The Telecom Digest for October 17, 2010
Volume 29 : Issue 279 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
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Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 20:01:50 EDT
From: Wes Leatherock <wesrock@aol.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: What is a "female-specific mobile handset"?
Message-ID: <ae5a.54d9cf0.39ea456e@aol.com>
In a message dated 10/15/2010 9:19:39 AM Central Daylight Time,
joeofseattle@yahoo.com writes:
> Tue, 12 Oct 2010 19:59:45 -0700 Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> wrote:
>
>> Apparently marketers think that women would like an item colored
>> pink. They even make guns with a pink color:
>
>
> http://www.thegunsource.com/category/2580_Pink_Pistols.aspx?w=%2BCJWDALnoPg
>
> Well, bringing this back to telecom there's this:
>
> Hello Kitty Lineman's Handset Telephone
>
> http://www.kittyhell.com/2009/01/27/hello-kitty-linemans-handset-telephone/
>
> or:
>
> http://goo.gl/aRyP
I was sitting in the largest mall in Oklahoma City a day or two ago
and of the three women who passed talking on the phone two had pink
phones, the other one white. One also had a matching pink shoulder
bag. Of the men who came by using a phone, all had black or silver
phones.
Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:51:54 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: John Sculley On Steve Jobs, The Full Interview Transcript
Message-ID: <p06240840c8de8b8234ae@[192.168.180.230]>
John Sculley On Steve Jobs, The Full Interview Transcript
By Leander Kahney
Oct. 14, 2010
Here's a full transcript of the interview with John Sculley on the
subject of Steve Jobs.
It's long but worth reading because there are some awesome insights
into how Jobs does things.
...
http://www.cultofmac.com/john-sculley-on-steve-jobs-the-full-interview-transcript/63295
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:22:36 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Happy anniversary cellphone!
Message-ID: <4CB8E23C.2050901@thadlabs.com>
On 10/15/2010 11:40 AM, Michael G. Koerner wrote:
> [...]
> I also recall the scene in the movie Patriot Games (1992) where Ryan's
> wife was being pursued on a freeway and took a call on the car's corded
> cell phone.
>
> Anyone else recall being oooohhed and aaaahhhed by cell phones back
> then?
In my case getting a cell phone in 1992 was a necessity after an
automobile "incident" on I-280 along the San Francisco Peninsula.
L-o-n-g story short, the thermostat spring in my car broke on the
hottest day of the year (during Summer) and the car overheated. I
thought I'd play safe and pull up into one of the rest stops before
San Mateo for water, restroom and telephone facilities because car
traffic along I-280 is akin to German autobahns and waiting along
the narrow shoulder flanking a hill seemed neither safe nor wise.
Wouldn't you know it? Rest stop was simply a scenic outlook from
the hilltop with NO water, NO toilets, and NO telephone. I was
really getting dehydrated after several hours before a CHP officer
pulled into the rest stop and called AAA on my behalf for a tow.
Luckily for me, the CHP officer had water that I could drink.
That evening, back at home, I called my best friend who worked at
HP Labs (Palo Alto CA) asking for advice and here's what we did.
The next morning we went to the Cellular One store in Palo Alto
that served HP (I recall it was at California St and El Camino)
and arranged for me to buy the Motorola Micro TAC Lite on HP's
discount plan which still placed it around US$700 IIRC. A pic
of it is here http://thadlabs.com/PIX/Thad_cellphones_1.jpg.
The advantage of having a cellphone immediately because obvious.
I could be reached at one number anywhere in the "civilized"
portion of California (even Grass Valley way in the boonies), and
I had a method of calling for help when needed.
"A luxury, once sampled, becomes a necessity." -- Anon
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 17:33:09 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Happy anniversary cellphone!
Message-ID: <ztOdndIo_6w4SyXRnZ2dnUVZ_vqdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <_eqdnZGZ6Y2rPSXRnZ2dnUVZ_rOdnZ2d@ntd.net>,
Michael G. Koerner <mgk920@dataex.com> wrote:
[Moderator snip]
>Anyone else recall being oooohhed and aaaahhhed by cell phones back then? Car
>phones were such a status symbol during the mid-late 1980s and into the early
>1990s that I remember that at the time someone was selling fake cell phone
>antennae that could be mounted on the back windows of cars.
>
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>
>Since AMPS ran at about 800 MHz, a quarter wave antenna would have
>been about 3.7 inches high. Of course, the first cellular antennas
>were much longer than that, with the now-famous "coil" in the middle
>that told everyone the car contained a cellular phone.
>
>Electrically, useless. For marketing, a stroke of genius.
I believe that , electrically, they were a "5/8 wave" antenna -- if so,
that would have given 3db of gain. Which equates to about a 40% larger
service radius at any given signal strength.
IIRC, but I haven't worked with such antennas for long time, the
coil had an effect on the radiation pattern, concentration more of it
closer to parallel to the 'ground plane', thus providing some additional
'effective' gain in the horizontal direction.
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:29:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Happy anniversary cellphone!
Message-ID: <12da70bc-0f50-4336-82fd-78f712463305@d25g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>
On Oct 15, 2:40 pm, "Michael G. Koerner" <mgk...@dataex.com> wrote:
> Anyone else recall being oooohhed and aaaahhhed by cell phones back
> then? Car phones were such a status symbol during the mid-late 1980s
> and into the early 1990s that I remember that at the time someone
> was selling fake cell phone antennae that could be mounted on the
> back windows of cars.
Back in the 1970s I knew someone who was an aide for a state
senator*. He got to drive his car which had one of the old style
mobile phones. I presume the pol got the phone back then due to his
political position. I was quite envious. My friend said working the
phone was just like a landline--incoming calls would ring and to make
a call just dial. He had no idea of what it cost. He used it very
sparingly, though.
Speaking of communications and cars, my friend had to drop off the car
for repairs at a garage. In the back was a CB radio with various
calls for auto parts. That was kind of thing back then.
(*Said politician served only one term. Now is a personal injury
laywer who advertises big ads in the Yellow Pages, including the
covers.)
I found the other comment interesting that cellular came out before
Divesture. I can't help but suspect that reporters talking about the
old Bell System believe cellular service was one of the by-products of
Divesture.
Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 21:24:52 +0000 (UTC)
From: danny burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Happy anniversary cellphone!
Message-ID: <i9d573$9gs$1@reader1.panix.com>
[snip of good stuff]
When did "they" make the decision to get rid
of the pseudo dial tone? In one of the retrospectives
at the last anniversary, the ABC (US tv network) shwed
a clip from an early marketing demo.
What got my interest was the reporters were
being walked through the process, with real
cellular (or at least wireless) phones, which...
... which included a "listen for the dial tone"
Ours, which dated back to 1983 or so, was silent.
(We had one of the first transportable units. Size
of a large book, working with a big Panasonic slide-in
12 volt battery. Which was the same as the ones used
by the camcorder/VCR combo at work...)
--
_____________________________________________________
Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key
dannyb@panix.com
[to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]
Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2010 18:02:59 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: IVR Hell
Message-ID: <dMSdnXOSEsM-QCXRnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <8vleb6td37gk478ug0hcei3u6p80156lla@4ax.com>,
Stephen <stephen_hope@xyzworld.com> wrote:
>On Thu, 14 Oct 2010 10:37:19 -0400, Randall
><rvh40.remove-this@and-this-too.insightbb.com> wrote:
>
>[Moderator snip]
>
>>In my experience the companies providing the worst "IVR Hell"
>>experience are those with monopolies either de jure or de facto.
>>
>>If Wal*Mart makes it too much trouble to buy groceries from them,
>>there's a Meijer next door who'll be happy to have my trade. If I
>>have an issue with my electrical bill, I can't really give my
>>business to their competitor.
>
>The UK has a deregulated electricity (and gas) market. You can do
>exactly that.
Althogh many people aren't awere of it you can do the same in the
U.S. My condo building bought all their Natural gas from Enron, for
years. Dunno who they switced to, when Enron was no longer available.
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