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

The Telecom Digest for Oct 24, 2015
Volume 34 : Issue 193 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Re: UltraDNS Server Problem Pulls Down Netflix for 90 Minutes (Fred Goldstein)
Re: Apple removes some ad blockers from its app store (David Clayton)
Judge John Hodgman on a Wife's Casual Texts (Monty Solomon)
CWA submits photos to PUC of neglected Verizon copper network (HAncock4)
New federal rate caps on telephone calls by prison inmates (HAncock4)
Re: New federal rate caps on telephone calls by prison inmates (Bill Horne)

Let natural consequences teach responsible behavior. One of the kindest things we can do is to let the natural or logical consequences of people's actions teach them responsible behavior. They may not like it or us, but popularity is a fickle standard by which to measure character development. Insisting on justice demands more true love, not less. We care enough for their growth and security to suffer their displeasure.
Stephen Covey

See the bottom of this issue for subscription and archive details.

Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:09:45 -0400 From: Fred Goldstein <invalid@see.sig.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: UltraDNS Server Problem Pulls Down Netflix for 90 Minutes Message-ID: <5624F9A9.8080105@ionary.com> ... > ***** Moderator's Note ***** > > I've cut way back on "security" postings, but this one has a > roundabout applicability to telecom: UltraDNS, the article notes, was > acquired by Neustar, which at one time had the contract to provide the > "Local Number Portability" database. > They still do. The FCC put it up for bid and Neustar lost badly, to iConective (f/k/a Telcordia, f/k/a Bellcore, now a subsidiary of Ericsson), but Neustar's lawyers have diligently held up the completion of that switch while they milk the system for all it's worth. > I'm also curious if any of the readers can explain how ultraDNS, > Akamai, and CloudFlare make the Internet viable as a > mass-content-delivery mechanism. We used to say that TCP/IP was > B.A.D. for broadcasting use - "Broken As Designed" - but every Netflix > subscriber, myself included, is making use of whatever the workaround > is. Start with a B.A.D. design (and TCP/IP is awful in oh so many ways) and create workaround on top of workarounds. What happens in the CDN is that when you do a DNS lookup for one of these services, it looks at your IP address, guesses where you are from a database of IP-block locations, looks at the path to you, and returns one of multiple IP addresses at their nearest content farm. Then your request is redirected to one of the servers there, based on load balancing. These access a local cache of the content. So you're not reaching Netflix or frankly any major site at its own principal location; you're accessing a more local copy of it. None of this is in the Internet's own official architecture, so it's basically a string of hacks that sort of make do. And since the Internet is ruled by juche thought, everyone from Cisco to the FCC to the "neutrality" activists assume that it's the best of all possible worlds, and any attempt to demonstrate otherwise is rejected out of hand.
Date: Sun, 18 Oct 2015 09:51:35 +1100 From: David Clayton <dc33box-usenet2@NOSPAM.yahoo.com.au> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: Apple removes some ad blockers from its app store Message-ID: <pan.2015.10.17.22.51.31.791253@NOSPAM.yahoo.com.au> ........ > ***** Moderator's Note ***** ........ > Some websites have installed back-channel verification software which > prevents their content from being displayed if ads are not. > > This is another phase of the arms race. > > Bill Horne > Moderator Yep, the next "Smart" blockers will still download the content to fool the servers but simply not display it. That will last until the ads have code in them to let the servers know they have actually been displayed and then someone will write something to simulate that and then...... and then...... and then..... -- 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: Tue, 20 Oct 2015 01:16:21 -0400 From: Monty Solomon <monty@roscom.com> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Judge John Hodgman on a Wife's Casual Texts Message-ID: <C3E7273A-A6E5-410A-9EA4-7B164769D775@roscom.com> Justice is best served cold, with emojis. Philip writes: When I am driving and I receive a text, instead of replying myself, my wife will text for me. But if I say: Should we meet you at your house?", she will send "should wee meet u at ur house?" I find texting impersonal, but if I am forced to text, I at least want to use appropriate English. Please order her to type my words properly when texting under my name. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/magazine/judge-john-hodgman-on-a-wifes-casual-texts.html ***** Moderator's Note ***** Anyone interested in shortening the length of their texts messages can obtain a copy of "The Phillips Telegraphic Code for the Rapid Transmission by Telegraph of Press Reports, Commercial and Private Telegrams, and All Other Matter Sent By Wire or Cable.", which was the most commonly used commercial code on telegraph lines. Such acronyms as POTUS, and abreviations like "Crupt" and "Sumr" originated in Walter P. Phillip's immortal salute to brevity, which is available online at https://goo.gl/GZXysb . Bill Horne Moderator
Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2015 08:01:14 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: CWA submits photos to PUC of neglected Verizon copper network Message-ID: <1a0aa935-642f-472c-88e7-71699b7debfb@googlegroups.com> The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the Communications Workers of America says it has photographic evidence showing Verizon Communications Inc. has been depriving its aging copper network of money for maintenance and repair throughout parts of Pennsylvania. The union - which represents 4,980 Verizon linemen, technicians, and customer service representatives in the state - filed the photos on Wednesday in a petition with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, seeking an investigation into whether Verizon has violated state utility laws by not maintaining its copper lines. The photos taken in the late summer depict dangling cut-off utility poles, plastic-wrapped phone equipment, and spliced phone lines. The union told Pennsylvania utility regulators in a letter in September that thousands of people had complained about copper line-related service problems, based on state regulatory data. for full article and photos please see: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20151022_Frayed_Wires.html
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2015 10:24:03 -0700 (PDT) From: HAncock4 <withheld@invalid.telecom-digest.org> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: New federal rate caps on telephone calls by prison inmates Message-ID: <93beecc2-8e7a-41ca-ad32-c2c95565d5c9@googlegroups.com> NJ.COM reported that the Federal Communications Commission passed a sweeping reform on inmate calling costs Thursday, capping the rates for the first time on local, in-state and long-distance calls. According to the FCC, the "ballooning" rates have cost inmates up to $14 per minute for calls at times made from inside prisons -- a steep expense that has made contact unaffordable for many families with incarcerated relatives. Some states made a profit above and beyond the expenses of handling inmate calls. Prison experts say contact with families helps rehabilitation and prevent fights and disruption within the prison. for full article please see: http://www.nj.com/
Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2015 23:12:09 -0400 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: New federal rate caps on telephone calls by prison inmates Message-ID: <20151024031209.GA20733@telecom.csail.mit.edu> On Fri, Oct 23, 2015 at 10:24:03AM -0700, hancock4@bbs.cpcn.com wrote: > NJ.COM reported that the Federal Communications Commission passed > a sweeping reform on inmate calling costs Thursday, capping the > rates for the first time on local, in-state and long-distance > calls. According to the FCC, the "ballooning" rates have cost > inmates up to $14 per minute for calls at times made from inside > prisons -- a steep expense that has made contact unaffordable for > many families with incarcerated relatives. > > Some states made a profit above and beyond the expenses of handling > inmate calls. > > Prison experts say contact with families helps rehabilitation and > prevent fights and disruption within the prison. I have a different perspective on this issue than that of many other people: as a Military Policeman in Vietnam, I saw with my own eyes the disdain most criminals have for the rules of society, and for those who obey them. Unlike many of their victims, none of the inmates in prisons have a gun held at their head when they choose to spend money for phone calls. If they feel that the rates are unreasonable, they need only stop paying them: when enough inmates refrain from doing so, the rates will fall. It's not as if the U.S. Postal Service isn't in operation, or as if the liberal media doesn't have hundreds of other tempests to churn up in dozens of other toilet bowls. The reporters who parade criminals in front of the public for no better reason than to sell soap, and the rulemakers who chose to pretend that prison phone rates aren't in line with the extraordinary costs of doing business in secure facilities, and the vicious opportunists who play the "blame and shame" game to advance hidden political agendas have ALL commited a crime: they have wasted the voters' time with trivia instead of proposing solutions to the immense, complicated, and difficult problems confronting our country. I propose a simple answer to those who feel convicted fellons need discount phone service: let's all remind the FCC of the rule that every convicted fellon knows - "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time" - and EVERYTHING that goes with it. Bill -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly)

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