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Message Digest 
Volume 28 : Issue 31 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:
  Re: nano cell site 
  Re: nano cell site 
  Re: nano cell site 
  Re: Total absurdity - Cell phone mandatory noise bill in HR.    
  Re: Total absurdity - Cell phone mandatory noise bill in HR.       
  Re: Total absurdity - Cell phone mandatory noise bill in HR.    
  Re: Cellphones as Credit Cards? Americans Must Wait 
  Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis
  Windows area code rules 
  Re: Windows area code rules 
  Friends, Until I Delete You


====== 27 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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               ===========================

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:29:23 -0500
From: Will Roberts <oldbear@arctos.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: nano cell site 
Message-ID: <0MKp8S-1LSvNr12eS-0007rF@mrelay.perfora.net>

In Telecom Digest, Harold wrote:

>Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:03:50 -0800 (PST)
>From: "harold@hallikainen.com" <harold@hallikainen.com>
>To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
>Subject: nano cell site
>
>VERIZON OFFERS $250 IN-HOME CELL PHONE BOOSTER
>[SOURCE: Associated Press, AUTHOR: Peter Svensson]
>Verizon Wireless has started selling a book-sized device that boosts
>cell phone signals within a home for $250, making it easier for people
>to drop a home phone line and rely solely on wireless. The Verizon
>Wireless Network Extender needs to be connected to a broadband
>Internet line. Then it acts a miniature cellular tower, listening for
>signals from a subscriber's cell phone. It covers up to 5,000 square
>feet.

This is somewhat comparable to an offering from T-Mobile which uses a
dual-mode handset which shifts from a conventional cellular signal to
VoIP via WiFi.

T-Mobile has set up WiFi hot spots in places like coffee shops which
recognize the T-Mobile handset and provide service.  T-Mobile also
provides a WiFi box to attached to the customers' home broadband
connection which makes the customers' home into a VoIP WiFi hot spot
and allows the customer to use his or her T-mobile handset as a
primary telephone when at home.

The Verizon technology appears to create an actual cellular node
covering about 5000 square feet and therefore does not require a
special dual-mode handset.


------------------------------

Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:29:59 +1100
From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: nano cell site 
Message-ID: <pan.2009.01.30.23.29.58.499578@myrealbox.com>

On Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:39:56 -0500, Will Roberts wrote:

> In Telecom Digest, Harold wrote:
> 
>>Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:03:50 -0800 (PST) From:
>>"harold@hallikainen.com" <harold@hallikainen.com> To:
>>redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: nano cell site
>>
>>VERIZON OFFERS $250 IN-HOME CELL PHONE BOOSTER [SOURCE: Associated Press,
>>AUTHOR: Peter Svensson] Verizon Wireless has started selling a book-sized
>>device that boosts cell phone signals within a home for $250, making it
>>easier for people to drop a home phone line and rely solely on wireless.
>>The Verizon Wireless Network Extender needs to be connected to a
>>broadband Internet line. Then it acts a miniature cellular tower,
>>listening for signals from a subscriber's cell phone. It covers up to
>>5,000 square feet.
> 
> This is somewhat comparable to an offering from T-Mobile which uses a
> dual-mode handset which shifts from a conventional cellular signal to VoIP
> via WiFi.
> 
> T-Mobile has set up WiFi hot spots in places like coffee shops which
> recognize the T-Mobile handset and provide service.  T-Mobile also
> provides a WiFi box to attached to the customers' home broadband
> connection which makes the customers' home into a VoIP WiFi hot spot and
> allows the customer to use his or her T-mobile handset as a primary
> telephone when at home.
> 
> The Verizon technology appears to create an actual cellular node covering
> about 5000 square feet and therefore does not require a special dual-mode
> handset.

So in fact the devices do nothing to "boost" the existing network signals,
but in fact *create* new localised network cells that interface into the
network via a IP connection.

Aren't there licencing issues re using spectrum already owned for use with
these existing networks?

-- 
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, 31 Jan 2009 04:51:48 +0000 (UTC)
From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: nano cell site 
Message-ID: <gm0ld4$1cqr$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>

In article <pan.2009.01.30.23.29.58.499578@myrealbox.com>,
David Clayton  <dcstar@myrealbox.com> wrote:
>So in fact the devices do nothing to "boost" the existing network signals,
>but in fact *create* new localised network cells that interface into the
>network via a IP connection.
>
>Aren't there licencing issues re using spectrum already owned for use with
>these existing networks?

That's why (at least in the U.S.) you have to get them through the
licensee (in this case, Verizon).  Many office buildings have similar
systems on a larger scale; the building I work in has three cells,
providing coverage for AT&T (traditional "A-side cellular" license)
GSM and Sprint/Nextel iDEN; the same system also carries Verizon
(traditional "B-side cellular" license) CDMA via a simple repeater.  I
know one of the PCS carriers is on it as well, but don't recall which
one (probably T-Mobile, since that's also a GSM service).

Sprint/Nextel, for what it's worth, is *still* working on the
broadcast auxiliary equipment replacement that they agreed to do
several years ago in exchange for the old broadcast-auxiliary spectrum
(which is close to the two-way frequencies they already use); I saw a
tower crew replacing old ENG antennas for a local TV station
yesterday.  (At the next site down the road, I saw a different tower
crew working to install the transmission system for Qualcomm's
MediaFlo, to have it ready to launch in Boston as soon as WLVI-TV
shuts off its analogue transmitter on February 17.)

-GAWollman
-- 
Garrett A. Wollman   | The real tragedy of human existence is not that we are
wollman@csail.mit.edu| nasty by nature, but that a cruel structural asymmetry
Opinions not those   | grants to rare events of meanness such power to shape
of MIT or CSAIL.     | our history. - S.J. Gould, Ten Thousand Acts of Kindness


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:00:17 -0800 (PST)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Total absurdity - Cell phone mandatory noise bill in HR.    
Message-ID: <82ff6393-07bc-4ab3-832d-dfd0510c0e20@35g2000pry.googlegroups.com>

On Jan 29, 10:59 pm, woll...@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) wrote:

> Except, of course, that it screws the people who actually have a
> legitimate need to take photos in silence.  (For example, because they
> are in a television studio, as I was today.  I hope the noise my
> camera makes didn't get picked up on any of the mikes.)

The news media might argue that their work in reporting news,
particularly news a public official might not want published, could
make good use silent shutters and they shouldn't be banned for that
reason.  Indeed, IF (a big if) this bill has a serious chance of being
enacted I would suspect the news media would fight it.


------------------------------

Date: 30 Jan 2009 17:01:18 -0500
From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Total absurdity - Cell phone mandatory noise bill in HR.       
Message-ID: <glvtbe$dl1$1@panix2.panix.com>

In article <glttcp$god$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>,
Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org> wrote:
>In article <6116$498237f7$d1b705a6$15131@PRIMUS.CA>,
>Geoffrey Welsh <reply@newsgroup.please> wrote:
>
>>While I'm not generally in favour of the government passing a law to take 
>>care of every little thing, it seems to me that requiring cameras to alert 
>>their subjects when a picture is taken is not in itself a bad idea and 
>>probably not particularly difficult to implement.
>
>Except, of course, that it screws the people who actually have a
>legitimate need to take photos in silence.  (For example, because they
>are in a television studio, as I was today.  I hope the noise my
>camera makes didn't get picked up on any of the mikes.)

Please shut off your cellphone in the studio... the RFI generated by
GSM phones is annoying and insidious.
--scott
-- 
"C'est un Nagra.  C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:07:51 -0800 (PST)
From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Total absurdity - Cell phone mandatory noise bill in HR.    
Message-ID: <b3e8eca4-f56d-407b-a4d7-235cccaa7015@z1g2000yqn.googlegroups.com>

On Jan 29, 9:04 pm, "Ted" <T...@NoSpam.com> wrote:

> If that person is on a public beach, or on private property that can be
readily seen from a public location, you can take the picture.

I am not a lawyer, but in photojournalism class we were taught that
normally private things were not allowed to be secretly photographed
even in public places.  So, yes, you may take a picture of a person
suntanning themself on the beach, but no, you can't take a picture of
someone when their bathing suit accidently fell off.  Obviously secret
picture taking in locker rooms, under stairs, etc. would be not
allowed (and people are prosecuted for that sort of thing).


In any event, after thinking about it, I wonder if this law is such a
good idea (see other post).


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:54:07 -0800
From: Mark Crispin <mrc@panda.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Cellphones as Credit Cards? Americans Must Wait 
Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.00.0901301127570.44774@hsinghsing.panda.com>

On Thu, 29 Jan 2009, T posted:
>> IMAGINE a technology that lets you pay for products just by waving
>> your cellphone over a reader.
> Knowing how relatively simple it is to clone some cell phones this
> scares the crap out of me.

Cloning a cell phone would do no good.  The technology works via a RFID 
chip, typically in the back cover of the phone.  It's basically a 
stored-value card embedded in the phone.

Thus, an attacker would have to attack the mechanism by which value is 
loaded onto the chip.  On mobile phones, this is done by an application 
that runs on the phone, and has various registration/authorization hoops 
that need to be jumped.

I suspect that I'd be far easier to steal a phone than it would be to 
crack this system to steal from an authorized user.  The Japanese have a 
lot of experience with security weaknesses with stored-value cards 
(they've pretty much given up entirely on passive magnetic data cards 
since those were cracked long ago).

The other possible form of attack (which was done on the passive cards) is 
not to steal from any authorized user, but rather to load false value on 
an card and/or to hack the card to report value that doesn't exist.  But 
for that attack, why waste a mobile phone when you can buy a completely 
anonymous standalone card.

-- Mark --

http://panda.com/mrc
Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote.


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:07:13 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis
Message-ID: <p06240874c5a9701c82ad@[10.0.1.6]>


Apple vs. Palm: the in-depth analysis

by Nilay Patel
January 28 2009
Engadget

Apple and Palm kicked a lot of dirt at each other last week -- acting
Apple CEO Tim Cook flatly told analysts that "We will not stand for
people ripping off our IP" when asked specifically about competition
like the Palm Pre, and Palm responded with a similarly-explicit "We
have the tools necessary to defend ourselves." At issue, of course,
is that the Pre employs a multitouch screen and gestures almost
exactly like those made famous on the iPhone -- and if you'll recall,
Steve Jobs introduced multitouch on the iPhone with a slide reading
"Patented!" To top it all off, the past few days have seen a number
of media outlets proclaim that Apple's been awarded a "multitouch
patent" without so much as a shred of analysis, instead hyping up a
supposed future conflict. That's just not how we play it, so we
enlisted Mathew Gavronski, a patent attorney in the Chicago office of
Michael Best & Friedrich, to help us clear up some of the confusion
and misinformation that's out there -- read on for more.


Just a couple notes before we begin: first, we're not going to get
into whether or not Apple or Palm should have been granted particular
patents or if the patent system is working as it should -- that's a
philosophical argument way outside the scope of any potential lawsuit
that might arise. Suffice it to say that although we're aware the
patent system has flaws, there's no debating that people and
companies should be compensated for their work, and we're not going
to begrudge Apple or Palm for trying to do everything they can within
rules of the current system to protect and profit from the hundreds
of millions of dollars each has spent on R&D. You can bet the public
policy implications of the patent system don't keep Ed Colligan or
Steve Jobs up at night; we're going to assume both sides will be
using every trick and decades-old patent it can find to win a
potential lawsuit.

Second, while we can sit here and play with an iPhone to figure out
what exactly Apple's trying to patent, we really don't have much to
go on with the Pre apart from some brief hands-on time with units
running alpha-level code at CES, so we can't really make definitive
calls one way or another. A lot can change between now and whenever
the Pre is launched, so while we're going to do our best to identify
the elements of the Pre and the iPhone that could potentially
infringe Apple or Palm patents, treat the Pre stuff with an extra
dose of salt.

So now that we've got the caveats out of the way, let's get started
breaking down the areas where Apple and Palm can really do some
courtroom damage, shall we?

...

http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/28/apple-vs-palm-the-in-depth-analysis/


------------------------------

Date: 30 Jan 2009 17:35:45 -0500
From: richgr@panix.com (Rich Greenberg)
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Windows area code rules 
Message-ID: <glvvc1$pf$1@panix5.panix.com>

When I was running W2K, ISTR that somewhere under control panel  here
was an "area  code rules" setting that allowed me to list a few area
codes, and then say "Calling to all other area codes, dial a '1' and
the area code first.

Now in XP pro, I can't find it.  It wants me to enter each area code
individually, then for THAT area code, dial a '1' and the area code
first.

Could someone please refresh my memory?

-- 
Rich Greenberg  N Ft Myers, FL, USA richgr atsign panix.com  + 1 239 543 1353
Eastern time.  N6LRT  I speak for myself & my dogs only.    VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red, Shasta & Casey (RIP), Red & Zero, Siberians  Owner:Chinook-L
Retired at the beach                                     Asst Owner:Sibernet-L


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:52:28 -0700
From: Robert Neville <dont@bother.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Re: Windows area code rules 
Message-ID: <74m7o450pve53lreh6b5nn6t037hbn3hk5@4ax.com>

richgr@panix.com (Rich Greenberg) wrote:

>
>Now in XP pro, I can't find it.  It wants me to enter each area code
>individually, then for THAT area code, dial a '1' and the area code
>first.


Control Panel / Phone and Modem / Dialing Rules


------------------------------

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:59:50 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Friends, Until I Delete You
Message-ID: <p0624087bc5a98af8cd7a@[10.0.1.6]>


Friends, Until I Delete You

January 29, 2009
By DOUGLAS QUENQUA

A PERSON could go mad trying to pinpoint the moment he lost a friend. 
So seldom does that friend make his feelings clear by sending out an 
e-mail alert.

It's not just a fact of life, but also a policy on Facebook. While 
many trivial actions do prompt Facebook to post an alert to all your 
friends - adding a photo, changing your relationship status, using 
Fandango to buy tickets to "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" - striking someone 
off your list simply is not one of them.

It is this policy that Burger King ran afoul of this month with its 
"Whopper Sacrifice" campaign, which offered a free hamburger to 
anyone who severed the sacred bonds with 10 of the friends they had 
accumulated on Facebook. Facebook suspended the program because 
Burger King was sending notifications to the castoffs letting them 
know they'd been dropped for a sandwich (or, more accurately, a tenth 
of a sandwich).

The campaign, which boasted of ending 234,000 friendships, is history 
now - Burger King chose to end it rather than tweak it to fit 
Facebook's policy - but the same can hardly be said of the emerging 
anxiety it tapped. As social networking becomes ubiquitous, people 
with an otherwise steady grip on social etiquette find themselves 
flummoxed by questions about "unfriending" people: how to do it, when 
to do it and how to get away with it quietly.

...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/29/fashion/29facebook.html


------------------------------




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