TELECOM Digest     Thu, 25 Aug 2005 01:26:00 EDT    Volume 24 : Issue 384

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Sony Adds Browser to PGP Mobile Device (Reuters News Wire)
    Microsoft to Support Linux With Virtual Server (Elizabeth Montalbano)
    Playboy Magazine to go Digital in September (Reuters News Wire)
    Re: Debate Over Cell Phone Towers Growing (DevilsPGD)
    Re: Debate Over Cell Phone Towers Growing (Paul Coxwell)
    Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working (Lisa Hancock)
    Re: Problem Accessing Some Sites (Robert Bonomi)
    Re: An Exciting Weekend With a Sneak Thief (DevilsPGD)
    Re: Yahoo Verizon Launch Internet Service (DevilsPGD)
    Help Wanted With Telecom Chat Room (TELECOM Digest Editor)
    Is it Just Me, or Are Viruses Getting Worse? (TELECOM Digest Editor)

Telecom and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) Digest for the
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Addresses herein are not to be added to any mailing list, nor to be
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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: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Sony Adds Browser to PSP Mobile Game Device
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 23:49:48 -0500


Sony Corp. is adding Internet access to its Play Station Portable in
a bid to increase the mobile gaming device's appeal as a handheld
entertainment center, the company said on Wednesday.

Sony Computer Entertainment America is offering PSP users a software
upgrade that will allow wireless Internet access on the device,
including a new Web browser to connect to news, entertainment content,
online searches and e-mail.

The software is also built to increase data security on the device and
enhance digital photo-sharing and video playback capabilities, the
company said.

"The Internet browser and other added functionality ... will further
enhance the user experience beyond the unprecedented portable
entertainment already provided by PSP," said Andrew House, executive
vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Japan's Sony has sold nearly 2 million PSP units in North America
since launching the product in March.


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.

To discuss this and other telecom news topics, go to our chat room at:
http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/chatpage.html

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

From: Elizabeth Montalbano <IDGNews@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Microsoft to Support Linux With Virtual Server
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 23:55:01 -0500


Microsoft to support Linux with Virtual Server. The product will
include 64-bit support, which allows more virtual machines to run on
one server.

By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service

The next release of Microsoft's Virtual Server product will support
the virtualization of both Linux (Overview, Articles, Company) and Sun
Microsystems Inc.'s Solaris operating systems on servers running the
Microsoft Windows operating system (OS), a company spokesman said in
an interview Wednesday.

Microsoft on Wednesday also announced a new name for the next interim
release of the product, formerly called Virtual Server 2005 Service
Pack 1. Microsoft is now calling it Virtual Server 2005 R2, news
unveiled by Microsoft in a keynote by Pat Gelsinger, senior vice
president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group, at
the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco.

Microsoft changed the name because the release will include
significantly more enhancements than a usual service pack, said Zane
Adam, director of marketing in the Windows Server division of
Microsoft.  The software giant typically offers service packs and
interim releases called "R2s" between major updates to its server
products.

Included in enhancements to Virtual Server 2005 R2 will be support for
Linux and Solaris, technology that Microsoft is developing with the
help of some of its partners, Adam said. He declined to name those
companies, however.

Virtual Server 2005 R2 also will include 64-bit support, which allows
more virtual machines to run on one server. Additionally, the product
will feature better performance for virtual machines in
memory-intensive applications, as well as higher availability through
new clustering technologies, Adam said.

Microsoft introduced Virtual Server in October 2004. The product
enables virtualization of its Windows Server OS so multiple instances
can run simultaneously on one server as if they are running on
multiple servers. It competes directly with virtualization technology
available from EMC's VMWare division.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer first announced in
April that Microsoft would include third-party support for Linux in
Virtual Server. At the same time, he also unveiled Hypervisor, a
technology that will add the virtualization and management features of
Virtual Server directly to the OS. Hypervisor eventually will be
included in the next major release of Windows Server, code-named
Longhorn. The Longhorn version of Windows Server is expected to be
released in the first half of 2007.

At the time of the Hypervisor announcement, the fate of Virtual Server
as a standalone product was widely questioned, but Microsoft said it
would continue to add enhancements to the product and sell in as a
separate server product.

Zane reconfirmed those plans Wednesday and said a new full release of
Virtual Server will follow its R2 version. The beta of that release
will be available in the first half of 2006, with full availability of
the product scheduled for the second half, he said.

Also in Gelsinger's keynote at IDF Wednesday, Microsoft demonstrated
support for VT, a virtual technology chipset Intel is bringing to
market. This support, along with support for Pacifica, th code name
for similar technology being developed by AMD will be included the
release of Virtual Server due out by the end of 2006, Adam said.

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

From: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Playboy to Go Digital as of September
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 22:14:42 -0500


Playboy magazine, losing money in the face of depressed advertising,
will go digital later this year in hopes of winning new subscribers
and advertisers.

The first digital magazine -- which will mirror the print version --
will be available in September after months of testing the technology,
Playboy Enterprises Inc. said on Wednesday.

The move comes as Playboy Enterprises is increasingly dependent on
revenue from its licensing and entertainment businesses rather than
the publishing division, where it posted a second-quarter loss of $2.3
million. The media company's overall profit totaled $4.6 million.

"I think we're all cognizant of the fact that there are two macro
trends going on here that this product is designed to respond to,"
Playboy Enterprises Chief Executive Christie Hefner said in an
interview.

"One is more and more consumers are getting information and entertainm
ent online and the other is more and more advertising dollars are
going online."

With the digital service, readers can buy either a subscription or
single copy that can then be downloaded. The company launched the
service in conjunction with digital marketing and publishing company
Zinio Systems Inc.

Hefner described the start-up costs as "very modest" and said
individual digital issues would be priced at the same rate as
newsstand copies, while subscriptions would be slightly higher than
the lowest introductory price for print editions.

She said that Zinio finds subscriptions to digital editions typically
average about 5 percent of print subscriptions.

"For Playboy that would be a very large number because we have 2.8
million subscribers to the print magazine," she said. "But we aren't
making any budget projections at this point."

An October issue featuring the Girls of the Pac 10 and an interview
with comedian George Carlin will kick off the digital publishing. 
Starting September 13, it can be downloaded from
http://www.playboydigital.com.

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: DevilsPGD <spamsucks@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: Debate Over Cell Phone Towers Growing
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:40:01 -0600
Organization: Disorganized


In message <telecom24.383.16@telecom-digest.org> Dave Garland
<dave.garland@wizinfo.com> wrote:

> It was a dark and stormy night when Joseph <JoeOfSeattle@yahoo.com>
> wrote:

>> You don't see people railing against the power companies
>> for running high voltage transmission lines through neighbourhoods
>> "ruining" their property values either.

> Around here you do.  Not for property values, but for health concerns.

To me, there is a simple solution: If they don't want high voltage
lines, don't give them any.

Unplug the complainers from the grid completely.  

*shrugs*

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

Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 21:05:41 +0100
From: Paul Coxwell <paulcoxwell@tiscali.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Debate Over Cell Phone Towers Growing


>> "Almost every one of my neighbors says they're going to move if this
>> thing goes up," O'Brien said.

> And more likely than not they're the same people who will whine that
> they can't get a good signal when they try to make calls on their
> mobile phones.

I know of some who protest strongly over the towers, yet they're people
who seem to walk around half the day with a cellphone clamped to their ear.

Ever tried to explain the inverse-square law to these people?

-Paul

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

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Broadband Competition Must Surely be Working
Date: 24 Aug 2005 13:28:19 -0700
Organization: http://groups.google.com


Robert Bonomi wrote:

> My DSL circuit is carried on a wire-pair that is nearly 50 years old,

That's nice.  But a lot of old loop plant was replaced, in whole or in
part.  The Bell Labs history talks extensively about the local loop
and technological improvements made to it through the 1970s through
the use of concentrators and the like.  This newsgroup has had
discussions of more modern technology.

> There *IS* a third alternative.  Separate the 'content' from the
> 'delivery infrastructure'.

That brings back regulation.  We broke up the Bell System to get away
from regulation and to go to competition.

It is very common in the marketplace for providers to bundle services
and products.  Many times we take it for granted and never think
about.  For example, most supermarkets and shopping centers today
(outside downtown) provide free parking.  What that really is is that
their cost of building and maintaining a parking lot is passed on to
the customers.  It's bundled in.  They could lower their prices
(slightly) if they made people pay to park instead.  Sports arenas
tend to charge people (and charge dearly) to park.  Which one is a
preferable system?  Should the govt dictate to one or the other?

Many stores also sell their own house brand.  If you like a particular
house brand, you may only get it at the associated store, not at any
other store.  If you like WalMart's t-shirts, don't look for them at
JCPenney.  That's bundling.

In many cases, there is a blurred line between "content".  Should
every customer choose their own automobile tires and radio on a new
car?  Should an airline not provide those free magazines at the seats?
Should a doctor's office not provide magazines in the waiting room?
All of those are bundled services and supposedly could be isolated
out.

So, if a telecom provider wants to bundle services, why shouldn't it?

Otherwise we're back to the Bell System and we must wait for the
government to tell us what we may and may not have.  As an example,
the Bell System proposed its first cellular (called AMPS then) test
system many years ago. It took the FCC over a YEAR to grant
permission.

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

From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
Subject: Re: Problem Acessing Some Sites!
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 23:28:21 -0000
Organization: Widgets, Inc.


In article <telecom24.383.6@telecom-digest.org>, <ive.cal@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Hello! Please ... do reply ... I have a problem accessing some
> sites. It took me minutes to access it. This is the case with Yahoo
> (but not Google).  It says "The document contains no data." What does
> this means?

It means: "The Internet is full. Go away."

> Is it something to do with the configuration?

Authoritative answer;  "Maybe."


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You know, Robert, for a man who is
usually so full of long, usually lengthy answers on things, I am a
little surprised at this response to a fellow who posed a legitimate
question.  PAT]

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

From: DevilsPGD <spamsucks@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: An Exciting Weekend With a Sneak Thief
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:40:01 -0600
Organization: Disorganized


In message <telecom24.383.12@telecom-digest.org>
bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) wrote:

> In article <telecom24.382.7@telecom-digest.org>, shlichter1@aol.com
> <shlichter1@aol.com> wrote:

>> DevilsPGD wrote:

>>> In message <telecom24.380.11@telecom-digest.org> J Kelly
>>> <jkelly@*newsguy.com> wrote:

>>>> The problem with checks is that all I need is your routing and account
>>>> number, and guess what?  Those are printed on every one of your checks
>>>> in plain human readable numerals.  I can print up new checks on my
>>>> computer with any ID on them I want, and your account number.  I can
>>>> start passing them around town same as your sneak thief.  And guess
>>>> what?  I can easily get a fake ID to match the ID of the person I put
>>>> on the check.  Checks are terribly insecure.

>>> You also need a signature, at least if you want the money to come from
>>> my account.

>>> Now you obviously don't care if a merchant gets screwed since you've
>>> long since run off with the goods, but for the consumer, it's not as
>>> bad as the above makes it sound.

>> Most banks don't even look at the signature, that is unless the check
>> it presented in person at the issuers bank.

> And they *don't* do any comparasion with the signature card that is
> 'on file'.  This has been the case for 20 years or more.

Actually, this is starting to change thanks to computers -- No more
signature card required, but they do sometimes check the signature
against an online image of the signature.

It certainly doesn't happen often, and probably only above a certain
amount, but they do perform checks of cheques in some cases -- I know
because I've had a cheque held while they called a bank officer over
to approve a signature because the signature wasn't close enough for
the rep to eyeball it and approve it.

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

From: DevilsPGD <spamsucks@crazyhat.net>
Subject: Re: Yahoo Verizon Launch Internet Service
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 13:40:01 -0600
Organization: Disorganized


In message <telecom24.383.14@telecom-digest.org> Steve Sobol
<sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote:

> Greg Sandoval wrote:

>> Verizon Communications Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have teamed up to launch a
>> cheaper high-speed Internet service designed to compete against cable
>> operators and dial-up service providers.

> So what happens to MSN? Verizon's been partnered with MSN for a few
> years now. Do Verizon Wireless customers get access to Yahoo content
> too? (VZW has been touting their "VZW with MSN" content...)

Probably business as usual, MSN and Verizon will still offer their
service, it just means Verizon and Yahoo will be offering an alternate
service as well.

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

Subject: Help Wanted With Telecom Chat Room
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 2005 00:55:44 EDT
From: ptownson@massis.lcs.mit.edu (TELECOM Digest Editor)


Anyone who likes to chat on telecom topics is invited to use the
chat area we have available:
         http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/chatpage.html


I would also like to have a few people agree to take over the
moderator duties in the Telecom Chat. It is an IRC-style chat
program, in javascript. It is a volunteer position, but intended
to have someone around at various times to help answer questions
 from newcomers, and promote conversations on the topics going on
here in the Digest. Please check it out, and if you would like to
volunteer to be a chat room moderator, please let me know.

Patrick Townson

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

From: TELECOM Digest Editor <ptownson@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Is it Just Me, or are Viruses Getting Much Worse?
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 2005 00:00:00 EDT 


I had been getting a virus or two each week on my personal Cable One
account. Starting about a week ago, the viruses started rolling in
literally a hundred at a time most days. 

I am lucky that Cable One attempts to screen for viruses and spam by
putting what they perceive to be either in a separate folder then 
sending me a piece of email telling me 'look in here' at what we found
floating around. That's good since by their efforts, it reduces the
spam I get on that personal account by about 95 percent and where I
was getting forty or fifty spams each day via Cable One (for the most
part all nicely isolated for me to pitch out if I wished) and a virus
or two in a weeks's time; now lately the viruses are really rolling
in. A hundred or more each time I pull my personal mail from there,
all nicely marked with a check box to delete it, and as often as not
the 'sender' is forged as 'postmaster@cableone.net', and tipped off to
what is happening, I now call in and clear my mailbox a couple times
per day there. Anyone have any ideas?   

PAT

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


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End of TELECOM Digest V24 #384
******************************