33 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981
Copyright © 2015 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.

The Telecom Digest for Jul 9, 2015
Volume 34 : Issue 129 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: Robocalls - the next level (Scott Dorsey)
Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists (Garrett Wollman)
Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists (Bill Horne)
Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists (Fred Goldstein)
Thief caught stealing from cell phone tower (HAncock4)
Mike Sandman, of Sandman.com, killed in plane crash (Neal McLain)

The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.
William Howard Taft

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Date: 8 Jul 2015 11:50:53 -0400 From: kludge@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Robocalls - the next level Message-ID: <mnjgst$90n$1@panix2.panix.com> Gary <anonymous@invalid.telecom-digest.org> wrote: >On 6/25/2015 5:24 PM, Don Y wrote: >> >> I've been trying to sort out effective algorithms to implement an >> "automated attendant" (imagine a machine that screens calls like a >> "secretary" would). So you aren't even bothered by a phone ringing! > >On a related note, will CallerID ever be made "spoof proof?" That >would help, a lot No, it's not for that. ANI is pretty much spoof-proof though. Because it's supposed to be. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 15:32:11 +0000 (UTC) From: wollman@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists Message-ID: <mnjfpr$223p$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu> In article <mnh20i$13cj$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>, Bill Horne appended: >Well, it does cost something to provide the service, and whatever a >hotel charges for it, the cost pales in comparison to the value of >*your* time. Maybe we all need to ask how we got the idea that only >those whom are glued to a computer are productive? It's my JOB, Bill, and yet it's still rather insulting to suggest that I'm "glued to a computer" when attending a conference. -GAWollman -- Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft wollman@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 20:22:59 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists Message-ID: <20150709002258.GA19246@telecom.csail.mit.edu> On Wed, Jul 08, 2015 at 03:32:11PM +0000, Garrett Wollman wrote: > In article <mnh20i$13cj$1@grapevine.csail.mit.edu>, Bill Horne appended: >> Well, it does cost something to provide the service, and >> whatever a hotel charges for it, the cost pales in comparison to >> the value of your *time*. Maybe we all need to ask how we got >> the idea that only those whom are glued to a computer are >> productive? > > It's my JOB, Bill, and yet it's still rather insulting to suggest that > I'm "glued to a computer" when attending a conference. Oops, sorry, my apologies. I didn't write that clearly. Here's the issue as I see it: road warriors need Wi-Fi, some of the time. We all agree on that: it's the most effective way to distribute copies of slides, presentations, handouts, etc. for those whom are attending conferences, and it's convenient for attendees to be able to check their inbox or read the c.v. of presenters during breaks. No hotel manager would leave it out of a "meeting" package. However, the hotel operators are charging high rates for providing it in the rooms, apparently because they can. To them, as the author of that original piece pointed out, "it's found money". But ... I'm uncomfortable with the notion that we must all accept that we need it all the time, and I wonder if we'd do better to question why WiFi in hotel rooms is so important in most businessmens' minds. I'm not talking about watching NetFlix or updating FacePage: those are personal matters, not germane to the question of why - and this is the reason I am personnally skeptical about the benefits of "smart" phones and other always-on Internet tools - we accept the idea that we must spend all the time we used to have to ourselves, peering at a computer screen for business reasons. The best and most widely welcomed ideas I had while I was a road warrior were those that came to me while I was sitting quietly, letting my mind wander over possibilities which were not available on any website, handout, slide show, or presentation. The computer that my employer provided to me was as much a hindrance as a help: although it made a lot of information available to me, my assumption that it should be on and in use whenever I was awake also deprived me of the time I needed to use my head, and I am convinced that we all lost something when we came to a hivemind decision that we have to be connected during every waking moment. What used to be quiet hours spent in hotel rooms, away from the distractions of children, household chores, bills, laundry, etc., have become time "at work", and because of the Wi-Fi access, those rooms are now just another place to trade memos, glued to a computer screen. The best and most effective managers know that their subordinates need that quiet time: indeed, the chance to close a door and be alone with my thoughts was one of the best parts of being on the road. We've lost one of the few chances we had to look ahead, to plan, to dream - and we have substituted the obligation to react to what others want instead. I used to work in a "Blue" shop. There was a sign on the wall that said ... "Machines should work. People should think." Bill -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to write to me directly)
Date: Wed, 08 Jul 2015 11:33:11 -0400 From: Fred Goldstein <invalid@see.sig.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Free Hotel Wi-Fi is increasingly on Travelers' Must-Have Lists Message-ID: <559D42B7.1070504@ionary.com> On 7/7/2015 1:24 PM, Garrett Wollman wrote: > In article <07ED69FC-D163-4389-9523-74A77B224BDC@roscom.com>, > Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> wrote: > > Hotel guests, used to receiving free Wi-Fi nearly everywhere, are > > becoming less willing to pay the fees high-end flagship hotels charge > > for the service. > > Good. It always pissed me off that when I travel for personal > reasons, and stay at budget hotels, I get "free" network included with > the $90 room rate, whereas when I travel for business and stay at a > Marriott or a Sheraton, they ding me for $15 a day on top of the > already outrageous room rates. > > At least USENIX is now including wireless in their hotel contracts for > conferences. So long as I stay at the overpriced conference hotel, > anyway.... > Good for them! > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > Well, it does cost something to provide the service, and whatever a > hotel charges for it, the cost pales in comparison to the value of > your *time*. Maybe we all need to ask how we got the idea that only > those whom are glued to a computer are productive? > It costs something for hot water and towels too, but they throw it in with the room. WiFi is pretty cheap in the scheme of things (at most locations); the for-pay systems probably spend more on billing than on the service. While one might suggest that leisure travelers should not spend their time on the computer (although it comes in darn handy for things like finding nearby restaurants, getting tickets, etc.), a business traveler needs to be in touch with the outside. It is not a luxury; it is a work tool. -- Fred R. Goldstein k1io fred "at" interisle.net Interisle Consulting Group +1 617 795 2701
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 08:22:47 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Thief caught stealing from cell phone tower Message-ID: <d1c76172-b3c5-4fb8-a9e0-3cd4315b5939@googlegroups.com> The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that police caught a man attempting to steal materials from a cellular telephone tower. +--------------------------------------------------------------+ A man was arrested Saturday morning after a police officer caught him stealing batteries and wire from a cell phone tower in Gloucester Township, N.J. police said. The officer, assigned to an extra patrol of area cell towers, saw a suspicious vehicle backed against a tower on Williamstown Road about 9:15 a.m., according to a news release from the Gloucester Township Police Department. For full article please see: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/Police_Man_caught_stealing_from_South_Jersey_cell_phone_tower.html
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 16:13:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Neal McLain <nmclain.remove-this@and-this-too.annsgarden.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Mike Sandman, of Sandman.com, killed in plane crash Message-ID: <df3c9043-d554-4daa-85dd-75ebeca1fe95@googlegroups.com> According to story in the Chicago Tribune, Mike Sandman has been killed in a plane crash. http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/news/ct-bartlett-plane-crash-pilot-20150708-story.html -or- http://tinyurl.com/nkvwvuq As many T-D readers are aware, Mike was the owner of sandman.com, a supplier of telephones and related equipment. http://www.sandman.com/ Mike was a T-D reader for many years and occasionally contributed articles. His "Telephony History Page" is here: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/comp.dcom.telecom/gkjFdTgsN2E/CfP2KdS6150J Neal McLain ***** Moderator's Note ***** R.I.P. Michael Sandman: he was 61 years old. Bill Horne Moderator

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