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The Telecom Digest for October 9, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 255 : "text" Format
====== 30 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
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We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
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we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime. - Geoffrey Welsh
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest.
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Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 21:02:04 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: news report on cell phone spam - 'tough'
Message-ID: <1318046524.13585.YahooMailClassic@web161515.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Wed, 5 Oct 2011 20:38:57 -0700 (PDT) Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> writes:
> For my part, I just keep a zero balance on a Virgin Mobile phone,
> and when my "minute pack" runs out, I add just enough money to buy
> another one. No money, no text messages..
No phone calls either!
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 08:50:19 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: news report on cell phone spam - 'tough'
Message-ID: <20111008125019.GA12887@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, Oct 07, 2011 at 09:02:04PM -0700, Joseph Singer wrote:
> Wed, 5 Oct 2011 20:38:57 -0700 (PDT) Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> writes:
>
>> For my part, I just keep a zero balance on a Virgin Mobile phone,
>> and when my "minute pack" runs out, I add just enough money to buy
>> another one. No money, no text messages..
>
> No phone calls either!
What's your point? ;-)
Seriously, reread what I wrote in the first post: I put just enough
money in the account to buy a block of VOICE minutes, and because
there's no money left, the system won't allow me to receive text
messages. When the VOICE "minute pack" runs out, I repeat the process,
and I'm never bothered by text messages.
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Date: Fri, 7 Oct 2011 20:42:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: The appeal of the iPhone and other smartphones
Message-ID: <1318045354.18986.YahooMailNeo@web161507.mail.bf1.yahoo.com>
Mr Horne, the moderator of Telecom Digest/CDT wrote:
>
> I've never used an iPhone, or felt the need to have a "1080P" screen
> in the palm of my hand. ISTM that Apple is trying to pack every
> digital device known to man into a palm-sized box that is (1) very
> easy to lose, and (2) way too expensive, and (3) has a tiny screen
> that Uberman's X-Ray vision would be strained to see.
>
> Frankly, the Apple PR agent's gushy superlatives put me off. That's
> partly my age, but also because I've seen miracle devices before, and
> they /never/ live up to their hype. I don't feel the need to be
> entertained while I'm accomplishing miraculous feats of bureaucracy as
> I draw admiring stares from all the women at the airport/train
> station/polo meet/lunar landing, and while Apple's PR department is
> doing a good job training Twenty-somethings to imagine themselves in
> that commercial, they're not impressing /me/, or (I suspect) any other
> potential buyer over the age of Forty.
It's not just Apple's PR that's appealing to people to put multi-use
devices in their pockets. The Android camp is doing the same thing. As
with anything even a regular plain ol' cellphone you have to watch it and
keep an eye on it. People wouldn't be adopting smartphones unless they
found them to be useful. Let's just say that you're from a different time
and a different perspective on what's important to you. Maybe you don't
need to be as in touch through email, instant messenger or be in the loop
with your Facebook or Twitter buddies but a lot of people are these days.
Another one of our readers says she doesn't use text messaging and had it
turned off. She's in the minority. Just don't say that this is all a plot
by Apple alone to weigh us down with digital gadgets. If you're going to
complain you'd best throw that complaint around to other parties involved
as well. Apple and other companies see a need to bring this stuff to the
public and so they have.
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 10:14:14 -0400
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: The appeal of the iPhone and other smartphones
Message-ID: <20111008141414.GB12887@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, Oct 07, 2011 at 08:42:34PM -0700, Joseph Singer wrote:
> Mr Horne, the moderator of Telecom Digest/CDT wrote:
> >
> > I've never used an iPhone, or felt the need to have a "1080P" screen
> > in the palm of my hand. ISTM that Apple is trying to pack every
> > digital device known to man into a palm-sized box that is (1) very
> > easy to lose, and (2) way too expensive, and (3) has a tiny screen
> > that Uberman's X-Ray vision would be strained to see.
> >
> > Frankly, the Apple PR agent's gushy superlatives put me off. That's
> > partly my age, but also because I've seen miracle devices before, and
> > they /never/ live up to their hype. I don't feel the need to be
> > entertained while I'm accomplishing miraculous feats of bureaucracy as
> > I draw admiring stares from all the women at the airport/train
> > station/polo meet/lunar landing, and while Apple's PR department is
> > doing a good job training Twenty-somethings to imagine themselves in
> > that commercial, they're not impressing /me/, or (I suspect) any other
> > potential buyer over the age of Forty.
> It's not just Apple's PR that's appealing to people to put multi-use
> devices in their pockets. The Android camp is doing the same thing.
Ford vs. Chevy.
> As with anything even a regular plain ol' cellphone you have to
> watch it and keep an eye on it.
I don't want to. I carry a prepaid cellphone for emergencies, and if I
lose it, I'm out the ten bucks it cost me to take it off the rack at
Wallmart. I just looked for iPhone prices online, and the lowest price
I saw (on Amazon.com) for an iPhone 3G was $334.95. Which one would
you rather lose to a pickpocket, drop, or loan to your boss?
> People wouldn't be adopting smartphones unless they found them to be
> useful.
I think "people" adopted cellular telephones because they were scared
of not looking like their peers. I think the cellular industry
positioned its product perfectly; creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
that meant "everyone" "had to" have a cellphone because everyone else
"had to" have one.
I, OTOH, refuse to pay (exorbitant) per-minute prices and high
instrument costs for the privilege of having my spouse, my boss, or
bill collectors yank on an electronic leash anytime THEY choose.
> Let's just say that you're from a different time and [have] a
> different perspective on what's important to you.
I am from a different time, but it's a time when men were expected
to think for themselves and to act without checking every "expert" in
Christendom before doing so. What's important to me are the
traditional values of my class: thrift, self-discipline, and critical
thought. And, since you bring up the issue, I'll ask if you realize
that denigrating the experience of older people might make them think
you are not open to others' opinions and facts contrary to what
"everybody" knows: in other words, although perhaps not yet jaded,
still merely juvenile.
I don't feel any need to ride the wave of peer preasure and
advertising that apparently drives other cellular consumers: I use a
prepaid cellphone that costs 5¢ per minute, which is still too high
for everyday use, but which I'm willing to invest in as an alternative
to changing a flat tire myself in rush-hour traffic. Since the
early-adopters financed the cellular infrastructure that dots our
landscape, I'm willing to swim in the trough behind the wave and
enjoy the benefits others paid for.
> Maybe you don't need to be as in touch through email, instant
> messenger or be in the loop with your Facebook or Twitter buddies
> but a lot of people are these days.
I don't have a Facetube account, I don't use Twitter, and the only
time I used Instant Messenger was when it was called IRC and I
employed it to keep in touch with other Vietnam veterans. The only
benefit Facetube delivers is that it proves teenagers are insecure,
that young adults are often catty and vicious, and that neither should
be trusted with the reins to the wagons of commerce at that point in
their lives.
As for email, I'm in touch through it as often as I choose, at times
and in places that are convenient to me. I recommend the practice.
> Another one of our readers says she doesn't use text messaging and had it
> turned off. She's in the minority.
Leaders always are.
> Just don't say that this is all a plot by Apple alone to weigh us
> down with digital gadgets. If you're going to complain you'd best
> throw that complaint around to other parties involved as well.
I'm writing about the class of gadgets known as "smartphones", no
matter which assembly line they fell off. It doesn't matter how many
other companies get involved or how much hype and money is spread
around: if you spend time defending Apple, you're missing my point. As
I alluded to above, I think you're trying to justify Fords' business
by pointing to Chevrolet, and I'm questioning whether any kind of
"smartphone" (they're not) is a wise investment.
> Apple and other companies see a need to bring this stuff to the
> public and so they have.
More power to them: that's the American Way! I wish them all the
success in the world!
I, for my part, see a need to point out the obvious: that having the
capability to communicate snippets of text or photographs or emails
with every one of my friends, cow-orkers, and/or superiors does not
make me a competent corporate manager. At best, it marks me as a
follower who is anxious about not having the latest "common wisdom" to
parrot to others, and at worst it marks me as a drone who is
constantly waiting for someone else to tell him what to do.
When my brother-in-law was a newly employed Electronic Engineer, fresh
out of college, he came home one day with a pager on his belt: back
before they were common, and before cellular was deployed. I said to
him "You must be an important person now!". He replied "No, Bill - the
important people DO the beeping!"
My point is that expensive cellphones are like expensive watches: if
you want to know who the important people are in any group, look for
those without either. YMMV.
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
Date: Sat, 08 Oct 2011 20:20:01 -0500
From: rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: AT&T Telephone solicitor training
Message-ID: <yMWdnd4XRIFcaw3TnZ2dnUVZ_gqdnZ2d@speakeasy.net>
Gordon Burditt <gordonb.zh5qu@burditt.org> wrote:
+---------------
| I've been getting calls recently from AT&T telephone solicitors
| trying to sell me Uverse Internet service in Texas (used to be
| Southwestern Bell here). I might be interested, depending on the
| terms. There are a couple of things I want to make sure of first.
| 1. Show me in writing where it says I can run a mail server without
| violating AT&T's Terms of Service. 2. How much do I have to pay
| for the service, before and after the promotional period runs
| out? 3. It has to be a better deal than what I've got now.
+---------------
4. See if you can get them to admit that once you've switched over
to UVerse that, even if you have a week's worth (say) of local
UPS powering all your in-home equipment [including their CPE!],
your new UVerse telephone & internet service will only survive for
as little as 4-6 hours during a neighborhood-wide power outage.
Surprise! Surprise! [The door-to-door UVerse sales guy who visited
a friend of mine recently actually said "4.5 hrs" to him, but
who knows how long it would really be?]
See the recent "power outage" thread here in Telecom for more on this...
+---------------
| I've gotten some astounding statements from them:
....
| 9. My current ISP charges $0.41/month in sales tax. Why do you
| charge almost 4 times that for the promotional $19.95/month rate?
| They had no answer. (The first $25/month in internet service is
| not subject to sales tax in Texas. But I'm not so sure the phone
| company would classify it that way, or that they've ever heard
| of this law.)
+---------------
If Texas law is similar to California law in this regard, it may be
that the "promotional" rate is classified in state law as a "rebate",
and that you have to pay sales tax on the *full retail* amount of the
item or service. This was certainly the case when I bought my current
smartphone [yes, at an AT&T store]: the non-contract price was ~$600,
but the two-year contract price was only $200. Nevertheless, I had to
pay sales tax on the full $600!! Other states have similar laws, e.g.:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/many-quirks-in-floridas-sales-tax-laws/1130899
Many quirks in Florida's sales tax laws
By Mark Albright, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Friday, October 29, 2010
...
Since 1965, Florida has required retailers to slap the state tax on
the full price of taxable items bought with coupons or manufacturers'
rebates. Few shoppers notice - the calculation is buried in the
register tape and most coupon deals apply to foods that are tax-free.
But there are plenty of taxable items - cleaning products, batteries,
restaurant bills, soft drinks, even manufacturer rebates for new cars
- where buyers must pay the sales tax on the full price, not the price
they actually paid.
As defined by the Legislature, any reimbursement a store gets from a
supplier after the sale is part of the taxable price.
...
-Rob
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue
http://rpw3.org/
San Mateo, CA 94403
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