From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 6 15:15:38 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id AD06B15602; Thu, 6 Jul 2006 15:15:37 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #251 Message-Id: <20060706191537.AD06B15602@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 15:15:37 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.6 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR,NA_DOLLARS autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 6 Jul 2006 15:19:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 251 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Internet Society Announces Election of New Board of Trustees (Peter Godwin) EFF Defends Liberties in High-Tech World (Anick Jesdanun, AP) A New Way Around the Do Not Call Lists (Ed) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 06, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) AOL Could Offer Free Service to High-Speed Users (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Bellsouth Keeps Calling (jared) Re: Last Laugh! Did You Hear the One About the Nuclear Warhead? (DLR) Re: AOL Said, 'If You Leave Me I'll Do Something Crazy' (Rick Merrill) Re: Identity Thief Finds Easy Money Hard to Resist (Rick Merrill) Re: NorVergence Founders Fined For Fraud (John Dearing) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 18:26:26 +0200 From: Peter Godwin Subject: Internet Society Announces Election of New Board of Trustees Reston, VA and Geneva, Switzerland - 6th July 2006 - The Internet Society (ISOC) has announced the composition of its new Board of Trustees. The new Board was seated during ISOC's recent Board meeting held in Marrakesh, Morocco. Newly-elected Board members include Dr. Baoping Yan (General Director of the Computer Network Information Center at the Chinese Academy of Sciences), Bill St. Arnaud (Senior Director Advanced Networks for CANARIE Inc., Canada's Advanced Internet Development Organization) and Franck Martin (vice-chairman of the Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society). At the same time Patrik Fetstrm was appointed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in conjunction with the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) and the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). They join current Board members Fred Baker, Erik Huizer, Daniel Karrenberg, Veni Markovski, Desiree Miloshevic, Glenn Ricart, Stephen Squires, Patrick Vande Walle, and Lynn St. Amour, ISOC President and CEO. Daniel Karrenberg (chief-scientist at RIPE NCC) was elected as Chair of the new Board. "The Internet Society has much to contribute to the continued success of the Internet," said Karrenberg. "The diligent work of my predecessors, the Trustees and the staff has put the society in a very sound position. Building on this foundation we will intensify our work in the areas of public policy and education. We will ensure that the IETF has the administrative support it needs to continue its exemplary standardisation work. We will continue to build a healthy network of chapters for local activities close to the Internet users. All this will help us to realise our motto 'The Internet is for Everyone'." "I very much look forward to working with Daniel as we continue to build on ISOC's past achievements. At the same time, I thank outgoing Chair Fred Baker for his excellent stewardship of the organisation over the past four years," said Lynn St. Amour, ISOC President and CEO. "Fred has done much to help the organisation become stronger and more broadly recognised than ever before. I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank all outgoing Trustees and to welcome those that start their term of office this year." # # # ABOUT ISOC The Internet Society http://www.isoc.org is a not-for-profit membership organization founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, it is dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of people throughout the world. ISOC is the organizational home of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and other Internet-related bodies who together play a critical role in ensuring that the Internet develops in a stable and open manner. For over 14 years ISOC has run international network training programs for developing countries and these have played a vital role in setting up the Internet connections and networks in virtually every country connecting to the Internet during this time. FOR FURTHER DETAILS: Internet Society E-mail: info@isoc.org 1775 Wiehle Ave.,Suite 102 Reston, VA 20190-5108, USA 4 rue des Falaises CH-1205 Geneva Switzerland ------------------------------ From: Anick Jesdanun Subject: EFF Defends Liberties in High-Tech World Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 17:37:54 -0500 By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer In March 1990, when few people had even heard of the Internet, U.S. Secret Service agents raided the Texas offices of a small board-game maker, seizing computer equipment and reading customers' e-mail stored on one machine. A group of online pioneers already worried about how the nation's laws were being applied to new technologies became even more fearful and decided to intervene. And thus the Electronic Frontier Foundation was born -- 16 years ago this next Monday -- taking on the Secret Service as its first case, one the EFF ultimately won when a judge agreed that the government had no right to read the e-mails or keep the equipment. Today, after expanding into such areas as intellectual property and moving its headquarters twice along with its focus, the EFF is re-emphasizing its roots of trying to limit government surveillance of electronic communications, while keeping a lookout for emerging threats even as the Internet and digital technologies become mainstream. In one of its highest-profile lawsuits to date, the EFF has accused AT&T Inc. of illegally cooperating with the National Security Agency to make phone and Internet communications available without warrants. "It's quite possibly the most important privacy and free speech issue in the 21st century," said Kevin Bankston, an EFF staff attorney formerly with the American Civil Liberties Union. "We are trying to force the government to follow the law. We are trying to force the phone company to follow the law." Shari Steele, the EFF's executive director, described the NSA program as "a place where technology and civil liberties collide in a big way." The EFF was born July 10, 1990, as three men who met on the online community The WELL grew concerned that the ACLU and other traditional civil-liberties organizations didn't understand technology enough to question government actions like the Secret Service raid. "It's difficult at this stage of the game to remember how few people even knew the Internet existed," said John Perry Barlow, a co-founder who used to write lyrics for the Grateful Dead. "It wasn't on their radar." Even the World Wide Web wouldn't be invented for another five months, until almost the end of 1990, then begin to gain in popularity through 1991 and 1992, finally getting a firm start in 1993. Software pioneer Mitch Kapor, another co-founder, said that even when a group like the ACLU had the will, it didn't have the technical know-how to consider how basic, constitutional rights would even apply to the online world. "Nobody had done the thinking," he said. "The questions hadn't been raised." So from Day One, the EFF sought to become a high-tech ACLU and ensure that offline rights indeed transferred to emerging technologies. Early on, the EFF took on government efforts to treat encryption technology as military weapons rather than speech, and later it joined other groups in successfully challenging -- on free-speech grounds -- congressional efforts to block online pornography. The group also defended developers of file-sharing software, arguing that technology with legal uses shouldn't be barred even if others can use it to commit crimes, such as trading copyright music and movies. There have been internal tensions along the way as the organization left Cambridge, Mass., for Washington, D.C., in 1993. The EFF started trying to influence legislation, and some in the organization grew uncomfortable with the need to compromise in that setting. So the EFF moved once more, to San Francisco in 1995, and after dabbling with corporate issues like privacy policies and spinning off the TRUSTe privacy-certification program for businesses as a standalone organization, it redirected its energies to litigation. Most of the EFF's 25 employees now work in a former sewing factory and paint warehouse in San Francisco's gritty Mission District, its cubicle-less offices having the makeshift, open feel of a political campaign rather than a law firm. Attorneys walk around sans ties and suits and hold impromptu meetings on colorful couches. Chewed up tennis balls scattered throughout provide evidence of a dog-friendly environment. Although the EFF was among the few tech-focused groups when it formed, many other organizations now complement it. The Center for Democracy and Technology, or CDT, formed by former EFF staffers in the rift over its role in lobbying, is housed in Washington and tackles issues before Congress and federal agencies. The ACLU also became active in technology and led the online pornography lawsuits. In challenging the Bush administration's domestic-surveillance program, the ACLU sued the government, while the EFF sued AT&T. The EFF's nonlitigation projects include ongoing funding for the Tor system for anonymous online communications and research last year exposing tracking codes embedded in color laser printers. Its staffers also testify at public hearings; one took part in an electronic-voting task force that released a report on security in late June. But the bulk of the work is legal -- 60 percent to 70 percent, Steele estimated. That focus has left the group open to criticisms that by refusing to play the Washington game of compromising, its views are idealistic and sometimes extremist. "They are the lawyers for the open vision of the Internet," said Peter Swire, the Clinton administration privacy counselor who sometimes tussled with the EFF. "They are the Left Coast advocacy group." Companies targeted by the EFF say the group appears overly skeptical of intellectual property and the free market. Paul Ryan, whose Acacia Research Corp. the EFF cited for "crimes against the public domain" for claiming patents on streaming media, said the EFF ignores the fact that without patent protection, companies have less incentive to innovate. The EFF also has faced criticisms that, despite its many victories, its losses can establish legal precedents that make subsequent cases harder to win. In the file-sharing case, the EFF won twice in lower courts, but the Supreme Court narrowed a 1984 ruling that technology shouldn't automatically be barred because it had illegal uses. "The decision to expend energy on cases and in some sense to work to get them to the Supreme Court is to really gamble with the outcome," said Danny Weitzner, who left EFF in 1994 to help form the rival CDT. He said the EFF should have waited for a better case, so that the high court wouldn't be "deciding about whether kids could steal music." EFF attorneys say that they can't always wait for the perfect case and could at least prevent a worse ruling. Others say that by refusing to take risks, no rights will be left. "People will always second guess what you do," said Lee Tien, an EFF attorney active in the AT&T lawsuit. "If you're going to be afraid to complain about something wrong, you deserve to have wrongdoing done to you." The EFF continues to tackle issues like anonymity, electronic voting, patents and copyright, but the Sept. 11 attacks nearly five years ago have forced the EFF to spend more time on surveillance. It has sought to require more evidence before law enforcement can legally track people's locations by their cell phones, and in January the group sued AT&T, saying the San Antonio-based company violated U.S. law and the privacy of its customers. AT&T and NSA officials declined comment for this article. The AT&T lawsuit already has generate grassroots momentum for the group, which gets the bulk of its $2.5 million budget from individuals. About 1,400 joined the EFF and sent in contributions after the EFF sent a mid-May appeal that cited the AT&T case. The group now has about 11,500 dues-paying members. Basic online rights are more established today than when the EFF formed, but EFF legal director Cindy Cohn said there's no shortage of cutting-edge cases. "We're not near the end of the digital revolution in terms of new technology being rolled out," she said. "Just because some stuff is mainstream, there's still a lot of stuff coming down the road to raise new issues or raise old issues over again in slightly new ways." The EFF, she said, remains committed to fighting the battles "nobody's talking about yet." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from Associated Press, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Ed Subject: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: 5 Jul 2006 16:51:28 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Just wanted to let you know there is a new (or maybe it's not so new ) scam for telemarketers to get around the do not call list. They use an automated system on which a message is recorded. This past January I got a call from Peruzzi, a local car dealership here in Bucks County PA (suburban Philadelphia), wishing me a Happy Holiday. I had briefly, many years ago, visited his lot and looked at some cars. Next, a couple of months later, I got another call or two and I informed them that I was on both the PA & US Do Not Call Lists. I asked them to take me off their lists and did get mad at them. A month later or so, I got another call from them, this time through a "Voice Messaging Center" that let me hear the message and I called and told them again to take me off their list. Last week, I got another call, and listened to the instructions on how to instruct them to take me off their list and I did. Tonight, I got the same call but this time, could not hear a Peruzzi message but heard that "we will try again later". I immediately sent a message to the Attorney General Tom Corbett and now of course, I am here. Whatever you do, don't patronize Perruzi Dealerships. Here is the "Voice Messaging Service" number: 866-849-3243. Has anyone here had the same experiences? Thanks, Sincerely, P. Edward Murray ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 06, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 12:00:30 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 06, 2006 ******************************** AOL May Offer Its Services for Free http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18729?11228 NEW YORK -- America Online, the online unit of Time Warner Inc., is considering offering its services, including e-mail, free to customers who already have a high-speed Internet connection, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. Under terms of the proposal, which comes amid AOL's quickly depreciating subscriber base, AOL ... Nokia in US$150 million deal to expand GSM/GPRS networks in China http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18727?11228 HELSINKI, Finland -- Nokia Corp. on Thursday announced a US$150 million deal to further expand mobile phone networks for Henan MCC in China, the company's largest single market area. Deliveries for the contract -- the 11th expansion of GSM, or Global System for Mobile communication, networks for Henan Mobile ... AT&T Offers Voice, Broadband and Wireless Bundle http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18725?11228 AT&T has launched an All Distance wireline, AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet and Cingular Wireless package for US$100 per month. For their money, consumers will get unlimited direct-dialled long-distance calling and local calling; Caller ID and the choice of two other features; internet access at 384 Kbps to 1.5 Mbps downstream,... Siemens Deploys WiMAX Network for Orbitel http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18720?11228 Siemens has announced that it has deployed a WiMAX network for Orbitel in Colombia's third-largest city, Cali. The nework, which is based on Colombia's WayMAX@vantage solution comprising base stations, modems and a monitoring and control system, will provide wireless broadband internet access in direct competition to xDSL... Fixed-Line Operator CenterTelecom Expects to Profit From Russia's CPP http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18717?11228 Regional fixed-line operator CenterTelecom has revealed that it expects to generate a profit of 133.12 million roubles (US$4.95 million) in 2006, as a result of the Calling Party Pays (CPP) principle, which was introduced in Russia on 1 July 2006, reports Prime-Tass. According to the ruling, mobile users are no longer charged for ... Broadcom, TI Challenge Qualcomm http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18715?11228 Qualcomm is once again the subject of a complaint. The latest: Texas Instruments and Broadcom have filed a complaint in South Korea, alleging antitrust behavior. The complaint, filed with the South Korea Fair Trade Commission, charges Qualcomm with wielding its CDMA market dominance to keep competitors out of the market ... Homeland Security NIPP's At Telecom http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18713?11228 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released a sweeping, 196-page report on implementing a nationwide national infrastructure protection plan (NIPP), with telecom networks, cyber security and information technology (IT) playing one of the central roles in American preparedness and recovery. In completing the work, DHS ... Mobile WiMax Takes Fixed Field http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18709?11228 It may not be long before the 'd' in 802.16d stands for 'defunct'. More and more WiMax companies acknowledge that 802.16e -- the standard often called 'mobile WiMax' -- is in demand for fixed deployments, too. "We think the basic technology for WiMax will be 802.16e," says Tzvika Friedman ... Vonage Peer Makes a Fine Whine http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18706?11228 8x8 Inc. shareholders are feeling testy about the company's sagging stock price. So much so that CEO Bryan Martin Wednesday issued an open letter meant to reassure them. While several things may be pulling 8x8's stock price down, 8x8 has clearly been hit with some shrapnel flying from the general direction of Vonage's ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 12:57:20 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Report: AOL Could Offer Free Services to High-Speed Users USTelecom dailyLead July 6, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dWpkfDtutfeAsxCHke TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Report: AOL could offer free services to high-speed users BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Intel, Motorola to invest $900M in Clearwire * South Korea no longer tops in broadband penetration * Survey: IPTV to generate significant cash in 2009 * Moody's: VoIP poses minimal threat to European telecoms USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * What you need to know about billing systems TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Group puts computing to humanitarian use REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * NYC parks to get Wi-Fi Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dWpkfDtutfeAsxCHke ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 05 Jul 2006 20:57:18 -0600 From: jared@netspacenospamnet.au (jared) Subject: Re: Bellsouth Keeps Calling Details of the do not call law at http://www.donotcall.gov > There's a loophole for companies with which you have an existing > business relationship. So if you're a BellSouth customer, it's legal > for them to call you and try to sell you more services. I assume this > changes if you specifically tell them to quit, but I'm not sure. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 00:22:43 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Did You Hear the One About the Nuclear Warhead? mc wrote: > Was there in fact a nuclear warhead on anything they launched? > Their marksmanship is impressive -- apparently not one missile went > anywhere near the distance it was intended to. > TELECOM Digest Editor" wrote in message > news:telecom25.249.8@telecom-digest.org: >> It seems our good friends in North Korea send us a nuclear warhead on >> Tuesday. The 'fireworks' were intended to reach us about the same time >> as the NASA launch took place. Trouble is, the warhead was defective, >> a total dud. It never got here, and apparently did not explode either. >> Had the 'fireworks' arrived safely and gone off as intended, then >> spam/scam -- indeed the entire telephone network -- would have been >> the least of our worries, I am sure. >> PAT Neither did ours way back in the day. But if they work at it long enough and throw lots of money at it, they will likely get better at it. At least as long as the folks working on it get to keep eating. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As 'they' say, "practice makes perfect" and no one could reasonably expect the North Koreans to perfectly hit the target (US of Amerika) the first time around. I realize this is not a gambling casino and we are not in the business of 'giving chances', but give them another chance or two. I am sure they will eventually reach their goal which was temporarily put on hold back in 1950-51. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:48:26 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: AOL Said, 'If You Leave Me I'll Do Something Crazy' Monty Solomon wrote: > To listen as Mr. Ferrari tries to cancel his membership is to join > representative, self-identified as John, sounds like a native English > speaker; he refuses to comply when Mr. Ferrari asks, demands and > finally pleads -- over and over again -- to close his account. Account reps are actually 'graded' on how many they sign up and how many they cancel! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 06 Jul 2006 12:49:34 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Identity Thief Finds Easy Money Hard to Resist Monty Solomon wrote: > Stolen Lives > Identity Thief Finds Easy Money Hard to Resist > By TOM ZELLER Jr. > The New York Times > By the time of Shiva Brent Sharma's third arrest for identity theft, > at the age of 20, he had taken in well over $150,000 in cash and > merchandise in his brief career. After a certain point, investigators > stopped counting. > The biggest money was coming in at the end, postal inspectors said, > after Mr. Sharma had figured out how to buy access to stolen credit > card accounts online, change the cardholder information and reliably > wire money to himself -- sometimes using false identities for which he > had created pristine driver's licenses. > But Mr. Sharma, now 22, says he never really kept track of his > earnings. > "I don't know how much I made altogether, but the most I ever made in > a quick period was like $20,000 in a day and a half or something," he > said, sitting in the empty meeting hall at the Mohawk Correctional > Facility in Rome, N.Y., where he is serving a two- to four-year term. > "Working like three hours today, three hours tomorrow -- $20,000." > And once he knew what he was doing, it was all too easy. > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/us/04identity.html?ex=1309665600&en=18bc230a1ae1ba06&ei=5088 What are you trying to do, recruit more ID thieves? ------------------------------ From: John Dearing Subject: Re: NorVergence Founders Fined For Fraud Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 20:54:28 -0400 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: -=[ snippage re: the Salzano thieves ]=- > Isn't fraud a criminal offense? Shouldn't be prison be considered for > them? I don't understand. These are FTC proceedings. Not judicial proceedings. I'm certain the Salzano's are still facing additional criminal and/or civil cases at the state and federal level. John Dearing ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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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. 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 V25 #251 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jul 7 20:41:24 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id EA68815315; Fri, 7 Jul 2006 20:41:23 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #252 Message-Id: <20060708004123.EA68815315@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 20:41:23 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 7 Jul 2006 20:45:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 252 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines (Reuters News Wire) Cingular Wireless Gets Sued; Refutes Claims; Plans Copuntersuit ( TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 07, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Verizon Takes Step Toward Directories Spinoff (USTelecom dailyLead) http://www.privatephone.com/ (NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us) Re: A New Way Around the Do Not Call Lists ... (mc) Re: A New Way Around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Thor Lancelot Simon) Re: Last Laugh! Did You Hear the One About the Nuclear Warhead? (Sam Spade) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 18:33:33 -0500 The Navy said on Friday that it was trying to determine how personal information on more than 100,000 Navy and Marine Corp aviators and air crew wound up on a publicly available Web site for more than six months. In a fresh case of private information on military personnel being compromised, the full names and social security numbers of both active and reserve members appeared on the Naval Safety Center Web site at http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil last December. Those affected are believed to include any Navy or Marine Corp aviator who has served during the past 20 years. The same information was also disseminated late last year to Navy and Marine Corps commands on 1,083 program disks mailed out as part of the service's Web Enabled Safety Program. The Naval Safety Center found out about the problem and removed the information from the web site on Thursday, a week after the recovery of a stolen Veterans Affairs Department laptop that contained sensitive information on more than 26 million U.S. military veterans and service members. The center is now recalling the mailed program disks. As in the case of the Veterans Affairs laptop, the Navy said there was no evidence that any of the disseminated data has been used illegally. But the service is notifying those affected by mail and setting up a 24-hour call center to handle queries. Safety center spokeswoman Evelyn Odango said the problem appeared to be an errant file. "The information was inadvertently included in a file that was then posted on the Web," she said. "We found out about it through a Web site user and it was removed immediately." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines of interest, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this getting to be a bad joke, or what? Every day or three of late we hear of files which should remain totally private and confidential somehow making their way into the public's view, mostly because of thievery of laptops, but now in this instance, by being put on display on the web. And I suspect if we used our imaginations, with all sorts of number combinations we could find even more stuff on the web which should ideally _not_ be on display. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Cingular Wireless Gets Sued; Refutes Claims; Plans Copuntersuit Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 18:37:30 -0500 Cingular Wireless, one of the largest U.S. mobile phone carriers, on Friday indignantly refuted claims in a lawsuit that it misled and overcharged some customers, and said it is considering coutersuing. The claims, made by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights and filed on behalf of seven plaintiffs, are "completely without merit, and just a lie" said Joaquin Carbonell, Cingular's general counsel. The foundation filed its lawsuit on Thursday in federal court in Seattle charging that Cingular reneged on its promise to provide AT&T Wireless customers with new and better services. Cingular bought AT&T Wireless for $41 billion in October 2004. Instead, Cingular "immediately began dismantling and degrading the AT&T network, forcing AT&T customers to move to Cingular's cell network," the foundation said. Cingular then forced AT&T customers to pay $18 to transfer or upgrade their service to its wireless network, and charged others $175 early termination fee if they tried to switch to another company, the group said. "Others who didn't want to pay or couldn't afford the fees have been stuck with riding out their contract with AT&T Wireless while suffering poor to no reception," the group said in a statement. The lawsuit says that "the amount in controversy" exceeds $5 million, and that the plaintiffs are seeking triple that amount in damages. Cingular said it is considering its options including filing a counter-suit. Cingular said it spent nearly $10 billion to integrate and improve its networks over 21 months since the merger was completed. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news headlines and stories, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 07, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 11:48:54 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 07, 2006 ******************************** EU takes Poland, Latvia and Finland to court for not obeying telecoms rules http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18748?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The European Commission said Friday it would take Poland, Latvia and Finland to court for not obeying EU telecoms rules. It said it would ask the European Court of Justice to make Poland and Latvia provide a full comprehensive telephone directory and full directory enquiry services. It will also sue... Bulgarian Government Plans New Telecoms Law in 2007 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18743?11228 The Bulgarian government is planning to introduce new telecoms legislation, the Electronic Communications Act, from 2007. This will divide the sector into 18 types of markets that will be controlled by the telecoms market regulator, the CRC. The government is now revising the draft, which will subsequently be submitted to parliament. ... EU Ups Pressure on German Government over VDSL Broadband Network http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18739?11228 The German government is resisting European Commission pressure, in efforts to enable the incumbent to recoup its hefty investment in its new fibre-optic broadband infrastructure. It plans to introduce legislation shielding the VDSL broadband network from competition for several... Intel, Motorola Back Clearwire http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18737?11228 Craig McCaw's Clearwire may have backed off its initial public offering plans, but the company has received a vote of confidence from the funding world -- securing a $900 investment commitment. Of the total, $600 million will come from Intel Corporation's capital arm. Motorola also is on the list of backers. Intel's $600... MacBook Pro: Performance at a Price http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18735?11228 What if money were no object? What sort of laptop computer would you buy? For many people, the answer will be the Apple MacBook Pro. Yet, at about $2,800, price will be a very large object indeed for many potential MacBook Pro buyers. Memory and storage enhancements can easily send the laptop's price tag soaring far past $3K. But... Communications Reform Bill Gets Fast Tracked http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18734?11228 In a rarely seen legislative maneuver, the sweeping communications reform bill recently approved by a key Senate committee has been re-designated as a House of Representatives proposal, ostensibly to accelerate the floor voting process during this Congressional session. After three days of markup covering 214 amendments, not... Cisco Buys WLAN Security Smarts http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18732?11228 Cisco Systems Inc. is buying software security firm Meetinghouse Data Communications Inc. for $43.7 million in a move that reflects the importance of secure network access via WLAN. The move marks the return of Cisco's roving acquisition eye to the network security sector after it snapped up three specialist companies... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 12:57:59 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon Takes Step Toward Directories Spinoff USTelecom dailyLead July 7, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXakfDtutfeZdJzFGF TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon takes step toward directories spinoff BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Cingular hit with lawsuit over AT&T Wireless integration * Cisco wins China Telecom contracts * Study: Connected networks to drive electronics sales * Analysis: Motorola makes big WiMAX play with Clearwire move * Qwest plans to expand TV service by year's end, analyst says USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Evaluating IPTV Transport Systems using MDI Curves TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Analysis: Microsoft takes "go-it-alone" approach to capture digital media market share VOIP DOWNLOAD * Report: EarthLink to sell Wi-Fi phones * Lessons in VoIP from Bryant University REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * NYC considers citywide broadband network * FCC set to vote July 13 on Adelphia sale Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXakfDtutfeZdJzFGF ------------------------------ From: NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us Subject: http://www.privatephone.com/ Date: 6 Jul 2006 12:41:56 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I saw their ad on TV. They give you a free voice mail account. You can access messages by phone or 'net. Most interestting fo their TOS is: 6.4 Downloads. Provider may from time to time download and install software, including additional Software or third party software, to your computer while it is connected to the Internet through any means. Provider retains the right to limit, restrict or require the use of certain software or service in connection with the Services. AND if you pay for extra services they have an "early termination penalty" I like OneSuite. Incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as USA-Canada 1.9CPM! Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for calls from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at https://www.OneSuite.com No monthly fee or minimum. Use Promotion/SuiteTreat Code: "FREEoffer23" for FREE time. Although from USA payphones there is a connection fee, there is NONE from other phones or Canadian payphones. Also works FROM many other countries. ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 17:01:44 -0400 Ed wrote in message news:telecom25.251.3@telecom-digest.org: > This past January I got a call from Peruzzi, a local car dealership > here in Bucks County PA (suburban Philadelphia), wishing me a Happy > Holiday. I think people are going around telling each other -- quite falsely -- that if the message doesn't explicitly announce things for sale, it's not an advertisement and therefore not a violation. A few weeks ago, a jeweler in my town used an autodialer to invite people for a free ring cleaning. He told me it wasn't an advertisement but an invitation. Worse, he made no attempt to avoid dialing hospitals, fire stations, large PBXes, etc. ... my first encounter with it was when my secretary got about 8 copies of the message via other phones rolling over to hers. I don't know, but I suspect someone is aggressively selling autodialers by telling people falsehoods about the law. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] ------------------------------ From: tls@panix.com (Thor Lancelot Simon) Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2006 22:59:19 UTC Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Reply-To: tls@rek.tjls.com In article , Ed wrote: > Just wanted to let you know there is a new (or maybe it's not so new ) > scam for telemarketers to get around the do not call list. > They use an automated system on which a message is recorded. This is, and always has been, illegal. Thor Lancelot Simon tls@rek.tjls.com "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Last Laugh! Did You Hear the One About the Nuclear Warhead? Date: Fri, 07 Jul 2006 07:19:46 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: As 'they' say, "practice makes perfect" > and no one could reasonably expect the North Koreans to perfectly > hit the target (US of Amerika) the first time around. I realize this > is not a gambling casino and we are not in the business of 'giving > chances', but give them another chance or two. I am sure they will > eventually reach their goal which was temporarily put on hold back > in 1950-51. PAT] If N.K. has nukes, they are far more apt to sell them to terrorists than to launch them with a missile. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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: 620-402-0134 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 oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management (MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35 credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including data, video, and voice networks. The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. 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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. 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 V25 #252 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Jul 9 18:13:57 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 920891541D; Sun, 9 Jul 2006 18:13:56 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #253 Message-Id: <20060709221356.920891541D@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 18:13:56 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 9 Jul 2006 18:15:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 253 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You (Monty Solomon) Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones (Monty Solomon) Assessors Grapple With Tax Change: Communications Gear (Monty Solomon) Wi-Fi Wars/Loiterers Can be a Drag on Businesses' Bottom Line (M Solomon) Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead / Phone Companies Fail (Monty Solomon) Questions Linger Over Secrets on Laptops (Monty Solomon) Elegy For the Video Store (Monty Solomon) Bar-Code Tags, ATM-Style Machines Drive High-Tech Laundry (Monty Solomon) Western Union Now Blocking Money Transfers to Arab-Sounding Names (Sundram) Virtual Numbers (Dave Warren) Re: EFF Defends Liberties in High-Tech World (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Re: http://www.privatephone.com/ (castellan) Re: (Ab)use of Javascript; was Re: Web Services Under Attack (dpmartin) Re: Wireless Firms Agree on Rules for Mobile Web Sites (Koos van den Hout) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Robert Bonomi) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (mc) Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines (Sam Spade) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 00:44:57 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You By Gary Haber, The News Journal Caller ID -- the little telephone display that tells you who's calling -- is many people's protection from folks they'd rather not talk to, whether it's a telemarketer making a pitch at dinner time or a scammer trying to con them out of personal financial information. Now, legislation pending in Congress would strengthen a line of defense that turns out to be more porous than many may think. Technology readily available for sale over the Internet allows callers to fool caller ID with a bogus name and number. The practice is known as identity spoofing. It's hard to get a handle on how widespread identity spoofing is, but it's gone well beyond harmless pranks. The AARP Bulletin recently reported a scam in which people received fraudulent calls claiming they missed jury duty and asking for their Social Security number. The calls seemed legitimate because the telephone number of the local courthouse showed up on caller ID. In Pennsylvania, constituents of Republican Rep. Tim Murphy were flooded with bogus calls from someone purporting to be from Murphy's office. The primary worry for consumers is that if a call appears to be coming from their bank, credit card company or a government agency, they could be persuaded to give up financial data a thief could use to open new bank accounts or apply for loans and credit cards. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-07-06-caller-id-scam_x.htm ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 03:32:55 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones By Tyler B. Reed/ Daily News Staff FRAMINGHAM -- High school administrators under a new policy are claiming the right to snatch information stored in students' cell phones when they search for drugs or stolen property at school. The change clarifies the school's search and seizure policy, adding cell phones to the list of places school officials can snoop if they suspect a student has contraband. Federal law says school officials need only "reasonable suspicion" of the presence of drugs or stolen goods to conduct searches. "We reserve the right to look through the cell phone," Principal Michael Welch said. "It would be no different than if a student were to have a notebook. We've had instances of graffiti. We've looked through a notebook and found identical instances of graffiti." The apparent broadening of principals' search rights drew criticism from the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=134730 Students Cry Foul Over Cell Phone Policy: Teens Say Officials Are 'Overreacting' and Violating Their Privacy By Eric Athas/ Daily News Correspondent FRAMINGHAM -- Fearing their wireless freedom may be in jeopardy, students at Framingham High School were fuming over a new school policy that allows administrators to seize cell phones and search their contents. The policy, administrators say, is to improve security and stop the sale of drugs and stolen goods, but students said that the edict is an invasion of privacy. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=134816 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 03:36:08 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Assessors Grapple With Tax Change Assessors grapple with tax change: Communications gear owned by wireless companies now require local valuations By John Hilliard/ Daily News Staff It won't be a slow summer for local assessors, as officials scramble to prepare tax valuations for the communications gear owned by wireless companies. "It's one more thing -- on top of everything else -- that we're dealing with," said Bob Bushway, Hopkinton's principal assessor. "It definitely has been a burden to all the cities and towns, as far as I'm concerned." In May, the state Appellate Tax Board ended state-controlled tax valuation of wireless companies' equipment and stripped them of a status that blocked collecting taxes on most wireless communication machinery. Previously, the state Department of Revenue issued valuations for applicable wireless equipment across Massachusetts. While the DOR issued similar valuations for fiscal 2007, communities are not bound to use those figures. Tax Board Commissioner Frank Scharaffa has said the decision could be appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court. Last year, the town earned about $163,000 in taxes -- based on DOR valuations -- from wireless firms in town, said Bushway. He said 11 wireless companies have located operations inside Hopkinton. The town has requested information on company equipment located within its borders, but he did not believe the town is guaranteed extra tax dollars from wireless companies. http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=134926 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 11:06:28 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Wi-Fi Wars / Loiterers Can be a Drag on Businesses' Bottom Line By Alison Lobron, Globe Correspondent | July 9, 2006 Some wireless users sneak in their own food with their laptops. Others buy one cup of coffee at 9 a.m. and surf the Net until closing time. And the truly audacious sit for hours without making any pretense of a purchase. In and around Boston, cafe owners who installed wireless signals to draw customers say they also are drawing Internet users who tie up seats for hours, buy little or nothing, and make coffee shops feel like the office as they tap away at their laptops. Now some owners are fighting back by charging for wireless access, shutting off their signal at peak business hours, or telling loitering laptoppers to shell out or ship out. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/09/wi_fi_wars/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 15:52:30 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Caution: Unidentified callers ahead Phone companies fail to provide some IDs because of the cost of obtaining the data By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff Are you getting your money's worth from caller ID? Some callers can't be identified because their information is blocked or unavailable, but in other cases the callers aren't named because the customer's phone company simply doesn't want to spend the money to obtain the data. A small Globe test of caller ID accuracy found several instances where Verizon Communications and Comcast Corp. didn't provide a caller's name because they didn't want to pay the extra money. The price is minimal on a per-call basis -- often a penny or less a call -- but spread across a telecommunications giant's many customers, it can quickly run into the tens of millions of dollars. A spokesman for Verizon said the company provides excellent caller ID service, culling names from its own vast database and also spending tens of millions of dollars each year to access additional names from other telecommunications companies. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/07/09/caution_unidentified_callers_ahead/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 15:57:45 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Questions Linger Over Secrets on Laptops By BRIAN BERGSTEIN AP Technology Writer BOSTON (AP) -- Every month seems to bring another episode of sensitive personal information escaping into the wild because a corporate or government laptop computer is lost or stolen. A common response is a lot of hand-wringing over how the data should have been encrypted. But some key questions usually go unanswered. Why is so much private data allowed to be on laptops to begin with? What do people do all day that compels them to tote around records on, say, 26 million Americans, the staggering number seen in the recent Veterans Affairs case? "It's pure laziness. There's actually no excuse for it," said Avivah Litan, a security analyst for Gartner Inc. "There's no good business reason for it." Litan advocates a few simple steps: Organizations should keep sensitive information only on secure, centralized servers. Workers can access the data from PCs in the office or over private Internet connections, but can't store the records on their own machines to fiddle with them offline. If they absolutely need to analyze data out of the office, the employees should run programs that replace live credit card or Social Security numbers with random "dummy" figures whenever possible, since the actual numbers aren't always relevant. Following such rules would have prevented the scare that resulted when a laptop with veterans' data was burgled from an analyst's home May 3 (it was later recovered with the information apparently unaccessed). The VA inspector general told Congress that the staffer had been bringing data home for policy analysis since 2003. It's true that encrypting data _ scrambling them with private codes _ can make whatever is found on a laptop almost impossible to read. But encryption often isn't turned on by users who think it degrades computer performance. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=59637955 ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 16:54:03 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Elegy For the Video Store As Netflix and on-demand change the way we rent movies, the corner video store is fading out. It's a greater loss than you might think. By John Swansburg IN AN ESSAY recently published in The New York Times Book Review, John Updike noted that, 'mirabile dictu', the small New England city where he lives still holds an independent bookstore -- "one of the few surviving in the long coastal stretch between Marblehead and Newburyport." I happen to know that bookstore; I grew up just a few miles down the road from it, in Beverly, and bought books there as a kid. Yet when I read Updike's encomium for such 'lonely forts', I couldn't help but think of a different outpost, one that never enjoyed such praise from on high, and one that, unlike the bookshop, closed its doors not long ago: Photographics, the video store where I rented movies growing up. The demise of the independent bookstore has been augured for nearly a generation now, the inevitable casualty of behemoths like Borders and Barnes & Noble, online booksellers like Amazon, and ultimately, so we're told, of the universal, digital library imagined by Google and various techno-visionaries. The more imminent demise of the video store, meanwhile, has merited only occasional notice, mostly in the business pages. Yet something important is being lost here, something that isn't going to be replaced by rent-by-mail outfits like Netflix, video-on-demand services, or newfangled delivery systems like the Disney-backed MovieBeam. Though it may never have acquired the cache of the independent bookstore, for people who care about movies, the video store is just as vital an institution. Video stores aren't just a place to grab a movie. The halfway decent ones-in other words, not Blockbuster, which is almost entirely given over to new releases, the so-called back wall -- are places where the enthusiasms of the cinephile find a home. The theater is a place to see movies; the video store is a place to be among them-and to be among other people who love movies. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/07/09/elegy_for_the_video_store/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2006 22:08:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Bar-Code Tags, ATM-Style Machines Drive High-Tech Laundry Business By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff In the dry-cleaning world, they're called the 'not mines'. Those too-small jeans and who-would-wear-that dress that infiltrate your dry-cleaning order. Zoots, a Newton dry-cleaning chain, has hit upon some high-tech solutions to curb the 'not mines' and 'where are mines'? (the favorite cashmere sweaters that go missing in a vast dry-cleaning vortex) that plagued the company after it was launched in 1998 . In the early days, Zoots was spending 6 percent of revenue on lost and damaged claims -- about six times the industry average -- and not doing a great job of cleaning the clothes it didn't lose. "While we always knew this business would be challenging, we underestimated the magnitude of the challenge," said Tom Stemberg, one of Zoots's founders and creator of Staples Inc., the Framingham office-supply chain. "As we lost customers' favorite garments or failed to remove spots, we had huge customer payments and defecting customers." Zoots knew change was needed to survive. So the chain brought in a manufacturing team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to focus on quality and productivity. The leaders began investing more in technology, such as permanent garment tags and ATM-style dry-cleaning machines that automatically dispense orders. In recent years, Zoots finally began to do what it had set out to do: take the dry-cleaning world by storm, offering quality 24-hour service, home delivery, and high-tech perks like e-mailed invoices at dozens of stores. The 78-store chain says it has cut its loss claims to less than 1 percent and made huge gains in adding new customers, keeping existing customers, and improving margins at its locations in nine states. Along the way, the $66 million company got the confidence to continue its acquisition spree -- including last month's takeover of Sarni Cleaners -- and racked up more than 75 Readers Choice awards for best dry cleaner. http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/07/03/bar_code_tags_atm_style_machines_drive_high_tech_laundry_business/ ------------------------------ From: Anjan Sundram Subject: Western Union Now Blocking Money Transfers to 'Arab-Sounding' Names Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2006 14:20:14 -0500 Western Union blocks Arab cash transfers By ANJAN SUNDARAM, Associated Press Writer Money transfer agencies have delayed or blocked thousands of cash deliveries on suspicion of terrorist connections simply because senders or recipients have names like Mohammed or Ahmed, company officials said. In one example, an Indian driver here said Western Union prevented him from sending $120 to a friend at home last month because the recipient's name was Mohammed. "Western Union told me that if I send money to Sahir Mohammed, the money will be blocked because of his name," said 36-year-old Abdul Rahman Maruthayil, who later sent the money through UAE Exchange, a Dubai-based money transfer service. In a similar case, Pakistani Qadir Khan said Western Union blocked his attempt this month to wire money to his brother Mohammed for a cataract operation. "Every Mohammed is a terrorist now?" Khan asked. Dubai-based representatives from Western Union Financial Services, an American company based in Colorado, and Minnesota-based MoneyGram International, said their clerks are simply following U.S. Treasury Department guidelines that scrutinize cash flows for terrorist links. Most of the flagged transactions are delayed for a few hours. Some are blocked entirely. In many cases, would-be customers like Maruthayil simply find another way to send the funds -- often through informal exchanges with less stringent monitoring. Critics say the screening is far too broad. The number of people inconvenienced in the Emirates alone, which closely cooperates with U.S. counterterror operations, is thought to be in the tens of thousands. One Western Union clerk said about 300 money transfers from a single Dubai franchise were blocked or delayed each day -- none of which has turned up a terrorist link. In Washington, U.S. Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said foreign banks have used the department's list of terrorist names to freeze $150 million in assets since Sept. 11. Millerwise didn't know the value of money transfers blocked using the list, but said frustrations endured were regrettable but necessary. "We have an obligation to do all we can to keep money out of the hands of terrorists," Millerwise said. The list of names, available on the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control Web site, contains hundreds of Mohammeds. Inconveniences from the screening go far beyond money transfers in the Middle East. In the United States, banks, car dealers, title companies, landlords, and employers have used the list to unjustly block scores of ordinary transactions, said Shirin Sinnar, a San Francisco attorney with the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. In one case, a couple in Sacramento, Calif. was thwarted from purchasing a treadmill on a financing plan, simply because the husband's first name was Hussein, Sinnar said in an e-mail interview. Western Union's caution is perhaps understandable. Sept. 11 hijacker Mohammed Atta sent money from two Western Union agencies in Maryland before boarding a plane he helped crash into New York's World Trade Center. The money transfer crackdown comes amid revelations that the U.S. Treasury and CIA have tracked millions of confidential transactions handled by the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. In Dubai, a Western Union branch manager said he was forced to obey U.S. rules he and others consider too broad. "Mohammed and Ahmed have become problematic names because they are so common on the list of terrorists," said Nixon Baby, who runs a Western Union franchise in Bur Dubai, a neighborhood packed with South Asian businesses. "These are regulations that Western Union is required to obey. We have no control." At another Western Union office, an executive who deals with security measures said about 1 percent of the store's 30,000 daily money transfers -- about 300 a day -- are delayed or blocked because of suspected terrorist links. Thus far, all have proven false, the executive said on condition of anonymity, because she wasn't permitted to speak to a reporter. Western Union routinely delays or blocks transfers between customers whose names even partially match names on the Treasury list. The money is usually released once suspects show identity documents that prove they are not on the list, the executive said. Bernie Rabina, a representative at Dubai airport's MoneyGram outlet, said her company follows a similar process. Rabina didn't know what percentage of her franchise's daily transactions were blocked. The U.S. regulations apply to Western Union money transfers made anywhere, said Marc Aubry, the company's Dubai-based Mideast marketing director. But the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is one of seven city-states, is especially susceptible to the Treasury's restrictions because it is home to more than a million foreign laborers who sent home a collective $14 billion last year, according to a government report. The Emirates government has cooperated with the U.S. Treasury in tightening oversight after a 2004 U.S. investigation found that Emirates banks handled most of the $400,000 spent on the Sept. 11 attacks. Dubai expatriates like Khan and Maruthayil say Western Union, which earns about $3 billion annually from operations in 200 countries, has no valid basis for delaying cash meant for their families. They say Treasury guidelines are sending more people to informal money transfer networks called "hundis" or "hawalas" that have been used by gangsters and terrorists because they circumvent such scrutiny. "Sending money by hawala is cheaper and it does not get checked by banks, so it is quicker," said a Pakistani taxi driver who called himself Munir Ahmed. "They say it is not legal, but it is a reliable alternative to Western Union." At the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Washington, spokesman Corey Saylor said Treasury needs to reform its rules. "The Treasury program interferes with even the most innocent transactions," Saylor said. "Just because Ahmed is a common name on their list, everyone with that name is suddenly stuck." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Dave Warren Subject: Virtual Numbers Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2006 05:55:25 -0500 Organization: Disorganized I currently have Vonage and am less and less impressed with their service. As a result, I'm debating jumping ship. I no longer need the outbound long distance at all, my local telco no longer charges LD fees. However, the one thing that has kept me with Vonage throughout the last few years is my virtual numbers. First off, does anyone know if Vonage's numbers can be ported? I have a couple in Canada and a couple in the US, all of which I'd like to keep. My understanding is that although Vonage's ToS doesn't permit you to transfer numbers away, that's not actually enforceable. Either way, it's been a while since I've done any VoIP research and the market has changed. What are my options? All I really need is a few virtual numbers that either terminate on an ATA, or to a PSTN landline in Canada. 403 Calgary 204 Winnipeg 817 Arlington/Grapevine Anyone have any pointers or shall I just hit Google and start wandering? All that being said, I could just keep my Vonage service and call forward it to my PSTN line, and unplug the ATA -- This is a functional, if less then elegant solution. However, I'd like to get the cost down. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: EFF Defends Liberties in High-Tech World Date: 8 Jul 2006 13:50:51 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Anick Jesdanun wrote: > Today, after expanding into such areas as intellectual property and > moving its headquarters twice along with its focus, the EFF is > re-emphasizing its roots of trying to limit government surveillance of > electronic communications, while keeping a lookout for emerging > threats even as the Internet and digital technologies become > mainstream. As a citizen, I have mixed feelings about the work of both the ACLU and EFF. We must remember that Constitutional and legal rights are relative. My right to do something might impact your rights of protection. In short, we don't have the "free speech right" to yell fire in a crowded theatre and there are many examples of that. When it comes to gray areas of rights, I think the public interest must be carefully considered. I value my privacy and naturally and I don't want the govt listening in to my telephone calls or Internet activity. But on the other hand, I don't want terrorists blowing up a building or transport that I or my loved ones happen to be in. During WW II the U.S. Government locked up Japanese-Americans in California out of fear for sabotage and espionage. In hindsight most see that as a big mistake, because those people were loyal Americans (and many were citizens) and because the lockup was motiviated for selfish reasons -- other California farmers disliked the Japanese and wanted to get rid of them. However, Japanese in Hawaii -- who ironically were not interned -- had supplied vital information to Japan that assisted with the Pearl Harbor attack. In the rec.arts.tv newsgroup, many people cite EFF concernrs for new security controls in entertainment media and are very upset about such new controls. In reading the comments, it seems to be they're upset since they won't be able to copy freely anymore rather than the controls themselves. I don't like controls either but I can understand the desire of the entertainment industry to stop the massive piracy that is going on and stealing legitimate revenue from them. (That people dislike the industry is not a valid reason to deny them revenue by illegal piracy.) I frankly don't know what the balance should be. It's a tough decision. The U.S. and other countries DO have bitter enemies out to murder us; that's a fact. Our very open country allows enemies to come in easily or even be home grown. Now, I don't want school officials reading every kid's personal email and diary to see if another Columbine is in the making, but I don't want another Columbine either. I don't want the Feds reading our remails, but I don't want another 9/11 either. [public replies please] ------------------------------ From: castellan Subject: Re: http://www.privatephone.com/ Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2006 02:29:59 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com I'm pretty happy with it. Free voicemail! No arguments from me. I used j2 previously, but they have a limit on how many messages/faxes you can get a month. On 2006-07-06, NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us wrote: > I saw their ad on TV. > They give you a free voice mail account. > You can access messages by phone or 'net. > Most interestting fo their TOS is: > 6.4 Downloads. Provider may from time to time download and install > software, including additional Software or third party software, to > your computer while it is connected to the Internet through any means. > Provider retains the right to limit, restrict or require the use of > certain software or service in connection with the Services. > AND if you pay for extra services they have an "early termination > penalty" > I like OneSuite. > Incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as USA-Canada 1.9CPM! > Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for calls from home or > cell phone. Compare the rates at https://www.OneSuite.com No monthly > fee or minimum. Use Promotion/SuiteTreat Code: "FREEoffer23" for FREE > time. > Although from USA payphones there is a connection fee, there is NONE from > other phones or Canadian payphones. Also works FROM many other > countries. Sick of USENET postwhores? Trolls? Flamers? Read the Killfile FAQ for Newsgroups to learn how to filter their drivel straight to /dev/null http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile/killfilefaqhtm.htm ------------------------------ From: dpmartin@alum.mit.edu Subject: Re: (Ab)use of Javascript; was Re: Web Services Increasingly Under Date: 9 Jul 2006 06:28:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com In the future, voice services which convert voice to text and vice versa will become more common. If the voice can be recognized then identity can be established. Spy programs now exist that can determine who is typing by the pattern and cadence of their keying. Two versions; one which listens to the sound in the room and the other which is internal to the computer and records the arrival of keystrokes electronically. The one which listens only to the sound in the room can be trained to distinguished which keys are being typed. Blind people can learn this skill as well, much as a deaf person can learn lip-reading. redefined wrote: > This is true, but it's no different than the cookies that are currently > stored/tracked on these computers. > To stretch my idea even further, if there is a will there is a > way. All they have to do is create a simple little program that will > change the system's IP address every time a new user logs on. Say a > window will prompt for the login/password, and the login will be the > IP. This will of course wreak havoc on the network structure, but with > the advance of wireless networks and entire cities getting ready to go > wifi, this is looking more and more like when cell phones first > appeared on the market. I'm sure they can come up with routers that > will send traffic from each IP to its appropriate router over wifi. > Again, not saying that it's going to happen. Just letting my > imagination work here. > Julian Thomas wrote: >>> If the government really wants to track people's online usage >>> they'll have to give everyone the option to keep the same IP >>> throughout their lifetime, much like they allow people to keep their >>> phone numbers now. That way each IP address will have a name >>> attached to it. >> Hardly. Consider local network environments and shared usage computers, >> where many users share the same IP. >> Julian Thomas: http://jt-mj.net >> In the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State! >> Warpstock X - October 12-15 2006; Windsor, Ont. I'll be there - will you? >> Finagle's First Law: >> If an experiment works, something has gone wrong. ------------------------------ From: Koos van den Hout Subject: Re: Wireless Firms Agree on Rules for Mobile Web Sites Date: 9 Jul 2006 19:34:41 GMT Organization: http://idefix.net/~koos/ Reuters News Wire wrote in : > The guidelines advise developers against using big graphics or pop-up > ads that could clutter phone screens. > They also suggest designing sites in such a way that the content > appears right at the top of a cell phone screen, allowing users to > avoid scrolling past multiple navigation links. > "A common problem is that you have a small screen, so when a Web site > loads, the navigational elements like home page or next page links are > the only things you see instead of the content you're looking for," > Applequist said. Funny, those sound a bit like the guidelines for making websites accessible to blind users using screenreaders, braille devices. Now it's commercially interesting (alllll those mobile users!) there is an interest in this subject all of a sudden. Not complaining about W3.org, they have always insisted on an accessible web. Koos van den Hout (website self-promotion) For example, I made sure Camp Wireless at http://www.camp-wireless.org/ works for all browsers and should be usable for blind persons. For mobile browsers with WAP and WML support, there is a very lightweight WML version at http://wap.camp-wireless.org/ since I think the content can be useful even when accessed from a first generation mobile device. (/website self-promotion) Koos van den Hout, PGP keyid DSS/1024 0xF0D7C263 via keyservers koos@kzdoos.xs4all.nl or RSA/1024 0xCA845CB5 -?) Fax +31-30-2817051 Camp Wireless, wireless Internet access /\\ http://idefix.net/~koos/ at campsites http://www.camp-wireless.org/ _\_V ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2006 02:41:18 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , mc wrote: > Ed wrote in message > news:telecom25.251.3@telecom-digest.org: >> This past January I got a call from Peruzzi, a local car dealership >> here in Bucks County PA (suburban Philadelphia), wishing me a Happy >> Holiday. > I think people are going around telling each other -- quite falsely -- > that if the message doesn't explicitly announce things for sale, it's > not an advertisement and therefore not a violation. A few things are proscribed or regulated by law (or the implementing 'federal regulation') on the basis of content -- e.g. 'advertising'. Other things are proscribed/regulated on the basis of the methodology/technology used. e.g. autodialers, pre-recorded voice announcement, etc. The regulations on 'advertising' *do* provide an explicit definition of what is, and is not, covered. And there has to be a direct relation to a solicitation for "the purchase or sale of property, goods, or services." > A few weeks ago, a jeweler in my town used an autodialer to invite > people for a free ring cleaning. He told me it wasn't an > advertisement but an invitation. Worse, he made no attempt to avoid > dialing hospitals, fire stations, large PBXes, etc. ... my first > encounter with it was when my secretary got about 8 copies of the > message via other phones rolling over to hers. By 47 USC 227, and the FCC rules implementing it, Dialing (1) 'emergency numbers', (2) _patient/_guest_ rooms at hospitals, etc., and (3) 'paging service', 'cell phone', 'mobile phone', 'radio common carrier', and any other 'called party pays' service is forbidden. Dialing 'staff' numbers at a hospital, etc. is _not_ proscribed by law. The *ONLY* restriction on dialing 'large PBXes' is that they may not tie up two (or more) lines simultaneously. All of the above apply *ONLY* to the use of autodialers or 'pre-recorded' voice announcements. And, they apply *regardless* of the content of the message being delivered. The only explicit mention of 'advertising' as a proscribed activity is with regard to the sending of unsolicited FAX messages. If he only called -one- number of your business at a time, his calling was legal. Business numbers, not subject to the DNC list; not 'called party pays'; and not an 'emergency' line; Q.E.D. > I don't know, but I suspect someone is aggressively selling > autodialers by telling people falsehoods about the law. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is > when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our > original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still > in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] The statute, and the various sections of the CFR implementing it, is quite specific. "(3) The term "telephone solicitation" means the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is transmitted to any person, but the term does not include ..." If the call is _not_ "for the purpose of" getting some one to purchase or rent "property,goods, or services", then it is not subject to restriction. The FCC _did_ exempt, by rule, unsolicited calls that are "not of a commercial nature". The 'other' regulator, the FTC, is by statute, restricted to regulation of 'commercial' activities, and *their* telephone regulations apply ONLY to calls related to the offering for sale, or soliciting the purchase of, 'property, goods, or services'. _They_ have held that calls just 'setting appointments' for someone to make an actual sales pitch, are covered by FTC regs. The 'happy holidays' call _is_ probably legal, in a strict interpretation of the law. OTOH, the dealership may well be doing more damage to it's reputation by making the calls, than the goodwill it generates. The free ring cleaning offer is also probably, technically, non-commercial, and thus exempt from the telemarketing restrictions. A great deal depends on exactly how the message reads -- if they mention only the free ring cleaning, who they are, and when they're open, they're almost assuredly on 'safe ground' legally. OTOH, if they talk up _other_ things they do as well, -- .e.g, " free ring cleaning offered by XYK jewelers, purveyors of fine diamond jewelry, and quality watches. Distributors for Omega,Wittenhaur, Rolex, and Movado watches", _that_ is likely to run afoul of the FTC telemarketing rules. ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Sat, 8 Jul 2006 11:34:34 -0400 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is > when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our > original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still > in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] If the intent is to drum up business, then most definitely, whether it says "Come and buy something" or "Happy holidays" or "Boola boola!" A very basic principle of law is that intent and foreseeable effect are of paramount importance. There are also some laws against autodialing some kinds of numbers (hospital rooms, etc.) regardless of the purpose. ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2006 06:30:45 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Reuters News Wire wrote: > Safety center spokeswoman Evelyn Odango said the problem appeared to > be an errant file. > "The information was inadvertently included in a file that was then > posted on the Web," she said. "We found out about it through a Web > site user and it was removed immediately." They make it sound like some file has a human brain and those who *finally* found out about it are Knights in Shining Armour. Whatever became of personal and corporate responsibility? ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #253 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jul 10 19:33:14 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 28B88153BE; Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:33:14 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #254 Message-Id: <20060710233314.28B88153BE@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:33:14 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.4 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, URG_BIZ autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:35:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 254 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 10, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Li Sells PCCW Stake (USTelecom dailyLead) IBM PC Debut Exhibit (Lisa Hancock) Concession to Modern Technology (Lisa Hancock) Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? (Lisa Hancock) Digest Contributors Are Getting Very Sloppy (Mr. Joseph Singer) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (mc) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Barry Margolin) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Ed) Re: EFF Defends Liberties in High-Tech World (Thomas Daniel Horne) Re Western Union Now Blocking Money Transfers to Arab Names (Joseph Singer) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Sam Spade) Re: Wi-Fi Wars/Loiterers Can be a Drag on Business Bottom Line (Berkowitz) Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You (Sam Spade) Back to Being a Luddite (Oh, Well) (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 10, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 12:04:00 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 10, 2006 ******************************** Qualcomm's CEO says company aims 50-percent share of mobile phone chip market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18772?11228 BERLIN -- The chief executive of chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. said the company hopes to capture 50 percent of the mobile phone industry's chip market. We want to raise our market share in the mobile phone chip segment to 50 percent. But we're not yet there where we want to be, CEO Paul Jacobs told Dow... Faced with industry protests, EU bids to soften roaming rates law http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18770?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU's consumer-friendly attack on the 'unjustified' high cost of using a mobile phone abroad hit roadblocks Monday as regulators debated changes to a plan that would set a limit on how much phone companies can charge for roaming. Under pressure from phone companies, the European... Wireless tech company Qualcomm says trade commission to launch Nokia probe http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18767?11228 SAN DIEGO -- Wireless technology company Qualcomm Inc. said Monday the United States International Trade Commission has launched an investigation into whether Finland's Nokia Corp. and its U.S. unit engaged in unfair trade practices and infringed upon six Qualcomm patents. Qualcomm said it seeks an exclusion order to bar... Garmin Quest 2 Does Double Duty http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18765?11228 While a vehicle-mounted GPS navigation system is a great convenience for drivers, a handheld model is just as useful for people who like to hike, run, jog, bike or just plain walk. Targeting people who travel on both wheels and feet, Olathe, Kans.-based Garmin has developed the Garmin Quest 2, a GPS navigator that can be mounted insider ... UMC Announces Wi-Fi Plans http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18763?11228 Ukraine's second largest mobile operator, Ukrainian Mobile Communications (UMC), has announced plans to enter the Wi-Fi market, reports Ukrainian News Digest. The move will attempt to increase revenues by exploring a niche in the Ukrainian market that remains fairly untapped. Only Golden Telecom and fixed-line incumbent Ukrtelecom... Tiscali Denies Takeover Talks; Plans Wireless Expansion http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/18761?11228 Contrary to recent market speculation, Italian-based internet service provider, Tiscali SpA, is not for sale, according to chief executive Tommaso Pompei. In an interview in La Repubblica, Pompei rebutted speculation of an imminent sale, particularly of the company's United Kingdom unit. "I have seen a lot of rumours ... U.S. Wireless Online Wins Pittsburgh Wi-Fi Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18758?11228 U.S. Wireless Online was named to design, build and operate WiFi Downtown Pittsburgh, a free outdoor wireless access service project that got under way this week. As part of the contract, U.S. Wireless will be tasked with setting up, as well as operating the network. The wireless network will cover Pittsburgh's Central Business... Cingular Slapped With Deceptive Practices Lawsuit http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18756?11228 Cingular Wireless has been hit with a federal class action lawsuit accusing the mobile operator of a series of deceptive practices and contract upgrade tricks against AT&T Wireless Services subscribers after it purchased the rival two years ago. The 22-page litigation, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western... Strong Interest by US Businesses in 3G Service; Mid-Sized Companies Have Greatest Reliance on Wireless http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18754?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Nearly 5% of employees in US companies report that they have already adopted 3G services and an additional 15% to 20% would be likely to do so reports In-Stat. In addition, a recent survey of over 1,000 business users conducted by the high-tech market research firm revealed that mid-sized companies ... Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 13:15:39 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Li Sells PCCW Stake USTelecom dailyLead July 10, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXjUfDtutfgadlrIdV TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Li sells PCCW stake BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Will AOL dial back on dial-up? * SunRocket expands VoIP service to overseas callers * Phone directories dial up new online plan * Microsoft looks for way into the living room ... again USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Evaluating IPTV Transport Systems using MDI Curves Tomorrow HOT TOPICS * Tech companies eye telecom market * Survey: IPTV to generate significant cash in 2009 * C&W plans to sell broadband customer base * Internet calling shakes up phone market * Report: AOL could offer free services to high-speed users TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Plenty of traffic, but no hits for broadband video * Wireless transforms life in Congo REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile approved for spectrum auction * Cable & Wireless, Tiscali asked to block file-swappers Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXjUfDtutfgadlrIdV ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: IBM PC Debut Exhibit Date: 10 Jul 2006 09:44:26 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com The IBM Web Page has an exhibit on the debut of the IBM PC (along with other interesting historical exhibits). See: http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/pc25/pc25_intro.html ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Concession to Modern Technology Date: 10 Jul 2006 09:52:13 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com As regular posters know, I am a major "Luddite". I constantly question if some new technology is really worth the hype around it and will truly make things easier for us, on in reality, be more of a nuisance than the past. I must admit one new tech item is pretty slick. I just got some CD-ROMs with .PDF files of various antique telephone manuals and catalogs. They were very reasonably priced. The use of .PDF files (a file format used to store images from printed matter such as books) and the CD ROM media made it easy to copy, distribute, and use the old stuff. Otherwise, I'd have to purchase the original manuals at considerably more cost and then only I could view them; by mass media, many people can benefit. I'd also have a bunch of old paper lying around the house subject to getting torn or deteriorating or lost. (Now if only Adobe wouldn't keep upgrading its free reader every other day. I use version 5 and now they're up to 7 or 8.) [public replies, please] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? Date: 10 Jul 2006 10:52:00 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Years ago (1969) at the hospital I worked at, the paging (loudspeaker) system was built directly into the Bell PBX switchboard. The paging operators pulled a separate key and then could broadcast via their standard operator's headset. When they pulled the key a red light glowed to indicate to other paging operators the system was in use. [Only the operators were allowed to broadcast on the page, nurses and staff dialed the page operators for their request. For urgent requests ("stat"), a special number was used that sounded a Bell Chime ringer set on doorbell. Operators instantly answered that and announced the page five times instead of twice. There was another number for fire calls which rang a very loud bell. In certain urgent cases operators telephoned the main elevator operator in the car with instructions.] The system also played music when not paging, this was automatically cut out when the operators used the page. The operators did not handle the music tape recorder other than to merely turn it on and off as appropriate. The loudspeakers and wiring appeared to be of a generic design that could've been Western Electric, but I could not find any labeling on them. Also at my uncle's factory, anyone could use the page. They had a small telephone net as a key system. To use the loudspeaker, one dialed 6 on the LOCAL circuit and then made their announcement. I only visited there briefly once, but it appeared the loudspeakers were not Bell System issue. I was wondering if the Bell System supplied the paging system, music player tape recorder, or allowed a private interconnect (one of the rare exceptions where Bell allowed physical interconnects). Would anyone know if such paging systems were allowed to be independent and connected into the switchboard? As an aside, in a very recent visit hospital visit I saw operators making many pages for doctors. Way back in my day they were slowly converting to beeper operation for doctors. Back then, the page operator dialed the beeper's code then announced the message. Beepers only worked in hospital grounds. I'm surprised today, 30 years later, beepers aren't exclusively used. Also, my old hospital PBX was quite regimented in Bell System dial. Page operators used brief exact simple phases: "Dr Jones 536" (meaning, 'Dr. Jones call extension 536'). The modern hospital added verbage and was inconsistent, "Dr Jones call for you on extension 453" or "Dr. Jones, please call extension 435". In sitting there (I had to wait for my visit), I found the modern day verbose announcements annoying; I'd prefer the old style brief announcement. My old hospital also had a dictaphone system. That was privately owned but fully interconnected with the switchboard. That is, when dialing the dictaphone system, a whole separate level on the switch, the trunk was through and the user could dial instructions and the dictaphone would decode the dial impules and respond accordingly. Later, secretaries would hear the recordings and type up the material. The PBX operators had nothing to do with that system. I don't know if hospitals still have such systems. Miniature tape recorders can be easily carried around and record notes right on the spot, without the need to go to a phone and mess with dial codes. I think there are commercial services -- using Touch Tone command codes, that provide transcription. I wonder what other physically connected systems were allowed by the Bell System in the old days. (Railroads had their own systems.) [public replies, please] [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When I was employed by the University of Chicago in the phone room (1958-63 or so), we had more or less the same kind of operation. Users (mostly nurses and other employees of the University of Chicago Hospitals) dialed '7' -- it was known as 'Telepage' and gave their message to one of the operators, who then relayed it over the paging system. It was a little bit disconcerting however, since the operator could not 'hear herself speak' when paging. By that, I mean that the phone room was about a block to the east of the hospitals complex. We also had a musical background for those very few instances when there was not a page in process. Typically the operators who answered 'Telepage' -- I think there were five or six of them -- were frequently queued in line waiting for the red light on their boards to indicate the channel was free for them to use. The pages went out one after the other, all day and much of the night, to 'channels' were the caller was waiting on hold. For example, when Dr. Jones responded to a page by dialing 5904 for example, he would be cut into the holding circuit where Mr. Smith (who had earlier dialed '7') was waiting on hold to speak with him. I think they had ten links or holding circuits where the '7' dialers would wait for the person they were paging to respond to them (by dialing 5901 to 5910 I think). 'Dr. Blue' and 'Dr. Cart' were two exceptions of course. When the loudspeakers called for Dr. Blue or Dr. Cart those two were told where they were needed. There were also some code names for security police and fire as needed. But if an operator got a request for Dr. Blue or Dr. Cart or security (I forget what that code word was) they did not have to wait in the queue; they simply went on line and started announcing it. But for those special emergency pages, the operators also pressed a little 'chirper' noise when they went on the line to identify what they were doing. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 18:11:25 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Digest Contributors Are Getting Very Sloppy Forgive me for making this comment, but I feel I must. Many people when replying to digest articles apparently have no concept of editing. In a recent digest of articles several replies made their reply swell to two or three times the necessary size by replying and including every single bit of the original article and sometimes even beyond that including previous replies! Please have pity on those of us who read this list as a digest. It's a real PITA to try and read the digest only to have to scroll and scroll and scroll to get to information that I haven't already seen. I don't care for people top posting but that's not my beef. My beef it people who don't trim or edit anything. Please consider editing your replies to only include enough that we know what you're referring to. Get rid of the rest it's just not needed and only junks up the list. Thank you for your consideration. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A lot of that is really my fault. A rule I used to have here was the quoted amount of the post could not be more than 50 percent of the entire post, and ideally should be a lot less. I do not know why I got away from that, but let's try to implement it again. Make the number of lines in your reply at least be equal to or greater than the amount of the thing you are quoting. Thanks. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 01:02:36 -0400 Robert Bonomi replied to TELECOM Digest Editor in message news:telecom25.253.15@telecom-digest.org: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is >> when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our >> original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still >> in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] > The statute, and the various sections of the CFR implementing it, is > quite specific. > "(3) The term "telephone solicitation" means the initiation of a > telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase > or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is > transmitted to any person, but the term does not include ..." > If the call is _not_ "for the purpose of" getting some one to purchase > or rent "property,goods, or services", then it is not subject to > restriction. Bingo. The "greeting" or "invitation" from a business is intended to bring in customers and lead to purchase or rental of goods, property, or services. The fact that it is expressed indirectly does not change that fact. Some court probably needs to rule on this to confirm it, but it's the obvious intent of the law. There is such a thing as indirect communication, and the purpose of the Do Not Call list was to prohibit a specific type of recorded messages, not a specific set of words within recorded messages. > The 'other' regulator, the FTC, is by statute, restricted to > regulation of 'commercial' activities, and *their* telephone > regulations apply ONLY to calls related to the offering for sale, or > soliciting the purchase of, 'property, goods, or services'. _They_ > have held that calls just 'setting appointments' for someone to make > an actual sales pitch, are covered by FTC regs. > The 'happy holidays' call _is_ probably legal, in a strict > interpretation of the law. OTOH, the dealership may well be doing > more damage to it's reputation by making the calls, than the goodwill > it generates. I don't think it was legal. In any case, what I always say is, "remember *why* there is a Do Not Call list." Even if you think it's technically legal, why do you think people are going to enjoy it? > The free ring cleaning offer is also probably, technically, > non-commercial, and thus exempt from the telemarketing restrictions. I disagree. Its purpose is to bring potential customers into a place of business so they can be given a sales pitch. > A great deal depends on exactly how the message reads -- if they > mention only the free ring cleaning, who they are, and when they're > open, they're almost assuredly on 'safe ground' legally. OTOH, if > they talk up _other_ things they do as well, -- .e.g, " free ring > cleaning offered by XYK jewelers, They at least got that far. > purveyors of fine diamond jewelry, and quality watches. Distributors > for Omega,Wittenhaur, Rolex, and Movado watches", _that_ is likely > to run afoul of the FTC telemarketing rules. I don't think they went quite that far. > The statute, and the various sections of the CFR implementing it, is > quite specific. > "(3) The term "telephone solicitation" means the initiation of a > telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase > or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is > transmitted to any person, but the term does not include ..." > If the call is _not_ "for the purpose of" getting some one to purchase > or rent "property,goods, or services", then it is not subject to > restriction. Just as an aside ... I think what we are arguing about here is a very common kind of misunderstanding of the law by technologists. Laws are not computer programs. The words and phrases in laws are not self-defining. Laws have to be understood in context. One of the guiding principles of law is that technical loopholes generally do not work (which is a dramatic difference between laws and computer programs). Laws address intent and foreseeable effect. They are interpreted by courts, not just by the individuals who read them. ------------------------------ From: Barry Margolin Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Organization: Symantec Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2006 13:05:19 -0400 In article , mc wrote: > Ed wrote in message > news:telecom25.251.3@telecom-digest.org: >> This past January I got a call from Peruzzi, a local car dealership >> here in Bucks County PA (suburban Philadelphia), wishing me a Happy >> Holiday. > I think people are going around telling each other -- quite falsely -- > that if the message doesn't explicitly announce things for sale, it's > not an advertisement and therefore not a violation. > A few weeks ago, a jeweler in my town used an autodialer to invite > people for a free ring cleaning. He told me it wasn't an > advertisement but an invitation. Worse, he made no attempt to avoid > dialing hospitals, fire stations, large PBXes, etc. ... my first > encounter with it was when my secretary got about 8 copies of the > message via other phones rolling over to hers. > I don't know, but I suspect someone is aggressively selling > autodialers by telling people falsehoods about the law. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is > when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our > original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still > in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] What does it not being a sales call have to do with it? The DNC list isn't only for sales/advertising, it's for any kind of mass calling except political and surveys. I presumed the "way around" that the original caller was referring to was the fact that he had once done some business with this dealership, so they used the exception for calls when there's an existing business relationship with the recipient. Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu Arlington, MA *** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me *** *** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group *** ------------------------------ From: Ed Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: 9 Jul 2006 16:14:30 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com What I'm saying is that they have found new ways of circumventing the law. Not to say that just because something is against the law ever stopped some folks. Personally, and I think most folks agree, calling someone's house is a privelage and that privelage has been so terribly abused and that's why we have these do not call list laws. If retailers had been just a bit more careful in not calling folks at dinner time or late in the evening, we might not have these laws. Then again too, we have a administration in power that looks the other way when we talk about corrupt practices. Just look at all the scams that abound today. ------------------------------ From: Thomas Daniel Horne Subject: Re: EFF Defends Liberties in High-Tech World Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 00:05:03 GMT Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Anick Jesdanun wrote: >> Today, after expanding into such areas as intellectual property and >> moving its headquarters twice along with its focus, the EFF is >> re-emphasizing its roots of trying to limit government surveillance of >> electronic communications, while keeping a lookout for emerging >> threats even as the Internet and digital technologies become >> mainstream. > As a citizen, I have mixed feelings about the work of both the ACLU > and EFF. > We must remember that Constitutional and legal rights are relative. > My right to do something might impact your rights of protection. In > short, we don't have the "free speech right" to yell fire in a crowded > theatre and there are many examples of that. > When it comes to gray areas of rights, I think the public interest > must be carefully considered. I value my privacy and naturally and I > don't want the govt listening in to my telephone calls or Internet > activity. But on the other hand, I don't want terrorists blowing up a > building or transport that I or my loved ones happen to be in. > During WW II the U.S. Government locked up Japanese-Americans in > California out of fear for sabotage and espionage. In hindsight most > see that as a big mistake, because those people were loyal Americans > (and many were citizens) and because the lockup was motiviated for > selfish reasons -- other California farmers disliked the Japanese and > wanted to get rid of them. > However, Japanese in Hawaii -- who ironically were not interned -- had > supplied vital information to Japan that assisted with the Pearl > Harbor attack. > In the rec.arts.tv newsgroup, many people cite EFF concernrs for new > security controls in entertainment media and are very upset about such > new controls. In reading the comments, it seems to be they're upset > since they won't be able to copy freely anymore rather than the > controls themselves. I don't like controls either but I can > understand the desire of the entertainment industry to stop the > massive piracy that is going on and stealing legitimate revenue from > them. (That people dislike the industry is not a valid reason to deny > them revenue by illegal piracy.) > I frankly don't know what the balance should be. It's a tough > decision. The U.S. and other countries DO have bitter enemies out to > murder us; that's a fact. Our very open country allows enemies to > come in easily or even be home grown. Now, I don't want school > officials reading every kid's personal email and diary to see if > another Columbine is in the making, but I don't want another Columbine > either. I don't want the Feds reading our remails, but I don't want > another 9/11 either. > [public replies please] The use of external threat to destroy internal freedom is not new to our time. My favorite quote on the subject is: "Naturally, the common people don't want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." - Hermann Goering, Nazi Reich Marshall I dare to hope that in a democracy Goering may yet be proven wrong. It is the freedom of the press that prevents our leaders from concealing their excesses from us. Now we must use our votes to make ourselves heard while we yet can. Spain under Franco and Argentina under Pinochet were reportedly both rather safe places for anyone who kept their mouth shut about politics. Tom Horne "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2006 18:05:02 PDT From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re Western Union Now Blocking Money Transfers to 'Arab-Sounding' Anjan Sundram on Sat, 8 Jul 2006 14:20:14 -0500 wrote: > Western Union blocks Arab cash transfers > By ANJAN SUNDARAM, Associated Press Writer > Money transfer agencies have delayed or blocked thousands of cash > deliveries on suspicion of terrorist connections simply because > senders or recipients have names like Mohammed or Ahmed, company > officials said. Why should this be any surprise coming from our government who rounded up anyone who even appeared to be Japanese and sent them to concentration camps at the beginning of the US involvement in World War II or even more recently when "enemy combattants" are stored at Guantanamo, Cuba without benefit of being charged with committing any crime or let them have any access to an attorney. The US is very selective about applying protections and only applies them when it's "convenient" for them to do so. ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2006 18:18:04 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications The FCC never took jurisdiction over name identification. Should they? Monty Solomon wrote: > Caution: Unidentified callers ahead > Phone companies fail to provide some IDs because of the cost of > obtaining the data > By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff > Are you getting your money's worth from caller ID? > Some callers can't be identified because their information is blocked > or unavailable, but in other cases the callers aren't named because > the customer's phone company simply doesn't want to spend the money to > obtain the data. > A small Globe test of caller ID accuracy found several instances where > Verizon Communications and Comcast Corp. didn't provide a caller's > name because they didn't want to pay the extra money. > The price is minimal on a per-call basis -- often a penny or less a > call -- but spread across a telecommunications giant's many customers, > it can quickly run into the tens of millions of dollars. > http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/07/09/caution_unidentified_callers_ahead/ ------------------------------ From: Gene S. Berkowitz Subject: Re: Wi-Fi Wars / Loiterers Can be a Drag on Businesses' Bottom Line Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 00:36:03 -0400 In article , monty@roscom.com says: > By Alison Lobron, Globe Correspondent | July 9, 2006 > Some wireless users sneak in their own food with their laptops. > Others buy one cup of coffee at 9 a.m. and surf the Net until closing > time. And the truly audacious sit for hours without making any > pretense of a purchase. > In and around Boston, cafe owners who installed wireless signals to > draw customers say they also are drawing Internet users who tie up > seats for hours, buy little or nothing, and make coffee shops feel > like the office as they tap away at their laptops. Now some owners are > fighting back by charging for wireless access, shutting off their > signal at peak business hours, or telling loitering laptoppers to > shell out or ship out. > http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/09/wi_fi_wars/ Of course, this is what they should have been doing all along with the Rowling and Salinger wannabes who hog the NY Times, take extra chairs to keep their precious crap off the floor, and sit at the choice tables for hours nursing an empty latte while reading Noam Chomsky. I really don't care if you're surfing for porn, doing your French Lit homework or writing the Great American Novel; drink your coffee, then get the hell out. --Gene ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You Date: Sun, 09 Jul 2006 18:16:34 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications The article states that Verizon is watching this. This is such baloney. Neither the LECs nor the FCC have ever been the least bit concerned about CID spoofing. The FAA had a great idea to force ubiquitous CID in 1995, but they reserved a decision on private exchanges, etc, thus opened the door for spoofing. The FCC never resloved that one. Oh, wow, now the LECs are working on it ahead of Congress. Yeah, right. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: 10 Jul 2006 12:53:18 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com In an earlier post, I remarked how modern technology let me inexpensively enjoy stuff. It made me think about getting a new PC to replace my existing one at home (let's just say for home I have to keep track of EPA coal emissions rules and I use coffee cans for the sounder). So today I asked my co-workers for recommendations to buy a new PC; that is, what specs and features should it have. Ads for desktops seem to range from $300 to $1,000. I also discussed speed. With a new machine I'll sign up for DSL or even FIOS. But then I found out the downside. My speed won't increase that much because of the need for a firewall and virus protection. Everything coming across the line, including today's constant java applets, must be carefully checked for virus and spyware infestation. That slows stuff down greatly. I must admit I'm very frustrated. And very offended. How much effort do the "powers that be" spend on tracking down and imprisoning saboteurs of the Internet? Considering the flood of viruses and spyware out there, I don't think very much time at all. How much effort does the technical people who define the Internet's data exchange protocols put into developing indelible "return addresses" and "postmarks" so as to track the source of sabotage and harassment? (As an aside, some of this effort may reduce spam as well.) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How much 'time and effort' do the powers that be and the technical people spend developing 'fool proof' addresses and 'postmarks'? Oh, about as much time as Southwestern Bell spends making sure caller-id is foolproof; namely little or no time at all. When a spokesperson for the chairman's office at SBC told me once that "if we deliver caller-id to you on a call which shows the calling number as 111-111-1111 and the name of the caller as 'anonymous' we have done our job" I knew right then I had to get away from SBC's "services" as quickly as I could. What I find so absolutely amazing is that the computer network equivilent to the SBC chairman's office (ICANN) _could_ -- if they chose to do so, clamp down heavily and hard on all the nonsense we see in a day's time here. But the joke is, they do not wish to do it. ICANN mainly ignores the average, everyday users of the net. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #254 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Jul 11 18:09:45 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id A30731517B; Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:09:45 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #255 Message-Id: <20060711220945.A30731517B@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:09:45 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-2.7 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, NA_DOLLARS autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:12:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 255 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Internet Gambling Banned in House of Representatives (Reuters News Wire) Microsoft Hopes to Release Vista in January (Reuters News Wire) EU Still Trying, Without Success, to Collect on Microsoft Fineu (Pat Seitz) Producers Use the Web to Romance Audience; Bring Them Back (Monty Solomon) Someone to Watch Over Me (on a Google Map) (Monty Solomon) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 11, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Lucent Warns of Sales Slowdown (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (mc) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (John Hines) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (Gene S. Berkowitz) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (Dave Garland) Re: Concession to Modern Technology (Carl Navarro) Re: Concession to Modern Technology (NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us) Re: Concession to Modern Technology (harold@hallikainen.com) Re: Digest Contributors Are Getting Very Sloppy (AES) Re: Digest Contributors Are Getting Very Sloppy (Lisa Hancock) Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Internet Gambling Banned in House of Representatives Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 14:58:01 -0500 House approves bill banning Internet gambling The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a Republican-written bill to limit Internet gambling by making it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gaming sites. Internet gambling generates some $12 billion annually worldwide, with half coming from American gamblers. It remained unclear whether the Senate would approve similar legislation in the dwindling number of work days left before the November election. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines of interest, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Microsoft Hopes to Release Vista in January Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 15:00:13 -0500 Microsoft sees January Vista release Microsoft Corp's release of Windows Vista should begin in November with roll-out to businesses and broader release of the software to general customers by January, company officials said on Tuesday. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates told local software partners at a Cape Town technology conference there was an "80 percent chance" Vista would be ready as scheduled for broad release in January, a company spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman, who asked not to be named, said the current plan was to begin releasing Vista to business customers in November, with the general release in January. There has been speculation that the much-expected new operating system could be delayed, although this has been denied by top company officials. Microsoft originally targeted a 2005 launch for the new Windows, then pushed the release to 2006 before announcing in March that Vista would again be delayed to improve the product. The new versions of Microsoft's Windows and Office software are central to the company's efforts to revive a stock that has underperformed major indexes since the start of 2002. Gates made his comments to Microsoft software partners at a conference in Cape Town to discuss how technology can be harnessed to boost Africa's competitiveness. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines of interest, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Patrick Seitz Subject: EU Still Trying, Without Success, to Collect on Microsoft Fine Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 15:07:24 -0500 Microsoft Vs. The EU May Hit Another Level Patrick Seitz The European Union hopes to get Microsoft to comply with its more than 2-year-old antitrust ruling by threatening to boost the daily fines it can levy against the software giant. The EU's European Commission is discussing whether to raise the ceiling on future fines because Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - News) has failed to comply with the March 2004 decision that the company abused its dominant market position. The current ceiling is 2 million euros ($2.5 million) a day. But regulators are considering raising it to 3 million euros ($3.8 million), according to a Reuters report. The European Commission is meeting this week to decide how much to fine Microsoft for defying sanctions to remedy its abuses. The penalty could approach the record 497 million euro ($620 million) fine the Commission already imposed in its landmark decision against Microsoft. A decision on the total daily fines Microsoft owes to date is expected on Wednesday. Commission members have complained that Microsoft has been stalling in enacting reforms. The EU's antitrust authority ruled that Microsoft had shut out rivals by not disclosing technical information about how its ubiquitous Windows PC operating system communicates with its server software. Servers are central computers that form networks among PCs and perform such tasks as storing files, printing documents and hosting Web sites. Can Exploit Windows The EU is seeking to level the playing field for makers of software for work group servers. It claims Microsoft has an advantage because its server software can exploit hidden software interfaces in Windows. Microsoft claims that disclosing all the information that the EU has demanded would infringe its intellectual property rights. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft has until July 18 to provide the required documentation to European regulators. Microsoft's stock rose nearly 1% Monday to close at 23.50. For the year, shares are down 10%. Microsoft shares have been virtually flat for four years. Legal overhangs have dogged Microsoft's stock for years, says Brent Thill, an analyst with Citigroup. The EU case isn't likely to be resolved soon and it won't be the last such case for Microsoft, he says. Microsoft has appealed the European Commission's original decision to the Court of First Instance, Europe's second-highest court. A ruling could take months. "It just seems like once they get something cleared up on the legal side, something else emerges," Thill said. "It's a function of their size and their power in the industry." Bundling New Features Microsoft has been attacked for its bundling of software features and products. But that approach has benefited customers by reducing complexity and creating a better user experience, he says. But since Microsoft's Windows operating system runs more than 90% of personal computers worldwide, that bundling creates what many see as an unfair advantage. Microsoft's planned upgrades to its core products early next year -- Windows Vista and Office 2007 -- will continue its strategy of bundling new features and applications. The interoperability issue hasn't hurt the growth of open-source Linux, says Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. "Linux has been a large and growing competitor in the server space, displacing most of the existing Unix products that are out there in Europe and the U.S.," Enderle said. "The interoperability problem doesn't appear to be causing any major issues." Microsoft's rivals appear to be using the courts to try to "significantly hobble Microsoft," Enderle said. "Whatever Microsoft does, the competitors won't be happy." Microsoft has proceeded cautiously in giving out information about server interoperability, he says. If Microsoft wins its appeal, the damage from the release of information about its intellectual property will be irreversible, Enderle says. Much of what the EU sees as stalling by Microsoft was the company trying to get clarification about what specifically the Commission was seeking in its broad demands, he says. Copyright 2006 Investor's Business Daily NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more tech news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:39:13 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Producers Use the Web to Romance Audience and Bring Them Back By JESSE GREEN If you were one of the 2,500 people who saw the Off Broadway musical "Altar Boyz" last week, its producer, Ken Davenport, probably has your number. Or at least, if you were among the 40 percent who bought your tickets online, he has your e-mail address. So don't be surprised when a thank-you message ("on behalf of Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham") shows up in your electronic mailbox Monday morning, including a discount offer for a return visit or to send to friends, "so that they too can fall in love with The Boyz, just like you have." "The open rates on that e-mail are off the charts," Mr. Davenport said: more than 70 percent, in an industry where 30 percent is high. But the point isn't just to get you to open the message, it's really to push you to the show's Web site, where you might be tempted to join the Altarholics fan group ("Win big prizes and help spread the word"), take a trivia quiz, find out what your favorite cast member's favorite lunch meat is, sign up for a newsletter, click over to the show's official MySpace page or add to a list of "audience confessions" like, "I hate flan," or, more inspirationally, "I ditched 'Lestat' for 'Altar Boyz' ... again!" In the old days -- about five years ago -- producers didn't know much about their audiences, who they were and how to reel them in (or back). They largely relied on direct mail and print advertising, communications that were one-way, not to mention expensive, scattershot and impersonal. The old-technology equivalents of Mr. Davenport's Monday morning e-mail blasts were the "bounceback" discount coupons blown into Playbills and usually left to confetti Times Square. The "Altar Boyz" messages are much "stickier": people apparently pay attention to them because they come across as personal and interactive. "When you see a show you love, the moment after you see it is the moment you're most excited about it," Mr. Davenport said. "My job is to capture that feeling, as close to the event as possible, and turn it into word of mouth." Word of mouth has always been the ideal. But the Internet has provided a new and, some say, vastly improved set of tools to generate it: not just e-mail blasts but also Web sites, banner ads, search-engine pop-ups and blog coverage. In the last few years these tools have reshaped the way the theater reaches its audience. The most obvious change is in ticketing, which the Internet makes simpler for customers and cheaper for producers. During the 2004-5 season the portion of Broadway tickets sold online more than quadrupled to 29 percent from 7 percent; this past season it continued to creep up, to about 33 percent. (For non-group ticket sales, the figure is more than 60 percent.) The remaining tickets were purchased via phone, group-sales brokers, the TKTS booths and the old-fashioned box office, which now accounts for only one-quarter of purchases, making lines around the block mostly a thing of the past. But that's just technical, a change in how people buy what they were going to buy anyway. A much bigger change involves tapping audience members' social networks to bring in entirely new theatergoers. This summer "The Color Purple" is rolling out a Web campaign called "Organize Your Group" to help families, schools, gospel choirs and churches arrange theatergoing "reunions"; an earlier form of this program has already referred more than 100,000 people to the show. In May "Avenue Q" filled some slow midweek houses by offering discounts to people who had visited its Web site. A single blast to 20,000 e-mail addresses netted $40,000 in sales and cost almost nothing. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/theater/09gree.html?ex=1310097600&en=baea179e8230ff27&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:43:34 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Someone to Watch Over Me (on a Google Map) By THEODORA STITES The New York Times I'm 24 years old, have a good job, friends. But like many of my generation, I consistently trade actual human contact for the more reliable emotional high of smiles on MySpace, winks on Match.com and pokes on Facebook. I live for Friendster views, profile comments and the Dodgeball messages that clog my cellphone every night. I prefer, in short, a world cloaked in virtual intimacy. It may be electronic, but it is intimacy nevertheless. Besides, eye contact isn't all it's cracked up to be and facial expressions can be so hard to control. My life goes like this: Every morning, before I brush my teeth, I sign in to my Instant Messenger to let everyone know I'm awake. I check for new e-mail, messages or views, bulletins, invitations, friend requests, comments on my blog or mentions of me or my blog on my friends' blogs. Next I flip open my phone and check for last night's Dodgeball messages. Dodgeball is the most intimate and invasive network I belong to. It links my online community to my cellphone, so when I send a text message to 36343 (Dodge), the program pings out a message with my location to all the people in my Dodgeball network. Acceptance into another person's Dodgeball network is a very personal way to say you want to hang out. I scroll through the messages to see where my friends went last night, and when, tracking their progress through various bars and noting the crossed paths. I check the Google map that displays their locations and proximity to one another. I note how close Christopher and Tom were last night, only a block away, but see that they never met up. I log on to my Friendster, Facebook, MySpace and Nerve accounts to make sure the mail bars are rising with new friend requests, messages and testimonials. I am obsessed with testimonials and solicit them incessantly. They are the ultimate social currency, public declarations of the intimacy status of a relationship. "I miss running around like crazy w/you in the AM and sneaking away to grab caffeine and gossip," Kathleen commented on my MySpace for all to see. Often someone will write, "I just posted to say I love you." I click through the profiles of my friends to the profiles of their friends (and their friends of friends, and so on), always aware of the little bar at the top of each profile indicating my multiple connections. A girl I know from college is friends with my friend from college's best friend from Minnesota. They met at camp in seventh grade. The boyfriend of my friend from work is friends with one of my friends from high school. I note the connections and remind myself to IM them later. On Facebook, I skip from profile to profile by clicking on the faces of posted pictures. I find a picture of my sister and her boyfriend, click on his face and jump right to his page. Pictures are extremely necessary for enticing new friends -- the more pictures the better. I change my pictures at least once a week. There are hidden social codes in every image. Shadows and prominent eyes: not confident about their looks. Far away and seated in beautiful scenery: want you to know they're adventurous. Half in the picture: good looking but want you to know they're artistic, too. Every profile is a carefully planned media campaign. I click on the Friendster "Who's Viewed Me" tab to see who has stumbled upon my profile recently, and if people I don't know have checked me out, I immediately check them back. I get an adrenaline rush when I find out that a friend of a friend I was always interested in is evidentially interested in me, too. Just imagine if we could be this good in person. Online, everyone has bulletproof social armor. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/09/fashion/sundaystyles/09love.html?ex=1310097600&en=e0eeb156b9bc069e&ei=5090 ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 11, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 12:22:37 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 11, 2006 ******************************** Regional WiMAX Licences Granted in France http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18797?11228 French telecommunications regulator ARCEP has awarded regional licences for WiMAX as part of its plan to ensure nationwide coverage by June 2008. Fifteen companies and six regional councils shared the licences, earning the state 125 million euro (US$159.2 million) in revenue. Maxtel, a group including motorway operator APRR and Iliad,... Winning the Fraud Game http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18795?11228 For telcos, effectively managing fraud risk is closely linked to revenue protection, reputation, and commercial integrity. Fraud should not be seen in isolation. While there are specific technical issues around telecom fraud, the risks and solutions are actually grounded in the general good governance principles for any corporation in... To Build or to Buy? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18794?11228 The promise of a converged, all-IP future is one of the big drivers cable operators-particularly the larger ones-are contemplating as they cobble together massive, high-capacity broadband backbone infrastructures. While some have had that groundwork completed for a number of years, others are polishing theirs off or just getting... Cord-Cutters Pose Threat to Landline http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18789?11228 It may not make the headlines that it did a few years ago, but landline displacement is alive and well in the United States. In fact, big-bucket wireless calling plans and the go-anywhere convenience of mobile phones are threatening the stronghold of traditional telephone carriers. The threat comes in two forms. Some consumers are... Big Three Mobile Operators in Russia Reportedly Hike Interconnection Tariffs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18787?11228 Russia's 'troika' of leading mobile operators, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), VimpelCom and MegaFon, are to raise their interconnection tariffs for other operators four-fold, reports Kommersant. The three companies have also agreed to set low interconnection charges for calls from one another's networks. The big three have... AWS Auction Process Moves Ahead http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18781?11228 WASHINGTON -- Some familiar and not so familiar names have turned up on the FCC's list of applications to participate in the August auction of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum. The agency posted a list on its Website of 81 applications for the sale of 1,122 licenses in the 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz (AWS-1) bands.... AT&T To FCC: Erase 'Ma Bell Breakup' Requirements http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18778?11228 AT&T is asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to eliminate the regulatory requirements for separate digital subscriber line (DSL) wholesale subsidiaries -- requirements that grew out of those originally imposed as a result of the breakup of the 'old' ATT, or Ma Bell -- so the company can meld the activities... A Prof on Your iPod http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18776?11228 Even as professors wage an uphill struggle to keep cell phones out of classrooms, universities and community colleges are developing new ways to use mobile and wireless technology to enhance learning, reach new groups of non-traditional students, and stretch educational budgets further. The groundswell in mLearning will... Lucent Drags Down Alcatel http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18774?11228 A profit warning issued late Monday by Lucent Technologies Inc. hit Alcatel's share price in Tuesday morning trading on the Paris bourse, even though the French giant announced trading in line with expectations. The two companies announced their intention to merge in April this year. Lucent said revenues... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 12:27:49 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Lucent Warns of Sales Slowdown USTelecom dailyLead July 11, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXuofDtutfgvlZYJMj TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Lucent warns of sales slowdown BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Verizon pushes FiOS deeper into Cablevision territory * Time Warner expects almost $1B hit from free AOL * BellSouth broadens Ethernet options for small businesses * Vonage buys three patents, becomes target of new lawsuit * Telstra rivals threaten to build shared FTTN network USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Demystifying the E-rate Thursday, July 13, 1:00 p.m. ET TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Can video games bring the boys back to TV? * Video making Net "Show me" place for users REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Cable, satellite companies prepare to bid for wireless licenses * New coalition promotes numbers-based USF * AT&T reaches deal with FCC in privacy cases Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dXuofDtutfgvlZYJMj ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:01:07 -0400 wrote in message news:telecom25.254.15@telecom-digest.org... > But then I found out the downside. My speed won't increase that much > because of the need for a firewall and virus protection. Everything > coming across the line, including today's constant java applets, must > be carefully checked for virus and spyware infestation. That slows > stuff down greatly. I don't think it does. Has anyone made measurements? Text files and graphics don't have to be checked, only executable code. > How much effort does the technical people who define the Internet's > data exchange protocols put into developing indelible "return > addresses" and "postmarks" so as to track the source of sabotage and > harassment? That I agree with. The Internet was designed for use within secure research labs. It needs to be completely re-engineered for use by the public. We can't make authentication perfect, but we can make fakery a *lot* harder than it presently is. We can also make our software make more intelligent use of the routing information that is already included in everything we receive; phishing, for instance, is close to 100% detectable if anyone cares to do it. ------------------------------ From: John Hines Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:55:21 -0500 Organization: www.jhines.org Reply-To: john@jhines.org hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > But then I found out the downside. My speed won't increase that much > because of the need for a firewall and virus protection. Everything > coming across the line, including today's constant java applets, must > be carefully checked for virus and spyware infestation. That slows > stuff down greatly. Try installing Firefox as your browser. With the adblock plug in it is very effective at nailing popups before they display. http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ > How much effort do the "powers that be" spend on tracking down and > imprisoning saboteurs of the Internet? Considering the flood of > viruses and spyware out there, I don't think very much time at all. The defacto standard browser, MS's IE hasn't been updated in years, MS is a promoting a beta of their latest attempt. Silly sig to prevent isp ad ------------------------------ From: Gene S. Berkowitz Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:16:59 -0400 In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com says: > In an earlier post, I remarked how modern technology let me > inexpensively enjoy stuff. It made me think about getting a new PC to > replace my existing one at home (let's just say for home I have to > keep track of EPA coal emissions rules and I use coffee cans for the > sounder). > So today I asked my co-workers for recommendations to buy a new PC; > that is, what specs and features should it have. Ads for desktops > seem to range from $300 to $1,000. > I also discussed speed. With a new machine I'll sign up for DSL or > even FIOS. > But then I found out the downside. My speed won't increase that much > because of the need for a firewall and virus protection. Everything > coming across the line, including today's constant java applets, must > be carefully checked for virus and spyware infestation. That slows > stuff down greatly. I don't run a virus checker; I do run a software firewall, and my 5 PCs are behind a router. I have zero infections on any of the PCs I have running at home. That said, I don't download from sites I don't trust, I don't use IE or Outlook, and I delete "Hey, Take a Look at This" emails. Basically, the precautions that anyone should take (don't eat found food, don't have unprotected sex with multiple partners, don't leave your keys in the ignition) metaphorically apply to the internet. Even if you DO feel the need for multiple layers of protection (which, by the way, usually turns out to be the real performance killer when these various layers don't play nice with each other), even bargain priced PCs have more than enough horsepower to outrun even a fiber line. An ATA-100 hard drive has a 100 megaBYTE per second transfer rate; you'd have to be supremely lucky to have a DSL line that exceeds 3 megaBITS/s, or 0.3% of the maximum hard drive transfer rate. Even a high end FIOS line can only supply 35 megabits/sec, or 3.5% of the hard drive transfer rate. The real performance killers are not evil spyware; it's cluttering up your PC with "trusted" conveniences like RealPlayer, QuickTime, and CD- recorder "helpers" that sit in your system tray consuming memory and CPU cycles waiting for you to finally play a stream or burn a CD. It's printer drivers that instead of being designed to optimize the printing process, contain drivel like voice prompts of "Your document is printing now" (in case you missed the desk rattling as the $29 inkjet printer that requires $49 ink cartridges blows a dollar's worth of ink while consuming all the CPU resources, because the manufacturers don't put any intelligence in them). It's operating systems that require 50 separate processes "just in case" you find the need to perform remote program loads from a server that encodes all its pages in Mandarin. > I must admit I'm very frustrated. And very offended. Go ahead, but make sure you know what to be offended by. > How much effort do the "powers that be" spend on tracking down and > imprisoning saboteurs of the Internet? Considering the flood of > viruses and spyware out there, I don't think very much time at all. According to a 2004 article in USA Today, "Symantec, McAfee, Internet Security Systems, and Trend Micro grew from nothing to a combined market capitalization topping $24 billion by supplying anti-virus software to a hungry market." With that much money to be made from the fear of virii, is it any wonder that we're all being conditioned to be afraid of them? Even though your credit card is most at risk when handled by a minimum wage waiter in a tourist trap restaurant, we are constantly bombarded with warnings about cybercrime. Here's the news: it wasn't a virus that "lost" the SS#s of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and veterans; it wasn't a trojan horse download that encouraged a for-profit data vendor to sell personal records to organized criminals. Save your outrage for the Credit Bureau Troika who continue to convince their pocket congressmen that we "want" 50 credit card applications to show up in our mail each month, that having to wait 24 hours before issuing you a line of credit at BestBuy would be like burning the Flag, and that 24% interest for "universal default" isn't usary. --Gene ------------------------------ From: Dave Garland Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:39:20 -0500 Organization: Wizard Information It was a dark and stormy night when hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > My speed won't increase that much > because of the need for a firewall and virus protection. Everything > coming across the line, including today's constant java applets, must > be carefully checked for virus and spyware infestation. That slows > stuff down greatly. That should not affect your speed very much at all. Especially if you do not use one of the overweight, ponderous, suites like Norton or McAfee. Firefox and Thunderbird (and there are other choices as well) are far less susceptible to problems than Internet Explorer and Outlook. There are free AV programs like AVG and Avast! that work very well without slowing you down, and likewise spyware protection like Spybot, AdAware, and ewido. The biggest thing that affects your online speed is the speed of your connection. The next biggest thing is that you're not running 500 other programs at the same time. Turn off unneeded Windows services (google "black viper" for a guide to Windows services). And that your computer meet certain minimum specs. As an example, I've got a 1.5Mb/s DSL line. One of the computers I regularly web browse with is a 450MHz Pentium II with 512M RAM and Windows 2000. It's also operating as an ftp server and running a P2P file sharing application uploading at about 600Kb/s. Browsing is perfectly fine. Any machine you buy will probably be far more powerful (so long as you have at least as much RAM), and probably won't be doing as many bandwidth-consuming things at the same time. Now (to drag this into telephony) if you use Vonage and are talking on the phone using Vonage at the same time, that's probably gonna hurt performance seriously. Dave ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Concession to Modern Technology Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 03:50:13 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com On 10 Jul 2006 09:52:13 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > As regular posters know, I am a major "Luddite". I constantly > question if some new technology is really worth the hype around it and > will truly make things easier for us, on in reality, be more of a > nuisance than the past. > I must admit one new tech item is pretty slick. I just got some > CD-ROMs with .PDF files of various antique telephone manuals and > catalogs. They were very reasonably priced. Yeah, someday maybe, you can get the address for the old phone manuals, arcade machines (sorry, no High Speed), cameras and fax machines. > The use of .PDF files (a file format used to store images from printed > matter such as books) and the CD ROM media made it easy to copy, > distribute, and use the old stuff. Otherwise, I'd have to purchase > the original manuals at considerably more cost and then only I could > view them; by mass media, many people can benefit. I'd also have a > bunch of old paper lying around the house subject to getting torn or > deteriorating or lost. If you ever feel brave enough to do your own scanning, get Paperport (now up to 11) from Nuance and it creates a digital file cabinet of pdf files. It was $99 until July 1, but you still ought to find a deal on the internet. Carl Navarro > (Now if only Adobe wouldn't keep upgrading its free reader every other > day. I use version 5 and now they're up to 7 or 8.) > [public replies, please] ------------------------------ From: NOTvalid@Queensbridge.us Subject: Re: Concession to Modern Technology Date: 10 Jul 2006 22:01:14 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > (Now if only Adobe wouldn't keep upgrading its free reader every other > day. I use version 5 and now they're up to 7 or 8.) > [public replies, please] I have Adobe Reader 4.x I don't really like .PDF files. The reader I think needs 32 Mb to run. This computer [my most modern] only came with 32 Mb. I upgraded to 160 [32+128]. The orginal Adobe Acrobat reader I don't think worked with voice synsthezisers for the blind. Altho legally blind myself I am lucky I can get by with 19" screen and large text. At the NYC Public Library Branch for the Blind, they have braille printers and voice synthesizers. I wonder how well they work with .PDF. ---- Incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as USA-Canada 1.9CPM! Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for calls from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at https://www.OneSuite.com No monthly fee or minimum. Use Promotion/SuiteTreat Code: "FREEoffer23" for FREE time. Altho from USA payphones there is a connection fee, there is NONE from other phones or Canadian payphones. Also works FROM many other countries. ------------------------------ From: harold@hallikainen.com Subject: Re: Concession to Modern Technology Date: 11 Jul 2006 05:29:37 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > As regular posters know, I am a major "Luddite". I constantly > question if some new technology is really worth the hype around it and > will truly make things easier for us, on in reality, be more of a > nuisance than the past. > I must admit one new tech item is pretty slick. I just got some > CD-ROMs with .PDF files of various antique telephone manuals and > catalogs. They were very reasonably priced. > The use of .PDF files (a file format used to store images from printed > matter such as books) and the CD ROM media made it easy to copy, > distribute, and use the old stuff. Otherwise, I'd have to purchase > the original manuals at considerably more cost and then only I could > view them; by mass media, many people can benefit. I'd also have a > bunch of old paper lying around the house subject to getting torn or > deteriorating or lost. > (Now if only Adobe wouldn't keep upgrading its free reader every other > day. I use version 5 and now they're up to 7 or 8.) > [public replies, please] I agree! My old manual collection is at http://www.hallikainen.org/BroadcastHistory . I'm still using Acrobat 4... Harold ------------------------------ From: AES Subject: Re: Digest Contributors Are Getting Very Sloppy Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 21:45:28 -0700 Organization: Stanford University In article , Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > My beef it people who don't trim or edit anything. Please consider > editing your replies to only include enough that we know what you're > referring to. Get rid of the rest it's just not needed and only junks > up the list. Agreed! (Even if this reply violates Pat's rule that reply must be at least as long as quoted material -- which I don't think is a good rule, even if well meant.) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Your rule is a good one also, and many times when I respond in private email to people who sent me a long thing to read, I will do it like this: >one or two sentence summary. I just make up a sentence or or two which summarizes what the person said then reply based on that. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Digest Contributors Are Getting Very Sloppy Date: 11 Jul 2006 06:49:58 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > Many people when replying to digest articles apparently have no > concept of editing. In a recent digest of articles several replies > made their reply swell to two or three times the necessary size by > replying and including every single bit of the original article and > sometimes even beyond that including previous replies! This is a very common problem on Usenet. It seems most people add a sentence or two to a post already hundreds of lines long. Very frustrating to us with slow modems and connections since we have to wait for all that garbage to page through, especially when the added line is merely "I agree". Google as a news reader blanks old stuff out unless you ask to see it, this is a big help. The WW II site moderator rejects such posts. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #255 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Jul 11 19:36:05 2006 Return-Path: Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id AB60915775; Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:36:04 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #256 Message-Id: <20060711233604.AB60915775@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:36:04 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 11 Jul 2006 19:38:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 256 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bomb Attack Puts Bombay Phone System Out of Service (Ramola Badam, AP) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Ed) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Sam Spade) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Robert Bonomi) Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? (Carl Navarro) Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? (jsw) Re: Wi-Fi Wars/Loiterers a Drag on Businesses' Bottom Line (Joshua Putnam) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh, Well) (mc) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Ramola Talwar Badam Subject: Bomb Attack Puts Bombay Phone System Out of Service Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 17:44:32 -0500 Bomb attack on Bombay trains kills 147, Injures Many Others By RAMOLA TALWAR BADAM, Associated Press Writer Eight bombs exploded in first-class compartments of packed Bombay commuter trains Tuesday, killing 147 people and wounding hundreds in a well-coordinated terror attack on the heart of a city that embodies India's global ambitions. Suspicion quickly fell on Kashmiri militants who have repeatedly carried out nearly simultaneous explosions in attacks on Indian cities, including bombings last year at three markets in New Delhi. Pakistan, India's rival over the disputed territory of Kashmir, quickly condemned Tuesday's bombings. Even so, India alleges that Pakistan supports the Muslim militants, and analysts said a Kashmiri link to the blasts could slow -- or perhaps even derail -- a peace process that has gained momentum between the nuclear rivals over the past several years. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said "terrorists" were behind the attacks, which he called "shocking and cowardly attempts to spread a feeling of fear and terror among our citizens." Security was tightened in cities around the world from New Delhi to New York after the eight blasts, which struck seven trains within minutes of each other during the early evening rush hour. The bombings appeared timed to inflict maximum carnage in this bustling Arabian Sea port of 16 million, more than 6 million of whom ride the crowded rail network daily. Emergency crews struggled to treat survivors and recover the dead in the wreckage during monsoon downpours, and the effort stretched into the night. Survivors clutched bandages to their heads and faces, and some frantically tried to use their cell phones. Luggage and debris were spattered with blood. The telephone network collapsed, adding to the sense of panic across the city. With train services down until midnight or later, thousands of people were stranded without any way of reaching their families. There was no immediate indication if suicide bombers were involved. Police inspector Ramesh Sawant said most of the victims suffered head and chest injuries, leading authorities to believe the bombs were placed in overhead luggage racks. The Press Trust of India, citing railway officials, said all the blasts hit first-class cars -- a sign the assailants were targeting the professional class in a city that has come to embody India's 21st century ambitions. Bombay, also known as Mumbai, is the center of India's booming financial industry and the home of Bollywood, a city that presents itself to the world as a cosmopolitan metropolis where bankers dine with movie stars and fashion models party until dawn. While that image captures one side of life in the city, Bombay is also crowded and largely poor. And across the city, the prosperous and downtrodden worked together to aid survivors. As police and rescue services struggled to reach the blast scenes through Bombay's jammed, chaotic everyday traffic, bystanders pulled the wounded from the debris, offering them water and bundling them into every available vehicle -- from trucks to three-wheeled auto-rickshaws. Others wrapped bodies in railway blankets and carried them away. Police collected body parts in white plastic bags streaked with blood and rain. Those survivors who could walked from the stations to hospitals. There, they found scenes of chaos and carnage. Doctors and volunteers wheeled in the wounded and dead, one after the other. Rickishaws waited in line with dead and wounded for a chance to get into the hospital emergency room. "I can't hear anything," said Shailesh Mhate, a man in his 20s, sitting on the floor of Veena Desai Hospital surrounded by bloody cotton swabs. "People around me didn't survive. I don't know how I did." Another man, bloody bandages over his eyes, held out a phone to a nurse, begging her to call his wife and tell her he was OK. The nurse tried to explain to the man that 'the phones are not working right now.' The first bombing hit a train at Bandra station at 6:20 p.m. The blasts followed down the line of the Western Railway at or near stations at Khar, Jogeshwari, Mahim, Mira Road, Matunga and finally Borivili, which was struck by two blasts at 6:35 p.m., according to the Star News channel. However, other reports gave different timelines. Some passengers reportedly jumped from speeding trains in panic. Maharashtra state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said after meeting with his Cabinet that the death toll was 147, with 439 others wounded, as of Tuesday night. In Washington, the State Department said it had no information about whether there were any American casualties. All of India's major cities were reportedly on high alert following the attacks, which came hours after a series of grenade attacks by Islamic militants killed eight people in the main city of India's part of Kashmir. Reflecting the fears of coordinated or copycat bombings throughout the world, even New York City increased its transit security Tuesday with hundreds more officers patrolling the subways and more random bag searches. "We take a terror attack in any place in the world, especially one on a public transport system, as a serious warning," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. Bloomberg also noted, "if they did the same thing here, it would completely knock out our cell phone system also." Commuter transit systems have been tempting targets for terrorists in recent years, with bombers killing 191 in Madrid in 2004 and 52 in London last year. Bombay suffered blasts in 1993 that included the Bombay Stock Exchange, killing more than 250 people. A senior Bombay police official, P.S. Pasricha, said Tuesday's explosions were part of a well-coordinated attack. "Doing it at a time when trains were ordinarily more crowded, and hitting several trains over a distance apart from each other showed us they were 'professional and well-trained in their approach", noted Parischa. Police reportedly carried out raids across the country following the blasts. One TV station said a suspect was in custody. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned upon independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir. Dozens of militant groups have been fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, demanding the largely Muslim region's independence or merger with Pakistan. New Delhi has accused Pakistan of training, arming and funding the militants. Islamabad insists it only offers the rebels diplomatic and moral support. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf offered condolences over the loss of life Tuesday, his Foreign Ministry said, adding: "Terrorism is a bane of our times and it must be condemned, rejected and countered effectively and comprehensively." Accusations of Pakistani involvement in a 2001 attack on India's parliament put the nuclear-armed rivals on the brink of a fourth war. But since then, Pakistan and India have embarked on a peace process aimed at resolving their differences, including the claims to all of Kashmir. In Washington, a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the events were still unfolding said the coordination of Tuesday's attacks and the targeting of trains at peak travel times match the modus operandi of two Islamic groups active in India during the last several years: Lashkar-e-Tayyaba and Jaish-e-Mohammad. "We do not know where this is going as of now," he said. The U.S. government has designated both terrorist organizations and considers them affiliates of al-Qaida. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news of interest, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Ed Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: 10 Jul 2006 16:40:58 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I don't believe there is an excuse when you just visit an establishment once and you do not buy anything. Way around means way around the law. Again, there is no "relationship" when you just visit one time and do not buy and say that you don't want to either. And what's more, I fully intend to touch on this kind of scam if I do run for office next year! ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 00:38:02 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Legal points well taken. Another aspect of consumer law is effective enforcement. Without effective enforcement a law such as "do not call" except for "thus and such" eventually is eroded over time. There is no enforcement by any agency of this law. If you complain to the FCC they will refer you to the FTC. The FTC merely compiles statistics on violations. mc wrote: > Just as an aside ... I think what we are arguing about here is a very > common kind of misunderstanding of the law by technologists. > Laws are not computer programs. The words and phrases in laws are not > self-defining. Laws have to be understood in context. One of the > guiding principles of law is that technical loopholes generally do not > work (which is a dramatic difference between laws and computer > programs). Laws address intent and foreseeable effect. They are > interpreted by courts, not just by the individuals who read them. ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 13:38:15 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Barry Margolin wrote: > In article , mc > wrote: >> Ed wrote in message >> news:telecom25.251.3@telecom-digest.org: >>> This past January I got a call from Peruzzi, a local car dealership >>> here in Bucks County PA (suburban Philadelphia), wishing me a Happy >>> Holiday. >> I think people are going around telling each other -- quite falsely -- >> that if the message doesn't explicitly announce things for sale, it's >> not an advertisement and therefore not a violation. >> A few weeks ago, a jeweler in my town used an autodialer to invite >> people for a free ring cleaning. He told me it wasn't an >> advertisement but an invitation. Worse, he made no attempt to avoid >> dialing hospitals, fire stations, large PBXes, etc. ... my first >> encounter with it was when my secretary got about 8 copies of the >> message via other phones rolling over to hers. >> I don't know, but I suspect someone is aggressively selling >> autodialers by telling people falsehoods about the law. >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is >> when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our >> original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still >> in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] > What does it not being a sales call have to do with it? The DNC list > isn't only for sales/advertising, it's for any kind of mass calling > except political and surveys. Says *who*? The FCC regulations regarding DNC cover, per 47 USC 227, *only* calls involving the "solicitation of the purchase or sale of, or investment in, property, goods, or services". And 'tax-exempt non-profit organizations are not bound by those rules. The FTC regulations regarding the DNC list cover *only* "telemarketing" calls -- which, again are defined as calls for the purpose of the "solicitation of the purchase or sale of property, goods, or services". Again tax-exempt not-for-profits are exempted. Now, the proscriptions on the use of "recorded voice", and/or "autodialers", *that* is a different story. Those rules apply to _all_ mass calling -- well except by tax-exempt non-profits, that is. In article , mc wrote: > Robert Bonomi replied to TELECOM Digest > Editor in message news:telecom25.253.15@telecom-digest.org: >>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is >>> when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our >>> original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still >>> in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] >> The statute, and the various sections of the CFR implementing it, is >> quite specific. >> "(3) The term "telephone solicitation" means the initiation of a >> telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase >> or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is >> transmitted to any person, but the term does not include ..." >> If the call is _not_ "for the purpose of" getting some one to purchase >> or rent "property,goods, or services", then it is not subject to >> restriction. > Bingo. The "greeting" or "invitation" from a business is intended to > bring in customers and lead to purchase or rental of goods, property, > or services. The fact that it is expressed indirectly does not change > that fact. _Legally_ that is nowhere near the clear-cut matter that you seem to think that it is. > Some court probably needs to rule on this to confirm it, but it's > the obvious intent of the law. "Sorry, Charlie" there -have- been rulings already. and "indirectly" _does_ change things. Calling to attempt to 'make appointments' for a salesperson to call and make a pitch, _is_ proscribed. They're trying to 'sell' having a salesman come make a presentation. "happy holidays from your friends at Wal-mart" is not proscribed. > There is such a thing as indirect communication, and the purpose of > the Do Not Call list was to prohibit a specific type of recorded > messages, not a specific set of words within recorded messages. Wrongo. The DNC list has -nothing- to do with 'recorded messages'. Recorded messages are either allowed, or disallowed, according to criteria that *DO*NOT* involve presence on the DNC list. >> The 'other' regulator, the FTC, is by statute, restricted to >> regulation of 'commercial' activities, and *their* telephone >> regulations apply ONLY to calls related to the offering for sale, or >> soliciting the purchase of, 'property, goods, or services'. _They_ >> have held that calls just 'setting appointments' for someone to make >> an actual sales pitch, are covered by FTC regs. >> The 'happy holidays' call _is_ probably legal, in a strict >> interpretation of the law. OTOH, the dealership may well be doing >> more damage to it's reputation by making the calls, than the goodwill >> it generates. > I don't think it was legal. In any case, what I always say is, > "remember *why* there is a Do Not Call list." Even if you think it's > technically legal, why do you think people are going to enjoy it? Who says I think they will? But, unfortunately (well maybe not), "bad judgment" is _not_ against the law. >> The free ring cleaning offer is also probably, technically, >> non-commercial, and thus exempt from the telemarketing restrictions. > I disagree. Its purpose is to bring potential customers into a place > of business so they can be given a sales pitch. "Everyone has the inalienable right to be wrong." There _have_ been rulings, by a court of competent jurisdiction, on point, which disagree with your 'opinion'. >> A great deal depends on exactly how the message reads -- if they >> mention only the free ring cleaning, who they are, and when they're >> open, they're almost assuredly on 'safe ground' legally. OTOH, if >> they talk up _other_ things they do as well, -- .e.g, " free ring >> cleaning offered by XYK jewelers, > They at least got that far. Which *is* perfectly O.K. >> purveyors of fine diamond jewelry, and quality watches. Distributors >> for Omega,Wittenhaur, Rolex, and Movado watches", _that_ is likely >> to run afoul of the FTC telemarketing rules. > I don't think they went quite that far. >> The statute, and the various sections of the CFR implementing it, is >> quite specific. >> "(3) The term "telephone solicitation" means the initiation of a >> telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase >> or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which is >> transmitted to any person, but the term does not include ..." >> If the call is _not_ "for the purpose of" getting some one to purchase >> or rent "property,goods, or services", then it is not subject to >> restriction. > Just as an aside ... I think what we are arguing about here is a very > common kind of misunderstanding of the law by technologists. > Laws are not computer programs. The words and phrases in laws are not > self-defining. Laws have to be understood in context. One of the > guiding principles of law is that technical loopholes generally do not > work (which is a dramatic difference between laws and computer > programs). *SNICKER* The courts _routinely_ hold that loopholes *do* apply. That if the legislative body had 'meant' to say things other than the literal interpretation of the words as enacted, that they *would* have SAID IT DIFFERENTLY. Legislative bodies, with _great_ regularity, enact amendments to existing legislation *because* the courts have held that 'what they _actually_ said' was *not* 'what they meant'. > Laws address intent and foreseeable effect. They are > interpreted by courts, not just by the individuals who read them. Tell me about it. I have worked professionally as legislative staff, not staff of a legislator, but for the State Senate, itself. Also, I have drafted proposed legislation (as a lobbiest), which was subsequently introduced in the body, and enacted into law. ------------------------------ From: Carl Navarro Subject: Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 03:32:57 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com On 10 Jul 2006 10:52:00 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Years ago (1969) at the hospital I worked at, the paging (loudspeaker) > system was built directly into the Bell PBX switchboard. The paging > operators pulled a separate key and then could broadcast via their > standard operator's headset. When they pulled the key a red light > glowed to indicate to other paging operators the system was in use. > Also at my uncle's factory, anyone could use the page. They had a > small telephone net as a key system. To use the loudspeaker, one > dialed 6 on the LOCAL circuit and then made their announcement. I > only visited there briefly once, but it appeared the loudspeakers were > not Bell System issue. > I was wondering if the Bell System supplied the paging system, music > player tape recorder, or allowed a private interconnect (one of the > rare exceptions where Bell allowed physical interconnects). Since Western Electric made Amps, I would guess that they made their own paging systems, speakers, mics, and amps. In our non-Bell environment, we had Dictaphone dictation trunks, which decoded the commands for the boxes. Dictaphone still makes a "Tub" that probably reuses all the old 386 technology you can find for PC based dictation. The interface was a specially provisioned trunk. > Would anyone know if such paging systems were allowed to be > independent and connected into the switchboard? > As an aside, in a very recent visit hospital visit I saw operators > making many pages for doctors. Way back in my day they were slowly > converting to beeper operation for doctors. Back then, the page > operator dialed the beeper's code then announced the message. Beepers > only worked in hospital grounds. I'm surprised today, 30 years later, > beepers aren't exclusively used. > Also, my old hospital PBX was quite regimented in Bell System dial. > Page operators used brief exact simple phases: "Dr Jones 536" > (meaning, 'Dr. Jones call extension 536'). The modern hospital added > verbage and was inconsistent, "Dr Jones call for you on extension 453" > or "Dr. Jones, please call extension 435". In sitting there (I had to > wait for my visit), I found the modern day verbose announcements > annoying; I'd prefer the old style brief announcement. What, you think anybody remembers phone ettiquette? There is no central trainer like there was back in the day :-) I remember Veasey the old time operator. Probaby about 75 years old or so it seemed who didn't have any other place to go so she just stayed on the switchboard. Proably died on the job LOL. > My old hospital also had a dictaphone system. That was privately > owned but fully interconnected with the switchboard. That is, when > dialing the dictaphone system, a whole separate level on the switch, > the trunk was through and the user could dial instructions and the > dictaphone would decode the dial impules and respond accordingly. > Later, secretaries would hear the recordings and type up the material. > The PBX operators had nothing to do with that system. > I don't know if hospitals still have such systems. Miniature tape > recorders can be easily carried around and record notes right on the > spot, without the need to go to a phone and mess with dial codes. I > think there are commercial services -- using Touch Tone command codes, > that provide transcription. > I wonder what other physically connected systems were allowed by the > Bell System in the old days. (Railroads had their own systems.) > [public replies, please] > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When I was employed by the University > of Chicago in the phone room (1958-63 or so), we had more or less the > same kind of operation. Users (mostly nurses and other employees of > the University of Chicago Hospitals) dialed '7' -- it was known as > 'Telepage' and gave their message to one of the operators, who then > relayed it over the paging system. It was a little bit disconcerting > however, since the operator could not 'hear herself speak' when > paging. By that, I mean that the phone room was about a block to the > east of the hospitals complex. We also had a musical background for > those very few instances when there was not a page in process. Typically > the operators who answered 'Telepage' -- I think there were five or > six of them -- were frequently queued in line waiting for the red > light on their boards to indicate the channel was free for them to > use. The pages went out one after the other, all day and much of the > night, to 'channels' were the caller was waiting on hold. For example, > when Dr. Jones responded to a page by dialing 5904 for example, he > would be cut into the holding circuit where Mr. Smith (who had earlier > dialed '7') was waiting on hold to speak with him. I think they had > ten links or holding circuits where the '7' dialers would wait for > the person they were paging to respond to them (by dialing 5901 > to 5910 I think). 'Dr. Blue' and 'Dr. Cart' were two exceptions of > course. When the loudspeakers called for Dr. Blue or Dr. Cart those > two were told where they were needed. There were also some code names > for security police and fire as needed. But if an operator got a > request for Dr. Blue or Dr. Cart or security (I forget what that code > word was) they did not have to wait in the queue; they simply went on > line and started announcing it. But for those special emergency pages, > the operators also pressed a little 'chirper' noise when they went on > the line to identify what they were doing. PAT] By the late '70's, Elgin made a Meet Me Conference system that was station based. You extended your call to the first extension on the box, and the joiner dialed the second port extension. I'm not sure if it was amplified or not, but there may have been a 3dB compensation for the station to station loss. Carl Navarro ------------------------------ From: jsw Subject: Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 12:22:26 CDT > I was wondering if the Bell System supplied the paging system, music > player tape recorder, or allowed a private interconnect (one of the > rare exceptions where Bell allowed physical interconnects). > Would anyone know if such paging systems were allowed to be > independent and connected into the switchboard? I worked at a major medical center for 13 years, spanning the late 70's to the early 90's. I was not in the telecom department, but I did have a very good idea of how the campus phone systems and paging systems operated. ;-) When I first came aboard, the campus was served (??) by Centrex-CU off of an aging and quirky 101 ESS on campus. Many departments had their own (meaning serving them only, but owned and maintained by Ma Bell) key systems. There was a mix of rotary and touch-tone on campus. Ma Bell actually stationed two techies semipermanently on campus. They had a small 'office' in a room off of a steam tunnel, with their stash of cables, KTU parts, etc. Our main paging system was totally independent of Ma Bell. It was based on a huge honker Crown amplifier and hundreds of speakers around the campus. The operators had paging microphones on their consoles, but they did not connect with Ma Bell. However, several departments had their own departmental paging systems which *WERE* connected to Ma Bell. In these cases a departmental amp would be fed from a 600 ohm feed from the main campus paging system and another twisted-pair 600 ohm feed from Ma Bell's key system. To page locally, a code was dialed on the departmental intercom key and that cut into the departmental paging system. Both rotary and touch-tone phones were supported. When TT was used for a page, it was often obvious with a very loud TT burst as the page began. I don't remember any black box or dedicated interconnect device for these. IIRC, twisted pair frame wire ran right from the KTU punch block over to the amplifier cabinets. > Also, my old hospital PBX was quite regimented in Bell System dial. > Page operators used brief exact simple phases: "Dr Jones 536" They usually kept pages short and to the point. There were two special 'code' pages. 'Dr. Red' was a fire alarm, with the location Dr. Red was supposed to report to immediately being the location of the fire. 'Dr. Blue' was for code blue, or a cardiac incident which scrambled the code team. We converted to Centrex-CO in the early 80's. Same phones, same dialing plan, but all extensions cabled to the CO about two miles away. (The campus straddled a CO boundary. Pay phones in some buildings were served out of a different CO than the regular office phones.) In the late 80's the Med Center bought their own switch, a Definity of some sort. Almost everybody got their own 2500 style desk set with their own DID number. Just before I left, four-digit dialing gave way to five-digit dialing as the campus expanded. There were still many rotary dial phones on campus until the new installation. ------------------------------ From: Joshua Putnam Subject: Re: Wi-Fi Wars / Loiterers Can be a Drag on Businesses' Bottom Line Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:48:14 -0700 In article , first.last@comcast.net says: > Of course, this is what they should have been doing all along with the > Rowling and Salinger wannabes who hog the NY Times, take extra chairs > to keep their precious crap off the floor, and sit at the choice > tables for hours nursing an empty latte while reading Noam Chomsky. I > really don't care if you're surfing for porn, doing your French Lit > homework or writing the Great American Novel; drink your coffee, then > get the hell out. It's not quite so cut-and-dried. An empty business looks like an unpopular business. Having a few seats occupied, even if the people in the seats aren't buying, can make a coffee shop or restaurant look more popular, and thus increase sales. The trick is getting just the right number of seat-warmers without cutting into your sales capacity. If you get too many of them, you take down some of the flypaper, but not all of it. josh@phred.org is Joshua Putnam Books for Bicycle Mechanics and Tinkerers: ------------------------------ From: "mc" Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 18:43:05 -0400 Gene S. Berkowitz wrote in message news:telecom25.255.10@telecom-digest.org: > According to a 2004 article in USA Today, "Symantec, McAfee, Internet > Security Systems, and Trend Micro grew from nothing to a combined > market capitalization topping $24 billion by supplying anti-virus > software to a hungry market." > With that much money to be made from the fear of virii, is it any > wonder that we're all being conditioned to be afraid of them? > Even though your credit card is most at risk when handled by a minimum > wage waiter in a tourist trap restaurant, we are constantly bombarded > with warnings about cybercrime. Here's the news: it wasn't a virus > that "lost" the SS#s of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and > veterans; it wasn't a trojan horse download that encouraged a > for-profit data vendor to sell personal records to organized > criminals. Well said. At this point, virus protection is big business, and lots of companies would go out of business if viruses actually died out. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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: 620-402-0134 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 oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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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. 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 V25 #256 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Jul 12 23:27:36 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 44EF7219E; Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:27:36 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #257 Message-Id: <20060713032736.44EF7219E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:27:36 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, CELL_PHONE_IMPROVE,NA_DOLLARS autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 12 Jul 2006 23:30:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 257 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson The Front Lines - July 12, 2006 (Jonathan Marashlian) New Audio Service From International Herald Tribune (Reuters News Wire) Paralyzed Man Moves Computer Cursor Through Thought (Reuters News Wire) Verizon Again (Residential Foreign Listings) (Fred Atkinson) Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Lisa Hancock) Survey: Fiber Connections Increase Demand for CE (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 12, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (jmeissen@aracnet.com) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (sidd@situ.com) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (Lisa Hancock) Re: Wi-Fi Wars/Loiterers a Drag on Businesses' (Gene S. Berkowitz) Re: A New Way Around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Ed) Re: A New Way Around the Do Not Call Lists ... (mc) Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? (Scott Dorsey) Re: Elegy For the Video Store (Rick Merrill) WE 608 Cord Switchboard (Lisa Hancock) Small Size PBXs -- Manual vs. Dial? (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reply-To: From: Jonathan Marashlian Subject: The Front Lines - Urgent Regulatory Reminders Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 12:08:48 -0400 Organization: The Helein Law Group http://www.thefrontlines-hlg.com/ The FRONT LINES Sponsored by The Helein Law Group, P.C. Advancing The Cause of Competition in the Telecommunications Industry REMINDER: FCC FORM 499-Q DUE AUGUST 1st Interconnected VoIP Providers Required to Register with FCC, File FCC Form 499-Q by August 1, 2006 and Make USF Contributions Providers of interstate and international telecommunications services, which now include "interconnected VoIP providers" (collectively, USF contributors) are reminded that their FCC Form 499-Q is due no later than Tuesday, August 1, 2006. The FCC requires USF contributors to file Form 499-Q to report actual billed revenue and projected revenues. In the Form 499-Q due August 1st contributors must report actual billed revenue for the 2nd Quarter of 2006 and projected billed & collected revenue for the 4th Quarter of 2006. De Minimis carriers and service providers (i.e., those with $10,000 or less in annual USF contributions) are not required to file Form 499-Qs, but are reminded that an annual Form 499-A is required each year in April. Important Details for Interconnected VoIP Providers Pursuant to paragraphs 60 through 62 of the FCC's June 27, 2006 Order, in which it declared interconnected VoIP providers subject to Universal Service Fund contributor requirements, the FCC requires all interconnected VoIP providers to take the following actions prior to August 1, 2006: * Secure Registered Agent in the District of Columbia, as required by 47 U.S.C. 154(i); * Obtain FCC Registration Number (FRN); * File Form 499-A (interstate telecommunications provider registration) with Blocks 1, 2 and 6 completed; * Obtain USF Filer ID from the Universal Service Administrative Corporation (USAC); * File Form 499-Q reporting historical gross-billed interstate and international revenues collected in the 2nd Quarter of 2006 and projected gross-billed and projected collected end-user interstate and international revenues for the 4th Quarter of 2006; Form 499-Q must be filed no later than August 1, 2006. The timeline established by the Commission for accomplishing all of the above actions is extremely tight. Indeed, in order to satisfy the deadline, action is required immediately. Therefore, we urge clients and interested parties requiring assistance to contact Jonathan S. Marashlian at jsm@thlglaw.com or 703-714-1313. REMINDER: FCC ANNUAL SECTION 43.61(a) INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRAFFIC REPORTS DUE JULY 31, 2006 Carriers are reminded that Section 43.61(a) of the Federal Communications Commission's rules requires each common carrier that provided international telecommunications services in year 2005 to file a report of their international traffic data for the calendar year by July 31, 2006. All common carriers that provided international facilities-based and facilities-resale switched and private line services, or pure switched resale services, in the calendar year are required to file the report regardless of the amount of traffic they provided. Facilities-based services are provided using international transmission facilities that the carrier owns in whole or in part, or that the carrier leases from an entity that does not report those circuits in its own Section 43.61 report. Facilities-resale services are provided by leasing non-switched international circuits from other reporting international carriers. These are distinct from pure switched resale services, which are switched services that are provided by reselling the international switched services of other U.S.-authorized carriers. International facilities-based and facilities-resale switched message telephone and private line services data must be filed on a country-by-country, region and world total basis. International switched telegraph, telex and other miscellaneous services data may be provided on a region and world total basis only. Carriers that provided international pure switched resale services for the calendar year may file world totals only. Clients seeking assistance with the Section 43.61(a) traffic reporting requirements may contact Jonathan S. Marashlian at jsm@thlglaw.com or 703-714-1313. FCC DECLARES ALL PREPAID CALLING CARDS SUBJECT TO TRADITIONAL TELEPHONE REGULATIONS; REPORTING & CERTIFICATION RULES ADOPTED On June 30, 2006, the Federal Communications Commission released a Report and Order in Docket No. 05-68 declaring all prepaid calling cards telecommunications services and establishing rules and procedures to ensure prepaid phone providers are subjected to the full panoply of traditional telephony regulations, including access charges and Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions. The Order does exempt revenue derived from the sale of calling cards to the U.S. military from USF, if done pursuant to contract. In the Order, the Commission ruled that Internet Protocol-based, menu driven prepaid calling cards and cards using IP Technology in the middle are telecommunications services and therefore subject to all legal and regulatory requirements applicable to such services, including USF reporting and contributions, as well as inter and intra-state access charges. Importantly, the Commission also imposed reporting and certification requirements on prepaid phone providers to ensure compliance with the new regulatory regime and deter gaming of the system. In addition, the FCC held that, although the classification of menu driven cards as telecommunications services will be applied prospectively only, the classification of IP Technology cards will be applied retroactively. The retroactive application of the Commission's decision means companies relying on IP Technology as a basis for exemption in the past will be required to voluntarily make USF contributions for all past periods or face the prospect of formal enforcement actions. The new rules, set forth below, will become effective 90 days after their publication in the Federal Register, except that the certification requirements will be effective at the end of the first quarter following Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval. New Prepaid Calling Card Regulations 47 C.F.R. 64.5000 Definitions (a) Prepaid Calling Card. The term 'prepaid calling card' means acard or similar device that allows users to pay in advance for a specified amount of calling, without regard to additional features, functions, or capabilities available in conjunction with the calling service. (b) Prepaid Calling Card Provider. The term 'prepaid calling card provider' means any entity that provides telecommunications service to consumers through the use of a prepaid calling card. 47 C.F.R. 64.5001 Reporting and Certification Requirements (a) All prepaid calling card providers must report prepaid calling card percentage of interstate use (PIU) factors, and call volumes from which these factors were calculated, based on not less than a one-day representative sample, to those carriers from which they purchase transport services. Such reports must be provided no later than the 45th day of each calendar quarter for the previous quarter. (b) If a prepaid calling card provider fails to provide the appropriate PIU information to a transport provider in the time allowed, the transport provider may apply a 50 percent default PIU factor to the prepaid calling card provider's traffic. (c) On a quarterly basis, every prepaid calling card provider must submit to the Commission a certification, signed by an officer of the company under penalty of perjury, providing the following information with respect to the prior quarter: (1) The percentage of intrastate, interstate, and international calling card minutes for that reporting period; (2) The percentage of total prepaid calling card service revenue (excluding revenue from prepaid calling cards sold by, to, or pursuant to contract with the Department of Defense (DoD) or a DoD entity) attributable to interstate and international calls for that reporting period; (3) A statement that it is making the required Universal Service Fund contribution based on the reported information; (4) A statement that it has complied with the reporting requirements described in section 64.5001(a) above. Effect on Dial-Around Compensation In an interesting twist, the Commission's Order also addressed the issue of Dial-Around Compensation (DAC). In footnotes, the Commission agreed with payphone aggregator, APCC Services, that providers of calling cards are obligated to pay DAC to payphone service providers pursuant to section 276 of the Act when menu based and IP Technology cards are used in the provision of telecommunications services. Furthermore, the Commission agreed with APCC that calls completed to a calling card platform without attempting to reach a third party are subject to DAC. While the first conclusion was not unexpected, the Commission's latter statement appears to change the industry's understanding of what constitutes a completed call under the FCC's Tollgate Rules. Conclusion This new federal regulatory regime for prepaid calling card providers is certain to cause a great deal of disruption in the calling card marketplace which, up to now, has been provided ample opportunity to minimize the financial and administrative burdens of traditional telecommunications regulations through technology and other means. The application of traditional telecommunications regulations and the FCC's reporting and certification requirements will undoubtedly result in material increases in prepaid providers cost of doing business. Our firm is continuing to analyze the implications of the Commission's Order and is standing by to assist clients and interested parties with their efforts to understand and comply with the new requirements. To be certain you understand how these regulations will affect your company and make preparations for compliance with the new regulatory regime, we urge you to contact your telecommunications counsel. If you do not have counsel, please contact us at 703-714-1300 or by e-mail jsm@thlglaw.com, if you require assistance. The Front Lines is a free publication of The Helein Law Group, P.C., providing clients and interested parties with valuable information, news, and updates regarding regulatory and legal developments primarily impacting companies engaged in the competitive telecommunications industry. The Front Lines does not purport to offer legal advice nor does it establish a lawyer-client relationship with the reader. If you have questions about a particular article, general concerns, or wish to seek legal counsel regarding a specific regulatory or legal matter affecting your company, please contact our firm at 703-714-1313 or visit our website: http://www.thlglaw.com/ www.THLGlaw.com The Helein Law Group, P.C. 8180 Greensboro Drive, Suite 775 McLean, Virginia 22102 ------------------------------ From: Jeffrey Goldfarb Subject: New Audio Service From International Herald Tribune Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:09:30 -0500 By Jeffrey Goldfarb The International Herald Tribune has launched a new twist on the podcasting craze sweeping media companies with a service that instantly generates an audio version of any article in the newspaper. The IHT, which is owned by New York Times Co., said it was the first English-language Web site to deliver the service, which it rolled out on Wednesday with Swedish technology company ReadSpeaker. German newspaper Waz has unveiled a similar service. A female voice with a British accent and only a slight robotic stammer reads the articles with nearly accurate intonation and word emphasis, though the beta version is not glitch-free as some words were difficult to understand in a recent test. The IHT is providing the audio service free at http://audionews.iht.com/home/ and without advertising temporarily as it makes changes and improvements, but is seeking advertisers to help generate revenue. "It allows us to sell advertising on a scalable basis," said Meredith Artley, editor and publisher of IHT.com. "No advertisers are on board yet, but we've got a couple of folks who are interested," she said. "We would probably put on five to 10 seconds of an audio ad, and we're considering doing it on every third or fifth article." Users can either listen to articles on the spot or download them onto an MP3 player or mobile phone, creating a personalized audio version of the Paris-based newspaper, which was founded in 1887 and is sold in 180 countries. The IHT Web site draws 2.7 million unique readers a month. About 6.6 percent of the U.S. adult online population, or 9.2 million Web users, are downloading audio podcasts, according to figures released on Wednesday by research firm Nielsen/NetRatings. "The portability of podcasts makes them especially appealing to young, on-the-go audiences," Nielsen/NetRatings analyst Michael Lanz said. "We can expect to see podcasting become increasingly popular as portable content media players proliferate." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines from the daily media, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Patricia Reaney Subject: Paralyzed Man Moves Computer Cursor Through Thought Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:13:55 -0500 Paralyzed man moves computer cursor through thought By Patricia Reaney A paralyzed man using a new brain sensor has been able to move a computer cursor, open e-mail and control a robotic device simply by thinking about doing it, a team of scientists said on Wednesday. They believe the BrainGate sensor, which involves implanting electrodes in the brain, could offer new hope to people paralyzed by injuries or illnesses. "This is the first step in an ongoing clinical trial of a device that is encouraging for its potential to help people with paralysis," Dr Leigh Hochberg, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said in an interview. The 25-year-old man who suffered paralysis of all four limbs three years earlier completed tasks such moving a cursor on a screen and controlling a robotic arm. He is the first of four patients with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, stroke or motor neurone disease testing the brain-to-movement system developed by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc. in Massachusetts. "This is the dawn of major neurotechnology where the ability to take signals out of the brain has taken a big step forward. We have the ability to put signals into the brain but getting signals out is a real challenge. I think this represents a landmark event," said Professor John Donoghue of Brown University in Rhode Island and the chief scientific officer of Cyberkinetics. The scientists implanted a tiny silicon chip with 100 electrodes into an area of the brain responsible for movement. The activity of the cells was recorded and sent to a computer which translated the commands and enabled the patient to move and control the external device. "This part of the brain, the motor cortex, which usually sends its signals down the spinal cord and out to the limbs to control movement, can still be used by this participant to control an external device, even after years had gone by since his spinal cord injury," added Hochberg, a co-author of the study published in the journal Nature. Although it is not the first time brain activity has been used to control a cursor, Stephen Scott of Queen's University in Ontario, Canada said it advances the technology. "This research suggests that implanted prosthetics are a viable approach for assisting severely impaired individuals to communicate and interact with the environment," he said in a commentary in the journal. In a separate study, researchers from Stanford University Schools of Medicine and Engineering described a faster way to process signals from the brain to control a computer or prosthetic device. "Our research is starting to show that, from a performance perspective, this type of prosthetic system is clinically viable," Stephen Ryu, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Stanford, said in as statement. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html ------------------------------ From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Verizon Again (Residential Foreign Listings) Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 19:04:13 -0400 Well folks, Verizon is at it again. Some of you remember all the trouble I had getting a foreign residential listing with them. They've had me listed with directory assistance for a year. They've never properly billed me and I was calling back monthly asking where the bill was. I told them that I was concerned that if I wasn't properly billed and paid that bill that my listing my not show up in the June phone book. Of course, I got transfered from department to department until someone finally decided to pull up my account (each time I called). They kept telling me a month or two. When I'd call again in a month or two, it was 'a month or two', which happened a few more times. Then they told me I would get a year's bill in March. March came without a bill. I called them to ask where the bill was. They hadn't a clue why someone had told me March. I was told I'd be billed in June when the directory came out. I told them that if we waited for that, there was a strong possibility that my listing would not be included in the directory. They insisted there was no way that could happen. Well, June came, the bill came (a year's bill, by the way), and the directory came out. My name and number were *not* in it. Well, some of you remember how much trouble I was having with the VOIP company (Voicepulse) that was providing me with that number. Besides all the quality problems that their CSRs were not interested in addressing and the fact that there was no one to escalate to except the CEO of the company (whom they would not let you talk to, by the way), they wouldn't allow me to port my number away from them. I had been paying for a Carolina Net line so the number could be transfered all that time. I only held onto Voicepulse because that number was to be listed in the telephone directory and I couldn't port it elsewhere. I had filed a complaint with the FCC but after many months the FCC told me that they couldn't do anything about it because they were a VOIP provider (they can require them to provide E911 but they can't require them to port numbers? Strange). I talked with Verizon Executive complaints. They were just as shocked as I was (like they didn't know how much trouble I've been having with their customer service). They wanted to issue me a credit for the listing but I don't want them to do that and told them so. I felt that if I didn't pay that bill, there was a danger that this would happen next year. Instead, we neogiated them providing me a forwarded local number that I could later port to Carolina Net. That number is up and running now. You dial my Verizon number and get forwarded to my Carolina Net line. I am waiting on the first bill for the forwarding (which Verizon is paying for me in settlement of this major foulup) until I can get a copy of the bill to Carolina Net and have the line ported to them. So, I put in a change order on my foreign residential listing with the new Verizon Number. Since it is going to be ported away from Verizon, I needed it as a foreign listing so it would still be given out by directory assistance and appear in the 2007 book. I went to the local Radio Shack last week and paid my Verizon bill for the foreign listing. The check cleared my bank account this morning. I called Verizon and the residential department still denied that they had responsibility for the account (even though the executive complaints department said that they had confirrmed that the residential department should be handling foreign listings). I had to call back and got someone else. I had to tell her how to pull up the account with the account number (not the phone number). After talking with her supervisor, she managed to pull it up. She told me that they had indeed received my check. That the payment had indeed been applied to my account. But also a credit in the amount of my payment had been applied and they were refunding me the payment and they had closed the account against my explicit instructions. Verizon Executive Complaints is furious and is looking into what happened. I've involved the NC Utilities Commission and sent a FAXed letter to Verizon's Executive Offices in New York to describe all of this incompentent account support. Will let you know what happens. And they call this a telephone company? Regards, Fred Atkinson ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Date: 12 Jul 2006 09:30:57 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Dial equipment existed long before the perfection of air conditioning for large buildings, so I presume step-by-step, panel, and crossbar switches did not require air conditioning. I presume that the heat generated by relays, ringer motor generators and the like was not great enough to cause worry. Most old telephone buildings had big windows. However, in the late 1930s, carrier systems and long distance routes using electronic gear was installed. These used vacuum tubes which generated a lot of heat. Did switching buildings that had such gear have any special ventilation or early a/c to remove that heat*? In the 1950s electronics continued with the implementation of microwave systems. Likewise, did amplifiers require air conditioning in those buildings? I believe ESS offices were always air conditioned. Indeed, the literature states a failure of an early ESS unit was due to air conditioning failure, not the switch itself. As an aside, one of the Western Union Technical Bulletins housed on this site has an article about how WU air conditioned one of its buildings in NYC. Air conditioning for buildings was perfected in the late 1930s though its use grew very slowly. A couple of buildings built during WW II in DC were air conditioning, I don't know how people survived DC's hot humidity in non a/c buildings. Technical advances and efficiency in the early 1950s allowed it to be more widespread and home window units came out at that time. I think a Bell Labs facility built around 1940 was built with air conditioning. I think the Pentagon had a/c when built. *The labs where the Univac was developed were not air conditioning and the workrooms were extremely warm. Engineers ran around in their underwear and rules were posted requiring them to put their clothes on when entering the outer offices. In contrast, IBM's labs of the same era were air conditioned (since the 1930s). IBM's people had to wear suits, but when entering IBM's front offices in those days they had to use old fashioned starch collars favored by Thomas J. Watson Sr, president. Interesting contrast between the two computer companies -- suits vs. underwear. In a visit to a Univac facility in 1978, it was clear they were still much more informal about dress (colored shirts and the like) than an IBM facility of the same time -- white shirts only. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Interesting you wrote about this today when the outside temperature here in Independence reached 106 degrees; the hottest for this year so far. My air-conditioning has been running almost continuously for the past two days. I do not know how I survived back in the 1950-60s when the places I worked did not have a/c nor did I have it at home until around 1968 or so. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 12:56:35 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Survey: Fiber Connections Increase Demand for CE USTelecom dailyLead July 12, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dYfcfDtutfiwvlImgY TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Survey: Fiber connections increase demand for CE devices BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Blue Room site key to AT&T's branded-content push * Tellabs wins Verizon deal * Can music phones take a bite out of iPod's market share? * Alcatel releases OmniPCX 5.0 server for all-in-one IP telephony USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Demystifying the E-Rate Tomorrow, July 13, 1:00 p.m. ET TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * TV will remain dominant platform, HDNet founder says * Web-video sites pay in fleeting fame -- and cash REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Government to use text messages as primary emergency alert method * Tennessee OKs AT&T-BellSouth deal Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dYfcfDtutfiwvlImgY ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 12, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 11:56:36 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 12, 2006 ******************************** Digital warning system may hinder mobile/Internet communications http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18817?11228 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. government will soon be sending warnings of national emergencies on wireless phones, Web sites and hand-held computers. The new digital system will update the emergency alerts planned -- but never used -- during the Cold War in the event of a nuclear strike. More likely, these 21st-century... EU set to regulate roaming fees; Operational details still fuzzy http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18815?11228 BRUSSELS, Belgium -- The EU head office, saying roaming calls now command profit margins for network operators of up to 400 percent, was to unveil a bill Wednesday designed to slash the cost of using a mobile phone abroad. The bill would basically cap roaming profits at 30 percent for international calls, three to four ... Stealth Radar is Just a Lot of Noise http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18812?11228 Imagine a radar signal that's undetectable. Such a technology might prove to be the ultimate weapon in the war against lead-footed motorists. Yet the stealth radar developed by Ohio State University researchers also offers potential applications that extend far beyond everyday traffic law enforcement. The new radar ... Government Invests US$295 mil. in Broadband Development in Rural Spain http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18811?11228 The Spanish government is planning to invest a total of 231 million euro (US$295 million) in the development of broadband technology in rural areas by 2008, according to Spanish business daily Expansion. Spain's fixed-line incumbent, Telefonica, is participating in the project. By the end of June this year, the ... Consolidation Brewing in Italian Internet Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18806?11228 Two of Europe's more attractive take-over targets, Tiscali and Fastweb, are reportedly in merger talks to create the third-largest telecoms group in Italy. Pan-European internet-service provider Tiscali, and Italian alternative telecoms operator, Fastweb, are in talks about a possible merger, which could involve a share swap, the... CTIA Joins USF Coalition http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18804?11228 WASHINGTON -- Wireless carriers have joined a new, diverse group that backs a numbers-based approach to Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions. The new group, called USF by the Numbers Coalition, is pushing its idea of using fees based on the number of working telephone numbers a carrier serves to support universal service, ... Place Your Bets: Will House Vote To Ban Internet Wagers? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18803?11228 The U.S. House of Representatives could soon put their cards on the table, facilitating a full-floor vote on a bill pending since last year that would prohibit various forms of online gambling by preventing the use of credit cards, fund transfers and other payment transactions for wagering over the Internet. The proposed ... Lucatel: New Team, Old Faces http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18801?11228 Alcatel and Lucent Technologies Inc. have provided an update on their impending merger process, which, apart from significant change at the top table, appears to be going well. The duo announced late Monday that their marriage is set to be consummated by the end of this calendar year, a timescale reported by Light ... Bluetooth Chips Get Big Boost From Mobile Phone Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18800?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Fueled by the rapid uptake of Bluetooth in mobile phones, Bluetooth chip shipments have been on the rise, reports In-Stat. The rising Bluetooth chip shipments have had a cascading effect, leading to falling chip prices. This has led in turn to greater Bluetooth penetration of mobile phones and the... Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@aracnet.com Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: 11 Jul 2006 23:35:55 GMT Organization: Aracnet Internet Services I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how many people know so little about their computers or how they work ... > In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com > says: >> So today I asked my co-workers for recommendations to buy a new PC; >> that is, what specs and features should it have. Ads for desktops >> seem to range from $300 to $1,000. Basic systems are essentially appliances. For the most part they're all standard components and they all work the same. Although eMachines seem to have a propensity for failing power supplies, which tend to take the processor or motherboard (or both) with them. Dell often has very reasonable systems, complete with 17" flat panel monitor, for $450 or less with no rebates required. >> I also discussed speed. With a new machine I'll sign up for DSL or >> even FIOS. >> But then I found out the downside. My speed won't increase that much >> because of the need for a firewall and virus protection. Everything >> coming across the line, including today's constant java applets, must >> be carefully checked for virus and spyware infestation. That slows >> stuff down greatly. That's baloney. Any checking will happen much faster than your wire speed. What's gotten slower is the rendering of the "rich content" that many sites feel are so important. My favorite source for PC components, NewEgg.com, is painful on my old 800mhz laptop. In article , Gene S. Berkowitz wrote: > >I don't run a virus checker; I do run a software firewall, and my 5 >PCs are behind a router. I have zero infections on any of the PCs I >have running at home. If you don't run a virus checker, how do you know? That's not just foolish, it's stupid. There are free AV products out there, some of them very good. I use Avast! on all of my home PC's. > That said, I don't download from sites I don't > trust, I don't use IE or Outlook, and I delete "Hey, Take a Look at > This" emails. Basically, the precautions that anyone should take > (don't eat found food, don't have unprotected sex with multiple > partners, don't leave your keys in the ignition) metaphorically apply > to the internet. And you don't use IM? Hopefully you at least keep your OS and apps updated with the latest patches. Even Mozilla/Firefox has had it's problems, and some exploits were independent of the browser used. Even only visiting sites you trust isn't good enough -- there have been several reputable sites responsible for spreading infections because the site serving their banner ads got compromised, and they were serving infected content with the ads. > An ATA-100 hard drive has a 100 megaBYTE per second transfer rate; > you'd have to be supremely lucky to have a DSL line that exceeds 3 > megaBITS/s, or 0.3% of the maximum hard drive transfer rate. Even a > high end FIOS line can only supply 35 megabits/sec, or 3.5% of the > hard drive transfer rate. You know, there's really nothing to relate Internet activity with disk activity. And hard drive performance has almost nothing to do with the performance or capability of a system. > The real performance killers are not evil spyware; it's cluttering up > your PC with "trusted" conveniences like RealPlayer, QuickTime, and > CD- recorder "helpers" that sit in your system tray consuming memory > and CPU cycles waiting for you to finally play a stream or burn a CD. While I agree that they're unnecessary and mostly pointless, the system tray apps don't consume cycles. They do consume memory, however. Removing them helps, but "modern" OSes consume enough that taking that step isn't much by itself. Memory is currently cheap. You can significantly improve performance just by adding memory. I wouldn't even try to run XP with less than 512M of RAM, and generally prefer 1GB. > It's operating systems that require 50 separate processes "just in > case" you find the need to perform remote program loads from a server > that encodes all its pages in Mandarin. They don't consume cycles, but they do take memory. Most service processes live in a constant blocked state until they're actually needed. > In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com > also says: >> How much effort do the "powers that be" spend on tracking down and >> imprisoning saboteurs of the Internet? Considering the flood of >> viruses and spyware out there, I don't think very much time at all. Go study International Law and politics. Most of the phishing and virus development and operations happens in place like Russia, Romania, Korea China, etc. The Russian mob is very big in funding virus R&D. If you really care about viruses and spyware, don't use a Windows system. Get a Mac, or a Linux system. Nothing is 100% secure, and there have been reported security issues with Macs, but I can't think of a single published expoit targeting them. John Meissen jmeissen@aracnet.com ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) From: sidd@situ.com Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 03:01:03 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com In article , mc wrote: > I don't think it does. Has anyone made measurements? Text files and > graphics don't have to be checked, only executable code. I believe there have been several overflows found in image processing libraries (jpeg,pdf,tiff...) used by popular browsers and image viewers. I am also aware of atleast one entirely text based attack on a hole in a java runtime engine. sidd ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: 12 Jul 2006 08:26:01 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com mc wrote: > I don't think it does. Has anyone made measurements? Text files and > graphics don't have to be checked, only executable code. I think the problem is that today's web developers like to put on many bells and whisticles do the transmission consists of executable code, not merely graphics and text. That's the reason we're forced to go to DSL, the transmissions contain so much more bytes. Some sites won't even allow old browsers to access them; they tell you to get a new one and even let you download it on the spot. Heaven forbid someone has to type something in instead of flipping the mouse and automatically bringing up neat stuff (as done with Flash). As an example, I tried to get on to the new CW TV network website (the one replacing WB and UPN). My PC didn't have the latest Flash so I couldn't get on. Why was that so important to them to require that? * Does it really make a difference in convyeing information to the end user? * I submit the bells and whistles aren't necessary and a waste of machine CPU cycles and bandwidth. But businesses and even government agencies want super fancy screens and the industry wants to sell ever more powerful CPUs, routers, servers, etc. Gene S. Berkowitz wrote: > I don't run a virus checker; I do run a software firewall, and my 5 > PCs are behind a router. I have zero infections on any of the PCs I > have running at home. That said, I don't download from sites I don't > trust, I don't use IE or Outlook, and I delete "Hey, Take a Look at > This" emails. Basically, the precautions that anyone should take > (don't eat found food, don't have unprotected sex with multiple > partners, don't leave your keys in the ignition) metaphorically apply > to the internet. Thanks for the info. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's easier than to transmit a virus because browsers today are sophisticated and execute programs sent over from web site ("java applets"?). Several times while merely surfing what should've been legitimate web sites -- not downloading or "running" anything -- the virus alarm kicked in because of an attempt to send over hostile code. Further, a subsequent run of spyware software (ad-aware) detected manipulations. In other words, merely looking at a website allowed it to send over malicious code. Further, some malicious people intentionally use common mispelling of common websites to trap people; others hijack legitimate sites. I'm angry at the Internet community for constantly demanding more and more power in browsers. Web developers can't wait to use the latest bells and whistles yet browsers of ten years ago (ie IE Vers 4) were more than adequate to display information from a website. Developers are so snobby about this they won't even allow users with old browsers to get on. I understood a future Microsoft release will not be as "automatic"; I hope so. People blame M/S for this situation, but the community loves that automation to make their websites so fancy. For a lay user who is not a specialist, having an alternative browser as suggested is difficult. As a lay user, I am frustrated that I have to become a systems programmer to maintain my own machine, what browsers, what settings, how to set the settings, what do they mean, etc. It means buying books and learning new stuff OFTEN since the stuff changes every few years. (I was quite happy with DOS 3 and text based BBS browsers of that era, they fan quite fast on 14.4 modems). I'm annoyed that I had to go out and learn Windows 95 and now that is scrapped and I have to learn all new junk. People with less technical knowledge than me are very vulnerable to either slow machines or sabotage. Of course the computer industry loves this state of affairs because they get to sell people new machines every few years, just as GM's planned obselescence got people to buy new cars every few years. GM added worthless chrome, so does the computer industry. It amazes me that no one objects to this, but I suppose everyone is riding the gravy train as a system supporter or part of the sales/mfr chain. (I'm not angry at you personally, sorry if I sound that way, I do appreciate your response.) > Go ahead, but make sure you know what to be offended by. Actually, I don't know enough. The industry and its players keeps changing. > With that much money to be made from the fear of virii, is it any > wonder that we're all being conditioned to be afraid of them? My employer's anti-virus software has stopped attempts and new viruses not as yet registered pass through do lots of damage. Given that, I think the fear of of viruses is justified. > Save your outrage for the Credit Bureau Troika who continue to > convince their pocket congressmen that we "want" 50 credit card > applications to show up in our mail each month, that having to wait 24 > hours before issuing you a line of credit at BestBuy would be like > burning the Flag, and that 24% interest for "universal default" isn't > usary. True. ------------------------------ From: Gene S. Berkowitz Subject: Re: Wi-Fi Wars / Loiterers Can be a Drag on Businesses' Bottom Line Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 21:52:02 -0400 In article , josh@phred.org says: > In article , first.last@comcast.net > says: >> Of course, this is what they should have been doing all along with the >> Rowling and Salinger wannabes who hog the NY Times, take extra chairs >> to keep their precious crap off the floor, and sit at the choice >> tables for hours nursing an empty latte while reading Noam Chomsky. I >> really don't care if you're surfing for porn, doing your French Lit >> homework or writing the Great American Novel; drink your coffee, then >> get the hell out. > It's not quite so cut-and-dried. An empty business looks like an > unpopular business. Having a few seats occupied, even if the people in > the seats aren't buying, can make a coffee shop or restaurant look more > popular, and thus increase sales. Have you ever tried to get a seat in *$$ in any college town? McDonald's is extremely popular, and yet is designed for maximum turnover (uncomfortable seating, garish colors and lighting, screaming children). > The trick is getting just the right number of seat-warmers without > cutting into your sales capacity. If you get too many of them, you take > down some of the flypaper, but not all of it. The tables should be temperature sensitive. When your beverage cools to skin temperature or lower, a spotlight should go on over your head. --Gene ------------------------------ From: Ed Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: 11 Jul 2006 18:08:17 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com My point being is that we know what they are up to ... trying to work around the law whatever way they can. More baloney from these folks who can't figure out what NO means. ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Tue, 11 Jul 2006 21:24:20 -0400 > Also, I have drafted proposed legislation (as a lobbiest), which was > subsequently introduced in the body, and enacted into law. As a "lobbiest" or as a lobbyist? ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? Date: 12 Jul 2006 09:05:23 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Carl Navarro wrote: > On 10 Jul 2006 10:52:00 -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> Years ago (1969) at the hospital I worked at, the paging (loudspeaker) >> system was built directly into the Bell PBX switchboard. The paging >> operators pulled a separate key and then could broadcast via their >> standard operator's headset. When they pulled the key a red light >> glowed to indicate to other paging operators the system was in use. >> Also at my uncle's factory, anyone could use the page. They had a >> small telephone net as a key system. To use the loudspeaker, one >> dialed 6 on the LOCAL circuit and then made their announcement. I >> only visited there briefly once, but it appeared the loudspeakers were >> not Bell System issue. >> I was wondering if the Bell System supplied the paging system, music >> player tape recorder, or allowed a private interconnect (one of the >> rare exceptions where Bell allowed physical interconnects). > Since Western Electric made Amps, I would guess that they made their > own paging systems, speakers, mics, and amps. By the fifties, they were no longer allowed to make any of that stuff, and the division that made it had been split off. I believe it eventually became Altec. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:53:40 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Elegy For the Video Store "an elegy (sometimes spelled elegie) may be a type of musical work," - wikipedia You meant "eulogy" "An eulogy is a funeral oration given in tribute to a person or people who have recently died. " - [op cit] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: WE 608 Cord Switchboard Date: 12 Jul 2006 11:20:10 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com In the late 1950s, the Bell System issued its last cord switchboard, the 608. It was noticeably different than earlier models, with push buttons instead of levers and was white and modern instead of black and wood. The 608 board had certain standard features that were not common or not available on earlier cord boards: 1) Automatically ringing: On most cord boards, the operator pulled the ringing key until the call was answered, and had to give progress reports to the caller. On the 608, ringing began automatically and an audible signal was provided. 2) Ring supervision signals: On most cord boards, the supervision signal indicated only on hook or off hook. On the 608 the supervision signal winked while the call was ringing. This avoided confusion between a call awaiting answer and a call that was finished on a busy board. 3) Automatic flashing: if a user wants the attendant, they must manually keep flashing the hookswitch until the operator responds. On the 608, a single movement causes the supvision signal to flash rapidly. 4) Universal cord: On most cord boards, only one cord of a pair (usually the front or left) will work on trunk circuits, while on the 608 either will work. 5) Thinner cords and jacks, modern appearance. Presumably the 608 rented for a higher price than older models. However, I've seen all sorts of cord boards in service until the demise of cord PBXs. FWIW, my own observation was that the 608 was popular in motels and some apartment houses. The City of Philadelphia had twenty four (two banks of 12) of them for its Centrex; operators plugged into a dial group and dialed the extension. I would presume the new features required considerable extra circuitry and relays. I was wondering if the higher price justified the operational features. Automatic flashing and ringing are desirable on boards with heavy traffic since the attendant doesn't have to worry about such calls, and the board displays the difference between an awaiting call and a terminated call. But push button talk keys and universal cords seem a little frivolous. Around 1960 console dial PBXs came out. They had the advantage of dial for users (see separate post) and no need to pull cords down after a call. Does anyone have any experience maintaining or using a 608 board? Thanks. [public replies, please] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Small Size PBXs -- Manual vs. Dial? Date: 12 Jul 2006 11:03:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com By 1960, the Bell System offered modest sized dial PBXs for small installations. These usually had cordless consoles. Customers of course could still get manual cord switchboards for such sizes, such as the 555 or 551. Indeed, around 1970 Bell Labs developed a manual cordless switchboard to replace the 555. Obviously a primary tradeoff is that inter-office calls could be dialed instead of requiring an attendant. This was particularly useful for off hour times when an operator wouldn't be on duty. However, the attendant was still required to process incoming calls and perhaps serve as a "gatekeeper" to control toll calls (as was common in those days). Having seen numerous examples of both types of boards in service in small installations, I was wondering what factors caused the users to pick one over the other. Obviously the dial board cost more to rent. Did the rent save the cost of an operator? As mentioned, an operator was still required to handle incoming calls. (If anyone knows of actual rentals for say a 555 or 551 vs a small dial PBX, could you share them with us.) [public replies, please] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #257 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 13 14:29:52 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 3428F21B9; Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:29:52 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #258 Message-Id: <20060713182952.3428F21B9@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:29:52 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.0 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, CELL_PHONE_IMPROVE,FULL_REFUND,MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: R TELECOM Digest Thu, 13 Jul 2006 14:32:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 258 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Exploding Lithium-Ion Battery in Cellphone Started House Fire (M. Hughlett) Book Review: "The TCP/IP Guide", Charles M. Kozierok (Rob Slade) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 13, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Sorry For Being Stupid (carsten.ringsing@gmail.com) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (Gene S. Berkowitz) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (ranck@vt.edu) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (DLR) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (DLR) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Sam Spade) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Verizon Again (Residential Foreign Listings) (Thor Lancelot Simon) Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Mike Hughlett Subject: Exploding Lithium-Ion Battery in Cellphone Started House Fire Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:07:22 -0500 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0607130182jul13,1,1195700.story?page=2&coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed By Mike Hughlett Tribune staff reporter July 13, 2006 It has the ring of an urban legend: A cell phone blows up and sets fire to a house. But to Pablo Ortega, it's no myth. A mobile phone exploded in his living room last year, causing up to $100,000 in damages. Ortega and his family had to live in a trailer for a few months while their house in California was fixed. Fire and insurance investigators concluded the phone's lithium-ion battery failed and then ignited. Ortega's case is one of 339 battery-related overheating incidents tracked by the Consumer Product Safety Commission since 2003. Most involve lithium-ion batteries, which have become the dominant power source for all sorts of portable electronic gadgets. Aviation regulators are taking notice too. The National Transportation Safety Board held a hearing Wednesday in Washington, D.C., to explore whether lithium-ion batteries stowed in a cargo jet caused a midair fire last winter on its approach to Philadelphia. A lithium-ion battery is able to store a tremendous amount of energy in a small space. But if it short circuits or otherwise fails, all that energy can cause a violent explosion. Such explosions and fires are rare considering the hundreds of millions of cell phones, laptops, digital cameras and other devices that are powered by lithium-ion batteries. "The safety record of lithium-ion batteries is very good," said Dan Doughty, a battery expert at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico. "But occasionally there are problems." And since those problems can cause serious injuries and major property damage, it's gotten a lot of attention from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "It's certainly one of the things we are particularly interested in," said Richard Stern, an associate director in the compliance office of the commission. Reports of overheating incidents have risen as lithium-ion batteries have come to rule the portable electronics business in the last few years. Battery recalls are on the rise too. The safety commission has announced eight since October, after 10 during the previous 12 months and five in the year before that. Nineteen of the 23 recalls involved lithium-based batteries. They occurred after the safety commission or an electronics manufacturer received reports of batteries overheating and sometimes causing minor injuries or property damage. The recalls include more than 2 million batteries and involve major laptopmakers Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and Apple Computer Inc.; camera giant Nikon Corp.; and a firm that makes portable DVD players under the Disney brand. Most electronics-makers, including Schaumburg-based cell phone giant Motorola Inc., buy lithium-ion batteries primarily from Asian manufacturers. They are shipped by boat or plane. The Federal Aviation Administration is examining the potential risks of such batteries as cargo in passenger planes. In 2004, non-rechargeable "primary" lithium batteries were banned as cargo on passenger flights. The FAA found that Halon, a fire suppressant used on planes, couldn't snuff out a primary-lithium-battery fire. Primary lithium batteries contain volatile lithium metal; rechargeable lithium-ion batteries don't, operating instead with less volatile lithium chemical compounds. Still, the FAA noted "concerns" about lithium-ion batteries as cargo. Although an FAA report on the issue is due out within a few months, FAA fire-safety expert Harry Webster said at Wednesday's NTSB hearing that recent tests show Halon effectively fights lithium-ion battery fires. The hearing was called because a UPS jet was forced to make an emergency landing in February. Its crew escaped unhurt, but the blaze severely damaged the plane and shut down the Philadelphia airport for several hours. The NTSB hasn't determined the fire's cause. (The plane also had flammable solvent in its cargo hold). There have been a handful of minor air-cargo fires involving lithium-ion batteries, according to an NTSB report. No one has been killed or seriously injured in the U.S. by lithium-ion battery combustion, the safety commission says. But there have been numerous reports of property damage, including fires like the one at Pablo Ortega's house in Selma, Calif., a town near Fresno. Ortega's wife and 19-year-old son arrived home one evening in January 2005 to find their house full of smoke. When firefighters arrived, the fire was out. But the living room had been destroyed, according to safety commission records. Fire investigators found the charred remains of a Motorola V220 cell phone on the living-room floor. The phone, which had been purchased a month earlier, had been charging while the Ortegas were away. Fire and insurance investigators concluded the battery malfunctioned and exploded, rocketing almost 16 feet across the living room, igniting a curtain fire that spread to furniture. Ortega said he thinks the living room's marble floors stopped the flames from destroying the whole house. "If it weren't for the marble floors, adios," he said. Ortega said his insurance covered the bulk of damages. Motorola declined to comment, saying Ortega's case is "pending." However, the company says it contacts the consumer in any reported battery incident and tries to determine what happened. "The battery industry does take safety very seriously," Motorola energy technologies manager Jason Howard said at Wednesday's NTSB hearing. "The acceptable number of incidents is zero." Portable computers require more battery power than phones, so a laptop explosion could be more severe. But people carry phones in pockets and on belt clips, potentially increasing the hazard of a skin burn if a battery overheats. For example, in May 2003 a Plano, Texas, man was driving with his family to visit relatives when he heard "a loud bang, sort of like a firecracker," a safety commission report said. Suddenly, his car filled with smoke, and the man "felt flames lapping at his back." His phone, clipped to his side, had ignited because of a battery problem, the commission's file said. The man claimed to have sustained first-, second- and third-degree burns. Robert Colabella, a log-home salesman, had a similar experience last year while driving from his home in Murphy, N.C., to a convention in Atlanta. "All of a sudden, I don't know how to describe it, but something in that vehicle exploded, and I had no idea what it was," he said in an interview. His vehicle quickly filled with smoke. "I was in trouble. I was all over the road," Colabella said. After managing to pull over, he discovered a spare cell phone battery he was carrying in his jacket pocket had blown up. His jacket was destroyed, and he burned a finger on a smoldering battery fragment while trying to undo his seat belt. He later filed a complaint with the safety commission. Many types of batteries can fail and combust. But lithium-ion batteries have at least twice as much stored energy as the next most powerful electronics battery. So, an explosion is potentially twice as powerful. Plus, the electrolyte in lithium-ion batteries is flammable. To prevent combustion, lithium-ion batteries are outfitted with sophisticated safeguards, battery experts say. But they obviously are not foolproof. Batteries often ignite due to short circuits. And in several cases short circuits have occurred after a cell phone was dropped and its battery accidentally compressed, said the safety commission's Stern. Counterfeiting also has been a culprit in some lithium-ion battery incidents, he said. Rogue battery-makers have slapped the names of well-known brands on shoddily designed products. Still, most battery recalls and overheating incidents don't appear to have involved counterfeits, according to the safety commission. Sometimes, batteries go bad simply because of quality-control issues at a legitimate battery manufacturer, Stern said. Stern said major computer-makers, phone firms and other electronics manufacturers have been good about reporting battery problems to regulators. Those reports have led to voluntary recalls in tandem with the safety commission. "It's to their credit that they stepped up and recognized these issues," Stern said. They pack a real energy punch ADVANTAGES: A lithium-ion battery can be lighter because of its high-energy density. It is low maintenance with relatively low self-discharge, less than half of nickel-based batteries. DISADVANTAGES: Lithium-ion batteries are subject to aging, even if not in use, and usually more expensive. They aren't as durable and can easily rupture, ignite or explode when exposed to high temperatures. Source: Cadex Electronics. mhughlett@tribune.com Copyright 2006, Chicago Tribune NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more headlines and news from the daily media, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For those people inclined to think that a fire caused by an exploding battery is 'just another urban legend' which never has any verifiable source to it, here is an instance where proof is available: Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2006 Section B, with a real person named. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 09:59:48 -0800 From: Rob Slade Subject: Book Review: "The TCP/IP Guide", Charles M. Kozierok Reply-To: rMslade@shaw.ca Organization: Vancouver Institute for Research into User BKTCPIGD.RVW 20060702 "The TCP/IP Guide", Charles M. Kozierok, 2005, 1-59327-047-X, U$79.95/C$107.95 %A Charles M. Kozierok www.tcpipguide.com tcpipguide@tcpipguide.com www.pcguide.com ixl@fearn.pair.com %C 555 De Haro Street, Suite 250, San Francisco, CA 94107 %D 2005 %G 1-59327-047-X %I No Starch Press %O U$79.95/C$107.95 415-863-9900 fax 415-863-9950 info@nostarch.com %O http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/159327047X/robsladesinterne http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/159327047X/robsladesinte-21 %O http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/159327047X/robsladesin03-20 %O Audience i+ Tech 3 Writing 3 (see revfaq.htm for explanation) %P 1539 p. %T "The TCP/IP Guide" In the introduction, the author states that he has tried to write a guide to the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol suite (the set of networking protocols that are the currently preferred form of networking, and also underlie the Internet) that is complete, readable, logical in structure, and also provides for quick reference overviews with an option for the reader to get full details when necessary. The scope involves the principles behind the protocols (rather than system-specific minutia or even the Internet itself), currently used protocols (instead of proposed), and (where examples are necessary) a bias in favour of small systems. (One aspect that I found understandable, but personally disappointing, was the avoidance of security issues and technologies, other than IPSec). With eighty-eight chapters, the book is divided not only into parts, but also sections. Section one covers TCP/IP overview and background information. Part I-1 deals with networking fundamentals, starting with a chapter that introduces networks, with types and characteristics. Kozierok has done a good job. In a short space the most fundamental aspects of networking are outlined and clearly explained. The quick reference promise is fulfilled by "key concept" text boxes, that provide a concise but effective summary of central ideas that otherwise may take pages to fully explain. Extraneous detail is at a minimum: additional particulars are dealt with as specific topics are raised later in the work. The individual chapters are short, contained, logical, and readable. Chapters two to four review network performance factors, standards and standards groups, and data representation (with a side foray into some basic boolean operations). The three chapters of part I-2 define the OSI (Open System Interconnection) reference model, while part I-3 takes a single chapter to provide an overview of TCP/IP itself. (Chapter six outlines the seven layers of the OSI model: chapter seven is a determined, and, for educators, very useful attempt to ensure that readers and students remember the layers and what they do.) Section two looks at the core protocols at the lower layers. Part II-1 examines the network interface (data link) layer, concentrating primarily on the PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) suite. Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and its reverse (RARP) are reviewed in part II-2 as the glue between the network interface layer and the network layer. Part II-3 begins a string of five parts dealing with the network layer and IP (Internet Protocol) itself: these cover the basics of IPv4 (addressing, subnetting, datagrams, and the beginning of routing), IPv6 (addressing and datagrams), related protocols (Network Address Translation/NAT, IPSec, and mobile IP), ICMP (for both versions 4 and 6, including the new Neighbour Discovery/ND in 6), as well as routing and gateway protocols. The transport layer protocols, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol) are outlined in part II-8. Various application layer operations and protocols are dealt with in section three. Part III-1 reviews DNS (Domain Name System) in fair detail (and eight chapters). NFS (Network File System) is in the one chapter of part III-2. Host configuration, in part III-3, is mostly concerned with DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). Part III-4 explains SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) and related protocols. Part III-5 starts to move towards user tools, dealing with addressing and Universal Resource Identifiers, Locators, and Names (URI, URL, URN). It's a bit hard to say why chapter seventy one belongs in this part. On the other hand, while it introduces parts III-6, -7, -8, and -9, it doesn't belong in any of them, either. These pieces cover file transfer, email, the Web, news, and gopher. Part III-10 handles the basic administrative, informational, and troubleshooting utilities. Kozierok's intention is ambitious: has he achieved his purpose? Well, the work is complete, with all the bases (and basics) covered, and some trivia thrown in besides. I noted the absence of a few items on the way through that made me wonder, but, given the excellent coverage elsewhere I'm starting to think I should research my own understanding before suggesting that he's made an error. (The one shortcoming I definitely did note was the lack of further references in any areas.) The text is readable, and any intermediate computer user should be able to understand it. The book has a logical structure and flows well. As noted, the provision for quick overview reference works well. This is a valuable reference for anyone charged with managing a TCP/IP network, or even a connection to the Internet. Those who wish, either as students or for personal satisfaction, to understand the protocol suite would be hard pressed to find any better source of information. (And, for my colleagues in security, the lack of specific attention to security issues is no hindrance: the technology is presented in a lucid manner that will make the safety issues clear to anyone with an information assurance background.) copyright Robert M. Slade, 2006 BKTCPIGD.RVW 20060702 ====================== (quote inserted randomly by Pegasus Mailer) rslade@vcn.bc.ca slade@victoria.tc.ca rslade@computercrime.org McDonald's, which does not wait on your table, does not cook your food to order, and does not clear your table, came up with the slogan `We Do It All For You.' - Dave Barry Dictionary of Information Security www.syngress.com/catalog/?pid=4150 http://victoria.tc.ca/techrev/rms.htm ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 13, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:23:00 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 13, 2006 ******************************** The Adaptive Corporation http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18845?11228 The world of business is constantly changing, and the pace of that change is rising sharply. There are no longer any certainties in today's globalised world. Change is happening in three different dimensions and the successful corporation of the future must be capable of managing all of them. Technological change: Technological... Carriers Try Back Door State Pre-emption http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18844?11228 Washington -- Wireless carriers are still courting the FCC on state pre-emption even as Congress addresses the issue in its rewrite of the Telecommunications Act, but the opportunity to get extra protection from state regulators is narrowing. The U.S. House of Representatives passed its version of the legislation in early June -- without... Microsoft, Yahoo Test Instant Messaging Partnership http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18842?11228 SEATTLE -- Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. are beginning a limited test of plans to make their instant messaging systems work together. The much-vaunted pairing comes a bit later than the two companies had originally hoped. The project was delayed because Microsoft wanted to make sure the systems would work well with both... Sony Ericsson Net Profits Surge to $143 Million in Q2 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18839?11228 STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson said Thursday that second-quarter earnings almost doubled, in large part due to continued strong sales of its popular Walkman music phones, and it raised its global market forecast for 2006. The world's No. 5 handset maker said net profit rose 91 percent to euro 143... VimpelCom Acquires Georgian Mobile Operator http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18833?11228 Russian mobile operator VimpelCom has entered the Georgian mobile market, with the acquisition of GSM 1800 operator Mobitel. VimpelCom has acquired a 51% stake in Mobitel, for US$12.6 million, with a call option for the remaining 49%. Although Mobitel has not yet begun commercial operations its licences are valid until 2013, and... Regulatory Pressures Set to Hit TP's Revenues, Good News for Alternative Telcos http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18832?11228 According to the UKE, the planned regulatory changes could shed some 1.8-2.7 billion zloty (US$564.5-846.5 million), or 1.0-1.5%, of TP's top-line revenue. The competition is also likely to hit its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margin, which currently stands at 45%, against the industry average... Vodafone Cobbles Together SME Convergence Offering http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18827?11228 Vodafone, refocusing its efforts on the small- to medium-size enterprise (SME) sector in the U.K., has unveiled a set of services it's dubbed 'Mobility Solutions for Business', combining fixed and mobile services in one package to support users who work in the office, from home or remotely. Analysts quickly thumbed... Multiple Antennas Key to Mobile B'band http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18823?11228 Mobile operators will have no choice but to evolve from single antenna cell site coverage to multiple antenna systems as they strive to keep up with wireline network access data rates, according to a new Heavy Reading report, "The Future of Mobile Broadband."  WiMax is already specified to support multiple antenna... Verizon VP Says There's Time for Telecom Bill http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18819?11228 WASHINGTON -- One of Verizon Communications' top executives is confident that telecom legislation could make it through Congress this year, despite tight timing between now and the end of the year. Verizon Communications Executive Vice President and former Congressman Tom Tauke says that the light regulatory approach that was... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: carsten.ringsing@gmail.com Subject: Sorry For Being Stupid, but I'm Not a Regular User of Usenet Date: 13 Jul 2006 02:19:36 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Which is the right NG to go and advertise some reduntant Avaya Phone Systems stuff I have got. My location is UK. Cheers, Carsten ------------------------------ From: Gene S. Berkowitz Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 00:02:48 -0400 In article , jmeissen@aracnet.com says: > In article , Gene S. Berkowitz > wrote: >> I don't run a virus checker; I do run a software firewall, and my 5 >> PCs are behind a router. I have zero infections on any of the PCs I >> have running at home. > If you don't run a virus checker, how do you know? Because my systems operate the same as when I initially set them up, I periodically monitor my ethernet traffic for unusual activity, and I don't have crashes, pop-ups, or other trouble. > That's not just foolish, it's stupid. There are free AV products out > there, some of them very good. I use Avast! on all of my home PC's. Honestly, when was the last time you ACTUALLY had a virus infect or try to infect your system? The virus threat is vastly over-reported, with the big numbers coming from single strains infecting large corporate networks. >> That said, I don't download from sites I don't >> trust, I don't use IE or Outlook, and I delete "Hey, Take a Look at >> This" emails. Basically, the precautions that anyone should take >> (don't eat found food, don't have unprotected sex with multiple >> partners, don't leave your keys in the ignition) metaphorically apply >> to the internet. > And you don't use IM? No, I don't, except over my company's VPN, then using a secure client that does not support remote execution of code. > Hopefully you at least keep your OS and apps > updated with the latest patches. I'd say I'm more conscientious than most in that regard. > Even Mozilla/Firefox has had it's > problems, and some exploits were independent of the browser used. > Even only visiting sites you trust isn't good enough -- there have > been several reputable sites responsible for spreading infections > because the site serving their banner ads got compromised, and they > were serving infected content with the ads. Which pales in comparison to the amount of damage done by similar companies who put their client's or employee's data on unsecured, easily stolen laptops. >> An ATA-100 hard drive has a 100 megaBYTE per second transfer rate; >> you'd have to be supremely lucky to have a DSL line that exceeds 3 >> megaBITS/s, or 0.3% of the maximum hard drive transfer rate. Even a >> high end FIOS line can only supply 35 megabits/sec, or 3.5% of the >> hard drive transfer rate. > You know, there's really nothing to relate Internet activity with disk > activity. And hard drive performance has almost nothing to do with the > performance or capability of a system. I was trying to point out that wire speed is probably the slowest interface remaining for a typical PC. >> The real performance killers are not evil spyware; it's cluttering up >> your PC with "trusted" conveniences like RealPlayer, QuickTime, and >> CD- recorder "helpers" that sit in your system tray consuming memory >> and CPU cycles waiting for you to finally play a stream or burn a CD. > While I agree that they're unnecessary and mostly pointless, the > system tray apps don't consume cycles. They do consume memory, > however. Removing them helps, but "modern" OSes consume enough that > taking that step isn't much by itself. Memory is currently cheap. You > can significantly improve performance just by adding memory. I > wouldn't even try to run XP with less than 512M of RAM, and generally > prefer 1GB. Excuse me, but throwing RAM at a problem caused by poorly written crap simply leads to more poorly written crap. In 3 years, you'd be writing "I wouldn't even try to run Vista 2010 Pro with less than 128GB of RAM, and generally prefer 1TB." >> It's operating systems that require 50 separate processes "just in >> case" you find the need to perform remote program loads from a server >> that encodes all its pages in Mandarin. > They don't consume cycles, but they do take memory. Most service > processes live in a constant blocked state until they're actually > needed. But not all, and they get more pernicious all the time, what with the "need" for animation, status reporting, and other nonsense. --Gene [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well Gene, I do not know how often _YOU_ get viruses, but I get a dozen or more each day. Fortunatly, most of them are caught in the virus trap operated for customers of http://cableone.net where I am a high-speed subscriber. Viruses which are addressed to me -- regardless of whatever phony name they were sent from -- fall into a special 'mailbox' in my name set up by Cable One in red with warning flags all over it. So I can pick through them if I wish to examine them closer, or most of the time I just bash them. Often times they get 'sent by' ptownson, (either with the massis address or cableone.net or whoever. A dozen each day ... I suggest the problem is worse than you admit. And I am sort of concientous also; in addition to that virus trap I also run three scanners, AVG, Ad-Aware, SpyBot Smash and Destroy. PAT] ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:48:05 UTC Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > DSL, the transmissions contain so much more bytes. Some sites won't > even allow old browsers to access them; they tell you to get a new one > and even let you download it on the spot. Yes, some software/web developers are idiots. I am always amazed at how much bad code is written and gets sold. > As an example, I tried to get on to the new CW TV network website (the > one replacing WB and UPN). My PC didn't have the latest Flash so I > couldn't get on. Why was that so important to them to require that? This is just bad business sense. Why keep out potential customers with artificial barriers such as this? I guarantee the web site geek just got carried away with some "cool graphics" and if marketting understood what this meant to real people trying to surf the site it would not work that way. > I submit the bells and whistles aren't necessary and a waste of > machine CPU cycles and bandwidth. But businesses and even government > agencies want super fancy screens and the industry wants to sell ever > more powerful CPUs, routers, servers, etc. Again, I think it's the technical folks who are behind much of this. Sure, they make sure the boss has the latest browser and it works great for *him*, but screw any actual customers who might not have the latest and greatest. If the real business people understood that I think things would change. And, some businesses do seem to get it, and their web pages work on almost any browser. Really smart ones have pages that work well with lynx. ;-) > Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's easier than to > transmit a virus because browsers today are sophisticated and execute > programs sent over from web site ("java applets"?). Several times > while merely surfing what should've been legitimate web sites -- not > downloading or "running" anything -- the virus alarm kicked in because > of an attempt to send over hostile code. Further, a subsequent run of > spyware software (ad-aware) detected manipulations. A lot of what ad-aware catches is cookies. While cookies are a concern for privacy reasons they are mostly innoucuous and used to keep state information from one visit to the next of a particular website. Applets are more of a concern, and good web site design will not require them. > I'm angry at the Internet community for constantly demanding more and > more power in browsers. Web developers can't wait to use the latest > bells and whistles yet browsers of ten years ago (ie IE Vers 4) were > more than adequate to display information from a website. Developers > are so snobby about this they won't even allow users with old browsers > to get on. I tend to agree. Web designers like to try every new feature they can, but forget their target audience in the process. It's easy to get carried away and forget that not everyone has, or wants, the most up-to-date browser. The ones that really bug me are the web sites that say I need to have IE. That's beyond stupid. Even Microsoft isn't that parochial. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 03:10:15 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) sidd@situ.com wrote: > In article , mc > wrote: >> I don't think it does. Has anyone made measurements? Text files and >> graphics don't have to be checked, only executable code. > I believe there have been several overflows found in image processing > libraries (jpeg,pdf,tiff...) used by popular browsers and image > viewers. > I am also aware of atleast one entirely text based attack on a hole in > a java runtime engine. > sidd Yep. Buffer overruns are the biggest issue with web stuff. Shove more of something than is expected at just the right time and a badly coded something will barf or let it over write some code. And if that code can later be forced to execute then you have a way to stuff your own code into the system and have it execute. I saw a writeup about one of the biggies that his MS servers a few years back and the actual inserted code was maybe 20 or 40 characters. So it doesn't take much. And it doesn't have to be "code" that your browser thinks it is being fed. Text, graphics, code, etc ... are just lables. It's all bits. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 03:02:50 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? > Air conditioning for buildings was perfected in the late 1930s though > its use grew very slowly. A couple of buildings built during WW II in > DC were air conditioning, I don't know how people survived DC's hot > humidity in non a/c buildings. Technical advances and efficiency in > the early 1950s allowed it to be more widespread and home window units > came out at that time. If you grew up in the south and never had it you just dealt with it. But the south never really took off economically until central air showed up. The border in general was the Mason-Dixon line or basically the KY, VA east west line. I grew up in far western KY and if you look at it with Google earth you'll understand how humid it could get. My dad built our house in 56 (I was 2) and we had window units when I was small. We added central air around 61 or 62. Then we built a new house and moved into it in late 67. It was setup for a/c but the compressors were not there initially. (Money and all that.) When it got to August, 1968 and after about the 4th day of 98/98 (temp/humidity) at 4 am, we bought and installed the compressors. :) Here in Raleigh, NC, I can do summers without AC but my wife keeps talking about divorce so we pay the bills. :) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Ditto here in the southeast corner of Kansas by the Oklahoma border. You would not believe how high the electric bill is all summer long, but it is absolutely required to survive. (At least, 'survive' in the life-style of the late twentieth- century which we have come to expect.) PAT] ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 06:24:43 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > In the 1950s electronics continued with the implementation of > microwave systems. Likewise, did amplifiers require air conditioning > in those buildings? As I recall the first viable commercial air conditioner was installed in a department store in Detroit in 1924. A/C become common in metro movie houses in the 1930s. It is reasonable to presume that the Bell System used it, where necessary, by the mid to late 1930s. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Trouble was, Bell's definition of 'necessary' was not like that of many people. If you went past a central office in the 1950's on a summer night when it was about to rain (but had not yet started raining) you'd see those big windows open everywhere; here and there, an operator went over and stuck her hand out the window feeling for drops of rain so the windows could be closed. As soon as the rain started, the windows went shut, the very instant it stopped raining someone went around and opened all the windows again. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Date: 13 Jul 2006 10:07:39 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Interesting you wrote about this today > when the outside temperature here in Independence reached 106 degrees; > the hottest for this year so far. My air-conditioning has been running > almost continuously for the past two days. I do not know how I > survived back in the 1950-60s when the places I worked did not have > a/c nor did I have it at home until around 1968 or so. PAT] It's warm and humid around here too, which is what prompted me to write the note. I don't know how working people survived without air conditioning, especially 40 years ago when people had to wear much more clothing at work than they do now -- men had to wear suits and long sleeved shirts (albeit lightweight material), women full dresses. Today young women come to work dressed for the beach, pushing the envelope a little too much for most employers. Many men don't wear ties. I believe many years ago the workday started very early (6am) to beat heat. Also, older buildings had high ceilings and cross ventilation by design, plus awnings over windows to help. That might help the temperature, but high humidity? Again, I don't know how the many office workers in Washington DC during WW II survived; only a few buildings at that time had a/c. I recall a photo of an old switchboard room in Texas where fans were directed at blocks of ice in pails in an attempt to reduce 100+ temperatures for the operators. While switchboard lamps and currents were tiny, collectively they did throw off some heat. I presume relay operated telephone equipment was not affected by high heat or humidity (or cold for that matter). That is, relay parts wouldn't expand so much as to get out of alignment or timing (many telephone relays operated slowly by design). Likewise for motors that drove panel or SxS banks, and xbar switches and control logic relays. Likewise, I wonder if relay controlled IBM tabulating/accounting machines, built before A/C, were sensitive to high heat. The last generation (1948) used very tiny precision built relays. Some machines used tubes which threw off heat. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When I worked at University of Chicago in the phone room we had overhead ceiling fans which would spin around every few feet up and down the room. They did not do much good, IMO. PAT] ------------------------------ From: tls@panix.com (Thor Lancelot Simon) Subject: Re: Verizon Again (Residential Foreign Listings) Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 04:52:40 UTC Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Reply-To: tls@rek.tjls.com In article , Fred Atkinson wrote: > Verizon Executive Complaints is furious and is looking into what > happened. They do a good job of acting "furious" and "shocked" and suchlike, don't they? They certainly should: it's their job to give you the feeling that there's someone on your side so that you won't call the public utilities commission. This has backfired in some states in the past: for example, New York now requires Verizon to give the PSC detailed accounting of all calls to the Executive Complaints line and at one point the NY PSC considered requiring Verizon to inform all callers to that line that a call to the PSC might be in order. This all happened between the first and second jillions-of-dollars givebacks from Verizon (then NYNEX) to the New York State ratepayers in the mid 90's for persistent poor service (and, if you read between the lines of the PSC orders, for trying to hide the quality-of-service issues from the PSC). > I've involved the NC Utilities Commission and sent a FAXed > letter to Verizon's Executive Offices in New York to describe all of > this incompentent account support. The only thing that will get you any real traction is the decision to involve the NC UC. At one point in the early 1990s when I was spending many workdays _at Ameritech headquarters_ working on a new service offering, I had a persistent billing problem in which Ameritech charged all local calls from my home telephone (which was an ISDN "virtual" from a central office in downtown Chicago, relayed through my extreme-north-side central office which had no ISDN line cards, just extenders, in a piece of truly stupid engineering that should never have occurred in any major urban area) as if they were from the physical rather than the virtual serving office -- that is, as if they were made from downtown. Since that line was in use about 10 hours a day to my employer in Evanston, this resulted in approximately $8500 in overbilling -- about half of which I *paid* to forestall threats to terminate service. Ameritech refunded my money every couple of months (this went on for six months after I discovered it) and kept apologizing and saying the problem either had been or would be fixed. I called their equivalent of the "executive complaints" line; heck, I gave them the *name* of someone in the billing group who had told me in person that he could fix the problem if his boss would just tell him to. Blah, blah, blah. Finally I took the quiet suggestion of one of my coworkers -- one of my coworkers _at Ameritech_, that is: I called residential repair and reported the problem *again*, and lucked out and got a rep dumb enough or poorly trained enough to try to talk me out of calling the Illinois Commerce Commission (the Illinois PUC) when I threatened to. Now I could call the ICC and honestly say the problem had existed for six months, I'd been promised resolution on this date, that date, the other date ... "and Ameritech has been trying to talk me out of calling you to get the problem solved." I had a full refund _with interest on all the overpayments_ two days later in the mail, sent 1st Class from Hoffman Estates, not from the usual billing address; and, of course, the problem did not recur with my next bill. Thor Lancelot Simon tls@rek.tjls.com "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Bell System Interconnect Paging Systems? Date: 13 Jul 2006 07:22:19 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com jsw wrote: > When I first came aboard, the campus was served (??) by Centrex-CU off > of an aging and quirky 101 ESS on campus. Many departments had their > own (meaning serving them only, but owned and maintained by Ma Bell) > key systems. There was a mix of rotary and touch-tone on campus. It was common for large organizations for individual departments to have their own key systems for within the department, sometimes individual departments had their own PBX. The "trunks" on the PBX were actually extensions off the main switchboard; often there were true outside trunks as well. Users would dial 9 for an outside line and 8 for the main PBX line. Some places had a variety of outgoing lines and users had a series of 8n codes for whatever particular line they wanted. > Ma Bell actually stationed two techies semipermanently on campus. They > had a small 'office' in a room off of a steam tunnel, with their stash > of cables, KTU parts, etc. It was also common for large organizations to have such arrangements. One or more people were essentially assigned full time to the facility from Bell. Large hospitals and other institutions would have thousands of extensions in multiple buildings and there'd always be repair or change orders. > When TT was used for a page, it was > often obvious with a very loud TT burst as the page began. The loud TT burst is an annoying aspect that continues to this day. > They usually kept pages short and to the point. There were two special > 'code' pages. 'Dr. Red' was a fire alarm, with the location Dr. Red > was supposed to report to immediately being the location of the fire. > 'Dr. Blue' was for code blue, or a cardiac incident which scrambled > the code team. Their fire code was "Signal Signal Signal". The fire alarm gongs sounded like calm department store chimes instead of the usual loud urgent tone. The hospital ran fire drills often and all employees and volunteers received some fire training. Everyone else I've ever been I was told not to fight a fire but to leave the area. In the hospital we were taught to fight the fire. The cardiac code was "Pacemaker Team". The operators phoned the elevator operator to have him place the elevator at the appropriate spot. The elevators were very slow. (I used to use the visitors' elevators instead of staff elevators for which I got into trouble. I didn't understand why, especially if I used them outside of visitor's hours when the elevators were idle but the staff elevators were busy.) > We converted to Centrex-CO in the early 80's. My hospital converted to Centrex after I left. I believe it was served by an old panel switch or maybe #1 xbar (part of a big city exchange). I think they needed to wait until the exchange was converted to ESS. Obviously at some point they converted from rotary to TT. I wonder what it was like to convert their thousands of hard wired extensions, included many complex key systems. When I was there it was served by a very busy twelve position PBX. The switchgear room occupied about 2,000 sq feet. No one was allowed in there except Bell people. Carl Navarro wrote: > What, you think anybody remembers phone ettiquette? There is no > central trainer like there was back in the day :-) I remember Veasey > the old time operator. Probaby about 75 years old or so it seemed who > didn't have any other place to go so she just stayed on the > switchboard. Proably died on the job LOL. The chief operator -- the stern kind in the classic tradition -- retired. She was back the next day as a volunteer handling calls, though not working as many hours. > By the late '70's, Elgin made a Meet Me Conference system that was > station based. You extended your call to the first extension on the > box, and the joiner dialed the second port extension. I'm not sure if > it was amplified or not, but there may have been a 3dB compensation > for the station to station loss. When I was leaving the hospital, they added "meet me" page for outside calls. Inside calls were announced as before. Outside calls that needed paging were sent to special extensions that the page operator answered. She then paged the person with a matching special extension number which resulted in a meet. At this time the page operators were moved off the cord board and given a desk with Call Directors to use instead. That freed up two positions on the cord board to handle traffic. As mentioned, at this time (late 70s) they were going to beepers. Again, I don't understand today, when beepers are cheap and universal, that there were so many page requests in a hospital. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #258 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Jul 13 15:20:29 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 0882821BE; Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:20:28 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #259 Message-Id: <20060713192028.0882821BE@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:20:28 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 13 Jul 2006 15:23:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 259 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Settles Customer Privacy Case With FCC (NewsWire) Tennessee Gives Unconditional Approval to AT&T/Bell South Merger (NewsWire) Finally, Microsoft, Yahoo Messenger Customers Can Chat ( Microsoft, Yahoo! Join Forces in IM Pact (USTelecom dailyLead) Bell Labs, Jansky, and the Jansky Monument in Holmdel (AES) USB Phone With Yahoo Messenger? (Gyuri) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation (Garrett Wollman) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: News Wire Subject: AT&T Settles Customer Privacy Case With FCC Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:44:22 -0500 AT&T has agreed to settle two FCC enforcement actions with a one-time payment of $550,000 and a promise to enhance consumer privacy provisions. The telecom giant hasn't formally admitted to breaking any law, but didn't deny claims that it failed to properly protect private customer information from so called "data brokers." AT&T has also reported failures in notifying customers of their privacy rights, including their right to opt out of certain internal marketing programs. "AT&T has commendably self-reported some of its failures in its compliance mechanisms and has agreed to adopt a compliance plan so that consumers are appropriately notified" about FCC privacy rules, said FCC Commissioner, Jonathan Adelstein, in a statement. This settlement will likely relieve many consumers who want their data kept away from marketers, but it also raises question about the FCC's selective enforcement of consumer privacy rights. It may be tempting to ask why the same FCC that was willing to follow through on these relatively minor violations is willing to allow the government itself to indiscriminately collect private customer details without restriction. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Yes, it would be very tempting to ask why the FCC came down on the one matter, while seemingly ignoring the other, more important issue. PAT] ------------------------------ From: News Wire Subject: Tennessee Gives Unconditional Approval to AT&T and Bell South Merger Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:42:28 -0500 The Tennessee Regulatory Authority gave their unconditional approval earlier this week to AT&T's $67 billion acquisition of BellSouth. "I did not find any compelling evidence that this merger would do any harm to consumers," said TRA Chairman, Sara Kyle who was joined by Director, Pat Miller in approving the merger. A third TRA member, Ron Jones, tried to put conditions on the merger, but his amendment was voted down by the Kyle and Miller. BellSouth Tennessee president, Marty Dickens, praised the decision saying that "this is two big companies coming together to become one big company, and that's going to be good for shareholders and consumers." Dickens and other BellSouth executives believe that the huge merger will improve competition in the state by improving broadband access in rural areas and speeding up the deployment of AT&T's fiber optic IPTV network. To complete their merger AT&T and BellSouth still need to gain approval from the U.S. Justice Department and FCC, as well as state authorities in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Arizona. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Eric Auchard Subject: Finally, Microsoft, Yahoo Messenger Customers Can Chat Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 13:47:57 -0500 By Eric Auchard Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. said on Wednesday they have begun a limited public test to allow users of the companies' respective instant messaging programs to trade messages with one another. The agreement to work together, first announced last October, marks a long-awaited breakthrough among major instant messaging services, which include AOL's pioneering AIM service, Microsoft and Yahoo, along with more recent upstarts including eBay Inc.'s Skype and Google's Google Talk. Specifically, users of an upgraded version of MSN Messenger, recently rebranded "Windows Live," can trade messages with Yahoo Messenger, creating the world's largest instant messaging community, with 350 million accounts. These instant messaging, or IM, systems allow users to type messages to others on their "buddy list" via computers and in some cases over mobile phones. Historically, each provider sought to create "walled gardens" that prevented users of one IM system from talking to users of rival systems. AOL agreed in December to make its U.S.-market-leading AIM eventually work with, or to use the technical terminology, "interoperate," with Google Talk, but no date has been set to do so. AIM users can already chat with users of Apple Computer Inc.'s iChat system for Macintosh computers. Google and AIM work with various other independent IM projects too. With the Yahoo and Windows deal, icons will allows users to distinguish which program their IM contacts are using. Executives said the two companies were initially testing how to allow their vast audience bases to trade text messages. IM users eventually will be allowed to make voice calls between the two systems, but no specific timeline has been set. "We are taking the crawl, walk, run approach," Blake Irving, corporate vice president, Windows Live Platform, said in a phone interview. "(Voice) is the feature that we both think is extremely important" to add eventually, he said. Yahoo and Microsoft said they plan to make interoperability between their services broadly available in the coming months. Users can register to join the test at http://messenger.yahoo.com or http://ideas.live.com. It is available in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (English and French), China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, Britain and the United States (English and Spanish). Jupiter analyst Michael Gartenberg said the Microsoft-Yahoo tie-up marks the culmination of years of jockeying for market share by IM providers. "We have had people say they are working on interoperability for the better part of a decade," he said. "Consumers have pretty much settled in and defined their preferred IM systems and buddy lists," he said. "It does make it easier for many consumers who will need to keep one less instant messaging system up and running now." U.S. Internet traffic measurement firm Nielsen//NetRatings data shows AIM with 47.2 million users in June, compared with 28.0 million MSN/Windows Live users and 22.5 million Yahoo Messenger users. The unduplicated audience of Microsoft and Yahoo was 43.5 million U.S. users, the survey showed. Yahoo and Microsoft took issue with these numbers, citing comScore Networks's global figures which showed that Microsoft IM had 204 million users and Yahoo IM had 78 million users worldwide. AIM had 34 million users, the comScore data showed. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 12:52:02 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Microsoft, Yahoo! Joins Forces in IM Pact USTelecom dailyLead July 13, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dYsUfDtutfjGANnTPO TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Microsoft, Yahoo! joins forces in IM pact BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Clearwire files Bay Area lawsuit over wireless spectrum * Microsoft seeks to challenge YouTube * MobiTV picks up $70M investment USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * VoIP, VoIP and More VoIP TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Consumers willing to give up iPod before Wi-Fi REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Judge to look at phone mergers * Governor vetoes Louisiana franchise bill Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dYsUfDtutfjGANnTPO ------------------------------ From: AES Subject: Bell Labs, Jansky, and the Jansky Monument in Holmdel Date: Wed, 12 Jul 2006 20:52:00 -0700 Organization: Stanford University Some of you may be interested in this: Re: petition Save the Cradle of Radio Astronomy Dear fellow members of . . . As you probably know, the Bell Labs property in Holmdel, NJ, is currently being sold to a real estate developer. It may be resold again after development. The property has been in Bell Labs possession for over 75 years and includes the cradle of radio astronomy where, in 1931, Karl Jansky observed the first radio waves of extraterrestrial origin. In 1998 Bell Labs erected a Karl Jansky Monument on the exact location of the original Jansky antenna. The goal of this petition to the Governor of New Jersey, to the Mayor of Holmdel, and to the new owners, is to secure the preservation of this site and its public access in the future. A copy of the petition and further detail on the site and its history can be found at http://www.lsst.org/jansky.shtml We hope that you are one of the members of . . . who will support this petition by agreeing to be listed as a signatory. If you agree, please send your approval by e-mail to . . . where it will be stored for record (this will serve as an electronic signature, no other action is required). [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Unfortunatly, AES did _not_ provide us the email address where we should send our approval or signature. If AES will write again with the address to which responses should be sent, I will print that message as well. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Gyuri Subject: USB Phone With Yahoo Messenger? Date: 13 Jul 2006 10:35:57 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi. I got this USB Adaptor: http://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/images/products/Skype_USB_Telbox.jpg I was wondering if there's was a way to make it work with Yahoo Messenger because they have better rates than Skype. I want to make international calls with Yahoo voice messenger by using my home phone connected to this adapter but unfortunately I don't know how to make it work with Yahoo and this is if it really works with Yahoo. I would really appreciate if someone could help me. Thank you. ------------------------------ From: wollman@csail.mit.edu (Garrett Wollman) Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:51:37 UTC Organization: MIT Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab In article , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote: > I don't know how working people survived without air conditioning, Many larger buildings had (what was then considered to be) air conditioning. Skyscrapers prior to the "sealed glass box" era were designed with vertical air shafts running the entire height of the building. On each floor or pair of floors, an air-handler would pull air out of the shaft into each floor through a system of ventilation ducts; it would be exhausted through the windows. I've been in one of the vent shafts at the Empire State Building, and I've seen the top of one at Boston's Prudential Tower. After central air was installed at Empire, the vent shafts gained a new purpose as communications corridors, particularly connecting the broadcast facilities on the 79th, 80th, 81st, 84th, and 85th floors. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | As the Constitution endures, persons in every wollman@csail.mit.edu | generation can invoke its principles in their own Opinions not those | search for greater freedom. of MIT or CSAIL. | - A. Kennedy, Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558 (2003) ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #259 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jul 14 13:56:31 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 2E37721B7; Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:56:30 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #260 Message-Id: <20060714175630.2E37721B7@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:56:30 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.1 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, INFO_TLD,MAILTO_TO_REMOVE autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:58:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 260 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Judge Dismisses Antitrust Complaint vrs. Google (Eric Auchard) NYS AG Spitzer Again; Against Price Fixing Chip Makers (Danny Burstein) Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused (benson_james@yahoo.com) Re: Bell Labs, Jansky, and the Jansky Monument in Holmdel (Lisa Hancock) Re: Bell Labs, Jansky, and the Jansky Monument in Holmdel (Arthur Kamlet) Re: Elegy (sic) For the Video Store (Mr Joseph Singer) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Rick Merrill) Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You (Rick Merrill) Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones (Rick Merrill) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (mc) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (jmeissen@aracnet.com) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (mc) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Jim Haynes) Re: A New Way Around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Rick Merrill) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Eric Auchard Subject: Judge Dismisses Antitrust Complaint vrs. Google Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:53:40 -0500 By Eric Auchard A federal court judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit against Google Inc. by disgruntled advertising customer Kinderstart that had accused the Web search leader of monopolistic business practices. Judge Jeremy Fogel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose said in a ruling he would grant Google's motion to dismiss Kinderstart's complaint, but gave Kinderstart leave to amend and resubmit its case. "The court concludes that Kinderstart has failed to allege any conduct on the part of Google that significantly threatens or harms competition," Fogel wrote in a 23-page decision. Kinderstart filed suit in March after Google altered the way it ranked sites in its Web search and advertising system. The change allegedly relegated the parental information site to a "zero" ranking in Google searches, leading to a 70 percent plunge in traffic to the site in 2005, according to court papers. Google considers how it calculates the relevance of Web sites to specific consumer searches to be a closely guarded secret critical to its ability to ward off manipulation of search results by advertisers it deems abusers of its system. A 2003 ruling in a case filed by Oklahoma City-based Search King Inc. had sided with Google's assertion that the ability to tweak its search results system was a form of opinion protected by free-speech rights. A Google spokesman was not immediately available to comment on Judge Foley's ruling. In a lawsuit filed in March, Kinderstart, a Norwalk, California-based company accused Google of "pervasive monopolistic practices" that denied it its free-speech rights, destroyed competition and led to predatory pricing conditions. Kinderstart had sought class-action status for its suit on behalf of other Web sites that the company alleged had been also effectively been banished from Google's search system. The complaint argued Google's growing dominance of Web search advertising makes it vital for businesses to rank high in Google search results. As such, Google has become an essential public facility for being discovered on the Web. The court found all nine counts in Kinderstart's complaint insufficient to refer the case to trial. Attorneys for Kinderstart said they would promptly file a second, amended complaint to address the judge's concerns prior to the next court date scheduled for September 29. "Not a single count was dismissed with prejudice by the judge," Kinderstart's legal team said in a statement following the ruling. "Now, plaintiffs have the full opportunity to amend all nine counts in the class action complaint." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: NYS AG Spitzer Again; Against Price Fixing Chip Makers Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 18:52:41 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC " Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today filed a federal lawsuit charging leading manufacturers of computer memory chips with price-fixing. " New York's lawsuit charges that beginning in approximately 1998, the chip manufacturers made a secret agreement to raise the prices of their memory chips, known in the industry as 'dynamic random access memory chips' or 'DRAM.' DRAM chips are used to hold data and temporary instructions available for quick access while the computer or other digital product is in use. Many of the chips are sold to computer manufacturers, known in the industry as original equipment manufacturers or 'OEMs,' for use in computers and other products... rest: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/jul/jul13b_06.html _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ From: benson_james@yahoo.com Subject: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused Date: 14 Jul 2006 05:17:42 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi folks, I could really do with some help with something. I'm studying telecoms in particular T1 circuits. Currently its on about superframing and Extended Superframing. Ive been reading something: http://telecom.tbi.net/t1_frm.html D4 Voice and Data Signaling The transport of signaling states is required in Switched voice or data (Switched 56K service). Signaling is accomplished through a "Robbed Bit" method where bit 8 of each channel's timeslot is "robbed" to indicate a signaling state in the 6th and 12th frames. Effective throughput for the A signaling bit (Frame 6) is 666.66 BPS. Effective throughput for the B signaling bit (Frame 12) is the same (666.66 BPS). But i cant figure out how they got to 666.66Bps? Looking at the diagram on the webpage, the least significant bit in all channels has the last bit robbed, for frames 6 and 12, so in every superframe thats sent, thats 24 bits, multiply that by 8000 and i get 192Kbps???? Where am i going wrong. Could someone explain this to me. Thanks in advance. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Bell Labs, Jansky, and the Jansky Monument in Holmdel Date: 13 Jul 2006 14:20:43 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com AES wrote: > The goal of this petition to the Governor of New Jersey, to the > Mayor of Holmdel, and to the new owners, is to secure the > preservation of this site and its public access in the future. Neither the Governor nor mayor would have anything to do with this. It's basically up to the new owners and perhaps the sellers. Who are the sellers? (Lucent?) It may be rather expensive for the new owners to revise their plans to preserve the monument; that would be after all wasted space and possibly interfere with the design of buildings for the site. Providing public access to the site will definitely be expensive since in today's world there are significant security and liability considerations. In the end, you may be asking too much from the new developers. In cases like this, sometimes monuments have to be relocated. It may be better for all to move the monument to the nearest public park. ------------------------------ From: kamlet@panix.com (Arthur Kamlet) Subject: Re: Bell Labs, Jansky, and the Jansky Monument in Holmdel Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 02:26:00 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Reply-To: ArtKamlet@aol.REMOVE.com In article , AES wrote: > Some of you may be interested in this: > Re: petition Save the Cradle of Radio Astronomy> > Dear fellow members of . . . > As you probably know, the Bell Labs property in Holmdel, NJ, is > currently being sold to a real estate developer. It may be resold > again after development. The property has been in Bell Labs possession > for over 75 years and includes the cradle of radio astronomy where, in > 1931, Karl Jansky observed the first radio waves of extraterrestrial > origin. > In 1998 Bell Labs erected a Karl Jansky Monument on the exact location > of the original Jansky antenna. The goal of this petition to the > Governor of New Jersey, to the Mayor of Holmdel, and to the new > owners, is to secure the preservation of this site and its public > access in the future. A copy of the petition and further detail on the > site and its history can be found at http://www.lsst.org/jansky.shtml Also see http://www.bell-labs.com/news/1998/june/4/2.html and see http://photos.aip.org/images/catalog/jansky_karl_f4.jsp > We hope that you are one of the members of . . . who will support this > petition by agreeing to be listed as a signatory. If you agree, please > send your approval by e-mail to . . . where it will be stored for > record (this will serve as an electronic signature, no other action is > required). Art Kamlet ArtKamlet @ AOL.com Columbus OH K2PZH ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 17:40:31 -0700 (PDT) From: Mr Joseph Singer Subject: Re: Elegy (sic) For the Video Store Wed, 12 Jul 2006 09:53:40 -0400 Rick Merrill wrote: > "an elegy (sometimes spelled elegie) may be a type of musical work," - wikipedia > You meant "eulogy" > "An eulogy is a funeral oration given in tribute to a person or people > who have recently died. " - [op cit] Is it really any wonder when I commonly see that people have no idea that there's any difference between to and too or they're their or there? It's as I've always said that a homophone is not necessarily a pink Motorola Razr owned by a gay person. :) [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: /too/ can mean 'also' and /to/ connects the words on either side of it and of course /two/ is the smallest (and only) prime number which is even instead of odd. /They're/ is a contraction for 'they are'. /There/ refers to a place as in 'over there'. /Their/ is a personal pronoun describing the group of things which possess some other thing, as in 'these computers are 'their' property. Those are only quick, short examples. On one of my blog sites http://ptownson.blogspot.com ('Gay Man in a Small Town in Kansas') one of my daily features is the 'Word of the Day' with an attached dictionary. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:53:02 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Sam Spade wrote: > The FCC never took jurisdiction over name identification. > Should they? Is that you Sam?-) What exactly would the FCC "enforce" if they took over name id? All the "unavailable" calls I get do not even show the phone number! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What they could enforce, if they wished to go to the trouble, would be to insist that all telephone calls for which name/number delivery was technically possible were required to give that same information. No more playing around with it, as telemarketers are inclined to do. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:38:30 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You Monty Solomon wrote: > By Gary Haber, The News Journal > Caller ID -- the little telephone display that tells you who's calling > -- is many people's protection from folks they'd rather not talk to, > whether it's a telemarketer making a pitch at dinner time or a scammer > trying to con them out of personal financial information. > Now, legislation pending in Congress would strengthen a line of > defense that turns out to be more porous than many may think. > Technology readily available for sale over the Internet allows callers > to fool caller ID with a bogus name and number. The practice is known > as identity spoofing. > It's hard to get a handle on how widespread identity spoofing is, but > it's gone well beyond harmless pranks. > The AARP Bulletin recently reported a scam in which people received > fraudulent calls claiming they missed jury duty and asking for their > Social Security number. The calls seemed legitimate because the > telephone number of the local courthouse showed up on caller ID. > In Pennsylvania, constituents of Republican Rep. Tim Murphy were > flooded with bogus calls from someone purporting to be from Murphy's > office. > The primary worry for consumers is that if a call appears to be coming > from their bank, credit card company or a government agency, they > could be persuaded to give up financial data a thief could use to open > new bank accounts or apply for loans and credit cards. Even the old advice not to give out info unless you placed the call is now obsolete because the crooks are sending fake phone numbers via email. CID is now much more easily spoofed by using VOIP. In fact they can make it appear as if the call is a local call while in reality the call is from an overseas address. The people chasing these crooks are not Verizon, not the FBI, but the Postal Inspectors! ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:41:13 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones Monty Solomon wrote: > By Tyler B. Reed/ Daily News Staff > FRAMINGHAM -- High school administrators under a new policy are > claiming the right to snatch information stored in students' cell > phones when they search for drugs or stolen property at school. > The change clarifies the school's search and seizure policy, adding > cell phones to the list of places school officials can snoop if they > suspect a student has contraband. > Federal law says school officials need only "reasonable suspicion" of > the presence of drugs or stolen goods to conduct searches. > "We reserve the right to look through the cell phone," Principal > Michael Welch said. "It would be no different than if a student were > to have a notebook. We've had instances of graffiti. We've looked > through a notebook and found identical instances of graffiti." That's very interesting: it implies that the searchers already know the phone number of the dealers, or student dealers. ;-) Next thing you know is they'll be searching for stolen 'ring tones' !-) ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: 13 Jul 2006 14:05:37 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Gene S. Berkowitz wrote: > Because my systems operate the same as when I initially set them up, I > periodically monitor my ethernet traffic for unusual activity, and I > don't have crashes, pop-ups, or other trouble. The problem is lay users like me do not even know what ethernet traffic is, let alone what (indeed even where) to look for that constitutes unusual activity. My modem logo on the screen gives character counts. Way back that meant something since most of the traffic was characters that went onto the screen, there were a few bytes for formatting. But as time went on formatting got fancier and fancier and then of course we went away from DOS text screens altogether. Now, many thousands of bytes are sent in both directions before I type a single key, and I have no idea what any of them are. > Honestly, when was the last time you ACTUALLY had a virus infect or > try to infect your system? The virus threat is vastly over-reported, > with the big numbers coming from single strains infecting large > corporate networks. I do not agree the virus/spyware/phising threat is over reported. There's always been some brilliant but malicious technies. Today's Internet makes it easier than ever because so much unknown happens "under the hood". For me, the virus alarm detected something a few weeks ago which is why I'm nervous. In the old days of plain text I didn't have to worry since I never executed anything from the net. Now, stuff "executes" and I don't even know about it through java applets and the like. By the way, early on I tried turning java off, but almost every web site today requires it on. (There are various levels of java, but I don't know what they are nor which ones are particularly vulnerable and which are relatively harmless; again, the frustration of being a lay user). For my employer, from time to time bad emails slip through and do really nasty stuff by getting into the address books and propagate like crazy. Lots of companies get nailed this way. >> Even only visiting sites you trust isn't good enough -- there have >> been several reputable sites responsible for spreading infections >> because the site serving their banner ads got compromised, and they >> were serving infected content with the ads. > Which pales in comparison to the amount of damage done by similar > companies who put their client's or employee's data on unsecured, easily > stolen laptops. The two issues are unrelated. Just because there is one bad practice does not mean another bad practice is acceptable. As mentioned, reputable sites can host viruses for numerous reasons. Some sites might seem reputable but actually not at all. As to the issue of not using common applications, for us lay people that is difficult. Specialty programs that I've seen often aren't so easy to use for lay people; it's like replacing your carbureator or fuel injection with a speciality model after buying your car. You better know what you're doing. We lay people basically are stuck with what is delivered on our machines; especially with today's complex layers of junk. In my old DOS 3 days I could load something else easily. Today, with "registries" and all sorts of DLLs floating all over the place it is very risky for someone to do that. I learned that the hard way with Windows 95 when my machine was new -- after tinkering several times I had to restore the hard drive back to ground zero with the initiall install CDROM (which killed off a lot of my work I wanted to keep). > Excuse me, but throwing RAM at a problem caused by poorly written crap > simply leads to more poorly written crap. In 3 years, you'd be writing > "I wouldn't even try to run Vista 2010 Pro with less than 128GB of RAM, > and generally prefer 1TB." Your statement is very true and people will indeed be saying what you wrote. But what are we consumers supposed to do about it? What can we do about it? Not a damn thing! Heck, I come from a world where we ran an entire hospital on a mainframe with all of 128K with a 16K operating system. It blows my mind that 'core' memory is so cheap today we measure it in gigabytes, but it annoys me that people bloat up everything to milk it. As I said, it's no different than cars of the 1950s. Every year they added more chrome and bigger tailfins. Didn't do anything for the car's real quality, but buyers loved it. Admit it, you know damn well the make/model of your automobile, but do you know the brand of your refrigerator or air conditioner? Today people want the baddest a--- SVU they can get. There was an article just today in the New York Times about how important fancy features are important to kids to look cool with their cell phones. The computer industry is milking this all the way to bank. The manufacturers get to sell premium overloaded profitable machines. The software developers sell premium features. The trade press writers have their columns. Everyone has a vested interst to keep the gravy train rolling. But heck, it's what the people want. Ralph Nader railed against GM "Unsafe at any speed" but people kept buying and still buy the heavy chrome. Kids put their life history up on myspace despite all the warnings of the dangers. Recently one teen secretly travelled all the way from Michigan to Jordon to hook up with an older guy she met that way. ranck@vt.edu wrote: >> DSL, the transmissions contain so much more bytes. Some sites won't >> even allow old browsers to access them; they tell you to get a new one >> and even let you download it on the spot. > Yes, some software/web developers are idiots. I am always amazed > at how much bad code is written and gets sold. "Some"? A lot more than some. But much of the blame goes to their employers or business partners or marketers who put on the pressure to push something out the door quickly before it's optimized or cleaned up, or overloaded with unnecessary bells and whistles. >> As an example, I tried to get on to the new CW TV network website (the >> one replacing WB and UPN). My PC didn't have the latest Flash so I >> couldn't get on. Why was that so important to them to require that? > This is just bad business sense. Why keep out potential customers > with artificial barriers such as this? I guarantee the web site geek > just got carried away with some "cool graphics" and if marketting > understood what this meant to real people trying to surf the site it > would not work that way. In the specific case of CW, their target viewer market is young people who would be a lot more likely to be up to date than an oldster like me. Indeed, the young people would be impressed with the whiz bang graphics. I have to admit I was that way when I was a kid, too--I wanted to see the latest and greatest on-line real-time stuff in computers, and could care less about batch processing that was the true reality of the industry. However, I don't understand the NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority http://www.mta.info . They require an up to date browser, but let you download it right on the spot. I don't know why getting a bus schedule has to be so fancy. Maybe they're youth oriented too, figuring oldsters like me will ride the subway anyway while they have to appeal to young yuppies and kids who may think the subway is uncool. > Again, I think it's the technical folks who are behind much of this. > Sure, they make sure the boss has the latest browser and it works > great for *him*, but screw any actual customers who might not have the > latest and greatest. If the real business people understood that I > think things would change. And, some businesses do seem to get it, > and their web pages work on almost any browser. Really smart ones > have pages that work well with lynx. ;-) Agreed. > A lot of what ad-aware catches is cookies. While cookies are a > concern for privacy reasons they are mostly innoucuous and used to > keep state information from one visit to the next of a particular > website. Applets are more of a concern, and good web site design will > not require them. The key wood is "good web site design". As you pointed out, many developers can't or won't, and they like making things as fancy as possible. ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Organization: BellSouth Internet Service Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 21:13:14 -0400 > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Well Gene, I do not know how often > _YOU_ get viruses, but I get a dozen or more each day. Fortunatly, > most of them are caught in the virus trap operated for customers of > http://cableone.net where I am a high-speed subscriber. Viruses which > are addressed to me -- regardless of whatever phony name they were > sent from -- fall into a special 'mailbox' in my name set up by > Cable One in red with warning flags all over it. So I can pick through > them if I wish to examine them closer, or most of the time I just > bash them. Often times they get 'sent by' ptownson, (either with the > massis address or cableone.net or whoever. A dozen each day ... I > suggest the problem is worse than you admit. And I am sort of > concientous also; in addition to that virus trap I also run three > scanners, AVG, Ad-Aware, SpyBot Smash and Destroy. PAT] The fact that viruses arrive in your e-mail doesn't mean that they would have infected you. Almost all such e-mail is so obviously spam that you're not going to open the files attached to it anyhow. >> I believe there have been several overflows found in image processing >> libraries (jpeg,pdf,tiff...) used by popular browsers and image >> viewers. >> I am also aware of atleast one entirely text based attack on a hole in >> a java runtime engine. > Yep. Buffer overruns are the biggest issue with web stuff. Shove more of > something than is expected at just the right time and a badly coded > something will barf or let it over write some code. And if that code can > later be forced to execute then you have a way to stuff your own code > into the system and have it execute. I saw a writeup about one of the > biggies that his MS servers a few years back and the actual inserted > code was maybe 20 or 40 characters. So it doesn't take much. And it > doesn't have to be "code" that your browser thinks it is being fed. > Text, graphics, code, etc ... are just lables. It's all bits. There should never have been any such thing as a buffer overrun. I blame the C and C++ programming languages, with their lack of internal checking, for almost all the unreliability and security vulnerability of modern software. Computers are 1000 times as fast as the first PCs, and we still can't afford to spend 1% of our precious CPU time bounds-checking the arrays. It isn't macho. I know C and C++ can be used responsibly. My point is that C and C++ led to a culture developing in which programmers insist on not "wasting" a single CPU cycle on error-checking or security. (I call it "programming without a helmet.") As a result, we are having to add security in the form of additional software. ------------------------------ From: jmeissen@aracnet.com Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) Date: 13 Jul 2006 21:48:03 GMT Organization: Aracnet Internet Services In article , Gene S. Berkowitz wrote: > In article , jmeissen@aracnet.com > says: >> In article , Gene S. Berkowitz >> wrote: >>> I don't run a virus checker; I do run a software firewall, and my 5 >>> PCs are behind a router. I have zero infections on any of the PCs I >>> have running at home. >> If you don't run a virus checker, how do you know? > Because my systems operate the same as when I initially set them up, I > periodically monitor my ethernet traffic for unusual activity, and I > don't have crashes, pop-ups, or other trouble. In other words, you don't. All you can say is that you haven't seen any obvious signs of infection. Monitoring for suspicious (or known malicious) activity is good, but any security person will tell you that it's only part of the solution. > Honestly, when was the last time you ACTUALLY had a virus infect or > try to infect your system? The virus threat is vastly over-reported, > with the big numbers coming from single strains infecting large > corporate networks. Well, I use Linux. :-P But I've found and cleaned viruses from my kids' systems in the last couple of years (I believe it was after Norton expired and before I installed Avast!), and just spent an afternoon cleaning a couple of systems at a friend's house. All of these systems sit behind NAT gateways (and a firewall, in my case), so any infection came via IM, web browser or email. Most likely browser-related, but I don't have any way to know for sure. In the case of my kids' systems they had no clue they were infected, the systems showed no unusual symptoms. >> And you don't use IM? > No, I don't, except over my company's VPN, then using a secure client > that does not support remote execution of code. Most exploits don't depend on any application support for executing code. They typically use buffer or stack overflows to inject code and break out of the application into a system shell. You can use the most "secure" client you want, but if it has any vulnerability of that sort then you're at the mercy of whatever is on the other end. I assume you also restrict your login priviledges, and don't have yourself configured with "Administrator" priviledges? >> Even only visiting sites you trust isn't good enough -- there have >> been several reputable sites responsible for spreading infections >> because the site serving their banner ads got compromised, and they >> were serving infected content with the ads. > Which pales in comparison to the amount of damage done by similar > companies who put their client's or employee's data on unsecured, easily > stolen laptops. I wasn't trying to make any sort of comparison about relative risk, only pointing out that you can't make claims about safety just because you only surf "trusted" sites. > Excuse me, but throwing RAM at a problem caused by poorly written crap > simply leads to more poorly written crap. In 3 years, you'd be writing > " wouldn't even try to run Vista 2010 Pro with less than 128GB of RAM, > and generally prefer 1TB." I won't disagree with your sentiment about poorly written code. All I'm saying is that you're going to spend a lot of time and effort with minimal return, because there's not a lot you can do about the bloat in XP. Cleaning up the taskbar is good, but it's not going to make a significant difference in performance. However, spending $40 to add another 512M of RAM will result in immediate and noticable improvements. John Meissen jmeissen@aracnet.com ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Organization: BellSouth Internet Service Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2006 21:22:35 -0400 > older buildings had high ceilings and cross ventilation by design, plus > awnings over windows to help. That might help the temperature, but > high humidity? I went to high school in such a building in Valdosta, Georgia. It really isn't too bad. High ceilings and cross ventilation help a *lot*, and due to thermal inertia, the day and night temperatures get averaged, and the daytime temperature indoors is a good bit cooler than outdoors in the middle of the day. What's *bad* is "modern" (1960s) schools and other "modern" buildings that were built without air conditioning. Somehow the architects just forgot that they were building a kind of architecture that only worked with air conditioning. The worst was a dormitory I lived in at Yale (Helen Hadley Hall) whose central HVAC system was deleted from the plans at the last minute. The place was hot for half of the year and smelled bad all the time. > Again, I don't know how the many office workers in Washington DC > during WW II survived; only a few buildings at that time had a/c. To this day the Executive Office Building has only window units -- I noticed while walking by it recently. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 01:52:08 GMT I remember a couple of telephone offices in southern Arkansas in the 40s and 50s. The first one was a manual office on the second floor of a building. As someone mentioned there were high ceilings - about 16 feet in this case. There were windows that could be opened, and in the switchboard room there were oscillating fans mounted on the walls. In old buildings you sometimes see fan outlets high up on the walls; you can recognize them by the large bolt they have to hold the fan. There was not much electronics in this office. Maybe 3 channels of H1 carrier with maybe 4 tubes each. Tungar rectifiers to charge the batteries. Later there was added a program amplifier for radio networking, a 48 volt power system, a few 24 volt rectifiers, and a mobile radiotelephone setup which included a 250 watt transmitter and a receiver with a bunch of tubes. Of course the transmitter was not used much, so only keeping the tubes heated generated heat. Then there was a SxS office on a one-floor building in the early 1950s. I'm trying to remember if it had A/C in the switchboard area from the beginning. Possibly in the business office too. The equipment room did not get A/C until fairly late, when a bunch of O and N carrier equipment came in. jhhaynes at earthlink dot net ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 10:34:01 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... mc wrote: > Ed wrote in message > news:telecom25.251.3@telecom-digest.org: >> This past January I got a call from Peruzzi, a local car dealership >> here in Bucks County PA (suburban Philadelphia), wishing me a Happy >> Holiday. > I think people are going around telling each other -- quite falsely -- > that if the message doesn't explicitly announce things for sale, it's > not an advertisement and therefore not a violation. You're right, it's false. > A few weeks ago, a jeweler in my town used an autodialer to invite > people for a free ring cleaning. He told me it wasn't an > advertisement but an invitation. Worse, he made no attempt to avoid > dialing hospitals, fire stations, large PBXes, etc. ... my first > encounter with it was when my secretary got about 8 copies of the > message via other phones rolling over to hers. Tell him you are thinking of filing a class action suit. See if he'll settle asap. > I don't know, but I suspect someone is aggressively selling > autodialers by telling people falsehoods about the law. Very clever, and the salesperson is breaking no law, only the user! > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What may be a bit more tricky, IMO is > when the purported message is to 'wish happy holidays' as our > original writer noted. When such a message is conveyed, is it still > in fact a 'sales call' or an advertising pitch? PAT] No, giving out calendars is clearly advertising (but not illegal) yet making such phone calls is a violation. ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest V25 #260 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jul 14 16:23:15 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 0CE60219E; Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:23:14 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #261 Message-Id: <20060714202314.0CE60219E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:23:14 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.1 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, NA_DOLLARS,NIGERIAN_BODY1 autolearn=no version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:25:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 261 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Attackers Exploit PowerPoint Flaw (Robert McMillan, IDG) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 14, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Telecoms, Cable Operators add Broadband Subs (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines (Rick Merrill) Re: Exploding Lithium-Ion Battery in Cellphone Started Fire (H. Leighton) Re: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused (William Warren) Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones (ranck@vt.edu) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Rick Merrill) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Robert McMillan Subject: Attackers Exploit PowerPoint Flaw Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:12:46 -0500 Robert McMillan, IDG News Service Attackers have found another hole in Microsoft's Office products. Yesterday, Symantec reported that it has discovered a targeted attack that takes advantage of an unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's PowerPoint software. The hackers behind this attack are using the same techniques that were used in previously reported Word and Excel attacks, says Dave Cole, a director with Symantec Security Response. "It's similar to the pattern we've seen over he past few months where they're using a previously unknown Microsoft vulnerability, and an e-mail enticement to get a backdoor on someone's machine," he says. Cole believes that the same hackers may be behind all three attacks. "It looks like it may be the same group just based on the similarly of attacks," he says. Not Widespread As with the Word and Excel attacks, this latest malware is not widespread. This PowerPoint attack was discovered late Wednesday by a Symantec customer, who received a Chinese-character e-mail from a Gmail account. The e-mail contained a PowerPoint attachment that installed two pieces of malicious code when opened: a Trojan horse program, called Trojan.PPDDropper.B, and a backdoor program called Backdoor.Bifrose.E. The backdoor program tries to cover its tracks, by writing over the original PowerPoint document. It then awaits instructions from the attackers, who can use it to control the infected system. Office is fast becoming the target of choice for hackers. Microsoft patched a total of 12 Office vulnerabilities on Tuesday, but the PowerPoint bug used by this latest malware was not one of them, according to Cole. Microsoft is investigating the vulnerability, says Stephen Toulouse, a security program manager with Microsoft's security response center. Symantec is studying it as well. The security vendor said it does not yet know if the attack is specific to PowerPoint, or whether it affects all Office products. Copyright 2006 PC World Communications, Inc. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more tech news each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 14, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:07:10 -0400 (EDT) ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 14, 2006 ******************************** Containing the Cost of Compliance: A Major Challenge for Financial Institutions http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18866?11228 We hear it in almost every conversation with senior executives of major financial institutions: Compliance is driving much of the business agenda today, and the management teams of some of the world's most successful institutions are growing frustrated and concerned. They are concerned because the compliance burden is being ... Wind Mulls Part-Sale of Network to 3 Italia http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18865?11228 Italian telecoms company Wind is reportedly studying the possibility of selling half of its network to Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Italia, the daily MF said. The report adds that Wind is considering spinning off its network, worth about 2 billion euro (US$2.5 billion), into a separate company and subsequently selling a 50% stake to 3... Vodafone Set to Sue Telecom Italia for US$665.5 mil. for Market Abuse http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18862?11228 Vodafone's Italian unit has confirmed press reports that it is to sue Telecom Italia for abusing its market dominance, Dow Jones reports. The company said that it would launch a 525 million-euro (US$665.5 million) claim, accusing its rival of leveraging its strength in other market segments to stifle competition in the mobile sector.... Big Three Mobile Operators Accused of Discriminatory Interconnection Pricing http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18861?11228 Russia's Association 800, which represents regional mobile operators, has accused VimpelCom and its peers Megafon and Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) of discriminatory practices in the mobile termination market. Earlier this week the association issued a press release stating that VimpelCom had sent an order to its units that calls from ... Palm Makes European Treo Push http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18858?11228 Palm, along with Vodafone and Microsoft Corporation, is trying to make push e-mail more of a desired mobile feature in Europe. The trio is joining forces to introduce a 3G-compatible Treo device in Europe this year. The new device will run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile 5.0 platform, operate on a high-speed 3G/UMTS network and ... Cableco VoIP Tops Telco TDM In Customer Satisfaction http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/18855?11228 Consumers who now get their phone service from a cable company -- which means VoIP -- are far more satisfied than those who are getting phone service from traditional local exchange carriers (LECs), according to a new study by J.D. Power and Associates. Out of the six regions rated by J.D. Power in its 2006 Residential ... Good Wins on RIM Turf http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18851?11228 Bearding the mobile messaging lion in its den, Good Technology Inc. said this morning it has signed a reseller agreement with Bell Mobility Inc. , based in Canada, the home of BlackBerry provider Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM). Good also said it has signed a similar deal with Australian mobile operator Telstra Corp. Normally, when ... Cisco, Motorola Vetting VOD http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18848?11228 Cisco Systems and Motorola are looking to move deeper into the cable and digital video market through acquisitions in the video-on-demand (VOD) space, analysts and other sources say. On the heels of last month's Cable-Tec Expo in Denver, where rumors flew wildly on the tradeshow floor about numerous possible deals, three ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 13:26:35 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Telecoms, Cable Operators Add Broadband Subs at Record Rate USTelecom dailyLead July 14, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dZdwfDtutfkBdxKNih TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Telecoms, cable operators add broadband subs at record rate BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * FCC OKs sale of Adelphia * Analysis: Microsoft lagging in digital home initiative * McCaw eyes nationwide wireless broadband network * Verizon's FiOS wins franchises in California, Florida * Welcome mat out for new media at elite summit USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Telecom at your Fingertips -- Updated TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Streaming video falls short for World Cup viewers * Wi-Fi visionary discusses plans for the future VOIP DOWNLOAD * Chinese company said to hack Skype protocol * Cisco finds VoIP vulnerability REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Bush strikes deal over surveillance program * States sue seven chip makers * Gabelli settles civil fraud case arising from FCC auction Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dZdwfDtutfkBdxKNih ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 12:24:27 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines Reuters News Wire wrote: > The Navy said on Friday that it was trying to determine how personal > information on more than 100,000 Navy and Marine Corp aviators and air > crew wound up on a publicly available Web site for more than six > months. > In a fresh case of private information on military personnel being > compromised, the full names and social security numbers of both active > and reserve members appeared on the Naval Safety Center Web site at > http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil last December. > Those affected are believed to include any Navy or Marine Corp aviator > who has served during the past 20 years. > The same information was also disseminated late last year to Navy and > Marine Corps commands on 1,083 program disks mailed out as part of the > service's Web Enabled Safety Program. > The Naval Safety Center found out about the problem and removed the > information from the web site on Thursday, a week after the recovery > of a stolen Veterans Affairs Department laptop that contained > sensitive information on more than 26 million U.S. military veterans > and service members. > The center is now recalling the mailed program disks. > As in the case of the Veterans Affairs laptop, the Navy said there was > no evidence that any of the disseminated data has been used illegally. > But the service is notifying those affected by mail and setting up a > 24-hour call center to handle queries. > Safety center spokeswoman Evelyn Odango said the problem appeared to > be an errant file. > "The information was inadvertently included in a file that was then > posted on the Web," she said. "We found out about it through a Web > site user and it was removed immediately." > Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Is this getting to be a bad joke, or > what? Every day or three of late we hear of files which should remain > totally private and confidential somehow making their way into the > public's view, mostly because of thievery of laptops, but now in this > instance, by being put on display on the web. And I suspect if we > used our imaginations, with all sorts of number combinations we could > find even more stuff on the web which should ideally _not_ be on > display. PAT] All confidential information should always be in an encrypted file! - thereoughttobealaw ------------------------------ From: Hudson Leighton Subject: Re: Exploding Lithium-Ion Battery in Cellphone Started House Fire Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 11:57:38 -0500 In article , Mike Hughlett wrote: > http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0607130182jul13,1,1195700.s > tory?page=2&coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed > By Mike Hughlett > Tribune staff reporter > July 13, 2006 > It has the ring of an urban legend: A cell phone blows up and sets > fire to a house. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For those people inclined to think that > a fire caused by an exploding battery is 'just another urban legend' > which never has any verifiable source to it, here is an instance where > proof is available: Chicago Tribune, July 13, 2006 Section B, with a > real person named. PAT] There was a recent incident where a Dell laptop went up in flames at a conference in Asia. It's amazing how hot a 9 volt transistor battery gets when it contacts the loose change in your pocket. Energy = Energy Uncontrolled Energy = Bomb ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:05:59 -0400 From: William Warren Subject: Re: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused benson_james@yahoo.com wrote: > (Switched 56K service). Signaling is accomplished through a "Robbed > Bit" method where bit 8 of each channel's timeslot is "robbed" to > indicate a signaling state in the 6th and 12th frames. Effective > throughput for the A signaling bit (Frame 6) is 666.66 BPS. Effective > throughput for the B signaling bit (Frame 12) is the same (666.66 BPS). > But i cant figure out how they got to 666.66Bps? 8000 samples per second = 8000 bps The "A" or "B" bit is robbed in two frames out of 12, so - 8000 bps * (10/12) = 6666.66 bps 6666.66 bps = 666.66 BPS (Bytes per second), assuming asynchronous ASCII with 8 bit bytes, one start bit, and one stop bit. HTH. William Warren (Filter noise from my address for direct replies) ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 18:19:20 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA Monty Solomon wrote: > By Tyler B. Reed/ Daily News Staff > "We reserve the right to look through the cell phone," Principal > Michael Welch said. "It would be no different than if a student were > to have a notebook. We've had instances of graffiti. We've looked > through a notebook and found identical instances of graffiti." Without going into the rights issue, how do they know that the "identical" grafitti in a notebook wasn't something the student copied off of the real grafitti because he thought it was cool. I mean, sure, it's gives them some probable cause to further question, but it's hardly damning evidence by itself. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:21:41 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Rick Merrill wrote: > Sam Spade wrote: >> The FCC never took jurisdiction over name identification. >> Should they? > Is that you Sam?-) What exactly would the FCC "enforce" if they took > over name id? All the "unavailable" calls I get do not even show the > phone number! > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What they could enforce, if they > wished to go to the trouble, would be to insist that all telephone > calls for which name/number delivery was technically possible were > required to give that same information. No more playing around with > it, as telemarketers are inclined to do. PAT] I suspect from the way current VoIP calls are structured that it would be (a) very easy to spoof the number, (b) impossible to enforce upon overseas numbers and (c) too easy to make the number unavailable in the first place. Heck, even the doctor's office number is "unavailble". [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: We cannot do anything about international phone calls short of some kind of enforceable treaty between nations. But the doctor's office number would not be unavailable if there was a law with strong teeth in it saying the correct number had to be given out when available. I do know that in my own situation, since about a year ago when I had 'reject anonymous calls' (*77) added to my features here, my phone has rung a lot less than before. All that 'reject anonymous calls' does is if the caller uses *67 when dialing my number (or has his line set up to go anonymous) his call does not get through here. I do not think I have missed any calls I felt like receiving anyway. PAT] ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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: 620-402-0134 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 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management (MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35 credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including data, video, and voice networks. The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum. Classes are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning. Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at 405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at http://www.mstm.okstate.edu ************************ 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. 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 V25 #261 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Jul 14 21:47:43 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 3087D219E; Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:47:43 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #262 Message-Id: <20060715014743.3087D219E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:47:43 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:50:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 262 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson IMF Warns of Fake Emails Using its Name (Reuters News Wire) Microsoft Kills Off 'My Private Folder' Application (Mark Hachman) Re: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused (James Carlson) Re: NYS AG Spitzer Again; Against Price Fixing Chip Makers (DLR) Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) (DLR) Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You (DevilsPGD) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Thor Lancelot Simon) Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines (Clark W. Griswold) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (DLR) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Reuters News Wire Subject: IMF Warns of Fake Emails Using its Name Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:14:39 -0500 The International Monetary Fund on Friday warned of a jump in the number of fraudulent e-mails and communications claiming to be from or affiliated with the Washington-based multilateral lender. There has been an apparent spike in such messages recently involving people in the United States targeting recent immigrants and people in cities, an IMF official said. The IMF said U.S. authorities have been informed. The scams range from "phishing" attacks where the names of IMF officials are misused to deceive recipients into disclosing personal financial information to "spoofing" in which a fake IMF Web site was created with false contact details to mislead potential users, the fund said. "The IMF does not send any unsolicited business communications to individuals," a fund statement said. "The IMF does not operate through other agents nor endorse the activities of any bank, financial institution, or other public or private agency." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Mark Hachman Subject: Microsoft Kills Off 'My Private Folder' Application Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 20:19:18 -0500 Mark Hachman - ExtremeTech and Natali Del Conte - PC Magazine If you've heard of Microsoft Private Folder 1.0, forget it. As of 2:30 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, it no longer exists. Microsoft quietly added the free encryption utility earlier this month, and then just as quietly deleted it. The utility allowed users to encrypt and store files inside a private folder. "Private Folder 1.0 was designed as a benefit for customers running genuine Windows," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement. "However, we received feedback about concerns around manageability, data recovery and encryption, and based on that feedback we are removing the application." While it lasted, the software created a "My Private Folder" on a user's desktop by installing a Private Folder Service. Inside the folder, files were apparently encrypted and locked with a password. The problem was that the password assigned to the folder was binding so losing or forgetting it locked users out of their data permanently. "There are lots of passwords out there and with this, if you forget it then there was no way to get back into it," said the Microsoft spokesperson. One of the issues that also puzzled consumers was that the feature was remarkably similar to an existing option, where consumers could right-click a folder and select a "Sharing and Security" option. That allowed a user to manually add a password to a folder and protect users from using it. Microsoft said that the utility was designed as an "extra" or reward for installing the WGA service. Other extras included Windows Defender, an anti-spyware services, which also requires installation of the WGA service. Microsoft has no plans to fix or rethink the concerns that caused them to scrap the program, the spokeswoman said. The company is simply removing the application with no plans to re-release at a future date. PCMag Says... [Editor's Note: This was written when Private Folder was live, obviously.] I was afraid it would be just a pretty user interface for one of the many folder-encryption possibilities already present in Windows. It's more than that - it runs a service in the background to allow encryption/decryption, and it pushes you to use a strong password. Looks like you can't change the password ex post facto, so make it good. I'm not terribly impressed. Right after I installed the Private Folder service my system slowed to a crawl, with over 90% of CPU usage devoted to svchost.exe (meaning *some* service was hogging the CPU). And when I uninstalled it, the CPU-hogging stopped. Coincidence? -- Neil Rubenking Copyright 2006 Ziff Davis Inc. ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused Organization: Sun Microsystems From: James Carlson Date: 14 Jul 2006 16:29:40 -0400 benson_james@yahoo.com writes: > But i cant figure out how they got to 666.66Bps? It's 8000/12 -- there are 12 193-bit frames in a superframe. In other words, there's a repeating pattern of length 12 in that 8th bit. You get 8000 samples per second, and the whole pattern repeats every 12 samples, or 666.667 bits per second. James Carlson, KISS Network Sun Microsystems / 1 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084 MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757 42.496N Fax +1 781 442 1677 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:32:20 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: NYS AG Spitzer Again; Against Price Fixing Chip Makers Danny Burstein wrote: > " Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today filed a federal lawsuit > charging leading manufacturers of computer memory chips with > price-fixing. > " New York's lawsuit charges that beginning in approximately 1998, the > chip manufacturers made a secret agreement to raise the prices of > their memory chips, known in the industry as 'dynamic random access > memory chips' or 'DRAM.' DRAM chips are used to hold data and > temporary instructions available for quick access while the computer > or other digital product is in use. Many of the chips are sold to > computer manufacturers, known in the industry as original equipment > manufacturers or 'OEMs,' for use in computers and other products... > rest: > http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/jul/jul13b_06.html Couldn't be that the heads of these billion dollar companies all quit acting stupid and decided to make a profit on less sales than try an continually grow market share while loosing money. Noooo. Spitzer is too smart to go after an industry loosing money and tell them it's illegal to raise prices. Open non-monopolistic markets do always mean lower prices. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:44:47 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Back to Being a Luddite (Oh Well) hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Gene S. Berkowitz wrote: >> Excuse me, but throwing RAM at a problem caused by poorly written crap >> simply leads to more poorly written crap. In 3 years, you'd be writing >> "I wouldn't even try to run Vista 2010 Pro with less than 128GB of RAM, >> and generally prefer 1TB." > Your statement is very true and people will indeed be saying what you > wrote. But what are we consumers supposed to do about it? What can we > do about it? Not a damn thing! Heck, I come from a world where we ran > an entire hospital on a mainframe with all of 128K with a 16K operating > system. It blows my mind that 'core' memory is so cheap today we > measure it in gigabytes, but it annoys me that people bloat up > everything to milk it. I used to develop an application for a mini-computer. It ran in an 8K program space with about triple that for the OS. We did a lot. We really did. But we were obviously running out of steam after about 6 years and after about 10 years the system got retired. People just didn't want to buy 24x80 glass CRTs when the competition was giving the color graphics. We had letter writing where you embedded the format codes, the competition had DOS then Windows WordPerfect. Word didn't really get rolling until later. And to be honest I doubt we'd be able to even make the system work any more. We were in the insurance industry. I'd bet that the legal (both law and lawsuit avoidance) data issues and logic would make it impossible for my application or the hospital's to operate. Now that computers are more powerful, Legislatures no longer seem to care about the cost of implementing things. Courts also. I've programed payroll systems. Back in the later 70s. I don't even want to consider it today. Way too complicated. Some studies have come to the conclusion that the insurance processing costs now eat up 1/2 or more of the medical system. At least for non-invasive surgical issues. Gene S. Berkowitz wrote: > In article , jmeissen@aracnet.com > says: >> In article , Gene S. Berkowitz >> wrote: >>> I don't run a virus checker; I do run a software firewall, and my 5 >>> PCs are behind a router. I have zero infections on any of the PCs I >>> have running at home. >> If you don't run a virus checker, how do you know? > Because my systems operate the same as when I initially set them up, I > periodically monitor my ethernet traffic for unusual activity, and I > don't have crashes, pop-ups, or other trouble. >> That's not just foolish, it's stupid. There are free AV products out >> there, some of them very good. I use Avast! on all of my home PC's. > Honestly, when was the last time you ACTUALLY had a virus infect or > try to infect your system? The virus threat is vastly over-reported, > with the big numbers coming from single strains infecting large > corporate networks. I run some networks for some small businesses and I have my own mail server in my home office. I get to see a lot. Plus I have some friends who work on computer security at the NSA level. Every IP address on the planet is under attack. Period. End of discussion. So any computer not connected to the net via a NAT router is asking for trouble when just sitting there. If you have to be exposed as in a dial up situation or as a server had better have protection running all the time. And even a NAT router doesn't stop web surfing injected things or viruses in emails. My new local pool president doesn't understand technology but he uses his computer a lot. He doesn't see the point of mailing lists so he emails the entire pool membership and doesn't BCC the list most of the time. I got a real spike in virus infected emails just after his first email like this and it continues 6 months later. Plus my mail server got a spike in attacks on the domains in my email addresses. Just because you don't see the attacks, doesn't mean they are not happening. Your ISP is killing off most of them for you and trying to figure out how to do it and stay in business. >>> That said, I don't download from sites I don't >>> trust, I don't use IE or Outlook, and I delete "Hey, Take a Look at >>> This" emails. Basically, the precautions that anyone should take >>> (don't eat found food, don't have unprotected sex with multiple >>> partners, don't leave your keys in the ignition) metaphorically apply >>> to the internet. Yes but the bad guys are walking down the street at night throwing bricks through windows. And now walking up your driveway. But on the computer they aren't leaving piles of broken glass as a indication of some thing's up. >>> The real performance killers are not evil spyware; it's cluttering up >>> your PC with "trusted" conveniences like RealPlayer, QuickTime, and >>> CD- recorder "helpers" that sit in your system tray consuming memory >>> and CPU cycles waiting for you to finally play a stream or burn a CD. >> While I agree that they're unnecessary and mostly pointless, the >> system tray apps don't consume cycles. They do consume memory, >> however. Removing them helps, but "modern" OSes consume enough that >> taking that step isn't much by itself. Memory is currently cheap. You >> can significantly improve performance just by adding memory. I >> wouldn't even try to run XP with less than 512M of RAM, and generally >> prefer 1GB. > Excuse me, but throwing RAM at a problem caused by poorly written crap > simply leads to more poorly written crap. In 3 years, you'd be writing > "I wouldn't even try to run Vista 2010 Pro with less than 128GB of RAM, > and generally prefer 1TB." My wife likes her automatic door locks, power windows, fuel injection, cruise control, etc ... So do I, I just think I could live without them easier. My grandfather's generation thought 2nd gear on a 3 speed manual transmission was a foolish waste of money. :) As someone who's written code for small memory foot prints, there becomes a point where spending an extra 2 years to elegantly code something to cut the memory usage in half will put you out of business. At one point during a major update to our package we got blunt with management. And they realized it was cheaper to give away some hardware than to try and write perfect code to fit into the same foot print we were using for the previous 5 years. Steve Job's is credited with saving Apple. But in many ways he caused the problem. The early culture at Apple and Mac was to be insanely great and not throw equipment at issues when a prefect piece of software could do the job with less. The problem was that no software is anywhere near perfect and to plan for it to be so was a disaster. Inadequate networking, disk speeds, sound ports, etc... all were very limiting for the 1/2 of the Macs life. Now those issues are mostly gone and Macs are selling much better than in a long time. But you need to have a 100 gig disk drive and a gig or more of ram to make them sing. Literally. :) None of this excuses the crude that people accept from MS. I don't blame MS. It's the strategy that won the platform wars for them. The gave people what they wanted. Lots of buggy features, lots of revisions, etc ... Now they and we are paying the price. ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD Subject: Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:36:06 -0500 Organization: Disorganized In message Rick Merrill wrote: > Even the old advice not to give out info unless you placed the call is > now obsolete because the crooks are sending fake phone numbers via > email. Not at all, you just need to call a known-good number. You don't just dial any number you're given, but rather, you need to dial the number on the back of your bank card to contact your bank. Some mistakes are too fun to make only once. ------------------------------ From: tls@panix.com (Thor Lancelot Simon) Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 22:08:30 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Reply-To: tls@rek.tjls.com In article , Rick Merrill wrote: > I suspect from the way current VoIP calls are structured that it would be > (a) very easy to spoof the number, > (b) impossible to enforce upon overseas numbers and > (c) too easy to make the number unavailable in the first place. Heck, > even the doctor's office number is "unavailble". This is all false. Why do we have this same discussion over and over again every few months? Networks should not mark calling party identification received from customers as "network provided" in the resulting ISUP Initial Address Message. In cases in which the customer-provided number cannot be directly verified to be billed to the party originating the call, it should be *replaced* in the IAM with the Billing Telephone Number for the originating party, which is a _required_ component of the IAM. The FCC could require this at the drop of a hat, and it could be complied with -- imperfectly at first, much better very quickly -- with the flick of a switch. Network operators should be required to disconnect customers who feed bogus customer-provided numbers. Certainly any network providing customer-provided numbers and claiming them to be network-provided should be disconnected by all of their peers. Thor Lancelot Simon tls@rek.tjls.com "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart ------------------------------ From: Clark W. Griswold, Jr. Subject: Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 17:29:21 -0600 Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com Rick Merrill wrote: > thereoughttobealaw Especially regarding people who quote an entire 48 line post to add 9 words and moderators who approve such posts. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:49:00 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: >> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Interesting you wrote about this today >> when the outside temperature here in Independence reached 106 degrees; >> the hottest for this year so far. My air-conditioning has been running >> almost continuously for the past two days. I do not know how I >> survived back in the 1950-60s when the places I worked did not have >> a/c nor did I have it at home until around 1968 or so. PAT] > It's warm and humid around here too, which is what prompted me to write > the note. > I don't know how working people survived without air conditioning, > especially 40 years ago when people had to wear much more clothing at > work than they do now -- men had to wear suits and long sleeved shirts > (albeit lightweight material), women full dresses. Today young women > come to work dressed for the beach, pushing the envelope a little too > much for most employers. Many men don't wear ties. I believe many Yep. My wife calls it the "nude look". She works in a call center. It got so distracting they had to implement rules. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: When I worked at University of Chicago > in the phone room we had overhead ceiling fans which would spin around > every few feet up and down the room. They did not do much good, IMO. > PAT] While you may not have felt it directly, any time someone is sweating, moving the air around them will have an A/C effect as it evaporates the sweat. Until the humidity gets into the 90's. Then you don't get enough evaporation to matter. Which is why you really don't FEEL as hot in a dry heat like Las Vegas at 110 vs Miami at 95. Just have lots of water around. :) ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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: 620-402-0134 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 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) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * 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 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management (MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35 credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including data, video, and voice networks. The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum. Classes are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning. Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at 405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at http://www.mstm.okstate.edu ************************ 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. 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 V25 #262 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Jul 16 01:20:39 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 2388A21EA; Sun, 16 Jul 2006 01:20:38 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #263 Message-Id: <20060716052038.2388A21EA@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 01:20:38 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00, MAILTO_TO_SPAM_ADDR autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Jul 2006 01:22:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 263 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Do the Feds Owe You a BIG Refund on Your Phone Bill? (Anders Mikkelsen) Headgear - Bluetooth Headset (Monty Solomon) 1/2 U or Smaller Rack Cable Organizer (Will) Unable to Access Yahoo! Geocities Websites From India (crankbuster) Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You (Rick Merrill) Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You (Wesrock@aol.com) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Sam Spade) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Lisa Hancock) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Rick Merrill) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Robert Bonomi) Re: NYS AG Spitzer Again; Against Price Fixing Chip Makers (DLR) Re: Microsoft Kills Off 'My Private Folder' Application (Jack Hamilton) Re: Elegy (sic) For the Video Store (mc) Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines (Rick Merrill) Re: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused (Robert Bonomi) Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones (Robert Bonomi) Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... (Ed) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Anders Mikkelsen Subject: Do the Feds Owe You a BIG Refund on Your Phone Bill? Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 14:59:11 -0500 Do the Feds Owe You 9% of Your Long Distance Bill? by Anders Mikkelsen Taxes and surcharges are responsible for a huge portion of monthly telecom bills paid in the US. They amount to about 50% of the cost of a local line, and less for other services. While presumably not considered a sin, telecom is taxed and regulated heavily like gambling, liquor, and cigarettes, driving up the costs of service. Telecom companies are huge tax collectors for the local, state, and federal government. Fortunately taxes are now supposed to go down for Long Distance. Amazingly this is because the IRS now has to follow the letter of the law, and can no longer collect the Federal Excise Tax of 3% on the per minute long distance charges sold today. They may even owe you money. This is the official announcement. The Federal Excise Tax was created in 1898 to tax the new luxury of phone service and help finance the Spanish American War. While that war was soon over, the tax remained. When the law was re-written in 1965 a distinction was made between local and toll services (and teletypewriter exchange services). The tax applied to toll calls, and toll calls were defined as being based on time and distance, not time or distance. In 1965 to call New Jersey from New York was cheaper than calling California. All calls were toll calls, and the distance to California made the call expensive. Today 'toll calls' don't exist as no one is charged based on the distance. Clearly if no one is making calls based on time and distance, there are no toll calls therefore there is no revenue to tax. [The law really is that simple.] Naturally, the IRS chose to tax all long distance calls, even ones that weren't toll calls. The IRS has been challenged in court repeatedly and for a long time. Apparently the IRS wanted to argue that the law was clearly intended to tax all long distance at three percent, regardless of how it was worded. Since this clearly violated the letter of the law, it took many years for Treasury to acknowledge the court decisions ruling against the IRS. The bottom line is that you, the long-suffering taxpayer, should no longer be charged for the 3% Federal Excise Tax on Long Distance starting July 31st. Sadly the local Federal Excise Tax stays for now. It is unclear, but it probably stays on all non-per-minute charges related to cell phones, e.g. bundled minutes. In addition the IRS will also refund you on three years of taxes paid from March 2003 to July 2006. That could be 9% of your annual long distance bill. Unfortunately you have to ask for a refund, and prove you paid the taxes. The IRS may give a token $50 or so in a refund to those unwilling to document their tax expenditures. There is no reason to think the telecom companies that collected the taxes will collect them back for their customers. However you should make sure they don't collect the tax in the future, saving 3% a year. Ironically, for most people long distance is going down to zero with the proliferation of cell phones, calling cards, voip, and cheaper long distance plans. Long Distance is comparatively less regulated, so the market has a chance to work its magic. My clients can pay a fraction of their old rates, and even calling China can be dirt cheap. This means most people are facing lower bills regardless. However if you have high long distance bills, especially international calls, it would be worth trying to get a refund. The only reason why this has happened is because a bunch of companies fought for this in court. Those companies who did fight in court have apparently still not received their money. Why did they fight? Well, even firms with 500 employees can spend tens of thousands a month on telecom, and $200,000 a year on long distance. The Federal Excise Tax just for their long distance can be six thousand dollars, and the refund eighteen thousand. If you have five thousand or fifty thousand employees the savings would be orders of magnitude higher, justifying paying a lawyer to point out the letter of the law. While this isn't a huge change, it is always nice to know that taxes are not always permanent. Anders Mikkelsen is a cost management consultant in New York City. Copyright 2006 LewRockwell.com ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 00:08:47 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Headgear - Bluetooth Headset By ROB WALKER The New York Times Bluetooth Headset Here's how new tech innovations are supposed to spread: First, clever young people adopt them, because that's what clever young people are hard-wired to do. Later, everybody else catches on, and eventually even the middle-aged golf-course guy gets it. Think of text messaging or MP3 players. Now think of Bluetooth-enabled wireless-phone headsets. They sound pretty techie, and according to a recent report by Strategy Analytics, a research-and-consulting firm, sales of Bluetooth headsets nearly tripled in 2005, to 33 million units around the world. But this time the pattern looks a little different: Golf Course Guy has led the way. Bluetooth-enabled headsets hook over the ear, interact wirelessly with a phone tucked away in a pocket or a bag and thus allow easier "hands free" use. Put another way, they're little gizmos that appear to be welded to the heads of people who seem to be talking to themselves. Hands-free-ness sounds ideal for drivers, but the devices can increasingly be seen on the heads of people grocery shopping, strolling along a quiet block of brownstones or - perhaps especially - loitering near Cinnabon outlets in airports. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/16/magazine/16wwln_consumed.html?ex=1310702400&en=86da46a023da70da&ei=5090 ------------------------------ From: Will Subject: 1/2 U or Smaller Rack Cable Organizer Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 11:38:45 -0700 I'm looking for an extremely short 1/2 U (or smaller) cable organizer that I can use with 16 port ethernet switches. I have a lot of these associated with different segments on a firewall, and I really have a shortage of rack space. Does anyone make such a thing? I have many 1U organizers, and I really do need 1/2 U. Will ------------------------------ From: crankbuster Subject: Unable to Access Yahoo! Geocities Websites From India Date: 15 Jul 2006 06:28:02 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Can anybody from India access any Yahoo! Geocities websites? For example try http://www.geocities.com/lupeliti/ or any other geocities website you know of. As far as we know, various ISP's from Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta are unable to connect to any geocities websites for the past week or so. Does anybody know what the problem is? ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:09:59 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You DevilsPGD wrote: > In message Rick Merrill > wrote: >> Even the old advice not to give out info unless you placed the call is >> now obsolete because the crooks are sending fake phone numbers via >> email. > Not at all, you just need to call a known-good number. You don't just > dial any number you're given, but rather, you need to dial the number > on the back of your bank card to contact your bank. That is true. What I wanted to point out is that 'human engineered' phish mail are warning people of exactly THAT and providing (so conveniently) the number of your Chase Bank HQ to phone! (that number is of course manned by scammers ). Using the number on the back of your bank card is a good way to direct people. > Some mistakes are too fun to make only once. example?-) ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 20:20:39 EDT Subject: Re: Caller ID Scammers Plan to do a Number on You In a message dated Fri, 14 Jul 2006 16:36:06 -0500, DevilsPGD writes: > Not at all, you just need to call a known-good number. You don't just > dial any number you're given, but rather, you need to dial the number > on the back of your bank card to contact your bank. Why do we get less credulous when we have fancier technology. Many years ago, after I bought the house I still live in, a year or two later I got a call from a person representing himself as an IRS agent auditing the person who sold me the house and wanted to know what my records showed I paid for the house. I told him I'd have to look up my records and call him back. He gave me his phone number (a Centrex number). I found the records but I did not call him back on the Centrex number. I looked up the main number for the local IRS office in the phone book, called that, and asked for him by name, not by number. The PBX attendant found his number and rang him. She also told me his extension number -- the same last four digits as the Centrex number. This confirmed that he was indeed an IRS employee and that he had given me a good number. Something I was not willing to take just on his representation over the telephone. So now with technology it seems people do not take even the most basic precautions. At that time there was no caller ID, no internet, hardly any computers and no one expected a private citizen to have a fax. Just POTS. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 02:10:28 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications TELECOM Digest Editor noted in response to Sam Spade: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Trouble was, Bell's definition of > 'necessary' was not like that of many people. Good point. Like someone mention, until vacuum tube carrier equipment came along there was probably no need to provide A/C for SxS, Panel, and XBAR equipment. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Date: 15 Jul 2006 11:45:42 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Garrett Wollman wrote: > I've been in one of the vent shafts at the Empire State Building, and > I've seen the top of one at Boston's Prudential Tower. After central > air was installed at Empire, the vent shafts gained a new purpose as > communications corridors, particularly connecting the broadcast > facilities on the 79th, 80th, 81st, 84th, and 85th floors. In Chicago, there were a large series of narrow tunnels that carried freight (mostly coal). Because tunnel air was cool, some large buildings bought the air for internal use. The tunnels were abandoned in the early 1950s (IIRC). In more recent years they have been used for utility conduits. I think the original purpose of the tunnel but never used was a telephone cable vaults. A few years ago one of the tunnels was breeched by a contractor which caused tremendous flood damage. The Central Electric Railfan's Association has a book on the tunnels. As to older buildings being more "ventilation friendly" that was true to an extent. None of my public schools had air conditioning. On some spring and fall days the weather could be very hot (90) and the classrooms would be pretty miserable (depending on sun exposure). Fans would've been a big help. I noticed today some classrooms have been retrofitted with window a/c units in all the schools I attended. Initially a/c was installed mostly to protect equipment or improve industrial processes, not to make people more comfortable. The army installed A/C in the assembling hut on Tinian for the Manhattan Project work. That in itself attracted great attention to a project that was desperately trying to keep a low profile. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:05:52 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: > In article , > Rick Merrill wrote: >> I suspect from the way current VoIP calls are structured that it would be >> (a) very easy to spoof the number, >> (b) impossible to enforce upon overseas numbers and >> (c) too easy to make the number unavailable in the first place. Heck, >> even the doctor's office number is "unavailble". > This is all false. Why do we have this same discussion over and over > again every few months? Well, you don't say where you think you got your information. I got mine from the United States Postal Inspectors as far as #1 goes. #2 is only partially true, I admit: in some cases the inspectors are able to extradite the perps, e.g. from Canada. #3 is my personal observation. So I conclude that your knowledge of the above is faulty and your statement doubious. I do, however, agree with the following ... > Networks should not mark calling party identification received from > customers as "network provided" in the resulting ISUP Initial Address > Message. In cases in which the customer-provided number cannot be > directly verified to be billed to the party originating the call, it > should be *replaced* in the IAM with the Billing Telephone Number for > the originating party, which is a _required_ component of the IAM. > The FCC could require this at the drop of a hat, and it could be > complied with -- imperfectly at first, much better very quickly -- > with the flick of a switch. You exagerate: it would require some 30 small steps to comply AND it would cost $. > Network operators should be required to disconnect customers who feed > bogus customer-provided numbers. Certainly any network providing > customer-provided numbers and claiming them to be network-provided > should be disconnected by all of their peers. With voice over IP there is no "connection" in the classic sense; therefore it is very difficult to determine if a number is a relay or not, i.e. if it is "bogus". > Thor Lancelot Simon tls@rek.tjls.com > "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral > aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart I expect you to live up to your byline ;-) ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 03:07:24 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Rick Merrill wrote: > Sam Spade wrote: >> The FCC never took jurisdiction over name identification. >> Should they? > Is that you Sam?-) What exactly would the FCC "enforce" if they took > over name id? All the "unavailable" calls I get do not even show the > phone number! > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What they could enforce, if they > wished to go to the trouble, would be to insist that all telephone > calls for which name/number delivery was technically possible were > required to give that same information. No more playing around with > it, as telemarketers are inclined to do. PAT] The FTC already _does_ require telemarketers to provide accurate caller ID info. AND they've got bigger fining authority than the FCC on such matters. Get anything other than 'not available', or accurate ID info -- file a complaint with the FTC. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:58:55 -0400 From: DLR Subject: Re: NYS AG Spitzer Again; Against Price Fixing Chip Makers DLR wrote: > Danny Burstein wrote: >> " Attorney General Eliot Spitzer today filed a federal lawsuit >> charging leading manufacturers of computer memory chips with >> price-fixing. >> " New York's lawsuit charges that beginning in approximately 1998, the >> chip manufacturers made a secret agreement to raise the prices of >> their memory chips, known in the industry as 'dynamic random access >> memory chips' or 'DRAM.' DRAM chips are used to hold data and >> temporary instructions available for quick access while the computer >> or other digital product is in use. Many of the chips are sold to >> computer manufacturers, known in the industry as original equipment >> manufacturers or 'OEMs,' for use in computers and other products... >> rest: >> http://www.oag.state.ny.us/press/2006/jul/jul13b_06.html > Couldn't be that the heads of these billion dollar companies all quit > acting stupid and decided to make a profit on less sales than try an > continually grow market share while loosing money. > Noooo. Spitzer is too smart to go after an industry loosing money and > tell them it's illegal to raise prices. > Open non-monopolistic markets do always mean lower prices. Argh. Open non-monopolistic markets do NOT always mean lower prices. ^^^ ------------------------------ From: Jack Hamilton Subject: Re: Microsoft Kills Off 'My Private Folder' Application Date: Fri, 14 Jul 2006 21:00:47 -0700 Organization: Copyright (c) 2006 by Jack Hamilton. Reply-To: jfh@acm.org Mark Hachman wrote: > Mark Hachman - ExtremeTech and Natali Del Conte - PC Magazine > If you've heard of Microsoft Private Folder 1.0, forget it. As of 2:30 > p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, it no longer exists. > Microsoft quietly added the free encryption utility earlier this > month, and then just as quietly deleted it. The utility allowed users > to encrypt and store files inside a private folder. I would trust TrueCrypt, an open source encryption tool, much more readily than I would trust something from Microsoft. TrueCrypt http://www.truecrypt.org/ has gotten rave reviews, and in my limited experience with it seems to be one of those rare programs that just does the right thing. > "Private Folder 1.0 was designed as a benefit for customers running > genuine Windows," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a > statement. "However, we received feedback about concerns around > manageability, data recovery and encryption, and based on that > feedback we are removing the application." > While it lasted, the software created a "My Private Folder" on a > user's desktop by installing a Private Folder Service. Inside the > folder, files were apparently encrypted and locked with a password. > The problem was that the password assigned to the folder was binding > so losing or forgetting it locked users out of their data permanently. > "There are lots of passwords out there and with this, if you forget it > then there was no way to get back into it," said the Microsoft > spokesperson. If you really want cryptography, that's the way it has to work. What, you want trap doors? [...] > PCMag Says... > [Editor's Note: This was written when Private Folder was live, > obviously.] I was afraid it would be just a pretty user interface for > one of the many folder-encryption possibilities already present in > Windows. It's more than that - it runs a service in the background to > allow encryption/decryption, and it pushes you to use a strong > password. Looks like you can't change the password ex post facto, so > make it good. I'm not terribly impressed. > Right after I installed the Private Folder service my system slowed to > a crawl, with over 90% of CPU usage devoted to svchost.exe (meaning > *some* service was hogging the CPU). And when I uninstalled it, the > CPU-hogging stopped. Coincidence? -- Neil Rubenking Right now there are 5 instances of svchost running on my computer. I have no idea what any of them are doing ot what started them. Jack Hamilton jfh@acm.org Children of the future age, Reading this indignant page, Know that in a former time Love, sweet love, was thought a crime. -Blake ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Elegy (sic) For the Video Store Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 01:27:09 -0400 I don't know what this is all about. A eulogy is indeed a funeral oration, but an elegy is also an act of mourning, a poetic one (from Greek elegos, mournful song). The American Heritage Dictionary says this: elegy: 1. A poem composed in elegiac couplets. 2a. A poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person. b. Something resembling such a poem or song. 3. (Music) A composition that is melancholy or pensive in tone. In general, a eulogy is also an elegy (definition 2b). ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 10:07:10 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Navy Probes Data Leak on 100,000 Sailors, Marines Clark W. Griswold wrote: > Rick Merrill wrote: >> thereoughttobealaw > Especially regarding people who quote an entire 48 line post to add 9 > words and moderators who approve such posts. I do not know if you are a troll, so I will just mention that other people complain when posts are trimmed as you suggest. ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Superframing and ESF ... A Little Confused Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 02:45:09 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , wrote: > Hi folks, I could really do with some help with something. > I'm studying telecoms in particular T1 circuits. Currently its on about > superframing and Extended Superframing. > I've been reading something: > http://telecom.tbi.net/t1_frm.html > D4 Voice and Data Signaling > The transport of signaling states is required in Switched voice or data > (Switched 56K service). Signaling is accomplished through a "Robbed > Bit" method where bit 8 of each channel's timeslot is "robbed" to > indicate a signaling state in the 6th and 12th frames. Effective > throughput for the A signaling bit (Frame 6) is 666.66 BPS. Effective > throughput for the B signaling bit (Frame 12) is the same (666.66 BPS). > But i cant figure out how they got to 666.66Bps? > Looking at the diagram on the webpage, the least significant bit in > all channels has the last bit robbed, for frames 6 and 12, so in every > superframe thats sent, thats 24 bits, multiply that by 8000 and i get > 192Kbps???? Where am i going wrong. > Could someone explain this to me. > Thanks in advance. How many times per second, on each channel, does 'frame 6' occur? with one bit of that frame being used for 'A' signalling, the bit rate for that bit is the same as the frequency of that frame. I don't know where you got that 8000 multiplier from, but it is _way_ wrong. A superframe has _12_ frames, each containing 1 sample from each channel it is 12x (192+1) bits long. A superframe passes once every 12/8000 second. this means that there are 666.66666 ... superframes per second.`o Thus, there is 1 bit per superframe *per*channel* used for 'A' signalling, and 1 bit per superframe *per channel* used for 'B' signalling. 666.666666 ... superframes /second means 666.6666 ... 'A' bits *per*channel* per second and a similar number of 'B' bits/second multiplied by 24 channels, gives 16,000 'A' bits/second aggregate, and the same for the 'B' bits. ------------------------------ From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) Subject: Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 02:55:09 -0000 Organization: Widgets, Inc. In article , Rick Merrill wrote: > Monty Solomon wrote: >> By Tyler B. Reed/ Daily News Staff >> FRAMINGHAM -- High school administrators under a new policy are >> claiming the right to snatch information stored in students' cell >> phones when they search for drugs or stolen property at school. >> The change clarifies the school's search and seizure policy, adding >> cell phones to the list of places school officials can snoop if they >> suspect a student has contraband. >> Federal law says school officials need only "reasonable suspicion" of >> the presence of drugs or stolen goods to conduct searches. >> "We reserve the right to look through the cell phone," Principal >> Michael Welch said. "It would be no different than if a student were >> to have a notebook. We've had instances of graffiti. We've looked >> through a notebook and found identical instances of graffiti." > That's very interesting: it implies that the searchers already know the > phone number of the dealers, or student dealers. Or students are dumb enough (wanna bet that they're not that dumb? you _will_ lose! :) to stick 'notes' about prices, availability,etc. next to a number. OR that there's a name with the number, and the searchers know _names_ of dealers. Or the 'text message' offers. In article , wrote: > Without going into the rights issue, how do they know that the > "identical" grafitti in a notebook wasn't something the student copied > off of the real grafitti because he thought it was cool. I mean, > sure, it's gives them some probable cause to further question, but > it's hardly damning evidence by itself. > Bill Ranck > Blacksburg, Va. MOST graffiti has elements that are as unique as a (traditional) artist's brush-strokes. It's really not terribly difficult to match up the 'artist' behind several pieces of 'street' art. ------------------------------ From: Ed Subject: Re: A New Way around the Do Not Call Lists ... Date: 15 Jul 2006 20:22:12 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Calendars are pretty inoffensive though even sent through the mail. Usually you can get them from Real Estate Agents or some retailer that you have patronized lately. Other "junk mail" is just "tiring". ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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: 620-402-0134 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 oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! 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Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2006 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ Visit http://www.mstm.okstate.edu and take the next step in your career with a Master of Science in Telecommunications Management (MSTM) degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU). This 35 credit-hour interdisciplinary program is designed to give you the skills necessary to manage telecommunications networks, including data, video, and voice networks. The MSTM degree draws on the expertise of the OSU's College of Business Administration; the College of Arts and Sciences; and the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. The program has state-of-the-art lab facilities on the Stillwater and Tulsa campus offering hands-on learning to enhance the program curriculum. Classes are available in Stillwater, Tulsa, or through distance learning. Please contact Jay Boyington for additional information at 405-744-9000, mstm-osu@okstate.edu, or visit the MSTM web site at http://www.mstm.okstate.edu ************************ 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. 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 V25 #263 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Jul 16 18:51:09 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id B13EA21E6; Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:51:08 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #264 Message-Id: <20060716225108.B13EA21E6@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:51:08 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 16 Jul 2006 18:53:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 264 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Bogus Advertising Clicks Continue to Rise (Michael Liedtke, AP) No Quick Fix For Government Data Security (Joel Rothstein, Reuters) You Tube Now at the 100 Million Users Daily Mark (Reuters News Wire) Re: 1/2 U or Smaller Rack Cable Organizer (Al Dykes) Re: Microsoft Kills Off 'My Private Folder' Application (JE Durbin) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Thor Lancelot Simon) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 17:12:50 -0500 From: Michael Liedtke Subject: Bogus Advertising Click Count Continues to Rise By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer Swindlers have stepped up their effort to fleece millions of dollars from online advertisers who use lucrative marketing networks run by Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. according to a quarterly report to be released Monday. The sales referrals generated by clicks on the brief advertising links popularized by the two Internet powerhouses are a sham 14.1 percent of the time, based on information collected from 1,300 online marketers. That's up from a click fraud rate of 13.7 percent three months ago, according to Click Forensics, a San Antonio-based consulting service that compiles the index. The statistics jibe with other data asserting advertisers are paying a significant sum to Google, Yahoo and their partner Web sites for phantom shoppers even as more resources are devoted to thwarting scammers. A recently released survey of 407 online advertisers by market research firm Outsell Inc. estimated click fraud cost advertisers $800 million last year. Click fraud is a highly sensitive subject for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google and Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo because it raises doubts about the trustworthiness of the advertising model that drives their profits and stock prices. Google, Yahoo and partner Web sites get paid each time someone clicks on advertising links usually displayed at the top and on the side of Web pages. Advertisers pay the commission even when the click doesn't produce a sale, a system that inspired bilking schemes. The motives for click fraud vary. Most often, Web site owners repeatedly click the ads on their own sites to generate money for themselves. In other cases, advertisers target the ads of their rivals to drain their marketing budgets. As click fraud becomes more prevalent and attracts more media attention, advertisers are becoming more aggressive about demanding refunds and better protection, said Tom Cuthbert, Click Forensics' president. "Advertisers aren't satisfied with the status quo," he said. "They don't want to keep losing sleep at night wondering how much money they are losing to click fraud." Reflecting those concerns, about 900 advertisers have joined Click Forensics' anti-fraud network during the past three months. Google and Yahoo are better at weeding out click fraud than smaller Web sites, but Click Forensics still concluded both companies are being hard hit. About 12.8 percent of the clicks on ads served up by Google and Yahoo are deceptive, up from 12.1 percent three months ago. Cuthbert said Google and Yahoo may be identifying some of those fraudulent clicks and removing fees from advertisers' bills. Both companies are tightlipped about how they monitor for click fraud, another factor that has frustrated some advertisers that want more transparency. Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt acknowledged click fraud remains an ongoing headache, but disputed the notion that the problem is becoming more prevalent. "Smart people are trying to break the law, but we have even smarter people trying to prevent it," Schmidt said during an interview at a conference that concluded Sunday in Idaho. Yahoo CEO Terry Semel declined to discuss the latest data on click fraud, saying he intended to address the issue Tuesday when the company is scheduled to release its second-quarter earnings. "We will be very proactive about it," Semel said during the same Idaho conference. Both Google and Yahoo have agreed to settle class-action lawsuits to limit their potential liability for past click fraud. If approved, the two settlements would address any click fraud that occurred amid more than $22 billion of ad spending. A two-day court hearing on Google's offer to pay up to $90 million in refunds and attorney fees is scheduled to begin July 24 in an Arkansas court. Yahoo's proposed settlement, which doesn't limit how much the company might pay, isn't scheduled to be reviewed in a Los Angeles federal court until late this year. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines each day please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 17:10:33 -0500 From: Joel Rothstein Subject: No Quick Fix For Government Data Security By Joel Rothstein The White House has set an early August deadline for government agencies to encrypt sensitive data after the embarrassing theft of millions of veterans' personal information, but experts warn a quick technology fix will not cure security problems. While encryption and other security technology can help, slipshod handling of data and equipment, poor training and the slow moving government bureaucracy are seen as the main causes of vulnerability. "The White House directive is a good first step, but we're concerned about the time frame," said John Dasher, director of product management at encryption software maker PGP Corp. "Do they have funds budgeted and allocated? These are the nuts and bolts of the procurement process." Companies, including PGP, are eager to sell existing encryption and other security software to the government that could be deployed in a matter of weeks. But several executives interviewed by Reuters said agencies must first consider basic concepts of data security before buying software. "I'll bet many organizations can't even tell you where sensitive data is," said Chris Voice, chief technology officer at security software maker Entrust Inc.. "Not only should certain data be stored and encrypted properly, but certain people should not have access to it to begin with it." With personal data, such as social security numbers and addresses, thieves can open credit card accounts and reek havoc with victims financial lives. PRESSURE TO MEET DEADLINES After calls for Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson to resign in the wake of the stolen laptop incident, agency heads and cabinet secretaries are now hurrying to learn about their own information technology programs. The VA laptop, which was later recovered by police, contained personal data on 26.5 million veterans. And the VA is hardly alone. The government has been embarrassed by a spate of recently disclosed data breaches at the Energy Department, Agriculture Department, FBI, and even the Federal Trade Commission -- the agency responsible for protecting Americans from fraud and identity theft. "Agency executives do not know the value of the data they have in their information technology systems and they take security for granted," said Paul Kurtz, director of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance (CSIA) and a former White House computer systems security policy adviser. Cabinet secretaries should insist on being informed of all security breaches, Kurtz said. Government agencies also face an October deadline to comply with a 2004 White House order to adopt secure access cards to protect government buildings. The same access technology is expected to be used to secure information technology as well. Few, if any, agencies outside the Department of Defense are expected to meet that deadline, according to industry sources. Michael Butler, the official in charge of the program at the Pentagon, was recently assigned to the General Services Administration to help other government offices adopt secure access cards offered a more optimistic, if qualified, view. "There are a number of agencies who intend and have systems in test today that are certainly capable of making the date," Butler told Reuters. "There is much to do." IS ENCRYPTION THE ANSWER? Encryption software scrambles computer files to keep data private. One of the major criticisms of encryption technology is that it is difficult for non-technical workers to use. Some question whether the government's mandate to encrypt all data on laptops, Blackberries and other mobile devices is practical. Exceptions are allowed only if approved by deputy cabinet secretaries in writing. "We can't be encrypting and decrypting everything," said Sarah Gates, vice president of identity management for Sun Microsystems Inc. Instead, private companies and government agencies should lock down data and applications on central networks and restrict the use of powerful laptops and hand-held devices that run applications. "We will have to trade some convenience for better security," Gates said. Encryption vendors disagree. But tellingly, their most recent product and marketing efforts have focused on making the software easier for typical computer users to use. "If we don't invest in making encryption technology transparent and easy to use, it will not be used," Entrust's Voice said. "Today we have disk encryption products where users don't have to know it's on their laptop." PGP claims its latest products offer similar ease of use. Regardless of the technology approach, however, experts agree that implementation depends on the sheer will of the government officials involved. "What we're talking about is not rocket science. All of the technology exists today," said Kurtz. "It's about telling the chief information officers to go get it done." Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 17:39:37 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: You Tube Now at 100 Million Videos Daily YouTube serves up 100 mln videos a day YouTube, the leader in Internet video search, said on Sunday viewers have are now watching more than 100 million videos per day on its site, marking the surge in demand for its "snack-sized" video fare. Since springing from out of nowhere late last year, YouTube has come to hold the leading position in online video with 29 percent of the U.S. multimedia entertainment market, according to the latest weekly data from Web measurement site Hitwise. YouTube videos account for 60 percent of all videos watched online, the company said. Videos are delivered free on YouTube and the company is still working on developing advertising and other means of generating revenue to support the business. The site specializes in short -- typically 2-minute -- homemade, comic videos created by users. YouTube serves as a quick entertainment break or viewers with broadband computer connections at work or home. News Corp.'s MySpace, the social networking site popular with teens, has a nearly 19 percent share of the market according to Hitwise. Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN, Google and AOL each have 3 percent to 5 percent of the video search market. Collectively, these four major Web portals have a smaller share than either YouTube or MySpace. In June, 2.5 billion videos were watched on YouTube, which is based in San Mateo, California and has just over 30 employees. More than 65,000 videos are now uploaded daily to YouTube, up from around 50,000 in May, the company said. YouTube boasts nearly 20 million unique users per month, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, another Internet audience measurement firm. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. ------------------------------ From: adykes@panix.com (Al Dykes) Subject: Re: 1/2 U or Smaller Rack Cable Organizer Date: 16 Jul 2006 07:51:21 -0400 Organization: PANIX -- Public Access Networks Corp. In article , Will wrote: > I'm looking for an extremely short 1/2 U (or smaller) cable organizer > that I can use with 16 port ethernet switches. I have a lot of these > associated with different segments on a firewall, and I really have a > shortage of rack space. Does anyone make such a thing? I have many > 1U organizers, and I really do need 1/2 U. IMO, if it's not in either the Chatsworth or Milestek catalog, it doesn't exist. http://www.milestek.com/ http://www.chatsworth.com/ Doesn't a U/2 strip effectively use as much space as a 1U strip? a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001 ------------------------------ From: JE Durbin Subject: Re: Microsoft Kills Off 'My Private Folder' Application Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 09:14:31 -0700 > Right now there are 5 instances of svchost running on my computer. I > have no idea what any of them are doing ot what started them. Try the free utility "Process Explorer" from http://www.sysinternals.com. It will show what started the instances of svchost on your machine. ------------------------------ From: tls@panix.com (Thor Lancelot Simon) Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 19:18:34 +0000 (UTC) Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Reply-To: tls@rek.tjls.com In article , Rick Merrill wrote: > Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: >> In article , >> Rick Merrill wrote: >>> I suspect from the way current VoIP calls are structured that it would be >>> (a) very easy to spoof the number, >>> (b) impossible to enforce upon overseas numbers and >>> (c) too easy to make the number unavailable in the first place. Heck, >>> even the doctor's office number is "unavailble". >> This is all false. Why do we have this same discussion over and over >> again every few months? > Well, you don't say where you think you got your information. I got it from 10 years of design and analysis experience with the underlying protocols; that it is impossible to "spoof" calling party ID in properly configured SS7 networks whose operators do not configure trunks to _customers_ as if they were trunks to _network equipment_ is simply a matter of fact. As all the interworking standards make clear, any interworking to a protocol which does not differentiate between customer-provided and network-provided calling party identification must either use the supplied number as a customer provided number only, or replace it with the BTN for the trunk. Thor Lancelot Simon tls@rek.tjls.com "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. 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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. 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 V25 #264 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Jul 17 13:24:54 2006 Return-Path: X-Original-To: ptownson Delivered-To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Received: by massis.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11648) id 2F68521EF; Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:24:53 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #265 Message-Id: <20060717172453.2F68521EF@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:24:53 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.4 (2005-06-05) on massis.lcs.mit.edu X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-3.9 required=2.0 tests=ALL_TRUSTED,AWL,BAYES_00 autolearn=ham version=3.0.4 Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 17 Jul 2006 13:27:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 265 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson TelecomDirect News Daily Update July 17, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Hackers/Malware Writers Now Working as a Group (Robert McMillan, IDG) New Very Tiny Wireless Chip from HP (Duncan Martell, Reuters) 20 Inspectors Suspended Over GPS/Public Safety Chief Metes (Monty Solomon) For Millions of Africans, Cellphones Signal a Change (Monty Solomon) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers - VoIP (Rick Merrill) Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead (Lisa Hancock) Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? (Jim Haynes) Re: Bogus Advertising Click Count Continues to Rise (jared) Re: No Quick Fix For Government Data Security (Lisa Hancock) Re: Principals Claim Right to Search Cell Phones (Lisa Hancock) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 11, 1981 ====== Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the Internet. 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 are 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, and why not support Net Freedom Now http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - July 17, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 11:48:52 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For July 17, 2006 ******************************** Buyer Motivations and Expectations Propel The Market Forward http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18883?11228 The North American managed-services market is expected to grow from $47.3 billion in 2005 to $87.5 billion in 2011, a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of 10 percent. Globally, the market for managed services topped $129.7 billion in 2005 and is projected to reach $252 billion in 2011 with a CAGR of 12... Breaking Down Walls: How an Open Business Model is Now the Convergence Imperative http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18882?11228 We are looking at a singular juncture in the history of business-a time when technology, content, and distribution are converging at a speed never before seen, and where innovations have fuelled a power shift toward consumers that verges on social revolution. Despite the abundant energy in the convergence of the technology, content, and... Desperately Seeking USF Funds: With DSL Contributions Drying Up in August, FCC Turns to VoIP Providers http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/18880?11228 BY mid-August, Universal Service Fund (USF) contributions from DSL providers will be a thing of the past. It's a deadline that has had the FCC scrambling to adopt interim policies ensuring the fund has a future.Ironically, the base of contributors was diminished in August 2005 when the FCC deregulated DSL; like cable modem Internet... Algorithm Enhances Mobile Media Management http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18878?11228 As cell phones continue morphing into personal communication/ media player devices, users are beginning to demand products that provide greater control over content. Penn State researchers believe they can help handset makers better address users' content management demands with a fresh math-based approach. The researchers' new... Telefonica to Invest US$12.7 bil. in Latin America http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18876?11228 Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica plans to invest nearly 10 billion euro (US$12.7 billion) by 2009 to increase its penetration in the Latin American mobile telephony market, Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, president of Telefonica International, was quoted as saying by the regional press. Telefonica... Greece: Government to Reduce OTE Stake in 2007, Would Prefer Interest from European Telco http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18874?11228 Greece would like to divest its stakes in telecoms group OTE by 2007 if a European operator indicates interest, Finance Minister George Alogoskoufis has told the financial daily Imerisia in an interview. "The government's intention is to further divest in OTE should there be interest from a European telecoms group to participate ... Three Bids for Third Slovak Mobile Licence http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18873?11228 mobilkom Austria, which has assets in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia, and Czech provider Radiokomunikace are two of the three players to have bid for Slovakia's third mobile licence. The deadline for the bidding for the 20-year licence for frequencies in the GSM 900, GSM 1800, UMTS and FS 29 frequency bands was Friday (14... Broadcom Plans Restatement http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/18870?11228 Broadcom's need to correct accounting missteps related to employee stock-option grants is prompting the company to restate its financial results for full-years 2000 to 2005 plus the first quarter of 2006. In terms of expenses, Broadcom expects to record an additional non-cash stock-based compensation expense of more than $750... The Water-Powered Cellphone http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/18869?11228 Japan's NTT DoCoMo, working with a previously-unheard-of company called Aquafairy Co., says that the two have jointly developed a water-powered micro-fuel cell for use with 3G FOMA handsets. The fuel cell, which NTT DoCoMo plans to show publicly for the first time next week at a Japanese wireless trade show, is claimed to be the... Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:32:44 -0500 From: Robert McMillan Subject: Hackers/Malware Writers Now Working as a Group Malware Now a Group Effort Robert McMillan, IDG News Service Hackers are taking a page from the open-source playbook, using the same techniques that made Linux and Apache successes to improve their malicious software, according to McAfee. Hackers Using Open-Source Collaboration Tools Nowhere is this more apparent than within the growing families of "bot" software, which allow hackers to remotely control infected computers. Unlike viruses of the past, bots tend to be written by a group of authors, who often collaborate by using the same tools and techniques as open source developers, said Dave Marcus, security research and communications manager with McAfee's Avert Labs. "Over the last year and a half, we've noticed how bot development in particular has latched on to open-source tools and the open-source development model," he said. The current generation of bot software has grown to the point where open-source software development tools make a natural fit. With hundreds of source files now being managed, developers of the Agobot family of malware, for example, are using the open-source Concurrent Versions System (CVS) software to manage their project. McAfee researchers have described this use of open-source techniques in a new magazine set to be unveiled Monday. Called Sage, the publication features a cover story entitled "Paying a price for the open-source advantage" in its inaugural issue. McAfee plans to publish Sage every six months, Marcus said. Full Disclosure Practice Questioned Marcus said his company is drawing attention to the open-source trend in order to educate users, and not as an attempt to discredit open-source alternatives to its own proprietary software products. "We think [open-source antivirus products] are fine. They've never been something that was really in the same class as ours, but we've always been big supporters of open-source antivirus," he said. However, Marcus did take issue with security researchers who distribute samples of malicious software, a practice known as full disclosure. "We're not taking aim at the open-source movement; we're talking about the full-disclosure model and how that effectively serves malware development," he said. Marcus's opinion was not well-received by one security professional. Full disclosure serves legitimate researchers and helps users by making vendors more responsive, said Stefano Zanero, chief technology officer with Secure Network SRL. "I drive an A-class Mercedes," he said. "And I feel much safer since [a] car magazine revealed that the original design of the A-class was flawed," he wrote via instant message. "Research works on disclosure, not on secrets," Zanero added. Copyright 2006 PC World Communications, Inc NOTE: For more telecom/internet/networking/computer news from the daily media, check out our feature 'Telecom Digest Extra' each day at http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/more-news.html . Hundreds of new articles daily. And, discuss this and other topics in our forum at http://telecom-digest.org/forum (or) http://telecom-digest.org/chat/index.html For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:35:36 -0500 From: Duncan Martell Subject: New Very Tiny Wireless Chip from HP By Duncan Martell Researchers at Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE:HPQ - news) have developed a tiny wireless data chip that can store up to 100 pages of text and could ultimately be used in a variety of consumer and commercial applications, HP said late on Sunday. Developed over four years by HP Labs' campus in Bristol, England, the chip is about the size of the head of a match and could potentially store a patient's medical chart on a hospital band, said Howard Taub, associate director at HP Labs. "There's no question that it has long-term potential," said Tim Bajarin, president of market research firm Creative Strategies of Campbell, California. "But keep in mind this is a technology announcement. It's difficult to predict what applications will be developed and what we would call the 'killer application' for this." Consumers could store audio commentary, music or short videos on such a chip, affixed to a printed digital photograph. Devices to read and write data on the chip would then eventually be embedded in cell phones, handheld computers, personal computers, printers, or small standalone readers. "This really bridges the digital and physical worlds," Taub said. "The digital data is attached to the physical object it's related to." Palo Alto, California-based HP plans to take the technology to industry standards bodies in hopes of it being welcomed across the technology sector, Taub said. While broad commercial applications are at least two years away, HP will license the technology to partners, customers and rivals well before that. "Licensing will almost definitely be part of it," Taub said of HP's plans to cash in on its investment in the technology, which was developed by the "Memory Spot" team within HP Labs. While similar in some ways to RFID -- radio frequency identification -- chips, there are key differences in Memory Spot technology in data transfer rates, storage and security. The chip can transfer data at 10 megabits per second, 10 times faster than Bluetooth wireless technology, comparable to Wi-Fi rates and far faster than RFID. Also, HP has managed to store up to 4 megabits in working prototypes of the chip, far more than an RFID chip can store. HP said the chips could be embedded in paper or stuck to surfaces, and not even seen in most cases. "At a buck a piece, that could be a really good business," Taub said, noting that at production volumes of millions of chips, a dollar per chip would be a reasonable cost. The chip is comprised of a capacitor array, modem, loop antenna, a targeted microprocessor, memory driver and memory, all fabricated as one piece, which helps cut production costs. It needs no battery or external electronics, getting its power via inductive coupling from the read-write device, Taub said. Inductive coupling is an energy transfer from one circuit component to another through a shared electromagnetic field. The reader must be touched to the chip or placed within a millimeter for data transfer to occur, which could render it safer than typical RFID chips, whose range of up to about 10 feet exposes them more to data thieves, Taub said. Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 23:29:34 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: 20 Inspectors Suspended Over GPS / Public Safety Chief Metes 20 inspectors suspended over GPS Public safety chief metes out discipline By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff The Massachusetts public safety commissioner yesterday suspended 20 state building and engineering inspectors for refusing to accept cellphones equipped with global positioning systems. Only two inspectors accepted the phones; another two were out on vacation when Commissioner Thomas Gatzunis tried to distribute the phones, which supervisors want to use to keep track of the inspectors during the work day. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/11/20_inspectors_suspended_over_gps/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 22:03:40 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: For Millions of Africans, Cellphones Signal a Change By Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of Congo -- Until not long ago, if Zadhe Iyombe wanted to talk to his mother, he had to make the eight-day boat trip up the Congo River to the jungle town where he was raised. In a country with almost no roads, mail, or telephone system and a grisly guerrilla war raging, making that exhausting and dangerous trip was about the only way he could find out whether his 59-year-old mother was still alive. Then he got a cellphone. Now he talks to his mother every day. And once a week, he uses a text message to transfer five minutes of airtime to her phone to make sure she can always call him. http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/07/16/for_millions_of_africans_cellphones_signal_a_change/ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 20:47:37 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers - VoIP Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: > In article , Rick Merrill > wrote: >> Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: >>> In article , >>> Rick Merrill wrote: >>>> I suspect from the way current VoIP calls are structured that it would be >>>> (a) very easy to spoof the number, >>>> (b) impossible to enforce upon overseas numbers and >>>> (c) too easy to make the number unavailable in the first place. Heck, >>>> even the doctor's office number is "unavailble". >>> This is all false. Why do we have this same discussion over and over >>> again every few months? >> Well, you don't say where you think you got your information. > I got it from 10 years of design and analysis experience with the > underlying protocols; that it is impossible to "spoof" calling party > ID in properly configured SS7 networks whose operators do not configure > trunks to _customers_ as if they were trunks to _network equipment_ is > simply a matter of fact. > As all the interworking standards make clear, any interworking to a > protocol which does not differentiate between customer-provided and > network-provided calling party identification must either use the > supplied number as a customer provided number only, or replace it with > the BTN for the trunk. > Thor Lancelot Simon tls@rek.tjls.com > "We cannot usually in social life pursue a single value or a single moral > aim, untroubled by the need to compromise with others." - H.L.A. Hart How may SS7 are in use with a VoIP call? As few as zero for PC 2 PC. ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: Caution: Unidentified Callers Ahead Date: 17 Jul 2006 10:03:54 -0700 Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: > The FCC could require this at the drop of a hat, and it could be > complied with -- imperfectly at first, much better very quickly -- > with the flick of a switch. > Network operators should be required to disconnect customers who feed > bogus customer-provided numbers. Certainly any network providing > customer-provided numbers and claiming them to be network-provided > should be disconnected by all of their peers. Everything you suggest makes perfect sense. In this day an age, there is absolutely no excuse for Caller ID to display anything but the correct originating telephone number of record. But unfortunately, in the interests of "competition", we have allowed sleazy, lazy, and incompetent telecom providers into the system and a nightmare of lousy connections. As a matter of public policy (espoused by so many users on this newsgroup), the old line Bell successor companies were evil and the newcomers were our saviours. We also tolerate hordes of fraud and sleazy practices from shady overseas companies. Remember how some countries would fake out a user's modem to quietly dial a very expensive overseas phone call? Countries that allow that sort of thing should be cut off from international calling networks. (I am nervous that I'll accidently dial some superexpensive Carribean country with an unknown area code since they split up 809.) There is no excuse for the FCC or FTC or whoever to not demand proper technical standards and compliance with them. There is no excuse for main line companies (the "backbone providers") to require such compliance or refuse to connect with them. Remember how consumers got burned with "slammers" where their long distance carrier was unkowingly changed and huge bills followed? The phone companies were required by public policy to allow anyone to hook up to the existing networks. That was ridiculous and wouldn't be tolerated in other lines of business. Any newcomer desiring to hook up to existing networks should first demonstrate their financial stability (perhaps posting a security bond), good business practice, and ability to comply with standards, all BEFORE the connection is provided. The newcomers off course couldn't stand that because it would cost them too much and then they couldn't undersell existing companies. If VOIP carriers had to first install 911 capability and other basic features like proper Caller ID before they sought customers, would their prices have been so cheap? I don't think so! [public replies, please] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Pre A/C Central Office Ventilation? Reply-To: jhaynes@alumni.uark.edu Organization: University of Arkansas Alumni From: haynes@alumni.uark.edu (Jim Haynes) Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 01:05:09 GMT Straying off to one side of the topic, there is an interesting house in Texarkana that is now a museum. Called the Ace of Clubs house because of its shape -- the original builder supposedly won the money to build the house on the turn of a card. Anyway there is a central column in the middle of the three lobes of the club that goes all the way to the roof -- the house is three stories high. And there are sunken places around the outside walls that are meant to be sinks for cool air. So hot air rises through the central shaft and goes out the top, drawing in cool air at the bottom from the sinks. I can't say how well it works, but for late 1800s technology it seems pretty clever. jhhaynes at earthlink dot net ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 16 Jul 2006 20:37:43 -0600 From: jared@netspacenospamnet.au (jared) Subject: Re: Bogus Advertising Click Count Continues to Rise It is unclear to me who are the swindlers and how they benefit. Are people clicking on competitor's links to drive up costs? Not everyone who clicks will purchase, but that's what advertising is about. Suppliers are working on more directed techniques, as an example Microsoft is running ads for their search tools, claiming they have a technique to weed out, a child looking at furniture for her doll house. > By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer > Swindlers have stepped up their effort to fleece millions of dollars > from online advertisers who use lucrative marketing networks run by > Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. according to a quarterly report to be > released Monday. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Regards click fraud, the swindlers come in at least two varities: destructive and (presumably) constructive. The constructive swindlers (often times, publishers who use Google Adsense) click on all the ads their site displays in order to make money. Google specifically warns publishers "do not click on the ads shown on your site." Get the information -- if that is all you want -- from some other source, going direct to the advertiser's web site. Google does not want to pay you for your own click throughs obviously. Now the destructive clickers are advertisers trying to 'get even with' competitor advertisers by 'clicking them out of business'; clicking sufficiently to run the other guy's advertising budget sky-high and/or using up all the other guy's self-imposed allotment of click-throughs so his ad won't appear any longer for that day/week/month, etc. It is sort of like what is done with spammers with a toll-free number. You see an 800 number in some spam/scam and you call it just to basically annoy and hopefully bankrupt the owner, although of course we do not describe it that way; we try to give our efforts a 'good-faith motive' on all those phone calls. _But if we can 'teach the spammer' how expensive it is to spam and give good, bonafide contact information in the process of his spam_, we feel we have done a good job. Or maybe they are not 'competitive advertisers' at all, but simply netters who cannot see the difference between one form of spam/scam (the informal do it yourself kind) and the more 'officially approved' kind which comes through Google Ad Sense, so they take the attitude 'down with all of it'. PAT] ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: No Quick Fix For Government Data Security Date: 17 Jul 2006 08:37:06 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Joel Rothstein wrote: > While encryption and other security technology can help, slipshod > handling of data and equipment, poor training and the slow moving > government bureaucracy are seen as the main causes of vulnerability. This is by no