29 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Add this Digest to your personal
or 
The Telecom Digest for April 25, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 107 : "text" Format
====== 29 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== |
Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
Internet. All contents here are copyrighted by Bill Horne and
the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other
journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are
included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address-
included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article
herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the
email.
Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters,
viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk are definitely unwelcome.
We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we
are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because
we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands
against crime. - Geoffrey Welsh
See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details
and the name of our lawyer, and other stuff of interest.
|
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:02:01 -0500
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: That pesky plus signs and mobile phones
Message-ID: <BANLkTinQV3J-DHDHS0Oo0y=KVy0HkRwHuQ@mail.gmail.com>
On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 10:26 PM, John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
>>My understanding is that "+" means "dial the international access code
>>appropriate to your location, then this number."
>
> No, it's part of the GSM standard. Â The whole point is that you can
put
> numbers in your phone's address book, and they will work regardless of
> where in the world you use your phone. Â If I use my US phone in the
UK,
> do I dial calls with 011 or 00? Â I have no idea, I dial +.
That was my question, I just didn't ask it very well. :-)
> I'm sort of surprised that VZ phones don't support them, but it does
> appear to be a defect in their implementation of CDMA. Â Since CDMA
> phones work hardly anywhere outside NANP land, it's less of a
> practical issue.
Except when a dullard like me hand enters a dozen international
numbers using the (+) into his CDMA phone and ends up calling Canada
instead of Malaysia. :-)
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 23:45:04 -0500
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: That pesky plus signs and mobile phones
Message-ID: <BANLkTin+ZZtx67F=_kdrmNVPHg-VB_Nyog@mail.gmail.com>
On Sat, Apr 23, 2011 at 10:23 AM, Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com> wr
ote:
> It all depends on what the sending service sends and the capability of
> the receiving phone or CID box. Â On pretty much all my calls on
> T-Mobile calls come in as 1 NXX NXXXXXX. Â If I receive a call from a
> Netherlands mobile number it comes in as +316NXXXXXXX or if it comes
> from an Israeli mobile number it comes in as +97254NXXXXXX. Â If you'
re
> receiving the call on a mobile phone it may come in as +country
> code/number on a regular CID box if it shows an international number
> it may just show the country code. Â You say you have a Verizon phone
> at work. Â Is this a Verizon land line or Verizon Wireless? Â If
it's
> Verizon Wireless then it may not know what to do with a + character
> and it's probably due to the difference between how CDMA and GSM
> handles calls.
Sorry, I should've been more clear. Verizon Wireless. Incoming
international calls show up as 011-xxxxxxxxxxx. On my AT&T Mobility
and T-Mobile USA phones domestic and international show up as
+xxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Even my wife's el cheapo feature phone on AT&T
Mobility shows up with the plus sign.
It seems pretty clear to me it's a GSM feature. I had T-Mobile USA
about 6 years ago but I don't remember if the plus sign ever showed
up. It's something that just dawned on me recently.
John
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 09:29:48 -0400
From: "Gary" <bogus-email@hotmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: That pesky plus signs and mobile phones
Message-ID: <ip18kd$5bo$1@dont-email.me>
I wrote:
>My understanding is that "+" means "dial the international access code
>appropriate to your location, then this number."
"John Levine" responded in message
news:20110423032646.68899.qmail@joyce.lan...
>
> No, it's part of the GSM standard. The whole point is that you can put
> numbers in your phone's address book, and they will work regardless of
> where in the world you use your phone. If I use my US phone in the UK,
> do I dial calls with 011 or 00? I have no idea, I dial +.
Cool! That's a bit of dialing information I wasn't aware of. It certainly
makes sense for mobile phones designed for a "Global" standard. I'm
assuming you can still dial the international access code, if you choose.
How do you enter or dial the "+" on a basic GSM cell phone (i.e.
non-smartphone with a standard keypad)? Is there a standard why to dial the
"+"? Is it added to the "*" or "#'?
-Gary
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:06:46 -0500
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: New Austin area code confirmed to be hoax
Message-ID: <BANLkTik4F4EkMWqv2Ta0NFs2biBt+9YMFw@mail.gmail.com>
On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 8:22 PM, Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have no idea about 834, but I would point out that presumably for
> political reasons the area code for Austin has never been changed
> from the original 512.
>
> When they split 512, the much larger San Antonio got the new area
> code, 210, not Austin.
It's good to be the state capital I suppose. :-)
I lived in the Melbourne, Florida area in the mid-90s. When
Tallahassee lost 904 to 850 this caused problems for Melbourne city
hall. Their phone system was so ancient it could not be programmed to
accomodate the new area code format. This meant the city of Melbourne
could no longer call the state capital. Of course they quickly
remedied this.
Unless I've been told wrong, eastern Kentucky has been allowed to keep
606 because of the economic impact to having to change area codes. I
can't believe changing part of a phone number would cause economic
hardship. Anyone know the real story?
John
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:11:11 -0500
From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Fwd: Unusual Split of NPA 606: Metros Get New NPA
Message-ID: <4DB3244F.2040508@mayson.us>
Okay, I knew my archives would shed some light on 606. :-)
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Unusual Split of NPA 606: Metros Get New NPA
>Date: 5 Aug 1999 18:27:41 GMT
>From: dsembr01@ox.slug.louisville.edu (Darren Stuart Embry)
Organization: University of Louisville
The Kentucky Public Service Commission announced yesterday that the
606 Area Code serving Lexington, Northern Kentucky, and the eastern
portion of the state will get a new (as of yet undetermined) area code
number next year. Permissive dialing will start April 2000, with
mandatory dialing in October 2000.
The geographic split will assign the new area code to Lexington and
Northern Kentucky, the opposite of the general trend of assigning the
new area code OUTSIDE of the major metropolitan areas.
The PSC's justification for the decision to let the economically
depressed eastern Kentucky region keep the old area code is that
assigning a new area code to eastern Kentucky would further disrupt
its already depressed economy, while the economy of the metro areas of
Lexington and Northern Kentucky is better able to withstand changing
to a new area code.
The Lexington Herald-Leader also has an article on this announcement
at URL: (URL updated 2011-04-25 - Moderator)
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/12/14/1565057/western-ky-wont-get-new-area-code.html
>. I was not able to find any news about the
NPA 606 split on the North American Numbering Plan Administration's
web site <URL:http://www.nanpa.com/ yet.
27 October 1999 --- IT'S TIME! --- Ask me for details.
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Please explain 'Its Time' on October 27.
I think I know already, but others would be interested. PAT]
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
--
John Mayson <john@mayson.us>
Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:10:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Apple iPhone secretly records owners' every move
Message-ID: <977008.51044.qm@web111718.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
--- On Fri, 4/22/11, T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> wrote:
> All you have to do is shut down all the location services. They're
> nothing but a battery drain anyhow.
>
> And it isn't just the iPhone but your Android phone might be doing
> it too. It's why I shut off the GPS and Location Services on mine.
How do the folks runnng E911 centers react to this? They're
supposed to know where you are now when you call 911.
Wes Leatherock
wleathus@yahoo.com
wesrock@aol.com
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:19:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: An interesting use for phone relays
Message-ID: <963796.99780.qm@web111714.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
--- On Fri, 4/22/11, David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> The museum in my city used to have a mechanical "Tic Tac Toe"
> (Noughts and Crosses) machine that you could play and it was made
> mostly of old SxS relays and linefinders etc. (I only found out what
> they actually were years later when I was introduced to Step
> exchanges).
>
> This was back in the 1970's and it didn't take long to work out how
> to defeat the hardwired logic and win every game, but it was a
> pretty effective "kid magnet" and was very popular for the junior
> tech-heads.
>
> I don't know if it still exists, but it would be an exhibit in its
> own right now on the old technology used let alone the pioneering
> use as an entertainment device!
It was indeed, we often used them at "open houses" to show off what
technology could do, just like your telephone system. Those date back
even before tranasistors.
I guess no one remembers when there we "All-Relay" central offices.
Not practical in large offices, but for a CDO is a small place they
were very effective and took up little space.
Wes Leatherock
wleathus@yahoo.com
wesrock@aol.com
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:26:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: When country codes become +1-NPA codes
Message-ID: <464580.1445.qm@web111720.mail.gq1.yahoo.com>
--- On Fri, 4/22/11, Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
> Are we discussing the legal status of territories of the United
> States, or rates charged as international calls to these areas by
> long distance telephone companies?
Calls used to be clasified as domestic (USA), Canada, Mexico or
international. The area code had nothing to do with it--it predated
area codes and automated routing.
Wes Leatherock
wleathus@yahoo.com
wesrock@aol.com
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 00:39:35 +0000 (UTC)
From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: That pesky plus signs and mobile phones
Message-ID: <iot747$4fj$3@news.albasani.net>
John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
>At home we have AT&T and recently had T-Mobile for our cell service.
>I noticed on all phones, regardless of manufacturer, incoming SMS and
>calls without names assigned displayed in the +1xxxyyyzzzz format.
>Specifically the number is prefaced with the +1.
>I have a Verizon phone at work. I only see xxx-yyy-zzzz. What's
>more, I cannot call internationally by using the (+). The phone
>doesn't recognize that. I have to use 011. My attempt to call
>+60-4-yyy-zzzz resulted in a call to Vancouver.
>Is this difference due to GSM versus CDMA?
Yes. In GSM, all telephone numbers are dialed in international format,
although I have no idea what number sequence the + would represent.
When I store a number from an inbound call in the address book, I edit
the +1 that comes with each call to avoid wasting the screen space. Yes,
I know it's dialed whether I've explicitly stored it in the address book
or not.
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:11:58 +1000
From: David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: That pesky plus signs and mobile phones
Message-ID: <pan.2011.04.23.06.11.55.561293@yahoo.com.au>
On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 20:30:07 -0400, Gary wrote:
........
> Bottom line, it is best to know the international access code and dial it
> directly and not rely on the phone translating "+" for you.
>
AFAIK it is not just the phone, it is the network either doing the
translation or sending the phone the appropriate substitute string for the
"+" so it works correctly.
If you roam you are told to always use the full "+nnn" string to prefix
all your numbers so wherever you go, the call gets to the correct
destination***
*** At my work we have a Skype Dualphone and even if you program the
numbers in correctly, the dopey Skype software mucks up the dial string
when you elect to use the landline instead of Skype - this is a known
problem and no one on the 'net has come up with a solution in a few years
now.
--
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, 23 Apr 2011 11:18:16 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Harold Hallikainen" <harold@hallikainen.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: That pesky plus signs and mobile phones
Message-ID: <b9d1a19c-28d6-453b-bc62-787a54b0bbe9@a9g2000prl.googlegroups.com>
Use of the + sign in printed phone numbers is defined in ITU-T
Recommendation E.123 at
http://www.itu.int/rec/dologin_pub.asp?lang=e&id=T-REC-E.123-200102-I!!PDF-E&type=items
Harold
Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:43:02 -0400
From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Porn Company Has Snatched Up Nearly 25% of 1-800 Numbers in U.S., Canada
Message-ID: <op.vuddt0kiitl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net>
On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 12:51:37 -0400, Michael G. Koerner <mgk920@dataex.com> wrote:
> With the nationwide-local calling plans that the phone companies are
> nearly all offering now, I would pretty much declare '1-800' (as
> well as '888', '877', '855') services to be obsolete.
>
> The marginal cost to me of a call to any number in the USA from my
> cell phone is zero ...
From my cellphone, the marginal cost to me of a call to any US number
is only zero during weekends, and for the first 300 minutes of
non-weekend airtime (thereafter, T-Mo dings me $0.40/minute. But from
my landline, the cost to me of an 800-number call (or an 888-, 877-,
866-, etc., -number call) is zero, *always*.
Obsolete? Not for me, anyway. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 09:07:55 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Porn Company Has Snatched Up Nearly 25% of 1-800 Numbers in U.S., Canada
Message-ID: <8ac48ed5-dcf8-4564-a9f2-cacd60140322@w36g2000vbi.googlegroups.com>
On Apr 22, 12:51 pm, "Michael G. Koerner" <mgk...@dataex.com> wrote:
> The marginal cost to me of a call to any number in the USA from my cell
phone
> is zero - and '1-800' services were started for businesses to make it as
> easy and inexpensive as possible for their customers to call them,
increasing
> customer traffic and thus sales. With that no longer being an issue for
most
> customers, I'm seeing no reason why most businesses would retain them for
much
> longer.
Plenty of residential subscribers do not have the toll volume to
justify the higher monthly fee of nationwide unlimited long distance.
Some individuals use their cell phones for when they need to make toll
calls, but many of those people do not have unlimited weekday plans so
minutes still matter. For the businesses, the cost of an unlimited
line could be pretty steep and many businesses make do with low rate
lines; while cheap, the meter is still running. Lastly, there are
still some* payphones out there and 800 numbers are necessary for
those.
So, all of this justifies the continuance of 800 numbers. If
anything, 800 numbers remain extremely popular. The newspaper ads
scream "Call us TOLL FREE at ..." Perhaps businesses feel it gives
them more cachet to offer an 800 number rather than a local number.
* The pay phone at my local commuter station has been removed and the
number disconnected. However, yesterday I saw someone using a
payphone at a large station.
***** Moderator's Note *****
Businessmen like 800 numbers because they get the ANI info with
every call, and that means that they can design their IVR systems to
give the most attention to those callers whom are most likely to make
a purchase.
Bill Horne
Moderator
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:29:24 +0000 (UTC)
From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: New Austin area code confirmed to be hoax
Message-ID: <iov5q4$lar$1@news.albasani.net>
Wes Leatherock <wleathus@yahoo.com> wrote:
>I have no idea about 834, but I would point out that presumably for
>political reasons the area code for Austin has never been changed
>from the original 512.
>When they split 512, the much larger San Antonio got the new area
>code, 210, not Austin.
In a split, isn't the new area code given to the area growing faster than
the area that keeps the old area code as the faster growing area is expected
to be split again?
It may not have been politics. Now, if Austin is growing faster than
San Antonio, you're probably right.
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:55:19 -0400
From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: When country codes become +1-NPA codes
Message-ID: <op.vuemuhyiitl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net>
On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 13:31:55 -0400, John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote:
> ... I can't say "Dial +60-17-467xxxx" because that's
> meaningless to them. Even when I say "Dial 011-60-17-467xxxx" they
> still get it wrong insisting on dialing "1" first or something. ...
Heh-heh ... exploit their instinctively dialing 1 first as follows:
tell 'em your number is 1-60-17-467xxxx, but because it's international
they've got to dial a "01" before that leading "1" :-) .
HTH. Cheers, -- tlvp
--
Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 14:16:44 -0500
From: Frank Stearns <franks.pacifier.com@pacifier.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: An intersting use for phone relays
Message-ID: <0umdnRi6FtgBuC7QnZ2dnUVZ_q2dnZ2d@posted.palinacquisition>
Eric Tappert <e.tappert.spamnot@worldnet.att.net> writes:
>On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:13:13 -0400, T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
>wrote:
>>Check this out. I think it's an awesome use of discarded technology.
>>
>>http://hackaday.com/2010/11/18/electromechanical-computer-built-from-relays/
>This is a bit more complicated than the science fair project I did
>about 50 years ago.... My project was a 32 bit, two input binary
>adder. I was working in a hardware store at the time and my boss had
>a friend in the pinball machine business who donated all the relays.
>A neat feature was when you added 0001 to FFFF you could hear the
>carry (it was a ripple carry circuit) for a couple of seconds, then
>watch the transformer smoke a bit. Pretty cool for its day.
>BTW, I got an honorable mention at the science fair (maybe because of
>the smoke...)
>ET
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>Please tell us why a carry overloaded the transformer.
It was a bit too much?
(So sorry.)
Frank
--
.
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:29:44 -0400
From: Eric Tappert <e.tappert.spamnot@worldnet.att.net>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: An intersting use for phone relays
Message-ID: <vpu6r6h94b0702uq1rh9c97pqnphf1hul7@4ax.com>
On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 19:18:35 -0400, Eric Tappert
<e.tappert.spamnot@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>On Fri, 22 Apr 2011 16:13:13 -0400, T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net>
>wrote:
>
>>Check this out. I think it's an awesome use of discarded technology.
>>
>>http://hackaday.com/2010/11/18/electromechanical-computer-built-from-relays/
>
>
>This is a bit more complicated than the science fair project I did
>about 50 years ago.... My project was a 32 bit, two input binary
>adder. I was working in a hardware store at the time and my boss had
>a friend in the pinball machine business who donated all the relays.
>
>A neat feature was when you added 0001 to FFFF you could hear the
>carry (it was a ripple carry circuit) for a couple of seconds, then
>watch the transformer smoke a bit. Pretty cool for its day.
>
>BTW, I got an honorable mention at the science fair (maybe because of
>the smoke...)
>
>ET
>
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>
>Please tell us why a carry overloaded the transformer.
>
>Bill Horne
>Moderator
A 32 bit adder has a total of 95 relays. Setting up all ones in one
input and then a single, least significant one in the other causes all
the relays associated with the first input and all the carry relays to
pull in, a totatl of 63 relay coils. This is an extreme case (all
ones in both inputs is worse as it causes all the relays to operate,
which also smoked the transformer, but it didn't make such a pleasing
noise...). In short, the transformer was under rated. I should add
that the equipment I designed for the old Bell System had power
supplies with better ratings....
ET
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 03:32:44 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: An intersting use for phone relays
Message-ID: <TeSdnQSKm5KxfS7QnZ2dnUVZ_omdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <gt24r653s9d4hjnq60v6ncrdeqapo2sgnp@4ax.com>,
Eric Tappert <e.tappert.spamnot@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
.....`
>A neat feature was when you added 0001 to FFFF you could hear the
>carry (it was a ripple carry circuit) for a couple of seconds, then
>watch the transformer smoke a bit. Pretty cool for its day.
.....
>***** Moderator's Note *****
>
>Please tell us why a carry overloaded the transformer.
Because the transformer was undersized, of course. <grin>
More seriously, because all the 'carry' operations, caused all the relays
to fire.
It's a reasonable guess the pinball-machine salvage was in large part
'latching' relays, which (like CMOS) draw power only when changing state.
A 'carry' across all the bits meant that all the output relays, as well
as those driving the 'carry' lines, changed state,
Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2011 12:37:13 -0700
From: AES <siegman@stanford.edu>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: An interesting use for phone relays
Message-ID: <siegman-3EC74B.12371323042011@sciid-srv02.med.tufts.edu>
In article <pan.2011.04.22.22.57.09.218652@yahoo.com.au>,
David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au> wrote:
> The museum in my city used to have a mechanical "Tic Tac Toe" (Noughts and
> Crosses) machine that you could play and it was made mostly of old SxS
> relays and linefinders etc. (I only found out what they actually were
> years later when I was introduced to Step exchanges).
>
> This was back in the 1970's and it didn't take long to work out how to
> defeat the hardwired logic and win every game, but it was a pretty
> effective "kid magnet" and was very popular for the junior tech-heads.
A tourist-attraction food court and fish market on Cannery Row in
Monterey CA used to have (maybe still does) a live chicken in a
glass-front enclosure who played Tic Tac Toe against all comers.
You put in four quarters; punched a button for your first move; a light
lit up on a corresponding square on the back of the enclosure; the
chicken made its move by pecking a square on the same board, and
instantly swiveled around to get a grain of corn that dropped into a cup
on the side wall; and so on.
The chicken beat me fair and square -- and a loudspeaker blared out
"Chicken wins!" for the entertainment of all the bystanders.
(You know, I just now realized, very possibly the both had some
logic-driven electronics that activated a small buzzer or infrared light
source in the appropriate square to communicate to the chicken where it
should peck each time. If so, this clearly continues to be a telecom-
(or tell-a-chicken)-related topic . . . )
Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 21:10:57 +1000
From: David Clayton <dcstarbox-usenet@yahoo.com.au>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: If Hollywood is right T-Mobile lives on
Message-ID: <pan.2011.04.24.11.10.54.303079@yahoo.com.au>
>> I saw the movie "Atlas Shrugged" tonight. The movie is set in 2016 and
>> one of the characters had a Blackberry with T-Mobile service. I
>> personally don't think either company will still be around in five years
>> and if RIM does survive I wouldn't expect their 2016 phones to look like
>> their 2009 phones.
I wonder how many people are stockpiling handsets - and some rudimentary
network equipment to make them ring - so than in 10+ years time they can
lease them out to media production companies making "period" product so
they can have authentic equipment.
I also wouldn't want to be trying to find an glass monitor in a couple of
years time, an flat-panel LCD on a home computer won't look too authentic
in a 1990's remake of anything.
--
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: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 16:04:15 +0100
From: "Graham." <me@privacy.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Transoceanic telephony (history)
Message-ID: <ip1e5u$5ui$1@dont-email.me>
> An interesting article from Bell System Technical Journal of June 1942
> describing research into developing a transoceanic cable. Topics
> including describing the long-wave and short-wave radio-telephone
> systems then in use, the design parameters of a repeater, physical
> construction requirements, and a long discussion of bandwidth and
> making the best use of it in radio, land lines, and cables. Also
> discussed are experimental cable installations to test all of the
> above.
>
> There's a description of a deviced called a "vocoder" which appears to
> be a crude form of voice digitization so as to pack more bandwidth
> within the cable. The problem was that inflections were lost. Much
> later on the Bell System developed a way to squeeze more conversations
> on a cable by filling up the natural spaces that occur within
> conversations.
Was a link to this article omitted?
--
Graham.
%Profound_observation%
TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom-
munications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in
addition to Usenet, where it appears as the moderated newsgroup
'comp.dcom.telecom'.
TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational
service offered to the Internet by Bill Horne. All the contents
of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. You may reprint articles in
some other media on an occasional basis, but please attribute my work
and that of the original author.
The Telecom Digest is moderated by Bill Horne.
This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm-
unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and
published continuously since then. Our archives are available for
your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list
on the internet in any category!
URL information: http://telecom-digest.org
Copyright (C) 2009 TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved.
Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as
yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help
is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars
per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above.
Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing
your name to the mailing list.
All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the
author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only
and messages should not be considered any official expression by the
organization.
End of The Telecom Digest (21 messages)
Return to Archives ** Older Issues