From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Oct 2 15:52:38 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 375B12200; Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:52:38 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #351 Message-Id: <20061002195238.375B12200@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:52:38 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 2 Oct 2006 15:55:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 351 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson EU Welcomes Auomony Plan for Internet Governance (Reuters News Wire) 'Screaming' Cell Phones to Cut Down Theft (Marc Jones, Reuters) Google Buys Garage Where its Empire Began (Michael Liedtke, AP) Online Gambling in Crisis Over USA Ban (Pete Harrison, Reuters) Cordless Phone Recomendation Wanted (S.Dickson@shos.co.uk) Microsoft Beefs up Home-Networking Portfolio (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update (Telecom Direct) Re: Non Partison: Just a Question and You Only Get One Answer (A Troll) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:52:17 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: EU Welcomes Auomony Plan for Internet Governance The European Commission welcomed on Monday U.S. government moves to make the company that manages Internet domain names independent by 2009, but said it would monitor the process carefully. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which controls addresses including ".com" and country domain names such as ".cn" for China, now reports to the U.S. Commerce Department. On Friday, the Commerce Department said it would retain oversight for three more years, renewing an agreement that was scheduled to expire last weekend. But a lighter regime was introduced, with ICANN no longer having to file reports with the Commerce Department every six months or having its work prescribed for it, the European Commission said. "A new and final chapter opened this weekend. We welcome that ICANN will be set free in a process over the next three years," Commission spokesman Martin Selmayr told a news briefing. The Commission criticized ICANN's decision this year to reject a new .xxx Internet domain for pornography sites, saying that was U.S. political interference in the Web's governance. The United States has fought off attempts to wrest control of the domain-name system from the Commerce Department. U.S. control of ICANN had become a sticking point for countries such as Iran and Brazil, which argued it should be managed by the United Nations or another global body. The United States argued that such a body would stifle innovation with red tape. "The European Commission will follow closely ICANN's transition to full independence in the next three years," EU Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said in a statement. "With our advice, we will contribute to this transition to ensure that it takes place transparently, reflecting the interests of industry and civil society alike," Reding said. 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 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 11:58:11 -0500 From: Marc Jones Subject: 'Screaming' Cell Phones to Cut Down Theft By Marc Jones A UK firm is hoping a cell phones security system it has developed which sets off a high pitch scream, permanently locks the handset and wipes all data if stolen, will halt the spiraling rise in phone theft. The Remote XT technology, designed to make phones unusable, and therefore worthless if they are stolen, works by installing software onto the operating system of the phone which is then activated via a call to a call center once users realize their phone has been snatched or lost. The phone is then remotely disabled, all the data held on the device is wiped and a high pitched screech is triggered. "It makes a loud squealing noise which is enough to distract a restaurant if it went off and it completely locks the phone," Remote XT Managing Director, Mark Whiteman told Reuters. "We also then set a small bomb off, if you like, that completely wipes the data ... if it has genuinely been stolen then it renders the phone useless to the thief," he added. The screaming noise can be stopped by taking out the phone's battery but starts again as soon as it is put back in, while replacing the SIM card has no effect. The system also automatically backs up data held on a device once a day, meaning users can re-load their information onto a replacement handset. According to the latest UK government statistics, mobile phone theft has risen 190 per cent in recent years, with one third of all UK robberies now solely involving mobile phones. Insurer Halifax estimates a mobile handset is stolen every 12 seconds in Britain costing UK consumers around 390 million pounds ($735 million) every year. The police and Home Office backed software currently only works on so called "smart phones" which run operating systems such as Symbian or Windows Mobile, but it is expected to be suitable for the majority of phones within two years as mobile technology advances. "While primarily aimed at the business market...any product which adds a level of security for the user and a barrier for the thief has to be good news," said Mobile Industry Crime Action Forum (MICAF) Chairman Jack Wraith. Costing around 120 pounds ($224.3) a year the technology is not 100 percent fool proof however, with organized tech savvy thieves likely to have the equipment and know how be able to get round the security measures. 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 *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. This Internet discussion group is making it available without profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of literary, educational, political, and economic issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. I believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, in this instance, For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:02:48 -0500 From: Michael Liedtke, AP Subject: Google Buys Garage Where its Empire Began By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer Internet search leader Google Inc. has added a landmark to its rapidly expanding empire; the Silicon Valley home where co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin rented a garage eight years ago as they set out to change the world. The Mountain View-based company bought the 1,900-square-foot home in nearby Menlo Park from one of its own employees, Susan Wojcicki, who had agreed to lease her garage for $1,700 per month because she wanted some help paying the mortgage. Wojcicki, now Google's vice president of product management, didn't work for the company at the time and only knew the Stanford University graduate students because one of her friends had dated Brin. During Google's five-month history there, the garage became like a second home for Page and Brin. The entrepreneurs, then just 25, seemed to be always working on their search engine or soaking in the hot tub that still sits on the property. They also had a penchant for raiding Wojcicki's refrigerator -- a habit that may have inspired Google to provide a smorgasbord of free food to the 8,000 employees on its payroll. When Page and Brin first moved in the garage, Google had just been incorporated with a bankroll of $1 million raised from a handful of investors. Today, Google has about $10 billion in cash and a market value of $125 billion. The company's astounding growth has imbued its birthplace with the same kind of mystique attached to other hallowed Silicon Valley spots like the Palo Alto garage where Hewlett-Packard Co. started in 1938 and the Los Altos garage where Steve Jobs and his partner Steve Wozniak first began to build Apple computers in the 1970s. HP paid $1.7 million for 12-by-18-foot garage that co-founder William Hewlett first rented for $45 per month. Google declined to reveal how much it paid for its original home, but similar houses in the same neighborhood have been selling in the $1.1 million to $1.3 million range. That's a small fraction of the $319 million that Google paid earlier this year for its current 1-million-square-foot headquarters located six miles to the south. Although the Google garage isn't considered a historic site quite yet, it already has turned into a tourist attraction. The busloads of people that show up to take pictures of the house and garage have become such an annoyance that Google asked The Associated Press not to publish the property's address, although it can easily be found on the Internet using the company's search engine. Google may use the home as a guest house, but nothing definitive has been worked out. "We plan to preserve the property as a part of our living legacy," said Google spokesman Jon Murchinson. 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: Mon, 02 Oct 2006 12:09:10 -0500 From: Pete Harrison Subject: Online Gambling in Crisis Over USA Ban By Pete Harrison Online gambling firms faced their biggest-ever crisis on Monday after U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming there, threatening jobs and wiping 3.5 billion pounds ($6.5 billion) off company values. Britain's PartyGaming Plc, operator of leading Internet poker site PartyPoker.com, and rivals Sportingbet and 888 Plc said they would likely pull out of the United States, their biggest source of revenue. "This development is a significant setback for our company, our shareholders, our players and our industry," PartyGaming Chief Executive Mitch Garber said. The House of Representatives and Senate unexpectedly approved a bill early on Saturday that would make it illegal for banks and credit-card companies to make payments to online gambling sites. The measure was sent to President George W. Bush to sign into law, which most analysts see as a certainty. "We believe that this will have a very material impact on the long-term prospects of online gambling, and in particular poker," said analyst Julian Easthope at UBS. "This will lead to a rapid decline in the use of online poker sites." PartyGaming generates about 78 percent of its revenue from the United States, while Sportingbet gets about 62 percent there. CRACKDOWN Shares in PartyGaming, which rakes in nearly $4 million a day from its 19 million customers, fell 57 percent by 1155 GMT. Sportingbet, which owns sportsbook.com and ParadisePoker.com, lost 60 percent, 888 was down 33 percent and Austria's bwin.com fell 24 percent. Bwin could be pushed to the brink, having paid heavily for Swedish online poker site Ongame earlier this year to gain access to the U.S. market, said Leopold Salcher, an analyst at Austria's RCB. "This could break their neck," he said. Online gaming exploded in 2005 with a string of high-profile company flotations in London, which has become the industry's corporate center. The bulk of revenue has always come from U.S. players, but the firms were located in offshore jurisdictions like Costa Rica and Antigua for fear of prosecution in the United States, where the legal status of online gaming and betting was uncertain. Shares in Sportingbet and BETonSPORTS had already been hammered after recent arrests of senior executives on charges of illegal gambling in individual U.S. states, but investors remained hopeful online betting and gaming would not be completely banned at a federal level. Meanwhile, big American corporations like Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc. were forced to sit on the sidelines as gaming money streamed out of the country. PartyGaming said in a statement, "If the President signs the act into law, the company will suspend all real money gaming business with U.S. residents." "Any such suspension would also result in the group's financial performance falling significantly short of consensus forecasts for 2006 and 2007," it added. MERGER SCRAPPED Stephen Whittaker, joint chief investment officer at Britain's New Star Asset Management, said the likely ban could be challenged. "This represents protectionism, and the WTO have said you can't do that," said Whittaker, whose portfolio includes about 2 percent of online gaming stocks. "Overall, we'll probably remain with most of our holdings." "We'll probably reduce one, maybe two," he added. "We want to let the dust settle a bit -- it will take a few days." Sportingbet said a ban would hit trading and it would scrap a planned merger with World Gaming as a result. 888 Plc said the move would hit its results, as did gaming software provider Playtech, whose shares fell 42 percent. But Paul Leyland at Arbuthnot Securities said Playtech was relatively well positioned. "The only company for which you could categorically say that redeployment is easy is Playtech," he said. "But for the others it's much more difficult." A ban would also hit payment processors such as Neteller Plc and Optimal Group's FireOne subsidiary. (Additional reporting by Laurence Fletcher in London and Alexandra Schwarz in Vienna) 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: S.Dickson@shos.co.uk Subject: Cordless Phone Recomendation Wanted Date: 1 Oct 2006 02:46:54 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Could someone please recomend a good cordless phone for my house. I am wanting 2 or 3 of them. Thanks, Simon ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 12:48:29 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Microsoft Beefs up Home-Networking Portfolio USTelecom dailyLead October 2, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ezuofDtusXdupoNAXV TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Microsoft beefs up home-networking portfolio BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Cingular files lawsuit against alleged pretexter * Nortel homes in on WiMAX * Analysis: Mobile ESPN's experience reflects competitive nature of wireless business * Buyout firm nears deal to buy all of China Network Systems USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * CALEA Compliance: Obligations, Risks & Strategies, Part III HOT TOPICS * Verizon: FiOS to generate operating profit by '09 * IBM launches IP telephony service for businesses * Nortel sees higher demand for fiber-optic gear * VoIP attracts small-business customers * Cavalier acquires Talk America for $251M TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Analysis: Gaming is red hot in India REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Will FCC turn its focus to Video over IP? Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/ezuofDtusXdupoNAXV ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 02, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 12:06:54 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 02, 2006 ******************************** Siemens Bosses Defer Pay Rise, Offer Millions to Help BenQ Workforce http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20210?11228 BERLIN -- Siemens AG said Monday it will defer an executive pay hike and contribute the proceeds to a E 35million (US$44.3 million) fund to help employees of its former cell phone business. The German electronics and engineering conglomerate ceded its unprofitable handset business to Taiwan's BenQ Corp. a year ago as part of ... The Tools of Cooperation and Change http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20204?11228 Employers can choose from lots of tools when they want to encourage employees to work together toward a new corporate goal. One of the rarest managerial skills is the ability to understand which tools will work in a given situation and which will misfire. Cooperation tools fall into four major categories: power, management, leadership, ... Samsung SGH-X820: Thin, Thinner, Thinnest http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20203?11228 One day, a cell phone manufacturer will produce a model that's as thin as a sheet of paper. Until that day arrives, the Samsung SGH-X820 will have to suffice. The SGH-X820 is a triband (GSM 900/1800/1900; GPRS/EDGE) phone that's a scant 0.27 inches thick (thin?). At 4.4 inches long and 1.9 inches wide, and weighing only 2,4 ... Verizon Fishes for Pretexters http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20201?11228 Verizon Wireless, looking to get ahead of the Hewlett Packard (HP) pretexting scandal, filed a federal lawsuit yesterday against some of the individuals and companies who allegedly obtained HP board of directors' telephone records. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, doesn't name specific defendants, ... Congressmen Tell DoJ: Hold AT&T/BellSouth Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20198?11228 Judiciary committee members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are asking the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) to delay clearing AT&T's proposed $67.1 billion purchase of BellSouth as other opponents of the colossal deal make similar appeals to U.S. lawmakers and government agencies. Reps. James Sensenbrenner (... All About Optimization http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20194?11228 When Charles Cox, manager of telecommunications systems at Parker Drilling, began looking for a replacement for the company's outmoded UHF/VHF radio communications system in 2000, the requirements were stringent. The Houston-based drilling company operates oil and natural-gas rigs in some of the world's most remote ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: A Troll Subject: Re: Non Partisan. Just a Question, and You Only Get ONE Answer Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 04:44:27 UTC Organization: news.code-werk.net for www.open-news-network.org Krusty wrote in news:1159763865.900349.182420 @k70g2000cwa.googlegroups.com: > What do you think is the single *most* important issue in the upcoming > election? > I'm just looking for ONE issue. We all agree that there are more than > one. I'm not going to list one or any, because I just wanna know what > issue is the TOP of your list, if you have one. If you think there's > only ONE issue this election, then just list that one. > So, what's the most important issue in your head, when you step into > that booth? Net neutrality. The above post was written by A Troll. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There are _many_ issues in the forthcoming election; net neurality is just one of many good, important issues before us. Like yourself, I would say if I had to pick just one thing, I also would choose net neutrality. The telcos all hasten to assure us not to worry about it; nothing is going to change. But I know full well that telcos can and do lie about such things. I have read some pretty dire illustrations of what could or probably would happen if the telcos had their way on this. It all gets quite complex at times; much of it is too much for even me to comprehend, so I can see why many/most of our congresscritters would be in the dark on it. What do other readers think about net neutrality and other issues regards 'computers' in the fortoming election? 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! 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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 #351 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Oct 3 17:26:15 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 B2F6B2221; Tue, 3 Oct 2006 17:26:15 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #352 Message-Id: <20061003212615.B2F6B2221@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 17:26:15 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 3 Oct 2006 17:30:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 352 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Google Opens Full Scale New York Office (Eric Auchard, Reuters) Online Gambling Firms Look East After USA Ban (Pete Harrison, Reuters) The Times Thinks Outside the Browser (Monty Solomon) Standard Voice Mails to Email Service? (tom@heartmath.com) Eircom Shuts Down Service to Small Carrier (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 03, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: 'Screaming' Cell Phones to Cut Down Theft (RadicalModerate) Re: Cordless Phone Recomendation Wanted (David Quinton) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:54:08 -0500 From: Eric Auchard Subject: Online Gambling Firms Look East After USA Ban By Pete Harrison Britain's online gambling firms switched their sights away from the United States to look for new growth areas on Tuesday after the U.S. Congress passed legislation to end Internet gaming in their biggest market. Their shares continued to bleed after news of the impending ban wiped out $6.5 billion in share values on Monday. Sector leader PartyGaming fell more than 11 percent, extending Monday's 58 percent drop, aftenr it canceled its interim dividend to reinvest $115 million, possibly in acquisitions. Chief Executive Mitch Garber had already stressed the need to reduce the company's dependence on the risky U.S. market last month and hinted at deals in Europe and Asia. Interactive Gaming Holdings was the sector's only gainer on Tuesday after the small-cap firm announced a move into South Asia through a deal with Curacao-licensed Maharajah Club. "The alliance will provide IGH with access to the South Asian gaming market at an elementary stage of its development, with a partner who understands its inherent cultural differences," said IGH Chief Executive John Heaton. "We believe that the South Asian gaming market will be of great significance in terms of IGH's future," he added. But analyst Paul Leyland at Arbuthnot Securities warned that the transition into Asia would not be easy for other companies without knowledge of the market. "Asia's not one place, and Asians are not the backward people the U.S.-facing gaming companies hope they are," he said. CRACKDOWN Gaming companies were left in shock when the House of Representatives and the Senate unexpectedly approved a bill early on Saturday that would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites. The measure was sent to President George W. Bush to sign into law, which most analysts see as a certainty. 888 shares lost as much as 7.2 percent on Tuesday after it said the move would set the company's performance back to mid-2004 levels. But 888 reassured investors it would continue its planned expansion in Europe and Asia and would try to convert its U.S. division to one of legal online entertainment. Sportingbet, owner of the ParadisePoker Web site, remained silent on Tuesday, as did Empire Online. But analysts pointed out Empire had a cash pile of $260 million and was better placed than most to switch its geographical focus or invest outside the gaming sector. Analyst Paul Leyland warned that a move into Asia and Europe would not be smooth, particularly in countries such as France where state prosecutors recently arrested two executives from Austria's Bwin.com over alleged gambling offences. "The U.S. is one of the easiest gambling markets to make money in," he said. "The rest are harder -- just ask the people at Bwin." Last week, European Union Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said eight EU countries might be added to a list of seven already facing legal action for refusing to open their betting markets. France is said to be among them. "McCreevy is an acolyte of free trade ... but at the end of the day, it's the nation states who get to decide their laws," said Leyland. As gaming companies struggled to realign their strategies, investors struggled to identify those that might not survive. Shares in World Gaming Plc were down 23 percent at 12-1/2 pence by 1438 GMT after falling as low as 6p when it said it might be in technical default. "The directors believe it may be in technical default of its loan conditions due to a material adverse change in the circumstances of the business, arising from proposed changes in legislation in the United States," World Gaming said in a 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 For more news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 01:20:25 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Times Thinks Outside the Browser The Times Thinks Outside the Browser; Finally, a readable online newspaper. By Jack Shafer About six months ago, I canceled my New York Times subscription. It wasn't an act of protest, nor was I canceling because, like so many moderns, I don't have time to read a newspaper. I stopped my home delivery because I had discovered in the newspaper's redesigned Web site a product much superior to the newsprint Times. Fickle bastard that I am, I've now abandoned the Web version for the New York Times Reader, a new computer edition that entered general beta release today and is currently free. The Times Reader succeeds-as no other software has-in cramming a daily newspaper into a computer and making it 1) readable and 2) navigable. And if you're lucky enough to have once had an employer with deep pockets who bought you a $2,000 Tablet PC, the Times Reader is as portable as the paper version. Times Reader shouldn't be confused with the Times Electronic Edition, that admirable failure that accurately bills itself as an "exact digital replica" of the newsprint Times, or any of the other static PDF-ish treatments newspapers and magazines have experimented with. Times Reader exploits new software from Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation to do its work, and the less I say about WPF-a subset of Windows Vista, Microsoft's oft-postponed new operating system-the better. Suffice it to say that WPF and the Times-Microsoft collaboration has liberated the newspaper from the design constraints Web browsers place on designers. http://www.slate.com/id/2149888/ ------------------------------ From: tom@heartmath.com Subject: Standard Voice Mails to Email Service? Date: 3 Oct 2006 10:05:01 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com A few months ago I found a company on the Web that has a service that can pick up voice mail messages from an AT&T, Verizon, etc. voice mail box and deliver them via email. I can't find the company now. Does anyone know of companies that do this? Tom [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Are you talking about taking the voice mail message and repeating it _in audio format_ in an email box, or transcribing it into (for example) ASCII, changing it into an email message? If it is the former you are interested in, Vonage has a scheme for delivering voicemail messages to your computer _as voicemail_ and sending a link to same via email to other locations. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 12:49:14 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Eircom Shuts Down Service to Small Carrier USTelecom dailyLead October 3, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eAegfDtusXdzgYvQDp TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Eircom shuts down service to small carrier BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Cingular completes integration of AT&T Wireless network * BT adds Sony BMG music video to Vision package * FCC backs Alltel-Midwest Wireless deal * BelAir snags another $21.4M * T-Mobile, Sprint Nextel bet on high-speed wireless USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Asset Management in the Telecommunications Converged Environment TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Nokia reveals short-range wireless technology * "Digital native" generation thrives on connectivity * Report: Carriers worldwide spending big on broadband REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Qwest may push for statewide franchise law in Colorado * Report: Vote delayed on FCC chairman's second term DIVERSIONS * Paris la Nuit * Give Your Computer's Idle Time to Charity * A Lot More Firepower for BMW's 6-Shooter * David Lynch Returns: Expect Moody Conditions, With Surreal Gusts * Gaudi and the Beach, With Tapas for Dinner in Barcelona Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eAegfDtusXdzgYvQDp ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 03, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2006 11:19:25 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 03, 2006 ******************************** SFR Wades into French Fixed Market with US$451.6 mil. Takeover of Tele2 France http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20243?11228 Pan-European alternative telecoms operator Tele2 has opted to quit the French fixed-line market, offloading its entire fixed-line operations in France to mobile operator SFR for 3.3 billion Sweden kronor (US$451.6 million). Under the deal, SFR would take over Tele2's fixed-line operations including its broadband unit, and would have ... France Telecom Plans US$1.91 bil. Push into Convergence in Spain http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/11228 France Telecom plans to invest 1.5 billion euro (US$1.91 billion) in Spain over the next three years. The telco seeks to develop a new convergence strategy for its Spanish operations. These include fixed-line and internet operations Wanadoo Espana and the mobile business Auna, which is currently being rebranded as Orange. ... FCC Approves Alltel Acquisition of Midwest Wireless http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20238?11228 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the US$1.1-billion acquisition of Midwest Wireless by Alltel, adding conditions that assets in four cellular market areas would need to be divested. The acquisition adds spectrum covering a footprint of 2 million potential customers in southern Minnesota, northern and eastern Iowa,... Telecom Italia Workers Strike Against Reorganization Plan http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20235?11228 MILAN, Italy -- Telecom Italia SpA workers went on strike Tuesday to protest against plans to reorganize Italy's largest telecommunications company. Thousands of workers blew whistles and waved red union flags as they demonstrated outside Telecom that 80 percent ... Telephone Company Eircom Shuts Down Rival's 40,000 Lines Over Unpaid Bills http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20232?11228 DUBLIN, Ireland -- Ireland's dominant telephone company, Eircom PLC, shut down services Tuesday to smaller rival Smart Telecom in a dispute over unpaid bills, leaving 40,000 households and businesses unable to make calls. Eircom, which has been threatening to cut off Smart Telecom since May 2005, said it withdrew Smart ... Taiwan's BenQ Blames Poor Product Management for Demise in German Unit http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20228?11228 TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's BenQ Corp. on Tuesday blamed poor product management for the demise of its mobile unit in Germany. BenQ, the world's No. 6 mobile phone vendor by market share, filed for insolvency last week for the German operations it took over from Siemens AG in October 2005, endangering 3,000 jobs. Cingular Wireless Files Pretexter Suit http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20225?11228 Cingular Wireless joins Verizon Wireless as the latest carrier to take legal action with regards to the pretexting scandal involving Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP). Cingular's lawsuit focuses on private investigators involved in the pretexting efforts. HP is under scrutiny by Congress for using pretexting tactics to uncover the source ... New Research: Telecom Manufacturers Shift Focus To Growing SMBs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20223?11228 A number of leading telephone system manufacturers are addressing the capacity and migration needs of growing businesses by adding newer and larger platforms to existing families of business telephony systems. Distributed work environments with branch offices and remote workers continue to be the workplace trend, and leading ... Intel/Nokia Deal Gets Mixed Reactions http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20219?11228 Responses to last week's news that Nokia Corp. will partner with Intel Corp. on HSDPA modules have ranged from 'this changes everything' to 'Intel is in retreat.' Briefly, Nokia said on Thursday that it will supply an HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) module that Intel will include as part ... Cisco Tunes in With Cognio http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20217?11228 Cisco Systems Inc. has teamed up with startup Cognio Inc. to provide users with tools to enable them to get more information on what could be causing radio problems on their wireless LAN networks. Cisco will use the Natick, Mass.-based company's Spectrum Expert, a WiFi spectrum analysis and monitoring tool, alongside its ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (RadicalModerate) Subject: Re: 'Screaming' Cell Phones to Cut Down Theft Date: Mon, 2 Oct 2006 20:27:37 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC Marc Jones wrote: > Costing around 120 pounds ($224.3) a year the technology is not 100 > percent fool proof however, with organized tech savvy thieves likely > to have the equipment and know how be able to get round the security > measures. That works out to #10 (~$16.50) a month for nightly address book and memo backup plus disabling a phone before a crook can rack up your bill. And you still need to buy a new phone. In the US, they'd have to charge no more than $5 a month. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Herb Oxley From: address IS Valid. ------------------------------ From: David Quinton Subject: Re: Cordless Phone Recomendation Wanted Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2006 07:47:53 +0100 On 1 Oct 2006 02:46:54 -0700, S.Dickson@shos.co.uk wrote: > Could someone please recomend a good cordless phone for my house. I am > wanting 2 or 3 of them. I see you're in the UK. BT do some sets of 2 and 4 -- but I can't see a set of 3! But If you buy GAP compatible DECT phones, they normally will work with each other. e.g. http://www.bizorg.co.uk/shopping/BT/item/cay294 - BT Freestyle 7110 Quad SMS digital cordless phone w/ caller display Locate your Mobile phone: http://www.bizorg.co.uk/news.html Great gifts: http://www.ThisBritain.com/ASOS_popup.html ------------------------------ 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 #352 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Oct 4 17:13:35 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 195132241; Wed, 4 Oct 2006 16:54:38 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #353 Message-Id: <20061004205438.195132241@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 16:54:38 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 4 Oct 2006 16:55:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 353 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman and Others Face Felony Charges (AP News Wire) It is Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet (Reuters News Wire) Google Offers Mini-Programs For Use on Other Sites (Reuters News Wire) AOL To Lauch New Version of Software (Reuters News Wire) TiVo Statement on Decision by U.S. Court of Appeals to Stay (Monty Solomon) Telemarketer 888-695-9405 (JCL) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 04, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: 'Screaming' Cell Phones to Cut Down Theft (DevilsPGD) Re: Net Neutrality? (Rick Merrill) Re: The Times Thinks Outside the Browser (W Howard) Re: The Best Way to Answer a Business Phone (Bill Ranck) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:47:22 -0500 From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Hewlett-Packard Chairwoman and Others Face Felony Charges HP Insiders to Face Criminal Charges California's attorney general will seek criminal indictments Wednesday against former Hewlett-Packard Co. Chairwoman Patricia Dunn and four others involved in the corporate spying scandal, according to news reports. Citing people familiar with the case, The New York Times and BusinessWeek reported that Ms. Dunn, Kevin Hunsaker, HP's ousted chief ethics officer, and Ronald DeLia, a Boston-area private investigator, would each face criminal charges. Two other outside investigators -- Joseph DePante of Melbourne, Fla. and Bryan Wagner of Littleton, Colo. -- were also being charged, the Times said. They each will face four felony charges: use of false or fraudulent pretenses to obtain confidential information from a public utility; unauthorized access to computer data; identity theft; and conspiracy to commit each of those crimes. The scandal erupted last month when HP disclosed that detectives it hired to root out a series of boardroom leaks secretly obtained detailed phone logs of directors, employees and journalists. The detectives used a potentially criminal form of subterfuge known as pretexting to masquerade as their targets and trick telephone companies into turning over the records. Dunn -- who initiated the investigation -- said she didn't know until after the fact that the detectives went to such extremes to unearth clues about the leaker's identity. She resigned from HP's board last month amid the uproar over the spying campaign, which has also prompted the resignation of two other board members. Dunn, 53, who has survived breast cancer and melanoma, will begin chemotherapy treatments for advanced ovarian cancer on Friday at the University of California, San Francisco, according to a person close to Dunn who asked to remain anonymous because a formal announcement wasn't planned. Lawyers for Dunn and the others expected to be charged did not immediately return calls seeking comment. HP did not immediately comment, nor did a spokesman for Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Hunsaker, who directed the investigation, left the company on Sept. 26; DeLia runs a Boston-area detective firm called Security Outsourcing Solutions, a longtime HP contractor commissioned to conduct the leak probe. DeLia in turn hired DePante's company to gather information, and DePante hired Wagner to obtain the private phone records of HP directors and journalists. HP eventually identified director George Keyworth II as the source of a leak to a Cnet Networks Inc. reporter. Keyworth resigned after the scandal went public in early September. Another director, venture capitalist Thomas J. Perkins, resigned from the board in May after learning about the tactics used by HP's investigators. He then pressured the company to publicly disclose the reason for his departure, leading to the regulatory filing that revealed the investigators' use of pretexting. The FBI and a congressional panel are also looking into the HP pretexting scandal. Dunn testified last week before the panel, saying she didn't know about any potentially illegal tactics used in the investigation and wasn't responsible for the probe. 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: Tue, 03 Oct 2006 13:25:34 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: It is Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet Point-click-drink: It's that easy for teens The Internet is providing a new avenue for underage drinking. Results of a new survey confirm that millions of teenagers either buy alcohol online or know an underage friend who does. A related audit of states shows that many state legislators are easing restrictions on online alcohol sales with little monitoring or oversight. "This is a dangerous situation," said Stan Hastings chairman of the Wine and Spirits Wholesales of America, Inc. (WSWA), the trade group that commissioned the survey. "For the first time, we have hard evidence that millions of kids are buying alcohol online and that the Internet is fast becoming a high-tech, low-risk way for kids to get beer, wine and liquor delivered to their home with no ID check," Hastings said in a statement. The survey results are "alarming," he added, "because state legislators are rushing to allow wine and other online alcohol sales at a time we know regulatory agencies are telling us they are unable to monitor these types of sales because they lack manpower and resources." Conducted in 2006 by Teenage Research Unlimited, the survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,001 young people between the ages of 14 and 20 years revealed that 2 percent (representing 551,000 nationally) reported having personally bought alcohol online. Moreover, 12 percent, equivalent to 3.1 million minors, report having a friend who has ordered alcohol online. The survey also shows that alcohol purchased online is shared among friends. Roughly 3 percent of 14- to 20-year-olds (equivalent to 735,000 nationally) admit to drinking alcohol purchased by someone else online or by phone. And more than half of those with friends who have obtained alcohol illegally online or by phone say those friends share it (80 percent), drink it themselves (79 percent), or give to another underage person (53 percent). Researchers warn that as awareness and exposure to online alcohol sales increases, even more minors can be expected to buy beer, wine, and liquor on the Internet unless steps are taken today to address the problem. This is consistent with a 2003 National Academy of Sciences report that concluded that minors are buying alcohol over the Internet and that increasing use of the Internet will make this problem worse in the future. Compounding the problem, at least 20 states passed laws expanding online sales of alcohol in the past year, according to WSWA. 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 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:51:11 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Google Offers mini-Programs For Use on Other Sites Google offers mini-programs for use on other sites By Eric Auchard Google Inc. said on Tuesday it is making it easier to add hundreds of miniature programs to independent Web sites, in a move that brings handy features to users instead of making users rely on Google.com. The Web search leader has jumped ahead of rivals -- such as Apple Computer Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. -- who offer mini-applets or "gadgets" when the user has installed special software on individual computer desktops. Google Gadgets, which have previously been available for users to add to a Web user's personalized Google homepage or their own computers via Google Desktop software, are now available for Web page owners to add to their own sites. "Instead of making people come to Google, now Google can be found everywhere," Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li said of the push to make such programs available via other sites. Web site publishers can choose from a gallery of 1,220 so-called "Google Gadgets" -- small bits of code that function as dynamic applications when installed on a Web page. Less than two dozen of the applications come from Google. Most are built by outside programmers seeking distribution for the programs. Google Gadgets range from a miniature look-up for Google Maps or Google Calendar to independent applications ranging from financial information to sports to communication tools and jokes, horoscopes or geometric puzzle game Tetris. A list of Google Gadgets can be found at http://www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open/ . To add a particular gadget to a Web page, users can with a few clicks locate the HTML source code of the program and insert it into their own Web sites using standard Web publishing tools. "This is part of the movement to make the Web into a platform rather than forcing users to rely on desktop software," Li said. Google calls these new Web-based programs "Universal Gadgets" to distinguish them from existing "Desktop Gadgets" designed to run only on Google sites or on a user's own computer desktop. "Gadgets are nothing more than HTML and a little bit of Javascript," Adam Sah, who carries the title Google Gadgets architect, said in an interview. "Gadgets are easy to create so it's something (programmers) can do in their spare time." Yahoo, through its acquisition of the Silicon Valley start-up Konfabulator last year, boasts more than 3,244 Widgets, or mini programs, that range from Web search tools to games, news feeds and video-watching utilities. But users must install and run an 11-megabyte program on a PC for such programs to work on Windows-based computers http://widgets.yahoo.com/ Similarly, Apple Computer and Microsoft offer hundreds of such programs to Web users. While Google has jumped out ahead of rivals, Microsoft, Yahoo and others are likely to make their own collections of mini-applications ready to run on other Web sites, Li said. Before these mini-Web based applications can go mainstream, however, Google and the others will have to do away with the need to "cut and paste" code and make it possible to install such programs on Web sites in a few clicks, she said. Eventually, Web users can look forward to a time when they combine such mini-applications from Google, Yahoo, Microsoft or others to create hybrid applications, known as mashups. Start-ups like Widgetbox http://www.widgetbox.com/ are pointing the way by offering a marketplace of different mini-applets for users to add to sites, while Ning http://www.ning.com/ , a company begun by Netscape co-founder Marc Andreesen, offers a simple way for users to create whole sites out of such Web-based applications, Li said. "We are not ready at this point to discuss that," Google's Sah said. "Gadgets and Widgets are all moving very quickly." 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 tech news and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 12:53:35 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: AOL To Lauch New Version of Software AOL on Wednesday plans to launch a new version of its software that lets users access their e-mail, instant messaging, search and media on the same screen. The new software, dubbed AOL OpenRide, comes after it announced plans this summer to offer most of its services for free in an effort to boost online advertising sales. It also stopped marketing its Internet dial-up access service, but continues to maintain and charge for it. OpenRide, which lets users check e-mail from rivals such as Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. reflects a new approach to courting users. Although it has made most of its services free, AOL now also aims to have users rely on its software for other functions, such as viewing photos or listening to a music collection stored on the PC using the OpenRide. The software screen is divided into four parts that change size depending on what the user is viewing. Elements of one window, an e-mail message for example, can be dragged and dropped into another window, such as the contact name on a buddy list. 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/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 09:43:18 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Statement on Decision by U.S. Court of Appeals to Stay Permanent Injunction Issued by District Court in Lawsuit Against EchoStar ALVISO, Calif., Oct 03, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO), the creator of and leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVR), today announced that U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted the request of EchoStar Communications Corp. ("ECC") to stay the permanent injunction imposed by the U.S. District Court to prevent ECC from making, using, offering for sale or selling in the United States the DVR products involved in the case (DP-501, DP-508, DP-510, DP-721, DP-921, DP-522, DP-625, DP-942, and all EchoStar DVRs that are not more than colorably different from any of these products) pending the outcome of ECC's appeal. TiVo sued EchoStar in Federal District Court on January 5, 2004, alleging that ECC and certain subsidiaries are violating a key TiVo patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,233,389 issued to TiVo in May 2001, known as the "Time Warp" patent). The Time Warp patent discloses systems and methods for the simultaneous storage and playback of programs, supporting advanced capabilities such as pausing live television, fast-forwarding, rewinding, instant replays, and slow motion. On April 13, 2006, a Marshall, Texas jury concluded that EchoStar had willfully infringed TiVo's Time Warp patent. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=61478188 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 10:58:18 -0700 (PDT) From: JCL Subject: Telemarketer 888-695-9405 I saw your article on-line re: 888-695-9405. I called my phone company's nuisance call center on 10-4-06, and they tracked the number to Intella Systems, Inc., of Cleveland, OH. Their phone and fax info is listed at http://www.intellasystems.com Also, they have an office in Canada. This is significant because Canadian companies don't have to follow US laws. I was advised to put my name on the Canadian Marketing Assoc. Do Not call list at http://www.The-CMA.org. I would advise people to call their respective phone companies to make sure they identify the proper offender, b/c as someone on your site pointed out, it is possible to list a fake IDs for a phone call. Thanks for posting your digest on-line! JCL - FL ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 04, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 11:21:01 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 04, 2006 ******************************** British Regulator's Q1 Market Snapshot Vodafone, Orange Struggle http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20269?11228 The British telecoms regulator has released its research findings for the state of the U.K. mobile and fixed market for the first quarter of 2006. The regulator has used a 90-day threshold in the calculation of its figures for active subscribers. In most cases, it has also left out the ... Is VoIP WIthout E9-1-1 Worth the Risk? : Challenges, Approaches, and Recommendations for VoIP Service Providers. http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20261?11228 When your subscribers dial 9-1-1, they expect a public safety responder to answer and dispatch help in a matter of seconds. However, when it comes to 9-1-1, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services do not always deliver. This paper details the importance of Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) to VoIP's future success and the challenges VoIP ... Optical Antenna Promises More Storage Capacity http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20258?11228 Can an antenna lead to increased optical disc storage? It can when it's a plasmonic laser antenna. The new optical antenna, designed as a metallic nanostructure, is built into a commercial semiconductor laser. "The optical antenna collects light from the laser and concentrates it to an intense spot measuring tens of ... Cingular: 3G Rollout on Track http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20257?11228 Cingular Wireless is refuting a Bloomberg story that its high-speed network rollout plans are behind schedule. The carrier also announced it has completed the integration of the AT&T Wireless network into its operations. Cingular announced that it is on track to reach most of the top 100 markets with its high-speed downlink ... Broadcom Vs. Qualcomm: The Plot Thickens http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20254?11228 Irvine, Calif-based wireless device maker Broadcom says it is now taking several legal counter measures to fight Qualcomm in their complex, long-running, multi-venue patent dispute, emulating the back-and-forth battle Qualcomm and Nokia are waging against each other in comparable litigation in several courts. Broadcom says a ... Nokia Readies Bluetooth Buster http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20251?11228 You know WiMax, you've heard of WiBro, now meet Wibree -- the new short-range wireless specification from Nokia Corp.. The number one cellphone maker is hoping the new technology will supplant Bluetooth for personal-area networking (PAN) applications. Wibree shares many of the same characteristics of Bluetooth -- it has a range ... Huawei Signs Up Former BT Guru http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20249?11228 Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. has scored something of a coup by signing up former BT Group plc; group technology officer Mick Reeve as an advisor and public representative. Reeve, who retired from BT in May this year, was one of the British carrier's best known and most respected executives, with a wealth of knowledge and ... WLAN Security Still Weak in Most Businesses http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20246?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Despite the ratification of key wireless standards, the actual use of stronger security mechanisms in current WLAN deployments is low, reports In-Stat. That may soon change, however, as many companies will bolster WLAN security over the next several years, the high-tech market research firm says. Within wireless ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD Subject: Re: 'Screaming' Cell Phones to Cut Down Theft Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:36:49 -0500 Organization: Disorganized In message nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (RadicalModerate) wrote: > Marc Jones wrote: >> Costing around 120 pounds ($224.3) a year the technology is not 100 >> percent fool proof however, with organized tech savvy thieves likely >> to have the equipment and know how be able to get round the security >> measures. > That works out to #10 (~$16.50) a month for nightly address book and > memo backup plus disabling a phone before a crook can rack up your > bill. And you still need to buy a new phone. That's pretty high ... Unless your phone gets stolen more then once a year, wouldn't it be cheaper to just self-insure (put the money in savings, buy a new phone when needed)? -- I'm sorry sir, you can't park your van on the diving board. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:28:17 -0400 From: Rick Merrill Subject: Re: Net Neutrality? > Funding the roll out of such high-priced services led the corporations > to propose "tiered pricing" models for services, where higher paying > clients could get faster Internet service and prioritized access to > bandwidth. > Consumer groups, content providers and technology advocates opposed the > move on the principle of "net neutrality." By prioritizing Internet > traffic according to who pays more, they argued, anyone who doesn't pay > up will be consigned to the "slow lane" of Internet access and degraded > service. > - http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/10/ca_cable.html I thought the term "net neutrality" also applied to companies carrying one another's traffic. ------------------------------ From: whoward@login3.srv.ualberta.ca (W Howard) Subject: Re: The Times Thinks Outside the Browser Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 04:32:14 UTC Organization: University of Alberta In article , Monty Solomon wrote: > The Times Thinks Outside the Browser; Finally, a readable online newspaper. > By Jack Shafer [ snip of praise for new NYT online edition ] > Times Reader shouldn't be confused with the Times Electronic Edition, > that admirable failure that accurately bills itself as an "exact > digital replica" of the newsprint Times, or any of the other static > PDF-ish treatments newspapers and magazines have experimented with. > Times Reader exploits new software from Microsoft Windows Presentation > Foundation to do its work, and the less I say about WPF-a subset of > Windows Vista, Microsoft's oft-postponed new operating system-the > better. Suffice it to say that WPF and the Times-Microsoft > collaboration has liberated the newspaper from the design constraints > Web browsers place on designers. > http://www.slate.com/id/2149888/ I suppose one of those constraints is that the WWW has a set of vendor-neutral standards, so it works on all platforms instead of just the ones sold by Microsoft. Some people, including author Jack Shafer, fail to understand why that is an enormous advantage. It is also true that most of the readability advantages he claims, are available in HTML too. Shafer's bad-mouthing of PDF also smacks of ignorance, but then, PDF also works on most platforms. I am surprised that any company with a lick of sense would go into partnership with Microsoft. Most who have done that haven't survived, and those that did (IBM, Kodak, ...) have been badly wounded by the experience. >> Walt ------------------------------ From: ranck@vt.edu Subject: Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 20:10:48 UTC Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA Mr Joseph Singer wrote: > I've made it my policy that if I'm waiting in line to be served and > the sales clerk thinks it's *more* important to take a telephone > interruption than to serve me I'll put down my purchase and walk out > of that store. Telephone customers do not have any more clout than > customers who are in front of you. This is why the phone at my wife's chocolate shop has an answering machine that picks up after 2 rings and gives the hours and a chance to leave a message. I made it a point to instruct employees that the phone is *not* to be answered if they are already dealing with a live customer. More than half the time the caller just wants to know how late the shop is open, so that's in the greeting. Bill Ranck Blacksburg, Va. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications topics. 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End of TELECOM Digest V25 #353 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Oct 5 16:07:50 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 EDFBA220D; Thu, 5 Oct 2006 16:07:49 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #354 Message-Id: <20061005200749.EDFBA220D@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 16:07:49 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 5 Oct 2006 16:09:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 354 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Tech Gadgets Banned in USA (Elizabeth Millard, Newsfactor) Google Launches Search Service for Computer Code (Eric Auchard, Reuters) Skype-Only Phones Bring a New Mobility To Free Online Calls (Monty Solomon) Pearl BlackBerry Offers Video, Camera, Music, As Well as Great (M Solomon) The Q Review (Monty Solomon) Novatel Laptop Cards Can Access Internet, But Services Vary (Monty Solomon) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 05, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Charges Filed Against HP Executives (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet (John Levine) Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? (davidesan@gmail.com) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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, 05 Oct 2006 14:25:09 -0500 From: Elizabeth Millard, Newsfactor Subject: Tech Gadgets Banned in USA by Elizabeth Millard, newsfactor.com There's no doubt about it: foreign technology can whet your appetite. Super-lightweight laptops from Japan, feature-packed smartphones from Europe, and shiny, gotta-get-it devices designed in India, South Korea, and Taiwan are but a few of the items that currently reside on tech's cutting edge. But chances are you will never see those gadgets on store shelves here in the U.S. A trip to the typical U.S. electronics store suggests many Americans would gladly shell out some extra cash for high-end lightweight products. Smaller, lighter, and more-expensive laptops are occupying an ever-increasing amount of shelf space. Even if a larger percentage of Japanese and European consumers reach for higher-end products than their U.S. counterparts, a small percentage of Americans could still spell big sales. Why, then, do some innovative products never make it to our shores? The Corporate Quarantine Many manufacturers prefer to introduce new electronics in their own countries, to see what problems may arise before exporting the goods. There is a strong interest in catching and repairing previously unknown design defects before hitting the U.S. mass market, where the cost of a product recall could be disastrous. Companies must also gauge consumer reaction locally before exporting. Manufacturers realize that despite extensive consumer testing, it is important to float a limited quantity of a product and see how well consumers react to it before opening the floodgates-only to find less demand than anticipated. Some products are at a performance disadvantage in the U.S., like cutting-edge smartphones that do not mesh well with the current state of American telecom services, and videophones that operate much better in countries that have higher-speed wireless networks. The faster the network, the smoother the video will appear. In general, Japanese and Korean telecommunications companies have been quicker to provide faster connections than those offered in the U.S., so consumers in those countries are presented with more-advanced phones and more-advanced services. Plus, according to a major player in this game, the U.S. tech market tends to take its cue from big business, not John Q. Public. "In Japan, where a majority of the cutting-edge innovation occurs, they're driven by consumer demand. In the U.S., we're mainly driven by business needs. That's why you see more of an emphasis on cheap laptops than on lightweight machines," says Douglas Krone, chief executive of Dynamism.com, an online site that sells technology not found on the shelves of U.S. retail stores. Smaller, Faster, Better? In addition to corporate strategies driven by the bottom line, there are cultural preferences to consider. Japanese consumers do not flinch at spending the equivalent of $3,000 or more on a laptop as long as it has the most up-to-date technology and weighs less than 2 pounds, Krone says. Consumers in Japan, and many in Europe, will spend more to enjoy the fruits of innovation rather than use a laptop or gadget that is just "good enough" for their purposes. American consumers, on the other hand, are more interested in lower prices than lighter weights, which makes top-of-the-line electronics a difficult sell in this country, Krone says. Yuni Sucippo, vice president of I-Cube, another Web site offering products from beyond U.S. borders, agrees. "Americans, in general, tend to like big, powerful notebooks," she says. "They want everything in there, as much storage as they can get, as fast as it can go, as big as possible. But they end up carrying around 10 pounds of computer." Shoppers on I-Cube value lighter notebooks that may not offer as much performance or capacity as those preferred by the typical American consumer, but instead boast ultra portability. To be sold on the site as a light notebook, a computer must weigh less than 4 pounds, and most units meeting that requirement are not available in the United States. The same holds true at Dynamism.com. For example, the lightest PC on the global market, the 1.2-pound Sony Vaio U50, is not sold in America. The U50 is smaller than a portable DVD player and has an external foldable keyboard. Although this laptop might appeal to people who crave the ultimate in mobility, most U.S. corporate users would pass on it, Krone says. Too Much To Chew Some companies in Europe and Japan do not enter the U.S. market because their profit margins are razor-thin. Even U.S. companies like IBM and Hewlett-Packard have stepped away from certain kinds of equipment in favor of technology that produces more revenue. Foreign companies that decide to sell their most-innovative products to Americans would have to set up extensive customer-service operations, which could be cost-prohibitive given the massive size of the U.S. market. Dynamism.com tries to fill this gap by providing customer service and tech support for all the equipment it sells, acting as a go-between for consumers and companies like Sony, Nuvo, Xacti, and Fuji. Even if sufficient demand for these products emerges, there are legal issues to consider. For example, patent law in Japan and Europe is different than in the U.S. Exporting a wealth of technology and then trying to protect valuable patents might be more trouble than many companies are willing to undertake-especially smaller manufacturers that might not yet have a corporate presence in America. "Sometimes, it just doesn't make sense for a company to spend the time and effort to get patents here and do the enforcement necessary just to sell here," says Steve Kelber, an attorney at the law firm of Merchant & Gould. That could change with the Patent Reform Act of 2005, which would make the U.S. law so similar to that in other countries that it would be much easier for companies to protect their rights. The bill was introduced in June of last year by Rep. Lamar S. Smith (news, bio, voting record) (R-TX) and is still awaiting passage. On the Horizon Even if patent reform takes hold in the U.S., shoppers seeking niche items will likely continue to visit sites like Dynamism.com and I-Cube. Some people may want the hard-to-find gadgets because no one else has them-kind of the geek equivalent of haute couture. But, Sucippo says, most customers are simply frustrated by the lack of truly portable options at their local computer retailers. I-Cube attracts tech aficionados who buy items as soon as they become available, she says, even if they have recently purchased a similar product on the site. "The ones who buy like this are a smaller group, but they're growing," she says. "With the amount of people who travel and work now, there's more appreciation for lighter, more-portable notebooks." I-Cube also features accessories, PDAs, and Tablet PCs. Gadget lovers who are disappointed that Sony stopped selling Clie handhelds in the U.S. need only surf over to I-Cube, which buys the PDAs directly from Japan and then converts most of the operating system into English. One downside: About 40 percent of the OS is still in Japanese. Used in Japan, New to You Kurns & Patrick also specializes in ultralight technology from Japan. One aspect of the site that sets it apart is its used section, which gives cash-strapped tech lovers the chance to buy a "previously loved" computer or gadget that is still in decent condition. Every used item comes with a three-month warranty. In general, however, the question of a warranty is a potential deal-breaker for Kurns & Patrick and other imported-technology sites. If someone buys an item from Best Buy, it can be taken to the store for service or sent back to the manufacturer directly. But computers purchased on a site such as Kurns & Patrick come with a one-year Japanese domestic warranty, which means it must be returned to Japan-or to Kurns & Patrick-for repair. The good news, according to the company, is that some manufacturers, like Panasonic and Sharp, honor their warranties globally. Others, like Toshiba, do not. Even if U.S. buyers take it on faith that the item works perfectly, they should consider another potential drawback: Some of the machines have Japanese keyboards, which are very close in layout to English-language keyboards, but aren't a spot-on match. Kurns & Patrick offers English stickers for the keyboards on some models. In general, though, such quirks are unlikely to put off folks who treasure a 2-pound notebook or a super-slim DVD drive. Stock Answers Despite the possible sales to be gained from these niche customers, large retailers in the U.S. get their marching orders not only from consumers, but also from shareholders. That's where the economics of mediocrity come into play. High-end products command a high-end price. Most shoppers tend to make middle-of-the-road selections at middle-of-the-road prices. Catering to that mentality will produce the kind of returns stockholders demand. It's an economic reality that further diminishes the chances certain top-of-the-line tech goodies will reach U.S. shores anytime soon. The bottom line: If you want the newest, coolest show-stopping gadgets, you can click your way to the handful of online stores that will satisfy your lust for hard-to-get tech, right from the comfort of your home. But for the true beyond-borders electronics experience, you'll need to pony up for a plane ticket to Tokyo. And if you bring your notebook computer, just make sure you have a sturdy shoulder strap. "People understand the need for mobility the second they have to carry a heavy laptop through an airport," says Sucippo. "After that, they come to us." Copyright 2006 NewsFactor Network, 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 each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:22:52 -0500 From: Eric Auchard Subject: Google Launches Search Service for Computer Code Eric Auchard Google Inc. is introducing a new search service that only a geek could love. The Web search leader said late on Wednesday it is introducing Google Code Search, a site that simplifies how software developers search for programming code to improve existing software or create new programs. Google product manager Tom Stocky said the Mountain View, California-based company is set to help programmers sift through billions of lines of computer source code using its familiar search box to uncover snippets of reusable software. "For a long time it has been sort of an unsolved problem," said Stocky, a product manager in the developer products group. "It is hard to find references to this sort of data." Google is applying the same machine-driven techniques it uses to help consumers search the Web for text, images, video and books to help professional programmers as well as computer enthusiasts overcome stumbling blocks to writing code. Searchers can seek out specific programming terms or computer languages and dive deep into compressed code to locate specific features. Users also can narrow a search to find software code based on specific licensing requirements, which is a big deal in warding off future patent litigation. Similar to how a consumer might type a few words into a standard Google search box for answers, programmers can seek out relevant lines of code at http://google.com/codesearch -- except the results are for machine-readable phrases such as "go 2}gle" "hello,\ world" or "^int printk." NO SECRET CODE It's commonplace, when looking to improve a particular line of software, for most code writers to search the Web for quick tips. But finding actual programming code rather than just discussions about a particular coding problem is tough. To meet this need, sites such as Koder, O'Reilly Labs or ProgrammingIsHard.com have sprung up that offer repositories of code. Most are small, require membership and are often devoted to only a specific class of software or problem. Some programmers say Google Code Search answers some of the nightmares of building software, by creating a central place to trawl for publicly available code. "(Google Code Search) may come in handy when looking for different ways of approaching a particular programming problem," said Niall Kennedy, a San Francisco technical blog commentator. Others were less impressed: "Functional and simple, but therein lies the problem," said the writer of a site called "Digital Alchemy," who sees few advantages over existing sites. Google searches through code repositories that are popular among programmers -- CollabNet's Subversion and another alternative called CVS, Stocky said. The service began as a way for Google programmers to search through internal company code. It added a search of publicly available code and recently Google decided it might as well open up the service to others. Google Code Search is in test mode on Google's Labs site. Initially, Google Code Search is free of advertising. Should the site prove popular, Stocky said Google may consider running pay-per-click advertising along search results, the way it makes money from its more mainstream search services, he said. 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 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 21:53:12 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Skype-Only Phones Bring a New Mobility To Free Online Calls By Sarmad Ali All over the world, people are increasingly using the Web to make phone calls, if not free, then for a few pennies a minute. One of the most common ways of doing so is with Skype, the free software whose parent company was bought last year by eBay. In fact, Skype has become so popular that electronics makers have begun selling cordless or lightweight phones specifically designed for making Skype calls without having to be chained to a computer. But only for Skype calls; these models don't work on regular phone networks. I tested three of these new Skype-compatible phones: Belkin's Wi-Fi Phone from Belkin, Free-1 Skype USB phone from Ipevo, and SkyTone RST501 cordless USB Internet phone from Radian Technologies. Overall, the three phones worked well, though often the sound quality on domestic calls to cellphones could have been better. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20060921.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 21:56:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Pearl BlackBerry Offers Video, Camera, Music, As Well as Great Email By Walter S. Mossberg When you think of a BlackBerry phone, what usually comes to mind is a squat, bland, all-business device that is great at email and fair at phone calls, but does little else well. BlackBerry models have been mostly aimed at big businesses, and they have lacked cameras, multimedia capabilities and style. Even their model names have been boring designations like "8700c." But that image will change radically next week when the BlackBerry's maker, Research in Motion, introduces a sleek but powerful model called simply the Pearl. It's not only the smallest BlackBerry ever made. It's also the smallest smart phone from any maker with a keyboard for typing emails and other text. All shiny black and silver, the slender Pearl looks more like a fashion phone than a keyboard-equipped smart phone. It is shorter, narrower and lighter than the much-admired Motorola Q, though a bit thicker. And, like the Q, the Pearl, which is being launched next Tuesday by T-Mobile, costs $199 with a two-year contract. The Pearl is squarely aimed at consumers who need powerful email capabilities, but also want style and bells and whistles. When it comes to email, the Pearl is a true BlackBerry. The email interface is essentially the same as on larger BlackBerrys. It can be used with a traditional corporate BlackBerry email system, and, for consumers, it works with the BlackBerry Internet Service offered by T-Mobile. Still, for hard-core BlackBerry addicts, the Pearl is a shocking departure. The iconic side scroll wheel has been replaced by a tiny, light-up trackball beneath the large, bright color screen. It's the first BlackBerry with a camera, the first with a memory card slot (though no card is included) and the first to play songs and videos. And then there's the keyboard, where the slim new design has required a major compromise. As on the older and bulkier BlackBerry 7100 series, the full keyboard has been replaced by a smaller version that squeezes two letters onto most keys. To avoid repetition and error, the Pearl uses smart software called SureType that has the uncanny ability to guess the word you meant to type in almost all cases. But it doesn't work if you're entering a new Web address or a person's name that the phone hasn't memorized. To find out if RIM can actually be cool, I've been toting around a Pearl, testing all its functions. In general, I like it, and can recommend it to anyone who wants real BlackBerry email capabilities in a great-looking multimedia phone. Voice quality was excellent and the interface for making phone calls, once a big problem on BlackBerrys, is now decent. There's even a Treo-like universal silencer button, and the speaker phone function turns on and off with a single key press. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20060907.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 21:59:52 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: The Q Review By WALTER S. MOSSBERG RECENTLY, THE PALM TREO has been the product of choice in high-end smart phones. The Treo can not only make phone calls, but also send and receive email, surf the web, play music, take pictures and handle Microsoft Office documents, with the aid of a small built-in keyboard. The latest Treo 700 models are more capable than most of Research in Motion's BlackBerrys, which many companies dole out to employees. But the Treos are fairly bulky and pretty expensive, often costing $400 apiece, depending on the carrier and the service plan. Now the Treo has a new high-end competitor from Motorola and Microsoft that's much thinner and cheaper, yet promises to match it feature for feature. It's called the Motorola Q, and it's popping up in the hands of more and more power users, intrigued by its stylish looks. I tested the Q, comparing it mainly with the newest Treo, the 700p. I loved the Q's hardware design and its price. At $199 (with a two-year service plan), it's half the cost. And while a little wider, the Q is just half as thick as the Treo 700p and more than one-third lighter. It's a heck of an engineering achievement by Motorola. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/report-200609.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 22:16:30 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Novatel Laptop Cards Can Access Internet, But Services Vary By Walter S. Mossberg For traveling laptop users who rely on the Internet, one of the best developments in recent years has been the emergence of high-speed wireless data networks offered by cellphone companies. Unlike commercial public Wi-Fi services, which require users to be near a "hot spot," these services can be used anywhere in a metro area, even in a moving car or train. And the cellular broadband services, such as Verizon Wireless's BroadbandAccess, can operate at speeds roughly equivalent to, and sometimes well beyond, the speed of basic wired home DSL service. That means you can surf the Web, and get email and large attachments pretty efficiently. A small percentage of users hook up to these cellular broadband networks using laptops that have the necessary gear built in. Another small group uses a cellphone as a modem. But most users of these networks use external cellular-modem cards that plug into a standard slot on the side of their laptops. Therein lies a problem. The computer industry is in the process of dumping that standard slot, called a PC Card slot, for a new, incompatible slot called ExpressCard. So, buyers of many new laptops are finding their cellphone modems are obsolete. Now, Novatel, a leading maker of these cards, has come out with aq couple of new ExpressCard versions for cellular broadband networks. One, which works on Verizon Wireless's network, is already on the market, sold by Verizon and by Dell. The second, which works on Cingular's BroadbandConnect high-speed network, will go on sale from Dell and possibly Cingular later this year, likely late November. http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20060831.html ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 05, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 11:16:13 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 05, 2006 ******************************** Pirelli Buys 9.54% Stake in Olimpia; Edges Closer to Full Control of Telecom Italia http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20293?11228 Pirelli yesterday paid 1.17 billion euro (US$1.49 billion) for two 4.77% stakes in Olimpia, the holding company that controls Telecom Italia. Pirelli bought out Banca Intesa and UniCredit to take its stake in Olimpia to 80%, leaving Edizione Holding, controlled by the Benetton family, with 20%. Olimpia is the largest single ... Motorola Hits Moscow's Red Square http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20290?11228 Leading global mobile equipment supplier, Motorola, has announced the opening of a new Global Flagship Store, Red Square MOTO, in Moscow's Red Square area. A Motorola statement describes the new outlet as a 'consumer-centric' departure from the additional shopping experience, which will allow customers to ... Perspectives: An interview with Qualcomm's Paul E. Jacobs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20287?11228 San Diego, California-based QUALCOMM has been the leading developer of CDMA-based wireless technologies and remains at the forefront of many of the latest wireless technological developments behind the launch of 3G networks around the globe. Having overseen QUALCOMM since July 2005 as its chief executive officer, Dr. Paul E ... Covad, Cisco Team to Sell VoIP Bundle Through Channel http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20286?11228 COVAD COMMUNICATIONS GROUP INC. announced at the Fall 2006 Channel Partners Conference & Expo that it has extended is co-marketing agreement with Cisco Systems Inc. to include sales and support of a voice and data bundle for the SMB market through the companies 'indirect' sales channels. The new offer pairs Cisco's ... Helio Takes a Hybrid Approach http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20283?11228 Helio unveiled Helio Hybrid, a new service that marries 3G and Wi-Fi technology to enable its subscribers to access what they want without having to fuss with several logins, the MVNO says. Helio Hybrid enables subscribers to switch between a nationwide 3G network, private and free Wi-Fi signals and a global network of Wi-Fi hot ... AT&T Targets SMB Consulting Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20278?11228 AT&T is marketing a package of network, communications and information technology (IT) consulting services to the small and medium sized business (SMB) segment, extrapolating a number of the offerings from a similar portfolio previously reserved mostly for its government and global, multinational corporate (MNC) accounts. ... Globalcomm & TelecomNext Rejoin Forces http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20272?11228 Like Liz Taylor and Richard Burton giving it another go, telecom's two biggest trade organizations have decided to combine tradeshows once again, after a year of kvetching from the industry. What once was known as Supercomm, and then later as two separate shows -- Globalcomm and TelecomNext -- is being reincarnated in 2007 ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 13:17:58 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Charges Filed Against HP Executives USTelecom dailyLead October 5, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eBbQfDtusXdFshEbqk TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Charges filed against HP executives BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * USTelecom, TIA to co-host NXTcomm * Verizon's FiOS gets 37 international channels * Analysis: Alvarion in for tough fight in mobile WiMAX * Qwest announces stock buyback * Google hosts top media executives at think tank USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * USTELECOM and TIA Announce Single, New Venue: NXTcomm TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * VoIP's move to mass market brings out new technologies * Trend: More Americans working outside office * Showtime, Fox following streaming trend REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * NTT's fixed-mobile plans spark regulatory concerns DIVERSIONS * The Global Gourmand * Hope, at $4,200 a Dose * Germany Bonds With Australia * Meet the Neighbors * Where the Moon Stood Still, and the Ancients Watched Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eBbQfDtusXdFshEbqk ------------------------------ Date: 5 Oct 2006 00:06:20 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet > The Internet is providing a new avenue for underage drinking. Results > of a new survey confirm that millions of teenagers either buy alcohol > online or know an underage friend who does. This is completely unbelievable. I know a certain number of people in the wine business, and without exception they ship UPS and require an adult signature upon delivery. In case you hadn't looked, the cost of shipping is high enough that it's only worth online orders for high priced stuff, ten bucks a bottle and up. the typical online order is a hundred bucks or more, hardly attractive to kids. > "This is a dangerous situation," said Stan Hastings chairman of the > Wine and Spirits Wholesales of America, Inc. (WSWA), the trade group > that commissioned the survey. And that's your answer. The wholesalers currently have a stranglehold on alcoholic beverage sales in the US, with a three-tier system from maker to wholesaler to store. The wholesalers realize that the value they provide is vastly less than the high markup they command, and they are desperately trying to kill online sales and anything else that will allow consumers to avoid going through them. Hence this totally bogus survey. R's, John ------------------------------ From: davidesan@gmail.com Subject: Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? Date: 5 Oct 2006 07:51:50 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com > Mr Joseph Singer wrote: >> I've made it my policy that if I'm waiting in line to be served and >> the sales clerk thinks it's *more* important to take a telephone >> interruption than to serve me I'll put down my purchase and walk out >> of that store. Telephone customers do not have any more clout than >> customers who are in front of you. I'm a little more lenient. I figure the caller has no idea that there's a queue for the clerk's attention. I let the clerk answer the phone, and if they're good, they'll put the person on hold, and then apologize for the delay. No real loss of time or attention for me. If they begin to talk to the person, then I can get upset. ------------------------------ 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 #354 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Oct 6 20:30:57 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 5ED562208; Fri, 6 Oct 2006 20:30:57 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #355 Message-Id: <20061007003057.5ED562208@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2006 20:30:57 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 6 Oct 2006 20:35:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 355 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Some Youths Rethinking Online Communications (Martha Irvine) Telecom Update #549, October 6, 2006 (John Riddell) VOIP Software Application Able to Play a Soundfile (Christian Drewing) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 06, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Fiber-Connected Homes Pass 1M (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet (mc) Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet (Sam Spade) Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? (mc) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:07:00 -0500 From: Martha Irvine Subject: Some Youths Rethinking Online Communications By MARTHA IRVINE, AP National Writer For some, it would be unthinkable -- certain social suicide. But Gabe Henderson is finding freedom in a recent decision: He canceled his MySpace account. No longer enthralled with the world of social networking, the 26-year-old graduate student pulled the plug after realizing that a lot of the online friends he accumulated were really just acquaintances. He's also phasing out his profile on Facebook, a popular social networking site that, like others, allows users to create profiles, swap message and share photos -- all with the goal of expanding their circle of online friends. "The superficial emptiness clouded the excitement I had once felt," Henderson wrote in a column in the student newspaper at Iowa State University, where he studies history. "It seems we have lost, to some degree, that special depth that true friendship entails." Across campus, journalism professor Michael Bugeja -- long an advocate of face-to-face communication -- read Henderson's column and saw it as a "ray of hope." It's one of a few signs, he says, that some members of the tech generation are starting to see the value of quality face time. As the novelty of their wired lives wears off, they're also are getting more sophisticated about the way they use such tools as social networking and text and instant messaging -- not just constantly using them because they're there. "I think we're at the very beginning of them reaching a saturation point," says Bugeja, director of Iowa State's journalism school and author of "Interpersonal Divide: The Search for Community in a Technological Age." Though he's not anti-technology, Bugeja often lectures students about "interpersonal intelligence" -- knowing when, where and for what purpose technology is most appropriate. He points out the students he's seen walking across campus, holding hands with significant others while talking on cell phones to someone else. He's also observed them in coffee shops, surrounded by people, but staring instead at a computer screen. "True friends," he tells them, "need to learn when to stop blogging and go across campus to help a friend." In the meantime, he says, many professors have begun setting their own limits, banning students from surfing the Internet during lectures. Of course, these forms of communication continue to dominate. In the October issue of the journal Pediatrics, for instance, researchers at Stanford University released findings from an ongoing study of students at an upper-middle income high school in the San Francisco area. One written survey found that the large majority of students were members of at least one social networking site -- 81 percent of them on MySpace. They also found that 89 percent of those students had cell phones, most of them with text and Web surfing capabilities. They are more wired than ever -- but they're also getting warier. Increasingly, they've had to deal with online bullies, who are posting anything from unflattering photos to online threats. Privacy issues also are hitting home, most recently when students discovered that personal updates on their Facebook pages were being automatically forwarded to contacts they didn't necessarily want to have the information. Facebook was forced to let users turn off the data stream after they rebelled. Increasingly, young people also are realizing that things they post on their profiles can come back to haunt them when applying for school or jobs. "Maybe everything we thought was so great wasn't as great as we thought," says Tina Wells, the 20-something CEO of Buzz Marketing, a New York-based firm with young advisers all over the world. She is among those who wonder if, sometimes, simple face-to-face communication might work better. In many instances, says 27-year-old Veronica Gross, it does. "By and large, I would say most of my very geeky social circle prefers face-to-face interaction to mere Internet communication," says Gross, an avid online gamer who is also a doctoral student studying neuroscience at Boston University. She sees faceless communication as a supplement to everyday interactions, not a replacement. This sentiment also was the conclusion of a study done by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The study, released earlier this year, found that Internet users tend to have a larger network of close and significant contacts -- a median of 37 compared with 30 for nonusers. Indeed, Steve Miller, a sophomore at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla., says social networking can be an "extremely effective" way to publicize events to large groups -- and even to help build a sense of community on campus. He joined Facebook as a way to meet people before he started school, but also quickly learned that it had limitations, too. "I discovered, after meeting many of these (online) friends, that a good Facebook profile could make even the most boring person somewhat interesting," says Miller, who's 19 and now a sophomore. He's also not always thrilled with text messaging via cell phones, which can be a quick way to say "have a good day" or to coordinate a plan to meet up at a noisy concert. "Text messaging has become the easy way out," Miller says. He's had friends cancel a night out with a text message to avoid having to explain. He's also seen some people ask for dates via text to escape the humiliation of hearing a "no" on the phone or in person. "Our generation needs to get over this fear of confrontation and rejection," he says. The focus, he and others say, needs to be on quality communication, in all formats. Back in Iowa, Henderson is enjoying spending more face-to-face time with his friends and less with his computer. He says his decision to quit MySpace and Facebook was a good one. "I'm not sacrificing friends," he says, "because if a picture, some basic information about their life and a Web page is all my friendship has become, then there was nothing to sacrifice to begin with." On the Net: Social networking sites: http://www.myspace.com, http://www.facebook.com, http://www.impnow.com, http://www.linkedin.com Martha Irvine is a national writer specializing in coverage of people in their 20s and younger. She can be reached at mirvine(at)ap.org 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Subject: Telecom Update #549, October 6, 2006 Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2006 14:11:58 -0400 From: John Riddell ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 549: October 6, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca/home/Home_Business.page ** BIG PIPE: www.bigpipeinc.com ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.ca/communications/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** MTS to Cut 325 More Jobs ** Canadian Rates Up, U.S. Rates Down ** Bernier Wants Cabinet to Deregulate VoIP ** Shaw Renames Four Subsidiaries ** AMEC Employees Embrace Cellphone Ban ** Dryden Weighs Sale of Civic Telco ** SaskTel Intros Voice Texting ** Telus Launches Location Services ** Rogers Wants Reversal of "Comma Ruling" ** Telus Seeks Change in Local Forbearance Rules ** Court Agrees to Hear Winback Appeal ** Price Cap Hearing Begins Next Week ** Cisco to Spend $100 Million on Awareness ** Rogers Launches BlackBerry Pearl ** Ontera Gets New GM ** Alcatel Expands Switch Portfolio ** Consultants Plan Forum on Wireless MTS TO CUT 325 MORE JOBS: MTS Allstream plans to eliminate 325 jobs from its Manitoba operations this year through a voluntary buyout plan. The cuts, additional to 750 announced last November, are part of a $100 million a year cost reduction program. (See Telecom Update #508) CANADIAN RATES UP, U.S. RATES DOWN: A study by SeaBoard Group finds that Canadians still pay less for residential wireline phone service than Americans, but the gap has narrowed over the past three years -- mainly because Canadian prices have risen substantially, while U.S. prices have fallen slightly. ** Residential telephone service is least expensive in Saskatchewan, the province where telecom competition is weakest. ** Seaboard says that Canadian VoIP services providers charge more than U.S. and European VoIP providers for equivalent services. www.seaboardgroup.com/main/index.php?option=3Dcontent&task=3Dview&id=3D52 2&Itemid=3D157 BERNIER WANTS CABINET TO DEREGULATE VoIP: The Globe & Mail reports that Industry Minister Maxime Bernier has asked the provinces for their input on changing the CRTC's VoIP rules. The Minister was not pleased with CRTC Telecom Decision 2006-53, in which the Commission last month reaffirmed the VoIP rules it set last year and, for the second time, declined to deregulate the incumbent telcos' VoIP services (see Telecom Update #544). ** The Telecom Act allows Cabinet 90 days to "vary or rescind" such a decision, and requires provincial consultation as part of the process. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2006/dt2006-53.htm SHAW RENAMES FOUR SUBSIDIARIES: Shaw Communications is renaming four subsidiary companies to include the Shaw name. Big Pipe becomes Shaw Business Solutions; Star Choice Communications becomes Star Choice, a Shaw Company; Cancom Tracking becomes Shaw Tracking; and Cancom Broadcast becomes Shaw Broadcast Services. ** The rebranding will be completed by December 31. AMEC EMPLOYEES EMBRACE CELLPHONE BAN: One year ago AMEC, a B.C.-based project management company, banned the use of cellphones by employees while driving. The company now reports that 95% of its 4,000 employees across North America say the ban has had no effect on their productivity, and 83% say they have also stopped using cellphones while driving outside working hours. DRYDEN WEIGHS SALE OF CIVIC TELCO: The City of Dryden in northwest Ontario has begun a review of strategic options for its municipal phone company, including a possible sale of the business. Dryden Municipal Telephone Services has 5,930 wireline customers. SASKTEL INTROS VOICE TEXTING: SaskTel's new Say & Send service allows postpaid cellular users to send voice messages to other SaskTel Mobility customers. Messages cost 15 cents each; heavy users can send 100 for $10/month or unlimited messages for $15/month. There is no charge to receive a Say & Send message. ** The service uses sayTEXT Audio SMS, developed by New Jersey-based uReach Technologies. TELUS LAUNCHES LOCATION SERVICES: Telus is offering two new cellphone-based GPS services: Navigator provides audio and visual turn-by-turn directions similar to in-car navigation systems, and Kid Find helps locate a cellphone user on an interactive map. The services use Telus's 1X network in Alberta, B.C., and Ontario's Golden Horseshoe. ROGERS WANTS REVERSAL OF "COMMA RULING": Rogers Communications has asked the CRTC to reverse its previous ruling in which, based on the placement of a comma, it allowed Aliant to end a pole-usage agreement with Rogers early. Rogers argues that Telecom Decision 2006-45 was incorrect on several grounds, and that the agreement should continue until May 2007. (See Telecom Update #542) ttp://www.crtc.gc.ca/PartVII/eng/2006/8662/r28_200612326.htm TELUS SEEKS CHANGE IN LOCAL FORBEARANCE RULES: Telus has asked the CRTC to change its criteria for deregulating local service. Telus wants the CRTC to either eliminate the requirement that the telco has met Competitor Quality of Service indicators for six months, or to apply it more narrowly. (See Telecom Update #524) COURT AGREES TO HEAR WINBACK APPEAL: The Federal Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Aliant, Bell Canada, SaskTel, and Telus of the CRTC's winback restrictions. The telcos argue that these restrictions violate commercial freedom of speech guarantees under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The CRTC previously denied a similar application. (See Telecom Update #524) PRICE CAP HEARING BEGINS NEXT WEEK: The CRTC's oral hearing on Price Caps begins on Tuesday in Gatineau, Quebec. The hearing, which will include cross-examination of witnesses, is expected to last two weeks. The Commission's website sets out the agenda, and will provide a live audio feed and transcripts of the hearing. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/process/2006/oct10.htm CISCO TO SPEND $100 MILLION ON AWARENESS: Cisco Systems has launched a US$100 million advertising campaign to boost consumer awareness of the company and its products. The company believes that the campaign will boost sales to businesses, because corporate end-users have an increasing influence on technology buying decisions. ** Magazine, newspaper, and TV ads will feature the company's new logo, which has been simplified to be more readable on a wide variety of displays. ROGERS LAUNCHES BLACKBERRY PEARL: Rogers Wireless is now selling the BlackBerry Pearl for $249.99 on a three-year voice/data contract. (See Telecom Update #545) ONTERA GETS NEW GM: Ontario Northland has named a new general manager for Ontera, its operating phone company. Paul Goulet, formerly the telco's CIO, replaces Marc Rancourt, who has left the company. ALCATEL EXPANDS SWITCH PORTFOLIO: Alcatel has added OmniSwitch 9600, a "full-featured" model that is priced lower and has a smaller chassis, to its OmniSwitch 9000 portfolio of 10 Gbps Ethernet switches. CONSULTANTS PLAN FORUM ON WIRELESS: The Canadian Telecommunications Consultants Association will hold a forum on current and future developments in wireless communications on October 26 in Toronto. For information, go to http://www.ctca.ca/EventDetails.asp?R=3D5&EV=3D68. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There=20 are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html . COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ From: Christian Drewing Subject: VOIP Software Application That is Able to Play a Soundfile? Date: 6 Oct 2006 05:19:07 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I need a VOIP internet telephone software that can play a specified soundfile to the number I dial. It would be great for transferring greetings messages to my cell phone's answering machine. Kind regards, Christian. ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 06, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2006 11:13:21 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 06, 2006 ******************************** Vodafone Dials IBM, EDS in Billion-Dollar Outsourcing Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20319?11228 Global mobile giant Vodafone has selected two U.S. companies -- IBM and EDS -- out of 11 companies that expressed interest in February for a global IT outsourcing deal to manage its application development and maintenance services. Although the deal is yet to be concluded, Vodafone confirmed it spent 560 million pounds ... SkyLink Announces Mobile TV Plans in Russia http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20318?11228 Russia's leading CDMA operator SkyLink has plans to launch a mobile TV service early in 2007, reports Prime-Tass, citing a company spokesman. The operator launched a test mode of such services in August this year. Presumably satisfied that this will be a profitable enterprise, SkyLink now intends to introduce TV broadcasting in ... Vodafone Expects to Launch Broadband Internet Access Services in Spain http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20316?11228 Spain's number-three mobile operator Vodafone Espana is planning to offer broadband internet access services for Spanish residential customers. Its move into the Spanish broadband market is likely to occur via a wholesale ADSL deal with incumbent Telefonica, rather than through an acquisition. Significance: ... The Year of the Hosted PBX ... Eventually http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20313?11228 As a parent of three, including a freshly ordained teenager whose first act of her 13th year was to commandeer the car radio, I repeat myself quite a bit -- too often over the tortured-cat crooning of Kelly Clarkson. The only good thing about saying the same things over and over again, of course, is that eventually you're ... Crown Castle to Buy Rival Cell Phone Tower Company Global Signal for $4B in Cash and Stock http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20307?11228 Cell phone tower company Crown Castle International Corp. agreed to buy smaller rival Global Signal Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, the companies said Friday, creating a behemoth with more than 24,000 wireless sites. Including the assumption of $1.8 billion in debt, the deal is valued at $5.8 billion. Global Signal... FCC Calls on CTIA http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20306?11228 At the request of the FCC, CTIA will act as a cost-sharing clearinghouse for relocating wireless licensees as a result of the 2006 Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auction. The clearinghouse will be set up to administer fair and equitable cost-sharing functions for the relocation of Broadband Radio Service, Fixed Microwave... Orange Targets Multinationals With Mobile Mail http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20303?11228 Orange Business Services -- the new umbrella operation for what had been a multiplicity of operating units owned by France Telecom -- today launched a managed mobile-push-mail solution aimed at multinational companies. The service, built using Nokia's Intellisync Mobile Suite, enables automatic synchronization between mobile ... Selling Telco TV: You Got $99? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20300?11228 Telco TV's moment of truth is just around the corner in the U.S., and some of the biggest players in the movement still have consumers. Some believe the market will be won with fancy features and capabilities. But at least for now -- many realists point out -- ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2006 13:37:39 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Fiber-connected Homes Pass 1M USTelecom dailyLead October 6, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eBnsfDtusXdKmLVUuL TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Report: Fiber-connected homes pass 1M BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * T-Mobile USA details next-gen network plans * Comcast to pay majority of group's cost for wireless airwaves * Analysis: Broadband growth will shift focus to killer apps * FTTH deployments surge in Japan * Cisco kicks off $100M branding campaign * BellSouth launches wireless broadband service in two new markets USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * NEW from Steven Shepard -- WiMAX Crash Course TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * WiMAX potential on display in rural Canadian town * Telstra launches nationwide HSDPA network * Google plans to integrate video into search results VOIP DOWNLOAD * Chilean VoIP provider launches combo service REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * No action on Pennsylvania franchise legislation * FCC to vote on AT&T-BellSouth merger Oct. 12 DIVERSIONS * 36 Hours in Las Vegas * Scorsese's Hall of Mirrors, Littered With Bloody Deceit * For the Biggest Yachts, More Than a Dock * In a Flash From the Past, a Digital Camera With Knobs * Checking In on Britain's Children of 1964 Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eBnsfDtusXdKmLVUuL ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 17:38:29 -0400 Or to put it more bluntly: If it's such a common practice, why have we never heard of it from anybody except this "survey"? ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2006 01:12:26 GMT Organization: Road Runner High Speed Online http://www.rr.com John Levine wrote: >> The Internet is providing a new avenue for underage drinking. Results >> of a new survey confirm that millions of teenagers either buy alcohol >> online or know an underage friend who does. >> This is completely unbelievable. I know a certain number of people in >> the wine business, and without exception they ship UPS and require an >> adult signature upon delivery. In case you hadn't looked, the cost of >> shipping is high enough that it's only worth online orders for high >> priced stuff, ten bucks a bottle and up. the typical online order is >> a hundred bucks or more, hardly attractive to kids. Just out of curiousity why do the all slip UPS? FedEx is the preferred shipper of many folks. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: There is some confusion on this thread. The _original_ message was 'it is easy for teenagers to buy alcohol on internet'. John Levine responded 'Re: it is not easy for teenagers to buy alcohol on the net'. With his reply, I emphasized the word '_not-'. That is why we have a sort of double-negative effect here, and I hope that clears up the confusion. PAT] ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 17:37:34 -0400 wrote in message news:telecom25.354.10@telecom-digest.org: >> Mr Joseph Singer wrote: >>> I've made it my policy that if I'm waiting in line to be served and >>> the sales clerk thinks it's *more* important to take a telephone >>> interruption than to serve me I'll put down my purchase and walk out >>> of that store. Telephone customers do not have any more clout than >>> customers who are in front of you. > I'm a little more lenient. I figure the caller has no idea that > there's a queue for the clerk's attention. I let the clerk answer the > phone, and if they're good, they'll put the person on hold, and then > apologize for the delay. No real loss of time or attention for me. If > they begin to talk to the person, then I can get upset. In fact, the same goes for face-to-face service. I once walked into a picture frame shop and the owner (who was the only person working there) would not even acknowledge my presence -- he just continued an ongoing conversation with other people. After 10 minutes of this, I walked out and wrote him an angry letter. How much would it have cost him to say, "Hello, I'll be with you in a minute"? It cost him $200 in business not to do so. ------------------------------ 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 #355 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Oct 8 02:05:04 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 8FFD32207; Sun, 8 Oct 2006 02:05:03 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #356 Message-Id: <20061008060503.8FFD32207@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sun, 8 Oct 2006 02:05:03 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sun, 8 Oct 2006 02:05:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 356 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson $100 Laptop May be at Security Forefront (Brian Bergstein, AP) Marines Now Missing a Laptop Also (Associated Press News Wire) Re: Pirate Radio Stations Challenge Feds (Neal McLain) Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? (DevilsPGD) T-Mobile to Launch Mixed-Signal Phone (Monty Solomon) Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet (Wesrock@aol) Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet (John Levine) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Sat, 07 Oct 2006 21:43:36 -0500 From: Brian Bergstein, AP Subject: $100 Laptop May be at Security Forefront By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer The $100 laptops planned for children around the world might turn out to be as revolutionary for their security measures as for their low-cost economics. The One Laptop Per Child project, a nonprofit begun at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, aims to improve education by giving children bright-colored, hand-cranked, wireless-enabled portable computers. Governments are to buy the laptops -- beginning in 2007 with up to 7 million machines in Thailand, Nigeria, Brazil and Argentina -- and hand them to kids for them to own. The machines have garnered the most attention -- and some skepticism -- for the design elements helping to keep their price low. Among other things, the computers will employ the free Linux operating system, flash memory instead of a hard drive and a microprocessor that is slow by today's standards but requires minimal power. But programmers also have been taking advantage of the start-from- scratch nature of the project to design security protocols that they hope will greatly surpass those found in mass-market computers today. The designers are still testing their approach with outside security experts -- which is widely considered wiser than keeping such matters secret. But already they believe the security setup could make it unnecessary for the laptops to have anti-virus software. Standard computer design generally lets most any program access any file stored anywhere on the machine. That is one reason why flaws in programs can be exploited by outsiders to steal or erase private information. By contrast, the $100 laptops will force any application to run in "a walled garden" and limit the files it can access, said Ivan Krstic, a software architect at One Laptop Per Child focused on security. Even if the security were to fail, Krstic believes a specialized encryption technology will prevent the BIOS — the software that runs a computer when it is initially turned on — from being overwritten. That means the PC could not be rendered unable to boot up. "It's essentially unbelievably difficult to do anything to the machine that would cause permanent hardware failure," Krstic said. Extensive security measures are necessary because so many of the machines are expected to be built, making them a large target for mischief. One particularly thorny potential problem is that the laptops can communicate with one another in a "mesh" network, sharing data and programming code. A computing Web site reported this week that Krstic had described that setup to the ToorCon security conference as "very scary." But he contended to The Associated Press that the comment was taken out of context. "We have code-sharing in the machines, which is really scary if we were not paying attention to it," he said. "But we think we have solutions to all of these problems." One of the principal organizers of ToorCon, George Spillman, said Krstic's presentation was "very well received" because the $100-laptop designers have thought a great deal about security but "they're not arrogant enough to believe they have everything locked down." Spillman believes at least some of the measures Krstic described are likely to be successful, though he cautioned: "There's always going to be some kind of a hole somewhere." Walter Bender, a co-founder of MIT's Media Lab who is overseeing software and content on the $100 laptops, said children should be able to tinker with the laptops and learn how they work. To that end, these security measures can be turned off by the PCs' owners. To protect against that leading to disaster, the laptops will automatically back up their data up on a server whenever the machines get in wireless range of the children's school. If a child loses data, the files can be restored by bringing the laptop within wireless range of the server. On the Net: http://laptop.org 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 07 Oct 2006 21:45:53 -0500 From: Associated Press News Wire Subject: Marines Now Missing a Laptop Also A laptop computer loaded with personal information on 2,400 residents of the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base has been lost, authorities said Friday. The computer was reported missing Tuesday by Lincoln B.P. Management qInc., which helps manage base housing. The company and Camp Pendleton are investigating. As of Friday, investigators had not found evidence that the data had been accessed, the base said in a statement. Authorities would not disclose what kind of information was on the computer. Lincoln B.P. officials were notifying residents. "We take this matter very seriously and are working closely with Lincoln Properties to find out what happened and to safeguard the personal information of our Marines, sailors and their families," said Col. James B. Seaton III, the base's commanding officer. Camp Pendleton is the Marine Corps' largest West Coast expeditionary training facility, located north of San Diego. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Re: Pirate Radio Stations Challenge Feds Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Sat, 07 Oct 2006 08:13:03 -0400 mc www.ai.uga.edu.for.address wrote: > Martha Mendoza wrote in message > news:telecom25.342.2@telecom-digest.org: >> By MARTHA MENDOZA, AP National Writer >> To Stephen Dunifer, it was yet another revolutionary >> moment. But to the untrained eye, it looked more like >> a geek fest. Over four days, a dozen men and women >> shyly bumped shoulders as they studied schematics and >> tinkered with romex connectors, resistors, microphone >> cords, meters, sockets and capacitors -- the stuff of >> illegal radio stations. [snip] >> Some opt to broadcast on the Internet as well, opening >> up their audience to the entire globe. > That, of course, requires no license at all and should > be encouraged. I agree that it doesn't require a *broadcast* license from the FCC. > It still requires the permission of music copyright holders. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it doesn't require "permission of music copyright holders." But it does require a "compulsory license" from U.S. Copyright Office. It also requires payment of a copyright royalty fee of 0.07 cents ($0.0007) per "performance" per internet listener. http://www.copyright.gov/carp/webcasting_rates_final.html That may not sound like much, but if 100 listeners listen to 10 songs over the course of one hour, the originator owes the Copyright Office $0.70. Extrapolate that over a year, and the originator owes over $6,000. Licensed non-commercial broadcast stations get a break for internet streaming if (and only if) the stream is concurrent with the broadcast. This exception allows WCPE (a non-commercial station owned by a non-profit corporation) to continue streaming. But WFMT (which holds a commercial license even though it's owned by a non-profit corporation) is subject to the full royalty fee. Which is why WFMT now charges internet listeners. http://www.wfmtstreaming.com/ Neal McLain [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Although WFMT chooses to charge internet listeners, most other classical stations do not access that charge. For example, KOSU/KOSN our classical music station here in southeast Kansas continues to stream totally free of any charge, and while they were operating, WNIB in Chicago likewise made no charge for their music. PAT] ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD Subject: Re: Best Way to Answer a Business Phone? Date: Fri, 06 Oct 2006 20:38:55 -0500 Organization: Disorganized In message mc wrote: > wrote in message > news:telecom25.354.10@telecom-digest.org: >>> Mr Joseph Singer wrote: >>>> I've made it my policy that if I'm waiting in line to be served and >>>> the sales clerk thinks it's *more* important to take a telephone >>>> interruption than to serve me I'll put down my purchase and walk out >>>> of that store. Telephone customers do not have any more clout than >>>> customers who are in front of you. >> I'm a little more lenient. I figure the caller has no idea that >> there's a queue for the clerk's attention. I let the clerk answer the >> phone, and if they're good, they'll put the person on hold, and then >> apologize for the delay. No real loss of time or attention for me. If >> they begin to talk to the person, then I can get upset. > In fact, the same goes for face-to-face service. I once walked into a > picture frame shop and the owner (who was the only person working > there) would not even acknowledge my presence -- he just continued an > ongoing conversation with other people. Other customers, or just shooting the shit? > After 10 minutes of this, I > walked out and wrote him an angry letter. How much would it have cost > him to say, "Hello, I'll be with you in a minute"? It cost him $200 > in business not to do so. While true, would it have made that much of a difference? -- I read usenet for the articles ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 7 Oct 2006 00:30:08 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: T-Mobile to Launch Mixed-Signal Phone NEW YORK, Oct 07, 2006 (XFN-ASIA via COMTEX News Network) -- T-Mobile USA is set to launch by year's end a new breed of mobile phones that can pass live phone calls between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, a top executive told The Associated Press on Friday. Robert Dotson, chief executive of the U.S. subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, declined to disclose the specific market where T-Mobile planned to introduce the technology, known as UMA or Unlicensed Mobile Access. But he did say it would likely be "a city near and dear to our hearts," a likely reference to the company's home city of Seattle. UMA is designed to hand off calls without interruption from a cell network to a Wi-Fi router, or vice versa. So if a user arrives home while talking on a cell phone and the handset detects a Wi-Fi broadband connection in the house, the call is automatically switched to the wireless Internet signal. The only difference is that the call is then transmitted using VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, the technology used by Internet phone companies such as Vonage Holdings Corp. - http://www.quote.com/home/news/story.asp?story=61560496 ------------------------------ From: Wesrock@aol.com Date: Fri, 6 Oct 2006 21:33:54 EDT Subject: Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet In a message dated Fri, 06 Oct 2006 01:12:26 GMT, Sam Spade writes: >> This is completely unbelievable. I know a certain number of people in >> the wine business, and without exception they ship UPS and require an >> adult signature upon delivery. In case you hadn't looked, the cost of >> shipping is high enough that it's only worth online orders for high >> priced stuff, ten bucks a bottle and up. the typical online order is >> a hundred bucks or more, hardly attractive to kids. > Just out of curiousity why do the all slip UPS? FedEx is the > preferred shipper of many folks. Perhaps because both UPS and FedEx ground make a charge for pickups from a business and the sender does not wish to pay for two pickups. Both UPS and FedEx make contracts with businesses for reduced rates based on the volume of shipments, and to split the business would provide a lower volume, and resulting higher rates, from each carrier. FedEx ground has something like 20 per cent of the package ground delivery business, I read somewhere, with UPS dominating the remainder. If you'e talking about air service, the weight would make shipping charges exceedingly high. The Postal Service, of course, is prohibited by law from carrying alcoholic beverages. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: 7 Oct 2006 15:25:45 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: It is _Not_ Easy for Teens to Buy Alcohol on the Internet >>> This is completely unbelievable. I know a certain number of people in >>> the wine business, and without exception they ship UPS and require an >>> adult signature upon delivery. > Just out of curiousity why do the all slip UPS? FedEx is the > preferred shipper of many folks. They may do so now. I think that UPS was better set up for adult signature, and for heavy parcels like wine, they at least used to be cheaper. R's, John ------------------------------ 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 #356 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Oct 9 18:09:10 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 B0DE02207; Mon, 9 Oct 2006 18:09:09 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #357 Message-Id: <20061009220909.B0DE02207@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 18:09:09 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 9 Oct 2006 17:10:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 357 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Sprint Beefs Up Wireless Security Services (Denise Pappalardo) Cellphone Dead? AA Batteries to the Rescue! (Clayton Collins) Can You Help ID This Problem: Caller Speaks Nothing But Noise (denizturkme) Report: Google in Talks to Acquire YouTube (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 09, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Mon, 09 Oct 2006 15:31:46 -0500 From: Denise Pappalardo Subject: Sprint Beefs Up Wireless Security Services By Denise Pappalardo Sprint Mobile Security enforces password policies using personal identification numbers and other user-specific credentials for authentication. Customers also have the option of encrypting specific files, a device or memory card. This same encryption can be used by mobile customers to securely access their corporate virtual private network, the service provider said. Sprint Corp. recently announced a new suite of security services for its wireless users that includes authentication, threat protection and policy enforcement on smart phones from any wireless service provider. Sprint announced its Sprint Mobile Security service at Interop in New York. The company is teaming with wireless security company Mobile Armor LLC to support its new suite of services. The service not only better secures smart phones and laptops for Sprint customers, but it also can be used on the same devices on any wireless carrier's network, said Barry Tishgart, a director of product marketing at Sprint. Sprint Mobile Security enforces password policies using personal identification numbers and other user-specific credentials for authentication. Customers also have the option of encrypting specific files, a device or memory card. This same encryption can be used by mobile customers to securely access their corporate virtual private network, the service provider said. The service also scans, identifies and removes viruses, worms and other malware from mobile devices using a firewall that resides on the handheld or laptop, the company said. This firewall can be used to block denial-of-service attacks. The offering lets customers set up to 150 security policies, which that employees comply with industry regulations or verify that they have the latest virus-scanning software. The system will automatically update devices with the software so users are not blocked from the network for noncompliance. Sprint has incorporated some previously supported features with its Sprint Mobile Security package such as its ability to remotely lock a wireless device if reported lost or stolen and the ability to remotely erase all data from that device in an effort to protect corporate information. The wireless service provider says it has been testing its mobile suite of security offerings with some business customers, but it would not name those users at press time. The service is available now for $9 per month, per user. Copyright 2006 Network World. Copyright 2006 NewsFactor Business. 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 of interest, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2006 13:50:54 -0500 From: Clayton Collins Subject: Cellphone Dead? AA Batteries to the Rescue! By Clayton Collins, Christian Science Monitor Cellphone-toters dread the sound: a hand-held device chirping its complaint, often far from home base, about needing to be recharged. Now on the market: a lipstick-size brass canister that holds one AA battery and offers reserve power. Run a short adaptor from the tip of a Turbo Charge to your phone, and a blue light indicates that a charge is flowing. You're back in business long enough to get to a plug -- the device's maker, Voxred International, claims "up to 40 hours" of standby time or two hours of talk, and touts patent-pending technology that protects devices' batteries from damage. It is designed to work with PDAs as well. We tested Turbo Charge -- about $20 at stores including Best Buy, Sports Authority, and Office Depot, $5 more with a bundle of adaptors and a carrying case -- on a Samsung SCH-A630 phone. Getting the right adaptor took some doing. In a service the firm says it extends to all customers, it sent us an adaptor not in the original bundle, and then walked us through the extra wiggling that first use required. When the depleted Samsung started scolding one night around 8, we attached the device. The phone quieted and began indicating a charge. We made a 20-minute call. Then we left the phone on and plugged into the charger. By 3 a.m. it was indicating low battery again; but we were using an alkaline AA rather than lithium. Verdict: a sensible spare with some novelty appeal. Copyright 2006, The Christian Science Publishing Society. 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 each day from the Christian Science Monitor, The New York Times and National Public Radio, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/nytimes.html ------------------------------ From: deniz.turkmen@gmail.com Subject: Can You Help ID This Problem: Caller Speaks up; Nothing But Noise Date: 9 Oct 2006 12:28:44 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, We have 8 landlines in an office in San Diego. Local & Long distance services are from AT&T. All the lines are connected to a phone system (TalkSwitch, to be more specific) I tested all the lines and extensions one by one, calling from my cell phone with no problem. AT&T also tested from their end and saw no problems what so ever. Here is the annoying problem: Once in every 9-10 calls, caller's voice is so bad we cannot understand anything. The line itself sound very clear, but caller's voice is all staticy. Sounds like a radio that is little out-of-frequency. No static/humming on the line itself, but it's the voice that is terrible. When we tell them to call us back again, and if they do, there is no problem at all (even if the receiving line and extensions were exactly the same as before) This suggests either phone system is bad/configured wrong and acting randomly, or long distance calls have problems. I don't know if this question sounds stupid but, is it possible to have such a bad connection because of some switch/circuit that is available for that particular call between point A and point B (like recalling the ISP to get the next available modem to eliminate the bad modem) My knowledge is limited about phones and I am expected to troublshoot this, but I don't know exactly where to start. I also have some settings on the phone box that can be set for the lines (600 ohms, 600 complex, 900 ohms, 900 complex -- set to 900 complex by itself -- not sure what it is). Thanks in advance. - Deniz [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Your problem, that of intermittent noise, is a very difficult one to diagnose, but here is a starting point, based on a real-life experience of mine from thirty or thirty five years ago. I would make calls wherever, late at night, and every second or third call I made, this god-awful noise and rattling sound came back at me right after I dialed the seven digits but before the call had set up. Not _every_ time, but 'only' every second or third call attempt. No set pattern, and all I could do was abandon the call and dial again. Bell never could figure it out (nor did they try very hard, IMO) but I finally got to speak with a tech in the local Bell office one day. His question to me was, don't you have two lines there? I said I did, so his response to that was, the next time this happens, do me a favor; keep that line 'up', put it on hold and use your other line to call me at (a direct number to reach him in the frames). It happend again (admittedly I tried to make it happen) and when that terrible noise started, I lifted the plunger on my phone (I had one of the old two-line/life the plunger/twist the turn button style phones) and called this technician direct as he had asked. Good, he said, now stay put a minute, I am going to trace your line here in the office. When he came back with the report about five minutes later, it really surprised me. He said there was a bad line 'selector' between the office where I was located, and the office I was attempting to call. He continued saying the 'bad' equipment was the 'first choice' in a group of several trunks running from the one office to the other one. He further said that during the daytime hours, only quite rarely would someone land on the first selector (the one which was in trouble), they would get the same noisy conditions, hang up in disgust and dial again. But in the middle of the day -- the busy hours -- the troubled first selection trunk was having repeated seizures by various subscribers; no one ever managed to land on it twice in a row; no way to pin it down. When the subscriber dialed a second time, naturally their call would hunt right past the troubled selector (which had then been seized by some other subscriber) so of course their call went through normally. But, he said, you, Mr. Townson, insist on making your calls during the off hours, very late at night, time and again you are going to land on that first selected trunk line, and get the trouble over and over. I have 'busied it out' at my end, now _no one_ is going to land on that line, until it gets fixed. Sure enough, that was the end of my troubles. Keep the above in mind, please. Now you talked about modems and your 'phone box'. Is there any order or organization in which your inbound calls arrive, sort of like a 'first selected trunk', etc? Load up all your incoming lines with calls, somehow isolate the line with the noise and investigate that line completely. Try to detirmine if the trouble is at your end or if it is arriving from AT&T on one of their incoming lines. If you are able to isolate the disturbance _on your own equipment_ using this method, then do whatever you need to do. If you find that the trouble continues even when your own equipment is out of the way on that line, then the problem goes to AT&T. But be prepared to have the troubled line 'up' or in use when you notify AT&T about it, so they can zero in on the trouble. Yes, I know you shouldn't have to go to that much trouble, of isolating the specific line, etc, but you know most telco repair guys are _not_ going to do anything about it otherwise. And anyway, it may well turn out to be your 'privately owned equipment' in trouble, so you may as well eliminate all that so Bell has no excuses for fixing the trouble it it turns out to be their problem. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 13:01:41 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Report: Google In Talks to Acquire YouTube USTelecom dailyLead October 9, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eBykfDtusXdNqGcTff TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Report: Google in talks to acquire YouTube BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Changes in telecom market lead to consolidation * Dolan family makes new bid to take Cablevision private * Cable eyes the small-business prize * Alcatel out of WiMAX gates early; must now focus on landing contracts * Target voices pricing concerns over DVD downloading * VoIP provider Jajah to sign 1M customers in '06 USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * NEW! CALEA and Lawful Intercept Compliance Guide HOT TOPICS * AT&T changes DSL pricing structure * Report: Fiber-connected homes pass 1M * Microsoft beefs up home-networking portfolio * Nortel hones in on WiMAX * T-Mobile may plan UMTS announcement, sources say TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Tellme teams with Cingular for advanced phone directory services * Cool factor of phones becomes big part of buying decision DIVERSIONS * Footloose in Spain's Capital of Style, Barcelona * What's New at Pininfarina? The Do-It-Yourself Ferrari * $100 Laptop May Be at Security Forefront * Ground Rules: Renting Out Your House * In Georgia, a Pilgrimage to the Cradle of Wine Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eBykfDtusXdNqGcTff ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 09, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Mon, 9 Oct 2006 11:39:19 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 09, 2006 ******************************** France Telecom Plans to Turn Russia Orange http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20354?11228 International telecoms group France Telecom (FT) is to launch its 'Orange' brand in Russia on 10 October 2006. FT will offer services through its Moscow-based, 100%-owned subsidiary, Equant. Billboards bearing the Orange logo have begun appearing in Moscow, and while the official cost of the rebranding campaign has not ... FM Modulators are HOT! http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20351?11228 FM modulators -- those devices that allow your iPod or your XM Radio receiver to play through your car radio -- are hot! Not only are they hot in the sense of being popular, but they're also hot in the RF sense, transmitting with illegally high power levels. And there are some that want even higher power! Now, we ... Regulator Sets Deadline for 3G Licence Application http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20346?11228 France's telecoms regulator ARCEP has set 17 November 2006 as the deadline for applications for the country's last remaining 3G licences. In a statement, ARCEP said it needed to ascertain the number of 3G players in the market while sharing the GSM 900 and 1800 MHz bands to be reused for 3G services. "This ...will be the" ... Orange, HP Win EU IT Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20342?11228 France Telecom's business services division, Orange Business Services, and computer manufacturer HP have won a 210 million euro (US$264.6 million) IT contract from the European Union. The contract is for the creation and management of sTESTA (secured Trans European Services for Telematics between Administrations), the EU's ... T-Mobile Set to Launch Mixed Cellular-Wi-Fi Phones in One Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20338?11228 T-Mobile USA is set to launch by year's end a new breed of mobile phones that can pass live phone calls between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, a top executive told The Associated Press on Friday. Robert Dotson, chief executive of the U.S. subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, declined to disclose the specific market where ... T-Mobile USA Gets the 3G Message http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20333?11228 E-mail, social networking and wireline displacement, but not mobile TV. That's how T-Mobile USA sees its coming 3G network being used in the future. At a press conference on the carrier's plans to spend $2.66 billion over the next three years on a UMTS/HSDPA network, T-Mobile USA CEO Robert Dotson said that the operator ... DoJ Quiet As FCC Readies AT&T/BellSouth Decision http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20330?11228 Amid reports that the U.S. government is set to approve AT&T's proposal to buy BellSouth for $67.1 billion with minimal or no conditions, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has put the merger item on its Oct. 12 meeting agenda, raising speculation that the regulator's green light likely will be coordinated with ... Symbol Gets Sued http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20326?11228 Enterprise wireless networking firm Symbol Technologies Inc. says that some shareholders are trying to prevent the proposed $3.9 billion buyout of the company by Motorola Inc. The Holtsville, N.Y.-based company put out a statement on Friday saying that 'putative class action lawsuits have been filed against the company in ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ 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 #357 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Oct 10 16:18:21 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 8161E21EE; Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:18:20 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #358 Message-Id: <20061010201820.8161E21EE@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:18:20 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 10 Oct 2006 16:20:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 358 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Spamhaus Warns of More Junk Email on the Way (Ashley M Heher, AP) Who Really Controls the Internet? (BBC Feature Writers) Google Buys YouTube for $1.65 Billion (Michael Liedtke, AP) Google Buys Web Video Phenomenon YouTube (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Can You Help ID This Problem-Caller Speaks; Nothing But Noise (Lichter) Re: Can You Help ID This Problem-Caller Speaks: Nothing But Noise (turkmen) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 13:10:11 -0500 From: Ashley M. Heher Subject: Spamhaus Warns of More Junk Email on the Way By ASHLEY M. HEHER, AP Business Writer The anti-spam group Spamhaus Project warned more junk e-mail could be on the way as it prepares to lose its domain name thanks to a company it has accused of sending spam. Executives at the U.K.-based Spamhaus Project said Monday they expect a federal judge in Chicago will soon sign an order that would suspend the domain http://www.spamhaus.org because the group has refused to recognize the U.S. court and comply with a $11.7 million judgment. Spamhaus warned the order could unleash up to 50 billion junk e-mails a day on computer users worldwide, though legal and technology experts were skeptical the effect would lead to millions of clogged inboxes. According to Spamhaus, more than 650 million Internet users -- including those at the White House, the U.S. Army and the European Parliament -- benefit from Spamhaus' "blacklist" of spammers that helps identify which messages to block, send to a "junk" folder or accept. Losing the domain name would make it more difficult for service providers and others to obtain the lists. "If the domain got suspended, it would be an enormous hit for the Net," said Steve Linford, Spamhaus' chief executive officer. "It would create an enormous amount of damage on the Internet." But experts said even if the order filed Friday is executed, it's unlikely people would suddenly see much more junk mail. Experts note Spamhaus' blacklist already is widely available online, and a suspension at most would provide a hiccup Web-savvy systems administrators could easily work around. "Suspending a domain name isn't the same as suspending a Web site," said Jonathan Zittrain, a law professor at Harvard and Oxford universities. "Spamhaus is intended for use by people who run mail servers -- in other words, technically inclined people. If Spamhaus wanted to, it could simply pick a new domain name, or use no name at all." Domain names are merely shortcuts to access a site's true, numeric Internet address. Spamhaus could simply distribute that address instead of the domain name. And it's not even clear U.S. District Judge Charles Kocoras could easily order such a suspension because the Domain Name System is in the hands of organizations and companies that are not parties to the lawsuit. They could challenge any such attempt. Spamhaus CEO Linford said the group has backup plans in place to keep spam filters functioning, but alerting its customers to change the address their system uses to reference the blacklist would be daunting. Linford said "mail servers will simply fall over" from a deluge of spam if the filters stop working. Wheeling-based e360 Insight sought the order after Spamhaus refused to comply with a September ruling that required it to pay $11.7 million and post a notice on its Web site stating that e360 Insight is not a spammer. Spamhaus officials did not bother defending themselves in the case, arguing that U.S. courts have no jurisdiction and that doing so would open the organization to a tidal wave of lawsuits by spammers that want to fight those who block their e-mails. Bart Loethen, a lawyer for e360, insists his client does not engage in spamming and said he had to go after Spamhaus' domain until it removes the company from the blacklist. "They are thumbing their nose at an order of the court," Loethen said. "What else can we do?" On the Net: http://www.e360insight.com http://www.spamhaus.org 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: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 14:05:15 -0500 From: BBC Feature Writers Subject: Who Really Controls the Internet? Who is really in charge of the internet? US laws to clamp down on online gaming show that the internet can be controlled, argues Bill Thompson. The myth of the borderless internet, never very credible to those who had any real understanding of the interplay between politics and technology that underpins the network, took another hit last week when the US Congress voted to ban bank and credit card payments to gambling firms. If President Bush signs the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law, as he is expected to do, then within months US credit card companies and banks will be forced to check for and refuse payment for most forms of online gambling. This has already had a catastrophic effect on UK-based companies like Sportingbet and PartyGaming, who face the loss of a major part of their market. Share prices are tumbling, directors are worried and revenue projections are being hastily scaled down. Whether or not you approve of gambling or online gambling, and whether or not you think that this move smacks of hypocrisy or is a blatant attempt to protect the US gaming industry from overseas competition, the law provides a good example of how governments can control the internet. Instead of trying to manage the technology by banning poker-playing software or insisting that service providers block online gaming sites - neither of which would be effective anyway - the law puts pressure on the banks who actually move the money around. The internet has always been a bordered network, and we ignore this geopolitical reality at our peril It's a method discussed in some detail by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu in their recent book Who Controls the Internet?. They point out that "the rise of networking did not eliminate intermediaries, but rather changed who they are", and governments can pass laws which control them. Whenever people use the network to act there are always local intermediaries, especially where money is changing hands. And that means there is no way that a company that wants to trade in a territory can do so and remain immune from local laws and practices. Clamped down We've seen this before. In 2005 the US government clamped down on the sale of cigarettes over the net by using the same strategy, successfully restricting people from buying from states that had lower taxes. It does not stop the trade completely, but makes it much harder work and so effectively deters most people. It's the same in the People's Republic of China, where the government knows that the vast expenditure on its 'Great Firewall' and apparatus of censorship and control can never be completely effective but still thinks it worth doing. There may be ways around the law and the technical measures, but they are too complex or risky for most people to use them. It's interesting to note that none of the online gaming companies is proposing to commission gambling anonymisers or cloaked poker games that would allow people to use their services without being observed by the authorities. Falling foul Nor are UK credit companies stepping forward to offer oppressed US gamblers a way of paying for their flutters without falling foul of the law. Perhaps this is because these companies, many of them listed on the Stock Exchange, want to remain respectable, or perhaps it is because they know that such techniques would not work. Perhaps they fear that if pushed US lawmakers might follow the path taken by the music industry and go after the users directly. Instead we hear of threats to take the US to the World Trade Organisation, the WTO, on the grounds that the new law is an attempt to protect the US gambling industry from foreign competition rather than anything to do with morality. The government of Antigua, host to many offshore gambling companies, has successfully challenged the US on the issue in the past, and is reported to be considering further action. Expensive lobbying One aspect of the new law that would seem to support the claim of protectionism is that betting on horses is explicitly permitted, a reflection of the intense and expensive lobbying that the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has undertaken over the years. Unlike online poker, the NTRA has friends in high places and they have ensured that it will not be affected by the restrictions, so online betting on horse races will still be allowed. Of course this just makes it even clearer that the issue is one of politics, not technology. The banks were targeted because companies offering financial services need to look honest. Deliberately flouting the law is bad for customer and investor confidence, so they can be relied on to follow even unreasonable rules. Whether or not they are effective in the long term, the new laws highlight the point made by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu when they say that the "dream of self-governing cyber-communities that would escape geography forever" has been replaced by "a bordered network where territorial law, government power and international relations matter as much as technological invention". The "dream" sounds more like a nightmare to me, so I can't say that I regret its passing. The internet has always been a bordered network, and we ignore this geopolitical reality at our peril. If we want to make the network free, open and accessible to all we need to engage with it on these terms instead of resorting to virtual techno-utopianism. The US Congress may have done us all a service by drawing our attention the reality of today's internet and the ease with which it can be controlled. Bill Thompson is a regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/5412980.stm Copyright BBC 2006. 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/BBC.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 12:07:15 -0500 From: Michael Liedtke Subject: Google Buys YouTube for $1.65 Billion By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer SAN FRANCISCO -- The founders of YouTube Inc. built this year's standout Web phenomenon by figuring out how to make online video sharing easier than ever. What they hadn't yet figured out was making money from their site. Google Inc. took that problem off their hands Monday, by agreeing to buy the site for $1.65 billion. The all-stock deal makes YouTube by far the most expensive purchase made by Google during its eight-year history. Last year, Google spent $130.5 million buying a total of 15 small companies. Although some cynics have questioned YouTube's staying power, Google is betting that the popular video-sharing site will provide it an increasingly lucrative marketing hub as more viewers and advertisers migrate from television to the Internet. "This is the next step in the evolution of the Internet," Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said during a conference call Monday. YouTube will continue to retain its brand, its new headquarters in San Bruno and all 67 employees, including co-founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. Meanwhile, Google will continue to run a less popular video service on its own site. The deal is expected to close before the end of the year. "We are excited to have the resources to move faster than ever before," Hurley, YouTube's 29-year-old CEO, said during a Monday interview. Schmidt thinks so highly of Hurley and Chen, 28, that he compared them to Google's now 33-year-old co-founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Brin sees the similarities too. "It's hard to imagine a better fit with another company," Brin said during Monday's conference call. "This really reminds me of Google just a few short years ago." The two companies even share a common financial bond: Sequoia Capital, an early Google investor that owns a roughly 30 percent stake in YouTube. Menlo Park-based Sequoia remains a major Google shareholder and retains a seat on the company's board -- factors that might have helped the deal come together after just a week of negotiation. YouTube has drawn less flattering comparisons to the original Napster, the once-popular music sharing service that was buried in an avalanche of copyright infringement lawsuits filed by incensed music companies and artists. While most videos posted on YouTube are homemade, the site also features volumes of copyrighted material -- a problem that has caused some critics to predict the startup eventually would be sued into oblivion. But Hurley and Chen have spent months cozying up with major media executives in an effort to convince them that YouTube could help them make more money by helping them connect with the growing number of people who spend most of their free time on the Internet. As its negotiations with Google appeared to be near fruition, YouTube on Monday announced new partnerships with Universal Music Group, CBS Corp. and Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Those alliances followed a similar arrangement announced last month with Warner Music Group Inc. The truce with Universal represented a particularly significant breakthrough because the world's largest record company had threatened to sue YouTube for copyright infringement less than a month ago. While Google has been hauling away huge profits from the booming search market, it hasn't been able to become a major player in online video. That should change now, predicted Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li. "This gives Google the video play they have been looking for and gives them a great opportunity to redefine how advertising is done," she said. Investors applauded the prospect of an acquisition as Google Inc. shares climbed $8.50 to close at $429 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, then added another $2 in extended trading, after the deal was announced. Several other suitors, including Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc. and News Corp., reportedly had discussed a possible YouTube purchase in recent weeks. "This deal looks pretty compelling for Google," said Standard & Poor's analyst Scott Kessler. "Google has been doing a lot of things right, but they are not sitting on their laurels." Google's YouTube coup may intensify the pressure on Yahoo to make its own splash by buying Facebook.com, the Internet's second most popular social-networking site. Yahoo has reportedly offered as much as $1 billion for Palo Alto-based Facebook during months of sporadic talks. "Yahoo really needs to step up and do something," said Roger Aguinaldo, an investment banker who also publishes a dealmaking newsletter called the M&A Advisor. "They are becoming less relevant and looking less innovative with each passing day." Selling to Mountain View-based Google will give YouTube more technological muscle and advertising know-how, as well as generate a staggering windfall for a company that was running on credit card debt just 20 months ago. To conserve money as it subsisted on $11.5 million in venture capital, YouTube had been based in an austere office above a San Mateo pizzeria until recently moving to more spacious quarters in a neighboring city. Since the company started in Hurley's garage in February 2005, YouTube has blossomed into a cultural touchstone that shows more than 100 million video clips per day. The video library is eclectic, featuring everything from teenagers goofing off in their rooms to William Shatner singing "Rocket Man" during a 1970s TV show. Most clips are submitted by users. YouTube's worldwide audience was 72.1 million by August, up from 2.8 million a year earlier, according to comScore Media Metrix. Li and Kessler expect even more media companies will be lining up to do business with YouTube now that Google owns it. "It's going to be like, 'You can either fight us or you can make money with us,'" Li predicted. 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/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: US Telecom Daily Lead Subject: Google buys Web video phenomenon YouTube Date: Oct, 10 2006 00:00:00 GMT USTelecom dailyLead October 10, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eChEfDtusXdQdEXoVh TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Google buys Web video phenomenon YouTube BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Sprint Nextel chairman to retire * Google's acquisition may leave competitors by the wayside * Investors split over Cablevision buyout offer * Ruckus wins funding from Motorola, T-Online * Vodafone boosts offerings in New Zealand with ISP acquisition * Pingtel snags major Amazon.com VoIP contract USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Pandemic Influenza's Impact on Telecommunications TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Report: Smartphone sales rising * Wi-Fi/Cellular convergence could spell trouble for traditional phones * Survey: More than a third of U.S. college campuses have Wi-Fi REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Malaysia to issue WiMAX licenses * Hawaiian Telcom's broadband service reclassified * Aussie government launches Telstra sale DIVERSIONS * Travel: Thailand Tourists: 'Coup? What Coup?' * A Chorus Line: From the Top: Five, Six, Seven, Eight! * 2007 Volkswagen Eos: In Praise of a Convertible Goddess * A Great March to See the Penguins Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eChEfDtusXdQdEXoVh ------------------------------ From: Steven Lichter Organization: I Kill Spammers, Inc. Subject: Re: Can You Help ID This Problem: Caller Speaks up; Nothing But Noise Date: Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:46:11 GMT deniz.turkmen@gmail.com wrote: > Hi, > We have 8 landlines in an office in San Diego. Local & Long distance > services are from AT&T. All the lines are connected to a phone system > (TalkSwitch, to be more specific) I tested all the lines and > extensions one by one, calling from my cell phone with no > problem. AT&T also tested from their end and saw no problems what so > ever. > Here is the annoying problem: Once in every 9-10 calls, caller's voice > is so bad we cannot understand anything. The line itself sound very > clear, but caller's voice is all staticy. Sounds like a radio that is > little out-of-frequency. No static/humming on the line itself, but > it's the voice that is terrible. When we tell them to call us back > again, and if they do, there is no problem at all (even if the > receiving line and extensions were exactly the same as before) > This suggests either phone system is bad/configured wrong and acting > randomly, or long distance calls have problems. I don't know if this > question sounds stupid but, is it possible to have such a bad > connection because of some switch/circuit that is available for that > particular call between point A and point B (like recalling the ISP to > get the next available modem to eliminate the bad modem) > My knowledge is limited about phones and I am expected to troublshoot > this, but I don't know exactly where to start. I also have some > settings on the phone box that can be set for the lines (600 ohms, 600 > complex, 900 ohms, 900 complex -- set to 900 complex by itself -- not > sure what it is). > Thanks in advance. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Your problem, that of intermittent > noise, is a very difficult one to diagnose, but here is a starting > point, based on a real-life experience of mine from thirty or thirty > five years ago. I would make calls wherever, late at night, and every > second or third call I made, this god-awful noise and rattling sound > came back at me right after I dialed the seven digits but before the > call had set up. Not _every_ time, but 'only' every second or third > call attempt. No set pattern, and all I could do was abandon the > call and dial again. Bell never could figure it out (nor did they > try very hard, IMO) but I finally got to speak with a tech in the > local Bell office one day. His question to me was, don't you have two > lines there? I said I did, so his response to that was, the next > time this happens, do me a favor; keep that line 'up', put it on > hold and use your other line to call me at (a direct number to reach > him in the frames). It happend again (admittedly I tried to make it > happen) and when that terrible noise started, I lifted the plunger > on my phone (I had one of the old two-line/life the plunger/twist > the turn button style phones) and called this technician direct as > he had asked. Good, he said, now stay put a minute, I am going to > trace your line here in the office. When he came back with the > report about five minutes later, it really surprised me. He said > there was a bad line 'selector' between the office where I was > located, and the office I was attempting to call. He continued > saying the 'bad' equipment was the 'first choice' in a group of > several trunks running from the one office to the other one. He > further said that during the daytime hours, only quite rarely would > someone land on the first selector (the one which was in trouble), > they would get the same noisy conditions, hang up in disgust and > dial again. But in the middle of the day -- the busy hours -- the > troubled first selection trunk was having repeated seizures by > various subscribers; no one ever managed to land on it twice in a > row; no way to pin it down. When the subscriber dialed a second > time, naturally their call would hunt right past the troubled > selector (which had then been seized by some other subscriber) so > of course their call went through normally. > But, he said, you, Mr. Townson, insist on making your calls during > the off hours, very late at night, time and again you are going to > land on that first selected trunk line, and get the trouble over and > over. I have 'busied it out' at my end, now _no one_ is going to > land on that line, until it gets fixed. Sure enough, that was the > end of my troubles. Keep the above in mind, please. > Now you talked about modems and your 'phone box'. Is there any order > or organization in which your inbound calls arrive, sort of like a > 'first selected trunk', etc? Load up all your incoming lines with > calls, somehow isolate the line with the noise and investigate that > line completely. Try to detirmine if the trouble is at your end or > if it is arriving from AT&T on one of their incoming lines. If you are > able to isolate the disturbance _on your own equipment_ using this > method, then do whatever you need to do. If you find that the trouble > continues even when your own equipment is out of the way on that line, > then the problem goes to AT&T. But be prepared to have the troubled > line 'up' or in use when you notify AT&T about it, so they can zero > in on the trouble. > Yes, I know you shouldn't have to go to that much trouble, of > isolating the specific line, etc, but you know most telco repair > guys are _not_ going to do anything about it otherwise. And anyway, > it may well turn out to be your 'privately owned equipment' in > trouble, so you may as well eliminate all that so Bell has no > excuses for fixing the trouble it it turns out to be their problem. PAT] You may have a bad circuit in the CO, it may only be hit a times when the others are busy, it may have nothing to do directly with your line. You have to get to a tester, not the people handling the incoming repair calls. Are the calls coming from the same person or same calling office, then it could be a trunk circuit between offices. We had a problem where we could not call one number in an office and they kept closing the ticket with no trouble found, that is until I got a tester who understood me, I'm retired telephone company, within a short time they found that it was a single translation in the switch and fixed it. You have to get to a person within the company who knows the trunking, not just some of the computer geeks that they have now. The Only Good Spammer is a Dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2006 I Kill Spammers, Inc. A Rot In Hell Co. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But Steve, basically you told him the same thing as I, but with more work involved for him. Whenever there is any complexity to the problem at all, telco is _always_ going to pass the buck. It helps a lot if the subscriber can put his finger directly on the trouble when requesting repair service. PAT] ------------------------------ From: deniz.turkmen@gmail.com Subject: Re: Can You Help ID This Problem: Caller Speaks up; Nothing But Noise Date: 10 Oct 2006 09:20:22 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Thanks for the response. I will try to isolate the problem. Thankfully phone system comes with an internal logging system so when someone reports a bad call I can look it up and find which landline was having that problem. So far I don't have enough data to find a pattern (well, yes first 2 lines are the one with most problems so far but it could be just because they are used the most). I am going to hook a phone to line 1 directly and bypass the phone system, and have my friend call until I have the problem again. Once I have the problem I will call the technician. You asked if any other company involved, and the answer is yes. We have another company for toll-free number. i.e. when customer calls 1-800 number our first line rings, if it's busy line 2 rings, if line 2 is busy line 3 rings etc. I mentioned to that AT&T and the customer rep told me those companies have nothing to do with line-quality related problems. Is that true? Deniz [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: That is not necessarily true either. The trouble could be with the originating telco equipment or the terminating telco's equipment, although I will grant you since the tragedy known as 'divestiture' and the follow-up tragedy twenty years later (AT&T coming back together again under 'new management' via SBC) originating and terminating telco is probably one and the same, i.e. AT&T, but still, you should not be mentioning _anything_ to a customer service rep which is likely to short out their little one-volt brains. Most 800 number suppliers are usually just wholesale distributors of some distant telcos, and do not handle 'line quality' issues as such. So I guess she was technically correct in saying that. I suggest however that you follow instructions recieved here, and try to isolate the problem to a specific inbound line. 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! 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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 #358 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Oct 11 17:36:09 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 F2A362201; Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:36:08 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #359 Message-Id: <20061011213608.F2A362201@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:36:08 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 11 Oct 2006 17:40:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 359 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson AT&T Gets DOJ Approval on BellSouth Buyout (Lara Jakes Jordan, AP) Singapore Beginning Free Wireless Broadband Service (Agence France Presse) DOJ Approves AT&T-BellSouth Merger (USTelecom dailyLead) VoIP Voice Quality - Not There Yet But Not Too Far Away (FreedomFireCom) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 11, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: Can You Help ID This Problem: Caller Speaks; Nothing But Noise (deniz) Re: Copyright Royalties (was Pirate Radio Stations...) (Neal McLain) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:42:54 -0500 From: Lara Jakes Jordan, AP Subject: AT&T Gets DOJ Approval on BellSouth Buyout By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer AT&T's $78.5 billion buyout of BellSouth Corp. won Justice Department approval Wednesday, a decision that sets the stage for further reuniting modernized parts of the old Ma Bell phone monopoly broken up by the government in 1984. The Justice Department approved the deal without conditions, which leaves the Federal Communications Commission as the final hurdle to the merger creating the nation's biggest provider of phone, wireless and broadband Internet services. The decision was immediately criticized by the FCC's two Democratic members Jonathan S. Adelstein and Michael Copps, who characterized it as "a reckless abandonment of DoJ's responsibility" to protect consumers and smaller businesses. Copps called it a "lights-off" decision. Said Adelstein: "By failing to issue a complaint, consent decree, or condition, it appears DoJ took a dive on one of the largest mergers in history just to avoid further court scrutiny." The FCC is scheduled to vote on the matter Thursday, though there's been speculation the agency may hold off because of a possible deadlock. In addition, members of Congress have raised questions about the deal's possible impact on market competition. If the deal wins final government approval, the merger would give San Antonio-based AT&T Inc. total control over the nation's largest cellular provider, Cingular Wireless, a joint venture of the two phone companies that serves 57.3 million customers. "After thoroughly investigating AT&T's proposed acquisition of BellSouth, the Antitrust Division determined that the proposed transaction is not likely to reduce competition substantially," said Assistant Attorney General Thomas O. Barnett, who heads the division. The department's unconditional approval "underscores the competitive nature of our industry and the pro-competitive benefits of this merger," AT&T General Counsel James D. Ellis said in a statement. BellSouth said, "We look forward to getting approval from the Federal Communications Commission in the very near future." Critics claime the government is well on its way to reconstituting the old Ma Bell monopoly, which was broken up after a lengthy court battle. The House Judiciary Committee's chairman, Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and other members of Congress had asked that the deal be held up until details related to two previous telecommunications mergers are settled and other concerns are addressed. A coalition of consumer groups issued a statement condemning the Justice Department, saying the merger is "likely to leave consumers with fewer choices and inflated prices for a host of services." The Bush administration "has surrendered the rights of the public to have a competitive and democratic broadband media system," said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. "The public should be alarmed about a handful of broadband giants controlling much of the U.S. digital distribution system." DoJ's Barnett said Justice Department lawyers looked at all areas where AT&T and BellSouth currently compete, including local and long distance phone and Internet service for residential and business customers. It also examined the merger's impact on future competition for wireless broadband service. Justice Department lawyers concluded that with other competitors in the marketplace, combined with changing regulatory rules and new emerging technology, the merger was unlikely to hurt consumers, Barnett said. Instead, he said, the merger "would likely result in cost savings and other efficiencies that should benefit consumers." The outcome at the FCC was far from certain. Republican Chairman Kevin Martin circulated an order recommending approval of the merger last month and probably will receive support from fellow Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate. With Adelstein and another Democrat, Michael Copps, criticizing the merger and Robert McDowell, the third Republican on the commission, prepared to recuse himself because he once lobbied on behalf of communications firms, Thursday's vote could result in a 2-2 deadlock. Historically, in that type of situation, the item is pulled from the FCC's meeting agenda until a compromise can be reached. "In this largest of all telecom mergers, why wasn't the Department of Justice able to suggest one safeguard for protecting consumers and ensuring a competitive marketplace?" Copps said. "With the lights off at the Justice Department, it becomes all the more important for the FCC to ensure that consumer interests have a seat at the table." The merger of San Antonio-based AT&T and Atlanta-based BellSouth would create a company of 300,000 employees with operations in 22 states. AT&T estimates that about 10,000 redundant jobs would be phased out over three years. The Justice Department decision came just seven months after AT&T announced its intentions to buy BellSouth — a breakneck pace for a merger of its size and scope. Combined, the companies generate $117 billion in revenue, operate 68.7 million local phone lines across 22 states stretching coast to coast across the southern United States and up through the Midwest. The merged company would employ 309,000 people, though AT&T said it plans to eliminate up to 10,000 jobs over three years to cut costs. The deal will further the reunification of the Baby Bells, the seven regional telephone operators and one long-distance provider that were spun off from the national AT&T monopoly under a federal court order designed to introduce competition. Including BellSouth, the new AT&T would consist of four Baby Bells and the long-distance business, which was acquired by the company late last year. The other two Bells are Verizon Communications Inc., which dominates the eastern United States, and Qwest Communications International Inc., the phone company for most of the Rocky Mountain and Northwest regions. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers John Dunbar in Washington, Bruce Meyerson in New York and Harry Weber in Atlanta. 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 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: So it would appear the 21st-century reincarnation of Ma Bell is now mostly complete, following this sellout by DOJ and FCC. I wonder if FCC can be counted on to make any effort at all to protect telephone customers? Probably not. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 15:52:06 -0500 From: Agence France Presse Subject: Singapore Beginning Free Wireless Broadband Service Tech-savvy Singapore will offer free wireless broadband service in public areas from next year, the government said. The program will increase the number of wireless hotspots from 900 currently to 5,000 over two years, allowing Singaporeans wireless connectivity beyond homes, offices and schools where the service is currently available, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said in a statement late Tuesday. The hotspots will be located in strategic areas including the central business district, the Orchard Road shopping and tourist belt, and community centres, the statement said. It will offer free wireless connection for Internet surfing at speeds of up to 512 Kbps. Those who want faster speeds and more sophisticated services including video conferencing will have to pay a premium. Three telecommunications firms, including Southeast Asia's biggest telecom operator Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, have agreed to participate in the project and will invest about 100 million dollars (63 million US). Singapore is Southeast Asia's most advanced economy and is among the most wired countries in Asia. "As we move forward in the digital age, we must broaden the opportunities for all segments of the population to access and benefit from technology. We must create digital opportunities for Singaporeans and never allow a digital divide in our society," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said late Tuesday. The wireless project is part of a 10-year masterplan to develop Singapore's next-generation national information and communication infrastructure, the government said. Copyright 2006 Agence France Presse. 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: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 12:23:24 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: DOJ Approves AT&T-BellSouth Merger USTelecom dailyLead October 11, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eCsIfDtusXdSveCibuddQaNv TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * DOJ approves AT&T-BellSouth merger BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Carphone Warehouse snaps up AOL's U.K. assets * Analysis: Samsung makes its presence known in WiMAX market * Judge rules Qualcomm chips infringed Broadcom patent * Analysis: Complications of merger bog down Sprint Nextel * Avaya announces strategy changes USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Pandemic Influenza's Impact on Telecommunications TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Skype, The Cloud team up to offer VoIP-over-Wi-Fi in Europe * Analysis: Google's success contrasts Yahoo!'s recent setbacks REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * High Court rules for Cox, Comcast in @Home case DIVERSIONS * BMW Has Maxi Expectations for Its Next, Slightly Larger Mini Cooper * Seaside Living * There's Simply No Excuse for Being Bored on a Trip * Lessons I Have Learned in My 15 Minutes of Fame * Street Vendors: International Cuisine, a la Cart Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eCsIfDtusXdSveCibuddQaNv ------------------------------ From: FreedomFireCom Subject: VoIP Voice Quality - Not There Yet But Not Too Far Away Date: 11 Oct 2006 12:57:24 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Here's an openly honest hype free discussion of the current -- and possible future -- state of VoIP voice quality. Includes a series of cut to the chase questions and answers to make you think, and learn. Also offers some predictions on where VoIP may be headed. http://broadband-nation.blogspot.com/2006/10/voip-voice-quality-not-there-yet-but.html God Bless, Michael Lemm FreedomFire Communications http://DS3-Bandwidth.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/freedomfirecom ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 11, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 11:24:44 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 11, 2006 ******************************** United States - United Kingdom: Global Crossing Acquires Fibernet http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20416?11228 Following its 25 August 2006 offer to shareholders, Global Crossing has announced the formal acquisition of Fibernet Plc. Global Crossing will pay £0.78 (approximately US$1.48) per share for a total value of US$94.6 million. This represents a 100% premium on the share price over the previous month, when it had fallen as low as ... Mtel Readies for Vodafone Live! Launch http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20414?11228 Bulgaria's number-two mobile operator MTel, part of Telekom Austria, is planning to launch the 3G multimedia service Vodafone Live! in co-operation with the United Kingdom's mobile group Vodafone. Significance: The launch of Vodafone Live!, which will enable MTel customers to watch TV on their mobile handsets, signals that ... Justice Department Approves AT&T-BellSouth Merger Plan http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20411?11228 WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department approved AT&T's buyout of BellSouth Corp. on Wednesday, clearing a major hurdle for reuniting two modernized parts of the old Ma Bell phone monopoly that the government broke up in 1984. The decision leaves the Federal Communications Commission as the final hurdle for a $78.5 billion ... Sony Ericsson to Report Net Profits Nearly Tripled to 298 M http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20407?11228 STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson will report that its third-quarter earnings nearly tripled because of consumer demand for its improved camera and music phones. The results were scheduled to be released Thursday but a copy of an internal company e-mail detailing the earnings report was sent out Wednesday to ... Nortel Takes WiMax MIMO http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20404?11228 Nortel Networks Ltd. is trying to get a jump on the competition with an 'all singing, all dancing' MIMO WiMax base station developed in collaboration with Runcom Technologies Ltd. Displaying its new equipment line at the WiMax World show in Boston this week, the firm says the MIMO product has significant performance ... Sprint's Powerful Vision http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20401?11228 Barry West, CTO and President of 4G Mobile Broadband Sprint Nextel, said to me in an interview yesterday that Sprint is 'building a network and an eco-system that point to a future of the Internet anywhere.' The long view is that Sprint Nextel no longer wants to be just a voice communications company. "We have a ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: deniz.turkmen@gmail.com Subject: Re: Can You Help ID This Problem: Caller Speaks up; Nothing But Noise Date: 11 Oct 2006 11:21:11 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com I contacted AT&T, they could not locate any local problems so they said it must be either (1) caller's long distance company or (2) our toll-free provider. I contacted toll-free provider and told them the problem, next day their customer rep said "problem was fixed" (which was written on her screen, so we don't know the technical details.) In both cases I supplied the same phone number which I believe the problematic one, according to my own records (but again, I assume I isolated the problem just because I heard the bad static when I bypass the phone system on that particular line). No static calls so far, fingers crossed. Thanks for all the help. - Deniz deniz.turkmen@gmail.com wrote: > Thanks for the response. I will try to isolate the problem. Thankfully > phone system comes with an internal logging system so when someone > reports a bad call I can look it up and find which landline was having > that problem. So far I don't have enough data to find a pattern (well, > yes first 2 lines are the one with most problems so far but it could be > just because they are used the most). ------------------------------ From: Neal McLain Subject: Re: Copyright royalties (was Pirate Radio Stations...) Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 16:12:34 -0400 I wrote: > Licensed non-commercial broadcast stations get a break > for internet streaming if (and only if) the stream is > concurrent with the broadcast. This exception allows WCPE > (a non-commercial station owned by a non-profit > corporation) to continue streaming. But WFMT (which > holds a commercial license even though it's owned by a > non-profit corporation) is subject to the full royalty > fee. Which is why WFMT now charges internet listeners. > http://www.wfmtstreaming.com/ PAT wrote: > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Although WFMT chooses to charge > internet listeners, most other classical stations do not access that > charge. For example, KOSU/KOSN our classical music station here in > southeast Kansas continues to stream totally free of any charge ... KOSU holds a non-commercial broadcast license, and it's owned by a non-profit entity (Oklahoma State University). So, like WCPE, it falls under the exemption for licensed non-commercial broadcast stations. It still incurs some copyright liability, but not nearly as much as commercial licensees incur. > ... and while they were operating, WNIB in Chicago likewise made no > charge for their music. PAT] Neither did WFMT, at the time. The problem that WFMT now faces stems from the fact that it holds a commercial broadcast license. As such, it's permitted to sell advertising, but it's also liable for the full $0.0007-per-listener- per-performance royalty fee. As I noted in my previous post, that may not sound like much, but multiply the number of "performances" that a commercial licensee broadcasts in one year by $0.0007 and you get some idea of the cost involved. Assuming ten "performances" per hour, a listener who listens four hours per day would generate a royalty fee of about $10 per year. A listener who listens 24 hours per day would generate a fee of about $61 per year. In order to accurately calculate its annual copyright liability, the station has to keep track of the instantaneous number of internet listeners on a minute-by-minute basis. That takes a lot of storage space. Add to that the cost of running the streaming operation itself (internet access, administrative overhead), and the station incurs a total liability of around $20 to $30 per internet listener per year. Faced with these costs, commercial licensees have two choices: cover the costs from advertising revenue, or charge for their internet streams. Most classical stations now charge: -- WFMT Chicago charges $60 per year for members of its Fine Arts Circle" -- listeners who also pay $40 (or more) to support general station operations. https://www.wfmtstreaming.com/ -- WQXR New York has managed to stream its signal without charge (so far), but it's apparently rethinking that approach. Its website currently states "WQXR is close to concluding a complete evaluation of our stream options, and will report on the results soon." http://www.wqxr.com/cgi-bin/iowa/index.html -- KING-FM Seattle offers its stream through Realnetworks.com's "RadioPass" subscription service which costs $59.99 per year after a 14-day free trial. http://www.king.org/listen/index.aspx costs if it still existed. I doubt that WNIB's advertising base would have been able to support free streaming. Of course, there are plenty of free classical streams from sources outside the USA, where the DMCA doesn't apply. "Classical Live Online Radio" offers an extensive compilation at http://classicalwebcast.com/index.html Neal McLain ------------------------------ 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 #359 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Oct 12 15:13:37 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 207D72256; Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:13:36 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #360 Message-Id: <20061012191336.207D72256@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:13:36 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 12 Oct 2006 15:15:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 360 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson 60 Billion Emails Daily, Mostly Spam / Scam (Reuters News Wire) BT Busts Zombies and Spammers (Tim Ferguson, BBC) Spam Beginning to Spell Trouble For Wireless Phones (Frommer & Lerer) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 12, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Covad buys Chicago's DataFlo (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: Cellphone Dead? AA Batteries to the Rescue! (David B. Horvath, CCP) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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, 12 Oct 2006 13:15:11 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: 60 Billion Emails Daily, Mostly Spam / Scam http://www.reuters.com BERLIN - Internet users around the world send an estimated 60 billion e-mails every day and many of these are spam or scam attempts, business leaders said recently. Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Kai-Uwe Ricke said cyber criminals were growing more active and sophisticated, and the vast e-mail traffic meant industry, government and Internet users had to be vigilant and work together. "This figure was new for me as well; worldwide there are around 60 billion e-mails sent every day," Telekom Chief Executive Kai-Uwe Ricke told an Internet security conference. "A large percent of it -- in excess of 80 percent is spam," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer added. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned of the recent growth in "phishing"; fishing for passwords, often via fake e-mails that especially target online banking. "In 2005, the attempts at phishing (globally) dramatically increased, by 300 percent compared with the previous year," he said. "According to international estimates, phishing is successful with up to 5 percent of all Internet users. Its running quite high again in 2006." He said this success rate caused inestimable economic damage worldwide. Internet security firm Symantec Corp registered some 8 million phishing attempts last year. Germany's BKA federal crime office said this month it had shut a "phishing" ring of Germans and Lithuanians, sparing online banking customers millions of euros of potential losses. The BKA said the phishing ring obtained online banking customers' user names and passwords and other sensitive data from their victims' computers by means of a "Trojan horse", a self-circulating, virus-like program that spreads by e-mail and sends data from the infiltrated computer back to the "phisher". Schaeuble said many Germans used no form of Internet protection, exposing themselves needlessly to phishing and other criminal attempts to infiltrate their computers. "One out of every four Germans is without anti-virus protection and more than half had no firewalls," he said. Ballmer said this situation was probably worse in the United States, but there were signs Internet users were becoming better educated about protecting themselves from cyber criminals. (MSNBC.com is a Microsoft -- NBC joint venture.) He said it was important for software developers like Microsoft to make their products as secure as possible. But he warned that improved security would require the combined efforts of authorities, the industry and users themselves. "The hackers out there are really are smart and getting smarter. We all have to run in front of them," Ballmer said. To improve U.S. cyber security, Ballmer said Microsoft would launch an initiative next month in the United States modeled on a German program, "Germany Safe on the Net", set up a year ago by Telekom, Microsoft, the government and Internet-related firms to improve Internet safety. Copyright Reuters 2006. 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/newstoday.html [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I can say that in this little corner of the world -- i.e. telecom -- the spam continues to roll in, usually hundreds of such items daily. Sometimes, the ratio of spam/scam to legitimate email here is in excess of 95 percent. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:59:25 -0500 From: Tim Ferguson Subject: BT Busts Zombies and Spammers BT busts zombies and spammers; Who you gonna call? By Tim Ferguson BT has launched a new 'spam buster' system which it hopes will clamp down on junk email within the telco's broadband network. The Content Forensics system, which was developed by StreamShield Networks, is designed to combat professional spammers as well as botnets -- rogue software that infects computers and transforms them into spam-generating networks. The 'spam buster' scans and analyses the content of millions of emails every day to identify potentially problematic messages. The system spots spam in real-time, as messages are sent through BT's mail servers, so BT can contact affected customers as soon as the problematic emails reach their inboxes and help them rectify the issue. BT can also track down professional spammers operating within their network and terminate or blacklist these rogue accounts. Previously, spam not only hogged network bandwidth and caused an annoyance -- after becoming infected by botnets, some BT customers were identified as known sources of spam and thus ended up on industry-wide blacklists. The new anti-spam system, which went into action this week, will help to limit these problems which BT said made business customers "extremely grateful". According to Gartner, 80 per cent of email on the internet is spam, while security software maker Trend Micro estimates that around 6.5 billion separate items are sent per day. 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/BBC.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 13:05:00 -0500 From: Dan Frommer and Lisa Lerer Subject: Spam Beginning to Spell Trouble For Wireless Phones From MSNBC.com Spam could spell trouble for wireless industry Providers counting on text messaging to boost the bottom line By Dan Frommer and Lisa Lerer, Forbes Everyone with an e-mail box knows about spam: junk messages hawking porn, Viagra deals or Nigerian get-rich-quick schemes. But now spam is going mobile, chasing after cellphone users who use text messaging services. Earlier this month, some Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel subscribers received unsolicited text messages promoting penny stocks First National Power and Encore Clean Energy. "Subject: the end of oil? First National Power (OTC: FNPR) invents new patent for green energy intiative," reads one message, sent from Otto@comcast.net. "Encore Clean Energy unveils a new patent for green energy alternative to oil! Exxon, get out of the way!" reads another, sent from nelda@dimensional.com. It's unclear who actually sent the messages: Mutual fund company Dimensional Fund Advisors, which owns the dimensional.com web address, has a disclaimer on its Web site stating that it has nothing to do with the spam. The phone number listed in U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission documents for Vancouver-based Encore Clean Energy is not in service. First National Power's SEC documents describe it as a Bellevue, Wash.-based company, but an August press release lists a British Columbia telephone number. Calls to Darryl Mills, described in First National's press releases as both president and the company contact, were not returned. On Friday afternoon, Verizon Wireless sued whoever has been sending the messages via a "John Doe" complaint, which allows an accuser to begin court proceedings against an unknown defendant. In court documents filed in a federal court in New Jersey, Verizon said someone promoting First National Power, Encore Clean Energy, W2 Energy and Armor Electric had sent about 550,000 messages over the carrier's network since Sept. 24. While spam sent via e-mail is an annoyance, text message spam has a real cost. U.S. wireless subscribers generally pay about 10 cents for each message they receive. If the problem gets bad enough to discourage text message use, it could ultimately cause a problem for the wireless business, which is counting on text message users to boost their bottom line. U.S. wireless carriers will generate about $3 billion of their overall $140 billion in service fees from text messaging this year, projects the Yankee Group research firm, which also predicts that text messaging revenue will stay flat in the next four years. But text spam is on the rise. Ferris Research analyst Richi Jennings estimates that spammers will send 1.1 billion text spams next year, up 38 percent from this year. Wireless carrier spokesmen says that customers who receive text spam should call their customer service centers, who may offer them a refund on a case-by-case basis. But Sprint Nextel spokesman Travis Sowders acknowledges that spam texts are not only a consumer nuisance, but a sore point for carriers, too. If customers find too much spam clogging their data services, he says, "people are not going to want to use them." An influx of junk messages could also crimp carriers' plans to pad revenues by selling legitimate advertising on their mobile data services. Telecommunications and media research group Informa projects that marketers will spend more than $11 billion on mobile advertising by 2011. But that estimate is predicated on customers who trust that they're only receiving messages they want to see. Few investors seem interested in either First National Power or Encore Clean Energy; both stocks trade for less than a quarter a share. First National Power, which describes itself in SEC filings as a company with plans to "purchase and deploy green energy solutions that are new to the market," had an earlier life as Capstone International, "a full service death services" company. It has yet to record revenues from the energy business. Encore Clean Energy has not filed an annual report for 2005 or a quarterly report for the first quarter of 2006. Its most recent financial report, filed in September 2005, said the company had "negative work capital" of $3.6 million; the company has received public letters questioning its “financial controls.” Wireless carriers are already taking measures to minimize junk messages. Like popular e-mail providers such as Yahoo! and Google, wireless companies have filters meant to screen out junk messages. They are also employing a low-tech rebuttal: In February, Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, won a $10,000 judgement against Florida-based Passport Holidays. Verizon had alleged that Passport sent about 100,000 text spam messages via its wireless network. In 2004 Verizon won an injunction against a Rhode Island-based spammer it said had sent millions of spam text messages. Yet determined spammers can still easily get their messages onto wireless phones, a process that can be even easier than sending junk mail to conventional e-mail accounts. Some buy mobile phone number databases over the Internet. Others can simply try a brute force approach by mass-messaging random numbers, targeting certain prefixes that tend to be used for mobile phones. To skirt the messaging fee, the spammers send the text message through the Internet. Spam text messages are more common in Europe and Asia, where many subscribers don't have to pay for incoming messages. In Europe, Short Message Service Centers, or SMSCs, manage mass text messaging. While an authorized advertiser can pay up to send mass messages, spammers sometimes sneak through, connecting with stolen credit cards and false credentials, says Ferris' Jennings. Text spam also differs in content from e-mail spam. Text spammers, limited to 200 characters per message, have to make their point quickly to maximize return. As a result, junk messages are either a stock tip or often a solicitation to call a strange phone number, which ends up being a costly 900-number call. That 200-character limit should make text messages an ineffective way to send spam, says Jonathan Zittrain, a law professor at Oxford University. Zittrain recently conducted a study that found a positive correlation between e-mail stock spam and a rise in stock prices, but says it's hard to imagine a text message stock tip having much effect. "It really would have to be the odd person who would listen to the spam and not be outraged," says Zittrain, "Even a spammer has to worry about the palatability of the message." Then again, one man's spam may be another's financial advice. First National Power shares began the week at 5 cents but now trade for 8.5 cents, a 70 percent increase. And Encore Clean Energy shares traded this week for 15 cents, up from 10 cents in mid-September. Copyright 2006 Forbes.com URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15201089/ Copyright 2006 MSNBC.com ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 12, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 11:51:35 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 12, 2006 ******************************** Under the Spotlight Carphone Warehouse's Broadband Revolution http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20445?11228 Carphone Warehouse yesterday announced two different landmarks that have ultimately catapulted it to the number three position in the United Kingdom's retail broadband market behind NTL and BT. Firstly, the company stated that its third quarter broadband customer base has soared to 625,000 although about 200,000 remain ... Neuf Cegetel Targets US$955 mil. from IPO http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20442?11228 French alternative fixed line telecoms group Neuf Cegetel has unveiled plans to float 18.5% of its shares in an initial public offering (IPO) expected to raise about 761 million euro (US$954.8 million). Neuf Cegetel said the IPO, which will include a 201 million euro capital increase, will be priced by 24 October, with shares priced ... BCE Scraps Holding Company in Conversion to Income Trust; Government Concerned http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20439?11228 BCE Inc. has announced that it plans to end the holding company structure used to control Bell Canada and convert fully into a tax-efficient income trust, the Bell Canada Income Fund. A number of components of Bell Canada are already run as an income trust in conjunction with Aliant and Bell Nordic. The elimination of the holding company ... The Myth of Constant Revenue Leakage http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20436?11228 There's a pervasive myth in the world of telecommunications revenue assurance that a standard benchmark exists for revenue leakage. In fact, the question asked most often at conferences and meetings is, "What is the average amount of leakage?". The people asking that question are generally interested in determining a ... Low Noise Oscillator Has Multiple Applications http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20435?11228 Oscillators lie at the heart of all radios. Beating out repetitive electronic signals, they allow cell phones, microwave transmitters and other radio-based devices to generate steady and reliable signals. Oscillators are also found in a wide range of other electronic devices, including computers and audio amplifiers. Researchers at ... Wherefore Wi4? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20434?11228 Compared to Wi-Fi, which is unlicensed spectrum, WiMAX represents a carrier class offering, complete with quality of service, security and capabilities for service such as VoIP. For developing companies with limited copper or cable infrastructure, like Pakistan, WiMAX is an opportunity to leapfrog into the modern era with broadband ... DoJ Vets AT&T/BellSouth Deal; FCC To Follow? http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20431?11228 Now that the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has given its public blessing to the proposed merger of the former Ma Bell and her daughter, will the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) act in kind at tomorrow's open meeting? Placed on the docket last week, the full commission (unless former CompTel executive and Hill lobbyist ... Real World WiMax http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20427?11228 WiMax World, BOSTON -- Big names in technology are out in force today at the opening of the WiMax trade show in blustery Beantown. New technology and talk from the likes of Intel Corp., and Nokia Corp. start to reveal what WiMax will be when it grows up. There are some distinct trends emerging at the show, with vendors talking ... Alcatel Embraces Tispan's IMS http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20424?11228 PARIS -- Broadband World Forum Europe -- Alcatel laid down the gauntlet to its major vendor rivals Tuesday by announcing the commercial availability of a full set of IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) capabilities for mobile and fixed line carriers. The ability to cater to both fixed and mobile operators is important. IMS was ... Surprising New 3G Killer App; Compatible Handsets Now the Key Ingredient http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20421?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- After years of eagerly anticipating video would be the killer application for 3G, a new survey from In-Stat finds that existing and potential 3G customers are much more interested in high-quality mapping and navigation services. However, 3G carriers that want to capture that market will have to ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 12:47:16 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Covad Buys Chicago's DataFlo October 12, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eDgwfDtusXdYpeCibuddClgm TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Covad buys Chicago's DataFlo BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Alcatel: 100M IPTV subscribers by 2010 * Nokia to sell WiMAX phones in '08 * Commentary: Analysts weigh impact of a potentially private Cablevision * Palm unveils newest member of Treo family * Cisco, MetaSwitch sign up CLEC customers with joint SIMPLE/IP-NGN solution USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * NEW! CALEA and Lawful Intercept Compliance Guide TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Broadband wireless on its way * Ask.com rolls out mobile search engine REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC moves AT&T merger vote to Friday DIVERSIONS * Rugged Pathways to a Simpler Time * Satan or Savior: Setting the Grape Standard * The House on Autopilot * Lift Every Over-50 Voice and Sing, Ladies, Sing * This Mouse Kills Viruses That Infect You, Not Your Computer Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eDgwfDtusXdYpeCibuddClgm ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Oct 2006 19:38:39 -0400 From: David B. Horvath, CCP Subject: Re: Cellphone Dead? AA Batteries to the Rescue! 2 AA battery units at $1 store ... David B. Horvath, CCP Information Technology -- Data Services ING DIRECT l 1 S. Orange St., Wilmington, DE, 19801 w - 302.255-3926 | f - | david.horvath@withheld www.ingdirect.com | 1-800 ING DIRECT PAT: Please obscure my email address. Name is OK. On Mon, 09 Oct 2006 13:50:54 -0500, Clayton Collins wrote: > By Clayton Collins, Christian Science Monitor > Cellphone-toters dread the sound: a hand-held device chirping its > complaint, often far from home base, about needing to be recharged. > Now on the market: a lipstick-size brass canister that holds one AA > battery and offers reserve power. Run a short adaptor from the tip of > a Turbo Charge to your phone, and a blue light indicates that a charge > is flowing. You're back in business long enough to get to a plug -- the > device's maker, Voxred International, claims "up to 40 hours" of > standby time or two hours of talk, and touts patent-pending technology > that protects devices' batteries from damage. It is designed to work > with PDAs as well. > We tested Turbo Charge -- about $20 at stores including Best Buy, OK, but devices like this (using 2 AA or AAA batteries) have been on the market for a while. My wife bought me one as a bit of a joke at the local $1 store. I doubt it had any special circuitry but I expect my phone to handle the charging details, not the power-source. - David ------------------------------ 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 #360 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Oct 13 22:16:06 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 38386225A; Fri, 13 Oct 2006 22:16:06 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #361 Message-Id: <20061014021606.38386225A@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 22:16:06 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 13 Oct 2006 22:20:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 361 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson YouTube Confusion Shuts Down Utube Site (John Seewer, AP) OnLine Brokerage Acccount Scams on Internet Worry SEC (Reuters News Wire) Who Killed TiVoToGo? (Monty Solomon) Telecom Update #550, October 13, 2006 (John Riddell) Convergence at the Heart of New Telecom Paradigm (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 13, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Phone Line Noise Question (nospam.phone@none.com) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:16:32 -0500 From: John Seewer, AP Subject: YouTube Confusion Shuts Down Utube Site By JOHN SEEWER, Associated Press Writer YouTube's enormous popularity has created a big headache for another "utube" -- a company that sells used machines that make tubes. Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corp.'s Web site, http://utube.com , was inaccessible for most of the week, overwhelmed by millions of people looking for the popular online video site. The confusion took off a couple of months ago, said Ralph Girkins, Universal Tube's president. The company with just 17 employees got 68 million hits on its site in August, making it one of the most popular manufacturing Web sites. The site shut down last weekend just before Google Inc. announced plans Monday to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion. A move to a new server didn't help, but by late Thursday Universal Tube's site was back up after the company added more capacity. "We couldn't work on it, couldn't do anything," Girkins said Friday. At least 50 customers called during the week to point out the problem, he said. He hasn't figured out yet how much it has cost to get the site running. "Just get me going. I don't care." Girkins said. "If I miss a $300,000 sale because of a Web site problem, it doesn't make any sense to not to fix it." Universal Tube, based in suburban Perrysburg and founded in 1985, has about $12 million in annual sales. The company is looking to sell the Web address and find a new home for its Web site even though the company uses the utube.com name to advertise to customers overseas, Girkins said. "We know we can't keep it," he said. "It's going to be a never-ending problem." 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 16:19:56 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: OnLine Brokerage Acccount Scams on Internet Worry SEC High-tech crooks are hijacking online brokerage accounts using spyware and operating from remote locations, sometimes in Eastern Europe, U.S. market regulators said on Friday. The computer "incursions" are a growing problem, said Walter Ricciardi, deputy enforcement director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "It's something we're very concerned about," he said in remarks at a legal conference in Washington. About 25 percent of U.S. retail stock trades are made by online investors through roughly 10 million online accounts, according to brokerages regulator NASD. Crooks will load a victim's computer or a public PC with a spy program to monitor a user's activities and capture vital information, such as account numbers and passwords. The program then e-mails the stolen information back to the thief, who can use it to open victim accounts. Once inside, the thief may sell off an account's portfolio and take the proceeds. Or electronically hijacked accounts may be used for "pump-and-dump" schemes to manipulate stock prices for profit, Ricciardi said. Public computers in such places as Internet cafes and hotel rooms are especially vulnerable to incursions. But home computers may also be hit as spyware can be imported simply by opening an e-mail attachment, said John Stark, chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement. Incursion scams under SEC investigation are far-flung. "We're seeing these frauds in offshore entities and persons, including those located in Eastern Europe," Stark said. The SEC is working to track down the hackers and to educate online investors, he said. Steps to fight incursions include securing an online account by changing passwords frequently and never using an unfamiliar computer to enter an account number or password. To fight a similar problem, U.S. banks are exploring new online banking security technologies since a study showed identity theft via online banking is a fast-growing crime. 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: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 08:02:23 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Who Killed TiVoToGo? Digital Cable and Satellite DRM Harms TV Fans and Innovators It's the latest digital media murder mystery: TiVo Series2's TiVoToGo1 enabled limited portability of recorded content to PCs and other devices, but the TiVo Series3 HD did not include this feature when recently released.2 In other words, if you want to upgrade to HD, you have to downgrade your TiVo's features. You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to guess that this story somehow involves Hollywood, the FCC, and "digital rights management" (DRM) restrictions. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has opposed these restrictions every step of the way, and, in this article, we'll explain digital cable DRM's sordid history, how digital cable and satellite DRM may affect you, and what you can do to fight back. In short, get ready for copying limits on cable and satellite content that won't stop "Internet piracy"3 but will stop you from making legitimate use of lawfully acquired content. You'll be forced to only buy devices with limited features, and restricted digital outputs could break compatibility with your current HD displays and receivers, even though you may have already invested thousands of dollars in them. Innovators will have to beg permission before inventing new digital devices that help you get more from your satellite and cable content. Unfortunately, TiVoToGo's disappearance is just the tip of the iceberg. http://www.eff.org/IP/pnp/cablewp.php http://www.eff.org/IP/pnp/eff_cablewp.pdf ------------------------------ Subject: Telecom Update #550, October 13, 2006 Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:22:13 -0400 From: John Riddell ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 550: October 13, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca/home/Home_Business.page ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.ca/communications/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** SHAW BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: www.shawbusinesssolutions.ca ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE: ** Bell Canada Takes the Income Trust Road ** BCE -- R.I.P. ** Vonage Expands Coverage ** Ontario Bill Seeks New-Driver Cellphone Ban ** Bell and Bell Aliant File 8-1-1 Tariffs ** More Time to Comment on Bell, Telus Rate Hikes ** Industry Canada Tests VoIP Security ** Fido Opens Burnaby Call Centre ** Mitec Raises $4 Million ** U.S. Carrier to Trial Wi-Fi/Cellular Phone ** U.S. to Allow Low-Power Devices in TV Spectrum ** AT&T/Bellsouth Merger Gets Antitrust Okay ** Applications Invited for Jeanne Sauve Awards ** Communications Institute Sets Program ** Telehealth Experts Gather in Edmonton ** Rx for Network Planning Nightmares BELL CANADA TAKES THE INCOME TRUST ROAD: In a move that could reduce the company's annual tax bill by hundreds of millions of dollars, BCE is proposing to convert Bell Canada into an income trust. After approval by regulators and by a shareholders' meeting in January, BCE common shares will be exchanged on a one-for-one basis for units in the new Bell Canada Income Fund, and Bell will buy back all preferred shares. ** Simultaneously, Bell Aliant is proposing to acquire the 36.4% of Bell Nordiq it doesn't now hold, a move that would merge those two income funds into one company. BCE -- R.I.P.: As part of the income trust conversion, Bell Canada will eliminate its holding company, BCE Inc., which was created in 1983 to shield Bell's non-telco operations from CRTC regulation. Over the years BCE has purchased companies as diverse as Trans Canada Pipelines, Montreal Trust, Teleglobe, and CTV -- and in every case took substantial losses when it sold them. ** CEO Michael Sabia says that elimination of BCE reflects "our plan to focus on Bell and our communications operations. That is the business we know. That is the business we will stick to." VONAGE EXPANDS COVERAGE: Vonage Canada has added 25 communities in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI to the list of locations where it offers local phone numbers. The VoIP provider now offers local numbers in 70 Canadian cities and towns. ONTARIO BILL SEEKS NEW-DRIVER CELLPHONE BAN: A private member's bill that would ban new drivers from using cellphones while driving has received second reading in the Ontario legislature. The Ontario government has not indicated whether it will support the proposal. Similar measures have been implemented in 11 U.S. states. (See Telecom Update #519) BELL AND BELL ALIANT FILE 8-1-1 TARIFFS: Bell Canada and Bell Aliant have filed tariffs for 8-1-1 service, which will route calls to the appropriate "non-urgent health teletriage service providers" within a province. (See Telecom Update #488) The telcos have requested approval by October 20, with six months notice required to implement the service. ** The telcos' nomadic VoIP services will not be able to route 8-1-1 calls. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2006/B2.htm#200612441 http://www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2006/B54.htm#200612459 MORE TIME TO COMMENT ON BELL, TELUS RATE HIKES: As promised, the CRTC has combined into one proceeding the Telus and Bell Canada/Bell Aliant proposals to raise local rates while eliminating connection charges for = new or moving customers. The public now has until December 11 to comment on the applications. (See Telecom Update #547) ** So far, the CRTC has received nearly 1,700 complaints from Bell and Bell Aliant customers regarding their proposed increases. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2006/pt2006-11-1.htm http://support.crtc.gc.ca/applicant/applicant.aspx?pn_ph_no=3Dpt2006-11&lang=3DE INDUSTRY CANADA TESTS VoIP SECURITY: Industry Canada's Protocol Analysis Lab is testing software that protects against security breaches in VoIP networks. The host-based software, developed by Ottawa start-up Third Brigade Inc, inspects traffic streams for malicious code and protocol anomalies. FIDO OPENS BURNABY CALL CENTRE: Rogers' Fido division says it will employee 130 staffers in the $2.4-million call centre it has just opened in Burnaby, B.C. MITEC RAISES $4 MILLION: Mitec Telecom, a Montreal-based wireless equipment maker, has raised $4.3 million in equity and hopes to raise an additional $3.5 million by October 16. U.S. CARRIER TO TRIAL WI-FI/CELLULAR PHONE: T-Mobile USA says it will soon begin trials of a mobile phone that can hand off calls between Wi-Fi and cellular networks. Introduction of such phones has been long delayed by opposition from most cellcos. U.S. TO ALLOW LOW-POWER DEVICES IN TV SPECTRUM: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has agreed to let new low-power wireless devices operate in parts of the TV broadcast spectrum that are not used for other purposes. Marketing of the devices won't be allowed until February 18, 2009, the date when full conversion of U.S. broadcast television to digital is supposed to be complete. AT&T/BELLSOUTH MERGER GETS ANTITRUST OKAY: U.S. antitrust authorities have approved AT&T Inc's US$79 billion purchase of Bell South Corp. A ruling by the federal telecom regulator is expected today. ** The deal will create the largest U.S. carrier, combining the six formerly separate telecom giants: AT&T, Bell South, Southwestern Bell, Pacific Telesis, Ameritech, and Cingular Wireless. (See Telecom Update #467, 520) APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR JEANNE SAUVE AWARDS: Canadian Women in Communications is inviting women managers in telecommunications and broadcasting to apply for the 2007 Jeanne Sauve awards, which provide intensive internships in communications policy. Application deadline is 5 pm, December 6. http://www.cwc-afc.com/show-content.cfm?section=3Dwha-pro&subsection=3Djea COMMUNICATIONS INSTITUTE SETS PROGRAM: The Canadian chapter of the International Institute of Communications will hold its annual conference in Ottawa December 4-5. Program and registration information is available now at the IIC's website, http://www.iic-canada.ca. TELEHEALTH EXPERTS GATHER IN EDMONTON: The Canadian Society of Telehealth is holding its ninth annual conference October 14-17 at the Shaw Convention Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. http://www.cst-sct.org/en/index.php Rx FOR NETWORK PLANNING NIGHTMARES: The unruly mix of emerging products and services, changing suppliers, and new applications can create a planning nightmare for enterprise telecom and networking. Henry Dortmans, John Riddell, and Michael Dunne head the roster of top telecom experts at "Enterprise Networks 2006," which offers exclusive insights into maximizing the effectiveness of your IP systems and networks. ** Enterprise Networks 2006 will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre October 24-25. Register online at http://www.enterprisenetworks.ca/register.html. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 13:08:43 -0500 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Convergence at the Heart of New Telecom Paradigm USTelecom dailyLead October 13, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eDuMfDtusXebklCibuddSBis TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Analysis: Convergence at the heart of new telecom paradigm BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Telefonica to offer VoIP, IPTV in Germany * Sprint picks Chicago, D.C. for WiMAX trials * Palm CEO says company is not for sale * Microsoft looks to gain ground in TV business USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Boost Business Results of Your Enterprise Customers via IMS-Based FMC TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Fox News uses Palm Treo to break NYC plane crash story * Israel's ECI aims to double broadband speeds * YouTube looking for ways to stop pirated videos VOIP DOWNLOAD * Nortel takes VoIP to a new level * Analysis: Inability to link with office PBX hinders Skype in business market REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Federal agencies, telecoms step up fight against pretexting * FCC to assess competition in video market * EC may impose penalties on 8 EU states for anticompetitive telecom markets DIVERSIONS * Pulled Pork, Pulled Corks in North Carolina * What You Get for ... $200,000 * Trying Again to Make Books Obsolete * A Lonely Petit Four of a Queen * 36 Hours in Shanghai Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eDuMfDtusXebklCibuddSBis ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 13, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 12:17:47 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 13, 2006 ******************************** EU Slams 13 Governments for Violating Telecom Rules http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20477?11228 The European Commission yesterday threatened legal action against 13 member governments for violating EU telecoms rules, Dow Jones reports. The Commission said that the 13 countries - Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, on a variety of ... Vodafone Drops Carphone Warehouse in Mobile Retail Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20474?11228 Vodafone yesterday dumped a partnership with Carphone Warehouse to sell contract mobile phones, opting instead to sign an exclusive deal with Phones4U, Carphone Warehouse's arch rival. Vodafone said that Carphone Warehouse was charging too much commission to market Vodafone's contract lines and has opted for Phones4U, who have ... The rise of lifestyle media: Achieving success in the digital convergence era http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20470?11228 The rise in online advertising can be distilled into two words: reach and relevance. Internet search engines such as Google have redefined the concept of targeted advertising. Their emphasis on measurement and direct accountability, in which advertisers pay-for-performance (click-through) rather than impressions alone, has changed ... BellSouth-AT&T Vote Expected Today http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20466?11228 WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission faces charges from consumer advocates and some lawmakers that it's on the path to re-establishing a communications monopoly as it considers AT&T Inc.'s buyout of BellSouth Corp. The FCC's OK represents the final major regulatory hurdle in AT&T's bid to ... Making a Run for It http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20462?11228 Enhancing Alcatel's Open CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) Policy, Alcatel and Runcom actively collaborated in different areas such as the development of end-to-end solutions including the integration of Runcom chipsets into Alcatel's Evolium WiMAX solution infrastructure as well as into terminals, interoperability testing, and ... FCC Ponders How To Fill Up 'White Spaces' http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20458?11228 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today unanimously took several first-step actions, including the partial grant of a Qualcomm petition, to start considering new broadband, video and other potential uses of the 700 MHz analog RF bands being freed by the U.S. broadcasters' digital-television (DTV) transition in February ... Thomson Fuses VOIP & IPTV http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20455?11228 PARIS -- Broadband World Forum Europe -- Thomson is the latest company to fly the convergence flag with news of a new product combination that pulls together two of the industry hot technologies -- VOIP and IPTV. The French company also announced a fixed/mobile convergence deployment at French competitive operator Free . ... A Treo Your Mom Could Love http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20451?11228 Playing catch-up to rival device manufacturers, Palm Inc. today said it is launching the Treo 680, the company's first truly consumer-focused device. The new Treo, targeted at a broader market than Palm's traditionally business-user focused products, comes in a variety of colors, offers an array of consumer-friendly ... China's Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Will More Than Double by 2010 http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20448?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Low labor costs and a fast-growing domestic market will spur China's consumer electronics manufacturing industry to more than double by 2010, reports In-Stat. The industry will grow from $71.5 billion in 2006 to $167 billion in 2010, the high-tech market research firm says. China's mature supply chain, a ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: nospam.phone@none.com Subject: Phone Line Noise Question Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 23:08:55 UTC Organization: CSUA What causes the subtle hissing/background noise on phone lines? Is it due to the internal phone wiring pickup noise? Or inherent to analog telephones? When I press a number to start the dialing sequence, the background low-hiss noise becomes more noticeable. This morning I tried connecting my phone directly to the phone junction box outside, and I noticed the line noise is somewhat lower, to the point where I don't really notice it. (But it's still there ...) My phone lines are running in the crawl space. I remember last time I was down there, I saw some open connections and the lines were laying on the ground. Now if some of the wires are touching the ground, will that cause the hiss noise? The wires are those more rigid types, probably from the 1960s.. Last year I had a connection problem where I can call in, but can't dial out, when the raining season is here, so I was wondering if there's some kind of short to ground in part of the wire. (But doesn't short to ground will get rid of noise?) Thanks. Raymond ------------------------------ 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 #361 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Oct 14 23:55:04 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 4321E226D; Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:55:03 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #362 Message-Id: <20061015035503.4321E226D@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:55:03 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:56:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 362 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson FCC Stalls AT&T-BellSouth Deal For at Least Another Week (John Dunbar AP) Cambridge [MA] Public Internet (CPI) Initiative (Monty Solomon) Our Population Hits 300 Million on Tuesday (Stephen Ohlemacher, AP) A Telephone Magazine from Eighty Years Ago (TELECOM Digest Editor) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 21:41:24 -0500 From: John Dunbar, AP Subject: FCC Stalls AT&T-BellSouth Deal For at Least Another Month By John Dunbar The Associated Press WASHINGTON - The proposed buyout of BellSouth Corp. by AT&T Inc. hit a snag on Friday when the two Democrats on the Federal Communications Commission asked for more time to study last-minute concessions proposed by AT&T. The commission had been scheduled to vote Friday, but the timing of any decision was thrown into doubt by the development; now such a decision is at least a few weeks away. An FCC spokeswoman, Tamara Lipper, said that commission Chairman Kevin Martin was studying a request by Democrats Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps to delay any action while the commission evaluates AT&T's proposal and it is made available for public comment. Further complicating the issue, Martin was scheduled to leave the country on Saturday. Lipper said she did not know when he would return. The proposed deal already was under fire by consumer advocates and some lawmakers who said it would go a long way toward re-establishing a communications monopoly that the government broke up more than two decades ago. The FCC's approval would have removed the final major regulatory hurdle in AT&T's bid to extend its dominance as the nation's largest provider of phone, wireless and broadband Internet services. When the deal originally was announced in March, it was worth about $67 billion. But the rising price of AT&T's stock had pushed the value to $80.8 billion at the close of trading Thursday. The Justice Department approved the deal without conditions on Wednesday. Despite the scale of the purchase, the Justice Department found no potentially adverse effects on competition. At that time, Adelstein called the department's decision "a reckless abandonment of DoJ's responsibility to protect competition and consumers." Copps, the commission's other Democrat, said the "Justice Department has packed its bags and walked out on consumers and small businesses by refusing to impose even a single condition in the largest telecom merger the nation has ever seen." Copps and Adelstein were in an unusually strong position on the five-member commission, which has three Republicans. One of those GOP commissioners, Robert McDowell, was a potential tie-breaking vote who withdrew from the deliberations because he was a lobbyist who represented competitors of AT&T and BellSouth. Republican Deborah Taylor Tate had been expected to vote with Martin in favor of the acquisition. If the deal ultimately wins all the government endorsements necessary, the San Antonio-based AT&T Inc. would get total control over the nation's largest cellular provider, Cingular Wireless, a joint venture of the two companies that serves 57.3 million customers. Consumer advocates and some lawmakers claim the government is well on its way to reconstituting the old Ma Bell monopoly, which was broken up in 1984 after a lengthy court battle. The newly expanded AT&T would have operations in 22 states. AT&T estimates that about 10,000 jobs would be phased out over three years. Combined, the companies generate $117 billion in revenue and operate 68.7 million local phone lines stretching coast to coast across the southern United States and up through the Midwest. The merged company would employ 309,000 people before any job cuts. The deal would further the reunification of the seven regional Bell telephone operating companies and one long-distance provider that were spun off from the national AT&T monopoly under a federal court order designed to introduce competition. Including BellSouth, the new AT&T would consist of four former Bells and the long-distance business, which was acquired by the company late last year. The other two companies created from Bells were Verizon Communications Inc., which dominates the eastern United States, and Qwest Communications International Inc., the phone company for most of the Rocky Mountain and Northwest regions. Copyright 2006 The Seattle Times Company 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 news and headlines, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 01:40:32 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Cambridge [MA] Public Internet (CPI) Initiative The City of Cambridge, Masssachusetts in partnership with MIT, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge Housing Authority, Harvard, and volunteers from the community, is embarking on a project to provide wireless coverage to many residents via a mesh network. This service will, resources permitting, be free to all residents of Cambridge and their visitors. It is currently in the proof of concept phase with a usable pilot expected later in 2006 and into 2007. http://www.cambridgema.gov/wifi/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 22:18:45 -0500 From: Stephen Ohlemacher, AP Subject: Our Population Hits 300 Million on Tuesday By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer America's population is on track to hit 300 million on Tuesday morning, and it's causing a stir among environmentalists. People in the United States are consuming more than ever -- more food, more energy, more natural resources. Open spaces are shrinking and traffic in many areas is dreadful. But some experts argue that population growth only partly explains America's growing consumption. Just as important, they say, is where people live, what they drive and how far they travel to work. "The pattern of population growth is really the most crucial thing," said Michael Replogle, transportation director for Environmental Defense, a New York-based advocacy group. "If the population grows in thriving existing communities, restoring the historic density of older communities, we can easily sustain that growth and create a more efficient economy without sacrificing the environment," Replogle said. That has not been the American way. Instead, the country has fed its appetite for big houses, big yards, cul-de-sacs and strip malls. In a word: sprawl. "Because the U.S. has become a suburban nation, sprawl has become the most predominant form of land use," said Vicky Markham, director of the Center for Environment and Population, an advocacy group. "Sprawl is, by definition, more spread out. That of course requires more vehicles and more vehicle miles traveled." America still has a lot of wide-open spaces, with about 84 people per square mile, compared with about 300 people per square mile in the European Union and almost 900 people per square mile in Japan. But a little more than half the U.S. population is clustered in counties along the coasts, including those along the Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. Also, much of the population is moving away from large cities to the suburbs and beyond. The fastest growing county is Flagler County, Fla., north of Daytona Beach; the fastest growing city is Elk Grove, Calif., a suburb of Sacramento; and the fastest growing metropolitan area is Riverside, Calif., about 50 miles east of Los Angeles. "In New York City, people tend to think of that as an urban jungle, but the environmental impact per capita is quite low," said Carlos Restrepo, a research scientist at New York University. "It tends to be less than it is for someone who lives in the suburbs with a big house where they need more than one car." The Census Bureau projects that America's population will hit 300 million at 7:46 a.m. EDT Tuesday. The projection is based on estimates for births, deaths and net immigration that add up to one new American every 11 seconds. The estimated 11 million to 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. are included in official population estimates, though many demographers believe they are undercounted. The population reached its last milestone, 200 million, in 1967. That translates into a 50 percent increase in 39 years. During the same period, the number of households nearly doubled, the number motor vehicles more than doubled and the miles driven in those vehicles nearly tripled. The average household size has shrunk from 3.3 people to 2.6 people, and the share of households with only one person has jumped from less than 16 percent to about 27 percent. "The natural resource base that is required to support each person keeps rising," Replogle said. "We're heating and cooling more space, and the housing units are more spread out than ever before." The U.S. is the third largest country in the world, behind China and India. The U.S. is the fastest growing of the industrialized nations, adding about 2.8 million people a year, or just under 1 percent. India is growing faster but the United Nations considers it to be a less developed country. About 40 percent of U.S. population growth comes from immigration, both legal and illegal, according to the Census Bureau. The rest comes from births outnumbering deaths. "It's not the population, it's the consumption that can do us in," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. "These are the luxuries we have been able to support until now. But we're not going to be able to do it forever." On The Net: Census Bureau population clock: http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2006 23:04:31 -0400 (EDT) From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor) Subject: A Telephone Magazine from Eighty Years Ago [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: For our archives feature this weekend, we take a look at an ancient magazine from a predecessor of Southwestern Bell Telephone Company. The magazine is 'Southwestern Telephone News, October, 1926.' This was given to our archives by Jim Haynes thirteen years ago, in August, 1993. I hope you will enjoy checking it out once again. PAT] ========================================================= >From telecom@delta.eecs.nwu.edu Wed Aug 18 15:19:39 1993 Received: from delta.eecs.nwu.edu by gaak.LCS.MIT.EDU via TCP with SMTP id AA02118; Wed, 18 Aug 93 15:19:34 EDT Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA10469 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for ptownson@gaak.lcs.mit.edu); Wed, 18 Aug 1993 14:19:29 -0500 Date: Wed, 18 Aug 1993 14:19:29 -0500 From: TELECOM Moderator Message-Id: <199308181919.AA10469@delta.eecs.nwu.edu> To: ptownson@gaak.LCS.MIT.EDU Subject: telephone.magazine.from.1926 Status: RO >From telecom Wed Aug 18 01:22:53 1993 Received: by delta.eecs.nwu.edu id AA20146 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for \telecom); Wed, 18 Aug 1993 01:22:49 -0500 Received: from rodan.UU.NET by delta.eecs.nwu.edu with SMTP id AA18536 (5.65c/IDA-1.4.4 for ); Wed, 18 Aug 1993 01:22:06 -0500 Received: from relay1.UU.NET by rodan.UU.NET with SMTP (5.61/UUNET-mail-drop) id AA19991; Wed, 18 Aug 93 02:22:01 -0400 Received: from darkstar.UCSC.EDU by relay1.UU.NET with SMTP (5.61/UUNET-internet-primary) id AA27287; Wed, 18 Aug 93 02:21:58 -0400 Received: by darkstar.UCSC.EDU (4.1/1.34) id AA17931; Tue, 17 Aug 93 23:19:49 PDT To: comp-dcom-telecom@uunet.UU.NET Path: cats.ucsc.edu!haynes From: haynes@cats.ucsc.edu (Jim Haynes) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Telephony in 1926, Part 1 of ??? Date: 18 Aug 1993 06:19:46 GMT Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz Lines: 200 Message-Id: <24shm2INNhg9@darkstar.UCSC.EDU> Nntp-Posting-Host: hobbes.ucsc.edu Status: RO ender: Followup-To: Distribution: Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz Keywords: I was recently given a copy of the Southwestern Bell employee magazine "Southwestern Telephone News", issue of October 1926, which was Volume 13, No. 10 and hence must have started publication about 1913. This article will be a summary of the contents; perhaps I'll type in or review particular articles later. The front cover shows a cable splicer hanging from a strand as he splices an underground cable to an aerial cable in Dallas. Repeated several times througout the issue is, "New Long Distance rates and practices went into effect on October 1st. Pamphlets giving full information on these changes are available for all employees. Study the rates carefully so that you can answer the questions of subscribers." I remember this attitude, that all employees should be prepared to represent the company to the public, was later embodied in a slogan, "To the public _you_ are the telephone company," that was constantly presented to employees. On page 2 is a photograph of sheep with their heads in the grass, and an amusing caption: "Sheep (Eating) In July, our explanation that the folks in the frontspiece were stacking wheat brought a protest from Kansas that they were not stacking but were shocking wheat. This time we take no chances. Grazing, as we remember, is the right term, but we are not sheepherders. (Texas panhandle, please note.)" The first article is a bio of Charles P. Cooper, former president of Ohio Bell who was just elected vice-president of AT&T. Next there are five pages with pictures reporting on a Telephone Pioneers meeting in New York City. Among other activities they visited AT&T headquarters, Bell Labs, and New York Telephone headquarters and were greeted by executives of those companies. The highlight was an address by Thomas A. Watson, who told of his experiences as a colleague of Alexander Graham Bell. This was followed by a demonstration of talking movies, including one depicting the invention of the telephone and narrated by Watson. Then there is an article "Efficient and Courteous" by an anonymous "counterman". He tells of receiving a letter of commendation from a customer. Even though he had had to turn down the customer's request for service he had fully explained why there was a shortage of facilities in the customer's area, and the problems of the company in extending its lines. Then the medical director of AT&T writes to those who have just returned from vacations, urging them to use their spare time during the week as a "vacation all year." He suggests they get out of doors, do the essential chores, of course, but do something recreational. " ...forget as far as possible that you ever worked for the Telephone Company." The telephone exhibit at the Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition is described, with a reminder that the telephone was first exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia 50 years earlier. The 1926 exhibit includes a showing of motion pictures, two of which are talking. One of these features Thomas A. Watson [and is presumably the same film that was shown to the Pioneers]; and the other "contrasts the noisy operating room and crude apparatus of the eighties, when boys were operators, with the central office of the present." I guess in those days AT&T stock was marketed through telephone offices, as there is an article about how an AT&T rights offering was handled. There are accounts of company employees persuading the public to buy stock, and also of people who threw away the rights documents, not realizing they had monetary value. There's a sort item about telephone operators assisting when there was an explosion at a high school, and another showing the first installation of a P.A. system in a school, with switching so that music or voice can be had in any combination of rooms. Then there is the second part of an article reprinted from _Telephony_ by an operator, Manta J. Elder, about her experiences. There were annual floods when the Marais-des-Cygnes overran its banks near Ottawa, Kansas. Many operators lived across the river from the telephone office and had to cross the river in canoes and stay at the office so they would be available. Also severe winters when the streets were impassable to vehicles and the company sent horses to the residence of each operator to bring them to work. Sleet storms in February took lines down, so things were very quiet at the switchboard until service was restored; and then everybody wanted to use the telephone. She tells of working the last day at an old switchboard before cutover to a new one in a new office. "The next day i went by the old office, and my feet naturally led me up the old stairway. If I had known that I should see the salvaging force at their work, I would never had have the courage to enter the old room. The board was already sadly wrecked. It seemed to me that I was looking upon something almost human, which was being made to suffer after years of patient and loving service to a public which now gives it no thought. "As I walked on toward my home, I fell to thinking of the many and varied messages that had been carried through that old public servant. The first news of special interest to all people handled through its channels was the news of Admiral Dewey's victory at Manila Bay, which occurred about three weeks after the installation of the board. "Service began on this old switchboard June 13, 1898, and except for one hour during President McKinley's funeral, until December, 1915, it was a living part of the community it so faithfully served." She goes on to tell of the World War, and of the influenza epidemic. Says that in earlier times the telephone operators often complained that they were not appreciated by the public, but at the time of writing most people are truly appreciative of their services. A little of the history of the company, which was originally the Kansas City Telephone company, called the "Home" Company; at the time of abandonment of the old switchboard the "Home" and "Bell" companies were consolidated under the name of "The Kansas Telephone Company", in the spring of 1915. On January 1, 1926, the company was transferred to Southwestern Bell. Then there are three pages of managerial personnel changes, with some portraits. Then an article about formation of the Charles S. Gleed chapter of Telephone Pioneers in Kansas City, and an article about the switchboard in St. Louis being extremely busy in the aftermath of the St. Louis Cardinals winning the National League pennant. A page of short items: Clemenceau quoted on the need for technical experts to be aware of matters outside the scope of their expertise; a comment on the article by "a counterman"; an article about the recent AT&T stock issue; and a repeat of the item about new long distance rates and practices. Four pages with pictures about Bell Telephone Laboratores, and some unrelated pictures of employees enjoying their summer vacations. Two pages about Texas beginning a new billing method: instead of billing all customers on the same day of the month they will spread the billing dates throughout the month to smooth out the workload. Two pages about handling mail in the headquarters mail room, the need for good addresses, and the problem of customers sending cash in the mail when paying their bills; an average of $15 a day is found in the mail room when the supervisor has to open inadequately addressed mail. Then a rather technical article, with schematic diagram, of a circuit to simplify cutting phantom transpositions. (When a phantom circuit is added to two existing circuits it is necessary to alter the way the wires are transposed on the poles. This must be done without interrupting service on the exiting circuits any longer than necessary.) Two pages of service records, including portraits of seven men who have worked a total of 185 years. One page about the "first annual" Watermelon Festival in Hope, AR. An article about keeping score on collection work; teams get points for minimizing the need to communicate with subscribers to get them to pay their bills. Photographs of the new Norman, OK office, and an open house for visitors. Suggestions for Halloween costumes (illustrations) and two pages of illustrations of ladies' fashion suggestions. A page of cartoons by "Stack", with a Halloween theme. Three pages telling where every construction crew is working and what jobs they are working on. Some photos, including a cable splicer and his helper with what appears to be a push cart containing their tools and supplies. A page with a map of the company's territory, showing the locations of all lost-time accidents for the year. Four pages of social news: parties, retirements, contests won, other activities. "Anyone at St. Louis Toll who wants a thrill, should let Miss Hogan take them riding in her Ford. She misses other cars by a fender." A page "What I Did Today" containing stories by operators of how they assisted the public. A page of poetry written by telephone people. Inside back cover, a list of the principal management officers of the company and their titles. Back cover, an AT&T advertisement. This one shows operators being delivered to their office in a truck in a howling blizzard; and the text tells how people take the telephone for granted, how different life would be without it, and how 300,000 telephone people work to maintain dependable service. haynes@cats.ucsc.edu haynes@cats.bitnet "Ya can talk all ya wanna, but it's dif'rent than it was!" "No it aint! But ya gotta know the territory!" Meredith Willson: "The Music Man" ------------------------------ 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 #362 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Mon Oct 16 16:48:32 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 891E9222E; Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:48:31 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #363 Message-Id: <20061016204831.891E9222E@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:48:31 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:50:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 363 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Air America Files Bankruptcy (Paul Farhi, Washington Post) Phony Identification (Monty Solomon) Italy Adopts Microsoft Anti-Child Pornography Software (Reuters News Wire) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 16, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: Cellphone Dead? AA Batteries to the Rescue! (Raqueeb Hassan) Re: Phone Line Noise Question (Raqueeb Hassan) Re: Telephone Magazine From Eighty Years Ago (jhhaynes@earthlink.net) Re: Our Population Hits 300 Million on Tuesday (Sam Spade) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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, 15 Oct 2006 22:32:42 -0500 From: Paul Fahri Subject: Air America Files Bankruptcy By Paul Farhi Washington Post Staff Writer Air America Radio, which has tried to create a liberal talk and news network to challenge the dominance of conservatives such as Rush Limbaugh, yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but said it would remain on the air. Air America has battled financial turbulence since its launch in early 2004. Despite the star power of Al Franken -- the comedian and best-selling author who hosts one of its weekday programs -- the privately owned company has lost almost $42 million since its inception, including $13.1 million so far this year, according to its bankruptcy filing. Franken himself is owed some $360,000 on his $2 million annual contract. The New York-based service has also struggled to get and keep affiliate stations with strong signals. It was recently dropped by its flagship station in New York, the nation's largest radio market, which forced Air America to move to a weaker outlet. It isn't heard at all in Dallas, Philadelphia and Houston, three of the nation's 10 largest radio markets. In all, Air America's programs are heard on 92 stations and on Washington-based XM Satellite Radio. The liberal network says it has about 4 million listeners. In the Washington area, several Air America programs, including Franken's, are carried on WWRC (1260 AM), which has a limited broadcasting range. During the most recent quarterly ratings period, "Progressive Talk 1260" didn't attract enough listeners to rank among the region's top 35 stations. Dave Pugh, who oversees WWRC and other local stations owned by Clear Channel Communications, said he expected Air America to continue broadcasting. "We're committed to the format," he said. "Unless we hear something different, the network will continue. It's business as usual." Air America, as well as independent observers, said the bankruptcy filing -- which enables a company to reorganize its finances while freezing claims from creditors -- doesn't suggest liberal-oriented talk can't compete with Limbaugh or other conservatives such as Sean Hannity. "This has more to do with how [Air America] structured its business," said Tom Taylor, the editor of Inside Radio, an industry newsletter. "They had to invent the business model because no one else had, and they made some mistakes. ... It's like they say about pioneers -- they're the ones with arrows in their backs." Indeed, although conservatives have dominated the talk format for decades, liberals have made some inroads in recent years and are popular in many cities around the country. For example, Washington-based Jones Radio Networks has syndicated talk shows featuring liberal hosts Ed Schultz, Stephanie Miller and Bill Press, with more than 180 stations carrying the programs. "The format is healthy and here to stay," said Amy Bolton, general manager of news and talk programming for Jones. Air America said it sought bankruptcy court protection after being unable to work out an agreement to settle a debt with a creditor it would not name. People at the company identified the creditor as MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting, a New York company that had been the landlord of Air America's studios in Chicago and Los Angeles. In a dispute over rent payments that erupted soon after Air America began broadcasting, MultiCultural locked out Air America's employees from the two studios, giving the fledgling company a public-relations black eye. "[We] do not think this says anything about the viability of progressive talk," said Air America spokeswoman Jaime Horn. "We had a cost structure that did not support the revenue. We are confident that this transition will enable the business to grow." Court papers show Air America had $4.3 million in assets and $20.3 million in liabilities, according to Reuters news service. The bankruptcy filing came with the disclosure by Air America yesterday of a succession of executive and board defections. Rob Glaser, the founder of RealNetworks Inc. who owns 37 percent of the company and is its chief financial backer, resigned as a director yesterday along with two others. Air America said it has named a new chief executive, Scott Elberg, who has been with the company since mid-2005. Elberg is the third person to hold the CEO's job since April, following the resignation of the former top executive and his replacement by an interim manager. Furthermore, Air America said two other board members left in August, that its president quit in June and that its executive vice president and chief operating officer departed in July. In addition to Franken, Air America syndicates shows hosted by Randi Rhodes and Jerry Springer, among others. Franken, who was traveling yesterday, was unavailable for comment. Copyright 2006 The Washington Post Company 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/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 13:47:03 -0400 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Phony Identification PERSPECTIVE Phony Identification Caller ID lets us avoid those we deem annoyances. But how annoying is it when someone spoofs the system? By Tom Keane | September 24, 2006 The number on my Caller ID reads 617-000-0000, and I pick it up, half-thinking it might be James Bond. A little disappointingly, the call is from the Suffolk County district attorney's office. Law enforcement types, apparently, can manipulate the telephone system to hide their real numbers. It makes sense. There are bad guys out there, and prosecutors don't necessarily want them phoning back. Some months later, I get another call from the same number. I answer, visions of DA Dan Conley with a martini -- shaken not stirred -- on the other end. Instead, a recorded message starts up, and I hear a sonorous voice: "I know we can do better . . ." It's from gubernatorial candidate Chris Gabrieli. Now I really am disappointed. Since it was introduced about 20 years ago, Caller ID has evolved from an amusing gimmick ("Hello, Bill." "How did you know it was me?!") to a ubiquitous tell-all. At home, we use it to avoid telemarketers; at work, it lets us hide from annoying customers. Teenagers love the cellphone feature that creates a different ring depending on whether one is friend, foe, or, worst of all, Mom or Dad. Of course, it's possible to block one's identity on a call (press *67), but many of us have set up our phones to automatically reject anyone who does. Businesses have taken advantage of the technology as well. Call from home to activate your new credit card and there's no need to type in your card number. Phone for a late-night snack and the pizzeria already knows your name, address, and, one suspects, whether you tip well or not. The telephone once allowed us to be nameless, then Caller ID seemed to change all that. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2006/09/24/phony_identification/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 13:37:03 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Italy Adopts Microsoft Anti-Child Pornography Software Italy became the first European country to adopt a Microsoft system for combating child pornography on the Internet, something the government and the computer firm believe the whole continent is set to take up. At a news conference on Monday, the Italian police's special communications unit said the Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS), which is already in use in Canada and Indonesia, will speed up its investigations into Web pornography by 80 percent. "In substance, we want to oppose pedophile rings with an international network of cyber-police," said the head of the police postal and communications squad, Domenico Vulpiani. Microsoft developed the system after a Canadian police officer working in the field wrote to the company for help in what investigators say is a constantly increasing field of crime which preys on young users of the Internet. A spokesman for the software giant said Britain and Spain were likely to adopt the system -- a database to help investigators sift through suspect Web site and electronic communications -- in the coming months and that five other European countries were not far behind. Microsoft has spent $7 million developing the system and is giving it free-of-charge to governments. 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 ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 16, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 11:59:04 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 16, 2006 ******************************** T-Mobile Eyes U.K. Broadband Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20504?11228 T-Mobile UK is considering a shift away from its mobile-only strategy, with particular focus on entering the British fixed broadband market. Quoting a T-Mobile spokesman, Robin O'Kelly, Dow Jones reports that the prospect of offering converged services is of interest to the company. "Fixed broadband is always a ... The Sony Ericsson K790i: A Photo-Savvy World Phone http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20496?11228 It sounds like the perfect traveling companion for the weary globetrotter: a world phone that incorporates a high-quality camera. After all, in these hectic days, who wants to carry both a digital camera and a cell phone while traveling? The Sony Ericsson K790i combines both image capture and global calling capabilities into a neat ... Palm Aims for Consumers, Maps Google http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20494?11228 As expected, Palm officially unveiled its Treo 680, which is part of its effort to extend the reach of its Treo smartphone into the consumer market. Palm also announced plans to deliver Google Maps technology into its Treo smartphones. The Treo 680, like the recently unveiled BlackBerry Pearl from Research In Motion, aims to take ... U.S. Investors Grab A Chunk Of Idea Cellular http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20491?11228 Investment house Providence Equity Partners picked up a 16-percent stake in India's Idea Cellular Ltd., the fifth largest cellular carrier in that country, for $400 million. The Aditya Birla conglomerate, which owns 98.3 percent of Idea, had said back in April that it planned to sell off about one third of its equity in order ... FCC Balks at AT&T/BellSouth Merger Vote http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20489?11228 On Friday the 13th, the day of the big vote at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the merger of AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corp., three of the voting commissioners apparently got spooked. Commissioners Jonathan Adelstein and Michael Copps issued statements Friday asking that the vote be postponed, and for the ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Raqueeb Hassan Subject: Re: Cellphone Dead? AA Batteries to the Rescue! Date: 15 Oct 2006 07:53:25 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com David wrote: >> By Clayton Collins, Christian Science Monitor >> Cellphone-toters dread the sound: a hand-held device chirping its >> complaint, often far from home base, about needing to be recharged. >> Now on the market: a lipstick-size brass canister that holds one AA >> battery and offers reserve power. Run a short adaptor from the tip of >> a Turbo Charge to your phone, and a blue light indicates that a charge >> is flowing. You're back in business long enough to get to a plug -- the >> device's maker, Voxred International, claims "up to 40 hours" of >> standby time or two hours of talk, and touts patent-pending technology >> that protects devices' batteries from damage. It is designed to work >> with PDAs as well. >> We tested Turbo Charge -- about $20 at stores including Best Buy, > OK, but devices like this (using 2 AA or AAA batteries) have been on > the market for a while. My wife bought me one as a bit of a joke at > the local $1 store. I doubt it had any special circuitry but I expect > my phone to handle the charging details, not the power-source. > - David That brings me the thought, I haven't seen any solar cellphone charger, have you? It should be a lifesaver where there's no power source around! Raqueeb Hassan Bangladesh ------------------------------ From: Raqueeb Hassan Subject: Re: Phone Line Noise Question Date: 15 Oct 2006 08:16:03 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com nospam.phone@none.com wrote: > What causes the subtle hissing/background noise on phone lines? Is it > due to the internal phone wiring pickup noise? Or inherent to analog > telephones? > When I press a number to start the dialing sequence, the background > low-hiss noise becomes more noticeable. This morning I tried > connecting my phone directly to the phone junction box outside, and I > noticed the line noise is somewhat lower, to the point where I don't > really notice it. (But it's still there ...) > My phone lines are running in the crawl space. I remember last time I > was down there, I saw some open connections and the lines were laying > on the ground. Now if some of the wires are touching the ground, will > that cause the hiss noise? The wires are those more rigid types, > probably from the 1960s.. Last year I had a connection problem where I > can call in, but can't dial out, when the raining season is here, so I > was wondering if there's some kind of short to ground in part of the > wire. (But doesn't short to ground will get rid of noise?) > Thanks. > Raymond Bad weather mostly if it's raining and has been raining for couple of days; then water seems to penetrate your phone line causing line noise. Bad cabling, electrical interfereance and poor connection points may add to that. Please make sure that you use good quality cable which has better shielding. The phone cable shouldn't be close to electrical applicances like TV and heater. When talking on the phone, should you hear static of any sort, the phone line may be earthed. Raqueeb Hassan Bangladesh ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 17:48:07 CDT From: jhhaynes@earthlink.net Subject: Re: Telephone magazine from Eighty Years Ago Since I got that magazine I now have a scanner. If I can ever find the magazine again I will scan it for the archives. But it must be under a lot of paper here. Jim Haynes jhhaynes at earthlink dot net [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But, I want to thank you in any event for the work you did when you sent the original article, now twelve or thirteen years ago. It was interesting and exciting to read the first time, and again over this past weekend. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Sam Spade Subject: Re: Our Population Hits 300 Million on Tuesday Date: Sun, 15 Oct 2006 16:36:26 -0700 Organization: Cox Communications Stephen Ohlemacher wrote: > By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer > America's population is on track to hit 300 million on Tuesday morning, > and it's causing a stir among environmentalists. Strange, I never hear those environmentalists complain about the untracked 3 or 4 illegal immigrants to an apartment in many metro areas of the U.S. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No, we do not hear much about that; but someone had better wake up and do something; the Census Bureau claims that at our present rate of growth, we can expect to see the 400-million mark sometime around 2020-2025. They say the spurts of a hundred million will get closer and closer together. 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 #363 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Tue Oct 17 15:05:54 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 EFA6D2224; Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:05:42 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #364 Message-Id: <20061017190542.EFA6D2224@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:05:42 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:07:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 364 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Music Industry Strikes Again! 8000 New Lawsuits Filed (Kate Holton) The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims (Reuters) Google to Convert Headquarters to Solar Power (Michael Liedtke) Just What Is SIP and SS7 and How Do They Work With VoIP? (FreedomFireCom) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 17, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Last Laugh! Re: Our Population Hits 300 Million on Tuesday (Ken Wheatley) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:21:10 -0500 From: Kate Holton Subject: Music Industry Strikes Again! 8000 New Lawsuits Filed By Kate Holton The music industry has launched a fresh wave of 8,000 lawsuits against alleged file-sharers around the world, escalating its drive to stamp out online piracy and encourage the use of legal download services. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), which represents the world's music companies, said on Tuesday the new cases were brought in 17 countries, including the first ones ever in Brazil, Mexico and Poland. The trade group said more than 1 billion music tracks were illegally downloaded last year in Brazil, the largest market in Latin America. Record company revenue has nearly halved in Brazil since 2000, IFPI said. IFPI has said some 20 billion songs were illegally downloaded worldwide last year. The industry has now filed about 18,000 lawsuits in the United States, the largest market for music sales, and 13,000 in the rest of the world. The legal proceedings involve both criminal and civil suits and are aimed at "uploaders" -- people who put copyrighted songs onto Internet file-sharing networks to offer to music fans without permission. The IFPI said many of those targeted for legal action were parents whose children had been illegally file-sharing. Others facing law suits included a laboratory assistant in Finland and a German parson. The group added that more than 2,300 people had already settled their case for illegally file-sharing copyrighted material with an average payout of 2,420 euros ($3,034). John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of IFPI, told Reuters in an interview he was encouraged by the group's progress, although he said the fight against online piracy would be an ongoing battle. "It's not getting easier but we are encouraged enough by the results to keep on going," he said via the telephone from a trip to Brazil. "It will never go away completely." He said the success of high-speed broadband was combining with the threat of legal action and fears of computer viruses to encourage more and more users to opt for legal online services. While the cost of pursuing individual legal cases has been very expensive, he said the music industry had benefited from its settlement of more than $100 million in July this year with long-time antagonist Kazaa, one of the world's best known file-sharing networks. "It put some money back into the war chest to try to clean up the online world," he said. "Legal offerings will only thrive and open in different countries if there is a chance of them succeeding." Legal downloads represent about 11 percent of total music sales, but still do not make up for declining CD sales. Total music sales declined 4 percent in the first half of 2006. Kennedy said the drive to see digital sales make up for the loss in the physical format was the "holy grail" for the music industry and said he hoped to see it happen by 2007. 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: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 16:31:58 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims Disaffected people living in the United States may develop radical ideologies and potentially violent skills over the Internet and that could present the next major U.S. security threat, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Monday. "We now have a capability of someone to radicalize themselves over the Internet," Chertoff said on the sidelines of a meeting of International Association of the Chiefs of Police. "They can train themselves over the Internet. They never have to necessarily go to the training camp or speak with anybody else and that diffusion of a combination of hatred and technical skills in things like bomb-making is a dangerous combination," Chertoff said. "Those are the kind of terrorists that we may not be able to detect with spies and satellites." Chertoff pointed to the July 7, 2005 attacks on London's transit system, which killed 56 people, as an example a home-grown threat. To help gather intelligence on possible home-grown attackers, Chertoff said Homeland Security would deploy 20 field agents this fiscal year into "intelligence fusion centers," where they would work with local police agencies, and cooperative ISPs in identifying dissident users. By the end of the next fiscal year, he said the department aims to up that to 35 staffers. 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 [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How about an _honest_ re-write of this news item, like this: " Michael Chertoff has stated that people who get most of their news from truthful sources on the internet instead of relying on the highly sanitized news presented as 'news' by the New York Times and the talking heads on television are more likely to have a realistic view of the world and a certain amount of anger built up inside them when they realize how politicians and other 'authorities' have defrauded and humored them while attemptng desparately to maintain their own fraud, called 'law and order' in the USA. Long ago, we got the newspapers and the Talking Heads on televison and the radio to toe the line, but that damn Internet! It is a bunch of people talking and thinking for themselves, and we cannot have that if _we_ are to maintain control. There ought to be a law against things like Internet!" PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 13:52:05 -0500 From: Michael Liedtke Subject: Google to Convert Headquarters to Solar Power By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Business Writer Google Inc. is converting its renowned headquarters to run partly on solar power, hoping to set an example for corporate America. The Internet search leader announced what is believed to be the largest solar project undertaken by a U.S. company during a solar energy conference in Silicon Valley on Monday. Google believes the sun eventually can deliver as much as 30 percent of the power at its 1-million-square-foot campus in Mountain View — a suburb about 35 miles south of San Francisco. The ambitious project will require installing more than 9,200 solar panels on a high-tech mecca nicknamed the "Googleplex." After leasing the offices for several years, Google bought the campus for $319 million earlier this year. Once they're in place next spring, the solar panels are expected to produce about 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or enough power to supply about 1,000 homes. The job is being handled by Pasadena-based EI Solutions, part of a high-tech incubator run by entrepreneur Bill Gross, whose idea to link ads to search engine requests during the 1990 inspired the business model that generates most of Google's profits. Google wouldn't disclose the project's cost, but it won't strain a company with nearly $10 billion in cash. The anticipated savings from future energy bills should enable Google to recoup the solar project's costs in five to 10 years, estimated David Radcliffe, the company's vice president of real estate. "We hope corporate America is paying attention. We want to see a lot of copycats" of this project, Radcliffe said. Energy costs are a major concern at Google, which already consumes a tremendous amount of power to run the computer farms that keep its search engine humming. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin also are big supporters of alternative energy. The billionaires began driving hybrid cars shortly after they hit the mass market. Page also is among the investors in Tesla Motors Inc., a Silicon Valley startup developing a sports car that runs on electricity. Despite technological advances since the first photovoltaic cells were invented 50 years ago, solar power is still two to three times more expensive than fossil fuels in the U.S. and relies on government subsidies to compete. The solar energy industry nevertheless is expected to grow from $11 billion in 2005 to $51 billion in 2015, estimated Clean Edge Inc., a market research firm. 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: FreedomFireCom Subject: Just What Is SIP And SS7 and How Do They Work With VoIP? Date: 16 Oct 2006 16:11:04 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Signaling System 7 (SS7) are the common protocols used for transmitting voice across networks. Just how they work with VoIP ... or not ... opens the door for both concerns and opportunity. You can read the rest of this article here: http://Broadband-nation.blogspot.com God Bless, Michael Lemm FreedomFire Communications "Helping YOUR Business....DO Business" http://DS3-Bandwidth.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/freedomfirecom ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 17, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:00:17 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 17, 2006 ******************************** Europe Maintains Lead in OECD's Broadband Penetration Index http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20538?11228 Denmark has jumped to the top of the June 2006 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) fixed broadband penetration league table, displacing Iceland from the number one spot, but maintaining Europe's sterling performance as a broadband haven. Denmark's broadband penetration edged up from 25% at end-2005 to ... Mobile Operators Enter Polish Fixed Voice Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/20532?11228 PTC has joined Polkomtel in entering the fixed-line market. Pawel Szarkowski, a spokesman for the company, was cited in local news sources as saying that the company planned to win tens of thousands of subscribers by the end of 2006. Significance: According to industry regulator UKE, the country had 11,803,000 subscribers, of which ... Telenor Wins Major Tax Case in Norwegian Supreme Court http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20529?11228 OSLO, Norway -- Norwegian telecoms group Telenor ASA won a nearly 3 billion kroner (US$448 million; E353 million) tax settlement in the supreme court on Tuesday. Telenor sued Norwegian tax authorities for rejecting a tax deduction in 2001 when the group sold shares at a loss in Danish mobile phone operator Sonofon Holding A/S ... Nokia, Turner Broadcasting in Pact to Enable Users View Cartoon Network on Mobile Phones http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20526?11228 HELSINKI, Finland -- Nokia Oyj, the world's largest cell phone maker, said Monday it entered an agreement with Turner Broadcasting for mobile phone users to view Turner's Cartoon Network on mobile handsets in Europe. Cell phone subscribers, using Nokia's Content Discoverer, will be able to browse, download and ... Sprint Gets Reprieve in iPCS Case http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20523?11228 Sprint Nextel's iDEN network will continue to operate in iPCS territories following the stay of a Circuit Court ruling. Sprint also announced that Qualcomm's Qchat will power next-generation push-to-talk (PTT) services when its CDMA2000 1XEV-DO Revision A network gets up and running. Sprint mounted an appeal in its legal ... AT&T: We're Sticking With FTTN http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20517?11228 Rumors that AT&T Inc. is abandoning the fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) part of its Project Lightspeed broadband access network makeover are being shot down by the carrier and industry analysts this week. Following a fiber-to-the-home conference and the Broadband World Forum, analysts, equipment makers, and competitors once again ... FON's $5 WiFi http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20513?11228 Hotspots get a whole lot cheaper and potentially more secure, while converged devices get more ruggedized and mesh goes solar in this week's new-product roundup. FONtime: WiFi chipmaker Atheros Communications Inc. is working with wireless upstart FON to provide potential customers with a souped-up 802.11g router for public ... Booming Camera Phone Sales Drive Image Sensor Market http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20510?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- In 2005, the image sensor market continued its strong growth, spurred by the booming camera phone market, reports In-Stat. Camera phones comprised over 70% of all digital cameras that shipped in 2005, and the vast majority of these devices used Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensors, with the ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Ken Wheatley Subject: Last Laugh! Re: Our Population Hits 300 Million on Tuesday Date: Mon, 16 Oct 2006 23:53:03 +0100 Our population? Comp.dcom.telecom users? Pat, you're a star! [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No, its not the number of C.D.T. readers! I could only wish that were so. It is 'merely' the estimated population of the USA as of 7:30 AM Tuesday morning. And those same authorities claim we will reach 400+ million population in a lot less time than the 39 years it took to reach 300. As more and more Americans reach the age to begin breeding (or doing whatever nature tells them to do -- thank God there are many of us who are not 'that way') -- the stats will go topsy-turvy and we -- or rather those of you who plan on sticking around a couple more generations at least -- will find more of us in prison, and considerably more of us per mile (on average, 84 per mile now), and more of us waiting for trains and busses in the morning than at present. As for me, I expect to be gone sometime soon, and when it does happen, it won't be a minute too soon for me! But thanks for the laugh today! 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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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 #364 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Oct 18 14:36:35 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 1FDF3222C; Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:36:34 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #365 Message-Id: <20061018183634.1FDF3222C@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:36:34 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Wed, 18 Oct 2006 14:40:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 365 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Microsoft Opens Virtual Drives for Free (Reuters News Wire) Microsoft Engaging With Hackers (Jonathan Kent, BBC News) IEC's World Forum on Broadband Closes (Lisa Reyes) Level 3 Buys Broadwing (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 18, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Re: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims (S Sobol) Re: Just What Is SIP And SS7 and How Do They Work With VoIP? (Ken Wheatley) Re: Phony Identification (mc) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:25:37 -0500 From: Reuters News Wire Subject: Microsoft Opens Virtual Drives for Free Microsoft said on Tuesday it would allow anyone to use its specifications for "virtual" drives, which enable one computer to run several operating systems, with the promise never to sue for infringement of its legal rights. The Microsoft virtualisation software has been available for more than two years, but as computers become more powerful the use of virtualisation is expected to mushroom, the company said at a news conference. The software permits the easy use of several operating systems on one machine. So, for example, dangerous software could be installed on a virtual machine without affecting the host computer. The company's specifications will be made available to anyone who wants to use them under an "Open Specification Promise," introduced last month. The company said the license was "an irrevocable promise from Microsoft to every individual and organization in the world to make use of this patented technology for free, now and forever when implementing specified open standards." Earlier this year, Microsoft said it would team up with Linux supplier XenSource to supply the virtual specifications to permit Windows and Linux to run on the same machines. Such virtual software is also made by VMWare, a unit of EMC Corp., which helped pioneer the market. The question of making software open to others has been at issue in Brussels, where the European Commission has ordered Microsoft to share protocols with rival makers of servers. 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: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:31:17 -0500 From: Jonathan Kent Subject: Microsoft Engaging With Hackers By Jonathan Kent BBC Click reporter, in Malaysia In a few weeks time Microsoft is expected to launch Vista, its new operating system, and in January we will all get to play with the finished version. But how safe will this brave new world be? Given the number of attacks Windows usually attracts it is not surprising that Microsoft has been speaking to anyone they think can help. A team from Microsoft headquarters went to Malaysia for Asia's biggest gathering of hackers - not to confront the enemy - but to throw the hackers a party. But behind the charm offensive, said Microsoft's Security Programme Manager Sarah Blankinship, lies a serious purpose. "We come to conferences like Hack in the Box to engage with the security researcher community, to deepen our existing relationships, to understand new technologies, tools and methodologies, and ultimately to help us make our products more secure and to keep our customers safer." Open relationship Hack in the Box brings together hackers, security professionals and the companies who rely on their expertise. Together they may determine whether 2007 is a good or bad year for Microsoft, because security will probably make or break Vista, its first new operating system since XP's security-plagued release six years ago. "I still don't feel that Microsoft is going to take it very seriously", said Joanna Rutkowska, Security Researcher. As Mike Davis from Honeynet explained, there has been a shift of culture that has led Microsoft to open up and engage with the hackers. "Everybody sees them as the big evil empire that nobody's ever going to be able to change, but in actuality they are changing. They're making a lot of strides to communicate more with researchers, the community. "They're inviting people into their home, to the Microsoft campus to tell them what's wrong with their code, how they can fix it. "They're asking for help instead of just standing at the top of their mountain and saying 'we are the best'." The Microsoft team's top priority is a discussion about an apparent flaw in Vista security. They say they are here to listen -- but are they? Joanna Rutkowska, a security researcher for Coseinc, is not so sure. "After I presented my findings at the Ciscern conference in Singapore in July, about how to bypass Vista kernel protection, I still don't feel that Microsoft is going to take it very seriously. "I talked to some Microsoft engineers a couple of days ago and they say they're not sure that they're going to do anything about this." Competition concerns At Hack in the Box, Microsoft's Doug MacIver gave an insiders take on security flaws in Vista. He is an expert in the platform's BitLocker Drive Encryption. Integrating tighter security features into the new OS seems a logical step, but is it fair? The European Union has already voiced concern that by including features traditionally bought from independent suppliers, Microsoft is being anti-competitive. John Viega from McAfee also seems to think so: "I think it's pretty unfortunate that Microsoft is here to cosy up to the security industry when they're working so hard to lock security vendors off their platform. "With Vista, their new operating system, they're trying to keep vendors off by putting security technologies on that ensure that they have control over who can offer protection and who can't." While the security software firms may feel cold-shouldered, the hackers are happy to enjoy a drink with Microsoft, especially when the "evil empire" is buying. But the question is: will the hackers still respect Microsoft in the morning? If there was an answer at Hack in the Box it was a resounding "maybe". They like the charm offensive, they are just not sure how long it is going to last. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/click_online/5413792.stm Copyright 2006 BBC News. 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/BBC.html ------------------------------ From: Lisa Reyes Subject: IEC's Broadband World Forum Europe Closes in Paris Date: WED, 18 OCT 2006 12:51:33 -0500 Reply-To: lreyes@iec.org U.S. Contact: Lisa Reyes Phone: +1-312-559-3325 E-Mail: mailto:lreyes@iec.org European Contact: Brian Dolby Phone: +44 (0)115 948 6917 E-Mail: mailto:brian@gbcspr.com European Contact: Howard Jones +44 (0)115 948 6917 E-Mail: mailto:howard@gbcspr.com IEC's Broadband World Forum Europe Closes in Paris with Record-Breaking Attendance and 2007 Exhibition Floor Nearly Sold-Out The International Engineering Consortium’s (IEC) Broadband World Forum Europe closed last week with nearly 6500 information and communication technology professionals and more than 110 exhibiting companies PARIS -- 18 October 2006 -- The International Engineering Consortium (IEC) today announced that its Broadband World Forum Europe closed with attendance of nearly 6500 telecom professionals from 120 countries. Sixty different service providers attended the conference and exhibition, which hosted more than 110 equipment vendors on the exhibition floor. The event took place at CNIT La Defense, Paris with France Telecom as the official host sponsor. IEC President John Janowiak stated, "It's satisfying to know we've created a rich marketplace for broadband opportunities in Europe. Exemplifying this is the strong exhibitor response in rebook." Janowiak continued, "We sold out ninety-five percent of next year's exhibition floor in Berlin, Germany before the show ended last week." Key sponsors of the show presented leading-edge technologies on the exhibition such as France Telecom (official host sponsor), Alcatel, Siemens, Accenture, Ericsson, Huawei, Cisco Systems, ECI, Italtel, Keymile, Motorola, NEC, PacketFront, ZTE, ADVA, AVM, Nokia, Pirelli, Tellabs, Visionael, Texas Instruments, Operax, radialpoint, Redback Networks, and more. More than 250 leading industry experts spoke at the event providing the world-class programming at the educational conference including Keynoters Didier Lombard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, France Telecom Group; Francois Loos, Minister Delegate for Industry France; Alain Maloberti, Vice President, Network Architectures and Design, France Telecom Group, Mike Quigley, President and Chief Operating Officer, Alcatel; Jong-Lok Yoon, Senior Executive Vice President, Research and Development Group, KT. In addition to its focus on broadband, the event included the co-located event, the WiMAX Global ComForum, devoted to the technology and business challenges in implementing WiMAX wireless broadband networks for fixed-wireless access and mobile broadband. The InfoVision Awards also took place at the show recognizing the industry's top innovators and the most successfully deployed products, services, and applications in broadband. Nearly 300 industry journalists and analysts covered breaking news and product announcements that place at the Broadband World Forum Europe. For complete information including recordings of keynote addresses, photos, news coverage, executive interviews, InfoVision-winning products, TecPreviews, and more, visit http://www.iec.org/events/2006/bbwf/ or contact Lisa Reyes at mailto:lreyes@iec.org or Howard Jones in Europe at mailto:howard@gbcspr.com. About the Broadband World Forum Europe: Initiated in 2001, the Broadband World Forum Europe conference and exhibition has grown proportionately since its inception, offering a wide range of information and communication technologies topics under the large umbrella of broadband. This year's World Forum features more than 250 industry leaders to speak in nearly 70 sessions, complemented by more than 100 top vendors from around the globe displaying the latest products and services in broadband technology. Additional featured annual programming offered includes the WiMAX Global ComForum, a co-located event, and the InfoVision Awards. With the support of France Telecom as the official host sponsor, the IEC drew nearly 6500 executives, industry professionals, academia, and high-technology press to the CNIT La Défense in Paris this past 9-12 October. Next year’s Broadband World Forum Europe will take place in Berlin, Germany. Visit http://www.iec.org/events/2006/bbwf/. About the IEC: The International Engineering Consortium (IEC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to catalyzing technology and business progress worldwide in a range of high-technology industries and their university communities. Since 1944, the IEC has provided high-quality educational opportunities for industry professionals, academics, and students. In conjunction with industry-leading companies, the IEC has developed an extensive, free on-line educational program. The IEC conducts industry-university programs that have substantial impact on curricula. It also conducts research and develops publications, conferences, and technological exhibits that address major opportunities and challenges of the information age. More than 70 leading high-technology universities are IEC affiliates, and the IEC handles the affairs of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association and Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for electrical and computer engineers. The IEC also manages the activities of the Enterprise Communications Consortium. For more information, visit http://www.iec.org/. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 12:48:37 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Level 3 Buys Broadwing USTelecom dailyLead October 17, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eGoYfDtusXejelCibuddTtgC TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Level 3 buys Broadwing BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Deutsche Telekom rolls out IPTV * L.A. cable viewers cope with confusion * Motorola names new CMO * Sprint Nextel signs deal with Qualcomm to offer PTT on CDMA * IPTV firm Interactive Television Networks picks NXP platform for set-top box USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * On the Road to IMS: Consolidate. Converge. Innovate. TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Panel: If Grandma can run it, the technology is ready for everyone * Symbian CEO: PC era over in five years * Texting, for better or worse, is here to stay * More laptops outfitted with HSDPA REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Boston forges ahead with Wi-Fi plans Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eGoYfDtusXejelCibuddTtgC ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 18, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:04:22 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 18, 2006 ******************************** Orange Broadband Hit by Outages http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20563?11228 France Telecom's Orange broadband unit has suffered a major outage in the United Kingdom affecting over 100,000 users this week. According to the BBC, Orange said that the problem affected only customers using their unbundled local loop connections, although the company has restored service to many customers. However, by late ... Regulator Plans WiMAX Tender at End-November in Bulgaria http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20560?11228 The Bulgarian telecoms market regulator (CRC) is planning to hold a tender for licences for the point-to-multi-point WiMAX technology in the 26 GHz frequency range at the end of November this year. The deadline for submitting bids is 27 October. So far four operators have purchased the tender documents, mobile operators GloBul and ... Telecom Separates Vehicles and Animals http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20556?11228 Telecom technology can play a key role in preventing animal-vehicle collisions, which kill hundreds of people in the U.S each year. Various roadside animal detection systems use passive or active infrared signals, lasers, microwaves or seismic sensors to activate warning signs that urge drivers to slow down and/or be more alert when ... Strategies for Two-Sided Markets http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20555?11228 If you listed the blockbuster products and services that have redefined the global business landscape, you'd find that many of them tie together two distinct groups of users in a network. Case in point: The most important innovation in financial services since World War II is almost certainly the credit card, which links consumers ... Nokia Closes Loudeye Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20554?11228 Nokia has completed its previously announced purchase of Loudeye, which will put Nokia on pace to deliver an integrated mobile music experience to its customers next year. Separately, Nokia snagged a deal for downloadable Cartoon Network content. Nokia announced its intentions to purchase Loudeye in August. At the time of the ... AT&T Adds Net Neutrality Promise To BellSouth Deal http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20551?11228 Network-neutrality advocates may have seen a small but symbolic victory as AT&T added a promise of adherence to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) open Internet principles as part of the condition and "concession" package aimed at getting regulatory approval for its takeover of BellSouth and their Cingular ... Cable TV Infrastructure Market Driven by Three-Screen Quest and Fixed Mobil= e Convergence http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/110/20547?11228 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The worldwide cable TV industry is in a race to provision a 'three-screen' service that starts with HDTV sets, maps over to broadband-connected PCs, and follows subscribers around during the day on cell phones or other portable devices, reports In-Stat. As a result, the high-tech market research firm ... Level 3 Buys Broadwing for $1.4B http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20544?11228 Fiber-hungry carrier Level 3 Communications Inc. has gobbled up yet another network, this time acquiring Broadwing Corp. for $1.39 billion in cash and stock. Level 3 will pay $8.18 in cash plus 1.3411 shares for each Broadwing share -- the equivalent of $741 million in cash and $649 million in stock and a 15 percent ... Motorola's Mixed Bag http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20540?11228 Motorola Inc. built up its cellphone market share in the third quarter of 2006 but saw a slight decline in the average selling price of handsets, according to the firm's latest earnings figures. The networking giant reported third quarter 2006 overall revenues of $10.6 billion, marginally missing its guidance of $10.9 ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: Steven J. Sobol Subject: Re: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 19:34:29 UTC Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com In article , Reuters News Wire wrote: > Disaffected people living in the United States may develop radical > ideologies and potentially violent skills over the Internet and that > could present the next major U.S. security threat, U.S. Homeland > Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Monday. DHS is a toothless organization. Chertoff has to earn his pay somehow, so he's producing "facts" that will make it easier to justify the Bush administration screwing us out of more of our civil rights. Bend over, folks, and pull your pants down, if you aren't already sore back there. > things like bomb-making is a dangerous combination," Chertoff > said. "Those are the kind of terrorists that we may not be able to > detect with spies and satellites." Your agency couldn't find its collective bureaucratic ass with both hands; you are not competent enough to detect terrorists. > Chertoff pointed to the July 7, 2005 attacks on London's transit > system, which killed 56 people, as an example a home-grown threat. Other types of crime are perpetrated using the Internet too. Let's just switch the stupid thing off, eh? Chertoff needs a clue implant. > into "intelligence fusion centers," where they would work with local > police agencies, and cooperative ISPs in identifying dissident users. And woe be unto ISPs that have a backbone and refuse to cooperate. > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: How about an _honest_ re-write of this > news item, like this: " Michael Chertoff has stated that people who > get most of their news from truthful sources on the internet instead > of relying on the highly sanitized news presented as 'news' by the > New York Times and the talking heads on television are more likely to > have a realistic view of the world and a certain amount of anger > built up inside them when they realize how politicians and other > 'authorities' have defrauded and humored them while attemptng > desparately to maintain their own fraud, called 'law and order' in > the USA. Long ago, we got the newspapers and the Talking Heads on > televison and the radio to toe the line, but that damn Internet! It > is a bunch of people talking and thinking for themselves, and we > cannot have that if _we_ are to maintain control. There ought to be a > law against things like Internet!" PAT] Bless you, Pat, that's exactly what I was thinking! >:) Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room. ------------------------------ From: Ken Wheatley Subject: Re: Just What Is SIP And SS7 and How Do They Work With VoIP? Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 09:54:06 +0100 On 16 Oct 2006 16:11:04 -0700, FreedomFireCom wrote: > Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Signaling System 7 (SS7) are the > common protocols used for transmitting voice across networks. Just how > they work with VoIP ... or not ... opens the door for both concerns and > opportunity. > You can read the rest of this article here: > http://Broadband-nation.blogspot.com Interesting article, but I'm not sure I agree with 'SIP ... does not use a separate signalling path', in that the media certainly need, and usually does not, follow the same path as the SIP dialogs. ------------------------------ From: mc Subject: Re: Phony Identification Organization: BellSouth Internet Group Date: Tue, 17 Oct 2006 22:09:44 -0400 > The number on my Caller ID reads 617-000-0000, and I pick it up, > half-thinking it might be James Bond. A little disappointingly, the > call is from the Suffolk County district attorney's office. Law > enforcement types, apparently, can manipulate the telephone system to > hide their real numbers. It makes sense. There are bad guys out there, > and prosecutors don't necessarily want them phoning back. Can one rely on areacode-000-0000 to be a nonexistent number? If so, I might put it in the first position of my autodialer, which sometimes gets triggered accidentally. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: It is interesting how numbers like that, such as 000-000-0000 are obviously incorrect, and are intended only as a way to defeat caller ID, yet some of the telcos -- SBC comes to mind -- refuse to do anything about it. SBC is much more dedicated to their large commercial accounts than they are the vast majority of their subscribers. For a period of a couple months I was receiving several calls daily (from AT&T of all people, and this was long before the merger of that company and Southwestern Bell) trying to collect on a bill from someone who had my special ring-ring number long before I had it. When it finally got to the point I had to make appeal to the chairman's office at SBC to try and get those calls stopped, the lady who took my call insisted there was nothing SBC could do. "And as long as they provide their number to you, we cannot stop their call merely because you subscribe to anonymous call rejection." I kept telling her they were not 'providing their number' to me; they were providing all zeros; but, according to SBC, that was good enough ... 'they are giving you a number'. I asked her why didn't telco do a database-dip on all obviously incorrect numbers, and decline those with no ID available. She said that was not how they did things. No, I guess not. It ended as a stalemate. I was free to either keep their service as is, or get my phone turned off. The way I settled it was to switch away from SBC to one of their competitors, which still did not eliminate the problem of people plugging in bogus numbers (to get around those of us who block _deliberatly withheld_ (using *67 before dialing) but it did eliminate the problem of ignorant people responding for the chairman. 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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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 #365 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Thu Oct 19 14:58:06 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 639652264; Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:58:06 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #366 Message-Id: <20061019185806.639652264@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:58:06 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Thu, 19 Oct 2006 15:00:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 366 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Microsoft Releases Explorer 7 (Daisuke Wakabayashi, Reuters) First IE 7 Security Flaw Already Found! (Peter Sayer, IDG) Verizon to Spin Off Directories Business (USTelecom dailyLead) Toll Free Number to Share (Charles Gray) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 19, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Telecom Update for the UK ? (duncan@2u.co.uk) Re: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims (Dorsey) Re: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims (Oxley) Re: Microsoft Opens Virtual Drives for Free (Danny Burstein) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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, 19 Oct 2006 13:11:20 -0500 From: Daisuke Wakabayashi Subject: Microsoft Releases Explorer 7 By Daisuke Wakabayashi Microsoft Corp. released Internet Explorer 7 on Wednesday, the first major upgrade to its Web browser since 2001 with new features aimed at preventing online fraud and improving ease of use. Microsoft's IE remains the most widely-used software to surf the Web, but the long gap between major releases allowed for the emergence of the company's most formidable browser competitor since it vanquished the once-dominant Netscape. Mozilla Firefox, a free open-source browser, has steadily gained users since its introduction in 2004 with features such as an integrated search window to allow users to do a Web query without opening another page, tab browsing to toggle between different sites and a pop-up window blocker. These features are included in the new Internet Explorer and Microsoft also touted the security improvements to the browser including color-coded warnings in the address bar to indicate whether a Web site can be trusted. IE 7 is available immediately to Windows XP users and it will eventually serve as the default browser for Microsoft's much- anticipated Windows Vista operating system, due out to consumers in early 2007. According to analysts, consumers increasingly identify the quality of an operating system with the quality of its browser and that makes a well-received browser important for Microsoft -- even if it is not sold as a separate product. "How would it look if Microsoft didn't have a good browser as part of Windows? It wouldn't look good," said Forrester Research analyst Colin Teubner. Microsoft said it is already at work on the next version of Internet Explorer to ensure that long gaps between updates do not occur again. "Should we have done more, sooner, earlier? It's rare to not say that in hindsight," said Dean Hachamovitch, general manager of the Internet Explorer team at Microsoft. Internet Explorer registered an 86 percent global share in October, Mozilla Firefox 11.5 percent and both Apple Computer Inc.'s Safari and Norway's Opera Software, less than 2 percent, according to OneStat.com. "It's exciting to see Microsoft reenter the browser space after leaving for five years," said Christopher Beard, vice president of products for Mozilla. "It's great to see that IE is adopting the features that we popularized." Mozilla said it also plans to release an upgraded browser, Firefox 2, within the next few weeks. The upgrade will include a feature to allow users to restore work done online if the browser or PC crashes, a spell check function for e-mails or blog postings and suggestions for search queries. Microsoft's Windows Live is the default search engine on Internet Explorer 7, but users will have the option to change to competing search engines. In Mozilla Firefox, the default search engine in the U.S. is Google Inc. Competitors raised objections to Microsoft making its own search engine the default setting over concern that it would unfairly drive traffic to Windows Live, but analysts said consumers will eventually gravitate toward the search engine that produces the best results. The new browser will be sent as an automatic security update and then users will have an option to install the new Internet Explorer onto their PC. Companies also have the option to block its workers from installing the new browser. IE 7 is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/ie. 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, 19 Oct 2006 13:15:01 -0500 From: Peter Sayer, IDG Subject: First IE 7 Security Flaw Already Found! by Peter Sayer, IDG News Service Less than 24 hours after the launch of Internet Explorer 7, security researchers are poking holes in the new browser. Danish security company Secunia reported today that IE7 contains an information disclosure vulnerability, the same one it reported in IE6 in April. The vulnerability affects the final version of IE7 running on Windows XP with Service Pack 2. If a surfer uses IE7 to visit a maliciously crafted Web site, that site could exploit the security flaw to read information from a separate, secure site to which the surfer is logged in. That could enable an attacker to read banking details, or messages from a Web-mail account, said Thomas Kristensen, Secunia's chief technology officer. "A phishing attack would be a good place to exploit this," he said. One of the security features Microsoft touts for the new browser is the protection it offers users from phishing attacks. Flaw Not Easy to Exploit Secunia rates the security flaw as "less critical," its second-lowest rating, and suggests disabling active scripting support to protect the computer. The flaw could result in the exposure of sensitive information and can be exploited by a remote system, Secunia said in a security advisory posted on its Web site. It is hard to exploit the flaw because it requires the attacker to lure someone to a malicious site, and for the attacker to know what other secure site the visitor might simultaneously have open, Kristensen said. "A quick user browsing through our Web site using IE7 found it failed one of our tests," he said. The company then verified the information, notified Microsoft and published a proof-of-concept exploit on its Web site. 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 and headlines each day, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/technews.html ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:44:18 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Verizon to Spin Off Directories Business USTelecom dailyLead October 18, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eHbEfDtusXemlnCibuddKEQa TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Verizon to spin off directories business BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Time Warner Cable files for IPO * AT&T aims to shake up video business with U-verse * Motorola's Q3 sales fall below expectations * Symbian chief predicts U.S. smartphone adoption will rise * EarthLink, Telkonet plan BPL test in D.C. USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * On the Road to IMS: Consolidate. Converge. Innovate. TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Like Google and TiVo, YouTube is becoming a verb * Chinese Web gets its MTV REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * India hatches broadband deployment strategy * AT&T teams with MetroFi to build Wi-Fi network Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eHbEfDtusXemlnCibuddKEQa ------------------------------ Subject: Toll Free Number to Share Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 07:26:28 -0500 From: Gray, Charles Pat, the toll free number listed below may be of some use to Digest readers. Regards, Charles G. Gray Senior Lecturer, Telecommunications Oklahoma State University - Tulsa (918) 594-8433 -----Original Message----- From: eqvuoo [mailto:livenlearn13@lhep.unibe.ch]=20 Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 5:32 PM To: gosnell@okstate.edu Cc: gpjohns@okstate.edu; grahamm@okstate.edu; graycg@okstate.edu Subject: Re: Office closed; No work tomorrow Hey, Find out how to make 1.5 - 3.5k a day from your house. 800.691.4528 Contact me at my number if you can return phone calls. Regards, sounoiv [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Mr. Gray, I am sure other readers of the Digest will be as thrilled as I to discover this great money- making opportunity, and I encourage everyone to call the number and learn about this new scheme. Wasn't it also great how the message sender, Mr. Souniov, carefully chose an appropriate subject line for his message? I receive _so_ many such messages where the subject line in no way corresponds to the message enclosed. It really makes one wonder what these guys do for brains. Of course, I guess I should be talking about brains; after all, I am still doing this Digest after a quarter-century. PAT] ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 19, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 11:21:55 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 19, 2006 ******************************** EU Gets Roaming Charges Boost; Telefonica Drops Charges for Calls Received Abroad http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20597?11228 Telefonica's O2 and Movistar have become the first mobile operators to drop charges for incoming calls received across Europe. Global Insight Perspective Significance ... BenQ German Mobile Phone Unit to Cut Nearly 2,000 Jobs http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20589?11228 MUNICH, Germany -- The German mobile phone unit of Taiwanese electronics company BenQ Corp. will shed nearly 2,000 jobs in a bid to salvage the business, an insolvency administrator said Thursday. BenQ Mobile filed for insolvency protection on Sept. 29 after its Taiwanese parent abandoned an attempt to turn around the ... Wanted: Recruits For Emergency Communications Panel http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20577?11228 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is seeking nominations for membership on a new advisory panel for wireless-oriented emergency communications mandated by a port security bill signed into law by President George Bush last Friday. The regulator's upcoming formation of a Commercial Mobile Service Alert Advisory ... Content Filtering Options Proliferate http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20574?11228 A variety of scenarios can and do happen with enough regularity that a new market segment's arisen to deal with them. Products are emerging in what's generally called the content monitoring and filtering arena to help IT pros ensure that in-house messaging won't have unpleasant or even catastrophic ... Nokia, Ericsson Face Off http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20570?11228 As earnings week for the world's major mobile phone makers continues, Nokia Corp. and Ericsson AB -- whose cell phone joint-venture with Sony Corp., Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications , reported surging sales of its mobile devices last week -- are expected to report strong results tomorrow. Consensus estimates ... Ericsson Plugs Marconi Progress http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20568?11228 Ericsson AB says its acquired Marconi business has reached breakeven, that an order backlog is building, and that its fixed-line business is picking up, especially in Europe. That assessment came from Ericsson CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg during a third-quarter earnings press conference Thursday morning. Ericsson's numbers -- ... TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ From: duncan@2u.co.uk Subject: Telecom Update for the UK Date: 19 Oct 2006 08:42:47 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com This is a great outline of the Canadian telecoms situation. Do you have any such info on the UK market. That would be much appreciated. Thanks, Duncan http://www.mobile-phone-upgrade.com ------------------------------ From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) Subject: Re: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims Date: 18 Oct 2006 14:59:08 -0400 Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000) Steven J. Sobol wrote: > In article , Reuters News Wire > wrote: >> Disaffected people living in the United States may develop radical >> ideologies and potentially violent skills over the Internet and that >> could present the next major U.S. security threat, U.S. Homeland >> Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said on Monday. > DHS is a toothless organization. Chertoff has to earn his pay somehow, > so he's producing "facts" that will make it easier to justify the Bush > administration screwing us out of more of our civil rights. Well, it's true. Disaffected people WILL develop radical ideologies and violent skills. That's what they do. They used to it it at the local public library, but now they'll be doing it on the internet instead. Perhaps the government would do well to investigate why so many people are disaffected. --scott "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." ------------------------------ From: nospam4me@mytrashmail.com (Herb Oxley) Subject: Re: The Web is a Terror Training Camp in the USA, Chertoff Claims Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 19:47:45 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC It might be time for folks to look into alternative technologies such as FidoNet (which still exists mostly in parts of the world where broadband is nonexistant and all phone calls are metered) along with dialup networking. My nickname for this concept is "BBS 21" combining the function of the 1980-1995 (mostly) MS-DOS BBS software with modern user interfaces and TCP/IP. BBS 21 would have dialup access, offline messaging (via Simple Offline Usenet Packet technology) to minimize user connect time. Now there is a possible weak spot for BBS 21; that is the continued ability to use a modem over the Public Switched Telephone Network . Herb Oxley From: address IS Valid. ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein Subject: Re: Microsoft Opens Virtual Drives for Free Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 03:55:00 UTC Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC In Reuters News Wire writes: [ snippage ] > The Microsoft virtualisation software has been available for more than > two years, but as computers become more powerful the use of > virtualisation is expected to mushroom, the company said at a news > conference. > The software permits the easy use of several operating systems on one > machine. So, for example, dangerous software could be installed on a > virtual machine without affecting the host computer. To add a bit of useful clarification here ... if you're using Windows XP as your operating system, you can set up a virtual machine inside it running, yes, Windows XP, and if something Goes Wrong, you (should ...) be able to simply shut down that portion and close it out without any harm to your main operation. _____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key dannyb@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded] ------------------------------ 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 #366 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Fri Oct 20 18:45:20 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 8A4B12221; Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:45:20 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #367 Message-Id: <20061020224520.8A4B12221@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:45:20 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Fri, 20 Oct 2006 18:47:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 367 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Nortel Claims Video Hungry Users Could Push Net to Brink (Wojtek Dabrowski) Microsoft Partners Angry About Vista (Jordan Robertson, AP) Ma Bell or Ma Cell? (Owen Thomas) France Telecom's Orange to Launch Windows Live (USTelecom dailyLead) Vonage Trying to Reuse my SC Number (Fred Atkinson) Cisco Steadily Building Advanced Technology Portfolio (USTelecom dailyLead) TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 20, 2006 (telecomdirect_daily) Telecom Update #551, October 20, 2006 (John Riddell) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:31:35 -0500 From: Wojtek Dabrowski Subject: Nortel Claims Video Hungry Users Could Push Net to Brink By Wojtek Dabrowski Soaring demand for games, video and music will stretch the Internet to its limits, Canada's Nortel Networks Corp. says, and it expects service providers will make big investments in its technology to avoid a crunch. But the telecom equipment giant, still struggling to turn its fortunes round after the tech bubble burst, is treading carefully as it prepares for what it sees as a looming buildout of capacity by telecommunications companies. Massive overbuild of Internet bandwidth capacity helped lead to the meltdown six years ago, and the company says it doesn't want things to go wrong again. "It's driven by caution, because none of us want to repeat the mistakes of 1999 to 2001," Nortel's chief technology officer, John Roese, told Reuters in a recent interview. The mistakes he refers to saw billions of dollars in Nortel losses, as well as tens of thousands of job cuts and a precipitous plunge in its stock price. Nortel stock peaked at more than C$120 a share in 2000. They are worth about C$2.50 a share today. But perhaps ironically, Roese also believes the capacity bubble helped service providers cope with the surge in demand for bandwidth that came with the advent of online video Web sites like YouTube.com. "The only reason YouTube didn't destroy the Internet is because there was a bit of a bubble in terms of excess capacity out there," Roese said. "But, boy, don't take that for granted." Nortel believes its Metro Ethernet unit, which uses technology similar to the one used to connect local, short-distance networks to build Internet infrastructure, will soon draw carriers that need more capacity and let them stay safely ahead of the demand curve. This curve has been growing steeper as users demand more bandwidth for online video, music, games and, increasingly, television. "That's our underlying fear," he said. "If the industry cannot keep up with the demand because we kind of take it for granted after the buildout in the 2000 timeframe, if we ever hit a wall, the impact on global economies, the impact on innovation is just profound." He said market research into trends like Internet video had led the Toronto-based Nortel to believe the surge in demand for bandwidth capacity is real. "Over the last six months we've absolutely convinced ourselves -- and we think we have a lot of empirical data to back it up -- that this is not a short-term trend," he said. Tim Daubenspeck, who covers Nortel for Pacific Crest Securities, thinks the company has got the right idea. "I fully believe in the video thesis, both kind of over-the-top video, browser-based video, as well as the coming Internet protocol television trend ... as telcos push video to the home," Daubenspeck said. "If you look at the bandwidth demand that video drives, it's an order of magnitude more than what we're used to." LOW-COST COMPETITORS AWAIT Nortel faces competition, not least from low-cost Asian competitors like Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.. But it insists that its strength lies in its people and their ability to plan, deploy and operate networks and says Huawei cannot provide that. Huawei declined to comment. Daubenspeck agrees that there is a shift away from price as the ultimate factor determining where a telecom company puts its network infrastructure dollars. "We've seen Huawei make inroads into the European market using cost or price as a competitive advantage, but I think functionality and performance is going to be increasingly important," he said. "So just pure raw price is not going to be a differentiator like it was a year or two ago." He said carriers now favor vendors who can deliver a complete network package. "In periods of dramatic technology change, which is what's going on, being driven by things like video and the requirement to reduce costs. You tend to go back to the guys who are more end-to-end, more solutions-focused, as opposed to just a cheap-point product company." 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: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 16:36:15 -0500 From: Jordan Robertson, AP Subject: Microsoft Partners Angry About Vista Microsoft partners fuming over Vista By JORDAN ROBERTSON, AP Business Writer Microsoft Corp. is no stranger to antitrust skirmishes and complaints from competitors about unfair business practices. But the latest fight over its upcoming Vista operating system pits Microsoft against an unlikely adversary: the security software vendors who are some of its most intimate partners in protecting its notoriously vulnerable systems from attacks. As Vista's planned release nears, the company is facing a backlash from such vendors as Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc., which argue that even the concessions Microsoft recently made to appease European antitrust regulators won't do enough to help them best protect their customers. "We've been talking to them for over two years on this issue," said Rowan Trollope, Symantec's vice president for consumer engineering. "And now (with) basically a very short amount of time before the operating system comes out, we're not in a good position to provide that security to our customers." Ultimately, consumers will decide whether Microsoft's own security measures are adequate to combat increasingly sophisticated Internet threats and keep personal data safe from hackers and online criminals. But the showdown also marks an important turning point in how computer users buy security software. Microsoft now competes directly with Cupertino-based Symantec and Santa Clara-based McAfee with its own product, called OneCare, posing a substantial threat to vendors who have been vital to protecting generations of Microsoft operating systems. European antitrust regulators have warned Microsoft not to shut out rivals in security software and other markets, and the European Union so far has fined the Redmond, Wash., company $970 million over the current flavor of Windows. To quell EU concerns about Vista, Microsoft pledged to make key changes, but the vendors remain unsatisfied and have threatened antitrust lawsuits. McAfee issued a statement Thursday complaining of the company's failure to live up to "hollow assurances." Industry analysts said Microsoft's new dual role could inadvertently make the operating system more vulnerable. "Microsoft's priority should be simple: Fortify the operating system, make it secure, make it as impenetrable as possible, but work with the third parties," said Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst with Jupiter Research. Vista will be Microsoft's first major upgrade to its flagship operating system since Windows XP's release in 2001. The company touts Vista's sleeker looks, improved search capabilities and simplified organization as key upgrades over previous systems. But several key security changes prompted Symantec and McAfee officials to launch withering public attacks in recent weeks. Executives accused Microsoft of unfairly promoting its own security software with a dashboard that couldn't be disabled by vendors. The company pledged technological information to turn off the feature, designed to help customers easily see what protections are switched on. Vendors also howled over an icon on the welcome screen linking to Microsoft security products. Microsoft refused to remove the link but has vowed to link to other security companies. The biggest -- and currently unresolved -- fight hinges on vendors' claims they have been locked out of access to the core, or kernel, of higher-end, 64-bit versions of Vista. A new feature called PatchGuard is meant to protect the most sensitive information in the guts of the system. While blocking out hackers, PatchGuard also keeps out security vendors that have traditionally been allowed inside to retrieve necessary information. Vendors said their products will thus lack advanced security features for 64-bit users (The 32-bit version that consumers are likely to get does not include PatchGuard and thus offers access to the disputed data). Microsoft said the methods previously used were undocumented and unsupported and left the system less secure and less stable. Customers, the company said, demand better security. The company has agreed to permit limited kernel access, but will not provide a "blanket exception" or turn off the feature entirely, said Stephen Toulouse, a senior program manager in Microsoft's Security Technology Unit. "We did look at that, but we got consistent feedback that that wouldn't be a good option for the customer," he said. "We want to make clear that we will work with those vendors. It will take some time, but we're committed to making that happen." Microsoft held online briefings with security vendors on Thursday to address their concerns, though technical difficulties booted some vendors out. Security vendors said their engineers are going to have to scramble to update their software once the technical tools they need become available, which could be months away. Vista begins shipping to computer manufacturers and larger businesses next month. Consumers should be able to buy the new operating system in January. "We're turning blue holding our breath waiting for something to happen," McAfee chief scientist George Heron said in an interview. "And frankly so are the users. This is the 11th hour. Now is not the time to crack open the designs." In the meantime, third-party vendors said their products will work but won't have maximum protection. Microsoft said its products will adhere to the same rules and won't have an unfair advantage. Security experts said it's unclear whether Microsoft's stance on protecting the kernel will make Windows more secure, though it will likely challenge hackers to try to crack it. "No matter how secure any operating system is, if it has been built by man, it can be broken by man," said Ken Dunham, director of the rapid response team at VeriSign Inc.'s iDefense Intelligence. "While it might be a major improvement, there is no silver bullet." Vendors said customers are likely to agree. "It's a little bit like the fox guarding the hen house," Symantec's Trollope said. "If Microsoft can control the ways that companies can innovate, if they can control the dialogue of security with the customer, you end up with a security monoculture. And that's unacceptable." 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:16:16 -0500 From: Owen Thomas, Business 2.0 Subject: Ma Bell or Ma Cell? Forget Ma Bell, think Ma Cell AT&T's $81 billion Cell deal is all about wireless. When it happens, the world of big-business telecom sales will never be the same. By Owen Thomas, Business 2.0 Magazine (Business 2.0 Magazine) -- AT&T's bid to acquire BellSouth has run into a few snags lately, but make no mistake: The $81 billion dealwill happen -- and when it does, the impact will be far bigger on corporate America than on consumers. This deal isn't about a return to Ma Bell, the telephone monolith that was famously broken up two decades ago. It's about Ma Cell and the future of wireless communication for businesses. Both AT&T and BellSouth have been key players in the $100 billion market for big-business telecom services. Together they just might be unstoppable. The future of connectivity How so? Because consolidating control over their Cingular Wireless joint venture will transform the mobile operator into a far more nimble competitor. But there's another reason: a new technology known as IMS. It promises to cure the perennial IT headache of making sure that employees stay connected and productive on the go. With IMS technology, CIOs won't have to think about equipping employees with landlines and e-mail pagers and calling cards and cell phones and laptop network cards. They'll just buy connectivity, plain and simple. Both Cingular and AT&T separately have invested heavily in IMS. "IMS is where the industry is headed," says John Byrne, an analyst with Technology Business Research. "It makes perfect sense for [those parallel efforts] to be integrated."' An AT&T spokesman declined comment for this story, citing the pending merger. The deal's expected Federal Communications Commission approval last week has been held up by last-minute conditions sought by some regulators. But AT&T's past statements, analysts, and industry sources paint a clear picture of what's ahead for the combined company and its corporate customers. Hanging up on separate networks To be sure, IMS won't alleviate any IT migraines anytime soon. The technology is somewhat complex: it promises to seamlessly route voice and data over any network whether it's wired, wireless, 3G or Wi-Fi. Ultimately the information will travel over the same secure backbone. But Byrne, for one, thinks it will take a few years before engineers work out all of the kinks. IMS is just one factor driving the AT&T-BellSouth merger. The other is the advantage of having their currently separate wired and wireless phone networks under one roof. Full control over a cellular network will enable AT&T to offer and sell services far more quickly than when Cingular was a joint venture -- and subject to the inevitable limits of two competitors trying to work together. Take AT&T's pending rollout of a citywide Wi-Fi network in Riverside, Calif. Before the merger deal, a project like this could be seen as competing with Cingular's 3G network and the partners could easily have squabbled over it. Now AT&T can freely sell customers access to either its 3G network or Wi-Fi hotspots - or both. Indeed, expect to see AT&T selling business customers combination phones that work on Cingular's cellular network, over corporate Wi-Fi networks, and at AT&T-managed Wi-Fi hotspots. It's a key advantage. AT&T archrival Verizon (Charts), which owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, doesn't have that freedom. It still has to dicker with Verizon Wireless joint venture partner, U.K.-based Vodafone (Charts), over who gets paid for what. Rebirth of a salesman AT&T will also have another advantage -- its large corporate salesforce that's used to cultivating Fortune 500 customers and selling packaged deals. These salespeople have had to operate at arm's length with Cingular, bringing in a Cingular representative to sell a deal that includes wireless services. After it takes control of Cingular, AT&T salespeople will be able to sell wireless directly to their existing accounts. "The fact that you even have to ask who owns the account points out why it makes sense for the Cingular venture to go away and be brought into AT&T," says Byrne. And it's not just Cingular as a corporate entity that's set to disappear: AT&T has said that the Cingular brand itself will fade away. Some consumers may miss the Cingular brand, which seemed younger and hipper than AT&T. But for corporate customers, the seriousness and solidity of the AT&T brand is more reassuring. Who needs Cingular? And as technological change makes the distinction between wired and wireless connections less meaningful, it's not clear what value a separate wireless brand would have in a few years anyway. So goodbye and good riddance, Cingular. Getting rid of the separate wireless brand -- and separate wireless technology -- is a great example of the simplicity that the newly expanded AT&T promises. Here comes Ma Cell: A network that's everywhere, and that you don't have to think about. Ubiquity and stability. When you think about it, that doesn't sound that different from the Ma Bell of old. 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 each day from the media, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/internet-news.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:21:24 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: France Telecom's Orange to launch Windows Live USTelecom dailyLead October 19, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eHqQfDtusXeqcQCibuddfWqU TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * France Telecom's Orange to launch Windows Live BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Cingular launches 3G service in Orlando * CBS launches channel on YouTube USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Are You Ready for the CALEA Deadline? TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Boost Mobile launches Text to Landline * Small businesses turning to VoIP * Google offers Japanese-language news to handsets * Millions of episodes being streamed online, networks say REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * Suit against Qwest dismissed ------------------------------ From: Fred Atkinson Subject: Vonage Trying to Reuse My SC Number Date: Thu, 19 Oct 2006 16:04:17 -0400 A few minutes ago, I got a call (on my SC line) from someone asking to speak to Nancy. She confirmed that she had dialed my number. I told her that there has never been a Nancy here. A few minutes later, I got a call from someone named Nancy who said that she had just gotten Vonage service and Vonage had assigned her this number. Since I originally had that number from Vonage, I explained to her that I had ported the number from Vonage to Carolina Net quite some time ago. She said she'd have to call Vonage and request a new number. I called Vonage and spoke to Tina. After I explained that that number was no longer available for Vonage to re-assign, she called the appropriate people. They are going to assign Nancy a new telephone number. Tina opened a ticket for me on this. I told Tina to make sure they didn 't do anything to cause my SC number any problems. She said they wouldn't interfere with my number. I called Carolina Net to let them know what is happening. I got music on hold for a good little bit before they came on the line. I called Carolina Net and informed them of this phenomenon. Caroline (Carolina Net) said that she is opening a ticket on this and will inform the porting department to make sure that I don't lose my number. Can anything else this simple to handle go wrong? Fred ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:27:03 CDT From: USTelecom dailyLead Subject: Cisco Steadily Building Advanced Technology Portfolio USTelecom dailyLead October 20, 2006 http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eHBkfDtusXeuwBCibuddEkcw TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Cisco steadily building advanced technology portfolio BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * JibJab lands Landis as director, Verizon as distributor * Ericsson CEO details Marconi progress * Google expands search lead as it doubles profits TECHNOLOGY TRENDS * Report: Mobile phones shipments may reach 1B in 2006 * GSM technology touted for public safety * Report: Business wireless IM use rising VOIP DOWNLOAD * Europe surpassing U.S. with mobile VoIP * Cable targets business services market Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/eHBkfDtusXeuwBCibuddEkcw ------------------------------ Subject: TelecomDirect News Daily Update - October 20, 2006 From: telecomdirect_daily Reply-To: telecomdirect_daily-owner@telecomdirectnews.com Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:58:06 EDT ******************************** PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents The TelecomDirect News Daily Update For October 20, 2006 ******************************** Megafon in Trouble with Regulator over Interconnection Fees http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20624?11228 Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has charged Russia's third-largest mobile operator, Megafon, with violation of antitrust legislation. Similar charges against the country's two largest operators, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) and VimpelCom, have been dropped. Megafon has issued a press release outlining its plans to ... Telus CEO Pitches for Deregulation http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/130/20621?11228 Darren Entwistle, the CEO of Telus, Canada's number two telco, pitched for greater deregulation of the Canadian telecoms market in a speech reported by Reuters on 18 October 2006. Entwistle described current regulations as out of date with current technology, which is inhibiting capital spending on new technologies. Citing the ... NOTHING LEFT TO ANALYZE BUT THE CUSTOMERS THEMSELVES http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20615?11228 In the telecom industry there has been an engineering-driven 'build it and they will come' mentality that often puts technology and product ahead of customer and marketing. But the technologies being put in place today-like IMS and content delivery systems-will rely on a much more sophisticated understanding of customers and ... Verizon Aims to Cast a Wider V CAST Net http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/140/20609?11228 Verizon Wireless hopes to open up its V CAST multimedia wireless service to a larger group of its customers by offering a newly launched daily subscription service. A 24-hour trial of the mobile video service will run Verizon Wireless customers $3. A monthly subscription costs $15. As with the monthly service, daily subscribers ... Top 10 Tips for Managing an RFP http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20606?11228 They can be three sentences long or 300 pages. They can be broadcast across the supplier landscape or limited to a shortlist of preferred vendors. Some public companies and regulated utilities are required to make them public, but most companies prefer to issue them on the QT. Regardless, most companies put out request for proposals ... Alphabet Soup: SITA Offers ATI Mobile VoIP http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/150/20605?11228 According to one estimate, the air-transport industry (ATI) is spending 'billions of dollars' a year on fixed and mobile telephony services. A Swiss company now says it can save the wireless day with a mobile Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) offering. Geneva-based SITA, which claims to be 'the world's leading ... Verizon's Tough Zone http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20602?11228 Verizon Wireless is taking on Sprint Nextel Corp. on its home turf with a new ruggedized handset from UTStarcom Inc. The G-One Type-V ruggedized mobile phone blends water-, heat-, and drop-resistant features that are typically the domain of phones aimed at blue collar workers and vertical enterprise applications, with ... Cingular's Subs-stantial Quarter http://www.telecomdirectnews.com/do.php/120/20600?11228 Cingular Wireless LLC reported profits up 282 percent for the third quarter as it added another 1.4 million subscribers to its books. The top cellular carrier in the U.S. reported this morning that net income grew to $847 million from $222 million in the same quarter a year ago. Cingular's total revenues were $9.6 billion, up 9.2 ... Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to: TelecomDirect Editor Copyright (C) 2006 PricewaterhouseCoopers. ------------------------------ Subject: Telecom Update #551, October 20, 2006 Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 13:53:47 -0400 From: John Riddell ************************************************************ TELECOM UPDATE ************************************************************ published weekly by Angus TeleManagement Group http://www.angustel.ca Number 551: October 20, 2006 Publication of Telecom Update is made possible by generous financial support from: ** AVAYA: www.avaya.ca/ ** BELL CANADA: www.bell.ca/home/Home_Business.page ** CISCO SYSTEMS CANADA: www.cisco.com/ca/ ** ERICSSON: www.ericsson.ca ** MICROSOFT CANADA: www.microsoft.ca/communications/ ** NEC UNIFIED SOLUTIONS: www.necunifiedsolutions.com ** ROGERS TELECOM: www.rogers.com/solutions ** SHAW BUSINESS SOLUTIONS: www.shawbusinesssolutions.ca ** VONAGE CANADA: www.vonage.ca ************************************************************ IN THIS ISSUE:=20 ** B.C. Area Code Plan Proposed ** CRTC Okays Centrex Rate Hike ** SaskTel First to Launch IP High-Definition TV ** Canada Drops in OECD Broadband Rankings ** Cogeco Cable Phone Subscriptions Jump 64% ** Videotron Wireless Launches in Montreal ** Bell Offers Personal Online Storage ** Winnipeg Mayor Makes Wi-Fi Promise ** CRTC Revokes International LD Licences ** Price Cap Hearing Concluded ** Distributel Files CLEC Tariff ** FCC Delays AT&T-BellSouth Vote ** RIM to Miss Filing Deadline ** Telecom Hall of Fame Honours New Laureates ** Last Chance for "Enterprise Networks 2006" B.C. AREA CODE PLAN PROPOSED: The NPA 250 Relief Planning Committee has agreed on a plan to solve the looming phone number shortage in B.C. (See Telecom Update #548) The proposal, one of 24 considered, would expand Area Code 778 (currently Lower Mainland only) to cover the entire province, and eliminate current restrictions on where new 604 numbers can be assigned in the Lower Mainland. This would delay the need for a new Area Code in British Columbia to 2017. ** The committee's proposal, which now goes to the CRTC for approval, envisions implementation by June 2007. CRTC OKAYS CENTREX RATE HIKE: CRTC Decision 2006-281 gives final approval to a 10% increase in Bell and Bell-Aliant monthly rates for Centrex locals, EEWD locals, and related services, in Ontario and Quebec. The Commission rejected an argument, made by the Department of Justice, that it was unfair for Bell to increase rates shortly after it won a competitive RFP process to provide EEWD (Enhanced Exchange-Wide Dial) service to the federal government. ** Centrex and EEWD rates are uncapped; telcos do not have to provide cost justification for rate increases. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Orders/2006/o2006-281.htm SASKTEL FIRST TO LAUNCH IP HIGH-DEFINITION TV: SaskTel says it is the first provider in North America to offer High Definition TV over an Internet Protocol network. Max HD Ultimate, which includes 27 HD channels, is $59/month for the first four months. (See Telecom Update #514, 532) CANADA DROPS IN OECD BROADBAND RANKINGS: The OECD's latest statistics on broadband penetration in member countries show that Canada is still first in the G7 in broadband penetration, but due to much faster gains by other countries Canada is now ninth in the OECD, down from second place in 2003. ** In the past six years, Canada has increased from 8.5 to 22.4 broadband subscribers per 100 inhabitants. http://www.oecd.org/sti/ict/broadband COGECO CABLE PHONE SUBSCRIPTIONS JUMP 64%: Cogeco Cable added a net 20,394 phone lines in the quarter ended August 31, to bring the total to 52,315. Service is now available to 66% of homes passed. ** Overall revenue of $174.9 million was 25% higher than the previous year, reflecting Cogeco's recent acquisition in Portugal. Profits tripled to $34.0 million. (See Telecom Update #532) VIDEOTRON WIRELESS LAUNCHES IN MONTREAL: Videotron has launched cellular service in Greater Montreal, the fifth Quebec region to receive coverage. BELL OFFERS PERSONAL ONLINE STORAGE: Bell Canada now offers Personal Vault, an online storage service designed for consumers' music or photo files. Price for three gigabytes of space: $6 per month. WINNIPEG MAYOR MAKES WI-FI PROMISE: Winnipeg's incumbent Mayor, Sam Katz, says that if he is re-elected on October 25 he will initiate a project to deploy Wi-Fi Internet access throughout the city's downtown area. CRTC REVOKES INTERNATIONAL LD LICENCES: The CRTC has revoked the licences of 21 international long distance carriers and resellers that have failed to submit required reports. Under the Telecom Act, anyone who provides international LD service without a licence faces summary conviction and penalties up to $100,000 for an individual or $1 million for a company. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/2006/pt2006-13.htm PRICE CAP HEARING CONCLUDED: The CRTC's hearing on Price Caps ended on Wednesday, October 18. Volume 6 of the hearing transcripts presents the parties' oral final arguments. Written arguments are due next week, reply comments on November 6. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/transcripts/2006/tt1018.htm DISTRIBUTEL FILES CLEC TARIFF: Distributel Communications has notified the CRTC that it intends to become a competitive local exchange carrier. It has filed a proposed tariff for interconnecting to other local carriers. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/8740/eng/2006/D11.htm#200612681 FCC DELAYS AT&T-BELLSOUTH VOTE: The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has postponed its vote on AT&T's plan to acquire BellSouth for US$79 billion. The delay resulted from a request by two Democratic Party commissioners for more time to get public input on concessions offered by the two telcos. (See Telecom Update #550) RIM TO MISS FILING DEADLINE: Research In Motion says its review of stock option practices has found additional errors beyond those outlined two weeks ago. As a result, RIM will miss the October 17 deadline for filing its quarterly report with regulatory authorities. TELECOM HALL OF FAME HONOURS NEW LAUREATES: On October 16, 340 telecom industry leaders and supporters attended a Gala Dinner in Toronto. Ted Rogers, his father Edward S. Rogers Sr, Leila Wightman, Donald Hings, Ernie Saunders, and Francis Dagger were officially inducted into Canada's Telecommunications Hall of Fame. A Special Recognition Award went to Digital World, the 1970s digital switching initiative of Bell-Northern Research and Northern Telecom. (See Telecom Update #546) ** The next Telecom Laureate Awards gala will be held October 16, 2007, at Windsor Station in Montreal. http://www.telecomhall.ca/ LAST CHANCE FOR "ENTERPRISE NETWORKS 2006": The Enterprise Networks 2006 educational conference, organized by Angus Dortmans Associates, begins next week, on Tuesday October 24, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The meeting, co-located with Canada's top call centre conference, ICCM Canada, focuses on the practical issues that managers in end-user organizations must understand to survive and prosper at a time when rapid change is the only constant. Confirmed speakers include: ** Henry Dortmans, President, Angus Dortmans Associates ** Mario Belanger, President, Avaya Canada ** Tom Moss, VP, Bell Security Solutions ** Tony Rybczynski, Director Enterprise, Nortel ** Mike Hall, Senior Director, Shaw Business Solutions ** John Riddell, Senior Consultant, Angus Dortmans Associates ** Stuart Curzon, Regional Vice-President, Verizon Business=20 ** Deepak Chopra and Greg MacDonald, Senior VPs, National Bank Financial ** Nitin Kawale, Senior VP, Cisco Systems Canada ** Stan Tyo, VP, Telus For a full conference program, and to register, visit http://www.enterprisenetworks.ca. HOW TO SUBMIT ITEMS FOR TELECOM UPDATE E-mail ianangus@angustel.ca and jriddell@angustel.ca HOW TO SUBSCRIBE (OR UNSUBSCRIBE) TELECOM UPDATE is provided in electronic form only. There are two formats available: 1. The fully-formatted edition is posted on the World Wide Web late Friday afternoon each week at http://www.angustel.ca 2. The e-mail edition is distributed free of charge. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to: join-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com To stop receiving the e-mail edition, send an e-mail message to: leave-telecom_update@nova.sparklist.com Sending e-mail to these addresses will automatically add or remove the sender's e-mail address from the list. Leave subject line and message area blank. We do not give Telecom Update subscribers' e-mail addresses to any third party. For more information, see http://www.angustel.ca/update/privacy.html. COPYRIGHT AND CONDITIONS OF USE: All contents copyright 2006 Angus TeleManagement Group Inc. All rights reserved. For further information, including permission to reprint or reproduce, please e-mail jriddell@angustel.ca. The information and data included has been obtained from sources which we believe to be reliable, but Angus TeleManagement makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding accuracy, completeness, or adequacy. Opinions expressed are based on interpretation of available information, and are subject to change. If expert advice on the subject matter is required, the services of a competent professional should be obtained. ------------------------------ 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 #367 ****************************** From editor@telecom-digest.org Sat Oct 21 19:00:25 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 4DAB32270; Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:00:25 -0400 (EDT) To: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V25 #368 Message-Id: <20061021230025.4DAB32270@massis.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:00:25 -0400 (EDT) From: editor@telecom-digest.org (TELECOM Digest Editor) Status: RO TELECOM Digest Sat, 21 Oct 2006 19:05:00 EDT Volume 25 : Issue 368 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Fire Knocks Out Phone Service in St. John's, NL (jwillis) Spam Trojan Installs Own Anti-Virus Scanner (Ryan Naraine) Intermittant Caller ID Problem (Mike M.) Re: Vonage Trying to Reuse My SC Number (John Levine) Re: Vonage Trying to Reuse My SC Number (DevilsPGD) When Our Nation Reaches 400 Million People (Erin Texeira, AP) Wanna Direct? Get Out Your Cell Phone (Jenny Barchfield, AP) ====== 25 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 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: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 9:52:20 -0400 From: jwillis Subject: Fire Knocks Out Phone Service in St. John's, NL Phone service is back to normal in Newfoundland after it was knocked out in about one third of the island late Friday night. The outage, lasting more than five hours, began when a power cable at a telephone switching station in St. John's shorted out and started a small fire, Bell Aliant said. The fire, reported at the Bell Aliant building in the Allandale neighbourhood of the city, broke out around 10 p.m. local time. A technician at the scene extinguished the fire quickly before firefighters arrived, said Bell Aliant spokeswoman Brenda Reid. With no 911 service, ambulances had to roam the streets looking for emergencies. People couldn't use automated bank machines or credit cards because of the outage. An estimated 150,000 customers in and around the city were without phone and internet service. Flights continued to land at St. John's airport throughout the evening, but controllers were unable to contact other airports. Technicians worked for hours on the problem, and by 3 a.m. local time Saturday, Aliant said phone service had been restored. Internet service was back a few hours later. Parts of this report are copyright 2006 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 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: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:24:31 -0500 From: Ryan Naraine eWeek Subject: Spam Trojan Installs Own Anti-Virus Scanner by Ryan Naraine - eWEEK Veteran malware researcher Joe Stewart was fairly sure he'd seen it all until he started poking at the SpamThru Trojan -- a piece of malware designed to send spam from an infected computer. The Trojan, which uses peer-to-peer technology to send commands to hijacked computers, has been fitted with its own anti-virus scanner -- a level of complexity and sophistication that rivals some commercial software. "This the first time I've seen this done. [It] gets points for originality," says Stewart, senior security researcher at SecureWorks, in Atlanta, Ga. "It is simply to keep all the system resources for themselves; if they have to compete with, say, a mass-mailer virus, it really puts a damper on how much spam they can send," he added. Most viruses and Trojans already attempt to block anti-virus software from downloading updates by tweaking hosts file to the anti-virus update sites to the localhost address. Malicious hackers battling for control over an infected system have also removed competing malware by killing processes, removing registry keys, or setting up mutexes that fool the other malware into thinking it is already running and then exiting at start. But, as Stewart discovered during his analysis, SpamThru takes the game to a new level, actually using an anti-virus engine against potential rivals. At start-up, the Trojan requests and loads a DLL from the author's command-and-control server. This then downloads a pirated copy of Kaspersky AntiVirus for WinGate into a concealed directory on the infected system. It patches the license signature check in-memory in the Kaspersky DLL to avoid having Kaspersky refuse to run due to an invalid or expired license, Stewart said. Ten minutes after the download of the DLL, it begins to scan the system for malware, skipping files which it detects are part of its own installation. "Any other malware found on the system is then set up to be deleted by Windows at the next reboot," he added. At first, Stewart said he was confused about the purpose of the Kaspersky anti-virus scanner. "I theorized at first that distributed scanning and morphing of the code before sending the updates via P2P would be a clever way to evade detection indefinitely," he said, but it wasn't until he looked closely at the way rival malware files were removed that he realized this was a highly sophisticated operation working hard to make full use of stolen bandwidth for spam runs. Stewart also found SpamThru using a clever command-and control structure to avoid shutdown. The Trojan uses a custom P2P protocol to share information with other peers including the IP addresses and ports and software version of the control server. "Control is still maintained by a central server, but in case the control server is shut down, the spammer can update the rest of the peers with the location of a new control server, as long as he/she controls at least one peer," he said. Stewart found that the network generally consists of one control server (running multiple peer-nets on different ports), several template servers, and around 500 peers per port. There appears to be a limit to how many peers each port can effectively control, as the overhead in sharing information between hosts is fairly large, he added. "The estimated number of infected hosts connected to the one control server we looked at was between one and two thousand across all open ports," Stewart added. The operation uses template-based spam, setting up a system where each SpamThru client is its own spam engine, downloading a template containing the spam, random phrases to use as hash-busters, random "from" names, and a list of several hundred e-mail addresses to send advertising. The templates are encrypted and use a challenge-response authentication method to prevent third parties from being able to download the templates from the template server. Stewart also found that the Trojan was randomizing the GIF files -- changing the width and height of the images -- to defeat anti-spam solutions that reject e-mail based on a static image. "Although we've seen automated spam networks set up by malware before, this is one of the more sophisticated efforts. The complexity and scope of the project rivals some commercial software. Clearly the spammers have made quite an investment in infrastructure in order to maintain their level of income," Stewart said. During his analysis, Stewart found that SpamThru was being used to operate a spam-based pump-and-dump stock scheme. Check out eWEEK.com's Security Center for the latest security news, reviews and analysis. And for insights on security coverage around the Web, take a look at eWEEK.com Security Center Editor Larry Seltzer's Weblog. Copyright 2006 Ziff Davis 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 go: http://telecom-digest.news/td-extra/newstoday.html ------------------------------ From: Mike M Subject: Intermittent Caller ID Problem Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:16:26 -0500 Organization: NewsGuy - Unlimited Usenet $19.95 A while back my caller id began intermittently not showing up. I'm in Austin, Tx on AT&T/Bell lines. I have 2 POTS lines. I have a number of phones which all display caller ID as well as a voice modem on each line for answering machine functionality. Previous to the past year or so the caller ID worked 100%. I don't have any idea what happened to cause this problem. My (DirectTV) satellite receivers are supposed to pick up caller ID and flash 'em on the TV screen. But this has never worked even when there was no intermittent problem. When the caller ID is dropped, it's not showing private or anonymous, it's simply not there, as if I don't subscribe to it. This happens about 50% of the time. Can something in my house cause this? Or is it a Bell problem or what? Anything I can do? I appreciate any advice. Thanks, Mike ------------------------------ Date: 20 Oct 2006 23:31:04 -0000 From: John Levine Subject: Re: Vonage Trying to Reuse My SC Number > A few minutes later, I got a call from someone named Nancy who said > that she had just gotten Vonage service and Vonage had assigned her > this number. The same thing happened to me. I ported my number away and Vonage didn't notice. For many months the only effect was that Vonage users couldn't call me, but they eventually reissued it to a college student nearby and I got some rather perplexed calls from her father. I happen to know a Vonage board member, and a note to him got it fixed in about 12 seconds, but we're not all so lucky. R's, John ------------------------------ From: DevilsPGD Subject: Re: Vonage Trying to Reuse My SC Number Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2006 20:47:05 -0500 Organization: Disorganized In message Fred Atkinson wrote: > A few minutes ago, I got a call (on my SC line) from someone asking to > speak to Nancy. She confirmed that she had dialed my number. I told > her that there has never been a Nancy here. > A few minutes later, I got a call from someone named Nancy who said > that she had just gotten Vonage service and Vonage had assigned her > this number. > Since I originally had that number from Vonage, I explained to her > that I had ported the number from Vonage to Carolina Net quite some > time ago. She said she'd have to call Vonage and request a new > number. > I called Vonage and spoke to Tina. After I explained that that number > was no longer available for Vonage to re-assign, she called the > appropriate people. They are going to assign Nancy a new telephone > number. > Tina opened a ticket for me on this. I told Tina to make sure they > didn 't do anything to cause my SC number any problems. She said they > wouldn't interfere with my number. > I called Carolina Net to let them know what is happening. I got music > on hold for a good little bit before they came on the line. > I called Carolina Net and informed them of this phenomenon. Caroline > (Carolina Net) said that she is opening a ticket on this and will > inform the porting department to make sure that I don't lose my > number. > Can anything else this simple to handle go wrong? Vonage doesn't officially support porting numbers out. It's against the AUP too, actually. However, they can't really stop you either. Their system simply cancels your service but someone has to go through to make sure they don't reassign it. Watch carefully over the next couple weeks, your number might magically get ported back to Vonage as a result of this. "If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college" -- Lewis Black ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:13:48 -0500 From: Erin Texeira, AP Subject: When Our Nation Reaches 400 Million People By ERIN TEXEIRA, AP National Writer Now that the nation officially numbers more than 300 million, what next? What will 400 million look like? If demographers are right, we'll hit that mark by 2043 or maybe sooner. They and other futurists envision a typical American neighborhood that year will be something like this: More than likely it'll be located in the South or West, despite scarce water resources and gas prices that make $3 a gallon look like a bargain. Barely half of the community's residents will be white, and one in four whites will be senior citizens. Nearly one in four people will be Latino and multiracial Americans will be commonplace. "We're going to be growing for the next 50 or 100 years, but it's not because of the birthrate," said John Bongaarts, vice president of the Population Council, a nonprofit in New York. "If the birthrate were to drop we'd have a very different future ahead. If we were not living longer and had no migrants we wouldn't be growing at all." The U.S. will keep getting more racially and ethnically diverse; by 2043, it will be about 15 percent non-Hispanic black, 8 percent Asian and 24 percent Hispanic. Ideas about race that hold sway now, simply won't then, just as the attitudes of 30 years ago have changed. For example, in the 1970s one in three whites favored laws that barred marriage between blacks and whites; in recent years it's barely one in 10. More than 7 million Americans reported in Census 2000 that they were multiracial -- 42 percent of them were under age 18. "The racial lines will basically be blurred," said William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution. "It's hard to say what the different classifications will be. ... The stark racial categories now won't hold." Mixing and melding will be the norm for today's children, who by 2043 will be moving into positions of power across society as the last baby boomers close in on 80. "Think of the electoral base," said C. Matthew Snipp, a sociologist and demographer at Stanford University. "It seems likely that the power structures will change." Demographers say some of today's trends will continue: Rust Belt cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland will probably keep losing population, though some argue that lower costs of living may attract people who can telecommute to jobs elsewhere. The fastest growing states will continue to be Nevada, Arizona and Florida. Census projections through 2030 show the Sun Belt continuing to gain population. With some cities and suburbs becoming more densely populated, far-out exurban areas will keep growing — which will probably mean longer commutes and more demand for gasoline. Demographers predict costs for gas and water, now relatively inexpensive, will mushroom. Lifesaving drugs and technologies will help Americans stay alive longer than ever -- and the nation overall will age. In 2000, 12.4 percent of Americans were aged 65 and older -- but that percentage is projected to jump to 20 percent by 2043. More than one in four residents of Florida, New Mexico, North Dakota, Maine, Montana and Wyoming will be over age 65. Here's another way to think of the senior boom: Between 2000 and 2050, the group of Americans who are 85 and older will nearly quadruple to almost 21 million. The good news is this will help revitalize rural, retirement-friendly places with lots of natural amenities like the nation's Western mountains and some Great Lakes areas, said Kenneth Johnson of Loyola University-Chicago. "These tourist and retirement destinations are the fastest-growing rural areas," he said, adding that this is attracting workers -- many new immigrants -- to build houses and tend hotels. But a big bubble of elderly Americans also will strain Social Security and Medicare, and there will be "big battles" over how to pay for them, Bongaarts said. Demographers repeatedly warned that projections are iffy; things change. Expected medical breakthroughs may not happen. World events -- wars, diseases, economic ups and down -- can stop or speed up immigration. Americans could stop having enough children to replace themselves, which they're just barely managing now. Things that seemed a lock just a short time ago can be thwarted. Two years ago, for example, California officials downgraded by 15 percent their predictions for state growth, mainly because Latino families were having far fewer babies than expected. When the U.S. hit 200 million people in 1967, the nation was supposed to reach 300 million before the end of the century. "Nobody really knows for certain where this will go," Snipp said. "All this is premised on many, many assumptions." 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, please go to: http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:33:19 -0500 From: Jenny Barchfield, AP Subject: Wanna Direct? Get Out Your Cell Phone By JENNY BARCHFIELD, Associated Press Writer "Silence on the set," ordered movie director Xavier Mussel as he grabbed his cell phone -- not to make a call but to film another scene for his short film. Cheap, easy and accessible, mobiles-as-movie cameras are breaking the motion picture mold, putting a touch of Hollywood into amateur filmmakers' hands. How-to workshops have sprung up from Boston to Abu Dhabi to Rio de Janeiro, and Paris just held its second film festival devoted exclusively to movies shot with cells. Some 8,500 visitors attended screenings at the recent three-day Pocket Films Festival at Paris' Pompidou modern-art museum. In addition to nearly 100 shorts, the fare included three feature-length films — all shot on cells. "What we're seeing is the democratization of filmmaking," said festival director Laurence Herszberg. "Now, you don't need expensive equipment and years of training to make a movie. All you need is your phone, that little object you carry around in your pocket all day." Purists complain that poor image quality makes such films virtually unwatchable, but cell filmmakers insist the advantages of shooting on mobiles far outweigh the drawbacks. "First and foremost, it's a matter of cost," said Leonard Bourgois-Beaulieu, whose short, "Busy," won Pocket Films' audience-choice award for best film. "You save on the camera, which can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros and you also save on all the trappings that go with an expensive camera, from operators to lighting designers to makeup artists," said the 23-year-old director, who wrote, shot and acted in his lighthearted comedy about harried twentysomethings. "Busy" took less than a week to shoot, Bourgois-Beaulieu said, for the cost of a Metro ticket and two coffees (one scene takes place in a cafe). He acknowledged that cell cameras can't match their conventional digital counterparts for image quality -- particularly when blown up to fill a full-size movie screen. While close-ups and still shots in "Busy" were remarkably sharp, sudden movement and traveling shots reduced the image to a pixelated fog. Still, Bourgois-Beaulieu said, there is an upside to the graininess. It allowed him to play multiple roles in the movie. "With the pixels distorting my face, you can't tell it's me," he said with an impish grin. Brazilian-born director Louise Botkay-Courcier, whose poetic silent film "Mammah" is set in a Turkish bath, also said she liked cell cameras' low definition. "Just like in painting, in film there are different styles," said Botkay-Courcier, 28, who added that she was inspired by the fluid, blotchy style of the Impressionists. "Not everything is about hyper-realism." Festival-goer Stephanie Woldenberg agreed. "I was expecting the grainy images to drive me crazy," said the lawyer from Switzerland. "But in a lot of the films, it added something mysterious, almost beautiful." Cell-phone cameras have been around for nearly five years. Nokia, the world's No. 1 cell-phone maker, was first to integrate a camera in 2001, said Nokia France spokesman Xavier des Horts. That initial model took only stills, but built-in video soon followed and is now near-standard. Though cell films are easier to shoot than conventional movies, they can be harder to edit, said Pocket Films' artistic director, Benoit Labourdette. Uploading footage from phone to computer can be tedious, as editing programs often have to convert the format. The process can take hours, even days, depending on the amount of footage. "Once you upload the footage, you go through exactly the same editing process as with any other digital movie," Labourdette said. Films screened at the festival were edited on Vegas, a video and audio production program by Sony or on I-Movie, software that is standard on new Apple computers. Most free Internet-based editing software is still not equipped to recognize cell phone footage, Labourdette said. Because built-in microphones in cell phones pick up background noise, most dialogue must be added in post-production. "It's a real pain in the neck," said director Bourgois-Beaulieu, who spent weeks re-recording and re-synching all the dialogue in his chatty, 10-minute-long film. While cell-phone cameras have radically simplified shooting movies, the crux of filmmaking -- finding the right story -- remains as complicated as ever, he said. "Just because everyone has a cell phone in our pockets doesn't make us all Spielbergs," said Bourgois-Beaulieu, who is hard at work on his second cell movie. "You've still got to have an artistic vision, or else it's just so much dumb footage." 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. 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