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The Telecom Digest for November 27, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 301 : "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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against crime. - Geoffrey Welsh
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
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Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:15:51 +1100
From: David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Hedy Lamarr--actress/radio inventor
Message-ID: <pan.2011.11.25.23.15.49.873570@yahoo.com.au>
On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:19:23 -0800, Joseph Singer wrote:
> Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:21:16 -0800 (PST)From: HAncock4 wrote:
>
>> Actress Hedy Lamarr is credited with inventing key concepts used in
>> radio and telephony to this day. Her biography, by noted author Richard
>> Rhodes, has been published.
I'm sorry, I can't see that name without having immediate flashbacks to
"Blazing Saddles".
Someone has to end this thread before I get the DVD off the shelf.....
--
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.
***** Moderator's Note *****
Ah, the joys of a full plate of beans and a whiff of smoke around the
campfire ... it makes my eyes water just thinking about it.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:55:08 -0800 (PST)
From: withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org (HAncock4)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Update on at&t/T-mobile merger
Message-ID: <b55b3d94-24d1-4deb-9db5-0d792b3e3f60@s6g2000vbc.googlegroups.com>
The NYT reported on 11/24/11 "The companies said they had withdrawn
their application to the F.C.C. to join their cellular phone
operations but still plan to contest a federal antitrust lawsuit and
pursue their $39 billion deal"
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/technology/att-deal-with-t-mobile-takes-a-step-back.html?hp
To me it seems if the whole point of the Bell System Divesture was
that public interest required smaller competing companies, then this
merger should not be allowed. Aren't both wireless companies big
enough on their own to compete successfully?
[public replies, please]
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 05:00:08 -0600
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <dtKdndkP_Jml6FLTnZ2dnUVZ_q-dnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <jajdh8$c2o$1@reader1.panix.com>,
danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com> wrote:
>[snippeth]
>
>>Did Mannix have a car phone? I remember back then that VIPs would be
>>shown with a car phone, which were very rare back then. You're right,
>>it added some "sexy" or coolness to the show.
>
>Don't recall about Mannix, but if we go back to the 1950s,
>"The Adventures of Superman" [a] featured publisher Perry
>White with a car phone. None of the reporters or other
>secondary people...
Yes, Mannix had one. As with Cannon, it was used infrequently. Both used
'operator assisted' dialing.
***** Moderator's Note *****
Someone told me that 'Mannix' was the trade name of a drug used for
treatment of manic-depressive illness, now called bipolar
disorder. Was that a little bit of a Hollywood inside joke?
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:28:11 -0600
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <7u-dnfytEfTWM0zTnZ2dnUVZ_jidnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <dtKdndkP_Jml6FLTnZ2dnUVZ_q-dnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>,
>
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>
>Someone told me that 'Mannix' was the trade name of a drug used for
>treatment of manic-depressive illness, now called bipolar
>disorder. Was that a little bit of a Hollywood inside joke?
You shouldn't believe everything people tell you. :)
There is a drug with the registered trademarked name of 'Mannix" in THAILAND.
it is a muscle relaxant.
There is a 'herbal remedy' called 'manix' -- primarily used as a diuretic.
Date: 25 Nov 2011 11:11:05 -0500
From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Universal Service Reform Order Yields a Surprise or Two
Message-ID: <jaoemp$7d3$1@panix2.panix.com>
Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
>FCC is ordering 6 Mbps down/1.5 up in rural areas in five years in some
>portions of rural service area. 4/1 in all Universal Service areas in
>five years, and 4/1 to 85% of subscribers in three years.
Wow! That's as good as Korea had a decade ago! What an advance!
>What federal law defines broadband as universal service?
In the past it has not been defined as such, which I would argue has been
a barrier to broadband availability in many areas.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Date: Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:41:50 -0800 (PST)
From: withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org (HAncock4)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Please contribute to keeping Wikipedia free of ads
Message-ID: <aa034775-0d25-47b9-9f99-570f96bf7f9c@y12g2000vba.googlegroups.com>
On Nov 24, 3:03 pm
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
> I didn't say Wikipedia was perfect. I said "They do good work".
I agree, they do good work, all things considered.
Yes, since it is user contributed, errors of fact and omission do
creep in and some of them are maliciously planted. It is not a
resource I would depend on to decide whether or not to have ...
surgery.
But it is a good resource for background or miscellaneous information
and the footnotes allow for further research.
I plan to contribute.
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 22:27:36 -0500
From: "Michael D. Sullivan" <mds@camsul.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Please contribute to keeping Wikipedia free of ads
Message-ID: <CA+K-LfY=NfbNjm4wVmaToCLUXx-wubhZrJSq017+00+CyBNsEQ@mail.gmail.com>
On Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:03:39 -0800, John David Galt
<jdg@diogenes.sacramento.ca.us> said, in Message-ID:
<jam7v2$unl$2@blue-new.rahul.net>:
> ***** Moderator's Note *****
>
> OK, I opened the door, so I'm going to allow the followup.
>
> I didn't say Wikipedia was perfect. I said "They do good work".
>
> This is important: Wikipedia gives people who were actually there the
> chance to publish first-hand information about subjects that they
> actually were involved in creating or changing. Having access to the
> people who made the history is a privilege that only the Internet
> could provide, and Wikipedia is a major vehicle for carrying this
> important work forward.
No, Wikipedia is not a place for first-hand information or original
research. It is a place for referencing, summarizing, and curating
information that is already available, either in print, online, or
elsewhere. It has sister projects, such as the Wikimedia commons and
Wikisource, where source documents can be posted. See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Five_pillars
for more
information in general.
No Original Research is one of the core policies of Wikipedia:
Wikipedia articles must not contain original research. The term
"original research" (OR) is used on Wikipedia to refer to material,
such as facts, allegations, and ideas, for which no reliable,
published source exists.[1] This includes any analysis or synthesis
of published material that serves to advance a position not
advanced by the sources. To demonstrate that you are not adding OR,
you must be able to cite reliable, published sources that are
directly related to the topic of the article, and directly support
the material as presented.
The prohibition against OR means that all material added to
articles must be attributable to a reliable published source, even
if not actually attributed.[1] The verifiability policy says that
an inline citation to a reliable source must be provided for all
quotations, and for anything challenged or likely to be challenged,
but a source must exist even for material that is never
challenged. That "Paris is the capital of France" needs no source,
because no one is likely to object to it and we know that sources
exist for it. The statement is attributable, even if not
attributed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:No_original_research
--
Michael D. Sullivan
Bethesda, MD
***** Moderator's Note *****
My point, which I didn't express very well, is that primary sources
are available to confirm or deny what is published, and even if a "non
fact" has appeared in a dozen other publication, Wikipedia has a
feedback mechanism that allows for corrections from those who have
more accurate information.
I'm closing this thread after today: this is a subject for another
forum. I still think they do good work, but everyone has to make up
their own mind about that.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Thu, 24 Nov 2011 20:26:24 -0800 (PST)
From: withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org (HAncock4)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Early advanced PBX systems--Telephony on TV
Message-ID: <75c870b6-bcbb-499e-a4cf-3623bdf27eaa@u6g2000vbg.googlegroups.com>
On Nov 24, 10:30 am, Wes Leatherock <wleat...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Question: In conducting business, Hollywood studios made extensive
> > use of the telephone, even going way back. I wonder if they Bell
> > System provided them with advanced PBX switchboards or networks to
> > accomodate their demand. I wonder if studio lots had more telephone
> > extensions than a typical industrial site.
> ...Some of the independent compahies were pretty progressive and their
> telephone service may have provided by independent companies which
> could also supply such equipment and networks.
Let's use 1940 as a base year. What kind of advanced PBX systems and
special features for high volume users did the Bell System and
Independent companies offer at that time? My recollection of the Bell
System history is that except for a few cordboard features (eg
automatic ringing), _advanced_-dial features wouldn't come until well
into the 1950-60s when crossbar was developed for PBX use. But, some
Bell companies developed special services on their own and perhaps
some were offered to Hollywood studios since presumably they were
major customers.
Did the Independent equipment providers (eg Leich, Automatic Electric,
Kellogg, Stromberg Carlson) offer any advanced technology for large
PBX customers in 1940? How about after the war*?
I think at that point for large users Bell basically had its 701 dial
PBX, with special features mostly handled manually by the PBX
attendant or someone's own secretary via an office key system. For
instance, if an executive barked "get me John Smith over at
Paramount!", a secretary or PBX attendant would look up Mr. Smith's
phone number, dial it, get Mr. Smith (or his secretary on the line),
and announce the call to the caller when it was ready. If Mr. Smith
wasn't available, the secretary would manually leave a message or
search him out elsewhere. Other businesses worked the same way,
indeed these practices continued well into the 1970s.
The studios probably were liberally equipped with extensions, trunks,
and, key systems in offices. My guess is that they may have had more
trunks and extensions than other large businesses. Back then, some
offices had their own intercoms between a manager and his secretary
and staff--these are often depicted in old movies, and such 'squawk
boxes' may have been cheaper than a Bell provided key system intercom.
Studios may have extensively used "code call" which was a system of
coded flashing lights that signalled a particular person to call in.
Studios sometimes had branch offices in New York City to deal with
financing or the theatre community. I wonder if studios had cross-
country tie-lines back then (very expensive to carry, but eliminated
expensive a la carte toll charges and may have allowed faster
calling.) Perhaps they had cheaper private TWX or Western Union
lines. In those days telegraph traffic was "piggybacked" on low bands
of voice trunks. Slow at a rate of 60, but cheaper.
Like many industrial sites of the time, they may have owned a separate
in-house telephone network for internal calls. Someone who had two
phones on their desk, particularly two different types of phones,
often had one Bell phone and one internal phone. A privately owned
system saved on monthly Bell rentals, but meant that the owner had to
do his own maintenance. If an organization was large enough, it would
already have a staff available for that. (Many school classrooms had
such networks).
In those days one could ask the long distance operator to "get me John
Smith in Scranton" and the long distance operator would call distant
directory assistance to get the number, then place the call person to
person. Long distance back then was expensive partially for that
reason. In the immediate postwar era, the Bell System urged callers
to place calls by number to save on time and make better use of
[the] operator distance dialing [service] which was becoming available.
Going forward into the modern era. I wonder if Hollywood studios were
quick to go onto Centrex service. Step by step, which widely served
the LA area, was easily adaptable to providing Centrex. (When did the
Independent telephone companies begin to offer Centrex?)
* Getting a detailed history of the AE company hasn't been easy.
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:38:11 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: The Machine That Makes You Musical
Message-ID: <p06240824caf731825372@[10.0.1.4]>
The Machine That Makes You Musical
By ROB WALKER
November 23, 2011
In a dimly lighted conference room in the Palo Alto, Calif., offices
of Smule, a maker of music apps, Ge Wang was sitting in a meeting
with his colleagues, humming, singing and making odd whooshing noises
into the microphone of an iPad, checking the screen, and then
pounding fugues of code into an attached laptop. Poking at his
devices, he reminded me of a child obliviously amusing himself while
the grown-ups natter on around him. Nobody else in the meeting seemed
to notice Wang's behavior as they listened to a debriefing about
recent updates to Smule's Mini Magic Piano app.
When the guy at the head of the table mentioned that the graphics on
the welcome page now subtly pulse, Wang looked up. "Yeahhhh," he
said. "Classic Smule," he added in a mutter to nobody in particular.
"Everything needs to pulse." Then he blew into his iPad mic and
banged some more code.
Wang, who is 34 and a founder of the company, often leaves an
impression of childlike distractedness. But in fact he's
distressingly productive. He was coding in someone else's meeting in
July because he had just two hours to prepare for a presentation on a
new Smule product, code-named "Project Oke." His company has been
remarkably successful, but the app-o-sphere is more competitive than
it used to be, and there was a lot riding on his coming up with
another hit - ideally by year's end.
Wang likes to say that he has two full-time jobs, and they seem
wholly distinct. At Stanford University, where he is an assistant
professor, he teaches a full course load through the Center for
Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (usually referred to as
CCRMA, pronounced "karma"), presiding over a highly experimental
"orchestra" that performs with cleverly customized laptops,
cellphones and other electronics. It's very cutting edge and, in
terms of audience, very rarefied. At Smule, a profit-driven, private
company that recently raised its second round of venture-capital
financing, he devises applications bought by millions.
Founded in 2008, Smule released several apps in rapid succession, but
its breakthrough was the Ocarina. Exploiting the iPhone's microphone
as well as its touch-screen interface, Wang converted the device into
an easy-to-play flute-like instrument. In what has become a Smule
signature, the app also included a representation of the globe, with
little dots that light up to show where in the world someone is
playing the app at that moment. With a tap, you can listen. It's also
possible to arrange a duet with an Ocarina user thousands of miles of
way, whom you've never met. The Ocarina was downloaded half a million
times, at 99 cents a pop, in its first couple of months, making it
the top-selling app for three straight weeks; a new artist selling
that many downloads of a single today would probably end up on the
cover of Rolling Stone.
...
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/magazine/smule.html
Date: 26 Nov 2011 20:48:54 -0500
From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Please contribute to keeping Wikipedia free of ads
Message-ID: <jas4u6$8h9$1@panix2.panix.com>
>This is important: Wikipedia gives people who were actually there the
>chance to publish first-hand information about subjects that they
>actually were involved in creating or changing. Having access to the
>people who made the history is a privilege that only the Internet
>could provide, and Wikipedia is a major vehicle for carrying this
>important work forward.
Then it permits idiots who weren't there to completely rewrite what
they said and replace valuable information on actual physics with
references to comic book characters.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
***** Moderator's Note *****
Every has to make up their own mind about what "good work" means. Our opinions differ.
I'm closing this thread after today.
Bill Horne
Moderator
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