For your convenience in reading: Subject lines are printed in RED and
Moderator replies when issued appear in BROWN.
Previous Issue (just one)
TD Extra News
Add this Digest to your personal
or  
TELECOM Digest Fri, 2 Sep 2005 19:26:00 EDT Volume 24 : Issue 400 Inside This Issue: Editor: Patrick A. Townson Katrina and the Neighborhood (Christian Science Monitor Editorial) Computers and Phones for Astrodome Refugees (Matt Slagle) Microsoft Lauches Internet Crime Portal (Walaika Haskins) Morocco to Try Suspected Computer Worm Author (Souhail Karim) Appeals Court Knocks Out Online Game Bypass System (Jim Suhr) AP Offers Satellite Photos of New Orleans Destruction (AP News Wire) Re: Global Warming Probably the Reason for Katrina (Mark Crispin) Re: Sid Ceasar and Phones in Comedy (Paul Coxwell) 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: Christian Science Monitor Editorial <csm@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Katrina and the Neighborhood Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 16:51:39 -0500 from the September 02, 2005 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0902/p08s02-comv.html The Monitor's View Concerned about Louisianians stranded in the unsanitary Superdome, the governor of Texas invited all 25,000 of them to the cool, dry Houston Astrodome Wednesday. Thursday, he invited another 25,000 evacuees to San Antonio. "We're neighbors and we're going to pull together," Gov. Rick Perry stated. After hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are now everyone's "next door." Those states' vast needs require help from across the country -- donations to private charities, offers to open up homes to the displaced, and all levels of government assistance. The catastrophe is also particularly relevant to those who share the same potential for large-scale disaster or evacuation -- people living in flood or earthquake zones, for instance, or cities deemed terrorist targets. As Governor Perry observed, "we could be the ones that have this extraordinary need." Dealing skillfully with this current need, therefore, serves a dual purpose: helping the millions directly affected, and teaching Americans how to cope more effectively with disasters. So far, local, state, and national officials have shown a good measure of competence in handling Katrina before, during, and after it hit. Last year, local and state officials along the Gulf of Mexico were criticized for poor evacuation procedures in advance of hurricane Ivan. This time, they called for mandatory evacuations early on and opened all lanes to outbound traffic on the two interstates leading away from Louisiana's and Mississippi's most populous areas. More than a million people fled, including about 80 percent of the population of New Orleans. Because President Bush designated both states disaster areas in advance of the storm, the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency could mobilize beforehand, setting up shelters and bringing water, ice, and food. Rightly, the Bush administration recognized the storm's ripple effect on oil, and temporarily waived key air-quality fuel standards to increase gas supplies after the storm damaged the Gulf's petroleum infrastructure. The Pentagon has also sprung into action with an unprecedented domestic joint task force, coordinating National Guard and active-duty forces across four states. Meanwhile, naval vessels and helicopters are on the way. But the death toll; the plight of people too ill, poor, or stubborn to evacuate; the lawlessness; and the billions of dollars in destroyed homes and businesses show just how much officials at all levels -- and individuals -- still have to learn in handling a truly far-reaching disaster. Response has been quick, but with more prepositioning of National Guard forces and equipment, it could have been faster. Evacuation planning should have served disadvantaged people better. This storm reminds coastal regions that wetlands preservation does matter in controlling flooding (Louisiana has lost 1 million acres of marshland since 1930), and so do building restrictions. Now, and in coming months of reconstruction, Americans must remember their Gulf neighbors. They need our prayers and donations. And all of us need to learn from their experience. www.csmonitor.com | Copyright 2005 The Christian Science Monitor. 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, The Christian Science Publishing Society. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Indeed, we are all neighbors in this thing together. How did Katrina affect you? Well, maybe it made the price of your gasoline more expensive; it surely will make the cost of your heating fuel in the coming winter months more expensive. How did Katrina affect me? Well, today when the Meals on Wheels lady came around with my noonday meal, she said she was asked to announce to everyone she served that the meals in September will be 'a little more skimpy than they are usually.' I asked her why. She said the Kansas Food Bank, which serves SEK-CAP (the southeast Kansas food pantries which in turn maintains our local food pantry and Meals on Wheels) had been asked to provide 'anything extra they could to Louisiana and Mississippi, due to the hurricane damage, and the increased numbers of people being served.' We will get only about 90 percent of our usual rations -- not the best food anyway -- while Kansas Food Bank 'levels off' the resulting shortfall. In addition to her daily vists, I usually go once per month to the Independence Food Pantry for a few items. We're all going to pay for Katrina for awhile it seems. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Matt Slagle <ap@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Computers and Phones For Astrodome Refugees Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 15:44:43 -0500 By MATT SLAGLE, AP Technology Writer Thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees packing into Houston's Astrodome are getting electronic access to the outside world. Corporations, volunteers and nonprofit agencies continued working Friday to install telephones and Internet-enabled computers inside the sprawling former sports stadium in one of many efforts aimed at bringing communications technologies to hurricane victims. Astrodome refugees, displaced from the Superdome in New Orleans, were getting 10 minutes blocks of time to make free local and long distance calls. Many of them haven't heard from friends or family -- nor have they been able to let loved ones know they're safe -- since Katrina ravaged their hometown on Monday. Audree Lee, 37, said she was relieved after hearing her teenage daughter's voice. Lee had relatives take her daughter to Alabama so she would be safe. "I just cried. She cried. We cried together," Lee said Thursday after using one of the free lines at the Astrodome. "She asked me about her dog. They wouldn't let me take her dog with me. ... I know the dog is gone now." Technology For All, a Houston nonprofit, was coordinating with authorities to set up a center in the Astrodome with 40 desktop computers loaded with Internet connections and office productivity software. "We're just working on this one little piece," said William Reed, the organization's chief executive. "We recognize that these folks need a connection to the outside world." SBC Communications Inc. said it planned to establish a communications center at the Astrodome with about 1,000 telephone lines and free high-speed Internet service. A similar setup was also in the works at a shelter in San Antonio, Texas, where the company is based. Verizon Wireless, meanwhile, offered to recharge cell phones for free at its stores and many emergency shelters, while Cingular Wireless invited displaced residents to make free calls from its company-owned stores in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. SBC spokesman Larry Meyer acknowledged food, showers and other basic needs would come first, but said "we've got to begin to address other needs as well." Farrell Johnson, a 54-year-old New Orleans carpenter who now calls the Astrodome home, said he appreciated the efforts. "It's not bad in there to get to use the phones," Johnson said. "Everybody is being very cooperative. They put a bank of telephones and little privacy booths in this one area; volunteers from one of the Houston area ISPs keeps everything on a strict time schedule for how much people can use the computers; same with the phones, and if someone gets a phone call, they take messages for us." Associated Press Writer Pam Easton in Houston contributed to this report. 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. For more news reports, go to http://telecom-digest.org/td-extra/AP.html ------------------------------ From: Walaika Haskins <newsfactor@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Microsoft Launches Internet Crime Portal Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 15:06:29 -0500 Walaika Haskins, enterprise-security-today.com At a High Technology Crime Investigation Association event on Wednesday, Microsoft announced plans to launch a Web site that will aid police in investigating Internet crime. Analysts say the move should resonate with the law enforcement community as a valuable crime-fighting tool. The announcement comes on the heels of the FBI's Microsoft-aided investigation into the origins of the ZoTob worm, which crippled business across the U.S. last month. "Over the past months, cybercrime has gone from casual to malicious to criminal," said Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research. Poised for Battle Planned resources for the site include online training sessions on how to conduct Internet investigations, extract information from hard drives and trace an IP address back to its source to identify Web site owners. The portal also will offer information on recently passed legislation related to Internet crime. Analysts say that Microsoft's enormous resources and intimate knowledge of its software prompted the creation of the Web portal. Given Microsoft's recent focus on security and its in-house taskforce of roughly 50 investigators, some analysts see the new portal as a win-win for the company, its users and law enforcement. According to Wilcox, everyone wins when industry is cooperating with law enforcement. "This is a way for Microsoft to give back to its customers," Wilcox said. "After all, who knows Windows better than Microsoft?" Publicity Stunt? But other experts are bit more skeptical about casting Microsoft as some sort of Lady Bountiful. They suggest the new portal might simply be a cry for attention. "[It's] tough to say at this point how much of this is really more than a public relations exercise," said Phil Hollows, president of Open Service, a security-solutions developer. Hollows pointed out that the impact of such a Web site probably would be minimal for local law enforcement agencies that do not have the funds to secure dedicated I.T. resources and track down Internet criminals. Hollows added that, although the smaller agencies will not be able to take advantage of the site, larger metropolitan forces will benefit because the site will help them consolidate their current knowledge and expertise with formal training. But Hollows warned that businesses and consumers should not expect to see a significant drop in Internet crime. This move, he said, only will serve to help law enforcement agencies analyze Internet crime but do little to reduce or prevent it. Copyright 2005 NewsFactor Network, 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, NewsFactor Network, Inc. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ------------------------------ From: Souhail Karam <reuters@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Morocco to Try Suspected Computer Worm Author Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 15:02:40 -0500 By Souhail Karam An 18-year-old math student will go on trial in Morocco this month for unleashing computer worms that disrupted networks of major U.S. firms, a Justice Ministry official said on Friday. The FBI announced last week Moroccan Farid Essebar's arrest in Rabat and that in Turkey of 21-year-old Attila Ekici, both suspected of releasing the Zotob worm that hit the Internet three weeks ago. The official said Essebar's trial would start on September 13 and he would be in custody near Rabat until then. "The hearing will specify charges against him for the trial," the ministry official told Reuters. The Russian-born math student is accused of illegal access to data systems, criminal conspiracy, aggravated theft and credit card piracy. Legal sources say he faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty. The Rabat court will try another suspect, identified as 21-year-old Achraf Bahloul, on the same charges. "Bahloul got into this for having used Essebar's alias and pirated credit cards data. We don't think Bahloul is directly involved in the Zotob attack," the official said. Police were trying to find any more Moroccan accomplices Essebar may have had, he said, declining to elaborate. Zotob caused computer outages at more than 100 U.S. firms, including major media outlets like CNN, ABC, New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, and Christian Science Monitor, but did not create widespread havoc like previous malicious software programs like SQL Slammer and MyDoom. They did select these media outlets intending to 'silence the press'. Close teamwork among the FBI, Microsoft Corp. and authorities in Morocco and Turkey helped net Essebar and Ekici 12 days after the attack. Using the alias Diab10 (Wolves10), Essebar is suspected of having helped Ekici create the Zotob worm in exchange for credit cards data, local newspapers said, quoting well-informed sources. Moroccan police declined 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: Jim Suhr <ap@telecom-digest.org> Subject: Court Knocks Out Online Game Bypass Program Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 15:04:49 -0500 By JIM SUHR, AP Business Writer Three men illegally bypassed anti-piracy controls when they developed free technology to let computer users play some games against each other online without using the gamemaker's own system, a federal appeals court has ruled. Attorneys for Tim Jung, Ross Combs and Rob Crittenden had argued that the trio engaged in allowable "fair use" because they had legally bought the games and were not profiting from the bypass technology, called BnetD. Although the trio could have used Blizzard Entertainment Inc.'s Battle.net game service for free, they found it frustrating and preferred the dozens of additional features available through the BnetD technology they had developed, their lawyers said. Blizzard claimed that BnetD, which the trio also distributed to others over the Internet, disabled controls meant to ensure that players used a non-pirated copy of the game. Thursday's ruling by a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here upholds a lower court's finding that the trio violated the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act as well as software license agreements by helping people bypass Blizzard's system for playing multiplayer games like Diablo and StarCraft online. The defendants were barred from further distributing the technology. Combs and Crittenden are identified in the ruling as computer programmers, and Jung was listed as a systems administrator who also heads Internet Gateway, an Internet service provider based in the suburb of St. Peters. According to the ruling, the Battle.net service has nearly 12 million active users who spend more than 2.1 million hours online per day. Blizzard, which did not return messages Friday seeking comment, had lauded the earlier ruling last October by U.S. District Judge Charles Shaw for "sending a clear message that creating unauthorized servers which emulate Blizzard's Battle.net servers is without question illegal." "We have worked hard to provide gamers with a free, safe, secure, reliable environment on Battle.net, and this ruling is a strong validation that we are justified in protecting and ensuring the integrity of our game service," said Mike Morhaime, Blizzard's president and co-founder. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil liberties group that helped represent the trio, said the ruling could dampen the market for performance-enhancing innovations called "add-ons" and limit the consumer to whatever the manufacturer of the purchased item decides to provide. "This ruling threatens competition to offer new services, new features," said Jason Schultz, an attorney for EFF. Schultz said the foundation would talk to his clients before deciding whether to appeal. 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. ------------------------------ From: AP News Wire <ap@telecom-digest.org> Subject: AP Offers Satellite Image of New Orleans Destruction Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 15:47:31 -0500 The Associated Press is offering Internet access to a satellite image that covers most of New Orleans, detailed enough that viewers can zoom in to check on particular neighborhoods and streets. The image's resolution is high, at 2.4 meters per pixel. It is posted in a format that allows quick viewing of any area a user zooms in on. Users can quickly see what areas are under water and what structures are still standing. The initial image was taken Wednesday and supplied by the company DigitalGlobe. AP will offer updated satellite images as as they become available. The image is available at: http://hosted.ap.org/specials/neworleanssatellite/index.html 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: When I tried this earlier today, I was uanble to get the web page to properly load. Maybe it has been repaired. PAT] ------------------------------ From: Mark Crispin <mrc@CAC.Washington.EDU> Subject: Re: Global Warming Probably the Reason for Katrina Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2005 13:53:02 -0700 Organization: University of Washington On Fri, 2 Sep 2005, Michael Chance wrote: > Besides, even if President Bush had completely implemented all of the > Kyoto Protocols the day after his first inauguration in 2001, there > would be zero effect on this year's hurricane season -- all of the > possible reduction in "greenhouse gases" from the U. S. would be more > than offset by increases from China, India, and South America -- who > aren't subject to any of the Kyoto reductions. Except that it would > have completely trashed the U. S. economy in the process. Which, in turn, would render the US quite a bit *less* capable of responding to natural disasters. I'm sure that it would have been great comfort to the people of New Orleans to be told that, rather than help being delayed a few days in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, that help will never come, but at least we signed Kyoto! > ObTelecom -- Personally, I think that the real cause of "global > warming" is the huge increase in the number of cell phone towers, with > the accompanying increase in electro-magnectic radiation heating up > the atmosphere. According to Professor Tinfoil at the presigious non-accredited Univerity of Lower Slobbovia, global warming is caused by all the heat generated by Internet traffic. :-) > [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: But, if Bush _had_ signed on to Kyoto > 'the day after his inauguration' -- or even if he were to do so right > now -- he would demonstrate that the entire world came ahead of just > the wishes of the United States. Pray explain *why* any US president should give "the entire world" priority over the wishes of the United States and its people. Given the opportunity, "the entire world" would wish the USA into extinction. This includes our so-called "friends and allies", any of whom would be quite happy to fill the vacuum left by our demise. And yes, this includes Canada. There are descendants of American Tories in Canada who still have their precious pre-Revolution property deeds to their families' lands in the Thirteen Colonies. They have every intention of reclaiming that property from the rebel usurpers once the silly experiment with republicanism end and the rule of Her Britainnic Majesty's is restored. If your worldview is of an international hugfest with everybody singing Kumbaya, keep in mind that hugs and Kumbaya are the luxury of the strong who can defend themselves. -- Mark -- http://panda.com/mrc Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed sheep contesting the vote. [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: You have a very ugly and hateful idea of what is going on. I suggest you read the first article in this issue of the Digest on 'Katrina and the Neighborhood.' You might also want to consider that if Kyoto had been in place for a few years, the hurricane might not have been as fierce as it was; thus not as much help needed from the rest of the 'neighborhood'. I do not believe in any hugfest. But I will say I do not think the United States should be nearly as arrogant and bossy as they are with the rest of the world. Someday _you_ may need help. PAT] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 02 Sep 2005 22:47:06 +0100 From: Paul Coxwell <paulcoxwell@tiscali.co.uk> Subject: Re: Sid Ceasar and Phones in Comedy > A separate number for Long Distance instead of plain zero was common > in many cities. Long Distance switchboards were differently equipped > than dial-0 boards The same was true here in Britain. In smaller towns callers just used to dial "0" for either general assistance or to place a long-distance call, while in the large cities there were separate codes for long-distance. In London, there were two separate codes to split the traffic. TOL (805) got the "Toll" operator for calls to the surrounding areas while TRU (878) reached the "Trunks" operator for all other long-distance calls to the rest of the country. -Paul. ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecomm- unications 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. Contact information: Patrick Townson/TELECOM Digest Post Office Box 50 Independence, KS 67301 Phone: 620-402-0134 Fax 1: 775-255-9970 Fax 2: 530-309-7234 Fax 3: 208-692-5145 Email: editor@telecom-digest.org Subscribe: telecom-subscribe@telecom-digest.org Unsubscribe:telecom-unsubscribe@telecom-digest.org This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Anonymous FTP: mirror.lcs.mit.edu/telecom-archives/archives/ (or use our mirror site: ftp.epix.net/pub/telecom-archives) RSS Syndication of TELECOM Digest: http://telecom-digest.org/rss.html For syndication examples see http://www.feedrollpro.com/syndicate.php?id=308 and also http://feeds.feedburner.com/TelecomDigest ************************************************************************* * TELECOM Digest is partially funded by a grant from * * Judith Oppenheimer, President of ICB Inc. and purveyor of accurate * * 800 & Dot Com News, Intelligence, Analysis, and Consulting. * * http://ICBTollFree.com, http://1800TheExpert.com * * Views expressed herein should not be construed as representing * * views of Judith Oppenheimer or ICB Inc. * ************************************************************************* ICB Toll Free News. Contact information is not sold, rented or leased. One click a day feeds a person a meal. Go to http://www.thehungersite.com Copyright 2004 ICB, Inc. and TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. ************************ DIRECTORY ASSISTANCE JUST 65 CENTS ONE OR TWO INQUIRIES CHARGED TO YOUR CREDIT CARD! REAL TIME, UP TO DATE! SPONSORED BY TELECOM DIGEST AND EASY411.COM SIGN UP AT http://www.easy411.com/telecomdigest ! ************************ 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 ************************ --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. 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 #400 ****************************** | |