From editor@telecom-digest.org Sun Feb 1 22:38:51 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i123cpq13656; Sun, 1 Feb 2004 22:38:51 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 22:38:51 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200402020338.i123cpq13656@massis.lcs.mit.edu> X-Authentication-Warning: massis.lcs.mit.edu: ptownson set sender to editor@telecom-digest.org using -f To: ptownson Approved: patsnewlist Subject: TELECOM Digest V23 #50 TELECOM Digest Sun, 1 Feb 2004 22:39:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 50 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones (Gail M. Hall) How to Evaluate Phonecards? (Barry F Margolius) High Speed Internet - Doesn't Allow New Connections (Harialbth) Re: AT&T Wireless Offer Provides Free Unlimited Mobile/Mobile (Hamilton) Re: AT&T Wireless Offer Provides Free Unlimited Mobile/Mobile (Eric F) Re: Help With Call-Attendant System? (SELLCOM Tech Support) Re: Need to Host Child Porn, Illegal Content, or Spam Server (Ed Clarke) Re: Comcast Takes on Broadcast TV For Local Ads (noname) Re: Treo 600 - Not Turning Off (pieterek@spamcop.net) Entrepreneurs Resource Expo: Come Share Your Resources (Entresource) NTIA Forum on Public Safety Spectrum Mgmt - Feb 10-11 in DC (Nick Ruark) All contents here are copyrighted by Patrick Townson and the individual writers/correspondents. Articles may be used in other journals or newsgroups, provided the writer's name and the Digest are included in the fair use quote. By using -any name or email address- included herein for -any- reason other than responding to an article herein, you agree to pay a hundred dollars to the recipients of the email. =========================== Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be sold or given away without explicit written consent. Chain letters, viruses, porn, spam, and miscellaneous junk is definitely unwelcome. We must fight spam for the same reason we fight crime: not because we are naive enough to believe that we will ever stamp it out, but because we do not want the kind of world that results when no one stands against crime. Geoffrey Welsh =========================== See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details and the name of our lawyer; other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Gail M. Hall Subject: Re: "Superman TV" and Telephones Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 22:05:10 -0500 Reply-To: gmhall@apk.net On 12 Jan 2004 07:01:25 -0800, in comp.dcom.telecom message , hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com (Lisa Hancock) wrote: > I saw an old episode of the TV "Superman" (mid 50s) and > noticed how today's phones would've made a difference. Some of those differences are interesting to think about. Last night I watched an old episode of Columbo on the A&E channel. I didn't catch what year this story was taking place or what year the film was made. In this episode, the bad guy was a fairly wealthy radio personality who had a fancy mountain mansion. He also had a cell phone that he used in his car. Columbo decided that it would be nice to get himself a cell phone, too. Actually, he wanted to check out the guy's story about calling from his cell phone when Columbo pointed out that the call he claimed to have made from his house was not on the phone records. What struck me was that when they used their cell phones, the tones were sounded as the buttons were pressed instead of the way my current cell phone works. Mine makes a beep with each phone press, but I don't hear the normal phone tones until I press "Talk" on my phone. I didn't have a cell phone before 2001, so I don't know if the makers of the episode were showing the cell phone usage realistically or just guessing how they worked. Another thing in the story was that they would immediately enter the numbers over and over again and *then* get some kind of beep that indicated they didn't have a signal. My phone has a little graphic on it that indicates signal strength from the time I turn on the phone. It also has a graphic that indicates battery power. I would know without entering any numbers if I had a signal or not. I would not have to dial any number first. The household and office phones were all hardwired. I didn't see any cordless phones being used in the story. On another issue, I noticed that the bad guy had a big TV, which he said was hooked to a satellite with 200 channels. I didn't see a box. Also, there was no remote, so he had to use the TV's on/off button to turn it on and off. My parents had a satellite dish for their TV back around 1980. It was a big thing. At first it could get lots of channels, but eventually the companies started jumbling their signals so people would have to buy a service to descramble the signals to see the channels. By the '90's, that satellite dish was essentially useless. My brother-in-law took down the dish last summer and has plans to make something else out of it -- maybe something to let plants climb on or something. I learned one advantage of modern satellite service compared to cable. My sister and her husband subscribe to a satellite service that comes with two boxes. They also alternate between two different homes. They have a "dish" at each house. So for the price of one subscription, They can take one or both boxes with them when they go to either of the houses. It takes only a couple minutes to hook the box up to the TV when they get to whichever house they are at. I hear you can also get a dish to hook to your RV or motor home. You certainly couldn't do all that with cable! Gail in NE Ohio USA [TELECOM Digest Editor' Note: Television and Hollywood tend to take some liberties with the realities of cell phones in their productions. I do not think any cellphones ever worked differently than the way they do now. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Barry F Margolius Subject: How to Evaluate Phonecards? Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 17:14:01 -0500 I have found a phonecard company, ITG Services, that provides a good mix of services for my needs. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing if they are a reliable company or not. Anybody got any ideas about how to check up on them? They're at https://www.talkitg.com/pub/index.cfm?loc=int Thanks in advance, -barry ------------------------------ From: minloson@yahoo.com (Harialbth) Subject: High Speed Internet - Doesn't Allow New Connections Date: 31 Jan 2004 09:36:19 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Hi, I have a USB alcatel high speed modem. The problem is that my connection seems to stop after a while. If a connection already exists (eg:downloads, msn) it doesn't disconnect. But often it doesn't seem to be able to make a new connection, through a browser, for example. Sometimes after about 20 seconds it connects, sometimes never. Has anyone had this problem, is there a reason? Thanks, Loson ------------------------------ From: Jack Hamilton Subject: Re: AT&T Wireless Offer Provides free, Unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 11:33:08 -0800 Organization: Copyright (c) 2004 by Jack Hamilton. Reproduction without attribution and archiving without permission are not allowed. Reply-To: jfh@acm.org Monty Solomon wrote: > BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2004--AT&T Wireless > (NYSE:AWE) today announced an offer -- the first of its kind -- that > can give new and current customers on qualifying plans the freedom to > make unlimited domestic mobile-to-mobile calls at no charge to any of > the company's nearly 22 million customers. > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40359863 Not quite free. You have to sign a two year contract, which is free to enter but time-consuming or expensive to get out of. Most of the people I know with mobile phones are not with AT&T, so it wouldn't help me anyway. It's probably technically possible to offer free calls to *any* carrier's mobile phones, but that's not what they're doing. In the end, more than they wanted freedom, they wanted comfort and security. And in the end, they lost it all - freedom, comfort and security. Edward Gibbons Jack Hamilton jfh@acm.org ------------------------------ From: friedebach@yahoo.com (Eric Friedebach) Subject: Re: AT&T Wireless Offer Provides Free, Unlimited Mobile-to-Mobile Date: 31 Jan 2004 13:47:47 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Monty Solomon posted TELECOM Digest V23 #49: > BASKING RIDGE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2004--AT&T Wireless > (NYSE:AWE) today announced an offer -- the first of its kind -- that > can give new and current customers on qualifying plans the freedom to > make unlimited domestic mobile-to-mobile calls at no charge to any of > the company's nearly 22 million customers. > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40359863 A nice idea, but not the *first of its kind*. This feature is one of the reasons I left AT&T last fall for Sprint. For consumers it costs an extra $5 per month, and for business customers its included in all plans. Oh, and you don't have to sign a two year contract like what AT&T requires. Eric Friedebach ------------------------------ From: SELLCOM Tech support Subject: Re: Help With Call-Attendant System? Organization: www.sellcom.com Reply-To: support@sellcom.com Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 23:32:51 GMT jcoronat@paulbunyan.net (James) posted on that vast internet thingie: > Does anyone know how I could assemble a system of telephone equipment > that will do this? I can't promise that I can offer a complete solution, but can offer some help I believe. We have a nice music on hold device that you could use as your music source http://www.holdphone.com The 5000 model has a CD player but downloads the audio from the CD player. You don't really want to leave a CD playing 24/365 do you? The other piece to the puzzle might be our Talkswitch product http://www.shopvoicemail.com that allows people to "cue" and supports music on hold. I believe it also supports announce only mail boxes and is expandable for more lines and more memory. I do not offer this as a definite "plug and play" solution for you, but just as a possibility. We try to put enough info on our website for you to research a product *before* purchase. Steve at SELLCOM http://www.sellcom.com Discount multihandset cordless phones by Siemens, AT&T, Panasonic, Motorola Vtech 5.8Ghz; TMC ET4000 4line Epic phone, OnHoldPlus, Talkswitch, Watchguard! Brick wall "non MOV" surge protection. Minuteman UPS systems If you sit at a desk www.ergochair.biz you owe it to yourself. ------------------------------ From: Ed Clarke Subject: Re: Need to Host Child Porn, Illegal Content, or Spam Server? Date: 31 Jan 2004 19:48:50 GMT Organization: Ciliophora Associates, Inc. Reply-To: clarke@cilia.org In article , Matt Simpson wrote: > Lisa Minter wrote in message > news:: >> I got this spam in email today. My question is, why don't police or >> FBI nip this in the bud, stop it before it even gets started? > Maybe because it's the police or FBI sending it out as a sting > operation, trying to catch people stupid enough to respond to > something that's so blatant about being illegal. Yeah, like the myth that there are 14 year old girls on the internet. No way, Jose! They're all fat, balding 55 year old detectives. Real 14 year old girls are at the mall strutting their stuff and secretly watching 16 year old boys out of the corner of their eyes. ------------------------------ From: noname Subject: Re: Comcast Takes on Broadcast TV For Local Ads Organization: ATCC Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 20:23:04 GMT In article , monty@roscom.com says: > By Michael Learmonth > NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA), the No. 1 > U.S. cable operator, has forged alliances with cable operators around > the country in the past year to get a bigger share of the $28 billion > local advertising market from broadcasters. > The culmination of the effort, to be announced Monday, is called > "Comcast Spotlight," the company's $1 billion local advertising sales > operation, which will sell time not only on Comcast's systems but on > others in 75 markets. > The alliances will allow Comcast to sell advertising in regional > markets served by rival cable operators, a direct challenge to > broadcast TV which has enjoyed a de facto monopoly on local > advertising. > - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40364114 They'll probably do just what Cox has done and which was one of my the factors in my telling them to take a hike. Know what ads they blocked? All the competitive ads -- for example we never saw DirectTV or Dish ads on Cox cable in RI, and very few Verizon DSL commercials. I'll be happy when there is real competition for the cable industry. Providence came so close with AB Cable but that happened around the time of the tech burst. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 08:09:10 -0600 From: pieterek@spamcop.net Subject: Re: Treo 600 - Not Turning Off On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 00:36:35 -0600, Gordon S. Hlavenka wrote to discuss Re: Treo 600 Not Turning Off > Jeff wrote: >> Ever since I got my Treo 600, it has not been able to turn itself off >> when it is charging. Even though, I have the setting "turn off after 1 >> minute", it stays on all night when I have it plugged in and charging! > Perhaps the Treo is using its microprocessor to monitor the charging > process. I know the HP100LX and 200LX work like this; even pressing the > Power button won't turn them off when they're plugged in with battery > charging enabled. The Treo is a PalmOS-based device and should have in Preferences | General | Power (IIRC, it is a PalmOS 5.x device), a drop-down menu for "Stay on in Cradle" (or something similar". It sounds like Jeff may have that set to "On". Change it to "Off", and voila, the Treo screen will no longer light up the night while it is plugged in and charging. Best regards, Claire Pieterek Sr Technical Editor, Computing Unplugged http://www.computingunplugged.com ------------------------------ Reply-To: <37273-feedback-29@lb.bcentral.com> From: Entresource Subject: Entrepreneurs Resource Expo: Come Share Your Resources Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 12:05:33 0000 ENTREPRENEURS RESOURCE EXPO Tuesday, February 10, 6-10pm Spenger's Restaurant, 1919 Fourth Street, Berkeley, in the Atlantic & Pacific Rooms One huge banquet hall filled with resources for you and your business. EXHIBITING SPONSORS SO FAR: Bay Area Business Woman News Magazine B&T Bookkeeping Emeryville Chamber of Commerce Gevity Merril Lync MuyBueno.net National Association for the Self-Employed PagePoint Yellow Belly Web Design YOU OR YOUR COMPANY CAN BE AN EXHIBITOR Tables are still available!! Table rental fees are $105 for half a 6-ft. table (for 1 person) and $140 for a 6-ft. table (for 2 people), which includes the $20 admission fee for each person. Table locations are on a first-paid, first-choice basis. Send us an email, and we will fax you an application. Once we receive your paid application, we will call you regarding table location. Over 100 entrepreneurs are expected to attend. 25 exhibitors will offer great resources for your business. Admission $20 Price includes hors d'oeuvres buffet. For more information, send an email to: GH@EntreSource.org Include your fax number ------------------------------ From: Nick Ruark Subject: NTIA Forum on Public Safety Spectrum Management - Feb 10-11 - DC Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2004 14:08:01 -0800 Pat & Lisa.... Thought some folks on the list might be interested in this --- especially since it appears to be the ONLY opportunity they may have to publicly participate and/or speak out on the subject. Nick Ruark Quality MobileCommunications ---------------------------- National Forum on Public Safety Spectrum Management A Public Meeting to Address Objectives in the President's Memorandum on Spectrum Policy February 10-11, 2004 The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will host a 2-day public meeting designed to gather information from state and local public safety entities and governments about better ways to manage the Nation's airwaves. The meeting will be held on February 10-11, 2004, at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. The Omni Shoreham is located at 2500 Calvert Street NW. Phone: (202) 234-0700 Fax: (202) 265-7972 This public meeting will offer an opportunity for interested parties to participate in the President's initiative to develop a U.S. spectrum policy for the 21st century to ensure national and homeland security, promote economic growth, and foster new technologies. If you cannot attend, but would like to participate, a webcast will be conducted. Information will be forthcoming. In addition, a comprehensive online survey will be posted at the beginning of February. The Department of Commerce will develop recommendations for revising policies and procedures to promote more efficient and beneficial use of spectrum based on the input gathered through this public meeting. There is no registration for this free event. If you are interested in attending or, wish to receive related fact sheets, meeting preparation materials, and updated agendas, please visit http://www.pswn.gov/dc_forum.cfm or http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2004/publicsafetyforum_01082004.htm Forwarded from: The Private Wireless Forum for Mobile Communication Professionals http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PrivateWirelessForum ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not exclusively to telecommunications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition to various telecom forums on a variety of networks such as Compuserve and America On Line, Yahoo Groups, and other forums. It is also gatewayed to Usenet where it appears as the moderated newsgroup 'comp.dcom.telecom'. TELECOM Digest is a not-for-profit, mostly non-commercial educational service offered to the Internet by Patrick Townson. All the contents of the Digest are compilation-copyrighted. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #50 *****************************