|
|
Message Digest
Volume 28 : Issue 196 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: Home and small office VoIP services
Re: Home and small office VoIP services
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Re: 911 service center troubles
Re: 911 service center troubles
Catching Spammers in the Act / Researchers show how spammers harvest e-mail addresses and send out bulk messages.
RFID's Security Problem / Are U.S. passport cards and new states driver's licenses with RFID truly secure?
Re: One Example of Cell Phone Domination
The RISK that is Amazon's Kindle
Re: 911 service center troubles
====== 27 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 Patrick Townson 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 the recipients of the
email.
===========================
Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without explicit written consent. 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:01:08 -0400
From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <op.uw69r6doo63xbg@acer250.gateway.2wire.net>
Quite in passing, on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:11:12 -0400,
Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
> ... [snip] ...
>
> scarce), and presently a Motorola RAZR V3 (for its tiny size, photo/movie
Thad, just out of curiosity: have you found a version of Opera Mini
that works well on your RAZR V3? I ask because, while the lofi versions
tend to work OK on my own Nokia 6610, none of the hifi versions we've
loaded onto my wife's V3 (beyond a really early version whose version
number we failed to record) seems to be worth a d..n in the V3's J2ME.
Indeed, even for my Nokia, I'd had to back down to an earlier version
in order to maintain usability, as several updates proved flakier than
this stable predecessor.
TIA; and cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:14:42 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <4A60CDA2.7070106@thadlabs.com>
On 7/17/2009 7:31 AM, tlvp wrote:
> Quite in passing, on Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:11:12 -0400,
> Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>> ... [snip] ...
>>
>> scarce), and presently a Motorola RAZR V3 (for its tiny size, photo/movie
>
> Thad, just out of curiosity: have you found a version of Opera Mini
> that works well on your RAZR V3? I ask because, while the lofi versions
> tend to work OK on my own Nokia 6610, none of the hifi versions we've
> loaded onto my wife's V3 (beyond a really early version whose version
> number we failed to record) seems to be worth a d..n in the V3's J2ME.
> [...]
Sorry, I've never bothered using my V3 for anything other than as a phone
and to receive emergency email, so I'm not aware of what's available even
though I do have the complete software "hacker" toolkit for it.
I just checked the "razr_v3" Yahoo group's archives and there's nothing
pertinent all the way back to 2005 when the group formed. I've had mine
since 2004. The only thing I've done to it (using the hacker tools) is
boost the max audio level by altering a few bits since I do have a mild
hearing loss, and I've been pleased with it since that change.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:39:49 +0000 (UTC)
From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <h3p9s5$e2a$4@news.albasani.net>
All right, all right. You've all convinced me.
I'll stop carrying my manual typewriter into business meetings preparing
letters and replies to correspondence.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:51:05 GMT
From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <nel165p7bas0sfj7f8q4jqbqknlsp8apat@4ax.com>
"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>All right, all right. You've all convinced me.
>
>I'll stop carrying my manual typewriter into business meetings preparing
>letters and replies to correspondence.
<chuckle>
BTW I generally avoid meetings. However, for non business related meetings where I
require my laptop, I really like using my folding Palm keyboard to take notes. When
it's folded it nicely fits in a pocket.
Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:34:04 GMT
From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Message-ID: <5lvv555hrjde1dnbj8gthhqaj0sle1mom5@4ax.com>
Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote:
>_ANYONE_ who submits a joke about falling into you-know-what will be
>struck by lightning!
Hows about
Padding to protect pedestrians
Padded lampposts are being trialled in a London street to protect inattentive
pedestrians.
A pilot scheme has been launched in Brick Lane after it was found to have the highest
number of 'walking and texting' injuries in the country.
A study carried out by 118 118 found one in ten people has hurt themselves while
focused on their mobile phone screen.
The charity Living Streets is so concerned that it has teamed up with the directory
enquiries service to test a scheme to wrap up the nation's lampposts.
A poll will be carried out on Brick Lane to gauge the response of locals.
If successful, the concept will be rolled out in Birmingham, Manchester, and
Liverpool.
http://itn.co.uk/e08f352d47d558169dddc9f53c0c8d00.html
Dated Tue Mar 4 2008 so long before April Fools day.
Now I must admit to walking into a telephone pole myself once in my younger years.
However the particularly gorgeous woman was well worth the bruise.
Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:50:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <a96466b3-3f81-454c-a2dc-1dc192b43254@k19g2000yqn.googlegroups.com>
On Jul 16, 6:24 pm, John Mayson <j...@mayson.us> wrote:
> > *FWIW, I think kids today are more polite to their elders than we were
> > back in the "don't trust anyone over 30" days.)
>
> Sounds like I'm somewhere between you and the younger generation. I find
> young people today to be downright rude. "Me first, forget you" (polite
> version) should be our new national motto.
My impression about today's young people is based on my dealings with
them in stores and the neighborhood. As a group, they seem to be far
more polite and helpful to older people than my generation was when we
were that age. IMHO, my generation as kids was more sullen and surly;
but kids today seem very helpful. Now, whether they're putting on a
big act or genuinely want to help I can't [say], but as a customer or
a neighbor they are always unfailingly polite and helpful.
In a sense, I think kids today are less spoiled and more "out in the
world" than we were. In our day, many parents were at home, today's
kids have working parents and have to be more self reliant at an
earlier age. Many come from split families and have to grow up
faster. It seems that more kids work.
Now, how kids treat _each other_ is a different story. I'm no expert,
but it seems to me kids are more competitive and demanding about
"coolness" from their peers, and the nerdy kids have a very hard time
of it. The 'cool' kids are under constant pressure to maintain their
'cool status'. For example, I think today there is greater peer
pressure about expensive clothing and fashion. IMHO, the pressure is
significantly worse than I was a kid; clothing is more expensive and
styles rigidly defined.
I think a kid with an old model cell phone or audio player will have a
hard time of it today. I don't think in our day we cared at all if
someone's home phone was an old black 302 set or premium Touch Tone
Princess or Trimline.
> > Irrelevent. As an oldster, I see many business meetings as a huge
> > waste of time (not counting, of course, the ones I lead.) <g>
>
> I would love to travel back to 1943 and visit Los Alamos to see just how
> many meetings they had. I have a hunch scientists and engineers were
> allowed to work and didn't spend half their days in room with a bunch of
> managers.
Interesting question.
I can't answer that offhand, but the scientists of Los Alamos wrote
numerous memoirs detailing their time there. Further, contemporary
authors have analyzed life quite extensively. Somewhere in the
literature may be the answer.
I do know that General Groves was fanactical about good use of time
and set up strict policies. He wanted scientists focused on specific
tasks at hand, not research for intellectual curiosity. He did not
want work to be shared out of concern for distraction and espionage.
Groves wrote about this in his "Now It Can Be Told". Richard Rhodes
wrote about the entire project. I can't recall the title of a group
of eassays which was very good.
However, Oppenheimer convinced Groves that some contact was necessary,
and that was one reason everyone was isolated in Los Alamos. There
was a lecture series established.
> But I can't imagine a place where texting or talking on the phone during
> dinner or at a meeting is acceptable. . . .
As to telephone manners in other places, years ago the US had many
more telephones per capita than elsewhere. I understand that in other
countries the telephone was seen differently than in the US, not as much
accepted or liked, and used more sparingly. However, that was years
ago and AFAIK they yak on the phone just as much as we do now.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:06:09 -0500
From: gordonb.5a3b9@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Message-ID: <LpadnQplW7ecov3XnZ2dnUVZ_gadnZ2d@posted.internetamerica>
>Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
>
>Michael Barkoviak - July 13, 2009 7:46 AM
>
>A Staten Island teenage learns the hard way that texting and walking
>can be disastrous
>
>A teenager walking along the streets in Staten Island recently
>suffered an embarrassing mistake when she walked into an open sewer
>while sending text messages on her cell phone.
I once witnessed an adult talking on a cell phone almost walk into
an elevator shaft. There were a number of signs out warning that
work was being done on some of the elevators. There was a very
hard-to-miss giant spool of elevator cable in the middle of the
floor just outside the 6 elevators. The cell-phone-occupied adult
carefully walked around the signs, ignored the maintenance man
yelling, and only stopped when the maintenance man blocked the
entrance to the elevator with his body.
Another adult was crossing the street talking on the phone and
walked into the side of a moving DART train, dropping the cell
phone. She reached under the train, got the cell phone (I'm surprised
she still had fingers), resumed talking on the phone, and ran into
the train again.
Another man at the same corner walked into a street lamp pole while
talking on his cell phone. Four times. It would have been more
but the cell phone fell down a storm drain and he couldn't get it
back.
One alarmed passenger tried yelling at the driver talking on a cell
phone to inform him he was headed straight for a lake. When he
didn't respond, she jumped out of the moving car, then texted him
to stop. He was able to turn around before getting stuck in the
lake, but the car needed some repairs from water damage.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:22:38 -0700
From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@killspammers.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Message-ID: <h3q500$ei8$1@news.eternal-september.org>
Gordon Burditt wrote:
>> Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
>>
>> Michael Barkoviak - July 13, 2009 7:46 AM
>>
>> A Staten Island teenage learns the hard way that texting and walking
>> can be disastrous
>>
>> A teenager walking along the streets in Staten Island recently
>> suffered an embarrassing mistake when she walked into an open sewer
>> while sending text messages on her cell phone.
>
> I once witnessed an adult talking on a cell phone almost walk into
> an elevator shaft. There were a number of signs out warning that
> work was being done on some of the elevators. There was a very
> hard-to-miss giant spool of elevator cable in the middle of the
> floor just outside the 6 elevators. The cell-phone-occupied adult
> carefully walked around the signs, ignored the maintenance man
> yelling, and only stopped when the maintenance man blocked the
> entrance to the elevator with his body.
>
> Another adult was crossing the street talking on the phone and
> walked into the side of a moving DART train, dropping the cell
> phone. She reached under the train, got the cell phone (I'm surprised
> she still had fingers), resumed talking on the phone, and ran into
> the train again.
>
> Another man at the same corner walked into a street lamp pole while
> talking on his cell phone. Four times. It would have been more
> but the cell phone fell down a storm drain and he couldn't get it
> back.
>
> One alarmed passenger tried yelling at the driver talking on a cell
> phone to inform him he was headed straight for a lake. When he
> didn't respond, she jumped out of the moving car, then texted him
> to stop. He was able to turn around before getting stuck in the
> lake, but the car needed some repairs from water damage.
>
Sounds like a series of TV ads for Mercury Insurance a few years ago; a
woman driving an RV, put the vehicle is cruise control and going to the
back of it to make coffee, or the guy that was cleaning parts with gas,
then putting it down the drain, then sitting in the bathroom and smoking
a cigarette.
--
The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, inc, A Rot in Hell. Co.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:10:27 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting
Message-ID: <4A60E8C3.2030806@thadlabs.com>
On 7/17/2009 9:07 AM, Steven Lichter wrote:
> [...]
> Sounds like a series of TV ads for Mercury Insurance a few years ago; a
> woman driving an RV, put the vehicle is cruise control and going to the
> back of it to make coffee, or the guy that was cleaning parts with gas,
> then putting it down the drain, then sitting in the bathroom and smoking
> a cigarette.
Hah, hah! That is FUNNY! Fortunately my coffee cup was on the table. :-)
I know this is w-a-y off-topic but I just uploaded 4 videos that are in a
similar vein; feel welcome to view and/or download:
AGF insurance re: a telescope lens:
http://thadlabs.com/VIDEOS/AGF_telescope.flv [1.6 MB]
http://thadlabs.com/VIDEOS/AGF_lens.wmv [2.6 MB]
Two Ford UK ads:
http://thadlabs.com/VIDEOS/FordBird.mpeg [1 MB]
http://thadlabs.com/VIDEOS/FordCat.mpeg [.9 MB]
On-topic: the telephone excuse machine:
http://thadlabs.com/VIDEOS/phone_excuse_machine.flv [5.7 MB]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 04:28:16 GMT
From: "Tony Toews \[MVP\]" <ttoews@telusplanet.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <g8vv555jeh30dei3id5qntuera5bid3mga@4ax.com>
"Bob Goudreau" <BobGoudreau@nc.rr.com> wrote:
>but I must take even
>stronger issue with the crack about Palm Pilots!
I was thinking the same.
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>
>Since I own, and use, a Palm Pilot myself, I'm a protected member of
>the class. ;-)
Ah, good. Indeed I will soon be upgradnig my Palm M515 to a Palm TX. It'll have to
be used via Ebay as Palm no longer makes it. I'm happy with my current cell phone
and do not want an integrated product. Two separate devices suits me just fine.
More things to go wrong.
I should add though that I'm aiming for two calls or less per month on my cell phone.
I'm not quite there yet as the occasional family member still intrudes. <smile>
Tony
--
Tony Toews, Microsoft Access MVP
Tony's Main MS Access pages - http://www.granite.ab.ca/accsmstr.htm
Tony's Microsoft Access Blog - http://msmvps.com/blogs/access/
Granite Fleet Manager http://www.granitefleet.com/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:13:41 -0500
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <6645152a0907171213j1cfbead2u90be2553698f4e20@mail.gmail.com>
>From Palm Pilots to iPhones...
Something I have learned. If you're not organized without a gadget,
you will never be organized with one. Too many people look to that
shiny new toy as their salvation from organizational chaos. Owning a
saw doesn't make me a carpenter. Owning a blood pressure cuff doesn't
make me a doctor. Owning the latest gadget isn't going to make me
organized.
When I was in college I worked for a small phone company called AT&T.
They sent me to time management school. I was all giddy because I
would finally learn to manage my time like a professional and get a
really cool organizer to boot. Well, the class was more sales pitch
than anything else and one of the exercises we did was to decide when
it made sense to fly commercial and when it made sense to use the
company jet. I was in the co-op program, so I returned to school and
came back to work the following quarter. They had changed time
management training vendors and suddenly vendor "B" was all the rage,
so I got sent to their school. No using the corporate jet examples,
but again, more sales pitch.
When I started at my most recent company I again went to time
management school and afterwards I felt like I just joined a cult. We
didn't get any freebies, but did receive an $X off coupon to their
local store. I went and learned the coupon would barely buy me a pen,
yet my coworkers were showing up with $200-$300 organizer kits from
the place. It was the dot-com era, we were naive. Well, they were, I
didn't buy anything.
While the fad is fading I think, I'm still a believer is David Allen's
Getting Things Done methodology. What I most like about it is it's
free. It's a concept. Other than buying his book (which I highly
recommend) what you choose to spend is up to you. A 99 cent spiral
works just as well as a several hundred dollar gadget.
John
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 03:47:27 -0400
From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Home and small office VoIP services
Message-ID: <op.uw7bxdrio63xbg@acer250.gateway.2wire.net>
On Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:26:08 -0400, Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
> Earlier this year we had a message thread discussing the Magic Jack
> device and service. For the service to function, one's computer, with
> the Magic Jack plugged into a USB port, must be on 24/7 or whatever
> period one wishes phone service. Intrigued, I perused their web page
> and noted the device requires a Windows or MacOS system, not Linux,
> and I lost interest.
>
> Also earlier this year I read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle
> briefly describing another VoIP system, Ooma, but the pricing seemed high
> and I didn't research it further and simply saved the article's URL:
>
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/09/BUFJ15SEF3.DTL
>
> Earlier this week I received the latest Costco coupon book in the mail
> and noticed a "special deal" for the Ooma device, so I thought I'd take
> another look at it. The Costco online-only offer (until Aug. 2) is here:
>
> http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11485914
>
> and Ooma's web site is here: http://www.ooma.com/
>
> Interesting. The device is completely stand-alone and only requires a
> cable, fiber or DSL connection to the Internet though a computer seems
> to be required to initially activate the device. Once activated, simply
> plug any standard phone instrument (e.g., 2500 deskset, FAX machine, etc.)
> into it or one of its satellites. There are no additional costs for the
> basic service since their business model is the one-time purchase of the
> hardware box(es).
>
> Documentation (PDF Quickstart and User Guide) is here:
>
> http://www.ooma.com/support/documentation.php
>
> Though I've setup a number of asterisk VoIP systems, this looks like a
> no hassle plug'n'play system for those wanting a single-line service.
>
> My interest is twofold: as a backup for my cellphone (since I went
> cellphone-only over 8 years ago and don't have any active landline
> service), and for the occasional FAX I want/need to send.
>
> Just curious: has anyone here used their devices and service and have any
> comments about it?
A handful of comments from an interested but wary non-user:
1) "Free calling to any number in the US", OK, and "low-cost international rates
starting at a penny per minute" -- but ending at what highest rate?
2) "All the features you've come to depend on, like caller-ID, call-waiting,
and voicemail" -- and location-aware 911? DA?
3) For a DSL user, won't converting to "dry" DSL still keep your
monthly TELCO bill (local loop + DSL) vs. (dry DSL) pretty much
the same?
4) And should Ooma meet the same fate as Enron or ALR or SunRocket,
what happens to that "free calling" and those "features"?
5) Getting a cable ISP is prohibitively expensive where I am; and
all these "Save the cost of your current local loop provider" deals
come with the catch-22: to get telephony service out of the Ooma
or MagicJack or whatever after I "cut" my ties to the phone co.,
I've got to reinstate my ties to the phone co. for the sake of DSL,
typically at no savings over the DSL + local loop rates I pay now.
But your coast may have different pricing, or you may have a non-telco ISP.
I'll be interested to see what other readers think.
Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
***** Moderator's Note *****
I think most users are blind to the cost of the DSL (or other
transport), because they assume they'd have to have it anyway.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:36:04 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Home and small office VoIP services
Message-ID: <4A60E0B4.70409@thadlabs.com>
On 7/17/2009 7:36 AM, tlvp wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:26:08 -0400, Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>> [...]
>> Earlier this week I received the latest Costco coupon book in the mail
>> and noticed a "special deal" for the Ooma device, so I thought I'd take
>> another look at it. The Costco online-only offer (until Aug. 2) is here:
>>
>> http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11485914
>>
>> and Ooma's web site is here: http://www.ooma.com/
>> [...]
>> Just curious: has anyone here used their devices and service and have any
>> comments about it?
The Costco site has a great collection of reviews, and most of my
concerns have now been answered except:
1. how does it obtain its IP address?
I'm guessing DHCP.
2. is there a web (HTML) management interface?
Unknown. It has an embedded Linux OS, so I'd expect to be able to
at least ssh/telnet into it. Might have to hack it. :-)
I couldn't find a single complaint about the voice quality; nearly
everyone stated it was as good as or better than their previous landline
and/or other VoIP service.
Customer service, however, was THE big complaint, with delays answering
their 800 number or email topping the list. Most peoples' problems were
their own -- not following the step-by-step setup instructions.
For most people, the network setup would be straightforward. I understand
why Ooma wants its device to be at the "head" of one's network for QoS,
but that's not going to work for me. Best I can determine from available
docs from Ooma, I could put it on my firewall's (SonicWall appliance) DMZ
and not have to change anything on my LAN.
> A handful of comments from an interested but wary non-user:
>
> 1) "Free calling to any number in the US", OK, and "low-cost international rates
> starting at a penny per minute" -- but ending at what highest rate?
I finally found their terms of service. Free calling is up to 3000 minutes
per month. That works out to be just under 2 hours/day. Fine for me since
it's rare that I'd be on the phone more than 2 hours/month. Ooma service
is intended for "home" (not business) use.
> 2) "All the features you've come to depend on, like caller-ID, call-waiting,
> and voicemail" -- and location-aware 911? DA?
Actually, yes. Their "Lounge" website page has options to set the location
for 911 and, as I learned, the device cannot even be activated until the
location is set, which is a good idea -- someone was thinking. The Premier
subscription will route a 911 call over a landline if Internet access is
unavailable and a landline exists.
Power failures could be a problem for most users who don't have UPSs. Not a
problem for me since all my stuff (cable modem, routers, switches, etc.) are
on UPSs. If the cable service itself loses power, one is SOL (Simply Out of
Luck :-)
Assuming "DA" means Directory Assistance, they have a 411 for that and it
costs US$0.99 per call.
They provide incoming CID and, via the "Lounge", permit setting the outgoing
CID name to, typically, one's first and last name.
> [...]
> 4) And should Ooma meet the same fate as Enron or ALR or SunRocket,
> what happens to that "free calling" and those "features"?
Per their FAQ http://www.ooma.com/learn/ooma_faq.php?section=company
they appear to be well-funded. Yeah, famous last words. :-)
I've had two employers go belly-up on me the past 2 years and, in today's
economy, there are no crystal balls predicting the future. Here in
Silicon Valley (where Ooma is also located (Palo Alto)) everything's a mess
and most of my friends are out of work and looking, too.
> 5) Getting a cable ISP is prohibitively expensive where I am; and
> all these "Save the cost of your current local loop provider" deals
> come with the catch-22: to get telephony service out of the Ooma
> or MagicJack or whatever after I "cut" my ties to the phone co.,
> I've got to reinstate my ties to the phone co. for the sake of DSL,
> typically at no savings over the DSL + local loop rates I pay now.
>
> But your coast may have different pricing, or you may have a non-telco ISP.
I had Sprint Broadband (microwave) since the late 1990s providing 6Mbps until
July 2008 when the spectrum was reallocated for other purposes by the FCC. You
can see the antenna setup here: http://thadlabs.com/PIX/LX200/. Though I'm
in the heart of Silicon Valley, neither DSL nor cable was available until
recently (past several years), thus the Sprint Broadband. My only other option
was dialup (56K).
I was quite fortunate finding this: http://www.comcastoffers.com/ which is
not well known and the offer changes every month; in June 2008 I received free
installation, a free Motorola SB5101 cable modem, and about $250 in rebates,
and a few months ago an auto-upgrade to DOCSIS 3.0 (meaning I could have 50-100
Mbps service but I'm "stuck" at 22Mbps due to the modem being only DOCSIS 2.0).
After the 6 months at US$19.95/month, I'm now paying the same for Comcast as I
paid Sprint, just under $50/month. Heh, took only about 17 minutes to download
the Windows 7 RC DVD ISO (3.5GB) from Microsoft.
My only gripe with Comcast after 1 year of service now is they NEVER send any
email or other alerts when they "play" with the network. I'm a night owl and
when they go offline at 2am when I'm doing home banking that's a pain. Lucky
for me, it's only happened 3 times and I suspect it was solely for the upgrade
to DOCSIS 3.0.
> [...]
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
>
> I think most users are blind to the cost of the DSL (or other
> transport), because they assume they'd have to have it anyway.
Precisely! :-)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:37:52 -0500 (CDT)
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.00.0907161427300.1160@Calculus.local>
On Thu, 16 Jul 2009, Sam Spade wrote:
> I see the way younger people use them (younger, meaning 40ish or less) as
> extremely rude and boorish.
You are on to something. I know this sounds trite because I'm just barely
on the "good side". I was born in 1969. I swear something entered our
water supply on January 1, 1970 that caused everyone born after that date
to be a self-absorbed (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
I think people like this are the cause of so many of our current social
problems. If people used a little common sense we wouldn't need cell
phone laws. People would simply understand in certain traffic conditions,
using a cell phone is a bad idea. But I think common sense left our
vocabulary about 25 years old.
Everyone is quick to point out THEIR rights, but forget their
responsibilities or other people's rights. And it seems people aren't
using their freedom for anything constructive like keeping government
accountable. Instead they use freedom to behave as trashy as humanly
possible. Drive a monster pickup truck aggressively. Let their grass
grow two feet tall. Let their pit bulls roam the neighborhood. They have
RIGHTS, you can't tell them what to do.
Through all of this I really see 1970 as a watershed year. Based on their
behavior I can tell if someone is slightly younger or slightly older than
me.
Sorry, I'm ranting. This has been a good thread, at least for me. :-)
John
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:00:08 -0400
From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong
Message-ID: <MPG.24ca94457368014c989af3@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <alpine.OSX.2.00.0907161427300.1160@Calculus.local>,
john@mayson.us says...
>
> On Thu, 16 Jul 2009, Sam Spade wrote:
>
> > I see the way younger people use them (younger, meaning 40ish or less) as
> > extremely rude and boorish.
>
> You are on to something. I know this sounds trite because I'm just barely
> on the "good side". I was born in 1969. I swear something entered our
> water supply on January 1, 1970 that caused everyone born after that date
> to be a self-absorbed (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
>
> I think people like this are the cause of so many of our current social
> problems. If people used a little common sense we wouldn't need cell
> phone laws. People would simply understand in certain traffic conditions,
> using a cell phone is a bad idea. But I think common sense left our
> vocabulary about 25 years old.
>
> Everyone is quick to point out THEIR rights, but forget their
> responsibilities or other people's rights. And it seems people aren't
> using their freedom for anything constructive like keeping government
> accountable. Instead they use freedom to behave as trashy as humanly
> possible. Drive a monster pickup truck aggressively. Let their grass
> grow two feet tall. Let their pit bulls roam the neighborhood. They have
> RIGHTS, you can't tell them what to do.
>
> Through all of this I really see 1970 as a watershed year. Based on their
> behavior I can tell if someone is slightly younger or slightly older than
> me.
>
> Sorry, I'm ranting. This has been a good thread, at least for me. :-)
>
> John
Rise of the broadcast media. AM radio had been the prepoderant system
for years but in the 1960's you had the explosion of FM.
Add to that the advent of color television and the prices of television
coming to the point where EVERYONE could own one.
The net is different, I can be selective about what I see, hear, etc.
With a TV or radio your choices are very limited.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:54:12 -0500 (CDT)
From: jsw <jsw@ivgate.omahug.org>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles
Message-ID: <200907171654.n6HGsCeN038417@ivgate.omahug.org>
>The 1975 Bell Labs text suggets dial-tone first was a new
>innovation.
I **KNOW** that Dial Tone First<tm> was around in Ma Bell land
prior to 1975. At the risk of errors due to rusty memory cells,
I'm gonna say that I remember it from 1970 on either 212-221 or
212-541. They made a BIG DEAL about this, and the phones had
a big 'This is a Dial Tone First phone' metal placard on them.
One quirk I remember on some of the Dial Tone First<tm> phones
was that if you dialed a number that was on the same office
that was busy WITHOUT depositing a dime, you would get a busy
signal, but if the line was clear to ring you got the 'The
call you are making requires a 10 cent deposit ...' recording.
It was kind of a quickie test-for-busy test and it only worked
on some offices (1ESS?) for intra-office calls only.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:23:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles
Message-ID: <a0615f89-c35f-489d-8745-ce9f65281cb4@l2g2000vba.googlegroups.com>
On Jul 16, 11:07 pm, Wesr...@aol.com wrote:
> A further additional benefit was that you could make a credit card or
> collect call without having to deposit a coin. Important if you
> didn't have a coin available. Yes, it was rare, but credit cards (and
> I think collect) calls could be made with a credit card.
I'm not sure what you mean that "credit cards were rare". I'm pretty
sure the Bell System did not accept general cards like American
Express, Visa, or Mastercard (and their predecessors). However, the
Bell System issued subscribers its own credit card for free, and this
was popular for business. It was in effect an automatic "bill to
third number" card.
Calls that could've been made without a coin were collect, credit
card, and bill to third number.
Things changed after divesture, but that is beyond our scope here.
> Who pays for the pay phones in Union or other stations used by more
> than one railroad?
Regardless of the ownership, train stations have one manager entity.
It may be one of the owner railroads, or it may be a group set up.
For example, Washington DC Union Station had a subsidiary "Terminal
Company" that was the corporate owner, operated the station, etc. So
that owner would pay for the pay phones or receive any toll
commissions.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:37:36 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Catching Spammers in the Act / Researchers show how spammers harvest e-mail addresses and send out bulk messages.
Message-ID: <p06240807c68664dcc4a8@[10.0.1.3]>
Catching Spammers in the Act
Researchers show how spammers harvest e-mail addresses and send out
bulk messages.
By Robert Lemos
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Technology Review
Researchers have shed new light on the methods by which spammer
harvest e-mail addresses from the Web and relay bulk messages through
multiple computers. They say that findings could provide additional
ammunition in the fight against junk e-mail campaigns.
The problem of unwanted e-mail messages, or spam, continues to vex
computer users and security professionals. Currently, more than 90
percent of the e-mail messages traversing the Internet appear to be
spam, according to the information released in June by the e-mail
security firm MessageLabs.
In one paper scheduled to be presented this week at the Conference on
E-mail and Anti-Spam, in Mountain View, CA, researchers from Indiana
University studied how spammers obtain the e-mail addresses in the
first place. The researchers used a variety of techniques to match
the programs that cull e-mail addresses from Web pages to the
resulting spam. "We are basically trying to figure out how spammers
get your address--the addresses of people that they try to
victimize," says Craig Shue, a graduate student at Indiana University
who now works at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
This involved exposing 22,230 unique e-mail addresses on the Web over
a five-month period and watching for spam sent to those destinations.
The researchers found that an e-mail address included in a comment
posted to a website had a much higher probability of resulting in
spam. While only four e-mail addresses submitted to 70 websites
during registration resulted in spam, half of the e-mail addresses
posted to popular sites resulted in spam.
The researchers also set up a website on their own domain and waited
for their pages to be crawled. Each visitor to the website would see
a different e-mail, a strategy that the researchers hoped would gauge
how often programs that automatically crawl sites are operated by
spammers. "We are giving out a unique e-mail address to every visitor
to our webpage," Shue says. "If we ever get an e-mail to that
address, we know that the crawler gave that e-mail address to a
spammer."
...
http://www.technologyreview.com/communications/23003/
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:37:36 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: RFID's Security Problem / Are U.S. passport cards and new state driver's licenses with RFID truly secure?
Message-ID: <p06240806c6866188fcfe@[10.0.1.3]>
RFID's Security Problem
Are U.S. passport cards and new state driver's licenses
with RFID truly secure?
By Erica Naone
Technology Review
January/February 2009
Starting this summer, Americans will need passports to travel to
Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, and the Caribbean--unless they have passport
cards or one of the enhanced driver's licenses that the states of
Washington and New York have begun to issue.
Valid only for trips by land and sea, these new forms of
identification are a convenient, inexpensive option for people who
don't need to travel by plane. U.S. passport cards, which were
introduced in July, cost about half as much as a full passport, and
the extra cost of getting an enhanced driver's license rather than a
regular one is even lower. Enhanced licenses have been available in
Washington since January 2008 and in New York since September; other
border states, including Michigan, Vermont, and Arizona, intend to
offer them as well.
But not everyone is convinced that the new IDs are a good idea. The
passport card and the enhanced licenses contain radio frequency
identification (RFID) tags, which are microchips fitted with
antennas. An RFID reader can radio a query to the tag, causing it to
return the data it contains--in this case, an identification number
that lets customs agents retrieve information about the cardholder
from a government database. The idea is that instant access to
biographical data, a photo, and the results of terrorist and criminal
background checks will help agents move people through the border
efficiently. RFID technology, however, has been raising privacy
concerns since it was introduced in product labels in the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, although experts say that some RFID technologies are quite
secure, a University of Virginia security researcher's analysis of
the NXP Mifare Classic (see Hack, November/December 2008), an RFID
chip used in fare cards for the public-transit systems of Boston,
London, and other cities, has shown that the security of smart cards
can't be taken for granted. "I think we are in the growing-pains
phase," says Johns Hopkins University computer science professor Avi
Rubin, a security and privacy researcher. "This happens with a lot of
technologies when they are first developed."
...
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21842/
------------------------------
Date: 17 Jul 2009 13:54:31 -0400
From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: One Example of Cell Phone Domination
Message-ID: <h3qdsn$hqg$1@panix2.panix.com>
Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> wrote:
>So, the long and short of it is a lack of trunking or linkage to provide
>wireless service. The resort manager has told me that in recent years
>the younger group is grumbling about lack of wireless and high-speed
>internet service (only dial-up internet at the hotels); that some of the
>younger crowd will no longer stay in the valley.
>
>A lot of Germans visit Death Valley and, according to the resort
>manager, they take it in stride. Their view is why does anyone need
>these inane gadgets when visiting such a remote area? In other words,
>the Germans don't seem to be obsessed nearly to the extent Americans are.
I thought the whole point of going to a place like Death Valley was to
be alone and away from the rest of civilization? How can you do that
when you're a cell call away?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:05:26 -0400
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: The RISK that is Amazon's Kindle
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.0907171904260.5615@panix5.panix.com>
Not a direct telecom issue, but very, very, close
-------
summary: Due to some legal and copyright issue whose specifics
aren't quite clear yet, Amazon _deleted_ copies of "books"
that people had already downloaded.
Eyup. Not future copies, but ones you had already purhcased
and downloaded.
(Now how many people even knew that could happen?).
In a unique bit of irony, the books in question included
a version of... "1984".
one story among many, many, others:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-kindle-1984
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:49:52 -0700
From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles
Message-ID: <5T98m.13050$ZN.12447@newsfe23.iad>
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>
> Note that in the 1970s Bell needed to add more operators, despite
> automation, to handle ever more requests for operator services, and
> was naturally concerned about the increased labor costs. That's when
> they introduced discounts for dialed direct station toll calls and
> surcharges for operator handled toll calls. Directory assistance
> charges came next.
>
Thus, the genesis of Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) (I think I
got that right.) That is where the "O" calls would be distributed to
the next available operator in any number of metro service centers. The
maximum distance at inception was 50 miles via T carrier.
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
munications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in
addition to Usenet, where it appears as the moderated newsgroup
'comp.dcom.telecom'.
TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational
service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents
of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in
some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work
and that of the original author.
The Telecom Digest is currently being moderated by Bill Horne while
Pat Townson recovers from a stroke.
Contact information: Bill Horne
Telecom Digest
43 Deerfield Road
Sharon MA 02067-2301
781-784-7287
bill at horne dot net
Subscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=subscribe telecom
Unsubscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=unsubscribe telecom
This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm-
unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and
published continuously since then. Our archives are available for
your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list
on the internet in any category!
URL information: http://telecom-digest.org
Copyright (C) 2008 TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved.
Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA.
************************
---------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the
author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only
and messages should not be considered any official expression by the
organization.
End of The Telecom digest (22 messages)
******************************
|
or 