---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <o0f1mc$kkq$1@dont-email.me> Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:14:17 -0500 From: Arnie Goetchius <arnie.goetchius@invalid.domain> Subject: Re: FTC Do-Not-Call web page redesigned Telecom Digest Moderator wrote: >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** >> >> To the readers - >> >> This post makes me realize that I'm not up on the current Do-Not-Call >> laws. If you know about them, please post a summary of the changes, >> especially ones that affect cell phones: I'm very interested in the >> "prior relationship" exceptions as well. TIA. > > ref: FCC regs from > https://consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/articles/202873880-Rules-and-Resources-for-Dealing-with-Unwanted-Calls-and-Texts > > Know Your Rights: The Rules on Robocalls and Robotexts > > 1. Telemarketing calls can be stopped by consumers through the Do Not > Call registry which protects both landline and wireless phones. ===snipped=== What I know is that the current Do-Not-Call laws do not work because I get 5-10 robo calls a day. Fortunately, I get rid of them using: https://www.nomorobo.com/ This service intercepts all calls after the first ring. If the incoming call is on nomorobo's do-not-call list, it is intercepted by their computer which sends some kind of answer and hang up signal. All I have to do is put up with a bunch of single ring calls every day. This will only work if you have a digital voice calling service e.g Verizon FiOS which permits simultaneous ring to two numbers. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <22e60aa9-889a-44e2-8dc5-d83e5560b87d@googlegroups.com> Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2016 11:17:47 -0800 (PST) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Phone scammers targeted in bill passed by House The Newark (NJ) Star Ledger reported that scammers who disguise their caller-ID would be committing a crime per a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. It now goes to the Senate. full article at: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/11/house_passes_njs_lance_bill_to_crack_down_on_phony.html#incart_river_home ------------------------------ Message-ID: <8BAA345E-87BE-4933-A989-5ACC5FAFEF81@roscom.com> Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2016 20:26:50 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say By Matt Apuzzo and Michael S. Schmidt WASHINGTON - For about $50, you can get a smartphone with a high-definition display, fast data service and, according to security contractors, a secret feature: a backdoor that sends all your text messages to China every 72 hours. Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. The American authorities say it is not clear whether this represents secretive data mining for advertising purposes or a Chinese government effort to collect intelligence. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/politics/china-phones-software-security.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <0DBA2C9E-0ED6-4ACC-886C-4C853E61A58E@roscom.com> Date: Wed, 16 Nov 2016 21:47:42 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps Biggest Spike in Traffic Deaths in 50 Years? Blame Apps Highway deaths have surged in the last two years, and experts put much of the blame on in-car use of smartphones and dashboard apps. By Neal E. Boudette The messaging app Snapchat allows motorists to post photos that record the speed of the vehicle. The navigation app Waze rewards drivers with points when they report traffic jams and accidents. Even the game Pokemon Go has drivers searching for virtual creatures on the nation's highways. When distracted driving entered the national consciousness a decade ago, the problem was mainly people who made calls or sent texts from their cellphones. The solution then was to introduce new technologies to keep drivers' hands on the wheel. Innovations since then - car Wi-Fi and a host of new apps - have led to a boom in internet use in vehicles that safety experts say is contributing to a surge in highway deaths. http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/business/tech-distractions-blamed-for-rise-in-traffic-fatalities.html ------------------------------ Message-ID: <194CB08A-4F3F-43DB-8778-074CA042B9FD@roscom.com> Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2016 09:06:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Why Your Next iPhone Won't be Ceramic Why Your Next iPhone Won't be Ceramic A few weeks ago, a post on Quora set the Apple echo chamber on fire by theorizing that the next iteration of the iPhone would ditch machined aluminum for ceramic. Underpinning this post was a series of conclusions extrapolated from Apple patent filings that indicate the ID team has been working (in Japan) on some modifications to ceramic slurry casting, as well as an omnibus patent attempting to lay claim to any electronic gadget with a ceramic enclosure. To say that I disagreed with this conclusion would be an understatement (there might have been some snarky back-n-forth on Twitter), but it was difficult to draw a conclusion given the real lack of data. http://atomicdelights.com/blog/why-your-next-iphone-wont-be-ceramic ------------------------------ Message-ID: <hb9r2cp37en666inianb916afjmeul9gog@4ax.com> Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2016 07:51:25 -0500 From: Pete Cresswell <PeteCress@invalid.telecom-digest.org> Subject: Re: FTC Do-Not-Call web page redesigned Per Arnie Goetchius: >...5-10 robo calls a day..... NoMoRobo > >All I have to do is put up with a bunch of single ring calls every >day. Post-election, I've had it up to *here* with robocalls.... It even occurred to me to vote for the party that inflicted the fewest robocalls... (just kidding....) Now I'm torn between spending the big bucks on CallerID/Simultaneous Ring/NoMoRobo and moving my incoming calls to the VOIP service I already use for outgoing and implementing Challenge/Response ("Press 1 for.....") on same. With a GoldList, of course, for known CallerIDs of frequent callers. I am thinking that challenge-response on the VOIP service will do the job for now - until the robocallers get up to speed on voice recognition and AI... which might not be *too* far in the future. But the deal breaker/maker for me is going to be whether-or-not I can still have the local telco's hard-wired 911 service. I am put off by the additional layers that must be involved in a VOIP provider's 911 implementation. It would be a major kick in the butt for somebody in the house to have major chest pains and wind up talking to the emergency response center in Glacier, Montana because of an incorrect row in some lookup table somewhere. -- Pete Cresswell ------------------------------ Message-ID: <o0ld7e$k2p$1@dont-email.me> Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2016 18:07:56 -0500 From: Arnie Goetchius <arnie.goetchius@invalid.domain> Subject: Re: FTC Do-Not-Call web page redesigned Pete Cresswell wrote: > Per Arnie Goetchius: >> ...5-10 robo calls a day..... NoMoRobo >> >> All I have to do is put up with a bunch of single ring calls every >> day. > Now I'm torn between spending the big bucks on CallerID/Simultaneous > Ring/NoMoRobo and moving my incoming calls to the VOIP service I already > use for outgoing and implementing Challenge/Response ("Press 1 > for.....") on same. With a GoldList, of course, for known CallerIDs of > frequent callers. Another possibility which does the same thing and is a lot cheaper is Phone Tray Pro at http://www.phonetray.com/. It costs $30 for the software and $10 a year for updates. You build your own black list as they come in and can also add known good numbers to a white list. You need a fax modem with caller ID support. I started with Phone Tray Pro a couple of years ago and it still runs on one of my computers. No need to switch to a VOIP incoming service if you use this software with a fax modem. You do have to spend some time adding the bad guys to your black list but it works just as well as NoMoRobo. ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20161117145419.GA22837@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2016 09:54:19 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: Verizon acquires SocialRadar to buff up MapQuest's location data By Frederic Lardinois We got word earlier today that Verizon had acquired SocialRadar, a mapping startup founded by Blackboard co-founder Michael Chasen that promises to provide its users with far more accurate location data for businesses - down to where exactly a door is. Reached by phone, Chasen confirmed the acquisition. Verizon, the corporate parent of TechCrunch and AOL, will use SocialRadar's technology in MapQuest. While you may not spend a lot of time thinking about MapQuest these days (or print out its directions to take on road trips), it's still one of the biggest online and mobile mapping services on the market. Beside its consumer tools, it has a thriving B2B business and a very large number of developers who use its data in their apps. https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/16/verizon-acquires-socialradar-to-buff-up-mapquests-location-data/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <o0l43q$fii$1@dont-email.me> Date: Thu, 17 Nov 2016 14:32:22 -0600 From: Dave Garland <dave.garland@wizinfo.com> Subject: Re: FTC Do-Not-Call web page redesigned On 11/17/2016 6:51 AM, Pete Cresswell wrote: > But the deal breaker/maker for me is going to be whether-or-not I can > still have the local telco's hard-wired 911 service. I am put off by > the additional layers that must be involved in a VOIP provider's 911 > implementation. It would be a major kick in the butt for somebody in > the house to have major chest pains and wind up talking to the > emergency response center in Glacier, Montana because of an incorrect > row in some lookup table somewhere. I haven't ever used it (there is a test number to call, and that says it works ok), but my VoIP vendor (voip.ms) provides 911 service referencing the physical address I provide them. Cost $1.50/month (it's optional), which they say is what it costs them. ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Fri, 18 Nov 2016