The Telecom Digest for October 12, 2010
Volume 29 : Issue 274 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
====== 28 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 09:42:58 -0400
From: "Gary" <bogus-email@hotmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
Message-ID: <i8sftb$4f3$1@news.eternal-september.org>
"John Mayson" <john@mayson.us> wrote in message
news:AANLkTinmX7wi3+xcyXFd9mi6z162h3HeDJvi9NX7um1L@mail.gmail.com...
>
> I'm scratching my head wondering why this is necessarily an issue.
> I'm willing to bet in the US more men than women own hammers and
> drills while more women own sewing machines and knitting needles.
You can buy hand tools specifically made for women. Smaller handles,
lighter weights, and pink grips (so the men in their lives won't borrow
them). I suppose the same could be done for cell phones - buttons that work
with long nails, female favorite colors, an on screen mirror function with a
forward facing camera, easily triggered piercing alarm in case of attack,
e.t.c.
-Gary
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 13:21:06 -0700
From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Delivery of ANI on a non-IN WATS call?
Message-ID: <1vydnQgvTJ6uvS_RnZ2dnUVZ_tydnZ2d@giganews.com>
Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Aren't you confusing "PBX" with "Centrex-CO"?
>
>
> You know, Bill, you insisted on having this discussion in private email,
> then you posted your followup anyway after I already explained to you
> that I was doing no such thing.
>
> Please don't accuse me of nonsense completely out of left field.
>
It's Cox Telephone of California, a CLEC, which operates a DMS-500 and
serves its subscribers via it regional cable system. It would be
subject to the same rules for honoring the CPN privacy flag that apply
to AT&T, Verizon, et al, for intra-state directly number calls within
California.
I don't see where ANI would be any part of this for a calling party
billable call.
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 22:22:04 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: What we're driving at
Message-ID: <p062408eac8d8251316ab@[192.168.180.244]>
What we're driving at
10/09/2010 12:00:00 PM
Larry and Sergey founded Google because they wanted to help solve
really big problems using technology. And one of the big problems
we're working on today is car safety and efficiency. Our goal is to
help prevent traffic accidents, free up people's time and reduce
carbon emissions by fundamentally changing car use.
So we have developed technology for cars that can drive themselves.
Our automated cars, manned by trained operators, just drove from our
Mountain View campus to our Santa Monica office and on to Hollywood
Boulevard. They've driven down Lombard Street, crossed the Golden
Gate bridge, navigated the Pacific Coast Highway, and even made it
all the way around Lake Tahoe. All in all, our self-driving cars have
logged over 140,000 miles. We think this is a first in robotics
research.
Our automated cars use video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range
finder to "see" other traffic, as well as detailed maps (which we
collect using manually driven vehicles) to navigate the road ahead.
This is all made possible by Google's data centers, which can process
the enormous amounts of information gathered by our cars when mapping
their terrain.
...
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-were-driving-at.html
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 22:25:08 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2010: Stop. Think. Connect.
Message-ID: <p062408ebc8d825a037b2@[192.168.180.244]>
National Cyber Security Awareness Month 2010: Stop. Think. Connect.
10/04/2010 01:31:00 PM
Governments, industry and everyday people have been abuzz this year
about online security to a larger extent than ever before. People are
talking about their information, how they share it with others and
how they secure it. With more information moving online, and with
cyber attacks on the rise, we think it's important that we keep the
conversation about security flowing.
Google has renewed its commitment to security this year and has
pushed industry boundaries to help people better protect their
information in new ways. Here are just a few examples: We became the
first major email provider to offer default HTTPS encryption for the
entire email session, and we introduced an encrypted search option
for Google.com. We designed a new system to make Google Accounts more
secure, and added suspicious activity detection for our users. Google
Apps became the first suite of cloud computing applications to
receive Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)
certification from the U.S. government. We also published new
security products, tools and research to help web developers and
network administrators make the rest of the web more secure.
...
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/national-cyber-security-awareness-month.html
http://safetyandsecuritymessaging.org/
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 01:08:25 -0700
From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Generic Question About ANI
Message-ID: <77-dnaKpF55mWC_RnZ2dnUVZ_tidnZ2d@giganews.com>
For you network gurus: Should the transmission of ANI by my originating
Class 5 switch be limited to inwats numbers, 900 numbers, and E911
trunks?
If I am dialing an ordinary directory number that is billable to me
shouldn't my ANI not be transmitted?
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:59:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: markjcuccia@yahoo.com
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Generic Question About ANI
Message-ID: <79535b91-3b93-49c9-aee9-6b7759ccaf70@a36g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>
On Oct 11, 3:08 am, Sam Spade wrote:
> For you network gurus: should the transmission of ANI by my originating
> Class 5 switch be limited to inwats numbers, 900 numbers, and E911
> trunks? If I am dialing an ordinary directory number that is billable to me
> shouldn't my ANI not be transmitted?
ANI is still sent-forward to the telco or IXC that is billing the call
to you, to their tandem with CAMA, unless the billing recording is
being done at the originating switch (which "could" be the case on
intra-LATA toll calls handled by that originating telco and not some
IXC.
But I agree that ANI should NOT be sent forward to "just anyone"
further downstream. Same with CID info if you dialed a *67/1167 prefix
to "flag" the number as "private" to the far-end.
Mark J. Cuccia
markjcuccia at yahoo dot com
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 09:06:56 -0400
From: Regina_R_Monaco <remonaco@sonic.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
Message-ID: <364A956D-7F5C-4DAE-B412-E5F6507B3B86@sonic.net>
John Mayson wrote:
> I'm scratching my head wondering why this is necessarily an issue.
> I'm willing to bet in the US more men than women own hammers and
> drills while more women own sewing machines and knitting needles.
>
> Do women need, or even want, mobile phones in these countries?
>
> What percentage of the overall population owns mobiles? If only a
> small fraction own them, the women being 23% less likely isn't the
> real story.
>
> Sounds like a classic case of trying to apply western political
> correctness where it really doesn't apply. I'd be more concerned
> about getting good health care for these women. Forget mobile phones.
This does seem particularly unecessary, and a brief search of "female-
specific handset cel phone" shows dozens of articles on pink handsets,
Samsung's "E500 female phone with Mobile Beauty Box" (I wish I were
kidding on that but alas, it's real) and other handsets designed to
looki cute, or colorful, or bejeweled. If this is what was meant as a
concern for handsets for women in third-world countries, I have to
agree it's marketing gone amuck.
But I did read an article awhile back on women in third world
countries starting micro-businesses with their cel phones. Women - not
the men - would purchase a cel phone, then everyone in the village,
and indeed within reasonable travleing distance, would come to use
that woman's phone, paying her per call. This strategy was reported as
successful for lifting many women in these poor countries out of
poverty a bit.
So possibly these "female-specific handsets" are ways to make the
phone easier to share, or easier for the customers to use, so that
this sort of micro-business can thrive. Just a thought.
As an aside, to answer John's question, do women even need cel phones
in these countries? - IMHO, everyone needs access to communication,
and handsets to women (hopefully not necessarily pink or bejeweled!!)
would certainly be a step on the road to equality in these countries,
if it gives women there a bit more of a voice than they already possess.
-Regina
Date: 10 Oct 2010 17:43:17 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
Message-ID: <20101010174317.60747.qmail@joyce.lan>
>Do women need, or even want, mobile phones in these countries?
I would think so. Search for "telephone ladies" and you will find
lots of stories about poor women in south Asia who make a business
of selling mobile phone service by the call, and what a big difference
it can make to small farmers, e.g.:
Mohammed Abul Kashem runs a fish farm of 10 man-made ponds. He
uses the phone service to order food and other supplies from the
capital.
"If the phone wasn't here then I'd have to travel to Dhaka," he
says. "It's a very long and unpleasant journey. "Now I can use the
phone I am saving time and it makes my business more competitive."
R's,
John
Date: 10 Oct 2010 17:45:37 -0000
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Apple takes steps to nip iPhone 4 scalping in bud
Message-ID: <20101010174537.61349.qmail@joyce.lan>
In article <4CB1B46D.7010603@thadlabs.com> you write:
>Hmmm, China Telecom uses CDMA for their cellphones, so what
>kind of iPhone 4s are being sold in China?
Since their current network partner is China Unicom, not China
Telecom, I expect it's the same GSM phone they sell everywhere else.
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 16:51:00 +0000 (UTC)
From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
Message-ID: <i8sqtk$1v5r$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>
In article <AANLkTinmX7wi3+xcyXFd9mi6z162h3HeDJvi9NX7um1L@mail.gmail.com>,
John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
>Do women need, or even want, mobile phones in these countries?
Given that they don't have access to landline phones in those
countries, yes.
>Sounds like a classic case of trying to apply western political
>correctness where it really doesn't apply. I'd be more concerned
>about getting good health care for these women. Forget mobile phones.
The phone may be an important part of the health-care delivery system,
particularly for the rural poor who may not be able to travel to a
clinic.
-GAWollman
--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:04:43 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: History--old MIT dial-up directory
Message-ID: <efCdncuKSoNGES_RnZ2dnUVZ_rydnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <jNadnVrDZ4TCNC3RnZ2dnUVZ_oednZ2d@giganews.com>,
Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> wrote:
>
>Prior to that the old jacks were available for quite a few years as an
>option in residential service for, of course, a monthly fee. And, at
>least one telephone set had to be hard wired.
Not true in NW Bell territory (Iowa.) Until the mid 1960s, we never
had a hard-wired phone in the house, only pluggable ones. And there
was only a one-time fee for a jack install. As part of a major remodeling
we did in 1964, we ended up with a "sort-of" hard-wired phone. an early
'panel phone' (dial variety, not touch-tone), built into the wall of the
kitchen. 'Inside the box' in the wall that the phone mounted in, there
was a standard 4-prong jack, and a plug on a wire going to the 'innards'.
It was easier for the telco to swap out, that way, if/when repair was
needed. At the time it was put in, it was the only residential
installation of that variety of phone in the entire state, if not all of
NW Bell. For 10 years, it was the only one of it's type anywhere in the
metro area. Then a new motel went up (1974-5), just out of downtown, and
used the same kind of instrument in, at least, all their public spaces.
(Handy design, the handset cord was on a retractor/reel inside the wall,
so no dangling cord to get in the way of anything.)
We did_ have a loud ring-only device (mounted on the outside of the
house) that was hard-wired. Maybe that 'counted' as fulfilling the
requirement. Beyond that, we had a all of two phones. But being
'pluggable', and with several jacks, (living room, master bedroom,
dining-room (opposite end of the house from the LR), and basement,
the phone just 'migrated' to where the people were.
>"Ernestine" in Kansas City explained to me why one instrument had to be
>hard wired and it could not have a ringer cut-off.
All our instruments, including the outside ringer, had full cut-off. There
was a detent at 'minimum volume', to discourage turning it completely off,
but they did go off, with only a little persuasion.
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:35:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: History--old MIT dial-up directory
Message-ID: <df18e7e4-e7c0-4441-be0d-5775ba9b6e32@e14g2000yqe.googlegroups.com>
On Oct 11, 12:04 am, bon...@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
wrote:
> As part of a major remodeling
> we did in 1964, we ended up with a "sort-of" hard-wired phone. an early
> 'panel phone' (dial variety, not touch-tone), built into the wall of the
> kitchen.
Forgot about panel phones. Apparently they weren't a very popular
option; I think far more people went for Trimline or Princess sets.
Were there any other residential options that weren't too successful?
At a worksite they had the Bell Chime, set on doorbell, to ring for
emergency calls. I don't think too many residences got the Bell
Chime. Some people did get the outdoor loud extension ringer. I know
of someone who still has one in service that they'd like to get rid
of, but the ringer isn't in an easily accessible spot (mounted high
up). Neighbors don't like it.
A local shopping mall had payphones behind a panel that looked very
modern (1965). But I found out there were just conventional three
slot payphones jerry-rigged to be flush with the panel. Later said
mall had one Touch Tone 3-slot pay phone, located in an out of the way
place. As an aside, that was an early covered mall but has since been
"opened" and converted into a plain strip shopping center.
By the way, at the Fort Washington Interchange of the Penna Tpk there
are still pay phones in booths off to the side of the toll gates.
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2010 10:37:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: four-prong jack (was History--old MIT dial-up directory)
Message-ID: <142683.23276.qm@web52705.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Thu, 7 Oct 2010 10:35:49 -0700 (PDT)<hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
> [This was] The old style 4 prong jack. It had a more modern
> appearance, both jack and plug being white and round. In a few
> years it would be replaced by the mini jack (1977?) still used
> today.
Actually, a square four-prong jack with two "ears" and rounded corners
predated that by many years. The rounded plug with the rounded jack
to match only came ca. 1970 or so. The "pinch plug" and modular jack
started to show up ca. 1975 IIRC. My thinking is that the Bell System
knew their time was up being the only provider of CPE and they
developed the pinch plug and "RJ" series jacks partly for that reason.
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 07:09:48 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Increasing attacks on VoIP systems means increased billing charges
Message-ID: <4CB31AAC.9090709@thadlabs.com>
Though most of this appears to be happening in Australia, the
information from SANS suggests the problem is more widespread
and not being reported publicly. A recommended tool, SIPVicious,
is mentioned by SANS and available at the URL cited at the end
of this posting.
http://www.zdnet.com.au/thousands-lost-in-rising-voip-attacks-339306478.htm
"
" Australian network companies have told of clients receiving
" phone bills including $100,000 worth of unauthorised calls
" placed over compromised VoIP servers. Smaller attacks have
" netted criminals tens of thousands of dollars worth of calls.
"
" A Perth business was hit with a $120,000 bill after hackers
" exploited its VoIP server to place some 11,000 calls over 46
" hours last year.
"
" VoIP networks are a cash cow for criminals who can earn money
" from unscrupulous telecommunications carriers profiting from
" calls placed over victim's networks or to ramp up calls to
" premium numbers.
"
" The genesis of the practise dates back some two decades when
" phreakers busted into phone companies to make free calls.
" VoIP attacks are now an established practice but victims are
" still easy pickings for criminals.
"
" Local network providers and the SANs Institute have reported
" recent spikes in Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) scanning
" - a process to identify poorly configured VoIP systems - and
" brute-force attacks against publicly-accessible SIP systems,
" notably on UDP port 5060.
"
" Neural Networks noticed two VoIP attacks that left customers
" with thousand-dollar phone bills over a Sunday night after
" weak client passwords were exploited. Calls had originated
" and terminated in three different countries.
" [...]
also http://www.zdnet.com.au/voip-hackers-strike-perth-business-339294515.htm
"
" A hacker recently obtained unauthorised access to the IP
" telephony (VoIP) system of a Perth business, making 11,000
" calls costing over $120,000, according to the Western
" Australian police.
"
" The calls were made over a period of 46 hours, the police
" said, and the business only became aware of the imposition
" when it received an invoice from its service provider.
"
" Thieves have always targeted PBX systems by finding numbers
" used for remote calling - for mobile employees or those
" requiring international call access outside of business
" hours - to make calls at the company's expense.
"
" This has in the past been exploited for uses such as routing
" calls made on cheap international phone cards, according to
" Pure Hacking senior security consultant Chris Gatford.
" [...]
and http://isc.sans.edu/diary.html?storyid=9193
"
" We observed an increase on UDP connections that use UDP
" port 5060. This port is typically used for VoIP connections
" using the SIP protocol. The activity is indicative of
" attempts to locate weakly-configured IP PBX system,
" probably to brute-force SIP passwords. Once the attacker
" has access to the account, they may use it to make or
" resell unauthorized calls. The attacker may also use
" the access to conduct a voice phishing (vishing) campaign.
"
" We observed a similar up-tick a few months ago. At the
" time, the activity was attributed to SIP brute-forcing
" that probably originated from systems running in Amazon's
" EC2 cloud.
"
" As described on the Digium blog, publicly-accessible SIP
" systems are seeing large numbers of brute-force attacks.
" Systems with weak SIP credentials will be compromised,
" similarly to how email accounts can be compromised by
" guessing the credentials "The significant difference is
" that when someone takes over a SIP platform to make
" outbound calls, there is usually a direct monetary cost,
" which gets people's attention very quickly."
"
" One way to review your SIP exposure is to use the free
" SIPVicious toolkit. Interestingly, SIPVicious now
" includes a tool for crashing unauthorized SIPVicious scans.
" [...]
SIPVicious is available here:
http://code.google.com/p/sipvicious/
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 20:34:35 EDT
From: Wes Leatherock <Wesrock@aol.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: A Simple Swipe on a Phone, and You're Paid
Message-ID: <1067b2.33d20a29.39e3b59b@aol.com>
In a message dated 10/9/2010 12:47:56 PM Central Daylight Time,
dcstar@myrealbox.com writes:
> The current paradigm here is that if you haven't done something
> stupid like write/keep your card PIN anywhere near your card then
> any fraudulent transaction isn't your problem. What happens with a
> card or phone that is flashed at a reader to do a transaction is
> anybody's guess.
> Will card companies wear any fraud incurred by stolen phones/cards
> where there is no need for additional authentication, or will this
> end up as another nasty new surprise for users of this technology?
For several years 7-Eleven stores in the metropolitan Oklahoma City
area have posted on the gas pump the authorization limits for each
card company for transactions without a signature or PIN. More
recently drug stores have stopped asking for signatures on a charge
below a certain amoungt. At Walgreen's it's $25. If your card
company on its web site shows "pending transactions" you'll find a
$1.00 pending charge at any gas station at the pump, which goes away
when the full charge is posted a day or two later. Also a PayPal
payment the same way. I assume this assures the the card is for a
valid account and will be honored up to the limit by each card
company.
Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com
Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2010 23:03:06 -0400
From: "Michael D. Sullivan" <mds@camsul.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
Message-ID: <AANLkTi=5wX6Gsn1uxi==7spg0YUgTiT2CSyGpZYk5yNj@mail.gmail.com>
> Date: Sat, 09 Oct 2010 20:51:30 -0700
> From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
> To: redacted@invalid.telecom-digest.org.
> Subject: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
> Message-ID: <4CB13842.4020907@thadlabs.com>
>
> I was catching up on some news of the past week and came upon
> an interesting article at the BBC entitled "Initiative aims to
> supply millions of mobiles to women" at this URL:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11492427
> [snip]
>
> I'm still scratching my head trying to understand what would be a
> female-specific handset without being risqué. :-)
>
> Anyone have any ideas? Just curious.
Based on Motorola's past RAZR offerings, the phone needs to be pink,
ridiculous as that sounds. But seriously, there may be issues in
third world countries regarding womens' vs. mens' literacy, religious
or cultural matters affecting the sexes, or other issues that may
require different emphases in a handset designed for women in a
particular country.
--
Michael D. Sullivan
Bethesda, MD
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:52:17 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: New Web Code Draws Concern Over Risks to Privacy
Message-ID: <p062408edc8d8d4bb6467@[192.168.180.244]>
New Web Code Draws Concern Over Risks to Privacy
By TANZINA VEGA
October 10, 2010
Worries over Internet privacy have spurred lawsuits, conspiracy
theories and consumer anxiety as marketers and others invent new ways
to track computer users on the Internet. But the alarmists have not
seen anything yet.
In the next few years, a powerful new suite of capabilities will
become available to Web developers that could give marketers and
advertisers access to many more details about computer users' online
activities. Nearly everyone who uses the Internet will face the
privacy risks that come with those capabilities, which are an
integral part of the Web language that will soon power the Internet:
HTML 5.
The new Web code, the fifth version of Hypertext Markup Language used
to create Web pages, is already in limited use, and it promises to
usher in a new era of Internet browsing within the next few years. It
will make it easier for users to view multimedia content without
downloading extra software; check e-mail offline; or find a favorite
restaurant or shop on a smartphone.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/business/media/11privacy.html
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:23:17 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Bling (cellphone payment scheme) comes to campus
Message-ID: <4CB35615.2000402@thadlabs.com>
Looks like payment via waving a cellphone with proximity
chip has arrived in Silicon Valley.
http://www.stanforddaily.com/2010/10/11/bling-comes-to-campus/
"What's that thing on your phone?"
That's a question becoming more common on campus since Bling, a
new payment method that uses a proximity chip stuck onto users'
cell phones, expanded into Palo Alto and began its push among
Stanford students at the beginning of the school year.
Bling tags are meant to function as more efficient and safe debit
cards. To complete a transaction, a user touches a Bling tag,
which he or she sticks on the back of a cell phone, to a pad
provided by a retailer. The tag eliminates PIN numbers and
signatures, and is about one-eighth the size of a credit or debit
card. The tap withdraws funds from a user's PayPal account, which
can be connected online.
"It's about adding a small amount of convenience," said Bling
user Drew Padley '10.
The convenience also extends to retailers. Fraiche employee
Annalisa Likens said she has seen Bling drive consumers to the
Stanford campus Fraiche location because they want to pay with
the tag. She uses the payment method herself.
Setting up a tag involves entering a mobile phone number upon
completing the first transaction, and after setup, every purchase
instantly sends a text message alert to the linked phone, an
added feature for bookkeeping and security.
Several Bling users said a big selling point of the tag was the
incorporation with a cell phone. "Someday I'll really want
something and only have my phone," said Evan McDonald '11.
Other users said that a cell phone is much more difficult to lose
than a credit card or wallet.
Some retailers offer a program Bling Nation spokesman Matthew
Murphy described as a "digital punch card," wherein the text
alerts offer incentive programs for frequent shoppers at a given
venue. For example, Stanford CoHo offers 10 percent off every
seventh purchase made with a Bling tag.
One concern students voiced about the Bling tags is the seemingly
easy theft of such small objects, especially because Bling tags
are identical aside from a nearly invisible number indented near
the bottom. However, Murphy believes that Bling Nation's security
features offset this problem.
"There is no information stored on a Bling tag whatsoever,"
Murphy said, comparing Bling tags with debit cards. "You also
realize you lose your cell phone before you realize you lose your
wallet."
Murphy said the company is expanding from Palo Alto to San Jose,
with a particular focus on expanding at Stanford.
Although some students admitted they only accepted the Bling tag
because of the $10 incentive, those who adopted it as their
primary method of payment have largely been pleased.
"I use [the Bling tag] every place that has it," Likens
said. "It's a lot easier, because I'm pretty forgetful and forget
money."
"It's definitely a trendy way to pay," said Bryan Yoo '10.
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:42:21 -0500 (CDT)
From: jsw <jsw@ivgate.omahug.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Mandatory hard-wired phone? (was Re: History--old MIT dial-up directory)
Message-ID: <201010111842.o9BIgLxm083426@ivgate.omahug.org>
>And, at least one telephone set had to be hard wired.
I very distinctly remember that my grandmother's apartment
had one and only one telephone set, a rotary black 500, and
two four-prong jacks, one in the bedroom and the other in
the dining area.
Yes, it was very possible to have no live sets and no ringers
on the line. She did this occasionally when she did not want
to be bothered. This would have been ca. late 1950s, genuine
Ma Bell installation.
>"If too many people have all the bells in their house
>turned off, then the unanswered calls would pile up
>and overload our carefully engineered system."
Yeah, right !!
No different than a ring-no-answer situation when nobody is
around to answer it.
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:39:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Apple takes steps to nip iPhone 4 scalping in budApple takes steps to nip iPhone 4 scalping in bud
Message-ID: <325866.2269.qm@web52706.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
Sun, 10 Oct 2010 05:41:17 -0700 Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
<<Hmmm, China Telecom uses CDMA for their cellphones, so what
kind of iPhone 4s are being sold in China?>>
China Mobile and China Unicom both use GSM and in fact are the largest
GSM operators in the world. I don't know the stats on China Telecom.
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:48:12 -0500
From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Comcast's NBC Deal Said to Face Possible U.S. Arbitration Demand
Message-ID: <4CB369FC.8030306@annsgarden.com>
By Todd Shields - Bloomberg - Oct 8, 2010
| Comcast Corp. may be required to accept arbitration in
| disputes over programming sales in order to win approval
| of its merger with General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal,
| said two people involved in talks with regulators.
|
| Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission
| officials are weighing arbitration as a condition to help
| cable companies and satellite rivals such as DirecTV
| negotiate with Comcast for programs, said the people, who
| spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions
| are private.
Continued at http://tinyurl.com/2d8luof
Back in December 2009, I wrote:
> Now that Comcast owns NBC (or will, if the government
> doesn't block it), one can hope that Comcast will try to
> rein in the retransmission fees imposed by its O&O NBC
> and Telemundo stations. But if so, they aren't talking
> about it. I haven't seen anything about it in the trade
> press.
To which John Levine wrote:
> Why would they do that? The higher the consent fees, the
> more money all the other cable systems will have to pay
> Comcast.
I responded:
> As I said, "one can hope..." But maybe that's too much
> to hope.
I then cited four possible reasons:
- It's just possible that some other MSO (e.g. Time Warner)
might try to buy another broadcast network (e.g. CBS) one
of these days. If Brian Roberts is thinking ahead (which
he surely must be), he doesn't want to screw Time Warner.
- As the largest cable company in the country, Comcast
dominates the industry. But it also supports the industry by
taking a leading role in negotiations with broadcasters,
government agencies, and other organizations. It has enough
problems dealing with all of these outside parties without
alienating the rest of the cable industry.
- For years, the cable industry (including Comcast) has
been blaming rising cable rates on programmers and
broadcasters. Certain members of Congress (notably
Senator Markey of Massachusetts) have noted that some
cable TV companies (including Comcast) also own non-
broadcast programming. The question arises: "why are you
complaining about rates if you own the programming."
Comcast has enough problems with Congress without giving
Senator Markey even more ammunition.
- Comcast itself will have to pay retransmission consent
fees to NBCU. Under the terms of its deal with GE,
Comcast will own 51% and GE will own 49%. But Comcast
and NBCU are still separate legal entities.
Apparently, the FCC doesn't think those reasons will be
sufficient to restrain retransmission consent fees or
non-broadcast license fees.
Neal McLain
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:13:38 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Finding Your Way Through the Mall or the Airport, With a Cellphone Map
Message-ID: <p06240801c8d92042e0c6@[192.168.180.244]>
Finding Your Way Through the Mall or the Airport, With a Cellphone Map
By VERNE G. KOPYTOFF
October 10, 2010
SAN FRANCISCO - Mobile phone maps have guided people through streets
and alleys around the globe. But when those people step into a
sprawling building, they can get lost.
Inside, people have to ask strangers for directions or search for a
directory or wall map. A number of start-up companies are charting
the interiors of shopping malls, convention centers and airports to
keep mobile phone users from getting lost as they walk from the food
court to the restroom. Some of their maps might even be able to
locate cans of sardines in a sprawling grocery store.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/technology/11interior.html
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:50:56 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Zombie Network: Beware 'Free Public WiFi'
Message-ID: <4CB386C0.9030601@thadlabs.com>
The following is somewhat funny; you might want to place any
drinks and/or food you're holding down before reading on.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130451369
The Zombie Network: Beware 'Free Public WiFi'
by Travis Larchuk
It's in your airports, your coffee shops and your libraries:
"Free Public WiFi."
Despite its enticing name, the network, available in thousands
of locations across the United States, does not actually
provide access to the Internet. But like a virus, it has
spread -- and may even be lurking on your computer right now.
Wireless security expert Joshua Wright first noticed it about
four years ago at an airport.
"I went to connect to an available wireless network and I saw
this option, Free Public WiFi," he remembers. "As I looked
more and more, I saw this in more and more locations. And I
was aware from my job and analysis in the field that this
wasn't a sanctioned, provisioned wireless network, but it was
actually something rogue."
Free Public WiFi isn't set up like most wireless networks
people use to get to the Internet. Instead, it's an "ad hoc"
network -- meaning when a user selects it, he or she isn't
connecting to a router or hot spot, but rather directly to
someone else's computer in the area.
Though it doesn't actually provide Internet access, the
network has spread across the country thanks to an old
Windows XP bug.
How It Works
When a computer running an older version of XP can't find
any of its "favorite" wireless networks, it will automatically
create an ad hoc network with the same name as the last one
it connected to -- in this case, "Free Public WiFi." Other
computers within range of that new ad hoc network can see
it, luring other users to connect. And who can resist the
word "free?"
Not a lot of people, judging from the spread of Free Public
WiFi. Computers with the XP bug that try to connect to the
Internet will remember the name, create their own ad hoc
networks and entice other users wherever they go.
Microsoft is aware of the issue and says it has eliminated
the network in more recent versions of Windows. It also
created a fix to the problem for the older version of
Windows XP -- Windows XP Service Pack 3 -- but many people
still haven't updated their computers.
That means, Wright says, the network continues to spread
across the country like something from a horror movie -- the
kind "where a zombie takes a hold of one person, bites them
and they become infected by this zombie virus."
It's not the only zombie network out there, either. Others
you may have seen go by such alluring names as "linksys,"
"hpsetup," "tmobile" or "default."
A Trick That's A Treat For Hackers
No one knows for sure where Free Public WiFi began. One theory,
Wright says, is that someone may have set it up as a joke.
It might have been created to trick a friend into connecting
"so he would get a Web page with some kind of a gross image
or childish prank."
Unintentionally creating or connecting to the ad hoc network
isn't inherently harmful, despite its virus-like spread. It
does, however, provide an access point for hackers to come
in and check out the user's files.
Part of Wright's job is to hack into a company's wireless
network in order to expose vulnerabilities. When he sees Free
Public WiFi, he says, "we break out the champagne."
"Because I know at that point I will be able to get unlimited
access to internal resources just from that one starting point."
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:01:16 -0500
From: Jim Haynes <jhaynes@cavern.uark.edu>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Uptick in do-not-call violations
Message-ID: <BuidnaS_puaR8C7RnZ2dnUVZ_vCdnZ2d@earthlink.com>
Things have been fairly calm around here, but in the past week I've had
three violations of do-not-call. One from our old and continuing
enemy, "Credit Card Services" or some variation of that name. Another
from a roofing company that identified itself as here in town, but they
aren't in the local phone book. So they are either new or fly-by-night
or both. And today one from an outfit in Branson MO wanting me to take
a vacation package. They used the name of Branson Vacationland. The
scuttlebutt on the web seems to be that Branson Vacationland is a
legitimate visitors' bureau if you call them, but that some other
outfits are using their name to make calls violating the do-not-call
list. Before do-not-call I used to get an awful lot of calls from
Branson companies; this is the first one in several years.
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