From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jan 9 01:27:18 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i096RIu27241; Fri, 9 Jan 2004 01:27:18 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 01:27:18 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200401090627.i096RIu27241@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 V23 #13 TELECOM Digest Fri, 9 Jan 2004 01:27:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 13 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson XM Satellite, Adobe, Picasa, MoodLogic Bring New Digital Music (Solomon) New TiVo(R) Powered Products in 2004 Include DVD Recorders (M Solomon) New TiVo(R) Service Release Ushers in Era of 'TiVo to Go' (M Solomon) Do Web Search Engines Suppress Controversy? (Monty Solomon) DIRECTV to Add High-Definition Network Signals to its Channel (Solomon) Rhapsody on Home Stereos (Monty Solomon) Philips Shows Off "Contactless" Payment Prototype (Monty Solomon) Murdoch Might Give Away Some Set-Top Boxes - Report (Monty Solomon) Echostar, Viacom Still Talking Toward CBS Deal (Monty Solomon) Annoying Phone Calls (Andy Nelson) Re: Inventions (was: NANP Numbering) (Scott Dorsey) Re: Gates Unveils Innovative New Products and Services at CES (jmeissen) Re: Netscape Launches Low-Cost Internet Access Service (John McHarry) My First Phone (was Re: Twenty Years Ago Today 1-Jan-2004 (Al Gillis) Touchtone Accuracy Tests (Pete Romfh) 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. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk is definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 15:15:48 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: XM Satellite, Adobe, Picasa, MoodLogic Bring New Digital Music XM Satellite, Adobe, Picasa, MoodLogic Bring New Digital Music, Photo Services To TiVo(R) Via Home Media Option(TM) - Jan 8, 2004 01:00 PM (PR Newswire) Leading Digital Content Companies Recognize Simplicity, Control of Home Media Option To Create Enjoyable Living Room Entertainment Experience LAS VEGAS, INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO), the creator of digital video recorders (DVRs), said new development partnerships with leading digital photo and music companies will expand the features and capabilities of the TiVo service through its groundbreaking Home Media Option(TM). Home Media Option is the easy-to-use solution for transporting digital content stored on the PC to the television where it can be enjoyed by the entire family. Now top digital media companies are extending their products so they easily and simply communicate with TiVo connected to the home network through Home Media Option. At the International Consumer Electronics Show, TiVo demonstrated new digital media services that are being developed by XM Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: XMSR), that will bring satellite radio to the home entertainment center. Other new services from Adobe (Nasdaq: ADBE), MoodLogic and Picasa were also showcased by TiVo at CES. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40146769 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 15:17:14 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New TiVo(R) Powered Products in 2004 Include DVD Recorders, HD New TiVo(R) Powered Products in 2004 Include DVD Recorders, HD DVR, and Home Network Enabled Products - Jan 8, 2004 01:00 PM (PR Newswire) TiVo Hallmarks of Simplicity and Control Fuel Proliferation of New Products LAS VEGAS, INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) today said new products powered by TiVo in 2004 will include DVD recorders, high-definition DVRs, and home network enabled products. These new products point to growing opportunities for TiVo in the marketplace, as the simplicity and control that TiVo is known for becomes a sought after differentiator by consumer electronics companies to drive adoption for many new digital entertainment products. In 2004, consumers will be able to experience TiVo in ways never before possible. From DVD recorders that deliver on the unfulfilled promise of the VCR, to the HD enabled DIRECTV (NYSE:GMH) DVR, to the most popular standalone DVR on the market, the TiVo Series2(TM), TiVo is offering consumers unparalleled functionality and ease of use, in packages to fit any lifestyle. In fact, consumers will be able to choose from over a dozen TiVo powered products from industry leaders including DIRECTV, Hughes, Humax, Philips, Pioneer, RCA, Samsung and Toshiba this year. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40146764 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 16:12:16 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: New TiVo(R) Service Release Ushers in Era of 'TiVo to Go' TiVo Service Upgrade, Software from Sonic Solutions, TiVo Content Security Key, Lets You Easily Transfer Recordings to a PC and Take Them On the Road LAS VEGAS, INTERNATIONAL CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO) announced today it intends to deliver a new service release in the Fall of 2004 called "TiVoToGo(TM)." For the first time, TiVo subscribers with Home Media Option(TM) will be able to move their favorite programs stored on a TiVo DVR to a laptop for viewing on the road, or to any PC. For those who have a PC equipped with a DVD burner, programs can then be burned to DVD so users can take the TiVo experience with them wherever they go. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40146765 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 16:50:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Do Web Search Engines Suppress Controversy? by Susan L. Gerhart Abstract Web behavior depends upon three interlocking communities: (1) authors whose Web pages link to other pages; (2) search engines indexing and ranking those pages; and (3) information seekers whose queries and surfing reward authors and support search engines. Systematic suppression of controversial topics would indicate a flaw in the Web's ideology of openness and informativeness. This paper explores search engines' bias by asking: Is a specific well-known controversy revealed in a simple search? Experimental topics include: distance learning, Albert Einstein, St. John's Wort, female astronauts, and Belize. The experiments suggest simple queries tend to overly present the "sunnny side" of these topics, with minimal controversy. A more "Objective Web" is analyzed where: (a) Web page authors adopt research citation practices; (b) search engines balance organizational and analytic content; and, (c) searchers practice more wary multi-searching. Contents Understanding Web behavior: Politics, technology and users. Why does visibility of controversy matter? Case studies of controversial topics Summary of case studies: How much is controversy suppressed? Limits of the experiments Explanations for controversy revealing/suppression General explanations Toward a more objective Web A simulated objective Web Conclusions http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue9_1/gerhart/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 18:04:15 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: DIRECTV to Add High-Definition Network Signals to its Channel DIRECTV to Add High-Definition Network Signals to its Channel Lineup; Agreement in Place to Offer CBS-HD Programming 8 January 2004, 11:00am ET LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2004--Continuing to expand its high-definition and enhanced digital television programming, DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading digital multichannel television service provider, announced today that it plans to offer CBS-HD programming -- including hit primetime series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Everybody Loves Raymond," as well as the Sunday, Feb. 1 broadcast of Super Bowl XXXVIII -- in the coming weeks. A similar agreement with FOX is expected to be reached in the next several weeks. The CBS-HD programming, from WCBS in New York and KCBS in Los Angeles, will be available to eligible DIRECTV customers in markets where CBS owns and operates stations, including Chicago; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Boston; Dallas; Detroit; Minneapolis; Miami; Denver; Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Salt Lake City; Austin, Texas; and Green Bay, Wis. Similarly, FOX programming is also expected to be offered to customers in FOX O&O markets. http://finance.lycos.com/qc/news/story.aspx?story=200401081600_BWR__BW5448 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 22:24:51 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Rhapsody on Home Stereos PRISMIQ Teams with RealNetworks To Give Consumers Access to Rhapsody on Home Stereos PRISMIQ/Rhapsody Combo On Display During CES; Visit TechHome TechZone (Booth #17695, South Hall 2) and RealNetworks booth (#22611, South Hall) at Las Vegas Convention Center. SAN MATEO, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- PRISMIQ, Inc. ( www.PRISMIQ.com ), a leader in networked entertainment devices and software, today announced it has joined together with RealNetworks, Inc. ( http://www.real.com ), the leading creator of digital media services and software, to enable its customers to listen to RealNetworks' award-winning Rhapsody Internet jukebox service on their home stereo via a wireless or wired home network. PRISMIQ's award-winning entertainment gateway product line, the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer and the PRISMIQ MediaPlayer/Recorder, are next generation entertainment gateways that sit on or near the home theater system and connect to the home network to access PC Media and Internet services. RealNetworks' Rhapsody is the #1 Internet jukebox service, offering unlimited access to more than 30,000 CDs of music for just $9.95 per month. By working together, the companies will enable consumers to enjoy Rhapsody's wide-ranging library of music and the service's high-fidelity Internet radio on their home entertainment systems. PRISMIQ and RealNetworks both embrace the UPnP(TM) (Universal Plug and Play) standard to communicate and share information and media across consumers' home networks. PRISMIQ recently completed integration of RealNetworks' Rhapsody SDK, which ensures that consumers enjoy unlimited remote access to their entire Rhapsody library while still honoring copyrights. Only networked home audio components that are certified to be compliant with RealNetworks' security enhancements can bring the Rhapsody experience to the digital home. The next public release of PRISMIQ software, currently scheduled for early February, will contain code that enables existing and future customers to enjoy Rhapsody. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40150831 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 22:27:38 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Philips Shows Off "Contactless" Payment Prototype By Ben Berkowitz LAS VEGAS, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Philips Semiconductors on Thursday unveiled a new technology in cooperation with credit card provider Visa International that it said promises to make wireless commerce as easy as the wave of a hand. Philips Semiconductors, a unit of Philips Electronics (AMS:PHG), on Thursday took the wraps off Near Field Communication, or NFC, a technology to enable a new kind of "contactless" payment. As opposed to well-known limited-distance wireless standards like Bluetooth, NFC has a much shorter range -- 4 inches or so -- and does not require secured pairings as Bluetooth devices do. Philips executives said their goal was to incorporate the NFC technology in a wide range of computers, handheld devices and cell phones. Visa said the technology could also be built into a new generation of credit cards. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40151054 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 22:29:46 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Murdoch Might Give Away Some Set-Top Boxes - Report NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - News Corp. (AUS:NCP) (NYSE:NWS) chairman Rupert Murdoch said he might give away some digital video recorder set-top boxes to lure cable subscribers to News Corp.'s newly acquired satellite TV provider DirecTV, according to an interview in Business Week magazine. A spokesman for News Corp. in New York was not immediately available for comment on Thursday. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission and antitrust enforcers approved the $6.78 billion plan by News Corp. to gain control of DirecTV, the No. 1 U.S. satellite television provider and a pipeline into millions of American television sets with 12 million subscribers. In an interview in the latest issue of Business Week magazine, Murdoch was asked whether he would give away set-top boxes to lure cable subscribers. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40151141 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 23:53:15 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Echostar, Viacom Still Talking Toward CBS Deal LOS ANGELES, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Satellite TV provider EchoStar Communications Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) and Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIAb) have extended talks into next week on a deal that would include broadcast rights for CBS stations in major cities, including New York and Los Angeles, both sides said on Thursday. EchoStar also said that while negotiations continued, it has asked the U.S. District Court in San Francisco to hold in abeyance a lawsuit it filed a day earlier. EchoStar's suit seeks to block Viacom from withdrawing rebroadcast rights for its CBS-owned stations. The suit says Viacom has insisted that any deal for rights to its CBS affiliates must include arrangements for Viacom-owned cable networks such as a new offering, Nicktoons. By making that link, Viacom's actions amounted to an illegal restraint on trade, the lawsuit said. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40151063 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 11:54:07 PST From: Andy Nelson Subject: Annoying Phone Calls Can someone explain this? One day last week, on New Year's Eve in the afternoon, I'm at home since I have the day off from work. My phone rings once, briefly. I try to answer it and get a dial tone. I hang up, thinking someone must have dialed a wrong number and hung up but my phone rang anyway. Within three seconds, my phone rings again. Briefly. Almost as short as the courtesy ring when I forward my calls. So nothing can come through on call display. Again, every time I answer, they have hung up or disconnected and all I have is a dial tone. This happens many times in just a two or three minute period! So, I do a *69 to get a quote of the calling number if possible. It quotes back a local area number, a number which ends in all zeros. I forget exactly what the Name displayed, but it was a four character name like a company's abbreviation. I remember trying to look them up in the latest phone book but couldn't find any entry for them. I also never heard of this company or that abbreviation before. I also try to do a Call Block on that number, and whether I let the system try to block the "last incoming call" or I try to manually enter that number in myself, I get a message that "this number cannot be added to your call block list". I even tried calling back to that number, but I get a recording that says that the number is not a good or working number! Huh? I called into my voicemail to see if somehow those calls forwarded to my voicemail and maybe someone left a message. While trying to navigate my voicemail, I keep getting a Call Waiting beep tone every five seconds, and the Call Display shows that very same number, each time I get a beep, every time it takes up another slot on my Call Display box! It almost seems like SPAM, where every few seconds, another spam pops into your inbox, where you get fifty or sixty porno spams in a very short period of time! All like I'm being attacked! HELP! After a few minutes, the phone call attacks seem to stop. And so far it hasn't happened again, thankfully! Do telephone companies still provide Annoyance Call Bureaus? With competition these days, you wonder if one company can file official complaints about customers with a different phone company because of annoying, obscene or threatening calls from the customer of the other phone company, or if anything can be followed through. But has this happened to anyone else before? Thanks, Andy ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Inventions (was: NANP Numbering) Date: 8 Jan 2004 15:51:17 -0500 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Mark Brader wrote: > As for radar, the Germans, the British, the Americans, the French, and > the Japanese *all* invented it independently, and all kept it secret > from each other until the outbreak of war. The first to complete a > working radar system was Rudolf Kühnold (Kuehnold) of Germany, in > 1933-34. The Germans were initially interested in naval applications, > and they had the first shipboard installation, in 1935. Right, BUT, what the English had was the magnetron. Everybody else was limited to very long wavelengths, which made their systems comparatively less useful. > Robert Watson-Watt of Britain invented radar independently in 1935, > and was determining the distance to targets months ahead of the > Germans. The British government committed to using it for air defense > the same year, and by 1937 the British also had airborne radar > systems. This was the CHAIN HOME system, which operated on 45 MHz. The German gear of the same era was also working on similarly long wavelengths. > In the US, work on radar began in 1934 but proceeded more > slowly and a working system was not developed until 1936. After the > war began, British and US researchers worked together to develop > better systems than either country had individually; much of this work > was in the US, which also contributed the word "radar" in 1940. -- The concept of radar is fairly intuitive and it's not surprising that many different groups in the thirties came up with it at the same time. What is amazing is the magnetron tube with the ability to generate extremely short wavelength signals for high resolution images. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@aracnet.com Subject: Re: Gates Unveils Innovative New Products and Services at CES Date: 8 Jan 2004 23:05:54 GMT Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > Software in Consumer Electronics. > LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In his keynote address at > the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft > Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates expanded on the > company's vision for "seamless computing," ..... > Gates introduced a number of products and services that bring the > power of software to the world of consumer electronics, including > MSN(R) Premium and enhanced MSN services for broadband Internet > users; and new Microsoft(R) Windows(R) Media Center Extender > Technologies and Portable Media Centers, which make the digital > entertainment experiences of Media Center PCs available throughout > the home and on the go. Gates also announced retail availability of > Smart Watches for MSN Direct, which provide discreet and convenient > access to personalized information. So this is how far CES has fallen? The keynote address is now a product announcement platform for Microsoft. I think Bill Gates should be banned from making the keynote addresses in the future because he has bastardized it like this. I'm sure there are REAL industry visionaries out there who can think of more than what will make Microsoft richer. John Meissen jmeissen@aracnet.com ------------------------------ From: John McHarry Subject: Re: Netscape Launches Low-Cost Internet Access Service Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2004 19:35:16 -0500 Monty Solomon wrote: > New Dial-Up Service Offers Unlimited Usage For $9.95 Per Month > Online Charity Auction of New Netscape.com E-Mail Addresses > Kicks-Off Today on eBay(R) to Benefit City Year > Netscape, one of the original pioneers of the Internet, today > announced the introduction of a new, affordably priced dial-up > Internet service for consumers who want a reliable and low-cost way to > get online. The Netscape(R) service costs $9.95 per month for > unlimited use and is available now at www.getnetscape.com or the > Netscape(R) portal ( www.netscape.com ). I couldn't find a list of dialup numbers. While Netscape has a good name, I wouldn't sign up without knowing they offer local access where I live. This looks like they have a couple bugs to work out in their marketing presentation. ------------------------------ From: Al Gillis Subject: My First Phone (was Re: Twenty Years Ago Today 1-Jan-2004) Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 16:13:59 -0800 Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com (Much snippage...) > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Interesting how you mention your very > own first telephone. I first got subscribed under my own name back in > 1960, when I moved out from living with Mommie Dearest to my own > little place in Hyde Park (the U of C neighborhood on the south side > of Chicago.) The monthly bill was around six or seven dollars and my > roomate and I agreed to split the bill but each be responsible for > our own long distance charges and or telegrams which were sent by > phone. Illinois Bell did not ask for deposits, or run credit checks, > etc. You simply called them one day and they came out the next day to > put the phone in. They trusted you to pay the bill when it arrived. > We decided on a green 'palmolive' color rotary dial phone and since > we lived in an apartment-hotel with a switchboard the phone man put in > a phone with a turn-button: one side of the turn button was the switch- > board phone (DOrchester 3-7500), the other side of the turn button > was our private phone (HYDe Park 3-3714). We did have a bell-chime > device to ring the phone (it sounded like a doorbell) and we had to > pay fifty-cents per month for that side ringer. Touch tone was not > available. ESS features were still ten years distant for the > downtown Chicago area and fifteen years distant for the other areas of > Chicago. PAT] When I ordered My First Telephone the Business Office customer service representative finally got to the question about color. Somehow I was evidently thinking of television and responded that I'd like "a black and white set". Well -- that clearly touched a raw nerve for this Lily Tomlin-like CSR. She spent several minutes explaining to me that this was the TELEPHONE and should not be compared to other services I might use and that two-tone telephone sets were not available and would I prefer a BLACK set or one of the half-dozen colors they offered? Feeling sufficiently chastised, I asked for plain black and we went on with the ordering process. Hoping to save a much money as possible I selected a rotary dial and no extensions! Them were the days! Al [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There were a lot of Lilly Tomlin-like service reps in those days. But truth be told, telco employees got a lot of grief from the customers also. Somewhere around, I have a sort of ragged, torn up copy of a 1923 directory from Chicago Telephone Company. I think it was the last year of Chicago Telephone, before they were bought out by the Bell consortium and changed into Illinois Bell. On the front cover down in the corner was a little announcement saying, 'Our subscribers are requested to speak in the same courteous, non-abusive way to our operators which they expect to hear in return. Would you want our operators to curse at you? It is not their fault if a line is engaged when you try to reach it.' And that was altogether too common: A rude, crude person (usually a man but not always) would ask for a number that historically was always busy -- such as the train or bus station information line -- and upon being told for the umpteenth time that 'the lion is busy' and respond with a string of curse words in the operator's ear, as if she could have corrected the problem had she been competent and not too lazy to do so. And anytime an operator or customer service rep cursed at a subscriber -- and they sometimes lost their 'cool' and did so, chances are likely they were fired on the spot. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Touchtone Accuracy Tests Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2004 21:46:27 -0600 Organization: Not Organized As part of evaluating some proposed systems I need to find a simple way to verify that DTMF is passed accurately over various parts of a TDM/VoIP network. Obviously I could dial a series of extensions and verify they are reached but I'm looking for something like the old CO test number where you could call in, hit digits 1 through 0 and get a couple of beeps or the dialed digits read) back. Failing that, is there an inexpensive test set that will give me some quantifiable test results? I'm open to creative ideas. Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Check Mike Sandman's catalog online at http://www.sandman.com . He sells a device which prints out with LED the digits that are heard. 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, Yahoo Groups, 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: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 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 fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. If you donate at least fifty dollars per year we will send you our two-CD set of the entire Telecom Archives; this is every word published in this Digest since our beginning in 1981. 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 V23 #13 *****************************