TELECOM Digest     Wed, 21 Feb 2007 03:45:00 EST    Volume 26 : Issue 52

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Twelve-Step Program Aims to Cure EMail Addiction (Jon Hurdle, Reuters)
    Google Shuts Hole in Desktop Product (Brian Bergstein, AP)
    CommunicationsDirect News Daily Update (communicationsdirect_daily)
    AT&T Sells BellSouth Spectrum (USTelecom dailyLead)
    Sirius and XM Announce Merger (Neal McLain)
    Re: Telephone Area Codes and Prefixes (Neal McLain)
    Re: Party Line Dialing (Neal McLain)
    Re: DA Wants to Restrict Pre-Paid Cell Phones (Scott Dorsey)
    NY Families Win Victory on Prison Telephone System (Danny Burstein)

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Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:36:29 -0600
From: Jon Hurdle <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Twelve-Step Program Aims to Cure EMail Addiction


By Jon Hurdle
 
Alcoholics have one, and so do drug abusers. Now people addicted to
e-mail also have a 12-step program designed to tackle their obsession.

An executive coach in Pennsylvania has devised a plan to teach people
how to manage the electronic tool, which some users say can be as much
an intrusive waste of time as it is fast-paced and efficient.

Developed for cases such as a golfer who checked his BlackBerry after
every shot, and lost a potential client who wanted nothing to do with
his obsession, Marsha Egan's plan taps into deepening concern that
e-mail misuse can cost businesses millions of dollars in lost
productivity.

"There is a crisis in corporate America, but a lot of CEOs don't know
it," Egan said. "They haven't figured out how expensive it is."

One of Egan's clients cannot walk by a computer -- her own or anyone
else's -- without checking for messages. Other people will not
vacation anywhere they cannot connect to their e-mail systems. Some
wait for e-mails and send themselves a message if one hasn't shown up
in several minutes, Egan said.

The first of Egan's 12 steps is "admit that e-mail is managing
you. Let go of your need to check e-mail every 10 minutes."

Other steps include "commit to keeping your inbox empty," "establish
regular times to review your e-mail" and "deal immediately with any
e-mail that can be handled in two minutes or less but create a file
for mails that will take longer."

Egan says she hosts no 12-step meetings but is planning a monthly
teleconference for "e-mailers anonymous."

'HAD ME BY THE THROAT'

Michelle Grace, an insurance agent in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, said
she receives up to 60 e-mails a day and uses Egan's program to make it
less time-consuming and less stressful.

"E-mail had me by the throat," she said. "When you can't find what you
need, then it becomes a problem."

Now that her e-mails are transferred -- some manually and some
automatically -- into files, Grace said she spends less time hunting
for them.

On average, workers who receive an e-mail take four minutes to read it
and recover from the interruption before they can resume working
productively, Egan said.

She also recommends checking e-mails not more than three or four times
a day.

Some employees resist the lure of e-mail during the regular workday,
only to find themselves putting in extra hours at home to clear the
backlog, she said. One of Egan's clients said he had 3,600 e-mails in
his inbox.

Part of the problem is senders who copy messages too widely and are
too vague in their subject lines, so recipients don't know what they
need to open right away, Egan said.

For Grace, relief from her e-mail addiction means she is not checking
her computer every five minutes.

She said she has let her colleagues know that if they need to reach
her immediately, e-mail is not the way to do it.

"I told them, 'If you need me urgently, pick up the phone,"' she said.

Copyright 2007 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, 21 Feb 2007 00:39:00 -0600
From: Brian Bergstein, AP <ap@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Google Shuts Hole in Desktop Product


By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Technology Writer 

A potentially devastating hole in Google Inc.'s prevalent desktop
search product could have exposed personal files on users' computers
to data thieves. Google fixed the defect within weeks of being
informed about it and says it has no evidence the vulnerability was
exploited.

The flaw was uncovered late last year by Watchfire Corp., a
security-analysis provider. While the vulnerability exists in roughly
80 percent of Web applications, this problem appeared far more extreme
"given the sensitive nature of what Google Desktop is doing," said
Danny Allan, a researcher at Waltham, Mass.-based Watchfire.

Google's free desktop product, first released in 2004, has millions of
users and remains popular. Internet tracker Hitwise says visits to
http://desktop.google.com tripled in January.

The system lets users set Google's indexing and searching capabilities
loose on their own computers in addition to the Web. The service
offers a fast, easy way to find documents, e-mails, instant-messaging
transcripts, archived Web pages and other tidbits socked away on
PCs. A Google executive once described it as "the photographic memory
of your computer."

The Watchfire researchers discovered, however, that the setup was open
to something known as a cross-site scripting attack, which lets an
attacker place malicious code on a Google Desktop user's computer. The
PC could be infected a number of ways, including an infected e-mail
attachment.

 From that instant, a hacker would have had free reign to use Google 
Desktop to search the victim's machine -- or multiple compromised 
machines at once -- and possibly to take full control of the computer, 
according to Watchfire. Watchfire's founder and chief technical officer, 
Mike Weider, said the attack would have gone undetected by firewalls or 
antivirus software.

Watchfire said it reported the security hole to Google on Jan. 4 and
was assured Feb. 1 that the flaw had been fixed. Google spokesman
Barry Schnitt said the desktop search software gets automatically
updated, so users do not need to take any steps to protect themselves.

While this particular avenue for data theft has been shut down,
Watchfire contends that another one could emerge because Google
maintains a link between desktop and Web data -- a query on a computer
with Google Desktop can show search results from both realms.

"There's a high potential for this to happen again," Weider said.

However, Schnitt responded in an e-mail that Google has "taken many 
steps to protect our users and mitigate such attacks."

"We've added an additional layer of security checks to prevent the
types of attacks pointed out by Watchfire and future possible attacks
through this vector as well," he wrote.

No matter whether such a threat re-emerges through Google, Allan
expects to see similar vulnerabilities increase overall, "as desktop
software and the Internet get more connected." As a result, he said,
antivirus vendors should develop techniques for detecting and blocking
such attacks.

Copyright 2007 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: CommunicationsDirect News Daily Update - February 20, 2007
From: communicationsdirect <communicationsdirect@communicationsdirectnews.com>
Reply-To: communicationsdirect_daily-owner@communicationsdirectnews.com
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 10:17:04 EST


********************************
PricewaterhouseCoopers Presents
The CommunicationsDirect Daily Update
For February 20, 2007
********************************

This week's poll: What is most important to you when choosing a mobile
communications service provider? Visit our web site to vote.

Turnaround Time for Telecom Italia
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/120/22802?11228

     Telecom Italia SpA looks set to undergo a radical transformation
     during the next few weeks, with a new structure approved, a new
     investor likely, and a new next-generation network (NGN) plan on
     the cards. But the Italian giant isn't the only major European
     carrier in the news, as Deutsche Telekom AG, Portugal Telecom
     SGPS SA, ...

Startup Hopes to Create Online Marketplace for Open Parking Spaces
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/150/22800?11228

     BOSTON - Finding a parking spot often requires drivers to summon
     their inner caveman: Scan the horizon for the target, then bag it
     before someone else does. A startup company is betting it can
     chip away at that anachronism and transform the search for
     parking just as eBay Inc. changed auctions. SpotScout Inc. hopes
     to ...

European Consumers' Group Criticizes Mobile Phone Firms Over Roaming Fees
http://communicationsdirectnews.com/do.php/130/22798?11228

     BRUSSELS, Belgium - European consumers' group BEUC claimed
     Tuesday that telecom companies have failed to make real cuts to
     charges for using a phone abroad, saying much-publicized price
     reductions were a 'smokescreen' to stave off a regulatory price
     cap.  It said a study it commissioned showed that ...

Your feedback on our e-letter is always welcome. Send email to:
CommunicationsDirect Editor <telecom_direct_editor@us.pwc.com>

Copyright (C) 2007 PricewaterhouseCoopers.

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 12:13:22 CST
From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: AT&T Sells BellSouth Spectrum


USTelecom dailyLead
February 20, 2007
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/giAcfDtusXmqtOCibuddTWlC

TODAY'S HEADLINES


NEWS OF THE DAY
* AT&T sells BellSouth spectrum
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Satellite mergers face antitrust scrutiny
* Dobson Communications unit to change name to Cellular One
* Siemens ups speed, coverage of home fiber link
* Alltel subscriber base up 55%
* Ericsson wins IPTV deal
* NTT tests Eyeball's VoIP call-completion solution
* Virgin Media signs Warner Bros deal
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* ISPs fuel router sales
* Sprint plans iDEN push in the Middle East
* Teens grasp technology's advantages, limitations
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Net activists focus on net regulation in '08

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/giAcfDtusXmqtOCibuddTWlC

------------------------------

From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
Subject: Sirius and XM Announce Merger
Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 07:25:58 -0500


Over a year after talk of a Sirius and XM merger first surfaced, the
companies made it official on Monday.

The two U.S. satellite radio providers announced a merger of equals on
President's Day. Under the terms of the agreement, XM shareholders
will receive 4.6 shares of Sirius stock for each share of XM they
own. XM and SIRIUS shareholders will each own approximately 50% of
the combined company.

http://tinyurl.com/3e3osx

------------------------------

From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
Subject: Re: Telephone Area Codes and Prefixes
Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:07:31 -0500


PAT wrote:

> Zeros in the first (thousands) position were always 'oh' and
> whenever they appeared in the other three positions when
> non-repetitive they were also 'oh'. When they repeated in the two
> final positions, they were to be pronounced 'hundred'. If the
> second, third and fourth positions were all zeros then they were
> pronounced 'thousand'.

So how would they pronounce 201-200-0000?

Maybe "two-oh-one two hundred oh-thousand"?
Or maybe "two-oh-one two-million"?

Yes, that's a valid number.  It's a fax in the Criminal Justice Department =
at New Jersey City University.  http://tinyurl.com/2xuyep

Neal McLain


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: In the instances of four zeros being
idle in Chicago a few years ago, we were told 'oh! oh! oh! oh!' I do
not know what they would do with six zeros in a row idle, as in the
example you gave. I am sure most all telcos do it the same way (there
seems to be some underlying utility organization to which all of them
belong for equipment and services; otherwise, why do you suppose _all_
special dialing codes are the same in all parts of the country
regardless of telco; why would they otherwise all come to the same
agreement on such a thing?), so with that premise in mind that what
goes for one of them goes for all, try various area codes followed
by 2 and six more zeros; you are bound to find at least a few not in
service along the way; my thinking is they will always say 'oh! oh!
oh! oh!'  on the final four at least.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com>
Subject: Re: Party Line Dialing
Reply-To: nmclain@annsgarden.com
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:06:05 -0500


Lisa Hancock hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:

> When 0 and 1 became common as the third digit of an exchange,
> confusion was more likely (PI1, HO0) ...

Or ORange 0 in Skokie, Illinois (PAT's old stomping grounds), which
the Dir ectory Assistance operators cheerfully pronounced "oh are oh."

In a later issue of TD, Lisa continued:

> However, in many places, party lines had a letter suffix (J, R?). In
> the literature, the panel readout boards had that letter
> suffix. Some old telephone books show that letter listed after to
> the number.

> I presume in some manual systems one gave the letter to the
> operator.

> But in dial systems, did one dial the suffix letter=20
> to reach party lines so equipped?

PAT responded:

> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: No, we did NOT dial the ending
> letter. All those letters (-B,-J, -M and -R) were merged into seven
> digit numbers, and tied together in the central office for
> individualized ringing purposes only, sort of like the 'distinctive
> ring-ring' numbers today. The parties still shared the same wire ...

Some old SxS offices had a somewhat analogous arrangement in which the last
digit dialed determined the party of a party line.  But the last digit was
printed as a numeral, not a letter.

Examples:

- Holly, Michigan. All numbers were in the form MElrose 4-XXXX and
  MElrose 7-XXXX; the initial 3 and 6 were absorbed.

- Dexter, Michigan. All numbers were in the form HAmilton 6-XXXX; the
  initial 4 and 2 were absorbed.

In each of these examples, the last digit determined the party to be
rung.  All single-party numbers ended in 1, and multiparty numbers
used other dig its.

This situation produced some interesting anomalies:

-- Among local residents (especially elderly female
residents), a number ending in anything other than
"1" was considered a bit of a stigma ("she has a
party line, you know ...").

-- Trunk-hunting sequences hunted on the next-to-last digit, not the
last. Thus, ME 7-7011 trunked directly to ME 7-7021.

-- A single-party number could be dialed with any final digit to
produce a different ring cadence. One building where I worked in
Dexter was HA 6-XX91, but HA 6-XX9-anything would ring the phone.
Those of us who worked in the building knew this ("don't answer that
 -- it's Frank's wife again").

Offices that were converted from manual directly to crossbar could
assign any number -- party line or not -- to any wire pair, so there
was no way to tell whether a given number was single party or
multiparty.  Even if the old (manual-exchange) number had ended in a
letter, the new number didn't.  Examples from Downers Grove, Illinois:

-- Downers Grove 6361 became WOodland X-6361
-- Downers Grove 5133-R became WOodland X-5133
-- Downers Grove 5379-W became WOodland X-5379

Neal McLain


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: First of all, FYI, Skokie does/did not
equal 'ORange', it equals 'ORchard' as in the former name of Ohare
International Airport, nee Ohare Field, nee Orchard Field, and still
the international aviation designation 'ORD'. The northwest suburban
Chicago area at one point was very ripe with apple orchards, and in
the 1940's the village of Niles Center, Illinois (the former name of
the village of Skokie), in its wisdom chose to destroy a perfectly
beautiful apple orchard in order to build a commercial enterprise,
known as 'Old Orchard Shopping Center'. Old Orchard in recent years
grew from a few stores to a major shopping center with a few hundred
shops and a crime rate almost equal to the one (crime rate, that is)
of our very own Walmart Super Center here in Independence. I am sure
the farmer who owned the orchard which had been there for over a
century prior must be very proud of what became of his land and his
beautiful trees, etc.  

And, speaking of crime, conveniently located just two blocks west of
Old Orchard Shopping Center is one of the several branches of the Cook
County Circuit Court (which locals refer to as the 'Skokie Court
House') more or less next door to Niles West High School on Golf
Road. Always a very busy place, with ten judges on duty (no waiting to
get your ninety seconds to plead to the judge!) the Skokie Court House
has direct bus service to/from Cook County Jail and a filthy satellite
prison of its own right on premises at least a few times each day.
 
But, I digress; ORChard eventually became OR-2 as was the custom in
the 1940-50's, and it expanded to eventually include 672, 673, 674,
and 675 but there never has been an 'oh-are-oh' unless it is something
new added since I abandoned -- fled for my life, actually -- what you
refer to as my 'old stomping grounds'. But I understand both Old Orchard
and the Skokie Court House were looking for an expansion of their
phone systems; maybe that's where 'oh-are-oh' originated.  PAT]

------------------------------

From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey)
Subject: Re: DA Wants to Restrict Pre-Paid Cell Phones
Date: 20 Feb 2007 15:03:03 -0500
Organization: Former users of Netcom shell (1989-2000)


Rick Merrill  <rick0.merrill@NOSPAM.gmail.com> wrote:

> Untraceable phones should be outlawed. These are what the bombers
> use for placing calls and for detonation.

That's right, but also conventional cellphones can be stolen and used
for placing calls and detonation as well, so they should be outlawed.
And telecom landlines can be used by terrorists as well, so they
should be outlawed.  Fingers can be used to dial terrorist numbers to
set off bombs remotely, so everyone in the country should voluntarily
have their fingers removed to prevent terrorism.  If you don't do this
immediately, the terrorists have won.  

--scott -- "C'est un Nagra.
C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Now you are talking like a true 
Skokie-ite; congratulations!  PAT]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 02:24:07 EST
From: Danny Burstein <dannyb@panix.com>
Subject: NY Families Win Court Victory on Prison Telephone Challenge 


- actually, that headline is premature. The "victory" is
that they can proceed with the lawsuit:

" On February 20, 2007 the [NYS] Court of Appeals ruled that a 
constitutional challenge brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights 
on behalf of New York family members who pay a grossly inflated rate to 
receive phone calls from their loved ones in state prisons must be allowed 
to move forward ...

rest:
http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=EeshUGtg7P&Content=956

_____________________________________________________
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 Editor's Note: Maybe oh-are-oh will be used to expand
the phone system in Skokie for the filthy satellite jail they afford
the shoppers (shop-lifters?) from Old Orchard while waiting to see the
judge.  PAT]

------------------------------


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*****************************