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The Telecom Digest for January 23, 2011
Volume 30 : Issue 22 : "text" Format

Messages in this Issue:

Re: What did the USPTO really say about unlocking cell phones? (John Mayson)
Re: What did the USPTO really say about unlocking cell phones? (John Levine)
Re: What did the USPTO really say about unlocking cell phones?(tlvp)
Re: Very interesting product(John Mayson)
Re: With Verizon on the Horizon, iPhone Users Weigh Leaving AT&T - but there's a Catch (John Mayson)
Copying a cell phone's addressbook (was: Your most dangerous possession? Your smartphone)(Adam H. Kerman)
Re: Copying a cell phone's addressbook (was: Your most dangerous possession? Your smartphone)(Hudson Leighton)
Re: Very interesting product(John Levine)
Re: Sounds like ...(tlvp)
Re: Sounds like ...(David Clayton)
Re: Auto(in)correct(John Mayson)
Re: Very interesting product(tlvp)


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Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:38:31 -0600 (CST) From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: What did the USPTO really say about unlocking cell phones? Message-ID: <alpine.OSX.2.00.1101212031200.52944@john-maysons-macbook.local> On Fri, 21 Jan 2011, Robert Bonomi wrote: > In article <AANLkTimrHS73s9LU3PLyrTTpzB2RrOvpm4J5xUiS7o2N@mail.gmail.com>, > John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote: >> I am having a heck of a time finding a definitive answer on this subject. >> >> Last year the USPTO issued an opinion/ruling/announcement that people >> have the right to unlock their phones. Or at least I thought they >> did. Am I crazy? > > You're only partly crazy. It wasn't the USPTO. It was the "Librarian > of Congress" (Head of the Library of Congress) at the recommendation of > the Register of Copyrights, originally in 2007. The ruling was to the > effect that privately unlocking a phone was NOT a violation of the DMCA > prohibition on circumventing access controls. Well dang it! :-) No wonder my online searches turned up nothing. The Library of Congress? Really? > This does NOT mean that a carrier has to provide you the unlock code. > > It only means that if you do it 'without their permission' you cannot > be prosecuted for circumventing security controls, as proscribed by > the DMCA. Gotcha. On Fri, 21 Jan 2011, tlvp wrote: > On Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:22:04 -0500, John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote: > >> ... the service rep laughingly said they would NEVER unlock our >> phone and refused to escalate the call. > > I've never been given any such run-around by either T-Mobile (whose > customer I am) or at&t ws (whose customer I neither am nor ever was) > when seeking to unlock SIM-locked T-Mobile and Cingular GSM handsets, > respectively. > > Which cellular provider gave you your grief? T-Mobile and it's a phone we outright own. AT&T has unlocked two phones for me that were still under contract (i.e. the case could be made I didn't fully own them). No ifs, ands, or buts. I've called them, given them the IMEI and on the spot had the unlock codes. What do they care? Even if I take it T-Mobile I still have a contract I have to pay every month, right? I guess T-Mobile irked me because they first said they would provide the unlock code and then didn't. And then snotty, sarcastic rep I dealt with the last time. I have found various services that for $25 or so will provide an unlock code. Are these companies typically legit? Specifically I'm looking at gsmliberty.com. John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> Austin, Texas, USA
Date: 22 Jan 2011 15:58:54 -0000 From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: What did the USPTO really say about unlocking cell phones? Message-ID: <20110122155854.57901.qmail@joyce.lan> >I have found various services that for $25 or so will provide an unlock >code. Are these companies typically legit? Specifically I'm looking at >gsmliberty.com. Yes. I've bought a bunch of unlock codes and they all worked. One time they couldn't provide a code, but they refunded my money. R's, John
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:31:54 -0500 From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: What did the USPTO really say about unlocking cell phones? Message-ID: <op.vpqbfgmmitl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net> On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:38:31 -0500, John Mayson <john@mayson.us> wrote: >>> ... the service rep laughingly said they would NEVER unlock our >> >> Which cellular provider gave you your grief? > > T-Mobile and it's a phone we outright own. ... My suggestion, John, if it's a T-Mobile- (or VoiceStream-) branded phone: phone in again, to the 1-800-WEST-WYR CS number, try to get to a "data" CS rep, explain that you're planning to be abroad for a week or two in a month or so and want to SIM-unlock the handset so as to be able to use a local prepay SIM while you're away, and the rep should stand ready either to talk you through the unlock steps on your handset, or to have an email sent to you with the relevant unlock code -- and detailed unlock instructions. It may help to refer to the SIM-unlock code as the "SIM subsidy" unlock code, or the "SUK", to be using an instrument other than the handset you seek to unlock, and to have ready the make, model, IMEI, and current T-Mobile phone number of said handset. Good luck; HTH; and cheers, -- tlvp (who's unlocked at least four T-Mo handsets in just the way described) -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:19:35 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Very interesting product Message-ID: <AANLkTikOg2j1dQH-4qO36H=gTsQWfb=Q13Rb-Yjei8sG@mail.gmail.com> On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 3:31 PM, tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Not the GSM voice part, John -- the HSDPA (high-speed) data part :-).Or am > I off track yet again? I know you're referring to another John. But I'm often off track on this subject too. I just can't keep everything straight any more. Even when I think I have it right I have it wrong. :-) -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:37:03 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: With Verizon on the Horizon, iPhone Users Weigh Leaving AT&T - but there's a Catch Message-ID: <AANLkTi=GSEzoH+rOGRowF_Qm=MXx=8L2=Yo5z4U=1_Zj@mail.gmail.com> On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 3:28 PM, tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> wrote: > > What I've read on paper, and over the net, seems to point to voice and *LTE > data* being mutually exclusive (i.e., B applies there), while voice and > *lower-tech* data are perfectly compatible (i.e., customers can talk and > use > data simultaneously -- just not LTE data). For me it's a case of... 1. Ever changing technology 2. Half the stuff I read isn't true 3. My brain is full and just can't process anything new :-) Not being a VZW customer I really don't have a clue what their network can and can't do. So this is all I'm going to say about it. :-) John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:22:40 +0000 (UTC) From: "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Copying a cell phone's addressbook (was: Your most dangerous possession? Your smartphone) Message-ID: <ihep7g$dji$1@news.albasani.net> Arthur Shapiro <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote: >Our moderator observes: >>If you lose the phone, that list would come in very handy. The one >>feature I would like to see on mobile phones is the ability to import >>*and* export the directory, via a SMS if need be, but preferably >>with a USB cord. >Isn't that standard? >I use an old Motorola V3 Razr for the two or three calls I might make >or receive in a month. (Can't understand all you folks paying those >huge smartphone charges each month to the rapacious cellular >companies). It easily backs up and restores what Motorola terms the >Contacts list, via USB or Bluetooth. Ditto for my wife's Samsung >T219. >Are you saying this isn't a facility available for every phone in the >world??? I have a Moto V195S, somewhat ubiquitous worldwide in 2005 and 2006 as it's quad frequency GSM. It's made in China and has withstood the not-so-gentle treatment I've given it over the years. I'll hang onto it until the main screen fails. Design wise, the external speaker is easy to sit upon, keeping me from hearing it ring, and the earpiece speaker doesn't reproduce sound all that wonderfully well when I'm receiving a poor quality transmission thanks to compression and packet loss or whatever kills audio. Motorola would have been pleased to sell me proprietary software to copy and update my addressbook between phone and desktop computer for a price higher than my monthly cell phone bill. So, no, what should be considered to be vital software isn't included with every cell phone. I don't store telephone numbers on the SIM card itself which doesn't allow enough information to be stored for each contact, although copying limited information to the SIM card would be a method to move some information to another cell phone.
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 11:21:26 -0600 From: Hudson Leighton <hudsonl@skypoint.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Copying a cell phone's addressbook (was: Your most dangerous possession? Your smartphone) Message-ID: <hudsonl-3B6D04.11212622012011@news.isp.giganews.com> In article <ihep7g$dji$1@news.albasani.net>, "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote: > Arthur Shapiro <art.shapiro@unisys.com> wrote: > >Our moderator observes: > > Motorola would have been pleased to sell me proprietary software to copy > and update my addressbook between phone and desktop computer for a price > higher than my monthly cell phone bill. So, no, what should be considered > to be vital software isn't included with every cell phone. I recently go a new Windows 7 laptop, and needed drivers for my Motorola V195, took a little goggle time, but I found the drivers and the latest and greatest Motorola cellphone program on the web for free. -Hudson
Date: 22 Jan 2011 02:35:49 -0000 From: John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Very interesting product Message-ID: <20110122023549.55252.qmail@joyce.lan> >>> Sounds like its 3G radio is relying on the (far more universally >>> used) 1900 MHz HSDPA band, hence should be just fine in ... >>>>>> ... Malaysia ... . >> >> Huh? Outside North America the GSM bands are 900 and 1800, not 850 and 1900. >Not the GSM voice part, John -- the HSDPA (high-speed) data part :-). >Or am I off track yet again? I'm pretty sure you're mistaken. All the time I've been in Europe, I've never seen any refs to a 1900 MHz mobile band. It's 1900 here, 1800 in most of the rest of the world. Mobile bands are valuable, voice and data share them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_frequency_bands
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:24:33 -0500 From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Sounds like ... Message-ID: <op.vpoua7gzitl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net> On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:06:25 -0500, Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> wrote: > A tattoo parlor in my town advertises "Tattoo's". Heh-heh ... here there's one called "Tattoo's". It labels itself, "Tattoo's Tattoos" :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2011 07:56:47 +1100 From: David Clayton <dcstar@myrealbox.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Sounds like ... Message-ID: <pan.2011.01.22.20.56.35.82129@myrealbox.com> On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 21:24:33 -0500, tlvp wrote: > On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 14:06:25 -0500, Richard <rng@richbonnie.com> wrote: > >> A tattoo parlor in my town advertises "Tattoo's". > > Heh-heh ... here there's one called "Tattoo's". It labels itself, > "Tattoo's Tattoos" :-) . > Are tattoos now superseded by the digital graffiti people now leave for anyone to see? I think it may well be easier to cover up or remove a physical tattoo than to eliminate an embarrassing Social Media post/photo etc. that may remain for decades for potential employers et al to view at their leisure? Today's technology gives people the ability to inflict instant virtual tattoos on their persona, just the thing you want immature people to be able to do without thinking of the consequences..... -- 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.
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 15:30:58 -0600 From: John Mayson <john@mayson.us> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Auto(in)correct Message-ID: <AANLkTi=fCu1HQPdKxVLpR0_PONdUezWp_Kh477ASpD04@mail.gmail.com> We used Microsoft Outlook where I used to work. Many years ago we had an engineer whose first language was not English and he struggled with the language. He used abbreviations and misspelled English words only to have Outlook "correct" them for him and he accepted anything Outlook suggested. Upper managed came and talked to us about an email he had sent and copied a lot of people, including them. Some of the phrases included "I gave the board to the funky test negro" and "pervert went down on me". Those phrases, and others, gave some amusing mental images. We finally reverse engineered what he was trying to say: "I gave the board to the funct test engr" and "hpserver went down on me". I do think Outlook and perhaps all Microsoft products have gotten better. But yes, beware of spell and grammar checkers. John -- John Mayson <john@mayson.us> Austin, Texas, USA
Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:40:17 -0500 From: tlvp <tPlOvUpBErLeLsEs@hotmail.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Very interesting product Message-ID: <op.vpqbtfk4itl47o@acer250.gateway.2wire.net> On Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:42:53 -0500, John Levine <johnl@iecc.com> wrote: >> Sounds like its 3G radio is relying on the (far more universally >> used) 1900 MHz HSDPA band, hence should be just fine in ... >>>>> ... Malaysia ... . > > Huh? Outside North America the GSM bands are 900 and 1800, not 850 and 1900. > > R's, > John Again, John, I was referring rather to the data bands 900/1700/2100 UMTS, or 850/1900/2100 UMTS, that see use only with T-Mobile (and a few Canadian operators), or pretty much everyone else, respectively. I think the newish Nokias N8 may well be the only -- certainly one of the very few -- handsets extant to handle both with aplomb :-) . Cheers, -- tlvp -- Avant de repondre, jeter la poubelle, SVP
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 Bill Horne. 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 moderated by Bill Horne. Contact information: Bill Horne Telecom Digest 43 Deerfield Road Sharon MA 02067-2301 781-784-7287 bill at horne dot net Subscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=subscribe telecom Unsubscribe: telecom-request@telecom-digest.org?body=unsubscribe telecom This Digest is the oldest continuing e-journal about telecomm- unications on the Internet, having been founded in August, 1981 and published continuously since then. Our archives are available for your review/research. We believe we are the oldest e-zine/mailing list on the internet in any category! URL information: http://telecom-digest.org Copyright (C) 2009 TELECOM Digest. All rights reserved. Our attorney is Bill Levant, of Blue Bell, PA. --------------------------------------------------------------- Finally, the Digest is funded by gifts from generous readers such as yourself who provide funding in amounts deemed appropriate. Your help is important and appreciated. A suggested donation of fifty dollars per year per reader is considered appropriate. See our address above. Please make at least a single donation to cover the cost of processing your name to the mailing list. All opinions expressed herein are deemed to be those of the author. Any organizations listed are for identification purposes only and messages should not be considered any official expression by the organization.
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