33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2014 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.
The Telecom Digest for Sep 15, 2014
Volume 33 : Issue 159 : "text" Format
33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981Copyright © 2014 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.The Telecom Digest for Sep 15, 2014 |
| Messages in this Issue: | |
|---|---|
| Banks Did It Apple's Way in Payments by Mobile | (Monty Solomon) |
| Trying to Hit the Brake on Texting While Driving | (Monty Solomon) |
| Re: Penalty for driving while texting in Long Island - a disabled cell phone | (Eric Tappert) |
If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. - George Washington
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details.
| Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 02:45:02 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Banks Did It Apple's Way in Payments by Mobile Message-ID: <p0624083cd03ae9d76ad8@[172.16.42.4]> Banks Did It Apple's Way in Payments by Mobile The eagerness of banks and card companies to work with Apple on its mobile payment system suggests Apple's clout and the concern financial players have for their future. http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/banks-did-it-apples-way-in-payments-by-mobile/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** Here's a quote from the article, which I nominate for "Understatement Of The Year": For the banks and credit card networks, Apple Pay could threaten some revenue streams, as the technology giant looks to assume a more central role in the financial universe. But the eager participation of banks and card companies suggests both Apple's clout, and the recognition among financial institutions that they face broader challenges from upstart technology ventures, many of which are not as eager or willing as Apple to work with the incumbent financial industry. ... or maybe for the "Rip Van Winkle Allegory of the Century", I'm not sure. Intuit, which almost merged with Microsoft back in 1994 and was forced to abandon the deal, was nonetheless the first harbinger of doom for any old-world adherents to the traditional non-electronic banking model. Now, the old-world bankers are pushing back again: the "Incumbent financial industry" is deathly afraid that electronic transaction houses such as PayPal will obtain the holy grail of being allowed to (gasp!) issue checking accounts, and thus bypass them entirely. Does anyone else think "Bitcoin" when they read this? Bill Horne Moderator |
| Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 01:21:41 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Trying to Hit the Brake on Texting While Driving Message-ID: <AF13A65E-6A2E-4C27-99C8-A38E4A661788@roscom.com> Trying to Hit the Brake on Texting While Driving People keep texting when they're behind the wheel, so an engineer has found a technological solution. The problem: he can't do it on his own. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/business/trying-to-hit-the-brake-on-texting-while-driving.html -or- http://goo.gl/wpke4I ***** Moderator's Note ***** You can read the story, and we can debate the idea, but it won't work. Technical hacks like this one will always breed workarounds, some as trivial as teenagers trading cell phones for a day or a ride, some as sophisiticated as companies refusing to participate and using their refusal as a marketing tool. However, there is an upside: the fact that ideas like this get any traction is proof that the link between texting and accidents is now irrefutable even to end users, and that means that legislators are being goaded to take action. Bill Horne Moderator |
| Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 13:20:09 -0400 From: Eric Tappert <e.tappert.spamnot@frontier.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Penalty for driving while texting in Long Island - a disabled cell phone Message-ID: <j6jb1a5dkbebl6k7q6h247d8gob6e1in5v@4ax.com> On 11 Sep 2014 00:42:01 -0000, "John Levine" <johnl@iecc.com> wrote: >> Motorists popped for texting-while-driving violations in Long Island >> could be mandated to temporarily disable their mobile phones the >> next time they take to the road. > >> That's according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, who ... > >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >> Is Ms. Rice an elected official? > >Yes, district attorneys are elected in New York. > >Assuming the technical details are workable, this seems like a >reasonable idea. I don't want to put texting drivers in jail, I just >want them to stop texting and pay attention to the fripping road. > > >***** Moderator's Note ***** > >Primary elections were held yesterday in Massachusetts, and I was >wondering if the Nassau County District Attorney was also in an >election cycle, and might be hungry for headlines. > >There is no app, device, system, or method that would make it possible >to eliminate texting by the driver of a vehicle. It can, of course, >be done for the entire car, but not just for the driver. > >I assume that Ms. Rice is aware of this already, and has wasted a lot >of people's time by shopping for free ink. > >Bill Horne >Moderator Bill, There is a method and there's an article in today's NY Times (business section). The problem is that it is network based and none of the networks want to implement it, although Sprint helped with the testing. It does, in fact, just shut off the driver's phone. Details at: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/business/trying-to-hit-the-brake-on-texting-while-driving.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0 -or- http://goo.gl/1EiXfH ET ***** Moderator's Note ***** I read the article, and I commented that I don't think it can work. Even if it could, I don't want it: any "solution" to the problem of drivers using cellphones which relies of keeping tabs on which car is going in which direction, and exactly who is at the wheel, is going to create more problems than it solves. I'd rather see a ban on cellphone use by drivers. Connecticutt already has one. Bill Horne Moderator |
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