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The Telecom Digest for November 23, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 232 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Introducing 844 Toll Free Numbers (danny burstein)
Review: Apple's Retina iPad mini is the small tablet we wanted a year ago (Monty Solomon)
Supreme Court declines to stop Verizon metadata handover to NSA (Monty Solomon)
Yahoo will encrypt between data centers, use SSL for all sites (Monty Solomon)

====== 32 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.
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Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 18:54:54 -0500
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Introducing 844 Toll Free Numbers
Message-ID: <Pine.NEB.4.64.1311201847090.20923@panix5.panix.com>

Somehow this snuck up on me. I didn't realize these
were about to get launched.

- And I've also got to ask why there's still such
a huge demand for "tollfree" numbers. More and more
people, and pretty much all businesses by now, have
calling plans that are no longer distance sensitive.

There's a bit of a cachet and "branding" issue, for
example "800-USA-Rail", and a fair number of places
don't want to be associated with Lower Cupcake, SD,
but I'd have thought that's all been pretty much
exhausted by now.

Anyway, here's a note that my "800 vendor" just
sent me. (I considered redacting their name, but
figured people here can deal with it...)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 23:33:19 +0000
From: "kall8.com" <noreply@kall8.com>
Subject: Introducing 844 Toll Free Numbers

Dear Valued Customer,

Announcing a rare opportunity to get a premium toll-free number!  On 
December 7th, the new 844 toll-free number prefix will launch providing a 
small window of opportunity to acquire the perfect vanity number.  There 
will be a large amount of competition for these numbers and each service 
provider will have strict limits on the amount of numbers they are able to 
reserve.  We want to provide you with the opportunity to reserve the 
perfect number for your business.

The 844 toll-free exchange is brand new so there are many possibilities!
Find the perfect keyword for your business such as 844-GET-A-JOB, 
844-MORTGAGE, and 844-BUY-CARS.

* Choose a number that is easy to remember such as 844-444-4444, 
844-400-4000, and 844-414-1414.

Thank you,
Kall8 Customer Service

***** Moderator's Note *****

Toll-free numbers are more popular than ever, not only because long
distance rates have fallen, which makes calls cheaper no matter who
pays for them, but mostly because 800 calls provide ANI info to the
called party, bypassing any caller id blocking. Those numbers are a
VERY valuable commodity, not only because cell calls are not subject
to cold calling, but also because a cellular number is an invaluable
cross-reference that stays with a buyer across multiple companies.

Bill Horne
Moderator




Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 23:55:00 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Review: Apple's Retina iPad mini is the small tablet we wanted a  year ago
Message-ID: <p0624080aceb33fdb252a@[10.0.1.2]>

Review: Apple's Retina iPad mini is the small tablet we wanted a year ago

Great screen and drastically better performance both come at a price.

by Andrew Cunningham
Nov 16 2013
Ars Technica

You needed to know two things about the first iPad mini. The first 
thing is that it was, well, mini-it was a 7.9-inch tablet from a 
company whose CEO once said that users would have to sandpaper their 
fingers down to comfortably use anything smaller than a full-size 
iPad. The second was that it didn't include Apple's so-called Retina 
display, the high-density screen that by then had become 
standard-issue in iPhones and iPads.

How quickly we got used to those high-resolution screens! The first 
Retina iPad came out in March of 2012, and in our review of the first 
mini, we already had trouble going back to a non-Retina display. With 
this year's iPad mini, Apple addressed our complaints, bestowing upon 
the tablet a Retina display and removing the single largest roadblock 
to iPad mini ownership.

How does the new Retina iPad mini stack up compared to excellent, 
cheap Android tablets like the 2013 Nexus 7? And where does it stand 
next to Apple's other thin-and-light tablet, the newly svelte iPad 
Air?

...

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/11/review-apples-retina-ipad-mini-is-the-small-tablet-we-wanted-a-year-ago/




Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 23:55:00 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Supreme Court declines to stop Verizon metadata handover to NSA
Message-ID: <p0624080dceb34164814a@[10.0.1.2]>

Supreme Court declines to stop Verizon metadata handover to NSA

Writ of mandamus petition filed by privacy advocacy group after Snowden leaks.

by Cyrus Farivar
Nov 18 2013
Ars Technica

On Monday, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a 
writ of mandamus petition brought by the Electronic Privacy 
Information Center (EPIC) challenging the legitimacy of Verizon's 
wholesale handover of metadata to the NSA. The court gave no 
explanation.

...

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/11/supreme-court-declines-to-stop-verizon-metadata-handover-to-nsa/




Date: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 23:55:00 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Yahoo will encrypt between data centers, use SSL for all sites
Message-ID: <p0624080cceb340f7679b@[10.0.1.2]>

Yahoo will encrypt between data centers, use SSL for all sites

CEO Marissa Mayer promises Yahoo will be locked down by March 2014.

by Sean Gallagher
Nov 18 2013
Ars Technica

In the wake of revelations about the National Security Agency's 
monitoring of traffic on the private international fiber links 
connecting the data centers of Google and Yahoo, Google stepped up 
its efforts to encrypt internal server traffic and block such 
monitoring. Now, Yahoo has announced its own plans to encrypt all 
information that travels between data centers by early next year.

...

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/11/yahoo-will-encrypt-between-data-centers-use-ssl-for-all-sites/

http://yahoo.tumblr.com/post/67373852814/our-commitment-to-protecting-your-information






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