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The Telecom Digest for July 7, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 148 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: Software as a Monthly Rental (Rich Greenberg)
Re: U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement (T)
Positive Response to New iPhone Antitheft Feature (Monty Solomon)
Re: Remedies for Better Cellphone Signal and Quality (T)
Needed, conference calling (David Lesher)
Disruptions: Mobile Competition Shifts to Software Design (Monty Solomon)
Real Estate Apps for Google Glass (Monty Solomon)
Re: Remedies for Better Cellphone Signal and Quality (Harold Hallikainen)

====== 31 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 that person, or email address owner.
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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, 6 Jul 2013 00:27:00 +0000 (UTC) From: richgr@panix.com (Rich Greenberg) To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Software as a Monthly Rental Message-ID: <kr7o8k$crf$1@reader2.panix.com> In article <p0624082acdfa9cc4bb80@[10.0.1.12]>, Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote: > >Software as a Monthly Rental > >By DAVID POGUE >July 3, 2013 > >There's a new reason for Photoshop to be famous. If you have a need for Photoshop but don't want to pay Adobe's rates, I recommend Irfanview (www.irfanview.com) to anyone needing an inexpensive image editor (its shareware with a suggested donation of 10 euros (approx 13 USD)). The author provides good email support to registered users. (No commercial connection to Irfanview, just a happy user.) -- Rich Greenberg Sarasota, FL, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 941 378 2097 Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67 Canines: Val,Red,Shasta,Zero,Casey & Cinnar (At the bridge) Owner:Chinook-L Canines: Red & Max (Siberians) Retired at the beach Asst Owner:Sibernet-L
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2013 13:20:42 -0400 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement Message-ID: <MPG.2c40ca79f822e3fc989e1c@news.eternal-september.org> In article <p0624082ccdfa9d85e8a3@[10.0.1.12]>, monty@roscom.com says... > > U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement > > By RON NIXON > July 3, 2013 > > WASHINGTON - Leslie James Pickering noticed something odd in his mail > last September: a handwritten card, apparently delivered by mistake, > with instructions for postal workers to pay special attention to the > letters and packages sent to his home. > > "Show all mail to supv" - supervisor - "for copying prior to going > out on the street," read the card. It included Mr. Pickering's name, > address and the type of mail that needed to be monitored. The word > "confidential" was highlighted in green. I can think of some interesting games one could play with their postal investigators. Start using alternative scripts for return addresses that you drop in mailboxes in other states to yourself. I'm thinking Arabic for one. ***** Moderator's Note ***** I can think of a lot of reasons for everyone to do it, but the fact is that very few people are willing to buck the system in that way: it's the reason Tor is so seldom used. When you start crying "Wolf!" to get attention, sooner or later the wolf comes around to see what all the noise is about. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2013 23:56:31 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Positive Response to New iPhone Antitheft Feature Message-ID: <p06240834cdfaa2cf25f8@[10.0.1.12]> Positive Response to New iPhone Antitheft Feature By BRIAN X. CHEN JUNE 11, 2013 Thefts of Apple iPhones have become so widespread that the police have coined the term "Apple picking" to describe the crime. Apple says it has come up with a solution for the problem, and legal officials are already showing thanks to the company. Apple on Monday said its next mobile operating system, iOS 7, due out in the fall, will include a feature called Activation Lock that should help deter theft. The feature disables the iPhone even if a thief has turned it off or erased the data on the phone. It can be reactivated only after the user logs into it with the right Apple ID and password. ... http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/11/positive-response-to-new-iphone-antitheft-feature/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** Anti-theft software is nice in theory, but it has a weakness: it only benefits the phone's owner. I saw a story on 60 Minutes a while back, about a thief who specialized in lifting high-end stereos from luxury automobiles. He told the interviewer how some dealers tried to use the "antilock" codes to cheat him out of some of the money he wanted, to obtain "replacement parts" for cars their customers brought in after the radios had been stolen. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2013 13:23:14 -0400 From: T <kd1s.nospam@cox.nospam.net> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Remedies for Better Cellphone Signal and Quality Message-ID: <MPG.2c40cb125534bdf4989e1d@news.eternal-september.org> In article <20130705051401.GA17423@telecom.csail.mit.edu>, bill@horneQRM.net says... > Oh, Ghod, that's just so far off the road that Bambi is running away > at this very moment. The "predecessor" to cellphone voice calls was > IMTS, which had all the problems associated with connecting a RADIO > to a telephone line, coupled with the impedimenta of a trunk-mounted > transceiver, a roof mounted antenna, and a gargantuan control head > that took up more space than a CB set, and a special alternator to > handle the current drain. This part amuses me. I've installed a number of mobile amateur radio rigs. One of the first rules is to wire directly to the battery and bypass the alternator. And both leads get fused in that setup.
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2013 21:24:08 +0000 (UTC) From: David Lesher <wb8foz@panix.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Needed, conference calling Message-ID: <kr7dhn$l6f$1@reader2.panix.com> I'm again seeking a vendor for a conference bridge service. There are free ones, but they are worth what you pay for them. Features needed/wanted: a) non-800 numbers, likely in the 202 area [Some flexibility there] b) Less than 50 users. c) A https: web-based control panel for the moderator; she can see all callers, mute them, disconnect them, and see hand-raise requests. d) A permanent phone book listing users. In other words, we admit a caller, get their name, & enter it to show on the control panel. The NEXT conference, when they call in, it again shows their name. e) Security: The moderator must enable/disable the conference using different authentication than the users. (Or better, from the https: control page.) The moderator can set the user authentication code. I'm in the past found most suppliers fail on one or more of these. Any suggestions welcomed.... -- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2013 23:55:06 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Disruptions: Mobile Competition Shifts to Software Design Message-ID: <p06240833cdfaa2670dcc@[10.0.1.12]> Disruptions: Mobile Competition Shifts to Software Design By NICK BILTON JUNE 16, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO - Last week, Timothy D. Cook, Apple's chief executive, stood on stage at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference without a new version of the iPhone or the iPad or some new device. After showing off new laptop computers and a new, cylindrical Mac Pro, Mr. Cook and other Apple executives spent the rest of their two-hour keynote address discussing the features of Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 7. With the image of a flattened smartphone interface with thin typography on a screen in the background, Mr. Cook proudly noted, "This is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone." How does he figure that? Mr. Cook's bold claim was based on something that is well understood in tech circles but is easily overlooked by consumers. It is the design of the software, far more than the look and feel of the device itself, that allows a company to leap over its competitors. Hardware features like processing speed or screen resolution or even how well a camera works offer only fleeting advantages in the constant competition among smartphone manufacturers. And with more than a billion smartphones in the world today, much of them with the same rectangular design meant to fit in your hand yet large enough to be used as a phone, it is hard to imagine a breakthrough in their general look. But changes to the software are limited only by the skill and creativity of a company's engineers and designers and are not as easily mimicked since they appeal to softer notions like "experience" rather than speed or weight. ... http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/disruptions-mobile-competition-shifts-to-software-design/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** That's all very nice, but can I set it to run HDOS in STANDALONE mode? ;-) Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2013 23:58:56 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Real Estate Apps for Google Glass Message-ID: <p06240836cdfaa3474241@[10.0.1.12]> Real Estate Apps for Google Glass By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER JUNE 6, 2013 5:36 p.m. | Updated to add that Zillow is also planning apps for Glass. Walk down a street wearing Google Glass, and you can see alerts about nearby houses on the market. The alerts are courtesy of Trulia, the real estate site, which this week introduced an app for Google Glass. It is one of only a handful of apps available for the Internet-connected glasses, and is an example of how software developers are experimenting with the new device. Trulia's app sends alerts for houses that the service thinks users want to see, whether because of criteria they have previously given Trulia or because of the types of houses in which they have shown interest. On Google Glass, people can scroll through photographs, get walking directions to a house, hear a description, save a listing to an account and call or e-mail a real estate agent. Like Yelp or Google Maps, real estate sites like Trulia are an example of services that are often more helpful on mobile devices than on computers, because people use them to learn more about their current location. More than half of weekend traffic and a majority of leads for real estate agents come from mobile devices, according to Trulia. But the app raises the question of whether people want to see the information pushed to a screen in front of their eyes. ... http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/trulias-google-glass-app-shows-nearby-real-estate-listings/ ***** Moderator's Note ***** The problem I see here is that Trulia and similar sites are mostly useful for eliminating houses from a prospective buyer's "must see" list. Nobody is going to buy a home that they haven't been in, and no matter how much information a user can get from the web, the limiting factors remain the same as they have always been: distance and travel time. Mobil Oil had some sort of RFID device that they were pushing a few years back: it allowed customers to wave their "watch fob" at the pump, and buy gas without the bother of swiping a credit card. Consumers rejected it when they realized that it didn't make the gas pump go any faster. Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 2013 23:09:22 -0700 From: "Harold Hallikainen" <harold@hallikainen.org> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Remedies for Better Cellphone Signal and Quality Message-ID: <f15f97477082a74f2abf567b9f60ef11.squirrel@louise.hallikainen.org> I do think the writer has a valid point regarding voice quality (and latency) on cellular phones. When given a choice, I will place calls by POTS. The voice quality is much better and the latency is much lower. My old cellphone also sounded much better and had lower latency. It was analog. Now, though we've gained spectrum efficiency, the experience of a phone call on cellular is just tolerable. We put up with it for the convenience of mobility. But, if I really want to call someone, I'll use a real phone. Remember the Sprint "pin drop" TV ads? Could a cellular company differentiate their service by offering quality audio? There also is talk of abandoning circuit based telephony for packet (IP) based. For those using VoIP, how is the latency? Is it easy to carry on a conversation? Harold -- FCC Rules Updated Daily at http://www.hallikainen.com - Advertising opportunities available! Not sent from an iPhone.
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