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TELECOM Digest     Tue, 22 Nov 2005 15:06:00 EST    Volume 24 : Issue 529

Inside This Issue:                             Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    Online Crooks Now Concentrating on Media Players, Software (Reuters News)
    Google $3 Million Donation to Library of Congress (Eric Auchard)
    Taiwan Assigning VOIP Numbers (David Sims)
    Infected Email Pretending to be Telecom-digest.Org (jmeissen@aracnet.com)
    Verizon to Launch FiOS TV in Herndon; First Rollout in East (Monty Solomon)
    The Lasting Impact of Sony's Rootkit (Monty Solomon)
    Sony BMG Sued Under Anti-Spyware Laws (Monty Solomon)
    Verizon Wireless Brings BroadbandAccess to BlackBerry 7130e (Monty Solomon)
    TiVo to Bring TV to iPod and PSP (Monty Solomon)
    RadioShack Brings Skype-Ready Products to Customers Nationwide (M Solomon)
    Motorola and Skype Bring Mobility to Internet Voice (Monty Solomon)
    AOL Introduces New AIM Triton Service (Monty Solomon)
    Cellular-News for Tuesday 22nd November 2005 (Cellular-News)
    Sprint Nextel Buys Alamosa (USTA Daily Lead)
    Re: Tis (Almost) the Season to be Jolly (Lisa Hancock)

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: Reuters News Wire <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Online Crooks Concentrate on Media Players and Software
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 10:49:53 -0600


Online criminals shifted their attacks in 2005 from computer operating
systems such as Windows and others to media players and software
programs, according to a study released on Tuesday.

Among the software programs that attackers are now targeting are
anti-virus software as well as programs used to listen to online audio
and video programing, according to the SANS Institute, a nonprofit
research group based in Bethesda, Md.

Attackers are changing their targets after Internet service providers
and operating systems designers such as Microsoft started shoring up
their systems following a barrage of worms, viruses and other online
threats in recent years.

The group's "SANS Top20" report identifies the 20 most targeted
software flaws that criminals use to infiltrate computers.

Top Windows vulnerabilities include Microsoft Corp.'s Internet
Explorer Web browser and Windows Office and Outlook Express. The
report also listed Apple Computer Inc.'s Macintosh operating system as
a top vulnerability among Unix operating systems.

Apple's OS X operating system is based on Unix, a heavy-duty operating
system used principally in corporate data centers and high-powered
computers.

Network devices such as routers and switches that direct Internet
traffic also are being targeted, SANS said. Cisco Systems Inc. made
the list with its "IOS" router product line.

"Network devices often have on-board operating systems and can be
programmed like computers," the group said in a statement. 
"Compromises of network devices can provide attackers one of the most
fruitful platforms for eavesdropping and launching targeted attacks."

SANS released the study in cooperation with the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Response Team, the UK's
National Infrastructure Security Co-Ordination Center and Canada's
Cyber Incident Response Center.


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: Eric Auchard <reuters@telecom-digest.org>
Subject: Google $3 Million Donation to Library of Congress
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 10:51:37 -0600


By Eric Auchard

Library of Congress plans world digital library

The U.S. Library of Congress is kicking off a campaign on Tuesday to
work with other nation's libraries to build a World Digital Library,
starting with a $3 million donation from Google Inc..

Librarian of Congress James Billington said he is looking to attract
further private funding to develop bilingual projects, featuring
millions of unique objects, with libraries in China, India, the Muslim
world and other nations.

This builds on major existing digital documentary projects by the
Library of Congress -- one preserving an online record of Americana
and another documenting ties between the United States and Brazil,
France, the Netherlands, Russia and Spain.

"The World Digital Library is an attempt to go beyond Europe and the
Americas ... into cultures where the majority of the world is,"
Billington told Reuters in a telephone interview.

As an example, Billington said the Library of Congress is in
discussions with the national library of Egypt to include a collection
of great Islamic scientific works from the 10th through the 16th
Century in the World Digital Library.

"We are trying to do a documentary record of other great cultures of
the world. How much we will be able to do will depend on how many
additional partners we attract," he said.

Over the past decade, the American Memory Project of the Library of
Congress has digitized more than ten million items to create a
documentary record of Americana. A link is located at:
http://www.loc.gov/memory/ .

These include manuscripts, maps, audiovisual recordings, cartoons,
caricatures, posters, documentary photographs, music, and, to a lesser
extent, historic books. The World Digital Library would draw on a
similar variety of multimedia objects.

A second project, known as the Global Gateway and introduced in 2000,
involves collaborations with five national libraries in Europe and
Brazil that focus on documenting ties between each of those countries
and U.S. culture. Please go to: 
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/find/digital_collaborations.html/

GLOBAL CULTURES

By contrast, the World Digital Library will focus on creating records
of global cultures. The Library of Congress will contribute its own
body of works to a blended collection with other countries. More than
half of the printed volumes in the Library of Congress are in
languages other than English.

"It will deal with the culture of those people rather than with our
contacts as Americans with those cultures," Billington said.

Web search company Google has agreed to work with the Library of
Congress on developing standards for indexing the digital collections
and by providing computer equipment.

The Library of Congress push adds momentum to a variety of competing
projects by leading Internet companies and some of the world's
greatest libraries to make available online a range of historic
literature, audio recordings and film archives.

The plans unveiled over the past year mark the most sustained drive
yet to make good on the vision of Internet pioneers to open the
world's library collections to a global online audience. The dream
suffered from a lack of funding and the distractions of the dot-com
era's get-rich-quick schemes.

Among these are a major push by Google with five major academic
libraries to digitize their book collections.

Meanwhile, the Open Content Alliance, backed by Yahoo Inc., Microsoft
Corp., the non-profit Internet Archive and other major libraries, is
looking to create an online clearinghouse for historic books, audio
and films.

The Google Print project has been met with lawsuits by the New York-based
Authors Guild and five U.S. publishers who are seeking to block
Google's plan to create an online card catalog of copyright works in
the collections of its library partners.

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: David Sims <TMCnet@telecom-digest.org> 
Subject: Taiwan Assigning VOIP Numbers
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 10:41:45 -0600


VoIP News: Taiwan Assigning VoIP Numbers, Skype In Radio Shack,
India's Legalization

By DAVID SIMS
TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist


VoIP news you may have missed over the weekend:

Taiwan's Directorate-General of Telecommunications announced that they
will allow voice over the Internet protocol users to be assigned a
phone number, a move the China Post says makes it seem that "the high
age of Web communication is on the doorstep."

The soon-to-be assigned numbers will start with 070, the Post says,
followed by eight other digits: "With the number, users will be able
to call from their cellphones or regular phones to an Internet phone
without the need of a computer."

Taiwanese telecom service operators can now acquire a license to own
multiple sets of Internet phone numbers so long as their applications
are approved. 100 million sets of numbers have been open for
acquisition, the Post says, adding that "once they own these numbers,
service providers are entitled to resell them to their customers."

ZDNet reported that Skype Technologies is dipping its toe in the U.S.
retail store market, as they're expected to announce today that
they've struck a partnership with consumer electronics chain
RadioShack.

More than 3,000 RadioShack locations nationwide on Monday "will begin
offering the Skype Starter Kit, which includes the software that
enables a customer to use Skype's free computer-to-computer telephone
service, a headset and 30 minutes of Skype's premium service, with
which a user can call a landline or cell phone," ZDNet cites company
executives saying.

India's Economic Times says the recent liberalization of India's net
telephony "may not result in a substantial reduction in tariffs for
national long-distance calls," but remains "good news for enterprises
as well as consumers."

Apart from the obvious reduction of costs, consumers can "look forward
to more net telephony-driven applications such as integration of
audio, video and text," the journal says.

Rajiv Sharma, CEO, AirTel-Enterprise Services tells the journal that
"tariffs are already at very low levels and in the short run, they are
unlikely to dip further. But in the long run, with the entry of more
players and competition, rates will drop."

IP applications, not simply lower-priced calls, are seen as driving
the adoption of VoIP in the Indian consumer market: "With lower local
tariffs, the driver for IP telephony will be advanced IP
applications. For instance, integration between audio, video and text,
voice workflows based on IVR, etc.," Alok Shende, who heads the
telecom practice at Frost & Sullivan, India tells the Economic Times.

With its "newly found legal status," voice quality too is expected to
improve, as Sharma says: "It will cease to be a matter of concern
following the introduction of new norms. With regulation in place,
quality will improve."

      David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please
visit David Sims' columnist page.

Copyright 2005 Techonology Marketing Corporation (TMC)


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
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profit to group members who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the
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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
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owner, in this instance, Technology Marketing Corporation.

For more information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml

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

From: jmeissen@aracnet.com
Subject: Infected Email Pretending to be Telecom-Digest.org
Date: 21 Nov 2005 21:49:14 GMT
Organization: http://extra.newsguy.com


I just wanted to let the readers know that there's at least one virus
that's sending infected emails pretending to be bounced mail from
telecom-digest.org.

Looking at the headers it's pretty obvious that it's not legitimate:
Received: from lijikdads.org (cpc2-ipsw3-3-1-cust37.colc.cable.ntl.com
[86.9.22.37])

The body of the message says:

> Subject: smtp mail failed
> From: Admin@telecom-digest.org

> This_is_an_automatically_generated_Delivery_Status_Notification.

> SMTP_Error_[]
> I'm_afraid_I_wasn't_able_to_deliver_your_message.
> This_is_a_permanent_error;_I've_given_up._Sorry_it_didn't_work_out.

> The_full_mail-text_and_header_is_attached!

And then there's a zip file attached with a nice .exe inside it.


John Meissen                        jmeissen@aracnet.com


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Thanks for the warning, John, many
readers may not have known about this clown. I knew about it, but
since I get about a dozen per day of the same notices either from
'Administrator' or 'MIT Administrator' or 'Account Review Team' (or
some equally bogus) mail sender, always to advise me that (a)
"he/she/it" has observed that a large amount of spam has been sent
from my account, or (b) that mail which I sent had virus in it, or
(c)mail I received had virus in it, and my account 'is going to be
cancelled unless I fill out the enclosed form to reinstate myself'
(the enclosed form has an .exe in it of course requesting passwords,
etc) I just junk them without comment. 

After all, one of our readers here reminds me from time to time that
"we cannot dictate what other sites send out in email" and since he is
prone to be vicious and order me to "never contact him again" when I
have complained about it in the past, I do not say much about it. All
I can suggest -- until/unless/if/when laws are passed/enforced which
flatly forbid (I suggest with punishment of death) sending out that
sort of crapola -- that users _never_ open any attachment received in
email without first inspecting it very closely. Which, exactly, is
worse, the spammers, scammers, phishermen or their apologists on the
net I do not know. PAT]  

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 15:36:50 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Verizon to Launch FiOS TV in Herndon; First Rollout in East


New Digital Video Service Harnesses Speed and Capacity of Fiber-Based
Broadband With Power of Broadcast to Offer Consumer Choice in TV

HERNDON, Va., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The future of television arrives
this week in this northern Virginia community, when Verizon unveils
Verizon FiOS TV over its revolutionary fiber-optic network here.

Herndon is the second community to date in which Verizon is offering
FiOS TV.  The service debuted Sept. 22 in Keller, Texas, and customer
sales there have been strong.  Verizon plans to make FiOS TV available
in the future in other communities in Virginia and across the
company's service territory.

Information on packages and prices is available at 
http://www.verizon.net/fiostv .  Herndon-area customers also can call
1-800-964-3194 to see if they're able to order FiOS TV.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53334011

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 17:16:30 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: The Lasting Impact of Sony's Rootkit


Appeared in the Toronto Star on November 21, 2005 as Sony Incident 
Wakeup Call For Regulators

Appeared on the BBC Online on November 21, 2005 as Sony's Long-Term 
Rootkit Woes

Sony BMG, the world's second largest record label, has for the past
three weeks been the subject of a corporate embarrassment that rivals
earlier public relations nightmares involving tampered Tylenol and
contaminated Perrier.  While in the short-term one of the world' s
best-known brands has suffered enormous damage (particularly given
that unlike in the Tylenol case the damage is self-inflicted), the
longer-term implications are even more significant - a fundamental
re-thinking of policies toward digital locks known as technological
protection measures (TPMs).

The Sony case started innocently enough with a Halloween-day blog 
posting by Mark Russinovich, an intrepid computer security 
researcher.  Russinovich discovered his own tale of horror -- Sony was 
using a copy-protection TPM on some of its CDs that quietly installed 
a software program known as a "rootkit" on users' computers.

The use of the rootkit set off alarm bells for Russinovich, who
immediately identified it as a potential security risk since hackers
and virus writers frequently exploit such programs to turn personal
computers into "zombies" that can send millions of spam messages,
steal personal information, or launch denial of service attacks.
Moreover, attempts to uninstall the program proved difficult, as
either his CD-Rom drive was no longer recognized or his computer
crashed.

Although users were presented with a series of terms and conditions
that refer to software installation before launching the CD, it is
safe to assume that few, if any, realized that they were creating both
a security and potential privacy risk as well as setting themselves up
for a "Hotel California" type program that checks in but never leaves.

While Sony and the normally vocal recording industry associations
stood largely silent -- a company executive dismissed the concerns
stating that "most people don't even know what a rootkit is, so why
should they care about it" -- the repercussions escalated daily.  One
group identified at least 20 affected CDs, including releases from
Canadian artists Celine Dion and Our Lady Peace. Class action lawsuits
were launched in the United States, a criminal investigation began in
Italy, and anti-spyware companies gradually updated their programs to
include the Sony rootkit.

Nearly two weeks after the initial disclosure, Sony finally issued a
half-hearted apology, indicating that it was suspending use of the TPM
and issuing a software patch to remove the rootkit.

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1015

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:52:45 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Sony BMG Sued Under Anti-Spyware Laws


By LIZ AUSTIN Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Sony BMG Music Entertainment's troubles over
anti-piracy technology on music CDs deepened Monday as Texas' attorney
general and a California-based digital rights group said they were
suing the music company under new state anti-spyware laws.

The Texas lawsuit said the so-called XCP technology that Sony BMG had
quietly included on more than 50 CD titles leaves computers vulnerable
to hackers. Sony BMG had added the technology to restrict to three the
number of times a single disc could be copied, but agreed to recall
the discs last week after a storm of criticism.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation said Sony BMG needs to further
publicize the recall and compensate consumers for costs associated
with removing the software, an onerous process. It was filing a
lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles.

When XCP-enabled discs are loaded into a computer _ a necessary step
for transferring music to Apple Computer Inc.'s iPods and other
portable music players _ the CD installs a program that restricts
copying and makes it extremely inconvenient to transfer songs into the
format used by iPods. Critics say consumers aren't adequately told
what the program actually does.

Security researchers say XCP is spyware because it secretly transmits
details about what music the PC is playing. Manual attempts to remove
the software, which works only on Windows PCs, can disable the PC's
optical drive.

      - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53359405

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:59:26 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Verizon Wireless Brings BroadbandAccess to New BlackBerry 7130e


     Verizon Wireless Brings BroadbandAccess to New BlackBerry 7130e
     With Tethered Modem Capabilities

BEDMINSTER, N.J. & WATERLOO, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21,
2005--

New BroadbandAccess Connect Service Bundles Tethering Option in
Verizon Wireless' Voice, Data Plans

Verizon Wireless and Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq RIMM)(TSX:RIM),
today introduced the BlackBerry 7130e(TM), the first BlackBerry(R)
handset that takes advantage of Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess
service on the company's Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO)
network. Coupled with Verizon Wireless' new BroadbandAccess Connect
pricing, the BlackBerry 7130e delivers all the popular e-mail and data
capabilities available with the BlackBerry wireless platform and can
also serve as a modem for customers who want to use the device to
connect their laptop with Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess service.

With BroadbandAccess Connect, customers can use their BlackBerry 7130e
as a modem for downloading large documents to a laptop at speeds
averaging 400 to 700 kbps on Verizon Wireless' BroadbandAccess service
that covers more than 140 million Americans in 171 major metropolitan
areas. BroadbandAccess Connect is available for $15 with any Verizon
Wireless BlackBerry voice and unlimited data plan beginning at $79.99;
or $30 with the purchase of a BlackBerry data-only plan for $49.99.

- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53335335

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 21:56:52 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: TiVo to Bring TV to iPod and PSP


TiVo to Provide New Capability for Quick and Easy Transfer of
                  Viewer's Favorite TV Shows to iPod or PSP

ALVISO, Calif., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- TiVo Inc.  (Nasdaq:
TIVO), creator of and a leader in television services for digital
video recorders, today announced an enhancement to its current
TiVoToGo feature that will allow TiVo subscribers to easily transfer
recorded television programming to their Apple iPod or PSP devices.

The enhancement will include exclusive capabilities such as TiVo
auto-sync that will allow subscribers to choose if they want new
recordings of their favorite programs easily transferred to their
portable devices via their PC.  Every morning the devices can be
loaded with new programs recorded the night before.

     - http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53330883

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 22:02:55 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: RadioShack Brings Skype-Ready Products to Customers Nationwide;


     RadioShack Brings Skype-Ready Products to Customers Nationwide;
     RadioShack Becomes First U.S. Retailer to Offer Skype Services
     and Hardware, Including Motorola, Linksys, Logitech and Skype
     Starter Packs

FORT WORTH, Texas & LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 21,
2005--RadioShack Corporation (NYSE:RSH) and Skype, the Global Internet
Communications Company, today announced an agreement to distribute
Skype-certified hardware and software in approximately 3,500
RadioShack stores. This makes RadioShack the first U.S. retailer to
offer this new Internet phone service.

According to Skype officials, Skype has successfully brought free
Internet calling to over 66 million people around the world since its
launch in 2003, with an average of 175,000 new people joining each
day. People with Internet connectivity can load Skype's free software
enabling unlimited, high-quality voice calls to other Skype users
anywhere in the world. Unlike other Internet phone services, Skype's
unique software resides directly on a computer or mobile device to
facilitate communications. Skype runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and
Pocket PC platforms. Skype also offers premium services providing
enhanced functionality for its users to make calls to regular phones
for as little as two cents a minute.

This agreement with RadioShack supports Skype's growing presence in
the U.S. market as a leading Internet communications company.
RadioShack's convenient network of neighborhood stores staffed by
knowledgeable sales associates will help expose Skype's unique
worldwide free call service to a broad new audience of potential
customers. Further, these retail stores will provide consumers with a
place to shop for new Skype-certified products such as the Motorola
Wireless Headset and Internet Calling Kit - the world's first
Skype-certified Bluetooth offering.

Skype-certified phones and headsets at RadioShack include:

    --  New Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset and PC850 USB Adapter
        bundled in the Internet Calling Kit - a RadioShack limited
        exclusive with a suggested price of $99.99

    --  Linksys CIT200 Skype-enabled Cordless Internet Telephony Kit
        with a suggested price of $129.99 (with a limited time $15
        mail-in rebate)

    --  Logitech Premium USB Headset 250 with a suggested price of
        $39.99

    --  VoIP Voice Cyberphone K USB Internet phone with a suggested
        price of $39.99

    --  Skype Starter Packs: the Skype Starter Pack, priced at $4.99
        until Dec. 24, 2005, allows anyone to get started with free
        Skype software, a Skype-enabled headset and 30 SkypeOut
        minutes to call any number anywhere in the world


- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53333728

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

Date: Mon, 21 Nov 2005 22:04:09 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: Motorola and Skype Bring Mobility to Internet Voice


     Motorola and Skype Bring Mobility to Internet Voice
     Communications With Bluetooth(R) Wireless Technology

New Motorola Wireless Internet Calling Kit - a Skype-certified Bluetooth
offering -- now available at RadioShack retailers nationwide

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill., and LUXEMBOURG, Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Motorola, Inc. (NYSE:MOT), a global leader in wireless communications,
and Skype, a global Internet communications company, today announced
the first Skype-certified Bluetooth headset solution in America, the
Motorola Wireless Internet Calling Kit. Available at 3,500 RadioShack
stores nationwide, the Motorola Wireless Internet Calling Kit enables
Skype users to experience the freedom of wireless while making free,
unlimited voice calls over the Internet*.

Comprised of a Motorola H500 Bluetooth Headset and PC850 PC Adapter,
the Motorola Wireless Internet Calling Kit also includes 30 free
SkypeOut minutes so users can make Skype calls to mobile and landline
phones without additional charges.  To experience wireless
communications, users plug in the Motorola PC850 PC Adapter to equip
traditional laptops and PCs with Bluetooth technology, load the
required software onto the PC and follow a simple, step- by-step
procedure to establish the cordless connection between the PC and
Motorola H500 headset**.

The Motorola Wireless Internet Calling Kit is the latest offering from
Motorola and Skype.  Leveraging Motorola's strength in seamless
mobility, advanced technologies, devices and accessories along with
Skype's rapidly- growing global user base and rich voice and messaging
communication tools, the companies aim to provide greater connectivity
options and access for Skype's more than 66 million registered
worldwide users.

- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53336732

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

Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:02:14 -0500
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
Subject: AOL Introduces New AIM Triton Service


DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 2005--America Online, Inc.:

 Integrated Communications Service Features Instant Messaging, Free
 Email and SMS Mobile Texting as Well as Voice and Video Chat Services

   Delivers Next Generation Tools and the Industry's First IM-Based
   Address Book to the 70 Percent* of Online Americans That Now Use
   Instant Messaging

AOL today announced the official launch of its new AIM Triton
service. Available for download on AIM.com ( www.aim.com ), the AIM
Triton service is an integrated communications client that offers
instant messaging, free email and SMS mobile texting as well as voice
and video chat services.

In an industry first, the AIM Triton service also features a
Plaxo-enabled AIM Address Book and gives users one-click access to the
AOL Explorer, AOL Mail, AIM Mail, AIM Talk, and AOL Radio services. It
also offers anywhere access to AOL's new TotalTalk VoIP calling
service, making the AIM service the new 'front door' to digital
communications.

System Requirements: The AIM Triton service requires Microsoft
Windows XP or Windows 2000.

- http://finance.lycos.com/home/news/story.asp?story=53366189

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

Subject: Cellular-News for Tuesday 22nd November 2005
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 07:34:58 -0600
From: Cellular-News <dailydigest@cellular-news-mail.com>


Cellular-News - http://www.cellular-news.com

[[3G News]]

O2 Optimizes its Irish 3G Network
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14925.php

Actix has announced that O2 Ireland has selected it's 3G performance
engineering solutions, backed by Actix training and engineering
services, to optimize its 3G network. O2 Ireland cited the maturity of
Actix' solution including its ability to handl...

[[Financial News]]

Sprint Nextel To Buy Alamosa Holdings For $4.3 Billion
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14919.php

Sprint Nextel Corp. agreed to buy Alamosa Holdings Inc. for about $4.3
billion, including the assumption of about $900 million of debt. ...

EU Antitrust Chief: Unsure She Will Review Telefonica-O2
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14921.php

European Union antitrust Commissioner Neelie Kroes Monday said she
hadn't decided whether she or one of her peers would review Spanish
firm Telefonica SA's $31.4 billion takeover bid for O2 PLC. ...

[[Handsets News]]

LG Heads Up Mobile Device User Satisfaction Index
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14927.php

Strategy Analytics has published a report which analyzes mobile device
buyer satisfaction across 20 critical product attributes in the US and
W. Europe. LG owners reported the highest satisfaction ratings in 17
out of 19 categories in Western Europe ...

Motion Sensitive Phone for Vodafone
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14929.php

Vodafone Japan says that it has completed development of the Vodafone
804SH, a new 3G model by Sharp, which will be marketed in Japan from
mid-January 2006. The 804SH is a Mobile Wallet ("Osaifu-Keitai")
compatible handset with an embedded Mobile Fel...

[[Interviews News]]

FOCUS:France Telecom CFO To Pitch Change In Cash Policy
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14920.php

France Telecom is looking to give more money to shareholders to
address a credibility gap that's caused the company's stock to lag the
sector. ...

[[Legal News]]

Ukraine's court rejects tax service's claims against Ukrtelecom 
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14923.php

Ukraine's Kiev Arbitration Court has rejected the State Tax Service of
Ukraine's back tax claims worth over 800 million hryvnas against
national telecommunications company Ukrtelecom, Ukrtelecom's press
office said Monday. ...

[[Mobile Content News]]

Crazy Frog Cleans Up its Subscription Services
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14926.php

Jamster, the company responsible for "that annoying thing" -- namely
the Crazy Frog ringtone franchise has announced the roll out of a new
global brand campaign, simplified subscription plans and a parental
control service. The brand campaign launched...

[[Network Contracts News]]

Virgin Mobile Secures Distribution Deal
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14928.php

Virgin Mobile USA has signed an agreement to expand its handset
distribution from 700 7-Eleven stores to 5,300 locations
nationwide. Virgin Mobile is a joint venture between Sir Richard
Branson's Virgin Group and Sprint, and has more than three milli...

[[Offbeat News]]

People Hoard Skinny Jeans and Cellphones
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14924.php

A new report has found that nearly half of those surveyed (45%) said
they were hoarding old cell phones in their homes. But when asked if
they knew they could recycle their used rechargeable batteries and old
cell phones, almost three-quarters (71%) ...

[[Regulatory News]]

Russia's Reiman sees caller-pays principle regulations soon 
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14918.php

All necessary regulations for the introduction of the Calling Party
Pays (CPP) principle in Russia are expected to be approved in early
2006, Russian IT and Telecommunications Minister Leonid Reiman said,
ITAR-TASS reported Monday. ...

[[Statistics News]]

China Unicom Adds 1.22 Million Subscribers In October
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14917.php

Mobile-phone operator China Unicom Ltd. said Monday it added 1.22
million subscribers in October, bringing its total customers to 125.37
million. ...

Retailer Euroset sees 87% mobile penetration in Russia by year-end 
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/14922.php

The penetration of mobile services in Russia is expected to reach 87%
by the end of the year, Russia's largest mobile handset retailer
Euroset said in a report released Monday. ...

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

From: USTelecom dailyLead <ustelecom@dailylead.com>
Subject: Sprint Nextel buys Alamosa
Date: 22 Nov 2005 12:00:00 EST


USTelecom dailyLead
November 22, 2005
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/yusYatagCyjmqFwugx

		TODAY'S HEADLINES
	
NEWS OF THE DAY
* Sprint Nextel buys Alamosa
BUSINESS & INDUSTRY WATCH
* AT&T beefs up retail presence
* Verizon to launch IPTV in second Virginia town
* Consortium to lay undersea cable on Africa's east coast
* Ericsson mulls China acquisitions
* Report: Handset sales surge
USTELECOM SPOTLIGHT
* Find IMS, Fixed Mobile Convergence, IPTV Solutions at TelecomNEXT
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
* Report: VoIP ICs poised for big growth
REGULATORY & LEGISLATIVE
* House passes DTV bill

Follow the link below to read quick summaries of these stories and others.
http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/yusYatagCyjmqFwugx

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

From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com
Subject: Re: Tis (Almost) the Season to be Jolly
Date: 22 Nov 2005 10:19:12 -0800
Organization: http://groups.google.com


TELECOM Digest Editor wrote:

> For several years in the 1960's and 1970's I was employed by the Amoco
> Oil Company in its central credit card operation in downtown Chicago.

In those days business purposely located such operations downtown so
as to be close to a wide source of labor.  These days business put
those operations in rural areas to get cheap labor or even overseas.

> Most of that time was spent in the Sales Authorization Department,
> which is another name for the part of the credit department which
> approves (or not) credit card sales 'at the point of purchase'. In
> those days, 35-40 years ago, originally there were no computers to
> help us; -- there were the large mainframes in our 'computer
> department' but no desktop individual computers; they did not exist --

Desktop inquiry terminals and supporting on-line processing existed
since the early 1960s but it was extremely costly.  The most well known
example is SABRE reversation system IBM built for American Airlines.
Terminals were modified Selectric typewriters and function pads.  Most
large operations worked exactly as you described--clerks with headsets
running around checking large books or tubfiles of index cards.

We take modern stuff for granted but back in 1970 the terminal itself,
wiring and hardware to connect to the mainframe, on-line disk storage,
programs to take inquiries, do a lookup, and return the response, and
the mainframe itself were all extremely expensive.  It took some years
until the costs of each of those components came down enough to
justify replacing a staff of clerks.  The programming of on-line
functions was extremely complicated in those days.

> Suffice to say, we by and large 'trusted' the customers to not go
> over their credit limit; those were simpler times and simpler
> customers, not as sophisicated in fraud as many are today.

Unlike today's general purpose credit cards, a consumer was limited how
wild they could get with a gasoline credit card.  You only can fill up
your tank so much or buy so many batteries or tires.  Some gas cards
had special features, like Gulf was accepted at Holiday Inns, but that
was relatively limited, and not practical for a street thief.

In 1979 I was driving a lot and got several oil company cards for
convenience.  In buying gas, the guy would just check a little booklet
of stop orders.  In having repairs done, the man would call it in.  I
dropped the cards when they charged extra to buy gas with them.

My cards were stolen from my car and I reported them before they could
be used.  (Oddly the thief left behind an envelope containing cash.)
Some months later the oil company called me about a charge made for a
battery to see if I made it (I didn't), but I had cancelled the card
so I wasn't responsible.

I suspect they had more of a problem with deadbeats running up big
bills and sloppy stations not calling in purchases.

Companies liked issuing credit cards because they made money two ways:
1) People spent more using a card than they do with hard cash, and 2)
interest charged on payments spread out over time was very high (as it
is today).

> The employees responded by wrecking the whole office until the
> police arrived to crack open some heads, etc.

Incidents like that were not uncommon in those days and gave
management pause.  What management realized as a result was they were
sitting on time bombs and didn't want any part of it.  Quietly and
discretely, here and there, offices were moved out of the city to
perhaps the suburbs or a more distant rural area.  As technology
improved, telephone tie-line costs went down and they had more
flexibility in locating call centers.  The biggest issues to
management were work-ethic and radicalism.  Management didn't like
their center shut down every other day because the streets were
blocked for some protest march, a critical utility was on strike, or
workers in a nearby building were rioting or demonstrating.  Obviously
management didn't like pickets in front of their own building.  Also,
high taxes and 'pressured contributions' for radical social causes
didn't help either.

The protest and riots ended up being counter productive in many cases
(social activists go nuts when I say their work hurt more than it
helped).  Instead of improving conditions for the masses, the
companies just left altogether leaving the masses unemployed.  Most
companies did this long after a protest action so the two wouldn't be
linked together.

These departures were a factor in the decline of NYC and other cities
in the 1970s.  It became a viscious cycle feeding on itself.  To this
day many companies fear working in cities or old suburban areas
because they don't want the aggravation of activist employees or
external social agitators, etc.

American business can be very ruthless and plenty of employers want
every ounce of blood, sweat and tears they can suck out of you.  It is
true plenty of businesses of this nature exploited the masses in the
cities.  But many businesses are not like that at all and do treat
their employees very well.  It is also true that the labor force of
many business -- good or bad -- was just as bad and ripping off their
employer big time.  Who started it is tough to say in many cases.
Unfortunately the end result was lose-lose -- the workers lost their
jobs and the employer endured the cost of relocation or went out of
business altogether.

I know of a steel mill that once had 10,000 workers and how has 300
with little future.  The union controlled that mill by brute force.
If a foreman pushed his workers to work, his tires would get slashed.
Then his car would end up in the steel tank.  Then he would end up in
the steel tank.  The productivity was attrocious.  The company has
essentially abandoned the mill and 9,000 people lost their jobs.  The
union is damn proud of everything it did.

> I asked the Pip Squeak where is the car now?  He told me it was
> still on the rack but he was finished with his work.  I told him you
> keep that car up on the rack, which is your right. You have a
> workman's lien on that car until he pays the bill, and he is not
> going to get it paid with that card.  I asked him if he still had
> the plastic there. He said he did, so I told him (by then the pip
> squeak had told me his name was Timmy) "Timmy have you got a pair of
> scissors there or a sharp cutting blade?"  He said he did and I
> asked him, "Timmy, would you like to make fifty dollars?"  I think
> his eyes almost bulged out of his head as he said "Oh, yeah man, I
> really need the money to get Christmas presents for my family, what
> do I have to do to make that kind of money?"

Cool!


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Neither Amoco Credit Card nor Diners's
Club (at least in those days) were union shops. The refineries were
of course unionized, but Amoco worked very hard to keep them out of
the offices. Typically, Amoco's procedure was to pay and treat the
office workers _as though they belonged to a union_ even though they
did not. Wages and benefits at the credit card office were quite good.
Diners did the same thing; two weeks vacation after a year, three
weeks after five years, good medical benefits, a great 401-K plan
(both Amoco and Diners paid dollar for dollar into the plan, matching
their employees 'savings' dollar for dollar); the catch was if you
quit before the 401-K (or whatever it was called in those days) had
matured the employee got _none_ of the company's share. Yet even with
a _two year_ notice that the credit card office planned to move out
of town (half moved to Raleigh, NC; the other half to Des Moines, IA)
employees were not happy. Even with an already sweetened pot, the
company sweetened it a bit more at that point: Within a day or two
or a week of announcing their plans to move out of Chicago, the
smartest and most useful employees had already quit and split for
other work.

Amoco's response was "if you remain in our employ, show up for work on
time each day and do not get fired until _we_ say you are no longer
needed you will get a bonus: a thousand dollars for each year of
service you have put in and an extra 500 dollars. So new workers who
started after that point were promised at least a 500 dollar bonus for
staying until the bitter end. Each person who quit prematurely (in 
order to get a jump on an unemployed labor pool two years later) had
to be replaced of course. Over that next two years, those of us who
stuck it out until the end got those bonuses, all of the 401-K money
in our accounts (and the company's share) and a few other perks as
well.  But oooh, la la!  You talk about a hell hole of a place to
work at, it got much, much worse toward the end. The 'temporary'
employees hired in the last two years in Chicago were absolutely
dorks. 

There was the time the Remittance Department clerks went 'on strike'
for a few days: A dozen young ladies who's job was to slice open
remittance envelopes, stack the checks in one pile and the
remittance coupons in the other pile, keeping them in order for 
the combination microfilm/check endorsement machines so the end
result was a microfilm of remittance coupons and checks went through
in the same order (the films for later reference, each check
'endorsed' "Pay to order of Payee named within; Diners/Amoco/Torch"
and the date and the 'batch number' on the reverse side to get 
taken to First National Bank, at the rate of five or six hundred
checks per clerk every few minutes after they had been balanced. 
One day, they walked off the job and stood in front of our building
at 165 North Canal Street with 'picket signs' saying "Credit Card
is unfair to workers". First day on the street, management peered
out of upstairs windows snickering about it. Second day, management
was a little more concerned; all those checks, money orders, etc
stacking up inside not getting processed. Third day, bank showed
deposits were down a little and headquarters called over and asked
'where the hell is all the money for this month?'  Amoco (the 
corporate offices) looked for that two or three million dollars
in deposits each day; they were not coming in. Management person 
decided better go see what the ladies want, and went to talk to 
them on the street. It turns out they wanted _new chairs and desks_
to sit at; nothing more nor less. The new chairs and desks were
delivered the next day. Amoco had hoped to hold out with all the
old junky furniture there on Canal Street until the move to
Iowa was completed. No such luck.   PAT]

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


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