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Message Digest 
Volume 28 : Issue 195 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:
  Re: When Texting Is Wrong 
  Re: When Texting Is Wrong 
  Re: When Texting Is Wrong 
  Re: Chips in official IDs raise privacy fears   
  Re: When Texting Is Wrong 
  Re: Cellphone savings worth research 
  Re: Tweeting From the Operating Room 
  Re: Cellphones and driving 
  One Example of Cell Phone Domination 
  Re: One Example of Cell Phone Domination 
  Re: One Example of Cell Phone Domination 
  Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting 
  Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting 
  Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting 
  Re: 911 service center troubles 
  Re: 911 service center troubles 
  Re: 911 service center troubles 
  Re: 911 service center troubles 
  Re: 911 service center troubles 
  Re: When Texting Is Wrong 
  Home and small office VoIP services 
  Legislator looks to end split-market DMAs 
  Re: When Texting Is Wrong 
  A mystery phone 


====== 27 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ====== 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, and other stuff of interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:42:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Zee <zzaldy@gmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong Message-ID: <42b1450f-7a3a-46d4-8605-0e928cd3dc88@v23g2000pro.googlegroups.com> On Jul 16, 1:11 pm, Thad Floryan <t...@thadlabs.com> wrote: > On 7/15/2009 9:42 AM, Thad Floryan wrote: > > > On 7/15/2009 6:07 AM, Monty Solomon wrote: > >> The Moral of the Story - The Ethicist's take on the news > > >> When Texting Is Wrong > >> [...] > > > I consider it and similar things (e.g., twittering) about as useless > > and time wasting as the scenario portrayed in this cartoon: > > > http://thadlabs.com/PIX/Bizarro_20081129.gif > > > I also consider people who interrupt a face-to-face conversation to > > answer any random and non-important call on their cellphone to be rude > > and boorish. I always turn off my ringer when I'm with people in a > > social setting; the fetish people have to be "connected" 24/7 almost > > seems to be an (mental) illness. > > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > > May I take it then, that you agree with my feeling that texting during > > a meeting is a way to snub others and advertise that you don't feel > > the thing they're talking about is important? > > In case it wasn't obvious, definitely YES, we are in full agreement! > > I'm not a Luddite: > > 1. I was probably one of the first to have HDTV in the USA in the > mid-1990s via gear I imported from Japan and Hong Kong using MUSE > HiVision laserdiscs > (see: http://thadlabs.com/LD_info/). > > 2. Early adopter of cellphones (1992). I also take care of my > gear having had only 3 instruments since then: Motorola MicroTAC > Elite (until its batteries were impossible to find), Nokia > <something> (until its batteries became scarce), and > presently a Motorola RAZR V3 (for its tiny size, photo/movie > capability, and the fact it can display email such as > overtemp/system-down warnings from computers under my purview). > > 3. Probably one of the first to have home computers (beginning > with the MITS Altair in the 1970s, same for home networks > (AT&T StarLAN), same for home UNIX systems (AT&T > 3B1/UNIXPC/PC7300), same for home Linux systems, up to today > with nearly 50 computers at home running UNIX, Solaris, > several Win systems including Windows 7, etc. including home > broadband microwave as you can see here (http://thadlabs.com/PIX/LX200) > until the FCC reallocated the spectrum and I had to go cable > (presently at DOCSIS 3.0), etc. > > 4. One of the first to use world-wide email in the 1960s over > networks provided by Tymshare, ITT, etc (slow, though, at > 110baud on a TTY ASR33 :-) > > 5. on the ARPANET in 1972/1973, able to use, for example, the > Rutherford High Energy Labs' IBM 360/195 (70 miles north of > London UK) from my home in Silicon Valley > > 6. Hi-tech hobbies (astronomy, computer/electronic design, etc.) > > 7. etc etc etc > > > Point being: technology is great and I helped create some of it, > but I'm not obsessed with it and I have a normal life and > interact with people, mostly face-to-face. > > What I see happening nowadays, however, has me believing the > younger folks are pining to be in the MATRIX and they're just > using everything imaginable to be "connected" until the day > brain-implanted Internet connectivity arrives, at which point > they will be totally disconnected from humanity and reality. Excellent points. For me texting and twittering are just 2 ways to communicate. Twittering sends your message to your real friends and online friends with little or no cost to you. Your friends in return won't feel oblige to reply unlike when you send a text to him/her personally. Those intererested in what you tweet may reply. Texting during meeting or dinner is rude. You may read your text but wait till meeting is over before you reply. The advantage of text is, the sender can just say his/her piece and thats it. No chit chat. The receiver may or may not reply or he can delay his reply. Texting gives us more options and save us time compared when you make calls. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:45:57 -0700 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong Message-ID: <9NB7m.162$Ta5.85@newsfe15.iad> Steven Lichter wrote: > > I see no use in texting or tweeting, I [always] ignore and then delete > text messages, most are spammers/scammers. When I'm off of work I turn > my cell phone off, though I have been blasted for that since we are > subject to call. When I'm in the car or out, I just let it go to voice > mail and the ringer is off. I have been using a cellular phone since > 1984 and to me it is just a telephone you can carry with you. The > cellular companies are just pushing this extras to make money; just like > all the added features on landlines; of with CID and maybe call waiting, > still not sure about that. > We both started at the same time. They were bricks and installed in the car in those days. The folks at Bell labs who developed AMPs had no idea of the monster they were creating. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:50:19 -0700 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong Message-ID: <fRB7m.163$Ta5.96@newsfe15.iad> > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > 5. Might it be a fad that will die out like Pet Rocks and Palm Pilots > and paper organizers? > > Inquiring minds want to know! > > Bill Horne Hope springs eternal. We have text messaging blocked on our two-unit family plan. When we are in town they are almost never turned on. Well, I do take my iPhone on my daily 40 minute walk and it's on for that time only. When both the wife and I travel we have mine all during the day because we forward the real phone to it. Otherwise, forget the blasted things. I see the way younger people use them (younger, meaning 40ish or less) as extremely rude and boorish. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:39:33 -0400 From: tlvp <mPiOsUcB.EtLlLvEp@att.net> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Chips in official IDs raise privacy fears Message-ID: <op.uw5d37bxo63xbg@acer250.gateway.2wire.net> On Tue, 14 Jul 2009 20:10:05 -0400, Steven Lichter <diespammers@killspammers.com> wrote: > T wrote: >> In article <h3ebsn$odl$1@news.eternal-september.org>, >> diespammers@killspammers.com says... >>> Wesrock@aol.com wrote: >>>> In a message dated 7/12/2009 4:29:56 PM Central Daylight Time, >>>> diespammers@killspammers.com writes: >>>> >>>>> I had my Credit Union deactivate the chip in my card and opted out >>>>> of another one. A few years ago Mobil Oil had chip key chains and >>>>> one day I noticed credit card charges in a bunch of cities all over >>>>> the country at the same time. When I found out what it was I >>>>> smashed that key chain into a million little peaces and joined a >>>>> suit against them, but that suit went nowhere. >>>> >>>> This sounds like the things that Chase and Citibank (For >>>> Phillips-Conoco credit cards) have added to their cards where you just >>>> wave them at the receiver. I think Mobil and now Exxon still have >>>> theirs, too. >>>> >>>> Wes Leatherock >>>> wesrock@aol.com >>>> wleathus@yahoo.com >>> >>> >>> That is what they are, Mobil has had them for some time, at least 10 >>> years. As I posted earlier store products are tagged with simple ones, >>> not like the older tags which worked like magnets. The tag that was on >>> my shoe had the size, color and price along with which store it came >>> from. Mine was bought at Kmart but set off alarms at Walmart stores >>> until is was deactivated. >> >> Interesting on the price. Having worked in retail at one point there >> were always price changes going on. >> >> Or instead of a price, maybe it is a price code. That way you can just >> change it at the back end POS system. >> > It could have just been a code, all I know is when he brought it up on > his system that is what came up, also remember this was Walmart and the > shoes were purchased at Kmart 6 months earlier, also the brand name on > them were a Kmart brand. It has not happened since on anything, but > then I know make sure the take ins deactivated, the shoes one was in > bedded in the heal, most tags are placed on an item and removed. Many are as you say, others are embedded in the product or its packaging. Hardcover books often have an ID tag shoved between spine and spine-cloth; blister-packed SD cards, etc., often have an ID tag on the package insert. These need to be deactivated at the checkout counter, rather than removed. Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:01:01 -0500 From: gordonb.e1046@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong Message-ID: <DpudnR5ozICAX8PXnZ2dnUVZ_jidnZ2d@posted.internetamerica> >***** Moderator's Note ***** > >This touches on so many "hot buttons" that I'm having my asbestos >long-johns taken out of winter storage. ;-) > >Let's see - just off the top of my head - I think texting (or phoning) in business meetings can be appropriate if it's relevant to the meeting or the business. At one job Nextel's "walkie-talkie" mode was used effectively to communicate trouble tickets and status. If the CEO just asked me about how something is progressing TODAY, and I've been in the meeting all day, I don't think it's inappropriate to phone or text my subordinates to ask for updated status. If the CEO just told me to do something ASAP, it's not inappropriate to phone or text my subordinates to tell them to start doing it. If my subordinates notify me that the main company PBX just blew its power supply, that's important to know about and perhaps I should leave the meeting to handle it. The old-style version of this was having a subordinate or secretary enter the meeting room, hand me a note, and leave, which was fine unless there was something he shouldn't hear or see going on in the meeting. On the other hand, if the phoning or texting are, as a Sprint commercial suggests, about diapers, that can wait until after the meeting. So can the "Joke of the Day", lunch arrangements, and vacation plans for next month. >1. The "real" effectiveness of business meetings. Do younger workers > see them as a tribal ritual that requires only their presence > rather than their participation? Regardless, I think visibly not paying attention to what is said is rude, whether it's audible snoring, phoning, texting, whispering to the person next to you in the meeting, or using a mattress you brought into the meeting. It's harder to tell whether texting is relevant to the meeting if you are sitting across the table from the person doing it than with phoning. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:27:49 -0700 (PDT) From: Zee <zzaldy@gmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Cellphone savings worth research Message-ID: <08dcd78c-4e96-4335-90ad-47acf91d6b00@u16g2000pru.googlegroups.com> On Jul 15, 8:15 am, "www.Queensbridge.us" <NOTva...@Queensbridge.us> wrote: > On Jul 13, 8:59 am, Monty Solomon <mo...@roscom.com> wrote: > > > SPENDING SMART > > Cellphone savings worth research > > Competition for wireless customers leads to a bewildering array of > > options - and a price war > > > By Todd Wallack, Globe Staff | July 12, 2009 > > The Boston Globe > > > When we looked into switching cellphone companies recently, we were > > soon drowning in options. > > > T-Mobile USA alone offers more than 40 individual and family plans. > > Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel offer dozens more. And then > > there's a pack of upstarts offering prepaid service, including Boost > > Mobile (a unit of Sprint Nextel that uses Nextel's network), Virgin > > Mobile USA (which uses Sprint's network), and MetroPCS (which has its > > own network in Boston and some other cities.) > > > The great news is that all this competition has sparked a price war > > of sorts. Boost Mobile recently made a splash by offering unlimited > > calls and text messages for $50 per month - half the price of > > traditional plans with unlimited minutes. Virgin Mobile countered by > > offering unlimited calls for $50 (or $60 if you add in text > > messages). Now some say their plans are even cheaper. MetroPCS > > charges $40-$50 for unlimited calls and text. And TracFone just > > launched its own $45 option called StraightTalk. > > > ... > > http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/07/12/cellphone_savings_worth_research/ > > Story mention: > "For instance, we found a T-Mobile prepaid plan that allowed us to buy > a block of 1,000 minutes good for a year for $100, which works out to > less than $9 per month, less than one-third of the cost of the > cheapest traditional monthly plans." > > I pay $15.00 every three months on Virgin. > That averages to $5.00 per month. > > Here is how it is done: > > Go to www.virginmobileusa.com. Check out Virgin Mobile phones and > plans. Buy one of their phones and activate it. > > While activating it look at the selection where you will make a top- > up of $20.00 every 90 days, BUT while in that area of the site you pick AUTOMATIC top-up of $15.00 > every 90 days linked to either PayPal or a Credit/Debit Card. > > Want a one-time savings of even more? If you enter Kickbacks Code number: yQqUHOsQ > when signing up we EACH get get 60 minutes of bonus airtime after you > add money to your account http://www.virginmobileusa.com > I use T-mobile pay as you go http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/prepaid-plans.aspx My $100 refill valid for 1 year gives me 1000 minutes plus 150 bonus minutes. I only use it for emergency or if I don't have any other options. For my regular long distance calls, I use Onesuite prepaid long distance card and some times its VoIP service. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:31:38 -0700 (PDT) From: Zee <zzaldy@gmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Tweeting From the Operating Room Message-ID: <134d93bb-f4ab-43a4-b744-ae41fc96472e@d36g2000prb.googlegroups.com> On Jul 12, 10:06 am, Monty Solomon <mo...@roscom.com> wrote: > Tweeting From the Operating Room > > By Tara Parker-Pope > July 9, 2009, 2:48 pm > > When a loved one undergoes surgery, family members often pace the > waiting room or nervously await a phone call, hoping for updates from > hospital staff. This week, a Missouri children's hospital used > Twitter to update family members near and far about a child's surgery. > > On Tuesday, surgeons at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, > Mo., operated on 10-year-old Anand Erdenebulgan of Ulaanbaatar, > Mongolia, who suffered severe neck burns in a fireworks accident six > months ago. The burns had caused his skin to contract, and surgery > was needed to place skin expanders so the neck tissue could continue > to grow, giving the boy a normal range of motion. He was accompanied > on the trip by his mother and younger sister, but the child's father > and other family members had to stay in Mongolia. The surgery was > performed in mid-afternoon in Kansas City, which was around 4 a.m. > Mongolia time. > > While the hospital's chief of plastic surgery, Dr. Viirender Singhal, > operated, the public information officer, Sherry D. Gibbs, posted > live updates on Twitter from the operating room. The "tweets" were > visible to anyone following the hospitals Twitter feed, and the > family gave permission for all the updates to be made public. Here > are some of the tweets sent from the operating room: > > ... > > http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/tweeting-from-the-operating-... Tweets are everywhere. Some professional athletes even tweet during game breaks. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:51:15 -0700 (PDT) From: Zee <zzaldy@gmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Cellphones and driving Message-ID: <1c4a22f2-babc-4f8c-9630-af4b0ecb451a@i18g2000pro.googlegroups.com> On Jul 8, 8:00 pm, David Clayton <dcs...@myrealbox.com> wrote: > On Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:09:34 -0400, tlvp wrote: > > On Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:18:35 -0400, Adam H. Kerman <a...@chinet.com> wrote: > ........ > >> In the campaigns against drunk driving, it was often noted that 30% to > >> 40% of the must serious collisions involved drunken driving. We have a > >> great deal to fear from all the sober people on the road who don't give > >> a damn about the other guy. > > > LOL! Love it! How to lie with statistics, 101. Thank you! :-) . > > > Cheers, -- tlvp > > -- > > Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP > > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > > May I recommend "A Mathemetician Looks at the Newspaper"? > > > Bill > > P.S. Half the people in America are below average! > > And about 40% of all sick days taken are on Monday or Friday - slackers! > > -- > Regards, David. > > David Clayton > Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. > Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a > measure of how many questions you have.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - I agree. Conversation tends to hamper our ability to drive. Just watch yourself having a talk with your passenger...you might notice that you stop talking when turning or passing another car or changing lanes. This means driving needs our undivided attention. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:18:12 -0700 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: One Example of Cell Phone Domination Message-ID: <pfC7m.5771$Qg6.3644@newsfe14.iad> My wife and I enjoy spending a few days in Death Valley, California most winters. In the early years the place was just in the middle of no where and not visited that often. Then, many years ago it was designated a national monument, with attendant restrictions. Clinton designated it a National Park, which was a wise decision in this case. The National Park Service is very protective of the park, and ever fearful of population creep from the Nevada side (far out suburbs of that Hell called Las Vegas). Pacific Bell, now AT&T serves the park. It is a very expensive proposition with only the two lodging areas (Stove Pipe Wells and the main Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch area) having any wireline service. I don't know whether they have a remote switch or a SLC96 arrangement. (I suspect the latter.) But, the link is via microwave from Rogers Peak on the west side of the valley. The park service will not allow trenching for fiber optics to come in from the east side. And, they strictly limit helicopter flights to maintain the Rogers Peak site. So, the long and short of it is a lack of trunking or linkage to provide wireless service. The resort manager has told me that in recent years the younger group is grumbling about lack of wireless and high-speed internet service (only dial-up internet at the hotels); that some of the younger crowd will no longer stay in the valley. A lot of Germans visit Death Valley and, according to the resort manager, they take it in stride. Their view is why does anyone need these inane gadgets when visiting such a remote area? In other words, the Germans don't seem to be obsessed nearly to the extent Americans are. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:06:42 -0700 From: Sam Spade <sam@coldmail.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: One Example of Cell Phone Domination Message-ID: <T_J7m.7898$3m2.6265@newsfe06.iad> Sam Spade wrote: > Pacific Bell, now AT&T serves the park. It is a very expensive > proposition with only the two lodging areas (Stove Pipe Wells and the > main Furnace Creek Inn and Ranch area) having any wireline service. I > don't know whether they have a remote switch or a SLC96 arrangement. (I > suspect the latter.) But, the link is via microwave from Rogers Peak on > the west side of the valley. The park service will not allow trenching > for fiber optics to come in from the east side. And, they strictly > limit helicopter flights to maintain the Rogers Peak site. I checked the Local Calling Guide. It lists Death Valley as: "Switch type: 5ER" which is a 5 ESS remote. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:46:48 -0500 (CDT) From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: One Example of Cell Phone Domination Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.00.0907161440410.1160@Calculus.local> On Thu, 16 Jul 2009, Sam Spade wrote: > So, the long and short of it is a lack of trunking or linkage to provide > wireless service. The resort manager has told me that in recent years the > younger group is grumbling about lack of wireless and high-speed internet > service (only dial-up internet at the hotels); that some of the younger crowd > will no longer stay in the valley. This doesn't surprise me. Starting in the early 90's, children expected to be entertained 24/7. Look at all the minivans rolling down the highway with each kid watching a personal LCD screen with their favorite movie, as if asking a child to sit quietly and read for a couple of hours is akin to child abuse. Perhaps it's no surprise some people can't sit through a meeting without pulling out the cell phone. Some people never learned how to be idle or how simply to sit there and listen. John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> Austin, Texas, USA ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:18:15 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting Message-ID: <p0624082dc684cac2840c@[10.0.1.3]> Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting Michael Barkoviak - July 13, 2009 7:46 AM A Staten Island teenage learns the hard way that texting and walking can be disastrous A teenager walking along the streets in Staten Island recently suffered an embarrassing mistake when she walked into an open sewer while sending text messages on her cell phone. Alexa Longueira, 15, suffered deep cuts and bruises after she fell through a manhole that was uncovered and reportedly left unattended. Two New York City Department of Environmental Protection workers were planning on flushing the sewer, left the manhole cover off, and walked away without putting up a warning sign or orange cones. ... http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=15661 ***** Moderator's Note ***** _ANYONE_ who submits a joke about falling into you-know-what will be struck by lightning! ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:07:56 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@killspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting Message-ID: <h3o8bs$623$1@news.eternal-september.org> Monty Solomon wrote: > Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting > > Michael Barkoviak - July 13, 2009 7:46 AM > > A Staten Island teenage learns the hard way that texting and walking > can be disastrous > > A teenager walking along the streets in Staten Island recently > suffered an embarrassing mistake when she walked into an open sewer > while sending text messages on her cell phone. > > Alexa Longueira, 15, suffered deep cuts and bruises after she fell > through a manhole that was uncovered and reportedly left unattended. > Two New York City Department of Environmental Protection workers were > planning on flushing the sewer, left the manhole cover off, and > walked away without putting up a warning sign or orange cones. Now she intends to bring legal action against the city. -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, inc, A Rot in Hell. Co. ***** Moderator's Note ***** IANALB I'd say she has a case: it sounds like an "attractive nuisance". ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:05:29 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@killspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting Message-ID: <h3of89$2o5$1@news.eternal-september.org> Steven Lichter wrote: > Monty Solomon wrote: >> Teenager Falls Into Manhole While Texting >> >> Michael Barkoviak - July 13, 2009 7:46 AM >> >> A Staten Island teenage learns the hard way that texting and walking >> can be disastrous >> >> A teenager walking along the streets in Staten Island recently >> suffered an embarrassing mistake when she walked into an open sewer >> while sending text messages on her cell phone. >> >> Alexa Longueira, 15, suffered deep cuts and bruises after she fell >> through a manhole that was uncovered and reportedly left unattended. >> Two New York City Department of Environmental Protection workers were >> planning on flushing the sewer, left the manhole cover off, and walked >> away without putting up a warning sign or orange cones. > > Now she intends to bring legal action against the city. > > -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down > today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, inc, A Rot in Hell. Co. > > > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > IANALB I'd say she has a case: it sounds like an "attractive nuisance". > There was a follow up on CNN HLN today, it seems the city workers took the cover off, then stepped a few feed away to get the tube to go around the hole, though as I learned in an underground, you get the safety stuff out before you open the hole. -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, inc, A Rot in Hell. Co. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 12:36:02 -0500 From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles Message-ID: <7IWdnUM9Pq2f-MLXnZ2dnUVZ_gGdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications> In article <ba12d6f7-d3e5-4c52-9a50-db4ce8a9b9f3@n11g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>, <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote: >On Jul 15, 2:57 pm, bon...@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) wrote: >> >Cities had 911 service _decades_ before it was taxed. >> >> Really?? _ALL_ cities?   Cite please. > >I didn't say "all" cities. But many places had 911 service long >before they starting adding a tax for it on the phone bill. I know of at least one of the 50 largest SMSA where that was not the case. I'm willing to bet that there were many more. >> >In 1968 most pay phones were coin first.  But 911 was planned to be no >> >coin required, a feature keeping pay phones active to this day as >> >emergency phones. >> >> Dialing the operator, from a pay phone, _to_this_day_, doesn't require >> depositing any coins.  Even on 'coin first' phones.  Even on COCOTS. >> Thus, 911 didn't and doesn't bring any benefit, over dialing the operator, >> to preserving coin-op phone use. > >Allow me to clarify. In the old days, most pay phones required a coin >deposit first to make _any_ kind of call. The coin was held, and if >the line was busy or no answer the coin was returned. (Some rural pay >phones worked differently). > >In the late 1960s, partly in response to urban crime, pay phones were >modified to be "dial tone first". No coin was required to dial the >operator. If 911 was available, no coin was required for that >either. The above mentioned NYT article said dial-tone-first was >going in at the same time as 911 service. That may have been true for NYC. It was *NOT* the case for many other areas. I, personally, used what you call 'dial tone first' phones -- in a fair-sized city -- in the _early_ 1960s. Those were the -only- kind of phones available anywhere in the area. In fact I never encountered a pay- phone of the 'post-pay' (deposit coins to open the outgoing talk path _after_ the call connected) until sometime in the late 1970s, in a very rural area in the northern Rockies. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:11:32 -0700 From: Steven Lichter <diespammers@killspammers.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles Message-ID: <h3o8ik$623$2@news.eternal-september.org> Robert Bonomi wrote: > I, personally, used what you call 'dial tone first' phones -- in a > fair-sized city -- in the _early_ 1960s. Those were the -only- kind > of phones available anywhere in the area. In fact I never > encountered a pay- phone of the 'post-pay' (deposit coins to open > the outgoing talk path _after_ the call connected) until sometime in > the late 1970s, in a very rural area in the northern Rockies. GTE and a lot of others had post pay. I know in the days before Cell Phone when we were out in the field we would dial the CO; which had non-reversing lines or the operator and ID yourself as an employee and get the company number you needed. -- The only good spammer is a dead one!! Have you hunted one down today? (c) 2009 I Kill Spammers, inc, A Rot in Hell. Co. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:24:36 -0700 (PDT) From: hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles Message-ID: <be90b0f3-6de6-49ec-b347-d57df7c439b2@q11g2000yqi.googlegroups.com> On Jul 16, 6:05 pm, bon...@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi) wrote: > That may have been true for NYC. It was *NOT* the case for many other > areas.  I, personally, used what you call 'dial tone first' phones -- in a > fair-sized city -- in the _early_ 1960s.   Could you list some of the many other areas (fair sized cities?) that had dial tone first (not post pay) in the early 1960s? Were these Bell Areas? The 1975 Bell Labs text suggets dial-tone first was a new innovation. Thanks. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:07:52 EDT From: Wesrock@aol.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles Message-ID: <d44.4d5a8674.37911ad8@aol.com> In a message dated 7/16/2009 12:05:20 AM Central Daylight Time, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes: > Allow me to clarify. In the old days, most pay phones required a > coin deposit first to make _any_ kind of call. The coin was held, > and if the line was busy or no answer the coin was returned. (Some > rural pay phones worked differently). There were also prepay coin service in some larger manual exchanges. Postpay phones were common in smaller (rural?) exchanges. > In Ine late 1960s, partly in response to urban crime, pay phones > were modified to be "dial tone first". No coin was required to dial > the operator. If 911 was available, no coin was required for that > either. The above mentioned NYT article said dial-tone-first was > going in at the same time as 911 service. > An additional benefit of dial-tone-first was that the caller up > front would know if the pay phone was broken by not getting a dial > tone. A further additional benefit was that you could make a credit card or collect call without having to deposit a coin. Important if you didn't have a coin available. Yes, it was rare, but credit cards (and I think collect) calls could be made with a credit card. > As to "keeping pay phones active to this day", here's how: Many > passenger rail carriers want to provide an emergency telephone for > people in distress at a station. There are various ways this could > be done, but the cheapest way is to arrange to have a standard pay > phone in the station (no coin is required to call 911). > Since coin collections these days are low, the carrier usually has > to pay the phoneco to have the phone, but that payment is cheaper > than providing other types of emergency phones. In addition, those > passengers who don't have a cell phone, as some today, have the > convenience of a pay phone to make calls (I do see people using them > from time to time.) Who pays for the pay phones in Union or other stations used by more than one railroad? Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:30:33 EDT From: Wesrock@aol.com To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: 911 service center troubles Message-ID: <bc8.5394556c.37912029@aol.com> In a message dated 7/16/2009 5:05:57 PM Central Daylight Time, bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com writes: > That may have been true for NYC. It was *NOT* the case for many > other areas. I, personally, used what you call 'dial tone first' > phones -- in a fair-sized city -- in the _early_ 1960s. Those were > the -only- kind of phones available anywhere in the area. In fact I > never encountered a pay- phone of the 'post-pay' (deposit coins to > open the outgoing talk path _after_ the call connected) until > sometime in the late 1970s, in a very rural area in the Northern > Rockies. Prepay phones and dial-tone-first are two different things. Most--I would say all--prepay phones required a coin deposit until around some time probably in the 1960s. Wes Leatherock wesrock@aol.com wleathus@yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:21:41 -0500 (CDT) From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.00.0907161356210.1160@Calculus.local> I fear we're straying off topic, but after watching this thread unfold I can no longer stay above the fray. On Wed, 15 Jul 2009, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > When I was a kid* we learned manners from both parents and school. > Most manners made sense, but some were rules to be followed because > they were rules to be followed, not that they made any sense. So it > goes. > > One strict rule was that no phone calls during meal time. If a friend > called you had to tell him you were eating and would call them back > later. My parents wouldn't let me make calls between 5 pm and 7 pm > because that was dinner time and I might interrupt another family. > Dinner interruptions were not appreciated; sometimes a parent would > coldly say "we're having dinner!" I will be 40 next month. I'm not *THAT* old. I grew up with the Huxtable's and Keaton's and not the Cleaver's. We had the same rule which was followed quite well. 5 PM until 7 PM was dinner and family time. My friends were not to call and I was not to call them. No exceptions. In the rare instance someone called me during that time, I was not to accept the call and received an earful about the incident. Additionally television (singular, we had one) was off. No radios. My Sony Walkman stayed in my room. > I don't see any difference between talking on the phone and texting. > If a kid is at dinner, IMHO it is rude if they are texting. > > *FWIW, I think kids today are more polite to their elders than we were > back in the "don't trust anyone over 30" days.) Sounds like I'm somewhere between you and the younger generation. I find young people today to be downright rude. "Me first, forget you" (polite version) should be our new national motto. >> ***** Moderator's Note ***** > >> 1. The "real" effectiveness of business meetings. Do younger workers >> see them as a tribal ritual that requires only their presence >> rather than their participation? > > Irrelevent. As an oldster, I see many business meetings as a huge > waste of time (not counting, of course, the ones I lead.) <g> I would love to travel back to 1943 and visit Los Alamos to see just how many meetings they had. I have a hunch scientists and engineers were allowed to work and didn't spend half their days in room with a bunch of managers. > But when the boss says you go to a meeting, you go and suffer through > it, that is what you're getting paid for. > >> 2. Generation gaps: are elder workers miffed that texters aren't >> content to become iron-butt bureaucrats like them? > > I frankly think there is much less of a generation gap today between > old and young than years ago when I was starting out. The baby boomer > generation often went out of its way to aggravate oldsters. The baby > boomers thought they knew the answer to everything while the oldsters > were uneducated backwards Archie Bunkers. It seems youth today really > respect the oldsters for their experience and are much more open > minded toward learning. (If not, they at least keep their discontent > quietly to themselves. How young people treat _each other_ is a > different subject.) I really think Generation X, that is my generation, born roughly second half of the 60's and the 70's lost our voice. We rarely spoke up for ourselves. Generation Y, the generation that came after us are the ones I have seen marching into the workplace, demanding company cars on their resumes (Yes, I've seen this!) and telling us how to run a business. I could tell several true tales, but it's all just anecdotal evidence of what I'm claiming. >> 3. Genuine social change: do texters have a better grasp of the >> international business climate than elders? Is texting an >> acceptable practice in other, less hidebound countries? > > "When in Rome . . .". I have no idea what texting manners are > elsewhere; and I do believe telephone manners are different in other > countries, always were. But in the U.S. it's rude. I don't want to identify the distant land, but growing up I had many friends of a particular heritage. They would stand with their noses about one inch apart and scream at each other at the same time. I thought this was horribly rude and if I even thought of talking to my dad like that I'd be missing a few teeth. But it's just how people talk in their culture. But I can't imagine a place where texting or talking on the phone during dinner or at a meeting is acceptable. Several years ago I was at a restaurant in Houston. My family had flown off to visit grandma and flew out of Hobby because it was less than half the price of flying out of Austin. I drove out to pick them up and stopped for lunch. My wife called me from Nashville letting me know the flight would be on time. I got up from my table and stepped outside to take the call. I left my keys and sunglasses on the table to indicate I was still there. Despite that when I came back inside there all sorts of commotion. They thought I had left without paying the bill. I explained I was taking a call as so as not to disturb anyone I stepped outside. You would've thought I had decided to strip naked and walk on my hands through the restaurant. Someone would step outside to take a call??? >> 5. Might it be a fad that will die out like Pet Rocks and Palm Pilots >> and paper organizers? > > Who knows. Kids like to stay connected. In my elders' day they hung > around the corner candy store to be near the phone. In my day we used > the phone a lot, running up big bills, and the wealthy got their own > phone lines. It will probably stick around until something else comes > along to replace it. Kids sure seem addicted to it, though. It > amazes me how I see a group of kids walking together down the street, > but each engrossed on the cell phone. I'm not sure. In my mind it's easier to dial 7 or 10 numbers and talk to someone rather than text. But there are cases when a text is preferable, for instance "Please also pick up toothpaste, milk, and green apples". Or directions. Without the info in front of me when I need it, I'm going to get it wrong. My hunch is we'll reach steady state where texts are used only as appropriate. Until then "Wassup dawg?1!?" will be filling the airwaves. John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> Austin, Texas, USA ***** Moderator's Note ***** I'm from Generation "U", and my parents had a simple guideline when it came to rewards: "Nothing if U do, and hell if U don't!" That was, of course, a very long time ago. We had to lock the Morse Code sounder during dinner, with no Semaphores allowed until the cows were milked and the barn was mucked out. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:07:31 -0700 From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Home and small office VoIP services Message-ID: <4A5F9693.1040503@thadlabs.com> Earlier this year we had a message thread discussing the Magic Jack device and service. For the service to function, one's computer, with the Magic Jack plugged into a USB port, must be on 24/7 or whatever period one wishes phone service. Intrigued, I perused their web page and noted the device requires a Windows or MacOS system, not Linux, and I lost interest. Also earlier this year I read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle briefly describing another VoIP system, Ooma, but the pricing seemed high and I didn't research it further and simply saved the article's URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/09/BUFJ15SEF3.DTL Earlier this week I received the latest Costco coupon book in the mail and noticed a "special deal" for the Ooma device, so I thought I'd take another look at it. The Costco online-only offer (until Aug. 2) is here: http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11485914 and Ooma's web site is here: http://www.ooma.com/ Interesting. The device is completely stand-alone and only requires a cable, fiber or DSL connection to the Internet though a computer seems to be required to initially activate the device. Once activated, simply plug any standard phone instrument (e.g., 2500 deskset, FAX machine, etc.) into it or one of its satellites. There are no additional costs for the basic service since their business model is the one-time purchase of the hardware box(es). Documentation (PDF Quickstart and User Guide) is here: http://www.ooma.com/support/documentation.php Though I've setup a number of asterisk VoIP systems, this looks like a no hassle plug'n'play system for those wanting a single-line service. My interest is twofold: as a backup for my cellphone (since I went cellphone-only over 8 years ago and don't have any active landline service), and for the occasional FAX I want/need to send. Just curious: has anyone here used their devices and service and have any comments about it? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:06:00 -0500 From: Neal McLain <nmclain@annsgarden.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Legislator looks to end split-market DMAs Message-ID: <4A5FB258.6010908@annsgarden.com> From Broadcasting & Cable, July 14, 2009: | Ross Introduces Split-Market Bill | By John Eggerton | | Looking to bring an end to split-market Nielsen DMAs, in which cable | and satellite subscribers may be receiving the local channels of an | adjacent state instead of their own, Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., has | introduced the Local TV Freedom Act. "The time has come to stop | delivering 21st-century technologies with 1950s business practices," | he said. "Americans should not be bound by outdated laws that prevent | them from receiving their home-state programming." Continued at http://tinyurl.com/SplitMarketBill As I noted here a few days ago (TD, 7 Jul 2009), a network-affiliated commercial television broadcast station (CTBS) has the exclusive right to broadcast the programming of its affiliate network within its Designated Market Area (DMA). http://tinyurl.com/lcvecf A DMA may encompass CTBSs licensed to one or more cities. Each DMA is named for the names of the CTBS cities it encompasses. Some DMAs encompass only one city (e.g. New York DMA); some encompass several cities (e.g. Paducah Cape Girardeau Marion Carbondale Mcleansboro Popular Bluff, Mt. Vernon DMA). DMA boundaries are determined by Nielsen Media Research based on viewer surveys in non-cable (off-the-air viewing) homes. Most DMA boundaries follow county lines, although some counties are split. Many DMA boundaries overlap two or more states. Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs; i.e., cable television and satellite television providers) are required by federal regulations to carry (either under the must-carry rules or the retransmission-consent rules) all network-affiliated CTBSs within the DMA, and they are prohibited from carrying a CTBS from any foreign DMA. If a DMA contains one CTBS affiliated with a given network, that CTBS must be carried. If the DMA contains two or more CTBSs affiliated with the same network, all must be carried subject to several exceptions (not the least of which is that every CTBS must provide a usable signal to the MVPD). The whole DMA system is based on government-sanctioned exclusive distribution agreements between each network and its affiliates. Within each DMA, the affiliate(s) are the only legal suppliers of network programming within the geographic area defined as the DMA. In any other business, this arrangement would be called a monopoly. In the television broadcast business, it's called "consumer protection." The issue raised by Rep. Ross's bill concerns "split markets": DMAs that overlap state lines. As the Multichannel News article notes, "Split markets are Nielsen DMAs that cross state lines and in which some viewers to cable and satellite services are getting the local station from the adjacent state rather than their own [state]. In my (not-unbiased) opinion, Ross's bill would be a good start, but it doesn't go far enough. I think the entire monopoly-by-DMA regime should be junked, thereby allowing any MVPD to negotiate with any CTBS for carriage. That would introduce competition at both ends of the video services market: - At the retail end, Dish Network, DirecTV, and local CATVs would continue competing against each other for customers, just as they do now. - At the wholesale end, CTBSs would be forced to compete against each other in order to gain retail carriage. This would bring retransmission-consent fees down in a hurry. Furthermore, it would encourage CTBSs to stream their signals over the internet, and that, in turn, would force them to switch sides in the copyright-royalty debate: instead of advocating higher rates (thereby disadvantaging their non-broadcast competitors), they would have an incentive to advocate lower rates. Of course, doing any of these things would put Congress on a collision course with the NAB. Even a democratically-controlled Congress is not likely to pick a fight with the NAB. Neal McLain ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:52:52 -0400 From: "Bob Goudreau" <BobGoudreau@nc.rr.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: Re: When Texting Is Wrong Message-ID: <09B7B8CA02EA47FC8FED76B3AF8F071E@estore.us.dg.com> Moderator Bill Horne writes: > 5. Might it [texting] be a fad that will die out like Pet Rocks and > Palm Pilots and paper organizers? I still know plenty of people who use paper organizers (there's a whole section for them at most office supply stores), but I must take even stronger issue with the crack about Palm Pilots! In fact, they still exist today, but they have morphed into smart phones, such as my Palm Treo or the recently-introduced Palm Pre. In a sense, all smart phones owe their existence to PDAs such as the Palm Pilot and Apple Newton. Bob Goudreau Cary, NC ***** Moderator's Note ***** Since I own, and use, a Palm Pilot myself, I'm a protected member of the class. ;-) The "Fad" I was referring to was/is the lemming-like tendency of buyers to purchase the latest efficiency/productivity tool, just because everyone else is doing it, and therefore the buyers are afraid to be left out in the mistaken belief that they'll be thought less efficient and/or productive if they don't. Over time, such tools evolve from fashion accessory to useful business appliance, when those whose temperment and training allow them to make effective use of the tool start to do so. Others abandon them as soon as their boss leaves his/her copy at home, thus signalling a return to the old way. I can attest to the pitfalls of trying to force organization on technical employees within Ma Bell: they were, briefly, "all the rage" in the 90's, when I and my peers were given leather covered binders and associated paper, and sent to courses that purported to teach us how to be efficient through the use of schedules and phone lists. The binders largely disappeared within a year, since the effort required to maintain them exceeded the benefits employees felt they were getting in return. The question vis-ā-vis texting is whether users are doing it to _appear_ busy and productive, or if they're simply bypassing the company-provided communications network in favor of tools they already know. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 17 Jul 2009 02:58:21 +0000 (UTC) From: David Lesher <wb8foz@panix.com> To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu Subject: A mystery phone Message-ID: <h3opcd$5c6$1@reader1.panix.com> So I have a WECO 51000BA30M phone, circa 1968. (It's also known as a 5805-087-9765). It's brand new.... The downside is: it's sealed in mil-spec packaging. I do not want to rip it open until I have a use for it, if ever. I seem to recall that number but can't match it. Does it strike a bell with anyone here? -- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433 ------------------------------ TELECOM Digest is an electronic journal devoted mostly to telecom- munications topics. It is circulated anywhere there is email, in addition 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. The Telecom Digest is currently being moderated by Bill Horne while Pat Townson recovers from a stroke. 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