From editor@telecom-digest.org Wed Feb 11 14:30:59 2004 Received: (from ptownson@localhost) by massis.lcs.mit.edu (8.11.6p2/8.11.3) id i1BJUx608745; Wed, 11 Feb 2004 14:30:59 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 14:30:59 -0500 (EST) From: editor@telecom-digest.org Message-Id: <200402111930.i1BJUx608745@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 #68 TELECOM Digest Wed, 11 Feb 2004 14:31:00 EST Volume 23 : Issue 68 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Yahoo! and Sprint Announce Launch of Enhanced Yahoo! Msgr (M. Solomon) Policy Post 10.03: Security Holes at DMVs Nationwide Highlight (Solomon) Lycos Emerges as Web's Central Location for Connecting People (Solomon) Lycos U.S. Enters Multi-Year Comprehensive Media Sales (Monty Solomon) Comcast Proposes to Buy Walt Disney (Monty Solomon) Comcast Corporation Makes Proposal to Merge With Walt Disney (M Solomon) Media Alert: Comcast to Host Press Conference to Detail Merger (Solomon) TiVo Watchers Uneasy After Post-Super Bowl Reports (Monty Solomon) U.S. Copyright Office Sets Webcaster Royalty Rates (Monty Solomon) Yahoo Rolls Out New Messenger Service With Sprint (Monty Solomon) Re: "No Internet Voting" (Nick Landsberg) Hands Free Use With Motorola V60C Closed (Greg Smolin) Re: Computer Phone Conferencing, Give Me a Dial Tone! (Pete Romfh) Re: Plain Old Cell Phones Fading Away in U.S. (Bob Goudreau) 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: Monty Solomon Subject: Yahoo! and Sprint Announce Launch of Enhanced Yahoo! Messenger Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:32:29 -0500 SUNNYVALE, Calif. & OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 11, 2004-- New Downloadable Application Built Specifically for the Mobile Environment Allows PCS Vision Customers to View Who's Online, Send Messages and Conduct Multiple Conversations Directly from Their Phone Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet company, and Sprint (NYSE:FON, PCS), which operates the largest all-digital, all-PCS nationwide wireless network in the United States, today announced customers nationwide can now access an enhanced Yahoo!(R) Messenger for Mobile ( http://mobile.yahoo.com/messenger/sprint ), a downloadable full-color, graphical version of Yahoo! Messenger, on PCS Vision phones. The new service is built specifically for the mobile environment and demonstrates the companies' continuing commitment to innovation and meeting consumer demand for engaging mobile services. The new Java-based Yahoo! Messenger for Mobile provides a PC-like experience for the mobile phone that allows consumers to have unlimited instant messaging with everyone on their friends list. The service allows consumers with PCS Vision phones to sign into Yahoo! Messenger from their phone and continue to communicate with their friends online. Upon purchase the application is downloaded to the consumer's handset and can be accessed directly through the phone. Users can see who else is online, send and receive instant messages and have multiple conversations at once simply by switching between IM sessions. The service is available for $2.99 a month, and consumers will be charged on their monthly Sprint bill upon purchase. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40526072 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:25:39 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Policy Post 10.03: Security Holes at DMVs Nationwide Highlight CDT POLICY POST Volume 10, Number 3, February 3, 2004 A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online from The Center For Democracy and Technology (1) Security Holes at DMVs Feed ID Theft, Offer Lessons for National ID Card Debate (2) Driver's License Facing Wider Uses, including Online Authentication (3) Lax Security and Insider Abuse at the Local Level Pose National Challenges http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_10.03.shtml ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:28:20 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Lycos Emerges as Web's Central Location for Connecting People New Strategy Helps People Create and Recreate Relationships WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Terra Lycos (Nasdaq: TRLY and Madrid Exchange: TRR), the global Internet Group, today announced the creation of the first Internet network specifically constructed to enable people to create and recreate relationships with the people who most enrich their lives. With the change, to be rolled out in a series of steps over the coming months, the new Lycos is poised to be a leader in the emerging personal connectivity category, the Internet arena that connects people around areas of passion including family, friends, career and more. Lycos will transition from a generic portal business to a tight network of interconnected vertical sites focused on personal connections. The transition will include an internal restructuring, as well as changes to the company's media sales operations. The new Lycos aims to be a leader in subscription services that connect people, facilitating one of the most valuable Internet activities. Later this month, the Lycos.com homepage will be relaunched to become a hub for personal connections, giving users a single starting place to manage their Internet experience as a way to connect with others. Lycos Search will anchor the new Lycos homepage, with convenient navigation between and among the varied Connections sites. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40527697 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:29:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Lycos U.S. Enters Multi-Year Comprehensive Media Sales Lycos U.S. Enters Multi-Year Comprehensive Media Sales and Technology Agreement with 24/7 Real Media - Feb 11, 2004 09:01 AM (PR Newswire) 24/7 Real Media to Provide Media Sales, Ad Serving, Analytics and Behavioral Targeting Technology as Lycos Embarks on Strategy Centered on Creating and Re-creating Relationships Online Agreement Makes the 24/7 Web Alliance the 4th Largest Media Entity on the Internet(1) WALTHAM, Mass, and NEW YORK, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Terra Lycos (Nasdaq: TRLY and Madrid Exchange: TRR), the global Internet group, and 24/7 Real Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: TFSM), a pioneer in interactive marketing and technology, today announced the signing of a multi-year strategic agreement for 24/7 Real Media to provide media sales, ad serving and analytics technology and services for Lycos U.S. Web properties. As part of the agreement, the 24/7 Real Media sales force will represent the U.S. properties of Lycos, Inc., for all display advertising. The Lycos properties, which attract 50 million U.S. monthly unique users(2), will enter the 24/7 Web Alliance, which will then be the 4th largest Media Entity on the Internet(1) with more than 66 million monthly unique users. The 24/7 Web Alliance is the Company's suite of Web advertising solutions comprised of branded Web sites, vertical content channels and a direct marketing network of more than 700 Web sites. Lycos U.S. operates a network of highly branded Web sites which include: Quote.com, Tripod.com, Angelfire.com, HotBot.com, Matchmaker.com, and Wired News (Wired.com). In a separate announcement, Lycos today introduced a new strategy that will focus on Lycos becoming the leading Web site for creating and re-creating relationships online. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40527722 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:30:03 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast Proposes to Buy Walt Disney By SKIP WOLLENBERG AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- In a surprise move, cable TV giant Comcast Corp. proposed early Wednesday to buy Walt Disney Co., the iconic media and entertainment powerhouse that owns the ABC and ESPN television networks, movie studios and theme parks, for stock valued at about $54 billion. The nation's biggest cable systems operator said it would also assume $11.9 billion in Disney debt. Comcast's stunning proposal was made even as Disney boss Michael Eisner is fending off criticism from former board members Roy E. Disney, the nephew of Disney founder Walt Disney, and Stanley E. Gold about his performance and lack of a succession plan as Disney's chief executive. Comcast said Eisner declined earlier this week to discuss a possible merger. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40527980 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:34:45 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Comcast Corporation Makes Proposal to Merge With The Walt Disney Offer Values Disney at $66 Billion Strategic Combination Would Create One of the World's Premier Entertainment and Communications Companies NEW YORK, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) today announced that it has made a proposal to The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) to merge the two companies in a tax-free transaction. The combination would create one of the world's leading entertainment and communications companies with an unparalleled distribution platform and an extraordinary portfolio of content assets. The new company would have a presence in all of the nation's top 25 markets, and would propel broadband forward, expanding current services and inspiring new ones. Terms of the proposed transaction are as follows: * Comcast would issue 0.78 of a share of Comcast Class A voting common stock for each Disney share. * Disney shareholders would receive a premium of over $5 billion, based on yesterday's closing prices, plus full participation in the combination benefits. * Comcast's proposal values Disney at $66 billion (which includes assumption of $11.9 billion of Disney's net debt), offering a multiple of approximately 14x Disney's 2004 estimated EBITDA. * Disney shareholders would own 42% of the combined company. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40525030 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:38:26 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Media Alert: Comcast to Host Press Conference to Detail Merger PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) announces the following press conference: What: Comcast has initiated discussions to merge Comcast and The Walt Disney Company in a combination that would create one of the world's premier entertainment and communications companies. Who: Brian Roberts, President and CEO, Comcast Corporation Steve Burke, President, Comcast Cable When: February 11, 2004 @ 11:00 a.m. ET Where: St. Regis Hotel St. Regis Roof, 20th Floor Two East 55th Street New York, NY 10022 If you are unable to attend the meeting you can access the event via webcast or teleconference. To participate in the webcast, visit www.cmcsa.com or www.cmcsk.com . Those parties interested in participating via telephone should dial (800) 865-4460 for U.S. callers and (973) 935-8505 for international callers. A telephone replay will begin immediately following the call and will be available until February 18, 2004 at midnight Eastern Time (ET). To access the rebroadcast, please dial (877) 519-4471 for U.S. callers and (973) 341-3080 for international callers, enter passcode 4509745. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40525236 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 22:21:05 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: TiVo Watchers Uneasy After Post-Super Bowl Reports By Ben Charny Staff Writer, CNET News.com Janet Jackson's Super Bowl flash dance was shocking in more ways than one: Some TiVo users say the event brought home the realization that their beloved digital video recorders are watching them, too. On Monday, TiVo said the exposure of Jackson's breast during her halftime performance was the most-watched moment to date on its device, which, when combined with the TiVo subscription service, lets viewers pause and "rewind" live television broadcasts, among other features. TiVo said users had watched the skin-baring incident nearly three times more than any other moment during the Super Bowl broadcast, sparking headlines that dramatically publicized the power of the company's longstanding data-gathering practices. http://news.com.com/2100-1041-5154219.html ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 20:31:12 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: U.S. Copyright Office Sets Webcaster Royalty Rates By Sue Zeidler LOS ANGELES, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Copyright Office has published long-awaited royalty rates for Web music broadcasts, ending a year-long process marked by legal and financial wrangling, the group named to handle the royalties said on Tuesday. Regulations published on Feb. 6 essentially rubber-stamped a resolution reached last April between online music broadcasters and the Recording Industry Association of America, the industry trade group for big record labels like Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:TWX) Warner Music and Vivendi Universal's (NYSE:V) Universal Music. In addition to setting rates for the 2003-2004 license period, the Copyright Office also named SoundExchange -- a former RIAA arm spun off as a separate non-profit group in September 2003 -- as the sole designated agent to collect and distribute royalties from Webcasters and new online subscription services. The recording industry and Webcasters finally agreed on a proposed 0.0762 cents per performance or 1.17 cents per aggregate hour tuned in for free, advertising-supported services. Webcasters had opposed other rates suggested by the RIAA, saying they would put them out of business. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40519503 ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 09:30:58 -0500 From: Monty Solomon Subject: Yahoo Rolls Out New Messenger Service With Sprint - Feb 11, 2004 08:18 AM (Reuters) qSAN FRANCISCO, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Internet services company Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) on Wednesday launched an enhanced version of its instant messenger service to run on PCS Vision mobile telephones from partner Sprint Corp. (NYSE:FON). The new mobile service, which is a downloadable Java-based application, allows Yahoo messenger users to see who else is online, send and receive messages and carry on multiple conversations at once, among other things. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=40526679 ------------------------------ From: Nick Landsberg Subject: Re: "No Internet Voting" Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 02:34:13 GMT Organization: AT&T Worldnet Thomas A. Horsley wrote: > Probably even more important in practical terms -- even if the scanner > breaks, people can continue to cast ballots, they just have to do > without the instant feedback (a pencil is the only bit of technology > that needs to be working for voters to cast ballots with scanners -- a > finicky $4000 piece of equipment has to be working to cast a ballot > with a touch screen). This reminds me of the story of NASA way back when. They purportedly spent thousands if not millions in R&D money to develop a ball-point pen which would work in space (Null-gravity, free-fall, whatever you want to call it ... weightlessness). The Russians supplied their cosmonauts with a pencil. "It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious" - A. Bloch ------------------------------ From: gsmolin@suscom.net (Greg Smolin) Subject: Hands Free Use With Motorola V60C Closed Date: 10 Feb 2004 20:58:31 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com Is it possible to use the Motorola V60C with the phone closed with a hands free device -- or must the phone be open to talk? ------------------------------ From: Pete Romfh Subject: Re: Computer Phone Conferencing, Give Me a Dial Tone! Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 07:20:24 -0600 Organization: Not Organized Chas wrote: > I want a simple system that will allow me to call into a "box" and > out on another line. > For example, I have a high speed link that allows me to put a Vonage > like phone in a remote locale. I want to call into that phone which > is hooked into the box and then hear a dial tone and dial out on a > "local" phone. > The way I envisage it is to have small computer, a dialogic card > with a conference ability and some simple software. > If you know of the type of software/hardware that would support this > ability please respond. Maybe there is another solution I am open to > any suggestions. > Regards, > xarush > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: A ready made out-of-the- box solution > might be to use a 'WATS extender' or a a call-diverter type box. You > plug the Vonage in one side of it, and your new telephone line into > the other side of it, and of course program it for security with a > password. Sort of like a 'patch' used by ham operators. Then when > you dial into the one number and enter your password, bingo, you get > a dial tone from the Vonage. PAT] Take a look at http://www.pcphoneline.com/ They have a VoIP Gateway (FXO/FXS Port Converter) that will do what you're wanting. It's under $50 and lots easier than "Rolling your own". Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet. promfh at Texas dot net ------------------------------ From: BobGoudreau@not-your.biz Subject: Re: Plain Old Cell Phones Fading Away in U.S. Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2004 13:22:18 -0500 [Patrick, please continue to obscure my email address. Your "@not-your.biz" method for doing this works wonderfully. Thank you.] Rodgers Platt wrote: > I didn't say you didn't back up your PDA. I asked when was the last > time you did a backup of the device that you sync your PDA with. > Having a backup of the data on your PDA doesn't do any good if that > source crashes -- the same as loosing [sic] a daytimer or at least the > pages that haven't been filed. But these scenarios are not the same. The typical (i.e., not backed up) Daytimer user is doomed by the loss or destruction of just one object (the Daytimer), as my friend's wife so painfully found out when her purse was stolen. I, OTOH, won't lose data unless *two* unrelated things are simultaneously lost or destroyed: my Palm phone *and* the computer to which I sync it. The Daytimer analogy to that double-failure scenario would be having you lose your Daytimer *and* also losing your putative repository of photocopy backups. In fact, it would take far more than a double failure to destroy my Palm phone's data, because I don't actually back it up to my work PC -- I back it up *through* my work PC (which runs Outlook) to a Microsoft Exchange server located in a data center 700 miles away, which itself gets backed up regularly and professionally. But even for PDA users without such a safety net, it would still take two separate losses to totally destroy their data. Bob Goudreau Cary, NC mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . ------------------------------ 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'. 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End of TELECOM Digest V23 #68 *****************************