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The Telecom Digest for January 26, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 26 : "text" Format
====== 30 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
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Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:59:19 -0600
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Cloud-based PBX service
Message-ID: <6qOdnagI_5C6EYLSnZ2dnUVZ_jadnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <4F1DF1E2.30104@horne.net>, <tmetro+telecomdigest@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>I've been hoping that we'd see more open source apps in hosted form, and
>we have seen some, but not really wide spread. Take for example virtual
>PBXs. It's entirely feasible that we could have seen an "Asterisk
>hosting" market develop much like web hosting, but it didn't happen.
Could it be that there is a very limited 'need' for pure virtual PBXes?
Without PSTN interconnectivity, a virtual PBX is of very limited usefulness.
Add in the cost of self-contained VoIP phones, addressing complications if
your phones are behind PAT/ NAT, and QOS issues on oversubscribed 'consumer
grade' uplinks (especially where the 'last mile' provider is also offering
IP-based telephony -- e.g. most 'cable' companies), and you're looking at a
very much 'niche' market.
When you can keep the 'inter-extension' traffic -local-, on a network you
control, and can prioritize the network utilization based on functionality,
VoIP makes good sense. You only have to maintain one wire plant, and
expanding the number of 'end-points' in a particular area does not
require running additional wiring back to the 'head end'.
If an 'internal' call ties up 2x a voice channel worth of external
connectivity, has twice the chances of being hit by QOS issues, etc., and
has an additional half-dozen (or a dozen, or more!) possible 'points of
failure', things start to look a lot less attractive. <wry grin>
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:28:54 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Wired Car
Message-ID: <hxejhC.A.X8C.kdBIPB@telecom>
The Wired Car
On Point with Tom Ashbrook
January 12, 2012
Detroit wants to turn your car into a rolling internet connection.
We'll look at cars as the web on wheels.
You may think your car has enough bells and whistles. Detroit and the
rest of the auto-making world do not. The Detroit Auto Show this week
is brimming with roll-outs and announcements and hints of a super
high tech future for cars.
Cars that are one with the Internet and GPS and your home computer
and the e-cosmos in the cloud. Cars that watch the road, watch you,
watch your Facebook page, your heart rate, your smart phone. Cars
that watch each other, like a flock of birds.
This hour, On Point: Ready or not, cars that are the "web on wheels,"
and more.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests
Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Edmunds.com.
Hiawatha Bray, tech reporter and columnist for the Boston Globe.
Doug Newcomb, senior editor of the Technology section at Edmunds.com.
Jim Buczkowski, director of Research and Advanced Engineering at Ford
Motor Company.
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/01/12/the-wired-car
Podcast:
http://audio.wbur.org/storage/2012/01/onpoint_0112_1.mp3
***** Moderator's Note *****
My car doesn't have "enough bells and whistles": it has too many! Like
almost everyone else in the world, I drive a rubber-tired,
gasoline-powered vehicle that is functionally identical to a Model T
Ford, and that's just plain wrong.
I don't need an "interconnected" car: I need a vehicle that gets sixty
MPG, and that leaves off bells and whistles in favor of basic
reliability, economy, and maintainability.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:21:45 -0500
From: Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: The Wired Car
Message-ID: <4b70i71rjgr4784in35m882mvt1i7erk5e@4ax.com>
Per Monty Solomon:
>
>The Wired Car
>
>On Point with Tom Ashbrook
>January 12, 2012
>
>Detroit wants to turn your car into a rolling internet connection.
>We'll look at cars as the web on wheels.
>
>You may think your car has enough bells and whistles. Detroit and the
>rest of the auto-making world do not. The Detroit Auto Show this week
>is brimming with roll-outs and announcements and hints of a super
>high tech future for cars.
>
>Cars that are one with the Internet and GPS and your home computer
>and the e-cosmos in the cloud. Cars that watch the road, watch you,
>watch your Facebook page, your heart rate, your smart phone. Cars
>that watch each other, like a flock of birds....
... Cars with dashboards that you watch instead of driving....
Sounds like it's gonna get even worse than it is now.
--
Pete Cresswell
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:48:30 +1100
From: David Clayton <dc33box-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: The Wired Car
Message-ID: <6OXQDC.A.xO.nCLIPB@telecom>
..........
> I don't need an "interconnected" car: I need a vehicle that gets sixty
> MPG, and that leaves off bells and whistles in favor of basic reliability,
> economy, and maintainability.
>
> Bill Horne
> Moderator
(Possible future conversation in a garage near you):
"There's your problem sir, you have an IPv4 Engine and an IPv6 Steering
Wheel that just downloaded the latest security update and made it
incompatible, that's why it won't go - you need a hardware upgrade because
they don't support that old CPU any more....."
--
Regards, David.
David Clayton
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a
measure of how many questions you have.
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:06:51 -0500
From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: The Wired Car
Message-ID: <MPG.298a4704a42d571a989d7d@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <4b70i71rjgr4784in35m882mvt1i7erk5e@4ax.com>,
PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org says...
>
> Per Monty Solomon:
> >
> >The Wired Car
> >
> >On Point with Tom Ashbrook
> >January 12, 2012
> >
> >Detroit wants to turn your car into a rolling internet connection.
> >We'll look at cars as the web on wheels.
> >
> >You may think your car has enough bells and whistles. Detroit and the
> >rest of the auto-making world do not. The Detroit Auto Show this week
> >is brimming with roll-outs and announcements and hints of a super
> >high tech future for cars.
> >
> >Cars that are one with the Internet and GPS and your home computer
> >and the e-cosmos in the cloud. Cars that watch the road, watch you,
> >watch your Facebook page, your heart rate, your smart phone. Cars
> >that watch each other, like a flock of birds....
>
> ... Cars with dashboards that you watch instead of driving....
>
> Sounds like it's gonna get even worse than it is now.
Laugh but I've had the opportunity to drive a 2011 Ford Focus. That one
has more electronic gadgetry than I've seen on most cars.
Here's a short little video I shot of one:
http://youtu.be/AXC5JbDSP-c
See the pretty glass? And the buttons everywhere? I like that I can
control the radio from the steering wheel, that is nice. But if you're
going to go glass do the whole dash, not just a little window.
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:17:35 -0500
From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Authentic sound of telephone ringers
Message-ID: <MPG.298a1f5e975f660a989d7c@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <BDFQNB.A.YjB.0BaHPB@telecom>, curtbramblett@cfl.rr.com
says...
>
> A community theater performance of "Barefoot in the Park," which I saw
> recently, involved a Princess phone as part of the plot. When it rang
> (through the public address) the sound did not match the sound of my
> Princess, which I keep for power-out emergencies. Trust my ears, but
> remember that mine is blue and the one in the play was beige (lol).
>
> Further, I recall a discussion on this forum or a similar one a couple
> decades ago about erroneous ringing in movies: 501 sound for a 302 phone, e.g.
>
> I have a 302 with a Bell "black box" ringer and a Kellogg ca. 1908
> candlestick with an oak 37SG ringer. Don't know if either of those pairings
> is authentic.
>
> Anyway, my question is: is there a web site with descriptions of various
> ringers and accurate sound files?
>
> TIA.
Certain Princess models used different ringers. I have a 1972 vintage
Princess and it's ringer is a half of the full type with the domed bell.
Later Princess phones used the P-type ringer.
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:03:30 -0800 (PST)
From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Judge: Americans can be forced to decrypt their laptops
Message-ID: <70daf83d-169f-48aa-9884-b5204692e4b5@i25g2000vbt.googlegroups.com>
On Jan 24, 11:48 am, danny burstein <dan...@panix.com> wrote:
> [CNET]
> American citizens can be ordered to decrypt their PGP-scrambled hard
> drives for police to peruse for incriminating files, a federal judge
> in Colorado ruled today in what could become a precedent-setting
> case. . . .
As they say, the devil is in the details. In this particular case,
those details very substantially change the situation:
a) The woman was granted immunity from prosecution,
b) The cops can't use anything they find against the woman.
see:
http://goo.gl/b5mmH
I am no lawyer, but I think when a witness is given immunity and 'use'
protection, they can be compelled to testify (I've read of cases
where a witness was jailed for contempt for refusing to testify).
Since their testimony could not result in their prosecution, there is
no self-incrimination involved.
I don't necessarily agree with this. The constitutional protections
were put in place to guard against overzealous prosecutors, which
I can't help but wonder is the situation here.
Another issue with "self-incrimination" is that while testifying may
not result in one's own 'prosecution', it could still result in great
harm, such as from loss of employment or business customers and
community hostility.
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:29:14 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: One policy, one Google experience
Message-ID: <3XASP.A.MP.nCLIPB@telecom>
One policy, one Google experience
We're getting rid of over 60 different privacy policies across Google
and replacing them with one that's a lot shorter and easier to read.
Our new policy covers multiple products and features, reflecting our
desire to create one beautifully simple and intuitive experience
across Google.
This stuff matters, so please take a few minutes to read our updated
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service now. These changes will
take effect on March 1, 2012.
...
https://www.google.com/policies/
https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/preview/
https://www.google.com/policies/terms/
https://www.google.com/policies/faq/
Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:40:39 +1100
From: David Clayton <dc33box-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Judge: Americans can be forced to decrypt their laptops
Message-ID: <vr4iw.A.mP.nCLIPB@telecom>
On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:48:11 -0500, danny burstein wrote:
> [CNET]
>
> Judge: Americans can be forced to decrypt their laptops
............
>
> "I find and conclude that the Fifth Amendment is not implicated by
> requiring production of the unencrypted contents of the Toshiba
> Satellite M305 laptop computer," Blackburn wrote in a 10-page
> opinion today. He said the All Writs Act, which dates back to 1789
> and has been used to require telephone companies to aid in
> surveillance, could be invoked in forcing decryption of hard drives
> as well.
>
> ----
I do find it a little puzzling that a legal precedent used for
telecommunications has now been applied to a data storage device.
Can anyone enlighten us as to the rationale behind this?
--
Regards, David.
David Clayton
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a
measure of how many questions you have.
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:37:39 -0500
From: Ron <ron@see.below>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Judge: Americans can be forced to decrypt their laptops
Message-ID: <fab1i7lujim9stq76t560j6oavl058k51b@4ax.com>
HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> wrote:
> As they say, the devil is in the details. In this particular case,
> those details very substantially change the situation:
>
> a) The woman was granted immunity from prosecution,
> b) The cops can't use anything they find against the woman.
>
> see:
> http://goo.gl/b5mmH
>
Not true, and the article you quote was very poorly written and
misleading.
The immunity they granted was immunity for the act of providing the
key, but none for the data that the key decodes. See the actual
decision at
http://goo.gl/MZ2qm
page 11, section C.
--
Ron
(user telnom.for.plume
in domain antichef.com)
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:48:00 -0800 (PST)
From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Authentic sound of telephone ringers
Message-ID: <9851eb66-7e05-4597-85ec-e5be61d77173@c13g2000yqk.googlegroups.com>
On Jan 25, 2:17 pm, T <kd1s.nos...@cox.nospam.net> wrote:
> Certain Princess models used different ringers. I have a 1972 vintage
> Princess and it's ringer is a half of the full type with the domed bell.
> Later Princess phones used the P-type ringer.-
Some comments on ringers...
The ringers of my W/E Trimline telephone sets sounds the same as a
Princess telephone set. I believe they have only a single gong,
partly to save space in the compact base. Those phones have a more
pleasant ringer sound than the everyday 500/2500 sets.
I was using a W/E 302 set for its ringer since it was distinct and
loud. But it was too loud and the 302 set was not adjustable
(adjustable volume came with the 500 set). I now use an AE 40 set
which has a rather pleasant ringer.
(The 302 set was in good shape and could be used as a regular rotary
telephone. The AE 40, while it does work, has a lot of static and
others say it has poor voice quality. The 302 is marked as being made
in 1948, but I can't find any mfr date on the AE 40. I also use a
Touch Tone AE/GTE set, probably made in the late 1970s, and that works
fine.)
I've noticed a number of cell phone users today have a ringtone that
simulates the sound of a mechanical telphone bell. They sound pretty
neat. I tried recording a ringing phone to use that as a ringtone but
it sounded poor.
A hospital switchboard room once used the Bell Chime, set on
'doorbell', as a signal for an emergency ("stat") call.
The experimental electronic switching system at Morris, Illinois,
required electronic tone ringers in the station sets because the
switch circuitry could not pass through ringing currents. All
subscribers in the experiment got special telephone sets with a tone
ringer (and also 20 pps dials). The actual production ESS was
redesigned to accomodate that so they wouldn't have to change every
telephone set at cutover.
Do they have universal digital telephone sets that can connect
directly to any FIOS, cable, and VOIP networks without needing a
conversion box?
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:06:35 -0500
From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Ratted out by your very own phone ... ?
Message-ID: <1p28g1p44ywvi.100v4nf2an10w$.dlg@40tude.net>
"Is your smartphone telling every website you visit your telephone number?"
"O2 mobile users in the UK are venting on Twitter today, fuming at their
discovery that their phone number is being shared with every website that
they visit over the network."
More at:
http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/01/25/smartphone-website-telephone-number,
including the suggestion: "If you want to know if your smartphone is
revealing your phone number when you browse websites, you can test for
yourself by visiting this demo page by Collin Mulliner:
http://www.mulliner.org/pc.cgi"
Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP.
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