The Telecom Digest for September 28, 2010
Volume 29 : Issue 260 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
====== 28 years of TELECOM Digest -- Founded August 21, 1981 ======
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Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:31:01 -0500
From: GlowingBlueMist <GlowingBlueMist@truely.invalid.dotsrc.org>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: PDF Manuals
Message-ID: <4c9ea257$0$50452$14726298@news.sunsite.dk>
On 9/24/2010 12:41 PM, Fred Atkinson, WB4AEJ wrote:
> Does anyone have or know where I can get PDF copies of manuals for the
> Codex 2121 modem and the Fireberd 6000?
>
>
> I've done Internet searches without yielding much luck.
>
>
> Regards,
>
>
>
>
> Fred
>
Firebird manual can be found at:
www.artisan-scientific.com/info/ttc_fireberd_6000_manual.pdf
As for the modem, I'm not sure but I seem to remember that it was a
Universal Data Systems 2121 modem with a Motorola label stuck on it if
that helps any.
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:50:05 -0700
From: Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: PDF Manuals
Message-ID: <4C9EC2ED.5090004@thadlabs.com>
On 9/24/2010 10:41 AM, Fred Atkinson, WB4AEJ wrote:
> Does anyone have or know where I can get PDF copies of manuals for the
> Codex 2121 modem and the Fireberd 6000?
>
> I've done Internet searches without yielding much luck.
I'm pretty good with search engines.
Googling "firebird 6000 +pdf" (not realizing Fireberd is the correct
spelling) found exactly what you want including a service manual.
Not much success with "Codex 2121" though. Does the manufacturer have
a web site and a support page?
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:23:21 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Smartphones encourage mobile user churn
Message-ID: <p062408a8c8c46ce21d7a@[10.0.1.8]>
Smartphones encourage mobile user churn
Owners of high end handsets are the least loyal, bad news for AT&T
CAROLINE GABRIEL
Published: 22 September, 2010
High end smartphones not only bring operators' networks crashing down
with their high rates of data consumption, but they breed fickle
consumers who will worsen churn levels, especially as users get more
hostile to two-year contract lock-ins. The downside of the smartphone
boom is highlighted in a survey by Nokia Siemens, which found that
users of high end handsets are the least likely to stay with their
carrier.
In the US, 31% of this group are ready to switch cellco for better
services, and only 17% say their current carrier is the only one they
would ever consider using. This is despite the rising cost of early
termination fees, and the operators' enthusiastic efforts to talk up
their investment in improving their networks' performance and
coverage.
Before smartphones, the main driver of customer loyalty was network
coverage and signal strength. Now the device is the main factor for
customers choosing a carrier, and applications and services play a
major role in keeping them loyal, both to the device and the network.
...
http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/09/22/smartphones-encourage-mobile-user-churn.htm
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:28:04 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Letting our fingers do the talking
Message-ID: <p062408a9c8c46de359aa@[10.0.1.8]>
Letting our fingers do the talking
For young, old alike, texting becoming more common than a call
By Linda Matchan, Globe Staff | September 25, 2010
When Mandy Goldman was growing up, every morning started the same
way. Her mother, Joy Leone, got on the telephone at 7 a.m. and
chatted with Mary, her best friend in Burlington.
"For at least an hour. Pretty much every day of my life,'' said
Goldman, 31, a Brookline hair stylist who grew up in Natick. "She'd
be screaming at us to wake up in poor Mary's ear.''
Like mother, like daughter - sort of. Goldman, the mother of two
little boys, uses her phone a lot, too. But Goldman has a
multifunction smartphone, and it hardly ever occurs to her to talk on
it. When Goldman, who is pregnant, learned a month ago that she was
having another boy, she promptly reached for her phone to send
Facebook messages to 20 of her friends. She had 20 responses within a
half-hour. "No one called me, at all,'' she said. "It was all on
Facebook.''
This illustrates why some people predict the phone call will soon be
dead. Almost everyone has a cellphone these days, yet, increasingly,
we use them to do everything but make calls.
...
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2010/09/25/letting_our_fingers_do_the_talking/
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 23:34:19 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Verizon Wireless going to tiered pricing
Message-ID: <p062408acc8c46f8bbd0f@[10.0.1.8]>
Verizon Wireless going to tiered pricing
By Bloomberg News | September 25, 2010
NEW YORK - Verizon Wireless, the largest US mobile carrier, will
introduce tiered pricing in the next four to six months to take
advantage of the growth in data traffic as it rolls out its faster,
fourth-generation network.
The company will add the new pricing as it rolls out new services,
Ivan Seidenberg, the chief executive of Verizon Communications Inc.,
said at a Goldman Sachs Group conference yesterday.
...
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2010/09/25/verizon_wireless_going_to_tiered_pricing/
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:57:56 -0400
From: "Bob Goudreau" <BobGoudreau@nc.rr.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1930, when the US Senate tried to ban dial telephones
Message-ID: <A017929F04194C6A881408A7301C59C4@meng.lab.emc.com>
John Levine wrote:
>>>Reminds me of the arguments about why mere citizens should not be
>>>allowed to pump their own gas in a couple of US states. ...
>>New Jersey and Oregon still forbid citizens pumping their own gas.
> Quite right, and both have gas prices significantly lower than adjacent
> states. We should ban self-service gas everywhere.
Correlation does not imply causation. The real reason why those two states
tend to have low prices in comparison to their neighbors is that they have
far lower state fuel taxes.
For example, http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/245.html shows that
New Jersey (historically, a state where many oil companies have sited
headquarters and refineries) levies a mere 14.5 cents per gallon in tax.
Neighboring New York and Pennsylvania charge 44.6 and 32.3 cpg,
respectively. But GasBuddy.com (as of this writing) shows that the average
gas price in those states is $2.457 in New Jersey, $2.787 in New York state
and $2.635 in Pennsylvania. The tax accounts for essentially all the
difference. (And note that the NY state average price is skewed by the
even higher prices in New York City, currently $2.851. NY City imposes an
additional 4 percent fuel tax, over and above the 44.6 cpg NY state tax
and the 18.4 cpg federal fuel tax assessed in every state.)
Similarly, Oregon has a much lower tax (25.0 cpg) than its Pacific coast
neighbors Washington (37.5 cpg) and California (46.6 cpg). As one would
expect, Oregon has lower overall gas prices ($2.897) than WA ($2.967) or
CA ($2.964). The non-tax portion of the pump price is markedly HIGHER
in Oregon than in either of its two neighbors, perhaps reflecting the
dead-weight cost of paying extra attendants. At least New Jersey manages
to avoid an extra markup -- though in fairness, one would expect lower
prices there in any case because proximity to refineries lowers transport
and delivery costs.
Bob Goudreau
Cary, NC
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 01:30:10 -0400
From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: U.S. Is Working to Ease Wiretaps on the Internet
Message-ID: <p062408c1c8c5dc195d42@[10.0.1.8]>
U.S. Is Working to Ease Wiretaps on the Internet
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
The New York Times
September 27, 2010
WASHINGTON - Federal law enforcement and national security officials
are preparing to seek sweeping new regulations for the Internet,
arguing that their ability to wiretap criminal and terrorism suspects
is "going dark" as people increasingly communicate online instead of
by telephone.
Essentially, officials want Congress to require all services that
enable communications - including encrypted e-mail transmitters like
BlackBerry, social networking Web sites like Facebook and software
that allows direct "peer to peer" messaging like Skype - to be
technically capable of complying if served with a wiretap order. The
mandate would include being able to intercept and unscramble
encrypted messages.
The bill, which the Obama administration plans to submit to lawmakers
next year, raises fresh questions about how to balance security needs
with protecting privacy and fostering innovation. And because
security services around the world face the same problem, it could
set an example that is copied globally.
...
https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html
Date: Sat, 25 Sep 2010 17:46:11 -0700
From: Richard <rng@richbonnie.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1930, when the US Senate tried to ban dial telephones
Message-ID: <m25t969s390h5e8upccuoot2lo8u7mut3t@4ax.com>
On Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:53:25 +0000 (UTC), John Levine <johnl@iecc.com>
wrote:
>>>Reminds me of the arguments about why mere citizens should not be
>>>allowed to pump their own gas in a couple of US states. ...
>
>>New Jersey and Oregon still forbid citizens pumping their own gas.
>>http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100727/NEWS/7270320
>
>Quite right, and both have gas prices significantly lower than adjacent
>states. We should ban self-service gas everywhere.
Source: http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgastaxes.asp
State Gas taxes:
New Jersey $0.145/gal
New York 0.24
Pensylvania 0.311
Maybe the price difference is due to the tax.
Oregon 0.24/gal
California 0.18
Washington 0.28
CA has a lower gas tax. But has special requirements for the fuel,
which ups the price from the price from the refinery.
Also, areas of CA adjacent to OR are rural which tend to have higher
gas prices in general. I live in Pahrump, NV (gas tax $.23/gal.) on
the CA-NV border. 25 miles away in Shoshone, CA, at the entrance to
Death Valley, their one gas station charges a dollar/gallon more than
in Pahrump.
Dick
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 04:08:11 GMT
From: sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com (David Kaye)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1930, when the US Senate tried to ban dial telephones
Message-ID: <i7mgvb$8n9$1@news.eternal-september.org>
Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>A friend in Pendleton OR was really PO'd about the lack of self-service
>gas stations in Oregon and recently moved to Reno NV.
I'd seriously doubt that he moved to Reno in order to avoid full-service gas
stations. Truth be told, prices are set by demand, nothing less, nothing
more. You don't believe me?
Here are the national gasoline prices by state. Note that the CHEAPEST is New
Jersey ($2.46), a full service state. Note that Oregon, another full service
state is a shade CHEAPER than California, a SELF service state, ($2.90 to
$2.95).
http://www.sanfrangasprices.com/Prices_Nationally.aspx
Again, prices for any commodity are set based on demand, nothing more, nothing
less.
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 04:10:11 GMT
From: sfdavidkaye2@yahoo.com (David Kaye)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1930, when the US Senate tried to ban dial telephones
Message-ID: <i7mh33$8n9$2@news.eternal-september.org>
John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
>He was right, too. In the 1940s when my mother was in college in
>Massachusetts, she would call her parents in Vermont, and the town's
>operator would say "you mother's playing bridge at the Smith's --
>should I call her there?" Try and find a dial exchange that can do
>that.
This kind of service is still available. You can get it from a call center,
also known as a telephone answering service. Yes, these are still in
business, and yes, they still offer personalized service. Obviously you have
to shop around to see what the various companies offer, but the service is
still available.
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:43:53 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1930, when the US Senate tried to ban dial telephones
Message-ID: <D-mdnYGCfoNESj3RnZ2dnUVZ_h6dnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <20100926000757.57564.qmail@joyce.lan>,
John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote:
>>5/23: Senator Carter Glass explained his objection to dial: he didn't
>>like being made an employee of the telephone company without
>>compensation, ...
>
>He was right, too. In the 1940s when my mother was in college in
>Massachusetts, she would call her parents in Vermont, and the town's
>operator would say "you mother's playing bridge at the Smith's --
>should I call her there?" Try and find a dial exchange that can do
>that.
They DO exist. Various kinds of 'follow me' services. You tell it
where you are, and when someone calls you, it rings 'where you are'.
I have an early PC-based voice-mail system that does it, the hard way.
it answers a call, plays a 'please wait' announcement, hook-flashes to get
the other side of three-way calling, dials where I've told it I can be found,
plays an announcement to whomever answers, to get me to come to the phone,
I punch in a password, and the box hook-flashes again, to make it a 3-way
call, and the conversation proceeds.
The C.O. based services do it one better -- they 'call-forward' the initial
call.
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 04:34:42 -0500
From: rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: 1930, when the US Senate tried to ban dial telephones
Message-ID: <m6Kdnc2Ds7AvjgLRnZ2dnUVZ_uadnZ2d@speakeasy.net>
Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
+---------------
| In small towns the telephone operator often provided special services,
| such as keeping track of where the town doctor was and calling volunteers
| and officials during a public safety emergency. ...
+---------------
Of course, those "special services" could be abused to provide
favoritism, especially if the operator was a relative of one of
the relevant providers [or had some other covert connection].
In fact, legend has it that that's where the dial phone came
from in the first place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almon_Brown_Strowger
...
Convinced that it should be subscribers, rather than the operator,
who chose who was called --- anecdotally, Strowger's undertaking
business was losing clients to a competitor whose telephone-operator
wife was intercepting and redirecting everyone who called Strowger --
he first conceived his invention in 1888, and patented the automatic
telephone exchange in 1891. It is reported that he initially
constructed a model of his invention from a round collar box
and some straight pins.
-Rob
Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue <URL:http://rpw3.org/>
San Mateo, CA 94403 (650)572-2607
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 00:00:44 -0400
From: Ron <ron@see.below>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: PDF Manuals
Message-ID: <l6ht96t1uvtbi5p2k1cbu3pc7ppogcqrsh@4ax.com>
"Fred Atkinson, WB4AEJ" <fred@remove-this.remove-this.wb4aej.com> wrote:
>Does anyone have or know where I can get PDF copies of manuals for the
>Codex 2121 modem and the Fireberd 6000?
>
>
>I've done Internet searches without yielding much luck.
Does this page contain the manual you need?
http://pdfebooksz.com/ebook-fireberd+6000+manual-pdf-1.html
--
Ron
(user telnom.for.plume
in domain antichef.com)
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:33:24 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: Hempstead NY has toughest cellphone tower restrictions
Message-ID: <IfGdnQzvIbzpfj3RnZ2dnUVZ_qCdnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <4C9E025C.3030708@thadlabs.com>,
Thad Floryan <thad@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>Cell phones: getting tough on towers
[sneck]
>
>The ordinance passed unanimously this week by the Hempstead
>town board prohibits wireless companies from installing
>equipment closer than 1,500 feet to homes, day care centers,
>schools and houses of worship, unless they submit compelling
>evidence that there is an absolute need. Hempstead, home to
>America's first suburban community -- Levittown -- is a densely
>populated township just east of New York City.
>
Methinks the cell carriers should simply show that they are being
'good citizens' and shut down all the existing 'non-conforming'
towers as well. <*EVIL* grin>
I believe that the 'RF out' from the finals of a cell site is less than
100 watts _maximum_, with ERP dependent on the gain of the antennas used.
And, in 'real world' urban cell-sites, it dials-down to much lower levels
so as to not interfere with 'not-so-distant' cells using the same frequency
set.
Now, a ham radio operator can run a full kilowatt of RF out on a single
frequency. plus the same kind of 'gain' antennas. that calls for a 'safety
radius' 10-15 times larger (3-5 miles). A full power broadcast TV station,
with an ERP approaching a megawatt, roughly a 100x larger (30 mile) radius.
And A weather radar, only about a 500x larger (150 mile) radius.
Wups. they're only about 15 miles from JFK airport. And about 25 miles
away from the World Trade Center and all the megawatt TV stations on it.
Those *higher*risk* sources will have to be shut down!
I'm willing to bet that that ordinance will not withstand court scrutiny.
Date: Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:44:18 -0500
From: bonomi@host122.r-bonomi.com (Robert Bonomi)
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: TV comedy about outsourced telephone call center
Message-ID: <faKdnXsfQ_ifez3RnZ2dnUVZ_oadnZ2d@posted.nuvoxcommunications>
In article <27808c00-ed98-43e4-b35e-4bb0182ad51a@q2g2000vbk.googlegroups.com>,
Lisa or Jeff <hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com> wrote:
>On Sep 23, 9:07 pm, Thad Floryan <t...@thadlabs.com> wrote:
>
>> The only thing in the San Jose Mercury News (online) is a news item
>> of more jobs lost and outsourced at the San Jose airport and their
>> TV reviewer doesn't even seem aware the show exists (as of 9/23/2010):
>
>In the early 1960s comedian Alan King complained about Bell System
>automation--he resented ANC and DDD. He wrote "the system is becoming
>so automated the only humans will be the musicians on the Bell
>Telephone Hour [a TV show back then]".
While we're on the subject, I commend, "for your listening pleasure"
Alan Sherman's "Let's all call up AT&T and protest to the president march",
decrying the change to 7D from 2L-5D. He even anticipated alternate
LD carriers, with local access numbers, pins, passwords, and the 'target'
number.
Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:20:24 EDT
From: Wes Leatherock <Wesrock@aol.com>
To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org.
Subject: Re: TV comedy about outsourced telephone call center
Message-ID: <c4c39.4d82b090.39d13d48@aol.com>
In a message dated 9/25/2010 11:09:50 AM Central Daylight Time,
hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com writes:
> In the early 1960s comedian Alan King complained about Bell System
> automation--he resented ANC and DDD. He wrote "the system is becoming
> so automated the only humans will be the musicians on the Bell
> Telephone Hour [a TV show back then]".
>
> When I think back to the level of personal service provided to
> customers in the early 1960s compared to today I don't feel so good.
> As said, note the complaints about basic loop maintenance in the other
> threads.
You also had Professor S.I. Hayakawa who started the Anti-Digit
Dialing League and so got elected to the U.S. Senate from
California, and later, I believe, was a college president.
Wes Leatherock
wesrock@aol.com
wleathus@yahoo.com
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