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TELECOM Digest Tue, 26 Jul 2005 14:38:00 EDT Volume 24 : Issue 339 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson US Telecom Overhaul Chances This Year Unlikely (Jeremy Pelofsky) Microsoft Could Face Trademark Challenge Over 'Vista' (Eliz Montalbano) Yahoo Buys 'Widget' Information Company Pixoria (Reuters News Wire) Lost Blackberry Could Cause Security Breach (Yoki Noguchi) AOL's Steve Case Finds Lime Twist in Wisdom (Andrew Wallenstein) Court Decision In Internet Censorship Law (Nitke/Ashcroft) (M Solomon) Verizon Communications Reports Second Quarter Earnings (Monty Solomon) Windows Genuine Advantage 1.0 Goes Live (Monty Solomon) Call My SIP Phone Over the Internet? (timeOday) Looking For Retailer of Office Telephone System (Christopher Sabine) Motorola Shows Off the 'Q' (USTelecom dailyLead) Re: TV Telephone History (Paul Coxwell) Re: An Unsettling Surprise: Victimized by ID Theft (Steve Sobol) Re: Ethics of Deterrence (John Levine) Re: TV Telephone History (Lisa Hancock) Re: Need to Drop SBC LD Service. Info on Other Carriers? (NOTvalid@Xmas) Last Laugh! Spammer, Age 35, Murdered (Danny Burstein) 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: Jeremy Pelofsky <reuters@telecom-digest.org> Subject: US Telecom Overhaul Chances This Year Seen Slim Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 19:11:41 -0500 By Jeremy Pelofsky U.S. lawmakers have been promising to begin overhauling the country's telecommunications laws this year to keep up with advancing technologies, but analysts say the odds of passing a bill this year are slim. While there were predictions legislation would be completed in the U.S. House of Representatives by August, only the first public drafts of reform bills are expected to be unveiled this week, according to a congressional aide and industry lobbyists. U.S. telephone companies like Verizon Communications and SBC Communi- cations Inc. are pushing Congress to ease regulations so they can quickly deploy high-speed Internet services such as video, voice and data. Lawmakers may also consider curbing some states' oversight of the industry and will likely weigh revamping the program that offers subsidies for telephone service to low-income homes and rural areas. Cable and telephone companies are battling to boost their bottom lines by signing up as many customers as possible for a suite of communications and entertainment services. Verizon, SBC, BellSouth Corp. and Qwest Communications International Inc. called the Baby Bells, are expanding beyond traditional phone service to high-speed Internet services, known as broadband. But the Bells complain they are at a disadvantage because they must abide by laws for traditional phone service. "I think this is an effort to try to actually move the ball in terms of having regulation today in this industry match much better the actual competitive environment than we see today," BellSouth Chief Executive Officer Duane Ackerman told Reuters. Yet, higher on the priority list for Congress is a bill to finish the transition to digital television airwaves. The old analog airwaves will be sold for wireless services and could bring billions of dollars to plug the budget deficit. "It's tough, there's a chance that they might move something (on telecommunications) in the House, but it's certainly not a slam dunk," said Paul Glenchur, a Stanford Washington Research Group analyst. "The Senate side is a little more complicated because not everybody will have the same priorities." He also said lawmakers were likely divided over whether to act or let the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates the industry, address as many issues as possible. HELP WITH VIDEO ROLLOUT The last major telecommunications law, which was broad and signed in 1996, took several years to craft. And now with the phone industry merging -- Verizon is acquiring MCI Inc. and SBC is buying AT&T Corp. -- competition has shifted to mostly between cable and telephone providers. Sen. John Ensign (news, bio, voting record), a Nevada Republican and chairman of the Senate Commerce subcommittee on technology, innovation and competitiveness, plans to unveil his bill this week and a House bill may also be introduced, the aide and lobbyists said. The primary goal of the Senate bill is to apply the same rules to services, like broadband, regardless of the provider, they said. But lawmakers will likely have to balance the desire for limited rules to avoid stifling innovation with demands for consumer protections. "At this point we're hopeful" Congress will act this year on telecommunications legislation, BellSouth's Ackerman said last week. "I think it all depends on what comes up." The Bells particularly want Congress to grant them authority to offer video without seeking approval from municipal authorities, which could be a cumbersome process. "If they were just to focus on that, the odds of something like that happening (this year) would be greater," said Blair Levin, a Legg Mason analyst. "But the danger is that you then push back even farther a bigger bill." In February, Rep. Fred Upton (news, bio, voting record), head of the House telecommunications subcommittee and a Michigan Republican, said he planned to have a bill done in the full House by summer break, which begins on Friday. His spokesman declined to comment. 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: Elizabeth Montalbano <idgnews@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Microsoft Could Face Trademark Challenge Over 'Vista' Name Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 19:13:22 -0500 by Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service SAN FRANCISCO--The founder of a Redmond, Washington-based custom application and services provider is considering taking action to challenge Microsoft over the naming of the next version of the Windows operating system. John Wall, chief executive officer of Vista, says his company is "considering all of its options" for a potential case against Microsoft because of the company's choice of the name "Windows Vista" for the version previously code-named Longhorn. Wall says the naming of Windows may violate a trademark his company has, and potentially create confusion over the software and services Vista provides. Vista is headquartered just down the road from Microsoft and provides small businesses with online information systems, including custom applications, as well as with consulting services. "If people call it Windows Vista, that's not a problem," he says. "If people call it 'Vista,' that confuses it with our business and what we do." What's the Effect? Wall says Vista will be analyzing traffic to its Web site to see what effect the "Windows Vista" name may have on visitors to the site. If the effect is significant -- that is, if a surge of visitors comes to Vista.com looking for information about Windows Vista -- the company may decide to take legal actions over the trademark. One of the key tests for whether a new trademark can be challenged is if it creates confusion over another company's products and services, says Bill Lozito, president of Strategic Name Development, a brand naming consultancy in Minneapolis. Vista potentially has a good case against Microsoft because its software and services are similar to what the software giant offers, he says. Because Microsoft is a larger, more recognizable company, the name confusion might drive some of Vista's potential customers to Microsoft. "The ramifications are [customers] no longer associate you as this independent company and think you're a part of Microsoft," Lozito says. "If they need the service you're providing, they'll call Microsoft instead of you. You're going to get drowned out." The issue for Vista is particularly prickly because the company deals mainly in the small business market, a segment where Microsoft also figures prominently, he adds. Other Vista Firms Out There Wall's company is not the only one that might have a case against Microsoft in the naming of the next version of Windows. At least two other software companies, both named Vista Software, might have a good argument against Microsoft's using the Vista moniker, Lozito says. "Anyone using that name that's doing business in this category runs the risk of being overshadowed by Microsoft Windows Vista," he says. However, the presidents of the two companies called Vista Software, both of which provide add-on technology for Microsoft products, separately said their companies likely will benefit from Microsoft's choice of name for the next version of Windows because of their current affiliation with the Redmond, Washington-based company. The two companies are Vista Software of Tucson, Arizona, and Lorant's Vista Software in La Jolla, California. A Microsoft product manager says his team came up with the name because it reflects the three main design principles of the next version of Windows, which is expected to be available in the last calendar quarter of 2006. Greg Sullivan, group product manager with Microsoft's Windows client group, says Microsoft has focused on making the next version of Windows provide users with a higher level of confidence in the system; give them a clearer view of their information and files; and help them be more connected to other systems and other modes of communication. "When we take those all together, when I really think about my view into this world, my personal view of all this digital content, this is how we arrived at the name 'Vista,'" he says. Microsoft plans to make the first beta of Windows Vista available August 3. The Vista case is not the first time Microsoft has decided on a product name that conflicted with an existing trademark. In 1998, Microsoft paid Internet service provider Synet $5 million for the rights to the name "Internet Explorer" because the company had had that name trademarked since 1995. Copyright 2005 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. *** 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, PC World Communications, Inc. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ From: News Wire <newswire@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Yahoo Buys Information 'Widget' Company Pixoria Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 19:05:38 -0500 Yahoo Inc. said on Monday it bought Pixoria, a company that provides small, downloadable programs that let computer users quickly get up-to-the-minute information, such as stock quotes and weather reports without using a Web browser. Terms of the sale, which closed July 19, were not disclosed. The products, which also include such things as an alarm clock and a launching pad for Web searches, are available free at http://widgets.yahoo.com/. The move comes as Yahoo and chief rival Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG - news) open their networks to independent developers, whose program tweaks at times move technology forward or result in popular products. Pixoria, is the developer of the Konfabulator engine that builds small desktop applications to help users access Web content and other information from their desktops. The programs are built on an open platform, which allows developers to write specialized programs. The company's three employees are joining Yahoo as full-time employees. Shares of Yahoo were up 11 cents at $33.64 in mid-day trading on Nasdaq. 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: Yuki Noguchi <washpost@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Lost BlackBerry Could Open Security Breach Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 19:08:27 -0500 By Yuki Noguchi, Washington Post Staff Writer The ability to carry vast amounts of data in small but easily misplaced items such as computer memory sticks and mobile e-mail devices has transformed the way Americans work, but it has also increased the risk that a forgotten BlackBerry or lost cell phone could amount to a major security breach. Worried that sensitive information could ride off in the back of a taxicab or be left in a hotel room, companies are peeling back some of the convenience of mobile devices in favor of extra layers of password protection and other restrictions. Some are installing software on their networks to make it impossible to download corporate information to a portable device or a memory stick, which is a plug-in device that holds data for use on other computers. Wireless providers are developing weapons to use against their own products, like digital "neutron bombs" that can wipe out information from long distance so one misplaced device doesn't translate into corporate disaster. It's a nightmare that individuals and corporations fret about when their mobile e-mail or handheld devices go missing or fall into the wrong hands. With the swift stroke of a keypad, someone's e-mail, corporate data and business contacts can be laid bare for others to see -- and potentially abuse. Personal devices "are carrying incredibly sensitive information," said Joel Yarmon, who, as technology director for the staff of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), had to scramble over a weekend last month after a colleague lost one of the office's wireless messaging devices. In this case, the data included "personal phone numbers of leaders of Congress. If that were to leak, that would be very embarrassing," Yarmon said. A couple of years ago, David Yach and all other workers at his Canadian company woke up to an e-mail full of expletives from an otherwise mild-mannered female employee. But it was not sent by the woman. A thief had broken into her home, commandeered her BlackBerry wireless device and sent the note, said Yach, vice president of software at Research in Motion Ltd., the company that makes the BlackBerry, a device that allows e-mail to be sent and received. "It's terrifying," said Mark Komisky, chief executive of Baltimore's Bluefire Security Technologies Inc., who recently lost his iPaq 6315 Pocket PC in a cab or at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The device, a small pocket phone with a miniature keyboard, contained his e-mail, details of his company's strategy, Social Security numbers of his wife and son, and phone numbers for high-level executives at companies with which Bluefire does business, such as Intel Corp. "I got off the plane in Baltimore and did the pat-down, and didn't have it," he said. "It's bad," even for the head of a firm that sells security services for companies and government agencies trying to secure their wireless devices. At 10:30 p.m., he called a technician at Bluefire, who erased the information on the iPaq remotely. Luckily, it was also locked with a password, he said. Companies are seeking to avoid becoming the latest example of compromised security. Earlier this year, a laptop computer containing the names and Social Security numbers of 16,500 current and former MCI Inc. employees was stolen from the car of an MCI financial analyst in Colorado. In another case, a former Morgan Stanley employee sold a used BlackBerry on the online auction site eBay with confidential information still stored on the device. And in yet another incident, personal information for 665 families in Japan was recently stolen along with a handheld device belonging to a Japanese power-company employee. To combat the problem, security companies have come up with ways to install layers of password protection and automatic locks on devices. Others market the ability to erase data over the air once the device is reported lost. In Japan, cell phone carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. started selling models that come with fingerprint scanners to biometrically unlock phones. Some companies suffer only embarrassment from such incidents. But for public companies or financial firms, a lost device could mean violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires strict controls over disclosure of financial information. For doctors and health care companies, the loss of customer data compromises patient confidentiality, protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Potential security breaches are made scarier by the greater reliance on mobile devices. Smart phones, such as the Treo or some BlackBerry models, come with enough memory and high-speed Internet access to function as small computers. In some cases, accompanying memory cards allow users to store even more data, including client lists and contract information. "I hear less about the cost of the devices, because it really is a pittance, but I really do hear more about the potential cost of someone gaining access to corporate data," said Kenny Wyatt, a vice president for Sprint Corp., which helps some of its business customers manage the security of wayward devices. Three years ago, Wyatt lost a cell phone containing phone numbers of co-workers and clients. Sprint now can delete information by sending a signal to a phone over the air, he said, although if the device is turned off, the kill signal won't work. Without the kill service, losing his phone would be a bigger deal today than it was three years ago because the device contains so much more information, he said. "It'd be like I lost an appendage." In Chicago, 160,000 portable devices are left in taxicabs every year, according to a survey earlier this year by Pointsec Mobile Technologies, a security software firm. Fifty to 60 percent of those are reunited with their owner, according to the firm, which polled cab companies. According to another survey sponsored by software maker Symantec Corp., 37 percent of smart-phone users store confidential business data on their phones. Only 40 percent of those surveyed worked at companies that have corporate policies about wireless security. Yarmon, the staffer for Sen. Stevens, said he sends an e-mail every few months reminding colleagues to install passwords on devices. "That is my worst fear," he said, "for a user to have it fall into the hands of somebody who disseminates it or uses that information against my boss." Copyright 2005 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. ------------------------------ From: Andrew Wallenstein <awallenstein@telecom-digest.org> Subject: AOL's Steve Case Finds Lime Twist in Wisdom Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 19:10:07 -0500 By Andrew Wallenstein The man who packaged the Internet to the masses is trying his hand at television, but for a more discriminating audience. In April, America Online co-founder Steve Case rose from the ashes of his company's ill-fated merger with Time Warner by declaring his intent to build a new empire based in the health care industry. His private holding company, Revolution, has been on a buying binge funded in part by $500 million of his own fortune. Among the companies acquired was Wisdom Media Group, a small, family-run cable venture based in Bluefield, W.Va., not too far from AOL's Dulles, Va., headquarters. At this past weekend's Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing convention in Philadelphia, Revolution announced plans to rebrand and relaunch the Wisdom cable channel as the keystone of a multiplatform media play including radio, Internet, wireless and DVD. In line with Case's ambitions in the health care business, his media strategy is aimed at a loosely defined market segment interested in healthy, eco-friendly goods and services ranging from Whole Foods groceries to Toyota Prius hybrid vehicles. Known to market researchers by the acronym LOHAS, or lifestyles of health and sustainability, the group has a spending power pegged at more than $230 billion. But Case will have his work cut out for him, notwithstanding the difficulties independent cable ventures have had amassing significant distribution. The tens of millions of Americans that comprise the LOHAS market have proved to be notoriously resistant to television itself, which falls somewhere between the Twinkie and the Humvee on their list of favorite inventions. "If you are used to doing mass-market TV, you are going to run into trouble," said Paul H. Ray, a leading market researcher studying LOHAS who wrote the defining text on them in 2001, "The Cultural Creatives." "Their allergy to hype is huge, and that is the big problem with conventional TV. It is built around hype." But Revolution believes they are preparing a more sophisticated approach appropriate for an audience that has grown too large to dismiss. "This category has moved out of the subculture and into the mainstream," said the channel's CEO, C.J. Kettler, who was president of sales and marketing at the Oxygen network. Case could not be reached for comment. By the fourth quarter of the year, Wisdom will be rechristened Lime -- "healthy living with a twist" is the tagline. Complete with wedge-shaped logo, the brand alludes to the color of the titular citrus, green being synonymous with ecological concerns. But Lime connotes a "lite" green, as Kettler puts it, befitting a hipper sensibility the brand aspires to in hopes of deflating stereotypes associated with such new-age totems as granola or healing crystals. "What would be best for us is to take a more unexpected approach to the category, something with a sense of humor," Kettler said. "The category has been so serious. We're a media brand, we want to appeal on emotional level." True to form as an ecologically conscious venture, Revolution is recycling a used channel to create its own, crafting Lime out of pieces of Wisdom (mainly its distribution deals), a pact with Sirius Satellite Radio and 1,000 hours of such library programming as "Yoga Zone" and "Lectures With Deepak Chopra." Kettler plans to add original programming as well as acquired comedy and drama series or films that have eco-friendly themes. Another environmentally aware cable magnate, Al Gore, adopted a similar strategy, acquiring NewsWorld International from Vivendi Universal to be remade into Current, a youth-targeted network that launches Aug. 1. With cable operators no longer interested in adding linear channels to crowded digital lineups, "rebranding an existing channel is a smarter way of getting distribution than starting from scratch," said Debra Sharon Davis, a media strategist who also attempted to acquire Wisdom for a consortium of clients. Launched in 1998, Wisdom has largely been in a vegetative state since the death of its founder, cable pioneer Bill Turner, in 2002. Revolution will harvest carriage agreements with distributors including Comcast and EchoStar, which will put Lime in 6.5 million homes. Sources indicate it is Wisdom's deal with Comcast, inherited from the operator's acquisition of AT&T Broadband, that will enable Case to turn this cable-industry lemon into Lime. The channel has a place on select Comcast systems until at least 2009. Comcast and EchoStar declined comment. Lime is aiming for a breakthrough this category has yet to sustain; bit players come and go, and such existing channels as Oxygen and Lifetime have dabbled here. Los Angeles-based Oasis TV is primarily broadband, but the outfit recently secured video-on-demand deals with Time Warner and Akimbo. The problem might lie with the nature of the medium. Both programers and advertisers tend to rely on the glitz and glibness that the Birkenstock crowd detest, Ray argues. He believes they favor more plain-spoken information available via print or Web that rarely translates to TV. "They've turned to the Internet because they are tired of shlocky programing," Ray said. But the timing of Lime could be to its benefit. Corporate America is waking up to a slice of the population willing to pay a premium for such products as hybrid vehicles (Toyota, Ford) and energy-efficient appliances (General Electric) with targeted marketing efforts. Giant food companies like General Mills quietly are backing boutique gourmet labels. "Lots of sectors are transforming, and the media has an huge opportunity to transform as well," Kettler said. What remains to be seen is as how Lime fits together with the rest of Case's holdings, which include controlling shares in real estate properties like Miraval, an Arizona-based wellness resort. A chain of private health clinics is rumored to be his next project. "It's still early in the game, but if there's synergies to be had, they will happen," Kettler said. "Steve is very involved from a strategic perspective." Reuters/Hollywood Reporter 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. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 22:51:49 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Court Decision In Internet Censorship Law (Nitke / Ashcroft) http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/archives/000884.html by Seth Finkelstein Nitke versus Ashcroft is a case challenging Internet censorship law, involving issues of "community standards" and the Internet. I (Seth Finkelstein) am serving as an expert witness in the case. Case lawyer John Wirenius' blog entry describes the decision: http://www.livejournal.com/users/jwirenius/2005/07/25/ "[On July 25, 2005], the three judge panel of the Southern District of New York issued a 25 page per curiam opinion finding against the plaintiffs -- us, to be clear -- in Nitke v. Ashcroft. The decision is a stunner -- as much for what it doesn't say as for what it does. The Court found that Barbara and NCSF (through The Eulenspeigel Society) had been chilled in their speech and had censored themselves because of the statute allowing the Government to choose which venue any artist using the Internet may be prosecuted in, and applying that local community's standards to all art on the Internet. The Court also found that Barbara and NCSF could not rest easy on the obvious social value of their speech, because not all prosecutors and not all juries see social importance the same way. Then they found we had not produced enough evidence as to how many artists would be chilled, and how local community standards varied. Thus, we had not shown to what extent the standards varied from community to community, and how much speech was effected." I have a page of resources about the case at: http://sethf.com/nitke/ Case lawyer John Wirenius' material: Overview: http://wireniusreport.net/overview.html January 2005 Update: http://www.livejournal.com/users/jwirenius/2005/01/01/ http://wireniusreport.net/ http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=jwirenius NCSF's site: http://www.ncsfreedom.org/ Barbara Nitke: http://www.barbaranitke.com/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:20:33 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Verizon Communications Reports Second-Quarter Earnings $2.1 Billion Verizon Communications Reports Second-Quarter Earnings of $2.1 Billion, With $18.6 Billion in Revenues - Jul 26, 2005 07:25 AM (PR Newswire) - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=50677649 Wireless Nets Record 1.9 Million New Customers, Maintains Margins, Yields Record-Low Churn; Wireline Broadband, LD, Data Revenues Continue Growth SECOND-QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS Consolidated Results - 75 cents in diluted earnings per share; 63 cents per share before special items (non-GAAP measure) Wireless - Industry-record 1.9 million net customer additions, up 25.1 percent; 47.4 million total customers, up 17.1 percent; record-low churn (customer turnover) of 1.2 percent - Total quarterly revenues of $7.8 billion, up $1.0 billion, or 14.6 percent -- the 12th consecutive quarter of double-digit year-over-year revenue growth increases - Continued strong operating income margin of 22.7 percent Wireline - 4.1 million total broadband connections (DSL and Verizon Fios data lines), including 278,000 net new broadband connections - Improving revenue trends: Total quarterly revenues of $9.4 billion include a year-over-year gain in the consumer business, and gains from first quarter 2005 in all major lines of business - Data revenues up 10.9 percent; long-distance (LD) revenues up 6.7 percent Notes: Reclassifications of prior-period amounts have been made to reflect comparable results excluding Verizon's Hawaii wireline and directory operations, which were sold in the second quarter 2005. Growth percentages cited above compare second quarter 2005 with second quarter 2004. See the schedules accompanying this news release and www.verizon.com/investor for reconciliations to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the non-GAAP financial measures included in this announcement. Discontinued operations in the prior-year periods presented include the operations of Verizon Information Services Canada. NEW YORK, July 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) today reported second-quarter 2005 earnings of $2.1 billion, or 75 cents per diluted share, highlighted by another record-breaking quarter at Verizon Wireless and continued strong consolidated cash flows and revenue growth. Second-quarter earnings included $336 million, or 12 cents per share, from the sale of wireline and directory operations in Hawaii, as well as tax benefits of $242 million recognized on prior-year investment losses, partially offset by net tax expense of $232 million for the repatriation of foreign earnings. Earnings before these special items (non-GAAP measure) were $1.8 billion, or 63 cents per share. This compares with $1.8 billion, or 64 cents per share, in earnings before special items in the second quarter 2004. The tax on repatriated foreign earnings relates primarily to the more than $2 billion that Verizon expects to receive in 2005 from share buybacks initiated by Italian wireless provider Vodafone Omnitel. Verizon received $1.2 billion in proceeds in the second quarter 2005 and anticipates receiving the final amount in the second half of 2005. Record Quarterly Revenues Consolidated operating revenues of $18.6 billion in the second quarter 2005 set a company record, increasing 4.6 percent compared with the second quarter 2004. Consolidated operating revenues on a comparable basis (non-GAAP measure, excluding revenues from Verizon's Hawaii operations in both periods) were $18.5 billion in the second quarter 2005. This is an increase of 5.1 percent, or $0.9 billion, compared with the second quarter 2004. Second-quarter total revenues at Verizon Wireless increased 14.6 percent, or $1.0 billion, to $7.8 billion when compared with the second quarter 2004, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of more than 10 percent year-over-year increases. Operating revenues on a comparable basis at Domestic Telecom were $9.4 billion in the second quarter 2005. This 0.5 percent decrease, compared with the second quarter 2004, was the segment's lowest rate of revenue decline in four years. Domestic Telecom revenues in the second quarter 2005 increased $78 million over the first quarter 2005 on a comparable basis. In the second quarter 2005, consolidated operating expenses increased 3.0 percent to $14.5 billion, compared with second-quarter 2004 operating expenses of $14.1 billion. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:21:17 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> Subject: Windows Genuine Advantage 1.0 Goes Live Global anti-piracy initiative ensures software authenticity, performance and support while providing ongoing system improvements. REDMOND, Wash., July 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the transition of the Windows(R) Genuine Advantage (WGA) pilot to a version 1.0 launch with worldwide availability. WGA is part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to protecting its customers from software counterfeiting and to helping support partners through education, engineering, and enforcement of policies and laws. WGA, designed to differentiate the value of genuine Windows-based software from counterfeit software, enables customers to enjoy the capabilities they expect, provides them with confidence that their software is authentic, and delivers ongoing system improvements, including approximately $450 in software offerings available only to genuine users. - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=50674486 ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 23:01:40 -0600 From: timeOday <timeOday-UNSPAM@theknack.net> Subject: Call My SIP Phone Over the Internet? At home I use Vonage for phone service, so my phone is attached to the Internet. I travel reasonably often but don't have a cellphone. Increasingly, hotels are charging ridiculous prices even for local and 1-800 calls, but I do have broadband Internet because I need it for work, so they pay. Finally my question, can I get SIP on my laptop, and call home, bypassing the POTS (and for that matter, Vonage) entirely? (I realize I could do PC-to-PC calling to my home computer from my laptop, but it will never work unless my wife can just pick up the normal phone). ------------------------------ From: Christopher Sabine <jsabine@cinci.rr.com> Subject: Looking For Retailer of Office Telephone System Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:25:39 -0400 Hi folks. I'm looking for a price quote on an office telephone with a port for a pair of dual jack headsets that interface between the telephone handset and a computer. I need to take audio from the computer in one earpeace and audio from the telephone in the other. I'm in Cincinnati and would like a supplier as local to that area as possible. Thanks a bunch, Chris ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 12:09:57 EDT From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com> Subject: Motorola Shows Off the 'Q' USTelecom dailyLead July 26, 2005 http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=23343&l=2017006 TODAY'S HEADLINES NEWS OF THE DAY * Motorola shows off the "Q" BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH * Western Wireless sells Irish assets * Broadcasters, telcos continue dialogue at TELECOM '05 * Cells to offer sound of music * Verizon, Sprint ink pic-sharing pact * BellSouth, Verizon report Q2 earnings USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT * Cox Cable Chief to Speak at TELECOM '05 EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES * Vonage, Motorola announce new VoIP gear REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE * FCC forms e911 task force * SBC-AT&T merger wins support in California Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others. http://www.dailylead.com/latestIssue.jsp?i=23343&l=2017006 Legal and Privacy information at http://www.dailylead.com/about/privacy_legal.jsp SmartBrief, Inc. 1100 H ST NW, Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20005 ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2005 01:49:40 +0100 From: Paul Coxwell <paulcoxwell@tiscali.co.uk> Subject: Re: TV Telephone History > While watching TV Land, I realized I could learn about the > phone-wealth of various TV families. I think there were four phones in the Stevens household in Bewitched -- One in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, one in Darrin's den, and a green WE 500 set which normally sat atop the TV in the living room. > TV writers later learned to use the exchange "555" (or KLondike 5) for > fictitious numbers, but perhaps weren't doing this back then. The "99" > portion of their phone number used to indicate a coin-operated > telephone in some exchanges, so perhaps this convention was good > enough. I recall seeing an episode of The Twilight Zone in which a KLondike 5 number was used. When was the last series of that? About 1963? - Paul ------------------------------ From: Steve Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> Subject: Re: An Unsettling Surprise: Victimized by ID Theft Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:00:42 -0700 Organization: Glorb Internet Services, http://www.glorb.com hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > Actually, us lay people can do NOTHING about 'opportunity'. I have no > idea what big data warehouses handle my information, let alone dictate > to them to maintain proper controls and security. Quoted in full for emphasis. I was almost the victim of ID theft in 1998, but that was my own fault, as I somehow misplaced my Ohio driver's license and in 1998, they hadn't yet enacted the law that makes a SSN optional on your license. (In my opinion, it shouldn't ever be on there, but that's just my opinion. I now live in a state that has enough clue to omit the SSN from the DL.) What Lisa says is extremely important. My situation happened out of sheer stupidity and absent-mindedness, and I could have prevented it very easily. Situations like the one with Cardsystems can't be prevented by the consumer. Steve Sobol, Professional Geek 888-480-4638 PGP: 0xE3AE35ED Company website: http://JustThe.net/ Personal blog, resume, portfolio: http://SteveSobol.com/ E: sjsobol@JustThe.net Snail: 22674 Motnocab Road, Apple Valley, CA 92307 ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jul 2005 06:34:19 -0000 From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> Subject: Re: Ethics of Deterrence Organization: I.E.C.C., Trumansburg NY USA > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: I wonder if anyone besides me has > noticed how this whole thing has deteriorated from evil nasty spammers > as the _true_ villians to evil nasty netizens trying to harm a good > and pure web site; Since that's not what anyone has proposed, no, I don't think anyone else has noticed that. You know that I have no love for spammers, but I have even less love for stupid gimmicks that play into spammers' hands. > Why did ICANN (and its cheering squad on the net) fight so > vigorously against the federal government's CAN-SPAM proposed > legislation; ICANN never said anything about CAN-SPAM one way or the other. You must be thinking of someone else. CAUCE, on whose board I sit, opposed CAN-SPAM because we thought it would encourage more spam, not less. So far, we seem to have been correct. R's, John ------------------------------ From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com Subject: Re: TV Telephone History Date: 26 Jul 2005 07:18:04 -0700 Joseph wrote: > They never had the "ringing" right and always used the double-gong > ringers that one would find on 500/2500 type phones. When using > payphones they'd have the "ding-ding" sound from a regular fortress > type phone. The last "ding-ding" pay phones were the three > slotters! TV shows were notoriously inaccurate in ringers for telephones. I believe the phone itself does not ring, but rather the sound is provided off set and recorded separately. I've often heard 302-type ringers used for more modern sets and other strange bells used. In more modern shows, they've had a bell ringer for a modern tone ringer phone and vice versa. Likewise with payphones. Long after 3-slot pay phones were replaced by single slot, the 'ding-ding-bong' sounds continued when someone used a payphone. Of course, nowadays a ringer can be anything (even Jeanette McDonald's "When I'm Calling You") so the point is kind of moot. Our local Bell business office lent our high school theatre group a Call Director set for a play. I wanted to 'examine' it but they returned it as soon as the play was over. ------------------------------ From: NOTvalid@XmasNYC.Info Subject: Re: Need to Drop SBC LD Service. Info on Other Carriers? Date: 26 Jul 2005 07:57:34 -0700 George wrote: > But I'm having trouble finding reviews of particularly the smaller > companies or resellers. Where can I go to find that? Is there a > newsgroup? I'm talking about companies like Everdial/Primus, which > I currenly use as a dial-around, or maybe Americom. And I'm > particularly interested in honest dealing and customer service. > Assuming there still is such a thing. Maybe your current dial around is a good deal. We use OneSuite. Incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as USA-Canada 1.9CPM! Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for calls from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at https://www.OneSuite.com/ No monthly fee or minimum. Use Promotion/SuiteTreat Code: FREEoffer23 for FREE time ------------------------------ From: Danny Burstein <dannyb@panix.com> Subject: Last Laugh! Spammer, age 35, meets "Moscow Rules" Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2005 20:35:40 -0400 Organization: PANIX Public Access Internet and UNIX, NYC [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Does anyone remember the old parlor game we used to play as kids? I think the name of the game was 'Murder' and it was about this wealthy, rich old geezer who had been murdered in his home, which was a mansion-like place. Using cards and dice, and moving tokens around on a board accordingly, we kids had to use logic and the process of elimination to guess the three cards hidden from view: (1) who murdered the old gentleman, (2) the way his murder was committed, and (3) the room of the house it happened in. By looking at your cards, the tokens on the board and thinking about previous incorrect answers, we junior detectives had to announce to the other players out loud, "I suggest that (victim) was murdered with (weapon: gun, knife, candleobera or other blunt instrument) in the (room: kitchen, parlor, library, den, bedroom, etc) by (criminal: the butler, the cook, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. Green, others). The person who made the right choices won of course, but a wrong choice got the player eliminated. Today's 'Last Laugh' is brought to us by Danny Burstein who tells us the true story of the victim (Vardan Kushnir) who was murdered in his apartment, apparently with a blunt instrument, but police have not been able to figure out _who_ the perpetrator was. Personally I doubt they are looking very hard either. PAT] =================================== Russia's Biggest Spammer Brutally Murdered in Apartment Created: 25.07.2005 13:14 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 14:24 MSK, 5 hours 14 minutes ago MosNews Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen of Russia who appeared to have an e-mail, was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Sunday, Interfax reported Monday. He died after suffering repeated blows to the head. Kushnir, 35, headed the English learning centers the Center for American English, the New York English Centre and the Centre for Spoken English, all known to have aggressive Internet advertising policies in which millions of e-mails were sent every day ... [ snip, snip, snip; rest at: http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/07/25/spammerdead.shtml [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Funeral arrangements have not been announced; they are still pending. That, you see, is how spammers in Russia are dealt with; a good, effecient dispatch of their rotten souls if I do say so myself. A prompt cremation of his earthly remains and all his spam with him should follow and assure he burns in Hell forever in his special, reserved spot. PAT] ------------------------------ 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. 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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