33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2015 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.
The Telecom Digest for May 25, 2015
Volume 34 : Issue 93 : "text" Format
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The courage of life is often a less dramatic spectacle than the
courage of a final moment; but it is no less a magnificent mixture of
triumph and tragedy. A man does what he must - in spite of personal
consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures - and
that is the basis of all human morality. In whatever area in life one
may meet the challenges of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he
faces if he follows his conscience - the loss of his friends, his
fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men - each man
must decide for himself the course he will follow. The stories of past
courage can define that ingredient - they can teach, they can offer
hope, they can provide inspiration. But they cannot supply courage
itself. For this each man must look into his own
soul. |
| John F. Kennedy |
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details.
| Date: Sun, 24 May 2015 13:37:55 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Verizon's 'Pick Your Own Cable TV Channels' Is Just Another Bait & Switch
Message-ID: <6C323007-3842-4564-B79D-277E1E061DCF@roscom.com>
Verizon's 'Pick Your Own Cable TV Channels' Is Just Another Bait & Switch -- Read the Fine Print
Bruce Kushnick
05/22/2015
It amazes me how many media stories have decided to just cut and paste
Verizon's supplied information about their new FiOS "customized TV plan"
without examining the 'fine print'. I guess everyone is just desperate
to get anything that smacks of ala-carte pricing for cable TV service,
where the customer can pick and choose which cable programming they want
to buy -- and is supposed to save some money.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/verizons-pick-your-own-ca_b_7419440.html
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| Date: Sun, 24 May 2015 20:57:44 -0400
From: Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Verizon's 'Pick Your Own Cable TV Channels' Is Just Another Bait & Switch
Message-ID: <barmar-D55FCE.20574424052015@88-209-239-213.giganet.hu>
In article <6C323007-3842-4564-B79D-277E1E061DCF@roscom.com>,
Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote:
> Verizon's 'Pick Your Own Cable TV Channels' Is Just Another Bait & Switch --
> Read the Fine Print
>
> Bruce Kushnick
> 05/22/2015
>
> It amazes me how many media stories have decided to just cut and paste
> Verizon's supplied information about their new FiOS "customized TV plan"
> without examining the 'fine print'. I guess everyone is just desperate
> to get anything that smacks of ala-carte pricing for cable TV service,
> where the customer can pick and choose which cable programming they want
> to buy -- and is supposed to save some money.
>
>
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bruce-kushnick/verizons-pick-your-own-ca_b_74194
>
> 40.html
Most of this article is about all the extra fees that get tacked on to
the cable package, so the basic package is not actually $10/mo as
advertised. That's true.
But what they seem to be ignoring is that those same fees get added on
to ALL the cable packages. So if you're comparing different packages
from the same cable provider, you can pretty much ignore those fees. You
should compare this $10 baseline with the baseline price for other
packages, to see how much you'll save.
They also make a big deal about the fact that your actual cost will be
$32/mo, 220% of the quoted price. Since these added fees are almost all
fixed prices, of course they'll be a much bigger percentage of a tiny
baseline price.
--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
|
| Date: Sun, 24 May 2015 00:17:35 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Feds Say That Banned Researcher Commandeered a Plane
Message-ID: <DCB5EFA5-AA09-466A-BD3A-709A9F017A53@roscom.com>
Feds Say That Banned Researcher Commandeered a Plane
By Kim Zetter
May 15 2015
A SECURITY RESEARCHER kicked off a United Airlines flight last month
after tweeting about security vulnerabilities in its system had
previously taken control of an airplane and caused it to briefly fly
sideways, according to an application for a search warrant filed by an
FBI agent.
Chris Roberts, a security researcher with One World Labs, told the FBI
agent during an interview in February that he had hacked the in-flight
entertainment system, or IFE, on an airplane and overwrote code on the
plane's Thrust Management Computer while aboard the flight. He was
able to issue a climb command and make the plane briefly change
course, the document states.
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/feds-say-banned-researcher-commandeered-plane/
http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Chris-Roberts-Application-for-Search-Warrant.pdf
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| Date: Sun, 24 May 2015 13:17:09 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: A 'Dumb Pipe' No More: What Verizon Wants from AOL
Message-ID: <028CD138-4F95-41DE-A3C6-F127FFBDF08A@roscom.com>
A 'Dumb Pipe' No More: What Verizon Wants from AOL
When Verizon Communications announced Tuesday that it will buy digital
content distributor AOL for $4.4 billion, the wireless giant signaled
that it won't quietly watch others make money using its network.
Instead of being just a "dumb pipe", i.e., the network that is used to
transfer bytes between the Internet and consumers' cell phones,
Verizon now wants to create and monetize the content carried on its
networks. Also crucial to the deal is AOL's advertising platform,
which allows ads to be placed automatically on content.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/what-verizon-wants-from-aol/
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| Date: Sun, 24 May 2015 23:14:57 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Behind the Downfall at BlackBerry
Message-ID: <E829BFA5-A766-4DBD-8939-0EEEF936B75D@roscom.com>
A new book by two reporters from The Globe and Mail offers details
about the emotional and business turmoil surrounding BlackBerry's near
collapse.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/behind-the-downfall-at-blackberry/
|
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
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