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The Telecom Digest for February 19, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 44 : "text" Format
====== 31 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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we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
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See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
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Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 16:18:14 +0000 (UTC)
From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Susan Crawford -- why USA 'Net access is slow, costly, unfair
Message-ID: <kftk86$1o9o$1@leila.iecc.com>
>Even if public libraries didn't have Internet access on site, and even
>if a quick-serve restaurant was the only place such access were
>available in a given neighborhood, I resist the parochial notion that
>children need access to the Internet to benefit from a public-school
>education.
In my daughter's high school, the stuff that in our day was handed out
on blurry and highly aromatic dittos or mimeograph is now on the
school's web site, and most of the teachers also put their homework
assignments there so kids don't have the excuse of having scribbled
them down wrong, and can also keep up if they're home for a day or two
with a cold.
I think those are reasonable uses, unrelated to cribbing papers from
Wikipedia rather than the World Book.
R's,
John
--
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail.
http://jl.ly
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:45:53 -0500
From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Susan Crawford -- why USA 'Net access is slow, costly, unfair
Message-ID: <20130218174553.GA31710@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
On Mon, Feb 18, 2013 at 04:18:14PM +0000, John Levine wrote:
> In my daughter's high school, the stuff that in our day was handed out
> on blurry and highly aromatic dittos or mimeograph is now on the
> school's web site, and most of the teachers also put their homework
> assignments there so kids don't have the excuse of having scribbled
> them down wrong, and can also keep up if they're home for a day or two
> with a cold.
>
> I think those are reasonable uses, unrelated to cribbing papers from
> Wikipedia rather than the World Book.
Of course those are reasonable uses: it's a school web site, and that
means the teachers are responsible for the content. That's not my point.
Ms. Crawford's blanket assertion that "The Internet" is essential for
education is akin to a child's claim that having their own car is
essential for transportation, or that a class trip to Brazil is
required to round out the high school experience, or that an ipod is
necessary to do homework: in each case, the claim must be filtered
through the screen of experience and maturity which only parents can
provide.
Here's an example:
When my son was in high school, he was friends with two girls in his
class, and their grandmother bought them a high-end desktop computer,
with a 600 dpi printer and the latest "office" software, and a large,
flat-screen monitor.
Their grandmother had me disable the Ethernet port: the girls were
never allowed to access the Internet on that computer. The machine had
a DVD player that could be used to download classwork, and if the kids
forgot to bring it home, then they were told to turn themselves around
and go back and get it from the school library.
In addition, their grandmother purchased separate computers I had
donated to the church auction, one for each of them, with Linux and
Internet access: not the latest, nor the greatest, but perfectly
adequate for instant messenger or facetube, with separate keyboards,
in a separate place so that they couldn't be used without it being
obvious what the girls were spending time on.
They both graduated in the top quartile of their class, and both have
now finished college and are starting careers.
"The Internet" is a big place: there's splashing in the wading pool,
and there's swimming at the public pool where there's a lifeguard, and
there's swimming in the lake with friends, and there's diving into the
ocean. Each is appropriate for a different age, for different kids,
and for different times of life.
Internet companies may need children, but children do not, ipso facto,
need the Internet.
Bill
--
Bill Horne
(Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:31:05 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Sexy scammers entice men into stripping on webcam, then blackmail them
Message-ID: <p06240833cd485b0ffb94@[10.0.1.9]>
Sexy scammers entice men into stripping on webcam, then blackmail them
Women get men to strip for them on webcam, then blackmail them with video.
by Sean Gallagher
Feb 18 2013
Ars Technica
Police in Singapore have issued an alert citing a dramatic rise in
the number of "cyber blackmail" cases being reported. But unlike many
cases that target women or teenagers, this latest rash of crimes
targets men through social media sites.
The Singapore Police Force reports that there have been more than 50
reported cases in the last year where "foreign" women have lured men
through invitations on social networks, such as Facebook and
Tagged.com, into video sex sessions that are recorded for blackmail
purposes.
...
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/sexy-scammers-entice-men-into-stripping-on-webcam-then-blackmail-them/
***** Moderator's Note *****
Nobody ever asks me to strip while I'm online.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:31:05 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Cellular data traffic keeps doubling every year
Message-ID: <p0624082dcd4829cf705d@[10.0.1.9]>
Cellular data traffic keeps doubling every year
Smartphones, tablets, and video ensure continued growth in mobile data.
by Jon Brodkin
Feb 18 2013
Ars Technica
Worldwide mobile data traffic doubled over the past year and is
expected to continue growing at a similar rate due to expanding
smartphone sales and video traffic, telecom equipment maker Ericsson
said in research released today.
By the end of 2012, global data traffic on mobile networks (not
including Wi-Fi) hit around 1,300 petabytes per month, twice as much
as in the previous year, Ericsson said.
The chart shows an approximate doubling each year for the past few
years. We've asked Ericsson for the raw data behind the report and
will provide that if we get it. Ericsson's measurements come from "a
large base of commercial networks that together cover all regions of
the world," the report states. "They form a representative base for
calculating world total traffic in mobile networks."
Such measurements are not exact and have occasionally been contested.
Predictions in particular can be difficult-Cisco's mobile data was
recently revised to reflect a 64 percent year-over-year growth in
North America instead of the 118 percent growth originally predicted.
The CTIA Wireless Association reported a year-over-year doubling of
wireless network traffic from July 2011 to June 2012, but a story in
GigaOm said that tracking traffic over six-month periods reveals that
growth slowed down dramatically toward the end of the year.
...
http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/02/cellular-data-traffic-keeps-doubling-every-year/
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:31:05 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: iOS 6.1 brings back bug that gives anyone access to your contacts, photos
Message-ID: <p06240832cd4843626eeb@[10.0.1.9]>
iOS 6.1 brings back bug that gives anyone access to your contacts,
photos (Update)
The steps are complex, but a persistent hacker could access personal data.
by Chris Foresman
Feb 14 2013
Ars Technica
An old vulnerability in the iPhone's lock screen and Emergency Call
feature appears to have resurfaced for a third time in iOS 6.1. With
the right sequence of button clicking, it's possible to get to an
iPhone user's voicemails, contacts, and photos-even if the iPhone is
locked and password protected.
...
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/02/ios-6-1-brings-back-bug-that-gives-anyone-access-to-your-contacts-photos/
Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:31:05 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Cell phone tracking system reveals how traffic jams start
Message-ID: <p06240834cd485b5a0d0c@[10.0.1.9]>
Cell phone tracking system reveals how traffic jams start
Drivers tracked (anonymously) in bid to analyze citywide traffic patterns.
by Jon Brodkin
Feb 17 2013
Ars Technica
Smartphones have changed the way we drive, both by adding new
distractions and by helping us get where we're going with
GPS-assisted directions and real-time information on traffic jams.
But what if smartphones could help eliminate some traffic jams,
instead of just warning us when they exist? That's the goal of a
study using cell phone records and GPS data to track drivers'
movements and identify the sources of traffic.
The Boston Globe described the study today, noting that MIT and
UC-Berkeley analyzed the cell phone records of 680,000 Boston-area
commuters through call logs, "which identify the towers used to
transmit calls," allowing "the researchers to trace each individual's
commute, anonymously, from origin to destination." This helped
produce "one of the most detailed maps of urban traffic patterns ever
constructed."
...
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/cell-phone-tracking-system-reveals-how-traffic-jams-start/
http://bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/02/17/traffic-which-boston-area-neighborhoods-are-blame/h5qqR3CrHDM3xCNsTqdYxH/story.html
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