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The Telecom Digest for November 19, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 293 : "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
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
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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: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 07:33:32 -0800 (PST)
From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Cell Phone/Cancer
Message-ID: <908ee831-ac1a-43dc-a802-b2f777b0ce60@w7g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>
On Oct 23, 10:52 am, Randall Webmail <rvh40.remove-t...@and-this-
too.insightbb.com> wrote:
> Dr. Bob Park, of the University of Maryland, has been telling anyone
> who would listen that the radiation from cell phones is not energetic
> enough to knock electrons out of their shells. Plus there is the
> statistical fact that as cell phone use has skyrocketed over the last
> twenty years, the incidence of brain cancer has gone DOWN.
As to damaging effects of radio waves, has their been any research
into people who used higher-powered radio sets such as cops? Hand
held "walkie-talkies" have been around much longer. Also, what about
technicians who work near power amplifiers in broadcasting stations,
or Long Lines employees who worked near microwave transmitters?
One article about this said the far bigger risk to cell phone users is
getting into an accident because they were distracted while talking.
I see motorists and pedestrians all the time do foolish and dangerous
things because they were engrossed in a telephone conversation. Some
states mandate 'hands free' conversations, but IMHO it's not the
holding of a handset that is the problem, rather, it's the distraction
of the conversation. But appears the general public is rather
resistant to any cell phone-while-driving laws. In my state it's
illegal to use while driving, but almost everybody still does it (at a
red light one can see all the other motorists on their phones).
Also, they say kids text while driving (I don't know the incidence of
that, but kids certainly are texting while walking.)
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:25:44 +1100
From: David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: SIM card cutters
Message-ID: <pan.2011.11.18.21.25.40.329169@yahoo.com.au>
I had a client ask about having to get a new mini-SIM to use in an iPhone
and transferring all the existing contacts from a standard sized SIM to
it.
I did a bit of research and found that people are cutting down the
standard SIM to the new size and are still able to use it, and there are
actually tools for this on sale (in places like eBay).
Has anyone here had any experience using these tools and could recommend
one that does the job properly?
--
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: Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:27:49 +1100
From: David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Pakistan's tough text message, no ifs, no butts
Message-ID: <pan.2011.11.18.22.27.48.578301@yahoo.com.au>
Pakistan's tough text message, no ifs, no butts
By Saeed Shah - Karachi
November 19, 2011
Guardians of linguistic purity have long warned of the pernicious impact
that texting may have on the young, but Pakistani officials have taken
such concerns to a new extreme by demanding that mobile phone operators
block all text messages using offensive words.
With a dedication unusual for local officialdom, the Pakistan
Telecommunication Authority has listed more than 1000 words and phrases to
be banned, including more than 50 phrases using the F-word and 17
involving ''butt''.
The list also includes apparently innocuous words and phrases, including
''flatulence'', ''deposit'' and ''fondle''. Others are likely to make
sense only to frustrated teenagers. Among the more printable terms are
''strap-on'', ''beat your meat'', ''crotch rot'', ''love pistol'',
''pocket pool'' and ''quickie''.
The officials' flair for the task was apparent, with prohibition embracing
more figurative language, such as ''flogging the dolphin'', and 51 terms
with the suffix ''ass''. There were 17 variants on ''tit'' and 33 on
''cock'', with officials producing eight obscenities involving the word
''foot''.
Mobile phone firms were ordered to stop messages using the offending
words this week, although tests by the Guardian suggested the blocking
technology was not 100 per cent effective.
While agreeing that Pakistan's constitution guaranteed free speech, the
regulator told mobile phone companies that such freedom was ''not
unrestricted'' under court rulings. Further, it said, they had obligations
under their licences to prevent ''obnoxious communication''.
In the letter to phone firms, the watchdog's director, Muhammad Talib
Doger, said they should implement the system within seven days and submit
monthly reports on the number of SMSs blocked.
The list was attached to the letter, with 1109 words and phrases in
English to be banned, along with 586 in the national language, Urdu, a
tongue that also offers many rich possibilities for abuse. The watchdog
has yet to tackle obscenity in Pakistan's four main regional languages,
including the raucous Punjabi.
Mobile phones are used widely across Pakistani society, even in remote
villages.
Mohammad Younis, a spokesman for the authority, said the ban was the
result of numerous meetings and consultations after consumers complained
of receiving offensive text messages. ''Nobody would like this happening
to their young boy or girl,'' he said.
He said the list was not finished and the authority would continue to add
to it.
Mobile operators expect the authority to fine them for banned words that
get through, which means they will have to cut the connection of people
who persistently try to send such messages.
GUARDIAN
Read more:
http://www.theage.com.au/world/pakistans-tough-text-message-no-ifs-no-butts-20111118-1nn9j.html#ixzz1e6AsM400
***** Moderator's Note *****
As anyone who has gone to the spam wars knows, there are a Billion
ways to defeat word filters, and Pakistani children are, I suspect,
just as adept as those in other countries when it comes to thumbing
their nose at old censors and old notions of right and wrong.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:36:56 -0800 (PST)
From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: OT: Electronics store with classic parts
Message-ID: <9978b5bd-0d8e-48b8-b418-5c74ec078a3a@c18g2000yqj.googlegroups.com>
[Posted due to the interest in radio of many on this newsgroup.]
from the NYT:
A Williamsburg, Brooklyn electronics shop, one of the oldest in the
country, carries hundreds of thousands of analog electronic parts, all
manufactured before 1968.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/11/20/nyregion/20111120_Joint_Leeds.html?ref=nyregion
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/nyregion/leeds-radio-is-a-haven-for-lovers-of-all-things-analog.html
***** Moderator's Note *****
Actually, there are still vacuum tubes in some telephone equipment today.
Now, let's have some fun: name the "All American Five", and explain
why they got that name.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:18:35 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: How to Run Your iPhone 4S on T-Mobile (Update 2)
Message-ID: <p0624083ecaeca61a3c25@[172.19.0.77]>
How to Run Your iPhone 4S on T-Mobile (Update 2)
Michael Capozzi claims he has found a way to unlock the iPhone 4S
without using any hardware or software. This video shows a
demonstration of his method.
...
http://gizmodo.com/5860647/unconfirmed-unlock-iphone-4s-method-found-no-software-or-hardware-required
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:50:22 -0500
From: Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Paying by smartphone
Message-ID: <barmar-03D4D2.20502218112011@news.eternal-september.org>
In article <HsuWk.A.eoC.-XrwOB@telecom>, bernieS <bernies@netaxs.com>
wrote:
> >Is your wallet the next relic of the digital age? Why pay with cash
> >or plastic when you can use a smartphone?
> >
> >That is what Ainsley Onstott did on a recent afternoon in Cambridge's
> >Kendall Square. She simply showed her iPhone to pay for a sandwich at
> >Sebastians Cafe. "They scan it, and I get my receipt e-mailed to
> >me,'' said Onstott, 26, a special events manager at the American
> >Heart Association.
>
> For the dubious convenience of paying by smartphone (in lieu of cash)
> for a sandwich, all you have to do is turn over your mobile phone
> number, email address, and credit card or bank account info. I can't
> understand people rushing to give up so much private information for
> so little benefit.
In addition to the convenience, they're currently offering credits to
customers to get them to use it.
--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
Date: Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:27:05 -0500
From: bill@horneQRM.net (Bill Horne)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Paying by smartphone
Message-ID: <20111119042705.GA14863@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Fri, Nov 18, 2011 at 08:50:22PM -0500, Barry Margolin wrote:
> In article <HsuWk.A.eoC.-XrwOB@telecom>, bernieS <bernies@netaxs.com>
> wrote:
>
> > >Is your wallet the next relic of the digital age? Why pay with cash
> > >or plastic when you can use a smartphone?
> > >
> > >That is what Ainsley Onstott did on a recent afternoon in Cambridge's
> > >Kendall Square. She simply showed her iPhone to pay for a sandwich at
> > >Sebastians Cafe. "They scan it, and I get my receipt e-mailed to
> > >me,'' said Onstott, 26, a special events manager at the American
> > >Heart Association.
> >
> > For the dubious convenience of paying by smartphone (in lieu of cash)
> > for a sandwich, all you have to do is turn over your mobile phone
> > number, email address, and credit card or bank account info. I can't
> > understand people rushing to give up so much private information for
> > so little benefit.
>
> In addition to the convenience, they're currently offering credits to
> customers to get them to use it.
What the cellphone companies are trying to do is bypass the existing
credit industry and switch consumers to electronic payments drawn
directly from their bank accounts. Mastercard, Visa, American Express,
and all the other credit issuers are currently collecting as much as
2.5% of each transaction, and that adds up to billions of dollars per
year that Paypal and other EFT facilitators are eager to split with
cellular providers.
In addition to the money, there are savings in other areas: EFT has
very few of the safeguards and dispute resolution procedures mandated
by law for credit-card transactions - AFAIK, you get whatever your
bank chooses to give you, and that's all.
The third leg of this Golden Triangle is probably the most troubling:
if your cellular provider is now performing clearing-house services on
your behalf, whether for EFT or for credit-card payments, that means
that they also have an accurate record of your buying habits, which
the cellular provider can tie to your identity.
With a credit card, the card's issueing bank was the only place that
could tie your id to a purchase: after all, the whole process happens
"off line" as far as the cellular network is concerned. If
cellular-based EFT becomes common, your cellular provider will be able
to sell your purchase data to all comers within a few seconds of it
being gathered. Information about every hotel where you rent a
room, every time you spend a night away from your spouse, every book
you buy, and every charity you give to will now be available to
anyone with the cash to pay for it.
This is, in other words, the pot 'o gold at the end of the marketeer's
rainbow: the ability to market directly to you based on every person
you talk to, every purchase you make, and every place you
visit. Not only is Big Brother watching you, but he's selling your
life story to every moralist, shame-monger, criminal, cretin, and
politician who will ante up, and you may expect that they will all
be eager to use that information to force you to act the way they want
and to do what they want.
Don't say I didn't warn you! :-(
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)
"And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends"
- Phil Ochs
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