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The Telecom Digest for April 26, 2013
Volume 32 : Issue 89 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Why Don't Cell Phones have Dial Tones? (Joseph Singer)
Wireless access expands in NYC subway (HAncock4)
Breaking News Is Broken (Monty Solomon)
Speak out now on full-body scanners (Monty Solomon)

====== 31 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 Bill Horne 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 that person, or email address owner.
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Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 06:59:34 -0700 (PDT) From: Joseph Singer <joeofseattle@yahoo.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Why Don't Cell Phones have Dial Tones? Message-ID: <1366898374.93671.YahooMailClassic@web121903.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Phones have come a long way since the old landline days. Our smartphones are light, fast, and have more computing power than NASA used to put a man on the moon.* Some advances came not by adding things to the phone, but by taking things away. Noticeably missing for anyone of a certain age is the dial tone. What happened to it? We don't need it anymore. Or, at least the phones don't. http://mentalfloss.com/article/50185/why-don%E2%80%99t-cell-phones-have-dial-tones or http://goo.gl/Jk5TW
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 11:14:37 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Wireless access expands in NYC subway Message-ID: <338cbe33-7f67-45df-8350-e4242e778ff8@z8g2000yqd.googlegroups.com> The New York MTA announced that thirty additional subway stations now have wireless voice and data communication capability allowing New York City subway riders to make and receive cell phone calls, send and receive texts and e-mail and access Wi-Fi underground. Wireless carriers who have contracted with Transit Wireless to provide voice and data service to their customers in underground New York City subway stations co-locate their Base Stations with Transit Wireless' Optical distribution equipment at a Transit Wireless Base Station Hotel, which is a resilient, fault-tolerant commercial facility with redundant air-conditioning and power. Base Stations are provided by wireless carriers for all FCC-licensed cellular bands. These Base Stations connect to Transit Wireless' Radio Interface and Optical Distribution System in the Base Station Hotel. Radio signals are combined, converted to optical signals and distributed on Transit Wireless' fiber optic cable through ducts under city streets to subway stations where the optical cables connect to multi-band Remote Fiber Nodes. for the full press release which includes additional technical and contractual details please see: http://new.mta.info/wireless-service-has-arrived-30-additional-underground-subway-stations IMHO, this is not a good idea. Subway stations now have a liberal complement of pay telephones for emergency or urgent phone calls. When trains pass through the stations become very noisy making conversations almost impossible. Passengers talking on their phones will be very distracted and at risk for taking the wrong train, blocking the path of other passengers, falling down the many staircases, falling into the platform gap, or even falling into the tracks. Between trains stations are usually quiet giving a brief oasis from the noise and hustle of the streets above, yakkers on their cell phones will disturb that.
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:24:04 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Breaking News Is Broken Message-ID: <p0624086dcd9eec955f3c@[10.0.1.5]> Breaking News Is Broken Don't watch cable news. Shut off Twitter. You'd be better off cleaning your gutters. By Farhad Manjoo Posted Friday, April 19, 2013 Inspired by the events of the past week, here's a handy guide for anyone looking to figure out what exactly is going on during a breaking news event. When you first hear about a big story in progress, run to your television. Make sure it's securely turned off. Next, pull out your phone, delete your Twitter app, shut off your email, and perhaps cancel your service plan. Unplug your PC. Now go outside and take a walk for an hour or two. Maybe find a park and sit on a bench, reading an old novel. Winter is just half a year away-have you started cleaning out your rain gutters? This might be a good time to start. Whatever you do, remember to stay hydrated. Have a sensible dinner. Get a good night's rest. In the morning, don't rush out of bed. Take in the birdsong. Brew a pot of coffee. Finally, load up your favorite newspaper's home page. Spend about 10 minutes reading a couple of in-depth news stories about the events of the day. And that's it: You've now caught up with all your friends who spent the past day and a half going out of their minds following cable and Twitter. In fact, you're now better informed than they are, because during your self-imposed exile from the news, you didn't stumble into the many cul-de-sacs and dark alleys of misinformation that consumed their lives. You're less frazzled, better rested, and your rain gutters are clear. Breaking news is broken. That's the clearest lesson you can draw about the media from the last week, when both old- and new-media outlets fell down on the job. ... http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2013/04/boston_bombing_breaking_news_don_t_watch_cable_shut_off_twitter_you_d_be.html ***** Moderator's Note ***** De facto motto of most local TV stations' news managers here in the U.S.: "If it bleeds, it leads." Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:21:36 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Speak out now on full-body scanners Message-ID: <p0624086bcd9eebfc3b52@[10.0.1.5]> The Navigator: Speak out now on full-body scanners By Christopher Elliott, Published: April 18 It's been almost five years since the Transportation Security Administration quietly began installing its so-called Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) - better known as full-body scanners - at airports nationwide. And now the government wants to know what you think of the machines. In 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the TSA to engage in what's known as notice-and-comment rulemaking on its use of the technology. You can share your opinion on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at the Federal Register Web site (www.federalregister.gov) until June 24. In other words, air travelers can finally give the government a piece of their mind about the controversial scanners and the way they're used at airports. Depending on how the public responds, the TSA could either double down on its multibillion-dollar scanner program, or it could decommission the machines and impose alternate standards, including using metal detectors and explosive-trace detection screening. The TSA hopes that passengers will approve of its current screening practices. "AIT is the best technology available to detect both metallic and non-metallic objects hidden on a passenger, and is an important part of TSA's multi-layered security efforts," says agency spokesman David Castelveter. Still, the agency assigned to protect America's transportation systems promises to listen and respond to the public comments. "TSA will review and analyze the public comments to develop a final rule related to the screening process using AIT," says Castelveter. But critics question both the agency's claims and its sincerity. ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/the-navigator-speak-out-now-on-full-body-scanners/2013/04/18/bf52c568-a5ea-11e2-8302-3c7e0ea97057_print.html
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