31 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
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The Telecom Digest for December 6, 2012
Volume 31 : Issue 285 : "text" Format
====== 31 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
|
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are
included in the fair use quote. By using any name or email address
included herein for any reason other than responding to an article
herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to that person, or email address
owner.
Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without the explicit written consent of the owner of
that address. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk
are definitely unwelcome.
We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
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: Tue, 4 Dec 2012 20:15:54 -0500
From: Julian Thomas <jt@jt-mj.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Fundraising appeal
Message-ID: <7D311567-93AE-4584-A597-4C0D71B35D42@jt-mj.net>
Confirm that this is legit and I'll kick in a modest sum
***** Moderator's Note *****
I'm sorry to say that it's all too real: I wish it was just a
nightmare, but every body shop I've talked to said "Don't bother",
which means I'm going to have to buy another car. I'm also worried
about damages to a very expensive pickup truck and a third car that
the pickup hit, since everyone is going to try to blame my wife.
If there's any doubt remaining, you can find my phone number at
the address listed below, and call me in person.
Better yet, do a reverse lookup on 781-784-7287. You'll see my name
and address, and I'm sure the Stoughton, Massachusetts police will be
able to confirm that the car shown in the pictures belongs to us.
Thanks for your help!
Bill Horne
Moderator
43 Deerfield Rd
Sharon MA 02067-2301
bill at horne dot net
On 4Dec 2012, at 5:54 PM, Telecom Digest Moderator
<redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu> wrote:
> I won't pretend that I'm more deserving of support than all the other
> organizations that people hear from at this time of year. I'm not tax
> deductable, and although Pat's frequent entreaties left ample
> precedent for personal appeals in the Digest, I know that times are
> tough and money is tight even for those who have jobs. I never
> expected the moderator's chair to be padded, and I'm not going to make
> a habit of it, but I'm asking for your help.
>
> Thanks for thinking about it.
>
> Bill Horne
> Moderator
>
> bill at horne dot net has been set up to connect with Paypal
--
Sent from my new iMac
Julian Thomas
jt@jt-mj.net
http://jt-mj.net
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 00:00:00 -0500
From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Who Do Online Advertisers Think You Are?
Message-ID: <MPG.2b289edd25f96b38989d52@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <p06240810cce03b157ba1@[10.0.1.5]>, monty@roscom.com says...
> Having created my new digital identities as heavy-handedly as
> possible, I returned to my usual Web sites. At first, the ads on my
> favorite Washington neighborhood blog, the Prince of Petworth, were
> the same on both browsers. But less than two days later, an ad for
> Mitt Romney suddenly appeared next to a story I was reading on
> Firefox about Gore Vidal's burial. When I opened that page on Safari,
> the ad in the exact same spot was for Catholic University's master's
> program in human resources management.
>
> How did Republican Jeff and Democratic Jeff end up seeing entirely
> different ads? The answer is real-time bidding, a technology that's
> transforming advertising, politics, news and the way we live online.
> Advertisers compete in an auction for the opportunity to send ads to
> individual consumers. Each time a company buys access to me, it can
> bombard me with an ad that will follow me no matter where I show up
> on the Web.
>
>
So what of folks like me, who block all ads. I mean every single one of
them.
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:42:06 -0600
From: pv+usenet@pobox.com (PV)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Why passwords have never been weaker-and crackers have never been stronger
Message-ID: <2LadnaGUU8gTnSDNnZ2dnUVZ_oednZ2d@supernews.com>
Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org> writes:
>Not to beat a dead horse... but...
>
>If I'm understanding this thread correctly:
>
>- Sites and DBs do not record a user's password.
> Instead they record the hashed result and apply
> the hashing algorithm to whatever the user
> types in.
Yep. Correct on all counts. *
--
* PV Something like badgers, something like lizards, and something
like corkscrews.
Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2012 00:16:35 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: A Feisty Start-Up Is Met With Regulatory Snarl
Message-ID: <p0624081bcce1d3111b62@[10.0.1.5]>
A Feisty Start-Up Is Met With Regulatory Snarl
By BRIAN X. CHEN
December 2, 2012
WASHINGTON - Summoning a taxi or car service with your smartphone
feels like the future. City governments around the world can agree on
that. But many of them are proposing new rules that would run Uber,
one of the most prominent ride-requesting apps, off the road.
At a recent conference here, transportation regulators and car
service operators from cities in the United States and Europe met to
talk about how smartphone apps were changing the hire-a-car business.
Some of these apps are integrated with dispatching systems run by the
car companies, while others allow drivers to directly connect with
passengers, phone to phone.
While the regulators discussed ways to clarify the legality of these
apps, they also proposed guidelines that would effectively force
Uber, a San Francisco start-up, to cease operations in the United
States. Uber also faces new lawsuits filed by San Francisco
cabdrivers and Chicago car service companies, and a $20,000 fine from
the California Public Utilities Commission.
The battle between Uber and city governments underscores the tension
between lawmakers and technology companies at a time when Web sites
and mobile apps can outmaneuver old rules. Services like Uber, Airbnb
and Craigslist can cut out the middleman and lead to more efficient
markets. But regulators say they could also put consumers at risk.
Uber has rattled regulators in many cities with its unusual approach
to expansion. It says that it first consults a transportation lawyer
in a city on whether it is legal to operate there. When it comes to
town, its employees contact local car service companies to discuss
working with them; in cities where Uber works with cabs, employees
put up fliers or approach drivers at airports and gas stations.
Participating drivers get free iPhones that run Uber's navigation
software, which helps them find people nearby who are requesting
rides with their smartphones.
The start-up, which has raised $50 million since 2010, generally does
not consult transportation regulators before it starts rolling in
each city. Because it is not an actual provider of rides, it says
that it is not subject to such regulation. To date, this approach has
generally worked for it in 18 cities, including San Francisco,
Washington, New York, Chicago, Paris and Amsterdam.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/technology/app-maker-uber-hits-regulatory-snarl.html
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 21:30:48 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Future Of Internet Freedom
Message-ID: <p06240809cce5b381a735@[10.0.1.5]>
On Point with Tom Ashbrook
The Future Of Internet Freedom
December 5, 2012
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/12/05/internet-freedom
Big powers want to chop up the global internet and put nations in
charge. Russia. China. We're looking at the push to rein in the
web.
The Internet was born free. A novel network that spanned the globe
before governments entirely understood what was going on. But they
know now. More than forty nations now filter and censor the web.
Some have just plain shut it down - think Syria last week.
At a big UN meeting this week in Dubai, there is a fresh push to give
national governments more control over the global web. Maybe through
the U.N. China, Russia, Iran appear to like the idea. The control.
The U.S. and big American companies -- Google, Facebook -- do not.
This hour, On Point: alarm bells over global Internet freedom.
-Tom Ashbrook
Guests
Brian Murphy, Dubai bureau chief for the Associated Press.
Tom Gjelten, covers a wide variety of global security and economic
issues for National Public Radio.
Ronald Deibert, Director of Citizen Lab and a professor at the
University of Toronto.
http://onpoint.wbur.org/2012/12/05/internet-freedom
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 21:38:14 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Apps Redirect Text Messages, and Profits, From Cellular Providers
Message-ID: <p0624080bcce5b56f1afd@[10.0.1.5]>
Apps Redirect Text Messages, and Profits, From Cellular Providers
By BRIAN X. CHEN
December 4, 2012
For a long time, opening a cellphone bill was scary for the parents
of teenagers. Charges for texting could reach hundreds of dollars a
month, prompting many families to sign up for unlimited plans. But at
perhaps $20 a month for each family member, that quickly added up,
too.
Relief is on the way. Cellphone users are sending more text messages
than ever, but increasingly they are free - thanks to the Internet.
While that is good news for consumers, it could cost the world's
wireless companies tens of billions of dollars in lost revenue.
Standard texting, the kind where you send abbreviation-filled
messages over a cellphone network, has been in decline in many parts
of the world, and now appears to be shrinking in the United States.
That is because smartphones can use free Internet-powered services
that send messages over data networks instead, and those services are
attracting millions of users.
The shift is opening an opportunity for big companies like Facebook
and Apple and smaller start-ups like WhatsApp and Kik, which are
making aggressive grabs at this market, aiming to put themselves at
the center of how people communicate in the smartphone era.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/technology/free-messaging-apps-siphon-profits-from-cellular-providers.html
Date: Wed, 5 Dec 2012 21:43:54 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Just Avoiding the Cookies May Not Be Enough
Message-ID: <p0624080ccce5b6c36ab0@[10.0.1.5]>
Just Avoiding the Cookies May Not Be Enough
By JEFFREY ROSEN
DECEMBER 4, 2012
In last weekend's magazine, I wrote about how the rise of targeted
advertising is transforming online privacy and fragmenting our
politics, news and culture. By describing the new technologies, which
include real-time bidding auctions, where advertisers bid on the
right to send us ads wherever we go online (and increasingly on our
mobile devices), I tried to get at the costs of living in an
increasingly personalized virtual universe. These include the "filter
bubble" problem - where the ads and news we see are tailored to
profiles that we can't access or control - and the problem of digital
redlining, where we may receive different discounts online, or even
pay different prices at the mall, based on invisible judgments about
how much advertisers think we're worth.
The reader reactions to the story have been great. Many have
mentioned that they avoid tracking by blocking cookies and have
provided helpful suggestions about their favorite programs or apps
for avoiding tracking. (I use Ghostery myself.) Here's a sampling of
suggestions:
...
http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/04/just-avoiding-the-cookies-may-not-be-enough/
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
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