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TELECOM Digest     Fri, 1 Jul 2005 15:00:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 304

Inside This Issue:                            Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Pakistan's Internet Links Still Out (Lisa Minter)
    Opera Signs Deal With Motorola (Lisa Minter)
    Swedes Undeterred by Internet Piracy Laws (Lisa Minter)
    Slingbox Review (Monty Solomon)
    Device Lets You Watch Shows on Home TV, TiVo, Elsewhere (Monty Solomon)
    Nokia 9300 Review (Monty Solomon)
    Children Get Protection From Email in Michigan (Lisa Minter)
    BellSouth Ramps up Fiber Rollout (Telecom dailyLead from USTA)
    Annoyances ... (was: Cellular Jamming?  Think Again.) (Al Gillis)
    Re: Using Comcast to Host Web Site (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: Congressman Lends a Helping Hand to SBC (Steve Sobol)
    Re: Cellular Jamming?  Think Again. (Michael D. Sullivan)
    Employment Opportunity: Data Entry - Contract Job (untitleearthlink@aol)
    Last Laugh! We Are Going to Eat From WHAT? (Patrick Townson)

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.  

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Pakistan's Internet Links Still Out 
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 09:51:40 -0500


By Robert Birsel

Lisa note: On Monday they said this would only be quite temporary and
that internet service would take 'three days' to restore. Now today,
Friday, we hear that the problem is a bit more complicated.  Lisa

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A faulty fibre-optic cable that virtually
crippled Internet access in Pakistan has damaged the country's
fledgling call center business but new links should reassure
investors, an industry official said on Friday.

The submarine cable, Pakistan's sole international cable link for data
and the Internet, developed a fault late on Monday, causing many
businesses across the country to grind to a halt on Tuesday.

Back-up satellite links restored some Internet access later in the week.

"We're trying to do some damage control," Abdullah Butt, president of
the Association of Call Center Operators of Pakistan, told Reuters.

"Definitely, international investors might think that Pakistan does
not have adequate back-up," he said.

Pakistan Telecommunication Co Ltd, which operates the faulty link,
says a repair ship is on its way to the site and the problem should be
resolved by early next week.

[Lisa: didn't they say that last Monday?]

In the meantime, it has provided business, including call centers,
with back-up satellite links.

Two new links, one a submarine cable and the other a land link with
neighboring India, are due to come on stream this year. Butt said he
was urging authorities to speed up work on the new links but some
damage had already been done.

A British company operating in India is reconsidering a $10 million
investment in Pakistan because of this week's communications
melt-down, Butt said.

"They are reconsidering Pakistan as an option because they think Pakistan
does not have an alternative link," he said. He declined to reveal the name
of the British company but said he was trying to persuade it to go ahead
with the project.

Pakistan has 25 call center operators employing up to 2,000 people,
with a combined revenue of up to $15 million a year.

Butt had entertained visions of attracting business away from India,
where he said taxes on the business are rising, and he had targets of
an industry with annual revenue of up to $60 million employing 10,000
people within a year or two.

But this week's problems have raised questions about the existing
business, as well as future operations.

One blessing was that this week's communications nightmare came when
the call center business was just getting going.

"I'm not losing hope," Butt said. "Right now, Pakistan does not have a
place on the global map of out-sourcing so the impact has not been
that great."

Had the communications break-down come after a few years of investment
and growth, that would have been disastrous, he said.

For now, Butt is pinning the hopes for his industry on the two new
international data and Internet links: "We foresee in the very near
future things will be much better."

Copyright 2005 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.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Do you recall 18 years ago, in May,
1988 when Illinois Bell had that fire in Hinsdale, IL which put them
out of business for a long time? Bell's original 'guesstimate' for
restoration of service was 'three or four days' which turned into a
month.  PAT]

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Norway's Opera Software Signs Motorola Phone Deal 
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 11:36:29 -0500


Norwegian Internet browser firm Opera Software has agreed with
U.S. mobile phone group Motorola expand an existing contract and
license its browser for Motorola phones for three years, Opera said on
Friday.

"The contract is of strategic importance to Opera as it will
significantly increase the company's market share in the mobile
browser market," Opera Software ASA said in a statement.

Opera has also licensed its small-screen browser to other mobile
handset manufacturers, including Nokia and Sony Ericsson.

Opera will receive a royalty payment per mobile phone sold, it said.

"Opera will make its mobile phone browser available on all major
operating systems supported by Motorola, including Linux, Windows
Mobile, Symbian, BREW and Motorola's P2K," Opera said.

Copyright 2005 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.

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Swedes Undeterred by Online Piracy Ban
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 11:37:59 -0500


By MATTIAS KAREN, Associated Press Writer

Unless Swedes have suddenly changed their habits, about one in 10
became a criminal on Friday when a ban on sharing copyrighted music
and movies over the Internet took effect at midnight.

Swedes are among the most prolific file-sharers in the world. Industry
groups estimate that about 10 percent of Sweden's 9 million residents
freely swap music, games and movies on their computers, making the
Scandinavian country one of the world's biggest copyright violators.

The new law, which follows a European Union directive, took effect a
day after the U.S. government announced an 11-nation crackdown on
Internet piracy organizations responsible for stealing copies of the
latest "Star Wars" film and other movies, games and software programs.

The Swedish ban also comes just days after the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that the entertainment industry can file piracy lawsuits against
technology companies caught encouraging customers to download
copyrighted material for free over the Internet.

Globally, the movie industry alone is estimated to be losing $3.5
billion to $5.4 billion a year to Internet piracy.

Many industry experts say that Swedes -- normally law-abiding, but
very tech-savvy -- have grown so lax about copyright infringement that
any regulation is likely to be useless.

"A law in itself changes nothing," said Henrik Ponten, a spokesman for
Antipiratbyran, a Swedish lobbying group waging a fierce campaign
against the file-sharers. "There is nothing that indicates that
(file-sharers) would change their behavior."

Previously, it had only been illegal in Sweden to make pirated
material available online for others to download via so-called
peer-to-peer networks.

While such behavior is rampant here, no one has been convicted of
doing it.  However, a court is expected to make the first ruling in
such a case later this year. A 27-year-old man was charged in March
with making a Swedish movie available for download from his home
computer.

If convicted, he could face two years in prison. But if he is merely
fined, it will likely serve as a green light for small-time pirates,
as police and prosecutors normally won't spend resources on crimes
that only warrant a fine.

And while most political parties backed the new law, Justice Minister
Thomas Bodstrom has signaled that chasing downloaders will still not
be a priority for police, unless the volume is massive.

"It would be just as unreasonable to dedicate large police resources
to investigate single cases of downloading as it would be to
prioritize shoplifting cases ahead of robberies," Bodstrom wrote in an
op-ed article shortly before the law was passed.

Antipiratbyran and similar organizations in other countries have been
tracking file-sharers online and sent out warning letters to people
who make illegal material available from their computers.

Seven of every 1,000 Swedes has received such a letter, for a total of
more than 60,000. That's a much higher per capita rate than in any
other country.  The average is about two per thousand, Ponten said.

"Sweden really is a paradise for pirates," he said. "We're getting
very weak signals from society that copyright should be valid on the
Internet."

While the Antipiratbyran's aggressive pursuit of file-sharers has been
a deterrent to some, it also has fueled a public backlash, as many see
the group's warning letters as harassment. Hackers attacked the
agency's Web site in March. It's still down.

More than 4,000 people reported Antipiratbyran to the Swedish Data
Inspection Board, claiming the agency misused personal information by
collecting IP addresses and online aliases. The inspection board
agreed, and the lobbying group has stopped sending out warning letters
to file-sharers.


Copyright 2005 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.

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

Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 23:46:07 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Slingbox Review


Slingbox

By Bill Howard

Sling Media's Slingbox scratches an itch you may not yet have. This
technically impressive set-top box compresses and transfers live TV,
satellite, or DVR video from your home to a computer anywhere in the
world, all without requiring a PC to be up and running at home, and
with minimal quality loss. Why, however, would you want to do that,
when there's a TV in virtually every hotel room and friend's house
around the world? It turns out there are some useful reasons as you
dig deeper. But dig you must.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1833045,00.asp

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

Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 23:46:12 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Device Lets You Watch Shows on a Home TV, TiVo From Elsewhere


By WALTER S. MOSSBERG

Most people understand the concept of time shifting for television
shows. Using a digital video recorder, such as a TiVo, or a
videocassette recorder, you can record a TV program for viewing at a
time that is more convenient for you.

But there is another idea for making TV watching convenient that is
less well known. It is called "place shifting." Place shifting allows
viewers to watch TV shows they receive at home in other locations, and
on devices other than their TV sets.

Unlike time shifting, which has been around for decades, place
shifting is just getting going. A few portable video players are
available, but they can't play live TV, only shows recorded on special
TiVo models or relatively expensive TV-capable "Media Center" PCs. And
they are clumsy to use.

Today, however, place shifting of TV shows takes a big leap forward.
A Silicon Valley start-up company called Sling Media is introducing a
$250 gadget it calls a "personal broadcaster." This small device,
named the Slingbox, can beam any live TV show coming into your home to
an Internet-connected Windows PC anywhere in the world. It also allows
you to remotely watch shows you have recorded at home on a TiVo or
other digital video recorder.

The Slingbox gives you full control of your home TV and digital 
recorder even if you are thousands of miles away. You can change 
channels, use the program guide, and perform any action on the menus 
of your TV or recorder just as if you were sitting in front of your 
set. The home TV doesn't even have to be on at the time.

And, best of all, the Slingbox is just a piece of hardware, not a
service. It is a small silver box that simply sits between your cable
or satellite receiver and your home broadband Internet connection and
pumps your TV programs out via the Internet. It doesn't require a
TiVo, and it works with a standard Windows PC.

There are no periodic fees to pay, no membership is required and no
advertisements are beamed at you other than the normal commercials
that appear in the TV programs. All you shell out is the $250 for the
device itself. Starting today, it will be available at CompUSA and
Best Buy stores, and at those companies' Web sites.

http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20050630.html

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

Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 00:03:39 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Nokia 9300 Communicator Review


Review by Michael Oryl

Nokia's 9000 series Communicator devices have always had a few things
in common. They've had big displays, full QWERTY keyboards, and they
were huge. The Nokia 9500, a current model in Nokia's lineup, still
fits that description. But with the 9300, things are starting to
change. The 9300 still has a big display and a QWERTY keyboard, but it
isn't exactly huge -- especially when compared to earlier models, as
you will see.

http://www.MobileBurn.com/review.jsp?Id=1459

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

From: Lisa Minter <lisa_minter2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Parents Can Sign up Kids to Not Get E-Mail 
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 11:40:17 -0500


By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN, Associated Press Writer

Starting Friday, parents can sign up for what Michigan officials say is the
nation's first registry aimed at keeping spammers from sending children
inappropriate e-mail. The new law bans sending messages to children related
to such things as pornography, illegal or prescription drugs, alcohol,
tobacco, gambling, firearms or fireworks. Parents and schools will be able
to register children's e-mail addresses.

"From my perspective as a parent, I'm horrified by what comes in" to
her three children's e-mail accounts, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said
during a news conference Thursday. "This will put an end, we hope, to
inappropriate e-mail getting to our children."

Signing up for the registry is free, and parents soon will be able to
add their children's instant message IDs, mobile phone numbers, fax
numbers and pager numbers.

E-mail senders must comply with the new law by Aug. 1. Violators face
up to three years in jail or fines up to $30,000 if convicted of
breaking the law, and could face civil penalties of up to $5,000 per
message sent.

Some Internet safety experts have said anti-spam laws have been
difficult to enforce and others worry the lists will give hackers a
way to get access to a large database of children.

Public Service Commission Chairman Peter Lark said safeguards,
including encryption of e-mail addresses and other information, will
keep the Michigan registry secure.

Utah is getting ready to set up a similar registry for children there.

On the Net:

http://www.michigan.gov/protectmichild

Copyright 2005 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.



[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder what would be the result in a
case like this: I have a fourteen year old nephew who lives in Chicago
but (among other things) has an email address from a Michigan ISP. I
am seriously thinking about making him the _email coordinator_ for 
TELECOM Digest; that is, forwarding all Digest email through him via
his Michigan email address. When the email hits his box, it will be
reforwaded on to me, of course, after judicious picking through of the
pieces which are spam. I would have him listed on the 'do not email'
list.  Heck, maybe we could cut corners if Kansas passed such a law
or maybe Massachusetts. So, there would be a jillion plus one pieces
of email spam each day. All the spam and porn would be automatically
forwarded to the appropriate state enforcement authorities for
prosecution and hopefully fine collections. What would be the success
rate? Maybe one percent?   I really would not care; at one percent
success, an occassional -- very occassional -- conviction and share of
the proceeds in the fines collected would be worth the little
effort it would take to forward my spam box each day to the state
authorities. I think a 'do not email' list is a great idea, as long
as the states or federal government intends to share (at least a little)
the loot they can collect by enforcement based on my complaints of 
course. PAT]

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

Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 12:33:42 EDT
From: Telecom dailyLead from USTA <usta@dailylead.com>
Subject: BellSouth Ramps up Fiber Rollout


Telecom dailyLead from USTA
July 1, 2005
http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=22795&l=2017006

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* BellSouth ramps up fiber rollout
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* Sprint, Motorola team up in wireless broadband test
* AT&T shareholders approve SBC merger
* Cingular encourages customers to "Take a Shot"
USTA SPOTLIGHT 
* USTelecom Webinar: Challenges and Opportunities in a Post-Brand X World
* TelecomNEXT: An International Focus
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
* Smart phones come of age
VOIP DOWNLOAD
* Canada's Rogers offers VoIP service
* Startup wins E911 patent
* Cablevision links VoIP to home security systems
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* Congress may exempt telcos from TV franchise rules
* Lawmakers stand up for rural
communities
* Ebbers to surrender assets for settlement fund
* U.S. hunts Web pirates at home, abroad
EDITOR'S NOTE
* The dailyLead will not be published on Monday, Independence Day.

Legal and Privacy information at
http://www.dailylead.com/about/privacy_legal.jsp

SmartBrief, Inc.
1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC 20005

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

From: Al Gillis <alg@aracnet.com>
Subject: Annoyances ... (was: Cellular Jamming?  Think Again.)
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 20:37:14 -0700
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com


Carl Zwanzig <zbang@radix.net> wrote in message
news:telecom24.303.10@telecom-digest.org:

> John McHarry  <jmcharry@comcast.net> wrote:
  Snip, SNip ...

> Unfortunately, it's proven difficult, if not impossible, to legistate
> taste, politeness, tact, or morality. OTOH, I wouldn't mind a slide
> flashing up on the screen saying "Turn your d*nm phone off!!" the
> first time one rings.

> z!

Sometimes, when I'm dreaming, I wish for a small electronics package
in my trunk with a button on the dashboard that, when activated, will
seek out and irreparably smoke any receiver, amplifier and speaker
that is causing loud THUMP, THUMP, THUMP sounds within an 800 yard
radius, I pray for this device in particular when I'm next to them at
a long stop light!

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

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Using Comcast to Host Web Site
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 04:11:21 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.303.9@telecom-digest.org>, Michael D. Sullivan
<userid@camsul.example.invalid> wrote:

> Rob Stampfli wrote:

>> In article <telecom24.300.15@telecom-digest.org>, William Warren
>> <william_warren_nonoise@comcast.net> wrote:

>>> Comcast has been blocking port 80 (HTTP) for a while now, and they've
>>> recently started blocking port 25 (SMTP) as well. IMNSHO, it's only a
>>> matter of time before they start blocking all syn packets and charging
>>> extra for ANY incoming connection, but for now you can do it with some
>>> workarounds.

>> With cable's relatively limited upload speed, I can readily understand
>> blocking inbound port 80, where the traffic distribution is highly
>> skewed towards outbound packets.  But why inbound port 25?  It can't
>> be to prevent spam from infected PCs since they don't use it.  Inbound
>> port 25 can only be used to receive mail and one could argue that
>> whether you receive your mail via SMTP (port 25), or POP or IMAP or
>> otherwise, the bits have to eventually flow in one way or another.

>> So, why block port 25?  The only answer I can come up with is "just
>> for spite".

> I suspect it's *outbound* port 25 that is blocked, to prevent zombie
> machines and active spammers from using their own SMTP servers to send
> email directly to their victims' ISPs' MTAs.  Many ISPs block outbound
> port 25, requiring most users to go through the ISP's SMTP server to
> send email, which can have limits imposed in an effort to deter spam.

> It could also be a block of inbound port 25, to prevent zombie
> machines from acting as open relay SMTP servers, but if outbound port
> 25 is blocked, those zombies couldn't send the mail that is sent to
> them for relaying, so there is no need to block inbound port 25.

Unfortunately, that is *NOT* true.

Spammer use of "asymmetric routing" has shown there _is_ a need for
blocking inbound port 25, as well.

>> For that matter, the whole concept of "no servers" has always seemed
>> flawed to me: Technically, sshd and telnetd are servers.  Does Comcast
>> really desire to have a policy of preventing one from contacting a
>> home machine when they are travelling?

I can't speak for Comcast specifically, but (at least some) other providers 
with a 'no servers rule' *do* intend that, as well as prohibiting the 
'bandwidth hogging' uses like a music download service..

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

From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net>
Subject: Re: Congressman Lends a Helping Hand to SBC
Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2005 21:20:16 -0700
Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com


Lisa Minter wrote:

> In late May, Sessions introduced legislation that would ban municipal
> broadband networks in areas where companies such as SBC offer similar
> services. SBC supports the bill, but spokesman Kevin Belgrade said the
> issue goes beyond any one company.

Sessions is obviously bought and paid for.

I thought the point of all of the anti-trust legislation last century
was to *avoid* creating monopolies.

> Juanita Sessions, meanwhile, held SBC stock options valued between
> $500,001 and $1 million through the end of 2003, 

Someone should bring this to the attention of the SEC ...

JustThe.net - Steve Sobol / sjsobol@JustThe.net / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Coming to you from Southern California's High Desert, where the
temperatures are as high as the gas prices! / 888.480.4NET (4638)

"Life's like an hourglass glued to the table"   --Anna Nalick, "Breathe"

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

From: Michael D. Sullivan <userid@camsul.example.invalid>
Subject: Re: Cellular Jamming?  Think Again.
Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2005 04:27:27 GMT


W Howard wrote:

>> FCC Re-iterates Cell-Phone Jammers Are Illegal
> 
> Of course they say that.  And every once in a while they dust off
> their announcement that broadcasting more than 5 watts on a CB radio
> is illegal and subjects the operator to fines and seizure of their
> equipment too.  But they don't actually do it.  They're stretched thin
> already trying to figure out where telecommunications is going so they
> can stay a little ahead of it, and they just don't bother with
> "crimes" that do not involve substantial amounts of money.

The FCC has engaged in a number of enforcement actions against outfits 
selling or using cellphone jammers.  Google jammer site: http://fcc.gov.

> IMHO, the preaching without the enforcement weakens repect for
> everything they do.  If you don't have enough resources to enforce a
> law, better you don't have the law either.  But nobody in Washington
> can imagine just removing a law, without replacing it with a more
> complicated one.

Who said anything about removing a law or replacing one?

Michael D. Sullivan
Bethesda, MD (USA)
(Replace "example.invalid" with "com" in my address.)

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

From: UntitleEathlink@aol.com
Subject: Employment Opportunity: Data Entry - Contract
Date: 1 Jul 2005 06:10:20 -0700


A technical support position is available for a work at home
situation.

This is a full time position, where you will be receiving support help
from email. Group Ware design are looking for suitable data input
clerks to work on a regular basis. The type of work involves inputing
data into a database such as Lotus Approach or Microsoft Access. 
Updates can range from 200 to 3000 entries.  Please forward your resume.

Initial one year contract.

Pay Based On Qualifications.  Min. Pay $14.50 -hr.

Email  Amy At:  WorkPlus2@aol. com
     Web Site:  http://www.untitled-works.com

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

From: Patrick Townson <ptownson@cableone.net>
Subject: Last Laugh! We're Going to Eat Out of a WHAT?
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 09:44:43 -0500


It may take a strong stomach to eat curry or chocolate ice cream out
of a toilet bowl, but a commode-themed restaurant in Taiwan does
booming business serving up just that.

The Martun, or toilet in Chinese, restaurant in the southern port city
of Kaohsiung boasts lengthy queues on weekends as diners wait for a
toilet seat in its brightly colored tile interior.

Food arrives in bowls shaped like Western-style toilets or Asian-style
"squat pots."

Manager Hung Lin-wen said the original inspiration came from a
toilet-shaped spaceship in a Japanese cartoon. The theme has attracted
droves of novelty-seeking young people who come to play with their
food and gross out their friends.

"We think the theme is special, and the food is tasty," Hung said.

But no matter how delicious, a few customers still find the
combination a little hard to swallow.

"The taste is good, but I still feel disgusted when I look at it,"
said diner Lin Yu-may.

Copyright 2005 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.


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And this concept, of food served out of
a toilet bowl was the basis for a type of mini-computer terminal 
device now under construction, soon to be in beta-testing. The round
bowl is the screen and keyboard; the computer guts are where the
device (if it were an actual toilet) drains out, connecting to the
sewer. The user sits there facing the bowl, and calls up Usenet 
messages, email and web sites; staring at the bowl (screen) as 
writings, pictures and other illustrations are presented on demand. 
The 'enter' key, appropriatly enough is entitled 'flush', and you use
the flush key for what you deposit there and what otherwise backs up 
at you. PAT]

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


TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly but not
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*   TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from                  *
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*   800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting.         *
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*   Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing      *
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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

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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 V24 #304
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