:12 -0700 (PDT)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Appeals Ct. won't take "Aereo" case, so lower ruling stands
Message-ID: <0932accb-9036-41e0-b7d4-dbfc5b41de39@googlegroups.com>
Aereo Update: Second Circuit Nixes En Banc Review
Posted on Common Law Blog on July 16, 2013 by Harry Cole, Fletcher Heald &
Hildreth Law Firm
> Procedural rejection does not resolve merits of broadcasters' case.
>
> Put another one in the "W" column for Aereo. The Second Circuit has
> denied the petition for en banc review filed by the broadcast
> plaintiffs last April.
>
> It may be some comfort to the broadcasters that the Court's decision
> technically did not address the merits of the case. That's because
> of the nature of en banc procedures. As we previously summarized
> that process, when a petition for en banc review is filed, the
> petition is circulated to all the active judges on the Circuit. If
> any of them asks for a vote to be taken on whether or not to grant
> en banc review, then all the active judges are polled. Note that
> they're not polled on the bottom line substantive issue(s) involved;
> rather, they're just polled on the limited question of whether the
> Court should agree to let the parties slug it out before the full
> Court.
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/mc5zlu4
Neal McLain
Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 11:05:23 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Android vs. iPhone: Why Apple still has the edge over Google's operating system.
Message-ID: <p06240804ce0db443b4e4@[10.0.1.9]>
Give Me Back My iPhone!
Android is a wonderful operating system. But most Android phones are crap.
By Farhad Manjoo
July 17, 2013
Slate Magazine
Six years ago, Google launched an unconventional effort to gain a
toehold in the growing smartphone business. Rather than make its own
phones, the way Apple was beginning to do, the search company decided
to make only half a phone: just the software to run the device, not
the device itself. Google planned to give its operating system,
called Android, to phone makers for free, and it would let them alter
the OS in any way they liked.
Google thought that in the long run, the plan would pay off in two
ways. First, it believed a free OS would push phone makers to create
better Web-enabled phones, and better phones would let people spend
more time on the Internet. More time online means more opportunities
to use Google's service and see Google ads-i.e., ka-ching! Android
also provided a strategic benefit: If phone makers adopted Google's
OS, the search company would retain some influence on the devices
people used to get its services. If it weren't for Android, Google's
customers would have been using devices controlled by Apple,
Microsoft, Nokia, or RIM, all of which had incentives to limit
Google's reach. Android lets Google control its own destiny.
The strategy worked brilliantly. Android is now the world's most
popular mobile operating system. It's unclear if Google makes much
money from Android directly-by some estimates Google makes as much
from ads on Apple's iOS devices as it does on Android machines. But
there's no question that Android has helped lower the prices of
smartphones across the globe, which can only help Google's ad
business. It's hard to call Android anything other than a resounding
success.
Well, except for one small thing: Most Android phones are crap. As
part of a New Year's resolution, I promised to trade in my beloved
iPhone 5 for an Android phone sometime in 2013. I reasoned that, as a
tech writer, I should spend more time with the world's most popular
operating system. Phone makers and carriers have regularly sent me
Android phones to test out in the past, but I'd never given most of
them more than a passing look-I'd open them up, turn them on, get
aggravated by their bad keyboards or poor touchscreens or frustrating
add-on software, and I immediately package them up and send them back.
...
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/07/android_vs_iphone_why_apple_still_has_the_edge_over_google_s_operating_system.single.html
Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 10:58:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Microsoft Writes Off $900 Million on Surface Tablets
Message-ID: <df6d3c50-c4b5-4f78-b25f-bde162791bad@googlegroups.com>
By David Gilbert, International Business Times, July 18, 2013
| Microsoft has reported lower-than-expected quarterly profits with
| share diving 5% following the news.
|
| Microsoft on Thursday reported lower-than-expected quarterly
| earnings as faltering PC sales ate into its Windows business and
| the company took an unexpected $900 million (&pount;591m) charge for
| its inventory of unsold Surface tablets, sending its shares
| down 5% in after hours trading.
Continued:
http://tinyurl.com/ltanehu
Neal McLain
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
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