From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Aug 6 22:26:00 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h772PxI07346; Wed, 6 Aug 2003 22:26:00 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 22:26:00 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308070226.h772PxI07346@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #601 TELECOM Digest Wed, 6 Aug 2003 22:26:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 601 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Bell Canada Structures Manager (Kevin McCauley) SheerPower 4GL -- Beyond BASIC V3.4 (Christina) Making Contact With MCI (news.btconnect.com) FTC Zaps Cellphone "Shield" Spammers/scammers (Danny Burstein) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Lisa Hancock) Blatant Advertising (Justin Time) Asterisk OpenPBX (John Schmerold) Cavalier Local Telephone Service (A. Trent) Wednesday Morning Telecom Headlines (Eric Friedebach) No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! (A. Trent) Comcast to Extend 3mbps Trials (Monty Solomon) Coping With Cellphone Calls Overseas (Monty Solomon) Re: Your Cellphone is a Homing Device (Alan Phillips) Re: Speaking of Speaking Clocks (Alan Phillips) Does GTE Restrict Access to Certain Toll-Free Calling Cards? (John A) Vonage (mjs2032@rochester.rr.com) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Kevin McCauley Subject: Bell Canada Structures Manager Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 20:30:35 -0400 Organization: Bell Sympatico Hello, I am an employee of Canada's biggest telecom company - Bell Canada. I am a "Structures Manager" meaning that I am basically responsible for the conduit structure through which copper and optical cables are pulled. I am also responsible for manholes being built and "remote" deployment. I do this for the greater Toronto area in Ontario Canada. I'm just looking for people who do something similar to exchange experiences and lessons learned with. Anyone out there ?? Kevin ------------------------------ From: sheerpower@ttinet.com (Christina) Subject: SheerPower 4GL -- Beyond BASIC V3.4 Date: 6 Aug 2003 17:37:33 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ TOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC. RELEASES SHEERPOWER 4GL -- BEYOND BASIC SAN DIEGO -- SheerPower 4GL -- Beyond BASIC is a full development language but shares many advantages with popular scripting languages such as, ultra-fast development speeds and ease of learning the language. SheerPower can be used to write programs of any size, from simple web-enabled programs to vast database applications. You'll love the price. SheerPower 4GL is 100 percent free! And, you'll be impressed with your ability to write sexy applications in a snap! "The SheerPower 4GL Web site says that SheerPower 4GL is beyond BASIC, and that's quite accurate," said Taran Rampersad, professional software developer and author of "Extreme Programming." "It's as intuitive as BASIC even without the manual. At times I thought I was looking at well-documented BASIC code, or C code, and sometimes both." Join thousands of others and download SheerPower 4GL today at http://www.sp4gl.com -- the download is 100 percent free. Touch Technologies, Inc. (TTI) is a software research and development company based out of San Diego. Founded in 1982, TTI specializes in system utilities and custom application development for the OpenVMS and Windows NT marketplace. With a proven history of unparalleled excellence, TTI also offers high-level consulting and product sales worldwide. TTI's high-end software is currently in use by the majority of today's Fortune 1000 companies. Already holding a number of United States patents, TTI continues to push the limits of technology with its cutting-edge software solutions. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Touch Technologies (TTI) is also the proprietor of 'CameraWare', the software which takes your camera images into a central exchange in San Diego and serves them back out to the world at large. Ostensibly, good for any camera application, it appears to be used primarily as an 'adult' entertainment medium on the net. You download the video sender and reciever for free from http://cameraware.com and are free (and encouraged to) transmit 'adult' video 24 hours per day, seven days per week at no charge. The 'stand alone viewer' is where they get you: you have to pay handsomly to watch the 'adult' activities of others using the central server. There have been numerous allegations that TTI is unusually friendly with the San Diego office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and allegations of credit card misuse by the company. PAT] ------------------------------ From: news.btconnect.com Subject: Making Contact With MCI Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 20:59:57 UTC Organization: BT Openworld Hi, We are a UK business looking at making contact with MCI in the US to supply us with a range of 900 and Toll-Free numbers. Does anybody have a clue who to speak with either in the US or the UK as nobody at MCI's call center has a clue. Thanks in advance. J [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why do you want to get involved with that bunch of rascals? They do not have a very good reputation legally here in the USA at present (and never did, IMO.) PAT] ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: FTC Zaps Cellphone "Shield" Spammers/Scammers Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 19:38:32 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC "Two companies who marketed and sold bogus cell phone radiation protection patches have settled Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated federal laws by making false and misleading claims about their products. Using television and Internet advertising, Safety Cell, Inc. and Rhino International, Inc. deceptively indicated that their patches, designed to fit over the earpiece of any cell phone, could block a substantial amount of radiation and other electromagnetic energy emitted by cellular telephones, thereby reducing consumers' exposure to this radiation." rest of story, including the fines and penalties: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2003/08/rhino.htm Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones Date: 6 Aug 2003 10:01:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Monty Solomon wrote: > A graduate student living in Chicago, Fogel used his cell phone for > most calls. And when he replaced his dial-up Internet connection with > a cable line, he realized his regular phone wasn't central to his > life. > So Fogel joined as many as 7.5 million Americans who have "cut the > cord" and gone solo with their cells. I think it remains to be seen how far this trend will cost. It will come down to cost breakdown between landline and cell phone for given service patterns. It seems that cellphones have some special promotions ongoing right now which provide for substantial talk time as well as cheap or even free longdistance. This service isn't cheap, a heavy duty cellphone user will probably pay at least $50 and possibly $75 a month for that service. But the landline providers are starting to supply some freebies as well, such as unlimited long distance, so landline costs may come down and become a better value. It is true that finding an alternative hookup for the computer (ie cable modem) will eliminate much need for a landline that a cell phone can provide. There are disadvantages to cell phones: (1) the phones don't last forever and need periodic expensive replacement. (2) promotional plans end, and heavy users may find themselves paying usage fees that add up. (3) cell phones still have a long way to go for reliability, even if you're sitting in your living room. Added to that is battery failure. There are fewer and fewer pay phones out there for backup. (4) If your cellphone is lost or stolen, you've lost your link to the world. [public replies only please] ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Blatant Advertising Date: 6 Aug 2003 05:34:19 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Sheesh! Just looked at the latest group of posts by Monty Solomon. Of the 13, I would consider between 8 and 11 as blatant marketing fluff advertising depending on the measure you want to apply. Granted some of it is interesting and relevant in a minor way to telecom as the history of the Digest has proven, but really, do we need two pieces about the features of Nokia's cell phones or even word that AOL has launched this service, AT&T is rated the highest by some questionable criteria, or that Earthlink says its broadband is better than anyone else? As all this "news" is copied from various sources available freely on the web, and I get many of the feeds myself, is it worth repeating? Rodgers Platt [Lisa Minter note: But many or most of our readers do not get the same news feeds. In essence this Digest serves as the news feed for many of our readers. But your point is a good one, and I know that Monty Solomon is a regular reader here also, so I know he will see your complaint, and perhaps act accordingly. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 07:44:19 -0500 From: John Schmerold Subject: Asterisk OpenPBX There is an opensource pbx project sponsored by digium.com (nothing must be purchased from them to use the pbx.) See: http://lists.digium.com http://www.asteriskpbx.com/ http://www.digium.com/ http://google.com/search?q=%22asterisk+pbx%22 http://google.com/groups?q=%22asterisk+pbx%22 The project supports a wide range of technologies and hardware, in particular it supports VOIP, SIP phones and ADSI screen phones. Haven't figured out how, but I understand it supports providers/exchanges such as Pulver.com, Iconnecthere and does LCR, so I imagine TELCO cost reduction options are huge! I'm unaffliated with any of above. Just bought a channel bank and plan on being active as a user. Amazing stuff! ------------------------------ From: levitateme@mac.com (A. Trent) Subject: Cavalier Local Telephone Service Date: 6 Aug 2003 06:43:49 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I'm moving to a new place in Baltimore, MD and really want to avoid using Verizon as my local phone carrier. I've read some information about Cavalier and wanted to solicit any opinions from users here. In a newsgroup search, most of the negative comments seem to be dated about a year ago and have died out recently. Has Cavalier ironed out it's kinks? Thank you. ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Wednesday Morning Telecom Headlines Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 09:48:47 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Cingular to buy NextWave licenses for $1.4 billion By Yukari Iwatani CHICAGO (Reuters) - Cingular Wireless LLC Tuesday said it agreed to buy wireless licenses in 34 markets from bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc. for $1.4 billion in cash, to expand its coverage and accommodate future growth. The licenses cover 83 million potential customers primarily in markets where Cingular, the No. 2 U.S. wireless telephone company, currently has voice and data operations. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/05/rtr1049444.html Verizon says finalizing contract details Reuters, 08.05.03, 5:38 PM ET (Recasts, new details throughout) By Jessica Hall PHILADELPHIA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc., the largest U.S. telephone company, said on Tuesday it was finalizing a labor contract with two unions representing about 80,000 workers, or about one-third of its work force. "We believe we have established a framework that addresses all the major issues, including job security," Verizon spokesman Peter Thonis said in a statement. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/05/rtr1049554.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: levitateme@mac.com (A. Trent) Subject: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! Date: 6 Aug 2003 08:15:34 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I need some help. I've had Sprint PCS as my only phone for the past three years and have been very satisfied with everything. I'm moving into a new apartment and my phone does not get a signal inside. The moment I step back out to the sidewalk ... it's back. The previous tennants were friends of mine and I spent some extended time there and it has been the same every time. Their phone (I believe it's through Nextel) doesn't work inside either. I'd really like to stay with Sprint PCS as my only phone. I'm dreading having to install a land-line through Verizon. Has anyone had similar issues and does anyone have any suggestions? BTW, my phone is a Samsung SCH 8500 and I live just outside of Baltimore. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 01:55:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast to Extend 3mbps trials By Jim Hu Staff Writer, CNET News.com Comcast plans to expand consumer trials for a 3mbps high-speed Internet service, the latest step in the cable giant's effort to double the speed of its standard cable modem product. The new 30-day trial will begin Thursday in Pittsburgh for subscribers who pay $42.95 a month on top of basic cable TV service. A separate 3mbps test is already under way in Knoxville, Tenn. A company representative would not comment on whether Comcast plans to eventually offer 3mbps service to all of its subscribers. http://news.com.com/2100-1038-5060321.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 02:06:19 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Coping With Cellphone Calls Overseas By SUSAN STELLIN For executives used to having a cellphone practically grafted to one ear, a business trip overseas presents some communication challenges. Although some wireless users in the United States have phones that can be used abroad -- usually referred to as world phones or triband phones -- phones that work in some countries do not necessarily work in others, and international phones sometimes do not get the best coverage outside metropolitan areas at home. The problem is that cellphones typically operate using one of several network technologies, and the standard used in much of the world - the Global System for Mobile Communications, or G.S.M. -- is just catching on in the United States. But even then, there is a catch: G.S.M. networks in North America use a different frequency than the two frequencies used in Europe and many other countries (hence the need for a phone that is triband) and there are plenty of other countries that do not use G.S.M. Besides these equipment challenges, not all companies that operate networks have roaming agreements, and when they do, global roaming can be very expensive. So how do companies that have employees traveling overseas resolve this set of problems? http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/05/business/05CELL.html [Lisa Minter note: For the convenenience of readers here who also read NY Times, you are invited to use the group login name on NY Times, which is 'telecomdigest' and the group password 'telecomdigest. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ From: ap@shore.net (Alan Phillips) Subject: Re: Your Cellphone is a Homing Device Date: 6 Aug 2003 09:04:48 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I believe that www.ulocate.com currently offers tracking/mapping for cellphone ... Good luck. Stan wrote in message news:: > Monty Solomon wrote in message > news:telecom22.596.3@telecom-digest.org: >> Don't want the government to know where you are? Throw away your >> cell, stop taking the subway, and pay the toll in cash. >> By Brendan I. Koerner >> What your salesman probably failed to tell you -- and may not even >> realize -- is that an E911-capable phone can give your wireless >> carrier continual updates on your location. The phone is embedded with >> a Global Positioning System chip, which can calculate your coordinates >> to within a few yards by receiving signals from satellites. GPS >> technology gave U.S. military commanders a vital edge during Gulf War >> II, and sailors and pilots depend on it as well. In the E911-capable >> phone, the GPS chip does not wait until it senses danger, springing to >> life when catastrophe strikes; it's switched on whenever your handset >> is powered up and is always ready to transmit your location data back >> to a wireless carrier's computers. Verizon or T-Mobile can figure out >> which manicurist you visit just as easily as they can pinpoint a >> stranded motorist on Highway 59. > I guess they're not counting on those of us who read the manuals or > surf the phone's menus. Earlier this year, I got a Motorola T-720 from > Verizon. The manual explains that the GPS feature has three settings: > 1. You can turn it completely off. (paranoia mode) > 2. You can turn it on so that it's only active for E911 calls. > 3. You can leave it completely on. They say that the future, the'll pass > the information along to internet mapping services, so that you could > potentially receive maps or directions on your handset that would start at > your approximate location. > Since Verizon doesn't yet offer any mapping service, I opted for > #2. This is completely configurable by the end user. I don't really > see any nefarious plan to pinpoint every cellular user using this > technology. I assume that I could be found if I had an analog phone as > well, just with different technology. > -Stan ------------------------------ From: ap@shore.net (Alan Phillips) Subject: Re: Speaking of Speaking Clocks Date: 6 Aug 2003 09:07:13 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I believe that the phones display an icon if your GPD data is being transmitted. There is a tracking/mapping service available at www.ulocate.com. Jay R. Ashworth wrote in message news:: > Stanley settled back into the couch, and Charles Hoch > said to him: >> Now, totally unrelated to this, many new phones have GPS logic in >> them. This is in response to the mandate from the FCC for E911 >> service; that is, being able to locate a phone making a 911 call, >> within some prescribed precision, and using GPS is one solution. This >> is not standalone GPS: most of the work of the GPS protocol is done at >> the cell site, and the phone is asked to take some readings from >> specific GPS satellites and send the info to the cellsite, which >> computes the phone's location, and sends it on the the 911 >> center. Since much of the work of the GPS protocol is done in the cell >> site, location can be accomplished with much weaker signals from the >> satellites than required by a standalone unit. This includes indoors, >> basements, street level between skyscrapers (but not in subways). See >> www.snaptrack.com for details. > Which explains why, given a "GPS receiver" and Java in many new > phones, we *still* aren't seeing a location display on the phone -- > the *phone* doesn't know where it is. > Anyone got anything on whether the phones squawk when they're pinged > for location? > Stanley settled back into the couch, and Michael D Sullivan > said to him: >> Moreover, the special Verizon network providing service in the >> Washington Metro was, last I checked, analog-only. (It may have been >> upgraded recently, though.) A Verizon dual- or tri-mode phone will >> continue showing the time while in an analog area, based on updating >> the time from when it was last in a CDMA area. > And indeed, the clock on my PrimeCo 1900 stayed running when I went > out of range, up near Lecanto. > Cheers, > Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com > Member of the Technical Staff Baylink > The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think > Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 > God, unlike Anya, is fond of bunnies. -- Chelsea Christenson > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is it possible these things work like > (for example) La Crosse Technology wristwatches and certain other > products set by radio time signals? When it is possible for the > device to recieve a good, strong radio time signal it does so, but > when the signal is absent (due to interference, etc) then the device > has a highly accurate crystal controlled mechanism inside it which > takes over until the time/place the radio signal can be captured once > again? PAT] ------------------------------ From: johnambulance@hotmail.com (John A) Subject: Does GTE Restrict Access to Certain Toll-Free Calling Card Numbers? Date: 6 Aug 2003 09:21:00 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ We have recently experienced a new phenomenon wherby we can no longer call two toll-free calling card numbers that we have always been able to call successfully for the past 6 years with no problems. We are using AT&T TDMA phones (registered in New York, 917 and New Jersey, 201), and have experienced the problem whilst roaming in the following locations : Chattanooga Tennessee, Cookeville Tennessee, Louisville Kentucky, Lexington Kentucky. We can't help but notice that these locations are all covered by GTE Wireless. We have also had the same problem in Victoria BC and Vancouver BC. The problem seems to have become obvious over the past month. Does anyone have any theories why this should be. Thanks, John ------------------------------ From: mjs2032@rochester.rr.com Subject: Vonage Reply-To: mjs2032@rochester.rr.com Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 20:49:41 GMT Organization: Road Runner Off and on there has been some discussion in this group about the Vonage VoIP service. Up until now I mostly skipped over the messages because they were of marginal interest. However, faced with burgenoning business phone expenses I like to hear some good/bad/ugly information about the service before I plunk down my plastic. Mike Sutter - Ctek Inc. www.ctekproducts.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The *good news* about Vonage is that it is a reasonably good alternative to traditional land line service, and for most people a lot cheaper. My experience has been do not tip off most people that you are calling them via Vonage; they generally won't know the difference unless they are real audiophiles. On the other hand if they do not like the Vonage concept generally anyway, then telling them you are on Vonage just gives them one more thing to complain about, and they will be listening for slight line disturbances, etc. I still give away e-coupons good for a month of free service on Vonage to anyone who asks for it. The e-coupon is good for the *second month* on Vonage. Just write to me 'not for pub' and ask for a Vonage e-coupon if you want to try this excellent replacement to traditional telephone service. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #601 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Aug 7 14:13:52 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h77IDqk13771; Thu, 7 Aug 2003 14:13:52 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 14:13:52 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308071813.h77IDqk13771@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #602 TELECOM Digest Thu, 7 Aug 2003 14:12:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 602 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter SBC Communications to Deploy Wi-Fi Hot Spots in 6,000 Venues (M Solomon) QUALCOMM Announces Sampling of the MSM6250 Solution for WCDMA (Solomon) Chase and Wells Fargo Runs Fastest E-Banking Sites (Monty Solomon) 'Flash Mobs' Spread to Europe (Monty Solomon) Eating and Talking Found to be Culprits Distracting Drivers (M Solomon) Thursday Morning Telecom Headlines (Eric Friedebach) Re: Vonage (Pete Romfh) Re: Vonage (AES/newspost) Re: Making Contact With MCI (OneNetNut) Re: Making Contact With MCI (news.btconnect.com) Re: Cavalier Local Telephone Service (OneNetNut) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Ed Ellers) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (Steven J Sobol) Re: Coping With Cellphone Calls Overseas (Joseph) Re: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! (Joseph) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 22:57:07 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: SBC Communications to Deploy Wi-Fi Hot Spots in 6,000 Venues SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2003-- SBC companies will use existing network infrastructure, Cingular Wireless assets and roaming agreements to provide customers with consistent high-speed wireless Internet experience; Wi-Fi rollout strengthens SBC bundling strategy, enhances value of SBC Yahoo! DSL service SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC) today announced a groundbreaking initiative to deploy more than 20,000 Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) hot spots in 6,000 venues over the next three years and create an integrated Wi-Fi and third-generation (3G) wireless service to deliver unprecedented coverage that enables customers to enjoy a comparable broadband experience at home, in the office and on the road. The new Wi-Fi service, to be called FreedomLink(SM), will be available by the end of 2006 in more than 6,000 hotels, airports, convention centers and other venues throughout the SBC 13-state region. SBC companies plan to augment this extensive deployment through a roaming agreement with Wayport, Inc., a leading Wi-Fi service provider. The roaming agreement will give SBC customers access to Wayport services in more than 650 locations nationwide, including 565 hotels, eight airports and 75 restaurants. Wayport will also provide services that include Wayport's access control and customized SBC splash pages. To give subscribers access to additional hot spots, SBC companies will also pursue roaming agreements with other Wi-Fi service providers. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35156468 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 23:00:44 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: QUALCOMM Announces Sampling of the MSM6250 Solution for WCDMA - Single-Chip Solution Integrates Advanced Multimedia Capabilities Into a Dual-Mode WCDMA (UMTS) Chipset - SAN DIEGO, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced sampling to customers of the MSM6250(TM) Mobile Station Modem (MSM(TM)) chipset and system software supporting GSM, GPRS and the Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode of WCDMA (UMTS). The MSM6250 chipset represents QUALCOMM's third WCDMA (UMTS) chipset, a single-chip solution that includes all the advanced multimedia capabilities of the Launchpad(TM) suite of applications on QUALCOMM's proven modem platform, reducing manufacturer's development cycle and promoting faster time-to-market. The MSM6250 chipset includes the highly accurate and fully integrated global positioning system (GPS) solution, gpsOne(TM), the first GPS solution for the WCDMA (UMTS) market. Additionally, the MSM6250 system solution supports quad-band GSM and dual-band WCDMA (UMTS), which will help enable worldwide WCDMA (UMTS) and GSM roaming. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35157856 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 23:03:13 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Chase and Wells Fargo Runs Fastest E-Banking Sites Chase and Wells Fargo Runs Fastest E-Banking Sites According to New Keynote E-Banking Transaction Performance Index; Washington Mutual Slowest - Aug 6, 2003 08:02 AM (BusinessWire) SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 6, 2003-- Online Banks Deliver Relatively Slow and Dramatically Variable Experience to Consumers Keynote Systems (Nasdaq:KEYN), The Internet Performance Authority(R), today announced two weeks' worth of results for its new e-banking transaction performance index that measures the performance and availability for performing a typical online bank transaction on eight leading U.S. bank sites as measured from 10 major metropolitan areas. The results are startling and show that commercial banks deliver widely varying performance and relatively slow response times to customers using the Internet to execute common online bank transactions such as logging on to and checking an account balance. Leading the pack the weeks of 7/21 and 7/28 in average time to execute the transaction was Chase and Wells Fargo in the number one and two spot respectively. During the week of 7/21 and 7/28 Chase Bank's average response time was 8.16 seconds and 8.29 seconds respectively. Wells Fargo's execution speed averaged 8.58 seconds and 9.48 seconds respectively. Washington Mutual ranked eighth on Keynote's e-banking transaction index both weeks at 23.09 seconds and 23.44 seconds respectively. The e-banking index average for performance was 12.43 seconds the week of July 21. For the week of July 28 the index was 12.39 seconds. Chase Bank held the number one spot in availability at 99.66 percent the week of 7/21. The week of 7/28 US Bank held the number one spot in availability at 99.91 percent. Wells Fargo was in the number two spot in availability the week of 7/21 at 99.46 percent. Chase Bank was number two in availability the week of 7/28 at 99.84 percent. Washington Mutual was eighth in availability both weeks at 92.37 percent and 89.07 percent respectively. The e-banking index average for availability was 97.76 percent the week of July 21. For the week of July 28 the index was 97.10 percent. The eight banks included on Keynote's e-banking transaction performance index are Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Chase (NYSE:JPM), Fleet Bank (NYSE:FBF), SunTrust (NYSE:STI), US Bank (NYSE:USB), Wachovia (NYSE:WB), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC). - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35158114 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 23:37:36 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 'Flash Mobs' Spread to Europe By CNN's Sandra Shmueli LONDON, England (CNN) -- The craze for "flash mobs" -- where jokers gather en masse at a moment's notice, perform an inane activity and then disperse quickly -- is spreading across Europe. Arranged via Web sites and e-mails, flash mob members voluntarily and simultaneously converge to the venue mentioned in a general e-mail and then collect detailed instructions for the event. They partake in a silly and harmless activity and then disperse at a given time. The phenomenon's creator is reported to be someone called "Bill," who began the trend by e-mailing 50 people and asking them to gather at a shop in downtown Manhattan. In June 2003, after the initial attempt at a flash mob was foiled, over 100 people assembled in the home furnishings department of Macy's department store. As instructed, the participants consulted bemused sales assistants about purchasing a "love rug" for their "suburban commune." Another Manhattan flash mob involved a crowd in a shoe shop in Soho pretending to be tourists on a bus holiday from Maryland. A later mob saw hundreds of people perched on a stone ledge in Central Park making bird noises. The concept has spread quickly across the United States and to Europe, Australia and Singapore. The first European mob took place in Rome on July 24, when 300 people entered a music and bookshop asking for non-existent titles. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/index.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 11:15:39 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Eating and Talking Found to be Culprits Distracting Drivers By Jaweed Kaleem, Knight Ridder, 8/7/2003 WASHINGTON -- Cellphones sometimes distract drivers, but eating, talking to passengers, and tuning the radio distract them far more often. In the first study to use in-car video cameras to record driving habits, a research group funded by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety said yesterday that every one of the 70 motorists it recorded was distracted at some point. On average, drivers drove distracted 16 percent of the time. The drivers tested ranged in age from 18 to 80. They were told the exercise was to see how they handled different road conditions, and each driver was videotaped for a week. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/219/nation/Eating_and_talking_are_found_to_be_culprits_in_distracting_drivers+.shtml ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Thursday Morning Telecom Headlines Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 10:54:53 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach WorldCom stopped call routing after subpoena-report Reuters, 08.07.03, 4:12 AM ET NEW YORK, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Records from AT&T Corp. show that its bankrupt telephone service rival, WorldCom, stopped routing phone calls through Canada right after it received a subpoena from the U.S. Justice Department, The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, citing unnamed sources. WorldCom won approval from a judge on Wednesday night to settle civil fraud charges and pay a $750 million fine, clearing a major hurdle for it to emerge from bankruptcy. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/07/rtr1051275.html DoCoMo posts Q1 profit on 3G growth, stays cautious Reuters, 08.07.03, 6:19 AM ET By Kiyoshi Takenaka TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Japan's top mobile phone operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc, reported a quarterly profit on Thursday, helped by strong growth at its third-generation (3G) service and solid per-user revenues, with no big overseas losses this time. DoCoMo, Asia's most valuable company with a market capitalisation of $116 billion, earned 196.82 billion yen ($1.64 billion) in group net profit in the first quarter to June 30 on sales of 1.25 trillion yen. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/07/rtr1051407.html A Phone That Finds You Arik Hesseldahl, 08.07.03, Forbes.com, 10:00 AM ET NEW YORK - If you've bought a mobile phone in the last year or so, chances are it not only knows your phone number but it also knows where you are. Many mobile-phone makers have been giving their handsets the ability to track their location -- and yours along with it -- in order to meet requirements set down by Congress. When you dial 911 on a wireless phone, emergency aid workers should be able to find you quickly, the theory goes -- and a mobile phone broadcasting your coordinates makes that easier. You can consider it an invasion of your privacy if you like, but you can also turn it off so that the phone doesn't track your location until you actually dial 911. But the requirement is still there. http://www.forbes.com/2003/08/07/cx_ah_0807tentech.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: Vonage Date: Wed, 6 Aug 2003 23:20:17 -0500 mjs2032@rochester.rr.com wrote: > Off and on there has been some discussion in this group > about the Vonage VoIP service. Up until now I mostly > skipped over the messages because they were of marginal > interest. However, faced with burgenoning business phone > expenses I like to hear some good/bad/ugly information > about the service before I plunk down my plastic. > Mike Sutter - Ctek Inc. > www.ctekproducts.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: The *good news* about > Vonage is that it is a reasonably good alternative to > traditional land line service, and for most people a lot > cheaper. My experience has been do not tip off most > people that you are calling them via Vonage; they > generally won't know the difference unless they are real > audiophiles. On the other hand if they do not like the > Vonage concept generally anyway, then telling them you > are on Vonage just gives them one more thing to complain > about, and they will be listening for slight line > disturbances, etc. > I still give away e-coupons good for a month of free > service on Vonage to anyone who asks for it. The e-coupon > is good for the *second month* on Vonage. Just write to > me 'not for pub' and ask for a Vonage e-coupon if you > want to try this excellent replacement to traditional > telephone service. PAT] I've been using it for about 3 months now and have been quite satisfied. There have been a couple of outages, each relating to a problem here. Things stop working when spouse trips over LAN cable in closet and doesn't tell you. Also stops when power to cable modem and router is interrupted by loose plug at back of UPS. Neither could be blamed on Vonage service. Voice quality has been fine for domestic and international calls. No queries from distant parties about what kind of phone we're one. Operation is totally similar to "normal" phone so my spouse had no problems using it. She just remembers to pick up the cordless when placing LD calls (or a local call to the kids in Chicago even though we're in Houston). I used one of Pat's e-coupons. Got a free month. Free is always good. Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net ------------------------------ From: AES/newspost Subject: Re: Vonage Date: Wed, 06 Aug 2003 20:39:15 -0700 In article , mjs2032@rochester.rr.com wrote: > Off and on there has been some discussion in this group about the > Vonage VoIP service. Up until now I mostly skipped over the messages > because they were of marginal interest. However, faced with > burgenoning business phone expenses I like to hear some good/bad/ugly > information about the service before I plunk down my plastic. Dan Gillmor, tech columnist with the San Jose Merc, is currently writing about his conversion to VoIP. He went with another service, but had some favorable or at least non-negative comments about Vonage as I recall. He has a web site; try Googling for it, or branching of the SJM site. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Wink & Grin: But did Dan Gillmor give coupons for a month of free service as I do? PAT] ------------------------------ From: OneNetNut Subject: Re: Making Contact With MCI Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 00:09:22 -0500 LOL. Just realized that MCI is now the only carrier doing 900 service. AT&T pulled out last year. (They almost got back into it when WorldCon filed for Chapter 11.) On Wed, 6 Aug 2003 20:59:57 UTC, news.btconnect.com wrote: > Hi, > We are a UK business looking at making contact with MCI in the US to > supply us with a range of 900 and Toll-Free numbers. > Does anybody have a clue who to speak with either in the US or the UK > as nobody at MCI's call center has a clue. > Thanks in advance. > J > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why do you want to get involved with > that bunch of rascals? They do not have a very good reputation legally > here in the USA at present (and never did, IMO.) PAT] ------------------------------ From: news.btconnect.com Subject: Re: Making Contact With MCI Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 10:05:35 UTC Organization: BT Openworld news.btconnect.com wrote in message news:telecom22.601.3@telecom-digest.org: > Hi, > We are a UK business looking at making contact with MCI in the US to > supply us with a range of 900 and Toll-Free numbers. > Does anybody have a clue who to speak with either in the US or the UK > as nobody at MCI's call center has a clue. > Thanks in advance. > J > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why do you want to get involved with > that bunch of rascals? They do not have a very good reputation legally > here in the USA at present (and never did, IMO.) PAT] I've heard this too. Who else do you suggest that I contact to obtain 900 and toll-free numbers as I understand MCI is the only ones who allocate them to businesses. [J] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I suggest two things: Judith Oppenheimer here in the USA, in New York City, can put you in contact for all the 800 numbers you could ever want, vanity style or otherwise. Note the link to her websites and email addresses on the main page at http://telecom-digest.org near the top of the page. She will get you *good, honest* vendors of 800/888/877/866 numbers; maybe even sell you some herself. Regards 900, a far superior way to go (assuming you want to go with voice mail type audio services on 900) is to contact one of the many creators of same here in the USA; John Higdon comes to mind; I am sure he can build those for you easily. But the catch is you do not use 900 (which is also fraught with problems) and go instead with regular dialup numbers with a request to enter a passcode at the start of each conversation, having your own customer service people (or outsourcing that function) issue the passcodes so YOU can keep your hands on the money involved. One of the notorious 'problems' with MCI and other traditional vendors of 900 service in the past were that they wouldn't give you your commissions, making all sorts of bum excuses to charge back as much/many as possible. John Higdon is very familiar with that scenario. Get MCI if you want; they just won't pay; they'll stiff you every chance they get, overlooking nothing. Even if you are talking about technical advice type lines or some other service function involving mostly live chat, consider a front end which demands a valid passcode with a certain number of minutes of time on it which gets deducted as it gets used. You sell the passcodes, of course, and use regular telephone lines for the business. Let's say you are selling, umm, computers. You want to give each buyer a certain number of free minutes of tech time, then begin charging. You put a passcode in the box and a dialup number to use. The passcode gets the number of minutes you designate. Additional passcode minutes can be purchased from YOUR customer service person using a *validated* credit card, etc or on open account, whatever. I feel certain John Higdon can handle all that for you, and you can then go rinse your hands. I've worked along with John on things like that in the past, and if you are intending a USA-based operation with this, I'd be pleased to work along with John again if he and you wanted to. PAT] ------------------------------ From: OneNetNut Subject: Re: Cavalier Local Telephone Service Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 00:09:27 -0500 My girlfriend has them and is pretty happy with them. She had some major billing headaches with them the first couple of months. Their promo said she would get the first month free but they kept charging her in arrears until she threatened to cancel. Just one thing to be cautious of: I don't think they offer DSL service and Verizon won't support DSL if you're not using them for your local service. On 6 Aug 2003 06:43:49 -0700, levitateme@mac.com (A. Trent) wrote: > I'm moving to a new place in Baltimore, MD and really want to avoid > using Verizon as my local phone carrier. I've read some information > about Cavalier and wanted to solicit any opinions from users here. In > a newsgroup search, most of the negative comments seem to be dated > about a year ago and have died out recently. Has Cavalier ironed out > it's kinks? > Thank you. ------------------------------ From: Ed Ellers Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones Organization: Insight Broadband Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 06:01:59 GMT Lisa Hancock wrote: > There are disadvantages to cell phones: > (1) the phones don't last forever and need periodic expensive > replacement. > (2) promotional plans end, and heavy users may find themselves > paying usage fees that add up. > (3) cell phones still have a long way to go for reliability, even > if you're sitting in your living room. Added to that is battery > failure. There are fewer and fewer pay phones out there for backup. > (4) If your cellphone is lost or stolen, you've lost your link > to the world. I've been told that some businesses won't deal with you if your only phone number is for a wireless phone. ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 01:48:41 -0500 John Schmerold wrote: > There is an opensource pbx project sponsored by digium.com (nothing > must be purchased from them to use the pbx.) > See: > http://lists.digium.com > http://www.asteriskpbx.com/ > http://www.digium.com/ > http://google.com/search?q=%22asterisk+pbx%22 > http://google.com/groups?q=%22asterisk+pbx%22 > The project supports a wide range of technologies and hardware, in > particular it supports VOIP, SIP phones and ADSI screen phones. > Haven't figured out how, but I understand it supports > providers/exchanges such as Pulver.com, Iconnecthere and does LCR, so > I imagine TELCO cost reduction options are huge! I am working on an Internet telephony project using Asterisk. It's something else, and the developers deserve tons of kudos. Pulver and IconnectHere both support SIP, in fact I think they both offer specific * support (but I could be remembering wrong). Regarding LCR, you have to program it in yourself, but it's not hard. You can set up your dialplans in any one of a number of ways - and Asterisk has a technology called AGI that allows you to extend the software quite easily. > I'm unaffliated with any of above. Just bought a channel bank and > plan on being active as a user. > Amazing stuff! JustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: Coping With Cellphone Calls Overseas Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 07:27:44 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On Wed, 6 Aug 2003 02:06:19 -0400, Monty Solomon wrote: > From the article: > The problem is that cellphones typically operate using one of > several network technologies, and the standard used in much of the > world the Global System for Mobile Communications, or > G.S.M. is just catching on in the United States. But even > then, there is a catch: G.S.M. networks in North America use a > different frequency than the two frequencies used in Europe and many > other countries (hence the need for a phone that is triband) and there > are plenty of other countries that do not use G.S.M. This is true and there will always be the exception. However, over 70% of the world uses GSM so you're more likely than not especially for the business traveler to be able to connect if you have a multi band GSM phone. > Ms. Pfeffer bought a SIM card and subscribed to an international > service plan from Verizon, which she said costs $10 a month plus > "pretty substantial" per-minute rates for calls. She explained that > she needed the paper trail of a monthly so she could file expenses. A > cheaper solution is to buy a SIM card for a particular country > in effect, a local service plan; some people buy multiple > cards if they travel regularly to several countries. And it should be mentioned that for a traveler who does not have a credit record or credit card records in a foreign country it is usually very difficult if not impossible to get "monthly" accounts and they will be relegated to getting prepaid accounts. > For one thing, he said, those countries use different technologies > so he cannot get a phone that works everywhere he travels, and to > get a world phone in the United States, he would have to change > service providers, which would mean a new phone number. If he used a forwarding service such as Kall8 he could use the same number all the time. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ From: Joseph Subject: Re: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! Date: Thu, 07 Aug 2003 07:38:42 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: joeofseattle@yahoo.com On 6 Aug 2003 08:15:34 -0700, levitateme@mac.com (A. Trent) wrote: > I need some help. I've had Sprint PCS as my only phone for the past > three years and have been very satisfied with everything. I'm moving > into a new apartment and my phone does not get a signal inside. The > moment I step back out to the sidewalk ... it's back. The previous > tenants were friends of mine and I spent some extended time there and > it has been the same every time. Their phone (I believe it's through > Nextel) doesn't work inside either. I'd really like to stay with > Sprint PCS as my only phone. I'm dreading having to install a > land-line through Verizon. Has anyone had similar issues and does > anyone have any suggestions? BTW, my phone is a Samsung SCH 8500 and > I live just outside of Baltimore. The problem you describe is a common one and the reason is either that you're not close enough to the nearest mobile base station or more possibly since others have difficulty using mobile service is that the density of the building is too dense to allow the radio waves to penetrate into the building. The only possible solution to your problem *might* be to have a repeater installed. And if your building is still a problem even that might not work. A repeater solution would also be costly and could cost as much as $500. It's unfortunate for you, but your only alternative to service is to get regular land line service from your telco and forward your SPCS phone to your regular number when you're at home. Replies are seldom read. Please reply in the group ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. 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His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #602 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Aug 8 16:24:04 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h78KO4r05948; Fri, 8 Aug 2003 16:24:04 -0400 (EDT) Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 16:24:04 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308082024.h78KO4r05948@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #603 TELECOM Digest Fri, 8 Aug 2003 16:23:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 603 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Company's Error Sends Customers to Adult Phone Line (Monty Solomon) Lindows Chief Hears Net Phones Calling (Monty Solomon) Wireless Streaming Standard Approved (Monty Solomon) KQED-TV Expands Into Digital Market (Monty Solomon) Hacker Gets Acxion Customer Information (Monty Solomon) Firm Helps 911 Locate People Crying For Help (Monty Solomon) Re: Making Contact With MCI (news.btconnect.com) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Justin Time) Modem Emulation Over IP (Jud Hardcastle) Re: Chase and Wells Fargo Runs Fastest E-Banking Sites (Joe Mauk) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (SayNoToCrossposters) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 01:01:44 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Company's Error Sends Customers to Mass. Adult Phone Line By Associated Press, 8/6/2003 05:47 SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) Some unsuspecting Verizon customers trying to pick a new long-distance plan were offered 'sexy introductions' and a chance to 'continue the fun' on an adult phone line. A letter sent to thousands of Verizon long-distance customers across the country last week listed a number for 'Intimate Connections' as a Verizon customer service number, Verizon officials said Tuesday. http://www.boston.com/dailynews/218/region/Company_s_error_sends_customer:.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 01:33:32 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Lindows Chief Hears Net Phones Calling By John Borland Staff Writer, CNET News.com MP3.com and Lindows founder Michael Robertson is once again launching a new start-up aimed at shaking up the old technological order, focusing this time on providing free Internet-based phone service. Robertson's new self-funded venture, called SIPphone, was unveiled Wednesday morning after nearly a year of preparation. SIP stands for "Session Initiation Protocol," a technology that lies at the heart of the fast-growing Internet voice business. The new company is selling phones that allow customers to make Internet-based calls for free, anywhere in the world -- but there's a catch. They can only call other phones that use the same technology, leaving most of the world's regular telephones out of reach. Still, Robertson believes that over time, the technology can provide serious competition for traditional telephone companies. http://news.com.com/2100-1037-5060748.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 01:35:32 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wireless Streaming Standard Approved By Richard Shim Staff Writer, CNET News.com An industry standards group has completed a new wireless networking standard that will lay the groundwork for a new generation of digital entertainment products. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers said Wednesday it has finished the 802.15.3 standard, ensuring that digital content streamed over a wireless network will have a "guaranteed level of service," said Robert Heile, chairman of the IEEE's 802.15 working group and chief technology officer of Appairent. http://news.com.com/2100-1025-5060845.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 02:03:39 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: KQED-TV Expands Into Digital Market Dan Fost, Chronicle Staff Writer KQED-TV (Channel 9), the Bay Area's public television station, is beating all of its commercial rivals to market with five new digital channels. The channels are available to people who have digital television receivers already, and will be available to subscribers to Comcast digital cable starting Saturday. KQED says it's making use of expanded pipes of digital technology to serve a wider audience. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/08/06/BU227394.DTL ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 02:20:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Hacker Gets Acxion Customer Information By CARYN ROUSSEAU Associated Press Writer LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- A computer hacker gained access to private files at Acxiom Corp., one of the world's largest consumer database companies, and was able to download sensitive information about some customers of the company's clients, the company said Thursday. "The data on the servers was a wide variety of information, some of which was personal, some of which was not," Jennifer Barrett, the company's chief privacy officer, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. The AP was notified of the intrusion by an anonymous caller who would not identify himself or his connection with the company. Barrett said the company did not know about the breach until a law enforcement agency from Ohio contacted it last week. Barrett said both the hacker and the stolen information are in police custody. She said about 10 percent of the company's customers were affected and that, "it would include some of our larger customers." - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35190673 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 03:03:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Firm Helps 911 Locate People Crying For Help RedSky's system may get a boost from states' laws By Jon Van Tribune staff reporter Sophisticated telecom technology that makes it easier to call someone can, paradoxically, also make it harder for police, fire and paramedic personnel to find them when responding to 911 calls. The days are long gone when most emergency calls were dialed from a plain old residence where a simple street address was enough to deliver help to the right place. Calls for help now are just as likely to come from cell phones or from museums, schools and office buildings where it is difficult to pinpoint the source of distress. The technology to provide public safety dispatchers with the precise location within a building of a 911 caller is available, but seldom used. One small Chicago business, RedSky Technologies Inc., is trying to change that by selling an affordable enhanced 911 software package to companies in large office buildings. It is not just a way to avert disaster -- systems to pinpoint caller locations within large buildings are required by law in Illinois and a growing number of states. http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0308040013aug04,1,2079594.story ------------------------------ From: news.btconnect.com Subject: Re: Making Contact With MCI Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 08:25:16 UTC Organization: BT Openworld news.btconnect.com wrote in message news:telecom22.602.10@telecom-digest.org: > news.btconnect.com wrote in message > news:telecom22.601.3@telecom-digest.org: >> Hi, >> We are a UK business looking at making contact with MCI in the US to >> supply us with a range of 900 and Toll-Free numbers. >> Does anybody have a clue who to speak with either in the US or the UK >> as nobody at MCI's call center has a clue. >> Thanks in advance. >> J >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Why do you want to get involved with >> that bunch of rascals? They do not have a very good reputation legally >> here in the USA at present (and never did, IMO.) PAT] > I've heard this too. > > numbers as I understand MCI is the only ones who allocate them > to businesses. [J] > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I suggest two things: Judith > Oppenheimer here in the USA, in New York City, can put you in > contact for all the 800 numbers you could ever want, vanity style > or otherwise. Note the link to her websites and email addresses > on the main page at http://telecom-digest.org near the top of the > page. She will get you *good, honest* vendors of 800/888/877/866 > numbers; maybe even sell you some herself. > Regards 900, a far superior way to go (assuming you want to go with > voice mail type audio services on 900) is to contact one of the > many creators of same here in the USA; John Higdon comes to mind; > I am sure he can build those for you easily. But the catch is you > do not use 900 (which is also fraught with problems) and go instead > with regular dialup numbers with a request to enter a passcode at > the start of each conversation, having your own customer service > people (or outsourcing that function) issue the passcodes so YOU can > keep your hands on the money involved. One of the notorious 'problems' > with MCI and other traditional vendors of 900 service in the past > were that they wouldn't give you your commissions, making all sorts > of bum excuses to charge back as much/many as possible. John Higdon > is very familiar with that scenario. Get MCI if you want; they just > won't pay; they'll stiff you every chance they get, overlooking nothing. > Even if you are talking about technical advice type lines or some > other service function involving mostly live chat, consider a front > end which demands a valid passcode with a certain number of minutes > of time on it which gets deducted as it gets used. You sell the > passcodes, of course, and use regular telephone lines for the business. > Let's say you are selling, umm, computers. You want to give each buyer > a certain number of free minutes of tech time, then begin charging. > You put a passcode in the box and a dialup number to use. The passcode > gets the number of minutes you designate. Additional passcode minutes > can be purchased from YOUR customer service person using a *validated* > credit card, etc or on open account, whatever. I feel certain John > Higdon can handle all that for you, and you can then go rinse your > hands. I've worked along with John on things like that in the past, > and if you are intending a USA-based operation with this, I'd be > pleased to work along with John again if he and you wanted to. PAT] > [J's note: Hi, I appreciate your input. I understand that MCI does not have the best of reputations and we will be wanting to run both a 900 option and a CC option simulataneously to see which of the two is the best to pursue longterm. As to the actual development of the technical programing we will keep this in-house. We just want to find a good company from which to source the numbers -- however I guess that all companies in the US still get their numbers from MCI -- yes? We will want to be able to do what we want with the numbers too -- either route to a US ddi or UK ddi. I welcome your input again : ) J ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones Date: 8 Aug 2003 05:36:10 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Ed Ellers wrote in message news:: > Lisa Hancock wrote: >> There are disadvantages to cell phones: >> (1) the phones don't last forever and need periodic expensive >> replacement. >> (2) promotional plans end, and heavy users may find themselves >> paying usage fees that add up. >> (3) cell phones still have a long way to go for reliability, even >> if you're sitting in your living room. Added to that is battery >> failure. There are fewer and fewer pay phones out there for backup. >> (4) If your cellphone is lost or stolen, you've lost your link >> to the world. > I've been told that some businesses won't deal with you if your only > phone number is for a wireless phone. But the major reason for the decrease in land lines is the removal of second and third lines in homes. As people migrate to broadband, and with the increase in fees for a second line, people have been disconnecting modem lines and fax lines far more quickly. That and the fact that the kids are now in college or have otherwise moved out of the house. ------------------------------ From: Jud Hardcastle Subject: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 09:11:59 -0500 Some background: My part time home is a houseboat. It has an analog cell phone with data adapter (dialup access about 7200 max) and, when in dock, a wired phone line (dialup access about 23000 max -- nobody gets faster than that -- too much old switching equipment). I would like to replace both phones with a single wireless solution -- maybe a Verizon phone or aircard, a GSM phone with GPRS, Richochet if they ever restart Dallas. Besides personal Internet stuff, I connect to the office WAN for network files and Notes by dialing into an ISP and connecting thru to a company VPN. I also dial into several devices that have modems only -- no IP connection possible to those -- using either a "dumb" terminal emulation program or a proprietary access program. I should be able to access the VPN thru a wireless highspeed data network BUT the dialup modems are the problem. Is there any (inexpensive) service similar to the VOIP services that allows you to connect to them via the Internet and then using a special dialer to allow legacy software to dial into a standard landline modem, i.e. software that looks like a modem to the terminal emulation accepting AT codes etc. Any ideas? Jud Dallas TX USA ------------------------------ From: jsmauk@aol.com (Joe Mauk) Subject: Re: Chase and Wells Fargo Runs Fastest E-Banking Sites Date: 8 Aug 2003 10:53:55 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ > The eight banks included on Keynote's e-banking transaction > performance index are Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Chase (NYSE:JPM), > Fleet Bank (NYSE:FBF), SunTrust (NYSE:STI), US Bank (NYSE:USB), > Wachovia (NYSE:WB), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Wells Fargo > (NYSE:WFC). > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35158114 That's interesting, because, I believe that Bank One runs the Wells Fargo online banking site. At least, the checks that get mailed after you pay a at the Wells BillPay site are issued by Bank One. Joe Mauk ------------------------------ From: SayNoToCrossposters Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Organization: Comcast Online Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 02:46:00 GMT John Schmerold wrote in message news:telecom22.601.7@telecom-digest.org: > There is an opensource pbx project sponsored by digium.com (nothing > must be purchased from them to use the pbx.) > See: > http://lists.digium.com > http://www.asteriskpbx.com/ > http://www.digium.com/ > http://google.com/search?q=%22asterisk+pbx%22 > http://google.com/groups?q=%22asterisk+pbx%22 > The project supports a wide range of technologies and hardware, in > particular it supports VOIP, SIP phones and ADSI screen phones. > Haven't figured out how, but I understand it supports > providers/exchanges such as Pulver.com, Iconnecthere and does LCR, so > I imagine TELCO cost reduction options are huge! > I'm unaffliated with any of above. Just bought a channel bank and > plan on being active as a user. > Amazing stuff! I have seen it as well ... at least one post like this every other week. I would beg to differ with them claiming you have all the "features" or a proprietary PBX ... which I really really find hard to believe noticing what feature there are listed on their web page. On the brighter side I would consider this system WAY before a Cisco POS system. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #603 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 10 15:54:43 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7AJshf16490; Sun, 10 Aug 2003 15:54:43 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 15:54:43 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308101954.h7AJshf16490@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #604 TELECOM Digest Sun, 10 Aug 2003 15:54:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 604 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Directory Assistance (411) Savings (George Jones) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Robert Bonomi) Looking for a Phone Service That is Enhanced 411; Other Services (Sap) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (Steven J Sobol) Re: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! (Eric Friedebach) Re: Company's Error Sends Customers to Adult Phone Line (Bill Berbenich) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Gary Breuckman) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Steve Michelson) Odd CLID Problem (followup) (Herb Stein) Looking For Quantity of Larscom TNDS-LC02B, TNDS-1400 (Ben Youngblood) End of an Era - "Speak Freely" EOL'd (John Meissen) Who Profits From spam? Surprise (Monty Solomon) Do Domain Names Matter? (Monty Solomon) Somerville Experiment Could Alter the WiFi Game (Monty Solomon) DVRS: Climbing the Sumnmit (Monty Solomon) The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem (Monty Solomon) Re: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! (Mike P) Help Wanted With Web Service (Kaushal) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply-To: From: George Jones Subject: Directory Assistance (411) Savings Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 12:55:58 -0500 Pat, Here's a big area in telecom savings that many readers on this list may not be familiar with. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on 411 Directory Assistance calls. Attached is a link to a Powerpoint Presentation showing how to save on 411 calls. http://1800teledeal.com/411.ppt This is a unique area in telecom savings that most businesses and telecom consultants are not aware of. You have a choice in 411 providers just as you do for local and long distance telephone service providers. Our rates are as low as $.27/411 call for live operator directory assistance. Compare that to what some others charge for a 411 call: MCI $2.49, Sprint $2.49, AT&T $1.99, Qwest $1.95, Verizon $1.25, SBC $1.25. Not only do we offer lower priced live operator 411 calls ... the lookup accuracy and customer service features are the best in the industry. Take the 411 ROI/Savings Challenge at http://1800teledeal.com/411.xls and see your savings. We also offer a real-time Internet delivered 411 national database (160 million plus listings) via XML API hooks for companies to use for verification purposes, authentication, CRM, caller id name / add / tel display, etc. This is a premium database that is updated daily ... and quite different from lower cost / free Internet alternatives like whitpages.com - switchboard.com that are often 12 to 18 months out of date because they use "scanned" telephone directory information. If Telecom Digest List readers have any questions, please feel to have them call us at 1-800-TELEDEAL (1-800-835-3332) so we can discuss their specific directory assistance needs. Sincerely, George E. Jones The Directory Assistance Experts * We Save Businesses 80% On 411 Calls TeleDeal Inc. George E. Jones, President 27 N. Wacker, Suite 193 Chicago, IL 60606 tel 1-800-TELEDEAL or 1-312-372-2900 fax 1-312-873-4475 email george@1800teledeal.com www http://1800teledeal.com [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mr. Jones and I had a lengthy phone conversation on this Saturday morning. Essentially what he does is purchase 'directory inquries' en masse -- like a million or so at a time -- from the databases which offer that service. At that rate, he tells them what he is going to pay, and gets his pricing. He works with the live databases so the information is very fresh, and generally only one or two days old when made available. As a result, he can resell directory inquiries for (as he points out above) as little as 27 cents per (one or two) inquiries per call to 411. So how do *you* get that passed on rate? In the case of large business places, institutions, etc, which go through a few hundred or more directory inquiries per month by employees, others, Mr. Jones instructs telecom managers in those companies/institutions on how to intercept calls to 411, 1-411, a/c 555-1212, whatever, to specialized 800 toll free numbers *assigned to those companies* which feed into the service bureaus used for Directory Inquiries; then by using ANI at the service bureaus he is able to charge back to each of his customers for their usage. For small businesses and individuals, Mr. Jones tells me he plans to implement a prepaid 'calling card' system. Just so you know, I may be helping him with that scheme. To get *your* DA calls for around fifty cents each instead of anywhere from $1.29 up to 2.49 per call you will dial the 800 number (or put it in your speed dial, or whatever) and your prepaid card will decrement by one each time used. I may have more information on this at a later time. Each user will have a unique 800 number for his 'directory account'. Mr. Jones mentioned that while overall, telecom costs have come down a lot in recent years, one exception to that where costs have continued to rise is in directory assistance calls. So it would seem that Mr. Jones has found a very good niche to be in. He tells me he has a couple of small independent telcos which have handed him their entire subscriber base; when one of those telcos' customers dials 411, equipment in the switch funnels the calls over to him. I dunno off hand which service bureau handles his calls, but he gave me a free test yesterday of some mumbers here in Independence, and the service was very fast, courteous and effecient. And he is using live, real time 'operators' with real time, current listings; not scanned data possibly several months out of date like many internet services. More details when I have them available. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2003 09:15:59 GMT In article , Ed Ellers wrote: > Lisa Hancock wrote: >> There are disadvantages to cell phones: >> (1) the phones don't last forever and need periodic expensive >> replacement. >> (2) promotional plans end, and heavy users may find themselves >> paying usage fees that add up. >> (3) cell phones still have a long way to go for reliability, even >> if you're sitting in your living room. Added to that is battery >> failure. There are fewer and fewer pay phones out there for backup. >> (4) If your cellphone is lost or stolen, you've lost your link >> to the world. > I've been told that some businesses won't deal with you if your only > phone number is for a wireless phone. It is *GREAT*FUN* trying to order DSL internet connectivity, when you don't have a land-line voice phone at the location. It took me more than a month just to get the order *accepted* -- the DSL provider's computers wouldn't take an order without a phone number, *but* the TELCO (ILEC) who was supplying the actual copper pair, would not take the order _with_ a phone number -- since their records showed "no active number" at that location. This was for SDSL service, so it had to have it's "own" pair, regardless. The 'problem' had to get escalated a _long_ ways up the food chain, at *both* the DSL provider _and_ the TELCO, before it got resolved. The telco installer, incidentally, said he'd *never* seen an order that listed the premises phone a "(000) 000-0000" before. ------------------------------ From: Fred Sap Subject: Looking For Phone Service That is Enhanced 411; Other Services Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2003 08:16:18 -0700 Organization: personal There was one that advertised on TechTV (not pronto) that offered dinner reservations and other services. Anyone have any suggestions? ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 17:45:32 -0500 SayNoToCrossposters wrote: > I have seen it as well ... at least one post like this every other > week. I would beg to differ with them claiming you have all the > "features" or a proprietary PBX ... which I really really find hard to > believe noticing what feature there are listed on their web page. Yeah, I agree with this ... there are probably some features that haven't been implemented yet. The software isn't even at version 1.0 yet. It's quite functional already, though. JustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Re: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 18:28:31 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach A. Trent wrote in message news:telecom22.601.10@telecom-digest.org: > I need some help. I've had Sprint PCS as my only phone for the past > three years and have been very satisfied with everything. I'm > moving into a new apartment and my phone does not get a signal > inside. anyone have any suggestions? BTW, my phone is a > Samsung SCH 8500 and I live just outside of Baltimore. How about an gain antenna placed in, or just outside your window? First, you'll need an antenna adapter for the handset to the TNC antenna connector. I've had good luck with this company purchasing adapters and it looks like they carry one for your phone: http://www.discountcell.com/cellular/csam8500.asp They also have brand name antennas (Antenna Specialists, Larsen) that would work on the Sprint frequencies. This one looks well suited to you application: http://tinyurl.com/jgmg Your local Sprint Dealer may have these as well, but if not Google for *Samsung SCH 8500 Sprint external antenna*. Your handset batteries will last longer between charges, too. The downside is having a tether on what should really be a portable device. I've never used Sprint PCS, but I've had very good results in using external antennas in both mobile and fixed applications in rural areas with AT&T phones roaming on CellularOne towers (anyone remember when CellularOne was *The Brand* in the 1980's? They are a rural brand now). Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ Reply-To: From: Bill Berbenich Subject: Re: Company's Error Sends Customers to Mass. Adult Phone Line Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 19:43:27 -0400 This is just wild speculation, but I wonder if this isn't somehow related to Verizon's current labor union issues. It sounds just clever enough to be someone's idea of "getting even." Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 01:01:44 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Company's Error Sends Customers to Mass. Adult Phone Line By Associated Press, 8/6/2003 05:47 > SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) Some unsuspecting Verizon customers trying to > pick a new long-distance plan were offered 'sexy introductions' and > a chance to 'continue the fun' on an adult phone line. > A letter sent to thousands of Verizon long-distance customers across > the country last week listed a number for 'Intimate Connections' as > a Verizon customer service number, Verizon officials said Tuesday. http://www.boston.com/dailynews/218/region/Company_s_error_sends_custome r:.shtml ------------------------------ From: Gary Breuckman Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Fri, 08 Aug 2003 19:57:04 -0500 Organization: Puma's Lair - catbox.com In article , Jud Hardcastle wrote: > Some background: My part time home is a houseboat. It has an analog > cell phone with data adapter (dialup access about 7200 max) and, when in > dock, a wired phone line (dialup access about 23000 max -- nobody gets > faster than that -- too much old switching equipment). I would like to > replace both phones with a single wireless solution -- maybe a Verizon > phone or aircard, a GSM phone with GPRS, Richochet if they ever restart > Dallas. > Besides personal Internet stuff, I connect to the office WAN for network > files and Notes by dialing into an ISP and connecting thru to a company > VPN. I also dial into several devices that have modems only -- no IP > connection possible to those -- using either a "dumb" terminal emulation > program or a proprietary access program. > I should be able to access the VPN thru a wireless highspeed data > network BUT the dialup modems are the problem. > Is there any (inexpensive) service similar to the VOIP services that > allows you to connect to them via the Internet and then using a special > dialer to allow legacy software to dial into a standard landline modem, > i.e. software that looks like a modem to the terminal emulation > accepting AT codes etc. > Any ideas? > Jud > Dallas TX USA Part of the problem is getting your proprietary software to work through what would be something like a telnet connection ... have you considered pcAnywhere or 'gotomypc' or something equivalent to connect through the internet to your home pc (assuming that still exists while you are on the boat), and then running your proprietary program on that computer dialing out with its modem? -- Gary Breuckman ------------------------------ From: Steve Michelson Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 08:19:58 -0400 Organization: MindSpring Enterprises I think you're going to have a hard time with that, even with any of the VOIP services because they typically use a compressed codec, which is fine for voice but does not work for modem or FAX tones. Depending on how critical this is for you, and how much money you'd be willing to spend, perhaps you could set up a landline gateway device connected to the internet on one side, and a regular phone jack on the other. There would have to be special software running on both the gateway device, as well as your computer, that allowed them to communicate with one another. I have a feeling this would be a real niche market. Most devices these days are reachable through the internet, with appropriate encryption and other security mechanisms. Jud Hardcastle wrote in message news:telecom22.603.9@telecom-digest.org: > Some background: My part time home is a houseboat. It has an analog > cell phone with data adapter (dialup access about 7200 max) and, when > in dock, a wired phone line (dialup access about 23000 max -- nobody > gets faster than that -- too much old switching equipment). I would > like to replace both phones with a single wireless solution -- maybe a > Verizon phone or aircard, a GSM phone with GPRS, Richochet if they > ever restart Dallas. > Besides personal Internet stuff, I connect to the office WAN for > network files and Notes by dialing into an ISP and connecting thru to > a company VPN. I also dial into several devices that have modems only > -- no IP connection possible to those -- using either a "dumb" > terminal emulation program or a proprietary access program. > I should be able to access the VPN thru a wireless highspeed data > network BUT the dialup modems are the problem. > Is there any (inexpensive) service similar to the VOIP services that > allows you to connect to them via the Internet and then using a > special dialer to allow legacy software to dial into a standard > landline modem, i.e. software that looks like a modem to the terminal > emulation accepting AT codes etc. > Any ideas? > Jud > Dallas TX USA ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Odd CLID Problem (Followup) Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 08:24:36 -0500 I can't find my original post, but it related to CLID and SBC Privacy Manger problems. The problem was that when my folks with CenturyTel service call me (SBC), they get Privacy Manager even though when they call my Cingular cell phone, I get their number. I finally determined that I was getting their number, but NOT their name. I called SBC customer service and they confirmed that, without the name being delivered, that was normal behavior. Privacy Manager kicks in if the name is missing. On August 2 (Saturday) I called CenturyTel customer service. I got a rep. in Appleton, Wi. who couldn't test anything but did take a trouble ticket. By Tuesday AM the problem seemed to be fixed -- for about an hour or so. I talked to CenturyTel again and they said it must be my folks LD carrier (Verizon) that was dropping the name because the problem was "leaving their end ok." I called Verizon and they swore that it could not be there problem, but they took a trouble report and said they'd look into it. Mysteriously, the problem is fixed again as of today. I have no idea who did what to fix it, but I am happy to see a resolution. I'm still puzzled, however, as to why Privacy Manager feels obligated to grab a call with a valid CLID number but no name. No doubt there is a clear rationale that just escapes me at the moment. Anyway, this is just a follow-up as several people expressed interest in the problem. Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is interesting that Southwestern Bell would tell you that privacy manager kicking in on numbers but no names was 'normal behavior'. They told me essentially the opposite. I was getting calls from (of all people!) AT&T telemarketers who were sending ten zeros as their number, and they would not quit calling for any reason. Just call after call. Privacy manager was not picking up on it, and according to the representative at the chairman's office (to whom I had appealed), ten zeros met the required criterion for privacy manager, 'even though it is obviously not a valid number'. So ten zeros can get through and pester me, but valid numbers and no names gets blocked at your end. I am so glad I was finally able to dump Southwestern Bell totally when I signed up with Prairie Stream here in Independence. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 09 Aug 2003 20:21:58 +0700 Subject: Looking For Quantity of Larscom TNDS-LC02B, TNDS-1400 and TNDS-200 From: Ben Youngblood TNDS-LC02B Qty 50 TNDS-1400 Qty 10 TNDS-200 Qty 10 Also looking for a QTY of Lucent Ascend MAX TNT TNT-SL-ADI or TNT-SL-ADI and Lucent/Avaya PSAX CPU2's. 1com tel 1 310 306 9950 fax 1 310 306 5877 http://www.1com.com 1com is your one stop solution for Datacom, Networking & Telecom hardware, new and used at 60-90% off list. ------------------------------ From: john@aracnet.com (John Meissen) Subject: End of an Era - "Speak Freely" EOL'd Date: 9 Aug 2003 18:12:16 GMT Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Truly the end of an era. This month the End of Life announcement for Speak Freely, one of the first Internet Telephony applications, was made by John Walker. John gives his reasons in the announcement at http://www.fourmilab.ch/speakfree/eol/. John Walker was founder of Autodesk, Inc., and co-author of AutoCad. He started development in 1991, and has been the principal maintainer for the life of the project. John Meissen jmeissen@aracnet.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 12:27:27 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise Many companies with names you know are benefiting By Bob Sullivan MSNBC Aug. 8 - There wouldn't be spam if there wasn't money in spam. So to understand what primes the spam economy, MSNBC.com answered a single unsolicited commercial e-mail. Following this one spam trail led us from Alabama to Argentina, from a tiny Birmingham-based firm and someone named "Erp" past a notorious spammer named Super-Zonda - and right through big-name companies like Ameriquest, Quicken, and LoanWeb. And that's just the beginning. The truth about spam is this: While the dirty work is done by secretive, faceless computer jockeys who are constantly evading authorities, lots of companies with names you know profit, at least tangentially, from their efforts. http://www.msnbc.com/news/940490.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 12:44:24 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Do Domain Names Matter? Do Domain Names Matter? - Part I By: Francis Hwang This is the first part of a 2-part series article arguing that the decentralization of the Internet will allow the DNS to recede to its earlier, uncontroversial role, before all the lawsuits and screaming matches at ICANN board meetings. http://www.circleid.com/article/211_0_1_0/ Do Domain Names Matter? - Part II By: Francis Hwang This is the second part of a 2-part series article arguing that the decentralization of the Internet will allow the DNS to recede to its earlier, uncontroversial role, before all the lawsuits and screaming matches at ICANN board meetings. http://www.circleid.com/article/212_0_1_0/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 13:42:52 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Somerville Experiment Could Alter the WiFi Game BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE By D.C. Denison, Globe Staff, 8/10/2003 WiFi activist Michael Oh has an unusual way of thinking about the most hyped new consumer technology since the Web. "It's kind of like air conditioning," he said. "Retail outlets don't charge you for air conditioning, or the milk you put in your coffee," he said. "Someday they aren't going to charge you for WiFi." That day may be coming sooner than expected if a cluster of merchants in Davis Square, Somerville, sign onto a concept that's being floated by Oh and Patrick J. McCormick, the chief information officer for the City of Somerville. The two are calling the idea 'urban hot zones.' http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/222/business/Somerville_experiment_could_alter_the_WiFi_game+.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 02:16:59 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: DVRS: Climbing the Summit BY SHIRLEY BRADY Cable World, Jul 28, 2003 David Letterman may routinely mention how he "TiVoed" a show, but digital video recording has yet to gain traction among consumers. That's why DVR was the subject of much discussion -- and a tutorial led by C Cubed principal and DVR analyst Jennifer Choate -- at the CTAM Summit, where marketers grappled with the need to better understand and sell the value proposition of the technology. Its functionality clearly meets the needs of today's time-stressed masses who never learned to program a VCR. And the category has tremendous awareness thanks to TiVo's marketing efforts to entertainment 'influentials' such as Letterman. But while it may be a must-use for its devotees, the category has yet to take off for either the stand-alone DVR manufacturers or their licensed partners. DirecTV owner Hughes Electronics reported in its second-quarter earnings that the satellite TV company's set-top box incorporating TiVo's DVR functions (at $4.99 per month) has yet to meet its "quite aggressive" targets for the product. DirecTV COO Roxanne Austin called the rate of customer adoption for the product "very challenging," with less than 10% of its 181,000 net new customers last quarter taking the TiVo service. But C Cubed's Choate says this is good news for cable. Discussing highlights from C Cubed's The DVR Monitor: Wave IV, Choate said DVR deployers such as Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications can learn from users' experiences how to better communicate the life-improving benefits of DVR technology. Armed with the longest-running tracking study of DVR owners, and three years of comprehensive research with satellite, stand-alone and cable DVR users, Choate's findings, including the latest survey conducted in May, are consistent across four waves of research. The latest wave, released next month, shows the hot-button topic of commercial-skipping is not the reason consumers purchase the product. http://cableworld.com/ar/dvrs_climbing_summit/index.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 8 Aug 2003 23:12:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem By LISA NAPOLI ON a steamy summer day, the 16-story apartment building on Kissena Boulevard in Flushing, Queens, hardly looks like a place where Secret Service agents would show up with a search warrant, and later for an arrest. Women trudge from the bustling markets just two blocks away, children and bags in tow; elderly couples sun themselves on park benches. Nothing about the quiet, neatly kept grounds suggests a crime scene. But when computers are the weapons and the victims are far from sight, it is easy to operate quietly and, for a while at least, undetected. And that is how, for almost two years, Juju Jiang used an arsenal of computers in his bedroom on the 14th floor -- in an apartment he shared with his mother -- to break into others. According to the federal agents who prosecuted him, Mr. Jiang had unwitting help from his victims: customers at Internet terminals at 13 Kinko's copy shops in Manhattan entered personal information that he gathered with software he had installed there to capture their every keystroke. Mr. Jiang, 25, pleaded guilty last month to computer fraud and software piracy. Had one target not heard his home computer inexplicably come alive late one night last fall, there is no telling how long Mr. Jiang might have gone on with his scheme - and even then, he was not finished trying. Agents say 450 people were ultimately victimized, with Mr. Jiang breaking into a number of their bank accounts, opening new ones with their data or selling that data on the Internet. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/07/technology/circuits/07kink.html ------------------------------ From: mpotter@crosswinds.net (Mike P) Subject: Re: No Sprint Signal in New Apartment, Help! Date: 9 Aug 2003 19:22:20 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I live outside of Baltimore and I had the same problem; I moved (to Harford County) and barely got a signal in my place and dropped calls. You might want to try changing phones, check out Usenet alt.cellular.sprintpcs or the web. From my searches it seems the consensus is that the Sanyo 4700/4900 phones get the reception of the PCS phones. I got a 4900 and I went from dropped calls in the basement to 2 or more bars of signal strength. This in a area where my Blackberry on cingular service gets nothing. I would do a little web and usenet research and go to a local sprint store and see if you could demo a phone and see if it helps. Any other questions e-mail me at mikeenv at remove this and replace with normal at sign potternet. com (note this address will self destruct in seven days to avoid spam.) teme@mac.com (A. Trent) wrote in message news:: > I need some help. I've had Sprint PCS as my only phone for the past > three years and have been very satisfied with everything. I'm moving > into a new apartment and my phone does not get a signal inside. The > moment I step back out to the sidewalk ... it's back. The previous > tennants were friends of mine and I spent some extended time there and > it has been the same every time. Their phone (I believe it's through > Nextel) doesn't work inside either. I'd really like to stay with > Sprint PCS as my only phone. I'm dreading having to install a > land-line through Verizon. Has anyone had similar issues and does > anyone have any suggestions? BTW, my phone is a Samsung SCH 8500 and > I live just outside of Baltimore. ------------------------------ From: kaushalsevak76@yahoo.com (Kaushal) Subject: Help Needed With Web Service Date: 8 Aug 2003 19:47:11 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hi, I am a project student. I am developing an e-com web site for a company. I want to use web service for credit card verification. Now I am puzzled how I can use it. I know there are some companies providing that service. They provide a secured page and verify the card, after that how can I get that data into my database?? How can I process the order?? After verifying the credit card detail should I process the transaction manually.? Please guide me. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. 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His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #604 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Aug 11 13:51:57 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7BHpv521510; Mon, 11 Aug 2003 13:51:57 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 13:51:57 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308111751.h7BHpv521510@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #605 TELECOM Digest Mon, 11 Aug 2003 13:52:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 605 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Telecom Update (Canada) #394, August 11, 2003 (Angus TeleManagement) Habeas Declares Victory In Lawsuit (John R. Myers) Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise (Tom Betz) Re: End of an Era - "Speak Freely" EOL'd (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: Odd CLID Problem (Kenneth P. Stox) Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem (Phil Earnhardt) Re: Help Needed With Web Service (Bob Natale) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 10:31:02 -0400 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #394, August 11, 2003 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 394: August 11, 2003 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/letstalk ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: http://www.cygcom.com ** ERICSSON CANADA: http://www.ericsson.ca ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: http://www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Ottawa Summarizes Wiretap Comments ** Aliant Tries Again for Halifax Centrex Rate ** Primus Net Revenue Rises 6.5% ** Hackers Exploit New Hole in Windows ** Comdex Canada Postponed Again ** Optical Developer Ceyba Folds ** Nortel Executives Get $7.7 Million Bonuses ** RIM Injunction Stayed ** RSI Software Gets Nortel Approval ** CRTC Approves "Express Consent" Filings ** Globalive to Acquire Onlinetel ** Iridium Offers Global Text Messaging ** Cisco Sales Down, Profit Up ** Looking for a Telecom Speaker? ============================================================ OTTAWA SUMMARIZES WIRETAP COMMENTS: The federal Department of Justice has released a summary of more than 300 submissions received in response to its consultation paper on proposed changes to Canada's "lawful access" (wiretapping) legislation. The government says it is studying the feedback to determine how to proceed. http://canada.justice.gc.ca/en/cons/la_al/summary/index.html ALIANT TRIES AGAIN FOR HALIFAX CENTREX RATE: On August 1, Aliant filed a proposal to drop its lowest rate for Centrex lines in Halifax -- for customers with more than 10,000 lines who sign 5-year contracts -- from $25 to $18.20 a month. Aliant says it needs the lower rate to compete with other local carriers in Halifax. ** Just eight days earlier, the CRTC turned down a nearly identical proposal that would have been available only to Halifax customers with more than 12,000 lines (see Telecom Update #392). The CRTC said the telco had not provided justification for adding a new rate step. www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2003/A53.htm#200309965 PRIMUS NET REVENUE RISES 6.5%: Long distance reseller Primus Canada says its second quarter 2003 net revenue was $71.1 million, up 6.5% from the first quarter and 12.8% from last year. HACKERS EXPLOIT NEW HOLE IN WINDOWS: The CERT Coordination Center reports that intruders are actively scanning for and exploiting two recently discovered security holes in the Remote Call Procedure (RPC) on Windows NT, 2000, XP, and Server 2000. An attacker could use the vulnerabilities to run code on victims' systems or to cause denial of service. Microsoft has posted patches to correct the weakness. www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-19.html http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com COMDEX CANADA POSTPONED AGAIN: Comdex Canada, previously delayed from July to September, has been postponed again, this time to March 24-26, 2004. The Toronto high-tech trade show reportedly faced a significant decline in booth bookings. OPTICAL DEVELOPER CEYBA FOLDS: Ottawa-based Ceyba Inc, a developer of optical networking systems, has closed its doors. The company said it was unable to obtain financing to continue operations. NORTEL EXECUTIVES GET $7.7 MILLION BONUSES: Eighteen senior executives of Nortel, which lost US$14 million last quarter, have received have received bonuses totaling US$7.7 million and an undisclosed amount in cash. RIM INJUNCTION STAYED: A Virginia Court has ordered Research In Motion to pay US$54 million to NTP Inc. for patent infringement, and issued an injunction prohibiting RIM from selling its BlackBerry devices and software in the U.S. The Court also stayed the injunction pending an appeal by RIM, which could take several years. ** RIM has asked the U.S. patent office to review the patents, which it says are invalid. RSI SOFTWARE GETS NORTEL APPROVAL: Oshawa-based Resource Software International says Nortel has granted "Compatible Product" status for its call management software for Norstar, BCM, Meridian 1, and Succession 1000. CRTC APPROVES "EXPRESS CONSENT" FILINGS: The CRTC has approved changes to the Terms of Service for Aliant, Bell Canada, MTS, NorthernTel, Telebec, and Telus, dealing with confidential customer information. The changes, ordered by the Commission in May, say such information can only be released with the customer's express consent, confirmed in writing, or orally by independent third party, or electronically by a toll-free number or Internet. (see Telecom Update #386) GLOBALIVE TO ACQUIRE ONLINETEL: Eiger Technology says it plans to sell most of its stake in Voice Over IP provider Onlinetel to Globalive, a Toronto company that provides operator services, teleconferencing, and other telecom services. IRIDIUM OFFERS GLOBAL TEXT MESSAGING: Satellite carrier Iridium says it is now offering short text message service between users of its 9505 handset anywhere in the world, and will extend the service to cellphones by year-end. Messages are limited to 160 characters: a similar service from Globalstar has a 19-character limit. CISCO SALES DOWN, PROFIT UP: Cisco Systems says its revenue for the three months ended July 26 was US$4.7 billion, down 2.6% from last year. Net income was $982 million, up from $772 in 2002. LOOKING FOR A TELECOM SPEAKER? Looking for a powerful presentation to open your meeting or conference? An entertaining and insightful after-dinner talk? An intensive workshop or course for your team? For speakers who are experts at explaining the fast-changing world of business telecom in plain English, with a business-oriented, bottom- line focus, e-mail ianangus@angustel.ca today. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2003 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 19:01:52 -0700 From: John R. Myers Subject: Habeas Declares Victory in Lawsuit The following showed up a couple of days ago on the ba.internet newsgroup, but it deserves a wider audience. John R. Myers / mailto:jmyers@n6wuz.net P.O. Box 50662 Palo Alto, California 94303 / USA tel. +1 650 322-6863 / fax. +1 650 322-7041 *********** BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE *********** On 8/10/03 at 5:37 PM Jack Myers wrote: -- forwarded message -- Newsgroups: ba.internet From: shedevil@stop.mail-abuse.org (Anne P. Mitchell, Esq.) Subject: [MEDIA] HABEAS DECLARES VICTORY IN LAWSUIT AGAINST SPAMMER User-Agent: Xnews/03.08.28 Sender: news@kithrup.com (News Subsystem) Organization: Guarantee to others that your email is not spam. http://www.habeas.com Message-ID: <93D29DA8shedevilstopmailabus@205.179.156.40> X-Nntp-Posting-Host: adsl-64-165-36-235.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net Date: Sat, 9 Aug 2003 07:36:47 GMT Lines: 58 Thought you guys might be interested in this: HABEAS DECLARES VICTORY IN LAWSUIT AGAINST SPAMMER Trademark protection translates into broad email assurances PALO ALTO, CA - August 8, 2003 - Habeas, the assured email delivery company that fights spam with poetry and the law, today declared a victory in the first of its two anti-spam lawsuits. "This is a day for which many people have been waiting," said Anne P. Mitchell, Esq., President and CEO of Habeas, Inc.. "We're very proud of this aspect of our business model, and are pleased to demonstrate that it works." Habeas' patent-pending Sender Warranted Email ("SWE") service works by trademarking and copyrighting a unique set of lines, known as the warrant mark, which is embedded in the headers of outgoing email, and which alerts receiving systems that the email is not spam and should be delivered. Included in the Habeas mark is a haiku, a form of Japanese poetry. Spammers who attempt to counterfeit the Habeas warrant mark can be prosecuted under Federal copyright and trademark law. Recognizing the Habeas warrant mark as indicating "this is legitimate email", more than forty spam filters and ISPs whitelist email from Habeas' customers. The lawsuit against defendant Dale Heller was filed after Heller intentionally used the Habeas warrant mark in email which did not comply with Habeas' requirements, and for which Habeas received complaints of the email being "spam". "The system worked exactly as designed," explained Mitchell. "We filed the lawsuit as soon as we received and verified the complaints, and Mr. Heller immediately stopped using our warrant mark, and it's safe to say that he will never use it again." Under the terms of the stipulated judgment, Heller may not only not use the Habeas warrant mark, but he may not send unsolicited commercial or promotional messages of any type to anyone, anywhere on the Internet, even if the messages do not contain the Habeas mark. The judgment extends protection to all Internet users, domain owners, Internet service providers, and interactive computer services, providing penalties of up to $25,000 or more per incident if Heller violates the judgment. About Habeas Inc. Based in Palo Alto, California, Habeas is a private company with venture funding that offers a legal and user-based service designed to help ensure delivery of legitimate email, and eradicate spam by identifying that email which is known to be 'not spam'. Named the 2002 'Email Innovation of the Year' by ClickZ, Habeas' services suite is deployed in more than 100 countries to protect more than 500 million e-mail addresses. For more information, visit Habeas on the web at http://www.habeas.com. Habeas and Habeas Sender Warranted Email are registered trademarks of Habeas, Inc. -- end of forwarded message -- *********** END FORWARDED MESSAGE *********** ------------------------------ From: Tom Betz Subject: Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 14:56:44 UTC Organization: Anything Monty Solomon wrote in news:telecom22.604.12@telecom- digest.org: > Many companies with names you know are benefiting > By Bob Sullivan > MSNBC [ snippage ] > http://www.msnbc.com/news/940490.asp Unlike most of what passes for journalism these days, this series (part 4 is now available) is superbly-researched and written, and should be required reading for anyone who asks the question, "What's the deal with spam? It ain't so bad." It is that bad, and those who engage in it are worse; and this series is spelling out the how and why of it. ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: End of an Era - "Speak Freely" EOL'd Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:23:13 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - Central Florida Stanley settled back into the couch, and John Meissen said to him: > Truly the end of an era. This month the End of Life announcement > for Speak Freely, one of the first Internet Telephony applications, > was made by John Walker. John gives his reasons in the announcement > at http://www.fourmilab.ch/speakfree/eol/ What sucks isn't that he's doing it... What sucks is that he's *right*. Even if you've never heard of the program, go read the writeup *anyway*, it has *lots* of interesting things to say about where the Internet is going ... The ways of the Net are often dark, but never pleasant. Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 God, unlike Anya, is fond of bunnies. -- Chelsea Christenson [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: "The ways of the Net are often dark, but never pleasant ..." That sort of reminds me of the speech given in 1990 to the German Infomatics Society which has been reprinted here on various occassions; most recently 2-3 weeks ago under its original title 'Informing Ourselves to Death'; Neil Postman's excellent message back before the modern net got underway. To you doubters, tell me again how everything he spoke about is not coming true. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Kenneth P. Stox Subject: Re: Odd CLID Problem (Follo Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 18:04:38 -0500 And now the real answer: Last I knew, SBC was spiffing with many other providers on what it was willing to pay for access to there customer name databases. As a result, calls from many third party providers are coming up without name to SBC customers. The problem is not with the other providers, but with SBC's refusal to pay on the same terms as the third parties pay to SBC. The last reference I saw to this situation, in the press, was: http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2002/10/28/story3.html ------------------------------ From: Phil Earnhardt Subject: Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 21:46:58 -0600 On Fri, 8 Aug 2003 23:12:18 -0400, Monty Solomon wrote: > Mr. Jiang, 25, pleaded guilty last month to computer fraud and > software piracy. Had one target not heard his home computer > inexplicably come alive late one night last fall, there is no telling > how long Mr. Jiang might have gone on with his scheme - and even then, > he was not finished trying. Agents say 450 people were ultimately > victimized, with Mr. Jiang breaking into a number of their bank > accounts, opening new ones with their data or selling that data on the > Internet. Mr. Jiang sniffed out the access information for a GoToMyPC.com user -- a service allowing people to remotely access their home computer from any other host. The user first thought that anti-virus software was running on his pc, but then noticed that it "sounded different". On watching his screen -- mousing into his apps to get personal information -- it was obvious someone was hacking his machine. After he convinced the GoToMyPC folk that he was being hacked, it was a pretty straingtforward exercise to look for IP addresses in the logs and subpoena the ISP's records to identify the perp. Amazingly, the thief attempted to re-install sniffing software after he had been charged. Kinkos had changed their software to detect such installations and had camera survellance video of the perp attempting these re-installs. I expect our justice system will be pretty harsh with this guy. As with the earlier article on this topic, nobody asked Kinkos why they weren't scrubbing their disks between user logins. Does anyone have an estimate how long it would take to re-load an image? Remember, Kinkos has a pretty heavy load of licensed software on their machines. Also, I went to GoToMyPC.com's site to see how they recommend users deal with these things. They have a couple of options. You can have the software generate a list of one-time passwords. The codes are used one-at-a-time and in order. This would protecct the user from snooped passwords, but it's fairly cumbersome -- what if you hit the last password in the list and still have a week left on your international business trip? They also provide a challenge-response system using a RADIUS servers. It looks like such services are only part of their high-end "enterprise" product. I don't know why something like a RADIUS challenge-response system couldn't be available for an individual user to secure his laptop. > http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/07/technology/circuits/07kink.html --phil [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I never, from the beginning, trusted that 'Go to my PC' software. If you cannot use a laptop on a business trip then download it to your desktop at a later time, and have to use that remote access stuff then you deserve what you get, IMO. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 22:09:33 -0400 From: Bob Natale Subject: Re: Help Needed With Web Service kaushalsevak76@yahoo.com (Kaushal) asked for help with his web site and accepting credit cards, etc: Hi Kaushal, > I am a project student. I am developing an e-com web site for a > company. I want to use web service for credit card verification. Now > I am puzzled how I can use it. I know there are some companies > providing that service. They provide a secured page and verify the > card, after that how can I get that data into my database?? We use VeriSign for the credit card processing part ... it goes beyond verifying the card ... they automatically interact with our Merchant Bank, etc (there can be multiple "third parties" involved, depending (potentially) on the type of credit card used ... they provide transaction data to us via POST to a URL that we configure into our account info on the VeriSign site. > How can I process the order?? Well, that can involve a lot ... if you have the option of letting someone like VeriSign do it for you, I'd recommend it. VeriSign (like most/all similar services, I'm sure) also provides a "test transaction" mode which can be real helpful in the early stages of developing your front-end and back-end processes. > After verifying the credit card detail should I process the > transaction manually.? I suppose you could do that, but it would seem like a large waste of the automated verification effort. A lot of the steps are (or can be) tightly bound with an automated info flow from one step to the next. Also, you have to bear in mind that there are various charges associated with several stages of a (live, not test mode) credit card transaction. > Please guide me. I am not an expert in these matters ... just wanted to pass along a few things gleaned from personal experience. Cheers, BobN www.winsnmp.com ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. Visit www.1800teledeal.com or call 1-800-TELEDEAL The Directory Assistance Experts * We Know 411 TeleDeal Inc. George Jones, President ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #605 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Aug 11 16:45:40 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7BKjem22379; Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:45:40 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:45:40 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308112045.h7BKjem22379@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #606 TELECOM Digest Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:45:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 606 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Role of Politech in the Apple iTunes Issue via NY Times (Monty Solomon) Sprint and RealNetworks Bring Comprehensive, Brand-Name Mobile (Solomon) 101 Uses for Apple iChat (Monty Solomon) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: Vonage (Rob Levandowski) Telrad Connegy Prepares To Launch New Line Of VoIP Products (Eworldwire) Cell Phones (USC) Re: Looking For Phone Service Enhanced 411; Other Services (J Kelly) Re: Directory Assistance (411) Savings (A Beilby) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 22:18:00 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Role of Politech in the Apple iTunes Issue via New York Times http://www.politechbot.com/p-05015.html Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 08:20:14 PDT From: Declan McCullagh Subject: Role of Politech in the Apple iTunes Issue via New York Times Previous Politech message: http://www.politechbot.com/p-04993.html http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/28/technology/28APPL.html http://www.iht.com/articles/104391.html Border-Crossing Trouble For Downloaded Tunes By Bob Tedeschi NYT Tuesday, July 29, 2003 Online music-selling services have far fewer restrictions than the industry's early offerings, but they do not necessarily travel well. That became evident last week after an Apple iTunes customer posted a complaint on the Web log of Declan McCullagh, who covers technology for CNet's News.com, and the discussion list of David Farber, a business and technology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. The posting, from Shawn Yeager, a technology consultant in Toronto, related his problems gaining access to songs he had downloaded from the iTunes online music store before he moved to Canada from the United States. In an interview, Yeager said that after complaining to Apple, he received automated e-mail responses implying that international licensing rights were to blame for his troubles. An Apple spokeswoman, Lara Vacante, said that Yeager's disappearing music files were not the result of Apple's policies but a systems error, though she and Yeager disagreed about where the error occurred. "Once you download a song, it's yours," Vacante said. But she said a consumer who did not have a credit card with a U.S. billing address could not download iTunes, because Apple has rights to sell the more than 200,000 songs in its database only in the United States. Yeager said that the problem had been resolved to his satisfaction but that "this points to some core problems" with how online companies restrict the use of the music they sell. His posting Friday resulted in much discussion in online news groups and inquiries to other online music services about their international sales policies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 00:40:32 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Sprint and RealNetworks Bring Comprehensive, Brand-Name Mobile Sprint and RealNetworks Bring Comprehensive, Brand-Name Mobile Streaming Multimedia Service to PCS Vision Customers Nationwide - Aug 11, 2003 12:01 AM (PR Newswire) Customers can watch and hear the latest news, sports and entertainment updates from top brands such as ABC News, CBS MarketWatch, FOX Sports, NPR News, Sporting News Radio and The Weather Channel (R) OVERLAND PARK, Kan., and SEATTLE, August 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Sprint wireless customers are now able to catch brand-name multimedia content delivered by RealOne(TM) on their PCS Vision phones. Customers can now see and hear breaking news, market reports, sports highlights, weather forecasts, and additional entertainment services such as horoscopes and movie reviews of the day anywhere on the enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network. It's all being made available through an agreement announced today by Sprint (NYSE:FON, PCS) and RealNetworks(R), Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), the global leader in digital media services and software for consumers and businesses. RealOne is the latest step in streaming audio and multimedia services from Sprint, giving PCS Vision customers a fast and comprehensive "third screen" digital media experience, that allows subscribers to watch sports highlights at the airport, get their favorite soap-opera wrap-up on the train ride home, or even listen to the news while in between meetings. This is the next step in wireless audio and multimedia from Sprint and the first step between the two companies to deliver an enhanced video and richer audio experience. RealOne currently provides subscribers with more than four hours of new A/V content each day, offering easy access to content via a '1 or 2 click' experience. For $4.95 per month, consumers with any full-color Java-enabled PCS Vision Phone will be able to purchase the service. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35212899 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 03:01:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 101 Uses for Apple iChat By Leander Kahney Marc Zeedar has found a novel use for Apple Computer's new iChat video-conferencing software -- broadcasting pay-per-view soccer games to his brother across town. Zeedar, a designer, programmer and writer from Santa Cruz, California, discovered he can use his camcorder to connect his TiVo digital video recorder to his Mac. The camcorder has analog video-in jacks, which let it import video from just about any source, including a VCR or a TiVo. It also has a FireWire port, which makes it compatible with iChat AV . When it is hooked to his Mac, Zeedar can use the camcorder as a webcam for video conferencing. But when his TiVo is plugged into the camera, Zeedar can broadcast pay-per-view soccer games to others. http://www.wired.com/news/mac/0,2125,59931,00.html ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:15:50 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - Central Florida Stanley settled back into the couch, and Robert Bonomi said to him: > It is *GREAT*FUN* trying to order DSL internet connectivity, when you > don't have a land-line voice phone at the location. It took me more > than a month just to get the order *accepted* -- the DSL provider's > computers wouldn't take an order without a phone number, *but* the > TELCO (ILEC) who was supplying the actual copper pair, would not take > the order _with_ a phone number -- since their records showed "no > active number" at that location. This was for SDSL service, so it had > to have it's "own" pair, regardless. The 'problem' had to get > escalated a _long_ ways up the food chain, at *both* the DSL provider > _and_ the TELCO, before it got resolved. The telco installer, > incidentally, said he'd *never* seen an order that listed the premises > phone a "(000) 000-0000" before. You're doing better than me; Verizontal flat refuses to do it in Florida. If you don't have a voice circuit, *from Verzion*, they won't even contemplate taking the order. Commonly, though, that's ADSL -- in this market, SDSL is treated as T-1 service, (and in fact, *carries* most new T-spans) and is granted a circuit ID instead. Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 God, unlike Anya, is fond of bunnies. -- Chelsea Christenson [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Absolutely, Jay ... absolutely. South- western Bell (SBC) is the same way. No landline of theirs, then no DSL. They will not discuss it. The guys at Cable One and Prairie Stream (one of our competing telcos here in Independence) get such a big laugh out of it. One of them said to me once, "why, oh why does SBC keep on insisting on committing corporate suicide by turning away customers? They keep on saying their DSL is such a wonderful thing it has to be dangled like a wonderful prize over the nose of subscribers to get them to accept their so-so phone service." Really makes one wonder about their philosophy of business if in fact they have one or are simply moving along through the inertia from their monopoly position for so many years. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Rob Levandowski Subject: Re: Vonage Organization: MacWhiz Technologies Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 20:37:35 -0400 In article , Pete Romfh wrote: > I've been using it for about 3 months now and have been quite satisfied. > There have been a couple of outages, each relating to a problem here. > Things stop working when spouse trips over LAN cable in closet > and doesn't tell you. Also stops when power to cable modem and router > is interrupted by loose plug at back of UPS. Neither could be blamed > on Vonage service. Good thing it was on your end. I just signed up with Vonage, on one of their small-business plans. In fact, my ATA hasn't arrived yet. However, I'm *this close* to marking it "return to sender" when it does arrive. Supposedly, almost immediately upon signing up (and being billed), you get a phone number that has operational voicemail. In my case, the voicemail seems to go to a totally different company in the area. I tried calling Vonage. After spending over 20 minutes on hold, I abandoned that idea. I tried e-mailing them. Thirty-six -- yes, 36 -- HOURS later I get a response, which consists of a polite "works for me." Guess what? It doesn't work for me, or for other phone lines in my NPA-NXX. I send back a reply e-mail. This one gets answered in about half a day, with a suggestion that I call my RBOC to find out why the calls aren't being routed correctly. That's not acceptable. If I'm paying for business-class service, I certainly expect that they'll do their own detective work when a number they sold isn't routed properly within the local dialing area. Their response, so far: "We'll look into it. See if it works when you get your ATA." I'm damn glad I haven't run any ads with that number yet. I've heard good things about the service when it works. My experience so far is: when it doesn't work, you're in trouble. While their customer support people seem polite, they don't appear to be going too deep in tracking down problems, and the response time is atrocious. If you are going to *depend* on this line for your business, I can't recommend Vonage right now. It might make a good additional line, or a cost-saving measure, but it doesn't seem like they're really trying to win the small-business customer. (After all, their service, *if it came with telco-class customer service*, would be a natural for the sole proprietor starting a business out of the home. And we know how dismal telco-class customer service is nowadays!) Rob Levandowski robl@macwhiz.com Owner, MacWhiz Technologies http://www.macwhiz.com Mac and UNIX Consulting * Web Design * Graphic Arts Local help. World wide answers. (sm) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I do not remember for sure, but it seems to me the voicemail on my Vonage did not work correctly until a couple minutes after I plugged in my Cisco ATA box and it got registered on their system. Once it got registered then I was able to unplug the ATA or move it around and Vonage would then say 'well we cannot find him anywhere, put the call in voicemail'. I strongly suggest getting the Vonage thing up and running before you condemn it too strongly. They do seem to depend on being able (at first) to see the Cisco box and registering it. If anyone wants to try Vonage with a month of free service, I will send an e-coupon good for the *second month* of service and there is no contract required for most users. Quit after the second month if it does not work right for you. At least check it out; for many people it is a reasonable alternative to most landline service from the local 'genuine' Bell company. Just write to me 'not for pub' and ask for a Vonage e-coupon. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Eworldwire Subject: Telrad Connegy Prepares To Launch New Line Of VoIP Products Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 10:56:30 -0400 Telrad Connegy Prepares To Launch A New Line Of VoIP Products With Latest Round Of Additional Funding FARMINGDALE, N.Y./EWORLDWIRE/Aug. 11, 2003 --- Telrad Connegy (www.telradconnegy.com), developer and suppler of the UNITe Enterprise Telecommunications systems, today announced that it has completed a financing round. The capital raised by the company will be used mainly for sales and marketing activities of it's new IP product line. The new IP product line will be announced in Q4 of this year. The investors in this round include Telrad Networks and venture capital firms: Vertex Venture Capital -- Israel, Giza Venture Capital, Elwin Capital Partners, and the Challenge Fund. Israel Ronn, CEO of Telrad Connegy, said "The Company plans to utilize the funds to launch a new IP product line in order to better serve our network of dealers and together to market this new product line to their end users, worldwide. Telrad Connegy is committed to delivering outstanding value to customers and shareholders, and is extremely pleased to have completed this new investment in the company." Telrad Connegy operates in the United States, Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, Asia, and Israel. The company recently announced the successful conclusion of a number of deals, among them, the sale of communications systems to the Russian Space agency. Telrad Connegy is currently putting the final touches to the development of its new IP product line to be announced later this year. About Telrad Connegy Telrad Connegy, a US-based telecommunications corporation, is a strategic provider of enterprise converged telephony and applications platforms in the United States, Europe, Africa, Asia and Israel offering comprehensive communications solutions for businesses of all sizes. Telrad Connegy develops and markets advanced Next Generation Enterprise Systems including Voice over IP (VoIP), IT Convergence, Enterprise Wireless Solutions, CTI Applications and Messaging capabilities. Telrad Connegy's product line includes the UNITe system, a family of sophisticated enterprise communications solutions designed to fulfill the telecommunication needs of modern business organizations. To learn more about Telrad Connegy, visit www.telradconnegy.com. About Telrad Networks Telrad Networks is one of Israel's top Hi-Tech firms. Drawing on over 50 years of experience, it is a leading provider of cutting-edge telecommunications solutions compliant with the highest standards in a wide range of areas. Telrad Networks is strategically organized in four main fields of activity: Nortel Telecom Solutions - NTS is Telrad Networks' R&D backbone and as such responsible for development as well as Sales and Support for Nortel Networks. Public Networks Reseller - PNR provides end-to-end solutions for Telcos and service providers. Specializing in Telrad Networks and Nortel Networks technology, its operations include the planning, design and development of switching products, project management and delivery of turnkey telecommunications projects. Advanced Operation Solutions - AOS, a leading provider of Advanced Operations Solutions, creates added value for its customers by providing NPI management, System House Services and complete Supply Chain Excellence. The Telrad Networks Group of Startups - Telrad Networks has spun off existing activities and established the Telrad Networks Group of Startups among them included: BeConnected, Commatch, Telrad Connegy, Firebit. About Vertex Venture Capital - Israel Vertex (www.vertex.co.il) manages $650 million in venture capital in Israel and Europe and is part of the International Vertex Venture Holdings (VVH). VVH, headed by Lee Kheng Nam, manages over $1 billion in venture capital and has offices in the USA, UK, Israel, Denmark, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Vertex Israel invests in seed and early stage Israeli technology-intensive companies with real market growth potential and promising entrepreneurs. Vertex Israel strategic investors include Singapore Technologies, Israel Discount Capital Markets and Investments, Creative Technology, Nomura International, JAFCO, NTT, Hitachi, Seiko Instruments, Nikko Capital, Murata, SCP Private Equity Partners and Mellon Ventures. Portfolio companies include Telegate Ltd. (acquired by Terayon), Morecom Inc. (acquired by Liberate), Metalink Ltd. (NASDAQ: MTLK), Tradeum Inc. (acquired by VerticalNet), VisionTech Inc. (acquired by Broadcom), Oramir Semiconductor Equipment Ltd (acquired by Applied Materials), SHL TeleMedicine Inc. (SWX: SHLTN), Solidum Systems Corp. (acquired by IDT), Midbar (acquired by Macrovision), PowerDsine Ltd., ImageID Ltd., Actelis Networks Inc., Scopus Network Technologies Ltd., Telrad Connegy Communications Inc., Hyperchip Inc., Cyber-Ark Ltd. HyperRoll Inc and Actimize Ltd. For more information, please visit our website at www.vertex.co.il. About Giza Venture Capital: Giza Venture Capital (www.gizavc.com) was established in 1992 and has three funds totaling $316 million. Giza has invested in 62, early-stage companies in the sectors of Communications, Information Technology and Life Sciences, with 21 exits including: Precise (NASDAQ:PRSE), Oridion (SWX:ORIDN), Butterfly, Libit , Scorpio, M-Systems (NASDAQ:FLSH), Zoran (NASDAQ:ZRAN), DSPC and X Technologies (acquired by Guidant). Giza is distinguished by its professional expertise, extensive management experience and is backed by leading international investors from USA, Europe, Asia and Israel which include: GE Equity, NIB Capital, Deutsche Banc Alex Brown, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Bessemer Trust, GIC, Temasek, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi. Giza is headquartered in Tel Aviv with offices in Tel Aviv, London, New York and Singapore. About Elwin Capital Partners: Elwin Capital Partners (www.elwincapital.com) was established to invest in technology companies with the potential to become world-class organizations. The firm focuses on communications, semiconductor, services and software sectors. Headquartered in London, ECP invests in European-based technology companies as well as in companies seeking to expand their business in the European market. In executing this strategy, ECP’s Partners draw upon their extensive operating and management experience developed by investing over $1.0 billion in Europe since 1995. The Partners have established an exceptional network of relationships that they use to nurture their portfolio companies from start-up to successful exit. About the Challenge Fund: The Challenge Fund is a premier and established venture capital firm focused on equity investments in Israeli and/or Israel-related companies. This fund, which was established in 1995, manages over $200 million in capital and invests in companies operating in rapidly growing markets with unique technologies and superior management teams. The Challenge Fund, whose investors include premier private and institutional American and European entities, works closely with portfolio companies to help build highly successfully organizations. For press information: Janeen Fulton Telrad Connegy Email: Janeen.Fulton@telradconnegy.com Phone: 631-420-8800 HTML: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/wr/081103/1589.htm PDF: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/pdf/081103/1589.pdf ONLINE NEWSROOM: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/1610.htm LOGO: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/1610.htm CONTACT: Janeen Fulton Telrad Connegy Farmingdale, NY PHONE. 631-420-8800 EMAIL: Janeen.Fulton@telradconnegy.com Copyright 2003 Eworldwire, All rights reserved. ------------------------------ From: USC Reply-To: USC Organization: USC Subject: We Buy Used Cell Phones Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 09:49:05 CDT Turn Used Cell Phones Into Cash We pay up to $25 for each cell phone. Go to www.pacebutler.com to see a complete purchase price list. Or call (800) 248-5360, extension 708. It is easy to turn cell phones into cash. 1. Collect inactive cell phones. 2. Box cell phone handsets and batteries only (no accessories, chargers) 3. Ship the box via US Mail, FedEx, UPS. (or call for a shipping label.) 4. We will sort the different models and send your check within 4 days. For more information, go to www.pacebutler.com. Fast, Fair and Friendly Since 1987 PaceButler Corporation Cell Phone Department Extension 708 (800) 248-5360 (405) 755-3131 (405) 755-1114 Fax 13911 Harvey Avenue Edmond, OK 73013 ------------------------------ From: J Kelly Subject: Re: Looking For Phone Service That is Enhanced 411; Other Services Date: Sun, 10 Aug 2003 19:29:49 -0500 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Reply-To: usenet200308@screaming-remove-electron.net On Sat, 09 Aug 2003 08:16:18 -0700, Fred Sap wrote: > There was one that advertised on TechTV (not pronto) that > offered dinner reservations and other services. > Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe Infone. www.infone.com Used it a couple of times just for directory assistance. Seems okay ... ------------------------------ From: beilby@cuic.ca (A Beilby) Subject: Re: Directory Assistance (411) Savings Date: 11 Aug 2003 08:35:40 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ George Jones wrote in message news:: > ...SNIP... > TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations > save over 80% on 411 Directory Assistance calls. I appreciate the entrepreneurship, but I question whether using a reseller of the carrier info as a source would make it any more reliable than a good third party internet site -- they will be buying the same lists. When you can't train your staff to look up for free, or for cell phone users that can be trained to dial an access number this sounds pretty good, but the outgoing call filtering will only work from behind a phone system. I'll wait with baited breath on the much anticipated "Pat and George 411 calling card". ;-) Alex Beilby [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Just a half dozen or so quick comments. (1) I have been curious about your last name since the first time I recall seeing it in the Digest. Are you any relation to Tom or Thomas, about the same age as myself. He grew up in the Chicago/northern Indiana area in the 1950 - 1970's era? (2) I am not sure about the 'much anticipated Pat and George 411 calling card.' It was just an idea I put out to the group; mainly because I do not like the idea of moderators/editors/etc of newsletters on the Net being less than forthright with readers/users in business ventures; i.e. publicizing something as a wonderful product when in fact it is a lousy product I sell but make lots of money on; spamming the readers repeatedly without them knowing what I know, etc. If I start selling this '411 prepaid card' it will be after much testing and a way for readers to use it or not as they wish. Everyone knows for example each Vonage e-coupon under my name that gets redeemed gets me a month of service also. Ditto when Microsoft was hanging around here several years ago keeping me fat and well fed. (3) Regards 411 or Directory databases. There are two types that I know of. (a) 'real time' and (b) 'scanned'. Scanned databases are records compiled from real time records after the fact. These are the look up and 'cross reference look up' services that are all over the net at present such as yahoo.com and switchboard.com and others. Their information can be, and often times is, six or eight months or even a year out of date. A trade off is they use information from wherever they can find it; telephone directories is a common source; so are the (legally) unprotected top half of credit bureau reports, etc. As a result you can sometimes get unlisted/non-pub numbers from the various sources they use. And they just plod along making up new data bases frequently. Most of them are so cheap that their customers (like Yahoo and switchboard.com) pay almost nothing and hand it on to their (retail) customers (like you, me and other netters) for free or nearly so. On the other hand, (a) real time sources are what the telcos supply to the call centers which handle directory inquiries for them. Under FCC regulations installed since the much-touted divesture of AT&T, all telephone companies which out source their DA services (and who doesn't these days) are required to treat all the service bureaus on an 'arms length' or equal basis. Telcos are required to provide DA listings on a daily or twice daily basis to the service bureaus, subject only to administrivia and the pace at which they work. Likewise the bureaus are required under FCC rules to work with each other in the same way. If Tinyburg Independent Telco outsources its DA to Verizon which in turn outsources it to a company in the Phillipine Islands where the labor is cheap and the English accent spoken is neutral enough to not offend the end user who has to be able to understand the 'operator' then they all have to play by the same rules, regarding speed and delivery. So by the time grandma in her home in Tinyburg dials 411 to get the number of her friend down the street (or someone in New York City since, after all, Tinyburg Telco advertised 'use 1-411 for numbers *anywhere*) and Tinyburg Telco translates the 411 into some 800 number which they pass to Verizon and Verizon hands that off to a service bureau in the Phillipines somewhere it has gotten rather expensive. The Filipino 'operators' work cheap, but not for free and they have to be paid, ditto the 'operators' at the service bureau SBC outsources to, and all the service bureaus have to pay the back office people who input the new and revised entries each day and transfer data betweem themselves as per FCC mandate, it gets sort of expensive. It may cost all of three cents per transaction (which you, the user pays for plus 'markup'). By the time the service bureau gets its markup and Verizon takes a cut for itself and Tinyburg Telco gets its share and proper reverance is given to 'what the market can handle', well you, as the end user actually pays anywhere from $1.29 to $2.49 per call for what cost the service bureau three or four cents to produce; a new number for your neighbor down the street in Tinyburg. But, the FCC to the rescue! Your public servants have decided that Tinyburg Telco must honor you if you are visually or print handicapped and supply you numbers for free, and must give you a certain number of DA calls for free each month as a 'courtesy'. Enter George Jones into the picture: He says this huge markup the telcos and their outsourced service bureaus get is ridiculous. He agrees that 'real time' DA is going to cost some money and more than the half-baked almost no-good scanned services (unless you got your phone number several months ago and plan on keeping it forever), but he saw a niche for an inexpensive real time service bureau and started one. He outsources the whole thing to the experts, like all of them. You are not going to find dozens of 'operators' sitting at his office in Chicago typing on terminals. He points out that consumers have the right to choose their DA providers just like they have choices on long distance (and sometimes) local service providers. But just try telling telco where to send your 411 or 555-1212 calls. Telcos route those calls as they please, en-masse, the entire central office and all its traffic. So he has to do what Sprint and MCI (err, maybe a poor example) did in their early pre-1010 or dial one plus days: they had to do their own diversions, so does George. DA ripoffs are one of telco's 'last stands'. I guess they figure damned if they are gonna lose that piece of pie also. (4) (per Bielby) "when you cannot train users to look up numbers or for cell phone users who can be taught to use access numbers ..." Obviously Alex, many folks cannot be trained to look up numbers, since DA is a major telecom expense at many companies. And since large companies usually have phone systems which can be adapted, it is usually easy to intercept 411 or anything-555-1212 to go to an 800 number; it's a pretty good fix. Most telecom managers would do it right away if they were faced with a few thousand DA calls each month that they could get for 30-40 cents each instead of the higher costs. And cell phones have a speed dial feature where you can also program a ten digit access number. Even very small users with prepaid cards will get rates of 50 cents or so per DA call instead of the higher rates they now pay. And George will still make a mint on it, just like the early competitors to Bell with their lower prices. (5) And just as early users of WATS lines were told never use the WATS line to dial an 800 number or DA (when Bell was absorbing DA costs entirely if you remember those days) neither should services like George's be used for toll-free DA. AT&T pays the entire cost of calls to 800-555-1212 (subject to internal chargeback mechanisms between AT&T and the various telcos and their toll free customers), so why should you have to pay for it from your monthly allotment of DA minutes of use? In fact you cannot. Large phone systems which are programmed to 'look for ' 411 and 555-1212 strings specifically ignore 800-555-1212 as a dialing string and send it straight through. That's only five responses to Bielby. I know I promised a half-dozen but I guess I lied. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. Visit www.1800teledeal.com or call 1-800-TELEDEAL The Directory Assistance Experts * We Know 411 TeleDeal Inc. George Jones, President ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #606 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Aug 12 14:41:02 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7CIf2m27743; Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:41:02 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:41:02 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308121841.h7CIf2m27743@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #607 TELECOM Digest Tue, 12 Aug 2003 14:36:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 607 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Sprint, RealNetworks in Wireless Service Deal (Eric Friedebach) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (6212hgk@newsguy.com) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Clarence Dold) Spammers - Re: We Buy Used Cell Phones (Steven J Sobol) Re: Company's Error Sends Customers to Adult Phone Line ('nuther Bob) Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem ('nuther Bob) Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? (Dan Reagan) Re: Odd CLID Problem (joe@obilivan.net) Re: Odd CLID Problem (Scott Dorsey) Looking for Software (TELECOM Digest Editor) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Steve K) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Sprint, RealNetworks in Wireless Service Deal Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 20:30:28 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Reuters, 08.11.03, 5:15 PM ET SEATTLE, Aug 11 (Reuters) - In its first major wireless deal, RealNetworks Inc. said on Monday it will offer audio and video of news, weather and entertainment on Sprint cell phones. Shares of RealNetworks rose more than 13 percent Monday after the announcement. For $4.95 per month, customers of Sprint, the No. 4 U.S. wireless carrier, can tap into the content offered by RealNetworks, which makes the software for sending and receiving video and audio over the Web. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/11/rtr1054652.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: 6212hgk@newsguy.com Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 19:04:56 GMT Organization: (reverse to reply) (John Bartley, K7AAY, Portland OR) On Fri, 8 Aug 2003 09:11:59 -0500, Jud Hardcastle wrote: > Some background: My part time home is a houseboat. It has an analog > cell phone with data adapter (dialup access about 7200 max) and, when > in dock, a wired phone line (dialup access about 23000 max -- nobody > gets faster than that -- too much old switching equipment). I would > like to replace both phones with a single wireless solution -- maybe a > Verizon phone or aircard, a GSM phone with GPRS, Richochet if they > ever restart Dallas. > Besides personal Internet stuff, I connect to the office WAN for > network files and Notes by dialing into an ISP and connecting thru to > a company VPN. I also dial into several devices that have modems only > -- no IP connection possible to those -- using either a "dumb" > terminal emulation program or a proprietary access program. > I should be able to access the VPN thru a wireless highspeed data > network BUT the dialup modems are the problem. > Is there any (inexpensive) service similar to the VOIP services that > allows you to connect to them via the Internet and then using a > special dialer to allow legacy software to dial into a standard > landline modem, i.e. software that looks like a modem to the terminal > emulation accepting AT codes etc. None AFAIK. However ... is there anyone with broadband withing LOS when you are docked? If so, consider setting up a directional 802.11g link to them and rent some bandwidth from them. See Robert X. Cringley's columns on PBS.org for details (search on 802.11). If you have $$, you might even consider doing an 802.11g WISP for your marina for the other liveaboards. Nobody but a fool goes into a federal counterrorism operation without duct tape - Richard Preston, THE COBRA EVENT. ------------------------------ From: dold@ModemXEmul.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 19:38:36 UTC Organization: a2i network Steve Michelson wrote: > Depending on how critical this is for you, and how much money you'd be > willing to spend, perhaps you could set up a landline gateway device > connected to the internet on one side, and a regular phone jack on the I had forgotten about a "modem server" that we used to use. It was accessible from our network ... I wouldn't want to expose one of those to the internet. It came with a driver for making "any" comm program work via the shared modem device on com_x. I think we used a Multitech gadget, and then later an add-on card that went in to a module slot in an HP switch. ------------------------------ From: Steven J Sobol Subject: Spammers - Re: We Buy Used Cell Phones Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 16:10:48 -0500 USC wrote: > Turn Used Cell Phones Into Cash Do not do business with these losers. They spammed me. They obviously spammed Pat Townson, too. Do feel free to report this spam to their ISP. --I get a lot of morons sending me this crap because they assume that, since I post in a bunch of cellular newsgroups and know what I'm talking about, I must work in the industry and therefore be interested in selling or buying cell phones in bulk at wholesale. Free clue to Piss Buthead, and the other idiots sending me junk about buying/selling cell phones (I got two today! One was from them) ... I. Do. Not. Work. In The. Wireless Phone. Industry. I do Not. Want. To hear. About your Offers. There. I said it slowly so the marketing department will be able to understand it. Thanks. Pat, of course it is up to you whether you want to post this reply, and I'll fully understand if you don't, but I'm kinda hoping you do. > (800) 248-5360 > (405) 755-3131 > (405) 755-1114 Fax > 13911 Harvey Avenue > Edmond, OK 73013 JustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services 22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950 Steve Sobol, Proprietor 888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Perfectly glad to be of help, Steve. The *only reason* the original spam ever saw the light of day here was because they were offering to *buy something* from telecom readers (and the message came only to this newsgroup in the header line instead of dozens) which I thought most telecom readers would have plenty of: used, unwanted cell phones. PAT] ------------------------------ From: 'nuther Bob Subject: Re: Company's Error Sends Customers to Mass. Adult Phone Line Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 02:03:00 GMT On Fri, 8 Aug 2003 19:43:27 -0400, Bill Berbenich wrote: > This is just wild speculation, but I wonder if this isn't somehow > related to Verizon's current labor union issues. It sounds just > clever enough to be someone's idea of "getting even." Hey, my union boys don't do no such thing. Now fugetaboudit or I'll send a couple of our representatives over to check your connections, if you get my drift. ------------------------------ From: 'nuther Bob Subject: Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 13:30:55 GMT On Sun, 10 Aug 2003 21:46:58 -0600, Phil Earnhardt wrote: > As with the earlier article on this topic, nobody asked Kinkos why > they weren't scrubbing their disks between user logins. Does anyone > have an estimate how long it would take to re-load an image? Remember, > Kinkos has a pretty heavy load of licensed software on their machines. I used to reload machines with 1.5g of OS/Applications in about a 5-7 minute time frame, AFAIR. It is somewhat processor/disk speed related. Noting that I know little about the Apple machines at Kinkos, you could script it and/or network broadcast it fairly easily. I think the problem for Kinkos would be that they are (by policy apparently) understaffed. They also always have a waiting line for machines during the normal day. Typically they only have one person who has a clue about their systems (a clue, not lots of clues). At least, that's been the experience when I've been to them :-) Bob ------------------------------ From: googleaccount@vose.org (Dan Reagan) Subject: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? Date: 12 Aug 2003 07:59:45 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I'm looking to find recommendations for an ACD system (probably standalone but I'm fairly open at this point) that will integrate with my existing phone setup. It's in a medium size travel agency. We want to control inbound calling, outbound isn't an issue at this point. We have two sites, the main site has an NEC 2000 IVS2 and most of the external trunking, the second site has an NEC 2000. They're connected via a pt to pt T1 using CCIS. We have a Cisco Unity VM in the main office that serves both offices and some offsite folks. The offsite agents are all served out of the main office (simple setup currently, just supervised call transfers from the Unity box). I'm fairly inexperienced with this (I'm a network administrator when given the option) but I think that what I'm looking to do is on the fairly simple end of the ACD spectrum. I'd like to be able to create several smallish incoming calling groups, each group potentially consisting of members from each main office or at home locations. We'd also probably like to have one group consisting of everybody so that we could overflow to that. Since I have so little experience with this stuff I'd probably be going through a VAR but would like to get some sort of heads up before I start cold calling companies. Thanks very much for any help, Dan ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Odd CLID Problem Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 11:38:34 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Kenneth P. Stox wrote: > And now the real answer: > Last I knew, SBC was spiffing with many other providers on what it was > willing to pay for access to there customer name databases. As a result, > calls from many third party providers are coming up without name to SBC > customers. The problem is not with the other providers, but with SBC's > refusal to pay on the same terms as the third parties pay to SBC. This problem will never be resolved because of greed and hositility between carriers. The FCC's 1995 Caller ID decision requires delivery only of CPNI. There is no mention of name delivery, so that falls into the category of a free-for-all. ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Odd CLID Problem Date: 12 Aug 2003 12:00:06 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Herb Stein wrote: > I'm still puzzled, however, as to why Privacy Manager feels obligated > to grab a call with a valid CLID number but no name. No doubt there is > a clear rationale that just escapes me at the moment. I don't know, but I do occasionally get telemarketing calls from folks with no name, and a seemingly valid CLID number of 000-000-0000. Such calls might be the sort of thing they were thinking of when they configured the system this way. It would strike me that the real solution is to get telemarketers to clean up their act; sending invalid CLID information is not acceptable. Sending none at all is fine, but sending patently invalid information is someone their telco shouldn't accept. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 13:51:25 EDT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Looking for Software I am wondering if there is any software or hardware which will switch between cameras on any kind of scheduled intervals. I finally got my weather cam(s) up and running, but don't have any sort of automatic switching between them. If you look at http://weatherforecast.n3.net you will see one of two randomly selected camera views of the outside of my house here in Independence, immediatly followed by the current weather conditions. What I am doing at present is using a Windows 95 laptop to FTP the weather conditions and ONE camera view. I am using a Windows 98 laptop to present the other camera view. Both the Windows 95 and the Windows 98 laptops are FTPing their jpg images to the same server and the same file name. The jpg image that happens to be there at the time you call for the URL is the one you get. If you manually refresh the image you may get the other jpg occassionally. If you click your way though the links you will find one link entitled 'view our web cam' and this will take you to a page which is the camera views only, and the javascript forces a reload of the page every three or four seconds which (if only one cam was operating) would give the impression of a live webcast of traffic in front of my house, etc. On that page, however, because there are two web cams both using FTP to 'contend for' the same file name in the same directory, the effect of the javascript is to alternate between front and back images about every three seconds. The trouble is, the transfer of images is not regular at all, and I cannot seem to get them timed properly. One image may come on for six or ten seconds, the other image will flash on only for a half second and disappear. Now and then, neither image will be there for a couple seconds, then the one or the other will show up. Meanwhile, the 95 and 98 machines sit there and click their images through the FTP to the file where they eventually reside for their few seconds of life. I cannot get the page which has the weather.jpg and the (current) camera.jpg to (javascript) update at all; it only works with the viewer/user manually refreshing the page every few seconds. The other page of camera views has the javascript working correctly, but fighting with the two cams that are contending for the same file space. Any suggestions? Patrick Townson ------------------------------ From: stevekl@panix.com (Steve Kl.) Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones Date: 12 Aug 2003 14:03:15 -0400 Organization: PANIX -- Public Access Networks Corp. Ditched my landline two months ago, and that's had zero impact on my life. I wasn't using the phone anyway -- the only use was the TiVo dialing into the mother ship, and once we arranged for the TiVo to get the information through the cable modem rather than the landline, the decision was a no-brainer. -- Steve Kl. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That's about how much impact getting Southwestern Bell out of my house has had on me: ZERO. Cable modem keeps me in touch with internet friends, Vonage keeps me in touch with long distance friends on the phone, and Prairie Stream keeps me in touch with locals who want to talk to me. Once Vongage gets local numbers in this part ot the country I will consider dumping Prairie Stream also. Anyone else who wants to test drive Vonage for a month for free, let me know, I will send you an e-coupon which when redeemed gives you a month of service at no charge. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. Visit http://www.1800teledeal.com or call 1-800-TELEDEAL The Directory Assistance Experts * We Know 411 TeleDeal Inc. George Jones, President ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #607 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Aug 12 19:04:17 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7CN4Gj29306; Tue, 12 Aug 2003 19:04:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 19:04:17 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308122304.h7CN4Gj29306@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #608 TELECOM Digest Tue, 12 Aug 2003 19:04:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 608 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Blaster Worm Analysis (Monty Solomon) CERT Advisory CA-2003-20 W32/Blaster Worm (Monty Solomon) What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm (Monty Solomon) ID Chips Pressed Into Laundered Clothes (Monty Solomon) Re: Odd CLID Problem (tonypo1@cox.net) Re: Odd CLID Problem (Robert Bonomi) Re: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? (SayNoTo) Re: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? (Chip G) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Clarence Dold) Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem (Robert Bonomi) Re: Speaking of Speaking Clocks (Buzzy Morse) Re: Looking for Software (Hudson Leighton) Re: Looking for Software (Robert Bonomi) Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones (Robert Bonomi) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (Robert Bonomi) Location Tracking Service on Cell Phones With GPS (Buzzy Morse) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Blaster Worm Analysis Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 15:02:01 -0400 Release Date: 8/11/2003 Severity: High Description: The Blaster worm uses a series of components to successfully infect a host. The first component is a publicly available RPC DCOM exploit that binds a system level shell to port 4444. This exploit is used to initiate a command channel between the infecting agent and the vulnerable target. Once the target is successfully compromised, the worm transmits the msblast.exe executable (the main body of the worm) via TFTP to infect the host. The payload used in the public DCOM exploit, as well as the TFTP functionality, are both encapsulated within msblast.exe. http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Advisories/AL20030811.html ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: CERT Advisory CA-2003-20 W32/Blaster worm Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 15:05:56 -0400 CERT Advisory CA-2003-20 W32/Blaster worm Original issue date: August 11, 2003 Last revised: August 12, 2003 Source: CERT/CC A complete revision history is at the end of this file. Systems Affected: * Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 * Microsoft Windows 2000 * Microsoft Windows XP * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Overview The CERT/CC is receiving reports of widespread activity related to a new piece of malicious code known as W32/Blaster. This worm appears to exploit known vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Interface. I. Description The W32/Blaster worm exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft's DCOM RPC interface as described in VU#568148 and CA-2003-16. Upon successful execution, the worm attempts to retrieve a copy of the file msblast.exe from the compromising host. Once this file is retrieved, the compromised system then runs it and begins scanning for other vulnerable systems to compromise in the same manner. In the course of propagation, a TCP session to port 135 is used to execute the attack. However, access to TCP ports 139 and 445 may also provide attack vectors and should be considered when applying mitigation strategies. Microsoft has published information about this vulnerability in Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-026. Lab testing has confirmed that the worm includes the ability to launch a TCP SYN flood denial-of-service attack against windowsupdate.com. We are investigating the conditions under which this attack might manifest itself. Unusual or unexpected traffic to windowsupdate.com may indicate an infection on your network, so you may wish to monitor network traffic. Sites that do not use windowsupdate.com to manage patches may wish to block outbound traffic to windowsupdate.com. In practice, this may be difficult to achieve, since windowsupdate.com may not resolve to the same address every time. Correctly blocking traffic to windowsupdate.com will require detailed understanding of your network routing architecture, system management needs, and name resolution environment. You should not block traffic to windowsupdate.com without a thorough understanding of your operational needs. We have been in contact with Microsoft regarding this possibility of this denial-of-service attack. http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-20.html ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty solomon Subject: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 17:28:16 -0400 http://www.microsoft.com/security/incident/blast.asp Symantec W32.Blaster.Worm Alert and Removal Tool http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.blaster.worm.html Scans - MS03-026 RPC Vulnerability Scanner http://www.iss.net/support/product_utilities/ms03-026rpc.php ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: ID Chips Pressed Into Laundered Clothes Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 17:31:25 -0400 Matthew Broersma ZDNet UK The controversial RFID tag technology is being taken to the dry cleaners Chipmaker Texas Instruments on Monday announced a wireless identity chip aimed at clothing going through the dry cleaning process, creating a new market for a technology that is expected to revolutionise the way products -- and people -- are tracked and identified. The Laundry Transponder, from TI Radio Frequency Identification Systems, is a thin 13.56MHz radio frequency identification (RFID) chip with a circumference of 22mm that can be attached or sewn into fabric. Its plastic casing is capable of withstanding industrial cleaning processes, making it practical for dry cleaners to track items through to customer delivery. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/chips/0,39020354,39115640,00.htm ------------------------------ From: tonypo1@cox.net Subject: Re: Odd CLID Problem Organization: The Ace Tomatoe and Cement Company Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 15:24:35 -0400 In article , kludge@panix.com says: > Herb Stein wrote: >> I'm still puzzled, however, as to why Privacy Manager feels obligated >> to grab a call with a valid CLID number but no name. No doubt there is >> a clear rationale that just escapes me at the moment. > I don't know, but I do occasionally get telemarketing calls from folks > with no name, and a seemingly valid CLID number of 000-000-0000. Such > calls might be the sort of thing they were thinking of when they > configured the system this way. > It would strike me that the real solution is to get telemarketers to > clean up their act; sending invalid CLID information is not > acceptable. Sending none at all is fine, but sending patently invalid > information is someone their telco shouldn't accept. Speaking of this whole thing about database dips for name entries and such, I get lots of calls from friends and relatives that carry the number and the calling state. Interestingly it seems that all calls from Sprint originated numbers only send state name, while my dad's AllTel cell phone in FL sends his full name. Matter of fact, now that I think about it any call that isn't Verizon comes through with state only or a wireless provider name. So name delivery is essentially useless. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Odd CLID Problem Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 20:59:52 GMT In article , Scott Dorsey wrote: > Herb Stein wrote: >> I'm still puzzled, however, as to why Privacy Manager feels obligated >> to grab a call with a valid CLID number but no name. No doubt there is >> a clear rationale that just escapes me at the moment. > I don't know, but I do occasionally get telemarketing calls from folks > with no name, and a seemingly valid CLID number of 000-000-0000. Such > calls might be the sort of thing they were thinking of when they > configured the system this way. > It would strike me that the real solution is to get telemarketers to > clean up their act; sending invalid CLID information is not > acceptable. Sending none at all is fine, but sending patently invalid > information is someone their telco shouldn't accept. As of Oct. 1, telemarketers *must* send their own _VALID_ number. Part of the rules-changes that go into effect with the do-not-call list. ------------------------------ From: SayNoToCrossposters Subject: Re: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? Organization: Comcast Online Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 19:29:35 GMT Doesn't the NEC come with ACD built in? Dan Reagan wrote in message news:telecom22.607.7@telecom-digest.org: > I'm looking to find recommendations for an ACD system (probably > standalone but I'm fairly open at this point) that will integrate with > my existing phone setup. > It's in a medium size travel agency. We want to control inbound > calling, outbound isn't an issue at this point. We have two sites, the > main site has an NEC 2000 IVS2 and most of the external trunking, the > second site has an NEC 2000. They're connected via a pt to pt T1 using > CCIS. We have a Cisco Unity VM in the main office that serves both > offices and some offsite folks. The offsite agents are all served out > of the main office (simple setup currently, just supervised call > transfers from the Unity box). > I'm fairly inexperienced with this (I'm a network administrator when > given the option) but I think that what I'm looking to do is on the > fairly simple end of the ACD spectrum. I'd like to be able to create > several smallish incoming calling groups, each group potentially > consisting of members from each main office or at home locations. We'd > also probably like to have one group consisting of everybody so that > we could overflow to that. Since I have so little experience with this > stuff I'd probably be going through a VAR but would like to get some > sort of heads up before I start cold calling companies. > Thanks very much for any help, > Dan ------------------------------ From: Chip G Subject: Re: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? Organization: Comcast Online Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 20:08:14 GMT Depending on what you are trying to do and how much support you want from a vendor or systems integrator, I would suggest two widely divergent paths: 1. Take a look at Asterisk PBX (Open Source for Linux). This is the very-low-cost ... do-it-yourself solution. I am pretty sure it can do what you seek but will require a little techie insight to get it going. I have played around with it myself but have not actually deployed it for business use. http://www.asteriskpbx.com. Basically you just need a pretty basic computer (by today's standards). You download Linux (I used Red Hat 8 when I tried it out) and the Asterisk PBX. Then you are all set from an IP PBX standpoint. The way you describe your business, you are going to need some gateway capability between the TDM telephone world and the IP world. On the asterisk website, you will find a number of vendor options for circuit boards that you will place inside the computer running the Asterisk PBX to provide that functionality. Unless you have in-house resources and want to tinker, I would suggest that you lean toward option 2 for business use at this point. Although, if you (and the business) are willing to tinker a bit, I think Asterisk can give you a good low-cost solution that provides much more value than the low end systems that a lot of smaller integrators will try to sell you. 2. For a well supported proven ACD solution, take a look at Avaya. They have systems that can work with your existing system if you want to keep the mixed environment. They also have systems that would provide all the functionality of your other systems plus a world-class ACD all in one system. The way you describe the business, you might want to take a look at the Avaya Communication Manager Software with ACD running on an S8300 server acting as a stand-alone ACD that could integrate with your existing system. http://www.avaya.com. According to Gartner, Forrester, and Meta, they are a leader and true visionary for the contact center space. Regards, Chip Dan Reagan wrote in message news:telecom22.607.7@telecom-digest.org: > I'm looking to find recommendations for an ACD system (probably > standalone but I'm fairly open at this point) that will integrate with > my existing phone setup. > It's in a medium size travel agency. We want to control inbound > calling, outbound isn't an issue at this point. We have two sites, the > main site has an NEC 2000 IVS2 and most of the external trunking, the > second site has an NEC 2000. They're connected via a pt to pt T1 using > CCIS. We have a Cisco Unity VM in the main office that serves both > offices and some offsite folks. The offsite agents are all served out > of the main office (simple setup currently, just supervised call > transfers from the Unity box). > I'm fairly inexperienced with this (I'm a network administrator when > given the option) but I think that what I'm looking to do is on the > fairly simple end of the ACD spectrum. I'd like to be able to create > several smallish incoming calling groups, each group potentially > consisting of members from each main office or at home locations. We'd > also probably like to have one group consisting of everybody so that > we could overflow to that. Since I have so little experience with this > stuff I'd probably be going through a VAR but would like to get some > sort of heads up before I start cold calling companies. > Thanks very much for any help, > Dan ------------------------------ From: dold@ModemXEmul.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 19:21:50 +0000 (UTC) Organization: a2i network The map of hotspots in Marina Del Rey, just for example: http://www.catalina42.org/war-sail/ 6212hgk@newsguy.com wrote: > If so, consider setting up a directional 802.11g link to them and rent > some bandwidth from them. See Robert X. Cringley's columns on PBS.org > for details (search on 802.11). Cringely has been roundly criticized for falsifications and generalizations in the article. When challenged, he indicates that those are insignificant points. The article does make interesting reading, and suggests the possibilities. http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20010628.html A couple of others have done the actual work and documented it well, from a technical perspective. http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/Equation/equation_broadband.htm Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5 ------------------------------ Subject: Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 20:07:56 GMT In article , Phil Earnhardt wrote: > As with the earlier article on this topic, nobody asked Kinkos why > they weren't scrubbing their disks between user logins. Does anyone > have an estimate how long it would take to re-load an image? Remember, > Kinkos has a pretty heavy load of licensed software on their machines. Rough approximations are not hard to do. The 'occupied' space on a 'clean', but loaded, machine is going to be in the range of a few gigabytes, to a few tens of gigabytes. Sustained disk-to-disk transfer rates are roughly 10 megabytes per second. So, you're looking at 'complete reload' times of a few hundred seconds to maybe a couple of thousand seconds. A few minutes, to more than a half-hour. With careful software installation, *and* good hardware, one can reduce the time considerably -- It is often possible to put a _lot_ of the application stuff on a secondary drive, one that is *read*only*, at the _hardware_ level. Oddly enough, -that- content does not need to be re-imaged. Windows _does_ insist on having *bunches* of stuff in writable directories and/or writable media, because it wants 'everything in the same place', so one really has to _work_ at this kind of a set-up. Really working at it, and using hibernate/resume type tricks, I expect one could get a 'wipeout/restart' down to _well_under_ 2 minutes. ------------------------------ From: buzzymorse@yahoo.com (Buzzy Morse) Subject: Re: Speaking of Speaking Clocks Date: 12 Aug 2003 14:09:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I have a Nextel/Motorola i58 with GPS. I just signed up to a location service on addressbook.com which offers a free service that lets me see the current address / location of my phone on a MapQuest map. It works great, was easy to setup and is easy to use by going to www.addressbook.com. You can even press a button on the phone and in less than 5 seconds it shows you the current address of everyone in your group (your teenagers, co-workers, etc.) It's secure and if people do not want to have their location displayed they can turn the location tracking off and still use their phone. Buzz. ap@shore.net (Alan Phillips) wrote in message news:: > I believe that the phones display an icon if your GPD data is being > transmitted. There is a tracking/mapping service available at > www.ulocate.com. > Jay R. Ashworth wrote in message > news:: >> Stanley settled back into the couch, and Charles Hoch >> said to him: >>> Now, totally unrelated to this, many new phones have GPS logic in >>> them. This is in response to the mandate from the FCC for E911 >>> service; that is, being able to locate a phone making a 911 call, >>> within some prescribed precision, and using GPS is one solution. This >>> is not standalone GPS: most of the work of the GPS protocol is done at >>> the cell site, and the phone is asked to take some readings from >>> specific GPS satellites and send the info to the cellsite, which >>> computes the phone's location, and sends it on the the 911 >>> center. Since much of the work of the GPS protocol is done in the cell >>> site, location can be accomplished with much weaker signals from the >>> satellites than required by a standalone unit. This includes indoors, >>> basements, street level between skyscrapers (but not in subways). See >>> www.snaptrack.com for details. >> Which explains why, given a "GPS receiver" and Java in many new >> phones, we *still* aren't seeing a location display on the phone -- >> the *phone* doesn't know where it is. >> Anyone got anything on whether the phones squawk when they're pinged >> for location? >> Stanley settled back into the couch, and Michael D Sullivan >> said to him: >>> Moreover, the special Verizon network providing service in the >>> Washington Metro was, last I checked, analog-only. (It may have been >>> upgraded recently, though.) A Verizon dual- or tri-mode phone will >>> continue showing the time while in an analog area, based on updating >>> the time from when it was last in a CDMA area. >> And indeed, the clock on my PrimeCo 1900 stayed running when I went >> out of range, up near Lecanto. >> Cheers, >> Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com >> Member of the Technical Staff Baylink >> The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think >> Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 >> God, unlike Anya, is fond of bunnies. -- Chelsea Christenson >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is it possible these things work like >> (for example) La Crosse Technology wristwatches and certain other >> products set by radio time signals? When it is possible for the >> device to recieve a good, strong radio time signal it does so, but >> when the signal is absent (due to interference, etc) then the device >> has a highly accurate crystal controlled mechanism inside it which >> takes over until the time/place the radio signal can be captured once >> again? PAT] ------------------------------ From: hudsonl@skypoint.com (Hudson Leighton) Subject: Re: Looking for Software Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 13:59:31 -0500 Organization: MRRP In article , TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > I am wondering if there is any software or hardware which will switch > between cameras on any kind of scheduled intervals. I finally got my > weather cam(s) up and running, but don't have any sort of automatic > switching between them. Why not just have two pictures on the webpage? The images are a little fuzzy and would look better a little smaller. P.S. I think the lawn needs mowing :-) -Hudson http://www.skypoint.com/~hudsonl [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You are right, the lawn does need mowing. We had no rain for about three weeks and the lawn got totally scorched. Then last Friday night and again Sunday afternoon we had literally buckets of rain. Ergo, the temperature which had been in the lower one hundreds range for about two weeks with the sun baking everything in sight dropped into the middle eighties yesterday. Last week the the temperature was always in the middle to upper nineties as I got up each morning; seldom less than 100 to 105 degrees during mid-day (Thursday it reached 109) and 80-90 during overnight hours. Then the rain came last weekend. Sunday it stayed very humid, but yesterday was mild and pleasant in the eighties. So the grass turned green once again and sprouted everywhere. Today is Tuesday; the heat is starting to creep back up again; 94 degrees at 5:30 pm. Everyone stayed in their houses in air conditioning all day. Even the cows tried to stay cool; I walked out south of town last Wednesday afternoon; at a private pond along a county road I saw a dozen cows all standing out in the water with only their heads and part of their bodies above the water, repeatedly swishing their tails to keep flies and other insects away. Two of the local high school age guys came by just now offering to work on my grass, and wanted to get it cut before the heat goes back up as it will surely do by this time tomorrow. And I used to think Chicago got very *hot* in the summer ... PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Looking for Software Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 21:18:02 GMT In article , TELECOM Digest Editor wrote: > I am wondering if there is any software or hardware which will switch > between cameras on any kind of scheduled intervals. I finally got my > weather cam(s) up and running, but don't have any sort of automatic > switching between them. > If you look at http://weatherforecast.n3.net you will see one of two > randomly selected camera views of the outside of my house here in > Independence, immediatly followed by the current weather conditions. > What I am doing at present is using a Windows 95 laptop to FTP the > weather conditions and ONE camera view. I am using a Windows 98 > laptop to present the other camera view. Both the Windows 95 and the > Windows 98 laptops are FTPing their jpg images to the same server > and the same file name. The jpg image that happens to be there at > the time you call for the URL is the one you get. If you manually > refresh the image you may get the other jpg occassionally. > If you click your way though the links you will find one link entitled > 'view our web cam' and this will take you to a page which is the > camera views only, and the javascript forces a reload of the page > every three or four seconds which (if only one cam was operating) > would give the impression of a live webcast of traffic in front > of my house, etc. On that page, however, because there are two > web cams both using FTP to 'contend for' the same file name in > the same directory, the effect of the javascript is to alternate > between front and back images about every three seconds. The trouble > is, the transfer of images is not regular at all, and I cannot seem > to get them timed properly. One image may come on for six or ten > seconds, the other image will flash on only for a half second and > disappear. Now and then, neither image will be there for a couple > seconds, then the one or the other will show up. Meanwhile, the > 95 and 98 machines sit there and click their images through the FTP > to the file where they eventually reside for their few seconds of > life. > I cannot get the page which has the weather.jpg and the (current) > camera.jpg to (javascript) update at all; it only works with the > viewer/user manually refreshing the page every few seconds. The > other page of camera views has the javascript working correctly, > but fighting with the two cams that are contending for the same > file space. Any suggestions? Wrong approach. *ALL* wrong. *DON'T* have the two cameras contend for the same file-space. have each one upload to a _separate_ file. Ideally, you upload to a temp file, and then have a 'rename' process (either on the machine doing the upload, or on the server) that moves the _complete_ uploaded file to the 'visible' location. have *two* html pages, one for each camera, that simply have the 'image' invocation. Each page has a "refresh" meta-tag, pointing to the other page", with a reasonable delay. Use 'frames' on the main page, specifying one of the cam pages (obviously it doesn't *really* matter which :) as the content for that frame. Voila! regular, timed, automatic alternation. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Millions Getting Rid of Landline Phones From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 20:54:06 GMT In article , Jay R. Ashworth wrote: > Stanley settled back into the couch, and Robert Bonomi > said to him: >> It is *GREAT*FUN* trying to order DSL internet connectivity, when you >> don't have a land-line voice phone at the location. It took me more >> than a month just to get the order *accepted* -- the DSL provider's >> computers wouldn't take an order without a phone number, *but* the >> TELCO (ILEC) who was supplying the actual copper pair, would not take >> the order _with_ a phone number -- since their records showed "no >> active number" at that location. This was for SDSL service, so it had >> to have it's "own" pair, regardless. The 'problem' had to get >> escalated a _long_ ways up the food chain, at *both* the DSL provider >> _and_ the TELCO, before it got resolved. The telco installer, >> incidentally, said he'd *never* seen an order that listed the premises >> phone a "(000) 000-0000" before. > You're doing better than me; Verizontal flat refuses to do it in > Florida. If you don't have a voice circuit, *from Verzion*, they > won't even contemplate taking the order. It _may_ have helped, that I happened to know the "chief network architect' of the DSL back-end provider. *AND* was working with an ISP that was willing to let me talk _directly_ to the back-end provider, and fight my own battle -- they recognized I knew "at least enough" engineering to discuss things directly with the back-end. I did _not_ actually contact the chief architect when I was having the install problems, but I _did_ drop his name "once or twice". As in "do I need to call so-and-so, to get this straightened out, or can _you_ handle it?" *EVIL*grin* > Commonly, though, that's ADSL -- in this market, SDSL is treated as > T-1 service, (and in fact, *carries* most new T-spans) and is granted > a circuit ID instead. ADSL is a different animal. These days it is almost always 'piggy-backed' on an *operating* voice-line. "Shared ADSL". Doing it that way means that there is _no_need_ for an 'installer' to come out. The circuit is *known* to be good end-to-end. and the customer can do a 'self-install' of the premises equipment. SDSL sits _in_ the voice bandwidth, so it _has_ to run on a dedicated pair. My escapade was back *BEFORE* 'shared DSL service' was allowed by the regulators. Cuz the telco's hadn't figured out "how" to handle connecting a shared circuit to a third-party co-located DSLAM. Therefore, *everything* was run on dedicated pairs; the DSL back-end provider simply 'rented' the pair from the ILEC, and had it cross-connected to their DSLAM. and _THEY_, the DSL provider did _all_ the customer premises work -- including the cross-connect at the DMARC. The 'order process' need for a phone number at the customer location was *entirely* for a double-check to make sure that they ran to the 'proper' customer premises. This wasn't just telco being difficult for the sake of being difficult. There *was* a real issue, that could rear up and bite you. Particularly in the case of _large_ multi-unit buildings, there was a possibility that different parts of the building were served by different 'feeder' cables from the C.O., going to _different_ distribution points within the building. If you were in a unit that was serviced by 'distribution point "A"', and using _just_the_address_, they brought the DSL circuit into 'distribution point "C"', on the other side of the building, and _without_ connectivity between the two points ... well the rest of -that- scenario is obvious :) ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 19:38:08 GMT In article , Steven J Sobol wrote: > SayNoToCrossposters wrote: >> I have seen it as well ... at least one post like this every other >> week. I would beg to differ with them claiming you have all the >> "features" or a proprietary PBX ... which I really really find hard to >> believe noticing what feature there are listed on their web page. > Yeah, I agree with this ... there are probably some features that > haven't been implemented yet. The software isn't even at version 1.0 > yet. > It's quite functional already, though. *AND* it's got something that I havn't seen on _any_ PBX. the ability for the _user_ to enhance/extend the system in =whatever= way they want to. If there's a missing 'critical feature', you can just _add_ it. *Your* priorities govern, You are NOT dependant on the scheduling whims of the manufacturer. This is a _big_ plus, in specialized uses. It definitely doesn't compete with the "big" switches, like a hign-end Definity, or a big Nortel 'Option {whatever}'. But for needs that are in the Nortel "MICS" class, and below, it merits a serious look. ------------------------------ From: buzzymorse@yahoo.com (Buzzy Morse) Subject: Location Tracking Service on Cell Phones With GPS Date: 12 Aug 2003 14:23:11 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I finally found a good use for the GPS in my cell phone! I purchased a Nextel/Motorola i58 handset that has GPS, but was not sure which service to use to track my location. I finally found a great service at www.addressbook.com - and best of all it's free! I just signed up to the location service on addressbook.com and can now see my current address / location of my phone on a MapQuest map. It works great, was easy to setup and is easy to use by going to www.addressbook.com. You can even press a button on the phone and in less than 5 seconds it shows you the current address of everyone in your group (your teenagers, co-workers, etc.) It's secure and if people do not want to have their location displayed they can turn the location tracking off and still use their phone. Buzz. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. Visit http://www.1800teledeal.com or call 1-800-TELEDEAL The Directory Assistance Experts * We Know 411 TeleDeal Inc. George Jones, President ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #608 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Aug 13 13:26:26 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7DHQQR04301; Wed, 13 Aug 2003 13:26:26 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 13:26:26 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308131726.h7DHQQR04301@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #609 TELECOM Digest Wed, 13 Aug 2003 13:26:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 609 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter DCOM Worm Analysis Report: W32.Blaster.Worm (Monty Solomon) An Instant Messager You Can See and Hear (Monty Solomon) Innocent Acquitted Man Says Virus Put Porn on Computer (Monty Solomon) Gillette Boycott (Monty Solomon) Degrees of Separation Are Likely More Than 6 (Monty Solomon) Verizon Wireless Customers Share One Million Picture Msgs (M Solomon) Wi-Fi Hotspots: Avoiding a Dotcom Redux (Monty Solomon) The Friend of my Friendster is my Enemy (Monty Solomon) Payphone Chat (Dave) Re: RIM Loses Patent-Infringement Ruling (Doug Warner) Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm (Garrett Wollman) Re: Anybody Know About J2.com's Email-by-Phone Reliability (Scott Perry) Re: Looking for Software (Colin Sutton) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (SayNoToCrossposters) Wednesday Morning Telecom Headlines (Eric Friedebach) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: DCOM Worm Analysis Report: W32.Blaster.Worm Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 12:15:28 -0400 http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/332625 Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:36:24 -0600 (MDT) From: Dave Ahmad Subject: DCOM worm analysis report: W32.Blaster.Worm A Bugtraq user has already pointed out that a worm has been discovered in the wild that exploits the Microsoft Windows DCOM RPC Interface Buffer Overrun Vulnerability (Bugtraq ID 8205) to infect host systems. Symantec has been tracking its activity and is currently conducting analysis/full disassembly of the malicious code, which has been named "Blaster". The results of our analysis are being made available to the public at the following location: https://tms.symantec.com/members/AnalystReports/030811-Alert-DCOMworm.pdf It is expected that this report will be updated frequently as more information is discovered. Readers are advised to download/refresh it throughout the day to ensure that any new information is not missed. David Mirza Ahmad Symantec PGP: 0x26005712 8D 9A B1 33 82 3D B3 D0 40 EB AB F0 1E 67 C6 1A 26 00 57 12 The battle for the past is for the future. We must be the winners of the memory war. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 02:12:35 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: An Instant Messager You Can See and Hear By W ALTER S. M OSSBERG Instant messaging is the most popular form of real-time communication since the telephone, embraced by everyone from teens to tycoons. But, in the 21st century, it seems a little passe to be chatting up people over the Internet by typing as fast as you can in a little window festooned with smiley faces. So, for years, people have been trying to add audio and video to instant messaging. In fact, today you can hook up a cheap camera and microphone to your PC and conduct a video or audio chat using several services or software packages, including Microsoft's MSN online service. But none of these attempts has caught on big with the general public so far. For one thing, the Web cameras and microphones were mostly mediocre, and raised all the usual hassles involved in adding new hardware to a Windows computer -- getting the right software "drivers," for instance. Also, even over broadband, the pictures tended to be tiny and grainy, and the audio scratchy. Now, Apple Computer, the king of high-tech style, is trying its hand at solving the problem. Apple recently released a video and audio version of the iChat instant-messaging software that comes with every Macintosh computer and links into America Online's vast IM network. And, to make it all work, the company introduced a gorgeous $149 digital Web camera, named iSight. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/solution-20030813.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 01:14:21 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Innocent Acquitted Man Says Virus Put Pornography on Computer By JOH SCHWARTZ One evening late in 2001, Julian Green's 7-year-old daughter came upstairs from the computer room of their home in the resort town of Torquay, in western England, and said, "The home page has changed, and it's something not very nice." When Mr. Green checked the machine, he found that the family PC seemed almost possessed. The Internet home page had somehow been switched so that the computer displayed a child pornography site when the browser software started up. Even if he turned the machine off, it would turn itself back on and dial the Internet on its own. Mr. Green called the computer maker and followed instructions to return his PC to a G-rated state. The pornography went away, but the computer still often crashed and kept connecting to the Internet even when "there was no one in the blinking house," he said. But Mr. Green's problems were only beginning. Last October, local police knocked on his door, searched his home and seized his computer. They found no sign of pornography in his home but discovered 172 images of child pornography on the computer's hard drive. They arrested Mr. Green. This month, Mr. Green was acquitted in Exeter Crown Court after arguing that the material had been gathered without his knowledge by a rogue program created by hackers -- a so-called Trojan horse -- that had infected his PC, probably during innocent Internet surfing. Mr. Green, 45, is one of the first people to use this defense successfully. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/11/technology/11PORN.html [Lisa Minter note: When reading articles in NY Times, you are invited to use the telecom group login 'telecomdigest' and the group password also 'telecomdigest'. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 01:24:15 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Gillette Boycott CASPIAN LAUNCHES WORLDWIDE GILLETTE BOYCOTT Gillette faces consequences for spying on consumers CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering) is calling for a worldwide boycott of Gillette products since the company failed to renounce a Gillette Mach3 "smart shelf" spy system. http://www.boycottgillette.com/pressrelease8-11.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 01:28:33 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Degrees of Separation Are Likely More Than 6 Degrees of Separation Are Likely More Than 6, Especially in E-Mail Age By KENNETH CHANG Socially, it may be a small world, but it's hard to get from here to there. In the current issue of the journal Science, researchers at Columbia University report the first large-scale experiment that supports the notion of "six degrees of separation," that a short chain of acquaintances can be found between almost any two people in the world. But the same study finds that trying to contact a distant stranger via acquaintances is likely to fail. The "six degrees of separation" notion came from an experiment in 1967 by Dr. Stanley Milgram, a social psychologist, where a few hundred people tried to forward a letter to a particular person in Boston by sending it through people they knew personally. About a third of the letters reached their destination, after an average of six mailings. Dr. Milgram's experiment inspired a notion that the billions of people in the world, widely separated by geography and culture, actually form a close-knit network of social acquaintances, that you are a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of anyone anywhere. Until now, few scientists have tried to confirm Dr. Milgram's findings, which some scientists find unconvincing because of the small number of participants and other shortcomings of the experiment. The advent of the Internet enabled the researchers to more carefully explore the problem, which is part mathematical -- the structure of the network -- and part psychological -- what motivates people to participate or not, and how do people decide whom to send the message to? The answers are of interest both to computer scientists studying the ebb and flow of information on the Internet and sociologists studying the spread of gossip and cultural trends. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/12/science/12MAIL.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 01:56:55 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon Wireless Customers Share One Million Picture Messages Verizon Wireless Customers Share One Million Picture Messages in First Month BEDMINSTER, N.J., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Wireless, the nation's largest wireless provider and operator of the nation's largest and most reliable wireless network, announced today its customers shared more than one million picture messages in less than 30 days since the service launch on July 8, 2003. Verizon Wireless credits the success of picture messaging to the intuitive and easy to follow format -- customers can take and send photos in just a few easy steps -- and its award-winning nationwide wireless network. Picture messaging from Verizon Wireless lets customers simply snap a picture with their camera phone, enter a Verizon Wireless phone number or any e-mail address, type a TXT message, add a sound and hit send to send a picture message to another Verizon Wireless customer, any e-mail address or an online photo album. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35233680 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 00:54:19 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wi-Fi Hotspots: Avoiding a Dotcom Redux By Scott Smith, managing partner, Cumulus Research Partners Guest commentary: Amidst increasing concern that the Wi-Fi bubble is going to pop the way the the dotcom one did, Scott Smith finds reckless deployment and suggests some key metrics to track. http://wireless.ziffdavis.com/article2/0,,1212918,00.aspSearch ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 22:57:28 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Friend of my Friendster is My Enemy THE EXAMINED LIFE By Joshua Glenn, Globe Staff, 8/10/2003 WHEN A TEST VERSION of the social-networking website Friendster, which bills itself as 'the new way to meet people,' was launched in March, it was an immediate hit. So far, over 1.3 million souls have already made it their procrastination tool of choice. But not everybody, it seems, is crazy about it. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2003/08/10/the_friend_of_my_friendster_is_my_enemy ------------------------------ From: Dave Subject: Payphone Chat Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 00:58:24 UTC Organization: BT Openworld Reply-To: Dave Hi, payphone people just thought I'd mention that my payphone group will be holding a group chat on Sunday the 7th of September 2003 (this'll be a regular thing every three months if all goes well). It'll start at around 13:00hrs GMT at the groups website (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/payphone_net/). You'll need a Yahoo id and'll have to become a member by sending a blank email to "payphone_net-subscribe@yahoogroups.com" or by visiting the groups site (link above). It'll be a global chat with people from all parts of the globe taking part and I should also have a few BT contacts of mine with us as well! We can talk about all things payphone, exchange our favourite payphone numbers, talk about the best conversations you've had with a person at a payphone etc ... Anyway, hope to see you guys (and gals) there. Dave, from the payphone_net. ------------------------------ From: Doug Warner Subject: Re: RIM Loses Patent-Infringement Ruling Date: Tue, 12 Aug 2003 21:09:34 -0400 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Monty Solomon wrote: > By Richard Shim > Staff Writer, CNET News.com > A judge has ruled in favor of holding company NTP in its patent- > infringement case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, > awarding monetary damages and fees. Question: I've never heard of anything manufactured by this company called NTP. Do they actually anything based on their patents or are they just in the "patent extortion" business? To reply, please remove one letter from each side of "@" Spammers are vermin. Please kill them. ------------------------------ From: wollman@lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 02:02:53 UTC Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science What should you know about the Blaster worm? 1) Don't run Windows. 2) If you must run Windows, use Windows Update every single day on every machine you have. 3) If you can't run Windows Update, see #1. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@lcs.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those of| search for greater freedom. MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. ___ (2003) ------------------------------ From: scottperry@miraclevision.com (Scott Perry) Subject: Re: Anybody Know About J2.com's Email-by-Phone Reliability? Date: 12 Aug 2003 22:08:12 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ For whatever it may be worth, to whomever it may concern, here is what happened as a result of my followup with that problem: On 7/19/03 I sent this note to J2: I have been a satisfied customer with the J2 fax system for some time. Unfortunately, two days after I began considering setting up a business system that would heavily rely on the reliability of J2's Email-by-phone system, your Email-by-phone system seems to have crashed at about 6PM (PDT) with the incoming 800 line going busy. Now at 9PM (PDT) it is still down. I called technical support at about 7PM and the technician didn't seem to know very much about the reliability of your Email-by-phone system over time. I also noticed that even though the system has been down for three hours, your 'System-Status' screen makes no reference to this. I have three simple questions, and I hope you might be able to give me simple and informative answers. They are: 1. When do you expect to get the system back up? 2. What has the average amount of down-time/ week for this system been over the last year or so? 3. Is there any coincidence that the system went down after business hours, being a scheduled down time, or was this just lucky? In my upcoming business arrangements and decisions, I will be basing my decision regarding how heavily I can rely upon your Email-by-phone system, upon your answers to these three questions. Accordingly, your candid answers will be very much appreciated. Even if you might have to let me know that your Email-by-phone system might not be 100% reliable yet, I still plan to continue using your Premier fax service. I look forward to hearing back from you, and I thank you for your excellent fax service. Sincerely, Scott Perry ----------------------------------- On 7/22/03 I got this initial reply: Thank you for your email on 7/18/03. We've tested the Email-by-Phone access number and it is working normally. We have not received any other reports of an outage with the number. Please try accessing the Email-by-Phone number again. If you continue to have problems, please let us know. Thank you for contacting j2 Global Communications. For any future correspondence regarding this issue, please reference this case ID in your message: 2819826. Sincerely, +Keri S. j2 Customer Service 1-323-817-3218 ----------------------------------------------- I was a bit pissed that I had gone to all of the trouble to write such a detailed letter to them, only to get this off-the-cuff insinuation that I was a noodge, so I sent this back to them in reply on the same day: Dear Keri, Thank you for your reply to my recent concern about J2. After reading your reply, I was quite surprised by your apparently not being aware of the national phone outage of the J2 Email-by-phone system from approximately: July 19, 2003 6PM PDT thru July 20, 2003 7AM PDT . The fact that it was indeed a national outage was confirmed last Friday night by a Technical Support Rep at J2 when he himself attempted to dial the number and got a busy signal. If you wanted to cross reference that call, assuming you keep records of all tech support calls, I am sure you could find this. I made the call at about 6:30 PM July 19, 2003. I am relatively certain that this was not just a nationwide outage, but a worldwide outage too as I have a friend in the UK who is a J2 customer who also reported to me experiencing exactly the same problem with the J2 Email-by-phone system during exactly the same time period. If you want, I would be happy to provide you with his subscription number. The fact that so far neither yourself nor the tech support rep have seemed to know anything about how to suitably discuss the outage with the public, is cause for concern to me. If you did indeed wish to continue to try to address my questions in a forthright and professional manner, please at least let me know that this outage is a problem that J2 is aware of at some level, and is trying to improve upon it. Otherwise I'm afraid you would be leaving me in a bit of a quandary, leaving me to have to make the unavoidable conclusions about your Email-by-phone service that I will have to make. On a brighter note, your fax service does seem to be somewhat more reliable. Thank you for your attention to this matter so far. Sincerely, Scott Perry ------------------------------------------------ Finally after getting this 'venting' from myself, I think I finally received a somewhat reasonable reply on 7/25/03: Dear Scott, We are aware of the situation & the engineers are trying to resolve the issue. If you need further assistance, feel free to contact us. For any future correspondence regarding this issue, please reference this case ID in your message: 2819826. Sincerely, +Ana P. eFax.com Customer Service --------------------------------------------------- It did amaze me at how they preferred to deny their mistake until I sort of had to press them back into a corner, but I was glad to see that at least someone over there is aware of what is really going on with this part of their service. Sincerely, Scott Perry ------------------------------ From: Colin Sutton Subject: Re: Looking for Software Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 22:04:38 +1000 Don't switch the cameras! Just send each image to a different jpg file, then script which jpg file you will show. That way you can also switch the title. Regards, Colin ----- Original Message ----- From: "TELECOM Digest Editor" Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Sent: Wednesday, 13 August 2003 3:51 Subject: Looking for Software > I am wondering if there is any software or hardware which will switch > between cameras on any kind of scheduled intervals. I finally got my > weather cam(s) up and running, but don't have any sort of automatic > switching between them. > If you look at http://weatherforecast.n3.net you will see one of two > randomly selected camera views of the outside of my house here in > Independence, immediatly followed by the current weather conditions. > What I am doing at present is using a Windows 95 laptop to FTP the > weather conditions and ONE camera view. I am using a Windows 98 > laptop to present the other camera view. Both the Windows 95 and the > Windows 98 laptops are FTPing their jpg images to the same server > and the same file name. The jpg image that happens to be there at > the time you call for the URL is the one you get. If you manually > refresh the image you may get the other jpg occassionally. > If you click your way though the links you will find one link entitled > 'view our web cam' and this will take you to a page which is the > camera views only, and the javascript forces a reload of the page > every three or four seconds which (if only one cam was operating) > would give the impression of a live webcast of traffic in front > of my house, etc. On that page, however, because there are two > web cams both using FTP to 'contend for' the same file name in > the same directory, the effect of the javascript is to alternate > between front and back images about every three seconds. The trouble > is, the transfer of images is not regular at all, and I cannot seem > to get them timed properly. One image may come on for six or ten > seconds, the other image will flash on only for a half second and > disappear. Now and then, neither image will be there for a couple > seconds, then the one or the other will show up. Meanwhile, the > 95 and 98 machines sit there and click their images through the FTP > to the file where they eventually reside for their few seconds of > life. ------------------------------ From: SayNoToCrossposters Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Organization: Comcast Online Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 12:17:44 GMT Robert Bonomi wrote in message news:telecom22.608.15@telecom-digest.org: > In article , Steven J Sobol > wrote: >> SayNoToCrossposters wrote: >>> I have seen it as well ... at least one post like this every other >>> week. I would beg to differ with them claiming you have all the >>> "features" or a proprietary PBX ... which I really really find hard to >>> believe noticing what feature there are listed on their web page. >> Yeah, I agree with this ... there are probably some features that >> haven't been implemented yet. The software isn't even at version 1.0 >> yet. >> It's quite functional already, though. > *AND* it's got something that I havn't seen on _any_ PBX. the ability > for the _user_ to enhance/extend the system in =whatever= way they > want to. > If there's a missing 'critical feature', you can just _add_ it. > *Your* priorities govern, You are NOT dependant on the > scheduling whims of the manufacturer. This is a _big_ plus, in > specialized uses. > It definitely doesn't compete with the "big" switches, like a hign-end > Definity, or a big Nortel 'Option {whatever}'. But for needs that are > in the Nortel "MICS" class, and below, it merits a serious look. Why? Why would a customer want to sit down and piss around with this rather than just have a simple MICS? Time is money. I have no problem with the asterisk ... seems like a really cool endeavor, but if I had my computer staff stuck messing with this thing for even a day ... it's a waste of time and money. BTW their are other switches out there beside's Nortel and Avaya that IMHO are far superior and offer pretty much everything you would want. Sorry, to look at this through the eyes of a business. ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Wednesday Morning Telecom Headlines Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 11:05:16 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach WorldCom workers knew of "pseudo" phone numbers-WSJ Reuters, 08.13.03, 3:20 AM ET NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - E-mails given to regulators by Verizon Communications indicate some employees at competitor WorldCom knew WorldCom's call data had been altered, creating "pseudo" phone numbers that may have helped the company save money, The Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday. Verizon's filing, which the report said was given to the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, is the latest in a barrage of moves by rivals such as Verizon and AT&T to derail WorldCom's plan to exit bankruptcy in October. The phone companies claim WorldCom routinely avoided paying access fees to local firms with the help of third parties, by routing calls through Canada, or stripping off routing data to make long-distance calls look local. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/13/rtr1056150.html WorldCom taps former AT&T exec as president, COO Reuters, 08.13.03, 1:54 AM ET By Jessica Hall PHILADELPHIA, Aug 13 (Reuters) - WorldCom Inc said on Wednesday it plans to name Rick Roscitt, a former long-term executive of rival AT&T Corp, as its president and chief operating officer to oversee the day-to-day operations of the bankrupt telephone and data services company. Roscitt, who spent 28 years at AT&T and currently serves as chairman and chief executive officer of communications equipment maker ADC Telecommunications Inc , will assume his new job on September 1, WorldCom said. A formal announcement is expected later on Wednesday. ADC declined to comment. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/13/rtr1056072.html Verizon union to log users willing to switch-NYT Reuters, 08.13.03, 5:26 AM ET NEW YORK, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Labor union officials looking to strengthen their bargaining stance against Verizon Communications plan to collect names of people who would be willing to switch to competitor AT&T's phone service, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. The A.F.L.-C.I.O., the union planning the effort, will not yet urge Verizon customers to actually switch phone companies, union officials told the newspaper. But it plans to ask about 3.5 million people from families in five Eastern U.S. states to log their names, addresses and phone numbers on a Web site that says they would consider switching, the report said. Joe Euhlein, director of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s Center for Strategic Campaigns, told the newspaper that the move will create "an electronic picket line". http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/13/rtr1056198.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #609 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Aug 14 12:55:49 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7EGtnL09947; Thu, 14 Aug 2003 12:55:49 -0400 (EDT) Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 12:55:49 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308141655.h7EGtnL09947@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #610 TELECOM Digest Thu, 14 Aug 2003 12:56:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 610 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter 3Com and Apple Core Hotels Offer Guests Free 5-Star Wireless (M Solomon) EchoStar Reports Second-Quarter 2003 Financial Results (Monty Solomon) 11th Circuit Court Grants Stay to EchoStar (Monty Solomon) GILC Alert v7i5 (Monty Solomon) Verizon Wireless to Launch Walkie-Talkie Service (Monty Solomon) CERT Advisory CA-2003-21 GNU Project FTP Server Compromise (M Solomon) Re: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? (Dan Reagan) Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm (Clarence Dold) Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm (John David Galt) Re: Do Domain Names Matter? (Dave Mausner) Re: Anybody Know About J2.com's Email-by-Phone? (Phil McKerracher) Re: Anybody Know About J2.com's Email-by-Phone? (Kyler Laird) Voicemail Rant (Audix) (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) Long Distance or International? (Rob) Re: Looking for Software (NOSPAM) Re: Wednesday Morning Telecom Headlines ('nuther Bob) How To Disable Caller ID? (keseko) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (Kyler Laird) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 16:02:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 3Com and Apple Core Hotels Offer Guests Free Five-Star Wireless 3Com and Apple Core Hotels Offer Guests Free Five-Star Wireless Access in Five Manhattan Properties MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003-- High-Speed Internet Service in Guest Rooms and Hotel Facilities Extends Moderately-Priced Hotels' Advantage Over Pricier Competitors The hospitality industry in New York City may be struggling, but Apple Core Hotels enjoyed 92 percent occupancy last year, thanks to sophisticated services like business centers, voice mail and video-on-demand at significantly lower rates -- as little as $89 -- than most of their midtown Manhattan competitors. To extend its reputation for value in the ultra-competitive business travel marketplace, Apple Core Hotels is now providing high-speed Internet service using a secure, cost-effective wireless solution from 3Com Corporation (Nasdaq: COMS). Road warriors now have corporate-class connectivity that's easy to use, ubiquitous and absolutely free -- without the sticker shock of luxury hotels. Apple Core Hotels chose the 3Com(R) solution to avoid the costly, disruptive process of dragging new cables and installing Ethernet wall jacks in every guest room. The hotel chain instead implemented 3Com Access Point 8000 wireless LAN access points in hallways throughout its five hotels, including the Red Roof Inn Manhattan, the Comfort Inn Midtown, the Super 8 Hotel Times Square, the Ramada Inn East Side and the La Quinta Manhattan. It also deployed 3Com 2.5 dBi Ceiling Mount Omnidirectional Antennae in wiring closets at the end of every hallway to create seamless Wi-Fi coverage in every building. Today, when guests launch their browsers on their wireless laptops, they can instantly be online, from bedside to lobby. 3Com Wireless LAN Workgroup Bridges in guest rooms provide plug-and-play Ethernet ports for users without wireless capabilities. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35254396 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 16:03:13 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: EchoStar Reports Second-Quarter 2003 Financial Results EchoStar Reports Second-Quarter 2003 Financial Results; EchoStar's DISH Network Adds 270,000 Net New Subscribers - Aug 13, 2003 06:00 AM (BusinessWire) LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003--EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) today reported that its DISH Network(TM) satellite television service added approximately 270,000 net new subscribers during the second quarter of 2003. DISH Network had approximately 8.8 million subscribers as of June 30, 2003. For the quarter ended June 30, 2003, EchoStar reported total revenue of $1.41 billion, a 21 percent increase compared to $1.17 billion for the corresponding period in 2002. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35250969 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 16:03:21 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 11th Circuit Court Grants Stay to EchoStar LITTLETON, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003--In a major victory for satellite TV subscribers, EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) reported today that the U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit Court in Atlanta granted EchoStar's motion to stay a District Court's injunction, pending appeal. The court decision impacts a long-running case regarding the limits broadcasters can place on the right of consumers to receive CBS, Fox, ABC and NBC network channels by satellite from markets other than the city in which the consumer lives. http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=dish&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=440860 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 17:05:20 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: GILC Alert v7i5 GILC Alert Volume 7, Issue 5 31 July 2003 Welcome to the Global Internet Liberty Campaign Newsletter. Welcome to GILC Alert, the newsletter of the Global Internet Liberty Campaign. We are an international organization of groups working for cyber-liberties, who are determined to preserve civil liberties and human rights on the Internet. We hope you find this newsletter interesting, and we very much hope that you will avail yourselves of the action items in future issues. If you are a part of an organization that would be interested in joining GILC, please contact us at . If you are aware of threats to cyber-liberties that we may not know about, please contact the GILC members in your country, or contact GILC as a whole. Please feel free to redistribute this newsletter to appropriate forums. =============================================== Free expression [1] Thailand imposes online curfew [2] Local Chinese authorities curb mobile text messaging [3] Egyptian Internet dissident remains in detention [4] Pakistan pushes Net content restrictions [5] WSIS Draft Declaration prompts further concern [6] ACCOPS bill would impose jail time on Net file-traders [7] Court revises ruling in Ditto.com visual search engine case [8] Hollywood goes after Spanish Net music-sharers [9] Hamidi wins ex-employee email protest case [10] New Saudi cybercafe restrictions [11] Burmese Net plagued by access problems, other restrictions [12] Net freedom agency plan moves forward [13] Pacific island to have first nationwide wireless Internet system Privacy [14] Hollywood begins Net user data subpoena blitz [15] TIA surveillance project faces possible funds freeze [16] New U.S. spyware user consent bill [17] Critical Windows security holes found [18] Privacy concerns dog E-911 mobile phone trackers [19] Web firms choosing profit over privacy [20] Computer keyloggers expose personal information [21] GIA site lets citizens monitor Big Brother [22] Japanese Big Brother Awards ceremony held [23] Swiss privacy chief criticizes US counterterrorism efforts http://www.gilc.org/alert/alert75.html ------------------------------ Subject: Verizon Wireless to Launch Walkie-Talkie Service Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 07:18:31 -0400 From: Monty Solomon By Jessica Hall PHILADELPHIA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless telephone company, said on Thursday it will launch a new walkie-talkie phone service, taking aim at a market niche dominated by Nextel Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:NXTL). The so-called "push to talk" service will allow wireless subscribers to connect with colleagues or friends across the country with just the push of a button, instead of dialing a number and waiting for the call to go through. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc (LSE:VOD), said it will offer the nationwide service starting on Monday. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35268359 ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: CERT Advisory CA-2003-21 GNU Project FTP Server Compromise Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 10:57:05 -0400 Original issue date: August 13, 2003 Last revised: -- Source: CERT/CC A complete revision history is at the end of this file. Overview The CERT/CC has received a report that the system housing the primary FTP servers for the GNU software project was compromised. I. Description The GNU Project, principally sponsored by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), produces a variety of freely available software. The CERT/CC has learned that the system housing the primary FTP servers for the GNU software project, gnuftp.gnu.org, was root compromised by an intruder. The more common host names of ftp.gnu.org and alpha.gnu.org are aliases for the same compromised system. The compromise is reported to have occurred in March of 2003. The FSF has released an announcement describing the incident. Because this system serves as a centralized archive of popular software, the insertion of malicious code into the distributed software is a serious threat. As the above announcement indicates, however, no source code distributions are believed to have been maliciously modified at this time. http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-2003-21.html ------------------------------ From: googleaccount@vose.org (Dan Reagan) Subject: Re: Recommend ACD System to Integrate With Existing Setup? Date: 14 Aug 2003 05:48:51 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ SayNoToCrossposters wrote: > Doesn't the NEC come with ACD built in? According to my current VAR/service company (who we're not particularly happy with at this point) it has something called UCD. This allows groups to be created but there is no possibility to have an extension in more than one group and IIRC there is a very low limit on the number of groups. Management of them is through the MatWorx software (Ugh! is all that I can say for that thing) and there is no reporting available. Their 'call pickup groups' (not sure if that's a common term but that's what my VAR calls it when extensions are in a group and have an access code or programmed button that allows them to answer another ringing extension within the group) have similar limits and that has been frustrating for us. Chip G wrote: > Depending on what you are trying to do and how much support you want > from a vendor or systems integrator, I would suggest two widely > divergent paths: My life seems to be a series of forks in the road ... > 1. Take a look at Asterisk PBX (Open Source for Linux). This is the > very-low-cost ... do-it-yourself solution. I am pretty sure it can do > what you seek but will require a little techie insight to get it > going. I have played around with it myself but have not actually > deployed it for business use. http://www.asteriskpbx.com. Basically > you just need a pretty basic computer (by today's standards). You > download Linux (I used Red Hat 8 when I tried it out) and the Asterisk > PBX. Then you are all set from an IP PBX standpoint. The way you > describe your business, you are going to need some gateway capability > between the TDM telephone world and the IP world. On the asterisk > website, you will find a number of vendor options for circuit boards > that you will place inside the computer running the Asterisk PBX to > provide that functionality. Unless you have in-house resources and > want to tinker, I would suggest that you lean toward option 2 for > business use at this point. Although, if you (and the business) are > willing to tinker a bit, I think Asterisk can give you a good low-cost > solution that provides much more value than the low end systems that a > lot of smaller integrators will try to sell you. I would flipping well love to do that but, at this point, I don't think that anybody would give me the go ahead. I'm going to take a closer look at that one though as it seems quite nice for the future or as an experiment if we open another office. > 2. For a well supported proven ACD solution, take a look at > Avaya. They have systems that can work with your existing system if > you want to keep the mixed environment. They also have systems that > would provide all the functionality of your other systems plus a > world-class ACD all in one system. The way you describe the business, > you might want to take a look at the Avaya Communication Manager > Software with ACD running on an S8300 server acting as a stand-alone > ACD that could integrate with your existing system. > http://www.avaya.com. According to Gartner, Forrester, and Meta, they > are a leader and true visionary for the contact center space. Okay, that sounds like a good one to check. Do you happen to know of any resellers in the Eastern MA area? I'll drop Avaya a note to see if they can point me to any. The owner of the agency, after getting chatted up by some folks at Artisoft had me meet with a vendor that deals with them. Seemed like a nice system but that guy was only quoting a complete replacement system (everything including the kitchen sink) and he was floating in the $100k range. With some of what he was talking about and given how much this business depends on our phones I wasn't completely against it but the owner of the agency has seen a fair pile of money go toward our current VAR and she's *extremely* unhappy with the results so far which makes her not want to replace the current system. As an aside, any idea what a couple of NEC PBXes with a batch of cards, bunch of phones and a Unity VM would go for on the used market? Given some sort of ability to recoup even a small amount of our initial outlay I'd be willing to dump this thing like a hot potato. Thanks for your thoughts, Dan ------------------------------ From: dold@WhatXYouXS.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 21:03:03 UTC Organization: a2i network Garrett Wollman wrote: > What should you know about the Blaster worm? > 1) Don't run Windows. Darn, can't avoid that here. > 2) If you must run Windows, use Windows Update every single day on > every machine you have. Maybe. They certainly seem to have something new and critical to share at least once a week ... they make it easy to do, and it is free, unlike some other OSs. > 3) If you can't run Windows Update, see #1. I wouldn't be quite that cynical. I applied the fix on Aug 1. It was in the news. Any time warnings come out, it might be a good idea to have a check of the update site. The updates are sometimes large and annoying on a dialup, but when there are specific warnings, prudence dictates some extra effort. Of course, not all the Cisco routers at all locations were updated for the IOS bug last month, only those exposed to the internet. Somehow that wasn't enough, and they were attacked either simultaneously, coincidentally, or just couldn't hadnle the load of the MSBlast traffic. Patches aren't limited to MS... just that they have ___so___ many of them. Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5 ------------------------------ From: John David Galt Subject: Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 14:26:46 -0700 Organization: Diogenes the Cynic Hot-Tubbing Society Garrett Wollman wrote: > What should you know about the Blaster worm? > 1) Don't run Windows. > 2) If you must run Windows, use Windows Update every single day on > every machine you have. > 3) If you can't run Windows Update, see #1. My advice would be a little different: 1) If possible, run an operating system that you know how to secure. Yes, Windows right-out-of-the-box is wide open to hackers, but so are Linux, Unix, and even VMS r-o-o-t-b. 2) If you don't know how to secure any system and you don't know someone who can do it for you, avoid the most common systems (Windows and Unix). Most of the current crop of viruses are written to infect those systems. 3) The next best thing is to refrain from updating your machine (except the antivirus software) if there's no need. For instance, my Windows 98 box is immune to the Blaster, so why should I upgrade it? 4) Be wary of any web site, including Microsoft's own, that claims to offer the cure. Some of their "patches" have contained viruses in the past. Right now, there is a distributed attack going on against the WindowsUpdate.com site, so it wouldn't surprise me if the hackers manage to upload malicious software there, where it will await anyone who follows his advice to go there often. Microsoft's site has been the target of numerous successful attacks in the past. ------------------------------ Reply-To: Dave Mausner From: Dave Mausner Subject: Re: Do Domain Names Matter? Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 20:40:56 GMT Good article. Odd isn't it that for 100 years private users accepted telephony by number, not by name. The solution was to put numbers into phone books and then cell/pda directories. Look up a number by any name you like. Now observe that the difference between a NANP and an IPv4 is at most only 2 digits. so, the logical prognosis of this article is that we will get back to just IP numbers, stored in our own little directory devices. and then there will be no need for centralized DNS at all, just like telco-land. And that will solve some problems. Dave Mausner / v.+1-708-848-2775 / f.+1-708-848-2569 / c.+1-312-wake-my-i Monty Solomon wrote in message news:telecom22.604.13@telecom-digest.org: > Do Domain Names Matter? - Part I > By: Francis Hwang > This is the first part of a 2-part series article arguing that the > decentralization of the Internet will allow the DNS to recede to its > earlier, uncontroversial role, before all the lawsuits and screaming > matches at ICANN board meetings. > http://www.circleid.com/article/211_0_1_0/ ------------------------------ From: Phil McKerracher Subject: Re: Anybody Know About J2.com's Email-by-Phone Reliability? Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 21:29:10 GMT Organization: blueyonder (post doesn't reflect views of blueyonder) Scott Perry wrote in message news:telecom22.609.12@telecom-digest.org: > .... On a brighter > note, your fax service does seem to be somewhat more reliable... No, it's not. :-( Have you tried sending yourself a fax recently? I can't get it to work from any number. It's often busy and when it's not it keeps requested pages to be resent. Also it won't let me login to check that the e-mail address is set correctly. I've had no response to the enquiry e-mail I sent about this. It's been effectively unavailable here in the UK for days now. If anyone has successfully used fax-to-email in the UK recently I would be interested to hear from them. If only there was some competition! No other providers do 0870 numbers that I am aware of, and none of the other numbers on offer (0845, 0871, 07xx) work from overseas. Phil McKerracher www.mckerracher.org ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Anybody Know About J2.com's Email-by-Phone Reliability? From: Kyler Laird Organization: Insight Broadband Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 00:19:05 GMT I've been a J2 customer, and a JFAX customer long before. I've recommended J2 for several projects so there are several J2 accounts that I touch. > I have been a satisfied customer with the J2 fax system for some time. > Unfortunately, two days after I began considering setting up a > business system that would heavily rely on the reliability of J2's > Email-by-phone system, your Email-by-phone system seems to have > crashed at about 6PM (PDT) with the incoming 800 line going busy. Now > at 9PM (PDT) it is still down. Yes, it's had problems several times over the past year or so. I get the feeling that they're constantly banging on the software. Every so often the content-type for voice messages will change from audio/x-gsm to something terribly generic (like "application/binary"). I tried to pursue this with their technical support and only reached clueless people. I keep thinking there must be a more reliable system around but I haven't located it yet. --kyler ------------------------------ From: chsvideo@hotmail.com (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) Subject: Voicemail Rant (Audix) Date: 14 Aug 2003 00:45:57 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ <--This is a bit of a rant, if you have an idea what the answer(s) are, please, please clue me in, otherwise, please feel free to excuse any hostitility/sarcasam--> Will someone please tell me why more and more calls that are bounced to voicemail have "Your call is being answered by Audix!" prepended to the outgoing message? I enjoy telecom, but do I need to be told the name of the manufacturer of the VM system EVERY SINGLE TIME I LEAVE A VOICE MAIL? And do the non-telecom-types out there have any clue who or what an "Audix" is? This makes about as much sense as if a coworker picked up a line and announced "Your call is being answered by Bob! I'm sorry Joe is out of the office right now, can I please take a message?" Who got that brilliant, time wasting, idea? Does it add any value to the end user? (I don't think so) Does it convey critical information? (Nope) Does it convey any information at all? (I seriously doubt it.) Am I the only one who feels this way? (maybe) Does this make me want to avoid purchasing anything from Audix? (Absolutely -- I wouldn't want to annoy callers like this). Out of curiosity, Is there some way to turn this 'feature' off? Thanks for listening, Lincoln (Who had 12 calls to ten vendors reps answered by Audix today ...) ------------------------------ From: rob51166@yahoo.com (Rob) Subject: Long Distance or International? Date: 14 Aug 2003 03:21:15 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ When dialling from the US to Canada, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Antigua and all other countries on NANP, are the calls regarded as long-distance or international? The reason I ask is that to phone, for example, from the USA to Jamaica you wold dial the number in exactly the same way as if you were calling DC from NYC ~ i.e. 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx. TIA! Rob ------------------------------ From: NOSPAM Subject: Re: Looking for Software Organization: SBC http://yahoo.sbc.com Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 13:46:27 GMT call for free service just1place@just1place.com Toll Free: (800)738-2395 Fax: (800)952-5869 TELECOM Digest Editor wrote in message news:telecom22.607.10@telecom-digest.org: > I am wondering if there is any software or hardware which will switch > between cameras on any kind of scheduled intervals. I finally got my > weather cam(s) up and running, but don't have any sort of automatic > switching between them. > If you look at http://weatherforecast.n3.net you will see one of two > randomly selected camera views of the outside of my house here in > Independence, immediatly followed by the current weather conditions. > What I am doing at present is using a Windows 95 laptop to FTP the > weather conditions and ONE camera view. I am using a Windows 98 > laptop to present the other camera view. Both the Windows 95 and the > Windows 98 laptops are FTPing their jpg images to the same server > and the same file name. The jpg image that happens to be there at > the time you call for the URL is the one you get. If you manually > refresh the image you may get the other jpg occassionally. > If you click your way though the links you will find one link entitled > 'view our web cam' and this will take you to a page which is the > camera views only, and the javascript forces a reload of the page > every three or four seconds which (if only one cam was operating) > would give the impression of a live webcast of traffic in front > of my house, etc. On that page, however, because there are two > web cams both using FTP to 'contend for' the same file name in > the same directory, the effect of the javascript is to alternate > between front and back images about every three seconds. The trouble > is, the transfer of images is not regular at all, and I cannot seem > to get them timed properly. One image may come on for six or ten > seconds, the other image will flash on only for a half second and > disappear. Now and then, neither image will be there for a couple > seconds, then the one or the other will show up. Meanwhile, the > 95 and 98 machines sit there and click their images through the FTP > to the file where they eventually reside for their few seconds of > life. > I cannot get the page which has the weather.jpg and the (current) > camera.jpg to (javascript) update at all; it only works with the > viewer/user manually refreshing the page every few seconds. The > other page of camera views has the javascript working correctly, > but fighting with the two cams that are contending for the same > file space. Any suggestions? > Patrick Townson ------------------------------ From: 'nuther Bob Subject: Re: Wednesday Morning Telecom Headlines Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 15:20:59 GMT On Wed, 13 Aug 2003 11:05:16 -0500, Eric Friedebach wrote: > The A.F.L.-C.I.O., the union planning the effort, will not yet urge > Verizon customers to actually switch phone companies, union officials > told the newspaper. But it plans to ask about 3.5 million people from > families in five Eastern U.S. states to log their names, addresses and > phone numbers on a Web site that says they would consider switching, > the report said. > Joe Euhlein, director of the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s Center for Strategic > Campaigns, told the newspaper that the move will create "an electronic > picket line". Sure, I'll do that. Right after they cut me in for a chunk of the union pension fund. Bob ------------------------------ From: keseko2000@yahoo.com (keseko) Subject: How To Disable Caller ID? Date: 14 Aug 2003 08:24:52 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Hello, I know how to disable call waiting with *70. If am not mistaken, I've read somewhere in the past that there is a star-xx to disable caller ID. In other words, you dial *xx prior to dialing the number, and your number is blocked as "anonymous" or whatever. Does anyone know what the star-number is to disable caller ID? By the way, is it free to use or will I get charged per use? Thank you. [Lisa Minter note: The code to use is *67 to disable presentation of caller ID on a one-time basis. Dial *67, wait for the confirmation tone (sometimes a ding-ding tone; sometimes a 'clunk') then proceed to dial the number. To deny your number and disable call waiting, you would dial *67*70+number. Make sure it goes in that order since some versions require the *67 to come first. Both *67 and *70 are one-time only features. They will not 'hold over' to later calls, and drop off as soon as you disconnect. Patrick tells me the FCC requires *67 to be given at no charge. If your phone is hardwired (through the phone office) to deny caller-ID (sometimes police have that feature for example) then usually *67 will reverse the act (or sometimes *87 instead) and provide caller ID on a one-time only basis. Bear in mind that people who have 'blocked ID call blocking' or privacy manager on their phone lines will not recieve those calls in most cases, if you deliberatly do *67 when calling their numbers. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX From: Kyler Laird Organization: Insight Broadband Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 00:19:04 GMT SayNoToCrossposters writes: >> *AND* it's got something that I havn't seen on _any_ PBX. the ability >> for the _user_ to enhance/extend the system in =whatever= way they >> want to. > Why? Why would a customer want to sit down and piss around with this > rather than just have a simple MICS? Time is money. In that case, the Really Cool Feature is that with Asterisk, you can hire _someone_else_ to enhance/extend the system. Unlike proprietary systems, the "someone else" can be anyone you want (not just the vendor). It's the difference between renting and owning your software. > Sorry, to look at this through the eyes of a business. Why are you sorry? I think it's a good thing to view it from a business perspective. I'd expect a business to be very wary of handing over control of key infrastructure to other businesses. --kyler ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #610 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Aug 16 01:32:33 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7G5WWF17415; Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:32:33 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:32:33 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308160532.h7G5WWF17415@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #611 TELECOM Digest Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:32:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 611 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Flaw Seen in Patch by Microsoft (Monty Solomon) Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter (Monty Solomon) Akamai Tracks Worldwide Spread of Blaster Worm on Internet (M Solomon) McDonald's, IBM and Palm Serve up Great High Tech Prizes (Monty Solomon) Who's Watching the Class? Webcams in Schools are Privacy Issue (Solomon) TiVo Second Quarter FY 2004 Conference Call and Webcast (Monty Solomon) CFP: RFID Privacy and Security Workshop @ MIT (Monty Solomon) Jostling for the Wi-Fi Lead in a Crowded Field (Monty Solomon) The Bandwagon to Fight Spam Hits a Bump (Monty Solomon) ESCON Clock ppm Stability (Palani) Verizon Wireless to Launch Walkie-talkie Service (Eric Friedebach) WorldCom Plan May Have Avoided State Taxes (Eric Friedebach) Re: Odd CLID Problem (Herb Stein) Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol (Michael) Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise (Jay R. Ashworth) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Jay R. Ashworth) Power to the Internet (Nick Ruark) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (Robert Bonomi) Re: Voicemail Rant (Audix) (Paul A Lee) Last Laugh! A Test Number For Use at Payphones Nationwide! (Justin Time) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: Flaw Seen in Patch by Microsoft Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 16:00:00 -0400 Copyright 2003 CBS MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO -- A program Microsoft instructed customers to use to fix a hole in its Windows software, which is vulnerable to attack by the Blaster/Lovsan worm that infected computers this week, may itself be flawed. A glitch in the Microsoft Windows Update patch-management system used to download Windows software fixes has tricked some customers into thinking their systems were patched to prevent Lovesan, when they really were not, said Russ Cooper, moderator of a mailing list with 30,000 subscribers that tracks Microsoft's software weaknesses. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/2049216 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 20:21:56 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter The Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter lets you bring the digital music and pictures stored on your computer to your Home Entertainment Center, without running cables through the house. Using a wireless connection, the Media Adapter displays your digital photographs on the TV for the whole family to enjoy. And your digital music collection is finally freed from those little computer speakers and can play in full glory through your stereo system. http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=38&prid=554 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 20:40:36 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Akamai Tracks Worldwide Spread of Blaster Worm on the Internet CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2003-- Rate of new Blaster worm infections is not decreasing despite worldwide computer security alerts; 45% of infected machines are now in North America Akamai Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKAM), a provider of services that enable the world's leading enterprises and government agencies to extend and control their e-business infrastructure, is tracking the global propagation of the Blaster worm, which began infecting computers on August 11. The virus is designed to spread first to unprotected computers. Beginning Saturday at 12 AM local time, infected computers will launch a targeted denial of service attack against a Microsoft Web property. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35291310 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 20:42:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: McDonald's, IBM and Palm Serve up Great High Tech Prizes McDonald's, IBM and Palm Serve up Great High Tech Prizes for Wi-Fi Sweepstakes; Wi-Fi Users Can Win IBM ThinkPad Notebook Computer or Palm Handheld - Aug 15, 2003 10:00 AM (BusinessWire) SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2003--McDonald's today announced a sweepstakes in conjunction with the launch of their Wi-Fi test with Wayport in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each month, over the next five months, Wi-Fi users will have the chance to win an IBM ThinkPad notebook or a Palm(TM) Tungsten(TM) C handheld, simply by using McDonald's wireless high-speed Internet access at participating restaurants. Wi-Fi users at McDonald's can enter by logging on and filling out the multiple-choice survey at any Bay Area McDonald's Wi-Fi location. Upon completing the survey, participants will automatically be entered into a sweepstakes to win one of the two prizes. Each month from August through December 2003, Bay Area McDonald's will give away one IBM ThinkPad R40 Notebook computer and one Palm Tungsten C handheld. Customers can identify participating restaurants by signage that displays the Golden Arches in the universal Internet @ symbol or by logging onto www.mcdwireless.com. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35290173 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 21:14:31 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Who's Watching the Class? Webcams in Schools Raise Privacy Issue Who's watching the class? Webcams in schools raise privacy issue By Greg Toppo USA TODAY When students in Biloxi, Miss., show up this morning for the first day of the new school year, a virtual army of digital cameras will be recording every minute of every lesson in every classroom. Hundreds of Internet-wired video cameras will keep rolling all year long, in the hope that they'll deter crime and general misbehavior among the district's 6,300 students -- and teachers. http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20030811/5396054s.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 09:22:40 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Second Quarter FY 2004 Conference Call and Webcast TiVo Inc. Invites You to Join Its Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2004 Conference Call and Webcast - Aug 13, 2003 08:32 PM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35266862 ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: CFP: RFID Privacy and Security Workshop @ MIT Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 20:05:19 -0400 From: Simson L. Garfinkel Subject: CFP: RFID Privacy and Security Workshop @ MIT RFID PRIVACY AND SECURITY -- WORKSHOP @ MIT -- CALL FOR PARTICIPATION Saturday, 15 Nov 2003, 10am - 4pm, Bartos Theater, MIT Media Lab, 20 Ames St. Radio Frequency Identification technology is fast becoming a lightning rod for consumer privacy activists. Is RFID destined to become the enabling technology for massive state-sponsored surveillance, Big Brother's "call-home" chip? Or is RFID really nothing more than a supply-chain management technology, its dangers being over-hyped by alarmists who fundamentally misunderstand the technology? One thing is sure: in the absence of strong data, decisions are being made and the public is either being poorly informed or intentionally misled. Last year Benetton pulled back from a previously-announced RFID trial after a consumer group announced a global boycott of the clothing manufacturer. Can pressure from consumer groups effectively prevent the introduction of RFID technology, or were other matters at work behind the scenes? The goal of the RFID Privacy Workshop is to bring together RFID technologists, boosters, critics, privacy activists and journalists covering the space to establish some technical truths and a creating a framework for understanding the growing body of RFID policy issues. To register online and/or submit a paper by 15 Sep 2003, see http://www.rfidprivacy.org/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 22:42:36 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Jostling for the Wi-Fi Lead in a Crowded Field By GLENN FLEISHMAN Is there any advantage in having been ahead of the crowd now that just about every telecommunications company is rushing into the Wi-Fi wireless world? Wayport, a pioneer in installing high-speed Internet access in hotels and airports, is about to find out. Wayport, based in Austin, Tex., is a name known to thousands of laptop-toting business travelers. It started providing wireless Internet connections in 2000 with the popular Wi-Fi networking standard in airports including Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle, and San Jose, Calif. Even earlier, Wayport had placed wired broadband connections in hotels around the country, which it now often complements with Wi-Fi in common areas. Not surprisingly, given the potential for this market, many well-financed rivals are threatening Wayport's turf, but Wayport has not shied away from the battle. It has aggressively resold its service to cellular carriers and corporate access providers to encourage regular subscribers. "We believe our business model depends on us opening up our footprint," the company's chief executive, Dave Vucina, said. Wayport is increasingly relying on Wi-Fi hot spots, which are public access wireless transmitters that carry data at high speed over ranges of 30 to 300 feet. Strung together, a set of transmitters can offer coverage to a location like an airport. But even with hundreds of locations, the numbers are small. Wayport's traffic, while growing 5 to 10 percent a month, amounted to just 30,000 connections at airports and 170,000 connections at about 500 hotels in a recent month. Wayport receives anywhere from 50 cents to $5 for each connection, analysts estimate, depending on its revenue-sharing arrangement with the location and whether the connection came from a reseller network. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/11/technology/11WIFI.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 22:38:42 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Bandwagon to Fight Spam Hits a Bump By SAUL HANSELL Unwanted e-mail advertising has become the latest quality-of-life nuisance -- not unlike squeegee men -- that politicians love to attack. This spring, a consensus on spam seemed to be emerging among House and Senate leaders, Internet service providers and the direct marketing industry, which had dropped its objection to any regulation of e-mail. Several bills were introduced, all narrowly focused on fraudulent e-mail that misrepresented the sender or the product for sale. Then a monkey wrench landed in this otherwise smooth legislative process. In June, the Federal Trade Commission started collecting phone numbers from people who do not want to be called by telemarketers. Phone solicitors who call numbers on the list, once it takes effect in October, can be punished with large fines. Overnight, the do-not-call list became one of the most popular government initiatives in recent memory, with people registering an average of a million phone numbers a day in the first month. Suddenly, public support for a do-not-spam list began to build. A bill to create such a registry, which had little support earlier this summer when it was introduced by Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, is at the center of much of the spam debate in Washington. The direct marketers and their allies like Microsoft and AOL object strongly to a do-not-spam list. Spam is different from telephone marketing, they say, because such a list would be expensive to administer and could be vulnerable to computer hackers. More important, it would most likely restrict the sale of credit cards and DVD clubs by mainstream companies as much as miracle pills and get-rich-quick schemes from online hucksters. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/11/technology/11SPAM.html ------------------------------ From: palani_cy@yahoo.com (Palani) Subject: ESCON Clock ppm Stability Date: 14 Aug 2003 13:38:04 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Is there a spec on the max ppm stability for serializer clocks for 200 Mbps SBCON (ESCON) serial transport? Where can I find more info on this. Thx, Palani ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Verizon Wireless to Launch Walkie-Talkie Service Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:29:20 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach By Jessica Hall PHILADELPHIA, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. wireless telephone company, said on Thursday it will launch a new walkie-talkie phone service, taking aim at a market niche dominated by Nextel Communications Inc. The so-called "push to talk" service will allow wireless subscribers to connect with colleagues or friends across the country with just the push of a button, instead of dialing a number and waiting for the call to go through. Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc, said it will offer the nationwide service starting on Monday. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/14/rtr1057258.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: WorldCom Plan May Have Avoided State Taxes Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 17:28:22 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach NEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - WorldCom may have routed $19 billion in revenue through one of its units to cut down on state tax bills, as part of a strategy devised by KPMG and used in the years following WorldCom's acquisition of MCI, a court filing claims. According to a filing by dissenting bondholders of MCI, who oppose a reorganization plan the company has submitted, the company sent $19 billion in revenue through unit MCI WorldCom Brands LLC, which had been assigned the rights to WorldCom's trademarks and intellectual property. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/14/rtr1057287.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: Herb Stein Subject: Re: Odd CLID Problem Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 16:01:22 -0500 wrote in message news:telecom22.607.8@telecom-digest.org: > Kenneth P. Stox wrote: >> And now the real answer: >> Last I knew, SBC was spiffing with many other providers on what it was >> willing to pay for access to there customer name databases. As a result, >> calls from many third party providers are coming up without name to SBC >> customers. The problem is not with the other providers, but with SBC's >> refusal to pay on the same terms as the third parties pay to SBC. > This problem will never be resolved because of greed and hositility > between carriers. The FCC's 1995 Caller ID decision requires delivery > only of CPNI. There is no mention of name delivery, so that falls > into the category of a free-for-all. And some more input. CenturyTel has called back and intends to fix it. I got an extremely nice fellow who said he would address the problem. I got his CLID stuff from Columbia, MO. I suspect Verizon. We'll see. Herb Stein The Herb Stein Group www.herbstein.com herb@herbstein.com 314 952-4601 ------------------------------ From: azmk@gazeta.pl (Michael) Subject: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol Date: 15 Aug 2003 06:01:55 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I am looking for a program/application for sending bulk SMS via SMPP protocol ... Is any avaible for Windows; maybe for Linux? Shareware or commercial with trial? [Lisa Minter note: Excuse me Michael; are you one of those spammers I keep hearing so much about; one of those people the guys here are always cussing and discussing and making mock of? I just wondered what in the world a program like the one you want would be used for? Lisa M.] ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 15:54:51 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - Central Florida Stanley settled back into the couch, and Tom Betz said to him: >> http://www.msnbc.com/news/940490.asp > Unlike most of what passes for journalism these days, this series (part 4 > is now available) is superbly-researched and written, and should be > required reading for anyone who asks the question, "What's the deal with > spam? It ain't so bad." > It is that bad, and those who engage in it are worse; and this series is > spelling out the how and why of it. And this paper: http://www.martiansoftware.com/articles/spammerpain.html has some *very* cogent suggestions as to how to fix it. I can't imagine that if the top 20 ISP's implemented something like this on their inbound MX servers, that the problem wouldn't go away within 3 months. Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 God, unlike Anya, is fond of bunnies. -- Chelsea Christenson ------------------------------ From: Jay R. Ashworth Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Reply-To: jra@baylink.com Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 15:58:40 GMT Organization: RoadRunner - Central Florida Stanley settled back into the couch, and dold@ModemXEmul.usenet.us.com said to him: > Steve Michelson wrote: >> Depending on how critical this is for you, and how much money you'd be >> willing to spend, perhaps you could set up a landline gateway device >> connected to the internet on one side, and a regular phone jack on the > I had forgotten about a "modem server" that we used to use. It was > accessible from our network ... I wouldn't want to expose one of those > to the internet. It came with a driver for making "any" comm program > work via the shared modem device on com_x. You could probably hook a landline modem to a terminal server -- Lantronix units are nice and cheap on eBay, and then use a thing called modemu -- a wrapper that goes around programs that want to open a serial port and dial, and lets you do things like: ATDT192.168.1.1:3001 to connect to a remote port. I think you can actually also hardwire the address and port into the connect, so you could point it at a telnet port on an address and then do ATDT phone number after it connected, but I never tried that. Would that solve your problem, original-question-asker? :-) Cheers, Jay R. Ashworth jra@baylink.com Member of the Technical Staff Baylink The Suncoast Freenet The Things I Think Tampa Bay, Florida http://baylink.pitas.com +1 727 647 1274 God, unlike Anya, is fond of bunnies. -- Chelsea Christenson ------------------------------ From: Nick Ruark Subject: Power to the Internet Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 23:37:45 -0700 From: Andrew Seybold Date: Wed Aug 13, 2003 9:04 pm Subject: My Commentary -- and it is already drawing fire from LOTS of the power folks -- I must have hit a nerve!!! Power To The Internet? I want to start of this weeks commentary with a quote from the President of the American Public Power Association (APPA): "Given the tremendous potential of BPL to provide an advanced technology| that utilizes additional facilities based mechanisms for providing services the burden should be imposed on challengers to BPL to demonstrate interference is a fact based, empirical proof. Further, to the extent that interference is demonstrated, there should be an attempt to accommodate BPL, even if it means that existing communications providers may have to share or transfer bandwidth." Source Document: Reply comments [to FCC] by American Public Power Association http://www.appanet.org/pdfreq.cfm?PATH_INFO=/newsroom/Other%20Agency/FCCNOI2003.pdf&VARACTION=GO BPL? What is BPL? BPL is "Broadband over Power Lines" -- a way to provide access to the Internet for people who do not have broadband DSL, cable or wireless broadband services. The idea sounds great. Use existing power lines that are already serving almost every home in the nation to connect them to the Internet with broadband data services. While it sounds great, there are a number of issues with this technology. Those opposing its implementation are not doing so because they are afraid of competition. They oppose BPL because the potential for interference to others is so great. If you read the above quote carefully you will note that the attitude of the power companies appears to be, "Existing RF users be damned. Our technology is so compelling that the RF folks should give up spectrum (bandwidth) and move their existing operations so we wont interfere with them or otherwise get out of our way." According to tests that are being run, the interference, which is emitted from each and every power line carrying BPL, would disrupt RF communications over a broad segment of the spectrum including public safety agencies, businesses, amateur radio operators, TV stations, radio stations and other services. One of the strongest voices against BPL is the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL), a not-for-profit organization representing the ham radio community. The ARRL has been measuring interference around power lines where test systems are installed and the results are horrifying. If you want to see the results for yourself click on the links below. BPL is 'Spectrum Pollution' ARRL says http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/08/08/2/ Everything you might want to know (make that SHOULD know) about Power Line Communications (PLC) and Amateur Radio can be found at: http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/ Keep in mind that the APPA believes "the burden should be imposed on challengers to BPL to demonstrate interference is a fact based, empirical proof." Granted, the ARRL is trying to protect its members (hams) from interference, but there is no commercial gain to be had by the ARRL. It is a not-for-profit organization that is not proposing a competing technology, only trying to protect the spectrum as it exists today. I believe that the ARRL has provided all the proof we need. What if a highway patrol car responds to a multi-vehicle accident that happens to be below a set of power lines crossing the freeway? Two-way radio communications wouldn't be possible because of BPL interference, help would be delayed, perhaps a life would be lost that should not have been. According to the APPA, "to the extent that interference is demonstrated, there should be an attempt to accommodate BPL, even if it means that existing communications providers may have to share or transfer bandwidth." How do RF users "transfer bandwidth"? Transfer it to where? What about those who are using the spectrum that these displaced users are going to transfer to? Share? How do you share spectrum when the byproduct of BPL technology is to raise the noise floor over a huge portion of the spectrum? BPL interference is a constant noise that sounds like a buzzing, not fast pulses that come and go. In the example above, the highway patrol cars radio would be useless because of the noise generated by the power lines above it or near it. I guess the power companies will just have to ban accidents near the thousands of places their lines cross highways and roads. True, BPL could provide access to those who want and need broadband Internet but do not now have it. But at what cost to existing spectrum users? This matter needs to be carefully examined and I can only hope that the FCC, faced with lobbying from the power industry, does not simply buckle under. If BPL can become a real, cost-effective technology (which is another issue altogether), the "rights" of those already using spectrum that might be affected need to be protected. The FCC has already demonstrated that it is loathe to solving interference problems after the fact. Look at how long it's taking for the Nextel interference problems to be resolved -- and there are problems affecting public safety there, too! If the FCC permits mass adoption of BPL without providing a definitive set of guidelines for "fixing" interference where it is a problem, we could end up with severe interference problems that drag on for years while the various parties fight about the "right" fix. How about if this time we find the remedies BEFORE problems arise? The power line industry has mobilized and is making a great deal of headway in Washington. There are many comments that have been filed by others, see: http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi (Enter 03-104 in the 'Proceeding' box of the first page that is displayed; then click on the 'Retrieve Document List' button at the bottom) The question is whether our voices will be heard or buried beneath a pile of dollars that most often speak louder than even the best reasoned voices. Having lived in an area where I didn't have DSL, cable or wireless broadband service, I would have welcomed BPL to my door -- IF and only IF it did not cause interference to my ham radio equipment or the public safety agencies that served my rural community. Perhaps someone should try UWB over BPL? What would you call that? Power companies want to use their lines to provide Internet access, potentially causing interference to spectrum in the 2 to 80-MHz portion, UWB might cause problems in the 2-GHz and above range and the "free unlicensed spectrum" folks want more spectrum below 2 GHz. Where is the master plan for spectrum? Who is looking at the big picture? Who is trying to make sense of all of this? What appears to be happening today with our spectrum is like what happens when a road is repaved. Once the paving is done the water company, gas company, electric company and sewer department dig trenches for some type of work. They can't come together and plan their work to take place prior to paving. None of them talk to each other and the result is that a nice, newly paved street is once again full of tar patches that will erode faster than the rest of the street. It doesn't have to happen this way with spectrum if we take a year and study ALL of the issues to see if we can coordinate who needs and wants what and what needs to be done. A moratorium for a year won't hurt the power companies (they still get their money for power every month) and it won't matter to most people. If the time is well spent and all those with an interest in spectrum management come together around a table (round or oblong, who cares?), then it will be the best-spent year the communications industry could have. There has to be a way to ensure that what works today will work tomorrow and that new technologies can be introduced to make things work better, but not disrupt what is in place today. It can work, but it will take work! Andrew M. Seybold Note: Thanks are in order to the Private Wireless Forum http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivateWirelessForum for providing the links in this commentary. Andy Seybold Outlook4Mobility www.outlook4mobility.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Organization: Not Much From: bonomi@c-ns (Robert Bonomi) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 13:25:45 GMT In article , SayNoToCrossposters wrote: > Robert Bonomi wrote in message > news:telecom22.608.15@telecom-digest.org: >> In article , Steven J Sobol >> wrote: >>> SayNoToCrossposters wrote: >>>> I have seen it as well ... at least one post like this every other >>>> week. I would beg to differ with them claiming you have all the >>>> "features" or a proprietary PBX ... which I really really find hard to >>>> believe noticing what feature there are listed on their web page. >>> Yeah, I agree with this ... there are probably some features that >>> haven't been implemented yet. The software isn't even at version 1.0 >>> yet. >>> It's quite functional already, though. >> *AND* it's got something that I havn't seen on _any_ PBX. the ability >> for the _user_ to enhance/extend the system in =whatever= way they >> want to. >> If there's a missing 'critical feature', you can just _add_ it. >> *Your* priorities govern, You are NOT dependant on the >> scheduling whims of the manufacturer. This is a _big_ plus, in >> specialized uses. >> It definitely doesn't compete with the "big" switches, like a hign-end >> Definity, or a big Nortel 'Option {whatever}'. But for needs that are >> in the Nortel "MICS" class, and below, it merits a serious look. > Why? Why would a customer want to sit down and piss around with this > rather than just have a simple MICS? Maybe, because they want something that a MICS, or {insert brand of choice) other system, _doesn't_ do. That'd seem to me, to be one *good* reason. I don't say it's the *best*solution* for everybody, or that it's even "right" for everybody. I _do_ say that it *is* worthy of consideration. Obviously, it's "not right" for you. But, you assertation that it's "not right" for _anybody_ is unmitigated arrogance, at best. > Time is money. I have no problem with the asterisk ... seems like a > really cool endeavor, but if I had my computer staff stuck messing > with this thing for even a day ... it's a waste of time and money. > BTW their are other switches out there beside's Nortel and Avaya > that IMHO are far superior and offer pretty much everything you > would want. Obviously they're "not superior *enough*". Proof: They have -not- driven the 'inferior' switches off the market. Give me 'enough' money to spend, and, yeah, I can find a switch that'll do "anything". > Sorry, to look at this through the eyes of a business. Price ACD features. Sometimes even _small_ businesses would 'like' to have some of those 'big system' features, but there is 'no way in hell' to justify the cost/space/other-resources for an off-the-shelf system that supports them. Price IP telphony features. If, for example, you want an IP telephony device, OPX, _behind_ the switch. Price *ABILITY* to integrate with 'contact management' software (of your choice) on the desktop. Price a 'voice-mail' to 'email' interface. or e-mail paging for voice-mail message-waiting. Or a 'paging service' integration, from voice-mail, that messages _who_ the voice-mail message was from (via caller-id, or ANI data) I'll say again, it _is_ *WORTHY*OF*CONSDIERATION*. It's not for everybody, agreed. It's not the 'ultimate solution', agreed. It does offer some 'unique' capabilities, and, potentially, a _very_attractive_ price-point. Is it "worth it" ? That depends on the _specific_installation_ considerations. I think there _are_ places where it would shine. I'm considering deploying one, _just_ for 'private' IP telephony OPX extensions, behind my Nortel. I'm looking at saving _tens_of_thousands_ of dollars, vs the only 'integrated' IP 'extension' capability I'm aware of for a MICS. ------------------------------ From: Paul A Lee Subject: Re: Voicemail Rant (Audix) Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 14:38:07 -0400 In TELECOM Digest V22 #610, chsvideo@hotmail.com (Lincoln J. King-Cliby) wrote (in part): > Will someone please tell me why more and more calls that are bounced > to voicemail have "Your call is being answered by Audix!" prepended to > the outgoing message? I enjoy telecom, but do I need to be told the > name of the manufacturer of the VM system EVERY SINGLE TIME I LEAVE A > VOICE MAIL? And do the non-telecom-types out there have any clue who > or what an "Audix" is? "Your call is being answered by AUDIX" is the default system greeting on an AUDIX [AUDIo eXchange] voice mail system from Avaya (formerly Lucent Technologies, formerly AT&T). It is not prepended to the outgoing message -- it IS the outgoing message (greeting) when the clueless voice mail subscriber has not recorded and activated a greeting of his/her own. The reason why you get that greeting so often is that AUDIX has been one of the world's most popular and widely-deployed voice mail systems for 20 years or more. (The other reason is because so many voice mail subscribers are completely ignorant and apathetic about how to use the system, whichever one it is.) "Non-telecom-types" may not be intimately familiar with what AUDIX is, but many people will know that, when their call is greeted by AUDIX, they can immediately enter '*T' ('*8') to initiate a transfer to a different extension that might get answered. Or, they know that hitting the '1' key will skip the greeting entirely and put you at the "BEEP". > This makes about as much sense as if a coworker picked up a line and > announced "Your call is being answered by Bob! I'm sorry Joe is out of > the office right now, can I please take a message?" And is that so very different from someone answering with, "Hello. Joe's desk; Bob speaking. Joe just went to the can. Can I take a message?" I would _rather_ get a voice mail system and control my own message content and detail, rather than trust it to some apathetic temp with a pink message pad and an attitude. > Who got that brilliant, time wasting, idea? Does it add any value to > the end user? (I don't think so) Does it convey critical information? > (Nope) Does it convey any information at all? (I seriously doubt it.) > Am I the only one who feels this way? (maybe) Does this make me want > to avoid purchasing anything from Audix? (Absolutely -- I wouldn't > want to annoy callers like this). A better question might be: "Who gave a voice mail box to someone who can barely use the phone itself?" As for adding value or informing, see above. If I get an AUDIX system greeting, or 'most anything else spoken by Lorraine Nelson's friendly and distinctive voice, I know how I can navigate more quickly. And, no, I doubt that you're the only person who feels that way. I deal with LOTS of people who are hapless or even hostile toward voice mail. I don't know how to answer your objections -- or even that I _care_ to answer them. It seems that what _truly_ would make you want to avoid purchasing an AUDIX system is your own lack of understanding -- just like the folks who have voice mail and never record a decent greeting or even their name. > Out of curiosity, Is there some way to turn this 'feature' off? Yes. Record and activate a greeting. It will be played, instead of the AUDIX system greeting. There are also ways to modify or replace default system announcements, but I don't know enough of the details to get into that here. I do know that you can get AUDIX in about 40 languages. (I don't think Lorraine does all of them.) I find it hard to believe you've never encountered another type of system's default greeting, such as: "The person at extension is not available to take your call. Please leave a message after the tone." [Nortel Meridian Mail] or " is not available to take your call. Please leave a message after the tone." [Nortel Meridian Mail] or "Your party does not answer. Please leave a message after the beep, or press '1' for more options." [Siemens/ROLM PhoneMail, I think] I've heard a bunch of them -- some downright clumsy or cheesy (let alone what some _subscribers_ record for a greeting...!). And there's always the voice mail ambush: " BEEP!" This, too, has been a bit of a rant. It's not aimed at anyone personally. I appreciate Lincoln giving me the opportunity to sound off a little about voice mail abuse and perhaps provide some information in the bargain. Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 ------------------------------ From: a_user2000@yahoo.com (Justin Time) Subject: Last Laugh! Another Test Number For Use at Payphones Nationwide! Date: 14 Aug 2003 10:32:30 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ If you do not wish to receive future offers, you can withdraw automatically simply by clicking on this hyperlink or by visitng ClickforMail.com. You may also be removed from our list by mailing us at Clickformail.com 9130 Jollyville Rd. Suite 369 Austin, Tx 78759 or via telephone (800)310-3479. Clickformail.com makes no representations or warranties, regarding third party offers, products or services. (c) 2003 Clickformail.com, Inc. All rights reserved. Rodgers Platt [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks very much for that important message from our sponsor. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #611 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Aug 16 21:16:17 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7H1GH221821; Sat, 16 Aug 2003 21:16:17 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 21:16:17 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308170116.h7H1GH221821@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #612 TELECOM Digest Sat, 16 Aug 2003 21:16:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 612 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House (Monty Solomon) Cellphone Failures Cause Many to Question Systems (Monty Solomon) Good Day for Concerns That Help Save Data (Monty Solomon) Verizon Cell Phone Camera; Other Goodies Make it Fun (Monty Solomon) Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol (Romfh) Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol (Warren) Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption (obsidian) Horizon PCS Files For Bankruptcy Protection (Eric Friedebach) Re: Voicemail Rant (Audix) (Pete Romfh) Re: Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter (Clarence Dold) Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? (AES/newspost) Re: Who's Watching the Class? Webcams in Schools Raise ('nuther Bob) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Jud Hardcastle) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 00:55:38 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House KATIE HAFNER Anyone on the Dartmouth College campus who picks up a phone and makes a long-distance call anywhere within the United States will find that the call is on the house. On July 1, the school stopped charging for all long-distance calls. The arithmetic that went into the decision was simple, said Bob Johnson, the director of network services at Dartmouth. Calls that cost 25 cents per minute in 1995 now cost less than 2 cents. So Dartmouth was paying $250,000 a year to bill individual phone lines at the school for long-distance calls. But the total annual long-distance bill had dropped to $150,000. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/14/technology/circuits/14phon.html [Lisa Minter Note: When reading NYTimes articles, readers here are invited to use our group login 'telecomdigest' and our group pass- word 'telecomdigest'. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:06:03 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cellphone Failures Cause Many to Question Systems Cellphone Failures Cause Many to Question Systems By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN and MATT RICHTEL As cellular telephone carriers labored to restore service yesterday, voices of concern were raised in Washington and elsewhere about the continued fragility of the nation's wireless networks even as the public grows more dependent upon them. Cellular service remained spotty throughout much of the Northeast and parts of the Midwest yesterday, despite the restoration of electrical power in many of the areas affected by Thursday's blackout, as heavy usage and continued problems at some transmitter stations continued to tax the system. Service in New York City, which had been especially hard hit by power losses and high calling volume, had returned to normal by yesterday afternoon as power was restored across most of the city, according to local cellular carriers. But the industry has drawn criticism for its networks' performance after the blackout, particularly in comparison to the land-line telephone system, which generally stayed in service. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/16/business/16PHON.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:09:03 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Good Day for Concerns That Help Save Data Good Day for Concerns That Help Save Data By JOHN SCHWARTZ On a day filled with darkness and frustration for many businesses, disaster recovery companies are some of the only ones having a good day. "We're busy," Jim Simmons, the chief executive of Sungard Availability Services, said with evident relish. The company, which is based in Wayne, Pa., serves more than 10,000 customers in 50 countries, including many of the largest financial services companies. Mr. Simmons said his company was "in the business of keeping people in business." Companies that provide such services have to be their own best customers. Don DeMarco, the vice president for business continuity and recovery services at I.B.M. , said that his company was ready to jump when he saw the light flicker at his office in Southbury, Conn. A few minutes later, his cellphone rang. "My people let me know that it was a widespread issue," he said. He climbed into his car and began driving to an I.B.M. complex in Sterling Forest, N.Y., in Orange County. The I.B.M. center was ready for business; its diesel-powered generators started up as soon as the regular power died. "We didn't skip a beat," Mr. DeMarco said. The Sterling Forest offices have spare desks for visitors, and the company provides hotel rooms or even air mattresses for anyone who might have to work around the clock. "We've had people up for 30 hours plus," he said. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/16/technology/16BACK.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 01:33:17 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Verizon Cell Phone Camera; Other Goodies Make it Fun Mike Himowitz CALL ME an old fogey, but when the first cell phones with built-in digital cameras came out, I asked, "Why would anyone want one of those?" And so, I ignored them, figuring they'd be a flash in the pan. Well, the flash is still pretty hot. Thanks to a new generation of handsets with cameras, color screens, text messaging, Web browsing and other goodies, worldwide cell phone shipments grew by 19 percent in the second quarter of 2003, according to IDC, a market analysis firm. Wireless carriers have great hopes for these phones, since they plan to generate extra revenue from picture sharing, text messaging, games and Web information. Their target market, of course, is about 35 years younger than I am. But I still enjoyed a couple of weeks with one of these gadgets - a VX6000 from Verizon Wireless. Everyone who helped by posing for pictures enjoyed it, too. Just don't expect it to replace a real digital camera, or you'll be disappointed. Think of it as a phone with some visual buzz. http://www.sunspot.net/technology/custom/pluggedin/bal-pl.himowitz07aug07,0,960432.column ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:59:06 -0500 Organization: Not Organized Michael wrote: > I am looking for a program/application for sending bulk > SMS via SMPP protocol ... Is any avaible for Windows; > maybe for Linux? Shareware or commercial with trial? > [Lisa Minter note: Excuse me Michael; are you one of > those spammers I keep hearing so much about; one of those > people the guys here are always cussing and discussing > and making mock of? I just wondered what in the world a > program like the one you want would be used for? Lisa M.] Hopefully he's wanting to use it for Emergency notification or passing company info to employees. Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net ------------------------------ From: William Warren Subject: Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol Organization: Comcast Online Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 14:03:46 GMT Michael wrote in message news:telecom22.611.14@telecom-digest.org: > I am looking for a program/application for sending bulk SMS via SMPP > protocol ... Is any avaible for Windows; maybe for Linux? Shareware or > commercial with trial? > [Lisa Minter note: Excuse me Michael; are you one of those spammers I > keep hearing so much about; one of those people the guys here are > always cussing and discussing and making mock of? I just wondered what > in the world a program like the one you want would be used for? Lisa M.] Lisa, I just wondered what protocol "SMPP" it. Come to think of it, you'd better explain "SMS" as well: I'm not up to speed on the latest acronyms. Bill (Remove ".nouce" for direct replies.) [Lisa Minter note: Well I know that SMS stands for 'Short Message Service', and it refers to the type of (150 characters or less) messages you can send to cell phones; such things as a quick reminder or note. Several years ago, one category of scum was sending them out to businessmen in New York City via digital pager telling the harried businessman to call back to a 540 exchange number which dinged the businessman a few dollars for a call to a sex service. I guess they have updated their routine a little now to include all sorts of Short Message Spam. I do not know about SMPP. Maybe the SM part stands for Spam Mail. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ From: obsidian Subject: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 15:04:10 +0200 Organization: -= Belgacom Usenet Service =- After this, the 3rd, power blackout in as many decades has/did the telecom infrastructure function normally? obsidian ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: Horizon PCS Files For Bankruptcy Protection Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2003 21:54:39 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach WASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Horizon PCS, an affiliate of mobile telephone carrier Sprint PCS, said on Friday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The Chillicothe, Ohio-based company said in May that it did not have sufficient liquidity to repay all of its loans or fund its operations so it was seeking to restructure its debt. The bankruptcy filing does not include Horizon Telecom Inc. "We believe the bankruptcy process gives us the best opportunity to restructure our debts and agreements, working cooperatively with our creditors and negotiating with Sprint to develop equitable and appropriate solutions that will allow our company to continue to operate," Horizon Chief Executive William McKell said in a statement. http://www.forbes.com/newswire/2003/08/15/rtr1059316.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: Voicemail Rant (Audix) Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 08:50:26 -0500 Organization: Not Organized Paul A Lee wrote: > In TELECOM Digest V22 #610, chsvideo@hotmail.com (Lincoln > J. King-Cliby) wrote (in part): >> Will someone please tell me why more and more calls that >> are bounced to voicemail have "Your call is being >> answered by Audix!" prepended to the outgoing message? I >> enjoy telecom, but do I need to be told the name of the >> manufacturer of the VM system EVERY SINGLE TIME I LEAVE >> A VOICE MAIL? And do the non-telecom-types out there >> have any clue who or what an "Audix" is? > "Your call is being answered by AUDIX" is the default > system greeting on an AUDIX [AUDIo eXchange] voice mail > system from Avaya (formerly Lucent Technologies, formerly > AT&T). It is not prepended to the outgoing message -- it > IS the outgoing message (greeting) when the clueless > voice mail subscriber has not recorded and activated a > greeting of his/her own. > The reason why you get that greeting so often is that > AUDIX has been one of the world's most popular and widely- > deployed voice mail systems for 20 years or more. (The > other reason is because so many voice mail subscribers > are completely ignorant and apathetic about how to use > the system, whichever one it is.) > "Non-telecom-types" may not be intimately familiar with > what AUDIX is, but many people will know that, when their > call is greeted by AUDIX, they can immediately enter '*T' > ('*8') to initiate a transfer to a different extension > that might get answered. Or, they know that hitting the > '1' key will skip the greeting entirely and put you at > the "BEEP". >> This makes about as much sense as if a coworker picked >> up a line and announced "Your call is being answered by >> Bob! I'm sorry Joe is out of the office right now, can I >> please take a message?" > And is that so very different from someone answering with, > "Hello. Joe's desk; Bob speaking. Joe just went to the > can. Can I take a message?" > I would _rather_ get a voice mail system and control my > own message content and detail, rather than trust it to > some apathetic temp with a pink message pad and an > attitude. >> Who got that brilliant, time wasting, idea? Does it add >> any value to the end user? (I don't think so) Does it >> convey critical information? (Nope) Does it convey any >> information at all? (I seriously doubt it.) Am I the >> only one who feels this way? (maybe) Does this make me >> want to avoid purchasing anything from Audix? >> (Absolutely -- I wouldn't want to annoy callers like >> this). > A better question might be: "Who gave a voice mail box to > someone who can barely use the phone itself?" > As for adding value or informing, see above. If I get an > AUDIX system greeting, or 'most anything else spoken by > Lorraine Nelson's friendly and distinctive voice, I know > how I can navigate more quickly. > And, no, I doubt that you're the only person who feels > that way. I deal with LOTS of people who are hapless or > even hostile toward voice mail. I don't know how to > answer your objections -- or even that I _care_ to answer > them. > It seems that what _truly_ would make you want to avoid > purchasing an AUDIX system is your own lack of > understanding -- just like the folks who have voice mail > and never record a decent greeting or even their name. >> Out of curiosity, Is there some way to turn this >> 'feature' off? > Yes. Record and activate a greeting. It will be played, > instead of the AUDIX system greeting. > There are also ways to modify or replace default system > announcements, but I don't know enough of the details to > get into that here. I do know that you can get AUDIX in > about 40 languages. (I don't think Lorraine does all of > them.) > I find it hard to believe you've never encountered > another type of system's default greeting, such as: > "The person at extension is not available to > take your call. Please leave a message after the > tone." [Nortel Meridian Mail] or > " is not available to take > your call. Please leave a message after the tone." > [Nortel Meridian Mail] > or > "Your party does not answer. Please leave a message > after the beep, or press '1' for more options." > [Siemens/ROLM PhoneMail, I think] > I've heard a bunch of them -- some downright clumsy or > cheesy (let alone what some _subscribers_ record for a > greeting...!). And there's always the voice mail ambush: > " BEEP!" > This, too, has been a bit of a rant. It's not aimed at > anyone personally. I appreciate Lincoln giving me the > opportunity to sound off a little about voice mail abuse > and perhaps provide some information in the bargain. > Paul A Lee Voice: +1 717 730-8355 > Sr Telecom Engineer [Voice & Transmission] Fax: +1 717 > 975-3789 Rite Aid Corporation, Telecomm, 30 Hunter Lane, > Camp Hill, PA 17011-2410 Actually AUDIX is a contactation of AUDio Information eXchange. In the original R1 version Lorraine said, "Your call is being answered by the Audio Information Exchange". It was R1 V3 or so when it was shortened to AUDIX. In the Intuity (and newer) systems that fragment is re-recordable by the administrator so the default system greeting can be, "Your call is being answered by XYZ Company's messaging system" or whatever you like. The new modular architecture (MMA) system isn't called Audix so it doen't mention the term. It also has many more options for users to disregard. I kind of favor something like, "Your call has been answered by this electronic message system because is fooling around instead of answering like we pay him/her for." =;) The rest of your "rant" is echoed by system administrators and managers around the world. I'm working this weekend on a series of presentations for the IAMP (International Association of Messaging Professionals) conference in Scottsdale. I may include a couple of your thoughts in my class on System Management for New Administrators. I'll contact you off-line for permission. If any of the Digest readers are coming to the IAMP conference in October, let me know. I'd be happy to share an adult beverage or two with you. Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net ------------------------------ From: dold@LinksysXWi.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 15:35:53 UTC Organization: a2i network Monty Solomon wrote: > The Linksys Wireless-B Media Adapter lets you bring the digital music > and pictures stored on your computer to your Home Entertainment > Center, without running cables through the house. Using a wireless > connection, the Media Adapter displays your digital photographs on the > TV for the whole family to enjoy. And your digital music collection > is finally freed from those little computer speakers and can play in > full glory through your stereo system. > http://www.linksys.com/products/product.asp?grid=33&scid=38&prid=554 Reports on alt.internet.wireless indicate that the device is not quite ready. It works intermittently if hardwired, and rarely if wireless. It requires a WindowsXP system to be on and configured for Microsoft Wireless Zero Administration in order to have any hope of working. That, and a price of $199, are likely to keep this out of the hands of all but the dedicated gadget freaks for a while. I want one, but I want it to work ;-( Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5 ------------------------------ From: AES/newspost Subject: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 09:04:34 -0700 Extended electrical power outages cause immense economic damage, far exceeding any losses to the electrical power companies themselves. The "human" impacts of an outage like this (or of any widespread emergency situation) -- families trying to get in touch with children or worrying about dispersed family members, for example -- along with at least some of the economic impacts could however be substantially mitigated if cell phones kept operating. My understanding, however, is that during the East Coast power outages of the past few days, they did not (?). Should they have? Could they have? Should it be a matter of "homeland security" that cell phone systems be designed to keep functioning as much as possible in major emergencies, especially power outages? (For at least a few hours, anyway.) Viewed from an overall perspective, how expensive would it really be to achieve something like this? (backup generators in the major facilities, battery backups in individual antenna sites, etc) (again, for at least a few hours continued operation) Since it seems very unlikely that cell phone operators would voluntarily make the investments needed to achieve this, should it be mandated legislatively? [The above questions are in fact *questions*, intended to help my own education and maybe provoke some discussion. But (rant mode on), every time I hear some Republican right-wing free-market idiot rave about how the free market always meets human needs best and government regulation is always bad, I think about questions like these -- not to mention the question of how the free market would have prevented the power outage itself (rant mode off).] ------------------------------ From: 'nuther Bob Subject: Re: Who's Watching the Class? Webcams in Schools Raise Privacy Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 16:36:19 GMT On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 21:14:31 -0400, Monty Solomon wrote: > Who's watching the class? Webcams in schools raise privacy issue Where's George Orwell when you need him? Bob ------------------------------ From: Jud Hardcastle Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 13:08:16 -0500 > You could probably hook a landline modem to a terminal server -- > Lantronix units are nice and cheap on eBay, and then use a thing > called modemu -- a wrapper that goes around programs that want to open > a serial port and dial, and lets you do things like: > ATDT192.168.1.1:3001 > to connect to a remote port. I think you can actually also hardwire > the address and port into the connect, so you could point it at a > telnet port on an address and then do ATDT phone number after it > connected, but I never tried that. Would that solve your problem, > original-question-asker? :-) 'Fraid you lost me on that one since I have no clue what a "terminal server" is. I just need to access a few devices at the office that have dial-in modem access only - logs and setup screens. I don't have enough justification to add equipment. I've managed to go thru VPN and "take over" my office pc which can then dial the other modems -- but that's only as dependable as my pc (on ups) and the office lan (not corp wan) -- but it may be the best I can do. > I had forgotten about a "modem server" that we used to use. It was > accessible from our network ... I wouldn't want to expose one of those > to the internet. It came with a driver for making "any" comm program > work via the shared modem device on com_x. That's what I was looking for -- in theory it would work accessed from the Internet after logging into a server with userid/password et.al. Jud Dallas TX USA ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #612 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 17 02:48:27 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7H6mR223151; Sun, 17 Aug 2003 02:48:27 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 02:48:27 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308170648.h7H6mR223151@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #613 TELECOM Digest Sun, 17 Aug 2003 02:48:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 613 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? (J Kelly) Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? (John R. Levine) Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House (Ron Chapman) Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem (Ray Normandeau) Re: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption (tonypo1@cox.net) Re: Asterisk OpenPBX (SayNoToCrossposters) Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP (KiloDeLate) Re: Modem Emulation Over IP (Clarence Dold) Re: Power to the Internet (William Warren) FCC Contemplating Privatization of the Public Airwaves (Nick Ruark) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: J Kelly Subject: Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 20:28:16 -0500 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com Reply-To: usenet200308@screaming-remove-electron.net On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 09:04:34 -0700, AES/newspost wrote: > Should it be a matter of "homeland security" that cell phone systems > be designed to keep functioning as much as possible in major > emergencies, especially power outages? (For at least a few hours, > anyway.) All the cellsites I've been in, and I've been in nearly a hundred, have batteries. Those batteries are sized to run the site during a typical power outage, around here that is normally less than 8 hours. The more calls they handled, the shorter the time the batteries would hold (these were analog sites where each call had a seperate radio that was on only when it was handling a call). Some of the sites I worked in had generators, mainly those with tall towers that required obstruction lighting. The others had a transfer switch and an outdoor connection for a portable generator. Our thoughts were if the power was out longer than 8 hours, we could have either gotten a generator to the site, or there was an icestorm and most people would be staying put by that time. > Viewed from an overall perspective, how expensive would it really be > to achieve something like this? (backup generators in the major > facilities, battery backups in individual antenna sites, etc) (again, > for at least a few hours continued operation) Most have this. My guess is the cellphones *mostly* stopped working early on due to the huge number of calls, not because of the electricity problems. Later on the power outage probably became a factor. There is no way to make the system have infinite call carrying capacity, just as there is no way to predict that half of NYC would try to make a cellular call all at the same time. Had all those people picked up a landline phone that system too would have become overloaded. ------------------------------ Date: 17 Aug 2003 02:33:34 -0000 From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > My understanding, however, is that during the East Coast power > outages of the past few days, they did not (?). My cell phone worked just fine throughout the blackout, but the blackout only lasted five hours here. Cell sites all have battery backup, but the batteries don't last forever. The cell carriers have mobile generators, but they have way more cell sites than they can recharge with the generators they have if there's a widespread blackout that lasts a long time. This was widely reported in the press, e.g. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/16/business/16PHON.html. Cell sites only seem to have batteries good for a few hours; you can reasonably ask if they should have power for longer outages, but it's not true that the cell network just failed. One of the often-overlooked good things about boring old POTS landline telephony is that it's all powered from the central office, so with one big bank of batteries and one large diesel generator, they can keep the phones on indefinitely, at least for the phone lines wired directly to the CO, not via SLCs and other separately powered concentrators. John R. Levine, IECC, POB 727, Trumansburg NY 14886 +1 607 330 5711 johnl@iecc.com Village Trustee and Sewer Commissioner http://iecc.com/johnl Member, Provisional board, Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 21:55:24 -0400 From: Ron Chapman Subject: Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House > KATIE HAFNER > Anyone on the Dartmouth College campus who picks up a phone and makes > a long-distance call anywhere within the United States will find that > the call is on the house. On July 1, the school stopped charging for > all long-distance calls. > The arithmetic that went into the decision was simple, said Bob > Johnson, the director of network services at Dartmouth. Calls that > cost 25 cents per minute in 1995 now cost less than 2 cents. So > Dartmouth was paying $250,000 a year to bill individual phone lines at > the school for long-distance calls. But the total annual long-distance > bill had dropped to $150,000. Calling Arthur Clarke, calling Arthur Clarke ... only 3.5 years off and at only one single college campus, but still, ya gotta admit he saw the future. Frankly, I'm amazed that the long distance company I have sends me a separate bill every month for my $10 in usage. But then, I'm paying 7 cents/minute. Back when I signed up, 7 cents anytime was a heckuva deal -- but now, I think the ten bucks I send them every month must be pure profit to them, as little as it all costs nowadays. ------------------------------ From: rayta@msn.com (Ray Normandeau) Subject: Re: The Kinko's Caper: Burglary by Modem Date: 16 Aug 2003 19:52:54 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Easy Everything a public internet store on Times Square NYC has HUNDREDS of terminals for use at any time. When your session is over it seems to reboot. What It does I dunno. When you want to use a terminal you sit at one that says READY. Long Distance =<2.9 cents per minute, no other fee: https://www.onesuite.com/ Promotion Code 034720367 USA 2.5-2.9 CPM, Canada 2.5-3.5 CPM, UK 2.5-3.9 CPM ------------------------------ From: tonypo1@cox.net Subject: Re: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Cmpany Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 23:55:55 -0500 In article , obsidian@leuven.vlaanderen.terra.sol says: > After this, the 3rd, power blackout in as many decades has/did the > telecom infrastructure function normally? I noted that there were certain things (Like reporters on TV who were delivering the voice portion over cell phones.) and knowing how Verizon is cheaping out CO's like crazy. Appears that several CO's in their territory were out of commission. I always though that CO battery had a minimum of 48 hours of service before requiring on-site generators to be activated. But that's Verizon for ya. ------------------------------ From: SayNoToCrossposters Subject: Re: Asterisk OpenPBX Organization: Comcast Online Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 03:58:00 GMT >> Why? Why would a customer want to sit down and piss around with this >> rather than just have a simple MICS? > Maybe, because they want something that a MICS, or {insert brand of > choice) other system, _doesn't_ do. That'd seem to me, to be one > *good* reason. MICS was just a name thrown out there. Could very well be any other system that WOULD have more than the asterisk could offer. > I don't say it's the *best*solution* for everybody, or that it's even > "right" for everybody. I _do_ say that it *is* worthy of > consideration. > Obviously, it's "not right" for you. Never said that. It's worth looking at ... would "I" suggest jumping into something like this ... my professional opinion is hell no. > But, you assertation that it's "not right" for _anybody_ is > unmitigated arrogance, at best. Not true. Never stated that at all and I dare you to go back and find where I said that. >> Time is money. I have no problem with the asterisk ... seems like a >> really cool endeavor, but if I had my computer staff stuck messing >> with this thing for even a day ... it's a waste of time and money. >> BTW their are other switches out there beside's Nortel and Avaya >> that IMHO are far superior and offer pretty much everything you >> would want. > Obviously they're "not superior *enough*". > Proof: They have -not- driven the 'inferior' switches off the market. Please ... look up marketing. The names sell the product ... lol esp in Nortel's case. > Give me 'enough' money to spend, and, yeah, I can find a switch > that'll do "anything". Money and time are one in the same in a small business. Those that fail to see that usually go out of business. > Price ACD features. Sometimes even _small_ businesses would 'like' to > have some of those 'big system' features, but there is 'no way in I think you need to look around..there are some damn nice small systems with everything and more than Asterisk is offering. > Price IP telphony features. If, for example, you want an IP telephony > device, OPX, _behind_ the switch. No problem ... there are companies that already have this integration with a simple OPX gateway box and IP phone. > Price *ABILITY* to integrate with 'contact management' software (of > your choice) on the desktop. > Price a 'voice-mail' to 'email' interface. or e-mail paging for > voice-mail message-waiting. > Or a 'paging service' integration, from voice-mail, that messages > _who_ the voice-mail message was from (via caller-id, or ANI data) > I'll say again, it _is_ *WORTHY*OF*CONSDIERATION*. It's not for > everybody, agreed. It's not the 'ultimate solution', agreed. It does > offer some 'unique' capabilities, and, potentially, a > _very_attractive_ price-point. > Is it "worth it" ? That depends on the _specific_installation_ > considerations. > I think there _are_ places where it would shine. I'm considering > deploying one, _just_ for 'private' IP telephony OPX extensions, > behind my Nortel. I'm looking at saving _tens_of_thousands_ of > dollars, vs the only 'integrated' IP 'extension' capability I'm aware > of for a MICS. I say you need to look at some other "off the shelf" systems other than a MICS. MICS "IMHO" is barely above 1a2 compared to other systems out there. Once again testiment to Nortels marketing. I will have the ability within the next month to get an IP upgrade for my house system for $3000 that will allow my to get 50 free IP licenses and use the softphone via PC for nothing. All from off the shelf. BTW that comes to $60 per station. I already have tested the beta and it works damn well ... even on a crappy 26k dial up. Good luck, keep posting on the asterisk web site I do go and read about ever week to see what's new. ------------------------------ From: KiloDeLate Subject: Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol Organization: The Ace Tomato and Cement Cmpany Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 23:58:26 -0500 In article , spamblocked@yourISP.com says: > Michael wrote: >> I am looking for a program/application for sending bulk >> SMS via SMPP protocol ... Is any avaible for Windows; >> maybe for Linux? Shareware or commercial with trial? >> [Lisa Minter note: Excuse me Michael; are you one of >> those spammers I keep hearing so much about; one of those >> people the guys here are always cussing and discussing >> and making mock of? I just wondered what in the world a >> program like the one you want would be used for? Lisa M.] > Hopefully he's wanting to use it for Emergency notification or > passing company info to employees. With regard to company global emails -- it appears many companies use MS Exchange servers and I'm pretty sure Lotus has the same functionality. In both, you can send it to everyone on the list by using a single global address. It's a spammer sure enough. If they're so stupid they need to ask on a telecom group they deserve to be flamed for it. ------------------------------ From: dold@ModemXEmul.usenet.us.com Subject: Re: Modem Emulation Over IP Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 04:12:05 UTC Organization: a2i network Jud Hardcastle wrote: >> I had forgotten about a "modem server" that we used to use. It was >> accessible from our network ... I wouldn't want to expose one of those >> to the internet. It came with a driver for making "any" comm program >> work via the shared modem device on com_x. > That's what I was looking for -- in theory it would work accessed from > the Internet after logging into a server with userid/password et.al. The attribute got lost. I'm the one that said "I forgot". What I forgot was the Lantronix. The 8-port was about $700. That could be put at the spot where some serial-only devices exist. That's what we used them for. We had the 16 port version, with 16 serial ports connected to Sun servers, Cisco switches, etc. Access it via the internet, and connect to the serial port. We used telnet to get to it, but i think it came with a shim that would go on a PC to pass through comm port stuff. Once upon a time rahul.net offered dial-out modem capabilities, but I think it was rather expensive. And that isn't really the substitute that you are looking for, if you need to run some proprietary program on your PC. That might be a backup to your current take-over-the-pc method. Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8-122.5 ------------------------------ From: William Warren Subject: Re: Power to the Internet Organization: Comcast Online Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 02:40:44 GMT > From: Andrew Seybold > BPL? What is BPL? BPL is "Broadband over Power Lines" -- a way to > provide access to the Internet for people who do not have broadband > DSL, cable or wireless broadband services. The idea sounds great. Use > existing power lines that are already serving almost every home in the > nation to connect them to the Internet with broadband data services. The biggest problem with BPL is that it's not something that average voters can understand or appreciate. You're right: the idea *sounds* nice -- to all the wrong people, and for all the wrong reasons. It sounds nice to giant media conglomerates, anxious to have consumers pay for the distribution and delivery of digital content, thus cutting out the middlemen at the record store and video rental shop, and allowing even more cocaine parties for those well-connected few in Hollywood that have access to the river of gold. Of course, the "modems" will come pre-equipment with digital rights management software: it's a new paradigm! It's an especially sweet song to regulators trying to find ways to bail out the power companies that they allowed to slide into bankruptcy. More cash, less filling, no one asking rude questions about the regulators' cozy relationship with the industry they were supposed to regulate -- it's a "win, win, win" situation. It music to the ears of Congressmen, ever starved for more campaign contributions to pay for those campaign ads they have to buy from the giant media conglomerates. It's a rap on the doors of Motorola and GE and every other manufacturer of the two-way radios used in police, fire, and ambulances which now occupy the channels BPL will render useless. A few new taxes, no problem, and if your police officer can't hear the difference between "Shoot!" and "Don't shoot!" in the meantime, well, that's just a marginal cost. Ham operators? Who are they? Do they buy their frequency allocations like good red-blooded Americans? Listen, Bud, if you haven't got a couple of Billion to spend, don't come nosing around Washington crying the blues about interference -- it just gets lost in the noise. BPL even strikes a responsive chord at the avionics industry, and the FAA, and the Department of Homeland inSecurity. Since the plan doesn't make any provision to avoid the innevitable interference BPL will cause to aircraft navigation, it's only a matter of a few years -- and a few incidents (terrorist acts, of course) -- before every aircraft will have to be retrofit for a new, improved means of getting navigational signals. Every FAA ARTC as well, and every military airbase, and every crop duster, etc. This is a multi-billion dollar opportunity, where everybody profits - except, possibly, the travelers, farmers, and other taxpayers whom ante up for the new radios, and those insurance carriers foolish enough to indemnify the lives of airline passengers - and a few little people left rotting in fields somewhere while the spinmasters explain away the "mysterious" crashes. FWIW. YMMV. Bill "I'm not a cynic. I'm just scared" Warren (Remove ".nouce" for direct replies.) ------------------------------ From: Nick Ruark Subject: FCC Contemplating Privatization of the Public Airwaves Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 19:56:09 -0700 A Private Windfall For Public Property By Norman Ornstein and Michael Calabrese August 12, 2003 Page A13 We're no fans of the attempt by the Federal Communications Commission to relax ownership requirements for TV stations and newspapers, but it would be a shame if the battle between FCC Chairman Michael Powell and Congress on this issue distracted attention from another harmful move being contemplated by the commission. We're talking about the privatization of the airwaves, a public resource worth hundreds of billions of dollars in both market value and future federal revenue. The contemplated FCC action could result in the biggest special interest windfall at the expense of American taxpayers in history. The rapid trend toward wireless communication has made access to the prime frequencies that pass easily through walls, trees and weather an increasingly valuable right. A recent study estimated the market value of this spectrum at $770 billion. These airwaves are owned by the public. For more than 75 years broadcasters, cellular phone companies and other commercial service providers have acquired exclusive access to scarce spectrum space only under temporary, renewable licenses; in return, they serve the public interest. But if the FCC has its way, that social contract will be voided. In recent months, through a series of rule changes, the FCC has begun to implement a radical shift in the nation's spectrum allocation policy. Recently it adopted rules allowing licensees -- whether or not they paid the public for their license -- to sell or rent unused capacity to other firms. It also proposed to let universities and other holders of free licenses sell their spectrum to private firms, thus encouraging these hard-pressed nonprofit institutions to abandon their educational use of the airwaves in return for a quick buck on the new private spectrum markets. The blueprint for this privatization of the public airwaves is a pair of FCC staff reports released last November. In essence, the FCC's Spectrum Policy Task Force proposes that incumbent licensees be granted permanent, private-property-like rights in the frequencies they currently borrow. The task force proposes that future licenses grant firms "maximum possible autonomy" to decide what services to offer, what technical standards to adopt or whether instead to sell or sublease their frequency assignments to other firms. In the future, access to the airwaves would be a commodity traded on secondary markets and free of virtually all public interest obligations. This is not all bad. The FCC's outdated command-and-control approach -- based on rigidly zoning the airwaves by service and assigning exclusive licenses at zero cost -- has exacerbated the scarcity of wireless bandwidth, stifling competition, slowing innovation and restricting citizen access to the airwaves. The problem is not the stated goals of the task force but the means of achieving them. The commission's senior economists have added a proposal that these new and valuable rights to sell and sublease frequencies be given away to incumbent licensees at no charge. The proposal is dressed up as an "auction," but it is one in which any incumbent opting to sell its license would be entitled to keep 100 percent of the revenue -- money that under current law would flow into the public treasury. The logic of the proposal is that broadcasters and other spectrum incumbents have so much political clout that the only practical way to reduce scarcity is to bribe them to bring their spectrum to market. But this approach confers a massive and undeserved financial windfall -- up to $500 billion -- on a few lucky industries. And freezing the old zoning system into permanent private property rights would forestall emerging "smart" radio technologies that can dynamically share today's underutilized spectrum space. Today the fastest-growing demand for telecommunications involves inexpensive WiFi -- short for "wireless fidelity." College campuses and "hot spots" in airports and Starbucks offer this cheap and mobile Internet access by creating a wireless local area network on a small band of "unlicensed" frequencies shared with cordless phones, microwave ovens and baby monitors. Unfortunately, privatizing frequencies would turn this sharing into "trespassing," allowing licensees to demand payment for access to their airwaves. Market-based spectrum reform can be achieved without a massive giveaway. The flexible new licenses proposed by the FCC task force could be rented for fixed terms. This would put all companies on a level playing field, permit property-like rights for limited periods, protect capital investment by incumbents and internalize incentives to use spectrum efficiently. The good news is that the FCC cannot transfer a wireless windfall to special interests without additional authorization from Congress. Both the administration and some influential members of Congress have expressed support for spectrum user fees. The bad news is that Congress is not exactly trustworthy when it comes to protecting the public interest from broadcasters and other powerful license holders. The champions of the public, led by Sen. John McCain, have their work cut out for them. Norman Ornstein is a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Michael Calabrese directs the Spectrum Policy Program at the New America Foundation. Copyright 2003 The Washington Post Company http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46939-2003Aug11.html ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #613 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Aug 17 23:34:09 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7I3Y8X27633; Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:34:09 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:34:09 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308180334.h7I3Y8X27633@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #614 TELECOM Digest Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:34:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 614 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Dispatch From Manhattan (Tad Cook) Re: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption (Rudo Bega Jr.) Making Its Mark in the 911 Phone Market (Monty Solomon) As Belated Converts, Schools Keep Vigil for Internet2 (Monty Solomon) Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House (Group Special) LD Limbo -- How low can you go? (was Re: Miss Mom? (Gordon S. Hlavenka) Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm (Craig Macbride) Broadband Availability after Massive Power Outage? (A. R. White) Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise (Scott A Crosby) Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? (Dave Phelps) Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol (Romfh) Sneaky Spam! BostonTelephony.com - Telephone System (Oleg L. Medvinsky) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:12:40 PDT From: Tad Cook Subject: Dispatch from Manhattan During the recent power outage, my friend Tama Starr sent this wonderful narrative: Dear Friends Beyond the Northeast Power Grid: Here is a little report. On Thursday afternoon when the computers popped off and the lights dimmed -- brownout! -- I said: No prob, In minutes the place emptied out as everyone ran for their cars, arranged rides, hit the trail. A century ago thousands of people walked to and from work over the East River bridges, but they don't now. Only Bob Jackowitz, who lives way out on Long Island via the LIRR, and I were left. The emergency lights blinked on, and I stopped cursing the architect for forcing us to install so many. Our office is a renovated townhouse, so we'd have sleeping quarters, breakfast food, even hot water. Our humble altitude, only four stories, runs the plumbing on city water pressure: no pumps. We stingily kept the doors and windows shut to preserve the conditioned air. At dark we went out. Restaurants were closed but the Chippery, a sandwich bar around the corner, was open, twinkling with candlelight like a Byzantine chapel. Everyone was ordering salad "with everything" to make Salad Man's life easier. The woman behind me on line noticed the candles were guttering down and told the owner, working behind the counter, that she'd run home and fetch more. "That's neighborly," I remarked. "Yeah, they cost $65 apiece," she said. Kidding. Bob and I took our salads to Madison Square Park where we could watch the crowds hustling by on Broadway. Nine at night and not many cars, but hundreds of pedestrians. We couldn't figure out why they were all walking so purposefully. Where did they have to go? The intersection of Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street held a hint of techno-rave. Lots of people carried glo-sticks: not very illuminative, but festive. Faces were lit blue by cell phones. Red emergency flares writhed on the ground, replenished by the ubiquitous police cadets, dipping into the trunk of a cruiser. We walked down to Union Square. On the corner of 22nd Street and Broadway, Mr. Softee in his garishly-lit truck provided an oasis of icy brightness. Dozens of people perched nearby on the planters and stoops, enjoying their creamy treats, until the last of even the peanut-butter mocha ripple crunch was gone, at around ten. Small groups of people sat in battered chairs in office-building doorways, iluminated by glowing cigarette-ends like fireflies, each cluster a cluster of sound: laughter, conversation, the tinny rattle of AM news. People shared warmish six-packs, baggies of grapes, DVD movies on laptops. This party went on for miles. The missing electricity provided a glimpse into a previous century, especially in this old part of town. Windows glowed brownish with candlelight, voices preceded their owners out of the gloom. Cornices and parapets were silhouetted against the sky and beyond them, to everyone's amazement, stars! But it wasn't truly dark. This is still a city. Headlights add up, and emergency lights. Some lobbies and windowed stairwells remained lit, and a few focal points like the observatory deck of the Empire State Building. So the sky still reflected light; you could have seen us from space. Also spoiling the old-world illusion was the noise: buses, helicopters, sirens, generators apparently hooked up to nothing. And voices: the blended, helium-filled sound of mass celebration, blocks away. We weren't really bereft of electricity. We can't be, ever again. We swim in that excited juice. Within the sea of electromagnetic radiation made perceptible by our radios and TVs, we carry our flashlights and cell phones; the cars creeping along the darkened streets like wary whales are globular masses of shimmying electrons. Back at our office but reluctant to go inside, we lounged on the stoop like people did in pre-air-conditioning days. A group of girls joined us, laughing at the self-important antics of the neighborhood dogs, who were all, unnecessarily, on high alert. As were the TV people. Unbelievably snarky. On someone's little portable we watched the blow-dried talking heads turning themselves upside down trying to capture some negative waves. "There's no looting -- yet," they announced lugubriously. "But with the night growing ever darker ..." They found one woman worrying about her mother in surgery, another willing to complain about the heat, the inconvenience, the lack of authorities "taking charge." But everybody was taking charge. Tiny acts of heroism, like people looking out for the elderlies and disabled, people handing out water, restaurateurs offering free snacks with half-price drinks. Continuing the theme of pre-a/c times, we decided to sleep on the roof, where there was a whiff of breeze. Bob set up the deck chairs and we settled down facing the Met Life Tower, where the clock was stuck at 4:20. "If it says anything other than 4:20 when we wake up, we'll know the power is back on," Bob said. But it wasn't. Friday no one showed up at the office, but Jimmy opened the factory. The sign hangers with their truck-mounted equipment installed billboards; the glass room made neon, since the gas lines were working; service electricians went to Times Square to shut off the timeclocks. Even the tourists might not appreciate all the signs' turning on at once if the demand surge re-blew the fuses. But despite their good example, it was hard to get much done. It was too disorienting. The missing appliances are like phantom limbs. Just below the conscious level, one keeps reaching for the switches. "It's hot ... the a/c's not working ... why don't I just turn on the fan?" "Coffeemaker's not working ... maybe some tea ... how about that electric kettle?" "Can't use the computer ... I'll just turn on the light and read." Our auto-pilots aren't sure what's not working either. Does my money still work? (Yes, but not the plastic.) Does anybody on the next block speak English? Is my husband, wherever he is, still the one I married? (I bet with all that revelry last night and the downed commuter lines, plenty of people got confused on that one.) The power came back on at 7:15 P.M., accompanied by hootin and hollerin out in the street. Sweet cool juice! The energizer. Instantly everyone dropped their 19th-century languor. The computers popped back on. Coffee began perking. By 8 P.M. most of the restaurants on the block were open, and the ice cubes were tinkling. It's Friday night and we're back in business! If you enjoy her writing, check out her books at your local library or at your fave bookstore: Signs and Wonders : The Spectacular Marketing of America by Tama Starr, Edward Hayman Eve's Revenge: Saints, Sinners, and the Stand-up Sisters of the Ultimate Extinction of Men by Tama Starr The Natural Inferiority of Women: Outrageous Pronouncements by Misguided Males by Tama Starr (Compiler) Tama is president of Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation, a 106 year old electric sign company founded by her grandfather. This company was responsible for many memorable signs in Manhattan's Times Square, including the one in the 1930s that blew smoke rings. See www.artkraft.com ------------------------------ From: Rudo Bega Jr. Subject: Re: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption Date: 18 Aug 2003 02:46:18 GMT Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com In , obsidian said: > After this, the 3rd, power blackout in as many decades has/did the > telecom infrastructure function normally? I've had a DS-3 down (at the Port Auth. bldg.) for > 72 hours now. (I guess the batteries ran down on *something* Thursday night.) But hey, what is normal when you've laid off all your technicians and everyone knows you're bankrupt ... ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:35:40 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Making Its Mark in the 911 Phone Market Making Its Mark in the 911 Phone Market By ELIZABETH KELLEHER SHARES of Intrado, the company that supplies most of the database systems used in 911 emergency calls, soared after Sept. 11, 2001, only to fall sharply in 2002. But the stock is flying high again. On the strength of optimistic earnings reports in the first and second quarters, the shares have jumped 78 percent this year, closing on Friday at $17.40. Some analysts say that the stock is still undervalued, while skeptics say that its gain after Sept. 11 was an unwarranted reaction to terrorism and that it is likely to stumble again. Intrado, based in Longmont, Colo., says revenue is increasing, thanks to the strength of its core 911 land-line business as well as growth in orders for 911 systems for cellphones. Its customers for such databases include telephone companies and police departments. During the power failure last week, Intrado's database helped some agencies direct emergency phone calls. The company already dominates the wire-based 911 market and says it has roughly 60 percent of the current cellphone market. (Only about half the cellphones now in use can reach 911 and automatically convey a location to dispatchers.) In the most recent quarter, two-thirds of the company's $30.2 million in revenue came from wire-based 911 service and a third from wireless. http://nytimes.com/2003/08/17/business/yourmoney/17INTR.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 14:46:29 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: As Belated Converts, Schools Keep Vigil for Internet2 WHAT'S NEXT As Belated Converts, Schools Keep Vigil for Internet2 By JEFFREY SELINGO In its early days, the Internet was essentially the domain of the government and universities. Few elementary and secondary schools were connected to the worldwide computer network by the time the Internet spread to the masses as a commercial enterprise in the mid-1990's. Even today, many public schools log on to the Internet through sluggish dial-up connections. Public schools do not want to be left behind again. That's why a few educators are now looking for ways to take advantage of the speedier data transfers promised by Internet2, the next-generation Internet, which was developed by the nation's largest research universities in 1996 after the original Internet became too clogged to allow researchers to share huge amounts of data easily. Today, only about three million people, mostly on college campuses, have access to the network backbone, known as Abilene, that is the heart of Internet2, compared with an estimated 600 million users of the original Internet. But for those sharing data, sending e-mail or browsing the Web on Internet2, the difference in speed is striking. Just how fast is Internet2? Recently, scientists transferred 6.7 gigabytes of data, the equivalent of two feature-length DVD movies, across 6,800 miles in less than one minute. That is more than 3,500 times faster than a typical home broadband connection. http://nytimes.com/2003/08/14/technology/circuits/14next.html ------------------------------ From: Group Special Mobile Subject: Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:30:22 -0700 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Reply-To: look@signature_for_reply_instructions On Sat, 16 Aug 2003 21:55:24 -0400, Ron Chapman wrote: > Frankly, I'm amazed that the long distance company I have sends me a > separate bill every month for my $10 in usage. But then, I'm paying 7 > cents/minute. Back when I signed up, 7 cents anytime was a heckuva > deal -- but now, I think the ten bucks I send them every month must be > pure profit to them, as little as it all costs nowadays. Well, consider that your billing every month probably costs them more than the actual cost of your calls especially if you're a low volume user. And while 7 cents/minute is quite a bit lower than in years past it is believe it or not nowhere near the bottom of the scale when it comes to call costs. I know just going to some comparison sites that long distance calling can be had for as little as 2.5 cents/minute (usually with minimums or has a monthly fee), but there are some companies that don't have any minimums or don't charge any monthly fees. You've got to figure that long distance calling has to be cheap when practically all the cell phone companies includes free domestic calling with the majority of their plans now. To send an email reply send to GSMthemobilestandard (@) yahoo.com A. Top posters. Q. What is the most annoying thing on Usenet? ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 18:36:26 -0500 From: Gordon S. Hlavenka Reply-To: nospam@crashelectronics.com Organization: Crash Electronics Subject: LD Limbo -- How Low Can You Go? (was Re: Miss Mom? A Honey? Ron Chapman wrote: > Frankly, I'm amazed that the long distance company I have sends me a > separate bill every month for my $10 in usage. My monthly LD usage is typically a dollar or less... Who needs LD on POTS when you've got DSL, VOIP, and unlimited LD on cellphone? In May I called and asked if I could switch to quarterly billing or something, but they said their only plan with quarterly billing had a $30/month minimum. So I sent them a check for $15, and now I'm gradually running down my credit balance. Saves me 37 cents a month, which doesn't sound like much until you compare the postage to the total bill :-) For August, Qwest sent me a 14-page bill ('cause it was originally a business line) for $0.28 -- check it out at . Gordon S. Hlavenka http://www.crashelectronics.com Grammar and spelling flames welcome. Yes, that's really my email address. Don't change it. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: What You Should Know About the Blaster Worm From: craigm@ragingbull.com (Craig Macbride) Organization: Nyx Net, Free Internet access (http://www.nyx.net/) Date: 17 Aug 2003 06:21:20 -0600 wollman@lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) writes: > What should you know about the Blaster worm? > 1) Don't run Windows. Just not running a more bloated version than 98SE will do. Craig Macbride http://www.nyx.net/~cmacbrid I don't want to achieve immortality through my work... I want to achieve it through not dying. - Woody Allen ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 11:52:28 -0700 From: "A. R. White" Subject: Broadband Availability After Massive Power Outage? Several years ago I went to radio-amateur swap meets and bought all the Princess phones I could find. In addition to being built like tanks by the pre-1984-breakup Western Electric, they don't need any AC connection. (Too, I like their shape -- not to mention some of their garish, '50s-era, colors.) We will ALWAYS have at least one Princess telephone, to increase our chances of communicating with the outside world in case of power outages. I've also got a UPS for our computer, though we in Los Angeles are blessed by the very dependable Department of Water and Power. We have suffered only two major outages in the last ten years, one of those beginning about 4:30 a.m. on January 17th, 1994 -- the Northridge earthquake -- and ending about ten hours later. The other outage lasted only six hours or so; never any explanation of what happened. Pondering last week's power outage got me to thinking about survivability of broadband connections. I would think any cable-broadband connection would go out with any large-area power loss, since every so many blocks I've seen boxes with LADWP wattmeters on their faces feeding power into the cable network -- unless those boxes contain batteries, bits couldn't even get to and from the head end. DSL survivability? If the hardware is connected to the central office's back-up power, bits could get to and from "my" DSL interface card. How about the rest of the componentry that gets my bits to and from "the Internet", the routers, line drivers & receivers, the DHCP and DNS servers? Pretty clearly the upper levels will have backup power. But how far down the hierarchy will backup extend? Will SBC's point of presence in my central office have backup power, or Adelphia's in my neighborhood's head end? Based on their historical concern and record, I would think telcos more likely to sustain broadband connections than cable companies; the switches in the basement(s) of the Twin Towers were functioning until collapse. Layered defense, I suppose: Keep that modem connection dusted off and tested. Get a ham license, equipment for packet radio, an inverter, and a shelf of 12V batteries. Maybe solar panels and/or a Honda generator to recharge the batteries. A. R. White nomdenet@pacbell.net ------------------------------ From: Scott A Crosby Subject: Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise Date: 17 Aug 2003 16:04:05 -0500 Organization: Rice University On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 15:54:51 GMT, Jay R. Ashworth writes: > Stanley settled back into the couch, and Tom Betz > said to him: >>> http://www.msnbc.com/news/940490.asp >> Unlike most of what passes for journalism these days, this series >> (part 4 is now available) is superbly-researched and written, and >> should be required reading for anyone who asks the question, >> "What's the deal with spam? It ain't so bad." >> It is that bad, and those who engage in it are worse; and this >> series is spelling out the how and why of it. > And this paper: > http://www.martiansoftware.com/articles/spammerpain.html has some > *very* cogent suggestions as to how to fix it. I can't imagine that > if the top 20 ISP's implemented something like this on their inbound > MX servers, that the problem wouldn't go away within 3 months. Unfortunately no. Connection throttling won't help. For a spammer, all TCP connections are multiplexed over a single interface. Thus, 100 TCP connections sending 10 spams a second, or 10,000 TCP connections sending one every 10 seconds will consume the same bandwidth. The only difference might be that this could tickle some scalability issues in the sender's operating system or server software. For instance, the sender's operating system may be unable to deal with large numbers connections. At least under UNIX, the limit appears to be RAM and exceed 30,000 concurrent TCP connections. Its more likely that the OS can't handle tens of thousands of threads or processes in a mulithreaded/forking server. Unfortunately, the spammer can use an event-driven server model and not need any extra threads. When I mean tens of thousands of concurrent connections, I refer to connections to distinct servers, not parallel connections to the same server. I'd say it'd take a competent programmer under a month to write such a mass-mail program. And as a bonus, it can be intelligent enough to look at error-codes and resend on temp-fail; to bypass that other trick that I've been hearing about. Thus, it seems to me that connection tarpitting is at most a very temporary solution. Scott http://www.kegel.com/c10k.html http://www.mail-archive.com/tarproxy-list%40martiansoftware.com/msg00001.html ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 19:53:31 -0500 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , siegman@stanford.edu says: > [The above questions are in fact *questions*, intended to help my own > education and maybe provoke some discussion. But (rant mode on), > every time I hear some Republican right-wing free-market idiot rave > about how the free market always meets human needs best and government > regulation is always bad, I think about questions like these -- not to > mention the question of how the free market would have prevented the > power outage itself (rant mode off).] Why are people so dependent on cell phones? It is much easier for landline companies to be more reliable than cell phones. Heck, on the reliability scale, my cell phone ranks much lower than landline service anyway -- there doesn't need to be a power outage. Putting a generator, and all the associated wiring, at every cell site would be a huge expense. Even landline companies aren't putting generators at every CO anymore. The COs that don't have generators are usually wired up so that they can bring in a portable generator and plug it in hopefully before the batteries die, but that solution is intended only for a localized power outage, not an outage on the scale of the Northeast blackout. I'm sure there were many COs and remote fiber cabinets that went down due to dead batteries, we just haven't heard about them yet. Also consider that many cell sites house equipment for four or five service providers. That would be four to five generators per site. A good idea might be, since most cell sites are actually owned by a tower company rather than a cell provider, that the tower owner provides the generator instead of the cell companies, but it would be voluntary. All we need is one tower company to offer the service. Cell companies would then prefer that provider, which would force the other tower companies to follow suit to stay competitive. Even if all of the cell sites were up during the outage, the cell networks could not have possibly handled the call volume that would have been generated -- there simply isn't enough bandwidth allocated to the cell spectrum. IMHO, this should not be legislated. If it were, I think we would have nothing but a mess, just like the telco and power systems we have now. Maybe if regulators actually knew about the business that they were regulating, it might be different. As it stands, most regulators are there as political favors. Some sort of learn the job, others just push pencils. A perfect example is phone company management. The phone company doesn't hire from the ranks for management positions anymore. They hire people with MBAs, regardless of experience it seems; no telco knowledge necessary. It seems obvious to me that MBA types aren't qualified to run the phone company -- just look at the state they've put it in. There are so many layers of management that it's stupid. It's no different with regulators. Until the government fixes the way regulators and policies are chosen, I am absolutely against trying to regulate any more businesses. The government can't even DEregulate anything well. I'm curious why any questions from the media and public were *ever* directed at the government about this whole blackout issue. There are very few people in government that are knowledgable about power distribution, and the press certainly didn't find any. Why does anyone think the President knows anything about the power distribution system? Why weren't the utilities asked the hard questions; after all, it's their responsibility and problem, not the government's. Dave Phelps DD Networks www.ddnets.com deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SMPP Protocol Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 21:54:36 -0500 KiloDeLate wrote: > It's a spammer sure enough. If they're so stupid they > need to ask on a telecom group they deserve to be flamed > for it. We could send him 50,000 ads for pills to enlarge your SMS phone. "Real SMS users have BIG antennas". and "She'll gasp at your touch - tone" ;) Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net ------------------------------ From: omed@adrotech.com (Oleg L. Medvinsky) Subject: Sneaky Spam! BostonTelephony.com - Telephone System For Needs Date: 17 Aug 2003 01:47:47 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I saw a few messages that people are looking for telephone systems, we're authorized national NBX reseller. If you not familiar with the word NBX, you must be familiar with it's manufacturer, 3Com. It's top of the line communication system, with VoIP license. Check it our on our website: http://www.BostonTelephony.com ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. Visit http://www.1800teledeal.com or call 1-800-TELEDEAL The Directory Assistance Experts * We Know 411 TeleDeal Inc. George Jones, President ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #614 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Aug 18 19:07:57 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7IN7vB02824; Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:07:57 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:07:57 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308182307.h7IN7vB02824@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #615 TELECOM Digest Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:08:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 615 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Telecom Update (Canada) #395, August 18, 2003 (Angus TeleManagement) Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SM (Alan Burkitt-Gray) Washington Post: "Wireless Growth Hinders Rescuers" (Carl Moore) Status of Cell Phone Number Portability (H. Peter Anvin) Re: Kinko's Spy Case: Risks of Renting PCs (H. Peter Anvin) Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise (Ed Clarke) Re: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption (Robert Freimer) Opinion on NEC Phone Systems (Pete) Broadband National Announces Vinny Olmstead New President (Eworldwire) Answering Machine With a USB Port (Jake Arnold) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 10:16:12 -0400 From: Angus TeleManagement Subject: Telecom Update (Canada) #395, August 18, 2003 ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 395: August 18, 2003 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** BELL CANADA: http://www.bell.ca ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: http://www.cisco.com/ca/letstalk ** CYGCOM INTEGRATED TECHNOLOGIES: http://www.cygcom.com ** ERICSSON CANADA: http://www.ericsson.ca ** JUNIPER NETWORKS: http://www.juniper.net ** PRIMUS CANADA: http://www.primustel.ca ** Q9 NETWORKS: http://www.Q9.com ** TELUS: http://www.telus.com ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Most Phones Worked in the Dark ** Cellcos Must Provide E9-1-1 ** Telus Enhances Push-to-Talk Service ** ExpressVu to Zap Signal Pirates ** Cybersurf to Offer High-Speed Internet ** FCI Appeals Wire Access Rules ** CRTC Reverses Order on Telus Conduit Fees ** Microcell Records Profit, Subscriber Losses ** Fido Offers Flat-Rate Calling Among Subscribers ** CPC Acquires Payphone Assets ** 360 Buys Utelco's Fibre ** Craig Challenges Look Stock Deal ** Defending Yourself Against Awful Telecom Bills ============================================================ MOST PHONES WORKED IN THE DARK: In general, Ontario's phone systems continued operating during the great power blackout, but there were exceptions. ** Backup generators kept wireline Central Offices functioning, although many local and long distance circuits were congested. On Friday, Bell Canada said that 99% of lines were working, but encouraged customers to restrict usage to essential calls. ** Network congestion blocked many cellphone calls. Later, cellsites that had only battery backup went down, reducing network coverage up to 25%. ** Most PBXs and Key Systems either failed immediately, or failed when their backup batteries were fully discharged. ** The Internet stayed up, but few of those without power could access it. CELLCOS MUST PROVIDE E9-1-1: CRTC Decision 2003-53 directs all wireless service providers, not just wireless CLECs as before, to provide wireless Enhanced 9-1-1 service wherever the service is available from an ILEC. Wireless E9-1-1 transmits the location of the cellsite where the cellphone is currently operating. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/dt2003-53.htm TELUS ENHANCES PUSH-TO-TALK SERVICE: Telus Mobility has enhanced the Direct Connect feature of its Mike service, allowing instant connection between different user groups. ** Direct Connect calls currently work only within a region; Telus says it will roll out national service this fall. EXPRESSVU TO ZAP SIGNAL PIRATES: Beginning this fall, Bell ExpressVu will be able to remotely disable receivers that use illegal cards. The cable industry has been critical of the satellite broadcaster for its alleged lack of zeal in combating TV signal piracy. (See Telecom Update #359) CYBERSURF TO OFFER HIGH-SPEED INTERNET: Calgary-based ISP Cybersurf Corp. says it has signed a Third Party Internet Access agreement with Rogers Cable for Greater Toronto, and a wholesale DSL agreement with Bell Canada for Ontario and Quebec. It hopes to launch high-speed service in the Toronto area by September 1. ** Cybersurf's complaint that Shaw has reneged on a Third Party Internet Agreement is now before the CRTC. (See Telecom Update #388) FCI APPEALS WIRE ACCESS RULES: FCI Broadband has asked the CRTC to review and vary Telecom Decision CRTC 2003-45 so that they won't have to post their building access agreements on the Web. FCI says the requirement will reveal all the apartment buildings where FCI has facilities, allowing Bell Canada to direct targeted offers to FCI customers. CRTC REVERSES ORDER ON TELUS CONDUIT FEES: In January 2000, the CRTC told Telus to charge competitors a uniform rate to use its conduit, regardless of the underlying cost to Telus. Following an application by Shaw Communications, the CRTC has reversed this ruling and ordered Telus to reinstate the lower rates for Type B, C, and D conduit previously approved in 1995. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/dt2003-54.htm MICROCELL RECORDS PROFIT, SUBSCRIBER LOSSES: Microcell Telecom had second quarter revenues of $139.7 million, down 4% from the same period last year. Microcell's subscriber total declined 2.5% from the previous quarter; average churn was 3.0%. Net income: $25.2 million. (See Telecom Update #381) FIDO OFFERS FLAT-RATE CALLING AMONG SUBSCRIBERS: Microcell Fido now offers unlimited calling between its customers, in addition to 100 daytime and 1,000 anytime minutes to non-Fido numbers, for $25/month. CPC ACQUIRES PAYPHONE ASSETS: Canada Payphone Corp. has bought 95 payphone sites from Paytel Alberta and is negotiating to buy sites from bankrupt provider Global Access Communications. 360 BUYS UTELCO'S FIBRE: Vancouver-based 360networks has outbid two rivals to buy 38,000 kilometres of fibre and other assets of Touch America, a Montana electrical utility that failed in an attempt to become a telecom provider. Price: US$43 million. CRAIG CHALLENGES LOOK STOCK DEAL: Craig Wireless, which owns just under 30% of Look Communications, has asked a Manitoba court to block a deal that gives Unique Broadband Systems 30% ownership of Look, with an option to take majority control. (See Telecom Update #385) DEFENDING YOURSELF AGAINST AWFUL TELECOM BILLS: In the latest issue of Telemanagement, consultants Henry Dortmans and Mike Dunne explain how to conduct your own telecom bill audit. Also in Telemanagement #207: ** "Succession 3.0: Nortel's Next Generation" ** "Power Line Communications Gets Back on Track" ** "IP-PBX or IP-Centrex?" Telemanagement is available only by subscription. For more information on Canada's #1 source for expert, independent telecom analysis and guidance, call 800-263-4415 ext 500 or go to www.angustel.ca/teleman/tm.html. ============================================================ HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-MAIL: editors@angustel.ca FAX: 905-686-2655 MAIL: TELECOM UPDATE Angus TeleManagement Group 8 Old Kingston Road Ajax, Ontario Canada L1T 2Z7 =========================================================== HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web on the first business day of the week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. =========================================================== COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2003 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail rosita@angustel.ca or phone 905-686-5050 ext 500. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: Alan Burkitt-Gray Subject: Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SM Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 10:39:29 +0100 Lisa Minter wrote: > Well I know that SMS stands for 'Short Message Service', and it > refers to the type of (150 characters or less) messages you can send > to cell phones; such things as a quick reminder or note. ... I do not > know about SMPP. Maybe the SM part stands for Spam Mail. 160 characters, actually, is the maximum. I'm not being critical, Lisa, but it's only from North America that such a comment could be made. SMS might still be a novelty in the US and Canada, but worldwide mobile phone users send more than a billion text (that is, SMS) messages *every day*. According to market research company EMC, usage grew from around 20 billion a month in December 2001 to 30 billion in December 2002, so by now should be around 35-36 billion a month. See http://www.gsmworld.com/news/statistics/index.shtml. It's now 10.30am on a Monday, and I've already received about four today -- and I'm an uncool 52-year-old. SMPP is short message peer to peer, not such a well known abbreviation -- it is, I understand, the protocol for exchanging SMSs between carriers. See http://www.smsforum.net Alan Burkitt-Gray Editor, Global Telecoms Business Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London EC4V 5EX, UK tel +44 20 7779 8518 fax +44 20 7779 8248 e-mail aburkitt@euromoneyplc.com www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com [Lisa Minter note: Well, maybe so, Alan. Do you like typing and chatting with your thumb? The only cell phones I have seen that did not require you to tap the 8 key three with thumb to get a 'V' on the screen is an older model of Ericcson which looks like a Nokia 5100 phone with one important exception. On the battery contacts on the bottom of the Ericcson phone you can attach a little thing they call a 'chat board' which is a very mini full keyboard (full set of alphabet letters and numbers), although very small. So you can type more sensibly (or rather poke and peck) each desired letter and number in a text message. You said there are an estimated 35 billion such messages sent in Europe each month. Are those all spam messages like the ones here in the USA? I've seen no other phone but the Ericcson with that 'chat board' thing, available here in Independence at the Integrity Cingular Wireless dealer. I told Patrick about it, he took his Nokia 5125 phone over there and tried to test the chat board, but the little battery clips on the bottom were just a wee bit out of size, the chat board could not be attached. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 14:16:57 EDT From: Carl Moore Subject: Washington Post: "Wireless Growth Hinders Rescuers" Subtitle "FCC Vows to Fix Radio Interference" Article was in Washington Post today [Lisa Minter note: I am going to print some large excerpts from this article in the next issue of the Digest later today. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ From: H. Peter Anvin Subject: Status of Cell Phone Number Portability Date: 17 Aug 2003 22:04:52 -0700 Organization: Transmeta Corporation, Santa Clara CA Anyone knows what the status is on cell phone number portability? I gather a bunch of carriers have already started charging fees to, ahem, "cover their costs" for this ... -hpa at work, in private! If you send me mail in HTML format I will assume it's spam. "Unix gives you enough rope to shoot yourself in the foot." Architectures needed: ia64 m68k mips64 ppc ppc64 s390 s390x sh v850 x86-64 ------------------------------ From: H. Peter Anvin Subject: Re: Kinko's Spy Case: Risks of Renting PCs Date: 17 Aug 2003 22:14:21 -0700 Organization: Transmeta Corporation, Santa Clara CA Followup to: By author: AES/newspost In newsgroup: comp.dcom.telecom > In article , Phil Earnhardt > wrote: >> When making Internet purchases, I would vastly prefer to have the >> vendor issue a challenge to me and generate the response to validate >> the purpose. > Every once in a while when I make a credit card purchase online or by > phone the vendor will ask for a 4-digit "security number" that's > printed in small type on some of my cards (AmEx in particular). Maybe > that's an example of challenge-response. Anyone know if that number > is encoded in the mag stripe on the card? That is not a challenge/response; in a challenge/response system there would be a number that only makes sense in the context of a particular challenge. It's really just tacking on a few more digits to your account number, that presumably aren't quite as widely spread around. A challenge/response system would be more like this: your credit card has an LCD display and a small keyboard, kind of like those "credit-card pocket calculators" which were the hottest thing about 15 years ago. When you want to buy something, you'd get a number as part of the authorization procedure (the challenge) that you'd type into your credit card, and another number (the response) would show on the LCD display. Next time the challenge would be different, and so would the response be. This is typically implemented in the following way: a) Both sides have a "shared secret", that isn't visible to the untrusted network. In this case, the human user is considered part of the untrusted network. b) The client (credit card) requests authentication. b) The server (cc company) produces a random number, the challenge. c) The client computes: SECURE_HASH(secret, challenge), and relays that, the response, back to the server. e) The server computes SECURE_HASH(secret, challenge) and compares it with the response from the client. If they match, it is safe to assume that the client is in possession of the shared secret and is therefore authentic. -hpa at work, in private! If you send me mail in HTML format I will assume it's spam. "Unix gives you enough rope to shoot yourself in the foot." Architectures needed: ia64 m68k mips64 ppc ppc64 s390 s390x sh v850 x86-64 ------------------------------ From: Ed Clarke Subject: Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise Date: 18 Aug 2003 11:17:15 GMT Organization: Ciliophora Associates, Inc. Reply-To: clarke@cilia.org In article , Scott A Crosby wrote: > On Fri, 15 Aug 2003 15:54:51 GMT, Jay R. Ashworth > writes: >> Stanley settled back into the couch, and Tom Betz >> said to him: >>>> http://www.msnbc.com/news/940490.asp >>> Unlike most of what passes for journalism these days, this series >>> (part 4 is now available) is superbly-researched and written, and >>> should be required reading for anyone who asks the question, >>> "What's the deal with spam? It ain't so bad." >>> It is that bad, and those who engage in it are worse; and this >>> series is spelling out the how and why of it. >> And this paper: >> http://www.martiansoftware.com/articles/spammerpain.html has some >> *very* cogent suggestions as to how to fix it. I can't imagine that >> if the top 20 ISP's implemented something like this on their inbound >> MX servers, that the problem wouldn't go away within 3 months. [snip] > I'd say it'd take a competent programmer under a month to write such a > mass-mail program. And as a bonus, it can be intelligent enough to > look at error-codes and resend on temp-fail; to bypass that other > trick that I've been hearing about. > Thus, it seems to me that connection tarpitting is at most a very > temporary solution. Correct, but the solution has already been written. Search for "Formfucker". Basicly it's a web based spam gizmo that poisons the databases of the spammers. The program analyzes the web page and fills out the forms with realistic but totally false information. The result of this is that the ORIGINAL mainline company pays out their $20 per good lead to the spammer chain -- and gets trash in return. This financial negative feedback generates lots of anger between the spammers and the companies that employ them. And as Martha would say, "That's a good thing ...". I believe this program is normally used on the mortgage refinance spammers right now. It's often discussed -- pro and con -- in news.admin.net-abuse.email. Pro -- it hurts the money man. Con -- it is abuse itself. ------------------------------ From: robert@caliper.com (Robert Freimer) Subject: Re: Telecom and the USA/CAN Power Disruption Date: 18 Aug 2003 06:17:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Bell Canada had some kind of extended outage around Toronto last Friday due to the power failure. My colleague in a Toronto suburb had no POTS, but could call me using our VOIP extension over his Primus DSL to our Massachusetts PBX. ------------------------------ From: Pete Subject: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 15:01:17 -0400 I just got a quote back from a vendor , with really good pricing a new NEC phone system. I have two options which is keep our Norstar system and just upgrade or get a new NEC phone system for the same price. The main difference on the features is that the NEC will support *whisper page* out of the box. What's your opinion on the NEC PBX systems? This is for their IPK handset. My current system is a Norstar System. ------------------------------ From: Eworldwire Subject: Broadband National Announces Vinny Olmstead As New President Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 15:35:30 -0400 ATTN: TELECOM EDITORS AND WRITERS Broadband National Announces Vinny Olmstead As New President And CFO Friday, August 15, VERO BEACH, FL --- Broadband National announced today that Vinny Olmstead, a well-respected telecommunications executive, has accepted the position of President and CFO of the two-year old company. VERO BEACH, Fla./EWORLDWIRE/Aug. 18, 2003 --- Broadband National today announced that Vinny Olmstead, a well-respected telecommunications executive, has accepted the position of President and CFO of the two-year old company. As Broadband National's President, Olmstead will utilize his experience to guide the company through its next phase of growth. "This is an excellent opportunity to accelerate a scalable business model that has been underexposed. The model is built upon high-margin services, and a base of customers that generate monthly recurring revenue for multiple years." Broadband National provides telecom services nationally, and is the first company to aggregate both service coverage and pricing for more than 30 telecom providers. Broadband National has more than 3,000 customers that have utilized their services. "We are thrilled to have an executive with Vinny's experience join the Broadband National team," said AJ Koontz, Founder and Board Member. "He brings a wealth of industry, M & A, and finance experience that will drive our business." Most recently, Olmstead was Senior Vice-President of Corporate Development for GlobeNet Communications, an international telecom provider with operations in the United States, Venezuela, Brazil and Bermuda. Olmstead facilitated the successful sale of GlobeNet to Brazil Telecom. Prior to GlobeNet he was Senior Director of Corporate Development for 360networks, a global telecom provider. He also held the position of partner with the international consulting firm William M. Mercer. Olmstead earned his MBA at the University of Florida, and a degree in accounting from Flagler College. About Broadband National Broadband National is the leading aggregator of broadband services leveraging its contracts with more than 28 local, regional and national telecom companies to sell telecom services. Broadband National focuses on the small and medium markets and has executed on a marketing strategy that generates more than 25,000 monthly requests for broadband services monthly. Broadband national also licenses its proprietary qualification data-base to corporations and associations that have offices and members in multiple locations. HTML: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/wr/081803/1616.htm PDF: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/pdf/081803/1616.pdf ONLINE NEWSROOM: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/1651.htm LOGO: http://newsroom.eworldwire.com/1651.htm CONTACT: Teresa Devine RAC Holding, Inc. 1054 20th Place Vero Beach , FL 32960 PHONE. 772-564-9871 EMAIL: teresa@broadbandnational.com http://www.broadbandnational.com Copyright 2003 Eworldwire, All rights reserved. Press Relase Distribution By EWORLDWIRE http://www.eworldwire.com (973)252-6800. ------------------------------ From: jakeemail@yahoo.com (Jake Arnold) Subject: Answering Machine With a USB Port Date: 18 Aug 2003 13:05:41 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ I'm looking for a Cordless Phone/Answering Machine that allows the voice messages to be downloaded to my computer. Anyone know of such a beast? Jake Arnold ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-330-6774 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 775-306-8390 Fax 3: 775-642-0603 Fax 4: 530-309-7234 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org 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 second oldest e-zine/ mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) Email <==> FTP: telecom-archives@telecom-digest.org Send a simple, one line note to that automated address for a help file on how to use the automatic retrieval system for archives files. You can get desired files in email. ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2003 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. In addition, gifts from Mike Sandman, Chicago's Telecom Expert have enabled me to replace some obsolete computer equipment and enter the 21st century sort of on schedule. His mail order telephone parts/supplies service based in the Chicago area has been widely recognized by Digest readers as a reliable and very inexpensive source of telecom-related equipment. Please request a free catalog today at http://www.sandman.com --------------------------------------------------------------- A new sponsor for the Digest is Teledeal. They offer Directory Assistance (411) Savings. TeleDeal Inc. specializes in helping businesses and organizations save over 80% on live operator directory assistance calls. Rates are as low as $.27/411 call. TeleDeal also offers a premium real-time 411 Internet database service. Visit http://www.1800teledeal.com or call 1-800-TELEDEAL The Directory Assistance Experts * We Know 411 TeleDeal Inc. George Jones, President ---------------------------------------------------------------- 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 twenty 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 TELECOM Digest V22 #615 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Aug 18 19:38:57 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7INcvr03272; Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:38:57 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:38:57 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308182338.h7INcvr03272@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #616 TELECOM Digest Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:39:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 616 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Cellular/Nextel Interference Hinders Rescuers (Nick Ruark) The Push-To-Talk Push (Eric Friedebach) Two Cities Lose Communications in Outage (Monty Solomon) Blackout Challenges Online Travel Industry (Monty Solomon) Start-Up Plans to Introduce Alternate Wi-Fi Technology (Monty Solomon) Carriers May Profit From Cellphone Switching Fees (Monty Solomon) The Bits Are Willing, but the Batteries Are Weak (Monty Solomon) Wi-Fi For Home Security (Monty Solomon) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Nick Ruark Subject: Cellular/Nextel Interference Hinders Rescuers Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 22:02:22 -0700 For additional information on this major problem, visit http://www.consensusplan.org For Comments from all areas of the industry to the FCC on the issue, visit: http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi Type 02-55 into the "Proceedings" box, then click on "Retrieve Document List" at the bottom of the page. Wireless Growth Hinders Rescuers FCC Vows to Fix Radio Interference By Christian Davenport Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, August 18, 2003; Page A01 The explosive growth of the mobile phone industry has crowded and tangled the nation's airwaves to such an extent that wireless company signals are increasingly interfering with emergency radio frequencies used by police and firefighters, public safety agencies said. Emergency departments across the country -- including some in the District, Maryland and Virginia -- report unsettling stories of officers who can't call for backup, dispatchers who can't relay suspect descriptions and firefighters who can't request ambulances because of radio "dead spots" believed to be caused by wireless phone interference. "Just by the grace of God or good luck, we've been able to avoid a major problem," said Gary Manougian, a police officer in Portland, Ore. "But I don't think we can go on like this indefinitely." The Federal Communications Commission has vowed to find a solution, even if it has to reorganize a large swath of the radio spectrum -- a massive and controversial task, potentially costing hundreds of millions of dollars and taking years to complete, industry officials said. FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell said in a speech last week that "it is one of my top priorities ... to ensure that public safety has the reliable spectrum resources it needs to do its lifesaving work." He warned that solving the problem "may be one of the most challenging spectrum policy proceedings" to come before the agency. No death or catastrophe has been attributed to such communication problems, said Robert Gurss, director of legal and government relations for the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International, a nonprofit organization representing emergency communication officials. But dozens of agencies large and small -- from New York City to Androscoggin County, Maine -- have registered complaints, and one public safety coalition estimates that interference is a problem in at least 27 states. The issue has its roots in the 1970s, well before the popularity of mobile phones, when the FCC assigned channels in the 800 megahertz band to public safety departments. In the 1980s, wireless companies began to acquire, with federal approval, space adjacent to the emergency radio frequencies. Soon, the wireless phone industry started to grow. Last year, there were an estimated 140 million wireless phone subscribers, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association said. An increasing number of public safety agencies moved into the 800 megahertz band as well, and as the agencies and wireless companies occupied more spectrum space, airwave conflicts intensified. Communication officials said many factors cause interference. A common problem arises when a police officer, for example, is close to a wireless phone company transmitter but far from a tower that carries the signals for emergency radios. In that situation, the wireless phone tower overpowers the officer's radio, rendering it useless, the officials said. To solve the problem, the FCC is considering reshuffling channels in the 800 megahertz band. The idea is to separate the wireless companies from the public safety departments, so they inhabit different ends of the band. None of the companies is doing anything wrong, FCC officials said. As organized, the spectrum, which is a limited resource, simply can't accommodate everyone. There are several wireless companies operating in the 800 megahertz band, including Verizon, AT&T Wireless and Cingular, the FCC said. Most of the complaints that the agency has received have been caused by Reston-based Nextel Communications Inc. because many of its band frequencies abut those of emergency radios. Mindful of the mounting pressure, Nextel has teamed with a broad coalition of partners -- including the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International and the International Association of Chiefs of Police -- to develop a proposal to reorganize the spectrum, which, if approved, would give Nextel some prime real estate in the airwaves. Nextel also has offered to pay $850 million for the cost associated with reshuffling the channels if its plan is adopted. The company's proposal is just one of many the FCC is reviewing. Many communication experts said that a complete reorganization of the spectrum is unnecessary, too expensive and too time-consuming. Meanwhile, public safety officials said the situation is urgent. "If we don't fix this now, it's only going to get worse," Gurss said. Anne Arundel County police officer Patrick A. Fisher said he ran into the problem one day this spring. The call from his partner that came over the radio was crackled and fuzzy, and Fisher could make out only two words: "start ... fire." Fisher sensed a tone of urgency in the other officer's voice and rushed to the street he knew his colleague was patrolling. When he arrived, he saw the other officer futilely fighting a house fire with a garden hose. Fisher reached for his radio, but its reception was too weak until he drove a few blocks away. Finally, firefighters arrived. "If it was another couple of minutes," Fisher said, "the whole side of the house would have been gone." About two years ago, police officers in Portland were chasing a man after a carjacking attempt when their radios went dead. The man ran through a suburban area, then hid in the woods. About a dozen officers dropped into formation around him. "We were trying to set up a perimeter, but our radios wouldn't work," Manougian said. Some officers had to run into nearby homes to call in information to the dispatcher. Denver has identified at least 24 dead spots in its communications system, and the police officers know where they are, said Dana Hansen, superintendent of communications for the city's police department. It's particularly troubling, she said, that many of the dead spots happen to be at major intersections where many traffic accidents occur. When Fairfax County first purchased an 800 megahertz radio system, it had interference problems, said Mernie Fitzgerald, a county spokeswoman. Nextel and Cingular agreed to reconfigure their systems in the county, and they were able to solve the problem, she said. "We haven't had any problems in the last two years," she said. Montgomery County recently spent $175 million on a communications system that includes an 800 megahertz radio network. The county took care to ensure there wouldn't be any interference problems, said Lt. Dallas Lipp of the county fire and rescue department. The county's system is on a different part of the spectrum than local wireless phone networks, he said, so its system is less susceptible to problems. "But we're always monitoring how our system is performing," Lipp said. The District filed an interference complaint last spring with the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International. Now, having been awarded a $40 million grant from the federal government, the city plans to build seven transmitters and receivers to strengthen its radio system's signal. Anne Arundel County plans to spend $15 million over five years to build more towers and to update its equipment. And last year, county officials passed a zoning law that required wireless companies to certify that their signals would not interfere with the county's radio system. Cingular asked the FCC to strike down the ordinance. Last month, the commission did so, saying that the county was trying to regulate the airwaves through its zoning code. The county, which has appealed the FCC's decision, has worked with the companies to reduce the interference. The effort appears to be working: The number of known dead spots has dropped from more than 60 to about 20, county officials said. Still, they said, 20 is too many. Meantime, Fisher said many colleagues on the Anne Arundel County police force have found their own solution: They carry cell phones in case their radios go dead. 2003 The Washington Post Company Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A7270-2003Aug17?language=printer Forwarded from the Private Wireless Forum for Mobile Communication Professionals http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivateWirelessForum *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ From: Eric Friedebach Subject: The Push-To-Talk Push Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 17:07:06 -0500 Organization: Purity Of Essence/Plant Operational Error Reply-To: Eric Friedebach Arik Hesseldahl, 08.18.03, Forbes.com NEW YORK - In compiling a list of the weirdest and least-remembered of the technology fads of the 1970s, the CB radio would have to be near the top. Well before the public discourse among arbiters of what's cool on the fashion merits of the so-called trucker hat, motorists around the U.S. experienced a brief but intense fascination with truckers and trucker culture. In the mid-1970s this mini-mania was kicked off in part by a TV advertising campaign pushing a brand of bread and centering on a fictitious trucker named C.W. McCall. The campaign culminated in the release of a few records, many composed by Chip Davis, who later gained fame as the founder of the instrumental group Mannheim Steamroller. The most successful of the trucker tunes was "Convoy," released in 1976. It opens with a few lines of CB lingo: "Ah, breaker one-nine, this here's the Rubber Duck. You gotta copy on me, Pig Pen, c'mon? ... Yeah, that's a big 10-4 there, Pig Pen." In those days, the must-have gadget of the trucker craze was the CB radio, the method by which truckers kept in touch and warned each other of lurking "Smokies," or police officers, setting speed traps. In the years before the popularization of mobile phones, some motorists rationalized that a CB radio would be good to have in the car for emergencies. They bought CB radio sets in droves, learned a spatter of the lingo and imitated The Dukes of Hazard from Friday-night TV, while their kids learned it from the CB Bears cartoon on Saturday morning. By the mid-1980s, the CB-trucker craze had faded like disco into an obscure cultural curiosity. And unlike disco, it has, thankfully, not yet seen a nostalgic revival. If that takes you back just a bit, then perhaps you're ready for "push-to-talk," which appears to be the craze of the moment among wireless service providers eager to attract business users and increase the amount of airtime they use each month. For years push-to talk has been a function available from Nextel, the wireless-service provider best known for catering to businesses where instant communication is useful. Nextel's phones include a feature it calls Direct Connect, which lets users push a button, like the CB radios of the '70s, and talk instantly walkie-talkie style with selected users who have similar phones. http://www.forbes.com/2003/08/18/cx_ah_0818tentech.html Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:46:11 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Two Cities Lose Communications in Outage By LUKAS I. ALPERT Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- The blackout disrupted emergency dispatch systems in two major cities, leaving 911 operators in Detroit hand-writing notes to distribute to police officers on the streets and cutting communications between New York dispatchers and personnel for spans as long as 14 minutes, officials acknowledged Sunday. The three extended New York disruptions _ of 14, 11 and 7 minutes _ did not affect incoming 911 calls from the public, but they cut off normal communication between dispatchers and emergency personnel on the street, said fire department spokesman Mike Loughran. Loughran said the fire department, which dispatches emergency services, has a backup system that could relay calls directly over hand-held radios if necessary. Residents in Detroit could also make emergency 911 calls during the two-hour computer failure, but the computer-assisted dispatch system normally used by operators to record the calls and dispatch the appropriate responders was down, said Jamaine Dickens, a spokesman for Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. The Detroit operators were left to write out the details of the calls on paper and distribute the information by hand to police, fire and emergency medical service dispatchers, but there appeared to be little impact on the response, Dickens said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35310338 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:59:46 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Blackout Challenges Online Travel Industry Blackout Challenges Online Travel Industry By SUSAN STELLIN LAST week's blackout posed challenges to many businesses. But it hit the online travel industry when the companies were already grappling with the challenge of cultivating customer loyalty. The power failure in parts of eight states and Canada raised a pressing issue for travelers: how to know when they would be able to fly. Typically, the online travel agencies and the airlines use their Web sites and wireless technology to disseminate information about cancellations and delays. During the blackout, the airlines and the three major online agencies - Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity - posted notices on their sites, advising customers to check the status of their flights, which in most cases could also be done online. Most companies also allow customers to sign up to receive flight status updates and alerts about delays sent by e-mail service or text message to a wireless device. Such services can be helpful dealing with weather-related delays. But during the blackout, the status reports were not useful to customers with limited cellphone service or no electricity for getting online. And when it comes to rebooking flights, passengers usually wind up needing to speak to an agent, either by phone or at the airport. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/18/technology/18ECOM.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 00:04:02 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Start-Up Plans to Introduce Alternate Wi-Fi Technology By JOHN MARKOFF PALO ALTO, Calif., Aug. 17 - Airgo Networks, a heavily financed Silicon Valley start-up, plans on Monday to introduce an alternative to the popular Wi-Fi wireless data standard for connecting to the Internet, capable of doubling Wi-Fi's already high speed and extending its range. Airgo's technology is just one example, industry executives said, of the continued emergence of new companies, undercutting recent fears that wireless technology innovation is slowing and is in danger of being dominated by a few large established concerns. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/18/technology/18WIFI.html [Lisa Minter note: For readers of NY Times, we offer a group login name 'telecomdigest' and group password 'telecomdigest' for your convenience in reading NY Times privatly. Lisa M.] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 00:25:35 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Carriers May Profit From Cellphone Switching Fees By Bruce Meyerson, Associated Press, 8/17/2003 NEW YORK -- Some cellphone companies appear poised to profit off a new fee that covers the cost of enabling customers to switch wireless services without giving up their phone numbers. The fee, permitted by the government, is already being levied by four national carriers and is generally less than $1 per month. But that adds up quickly when multiplied across the millions of subscribers each carrier serves. And in certain cases, the money being collected appears to exceed the actual cost of meeting a November deadline set by the Federal Communications Commission for "number portability" -- which will let people keep their cell numbers when switching wireless providers. Sprint PCS, for example, has about 17.9 million customers who began paying an additional 63 cents per month in July, generating $11.3 million per month for "cost recovery." Over the course of a year, Sprint's fee would bring in about $135 million at current subscriber levels -- though that amount likely will be even higher since Sprint and other carriers are signing up hundreds of thousands of new customers per quarter. Sprint refused to quantify its expense for enabling number portability beyond a rough estimate of "hundreds of millions of dollars" -- an amount several times larger than more specific estimates disclosed by rivals Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless. Similarly, Nextel Communications says it has spent about twice the costs estimated by Verizon and Cingular. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2003/08/17/carriers_may_profit_from_cellphone_switching_fees ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2003 23:29:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Bits Are Willing, but the Batteries Are Weak By AMY HARMON For many Internet addicts, the blackout last week was a rude reminder of just how decisively the vaunted 21st-century digital lifestyle can be laid low by a disruption in 19th-century electrons. While hardly enjoyable, being severed from the usual sources of food, water and transportation has occurred in previous power failures. But losing access to the digitized information that permeates our lives - from work-related records to Google searches to e-mail love letters - punctured a cherished illusion of the cyberage: that cyberspace is a separate universe, immune from real-world physics. Digital bits are often portrayed as a parallel world. If we do not need bodies to communicate or bookstores to buy books, the intuition beckons, why would we need something as mundane as power cords? But under cover of blackout, the digital world revealed itself as very much in electricity's thrall. Surely, it should have been obvious: personal computers do not work when they are not plugged in. Laptops and MP3 players require batteries, as in charged. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/18/technology/18DIGI.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2003 03:50:31 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wi-Fi For Home Security Ten O'Clock Tech Arik Hesseldahl ,08.13.03, 10:00 AM ET NEW YORK - If you've resisted the siren's call to install your own wireless home network using Wi-Fi, the call is starting to get more difficult to resist all the time. Sure, it's easy and it adds convenience for making broadband Internet access readily available all over your home. And when you have a notebook with a Wi-Fi card or with integrated Wi-Fi support, there's an ever-growing number of Wi-Fi hotspots that make remote Web access a snap. But if roaming around the house with a Web-ready untethered notebook isn't enough to get you interested in Wi-Fi, perhaps home or office security will. In the last few months the latest twist on the Wi-Fi phenomenon has been a combination of Web conferencing and security. Remember the Web cam? It's gone Wi-Fi, and it has a new security-oriented mission. D-Link , the privately held home-networking concern, earlier this year announced the DCS-2100, which it's billing as a security camera. It connects directly to Wi-Fi networks anywhere the network's signal can reach, taking pictures that are easily viewable from a Web browser anywhere. http://www.forbes.com/2003/08/13/cx_ah_0813tentech.html ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #616 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Aug 19 19:06:26 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7JN6QJ10295; Tue, 19 Aug 2003 19:06:26 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 19:06:26 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308192306.h7JN6QJ10295@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #617 TELECOM Digest Tue, 19 Aug 2003 19:06:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 617 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter SMS and Text Input (John R. Levine) Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SM (Alan Burkitt-Gray) Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems (Dave Phelps) Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems (Dan Reagan) Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems (A Beilby) Re: The Push-To-Talk Push (Garrett Wollman) Re: Kinko's Spy Case: Risks of Renting PCs (Scott A Crosby) Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House ('nuther Bob) Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise ('nuther Bob) Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? (J Kelly) Re: Broadband Availability After Massive Power Outage? (joe@obilivan) Five Wireless Innovators (Monty Solomon) RFID Tracks Video and DVD Rentals (Monty Solomon) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: johnl@iecc.com (John R. Levine) Subject: SMS and Text Input Date: 18 Aug 2003 23:23:03 -0400 Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > [Lisa Minter note: Well, maybe so, Alan. Do you like typing and > chatting with your thumb? The only cell phones I have seen that > did not require you to tap the 8 key three with thumb to get a > 'V' on the screen is an older model of Ericcson which looks like > a Nokia 5100 phone with one important exception. I think you'll find that most current phones have predictive text input. I know my Nokia 5165 did, and my 6340i does. You press one key per letter, it figures out what's the most common word in its dictionary which matches the keys you've typed, and when it guesses wrong you can cycle through other possible words and if need be enter new words in three-tap mode. I find that it guesses right almost every time unless I'm typing a name or a non-telecom jargon word. Their dictionary is remarkably complete and even includes some words not suitable for a family-oriented publication like this one. It's no substitute for a laptop, but for composing those under 160 character SMS messages, it's remarkably usable even though I have big fat fingers. On the 6340i it also has a bunch of boilerplate messages you can customize, e.g. "In a meeting, will be back at" to which you just type the time and send it. When I'm travelling, I have my Orbitz profile set up to send me flight updates by SMS, and it works great. When I'm on my Cingular home system, messages are delivered in a few seconds, but when I'm away from my home system it can take a while for messages to catch up with me. They usually do, even when roaming on AT&T, but it can take half an hour. On my last trip to Chicago, I changed planes in Pittsburgh, and after we got on the plane, we taxied out to the end of the runway, then went to a remote corner of the airport, parked, and the pilot came on and said that there was a ground stop due to Chicago weather, we'd be there for a while, and if we wanted to use our phones while parked it'd be OK. So I turned on the phone, and up popped up an SMS message from Orbitz telling me that there was a 1 hr ground stop in Chicago. They'd sent it before I got on the plane, but the message didn't make it to Pittsburgh in time. Darn. If experience with voice roaming is any guide, once people start to care about SMS roaming, they'll make it work. Regards, John Levine johnl@iecc.com Primary Perpetrator: "The Internet for Dummies", Information Superhighwayman wanna-be http://iecc.com/johnl "A book is a sneeze." - E.B. White, on the writing of Charlotte's Web ------------------------------ From: Alan Burkitt-Gray Subject: Re: Looking For Program For Sending Bulk SMS via SM Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 10:37:39 +0100 Lisa Minter wrote: > Well, maybe so, Alan. Do you like typing and chatting with your > thumb? The only cell phones I have seen that did not require you to > tap the 8 key three with thumb to get a 'V' on the screen is an older > model of Ericcson which looks like a Nokia 5100 phone with one > important exception. Most GSM phones in the rest of the world, I don't know about North America, have predictive texting. Hit 8398 and the phone will offer you the word "text"; hit 74663 and it will offer "phone". Works most times (2255 could be both "call" and "ball"). From observation, most users don't bother with clip-on keyboards -- an average text message is four or five words (few people ever get to the 160-character limit) -- so a few seconds with the phone keypad is all that's needed. > You said there are an estimated 35 billion such messages sent in > Europe each month. No, Lisa, the world. Including North America. > Are those all spam messages like the ones here in the USA? Almost no spam from what I can see. The US seems to be the world's main spam factory, and as email costs the same -- that is, nothing -- wherever it's going we're just as subject to US-originated email spam as you are (and I don't need a low-rate US mortgage or any of the other services on offer). However any internationally addressed SMS spam would start with a non-US country code, which means even the spammers can filter it out. About twice in the last couple of years I've had a text message asking me to call a high-toll number, the idea being that the owner of the number shares some of the revenue. I've just deleted the message but I've seen from reports that the regulator has stamped very hard on the operator of such scams. Alan Burkitt-Gray Editor, Global Telecoms Business Euromoney Institutional Investor plc, Nestor House, Playhouse Yard, London EC4V 5EX, UK tel +44 20 7779 8518 fax +44 20 7779 8248 e-mail aburkitt@euromoneyplc.com Global Telecoms Business www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com is publishing its special OSS supplement and daily conference bulletins at TeleManagement World (www.tmforum.org), Dallas, Texas, on November 10-13 2003. ------------------------------ From: Dave Phelps Subject: Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:25:50 -0500 Organization: www.tippenring.com In article , Pete@Spamfree.com says: > I just got a quote back from a vendor , with really good pricing > a new NEC phone system. > I have two options which is keep our Norstar system and just upgrade > or get a new NEC phone system for the same price. > The main difference on the features is that the NEC will support > *whisper page* out of the box. > What's your opinion on the NEC PBX systems? This is for their IPK > handset. > My current system is a Norstar System. What is whisper page exactly? Is it the same as voicecall on the Norstar? IMHO, the NEC phone sets (at least the DTERM 3's) really didn't hold up well. You can't beat the Norstar for reliability. I can't believe that the NEC plus all new phone sets beat the Norstar upgrade, which of course allows you to keep all of your existing phone sets. As a side note, Mitel has a *great* idea in that they've apparently built a digital line card that supports Norstar phones. What a great way to grab market share. Dave Phelps DD Networks www.ddnets.com deadspam=tippenring ------------------------------ From: googleaccount@vose.org (Dan Reagan) Subject: Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems Date: 19 Aug 2003 08:28:35 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Pete wrote in message news:: > I just got a quote back from a vendor , with really good pricing > a new NEC phone system. > I have two options which is keep our Norstar system and just upgrade > or get a new NEC phone system for the same price. > The main difference on the features is that the NEC will support > *whisper page* out of the box. > What's your opinion on the NEC PBX systems? This is for their IPK > handset. > My current system is a Norstar System. We've had an NEC PBX (2000 IVS and later a 2000 IVS2) since about '97. Whisper page has been a tremendous pain in the butt for us. We had serious problems when initially implementing it and then during an 'upgrade' where we moved to a Unity VM system the problems became considerably uglier. All subsequent information is based on what I'm told by my VAR so please take it with a grain or two of salt but I believe it to be correct. The whisper page feature requires that the calling phone hit a busy signal in order to activate the feature. This means that normal internal call forward to voice mail on a busy signal doesn't work. It also means that in order to have an unsupervised transfer from the voice mail to extensions on an incoming call we needed to set up 'split' call forwarding. This means that we have a completely different set of forwarding info for each extension depending on whether the call is coming from an external trunk or an internal extension. This is both a pain to maintain and makes it a major pain when an agent wants to forward all calls directly to voice mail. We also had a problem with whisper page volume. For a while the calling party who should not have been able to hear the whisper page could in fact hear it at a very low volume. It was disconcerting at the best and depending on what was said downright dangerous. This was fixed ultimately but required a tech to call NEC about five times and took the better part of a couple of months to resolve. Anyway, my opinion is that whisper page isn't worth a darn unless it has been heavily massaged in newer software releases or our VAR has no clue and isn't setting it up properly for us. Dan ------------------------------ From: beilby@cuic.ca (A Beilby) Subject: Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems Date: 19 Aug 2003 11:09:56 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Pete wrote in message news:: > I just got a quote back from a vendor , with really good pricing > a new NEC phone system. > I have two options which is keep our Norstar system and just upgrade > or get a new NEC phone system for the same price. > The main difference on the features is that the NEC will support > *whisper page* out of the box. > What's your opinion on the NEC PBX systems? This is for their IPK > handset. > My current system is a Norstar System. Nortel is a lot easier to get parts for, and you can get refurb pretty cheap, but I've enjoyed the NEC Elite and even have an NEC PBX, and like the general phone layout better. There is not much difference, but a few features I appreciated of the NEC are: - intelligent 911 line seizing (drops a voice line to make room when 911 is dialled). - the voicecall feature (using the external speaker of a phone set by taking a phone "off hook" remotely) can be used to dial into the computer room to listen for alarms. - you can easily label NEC phones with one print job, without having to tear and stick every Norstar button. - you do not need to upgrade software as often as Nortel systems. The major problem I do have using NEC PBX is having to untrain die-hard Meridian users (especially when people have used it for voicemail), as the option keys are quite different! Also NEC is not compatible with all third party call centre CTI applications, and there is not much "basic level" ACD capabilities. Alex Beilby ------------------------------ From: wollman@lcs.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: The Push-To-Talk Push Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 00:43:05 UTC Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science In article , Eric Friedebach wrote: > For years push-to talk has been a function available from Nextel, the > wireless-service provider best known for catering to businesses where > instant communication is useful. It's worth keeping in mind that Nextel have to offer this service because it's a condition of their license. Legally, Nextel are not a cellular or PCS operator, they are a two-way operator, so they had to offer walkie-talkie service. Nextel bought in to Motorola's iDEN technology when it bought all of Motorola's two-way licenses back in 1994 (not long after the iDEN technology was introduced, and before it was even called that). -- Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@lcs.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those of| search for greater freedom. MIT, LCS, CRS, or NSA| - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. ___ (2003) ------------------------------ From: Scott A Crosby Subject: Re: Kinko's Spy Case: Risks of Renting PCs Date: 18 Aug 2003 18:36:23 -0500 Organization: Rice University On 17 Aug 2003 22:14:21 -0700, H. Peter Anvin writes: >> Every once in a while when I make a credit card purchase online or by >> phone the vendor will ask for a 4-digit "security number" that's >> printed in small type on some of my cards (AmEx in particular). Maybe >> that's an example of challenge-response. Anyone know if that number >> is encoded in the mag stripe on the card? Thats called the CVV2 code. It is intended for card-not-present transactions. Its also known as 'CVC' (Credit Verification Code). http://usa.visa.com/business/merchants/fraud_basics_cardnotpresent.html To protect CVV2 data from being compromised, Visa U.S.A. Inc. Operating Regulations prohibit merchants from keeping or storing CVV2 numbers once a transaction has been completed. For more examples of them, see some merchant sites: https://www.airberlin.de/site/cvc_info.php?LANG=eng&st=card http://www.ppower.com/cc_verif_code.htm > That is not a challenge/response; in a challenge/response system there > would be a number that only makes sense in the context of a particular > challenge. > It's really just tacking on a few more digits to your account number, > that presumably aren't quite as widely spread around. Yup. [ Good description of a challenge-responsee scheme snipped ] The problem with this scheme is that its not doable without a computer. How does one implement it in practice? Most likely, either a merchant would just ask for the secret and do all the messy computation. Or, the next worm that goes around will snarf the secret. Perhaps a more practical solution would be to have one-time-use passwords -- with each statement you get a list of 50 passwords. Or do what one CC vendor does. One-time-use CC numbers. The catch is that there's a tradeoff between convenience and security. The vendors want to offer maximum convenience under an acceptable level of fraud. http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/4230.html Scott ------------------------------ From: 'nuther Bob Subject: Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:14:20 GMT On Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:30:22 -0700, Group Special Mobile wrote: > A. Top posters. > Q. What is the most annoying thing on Usenet? A. Because it destroys the natural flow of conversation. Q. What's wrong with top posting ? ------------------------------ From: 'nuther Bob Subject: Re: Who Profits From Spam? Surprise Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 01:17:01 GMT On 18 Aug 2003 11:17:15 GMT, Ed Clarke wrote: > Con -- it is abuse itself. Yes, but under proposed House Bill #HR-whatever that never actually passed and became a law but which we reference anyway, it's perfectly legal. :-) Bob ------------------------------ From: J Kelly Subject: Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? Date: 18 Aug 2003 19:33:56 -0700 Organization: Newsguy News Service [http://newsguy.com] In article , Dave Phelps says: > I'm curious why any questions from the media and public were *ever* > directed at the government about this whole blackout issue. There are > very few people in government that are knowledgable about power > distribution, and the press certainly didn't find any. Why does anyone > think the President knows anything about the power distribution > system? Why weren't the utilities asked the hard questions; after all, > it's their responsibility and problem, not the government's. That would require the reporters to actually think, something most are not equiped to do since it seems to be a requirement that to be a "journalist" you must have an IQ below room temperature. Simply asking a government official gives the appearance that the press knows what they are doing when, in fact, they haven't a clue as to how to report things. During a tornado here a few weeks ago, a local tv "journalist" actually asked the emergency manager if the fire department was able to do their job when the electricity in town was out. He responded that they don't need power to fight a fire, and besides, they have these nifty machines called generators at the fire station. ------------------------------ From: joe@obilivan.net Subject: Re: Broadband Availability After Massive Power Outage? Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 05:06:18 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications A.R. White wrote: > and tested. Get a ham license, equipment for packet radio, an > inverter, and a shelf of 12V batteries. Maybe solar panels and/or a > Honda generator to recharge the batteries. > A. R. White > nomdenet@pacbell.net I'd add to the list to shed myself of Pacbell.net as my ISP. ;-) BTW, a lot of modern wireline phones continue to work after the power goes out. They just loose some of their features. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 09:10:09 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Five Wireless Innovators In this fifth annual E-Gang survey, profiling unsung heroes of high tech, we look at five people helping foster the next phase of the wireless revolution. Introduction: The Wonderful World Of Wirelessness Guenter Weinberger: Overcoming Incompatible Standards Stephen Tang: Tiny Fuel Cell Batteries Edmond Thomas: Freeing The Spectrum Mei Chuah: Building Virtual Worlds Kris Pister: Networks From Dust-Sized Sensors - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35326249 ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: RFID Tracks Video and DVD Rentals Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 18:10:24 -0400 RFID Tracks Video and DVD Rentals TVL and Matrics have created an integrated system that uses RFID tags to track rental inventory. Aug. 19, 2003 - Many companies that rent videos, DVDs and computer games struggle to track their inventory. Movies are often picked up by customers and put back in the wrong place, and thieves find ways to spirit coveted titles out of stores. TVL, a software application development company that focuses on asset tracking, has integrated RFID technology from Matrics, a Columbia, M.D.-based systems provider, with its own Rapid Rental software to help solve both problems. The system, which TVL demonstrated at an industry trade show held in Las Vegas last week, is comprised of the Rapid Rental software, RFID tags on the items to be tracked, and RFID readers situated in the store shelves, above the return bins and at the exits. Two-inch by two-inch Matrics tags, which operate at 915 MHz and are based on the Auto-ID Center's proposed Class 0 Electronic Product Code specification, are inserted under the factory label on the disc or videocassette. The unique serial number on the tag is associated with the rental title in the Rapid Rental software. The system keeps track of each title's position on the shelf. If someone picks up the item and continues shopping, its status is changed to "roaming." When the person checks out, the system is updated so that when the customer passes the exit reader, no alarm sounds. When the title is tossed into the return bin, a reader scans the tag, and the item is automatically checked back into inventory so it can be rented again immediately. http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/540/1/1/ ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, and other forums. It is also gatewayed 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 Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. 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End of TELECOM Digest V22 #617 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Aug 20 13:08:54 2003 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id h7KH8rn16737; Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:08:54 -0400 (EDT) Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:08:54 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200308201708.h7KH8rn16737@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V22 #618 TELECOM Digest Wed, 20 Aug 2003 13:09:00 EDT Volume 22 : Issue 618 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson and: Lisa Minter Tons of Viruses in Mail Today (TELECOM Digest Editor) Five Wireless Innovators (Monty Solomon) RFID Tracks Video and DVD Rentals (Monty Solomon) Dobson Communications Completes Acquisition Of American Cell (M Solomon) FCC OKs Video for AOL Instant Messaging (Monty Solomon) EchoStar Could Bid $1.45 bln for Loral Assets (Monty Solomon) Spain's Terra Lycos to Offer Disney High-Speed Web (Monty Solomon) Internet Search Companies Could Face Fight on Ads (Monty Solomon) Slammer Worm Crashed Ohio Nuke Plant Network (Monty Solomon) Appeal in Bug Disclosure Case (Monty Solomon) Privacy Advocates Call for RFID Regulation (Monty Solomon) Financial Privacy Bill Advances (Monty Solomon) Aggregators Attack Info Overload (Monty Solomon) Who's Holding the Aces Now? (Monty Solomon) Will Wi-Fi fly? (Monty Solomon) A Mobile Phone That Tunes In TV (Monty Solomon) Re: Kinko's Spy Case: Risks of Renting PCs (Phil Earnhardt) Re: Kinko's Spy Case: Risks of Renting PCs (H. Peter Anvin) Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House (jmeissen) Re: Miss Mom? A Hometown Honey? Calls Are On the House (Special Mobile) Re: Opinion on NEC Phone Systems (SayNoToCrossposters) Re: Cell Phones in Electrical Power Outages? (Dave Temkin) How to Get Pic From Web Cam and Send it as MMS? (Mario) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson 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. WE DO NOT PERMIT NAME/EMAIL ADDRESS HARVESTING FROM THIS JOURNAL. 'SALTED' EMAIL ADDRESSES APPEAR HEREIN TO VERIFY THIS. YOU GET SUED IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT IF YOU GET CAUGHT SPAMMING OR SENDING VIRUSES. DON'T DO IT. See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2003 12:09:21 EDT From: TELECOM Digest Editor Subject: Tons of Viruses in Mail Today And they are still rolling in ... every few minutes several more ... This is such a wild day; there were close to a thousand virus emails between yesterday and thus far today. Needless to say if you are using various flavors of Windows and email programs be extremely careful about opening ANY attachments. PAT ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 09:10:09 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Five Wireless Innovators In this fifth annual E-Gang survey, profiling unsung heroes of high tech, we look at five people helping foster the next phase of the wireless revolution. Introduction: The Wonderful World Of Wirelessness Guenter Weinberger: Overcoming Incompatible Standards Stephen Tang: Tiny Fuel Cell Batteries Edmond Thomas: Freeing The Spectrum Mei Chuah: Building Virtual Worlds Kris Pister: Networks From Dust-Sized Sensors - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=35326249 ------------------------------ Reply-To: Monty Solomon From: Monty Solomon Subject: RFID Tracks Video and DVD Rentals Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 18:10:24 -0400 TVL and Matrics have created an integrated system that uses RFID tags to track rental inventory. Aug. 19, 2003 - Many companies that rent videos, DVDs and computer games struggle to track their inventory. Movies are often picked up by customers and put back in the wrong place, and thieves find ways to spirit coveted titles out of stores. TVL, a software application development company that focuses on asset tracking, has integrated RFID technology from Matrics, a Columbia, M.D.-based systems provider, with its own Rapid Rental software to help solve both problems. The system, which TVL demonstrated at an industry trade show held in Las Vegas last week, is comprised of the Rapid Rental software, RFID tags on the items to be tracked, and RFID readers situated in the store shelves, above the return bins and at the exits. Two-inch by two-inch Matrics tags, which operate at 915 MHz and are based on the Auto-ID Center's proposed Class 0 Electronic Product Code specification, are inserted under the factory label on the disc or videocassette. The unique serial number on the tag is associated with the rental title in the Rapid Rental software. The system keeps track of each title's position on the shelf. If someone picks up the item and continues shopping, its status is changed to "roaming." When the person checks out, the system is updated so that when the customer passes the exit reader, no alarm sounds. When the title is tossed into the return bin, a reader scans the tag, and the item is automatically checked back into inventory so it can be rented again immediately. http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/540/1/1/ ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 19 Aug 2003 22:28:54 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Dobson Communications Completes Acquisition Of American Cellular OKLAHOMA CITY, August 19, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Dobson Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DCEL) today announced that it had completed its acquisition of American Cellular Corporation, following the successful restructuring of American Cellular's indebtedness and equity ownership. "With almost 1.6 million subscribers, the new Dobson Communications is now the ninth largest wireless operator in the U