33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2015 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.

The Telecom Digest for Jul 15, 2015
Volume 34 : Issue 135 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: Theaters Struggle With Patrons' Phone Use During Shows (Don Y)
Sundar Pichai of Google Talks About Phone Intrusion (Monty Solomon)
Reinventing Google for a Mobile World (Monty Solomon)
Re: Theaters Struggle With Patrons' Phone Use During Shows (Pete Cresswell)
Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists (Barry Margolin)

The task on our part is twofold: First, as simple patriotism requires, to separate the false from the real issues; and, secondly, with facts and without rancor, to clarify the real problems for the American public. There will be - there are - many false issues. In that respect, this will be no different from other campaigns. Partisans, not willing to face realities, will drag out red herrings as they have always done - to divert attention from the trail of their own weaknesses.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

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Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 12:26:11 -0700 From: Don Y <anonymous@invalid.telecom-digest.us> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Theaters Struggle With Patrons' Phone Use During Shows Message-ID: <mnuf12$ggq$1@speranza.aioe.org> On 7/11/2015 8:10 PM, Monty Solomon wrote: > Recorded announcements and personal pleas have only a limited > effect, as recent incidents on Broadway and elsewhere demonstrate. On a somewhat related note... I've often wondered why such venues don't "shield" the rooms with aluminized paint, etc. Granted, it won't stop folks from playing games on their phones -- but the inbound/outbound traffic would be stopped. [I suspect an active jammer is illegal] I've thought of painting the rooms, here, similarly in an attempt to curb RF leakage (and infiltration) -- WiFi services that I'm not keen on others being able to snoop, interact or distrupt. However, I am reluctant to do so as paint is damn near "forever"! And, no idea how that would increase liability (e.g., someone has a heart attack in the living room and calls to 911 are effectively blocked). Of course, IANAL but I don't think a big sign on the front door that states "DANGER: Wireless devices inoperative inside" would suffice... Back on topic: is there any means of "fixing" this problem -- short of reeducating folks on "manners" and "social responsibility"?
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 19:50:26 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Sundar Pichai of Google Talks About Phone Intrusion Message-ID: <FDCA19E6-B230-4C20-AD16-AA0C03900C79@roscom.com> Sundar Pichai of Google Talks About Phone Intrusion Google's senior vice president of products speaks at length about how Google products and apps try to balance giving you information with letting you live your life. http://goo.gl/HJJHLu
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 01:21:50 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Reinventing Google for a Mobile World Message-ID: <B77338E6-97CE-42D4-A58A-5FEA219EF690@roscom.com> As Google races to become as essential on smartphones as it is on desktops, competition is popping up throughout Silicon Valley. Amit Singhal, Google's search chief, oversees the 200 or so factors that determine where websites rank in the company's search engine, which means he decides if your website lives or dies. His current challenge: figuring out how to spread that same fear and influence to mobile phones. In a recent interview at Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., Mr. Singhal laid out a widely held thesis for why smartphones are fundamentally changing how people are consuming information: Phones have small screens that are annoying to type on, and people have grown so addicted to their phones that they carry them everywhere and go to bed with them by their side. Also, in a shift with big implications for his company's sway over the Internet, smartphone users spend the bulk of their time in mobile apps instead of the open web on which Google built its business. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/technology/reinventing-google-for-a-mobile-world.html ***** Moderator's Note ***** "Addicted"! Yes, that is the word I've been searching for! Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 17:03:32 -0400 From: Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Theaters Struggle With Patrons' Phone Use During Shows Message-ID: <4fl5qapb0siqpcl7mp1r85jhjcer5in4cv@4ax.com> Per Monty Solomon: >Recorded announcements and personal pleas have only a limited effect, >as recent incidents on Broadway and elsewhere demonstrate. > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/theater/theaters-struggle-with-patrons-phone-use-during-shows.html > "'High-tech solutions remain off the table. Except for authorized federal law enforcement, cellphone jamming is illegal in the United States. And for good reason, according to Brian Josef, assistant vice president for regulatory affairs for the Washington-based trade group CTIA: The Wireless Association. "We can all think about emergencies in theaters or schools where being able to reach 911 is critical," he said. "The worry is that jammers are a very blunt instrument." Worse yet, they cut into minutes used and, therefore, revenue..... -) - - Pete Cresswell ***** Moderator's Note ***** The CTIA seems to feel that anything which annoys the members of the trade group is a "blunt instrument", which will have to be refined so as not to endanger hoi polloi. How, I ask, did a question about disabling cellphones so as to enjoy a quiet theater turn into an implied warning about dead children in schools? Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2015 16:53:49 -0400 From: Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists Message-ID: <barmar-B42102.16534912072015@88-209-239-213.giganet.hu> In article <06eddb28-1e63-4c4a-a167-d6e8c88b1b4e@googlegroups.com>, HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> wrote: > For example, many hotels and motels do not have a concierge, and a > guest seeking tickets (per above) would need a computer to find out > local events and to order tickets. Many places these days really push > for their patrons to use a computer rather than ordering by phone or > even in person. I've never been to a luxury hotel that doesn't have a concierge. -- Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***

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