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Message Digest
Volume 28 : Issue 239 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS bans texting while driving
Re: How Hackers Snatch Real-Time Security ID Numbers
Re: How Hackers Snatch Real-Time Security ID Numbers
3 Indicted in Theft of 130 Million Card Numbers
Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Re: Quote of the day - or maybe of the decade
15 years jail time for texting while driving in Utah
Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: GSM-only interference
Re: GSM-only interference
Re: GSM-only interference
Re: GSM-only interference
Re: FTC tightening up rules against "robocalls". But..
Re: FTC tightening up rules against "robocalls". But..
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Re: GSM-only interference
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:13:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <0e52eb02-5896-4cee-a8e8-4d5f4c365059@s13g2000yql.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 28, 8:55 pm, John Levine <jo...@iecc.com> wrote:
> Our village sends out water and sewer bills on postcards. I expect
> that if three people want large print bills, our clerk will take those
> three postcards, set the photocopier to 2:1 enlarge, make copies, and
> mail them. Sheesh. You don't have to do everything in software.
For some very tiny boroughs that will be solution, just have the clerk
handle them manually.
But some boroughs have many people (older or disabled) who would ask
for the service. Those small boroughs might not even have a full time
clerk, so having someone month after month do the photocopying and
hand mailing can add up to an expense.
Note that some small places have their billing done by an outside
vendor. The vendor might not appreciate manually going through a pile
of invoices to identify those for hand processing, and will definitely
charge to do so.
In a state as large as NY, this will be hardship for some entities.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 18:17:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <ccbd6f38-e6d5-494d-a1f5-4c33a74cf97e@s31g2000yqs.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 28, 5:32 pm, AES <sieg...@stanford.edu> wrote:
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
> What alternative would you propose?
Part of the problem is that many utility bills have become so complex
that enlarging them becomes a burden. Few get by with a postcard as
one town does. That complexity is due in part to state laws requiring
all sorts of breakdowns. My phone bill has many lines of $.03 or so
on them.
As to this issue, I would have the law allow exceptions for hardship
and allow a long time for the transition. In this way it could be
accomplished when there is normal modification of the billing going
on.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:24:43 -0500
From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <ubidnaUNl53fEwTXnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@posted.visi>
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> Part of the problem is that many utility bills have become so complex
> that enlarging them becomes a burden. Few get by with a postcard as
> one town does. That complexity is due in part to state laws requiring
> all sorts of breakdowns. My phone bill has many lines of $.03 or so
> on them.
Some of those lines are actually "extra profit for the telco" lines
designed to make you think they're some sort of tax, rather than going
into the telco's pocket. Those should be mandated to be incorporated
into the base rate. Others are taxes. All of those (including 911
tax and USF tax) should be rolled together, much the same way as a
store's sales slip lists only "tax").
Of course, telcos don't want you to realize how much they're getting,
and govt doesn't want you to realize how much it's getting.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:20:27 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <siegman-B90C97.19195628082009@news.stanford.edu>
In article <siegman-2CC564.13280228082009@news.stanford.edu>,
AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote:
> In article
> <2120966c-2e6c-4ac7-bd65-6fddc3b2ca06@o6g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>,
> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>
> > On Aug 28, 12:30 am, danny burstein <dan...@panix.com> wrote:
> >
> > > "[Gov. Paterson signed a bill that] requires utilities,
> > > energy companies, municipalities, telephone companies and
> > > cable TV companies to provide large-print versions of bills
> > > on request..."
>
> > But small operators, such as small boroughs, will face a tougher
> > challenge and much higher costs. Plenty of places still use pre-
> > printed stock forms for their invoices and modifying them is more
> > difficult and costly.
>
> Have to say, speaking as a basically liberal, maybe even a "do gooder"
> type, this is the kind of thing that can give progressive or socially
> conscious government actions a bad name, and make "tax and spend" a
> not totally undeserved criticism.
>
> Certain levels of government-mandated assistance to handicapped
> individuals make sense; others just cost more than they're worth, create
> more problems than the ones they solve, or address problems that could
> be handled in other, less costly fashions.
>
> This one seems to me to fall in these latter categories.
>
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
>
> What alternative[s] would you propose?
I take it this measure is intended to assist people with deficient or
deteriorating vision, including elderly folks (which at my current stage
of life would begin to include me . . . ):
Effective alternatives:
1) Online billing (which saves trees as well, and is worth doing for
its own sake), combined with onscreen magnification (Cmd-+) or even
automated text to voice translation of the online bills..
(And, acquiring some simple computer skills can have many other
advantages for elderly individuals with or without deteriorating vision:
receiving photos on line from the grandkids, email, promoting and
preserving mental skills and contact with the outside world.)
2) Online bill paying (if your vision is really too bad to read a bill,
is it good enough to write a check? And address an envelope?)
3) Assistance from friends or volunteer staffers at a local senior
center (which has all kinds of ancillary advantages in social contact --
and can protect against the kind of despicable but omnipresent lottery
and stock scams which prey on the old folks -- as my wife and I can
sadly tell you all about from our years caring for aging parents).
4) And least, but not necessarily last, a simple magnifying glass or
Fresnel lens -- which my wife uses all the time. There's one in a
drawer in every room in our house.
None of these require legislation; all of them have very some level of
beneficial side effects; none of them add fairly expensive and complex
complications to the companys' tasks and systems (which is, whether you
like commercial organizations, an overall beneficial thing to do).
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 11:26:16 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <k4ednYbcAoEL1QTXnZ2dnUVZ_hydnZ2d@speakeasy.net>
AES wrote:
>>> On Aug 28, 12:30 am, danny burstein <dan...@panix.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> "[Gov. Paterson signed a bill that] requires utilities,
>>>> energy companies, municipalities, telephone companies and
>>>> cable TV companies to provide large-print versions of bills
>>>> on request..."
[snip]
> I take it this measure is intended to assist people with deficient or
> deteriorating vision, including elderly folks (which at my current stage
> of life would begin to include me . . . ):
>
> Effective alternatives:
>
> 1) Online billing (which saves trees as well, and is worth doing for
> its own sake), combined with onscreen magnification (Cmd-+) or even
> automated text to voice translation of the online bills..
>
> (And, acquiring some simple computer skills can have many other
> advantages for elderly individuals with or without deteriorating vision:
> receiving photos on line from the grandkids, email, promoting and
> preserving mental skills and contact with the outside world.)
I don't think that's a viable option. Elderly voters cling to their
ways and distrust new gadgets - let's face it, that's part of getting
old. It's nice to hope that our seniors will embrace new things, but
it's not that simple. American society places a premium on
independence and self-sufficiency, so I think most seniors would
rather keep to the paper they already know how to use, rather than
having to ask for help to learn about computers.
> 2) Online bill paying (if your vision is really too bad to read a bill,
> is it good enough to write a check? And address an envelope?)
If your vision is too bad to read a bill, you won't be able to check
your phone bill to see if your grandkids are calling pay-per-vote lines
for an online talent show, or if your caregiver is burning up the wires
to another state during your nap. _Writing_ a check doesn't require
particularly good eyesight, and the envelopes are pre-addressed.
> 3) Assistance from friends or volunteer staffers at a local senior
> center (which has all kinds of ancillary advantages in social contact --
> and can protect against the kind of despicable but omnipresent lottery
> and stock scams which prey on the old folks -- as my wife and I can
> sadly tell you all about from our years caring for aging parents).
Nice if it's available without too long a wait - many seniors have
bladder issues - and if it's free and accurate; not so nice if it
becomes an opportunity to solicit the patrons for "worthy" causes. While
stock and lottery scams are despicable, the fund-raising efforts of many
charitable organizations don't stand close examination either, with
seniors sometimes subjected to harangues about modifying their wills to
endow the charity in question, or accepting "home help" from youthful
volunteers who are paid less than half of what the "Charity" which
supplies them collects. In any case, depending on volunteers to
accomplish a public-policy objective is just bad public policy.
> 4) And least, but not necessarily last, a simple magnifying glass or
> Fresnel lens -- which my wife uses all the time. There's one in a
> drawer in every room in our house.
.... except when they're out of pills and their arthritis is acting up.
> None of these require legislation; all of them have very some level of
> beneficial side effects; none of them add fairly expensive and complex
> complications to the companys' tasks and systems (which is, whether you
> like commercial organizations, an overall beneficial thing to do).
All of them require government supervision to prevent the abuses I've
mentioned, all of them have some level of detrimental side effects, both
on a personal and societal level, and all of them benefit publicly
regulated companies at the expense both of individuals and of the body
politic.
No offense, but your swinging a double-edged sword: saying "they should"
doesn't work in a democracy. We have to deal with what seniors _will_ do,
not with what (hopefully well-meaning) volunteers think they _should_
do. After all, they _will_ vote, and our leaders know it.
Bill Horne
(Speaking just for myself)
(Filter QRM for direct replies)
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:41:32 -0500
From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <QbKdnU4XPaauDwTXnZ2dnUVZ_j6dnZ2d@posted.visi>
AES wrote:
> Effective alternatives:
>
> 1) Online billing (which saves trees as well, and is worth doing for
> its own sake), combined with onscreen magnification (Cmd-+) or even
> automated text to voice translation of the online bills..
I don't dispute those benefits (though how many computers have
text-to-voice? I minister to a lot of computers, and the only time
I've ever seen it was for a guy who's eyesight is bad enough so he has
a seeing-eye dog).
But who is going to pay for the computer, onsite training, upkeep, and
Internet service for those who don't have it? There isn't always any
discretionary income left, after paying for drugs and taxes and food
and telephone. And no, how to use it is _not_ "intuitively obvious",
not to them.
(Personally, I find that online bills are far too easy to overlook in
the vast heap of spam and forwarded jokes and progress reports from
organizations that sound vaguely familiar.)
> (And, acquiring some simple computer skills can have many other
> advantages for elderly individuals with or without deteriorating vision:
> receiving photos on line from the grandkids, email, promoting and
> preserving mental skills and contact with the outside world.)
That is all true. But does not acknowledge the difficulty of making
it happen. And some seniors just don't want anything to do with
computers, really.
> 2) Online bill paying (if your vision is really too bad to read a bill,
> is it good enough to write a check? And address an envelope?)
Writing checks is pretty easy, especially if it's what you're used to.
> 3) Assistance from friends or volunteer staffers at a local senior
> center (which has all kinds of ancillary advantages in social contact --
> and can protect against the kind of despicable but omnipresent lottery
> and stock scams which prey on the old folks -- as my wife and I can
> sadly tell you all about from our years caring for aging parents).
Those things are also good, but who is going to provide the rides to
and from the senior center? Will a computer, a ride, and an open
center be available at the time the senior wants to use it? (That may
be, right after the bill comes, because otherwise it gets forgotten.)
Will that take more, or less, time than writing a check? Of course,
that assumes there _is_ a local senior center.
> 4) And least, but not necessarily last, a simple magnifying glass or
> Fresnel lens -- which my wife uses all the time. There's one in a
> drawer in every room in our house.
Yes, that's a good thing to do. I'm not quite there yet, but I will
be one day.
> None of these require legislation; all of them have very some level of
> beneficial side effects; none of them add fairly expensive and complex
> complications to the companys' tasks and systems (which is, whether you
> like commercial organizations, an overall beneficial thing to do).
But some of them add (relatively) expensive and complex elements to
the senior's life.
Dave
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:12:09 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <1099771f-bfb8-4a4a-85b7-1973f882b75c@r36g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 29, 4:42 pm, Dave Garland <dave.garl...@wizinfo.com> wrote:
> Those things are also good, but who is going to provide the rides to
> and from the senior center? Will a computer, a ride, and an open
> center be available at the time the senior wants to use it? (That may
> be, right after the bill comes, because otherwise it gets forgotten.)
> Will that take more, or less, time than writing a check? Of course,
> that assumes there _is_ a local senior center.
This is going to be a major issue in the future as the baby boomers
get older. Some elderly voluntarily give up or limit their driving,
but others do not and get into accidents (most very minor, but some
tragic).
Compounding the problem has the movement from the city to the suburbs;
in the city seniors had public transportation, walkability, and many
friends to assist them while in the suburbs all of that is much harder
to find.
I suspect part of the void will be filled by on-line services.
Perhaps there will be food and service delivery by on-line request.
The technical part is pretty easy, but _reliable_ logistics will be
tough. Finding good delivery people isn't easy.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:20:43 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <14c4b79e-95d3-4861-a661-e98775041fff@l34g2000vba.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 29, 8:43 am, AES <sieg...@stanford.edu> wrote:
> (And, acquiring some simple computer skills can have many other
> advantages for elderly individuals with or without deteriorating vision:
> receiving photos on line from the grandkids, email, promoting and
> preserving mental skills and contact with the outside world.)
My community has a number of elderly people in it. Some are quite
proficient and heavy users of computers and the latest technology.
But others do not have a computer at all, have no interest in getting
one, and have tried and fail to understand how to use them.
We must remember that computers are not free, they must be purchased,
and then a subscription to an ISP obtained. Very occasional users can
get by with dial-up on the existing phone line, but most will have to
get broadband access which is an additional cost. Many elderly do not
have the money for this.
> 3) Assistance from friends or volunteer staffers at a local senior
> center (which has all kinds of ancillary advantages in social contact --
> and can protect against the kind of despicable but omnipresent lottery
> and stock scams which prey on the old folks -- as my wife and I can
> sadly tell you all about from our years caring for aging parents).
Having my own experiences in elder care, I can say that it is very
difficult to depend on volunteers to do stuff. They might be well
meaning, but they are not very dependable and not necessarily well
skilled. Some volunteers are actually a detriment.
Indeed, regretfully, in many places it is difficult to depend on paid
employees to do stuff. Many elder care jobs are low pay and do not
attract the most reliable kind of worker. It is not suprising that
elderly who lose mental acuity often become victims of blatant scams
or exploitation. (Elderly who are physically frail but still mentally
sharp are better able to protect themselves, indeed, it is them who
report attempted scams.)
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:37:14 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <siegman-C24F8E.19364428082009@news.stanford.edu>
In article
<7ddf6125-aedb-473d-ae2e-8ee924f5597d@e18g2000vbe.googlegroups.com>,
"www.Queensbridge.us" <NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us> wrote:
>
> This kind of issue will crop up more and more as the baby bommers
> retire, especially given the political clout of the AARP and other
> organizations which champion causes for the elderly.
>
All the more reason to really think carefully about the cost-benefit
aspects of different ameliorative measures for unending needs . . .
[Our neighborhood of circa 1,000 single family residences has just begun
to install curb cuts (gently sloping breaks in the curb at the end of
every block, where the sidewalk crosses a street), so that the few
people in the area who are confined to wheelchairs can get to local
facilities or friends' houses.
It's 3,500 bucks a cut for these things; about $300,000 total by the
time we'll be done -- and because of our local arrangements we'll have
to all share in footing the bill personally. Doing this has been
mandated by Federal law for some time in fact, but we're doing it
voluntarily, since the local and Federal governments both have enough
common sense to not try to really enforce the law -- and I was among
those who voted for doing this. But you still have to apply some common
sense in what you choose to do, and not do.]
But, we all digress . . .
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:25:37 -0700 (PDT)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <07d6dbfc-ad00-4614-9dd7-bc7406b67e12@n2g2000vba.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 29, 8:47 am, AES <sieg...@stanford.edu> wrote:
> All the more reason to really think carefully about the cost-benefit
> aspects of different ameliorative measures for unending needs . . .
>
> [Our neighborhood of circa 1,000 single family residences has just begun
> to install curb cuts (gently sloping breaks in the curb at the end of
> every block, where the sidewalk crosses a street), so that the few
> people in the area who are confined to wheelchairs can get to local
> facilities or friends' houses. It's 3,500 bucks a cut for these things . .
.
As an aside, but related to this issue: A major city was sued by
disabled groups for not installing such curb cuts at the time of
routine street resurfacing. But such work does not affect the curbs
and there was no request for the service so the cuts were not done.
To me this litigation was stupid and misplaced.
I think the idea of honest cost/benefit analysis, as discussed here,
is very important. Utility bills have always been affected by so-
called "public interests". Before divesture, toll and premium
equipment charges cross-subsidized basic local service. Today, energy
companies are forced to carry deadbeat customers for which other
customers must make up the losses.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:41:44 GMT
From: "wdag" <wgeary@verizon.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS bans texting while driving
Message-ID: <cm9mm.95$Jd7.52@nwrddc02.gnilink.net>
"Bill Horne" <bill@horneQRM.net> wrote in message
news:UMKdndetL-Cc7gXXnZ2dnUVZ_qidnZ2d@speakeasy.net...
> danny burstein wrote:
> > [AP story]
> >
> > "[Gov. Paterson signed a bill that] requires utilities,
> > energy companies, municipalities, telephone companies and
> > cable TV companies to provide large-print versions of bills
> > on request..."
> >
> >
http://www.vosizneias.com/37395/2009/08/27/albany-ny-paterson-signed-anti-texting-and-several-other-bills-into-law/
>
> I just looked at the site, and realized that the governor also signed a
> measure which forbids texting while driving. Kudos to New York!
>
> Bill Horne
> (Filter QRM for direct replies)
>
Handling a cellphone while driving has already been illegal in NYS for
years; it's done nothing to reduce the practice. New York is one of those
states that believes "First thing, pass a law!" but seldom follows up with
enforcement, except for PR purposes like the recent "ticket blitz" against
cellphone-using drivers in NYC (who often are stuck immobile in traffic
anyway and thus no hazard to anyone) - or revenue purposes in many small
towns.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:45:11 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: How Hackers Snatch Real-Time Security ID Numbers
Message-ID: <siegman-323844.19444128082009@news.stanford.edu>
In article <2MCdndqKFMi93QXXnZ2dnUVZ_oCdnZ2d@supernews.com>,
pv+usenet@pobox.com (PV) wrote:
> >previous experience with it being bad. They did it anyway. It caused all
> >sorts of massive security issues. Five or six years later... they're still
> >doing it. This is not an organization that gives a damn about security.
>
> Oh, I think they care a great deal. They have even learned a bit. But they
> have a long way to go, and it's not as institutionalized as it should be.
> They don't "default to NO" like they should. *
I absolutely don't understand how there have not been massive class
action/defective product suits against Microsoft on this issue, starting
from way back.
The issue is not whether such a suit would be "winnable" in some legal
sense, even though God knows the products *were* unquestionably and
seriously defective in their security features by anyone's measure; and
God knows that these defects caused massive damages to many people, far
beyond the PC users themselves.
It would have been a political and public education and public relations
war, in which MS could never have come out ahead.
***** Moderator's Note *****
IANALB I think the Microsoft End User License Agreement (the EULA),
which is, to some attorneys, the canonical example of a one-sided
legal agreement, prevents any legal actions by users.
However, the anti-trust case against Microsoft did produce some
amazing insights into the corporation's attitudes, philosophy, and
marketing practices, before it was short circuited by political
payoffs. Testify under oath, Microsoft executives went into great
detail on their "Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish" business model for
dealing with new technologies, protocols, and methods.
The suit also enlightened both the public and our legislatures about
how effectively Microsoft used "Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt" (FUD)
tactics to control its competition. For example, one witness testified
that major upgrades are always announced a year or two in advance of
the actual expected date in order to "freeze the market" and
discourage users from turning to competing products.
Long story short: Microsoft comes out ahead because it's designed to
do so. The corporation's fundamental philosophy is to suppress
competition by any means necessary, and to make the Windows operating
system the choke point of all computer software design and
implementation; a spillway over which the Redmond bear stands
constantly ready to snatch any product, company, or service that
catches its eye.
Bill Horne
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:53:24 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: How Hackers Snatch Real-Time Security ID Numbers
Message-ID: <siegman-31A2B9.06525429082009@news.stanford.edu>
In article <siegman-323844.19444128082009@news.stanford.edu>,
AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote:
> I absolutely don't understand how there have not been massive class
> action/defective product suits against Microsoft on this issue, starting
> from way back.
>
> The issue is not whether such a suit would be "winnable" in some legal
> sense, even though God knows the products *were* unquestionably and
> seriously defective in their security features by anyone's measure; and
> God knows that these defects caused massive damages to many people, far
> beyond the PC users themselves.
>
> It would have been a political and public education and public relations
> war, in which MS could never have come out ahead.
>
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
>
> IANALB I think the Microsoft End User License Agreement (the EULA),
> which is, to some attorneys, the canonical example of a one-sided
> legal agreement, ***prevents any legal actions by users***.
A niggle (but not a trivial niggle): The EULA (and other similar
documents) may be intended to prevent (or at least inhibit) legal
actions by others; but they may or may not actually do so. "Anyone
can sue", as the old saying goes; and an aggressive and well publicized
attempt to sue can be as effective as actually winning such as suit.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:38:49 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: 3 Indicted in Theft of 130 Million Card Numbers
Message-ID: <p0624080ac6be5311cf2c@[10.0.1.3]>
3 Indicted in Theft of 130 Million Card Numbers
By BRAD STONE
August 18, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO - The man who prosecutors said had masterminded some of
the most brazen thefts of credit and debit card numbers in history
was charged on Monday with an even larger set of digital break-ins.
In an indictment, the Justice Department said that Albert Gonzalez,
28, of Miami and two unnamed Russian conspirators made off with more
than 130 million credit and debit card numbers from late 2006 to
early 2008.
Prosecutors called it the largest case of computer crime and identity
theft ever prosecuted. According to the government, the culprits
infiltrated the computer networks of Heartland Payment Systems, a
payment processor in Princeton, N.J.; 7-Eleven Inc.; Hannaford
Brothers, a regional supermarket chain; and two unnamed national
retailers.
An unspecified portion of the stolen credit and debit card numbers
were then sold online, and some were used to make unauthorized
purchases and withdrawals from banks, according to the indictment,
which was filed in United States District Court in Newark.
Although some states require card issuers to notify customers about
security breaches, it is unclear whether all individuals whose card
numbers were stolen in this case have been notified and offered new
account numbers.
Mr. Gonzalez has been in custody since May 2008, when he was arrested
in connection with another prominent data theft at the Dave &
Buster's restaurant chain. He has also been indicted in other thefts
of credit and debt cards, including the 2005 data breach at T. J.
Maxx stores, a division of TJX, based in Framingham, Mass.
Mr. Gonzalez is awaiting a trial in New York in the Dave & Buster's
attack and, separately, another in Massachusetts in the TJX breach.
Trials on the charges announced on Monday will have to wait until
those cases are completed, federal prosecutors said.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/18/technology/18card.html
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:17:35 -0500
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Message-ID: <4A98ABDF.4050205@annsgarden.com>
Robert "The Punctuator" wrote:
> Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> wrote:
>> Acknowledged. Still, I'm surprised that the station's management
>> didn't insist on including the entire DMA's audience. In the
>> broadcast business, advertising rates are based on TV homes in the
>> entire DMA, not just homes in the county of license.
> The station management "DOESN'T CARE" _what_ the content of the ad
> is. Well, as long as it won't get them _legal_ trouble for airing it,
> that is. If you want to buy air time to advertise something that's
> only available in a 6 block radius, that's just _fine_ with the
> station. You _will_ pay the same rate as someone who's advertising
> something with national availability -- but that's
I guess it depends on the individual station's management. In my
experience, most stations do indeed care.
But I agree that some don't. Pat Townson once posted a story about a
Chicago radio station that continued to give its call-in number with
only seven digits even after 312 had been split into five area codes.
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:08:50 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Message-ID: <W8mdnbWFoLdPFwTXnZ2dnUVZ_jWdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <4A98ABDF.4050205@annsgarden.com>,
Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> wrote:
>Robert "The Punctuator" wrote:
>
> > Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> wrote:
>
> >> Acknowledged. Still, I'm surprised that the station's management
> >> didn't insist on including the entire DMA's audience. In the
> >> broadcast business, advertising rates are based on TV homes in the
> >> entire DMA, not just homes in the county of license.
>
> > The station management "DOESN'T CARE" _what_ the content of the ad
> > is. Well, as long as it won't get them _legal_ trouble for airing it,
> > that is. If you want to buy air time to advertise something that's
> > only available in a 6 block radius, that's just _fine_ with the
> > station. You _will_ pay the same rate as someone who's advertising
> > something with national availability -- but that's
>
>I guess it depends on the individual station's management. In my
>experience, most stations do indeed care.
_VERY_FEW_ stations
>
>But I agree that some don't. Pat Townson once posted a story about a
>Chicago radio station that continued to give its call-in number with
>only seven digits even after 312 had been split into five area codes.
For historical accuracy, 312 has been split _twice_. Both times the split
introduced _one_ additional area-code.
The original split, 1989 retained 312 for the City of Chicago proper, and put
all the suburban areas into 708. In 1996, 708 was split (3 ways), adding 630
and 847. In 1997, 312 was split for the second time (2 ways), retaining 312
for the city center, and adding 773 for the outlying 'ring', still within the
city limits. In 2002, 224 was added as an overlay for 847. In 2007, 331 was
added as an overlay for 630. And, in November of this year, 872 will be added
as an overlay over _both_ 312 and 773. Area-code 464 is being held in reserve
to overlay 708, when needed.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:36:35 -0700 (PDT)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Message-ID: <a9a3c1bc-457c-4911-8d16-77d002c4af02@q14g2000vbi.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 29, 3:35 pm, bon...@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) wrote:
> In article <4A98ABDF.4050...@annsgarden.com>,
> Neal McLain <nmcl...@annsgarden.com> wrote:
>
>> Robert "The Punctuator" wrote:
>
>>> Neal McLain <nmcl...@annsgarden.com> wrote:
>
>>>> Acknowledged. Still, I'm surprised that the station's management
>>>> didn't insist on including the entire DMA's audience. In the
>>>> broadcast business, advertising rates are based on TV homes in the
>>>> entire DMA, not just homes in the county of license.
>
>>> The station management "DOESN'T CARE" _what_ the content of the ad
>>> is. Well, as long as it won't get them _legal_ trouble for airing it,
>>> that is. If you want to buy air time to advertise something that's
>>> only available in a 6 block radius, that's just _fine_ with the
>>> station. You _will_ pay the same rate as someone who's advertising
>>> something with national availability -- but that's
>
>> I guess it depends on the individual station's management. In my
>> experience, most stations do indeed care.
>
> _VERY_FEW_ stations
>
>> But I agree that some don't. Pat Townson once posted a story about
>> a Chicago radio station that continued to give its call-in number
>> with only seven digits even after 312 had been split into five area
>> codes.
>
> For historical accuracy, 312 has been split _twice_. Both times the
> split introduced _one_ additional area-code.
>
> The original split, 1989 retained 312 for the City of Chicago
> proper, and put all the suburban areas into 708. In 1996, 708 was
> split (3 ways), adding 630 and 847. In 1997, 312 was split for the
> second time (2 ways), retaining 312 for the city center, and adding
> 773 for the outlying 'ring', still within the city limits. In 2002,
> 224 was added as an overlay for 847. In 2007, 331 was added as an
> overlay for 630. And, in November of this year, 872 will be added
> as an overlay over _both_ 312 and 773. Area-code 464 is being
> held in reserve to overlay 708, when needed.
So if a Chicago TV station broadcasts a seven-digit phone number, how
would the average viewer know which of those seven area codes to stick
in front of it? Or are you saying that Chicago TV stations are among
the "_VERY_FEW_" that care about such things?
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 2009 23:57:50 -0500
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Quote of the day - or maybe of the decade
Message-ID: <4A98B54E.5020107@annsgarden.com>
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
> My cable carrier recently 'upgraded' our system with digital.
> The cable boxes (required now) send stuff back, so they can
> track what you choose to watch...
What does the franchise agreement say about "send[ing] stuff back?"
It's been several years since I was involved with CATV franchising (I
retired in 2000), but practically every franchise agreement I ever saw
contained language prohibiting monitoring a subscriber's activities
without the subscriber's written permission. I doubt that these
prohibitions have been revoked.
You might want to take a look at the franchise agreement. Your local
public library may have a copy in its reference section. The CATV
company itself should have a copy in its public inspection file (if it
doesn't, it's in violation of FCC rules). Or you could contact your
local franchising authority (LFA) and request a copy. Your cable bill
should include the name and phone number of your LFA (if it doesn't,
that's another FCC violation).
If you find such a prohibition and decide to file a complaint with the
CATV company, be sure to send a copy to the LFA. And keep us posted
here on TD.
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 00:12:19 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: 15 years jail time for texting while driving in Utah
Message-ID: <4A98D4D3.5040909@thadlabs.com>
Now we're seeing some reasonable laws -- Utah is characterizing
texting-while-driving the same as DUI.
Long full story here:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/29/technology/29distracted.html>
Hopefully both New York's and Utah's new laws will spread like
wildfire to other states and countries.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:36:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Message-ID: <3c157cc3-aa40-4a8e-8b10-1f6940cadeef@o21g2000vbl.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 28, 10:15 am, The Kaminsky Family <kamin...@kaminsky.org>
wrote:
> Robert Bonomi wrote:
> > In article <4A93C8AC.3070...@annsgarden.com>,
> > Neal McLain <nmcl...@annsgarden.com> wrote:
> >> I wrote:
>
> >>>> Except that NPA 702 only covers Clark County. Lincoln and Ney
> >>>> Counties (including Town of Pahrump) are also "local" to (same DMA
> >>>> as) Las Vegas, but they're in NPA 775.
> >> Richard wrote:
>
> >>> Approximate populations:
> >>> Lincoln County: 4,000
> >>> Nye County: 44,375
> >>> Clark County 2,000,000
>
> >>> Clark County contains about 97% of their audience. No point in
> >>> wasting air time with an area code.
>
> >> Acknowledged. Still, I'm surprised that the station's management
> >> didn't insist on including the entire DMA's audience. In the
> >> broadcast business, advertising rates are based on TV homes in the
> >> entire DMA, not just homes in the county of license.
>
> > The station management "DOESN'T CARE" _what_ the content of the ad
> > is. Well, as long as it won't get them _legal_ trouble for airing
> > it, that is. If you want to buy air time to advertise something
> > that's only available in a 6 block radius, that's just _fine_ with
> > the station. You _will_ pay the same rate as someone who's
> > advertising something with national availability -- but that's
> > *your* (the advertiser, that is) choice.
>
> Think about it from the audience perspective. Folks outside NPA 702
> fully understand that any number they get from a Las Vegas station
> without an NPA refers to 702, and anyone who advertises a number in
> 775 (or 800 or whatever) on a Las Vegas station will clearly state the
> correct NPA.
>
> It is no different here in Silicon Valley - if you see an ad in a San
> Jose newspaper, they do not have to say NPA 408 (although most folks
> do state the NPA - as the paper is delivered into at least NPA 650,
> and probably 510 and 831 as well). Ditto for a San Francisco paper -
> NPA 415 is understood.
>
> Things may be different in places far from an NPA boundary, especially
> where the local NPA has not changed from its original value, but that
> is not the case in Lincoln and Nye Counties.
>
> Mark
Kaminsky Family <kaminsky@kaminsky.org> wrote:
> Think about it from the audience perspective. Folks outside NPA
> 702 fully understand that any number they get from a Las Vegas
> station without an NPA refers to 702, and anyone who advertises
> a number in 775 (or 800 or whatever) on a Las Vegas station
> will clearly state the correct NPA.
I agree, but that wasn't my point. My point was (and is) that many/
most TV station managements (or at least their ad sales departments)
DO care, notwithstanding what [Mister] Bonomi says.
> It is no different here in Silicon Valley - if you see an ad in
> a San Jose newspaper, they do not have to say NPA 408 (although
> most folks do state the NPA - as the paper is delivered into at
> least NPA 650, and probably 510 and 831 as well). Ditto for a
> San Francisco paper - NPA 415 is understood.
I've never worked in the newspaper industry, so I'm not familiar with
their concerns. I suspect that most display ads, and classifieds
received online, are printed as received without editing. As for
classifieds taken by phone, I guess it's up to the individual ad-
takers.
What really baffles me are 7D phone numbers on delivery vehicles.
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:19:04 GMT
From: "wdag" <wgeary@verizon.net>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Message-ID: <IHimm.245$tl3.118@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>
"Neal McLain" <nmclain@annsgarden.com> wrote in message
news:3c157cc3-aa40-4a8e-8b10-1f6940cadeef@o21g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...
> What really baffles me are 7D phone numbers on delivery vehicles.
>
1) Vehicle is only driven in region with one area code for landline
and cell phones.
2) In regions with multiple area codes (like NYC), vehicle's owner has
the same number in all such codes.
3) Vehicle's owner only cares about business from one area code,
and_doesn't care_ if "outsiders" are (mis)lead to call the wrong
number.
The Las Vegas ads cited sound like case (3) to me. Wonder if there's
any rules being violated for (implicitly) soliciting "wrong number"
calls by this practice...
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:19:19 -0700 (PDT)
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Pop song phone number goes up for auction
Message-ID: <c3e74853-5696-4956-9ca2-9e6018bc8a7a@r36g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>
On Aug 29, 3:33 pm, Neal McLain <nmcl...@annsgarden.com> wrote:
> On Aug 28, 10:15 am, The Kaminsky Family <kamin...@kaminsky.org>
> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Robert Bonomi wrote:
> > > In article <4A93C8AC.3070...@annsgarden.com>,
> > > Neal McLain <nmcl...@annsgarden.com> wrote:
> > >> I wrote:
>
> > >>>> Except that NPA 702 only covers Clark County. Lincoln and Ney
> > >>>> Counties (including Town of Pahrump) are also "local" to (same DMA
> > >>>> as) Las Vegas, but they're in NPA 775.
> > >> Richard wrote:
>
> > >>> Approximate populations:
> > >>> Lincoln County: 4,000
> > >>> Nye County: 44,375
> > >>> Clark County 2,000,000
>
> > >>> Clark County contains about 97% of their audience. No point in
> > >>> wasting air time with an area code.
>
> > >> Acknowledged. Still, I'm surprised that the station's management
> > >> didn't insist on including the entire DMA's audience. In the
> > >> broadcast business, advertising rates are based on TV homes in the
> > >> entire DMA, not just homes in the county of license.
>
> > > The station management "DOESN'T CARE" _what_ the content of the ad
> > > is. Well, as long as it won't get them _legal_ trouble for airing
> > > it, that is. If you want to buy air time to advertise something
> > > that's only available in a 6 block radius, that's just _fine_ with
> > > the station. You _will_ pay the same rate as someone who's
> > > advertising something with national availability -- but that's
> > > *your* (the advertiser, that is) choice.
>
> > Think about it from the audience perspective. Folks outside NPA 702
> > fully understand that any number they get from a Las Vegas station
> > without an NPA refers to 702, and anyone who advertises a number in
> > 775 (or 800 or whatever) on a Las Vegas station will clearly state the
> > correct NPA.
>
> > It is no different here in Silicon Valley - if you see an ad in a San
> > Jose newspaper, they do not have to say NPA 408 (although most folks
> > do state the NPA - as the paper is delivered into at least NPA 650,
> > and probably 510 and 831 as well). Ditto for a San Francisco paper -
> > NPA 415 is understood.
>
> > Things may be different in places far from an NPA boundary, especially
> > where the local NPA has not changed from its original value, but that
> > is not the case in Lincoln and Nye Counties.
>
> > Mark
> Kaminsky Family <kamin...@kaminsky.org> wrote:
> > Think about it from the audience perspective. Folks outside NPA
> > 702 fully understand that any number they get from a Las Vegas
> > station without an NPA refers to 702, and anyone who advertises
> > a number in 775 (or 800 or whatever) on a Las Vegas station
> > will clearly state the correct NPA.
>
> I agree, but that wasn't my point. My point was (and is) that many/
> most TV station managements (or at least their ad sales departments)
> DO care, notwithstanding what [Mister] Bonomi says.
>
> > It is no different here in Silicon Valley - if you see an ad in
> > a San Jose newspaper, they do not have to say NPA 408 (although
> > most folks do state the NPA - as the paper is delivered into at
> > least NPA 650, and probably 510 and 831 as well). Ditto for a
> > San Francisco paper - NPA 415 is understood.
>
> I've never worked in the newspaper industry, so I'm not familiar with
> their concerns. I suspect that most display ads, and classifieds
> received online, are printed as received without editing. As for
> classifieds taken by phone, I guess it's up to the individual ad-
> takers.
>
> What really baffles me are 7D phone numbers on delivery vehicles.
>
> Neal McLain
Furthermore, I suspect there are a lot of Chronicle readers who don't
understand what the unstated area code should be. If they see a
seven- digit number, they just dial it without thinking. Those of us
who subscribe to T-D know enough about the telephone system to insert
the proper area code. But the population as a whole includes lots of
young, elderly, and just plain busy people who aren't as attuned to
such things as we are.
Remember the story about President Carter's "Call the President" at
900-242-1611. Folks all over the country with 242-1611 numbers
started getting calls for Carter.
Neal McLain
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:11:16 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <W8mdnbSFoLf5FgTXnZ2dnUVZ_jVi4p2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <siegman-2CC564.13280228082009@news.stanford.edu>,
AES <siegman@stanford.edu> wrote:
>In article
><2120966c-2e6c-4ac7-bd65-6fddc3b2ca06@o6g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>,
> hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote:
>
>> On Aug 28, 12:30 am, danny burstein <dan...@panix.com> wrote:
>>
>> > "[Gov. Paterson signed a bill that] requires utilities,
>> > energy companies, municipalities, telephone companies and
>> > cable TV companies to provide large-print versions of bills
>> > on request..."
>
>> But small operators, such as small boroughs, will face a tougher
>> challenge and much higher costs. Plenty of places still use pre-
>> printed stock forms for their invoices and modifying them is more
>> difficult and costly.
>
>Have to say, speaking as a basically liberal, maybe even a "do gooder"
>type, this is the kind of thing that can give progressive or socially
>conscious government actions a bad name, and make "tax and spend" a
>not totally undeserved criticism.
>
>Certain levels of government-mandated assistance to handicapped
>individuals make sense; others just cost more than they're worth, create
>more problems than the ones they solve, or address problems that could
>be handled in other, less costly fashions.
>
>This one seems to me to fall in these latter categories.
>
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>
>What alternative would you propose?
For many smaller operations, it would probably be _far_ less expensive to
give each customer a page-sized magnifier. One of those plastic lens gizmos.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:33:20 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: GSM-only interference
Message-ID: <ouOdnXzFKNcdHwTXnZ2dnUVZ_rOdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <4A975888.8040600@thadlabs.com>,
Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>On 8/27/2009 5:08 PM, Robert Bonomi wrote:
>> In article <4A906769.7030804@thadlabs.com>,
>> Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>>> [...]
>>> It can be reasonably argued GSM should have never been approved for
>>> use given what I've been finding and discovering the past few weeks.
>>
>> You appear to be an RF engineer -- do the following:
>
>Interesting deduction, but true, in the microwave arena for GTE's Electronic
>Defense Labs back in the 1960s before computers completely caught my fancy
>and I left to join a computer startup (Tymshare).
Vocabulary and phraseology _do_ give significant clues to training/background :)
>> Pick an intercepted signal strength level.
>>
>> Calculate the radius away from a 600 milliwatt transmitter where the
>> intercepted signal will decline below that level.
>>
>> Repeat that calculation for a 900 kilowatt ERP television transmitter.
>>
>> Or a 3-5 megawatt aviation radar.
>>
>> Now, for the 'hard part' -- explain why GSM is 'so much more unsafe' than
>> those other emitters. <evil grin>
>
>Ever wonder why the first commercial microwave ovens were named the Amana
>Radar Ranges?
"Revisionist history", I'm afraid.
Facts:
Raytheon came out with a unit *using* the 'Radarange' name, almost exactly
_two_decades_ before Amana built their first unit. Their first 'commercially
successful' commercial units date from the mid 50's.
The "Radarange" name came from an employee naming contest, circa 1946.
Amana built the *second* 'home use' microwave oven -- the first "commercially
successful" one. (Tappan built the first "home" units, more than a decade
earlier.)
Amana does have the bragging rights for "the world's first" 115V, countertop
microwave. Units prior to that needed 220V and were comparable in size to a
full size stove.
> The story as related to me at White Sands Missile Range was
>the discovery that jackrabbits and other critters downrange of our RADARs
>were being crispy-cooked by the microwaves.
See: <http://www.smecc.org/microwave_oven.htm> for the 'real story' of the
discovery of microwave cooking/heating.
------------------------------
Date: 29 Aug 2009 22:02:10 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: GSM-only interference
Message-ID: <20090829220210.83386.qmail@simone.iecc.com>
> Raytheon came out with a unit *using* the 'Radarange' name, almost
> exactly _two_decades_ before Amana built their first unit. Their
> first 'commercially successful' commercial units date from the mid
> 50's.
>
> The "Radarange" name came from an employee naming contest, circa 1946.
>
> Amana built the *second* 'home use' microwave oven -- the first
> "commercially successful" one. (Tappan built the first "home"
> units, more than a decade earlier.)
You suppose that Amana's entry into the microwave oven business might
have anything to do with the detail that Raytheon had recently bought
them to get a retail distribution channel?
R's,
John
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:56:29 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: GSM-only interference
Message-ID: <4A99B21D.9000204@thadlabs.com>
On 8/29/2009 1:37 PM, Robert Bonomi wrote:
> In article <4A975888.8040600@thadlabs.com>,
> Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>> [...]
>> Ever wonder why the first commercial microwave ovens were named the Amana
>> Radar Ranges?
>
> "Revisionist history", I'm afraid.
I'm not surprised. As the "new" (and youngest) guy in the labs, I was often
told stories that seemed credible to me at the time. :-)
But they respected the fact I was the only lab engineer with a certified
soldering certificate and who also could make microwave receivers work by just
waving my hands over them and moving stuff around that doesn't resemble
anything looking like electronic parts. :-) And noone else there could coax a
TIXM103 transistor into flat operation across the L or S bands for space apps.
> Facts:
> Raytheon came out with a unit *using* the 'Radarange' name, almost exactly
> _two_decades_ before Amana built their first unit. Their first 'commercially
> successful' commercial units date from the mid 50's.
>
> The "Radarange" name came from an employee naming contest, circa 1946.
>
> Amana built the *second* 'home use' microwave oven -- the first "commercially
> successful" one. (Tappan built the first "home" units, more than a decade
> earlier.)
>
> Amana does have the bragging rights for "the world's first" 115V, countertop
> microwave. Units prior to that needed 220V and were comparable in size to a
> full size stove.
>
>> The story as related to me at White Sands Missile Range was
>> the discovery that jackrabbits and other critters downrange of our RADARs
>> were being crispy-cooked by the microwaves.
>
> See: <http://www.smecc.org/microwave_oven.htm> for the 'real story' of the
> discovery of microwave cooking/heating.
Thank you! It's funny, for decades I was reluctant to buy a microwave oven
due to concerns about the seals, and I ended up buying an Amana Radar Range
about 15 years ago and it still works fine today.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:21:07 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: GSM-only interference
Message-ID: <siegman-8E101E.18203729082009@news.stanford.edu>
> > See: <http://www.smecc.org/microwave_oven.htm> for the 'real story' of the
> > discovery of microwave cooking/heating.
The whole SMECC site is a fascinating example of an online museum (even
if there's a "pack-rattish" character to the whole site, and the HTML
aspects of it are amateurish. Tons of great stuff there!
Is there also a real, physical museum associated with it? Anyone ever
been there?
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:46:15 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: FTC tightening up rules against "robocalls". But..
Message-ID: <MtidnQpKpfMaGATXnZ2dnUVZ_tmdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <20090828012525.22779.qmail@simone.iecc.com>,
John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
>
> Telecom Digest Moderator wrote:
>>Come to think of it, I wonder if the "charitable organizations"
>>exception would allow marketers to rent phone lists from charities in
>>return for some percentage of receipts. Does a call made by a
>>commercial firm that benefits a charity count as a "charitable
>>organizations" exception?
>
>I'm afraid so. There's a whole sleazy industry of commercial
>fundraisers for charities. The most efficient charities spend nearly
>all of the money raised on the nominal purpose, like Second Harvest
>which spends 98% of its revenue on program activities. On the other
>hand, according to the LA Times, Citizens Against Government Waste
>spent 6% of money from fundraisers on its nominal purpose, and 94% on
>the fundraising.
While what you state is correct, it is _not_ an answer to 'the question as
asked", and, as such leads people to draw factually incorrect conclusion
about the answer to the original question.
Marketers *cannot* 'rent' lists from charities for the purpose of selling
their own products -- 'even if' some of the proceeds go back to the
charity -- *WITHOUT* being subject to the full 'telemarketing rule' (that
is, the 'charity' exemption is NOT applicable to their efforts.)
Note: even if the charity _itself_ is making the calls, asking you to buy
something (as distinct from just 'begging' for donations), then *they* are
subject to the full force of the telemarketing rule for those calls, including
screening against the DNC list.
*HOWEVER*, if the charity has hired a company to make strict donation
solicitations on behalf of the charity ("even if" a majority of the collected
funds go to the marketer), then _those_ calls *are* covered by the exemption.
There has been talk (for a number of years) -- but nothing has come of it, as
far as _I_ know -- of putting restrictions on the portion of the 'donations'
that go to the agency making the solicitations while retaining the 'charitable
solicitation' exemption.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 08:59:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: "harold@hallikainen.com" <harold@hallikainen.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: FTC tightening up rules against "robocalls". But..
Message-ID: <bd845acb-d50e-47bf-85fa-8f77c9203445@v15g2000prn.googlegroups.com>
Though the subject is FTC rules, I'm more familiar with the FCC rules.
The rules on telemarketing are at -
http://louise.hallikainen.org/FCC/FccRules/2009/64/1200/
They are fairly long and can be difficult to interpret. Here's an
attempt at a summary:
(a)(1) - No autodialing or prerecorded voice calls to emergency lines,
hospital patient rooms (and similar), paging or cellular (and similar
where person receiving the call is charged with exemption for recently
ported numbers).
(a)(2) - No prerecorded voice calls to residential phones without
prior permission or emergency ("reverse 911"), is non-commercial, is
from business with established business relationship, is from tax-
exempt organization.
(a)(3) - No unsolicited faxes unless there is an established business
relationship and the fax number was given voluntarily or is published,
and the first page has a free way to discontinue the faxes.
(a)(4) - Autodialing systems cannot consume more than one line of a
multi-line receiver.
(a)(5) - Cannot disconnect prior to four rings.
(a)(6) - Cannot abandon more than 3% of the answered calls (no one
ready to handle the call).
(a)(7) - No "war dialing" to discover fax machines.
(b)(1) and (2) - Recorded calls, when allowed, must identify the
caller and number.
(c) - No telephone solicitations as defined in (f)(12)...
(c)(1) - before 8am or after 9pm.
(c)(2) - a number on the national do not call list unless the
telemarketer has written permission from the receiver or
has a personal relationship with receiver.
(d) - Caller must maintain caller-specific do not call list and have a
training program on its use.
(d)(4) - Caller must identify him/herself plus company/organization
and phone number.
(d)(5) - Generally, no sharing of permission to call among affiliated
companies.
(d)(6) - Company specific do not call requests are valid for 5 years.
(d)(7) - Tax exempt organizations do not need to comply with
subsection (d).
(f) has a bunch of definitions. (f)(12) defines a telemarkeing call.
There are a LOT of details!
Harold
***** Moderator's Note *****
Harold, thanks for taking time to explain the rules. I appreciate the help!
Bill Horne
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:08:46 EDT
From: Wesrock@aol.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <cd9.5989f48b.37cb0efe@aol.com>
In a message dated 8/29/2009 10:57:34 AM Central Daylight Time,
bill@horneQRM.net writes:
>> Effective alternatives:
>>
>> 1) Online billing (which saves trees as well, and is worth doing
>> for its own sake), combined with onscreen magnification
>> (Cmd-+) or even automated text to voice translation of the
>> online bills..
>>
>> (And, acquiring some simple computer skills can have many other
>> advantages for elderly individuals with or without deteriorating
>> vision: receiving photos on line from the grandkids, email,
>> promoting and preserving mental skills and contact with the
>> outside world.)
I went to an estate sale the other day where a computer, mice,
cables and other accessories were on sale. A senior citizen
residential facility advertises among thier amenities a computer
available to residents.
However, I will never agree to accept billing on line. I was in a
hospital and an assisted living facility afterward for a time and if
it were not for the paper bills I would have become seriously
delinquent in payments.
I think it is inappropriate to bring up "social benefits" in this
discussion. . . it is not the function of a utility to be an agent
of social activism.
> I don't think that's a viable option. Elderly voters cling to their
> ways and distrust new gadgets - let's face it, that's part of
> getting old. It's nice to hope that our seniors will embrace new
> things, but it's not that simple. American society places a premium
> on independence and self-sufficiency, so I think most seniors would
> rather keep to the paper they already know how to use, rather than
> having to ask for help to learn about computers.
>> 2) Online bill paying (if your vision is really too bad to read a
bill, is it good enough to write a check? And address an
envelope?)
>
> If your vision is too bad to read a bill, you won't be able to check
> your phone bill to see if your grandkids are calling pay-per-vote
> lines for an online talent show, or if your caregiver is burning up
> the wires to another state during your nap. _Writing_ a check
> doesn't require particularly good eyesight, and the envelopes are
> pre-addressed.
Nit pick--in the case cited where a smll municipality sends bills on
postcards there is no return envelope.
>> 3) Assistance from friends or volunteer staffers at a local senior
>> center (which has all kinds of ancillary advantages in social
>> contact and can protect against the kind of despicable but
>> omnipresent lottery and stock scams which prey on the old
>> folks -- as my wife and I can sadly tell you all about from
>> our years caring for aging parents).
>>
>
> Nice if it's available without too long a wait - many seniors have
> bladder issues - and if it's free and accurate; not so nice if it
> becomes an opportunity to solicit the patrons for "worthy"
> causes. While stock and lottery scams are despicable, the
> fund-raising efforts of many charitable organizations don't stand
> close examination either, with seniors sometimes subjected to
> harangues about modifying their wills to endow the charity in
> question, or accepting "home help" from youthful volunteers who are
> paid less than half of what the "Charity" which supplies them
> collects. In any case, depending on volunteers to accomplish a
> public-policy objective is just bad public policy.
Something that doesn't bear close examination either is the
oft-repeated assertion that seniors are more vulnerable to despicable
stock and lottery scams (often cited as seniors are "more "trusting"),
The peercentage of seniors who are taken in by scams are almost
identical with the percentage of the population as a whole.
In general my observation is that seniors are less trusting than
younger people. They have learned from experience.
Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:16:20 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <siegman-7A3D2F.18155029082009@news.stanford.edu>
In article <cd9.5989f48b.37cb0efe@aol.com>, Wesrock@aol.com wrote:
> Something that doesn't bear close examination either is the
> oft-repeated assertion that seniors are more vulnerable to despicable
> stock and lottery scams (often cited as seniors are "more "trusting"),
> The peercentage of seniors who are taken in by scams are almost
> identical with the percentage of the population as a whole.
Sorry -- willing to be convinced otherwise, but I don't believe this.
[And _if_ it's true, then can we conclude that seniors as a class
deserve no special concern or help with dementia? After all, if as a
class they're as mentally sharp as any other group, do they need or
merit any special concern?]
***** Moderator's Note *****
This has veered off-topic, so I'll ask that any followup be off-list.
Bill Horne
------------------------------
Date: 30 Aug 2009 01:47:19 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <20090830014719.38234.qmail@simone.iecc.com>
>Nit pick--in the case cited where a smll municipality sends bills on
>postcards there is no return envelope.
Good point. Most of us pay the water bill in person at the village
hall since we're passing by anyway. Particularly the old folks who
rush over and pay the day the bill arrives because they hate owing
money to anyone.
ObTelecom: how many places are there in the country where you can
still pay your phone bill in person at the phone company?
R's,
John
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:33:33 -0700
From: Steven <diespammers@killspammers.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: NYS mandates "large print" for utility bills
Message-ID: <h7codt$g5e$1@news.eternal-september.org>
John Levine wrote:
>> Nit pick--in the case cited where a smll municipality sends bills on
>> postcards there is no return envelope.
>
> Good point. Most of us pay the water bill in person at the village
> hall since we're passing by anyway. Particularly the old folks who
> rush over and pay the day the bill arrives because they hate owing
> money to anyone.
>
> ObTelecom: how many places are there in the country where you can
> still pay your phone bill in person at the phone company?
>
> R's,
> John
>
I'm told that you [may pay your] phone bill (wire line and wireless)
in person at AT&T phone stores in California, though it seems to be a
big secret. Verizon Phone Marts also [accept payments].
--
The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today?
(c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, inc, A Rot in Hell. Co.
------------------------------
Date: 29 Aug 2009 18:08:55 -0400
From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: GSM-only interference
Message-ID: <h7c8tn$g1l$1@panix2.panix.com>
Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>I am simply curious why such a noise emitter was approved by the FCC.
Because the FCC does whatever Congress tells it to do, and Congress does
whatever cellphone companies tell it to do.
How do you think we got the ECPA?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
------------------------------
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
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